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sound all right, but he has some trick in mind. What's he planning? What's he
covering up?"
"Morgan!" Moira protested. Tm surprised at you! Matt is sincere, and you know
it."
"I know nothing of the kind. Yet you defend this this killer."
He was staring right at me when he said it, as if daring me to object. That
he wanted trouble, I knew. A fight now would ruin all I had been saying.
It came to me then, and I said it, not without doubt.
"At least, I've never killed a man who had no gun.A man who would have been
helpless against me in any case."
When I said it I was looking right at him and something changed in his eyes,
and into his face there came something I had not seen there before. And I knew
now that I was marked for death. That Morgan Park would no longer wait.
It was D'Arcy I had in mind ... for, playing a hunchonly, I believed D'Arcy
had been murdered.
Yet it was more than a hunch. D'Arcy was a man who would never have neglected
to thank his hostess. He would never have left without paying his respects.
Something had happened to prevent it. But I had no evidence. Only that flimsy
hunch, and the fact that D'Arcy had vanished suddenly after Morgan Park had
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shown an interest in him.
Now that I had started I did not intend to hold back. As best I could, I
intended to putRudMaclaren on his guard.
"It is not only rustlers," I said, "but those who have other schemes as well,
schemes they can only bring to success under the cover of this fighting."
Morgan Park's features were stiff. Actually, I knew little or nothing, yet
somehow I had touched a nerve, and Morgan Park was a worried man. If my guess
was correct, he now knew that I knew something and he would suspect me of
knowing much more than I actually did.
"I'll think this over,"Maclaren said finally. "This is no time to make a
decision."
"Sure." I turned toward Moira and took her arm."And now if you'll excuse us?"
We moved toward the door, and Morgan Park's fury suddenly snapped. His face
livid, he started forward. Putting Moira quickly to one side, I was ready for
him.
"Hold it!"
Canavalstepped between us, stopping Morgan Park in his tracks.
"That's all, Park. We'll have no fighting here."
"What's the matter? Brennanneed a nursemaid now?"
"No."Canaval was stiff. "Brennan promised me there would be no trouble. I'm
not going to let you cause any."
There was a moment of silence, and Moira moved back to my side. What Morgan
Park might have done or said, I do not know, but whatever it was, I was ready.
Never before had I wanted to smash and destroy as I did when I faced that man.
All I could remember was him sitting astride me, swinging those huge,
methodical fists.
"Brennan,"Maclaren spoke abruptly, "I've no reason to like you, but you talk
straight from the shoulder and you are my daughter's guest. Remain as long as
you like."
Later, I understood that right at thatmomentPark must have made his decision.
There could be no other alternative for him. He drew back and slowly relaxed,
and he did not say another word.
Moira walked with me to my horse, and she was worried. "He's a bad enemy,
Matt. I'm sorry this happened."
"He was my enemy, anyway. That he is a bad enemy, I can guess. I believe
another friend of yours found out about that."
She looked up quickly, real fear in her eyes. "I don't understand you."
"Did you ever have a note of acknowledgment from D'Arcy?"
"No ... but what has that to do "
"Strange, isn't it? I'd have thought a man of his sort would not neglect such
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an obvious courtesy."
There had been, I think, some similar thought in her mind. I had sensed it
when I first mentioned that other friend. It was inexplicable that a man like
D'Arcy should drop so suddenly from sight.
We stood there without talking, no more words between us for several minutes,
but needing none. Our hearts were beating together, our blood pulsing
together, our faces touched by the gentle hand of the same wind.
"This will pass," I said, "as the night will pass, and when it is gone, I
shall take you back toCottonwoodWash to live."
"You're a strange man. You look like an ordinary cowhand, but you talk like a
man of education."
"I read a book once." I grinned at her."A couple of them, in fact. And don't
fool yourself about cowhands."
Tightening the cinch, I swung my horse for mounting.
"But could you settle down? Could you stay?"
My foot went into the stirrup and I swung into the leather.
"On the day I rode intoHattan's Point and saw you, I knew I would stay. Why
does a man drift around?Only because he is looking for something.For money,
for a home, for a girl."
Night had closed in from the hills, moving its dark battalions of shadows
under the trees and in the lee of buildings,then reaching out to cover the
ranch yard. A few stars had come out.
Reaching down, I caught Moira's hand and swung her up, her foot slipping into [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]