Amy eyed him a little disdainfully.
"You"ve got to save that poor old man," she stated. "It"s all very easy for you to talk of duty and the rest of it, but the fact remains that you"re sending that poor old man to prison for something that isn"t his fault, and it"ll break his heart."
"He isn"t there yet," Bob pointed out. "The case isn"t decided."
"It"s all very well for you to talk that way," said Amy, "for all you have to do is to satisfy your conscience and bear your testimony. But if testifying would land you in danger of prison, you might feel differently about it."
Bob thought of George Pollock, and smiled a trifle bitterly. Welton might get off with a fine, or even suspended sentence. There was but one punishment for those accessory before the fact to a murder. Amy was eyeing him reflectively. The appearance of anger had died. It was evident that she was thinking deeply.
"Why doesn"t Mr. Welton protect himself?" she inquired at length. "If he turned state"s evidence before that man Baker did, wouldn"t it work that way around?"
"I don"t believe it would," said Bob. "Baker was not the real princ.i.p.al in the offence, only an accessory. Besides, even if it were possible, Mr. Welton would not do such a thing. You don"t know Welton."
Amy sank again to reflection, her eyes losing themselves in a gaze beyond the visible world. Suddenly she threw up her head with a joyous chuckle.
"I believe I have it!" she cried. She nodded her head several times as though to corroborate with herself certain points in her plan.
"Listen!" she said at last. "As I understand it, Baker is really liable on this charge of bribing Plant as much as Mr. Welton is."
"Yes; he paid the money."
"So that if it were not for the fact that he intends to gain immunity by telling what he knows, he would get into as much trouble as Mr. Welton."
"Of course."
"Well, don"t you know enough about it all to testify? Weren"t you there?"
Bob reflected.
"Yes, I believe I was present at all the interviews."
"Then," cried Amy triumphantly, "you can issue complaint against _both_ Baker and Mr. Welton on a charge of bribery, and Baker can"t possibly wriggle out by turning state"s evidence, because your evidence will be enough."
"Do you expect me to have Mr. Welton arrested on this charge?" cried Bob.
"No, silly! But you can go to Baker, can"t you, and say to him: "See here, if you try to bring up this old bribery charge against Welton, I"ll get in ahead of you and have you _both_ up. I haven"t any desire to raise a fuss, nor start any trouble; but if you are bound to get Mr.
Welton in on this, I might as well get you both in." He"d back out, you see!"
"I believe he would!" cried Bob. "It"s a good bluff to make."
"It mustn"t be a bluff," warned Amy. "You must mean it. I don"t believe he wants to face a criminal charge just to get Mr. Welton in trouble, if he realizes that you are both going to testify anyway. But if he thinks you"re bluffing, he"ll carry it through."
"You"re right," said Bob slowly. "If necessary, we must carry it through ourselves."
Amy nodded.
"I"ll take down a letter for you to Baker," she said, "and type it out this evening. We"ll say nothing to anybody."
"I must tell Welton of our plan," said Bob; "I wouldn"t for the world have to spring this on him unprepared. What would he think of me?"
"We"ll see him to-morrow--no, next day; we have to wait for Ware, you know."
"Am I forgiven for doing my plain duty?" asked Bob a trifle mischievously.
"Only if our scheme works," declared Amy. Her manner changed to one of great seriousness. "I know your way is brave and true, believe me I do.
And I know what it costs you to follow it. I respect and admire the quality in men that leads them so straightly along the path. But I could not do it. Ideas and things are inspiring and great and to be worked for with enthusiasm and devotion, I know. No one loves the Service more than I, nor would make more personal sacrifices for her. But people are warm and living, and their hearts beat with human life, and they can be sorry and glad, happy and brokenhearted. I can"t tell you quite what I mean, for I cannot even tell myself. I only feel it. I could turn my thumbs down on whole cohorts of senators and lawyers and demagogues that are attacking us in Washington and read calmly in next day"s paper how they had been beheaded recanting all their sins against us. But I couldn"t get any nearer home. Why, the other day Ashley told me to send a final and peremptory notice of dispossession to the Main family, over near Bald k.n.o.b, and I couldn"t do it. I tried all day. I knew old Main had no business there, and is worthless and lazy and shiftless. But I kept remembering how his poor old back was bent over. Finally I made Ashley dictate it, and tried to keep thinking all the time that I was nothing but a machine for the transmission of his ideas. When it comes to such things I"m useless, and I know I fall short of all higher ideals of honour and duty and everything else."
"Thank G.o.d you do," said Bob gravely.
x.x.xII
Ware returned to headquarters toward evening of the next day. He had ridden hard and long, but he listened to Thorne"s definition of his new duties with kindling eye, and considerable appearance of quiet satisfaction. Bob met him outside the office.
"You aren"t living up to your part, Ware," said he, with mock anxiety.
"According to Hoyle you ought to draw your gun, whirl the cylinder, and murmur gently, Aha!"
"Why should I do that?" asked Ware, considerably mystified.
"To see if your weapon is in order, of course."
"How would a fool trick like that show whether my gun"s in shape?"
"Hanged if I know," confessed Bob, "but they always do that in books and on the stage."
"Well, my gun will shoot," said Ware, shortly.
It was then too late to visit Welton that evening, but at a good hour the following morning Bob announced his intention of going over to the mill.
"If you"re going to be my faithful guardian, you"ll have to walk," he told Ware. "My horse is up north somewhere, and there isn"t another saddle in camp."
"I"m willing," said Ware; "my animals are plumb needy of a rest."
At the last moment Amy joined them.
"I have a day off instead of Sunday," she told them, "and you"re the first humans that have discovered what two feet are made for. I never can get anybody to walk two steps with me," she complained.
"Never tried before you acquired those _beautiful_ gray elkskin boots with the _ravishing_ hobnails in "em," chaffed Bob.
Amy said nothing, but her cheeks burned with two red spots. She chatted eagerly, too eagerly, trying to throw into the expedition the air of a holiday excursion. Bob responded to her rather feverish gaiety, but Ware looked at her with an eye in which comprehension was slowly dawning. He had nothing to add to the rapid-fire conversation. Finally Amy inquired with mock anxiety, over his unwonted silence.
"I"m on my job," replied Ware briefly.
This silenced her for a moment or so, while she examined the woods about them with furtive, searching glances as though their shadows might conceal an enemy.
To Bob, at least, the morning conduced to gaiety, for the air was crisp and sparkling with the wine of early fall. Down through the sombre pines, here and there, flamed the delicate pink of a dogwood, the orange of the azaleas, or the golden yellow of aspens ripening already under the hurrying of early frosts. The squirrels, Stellar"s jays, woodp.e.c.k.e.rs, nuthatches and chickadees were very busy scurrying here and there, screaming gossip, or moving diligently and methodically as their natures were. All the rest of the forest was silent. Not a breath of wind stirred the tallest fir-tip or swayed the most lofty pine branch.