"Pleasant surprise for them to-morrow, eh, old man?" I queried.
"To-morrow? Look, Russ, what"s left of my old "dobe house is on fire. The ruins can"t be searched soon. And I was particular to fix things so it"d look like I was home. I just wanted to give them a chance. It"s incomprehensible how easy men like them can be duped. Whisky-soaked!
Yes, they"ll be surprised!"
He lingered a while, watching the smoldering fire and the dim columns of smoke curling up against the dark blue. "Russ, do you suppose they heard up at the ranch and think I"m--"
"They heard, of course," I replied. "But the girls know you"re safe with me."
"Safe? I--I almost wish to G.o.d I was there under that heap of ruins, where the rustlers think they"ve left me."
"Well, Steele, old fellow, come on. We need some sleep." With Steele in the lead, we stalked away into the open.
Two days later, about the middle of the forenoon, I sat upon a great flat rock in the shade of a bushy mesquite, and, besides enjoying the vast, clear sweep of gold and gray plain below, I was otherwise pleasantly engaged. Sally sat as close to me as she could get, holding to my arm as if she never intended to let go. On the other side Miss Sampson leaned against me, and she was white and breathless, partly from the quick ride out from the ranch, partly from agitation. She had grown thinner, and there were dark shadows under her eyes, yet she seemed only more beautiful. The red scarf with which I had signaled the girls waved from a branch of the mesquite. At the foot of the ridge their horses were halted in a shady spot.
"Take off your sombrero," I said to Sally. "You look hot. Besides, you"re prettier with your hair flying." As she made no move, I took it off for her. Then I made bold to perform the same office for Miss Sampson. She faintly smiled her thanks. a.s.suredly she had forgotten all her resentment. There were little beads of perspiration upon her white brow. What a beautiful ma.s.s of black-brown hair, with strands of red or gold! Pretty soon she would be bending that exquisite head and face over poor Steele, and I, who had schemed this meeting, did not care what he might do to me.
Pretty soon, also, there was likely to be an interview that would shake us all to our depths, and naturally, I was somber at heart. But though my outward mood of good humor may have been pretense, it certainly was a pleasure to be with the girls again way out in the open. Both girls were quiet, and this made my task harder, and perhaps in my anxiety to ward off questions and appear happy for their own sakes I made an a.s.s of myself with my silly talk and familiarity. Had ever a Ranger such a job as mine?
"Diane, did Sally show you her engagement ring?" I went on, bound to talk.
Miss Sampson either did not notice my use of her first name or she did not object. She seemed so friendly, so helplessly wistful. "Yes. It"s very pretty. An antique. I"ve seen a few of them," she replied.
"I hope you"ll let Sally marry me soon."
"_Let_ her? Sally Langdon? You haven"t become acquainted with your fiancee. But when--"
"Oh, next week, just as soon--"
"Russ!" cried Sally, blushing furiously.
"What"s the matter?" I queried innocently.
"You"re a little previous."
"Well, Sally, I don"t presume to split hairs over dates. But, you see, you"ve become extremely more desirable--in the light of certain revelations. Diane, wasn"t Sally the deceitful thing? An heiress all the time! And I"m to be a planter and smoke fine cigars and drink mint juleps! No, there won"t be any juleps."
"Russ, you"re talking nonsense," reproved Sally. "Surely it"s no time to be funny."
"All right," I replied with resignation. It was no task to discard that hollow mask of humor. A silence ensued, and I waited for it to be broken.
"Is Steele badly hurt?" asked Miss Sampson presently.
"No. Not what he or I"d call hurt at all. He"s got a scalp wound, where a bullet bounced off his skull. It"s only a scratch. Then he"s got another in the shoulder; but it"s not bad, either."
"Where is he now?"
"Look across on the other ridge. See the big white stone? There, down under the trees, is our camp. He"s there."
"When may--I see him?" There was a catch in her low voice.
"He"s asleep now. After what happened yesterday he was exhausted, and the pain in his head kept him awake till late. Let him sleep a while yet. Then you can see him."
"Did he know we were coming?"
"He hadn"t the slightest idea. He"ll be overjoyed to see you. He can"t help that. But he"ll about fall upon me with harmful intent."
"Why?"
"Well, I know he"s afraid to see you."
"Why?"
"Because it only makes his duty harder."
"Ah!" she breathed.
It seemed to me that my intelligence confirmed a hope of hers and gave her relief. I felt something terrible in the balance for Steele. And I was glad to be able to throw them together. The catastrophe must fall, and now the sooner it fell the better. But I experienced a tightening of my lips and a tugging at my heart-strings.
"Sally, what do you and Diane know about the goings-on in town yesterday?" I asked.
"Not much. George was like an insane man. I was afraid to go near him.
Uncle wore a sardonic smile. I heard him curse George--oh, terribly! I believe he hates George. Same as day before yesterday, there were men riding in and out. But Diane and I heard only a little, and conflicting statements at that. We knew there was fighting. d.i.c.k and the servants, the cowboys, all brought rumors. Steele was killed at least ten times and came to life just as many.
"I can"t recall, don"t want to recall, all we heard. But this morning when I saw the red scarf flying in the wind--well, Russ, I was so glad I could not see through the gla.s.s any more. We knew then Steele was all right or you wouldn"t have put up the signal."
"Reckon few people in Linrock realize just what _did_ come off," I replied with a grim chuckle.
"Russ, I want you to tell me," said Miss Sampson earnestly.
"What?" I queried sharply.
"About yesterday--what Steele did--what happened."
"Miss Sampson, I could tell you in a few short statements of fact or I could take two hours in the telling. Which do you prefer?"
"I prefer the long telling. I want to know all about him."
"But why, Miss Sampson? Consider. This is hardly a story for a sensitive woman"s ears."
"I am no coward," she replied, turning eyes to me that flashed like dark fire.
"But why?" I persisted. I wanted a good reason for calling up all the details of the most strenuous and terrible day in my border experience.
She was silent a moment. I saw her gaze turn to the spot where Steele lay asleep, and it was a pity he could not see her eyes then. "Frankly, I don"t want to tell you," I added, and I surely would have been glad to get out of the job.
"I want to hear--because I glory in his work," she replied deliberately.
I gathered as much from the expression of her face as from the deep ring of her voice, the clear content of her statement. She loved the Ranger, but that was not all of her reason.
"His work?" I echoed. "Do you want him to succeed in it?"