Chapter XXVIII
Sheriff Prince Functions
"Yippy yip yip yip!"
Old Reb, Quantrell's ex-guerrilla, now boss of mule-skinners for Prince,galloped down the street waving an old dusty white hat. Women andchildren and old men dribbled out from the houses, all eager for thenews.
"Billie he found Miss Lee in the Mal-Pais. That boy sure had his luckypants on to-day. She's all right too. I done seen her myself--just a mitetuckered out, as you might say," explained the former cowpuncher.
Live-Oaks shook hands with itself in exuberant joy. For an hour theschool bell pealed out the good news. A big bonfire blazed in thecourt-house square. Wise dames busied themselves baking bread and fryingdoughnuts and roasting beef for the rescue party now homeward bound. Itwas a certainty that their men-folks would all be hungry and ready for abig feed.
By noon most of the searchers were back in town and the saloons weredoing big business. When Prince drove down the main street of Live-Oaksan hour later, the road was jammed as for a Fourth-of-July celebration.Tired though she was, Lee had not the heart to disappoint these goodfriends. She went to the picnic ground at Fremont's Grove and was huggedand kissed by all the woman at the dinner. She wept and was wept overtill her lover decided she had had all the emotion that was good for her,whereupon he took her back to the home of her aunt and with all thenewborn authority of his position ordered her to bed.
"But it's only three o'clock in the afternoon," Lee protested.
"Good-night," answered Billie inexorably.
She surrendered meekly. "If you say I must, my lord. I _am_ awf'llytired." Little globes of gladness welled up in her eyes. "Everybody's sogood to me, Billie. I didn't know folks were so kind. I can't think whatI can ever do to pay them back."
"I'll tell you how. You be good to yourself, honey," he told her with asudden wave of emotion as he caught and held her tight in his arms. "Youquit takin' chances with blizzards an' crazy gunmen an'--"
"--And horsethieves hidden in the chaparral?" she asked with a flash ofdemure eyes.
"You're goin' to take an awful big chance with one ex-horsethief. Lee,I'm the luckiest fellow on earth."
She nestled closer to him. Her lips trembled to his kiss.
"Billie, you're sure, aren't you?" she whispered. "It wasn't just pityfor me."
He chose to reassure her after the fashion of a lover, in that wordlesslanguage which is as old as Eden.
His heart was full of her as he swung down the street buoyantly. Hehad known her saucy, scornful, and imperious. He had known her gayand gallant, had been the victim of her temper. Occasionally he hadseen glimpses of tenderness toward Pauline and of motherlinesstoward Jim Clanton. But never until last night had he found herdependent and clinging. Her defense against him had been a manner of coolself-reliance. In the stress of her need that had been swept aside toshow her flamy and yet shy, quick with innocent passion. She wanted himfor a mate, just as he wanted her, and she made no concealment of it. Inthe candor of her love he exulted.
Lee slept round the clock almost twice and appeared for a late breakfast.Her aunt told her some news with which Live-Oaks was buzzing.
Go-Get-'Em Jim had ridden into town, stopped at the sheriff's office, anddemanded cynically the thousand dollars offered by the Webb estate forhis arrest.
"He'll come to no good end," prophesied Miss Snaith, senior.
"You don't quite understand him, aunt," protested Lee. "That's just hisway. He likes to grand-stand, and he does it rather well. But he isn'thalf so bad as he makes out. He says he did not shoot Mr. Webb, and wefeel sure he didn't."
"Of course he says so," replied the older woman indignantly. "Whywouldn't he say so? But Dad Wrayburn was there and saw it all. There hasbeen a lot too much promiscuous killing and he's one of the worst of thelot, your Jim Clanton is. Jimmie-Go-Get-'Em, indeed! I hope the law goesand gets him now it has a chance."
The opinion of Lee's aunt was in accord with the general sentiment.Washington County had within the past year suffered a change of heart. Ithad put behind its back the wild and reckless days of its youth whenevery man was a law to himself. Bar-room orators talked virtuously of lawand order. They said it behooved the county to live down its evilreputation as the worst in the United States. Times had changed. Thewatchword now should be progress. It ought no longer to be arecommendation to a man that he could bend a six-gun surer and quickerthan other folks. "Movers" in white-topped wagons were settling up thecountry. A railroad had pushed in to Live-Oaks. There was a lot of talkabout Eastern capital becoming interested in irrigation and mining. Itwas high time to remember that Live-Oaks and Los Portales were not nowfrontier camps, but young cities.
Since Live-Oaks had been good for so short a time it wanted to prove by ashining example how it abhorred the lawlessness of its youth. At thisinopportune moment Clanton gave himself up to be tried for the murder ofHomer Webb.
When the news spread that Clanton had been given a change of venue andwas to be tried at Santa Fe, the citizens of Live-Oaks were distinctlyannoyed. It was known that the sheriff had always been a good friend ofthe accused man. The whisper passed that if he ever took Go-Get-'Em Jimout of the county the killer would be given a chance to escape.
Into town from the chaparral drifted the enemies Clanton had made duringhis career as a gunman. Yankie and Albeen and Dumont and Bancock moved toand fro in the crowds at the different gambling places and saloons. EvenRoush, who in the past three years had never given young Clanton anopportunity to meet him face to face, stole furtively into the tendejonsof the Mexican quarter and spent money freely in treating. Among thenatives Go-Get-'Em Jim was in ill-repute for shooting a bad man namedJuan Ortez who had attempted to terrorize the town while on a spree.
"We're spendin' a lot of good money on this job. We'd ought to pull itoff," Dumont whispered to Albeen.
"Whose money?" asked the one-armed man cynically.
It struck him as an ironic jest that the money they had got from the saleof Homer Webb's cattle should be spent to bring about the lynching of theman who had killed him.
Both the sheriff and his deputy were out of town rounding up a half-breedMexican who had stabbed another at a dance. They reached Live-Oaks withtheir prisoner about the middle of the afternoon. Lee was waiting forthem impatiently at the court-house.
"They're planning to lynch Jim," she told Prince abruptly.
"Who's goin' to do all that?" he asked.
"The riff-raff of the county are back of it, but the worst of it is thatthey've got a lot of good people in with them. Some of the Flying V Yriders are in town too. I never saw so much drinking before."
"When is it to be?"
"I don't know."
"Who told you?"
"Bud Proctor. He says Yankie and Albeen and that crowd are spendinghundreds of dollars at the bars."
"I knew there was somethin' on foot soon as we hit town--felt it in theair." The sheriff looked at his watch. "We can just catch the afternoontrain, Jack. Take this bird downstairs an' lock him up. I'll join you ina minute."
"What are you going to do?" asked Lee as soon as they were alone.
"Goin' to slip Jim aboard the train an' take him to Santa Fe."
"Can you do it without being seen?"
"I'll tell you that later," he answered with a grim smile. "Much obliged,honey. I'm goin' to be right busy now, but I'll see you soon as I getback to town."
Lee nodded good-bye and wait out. She liked it in him that just now hehad no time even for her. From the door she glanced back. Already he wasbusy getting his guns ready.
Prince got his keys and unlocked the room where Clanton was. Jim was onthe bed reading an old newspaper.
"Hello, Billie," he grinned.
"We're leaving on the afternoon train, Jim. Get a move on you an' hustleyore things together."
"Thought you weren't goin' till next week."
"Changed my mind. Jim, there's trouble afoot. Yore enemies are all intown. I want to get you awa
y."
Clanton did not bat an eye. "Plannin' a necktie party, are they?"
"They've got notions. Mine are different." "Do I get a gun if it comes toa showdown, Billie?"
"You do. I'll appoint you a deputy."
Jim laughed. "That sounds reasonable."
Goodheart joined them. The three men left the back door of thecourt-house and cut across the square. The station was three blocksdistant. Before they had covered a hundred yards a boy on the other sideof the street stopped, stared at them, and disappeared into the nearestsaloon.
The prisoner looked at his friend and grinned gayly. "Somethin' stirrin'soon. We're liable to have a breeze in this neighborhood, looks like."
They reached the station without being molested, but down the streetcould be seen much bustle of men running to and fro. Prince looked atthem anxiously.
"The clans are gathering," murmured Clanton nonchalantly, his hands inhis pockets. "Don't you reckon maybe you'll have to feed me to thewolves after all, Billie?"
A saddled horse blinked in the sun beside the depot, the bridle reintrailing on the ground. Its owner sat on a dry-goods box and whittled.Jim glanced at the bronco casually. Jack Goodheart also observed thecowpony. He whispered to the sheriff.
Prince turned to his prisoner. "Jim, you can take that horse an' hit thedust, if you like."
"Meanin' that you can't protect me?"
The salient jaw of the sheriff tightened. He looked what he was, a manamong ten thousand, quiet and forceful, strong as tested steel.
"You'll have exactly the same chance to weather this that we will."
A mob of men was moving down the street in loose formation. There wasstill time for a man to fling himself into the saddle and gallop away.
"You'd rather I'd stay, Billie."
"Yes. I'm sheriff. I'd like to show this drunken outfit they can't take aprisoner from me."
Clanton gave a little whoop of delight. "Go to it, son. You're law westof the Pecos. Let's see you make it stick."
Live-Oaks was as yet the terminus of the railroad. The train backed intothe station just as the first of the mob arrived.
"Nothin' doin', Prince," announced Yankie, swaggering forward. "You'renot goin' to take this fellow Clanton away. We've come to get him."
"That's right," agreed Albeen.
Jimmie-Go-Get-'Em grinned. "Makes twice now you've come to get me."
"We didn't make it go last time. Different now," said Bancock, movingforward.
"That's near enough," ordered Prince. "You've made a mistake, boys. I'msheriff of Washington County, and this man's my prisoner."
"He's yore old side kick, too, ain't he?" jeered Yankie.
Goodheart, following the orders he had received, moved forward to theengine and climbed into the cab beside the engineer and fireman. Thesheriff and his prisoner backed to the steps of the smoking-car. Billiehad had a word with the brakeman, his young friend Bud Proctor, who hadat once locked the door at the other end of the smoker.
"Now," said Prince in a low voice.
Jim ran up lightly to the platform of the coach and passed inside. A howlof anger rose from the mob. There was a rush forward. Billie was on thelower step. His long leg lifted, the toe caught Yankie on the point ofthe chin, and the rustler went back head first into the crowd as thoughhe had been shot from a catapult.
Instantly Prince leaped for the platform and whirled on the mob. He heldnow a gun in each hand. His eyes glittered dangerously as they sweptthe upturned faces. They carried to every man in the crowd the messagethat his prisoner could not be taken as long as the sheriff was alive.
Clanton threw open a window of the coach, rested his arms on the sill,and looked out. Again there was a roar of rage and a forward surge of thedense pack on the station platform.
"He ain't even got irons on the man's hands!" a voice shouted. "It's aframe-up to git him away from us!"
"Don't hide back there in the rear, Roush. Come right up to the front an'tell me that," called back Prince. "You're right about one thing. I don'tneed to handcuff Clanton. He has surrendered for trial, an' I'm here tosee he gets a fair one. I'll do it if I have to put irons _in_ hishands--shootin' irons."
Jim Clanton, his head framed in the window, laughed insolently. He was apicture of raffish, devil-may-care ease.
"Don't let Billie bluff you, boys. We can't bump off more'n a dozen or soof you. Hop to it."
"You won't laugh so loud when the rope's round yore gullet," retortedAlbeen.
"That rope ain't woven, yet," flung back the young fellow coolly.
Even as he spoke a lariat whistled through the air. Jim threw up a handand the loop slid harmlessly down the side of the car. One of the ridersof the Flying V Y had tried to drag the prisoner out with a reata.
"You mean well, but you'll never win a roping contest, Syd," jeeredClanton. "Good of you an' all my old friends to gather here to see meoff, I see you back there, Roush. It's been some years since we met, an'me always lookin' for you to say to you a few well-chosen words. I'llshoot straighter next time."
The vigilantes raised a howl of fury. They were like a wolf pack eagerfor the kill. Between them and their prey stood one man, cool,indomitable, steady as a rock. He held death in each hand, every manpresent knew it. They could get Clanton if they were willing to pay theprice, but though there were game men in the mob, not one of themwanted to be the first to put his foot on the lower step of the coach.
From the other end of the car came the sudden noise of hammering. Someone had found a sledge in the baggage-room and with a dozen armed menback of him was trying to break down the door.
Prince called to his prisoner. "You've got to get in this, Jim. I appointyou deputy sheriff. Unstrap this belt from my waist. Take the other endof the car an' hold it. No shootin' unless it comes to a showdown.Understand?"
Clanton nodded. His eyes gleamed. "I'll behave proper, Billie."
Five seconds later the beating on the door stopped. The eyes of the bigblacksmith with the hammer popped out with a ludicrous terror. Go-Get-'EmJim was standing in the aisle grinning at him with a six-gun in eachhand. With a wild whoop the horseshoer dropped the sledge and turned. Heflung himself down the steps carrying with him half a dozen others. Nottill he was safe in his own shop two blocks away did he stop running.
A shrill whistle rang out from the side of the train farthest from thestation. The wheels began to move slowly. There was a rush for theengine. Jack Goodheart stood in the door of the cab ready for business.
"No passengers allowed here, boys," he announced calmly. "Take thecoaches in the rear."
A dozen revolvers cracked. There was a rattle of breaking windows. Theengine, baggage-car, and smoker moved forward, leaving the rest of thetrain on the track.
Men, swarming like ants, had climbed to the top of the cars, evidentlywith some idea of getting at their victim from above. Some of these wereon the forward coaches. They began to drop off hurriedly as the stationfell to the rear.
The wheels turned faster. Bud Proctor swung aboard and joined thesheriff.
"I cut off the other cars and gave the signal to start," he explainedtriumphantly.
"Good boy, Bud. Knew I could tie to you," Prince answered with the warmsmile that always won him friends.
They passed into the car together. Clanton was leaning far out of thewindow waving a mocking hand of farewell to the crowd on the platform. Hedrew his head in and handed the weapons back to his friend.
"Don't I make a good deputy, Billie? I didn't fire even once."