Chapter XXV
When the Circle Dot men awoke in the morning it was to find one of their number, Hunch, missing; no one had seen him go, and his horse was still there.
"Reckon he warn't interested," Dan opined. "Hiked off to the ranch, or back into the woods--he was anus happier there. His testimony wouldn't count anyway. You got any ideas, Doc?"
"No, he beats me," was the reply.
Breakfast was eaten, razors produced, and they made themselves as presentable as possible. "No 'casion to look like a lot o' bums if we are busted," Dover remarked, and Malachi, for one, agreed with him. Then they sat down to wait the word from Bowdyr.
By the hour advertised that portion of the Parlour usually devoted to dancing contained almost the whole male population of Rainbow, and a few of the women. There were also strangers, cattlemen from the outlying ranges, and a sprinkling of others whose garb told that they were alien to the West. Lounging against the wall at the back, glum-faced, were Burke and the rest of the Circle Dot outfit.
On the little platform the piano had been pushed aside, and a table, with several chairs, substituted. At this sat the banker, his daughter beside him. Prompt to the moment he rose and briefly explained the purpose of the meeting, concluding with the remark, "Some of you may regard this action as inconsiderate on the part of the bank, but I must remind you that business is business, and a financial institution cannot be conducted on philanthropic lines."
He waited for the perfunctory applause of this oratorical gem to die down, and was about to continue when there was a stir at the door; Garstone and Miss Trenton entered. The big man had timed their arrival to the instant. He had theleathern satchel under one arm. Maitland stepped from his platform to meet them.
"I am delighted to see you both," he greeted. "I could get no news of you at the ranch. I trust Mister Trenton is well."
Garstone drew him apart, and a whispered conversation ensued. At the end of it the banker was all subservience. "Of course, as a man of affairs, you will understand how I was situated," he excused. "My head office--"
Garstone cut him short with a gesture, and conducted his companion to the platform, where seats were provided. The banker again addressed the audience.
"The arrival of Mister Garstone with funds to liquidate the bank's debt disposes of the Wagon-wheel," he announced. "Is there anyone here to represent the Circle Dot?"
"Yeah, me," Burke called out. "An' I say it's a damned shame to sell Dan Dover's property behind his back."
The applause which followed this outspoken statement brought a flush to Maitland's pale face. "Have you the money to pay off the mortgage?" he asked.
"You know thunderin' well I ain't," the foreman replied. "Dan went to git it, an' may be here any of time."
Beth Trenton rose. "Mister Maitland, the Wagon-wheel will advance the necessary sum to the Circle Dot," she said.
Garstone's expression became one of fury. Gripping the girl's arm, he forced her to sit down, whispering savagely, "Don't be a fool, Beth." Turning to the banker, he went on, "The Wagon-wheel will do nothing of the kind, Miss Trenton is allowing her heart to overrule her head; we expect that from her sex, but it is not business. What is the amount owing to you?"
"Forty thousand dollars."
"I will buy the Circle Dot for that figure if there is no better offer."
None came, and Maitland smiled his satisfaction; that the bank should not lose was his sole concern. He had risen to terminate the meeting when the Easterner again whispered.
"Mister Garstone has something to say to you," he stated.
Standing there, big-framed, carefully-dressed, a genial look on his fleshy face, the man made an imposing figure. He dispensed with any preamble.
"I am going to tell you why Zeb Trenton is not here to do this job himself, and it's quite a story. Most of you have heard of Red Rufe's Cache. Well, some weeks ago, Trenton, his niece, myself, and some of our men went in search of it." Several in the audience sniggered. "Yes, I know others have tried and failed, but we succeeded, and there it is"--he pointed to the satchel--"somewhere about seventy thousand dollars."
There were no sniggers this time, but envious eyes rested on the container of so much wealth. It had been for anyone to find.
"Unfortunately, a gang of ruffians from the Circle Dot--"
"You better lay off that kind o' talk," Burke warned, and was supported by a growl from his men.
"Were also after it," Garstone went on. "They attacked us, but we fought them off. Two of our men, Rattray and Flint, were killed, and Mister Trenton so severely wounded that I had to leave him in the charge of Bundy and another, since it was urgent I should be here to-day. So Miss Trenton and I came on, and though it was a terribly arduous journey, I could not wish for a more plucky fellow-traveller."
Beth received the compliment with stony indifference, but the speaker was too full of his own success to notice. As owner of two ranches, Rainbow must learn to recognize his importance. These hucksters and the like had to be told that he was no mere servant, and Beth brought to heel.
"It may interest you to know that I own one-third of the Wagon-wheel; should Trenton not recover, it becomes two-thirds, the rest going to his niece. The will, which I have here, substantiates this. It is in accordance with his desire, often expressed to me, that we should wed, and the lady, I am happy to say, has consented."
If the spectators expected blushes and confusion they were woefully disappointed. Red of cheek she certainly was as she sprang to her feet, and her eyes were flaming.
"That, like some of your other statements, is a lie," she said, in a clear, ringing tone. "Nothing in this world would induce me to marry you. As regards the two men who died, Rattray perished by accident, and Flint was shot by Bundy, as you well know. My uncle--"
"Is here to speak for himself," a weak but stern voice interrupted.
Through the door leading to the living part of the establish ment, near the platform, Trenton, supported by Dover and the doctor, followed by Tiny and Yorky, entered, Garstone's features underwent a swift transformation from rage to joy, and he was the first to reach the rancher's side.
"My dear Zeb, so those two fellows have got you here at last. I never was so pleased to see anyone," he cried, and in a whisper, as he dragged forward a chair, "All is fixed; we have the Circle Dot. I can explain everything."
Trenton did not reply. Sinking into the seat, he looked round the room, and then darted a finger at Garstone. "That man is a liar and a cheat," he said. Heads craned forward, and no one now thought of leaving. "His story of what happened in the mountains is as false as his own black heart. We attacked the Circle Dot, an' I was shot by Bundy, my own foreman. When the money was found, this skunk cleared out an' left me, dyin' an' helpless, alone in the wilds, to be the prey of any savage beast. Later, he sent Bundy an' Lake back to finish me. They thought I was dead a'ready, an' I heard them talkin'. They quarrelled about buryin' me, an' Bundy shot Lake, threw him down beside me, an' put a pistol by my hand to make it look I'd done it. The Circle Dot found an' fetched me home. On the way, Bundy saw us, an' tried again to get me, but Green got him."
He paused, breathing heavily, Garstone, who had listened to this terrible indictment with well-simulated incredulity but a very pallid face, addressed the doctor:
"He's mad, raving; illness has turned his brain."
"No," Malachi said sharply. "He is saner than you are." Trenton spoke again. "One thing more. That rascal has no share in my ranch, an' the so-called will of which he is boastin' is another lie."