Part 30 (1/2)
”By G.o.d, that's my Injun! I ain't through with him, yet, an' there ain't no d.a.m.n jade kin carve him up in under my nose.”
”An' this here's my woman, too. An' there ain't no d.a.m.n hooch runner kin pull a gun on her, neither!”
”Ain't no harm done,” conciliated Claw, ”An' I guess they ain't no call to fight over 'em. How about that drink?”
”Git it!” ordered the Captain, and as the cowering Dog Rib slunk from the room, he s.n.a.t.c.hed the knife from the pinioned hand of the girl and hurled it under the bunk:
”An', now you h.e.l.l-cat!” he rasped, pus.h.i.+ng her from him, ”You set to an' git supper! An' don't go tryin' no more monkey business, er I'll break ye in two! They seems to be grub enough here without usin' none of my own,” he added, eying the supplies ranged along the opposite wall, ”Who owns this shack, anyhow?”
”Carter Brent owns it,” cried the girl, drawing herself erect and glaring into the man's eyes. It was as though the very mention of his name, nerved her to defiance. ”And when he returns, he will kill you both--kill you! Do you hear?”
”It's a lie!” roared Claw, then paused, abruptly. ”I wonder--maybe it is his shack. He come straight from the Yukon, an' that accounts fer the burnin' in.”
”Know him?” asked the Captain.
”Know him!” growled Claw, ”Yes, I know him--an' so do you. That's Ace-In-The-Hole's real name.”
”The h.e.l.l it is!” cried the Captain, and laughed uproariously. ”So that's the way the wind blows! An' the breed's be'n livin' here with him! Things is sure comin' my way! That's most too good to be true--an'
you misrepresentin' her to be a virgin, fresh from a school--ho, ho, ho!”
”What'd you mean?” snarled Claw, ”How was I to know----”
”Whether ye know'd, er whether ye didn't, it didn't make no difference--I win either way.”
”What d'you mean?” Claw repeated.
”You know what I mean,” sneered the Captain, truculently, ”Secondhand goods--half price--see?”
”You mean I don't git my other five hundred?” yelled Claw jerking the revolver from his holster and levelling at the Captain's head, ”Is that what ye mean?”
Surprised at the suddenness of the action, the Captain was caught off guard, and he stood blinking foolishly into the mouth of the gun: ”Well,” he faltered, moistening his lips with his tongue, ”Mebbe we might kind o' talk it over.”
”The only talkin' over you'll git out of me, is to come acrost with the five hundred,” sneered Claw.
”Ye know d.a.m.n well I ain't got no five hundred with me. Wait till we git to the _Belva Lou_.”
”I'll wait, all right--but not till we git to the _Belva Lou_. Me an'
the girl will wait on sh.o.r.e, in sight of the _Belva Lou_, while you go out an' git the money an' fetch it back--an' you'll come back _alone_ with it. An' what's more--you ain't ahead nothin' on the rum, neither.
'Cause I'm goin' to slip down to the Injun camp in about five minutes, an' the rum goes along. I'll be back by daylight, an' instead of the rum, I'll have all the fur--an' everything else them Dog Ribs has got.
An' I'll git square with that d.a.m.n squaw fer jerkin' that handful of whiskers out of me, too.”
”That's all right, Johnnie,” a.s.sured the Captain, still with his eyes on the black muzzle of the gun. ”Take the rum along--only, we'd ort to split half an' half on that fur.”
”Half an' half, h.e.l.l! You got what you come after, ain't you? An' if I kin pick up an honest dollar on the side, that ain't no reason I should split it with you, is it? I'll jest leave you two to git acquainted while I slip down to the camp.”
”Go ahead,” grinned the Captain, ”An' don't hurry back, we'll wait.”
”Yer d.a.m.n right you'll wait!” retorted Claw, ”I'll have the dogs.” In the doorway he paused, ”An', by the way, Cap. Don't open that door till I git out of range--see?”
The moment the door closed behind Claw, the Captain placed his back against it and turned to the girl: ”Git to work now an' git supper!