The Last Straw Part 59

"You didn't send for him to ask him to take you back? You didn't do that?"

"I have told you my motive once; that was the truth ... whole truth."

Again Bobby turned and again her accusing, flaring eyes sought Hilton's distraught face.

"So you lied to me again, did you? That was a lie, was it?" She waited.

"Well, why don't you answer?" she flung at him and stood, directing on him the hate that she had once shown for Jane Hunter.

But when she wheeled sharply back to confront the mistress of the HC her eyes were bathed in tears, her head was thrown back, and she threw her arms wide.

"He did lie to me!" she panted. "He did.... I hated you because I thought you had friends an' folks that respected you. He lied an' it made me hate you worse...." She choked with sobs and Jane stepped down from the rock to put hands on her shoulders.

"Oh, miss, I've acted so bad to you!" Bobby moaned lowly. "I ... I didn't know, didn't understand. I thought you didn't want anything but harm to come to us. I stole from you because I hated you.... I ..."

She threw back her head again and the weakness of spiritual distress dropped from her. Her voice grew full and firm.

"You've treated us like n.o.body else ever treated us before. You had Alf tied down to a calf stealin' an' you let him go. You.... You've been tryin' to do me good all the while I've been tryin' to do you harm.

They've been warrin' on you an' I ... I could have stopped it!"

She wheeled, facing the men, her back to Jane. Her shoulders were drawn up and she leaned backward. Her face was white, voice shrill. Her eyes burned.

"Well ... you, Webb, an' Hepburn an' your whole filthy crew ... I'm done with you at last!"

Thunder boomed sharply. The gloom was so deep that the features of the men she addressed could scarcely be made out.

"You've tried to double-cross us from the first. You was as guilty as Alf today but you had it on us. I couldn't make a move without gettin'

in worse.... You, Hilton, if it hadn't been for you, I'd have sent the bunch of you to h.e.l.l by tellin' th' straight story when they came for Alf to-day! I ... I thought you loved me,"--gaspingly. "Ah! I thought you loved me, an' I'd have let Alf go to jail alone because of it....

"Well, it ain't too late! Listen, all of you! You HC riders, don't let a man move until I get through!"

Her eyes, quick, alert, intent, ran from face to face before her and her whole body trembled as though the things that she would tell clamoured to be out and were held back by great effort until she could make them coherent.

"Hepburn, you're first!"

The man made one movement aside as if he would evade and Tom Beck's voice rang out sharply:

"Not a move!"

Jane Hunter wheeled, a stifled word in her throat and watched him slowly advance. His face was drawn as by great suffering, his eyes burned as though his heart was wrenched with every beat. His mouth was set and his jaw thrust forward and the revolver he held close against his hip was as steady as rock. He moved slowly forward.

"Swing back there, you men,"--and at his gesture the HC riders deployed, swinging to either side. He stood beside the two girls at the point of a V, the sides of which were formed by cowboys and beyond the opening of which the other group drew together as for protection in the face of this coming storm. Hepburn was foremost and the true scoundrel now glared through the mask of his benevolence.

"Go on," Beck said quietly.

"You're first," the girl repeated, as though there had been no interruption.

"You planned to steal the HC blind, as soon as th' old owner died. You didn't have th' nerve to do it like I'd 've done it. You sent for us, because you knowed Alf had this brand which 'uld make stealin' easy!"

"You're lying!"

The man's voice was the merest croak, weak and unimpressive.

"You wrote us, sayin' it would be easy pickin'. You said you would likely be foreman an' that anyhow you'd be workin' for the HC an' was goin' to help us from the inside.

"When Miss Hunter come an' you saw what she was like you was mighty glad of it. You thought you could ruin her an' pretend you was trying to protect her. You was goin' to get half what we got for your share.

"You had Webb run off them eight horses. Th' cat got out of the bag an'

you had to bring 'em back to make good with Beck. I heard you tell Alf about it the night you started out an' stayed with us. Beck suspected you, so you shot your own saddle horn to make your story good.

"Beck wasn't satisfied. He was in your way, so you an' Webb framed up a lie about him an' fixed his gun so it would look bad for him ... an' it didn't work because Miss Hunter here beat you to it.

"Then you threw in with Webb an' we was all goin' to work together and drive the HC out in a rush.

"You dynamited Cathedral Tank to spoil that range. Then somebody shot Two-Bits an' you planned with us not to let her have water, knowin' her cattle would perish. I was glad enough to keep 'em from water then because I thought ... I thought she wasn't ... what she is."

She paused, panting, and brushed a quick hand at her tears.

"Webb, you've been stealin' off th' HC for years."

The man took a quick step forward and halted as gun hands jerked rigid.

"You've been waitin' your chance. When Beck made you swallow your words about Miss Hunter you went hog-wild to get him. You got carin' more about that than you did about gettin' rich.

"You shot at Beck's bed to kill him when he slept. You broke her ditches an' fired her hay with your own hands. You wrote that note, warnin' her to get out. You helped build this pen here an' you helped steal these calves an' every one of 'em was took away from an HC cow.

You stole twenty head of horses that n.o.body knows about.

"You an' Hepburn thought I didn't know a lot of this. Well, I did know!

I knowed you was goin' to double-cross us if the pinch come an' Alf, he was afraid of it, too!

"I heard you talkin' nights in our place. I watched you ridin' when you didn't know I was around. I listened an' remembered. I was one of you, but I didn't trust you. I wanted to steal from Miss Hunter. I wanted to drive her out because ... because I didn't know anybody could be kind to me like she's been. I never thought anybody'd do anythin' for me!"

She stopped again to regain control of her surging emotions.

"An' their riders, Miss Hunter"--half turning to look at the other woman. "They're a bunch of cut-throats. So are our greasers. They ain't been in on the stealin'. They didn't care about bein' inside, but they was ready to murder if they had a chance. They--Hepburn an' Webb--they thought that they was safe because every one of the rest had enough over him to hang. If one squealed they'd all get caught....

"Even us! Why, we never had any right on this claim. Alf's used his homestead rights before, under another name. This water don't belong to us. Not by rights. It's all open range! That's what we was: t' worst nest of outlaws that ever got together in these hills!"

She choked and Jane, her hands on the other's arms, could feel the tremors shooting through her lithe frame.

Riley moved a step forward as thunder rolled heavily overhead, as if this much of the story was enough, but the girl cried out:

"That ain't all! I've got to go through with it! I've finished with the rest an' now it's you.... Hilton!"

Into the word she put bitter contempt and biting scorn.

"Bah! You liar!" she drawled. "You liar, you sneak, you coward! You thought none of us could follow your game an' none of us could ...

until now.