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Updated: May 7, 2025
Sometimes it was a partridge, sometimes it was a squirrel, or a rabbit whatever it was that fell a victim to Rathburn's gun, Stub learned very soon that it must be brought at once to the master and laid at his feet; and so proud was he to be thus of use and consequence that he was well content if at the end of the day his master tossed him a discarded bone after the spoils had been cooked and the man's own appetite satisfied.
Rathburn's face went white, and his eyes shot fire as he listened to the sheriff's cruel laugh in which the others in the room above now joined. Lamy signaled that he wished to whisper in his ear, and Rathburn bent his head, although he kept the gun handy. "I'm not goin' to risk shootin' anybody if we should be found or cornered," Lamy whispered. "I thought you ought to know "
Again the light feminine laugh reached Kate and her lips tightened as she thought cynically: "Dudes from the Scissor Ranch over to look at the freak woman sheepherder." Disston winced a little. Kate might misunderstand and take offense at Beth Rathburn's laughter.
Both the man in the cage and the man in the aisle recognized the sheriff's step as Neal closed the door, paused for a look about the office, and then walked toward the door leading into the jail proper. The jailer opened his mouth to sound a warning, but something in Rathburn's gaze and posture held him silent.
They could see the menace in Rathburn's manner, and they could see that Carlisle was fighting mad. "Ain't you a little free with your language, Carlisle?" drawled Rathburn. "You know who he is?" Carlisle cried to Mannix. "He's The Coyote an outlaw an' a killer with a price a mile long on his head "
Had Sheriff Bob Long seen his face at this time he might have glimpsed another angle of Rathburn's many-sided character an angle which would have given him pause. Rathburn looked behind, and his eyes narrowed. Two fires were burning on the peak. Already the watchers were cognizant of his latest move and were signaling to those who might be below.
His gun was in his holster. "We've got you, you outlaw!" he cried as he flung himself from the saddle and strode up to Rathburn, Mannix, and Sautee. Rathburn's eyes had narrowed until they were slits through which his cold, hard gaze centered upon Carlisle. His attitude had changed. Even his posture was suddenly different. There was a long breath from the men behind Mannix. It was a tense moment.
"I didn't think you did," said Price. "I'll have to get goin' hit for new country an' never know when I may run up against the law in a quarter where I ain't expecting it; always sneaking along like the coyote. It was Mike Eagen who gave me that name, Joe." Rathburn's voice was low and vibrant, and the old man felt the menacing quality in it.
He gave his order with a nod and a mild flourish of the hand, indicating that he would take the same. "Oh waiter," called Rathburn. "Four eggs with mine." Sautee laughed. It was a peculiar laugh in that it seemed to convey little mirth. It was perfunctory. He gazed at Rathburn quizzically. "They tell me you're a gunman," he said in a low voice. Rathburn's brows shot up. "They? Who's they?"
Rathburn's hand, as it moved downward toward his shirt, hovered an instant above where his good gun was stuck in his waistband, out of sight under the skirt of his coat; then it moved to the open shirt at his throat. He drew out the package and held it out toward the other. The man closed in and snatched the package, glancing at it in the dim starlight.
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