CHAPTER XVII
A COMMISSION
Sautee rose and extended his hand with an affable smile. "Will youcome to breakfast with me, Mr. Rathburn?"
Rathburn took the hand with a curious side glance at Mannix. "I'mpowerful hungry," he confessed; "an' I don't reckon I'd be showing thebest of manners if I balked at havin' breakfast with the man that gotme out of jail."
"Quite right," admitted Sautee, winking at the deputy. "Well, perhapsI have my reasons. All right, Rathburn, let's be going."
They walked out of the jail, and as they progressed up the street theywere the cynosure of many wondering pairs of eyes; for the report hadspread that the stranger who had been jailed was the bandit who hadmade away with the Dixie Queen pay-roll on several occasions, and thathe was a gun fighter and a killer.
They entered a restaurant just below the hotel, and Sautee led the wayto a booth where they were assured comparative privacy.
"Ham an' eggs," said Rathburn shortly when the waiter entered.
Sautee smiled again. He was covertly inspecting the man across thetable from him and evidently what he saw caused him to arrive at asatisfactory conclusion.
He gave his order with a nod and a mild flourish of the hand,indicating that he would take the same.
"Oh--waiter," called Rathburn. "Four eggs with mine."
Sautee laughed. It was a peculiar laugh in that it seemed to conveylittle mirth. It was perfunctory.
He gazed at Rathburn quizzically. "They tell me you're a gunman," hesaid in a low voice.
Rathburn's brows shot up. "They? Who's they?"
Sautee waved a hand impatiently. "I am the manager of the Dixie Queen.I have been around a bit, and I have eyes. I can see. I know thesignals. I witnessed the play in the Red Feather last night."
"That ain't a bad name for the place," Rathburn mused.
"Just what do you suppose was my object in getting you out of jail?"Sautee asked seriously, leaning over the table and looking at Rathburnsearchingly. "You said last night you were a good guesser."
"But I didn't say I was good at riddles," drawled Rathburn.
Sautee leaned back. For a moment there was a gleam of admiration inhis eyes. Then they narrowed slightly.
"The Dixie Queen has been robbed four times within the last year," hesaid soberly. "That represents considerable money. Yesterday Iresorted to a ruse and sent the money up with a truck driver, butwhoever is doing this thing must have got wise somehow, for the truckdriver was held up, as you know, and the money taken."
"Why not put an armed guard on that truck?" asked Rathburn with ayawn.
"I had full confidence in that ruse, and I knew the man who drove thetruck could be trusted. Besides, he didn't know what was inside thepackage."
"How much did they get?" asked Rathburn sharply.
"Twenty-two thousand eight hundred and seventy dollars in cash."
Rathburn stared at the mine manager and whistled softly. "What's thesense in sending it up there at all?" he asked suddenly. "Why not payoff down here in town?"
Sautee sighed with an air of resignation. "That's been argued severaltimes," he complained. "The men demand their pay in cash. They want itat the mine, for more than half of them have refused to come down herefor it. It is twenty-nine miles up there to the mine, and it wouldtake all the trucks we've got and two days to bring them down here andtake them back. Besides, if we got them down here it would be a weekbefore we could get half of them back up there and at work again."
"But why won't they take checks?" Rathburn demanded.
"It would be the same proposition," Sautee explained. "There is alittle village up there--pool room, soft-drink parlor, lunch room,store, and all that--and the men, or a large number of them, wouldwant their checks cashed to make purchases and for spending money, andthe cash would have to be transported so the business places couldcash the checks. Then, there's another reason. All the mines over onthis side of the mountains, clear down into the desert, have alwayspaid in cash. This is an old district, and the matter of getting paidin cash has become a tradition. That's what the company is up against.We can refuse to do it, but all the other mines do it, and the DixieQueen would soon have the reputation of being the only mine in thedistrict that didn't pay in cash. The tradition is handed down fromthe old days when men were paid in gold. There was a time when a minerwouldn't take paper money in this country!"
The waiter entered with the breakfast dishes and they began to eat.
"Your mine owned by a stock company?" Rathburn inquired.
"Certainly," replied Sautee. "All the mines here are. What mineisn't?"
Rathburn ignored the question. "Stockholders live aroun' here?" heasked, between mouthfuls.
"Oh--no, that is, not many," replied Sautee with a quick glance at hisquestioner. "This district is pretty well worked out. Most of ourstockholders live in the Middle West and the East." He winked atRathburn.
"Any other mines been robbed?" Rathburn persisted.
"No, that's the funny part of it. Still--no, it _isn't_ funny. We'reworking on the largest scale, and our pay-roll is, naturally, thelargest. It furnishes the biggest incentive. In addition, the DixieQueen is the farthest out from town, and there are many excellentspots for a holdup between town and the mine. Oh, don't lookskeptical. I've tried trusted messengers by roundabout trails, andguards and all that. They even held up a convoy on one occasion. I'veset traps. I've done everything. But now I've a new idea, and Ibelieve it'll work."
He finished his breakfast and stared steadily at Rathburn who didn'tlook up, but leisurely drank a second cup of coffee. Sautee noted theslim, tapered right hand of the man across the table from him, theclear, gray eyes, the unmistakable poise of a man who is absolutelyand utterly confident and sure of himself. The mine manager's eyesglowed eagerly.
"Yes?" asked Rathburn calmly.
"I'm going to hire, or, rather, I'm going to _try_ to hire a man Ibelieve is just as tough, just as clever, just as quick with his gunas the men who've been robbing the Dixie Queen. I'm going to hire himto carry the money to the mine!"
"So _that's_ why you got me out of jail," said Rathburn, drawing theinevitable tobacco and papers from his shirt pocket.
"Yes!" whispered Sautee eagerly. "I want you for the job!"
"You ain't forgetting that I was suspected of that last job, are you?That's why I went to jail, I reckon."
"You didn't have to go to jail unless you wanted to. You didn't haveto stop in this town and invite arrest. Mannix let you go up thereyesterday because he felt sure he could get you when he wanted youagain, and he figured you'd make some break that would give him a clewto your pals, if you had any. You went to jail because you knew hedidn't have anything on you."
Sautee grinned in triumph.
"How do you know I won't beat it with the money?" asked Rathburn.
"I don't," said Sautee quickly. "But I'm taking a chance on it thatyou won't. I don't care who you are, what you are now, or what you'vebeen; I don't care if you're an outlaw! I figure, Rathburn, that if Icome out square and trust you with this mission and depend upon you tocarry it out, that you'll play square with me. That's what I'm bankingon--your own sense of squareness. You've got it, for I can see it inyour eyes."
"Who's Carlisle?" Rathburn asked dryly.
Sautee frowned. "He's a--well, I guess you'd call him a sort ofadventurer. I knew him down in Arizona. He follows the camps whenthey're good, and this one happens to be good right now, for we'reimproving the property. That's how he happened to come up here about ayear ago. Then, when the first robbery occurred, I engaged him as asort of special agent. He didn't make any progress, so I let him go.Since then he's been out and in, gambling, prospecting, anything--he'sa fast man with his gun, and he has some claims here which he isdeveloping on a small scale and trying to sell."
Rathburn nodded but made no comment.
"Will you take the job?" Sautee asked anxiously.
"What do you want me to do?"
"
I want you to carry a sum of money to the mine. I'm not going to tellyou how much, but it will be considerable. The money which was stolenyesterday was for the pay-off to-day. I've got to get the cash for themen up there quick. They all know about the holdup, so there's nogrumbling--yet. But there will be if they don't have their moneypretty quick. We want to pay off to-morrow. I could go with a guard,but to tell you the truth, Rathburn, it's got to a point where I can'ttrust a soul."
"Why not Mannix?" asked Rathburn sharply.
Sautee shook his head; his beady, black eyes glowed, and he strokedhis chin.
"There's another sorrowful point," he explained. "I tell you we're upagainst it here, Rathburn. The Dixie Queen people and most of theother mines are fighting the present county administration as a matterof policy. They want certain changes, and--well, keep this toyourself--privileges. Mannix has been instructed by the sheriff ofthis county that he is not here to act as a guard for the DixieQueen. See?"
Rathburn frowned and built another cigarette.
"If you'll carry this package of money up to the Dixie Queen for me,Rathburn, I'll pay you five hundred dollars. Then, if you want to stayand act as our messenger right along, we'll make a deal. But I'd liketo have you do this this time--make this one trip, anyway, I mean.They may try to stop you. If they do I don't believe they can get awaywith it. I'm banking on your ability to get through, and I think theproposition will appeal to you in a sporting way if for no otherreason. Will you do it?" Sautee's eyes were eager.
"Yes," said Rathburn shortly, tossing away his cigarette.
Sautee held out his hand. "Go to the hotel and engage a room," heinstructed. "Be in your room at nine o'clock to-night. Do not tell anyone of our deal. I'll get your room number from the register. I'llbring the package of money to you between nine o'clock and midnight.Now, Rathburn, maybe I'm mistaken in you; but I go a whole lot by whatI see in a man's eyes. You may have a hard record, but I'm staking myfaith in men on you!"
"I'll be there," Rathburn promised.
He left Sautee at the entrance to the restaurant and strolled aroundthe hotel barn to see that his horse was being taken care of properly.He found that the barn man was indeed looking after the dun inexcellent shape. Rathburn spent a short time with his mount, pettinghim and rubbing his glossy coat with his hands. Then he took hisslicker pack and started for the hotel.
As he reached the street he saw a girl on a horse talking with a manon the sidewalk. The girl was leaning over, and the man evidently wasdelivering a harangue. He was gesticulating wildly, and Rathburn couldsee that the girl was cowering. He paused on the hotel porch as theman stepped away from the horse and looked his way. He recognizedCarlisle.
Then the girl rode down the street and Rathburn started with surpriseas he saw she was the girl from the cabin up the road who had directedhim to town the day before. He remembered the two objects he hadpicked up in the road after the holdup and felt in his pocket to makesure they were there. Then he entered the hotel.
"Have you a room?" he asked the clerk pleasantly.
"Yes. More rooms than anything else to-day since the Sunday crowd'sgone."
Rathburn wrote his name upon the register.