Counterplot
: Shoe Bar Stratton"The low-down, ornery liar!" sputtered Bud Jessup, face flushed and eyes
snapping. "He told me to wait for them bolts if I had to stay here all
day. I thought it was kinda funny he'd let me waste all this time, but I
didn't have no idea at all he'd got me out of the way a-purpose to put
across that dirty deal. Why, the rotten son-of-a--"
"Easy, kid," cautioned Buck, glancing at the open door of the store.
that isn't our game--yet."
He had found Bud alone on the rickety porch, kicking his heels against the
railing and fretting at his enforced idleness; and having hitched his
horse, he lost no time in giving the youngster a brief account of the
happenings of the night before.
"Not him," shrugged Jessup, though he did lower his voice a trifle. "The
up train's due in less than half an hour, an' Pop's gettin' the mail-bag
ready. That means readin' all the post-cards twice at least, an' makin'
out all he can through the envelopes, if the paper's thin enough. I often
wondered why he didn't go the whole hog an' have a kettle ready to steam
the flaps open, he seems to get so much pleasure out of other people's
business."
Stratton chuckled. This suited him perfectly up to a certain point. He
pulled the letter out of his shirt and was pleased to see that none of the
writing was visible. Then he displayed the face of the envelope to his
companion.
Bud's eyes widened. "Whew!" he whistled. "That sure looks like business.
What's up, Buck? Can't yuh tell a man?"
"I will on the way back; no time just now. Let's go in."
He led the way into the store and walked down to where Daggett was slowly
sorting a small pile of letters and post-cards.
"Hello, Pop!" he greeted. "Looks like I was just in time."
The old man peered over the tops of his spectacles. "Yuh be, if yuh want
to catch the up-mail," he nodded. "Where's it to?"
He took the letter from Stratton's extended hand and studied it with frank
interest.
"Jim Hardenberg!" he commented. "Wal! Wal! Friend of yores, eh?"
"Oh, I don't know as you'd hardly call him that," evaded Stratton.
"Haven't seen him in over two years, I reckon."
Pop waited expectantly, but no further information was forthcoming. He
eyed the letter curiously, manoeuvering as if by accident to hold it up
against the light. He even tried, by obvious methods, to get rid of the
two punchers, but they persisted in hanging around until at length the
near approach of the train-hour forced the old man to drop the letter into
the mail-bag with the others and snap the lock. On the plea of seeing
whether their package had come, both Stratton and Jessup escorted him over
to the station platform and did not quit his side until the train had
departed, carrying the mail-sack with it.
There were a few odds and ends of mail for the Shoe-Bar, but no parcel.
When this became certain, Bud got his horse and the two mounted in front
of the store.
"By gee!" exclaimed Pop suddenly as they were on the point of riding off.
"I clean forgot to tell yuh. They got blackleg over to the T-T's."
Both men turned abruptly in their saddles and stared at him in dismay. To
the bred-in-the-bone rancher the mention of blackleg, that deadly
contagious and most fatal of cattle diseases, is almost as startling as
bubonic plague would be to the average human.
"Hell!" ejaculated Bud forcefully. "Yuh sure about that, Pop?"
"Sartain sure," nodded the old man. "One of their men, Bronc Tippets, was
over here last night an' told me. Said their yearlings is dyin' off like
flies."
"That sure is mighty hard luck," remarked Jessup as they rode out of town.
"I'm glad this outfit ain't any nearer."
"Somewhere off to the west of the Shoe-Bar, isn't it?" asked Stratton.
"Yeah. 'Way the other side of the mountains. There's a short cut through
the hills that comes out around the north end of middle pasture, but there
ain't one steer in a thousand could find his way through. Well, let's hear
what you're up to, old man. I'm plumb interested."
Buck's serious expression relaxed and he promptly launched into a detailed
explanation of his scheme. When he had made everything clear Bud's face
lit up and he regarded his friend admiringly.
"By cripes, Buck!" he exclaimed delightedly. "That sure oughta work. When
are yuh goin' to spring it on 'em?"
"First good chance I get," returned Buck. "The sooner the better, so they
won't have time to try any more dirty work."
The opportunity was not long in coming. They reached the ranch just before
dinner and when the meal was over learned that the afternoon was to be
devoted to repairing the telephone leading from the ranch-house to Las
Vegas camp, which had been out of order for several weeks. As certain
fence wires were utilized for line purposes, this meant considerable work,
if Stratton could judge by the ruinous condition of most of those he had
seen. He wondered not a little at the meaning of the move, but did not
allow his curiosity to interfere with the project he had in mind.
They had left the ranch in a bunch, Kreeger and Siegrist alone remaining
behind for some other purpose. They had not gone more than two miles when
a remark of McCabe's on mining claims gave Buck his cue.
"A fellow who goes into that game with a bunch takes a lot of chances," he
commented. "I knew a chap once who came mighty near being croaked, to say
nothing of losing a valuable claim, by being too confiding with a gang he
thought could be trusted."
"How was that?" inquired Slim amiably, as Stratton paused.
"They wanted the whole hog instead of being contented with their share,
and tried two or three times to get this fellow--er--Brown. When Brown
wised up to what was going on he thought at first he'd have to pull out to
save his hide. But just in time he doped out a scheme to stop their dirty
work, and it sure was a slick one, all right."
Buck chuckled retrospectively. Though the pause was unbroken by any
questions, he saw that he had the complete and undivided attention of his
audience.
"What he did," resumed Stratton, "was to write out a detailed account of
all the things they'd tried to put across, one of which was an attempt
to--a--shoot him in his bunk while he was asleep. He sealed that up in an
envelope and sent it to the sheriff with a note asking him to keep it
safe, but not to open it unless the writer, Brown, got bumped off in some
violent way or disappeared, in which case the sheriff was to act on the
information in it and nab the crooks. After he'd got word of its receipt,
he up and told the others what he'd done. Pretty cute, wasn't it?"
The brief pause that followed was tense and fraught with suppressed
emotion.
"Did it work?" McCabe at length inquired, with elaborate casualness.
"Sure. The gang didn't dare raise a finger to him. They might have put a
bullet through him any time, or a knife, and made a safe get-away, but
then they'd have had to desert the claims, which wasn't their game at all.
Darn good stunt to remember, ain't it, if a person ever got up against
that sort of thing?"
There was no direct reply to the half-question, and Buck shot a glance at
his companions. Lynch rode slightly behind him and was out of the line of
vision. McCabe, with face averted, bent over fussing with his
saddle-strings. The sight of Doc Peters's face, however, pale, strained,
with wide, frightened eyes and sagging jaw, told Stratton that his thrust
had penetrated as deeply as he could have hoped.
"We'll start here."
It was Lynch's voice, curt and harsh, that broke the odd silence as he
jerked his horse up and dismounted. "Get yore tools out an' don't waste
any time."
There was no mistaking his mood, and in the hours that followed he was a
far from agreeable taskmaster. He snapped and growled and swore at them
impartially, acting generally like a bear with a sore ear whom nothing can
please. If he could be said to be less disagreeable to anyone, it was,
curiously enough, Bud Jessup, whom he kept down at one end of the line
most of the afternoon. Later Stratton discovered the reason.
"It worked fine," Bud whispered to him jubilantly, when they were alone
together for a few minutes after supper. "Did yuh see him hangin' around
me this afternoon? He was grouchin' around and pretendin' to be mad
because he'd let yuh go to town this mornin' just to mail a letter to some
fool girl."
"Of course I pulled the baby stare an' told him I didn't see no letter to
no girl. Yuh sure didn't mail one while I was with yuh, I says.
"'Didn't mail no letter at all?' he wants to know, scowlin'."
"'Sure,' I says. 'Only it went to Jim Hardenberg over to Perilla. I seen
him hand it to old Pop Daggett, who was peevish as a wet hen 'cause he
couldn't find out nothin' about what was in it, 'count of Buck hangin'
around till it got on the train. That's the only letter I seen.'
"He didn't have no more to say, but walked off, scowlin' fierce. I'll bet
yuh my new Stetson to a two-bit piece, Buck, he rides in to town mighty
quick to find out what Pop knows about it."
Stratton did not take him up, for it had already occurred to him that such
a move on Lynch's part was almost certain. As a matter of fact the foreman
did leave the ranch early the next morning, driving a pair of blacks
harnessed to the buckboard. Buck and Jessup were both surprised at this
unwonted method of locomotion, which usually indicated a passenger to be
brought back, or, more rarely, a piece of freight or express, too large or
heavy to be carried on horseback, yet not bulky enough for the lumbering
freight-wagon.
"An' if it was freight, he'd have sent one of us," commented Bud, as they
saddled up preparatory to resuming operations on the fences. "Still an'
all, I reckon he wants to see Pop himself and get a line on what that old
he-gossip knows. He'll have his ear full, all right," he finished in a
tone of vindictive satisfaction.
To make up for the day before, the whole gang took life very easily, and
knocked off work rather earlier than usual. They had loafed ten or fifteen
minutes in the bunk-house and were straggling up the slope in answer to
Pedro's summons to dinner when, with a clatter of hoofs, the blacks
whirled through the further gate and galloped toward the house.
Buck, among the others, glanced curiously in that direction and observed
with much interest that a woman occupied the front seat of the buckboard
with Tex, while a young man and two small trunks more than filled the
rear.
"Some dame!" he heard Bud mutter under his breath.
A moment later Lynch pulled up the snorting team and called Jessup to hold
them. Buck was just turning away from a lightning appraisal of the
new-comers, when, to his amazement, the young woman smiled at him from her
seat.
"Why, Mr. Green!" she called out in surprise. "To think of finding you
here!"
Buck stared at her, wide-eyed and bewildered. With her crisp, dark hair,
fresh color, and regular features, she was very good to look at. But he
had never consciously set eyes on her before in all his life!
More
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Building A Cabin
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A voice calling his name from the top of the shaft brought Jack Kilmeny back to consciousness. He answered. A shout of joy boomed down to him in Colter's heavy bass. He could hear, too, the sweet troubled tones of a woman. "Hurry, please, hur... Carried Away
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"Some class to Roger's driving!" cried Phil, as the little touring-car swept along, in the direction of Lake Sargola. "Roger, if you ever want a recommendation as a chauffeur----" "We'll give it to him on gilt-edged paper," finished Dave, with a... Caught In A Storm
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On his solitary ride upward and homeward the ranger searched his heart and found it bitter and disloyal. Love had interfered with duty, and pride had checked and defeated love. His path, no longer clear and definite, looped away aimlessly, lost in... Chain-lightning
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After his few words to Dorothy the wounded man lapsed again into coma, in which condition he was found by the physician, who returned with Santry from Crawling Water. During the long intervening time the girl had not moved from the bedside, though... Clipped Wings
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The windows of the division head-quarters of the Pacific Southwestern at Copah look northward over bald, brown mesas, and across the Pannikin to the eroded cliffs of the Uintah Hills. The prospect, lacking vegetation, artistic atmosphere, and colo... Colonel Starbottle's Client
CHAPTER I. It may be remembered that it was the habit of that gallant "war-horse" of the Calaveras democracy, Colonel Starbottle, at the close of a political campaign, to return to his original profession of the Law. Perhaps it could not be c... Colter Takes A Hand
Moya combed her long rippling hair while Lady Farquhar laid down the law that hedges a young woman from the satisfaction of her generous impulses. For the most part the girl listened in silence, a flush burning through each of her dusky cheeks. Th... Concerning Lite And A Few Footprints
"Lucky you was with me all day, up to four o'clock, Lite," Jim said. "That lets you out slick and clean, seeing the doctor claims he'd been dead six hours when he seen him last night. Crofty--why, Crofty was laying in there dead when I was talking ... Concerning Marriage
And it was spring-time; these prisoners of frost were beautifully sensitive. They, too, with the lake and the aspens and the earth, the seeds and the beasts, had suffered the season of interment. In such fashion Nature makes possible the fresh und... Concerning The Boone-bellamy-yarnell Feud
The story that Ferne Yarnell told them in the parlor of the hotel had its beginnings far back in the days before the great war. They had been neighbors, these three families, had settled side by side in this new land of Arkansas, had hunted and fe... Concerning The Strength Of Women
There were three things discussed by Lee Haines and Buck Daniels in the dreary days which followed. The first was to keep on their way across the mountains and cut themselves away from the sorrow of that cabin. The second was to strike the trail of ... Conclusion
In her career as the wife of a Western rancher, Eleanor Redfield had been called upon to entertain many strange guests, and she made no very determined objection when her husband telephoned that he was bringing Lize as well as Lee Virginia to stay... Conclusion
Kitty was not the only cougar brought into camp alive. The ensuing days were fruitful of cougars and adventure. There were more wild rides to the music of the baying hounds, and more heart-breaking canyon slopes to conquer, and more swinging, tufted... Conclusion
That dreadful feeling of motion went away, and I became unconscious of everything. When I awoke the sun was gleaming dimly through thin films of smoke. I was lying in a pleasant little ravine with stunted pines fringing its slopes. The brook bowled ... Converging Trails
An hour or so later, Harlan, having finished his labors in a clearing at the edge of the level near the gorge, climbed slowly on Purgatory and sent him back down the valley trail toward the Star. From the first his sympathies for Barbara had bee... Cottonwoods
Venters appeared too deeply moved to speak the gratitude his face expressed. And Jane turned upon the rescuer and gripped his hands. Her smiles and tears seemingly dazed him. Presently as something like calmness returned, she went to Lassi... Counterplot
"The low-down, ornery liar!" sputtered Bud Jessup, face flushed and eyes snapping. "He told me to wait for them bolts if I had to stay here all day. I thought it was kinda funny he'd let me waste all this time, but I didn't have no idea at all he'... Cowboy Golf
In the whirl of the succeeding days it was a mooted question whether Madeline's guests or her cowboys or herself got the keenest enjoyment out of the flying time. Considering the sameness of the cowboys' ordinary life, she was inclined to think they... Crawford's Basin
You might think, perhaps, as many people in our neighborhood thought, that Joe was my brother. As a matter of fact he was no relation at all; he had dropped in upon us, a stranger, two years before, and had stayed with us ever since. It was in ... Creeping Shadows
With her back against the veranda pillar, Mary Thorne watched the group of mounted men canter down the slope, splash across the creek, and file briskly through the gate leading to middle pasture. Perhaps it would be more accurate to say that, for ... Crooked Work
Stratton suddenly turned his back and stared blankly through the open door. With the same unconscious instinct which had moved him to conceal his face from the old man, he fumbled in one pocket and drew forth papers and tobacco sack. It spoke well... Crossing The Niobrara
The parting of the ways was reached. On the morning of July 12, the different outfits in charge of Lovell's drive in '84 started on three angles of the compass for their final destination. The Rosebud Agency, where Flood's herd was to be delivered o... Cutting Out
It was somewhere near noon by the time we had bunched and held the herd of some four or five thousand head in the smooth, wide flat, free from bushes and dog holes. Each sat at ease on his horse facing the cattle, watching lazily the clouds of dust... Cutting Sign
Dud's observation, when he and Bob took the back trail along the river to find the missing bronco, confirmed that of Buck Hawks. He found the place where a horse had clawed its way out of the stream to the clay bank. From here it had wandered in... Cutting Trail
Kate Cullison had disappeared, had gone out riding one morning and at nightfall had not returned. As the hours passed, anxiety at the Circle C became greater. "Mebbe she got lost," Bob suggested. Her father scouted this as absurd. "Lost nothi... Danger
As Buck appeared in the doorway, blinking a little at the lamp-light, the five card-players stared at him in astonishment. "Where the devil have you been?" inquired Kreeger, surprised out of his accustomed taciturnity. "I thought yuh was asle... Danger
As Ree spoke, a war whoop sounded clear and strong, instantly followed by a weird, chanting song. In a minute or two this ceased, and then with fiercer war whoops than before, broke out afresh. Quickly the young pioneers floated nearer the scene o... Daniel Takes Possession
I was more than ever convinced of her wisdom in choice of garb when in early morning I glimpsed her with the two other women at the Adams fire; for, bright-haired and small, she had been sorrily dulled by the plain ill-fitting waist and long shape... Dave And The Mountain Lion
"Don't fire, I beg of you! We--we are friends! Don't fire! Please put down that pistol, do!" It was Job Haskers who called out in this fashion, as he raised his hands high in the air. He was seized with a chill, and shook from head to foot. ... Dave At Home
"I'm glad you washed your hands of Merwell, Nat," replied Dave, with warmth. "He is not the sort for any respectable fellow to associate with. But about that letter. Have you any idea what he was going to do?" "No. All he said was, 'If you will ... Dave Law Becomes Jealous
"You can never know what these two days have been for me," the general said as he and Alaire lingered over their meal. "They will afford me something to think about all my life! It is a delicious comfort to know that you trust me, that you do not ... Dave Law Comes Home
A few days after she had written to Judge Ellsworth Alaire followed her letter in person, for, having at last decided to divorce Ed, she acted with characteristic decision. Since Ellsworth had more than once advised this very course, she went to ... Dave Sees Something
"You gave somebody my suit-case!" cried the senator's son, while a number of tourists gathered around, to learn what was going on. "Yes, sah!" returned the colored porter of the car. Plainly he was much distressed. "He had an order, sah," he add... Deception Pass
The rider thundered up and almost threw his foam-flecked horse in the sudden stop. He was a giant form, and with fearless eyes. "Judkins, you're all bloody!" cried Jane, in affright. "Oh, you've been shot!" "Nothin' much Miss Wi... Deep Into Cattle Land
Morning had been for some while astir in Medicine Bow before I left my quilts. The new day and its doings began around me in the store, chiefly at the grocery counter. Dry-goods were not in great request. The early rising cow-boys were off again t... Deep Water
Despite his conviction that he stood in the presence of the mysterious "Chief" of whom he had heard much, Harlan's expression did not change. There was a new interest added to it, and a deeper glow in his eyes. But he gave no outward evidence of s... Delirium
It is not the people that have led still and uneventful lives who are best prepared for emergencies. They are not trained to face crises, to make prompt and just decisions. Joan had made but two such resolutions in her life; the first when she had... Deputies All
At the ranch, whither they rode in haste, Luck meant to leave his boys and go on with the sheriff to town. But the Happy Family flatly refused to be left behind. Even old Aleck Douglas--whom years and trouble had enfeebled until his very presence he... Desert Night
THE gray stallion, finding the rein loose on his neck, trotted forward and overtook the dog, and thereafter followed at his heels. With the setting of the sun a slight breeze stirred, and freshened as twilight fell, rolling away the sultry atmosph... Desperate Measures
If Moran or Helen, early in their conversation, had looked out of the window of the hotel, during one of those vivid lightning flashes, they might have seen a woman stealthily approaching the agent's office across the street. Taking advantage of t... Desperate Measures
Nightfall found the quartet established in the S Bar bunk house. The joyful thanks of Ma Thomas was enough reward for any of them. She hadn't expected to see Kid Wolf again, she said, and to have him return with help was a wonderful surprise. S... Deveny Secedes
Since the day he had heard that Harlan had appeared at the Star and had been taken into the outlaw band by Haydon, Deveny had exhibited fits of a sullen moroseness that had kept his closest friends from seeking his companionship. Those friends wer... Dick Leslie Ranger
Which end of the street I entered I had no idea. The cabins were all alike, and in my hurry I would have passed the cook's shack had it not been for the sight of a man standing in the door. That stalwart figure I would have known anywhere. "Dick!... Dick Martin Starts Something
Dick Martin slowly turned, leaned his back against the bar, and languidly regarded a group of Mexicans at the other end of the room. Singly, or in combinations of two or more, each was imparting all he knew, or thought he knew about the ghost of San... Discipline
A light step crossed the outer room, with something peculiar in its lightness, as if the heel were not touching the floor, with the effect of the padded fall of the feet of some great cat; there was both softness and the sense of weight. First the w... Discipline
He made the preparation for supper with such easy speed that everything seemed to be done by magic hands. When Joan's mother cooked supper there was always much rattling of the stove, then the building of the fire, a long preparation of food, and an... Don Carlos
Stewart took Nels, Monty, and Nick Steele aside out of earshot, and they evidently entered upon an earnest colloquy. Presently the other cowboys were called. They all talked more or less, but the deep voice of Stewart predominated over the others. T... Don Carlos's Vaqueros
Early the following morning Stewart, with a company of cowboys, departed for Don Carlos's rancho. As the day wore on without any report from him, Stillwell appeared to grow more at ease; and at nightfall he told Madeline that he guessed there was no... Don't Get Excited!
Lovers, it would seem, require much less material for a quarrel than persons in a less exalted frame of mind. Good Indian believed himself very much in love with his Christmas angel, and was very much inclined to let her know it, but at the same t... Don't You Like Me Any More?
Harshaw's rangers caught up with the militia an hour later. The valley men were big, tanned, outdoor fellows, whereas the militia company was composed of young lads from Colorado towns, most of them slight and not yet fully developed. The state tr... Don't You Touch Him!
Inside the big chuck tent of the construction camp the cook was busy forking steak to tin plates and ladling potatoes into deep dishes. "Git a move on you, Red Haid," he ordered. Bob Dillon distributed the food at intervals along the table whi... Dorman Plays Cupid
Dorman toiled up the steps, his straw hat perilously near to slipping down his back, his face like a large, red beet, and his hands vainly trying to reach around a baking-powder can which the Chinaman cook had given him. He marched straight to ...