The man laughed at her ignorance with a sudden longing in his heart to help and protect her.
"Ten acres! Look again. They are twenty miles away. The herd is packed so densely, the ground is invisible. They cover a thousand acres."
"Impossible--"
"I a.s.sure you, it"s true. They were once even more plentiful. But we"re pushing them back with the Indians into the sunset. And they, too, will fade away into the twilight at last--"
He stopped suddenly. He had almost spoken a sentence that would have committed him beyond retreat. It was just on his lips to say:
"I didn"t take such tender views of Indians and buffaloes until I met you!"
For the life of him he couldn"t make the girl out. Her voice was music.
Her laughter contagious. And yet she was reserved. About her personality hung a spell which forbade familiarity. Flirting was a pastime in the army. But it had never appealed to him. He was not so sure about her when she laughed.
And then her father worried him. The fiery old Southerner had the temper of the devil when roused. He could see that this second daughter was his favorite. He had caught a look of unreasonable anger and jealousy in his eye only that afternoon when they rode away together.
Still he must risk it. He had really suggested this sunset scene for that purpose. The field was his own choosing. Only a coward could run now.
He managed at last to get his lips to work.
"Since you came, Miss Sarah--I"ve been seeing life at a new angle--" he paused awkwardly.
The red blood mounted to her cheeks.
"You have given me new eyes--"
[Ill.u.s.tration: ""You have given me new eyes""]
She turned her head away. There was no mistaking the tremor of his tones. She was too honest to simper and pretend. Her heart was pounding so loudly she wondered if he could hear.
He fumbled nervously with his glove, glanced at her from the corner of his eye, and his voice sank to a whisper:
"I--I love you, Sarah!"
She turned slowly and looked at him through dimmed eyes:
"And I love you--"
She paused, brushed a tear from her cheek, and with sweet reproach quietly added:
"Why didn"t you tell me sooner? We"ve lost so many beautiful days that might have been perfect--"
He suddenly stooped and kissed her full lips.
"We"ll not lose any more--"
"The world _is_ beautiful, isn"t it, dear!" she said, nestling closer.
"Since I see with your eyes--yes. It was only a place to fight in, before. Now it"s a fairy world, and these wild flowers that cover the plains only grow to make a carpet for the feet of the girl I love--"
"A fairy world--yes--" she whispered, "it"s been just that to me since I first sang the "Fairy Bells" for you--"
"I"ll never love another song as that," he said reverently.
"Nor I," was the low response. "My heart will beat to its music forever--it just means you, now--"
For a long time they sat without words, holding each other"s hand. The sun hung a glowing ball of fire on the rim of the far-away hills, and the shadows of the valley deepened into twilight.
"How wonderful the silence of the plains!" the lover sighed.
"It used to oppress me."
The man nodded.
"And now, I hear the beat of angels" wings and know that G.o.d is near--"
"Because we love--" and she laughed for joy.
Again they sat in sweet, brooding silence.
A horseman rode over the hilltop in the glow of the fading sun. From its summit, he lifted his hand and waved a salute. They looked below, and in the doorway of a cabin, a young mother stood, a babe in her arms answering with hand uplifted high above her child.
"What does it matter, dear," she whispered, "a cabin or a palace!"
IX
WAR
Side by side through the still white light of the full moon they rode home, in each heart the glow of the wonder and joy of Love"s first revelation. Words were an intrusion. The eyes of the soul were seeing now the hidden things of life.
The gleam of the lights at the Fort brought them sharply out of dreamland into the world of fact.
"You must see my father to-night, dear," she said eagerly.
"Must I, to-night?"
"It"s best."
"I"d rather face a hundred Red Men in war paint."
A merry laugh was her answer as she leaned close:
"Don"t be silly, he likes you."
"But he _loves_ you."