Part 28 (1/2)

”What verdicts did the coroner's jury bring in on those cases?” he inquired, with a forced carelessness in his tone that did not deceive Benton in the least. ”I haven't seen th' paper.”

Ellis, with his foot on a chair, paused and turned, brush in hand.

”Eh?” he returned irritably.

Churchill, avoiding the other's eyes and fumbling with his pipe, repeated the question.

Benton reached for a memorandum form that lay on the desk, and tossed it over unceremoniously.

”There's a copy of the wording of the findings,” he said shortly.

”Condensed, it practically amounts to 'death, caused by an act of justifiable homicide,' in the one case, 'manslaughter,' in the other....”

He finished his cleaning operations and proceeded to pull on his serge.

Churchill fidgeted uneasily.

”Was there-what kind of evidence was adduced?” he began. ”Did-?”

”Here!” interrupted Ellis harshly. ”What the devil are _you_ beating 'round the bush for? Why don't you come across with it plain? What d'you want to know?”

The local Sergeant flushed angrily, stung to the quick by the rough incivility of his companion's speech and the cold, contemptuous stare that accompanied it, but sheer bodily fear of the ex-pugilist silenced the retort that sprang to his lips, and he sank back in the chair from which he had half arisen.

”Oh-nothing,” he mumbled thickly. ”I thought p'r'aps-”

”Yes,” broke in Benton savagely. ”I know what you _thought_, and I'll tell you this much, Mr. 'B--' Churchill.... If I hadn't given my evidence mighty darned careful, _you'd_ have been on the flypaper, properly, both feet. _Your_ name cropped up during the inquests-one of the jury-men gently inquiring 'why _you_ weren't present, as p'r'aps _you_ might have been able to throw some light on one or two obscure points in the inquiry.' But, luckily for you, none of the others took his suggestion up.” He paused and, emitting a short, ugly laugh, continued: ”I'm under 'open' arrest, an' I've got to go back with Inspector Purvis an' face a formal charge of manslaughter-same as in that Cash.e.l.l business. We should worry, anyway. What gets _my_ goat is you thinkin' you were smart enough to cover up your trail in a little, one-horse '_dorp_' like this. D'you figure you could pull off anything like that, with all these old geezers of women around? What? I don't think. It's a good job for you none o' _them_ happened to be called as witnesses. All those who gave evidence were men, an' most of 'em friends o' yours, at that. See here; look! I couldn't exactly say how much you _did_ know, but I can make a pretty good guess. There was a lot you couldn't _help_ but tumble to, which puts this case entirely outside the ordinary. Anyway, it doesn't look as if you'd had much regard for your own nest.”

He remained silent for a s.p.a.ce then, his voice shaking ever so little:

”I've got no use for you, Churchill. I'm not stuck on you one little bit ... an' I guess that feeling is reciprocated, for I can see the mark of my fist on your blooming dial right to this very minute. Mind you, though, I'm not blaming you in any way for _all_ that's happened. That's out of the question-an' it wouldn't be logical, or fair. I'm not moralizing, either, for I reckon there's too many 'gla.s.s-with-care'

labels on both of us to start slingin' rocks at each other-but all the same ... there's _something_ about this business I can't forget ... an'

you know d-n well what that _something_ is!”

And, opening the door, he strode out heavily, and banged it behind him.

Ellis, duly tried on the formal charge that had been laid against him, was honorably acquitted of all blame, and returned to duty. Later receiving the grant for his well-earned reward-half of which he, with the utmost difficulty, prevailed upon Musgrave to accept-he obtained ten days' leave and, dragging the latter from his all-absorbing practise for that period, the two departed away up to the Kananaskis Falls on a fis.h.i.+ng trip. The doctor insisted on paying all expenses in connection with this outing, and presented his companion with a magnificent English green-heart fly rod, which Ellis had often eyed longingly.

Both men, possessing in a great degree the same morose, taciturn characteristics, they derived a certain grim pleasure in each other's company and, loving and understanding the sport as only good fishermen can, it is needless to say that they had extraordinarily heavy catches and, in their silent, undemonstrative way, enjoyed themselves hugely.

Their time seemed all too short, however, and it was with a feeling of real regret that they finally struck camp and returned once more to the routine of their respective duties, vowing fervently to come again the following season. The Indian summer-that most beautiful and reliable period of the year in the Canadian West-gradually pa.s.sed. November saw the first fall of snow, and from then onward the weather grew steadily colder as the icy grasp of winter began to grip the West.

Gradually the stock depredations in the Sergeant's district grew more and more infrequent, until they practically ceased altogether for, by this time, men who had hitherto been inclined to step aside from the straight trail grew afraid of him. Afraid of that sneering, merciless tongue that stung them to the quick with its bitter venom-of the heavy hand that struck by night as well as day-and, of that scheming, cunning brain which, outcla.s.sing theirs in its superior knowledge of ways that are dark on the range, seemed to antic.i.p.ate and forestall every crooked move that they made.

But, what dumbfounded them more than anything else, was the strange apparition of a great, brutal _heart_ at the bottom of it all. There was Mrs. Layc.o.c.k, they reflected, who had been burnt out in that last bad prairie fire, and whose husband he had been the means of sending to the penitentiary a short time before as an incorrigible horse thief. Had not Benton gone into her stable and, single-handed, taken out and hitched up that maddened team to the democrat, getting badly kicked in doing so?

And, after driving the woman and her family safely out of the fire zone, returned and routed out every able-bodied man within its radius? and then, not sparing himself, worked them like galley slaves, trailing wet hides and flogging with gunny-sacks until they had got it under?

True, he had come around later with a subscription list in her aid, and a look on his face that seemed to work wonders with those parsimoniously inclined. But did not his own contribution on that occasion exceed by fourfold any one of _theirs_? even if the Government did not pay inordinately high salaries to members of the Force.

And Jim McCloud, too. Had not the Sergeant, at the imminent risk of his own life, pulled Jim out of that muskeg at Willow Mere one night? Jim was ”full,” without a doubt; otherwise an old hand like him would never have got himself into such a jack-pot; but, all the same, he well-nigh followed his horse. Had not the Sergeant packed him across his saddle to the nearest ranch-worked over him until he came around and was all right-and then afterwards, cut short Jim's surly thanks with the remark that ”he had only saved him that he might have the satisfaction later of getting him where he wanted him”?