Mrs. Horne stopped her with a gesture of pa.s.sionate impatience. "Who said you were anything else? Will nothing sober you? I would have thought that Harry--"
"You"re cruel, Martha. Yes, you are. Will you leave me alone to dress?"
"Oh, darn!" Mrs. Horne exclaimed.
From that interview she came straight to me. A party of friends was coming from the mining town for a few days, she said, and I was to meet them at The Tanks. Among them would be Mr. Mortimer Peck, a bachelor who managed a large copper mine. Also, on my way over, I could go around by Hope Canon and leave a letter for Mrs. Johnson. Perhaps I grinned. At any rate, Mrs. Horne said: "Now, don"t try to be clever, but keep your thoughts to yourself."
To my everlasting credit, be it said, I did not read that letter, although it was unsealed. Whatever was in it, Hetty seemed dumbfounded.
For a moment I feared she would faint. She was not that sort, however.
Before I left she was bristling with energy and told me that she would be at the ranch on my return. There was a red spot in each cheek and the light of battle in her eyes.
CHAPTER XXVII
A CLEVER WOMAN AND A MISUNDERSTANDING
I met the train at The Tanks and drove the party to the ranch. There were Mr. and Mrs. Prouty, a colorless pair, and the young man Peck aforementioned. I think Prouty had once been Horne"s financial backer.
When we arrived at headquarters, everybody was on the steps to welcome them, with the big hospitality of cowland. Hetty was there, too, more radiant than I had ever seen her.
It is true that her dress suffered considerably by comparison with Mrs.
Vining"s, but she had advantages which that expert lady would have given all her aids to possess. Young Peck looked in Hetty"s direction just once, and gravitated there as by natural laws. He had met many women like Mrs. Vining. She tried all her wiles on him and he responded gaily, with a poise equal to her own, and then went on about his business. This business appeared to concern Hetty.
Shame on the graceless woman!--she had not been married five months and here she was giving open encouragement to a man who had seen too many sides of life for anybody"s good. Yet Mrs. Horne did not chide her.
Indeed, she watched the progress of events with undisguised pleasure.
The same cannot be said for Lafe. First he seemed at a loss, then dazed.
After that he sulked. It was noticeable that he was absentminded now when Mrs. Vining cooed to him, and appeared to give ear more to what Hetty was saying to the mining man at the other side of the room. Peck"s manner was joyous and eager. There was much merriment in their corner.
The boss was very gloomy as he helped me at the stables that night. It would appear that Mrs. Horne planned a ride to the Wolf place on the morrow and he grumbled that he supposed it would be just his luck to draw Mrs. Vining for the entire day. It was not for me to remind him he had seemed sufficiently satisfied with this arrangement on other occasions.
By dint of maneuvering her horse next morning, Mrs. Vining enticed Peck to her a.s.sistance. However, on perceiving that Hetty was riding off with me, Mr. Peck utilized his privileges of guest to call out to Lafe: "I say, Johnson, you know more about these things than I do? Will you fix this girth for Mrs. Vining?" Upon which he loped away after Hetty.
Throughout that ride I kept far ahead of the procession, driving a pack-mule that carried our provisions. The brute was stubborn and gave trouble, persisting in efforts to sc.r.a.pe off its burden under every tree; but they were troubles more easily handled than those I suspected Mr. Johnson to have laid up for himself.
The Wolf place is a heavenly retreat in a brown, stern land. The day was warm, and old man Horne, who thought a good deal of his comfort, proposed that we wait until sundown before starting for home. Everybody was agreeable except, perhaps, Lafe, and he said nothing. He spent the entire afternoon in wake of Mrs. Vining--such a very evident victim, though, that she gave up in disgust and went to sit beside Mrs. Horne and the Proutys. Lafe affected not to watch Hetty and Peck, who were gathering wild flowers and behaving like two children released from school.
It was dark when we went home. As before, I was a.s.signed to the mule.
Next came old man Horne and Mrs. Prouty, his wife and Mr. Prouty; then Mrs. Vining and Lafe; and last--very far behind--rode the mining engineer and Hetty. We had gone about five miles when Lafe mumbled some excuse to Mrs. Vining and went back.
It happened that Peck had just reached out to take a flower from Hetty"s hand. They had been tossing them about all evening. I grant you there was no occasion for this move, but these are the facts. Let us a.s.sume that Hetty never divined his purpose. He seized her wrist and was drawing her towards him when Lafe arrived. Hetty jerked free. Peck laughed.
"Go ahead with Miz Horne," Lafe ordered. It was the primal man speaking to the woman who belonged to him. "You wait here, Peck. We"ll settle this thing right now."
"Don"t be an a.s.s--"
"Lafe!" Hetty protested. She was flurried and much frightened, for never before had she seen him really angry. She brought her horse against his, so that they could see each other plainly. There must have been signs of weakening in him, for she suddenly flicked her reins upon his riding boot and said: "Perhaps this"ll teach you."
"Teach me what?" asked Lafe uncertainly.
"Never mind. You ask Mrs. Horne. She"ll tell you all about it."
Peck had drawn near. He entertained fears for Mrs. Johnson, but none for himself. When he heard this, he laughed. He was disappointed, but he had seen a lot of the world.
"So that"s it," said Peck. "You little rascal."
He pinched Hetty lightly on the cheek, but Lafe did not object. Instead, he looked rather sheepish and drew alongside his wife in proper humility. At a word from her they galloped to the front, pa.s.sed the others of the party, and took charge of the pack-animal. Peck lighted a cigar and joined Prouty. He was smiling and seemed not at all put out.
I fell back to ride with old man Horne. Hetty and Lafe were far in the lead, going at a long lope and beating the mule joyously with a rope-end when it lagged in its pace. She threw a flower at him and he caught it and stuck it inside the bosom of his shirt.
Old man Horne departed at dawn on some cow business, and when his wife went to bed that night, she left injunctions that she was on no account to be disturbed before eleven in the morning. Yet at midnight she was wakened by a knock at her door.
"Wha-what--who"s there?" she cried.
Mrs. Vining padded into the room in her bare feet and crawled into bed beside her friend, snuggling against her shoulder. It was black in the room and the older woman winked solemnly at the wall. She waited with patience for the other to speak her mind.
"I couldn"t sleep," said Mrs. Vining.
"I could."
"Martha, I"ve been so catty."
"Yes, you have," said Mrs. Horne stoutly.
"Well, you needn"t tell me like that. I"m sure there was nothing to make all this--"
"Don"t let"s go over all that again, Judy. Why did you do it? That"s what I want to know. The whole thing was ridiculous."
"Because I did--that"s why. And one has to have _some_ amus.e.m.e.nt out here."
"Well! that _is_ nice."
"You know I didn"t mean it that way, Martha."
There was silence, so long that Mrs. Horne thought her friend must be sleeping. Gradually she became aware that she was crying.
"Judy, what"s the matter, dear?" She drew the younger woman closer and patted her in motherly fashion.
"No-nothing. She"s--she"s so pretty and I"m getting--getting old.
Martha, it"s lonely. I can"t stand it. I"m only thirty-four and all alone. I"m afraid to look ahead. Think of all the dreadful years. You can"t blame me for--sometimes I think I"ll--"
Mrs. Horne comforted her as she would have comforted a daughter. She was thinking intently as she soothed. Presently she asked: "Judy, have you ever heard from Harry?"
"Never."
"Don"t you know where he is?"