"Don"t bank on that golden egg business, Dave," advised Rutherford.
"If you tempt the boys enough, they"re liable to forget it. You"ve been behaving mighty aggravating to Dan."
"Me!" Dave opened his eyes in surprise. "I was just asking him how he"d like to go back to Santa Fe after you-all turn me loose."
"We"re not going to turn you loose till we reach an agreement. What"s the use of being pigheaded? We"re looking for that gold and we"re going to find it mighty soon. Now be reasonable."
"How do you know you"re going to find it?"
"Because we know you couldn"t have taken it far. Here"s the point.
You had it when Fox made his getaway. Beulah was right behind you, so we know you didn"t get a chance to bury it between there and town. We covered your tracks and you didn"t leave the road in that half-mile.
That brings you as far as Battle b.u.t.te. You had the gunnysack when you crossed the bridge. You didn"t have it when Slim Sanders met you. So you must have got rid of it in that distance of less than a quarter of a mile. First off, I figured you dropped the sack in Hague"s alfalfa field. But we"ve tramped that all over. It"s not there. Did you meet some one and give it to him? Or how did you get rid of it?"
"I ate it," grinned Dingwell confidentially.
"The boys are getting impatient, Dave. They don"t like the way you b.u.t.ted in."
"That"s all right. You"re responsible for my safety, Hal. I"ll let you do the worrying."
"Don"t fool yourself. We can"t keep you here forever. We can"t let you go without an agreement. Figure out for yourself what"s likely to happen?"
"Either my friends will rescue me, or else I"ll escape."
"Forget it. Not a chance of either." Rutherford stopped, struck by an idea. "Ever hear of a young fellow called Cherokee Street?"
"No. Think not. Is he a breed?"
"White man." Rutherford took a chair close to Dingwell. He leaned forward and asked another question in a low voice. "Never happened to meet the son of John Beaudry, did you?"
Dingwell looked at him steadily out of narrowed eyes. "I don"t get you, Hal. What has he got to do with it?"
"Thought maybe you could tell me that. He"s in the park now."
"In the park?"
"Yes--and Jess Tighe knows it."
"What"s he doing here?"
But even as he asked the other man, Dingwell guessed the answer. Not an hour before he had caught a glimpse of a white, strained face at the window. He knew now whose face it was.
"He"s spying on us and sleuthing for evidence to send us to the pen.
Think he"d be a good risk for an insurance company?"
Dave thought fast. "I don"t reckon you"re right. I put the kid through law school. My friends have likely sent him up here to look for me."
Rutherford scoffed. "Nothing to that. How could they know you are here? We didn"t advertise it."
"No-o, but--" Dingwell surrendered the point reluctantly. He flashed a question at Rutherford. "Tighe will murder him. That"s sure. You going to let him?"
"Not if I can help it. I"m going to send young Beaudry out of the park."
"Fine. Don"t lose any time about it, Hal."
The Huerfano Park rancher made one more attempt to shake his prisoner.
His dark eyes looked straight into those of Dingwell.
"Old-timer, what about you? I ain"t enjoying this any more than you are. But it"s clear out of my hands."
"Then why worry?" asked Dingwell, a little grin on his drawn face.
"h.e.l.l! What"s the use of asking that? I"m no Injun devil," barked Rutherford irritably.
"Turn me loose and I"ll forget all I"ve seen. I won"t give you the loot, but I"ll not be a witness against you."
The Huerfano Park ranchman shook his head. "No, we want that gold, Dave. You b.u.t.ted into our game and we won"t stand for that."
"I reckon we can"t make a deal, Hal."
The haggard eyes of the starving man were hard as tungsten-washed steel. They did not yield a jot.
A troubled frown dragged together the s.h.a.ggy eyebrows of Rutherford as he snapped out his ultimatum.
"I like you, Dave. Always have. But you"re in one h.e.l.l of a hole.
Don"t feed yourself any fairy tales. Your number is chalked up, my friend. Unless you come through with what we want, you"ll never leave here alive. I can"t save you. There"s only one man can--and that is your friend David Dingwell."
The other man did not bat an eyelid. "Trying to pa.s.s the buck, Hal?
You can"t get away with it--not for a minute." A gay little smile of derision touched his face. "I"m in your hands completely. I"ll not tell you a d.a.m.n thing. What are you going to do about it? No, don"t tell me that Meldrum and Tighe will do what has to be done. You"re the high mogul here. If they kill me, Hal Rutherford will be my murderer.
Don"t forget that for a second."
Rutherford carried home with him a heavy heart. He could see no way out of the difficulty. He knew that neither Meldrum nor Tighe would consent to let Dingwell go unless an agreement was first reached.
There was, too, the other tangle involving young Beaudry. Perhaps he also would be obstinate and refuse to follow the reasonable course.
Beulah met him on the road. Before they had ridden a hundred yards, her instinct told her that he was troubled.
"What is it, dad?" she asked.
He compromised with himself and told her part of what was worrying him.
"It"s about your friend Street. Jess had him looked up in Denver. The fellow turns out to be a Royal Beaudry. You"ve heard of a sheriff of that name who used to live in this country? . . . Well, this is his son."
"What"s he doing here?"
"Trying to get us into trouble, I reckon. But that ain"t the point.
I"m not worrying about what he can find out. Fact is that Tighe is revengeful. This boy"s father crippled him. He wants to get even on the young fellow. Unless Beaudry leaves the park at once, he"ll never go. I left word at Rothgerber"s for him to come down and see me soon as he gets home."
"Will he come?" she asked anxiously.
"I don"t know. If not I"ll go up and fetch him. I don"t trust Jess a bit. He"ll strike soon and hard."
"Don"t let him, dad," the girl implored.