"Fly at it, Steve," he grinned. "I never did like advertisin' myself"
As he had surmised, the foreman turned into the canyon and proceeded along it at a leisurely pace. Sudden, at a safe distance in the rear, kept him in sight. At the end of the gully the ground sloped up to a little forest of dwarf pines and continued to rise until a scrub-covered level was reached. Here the cowboy lost his quarry but the whinny of a horse from a black blob of brush told him that Lagley could not be far away Leaving Nigger, he circled the spot and found a faint trail.
Stepping lightly as an Indian, he moved slowly forward until he reached a small cleared space at one side of which the foreman's pony was tied to a shrub. The dim light which filtered through the foliage overhead enabled him to see that Lagley was not there, and an opening in the ground suggested the reason. Knotted round a near-by tree was a lariat, the end of which vanished in the hole. Sudden peered down but could see nothing but a kind of cave, only barely visible. It was but a drop of a dozen feet, and the rope made descent simple.
He now found himself in a large, irregularly shaped room, - !lowed out of the living rock. The uneven floor was littered rubble and at one side the wall was pierced by a tunnel orifice through which came a diffused daylight. Searching around, he discovered another opening, with a rude ladder leading to a lower chamber. He went down, to find it similar in every respect to the one he had left, even to a second ladder. He was about to descend this when an indistinct mutter of voices warned him that it might not be wise. Instead, he crawled along the tunnel-like opening and peeped out. Below was a kind of street, with rock walls on both sides pitted with holes identical with the one he was using. On the ground level these were larger, and in some cases, had rough doors fitted to them. Even as he watched, the foreman emerged, crossed the street, and disappeared through one on the far side; he had the familiar red badge pinned on his breast.
Having seen enough, Sudden returned to where he had left his horse. This must be Hell City, and he had guessed Lagley's errand correctly; the stolen placard would shortly be in the possession of the chief of this outlaw community. Since he had brought it with that object, he was well content. The more so as he had lighted upon what seemed to be a private means of entering or leaving the place; no doubt :here was a man on guard below, but ... The puncher was not one to ford a river before he came to it.
The Double K foreman found the man he had come to see alone, save for the loutish attendant hovering in the background. The red mask made the stony eyes paler than ever; they always gave Lagley an uncomfortable feeling. The boy he used to know had eyes of the same colour, but they werealive, mirthful, unless he was angered. Lae bandit nodded negligently to a seat.
"What brings you?" he enquired.
"Yore business, o' course," the visitor replied. "Have a good look at that."
Satan unfolded the stolen placard and read it. "Well, are you suggesting I should send to Texas for him? Too much trouble, my friend, Besides, he'll drift in, sooner or later."
"Make it sooner," Lagley said. "He's here a'ready."
The other straightened in his seat. "And I was not told?" he cried. "By Christmas, I'll--"
"Hold yore hosses, Jeff; nobody knows but me. He calls hisself Green, an' he's ridin' for--us."
"That fellow?" Satan said coolly. "Well?"
"He's useful--look how he handled Scar's crew, an' it was him an' Homer busted up that brandin' play. The 01' Man is stuck on him, which is another reason for ropin' him in."
"Have you sounded him?"
"Kind of," Lagley replied. "He didn't jump at it--ain't the sort--but I figure yu could fix him."
"What's he done to you?"
Under the scrutiny of those staring eyes the foreman shifted uncomfortably; he had the feeling that his inmost thoughts were being dragged out.
"I got nothin' agin him," he protested.
"He may come to see me--if he has the nerve."
Lagley essayed a grin. "That'll fetch him, but he's gotta be handled with gloves--he ain't no common roughneck."
"I shall deal with him as I think fit," came the snub. "By the way, I want more three-year-olds; arrange that some are --available." He threw some bills on the table. "There's your pay; see that you continue to earn it."
The foreman picked up the money and would have given something for the courage to fling it in the face of the master who treated him so cavalierly, but self-interest and a desire to we both forbade it. Silver, with a smirk which uncovered his usks, showed him out, and then returned with his great shoulders shaking.
"What's amusing you, Silver?" the masked man asked. "They's all the same, Chief," rumbled the deep voice. 'Come in, steppin' high, with their heads up, an' slinks out ails tucked in. Never seen the fella could out-face you. Dunno how you do it."
The thin lips curved in a gratified smile. "The ability to rule is born in a man," Satan said. "I have the gift. Tomorrow, you shall see me tame this gunfighter."
But the morrow brought no Sudden to Hell City. The foreman delivered the message, not quite in the condescending form in which it had been given--"He'll be glad to meetcha," was how he put it--and Sudden had received it omewhat nonchalantly.
"I'll chew it over. Mebbe drop in one day."
"Don't leave it too long," Lagley warned. "He ain't the patient kind."
He got a look he could not put a meaning to. "I'm a bit short on patience myself," the puncher replied. "Also, I ain't kow-towin' to any road-agent who's afeard to show his face."
"Wait till yu see him; yu'll talk different."
"P'raps, but first he's gotta wait till he sees me," Sudden retorted. "I'll choose my own time."
So it came about that several days passed before the black horse carried him along the narrow causeway which wound through the foothills, and, rising with increasing steepness, led to the ponderous portal of Hell City. Approaching it, one could not help being struck by the natural strength of its position. Many centuries back, the place must have been a pass through the crest of a high plateau, but some mighty convulsion had torn away the cliff on the right, leaving a mereshell of rock with a precipitous face mounting abruptly from the valley. This shell formed one side of the bandit stronghold.
Pacing slowly along, Sudden's eyes were busy, but he did not halt until he reached the gate. It opened at once, to disclose a burly-looking ruffian, holding a rifle levelled from the hip. The visitor knew that his approach must have been observed; he had already decided upon his attitude.
"Are you Sudden?" the man asked.
"Folks have found me all that," was the reply.
"I've had word to let you pass, but yo're after yore time; the Chief don't like to be kept waitin'."
"Is that so? Well, I don't like it neither, an' yo're keepin' both of us waitin'," Sudden reminded, adding sharply, "I'll have to tell him...."
With a look of alarm, the custodian fell back, his bluster gone. "No call to do that, stranger."
His eyes followed the black as it stepped unhurriedly along the street; the rider appeared to have forgotten his haste. "A killer, shore enough," he muttered. "Had me covered, too, damn him." He slammed the gate and then chuckled. "The Chief'll take the starch out'n him, good an' plenty."
The puncher paced on until he reached the point where he had seen Lagley vanish, and then pulled up beside a group of three men, slouch-hatted, unshaven, heavily armed, who surveyed him with insolent hostility.
"Where's yore boss hang out?" he asked brusquely.
All three scowled, but one jerked a thumb over his shoulder. They watched him dismount and trail the reins, their greedy eyes on the horse. He spoke again.