CHAPTER XIX
HOW A RUSTLER ESCAPED
When Hollis got out of bed at six o'clock that same morning he heardsurprising sounds outside. Slipping on his clothes he went to the windowand looked out. Men were yelling at one another, screeching delightfuloaths, capering about hatless, coatless, in the rain that still camesteadily down. The corral yard was a mire of sticky mud in which thehorses reared and plunged in evident appreciation of the welcome changefrom dry heat to lifegiving moisture. Riderless horses stood about, noone caring about the saddles, several calves capered awkwardly in thepasture. Norton's dog--about which he had joked to Hollis during thelatter's first ride to the Circle Bar--was yelping joyously and runningmadly from one man to another.
Norton himself stood down by the door of the bunkhouse, grinning withdelight. Near him stood Lemuel Train, and several of the other smallranchers whose stock had grazed for more than two weeks on the CircleBar range without objection from Hollis. They saw him and motioned forhim to come down, directing original oaths at him for sleeping so lateon so "fine a morning."
He dressed hastily and went down. They all ate breakfast in the messhouse, the cook being adjured to "spread it on for all he wasworth"--which he did. Certainly no one left the mess house hungry.During the meal Lemuel Train made a speech on behalf of himself and theother owners who had enjoyed Hollis's hospitality, assuring him thatthey were "with him" from now on. Then they departed, each going hisseparate way to round up his cattle and drive them back to the homeranch.
The rain continued throughout the day and far into the night. The dried,gasping country absorbed water until it was sated and then began to shedit off into the arroyos, the gullies, the depressions, and the riverbeds. Every hollow overflowed with it; it seemed there could never beanother drought.
Before dawn on the following day all the small ranchers had departed.Several of them, on their way to their home ranches, stopped off at theCircle Bar to shake hands with Hollis and assure him of theirappreciation. Lemuel Train did not forget to curse Dunlavey.
"We ain't likely to forget how he stood on the water proposition," hesaid.
After Train had departed Norton stood looking after him. Then he turnedand looked at Hollis, his eyes narrowing quizzically. "You've got inright with that crowd," he said. "Durned if I don't believe you knowedall the time that it was goin' to rain before Dunlavey's tenth day wasover!"
Hollis smiled oddly. "Perhaps," he returned; "there is no law, moral orotherwise, to prevent a man from looking a little ahead."
After breakfast Hollis gave orders to have Greasy prepared for travel,and an hour later he and the range boss, both armed with rifles, rodeout of the corral yard with Greasy riding between them and took the DryBottom trail.
The earth had already dried; the trail was hard, level, and dustless,and traveling was a pleasure. But neither of the three spoke a word toone another during the entire trip to Dry Bottom. Greasy bestrode hishorse loosely, carelessly defiant; Norton kept a watchful eye on him,and Hollis rode steadily, his gaze fixed thoughtfully on the trail.
At ten o'clock they rode into Dry Bottom. There were not many personsabout, but those who were gave instant evidence of interest in the threeby watching them closely as they rode down the street to the sheriff'soffice, dismounted, and disappeared inside.
The sheriff's office was in a little frame shanty not over sixteen feetsquare, crude and unfinished. There were a front and back door, twowindows--one in the side facing the court house, the other in the front.For furniture there were a bench, two chairs, some shelves, a cast ironstove, a wooden box partly filled with saw-dust which was used as acuspidor, and a rough wooden table which served as a desk. In a chairbeside the desk sat a tall, lean-faced man, with a nose that suggestedan eagle's beak, with its high, thin, arched bridge, little, narrowed,shifting eyes, and a hard mouth whose lips were partly concealed under adrooping, tobacco-stained mustache. He turned as the three men entered,leaning back in his chair, his legs a-sprawl, motioning them to thechairs and the bench. They filed in silently. Greasy dropped carelesslyinto one of the chairs, Norton took another near him, but Hollisremained standing.
"You are the sheriff, I suppose?" inquired the latter.
The official spat copiously into the wooden box without removing hisgaze from the three visitors.
"Yep," he returned shortly, his voice coming with a truculent snap. "Youwantin' the sheriff?"
Hollis saw a swift, significant glance pass between him and Greasy andhe smiled slightly.
"Yes," he returned quietly; "we want you. We are delivering this maninto your custody."
"What's he done?" demanded the sheriff.
"I charge him with stealing two of my steers," returned Hollis. "Severalof my men discovered him at work the day before yesterday and----"
"Hold on a minute now!" interrupted the sheriff. "Let's git this thinggoin' accordin' to the law." He spat again into the wooden box, cockedhis head sideways and surveyed Hollis with a glance in which there wasmuch insolence and contempt. "Who might you be?" he questioned.
"My name is Hollis," returned the latter quietly, his eyes meeting theother's steadily. "I own the Circle Bar."
"H'm!" The sheriff crossed his legs and stuck his thumbs into thearm-holes of his vest, revealing a nickle-plated star on the lapel ofthe latter. "H'm. Your name's Hollis, an' you own the Circle Bar. SeemsI've heard of you." He squinted his eyes at Hollis. "You're Jim Hollis'sboy, ain't you?" His eyes flashed with a sudden, contemptuous light."Tenderfoot, ain't you? Come out here to try an' show folks how to runthings?"
Hollis's face slowly paled. He saw Greasy grinning. "I suppose it makeslittle difference to you what I am or what I came out here for," he saidquietly; "though, if I were to be required to give an opinion I shouldsay that there is room for improvement in this county in the matter ofapplying its laws."
The sheriff laughed harshly. "You'll know more about this country afteryou've been here a while," he sneered.
"Mebbe he'll know more about how to run a law shebang, too," drylyobserved Norton, "after he's watched Bill Watkins run her a little."
"I don't reckon anyone ast you to stick your gab in this here affair?"demanded the sheriff of Norton.
"No," returned Norton, drawling, "no one asked me. But while we'rehandin' out compliments we might as well all have a hand in it. Itstrikes me that when a man's runnin' a law shop he ought to run her."
"I reckon I'll run her without any help from you, Norton!" snapped thesheriff.
"Why, sure!" agreed the latter, his gaze level as his eyes met thesheriff's, his voice even and sarcastic. "But I'm tellin' you that thisman's my friend an' if there's any more of them compliments goin' to behanded around I'm warnin' you that you want to hand them out soft an'gentle like. That's all. I reckon we c'n now proceed."
The sheriff's face bloated poisonously. He flashed a malignant glance atHollis. "Well," he snapped, "what's the charge?"
"I have already told you," returned Hollis. "It is stealing cattle."
"How stealin' them?" demanded the Sheriff truculenty.
"Changing the brand," Hollis informed him. He related how Ace and Wearyhad come upon the prisoner while the latter was engaged in changing hisbrand to the Circle Cross.
"They see him brandin'?" questioned the sheriff when Hollis hadconcluded.
Hollis told him that the two men had come upon Greasy after the brandhad been applied, but that the cattle bore the Circle Bar ear-mark, andthat Greasy had built a fire and that branding irons had been found inhis possession--which which he had tried to hide when discovered by theCircle Bar men.
"Then your men didn't really see him doin' the brandin'?" questionedWatkins.
Hollis was forced to admit that they had not. Watkins smiledsarcastically.
"I reckon you're runnin' a little bit wild," he remarked. "Some of yourstock has been rebranded an' you're chargin' a certain man with doin'it--only you didn't see him doin' it." He turned to Greasy. "What yougot to say about
this, Greasy?" he demanded.
Greasy grinned blandly at Hollis. "This guy's talkin' through his hat,"he sneered. "I ain't allowin' that I branded any of his cattle."
Watkins smiled. "There don't seem to be nothin' to this case a-tall--nota-tall. There ain't nobody goin' to be took into custody by me forstealin' cattle unless they're ketched with the goods--an' that ain'tbeen proved so far." He turned to Hollis. "You got anything more to sayabout it?" he demanded.
"Only this," returned Hollis slowly and evenly, "I have brought this manhere. I charge him with stealing my cattle. To use your term--he wascaught 'with the goods.' He is guilty. If you take him into custody andbring him to trial I shall have two witnesses there to prove what I havealready told you. If you do not take him into custody, it is perfectlyplain that you are deliberately shielding him--that you are making ajoke of the law."
Watkins's face reddened angrily. "Mebbe I'm makin' a joke of it----" hebegan.
"Of course we can't force you to arrest this man," resumed Hollis,interrupting Watkins. "Unfortunately the government has not yet awakenedto the fact that such men as you are a public menace and danger. I didnot expect you to arrest him--I tell you that frankly. I merely broughthim here to see whether it were true that you were leagued with Dunlaveyagainst the other ranchers in the country. You are, of course.Therefore, as we cannot secure justice by appealing to you we will beforced to adopt other means."
The sheriff's right hand dropped to his gun-holster. He sneered, hislips writhing. "Mebbe you mean----" he began.
"I ain't lettin' this here situation get beyond my control," cameNorton's voice, cold and even, as his six-shooter came out and wasshoved menacingly forward. "Whatever he means, Watkins, he's my friendan' you ain't runnin' in no cold lead proposition on him." He smiledmirthlessly.
Watkins's face paled; his right hand fell away from the pistol holster.There was a sound at the door; it swung suddenly open and Dunlavey'sgigantic frame loomed massively in the opening.
"I'm looking for Greasy!" he announced in a soft, silky voice, lookingaround at the four men with a comprehending, appreciative smile. "I wasexpecting to find him here," he added as his gaze sought out theprisoner, "after I heard that he'd been nabbed by the Circle Bar men."
Norton smiled coldly. "He's here, Bill," he said evenly. "He's stayin'here till Mr. Hollis says it's time for him to go."
He did not move the weapon in his hand, but a certain glint in his eyestold Dunlavey that the pistol was not in his hand for mere show. Thelatter smiled knowingly.
"I'm not interfering with the law," he said mockingly. "And I certainlyain't bucking your game, Norton." He turned to Watkins, speaking withbroad insinuation: "Of course you are putting a charge against Greasy,Watkins?" he said.
They all caught the sheriff's flush; all saw the guilty embarrassment inhis eyes as he answered that he had not. Dunlavey turned to Hollis witha bland smile.
"Have you any objection to allowing Greasy to go now, Mr. Hollis?"
Hollis's smile was no less bland as his gaze met Dunlavey's. "Not theslightest objection, Mr. Dunlavey," he returned. "I congratulate youupon the manner in which you have trained your servants!" He ignoredDunlavey and smiled at Norton. "Mr. Norton," he said with politemockery, "I feel certain that you agree with me that we have no wish tocontaminate this temple of justice with our presence."
He bowed with mock politeness as he strode to the door and stepped downinto the street. Norton followed him, grinning, though he did not sheathhis weapon until he also was in the street.
As they strode away from the door they turned to see Dunlavey lookingout after them, his face wreathed in a broad smile.
"There is plenty of law in Union County, Mr. Hollis," he said, "if youknow how to handle it!"