It was a hard, slow journey back across the desert. Moore's team and
wagon were requisitioned for the purpose, but Matt himself remained
behind to help Brennan with the prisoners and cattle, until the party
returning to Haskell could send them help.
Westcott drove, with Miss Donovan perched beside him on the
spring-seat, and Cavendish lying on a pile of blankets beneath the
shadow of the canvas top. It became exceedingly hot as the sun mounted
into the sky, and once they encountered a sand storm, which so blinded
horses and driver, they were compelled to halt and turn aside from its
fury for nearly an hour. The wounded man must have suffered, yet made
no complaint. Indeed he seemed almost cheerful, and so deeply
interested in the strange story in which he had unconsciously borne
part, as to constantly question those riding in front for details.
Westcott and Stella, in spite of the drear, dread monotony of those
miles of sand, the desolate barrenness of which extended about in every
direction, and, at last, weighed heavily upon their spirits, found the
ride anything but tedious. They had so much to be thankful for,
hopeful over: so much to say to each other. She described all that had
occurred during her imprisonment, and he, in turn, told the story of
what himself and Brennan had passed through in the search for her
captors. Cavendish listened eagerly to each recital, lifting his head
to interject a question of interest, and then dropping wearily back
again upon his blankets.
They stopped to lunch at Baxter Springs, and to water the team; and it
was considerably after dark when they finally drove creaking up the
main street of Haskell and stopped in front of the Timmons House to
unload. The street was devoid of excitement, although the Red Dog was
wide open for business, and Westcott caught a glimpse of Mike busily
engaged behind the bar. A man or two passing glanced at them
curiously, but, possibly because of failure to recognise him in the
darkness, no alarm was raised, or any effort made to block their
progress. Without Lacy to urge them on, the disciples of Judge Lynch
had likely enough forgotten the whole affair. Timmons, hearing the
creak of approaching wheels, and surmising the arrival of guests, came
lumbering out through the open door, his face beaming welcome. Behind
him the vacant office stood fully revealed in the light of
bracket-lamps.
As Westcott clambered over the wheel, and then assisted the lady to
alight, the face of the landlord was sufficiently expressive of
surprise.
"You!" he exclaimed, staring into their faces doubtfully. "What the
Sam Hill does this mean?"
"Only that we've got back, Timmons. Why this frigid reception?"
"Well, this yere is a respectable hotel, an' I ain't goin' ter have it
all mussed up by no lynchin' party," the landlord's voice full of
regret. "Then this yere gal; she wrote me she'd gone back East."
Westcott laughed.
"Stow your grouch, old man, and give us a hand. There will be no
lynching, because Lacy is in the hands of the marshal. As to this
lady, she never sent you that note. She was abducted by force, and has
just escaped. Don't stand there like a fool."
"But where did yer come from? This yere is Matt Moore's outfit."
"From the Shoshone Desert, if you must know. I'll tell you the story
later. There's a wounded man under the canvas there. Come on, and
help me carry him inside."
Timmons, sputtering but impotent to resist, took hold reluctantly, and
the two together bore the helpless Cavendish through the deserted
office and up the stairs to the second floor, where he was comfortably
settled and a doctor sent for. The task was sufficiently strenuous to
require all the breath Timmons possessed, and he managed to repress his
eager curiosity until the wounded man had been attended to. Once in
the hall, however, and the door closed, he could no longer control
himself.
"Now see yere, Jim Westcott," he panted, one hand gripping the
stair-rail. "I've got ter know what's up, afore I throw open this yere
hotel to yer free use this-away. As a gineral thing I ain't 'round
huntin' trouble--I reckon yer know that--but this yere affair beats me.
What was it yer said about Bill Lacy?"
"He's under arrest, charged with cattle-stealing, abduction,
conspiracy, and about everything else on the calendar. Brennan's got
him, and likewise the evidence to convict."
"Good Lord! Is that so!"
"It is; the whole Mendez gang has been wiped out. Old Mendez has been
killed. The rest of the outfit, including Juan Cateras, are prisoners."
Timmons's eyes were fairly popping out of his head, his voice a mere
thread of sound.
"Don't that beat hell!" he managed to articulate. "Where's the
marshal?"
"Riding herd at a place they call Sunken Valley, about fifty miles
south of here. He and Moore have got ten or twelve Mexicans, and maybe
three hundred head of cattle to look after, until I can send somebody
out there to help him bring them in. Now that's all you need to know,
Timmons; but I've got a question or two I want to ask you. Come on
back into the office."
Miss Donovan sat in one of the chairs by the front window waiting. As
they entered she arose to her feet.
Westcott crossed the room and took her hand.
"He's all right," he assured her quickly, interpreting the question in
her eyes. "Tired from the trip, of course, but a night's rest will do
wonders. And now, Timmons," he turned to the bewildered landlord, "is
that man Enright upstairs?"
"The New York lawyer? No, he got frightened and left. He skipped out
the next day after you fellers got away. Bill wanted him to go along
with him, but he said he was too sick. Then he claimed to have a
telegram callin' him East, but he never did. I reckon he must 've got
cold feet 'bout somethin'--enyhow he's gone."
"And Miss La Rue?"
"Sure; she took the same train," eager now to divulge all he knew.
"But that ain't her real name--it's a kind o' long name, an' begins
with C. I saw it in a letter she left up-stairs, but I couldn't make
it all out. She's married."
The eyes of Westcott and Miss Donovan met. Here was a bit of strange
news--the La Rue woman married, and to a man with a long name beginning
with C. The same thought occurred to them both, yet it was evidently
useless to question Timmons any longer. He would know nothing, and
comprehend less. The girl looked tired, completely worn out, and the
affair could rest until morning.
"Take Miss Donovan to a room," Westcott said shortly, "and I'll run
up-stairs and have another look at Cavendish."
"At who?"
"Cavendish, the wounded man we just carried in."
"Well, that's blamed funny. Say, I don't remember ever hearin' that
name before in all my life till just now. Come ter think of it, I
believe that was the name in that La Rue girl's letter. I got it yere
in the desk; it's torn some, an' don't mean nothin' to me; sounds
kinder nutty." He threw open a drawer, rummaging within, but without
pausing in speech, "Then a fellow blew in yere this mornin' off the
Limited, asking about you, Jim, an' danged if I don't believe he said
his name was Cavendish. The register was full so he didn't write it
down, but that was the name all right. And now you tote in another
one. What is this, anyhow--a family reunion?"
"You say a man by that name was here--asking for me?"
"Yep; I reckon he's asleep up-stairs, for he never showed up at supper."
"In what room, Pete?"
"Nine."
Westcott, with a swift word of excuse to Stella, dashed into the hall,
and disappeared up the stairway, taking three steps at a time. A
moment later those below heard him pounding at a door; then his voice
sounded:
"This is Jim Westcott; open up."
Timmons stood gazing blankly at the empty stair-case, mopping his face
with a bandanna handkerchief. Then he removed his horn-rimmed
spectacles, and polished them, as though what mind he possessed had
become completely dazed.
"Well, I'll be jiggered," he confessed audibly. "What's a comin' now,
I wonder?"
He turned around and noticed Miss Donovan, the sight of her standing
there bringing back a reminder of his duty.
"He was a sayin' as how likely yer wanted to go to bed, Miss."
"Not now; I'll wait until Mr. Westcott comes down. What is that paper
in your hand? Is that the letter Miss La Rue left?"
He held it up in surprise, gazing at it through his glasses.
"Why, Lord bless me--it is, isn't it? Must have took it out o' ther
drawer an' never thought of the darned thing agin."
"May I see it?"
"Sure; 'tain't o' no consequence ter me; I reckon the woman sorter
packed in a hurry, and this got lost. The Chink found it under the
bed."
She took it in her hand, and crossed the room, finding a seat beneath
one of the bracket-lamps, but with her face turned toward the hall. It
was just a single sheet of folded paper, not enclosed in an envelope,
and had been torn across, so that the two parts barely held together.
She stared at it for a moment, almost motionless, her fingers nervously
moving up and down the crease, as though she dreaded to learn what was
within. She felt that here was the key which was to unlock the secret
of this strange crime. Whoever the man upstairs might prove to be--the
real Cavendish or some impostor--this paper she held in her hands was
destined to be a link in the chain. She unfolded it slowly and her
eyes traced the written words within. It was a hasty scrawl, written
on the cheap paper of some obscure hotel in Jersey City, extremely
difficult to decipher, the hand of the man who wrote exhibiting plainly
the excitement under which he laboured.
It was a message of warning, he was leaving New York, and would sail
that evening for some place in South America, where he did not say.
Love only caused him to tell her what had occurred. A strange word
puzzled her, and before she could decipher it, voices broke the
silence, followed by steps on the stairs. She glanced up quickly; it
was Westcott returning, accompanied by a tall, rather slender man with
a closely-trimmed beard. The two crossed the room, and she met them
standing, the opened letter still in her hand.
"Miss Donovan, this is Frederick Cavendish--the real Frederick
Cavendish. I have told him something of the trouble he has been to us
all."
The real Frederick Cavendish smiled down into her eyes, while he held
her fingers tightly clasped in his own. She believed in him, liked him
instantly.
"A trouble which I regret very much," he said humbly. "Westcott has
told me a little, a very little, of what has occurred since I left New
York so hurriedly two months ago. This is the first I knew about it,
and the mystery of the whole affair is as puzzling as ever."
Her eyes widened wonderingly.
"You cannot explain? Not even who the dead man was found murdered in
your apartments?"
"I haven't the least idea."
"Fred has told me all he knows," broke in Westcott "but it only extends
to midnight when he left the city. He was in his apartments less than
ten minutes after his valet retired. He supposed he left everything in
good order, with a note on the writing-table instructing Valois what to
do during his absence, and enclosing a sum of money. Afterward, on the
train, he discovered that he had mislaid the key to his safe but this
occasioned no worry, as he had taken with him all the cash it held, and
the papers were of slight importance."
"But," she broke in impatiently, "where did he go? How did he escape
encountering Beaton and why did he fail to answer your message?"
The eyes of the two men met, and they both smiled. "The very questions
I asked," replied Westcott instantly. "In the instructions left Valois
was a check for five thousand dollars made to my order, to be forwarded
at once. Fred's destination was Sonora, Mexico, where he had some
large copper interests. He intended to look after these and return
here to Haskell within a week, or ten days. But the war in Mexico made
this impossible--once across the border he couldn't get back. He wrote
me, but evidently the letter miscarried."
"And Beaton missed him entirely."
"By pure luck. Fred phoned the New York Central for a lower to
Chicago, and they were all gone. Enright must have learned, in some
way, of his calling that office, and so informed Beaton, who took that
train. Later, from his own rooms, Cavendish secured accommodations on
the Pennsylvania."
He paused, endeavouring to see out through the window, hearing the hoof
beats of an approaching team.
"What's that, Pete?" he asked of Timmons, who was hovering as closely
as he dared. "Pretty late, isn't it?"
"Guests, I reckon; the Overland was three hours late; sure, they're
stoppin' yere."