"Give me a pledge first, and I"ll tell you."
He took a long moment to decide, not yet wholly satisfied as to my ident.i.ty.
"Did ye say ye wus an army offercer?"
"Yes, a lieutenant; my name is Knox."
"I never know"d yer."
"Probably not, but Joe Kirby does. I was on the steamer _Warrior_ coming down when he robbed old Judge Beaucaire. That was what got me mixed up in this affair. Later I was in that skiff you fellows rammed and sunk on the Illinois. I know the whole dirty story, Kennedy, from the very beginning. And now it is up to you whether or not I tell it to Governor Clark."
"I reckon yer must be right," he admitted helplessly. "Only I quit cold the minute I caught on ter whut wus up. I never know"d she wa"n"t no n.i.g.g.e.r till after we got yere. Sure"s yer live that"s true. Only then I didn"t know whut else ter do, so I got bilin" drunk."
"You are willing to work with me, then?"
"Yer kin bet I am; I ain"t no gurl-stealer."
"Then listen, Kennedy. Jack Rale told me exactly what their plans were, because he needed me to help him. When you jumped the reservation, he had to find someone else, and picked me. The first thing he did, however, was to get you drunk, so you wouldn"t interfere.
That was part of their game, and Kirby came into the saloon a few minutes ago to see how it worked. He stood there and laughed at you, lying asleep. They mean to pull off the affair tonight. Here"s the story."
I told it to him, exactly in the form it had come to me, interrupted only in the recital by an occasional profane e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.i.o.n, or some interjected question. The deputy appeared sober enough before I had finished, and fully grasped the seriousness of the situation.
"Now that is the way it stacks up," I ended, "The girl is to be taken to this fellow"s shack and compelled to marry Kirby, whether she wants to or not. They will have her where she cannot help herself--away from anyone to whom she could appeal. Rale wouldn"t explain what means were to be used to make her consent, and I didn"t dare press him for fear he might suspect me. They either intend threatening her, or else to actually resort to force--likely both. No doubt they can rely on this renegade preacher in either case."
"Jack didn"t name no name?"
"No--why?"
"Only thar uster be a b.u.m hangin" round the river front in Saint Louee who hed preacher"s papers, en wore a long-tailed coat. Thar wan"t no low-down game he wudn"t take a hand in fer a drink. His name wus Gaskins; I hed him up fer mayhem onct. I"ll bet he"s the duck, for he hung round Jack"s place most o" the time. Whatcha want me ter do?"
"It has seemed to me, Tim," I said, thoughtfully, "that the best action for us to take will be to let them place the girl in my hands, just as they have planned to do. That will throw them entirely off their guard. As things stand, I have no knowledge where she is concealed, or where to hunt for her; but it is evident she is in no immediate danger.
They don"t dare to force action here, in this camp. Once we succeed in getting her safely away, and remain unknown ourselves, there ought to be very little trouble in straightening out the whole matter. My plan would be to either ride around the camp in the night, and then report the whole affair at headquarters, or else to strike out direct for Fort Armstrong across country. The Indians will all be cleaned out north of here, and they know me at Armstrong. Do you know any place you can pick up a horse?"
"Thar"s a slew ov "em round yere," he admitted. "These fellers are most all hoss-soldiers. I reckon I cud cinch sum sort o" critter. Yer want me along?"
"Perhaps not, Tim. Your disappearance might cause suspicion, and send them after us. My plan is to get away as quietly as possible, and let them believe everything is all right. I want a day or two in which to work, before Rale or Kirby discover we have not gone to Bear Creek.
I"ll meet them alone at the spring down the trail, but shall want you somewhere near by. You see this is bound to mean a fight if I am recognized--likely three against one; and those men wouldn"t hesitate at murder."
"I reckon not, an" it wudn"t be their furst one nuther, Looks ter me like yer wus takin" a big chance. I"ll be thar, though; yer kin bet on thet, an" ready fer a fight, er a foot race. This is how I size it up--if thar ain"t no row, I"m just ter keep still, an" lie low; an" if a fracas starts I"m ter jump in fer all I"m worth. Is thet the program?"
"Exactly--that"s my idea."
"Wal" then, I"m a prayin" it starts; I want just one crack et thet Kirby, the ornary cuss."
We talked the whole matter over in detail, having nothing better to do, and endeavoring to arrange for every probability, yet did not remain together for long. With my eyes to a c.h.i.n.k between the logs I got a view of the interior of the cabin. The two card players had disappeared, and I imagined they were rolled up in blankets in one corner of the room. Sal was alone, seated on a stool, her head hanging forward, sound asleep. Evidently she had received no orders from Rale to keep watch over the movements of either of us, and was not worried on account of our absence. In all probability the saloon keeper believed the deputy was drunk enough to remain in stupor all night, and he considered my services as bought and paid for. He had traded with derelicts of my apparent kind before.
I felt nervous, anxious, eager for action. The time dragged horribly.
If I could only be accomplishing something; or if I knew what was occurring elsewhere. What if something unforeseen should occur to change Rale"s plan? Suppose, for instance, those fellows should decide to force the marriage tonight, instead of waiting until after arrival at Jenkins" Crossing? Suppose she resisted them, and was injured? A suspicion came to me that I might have misunderstood all this. My G.o.d!
if I only knew where it was they had concealed the girl.
The two of us explored about the silent cabin, but discovered nothing.
There was no light visible in the rear room, nor any sound of movement within. The two windows were closed, and the door locked. We found a convenient stump in the woods, and sat down to wait, where we could see all that occurred about the cabin. The distant camp fires had died down, and only occasionally did any sound, generally far away, disturb the silence. The night was fairly dark, the stars shining brightly enough, but dense beneath the trees; yet we managed to locate the nearer sentries by their voices when they reported posts. None were stationed close by. Everything indicated that we were safely outside the lines of camp. We conversed in whispers, until Tim, still influenced by his excessive drinking, became sleepy, and slid off the stump onto the ground, where he curled up on a pile of leaves. I let him lie undisturbed, and continued my vigil alone, feeling no inclination to sleep, every nerve throbbing almost painfully. Three or four men straggled into the saloon while I sat there, coming from the direction of the camp, and were doubtless waited upon by Sal. None remained long within, and all I saw of them were indistinct figures revealed for a moment, as the light streamed out through the opened door. One seemed to be an officer, wrapped in a cavalry cloak--hunting after men out of bounds, possibly--but, later than eleven o"clock, there were no more callers. Soon after that hour the light within was turned low.
All the while I remained there, motionless, intently watchful for every movement about me, with Tim peacefully asleep on the leaves, my thought was with Eloise Beaucaire, and my mind torn with doubt as to the wisdom of my choice. Had I determined on the right course? Was there nothing else I could do? Was it best for me to thus rely on my own efforts? or should I have sought the a.s.sistance of others? Yet where could I turn?
How could I gain in time such a.s.sistance? I realized in those moments that selfishness, love, personal desire, had very largely influenced me in my decision; I was eager to rescue her alone, by my own efforts, unaided. I had to confess this to be my secret purpose. I could dream of nothing else, and was actually unwilling to share this privilege with any other. I felt she belonged to me; determined she should belong to me. From that instant when I became convinced that she was of white blood--that no hideous barrier of race, no stain of dishonor, held us apart--she had become my one ambition. I not only knew that I loved her; but I believed almost as strongly that she loved me. Every glance of her eyes, each word she had spoken, remained indelibly in my memory. And beyond doubt she thought me dead. Kirby would have told her that both men in the wrecked boat went down. It would be to his advantage to impress this on her mind, so as thus to emphasize her helplessness, and cause her to realize that no one knew of her predicament. What an awakening it would be when she again recognized me as actually alive, and beside, her. Surely in that moment I should read the whole truth in those wonderful eyes, and reap my reward in her first impulse of grat.i.tude. It was not in nature to share such a moment with another; I wanted it for myself, alone.
It was nearly twelve before even the slightest sound near at hand indicated the approach of others. I was already in an agony of suspense, imagining something might have gone wrong, when the dull scuffling of horses" hoofs being led cautiously up the trail to my right, broke the intense silence. I listened to a.s.sure myself, then shook Tim into wakefulness, leaving him still blinking in the shadow of the stump, while I advanced in the direction of the spring. Suddenly the darker shape of the slowly moving animals loomed up through the gloom, and came to a halt directly in front of me. I saw nothing of Rale until he spoke.
"That yer, Moffett?"
"Yes; whar"s yer party?"
I caught view of his dim outlines, as he stepped slightly forward, rea.s.sured by my voice.
"They"ll be yere; thar"s a bit o" time ter spare yit. I aimed not ter keep "em waitin". Here, this is yer hoss, an" yere"s the leadin" strap fer the others. Better tie it ter yer pommel, I reckon, so"s ter leave both yer hands free--yer might hav" need fer "em. We"ll tend ter mountin" the gurls, an" then all ye"ll hav" ter do will be ter lead off. Thar won"t be no talkin" done yere. Better walk the hosses till yer git crost the crick, so the sojers won"t hear yer. Got that?"
"I reckon I hav", an" sense "nough ter know it without bein" told. Did yer think I wanted ter be catched on this job?"
"All right, but thar"s no harm a tellin" yer. Don"t be so d.a.m.n touchy.
Eneyboddy in the shack?"
"No; only the woman, asleep on a stool."
"Whar"s Tim gone to?"
"I reckon he don"t even know hisself; he"s sure sum drunk."
Rale chuckled, patting the side of the horse next him. "Whole caboodle workin" like a charm," he said, good humoredly. "Thought onct the deputy might show up ugly, but a quart o" red-eye sure fixed him--thar"s our party a comin" now. Ye"re ter stay right whar ye are."
They were advancing toward us up the bank which sloped down toward the creek. It occurred to me they must be following some well-worn path, from the silence of their approach--the only sound being a faint rustling of dead leaves. Rale moved forward to meet them across the little open s.p.a.ce, and a moment later, from my hiding place among the motionless horses, I became able to distinguish the slowly approaching figures. There were four in the party, apparently from their garb two men and two women. The second man might be the preacher, but if so, why should he be there? Why should his presence at this time be necessary? Unless the two main conspirators had special need for his services, I could conceive no reason for his having any part in the action that night. Had I been deceived in their plans? The horror of the dawning conception that possibly I had waited too long, and that the deed I sought to prevent had already been consummated, left me trembling like an aspen. Even as this fear overwhelmed me with consternation, I was compelled to notice how helplessly the first of the two women walked--as though her limbs refused to support her body, even though apparently upheld by the grip of the man beside her. Rale, joining them, immediately grasped her other arm, and, between the two, she was impelled forward. The saloon keeper seemed unable to restrain his voice.
"Yer must"r give her one h.e.l.l o" a dose," he growled, angrily. "Half o" thet wud a bin "nough. Why, d.a.m.n it, she kin hardly walk."
"Well, what"s the odds?" it was Kirby who replied sarcastically. "She got more because she wouldn"t drink. We had to make her take it, and it wasn"t no easy job. Gaskins will tell you that. Have you got your man here?"
"O" course; he"s waitin" thar with the hosses. But I"m d.a.m.ned if I like this. She don"t know nuthin", does she?"
"Maybe not now; but she"ll come around all right, and she signed her name. So there ain"t no hitch. She seemed to get worse after that.
Come on, we can"t stand talking here; let"s get them off, Jack, there isn"t any time to waste. I suppose we"ll have to strap her into the saddle."
I held back, and permitted them to work, merely leading my own horse slightly to one side, and keeping in his shadow. I doubt if Kirby even glanced toward me, although if he did he saw only an ill-defined figure, with no glimpse of my face. But the chances were that I was nothing to him at that moment--a mere floating b.u.m whom Rale had picked up to do this job; and just then his whole attention was concentrated upon the half-conscious girl, and his desire to get her safely out of that neighborhood. My presence meant nothing of special interest.
Gaskins brutally jerked the shrinking mulatto forward, and forced her to mount one of the horses. She made some faint protest, the nature of which I failed to catch clearly, but the fellow only laughed in reply, and ordered her to keep quiet. Eloise uttered no word, emitted no sound, made no struggle, as the two other men lifted her bodily into the saddle, where Kirby held her, swaying helplessly against him, while Rale strapped her securely into place.
The entire proceedings were so brutally cruel that it required all my strength of will to restrain myself from action. My fingers closed upon the pistol in my pocket, and every impulse urged me to hurl myself on the fellows, trusting everything to swift, bitter fight. I fairly trembled in eagerness to grapple with Kirby, hand to hand, and crush him helpless to the earth. I heard his voice, hateful and snarling, as he cursed Rale for his slowness, and the hot blood boiled in my veins, when he jerked the girl upright in the saddle.
"Thar," said the saloon keeper, at last, testing his strap. "I reckon she can"t fall off nohow, even if she don"t sit up worth a d.a.m.n. Go ahead now, Moffett."
Both the men stepped aside, and I led my horse forward. The movement brought me more into the open, and face to face with Kirby. By some trick of fate, at that very instant a star-gleam, piercing through the screen of leaves overhead, struck full into my eyes. With an oath he thrust my hat back and stared straight at me.