CHAPTER XXXIII
THE FIGHT AT THE CABIN
When Red King struck the river trail he was traveling as strongly aswhen he began his long race. The miles that had stretched between himand the destination at which his rider aimed had been mere play for him.By the time he reached the river trail he was warmed to his work and hisgiant, spurning stride carried him along in the shade of the fringingtrees at a speed that made the wind whine and moan in Lawler's ears.
But Lawler did not offer to check Red King's speed. The big horse wastraveling at a pace that was all too slow for Lawler, now in the clutchof that passion which for many months had been smoldering within him. Hewas leaning a little forward in the saddle, riding the red horse as hehad ridden few times; and then only in sport.
In Lawler's eyes was still that intense light that had been in them whenhe had been watching Shorty as the latter had been relating what hadhappened during the night and the morning.
And yet Lawler betrayed no sign of excitement. His face was pale, andhis lips were stiff and white; but his muscles were tense, steady, andhis brain clear.
He knew what to expect from Antrim. If Antrim expected him to come tohis cabin, Antrim would be ready for him. He might expect craft andcunning from the outlaw--an ambuscade, a trap--anything but the cold,sheer courage that would be required for him to face an enemy upon equalterms. And so as Lawler rode he kept an alert eye upon the coverts andthe shelters, upon the huge rocks that littered the sides of the trail,upon the big trees that Red King flashed past.
Nothing happened. And Red King thundered down the trail where it doubledhalf a mile from the Dickman cabin, and swept out upon the level thatsurrounded the place, his speed unslackened, his rider still urging him.
Lawler had forgotten Shorty. Half a mile behind him the giant's horselabored, making better time on the level river trail than he had madeover the plains. But Lawler did not even think of Shorty. His brain wasupon the work that was before him, his thoughts were definitely centeredupon Antrim and the Circle L men that Antrim and his men had killed. Itwas concentration of a sinister character that had seized Lawler, and init was a single purpose, a single determination--to kill Antrim.
He saw the cabin as he crossed the level--a patch of bare, sandy earthsurrounding it; and the other buildings, with no sign of life near them.His gaze swept the corral, and he saw no horse in it. As he guided RedKing toward the cabin he peered vainly for sight of Antrim's horse.
Not a living thing was in sight. The buildings were silent, seeminglydeserted. And the atmosphere of the place seemed to be pregnant with alurking threat, a hint of hidden danger.
He grinned as he plunged Red King to the door of the cabin--a grin whichmeant that he expected Antrim would be waiting for him, but whichexpressed his contempt of ambuscades and traps.
As he slipped from Red King he drew his pistol and lunged forward,bringing up against the cabin door and sending it crashing inward,against the wall.
He halted just inside the door, his pistol rigid in his right hand,which was pressed tightly to his side; for directly in front of him,standing, his arms folded over his chest, was Antrim, a huge, venomousgrin on his face.
"Well, you got here, Lawler," he said, huskily. "You come a-runnin',didn't you? Well, I had your cattle run off, an' I burned yourbuildin's. What are you aimin' to do about it?"
Lawler did not move. He might have killed Antrim, for the man's weaponwas in the holster at his hip--Lawler could see the stock sticking abovethe leather. He had expected Antrim would be in the cabin when he openedthe door; he anticipated that the outlaw would shoot on sight, and hehad been prepared to do the same.
But there was something in the outlaw's manner, in the cold, measuredtone of his voice, in his nonchalant disregard of the pistol in Lawler'shand that brought a swift suspicion into Lawler's mind. It was apresentiment that the outlaw was not alone in the cabin; that he hadcarefully laid his plans, and that they did not include a gun fight inwhich he would have to face Lawler upon equal terms.
Lawler did not look around. He kept his gaze unwaveringly upon theoutlaw, knowing that if other men were in the cabin with him they werewaiting for Antrim to give the word to shoot him. Otherwise they wouldhave shot him down when he had entered.
"Not sayin' anything, eh?" jeered Antrim. "Well, come a-shootin'. Youbust in here, seein' red, with a gun in your hand; an' then stand there,like you was wonderin' if you was welcome." He peered close at Lawler,his eyes narrowing with suspicion, and then, finally, with savageamusement.
"I reckon I ketch on," he sneered. "You know there's some one here withme, an' that they've got you covered. I know you, an' I knowed you'dcome rushin' in here, just like you did, killin' mad. Bah! Did you thinkI'd give you a chance, you short-horned maverick! There's Selden behindthat curtain, there--back of the cupboard. An' Krell watchin' you fromthe door of that room, on the side. They've got you between them, an' ifyou bat an eyewinker they'll down you. I'm goin' to gas to you--I'mgoin' to tell you what I think of you for ropin' me an' draggin' me backto Willets, to show to the damned yaps on the station platform. An'after that I'm goin' to hog-tie you an'--Ah!"
Antrim's exclamation was a mere gasp. It escaped his lips as Lawlerjumped backward, landing outside the door, overbalanced, trying to standupright while he snapped a shot at Antrim.
Antrim, however, had reached for his gun. It came out before Lawlercould steady himself, and Lawler saw it. Lawler saw the weapon belchsmoke and fire as it cleared Antrim's hip; he felt a shock as the bulletstruck him; felt still another sear his flesh near the arm as he let hisown pistol off. He saw the outlaw plunge forward and fall prone, hisarms outstretched. He was motionless, inert.
From inside the cabin came the sounds of steps--Antrim's confederates,Lawler supposed. He heard them approach the door and he leaped, swayinga little, toward the corner of the cabin nearest him. He had reached it,had just dodged behind it, when Selden and Krell rushed out. At the sameinstant Shorty thundered up, slipped out of the saddle and ran towardLawler, drawing his guns.
Shorty had approached the cabin from the rear, having cut across thespace behind the bunkhouses when he heard the shooting. He could not beseen by Selden and Krell as they plunged out of the door; but he hadseen Lawler when the latter dodged behind the corner of the cabin, andas he ran toward Lawler he drew his guns.
As yet Shorty had seen no one but Lawler. He supposed Antrim and Lawlerhad exchanged shots and he knew Lawler had been hit--his swaying as hecame around the corner of the cabin proved it. Knowing something of theterrible rage that had seized the man, he suspected Lawler had burstinto the cabin, recklessly exposing himself to Antrim's fire.
And as Shorty ran toward the spot where Lawler was standing, heexpected to see Antrim follow, to complete his work.
Within a dozen feet of Lawler he halted, facing the corner. He had notlong to wait. For Selden and Krell, guns in hand, appeared almostinstantly--their faces hideous with passion. As they rushed around thecorner they saw Shorty. They saw Shorty first, because Shorty dominatedthe scene. A gun in each hand, he made a terrible figure. His eyes wereblazing with the cold rage that had seized him at sight of Lawler,wounded--for Lawler was now leaning against the wall of the cabin, andhis gun had dropped from his hand.
The unexpected appearance of Shorty startled Krell and Selden. Surpriseshowed in their faces as they paused for an infinitesimal space andlooked at him.
And then their guns roared.
Shorty, however, had anticipated them. His guns went off simultaneously,slightly in advance of theirs, belching fire and smoke in a continuousstream.
Shorty did not seem to be hit by the bullets from the guns of theoutlaws; he seemed to pay no attention to them whatever.
But the outlaws ceased shooting. Krell staggered, his guns dropped fromhis hands, and he stood, for an instant, looking foolishly at Shorty,his face becoming ashen. Then, without uttering a word, he lunged gentlyforward, his legs doubling at the knees, and sank into the dust in
ahuddled heap.
Selden had been hit hard, too. The shock of Shorty's first bulletstriking him had turned him partially around, so that his left side wastoward Shorty. He had lurched forward a little; and was turning, tryingto use the gun in his left hand, when another bullet struck him. Hegrunted, stood slowly erect, and then fell backward stiffly.
Shorty ran to him and to Krell, scanning their faces with savageintentness. When he saw that neither of them would bother him again, heleaped around the corner of the cabin and cautiously peered into thedoorway. He saw Antrim stretched out on the floor of the cabin, facedown and motionless. He stepped into the cabin, turned the outlaw over,grinned saturninely, and then went out to where Lawler stood. His eyeswere aglow with concern.
When he reached the corner he saw Lawler bending over, picking up thepistol that had dropped from his hand a few seconds before. Lawler'sface was pale, but he grinned broadly at Shorty as the latter came up tohim.
"I saw what was happening but I couldn't throw in with you. I reckonAntrim hit me mighty hard. In my right shoulder. I was trying to changemy gun to the other hand, when I dropped it. I didn't seem to be able toget it again--just then." He grinned. "Lucky you came, Shorty," he addedjocosely.
Shorty's lips grimmed. "I reckon it's lucky I'm here right now!" he saidshortly. "You're hit bad, Lawler!"
He led Lawler into the cabin, where he tore away the latter's shirt andexposed the wound--high up on the shoulder.
After a swift examination, Shorty exclaimed with relief.
"It ain't so bad, after all. She bored through that big muscle. Musthave struck like a batterin' ram. No wonder you was weak an' dizzy for aminute or so. There's a hole big enough to stick your hand through. Butshe ain't dangerous, Boss!"
Shorty had not been touched by the bullets the outlaws had sent at him.He was energy, personified. He got water, bathed the wound in Lawler'sshoulder; bandaged it, and at last grinned widely as Lawler got up,saying he felt better.
A little later they went out and mounted their horses. Lawler was pale,though he sat steadily in the saddle; and Shorty, big, exuding elation,grinned broadly as he glanced at the cabin as they rode away from it.
They rode up the river trail; Shorty expressing his elation by emittinglow chuckles of grim mirth; Lawler silent, riding steadily, his gazestraight ahead.
It took them long to reach the point on the plains where the trailsdiverged. And then Lawler spoke. "Shorty, you go back to Hamlin's andtell mother I killed Antrim. You needn't mention this scratch I've got."
"Where you goin'?" demanded Shorty.
"Shorty," said Lawler evenly; "you do as I say."
"I'll be damned if I do!" declared Shorty, his face flushing. "That'sthe kind of palaver Blackburn handed me when he sent me after Caldwell'soutfit, makin' me miss the big scrap. I ain't missin' nothin' else. Ifthis thing is to be a clean-up I'm goin' to be right close when thecleanin' is bein' done!
"I'm stayin' right here, as long as you stay! An' when you get goin',little Shorty will be taggin' along, achin' to salivate some more of thescum that's been makin' things howl in these parts. Get goin' whereyou're goin', Lawler!"
Shorty had not told Lawler all he knew of the wound in Lawler'sshoulder. He knew that Lawler had lost much blood, and that he waslosing more constantly; and that nothing but the man's implacablecourage was keeping him up. And he did not intend to desert him.
Lawler laughed. But he said nothing as he urged Red King over theWillets trail, riding at a fair pace, not so steady in the saddle as hehad been. His face was chalk white, but there was a set to his lips anda glow in his eyes that told Shorty there was no use in arguing.
Shorty permitted Lawler to hold the lead he had taken when they reachedthe Willets' trail. But Shorty kept a vigilant eye upon the big horseand his rider as they went over the plains toward town. Twice Shorty sawLawler reel in the saddle, and both times Shorty urged his horse forwardto be close to him when he fell. But each time Lawler stiffened and rodeonward--silent, grimly determined, with Shorty riding behind him,watching him with awed admiration.
Lawler had not mentioned the purpose of his ride to town, and Shorty waslost in a maze of futile conjecture. Shorty knew, however, that a man inLawler's condition would not ride to town to gratify a whim; and thelonger he watched Lawler the deeper became his conviction that anothertragedy was imminent. For there was something in Lawler's manner, in thesteady, unflagging way he rode; in the set of his head and the coldgleam of his eyes, that suggested more of the kind of violence in whichboth had participated at the Dickman cabin.
The sun was low when Lawler and Shorty rode into town--Lawler ridingahead, as he had ridden all along; Shorty a few yards behind him, keenlywatching him.
There were many men on the street; for word had been brought inregarding the big fight between the Circle L outfit and therustlers--and a doctor had gone, summoned to the Hamlin cabin by a wildrider on a jaded horse--and Willets' citizens were eagerly curious. Andwhen they saw Lawler coming, swaying in the saddle as he rode, theybegan to run toward him.
However, they were brought to a halt by Shorty--who waved a handsavagely at them, his face expressing a cold intolerance that warnedthem away. And so they retreated to the sidewalk, wonderingly, to watchLawler and Shorty as they rode down the street--Lawler looking neitherto the right nor left, but keeping his gaze straight ahead as though inthat direction lay what he had come to seek.
Shorty's eyes gleamed with understanding when he saw Lawler halt RedKing in front of the building in which was Warden's office. He was outof the saddle before Lawler clambered slowly out of his, and he stoodnear as Lawler walked to the door of the building and began to mountthe stairs--going up slowly, swaying from side to side and placing hishands against the wall on either side of him for support. And whenLawler finally reached the top of the stairs and threw open the door ofWarden's office, Shorty was so close to him that he might have touchedhis shoulder.
Warden was sitting at his desk when Lawler opened the door, and hecontinued to sit there--staring hard at Lawler as the latter swayedacross the room to bring up with a lurch against Warden's desk, hishands grasping its edge.
"Warden," said Lawler--and Shorty marveled at the cold steadiness of hisvoice; "I have just killed Antrim. Antrim's men ran off three thousandhead of my cattle and killed about twenty of my men--five at the CircleL and the rest in a fight on the plains not far from the Two Bar. Antrimburned my buildings. Twenty-five thousand dollars for the buildings, andninety thousand for the cattle not to mention my men.
"I've got no proof that you were implicated in the deal; but I amconvinced that you planned it--that you got Antrim and his gang to dothe work. That evidence doesn't go in law, though, Warden--and you knowit. But it's enough for the kind of law that I am representing rightnow. It's this!"
He drew his gun with his left hand, taking it from the waistband of histrousers--where he had placed it when he had picked it up at the Dickmancabin--and held it on the desk top, so that its dark muzzle gaped atWarden.
For an instant Warden sat, staring in dread fascination into the muzzleof the weapon, his face dead white, his eyes wide with fear, naked,cringing. Then he spoke, his voice hoarse and quavering.
"This is murder, Lawler!"
"Murder, Warden?" jeered Lawler. "One of my men was worth a dozen ofyou!"
Lawler laughed--a sound that brought an ashen pallor to Warden's face;then he straightened, and turned, to face Shorty.
He lurched to Shorty's side, drew out one of the latter's big guns, andtossed it upon the desk within reach of Warden's hand.
"I gave Antrim the first shot, Warden," he said; "I gave him his chance.I didn't murder him, and I won't murder you. Take that gun and follow meto the street. There's people there. They'll see that it's a squaredeal. You're a sneaking polecat, Warden; but you--I'm going to giveyou----"
Lawler paused; he sagged. He tried to straighten, failed. And while bothmen watched him--Shorty with eyes that were terrible in their ine
ffablesympathy and impotent wrath; Warden in a paralysis of coldterror--Lawler lurched heavily against the desk and slid gently to thefloor, where he leaned, his eyes closed, against the desk, motionless,unconscious.
Silently, his eyes aflame with passion, Shorty leaped to the desk andsnatched the gun that Lawler had placed at Warden's hand. With almostthe same movement he pulled Warden out of his chair and threw himagainst the rear wall of the room. He was after the man like a giantpanther; catching him by the throat with his left hand as he reachedhim, crushing him against the wall so that the impact jarred thebuilding; while he savagely jammed the muzzle of the pistol deep intothe man's stomach, holding it there with venomous pressure, while hisblazing eyes bored into Warden's with a ferocious malignance. "Damn you,Warden," he said hoarsely; "I ought to kill you!" He shook Warden withhis left hand, as though the man were a child in his grasp, sinking hisfingers into the flesh of his neck until Warden's eyes popped out andhis face grew purple. Then he released him so suddenly that Warden sankto his knees on the floor, coughing, laboring, straining to draw hisbreath.
He stood, huge and menacing, until Warden swayed to his feet andstaggered weakly to the chair in which he had been sitting when Lawlerentered; and then he leaned over the desk and peered into Warden's face.
"This ain't my game, Warden! If it was, I'd choke the gizzard out of youand chuck you out of a window! I reckon I've got to save you forLawler--if he gets over this. If he don't, I'm comin' for you!"
He holstered his gun, stooped, lifted Lawler and gently swung him overhis shoulder; and without glancing back at Warden strode to the stairs,out into the street and made his way to the Willets Hotel, a crowd ofcurious citizens at his heels.