"Gimme a skinnin' knife; I'll win me some scalps," another bragged.
"Scalps, hell! They'll be skallyhootin' to damnation afore they git within fifty yards o' the gates," he was told. And this seemed to be the general opinion.
To Joan Keith the journey, when she learned that Satan would not accompany them, proved such a relief that she did not ask why they were going; no place could be worse than the horrible haunt she was in. Even the presence of Silver alarmed her much less than it had her more sophisticated companion.
"The poor fellow can't help the way he was born," she said. "I had a dog once whose appearance scared everybody, and he was the most docile of animals."
Belle shrugged her shapely shoulders and retired behind a screen to dress for the ride. When she reappeared, Joan found herself staring at a young cowboy in high-heeled boots, chaps, woollen shirt with a bright kerchief knotted round the neck, Stetson, and gauntleted gloves.
"What do you think of it?" Belle laughed, turning this and that way to display herself.
Before Joan could reply, a familiar voice forestalled her: "Charming, Belle; you need only the mask to be my double."
"Let me try," she said saucily, holding out her hand.
"We've no time for play," he replied sharply. "The horses are waiting."
The scene outside was one of bustle and excitement, and the fact that every man was carrying a rifle, coupled with their own hurried departure, gave Joan a glimmering of the truth; her friends were coming to the rescue. Obeying their conductor's order, they went to his apartment. Belle's eyebrows rose when she saw the open trap-door.
"A private exit?" she laughed. "What a clever devil you are, Jeff. Come along, Miss Keith, we shall learn all his secrets."
They descended until they reached the cave where Keith had spent so many solitary months. Belle looked at the man archly.
"I wonder what love-bird occupied this comfortable cage?" she said. "you are full of surprises, Jeff."
"The best is yet to come," he returned curtly, and went to the opening which served as a window.
Joan absently opened one of the books on the table. The fly-leaf bore the inscription "Jefferson Keith" and she closed it quickly. At that moment, the Chief called them, and even Belle's self-assurance failed her when she saw the frail rope-ladder dangling aginst the face of the cliff.
"My God, Jeff, you're not expecting us to go down that, are you?" she exclaimed.
"No, I'm ordering you to," he replied forcefully. "It's safe enough--if you hold on."
Heights had no terrors for the range-bred girl. "I will go first," Joan offered.
The masked man divined that she would risk being dashed to fragments rather than remain alone with him; anger, and his natural instinct to inflict pain, brought a refusal.
"No, age before beauty," he said, dealing a double blow. "Go, Belle, and don't look down."
The taunt served its purpose. Furious, the woman crawled through the opening and commenced the descent.
She was not without courage, but this was an ordeal outside her experience, and the thought of what would happen if she fell, paralysed her. Clinging desperately to the ladder, she moved so slowly that the man above cursed impatiently. Weak and dizzy, she every moment expected to slip and feel her body hurtling through the air. When she was half-waythough she did not know that--her flimsy support began to sway under her weight and she paused, frozen with fear.
"Don't stop, damn you, unless you want death."
The strident voice, cleaving the atmosphere like a bullet, lashed her to action. Blind to everything save the ropes she must grip and the rungs she must find for her feet, she went on, and at last the watchers above saw her vanish over the bulge at the bottom of the cliff.
"That yell saved her life--in another moment the fool would have fallen," Satan said. "I expect better from you. I hate to let you go, Joan, but it is only for a day or so."
His eyes were alive now, alive with a passion which chilled and frightened. But she must play her part.
"I don't understand," she said wearily. "I know you would not hurt me--Jeff."
"I shall explain everything," he replied eagerly, his hot gaze devouring her. "Joan, I could take your kisses, but .. . Go, girl, before the nearness of you weakens my will."
She needed no second bidding; the peril she was about to face could not compare with that she left behind. So, with a light heart, she followed Belle. Holding tightly, she looked neither up nor down, keeping her eyes glued on the rocky wall before them. One thought only came to her as she dropped lower and lower--Jeff must have escaped in the. same way. Somehow, the probability gave her confidence, and almost before she realized that the task was done, a pair of huge hands lifted her from the ladder, set her on the ground, and she was gazing into the grinning face of Silver.
"Here you is, an' there's the hosses. Let's be goin'," he said.
There were four animals, one of them packed with supplies. In a brief space, they were on their way.
Chapter XXV
The first arrivals at the Twin Diamond ranch-house on the following morning were Lagley, Frosty, and Lazy. The face of the foreman wore a worried frown as he drew Sudden aside.
"Dugout has shown up ten strong but I'm fearin' we've overlooked a bet," he said. "Turvey's pulled his freight an' it ain't hard to guess where he's gone."
"But he didn't know."
"May have heard me talkin' to Frosty--he was late for supper, 'cordin' to Lazy, said his hoss was troublesome."
Before the puncher could reply, another voice chimed in.
"By Christmas, if it isn't Steve Lagley. How are you, old grumbler?"
Lagley spun round, a picture of perturbation, but he managed to grasp the extended hand, staring hard the while. "Mighty glad to see yu agin, Master Jeff," he said.
"What are you looking for--a red mask?" Keith asked slyly.
The foreman's coppery skin took on a purple tinge. "No, I on'y wanta see that once more, through the sights o' my gun."
"Don't you do it," the young man cried. "He's my meat."
"Yo're both wrong--he's mine," Sudden corrected. He looked at Keith. "There's Dealtry; go an' speak with him."
The boy hesitated a mere second, squared his shoulders, stepped to where the officer was standing, and said quietly: "Morning, sheriff."
Dealtry, who had just dismounted, turned, scanned him closely, and then said, "Well, Jeff, I've had some hard thoughts 'bout you; wrongly, as it now appears."
"I didn't shoot Dan," Keith said earnestly. "We were friends, and our difference would have been forgotten in the morning. I suppose it was my running away ..."
"Yeah, it looked bad. If you'd stayed--but there, I reckon `if' is the cussedest word in the world. What Green told me yestiddy made it plain. All I want now is to slant a gun on that--."
"Yo're fourth on the list an' ain't got a chance," Sudden grinned. "How much help yu brought?"
"There's on'y a dozen of us but we're good," was the sheriff's modest reply. "Got any plan?"
Mart Merry, the Double K foreman, and his two men joined the group, and the rancher answered the question.
"There's but two ways into the durn place. My idea is to split our force an' attack 'em both at the same time. Yu agree, Jim?"
"Nothin' else for it," the cowboy concurred. "Mart, yu an' Dealtry can take this side, an' the Double K an' Dugout men the other."
"What are yu goin' to do, Jim?" the rancher asked.
"I want a few fellas who can shoot fast an' arc willin' to gamble. Yu see, I know of another way in--hit on it by chance--an' it's possible, with trouble both ends o' the town, it may be overlooked. Once in, mebbe we can grab the leader, an' anyway, we'll have the gates between two fires. What yu think of it, Steve?"