CHAPTER XV
CONCERNING AN OUTLAW
Early in the afternoon of the first day of December the sky darkened,and a cold, raw wind began to shriek through Willets. The company corralwas empty; and again, as on the day before Kane Lawler had visited him,Gary Warden stood at one of the windows of his office smiling. Wardenwas almost satisfied.
Only one disturbing thought persistently recurred; Lawler had got hiscattle through to Red Rock.
A crimson stain appeared in Warden's cheeks as his thoughts reverted toLawler's return to Willets, after disposing of his cattle to the RedRock buyer. And Warden's shoulders sagged a little, the smile faded andhe glared malignantly at the bleak, gray clouds that sailed over town onthe chill, bitter wind.
Oddly, at the instant Warden's memory was dwelling upon the incident ofLawler's return to Willets, Lafe Corwin, the storekeeper, was mentallyreviewing the incident.
Willets was a cow-town, and for the winter its activity was over. Allthe beef cattle in the section, with the exception of three thousandhead still held by Lawler, at the Circle L, had been shipped eastward,and Willets would now descend to supine indifference to considerationsof gain.
Lafe Corwin was tilted back in a big wooden chair near the big,roaring-hot stove in the lounging-room of the Willets Hotel. His clerkcould attend to the store. Until spring came, Corwin would spend much ofhis leisure near the big stove in the hotel, talking politics andcattle--two subjects of paramount importance.
But just at this instant Corwin was thinking of Lawler's return toWillets. Little wrinkles gathered around his eyes--which were twinkling;and he chuckled lowly as his gaze roved from one to the other of the menwho, like himself, were enjoying the warmth of the stove and listening,between words, to the howling and moaning of the wind.
Three or four times, during silences, Corwin chuckled. And when at lasthe saw Dave Rankin, the blacksmith, watching him curiously, he guffawedaloud, rubbing his hands gleefully.
"I don't reckon I ever seen no mournfuller sight than that!" hedeclared.
"Meanin' which?" asked the blacksmith, his eyes alight with truculentinquiry. The others sat erect, attentive.
"Meanin' that mornin' when Kane Lawler hopped off the train with hisbunch of cowhands--an' Blondy Antrim," snickered Corwin. "Dave Singletonan' Gary Warden an' Jordan an' Simmons an' that pony-built girl which isstayin' over to the Two Diamond with that ossified woman she calls 'AuntHannah,' was on the platform waitin' for the six o'clock train from theeast. It appears that pony-built--Della Wharton, her name is--wasexpectin' some gimcracks, an' Warden an' her was waitin' for them.Anyways, they was there. It sure was medium mournful!" declared Corwin.
He appeared to hesitate; and Rankin grinned.
"We've heard it before; but I reckon we can stand listenin' ag'in. Tellit, Corwin."
"As I was sayin' when you interrupted me--it was medium mournful,"resumed Corwin. "Shorty--who was with Lawler on the drive--has told mesince; but at that time I didn't know--that Jordan had refused to ventLawler's cattle.
"Well, I'd come down to see the train come in, too. We was all standin'there when she come a-steamin' up, an' stopped. An' who clumb off butLawler an' his trail crew--twenty-three of 'em. An' Blondy Antrim in themidst of 'em, lookin' like a sheep-killin' dog.
"Well, gentlemen, they was a scene. Warden got his face all screwed upan' couldn't get it unscrewed ag'in. He looked like he'd swallered a hotbrandin' iron an' it didn't lay easy on his stummick. Singleton wasa-standin' there with his mouth open an' his eyes a-poppin' out; an'Jordan was plumb flabbergasted. Simmons was leanin' ag'in' the side ofthe station buildin', lookin' like he was expectin' to be shot the nextminute.
"That Della Wharton girl was the only one that seemed to have any witsa-tall. I seen her grin eloquent at Lawler, an' look him straight in theeye like she was tellin' him somethin' intimate.
"Well, as I was sayin', Lawler an' his boys got off with Blondy Antrim.Antrim looks wild an' flighty--like you've seen a locoed steer on theprod. His eyes was a-glarin' an' he was mutterin' cusses by themouthful. All of which didn't seem to faze Lawler none.
"Lawler was as cool as an iceberg which had just arrove from the NorthPole--an' then some. An' he got a mean, mild grin on his face when hesaw the reception committee that had come to meet him. They was atwinkle in his eyes when he looked at Della Wharton; but when Wardenblows into his line of vision he looked mighty wicked.
"Lawler an' his gang had brought their hosses from Red Rock in twocars--they'd sold some of the _remuda_ in Red Rock, not carin' to ship'em home. Anyways, the gang didn't appear in no hurry to unload thehosses; an' a trainman yells to them, sayin' they'd have to hurry.
"But the boys was too interested just then. 'Unload 'em yourself, yousufferin' yap!' yells Shorty. 'If you pull out of here with them hossesI'll blow your damned railroad over into the next county!' Shorty suredoes love the railroad!
"As I was sayin' when you interrupted me: Lawler looked mighty wicked.But he's cold an' polite--an' ca'm. An' he escorts Antrim over to whereWarden was standin', an' says, quiet an' low:
"Warden, I have brought back my vent. He sure was a heap of trouble, an'he got himself attached to us right close. But as we haven't got nofurther use for him we're turnin' him over to you. I reckon he's lookin'to you an' Singleton to pay him for the trouble of trailin' us for twoweeks, an' for keepin' me company as far as Red Rock, to see that myherd got there right an' proper. 'Antrim,' he says; 'go to your boss!'And he gives him a little shove toward Warden.
"Warden didn't say nothin'--he'd lost his voice, I reckon. But Antrimgoes off the handle complete.
"'The damned sneak lifted my guns!' he yells.
"'You wantin' a gun?' says Lawler, cold an' ca'm. He backs up an' liftsone of Shorty's. Then he walks close to Antrim an' shoves it into hisright hand.
"'There's a gun, you polecat,' he says. 'Fan it. I'd admire to blow thegizzard outen you!'
"But Antrim didn't seem to be none tickled, now that he'd got the gun.He stood, lookin' at it, like it was somethin' strange an' unusual, an'he was wonderin' whether he ought to hang onto it or drop it. Finally hegrins sorta sheepishlike, an' hands it back to Lawler, butt first.
"'I ain't aimin' to fight you today, Lawler,' he says, his face bloomin'like a cactus.
"Lawler laughs, an' gives Shorty his gun back. Shorty grins like atiger. 'Mebbe Singleton wouldn't mind acceptin' your kind offer, Boss?'he says.
"But Singleton don't break his neck reachin' for _his_ gun, neither. Hestands there, lookin' like a calf that's lost its mother. An' thenLawler laughs again, an' says:
"'Well, boys, seein' that the reception committee has received us, an'the honors has all been done, I reckon we'd better get the hosses offthe cars an' hit the breeze for home!'
"An' they done so. But before they went they smoked up the townconsiderable--as you all seen. Them boys had divided twenty-fivethousand dollars between them, which Lawler give 'em for makin' thedrive. An' they sure did celebrate. Except Lawler. He went right home,an' I ain't seen him since. But I reckon Warden an' the rest of themain't had no regrets. I ain't never seen no mournfuller sight than themfolks sneakin' away from the station. All but Della Wharton. She wasa-grinnin' sorta slylike, as though somethin' pleased her."