"Yes, old woman! That tongue of yours" has wrought a heap of mischief in its day," cried Samson, angrily, as he lifted the fallen lady and carried her into the house.
But Aunt Sally was quite herself again, and put him coolly aside, while she ministered to the unconscious ranch mistress, and, at the same time, gave him a succinct history of the morning"s events.
Everybody at Sobrante knew the deep devotion of Lady Jess to her widowed mother, and the thoughtfulness with which she always sought to prevent her loved one"s "worrying," and all realized that there might be something seriously amiss in this protracted, unexplained absence. However, and to a certain degree, the child was allowed to be independent, and she was liable to reappear at any moment and to gibe at their "foolish fear" for her. But to summon her, at once, was the surest way of comforting Mrs. Trent, and Samson went out again to distribute the a.s.sembled ranchmen into searching parties, with the injunction:
"Don"t scare the "captain" when you find her, but just let her know her mother needs her, and her dinner"s drying up in the oven. Now scatter; and don"t you show a face back here without her in hand!"
"Can"t all of us find her, herder. Ain"t "captains" enough to go "round," said a cowboy, with an ill-attempt at playfulness, which was instantly frowned down. For, though all a.s.sured themselves that there was no substantial cause for alarm, and that women were "nervous cattle, always scared at shadders," they had already caught something of this nervousness. Each felt that the best sight for his eyes at that moment would be the gleam of a golden head, and the sweetest music his ears could hear the sound of a young girl"s laughter.
But, alas! Daylight gave place to the sudden night of that region, where no lingering twilight is known; and still over the great ranch there rested the terrible silence which had followed the loss of one merry voice.
CHAPTER III.
OLD CENTURY TAKES THE TRAIL
The clatter of horse"s hoofs on the dry sward made Pedro, the shepherd, lift his eyes from his basket weaving, but only for an instant. The sight of Samson, the herder, mounted upon the fleetest animal of the Sobrante stables, was nothing compared to the working out of the intricate pattern he had set himself to follow. Even the centenarian, dwelling in his lofty solitude, knew that there was approaching the blessed Navidad, whereon all good Christians exchanged gifts, in memory of the great gift the Son of G.o.d; and what could he do but put forth his utmost ingenuity to please his heart"s dearest, even Jessica of the sunny face?
Like Aunt Sally, at the ranch, he had, at last, caught a feeling of haste and wished not to be disturbed; so he did not even look up again when he was accosted.
"h.e.l.lo, old man! Hard at it, still?"
No reply forthcoming, Samson shouted, as if the shepherd were deaf:
"Where"s Capt. Jess, abuleo (grandfather)?"
The deferential t.i.tle won the attention which the loud voice could not gain, and Pedro glanced carelessly upon the mighty herder, a mere youth of sixty summers, and replied, with equal carelessness:
"Am I the nina"s[A] keeper? But, no," then resumed his weaving.
In another instant the delicate, finely split rushes had been s.n.a.t.c.hed from the weaver"s hands, and he exhorted:
"By all that"s great, old man! Tell me, has Jessica Trent pa.s.sed this way?"
"Why for? Once, but once, since the long journey and the finding of that bad Antonio came she to Pedro"s hut. Give back the basket. For her, of the bright hair, it is; my finest, and, maybe, my last. Why not? Yet still again I will keep the fiesta, si. The child. Many have I loved, but none like my little maid. The basket."
This was a long speech for the silent dweller on the mesa, and there was more of anger in his usually calm eyes than Samson had never seen there, as he rose and extended his skinny hands for his treasure.
The herder restored it, his heart growing heavier as he did so.
"Think fast, good Pedro. The old are wise, and hark ye! These many hours the child is from home. The mistress--you love her?"
"She is my mistress," answered the shepherd, in a tone which conveyed all his deep feeling. To him his "mistress" represented a material Providence. From her hand came all the simple necessaries of his life.
From her, on the approaching nativity, would also come some things which were not necessaries, but infinitely more precious to the centenarian than such could be. On the nativity he would be sent, upon the gentlest mount his lady owned, to the mission service which he loved. Thereafter he would ride back to Sobrante, his own priest beside him, to feast his fill on such food as he tasted but once a year. At nightfall of that blessed day he would gather the ranchmen about him, in that old corridor where once he had seen the ancient padres walk, breviary in hand, and tell his marvelous tales of the days when the land was new, when whole tribes of redfaces came to be taught at the padres" feet, and when the things which now were had not been dreamed of. Some who listened to these Christmas stories believed that the secrets at which the shepherd hinted were vagaries of his enfeebled mind, but others, and among them Samson, gave credence to them, and yearly did their best to worm from him their explanation.
That mention of the "mistress" had touched him, also, to anxiety, and he motioned the herder to repeat his statement. He then straightened himself to almost the erectness of the younger man, and begun at once to gather his rushes and rap them carefully in a moistened cloth. With an expressive gesture toward his cabin, he suggested that Samson was free to enter it and provide such entertainment for himself as he chose, or could find. And so well did the herder know the shepherd that he fully understood this significant wave of the hand, and replied to it in words:
"Thanks, old man, but some other time. At present I"m keener on the scent for my captain than for even your good coffee. If she comes, report, will you?"
The other did not notice what he heard, but himself proceeded to the cabin and safely deposited his handiwork within it. Then he came out again, whistled for his dog, Keno, whose head he stroked for some time, and into whose attentive ear he seemed to be whispering some instruction.
A shade of amus.e.m.e.nt, merging into wonder, crossed the herder"s countenance, and he communed with himself thus:
"Blow my stripes, if Old Century isn"t going to take the trail himself! He"s telling that canine what to do while he"s gone, and, ahoy, there! If the knowin" creatur" doesn"t understand him! All right, grand sir! Yet, not all so right, either. It takes a deal of business to move Pedro off his mesa, and if he"s riled enough to leave it now, it"s because he sees more danger to Lady Jess than even I do.
h.e.l.lo! what"s he waiting for?"
Evidently for Samson to depart, which that gentleman presently did, grimly considering:
"Old chap thinks the whole mesa belongs to him, and "pears to suspect I might rob him if he left me behind. Well, friend, I"ve no call to tarry. Since my lady isn"t here, I must seek her elsewhere," and down the canyon Samson dashed, his sure-footed beast pa.s.sing safely where a more careful animal would have stumbled.
All this had happened soon after the dispersing of the ranchmen to search for Jessica, and Samson had now taken that turn of the trail which led to the miner"s cabin.
""Tisn"t likely she"s there, though. She"d never travel afoot that long distance, and Buster"s in the stable."
The Winklers received him with gloom. The hilarious gayety that had once distinguished their small household had vanished with the loss of Elsa"s money. Their son, and idol, had been defrauded of a rich future for which they had toiled, and life now seemed to them but an irksome round of humdrum duties, to be gotten through with as easily as possible. Over the cabin hung an air of neglect which even Samson was swift to note, and most significant of all, Elsa"s knitting had fallen to the floor and become the plaything of a kitten, which evoked no reprimand, tangle the yarn as she would.
"h.e.l.lo, neighbors! Ain"t lookin" over and above cheerful, are you?
What"s wrong?"
"Good-day, herder. How"s all?"
"Glum, I should say. Where"s Lady Jess?"
Wolfgang elevated his eyebrows, shrugged his shoulders and made a gesture of ignorance, but said no word.
"Lost your tongues, mostly, hey? I say--where"s the captain?"
Elsa lumbered forward to the doorway, and dully regarded the visitor; then, after a time, replied:
"Not here."
Her brevity was another contrast to her former volubility, but it was sufficient to thrill the questioner"s heart with fresh dismay.
"Has she been here to-day?"
Elsa shook her head. Otto came out from the shed and glanced disconsolately at Samson, then slowly returned whence he had come.
The herder"s temper flamed, and, snapping his whip at the air, he cried out, hotly:
"Look at me, you pa.s.sel of idiots! You think you know what trouble is just because you"ve lost a handful of money? Well, you don"t! You haven"t even guessed at it. Money! The world"s full of that, but there never was more than one Lady Jess, and I tell you--I tell you--she"s lost!"
He had spoken out at last the fear he had scarcely acknowledged, and the shock of his own plain speech held him silent thereafter. His head drooped, his great body settled in the saddle, as if the whole burden of his sixty years had fallen upon him in that moment. His att.i.tude, even more than his words, conveyed his meaning to his hearers, and, in a flash, the real values of what they had loved, and now lost, fell into their rightful places.
"Money? The little lady?" Ah! what, after all, was the one compared to the other?
"Man--you lie!" retorted Wolfgang, clinching his fist and advancing with a threatening air. Elsa stepped to his side, her wide face turning even paler than it had been, and a startled look dawning in her eyes. Even Otto, the six-foot "child," reappeared from his retreat and regarded the horseman reproachfully.