CHAPTER XXV.A COWED OUTLAW.
Tex was bound and half-dragged and half-carried down the slope to the bottom of the valley. Bringing his horse down was a hard proposition, but Tenny managed to accomplish it by throwing a couple of somersaults and barking his shins on the rocks.
It was very evident that Tex was the only one of Lawless’ men in that immediate vicinity, and the scout and his pards considered themselves fairly secure. Dell rode out from under the sheltering bank leading Bear Paw and Tenny’s mount. She had heard enough of the conversation between the scout and Tenny to understand what had happened.
“He’s a good fighter, Dell,” said the scout, when she and Tenny had both reached his side and they were grouped about Tex and waiting for him to recover his wits. “If he had been as good with his rifle as he is with his hands, Tenny would have been out of the reckoning by now.”
“Did you catch him napping, pard?”
“I blundered right onto him. If his ears had been sharp, he would have heard me climbing up the bank, for I reached the top only a few yards from where he was lying, waiting for a chance to take a shot across the valley.”
“Whyever did ye want ter ketch him alive?” asked Tenny.
“He’s a weak sister, Tenny, in the sense that his allegianceto Lawless’ gang is none too hard and fast. I know that from things I have heard. I think we can use Tex; at any rate, I intend to see what I can do with him.”
Just then Tex gave a gurgle and sat up, straining at the rope around his hands.
“Don’t break loose,” taunted Tenny. “It’s yer own rope we’ve put on ye, an’ you ort ter know how strong it is.”
“No one but Buffler Bill could hev ketched me like that,” growled Tex. “I’ve allers said he was a powerful sort of er man—too powerful for us fellers ter buck ag’inst with any show o’ winnin’ out. He’s beat Lawless twicet at his own game, an’ I reckon he’ll beat him agin.”
“I reckon I will, Tex,” said the scout. “Do you want us to take you to Fort Sill and turn you over to the soldiers?”
“Might as well go ter Fort Sill as ter any other place,” said Tex, with resignation. “I’m up a stump, anyways. It don’t make any diff’rence whether I’m shot er strung up; they both mean the same thing in the end. Thunder! I allers reckoned if I hung onter Lawless long enough this is what ’u’d happen. I didn’t want ter be took alive! Why didn’t ye use a gun on me, Buffler Bill?”
“Because I had other plans,” said the scout briefly. “Where’s Lawless?”
Tex was silent.
“Where has he taken Mrs. Brisco?”
Still Tex would not find his tongue.
“Why don’t you answer me?” asked the scout.
“Ye want ter know a heap,” answered Tex, after abrief period of reflection. “What good is it goin’ ter do me ter tell ye all that?”
“That depends on whether you tell the truth or not.”
“Git down ter brass tacks,” said Tex. “Jest what d’ye mean by sayin’ that?”
“I mean that if you will answer my questions truthfully, just as soon as Lawless is down and out, I’ll set you at liberty—providing you’ll agree to leave the country.”
“I don’t reckon thar’s anythin’ ter be gained by buckin’ you further than what I hev,” mused Tex. “I’ve had plenty of it lately, an’ it ain’t never amounted ter nothin’, ’cept ter git us fellers deeper an’ deeper in the hole. I begun as an honest miner, over thar in Sun Dance Cañon, but Coomby talked me over ter helpin’ Lawless, sayin’ as how we’d all git a slice o’ the Forty Thieves if we hung on. Now the mine has been deeded ter Wah-coo-tah Lawless, an’ us fellers won’t git none o’ it onless Wah-coo-tah Lawless makes out a deed ter Cap’n Lawless, an’ ther deed is left at ther black rock at Medicine Bluff ter-night. Is that deed goin’ ter be left?”
“Not that anybody knows of,” said the scout.
“Thet’s what I told Lawless; but when he gits the bit in his teeth, thar ain’t no doin’ anythin’ with him.”
“I have just begun my clean-up,” said the scout, “and Lawless and his men will be down and out before I’m through. You’re down and out now, Tex, and this is the beginning. You can save yourself, however, if you want to answer my questions. We shall wipe out the gang with or without your information, but you may be able to tell us something that will make the job a trifle easier. What’s the word?”
“How do I know ye’ll turn me loose if I tell ye what I know?”
“You have my word,” said the scout shortly. “If that isn’t good enough for you, we’ll stop negotiations right here, and I’ll send you over to Sill.”
“Waal, I’d a heap rather take chances with you than ter take ’em at Sill,” answered the cowed desperado. “What d’ye want ter know?”
“First off, how did you happen to be on the top of the bank?”
“I was watchin’ fer you, er some o’ the others from Sun Dance. Lawless knowed he’d be follered arter the news o’ the hold-up got ter the camp. I was watchin’ this road ter Medicine Bluff, an’ Coomby was watchin’ the other.”
“Why did you fire at us?”
“Bekase I’d feel a heap safer in my mind if I knowed Buffler Bill had been picked off.”
“You tried to pick off Tenny here, and not me.”
“I was waitin’ for a chance at you when ye jumped me up behind thet boulder,” was the rueful answer.
“How did you know I wasn’t coming to Medicine Bluff to leave the deed?”
“How does a feller know thet water won’t run up-hill? Thet wasn’t ther kind of er play ter ketch you, an’ thet’s what I told Lawless. I ain’t felt easy a minit sence you was in Sun Dance Cañon.”
“Well, we’ll let that pass. Where is Mrs. Brisco?”
“Some’r’s around Medicine Bluff, at last accounts. I don’t know jest whar. I come away ter watch this fork afore Lawless decided jest whar he’d take her.”
“Is she being well treated?”
“She gits the best ther camp affords.”
“Is Lawless with her?”
“By now, I reckon, he’s on his way ter Pima Camp, in Chavorta Gorge.”
“Why is he going to Pima Camp?”
“He’s made up his mind he ain’t got men enough. Andy was put out o’ bizness at ther time o’ ther hold-up, an’ sence then he’s passed out o’ ther game fer keeps. Lonesome Pete kin cut a notch, too, fer Eph Singer—we left him under a pile o’ rocks on ther way ter Medicine Bluff. Thet leaves on’y six in ther gang, countin’ Lawless hisself. Now I’m out, thar’s on’y five.”
“Coomby’s watching the other fork of the valley?”
“Yes.”
“And Lawless has gone to Pima?”
“I jest told ye thet.”
“Did he go alone?”
“He did. He wants ter pick up some men at Pima, if he kin.”
“Then there are only three outlaws at Medicine Bluff with the woman?”
“Yes, purvidin’ she’s at the Bluff. I ain’t a-sayin’ whar she is, kase I don’t know.”
“Where are the renegade Cheyennes who used to help Lawless in his villainy?”
“Stampeded. They was all afeared o’ Buffler Bill. I ain’t blamin’ ’em none, either. I reckon Lawless’ll hev the time o’ his life gittin’ handy boys at Pima, when they hear it’s Buffler Bill they’re ter fight.”
The scout turned to Tenny.
“How far is it to Pima from here, Hank?” he asked.
“Ten mile,” replied Tenny.
“How must a man travel to get there?”
“Waal, if I was goin’ thar from hyer, I’d git up onthe top o’ thet bank an’ head due south, keepin Medicine Bluff allers ter the right. When I’d gone five mile, I could see the ridge thet holds Chavorta Gorge. Kain’t miss the gorge. Once inter it, ye foller up ter Pima. But what ye thinkin’ o’ doin’, Buffler Bill?”
“Dell and I are going to Pima,” said the scout, “and overhaul Lawless before he can enlist any more miscreants to carry out his nefarious plans. The iron is hot, and Pima is the place to strike. Not only can we capture Lawless,” added the scout, “but we can prevent him from adding to his force of trouble-makers.”
“You an’ Miss Dauntless aire goin’ ter Pima, ye say?”
“Yes.”
“An’ what am I ter do?”
“You’re to tie Tex to his horse and travel on to Medicine Bluff, effecting a juncture with Nomad’s party. Tell them what has happened; then the lot of you can ride on to Pima. Remember my promise to Tex, Tenny. If his information pans out, he’s going to be a free man. Tell Nomad and Wild Bill what I have promised.”
“I don’t want ter go ter Medicine Bluff,” demurred Tex unexpectedly.
“Why not?” answered the scout. “You’ll not suffer any harm from my pards.”
“Waal, I jest don’t want ter go thar, thet’s all. It ain’t yore pards I’m fearin’, but Coomby an’ the rest.”
“Nomad and Wild Bill have men enough with them to protect you, and that is where you’re going.”
“Jest remember what ye said, Buffler Bill,” went on Tex; “ye said thet ther minit Lawless was down an’ out, I was ter be turned loose.”
“Yes.”
“All right then. I jest want it understood.”
“You’re keeping something back, Tex,” said the scout, studying the ruffian’s face as keenly as he could in the faint light.
“I’m bankin’ my life on the result, ain’t I?” returned Tex. “What I’m keepin’ ter myself ain’t goin’ ter interfere none with yore affairs, an’ it’s li’ble ter mean a hull lot ter me.”
“Well, have it your way. As you say, it is very likely your life swings in the balance.”
The scout and Tenny, between them, swung Tex to the back of his horse and tied him there. Immediately afterward, the rest mounted, and Tenny took the bridle of Tex’s horse, to lead the animal on toward Medicine Bluff.
“Pima is a tough camp, Buffler,” observed Tenny, “an’ thet’s why Lawless went thar ter git fresh men. Every whelp in Pima is of ther same caliber as Tex thar, an’ I’m afeared you an’ Miss Dauntless aire goin’ ter hev yer hands full.”
“Not so full but that we can handle the work, all right,” answered the scout confidently. “A bold stroke, just now, will settle Lawless for good and all. The risk is worth taking. Come on, Dell,” he added to his girl pard; “we’re for Chavorta Gorge and Pima.”
Tenny rode slowly on along the valley in the direction of Medicine Bluff, while the scout and Dell pushed their horses at the wall up which the scout had climbed a little while before.
The scout understood that his suddenly conceived plan for capturing Lawless was a desperate one; but, had he realized just how desperate it was, he would have waited, before carrying it out, to get some more of his pards to go with him.