Frank hoped that Rogan and the others had had plenty of time to get into the thickly wooded hills above the mine by now. He pulled Goldy to the side of the trail and said to Starkwell, “Fine. Go right on ahead, Colonel.”
Starkwell’s eyes slitted in suspicion, as if he thought that Frank was playing some sort of trick on him, but he gigged his horse into motion and waved the rest of the soldiers ahead. Frank sat there beside the trail as the militia troop rode past him.
He followed them back to the Alhambra, but reined in a couple of hundred yards away to watch as the men searched the bunkhouse, the stamp mill and office, and the mine shaft itself. He could tell from the way Starkwell was stomping around that the colonel was getting madder and madder.
Frank turned Goldy and started back toward the settlement. He didn’t want another confrontation with Starkwell right now. Starkwell might be angry enough at the fact that his quarry had eluded him to try making good on that threat to arrest Frank.
Pushing Goldy into a run, Frank reached Buckskin well ahead of the militia. He went straight to the office of the Lucky Lizard Mining Company, hoping he would find Tip Woodford there.
Tip was there, all right, and so was Diana. They greeted Frank warmly, but both of them could tell from the expression on his face that something was wrong. “What is it, Frank?” Diana asked.
“You know the militia was here earlier?”
Tip nodded. “Yeah, we saw the soldier boys. Heard that Munro got the governor to send ’em in. I wish he hadn’t done that. It’s liable to just make things worse. We would’ve worked things out sooner or later, if everybody would just leave us alone.”
Frank nodded. “I know. That’s why I rode out to the Alhambra to warn Rogan and the other men that the militia was coming to break the strike. I sent them to the Lucky Lizard.”
Tip’s eyebrows rose in surprise. “The Lucky Lizard? Why’d you want to do that?”
“Because all the men from both mines who are on strike are coming in to town tonight for a meeting with you and Munro. We’re going to settle this without a war breaking out.”
“I’d be glad to settle things with the fellas who work for me,” Tip said, “if they’ll just listen to reason.”
“I think they will, once they realize they’ve been duped. The Fowler brothers are still working for Munro and Hammersmith. They caused that cave-in to stir up trouble and get the strike started, so the Lucky Lizard would be shut down. The only problem was that Munro didn’t count on it spreading to his mine too.”
Diana asked, “Do you have any proof of that, Frank?”
“Nothing that would stand up in a court of law more than likely,” Frank replied with a shrug. “But I can prove somebody sabotaged the timbers in the mine and caused the cave-in. I’m betting that if Mike and Gib Fowler think they’re facing a hang rope because of what they did, they’ll be more than happy to testify that they were following orders from either Hammersmith or Munro.”
Tip nodded his bulldoglike head. “Maybe. Munro bein’ behind it all would explain why he raised his wages and cut back the hours his men are workin’ too. Those things were just temporary to make the Lucky Lizard look worse.”
“That’s my theory,” Frank agreed. “As soon as he put you out of business, things at the Alhambra would go back to being the way they were, if not worse.”
“That fella was playin’ a mighty deep game.”
“Yes, but he’s going to lose the final hand,” Frank said. He gestured toward the back room. “Dave Rogan’s the leader of the strike at the Alhambra. I told him about the tunnel that runs down here from the Lucky Lizard. All the men from both mines will be here after dark, coming through the tunnel so the militia won’t be able to stop them.”
“That fella Rogan’s an ornery varmint. Are you sure we can trust him?”
“He’s a hothead and a troublemaker, all right…but I think at the core he’s an honest man.”
Tip sighed. “Let’s hope you’re right.”
“And let’s hope everything can be settled without bloodshed,” Diana added.
“That’s the idea,” Frank said.
“But you don’t hold out much hope that it’ll happen, do you?” she asked.
“It never hurts to hope for the best,” Frank said.
And prepare for all hell to break loose, he added silently to himself.
Chapter 30
The militia arrived back in town a short time later. Colonel Starkwell dismounted and stalked into the hotel, no doubt to report to Hamish Munro about their lack of success at the Alhambra. From the boardwalk in front of the marshal’s office, Frank watched Starkwell go into the building, and thought that it was pretty clear who was really in charge of the militia. The governor must have made it plain to Starkwell that Munro was really calling the shots in Buckskin.
At least, Munro
Catamount Jack walked up and said with a worried frown, “I still ain’t found Clint. Where do you reckon he got off to?”
Frank shook his head. “I don’t know. I’d feel a little better if he was in town, though, in case trouble breaks out between the militia and those miners.” A short time earlier, before Jack left to take another turn around town in search of Clint Farnum, Frank had told the old-timer about the meeting he had set up for that evening.
Now Jack asked, “You gonna take a side in that fight if it happens?”
