SONORA JACK
“But here is the amazing thing--Sonora Jack knows more about these
two old prospectors and their partnership daughter than even you
know.”
When he saw that he was discovered, the man who was watching Hugh
Edwards came leisurely forward. At the same instant Hugh thought that he
glimpsed another figure farther away on the mountain side.
The stranger explained his presence in the neighborhood by saying that
he was hunting and had wandered farther from his camp than he had
intended. For nearly an hour he and Edwards visited in the manner of men
who meet by chance in the lonely open places. Then with a careless
_adios_ he went on his way down the cañon.
When Hugh, at the close of his day’s work, went up to the cabin,
Natachee was not at home. But when the white man had finished his supper
the Indian appeared, coming in his usual silent, unexpected way. As he
set about preparing his own supper, Natachee said:
“You had visitors to-day.”
Hugh was too accustomed to the red man’s uncanny way of knowing things
to be in the least surprised at his companion’s remark.
He answered indifferently:
“I had a visitor.”
“There were two in the neighborhood,” returned Natachee. “I saw their
tracks just before dark.”
Hugh told how only one man had talked with him but that he thought he
had caught a glimpse of another.
“That was the Lizard,” said Natachee. “I would know his tracks anywhere.
I have seen them often. His right foot turns in in a peculiar way and
his boot heels are always worn on the inside.”
Hugh Edwards caught his breath.
“Do you think they were----“
“After you?” Natachee finished for him. “I can’t say yet. It might be.
What was the man who talked with you like?”
Hugh described the stranger.
“Medium height, rather heavy, black hair, eyes very dark, a Mexican, or
at least part Mexican, I would say.”
“Did he ask many questions about you?”
“No more than any one would naturally ask.”
“Did he show any curiosity about me?”
“No, you were not mentioned. He said he was hunting but he seemed to be
rather interested, too, in prospecting and mining, and asked a lot of
questions about the country up here as if he had a general idea of the
lay of the land but was not exactly sure.”
Natachee said no more until he had finished his supper. Then, going to a
corner of the cabin at the head of his bed, he pulled up a loose board
in the floor, and from the hiding place took a revolver with its holster
and belt of cartridges.
Offering the weapon to the astounded white man, he said with a meaning
smile:
“I brought this for you from Tucson last fall. But, considering
everything, I thought that it might be just as well for you not to have
it unless some occasion should arise. I am going to leave you for a
little while. Until I return you must keep this gun within reach of your
hand every minute--day and night.”
Hugh took the weapon awkwardly.
“Do you know how to use it?” asked Natachee sharply.
The other laughed.
“Oh, yes. I know how, but I couldn’t hit a flock of barns.”
“You must carry it just the same,” returned the Indian. “But don’t do
any practicing. Keep your eyes open for any one who may be prowling
around and don’t let them see you if you can avoid it. This stranger may
be a hunter or a prospector--he may be an officer--he may be something
else. I shall know before I see you again.”
Taking his bow and quiver of arrows, the Indian went out into the night.
* * * * *
For two days and nights Hugh Edwards was alone. Then Natachee returned.
When the Indian had eaten, with the appetite of a man who has been long
hours without food, he said:
“The man who talked with you is called Sonora Jack. He is a half-breed
Mexican; his real name is John Richards.
“For several years this Sonora Jack, with a band of Mexicans and white
outlaws, operated in this section of the Southwest. They rustled cattle,
robbed trains, looted banks and stores, and held up everybody they
chanced to run across. With their headquarters somewhere south of the
line, it was not so easy for the United States authorities to capture
them, but after a particularly cold-blooded murder of a poor old couple
who were traveling by wagon through the country, the officers and the
people were so aroused that Sonora Jack, with a large reward on his
head, moved on to other less dangerous hunting grounds. It is generally
believed that he went south somewhere in Mexico.”
“But are you sure that it was this same Sonora Jack that called on me?”
The Indian smiled.
“As sure as I am that you are Donald Payne.”
Hugh Edwards flushed as he returned coldly:
“Please don’t forget that Donald Payne is dead.”
“That depends,” retorted Natachee dryly.
The white man did not overlook the Indian’s meaning. For a time he did
not speak, then he asked:
“But what has brought this outlaw here to the Cañada del Oro?”
Natachee’s face was grave as he answered:
“The Mine with the Iron Door.”
Hugh Edwards uttered an exclamation.
“You mean that he has come to look for the lost mine?”
For several minutes the Indian did not reply, but sat as if lost in
thought, then he said, as one reaching a grave decision:
“Listen--I will tell you exactly what I have learned. It is of very
great importance to us both.
“This Sonora Jack, with a Mexican who I am quite sure is a member of his
old band, first appeared in the Cañada del Oro several days ago. They
came in by the Oracle trail and called on Doctor Burton and his mother,
telling them that they were prospectors. I have talked to the Burtons
and they do not dream of the real characters or mission of the two
strangers who camped at Juniper Spring.
“Apparently Sonora Jack and his companion met the Lizard, for they moved
down the cañon and are now living with the Lizard and his people. The
Lizard seems to be helping them with his supposed knowledge of the
country. Sonora Jack has a map, crudely drawn, and evidently very old.
Under the drawing in one corner is written:
“‘La mina con la puerta de fierro en la Cañada del Oro’--The mine with
the door of iron in the Cañon of the Gold.”
Again Hugh Edwards uttered an exclamation of astonishment.
“But how in the world do you know all this?” he demanded.
The Indian explained.
“In the Lizard’s house the table is close under one of the windows.
While Sonora Jack and his Mexican and the Lizard were looking at the map
and trying to determine the exact location of a certain gulch that was
many years ago filled by a landslide, I also looked.”
“But those dogs,” cried the white man, “they were ready to eat me one
night when I happened to call there.”
“You are not an Indian,” Natachee returned calmly. “Bows and arrows make
no sound. The Lizard will be short of dogs until he has an opportunity
to steal some new curs.”
“Fine!” said Hugh.
Natachee continued:
“I not only saw their map, but, as it happens, there is a little place
under the sill of that particular window where the adobe wall has
crumbled away from the wood, and so I could hear what was said as
clearly as if I had been sitting at the table with them.
“The Lizard told them all about the Indian who is commonly supposed to
know the secret of the lost mine. Some of the things he said I rather
think you would agree with. He also told them a good deal about you. He
knows you only by the name of Hugh Edwards, but I must say that some of
the things he reported were not what you might call complimentary.”
“I imagine not,” returned Hugh.
Again Natachee, for some time, seemed to be weighing some matter of
greater moment than the things he had related; while the white man,
seeing the Indian so absorbed in his own thoughts, waited in silence.
“There was something else that Sonora Jack and his companion talked
about,” said Natachee, at last, “something that I cannot understand.”
Then looking straight into the white man’s eyes he asked slowly:
“Will you tell me all that you know about Miss Hillgrove and her two
fathers?”
Hugh Edwards drew back and his face darkened. The Indian saw the effect
of his words and raised his hand to check the white man’s angry reply.
“I understand your thought,” he said calmly. “But I assure you I am not
amusing myself at your expense. It is for your interest as well as for
mine that I ask.”
Believing that the Indian was speaking sincerely, even though for some
reason of his own, and prompted by his alarm at this mention of Marta,
Hugh asked:
“Am I to understand that Miss Hillgrove was discussed by this outlaw and
his companions?”
“Yes,” said Natachee. “The Lizard told Sonora Jack all that he knew and
perhaps more. I am asking you so that we may know how much of the
Lizard’s story is true.”
In a few words Hugh related how the Pardners had found Marta when the
girl was little more than a baby.
When he had finished the Indian said:
“I knew the story in a general way and the Lizard told it substantially
as you have. But here is the amazing thing--Sonora Jack knows more about
these two old prospectors and their partnership daughter than even you
know.”
Hugh Edwards was speechless with astonishment.
The Indian continued:
“When the Lizard first mentioned Miss Hillgrove’s name, it was in
connection with you, and Sonora Jack only laughed and made a coarse
jest. But when the Lizard went on to tell of her relationship to Bob and
Thad, the outlaw was so excited that he almost shouted. He asked
question after question--her age--how long she and the Pardners had been
in the Cañada del Oro--where they came from--everything--and as the
Lizard answered, the outlaw would translate to his Mexican companion,
who was as excited as Sonora Jack himself. And when the Lizard had told
him all he could, the two talked together in Mexican a long time. I
cannot repeat all that was said but Sonora Jack cried many times: ‘It is
the same girl, Jose, the very same--Jesu Cristo! what luck--what
marvelous luck!’
“One thing is certain--this outlaw in some way expects to make a fortune
through the old Pardners and their girl. I do not know how. But Sonora
Jack said to the Mexican that whether they found the lost mine or not,
their coming to the Cañada del Oro was certain now to make them both
rich.”
“Is it possible,” asked Hugh, “that Thad and Bob were one time in any
way mixed up with this Sonora Jack?”
“I thought of that,” returned Natachee, “and the next day I watched to
see if the outlaws went to the Pardners. They did--they spent nearly two
hours talking with Miss Hillgrove and her fathers. Then they went with
Thad and Bob down to their mine, leaving the girl at the house. They
were with the Pardners over an hour.”
* * * * *
Hugh Edwards was greatly disturbed by what Natachee had learned. His
first fear, that the stranger who had talked with him was an officer,
was as nothing compared with his fear now for Marta. All night he
pondered over the situation with scarce an hour of sleep. When morning
came he told the Indian that he was going back to his old cabin to be
near the girl--prison or no prison.
“But can’t you see what a foolish move that would be?” asked Natachee.
“The Pardners know who you are. If they have been, in the past,
connected with Sonora Jack, which is very possible, they will turn you
over to the sheriff in short order to protect both the outlaw and
themselves. If that should happen either through them or through any one
else, you certainly would be in no position to help Miss Hillgrove. You
do not even know yet that Miss Hillgrove is in danger. Sonora Jack will
do nothing until he has satisfied himself about the lost mine, which
brought him into this country at the risk of his life. You can depend on
that. While he is searching for the mine I may be able to learn more of
his interest in the Pardners and their girl. Be patient or you will
spoil everything.”
And Hugh, because he felt that Natachee for the time being was his ally,
listened to his advice. The white man did not deceive himself as to the
real reason for the Indian’s interest in the situation. Nor did the red
man make any pretenses. But even at that, Hugh felt that he would be
better able ultimately to protect Marta, if for the present he fell in
with the red man’s plan to learn the exact nature of Sonora Jack’s
interest in the girl.
All that forenoon Natachee did not leave his cabin. But after their
noonday meal he followed Hugh down into the gulch where, for a long
time, he sat on a rock watching the white man at his work. Then he went
back to the hut on the mountain side above.
When Edwards, a little before sunset, climbed the steep way from the
place of his labor up to the cabin, the Indian was gone.
No second glance was needed to tell the white man that the cabin had
been the scene of a terrific struggle.