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She did not look toward the Judge, but she was thinking about him. All her
life she had schemed and plotted to get what she wanted, and she had no doubt
she would succeed in this, too.
Ruble Noon was her first trouble, but she had little doubt that he would be
killed. Finn Cagle and GermanBayles , whom she had hired herself, would take
care of that. They would also be on hand to handle anyone else who might stand
between her and the money.
But now Ruble Noon had killedJanish and had escaped with the money, so
undoubtedly Fan now knew of it, too.
"Denver," the Judge suddenly said positively. "He will try to bank the money
there. I doubt if he would trust it to any bank between here and there,
because he knows we might hold up the bank to get it. He's simply got to go
toDenver -and we can't allow him to get there."
"He'll try for the train," Lang said. "He's got a better chance of making it
by train."
"And we'll be there first,"Niland said. "We'll ride right down the trail
toDurango . He will stay off the trail for fear of ambush, and so he will
travel slower."
"Where'sDurango ?" Lyman asked. "I'm new in this country."
"East of here.AnimasCitywas the town, but when the railroad came in they
built their own town right at the tracks. That'sDurango . It's only been there
a few months."
"Igotta friend down the line," Lang offered. "We can ride like hell and swap
horses at his place."
PegCullanemade no comment, but she was doing some thinking of her own.The
fools! Do they think a man like Ruble Noon will chance appearing on the
station platform atDurango ? In a town so small that nobody could hide?
JudgeNiland brought her a cup of coffee and she thanked him. She brushed a
wisp of hair back from her face. "I'm afraid I'm not cut out for this," she
said. "I prefer towns and cities."
He smiled. "Why don't you just ride on toDurango with us? It will be all over
there, and if there is any more that remains to be done you can just wait
there. I will protect your interests."
I'll bet,she thought, but she smiled. "Thank you, Judge. I believe I will do
just that."
They finished their coffee, put out the fire, mounted their horses, and
started down the trail toDurango .
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The man standing in the aspens thirty feet off the trail relaxed the grip on
his horse's nostrils and kicked the kinks from his own legs, cramped from
being in the same position too long.
J. B. Rimes had come upon them unexpectedly, and although he was friendly
with John Lang and was known to JudgeNiland , he did not feel it wise to let
his presencebe known.
They had been absent from the ranch for many hours and knew nothing of the
raid that had swept up the last of the outlaws, a few nondescripts who counted
for nothing. Arch Billing,Henneker , and a few new hands were now in control,
and he himself had been working out the trail ofJanish and the others.
He had found the body of Dave Cherry from directions given him byKissling ,
beforeKissling rode away. That was his first lead.
An hour before, he had heard shots, but by the time he got down the mountain
he had found only the body of BenJanish .
"Two gone," he said aloud.
Rimes had not been living on the ranch for several days, but had taken to the
hills to avoid being roped in on the fight against Ruble Noon. He had his own
job to do, and it had nothing in common with the work of BenJanish .
Now he mounted his horse and started east, holding to the path beside the
trail. As he rode he was thinking out what he had just overheard.
They were going after Ruble Noon, and they were expecting to head him off
atDurango , but PegCullane was leaving them, supposedly to go into town and
clean up. He had a very good hunch that Peg would be on the train before they
were, and that she would be heading east, not forDurango . . . .For Alamosa?
LaVeta ?
He had scouted the country well, and now he struck an old Indian trail that
would take him across country toward Ignacio, on the railroad belowDurango .
He picked up the first tracks on the slope ofBridgeTimberMountain .Five
horses? The tracks were confused, and there might have been one more or one
less. After that, he glimpsed tracks occasionally, and near the mouth
ofSawmillCanyon he picked them up clearly.
He had guessed right. There were three riders and two pack horses. When they
stopped for water and dismounted, he could see the three riders' tracks
clearly, and one set was made by a small foot. That would be Fan's. Noon's
moccasins he had learned to know, but the third rider was a puzzle-high-heeled
boots and large-roweledCalifornia-style spurs. Wherever this mansquatted he
left spur marks in the sand.
J.B. Rimes was satisfied. He was going to overtake them before they reached
the railroad.
Chapter Nineteen
Several hours before Rimes found their tracks onBridgeTimberMountain, they
had broken camp there and moved on. In his haste to pursue their trail, Rimes
never did locate that camp.
In the last moments of light, Ruble Noon had turned off the trail into the
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pines, found a small clearing where melting snow offered water, and made a
hasty camp. They were about eight thousand-feet up, and the air was cold.
Noon's work was swift and practiced. While Lebo put together a small fire, he
cut two forked sticks, set them in the ground, and laid a pole across the
forks. With other cut branches he built a lean-to against this frame and
thatched it with evergreens, starting from the bottom and hooking each branch
over a crosspiece as he worked up. It was not long before he had a good
shelter from either wind or ram.
"How far is it now to the railroad?" Fan asked. "Not far now. We'll catch the
train at Ignacio."
"You mean the reservation trading post?" [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]