He understood then. The great and vile construction camp had reached the end of its career. It was being torn down--moved away--depopulated.
There was an exodus. In another forty-eight hours all that had been Benton, with its acc.u.mulated life and gold and toil, would be incorporated in another and a greater and a last camp--Roaring City.
The contrast to the beautiful Washington, the check to his half-dreaming memory of what he had experienced there, the sudden plunge into this dim--lighted, sordid, and roaring h.e.l.l, all brought about in Neale a revulsion of feeling.
And with the sinking of his spirit there returned the old haunting pangs--the memory of Allie Lee, the despairing doubts of life or death for her. Beyond the camp loomed the dim hills, mystical, secretive, and unchangeable. If she were out there among them, dead or alive, to know it would be a blessed relief. It was this horror of Benton that he feared.
He walked the street, up and down, up and down, until the hour was late and he was tired. All the halls and saloons were blazing in full blast.
Once he heard low, hoa.r.s.e cries and pistol-shots--and then again quick, dull, booming guns. How strange they should make him shiver! But all seemed strange. From these sounds he turned away, not knowing what to do or where to go, since sleep or rest was impossible. Finally he went into a gambling-den and found a welcome among players whose faces he knew.
It was Benton"s last night, and there was something in the air, menacing, terrible.
Neale gave himself up to the spirit of the hour and the game. He had almost forgotten himself when a white, jeweled hand flashed over his shoulder, to touch it softly. He heard his name whispered. Looking up, he saw the flushed and singularly radiant face of Beauty Stanton.
25
The afternoon and night of pay-day in Benton, during which Allie Lee was barred in her room, were hideous, sleepless, dreadful hours. Her ears were filled with Benton"s roar--whispers and wails and laughs; thick shouts of drunken men; the cold voices of gamblers; clink of gold and clink of gla.s.ses; a ceaseless tramp and shuffle of boots; pistol-shots m.u.f.fled and far away, pistol-shots ringing and near at hand; the angry hum of brawling men; and strangest of all this dreadful roar were the high-pitched, piercing voices of women, in songs without soul, in laughter without mirth, in cries wild and terrible and mournful.
Allie lay in the dark, praying for the dawn, shuddering at this strife of sound, fearful that any moment the violence of Benton would burst through the flimsy walls of her room to destroy her. But the roar swelled and subsided and died away; the darkness gave place to gray light and then dawn; the sun arose, the wind began to blow. Now Benton slept, the sleep of sheer exhaustion.
Her mirror told Allie the horror of that night. Her face was white; her eyes were haunted by terrors, with great dark shadows beneath. She could not hold her hands steady.
Late that afternoon there were stirrings and sounds in Durade"s hall.
The place had awakened. Presently Durade himself brought her food and drink. He looked haggard, worn, yet radiant. He did not seem to note Allie"s condition or appearance.
"That deaf and dumb fool who waited on you is gone," said Durade.
"Yesterday was pay-day in Benton... Many are gone... Allie, I won fifty thousand dollars in gold!"
"Isn"t that enough?" she asked.
He did not hear her, but went on talking of his winnings, of gold, of games, and of big stakes coming. His lips trembled, his eyes glittered, his fingers clawed at the air.
For Allie it was a relief when Durade left her. He had almost reached the apex of his fortunes and the inevitable end. Allie realized that if she were ever to lift a hand to save herself she must do so at once.
This was a fixed and desperate thought in her mind when Durade called her to her work.
Allie always entered that private den of Durade"s with eyes cast down.
She had been scorched too often by the glances of men. As she went in this time she felt the presence of gamblers, but they were quieter than those to whom she had become accustomed. Durade ordered her to fetch drinks, then he went on talking, rapidly, in excitement, elated, boastful, almost gay.
Allie did not look up. As she carried the tray to the large table she heard a man whisper low: "By jove!... Hough, that"s the girl!"
Then she heard a slight, quick intake of breath, and the exclamation, "Good G.o.d!"
Both voices thrilled Allie. The former seemed the low, well-modulated, refined, and drawling speech of an Englishman; the latter was keen, quick, soft, and full of genuine emotion. Allie returned to her chair by the sideboard before she ventured to look up. Durade was playing cards with four men, three of whom were black-garbed, after the manner of professional gamblers. The other player wore gray, and a hat of unusual shape, with wide, loose, cloth band. He removed his hat as he caught Allie"s glance, and she a.s.sociated the act with the fact of her presence. She thought that this must be the man whose voice had proclaimed him English. He had a fair face, lined and shadowed and dissipated, with tired blue eyes and a blond mustache that failed to altogether hide a well-shaped mouth. It was the kindest and saddest face Allie had ever seen there. She read its story. In her extremity she had acquired a melancholy wisdom in the judgment of the faces of the men drifting through Durade"s hall. What Allie had heard in this Englishman"s voice she saw in his features. He did not look at her again. He played cards wearily, carelessly, indifferently, with his mind plainly on something else.
"Ancliffe, how many cards?" called one of the black-garbed men.
The Englishman threw down his cards. "None," he said.
The game was interrupted by a commotion in the adjoining room, which was the public gambling-hall of Durade"s establishment.
"Another fight!" exclaimed Durade, impatiently. "And only Mull and Fresno showed up to-day."
Harsh voices and heavy stamps were followed by a pistol-shot. Durade hurriedly arose.
"Gentlemen, excuse me," he said, and went out. One of the gamblers also left the room, and another crossed it to peep through the door.
This left the Englishman sitting at the table with the last gambler, whose back was turned toward Allie. She saw the Englishman lean forward to speak. Then the gambler arose and, turning, came directly toward her.
"My name is Place Hough," he said, speaking rapidly and low. "I am a gambler--but gentleman. I"ve heard strange rumors about you, and now I see for myself. Are you Allie Lee?"
Allie"s heart seemed to come to her throat. She shook all over, and she gazed with piercing intensity at the man. When he had arisen from the table he had appeared the same black-garbed, hard-faced gambler as any of the others. But looked at closely, he was different. Underneath the cold, expressionless face worked something mobile and soft. His eyes were of crystal clearness and remarkable for a penetrating power. They shone with wonder, curiosity, sympathy.
Allie instinctively trusted the voice and then consciously trusted the man. "Oh, sir, I am--distressed--ill from fright!" she faltered. "If I only dared--"
"You dare tell me," he interrupted, swiftly. "Be quick. Are you here willingly with this man?"
"Oh no!"
"What then?"
"Oh, sir--you do not think--I--"
"I knew you were good, innocent--the moment I laid eyes on you,... Who are you?"
"Allie Lee. My father is Allison Lee."
"Whew!" The gambler whistled softly and, turning, glanced at the door, then beckoned Ancliffe. The Englishman arose. In the adjoining rooms sounds of strife were abating.
"Ancliffe, this girl is Allie Lee--daughter of Allison Lee--a big man of the U.P.R.... Something terribly wrong here." And he whispered to Ancliffe.
Allie became aware of the Englishman"s scrutiny, doubtful, sad, yet kind and curious. Indeed these men had heard of her.
"Hough, you must be mistaken," he said.
Allie felt a sudden rush of emotion. Her opportunity had come. "I am Allie Lee. My mother ran off with Durade--to California. He used her as a lure to draw men to his gambling-h.e.l.ls--as he uses me now... Two years ago we escaped--started east with a caravan. The Indians attacked us. I crawled under a rock--escaped the ma.s.sacre. I--"
"Never mind all your story," interrupted Hough. "We haven"t time for that. I believe you... You are held a close prisoner?"
"Oh yes--locked and barred. I never get out. I have been threatened so--that until now I feared to tell anyone. But Durade--he is going mad.
I--I can bear it no longer."
"Miss Lee, you shall not bear it," declared Ancliffe. "We"ll take you out of here."
"How?" queried Hough, shortly.