larch cadmus was well fitted to act the leader of so desperate a company of men. he was chagrined beyond measure at the manner in which the tables had been turned on him, but, like all such persons, when caught fairly, he knew how to accept the situation philosophically.
none understood better than he that the individual who held that winchester levelled would press the trigger on the first provocation. he was the one that had sent the warning, and the other was the one that had received it. the twenty-four hours' truce had been ended by the words and action of cadmus himself, and his chief wonder, now that fred whitney was with him, was that monteith sterry should show any mercy to his persecutor; had the situations been reversed, the course also would have been different.
but the ruffian was on the alert. he noticed the guarded movement of spark holly at the moment whitney entered his home, and he needed no one to tell him what it meant.
he had slipped off to bring help and it would not take him long to do it, though cadmus might well feel uneasy over what would take place when sterry should learn the trick played on him.
it may be that a person's senses are keener in situations of grave peril than at other times, for, calculating as clearly as he could the period it would take his comrade to reach the horsemen, only a short way back on the prairie, cadmus heard sounds which indicated their approach, though they must remain invisible for several minutes.
"wal," said he, in his off-hand manner, directly after whitney had whisked into the house, "now that you're together, how long do you mean to keep this thing up?"
"we're through," was the response.
"what do you mean?" asked the surprised fellow.
"you can go away as soon as you please. mont sterry doesn't care anything more about you, but i'll keep you covered as long as you are in sight, and if you or any of your men try any deception you'll take the consequences."
with a moment's hesitation, doubtless caused by distrust of his master, cadmus began edging to one side. a few steps were enough to take him out of range of that dreaded weapon, and then his demeanour changed.
"that was a good trick of yours, mont sterry, but it won't do you a bit of good."
"why not?"
"here come the rest of the boys, and if you think you can hold them up, why try it."
at that moment the horsemen assumed form in the gloom and approached the house in a diagonal direction. encouraged by their presence, larch cadmus once more moved toward the open door and resumed the position of leader.
"now, my fine fellow, we summon you to surrender," he called in his brusquest voice and manner.
the reply was striking. a young man stepped from the door and advanced to meet the horsemen. there was an instant when cadmus believed his victim had come forth to give himself up as commanded, but one glance showed that it was fred whitney. he calmly awaited the coming of the mounted men, saluted them, and said:
"you have come for mont sterry, and cadmus there assures me that if i give him my word that he is not in my house he will accept the statement; do you agree to it?"
"how's that, larch?" asked ira inman, turning toward him.
"them was my words, but—"
"well, then, i have to say that mont sterry is not in my house; the only persons there are my mother and sister."
"but i seen him, and he got the drop on me—how's that?"
"yes," replied whitney, enjoying his triumph, "he was there a few minutes ago, and he did get the drop on you and the rest of your fellows; but i took his place; he went out of the back door, mounted his mare, and if there's any of you that think you can overhaul him, you can't start a moment too soon."
no man who heard these words doubted their truth. they told such a straightforward tale that they could not be questioned. they would have been zanies had they believed that, with the back door at command and the certain approach of his enemies, sterry had waited for them to attack him.
true, he and his friend would have held a strong position, in which they could have made it warm for the others, but the ultimate advantage must have been on the side of the assailants.
the laugh was on cadmus, and those were the men who, in their chagrin, vented their feelings upon him. the worst of it was, he was as angry as they; but he might well ask how he could have helped himself, and whether any one of them would have done any better.
the foxy holly, at a whispered word from inman, darted around the end of the building and entered the stables. a brief examination showed that no animals, all being known to him, except those belonging to whitney, were there.
had any doubt remained, it was removed by his sense of hearing. without the intervention of the dwelling to obstruct the sound, he caught the faint, rhythmic beating of the earth, barely audible and gradually growing fainter in the distance. it was just such a sound as is made by a horse going at a leisurely, sweeping gallop, and that was the explanation he gave it.
mont sterry was safe beyond pursuit, for there was no horse in the company that could overtake him. spark holly returned to the party in front and made his report.
it may be said the report was accepted and placed on file for future reference.
it was characteristic of those men, too, that they did not delay their own actions, now that their business may be said to have been finished.
"well," said inman, "that isn't the first time that fellow gave us the slip to-night. the way he did it before was mighty clever, but i don't see that he deserves any credit for fooling cadmus, for any one would have known enough to do that. but remember that mr. mont sterry is still in wyoming, and we are not through with him yet."
"and there ain't any twenty-four hours' truce," added cadmus.
"after what has taken place, there's little fear of sterry making any mistake on that point," said whitney, who was so pleased over the outcome of matters that he could speak in gentler terms than he would have used had the circumstances been different.
it would seem strange that these men, who but a brief time before were so hostile to the single person now in their power, should converse without the least offensive action; but most, if not all, of the doings of the men concerned in the late troubles in that section were in hot blood, and would not have occurred had time been taken for thought and consideration.
inman and his brother rustlers wheeled about and rode off in the direction whence they came. their movements indicated that they had no intention of following sterry, since the course taken by him was almost directly the opposite; but whitney was not fully satisfied. he remained in front of his home, listening in the stillness of the night to the sounds made by the hoofs of the galloping horses.
gradually they grew fainter, until, had there been any air stirring, or had the tension of hearing been less, he would have heard nothing; but, when the noises were hovering close to inaudibility, they continued thus. they neither increased nor diminished, but remaining the same, steadily shifted the direction whence they came.
instead of keeping to the westward, as they had been for a long time, they worked around to the north and east. then the decrease in distinctness of sound was so rapid that it was quickly lost.
the truth was evident: the rustlers had started in pursuit of sterry, though why they should have taken so much pains to conceal the fact from fred whitney was more than he could understand.
"they may overtake him," thought the young man as he turned to enter the house, "but it will not be right away."
a light foot-fall sounded in the darkness of the room.
"is that you, jennie?" he asked in a guarded undertone.
"yes, brother; have they gone?"
"some time ago. is mother asleep?"
"she was asleep before they came, utterly worn out. i am glad she knows nothing of the cause of their visit. and what of monteith?"
"he is many miles away, and still riding hard."
"will they pursue him?"
"let them do so if they wish, they will have a fine time overtaking him," was the light reply of the brother, who, leaning over in the gloom, affectionately kissed his sister good-night.
