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are apt to move without planning, and so make mistakes they might not
otherwise make.
It was for this reason that he had deliberately prodded Wilson Hoyt. Any move
the marshal might make at this time would help. Even if he only started asking
questions it might be enough.
While Shevlin stood there, Ben Stowe suddenly appeared in the door of the
Nevada House, and Mike Shevlin started toward him, walking swiftly. Stowe
turned at the sound of his heels, and Shevlin caught the hard, measuring look.
And suddenly Mike felt like old times. He knew that now the waiting was over
and he was going into battle. He felt a wild surge of eagerness within him
that he had to fight down.
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Stowe was poised and ready for him. Mike saw it even as Stowe spoke. Hello,
Mike.
How about a drink for old times sake?
No time for drinking, Ben. Mike grinned at him, daringly, challengingly.
I m going to tear down your playhouse, Ben.
Ben Stowe s expression did not change; he simply said, Mike, everybody would
be happier if you d just ride on out of here. Ben reached in his pocket and
took out a fat roll of bills.
Now, if you re short of cash
Remember me? There were always a lot of things more important than money.
Eli Patterson is dead, Mike.If you start opening that up, a lot of people
will get hurt.
That s what I had in mind.
You won t leave?
Ben Stowe was thinking about his plans for Shevlin.
The trouble was,they might not work fast enough, so he d have to make other,
faster plans.
Ben? Mike spoke quietly, almost gently, so that suddenly every sense in
Stowe s body was alert. Ben, why don t you leave?
Stowe was startled at the words. He stared sharply, unbelievingly at Shevlin.
Me? Why should I leave?
Think about it, Ben. You and me, we re not exactly tenderfeet. We ve both
been through the mill. I say, grab it and run. You ve had everything your way,
and you ve got a lot stashed away, so why not take it and get out? Believe me,
Ben, it s all over.
Ben Stowe started to make an angry reply,then hesitated. Shevlin was keyed
up, he could see that, and the last thing Stowe wanted was a gun battle. And
then he had a shocking sense that Shevlin was right.
He struck a match and took his time lighting his cigar. He was shocked at the
sudden wave of panic that had swept through him.
Ben Stowe was realist enough to know that the doubt had been lingering there
all the time, andShevlin s words had just exploded his feeling into
desperation. In any such deal as this there was always that feeling that it
was too good to last; and that feeling had been building larger and larger in
all of them. Only a damned fool could fail to be apprehensive. But Ben Stowe
was a hard man; he fought down his panic.
You seem to be riding a rough saddle, Mike. What s your stake in all this?
Give me the man who killed Eli.
Stowe shot him a swift glance. Eli?
Mike, men have died before, and others have yet to die, so why get worked up
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over him?
He made one last attempt, not to buy Shevlin, but to stall him. Why not come
into the party, Mike? This cake is big enough for all of us.
Give me the man who killed Eli.
Stowe drew on his cigar. Now, I might just do that, Mike, he said, knowing
he could do nothing of the kind. Give me a couple of days.
Make it twenty-four hours. Shevlin moved to be off. But take it from me,
Ben, you d better take what you ve got and run. Your game s played out.
Abruptly, he walked away. Ben Stowe would be no bargain in a fight. He had
always been tough, but he was tougher, colder, and smarter now.
Somehow he must crack the tight ring that Stowe had built around the
enterprise. Once that ring was cracked, once somebody was hit with panic, then
the whole thing would fall apart as everybody scrambled for safety with
everything they could lay their hands on.
Mason ... Mason had to be the weak link. NotGib Gentry, forGib would dig in
his heels and make a fight of it. Nor did Mike wish to tangle withGib they
had eaten too much dust and alkali together. Crack Mason, and Gentry would get
out fast; and after Mason, Stowe would have to make his fight.
Mike Shevlin was no fool. Pausing briefly on the corner, he knew he was
looking at an uncertain future. He was forcing things into the open now, but
it was the only way he knew how to act. Let the others play itcosy ; he had
neither the time nor the patience.
First, he had to getLaineTennison out of town before the roof fell in. Even
without that, he would have enough trouble taking care of himself.
Bleakly, he thought of tomorrow, and knew that tomorrow s sun might not shine
upon his face.For he was walking into m trouble than he had ever tackled in
his life, and he had no friends. He was alone, as he had always been alone.
And he would die alone, die somewhere up a canyon when his shells ran out, or
his canteen was empty and his horse dead.
He had always known that was the way it would be. It was hell, when a man
came to think of it. He d never felt sorry for himself, but right now there
wasn t a soul anywhere in the world who would think of it twice if he was
killed. There was nobody who cared; and the odd part of it was, there never
had been, as long as he could recall.
He had brushed aside such thoughts before; what was bringing them to mind
now? Was there deep within him a realization of death? Was he really going to
pay it out now?
He had never been in love, and so far as he knew he had never been loved by a
woman. Here and there he had known women, some of them with affection, but it
had gone no deeper than that. He knew he was a one-woman man, and had always
known it; and he shied away now from the face that appeared sharply before his
eyes. Not for him. Not for such as he, was a girl likeLaineTennison .
In the back of his mind there had always been the vague idea that someday he
would find the girl he was looking for. He would buy himself a nice little
spread, fix it up shipshape andcosy , and maybe they d have a couple of
youngsters. ... He was a hell of a person to have such ideas.
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Mike Shevlin considered the present situation with care. He had really kicked
over the applecart, and no mistake. Wilson Hoyt would not sit still. He would
at least makeinquiries, try to take some steps to avoid trouble. That Ben
Stowe would also take steps would be quite in keeping with the man as he
remembered him.
At the livery stable Shevlin got his horse and rode out of town, then circled
around and came up behind Dr. RupertClagg s place. There were tall cottonwoods
behind the house, rustling their leaves in the faint stir of air.
Swinging down, he tied his horse well into the deepest shadow of the trees.
He must seeLaine . He must warn her, and he must get her out of town if
possible.
He moved toward the house and paused by a thick old tree, listening into the
night. From the kitchen came the faint clatter of dishes and the momentary
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