Chapter Two
_Friendly Enemies_
Again and again Gregg spurred the bay cruelly.
She winced from the pain and snorted, but, apparently having not theslightest knowledge of bucking, she could only shake her head and senda ringing whinny of appeal up the slope of the mountain, toward theapproaching rider.
In spite of the approaching danger, in spite of this delay which wasruining his chances of getting to Stillwater before the train, BillGregg watched in marvel and delight the horsemanship of the stranger.Ronicky Doone, if this were he, was certainly the prince of all wildriders.
Even as the mare stopped in answer to the signal of her owner, RonickyDoone sent his mount over the edge of a veritable cliff, flung himback on his haunches and slid down the gravelly slope, careeningfrom side to side. With a rush of pebbles about him and a dust cloudwhirling after, Ronicky Doone broke out into the road ahead of themare, and she whinnied softly again to greet him.
Bill Gregg found himself looking not into the savage face of sucha gunfighter as he had been led to expect, but a handsome fellow,several years younger than he, a high-headed, straight-eyed, buoyanttype. In his seat in the saddle, in the poise of his head and the playof his hand on the reins Bill Gregg recognized a boundless nervousforce. There was nothing ponderous about Ronicky Doone. Indeed he wasnot more than middle size, but, as he reined his horse in the middleof the road and looked with flashing eyes at Bill Gregg, he appearedvery large indeed.
Gregg was used to fighting or paying his way, or doing both at thesame time, as occasion offered. He decided that this was certainly anoccasion for much money and few words.
"You're Doone, I guess," he said, "and you know that I've played apretty bad trick on you, taking your hoss this way. But I wanted topay for it, Doone, and I'll pay now. I've got to get to Stillwaterbefore that train. Look at her! I haven't hurt her any. Her wind isn'ttouched. She's pretty wet, but sweat never hurt nothing on four feet,eh?"
"I dunno," returned Ronicky Doone. "I'd as soon run off with a man'swife as his hoss."
"Partner," said Bill Gregg desperately, "I have to get there!"
"Then get there on your own feet, not the feet of another gent'shoss."
Gregg controlled his rising anger. Beyond him the train was loominglarger and larger in the plain, and Stillwater seemed more and moredistant. He writhed in the saddle.
"I tell you I'll pay--I'll pay the whole value of the hoss, if youwant."
He was about to say more when he saw the eyes of Ronicky Doone widenand fix.
"Look," said the other suddenly, "you've been cutting her up with thespurs!"
Gregg glanced down to the flank of the bay to discover that he hadused the spurs more recklessly than he thought. A sharp rowel hadpicked through the skin, and, though it was probably only a slightwound indeed, it had brought a smear of red to the surface.
Ronicky Doone trembled with anger.
"Confound you!" he said furiously. "Any fool would have known that youdidn't need a spur on that hoss! What part d'you come from where theyteach you to kill a hoss when you ride it? Can you tell me that?"
"I'll tell you after I get to Stillwater."
"I'll see you hung before I see you in Stillwater."
"You've talked too much, Doone," Gregg said huskily.
"I've just begun," said Doone.
"Then take this and shut up," exclaimed Bill Gregg.
Ordinarily he was the straightest and the squarest man in the world ina fight. But a sudden anger had flared up in him. He had an impulse tokill; to get rid of this obstacle between him and everything he wantedmost in life. Without more warning than that he snatched out hisrevolver and fired point blank at Ronicky Doone. Certainly all theapproaches to a fight had been made, and Doone might have beenexpecting the attack. At any rate, as the gun shot out of Gregg'sholster, the other swung himself sidewise in his own saddle and,snapping out his revolver, fired from the hip.
That swerve to the side saved him, doubtless, from the shot of Gregg;his own bullet plowed cleanly through the thigh of the other rider.The whole leg of Gregg went numb, and he found himself slumpinghelplessly to one side. He dropped his gun, and he had to cling withboth hands to lower himself out of the saddle. Now he sat in the dustof the trail and stared stupidly, not at his conqueror, but at thetrain that was flashing into the little town of Stillwater, just belowthem.
He hardly heeded Ronicky Doone, as the latter started forward with anoath, knelt beside him and examined the wound. "It's clean," Doonesaid, as he started ripping up his undershirt to make bandages. "I'llhave you fixed so you can be gotten into Stillwater."
He began to work rapidly, twisting the clothes around Gregg's thigh,which he had first laid bare by some dexterous use of a hunting knife.
Then Gregg turned his eyes to those of Doone. The train had pulled outof Stillwater. The sound of the coughing of the engine, as it startedup, came faintly to them after a moment.
"Of all the darned fools!" said the two men in one voice.
And then they grinned at each other. Certainly it was not the firstfight or the first wound for either of them.
"I'm sorry," they began again, speaking together in chorus.
"Matter of fact," said Ronicky Doone, "that bay means a pile to me.When I seen the red on her side--"
"Can't be more than a chance prick."
"I know," said Ronicky, "but I didn't stop to think."
"And I should of give you fair warning before I went for the gat."
"Look here," said Ronicky, "you talk like a straight sort of a gent tome."
"And you thought I was a cross between a hoss thief and a gunfighter?"
"I dunno what I thought, except that I wanted the mare back. Stranger,I'm no end sorry this has happened. Maybe you'd lemme know why you wasin such a hurry to get to Stillwater. If they's any trouble comingdown the road behind you, maybe I can help take care of it for you."And he smiled coldly and significantly at Bill Gregg.
The latter eyed with some wonder the man who had just shot him downand was now offering to fight for his safety. "Nothing like that,"said Bill. "I was going to Stillwater to meet a girl."
"As much of a rush as all that to see a girl?"
"On that train."
Ronicky Doone whistled softly. "And I messed it up! But why didn't youtell me what you wanted?"
"I didn't have a chance. Besides I could not waste time in talking andexplaining to everybody along the road."
"Sure you couldn't, but the girl'll forgive you when she finds outwhat happened."
"No, she won't, because she'll never find out."
"Eh?"
"I don't know where she is."
"Riding all that way just to see a girl--"
"It's a long story, partner, and this leg is beginning to act up. Tellyou the best thing would be for you to jump on your mare and jog intoStillwater for a buckboard and then come back and get me. What d'yousay?"
Twenty minutes after Ronicky Doone had swung into the saddle and raceddown the road, the buckboard arrived and the wounded man was helped onto a pile of blankets in the body of the wagon.
The shooting, of course, was explained by the inevitable gun accident.Ronicky Doone happened to be passing along that way and saw Bill Gregglooking over his revolver as he rode along. At that moment the gunexploded and--
The two men who had come out in the buckboard listened to the talewith expressionless faces. As a matter of fact they had already heardin Stillwater that no less a person than Ronicky Doone was on his waytoward that village in pursuit of a man who had ridden off on thefamous bay mare, Lou. But they accepted Ronicky's bland version of theaccident with perfect calm and with many expressions of sympathy. Theywould have other things to say after they had deposited the woundedman in Stillwater.
The trip in was a painful one for Bill Gregg. For one thing theexhaustion of the long three days' trip was now causing a wave ofweariness to sweep over him. The numbness, which had come through theleg immed
iately after the shooting, was now replaced by a steady andcontinued aching. And more than all he was unnerved by the sense ofutter failure, utter loss. Never in his life had he fought so bitterlyand steadily for a thing, and yet he had lost at the very verge ofsuccess.