W. C. Tuttle

“ But Jimmy was too relieved to laugh.
“Well,” he said solemnly, “I guess I’ll have to pick something bigger than a man next time. Really, there should be something big enough for me to hit.”
“You ought to attack a fort,” laughed Sleepy.
They unsaddled Marion’s horse, while Jimmy took care of his own exhausted mount. He was so happy that he tried to take the saddle off without uncinching it.
“I expect the sheriff will be out here soon,” Marion told them. “He wants that dog. It bit Al Porter twice today, but they’ve got to keep it for evidence.”
“They don’t know it’s here,” said Hashknife. ”

“ Marion called to them from the rear door, and they headed for the wash-bench, dropping the subject of Tex Alden.
And while they ate dinner at the Double Bar 8, Lee Barnhardt rode into Blue Wells, stabled his horse and went to see the doctor, who did a little to alleviate the pain in his jaw. Back in his office, he filled his pipe and tried to enjoy a smoke, but flung the pipe aside, because he couldn’t keep his mind on tobacco. It was the one time in his life that Lee Barnhardt was thoroughly mad. Just now he hated everybody, and everything—especially Tex Alden. ”

“ Marion looked at Hashknife, her eyes puzzled. Then—
“You don’t think Tex was the one—” she hesitated.
“That tried to kill Jimmy?” Hashknife finished for her.
“Oh, Tex couldn’t do a thing like that, Hashknife!”
“No?” Hashknife smiled slowly. “Yuh don’t think so?”
Marion shook her head quickly.
“Not even if he was mad. He might be mad enough for a moment to kill some one, but not to shoot from ambush.”
“Well,” grinned Hashknife, “I’ll have to mark Tex Alden off my list of customers. It seems that Tex lost eight thousand dollars to Antelope Neal, in a poker game. ”

“ Hashknife and Sleepy left the jail and went to the livery-stable, where they had left Hashknife’s horse that morning. Hashknife had nothing to say about his trip to Encinas, and Sleepy knew that questions were useless. Hashknife always worked on the theory that a secret is safe only with one person.
It was about ten o’clock when they approached the Double Bar 8, riding silently. There was a light in the ranch-house window, and as they drew closer they heard Jimmy’s and Marion’s voices blended in “After the Ball,” accompanied by the old upright organ. The two cowboys drew rein and listened. ”

“ They were nearing the ranch when they described a flock of buzzards, circling low over a little ravine, like scraps of black paper, caught in the grip of a whirlwind.
“Somebody lost a cow,” said Sleepy, “and it’s eatin’ time for Mr. Buzzard.”
“I hope it isn’t any of our stock,” said Marion. “We can’t afford to feed any buzzards this year.”
Jimmy evinced a desire to investigate; so he and Sleepy rode down to the ravine, while Marion circled higher on the hill. The air suddenly filled with flapping buzzards, croaking hoarsely ”

“ With Le Moyne was Dug Haley, who quarreled loudly with Al Porter over what dynamite would or would not do. Sleepy Stevens horned into the argument with a dissertation on “the dynamic principles of combustion,” in which he used the words “epiglottis,” “atomizer” and “dogmatic” numberless times; much to the confusion of Al Porter, who was forced to admit that all he knew about dynamite was that “the —— stuff busts and raises ——.”
It was not often that Antelope Neal, owner of the Oasis, went out of Blue Wells, but he did ride down to see what had happened to the Double Bar 8. ”

“ Al Porter was coming toward the office. Barnhardt tried to appear indifferent, although he knew Porter would question him. As Porter neared the office, Marion Taylor, Jimmy Legg and Sleepy came riding down the street. Porter came up to Barnhardt, but did not speak, and they watched the riders draw up in front of them.
“Good morning, Mr. Barnhardt,” said Marion. “We looked for you at the depot a while ago. Did you decide to not go away?”
Barnhardt nodded dumbly, because he dared not speak.
“Where’s the tall feller?” asked Porter. ”

“ Le Moyne used to drop in here once in a while, but he hasn’t been here for over a month, except when they all came out to see the ruins of our bunk-house.”
“As far as Tex is concerned, the opinion ain’t far off, is it?”
Marion flushed.
“I liked Tex all right,” she admitted. “He is nice, as long as his temper doesn’t run away with him. Tex has a bad temper, you know.”
“And he hates Jimmy Legg, because Jimmy Legg happens to be here,” observed Hashknife. ”

“ Porter stared at Sleepy, wondering if this innocent-eyed cowboy meant anything by that remark.
“We came in pretty early,” said Marion, “and I wonder if the sheriff will let me in the jail.”
“He’s in the office,” growled Porter. “I reckon he will.”
They moved on toward the jail, and Porter turned angrily to Barnhardt.
“That was a —— of a remark to make! You ain’t got no interest in my girl, have yuh?”
“Not a particle.”
“Then never mind about her; sabe? You monkey with my business and you’ll get worse than Tex Alden gave yuh.”
“Did you come up here to pick a fight?” queried Barnhardt. ”

“ They rode to Blue Wells after dark that night, and found the three boys from the AK at the Oasis. Being Saturday night, there was quite a crowd in town, and the games were flourishing. Johnny Grant, Oyster Shell and Eskimo Swensen welcomed Hashknife and Sleepy with open arms.
Tex Alden, Plenty Goode and Ed Gast were in from the X Bar 6. Tex was cordial, and talked with Hashknife about the dynamiting. Hashknife knew that Tex was wondering where Jimmy Legg was, and finally Tex asked him if Marion wasn’t afraid to stay at the ranch with only the Indian woman. ”

“ Flocks of white-wing doves hurtled past them, heading for the water-holes; quail called from the slopes; a deer broke from a thicket, and after a few short, stiff-legged jumps, headed up a slope, head cocked back, walking jerkily. ”

“ Tell Nanah to light the lamps.”
The old Indian woman bustled around, lighting lamps, while the rest of them followed Hashknife to the rear porch.
“I’ll go first,” whispered Hashknife. “One man only makes one target. If the coast is clear, I’ll whistle a tune, and Sleepy, you and Jimmy come over there.”
Hashknife kept well in the shadow in crossing the patio, and in a minute or two he began whistling. Sleepy and Jimmy crossed to the bunk-house, where the door was open. Hashknife lighted the lamp, which was on a table about midway of the room. ”

“ Let’s talk it over. Runnin’ away won’t help yuh none. You’d lose out.”
Geronimo came into the patio, dust-covered, his tongue hanging out, tail wagging. Jimmy had set a hot pace from town, but the dog had found him. He sat down on his haunches in front of Jimmy and put a paw on Jimmy’s knee.
“Where’d the dog come from?” asked Sleepy.
Jimmy looked at Geronimo, and Geronimo looked at Jimmy.
“He is my dog,” said Jimmy slowly. “It’s the dog they had in jail—the evidence against Taylor.”
“Your dog, Jimmy?” asked Hashknife. ”

“ But he would not drink any more.
“I’ve got to ride back to the ranch,” he told them solemnly. “I brought Miss Taylor to town, and she is down at the jail, visiting with her folks.”
The two drinks had made Jimmy rather expansive and he told them about his roping and shooting lessons; which caused the AK boys to double up with mirth.
“We was goin’ to stop at yore place on the way back,” said Johnny Grant. “Bonnette said to tell Miss Taylor that her outfit can use from our wagons. There’s plenty of room for all the bed-rolls, and three extra men ain’t goin’ to kill off our cook.” ”

“ Between me and you, he’s scared of Tex Alden, and he wants to git away for a few days to let Tex cool off. Lee talks too much.”
“That’s a human failin’,” smiled Hashknife.
But Lee Barnhardt did not go on any trip. When he got up the following morning he found that some one had opened his safe during the night, and had looted it of everything it contained. The bank did not have a safety vault; so Barnhardt found himself cleaned out, as everything he owned was in his own safe. ”

“ If it belonged to Taylor, do yuh reckon they’d take the dog back to their ranch, where any one could find it?”
The sheriff twisted his mustache thoughtfully. This was something he had not thought about.
“Anybody would recognize that dog,” said Hashknife.
“Yore argument sounds pretty good,” admitted the sheriff. “But it don’t make much difference, because we can’t find that dog. Al Porter is glad, I suppose. The darn thing hates him. Bit him every time it had a chance. Growls every time he shows up.” ”

“ Put a rug over the trap-door, and they’ll never see it.”
It did not take them long to dump Geronimo into the cellar, where Sleepy made him a good bed and put in a bucket of water. The dog accepted his new quarters without any protest, and Nanah grinned when she put an old rug over the trap-door, and moved over a table to rest on it.
The three men were in the bunk-house when the sheriff showed up, about thirty minutes later. He looked around the patio, expecting to see the dog, and dismounted. Hashknife shook hands with him. Jimmy did not put in an appearance. ”

“ The sheriff, of course, hadn’t. He had taken it for granted that the dog followed Legg all the way to the Double Bar 8, and upon sober reflection on his part it was reasonable to suppose that the dog had stopped and turned back to town.
“The kid was kinda scared, wasn’t he?” asked the sheriff.
“Naturally would be,” grinned Hashknife. “He thought he had killed Porter.”
“I dunno how he ever missed hittin’ Al some’ers beside in the heel. They wasn’t twenty feet apart. That derned tenderfoot is goin’ to kill somebody before he gits through. He’s comin’ closer every time. ”

“ I heard one of ’em snap a warnin’; so it kinda looks as though they didn’t expect us just then.”
“Do you think you hit either one of them?” asked Jimmy nervously.
Hashknife laughed.
“I was shootin’ for general results. A man runnin’ in the dark, jumpin’ through a broken wall, is a hard target. And when yuh hit a man with a .45 in any spot, except his hands, arms, or the end of his nose, he won’t go far; so I’ll admit that I missed ’em.”
For the next two nights Hashknife and Sleepy guarded the place, but no one came. ”

“ I might as well shoulder it all now.”
“I wish yuh wouldn’t,” said Hashknife. “Let things ride as they are for a while. If they arrest yuh for shootin’ the deputy, mebbe yuh can make a self-defense out of it. Yuh say that the AK boys saw it? They’ll prob’ly alibi yuh, ’cause they don’t like the sheriff. Under the circumstances a man could lie a little and not bend his conscience too much.”
“Yuh should have stayed and seen the finish,” said Sleepy. “It would ’a’ looked better.”
“I know it,” Jimmy sighed wearily. “But all I could think about was to run away. I’ve never killed a man before.” ”

“ Porter took it under advisement. “I dunno. He might ’a’ been right. I was so —— mad that I dunno just how things was.”
“You reached back for a gun,” reminded Eskimo, and the other three AK cowboys nodded in confirmation.
“Yuh did, Al,” said Johnny.
“All right,” nodded Porter. “Mebbe I did.”
“And the kid thought yuh was goin’ to draw on him,” offered Oyster Shell.
“Well, what the —— is all the argument about?” snarled the deputy. “I’ll admit he was right. But,” Porter mustered a smile, “I hope that —— dog bites him when he gits off that horse.” ”