XII
The wild riders of the Breaks no longer mingled with other men with thesame freedom as of old. Some fifteen men throughout the country feltthemselves marked and set apart from others. Friends no longerfraternized with them at the bars when they rode into the towns. Doorswhich had always been open in the past were now opened furtively if atall. Lukewarm adherents fell away from them and avoided them even morestudiously than the rest. This swift transition had sprung apparentlyfrom no more than a whisper, a murderous rumor which persisted in theface of flat denials issued from its supposititious source.
All through the range and as far south as the railroad it was currentgossip that the Three Bar would pay a thousand dollars reward for eachof fifteen men, a fast saddle horse thrown in and no questions asked.The men were named, and if the rumor was based on truth it wasvirtually placing a bounty on the scalps of certain men the same as theState paid bounty on the scalps of wolves,--except that it was withoutthe sanction of the law.
This backfire rumor had established a definite line with fifteen menoutside, conspicuous and alone, and those who had once followed thehazy middle ground of semi-lawlessness with perfect security nowhastened to become solid citizens whose every act would stand thelight; for the whispers seemed all-embracing and it was intimated thatnew names would be added to the original list to include those whofraternized with the ones outside the pale.
Those not branded by this alleged bounty system were quick to grasp thebeautiful simplicity of it all. Some recalled that a similar rumor,supposed to have originated with old Con Ristine, had wiped out thewild bunch that preyed on the Nations Cow-trail--that the Gallatinclean-up had resulted from a like report which Al Moody was reported tohave launched.
It had the effect of causing the men so branded to view all others withsuspicion, as possible aspirants out to collect the bounty on theirheads. It sowed distrust among their own ranks for there was alwaysthe chance that one, in seeking safety for himself, might collect theblood-money posted for another. The reference to the fast saddle horsewas guarantee that no questions would be asked before the price waspaid and no questions answered after the recipient had ridden away fromthe Three Bar with his spoils.
Yet, if the thing were true, it was the most flagrant violation of thelaw ever launched, even in the Coldriver Strip where transgression wasthe rule. For the branded men were not wanted on any charge. It wasmerely the wholesale posting of rewards for the lives of some fifteencitizens whose standing in the community was legally the same as therest,--prize money offered by an individual concern for its enemieswithout reference to the law. On every possible occasion Harris flatlydenied that there was a shred of truth in the report. Al Moody, yearsbefore, had also denied his responsibility for the rumors on theGallatin range; and Con Ristine had repudiated all knowledge of thewhispers that traveled the Nations Trail. But in each case these verynatural denials had served only to strengthen men's belief in the truthof the reports; and inevitably they had established a hard line thatcut off the men so named from the rest of the countryside.
Harris knew that his own life was forfeit any time he chanced to ridealone. He had not a doubt but that Slade had put a price on his headand that perhaps a dozen men were patiently waiting for a chance athim. Any man whose name appeared on the black list which he wassupposed to have sponsored would overlook no opportunity to retaliatein kind. In addition to this there was always the chance of a swiftraid on the men who had filed their homestead rights in the valley.
As a consequence Harris had taken every possible precaution. Winterhad claimed the range and hardened the ground with frost. The fullforce of Three Bar hands had been kept on the pay roll instead of beinglet off immediately after the beef was shipped. These riders werestationed in line camps out on the range, their ostensible purposebeing to hold all Three Bar cows close to the home ranch but in realitythey served two ends, acting as a cordon of guards as well. The twowoodcutters were camped in the edge of the hills behind the ranch anddaily patrolled the drifts that now lay deep in the timber for signs ofskulkers who might have slipped down from behind and stationedthemselves on some point overlooking the corrals.
Three times in as many weeks strangers drifting in from otherlocalities stopped in Coldriver and profanely reported the fact thatfor no reason whatever, while passing through the Three Bar range, theyhad been held up and forced to state their business in thatneighborhood.
Hostilities had ceased. The Three Bar girl had anticipated a series ofraids against the cows wearing her brand, swift forays in isolatedpoints of her range, but no stock losses were reported. On the surfaceit appeared that Slade had given up all thought of harassing the ThreeBar. But the girl had come to know Slade. He would never recede fromhis former stand. She noted that Harris's vigilance was never for aninstant relaxed and it was gradually impressed upon her that thecessation of petty annoyances held more of menace than of assurance.Slade had seen that the Three Bar was not to be discouraged in itscourse and he now waited for an opportunity to launch a blow that wouldcripple, striking simultaneously at every exposed point and delayingonly for a propitious time. In the face of continued immunity she wasfilled with a growing conviction of impending trouble.
Christmas had found the range covered with a fresh tracking snow whichprecluded possibility of a raid and all hands had been summoned to thehome ranch for a two-day rest. Harris knew that cowhands, no matterhow loyal to the brand that pays them, are a restless lot and must havetheir periodical fling to break the monotony of lonely days; so he hadprovided food and drink in abundance. The frolic was over and thehands back on the range. Harris sat with Billie before her fire.
"They'll be satisfied for another two months," he said. "Then we'llhave to call them in for another spree."
This evening conference before the fire had come to be a nightlyoccurrence. Together they went over the details of the workaccomplished during the day and mapped out those for the next. Fromoutside came the crunch of hoofs and the screech of logs on the frozentrail as the last mule team came down with its load.
Most of the logs had been skidded down and the men now worked in pairs,erecting the cabins on each filing. The cedar posts had been hauledand strung out along the prospective fence lines. The wagons, underheavy guard, had made two trips to the railroad to freight in moreimplements and supplies. Thousands of pounds of seed oats and alfalfaseed were stored at the Three Bar along with sixty hundred of cement.
"Another two months and the cabins will be roofed and finished," Harrissaid. "Then we'll be through till the frost is out of the ground.We'll start building fence as soon as you can sink a post hole; andwe'll have time to break out another two hundred acres of ground beforetime to seed it down."
The girl nodded without comment, content to leave him to his thoughts,her mind pleasantly occupied with her own. For long her evenings hadbeen lonely but now she had come to look forward to the conferencesbefore the blazing logs. She had made no attempt to analyze thereasons for the new contentment which had transformed her evenings,formerly periods of drab reflections, into the most pleasant portion ofeach day.
Harris gazed about the familiar room and wondered what the future heldout to him if he should be forced to spend his evenings alone afterhaving shared them for six months with the Three Bar girl. The weeklyletters still came from Deane. The girl valued Harris as a friend andpartner without apparent trace of more intimate regard. He wonderedwhich would prevail, the ties which bound her to the life she hadalways known or the lure of the new life which beckoned.
Suddenly, without having sought it, the explanation of her recentcontentment bubbled to the surface of the girl's consciousness, and sheturned and gazed at Harris. Night after night she had sat here withold Cal Warren and discussed the details of their work and after hispassing her evenings had been hours of restlessness. Now Harris, thepartner, had crept into the father's place,--had in a measure filledthe void.
Harris rose and flic
ked the ash from his cigarette, suppressing thedesire to take her in his arms, for he knew that time had not yet come.As he opened the door to leave an eddy of steam curled in at theopening as the warm air of the room battled on the threshold with thethirty-below temperature of the outside world. She heard the hissingcrunch of his boots on the frozen crust--and reached for Deane'sChristmas letter to reread it for perhaps the fifth time.
During the night a chinook poured its warm breath over the hills andmorning found the snow crumpling before it. The surface was a pulpymass intersected by rivulets. Water trickled from the eaves of thebuildings and there was a breath of spring in the air; false assurancefor those who knew, for it was inevitable that, once the chinook hadpassed, bitter frost would clamp down once more.
Such days, however, inspire plans for spring and Billie rode withHarris through the lower field as he pointed out the various fencelines and the lay of the ditches and laterals which would carry waterto irrigate the meadow, all these to be installed as soon as wintershould lose its grip.
As Harris outlined his plans his words were tinged with optimism and heallowed no hint of possible disaster to creep into his speech. But thegirl was conscious of that hovering uncertainty, the feeling that themonths of peace were but to lure her into a false sense of security andthat Slade would pounce on the Three Bar from all angles at oncewhenever the time was right.
She found some consolation in the fact that Lang's men no longer rodethrough her range at will, but skirted it in their trips to and fromthe Breaks. She attributed this solely to Harris's precautions in thematter of outguards, for of all those within a hundred miles she wasperhaps the single one who had not heard of the sinister rumor that wascutting Lang and his men off from the rest of the world.
Men were discussing it wherever they met; in Coldriver they werespeculating on the possible results, the same in the railroad towns;across the Idaho line and south into Utah it was the topic of the day.And the single patron of Brill's store found the same questionuppermost in his mind.
Carson was one of the many who were neither wholly good nor hopelesslybad, one who had drifted with the easy current of the middle course.And he was wondering if that middle course would continue to provesafe. He played solitaire to pass the time. His horse and saddle hadbeen lost in a stud-poker game just prior to his catching the stage toBrill's, where his credit had always been good. He rose, stretched andaccosted Brill.
"Put me down for a quart," he said.
"Whenever you put down the cash," Brill returned.
"What's the matter with my credit?" Carson demanded. "I've alwayspaid."
Brill reached for a book, opened it and slid it on to the bar. Heflipped the pages and indicated a number of accounts ruled off with redink.
"So did Harper," he said. "He always paid; and Canfield--and Magill;these others too. Their credit was good but they've all gonesomewheres I can't follow to collect. And they was owing me." Hetapped a double account.
"Bangs was into me a little. Old Rile paid up for him and then got itin his turn--with his name down for a hundred on my books. Harris andBillie Warren paid up for Rile. Now just whoever do you surmise willpay up for you?"
"Me?" Carson inquired. "Why, I ain't dead. I'm clear alive."
"So was they when I charged those accounts," Brill said. "But it lookslike stormy days ahead. I sell for cash."
"I'm not on this death list, if that's what you're referring to,"Carson announced.
"But it's easy to get enrolled," Brill said. "Your name's liable toshow up on it any time. Seen Lang in the last few days?"
"Not in the last few months," Carson stated. "Nor yet in the next fewyears. He's no friend of mine."
"I sort of remember you used to be right comradely," Brill remarked.
"That's before I really knowed Lang intimate," Carson said. "He didn'tstrike me as such a bad sort at first; but now he's going too strong.Folks are getting plum down on him."
"What you mean is that folks who used to be friendly are growing spookyabout getting their own names on that list," Brill said. "That's whathas opened their eyes."
"Maybe so," the thirsty man confessed. "But anyway, I'm through."
"They're all through!" Brill said. "A hundred others just like you,scattered here and there. It's come to them recent just what a bad lotLang is. It's hell what a whisper can do."
"It is when that whisper is backed by a thousand-dollar reward," Carsonagreed. "If he really pays up it'll wreck Lang's little snap for sure."
Brill dabbed his cloth at an imaginary spot on the polished slab andnodded without comment.
"I reckon he launched that scheme because Slade put a price on himfirst," Carson said.
"I didn't know Slade was into this," Brill stated softly. "There's noproof of that. Not a shred."
"No more than there's any proof that Harris is behind these rewards,"Carson said. "But you know that Slade is out to wreck the Three Barsince they've planted squatters there."
The storekeeper failed to respond.
"There's likely a dozen men looking for Harris right now," Carsonprophesied.
"But it's hard for one of 'em to get within ten miles of the ranch,"Brill observed. "So while they're maybe looking for him it's rightdifficult to see him that far off."
"I don't mind admitting that I'm for Harris--as against Slade," Carsonsaid.
"Just between us two I don't mind confessing that I'm neutral--asagainst everything else," Brill returned.
"Now you know how I'm lined up. Do I get that quart?" Carson urged.
"I knew how you was lined up months back." Brill turned on a dry smile.
"I ain't told a soul till right now," Carson objected. "So how couldyou know?"
"You didn't need to tell. As soon as that rumor leaked out it was acinch where you'd stand. And a hundred others are crowding on to thesame foothold along with you."
"And why not?" Carson demanded. "Who wants to get a thousand plasteredon his scalp? It would tempt a man's best friends."
"Or scare 'em off," the storekeeper commented. "Which is all the samein the end."
A half dozen men clattered up in front and surged through the door.More arrivals followed as the regular afternoon crowd gathered beforethe bar. There were many jobless hands drifting from one ranch to thenext, "grublining" on each brand for a week or more at a time duringthe slack winter months.
Carpenter rode up alone. Brill lowered one lid and jerked his headtoward Carson.
"Broke--and reformed," he said. "Maybe."
Some minutes later Carp bought the thirsty man a drink.
"You looking for a job?" he asked. "I can use you down my way."
Carson was well versed in the bends of the devious trail and Carp'sways smacked of irregularities. Carson had ideas of his own why theother man was allowed to start up an outfit down in Slade's range. Oneday Carp's name would be cited on the black list. As diplomatically aspossible he refused the offer of a job.
The storekeeper smiled as he noted this. Carson had turned into asolid citizen almost overnight. As Carp left him and joined anothergroup Brill poured Carson a drink.
"You're a fair risk at that--as long as you stay cautious," heremarked. "I'll stake you to a horse and saddle. You can ride thegrubline with the rest of the boys till spring and get a job when workopens up." He slid a bottle across the bar. "Here's your quart."
He stood looking after him as Carson moved to a table and motionedseveral others to join him over the bottle.
"That's about the tenth reformation that's transpired under my eyes inas many days," Brill mused. "Give us time and this community will turnpure and spotless. I don't mind any man's owing me if he stands a fairshow to go on living."
The sheriff dropped in for one of his infrequent visits to Brill's. Hewaved all hands to a drink.
"I've just been out to the Three Bar to see Harris," he announced."And asked him about this news that's been floating about. He cam
eright out flat and says he's not offering a reward. That's all amistake."
Every man in the room grinned at this statement. There was no otherpossible reply that Harris could make.
"Of course," the sheriff said reflectively. "Of course there's just achance that Cal lied to me."
"He lied all right," Carp prophesied. "I'd bet my shirt he'll stand topay the price for every man that's cited on that list."
"Shaw," the sheriff deprecated. "That's dead against the law, that is.He can't do that."
"He will do it," Carp predicted. "If I was on that list I'd be movingfor somewheres a long ways remote from here."
"Then you'd better be starting," Alden counseled mildly. "For Harriswas just telling me that your name had got mixed up with it. Morrow'sname has sprung up too. Cal seemed mystified as to how it had comeabout for he says you and Morrow never rode with the others on thelist. He couldn't figure how this thing come to start."
"Figure!" Carp snapped. "He figured it out himself, who else? Are yougoing to stand for his putting a price on every man he happens todislike?"
"But he says he don't know anything about it," the sheriffexpostulated. "So how can I prove he does? I'd like to know for sure.If I thought he was actually set to pay those rewards I'd have to rideover and remonstrate with Cal. That would be in defiance of the law."
One or two who had been drinking with Carp moved over to speak withothers and failed to return. He was left standing alone at the bar.He shrugged his shoulders and went out.
"Folks are considerable like sheep," Brill observed. It occurred tohim that in every saloon and in every bunk house within a hundred milesthe topic of conversation was the same.
He lowered one lid as he looked at the sheriff and jerked his headtoward Carson.
"He's broke--and reformed," he said. "Absolutely."
The sheriff drew Carson aside.
"If you're wanting a job I'll stake you to an outfit and feed youthrough till spring. Forty a month from then on. I'll need a parcelof deputies, likely, after that."
"You've got one," Carson stated. "I'll sign now."
The storekeeper, the sheriff and the new deputy stood at one end of thebar.
"It's queer that folks don't see the real object of this rumor," Brillobserved.
"Its object is to clean out the hardest citizens in the country,"Carson said. "That's why they're named. Why else?"
"The object is to clean up the rest of the country first," Brill said.
Carson grunted his disbelief.
"If Harris only wanted to wipe out those on the list he wouldn't go toall this fuss," Brill explained. "He'd just put on an extra bunch ofhands and raid the Breaks himself. Swear he caught them running off abunch of Three Bar cows. Simpler and considerable less expense."
"Then what's the object of this bounty?" Carson insisted.
"That's aimed at the doubtful folks," Brill stated. "Folks that was onthe fence--like you. This death list makes them spooky and they turninto good little citizens in one round of the clock. It leaves theworst ones outside without a friend. Every one lined up solid behindthe law. Public sentiment will start running strong against thoseoutside. Then it'll be easy for the sheriff and a bunch ofdeputies--like you--to clean the country up from end to end, with thewhole community backing your play."
Carson considered this for some time.
"Well, I can furnish the deputies," he said at last. "Boys that arestrong for law and order from first to last."
"I've got about all I need," the sheriff said. "A dozen or so. Mostlyold friends of yours. I've picked 'em up on and off in the last twoweeks. They're strong for upholding the last letter of the law--justlike you said."
"A dozen?" Carson asked. "How'll you raise the money to pay that manyat once?"
"I'm sort of expecting maybe the Three Bar will make up the deficit,"Alden said. "It's cheaper than paying rewards. That's another reasonI don't think Cal had a hand in this blacklist report."
The storekeeper grinned.
"Surely not. Surely not. I'd never suspect him of that," he said."But all the same it's working just as well as if he really had."