CHAPTER XVI
THE HONOUR OF THIEVES
Gardiner and Riles rode only a short distance out of town, thenturned their horses into the deep bush, and waited. The afternoonwore on heavily, and the goad of suspense hounded them sorely, butthere was nothing to do but wait. It would be a fool's trip, asGardiner said, to go hunting unless they were assured of game.
But at last the Harrises' team and buggy milled by. When it hadsecured a good lead the two horsemen emerged from their covering andtook a cross road to Gardiner's ranch.
"We better eat," said Gardiner, and busied himself with starting afire. "Of course, the cook's out. Fishing, I guess," he continued, ashe noticed that Travers' fishing rod was gone from the wall. "Perhapsit's just as well. He might be asking questions."
Riles ate his meal in haste and silence. He was taciturn, moody, andexcitable, and made no response to Gardiner's attempts to openconversation upon trivial subjects.
"Upon my soul," said Gardiner at last, "you don't seem any more thanenthusiastic. One would think you were going to a funeral, instead ofa--a division of profits."
"Perhaps I am," said Riles sourly. "We'll know better when we getback."
"Well, if you feel that way about it, you better stay at home," saidGardiner, with pointed candidness. "If ten thousand dollars is nogood to you perhaps I can use your share in my own business,"
"That wouldn't let me out," protested Riles. "You've got me mixed upin it now, and if things go wrong I'm in for it, but if things goright you're willin' t' take all the money."
"Things won't go wrong," Gardiner assured him. "They can't.Everything is planned to a fraction, but if we see there's going tobe a hitch--why, the owner of the mine'll fail to turn up, and we'llall come back to town, and no one a bit the wiser."
Gardiner arose and took a bottle from a cupboard. He poured a bigglass and set it before Riles. "Drink that, and the world will lookmore to your liking," he said.
Riles responded to the liquor, and presently the two were in animateddiscussion of their plans. Riles was eager to know the details, ofwhich he had been kept in complete ignorance, but Gardiner woulddisclose nothing until they were on the road. "Jim may come in anyminute," he explained, "and Jim might hear enough to make himcurious. And it's just a little too soon to excite his curiosity."
"That reminds me," Gardiner continued. "Jim has a very neat littlerevolver here somewhere. I think I'll borrow it. We might see ionicgame, as Allan says."
A search disclosed revolver and cartridges in Travers' trunk.Gardiner loaded the weapon and put it in his pocket.
"What about me?" demanded Riles. "Ain't I t' have no gun?"
"Better without it," said Gardiner. "It might go off. If we reallysee any game, and there's a chance of a second shot, I'll lend youthis one."
The sun was dipping almost to the mountains when they set out on across-trail through the valley. Down by the river, well screened withcotton-woods, Travers fished in a pool close by the ford. He heardvoices, and, looking up quickly, saw Riles and Gardiner riding slowlydown the road. At first he thought Gardiner had seen him, but in amoment he revised that opinion. The two rode close by, and stoppedtheir horses to drink with their forefeet in the river. Jim was goingto call to them when he heard his own name mentioned. He was noeavesdropper, but he obeyed the impulse to listen and keep out ofsight.
"Travers doesn't suspect a thing," Gardiner was saying. "It's just aswell. He figures on making old Harris his father-in-law some day,and he might do something foolish if he caught on. If the old manloses all his money he won't be so desirable from a son-in-law'spoint of view...Well, we'll see how he stands the night in the oldshanty up the river road. Strange things have happened there beforenow, let me tell you, Riles."
If Jim had been prompted by curiosity at first a very differentemotion laid hold of him as he caught the gist of Gardiner's remarks.He had no delusions about the principles of either Gardiner or Riles.His relations with his present employer had been pleasant but by nomeans confidential, as he had never sought nor valued Gardiner'sfriendship. He was convinced that Gardiner was kind in a general wayto those with whom he came in contact, because kindness cost nothingand might upon occasion be exceedingly profitable. Riles, on theother hand, was coarse and unkind simply because his nature rose tono higher plane. Gardiner was clever enough to conceive almost anydepth of villainy, and Riles was brutal enough to carry out themuscular part of the plot. Travers had not known Harris to be in thedistrict, but he had suspected for some days that Gardiner and Rileswere hatching mischief in their long absences together. Theinformation that Harris was going up the river to-night, apparentlywith a large sum of money, and the fact that these two men also weregoing up the river, gave to Travers' nimble mind framework on whichto hang almost any kind of plot.
He leaned forward in the trees, but at that moment Riles clutchedGardiner's arm and said something in a low voice. The two men rodethrough the river, and their words were drowned in the lisp of thewater.
The smile did not leave Travers' lips as he wound up his reel andstole swiftly along a cattle-track up from the river, but a suddenlight gleamed in his eyes and his muscles hardened with excitedtension. He knew the shanty to which Gardiner referred, as they hadonce been there together, and he resolved that if there were going tobe any "doings" in that locality to-night he would furnish a share ofthe excitement. Unfortunately, the ford was on a cross-road littleused, and it was two miles back to the ranch. Had he been raised onthe ranges he would not have been caught so far from his horse, but aManitoban sometimes uses his legs to walk with, while his brother inAlberta finds them useful only for wearing schaps and straddling asaddle. By the time Travers reached the ranch buildings, caught andsaddled his horse, made a fruitless search for his revolver,substituted a rifle which lay at hand, and at length found himselfupon the trail, darkness was setting in, and Gardiner and Riles hadmany miles' start of him.
When the two plotters stopped to let their horses drink at the fordGardiner suddenly broke off from their conversation to make a fewremarks about Travers and Harris. Riles had listened indifferentlyuntil his eye caught sight of Travers, half concealed among thecotton-woods that fringed the stream. He clutched Gardiner's arm.
"S-s-sh," he cautioned. "Jim's just behind the bank. I'm sure I sawhim, an' he heard you, too."
"Good," said Gardiner, quite undisturbed. "Now we can go on." Theyreined up their horses and plunged into the swiftly-running water."You see," said Gardiner, as the horses took the opposite bank withgreat strides, their wet hoofs slipping on the round boulders thatfringed the stream,--"You see, I knew Jim was there all the time.Those remarks were intended for his benefit."
Riles parted with a great chew of tobacco. "You beat me," he said,wiping his lips with the back of his hand. "You plumb beat me."
Gardiner enjoyed the note of admiration in his companion's voice. Heenjoyed also the knowledge that Riles was utterly at sea; that he hadno more idea than the horse he rode what lay before them that night.
"It's all quite simple," said Gardiner, after a pause. "Jim willhurry back to the ranch, saddle his horse, and follow us. By the way,I didn't tell him I borrowed his revolver. That may delay him some.But he should arrive at the shack in time to be taking a few stealthyobservations just about the moment the Harrises are hunting for theirmoney bag. I hope Allan doesn't use that shot-gun on him. A shot-gunmakes an awful hole in a man, Riles."
Riles experienced an uncanny feeling up his spine.
"Well," continued Gardiner, "I promised to lay the whole plan beforeyou, when we were safe on the road with no possibility of any strangeears cocked for what a man might happen to say...Look at that sunset,Riles; isn't that magnificent!"
"Good enough, I suppose," said Riles, "but I hope we didn't come outhere to see the sunset. How about this plan of yours?"
"Riles," admonished Gardiner, "you've no more soul than a toadstool.You haven't any imagination. I wonder you have faith enough to windyour watch. Now if you c
ould paint a picture like that it would makeyou more money than you ever saw--including what you're going to seeto-night.
"But to get down to the scheme. It's all easy sailing now. The bigthing was to get them on the road with the coin. That's what I neededyou for, Riles. And you didn't do too bad. I had to prod you along abit, but you'll thank me for it when it's all over."
"Yes, but it's them that's got it, not us," commented Riles.
"Sure, but it'll be different in the mornin'. Riles, you are a gloomydevil. Here you have ten thousand dollars right in your mit andyou're as happy as a man with a boil. Now this is how it will workout, to a T. The two Harrises will get up to the shanty about dark.They'll pitch camp there and begin to wonder when we'll be along.Well, we won't be along until it's good and dark, even if we have tokill time on the road. If Travers catches up on us we'll just let himmake one of the party, which will be sort of embarrassing for Jim.But he won't catch up. Well, when it's good and dark--there'll be nomoon till after midnight--and they're both sleepy with their longdrive in the high altitude, we will arrive near by. You will go up tothe door and take a look on the quiet. I will go up to the window anddo the same. There's no glass in the window, and there's no door oneither, as I remember. We'll size up things inside, particularly thelocation of the coin. Then you show yourself. Tell 'em I have theowner of the mine out there in the trees, but the old fellow won'tcome in until he has a talk with them. Tell 'em they better not showthe money until they chat with him a few minutes. Likely they'll fallfor that, as they don't seem to have the slightest suspicion. But ifthey balk at leaving the money let them bring it along. Once out inthe dark the rest will be easy. But I figure they'll leave the moneyin the shack--it's just for a few minutes, you know--and they'llreason that it's safe enough with no one but ourselves within miles.Well, you lead them off down through the bush. As soon as you do thatI'll slip in through the window, gather up the long green and cacheit somewhere in the scrub. You won't be able to find me at first, butwhen you do I'll say that the old fellow wanted to go up to the shackhimself to meet them, and I let him go. Then we'll all go back to theshack, and find both the money and the old man--the mine-owner, youknow--missing. Then we'll start a hue and cry and all hit into thebush. You and I will gather up the spoil and make a quiet get-awayfor the night. Of course we'll have to turn up in the morning toavert suspicion, but we can tell them we got on the robber's trailand followed it until we lost ourselves in the bush. In the meantimethe Harrises will be tearing around in great excitement, and they'realmost sure to run on to Travers. Harris recently fired Travers, andAllan had a fight with him, if you told me right, so it's not likelythey'll listen to any explanations. They'll turn him over to thepolice, and as it's the business of the police to get convictions,they'll have to frame up a case against him or be made to lookstupid--and that's the last thing a policeman likes. Then you and Iwill quietly divide the proceeds of our investment, and you can goback to your farm, if you like, and live to a ripe old age and get awrite-up in the local paper when you shuffle off. As for me--I'm notthat type, Riles, and I'll likely find some other way to spend myprofits."
"It looks easy," Riles admitted. "But what about Jim? He'll tell whathe heard you say at the ford."
"Let him. Nobody'll believe it. Remember that when he tells thathe'll be under arrest, and when a man's under arrest his word isalways discounted. To be arrested means to be half convicted. Ittakes two good witnesses to offset the moral effect of arrest, andTravers will have no witnesses.
"It's all quite easy," Gardiner continued. "And if it should failthere are a dozen other ways just as easy. But we won't let it fail.We mustn't let it fail, on your account."
"On my account? What more account mine than yours?"
"Well, you see, Harris, no doubt, has your letter stowed awaysomewhere, and it would make bad evidence for you. I don't think itmentions me at all. Besides, I know a way through a pass in thesemountains, and if it doesn't turn out right--why, I'm glad I know theway. You see, I've nothing to lose, and, nobody to worry over me. Butit's different with you, Hiram. You have a wife and a fine farm downin Manitoba, and it would be inconvenient for you to slip awaywithout notice. So I say that on your account we mustn't let itfail."
"You didn't say nothin' about that before, I notice," said Riles.
"You mustn't expect me to do your private thinking as well as that ofthe firm," Gardiner retorted. "You had the facts--why didn't youpatch them together for yourself? You're in a mess now if thingsdon't go right. But, as I said, I'm going to stick with you and seethat they do go right."
They rode along in silence in the gathering darkness. Had they beenable to read each other's minds they would have been astonished atthe coincidence of thought. Gardiner was planning to make away withthe money when he got out of the building. Why should he divide withRiles--Riles, who would only hoard it up, and who had plenty of moneyalready? Not at all. Riles might sue him for his share, if he wantedto--and could find him, to serve notice! On the other hand, Riles'slow wits had quickened to the point of perceiving that there laybefore him a chance of making twenty thousand dollars instead of tenthousand, if he only had the nerve to strike at the strategic moment.When he got the Harrises out of the shack, by hook or crook he wouldleave them and follow Gardiner. He was much more than Gardiner'smatch in strength and he had little fear of the revolver, provided hecould take his adversary unawares. If the worst came to the worst,and he could not give the Harrises the slip, he would take them withhim, and they would all come upon Gardiner red-handed with the loot.Then he would explain to Harris how he had discovered Gardiner's plotand frustrated it...The idea grew upon Riles, and he rode along in aframe of mind bordering upon cheerfulness.
It was now quite dark, and the horses picked their steps carefullyalong the hillside trails. At last Gardiner drew up and pointed to aheavy clump of trees. A faint glimmer of light shone through it.
"That's the shack," he whispered. "They have a lantern there. Webetter get off the road and tether our horses in this coulee. Don'tgo too close; their horses may call to ours, and they will come outto meet us."
They turned down a narrow ravine with scarce room to walk single filebetween the branching trees. The stream was almost dry, and thehorses' hoofs clanked alarmingly along the bed of the creek. Theytied them where the woods closed all about them, and there seemed nochance of discovery.
"Quietly, now," said Gardiner, as they stole toward the old building."Things seem to be working out as we planned, but we must make sureof every detail, so that we can change the attack if necessary."
The two men stole up the rough road leading to the hut. Riles felthis heart thumping, and his lungs seemed half choked for air, butGardiner lost none of his composure, and would have lit a cigarettehad he not feared the light would betray them. The glow of thelantern came from the building, shining in a long, fading wedge fromthe sashless window, but seemed strangely obscure about the door. Asthey approached this mystery was revealed; a blanket was seen to hangover the doorway.
"That's a good sign," whispered Gardiner. "One, or both of them, aresleeping. That's why they feel the cold. If they had stayed awakethey would have built a fire and perhaps walked about outside. Thismountain air gets a man that isn't used to it. I'll bet you could goto sleep yourself this minute, Riles, if you weren't so scared."
"I ain't scared, damn you," said Riles, though the words trembled inhis teeth. "If it comes to a show-down we'll see who's scared."
"That's good," said Gardiner. "That's the way to talk. If you justkeep that up for a few minutes it'll all be over."
They paused for a moment to listen. The night was moonless andstarry, except where a bank of clouds came drifting up from thesouth-west. A moist breeze, smelling of soft, mountain snow, gentlystirred the trees about them. But from the shanty no sound could bediscerned. They approached nearer, and still nearer.
"Now, you go to the door, and I'll take the window," Gardinerordered. "Shove the blanket aside a little and
size up the situationbefore you speak. We must make sure they're there, and there alone."
Gardiner waited until he saw Riles fumbling carefully with theblanket that hung in the doorway. Then he darted quickly to thewindow.