They were so little, seemingly so inoffensive: these dark berries in the shadows of the covert. They were scarcely to be noticed twice. But not even the savage grizzly was of such might; storms or seas were not so deadly. There they were, inconspicuous among their sister plants, waiting for her hand.
It was right that they should be black in color. Their blackness was as of a black night without a star shining through,--a black cloud with never a rainbow to promise hope. She could not turn her eyes away! How black they were among the green leaves--lightless as death itself.
A handful of them meant death: her father had warned her about them long ago. But half a handful--perhaps a dozen of the sable berries in the palm of her hand--what did _they_ mean? Just a sickness wherein one could no longer guard a prisoner. They were a powerful alkaloid, she knew; and a dozen of them would likely mean hours and hours of deep, dreamless sleep,--a sleep in which one could take no reckoning of hands fumbling at a cartridge belt! Half a handful would, in all probability, fail to strike the life from such a powerful frame as Ben"s, but would certainly act upon him like a powerful opiate and leave him helpless in her hands.
Eagerly her fingers plucked the black berries.
x.x.xIII
In one of the tin cups Beatrice pressed the juice from the nightshade, obtaining perhaps a tablespoonful of black liquor. To this she added considerable sugar, barely tasting the mixture on the end of her finger.
The balance was inclining toward the success of her plan. The sugar mostly killed the pungent taste of the berries.
Then she concealed the cup in a cl.u.s.ter of vines, ready for the moment of need. Her next act was to procure from among the supplies the little cardboard box containing half a dozen or so of her pistol sh.e.l.ls. The way of safety was to destroy these first. The effect of the poison might be of only a few minutes" duration, and every motion might count. Under any conditions, they would be out of the way. She was careful, with a superlative cunning, to take the box as well as its contents. She foresaw that in all likelihood Ben would seek the sh.e.l.ls as soon as he fired the few that remained in his pistol magazine; and an empty container might put him upon his guard. On the other hand, if he could not find the box at all, he could easily be led to believe that it had been simply misplaced among the other supplies.
She scattered the sh.e.l.ls in the heavy brush where not even the bright, searching eyes of the Canada jay might ever find them. Then she hastened up the ridge to meet Ben on his way to the cave.
She waited a few minutes, then spying his stalwart form at the edge of the beaver meadow, she tripped down to meet him. He was not in the least suspicious of this little act of friendship. It was quite the customary thing, lately, for her thus to watch for his coming; and his brown face always lighted with pleasure at the first glimpse of her graceful form framed by the spruce. She too had always taken pleasure in these little meetings and in the gay talk they had as they sped down toward the cavern; but her delight was singularly absent to-day. She tried to restrain the wild racing of her heart.
She knew she must act her part. Her plan was to put him off his guard, to hide her treachery with pretended friendship. To meet him here--far distant from the poison cup hidden in the vines--would give her time to master her leaping heart and to strengthen her self-control.
Yet she had hardly expected him to greet her in just this way,--with such a light in his eyes and such obvious delight in his smile. He had a rather boyish, friendly smile, this foe of hers whom she was about to despatch into the very shadow of death. She dispelled quickly a small, faltering voice of remorse. This was no time for remorse, for gentleness and mercy. She hurried to his side.
"You"re flushed from hurrying down that hill," he told her gayly.
"Beatrice, you"re getting prettier every day."
"It"s the simple life that"s doing it, Ben! No late hours, no indigestible food--"
"Speaking of food--I"m famished. I hope you"ve got something nice for lunch--and I know you have."
She _had_ been careful with to-day"s lunch; but it had merely been part of her plot to put him off his guard. "Caribou tenderloin--almost the last of him--wocus bread and strawberries," she a.s.sured him. "Does that suit your highness?"
He made a great feint of being overwhelmed by the news. "Then let"s hurry. Take my arm and we"ll fly."
She seized the strong forearm, thrilled in spite of herself by the muscles of steel she felt through the sleeves. He fell into his fastest walking stride,--long steps that sped the yards under them. They emerged from the marsh and started to climb the ridge.
At a small hollow beside the creek bed her fingers suddenly tightened on his arm. A thrill that was more of wonder than of joy coursed through her; and her dark eyes began to glitter with excitement. The wilderness was her ally to-day. She suddenly saw her chance--in a manner that could not possibly waken his suspicions of her intentions--of disposing of the remainder of his pistol cartridges.
On a log thirty feet distant sat an old grouse with half a dozen of her brood, all of them perched in a row and relying on their protective coloring to save them from sight. They were Franklin"s grouse--and they had appeared as if in answer to Beatrice"s secret wish.
These birds were common enough in their valley, and not a day pa.s.sed without seeing from five to fifty of them, yet the sight went straight home to Beatrice"s superst.i.tions. "Get them with your pistol," she whispered. "I want them all--for a big grouse pie to-night."
"But our pistol sh.e.l.ls are getting low," Ben objected. "I"ve hardly got enough sh.e.l.ls in the gun to get "em all--"
"No matter. You have to use them some time. There"s a few more in the cave, I think. We"ll have to rely on big game from now on, anyway. Don"t miss one."
Ben drew his pistol, then walked up within twenty feet. He drew slowly down, knocking the old bird from her perch with a bullet through the neck.
"Good work," Beatrice exulted. "Now for the chicks."
Ben took the bird on the extreme right, and again the bullet sped true.
The remainder of the flock had become uneasy now; and at the next shot all except one flew into the branches of the surrounding trees. This shot was equally successful, and with the fourth he knocked the remaining bird from the log.
Each of the four birds he had downed with a shot either through the head or the neck; and such shooting would have been marvelous indeed in the eyes of the tenderfoot. But both these two foresters knew that there was nothing exceptional about it. Pistol shooting is simply a matter of a sure eye and steady nerves, combined with a greater or less period of practice. Few were the trappers or woodsmen north of fifty-three that could not have done as much.
Ben turned his attention to the fowl on the lower tree limbs, hitting once but missing the second time. To correct this unpardonable proceeding, he knocked with his seventh a fat c.o.c.k, his spurs just starting, from almost the top of a young spruce.
"Here"s one more," Beatrice urged him. "I"ll need every one for the pie."
But the gun was empty. The firing pin snapped harmlessly against the breach. They gathered the grouse and sped on down to the cavern.
Her heart seemingly leaped into her throat at every beat; but with steady hands and smiling face she went about the preparation of the meal. She fried the venison and baked the wocus bread, and with more than usual spirit and gaiety set the dishes at Ben"s place at the table. "Draw up your chair," she told him. "I"ll have the tea in a minute."
Ben peered with sudden interest into her face. "What"s troubling you, Bee?" he asked gently. "You"re pale as a ghost."
"I"m not feeling overly well." Her eyes dropped before his gaze. "I"m not hungry--at all. But it"s nothing to worry about--"
She saw by his eyes that he _was_ worrying; yet it was evident that he had not the slightest suspicion of the real cause of the sudden pallor in her cheeks. She saw his face cloud and his eyes darken; and again she heard that faint, small voice of remorse--whispering deep in her heart"s heart. He was always so considerate of her, this jailer of hers. His concern was always so real and deep. Yet in a moment more the kindly sympathy would be gone from his face. He would be lying very still--and his face would be even more pale than hers.
Listlessly she walked to the door of the cave, procuring a handful of dried red-root leaves that she used for tea. Through the cavern opening he saw her drop them into the bucket that served as their teapot.
Then she came back for the oiled, cloth bag that contained the last of their sugar. This was always one of her little kindnesses,--to sweeten his tea for him before she brought it to him. He began to eat his steak.
In one glance the girl saw that he was wholly unsuspecting. He trusted her; in their weeks together he had lost all fear of treachery from her.
There he was, exulting over the frugal lunch she had prepared, with no inkling of the deadly peril that even now was upon him. She wished he did not trust her so completely; it would be easier for her if he was just a little wary, a little more on guard.
She felt cold all over. She could hardly keep from shivering. But this was the moment of trial; the thing would be done in a moment more. She mustn"t give way yet to the growing weakness in her muscles. She walked to the vine where she had left the potion.
How much of it there was--it seemed to have doubled in quant.i.ty since she had left it. A handful of the black berries meant death--certain as the sunrise--but what did half a handful mean? The question came to her again. How did she know that half a handful did not mean death too,--not just hours of slumber, but relentless and irremediable death! Would that be the end of her day"s work--to see this tall, friendly warden of hers lying dead before her gaze, the laughter gone from his lips and the light faded from his eyes? She would be free then to strip the sh.e.l.l belt from his waist. He would never waken to prevent her. She could escape too--back to her father"s home--and leave him in the cave.
All that he had told her concerning his war with her father recurred to her in one vivid flash. Could it have been that he had told the truth--that her father and his followers had been the attackers in the beginning? She had never believed him fully; but could it be that he was in the right? His claim had been invaded, he said, and his one friend murdered in cold blood. Was this not cause enough, by the code of the North, for a war of reprisal?
But even as these thoughts came to her, she had walked boldly to the fire and emptied the contents of the cup into the boiling water in the teapot. Ben would have only had to look up to see her do it. Yet still he did not suspect.
She waited an instant, steadying herself for the ordeal to come. Then she took the pot off the fire and poured the hot contents into the cup that had just held the potion. She had been careful not to put enough water into the pot to weaken the drink. The cup brimmed; but none was left. She brought it steaming to Ben"s side.
No kindly root tripped her feet as she entered, no merciful unsteadiness caused her to drop this cup of death and spill its contents.
"Thanks, Beatrice." Ben looked up, smiling. "I"m a brute to let you fix my tea when you are feeling so bad. But I sure am grateful, if that helps any--"
His voice sounded far away, like a voice in a nightmare. "It"s pretty strong, I"m afraid," she told him. "The leaves weren"t very good, and I boiled them too long. I"m afraid you"ll find it bitter."
"I"ll drink it, if it"s bitter as gall," he a.s.sured her, "after your kindness to fix it."
His hand reached and seized the handle of the cup. Even now--_now_--he was raising it to his lips. In an instant more he would be pouring it down his throat, too considerate of her to admit its unwholesome taste, drinking it down though it tasted the potion of death that it was! The hair seemed to start on her head.
Then she seemed to writhe as in a convulsion. Her voice rose in a piercing scream. "Ben--_Ben_--_don"t drink it_!" she cried. "G.o.d have mercy on my soul!"