Square Deal Sanderson

  CHAPTER XXXIII

  A MAN LEAVES OKAR

  Riding the hard trail through the basin, from its neck at Okar to thebroad, upward slope that led to the Double A ranchhouse, came anotherman, who also was sacrificing everything to speed. His horse wasfresh, and he spared it not at all as he swept in long, smooth, swiftundulations over the floor of the basin.

  Ben Nyland's lips were as straight and hard as were those of the otherman who was racing toward the Double A from another direction; his facewas as grim, and his thoughts were as bitter and savage.

  When he reached the bottom of the long, gentle slope that stretched tothe Double A ranchhouse he did not spare his horse. The terrible spurssank in again and again, stirring the animal to a frenzy of effort, andhe rushed up the slope as though it were a level, snorting with painand fury, but holding the pace his rider demanded of him.

  And when he reached the corral fence near the Double A ranchhouse, andhis rider dismounted and ran forward, the horse heaved a sigh of reliefand stood, bracing his legs to keep from falling, his breath coming interrific heaves.

  An instant after his arrival Ben Nyland was in side the Double Aranchhouse, pistol in hand. He tore through the rooms in the darkness,stumbling over the furniture, knocking it hither and there as itinterfered with his progress.

  He found no one. Accidentally colliding with the table in the kitchen,he searched its top and discovered thereon a kerosene lamp. Lightingit with fingers that trembled, he looked around him.

  There were signs of the confusion that had reigned during the day. Hesaw on the floor the rope that had encircled Dale's neck--one end of itwas tied to the fastenings of the kitchen door.

  The tied rope was a mystery to Nyland, but it suggested hanging to histhoughts, already lurid, and he leaped for the pantry. There he grimlyviewed the wreck and turned away, muttering.

  "He's been here an' gone," he said, meaning Dale; "them's hismarks--ruin."

  Blowing out the light he went to the front door, paused in it and thenwent out upon the porch, from where he could look northeastward at theedge of the mesa surmounting the big slope that merged into the floorof the basin.

  Faintly outlined against the luminous dark blue of the sky, he caughtthe leaping silhouette of a horse and rider. He grinned coldly, andstepped back into the shadow of the doorway.

  "That's him, damn him!" he said. "He's comin' back!"

  He had not long to wait. He saw the leaping silhouette disappear,seeming to sink into the earth, but he knew that horse and rider weredescending the slope; that it would not be long before they wouldthunder up to the ranchhouse--and he gripped the butt of his gun untilhis fingers ached.

  He saw a blot appear from the dark shadows of the slope and comerushing toward him. He could hear the heave and sob of the horse'sbreath as it ran, and in another instant the animal came to a slidinghalt near the edge of the porch, the rider threw himself out of thesaddle and ran forward.

  At the first step taken by the man after he reached the porch edge, hewas halted by Nyland's sharp:

  "Hands up!"

  And at the sound of the other's voice the newcomer cried out inastonishment:

  "Ben Nyland! What in hell are you doin' here?"

  "Lookin' for Dale," said the other, hoarsely. "Thought you was him,an' come pretty near borin' you. What saved you was a notion I had ofwantin' Dale to know what I was killin' him for! Pretty close, Deal!"

  "Why do you want to kill him?"

  "For what he done to Peggy--damn him! He sneaked into the house an'hurt her head, draggin' her to Okar--to Maison's. I've killed Maison,an' I'll kill him!"

  "He ain't here, then--Dale ain't?" demanded Sanderson.

  "They ain't nobody here," gruffly announced Nyland. "They've beenhere, an' gone. Dale, most likely. The house looks like a twister hadstruck it!"

  Sanderson was inside before Nyland ceased speaking. He found the lamp,lit it, and looked around the interior, noting the partially destroyedlounge and the other wrecked furniture, strewn around the rooms. Hewent out again and met Nyland on the porch.

  One look at Sanderson told Nyland what was in the latter's mind, and hesaid:

  "He's at the Bar D, most likely. We'll get him!"

  "I ain't takin' no chance of missin' him," Sanderson shot back atNyland as they mounted their horses; "you fan it to Okar an' I'll headfor his shack!"

  Nyland's agreement to this plan was manifested by his actions. He saidnothing, but rode beside Sanderson for a mile or so, then he veered offand rode at an angle which would take him to the neck of the basin,while Sanderson, turning slightly northward, headed Streak for Dale'sranch.

  Halfway between the Double A and the neck of the basin, Nyland cameupon the sheriff and his posse. The posse halted Nyland, thinking hemight be Dale, but upon discovering the error allowed the man toproceed--after he had told them that Sanderson was safe and was ridingtoward the Bar D. Sanderson, Nyland said, was after Dale. He did notsay that he, too, wanted to see Dale.

  "Dale!" mocked the sheriff, "Barney Owen hung him!"

  "Dale's alive, an' in Okar--or somewhere!" Nyland flung back at them ashe raced toward town.

  "I reckon we might as well go back," said the sheriff to his men. "Theclean-up has took place, an' it's all over--or Sanderson wouldn't beback. We'll go back to Okar an' have a talk with Silverthorn. An'mebbe, if Dale's around, we'll run into him."

  The posse, led by the sheriff, returned to Okar. Within five minutesafter his arrival in town the sheriff was confronting Silverthorn inthe latter's office in the railroad station. The posse waited.

  "It comes to this, Silverthorn," said the sheriff. "We ain't got anyevidence that you had a hand in killing those men at Devil's Hole. Butthere ain't a man--an honest man--in town that ain't convinced that youdid have a hand in it. What I want to say to you is this:

  "Sanderson and Nyland are running maverick around the country tonight.Nyland has killed Maison and is hunting for Dale. Sanderson and hismen have cleaned up the bunch of guys that went out this morning towipe Sanderson out. And Sanderson is looking for Dale. And after hegets Dale he'll come for you, for he's seeing red, for sure.

  "I ain't interfering. This is one of the times when the law don't seeanything--and don't want to see anything. I won't touch Nyland forkilling Maison, and I won't lay a finger on Sanderson if he shoots thegizzard out of you. There's a train out of here in fifteen minutes. Igive you your chance--take the train or take your chance withSanderson!"

  "I'll take the train," declared Silverthorn.

  Fifteen minutes later, white and scared, he was sitting in a coach,cringing far back into one of the seats, cursing, for it seemed to himthat the train would never start.