Read Oliver Strange - Sudden Westerns 06 - Sudden Gold-Seeker(1937) for Free Online

Mason it was the end of a dream and it made him
reckless.
                 Leaving
her without another word, he went to the Pioneer. There Sudden found him an
hour later and one glance showed him the state of affairs.
                 “Tryin’
to buy the business a glassful at a time?” he asked sarcastically, and then, “So
Uncle is all wool an’ a yard wide, huh?”
                 “Shore,
an’ at that he ain’t so wide as Mister Lesurge,” Mason sneered .“ Yu were dumb enough to mention him, o’ course?”
                 “I
on’y said he looked like a card-sharp an’ she r’ared right up—I thought she was
goin’ to eat me.”
                 “A
sad mouthful—she would have had a headache in the mornin’. Well, yu seem to
have made a mess of it, an’ that rotgut won’t help none .
Let’s vamoose.” As they stepped from the door of the saloon, Mason staggered
and nearly fell. And, of course, it was at that moment Miss Ducane and Lesurge
passed on the other side of the street. The girl gave them one glance of
mingled pity and disgust and went on, her head high.
                 “Your
young friend appears to be enjoying himself,” Lesurge commented.
                 “I
didn’t think he was that kind,” she replied sadly, a little conscious that she
might be responsible for the lapse.
                 “Oh,
cattlemen are all alike,” he said easily. “Women and drink are irresistible
magnets to them.”
                 “Yes,
I suppose so,” she returned, and wondered why she should regret it.
                 The
next few days were spent in preparing for the journey westwards and in the
course of them Mary Ducane came to know and like the old man she called “Uncle.”
Queer he undoubtedly was, but always, to her, kind and considerate. He was
eager to start for the goldfields and extravagant in his promises of what he
would do for her.
                 It
had been arranged that Lesurge and his “friend”—Fagan —who had expressed his
contrition to Miss Ducane and been prettily pardoned—should join them in their
journey to the Black Hills. They would not be alone. Tim Welder’s reports and
Snowy’s stories of lucky strikes in the old wild Californian days had aroused
the cupidity and adventurous spirit of some of the younger Waysiders, tempting
them to try their fortunes at the new diggings.
                 “Yu
fellas oughta come along,” Welder remarked to the two cowboys on the night
before the start was to be made. “Why, I reckon we’ll trail with yu,” Sudden
said, and saw the fleeting frown pass across the face of Lesurge. He looked at
the saloonkeeper. “I didn’t figure on stayin’ here, anyways.” The cowboys
consulted Snowy as a matter of course and when he had advised on the question
of outfit, he added: “I’m right glad you boys is comin’.
Don’t git too fur from me—fella never knows when he’ll need a friend:” With a
finger on his lips he stole away.
                 “Now
what d’yu make o’ that?” Gerry queried, when they were
alone. “O’ course, he’s weak in the head.”
                 “Mebbe,”
Sudden replied. “Did yu notice that he kept glancin’ over his shoulder an’ that
Lesurge an’ Angel-face wasn’t about? They ain’t pleased we’re goin’—not a
little mite, an’ that’s a good reason for not changin’ our minds.”
                 “An’
for takin’ Snowy’s tip to stay around.”
                 “Shore,
but I misdoubt we’re headed for trouble.”
                 “I
ain’t carin’,” the boy said. “I can shoot some, an’ I’m guessin’ yu know about
guns, seem’ yu tote a couple.”
                 “It’s
a matter o’ balance,” Sudden explained gravely. “One makes me walk all
lopsided. Allasame, I do savvy which end to point