“Be very careful of yourself,” said Claude in an earnest whisper. “They have their revolvers in their hands, and are ready to shoot the first one who steps into the office.”
“I will take care of that,” said Mr. Preston. “You keep out of the way.”
Claude stood in the door of his uncle’s room and watched him as he moved with noiseless steps toward the office. He reached the door and went into it, and the next moment he heard the word “Surrender!” spoken in a loud tone, followed by the report of a pistol. A yell came close upon the heels of it, and after that the noise of the revolvers came faster than he could count them. He felt sure that his uncle had received his death-wound. Almost at the same instant, as if they had been waiting for this signal, there was the sound of hurrying feet in the hall, and the Page 234 foreman and cook ran by with their revolvers in readiness. They glanced in at the office door, and then went on to the front door, which they opened in great haste, and began shooting there; but presently the sound of flying hoofs came to Claude’s ears, which told him that the squawmen had succeeded in reaching their horses and were scurrying away toward the entrance of the valley. A moment afterward his uncle came out of the office. His face was very pale, but Claude could see that he was not wounded.
“They have got away,” said the foreman in disgust. “Did they hit you anywhere, Mr. Preston?”
“No, I am all right,” said his employer. “But bring a light and we will see if there isn’t some marks down here. Harding drew his pistol on me, but I got the first shot and he dropped the revolver out of his hand. When he yelled so, I thought surely I had him.”
Mr. Preston pointing a revolver at the robbers
The Robbers foiled.
View larger image.
Of course the whole house was aroused by this time. Every man who was asleep under that roof was awakened by the pistol-shots, and had come out, revolver in hand, to see what was going on. Foremost among them was Carl, who, when he heard the particulars of the matter, ran to the front door and gazed out into the night.
“It is no use, Carl,” said his father. “They had their horses ready saddled, and of course took themselves straight off. I am not hurt, and that is one thing you ought to be thankful for.”
“Here’s Harding’s weapon,” said Carl, as the cook came in at that moment with a light. “It is all blood, too. Why, father, I don’t see how you missed them at that distance.”
“Probably my nerves had something to do with it,” replied his father. “A year ago I would have risked my chance of dropping them both where they stood; but my skill has gone from me.”
“Here’s some more blood on the window-sill,” said one of the cowboys. “You have probably marked them both.”
“Yes, I hit each one of them. Now we will go back, and go to bed. Claude, I owe you something for this. If they had taken Page 236 what there is in the safe it would not have ruined me. A few days ago I had five thousand dollars in there, but now it is safe in the paymaster’s hands at the fort. How much do I owe you, Claude?”
“Nothing at all, sir,” said Claude, as he shook hands with Carl, who came up but did not say anything. “I have saved your money, and that is all I cared for.”
Some little time was spent by the hands in talking over the incidents of the attempted robbery, and everybody except the foreman and cook were loud in their praises of Claude, who had led the squawmen on till he got all their plans. They were suspicious of Claude, and it would require something more than he had done to relieve them of it.
“Father, I have some fault to find with you,” said Carl, as they were about to separate and each one go to his own room. “Why did you not take some one into your confidence?”
“I did. These two men were wide-awake and came out as soon as they heard the pistol-shots. I could not have found anybody better than they, could I?”
“No; but you ought to have had somebody along to back up your shots. I believe I could have done better than you did.”
This raised a smile on the part of all of them, and they bade Mr. Preston good-night and went to their rooms. Claude was the only one who did not feel very good over it. His uncle had said that he “owed him something,” but he did not say how much.
“Why didn’t he promise me the money to-morrow, so that I can go back to the city?” said Claude, as he took off his clothes and tumbled into bed. “They must see that I don’t want to live here. I wonder if I could punch him up and get him to draw on that five thousand dollars he has in the paymaster’s hands? That is something worth thinking of.”
Morning came at length, and Claude got up to find that he was treated with respect by all hands except the foreman and cook. These two did not seem to want anything to do with him. Of course they bid him good-morning and answered all the questions he asked them, but they did it in a short way, as though his talking bothered them. They were careful Page 238 not to let Mr. Preston see them in conversation with him, for they knew that their employer would take them to task about it. None of the hands referred to the matter at the breakfast-table, and in fact they seemed to have forgotten all about it, and Claude listened in vain for his uncle to mention the subject of a reward. He finally concluded that he was not going to get any.
“He is the meanest man I ever saw,” said Claude, as he went out to saddle his horse. “He lets me risk my life in saving his money, and doesn’t give me anything. I wish to goodness I had said nothing about it.”
A few days after this, Claude found a couple of strange men in the house when he came home to dinner. They were very different from Harding and his partner, for they were cattlemen on the face of them. They wore their revolvers strapped about their waists, had silk handkerchiefs around their necks, and their hats, which lay beside them on the floor, were sombreros of the widest kind.
“Well, Claude, it seems that you are not out of this scrape after all,” said Mr. Preston.
“What scrape do you mean, uncle?” asked Claude.
“Why, about that safe robbery. Harding and his partner have gone among the Sioux Indians, and are going to kill every one of us.”
“How did you find that out?” asked Claude, his face growing a shade paler.
“These men, who have come down to hire in their places, brought the news straight from them. They are going to kill you on sight, for they blame you as much as anybody for their failure; and Carl they are going to capture and keep until they can get some stock out of him.”
“They say you talked to them very mean in regard to Mr. Preston,” said one of the cowboys with a smile.
“I never said a word to them in my life,” said Claude, opening his eyes in surprise. “They said something to me, and I tried my best to defend Uncle Preston. They got their money right along every month, and were not worked any harder than the rest of us. But how are they going to catch us?”
“Oh, there are plenty of ways in which it Page 240 can be done,” said Mr. Preston. “They are among the Sioux now, and it will be easy work to get a few of the young braves to come here and steal some cattle.”
“Why, they are at peace!” said Claude.
“That makes no difference. The Sioux are getting mighty uneasy about their money and their supplies, which ought to have been delivered long ago; and when a man gets hungry it don’t take him long to get on a cattle-stealing expedition. They will leave you here, wherever they find you, but they will capture Carl.”
Mr. Preston laughed when he said this, and Claude was half inclined to believe that he did not put any faith in what the squawmen intended to do. Carl came in very shortly, and he, too, laughed over the story. He did not believe that the Sioux would go on the warpath for the sake of capturing him, and he said so.
“I’ll tell you what to do, Claude,” said he. “If you see an Indian coming toward you, just halt him.”
“How will I do that? He speaks his own language——”
“Yes; but you have a rifle. Just point that toward him, and you will see him turn and go the other way.”
There was one thing that made Claude determine that he would not stay in that country any longer than he could help, and that was the idea of killing him on sight. Another thing that made him angry was the cordial manner in which the foreman and cook, who were not long in finding out why they came there, greeted the newcomers. Thompson told them that they were the very men he needed. Claude waited some time for the men to mount their horses and go away, and then he approached his uncle, who was sitting on the porch enjoying his after-dinner pipe.
“Why, Claude, how does this come?” asked Mr. Preston. “You ought to have been away long ago.”
“Yes, but I wanted to see you first,” said Claude. “I am getting sick of staying in this country——”
“Ah! You don’t like the idea of the Sioux being down on you,” said his uncle with a laugh.
“I don’t care anything about that. I have been discontented here for a long time, and I am impatient to get back to the city. Give me some money and let me go.”
“We are very busy just now, Claude, and I don’t know whether I can find anybody to show you the way to Standing Rock Agency or not. If you can wait two or three weeks I will send somebody with you.”
Claude waited for him to say something about a reward for breaking up that safe robbery, but Mr. Preston did not say anything about it. It was right on the end of Claude’s tongue to ask him if he was going to give him anything for that, but on the whole he concluded that he would hold his peace.
“How much money have I got coming to me?” he asked. “I know I have not got much,” he added mentally, “but that will start me on the road.”
“I owe you four hundred dollars,” said his uncle. “You know you spent money pretty lively while you were down at the fort. That sum can’t help you much if you are in a big city. Your expensive habits will Page 243 get the better of you. What do you intend to do?”
“I don’t know. I know, or did know, of a news depot that I could buy for eight hundred dollars, and that would support me as well as anything. But the trouble is, I haven’t got the eight hundred dollars.”
“No, it takes money to make money, as I have often heard you express it. You could probably get that news depot for your four hundred dollars down, and if you were economical——”
“No, I could not. The man must have cash, for he intends to leave the country.”
“That is bad, and you will have to hit upon something else. Have you ever tried book-keeping?”
“No, sir. That is altogether too confining a business for me. I want to have something to do so that I can get out of doors once in a while. A person would die for the want of exercise.”
“Well, I don’t know what you will go at,” said his uncle, looking down at the floor. “Book-keeping is a very nice business, and if Page 244 you are careful to save your money it will last you until you take a full course at some commercial college.”
“I shall not try book-keeping, and that is out of the question.”
“Didn’t your father prepare you for any business in life?”
“No, sir. He had always got through his life without being educated for any business, and he thought that I could do the same.”
“Your father made a bad mistake—I will say that much for him.”
“Have you educated Carl for any business?” asked Claude, who kept growing angrier the longer the conversation continued.
“Yes; he will be able to attend to the stock business after I am gone. I had hoped to prepare you for the same business, but I see you don’t like it. If you will wait two or three weeks I will send some one down to show you the way to the fort,” said Mr. Preston, getting upon his feet.
This was a hint that his uncle had said all he wanted to say on the subject, and Claude at once started out after his horse.
Claude was so angry when he left his chair and started out to get his horse that it was all he could do to keep from yelling. He had had a short talk with his uncle, and it amounted to nothing. The story about finding a news depot which he could have for eight hundred dollars was made up out of his own head. All he wanted was to get the money in his hands, and then he could live as he pleased.
“I see it is all up with me,” said Claude, as he mounted his horse and set out for the range. “He does not intend to give me anything. I have risked my life for him all these years—I would like to know if I did not risk my life that time the cow charged upon me when I pulled her out of the mud—and have kept his safe from being robbed; and all he means to do is to fit me for a cowman! But I guess I won’t say anything about going Page 246 home just now. Uncle Preston can’t last forever, the remedies he is using don’t help his cough one particle, and who knows but I may get Carl to divide the business with me? I tell you that is worth thinking of.”
The days passed on, and when two weeks had gone by the young cattle had all been branded and the cowboys had a little more leisure on their hands. At the end of that time his uncle called him into the office and had his money all laid out for him.
“Now, Claude, if you are resolved to go, I can send somebody to show you the way to the fort,” said he.
“Well, uncle, I have had plenty of opportunity to think the matter over, and have come to the conclusion that I will not go home yet awhile,” replied Claude. “This is the best business I can think of, and with your permission I will follow it a little while longer. Four hundred dollars, as you say, would not help me to go into anything by which I could support myself in the city.”
“Oh, yes, we will keep you, and be glad to,” his uncle hastened to answer. “And if Page 247 you keep on, Carl will give you a thousand dollars to enable you to start right.”
“That is better than nothing,” soliloquized Claude. “I hope you will rest easy after giving me that small pittance out of your unbounded wealth.” Then aloud he said: “You say that Carl will give me that amount. What is the reason you can’t give it?”
“Because I don’t expect to last very long,” said Mr. Preston. “In six months from now I expect to be under the sod.”
“Oh, uncle, don’t talk that way,” exclaimed Claude, who for once in his life felt really alarmed for his relative.
“There is no use in denying it. I feel that I am growing weaker every day. Well, I guess that is all I have to say to you. If you are going to stay with me, I will put this back in the safe.”
Claude was always angry after holding these talks with his uncle. He went out of the door respectfully enough, and, making sure that there was no one in the hall to observe his movements, he turned and shook his fist at it, at the same time muttering something under Page 248 his breath which sounded very much like an oath.
During the days that followed it was seen by everybody that Mr. Preston was gradually giving up to the dread disease, consumption, which had so long threatened him. His cough got so bad that he was finally obliged to give up riding entirely, and remained on his porch while his men were out herding cattle. When Carl saw this he gave up all hope and stayed behind with him; but affection could not curb the fell destroyer. At last Mr. Preston took to his bed, from which he never got up. The men came on tiptoe to his room to inquire after him, and even Claude felt awed in the presence of death. That is, he tried to appear so before the men; but when he got on his horse, away from everybody, he could scarcely restrain himself.
“He must have made a will,” said Claude. “No person ever died with such an amount of property on hand without doing so. Who knows but that he has left me something? I will not wait for that thousand dollars. Carl can keep it and welcome—that is, if he thinks Page 249 he cannot get along without it. I’ll take what is coming to me and go to the city, provided I cannot get around Carl and get him to divide the business with me. That is my only hope now.”
At last it was all over. When Claude came in from the range one day something told him that “the meanest man he ever saw” was out of his way for all time to come. Carl had shut himself up in his room, but Claude soon found his way into the death-chamber, where he stayed just one minute, and then came out. The three herdsmen who had gone off to engage in business on their own responsibility were there, and also several officers from the fort; for Mr. Preston was popular, and his friends believed in showing him all the respect in their power.
Two days passed, and then all that was mortal of Mr. Preston was laid away in a grave which he had selected for his eternal abiding-place. Then the mourners returned to the house to witness the reading of the will. The doctor took charge of the matter, and, beginning with the foreman, he read all through Page 250 until he came to Carl, to whom he bequeathed all his property left over after the legacies had been provided for. To each man he left one thousand dollars, and Claude’s name had not been mentioned at all. That young gentleman was surprised and thunderstruck; and all this while the doctor had been folding down the will to get at a short codicil there was at the bottom of it. He read it when he came to it, and even in death he found that his uncle was still giving him advice. He bequeathed to Claude the sum of one thousand dollars, and wound up with the hope that Claude would save his money, and that it would be the means of leading him to prosperity and success. The amount was so much smaller than Claude thought it was going to be, that for a moment or two he hardly seemed to breathe; but he finally came to himself, and taking up his hat, which lay beside him on the floor, he walked out of the house. He held in pretty well until he was behind the stables, out of sight, and then gave full vent to his feelings.
“A thousand dollars!” said he, and this time he did not try to interrupt the oaths that Page 251 came out thick and fast. “And I saved his safe from being robbed, too. I must try Carl now, although he is so awful stingy I don’t think I can make anything out of him. If I once get a drove of cattle to sell I will skip out with the first money I get.”
For a long time Claude did not go into the house. He felt enraged at his uncle, and he knew it showed itself in his face; but after a while he managed to go in in time for supper. The officers at the fort had gone away, and there was no one left except the three men who had gone off herding cattle for themselves. When he got there he found that something of moment was being discussed.
“I don’t know how I shall act,” said Thompson, looking down at his plate. “I never have been in the city in my life.”
“You can do just as I do,” answered Carl. “I never have been in the city but a few times in my life, and I shall stay there no longer than I can help. There are some men in St. Louis who ought to be in jail, and if they found out that we had that amount of money with us they would try to steal it. You will Page 252 go with us, won’t you?” he added, turning to his cousin, who at that moment came in. “Father has given by his will ten thousand dollars that I have not got, and I shall have to go to St. Louis after it. Thompson don’t want to go.”
Claude did not say anything immediately, for the words brought a new plan into his head. If he was going to St. Louis after more money, what was the reason he could not get that money for himself? He knew some pretty rough characters in St. Louis, more’s the pity, and it would be no trouble at all to induce them to waylay Carl in some manner and get that money from him. But there was Thompson, who didn’t want to go. He would go armed, of course—he could not go anywhere without his revolvers were strapped around him—and he would be in the way. If he could only think of some method to induce his cousin to leave Thompson behind. Seeing that Carl’s eyes were fastened on him with an inquiring look, Claude answered the question.
“Of course I will go with you, for St. Louis is the place I want to see,” said he. “If Thompson would rather stay here——”
“But he isn’t going to stay here,” Carl hastened to reply. “I have given my orders, which are for him to be ready to start for the city to-morrow. He will be ready, of course. I will pay you your thousand dollars after we get there.”
This put a stop to further conversation on the subject, for everybody saw that Carl had made up his mind and that all argument was useless. When supper was ended Claude went out on the porch and sat down with his cousin.
“If I was in your place I would leave Thompson at home,” said he. “He will be out of place there among all those nice people, and he won’t be of any use to you, either.”
“I will risk that,” said Carl. “I want somebody along who is not afraid to shoot if I get into trouble, and Thompson is the only one I know of.”
His cousin was firmly set upon this point, and Claude did not think it best to pursue the subject any further. He now came to the matter that was uppermost in his mind.
“Did Uncle Preston say anything to you Page 254 about dividing this business with me?” he asked suddenly.
“Not a word,” said Carl in astonishment.
“Well, he said something to me about it, and I supposed you had got your instructions from him.”
“He never said a thing about it. He left the whole business in my charge. He told me, however, that if you stayed here until you are able to herd cattle for yourself I was to give you a thousand dollars to help you along.”
“I confess that that is a surprise to me,” said Claude, as if he were almost overwhelmed with astonishment. “I supposed that he was going to provide for me during my lifetime.”
Carl was really amazed to hear this. Of one thing he was sure: If his father had said anything to him about taking Claude into partnership with him, he would have done it, although he would have rebelled against it. But Claude did not know anything about herding cattle. He would have felt as safe by taking some tenderfoot out of an office in a city, who had never seen cattle on a stampede, and giving him a half interest in his business.
“I had but a little over four hundred dollars coming to me, and he said that amount was not enough to set me going till I could support myself,” said Claude, leaning his elbows on his knees and gazing thoughtfully at the floor. “I don’t know what I shall do now.”
“I don’t know, I am sure. I shall carry out the terms of his will, and more than that I cannot do.”
“You are willing to leave me to starve, I suppose?” said Claude, allowing his rage to get the better of him.
“If fifteen hundred dollars won’t keep you till you can find something to do, you ought to starve.”
During all the months that Claude had been with his cousin, living under the same roof with him, and seeing him in no end of scrapes with wild horses and wilder cattle, he had never seen him exhibit so much spirit before. He started up in his chair and looked at Claude as if waiting for him to say something else. Claude returned his gaze, and then picked up his hat and walked away; but Page 256 the moment he got behind the stables he straightened up and shook both his fists in the direction of the porch.
“I didn’t know that boy had so much pluck,” said Claude. “No matter which way I turn, I am to be left out in the cold. Never mind. I’ve seen worse men than Thompson got away with, and we’ll see whether or not he gets away with all the money.”
“The idea of my dividing this business with him,” said Carl in disgust. “Father never said a word about it. I would feel a great deal safer if I had Thompson. But I don’t intend to stay around here after I get back from St. Louis. I don’t want to be here, where everything will remind me of father. I shall go down to the fort and hire out to the commandant for a scout. I know the country as well as anybody, and I will not get lost.”
Carl’s first care was to get himself ready for the journey that was to come off on the morrow. He had been in the city but a few times with his father, and he thought he was pretty well acquainted with the banker who had charge of his father’s money; but in order to make Page 257 assurance doubly sure there was a letter in his sire’s will addressed to the gentleman in question, and he was sure that it would gain him the identification necessary for him to get the funds. This letter he put carefully away in the inside pocket of the moleskin suit which he laid out in readiness for the trip. Thompson came in after he had set the men to work and seated himself on Carl’s bed.
“Well, Thompson, what do think of the situation?” asked Carl, after waiting for some time to hear what the foreman had on his mind.
“I hain’t got nothing to wear,” said Thompson.
“You have as much as I have,” replied Carl.
“Everybody will look at us as we go tramping along the streets, and they will think we came from the hills, sure enough.”
“Well, you do, don’t you?” said Carl with a smile. “They looked at me the same way too, when I first went there, but I didn’t care for that. We will stay there one night and come away the next day. You can surely stand it that long.”
Yes, Thompson thought that he could do that, and adjourned to his own room to give Page 259 his clothes the needed brushing. They would do well enough out there where everybody wore clothing of the same description, but he did not know how they would look in a place containing so large a population as St. Louis. He concluded that everything would pass muster except his chaparejos, his cowboy’s riding-pants, which he thought were a little too well-worn to pass muster anywhere. But then he could exchange with one of the new men whom Mr. Preston had hired a short time before his death.
“I declare, they look shabby,” said the foreman, standing off with his brush and giving his clothes a good looking over. “Well, I would like to see anybody who has been out here as long as I have, go there looking any better. If it were not for such fellows as me, some of them would go hungry for their beef.”
Claude came in shortly after that and began to pack his trunk. Now, that trunk was the source of a great deal of annoyance to Carl. If it had not been for that they could have gone on horseback, and thus completed their journey in half the time. As it was, they Page 260 were obliged to take a wagon with them, and that would delay them just four days.
“At any rate I shall see the last of you,” soliloquized Carl, as he passed along the hall and saw Claude at work with his trunk. “I wish you had never come here. I know Thompson will be glad that you are gone.”
It must not be supposed that Carl really disliked his cousin, for he did not; but at the same time candor compelled him to say that affairs about the ranch did not move as smoothly as they did before he came there. He seemed to possess the faculty of getting the cowboys into a turmoil. Every little thing that was said out on the range went straight to his father’s ears, until Mr. Preston told him that his cowboys satisfied him, and he didn’t want to have any more stories brought to him. Thompson was the one who had the most fault to find with him. If he started him off to find certain cattle that had strayed off the range, he would perhaps find him, in an hour or two, miles away from his post, stretched out beneath the shade of a tree and taking matters easy. At such a time Thompson always gave him Page 261 the full benefit of his tongue, and it seemed to be hung in the middle, so that he could keep both ends of it clattering at once.
“There is one thing that I forgot to speak to you about,” said Carl, going into Thompson’s room. “Do you suppose that father ever said a word about my taking Claude into partnership with me?”
Thompson looked at Carl, and then backed toward the nearest chair and dropped into it.
“Claude told me of that this morning,” continued Carl. “He says he don’t know what he shall do to support himself if I let him go home.”
“How much money has he got coming to him?” asked Thompson.
“Counting in the thousand, he has fifteen hundred dollars. At any rate, that is what I shall pay him.”
“He can certainly get something to do before that is gone. If he can’t, he ought to go hungry.”
“That is what I told him. Do you suppose father said a word to him about going into partnership with me?”
“No,” said Thompson emphatically. “I will tell you what is a fact, Carl. I love the ranch, I love every horse and cow on it, but if you take that man into business with you, you can get another foreman.”
“You need not worry yourself. I have no intention of doing it.”
The next morning the cowboys were all up at four o’clock to see the journey begun. If good wishes could have anything to do with them, they would certainly get back in as fine order as they were when they started. Claude’s trunk had been thrown into the wagon without much regard to consequences, much to that young gentleman’s disgust, and in ten minutes more the ranch was out of sight. They stopped that night at the fort, and if we were to say that everybody was glad to see Carl we should be touching the matter very lightly. Everybody had something to say about the loss of his father, and the kind words brought tears to Carl’s eyes. He got away from the officers and went to see the commandant of the fort. He wanted to get a position for himself as bad as Claude did. Page 263 The colonel just listened to him until he found out what he had come there for, and then got up and shook him by the hand.
“Of course I have got a position for you,” said he. “You want to hurry back from St. Louis and get here as soon as possible. I will have business for you every day.”
Thompson was not at all pleased to hear this. Of course he would be given charge of the ranch during his employer’s absence, but that did not suit him. He wanted Carl around so that he could take orders from him, and the place would be lonely without him. Claude, too, looked glum when he heard of it.
“You seem to find something to do without going out of your own country,” said he with evident disgust, “and I have got to go to St. Louis, and probably will not find anything there to suit me.”
Carl did not know what reply to make to this, so he said nothing. The next day they started on again, and in four days arrived at Standing Rock Agency. They made arrangements with the teamsters to keep their mules until they came back, and then Carl found Page 264 the quartermaster, of whom they obtained a permit to go down to Fort Scully on his boat. It was a small boat, built to run when the water in the river was shallow, and the time they had in getting down to their journey’s end filled Carl with impatience. There seemed to be a bar in every bend, and the boat was kept busy “sparring off” to enable her to continue on her way; but at length Fort Scully was sighted and the boat made her landing.
“I don’t expect we will be here when you come back,” said the captain, to whom Carl had gone for some information on the subject. “We shall probably be up at Standing Rock Agency; but if we are not here, you can wait.”
This was bad news for Carl, who wanted to get through with the trip and get back to his ranch without loss of time. He found another boat that was going to St. Louis, and on her he took passage, and after a pleasant journey—there was not as much “sparring off” to do on this boat as there was on the quartermaster’s—they reached their destination. Thompson now had some fault to find with the men, and women, too, whom he met on this journey. A Page 265 good many of them gazed in surprise at his long hair, his wide sombrero and the clothing he wore, and he came to Carl and complained about it.
“I told you just how it would be,” said he. “The folks all think I don’t belong here.”
“Do just as I do; pay no attention to them,” said Carl. “You have only got to stand it for a little while. We will soon be on our way back again.”
One morning when Carl awoke and raised himself on his elbow he found that the boat was tied up to the levee. He arose and went to the door, and could see nothing but boats on either side of him. Thompson slept in the bunk above him, and it was the work of but a few minutes to arouse him. Claude, we ought to say, did not approve of this arrangement at all. He thought he ought to occupy the same state-room with his cousin, but he was put into a room with an entire stranger. He first muttered gloomy threats over it, and then tried to think up the men he would get to assist him in waylaying Carl and getting his ten thousand dollars out of him.
“You think you are bothering me by paying so much attention to that miserable foreman,” said he. “Wait till we get to the city and you are given charge of that money. If Thompson is not afraid to shoot, I will get somebody who isn’t afraid either.”
“Thompson, wake up!” said Carl, when he had satisfied himself that he was at his journey’s end. “This boat got here and we never knew it. Now, we will stay on board and get our breakfast, and in the meantime I will see the captain and find out at what hour this boat will start up the river again. When nine o’clock comes we’ll go up to the bank.”
“Here you are,” exclaimed Claude, as they opened the door and stepped into the cabin. “You come with me, and I will take you where you can get a breakfast that will do you good. I am tired of living on these steamboats.”
“Where is the captain?” asked Carl. “Have you seen him?”
“He is around here somewhere. What do you want to see him for?”
“We want to find out when this boat is going to start again.”
“Are you going back so soon?” inquired Claude. “Why, you haven’t seen any fun at all. You want to go to the theatre——”
“We did not come out to see fun on this trip,” said Carl. “We came out on business; and when that is done we are going back.”
“Well, that is no way to do,” said Claude, somewhat alarmed. He wanted to see two of his boon companions by the time that Carl thought of going back, and if he was going to start up the river that night or to-morrow morning, he would be pressed for time. “You showed me all there was to be seen about your ranch, and you must let me do the same. I am acquainted here in St. Louis——”
“There’s the captain now,” interrupted Carl. “Come on, Thompson. Let us go and see him.”
Claude was angry, as he always was whenever he had anything important to say to his cousin, and stood there and watched them while they hurried forward to interview the captain. Carl made known his wants in a few words, and the skipper said:
“We shall start out to-morrow night, if we Page 268 can get loaded. Is there any boat that will start before this one? I don’t know, but you can look around and see. If you don’t find any, come aboard of us.”
Claude loafed about just long enough to hear the captain say this, and then turned and walked out on the guards.
“If I only had my money in my pockets I would go and hunt up those men the first thing I do,” said he. “It is ‘Thompson, do this,’ or ‘Thompson, do that,’ and ‘Claude, you can go to smash,’ until I have grown sick and tired of hearing it. I bet you that I will get the start of them yet.”
It was a long time before breakfast was ready, and Claude remained alone on the guards, as Carl and Thompson were perfectly willing he should do. They were sitting on the forward part of the boiler deck engaged in conversation, and when the breakfast-bell rang they went into the cabin. Only once during the meal hour did Carl address his cousin, and then it was to the effect that they would go up town as soon as the bank opened, and he would be glad to have his cousin go with him.
“Mr. Morphy will give you your own money with his own hands, and then you will know that you have got it right,” said he in conclusion. “He will give you fifteen hundred dollars.”
“And that is three thousand less than I deserve,” said Claude to himself. “If anybody would lay their plans to rob your safe I would not tell you of it.”
After breakfast there came two hours of loafing around with nothing to do, and Carl grew very weary over it. Thompson was looking for somebody to make fun of his clothes, and every time some one passed him and turned to take a second look the foreman would gaze angrily at them and slip his hand into the inside pocket of his coat. Carl saw it, and it was all he could do to keep from laughing in Thompson’s face; but at length the hands on his watch told him that the hour had come, and he jumped up, uttering the order he had so long been used to—
“Catch up!”
When they got ashore they found themselves surrounded by the sights and sounds of the city, and they were so taken up with them that they could not say much to each other. Thompson kept close at Carl’s side all the way, for he was afraid that if he became separated from him he would get lost among the drays and pedestrians. Carl knew right where he was going, and in process of time reached the bank. He entered as though he had a perfect right there, and once on the inside he found himself confronted by a long line of men who had come there on business—brokers’ clerks who had come there to get their boxes, and others to get their checks cashed—and, standing his friends up against a desk, fell into the rear and patiently waited until his turn came. Then he handed out the letter he had found in his father’s will and inquired if Mr. Morphy was anywhere about.
“Yes, sir,” said the cashier. “He is in his private office.”
“Will you be kind enough to send that letter in to him?” said Carl; and then he left the line and took his stand beside his companions. “When he comes out and asks me in I want you to go with me,” he said to them in a low tone.
Carl saw the clerk who had the letter in his possession vanish through a rear door, and while he was thinking about it Mr. Morphy came out. He glanced hastily at the men, and then advanced and took Carl by the hand.
“I am glad to see you, Mr. Preston,” said he, with a touch of sadness in his tones. “I am sorry that your father is not here with you. Come into the office.”
“I shall have to ask these men to go also,” said Carl.
“Certainly. Bring them right along.”
When he got into the office he put out chairs for them, but every thing was so neat and elegant that Thompson did not want to sit down; but he kept a close watch of Carl, Page 272 and seeing that the latter promptly seated himself, he finally followed his example.
“I have not read your father’s letter yet,” said the president, “and if you will excuse me I will do it now. I have only read that he is dead, but I can hardly realize it. Did he die suddenly?”
“It was sudden enough when it came, but I suppose he lingered along as all men do who are suffering from that disease,” answered Carl. “It seems he thought that the letter would tell who I was.”
“Oh, I would have known you anyway. If I see a man’s face once, I can always remember him.”
The president then went on reading the letter, and when he got through he was ready for business.
“I suppose you want some money,” he said briskly. “Make out a check for what you want and you can have it.”
Carl took the paper and the pen that were passed over to him and speedily made out his check for ten thousand dollars. The president looked at it to make sure that it was all Page 273 right, and went into the room where the cashier was. When he came out he had a big roll of bills in his hands.
“I suppose you want to pay the terms of the will with this, and so I have got it in small bills,” said he.
“That is all right,” said Carl. “Thank you, I don’t want to go over it. I wish you would count out fifteen hundred dollars and give it to my cousin here, Claude Preston. He comes in for one share.”
The president complied, and when Claude had taken the money (he never said “Thank you!” for it, either) Carl turned to Thompson.
“I want you to make room about your clothes to stow this money in,” said he. “Then I shall feel safe.”
Thompson, without saying a word, got upon his feet, and thrusting his hands one after the other into the inside pockets of his coat, brought out two big navy revolvers, which he laid upon the desk. Mr. Morphy looked on with surprise and remarked that Carl intended to have his money defended, at any rate.
“Yes; the people here in St. Louis are all Page 274 strangers to me, and I shall feel a good deal safer when I get back to my ranch,” said Carl, rising to his feet. “One does not know when he is safe.”
“That is a fact,” said Mr. Morphy; “and let me tell you one thing right here: Don’t make any friends at all. If a man comes to you and appears cordial and inquires after your health, go away from him and let him entirely alone. He is friendly to your money, but he is not at all friendly to you.”
“I’ll bear that in mind,” said Carl, for he was not very well posted in regard to all the tricks that sharpers make use of to trap innocent victims. “We thank you for your kindness.”
Mr. Morphy bowed, accompanied them to the front door, and saw them start toward their boat. Claude said nothing at all, for he was almost overwhelmed by the sight of the eight thousand dollars that Thompson had in his bosom. He saw that his shirt stuck out until a person would think he was wonderfully developed about the chest. He imagined how he would feel if that money was his own.
“I wish I had some place to carry these revolvers,” said the foreman anxiously. “I have got to carry them in my hip pockets, and every one who comes up behind me can see them.”
“That shows that you are ready to defend what you have in your shirt,” said Carl with a laugh. “But that is all in your favor. There is a law against carrying concealed weapons, but yours are not concealed. Every one who looks at you knows that you have them.”
At this moment, as if to show that Carl was right in his surmises, a policeman came along, and after taking a look at Thompson, turned and gave him another look as he passed. He saw the butts of the navy revolvers sticking out of his pockets, and then smiled at Carl and passed on as if he thought it was all right.
“There, Thompson, that cop saw your pistols and never said a word to you,” said he.
“What cop?” asked Thompson in surprise.
“Why, that policeman. Your revolvers are not concealed, and so he took no notice of it.”
“Then I am all right,” said the foreman, immensely relieved. “I supposed that he would arrest me for having those weapons about me. Oh, yes, I am all right.”
“Well, boys, here is your boat, and I presume you will go aboard of her,” said Claude, as they arrived upon the levee. “I believe I will take leave of you right here.”
“What are you going to do with that money you have in your pocket?” asked Carl. “You ought to put it in the bank, where it will be safe.”
“I will attend to that the first thing I do. I will bet you that nobody will get it out of me. Good-by.”
Thompson drew a long breath of relief, while Carl held out his hand to his cousin. He did not say that he was sorry to have him go away where he might never see him again, because he wasn’t. He hoped that, Claude having got away from the ranch, things would go on as smoothly as they had done before he came there. But Claude, although he shook his cousin’s hand heartily, was not yet done with him by any means. He had his eye on Page 277 that wad of money that Thompson carried in his shirt, and he did not intend to see the last of Carl until he had the handling of some of it.
“If you are going away before I have time to show you some of the sights of the city, I don’t know but I might as well bid you good-by now as some other time,” said Claude, drawing his left hand hastily across his eyes. “You have been mighty good to me since I have been out there on the ranch with you——”
“Oh, that is all right,” said Carl, who did not care to listen to any words which he knew Claude did not mean. “We treated you as we would anybody else who came there, and no better. Good-by, and good luck to you.”
When Claude had taken leave of his cousin he turned to say a word to Thompson, but that fellow had put his hands behind him. He was not going to take leave of him as Carl had done. Claude saw in a moment that he could not say anything to the foreman, so he turned on his heel and walked away.
“I am surprised at you,” said Carl, when Claude had passed on out of hearing. “Were you not sorry to see him go?”
“No, I was not,” said Thompson emphatically. “I have been in constant hot water ever since he has been on the ranch. I told you at the start that I did not think you would like Claude, and I hit it, did I not?”
“You put your hands behind you because you did not want to bid me good-by, did you?” said Claude, turning about in his walk to grit his teeth at the foreman. “Well, I will bet you that before night you cannot shake hands with anybody. I will get a couple of men after you who will leave you in the river.”
Carl did not intend to go on board his old vessel until he had been the length of the levee and had satisfied himself that there was no boat getting ready to sail before she did. It was not necessary that he should go on every one he saw to make inquiries. Some of them had their destinations printed on canvas and hung up on their hurricane-deck railings—for example, “For Vicksburg,” “For Cairo,” and for “New Orleans”—but he had yet to see one that was to sail up the river.
“I guess we had better go aboard our old Page 279 boat and take our chances,” said Carl, after he had grown weary of examining the steamers. “Those officers are like old friends to us, and somehow I feel safer in their presence than I would anywhere else.”
“That is what I say,” answered Thompson. “If I was back at the ranch I tell you you would have to get somebody else to come with you.”
Carl laughed and led the way aboard their own boat, where they secured a couple of chairs and sat down to wait until the steamer was ready to sail. They had already left their luggage (each one of them had a valise) in the hands of the porter, and when they saw the clerk go into his office Carl thought he would pay his passage and get a better room than they had in coming down. Thompson kept close at his side wherever he went. The presence of so large an amount of money made him terribly uneasy, and he did not want to let Carl out of his sight.
“You are going back with us,” said the clerk, after Carl had told him the object of his visit. “We will go up to-morrow, and Page 280 she will be the first one out. We are to take on some army rations for those fellows at Fort Scully, and it won’t be any trouble at all for you to wait three or four days until that little boat comes down. Five dollars, please.”
“But you see we don’t want to wait,” said Carl, pulling out his ten dollars. “We are impatient to get back to our ranch as soon as possible.”
“I thought you were ranchmen the first time I saw you,” said the clerk. “You have lively times out there with the bears and mountain lions and all the other things. Do you live far from the river?”
“Well, it is a good piece. You see we are not used to the ways of the city, and when we get out there we are at home.”
Their passage was soon paid, their valises secured from the porter and placed in their new room, and the two went back to their chairs on the boiler deck. When the bell rang for dinner they went in, and scarcely had they seated themselves in their chairs again when they discovered two men coming up the stairs. They were both well dressed and were Page 281 evidently going somewhere on business, for they had valises in their hands. They looked all around as if searching for somebody, and then one of them ventured to address Carl.
“I beg your pardon, sir, but can you tell me when this boat sails?” said he, politely.
Remembering what Mr. Morphy had said to him in regard to making friends with strangers, Carl did not act as he usually did when he was approached by persons with whom he was not acquainted. He looked up and simply said.
“You will find the clerk in his office.”
“So he is,” said the man. “So he is. Come on, Bob, and we’ll soon see how much it is going to cost us to go up to Fort Scully.”
“There are a couple of men that we want to keep out of the way of,” said Carl, gazing after the passengers as they walked into the cabin. “They are going up our way, but we will not make friends with them, or with anybody else.”
“Why, I took that man for a gentleman,” said Thompson. “He begged your pardon before he spoke to you.”
“That may be; but some of the biggest rascals there are agoing can be gentlemen when they please.”
Thompson believed the boy to be mistaken, although he tried to be governed by him in all his movements. He saw the men pay their fare, and then one walked off toward the farther end of the cabin, while the other came out and took a chair on the boiler deck. He cast a quick searching glance at both of them (Thompson thought he knew what he had in his bosom to make his shirt stick out that way), and then drew back and placed his feet on the railing.
“Thank goodness I have my fare paid to my journey’s end,” said the man. “Have you been up the river lately?”
“Only a few days ago,” said Carl shortly.
“Is there much water up there?”
“Not much.”
“The reason I am so anxious in inquiring is that I have wasted a week in my trip up here, and am impatient to get to Fort Scully to see about some property I have there. Are you acquainted in Fort Scully?”
“I don’t know that I am,” replied Carl, and then he arose to his feet and went into the cabin, closing the door after him; but he was not in time to shut out Thompson, who stuck close to him. The cabin was entirely deserted, and the two men were in no danger of being overheard.
“Did you notice what that man said about his property?” asked Carl. “If I had inquired into it, I should have found that he had a check on some bank to a large amount, and he would want to borrow some money on it. I declare that man is coming in. Let us go to our own room.”
If the man was going to follow them up, he opened the cabin just in time to see the door of their state-room close behind them; but when they got there, Carl, who was leading the way, suddenly stopped. They had taken particular notice of the way they left their valises when they brought them there. They had put them under the lower bunk, out of the way; but here they were in the middle of the room, and the contents of each were scattered all over the floor. In addition to Page 284 this, the outside door, which opened onto the guards, was closed but not fastened. In two jumps Carl reached the door, pulled it open, and looked up and down the guards; but there was no one in sight.
“You treated me just as you treat everybody else who came to your ranch, and no better,” said Claude, hurrying down the street, away from his cousin. “You couldn’t treat me any better than you could anybody else just because I was a relation of yours, could you? Well, you gave me one piece of advice that I will remember. I will put this money in bank, so that the fellows can’t draw on me for it.”
Claude was so mad when he took leave of his cousin that he tore along the street, paying no attention to anybody, bumping against the pedestrians he chanced to meet, and then hurried on without apologizing and presently reached the bank where his father had kept a small amount deposited during his lifetime. Here he left fourteen hundred dollars of his money, and with the balance tucked safely Page 286 away in his vest pocket he came out and took his way toward a pool-room which he had often been in the habit of visiting. He had been away from St. Louis a long time, and he was not certain that he could find anyone there with whom he was acquainted. The length of time he had been away, gaining health and strength by his outdoor exercise, had doubtless scattered the old frequenters of the place far and wide, and he would not know where to go to look for them.
“It all depends upon finding two men here who will just ache to handle that—I believe I’ll put it twenty thousand while I am about it,” said Claude, as he turned and made his way up stairs to the pool-room. “Ten thousand might not tempt them to run any risk, so I guess I will just double it. The first thing I do must be to keep myself out of Carl’s way. I will show the fellows where the boat lies, and they must do the rest.”
Claude threw open a door as he spoke, and there was the pool-room in full blast. There were four tables in the room, and each of them was surrounded by men and boys who Page 287 were eagerly watching the game. No one noticed him when he went in. There was a new barkeeper behind the counter, and a hasty glance at the men about the tables satisfied him that the ones he wanted to see were not there, or, if they were, the hours they had passed at the pool-room had changed them materially.
“Is Tony Waller here yet?” said he, addressing the barkeeper.
“Well, I guess not,” said the man, with a laugh. “Tony’s gone up.”
“Is he dead?” asked Claude.
“No, he ain’t; but he might as well be. Tony couldn’t make money by playing for it honest, and so he had to go to work and hold up one of our customers. He got five years for it.”
“Well, is Bud Kelly here?” said Claude, who was surprised to hear this about Tony.
“Do you see that man over there on the last table—he is just going to shoot,” said the barkeeper. “That’s Kelly.”
“My goodness! How he has changed,” exclaimed Claude, hardly willing to believePage 288 his eyes. “He used to be a fancy duck, and now he looks as though he didn’t have enough to eat.”
“I haven’t seen you around here of late,” said the man.
“No; I have just come from the West. Kelly used to have a nice position in an insurance office.”
“He lost that, and he has lost every position he has had since then. He makes his living out of pool.”
“Well, I believe I must go and see him,” said Claude to himself, as he walked toward the last table where Kelly was playing. “So Tony has gone up. I wonder if I have not got something else under way that will send Kelly up, too, if he is caught at it? He will have to run that risk.”
Claude caught Kelly’s eyes fastened upon him as he walked up to a chair and seated himself where he could watch the game, but no sign of recognition came forth. Claude was wondering if he had changed, too, but he could not have altered his appearance so much as the other man. His clothes were neat and Page 289 whole, and that was more than could be said of Kelly. Every once in a while the player looked toward him, and when the game was finished he put up his cue and came and took a chair beside Claude.
“Look here,” he said with an attempt at familiarity, “I think I have seen you once before.”
“Don’t you know me, after all the long months I have spent out West?” said Claude.
“Claude Preston!” exclaimed Kelly. “I knew I had seen you, but I could not place you.”
The two shook hands as though they were overjoyed to meet each other once more, and then Kelly settled down and pulled Claude’s face over toward him.
“How did the old man pan out?” said he in a lower tone. “Did you make anything out of him?”
“No,” said Claude in disgust. “He was the meanest man I ever saw; but he has paid for it all. He is dead.”
“But he left you something in his will?” said Kelly.
“No, he didn’t; not a thing. But I know where there are twenty thousand dollars that one could have for himself if he only had a little pluck. You used to be pretty good at such things; have you turned over a new leaf?”
“Waller has gone up for trying that very thing,” said Kelly, as if his heart was not in the matter.
“But there is no such danger in this,” answered Claude. “Now wait until I tell you how I have left things.”
With this introduction, Claude went on and told Kelly everything that had happened to him while coming down with his cousin—how they went to the bank and drew out twenty thousand dollars which Thompson stowed away in his shirt, and that they were going back on the Talisman, the same boat that had brought them down from Fort Scully.
“I don’t believe Thompson will keep the money around him all the while,” said Claude in conclusion. “When they get back to their boat they are going to put it in their valise. Page 291 If they do that, you can easily get it. Twenty thousand dollars! That will be a little over six thousand dollars apiece, and you can go to California on that.”
“How will I know them if I see them?” asked Kelly. The tone in which he spoke the words made Claude more than half inclined to believe that Kelly had a mind to try it.
“They are dressed in regular Western style—long hair, broad sombreros, and boots as fine as money can buy. They will be aboard the boat now, and this is the time to capture them.”
Some more talk followed this conversation, and Kelly got up and went out. Claude waited an hour for him to come back, and all the while he was harassed by the fear that the man Kelly had gone after might not see it as plainly as he did.
“There is not a thing to do but to wait until after dark, and then pitch in and grab the money,” said Claude to himself. “They can throw Carl overboard to keep him from using his revolvers, and I know that both of them can manage Thompson. I do hope that man Page 292 will agree to it. It is the best chance in the world they will ever have to make money.”
By the time Claude had got through communicating with himself in this way the door opened and Kelly came in, followed by a man who was evidently hard up and had been for some time, judging by the looks of his clothes. This man was introduced as Sam Hayward; and, in accordance with his request, Claude was obliged to begin his story all over again. One thing that surprised Claude was the fact that the man took a deep interest in it, and seemed determined to get at it as soon as possible. He listened to Claude all through, and when he ceased he said:
“I say we can do it, Bud.”
“There is nothing in the world to hinder it, if you only go at it with a determination to succeed,” said Claude. “But there is one thing you must bear in mind: Don’t let that Thompson put his hands behind him. He is a little quicker than a flash of lightning, and he will shoot before you know it.”
“We will look out for that,” said Hayward. “If he shoots, it shall not cost him anything.”
There was another thing that Claude wanted to get at, and that was some better clothes than those two men had on. They must go aboard the steamer as though they were going up to Fort Scully, and they must have a valise or two, to take the appearance of travellers. Kelly must have known what he was thinking about, for he looked them over from top to bottom, and he hastened to remark:
“If you say we can do it, why we will go and try it on. We will go home and get on some other clothes, and then you must go with us to show us where the Talisman lies. But see here, Claude—haven’t you got a little money with you? We’re strapped, and that’s a fact. If we are going as travellers, of course we have got to pay our fare, and where is the money coming from to do it?”
Claude had been expecting this, and he was not in any hurry to advance the men money, but he did not see how he could get out of it. He was afraid he might never see it again; but if they got the eight thousand dollars——
“I have got just a hundred dollars in money that I saved from my work at herding Page 294 cattle,” said he. “Will ten dollars apiece do you?”
“You had better give us twenty while you are about it,” said Kelly, as Claude drew his money out of his vest pocket. “If we get the twenty thousand dollars——”
“You must get it,” said Claude earnestly. “In fact, don’t undertake to steal that money unless you can get it. And then you want to watch out for the police. When will you attempt it?”
“To-night, if we get the chance,” said Hayward. “But we may have to go up to Fort Scully with them. You go up with Kelly and he will show you where his room is, and you can go there and wait until we come back.”
All the way to the corner, where Hayward took leave of them, they talked about the robbery, and Claude again impressed upon Hayward the dire calamity that would happen to him if they allowed Thompson to put his hands behind him. Hayward grinned and kept on to his own room, while Kelly and Claude kept on to Kelly’s room, and by the Page 295 time they reached it Kelly had thought up another method of raising money out of Carl.
“I have several checks in my pocket on different banks, and I will make one of them out for a hundred dollars or so,” said he, “and perhaps I can borrow——”
“You had better let that out,” said Claude hastily. “Whenever you begin to talk money to him, he’ll shut up and go away from you.”
“Of course I want to try it merely to see if he has the funds,” said Kelly. “I don’t care anything about a hundred dollars while he has so much more.”
“And there is another thing that you must look out for,” said Claude. “I had almost forgotten to mention it. Mr. Morphy told him this morning not to make friends with anybody. If you behave at all friendly with him, and act as though you had seen him before, the fat will all be in the fire.”
“That old Morphy posted him on a good many scrapes, didn’t he?” said Kelly, with a wink that spoke volumes. “I can tell how to manage him when I see him.”
Kelly’s room was about what Claude had Page 296 made up his mind to see after his meeting with him. It was in a tumble-down tenement-house at the head of two flights of stairs, and when Kelly produced the key from his pocket and opened the door, Claude found himself in a small seven-by-nine apartment which was almost destitute of furniture. Some dishes from which Kelly had eaten his supper were on the table, still unwashed; and the bed, from which he had arisen that morning, did not look as though it had been made up for a week. There was only one chair in the room, and Kelly gave it a shove with his foot, at the same time turning toward his trunk to get out some clothing.
“Sit down there,” said he. “I can remember when I did not have such a room as this; but that was before I got to travelling on my own hook. I suppose you had a better room than this out West?”
“Well, I had more furniture in it, but it was not such a room as I would have put a stranger in,” said Claude, who did not want to let Kelly see how little he thought of his quarters.
He then changed the subject by referring to Carl and Thompson. It was a matter of some moment to him, for what should he do in case these men made the attempt and failed? He did not like to think of it.
In a short time Kelly had produced from his trunk some clothing which he put on, and when he announced that he was all ready Claude turned and looked at him. He would not have known that it was the same person who had conducted him to his room. Aside from the marks of dissipation which were plainly visible on his face, he looked to be just what he represented—a traveller out on business.
“Now all I want is to get shaved, and you can stay outside the shop and stop Hayward when he comes along,” said Kelly.
“If his clothing has changed him as much as it has you I don’t believe I will know him,” said Claude.
“He will know you, and that’s all you want. How will this valise do? There is nothing in it, but nobody is going to see the inside of it.”
The valise being pronounced satisfactory, the two went outside into the hall, and Kelly locked the door and gave the key to Claude.
“You may have to stay here for a week; for, as Hayward said, we may have to go up to Fort Scully before we can get a chance to try him on for his money,” said he. “We are going to get it before we come back.”
“Remember, a third of it is mine,” said Claude.
“Of course. We would not have known anything about it if it had not been for you.”
It was but a few steps to the barber shop, and Kelly went into it, while Claude stayed outside, walking up and down in front of it for fear the police might come along and order him to “move on.” Before he had taken many turns he saw somebody coming up the street with a valise in his hand, who smiled at Claude the moment he caught sight of him. It was Hayward, sure enough, but he never would have recognized him.
“It is a wonder to me how clothes will change a man,” said Claude. “Kelly’s getting shaved; he will be out directly.”
Hayward and Claude had enough to talk over during the time that Kelly was in the barber shop, and when he came out they turned toward the levee, where the Talisman was lying. They accidentally caught sight of Carl and his companion before they got to it, and Claude lost no time in dodging behind the wharf-boat out of their view.
“Did you see those two fellows sitting in chairs on the boiler deck?” said he. “Well, those are the fellows that have the money. Take a look at that man with whiskers, and you will see that his shirt sticks way out here,” he continued, holding his hand as much as a foot or more away from his breast. “I have done all I can for you. It now rests with you.”
The two men started across the wharf-boat, ascended the gang-plank, and disappeared behind the freight in the direction of the stairs. Looking carefully out from his place of concealment, Claude saw them go up to the boiler deck, and, somewhat to his disgust, saw Kelly stop and address some words to Carl.
“If that is the way they are going to work Page 301 it I may as well give up,” said Claude, as he turned and walked away. “He is not going to make friends with those boys, and he might as well give it up. But, after all, they are pretty sharp.”
It was Kelly who spoke to Carl, and when he was waiting for him to answer the question he cast a hurried glance at his companion, and saw that he had the money. If he had had a coat on, he could not have buttoned the garment over it. He gave him a look as he passed, and saw the butts of two ugly revolvers protruding from Thompson’s hip pockets.
“Well, we have placed the money,” said he in a low tone to his companion, who walked by his side. “The question now is, How are we going to get rid of Carl and double-team on Thompson to keep him from shooting? What’s the fare to Fort Scully, please? You have two passengers with whom I am acquainted, and we’ll take a room right next to theirs. Room No. 11, have they? Well, then, I will take No. 12.”
Their fare was soon paid, their names registered in the books, and Hayward, at his Page 302 companion’s suggestion, took their valises into their own room, to which the clerk showed him. On the way he noticed that Carl, or whoever had been in that room before him, had come out and left the key in the lock instead of handing it over to the clerk. That much was in his favor. Hayward made a great show of putting his valises away, and then came out into the cabin again and saw that it was empty, the clerk having gone into his office and closed the door. With a quick step Hayward moved to the door of No. 11, noiselessly opened the door, and went in. The valises were just where Carl had left them, stowed away under the bunks. He pulled them out and saw that they were not locked, the springs at the side serving to keep them closed. It was the work of but a very few minutes to “sound” them, but he saw that the money was not there. He tumbled some of the contents of the valises out on the floor in order to make a thorough examination, and before he had time to put them back he heard the cabin door open and Carl and Thompson come in. He was just in time, for Page 303 with one bound he reached the outside door of the state-room which opened onto the guards, and ran along until he came to the passage that ran through the cabin. A moment afterward the door he had just left was thrown open and Carl’s face was stuck out.
“It is not there,” said he to Kelly, whom he found sitting on the boiler deck a short time after these incidents happened.
“Of course you didn’t find it,” said Kelly. “I told you where the money was when I went in. Thompson has it, as sure as the world.”
It seemed a long time before Carl and the cowboy came out again, and when they did, Kelly gave his companion a sly punch in the ribs with his elbow. Carl had taken warning by his experience, or else Thompson had become nervous and refused longer to act as custodian of the money, for it had changed places; in other words, Carl had it. Thompson’s revolvers had disappeared and his shirt set naturally, but Carl was the one who was amply developed this time. They stayed there until Kelly began to try to talk with Page 304 them, and then they picked up their chairs and took a place on the rail.
“Did you ever see anything work better than this?” said Kelly, when the cowboys had taken up a position some little distance away. “Carl has got the money, and it will be easy enough to get away with him.”
“If they will only take to sitting on the rail after dark, we’re all right,” said Hayward. “That must be our only hope now.”
It seemed a long time before the supper-bell rang, and longer still after that until dark came; but finally the dusk of evening began to settle around them, and to their surprise no one came aboard the vessel. The four were there alone. The deck hands were all below, the captain and the clerk were nowhere to be seen, and the cabin boys had gone ashore.
“I guess now is our time,” said Kelly.
“Go ahead,” said Hayward.
The men arose to their feet and walked toward the cabin to make sure it was deserted, and then stole cautiously around it until they came to the place where the cowboys were Page 305 sitting. Thompson was sitting a little nearer the bow than Carl, and him Hayward picked up as if he had been a bag of corn and threw him over the rail toward the water, while Kelly at the same time closed with Carl and bore him to the deck before he could arise from his chair.
We say that Thompson fell toward the water, but he did not go into it. He comprehended the nature of the assault in a moment, and the first thing he did was to clutch at the railing with all his force. One hand caught it, while the other was slipped inside his coat.
“You villain!” said he.
Hayward knew that in a second more Thompson would begin to shoot, and he was equally determined to prevent it, if he could. He struck the cowboy a blow full in the face, and then turned his attention to unclasping his fingers. Thompson could not stand all that, and he released his hold and went down. Hayward had got rid of his share, and when he turned to see how Kelly was getting along, he saw Carl motionless on his back, and his Page 306 shirt torn completely off him. A sand-bag attached to Kelly’s right wrist explained it all.
“I’ve got one,” said he in a hoarse whisper, passing a bundle wrapped in a newspaper up to Hayward, “and here’s the other. Now skip!”
But there was something that both of the men wanted to do before they went away, and that was to get rid of Carl. He knew too much, and might make them some trouble with the police. Without saying a word they picked him up, one at the head and the other at his heels, and tossed him into the river. They waited a moment to listen to the splash, and then walked swiftly away. Without appearing to be in any haste they moved over the wharf-boat and up the levee, but the farther they went the more they increased their pace. They kept a constant watch behind them, but they saw nothing to indicate that they were pursued.
“That’s a little the easiest job I ever had,” said Hayward, feeling the bundle on the inside of his coat. “That fellow was such an awful man to shoot! If all the cowboys are like him the Indians will eat them up, sure.”
“Where do you suppose they are now,” said Kelly, who could not resist a thrill of horror at the thought of throwing the men into the river.
“They have gone to Davy Jones’s locker, where they ought to be,” said Hayward. “We shall never see them again. Now where shall we go first?”
“Up to my room,” said Kelly. “There’s where we shall find Claude.”
“I say let us go to my room,” said Hayward. “We can count the money there, and he need not know any thing about it.”
“Do you intend to cheat Claude?” asked Kelly in surprise.
“I don’t know that there will be any cheating about it. He knew where the money was, and we got it. He thought we were going to fail; that was what was the matter with him.”
“We didn’t fail, and through him we got money that we wouldn’t have been able to earn in a lifetime,” said Kelly earnestly. “I won’t cheat Claude. You can go to your room if you want to, and I will divide my profits with him.”
Hayward did not say anything after this, but Kelly noticed that when he turned toward his room his companion went also. When they got to the door they tried to open it, but the apartment was fastened.
“Who is that?” asked a voice from the inside.
It was Claude who gave the challenge. He was sitting, with his feet on the window-sill, watching the lamp, which gave out a dim light through its smoky chimney, threatening every moment to go out and leave him in darkness. But his thoughts were far away from there. He was dreaming about Carl and his money, and wondering what was going to become of him if Kelly and his friend were baffled in their attempts to win it. He had mistrusted Kelly ever since he saw him speak to Carl, and had pretty nearly given up all hope; but the sound of the latch when the door was tried made his heart bound with exultation.
“It is me,” said Kelly. “Open up.”
It was all Claude could do to find the key, but he finally opened the door. A glance at their faces was sufficient for him.
The robbers opening the package.
All their labor for nothing.
View larger image.
“You’ve got it!” he almost gasped.
“You are right, I have,” replied Kelly. “There’s my pile, and Hayward has the rest.”
“It was not done up this way when it left the bank,” said Claude, a suspicion creeping over him. “It has been done up since we left there.”
He believed then, as he believed afterward, that Kelly had been duped. With hands that trembled in spite of himself he tore off the outside covering, and nothing but a bundle of paper revealed itself. With a yell that could have been heard over the house he scattered the paper all over the floor, but no money appeared. Kelly and Hayward looked on with astonishment, and then the latter tore his own bundle to pieces; but it, too, was filled with paper. Claude backed toward the chair and sank into it. He seemed to have lost all power over himself, for his hands hung by his side as limp as a piece of wet rope.