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demanded to know where she kept the rest, loosening her gag that she might
reply.
She told them that that was all the money she had in the world, and begged
them not to take it.
"Youse've got more coin dan dis," growled one of the men, "an' youse had
better pass it over, or we'll find a way to make youse."
But still she insisted that that was all. The tramp stepped into the
kitchen. A wood fire was burning in the stove. A pair of pliers lay upon
the window sill. With these he lifted one of the hot stove-hole covers and
returned to the parlor, grinning.
"I guess she'll remember she's got more wen dis begins to woik," he said.
"Take off her shoes, Dink."
The other growled an objection.
"Yeh poor boob," he said. "De dicks'll be here in a little while. We'd
better be makin' our get-away wid w'at we got."
"Gee!" exclaimed his companion. "I clean forgot all about de dicks," and
then after a moment's silence during which his evil face underwent various
changes of expression from fear to final relief, he turned an ugly, crooked
grimace upon his companion.
"We got to croak her," he said. "Dey ain't no udder way. If dey finds her
alive she'll blab sure, an' dey won't be no trouble 'bout gettin' us or
identifyin' us neither."
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The other shrugged.
"Le's beat it," he whined. "We can't more'n do time fer dis job if we stop
now; but de udder'll mean--" and he made a suggestive circle with a grimy
finger close to his neck.
"No it won't nothin' of de kind," urged his companion. "I got it all doped
out. We got lots o' time before de dicks are due. We'll croak de skirt, an'
den we'll beat it up de road AN' MEET DE DICKS--see?"
The other was aghast.
"Wen did youse go nuts?" he asked.
"I ain't gone nuts. Wait 'til I gets t'rough. We meets de dicks,
innocent-like; but first we caches de dough in de woods. We tells 'em we
hurried right on to lead 'em to dis Byrne guy, an' wen we gets back here to
de farmhouse an' finds wot's happened here we'll be as flabbergasted as dey
be."
"Oh, nuts!" exclaimed the other disgustedly. "Youse don't tink youse can
put dat over on any wise guy from Chi, do youse? Who will dey tink croaked
de old woman an' de ki-yi? Will dey tink dey kilt deyreselves?"
"Dey'll tink Byrne an' his pardner croaked 'em, you simp," replied Crumb.
Dink scratched his head, and as the possibilities of the scheme filtered
into his dull brain a broad grin bared his yellow teeth.
"You're dere, pal," he exclaimed, real admiration in his tone. "But who's
goin' to do it?"
"I'll do it," said Crumb. "Dere ain't no chanct of gettin' in bad for it,
so I jest as soon do the job. Get me a knife, or an ax from de kitchen--de
gat makes too much noise."
Something awoke Billy Byrne with a start. Faintly, in the back of his
consciousness, the dim suggestion of a loud noise still reverberated. He
sat up and looked about him.
"I wonder what that was?" he mused. "It sounded like the report of a gun."
Bridge awoke about the same time, and turned lazily over, raising himself
upon an elbow. He grinned at Billy.
"Good morning," he said, and then:
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Says I, "Then let's be on the float. You certainly have got my goat;
You make me hungry in my throat for seeing things that's new.
Out there somewhere we'll ride the range a-looking for the new and strange;
My feet are tired and need a change. Come on! It's up to you!"
"Come on, then," agreed Billy, coming to his feet.
As he rose there came, faintly, but distinct, the unmistakable scream of a
frightened woman. From the direction of the farmhouse it came--from the
farmhouse at which Billy had purchased their breakfast.
Without waiting for a repetition of the cry Billy wheeled and broke into a
rapid run in the direction of the little cluster of buildings. Bridge
leaped to his feet and followed him, dropping behind though, for he had not
had the road work that Billy recently had been through in his training for
the battle in which he had defeated the "white hope" that time in New York
when Professor Cassidy had wagered his entire pile upon him, nor in vain.
Dink searched about the summer kitchen for an ax or hatchet; but failing to
find either rummaged through a table drawer until he came upon a large
carving knife. This would do the job nicely. He thumbed the edge as he
carried it back into the parlor to Crumb.
The poor woman, lying upon the floor, was quite conscious. Her eyes were
wide and rolling in horror. She struggled with her bonds, and tried to
force the gag from her mouth with her tongue; but her every effort was
useless. She had heard every word that had passed between the two men. She
knew that they would carry out the plan they had formulated and that there
was no chance that they would be interrupted in their gruesome work, for
her husband had driven over to a farm beyond Holliday, leaving before
sunrise, and there was little prospect that he would return before milking
time in the evening. The detectives from Kansas City could not possibly
reach the farm until far too late to save her.
She saw Dink return from the summer kitchen with the long knife. She
recalled the day she had bought that knife in town, and the various uses to
which she had put it. That very morning she had sliced some bacon with it.
How distinctly such little things recurred to her at this frightful moment.
And now the hideous creature standing beside her was going to use it to cut
her throat.
She saw Crumb take the knife and feel of the blade, running his thumb along
it. She saw him stoop, his eyes turned down upon hers. He grasped her chin
and forced it upward and back, the better to expose her throat.
Oh, why could she not faint? Why must she suffer all these hideous
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preliminaries? Why could she not even close her eyes?
Crumb raised the knife and held the blade close above her bared neck. A
shudder ran through her, and then the door crashed open and a man sprang
into the room. It was Billy Byrne. Through the window he had seen what was
passing in the interior.
His hand fell upon Crumb's collar and jerked him backward from his prey. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]