stealin' beef.'
'Good enough,' the foreman snarled, and turned his mean eves on the marshal. 'Yu asked just now if I was doin' this under orders? Well, I was--orders from my boss, that low-down sneak standin' there, an' I can tell you somethin' else about him too--'
'Yu lyin', double-crossin' cattle-thief!'
With the hissed words the half-breed's right hand darted to Andy's belt, there was a roar and a flash, and Jevons rocked on his feet, sagged at the knees, dropped in. a twisted heap. Twice his fingers clutched convulsively at the sand, the body writhed, and then was still. A moment of awed silence followed, and then Reriton spoke angrily:
'Yu hadn't oughta done that, Raven. Looks like yu was scared o' what he was goin' to say.'
The saloon-keeper snapped round. 'Who the hell are yu givin' orders to?' he shouted. 'I'll do as I please, an' I--'
'Hand that gun back, pronto,' the marshal cut in, and there was something in the ice-cold, level tones which brought the killer out of his frenzy. He gave Andy the weapon, and when he faced the marshal again all outward traces of his fury had disappeared.
'Sorry, boys,' he apologized, 'but I done a lot for that fella'--he pointed a thumb at the dead man--'an' to find him stealin' cattle from my friends an' trying to drag me into the dirty deal shore got me goin'. I'm admittin' I was wrong--oughta let him spit out his lies, I s'pose, but I lost my wool.'
The explanation deceived no one, but had to be accepted. The marshal soon made his arrangements. Renton and his two men were to take their cattle away and the others would return to town.
'What about that coyote?' asked the Double S foreman, with a nod at Leeson.
'He goes with me,' Green decided.
'As well for him,' the cowman said grimly, and then: 'I'm combin' yore ranch, Raven; I ain't satisfied this bunch is all yu've had.'
The owner of the 88 shot an ugly look at him. 'If yu can find any more, take 'em,' he said evenly.
On the return journey to Lawless the saloon-keeper led the way, moody and alone; Pete and the prisoner-- tied to his horse--followed; the marshal and Bordene brought up the rear. They had not gone far when the deputy, to whom a prolonged silence was purgatory, shot a sly glance at the ruffian riding beside him.
'Brace up, ol'-timer,' he said. 'Things could be wuss, yu know.'
The prisoner looked at him hatefully. 'Feelin' funny, huh? Well, I ain't,' he growled. 'Stretchin' a fella for doin' what his foreman told him to do don't seem to me noways fair.'
'Shucks! yu ain't hanged yet,' Pete rejoined. 'Come clean, an' I'm bettin' the marshal won't be hard on yu. He ain't a bad sort, an' he knows they was on'y usin' yu.'
For an instant the man's cunning little eyes flashed and then, 'Dunno nothin' about it,' he said woodenly.
Not until they reached town did Raven open his mouth, and then, as he got stiffly down in front of the Red Ace, he said: 'Better keep this quiet for a bit--we don't want no necktie party. See yu later, marshal.'
Late that evening the marshal and his deputy were in the Red Ace when the proprietor came up and greeted them with dry geniality.
'Well, Green, yu got any fresh information outa that cur Leeson?' he asked.
'No, he's a clam, that fella,' Green replied. 'Mebbe he'll open up when the noose is round his neck.'
'A rope's a real persuader,' the other agreed. 'Hope you have him safe; he's got friends in town.'
'He's tied, an' I got all the keys in my pocket,' the marshal told him.
'Oughta be good enough,' Raven returned, and passed on.
Green's glance followed him speculatively. 'Pete, I'm bettin' we've lost our prisoner,' he murmured. 'He was laughin' at us.'
And so it proved. When they reached their quarters it was to find every door locked as they had left it, but the occupant of the cell had vanished.
'Duplicate keys, an' o' course he'd have 'ern,' the marshal ruefully decided. 'Oughta guessed that, Pete; my head must be solid bone, right through. He's a clever devil. Gets shut of a man who might yap an' puts me in wrong with the town, damn him.'
CHAPTER XXII
The news of the rustling--which could not be concealed for long--with the death of Jevons and the subsequent escape of his companion in the crime, soon faded out in favour of a bigger sensation. The marshal was the first to hear of this, and from the man who produced it. Two days after the disappearance of Leeson he met the half-breed emerging from the bank.
'Just the fella I wanted to see,' Raven began. 'No, I ain't seen Potter, but the doc. tell me that he's still unconscious an' there can't be much hope of his comin' round. It's about him I'm goin' to talk to yu.'
Once more the marshal found himself seated in the little room adjoining the bar. Raven pushed forward a box of cigars, but the visitor preferred to roll himself a cigarette, watching his host the while. The saloon-keeper was too friendly; he appeared to be very pleased with himself, and there was a glint of sneering satisfaction in his foxy eyes.
'Yu know, o' course, marshal, that the bank is cleaned complete--there won't be a peso for anybody?' he began. 'It comes mighty near bein' a knockout blow for the town; a good few citizens have lost all their savin's an' some o' the traders'll find it hard to carry on. Ain't that so?'
'Shore is.'
'Well, I got a big interest in Lawless an' I aim to have a bigger one, so it don't suit me that the better class o' citizen--the savin', workin' kind--should go broke. Likewise, there's another thing: when Potter first come here he hadn't much capital. I took a shine to the fella, an' reckonin' a bank was wanted, I backed him. It was his lay-out, yu understand--I didn't have no share, but I lent him money. Oh, I got it back--he's a square shooter, is Potter--an' all I stand to lose is what I had there when the robbery took place. So I feel sort responsible, yu savvy?'
The visitor nodded, wondering where all this was leading to.
'That bein' so, I'm goin' to take over the bank, makin' good the losses outa my own pocket. If Potter gets well, I'll hand his business back to him in good shape, an' he can repay me when he's able; if he don't recover, I go on runnin' it. What yu think o' the idea?'
If the saloon-keeper had hoped to surprise the marshal he certainly succeeded; for a moment Green stared at him in frank amazement; somehow, the picture of Seth Raven as a philanthropist would not materialize.
'It's certainly a plenty generous proposition,' he said at last. 'It shore oughta make yu popular.'
There was a sardonic touch in the concluding words, and he watched Raven narrowly as he spoke; but the other man was playing his cards close and gave no sign, though inwardly he cursed the marshal for having immediately hit the mark. That individual tried another roving shot.
'Reckon it'll be good news for Andy Bordene.'
Again it failed to produce any outward effect; the half-breed's sallow face was devoid of expression as he replied:
'Whatever the books show that the bank owes will be met. I've got Potter's clerk goin' through 'em now. It'll cost a goodish bit, an' there'll be some who'll say I'm on'y lendin' the money an' it'll come back via the Red Ace.'
When the marshal returned to his office he found Bordene smoking and chatting with Barsay. The latter, quick to note the storm-signals in his, friend's face, promptly asked a question:
'What yu got yore ears set back for? The Vulture been tryin' to bulldoze yu?'
The marshal grinned widely. 'That's no way to speak to yore boss, an' it shows a want o' proper respect for the town's biggest benefactor,' he replied.
'How long has Raven been a benefactor?' Andy enquired.
The marshal told them of the saloon-keeper's intentions and the eyes of both men bulged.
'If he does that I'll have to alter some o' my ideas about Seth,' Andy commented, a visible relief in his tone. 'Durned if I can see why he's doin' it though.'
'It's plain enough,' the marshal pointed out. 'Makes him solid with the town; nobody's goin' to accuse him o' bein' in on that rustlin' after this. Don't vu be glad too soon, Andy; I've a hunch there's a string tied to it far as yo're concerned.'
