THE COUNTERFEITERS
The firing ceased abruptly, each side fearing to hit one of its own
men. The next instant Mason was grasped from behind and thrown
violently to the floor. His assailant seemed possessed with superhuman
strength and ferocity while he breathed with a peculiar whistling
sound through his teeth. Mason’s brain worked like lightning as the
belief flashed through his mind that he was struggling with the demon
hunchback dwarf.
The beast’s bony hands were at his throat and Mason fought
desperately. He realized that he was being slowly strangled. His left
arm was wounded and lay useless at his side. As he vainly tried to
bring his knee into the pit of the dwarf’s stomach his hand touched
his own revolver. With his remaining strength he managed to work it
free from the holster and brought the butt crashing down on the
dwarf’s head.
The bony hands relaxed about his throat and he rolled the thing off
his body with a shudder. He realized how close he had been to death.
He had stood near one of the windows when he had been attacked, and as
he lay there quietly getting his strength back he heard voices
whispering outside the window. There was not a sound from inside the
room, each man being afraid to move or make a sound for fear of
betraying his location to the other.
He listened eagerly to the whispering, and to his joy discovered that
it was two of Bud’s men trying to figure out how they could thrust a
lighted lantern through the window without getting shot.
Evidently they had found a way, for there came a crash of broken glass
and the lantern passed rapidly over Mason and stopped close to the
center of the room. The cowboys had found a long pole and had tied the
lantern to one end of it. At the appearance of the lantern a number of
bullets passed over Mason, and he was glad he had not attempted to get
on his feet.
The light showed a strange scene. Ricker lay on the floor with his
hands and feet shackled.
Trent Burton was bending low over him, the two deadly automatics still
in his hands. Scotty and Jim Haley stood facing each other with their
guns on a level, but neither dared to fire.
“Stick that gun away, Jim, and be nice,” drawled the Marshal. “I’ve got
you covered and so has Bud there near the door.”
Jim’s gun wavered a bit as he half turned his eyes towards the door.
Mason had been watching Scotty and Jim from where he lay on the floor
and fired the instant Jim’s gun wavered. Jim’s gun fell to the floor,
while he grabbed his wrist with a curse. Mason quickly leveled his gun
at the dwarf, who was crawling up on him again.
“If you come one inch farther, you beast, I’ll blow your fool head
off. This is the second time you have tried to murder me.”
He was in an ugly fighting mood, and his arm was beginning to give him
considerable pain. The rest of Ricker’s gang, seeing Jim Haley put out
of action and their leader lying on the floor with his feet and hands
shackled, lost heart and surrendered.
Bud sent some of the men scouting around for an extra lamp.
“I wonder who shot the lamp out,” the Marshal queried, “it wasn’t
done by anybody in this room.”
“I did,” the dwarf spoke up, grinning exultantly. “I was in the cellar
and fired through a hole in the floor. Then while the fight was going
on I crawled through the window.”
“And well I know it,” Mason said ruefully, “he crept up on me and had
me nearly strangled before I knocked him on the head with my gun. He
must have a skull like iron.”
The Marshal after a brief struggle snapped a pair of handcuffs on the
dwarf’s wrists.
“You are too dangerous a person to be at large, my most excellent
engraver.
“This dwarf,” he continued, “was Ricker’s chief engraver.”
Then, noticing Mason’s wound, he called Jean Barry, his deputy, to
examine his arm. Jean made a thorough examination.
“Your arm isn’t broken, luckily; as near as I can tell the bullet just
grazed the bone in the elbow,” he announced cheerfully, as Mason had
winced as he handled the injured arm.
“Well, it felt as though it was broken, I can’t raise it up,” Mason
said grimly.
The Marshal was keenly interested. He seemed worried about Mason’s
injury, and watched Jean as he put a crude bandage around the injured
member.
“Bud,” the Marshal spoke up, “I propose we take a general inventory of
our men and see how many wounded we have and how bad their injuries
are. In the meantime we will send to the Post for a doctor. Who will
volunteer to go?”
“I will,” Scotty spoke up eagerly; “young Mason here did me a good
turn when he nailed Jim Haley, and I want to return the favor.”
“All right, Scotty, go ahead,” Bud agreed; “isn’t far to the Post, and
while you’re gone we’ll look this ranch over.”
As most of the injured had received only slight flesh wounds, the
Marshal and Bud undertook to examine the cellar and premises. The
Marshal paused as they were about to commence their search and watched
Jean Barry, who was dressing the men’s wounds.
“Jean, after you get the men’s wounds dressed, you had better go and
bring in Ricker’s guard,” he said reflectively.
“I’ve got Tug Conners bound securely,” he added, “but I had to tap him
on the head first, and he may be suffering.”
Ricker had been jerked to his feet none too gently by one of Bud’s men
and placed on a table with his back to the wall. The look of fear in
his eyes had died out, and he was regarding the Marshal with a look of
hate.
“Who the hell are you, anyway?” he burst out savagely. “I’ve seen you
before, somewhere in the East.”
The Marshal turned to the counterfeiter with a grim smile.
“Right, you are, my counterfeiting friend,” he answered suavely,
“perhaps I can refresh your memory.”
Into his eyes came a look of reminiscence.
“Follow me back ten years,” he said, keeping his eyes fixed on Ricker,
“to a little den on the East Side in New York. There had been a gang
of counterfeiters shoving the queer, and they were operating around
New York and neighboring cities.
“I was called in from another case I had been working on, and after
long search succeeded in tracing the counterfeiters to this little
den I speak of. In making the capture of the ringleader, part of my
disguise was torn off, and that is the reason you remember me. In the
excitement of the struggle you escaped, and I sent one of my men after
you.”
Ricker was regarding the Marshal sullenly, his face working in violent
spasms mingled with fear with hate.
“He trailed you to Baltimore,” the Marshal continued relentlessly,
“and as he was attempting your arrest you sent a bullet through his
head. After that, you disappeared and all efforts of my men failed to
locate you.
“A short time ago, however, and through the efforts of my deputy, Jean
Barry, I learned that you had headed for the West. As there has been a
quantity of counterfeit money circulating in the East, I sent Jean
Barry, who had at one time been a cowboy, out here to look you up.
“In the course of time, Jean Barry had evidence enough against you to
warrant my suspicions, so I came out here and worked with him. This is
your last attempt at counterfeiting, Ricker, for you will be tried for
the murder of my detective.”
“Trent Burton,” Ricker ground out the name with an oath, “I’ll never
be tried for that murder, and only for this traitor, Jean Barry, you
would never have got the goods on me for this counterfeiting business.
Only a few of my own men knew I was making the queer; the rest I kept
in ignorance as they are only cattlemen.
“I owe my discovery to Jean Barry’s trickery; he came to me and hired
out as a cowboy, and I didn’t suspect him of being a detective, but
I’ll promise you this much,” the counterfeiter brought his shackled
hands down on his knee with an oath, “there isn’t a jail made that
will hold me. I’ll escape and get revenge on Jean Barry, and I’ll get
you too, Mason.
“Your father helped to get the evidence against me and I’ll get you if
I have to strike you through your sweetheart, Josephine. Ha, that’s a
tender spot, isn’t it?”
Mason had jumped to his feet, startled by the counterfeiter’s
vehemence. What if the man should make good his threat and do some
injury to Josephine? The thought made a chill run through his frame.
“Come, Ricker, stow that kind of talk. You’re not in a position just
now to make threats,” the Marshal cautioned him roughly.
The counterfeiter lapsed into a moody silence and further questions by
the Marshal brought no response from him. Bud invited Mason to come
with them while they made an inspection of the cellar, after he had
first seen that the guards were placed to his satisfaction. In the
cellar they found a complete plant for making counterfeit money. They
had been there but a few minutes when they heard a commotion above
them. They were relieved when they heard Scotty’s voice calling down
to them. He wanted Mason to come up as he had brought a doctor.
The doctor put a bandage on Mason’s arm and soon his wound was feeling
much better.
“Scotty, you made good time in getting the doctor here,” Mason said
gratefully, grasping his hand.
Then a sudden inspiration seized him.
“The Marshal and Bud are in the cellar breaking up the counterfeiting
press and apparatus,” he told Scotty. “Do you remember how we had our
men drawn around this ranch the night that Pete Carlo, the Mexican,
slipped through our lines and got back to the mountains without being
seen?”
“Shure,” Scotty nodded eagerly.
“Well, let’s see if we can find out how he got past us. There must be
a secret passage leading out of this cellar,” Mason cried
enthusiastically.
“I’m game,” Scotty agreed readily.
They started for the cellar, but had they seen the look of dismay and
fear that had come into the counterfeiter’s face while they were
talking, they would have been puzzled.
Scotty had borrowed the Marshal’s flash lamp and took the lead, with
Mason following close on his heels. They carried their revolvers ready
for instant use, and as they stole cautiously through the darkness
they were amazed at the length and width of the cellar. There were
numerous casks strewn around and Scotty stumbled over one of them with
such force as to bring a muttered oath from his lips.
“Whisky casks,” Mason said softly, smiling at Scotty’s discomfiture.
“Evidently Ricker’s men held wild orgies in this cellar-like cave, but
we don’t seem to be finding the underground passage very fast.”
They could still hear the vigorous blows from the Marshal and Bud’s
hammers as they kept at their work of demolishing the counterfeiter’s
plant.
“You wait right here, laddie, and I’ll get you a lantern. We will
stand a better show of finding the underground passage if we each have
a light,” Scotty whispered.
This was good logic and Mason readily agreed to the plan, after
cautioning him to hurry.
“Keep your gun handy in case you are attacked, laddie,” the
good-natured Scot warned him. “When you see two lights coming this way
you will know I am coming back. We were damn fools not to think of
another light when we started, but I guess I can get one all right.”
Mason sat down on an empty cask and pressed his hand wearily over his
forehead as he listened to Scotty’s retreating footsteps. He was
beginning to feel exhausted. The past few hours of excitement had told
heavily on his nerves. He caught himself nodding several times and,
rose to his feet in disgust.
“This won’t do,” he said angrily to himself, “you’ve got to pull
yourself together, Jack Mason. We’re going to find that secret passage
when Scotty comes back, old top, dontcherknow, as Percy would say.”
He tried to figure out how long Scotty had been gone. It had seemed
like hours since he went for the lantern, and Mason began to chafe
with impatience at the delay. It was so dark in the cellar that he
could not see the hands on his watch, but he knew in all reason that
Scotty had not been gone longer than ten minutes at most.
Suddenly he started up violently, his overtired nerves tuned to the
highest pitch.
His tense ears had caught a sound like the clicking of some
instrument. He strained forward in the inky darkness, his body rigid
and revolver drawn.
Had his tired nerves played him a trick? No, the thing was clicking
again, but very faint, and he reasoned from the sound that it must be
at least thirty feet from him. Was somebody signaling from the far
depths of the cellar to Ricker?
He was sure that was the reason for the clicking sound. Abruptly the
noise ceased. His heart was pumping furiously as he silently turned
around and peered into the darkness. To his great joy two lights were
coming his way. Scotty was returning at last.
“Don’t speak above a whisper, Scotty,” Mason cautioned him in a low
voice as the Scot attempted to explain his delay. “While you were
after the lantern I heard a strange tapping noise, something like a
telegraph instrument. It sounded to me like someone was trying to
signal from this cellar to Ricker. We had better go slow as we may get
shot from ambush.”
In the dim light Scotty’s face showed his astonishment. “I supposed we
had all the gang as prisoners upstairs,” he said, gazing at Mason in
wonder.
“Just the same, I’m sure there is somebody in this cellar besides
ourselves,” Mason whispered impatiently; “you take the lantern and I
will carry the small flash light. I can tuck it under my left arm and
that will give me a chance to use my good right arm. I can handle my
revolver all right if I am attacked. You take one wall and I the
other, and we will circle this cellar and look for the secret
passage.”
This plan was followed out at once and Mason could hear Scotty at
intervals as he stumbled over some object while groping his way along
the cellar wall. It was a dangerous undertaking, as both carried
lights, and they took a chance of drawing a shot from some hidden foe.
Mason was closely examining the wall when he heard a sharp exclamation
from Scotty.
“Come out of that! what are you skulking down here for?” he heard him
say in forceful tones.
Mason straightened up in surprise.
“What have you found, Scotty?” he called.
“Come over and see,” the Scot answered wrathfully.
Mason crossed rapidly to the opposite side and beheld Scotty holding
his lantern in the face of the blackest negro woman he had ever seen.
The eyes of the negress were rolling in abject fear and her limbs were
trembling violently.
Whether her fear was assumed or not, he couldn’t tell, but remembering
the signaling noise, he regarded her with suspicion.
“Woman, what position do you fill in this house, and what were you
hiding in the cellar for?” Mason questioned her sharply.
The negress looked at him mutely.
“She must be a little deaf,” muttered Scotty.
“Come, tell me the truth,” Mason continued in a louder voice. “We
won’t hurt you.”
“I’se de cook,” she faltered, gaining courage from Mason’s reassuring
smile. “And when dem gemmen’s done come heah and begins a fighting and
shooting, why I done runs into de cellah fo mah life.”
“Sounds good, Belinda, or whatever your name is,” he said, his face
growing stern again, “But what were you signaling to Ricker for?”
Her face took on a blank look.
“Signaling,” she repeated in wonder, “’deed I wasn’t making signals to
anybody, I was keeping just quiet as a mouse awaiting fo dem mens to
leave.”
Mason was inclined to believe the negress was telling the truth.
“Scotty, you had better take her to Bud and the Marshal and let them
question her,” he said after a short pause. “I will continue the
search until you come back, and it would be a good idea to bring the
Marshal back with you.”
From the look on Scotty’s face it was evident he didn’t relish his
task, but he complied with the request with fairly good grace and
hustled the negress along while she continued to protest her innocence
of any wrong. Left to himself, Mason again began a systematic search.
Before the interruption by the negress, he had noted that one portion
of the wall appeared to have oak beams running from top to bottom. He
now went to this part of the wall and was feeling over one of the oak
supports when his hand accidentally touched a knot which projected
suspiciously out from the surface. He pressed hard on it, and to his
delight that part of the wall began to swing slowly inward! Something
was moving on the other side of the wall and he held his breath while
waiting for an attack. Standing to one side he snapped his flashlight
out and held his revolver pointed into the opening. Unable to resist a
sudden impulse, he flashed on his light and found himself looking into
the muzzle of a revolver and the villainous face of Pete Carlo, the
halfbreed Mexican!
Mason realized his helpless position, and a sneering smile came into
the halfbreed’s face.
“So,” he taunted, showing his wolfish teeth, “Ze brave American dog,
he walk into a trap, ha?”
“I settle first with the dog of a Gringo, then I steal the fair
Josephine again, and she shall watch me torture you, Gringo dog.”
His baleful eyes were looking gloatingly at his victim. Mason’s blood
boiled at the mention of Josephine’s name. He held himself in check,
however, as his only hope now was to gain time and give Scotty a
chance to rescue him. He figured at the worst he would make a sudden
attack on the halfbreed and chance taking him by surprise.
“Don’t be too sure of your game, you yellow cur,” he said scornfully,
hoping to anger the halfbreed. “I’ve sent for two of our men and they
will be here any minute now, and I want to warn you if you ever harm
Josephine, I will kill you like I would a rattle snake.”
He raised his voice purposely as he made the assertion.
“Silence! dog of a Gringo!” the halfbreed hissed, “you talk more, I
shoot you dead.”
Mason wondered why the halfbreed didn’t attempt to close the door and
take him out through the secret passage. He had just made up his mind
to risk an attack on the halfbreed when he heard a slight noise behind
him. He turned swiftly, but too late. He heard the swish of some
object as it fell with crushing force on his head, and he sank to the
floor unconscious.