"What I'm hopin' is that you don't spill the beans," was the sinister retort.
Seated on an upturned box, Sudden listened to the steady tramp of the sentinel outside, walking to and fro, for the night was chilly. His mind was concerned with one thought only--he must get away. The reckless attempt to open Mary Ducane's eyes had been of no avail; she had already spoken, and the location of the real mine could only be a matter of time.
He tested his bonds, and was thankful they were not the work of cattlemen. Sudden grinned in the darkness; manipulation and the possible loss of some skin would free his hands. The problem of leaving did not trouble him; his upbringing had made observation a habit, and on first seeing the shack he had noticed that two of the back logs were rotten. But he must wait until the camp was quiet. Half an hour passed and someone spoke outside;
"Don't be a fool, Fagan. My brother thinks I can persuade him. Open the door, and keep away from it, or ..." He heard the squat man's grumbling reply, and then came a blur of light as Lora Lesurge entered.
"You can leave the lantern," she said sharply.
When he had gone she turned to the prisoner. "Jim, this is your last chance. Unless you give in, Paul will keep his promise to the men--and they hate you. As I passed I heard the beasts discussing what they will do."
"Ain't tryin' to scare me, are yu?"
"No, but what possessed you to attack my brother like that?"
"I figured it was time someone told him the truth, an' I might not get another opportunity."
"It was madness," she said. "He'll never forgive you, unless
"No `unless' about it," Sudden broke in. "To back down now would be my finish, an' yu know it. If he sent yu ..."
"It was my idea. I feared it would be useless, but I had to see you," she replied. A note of passion crept into her voice. "I must save you. Promise you will take me away--we can trick or overcome that wretch out there, get the horses, and ride out of this dreadful country into the wide world--together." She stepped closer and the flickering flame of the lantern revealed her parted, pleading lips and eager eyes. The cowboy felt the fascination of her and fought it. Deliberately he evaded the issue.
"Speakin' o' hosses, I gotta thank yu for savin' Nigger," he said. "If things don't go just right with me, I'd admire for yu to have him." She caught her breath. "Yes, yes, but things must go right," she whispered. "I have my knife--the same one, Jim--and we'll slip off and--live happily ever after," she finished with a tremulous smile.
Was she in earnest? He believed that for the moment she might be. But neither her beauty nor her warmth awakened any response in his breast, and he was not the kind to save his life with a lie.
"It wouldn't work out thataway," he said gently. "I'm a wanderer without a home--gotta be--an' yo're not made for poverty."
"You are thinking of those men. I'll help you find them, and Jim, I don't care for money." Swiftly she put her arms round his neck and clung to him. "Boy, boy, I only want you," she murmured. "Even if I'm only to be your slave, your plaything ..." She stopped as she looked up into his set face.
"Yo're talkin' wild an' I know yu don't mean it," he said sternly. "If ever I care for a woman, I'll not ask that of her." She shrank away as though he had struck her. "You--don't --love me?" she asked, and her voice had lost its softness.
Sudden shook his head. "Yo're mighty beautiful, but .."
"You would rather lose your life than share it with me," she finished furiously. "Very well; die, and be damned, you fool." She almost ran from the shack and slammed the door. He heard her give a curt order to Fagan, who came in and inspected his bonds. Then silence. The cowboy breathed a sigh of relief.
"Wild Bill shorely gave me good advice," he muttered. "Wonder how much she was meanin'?" He smiled grimly. "Her husband won't find married life monotonous, I'm think-in'. Guess I'd better be going; Paul may decide there's no need to wait." He worked on the fastening round his wrists and presently slipped it off. Then he picked up the lantern--which had been left--and examined the back of his prison. At the moment when the crunching tread of Fagan's feet sounded farthest away, he drove his heel at what appeared to be a weak spot. The log splintered and broke, fortunately with no great noise, and another thrust produced a gap through which he could squeeze. Stooping low, he crawled along the side of the ravine, moving swiftly but soundlessly from one patch of shadow tothe next. He was stepping from behind a bush almost on the verge of the camp when a bulky figure butted into him. Instantly he had it by the throat, and the surprise of the attack brought the fellow down.
"A yelp from yu'Il be yore last," Sudden whispered fiercely, and drove the warning home by digging fingers of steel into his victim's windpipe. Finding there was no resistance, he relaxed his grip a little. "Yu can name yoreself," he said, "But --whisper." The half-throttled man was in poor shape to do more. "I'm Miller," he gasped. "Was comin' to--turn you loose. Got yore guns--in my belt." Sudden was not in a trustful mood. With one hand he searched for and found his weapons; not until then did he remove his knees from the prostrate miner's chest and allow him to get up. Husky rubbed his throbbing throat.
"You got one hell of a grip, Green," he said, and, realizing that some sort of an explanation was due, went on, "I don't like thisyer crowd--never did, an' when you told of Hank's little game it finished me--I lost a good pal that way. So I figured I'd help you slide out an' go along, if you'll have me."
"Shorely," Sudden replied. "Sorry I rough-housed yu but I couldn't take a risk. Any idea where my hoss is?"
"Clear o' camp with mine," Miller told him. "I tried to saddle both of 'em, but your'n nearly took the head off'n my shoulders. He's a beauty though. I don't savvy horses much, but I'd sooner trust a good 'un than most o' the men I've met, an' when Lesurge ordered him to be shot, I got his measure." If Husky meant to ingratiate himself with the cowboy he could have chosen no better way, but he was sincere, and Sudden--a competent judge of men despite his youth--knew it. The miner's creed was a simple one; if he believed a man deserved to die he would kill without compunction, but he would not lie, steal, or betray a friend.
Through the velvet blackness of the night they made their way to where the horses were picketed. Nigger greeted his master with a low whinny of pleasure, and a few moments later they were lost in the gloom of the brush. Husky asked a question.
"I've got friends handy," was the answer.
"I'm durn glad to hear it," the miner said. "I clean forgot 'bout grub. Gosh, I'd like to see them fellers's faces in the mornin'."
CHAPTER XXI
When Lora left the shack she was frantic with the rage and shame of a slighted woman, but by the time she reached the camp her virulent passion had passed, leaving only a dull despair. Paul was sitting alone by the fire. He waited for her to speak.
"That man is made of chilled steel," she said.
"The coldest steel will yield to sufficient heat," was his comment.
"How wonderful," she sneered. "I threw my arms round his neck and offered him life and my love. He--refused." Paul glared at her. "You did--that?" he cried.
"Certainly. You see to what lengths I go in your service."
"Are you sure it was on my account?"
"At one moment I was not," she confessed coolly. "But now I am--quite sure."
"Since he won't toe the line, he must die. When people cease to be of use to me, I get rid of them."
"Is that a hint?" she asked caustically.
"Possibly," he snapped. "Don't overplay your hand, Lora."
"Because if it is, I'd better prove I can still be useful," she went on. "Silencing Green won't help you; it would be more to the purpose if he led you to the mine." His gesture of impatience amused her. "Every prisoner dreams of escape. Where would Green go if he got away? To the mine, of course, where Mason--who would not come with us, though they are inseparable--is doubtless awaiting him." Paul's eyes gleamed. "By God, you're right; let him go and set hounds on his trail. I might have thought of that."