'Drag' Harlan by Charles Alden Seltzer (top novels of all time .txt) đ
- Author: Charles Alden Seltzer
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He had instantly forgotten the girl. For when Harlan came up Deveny saw a gleam in his eyes that sent his brain to throbbing with those unmistakable impulses of fear which had seized him the day, in Lamo, when Harlan had faced him.
There had been a moment of silence when the two groups met; a stiffening of muscles and the heavy, strained breathing that, in men, tells of mental preparation for violence, swift and deadly.
It had been Harlan who had prevented concerted actionâaction that would have brought about a battle in which all would have figured. His guns came out before the thought of trouble could definitely form in the brains of the Deveny men; and he had held themâthe men in the saddles, Deveny standingâuntil the T Down men, whom he had seen from a distance, coming toward him, could arrive.
Then, still menacing the Deveny men with weapons, he had dismounted to face Devenyâwhere he had been when Barbara Morgan had recovered consciousness.
And while the girl had been stealing away he had been talking to Deveny, though loud enough for all of them to hear.
There was about Harlan as this moment a threat that brought awe into the hearts of Devenyâs menâa cold, savage alertness that told them, unmistakably, that the manâs rage was at a pitch where the slightest movement by any of them would precipitate that action for which, plainly, Harlan longed.
âSo you got Barbara Morgan?â he said as he stood close to Deveny. There was a taunt in his voice, and an irony that made Deveny squirm with fury.
And yet Deveny fought hard for composure. He could see in Harlanâs manner something akin to what he had seen that day, in Lamo, when Harlan had baited him. His manner was the same, yet somehow it was not the same. There was this difference:
In Lamo, Harlan had betrayed the threat of violence that Deveny had felt. But he had seemed to be composed, saturnineâwilling to wait. It had seemed, then, that he wanted trouble, but he would not force it.
Now, he plainly intended to bring a clash quickly. The determination was in his eyes, in the set of his head, and in his straight, stiff lips.
He seemed to have forgotten the other men; his gaze was on Deveny with a boring intensity that sent a chill of stealthy dread over the outlaw.
Deveny had faced many men in whose hearts lurked the lust to kill; he had shot down men who had faced him with that lust in their eyesâand he knew the passion when he saw it.
He saw it now, in Harlanâs eyesâthey were wantonâin them was concentrated all the hate and contempt that Harlan felt for him. But back of it all was that iron self-control that Deveny had seen in the man when he had faced him in Lamo.
Deveny had avoided Harlan since that day. He had known whyâand he knew at this minute. It was because he was afraid of Harlanâhe feared him as a coward fears the death that confronts him. The sensation was premonitory. Nor was it that. It had been premonitoryâit was now a conviction. In the time, in Lamo, when he had faced Harlan some prescience had warned him that before him was the man whom the fates had selected to bring death to him.
He had felt it during all the days of Harlanâs presence in the section; he had felt it, and he had avoided the man. He felt it now, and his breathing grew fast and difficultâhis chest laboring as he shrilled breath into his lungs.
He knew what was coming; he knew that presently Harlanâs passion would reach the point where action would be imperative; that presently would come that slow, halting movement of Harlanâs hands toward his gunâwhich gun? He would witness, with himself as one of the chief actors, the hesitating movement which had brought fame of a dread kind to the man who stood before him.
Could he beat Harlan to the âdraw?â Could he? That question was dinned into his ears and into his consciousness by his brain and his heart. He heard nothing of what was going on around him; he did not hear Harlanâs voice, though he saw the manâs lips moving. He did not see any of the men who stood near, nor did he see his men, sitting in their saddles, watching him.
He saw nothing but Harlan; felt nothing except the blood that throbbed in his temples; was conscious of nothing but the question that filled his heart, his brain, and his soulâcould he beat Harlan to the âdraw?â
Presently, when he saw, with astonishment, that Harlan was slowly backing away from him, crouching a little, he divined vaguely that the moment had come. And now, curiously, he heard Harlanâs voiceâlow, distinct, even. What an iceberg the man was!
âHaydonâs dead,â he heard Harlan sayingâand he stared at Harlan, finding it difficult to comprehend. âLafe Woodward killed him,â Harlan went on âkilled him at the Cache. Now get this straightâall of you.â It seemed strange to Deveny that Harlan seemed to be speaking to the men, while watching him, only.
âWoodward was killed, too. His real name was Bill Morgan. He was Lane Morganâs son. Bill Morgan was sent here by the governor, to get evidence against Haydon. He got it. I took it from his pockets when I planted himâanâ itâs goinâ straight to the governor.
âYou guys are through hereââ again he seemed to speak to all the men. âMorgan told me he had some men with the Cache gang. Theyâre to ride out anâ join my boysâthe T Down outfit.â
Deveny was conscious that several men detached themselves from the group of riders he had brought with him, and rode to where the T Down men were standing. Then Harlan spoke again:
âNow, she shapes up like this. If thereâs any of the Star gang wantinâ to go straight, they can throw in with the T Down boys, too. If thereâs some that figure on pullinâ their freight out of the valleyâanâ stayinâ outâthey can hit the breeze right nowâdrivinâ that Star herd to Willowâs Wells, sellinâ them, anâ dividinâ the money. Whoever is takinâ up that proposition is startinâ right now!â
About half the Star men began to move; heading up the valley. There was a momentary pause, and then those that were left of Devenyâs men moved uneasily.
âDoes that go for us guys too?â
âItâs wide open,â announced Harlan, cold humor seeming to creep into his voice. âItâs your chance to get out of this deal without gettinâ whatâs cominâ to you.â
There was a rush and clatter as Devenyâs men joined the men of the Star, who were already on the move. And then there followed a long silence, during which Deveny glanced up the valley and saw the men riding away.
He turned again, to face Harlan, with the consciousness that he stood alone. The T Down men, half of the Star men, and a large proportion of the Cache men were standing with Harlan. Deveny saw Colver and Rogers among those who had aligned themselves with Harlan.
No invitation to withdraw had been extended to Deveny. The knowledge strengthened his conviction that Harlan intended to kill him. And yet, now, facing Harlan, he knew that he would never take up the slender thread of chance that was offered himâto draw his gun, kill Harlan and resume his authority over the men who were left.
The possibility, dangling at the other end of the slender thread of chance, did not allure him. For he knew he could not draw the pistol at his hip with Harlanâs gaze upon himâthat would be suicide.
âDeveny!â
Harlanâs voice, snapping with menace roused him, straightened him, brought an ashen pallor to his face.
âItâs your turn, Deveny. You stay here. Flash your gun!â
Here it wasâthe dreaded moment. Deveny saw the men around him stiffen rigidly; he heard their slow-drawn breaths. The thought to draw his gun was strong in him, and he fought hard to force his recreant muscles to do the will of his mind. For an instant he stood, his right hand poised above the holster of his pistol, the elbow crooked, ready to straighten.
And then, with the steady, coldly flaming eyes of Harlan upon him, Harlanâs right hand extended slightly, the fingers spread a little as though he was about to offer his hand to the other. Deveny became aware that he was doing an astonishing thing. He was raising his right hand!
Already it was at his shoulder. And as he marveled, it went higher, finally coming to a level with his head, where it stopped. He had publicly advertised his refusal to settle his differences with Harlan with the pistol.
âYellow!â
It was Harlanâs voice. âYou wonât fight anâ you wonât run. Well, weâll keep you, savinâ you for the governor. I reckon heâll be glad to see you.â
Harlan turned, sheathing his pistol, and began to walk toward his horse, his back toward Deveny.
Then Deveny acted. His eyes flaming hate, he drew his pistol with a flashing movement, his face hideous with malignant passion.
He sent one bullet into Harlanâs back and two more as Harlan tumbled forward, sinking to his knees from the shock. But Devenyâs two last bullets went wild, tearing up the grass of the level as the gun loosened in his hand.
For Rogersâ rifle was spitting fire and smoke with venomous rapidity, and Deveny was sinking, his knees doubling under him, his body shuddering with the impact of each bullet.
Red Linton had recoveredâthere was no doubt of that. For Linton, though a trifle pale, was vigorous. Vigor was in the look of him as he stood, a slow grin on his face, beside Barbara Morgan at the entrance of the patio of the Rancho Seco ranchhouse.
Barbara was sitting on a bench that ranged the front wall of the building. She was arrayed in a dress of some soft, fluffy material, in which she made a picture that brought a breathless longing into Lintonâs heartâa longing which made him feel strangely tender and sympathetic.
But Barbara was not smiling. There was a wistfulness in her eyes that made Linton gulp with jealous thoughts that came to him.
âHe donât deserve it, the durned scalawag!â
âDeserve what?â questioned Barbara.
âYou,â muttered Linton, with an embarrassed grin. âShucks, I wasnât thinkinâ I was talkinâ out loud. Iâm sure gettinâ locoed.â
âWho doesnât deserve me?â asked Barbara.
âHarlan!â declared Linton, with a subtle glance at the girl. âHe ainât in no ways fit to be thinkinâ serious thoughts about a girl like you.â
âHas he been thinking serious thoughts?â Her eyes dropped from Lintonâs and the latter grinned widely.
âThinkinâ them! Heâs been talkinâ them. Talked them all the time him anâ me was stretched out in the big room, gettinâ over our scratches. That man is plumb locoed. I couldnât get him to talk nothinâ else. When I told him about the governor sendinâ him congratulations, anâ offerinâ to do somethinâ handsome for him, he says: âYou say she ainât worryinâ none about things? Red, do you think sheâd hook up with a guy like meâthatâs got a bad reputation?ââ
Linton shot a side glance at Barbara and saw a flush steal into her cheeks. He concealed a broad grin with the palm of his hand and then said, gruffly:
âI answers him as such a impertinent question ought to be answered. Says IââHarlan, youâre a damned fool!ââaskinâ your pardon, maâam. A girl like Barbara Morgan ainât goinâ to throw herself away on a no-good outlaw. Not none! Why, maâam, heâs an outlaw at heart as well as by reputation. Heâs clean badâthere ainât a bit of good in him. Didnât he go to
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