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Page 18
"Game! what game?" asked Bud, bewildered.
"Why, you told me it yourself--to marry Dick's girl, and live on
Dick's hard-earned money."
"But Dick borrowed the three thousand of Jack," objected Bud.
"Well, the dollars he borrowed have all gone, ain't they? And
the money he's sendin' back Dick dug out of the ground by hard
work, didn't he? Leastways, Payson hadn't ort 'o use the money
to rope in Dick's girl. It ort 'o be kep' from him, anyhow, till
Dick comes on the ground his own self. That 'u'd hold up the
weddin', all right, if I know Josephine. It 'u'd be easy to
steer her into refusin' to let Echo go into a mortgiged home."
Simple-minded Bud readily accepted the wily half-breed's
explanations and surmises, and fell into the trap he was
preparing. This was to hold up the express-agent and rob him of
the money Payson was expecting, on securing which it was McKee's
intention to flee the country before Dick Lane returned to
denounce him. To ascertain just when the money came into the
agent's hands, and to act as a cover in the robbery itself, an
accomplice was needed. For this purpose no man in all the
Sweetwater region was better adapted than Bud Lane. Frank and
friendly with every one, he would be trusted by the most
suspicious and cautious official in Pinal County. The fact that
he had chosen Buck McKee as an associate had already gone far to
rehabilitate this former "bad man" in the good graces of the
community. Under cover of this friendship, McKee hoped to escape
suspicion of any part in the homicide he contemplated. For it
was murder, foul, unprovoked murder that was in the black soul of
the half-breed. He intended to incriminate Bud so deeply as to
put it beyond all thought that he would confess.
Young Lane, passionately loyal to his brother, was ready for
anything that would delay Payson's marriage to Echo Allen.
Together with the wild joy that sprang up in his heart at the
thought that his brother was alive, was entwined a violent hatred
against his former employer. In the fierce turbulence within his
soul, generated by the meeting of these great emotions, he was
impelled to enter upon a mad debauch, in which McKee abetted and
joined him. Filling up on bad whisky, they rode through the
streets of Florence, yelling and shooting their "guns" like crazy
men. It was while they were engaged in this spectacular
exhibition of horsemanship, gun-play, and vocalization that Bud's
sweetheart rode into town to execute some commissions in
preparation for Echo Allen's wedding. Already "blue" over the
thought that her own wedding was far in the dim future, poor
Polly was cast into the depths of despair and disgust by the
drunken riot in which her prospective husband was indulging with
her particular aversion, the cruel, calf-torturing half-breed,
McKee. Thoroughly mortified, she slipped out of town by a side
street, and moodily rode back to Allen Hacienda, meeting on the
way, as we have seen, Jack Payson.
After the debauch was over, and the merry, mad devil of nervous
excitement was succeeded by the brooding demon of nervous
depression, McKee broached to Bud the idea of robbing the
express-agent of the money coming to Payson. This fell in
readily with the young man's revengeful mood. He unreservedly
placed himself under the half-breed's orders.
In accordance with these, Bud hung about the road-station a great
deal, cultivating the friends of Terrill, the agent. 'Ole Man'
Terrill, as he was called, although he was a vigorous specimen of
manhood on the under side of sixty, was ticket and freight agent,
express-messenger, and telegraph-operator, in fact, the entire
Bureau of Transportation and communication at Florence station.
Bud frankly told him he was out of a job, and had, indeed,
decided in view of his coming marriage, to give up
horse-wrangling for some vocation of a more elevating character.
So Terrill let him help about the station, chiefly in the
clerical work. While so engaged, Bud learned that a package
valued at three thousand dollars was expected upon a certain
train. Although no consignee was mentioned, the fact that the
amount tallied exactly with the sum Payson was expecting caused
him to conclude it was Dick's repayment of his loan. Accordingly
he informed McKee that the time they were awaiting had arrived.
Florence had grown up as a settlement about a spring of water
some time before the advent of the railroad. Builders of the
line got into trouble with the inhabitants, and in revenge
located the station half a mile away from the spring, thinking
new settlers would come to them. In this they were disappointed.
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