He was suddenly outside, pushed through the door by Hollis, and the door
closed after him. Hollis glanced furtively at Dunlavey to see that
gentleman scowl. He thought he saw a questioning glint in Allen's eyes
as the latter looked suddenly at him, but he merely smiled and gave his
attention to the next man, who was now entering.
The latter proved to be Lemuel Train. He did his voting quietly and
grimly. But as he went out through the door that Hollis opened for him
he growled: "Lordy, what a drunken bunch!" He looked at Hollis. "One of
your men, too," he said, grinning slightly. "I thought you taught them
better!"
Hollis frowned. He knew that Allen would need all his friends; none of
them could be spared in this crisis. He smiled incredulously. It had
been only a short time before that his men had accompanied him to the
door of the sheriff's office. At that time they were perfectly sober. It
would have been impossible for any of them--
"An' Ten Spot's a hummer when he gits started," Train was saying. "I've
seen him before when he cut loose an' he sure is a holy terror!"
Then with a word of parting Train was gone, saying that he had done all
the "damage" he could and that he purposed "hitting" the trail back to
his ranch.
He had certainly done some damage to Hollis. The latter's mind now
rioted with all sorts of conjecture and he mechanically did his work of
letting man after man out through the rear door, scarcely seeing them.
He was aware of an odd expression that had come into Dunlavey's eyes at
the mention of Ten Spot. Had Dunlavey succeeded in bribing Ten Spot to
desert him? He had left Ten Spot at the Circle Bar, not inviting him to
Dry Bottom because he felt that the latter would rather not come since
he had deserted Dunlavey. And Ten Spot had come to town anyway. What did
it mean? Did it mean that Ten Spot had come to assist Dunlavey in
nominating Watkins and defeating his new employer?
He frowned again, and for the next few minutes gravely studied
Dunlavey's face. He was sure that the latter's manner had changed. The
mocking smile which had been on his face since his arrival at the
sheriff's office had been superseded by a huge grin--plainly of
anticipation. Ten Spot--dangerous, reckless, drunk, at the head of a
number of dissolute men, had it in his power to make things decidedly
interesting should he advance on the sheriff's office with the intention
of assisting Dunlavey.
Several times since hiring Ten Spot Hollis had doubted him. The
suspicion had assailed him that perhaps the appearance of Ten Spot at
the Hazelton cabin so opportunely had been a part of a plot by Dunlavey
to place a spy in his employ. They might have purposely sacrificed Yuma.
During the next quarter of an hour he gave more attention to Dunlavey
than to the steady stream of men that passed through the room, though he
recognized a goodly number as friends he had made during the latter days
of the drought.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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