For a minute which seemed like an hour Scott stared at Roberts with
every nerve on edge and every muscle tense. He had not the least idea
what would happen when they were recognized, but he felt pretty sure
that something would happen and he was prepared for any emergency.
Murphy also was watching him keenly. He had not liked Scott’s caution in
hiding up there at the camp or his failure to attack these two men when
they first met them up on the railroad. He had recognized that they were
virtually prisoners when these men had started to lead them back to
their camp and he had wanted to fight then, but he had not wanted to
cross Scott’s plans. Now he had decided that he would wait no longer. If
he saw a good opportunity he was going to try to fight his way out. He
did not expect to get very much help in that line from Scott. He
recognized his ability in many things, but he did not consider that
fighting was one of his accomplishments.
In a moment Roberts’ eyes had become accustomed to the light and the
next instant he recognized Scott. His lip curled in a malicious sneer
and his hand stole up toward the holster on his belt. He glanced from
Scott to Murphy.
“So the kid was right,” he snarled. “He said there were a couple of
sneaks in the canal this afternoon and we all thought that he was
dreaming.”
“Seems to me you are quite a ways from home yourself, Mr. Roberts,”
Scott remarked quietly. He saw they were in for it now and he thought
that he might as well anger Roberts to see what he would say. He also
watched him keenly to see what he would do. He remembered the frog he
had seen this man shoot at the turpentine camp and he did not want to
give him too good an opportunity to display his skill now.
Roberts glared at him with a fierce hatred which he did not try to
disguise. “Not so far away from home as you will go when you leave
here,” he hissed.
“You don’t seem to be as glad to see visitors here as you do at the
turpentine camp,” Scott mocked. “It must have spoiled your temper to
have to work so hard reloading that stolen lumber.”
Murphy saw the blood surge through the swollen veins of Roberts’ neck
and saw his hand spring convulsively toward his automatic. He saw the
time for action had come and gathered himself for a spring.
But Scott was ahead of him. He had long ago prepared himself for just
such a situation. He shot from the ground as though he had been sitting
on a spring. Just as Roberts had drawn his revolver from its holster
Scott struck him a tremendous blow on the point of the chin and knocked
him sprawling. He had struck blows like that before and knew that there
was no need to waste any more time on Roberts who would not be in a
condition to do any damage for some time to come, so he turned his
attention to the man beside him who had been doing all the talking
before Roberts came.
The attack on Roberts had been so sudden and unexpected that it had
somewhat dazed the rest of the party. Murphy had been so astonished by
Scott’s sudden action that he had lost a valuable instant and in that
instant the man beside him had hurled himself upon him bearing him to
the ground.
“Go for ’em, Murphy,” Scott shouted, as he turned to the second man who
was scrambling to his feet with his rifle in his hand. But the man never
had a chance to use the rifle. Just as he straightened up Scott caught
him with an upper cut that sent him spinning. His rifle fell at his
feet. Scott saw the other two men of the crew rushing upon him. He
waited till the last instant as though he was watching the man on the
ground and then side-stepped the first of the two with the agility of a
cat, tripped him as he went past and met the second one with a terrific
blow between the eyes, and followed it with a right swing which felled
him like an ox. The man Scott had tripped had picked himself up now and
was returning to the fight with renewed fury.
There was no time to lose. Scott dropped suddenly on the rifle at his
feet and let the man trip over him again. Then grasping the rifle by the
end of the barrel he ran to Murphy’s assistance. He saw the gleam of a
knife in the firelight and it almost sickened him. He swung wildly with
the butt of the rifle and struck the man’s wrist, sending the knife
flying. The rifle swung on through a second circle and came down on the
man’s neck with a sickening thud.
Murphy was unhurt and furious. He sprang to his feet and tore at the
only remaining one of the crew who was rushing at Scott once more, armed
with a stick of firewood. Maddened by the knowledge that he had been
blocked out of the fight by a man half his size and largely by his own
fault because he had allowed that man to get the jump on him, Murphy
paid no more attention to the club which the man had than if it had been
a straw. He brushed it aside and literally bore the man to the earth
under the fury of his onslaught. He was proceeding to pound him in true
Irish fashion when Scott interfered.
“Let him go, Murphy!” he shouted. “Grab Roberts’ revolver and come
ahead. We’ve got to get out of here, there is no telling how soon those
fellows may come from the mill with that lumber.” He snatched up the
other rifle and started down the beach.
A little time before Murphy might have accused Scott of cowardice for
running away from the fighting field in this way, but he had no such
notion now. He obediently left the man whom he had been pounding with
such satisfaction, caught up the automatic from the ground beside
Roberts and joined Scott. Except when Scott had spoken and a single roar
of rage from Murphy when the man had unexpectedly thrown himself upon
him, they had fought in utter silence.
Loaded down with their captured arms, they hurried along the beach
toward the east. Looking back they could see some crumpled figures
beginning to move painfully about the fire. They had not gone very far
when they came to the railroad track and they had not much more than
crossed it when they heard the creak of the cars of lumber. They had
gotten away just in time. If they had waited five minutes more, four men
would have been added to their opponents and the odds would have been
hopeless.
“Shall we stick around a while and see what happens?” Scott whispered,
“or do you think we better get a little farther away while the getting
is good?”
“Don’t see what more we can learn here,” Murphy replied, “unless we
sneak back there and shoot the whole bunch. We have guns enough here now
to do it.”
“Nothing to be gained by that now. But I would like to hear what those
fellows have got to say and what their plans are. It will be a lot
easier for us if we know what they are going to do.”
“Seems to me that we better beat it back as fast as we can and get out
some warrants for these fellows before they can get out of the country,”
Murphy suggested.
“Can’t do it,” Scott replied with decision. “If they are going to leave
the country at all—as they certainly will—they will be gone long before
we can get to town and there will be no way to trace them. Besides there
may be other people mixed up in this thing whom we ought to get, and
unless we find out from these men who they are there will be no way of
getting them. The other fellows will lie mighty low when they find out
that their little scheme has been discovered. No, we can’t leave them
now. You stay here and wait while I sneak back there and see if I can
find out what they are planning.”
“Nothing doing,” Murphy cried emphatically. “If you go back there I am
going with you. Do you think I would let you go back there among that
bunch of cutthroats alone?”
“I know it is too bad to miss it, Murphy, but that would not do at all.
Two of us could not hear any more than one and if anything happened to
us there would not be any one to take back the news and these men could
go right on with their little business just as they have been doing for
the past two years.”
“It would not take Graham long to find out that we were missing,” Murphy
grumbled, “and, believe me, he would turn this outfit inside out in
pretty short order when he got started.”
“Judging from the looks of him I guess you are right,” Scott agreed,
“but he does not know where we went, does not know anything about this
outfit, and would not have a clue to guide him. We have been two years
finding this place and he might be two more in finding it again. No,
Murphy, my plan is the only sensible thing to do. I know how you feel
and I am sorry that you cannot go. If it were just for fun it would be
all right, but we are trying to clean this up for the government and it
would not be right to risk losing all the advantage we have gained.”
Murphy was forced to admit that it was the only safe thing to do and
grudgingly consented to stay behind. He made a plea to go in Scott’s
place, but, of course, Scott could not agree to that. He felt that he
was directly responsible for the capture of these timber thieves and he
could not very well turn it over to any one else.
“That’s the way to look at it,” he said, trying to comfort Murphy, “and
now let’s make sure that we understand each other. I am going back there
to see if I can find out what they are planning to do. You are going to
wait right here till I come back or you are sure that I am not coming
back. Remember you are not to come over there no matter what kind of a
row you hear or what you may think has happened to me.”
“That is asking a good deal of a fellow,” Murphy objected, “and I don’t
know whether I can do it or not.”
“You must do it,” Scott insisted. “We cannot take the risk of having
them pot both of us. That is just what they want. If for any reason you
feel sure that anything has happened to me, beat it for headquarters as
fast as you can go and notify Mr. Graham. Then he will know where to
come and where to look. He can probably trace them with hounds or some
other way if he knows just where to begin and can get on the trail right
away.”
“All right,” Murphy agreed, “but it will be the hardest job I ever had
to do.”
“Then it is all settled,” Scott said quickly, without giving Murphy time
to think anything more about it or to raise any more objections. “It may
be a long time before I can get back, but unless you hear an awful
rumpus, wait for me. So long.”
The two men shook hands earnestly and Scott turned back toward the camp
fire which they could still see—a dull red spark in the distance.
“Hold on,” Murphy whispered, “you haven’t any gun. Better take my
automatic; it is handier than one of those rifles, and they might not be
in shape anyway.”
Scott shook his head. “I’ve never learned to use a gun and would be
almost as apt to shoot myself as the other fellow.”
Murphy looked at him in amazement. “Well, I’ll admit that you seem to be
able to take pretty good care of yourself without one, but I suppose you
know that any one of those fellows back there would not think any more
of shooting you in the back than they would of shooting a yellow dog,
and it is tempting Providence to go down there without a gun of some
kind. Take one of the rifles then, you can shoot that.”
“It would only be in my way. I’ve just got to keep out of sight. If they
should see me one gun would not do me much good against so many.”
“Then let me go along and have two guns,” Murphy begged.
Scott saw that he would simply have the whole argument to do over again
if he stayed there so he simply shook his head and moved off into the
night. He had been brought up in the East in the atmosphere of an old
New England town where the use of a gun in a fight was never heard of
and he had developed a dislike for it which he had never overcome even
after a year of life in the Southwest. At one time out there when he had
looked for an instant into the barrel of a .45 and had realized with
sickening force how helpless an unarmed man was in the face of a deadly
weapon he had decided to arm himself. But the shock of that encounter
had hardly worn off when he changed his mind. It seemed to him such a
cowardly way to fight. He had boxed all his life and was not afraid to
stand up to any man, but to shoot a human being and possibly kill him
had always seemed beyond him. There were times like the present when he
wished that he could use a gun, but as soon as the excitement was over
and he had a chance to consider the question calmly he revolted against
it.
To Murphy who had always lived in a society where nearly every one
“toted” a gun, Scott’s position was altogether incomprehensible. It
seemed to him that Scott was simply courting death to go into such a
place as that unarmed, and he was strongly tempted to break his promise
and go after him. He thought a whole lot more of Scott since he had seen
him in that fight there at the camp fire. It was the most wonderful
fight he had ever seen. This man whose courage he had doubted had
overcome four men and rescued him from the fifth. He sat in the sand
with his back against a tree and thought it over.