Chapter XXIV
_The Genial Bud_
"And just as soon as he can be moved, his wife aims to take him over toStacey."
So Bud told the Marshal of Criswell, who, for want of betteraccommodations, had his office in the rear of the general store.
The marshal, a gaunt individual with a watery blue eye and a soiledgoatee, shook his head. "The law is the law," he stated sententiously.
"And a gun's a gun," said Shoop. "But what evidence you got that JimWaring killed Bob Brewster and his brother Tony?"
"All I need, pardner. When I thought Andy Brewster was goin' to passover, I took his antimortim. But he's livin'. And he is bound over toappear ag'in' Waring. What you say about the killin' over by Staceyain't got nothin' to do with this here case. I got no orders to holdAndy Brewster, but I'm holdin' him for evidence. And I'm holdin' Waringfor premeditated contempt and shootin' to death of said Bob Brewster andhis brother Tony. And I got said gun what did it."
"So you pinched Jim's gun, eh? And when he couldn't lift a finger or saya word to stop you. Do you want to know what would happen if you was totry to get a holt of said gun if Jim Waring was on his two feet? Well,Jim Waring would pull said trigger, and Criswell would bury said citymarshal."
"The law is the law. This town's payin' me to do my duty, and I'm goin'to do it."
"Speakin' in general, how much do you owe the town so far?"
"Look-a-here! You can't run no whizzer like that on me. I've heard tellof you, Mr. Shoop. No dinky little ole forest ranger can comecantelopin' round here tellin' me my business!"
"Mebby I'm dinky, and mebby, I'm old, but your eyesight wants fixin' ifyou callin' me little, old hoss. An' I ain't tryin' to tell you yourbusiness. I'm tellin' you mine, which is that Jim Waring goes to Staceyjust the first minute he can put his foot in a buck-board. And he'sgoin' peaceful. I got a gun on me that says so."
"The law is the law. I can run you in for packin' concealed weapons, Mr.Shoop."
"Run me in!" chuckled Shoop. "Nope. You'd spile the door. But let metell you. A supervisor is a deputy sheriff--and that goes anywherethey's a American flag. I don't see none here, but I reckon Criswell isin America. What's the use of your actin' like a goat just because yougot chin whiskers? I'm tellin' you Jim Waring done a good job when hebeefed them coyotes."
The marshal's pale-blue eyes blinked at the allusion to the goat. "Now,don't you get pussonel, neighbor. The law is the law, and they ain't nouse you talkin'."
Bud's lips tightened. The marshal's reiterated reference to the law wasbecoming irksome. He would be decidedly impersonal henceforth.
"I seen a pair of walkin' overalls once, hitched to a two-bit shirt witha chewin'-tobacco tag on it. All that held that there fella together washis suspenders. I don't recollec' whether he just had goat whiskers orchewed tobacco, but somebody who had been liquorin' up told him helooked like the Emperor Maximilian. And you know what happened to Maxy."
"That's all right, neighbor. But mebby when I put in my bill for boardof said prisoner and feed for his hoss and one Mexican, mebby you'llquit talkin' so much, 'less you got friends where you can borrow money."
"Your bill will be paid. Don't you worry about that. What I want to knowis: Does Jim Waring leave town peaceful, or have I got to hang aroundhere till he gets well enough to travel, and then show you? I gotsomethin' else to do besides set on a cracker barrel and swap lies withmy friends."
"You can stay or you can go, but the law is the law--"
"And a goat is a goat. All right, hombre, I'll stay."
"As I was sayin'," continued the marshal, ignoring the deepening colorof Shoop's face, "you can stay. You're too durned fat to move aroundsafe, anyhow. You might bust."
Shoop smiled. He had stirred the musty marshal to a show of feeling. Themarshal, who had keyed himself up to make the thrust, was disappointed.He made that mistake, common to his kind, of imagining that he couldcontinue that sort of thing with impunity.
"You come prancin' into this town with a strange woman, sayin' that sheis the wife of the defendant. Can you tell me how her name is Adams andhis'n is Waring?"
"I can!" And with a motion so swift that the marshal had no time to helphimself, Bud Shoop seized the other's goatee and yanked him from thecracker barrel. "I got a job for you," said Shoop, grinning until histeeth showed.
And without further argument on his part, he led the marshal through thestore and up the street to his own house. The marshal back-paddled andstruggled, but he had to follow his chin.
Mrs. Adams answered Bud's knock. Bud jerked the marshal to his knees.
"Apologize to this lady--quick!"
"Why, Mr. Shoop!"
"Yes, it's me, Annie. Talk up, you pizen lizard!"
"But, Bud, you're hurting him!"
"Well, I didn't aim to feed him ice-cream. Talk up, you Gilamonster--and talk quick!"
"I apologize," mumbled the marshal.
Bud released him and wiped his hand on his trousers.
"Sticky!" he muttered.
The marshal shook his fist at Bud. "You're under arrest for disturbin'the peace. You're under arrest!"
"What does it mean?" queried Mrs. Adams.
"Nothin' what he ain't swallowed, Annie. Gosh 'mighty, but I wasted alot of steam on that there walkin' clothes-rack! The blamed horn toadsays he's holdin' Jim for shootin' the Brewsters."
"But he can't," said Mrs. Adams. "Wait a minute; I'll be right out. Sitdown, Bud. You are tired out and nervous."
Bud sat down heavily. "Gosh! I never come so clost to pullin' a gun inmy life. If he was a man, I reckon I'd 'a' done it. What makes me mad isthat I let him get _me_ mad."
When Mrs. Adams came out to the porch she had a vest in her hand. Insidethe vest was pinned the little, round badge of a United States marshal.Bud seized the vest, and without waiting to listen to her he ploddeddown the street and marched into the general store, where the townmarshal was talking to a group of curious natives.
"Can you read?" said Bud, and without waiting for an answer shoved thelittle silver badge under the marshal's nose. "The law is the law,"said Bud. "And that there vest belongs to Jim Waring."
Bud had regained his genial smile. He was too full of the happydiscovery to remain silent.
"Gentlemen," he said, assuming a manner, "did your honorable peaceofficer here tell you what he said about the wife of the man who islayin' wounded and helpless in his own house? And did your honorablepeace officer tell you-all that it is her money that is payin' for theboard and doctorin' of Tony Brewster, likewise layin' wounded andhelpless in your midst? And did your honorable peace officer tell youthat Jim Waring is goin' to leave comfortable and peaceful just as soonas the A'mighty and the doc'll turn him loose? Well, I seen he wastalkin' to you, and I figured he might 'a' been tellin' you thesethings, but I wa'n't sure. Was you-all thinkin' of stoppin' me? Suchdoin's! Why, when I was a kid I used to ride into towns like thisfrequent, turn 'em bottom side up, spank 'em, and send 'em bawlin' totheir--to their city marshal, and I ain't dead yet. Now, I come peacefuland payin' my way, but if they's any one here got any objections to howI wear my vest or eat my pie, why, he can just oil up his objection,load her, and see that she pulls easy and shoots straight. I ain't nocharity organization, but I'm handin' you some first-class lifeinsurance free."
That afternoon Buck Hardy arrived, accompanied by a deputy. AndyBrewster again made deposition that without cause Waring had attackedand killed his brothers. Hardy had a long consultation with Shoop, andlater notified Brewster that he was under arrest as an accomplice in themurder of Pat and for aiding the murderer to escape. Whilecircumstantial evidence pointed directly toward the Brewsters, who hadthreatened openly from time to time to "get" Pat, there was valuableevidence missing in Waco, who, it was almost certain, had been aneye-witness of the tragedy. Waco had been traced to the town of Grant,at which place Hardy and his men had lost the trail. The demolishedbuckboard had been found by the roadside. Hardy had tracked theautomobile to Gran
t.
Shoop suggested that Waco might have taken a freight out of town.Despite Hardy's argument that Waco had nothing to fear so far as themurder was concerned, Shoop realized that the tramp had been afraid toface the law and had left that part of the country.
Such men were born cowards, irresolute, weak, and treacherous even totheir own infrequent moments of indecision. There was no question butthat Waring had acted within the law in killing the Brewsters. BobBrewster had fired at him at sight. But the fact that one of thebrothers survived to testify against Waring opened up a question thatwould have to be answered in court. Shoop offered the opinion thatpossibly Andy Brewster, the youngest of the brothers, was not directlyimplicated in the murder, only taking sides with his brother Bob when helearned that he was a fugitive. In such a premise it was not unnaturalthat his bitterness toward Waring should take the angle that it did. Andit would be difficult to prove that Andy Brewster was guilty of morethan aiding his brother to escape.
The sheriff and Shoop talked the matter over, with the result that Hardydispatched a telegram from The Junction to all the Southern cities tokeep a sharp watch for Waco.
Next morning Shoop left for Jason with Hardy and his deputy.
Several days later Waring was taken to The Junction by Mrs. Adams andRamon, where Ramon left them waiting for the east-bound. The Mexicanrode the big buckskin. He had instructions to return to the ranch.
Late that evening, Waring was assisted from the train to the hotel atStacey. He was given Lorry's old room. It would be many weeks before hewould be strong enough to walk again.
For the first time in his life Waring relinquished the initiative. Hiswife planned for the future, and Waring only asserted himself when shetook it for granted that the hotel would be his permanent home.
"There's the ranch, Annie," he told her. "I can't give that up."
"And you can't go back there till I let you," she asserted, smiling.
"I'll get Lorry to talk to you about that. I'm thinking of making him anoffer of partnership. He may want to set up for himself some day. Imarried young."
"I'd like to see the girl that's good enough for my Lorry."
Waring smiled. "Or good enough to call you 'mother.'"
"Jim, you're trying to plague me."
"But you will some day. There's always some girl. And Lorry is a prettylive boy. He isn't going to ride a lone trail forever."
Mrs. Adams affected an indifference that she by no means felt.
"You're a lot better to-day, Jim."
"And that's all your fault, Annie."
She left the room, closing the door slowly. In her own room at the endof the hall, she glanced at herself in the glass. A rosy face anddark-brown eyes smiled back at her.
But there were many things to attend to downstairs. She had been awaymore than a week. And there was evidence of her absence in every room inthe place.