"yu'll do," he said. "If ever J want a herd o' real classy liars I'll come to Texas."
They saw nothing of Rogue. He had, the foreman said, ridden off the previous afternoon and had not re-appeared. The news brought a frown to the rancher's face ; he still distrusted the outlaw.
When the party returned to town, Sandy--at Sudden's suggestion--went with them. Eden was to receive payment for his cattle at once, and had announced his intention of taking charge of the money himself. Banks were few and far between in Texas and he had little faith in such institutions. So he tucked the big roll of bills into an inside pocket and tapped the butt of his gun meaningly.
"Any fella who tries to lift those off'n me will shorely get a shock," he boasted.
From this resolution he could not be turned, even by his daughter, who was obviously apprehensive of the risk he was running.
In the back room of a Mexican dive at the other end of the town, Navajo, with contemptuous amusement on his thin lips, listened to the stumbling excuses of the man before him.
"Can't think what came over me, but I couldn't have raised my gun for a million dollars," Baudry said. "Never felt like it before ; I must have been sick."
"yu shore looked it, but for a sick man yu ran almighty well," the half-breed sneered.
The gambler's eyes grew malevolent. "I'm not sick now, Navajo," he warned.
"Glad to know it," was the reply. "yu'll be better able to bear the shock o' hearin' that Eden has sold his herd an' got the mazuma. To put it plain, we're beat"
If he meant to anger his companion he did not succeed ; Baudry was regaining his habitual veneer of imperturbability.
"Quite a slice of that money is mine," he said, "and, do you know, I believe the old fool would pay up."
"Better ask him, but mind Mister Sudden ain't around or yu'll be meetin' Dutt mighty soon."
"So it was Davy?" the gambler mused. "I suspected it. Well, he was always fond of me. How many would do a thing like that for you, Navajo?"
"Not one, even if I asked," the half-breed replied, with an incredulous laugh ; he was not deceived. "I do my own dirty work."
"But you got Lasker to shoot his employer," came the reminder.
"I offered him a price--same as yu did me," Navajo said sullenly.
Baudry's brows went up. "you are in error, my friend," he pointed out. "I made a bet with you--quite a different thing, and you look like losing it. I shall deduct the amount from your share of the herd-money."
The outlaw straightened up. "yu are goin' to get it?"
"What else did you think?" the gambler retorted. "yes, I am going to get it--the money, the ranch, the girl, trample Eden in the dirt, and kill that damned gunman."
The mask was off now, showing a face white with rage,hatred in the eyes, and the thick lips drawn back in a feral snarl.
"Why not run the herd. off too, while yo're about it?" Navajo asked mockingly.
"Too risky--we'd have the whole damn place on our tails," snapped the other. "Besides, it wouldn't hurt Eden--he's been paid--and it's his scalp I'm after. If you don't care to come in, I can swing it alone."
"Oh yeah," the half-breed gibed. "yu'll do some swingin' alone if yu show yore face in town ; that frame-up ain't made yu one bit popular. Well, let's hear yore plan."
For some time Baudry talked earnestly, and when he had finished, sat back and looked triumphantly at his confederate.
Navajo nodded. "yu can count me in," he said shortly.
His malignant gaze followed the gambler as he went out. "yellow-bellied coyote," he muttered. "yu'd sell yore own sister for ten cents, an' right now yo're figurin' to double-cross me. That's a game more'n one can play at, an' when I pull a gun runnin' won't save yu."
Then he too left the place, slinking along behind the buildings until he reached his destination.
Chapter XXVI
SOON after dark that same evening, a Mexican lad slid into the Palace Saloon and made his way to where Eden and Sandy were watching a game of poker in which Karson was taking part. Twitching the rancher's sleeve, the boy whispered:
"Meestair Green wantin' yu, pronto--outside."
Without waiting for an answer he darted away. Telling his friend he would be back, Eden started for the door, and Sandy stepped after.
"No need to drag yu away, boy," the cattleman said.
"I'm comin'," Sandy replied. "Jim's word was to stick to yu like yore shadow."
"Shucks, I've had too much nussin' lately," Eden laughed, and as he stepped into the street and looked round, "Where in blazes is he?"
A blurred shape detached itself from the gloom, an arm snapped viciously down and the rancher dropped like a poleaxed steer. Sandy grabbed at his gun, but before he could get it out three men sprang upon him. Uttering a lusty yell for help, he flung his fists right and left, and had the satisfaction of hearing a grunt of pain follow each blow. His shout brought other citizens and these hurled themselves enthusiastically into the battle. Since they knew neither the cause nor the combatants, they were soon fighting each other and were of no use to those they had come to assist.
Standing astride his employer's body, Sandy struggled on, wrenching himself free from clutching hands and driving his fists vengefully into indistinct faces. But it could not last. From behind came a bitter oath in a voice he remembered, and ere he could turn, a sweeping blow with the barrel of a pistol sent him down.
It was at this moment that Sudden, who--deeming the rancher safe with the other two--had gone to comb the town in search of Rogue or Navajo, heard that there was trouble at the Palace and came to investigate. He found an excited group outside, many bearing marks of the conflict, gathered about two senseless men.
"What happened?" he asked a bystander, who was wiping blood from his cheek.
"Durned if I know," was the reply. "There was a shindy, so I sat in--never could keep out'n a scrap, nohow. Then three-four fellas ran away an' I found I was fightin' a friend. Do yu know them hombres?"
The light of a match confirmed the cowboy's fears. "Hell, yes, one of 'em is my boss," he said, and made a hurried examination. "They ain't cashed, anyways."
Karson was found and the injured men carried to the hotel. "This is a bad business, Green," the cattle-buyer said. "I s'pose they got the money?"
"Reckon so--it's gone."
"He was askin' for it ; yu can't keep anythin' quiet in this place. It was known he'd sold his herd an' these scallywags took the chance he'd have a fat wallet. I oughta stayed with him, but poker's a fair curse with me."
Sudden did not undeceive him. His own mind was full of conflicting conjectures. Baudry, Navajo, or even Rogue might have planned this latest development, and that it was one ormore of them he was convinced. Bitterly he reproached himself for allowing the gambler to escape.
At the hotel they found Aunt Judy in a state bordering on frenzy: Carol was missing. When she saw the two unconscious men, her hands went up in the air and she called down a curse on Abilene which should have wiped the town off the face of the earth. Having acquitted herself like a man in this direction, she promptly became a woman again.
"Lemme look at him." She scrutinized the rancher's injury. "Huh! Must 'a' bin a stranger ; nobody as knowed him would try to kill Sam Eden by hittin him on the head."
She bathed and bandaged the hurts and was just through with Sandy when he sat up and asked weakly:
"Where's Jim?"
"Dunno," Judy snapped. "Gone to get his head busted, I reckon. 'Pears to be the on'y use yu men got for 'em."
The sarcasm was excusable, but applied to Sudden, unjust. He unearthed a grubby urchin who ran errands and did chores at the hotel, and learned that a lady had called to see Miss Eden about two hours earlier and that they had gone out together. Asked if he knew the visitor, the boy hesitated.