Amos sat in the little back room of Rayder's office in Denver. His
beady black eyes glistened beneath his beetle brows. A pleased
expression shone on his thin face, drawn in wrinkles like stained
parchment. Rayder was out, but had left instructions for him to wait.
As he sat there his eye caught sight of something interesting on
Rayder's desk. The door was closed and he was alone. He leaned forward
and took up some slips of paper for closer inspection. They were
certificates of assay from Pendleton. The pleased look vanished as he
noted Amos No. 1, Amos No. 2, Amos No. 3, and so on for a dozen or
more slips. Rayder did not trust him, and had had the sample of ore
assayed by Pendleton for corroboration.
"He does not even believe in honesty among thieves," he mused, as he
carefully replaced the papers. Then the pleased look came back to his
face.
"All the better," he thought. "He will deal now and it is my time to
strike before the iron cools."
He drew his chair further back from the desk, and pretended to be
reading a newspaper when he heard Rayder coming.
"Just the man I have been wanting to see," said Rayder, extending his
hand, "how is everything in Saguache and how is Annie?"
"Annie is handsome as ever, but there is a new assayer coming to town
next month and I understand he is on the dead square, and what we do
we have got to do all-fired quick. How is this for an eye-opener?" He
took from his pocket several lumps of shining ore.
"Sylvanite," exclaimed Rayder. "What does it run?"
"Eighty ounces to the ton. There is a quarter of a million dollars on
the dump and the fellows think it is copper and pyrites of iron."
"How would it do to contest the claim?"
"Dangerous business, they have taken to killing claim jumpers. One was
shot last week, and this outfit will shoot, no mistake. It is better
to buy them out for a song. They are about broke anyway. They believe
everything I tell them, have a child-like confidence in me, same as
everybody has. I tell you, Rayder, I stand at the top in the
estimation of everybody, and all we have got to do is to have the
buyer on the ground, and when they come in with their next samples I
will prove to them their values have run out, show them some rich
stuff from down the valley and like all others of their class, they
will stampede."
"That sounds good, but tell me more of Annie, did she appreciate the
cloak I sent her for a Christmas present?"
"Appreciate it! I should say she did. She just worships it because it
came from you, and say, she has your photograph on the wall where she
can see it all the time. She just dotes on that picture. I tell her
there is the chance of her life, a fine house, fine clothes, a chance
to go abroad and cultivate her musical talent, become a great singer
and meet dukes and lords and crowned heads. Why, the girl is just
crazy over you, and I believe she would marry you even if you did not
have a cent. It is like marrying December to May, you sixty and she
nineteen, pretty and vivacious--warm up your old bones, eh?"
Rayder's eyes shone and he stroked his beard with delight. "Charley,"
he called to his office boy, "bring up a quart of whisky, some lemons
and sugar."
"Sweet creature, I love thee," said Amos a few minutes later, holding
up a half goblet of whisky. "You do the proper thing in setting out
these kind of glasses; puts me in mind of my old home down in Texas,
where we never drink out of anything smaller than a tin cup or a
gourd."
"Here is to Annie and Rayder--may your posterity become presidents
and wives of presidents."
"Drink hearty," said Rayder, emptying his glass, which he had filled
to the fullness of Amos' out of compliment.
"Charley, bring up a box of perfectos," he shouted. "You may then lock
up and go home."
The glasses were again drained and the two black crows chattered until
the streets were growing quiet for the night. Supper was forgotten in
the love feast of Amos and Rayder.
"Do you know, Amos, I always did love you just like a brother?"
"Here, too, Rayder, you know the first time we saw each other, I sez
to myself--I sez--there is a man that would stick to a friend through
thick and thin."
"You are that kind of a man yourself, Amos, is the reason you have a
good opinion of me. I never had a friend in distress yet that I didn't
help him out."
"That's right, Rayder, that's right. Them's the qualities that go to
make up nature's noblemen. Lord, if I had a known you years ago we'd
a bin millionaires--my knowledge of mines and your sagacity. That's
what counts, and you never fail in your estimate of men, either. Lord,
you was born under lucky stars.
"Take another drink, Rayder, take a cistern full. 'Taint often we meet
on auspicious occasions like this, and we won't go home 'till mornin,'
and we won't go home 'till morning, hic--hurrah for Annie, Rayder, and
a million outer the mine."
"An' she shame short of share of prosperity to my brother Amos," and
Rayder took another drink.
"Shay, Rayder, you come and go home with me and hang around a day or
two until you buy the mine and play sweet with Annie, an' the night of
the weddin' we'll hev a dance and send you away on your bridal tour in
a blaze of glory."
"I'll do it, I'll do it, Amos, an' then we'll be almost brothers
'cordin' ter law, anyway."
"Shay, Rayder, did I tell ye I had a little mix up with a woman, an'
I'm scared to death 'fear old woman 'ill find it out. I got 'ter
square the deal or I'm a goner and stuff's all off, want yer to let me
take ten thousand fer few days, got ter blow a lot o' money on
weddin', too, yer see."
"All right, Amos, youse's square a man's ever met. I'll let ye hev
it."
"Good, thet's relief; sooner I get it easier mind'll be. Nuthin' like
'mediate action to relieve man's mind, you know. Let's take nuther
drink and ye can write th' check with steadier hand."
Rayder swallowed another drink while Amos fumbled about the desk until
he found Rayder's check book.
"Bet ye can't spell ten without making a crook. There now, if you can
write thousand as well you're a peachareno. Bully, now write Silas
Rayder at the bottom. You're a brother in fact, Rayder, an' I love ye
better as any brother. Shay, let's hev nuther bottle."
And Amos pocketed the check and quietly slipped down stairs, to the
saloon and was back with another quart before Rayder had roused from
his drunken stupor. He poured out another half goblet of whisky.
"Shay, Rayder, de ye know about story of Guvner of North Carolina sed
to Guvner of South Carolina, to effet an' words, it was long time
between drinks?"
"An' that was a damn shame Guvner hed to wait, ought to had you along
an' famous epigram ed never been born."
Half an hour later Rayder was stretched upon the lounge in the little
back office, dead to the world. Amos sat by the window sobering up
until the grey of the morning. The sleeping man roused, and Amos gave
him another half goblet of whisky followed by a sip of water. He had
drawn the blinds and left the coal-oil lamp burning when it grew
light, lest the sleeping man should arouse and discover it was
daylight.
When the office boy came, he cautioned him not to awaken Rayder. He
then crossed over to the bank, called for the face payment of the
check in gold coin. He took the money to the Wells Fargo Express
company's office and expressed it to his wife in Saguache.
[Illustration: THE AREGUIPENA. (Page 56)]
Rayder was sleeping when he returned. He placed the check book in its
accustomed place in the desk, destroyed all evidence of the night's
debauch and left a note on the desk saying: "My dear Rayder, I have
been suddenly called home by the illness of my wife. Come to Saguache
as soon as you can make it convenient. Amos."
When Rayder awoke it was four o'clock in the afternoon. His head was
in a whirl and every muscle was twitching. He called Charley and sent
for a doctor. The doctor saw the trouble at a glance. He called a hack
and accompanied Rayder to his home.
"This will never do, Mr. Rayder. You have drank much whisky in your
time and it has become a poison to your system. Do not look for me to
get you out of this in less time than four weeks."