"I "m d.a.m.ned if I know," returned the old miner, staring blankly.
"This whole thing kinder jiggers me. Maybe he thinks he kin skeer us out by a good brand o" talk. He "s a bit o" a bluffer, that Farnham."
The two watchers waited in breathless expectancy, leaning on their loaded Winchesters, their eyes eagerly fastened on the concealing cedars. Behind where they remained in the open, yet within easy rifle-shot, the heads of Brown and Old Mike rose cautiously above the rock rampart of their natural fort. Suddenly two men, walking abreast, emerged from out the shadow of the wood, and came straight toward them across the open ridge of rocks. They advanced carelessly, making no effort to pick their path, and in apparently utter indifference to any possible peril. The one was Farnham, his slender form erect, his shoulders squared, his hat pushed jauntily back so as to reveal fully the smoothly shaven face. The other bent slightly forward as he walked, his wide brim drawn low over his eyes, leaving little visible except the point of a closely trimmed beard. He was heavily built, and a "45" dangled conspicuously at his hip. If Farnham bore arms they were concealed beneath the skirt of his coat. Watching them approach, Winston"s eyes became threatening, his hands involuntarily clinching, but Hicks remained motionless, his lean jaws continuously munching on the tobacco in his cheek.
"Who the h.e.l.l is that with him?" he questioned, wonderingly. "Do you know the feller?"
Winston shook his head, his own steady gaze riveted upon Farnham.
Deliberately the two climbed the low ore-dump side by side, and came forth on top into the full glare of the sun. Hicks"s Winchester sank to a level, his wicked old eye peering along the polished barrel.
"I "ll have to ask ye ter stop right thar, gents," he said, genially, drawing back the hammer with a sharp click. "Ye "re trespa.s.sin" on my property."
The two men came to an instant halt, Farnham smiling unpleasantly, his hands buried in his pockets. His companion hastily shoved back his hat, as though in surprise at the summons, revealing a broad, ruddy face, shadowed by iron-gray whiskers. Hicks half lowered his gun, giving vent to a smothered oath.
"By G.o.d, it"s the sheriff!" he muttered, in complete bewilderment.
"What the h.e.l.l are we up against?"
There was an interval of intense silence, both parties gazing at each other, the one side startled, unnerved, the other cool, contemptuous.
It was the sheriff who first spoke, standing firmly on his short legs, and quietly stroking his beard.
"You probably recognize me, Bill Hicks," he said, calmly, "and it might be just as healthy for you to lower that gun. I ain"t here hunting any trouble, but if it begins I "ve got a posse over yonder big enough to make it mighty interesting. You sabe?"
Old Hicks hesitated, his finger yet hovering about the trigger, his eyes filled with doubt. There was some mystery in this affair he could not in the least fathom, but he was obstinate and hard-headed.
"Yes, I know you all right, Mr. Sheriff," he returned, yet speaking half angrily. "But I don"t know what ye "re dippin" inter this yere affair fer. I haven"t any quarrel with you, ner any cause fer one.
But I have with that grinnin" cuss alongside o" yer. I "ll talk with you all right, but Farnham will either mosey back ter his own den o"
thieves, "er I "ll blow a hole plumb through him--that"s flat. I don"t talk ter his kind."
The sheriff held up one hand, taking a single step forward, his face grown sternly resolute.
"Mr. Farnham chances to be present as my deputy," he announced gravely.
"I don"t know anything about a quarrel between you two men, and I care less. I "m here to enforce the law and arrest law-breakers. If you decide to interfere between me and my duty I "ll know how to act. I "ve smelt of the business end of a gun before to-day, and I guess n.o.body ever saw Sam Hayes play baby when there was a fight on tap. If there "s trouble between you and Farnham, have it out, and git done with it in proper fashion, but just now he "s a sworn officer of the law, and when you threaten him you threaten all Gulpin County. Do you manage to digest that fact, Hicks?"
The st.u.r.dy old prospector, his face white with rage under the tan, unc.o.c.ked his rifle and dropped the b.u.t.t heavily upon the earth, his eyes wandering from the face of the sheriff to that of Winston.
"What the h.e.l.l is it yer want, then?" he asked sullenly. Hayes smiled, shifting easily so as to rest his weight on one leg.
"Got anybody in your bunch named Winston?" he questioned, "Ned Winston, mining engineer?"
The younger man started in surprise.
"That is my name," he replied, before Hicks could speak. The sheriff looked toward him curiously, noting the square jaw, the steady gray eyes; then he glanced aside at Farnham. The latter nodded carelessly.
"So far, so good. By the same luck, have you a Swede here called Nels Swanson?"
Hicks shook his head in uncertainty.
"There "s a Swede here, all right, who belongs ter the "Independence"
gang. I don "t know his name."
"It"s Swanson," put in Farnham, cheerfully. "Those are the two birds you "re after, sheriff."
The latter official, as though fascinated by what he read there, never ventured to remove his watchfulness from the face of the engineer, yet he smiled grimly.
"Then I "ll have to trouble you to trot out the Swede, Hicks," he said, a distinct command in his voice. "After he "s here we "ll get down to business."
It was fully five minutes before the fellow arrived, his movements slow and reluctant. From his language, expressing his feelings freely to Mike and Brown, who were engaged in urging him forward, it was evident he experienced no ambition to appear in the limelight. The four men waiting his coming remained motionless, intently watchful of one another. As the slowly moving Swede finally approached, Hayes ventured to remove his eyes from Winston just long enough to scan swiftly the mournful countenance, that single glance revealing to him the character of the man. The latter gazed uneasily from one face to another, his mild blue eyes picturing distress, his fingers pulling aimlessly at his moustache.
"Ay ban yere by you fellers," he confessed sorrowfully, unable to determine which person it was that wanted him.
"So I see," admitted the sheriff laconically. "Are you Nels Swanson?"
The fellow swallowed something in his throat that seemed to choke him.
This question sounded familiar; it brought back in a rush a recollection of his late controversy with Mr. O"Brien. His face flushed, his eyes hardening.
"Ay ban Nels Swanson!" he exploded, beating the air with clenched fist.
"Ay ban Lutheran! Ay ban shovel-man by Meester Burke. Ay get two tollar saxty cint! Ay not give won tamn for you! Ay lick de fellar vot ask me dot again!"
The sheriff stared at him, much as he might have examined a new and peculiar specimen of bug.
"I don"t recall having asked you anything about your family history,"
he said quietly, dropping one hand in apparent carelessness on the b.u.t.t of his "45." "Your name was all I wanted." He tapped the breast of his coat suggestively, his gaze returning to Winston.
"Well, gents, we might as well bring this affair to a focus, although no doubt you two understand the meaning of it pretty well already. I "ve got warrants here for the arrest of Winston and Swanson. I hope neither of you intend to kick up any row."
The white teeth of the young mining engineer set like a trap, his gray eyes gleaming dangerously beneath frowning brows. Instinctively he took a quick step forward.
"Warrants?" he exclaimed, breathlessly. "In G.o.d"s name, for what?"
Hayes tightened his grip on the gun b.u.t.t, drawing it half from the sheath, his eyes narrowing.
"For the murder of Jack Burke," he said tersely. "Don"t you move, young man!"
There was a long moment of intense, strained silence, in which the five men could hear nothing but their own quick breathing. Before Winston everything grew indistinct, unreal, the faces fronting him a phantasy of imagination. He felt the fierce throb of his own pulses, a sudden dull pain shooting through his temples. _Murder_! The terrible word struck like a blow, appearing to paralyze all his faculties. In front of him, as if painted, he saw that fierce struggle in the dark, the limp figure lying huddled among the rocks. _Murder_! Aye, and how could he prove it otherwise? How could he hope to clear himself from the foul charge? Even as he yet swayed unsteadily upon his feet, a hand pressed across his eyes as if shielding them from that horrible vision, a voice, deep and strident, rang out:
"Mike an" me have got the two cusses covered Mr. Winston. If they move, or you give us the highball, we "ll plug "em dead centre!"
CHAPTER XXII
THE INTERVENTION OF SWANSON
Hayes never changed his position, nor removed his eyes from Winston, his right hand still resting upon the b.u.t.t of his "45," his lips set in rigid line. The engineer, the mist partially clearing from his brain, retained no thought except for Farnham, who remained motionless, staring over his head into the black, threatening muzzle of Stutter Brown"s levelled gun. These were Western men; they recognized instantly the potency of "the drop," the absolute certainty of death if they stirred a muscle. They could only wait, breathless, uncertain, the next move in this desperate game. To Winston it seemed an hour he hesitated, his mind a chaos, temptation buffeting him remorselessly.
He saw the sheriff"s face set hard, and resolute behind its iron-gray beard; he marked the reckless sneer curling Farnham"s lips, the livid mark under his eye where he had struck him. The intense hatred he felt for this man swept across him fiercely, for an instant driving out of his heart all thought of mercy. As suddenly he remembered the helpless woman yonder, within easy view, possibly even then upon her knees in supplication. It was this conception that aroused him. He withdrew his dull gaze from off that hateful, mocking face, his clenched hands opening, his mind responding to a new-born will. "Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord"--like an echo, perhaps from the very prayer her lips were speaking, the solemn words came into his consciousness.
With face white, and lips trembling, he stepped suddenly back, and flung up one hand.
"Don"t fire, boys!" he commanded, his voice ringing clear and purposeful. "Drop your guns; it"s all right. This is my game, and I intend to play it out alone."