W. C. Tuttle

“ I saw two men riding away from here, so I came to investigate. Where most men are my enemies, I kinda look at things, yuh know.”
“You lie!”
Silver’s eyes narrowed with sudden anger.
“You know you lie,” said June hotly. “You and your men knew I was going to the Two Bar X today. You had them stop us, and they killed a man—Sam Herd. You had them bring me to this place. That’s how you knew I was here. Now I’m going to take you to the Two Bar X and turn you over to the men. You’re responsible for the death of Sam Herd, and if Park Reber’s men don’t hang you the law will!” ”

“ June shook her head firmly.
“I’m not your judge, Jack Silver. But you’re going to guide me to the Two Bar X ranch, you know. You’ll walk ahead with the rope around your neck and I’ll ride your horse.”
Jack Silver laughed softly as he put the loop around his neck.
“So that’s your game, eh?” he said amusedly. “You’ve got a lot of nerve for a woman. I never knew that pretty women had nerve. That’s how yuh won old man Reber, eh? Pretty girl with plenty nerve. Oh, he’s worth winnin’. He’s got nobody to leave his money to—no relatives. And he’s got plenty money. ”

“ That’s why there wasn’t anybody here, June.
“That’s why they’ve blocked the road against Reber. McLeese had this framed before Reber fired him. God knows how many of Reber’s men are in on it. They’re tryin’ to send ’em over the pass before anybody can get out here to catch ’em.”
“But—but they know we’re here,” panted June.
“They sure do,” said Jack bitterly. “Keep out of line with the windows. I’ve got the doors fastened and I’ve got two guns. But our best chance is to lay low. We know too much for them to let us get out alive, June. Their plans were upset when Reber sent you out here.” ”

“ I’m goin’ out to find that girl and to whip all this scum out of the valley. I’ve stood all I’ll ever stand from Priest and Silver.”
“It was a foolish thing, that sending of a woman,” said the old doctor. He had known Park Reber for years, and felt privileged to speak his mind.
“Mebbe,” said Reber shortly. “Mebbe not. She’s smart, Doc. I wish she was my daughter. If things had turned out different I might have had a girl or a boy of about her age.”
“Yes, that’s true.”
“And she spoiled Buck Priest’s shot,” said Reber. “He’s got no love for her. I wonder where these men would take her? ”

“ About three miles south of the Half-Wheel ranch they passed the mouth of Trapper Creek, One of the men told her it was Trapper Creek, and she knew that Jack Silver’s place was somewhere between the West Fork and the mountains.
June was still in somewhat of a daze over her new job. She didn’t know a thing about cattle; she knew nothing about running a ranch. But Reber had told her merely to use her head. He was the real head of all the ranches, and he would see that she learned the game. ”

“ One of these men had shot the other, thinking it was Jack Silver. He heard this man crawling across the floor, but did not try to stop him. Then he heard him run through the kitchen, slam the door shut and go running across the yard.
Silver ran to the front door. The man who had left the house mounted his horse and spurred toward the gate. Silver turned the man over in the doorway, and the white face and staring eyes of McLeese looked up at him. He found McLeese’s gun where he had dropped it on the porch, and went back in the house. ”

“ The bullet had struck high in Reber’s shoulder, and he was quite ill. The doctor, skilled in gunshot cases, told him he was very lucky. Some one had recovered the violin, but it had been walked on until it hardly resembled an instrument. The girl looked ruefully at it, but said nothing.
Several of the cowboys secured a cot, using it in lieu of a stretcher, and carried Reber home; but not until he had received June Meline’s assurance that she would act as his nurse.
“I wish you would,” said the doctor. “Nurses are hard to find out here. And, anyway, your violin is broken.” ”

“ June bit her lip and studied Jack Silver, who looked at her frankly. He did not look like a man who would kidnap a woman. There was nothing of the sneak about him.
“What do you do for a living?” she asked bluntly.
“Trappin’, mostly. I had a small herd of cattle a few years ago, but Park Reber’s men killed ’em off. He didn’t want me to get a start. In the winter I trap from here over into the Clear Valley side of the range. I make a good livin’.” ”

“ Jack Silver is my son. Everything I own belongs to him. I think Buck Priest taught him to hate me. I—I didn’t kill off his herd of cattle. Mebbe my men did it. But it’s all right now. He owns this valley and everything else I have.
“Get Buck Priest to a doctor. I don’t hate him any more. He gave me back my son. Jack—come closer. This—is—June. She’s—fine. I—I—”
His head fell forward on his chest.
There was little left of the old ranchhouse when Jack Silver and June Meline stood beside the body of Park Reber, who seemed to be smiling in his sleep. Nelson came up to Jack and held out his hand. ”

“ Suddenly there came the scrape of leather sole on the porch, and the door was flung open. June jerked forward, her hand on the big gun.
Two men stepped inside, looking queerly at her. It was McLeese, the deposed foreman, and Chuck Bell, a big, raw-boned, square-faced cowboy who worked for the Two Bar X. McLeese glanced at the hand and gun on the table.
“Yuh got here, eh?” he said easily. “That’s fine. I was kinda late gettin’ here for my stuff. Where’s all the boys?” ”

“ You ran my people out of Tomahawk Valley, Reber. I know your story—know why you hate my people. I had a little herd of cattle started, but you and your men killed ’em off to keep me from being a cattleman. I’ve no cause to love you. ”

“ Uncle Sam keeps ’em on a reservation. But Jack Silver lives back on Trapper Creek, twenty miles southwest of here. We’ve tried to catch him stealing my cattle, but he eludes us.
“McLeese of the Two Bar X and Nort Jackson of the Lightnin’ have trailed him for weeks; and Slim Patterson has tried to trap him, but he’s too clever. He’s got the cunning of the Cheyenne, the brain of a white man.”
June sat in an old rocker, her chin resting on the palm of her right hand, as she thought over Reber’s story. It was the first time she had ever heard the reasons for Buck Priest’s hatred of Park Reber. ”

“ After what you went through since yuh left Tomahawk yesterday, it’s a wonder you’ve got any nerve left.”
“But I’ve been frightened,” confessed June. “If you had said ‘boo!’ to me yesterday I’d have dropped your gun.”
“Mebbe not,” said Jack smiling. “That gun is too easy on the trigger to take any chances. I might have just booed a bullet into my nervous system.”
Jack laughed and turned back to the window, leaning forward tensely. There were cattle drifting past the rear of the corrals and sheds—a compact mass of moving animals heading northwest toward the West Fork pass. ”

“ Not that Reber intended keeping her at the Two Bar X. He was not crazy. But he was willing to grasp at any straw to stop the cattle rustling. If June could figure out a way to trap Silver it would be worth many dollars to the Diamond R and he was going to give her a chance.
He knew the temper of his men, knew that the majority of them were against the idea of hiring a woman. But he did feel that any of them would support any scheme she might formulate to stop the wholesale stealing of his cattle. ”

“ Everybody hates a breed. Oh, yes they do. Even the Injuns hate a breed.
“Do yuh know what they say about a half-breed? They say he inherits the vices of both sides and the virtues of neither. Mebbe that’s right.”
“What about Buck Priest—did Reber steal his cattle?”
“I think so, ma’am. But this ain’t lettin’ us in on the secret of things. Why do yuh suppose McLeese and Bell tied you up. Who kidnapped yuh, and what was their object? I’m gettin’ kinda anxious. Bell rode away, and he might come back in force. I’d hate to have yuh penned in here with me if Reber’s men try to catch me. ”

“ They work together. Nelson, go to the Tomahawk and see if any of my men are in from the ranches. Bring them here to me. Wait! Send them here. You get a horse and ride for the Half-Wheel. Don’t spare the horse. Tell Slim Patterson what happened. Then you go to the Circle S and tell Jim Carlin to bring his outfit to the Half-Wheel and to send a man to the Lightnin’ for Jackson and his crew. We’ll all meet at the Half-Wheel.”
Nelson ran from the house, and the old doctor turned to Reber. ”

“ Priest backed his horse off the road and motioned for Nelson to drive on.
“Ain’t we goin’?” asked Rowdy.
Buck Priest watched the wagon disappear up the road.
“I don’t know what to make of it,” he said. “Sam Herd was one of Park Reber’s trusted men. And they stole that girl, eh? That’s funny. We’re goin’ back home, boys. No use goin’ off half-cocked, I reckon. We’ll pack up some grub and blankets and swing in on the Porcupine. It must have been kinda late when O’Steen was shot, and the rustlers can’t move cattle much after dark.”
They turned and rode back to the ranch. ”

“ Where’s June Meline?”
“That female fiddler?”
“Yeah, that female fiddler! Where is she?”
“I heard somebody stole her.”
“Oh, yuh did, eh? I reckon yuh didn’t need to hear it. Some of you boys lift him on a horse. We’ll take him along with us and settle his case at the Two Bar X.”
They lifted Buck Priest to a saddle, and he cursed them for hurting his broken leg. Perhaps they were none too gentle.
“Want to rope him on, Park?” asked one of the men.
“What for? If he falls off he can’t run away, can he?” ”

“ Buck Priest is a good shot. He meant to kill me, yuh see. You shore thought real quick, June. You’ve got a head, girl. I’ve watched yuh around here and I’ve talked to yuh. You’ve got sense—too much sense to be playing a violin in a honkatonk.”
June smiled at him.
“One must eat, Mr. Reber. And you have paid me better than I could get any other place.”
“You’ve earned it, June. I wondered how they’d take yore kind of music. But cowboys are sentimental. I’ve seen ’em cry over yore music. Give the average cowboy a few drinks and he’ll cry over ‘Home Sweet Home’. Yes, they will, June. ”

“ Reber.”
“Jack Silver,” mused Reber. “A handsome devil of a breed, June. He’s tall, graceful—too smart for my men. He comes to Tomahawk. He’s not afraid of me. Half Cheyenne. There are no Cheyennes in the Valley now, June. ”

“ He went to the door, got to his feet and tried to open it. He could force it open about two inches—enough to see that a rope ran from the knob to a porch-post.
A bullet smashed through the paneling and raked him along the forearm. He dropped to his knees, coughing from the smoke, and crawled back to June. His left forearm and hand were covered with blood.
“They’ve locked us in, June,” he said. “If we try to get through a window they’ll riddle us.” ”

“ Jack Silver laughed softly.
“You know what they think of me, Buck. I’m watched every minute by Reber’s men. Why, I can’t even kill a piece of fresh meat any more. They’re layin’ for a chance to kill me. Some day they’ll put up a job on me—and I’ll swing for it.
“Oh, they’re nice to my face—McLeese, Jim Carlin, Nort Jackson—all nice to my face. Behind my back they call me the dirty half-breed—the Injun rustler. I trap for a livin’, Buck. You know that. Reber hates me because I’m half Cheyenne.”
Buck Priest smiled crookedly, nodding slowly.
“There’s plenty of hate in this valley, Jack. ”

“ But they did find Dow’s hat in the road. It was a black Stetson, fairly new, but not marked with name or initial.
“Somebody goin’ plenty fast,” said one of the men. “That’s hat’s too good for a puncher to throw it away.”
“No way to tell which way he was goin’,” drawled a cowboy.
“We’ll go south and take a chance,” said Reber. And then they found Buck Priest, pinned down by his dead horse, and Ken Mader lying dead beside his dead horse. The men dismounted. Buck Priest recognized them and spat a curse at Park Reber. ”

“ The big gun thundered as Buck Priest jerked sidewise. Park Reber stepped backward against his chair, tripped and fell to the floor. Priest and his two men whirled and headed for the doorway, and the crowd gave them plenty of room.
Men lifted Reber to his feet and then set him in a chair.
“That fiddler girl!” exclaimed one of them. “She threw her fiddle and hit Buck Priest on the arm.”
The girl sprang from the platform and was at Park Reber’s side in a moment, and he smiled at her. Slim Patterson ripped away the shoulder of his coat. The room was in an uproar. ”

“ There ain’t a man within miles of here. When Jack Silver does a job, he does it well. Park Reber can hunt and be ⸺ to him, but he’ll never find yuh. We’re goin’ away, but we’ll be back tonight some time and bring some feed for yuh.”
They turned abruptly and left the cabin, closing the door behind them. June heard the creak of their saddles and the sound of the horses walking away. ”

“ Buck got to his feet, his old face twisted.
“Uh-huh,” he said softly. “Rustlers got him on Porcupine Creek, boys. Help me carry him in the house. That’s more of Park Reber’s work.”
They placed the body of O’Steen on a cot and covered it up with a bright-colored blanket.
“Saddle up,” ordered Priest. “Take yore rifles along. We’re goin’ to Tomahawk and talk to Park Reber with the only language he understands. He’s goin’ to pay for killin’ O’Steen.” ”

“ It didn’t help any. Buck Priest ain’t the kind you can whip into friendship.
“And I think he hates me for being successful. I own practically all of the Valley. They call it Reber’s Valley. That must hurt Buck Priest. I tried to buy him out, but he wouldn’t sell. He shot my cattle when they came on his range, and I—I shot his cattle on my range.
“Oh, it’s been a battle for years. Finally I gave my men orders to let him and his cattle alone. It seemed to be a mutual truce. But my cattle have disappeared. I don’t think Buck Priest took them.”
“Who is Jack Silver?” asked June. ”