Black Jack by Max Brand (interesting novels to read TXT) đ
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- Author: Max Brand
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why he thinks that? Because you turned him out. You thought he would turn
bad. And he respects you. He still turns to you. Ah, if you could hear
him speak of you! He loves you still!â
Elizabeth Cornish dropped back into her chair, grown suddenly weak, and
Kate fell on her knees beside her.
âDonât you see,â she said softly, âthat no strength can turn Terry back
now? Heâs done nothing wrong. He shot down the man who killed his father.
He has killed another man who was a professional bully and mankiller. And
heâs broken into a bank and taken money from a man who deserved to lose
itâa wolf of a man everybody hates. Heâs done nothing really wrong yet,
but he will before long. Just because heâs stronger than other men. And
he doesnât know his strength. And heâs fine, Miss Cornish. Isnât he
always gentle andââ
âHush!â said Elizabeth Cornish.
âHeâs just a boy; you canât bend him with strength, but you can win him
with love.â
âWhat,â gasped Elizabeth, âdo you want me to do?â
âBring him back. Bring him back, Miss Cornish!â
Elizabeth Cornish was trembling.
âBut Iâif you canât influence him, how can I? You with your beautifulâ
you are very beautiful, dear child. Ah, very lovely!â
She barely touched the bright hair.
âHe doesnât even think of me,â said the girl sadly. âBut I have no shame.
I have let you know everything. It isnât for me. Itâs for Terry, Miss
Cornish. And youâll come? Youâll come as quickly as you can? Youâll come
to my fatherâs house? Youâll ask Terry to come back? One word will do it!
And Iâll hurry back andâkeep him there till you come. God give me
strength! Iâll keep him till you come!â
Outside the door, his ear pressed to the crack, Vance Cornish did not
wait to hear more. He knew the answer of Elizabeth before she spoke. And
all his high-built schemes he saw topple about his ears. Grief had been
breaking the heart of his sister, he knew. Grief had been bringing her
close to the grave. With Terry back, she would regain ten years of life.
With Terry back, the old life would begin again.
He straightened and staggered down the stairs like a drunken man,
clinging to the banister. It was an old-faced man who came out onto the
veranda, where Waters was chewing his cigar angrily. At sight of his host
he started up. He was a keen man, was Waters. He could sense money a
thousand miles away. And it was this buzzard keenness which had brought
him to the Cornish ranch and made him Vanceâs right-hand man. There was
much money to be spent; Waters would direct and plan the spending, and
his commission would not be small.
In the face of Vance he saw his own doom.
âWaters,â said Vance Cornish, âeverything is going up in smoke. That
damned girlâWaters, weâre ruined.â
âTush!â said Waters, smiling, though he had grown gray. âNo one girl can
ruin two middle-aged men with our senses developed. Sit down, man, and
weâll figure a way out of this.â
The fine gray head, the hawklike, aristocratic face, and the superior
manner of Waters procured him admission to many places where the ordinary
man was barred. It secured him admission on this day to the office of
Sheriff McGuire, though McGuire had refused to see his best friends.
A proof of the perturbed state of his mind was that he accepted the
proffered fresh cigar of Waters without comment or thanks. His mental
troubles made him crisp to the point of rudeness.
âIâm a tolerable busy man, Mr.âWaters, I think they said your name was.
Tell me what you want, and make it short, if you donât mind.â
âNot a bit, sir. I rarely waste many words. But I think on this occasion
we have a subject in common that will interest you.â
Waters had come on what he felt was more or less of a wild-goose chase.
The great object was to keep young Hollis from coming in contact with
Elizabeth Cornish again. One such interview, as Vance Cornish had assured
him, would restore the boy to the ranch, make him the heir to the estate,
and turn Vance and his high ambitions out of doors. Also, the high
commission of Mr. Waters would cease. With no plan in mind, he had rushed
to the point of contact, and hoped to find some scheme after he arrived
there. As for Vance, the latter would promise money; otherwise he was a
shaken wreck of a man and of no use. But with money, Mr. Waters felt that
he had the key to this world and he was not without hope.
Three hours in the hotel of the town gave him many clues. Three hours of
casual gossip on the veranda of the same hotel had placed him in
possession of about every fact, true or presumably true, that could be
learned, and with the knowledge a plan sprang into his fertile brain. The
worn, worried face of the sheriff had been like water on a dry field; he
felt that the seed of his plan would immediately spring up and bear
fruit.
âAnd that thing we got in common?â said the sheriff tersely.
âItâs thisâyoung Terry Hollis.â
He let that shot go home without a follow-up and was pleased to see the
sheriffâs forehead wrinkle with pain.
âHeâs like a ghost hauntinâ me,â declared McGuire, with an attempted
laugh that failed flatly. âEvery time I turn around, somebody throws this
Hollis in my face. What is it now?â
âDo you mind if I run over the situation briefly, as I understand it?â
âFire away!â
The sheriff settled back; he had forgotten his rush of business.
âAs I understand it, you, Mr. McGuire, have the reputation of keeping
your county clean of crime and scenes of violence.â
âHuh!â grunted the sheriff.
âEveryone says,â went on Waters, âthat no one except a man named Minter
has done such work in meeting the criminal element on their own ground.
You have kept your county peaceful. I believe that is true?â
âHuh,â repeated McGuire. âKind of soft-soapy, but it ainât all wrong.
They ainât been much doing in these parts since I started to clean things
up.â
âUntil recently,â suggested Waters.
The face of the sheriff darkened. âWell?â he asked aggressively.
âAnd then two crimes in a row. First, a gun brawl in broad daylightâ
young Hollis shot a fellow namedâerââ
âLarrimer,â snapped the sheriff viciously. âIt was a square fight.
Larrimer forced the scrap.â
âI suppose so. Nevertheless, it was a gunfight. And next, two men raid
the bank in the middle of your town, and in spite of you and of special
guards, blow the door off a safe and gut the safe of its contents. Am I
right?â
The sheriff merely scowled.
âIt ainât clear to me yet,â he declared, âhow you and me get together on
any topic we got in common. Looks sort of like we was just hearing one
old yarn over and over agin.â
âMy dear sir,â smiled Waters, âyou have not allowed me to come to the
crux of my story. Which is: that you and I have one great object in
commonâto dispose of this Terry Hollis, for I take it for granted that
if you were to get rid of him the people who criticize now would do
nothing but cheer you. Am I right?â
âIf I could get him,â sighed the sheriff. âMr. Waters, gimme time and
Iâll get him, right enough. But the trouble with the gents around these
parts is that they been spoiled. I cleaned up all the bad ones so damn
quick that they think I can do the same with every crook that comes
along. But this Hollis is a slick one, I tell you. He covers his tracks.
Laughs in my face, and admits what he done, when he talks to me, like he
done the other day. But as far as evidence goes, I ainât got anything on
himâyet. But Iâll get it!â
âAnd in the meantime,â said Waters brutally, âthey say that youâre
getting old.â
The sheriff became a brilliant purple.
âDo they say that?â he muttered. âThatâs gratitude for you, Mr. Waters!
After what Iâve done for âemâthey say Iâm getting old just because I
canât get anything on this slippery kid right off!â
He changed from purple to gray. To fail now and lose his position meant a
ruined life. And Waters knew what was in his mind.
âBut if you got Terry Hollis, theyâd be stronger behind you than ever.â
âAh, wouldnât they, though? Tell me what a great gent I was quick as a
flash.â
He sneered at the thought of public opinion.
âAnd you see,â said Waters, âwhere I come in is that I have a plan for
getting this Hollis you desire so much.â
âYou do?â He rose and grasped the arm of Waters. âYou do?â
Waters nodded.
âItâs this way. I understand that he killed Larrimer, and Larrimerâs
older brother is the one who is rousing public opinion against you. Am I
right?â
âThe dog! Yes, youâre right.â
âThen get Larrimer to send Terry Hollis an invitation to come down into
town and meet him face to face in a gun fight. I understand this Hollis
is a daredevil sort and wouldnât refuse an invitation of that nature.
Heâd have to respond or else lose his growing reputation as a maneater.â
âManeater? Why, Bud Larrimer wouldnât be moreân a mouthful for him. Sure
heâd come to town. And heâd clean up quick. But Larrimer ainât fool
enough to send such an invite.â
âYou donât understand me,â persisted Waters patiently. âWhat I mean is
this. Larrimer sends the challenge, if you wish to call it that. He takes
up a certain position. Say in a public place. You and your men, if you
wish, are posted nearby, but out of view when young Hollis comes. When
Terry Hollis arrives, the moment he touches a gun butt, you fill him full
of lead and accuse him of using unfair play against Larrimer. Any excuse
will do. The public want an end of young Hollis. They wonât be particular
with their questions.â
He found it difficult to meet the narrowed eyes of the sheriff.
âWhat you want me to do,â said the sheriff, with slow effort, âis to set
a trap, get Hollis into it, and thenâmurder him?â
âA brutal way of putting it, my dear fellow.â
âA true way,â said the sheriff.
But he was thinking, and Waters waited.
When he spoke, his voice was soft enough to blend with the sheriffâs
thoughts without actually interrupting them.
âYouâre not a youngster any more, sheriff, and if you lose out here, your
reputation is gone for good. Youâll not have the time to rebuild it. Here
is a chance for you not only to stop the evil rumors, but to fortify your
past record with a new bit of work that will make people talk of you.
They donât really care how you do it. They wonât split hairs about
method. They want Hollis put out of the way. I say, cache yourself away.
Let Hollis come to meet Larrimer in a private room. You can arrange it
with Larrimer yourself later on. You shoot from concealment the moment
Hollis shows his face. It can be said that Larrimer did the shooting, and
beat Hollis
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