W. C. Tuttle

“ Mica Gates did not like Fire French, and he did not care who knew it. Louie Yen did not like Fire French, but he told it to no man, except himself; because he knew only one man he could trust—himself.
Louie Yen worshipped Luck Sleed. He had watched her bloom into womanhood, and he was forever shaking his head sadly over his ironing-board or washtub. To him she would always be "Li'l gi'l," just as she was the day that she came to town with Silver Sleed.
Louie was standing in the doorway of his laundry, smoking a long pipe, as Luck came up the street. ”

“ On all sides stretched the desert, broken here and there in the distance by black peaks, as though at some remote period this country had been a vast mountain range, which had sifted full of sand, until only the peaks remained.
Only the creaking ore-wagon and the rutted road showed the hand of man in this place. A few hours would suffice the desert to reclaim the road; for the desert is jealous of the hand of man, and, like the jungle, it is ever striving to protect its own. ”

“ He knew that Luck had stayed in a place she hated, just waiting for him to come back and get that money. And he had come back at last—not to collect a debt, but to help another man deprive her of everything.
Right now she was starting in to buck the most powerful man in the desert country; a man who would show her about as much mercy as a wounded grizzly would show. It was a forlorn hope for the frail girl—bucking a power she did not know about as yet. Duke looked at her and wondered if she would defy Le Moyne, if she knew what he intended to do. ”

“ Then the tunnel floor leveled out, and Duke knew that they were on the Lady Slipper level. Suddenly he stumbled and sprawled against the side of the drift. Mica Cates was swearing and floundering around.
"Got a match?" wheezed Mica. Duke found one and scratched it on the wall. Lying in the center of the tunnel was the crumpled body of Louie Yen, and the match-light flickered on the long-bladed knife beside him.
"Black got him!" croaked Mica, steadying himself with both hands, while he peered down at Louie Yen. "Look out for Black." ”

“ Men were coming out of the Silver Bar, and they seemed to be still fighting. An orange-colored flash pointed toward Duke and Mica, and a bullet screamed off the rocks at their feet.
Duke grasped Mica by the arm and hurried him toward the rim of Sunshine Alley. Both of them staggered, and Duke smiled grimly to think that it was a case of the blind leading the blind.
"Not into the Alley!" wailed Mica. "They'll find us too easy. The tunnels, Steele! Climb the hill—past—Luck's place." ”

“ Le Moyne lit a cigar and watched the stage fade out in a haze of dust. The sun was already growing hot, so he turned and rode down the hill. Again he heard the tiny tinkle of the bell, but this time the sound of it was continuous, as though the animal wearing it was traveling steadily.
He turned and rode around the point of the hill, where he met a herd of five burros, heavily laden with sacks of ore, and behind them came a weather-beaten prospector, carrying a rifle over his shoulder. ”

“ French came closer to her, but he still respected the unwavering revolver muzzle.
"Killing a man to protect your honor," said Luck slowly, "a man with a wife and a kid."
"Oh, hell!" French shrugged his shoulders impatiently, "Do you want it said that a crooked deal is pulled off in the Silver Bar?"
"No, nor a killing."
French smiled sarcastically. "Silver Sleed wasn't so particular. You hired me to run that place, and I'm going to run it, Luck—run it like Silver Sleed did." French glanced around the room and shook his head. "It ain't right for you to live alone like this. ”

“ Calico was going to be an unhealthy place for him, he knew. Somewhere was Pete Black, minus several teeth and much prestige. Miners are quick to back a fighter, but, like the rest of humanity, are quick to lose confidence in a man after he has been whipped.
Duke left the Silver Bar and went to the Mojave. A few miners were in there, but the Mojave was far from being a lively place. He went back to Curlew's room, barred the door and went to bed, wondering what had become of Luck Sleed, wondering why the Chinaman had spat at him and threw the long knife at his back. ”

“ Men were dodging out of the door, as a group of drunken miners grasped the unlucky Curlew and hurled him out of the place.
Duke stepped over and removed the cactus from the head of Le Moyne. He looked at Duke, but there was only a glimmer of intelligence in his eyes. He had been mortally wounded during the fight, and the mockery he had undergone meant nothing to him now.
"Le Moyne, do yuh know me?" asked Duke.
"Steele? Yes, I know—you. It was a—good—fight."
"I brought the girl, Le Moyne, remember the girl I told you about—Luck Sleed."
"Yes—Steele. Why don't somebody light the lamps?" ”

“ Duke Steele heard him singing, as he opened the rear door of the Silver Bar and led Le Moyne and Mica Cates inside. The games were still running and men were at the bar, drinking, but a silence had seemed to settle over the room. A man cursed at Pell, who turned and came back to the bar.
Several men glanced curiously at Le Moyne. He was so big that he towered like a giant in the low ceilinged room. Men were coming in both front and rear doors now; big, hulking miners, with the colored muck of the silver mines on their clothes.
"Look out!" called Duke at Le Moyne. "These are all Black's men. ”

“ The long, purple shadows of evening were already softening the rough edges of the hills, and from the depths of Sunshine Alley long, thin ribbons of smoke were already reaching upward, as the evening meals were being prepared for the men, who would soon be coming out of the tunnels, ant-like figures, which would wind slowly down the perilous trails or swing carefully down rope ladders. ”

“ Then, silently herding his pack-train of burros, he would appear in Cactus City and unload at the smelter.
Le Moyne had grown to hate Taylor, although he admired his skill in covering the trail. If one man, working alone, with only a few burros for transportation, could bring in such wealth, what could Le Moyne do with a force of men?
Le Moyne tossed the reports into a drawer, got to his feet and went back to his stable, where he kept a horse. He was too unsettled to work; so he saddled the horse and rode away into the desert, going out the Calico road. ”

“ He had seen the man who threw the bottle; caught just a glimpse of his face in the hazy light.
Three men were in a clinch, struggling, doing little to hurt each other. One of them was Pete Black and the other two were miners from the Nola mine. Duke's rush carried him against them, and like a flash he caught Black by his big, red beard with both hands and fairly flung him off his feet into the close-packed mob.
The other two fighting miners drew apart and considered this newcomer. Neither of them bore any marks of conflict. ”

“ Then would come the moonlight to make the world a fairyland of the softest of blue; a mystical land, covered by a velvet sky, studded with sky-diamonds, which seemed very close to the earth, and a moon, like a great ball, stereopticon in its contour and fairly transparent in its soft brilliancy. ”

“ Le Moyne seemed to rouse up and his eyes were a little clearer. Several of the miners were standing close, listening, and Le Moyne spoke to them.
"Come in—closer—and listen. No—time—to—write." Le Moyne licked his bloody lips and drew a deep breath. "Everything I've got belongs to—Duke—Steele. Do you hear—that? Everything. I will it—to—him—and—I—want—you—to—witness."
"But, Le Moyne, I don't want it for myself," explained Duke. "I want it for Luck Sleed."
"You're a man—can—hold—it," mumbled Le Moyne thickly. "I—I think you'll—share—things together—now. Pay back what you can—Steele. ”

“ Do yuh realize what you're up against? There's Black, French, Curlew, a handful of gamblers and all of Black's men from both mines. They're all gettin' their share of the loot. What can one man do against that crowd?"
"By God, I'll show 'em what Le Moyne can do!"
"You're a big-headed fool!" snapped Duke. "You've dreamed about ownin' the desert until it's gone to your head, Le Moyne. Wake up for a minute and figure out just who you are. One man! Are yuh bullet-proof? Can yuh shoot so fast that yuh can buck an army? This job will take a lot of brains, which you ain't got." ”

“ Then Fire French explains that he don't allow no man t' question his honesty nor honor. I ain't sayin' that the game was crooked, Luck; but it don't 'pear to me that it was sufficient cause t' kill a man."
Luck shook her head. "A gambler's honor! Most of the killings are over honor, Mica Gates. Does taking a life clear a gambler's honor, I wonder?"
"I s'pose. If a man ever declares 'em crooked, they're done for, 'less they wipe out the insult with blood."
"It's a queer world, Mica Gates."
"Yes'm, Luck, it sure is queer. What do yuh know about the new saloon and gamblin' house, the Mojave?" ”

“ To her belonged the Silver Bar, the California saloon and gambling house, at Cactus City, and the Lady Slipper and Nola mines, which were two of the largest producers of Calico.
"I don't sabe Luck," declared one of the mine owners, following the death of Silver Sleed. "Luck hankers f'r education and wants t' be a grand lady; so why in hell don't she sell out and go where she can be them three things? She's plumb rich now."
"Don't have t' sell out," declared another. "She can go away and let somebody run them places, can't she?" ”

“ Two days before he had sent one of his trusted men to follow a prospector, whose assay sample had run into hundreds of dollars a ton. He sat at his desk, humped in his chair, wondering how large this rich vein might be. His features were massive, seemingly out of proportion to the rest of the man. His skin was greasy, yellow; his hair black and of coarse texture.
His desk was a litter of papers, ore samples, a box of very black cigars. Directly in front of him lay a heavy six-shooter. Le Moyne was not a gunman, but he kept a loaded gun handy. He preferred to let his hirelings do the shooting. ”

“ Wonder what Luck Sleed is lookin' at. Dreams, mebbe?"
"Mebbe. Agin mebbe she's lookin' fer a sweetheart to come in out of the desert." The man laughed bitterly and shook his head. "He'd be a hell of a looker, if he crossed the Mojave."
"Like me and you, eh? But looks don't count up here, Jim. Nothin' much counts, except water and whisky and bein' quick with a gun. If yuh got all them, along with a heat-proof brain, mebbe you'll git along. I dunno."
"Gotta have a sun-proof brain, that's a cinch. Mine's fried to a cinder. Cinder brain, that's me. That's what we all got. ”

“ Is he any better than we are? Let's take Calico for ourselves, and to hell with Le Moyne! I'm tired of taking orders from him. When he shows up here he's as helpless as any other man, ain't he? How about it?"
"That's the idea," applauded Black. "We won't only set into the big game, but we'll run it, eh?"
"And take the rakeoff for ourselves," nodded Curlew.
Pell finished the bottle and went back into the saloon, where he got a couple of more drinks and went out. Duke Steele was in the room. He had seen Pell enter the room, and knew that Black, Curlew and French were in there. ”

“ Black and his gang have been high-grading on her, while French and his gang have stolen everything from the Silver Bar. If you are men, if you have any decency about you at all, tomorrow will not see one of Black's men, nor Slim Curlew, in Calico town. ”

“ French shook his head. "Steele, you can't do things like that here. Black is one of Le Moyne's best men. Didn't yuh know that?"
"Then Le Moyne is a damn poor judge of men," retorted Duke. "The more I hear about Le Moyne the more I think he's a big, greasy bluffer. If Pete Black is the type of men that Le Moyne is usin' in his big game, Le Moyne is due to lose. They say that a chain is only as strong as its weakest link, French; Le Moyne's chain has got a lot of weak links. ”

“ I wanted to get that bunch all together in one place; so I cleaned out the Mojave and locked the door."
"And by now every one of your hired crooks know that you are in Calico. Le Moyne, you've got a fine chance to never leave Calico alive. There's only one hope left, and that hinges on the fact that you hired a bunch of tin-horns to run your business. How much nerve have you got?"
"Why do you ask me that?" queried Le Moyne.
"Have you got nerve enough to walk into that gang and start shootin'?"
"Do we have to do that, Steele?"
"No-o-o, we can run away."
"Feller can't die but once." ”

“ She was only a kid, he remembered, but she had probably saved him from death at the hands of a mob.
It seemed but yesterday to Duke Steele. He had led his burro silently away from Calico, and out on the desert he had destroyed Silver Sleed's I. O. U for forty-six thousand dollars. That was a lot of money—more money than Silver Sleed could have paid. It would have taken everything away from Luck.
Duke had expected that Luck would have sold out and gone away long before this. She wanted education; wanted to live in a civilized world. Why did she stay in Calico? ”

“ He's too damned independent to just be a helper."
"Do yuh reckon Le Moyne's suspicious that we're——" began Black nervously.
"Shut up!" interrupted French. "If Le Moyne's suspicious that we're high-gradin' his mines or holdin' out on the gamblin' money—let him. A big crook like Le Moyne is always suspicious. If this Steele is his spy, go easy. We've got to play soft with him, boys. Bumpin' him off might be easy, but it would start Le Moyne on our trail in no time."
"He'll have a hard time provin' anythin'," growled Curlew. "Whatcha goin' to do about the Silver Bar?" ”