Chapter XI
The Fugitives
Through the gathering darkness Prince watched the figure of his companiondroop. The slim, lithe body sagged and the shoulders were heavy withexhaustion. Both small hands clung to the pommel of the saddle. It tookno prophet to see that in his present condition the wounded man wouldnever travel the gun-barrel road as far as the dust of the Flying V Yherd. Even by easy stages he could not do it, and with pursuit thunderingat their heels the ride would be a cruel, grilling one.
"How about pullin' a little strategy on Sanders, Jim? Instead of hittin'the long trail, let's circle back around the town, strike the river, makecamp, an' lie low in the chaparral. Does that listen good to you?"
Young Clanton looked at his friend suspiciously. The younger man wasfagged out and in a good deal of pain. The jolting of the pony'smovements jarred the bandages on the wound. Already his fever was highand he had moments of light-headedness. He knew that his partner wasproposing to jeopardize his own chances of escape in order to take careof him.
"No, sir. We'll keep goin' right ahead," he said irritably. "Think I'm aquitter? Think I'm goin' to lie down on you?"
"Would I be likely to think that?" asked Billie gently. "What I'mthinking is that both of us would be better for a good night's rest. Whynot throw off an' camp in the darkness? While we're sleepin' Sanders an'his posse will be ridin' the hearts out of their horses. It looks likegood business to me to let 'em go to it."
"No," said Jim obstinately. "No. We'll keep ridin'."
Prince knew that the other understood what he was trying to do, and thathis pride--and perhaps something better than pride--would not acceptsuch a sacrifice. Billie said no more, but his mind still wrestled withthe problem before him. It was impossible, while his comrade was so badlyhurt, to hold a pace that would keep them ahead of the Lazy S M riders.Already Sanders must be gaining on them, and to make matters worseClanton drew down to a walk. His high-pitched voice and disjointedexpressions told the older man that he was at the beginning of delirium.
"What do you mean, standing there and grinnin' at me like a wolf, DaveRoush? I killed you once. You're dead an' buried. How come you aliveagain? Then shoot, both of you! Come out from cover, Hugh Roush." Hestopped, and took the matter up from another angle. "You're a liar, youcoyote. I'm not runnin' away. Two to one ... two to one ... I'll rideback an' gun you both. I'm a-comin' now."
He pulled up and turned his horse. Faintly there came to Billie thethudding of horses' hoofs. In five minutes it would be too late to saveeither the sick man or himself. It never occurred to him for a moment todesert Clanton. Somehow he must get him into the chaparral, and withoutan instant's delay. His mind seized on the delirious fancy of the youngfellow.
"You're sure right, Jim," he said quietly. "I'd go an' gun them too. I'llride with you an' see fair play. They're out here in the brush. Come on."
"No. They're back in town. Leave 'em to me. Don't you draw, Billie."
"All right. But they're over here to our right. I saw 'em there. Come.We'll sneak up on 'em so that they can't run when they hear you."
Billie turned. He swung his horse into the mesquite. His heart was heavywith anxiety. Would the wounded man accept his lead? Or would hisobstinacy prevail?
"Here they are. Right ahead here," continued Prince.
Followed a moment of suspense, then came the crashing of brush as Clantonmoved after him.
"S-sh! Ride softly, Jim. We don't want 'em to hear us an' get away."
"Tha's right. Tha's sure right. You said somethin' then, Billie. Butthey'll not get away. Haven't I slept on their trail four years? They'remine at last."
Prince was drawing him farther from the road. But the danger was not yetover. As the posse passed, some member of it might hear them, or youngClanton might hear it and gallop out to the road under the impression hewas going to meet Dave Roush. Billie twisted in and out of the brush,never for an instant letting his friend pull up. On a moving horse onecannot hear so distinctly as on one standing still.
At last Billie began to breathe more easily. The pursuers must havepassed before this. He could give his attention to the sick man.
Jim was clutching desperately to the saddle-horn. The fever was gainingon him and the delirium worse. He talked incessantly, sometimesincoherently. From one subject to another he went, but always he cameback to Dave Roush and his brother. He dared them to stand up and fight.He called on them to stop running, to wait for him. Then he trailed offinto a string of epithets usually ending in sobs of rage.
The sickness of the young man tore the heart of his companion. Everyinstinct of kindness urged him to stop, make up a bed for the woundedboy, and let him rest from the agony of travel. But he dared not stopyet. He had to keep going till they reached a place of temporary safety.
With artful promises of immediate vengeance upon his enemies, by means oftaunts at him as a quitter, through urgent proddings that reachedmomentarily the diseased mind, Prince kept him moving through the brush.The sweat stood out on the white face of the young fellow shining ghastlyin the moonlight.
After what seemed an interminable time they could see from a mesa thelights of Los Portales. Billie left the town well to his right, skirtedthe pastures on the outskirts, and struck the river four miles fartherdown.
While they were still a long way from it the boy collapsed completely andslid from the saddle to which he had so long clung. His friend uncinchedand freed the sorrel, lifted the slack body to his own horse, and walkedbeside the animal to steady the lurching figure.
At the bank of the river he stopped and lifted the body to the ground. Itlay limp and slack where the cowpuncher set it down. Through the whiteshoulder dressings a stain of red had soaked. For a moment Billie wasshaken by the fear that the Arizonian might be dead, but he rejected itas not at all likely. Yet when he held his hand against the heart of thewounded man he was not sure that he could detect a beating.
From the river he brought water in his hat and splashed it into the whiteface. He undid the shoulder bandages, soaked them in cold water, andrebound the wound. Between the clenched teeth he forced a few drops ofwhiskey from his flask.
The eyelids fluttered and slowly opened.
"Where are we, Billie?" the sick man asked; then added: "How did we getaway from 'em?"
"Went into the brush an' doubled back to the river. I'm goin' to hunt aplace where we can lie hid for a few days."
"Oh, I'll be all right by mornin'. Did I fall off my hawss?"
"Yes. I had to turn your sorrel loose. Soon as I've picked a permanentcamp I'll have to let mine go too. Some one would be sure to stumble onit an' go to guessin'."
After a moment the sick man spoke quietly. "You're a good pal, Billie. Ihaven't known many men would take a long chance like this for a fellowthey hadn't met a month ago."
"I'm not forgettin' how you rode up Escondido when I asked you to go."
"You got a lot of sabe, too. You don't go bullin' Into a fight whenthere's a good reason for stayin' out. At Tolleson's if you had drawnyore gun when the shootin' was on, the whole Lazy S M would have pitchedin an' riddled us both. They kept out because you did. That gave me achance to come through alive."
The Texan registered embarrassment with a grin. "Yes, I'm the boy wonderof the Brazos," he admitted.
A faint, unexpected gleam of humor lay for a moment in the eyes of thesick man. "I got you where the wool's short, Billie. I can throw bouquetsat you an' you got to stand hitched because I'm sick. Doc says to humorme. If I holler for the moon you climb up an' get it."
"I'll rope it for you," assented the cowpuncher. "How's the gameshoulder?"
"Hurts like Heligoland. Say, ain't I due for one of them sleep powdersDoc fixed up so careful?"
His companion gave him one, after which he folded his coat and put itunder the head of Clanton, Over him he threw a saddle blanket.
"Back soon," he promised.
The sick man nodded weakly.
Billie swung to the sad
dle and turned down the river. Unfortunately thecountry here was an open one. Along the sandy shore of the stream themesquite was thin. There was no soapweed and very little cactus. Theterrain of the hill country farther back was rougher, more full ofpockets, and covered with heavier brush. But it was necessary for thefugitives to remain close to water.
What Prince hoped to find was some sort of cave or overhanging ledge ofshale under which they could lie hidden until Jim's strength returnedsufficiently to permit of travel. The problem would be at best adifficult one. They had little food, scarce dared light a fire, andClanton was in no condition to stand exposure in case the weather grewbad. Even if the boy weathered the sickness, it would not be possible forhim to walk hundreds of miles in his weakened condition. But this was amatter which did not press for an answer. Billie intended to cross nobridges until he came to them. Just now he must focus his mind on keepingthe wounded man alive and out of the hands of his enemies.
Beyond a bend he came upon a jutting bank that for lack of better mightserve his purpose. He could scoop out a cave in which his partner mightlie protected from the hot midday sun. If he filled the mouth with tumbleweeds during the day they might escape observation for a time.
When the Texan returned to his friend, he found him in restless slumber.He tossed to and fro, muttering snatches of incoherent talk. The woundseemed to pain him even in his sleep, for he moved impatiently as thoughtrying to throw off some weight lying heavy upon it.
But when he awoke his mind was apparently clear. He met Billie's anxiouslook with a faint, white-lipped smile. To his friend the young fellow hadthe signs of a very sick man. It was a debatable question whether to riskmoving him now or take the almost hopeless chance of escaping detectionwhere they were.
Prince put the decision on Jim himself. The answer came feebly, butpromptly.
"Sure, move me. What's one little--bullet in the shoulder, Billie? Gimmesome sleep--an' I'll be up an' kickin'."
Yet the older man noticed that his white lips could scarcely findstrength to make the indomitable boast.
Very gently Billie lifted the wounded man and put him on the back of thecowpony. He held him there and guided the animal through the sand tothe bend. Clanton hung on with clenched teeth, calling on the last ounceof power in his exhausted body with his strong will.
"Just a hundred yards more," urged the walking man as they rounded thebend. "We're 'most there now."
He lifted the slack body down and put it in the sand. The hands of theboy were ice cold. The sap of life was low in him. Prince covered himwith the blankets and his coat. He gave him a sup or two of whiskey, thengathered buffalo chips and made a fire in which he heated some largerocks. These he tucked in beneath the blankets beside the shivering body.Slowly the heat warmed the invalid. After a time he fell once more intotroubled sleep.
Billie drove his horse away and pelted it with stones to a trot. He couldnot keep it with him without risking discovery, but he was almost as muchafraid that its arrival in Los Portales might start a search for thehidden fugitives. There was always a chance, of course, that the baywould stop to graze on the plains and not be found for a day or two.
The rest of the night the Texan put in digging a cave with a piece ofslaty shale. The clay of the bank was soft and he made fair progress. Thedirt he scooped out was thrown by him into the river.