CHAPTER IV
FIRST BLOOD AT CALABASAS
Nothing more than de Spain's announcement that he would sustain hisstage-guards was necessary to arouse a violent resentment at Calabasasand among the Morgan following. Some of the numerous disaffected werebaiting the stages most of the time. They bullied the guards, foughtthe passengers, and fomented discontent among the drivers. In allThief River disturbances, whether a raid on cattlemen, a stagehold-up, a gun fight, or a tedious war of words, the Calabasas men,sometimes apparently for the mere maintaining of prestige, appeared totake leading roles. After de Spain's declaration the grievance againstElpaso was made a general one along the line. His stage was singledout and ridden at times both by Sandusky and Logan--the reallydangerous men of the Spanish Sinks--and by Gale Morgan and Sassoon tostir up trouble.
But old Frank Elpaso was far from being a fool. A fight with any oneof these men meant that somebody would be killed, and no one couldtell just who, Elpaso shrewdly reckoned, until the roll-call at theend of it. He therefore met truculence with diplomacy, threateninglooks with flattery, and hard words with a long story. Moreover, allCalabasas knew that Elpaso, if he had to, would fight, and that theeccentric guard was not actually to be cornered with impunity. EvenLogan, who, like Sandusky, was known to be without fear and withoutmercy, felt at least a respect for Elpaso's shortened shotgun, andstopped this side actual hostilities with him. When the June clean-upof the No. 2 Thief River mine came through--one hundred and sixthousand dollars in gold bullion under double guard--and a Calabasascontingent of night-riders tried to stop the treasure, rumor along theSinks had it that Elpaso's slugs, delivered at the right moment, wereresponsible for Deaf Sandusky's long illness at Bear Dance, and thefailure of the subsequent masked attack on the up stage.
Sassoon, however, owing to the indignity now put upon him, alsonourished a particular grievance against the meditative guard, and hiswas one not tempered either by prudence or calculation. His chancecame one night when Elpaso had unwisely allowed himself to be drawninto a card game at Calabasas Inn. Elpaso was notoriously a sticklerfor a square deal at cards. He was apparently the only man atCalabasas that hoped for such a thing, and certainly the only one sorash as to fight for it--yet he always did. A dispute on this occasionfound him without a friend in the room. Sassoon reached for him with aknife.
McAlpin was the first to get the news at the barn. He gave first aidto the helpless guard, and, without dreaming he could be got to asurgeon alive, rushed him in a light wagon to the hospital at SleepyCat, where it was said that he must have more lives than a wildcat.Sassoon, not caring to brave de Spain's anger in town, wenttemporarily into hiding. A second surgeon was brought from MedicineBend, and heroic efforts were put forth to nurse again into life thefeeble spark the assassin had left in the unlucky guard.
Word of this cutting reached de Spain at Thief River. He started forCalabasas, learned there during a brief stop what he could--which was,of course, next to nothing--of the affray, and posted on to SleepyCat.
A conference was held in Jeffries's office. De Spain, Lefever, andsome of the division staff discussed the situation raised by theaffair. De Spain was instructed to see that Sassoon was brought in andmade an example of for the benefit of his Calabasas friends.Accordingly, while the guard's life hung in the balance, the sheriff,Jim Druel, was despatched after Sassoon. A great deal of inquiry, muchriding, and a lot of talk on Druel's part accomplished nothing.
Lefever spoiled with impatience to get after Sassoon. "The only waywe'll ever get one of that gang is to go for him ourselves," said he.The sheriff's campaign did collapse. Sassoon could not be foundalthough rumor was notorious that he continued to haunt Calabasas.Lefever's irritation grew. "Never mind, John," counselled de Spain,"forget about wanting him. Sometime one of us will stumble on him, andwhen we do we'll shackle him." The precaution was taken, meantime, tosecure a warrant for the missing man, together with authority foreither of the two to serve it. Elpaso, in the end, justified his oldreputation by making a recovery--haltingly, it is true, and withperilous intervals of sinking, but a recovery.
It was while he still lay in the hospital and hope was very low thatde Spain and Lefever rode, one hot morning, into Calabasas and weretold by McAlpin that Sassoon had been seen within five minutes at theinn. To Lefever the news was like a bubbling spring to a thirsty man.His face beamed, he tightened his belt, shook out his gun, and lookedwith benevolent interest on de Spain, who stood pondering. "If youwill stay right here, Henry," he averred convincingly, "I will go overand get Sassoon."
The chief stage-guard, Bob Scott, the Indian, was in the barn. Hesmiled at Lefever's enthusiasm. "Sassoon," said he, "is slippery."
"You'd better let us go along and see you do it," suggested de Spain,who with the business in hand grew thoughtful.
"Gentlemen, I thank you," protested Lefever, raising one hand indeprecation, the other resting lightly on his holster. "We still havesome _little_ reputation to maintain along the Sinks. Don't let usmake it a _posse_ for _Sassoon_." No one opposed him further, and herode away alone.
"It won't be any trouble for John to bring Sassoon in," murmuredScott, who spoke with a smile and in the low tone and deliberatemanner of the Indian, "if he can find him."
With de Spain, Scott remained in front of the barn, saddled horses inhand. They could see nothing of the scene of action, and de Spain wasforced in idleness to curb his impatience. Lefever rode down to theinn without seeing a living thing anywhere about it. When hedismounted in front he thought he heard sounds within the barroom,but, pushing open the door and looking circumspectly into the roombefore entering, he was surprised to find it empty.
There was something, under the circumstances and in the stimulus ofdanger, almost uncanny in the silence, the absence of any lifewhatever about the place. Lefever walked cautiously inside; thereseemed no need of caution. No one was there to confront or oppose him.Surveying the interior with a rapid glance, he walked to the left endof the bar and, gun in readiness, looked apprehensively behind it. Notso much as a strainer was to be seen underneath. He noticed, however,that the sash of the low window on his left, which looked into thepatio, was open, and two heel-marks in the hard clay suggested that aman might have jumped through. Whether these were Sassoon's heels oranother's, Lefever decided they constituted his clew, and, running outof the front door, he sprang into his saddle and rode to where hecould signal de Spain and Scott to come up.
He told his story as they joined him, and the three returned to theinn. Scott rode directly to the rear. Lefever took de Spain in to thebar, showed him the open sash, and pointed to the heel-prints. DeSpain stepped through the window, Lefever following. An examinationshowed the slide of a spur-rowel behind one heel-mark and indicationsof a hasty jump.
While they bent over the signs that seemed to connect their quarrywith the place, a door opened across the courtyard, and Pedroappeared. He was curiously dense to all inquiries, and Lefever,convinced that Sassoon was somewhere at hand, revenged himself bysearching the place.
In the dark kitchen a very old woman and a slovenly girl were at work.No one else was to be found anywhere.
De Spain, who was the more experienced tracker, thought he couldfollow the footprints to the arched opening across the patio. This wasclosed only by a swinging gate, and afforded easy escape from apursuer. At some distance outside this gate, as de Spain threw itopen, sat Bob Scott on his horse. De Spain made inquiry of Scott. Noone had been seen. Returning to Lefever, who, greatly chagrined, hadconvinced himself that Sassoon had got away, de Spain called Scottinto the patio.
A better tracker than either of his companions, Scott after a minuteconfirmed their belief that Sassoon must have escaped by the window.He then took the two men out to where some one, within a few minutes,had mounted a horse and galloped off.
"But where has he gone?" demanded Lefever, pointing with his hand."There is the road both ways for three miles." Scott nodded toward thesnow-capped peak of Music Mountain. "Over
to Morgan's, most likely. Heknows no one would follow him into the Gap. Just for fun, now, let'ssee."
Dismounting, the Indian scrutinized the hoof-prints where the horsehad stood. Getting into the saddle again, he led the way, bending overhis horse's neck and stopping frequently to read the trail, half amile out along the Gap road, until he could once more readily pointout the hoof-prints to his companions. "That is Sassoon," heannounced. "I know the heels. And I know he rides this horse; itbelongs to Gale Morgan. Sassoon," Scott smiled sympathetically onLefever, "is half-way to Morgan's Gap."
"After him!" cried Lefever hotly. De Spain looked inquiringly at theguard. Scott shook his head. "That would be all right, but there's twoother Calabasas men in the Gap this afternoon it wouldn't be nice tomix with--Deaf Sandusky and Harvey Logan."
"We won't mix with them," suggested de Spain.
"If we tackle Sassoon, they'll mix with us," explained Scott. Hereflected a moment. "They always stay at Gale Morgan's or Duke's. Wemight sneak Sassoon out without their getting on. Sassoon knows he issafe in the Gap; but he'll hide even after he gets there. He takes twoprecautions for every other man's one. Sassoon is a wonder at hidingout. I've got the Thief River run this afternoon----"
De Spain looked at him. "Well?"
Scott's face softened into the characteristic smile--akin to a quietgrin--that it often wore. "If I didn't have to go through to-day, andthe three of us could get to the Gap before daylight to-morrowmorning, I would give Sassoon a run for his money in spite of theother fellows."
"Don't take your run this afternoon," directed de Spain. "TelephoneSleepy Cat for a substitute. Suppose we go back, get something to eat,and you two ride singly over toward the Gap this afternoon; lieoutside under cover to see whether Sassoon or his friends leave beforenight--there's only one way out of the place, they tell me. Then Iwill join you, and we'll ride in before daylight, and perhaps catchhim while everybody is asleep."
"If you do," predicted Scott, in his deliberate way of expressing aconclusion, "I think you'll get him."
It was so arranged.