"Willie has shown himself to be a reckless fool," Mr. Jay said. "A
regrettable accident is quite within the realm of possibility."
"He's lost his badge and papers," Madrid said. "As far as I'm
concerned, he has no business taking Pinky out of town, I'll stop
him--for good."
"No," Persia said. "I don't want that."
"It mustn't happen in town," Mr. Jay said. "That would require a great
deal of awkward explaining. It must happen on the road. Pinky Bronklin
will have a concealed gun and will make his escape."
"What will happen to Willie?" Persia asked.
"That's in the lap of the gods," Mr. Jay said quickly.
"I don't think you mean that," Persia said. "You mean to have Willie
killed. I won't agree to that."
"My dear." Mr. Jay's tone was tiredly patient. "Must I remind you that
you are the principal owner of the Pink Lady? A few repairs, a new
stock of liquor, and you'll be in business again--if Willie does _not_
get to Ellensburg. If he does you'll lose your license--and that'll be
the least of it. You'll quite possibly have to face charges yourself."
A door slammed and there was the clump of boots as newcomers came in
from the other part of the building. There was a great deal of stirring
around and exclaiming. Then Stella gasped as Willie's voice rose above
the others.
"I found this r-rascal upstairs in Mr. Lester's rooms. I'm t-told he's
wanted for b-boiler-wrecking and such. I'm arresting him and taking
him to Ellensburg along with Pinky."
There was a great deal of confused talk then, and Stella could sift
nothing out of it. She knew that a stranger had spent the night in Sam
Lester's quarters, but she had not seen him. Willie must have barged up
there and arrested him, she realized.
She got a glimpse of Willie and his prisoner as they passed the dining
room doorway on their way to the front door. Madrid and Mr. Jay came
into view behind them. Madrid had his hand on his gun, but Mr. Jay gave
him a look and a quick little shake of the head. The front door slammed
heavily, and Willie and his prisoner were gone.
"He's gone crazy!" Madrid said. "Plumb paper-doll crazy!"
"Actually, it's working out well," Mr. Jay said. "With _two_ prisoners
to guard, Willie will be taking a foolish risk. A break will be that
much more plausible. Don't you agree, Persia?"
"I don't want anything to do with it," Persia said, a languid thickness
in her voice. "I don't even want to hear about it."
* * * * *
Mr. Jay and Madrid walked together to the main street.
"I've already got a horse for you," Mr. Jay said. "It's tied behind the
hotel."
"Must say you think of everything," Madrid muttered.
"This must look like a break--surely you understand that. Don't forget
to take an extra gun."
"What for? If one of the prisoners had a hidden gun, he'd take it away
with him, wouldn't he?" Madrid protested.
"Palma and Bronklin have to go, too, Pete."
They walked in silence for a few yards, Madrid staring at the ground.
"I guess I can do it," he said somberly. "But three of 'em!"
Mr. Jay halted suddenly and pointed at a rider who had just entered the
town and was swinging into the road to Vickers' camp. "Tesno!" Madrid
said.
"He's headed for the camp," Mr. Jay said. "If Willie gets out of here
with his prisoners without meeting him, there's no need to change our
plan."
Five minutes later, wearing a coat over his blue and white silk shirt,
carrying an extra revolver in his pocket, Madrid rode quietly out of
town.
* * * * *
Muckamuck Charlie woke to the sound of an argument below him. He lay
almost completely submerged in hay. His head ached. He was feeling
_sick tumtum_. He felt around in the hay for a bottle and found none.
He asked himself where he was and what he was doing here. After a
moment, he remembered he was watching a horse.
Slowly, stifling groans, he worked himself out of the hay to his
hands and knees and peered over the edge of the loft. He saw with
satisfaction that Palma's horse was still in its stall. Nearby, two men
were arguing. One was the stableman. The other was Willie Silverknife.
As near as Charlie could make it out, Willie wanted to take the horse,
but the stableman wouldn't let him without permission from the man who
had brought it in. Charlie got to his feet. Teeteringly, he worked his
way along the edge of the loft to a ladder. By the time he reached its
bottom, the argument had stopped. Willie seemed to have settled for
three other horses, which he and the stableman were saddling.
When he saw Charlie, Willie said, "Ho!" and made a joke in English
which Charlie didn't understand.
"_Sick tumtum_," Charlie said. "You got whisky?" Willie swung a saddle
to the back of a horse, and Charlie saw that his hip pockets were
empty. "You got dollar?"
"I have taken your man, your Palma," Willie said, speaking now in
the Yakima tongue. He gave the horse a punch in the ribs to make him
deflate himself, then he tightened the cinch. "He is in the jailhouse.
I will take him to Ellensburg."
Charlie absorbed this silently. Willie went on to say that he expected
to meet Tesno on the road. He said Charlie ought to ride along with
him, if he was able, and rejoin Tesno.
Charlie replied that he had a great sickness in his head and stomach,
was having trouble seeing clearly, and was quite likely going to die
unless he could get hold of some whisky. Besides, Willie's capture of
Palma put an end to Charlie's responsibility in the matter, and he
might as well get drunk.
Willie said crisply that he would lend no more money. Charlie retired
to an empty stall and sat down. The livery man caught the reins of
Willie's horse and led it outside. All at once, Charlie was aware of a
young white woman in the barn. She had appeared so miraculously that
Charlie considered the possibility she might be a spirit, but Willie
seemed to know her.
"Stella!" he said.
"Villie," she said in strangely accented English, "you must not leave.
They vill kill you. I heard them."
"Now just c-calm d-down," Willie said. "What did you hear?"
"Marshal Madrid said he vould stop you from leaving town. I think he
meant he vould kill you. Mr. Yay, he said no. He said it vould happen
on the road. The prisoner vould have a gun and escape. You vould be
dead, I think. At first, it vas only vun prisoner. Then you took the
other vun. Mr. Yay said so much the better...."
Stella was extremely excited, and her accent made it doubly hard for
Muckamuck Charlie to understand what she was talking about. He gathered
that she was warning Willie someone would kill him if he tried to take
Palma to Ellensburg, but Charlie doubted that this could be taken
literally. She probably wanted to keep Willie in town for reasons of
her own. It was disappointing to see that Willie was sobered by her
jabbering.
"Thanks, S-Stella," Willie said.
"You'll not go?"
"I g-guess I'll go. I'll be as safe on the road as I am in t-town. But
I'll search those prisoners before I start out, Stella."
Willie touched her elbow and they walked together through the big barn
door into the sunlight. Charlie got up and watched Willie ride to the
marshal's office, leading the two extra horses. Stella hurried off
toward the big house behind the town. Willie went into the office and
reappeared with two handcuffed prisoners. All three mounted and rode
out of town.
The sight of Palma stirred an ugly hatred in Charlie and a fear for
Willie. True, Willie had a gun in his belt and the prisoners were
handcuffed. But Jim Palma was a strong and wily man. He had stomped
that Umatilla boy to death down at Selah, and Charlie had heard other
bad things about him. He wasn't sure that Willie was a match for Palma.
Maybe that jabbering squaw was right, after all, Charlie thought.
He made his way up a cleared hillside above town, feeling a little
better as he walked. He had staked his horse up here--no sense in
wasting whisky money on a livery fee. After a day's grazing, the animal
looked to be in fair condition. Saddle and bridle were in a clump of
brush where Charlie had cached them. He fought a brief battle with the
temptation to sell these for whisky money; then he saddled up and cut
behind the town to the Ellensburg road.