XXIII.
THE TWO OLD BLACK CROWS.
Amos sat in the little back room of Rayder's office in Denver. Hisbeady black eyes glistened beneath his beetle brows. A pleasedexpression shone on his thin face, drawn in wrinkles like stainedparchment. Rayder was out, but had left instructions for him to wait.As he sat there his eye caught sight of something interesting onRayder's desk. The door was closed and he was alone. He leaned forwardand took up some slips of paper for closer inspection. They werecertificates of assay from Pendleton. The pleased look vanished as henoted Amos No. 1, Amos No. 2, Amos No. 3, and so on for a dozen ormore slips. Rayder did not trust him, and had had the sample of oreassayed by Pendleton for corroboration.
"He does not even believe in honesty among thieves," he mused, as hecarefully replaced the papers. Then the pleased look came back to hisface.
"All the better," he thought. "He will deal now and it is my time tostrike before the iron cools."
He drew his chair further back from the desk, and pretended to bereading a newspaper when he heard Rayder coming.
"Just the man I have been wanting to see," said Rayder, extending hishand, "how is everything in Saguache and how is Annie?"
"Annie is handsome as ever, but there is a new assayer coming to townnext month and I understand he is on the dead square, and what we dowe have got to do all-fired quick. How is this for an eye-opener?" Hetook from his pocket several lumps of shining ore.
"Sylvanite," exclaimed Rayder. "What does it run?"
"Eighty ounces to the ton. There is a quarter of a million dollars onthe dump and the fellows think it is copper and pyrites of iron."
"How would it do to contest the claim?"
"Dangerous business, they have taken to killing claim jumpers. One wasshot last week, and this outfit will shoot, no mistake. It is betterto buy them out for a song. They are about broke anyway. They believeeverything I tell them, have a child-like confidence in me, same aseverybody has. I tell you, Rayder, I stand at the top in theestimation of everybody, and all we have got to do is to have thebuyer on the ground, and when they come in with their next samples Iwill prove to them their values have run out, show them some richstuff from down the valley and like all others of their class, theywill stampede."
"That sounds good, but tell me more of Annie, did she appreciate thecloak I sent her for a Christmas present?"
"Appreciate it! I should say she did. She just worships it because itcame from you, and say, she has your photograph on the wall where shecan see it all the time. She just dotes on that picture. I tell herthere is the chance of her life, a fine house, fine clothes, a chanceto go abroad and cultivate her musical talent, become a great singerand meet dukes and lords and crowned heads. Why, the girl is justcrazy over you, and I believe she would marry you even if you did nothave a cent. It is like marrying December to May, you sixty and shenineteen, pretty and vivacious--warm up your old bones, eh?"
Rayder's eyes shone and he stroked his beard with delight. "Charley,"he called to his office boy, "bring up a quart of whisky, some lemonsand sugar."
"Sweet creature, I love thee," said Amos a few minutes later, holdingup a half goblet of whisky. "You do the proper thing in setting outthese kind of glasses; puts me in mind of my old home down in Texas,where we never drink out of anything smaller than a tin cup or agourd."
"Here is to Annie and Rayder--may your posterity become presidentsand wives of presidents."
"Drink hearty," said Rayder, emptying his glass, which he had filledto the fullness of Amos' out of compliment.
"Charley, bring up a box of perfectos," he shouted. "You may then lockup and go home."
The glasses were again drained and the two black crows chattered untilthe streets were growing quiet for the night. Supper was forgotten inthe love feast of Amos and Rayder.
"Do you know, Amos, I always did love you just like a brother?"
"Here, too, Rayder, you know the first time we saw each other, I sezto myself--I sez--there is a man that would stick to a friend throughthick and thin."
"You are that kind of a man yourself, Amos, is the reason you have agood opinion of me. I never had a friend in distress yet that I didn'thelp him out."
"That's right, Rayder, that's right. Them's the qualities that go tomake up nature's noblemen. Lord, if I had a known you years ago we'da bin millionaires--my knowledge of mines and your sagacity. That'swhat counts, and you never fail in your estimate of men, either. Lord,you was born under lucky stars.
"Take another drink, Rayder, take a cistern full. 'Taint often we meeton auspicious occasions like this, and we won't go home 'till mornin,'and we won't go home 'till morning, hic--hurrah for Annie, Rayder, anda million outer the mine."
"An' she shame short of share of prosperity to my brother Amos," andRayder took another drink.
"Shay, Rayder, you come and go home with me and hang around a day ortwo until you buy the mine and play sweet with Annie, an' the night ofthe weddin' we'll hev a dance and send you away on your bridal tour ina blaze of glory."
"I'll do it, I'll do it, Amos, an' then we'll be almost brothers'cordin' ter law, anyway."
"Shay, Rayder, did I tell ye I had a little mix up with a woman, an'I'm scared to death 'fear old woman 'ill find it out. I got 'tersquare the deal or I'm a goner and stuff's all off, want yer to let metake ten thousand fer few days, got ter blow a lot o' money onweddin', too, yer see."
"All right, Amos, youse's square a man's ever met. I'll let ye hevit."
"Good, thet's relief; sooner I get it easier mind'll be. Nuthin' like'mediate action to relieve man's mind, you know. Let's take nutherdrink and ye can write th' check with steadier hand."
Rayder swallowed another drink while Amos fumbled about the desk untilhe found Rayder's check book.
"Bet ye can't spell ten without making a crook. There now, if you canwrite thousand as well you're a peachareno. Bully, now write SilasRayder at the bottom. You're a brother in fact, Rayder, an' I love yebetter as any brother. Shay, let's hev nuther bottle."
And Amos pocketed the check and quietly slipped down stairs, to thesaloon and was back with another quart before Rayder had roused fromhis drunken stupor. He poured out another half goblet of whisky.
"Shay, Rayder, de ye know about story of Guvner of North Carolina sedto Guvner of South Carolina, to effet an' words, it was long timebetween drinks?"
"An' that was a damn shame Guvner hed to wait, ought to had you alongan' famous epigram ed never been born."
Half an hour later Rayder was stretched upon the lounge in the littleback office, dead to the world. Amos sat by the window sobering upuntil the grey of the morning. The sleeping man roused, and Amos gavehim another half goblet of whisky followed by a sip of water. He haddrawn the blinds and left the coal-oil lamp burning when it grewlight, lest the sleeping man should arouse and discover it wasdaylight.
When the office boy came, he cautioned him not to awaken Rayder. Hethen crossed over to the bank, called for the face payment of thecheck in gold coin. He took the money to the Wells Fargo Expresscompany's office and expressed it to his wife in Saguache.
THE AREGUIPENA. (Page 56)]
Rayder was sleeping when he returned. He placed the check book in itsaccustomed place in the desk, destroyed all evidence of the night'sdebauch and left a note on the desk saying: "My dear Rayder, I havebeen suddenly called home by the illness of my wife. Come to Saguacheas soon as you can make it convenient. Amos."
When Rayder awoke it was four o'clock in the afternoon. His head wasin a whirl and every muscle was twitching. He called Charley and sentfor a doctor. The doctor saw the trouble at a glance. He called a hackand accompanied Rayder to his home.
"This will never do, Mr. Rayder. You have drank much whisky in yourtime and it has become a poison to your system. Do not look for me toget you out of this in less time than four weeks."