The Mesa Trail Page 8

  CHAPTER VIII--DORALES GOES TO TOWN

  Standing by that big bowlder, Shea suddenly awakened from his dream. Outof the night on the other side of the bowlder, where the dim fire of thetwo natives had flickered into red embers, floated a slow, musical laughand a few words. The patois was totally unknown to Shea. One of thosewords, however, drifted across the darkness and smote upon his brainwith jarring force. The laugh, too, was not honest; it was a silkylaugh, a laugh pregnant with sly meanings and furtive humours. The wordwas "Dorales."

  Shea trembled. Dorales! Why did these natives speak of Dorales in thisway?

  Now it came into his mind how Tom Logan had known all about him; howLogan had been in Zacaton City the previous night; how Logan had gottenlost in the lava beds--even to Shea's innocence a very improbable thing.Prospectors for limestone formations do not enter the lava beds.

  Latent suspicion crystallized within Shea's brain. Tom Logan was noother than Abel Dorales; he was certain of it, he knew it absolutely.His eyes were opened, and he sought for no proof.

  Dorales had intended to come here, thinking the place deserted. InZacaton City he had learned that Thady Shea was probably at NumberSixteen. He had come with cunning intent, he had come with cunning wordsand a false tongue. The offer of ten thousand dollars might or might notbe genuine; no matter!

  To the terribly childlike Shea it seemed that Providence had sent thatlow word and laugh through the night to his ears, to save him fromtemptation. At thought of how, a few minutes ago, he had been on thepoint of swallowing the gilded lure of Dorales, he shivered and wipedsweat from his brow.

  He turned about and started toward the shacks.

  Beside the table where the oil lamp burned, Dorales was sitting andwriting. He filled out a previously prepared paper which would transferto the Empire State Chemical Company, for the sum of ten thousanddollars, all the rights, holdings, and so forth, of Thaddeus Shea in theproperty underfoot. The company in question consisted of SandyMackintavers.

  This paper ready for signatures and witnessing, Dorales produced a blankcheck which bore the almost illegible but widely known signature of A.Mackintavers. This Dorales filled out in the name of Thaddeus Shea, andin the amount of ten thousand dollars. At this instant he heard a hoarsevoice whisper his name--"Dorales!"

  "Well?" He glanced up sharply, taken by surprise.

  Into the lighted doorway stepped Thady Shea, his cavernous eyes blazing.For an instant Dorales was too completely astounded to move--astoundedby the realization of how he had just betrayed himself, astounded by thefact that this gaunt fellow was no simpleton after all!

  That instant of indecision was fatal. Dorales pushed back his chair andcame to his feet, one hand sliding to his coat pocket. Too late! The bigfingers of Thady Shea gripped down on his wrist, and Shea's right handtook him by the left shoulder, and he was staring into the blazing blackeyes of the man he had thought to cheat.

  "I am glad to meet you, friend Dorales!" A grim smile sat on Shea's widelips. "The airy tongues that syllable men's names have borne to me yourrightful cognomen."

  Dorales writhed under that iron grip. His left hand drove up to Shea'sface, landed hard. From his lips broke a shout for aid.

  Under the blow, Shea staggered; he knew nothing of fighting. He didknow, however, that the shout of Dorales would bring the two Mexicans,and the knowledge fired him. He merely threw himself bodily and blindlyat Dorales and carried the latter to the floor.

  Luck was kind. Dorales, trying not to fall underneath, writhed aside;the impetus of Shea's rush, or rather fall, threw Abel Dorales headlongagainst the wall and knocked him senseless.

  After a moment Shea realized that Dorales was knocked out, relaxed hisiron grip, and rose. His first thought was to turn out the lamp. Then,taking from the corner the axe helve, Shea passed outside the shack. Hediscerned two figures running toward him in the starlight, and he strodeat them.

  The two natives were not at all sure of what had been going on. Theycalled to Shea, who made no answer but came steadily at them. Hesitant,they awaited his approach, again addressing him in English. Forresponse, Shea heaved up the axe helve and struck the nearer mansenseless.

  Here was answer enough. The second man whipped up a ready revolver andfired hastily; too hastily, for the bullet only whipped Shea's leancheek and passed over the hogback. An instant later the axe helve brokethe man's arm.

  "Be quiet!" commanded Shea; then considered that the groaning wretchcould not well obey such an order with a smashed arm. "Go down and climbinto your automobile. Wait there."

  "Si, senor." The native turned and went into the night, groaning.

  Stooping, Shea picked up the body of the second man, the one whom he hadstricken senseless. He heaved it up over his shoulder, and returned tothe shack. There he lighted a match, got the lamp burning again, andclumsily tied Abel Dorales hand and foot. He rightly considered that thefight was taken out of the two natives.

  Dorales evinced no symptoms of recovery. Shea threw some water over theface of his native prisoner, and presently the man sat up and staredaround. At sight of Shea's figure, he shrank back and crossed himself.

  "I'll not hurt you," said Shea. "Where's Mackintavers?"

  "At the ranch, senor," whimpered the wide-eyed native.

  "Is he coming here?"

  "No, senor, not until Senor Dorales sends for him."

  "That will not be for some time." And Shea smiled. "Do you know whereMrs. Crump is?"

  "I heard Senor Dorales say that she would not get there until to-morrownight, senor."

  This explained to Shea why Dorales had planned on cleaning up the saleso hastily. It also set his mind at rest about Mackintavers, whosearrival he had feared.

  There was no doubt whatever that Dorales had figured things closely andaccurately. Therefore, Mrs. Crump would return upon the followingafternoon or evening, and in the meantime no other attempt would be madeupon the property.

  With this thought in mind, Thady Shea set about making his departure,for he intended to be gone when Mrs. Crump arrived home. If Dorales weresafely out of the way for a day or two, there would be no danger inleaving the mine deserted; and Shea was already possessed of a schemefor putting Dorales in cold storage.

  Prompt to act upon the swift impulse in his mind, Shea turned over thecleverly drawn paper which Dorales had been studying, and upon its backwrote a note to Mrs. Crump. The check caught his eye, and he pulled ittoward him; smiling sardonically, he read and reread that magic slip ofpaper which stood for ten thousand dollars.

  He picked up the check and held it for a moment over the oil lamp--thenhe quickly jerked it back.

  "No, I'll leave it," he muttered. "She'll know I'm honest, perchance! Itwill be a tongue most eloquent."

  That sardonic smile still curving his wide lips, he turned over thecheck and carefully indorsed it; across the back of the paper he wrotethe same name which he had signed to the note. The whimsical thoughtcame to him that, if he presented this paper at a bank, he would get tenthousand dollars for Mrs. Crump; he had no intention of so presentingit, however--had he not refused the proffered negotiations? He indorsedthat check merely as a mute message to Mrs. Crump. It quite escaped himthat, by so indorsing it, he had made it good.

  He picked up the epistle which he had written, and read it over,frowning:

  MADAM: If you do not already know of my unhappy share in your misfortunes, you may be easily apprised of it from other lips. Farewell! I take my leave to seek an errant soul upon the roads, and I shall not return until some testing has surfeited my most uneasy spirit.

  ---- Thaddeus R. Shea.

  He folded up the note, and nodded to himself.

  "'Tis not so clear as crystal, yet 'twill serve," he murmured.

  Whether Mrs. Crump would fully understand the reasons for his departurewas immaterial, since Shea himself did not fully understand them; atleast, he had not figured them into concrete bases. His ide
a of doingpenance, of seeking either ultimate strength or ultimate failure againin the world, was vague. His secondary motive, that of not drawing hisbenefactress into his own danger from the Mackintavers forces, wasequally vague, since Mrs. Crump was far more imperilled and far betterequipped to face such peril than he.

  However, it is these vague impulses which often lead men upon the trailof fate, and thus it proved with Thady Shea.

  He left the note upon the table, and with it the indorsed check andlegally phrased paper, knowing that these would in some measure makematters clear to Mrs. Crump. Then he procured that lady's whiskey andpoured a generous portion into a tin cup. This time, he deliberatelysmelled of it, and smiled grimly. Mrs. Crump kept on hand a vial oflaudanum for the sake of recurrent toothache, and from this vial hedropped a little of the drug into the whiskey.

  "Friend Dorales will sleep to-night, methinks," he said to the staringnative captive. "Lift up his head!"

  The native picked up the head and shoulders of the still senselessDorales. Forcing open the thin, strong lips, Shea poured his mixtureinto the man's mouth. Dorales choked, but swallowed it and began torevive.

  Shea packed his few belongings, regretfully left the historic axe helvefor Mrs. Crump, then motioned his prisoner to help him lift Dorales. Thelatter was now swearing luridly but feebly. Together they carried himout into the darkness.

  Ten minutes later Dorales was snoring in the tonneau of Mackintavers'flivver, beside the injured native. By the light of the lamps, theuninjured captive was working under the directions of Shea, who hadrealized that upon reaching home Mrs. Crump would be unable to use herown car without tires.

  So Shea stripped the enemy car, left the tires beside the dust-whiteflivver, and then climbed into his captured vehicle. Having disarmed hisconquered foemen, he had nothing to fear from them, and headed his bumpyequipage toward No Agua. When the canon road warned him that he wasclose to that lone hovel of desolation, he stopped the car and took fromhis pocket Mrs. Crump's flask into which he had emptied the laudanumvial. He turned to the two natives, one of whom was groaning andshivering, the other merely shivering.

  "Friends," he said, sonorously, "drink--or take the consequences."

  Knowing from the example of Abel Dorales that the flask containednothing worse than sleep, mingled with liquor, the two natives drank thecontents with avidity. Shea tossed away the empty flask, envy in hiseye; he wanted a drink very badly--but he did not want one badly enoughto take it.

  Passing the No Agua store with a rattle and clatter, Shea consideredswiftly. If he went south to Silver City he might meet Mrs. Crump, andhe had no desire to meet her at present. If he went west, he would getinto Arizona. All he knew about Arizona was founded upon the drama ofthat name; the prospect of being scalped by Apaches or otherwisemutilated did not invite his soul particularly.

  So he turned east to Zacaton City, confident that he could pass throughthat nest of enemies before dawn, and with a vague scheme already in hismind. All he wanted was to get clear away, and he mentally blessed thatvial of laudanum.

  It was shortly before dawn when the snoring mechanic in Aimes' garagewas awakened by a tall, gaunt stranger.

  "Friend," said Shea to the yawning mechanic, "in this my vehicle beholdthree villains, scoundrels of the deepest dye! But yesternight theytried to jump my claim, wherefore I laid them by the heels, and chargeyou, upon your honest visage, guard them well until the sheriff shallappear to claim them."

  After some repetition the astonished mechanic gathered that this gauntstranger had brought in three claim jumpers to be held until the sheriffarrived. Not having participated in the events of Sunday morning, themechanic was blissfully ignorant of Shea's identity, and Thady had nointention of disclosing it. Despite protest, Shea left the crippledflivver in the garage, the three snoring occupants being obviously safefor another twenty-four hours. Having been carefully dirtied anddisguised by Dorales himself, the flivver was not recognized immediatelyas that of Sandy Mackintavers.

  These things successfully accomplished, Thady Shea faded into the graydawn. For lack of better direction, he took the rough and rugged roadthat led off to Datil and the transcontinental highway into Magdalena.He had no illusions about arrest not being probable in _this_ case, andhe desired to avoid arrest.

  Zacaton City was ere long in a roar of half-wrathful enjoyment. Thethree "claim jumpers," who slept like the dead and refused to beawakened, were soon known as Abel Dorales, tied hand and foot, and twonatives from the Mackintavers ranch, one having a broken arm. The garagemechanic's description of Thady Shea was accurate and recognizable.Details were lacking and could not be obtained until the drugged menawakened--but details were largely unnecessary.

  Ben Aimes did not telephone to Mackintavers at the ranch; at the time,this seemed a rather superfluous detail. The news bearer would have athankless and possibly dangerous job, so Ben Aimes left Mackintaversalone, and left Dorales to tell the sorry tale in person. However, Aimesswore out warrants charging battery and other things, and sentautomobiles forth to bring in Thady Shea.

  Him they did not find; but they went as far as Magdalena, spreading thestory as they progressed. Within three days, this immediate section ofthe state was in a roar of laughter; Dorales had a reputation as "theworst man to monkey with" in existence. Added to the joke was the storyof Thady Shea and the axe helve, which travelled fast and far. Neitherstory reached the Mackintavers ranch fast enough, however.

  On the afternoon following Thady Shea's desertion of Number Sixteen,Mrs. Crump arrived there in a hired car from Silver City. She camealone; Gilbert and Lewis were in jail awaiting bail, and she came onlyto make sure that Number Sixteen had escaped the ravishers.

  By this time Mrs. Crump knew all about what had happened to Thady Sheain Zacaton City, and how the disaster had come upon her, but she hadmade no comments. At the shack, she found the papers which Thady Sheahad left. She read his note, and muttered something about "damned fool."Then she took the check which he had indorsed, returned to her hiredcar, and before midnight was back in Silver City.

  At nine the next morning the Silver City bank telephoned SandyMackintavers over long distance regarding a check for ten thousanddollars issued to one Thady Shea, and properly indorsed, which had beenpresented for payment by Mrs. Crump. Promptly and delightedlyMackintavers gave it his O. K. Quite naturally, he considered that AbelDorales had carried his mission to success, and that Number Sixteen nowbelonged to the Empire State Chemical Company.

  But that evening, when Dorales arrived with new tires on the flivver,Mackintavers learned what had really taken place. Then he telephoned toSilver City in all haste, only to find that he was out ten thousand biground dollars. He had gambled, and he had lost his stake.

  Dorales spent a most unpleasant evening. Despite everything, even themonetary loss, which rankled to the very bottom of his soul,Mackintavers had a deep grain of humour. This was the first time he hadever known Abel Dorales to be put absolutely down and out; he gave hishumour full vent until Dorales, who had no humour whatever, writhedunder the lash.

  "It's your loss most of all," growled Dorales, white lipped andvenomous.

  "Aiblins, yes." Mackintavers fell grave. "We'll leave Mrs. Crump alonefor the present; never fear, I'll get that money back, with interest!I've a scheme in the back of my head that will work on her a bit later.Are ye going to hide out till the laughing's done with?"

  "Hide--hell!" snarled Dorales, viciously. "The first man that laughs tomy face, except you, gets something to remember. And," he added, slowly,"I'm not so sure about excepting you, Sandy."

  "There, there, cannot ye take a joke?" returned Mackintavers, hastily."I've suffered the most, but leave Mrs. Crump be for the present. I wantto get the matter o' those stone idols settled, and under cover o' thenoise it will make when I become a scientist, then we'll take over thisstrontianite mine.

  "I want ye to go up to Santa Fe, and get a big sack o' silver dollars.I've me eye on two or three o' them Cochiti redsk
ins and I think ye canbribe 'em. If----"

  "What about this man Shea?" snapped Dorales. "I'm going to get him if ittakes me ten years! I'm going to write my name in his hide with aknife!"

  "Ye shall; he'll be here when ye get back from Santa Fe," soothedMackintavers. "He can't hide out long, Abel. I'll have him held for ye."

  "You'd better," said the other, sourly. "I don't like wasting time onthese idols, anyway. I never knew any good to come of bothering theIndian gods, Sandy."

  Mackintavers only laughed, although not without a frown to follow thelaugh. He was wondering if the presence of those gods in his house hadbrought him the loss of ten thousand dollars. He was the last man onearth to let superstition alter his plans; yet he was Scottish, and hecould not help wondering--just a little.