CHAPTER XA LOSING GAME
RED had given his hail as he went forward—“Hello, friends.” Even as he did so, he realized who they were, for he recognized McGowan, as that worthy came forward to see from whom the greeting had come. Red whispered to Brownie, gave him a pat and the horse loped off. It was too late for him to turn away, even if he had any desire to do so. He saw other men join McGowan at the front of the cave. He also heard excited whispering.
No answer greeted him. There was a moment’s distrustful gaze and then the leader said surlily:
“What brings you here? What do you want?”
“Nothing much,” answered Mack. “I heard folks talking and wondered if itwasn’t some of our boys. I went off to Big Gulch, day before yesterday, and knew our boys would be somewhere about. Didn’t exactly expect you folks,” he added whimsically, “or I might not have been so free with my call. I guess I’ll move on, as I seem to have interrupted you,” he added in a louder voice.
We know McGowan’s answer. There was a consultation for a half minute. They suspected that what Red Mack told them was not the truth; on the other hand, he would hardly have come to them if he knew who they were. There were no others with him; if there were, they would not have given the thieves time to get ready.
“What are you men up to? Stealing cattle is mighty dangerous.” He sat down and rolled a cigarette while the men watched him distrustfully and uncertainly. “This is good catching time, you know.” A pause. “What are you going to do with me?” But he seemed absolutely unconcerned as to what they would do.
“Well,” answered McGowan, “we might make you food for animals, if you really have a desire to know. We are somewhat uncertain as yet. You haven’t any say, althoughI admit you have some interest in our decision. I’m inclined to think,” added the speaker, “you can’t harm us if we keep you here while we do our job.”
“Yes,” one of the other men added. “Our reputations won’t be hurt much by what you may be mean enough to say after we are through. Catching time is a long way off, the border-line is much nearer. Day after tomorrow the U.S.A. for us.”
“I’ll tell you this, Red. If any of your friends come to investigate, you’re going to make an easy shot,” McGowan warned him.
“My friends are not welcome, then?” Mack smiled. “But why blame me, if I’m popular?”
Both the prisoner and the cattle thieves seemed to be in the best of humor. But both sides were watching each other very closely.
“I reckon,” said one of the other men, “the Double U and the Double X will not miss what we want. We need it much more than they do.”
“Well, now,” and Mack smiled, “I take it that you need that carcass of yours much more than they do. While folks are taking things, we’ll probably take that.”
And so they talked, in the main, quite humorously and good-naturedly. Mack wondered how his friends could come to his help without making the matter of receiving help a matter of extreme danger to him. For these men would blow his brains out at the first sign or even hint of interference from the outside. That would be their game. They had not even bothered to tie him, simply had taken his gun away.
But, knowing Smiles as he did, he knew he could count on him. He knew that Smiles would figure all these things before he made a move. For his friend was a pastmaster at this kind of game. Of course, there was the possibility that Ted might not have brought the warning to Smiles, but that possibility was quite remote, so Red decided he could count on Ted. The thing for him to do was to be ready and act when the time came.
McGowan now turned to one of the men.
“Better get outside and watch awhile. I don’t expect trouble, but that’s the time it usually comes.” Out of the corner of his eye he watched Red Mack to see if he would give some sign, but the prisoner never changed expression.
So a half hour more passed. The man outside grumbled at being kept there when all his interests were inside. His watch was divided, half his time being spent in listening and watching the men inside.
There was a sudden crashing of underbrush. Almost with the noise a gun was at Mack’s head. Then the call of the sentry. “It’s a horse—reckon it’s Mack’s.” The gun came down.
“It won’t be his very long,” remarked McGowan.
Men in the West who know each other, also know each other’s horses. So Brownie was at once recognized. There was nothing wrong to the men in Brownie’s coming to where his master was, nothing at all wrong in that. But to Mack it meant everything. His horse would never come unless called or sent. So he must have been sent. That meant that Smiles was at hand and had taken this method of letting him know that it was his move.
He could blow out one of the lights and kick the other one over. It would require quick, instantaneous action, but it could be done. Should he then rush forward andout? They would shoot him if he did. No, he would make his rush, but it would be to the back of the cave. He would make an attempt to escape in the dark when the opportunity came. If he only had his gun!
Yes, he must make them think he was rushing out.
“You know, Pete,” he talked even as he was thinking, “I could forgive everything but one thing. The horse is mine, now and always. My not wearing a gun makes no difference. When I go, my horse goes with me. And I reckon I’m—”
There was sudden, intense darkness.
“—going now.”
Something crashed the next instant. There was much noise, voices, pistol shots. A pause of a few minutes. In that pause Mack had managed to get outside of the cave. The men inside were uncertain, hesitating because they were sure they had heard shots from the outside. They did not know what to do.
Probably, too, it would have been a good time for the men on the outside to have closed in on the outlaws. But they also were uncertain and the dark in those firstfew minutes helped the men on the inside. As the two factions each hesitated, a voice came to them from the outside.
“I reckon, Smiles, you can go to it.” It was the voice of Mack. And even as he spoke there were answering shots from the men within at the place from which the voice had come.
There was a pause. “Will you do a little barking, so I can tell where you are?” It was Mack’s voice again.
Mack saw, then, the place from which his friends were shooting and a few seconds later was among them.
“Thanks,” he said. “Pete McGowan and his men are in there looking for trouble.”
“Well, they’ll find it,” and Smiles smiled his broadest.
“Better come out, Pete. We’re too many for you,” the foreman called. Shots answered him. The men from the outside did not waste any shots. They crept closer.
“Say, Smiles,” called out Pete, “if we come out, we want your promise that there is not going to be any hanging, but that you’ll turn us over to the Mounted Police. We want you to promise that, otherwise we might as well fight.”
THE MEN FROM THE OUTSIDE CREPT CLOSERTHE MEN FROM THE OUTSIDE CREPT CLOSER
THE MEN FROM THE OUTSIDE CREPT CLOSER
THE MEN FROM THE OUTSIDE CREPT CLOSER
“That’s fair,” answered Smiles. “I promise you.”
“All right, then, we’ll come.”
They came out. To their credit be it said, they came, heads up, as men. They had made their fight, a foolish fight, for the wrong-doer always pays. But they did not whimper. Such is the stock of the West, whatever the course they may follow, bad or good, they are almost always—men.
To Ted it was a tremendous experience. It gave him an idea as to what length these easy-going men would go. Mack and Smiles were his heroes, the men in turn did not forget to say a good word to him for his part.
Pop had not been with them in the roundup. But when he heard of it, he wanted to know all the details of Ted’s share in it. He got it from both Smiles and Red Mack. Mrs. Dean also wanted to know all about it. She scolded Mack for leading the boy into danger, but she did not altogether regret it. It would harden Ted, she thought.
Several days later the boy left for Wayland.