'If you'd put that sticker in his dirty neck it would 'a' saved a lot o' trouble,' was Nippert's comment.
'I know it, but killin' skunks is a stinkin' job,' the marshal replied. 'I reckon he'll drift.'
Chapter V
THE marshal was wrong; the beaten man remained--having other cards to play. For a few days, however, he deemed it wise to stay in his shack, nursing his hurts and what--to those who came to see him--he descrihed as grievances.
'The game ain't finished yet,' he told them darkly. 'I'm goin' to make some o' the smarties in thisyer burg look an' feel middlin' sick. you wait--it won't be long. You can leave that to me; all I want is for you to back my play.' Late one evening, two riders arrived, and having put their horses in the pole corral behind the eating-house, went in by the back door. One was the awaited messenger, known as 'Dutch,' who assisted Mullins in the conduct of the business; his eyes widened when they rested on the damaged features of his employer.'Hoss throw you?' he asked.
'None o' yore damn' business,' Jake snapped. 'You've taken long enough; s'pose you got soused on the money I gave you.' Dutch grinned. 'Yo're gittin' value,' he replied, and waved a hand to his companion. 'This is Mister Javert, o' Pinetown.' Mullins studied the visitor : a medium-sized man, with a blank expressionless face, a mean mouth, and the well-tended hands of a professional gambler.
A bottle and glasses were produced, and when the contents had been generously sampled, the host looked up expectantly.
'I met Dutch on the way to Pinetown, learned his errand, an' saved him the trouble o' goin' on by comin' back with him,' Javert began. 'Is yore marshal a tall, well-built gent with blue eyes an' dark hair, who totes two guns an' rides a black branded J. G. ?'
'Describes him to a dot.'
'Then he's the fella l'm lookin' for.' This with deep satisfaction. 'Listen : I left Pinetown a piece ago as one of a posse hot on this houn's heels. He'd shot a man in cold blood, givin' him no chance; if we'd catched him, he'd 'a' swung shore, but he diddled us. The rest went back, but I ain't so easy, an' I started searchin' the settlements around; that's how I run into Dutch.'
'I guess we got him,' Jake said. 'An' some folks about here hey a jolt comin'.' On the following morning, the proprietor of the Red Light, surveying the town from the vantage-point of his doorway, observed a considerable body of the inhabitants apparently making for his establishment. This, in itself, was not alarming, but when he noted that the gathering was headed by Mullins, and included the scum of the community, it was a relief to see that reputable citizens like Gowdy, Rapper, and the banker, Morley, were among them. Nevertheless, as a matter of precaution, he stepped inside and made sure that his gun was in working order. When they entered he was behind the bar, and his affectation of surprise appeared genuine.
'This place is lookin' up,' was his genial greeting. 'Wakin' up, you mean,' Mullins corrected. 'Where's that marshal?'
'In his office, I expect,' Nippers replied, adding slyly, 'You know the way--better go get him.'
'We'll do that awright,' was the retort. 'When you app'inted him you didn't know he was wanted for murder, huh?'
'I don't know it now.'
'I'm tellin' you.'
'An' I still don't know it.'
'Bluffin' won't buy you nothin', Nippen,' Jake said. 'Here's the fella can put you wise, Mister Javert, o' Pine- town.' Without waiting for any further invitation, the stranger stepped forward and told his story, concluding modestly, 'O' course, I ain't sayin' it is the same man, but the description goes mighty close.' As he finished, Sloppy slid unnoticed from the saloon and hurried to the marshal's quarters. 'Climb yore bronc an' beat it, Jim,' he cried. 'At the Red Light they're shapin' up to hang you.' Sudden regarded him amusedly. 'Thought yu'd quit redeye,' he replied.
'I ain't drunk nor loco,' the little man protested, and blurted his news. The marshal's face did not change, but he rose and put on his hat. 'Will I get Nigger?' Sloppy asked eagerly.
'I'm thankin' yu, but I figure I can walk to the saloon,' was the answer. 'Runnin' away from trouble is poor policy, ol'-timer; I did it afore, an' I was wrong.' His arrival at the Red Light stilled every tongue, and the crowd fell apart to allow him to pass. He nodded to Nippert. 'yu 'pear to be right busy, Ned,' he said coolly.
'Thanks to you,' was the reply. 'Jim, d'you know this fella?' Sudden surveyed the newcomer indifferently. 'Yeah, some months back he obliged me by makin' it clear I was not one of his friends.'
'He claims you are James Green, late marshal o' Pine-town, that you shot down a man you had no quarrel with, an' left with a posse chasin' you.'
'Put thataway I gotta allow it sounds pretty bad,' Sudden admitted. 'This is what happened.' He told of the message, his errand, and the shots from the dark, his grim gaze on his accuser. 'I fired back at the flashes, an' yu 'pear to have been lucky, Javert; when I last saw yu, both yore ears were in good shape.' The man scowled; the lobe of his left ear had been torn away and the wound was newly-healed. 'Lyin' won't save yore neck,' he said.
'An' all these folk can't save yore life if I decide to take it,' the marshal reminded sternly, and went on to explain how, expecting a third assailant, he had slain his friend. 'I figure he had a message too, an' was comin' to help me. It was a frame-up; this fella an' the two rats who run with him meant to hive the pair of us. That's a debt I'm not forgettin', Javert.' The threatened man laughed. 'You'll have to pay in the next world, I guess; yo're mighty near through with this one,' he said, and looked round. 'Well, gents, what we waitin' for? All we need is a rope an' a tree.' A low growl of assent from a portion of the audience greeted this sinister suggestion. The saloon-keeper rapped on the bar.
'Hold yore hosses, Mister. This town ain't in the habit o' allowin' strangers to tell it what to do. I'd like to know how you come to be in this?'
'I'm plumb fortunate,' Javert explained. 'When the posse gives up, I don't. Then I runs into Dutch, who tells me 'bout yore new marshal, an' I figure I've found my man.' Nippert pondered for a moment, and then, 'We've heard yore account, makin' it plain murder, an' his, claimin' it was an accident.' He looked at the accused. 'I reckon we'll have to throw you into the calaboose, Jim, till we git more evidence from Pinetown.' The proposal aroused a storm of protest, in which Jake's voice was prominent. 'What more do you want?' he shouted. 'He's owned up to the killin'.'
'He's owned up to shootin' in self-defence.'
'Which means you ain't believin' me,' Javert put in.
'We think yo're mebbe a mite biased,' the saloon-keeper said satirically. 'Speakin' personal, I wouldn't trust you for the price of a drink.' The other shrugged off the insult. 'Does it mean anythin' to you that this man is an outlaw knowed as `Sudden,' wanted in Texas for robbery an' murder?' he demanded.
This time he produced a real effect on his listeners. Many of them had heard the name, and the evil reputation which went with it. Remembering the shooting contest, they regarded with new interest this grave man who, for a short while, had dwelt amongst them, and who, on every occasion, had forborne to make use of his uncanny skill with a gun. He stood now, leaning lazily against the bar, unperturbed, while the issue of life and death hung in the balance. Nip-pert, though he could see that his further charge had brought a look of doubt into the faces of men he was depending upon, stood his ground.
'Not a thing,' he replied. 'Texas warrants don't run in Arizona'--he smiled a little--'if they did, some o' you wouldn't be here.' The sly dig produced a laugh. 'Texas sheriffs can do their own work, an' the same goes for Pine- town; if she wants to hang this fella, let her come an' fetch him.' This eminently fair proposition met with a mixed reception; Javert condemned it, briefly but luridly. The maker of it listened with twinkling eyes.
'O' course, there's another way out,' he said, 'You'--pointing to Javert--'have been searchin' for the marshal. Well, you can take him; we ain't helpin' nor stoppin' you.' The generous offer did not seem to appeal to the Pine-town representative--his expression was a mixture of consternation and disgust; bringing Sudden to justice single-handed was a task for which he had no stomach. Despite the gravity of the occasion, the saloon-keeper's friends were smiling at the adroit manner in which he had 'passed the buck' to this objectionable interloper. Jake came to the aid of his witness.
'Talk sense, Nippert,' he said. 'You know damn' well yo're askin' the impossible.'
'Jim 'pears to have learned you somethin',' was the biting reply. 'If man to man ain't good enough for this
