"Maxwell Grant - The Shadow - 024 - Six Men of Evil" - читать интересную книгу автора (Grant Maxwell)

"See?" questioned the one who had called back. "Charley's got nothing to say. Afraid of us, maybe. He
ought to be. He led us up into the mountains. Called himself our leader. A big shot, Charley - and now
he's afraid of us!"

The others laughed in sarcastic tones. There was malice, not mirth, in their laughter. They were
unanimous in the thought that the man behind them was afraid; and their growled utterances were boding
ill for the one who had once been their leader.

"Charley's afraid of us -"

THE repeated challenge was broken by a harsh voice from the darkness. The lone rider had drawn close
to the others. Now, he was thrusting his horse among them, and his silence had been broken. He was
speaking in firm, even tones that commanded attention.

"I? Afraid of you?" Charley's question came in emphatic words. "Why be fools? There are five of you,
that's all. I'll take on ten more like you. You say I put you in wrong at Zeltapec? You lie!"

Not one of the five grumblers dared respond. Charley, coming up among them, had demonstrated his
power of command. As he paused to await an answer, the only response was the swishing of the
mesquite through which the plodding horses brushed.

"You made trouble for yourselves at Zeltapec," declared the man called Charley. "I was no more to
blame than any of you. We took a chance - for a big stake - and we lost. Be satisfied that you got away
with your hides, and that the Aztecs let you keep the gold. That's all."

"I guess Charley's right," admitted one of the others, in a low, rueful tone. "But it's not helping us much. It
seems all right here in the dark - but wait until dawn, when we look at each other. Then it will seem as
black as it did today - as it did yesterday - as it did the day before -"

"Cut it!" ordered Charley tersely. "I've listened to the same talk until I'm tired of it. You say I've been
keeping quiet. That's because I've been thinking. When you are ready to be quiet, I'll have my say - and
it will be something worthwhile."

A suppressed silence was instantaneous. With a few well-spoken phrases, the former leader had
regained his command. There, in the darkness, Charley's horse took the lead, with the others clustered
close beside, each man listening without an interruption.

"We're coming close to the border, now," stated Charley quietly. "That's where we split - as you fellows
decided. You say we've got to split - that if six men like us were together, we'd hit trouble just on our
looks. You're right about that. But you're all wrong to think that this is the finish.

"We stuck together at the start, didn't we? We thought alike; we talked alike; we acted alike - and finally
- we became alike. Six of a kind is what we are. Six men - with brains" - he paused after the compliment
- "and only one who knows how to use those brains!"

There was no response. The men rode on, a docile, willing group. Each seemed to lose his individuality
when the leader took the fore. Now, Charley became challenging in his tone.

"What are you?" he questioned. "I'll tell you. Five men that can fight a hundred if they follow instructions.
The trouble is, you've weakened. You figured you could go back to the United States and pick up. You