But the unlettered bandit chieftain knew little of the world of banking except for such glimpses as he got over a gun sight, and he was pleased with the work. I signed and signed, using his palm for an inkwell. It was very tiring. As soon as I had finished one note he would snatch it up and pass me another.
He said, “They are as good as gold, Bob. I will trade them at Colbert’s.”
Greaser Bob said, “Nothing on paper is as good as gold. That is my belief.”
“Well, that is how much a damned Mexican knows.”
“It is every man to his own principles. Tell her to hurry along.”
When the criminal task was completed Lucky Ned Pepper put the notes and the check in the gray envelope and secured it in his saddle wallet. He said, “Tom, we will see you tonight. Make yourself agreeable to this child. Little Carroll will be here before you know it.”
Then they departed the place, not riding their horses but leading them, as the hill was so steep and brushy.
I was alone with Tom Chaney!
He sat across the fire from me, my pistol in his waistband and the Henry rifle in his lap. His face was a “brown study.” I stirred up the fire a little and arranged some glowing coals around one of the cans of hot water.
Chaney watched me. He said, “What are you doing?”
I said, “I am heating some water so that I may wash this black off my hands.”
“A little smut will not harm you.”
“Yes, that is true, or else you and your ‘chums’ would surely be dead. I know it will not harm me but I would rather have it off.”
“Don’t provoke me. You will find yourself in that pit.”
“Lucky Ned Pepper has warned you that if you molest me in any way he will not pay you. He means business too.”
“I fear he has no idea of paying me. I believe he has left me, knowing I am sure to be caught when I leave on foot.”
“He promised he would meet you at ‘The Old Place.’”
“Keep still. I must now think over my position and how I may improve it.”
“What about my position? At least you have not been abandoned by a man who was paid and pledged to protect you.”
“You little busybody! What does your kind know of hardship and affliction? Now keep still while I think.”
“Are you thinking about “The Old Place?’”
“No, I am not thinking about ‘The Old Place.’ Carroll Permalee or nobody else is coming up here with any horse. They are not going to ‘The Old Place.’ I am not so easily fooled as some people might think.”
I thought to ask him about the other gold piece, then checked myself, afraid that he might force me to give over the one I had recovered. I said, “What have you done with Papa’s mare?”
He gave no answer.
I said, “If you will let me go now I will keep silent as to your whereabouts for two days.”
“I tell you I can do better than that,” said he. “I can have your silence forever. I will not tell you again to hold your tongue.”
The water was not boiling but it had begun to steam a little and I picked up the can with a rag and flung it at him, then took to my feet in frantic flight. Though caught by surprise, he managed to shield his face with his arms. He yelped and gave immediate pursuit. My desperate plan was to reach the trees. Once there, I thought to evade him and finally lose him by darting this way and that in the brush.
It was not to be! Just as I came to the edge of the rock shelf, Chaney grabbed my coat from behind and pulled me up short. My thought was: I am certainly done for! Chaney was cursing me and he struck me on the head with the pistol barrel. The blow made me see stars and I concluded I was shot, not knowing the sensation caused by a bullet striking your head. My thoughts turned to my peaceful home in Arkansas, and my poor mother who would be laid low by the news. First her husband and now her oldest child, both gone in the space of two weeks and dispatched by the same bloody hand! That was the direction of my thoughts.
Suddenly I heard a familiar voice, and the words were hard with authority. “Hands up, Chelmsford! Move quickly! It is all up with you! Have a care with that pistol!”
It was LaBoeuf the Texan! He had come up the back way, on foot I supposed, as he was panting for breath. He was standing not thirty feet away with his wired-together rifle trained on Chaney.
Chaney let go of my coat and dropped the pistol.
“Everything is against me,” he said. I recovered the pistol.
LaBoeuf said, “Are you hurt, Mattie?”
“I have a painful knot on my head,” said I.
He said to Chaney, “I see you are bleeding.”
“It was this girl done it,” said he. “I am shot in the ribs and bleeding again. It hurts when I cough.”
I said, “Where is Rooster?”
LaBoeuf said, “He is down below watching the front door. Let us find a place where we can see. Move with care, Chelmsford!”
We proceeded to the northwest corner of the rock shelf, skirting around the pit which had figured in Chaney’s ugly threats. “Watch your step there,” I cautioned the Texan. “Tom Chaney says there are deadly snakes at the bottom having their winter sleep.”
From the far corner of the ledge we had a clear prospect. The timbered slope dropped off sharply below us and led to a meadow. This meadow, level and open, was quite high itself and at the other end there was a further descent leading down out of the Winding Stair Mountains.
No sooner had we taken up our vigil than we were rewarded with the sight of Lucky Ned Pepper and the other three bandits emerging from the trees into the meadow. There they mounted their horses and headed them west, away from us. They had hardly started their ride when a lone horseman came out of the brush at the western end of the field. The horse was walking and the rider took him out to the middle of the open space and stopped, so as to block the passage of the four desperadoes.
Yes, it was Rooster Cogburn! The bandits checked up and faced him from some seventy or eighty yards’ distance. Rooster had one of the navy revolvers in his left hand and he held the reins in his right hand. He said, “Where is the girl, Ned?”
Lucky Ned Pepper said, “She was in wonderful health when last I saw her! I cannot answer for her now!”
“You will answer for her now!” said Rooster. “Where is she?”
LaBoeuf stood up and cupped his hands and shouted down, “She is all right, Cogburn! I have Chelmsford as well! Make a run for it!” I confirmed the news by shouting, “I am fine, Rooster! We have Chaney! You must get away!”
The bandits turned to look up at us and no doubt they were surprised and not a little disconcerted by the interesting development. Rooster made no reply to us and gave no sign of leaving the place.
Lucky Ned Pepper said, “Well, Rooster, will you give us the road? We have business elsewhere!”
Rooster said, “Harold, I want you and your brother to stand clear! I have no interest in you today! Stand clear now and you will not be hurt!”
Harold Permalee’s answer was to crow like a rooster, and the “Cock-a-doodle-doo!” brought a hearty laugh from his brother Farrell.
Lucky Ned Pepper said, “What is your intention? Do you think one on four is a dogfall?”
Rooster said, “I mean to kill you in one minute, Ned, or see you hanged in Fort Smith at Judge Parker’s convenience! Which will you have?”
Lucky Ned Pepper laughed. He said, “I call that bold talk for a one-eyed fat man!”
Rooster said, “Fill your hand, you son of a bitch!” and he took the reins in his teeth and pulled the other saddle revolver and drove his spurs into the flanks of his strong horse Bo and charged directly at the bandits. It was a sight to see. He held the revolvers wide on either side of the head of his plunging steed. The four bandits accepted the challenge and they likewise pulled their arms and charged their ponies ahead.