Oliver Strange - Sudden Westerns 10 - Sudden Plays a Hand(1950) (3 page)

 
          
His
companion did not appear formidable. Still in his teens, he was of small but
wiry build, his features thin and angular, with eyes ever alive. He wore one
gun only, but his hand was never far from it, a fact the older man noted with a
smile.

 
          
“Expectin’
trouble, Yorky?’ he asked presently.

 
          
“Guess
not, but there’s no harm in bein’ ready,’ the youth replied. “She’s liable to
be just round
th
’ corner. Don’t you reckon we’ll get
some excitement this trip, Jim?’

 
          
“You’re
a bloodthirsty young devil,’
came
the answer. “This is
just a holiday, an’ we’re mindin’ our own business, yu sabe?’

 
          
“Figure
you can, Jim?’ Yorky asked slyly.

 
          
“Meanin’?’ with an assumption of fierceness.

 
          
“Well,
if you’d made that a rule, I’d be fillin’ a hole in th’ ground right now, an’
Dan an’ Doc Malachi wouldn’t be arguin’ over which of ‘em has th’ finest kid.’

 
          
The grin which made a boy of him again sofnened Sudden’s saturnine
features.
“Awright, yu win,’ he said, and then checked his mount as a
rasping voice reached them.

 
          
“Anythin’ to say, Drait, afore we jerk you into the next world?’

 
          
Sudden
twisted his reins round the saddle-horn, pulled both guns, and forced his horse
through a break in the underbrush. Yorky followed.

 
          
The
scene upon which they burst was a curious one: a man with hands bound behind,
standing beneath a tree. From an overhead branch dangled a lariat, the loop
around his neck, and the other end in the hands of two burly ruffians. A couple
more stood a few yards away, gazing with malevolent satisfaction at the
prisoner, whose expression was one of sneering contempt. On one side of the
open space, four horses nibbled contentedly at tufts of grass, and on the other
a further two, on one of which sat a girl, wrists tied and head bent. A dark-faced,
broken-nosed fellow was raising a hand as a signal to the executioners when
Sudden spoke.

 
          
Put
‘em up, pronto,’ he said, and there was a bite in his voice which told that
delay would certainly be dangerous.

 
          
The
command was promptly obeyed, the pair holding the rope letting go as though it
had suddenly turned into a rattlesnake. This stranger on the black horse
appeared to know exactly what he wanted and to be capable of raising Cain if he
did not get it. True, they were four to two, but each of them was well aware
that a bullet could travel faster than the hand of the greatest gunman. The
unknown accepted their obedience as a matter of course.

 
          
“Now
that we’re all comfortable, mebbe one o’ you will tell me what’s goin’ on?’ he
suggested.

 
          
“We’re
stringin’ up this fella,’ the broken-nosed man snarled. “Ain’t that plain
enough?’

 
          
“As
plain as yore face, an’ that’s Gawd-awful plain,’ Sudden replied, adding
sharply, “
What’s
yore name?’

 
          
“Lanty,’
was the unthinking reply, and then, “
What’s
it gotta
do with you, anyway?’

 
          
“I
might need it for yore tombstone.’ Lanty looked alarmed; this two-gun stranger
was not his idea of a humorist. “Why are yu hangin’ this man?’

 
          
“He’s
a cattle-thief.’

 
          
“Appearances
shorely are deceivin’; I’d ‘a’ picked yu for that part, Mister Vigilante,’
Sudden said. “I don’t see any cattle. Have yu searched him?’

 
          
It
was the accused who answered, with a grin. “Did so, an’ all they found was a
couple o’ calves—on my legs; they took my wad instead.’

 
          
“That
warn’t noways right, Mister Vigilante,’ came the reproof. “Dollars ain’t
evidence; they might ‘a’ been earned honest.’

 
          
‘My
name’s Dirk,’ Lanty snapped. “We didn’t need
no
proof.
That’s Nick Drait, a nester, an’ they all steal stock. That hoss the gal’s on
bears Bardoe’s brand.’

 
          
“I
borrowed it for the lady,’ came the prompt explanation. ‘Was Bull there at the
time?’ Lanty wanted to know.

 
          
“Shore,
an’ raised no objection.’
This with a grim smile.
Sudden did not understand, but his heart warmed to a man who could find
anything amusing in his present situation. “One of us,’ he reflected, and
turned his attention to the other horses.

 
          
“You
ridin’ for the S P?’ he asked, and got an affirmative nod

 
          
Drait
spoke again. “An’ that’s a lie. The S P has a new cook; ask ‘em to tell you the
colour of his hide.’

 
          
The
challenge met with sullen silence. At a word from his friend, Yorky slid from
his saddle, released the girl’s wrists, and performed a like office for the
accused. Then the two of them collected the weapons of the four, Drait taking
his own and his money from Lanty. Standing in front of him, he said: “You hit
me after I was tied up. Well, a blow for a blow is my motto, an’ I’m actin’ up
to it.’ Measuring his distance, he drove a fist into the scowling face, with a
force that lifted its owner from his feet and dropped him on the back of his
neck several yards away. Spitting a tooth and a torrent of oaths from his
gashed mouth, the prostrate ruffian gasped:

 
          
“I’ll
git you for that, Drait.’

 
          
“Try,
an’ I’ll send you to hell so quick they won’t be ready for you,’ was the reply.
He went to the S P horses, slung the saddles to the ground, and knotted the
bridles together. “I’m takin’ ‘em back to the S P—mebbe,’ he said.

 
          
The
prospect of being set afoot brought immediate protest from the victims; a
cowboy would almost rather ride in a hearse than walk. Their leader appealed to
Sudden.

 
          
“Them
horses was loaned us,’ he explained. “Our’n was played out an’ we left ‘em in
exchange.’

 
          
“Comin’
so late, an’ on top o’ yore other claim, that’s a pore tale,’ Sudden told him. “Toddlin’
home’ll give yu a chance to think up a better one. Yo’re lucky; I’ve seen men
swing for less.’

 
          
Driving
the tied animals ahead, the nester and his party turned back into the trail,
Sudden and Drait in the lead, with Yorky and the girl behind. “I’m shorely
obliged,’ the rescued man said. “It was curtains for me if you hadn’t shown
up.’

 
          
“Forget
it,’ Sudden replied. “One look at that Lanty fella’s face told me yu were
gettin’ a raw deal. So
yo’re a nester
?’

 
          
“Sort of.
I’d like fine for you to see my place, Mister.’

 
          
“Green
is the name; it ain’t a long word, but “Jim” is shorter,’ the other smiled. “My
sidekick is called “Yorky” an’ he’s a good kid; we’re just takin’ a look at the
country.’

 
          
“She’s
worth it, but
reptiles is
mighty prevalent,’ was the
sardonic answer.

 
          
Meanwhile,
Yorky was endeavouring to thaw the human iceberg riding beside him, and meeting
with little success. Hard-eyed, she stared at the trail before them, and
replied to his remarks in words of one syllable. At length, he fell oack on his
favourite topic—his friend. So she learned of the coming of the cowboy to the
Circle Dot, the restoration of his own health, and the amazing adventures which
followed. Despite herself, she was interested, and her gaze went from the trail
to the broad back of the man she was hearing about.

 
          
“Why
are you called Yorky!’ she asked.

 
          
“Just
a name
th
’ boys give me. You see, I was born in li’l
old Noo York.’

 
          
“I
never would have taken you for an Easterner.’

 
          
That
made a friend of him; for many months he had been striving to eradicate all
trace of the East from his speech, and only in moments of high excitement did
he now relapse.

 
          
“Don’t
you ever want to go back?’

 
          
“No, ma’am.
Look !’
He swept a hand
towards the distant mountains. “Me for
th
’ West, every
time.’

 
          
“It’s
a cruel country, and its men are like it,’ she said bitterly.

 
          
“Fella
has to be tough, but that don’t mean bad,’ the boy defended. “Now yore—friend,
Drait,’—he did not notice her shiver—‘he’s tough, but I’d trust him; he has a
straight eye. An’ wasn’t that the gran’ daddy of a wallop he give that Lanty
jasper?’

 
          
“Is brutality the only remedy for evil?’

 
          
“I
guess so, in a land where there ain’t
no
law.’

 
          
“Oh,
I might have known,’ she said. “You men always hang together.’

 
          
Yorky
grinned delightedly. “If hangin’ together keeps us from hangin’ separate it
gets my vote.’

 
          
She
did not smile, and if she had intended to reply, the distant report of a rifle,
followed by several more, drove in from her mind. Drait straightened up in his
saddle, and swore.

 
          
“Damnation!
That’s Shadow Valley way; somethin’ wrong. We gotta hurry.’

 
          
The
big Mexican spurs rasped the ribs of his mount, quickening its pace. Very soon
he swung off the main trail to the left, plunging into thick scrub with only a
few hoofprints to point the way.

 
          
“This’ll
save some miles, but
it’s
tricky travellin’,’ he
explained. “
Them
hosses is goin’ to hamper us.’

 
          
“Easy
settled,’ Sudden replied, and beckoned to Yorky. Put yore loop over one o’ the
broncs an’ lead ‘em behind us.’ He watched approvingly as the boy made the
throw and held the captives until the two men had passed.

 
          
“Ain’t
forgot
all I taught yu,’ he smiled.

 
          
“Not
any, an’ learned a lot more,’ Yorky retorted, as he resumed his place by the
again silent girl.

 
          
They
descended a long slope by means of a series of wooded shelves, and as Drait had
warned, care was essential and speed out of the question. No more firing was
heard, but a column of black smoke staining the sky some miles off brought
another curse to the lips of their leader.”If that’s my place some o’ the
cattlemen round here are goin’ to need new ranch-houses afore long,’ he
gritted.

 
          
Presently
they reached a level expanse of short grass, on the far side of which was what
appeared to be the mouth of a gorge. Barely forty yards apart, rock walls rose
abruptly on either side, curving inwards as though to meet at the top to form a
gigantic natural arch. Huge boulders lying near supported the theory that once
it had existed, but now only the pillars remained.

 
          
They
passed through this gateway, and Sudden was surprised to find, instead of the
stony gully he had expected, an open oval valley, shut in by miniature cliffs.
A bend prevented him from seeing the full extent of the valley, but it appeared
to be about a quarter of a mile in width, and the floor was carpeted with good
grass. An imprecation from the nester stopped further observation.