Beth Norvell: A Romance of the West

  CHAPTER XVII

  A COUNCIL OF WAR

  In the magic of a moment a dozen angry men were pouring from theshaft-house, their guns barking viciously between their curses.Beyond, at the edge of their dark cover, Hicks and Brown rose eagerlyto their knees, while their ready rifles spat swift return fire, notall of it wasted. But Winston had vanished in the green underbrush ascompletely as though he had dropped into the sea. When he finallyemerged it was behind the protecting chaparral, his clothing rags, hisbreathing the sobs of utter exhaustion. Brown, the spell of battleupon him, never glanced aside, his eyes along the brown rifle-barrel;but Hicks sprang enthusiastically to his feet, uttering a growl ofhearty welcome.

  "Damn it," he exclaimed, his old eyes twinkling with admiration, "butyou 're a man!"

  The engineer smiled, his hand pressed hard against his side. "Maybe Iam," he gasped, "but I 'm mighty near all in just now. Say, that was alively spin, and it's got to be an eat and a rest for me next."

  Hicks shaded his forehead, leaning on his rifle.

  "Sometimes I reckon maybe I don't see quite as good as I used to," heexplained regretfully. "Put five shots inter that measly bunch overthar just now, an' never saw even one o' 'em hop 'round like they gotstung. They look sorter misty-like ter me from here; say, Stutter,what is a-happenin' over thar now, anyway?"

  Brown wiped his face deliberately, sputtering fiercely as he strove toget firm grip on his slow thought.

  "A-a-ain't much o' n-nuthing, so f-f-fur's I kin s-see," he repliedgravely. "C-couple o' fellars w-with g-guns h-h-hidin' back o' therd-dump. C-c-carried two b-bucks 'hind ther sh-shaft-house; h-h-hurtsome, I 'speck. R-reckon I must a' g-got both on 'em. Y-y-you shoreought t-ter wear t-t-telescopes, Bill."

  Hicks stared at his partner, his gray goat-beard sticking straight out,his teeth showing.

  "So yer got 'em, hey?" he retorted, savagely. "Oh, ye 'rechain-lightnin', yer are, Stutter. Ye 're the 'riginal Doctor Carver,yer long-legged, sputtering lunk-head. Yer crow like a rooster thet 'sjust found its voice. Now, look yere; I reckon it's brain-work what'sgot ter git us out o' this yere hole, an' I 'll shore have ter furnishmost o' that, fer yer ain 't got none ter spare, as ever I noticed.Shoot! hell, yes, yer kin shoot all right, an' make love ter Greasers;but when thet's over with, yer all in. That's when it's up ter oldBill Hicks ter do the thinkin' act, and make good. Lord! yer leave meplumb tired." The old man peered out across the vacant space towardthe apparently deserted dump, the anger slowly fading away from hiseyes. "I sorter imagine, gents, it will take them fellers a while tergit over ther sudden shock we 've given 'em," he continued. "Maybe webetter take this yere rest spell ter git somethin' ter eat in, and talkover how we 're fixed fer when the curtain goes up again. Them fellersnever won't be happy till after they git another dose into theirsystems, an' thar 's liable ter be some considerable lead eat aforenight. When they does git braced up, an' they reckon up all this yeremeans, they 'll shore be an ugly bunch."

  Behind the safe protection of the low-growing cedars the three menwalked slowly toward the cabin of the "Little Yankee," seeminglyutterly oblivious to any danger lurking behind. As they thus advancedWinston related briefly his discoveries in the lower levels of the"Independence," referring to his personal adventures merely as theneeds of the simple narrative required. Brown, his rifle at trail, hisboyish face sober with thought, indulged in no outward comment, butHicks burst forth with words of fervent commendation.

  "By cracky, are yer shore that was Farnham yer hit?" he exclaimed, hisold eyes gleaming in appreciation. "Blame me, Stutter, what do yerthink o' that? Punched him afore he cud even pull his gun; never heerdo' no sich miracle afore in this yere camp. Why, Lord, that fellar 'squicker 'n chain-lightnin'; I 've seen him onlimber more 'n once."

  "I-I reckon h-h-he won't be v-very likely ter l-let up on yer now,M-m-mister W-Winston," put in the young giant cautiously. "H-he ain'tther kind t-ter fergit no sich d-d-deal."

  "Him let up!--hell!" and Hicks stopped suddenly, and stared behind."He 'll never let up on nothin', that fellar. He 'll be down after usall right, as soon as he gits his second wind, an' Winston here isa-goin' ter git plugged for this night's shindy, if Farnham ever fairgits the drop on him. He ain't got no more mercy 'n a tiger. Yer kingamble on that, boys. He 'll git ther whole parcel o' us if he kin,'cause he knows now his little game is up if he does n't; but he 'llaim ter git Winston, anyhow. Did ye make any tracin's while yer wasdown thar?"

  "Yes, I've got the plans in detail; my distances may not be exactlycorrect, but they are approximately, and I would be willing to go onthe stand with them."

  "Good boy! That means we 've shore got 'em on the hip. They'rea-keepin' quiet over there yet, ain't they, Stutter? Well, let 's haveour chuck out yere in the open, whar' we kin keep our eyes peeled, an'while we 're eatin' we 'll talk over what we better do next."

  The kitchen of the "Little Yankee" was situated out of doors, a smallrift in the face of the bluff forming a natural fireplace, while anarrow crevice between rocks acted as chimney, and carried away thesmoke. The preparation of an ordinary meal under such primitiveconditions was speedily accomplished, the menu not being elaborate northe service luxurious. Winston barely found time in which to wash thegrime from his hands and face, and hastily shift out of his raggedworking clothes to the suit originally worn, when Hicks announced thespread ready, and advised a lively falling to. The dining-room was alarge, flat stone on the very edge of the bluff, sufficiently elevatedto command a practically unobstructed view of the distant shaft-houseof the "Independence." Hicks brought from the cabin an extra rifle,with belt filled with ammunition, which he gravely held out to theengineer.

  "These yere fixings will come in handy pretty soon, I reckon," heremarked significantly, and stood quietly on the edge of the rock,holding a powerful field-glass to his eyes.

  "They 've brought ther night-shift up ter the top," he commentedfinally, "an they 're 'rousin' them others outer ther bunk-house. Hell'll be piping hot presently. 'Bout half them fellers are a-totin'guns, too. Ah, I thought so--thar goes a lad horseback,hell-bent-fer-'lection down the trail, huntin' after more roughs, Ireckon. Well, ther more ther merrier, as ther ol' cat said when shecounted her kittens. Darned ef they ain't got a reg'lar skirmish linethrown out 'long ther gulch yonder. Yer bet they mean business forshore, Stutter, ol' boy."

  Brown, deliberately engaged in pouring the coffee, contented himselfwith a slight grunt, and a quick glance in the direction indicated.Hicks slowly closed his glasses, and seated himself comfortably on theedge of the rock. Winston, already eating, but decidedly anxious,glanced at the two emotionless faces with curiosity.

  "The situation does n't seem to worry either of you very much," he saidat last. "If you really expect an attack from those fellows overthere, is n't it about time we were arranging for some defence?"

  Hicks looked over at him across the rim of his tin cup.

  "Defence? Hell! here 's our defence--four o' us, countin' Mike."

  "Where is Mike?"

  "Oh, out yonder in ther back yard amusin' that Swede Stutter yerebrought in ter him fer a playthin'. Them foreigners seem ter all begittin' mighty chummy o' late. Stutter yere is a-takin' up withGreasers, an' Mike with Swedes. I reckon I 'll have ter be lookin'round fer an Injun, er else play a lone hand purty soon."

  Brown, his freckled face hotly flushed, his eyes grown hard, struck therock with clinched hand.

  "D-d-damn you, B-Bill," he stuttered desperately, his great chestheaving. "I-I 've had jist 'nough o' th-th-thet sorter talk. Yers-s-spit out 'nuther word 'bout her, an' th-th-thar 'll be somethin'e-else a-doin'."

  Old Hicks laughed, his gray goat-beard waggling, yet it was clearlyevident he appreciated the temper of his partner, and realized thelimit of patience.

  "Oh, I 'll pass," he confessed genially. "Lord! I hed a touch o' thatsame disease oncet myself. But thar ain't no sense in yer fightin' me,Stutter; I bet yer git practice
'nough arter awhile, 'less them tharblack eyes o' hern be mighty deceivin'. But that thar may keep. Jistnow we 've got a few other p'ints ter consider. You was askin' aboutour defence, Mr. Winston, when this yere love-sick kid butted in?"

  "Yes."

  "Well, it 's ther lay o' ther ground, an' four good rifles. Thet 'sther whole o' it; them fellers over yonder can't get in, an' I 'mdamned if we kin git out. Whichever party gits tired first is the onewhat's goin' ter git licked."

  "I scarcely understand, Hicks; do you mean you propose standing asiege?"

  "Don't clearly perceive nothin' else ter do," and the man's half-closedeyes glanced about questioningly. "We ain't strong enough to assault;Farnham 's got more 'n five men ter our one over thar right now. He 'ssent a rider inter San Juan arter another bunch o' beauties. We'vecorralled the evidence, an' we've got ther law back o' us, ter send himter the penitentiary. Shore, thar's no doubt o' it. He knows it; an'he knows, moreover, thar ain't no way out fer him except ter plant usafore we kin ever git inter ther courts. Thet's his game jist now. Doyer think Mr. Biff Farnham under them circumstances is liable ter dothe baby act? Not ter no great extent, let me tell yer. He ain'tbuilt thet way. Besides, he hates me like pizen; I reckon by this timehe don't harbor no great love for you; an' yer bet he means ter git usafore we kin squeal, if he has ter h'ist the whole damned mounting.Anyhow, that's how it looks ter me an' Stutter yere. What was it youwas goin' ter advise, Mr. Winston?"

  The engineer set down his tin coffee cup.

  "The immediate despatching of a messenger to San Juan, the swearing outof a warrant for Farnham on a criminal charge, and getting the sheriffup here with a posse."

  Hicks smiled grimly, his glance wandering over toward Stutter, who satstaring open-eyed at the engineer.

  "Ye're a young man, sir, an' I rather reckon yer don't preciselyonderstan' ther exact status o' things out yere in Echo Canyon," headmitted, gravely. "I'm law-abidin', an' all that; law's all right inits place, an' whar it kin be enforced, but Echo Canyon ain't Denver,an' out yere ther rifle, an' occasionally a chunk o' dynamite, hes gotter be considered afore ther courts git any chance ter look over therevidence. It's ginerally lead first, an' lawyers later. Thet 's whatmakes the game interestin', an' gives sich chaps as Farnham a run fertheir money. Well, just now we 've got the law an' ther evidence withus all right, but, damn ther luck, them other fellers hes got therifles. It 's his play first, an' it sorter looks ter me as if the manknew how ter handle his cards. He ain't no bluffer, either. Just takea squint through them glasses down the trail, an' tell me what yer see."

  Winston did so, rising to his feet, standing at the edge of the rockfairly overhanging the valley.

  "Wal, do yer make out anythin' in partic'lar?"

  "There is a small party of men clustered near the big boulder."

  "Exactly; wal, them thar fellars ain't thar altergether fer therhealth. Thar 's three more o' ther same kind a'squattin' in the busheswhar the path branches toward ther 'Independence,' an' another bunchlower down 'side ther crick. It's easy 'nough ter talk about law, an'ther sendin' o' a messenger down ter San Juan after the sheriff, but I'd hate some ter be that messenger. He 'd have some considerableexcitement afore he got thar. Farnham 's a dirty villain, all right,but he ain't no fool. He's got us bottled up yere, and ther cork druvin."

  "You mean we are helpless?"

  "Wal, not precisely; not while our grub and ammunition holds out. Imerely intimate thet this yere difficulty hes naturally got ter bethrashed out with guns--good, honest fightin'--afore any courts willgit a chance even ter sit inter ther game. We ain't got no time jistnow ter fool with lawyers. Clubs is trumps this deal in Echo Canyon,an' we 're goin' ter play a lone hand. Ther one thing what's botherin'me is, how soon ther damned fracas is goin' ter begin. I reckon as howthem fellers is only waitin' fer reinforcements."

  Winston sat motionless, looking at the two men, his mind rapidlygrasping the salient points of the situation. He was thoroughlypuzzled at their apparent indifference to its seriousness. He wasunused to this arbitrament of the rifle, and the odds against themseemed heavy. Old Hicks easily comprehended the expression upon hisface, and solemnly stroked his goat-beard.

  "Ain't used ter that sort o' thing, hey?" he asked at last, hisobstinate old eyes contracting into mere slits. "Reckon we're in asort o' pickle, don't ye? Wal, I don't know 'bout that. Yer see, mean' Stutter have bin sort o' lookin' fer somethin' like this ter occurfer a long time, an' we 've consequently got it figgered out ter apurty fine p'int. When Farnham an' his crowd come moseying up yere,they ain't goin' ter have it all their own way, let me tell yer,pardner. Do yer see that straight face o' rock over yonder?" he roseto his feet, pointing across his shoulder. "Wal, that 's got a fronto' thirty feet, an' slopes back 'bout as fur, with a shelf hangin' overit like a roof. Best nat'ral fort ever I see, an' only one way o'gittin' inter it, an' that the devil o' a crooked climb. Wal, we 'vestocked that place fer a siege with chuck an' ammunition, an' I reckonfour men kin 'bout hold it agin the whole county till hell freezesover. It's in easy rifle shot o' both ther cabin an' ther shaft, an'that Biff Farnham is mighty liable ter git another shock when he comestraipsin' up yere fer ter wipe out ther 'Little Yankee.' Ol' BillHicks ain't bin prospectin' fer thirty years, an' holdin' down claimswith a gun, without learnin' somethin' about ther business. I 'm readyto buck this yere Farnham at any game he wants ter play; damned if hecan't take his chice, law er rifles, an' I 'll give him a bellyfuleither way."

  No one spoke for a long while, the three men apparently occupied withtheir own thoughts. To Winston it was a tragedy, picturesque, heroic,the wild mountain setting furnishing a strange dignity. Brown finallycleared his throat, preparing to speak, his great hand slowly rubbinghis chin.

  "I-I sorter w-w-wish them w-wimmen wan't y-yere," he stuttered,doubtfully.

  The engineer glanced up in sudden astonishment.

  "Women!" he exclaimed. "Do you mean to say you have women with you?"

  Hicks chuckled behind his beard.

  "Shore we have thet--all ther comforts o' home. Nice place fer apicnic, ain't it? But I reckon as how them gals will have ter takepot-luck with the rest o' us. Leastways, I don't see no chance now terget shuck o' 'em. I 'll tell ye how it happened, Mr. Winston; it 'dtake Stutter, yere, too blame long ter relate ther story, only I hopehe won't fly off an' git mad if I chance ter make mention o' his gal'long with the other. He 's gittin' most damn touchy, is Stutter, an'I 'm all a-tremble fer fear he 'll blow a hole cl'ar through me. It'shell, love is, whin it gits a good hol' on a damn fool. Wal, theseyere two bloomin' females came cavortin' up the trail this mornin',just afore daylight. Nobody sent 'em no invite, but they sorterconceived they had a mission in ther wilderness. I wa'nt nowisefavorable ter organizin' a reception committee, an' voted fer shovin''em back downhill, bein' a bit skeery o' that sex, but it seems that,all unbeknownst ter me, Stutter, yere, hed bin gittin' broke terharness. An' what did he do but come prancin' inter the argument witha gun, cussin' an' swearin', and insistin' they be received yere ashonored guests. Oh, he 's got it bad. He 'll likely 'nough go downter San Juan soon as ever ther road is cl'ar, an' buy one o' themmotters 'God Bless Our Home' ter hang on ther cabin wall, an' adoor-mat with 'Welcome' on it. That's Stutter--gone cl'ar bug-housejist 'cause a little black-haired, slim sort o' female made eyes athim. Blame a fool, anyhow. Wal, one o' them two was Stutter's catch,a high-kickin' Mexican dancin' gal down ter San Juan. I ain't goin'ter tell yer what I think o' her fer fear o' gittin' perforated. Shehed 'long with her another performer, a darn good-looker, too, as nearas I could make out in the dark. Wal, them two gals was purtendin' terbe huntin' arter you; wanted ter warn yer agin Farnham, er some sichrot. You was down ther mine, jist then, so that's the whole o' it upter date."

  "Where are they now?"

  "In the cabin yonder, sleepin' I reckon."

  Winston turned hastily toward Brown, his lips quivering, his eyes g
rownstern.

  "Who was it with Mercedes?" he questioned sharply. "Did you learn hername?"

  "Sh-she told me d-d-down at San Juan," replied Stutter, striving hardto recollect. "It w-w-was N-N-Nor-vell."

  With the utterance of the word the young engineer was striding rapidlytoward the cabin.