CHAPTER XXXV
HAUNTING MEMORIES
It was many days before Lawler was strong enough to ride Red King to theCircle L; and many more days joined the regiments that have marched intothe ages, before he forgot what he saw in Blackburn's eyes when one day,soon after his return to the Circle L, he listened to the range bossrelate the story of the fight on the plains. Blackburn's cynical eyeshad changed expression. They had become tragic, strained, as though theman was striving to blot out mental pictures that were detailedthere--pictures that memory persisted in drawing.
He rode with Lawler to the scene of the fight, and showed him where theCircle L outfit had brought the rustlers to bay.
"After Shorty left," said Blackburn; "me insistin' on him goin', an' himblackguardin' me for sendin' him, there was a little time when nothin'happened. Then the day broke, an' everything seemed to happen at once.
"They rushed us, Lawler. There was more of 'em than there was of us, an'they circled around us, howlin' an' shootin' like Indians. They got usbetween 'em. But we fought 'em--Lawler, we fought 'em till there wasn'ta man left standing. But there was too many of 'em. We plantedtwenty--afterward. But about that number got away. I was hit sort ofhard, but I watched 'em scutterin' towards Kinney's canon. They'd beengone some time when Caldwell's outfit--an' Shorty--come up. Caldwell'soutfit lit out after 'em; but Caldwell's men had rode pretty hardgettin' to us, an' it wasn't no go. Sigmund's men, though; an' Lester'san' the rest of 'em, had took a gorge trail that cuts into the big basinfrom the south, away the other side of Kinney's canon; an' they runplumb into the rustlers over at the edge of the basin on Sigmund's side.
"An' they brought back your cattle; though Slade an' twenty or thirty ofhis men got away, clean. I reckon you've heard about enough, an'--Well,Lawler, that's about all--exceptin' to tell you how the boys--an' Idon't seem to want to go over that when I'm awake; I keep seein' itenough of nights."
But something of the deep emotion Blackburn felt was reflected inLawler's eyes from the time he heard the story.
During the many days he had spent in the little hotel room recoveringfrom his wound--and in the long interval of convalescence thatfollowed--a small army of workmen had been engaged in rebuilding theCircle L ranchhouse, the bunkhouses, and the other structures. On thesecond day following his return to consciousness Lawler had called in acontractor and had made arrangements for reconstruction.
A temporary cabin--to be used afterward by Blackburn--had been erectednear the site of the bunkhouses, and into this Lawler and his mothermoved while the ranchhouse and the other buildings were being rebuilt.Blackburn was slowly engaging men to fill the depleted complement, andthe work went on some way, though in it was none of that spirit whichhad marked the activities of the Circle L men in the old days.
In fact, the atmosphere that surrounded the Circle L seemed to be filledwith a strange depression. There had come a cold grimness intoBlackburn's face, a sullenness had appeared in the eyes of the three menwho had survived the fight on the plains; they were moody, irritable,impatient. One of them, a slender, lithe man named Sloan, voiced toBlackburn one day a prediction.
"Antrim's dead, all O.K.," he said. "But Slade--who was always a damnedsight worse than Antrim--is still a-kickin'. An' Slade ain't the man tolet things go halfway. Them boys from the other outfits bested him, allright. But Slade will be back--you'll see. An' when he comes we'll besquarin' things with him--an' don't you forget it!"
* * * * *
It was after Lawler had been occupying the cabin for a month thatMetcalf made his second visit. He rode down the slope of the valley on ahorse he had hired at Willets, and came upon Lawler, who was standing atthe corral gates, looking across the enclosure at the workmen who werebustling about the ranchhouse.
Metcalf regarded Lawler critically before he dismounted; and then hecame forward, shook Lawler's hand and again looked him over.
"A little thin and peaked; but otherwise all right, eh?" he smiled."It's hard to kill you denizens of the sagebrush."
He followed Lawler into the shade of the cabin, remarked to Mrs. Lawlerthat her son would need someone to guard him--if he persisted in meetingoutlaws of the Antrim type single-handed; and then turned toLawler--after Mrs. Lawler had gone inside--and said lowly:
"Lord, man! you've got this state raving over you! Your fight againstthe ring is talked about in every corner of the country. And that scrapwith Antrim, Selden, and Krell in the old Dickman cabin will go down inhistory--it will be a classic! What made you rush in on Antrim thatway--giving him the first shot?"
Lawler smiled faintly. "Shucks, Metcalf, there was nothing to that.Shorty told me what had happened, and as I recollect, now, I was prettymuch excited."
"Excited, eh?" said Metcalf, incredulously; "I don't believe it. Whatabout your going in to Warden's office, offering to give him the firstshot? Were you excited then?"
Lawler reddened, and Metcalf laughed triumphantly.
"Lawler," he said; "you're too damned modest--but modesty becomes you. Ibelieve you know it. Anyway, this state is raving over you. You're goingto be the next governor. You've got to run! This state needs a man likeyou--it _needs_ you! You know it. Everybody knows it--and everybodywants you. That is, everybody except Haughton, Hatfield, Warden--andthat bunch--including the railroad company. Why, look here, Lawler!" hewent on, when Lawler did not answer; "the fight you made last fallagainst the railroad company was made, with variations, by all thecourageous cattlemen in the state. If a strong man isn't elected thisfall the same fight will have to be made again. Haughton is so rottenthat people are beginning to hold their noses!
"The people of this state trust you, Lawler--they swear by you. You'vegot to run--there's no way out of it!" He looked keenly at Lawler. "Man,do you know what McGregor told me the day before he left the capital tocome down here and look you over, to see how badly you were hurt? Hesaid: 'Metcalf, if Lawler dies we lose the governorship next fall. He isthe only man who can beat Haughton!'"
"Metcalf," smiled Lawler; "I'll tell you a secret--your argument has hadno effect upon me. I decided this thing as far back as the day followingthe last election. I am going to run."
"Then we've got Haughton licked!" declared Metcalf, enthusiastically.
Metcalf stayed at the Circle L throughout the day, and in the eveningLawler rode with him to Willets, where he saw him aboard the west-boundtrain.
"I'm telling you something, Lawler," grinned the newspaperman as hegripped Lawler's hand just before the train started. "McGregor came tome yesterday. He told me he intended to come to see you, but he wasafraid you'd refuse to run. He asked me if I had any influence with you,and I told him you'd do anything I suggested. Now, don't get excited,Lawler," he laughed as Lawler looked sharply at him. "I've proved it,haven't I? You've agreed to run! Lord, man, I'd hate to be an evil-doerand have you look at me like that!" He laughed again, exultantly. "Whatwas it you said to Warden one day, when Warden refused to keep thatagreement you made with Lefingwell? Oh, don't look at me that way--thatconversation has been printed all over the state. I saw to that. How didI hear of it? Somebody must have talked, Lawler. It wasn't you. Youremember what you told Warden? It was this:
"'I'm telling you this, though: A man's word in this country has got tobe backed by his performances--and he's got to have memory enough toknow when he gives his word!'
"You've given yours, Lawler; and you can't back out. McGregor will bewaiting for me in the capital. And when I tell him that I have persuadedyou to run, he'll fall on my neck and weep tears of joy. Then he'll hirea special train and run down here to fall on _your_ neck!"
McGregor came the next day. And he took Lawler back to the capital withhim. Lawler stayed in the capital for a week, and when he returned hewent directly to the Circle L.
No word came from him, to Willets, during the summer. He did not appearin town; though Willets heard that the new Circle L ranchhouse had atlast been completed, and that Lawler was living in it
. Also, the CircleL outfit had been recruited to full strength; Blackburn was occupyingthe new cabin.
When Corwin--who was chairman of the county committee--sent out callsfor the county primary election--which convention was also to choosedelegates to the state convention, to be held later--Lawler did notappear. He sent a note to Corwin, asking to be excused.
"I reckon he ain't entirely over that wound," Corwin told an intimatefriend. "We'll have to get along without him, this time." But there wasa light in Corwin's eyes which told that he was not unaware of thesignificance of Lawler's trip to the capital with McGregor.
There came a day when Corwin and his brother-delegates got on a train atWillets and were taken to the capital. And there came another day whenthey returned. They brought a brass band with them; and Willets closedits doors and went out into the street--and crowded the stationplatform, where the band was playing, and where the returned delegates,frenzied with joy, were shrieking above the din: "Hurrah for KaneLawler! Lawler--our next governor! Hip, hip--HOORRAY!"
"We swamped 'em!" howled a crimson-faced enthusiast; "there was nothin'to it! Unanimous after the first vote! HOORRAY!"
In his office, Gary Warden heard the shouting; saw the crowd, andlistened to the cheers. He stood at one of the windows, balefullywatching; sneering at the delegates who had returned, flushed withvictory. Singleton, scowling, stood beside Warden.
They saw half a dozen men draw apart from the others. Later themen--delegates, from the gay badges appended to them--rode out of town,southward.
"Reception committee," sneered Warden. "They're going to escort Lawlerto town. Let's go to the Two Diamond. I'll be damned if I want to be intown to watch Lawler grin when he sees that crowd! There's a dozen bigguns in that bunch, who have come down from the capital to watch thefun. Well, it's no fun for me!"
However, it was "fun" for the delighted citizens of Willets, who, somehours later, saw the reception committee returning with Lawler. Theyescorted him to a platform which had been erected in the middle of thestreet in the absence of the reception committee, where, after the crowdhad cheered him many times, Lawler made his first speech as thecandidate of his party.
Energetic citizens had gayly decorated the street with flags andbunting--taking Corwin's entire stock--and the varicolored decorationsswathed the town from end to end.
Warden and Singleton had scurried out of town long before the coming ofLawler. But Jimmy Singleton, with a number of other children who hadmercifully been dismissed by the school teacher, were close to theplatform during the celebration.
"He's gonna be governor, Jimmy," whispered one of Jimmy's companions,awe in his voice as he indicated Lawler, who was just concluding hisspeech.
"I've knowed him a long time," went on Jimmy's friend, proudly.
"Huh!" said Jimmy; "I've knowed him longer than you. An' besides, hewalloped me. An' he walloped my paw, too!"
Shorty had ridden to town with Lawler; and Shorty rode home with thecandidate for governor--after the citizens of Willets had shoutedthemselves hoarse and the prominent men who had come down from thecapital had taken the evening train home.
And Shorty said nothing when Lawler veered from the Circle L trail andheaded eastward, toward Hamlin's cabin. And he waited with much patienceoutside the cabin while Lawler went in, to stay an unconscionably longtime.
Ruth was alone. And her eyes were glowing with happiness when she sawLawler.
"Oh, I know!" she said when Lawler essayed to break the news to her. "Onhis way to town, Blackburn rode over and told me. All of your men werein town--didn't you know that?"
"Ruth," said Lawler; "I will be elected. Won't you come to the capitalwith me--to be the first lady of the state?"
She looked straight at him, her face paling.
"Wait, Kane," she said, gently. "I--I can't, just now. Oh, Kane, don'tyou see that the higher you go the harder it is for me. I can't havepeople say--what they might say--what your enemies would be sure to say!Father is all right now. But I can't depend upon him. We will wait,Kane--until we are sure."
Shorty rode with Lawler after they left the Hamlin cabin. And thegravity of Lawler's expression was noted by the giant, and dulycommented upon the following morning, in Blackburn's presence.
"The boss's trail is sure hard to anticipate," said Shorty. "There's thestate goin' loco over him--nominatin' him for governor, an' folks inWillets makin' more fuss over him than they did over the President--thetime he stopped for two minutes in town. Well, you'd think a man wouldbe sort of fussed up himself, over that kind of a deal. But what doesthe boss do? He rides home with me, sayin' nothin' pretty regular--witha face on him as long as the moral law--an' then some. I ain't got norope on him--an' that's a fact. But he's all wool an' a yard wide--ain'the, Blackburn?"