CHAPTER X
THE SENATOR GETS BUSY
It was daylight when the routed posse, with Race Moran in the lead, hisleft arm tied up in a blood-stained handkerchief, rode into CrawlingWater. A bullet had pierced the fleshy part of the agent's wrist, atrifling wound, but one which gave him more pain than he might havesuffered from a serious injury. None of the members of the posse hadbeen dangerously wounded; indeed, they had suffered more in the spiritthan in the flesh; but there had been a number of minor casualtiesamongst the men, which made a sufficiently bloody display to arouse thelittle town to active curiosity.
Under instructions from the leader, however, the fugitives keptgrouchily silent, so that curiosity was able to feed only onspeculations as to Wade's temper, and the fact that he had brought aboutSantry's release from jail. The story of that achievement had beenbruited about Crawling Water since midnight, together with theprobability that the Law would be invoked to punish the ranchman for hisdefiance of it. Popular sentiment was running high over the likelihoodof such a step being taken, and the members of the posse were thetargets of many hostile glances from the townspeople. At leasttwo-thirds of the citizens were strongly in favor of Wade, but beforethey took active steps in his behalf they waited for the return of ahorseman, who had hurried out to the ranch to learn at first handexactly what had happened there.
Meanwhile Moran, in an ugly mood, had awakened the Senator from thetroubled sleep which had come to him after much wakeful tossing.Rexhill, with tousled hair, wrapped in a bathrobe, from the bottom ofwhich his bare ankles and slippered feet protruded, sat on the edge ofhis bed, impatiently chewing an unlighted cigar while he listened toMoran's account of the fracas.
"You went too far, Race,--you went too far," he burst out angrily atlast. "You had no orders to jump the ranch. I told you...."
"We've been fooling around long enough, Senator," Moran interruptedsullenly, nursing his throbbing wrist. "It was high time somebodystarted something, and when I saw my chance I seized it. You seem tothink"--his voice trailed into scorn--"that we are playing marbles withboys, but, I tell you, it's men we're up against. My experience hasshown me that it's the first blow that counts in any fight."
"Well, who got in the hardest lick, eh?" Rexhill snorted sarcastically."The first blow's all right, provided the second isn't a knockout fromthe other side. Why, confound it, Race, here we had Wade at our mercy.He'd broken into jail and set free a suspected murderer--a clear case ofcriminality. Then you had to spoil it all."
Moran smothered an imprecation.
"You seem to forget, Senator, that we had him at our mercy before, andyou wouldn't hear of it. If you'd taken my advice in the first place,we'd have had Wade in jail instead of Santry and things might have beendifferent."
"Your advice was worthless under the circumstances; that's why I didn'ttake it." Rexhill deliberately paused and lighted his cigar, from whichhe took several soothing puffs. To have been aroused from his bed withsuch news had flustered him somewhat; but he had never known anythingworth while to come out of a heated discussion, and he sought now tocalm himself. Finally, he spoke slowly. "What you proposed to me thenwas a frame-up, and all frame-ups are dangerous, particularly when theyhave little to rest upon. For that reason I refused to fall in with yourideas, Race. This release of Santry from jail is--or was--an entirelydifferent thing, an overt criminal act, with Sheriff Thomas on our sideas an unimpeachable witness."
Moran was suffering too keenly from his wound and smarting under hisdefeat too much to be altogether reasonable. His manner was fast losingthe appearance of respect which he had previously shown his employer.His expression was becoming heated and contemptuous.
"You didn't base your refusal on logic at the time, Senator," he said."It was sentiment, if I remember right. Wade had broken bread with you,and all that. I don't see but what that applies just as well now as itdid then."
"It doesn't," the Senator argued smugly, still rankling from Wade'sarraignment of him the day before, "because even hospitality has itslimits of obligation. So long as I knew Wade to be innocent, I did notcare to have him arrested; but I don't admit any sentiment ofhospitality which compels me to save a _known_ criminal from the hand ofjustice. Sheriff Thomas came in to see me last night and I agreed withhim that Wade should be brought to account for his contempt of the law.Wade forced his way into the jail and released his foreman at the pointof a gun. Even so, I feel sorry for Wade and I am a little apprehensiveof the consequences that will probably develop from his foolhardiness."
"Well, by God, if there's any sympathy for him floating around thisroom, it all belongs to you, Senator." Moran tenderly fingered hisaching wrist. "I'm not one of these 'turn the other cheek' guys; you cangamble on that!"
"But now where are we?" Rexhill ignored the other's remarks entirely."We are but little better off than Wade is. He pulled Santry out ofjail, and we tried to steal his ranch. The only difference is that sofar he has succeeded, and we have failed. He has as much law on his sidenow as we have on ours."
Moran's head drooped a little before the force of this argument,although he was chiefly impressed by the fact that he had failed. Hisfailures had been few, because Fortune had smiled upon him in the past;and doubtless for this reason he was the less able to treat failurephilosophically. His plans at the ranch house had gone awry. He hadcounted on meeting Wade there in the daytime, in the open, and uponprovoking him, before witnesses, into some hot-headed act which wouldjustify a battle. The surprise attack had left the agent without thisexcuse for the hostilities which had occurred.
Rexhill arose and walked up and down the room in thought, his slipperedfeet shuffling over the floor, showing now and then a glimpse of hisfat, hairy legs as the skirt of his bathrobe fluttered about. A cloud offragrant smoke from his cigar trailed him as he walked, and from the wayhe chewed on the tobacco his _confreres_ in the Senate could haveguessed that he was leading up to one of his Czar-like pronouncements.Presently he stopped moving and twisted the cigar in his mouth so thatits fumes would be out of his eyes, as his glance focused on Moran.
"There's just one way out of this mess, Race," he began. "Now heed whatI say to you. I'm going to send a telegram to the Department of theInterior which will bring a troop of cavalry down here from FortMackenzie. You must go slow from now on, and let the authorities settlethe whole matter."
The agent sat up alertly, as his employer, wagging a ponderousforefinger impressively, proceeded.
"You were not on the ranch for the purpose of jumping it at all. Mindthat now! You and I stand for the majesty of the law in this lawlesscommunity." Moran's eyes began to twinkle at this, but he said nothing."When you and Sheriff Thomas went out to the ranch, you carried twowarrants with you, one for Santry, as the accessory, and one for Wade,as the principal, in the Jensen shooting. Yes, yes, I know what you aregoing to say; but I must save my own bacon now. Since Wade has provedhimself to be a lawbreaker, I'm not going to protect him."
"Now, you're talking!" exclaimed Moran, delighted at the prospect ofwhat such a course would start going.
"I'll have the matter of the warrants fixed up with Thomas," the Senatorcontinued. "Now, follow me carefully. Thomas arrested Santry at theranch, and then left you, as his deputy, to serve the other warrant onWade when he came home. It was because of his knowledge of what was instore for him that Wade, after getting Santry out of jail, attacked youand your men, and it was in defense of the law that you returned theirfire. It will all work out very smoothly, I think, and any furtherhostilities will come from the other side and be to our greatadvantage."
Moran looked at his employer in admiration, as the latter concluded andturned toward his writing table.
"Senator," the agent declared, as Rexhill took up his fountain pen andbegan to write on a telegraph form, "you never should have started inDenver. If you'd been born in little old New York, you'd be in the WhiteHouse now. From this minute on you and I are going to carry this wholevalley in our vest-pockets."
; "You take this over and put it on the wire right away, Race. It's to theSecretary of the Interior and my signature on it should get immediateattention." Senator Rexhill handed over the telegraph form he hadfilled out.
"But what about State rights in this business?" Moran asked, anxiously."Will they send Government troops in here on your say so?"
The Senator waved his hand in dismissal of the objection.
"I'll have Thomas wire the Governor that the situation is beyondcontrol. This town is miles from nowhere, and there's no militia withineasy reach. The State will be glad enough to be saved the expense,especially with the soldiers close by at Fort Mackenzie. Besides, youknow, although Wade's ranch is inside the State, a good deal of his landis Government land, or was until he filed on it."
When Moran had left the room in a much easier frame of mind than he cameinto it, the Senator sat down heavily on the bed. He was puffing at hiscigar and thinking intently, when he caught sight of the white, startledface of his daughter in the mirror of the bureau across the room.Whirling about, he found her standing in the doorway looking at him.Rexhill had never before been physically conscious of the fact that hehad a spine, but in that moment of discovery a chill crept up and downhis back, for her expression told him that she had heard a good deal ofhis conversation with Moran. The most precious thing to him in life wasthe respect of his child; more precious even, he knew, than thefinancial security for which he fought; and in her eyes now he saw thathe was face to face with a greater battle than any he had ever waged.
"Father!"
"What, are you awake, my dear?"
He tried hard to make his tone cheery and natural, as he stood up andwrapped the bathrobe more closely around him.
"I heard what you said to Race Moran."
Helen came into the room, with only a dressing wrapper thrown over herthin night-dress, and dropped into a chair. She seemed to feel that herstatement of the fact was accusation enough in itself, and waited forhim to answer.
"You shouldn't have listened, Helen. Moran and I were discussing privatebusiness matters, and I thought that you were asleep. It was notproper...."
Her lips, which usually framed a smile for him, curled disdainfully andhe winced in spite of himself. He avoided the keen appraisement of hergaze, which seemed now to size him up, as though to probe his mostsecret thoughts, whereas before she had always accepted him lovingly onfaith.
"Certainly, they were not matters that you would want an outsider tohear," she said, in a hard voice, "but I am very glad that _I_ listened,father. Glad"--her voice broke a little--"even though I shall never beable to think of you again as I...."
He went to her and put his heavy hands on her shoulders, which shrankunder his touch.
"Now, don't say things that you'll regret, Helen. You're the only girlI have, and I'm the only father you have, so we ought to make the bestof each other, oughtn't we, eh? You're prone to hasty judgments. Don'tlet them run away with you now."
"Don't touch me!" He made way for her as she got to her feet."Father,"--she tremblingly faced him, leaning for support against acorner of the bureau,--"I _heard_ all that you said to Mr. Moran. Idon't want you to tell me what we've been to each other. Don't I knowthat? Haven't I felt it?"
The Senator swallowed hard, touched to the quick at the sight of hersuffering.
"You want me to explain it--more fully?"
"If you can. Can you?" Her lips twitched spasmodically. "I want you totell me something that will let me continue to believe that youare--that you are--Oh, you know what I want to say." Rexhill blushed adeep purple, despite his efforts at self-control. "But what can you say,father; what _can_ you say, after what I've heard?"
"You mean as regards young Wade? You know, I told you last night abouthis attack on the Sheriff. You know, too"--the blush faded as theSenator caught his stride again--"that I said I meant to crush him. Youeven agreed with me that he should be taught a lesson."
"But you should fight fairly," Helen retorted, with a quick breath ofaggression. "Do you believe that he killed Jensen? Of course you don't.The mere idea of such a thing is absurd."
"Perhaps he planned it."
"Father!" The scorn in her tone stung him like a whip-lash. "Did he planthe warrants, too? The warrant that hasn't been issued yet, although youare going to swear that it was issued yesterday. Did he plan that?"
Once in his political career, the Senator had faced an apparent_impasse_ and had wormed out of it through tolerant laughter. He hadlaughed so long and so genially that the very naturalness of hisartifice had won the day for him. Men thought that if he had had aguilty conscience, he could not have seemed so carefree. He tried thesame trick now with his daughter; but it was a frightful attempt and hegave it up when he saw its ill-success.
"See here, Helen," he burst out, "it is ridiculous that you shouldarraign me in this way. It is true that no warrant was out yesterday forWade, but it is also true that the Sheriff intended to issue one, and itwas only through my influence that the warrant was not issued. Sincethen Wade, besides insulting me, has proved himself a lawbreaker. I havenothing to do with the consequences of his actions, which rest entirelywith him. You have overheard something that you were not intended tohear, and as is usually the case, have drawn wrong conclusions. The bestthing you can do now is to try to forget what you have heard and leavethe matter in my hands, where it belongs."
He had spoken dominantly and expected her to yield to his will. He wastotally unprepared, well as he knew her spirit, for what followed.
She faced him with glowing eyes and her trembling lips straightened intoa thin, firm line of determination. He was her father, and she hadalways loved him for what she had felt to be his worth; she had givenhim the chance to explain, and he had not availed himself of it; he wascontent to remain convicted in her eyes, or else, which was more likely,he could not clear himself. She realized now that, despite what she hadsaid in pique, only the night before, she really loved Wade, and he, atleast, had done nothing, except free a friend, who, like himself, wasunjustly accused. She could not condemn him for that, any more than shecould forget her father's duplicity.
"I won't forget it!" she cried. "If necessary, I will go to Gordon andtell him what you've done. I'll tell it to every one in Crawling Water,if you force me to. I don't want to because, just think what that wouldmean to you! But you shall not sacrifice Gordon. Yes, I mean it--I'llsacrifice you first!"
"Don't talk so loud," the Senator warned her anxiously, going a littlewhite. "Don't be a fool, Helen. Why, it was only a few hours ago thatyou said Wade should be punished."
She laughed hysterically.
"That was only because I wanted to get him away from this awful littletown. I thought that if he were--punished--a little, if he was made alaughing stock, he might be ashamed, and not want to stay here. Now, Isee that I was wrong. I don't blame him for fighting with every weaponhe can find. I hope he wins!"
Rexhill, who had been really frightened at her hysterical threat ofexposure, and assailed by it in his pride as well, felt his fear beginto leave him and his confidence in himself return. In the next minute ortwo, he thought rapidly and to considerable purpose. In the past he hadresolutely refused to use his child in any way to further his own ends,but the present occasion was an emergency, and major surgery is oftendemanded in a crisis. If she were willing, as she said, to sacrificehim, he felt that he might properly make use of her and her moods tosave himself and her as well. He realized that if she were to shoutabroad through Crawling Water the conversation that had passed betweenhim and Moran, the likelihood of either of the two men getting out ofthe county alive would be extremely remote.
"So that was it, eh? And I complimented you upon your good sense!" Hislaugh was less of an effort now. "Well, doesn't it hold good now as wellas it did then? Come, my dear, sit down and we'll thresh this outquietly."
She shook her head stubbornly, but the woman in her responded to the newnote of confidence in his voice, and she waited eagerly for wha
t he hadto say, hopeful that he might still clear himself.
"You tell me that I must fight fair. Well, I usually do fight that way.I'm doing so now. When I spoke yesterday of crushing Wade, I meant itand I still mean it. But there are limits to what I want to see happento him; for one thing, I don't want to see him hung for this Jensenmurder, even if he's guilty."
"You know he isn't guilty."
"I think he isn't." Her eyes lighted up at this admission. "But he mustbe tried for the crime, there's no dodging that. The jury will decidethe point; we can't. But even if he should be convicted, I shouldn'twant to see him hung. Why, we've been good friends, all of us. I--I likehim, even though he did jump on to me yesterday. That was why"--heleaned forward, impelled to the falsehood that hung upon his tongue bythe desperate necessity of saving himself his daughter's love andrespect--"I arranged with Moran to have the boy arrested on such awarrant. He is bound to be arrested"--Rexhill struck the table with hisfist--"and if he should need a basis for an appeal after conviction, hecould hardly have a better one than the evidence of conspiracy, which acrooked warrant would afford. I wanted to give him that chance because Irealized that he had enemies here and that his trial might not be a fairone. When the right moment came I was going to have that warrant lookedinto."
"Father!"
Helen dropped on her knees before him, her eyelashes moist with tearsand her voice vibrant with happiness.
"Why didn't you explain all that before, Father? I knew that there mustbe _some_ explanation. I felt that I couldn't have loved you all mylife for nothing. But do you really believe that any jury would convictGordon of such a thing?"
"I hope not."
Never had Senator Rexhill felt himself more hopelessly a scoundrel thannow as he smoothed her hair from her forehead; but he told himself thatthe pain of this must be less than to be engulfed in bankruptcy, orexposure, which would submerge them all. Moreover, he promised himselfthat if future events bore too heavily against Wade, he should be savedat the eleventh hour. The thought of this made the Senator's positionless hard.
"I hope not, Helen," he repeated. "Of course, the serving of the warrantat this time will help my own interests, but since a warrant must beserved, anyway, I feel justified, under the circumstances, in availingmyself of this advantage."
"Y-e-s, of course," Helen agreed doubtfully. "Oh, it is all too bad. Iwish none of us had ever heard of Crawling Water."
"Well, maybe the Grand Jury will not indict him, feeling runs so stronghere," her father continued, and she took fresh hope at this prospect."But, anyway, he will feel the pressure before all is done with, andvery likely he'll be only too glad to dispose of his ranch and saygood-by to Wyoming when he is free to do as he pleases. Then you and hecan make a fresh start, eh? All will be sunshine and roses then, maybe,forever and aye."
"That's what I want to do--get away from here; and that was all I meantwhen I said to punish Gordon."
The Senator patted her cheek tenderly and drew a deep breath of relief.
"By the way, father," Helen said casually, when she started back to herroom, a little later, "I saw Miss Purnell on the street yesterday. Youknow, she was out when Gordon took me to see her."
"Well, is she dangerous?"
Helen looked at him in amusement, and shrugged her shoulders.