That touched off the fuse. Titzell knew then that Slim had come to take
him. With a leap he was clear of the table, his right hand sweeping
toward the shoulder holster.
But Slim had anticipated the move. As Titzell clawed the gun from his
holster, the explosion of Slim’s gun echoed through the hotel and
Titzell’s weapon spun across the room.
The hotel owner made a dive for safety beneath his table while Leo Kovec
plunged through the window. Only Maxie Denkman remained seated.
“I know when I’ve had enough,” he said. “You can count me out.”
From outside came the report of a rifle and Slim knew that Chuck had
gone into action. There was no answering shot and Slim figured that
Kovec would cause no more trouble.
Titzell was holding his right hand, numbed by the shock of Slim’s
bullet.
“Get outside,” commanded the cowboy detective and Maxie followed Titzell
out.
There they found that Chuck was sitting astride Kovec, the marshal
groveling in the sand.
“I just took one shot at him,” Chuck grinned, “and he thought he was hit
sure. Gosh, to think that I missed at only fifty yards!”
Residents of Dirty Water crowded around them, seeking an explanation,
but Slim refused to tell them what had taken place. Chuck stood guard
over the prisoners, while Slim went around to the stable and ordered the
hostler to saddle three horses. A short time later the three rustlers,
with Slim and Chuck riding close behind, started the journey to the Box
B.
Titzell and Denkman were silent, but Kovec talked volubly. He was scared
to death and Slim took advantage of this fear. From a saddle bag he
pulled the gun which Chuck had found outside Doc Baldridge’s office the
night a second attempt had been made to kill the owner of the Box B.
“Recognize this gun?” he asked.
“It belongs to Titzell. He said he lost it.”
“Shut up!” The cattle buyer roared at Kovec, but it was too late. Slim
knew all that was necessary. He had all of the evidence needed to put
Titzell and the Diamond Dot riders behind the bars for a long, long
time.
When they reached the Box B, they found Bill Needham waiting to greet
them.
“Great work, boys,” he said, as they rode up. “You’ve certainly cleared
out the rustlers in the Creeping Shadows.”
“We’ve got the evidence, but you’ll have to prove the case in court
against them,” said Slim.
“I’ll do that all right,” said Old Bill. “I’ve been talking with Hack
Cook and he’s given me a full account under oath. Titzell’s the big gun
in this whole thing. He came in when Cook was just about ready to fold
up and between the two of them they figured that if they could steal
enough cattle and get the Double O and the Box B fighting each other,
they’d have a good chance to step in and grab both ranches cheap.”
Joe Haines came down from the ranch house. “The boss wants to see you,”
he said.
“Any of the Box B or Double O boys get hurt much?” asked Slim.
“Al Bass has a flesh wound and so has another one of the Double O riders
and Doug Huston’s disappeared.”
“Yeh, I should think he would,” said Chuck. “He was hand in glove with
this outfit. He was the guy who roped Slim that night down at the corral
and left him tied up by the creek. Doug kept the gang tipped off to
everything the Box B was doing.”
“You mean almost everything,” put in Slim.
They found Adam Marks almost recovered and from him they received
heartfelt thanks for their fine work.
Nels Anderson was waiting for them outside. “By gar, boys,” he roared.
“Anytime you need help, just let Nels know. I’ll come a-runnin’.”
Box B and Double O riders had gone out to round up the last of the
rustlers who had been guarding the main trails into the valley and the
end was rapidly being written on the feud which had threatened for a
time to disrupt the entire valley. There was nothing more that Slim and
Chuck needed to do and after a hearty dinner at the cookhouse, where Lee
Wu was once more presiding over the pots and pans, they mounted and rode
down the trail toward Dirty Water. Behind them they left the shouted
farewells of the Box B and Double O cowboys and a promise from Bill
Needham that he would call on them again when a knotty mystery
confronted him.
They circled Dirty Water, for they had no desire to give a long
explanation of their activities, and continued on toward the Sky High
trail. A few miles further on they met Walt Kelly and a Double O rider
coming down with the two rustlers who had been stationed to guard the
trail. The way in and out of the valley was open once more.
By sundown they were well along the trail. Turning in their saddles they
looked back on the Creeping Shadows country. Night was already stealing
out of the majestic valleys of the Three Soldiers and peace once more
ruled the valley.
They turned their horses up the trail, wondering what new adventures
might be in store for them with the coming days.
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Transcriber's note:
1. Copyright notice provided as in the original printed
text--this e-text is public domain in the country of
publication.
2. Obvious typographical errors were corrected.
3. Dialect and non-standard spellings were not changed.