THE BROKEN CHAIN
The peace of Sunday evening merged into the calm of night. Service was
long since over in the old Meeting House. The traveling parson had
come and gone. He had done his duty. He had read the service to the
lounging, unkempt congregation, he had prayed over them, he had
preached at them. He had done all these things because it was his duty
to do so, but he had done them without the least hope of improving the
morals of his unworthy flock, or of penetrating one single fraction
through their crime-stained armor of self-satisfaction. Rocky Springs
was one of the shadowed corners upon his tour, into which, he felt,
it was beyond his power to impart light.
There were those in the valley who viewed the Sabbath calm with a
derisive smile. There were those who sat upon their little verandas
and smoked, and talked in hushed voices, lest listening ears might
catch the ominous purport of their words. There were others who went
to their beds with a shrug of pretended indifference, feeling glad
that for once, at least, their homes were a haven of safety for
themselves.
Rocky Springs as a whole knew that something was afoot--some play in
which some one was to be worsted, in which, maybe, a life or two would
be lost. Anyway, the players were Law _versus_ Outlaw, and those who
were not actually concerned with the game felt glad that they still
had another night under their own roofs.
It was truly extraordinary how unspoken news spread. It was
extraordinary the scent of battle, the scent of a struggle against the
law, that was possessed by this people. Everybody seemed to know that
to-night something like history was to be made in the annals of the
crime of the valley.
So the peace of the valley was almost remarkable. An undoubted air of
studied indifference prevailed, but surely it was carefully studied.
Neither Fyles nor any of his police had been seen the whole day. None
of them had attended divine service. It was almost as if they had
entirely vanished from the precincts of the valley.
So the sun sank, and the ruddy clouds rose up from the west like the
fiery splash of the molten contents of the cauldron into which the
great ball of fire had plunged. They rose up, and then dispersed,
vanishing into thin air, and making way for the soft sheen of a myriad
stars, and leaving clear a perfect night for the great summer moon to
illuminate.
* * * * *
Two by two a large number of horsemen rode out of the valley of
Leaping Creek. Once away from the starting point, their movements,
their figures became elusive and shadowy. They passed out from among
the trees, on to the wide plains above, and each couple split up,
taking their individual ways with a certainty which displayed their
perfect prairie craft.
Far out into the night they rode, each with clear instructions filling
his mind, each with the certainty that one or more of their number
must be brought face to face with a crisis before morning, which would
need all their nerve and wit to bring to a successful issue.
The moon rose up, a great golden globe, slowly changing to a cold
silvery light as it mounted the starlit vault. Then came a change.
Instead of leaving a starry track behind it, a bank of cloud followed
hard upon its heels, threatening to overtake it and hide its splendor
behind a pall of summer storm.
Stanley Fyles watched with satisfaction the signs of the night.
* * * * *
A solitary horseman sat leaning forward upon the horn of his saddle,
his eyes searching, searching, with aching intensity, that dim,
shadowed skyline now almost lost against its backing of cloud. He was
half-hidden in the shadow of a small bluff of spruce, with the depths
of the valley hard behind him.
Not only were his eyes searching with an almost unblinking
watchfulness, but his ears, too, were busy with that intense,
nerve-racking straining which leaves them ever ready to carry the
phantom sounds of imagination to the impatient brain above.
It was a long, intense vigil, and a hundred times the waiting man saw
movements and heard sounds which set him ready to give the final
signal which was to complete the carefully laid plans of his chief.
But, in each case, he was spared the false alarm to which tricks of
imagination so nearly drove him.
Midnight came and passed. The sky grew more threatening. The man's
eyes were upon that distant, southern upland which marked the skyline.
Something seemed to be moving in the hazy distance, but as yet there
was no sound accompanying the movement.
Was there not? Hark, what was that?
The man sighed. It was the rustle of the trees about him, stirred
by a gentle rising breeze. But was it? Hark! That sounded like a
footfall. But a footfall was not wanted. It was the sound of wheels
for which his ears were straining. Ah, that was surely the wind.
And--yes--listen. A rumble. It might be the wheels at last, or was it
thunder? He sat up. The strain was hard to bear. It was thunder. And
his eyes, for a moment, left the horizon for the clouds above. He
regretted the absence of the moon. It left his work doubly difficult.
He wondered----
But his wonder ceased, and he fell like a stone out of the saddle. He
struggled fiercely, but his arms were held to his sides immovable. He
had a vague recollection of a swift whirring sound, but that was all.
Then he found himself struggling furiously on the ground with his
horse vanished.
* * * * *
Inspector Fyles was thinking of many things. His post was at a point
overlooking the Fort Alberton trail, which wound its way in the wide
trough of two great, still waves of prairieland directly in front of
him. Nothing could pass that way and remain unobserved, excepting
under cover of the storm which seemed to be gathering.
He patted Peter's arched neck, and the well-mannered, amiable creature
responded by champing its bit impatiently. Fyles smiled. He knew that
Peter loved to be traveling far and fast.
He turned his eyes skywards. Perhaps it was not a storm. There were
breaks here and there, and occasionally a star peeped out and twinkled
mockingly at him. Still, he must hope for the best. A storm would
favor his quarry, besides being----. Hark!
A shot rang out in the distance, away to the east. One--two! Wait. A
third! There it was. To the east. They were coming on over the
southern trail, and that was in McBain's section!
He lifted his reins, and Peter promptly laid his swift heels to the
ground. Three shots. Fyles hoped the fourth would not be fired until
he was within striking distance of the spot.
* * * * *
Four horsemen were converging upon the bluff whence the shots had
proceeded. Each of the four had heard the three shots fired, each was
executing the tactical arrangement agreed upon, and each was waiting
as he rode, laboring under a high nervous tension, for the fourth
shot, which was to confirm the alarm and notify the definite discovery
of the contraband.
It was withheld.
Fyles was the first to reach the bluff, but, almost at the same
moment, McBain's great horse drew up with a jolt. The inspector saw
the approach of his subordinate while his eyes were still searching
the skirts of the bluff for the patrol who had given the signal.
"He should be on the southeast side," said McBain, and rode off in
that direction. Fyles followed hard upon his heels.
They had gone less than two hundred yards when the officer saw the
shadowy form of the Scot throw itself back in the saddle, and pull his
great horse back upon its haunches. Fyles swept up on the swift-footed
Peter. He, too, reined up with a jolt and leaped out of the saddle.
McBain was on his knees beside the prostrate form of the sentry. The
man was bound hand and foot, and a heavy gag was secured in his widely
forced open mouth.
At that moment two troopers dashed up. And the sounds of others
foregathering could be plainly heard.
As Fyles regarded the prostrate man he realized that once more he had
been defeated. He did not require to wait for the gag to be removed.
He understood.
He leaped into the saddle, as McBain cut the gag from the man's mouth.
A sharp inquiry broke the silence.
"Say, did you fire that--alarm?" Fyles cried almost fiercely.
The man had struggled to a sitting posture, and began to explain.
"No, sir. I was dragged----"
"Never mind what happened. You didn't give the alarm?"
"No, sir."
"Quick, McBain!" Fyles almost shouted. "They've done us. Cut him
loose, and follow me. They're on the Fort Allerton trail--or my
name's not Fyles."
* * * * *
Peter led the race for the Fort Allerton trail. The dark night clouds
were breaking when they reached the spot where the inspector had
originally stationed himself. They passed on, and a glimmer of
moonlight peeped out at them as they reached the trail side.
Fyles and McBain leaped from their saddles and examined the sandy
surface of it. Two of the troopers joined them.
At length the officer spoke, and his voice had lost something of its
sharp tone of authority.
"They've beaten us, McBain," he cried. "God's curse on them, they've
played us at our own game, and--beaten us. A wagon and team's passed
here less than five minutes ago. Look at the dust track they've left."
Fyles stood up. Then he started, and an angry glitter shone in his
gray eyes. A horseman was silently looking on at the group of
dismounted men, deliberately watching their movements. In the heat of
the hunt no one had heard his approach. He sat there looking on in
absolute silence.
Fyles moved clear of his men and strode up to the horseman. He halted
within a yard of him, while the rest of the party looked on in
amazement. McBain was the only one to make any move. He followed hard
on his chief's heels.
Fyles looked up into the horseman's face. The sky had cleared and the
moon was shining once more. A sudden fury leaped to the officer's
brain, and, for a moment, all discretion was very nearly flung to the
winds. By a great effort, however, he checked his mad impulse.
"What are you doing here, Mr. Bryant?" he demanded sharply.
Charlie Bryant leaned forward upon the horn of his saddle. His dark
eyes were smiling, but it was not a pleasant smile.
"Why, wondering what you fellows are doing here," he said calmly.
Fyles stared, and again his fury nearly got the better of him.
"That's no answer to my question," he snapped.
"Isn't it?" A subtle change was in Charlie Bryant's manner. His smile
remained, but it was full of a burning dislike, and even insolence.
"Guess it's all you'll get from a free citizen. I've as much right
here looking on at the escapades of the police, as they have
to--indulge in 'em. Guess I've had a mighty long day and need to get
home. Say, I'm tired. So long."
He urged his horse forward and passed on down the trail. And as he
went a trooper followed him, with orders to track him till daylight.