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Powdered glass!in feed! repeated Kit, stunned at the words and the sudden thought they suggested. Great God, girl, you dont have to go to the eastern papers for that! Youve got the same trick right here in Granados this minute! Whydamn you!
The receiver fell from his hand as a crushing blow was dealt him from the door at his back. He heard a girls scream in the distance as he grappled with Conrad and saved himself a second blow from the automobile wrench in the managers hands. It fell to the tiles between them, and Rhodes kicked it to one side as he struck and struck again the white, furious face of Conrad.
The wrench! Tomas, the wrench! Give it to him! The Americano would murder me! shouted Conrad.
Tomas had other things to think of. He had heard as much as Conrad of the telephone discourse, and was aware of his pinto standing placidly not fifty feet away, with all the damning evidence in the case tied to the back of the saddle!
Juanito, however, ran like a cat at his masters call and caught up the wrench, but halted when Pike closed on his shoulder and pressed a cold little circle of blue steel against his ribs.
Not this time, muchacho! he shrilled, drop it! This is a mans game, and youre out.
The men came running, and others attempted to interfere, but the little old man waved the gun at them and ordered them to keep their distance.
No crowding the mourners! he admonished them gleefully. Ive a hunch your man started it, and my man will finish it. I dont know what its about, Kit, but give him hell on suspicion! Go to it, boy,do it again! Who-ee!that was a sock-dolager! Keep him off you, Kit, hes a gouger, and has the weight. Give it to him standing, and give it to him good! Thats it! Ki-yi! Hells bells and them a-chiming!
For the finale of that whirl of the two striking, staggering, cursing men, was unexpectedly dramatic. They had surged out into the open, but Conrad, little by little and step by step, or rather stagger by stagger, had given way before the mallet-like precision of the younger mans fists until Kits final blow seemed actually to lift him off his feet and land himstandingagainst the adobe wall. An instant he quivered there, and then fell forward, glassy eyed and limp.
Singletons car came whirling down the lane. Billie leaped from it before it stopped, and ran in horror to the prone figure. One of the older Mexicans tried to ward her off from the sight.
No good, señorita, it is the death of him, he said gently. One stroke like that on the heart and it isadios!
What in the name of God began Singleton, and Kit wiped the blood from his eyes and faced him, staggering and breathless.
Get him water! Get busy! he ordered. I dont think hes done for, not unless he has some mighty weak spot he should have had labelled before he waded into this.
The blood was still trickling from the cut in his head made by the wrench, and he presented an unholy appearance as they stared at him.
Ill explain, Singleton, for I reckon you are white. Illafter while
Youll explain nothing to me! retorted Singleton If the man dies youll explain to a jury and a judge; otherwise youd better take yourself out of this country.
Kit blinked at those who were lifting Conrad and listening to his heart, which evidently had not stopped permanently.
But give me a chance, man! persisted Rhodes. I need some mending done on this head of mine,then Ill clear it up. Why, the evidence is right herepowdered glass for the stock at the far end of the trailHerrara knowsConrads gameand
He did not know why words were difficult and the faces moved in circles about him. The blood soaking his shirt and blouse, and dripping off his sleeve was cause enough, but he did not even know that.
Take him away, Captain Pike, said Singleton coldly. He is not wanted any longer on either of the ranches. Its the last man I hire, Conrad can do it in future.
Conrad, eh? grunted Kit weakly, youre a nice easy mark for the frankfurter game,you and your pacifist bunch of near-traitors! Why man
But Singleton waved him away, and followed the men who were carrying Conrad to the bunk house.
All right, all right! But take care you dont meet with a nastier accident than that before you are done with this game! he said shaking his fist warningly after Singleton, and then he staggered to his horse where Pike was waiting for him.
He got in the saddle, and reeled there a moment, conscious of hostile, watchful eyes,and one girls face all alone in the blur.
Say, he said, I heard you scream. You thought it was you I swore at. Youre wrong there. But you are some little prophetess,you are! The jobs gone, and Herraras got away with the evidence, and the jigs up! But it wasnt you I cussed atnotatall! Come on, Pike. This new ventilator in my head is playing hell its own way. Come onlets go by-bye!
CHAPTER IV
IN THE ADOBE OF PEDRO VIJIL
There aint no such animal, decided Kit Rhodes seated on the edge of the bed in Pedro Vigils adobe. His head was bandaged, his face a trifle pale and the odor of medicaments in the shadowy room of the one deep-barred window. No, Captain, no man, free, white and twenty-one could be such a fool. Cant Singleton see that if Conrads story was true hed have the constable after me for assault with intent to kill? Hes that sort!
Well, Singleton thinks Conrad would be justified in having you prosecuted, and jailed, and fined, and a few other things, but for the reputation of Granados they let you down easy. You know its the dovery for the Pass-up-the-fists of this section, and what the Arizona papers would do would be comic if they ever got hold of the fact that Singleton picked a new bird for the dove cage, and the dratted thing changed before their eyes to a fractious game rooster swinging a right like the hind leg of a mule! No, Bub, were orderly, peaceable folks around here, so for the sake of our reputation Singleton has prevailed on his manager to be merciful to you, and Conrad has in true pacifist spirit let himself be prevailed upon.
Which means, grinned Kit, that Im to be put off my guard, and done for nicely and quietly some moonless night when I take the trail! And he reports me either drunk or temporarily insane, does he? Well, when the next time comes Ill change that gentlemans mind.
Shucks, Bub! Thank a fools luck that your skull was only scratched, and dont go planning future wars. I tell you we are peace doves around here, and you are a stray broncho kicking up an undesirable dust in our front yard. Here is your coin. Singleton turned it over to me and I receipted for it, and we have enough between us to hit the Sonora trail, and theres not a bit of use in your hanging around here. You have no evidence. You are a stranger who ambled in, heard a sensational newspaper report of anti-ally criminal intent, and on the spot accused the highly respectable Granados rancho of indulging in that same variety of hellishness! Now there is your case in a nutshell, Bub, and you wouldnt get the authorities to believe you in a thousand years!
What about you?
Oh, I have just little enough sense to believe your hunch is right, but that wont get you anywhere. They think Im loco too! Ive an idea there is a lot more and rottener activities down south of the line with which our Teutonic peace arbitrator is mixed up. But hes been on this job five years, all the trails are his, and an outsider cant get a look-in! Now Miguel Herrara has been doing gun-running across the border for someone, and Miguel was not only arrested by the customs officer, but Miguel was killed two nights agoshot with his own gun so that it looks like suicide. Suicide nothing! His chief, whoever he is, was afraid Miguel would blunder or weaken under government persuasion, so Miguel was let out of the game. That case is closed, and no evidence against anyone. I reckon everyone knows that the guns and ammunition sneaked over is headed for Rancho Soledad. The owner of Soledad, José Perez, is the valued friend of our nice little Conrad, and it happens that Conrad left Granados this morning for that direction, ostensibly to negotiate with the political powers of Sonora concerning a military guard for La Partida in case revolutionary stragglers should ride north for fresh saddle-horses. All appeals to the neutral chair warmers at Washington wins us no protection from that source;they only have guns and men enough to guard some cherished spots in Texas.