Who Wants to Live Forever?

Hunter's car moved very slowly down the street toward the battle zone. Some men were in the rear pushing it. Hal and Ranny fired at their legs. It stopped. The head of Cash Polk appeared cautiously at a corner of the intersection.

'Come on back, Brick,' he called. 'Bill Nuney has done shot Chad. He's in the window of that hotel, and soon as he can see you he'll cut loose.'

Brick's two assistants ran back to the main street. Brick followed, pouring out a stream of profanity.

'We've gotta light out!' Polk cried shrilly. 'Folks are up around the pool hall with guns. Gather the boys, Ed. And tell them to get a move on them before we're cut off.'

Hal heard the sound of running and shouting men, the snort of a car, and presently the roar of it racing down the street. He called up to Nuney, 'Meet you at the corner.' Arnold and he walked back to the main street, where they were presently joined by Nuney and Vallejo.

The lank cowpuncher laughed. 'This sure seems to be our night for adventure. No use me going over to the Solomon Islands or New Guinea with the Marines. I can get all the gun-fighting I want right here.'

'How did you happen to be up in that hotel so pat?' Hal asked.

'When we heard the first shooting, we knew they were after you,' Nuney explained. 'We hung around and heard someone say you were in that lot. So we walked into the rooming house, up two flights of stairs, and into an empty room overlooking yore hiding place.'

'What made you take a hand in the fight?' Arnold asked. He was puzzled. Certainly these rustlers, whom he had been trying to hound into prison, could have no love for them.

'I'm doggoned if I know.' Nuney scratched his curly poll to find an answer. 'Except that I don't hold with murder. These birds had kinda dragged me and Carlos into one, and we sort of figured it was up to us to stop their game if we could, seeing that we knew it might be our turn next.' His boyish face showed for a moment lines of worry. 'This puts me in a jam. I'm joining up with the Marines next week. Where do I get off now? If there is a charge of rustling hanging over me, they won't take me in, I reckon.'

Arnold thought that could be got around. It was not likely the case against the rustlers would come to a head before he was inducted. After he was in the service, they could probably get the charge against him dropped on account of the help he had given them.

Some men were coming down the street. One of them called to them, 'Any of you boys hurt?'

'None of us, Mr. Hunter,' Arnold answered. 'One of the rustlers got shot in the leg by one of our friends.'

'You had friends?' the banker asked.

'A couple of men from the Soledad Valley jumped in to help us.' Arnold introduced Nuney and Vallejo. 'Without them we would have been goners.'

Hunter explained his presence. 'My daughter told me there was no gas in the car and that worried me. When I heard shooting, I called up the police and some friends. We armed and met at the hotel.'

'That was what scared the rustlers off,' Hal said. 'They had to get out without being identified.'

'Well, all's well that ends well,' the banker said tritely. 'I'm glad the Wild West Show is over without casualties.'

'If you don't count Chad's punctured leg, senor,' Carlos amended, with a flash of white teeth shown in a wide smile.

Hal admitted that he was a good deal relieved himself. There had been a few minutes, he suggested, when even Lloyd's would not have quoted an insurance rate on him and Arnold.

'Well, it's all over now,' one of the town policemen said cheerfully.

The eyes of Arnold and Stevens met. The officer's assurance would have been a comforting one if they could have believed it.

CHAPTER 31

Sheriff Elbert Rides into the Hills

When confronted with the evidence that he had been buying stolen stock, Jubal L. Gibson looked surprised and shocked. At once he passed the buck to Tick Black, who had represented the alleged owners of the beef stuff. He showed his books, and as Arnold had guessed there was no appearance of crooked dealing visible. The price that showed on them was a fair one. Before purchasing the shipments Gibson had satisfied himself that the brands were recorded at the State House. Edward Mullins owned the Circle X and Brick Fenwick the O B in a Box. Black had shown him bills of sale from both of these men. Why should he suspect any chicanery from a reputable citizen like Mr. Black?

Arnold made no comment on this explanation. He said bluntly, 'We want two or three of the hides carrying the Mullins brand.'

Gibson was very sorry, but all of them had been sent to the tannery.

'Give us an order on the tannery for them,' Arnold continued. 'And don't telephone to the manager before we get there.'

The meat packer was hurt that Mr. Arnold could think him capable of doing such a thing. Of course he would cooperate with them in every way possible.

The hides obtained at the tannery showed plainly that the original brands had been altered at a later period. This had been done skillfully enough to pass a casual inspection, but under the microscope the additions stood out clearly.

Arnold felt that he had evidence enough to warrant an arrest. Both Nuney and Vallejo flatly declined to support the theft charges against their former associates, but Hal was of opinion that if they could capture Mullins and put pressure on him he would turn state's witness.

With very little hope of success, Sheriff Elbert led a posse into the hills to arrest half a dozen of the rustlers known to be Black's men. He knew that, before he could get within miles of the men wanted, outposts would carry back to them word to hide themselves in the Rabbit Ear Gorge country. What he anticipated came to pass. When he rode up to the Double B ranch, he found the owner of it sitting on the porch poring over the Fair Play Banner.

Tick Black inspected the posse with a sly wintry smile. There were six of them. He recognized Tom Wall, Arnold, and Casey of the Seven Up and Down.

'Nice of my old friends to come up on my birthday to wish me happy returns,' he said, not disguising the sarcasm. 'But how come my dear pal Stevens isn't with you? Don't tell me he is minding his own business for a change.'

'I'm looking for some of your neighbors, Tick,' the sheriff told him. 'Fenwick, Polk, Frawley, Mullins, and two men called Chad and Doc, whose last names I don't know.'

'Haven't seen hair or hide of any of them for a week. Want 'em to serve on a jury, Elbert?'

'Not exactly. I saw a couple of lads at the corral as we arrived. Mind giving them a call, Tick?'

'Anything to oblige,' snickered Black. He raised his voice to a shout. 'Sam — Rusty. Where you boys at?'

A youngster came to the door of the stable and answered. 'What you want, Tick?'

'We got visitors who would like to see you.'

Two eighteen-year-old boys in levis and big Stetsons crossed the yard to the house.

'This is Sheriff Elbert, boys,' explained their employer. 'He's taking a pasear through the hills with these other gentlemen. Maybe they are working on the census. If the sheriff wants to know whether yore pappies chewed tobacco you tell him.'

The sheriff asked them their names. Sam Hitchcock and Rusty Peters, they told him.

Elbert turned to his posse. 'Any of you know these boys?'

One of the deputies said he had seen them at Fair Play hanging around a pool hall, but he had never met the lads.

When the sheriff quizzed the Double B men about Fenwick, Polk, and the others wanted, no information could be got from them. They could not remember exactly when they had last seen any of those for whom the officer had warrants.

'Why come looking for them here?' Black asked. 'They don't live on this ranch.'

'I thought you might know where they are, since you are their sponsor.'

'What d'you mean by that?' the ranchman snapped.