BAD END VALLEY
lf I'm gonna trust “ Tha qe "l know vou’re too much y " l ’' "white-livered tool to doubleol a , I Istcn. Danny, ever since Cr ° sS „ n e that strike in Calitorny. big 1 m3 'l crooks nave tried to twist a " ot it I never got no peace me tt °' , i an* that’s why I came an' " I, mvselt Here with you iu this “Sfrimd vailey- t knew that, as f° as I could keep King guessin . keel) away all the other tmv,'„ were after my money, c l it’s worked pretty well so far, i f figure It ain't gonna work lei longer, 'cos King ain't gonna ” kept guessin' much longer. For another thing, there's this strange! Mew m yesterday. He seeps . ‘ ... cahoots with King, an I m avhe they'll work together to art a new play. I reckon it's time flog in my hand, tor I can't keep up my bluff much longer. Still Danny could not speak. Tumultuous thoughts were chasing each other through his head. To get that money—such a sum of it—would m pan the beginning of a new life. It would mean something that he and Ruth had never dared even to hope for—freedom and happiness tin t h e . world that lay waiting for them out there beyond Blue Smoke Gap. With that money in their possession, not even King Garrick could harm them once they had escaped from the valley.
Setli avus on his He fled to the wall opposite him, and moved away a packing-case that stood again it. He jerked his head to Danny. ‘‘Come here,” he said.
Danny went and stood at his side. ‘‘Know Avhat’s outside this wall here?” he asked. Danny shook his head. “Why nothing, I guess.”
“Yuh made a wrong guess, son,” Seth ansAvered jeeringly. “It’s the midden — leastAvays, what looks like a midden. But it ain’t —it’s a heap of earth Avkh some dung on top to make it look like a midden. An’ take a look at this —”
Bending down, lie pulled out a clasp-knife and inserted the point of it between two of the boards of the wall near the floor. Under gentle prising, the bottom section of one of the boards wung out on a concealed hinge, and a little heap of earth dribbled through the space on to the floor of the room. Seth knelt down and dug his hands into the earth on the other side of the wall. When he straightened again, he held in his hands an oblong tin box about eight inches long. Danny was trembling with excitement Seth grinned at him like a monkey with a stolen banana. “Pretty smart, huh?” he cackled. “‘lt’s buried, but yuh can dig it up without goin’ out o’ doors. Nobody ain’t ever seen me cornin’ or gdin’ to my cache!’’ With a wrench, he opened the box., it was stuffed to the top with greenbacks. “There it is ” Seth gloated. “All in bills, and as good as gold—only easier to carry an’ easier to hide. An B’s ah yours, -Danny, when I’m gone!”
Abruptly, as though on a sudden suspicion, he snapped the box shut., iis eyes glowed malevolently" and fiercely at the boy: ‘But get this straight. Danny—if >nh so much as lay a finger inside iat Cactle afore I’m gone. I’ll put SUCh a curse on yuh that you’ll e ' ei spend a minte of the day or uight in peace again!” Such was the venom of his face ‘ ue spoke that it suddenly dawn°n Danny that his grandfather, one subject at least—that of his “ e} ~~ Was m ad. What else but von Qes;? . could have made him come liv e n * nly t 0 Bad End Valley and €ni ! 5 3 .there instead of worlds hIS Wealth iu the great hav! n o T ide; w hat else could that h v 6 hlm 80 misei 'ly about it rick JL IVed as a de Pendent on Car- *>« WstoaS? I>iU ' t “ d ° ,lar lis hWng°fla 8 s h h 'IS 8 U ° m ° re than a "’hen Se"h n r ° Ug his mind ’ kneeling- k ** ■ Uu ued away and was board, * b5 ’ lhe SdS In the wallthe earn ,US ““ K ,he l,ux hack among ro mi Packing , he earth Placßd board 3 . teW . secoudy the distUore. Seth a 8 * U P° sß ion once gathering infm ite care, was dirt that re i - le few s P r inkles of t 0 wh « c th ? a” 611 aS tlle onI >- clue re tl >e box was hidden
BY W. B. BANNERMAN
The packing-'case was replaced where it had been. Then Seth turned to Danny, opening his mouth to speak again. But the words were never uttered. At that moment, there was a sharp knock at the door. The boy and the old man stood staring at each other in alarm. The knock, coming at that particular instant, had an odd and startling significance. The knock was repeated—louder. Neither of the men inside the shack moved to open It. Then the latch rose, and the door swung inwards. A man entered —a slim, wiry man, with a cold white face and hard blue eyes. The newcomer looked round the shack till his eyes fell on Seth. “Howdy, old timer!’ he said insolently. Seth growled: “Who in hell are you?” “Cal Barker’s the name. I’m a sort of neighbour of yourn. Just blew in.” Seth nodded. “So you’re the stranger that hit the valley yesterday. Well, Mister Barker, thanks for visitin’ with ns, an’ I darn sorry yuh gotta go so quick! ”
The gambler smiled aloofly. “Yon need’nt be sorry, pop. I ain’t in no hurry.”
Seth burst out fiercely, his Amice shrill and cracked as the croAving of an old cock:
‘‘l don’t gi\ r e a damn if you’re in a hurry or not! I ain’t seein’ no visitors to-day, an’ yuh can git right noAV. Vamoose ”
Barker smiled his bloodless smile. “Yuh-all ain’t jest the most hospitable old feller north of the line, are yuh? Well, never mind, pop; T came a long way to see yuh an’ have a little talk to yuh. An’ I’m gonna have that little talk.”
“Not in my shack, yuh ain’t. Go on, get outahere before I tell my gran’son to throw yuh out!” Still smiling, Barker turned to eye Danny in a Avay that made the boy’s face go white. A sudden Avave of hatred for this easy-tempered, selfconfident stranger surged OA r er him. He Avanted to knock that infuriating look of contempt off that carven face. His fists clenched, and he took a step forAvard. . . . Then he stopped. There Avas something dangerous as well as merely contemptuous in the stranger’s eye. And Danny, Avho had had too much of the manhood knocked out of him recently, felt his rage drop from him —and with it, his resolution. His rage turned to his cowardly self, instead of the stranger. The moment for the quick blovv had passed, and he could not recapture the urge to deal it. He flushed and dropped his eyes.
“So much for your gran’son,” Barker drawled to Seth. “As I was sayin’, I want to have a little talk, to yuh, Seth Seaton, and, believe me, I’ve something to tell yuh that gonna do yuh a lot of good.” ‘I want no good from you!” Seth flung hack at him. “I don’t like strangers who come hornin’ in here —an’ neither does King Garrick. If yuh don’t beat it pronto, King’ll have plenty to say about yuh buttin’ in!”
“Yuh don’t just love me, do yuh, Seaton Never mind, yuh’ll get to like me in time —I’m stickin’ around here for a spell, an’ you’ll see a lot of me. You’ll listen to me all right—in time —an’ I can wait till you’re ready. Well, so-long, pop. You’ll be welcomin’ me to your man-
sion soon again.” With a nod, he turned away and walked out. The door swung smoothly shut and the latch fell softly. The atmosphere his coming left was sinister. There was silence for a second or two: then Seth swng round on his grandson in a-fury.
“Yuli darned white - livered skunk!” he screeched. “You’ve got no more guts in yuh than a halfwhelpdd coyote! Lettin’ that feller come in an’ treat yuh like dirt — Hell, I’m glad my son died before he could see what sort of a thing he’d brought into the world.” Without a word, Danny walked to the door and opened it. Silently, he stared at the retreating back of the gambler, as Barker strolled towards Garrick’s ranch. Pie saw the gamble stop. Ruth Nelson was walking towards her father’s shack with a pail of water. Barker’s eyes were fixed on her in pleased Surprise and in a cool appraisement that sent the blood rushing to Danny's' face. He
saw Barker nod appreciatively and follow Ruth with his eyes till she disappeared into her doorway. Danny clenched his teeth and ground out curses between them. (To be continued)
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Bibliographic details
Bay of Plenty Times, Volume LXIX, Issue 13241, 17 January 1941, Page 3
Word Count
1,516BAD END VALLEY Bay of Plenty Times, Volume LXIX, Issue 13241, 17 January 1941, Page 3
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