CHAPTER XLI
THE CLEAN-UP
The Wolf Saloon was in a big frame building that stood at a littledistance from the back of the street, with a wide, open space on eachside of it. Lights were flickering from some of the upstairs windows ofthe building when Shorty and the other Circle L men reached town. Shortyand his men had ridden hard, and they had seen a horse and rider halt infront of the building while they were yet a mile or so out on theplains. And when Shorty's horse struck the edge of town Shorty headedhim straight for the Wolf, veering when he reached it and passing to theopen space from which ran an outside stairway. The other men followedShorty's example, and they were close at his heels when he slipped offhis horse and ran around to the front of the Wolf.
Warden had come out shortly before; he was now in his office fartherdown the street, congratulating himself upon the outcome of the incidentin the saloon. He had struck a damaging blow at Lawler. At a stroke hewas evening his score with the latter.
Several other men had emerged from the saloon. When Shorty reached thefront door four men were just emerging, carrying another. Suspicious,alert, Shorty halted the men and peered closely at the face of the manthey were carrying.
"It's Joe Hamlin!" he said as he recognized the other's face.
Shorty's eyes were glowing with rage and suspicion.
"What's happened?" he demanded of one of the men.
"Rukus," shortly replied one. "Hamlin, here, tried to draw on Slade, an'Slade----"
"Slade!"
Shorty almost screamed the words. He straightened, his face grewconvulsed. Pausing on the verge of violent action, he heard Hamlin'svoice:
"Shorty!"
Shorty leaned over. Straining, his muscles working, his eyes blazing,Shorty heard low words issuing from Hamlin's lips:
"Slade done it, Shorty. An' he's got Ruth--took her upstairs.Shorty--save her--for God's sake!"
Shorty straightened. "Take this man to the doctor--he's hit bad!" Thewords were flung at the four men; and Shorty was on the move before hefinished.
Blackburn and the others were close behind him when he burst into thefront door of the saloon.
The saloon occupied the entire lower floor. A bar ran the length of theroom from front to rear. In the center of the room was a roulette wheel;near it was a faro table; and scattered in various places were othertables. Some oil-lamps in clusters provided light for the card andgambling tables; and behind the bar were several bracket lamps.
There were perhaps a score of men in the room when Shorty and the CircleL men burst in. Shorty had come to a halt in the glare of one of thebig clusters of lights, and his friends had halted near him.
The giant made a picture that brought an awed hush over the place. Hestood in the glaring light, a gun in each hand, the muscles of his faceand neck standing out like whipcords; his legs a-sprawl, his eyesblazing with awful rage as they roved around the room, scanning thefaces of every man there. The other Circle L men had drawn theirweapons, too. But Shorty dominated. It was upon him that all eyesturned; it was upon his crimson, rage-lined face that every man looked.He was a figure of gigantic proportions--a mighty man in the grip of theblood-lust.
"You guys stand. Every damned one of you! Don't move a finger or bat aneyelash! I've come a-killin'!" he said in a low, tense voice, the wordscoming with a snap, jerkily, like the separate and distinct lashes of awhip.
Not a man in the room moved, nor did their fascinated eyes waver for aninstant from Shorty's face.
"Where's Slade?"
He shot the words at them. He saw their eyes waver for an instant fromhis and they looked toward the stairs in the rear--the stairs that RuthHamlin had seen when for an instant after throwing the door of the roomopen she had glanced down to see the room full of men, all looking ather.
The concentrated gazing of the men at the stairs told Shorty what hewanted to know. He spoke to Blackburn, throwing the words back over hisshoulder:
"Hold 'em right where they are--damn 'em!"
Then with a few gigantic bounds he was at the foot of the stairs. In afew more he had gained the top, where he pressed his huge shoulderagainst the door. It gave a little--enough to further enrage the giant.He drew back a little and literally hurled himself against it. It burstopen, Shorty keeping his feet as the wreck fell away from him. And hesaw Slade, with a hand over Ruth's mouth, standing near the foot of thebed.
Evidently Slade had been about to release Ruth when he heard the doorcrashing behind him; for at the instant Shorty emerged from the wreck hesaw that the girl's body was already falling--toward the bed--as Sladedrew away from her and reached for his guns.
They came out--both of them--streaking fire and smoke. But they nevercame to the deadly level to which Slade sought to throw them; forShorty's guns were crashing at Slade's first movement, and the bulletsfrom the outlaw's weapons thudded into the board floor, harmlessly, andSlade lurched forward--almost to Shorty's side--his guns loosening inhis hands and falling, one after the other, to the floor. He grinned,with hideous satire, into Shorty's face as he tried, vainly, to steadyhimself.
"Warden--the damned skunk--said Lawler would come--first!" he said, withhorrible pauses. He lurched again, still grinning satirically; andslumped to the floor, where he turned slowly over on his back and laystill.
Shorty glanced at Ruth, who was huddled on the bed; then he wheeled, andleaped for the stairs.
Before he reached the bottom, Ruth sat up and stared dazedly about. Shehad heard the crashing of the pistols, though the reports had seemed tocome from a great distance--faintly, dully. But when she reeled to herfeet and saw Slade lying on the floor, his upturned face ghastly in thefeeble light from the oil-lamp, she knew that someone had saved her, andshe yielded, momentarily, to a great joy that weakened her so that shehad to sit on the edge of the bed to steady herself.
It was not for long; and presently she got up and swayed to the door atthe top of the stairs, holding onto the jamb while she looked downward.When her eyes grew accustomed to the light she paled.
In the big room were many men. She saw Shorty standing among them--sherecognized them as Circle L cowboys. Shorty's guns were out; in fact themen in the group near Shorty seemed to bristle with weapons.
At the rear of the room was another group of men. They stood motionless,silent, and had no weapons in their hands. But some of them werecrouching, their faces grim and set.
And then Ruth heard Shorty's voice--hoarse, raucous with passion:
"You guys that don't belong to Slade's gang, get out! Fan it! You Slademen stand! I know every damned one of you!"
There was a short silence, during which several men slipped away fromthe group at the rear of the room and bolted for the rear door. Andthen, suddenly, as Shorty muttered words that Ruth did not hear, bothgroups of men leaped into action.
Ruth saw the men in the group at the rear reach, concertedly, for theirweapons; she saw smoke streaks stabbing the heavy atmosphere of the bigroom; heard the roar and crash of pistols; saw men falling, to land ingrotesque positions; saw Shorty, huge and terrible amid the billowingsmoke, shoot a man who tried to leap over the bar, so that he fellacross it limply, as though sleeping. She observed another man--one ofSlade's--dodge behind a card table, rest his pistol for an instant onits top, and shoot at Shorty. She saw Shorty snap a shot at the man, sawthe man's head wobble as he sank behind the table. And then she wassuddenly aware that it was ended. A ghastly silence fell. Through theheavy smoke she saw Shorty, standing where he had stood all along--nearthe cluster of lights just inside the front door. It seemed to her thatthe room was full of motionless figures of men, strewing the floor.
She was sick and weak, but she knew she must get out into the air or shewould faint; and so she began to descend the stairs, holding to theslender railing for support.
She got down without anyone seeing her. No one seemed to pay anyattention to her. As she reached a side door--opening into the spacefrom which the outside stairs ran--she looked back, to see S
horty and anumber of Circle L men clustered around Blackburn--who was sitting in achair, looking very white.
She got out into the open and ran toward the street, hardly knowingwhat she intended to do. Whatever happened, she did not want to staylonger in the Wolf. She had a feeling that if she could find Moreton shewould be safe until Shorty and the Circle L men completed the grim workupon which they were engaged. For she knew that the Circle L men hadsworn to square their account with the outlaws--and, knowing thecircumstances of the fight on the plains the previous spring, she couldnot blame them for what they had done.
And yet she wanted to get away from the scene--anywhere.
She halted in front of the Wolf, and saw a number of men on thestreet--and others running toward the building. She moved down thestreet toward the station, and as she passed a group of men she saw aman running toward her, shouting loudly:
"Lawler's here! What in hell is comin' off? Lawler just got off aspecial train! He looks like he looked that day he rode into townlookin' for Gary Warden!"
Far down the street Ruth saw him coming. He was running, and she leapedto meet him, unaware that Shorty and the other Circle L men had emergedfrom the front door of the Wolf and were listening to the man who hadbrought the news of Lawler's arrival.
She was aware of nothing but the fact that Lawler was coming. And when,running toward him, she saw him stop dead short, she cried aloud withjoy:
"O Kane! Kane!"
And then his big arms went around her, and she nestled close to him,shuddering, sobbing, laughing.
Excitedly, rapidly, as he held her, she related the story of the night'sadventure. Then Shorty and the others came up. She and Lawler werestanding in front of a store, in a glare of light that came through abig window; and she saw his lips straighten when she told him what Sladehad done.
"Shorty," he said, grimly; "take care of her."
And then, despite her struggles--for she knew that he was going to seekWarden--she found herself a captive in the giant's arms, while Lawlerran down the street toward Warden's office.