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with frontier atmosphere, but his home remained a corner of theNew England
where he had been born.
He liked having people around, and had been pleased whenLaineTennison arrived
to be their house guest.Laine and Dottie had attended school together
inPhiladelphia , and Dottie had been thrilled whenLaine had written,
mentioning coming west for her health.
Although I don t know why, Dottie had confided to her husband. She was
always the picture of health.
Maybe she just wants to get away.
A love affair! Dottie was at oncedelighted and positive. She s had an
unhappy love affair!
Laine? Claggwas skeptical.
Even a girl as beautiful as she is can be disappointed, Dottie protested.
Recognizing the fact that his wife could be as excited over an unhappy love
affair as a happy one, he did not argue the point.
I m going to invite her for a visit, Dottie had said. You don t mind, do
you?
Mind?Laine?By all means invite her.
She had arrived a few weeks laterand had proved an attentive listener to
Dottie s endless chatter about people and happenings around Rafter.Laine , it
seemed, was interested in all the trivia of life in a western mining town, and
not the least bit bored.
Dr.Clagg offered few comments untilLaine suggested that riding in the open
air might be good for her health. Then he said, By all means, and added, a
shade wryly, Just don t overdo it.
On this evening, whenClagg Merriam was also there for supper, Dr. Rupert
glanced atLaine across the table. Your color is better, he said. You were
riding today?
Driving.I rented a buckboard from that nice old man at the livery stable and
drove out past the Glory Hole.
That nice old man, the doctor said ironically, is a disreputable old
outlaw.
Really?He seems so sweet.
I saw a new man in town today, Dottiesaid, and a handsome devil, too.One
of the big, rugged outdoor types. He was coming from the sheriff s office.
Speaking of men, Dr.Clagg commented casually, Ben Stowe was asking about
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you. He noticed you driving around alone and wondered who you were. He was
most interested.
You can t blame Ben, Clagg Merriam said. After all, MissTennison is a very
beautiful girl.
Why, thank you, Mr. Merriam. Laine flashed him a quick smile. But I am sure
that wasn t the reason.
He asked if you were fromSan Francisco , Dr. Rupert said. butwhen I told
him you were fromPhiladelphia he lost interest.
Oh? So he doesn t likePhiladelphia girls! Dottie exclaimed. You should
have told him thatLaine has an uncle inSan Francisco ... and a rich uncle, at
that!
ClaggMerriam glanced thoughtfully atLaine , but made no comment. Dr. Rupert,
always an observant man, caught the expression onLaine s face. It had
stiffened at Dottie s comment, and in the instant that Merriam looked at
her,Laine shot Dottie a quick, protesting look.
Later, when the two men sat alone over brandy and cigars, Merriam commented,
MissTennison seems the picture of health. I think, he added judiciously,
that they caught hers in time.
I wouldn t think it too safe for a girl to go riding around alone in a place
like this. After all, the mines brought in all sorts of riffraff.
She can look after herself,Clagg . And I believe the people here are quite
stable.Remarkably stable, in fact. I also think most of them know she is my
guest.
Walking away from the house an hour or so later,Clagg Merriam wondered
whether Dr. Rupert s last comment had been a warning of some kind.
After he had left, Dr. Rupert sat in his big chair and lighted his pipe.Laine
had asked for no medical advice, but he was as sure as one could be without a
physical examination that there was nothing in the world wrong
withLaineTennison .
Which left the question: What was she doing in Rafter, of all places?A broken
heart?Absurd.Laine was often thoughtful, but she never moped.
Ben Stowe had been curious, even prying. And Dottie s remark about an uncle
inSan Francisco had stirred immediate interest in Merriam. Only a fool would
need to ask why. Rafter was motivated by only one idea, the gold from the
mines. And who owned the mines? Some interests inSan Francisco .
Every dayLaine rode out, or drove, and as often as not she traveled the back
trails. Was it just out of curiosity, or for some other, more definite reason?
Ben Stowe seemed suspicious, and if, as Dr. Rupert thought, she was connected
with the ownership of the mines, then she could be in real trouble.
OldBrazos at the livery stable was known to Dr. Rupert. It was the doctor who
had treated a badly infected leg wound when the old outlaw first rode into
Rafter, and he had mentioned it to no one. He liked the hard-bitten old man,
and was liked in return.
Now, as he packed tobacco into his pipe, he thought that he must have a talk
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withBrazos , for little went on around town that the old hostler did not know.
AndLaineTennison was his guest, and must be protected.
The doctor had never accepted more than a fair price for his medical
attentions, and he had always refused to be paid in gold. His attitude in this
was known, and he had never been bothered. Was that because he was
respected?Because they needed a good doctor in town? Or because he wasClagg
Merriam s cousin? ForClagg Merriam was a man of some authority in Rafter.
Of course, there was a simpler reason. Dr. Rupert was notoriously
close-mouthed everybody in town knew it. But how much would that help if it
was discovered thatLaineTennison had some connection with the Sun Strike?
He considered that while he smoked his pipe out, carefully examining all
aspects of the problem. At the end of the evening one thing was clear: From
now on,LaineTennison was in danger.
How many of the corrupted citizens of Rafter had been corrupted enough to
stand by if it came to doing harm to a young girl? If it came to murder, even?
Would they look the other way? How many would actually condone murder to
protect what they had?
He knocked out his pipe and walked across the room to the rifle rack.
Carefully, he checked every weapon. And then he took his Army Colt, checked
the loads, and tucked it behind his waistband.
From this moment, Dr. RupertClagg would go armed.
Chapter 6
WHEN MIKE Shevlin had walked out of Wilson Hoyt s office several hours
earlier, he was jumpy as a cat that smells snake.
His every instinct warned him that time was running out both for himself and
forLaineTennison . The fact that she was Eli Patterson s niece had bought his
loyalty as no offer of a share in the gold could have done; although, being a
practical man, he was not unaware of what ten per cent of perhaps half a
million dollars could mean in cattle.
He paused on a corner of the street, staring about like a bull entering a
bullring, searching for something at which to charge.
He needed to find the gold cache, and to be able to prevent them removing it
when panic set in. His instinct told him the proper thing was to bust right
into the middle of things and start things happening. It was a good way to get
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