"Silver Dick is in the Texas penitentiary, sentenced to be hanged for a
murder committed there in April four years ago. He'll be hanged a week
from to-morrow night if some one don't make a plea for him. It takes a
woman to do such a job as this--are you game?"
"Why, he couldn't have done it," sez she. "He was here all that spring."
"Are you willin' to swear to it?" sez I.
"Oh, I don't want to appear in public--but of course I will, if the'
ain't no other way."
"You won't have to if you'll come with me to-night. The Governor of
Texas is up here on a huntin' trip; he'll be at a party to-morrow
night; all you'll need to do is to wait in a room where I'll hide you
until he gets into a meller mood--I know him well--an' then I'll bring
him to you an' you make a plea for him. You can be his wife or his
mother or daughter--or anything you wish."
"I'll go," sez she, in a quiet tone, an' I breathed free; an' as soon
as she opened the door I dragged the two men inside. They were
Greasers, the same as the old woman what had first talked to me; an' I
turned 'em over to her a' took the woman with the soft voice down to
the train by a back street. She still wore a heavy veil, an' I never
looked at her--not right straight--but I could see that she walked with
her feet an' held her head on the top of her neck; so I was purty
certain that if Dick did return an' try to finish the weddin' as the
star performer she'd give us an interestin' exhibition.
Spider Kelley was at the station when I got off the train. I turned the
woman over to him, tellin' him to bring her out so as to arrive the
evenin' of the weddin', not to talk to her, an' not to let Dick see her
should he chance to come back that way; but to smuggle her into the
office as soon as preparations for the ceremony got started. I still
half looked for Dick, but I thought I had things blocked out, no matter
what turned up, an' I flopped on my hoss an' rode him at about his best.
Everything around the house was whirlin' with preparation; but Barbie
was about the palest lookin' bride 'at ever got ready to toe the
scratch, I reckon. The Hawthorn critter had stayed over at his own
ranch for the last week, an' Barbie wouldn't 'a' had no search-warrant
swore out if he had sent over word that it looked so good to him that
he had decided to continue to remain there for a million years.
The guests had arrived plenty early, an' whenever Barbie would stumble
on to a bunch of 'em she would head up an' get right rompy again. We
had about a ton o' stuff cooked, 'cause we was tol'able thoroughly
experienced on the neighbors. Folks out our way ain't nowise uppity
about such matters. All you need to do is to hint that a little
celebration is goin' to be pulled off an' you can count on their
presence; an' if so be 'at you've forgot anybody's invite, why like as
not they'll hear about it anyway an' be on hand in plenty o' time. The
weddin' was scheduled for Wednesday evenin' at eight thirty; but by
Sunday the house was full an' the grounds looked like an Injun
camp-meetin'.
Jabez, intended to give Barbie the full penalty; none o' your squires
for him, nothin' but Friar Tuck, who was one o' these here Episcolopian
preachers what sport a full regalia an' a book o' tactics calculated to
meet any complication a human bein' is apt to veer into. Some say
they're just Roman Catholics, gone Republican, an' some say that
they're the ones who started the first strike--I don't know much about
it myself.
He hadn't arrived by seven o'clock, but we didn't worry none; he might
have had to come fifty miles, an' he never had any time to waste.
We'd had a sort o' light supper at four o'clock, an' it was intended to
have the weddin' feast after the performance was finished. It was just
eight o'clock when Friar Tuck swung off his pony an' as many of the
crowd as could gathered in the big dinin' room an' waited for the words
to be said. Spidier Kelley came an' told me that he had locked the
woman in the office, an' that she was behavin' herself reasonable, so I
knew 'at the finish wasn't far off. The tables an' chairs had been
taken out, the intention bein' to dance in the store-room after the
ceremony, an' while the dancin' was goin' on to set the banquet in the
dinin' room. Oh, it was all planned out like a theater show: Jabez had
a full orchestra too, three fiddlers, a guitarist, an' a fifer; an'
they began to play solemn music, like they allus do at a wedding. It's
a toss-up which is the most touchin', a weddin' or a funeral,--a
feller's takin' a mighty long shot at either one.
The whole crowd was on edge, but myself was strained to the breakin'
point. Just as the old clock struck the half hour the orchestra pealed
forth a march, an' they all came struttin' in, slow an' stately an'
top-heavy, accordin' to the city way. Jabez was in a brand-new suit o'
black store clothes, an' had a mighty proud look on his face; he was
wearin' gloves too. Barbie was a-leanin' on his arm, an' she was
wearin' a dress 'at would 'a' made some o' the queens crane their necks
a bit, I reckon. Hawthorn had his nerve with him, an' wore a low-necked
vest an' a droop-tailed coat. I had my own rig like this hid away in
the stallion stable; so it didn't jar me none; but some o' the boys had
a hard time chokin' back their grins. It was the first weddin' I had
ever seen where the groom hadn't wore a silk handkerchief around his
neck.
They all met in front o' Friar Tuck, who was standin' under a tissha
paper bell with about four miles o' ribbon tied to it. I couldn't see
Barbie's face on account o' the veil she was wearin'; but she held her
head high, an' I knew she was ready to take all the jumps without
balkin'. The Friar had one o' these voices 'at never seem to say an
idle word, an' the room got as still as though it was a trial for life;
which ain't so mighty far off the mark, that bein' the usual sentence,
an' out our way we don't count it game to get pardoned out for a new
trial.
I was on pins an' needles durin' the openin', but Friar Tuck boomed
along until he arrived at the part where it sez "If any man knows just
cause why this here couple should not be joined together in holy
wedlock let him make his kick right now, or forever after hold his
peace." The room was as still as the grave, an' I had just taken a full
breath, so that I could make a clean throw, when a deep voice at the
back of the room sez: "I think that I know a cause. I don't believe the
girl is doin' this of her own free will."
We all whirled around, an' there stood Silver Dick. Dusty he was an'
travel-stained; but as he loomed up, straight an' tall, he certainly
did look like a man. His beard was gone, his face was pale with a sort
of unnatural whiteness, an' he was ganted down in weight a little; but
all the same he put up a great front as he stood with his hands on his
hips, his head thrown back, an' a grim smile on his face. Quick as a
flash the ol' man, who had half expected this, pulls a gun out of his
pocket an' drops it on Dick, while the crowd politely splits apart to
give 'em a fair show. Barbie had settled back, an' I caught her in my
arms an' held her a moment; but all the time my eyes were on Dick as
though I'd been charmed.
Never in my life have I seen such a figger of a man as him, as he stood
there alone an' unfriended. His hat was tilted back a bit, an' his
short wavey hair rippled across his forehead, his mustache had been
shaved off and his lips somehow reminded me of the muzzle of a gun,
they was that firm; while his eyes--man, he had the greatest eyes in
the world. Blue steel they was, but never for a moment free from some
hidden fire. When he smiled they danced; when he frowned they blazed;
but to-night the' was a new darin' in 'em,--a confidence, a purpose,
an' a strength that defied Death himself.
He had changed a heap since we'd seen him last. His face was as smooth
as a woman's, his hands were white, an' his clothes looked like picture
clothes out of a book. He didn't speak for some time, an' then he said:
"Is your gun broke, Mr. Judson, or do you think it would be only the
square thing to talk things over first? I think I can interest you. I
am not armed; perhaps you would be more comfortable if you lowered your
gun until you were ready to shoot."
The' was a sting in his slow, sarcastic tone, an' a scowl came over
Jabez' face; but he lowered his gun just the same. I didn't want to
soften any toward Dick so I had to keep grittin' my teeth as I watched
him, 'cause bluffin' a man like Cast Steel, armed an' ready, was a
stirrin' sight, an' Dick looked as if he had the backin' of an army.
"Mr. Judson," sez Dick, "when I left here your daughter was promised to
marry me, an' I promised to write as often as possible; but after I
started in to clean up my record I was denied the privilege of writin'.
I am here now, with my record clean; the' ain't no spot on this earth
where I don't feel free to go--an' now I claim her hand."
"Claim her hand, do ya?" sez Jabez, with a wicked leer. "Well, you
allus was better at claimin' than at gettin'. I don't want to sadden my
daughter's weddin' night, but if you ain't minded to go your way
peaceable I'll have to spoil ya."
"Barbie," sez Dick, an' his voice was meller as a flute, "don't ya love
me no more?"
She raised her head an' looked at him, but she couldn't speak, so she
only nodded her head.
"Will ya marry me?" sez Dick, an' we all waited a long time for the
answer.
Once or twice she tried it, before her voice finally got back to her,
"Dick," she sez, "I waited for ya a long time, an' I never heard from
you; so I thought 'at you had either forgot me or else you were--were
no longer living; an'--oh, Dick, you have no idee how hard it has been
for me. You can't imagine how often I refused, nor what a lonely life I
was forced to live; but I've never ceased to love you, an' I allus told
'em so. Now I am half married to another man; an' I don't see what we
can do."
"Well, I see what we can do!" blurts out Jabez, raisin' his gun again.
"We can go right on with this ceremony. You have give your word, an'
the word of a Judson is bindin'. As for you, you sneakin' card-sharp,
I'll give you just ten to state your intentions."
Jabez started to count slow an' steady with his left forefinger, while
he held his gun above his right shoulder ready for the drop. His face
was white an' his eyes blazed like live coals. The' was no time to
waste now; Dick had a card up his sleeve, an' this was his chance to
take the trick, or he'd spoil my own game. The room was so still it
hurt you to breathe. Somebody sneezed, an' it sounded like a boiler
explosion.
"Judson," sez Dick, an' he was smilin' now; but it was the chillin'
smile I had first seen durin' the card game. It wasn't a pleasant
smile. "Judson, I did not cheat durin' that game, an' I never did
cheat, although gamblin was my business. You have become a fanatic on
the subject o' truth, an' I propose to tell you some. You are a bully;
you have bullied this girl in order to make her consent; and you are a
coward, a miserable coward. Any man afraid of his own past is a coward;
and your past stands back of you like a ghost, doggin' your steps
awake, an' hauntin' your dreams 'sleep. You preach the truth; but your
entire life is one black--"
"Stop!" yells Jabez, holdin' his hand over his heart, but gettin' the
drop on Dick, although his face looked like the face of a man long
dead. "Say another word an' a bullet will drive it back through your
teeth."
"All right," sez Dick, still smilin' his cruel, hard smile; "but you
have only counted up to five, an' you gave me ten. You're surely honest
enough to stick to your own agreement. Begin to count now, while I
start the tale about Jack Whitman an' the Creole Belle--"
When Dick mentioned the name o' Jack Whitman both o' Jabez' arms fell
to his side; an' when Dick spoke o' the Creole Belle his legs shut
together like a pocket knife; an' he crumpled down on a little padded
bench they had fixed up to kneel on. His face was gray, an' his eyes
had a scum over 'em, while his mouth hung open like the mouth of a man
dyin' of old age. Barbie gave a low, waverin' call: "Oh, what have you
done, oh, Dick! Daddy, Daddy; what's the matter Dad?"
She jumped to his side, an' after tearin' off her veil she knelt at his
feet; but he drew his hands feebly away, an' refused to touch her;
while a look of sorrow--sorrow an' pain an' shame, swept across his old
gray face, an' his lips trembled so 'at he couldn't talk.
I glanced at Silver Dick; he stood there with his lips set tight, his
eyes cold an' hard, an' I knew 'at he was ready to make his kill, cost
what it would.
"Oh, Daddy," pleaded Barbie, "don't look this way. Tell me what it is
all about. Don't turn away from me, Dad; I don't care what it is, or
whether it is true or false--I am ready to forgive you, an' to love
you. Look at me. Daddy. I care more for you than for any one else in
the whole world.
"Yes," she sez, standin' up an' flashin' a look into Dick's eyes as
fierce as they had ever shot themselves. "Yes, an' if you think to win
me by strikin' down my old Dad, why--we have both been mistaken, an' I
despise you!"
Silver looked as though she had struck him in the face with a whip; the
hot blood swept up to his hair, an' then left him ghastly white again;
while she put her hand on the ol' man's shoulder an' looked like an
eagle protectin' her brood. I looked around for Hawthorn, who had
become entirely forgotten. Gee! how I envied him his chance just then;
but there he stood, lookin' like a white rabbit bein' tried for murder.
The girl looked at him too, gave him one long scornful look; then she
looked back at Silver, standin' all alone like the statue of a king;
an' then she looked up at me. "Happy," she sez, "you never failed me
yet. Clear this room--clear it of every one but just ourselves."
"Clear the room," I yells. "Come, friends, this is the time to step
lively. You can go into the store-room an' dance if you want to, but
the weddin' has been postponed."
They filed out in good order, all except Dick, Friar Tuck, an'
Hawthorn. Hawthorn stood leanin' again the wall, lookin' at Dick as
though he was seein' a ghost. I tapped him on the shoulder. "Git!" I
sez, "your number didn't win nothin'." He gives a start, then down on
the floor he flops with his eyes turned in an' his mouth frothin' a
little. Friar Tuck straightened him out an' began to rub his hands; an'
I turned to Dick.
"Now, it's your turn to go," I sez. "I'd advise you to go clear to
England, where you'll find good news."
He came toward me as if he didn't see me, an' when he reached me he
said: "You better go along too, Happy. I want to talk to them alone."
"Jim," I said, usin' the old name, "I don't want to do you harm. This
game is up; you'd better go along peaceable."
He looked at me a moment in surprise, an' then his face got haughty,
an' he put out his hand to push me aside. I took him by the arm an'
swung him over against the wall. At first he couldn't seem to
understand that I was in ear-nest, an' then his hand shot to hip an'
breast; but he had spoke the truth, he wasn't armed. I had him covered,
an' he sneered into my face without speakin'. I walled over an'
examined him, but he didn't have even a knife. I didn't have the heart
to drive him forth like a dog, so I sez, too low for the rest to hear:
"Jim, I know the double life you've been leadin'; but you can't break
Barbie's heart. You're a married man, an' I know it."
"You lie," he sez, clear an' cold. It was just the word I needed.
I crossed the room an' laid my gun on a chair, an' then I turned to
him. "We're equal now," sez I. "The winner gets the gun."
He wasn't as strong as I was, quite; an' he was some out o' condition;
but he had had trainin' more than me, an' for a few minutes he stood me
off; an' then as he struck at me I grabbed his wrist, his left wrist,
with my right hand, shot it in close to his body, an' clamped it behind
his back; while I got his throat with my left. Slowly I brought him to
his knees, my fingers all the time workin' deeper into his throat,
while his right kept jabbin' me till it made me grunt. No one tried to
interfere at first; but then he got too weak to strike. Barbie said
sharply, "Happy Hawkins, stop that at once!"
"I'll stop as soon as he promisses to go without further trouble," sez
I.
She got up an' came across the room to us like a flash, an' seized the
wrist that held Jim's throat. "Let him alone, Happy," she said fiercely.
I gave him a little push that sent him to the floor, an' then I picked
up my gun. Jim rose to his feet; but the starch was purty well taken
out of him, an' of course this touched her heart, she bein' a woman.
"Are you hurt, Dick?" she sez sympathetic. "Yes, I'm hurt," he snaps
back, glarin' at me; "not at what he's done, but at his lies."
"It's no lie," sez I.
"What was it?" asked Barbie--of Jim. He didn't answer for a minute, an'
when he did his voice shook; but he looked into her eyes as he
answered: "He said I was married."
Barbie drew away with a sharp gasp an' looked at him in horror; then
she looked at me with her face all drawn up with anguish. "I tried to
prepare you for this three weeks ago, Barbie," I sez, "an' you--you
know what you threw in my face."
"Oh, Happy, Happy," she whispered, "it's not true, it's not true--say
it's not true!"
"It is true, Barbie," sez I, an' she gave a scream.
"It is not true," sez Dick, an' she glanced from one to the other.
"I can prove it at once," sez I; "she's here to-night."
"Who?" asked Dick with a start.
"The wife you left in Laramie," sez I.
"Good God, you haven't brought her here, have you!" shouted Dick, an'
Barbie a queer, heart-broken little laugh. "It's true, it's true," she
sez. "You have convicted yourself, and it's true. Happy,"--she went on
speakin' to me,--"of all the men I have ever known you are the only one
that has been always true to me. You said that you would never marry me
unless I asked you to--prove to me that this man is already married,
an' I'll marry you. I'll get down on my knees an' beg you to marry me.
The world seems full of wolves an' I want a man I can trust."
She was wild, an' the look in her eyes frightened me; but she came over
an' put her hand on my arm, an' said: "Prove it, prove it, an' then let
us go away together!"
"She's out in the office," sez I. "Shall I bring her in here?"
"No," sez Dick. "Happy, for heaven's sake don't do anything hasty."
"Bring her in, bring her in at once!" sez Barbie. "This is my
wedding-day, an' my father wanted it to be the talk of the whole state.
Bring her in!"
Just as I reached the door it opened, an' the strange woman came in
with old Melisse, who was makin' queer throaty noises like a dog. Her
veil was raised, an' I stepped back in surprise. She was an elderly
woman with gray hair, white at the temples, an' dark eyes that rested
for a moment on Dick, for a longer second on Barbie, an' then stopped
when they met the starin' eyes of of Cast Steel, who had staggered to
his feet.
He stood there with his hands clutchin' the side of his head, an' his
lips movin' rapidly, but not a sound comin' through 'em, an' then his
knees gave way beneath him, an' Friar Tuck eased him back to the little
padded bench. The hands of the strange woman were clasped on her
breast; but even when the rest of us started for Jabez she didn't move.