Chapter II: Golden Madness The mining town of Whapeton sprawled in a wide gulch that wandered between sheer rock walls and steep hillsides. Cabins, saloons and dance-halls backed against the cliffs on the south side of the gulch. The houses facing them were almost on the bank of Whapeton Creek, which wandered down the gulch, keeping mostly to the center. On both sides of the creek cabins and tents straggled for a mile and a half each way from the main body of the town. Men were washing gold dust out of the creek, and out of its smaller tributaries which meandered into the canyon along tortuous ravines. Some of these ravines opened into the gulch between the houses built against the wall, and the cabins and tents which straggled up them gave the impression that the town had overflowed the main gulch and spilled into its tributaries. Buildings were of logs, or of bare planks laboriously freighted over the mountains. Squalor and draggled or gaudy elegance rubbed elbows. An intense virility surged through the scene. What other qualities it might have lacked, it overflowed with a superabundance of vitality. Color, action, movement--growth and power! The atmosphere was alive with these elements, stinging and tingling. Here there were no delicate shadings or subtle contrasts. Life painted here in broad, raw colors, in bold, vivid strokes. Men who came here left behind them the delicate nuances, the cultured tranquilities of life. An empire was being built on muscle and guts and audacity, and men dreamed gigantically and wrought terrifically. No dream was too mad, no enterprise too tremendous to be accomplished. Passions ran raw and turbulent. Boot heels stamped on bare plank floors, in the eddying dust of the street. Voices boomed, tempers exploded in sudden outbursts of primitive violence. Shrill voices of painted harpies mingled with the clank of gold on gambling tables, gusty mirth and vociferous altercation along the bars where raw liquor hissed in a steady stream down hairy, dust-caked throats. It was one of a thousand similar panoramas of the day, when a giant empire was bellowing in lusty infancy. But a sinister undercurrent was apparent. Corcoran, riding by the sheriff, was aware of this, his senses and intuitions whetted to razor keenness by the life he led. The instincts of a gunfighter were developed to an abnormal alertness, else he had never lived out his first year of gunmanship. But it took no abnormally developed instinct to tell Corcoran that hidden currents ran here, darkly and strongly. As they threaded their way among trains of pack-mules, rumbling wagons and swarms of men on foot which thronged the straggling street, Corcoran was aware of many eyes following them. Talk ceased suddenly among gesticulating groups as they recognized the sheriff, then the eyes swung to Corcoran, searching and appraising. He did not seem to be aware of their scrutiny. Middleton murmured: They know Im bringing back a gunfighting deputy. Some of those fellows are Vultures, though I cant prove it. Look out for yourself. Corcoran considered this advice too unnecessary to merit a reply. They were riding past the King of Diamonds gambling hall at the moment, and a group of men clustered in the doorway turned to stare at them. One lifted a hand in greeting to the sheriff. Ace Brent, the biggest gambler in the gulch, murmured Middleton as he returned the salute. Corcoran got a glimpse of a slim figure in elegant broadcloth, a keen, inscrutable countenance, and a pair of piercing black eyes. Middleton did not enlarge upon his description of the man, but rode on in silence. They traversed the body of the town--the clusters of stores and saloons--and passed on, halting at a cabin apart from the rest. Between it and the town the creek swung out in a wide loop that carried it some distance from the south wall of the gulch, and the cabins and tents straggled after the creek. That left this particular cabin isolated, for it was built with its back wall squarely against the sheer cliff. There was a corral on one side, a clump of trees on the other. Beyond the trees a narrow ravine opened into the gulch, dry and unoccupied. This is my cabin, said Middleton. That cabin back there--he pointed to one which they had passed, a few hundred yards back up the road--I use for a sheriffs office. I need only one room. You can bunk in the back room. You can keep your horse in my corral, if you want to. I always keep several there for my deputies. It pays to have a fresh supply of horseflesh always on hand. As Corcoran dismounted he glanced back at the cabin he was to occupy. It stood close to a clump of trees, perhaps a hundred yards from the steep wall of the gulch. There were four men at the sheriffs cabin, one of which Middleton introduced to Corcoran as Colonel Hopkins, formerly of Tennessee. He was a tall, portly man with an iron grey mustache and goatee, as well dressed as Middleton himself. Colonel Hopkins owns the rich Elinor A. claim, in partnership with Dick Bisley, said Middleton; in addition to being one of the most prominent merchants in the Gulch. A great deal of good either occupation does me, when I cant get my money out of town, retorted the colonel. Three times my partner and I have lost big shipments of gold on the stage. Once we sent out a load concealed in wagons loaded with supplies supposed to be intended for the miners at Teton Gulch. Once clear of Whapeton the drivers were to swing back east through the mountains. But somehow the Vultures learned of our plan; they caught the wagons fifteen miles south of Whapeton, looted them and murdered the guards and drivers. The towns honeycombed with their spies, muttered Middleton. Of course. One doesnt know who to trust. It was being whispered in the streets that my men had been killed and robbed, before their bodies had been found. We know that the Vultures knew all about our plan, that they rode straight out from Whapeton, committed that crime and rode straight back with the gold dust. But we could do nothing. We cant prove anything, or convict anybody. Middleton introduced Corcoran to the three deputies, Bill McNab, Richardson, and Stark. McNab was as tall as Corcoran and more heavily built, hairy and muscular, with restless eyes that reflected a violent temper. Richardson was more slender, with cold, unblinking eyes, and Corcoran instantly classified him as the most dangerous of the three. Stark was a burly, bearded fellow, not differing in type from hundreds of miners. Corcoran found the appearances of these men incongruous with their protestations of helplessness in the face of the odds against them. They looked like hard men, well able to take care of themselves in any situation. Middleton, as if sensing his thoughts, said: These men are not afraid of the devil, and they can throw a gun as quick as the average man, or quicker. But its hard for a stranger to appreciate just what were up against here in Whapeton. If it was a matter of an open fight, it would be different. I wouldnt need any more help. But its blind going, working in the dark, not knowing who to trust. I dont dare to deputize a man unless Im sure of his honesty. And who can be sure of who? We know the town is full of spies. We dont know who they are; we dont know who the leader of the Vultures is. Hopkins bearded chin jutted stubbornly as he said: I still believe that gambler, Ace Brent, is mixed up with the gang. Gamblers have been murdered and robbed, but Brents never been molested. What becomes of all the dust he wins? Many of the miners, despairing of ever getting out of the gulch with their gold, blow it all in the saloons and gambling halls. Brents won thousands of dollars in dust and nuggets. So have several others. What becomes of it? It doesnt all go back into circulation. I believe they get it out, over the mountains. And if they do, when no one else can, that proves to my mind that theyre members of the Vultures. Maybe they cache it, like you and the other merchants are doing, suggested Middleton. I dont know. Brents intelligent enough to be the chief of the Vultures. But Ive never been able to get anything on him. Youve never been able to get anything definite on anybody, except petty offenders, said Colonel Hopkins bluntly, as he took up his hat. No offense intended, John. We know what youre up against, and we cant blame you. But it looks like, for the good of the camp, were going to have to take direct action. Middleton stared after the broadcloth-clad back as it receded from the cabin. We, he murmured. That means the vigilantes--or rather the men who have been agitating a vigilante movement. I can understand their feelings, but I consider it an unwise move. In the first place, such an organization is itself outside the law, and would be playing into the hands of the lawless element. Then, whats to prevent outlaws from joining the vigilantes, and diverting it to suit their own ends? Not a damned thing! broke in McNab heatedly. Colonel Hopkins and his friends are hot-headed. They expect too much from us. Hell, were just ordinary workin men. We do the best we can, but we aint gunslingers like this man Corcoran here. Corcoran found himself mentally questioning the whole truth of this statement; Richardson had all the earmarks of a gunman, if he had ever seen one, and the Texans experience in such matters ranged from the Pacific to the Gulf. Middleton picked up his hat. You boys scatter out through the camp. Im going to take Corcoran around, when Ive sworn him in and given him his badge, and introduce him to the leading men of the camp. I dont want any mistake, or any chance of mistake, about his standing. Ive put you in a tight spot, Corcoran, Ill admit--boasting about the gunfighting deputy I was going to get. But Im confident that you can take care of yourself. The eyes that had followed their ride down the street focused on the sheriff and his companion as they made their way on foot along the straggling street with its teeming saloons and gambling halls. Gamblers and bartenders were swamped with business, and merchants were getting rich with all commodities selling at unheard-of prices. Wages for day-labor matched prices for groceries, for few men could be found to toil for a prosaic, set salary when their eyes were dazzled by visions of creeks fat with yellow dust and gorges crammed with nuggets. Some of those dreams were not disappointed; millions of dollars in virgin gold was being taken out of the claims up and down the gulch. But the finders frequently found it a golden weight hung to their necks to drag them down to a bloody death. Unseen, unknown, on furtive feet the human wolves stole among them, unerringly marking their prey and striking in the dark. From saloon to saloon, dance hall to dance hall, where weary girls in tawdry finery allowed themselves to be tussled and hauled about by bear-like males who emptied sacks of gold dust down the low necks of their dresses, Middleton piloted Corcoran, talking rapidly and incessantly. He pointed out men in the crowd and gave their names and status in the community, and introduced the Texan to the more important citizens of the camp. All eyes followed Corcoran curiously. The day was still in the future when the northern ranges would be flooded by Texas cattle, driven by wiry Texas riders; but Texans were not unknown, even then, in the mining camps of the Northwest. In the first days of the gold rushes they had drifted in from the camps of California, to which, at a still earlier date, the Southwest had sent some of her staunchest and some of her most turbulent sons. And of late others had drifted in from the Kansas cattle towns along whose streets the lean riders were swaggering and fighting out feuds brought up from the far south country. Many in Whapeton were familiar with the characteristics of the Texas breed, and all had heard tales of the fighting men bred among the live oaks and mesquites of that hot, turbulent country where racial traits met and clashed, and the traditions of the Old South mingled with those of the untamed West. Here, then, was a lean grey wolf from that southern pack; some of the men looked their scowling animosity; but most merely looked, in the role of spectators, eager to witness the drama all felt imminent. Youre, primarily, to fight the Vultures, of course, Middleton told Corcoran as they walked together down the street. But that doesnt mean youre to overlook petty offenders. A lot of small-time crooks and bullies are so emboldened by the success of the big robbers that they think they can get away with things, too. If you see a man shooting up a saloon, take his gun away and throw him into jail to sober up. Thats the jail, up yonder at the other end of town. Dont let men fight on the street or in saloons. Innocent bystanders get hurt. All right. Corcoran saw no harm in shooting up saloons or fighting in public places. In Texas few innocent bystanders were ever hurt, for there men sent their bullets straight to the mark intended. But he was ready to follow instructions. So much for the smaller fry. You know what to do with the really bad men. Were not bringing any more murderers into court to be acquitted through their friends lies! THE VULTURES OF WHAPETON
Posted on: Tue, 29 Apr 2014 10:18:09 +0000
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