第22章 XII(2)

"Now,Jas Lewallen,thar's nobody left in this leetle trouble 'cept you 'n'me,'n'ef one of us was dead,I reckon t'other could live hyeh,'n'thar'd be peace in these mount'ins.I thought o'that when Ihad ye at the eend o'this Winchester.I reckon you would 'a'shot me dead ef I had poked my head over a rock as keerless as you."That is just what he would have done,and Jasper did not answer.

"I've swore to kill ye,too,"added Rome,tapping his gun;"I've got a cross fer ye hyeh."The Lewallen was no coward.Outcry or resistance was useless.

The Stetson meant to taunt him,to make death more bitter;for Jasper expected death,and he sullenly waited for it against the cliff.

"You've been banterin me a long time now,'lowin'as how ye air the better man o'the two;n'I've got a notion o'givin'ye a chance to prove yer tall talk.Hit's not our way to kill a man in cold blood,'n'I don't want to kill ye anyways ef I kin he'p it.Seem s'prised ag'in.Reckon ye don't believe me?I don't wonder when I think o'my own dad,'n'all the meanness yo folks have done mine;but I've got a good reason fer not killin'ye-ef I kin he'p it.Y'u don't know what it is,'n'y'u'll never know;but I'll give yer a chance now fer yer life ef y'u'll sw'ar on a stack o'Bibles as high as that tree thar that y'u'll leave these mount'ins ef I whoops ye,'n'nuver come back ag'in as long as you live.I'll leave,ef ye whoops me.Now whut do ye say?Will ye sw'ar?

"I reckon I will,seem'as I've got to,"was the surly answer.But Jasper's face was dark with suspicion,and Rome studied it keenly.

The Lewallens once had been men whose word was good,but he did not like Jasper's look.

"I reckon I'll trust ye,"he said,at last,more through confidence in his own strength than faith in his enemy;foi Jasper whipped would be as much at his mercy as he was now.So Rome threw off his coat,and began winding his homespun suspenders about his waist.

Watching him closely,Jasper did the same.

The firing below had ceased.A flock of mountain vultures were sailing in great circles over the thick woods.Two eagles swept straight from the rim of the sun above Wolf's Head,beating over a turbulent sea of mist for the cliffs,scarcely fifty yards above the ledge,where a pine-tree grew between two rocks.At the instant of lighting,they wheeled away,each with a warning scream to the other.A figure lying flat behind the pine had frightened them,and now a face peeped to one side,flushed with eagerness over the coming fight.Both were ready now,and the Lewallen grew suddenly white as Rome turned again and reached down for the guns.

"I reckon I'll put 'em a leetle furder out o'the way,"he said,kicking the knife over the cliff;and,standing on a stone,he thrust them into a crevice high above his head.

"Now,Jas,we'll fight this gredge out,as our grandads have done afore us."Lewallen and Stetson were man to man at last.Suspicion was gone now,and a short,brutal laugh came from the cliff.

"I'll fight ye!Oh,by God,I'll fight ye!"The ring of the voice struck an answering gleam from Rome's gray eyes,and the two sprang for each other.It was like the struggle of primeval men who had not yet learned even the use of clubs.For an instant both stood close,like two wild beasts crouched for a spring,and circling about to get at each other's throats,with mouths set,eyes watching eyes,and hands twitching nervously.

Young Jasper leaped first,and the Stetson,wary of closing with him,shrank back.There were a few quick,heavy blows,and the Lewallen was beaten away with blood at his lips.Then each knew the advantage of the other.The Stetson's reach was longer;the Lewallen was shorter and heavier,and again he closed in.Again Rome sent out his long arm.A turn of Jasper's head let the heavy fist pass over his shoulder.The force of the blow drove Rome forward;the two clinched,and Jasper's arms tightened about the Stetson's waist.With a quick gasp for breath Rome loosed his hold,and,bending his enemy's head back with one hand,rained blow after blow in his face with the other.One terrible stroke on the jaw,and Jasper's arms were loosed;the two fell apart,the one stunned,the other breathless.One dazed moment only,and for a third time the Lewallen came on.Rome had been fighting a man;now he faced a demon.Jasper's brows stood out like bristles,and the eyes under them were red and fierce like a mad bull's.Again Rome's blows fell,but again the Lewallen reached him,and this time he got his face under the Stetson's chin,-'id the heavy fist fell upon the back of his head,and upon his neck,as upon wood and leather.Again Rome had to gasp for breath,and again the two were fiercely locked-their corded arms as tense as serpents.