“And no harm will come to her while she’s
with us?”
“Here’s my hand on it, Lee.”
“How can she ride with us?”
“She won’t go as a woman. I’ve
thought of that. I brought out a new outfit for
Purvis from Elkhead—trousers, chaps, shirts,
an’ all. He’s small. They’ll
near fit the girl.”
“There isn’t any other way, Jim?”
“I leave it to you. God knows I don’t
want to drag any damn calico aroun’ with us.”
As they went back towards their clearing they arranged
the details. Silent would take the men aside
and explain his purpose to them. Haines could
inform the girl of what she must do. Just before
they reached the camp Silent stopped short and took
Haines by the shoulder.
“They’s one thing I can’t make out,
Lee, an’ that’s how Whistlin’ Dan
made his getaway. I’d of bet a thousand
bones that he would be dropped before he could touch
his shootin’ irons. An’ then what
happened? Hal Purvis jest flashed a gun—and
that feller shot it out’n his hand. I never
seen a draw like that. His hand jest seemed to
twitch—I couldn’t follow the move
he made—an’ the next second his gun
went off.”
He stared at Lee with a sort of fascinated horror.
“Silent,” said Haines, “can you
explain how the lightning comes down out of the sky?”
“Of course not.”
“Then don’t ask me to explain how Whistling
Dan made his getaway. One minute I heard him
talkin’ with the girl. The next second there
was two shots and when I whirled he was gone.
But he’ll come back, Jim. We’re not
through with him. He slipped away from you and
your men like water out of a sieve, but we won’t
slip away from him the same way.”
Silent stared on again with bowed head.
“He liked the girl, Lee?”
“Any one could see that.”
“Then while she’s with us he’ll
go pretty slow. Lee, that’s another reason
why she’s got to stay with us. My frien’,
it’s time we was moving out from the willows.
The next time he comes up with us he won’t be
numb in the head. He’ll be thinkin’
fast an’ he’ll be shootin’ a damn
sight faster. We got two jobs ahead of us—first
to get that Wells Fargo shipment, and then to get
Whistling Dan. There ain’t room enough
in the whole world for him and me.”
THE THREE OF US
In the clearing of Whistling Dan and Tex Calder the
marshal had turned into his blankets once more.
There was no thought of sleep in Dan’s mind.
When the heavy breathing of the sleeper began he rose
and commenced to pace up and down on the farther side
of the open space. Two pairs of glowing eyes
followed him in every move. Black Bart, who trailed
him up and down during the first few turns he made,
now sat down and watched his master with a wistful
gaze. The black stallion, who lay more like a
dog than a horse on the ground, kept his ears pricked
