a rider," said Studd. "That makes it bad. Gosh only knows how much Charterhouse learned at Shander's last night, or how much he's told Nickum. Looks to me as if our chance of getting the stranger out of the way is some slimmer. Would of been easy. Now that Nickum's back of him it ain't."
"That's why I ducked in here when I saw 'em ride up," said Wolfert. "I'll be boiled in grease afore I try to serve a warrant in front of Nickum. Damn Shander! Why'd he let Charterhouse get away?"
Graney's beefy cheeks stiffened. "Studd, there won't be any better time than now. You get me? Here they are, a long ways from help. No use of trying to smile it out. Nickum must have got warning about the ambush. There's some of Charterhouse's work, I'm betting. Well, why not do it now? Don't forget that—"
Studd held up a warning arm. "Don't mention any names, Graney. Not even to yourself. Dangerous. But your idea is good. And we can use Charterhouse's stolen horse to rig the business up right. Wolfert, you go around town, keeping out of sight, and drum up five or six boys. Post 'em around the saloon where they won't be seen. One in the stable. Another in front of Madame LeSeur's. I'll ease back to the saloon with a horse I promised Charterhouse and stick there. Graney, you go down and saddle up Charterhouse's original animal and ride into sight. Charterhouse will jump you about it in a minute. You produce a bill of sale—write one now and sign anybody's you want. He'll argue about it and then it is just a matter of what happens next. That clear?"
Graney nodded. "Suits me. I'll take care of Charter-house. But you be damned sure the others are blocked off and shot down."
Wolfert stirred uneasily. "What am I to do?"
"Come in a little ahead of Graney," decided Studd, "and argue with old John. When the shooting starts, just let him have it."
"How about Seastrom?"
Studd's stolid countenance turned almost sly. "Who would you suppose would finish the Swede? Use your head. All right, I'm going back. Give yourself fifteen minutes, Graney. Wolfert, you get busy now." He backed out of the room and returned through the stable, catching up the horse the roustabout had saddled. He left it in front of his saloon and entered. Upon the impassive, swarthy skin was not even a flimsy trace of the death sentence he had improvised and so shortly would add another weltering, grim chapter to a town already old in violence.
A faint beam of friendliness struggled through Studd's murky eyes, and the same heavy joviality was in his voice when he returned to the saloon.
"I'm giving you the claybank this time, Charterhouse. A stout horse. And, by the way, I'll pay off on your stolen rig whenever you say the word. I figured it was my fault in a way. Have another drink." Passing down the room, his foot struck a chair and he grumbled at the indolent players. "You boys have roosted here long enough. Go sleep some place else for a change."
Charterhouse, swift to detect subtle changes of human temperature, felt some strange current pass through the saloon. The men at the table rose and sauntered through the front door, leaving Studd's empty excepting for the saloonkeeper and the Box M quartet. Neither Nickum nor Haggerty appeared to draw out of their own thoughts, but Seastrom's flash of humor grew more brilliant and he dropped an eyelid to Charterhouse.
"Well, what next?"
Nickum pushed away the bottle. "Where's Wolfert?"
"Snoozing somewheres, I guess," said Studd. "No, here he comes now. Ike, step in."
Wolfert veered from the walk and stopped on the threshold. "Yeah? Hello, Nickum. Thought I heard—"
Nickum cut in brusquely. "I hear you carry a warrant for horse stealing."
Wolfert licked his lips. "That's right. Shander swore it for this gentleman"—indicating Charterhouse—"bright and early this morning."
"Going to serve it?"
"Well, John, you know I got to do what the law requires. No option on my part. I didn't swear out the warrant. Pm only sworn to carry out my duty."
Nickum snorted. "Taking your duty pretty serious lately, ain't you, Wolfert?"
"Don't like to hear you make insinuations," muttered Wolfert. "I have done my level best to cater to Box M. You got no call to say I ain't reasonable thataway."
"Charterhouse is under Box M protection," stated Nickum bluntly. "Your warrant is just a piece of paper, nothing more. Wouldn't advise you to draw it on him today or any other time."
"You're sure leaving me in a bad place, John. What'll Shander say?"
"Let him cook up another lie better'n this one. It's so rotten it stinks."
"That ain't for the to say," was Wolfert's surly response. "I ain't the judge."
Charterhouse stepped carefully away from the bar and pointed through the door. "What's the gentleman's name who's so polite as to ride my horse to town?"
"Graney, by golly," muttered Seastrom. And dead silence fell over the room. Graney rode into the saloon rack and slid idly to the ground. The black hide of Charterhouse's mount glistened under the sun and the silver corners of the fine acorn leaf saddle flashed brilliantly.
Charterhouse turned back to the group, graven-cheeked. His skin crawled with the shock of electric excitement; for the second time he found himself trying to penetrate Nero Studd's poker expression. Of the whole party, Haggerty alone seemed to display honest surprise. The foreman shifted uneasily, looking from the door back to Nickum and thence to Studd. Seastrom was rubbing the palms of his hands along the bar, producing a small squeaking sound that seemed to irritate both Haggerty and Wolfert. Both of them glowered at Seastrom, whereupon he laughed and broke the tension.
"Your horse?" challenged Nickum.
"Mine," drawled Charterhouse.
Graney had turned away from the rack and was walking off. Charterhouse, without haste, strolled out of the door and hailed the man, feeling the others come crowding after him.
"Just a minute, partner. You've got a piece of nice horseflesh there."
Graney whirled, almost too swiftly. Charterhouse's elbows crooked and stopped. Graney threw his own hands wide of his hips and growled, "Sure I have, and what of it?"
It was a pretty raw rig, Charterhouse reflected. A pretty crude way to bring on a scrap. Looking at the profusely sweating Graney, he wondered just how the cards lay. A man had popped into sight by the stable; and the men behind him were shifting. He wanted to turn and see where Studd and Wolfert were standing but didn't dare.
"Naturally," went on Charterhouse, slurring the words, "you've got a bill of sale for this gear?"
"Correct. I take a receipt for my money. If you stick around Casabella very long, you'll get that habit, too."
"A-huh. Well, let's see this bill of sale."
"What for?" demanded Graney, coming closer.
"You know the answer as well as I do," murmured Charterhouse. "But in order to play up to your game, I'll mention this is my horse and rig."
"Might have been. Ain't now."
"Beg to differ."
Graney went into his coat pocket and affected to have trouble finding
