Friar Tuck

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

  A CROSS FOR EVERY MAN

  Thinkin', just plain thinkin', is about the hardest work the' is; andfor the next several days, we lay around doin' mighty little else. Thetrouble was, 'at we couldn't devise a way to put Ty Jones out o'business. He wasn't an outlaw; fact was, he stood high with the bigcattle men; and we got light headed tryin' to scare up a plan whichwould remove Ty in a decent manner, and leave the Friar free to takethe woman without causin' him any conscience-pains. We were themournfulest lookin' bunch o' healthy men ever I saw; and finally Idecided to loaf with Kit and the kid, they not bein' expected to doany thinkin' and therefore havin' smooth an' pleasant faces.

  Sometimes I wonder if women don't get along just as well withoutthinkin' as men do with it. I hadn't talked seven minutes with Kitbefore she suggested just what I would have thought up if I'd beenable. She didn't even know she had suggested it; so I didn't call herattention to it for fear it might up-heave her vanity and give Olafbother. I had a plan now and it was of such a nature that I was gladthe Friar wasn't there to mess into it.

  I found Promotheus an' Tank lyin' on the grass along the crick. Theywere back to back, and their faces were so lined with genuwinethought, that they looked like a pair of overgrown nutmegs. I sat downbeside 'em lookin' worried.

  Presently Tank sez: "What ya thinkin' about?"

  I shook my head, and in about half an hour The asked the samequestion. I waited a minute, hove out a sigh, and sez: "Gee, I wish Iwas you."

  "Why do you wish you was me?" sez he.

  "'Cause," sez I, "you've got a chance to do the biggest deed I knowof."

  "What is it?" sez he, examinin' my face to see if I was sheepin' him.

  "No," sez I, shakin' my head; "I ain't got any right to even think ofit, let alone hint at it. You might think I was buttin' into youraffairs, and then again--No, I refuse to suggest it. If it's yourduty, you'll see it yourself; but I won't take the responsibility ofpointin' it out."

  "What in thunder did you mention it at all for, then?" sez The,gettin' curious an' exasperated.

  "And then besides," sez I to myself, out loud, "there's Horace. Likeas not he wouldn't allow you to run your head into danger any more."

  "What!" yelled The. "Didn't we run our heads into danger all over thetropics of the Orient, didn't we goad up danger an' search for it androust it out of its hidin' places and--Why, confound you--"

  In about ten minutes I stopped him, an' sez in a quiet voice: "Well,then, if I was you, I'd go on down to Ty Jones's and take on with himagain."

  We lay on the grass there, along Pearl Crick for some time withoutspeakin'. Up on the rim, the grass was burned to a crisp; but alongthe crick it was still green. Promotheus pulled blade after blade ofit and chewed 'em up in his mouth, while me an' Tank watched him.

  "What you mean, is for me to take on with Ty Jones--and then to actspy on him. Ain't that what ya mean?" sez The after a time.

  I'd 'a' sooner he hadn't put it into words--it did look rather rawwhen he stood it up before us naked. "I don't mean nothin' inparticular, The," sez I. "You and I are different, and what I could dowithout feelin'--"

  "That's all right," he broke in. "The' ain't any need to treat me likean infant baby. Come right out with it--What you want me to do is toplay spy, ain't it?"

  "That's the only way I can see to help the Friar," sez I; "but hewouldn't want you to do anything for him you didn't feel was right."

  "I know, I know," he sez, lookin' down at his hands. "Ty Jones is asmean as a snake, and I don't deny it; but he's been square with me,and once he saved my life. Then again, the Friar has been square withevery one, and if he hadn't nursed me night and day, Horace wouldn'thave had a chance to save my life. If Horace had killed me it wouldhave spoiled his life; so that the whole thing is held together in atangle. I'm willin' to cash in my life for the Friar--it ain'tthat--but I do hate to turn again' Ty Jones underhanded."

  "Better just forget I mentioned it," sez I.

  "No," sez Promotheus, "I intend to lay the plan before Horace, and lethim settle on it."

  "That's a good scheme, that's the best way out of it," sez ol' Tank,and I joined in with him.

  We sat there on the bank a long time, thinkin' the thing over, andfinally just before supper, Horace hove in sight and started to joshus; but when he saw how sober we were, he settled down, and asked uswhat was up.

  "Horace," sez The, "what would you think of my takin' on with TyJones, and playin' the spy on him?"

  "That would be madness!" exclaimed Horace. "He'd see through it andkill you first pop. I don't know though--you might fix up a tale--butthen it would be too infernal risky. Nope, don't you try it."

  "If it could be done," persisted The, "what would you think of it?"

  "Oh, it would be a great thing for the Friar," sez Horace; "but,Promotheus, I don't like to have you take the risk."

  "It ain't the risk I'm fussin' about," sez The. "Ty was square to mein his own way. The Friar has been square to me also, and I know 'athis way is the best; but at the same time--don't you think it would bedownright snakish for me to go back to Ty, tell him some excuse for mystayin' away, and then plot again' him while I'm eatin' his vittles?"

  It didn't sound good to us when Promotheus came out with it soeverlastin' unpolluted; but he had worked up a sense of honesty sincebein' with Horace, which wouldn't let him do any pertendin'. Horacedidn't answer, and he went on after waitin' a minute: "I haven't anyprejudices again' fightin' him in the open; but it does go again' mygrain to wear a dog hide when I'm playin' wolf, and Ty Jones wassquare to me."

  "Well," sez Horace, "I haven't the heart to advise you to do this,Promotheus. We'll sure be able to find some other way, and as long asit goes again' your grain the way it does, I don't want you to do it."

  "Would you think any the less of me if I did?" asked The, his eyestakin' on a sad, hungry look, like a dog's eyes get when he's worriedover what his master'll say about some trick he's been up to.

  "Course I wouldn't think any less of ya," sez Horace withouthesitatin'; "but hang it, I'm afraid somethin' 'll happen to ya."

  "Would the Friar think any the less of me?" sez The.

  "If the Friar heard about it, he wouldn't let ya go," sez Horace.

  "I've puzzled more about the Friar 'n about airy other man I eversaw," sez The, thoughtful. "I wanted to lynch Olaf that time, guiltyor not guilty; but the Friar straightened things out by riskin' hisown soul. He hates lynchin', it goes square again' his grain; but hemade a bet with us to help stretch Olaf if we could prove him guilty;and this has stuck with me. This was a big thing to do, and I'd liketo do somethin' big for the Friar--But I swear it would hurt me to spyon Ty Jones!"

  We didn't have anything to say on the subject; so we just sat andchewed grass.

  "I've been thinkin' about that old Greek feller, 'at you named meafter," sez Promotheus at last. "He didn't ask no one else to take theresponsibility of tellin' him what to do. He just decided what wasright, and then did it. If I go to Ty Jones, and he treats me right,my own thoughts'll tear at me like vultures; but this here otherPromotheus, he stood it, 'cause it was for man's good; and I'm game todo the same.

  "I don't intend to be any more sneakier 'n I have to be. All I intendto do is to find out what I can about the woman, and, if Ty ain'ttreatin' her right, to help get her away from him; but I want itunderstood right now that I'm not goin' to work any tricks on Ty toget him into the law for what he's done in bygone days. Now then, Itake all the blame on my own shoulders; but we'll have to fix up atale to fool a wise one, 'cause Ty won't be took in by chaff."

  We talked things over a long time; but it seemed mighty unreasonablefor Promotheus to have pulled out without sayin' a word, and then tocome back without writin' in the meantime; and we couldn't quite hiton it. Finally the idee came to me.

  "They're goin' to graze the grass down to the roots, this summer," sezI; "but still, the' won't be enough to go around. A lot o' cattle willhave to be sold
off early, and some will be trailed up into Montana,and cow-punchers are goin' to be in demand. Ty is long on cattle andshort on grass, and he'll be glad to have extra help he can trust; sohe won't question ya too close. You tell him 'at Horace here was agovernment agent, and that he arrested you as a deserter, and took youto prison where you was given a life sentence; that you broke out acouple o' months ago, and have been workin' your way back as cautiousas you could."

  "My Lord, I hate to tell him that!" sez The. "It's too infernal muchlike what I told him the first time."

  "You got to make up a good story, or else give up your plan," sez I.

  "Yes, that's so," he agreed. "Ty'd believe that, too. What prison hadI better say I've been in?"

  "Which one was you in?" sez I.

  "I never was in any government prison," sez he. "I was in a stateprison."

  "Have ya ever seen a government prison?" sez I.

  "Yes, I've seen two, one in Kansas, and one in Frisco," sez he.

  "Which would be the hardest to get out of?" sez I.

  "The one in Frisco; it's on an island," sez he.

  "Choose that one," sez I; "and make up your escape just as it mighthave happened."

  "Ty won't haggle me with questions," sez The sadly. "He'll justbelieve me, an' this'll make it ten times as hard."

  "You ought to be paler an' more haggard," sez I; "but I doubt if the'sa way to do it."

  "Keep soakin' his face in hot towels for a few days," sez Horace."That'll bleach him out."

  "Are ya goin' foot or hossback?" sez I.

  "I stole a hoss down in Texas the last time I came," sez he, "andtraded him off when he got footsore."

  "We got some hosses with a Nevada brand, over at the Dot," sez I."I'll slip over an' get one while you're havin' your complexionbleached off. They broke out an' got with the herd before we finishedbrandin' 'em, and we just let it go. The chances are they haven't beenrebranded yet."

  "All right," sez The. "If I'm to do it at all, I want it to gothrough; but I have an idee 'at those vultures pickin' at my liver aregoin' to be mighty unpleasant company."

  Me an' Spider Kelley, Tillte Dutch an' Mexican Slim rode over to theDot and found two o' those Nevada hosses, still rangin' with their oldbrands untouched; so we roped one, and came back with it, withouthavin' word with any of the outfit. The Diamond Dot range was the bestof any we rode over, and they had put up a lot o' hay that summer; butstill I felt sure 'at they would have to cut down purty close, thoughI knew 'at Jabez would hold as many as he could for a high price thefollowin' year.

  We found The's complexion purty well stewed out and haggard, Kithavin' put soda in the hot water; so I told him to play sick, and loafaround the house as long as possible. He agreed to it; but the' was asettled look o' regret in his face which was a heap different from theone he had wore when he dismounted from the stage at Bosco.

  "Night and day," sez I, "the'll be at least two of us at the look-out,and you come up with any news you have. Get into the habit ofwhistlin' Horace's tune; so that if ever you'd want to warn us tovamose rapid, you can whistle it. You might ride that way with some o'Ty's outfit, or somethin'."

  "It's not likely," sez he. "The's no range up that way, and no trailleadin' near it; but you fellers want to scatter your tracks all youcan, so as not to make a path."

  We made plans for all the unexpected details we could think up; andthen he started forth one night, meanin' to circle to the southwest,and come in from that direction. He wore a red handkerchief under hisnose as if to shut out the dust; but shaved clean, and pale as he was,mighty few would have recognized him either as Badger-face, or as thefeller what had come in with us a few weeks before. We all shook handssolemn when he left, and promised to be at the look-out the followin'night, and to be there steady from that on.

  "What makes you fellers trust me?" sez he just as he started. "I camedown here to put Olaf out o' business, and then I turned over to yourside. Now I'm goin' back to Ty's. What makes you think I won't turnagain' ya, if I get into a tight place?"

  Horace went over and took his hand. "Promotheus," sez he, "I've beenwith you through hot days and cold nights, I've been with you throughhunger and thirst and danger; and I'd trust you as long as I'd trustmyself. You're not goin' to Ty's because you're a traitor. You'regoin' because you're a changed man, and the new man you've become iswillin' to risk his life for what he thinks is right. No matter whathappens, I'll trust ya; so take that along to think over."

  Promotheus winked his eyes purty fast, then he gave a sigh and rodeoff into the night. The' wasn't the hint of a smile about his lips,nor a glint o' gladness in his eyes; but somethin' in the straight way'at he held his back let ya know 'at the inside man of him was finallyat peace with what the outside man was doin'--and if ya don't knowwhat that means, the's no way to tell ya.