"There," said Billy, "I knew you"d made a mistake in addition, Jack.
You count what"s here, Miss Walton."
He tossed the greenbacks and the heavy poke into the lap of the girl who was now sitting up cross-legged, her back against the rock.
"Sixteen hundred and twelve dollars and sixty-five cents," announced Hazel a few minutes later.
"How much did your mules cost?" queried Billy.
"Five hundred and a quarter the team," was the prompt reply.
"Call it six hundred," said Billy briskly. "It"s only right for you to take something at an auction thisaway. Strip off six hundred dollars worth of greenbacks and put them in your pocket."
"Oh, I wouldn"t feel right about taking more than the regular price,"
demurred Hazel.
"No reason why you shouldn"t. No reason a-tall. Jack"s only paying you for the damage he did. He"s glad to pay. Ain"t you, Jack?"
"I suppose so," grunted Jack.
"There, you see. Your uncle would want you to. I know he would. In fact, he"d be a heap put out if you didn"t. Those b.u.mps of your"s now.
What do you say to one hundred wheels a b.u.mp? You got three b.u.mps and a scratched nose. Which last counts as a b.u.mp. In round numbers that makes four hundred dollars. One thousand dollars to you, Miss Walton."
"Here!" cried the outraged Jack Murray. "You"re robbin" me! You"re takin" every nickel I got!"
"No, I ain"t," denied Billy, "and don"t go and get excited and put those hands down. Don"t you, now. About that money--the worst is yet to come. Young Riley Tyler not being here to a.s.sess his own damages, I"ll a.s.sess "em for him. You put three holes in Riley. Call it two hundred dollars a hole. That makes six hundred dollars. Just put that six hundred in a separate pile for Riley, Miss Walton."
"I don"t mind the man paying for the mules," said Miss Walton firmly, "but I can"t take any money for my scratch or two."
Billy looked at her, decided she meant it and said:
"All right, put that four hundred with Riley"s six. Riley won"t mind."
"But I do!" shouted Jack Murray, his arms quivering with rage. "You can"t rob me thisaway. By Gawd----"
"Now, now," Billy cut in sharply, "no swearing. You forget Miss Walton. You"re right about the money, though. I can"t rob you. Miss Walton, dump all that money back in the poke and hand it to him. He wants to go back to Golden Bar and be lynched."
"I got friends in Golden Bar," bl.u.s.tered the prisoner.
"None of "em will be your friends after I tell "em what you did to Miss Walton, Jack. There"s a prejudice in this country against hurting a woman. Folks don"t like it. Aw right, get a-going, feller. No, the other way--toward Golden Bar."
A hearty groan wrenched itself from the depths of Murray"s being.
"Uncle! Uncle!" he cried angrily. "Have it your own way. I don"t want to go to the Bar. Take all my money and be done with it."
"I wouldn"t think of such a thing," declared Billy, "though it wouldn"t be any more than right if I did. You"re getting off too easy. You"ll live to be hung yet, I"m afraid, but I can"t just see my way to downing you now and here. No, you divide the money again, Miss Walton. Six hundred for you, a thousand for Riley and twelve dollars and sixty-five cents tobacco money for this gentleman.-- Don"t bother reaching for the money, Jack. I"ll put it in your pocket. There you are. Now, Miss Walton, if you"ll wait here while I get this citizen started-- You"ve got a horse somewhere, I expect, Jack. Lead the way."
"Oh, sure I saw him off all right. I don"t guess he"ll be back for a while--not if he has brains. You know, I owe you a lot, Miss Walton.
You did the bravest thing I ever knew a man or woman to do. You gambled your life to save mine. You might have been killed, you know it? And after me getting fresh there in the street, I dunno what to say, I don"t."
He knew that he was talking too much. But in the reaction that had set in he was so embarra.s.sed that it hurt.
"Yeah!" he gabbled on, red to the ears, "you certainly are a wonder.
I--uh--I guess we better be getting back to town. You feel able to ride now? My horse is gentle. Besides, I"ll lead him."
It was then that reaction set in for Hazel Walton. As the strain on her nerves eased off, everything went black before her eyes and she keeled over sidewise in a dead faint.
CHAPTER FIVE
JACK MURRAY OBJECTS
"You hadn"t oughta shot the girl"s mules," said fat Sam Larder, shaking a reproving head at disconsolate Jack Murray.
The latter endeavored to defend himself. "I was drunk."
"That"s no excuse," averred Felix Craft. "You had no business picking a fight with young Riley in the first place. He"s a popular lad, that one, and you ain"t."
"He made me mad, setting there in the sun joking with that d.a.m.n Bill Wingo who"s gonna be sheriff in my place. Besides, I was drunk."
"I saw the whole affair," said Sam Larder. "Bill pushed Riley off the cracker box and you had to slur Riley about it. Fool caper."
"I never did like Riley," grumbled Jack Murray. "He"s a friend of Bill Wingo"s and that"s enough. I figured by downin" Riley and skippin" out and lettin" that stage hostler know where I was going, Bill Wingo would come pelting after and gimme a chance to settle with him all salubrious and private on the trail somewheres."
Sam Larder bluntly called the spade by its correct name. "Bushwhack him, you mean."
"Well, if I did, it"s none of your business," snapped Jack Murray with an evil glance.
"Then why make it our business by coming here bellyaching to me and Craft?" Sam Larder wished to know.
"I came to you because I want my money--sixteen hundred dollars that bandit Bill Wingo stole off me."
"He didn"t say anything about any sixteen hundred," said Felix Craft, his eyes beginning to gleam. "Tell us about it."
"Yeah," urged Sam. "Give it a name."
Jack proceeded to give it a name--several names and all profane. When he was calmer he gave a fairly truthful account of the financial transaction between Hazel Walton, Bill Wingo and himself.
"And I"m telling you here and now," he said in conclusion, "that six hundred dollars is too much for that broken-down team of jacks. And a thousand dollars for putting a few holes in Riley Tyler is plumb ridiculous. My Gawd, he"ll be out of bed in a month. Wha" t"ell you laughin" at?"
For his hearers were laughing--laughing immoderately. They whooped, they pounded the table, they beat each other on the back till they sank exhausted into their chairs.
Jack demanded again to be told what they were laughing at.
"I"ll leave it to anybody if this ain"t the funniest thing ever happened in the territory," declared Sam Larder, when he could speak with coherence.
Felix Craft nodded. "Sure is. One on you all right, Jack."