BRADLEY RIDES HARD
The evening was spent at Belle's. Lefever came in late with
congratulations. He told them about his trip and the wonders.
"I'll bet you're glad to get back to Sleepy Cat," objected Belle.
Lefever pointed a serious, almost accusing finger at her: "Thank you
for saying it, Belle; and that's never hinting the Panhandle's not a
good country--not a bit of it. But, just the same, I'm glad to get
back to my own. There's no place like hell, Jim, is there?--especially
if you've got friends there--you know that."
"You ought to be ashamed, John Lefever, to say such things," exclaimed
Belle, indignantly. But nothing could check Lefever's spirits. His
laugh was contagious: "I am, Belle, I am. I want you to feel that I
am."
"And you came back across the Sinks?" interposed Laramie.
"We did," responded John, starting all over again, "and I want to tell
you the Sinks are picking up. There's a better class of people going
in. I was laid up at Thief River--something I ate. I felt pretty bad."
"How do you feel now?" Laramie asked.
"Why, not very good to tell the truth. I had a kind of a sleepy night.
You wouldn't believe it, Jim, but there's quite a town at Thief River.
And the Sisters here at Sleepy Cat have got a little hospital going.
They treated me fine. Everybody, in fact, seemed to take an interest
in getting me on my feet. There's an awful nice undertaker there. I
forget his name; but he knew Henry de Spain well; said he'd done a good
deal of business for Henry, off and on--when he could get the coffins.
He sent some flowers over to me at the hospital with his card. I sent
back my own card--wrote: 'Not yet.' When we were leaving I went over
to thank him and tell him I was sorry I hadn't been able to throw him a
job. Even then, I didn't feel I could logically say good-by to an
undertaker--I just said '_Au revoir_.'"
The two men afterward joined Sawdy at the Mountain House. In the
morning, breakfasting together early, Sawdy and Lefever with Laramie
walked in the bright sunshine down to Kitchen's barn to saddle up and
ride across the river to look at some horses. Laramie stopped at
Belle's to see whether he could get Kate to go over with them; and
while Sawdy went on to the barn, Lefever waited at Belle's gate to find
out whether Kate was going.
When Laramie came to the door after a few moments to say that Kate
would go, Lefever stood outside the gate looking intently into the
north.
"Somebody from the Crazy Woman," he observed as Laramie joined him,
"must have an urgent call in town this morning."
He was watching what appeared to be little more than a speck on the
northern horizon, but even at that distance it was moving fast.
Lefever walked over to Kitchen's to order the fourth horse. Rejoining
Laramie he found him still at the gate. And when Kate, fresh as the
morning, appeared, the two men though talking of indifferent things,
had their eyes fixed on a horseman galloping at breakneck speed down
the long slope of the northern divide. He was now less than a mile
away and the dust thrown from his horse's hoofs rose evenly behind him
in the stillness of the sunshine. He must pass the barn to reach town.
Kate asked a question.
"It may be one of your father's horses," mused Lefever aloud, "and it
rides something like old Bill Bradley."
Still pushing his speed to the limit and cutting in reckless fashion
the turns of the open road, the rider drew rapidly nearer. They could
see he was hatless and coatless and urging his horse. "It's Bradley,"
declared Lefever decisively. Laramie said nothing. Kate instinctively
drew closer to him. The horseman disappeared at that moment behind the
railroad icing plant. The next, he whirled with a sharp clatter of
hoofs into Main Street, and, dashing past Carpy's, pulled his foaming
horse to its haunches in front of Kitchen's barn.
McAlpin and Sawdy were leading the four saddle ponies to the stable
door. The group at Belle's gate could not hear what Bradley shouted;
but they saw McAlpin start. Sawdy, too, spoke quick, and pointed, with
his words, across the way. Bradley jerked his panting horse around and
spurred toward Belle's gate.
The old man, his thin hair flying and his blood-shot eyes bulging,
reined up before Laramie with his arm out, to speak. But the ride and
the excitement had been too much. His features worked convulsively but
he could not utter a word.
"For God's sake, Bill," cried Lefever, catching his arm and jerking
him. "What's up?"
Bradley, his eyes glued on Laramie, got back his voice: "It's Barb,
Jim!" he shouted wildly. "Tom Stone shot him this morning!"
Kate's sharp cry rang in Laramie's ears. He caught her in his arm.
Belle ran out, only adding to the confusion with her scream. Lefever,
joined now by Sawdy and McAlpin, who had hurried over, got Bradley off
his horse, into a chair on the porch, refreshed him with water and
steadied his whisky-wrecked nerves with whisky.
Stone and Van Horn came over from Van Horn's early, Bradley told his
hearers brokenly. They asked for Barb and he was down at the creek.
Barb had sent Bradley about a mile below the house to repair a small
break in the irrigation ditch and had ridden down to show him what he
wanted done. After giving instructions, he had started back for the
house. Before he got far, Stone and Van Horn met him. Bradley heard
voices up the creek but paid no special attention to them, and busied
himself with his job. Some minutes later he heard the voices again,
loud and angry. As they were close by, Bradley, shovel in hand, walked
along the ditch bank to where he could see what was up.
"They'd all got off their horses," continued Bradley, "and was standin'
not fur apart. I was close to the willows along the ditch. 'Fore you
could say Jack Robinson, Stone and Van Horn snapped out their guns and
begun to shoot. The old man was game, boys, but he didn't have no
show. He managed to get his gun out, both men a-shootin' at him."
"Both!" echoed Laramie, bitterly. Sawdy swore a withering oath.
"Is my father dead?" cried Kate in agony.
"Not yet," replied Bradley disconcertingly.
"We must get Carpy up there quick. Hunt him up, will you, John?" said
Laramie to Lefever.
"Hold on," interposed Bradley. "Carpy's there afore this. I met him
drivin' north and he put right out for the ranch."
"Couldn't you do something while they were trying to murder Father?"
sobbed Kate, wringing her hands as she appealed to Bradley.
"Why, what could _I_ do?" stared Bradley. "_I_ didn't have no gun.
Kelly and me got the wagon down and picked Barb up 'n' got him to the
house. He told me to put out for town and get you and Jim Laramie;
he's out of his head, you see."
"Did they see you, Bradley?" interrupted Laramie.
"Never seen me, Jim."
"Did Barb hit either of them?" asked Laramie.
"'Tain't likely. He only got in one shot. When they seen him
wrigglin' on the ground, all doubled up--you know, Jim--they jumped
their horses and put across the creek."
For a moment Kate's suppressed sobs broke the silence. Laramie held
her in his arm. He promised her he would get her right out to her
father as soon as he could take measures for pursuit. When the other
men questioned Bradley, Laramie listened. He urged Kate to go inside
with Belle, but she begged to stay: "I won't cry, Jim," she pleaded in
a whisper. "I must stay. Let me stay."
He placed her in a chair. Belle, schooled in silence during such
moments, stood beside her. Laramie placing himself near Kate, half sat
on the edge of the porch floor, one foot resting on the ground and the
other curled under. Lefever facing him, sat on the end of the porch
steps while Sawdy stood with the horses. McAlpin had hurried over to
the barn to get Kitchen and telephone Tenison to come down.
"There's two ways they can get out," said Laramie, casting up the
situation with his companions. "One is across the Falling Wall and
over the Reservation. If they've gone that way they've got a start;
but they're easy to trail. The other way would be to strike east or
west for the railroad. That's the big gamble--it's the easiest to play
and the worst if they lose. They may separate."
"My Godfrey, Jim, don't let 'em get away," exclaimed Belle, fearfully.
"And there's one more angle," remarked Laramie. "They may show up
right here and try to bluff it out."
Sawdy shook his head against that idea. Lefever supported him.
Laramie did not urge the view. "Van Horn plays cards different from
everybody else," was all he said.
Kitchen drove up and Tenison was in the buggy with him.
What help might be had from the sheriff's office was put in Tenison's
hands to manage. The railroad men were warned across the division.
Outgoing train crews were notified and the enginemen told what to do,
if stopped. Sawdy and Lefever were directed to strike for the Falling
Wall and watch the Reservation trails, while Laramie, with Kate, was to
ride straight to the ranch and pick up the trail across the creek.
The news of the shooting of Barb Doubleday filled the corners of Main
Street with little knots of men eager to hear all that was known and to
be first to catch what might come. Women sometimes stopped to listen
and men making ready to ride the northern trails supplied clattering in
the streets for every moment and added to the tense scene. The chances
for the escape of Van Horn and Stone were canvassed among critics and
listeners, and with almost as much insight as they had been cast up in
the war council at Belle's. The men that might be expected to give
battle if they encountered the fugitives were watched for and every
time they rode past, the maneuvering and fighting abilities of each
were speculated on with surprising accuracy; records were recalled and
inferences drawn as to the possibilities now ahead.
The picture of the busy street, constantly renewed and dissolved,
changed fast. Lefever and Sawdy, together, were the first to clear for
their long ride. Kitchen, strapping on, for the first time in years, a
well cared-for Colt's revolver, got fresh ammunition, and throwing
himself on a good horse, rode for where he had sworn he would never
appear again, the Doubleday ranch--to get the cowboys started at poking
out the hiding places along the creek.
McAlpin, with much ado, enlisted every man with any sort of a claim to
being a tracker--and this included pretty much every loafer interested
in a drink or a fight. He assembled a noisy crew at the barn and
despatched them singly with orders to scatter and watch the trail
points outlying the town. But birds of this feather were hard to keep
scattered. Urged both by prudential and social reasons, they tended
continuously to flock together. They kept the barn boss busy by riding
back furiously in bunches to report nobody seen, to ask for further
orders and to get a drink before reestablishing a patrol.
Knowing the value of every moment in a long chase, and working with all
possible haste, Laramie had to throw out his dragnet carefully before
he could get away himself. He had told Kate to prepare at Belle's for
a hard ride and he would get her to the ranch.
With every minute lingering like an hour, both women, nervously
expectant, waited, talked, and watched for Laramie's return.