THREE FINGER AND PLUMMER WERE SILENTLY watching each other. They had locked the girl in an upstairs room of the hotel and had agreed to skip the country toward Fort Boise after nightfall. They both realized the danger to themselves if the citizens of the Basin got wise to what they had done, but neither trusted the other to keep faith.
They had not slept all night, and had kept their hirelings in readiness to meet any attack from Pokerface Bob and his few followers. The attack had been so long delayed they began to wonder if one would be made, or if Pokerface Bob had given up and decided to save his own neck.
"I tell you, Three Finger, we're not safe till Pokerface is wiped out!" Plummer declared. "Your idea that he won't fight is no good. I think when he finds out the gal's gone he'll come fighting. If we don't get him today--I'll take the gal and take a vacation. You, being chief deputy, will take charge till I get back."
"Uh-huh," Three Finger sneered. He had other thoughts and plans which would beat that.
The sun had risen and sent a beam of yellow light in at the window. Three Finger walked to the window and looked out on the street. His first glance was naturally up the street toward the northeast. In a gesture of excitement he threw back the calico curtain and his eyes bulged.
"They's comin', Plummer! Yuh gits yore wish! Looks like fifty men ridin' this way!"
Instantly Plummer was at his side. "God ! I didn't think he could get so many men together! We can't let them come into town! Even if we lick them we'll be found out! Give the order to advance and command them in the name of the law to surrender and deliver up their arms."
"Go tuh the devil!" rasped Three Finger. "Do yore own commandin'! This here is one fight yore goin' tuh take a hand in!"
Plummer saw that he could not keep under cover any longer. Three Finger was forcing him into the open. He would have to fight this battle. He would get Pokerface if possible, then he could deal with Three Finger.
"Come on, then!" he commanded coldly. "This will be the decisive blow for Hen Plummer and his gang!"
The Vigilantes had turned into the street, as yet unfenced. A hundred yards farther, where the street crossed a ravine, Bob stopped his men.
"They've seen us. They're certainly getting ready for us. This is where we'll take our stand; it's a natural bulwark. I think they'll be headed this way any minute. Ride down into the ravine where the horses will be out of sight. Then we can climb up on foot behind the bank."
Instantly his orders were obeyed as grim-faced men tried the action of their guns and took their places behind the embankment.
Bob was right, for already he could see an army of horsemen headed that way.
"They're coming, boys! If we have to shoot, don't hit their feet!"
The distance between them shortened. A cold north wind swept down over the snow-covered basin as the formidable enemy came sweeping toward them. Within a hundred paces they halted and Plummer, riding an iron grey horse, came forward. Bob stood up. Plummer stopped. From where Bob stood he could plainly see the star on his coat.
"Pokerface!" shouted Plummer. "In the name of the law I command you to surrender and stack your arms, or we'll open fire! You are committing an act of insurrection against the Territory of Bannock!"
"We are disobeying no law, Plummer! This is not a territory--not yet! We are making war on a gang of murderers and cutthroats! Go to hell!"
Plummer turned about and went back to his men. Bob could see him giving orders, and saw the company divide. One faction, seeking to flank them, took to their right, and even before Bob expected it, the forward column opened fire.
"Get to the right wing!" Bob shouted. The Vigilantes went into deadly action.
They were determined to make every shot count. On the right wing six of Plummer's men with their horses went down with the first volley. The front column also suffered from the withering fire of the Vigilantes.
Plummer's men now sought the protection of their dead animals, behind boulders, any cover they could find. Plummer was shouting wildly at his men. The men still on horses soon saw their disadvantage. They clambered off their mounts and threw themselves flat on the ground. They began crawling forward, shooting as they went. The right wing had been routed and had joined forces with the front attackers.
Plummer and Three Finger rode out of range to a cedar tree, where they tethered their horses. Bob recognized them as they came creeping back along the line, and fired at them. He saw Plummer grab his left arm and roll over in the snow. Three Finger scuttled out of sight behind a rock.
The horses in the ravine were terrified and part of them broke away from the three Vigilantes trying to hold them. They bolted madly down the snow-covered rocky bottom.
Three Finger found Bob's hiding place and kept up a constant fire. A man beside Bob screamed and fell forward on his face in the snow. Bob saw a spurt of flame and turned his guns on it. A man half rose and toppled forward.
Shorty crawled up to Bob. "Hey!" he yelled, "they's a bunch o' 'em got intuh the gulch! They's comin' up this way tuh the left!"
Bob ran along the ravine to the southeast. Several of his men appeared to be dead; more were wounded. He called to some of his men as he ran. Where the ravine turned sharply to the south they stopped, and none too soon. A dozen men came whirling up the ravine onto them. Their guns, roaring in each other's faces, were too close to be effective, and a hand to hand combat followed.
Using their guns for clubs, Bob and his Vigilantes fought like tigers, striking mercilessly until the piercing cries of the surprised attackers begged for mercy. They were immediately disarmed.
Pat Davis jerked Bob by the arm. "Bob, I jest see Plummer jump his horse an' skedaddle fer town! Three Finger's follerin' him like he's crazy!"
"Shorty!" Bob shouted, "take charge here! I'm going after Plummer and Three Finger Smith!"
He found Star Face and headed him up the ravine. He had no time to formulate a plan. He would have to break through that line. He did not hesitate. Dixie's safety depended on it. He realized in a flash that Plummer and Three Finger knew their battle was lost, and were bent on drastic measures to protect themselves.
His ascent from the ravine was so sudden and unexpected to the now half-hearted attackers, that he was almost out of range before they realized what was happening. Suddenly they started firing at him. A bullet fanned his face. Another went between his arm and his body. He dug Star Face with his spurs, but the horse was already giving him every ounce of speed he possessed. Bob headed straight for the hotel.
When the gang learned their leaders had deserted them they retreated in disorder. Shorty saw to it that the wounded were taken care of. The three men who had been killed were ordered taken home, where they would be given Masonic funerals. Then he headed the triumphant march toward the heart of Bannock City.