gizzard.'
'Good. yu an' me haven't been too friendly--I expect we got off on the wrong foot--but I'm beginnin' to like yu a lot better. Now, get ready for a jar: that masked fella in Hell City is not Jefferson Keith.'
The foreman gazed at him, eyes and mouth wide open, and exploded in a guffaw. 'Yu ain't expectin' I'll swaller that, are yu? Me, what's knowed the boy sence he was knee-high, an' made him the good cattleman he is. I wouldn't reckernize him, huh? A fine joke that.'
'Is it?' the puncher asked. 'Well, laugh this one off, too: the Colonel's hurt was no accident, he was deliberately shot by the man yu claim is Jeff Keith.'
'But Jansen said--'
'What he was told to say; the 0I' Man would not have it knowed.'
The derision died out of the foreman's face. 'Jeff would never do that,' he muttered perplexedly.
'He was miles distant from Dugout when it happened.'
'Where is Jeff now?'
'I ain't sayin'--yet,' was the reply. 'But he ain't in Hell City, nor coverin' up his face. I came over because I guessed yu were on the wrong trail. How many Double K men will line up to smoke out that thieves' nest?'
'If what yu say is true, all of us. That is--'
'Except Turvey.'
Lagley looked uncomfortable. 'It's a fact he's different,' he confessed. 'Kind o' new, bin here less'n twelve months.'
'Wasn't it Turvey who suggested yu should get in with Satan?' Sudden asked, and when the other assented, 'I found out that he was in Hell City afore he came to yu.'
Lagley swore forcibly. 'He gits his time in the mornin'.'
'No, that will tell them too much; we gotta lie low till we're ready to strike. Don't whisper a word to anyone 'cept Frosty --he's wise.'
'I'll be dumb as the dead,' the foreman promised, and awkwardly, 'Green, I've treated yu mean, that bill 'bout yu, an' the frame-up, but honest, I thought I was helpin' Jeff. That devil had his tricks o' speakin', movin', an' remembered happenin's when he was a li'l lad that on'y Jeff could 'a' knowed. Anyways, I'm sayin' to yu that I'm sorry, an'--'
'Forget it, Steve, he fooled us all, even Miss Joan,' the puncher said. 'Now I'll fade, in case any o' the boys drift in; it won't do for them to see yu shakin' han's with me.'
The foreman did not comprehend at once, but then he saw the proffered fist and took it eagerly. 'Yo're a good fella, Green,' he said. 'Wish I'd found it out earlier.'
He waited until the visitor had disappeared in the dusk and then sat down to digest the astounding news he had received. Looking back, he could see nothing which might have raised real doubt. The perpetual mask was typical of one prone to extremes, and the harsh, insulting manner merely an accentuation of the father's caustic habit. One thing he had never been able to explain; why the regard he felt for the boy he taught to ride and throw a rope should be, akin to fear in the presence of the man.
'Steve Lagley, if any hurt happens to that gal yu'll deserve to be roasted at a slow fire,' was his final decision.
Darkness came and brought riders but no news. The last to arrive was Frosty, and they heard the drum of the pounding hooves long before he could be seen.
'Sounds like he's got her,' the foreman said hopefully. 'There's on'y one hoss an' it wouldn't be carryin' double at that pace,' Lazy objected.
He was right, for when the white-headed cowboy shot out of the gloom and reined in, sending the gravel flying, it was seen that he was alone. Leaping from the saddle, he thrust a paper at Lagley.
'Found it in Coyote Canyon,' he said. 'As I read the sign, she was waitin' there an' five riders grabbed an' took her north.'
They perused it in turn. Only Turvey had anything to say.
'Skittles ! we've had our trouble for nothin'. Her lover is gittin' impatient, an' when a woman has to choose between an old man an' a young 'un, it's an easy guess. I'll bet she went willin'.'
'Yo're a dirty-minded liar,' Frosty told him. 'It was plain enough she tried to git away.'
'Yu an' yore sign--' Turvey began, but the foreman told him sharply to shut up. 'We can't do nothin' more tonight,' he added. 'Git yore grub an' hit the hay. Frosty, I wanta speak with yu.'
The two men entered the foreman's hut. Lagley came to the point at once. 'I've had a pow-wow with Green, an' he shore told me plenty. It seems I've bin a fool--an' worse. Ye see, believin' like the rest, that young Jeff was behind that red mask, I was sort o' backin' his game, but mebbe yu knew this?''No, I had my own ideas, but Jim never let on.'
'An' he knew,' Lagley said. 'He's one white man. If yu know where to find him, take this paper along in the mornin'. What else can we do?'
'Carry on as usual till Jim gives the word--it won't be long a-comin'--after this.' He tapped the paper, and turned to go.
'He shook han's with me when he went,' Steve said.
Frosty understood. In silence their hands met in a grip which wiped out past misunderstandings. Neither of them saw a furtive shadow, which had been crouching at the rear of the shack, slink swiftly in the direction of the bunkhouse.
Almost before the sun had made its appearance, Frosty was pounding on the Twin Diamond ranch-house door. The owner opened it himself.
'Yu again?' he greeted. 'Why'n hell don't yu come an' live here? Yu wouldn't have to knock the house down to get in.''I'm allus forgettin' yore scrap-heap's feeble constitution,' Frosty grinned. 'I got news.'
'If yu hadn't I'd do somethin' to yu,' was the dry reply. 'I shore thought them rapscallions from Hell City was makin' a massed attack. Awright, fellas, it's on'y that quiet, well-behaved young gent frdm the Double K.' This as Sudden and Jeff hurried in.
'What's the, trouble?' the puncher asked.
'Yu were right, Jim, he's got her,' the cowboy replied. One by one, they read the missive, Keith last, with shaking fingers and face the colour of chalk.
'The swine can even imitate my writing,' he cried. 'By Christmas, if he makes her shed only one tear I'll have his heart's blood. What can we do, Jim?'
Sudden shook his head. 'We can't move--yet; we're not strong enough.'
But to leave her in the power of that--devil ! if no one else will go--'
'Listen,' Sudden said sternly. 'Here's how I figure it. The shootin' at Dugout was done to pull yu in. The Colonel's care for his name trumped that trick, so now he's baitin' the trap with the girl. An' yu want to rush into it. She'll be safe. Remember, he believes that, to her, he is still Jeff Keith, an' I'll bet she won't let him know different.'
'That's the straight of it, boy,' the rancher agreed. 'Yo're the king-pin; if he gets yu again, we're done.'
Keith threw up his hands, a gesture of despair. 'It's plain hell, but you're right. I'll stay put,' he promised. 'Sorry I flew off the handle, Jim.'
'I ain't blamin' yu--felt like it myself. Tough on yu to be tied here, but it's gotta be. Mart, can yu keep yore outfit within easy reach o' the ranch-house to-day?'
'Yu bet I will.'
'Good. We have to move fast now. I'm ridin' to Red Rock this mornin' to see Dealtry, an' I'll come back by Dugout. If they'll both chip in, we'll tackle Hell City--tomorrow.'
'That's the talk, Jim,' Merry approved.
'What yu want I should do?' Frosty enquired.
The puncher's grim face relaxed. 'Keep that big mouth o' yourn shut--all of it,' he replied, and was gone before the insulted one could think of a fitting retort.
Chapter XXIV
The sheriff of Red Rock smiled as he recognized the young man he had catalogued in his memory as 'Mart Merry's visitor.'
