[Illustration: Like some land of Heart's Desire (see page 22). ]

DESERT DUST

By

EDWIN L. SABIN

Author of "How Are You Feeling Now?" etc. 

ILLUSTRATED BY

J. CLINTON SHEPHERD

[Illustration: QUINON PROFICIT DEFICIT]

PHILADELPHIA

GEORGE W. JACOBS & COMPANY

PUBLISHERS

Copyright, 1921, byFrank A. Munsey Company

Copyright, 1922, byGeorge W. Jacobs & Company

All rights reservedPrinted in U. S. A. 

CONTENTS

 CHAPTER PAGE I. A Pair of Blue Eyes 9 II. To Better Acquaintance 22 III. I Rise in Favor 36 IV. I Meet Friends 54 V. On Grand Tour 72 VI. "High and Dry" 88 VII. I Go to Rendezvous 102 VIII. I Stake on the Queen 118 IX. I Accept an Offer 131 X. I Cut Loose 145 XI. We Get a "Super" 162 XII. Daniel Takes Possession 181 XIII. Someone Fears 197 XIV. I Take a Lesson 205 XV. The Trail Narrows 223 XVI. I Do the Deed 240 XVII. The Trail Forks 252 XVIII. Voices in the Void 261 XIX. I Stake Again 272 XX. The Queen Wins 286 XXI. We Wait the Summons 300 XXII. Star Shine 314

ILLUSTRATIONS

 PAGELike some land of Heart's Desire (see page 22). Frontispiece"Madam, " I Uttered Foolishly, "Good Evening. " 85The Scouts Galloped Onward 280

DESERT DUST

CHAPTER I

A PAIR OF BLUE EYES

In the estimate of the affable brakeman (a gentleman wearing sky-blue armypantaloons tucked into cowhide boots, half-buttoned vest, flannel shirtopen at the throat, and upon his red hair a flaring-brimmed black slouchhat) we were making a fair average of twenty miles an hour across thegreatest country on earth. It was a flat country of far horizons, and forvast stretches peopled mainly, as one might judge from the car windows, byantelope and the equally curious rodents styled prairie dogs. 

Yet despite the novelty of such a ride into that unknown new West nowbeing spanned at giant's strides by the miraculous Pacific Railway, beholdme, surfeited with already five days' steady travel, engrossed chiefly inobserving a clear, dainty profile and waiting for the glimpses, time totime, of a pair of exquisite blue eyes. 

Merely to indulge myself in feminine beauty, however, I need not haveundertaken the expense and fatigue of journeying from Albany on the Hudsonout to Omaha on the plains side of the Missouri River; thence by theUnion Pacific Railroad of the new transcontinental line into the Indiancountry. There were handsome women a-plenty in the East; and of access, also, to a youth of family and parts. I had pictures of the same in mysocial register. A man does not attain to twenty-five years without havingaccomplished a few pages of the heart book. Nevertheless all such pageswere--or had seemed to be--wholly retrospective now, for here I was, advised by the physicians to "go West, " meaning by this not simply theone-time West of Ohio, or Illinois, or even Iowa, but the remote andgenuine West lying beyond the Missouri. 

Whereupon, out of desperation that flung the gauntlet down to hope I hadtaken the bull by the horns in earnest. West should be full dose, at theutmost procurable by modern conveyance. 

The Union Pacific announcements acclaimed that this summer of 1868 therails should cross the Black Hills Mountains of Wyoming to another rangeof the Rocky Mountains, in Utah; and that by the end of the year one mightride comfortably clear to Salt Lake City. Certainly this was "going West"with a vengeance; but as appeared to me--and to my father and mother andthe physicians--somewhere in the expanse of brand new Western country, theplains and mountains, I would find at least the breath of life. 

When I arrived in Omaha the ticket agent was enabled to sell metransportation away to the town of Benton, Wyoming Territory itself, sixhundred and ninety miles (he said) west of the Missouri. 

Of Benton I had never heard. It was upon no public maps, as yet. But inround figures, seven hundred miles! Practically the distance from Albanyto Cincinnati, and itself distant from Albany over two thousand miles! Allby rail. 

Benton was, he explained, the present end of passenger service, thisAugust. In another month--and he laughed. 

"Fact is, while you're standing here, " he alleged, "I may get orders anymoment to sell a longer ticket. The Casements are laying two to threemiles of track a day, seven days in the week, and stepping right on theheels of the graders. Last April we were selling only to Cheyenne, risingof five hundred miles. Then in May we began to sell to Laramie, fivehundred and seventy-six miles. Last of July we began selling to Benton, ahundred and twenty miles farther. Track's now probably fifty or more mileswest of Benton and there's liable to be another passenger terminusto-morrow. So it might pay you to wait. "

"No, " I said. "Thank you, but I'll try Benton. I can go on from there as Ithink best. Could you recommend local accommodations?"

He stared, through the bars of the little window behind which lay asix-chambered revolver. 

"Could I do what, sir?"

"Recommend a hotel, at Benton where I'm going. There is a hotel, Isuppose?"

"Good Lord!" he exclaimed testily. "In a city of three thousand people? Ahotel? A dozen of 'em, but I don't know their names. What do you expect tofind in Benton? You're from the East, I take it. Going out on spec', orpleasure, or health?"

"I have been advised to try Western air for a change, " I answered. "I amlooking for some place that is high, and dry. "

"Consumption, eh?" he shrewdly remarked. "High and dry; that's it. Oh, yes; you'll find Benton high enough, and toler'bly dry. You bet! Andnobody dies natural, at Benton, they say. Here's your ticket. Thank you. And the change. Next, please. "

It did not take me long to gather the change remaining from seventydollars greenbacks swapped for six hundred and ninety miles of travel atten cents a mile. I hastily stepped aside. A subtle fragrance and a rustlewarned me that I was obstructing a representative of the fair sex. So didthe smirk and smile of the ticket agent. 

"Your pardon, madam, " I proffered, lifting my hat--agreeably dazzled whilethus performing. 

She acknowledged the tribute with a faint blush. While pocketing my changeand stowing away my ticket I had opportunity to survey her further. 

"Benton, " she said briefly, to the agent. 

We were bound for the same point, then. Ye gods, but she was a littlebeauty: a perfect blonde, of the petite and fully formed type, withregular features inclined to the clean-cut Grecian, a piquant mouthdeliciously bowed, two eyes of the deepest blue veiled by long lashes, anda mass of glinting golden hair upon which perched a ravishing littlebonnet. The natural ensemble was enhanced by her costume, all of black, from the closely fitting bodice to the rustling crinoline beneath whichthere peeped out tiny shoes. I had opportunity also to note the jetpendant in the shelly ear toward me, and the flashing rings upon thefingers of her hands, ungloved in order to sort out the money from herreticule. 

Sooth to say, I might not stand there gawking. Once, by a demure sidewaysglance, she betrayed knowledge of my presence. Her own transaction was allmatter-of-fact, as if engaging passage to Benton of Wyoming Territorycontained no novelty for her. Could she by any chance live there--a womandressed like she was, as much à la mode as if she walked Broadway in NewYork? Omaha itself had astonished me with the display upon its streets;and now if Benton, far out in the wilderness, should prove anothersurprise----! Indeed, the Western world was not so raw, after all. Strangeto say, as soon as one crossed the Missouri River one began to senseromance, and to discover it. 

As seemed to me, the ticket agent would have detained her, in defiance ofthe waiting line; but she finished her business shortly, with shorterreplies to his idle remarks; and I turned away under pretense of examiningsome placards upon the wall advertising "Platte Valley lands" for sale. Ihad curiosity to see which way she wended. Then as she tripped for thedoor, casting eyes never right nor left, and still fumbling at herreticule, a coin slipped from her fingers and rolled, by good fortune, across the floor. 

I was after it instantly; caught it, and with best bow presented it. 

"Permit me, madam. "

She took it. 

"Thank you, sir. "

For a moment she paused to restore it to its company; and I grasped theoccasion. 

"I beg your pardon. You are going to Benton, of Wyoming Territory?"

Her eyes met mine so completely as well-nigh to daze me with their glory. There was a quizzical uplift in her frank, arch smile. 

"I am, sir. To Benton City, of Wyoming Territory. "

"You are acquainted there?" I ventured. 

"Yes, sir. I am acquainted there. And you are from Benton?"

"Oh, no, " I assured. "I am from New York State. " As if anybody might nothave known. "But I have just purchased my ticket to Benton, and----" Istammered, "I have made bold to wonder if you would not have the goodnessto tell me something of the place--as to accommodations, and all that. Youdon't by any chance happen to live there, do you?"

"And why not, sir, may I ask?" she challenged. 

I floundered before her query direct, and her bewildering eyes andlips--all tantalizing. 

"I didn't know--I had no idea--Wyoming Territory has been mentioned in thenewspapers as largely Indian country----"

"At Benton we are only six days behind New York fashions, " she smiled. "You have not been out over the railroad, then, I suspect. Not to NorthPlatte? Nor to Cheyenne?"

"I have never been west of Cincinnati before. "

"You have surely been reading of the railroad? The Pacific Railway betweenthe East and California?"

"Yes, indeed. In fact, a friend of mine, named Stephen Clark, nephew ofthe Honorable Thurlow Weed formerly of Albany, was killed a year ago byyour Indians while surveying west of the Black Hills. And of course therehave been accounts in the New York papers. "

"You are not on survey service? Or possibly, yes?"

"No, madam. "

"A pleasure trip to end of track?"

She evidently was curious, but I was getting accustomed to questions intoprivate matters. That was the universal license, out here. 

"The pleasure of finding health, " I laughed. "I have been advised to seeka location high and dry. "

"Oh!" She dimpled adorably. "I congratulate you on your choice. You willmake no mistake, then, in trying Benton. I can promise you that it is highand reasonably dry. And as for accommodations--so far as I have ever heardanybody is accommodated there with whatever he may wish. " She darted aglance at me; stepped aside as if to leave. 

"I am to understand that it is a city?" I pleaded. 

"Benton? Why, certainly. All the world is flowing to Benton. We gainedthree thousand people in two weeks--much to the sorrow of poor oldCheyenne and Laramie. No doubt there are five thousand people there now, and all busy. Yes, a young man will find his opportunities in Benton. Ithink your choice will please you. Money is plentiful, and so are thechances to spend it. " She bestowed upon me another sparkling glance. "Andsince we are both going to Benton I will say 'Au revoir, ' sir. " She leftme quivering. 

"You do live there?" I besought, after; and received a nod of the goldenhead as she entered the sacred Ladies' Waiting Room. 

Until the train should be made up I might only stroll, restless andstrangely buoyed, with that vision of an entrancing fellow travelerfilling my eyes. Summoned in due time by the clamor "Passengers for thePacific Railway! All aboard, going west on the Union Pacific!" here amidstthe platform hurly-burly of men, women, children and bundles I had thesatisfaction to sight the black-clad figure of My Lady of the Blue Eyes;hastening, like the rest, but not unattended--for a brakeman bore hervalise and the conductor her parasol. The scurrying crowd gallantly partedbefore her. It as promptly closed upon her wake; try as I might I wasutterly unable to keep in her course. 

Obviously, the train was to be well occupied. Carried on willy-nilly Imounted the first steps at hand; elbowed on down the aisle until I managedto squirm aside into a vacant seat. The remaining half was at onceeffectually filled by a large, stout, red-faced woman who formed the baseof a pyramid of boxes and parcels. 

My neighbor, who blocked all egress, was going to North Platte, threehundred miles westward, I speedily found out. And she almost as speedilylearned that I was going to Benton. 

She stared, round-eyed. 

"I reckon you're a gambler, young man, " she accused. 

"No, madam. Do I look like a gambler?"

"You can't tell by looks, young man, " she asserted, still suspicious, "Maybe you're on spec', then, in some other way. "

"I am seeking health in the West, is all, where the climate is high anddry. "

"My Gawd!" she blurted. "High and dry! You're goin' to the right place. For all I hear tell, Benton is high enough and dry enough. Are youreye-teeth peeled, young man?"

"My eye-teeth?" I repeated. "I hope so, madam. Are eye-teeth necessary inBenton?"

"Peeled, and with hair on 'em, young man, " she assured. "I guess you're apilgrim, ain't you? I see a leetle green in your eye. No, you ain't atin-horn. You're some mother's boy, jest gettin' away from the trough. Mysakes! Sick, too, eh? Weak lungs, ain't it? Now you tell me: Why you goin'to Benton?"

There was an inviting kindness in her query. Plainly she had a good heart, large in proportion with her other bulk. 

"It's the farthest point west that I can reach by railroad, and everybodyI have talked with has recommended it as high and dry. "

"So it is, " she nodded; and chuckled fatly. "But laws sakes, you don'tneed to go that fur. You can as well stop off at North Platte, or Sidneyor Cheyenne. They'll sculp you sure at Benton, unless you watch out mightysharp. "

"How so, may I ask?"

"You're certainly green, " she apprised. "Benton's roarin'--and I know whatthat means. Didn't North Platte roar? I seen it at its beginnin's. My oldman and me, we were there from the fust, when it started in as therailroad terminal. My sakes, but them were times! What with the gamblin'and the shootin' and the drinkin' and the high-cockalorums night and day, 'twasn't no place for innocence. Easy come, easy go, that was the word. Idon't say but what times were good, though. My old man contractedgovernment freight, and I run an eatin' house for the railroaders, so wemade money. Then when the railroad moved terminus, the wust of the crowdmoved, too, and us others who stayed turned North Platte into a strictlymoral town. But land sakes! North Platte in its roarin' days wasn't noplace for a young man like you. Neither was Julesburg, or Sidney, orCheyenne, when they was terminuses. And I hear tell Benton is wuss'n allrolled into one. Young man, now listen: You stop off at North Platte, Nebrasky. It's healthy and it's moral, and it's goin' to make Omyha looklike a shinplaster. I'll watch after you. Maybe I can get you a job in myman's store. You've j'ined some church, I reckon? Now if you're aBaptist----?"

But since I had crossed the Missouri something had entered into my bloodwhich rendered me obstinate against such allurements. For her NorthPlatte, "strictly moral, " and the guardianship of her broad motherly wingI had no ardent feeling. I was set upon Benton; foolishly, fatuously set. And in after days--soon to arrive--I bitterly regretted that I had notyielded to her wholesome, honest counsel. 

Nevertheless this was true, at present:

"But I have already purchased my ticket to Benton, " I objected. "Iunderstand that I shall find the proper climate there, and suitableaccommodations. And if I don't like it I can move elsewhere. Possibly toSalt Lake City, or Denver. "

She snorted. 

"In among them Mormons? My Gawd, young man! Where they live inconkibinage--several women to one man, like a buffler herd or other beastsof the field? I guess your mother never heard you talk like that. Denver--well, Denver mightn't be bad, though I do hear tell that folksnigh starve to death there, what with the Injuns and the snow. Denverain't on no railroad, either. If you want health, and to grow up with astrictly moral community, you throw in with North Platte of Nebrasky, thegreat and growin' city of the Plains. I reckon you've heard of NorthPlatte, even where you come from. You take my word for it, and exchangeyour ticket. "

It struck me here that the good woman might not be unbiased in herfondness for North Platte. To extol the present and future of theseWestern towns seemed a fixed habit. During my brief stay in Omaha--yes, onthe way across Illinois and Iowa from Chicago, I had encountered thispeculiar trait. Iowa was rife with aspiring if embryonic metropolises. Nowin Nebraska, Columbus was destined to be the new national capital and thecenter of population for the United States; Fremont was lauded as one ofthe great railroad junctions of the world; and North Platte, three hundredmiles out into the plains, was proclaimed as the rival of Omaha, and"strictly moral. "

"I thank you, " I replied. "But since I've started for Benton I think I'llgo on. And if I don't like it or it doesn't agree with me you may see mein North Platte after all. "

She grunted. 

"You can find me at the Bon Ton restaurant. If you get in broke, I'll takecare of you. "

With that she settled herself comfortably. In remarkably short order shewas asleep and snoring. 

CHAPTER II

TO BETTER ACQUAINTANCE

The train had started amidst clangor of bell and the shouts of good-byeand good-luck from the crowd upon the station platform. We had rolled outthrough train yards occupied to the fullest by car shops, round house, piled-up freight depot, stacks of ties and iron, and tracks covered withfreight cars loaded high to rails, ties, baled hay, all manner and meansof supplies designed, I imagined, for the building operations far in theWest. 

Soon we had left this busy Train Town behind, and were entering the opencountry. The landscape was pleasing, but the real sights probably layahead; so I turned from my window to examine my traveling quarters. 

The coach--a new one, built in the company's shops and decidedly upon apar with the very best coaches of the Eastern roads--was jammed; everyseat taken. I did not see My Lady of the Blue Eyes, nor her equal, butalmost the whole gamut of society was represented: Farmers, merchants, afew soldiers, plainsmen in boots and flannel shirt-sleeves and long hairand large hats, with revolvers hanging from the racks above them or fromthe seat ends; one or two white-faced gentry in broadcloth andpatent-leather shoes--who I fancied might be gamblers such as now and thenplied their trade upon the Hudson River boats; two Indians in blankets;Eastern tourists, akin to myself; women and children of country type; andso forth. What chiefly caught my eye were the carbines racked against theends of the coach, for protection in case of Indians or highwaymen, nodoubt. I observed bottles being passed from hand to hand, and tilted enroute. The amount and frequency of the whiskey for consumption in thiscountry were astonishing. 

My friend snored peacefully. Near noon we halted for dinner at the town ofFremont, some fifty miles out. She awakened at the general stir, and whenI squeezed by her she immediately fished for a packet of lunch. We hadthirty minutes at Fremont--ample time in which to discuss a very excellentmeal of antelope steaks, prairie fowl, fried potatoes and hot biscuits. There was promise of buffalo meat farther on, possibly at the next mealstation, Grand Island. 

The time was sufficient, also, to give me another glimpse of My Lady ofthe Blue Eyes, who appeared to have been awarded the place of honorbetween the conductor and the brakeman, at table. She bestowed upon me asubtle glance of recognition--with a smile and a slight bow in one; but Ifailed to find her upon the station platform after the meal. That I shouldobtain other opportunities I did not doubt. Benton was yet thirty hours'travel. 

All that afternoon we rocked along up the Platte Valley, with the PlatteRiver--a broad but shallow stream--constantly upon our left. My seatcompanion evidently had exhausted her repertoire, for she slumbered atease, gradually sinking into a shapeless mass, her flowered bonnet askew. Several other passengers also were sleeping; due, in part, to the whiskeybottles. The car was thinning out, I noted, and I might bid in advance forthe chance of obtaining a new location in a certain car ahead. 

The scenery through the car window had merged into a monotony accentuatedby great spaces. As far as Fremont the country along the railroad had beenwell settled with farms and unfenced cultivated fields. Now we had issuedinto the untrammeled prairies, here and there humanized by an isolatedshack or a lonely traveler by horse or wagon, but in the main a vastsun-baked dead sea of gentle, silent undulations extending, brownish, clear to the horizons. The only refreshing sights were the Platte River, flowing blue and yellow among sand-bars and islands, and the side streamsthat we passed. Close at hand the principal tokens of life were the littleflag stations, and the tremendous freight trains side-tracked to give usthe right of way. The widely separated hamlets where we impatientlystopped were the oases in the desert. 

In the sunset we halted at the supper station, named Grand Island. Myseat neighbor finished her lunch box, and I returned well fortified byanother excellent meal at the not exorbitant price, one dollar and aquarter. There had been buffalo meat--a poor apology, to my notion, forgood beef. Antelope steak, on the contrary, was of far finer flavor thanthe best mutton. 

At Grand Island a number of wretched native Indians drew my attention, forthe time being, from quest of My Lady of the Blue Eyes. However, she wasstill escorted by the conductor, who in his brass buttons and officiousair began to irritate me. Such a persistent squire of dames ratheroverstepped the duties of his position. Confound the fellow! He surelywould come to the end of his run and his rope before we went muchfarther. 

"Now, young man, if you get shet of your foolishness and decide to tryNorth Platte instead of some fly-by-night town on west, " my seat companionaddressed, "you jest follow me when I leave. We get to North Platte afterplumb dark, and you hang onto my skirts right up town, till I land you ina good place. For if you don't, you're liable to be skinned alive. "

"If I decide upon North Platte I certainly will take advantage of yourkindness, " I evaded. Forsooth, she had a mind to kidnap me!

"Now you're talkin' sensible, " she approved. "My sakes alive! Benton!" Andshe sniffed. "Why, in Benton they'll snatch you bald-headed 'fore you'vebeen there an hour. "

She composed herself for another nap. 

"If that pesky brakeman don't remember to wake me, you give me a poke withyour elbow. I wouldn't be carried beyond North Platte for love or money. "

She gurgled, she snored. The sunset was fading from pink to gold--a goldlike somebody's hair; and from gold to lemon which tinted all the prairieand made it beautiful. Pursuing the sunset we steadily rumbled westwardthrough the immensity of unbroken space. 

The brakeman came in, lighting the coal-oil lamps. Outside, the twilighthad deepened into dusk. Numerous passengers were making ready for bed: themen by removing their boots and shoes and coats and galluses andstretching out; the women by loosening their stays, with significantclicks and sighs, and laying their heads upon adjacent shoulders ordrooping against seat ends. Babies cried, and were hushed. Finalnight-caps were taken, from the prevalent bottles. 

The brakeman, returning, paused and inquired right and left on his waythrough. He leaned to me. 

"You for North Platte?"

"No, sir. Benton, Wyoming Territory. "

"Then you'd better move up to the car ahead. This car stops at NorthPlatte. "

"What time do we reach North Platte?"

"Two-thirty in the morning. If you don't want to be waked up, you'd betterchange now. You'll find a seat. "

At that I gladly followed him out. He indicated a half-empty seat. 

"This gentleman gets off a bit farther on; then you'll have the seat toyourself. "

The arrangement was satisfactory, albeit the "gentleman" with whom Ishared appeared, to nose and eyes, rather well soused, as they say; butfortune had favored me--across the aisle, only a couple of seats beyond, Iglimpsed the top of a golden head, securely low and barricaded in byluggage. 

Without regrets I abandoned my former seat-mate to her disappointment whenshe waked at North Platte. This car was the place for me, set apart by thesalient presence of one person among all the others. That, however, is aptto differentiate city from city, and even land from land. 

Eventually I, also, slept--at first by fits and starts concomitant withrailway travel by night, then more soundly when the "gentleman, " mycomrade in adventure, had been hauled out and deposited elsewhere. I fullyawakened only at daylight. 

The train was rumbling as before. The lamps had been extinguished--thecoach atmosphere was heavy with oil smell and the exhalations of humanbeings in all stages of deshabille. But the golden head was there, aboutas when last sighted. 

Now it stirred, and erected a little. I felt the unseemliness of sittingand waiting for her to make her toilet, so I hastily staggered to achievemy own by aid of the water tank, tin basin, roller towel and smalllooking-glass at the rear--substituting my personal comb and brush for thepair hanging there by cords. 

The coach was the last in the train. I stepped out upon the platform, forfresh air. 

We were traversing the real plains of the Great American Desert, I judged. The prairie grasses had shortened to brown stubble interspersed with baresandy soil rising here and there into low hills. It was a country withoutnorth, south, east, west, save as denoted by the sun, broadly launchinghis first beams of the day. Behind us the single track of double railsstretched straight away as if clear to the Missouri. The dull blare of thecar wheels was the only token of life, excepting the long-eared rabbitsscampering with erratic high jumps, and the prairie dogs sitting boltupright in the sunshine among their hillocked burrows. Of any town therewas no sign. We had cut loose from company. 

Then we thundered by a freight train, loaded with still more ties andiron, standing upon a siding guarded by the idling trainmen and by anoperator's shack. Smoke was welling from the chimney of the shack--andthat domestic touch gave me a sense of homesickness. Yet I would not havebeen home, even for breakfast. This wide realm of nowhere fascinated withthe unknown. 

The train and shack flattened into the landscape. A bevy of antelopeflashed white tails at us as they scudded away. Two motionless figures, horseback, whom I took to be wild Indians, surveyed us from a distantsand-hill. Across the river there appeared a fungus of low buildings, almost indistinguishable, with a glimmer of canvas-topped wagons fringingit. That was the old emigrant road. 

While I was thus orienting myself in lonesome but not entirely hopelessfashion the car door opened and closed. I turned my head. The Lady of theBlue Eyes had joined me. As fresh as the morning she was. 

"Oh! You? I beg your pardon, sir. " She apologized, but I felt that thediffidence was more politic than sincere. 

"You are heartily welcome, madam, " I assured. "There is air enough for usboth. "

"The car is suffocating, " she said. "However, the worst is over. We shallnot have to spend another such a night. You are still for Benton?"

"By all means. " And I bowed to her. "We are fellow-travelers to the end, Ibelieve. "

"Yes?" She scanned me. "But I do not like that word: the end. It is not apopular word, in the West. Certainly not at Benton. For instance----"

We tore by another freight waiting upon a siding located amidst a widedébris of tin cans, scattered sheet-iron, stark mud-and-stone chimneys, and barren spots, resembling the ruins from fire and quake. 

"There is Julesburg. "

"A town?" I gasped. 

"The end. " She smiled. "The only inhabitants now are in the station-houseand the graveyard. "

"And the others? Where are they?"

"Farther west. Many of them in Benton. "

"Indeed? Or in North Platte!" I bantered. 

"North Platte!" She laughed merrily. "Dear me, don't mention NorthPlatte--not in the same breath with Benton, or even Cheyenne. A town ofhayseeds and dollar-a-day clerks whose height of sport is to go fishing inthe Platte! A young man like you would die of ennui in North Platte. Julesburg was a good town while it lasted. People _lived_, there; andmoved on because they wished to keep alive. What is life, anyway, but aconstant shuffle of the cards? Oh, I should have laughed to see you inNorth Platte. " And laugh she did. "You might as well be dead undergroundas buried in one of those smug seven-Sabbaths-a-week places. "

Her free speech accorded ill with what I had been accustomed to inwomankind; and yet became her sparkling eyes and general dash. 

"To be dead is past the joking, madam, " I reminded. 

"Certainly. To be dead is the end. In Benton we live while we live, anddon't mention the end. So I took exception to your gallantry. " She glancedbehind her, through the door window into the car. "Will you, " she askedhastily, "join me in a little appetizer, as they say? You will find it asuperior cognac--and we breakfast shortly, at Sidney. "

From a pocket of her skirt she had extracted a small silver flask, stoppered with a tiny screw cup. Her face swam before me, in myastonishment. 

"I rarely drink liquor, madam, " I stammered. 

"Nor I. But when traveling--you know. And in high and--dry Benton liquoris quite a necessity. You will discover that, I am sure. You will notdecline to taste with a lady? Let us drink to better acquaintance, inBenton. "

"With all my heart, madam, " I blurted. 

She poured, while swaying to the motion of the train; passed the cup to mewith a brightly challenging smile. 

"Ladies first. That is the custom, is it not?" I queried. 

"But I am hostess, sir. I do the honors. Pray do you your duty. "

"To our better acquaintance, then, madam, " I accepted. "In Benton. "

The cognac swept down my throat like a stab of hot oil. She poured forherself. 

"A vôtre santé, monsieur--and continued beginnings, no ends. " She daintilytossed it off. 

We had consummated our pledges just in time. The brakeman issued, stumpingnoisily and bringing discord into my heaven of blue and gold andcomfortable warmth. 

"Howdy, lady and gent? Breakfast in twenty minutes. " He grinned affably ather; yes, with a trace of familiarity. "Sleep well, madam?"

"Passably, thank you. " Her voice held a certain element of calminterrogation as if to ask how far he intended to push acquaintance. "We're nearing Sidney, you say? Then I bid you gentlemen good-morning. "

With a darting glance at him and a parting smile for me she passed inside. The brakeman leaned for an instant's look ahead, up the track, andlingered. 

"Friend of yours, is she?"

"I met her at Omaha, is all, " I stiffly informed. 

"Considerable of a dame, eh?" He eyed me. "You're booked for Benton, too?"

"Yes, sir. "

"Never been there, myself. She's another hell-roarer, they say. "

"Sir!" I remonstrated. 

"Oh, the town, the town, " he enlightened. "I'm saying nothing against it, for that matter--nor against her, either. They're both O. K. "

"You are acquainted with the lady, yourself?"

"Her? Sure. I know about everybody along the line between Platte andCheyenne. Been running on this division ever since it opened. "

"She lives in Benton, though, I understand, " I proffered. 

"Why, yes; sure she does. Moved there from Cheyenne. " He looked at mequeerly. "Naturally. Ain't that so?"

"Probably it is, " I admitted. "I see no reason to doubt your word. "

"Yep. Followed her man. A heap of people moved from Cheyenne to Benton, byway of Laramie. "

"She is married, then?"

"Far as I know. Anyway, she's not single, by a long shot. " And he laughed. "But, Lord, that cuts no great figger. People here don't stand on ceremonyin those matters. Everything's aboveboard. Hands on the table until timeto draw--then draw quick. "

His language was a little too bluff for me. 

"Her husband is in business, no doubt?"

"Business?" He stared unblinking. "I see. " He laid a finger alongside hisnose, and winked wisely. "You bet yuh! And good business. Yes, siree. Areyou on?"

"Am I on?" I repeated. "On what? The train?"

"Oh, on your way. "

"To Benton; certainly. "

"Do you see any green in my eye, friend?" he demanded. 

"I do not. "

"Or in the moon, maybe?"

"No, nor in the moon, " I retorted. "But what is all this about?"

"I'll be damned!" he roundly vouchsafed. And--"You've been having a quietlittle smile with her, eh?" He sniffed suspiciously. "A few swigs ofthat'll make a pioneer of you quicker'n alkali. She's favoring you--eh?Now if she tells you of a system, take my advice and quit while yourhair's long. "

"My hair is my own fashion, sir, " I rebuked. "And the lady is not fordiscussion between gentlemen, particularly as my acquaintance with her isonly casual. I don't understand your remarks, but if they are insinuationsI shall have to ask you to drop the subject. "

"Tut, tut!" he grinned. "No offense intended, Mister Pilgrim. Well, you'reall right. We can't be young more than once, and if the lady takes you intow in Benton you'll have the world by the tail as long as it holds. Shemoves with the top-notchers; she's a knowing little piece--no offense. Herand me are good enough friends. There's no brace game in that deal. I onlyaim to give you a steer. Savvy?" And he winked. "You're out to see theelephant, yourself. "

"I am seeking health, is all, " I explained. "My physician had advised aplace in the Far West, high and dry; and Benton is recommended. "

His response was identical with others preceding. 

"High and dry? By golly, then Benton's the ticket. It's sure high, andsure dry. You bet yuh! High and dry and roaring. "

"Why 'roaring'?" I demanded at last. The word had been puzzling me. 

"Up and coming. Pop goes the weasel, at Benton. Benton? Lord love you!They say it's got Cheyenne and Laramie backed up a tree, the best daysthey ever seen. When you step off at Benton step lively and keep an eye inthe back of your head. There's money to be made at Benton, by the wiseones. Watch out for ropers and if you get onto a system, play it. Thereain't any limit to money or suckers. "

"I may not qualify as to money, " I informed. "But I trust that I am nosucker. "

"No green in the eye, eh?" he approved. "Anyhow, you have a good lead ifyour friend in black cottons to you. " Again he winked. "You're not abad-looking young feller. " He leaned over the side steps, and gazed ahead. "Sidney in sight. Be there directly. We're hitting twenty miles and betterthrough the greatest country on earth. The engineer smells breakfast. "

CHAPTER III

I RISE IN FAVOR

With that he went forward. So did I; but the barricade at the end of MyLady's seat was intact, and I sat down in my own seat, to keep expectanteye upon her profile--a decided relief amidst that crude mélange of peoplein various stages of hasty dressing after a night of cramped postures. 

The brakeman's words, although mysterious in part, had concludedreassuringly. My Lady, he said, would prove a valuable friend in Benton. Afriend at hand means a great deal to any young man, stranger in a strangeland. 

The conductor came back--a new conductor; stooped familiarly over thebarricade and evidently exchanged pleasantries with her. 

"Sidney! Sidney! Twenty minutes for breakfast!" the brakeman bawled, fromthe door. 

There was the general stir. My Lady shot a glance at me, with invitingeyes, but arose in response to the proffered arm of the conductor, and Iwas late. The aisle filled between us as he ushered her on and the trainslowed to grinding of brakes and the tremendous clanging of a gong. 

Of Sidney there was little to see: merely a station-house and the smallRailroad Hotel, with a handful of other buildings forming a singlestreet--all squatting here near a rock quarry that broke the expanse ofuninhabited brown plains. The air, however, was wonderfully invigorating;the meal excellent, as usual; and when I emerged from the dining-room, following closely a black figure crowned with gold, I found her strollingalone upon the platform. 

Therefore I caught up with her. She faced me with ready smile. 

"You are rather slow in action, sir, " she lightly accused. "We might havebreakfasted together; but it was the conductor again, after all. "

"I plead guilty, madam, " I admitted. "The trainmen have an advantage overme, in anticipating events. But the next meal shall be my privilege. Westop again before reaching Benton?"

"For dinner, yes; at Cheyenne. "

"And after that you will be home. "

"Home?" she queried, with a little pucker between her brows. 

"Yes. At Benton. "

"Of course. " She laughed shortly. "Benton is now home. We have moved sofrequently that I have grown to call almost no place home. "

"I judge then that you are connected, as may happen, with a flexiblebusiness, " I hazarded. "If you are in the army I can understand. "

"No, I'm not an army woman; but there is money in following the railroad, and that is our present life, " she said frankly. "A town springs up, youknow, at each terminus, booms as long as the freight and passengers pileup--and all of a sudden the go-ahead business and professional men pullstakes for the next terminus as soon as located. That has been the custom, all the way from North Platte to Benton. "

"Which accounts for your acquaintance along the line. The trainmen seem toknow you. "

"Trainmen and others; oh, yes. It is to be expected. I have no objectionsto that. I am quite able to take care of myself, sir. "

We were interrupted. A near-drunken rowdy (upon whom I had kept an uneasycorner of an eye) had been careening over the platform, a whiskey bottleprotruding from the hip pocket of his sagging jeans, a large revolverdangling at his thigh, his slouch hat cocked rakishly upon his tousledhead. His language was extremely offensive--he had an ugly mood on, butnobody interfered. The crowd stood aside--the natives laughing, thetourists like myself viewing him askance, and several Indians watchingonly gravely. 

He sighted us, and staggered in. 

"Howdy?" he uttered, with an oath. "Shay--hello, stranger. Have a smile. Take two, one for lady. Hic!" And he thrust his bottle at me. 

My Lady drew back. I civilly declined the "smile. "

"Thank you. I do not drink. "

"What?" He stared blearily. His tone stiffened. "The hell you say. Tootony, eh? Too--'ic! Have a smile, I ask you, one gent to 'nother. Have asmile, you (unmentionable) pilgrim; fer if you don't----"

"Train's starting, Jim, " she interposed sharply. "If you want to getaboard you'd better hurry. "

The engine tooted, the bell was ringing, the passengers were hurrying, incited by the conductor's shout: "All 'board!"

Without another word she tripped for the car steps. I gave the fellow onefirm look as he stood stupidly scratching his thatch as if to harrow hisideas; and perforce left him. By the cheers he undoubtedly made in thesame direction. I was barely in time myself. The train moved as I plantedfoot upon the steps of the nearest car--the foremost of the two. The traincontinued; halted again abruptly, while cheers rang riotous; and when Icrossed the passageway between this car and ours the conductor andbrakeman were hauling the tipsy Jim into safety. 

My Lady was ensconced. 

"Did they get him?" she inquired, when I paused. 

"By the scruff of the neck. The drunken fellow, you mean. "

"Yes; Jim. "

"You know him?"

"He's from Benton. I suppose he's been down here on a little pasear, asthey say. "

"If you think he'll annoy you----?" I made bold to suggest, for I greatlycoveted the half of her seat. 

"Oh, I'm not afraid of Jim. But yes, do sit down. You can put these thingsback in your seat. Then we can talk. "

I had no more than settled triumphantly, when the brakeman ambled through, his face in a broad grin. He also paused, to perch upon the seat end, hisarm extended friendlily along the back. 

"Well, we got him corralled, " he proclaimed needlessly. "That t'rantularjuice nigh broke his neck for him. "

"Did you take his bottle away, Jerry?" she asked. 

"Sure thing. He'll be peaceable directly. Soused to the guards. Reckonhe's inclined to be a trifle ugly when he's on a tear, ain't he? They'dshipped him out of Benton on a down train. Now he's going back up. "

"He's safe, you think?"

"Sewed tight. He'll sleep it off and be ready for night. " The brakemanwinked at her. "You needn't fear. He'll be on deck, right side up withcare. "

"I've told this gentleman that I'm not afraid, " she answered quickly. 

"Of course. And he knows what's best for him, himself. " The brakemanslapped me on the shoulder and good-naturedly straightened. "So does thisyoung gentleman, I rather suspicion. I can see his fortune's made. Youbet, if he works it right. I told him if you cottoned to him----"

"Now you're talking too much, Jerry, " she reproved. "The gentleman and Iare only traveling acquaintances. "

"Yes, ma'am. To Benton. Let 'er roar. Cheyenne's the closest I can get, myself, and Cheyenne's a dead one--blowed up, busted worse'n a galvanizedYank with a pocket full o' Confed wall-paper. " He yawned. "Guess I'll takeforty winks. Was up all night, and a man can stand jest so much, Injuns orno Injuns. "

"Did you expect to meet with Indians, sir, along the route?" I asked. 

"Hell, yes. Always expect to meet 'em between Kearney and Julesburg. It'sabout time they were wrecking another train. Well, so long. Be good toeach other. " With this parting piece of impertinence he stumped out. 

"A friendly individual, evidently, " I hazarded, to tide her over herpossible embarrassment. 

Her laugh assured me that she was not embarrassed at all, which proved hergood sense and elevated her even farther in my esteem. 

"Oh, Jerry's all right. I don't mind Jerry, except that his tongue ishung in the middle. He probably has been telling you some tall yarns?"

"He? No, I don't think so. He may have tried it, but his Westernexpressions are beyond me as yet. In fact, what he was driving at on therear platform I haven't the slightest idea. "

"Driving at? In what way, sir?"

"He referred to the green in his eye and in the moon, as I recall; and toa mysterious 'system'; and gratuitously offered me a 'steer. '"

Her face hardened remarkably, so that her chin set as if tautened by ironbands. Those eyes glinted with real menace. 

"He did, did he? Along that line of talk! The clapper-jaw! He's altogethertoo free. " She surveyed me keenly. "And naturally you couldn't understandsuch lingo. "

"I was not curious enough to try, my dear madam. He talked rather atrandom; likely enjoyed bantering me. But, " I hastily placated in hisbehalf, "he recommended Benton as a lively place, and you as a friend ofvalue in case that you honored me with your patronage. "

"My patronage, for you?" she exclaimed. "Indeed? To what extent? Are yougoing into business, too? As one of--us?"

"If I should become a Bentonite, as I hope, " I gallantly replied, "then ofcourse I should look to permanent investment of some nature. And before mytraveling funds run out I shall be glad of light employment. The brakemangave me to understand merely that by your kindly interest you might bedisposed to assist me. "

"Oh!" Her face lightened. "I dare say Jerry means well. But when you spokeof 'patronage'---- That is a current term of certain import along therailroad. " She leaned to me; a glow emanated from her. "Tell me ofyourself. You have red blood? Do you ever game? For if you are not afraidto test your luck and back it, there is money to be made very easily atBenton, and in a genteel way. " She smiled bewitchingly. "Or are you aQuaker, to whom life is deadly serious?"

"No Quaker, madam. " How could I respond otherwise to that pair of dancingblue eyes, to that pair of derisive lips? "As for gaming--if you meancards, why, I have played at piquet and romp, in a social way, for smallstakes; and my father brought Old Sledge back from the army, to the familytable. "

"You are lucky. I can see it, " she alleged. 

"I am, on this journey, " I asserted. 

She blushed. 

"Well said, sir. And if you choose to make use of your luck, in Benton, byall means----"

Whether she would have shaped her import clearly I did not know. There wasa commotion in the forward part of the car. That same drunken wretch Jimhad appeared; his bottle (somehow restored to him) in hand, his hatpushed back from his flushed greasy forehead. 

"Have a smile, ladies an' gents, " he was bellowing thickly. "Hooray! Havea smile on me. Great an' gloryus 'casion--'ic! Ever'body smile. Drink toop'nin' gloryus Pac'fic--'ic--Railway. Thash it. Hooray!" Thus he camereeling down the aisle, thrusting his bottle right and left, to be deniedwith shrinkings or with bluff excuses. 

It seemed inevitable that he should reach us. I heard My Lady utter alittle gasp, as she sat more erect; and here he was, espying us readilyenough with that uncanny precision of a drunken man, his bottle to thefore. 

"Have a smile, you two. Wouldn't smile at station; gotto smile now. Yep. 'Ic! 'Ray for Benton! All goin' to Benton. Lesh be good fellers. "

"You go back to your seat, Jim, " she ordered tensely. "Go back, if youknow what's good for you. "

"Whash that? Who your dog last year? Shay! You can't come no highty-tightyover me. Who your new friend? Shay!" He reeled and gripped the seat, flooding me with his vile breath. "By Gawd, I got the dead-wood on you, you----!" and he had loosed such a torrent of low epithets that they areinconceivable. 

"For that I'd kill you in any other place, Jim, " she said. "You know I'mnot afraid of you. Now get, you wolf!" Her voice snapped like a whip-lashat the close; she had made sudden movement of hand--it was extended and Isaw almost under my nose the smallest pistol imaginable; nickeled, of twobarrels, and not above three inches long; projecting from her palm, thetwin hammers cocked; and it was as steady as a die. 

Assuredly My Lady did know how to take care of herself. Still, that wasnot necessary now. 

"No!" I warned. "No matter. I'll tend to him. "

The fellow's face had convulsed with a snarl of redder rage, his mouthopened as if for fresh abuse--and half rising I landed upon it with myfist. 

"Go where you belong, you drunken whelp!"

I had struck and spoken at the same time, with a rush of wrath thatsurprised me; and the result surprised me more, for while I was notconscious of having exerted much force he toppled backward clear acrossthe aisle, crashed down in a heap under the opposite seat. His bottleshattered against the ceiling. The whiskey spattered in a sickening showerover the alarmed passengers. 

"Look out! Look out!" she cried, starting quickly. Up he scrambled, cursing, and wrenching at his revolver. I sprang to smother him, but therewas a flurry, a chorus of shouts, men leaped between us, the brakeman andconductor both had arrived, in a jiffy he was being hustled forward, swearing and blubbering. And I sank back, breathless, a degree ashamed, adegree rather satisfied with my action and my barked knuckles. 

Congratulations echoed dully. 

"The right spirit!"

"That'll l'arn him to insult a lady. "

"You sartinly rattled him up, stranger. Squar' on the twitter!"

"Shake, Mister. "

"For a pilgrim you're consider'ble of a hoss. "

"If he'd drawn you'd have give him a pill, I reckon, lady. I know yorekind. But he won't bother you ag'in; not he. "

"Oh, what a terrible scene!"

To all this I paid scant attention. I heard her, as she sat composedly, scarcely panting. The little pistol had disappeared. 

"The play has been made, ladies and gentlemen, " she said. And to me:"Thank you. Yes, " she continued, with a flash of lucent eyes and adimpling smile, "Jim has lost his whiskey and has a chance to sober up. He'll have forgotten all about this before we reach Benton. But I thankyou for your promptness. "

"I didn't want you to shoot him, " I stammered. "I was quite able to tendto him myself. Your pistol is loaded?"

"To be sure it is. " And she laughed gaily. Her lips tightened, her eyesdarkened. "And I'd kill him like a dog if he presumed farther. In thiscountry we women protect ourselves from insult. I always carry myderringer, sir. "

The brakeman returned with a broom, to sweep up the chips of brokenbottle. He grinned at us. 

"There's no wind in him now, " he communicated. "Peaceful as a baby. Wetook his gun off him. I'll pass the word ahead to keep him safe, on fromCheyenne. "

"Please do, Jerry, " she bade. "I'd prefer to have no more trouble withhim, for he might not come out so easily next time. He knows that. "

"Surely ought to, by golly, " the brakeman agreed roundly. "And he ought toknow you go heeled. But that there tanglefoot went to his head. Looks nowas if he'd been kicked in the face by a mule. Haw haw! No offense, friend. You got me plumb buffaloed with that fivespot o' yourn. " And finishing hisjob he retired with dust-pan and broom. 

"You're going to do well in Benton, " she said suddenly, to me, with a nod. "I regret this scene--I couldn't help it, though, of course. When Jim'ssober he has sense, and never tries to be familiar. "

She was amazingly cool under the epithets that he had applied. I admiredher for that as she gazed at me pleadingly. 

"A drunken man is not responsible for words or actions, although he shouldbe made so, " I consoled her. "Possibly I should not have struck him. Inthe Far West you may be more accustomed to these episodes than we are inthe East. "

"I don't know. There is a limit. You did right. I thank you heartily. Still"--and she mused--"you can't always depend on your fists alone. Youcarry no weapon, neither knife nor gun?"

"I never have needed either, " said I. "My teaching has been that a manshould be able to rely upon his fists. "

"Then you'd better get 'heeled, ' as we say, when you reach Benton. Fistsare a short-range weapon. The men generally wear a gun somewhere. It isthe custom. "

"And the women, too, if I may judge, " I smiled. 

"Some of us. Yes, " she repeated, "you're likely to do well, out here, ifyou'll permit me to advise you a little. "

"Under your tutelage I am sure I shall do well, " I accepted. "I may callupon you in Benton? If you will favor me with your address----?"

"My address?" She searched my face in manner startled. "You'll have nodifficulty finding me; not in Benton. But I'll make an appointment withyou in event"--and she smiled archly--"you are not afraid of strangewomen. "

"I have been taught to respect women, madam, " said I. "And my respect isbeing strengthened. "

"Oh!" I seemed to have pleased her. "You have been carefully brought up, sir. "

"To fear God, respect woman, and act the man as long as I breathe, " Iasserted. "My mother is a saint, my father a nobleman, and what I may havelearned from them is to their credit. "

"That may go excellently in the East, " she answered. "But we in the Westfavor the Persian maxim--to ride, to shoot, and to tell the truth. Withthose three qualities even a tenderfoot can establish himself. "

"Whether I can ride and shoot sufficient for the purpose, time will show, "I retorted. "At least, " and I endeavored to speak with proper emphasis, "you hear the truth when I say that I anticipate much pleasure as well asrenewed health, in Benton. "

"Were we by ourselves we would seal the future in another 'smile'together, " she slyly promised. "Unless that might shock you. "

"I am ready to fall in with the customs of the country, " I assured. "Icertainly am not averse to smiles, when fittingly proffered. "

So we exchanged fancies while the train rolled over a track remarkable forits smoothness and leading ever onward across the vast, empty plains baresave for the low shrubs called sage-brush, and rising here and there intolong swells and abrupt sandstone pinnacles. 

We stopped near noon at the town of Cheyenne, in Wyoming Territory. Cheyenne, once boasting the title (I was told) "The Magic City of thePlains, " was located upon a dreary flatness, although from it one mightsee, far southwest, the actual Rocky Mountains in Colorado Territory, looking, at this distance of one hundred miles, like low dark clouds. Theup grade in the west promised that we should soon cross over theirnorthern flanks, of the Black Hills. 

Last winter, Cheyenne, I was given to understand, had ten thousandinhabitants; but the majority had followed the railroad west, so that nowthere remained only some fifteen hundred. After dinner we, too, wentwest. 

We overcame the Black Hills Mountains about two o'clock, having climbed tothe top with considerable puffing of the engine but otherwise almostimperceptibly to the passengers. When we were halted, upon the crown, atSherman Station, to permit us to alight and see for ourselves, I scarcelymight believe that we were more than eight thousand feet in air. There wasnothing to indicate, except some little difficulty of breath; not so muchas I had feared when in Cheyenne, whose six thousand feet gave me aslightly giddy sensation. 

My Lady moved freely, being accustomed to the rarity; and she assured methat although Benton was seven thousand feet I would soon grow wonted tothe atmosphere. The habitués of this country made light of the spot; thestrangers on tour picked flowers and gathered rocks as mementoes of the"Crest of the Continent"--which was not a crest but rather a levelplateau, wind-swept and chilly while sunny. Then from this Sherman Summitof the Black Hills of Wyoming the train swept down by its own momentumfrom gravity, for the farther side. 

The fellow Jim had not emerged, as yet, much to my relief. The scenery wasincreasing in grandeur and interest, and the play of my charming companionwould have transformed the most prosaic of journeys into a trip throughParadise. 

I hardly noted the town named Laramie City, at the western base of theBlack Hills; and was indeed annoyed by the vendors hawking what theytermed "mountain gems" through the train. Laramie, according to My Lady, also once had been, as she styled it, "a live town, " but had deceased infavor of Benton. From Laramie we whirled northwest, through a broad valleyenlivened by countless antelope scouring over the grasses; thence weissued into a wilder, rougher country, skirting more mountains very gloomyin aspect. 

However, of the panorama outside I took but casual glances; the phenomenonof blue and gold so close at hand was all engrossing, and my heart beathigh with youth and romance. Our passage was astonishingly short, but thesun was near to setting beyond distant peaks when by the landmarks thatshe knew we were approaching Benton at last. 

We crossed a river--the Platte, again, even away in here; briefly pausedat a military post, and entered upon a stretch of sun-baked, reddish-white, dusty desert utterly devoid of vegetation. 

There was a significant bustle in the car, among the travel-wornoccupants. The air was choking with the dust swirled through every creviceby the stir of the wheels--already mobile as it was from the efforts ofthe teams that we passed, of six and eight horses tugging heavy wagons. Plainly we were within striking distance of some focus of human energies. 

"Benton! Benton in five minutes. End o' track, " the brakeman shouted. 

"My valise, please. "

I brought it. The conductor, who like the other officials knew My Lady, pushed through to us and laid hand upon it. 

"I'll see you out, " he announced. "Come ahead. "

"Pardon. That shall be my privilege, " I interposed. But she quicklydenied. 

"No, please. The conductor is an old friend. I shall need no otherhelp--I'm perfectly at home. You can look out for yourself. "

"But I shall see you again--and where? I don't know your address; fact is, I'm even ignorant of your name, " I pleaded desperately. 

"How stupid of me. " And she spoke fast and low, over her shoulder. "To-night, then, at the Big Tent. Remember. "

I pressed after. 

"The Big Tent! Shall I inquire there? And for whom?"

"You'll not fail to see me. Everybody knows the Big Tent, everybody goesthere. So au revoir. "

She was swallowed in the wake of the conductor, and I fain must gather myown belongings before following. The Big Tent, she said? I had notmisunderstood; and I puzzled over the address, which impinged as ratherbizarre, whether in West or East. 

We stopped with a jerk, amidst a babel of cries. 

"Benton! All out!" Out we stumbled. Here I was, at rainbow's end. 

CHAPTER IV

I MEET FRIENDS

What shall I say of a young man like myself, fresh from the green East ofNew York and the Hudson River, landed expectant as just aroused from adream of rare beauty, at this Benton City, Wyoming Territory? The dust, asfine as powder and as white, but shot through with the crimson of sunset, hung like a fog, amidst which swelled a deafening clamor from figuresrushing hither and thither about the platform like half-world shades. Ascore of voices dinned into my ears as two score hands grabbed at myvalise and shoved me and dragged me. 

"The Desert Hotel. Best in the West. This way, sir. "

"Buffalo Hump Corral! The Buffalo Hump! Free drinks at the Buffalo Hump. "

"Vamos, all o' you. Leave the gent to me. I've had him before. Mike'sPlace for you, eh? Come along. "

"The Widow's Café! That's yore grub pile, gent. All you can eat for twobits. "

A deep voice boomed, stunning me. 

"The Queen, the Queen! Bath for every room. Individual towels. The Queen, the Queen, she's clean, she's clean. "

It was a magnificent bass, full toned as an organ, issuing, likewise asout of a reed, from a swart dwarf scarcely higher than my waist. The word"bath, " with the promise of "individual towels, " won me over. Somethingmust be done, anyway, to get rid of these importunate runners. Thereupon Iacquiesced, "All right, my man. The Queen, " and surrendering my bag to hishairy paw I trudged by his guidance. The solicitations instantly ceased asif in agreement with some code. 

We left the station platform and went ploughing up a street over shoetopswith the impalpable dust and denoted by tents and white-coated shackssparsely bordering. The air was breezeless and suffocatingly loaded withthat dust not yet deposited. The noises as from a great city swelledstrident: shouts, hammerings, laughter, rumble of vehicles, cracking oflashes, barkings of dogs innumerable--betokening a thriving mart ofindustry. But although pedestrians streamed to and fro, the men in motleyof complexions and costumes, the women, some of them fashionably dressed, with skirts eddying furiously; and wagons rolled, horses cantered, andfrom right and left merchants and hawksters seemed to be calling theirwares, of city itself I could see only the veriest husk. 

The majority of the buildings were mere canvas-faced up for a few feet, perhaps, with sheet iron or flimsy boards; interspersed there were a fewwooden structures, rough and unpainted; and whereas several of thehousings were large, none was more than two stories--and when now andagain I thought that I had glimpsed a substantial stone front a closerinspection told me that the stones were imitation, forming a veneer of thesheet iron or of stenciled pine. Indeed, not a few of the upper stories, viewed from an unfavorable angle, proved to be only thin parapetsupstanding for a pretense of well-being. Behind them, nothing at all!

In the confusion of that which I took to be the main street because of thestores and piles of goods and the medley of signs, what with the hubbubfrom the many barkers for saloons and gambling games, the constant dodgingamong the pedestrians, vehicles and horses and dogs, in a thoroughfarethat was innocent of sidewalk, I really had scant opportunity to gaze;certainly no opportunity as yet to get my bearings. My squat guideshuttled aside; a group of loafers gave us passage, with sundry stares atme and quips for him; and I was ushered into a widely-open tent-buildingwhose canvas sign depending above a narrow veranda declared: "The QueenHotel. Beds $3. Meals $1 each. "

Now as whitely powdered as any of the natives I stumbled across a singlelarge room bordered at one side by a bar and a number of small tables (allwell patronized), and was brought up at the counter, under the alert eyesof a clerk coatless, silk-shirted, diamond-scarfed, pomaded andslick-haired, waiting with register turned and pen extended. 

My gnome heavily dropped my bag. 

"Gent for you, " he presented. 

"I wish a room and bath, " I said, as I signed. 

"Bath is occupied. I'll put you down, Mr. ----" and he glanced at thesignature. "Four dollars and four bits, please. Show the gentleman toNumber Six, Shorty. That drummer's gone, isn't he?"

"You bet. "

"The bath is occupied?" I expostulated. "How so? I wish a private bath. "

"Private? Yes, sir. All you've got to do is to close the door while you'rein. Nobody'll disturb you. But there are parties ahead of you. First come, first served. "

I persisted. 

"Your runner--this gentleman, if I am not mistaken (and I indicated thegnome, who grinned from dusty face), distinctly said 'A bath for everyroom. '"

Bystanders had pushed nearer, to examine the register and then me. Theylaughed--nudged one another. Evidently I had a trace of green in my eye. 

"Quite right, sir, " the clerk assented. "So there is. A bath for everyroom and the best bath in town. Entirely private; fresh towel supplied. Only one dollar and four bits. That, with lodging, makes four dollars anda half. If you please, sir. "

"In advance?" I remonstrated--the bath charge alone being monstrous. 

"I see you're from the East. Yes, sir; we have to charge transients inadvance. That is the rule, sir. You stay in Benton City for some time?"

"I am undetermined. "

"Of course, sir. Your own affair. Yes, sir. But we shall hope to makeBenton pleasant for you. The greatest city in the West. Anything you wantfor pleasure or business you'll find right here. "

"The greatest city in the West--pleasure or business!" A bitter wave ofhomesickness welled into my throat as, conscious of the enveloping dust, the utter shams, the tawdriness, the alien unsympathetic onlookers, thesuave but incisive manner of the clerk, the sense of having been "done"and through my own fault, I peeled a greenback from the folded packet inmy purse and handed it over. Rather foolishly I intended that this displayof funds should rebuke the finicky clerk; but he accepted without commentand sought for the change from the twenty. 

"And how is old New York, suh?"

A hearty, florid, heavy-faced man, with singularly protruding fishy eyesand a tobacco-stained yellowish goatee underneath a loosely dropping lowerlip, had stepped forward, his pudgy hand hospitably outstretched to me: aman in wide-brimmed dusty black hat, frayed and dusty but, in spots, shiny, black broadcloth frock coat spattered down the lapels, exceedinglysoiled collar and shirt front and greasy flowing tie, and trousers tuckedinto cowhide boots. 

I grasped the hand wonderingly. It enclosed mine with a soft pulpysqueeze; and lingered. 

"As usual, when I last saw it, sir, " I responded. "But I am from Albany. "

"Of course. Albany, the capital, a city to be proud of, suh. I welcomeyou, suh, to our new West, as a fellow-citizen. "

"You are from Albany?" I exclaimed. 

"Bohn and raised right near there; been there many a time. Yes, suh. Fromthe grand old Empire State, like yourself, suh, and without apologies. Whenever I meet with a New York State man I cotton to him. "

"Have I your name, sir?" I inquired. "You know of my family, perhaps. "

"Colonel Jacob B. Sunderson, suh, at your service. Your family name isfamiliar to me, suh. I hark back to it and to the grand old State withpleasure. Doubtless I have seen you befoh, sur. Doubtless in the City--atJohnny Chamberlain's? Yes?" His fishy eyes beamed upon me, and his breathsmelled strongly of liquor. "Or the Astor? I shall remember. Meanwhile, suh, permit me to do the honors. First, will you have a drink? This way, suh. I am partial to a brand particularly to be recommended for clearingthis damnable dust from one's throat. "

"Thank you, sir, but I prefer to tidy my person, first, " I suggested. 

"Number Six for the gentleman, " announced the clerk, returning to me mychange from the bill. I stuffed it into my pocket--the Colonel's singulareyes followed it with uncomfortable interest. The gnome picked up my bag, but was interrupted by my new friend. 

"The privilege of showing the gentleman to his quarters and putting him athome shall be mine. "

"All right, Colonel, " the clerk carelessly consented. "Number Six. "

"And my trunk. I have a trunk at the depot, " I informed. 

"The boy will tend to it. "

I gave the gnome my check. 

"And my bath?" I pursued. 

"You will be notified, sir. There are only five ahead of you, and onegentleman now in. Your turn will come in about two hours. "

"This way, suh. Kindly follow me, " bade the Colonel. As he strode before, slightly listed by the weight of the bag in his left hand, I remarked apeculiar bulge elevating the portly contour of his right coat-skirt. 

We ascended a flight of rude stairs which quivered to our tread, proceededdown a canvas-lined corridor set at regular intervals on either hand withnumbered deal doors, some open to reveal disorderly interiors; and with"Here you are, suh, " I was importantly bowed into Number Six. 

We were not to be alone. There were three double beds: one well rumpled asif just vacated; one (the middle) tenanted by a frowsy headed, whiskeredman asleep in shirt-sleeves and revolver and boots; the third, at theother end, recently made up by having its blanket covering hastily thrownagainst a distinctly dirty pillow. 

"Your bed yonduh, suh, I reckon, " prompted the Colonel (whose accents didnot smack of New York at all), depositing my bag with a grunt of relief. "Now, suh, as you say, you desire to freshen the outer man after yourjourney. With your permission I will await your pleasure, suh; and yourtoilet being completed we will freshen the inner man also with a glass ortwo of rare good likker. "

I gazed about, sickened. Item, three beds; item, one kitchen chair; item, one unpainted board washstand, supporting a tin basin, a cake of soap, atin ewer, with a dingy towel hanging from a nail under a cracked mirrorand over a tin slop-bucket; item, three spittoons, one beside each bed;item, a row of nails in a wooden strip, plainly for wardrobe purposes;item, one window, with broken pane. 

The board floor was bare and creaky, the partition walls were ofonce-white, stained muslin through which sifted unrebuked a mixture ofsounds not thoroughly agreeable. 

The Colonel had seated himself upon a bed; the bulge underneath his skirtsjutted more pronouncedly, and had the outlines of a revolver butt. 

"But surely I can get a room to myself, " I stammered. "The clerk mistakesme. This won't do at all. "

"You are having the best in the house, suh, " asserted the Colonel, withexpansive wave of his thick hand. He spat accurately into the convenientspittoon. "It is a front room, suh. Number Six is known as very choice, and I congratulate you, suh. I myself will see to it that you shall haveyour bed to yourself, if you entertain objections to doubling up. We are, suh, a trifle crowded in Benton City, just at present, owing to theunprecedented influx of new citizens. You must remember, suh, that we areless than one month old, and we are accommodating from three to fivethousand people. "

"Is this the best hotel?" I demanded. 

"It is so reckoned, suh. There are other hostelries, and I do not desire, suh, to draw invidious comparisons, their proprietors being friends ofmine. But I will go so far as to say that the Queen caters only to theélite, suh, and its patronage is gilt edge. "

I stepped to the window, the lower sash of which was up, and gazedout--down into that dust-fogged, noisy, turbulent main street, of flouryhuman beings and grime-smeared beasts almost within touch, boiling aboutthrough the narrow lane between the placarded makeshift structures. Ilifted my smarting eyes, and across the hot sheet-iron roofs I saw thecountry south--a white-blotched reddish desert stretching on, desolate, lifeless under the sunset, to a range of stark hills black against theglow. 

"There are no private rooms, then?" I asked, choking with a gulp ofdespair. 

"You are perfectly private right here, suh, " assured the Colonel. "You maystrip to the hide or you may sleep with your boots on, and no questionsasked. Gener'ly speaking, gentlemen prefer to retain a layer of artificialcovering--but you ain't troubled much with the bugs, are you, Bill?"

He leveled this query at the frowsy, whiskered man, who had awakened andwas blinking contentedly. 

"I'm too alkalied, I reckon, " Bill responded. "Varmints will leave me anytime when there's fresh bait handy. That's why I likes to double up. Thatthere Saint Louee drummer carried off most of 'em from this gent's bed, sohe's safe. "

"You are again to be congratulated, suh, " addressed the Colonel, to me. "Allow me to interdeuce you. Shake hands with my friend Mr. Bill Brady. Bill, I present to you a fellow-citizen of mine from grand old New YorkState. "

The frowsy man struggled up, shifted his revolver so as not to sit on it, and extended his hand. 

"Proud to make yore acquaintance, sir. Any friend of the Colonel's is afriend o' mine. "

"We will likker up directly, " the Colonel informed. "But fust thegentleman desires to attend to his person. Mr. Brady, suh, " he continued, for my benefit, "is one of our leading citizens, being proprietor of--whatis it now, Bill?"

"Wall, " said Mr. Brady, "I've pulled out o' the Last Chance and I'm onspec'. The Last Chance got a leetle too much on the brace for healthyplay; and when that son of a gun of a miner from South Pass City shot itup, I quit. "

"Naturally, " conceded the Colonel. "Mr. Brady, " he explained, "has beenone of our most distinguished bankers, but he has retired from thatindustry and is considering other investments. "

"The bath-room? Where is it, gentlemen?" I ventured. 

"If you will step outside the door, suh, you can hear the splashing downthe hall. It is the custom, however, foh gentlemen at tub to keep thebath-room door closed, in case of ladies promenading. You will have timefoh your preliminary toilet and foh a little refreshment and a pasear intown. I judge, with five ahead of you and one in, the clerk was mightynear right when he said about two hours. That allows twenty minutes toeach gentleman, which is the limit. A gentleman who requires more thantwenty minutes to insure his respectability, suh, is too dirty foh suchaccommodations. He should resort to the river. Ain't that so, Bill?"

"Perfectly correct, Colonel. I kin take an all-over, myself, in fifteen, whenever it's healthy. "

"But a dollar and a half for a twenty minutes' bath in a public tub israther steep, seems to me, " said I, as I removed my coat and opened mybag. 

"Not so, suh, if I may question your judgment, " the Colonel reproved. "Thetub, suh, is private to the person in it. He is never intruded upon unlesshe hawgs his time or the water disagrees with him. The water, suh, ishauled from the river by a toilsome journey of three miles. Youunderstand, suh, that this great and growing city is founded upon thesheer face of the Red Desert, where the railroad stopped--the river beingoccupied by a Government reservation named Fort Steele. TheGovernment--the United States Government, suh--having corralled the riverwhere the railroad crosses, until we procure a nearer supply by artesianwells or by laying a pipe line we are public spirited enough to haul ourwater bodily, for ablution purposes, at ten dollars the barrel, or tencents, one dime, the bucket. A bath, suh, uses up consider'ble water, evenif at a slight reduction you are privileged to double up with anothergentleman. "

I shuddered at the thought of thus "doubling up. " God, how my stomach sankand my gorge rose as I rummaged through that bag, and with my toiletarticles in hand faced the washstand!

They two intently watched my operations; the Colonel craned to peer intomy valise--and presently I might interpret his curiosity. 

"The prime old bourbon served at the fust-class New York bars stillmaintains its reputation, I dare hope, suh?" he interrogated. 

"I cannot say, I'm sure, " I replied. 

"No, suh, " he agreed. "Doubtless you are partial to your own stock. Thatbottle which I see doesn't happen to be a sample of your favoritepreservative?"

"That?" I retorted. "It is toilet water. I am sorry to say I have noliquor with me. "

"The deficiency will soon be forgotten, suh, " the Colonel bravelyconsoled. "Bill, we shall have to personally conduct him and provide himwith the proper entertainment. "

"What is your special line o' business, if you don't mind my axin'?" Billinvited. 

"I am out here for my health, at present, " said I, vainly hunting a cleanspot on the towel. "I have been advised by my physician to seek a place inthe Far West that is high and dry. Benton"--and I laughed miserably, "certainly is dry. " For now I began to appreciate the frankly affirmativeresponses to my previous confessions. "And high, judging by the rates. "

"Healthily dry, suh, in the matter of water, " the Colonel approved. "Weare not cursed by the humidity of New York State, grand old State that sheis. Foh those who require water, there is the Platte only three milesdistant. The nearer proximity of water we consider a detriment to therobustness of a community. Our rainy weather is toler'bly infrequent. Thelast spell we had--lemme see. There was a brief shower, scurcely enough tosanction a parasol by a lady, last May, warn't it, Bill? When we wascamped at Rawlins' Springs, shooting antelope. "

"Some'ers about that time. But didn't last long--not more'n two minutes, "Bill responded. 

"As foh fluids demanded by the human system, we are abundantly blessed, suh. There is scurcely any popular brand that you can't get in Benton, andI hold that we have the most skillful mixtologists in history. There aresome who are artists; artists, suh. But mainly we prefer our likkerstraight. "

"We're high, too, " Bill put in. "Well over seven thousand feet, 'cordin'to them railroad engineers. "

"Yes, suh, you are a mile and more nearer Heaven here in Benton than youwere when beside the noble Hudson, " supplemented the Colonel. "And theprices of living are reasonable; foh money, suh, is cheap and ready tohand. No drink is less than two bits, and a man won't tote a match acrossa street foh less than a drink. Money grows, suh, foh the picking. Ourmerchants are clearing thirty thousand dollars a month, and theprofessional gentleman who tries to limit his game is considered alow-down tin-horn. Yes, suh. This is the greatest terminal of the greatestrailroad in the known world. It has Omaha, No'th Platte, Cheyenne beat toa frazzle. You cannot fail to prosper. " They had been critically watchingme wash and rearrange my clothing. "You are not heeled, suh, I see?"

"Heeled?" I repeated. 

"Equipped with a shooting-iron, suh. Or do you intend to remedy thatdeficiency also?"

"I have not been in the habit of carrying arms. "

"'Most everybody packs a gun or a bowie, " Bill remarked. "Gents and ladiesboth. But there's no law ag'in not. "

I had finished my meager toilet, and was glad, for the espionage had beenannoying. 

"Now I am at your service during a short period, gentlemen, " I announced. "Later I have an engagement, and shall ask to be excused. "

The Colonel arose with alacrity. Bill stood, and seized his hat hanging atthe head of the bed. 

"A little liquid refreshment is in order fust, I reckon, " quoth theColonel. "I claim the privilege, of course. And after that--you havesporting blood, suh? You will desire to take a turn or two foh the honorof the Empire State?"

The inference was not quite clear. To develop it I replied guardedly, albeit unwilling to pose as a milksop. 

"I assuredly am not averse to any legitimate amusement. "

"That's it, " Bill commended. "Nobody is, who has red in him; and a fellowkin see you've cut yore eye-teeth. What might you prefer, in line of apass-the-time, on spec'?"

"What is there, if you please?" I encouraged. 

He and the Colonel gravely contemplated each other. Bill scratched hishead, and slowly closed one eye. 

"There's a good open game of stud at the North Star, " he proffered. "I kinget the gentleman a seat. No limit. "

"Maybe our friend's luck don't run to stud, " hazarded the Colonel. "Studexacts the powers of concentration, like faro. " And he also closed oneeye. "It's rather early in the evening foh close quarters. Are youparticularly partial to the tiger or the cases, suh?" he queried of me. "Or would you be able to secure transient happiness in short games, foh astarter, while we move along, like a bee from flower to flower, gatheringhis honey?"

"If you are referring to card gambling, sir, " I answered, "you have chosena poor companion. But I do not intend to be a spoil sport, and I shall beglad to have you show me whatever you think worth while in the city, sofar as I have the leisure. "

"That's it, that's it, suh. " The Colonel appeared delighted. "Let uslibate to the gods of chance, gentlemen; and then take a stroll. "

"My bag will be safe here?" I prompted, as we were about to file out. 

"Absolutely, suh. Personal property is respected in Benton. We'd hang theman who moved that bag of yours the fraction of one inch. "

This at least was comforting. As much could not be said of New York City. The Colonel led down the echoing hall and the shaking stairs, into thelobby, peopled as before by men in all modes of attire and clusteredmainly at the bar. He led directly to the bar itself. 

"Three, Ed. Name your likker, gentlemen. A little Double X foh me, Ed. "

"Old rye, " Bill briefly ordered. 

The bartender set out bottle and whiskey glasses, and looked upon me. Ifelt that the bystanders were waiting. My garb proclaimed the "pilgrim, "but I was resolved to be my own master, and for liquor I had no taste. 

"Lemonade, if you have it, " I faltered. 

"Yes, sir. " The bartender cracked not a smile, but a universal sigh, broken by a few sniggers, voiced the appraisal of the audience. Some ofthe loafers eyed me amusedly, some turned away. 

"Surely, suh, you will temper that with a dash of fortifiah, " the Colonelprotested. "A pony of brandy, Ed--or just a dash to cut the water in it. To me, suh, the water in this country is vile--inimical to the humanstomick. "

"Thank you, " said I, "but I prefer plain lemonade. "

"The gent wants his pizen straight, same as the rest of you, " calmlyremarked the bartender. 

My lemonade being prepared, the Colonel and Bill tossed off full glassesof whiskey, acknowledged with throaty "A-ah!" and smack of lips; and Ihastily quaffed my lemonade. From the dollar which the Colonel grandlyflung upon the bar he received no change--by which I might figure thatwhereas whiskey was twenty-five cents the glass, lemonade was fiftycents. 

We issued into the street and were at once engulfed by a ferment of sightsand sounds extraordinary. 

CHAPTER V

ON GRAND TOUR

The sun had set and all the golden twilight was hazy with the dustsuspended in swirl and strata over the ugly roofs. In the canvas-facedmain street the throng and noise had increased rather than diminished atthe approach of dusk. Although clatter of dishes mingled with the cadence, the people acted as if they had no thought of eating; and while aware ofcertain pangs myself, I felt a diffidence in proposing supper as yet. 

My two companions hesitated a moment, spying up and down, which gave meopportunity to view the scene anew. Surely such an hotch-potch neverbefore populated an American town: Men flannel shirted, high booted, shaggy haired and bearded, stumping along weighted with excess of beltsand formidable revolvers balanced, not infrequently, by sheathedbutcher-knives--men whom I took to be teamsters, miners, railroad graders, and the like; other men white skinned, clean shaven except perhaps formoustaches and goatees, in white silk shirts or ruffled bosoms, broadclothtrousers and trim footgear, unarmed, to all appearance, but evidentlyrespected; men of Eastern garb like myself--tourists, maybe, ormerchants; a squad of surveyors in picturesque neckerchiefs, and revolvergirted; trainmen, grimy engineers and firemen; clerks, as I opined, dapperand bustling, clad in the latest fashion, with diamonds in flashy ties andheavy gold watch chains across their fancy waistcoats; soldiers; men whomI took to be Mexicans, by their velvet jackets, slashed pantaloons andfilagreed hats; darkly weathered, leathery faced, long-haired personages, no doubt scouts and trappers, in fringed buckskins and beaded moccasins;blanket wrapped Indians; and women. 

Of the women a number were unmistakable as to vocation, being lavishlypainted, strident, and bold, and significantly dressed. I saw several inamazing costumes of tightly fitting black like ballet girls, low necked, short skirted, around the smooth waists snake-skin belts supportinghandsome little pistols and dainty poignards. Contrasted there were womenof other class and, I did not doubt, of better repute; some in gowns andbonnets that would do them credit anywhere in New York, and some, ofcourse, more commonly attired in calico and gingham as proper to thehumbler station of laundresses, cooks, and so forth. 

The uproar was a jargon of shouts, hails, music, hammering, barking, scuffof feet, trample of horses and oxen, rumble of creaking wagons and Concordstages. 

"Well, suh, " spoke the Colonel, pulling his hat over his eyes, "shall westroll a piece?"

"Might better, " assented Bill. "The gentleman may find something ofinterest right in the open. How are you on the goose, sir?" he demanded ofme. 

"The goose?" I uttered. 

"Yes. Keno. "

"I am a stranger to the goose, " said I. 

He grunted. 

"It gives a quick turn for a small stake. So do the three-card androndo. "

Of passageway there was not much choice between the middle of the streetand the borders. Seemed to me as we weaved along through groups of idlersand among busily stepping people that every other shop was a saloon, withdoor widely open and bar and gambling tables well attended. The odor ofliquor saturated the acrid dust. Yet the genuine shops, even of the rudestconstruction, were piled from the front to the rear with commodities ofall kinds, and goods were yet heaped upon the ground in front and behindas if the merchants had no time for unpacking. The incessant hammering, Iascertained, came from amateur carpenters, including mere boys, here andthere engaged as if life depended upon their efforts, in erecting morebuildings from knocked-down sections like cardboard puzzles and fromlumber already cut and numbered. 

My guides nodded right and left with "Hello, Frank, " "How are you, Dan?""Evening, Charley, " and so on. Occasionally the Colonel swept off hishat, with elaborate deference, to a woman, but I looked in vain for MyLady in Black. I did not see her--nor did I see her peer, despite the factthat now and then I observed a face and figure of apparentattractiveness. 

Above the staccato of conversation and exclamation there arose the appealsof the barkers for the gambling resorts. 

"This way. Shall we see what he's got?" the Colonel invited. Forthwithveering aside he crossed the street in obedience to a summons of whoopsand shouts that set the very dust to vibrating. 

A crowd had gathered before a youth--a perspiring, red-faced youth with abilly-cock hat shoved back upon his bullet head--a youth in galluses andsoiled shirt and belled pantaloons, who, standing upon a box forelevation, was exhorting at the top of his lungs. 

"Whoo-oop! This way, this way! Everybody this way! Come on, yourondo-coolo sports! Give us a bet! A bet! Rondo coolo-oh! Rondo coolo-oh!Here's your easy money! Down with your soap! Let her roll! Rondocoolo-oh!"

"It's a great game, suh, " the Colonel flung back over his shoulder. 

We pushed forward, to the front. The center for the crowd was a table notunlike a small billiard table or, saving the absence of pins, a tivolitable such as enjoyed by children. But across one end there were severalholes, into which balls, ten or a dozen, resembling miniature billiardballs, might roll. 

The balls had been banked, in customary pyramid shape for a break as inpool, at the opposite end; and just as we arrived they had been propelledall forward, scattering, by a short cue rapidly swept across their base. 

"Rondo coolo, suh, " the Colonel was explaining, "as you see, is animprovement on the old rondo, foh red-blooded people. You may place yourbets in various ways, on the general run, or the odd or the even; and asthe bank relies, suh, only on percentage, the popular game is strictlysquare. There is no chance foh a brace in rondo coolo. Shall we take aturn, foh luck?"

The crowd was craning and eyeing the gyrating balls expectantly. A part ofthe balls entered the pockets; the remainder came to rest. 

"Rondo, " announced the man with the short cue, amidst excited ejaculationsfrom winners and losers. And according to a system which I failed tograsp, except that it comprised the number of balls pocketed, he deftlydistributed from one collection of checks and coins to another, quicklyabsorbed by greedy hands. 

"She rolls again. Make your bets, ladies and gents, " he intoned. "It'srondo coolo--simple rondo coolo. " And he reassembled the balls. 

"I prefer not to play, sir, " I responded to the heavily breathingColonel. "I am new here and I cannot afford to lose until I am betterestablished. "

"Never yet seen a man who couldn't afford to win, though, " Bill growled. "Easy pickin', too. But come on, then. We'll give you a straight steersome'rs else. "

So we left the crowd--containing indeed women as well as men--to theirinsensate fervor over a childish game under the stimulation of theraucous, sweating barker. Of gambling devices, in the open of the street, there was no end. My conductors appeared to have the passion, for ourcourse led from one method of hazard to another--roulette, chuck-a-luckwhere the patrons cast dice for prizes of money and valuables arrayed uponnumbered squares of an oilcloth covered board, keno where numbered ballswere decanted one at a time from a bottle-shaped leather receptaclecalled, I learned, the "goose, " and the players kept tab by filling inlittle cards as in domestic lotto; and finally we stopped at the simplestapparatus of all. 

"The spiel game for me, gentlemen, " said the Colonel. "Here it is. Yes, suh, there's nothing like monte, where any man is privileged to match hiseyes against fingers. Nobody but a blind man can lose at monte, byGeorge!"

"And this spieler's on the level, " Bill pronounced, sotto voce. "I vote wehook him for a gudgeon, and get the price of a meal. Our friend will joinus in the turn. He can see for himself that he can't lose. He's got sharpeyes. "

The bystanders here were stationed before a man sitting at a low tripodtable; and all that he had was the small table--a plain cheap table withfolding legs--and three playing cards. Business was a trifle slack. Ithought that his voice crisped aggressively as we elbowed through, whilehe sat idly skimming the three cards over the table, with a flick of hishand. 

"Two jacks, and the ace, gentlemen. There they are. I have faced them up. Now I gather them slowly--you can't miss them. Observe closely. The jackon top, between thumb and forefinger. The ace next--ace in the middle. Theother jack bottommost. " He turned his hand, with the three cards in atier, so that all might see. "The ace is the winning card. You are tolocate the ace. Observe closely again. It's my hand against your eyes. Iam going to throw. Who will spot the ace? Watch, everybody. Ready! Go!"The backs of the cards were up. With a swift movement he released thethree, spreading them in a neat row, face down, upon the table. Hecarelessly shifted them hither and thither--and his fingers weremarvelously nimble, lightly touching. "Twenty dollars against your twentythat you can't pick out the ace, first try. I'll let the cards lie. Ishan't disturb them. There they are. If you've watched the ace fall, youwin. If you haven't, you lose unless you guess right. "

"Just do that trick again, will you, for the benefit of my friend here?"bade the Colonel. 

The "spieler"--a thin-lipped, cadaverous individual, his soft hatcavalierly aslant, his black hair combed flatly in a curve down upon hisdamp forehead, a pair of sloe eyes, and a flannel shirt open upon his bonychest--glanced alert. He smiled. 

"Hello, sir. I'm agreeable. Yes, sir. But as they lie, will you make aguess? No? Or you, sir?" And he addressed Bill. "No? Then you, sir?" Heappealed to me. "No? But I'm a mind-reader. I can tell by your eyes. They're upon the right-end card. Aha! Correct. " He had turned up the cardand shown the ace. "You should have bet. You would have beaten me, sir. You've got the eyes. I think you've seen this game before. No? Ah, but youhave, or else you're born lucky. Now I'll try again. For the benefit ofthese three gentlemen I will try again. Kindly reserve your bets, friendsall, and you shall have your chance. This game never stops. I am alwaysafter revenge. Watch the ace. I pick up the cards. Ace first--blessed ace;_and_ the jacks. Watch close. There you are. " He briefly exposed the facesof the cards. "Keep your eyes upon the ace. Ready--go!"

He spread the cards. As he had released he had tilted them slightly, and Iclearly saw the ace land. The cards fell in the same order as arranged. Tothat I would have sworn. 

"Five dollars now that any one card is not the ace, " he challenged. "Ishall not touch them. A small bet--just enough to make it interesting. Five dollars from you, sir?" He looked at me direct. I shook my head; Iwas sternly resolved not to be over tempted. "What? No? You will waitanother turn? Very well. How about you, sir?" to the Colonel. 

"I'll go halvers with you, Colonel, " Bill proposed. 

"I'm on, " agreed the Colonel. "There's the soap. And foh the honor of thegrand old Empire State we will let our friend pick the ace foh us. I havefaith in those eyes of his, suhs. "

"But that is scarcely fair, sir, when I am risking nothing, " I protested. 

"Go ahead, suh; go ahead, " he urged. "It is just a sporting propositionfoh general entertainment. "

"And I'll bet you a dollar on the side that you don't spot the ace, " thedealer baited. "Come now. Make it interesting for yourself. "

"I'll not bet, but since you insist, there's the ace. " And I turned up theright-end card. 

"By the Eternal, he's done it! He has an eye like an eagle's, " praised thedealer, with evident chagrin. "I lose. Once again, now. Everybody in, thistime. " He gathered the cards. "I'll play against you all, this gentlemanincluded. And if I lose, why, that's life, gentleman. Some of us win, someof us lose. Watch the ace and have your money ready. You can follow thisgentleman's tip. I'm afraid he's smarter than me, but I'm game. "

He was too insistent. Somehow, I did not like him, anyway, and I wasbeginning to be suspicious of my company. Their minds trended entirelytoward gambling; to remain with them meant nothing farther than the gamingtables, and I was hungry. 

"You'll have to excuse me, gentleman, " I pleaded. "Another time, but notnow. I wish to eat and to bathe, and I have an engagement following. "

"Gad, suh!" The Colonel fixed me with his fishy eyes. "Foh God's sakedon't break your winning streak with eatin' and washin'. Fortune is afickle jade, suh; she's hostile when slapped in the face. "

Bill glowered at me, but I was firm. 

"If you will give me the pleasure of taking supper with me at some goodplace----" I suggested, as they pursued me into the street. 

"We can't talk this over while we're dry, " the Colonel objected. "That isa human impossibility. Let us libate, suhs, in order to tackle ourprovender in proper spirit. "

"And no lemonade goes this time, either, " Bill declared. "That brand of adrink is insultin' to good victuals. "

We were standing, for the moment, verging upon argument much to mydistaste, when on a sudden who should come tripping along but My Lady ofthe Blue Eyes--yes, the very flesh and action of her, her face shieldedfrom the dust by a little sunshade. 

She saw me, recognized me in startled fashion, and with a swift glance atmy two companions bowed. My hat was off in a twinkling, with my bestmanner; the Colonel barely had time to imitate ere, leaving me a quicksmile, she was gone on. 

He and Bill stared after; then at me. 

"Gad, suh! You know the lady?" the Colonel ejaculated. 

"I have the honor. We were passengers upon the same train. "

"Clean through, you mean?" queried Bill. 

"Yes. We happened to get on together, at Omaha. "

"I congratulate you, suh, " affirmed the Colonel. "We were not aware, suh, that you had an acquaintance of that nature in this city. "

Again congratulation over my fortune! It mounted to my head, but Ipreserved decorum. 

"A casual acquaintance. We were merely travelers by the same route at thesame time. And now if you will recommend a good eating place, and be myguests at supper, after that, as I have said, I must be excused. By theway, while I think of it, " I carelessly added, "can you direct me how toget to the Big Tent?"

"The Big Tent? If I am not intruding, suh, does your engagement comprisethe Big Tent?"

"Yes. But I failed to get the address. "

The Colonel swelled; his fishy eyes hardened upon me as with righteousindignation. 

"Suh, you are too damned innocent. You come here, suh, imposing as astranger, suh, and throwing yourself on our goodness, suh, to entertainyou; and you conceal your irons in the fiah under your hat, suh. Do welook green, suh? What is your vocation, suh? I believe, by gad, suh, thatyou are a common capper foh some infernal skinning game, or that you are aprofessional. Suh, I call your hand. "

I was about to retort hotly that I had not requested their chaperonage, and that my affair with My Lady and the Big Tent, howsoever they mighttake it, was my own; when Mr. Brady, who likewise had been glaring at me, growled morosely. 

"She's waitin' for you. You can square with us later, and if there'ssomething doin' on the table we want a show. "

The black-clad figure had lingered beyond; ostensibly gazing into a windowbut now and again darting a glance in our direction. I accepted theglances as a token of inclination on her part; without saying another wordto my ruffled body-guards I approached her. 

She received me with a quick turn of head as if not expecting, but with aready smile. 

"Well, sir?"

"Madam, " I uttered foolishly, "good-evening. "

"You have left your friends?"

"Very willingly. Whether they are really my friends I rather question. They have seen fit to escort me about, is all. "

"And I have rescued you?" She smiled again. "Believe me, sir, you would bebetter off alone. I know the gentlemen. They have been paid for theirtrouble, have they not?"

"They have won a little at gambling, but in that I had no hand, " Ireplied. "So far they have asked nothing more. "

"Certainly not. And you put up no stakes?"

"Not a penny, madam. Why should I?"

"To make it interesting, as they doubtless said. The Colonel, as all thetown knows, is a notorious capper and steerer, and the fellow Brady is nobetter, no worse. Had you stayed with them and suffered them to persuadeyou into betting, you would soon have been fleeced as clean as a shavedpig. The little gains they are permitted to make, to draw you on, is theirpay. Their losses if any would have been restored to them, but not yoursto you. "

"Strange to say, they have just accused me of being a 'capper, '" Ianswered, nettled as I began to comprehend. 

"From what cause, sir?"

[Illustration: "Madam, " I Uttered Foolishly, "Good Evening. "]

"They seemed to think that I am smarter than to my actual credit, for onething. " I, of course, could not involve her in the subject, and indeedcould not understand why she should have been held responsible, anyway. "And probably they were peeved because I insisted upon eating supper andthen following my own bent. "

"You were about to leave them?" Her face brightened. "That is good. Theywere disappointed in finding you no gudgeon to be hooked by such rawmethods. And you've not had supper yet? Promise me that you will take upwith no more strangers or, I assure you, you may wake in the morning withyour pockets turned inside out and your memory at fault. This is Benton. "

"Yes, this is Benton, is it?" I rejoined; and perhaps bitterly. 

"Benton, Wyoming Territory; of three thousand people in two weeks; inanother month, who knows how many? And the majority of us live on oneanother. The country furnishes nothing else. Still, you will find it notmuch different from what I told you. "

"I have found it high and dry, certainly, " said I. 

"Where are you stopping?"

"At the Queen--with a bath for every room. I am now awaiting the turn ofmy room, at the end of another hour. "

"Oh!" She laughed heartily. "You are fortunate, sir. The Queen may not beconsidered the best in all ways, but they say the towels for the baths aremore than napkin size. Meanwhile, let me advise you. Outfit while youwait, and become of the country. You look too much the pilgrim--there isEastern dust showing through our Benton dust, and that spells of other'dust' in your pockets. Get another hat, a flannel shirt, some coarsertrousers, a pair of boots, don a gun and a swagger, say little, make fewimpromptu friends, win and lose without a smile or frown, if you play (butupon playing I will advise you later), pass as a surveyor, as a railroadclerk, as a Mormon--anything they choose to apply to you; and I shall hopeto see you to-night. "

"You shall, " I assured, abashed by her raillery. "And if you will kindlytell me----"

"The meals at the Belle Marie Café are as good as any. You can see thesign from here. So adios, sir, and remember. " With no mention of the BigTent she flashed a smile at me and mingled with the other pedestrianscrossing the street on diagonal course. As I had not been invited toaccompany her I stood, gratefully digesting her remarks. When I turned fora final word with my two guides, they had vanished. 

This I interpreted as a confession of jealous fear that I had been, inslang phrasing, "put wise. " And sooth to say, I saw them again no more. 

CHAPTER VI

"HIGH AND DRY"

The counsel to don a garb smacking less of the recent East struck me assound; for although I was not the only person here in Eastern guise, nevertheless about the majority of the populace there was an easyaggressiveness that my appearance evidently lacked. 

So I must hurry ere the shops closed. 

"I beg your pardon. What time do the stores close, can you tell me?" Iasked of the nearest bystander. 

He surveyed me. 

"Close? Hell!" he said. "They don't close for even a dog fight, pardner. Business runs twenty-five hours every day, seven days the week, in thesediggin's. "

"And where will I find a haberdashery?"

"A what? Talk English. What you want?"

"I want a--an outfit; a personal outfit. "

"Blanket to moccasins? Levi's, stranger. Levi'll outfit you complete andthrow in a yellow purp under the wagon. "

"And where is Levi's?"

"There. " And he jerked his head aside. "You could shut your eyes and spitin the doorway. "

With that he rudely turned his back upon me. But sure enough, by token ofthe large sign "Levi's Mammoth Emporium: Liquors, Groceries and GeneralMerchandise, " I was standing almost in front of the store itself. 

I entered, into the seething aisle flanked by heaped-up counters andstacked goods that bulged the partially boarded canvas walls. At last Igained position near one of the perspiring clerks and caught his eye. 

"Yes, sir. You, sir? What can I do for you, sir?" He rubbed his handsalertly, on edge with a long day. 

"I wish a hat, flannel shirt, a serviceable ready-made suit, boots, possibly other matters. "

"We have exactly the things for you, sir. This way. "

"Going out on the advance line, sir?" he asked, while I made selections. 

"That is not unlikely. "

"They're doing great work. Three miles of track laid yesterday; twelve sofar this week. Averaging two and one-half miles a day and promisingbetter. "

"So I understand, " I alleged. 

"General Jack Casement is a world beater. If he could get the iron as fastas he could use it he'd build through to California without a halt. Butlooks now as if somewhere between would have to satisfy him. You are asurveyor, I take it?"

"Yes, I am surveying on the line along with the others, " I answered. Andsurveying the country I was. 

"You are the gentlemen who lay out the course, " he complimented. "Now, isthere something else, sir?"

"I need a good revolver, a belt and ammunition. "

"We carry the reliable--the Colt's. That's the favorite holster gun in useout here. Please step across, sir. "

He led. 

"If you're not particular as to shine, " he resumed, "we have a second-handoutfit that I can sell you cheap. Took it in as a deposit, and thegentleman never has called for it. Of course you're broken in to thecountry, but as you know a new belt and holster are apt to be viewed withsuspicion and a gentleman sometimes has to draw when he'd rather not, toprove himself. This gun has been used just enough to take the roughnessoff the trigger pull, and it employs the metallic cartridges--veryconvenient. The furniture for it is O. K. And all at half price. "

I was glad to find something cheap. The boots had been fifteen dollars, the hat eight, shirt and suit in proportion, and the red silk handkerchieftwo dollars and a half. Yes, Benton was "high. "

With my bulky parcel I sought the Belle Marie Café, ate my supper, thencehastened through the gloaming to the hotel for bath and change of costume. 

I had yet time to array myself, as an experiment and a lark; and that Isillily did, hurriedly tossing my old garments upon bed and floor, inorder to invest with the new. The third bed was occupied when I came in;occupied on the outside by a plump, round-faced, dust-scalded man, withpiggish features accentuated by his small bloodshot eyes; dressed inEastern mode but stripped to the galluses, as was the custom. He lay uponhis back, his puffy hands folded across his spherical abdomen where hispantaloons met a sweaty pink-striped shirt; and he panted wheezinglythrough his nose. 

"Hell of a country, ain't it!" he observed in a moment. "You a stranger, too?"

"I have been here a short time, sir. "

"Thought so. Jest beginnin' to peel, like me. I been here two days. What'syour line?"

"I have a number of things in view, " I evaded. 

"Well, you don't have to tell 'em, " he granted. "Thought you was asalesman. I'm from Saint Louie, myself. Sell groceries, and pasteboards onthe side. Cards are the stuff. I got the best line of sure-thingstock--strippers, humps, rounds, squares, briefs and marked backs--thatever were dealt west of the Missouri. Judas Priest, but this is a roarerof a burg! What _it_ ain't got I never seen--and I ain't no springgoslin', neither. I've plenty sand in my craw. You ain't been pluckedyet?"

"No, sir. I never gamble. "

"Wish I didn't, but my name's Jakey and I'm a good feller. Say, I'msupposed to be wise, too, but they trimmed me two hundred dollars. Now I'mgettin' out. " He groaned. "Take the train in a few minutes. Dasn't riskmyself on the street again. Sent my baggage down for fear I'd lose that. Say, " he added, watching me, "looks like you was goin' out yourself. Oneof them surveyor fellers, workin' for the railroad?"

"It might be so, sir, " I replied. 

He half sat up. 

"You'll want to throw a leg, I bet. Lemme tell you. It's a hell of a townbut it's got some fine wimmen; yes, and a few straight banks, too. You'reno crabber or piker; I can see that. You go to the North Star. Tell Frankthat Jakey sent you. They'll treat you white. You be sure and say Jakeysent you. But for Gawd's sake keep out of the Big Tent. "

"The Big Tent?" I uttered. "Why so?"

"They'll sweat you there, " he groaned lugubriously. "Say, friend, couldyou lend me twenty dollars? You've still got your roll. I ain't a stivver. I'm busted flat. "

"I'm sorry that I can't accommodate you, sir, " said I. "I have no moremoney than will see me through--and according to your story perhaps notenough. "

"I've told you of the North Star. You mention Jakey sent you. You'll makemore than your twenty back, at the North Star, " he urged inconsistent. "If it hadn't been for that damned Big Tent----" and he flopped with adismal grunt. 

By this time, all the while conscious of his devouring eyes, I had changedmy clothing and now I stood equipped cap-a-pie, with my hat clapped at anangle, and my pantaloons in my boots, and my red silk handkerchieftastefully knotted at my throat, and my six-shooter slung; and I couldscarcely deny that in my own eyes, and in his, I trusted, I was a prettyfigure of a Westerner who would win the approval, as seemed to me, of MyLady in Black or of any other lady. 

His reflection upon the Big Tent, however, was the fly in my ointment. Therefore, preening and adjusting with assumed carelessness I queried, inreal concern:

"What about the Big Tent? Where is it? Isn't it respectable?"

"Respectable? Of course it's respectable. You don't ketch your Jakey in noplace that ain't. I've a family to think of. You ain't been there? Say!There's where they all meet, in that Big Tent; all the best people, too, you bet you. But I tell you, friend----"

He did not finish. An uproar sounded above the other street clamor: apistol shot, and another--a chorus of hoarse shouts and shrill frightenedcries, the scurrying rush of feet, all in the street; and in the hall ofthe hotel, and the lobby below, the rush of still more feet, booted, andthe din of excited voices. 

My man on the bed popped with the agility of a jack-in-the-box for thewindow. 

"A fight, a fight! Shootin' scrape!" In a single motion grabbing coat andhat he was out through the door and pelting down the hall. Overcome by thezest of the moment I pelted after, and with several others plunged asmadly upon the porch. We had left the lobby deserted. 

The shots had ceased. Now a baying mob ramped through the street, withjangle "Hang him! Hang him! String him up!" Borne on by a hystericalcompany I saw, first a figure bloody-chested and inert flat in the dust, with stooping figures trying to raise him; then, beyond, a man bareheaded, whiskered, but as white as death, hustled to and fro from clutching handsand suddenly forced in firm grips up the street, while the mob trailedafter, whooping, cursing, shrieking, flourishing guns and knives andropes. There were women as well as men in it. 

All this turned me sick. From the outskirts of the throng I tramped backto my room and the bath. The hotel was quiet as if emptied; my room wasvacant--and more than vacant, for of my clothing not a vestige remained!My bag also was gone. Worse yet, prompted by an inner voice that stabbedme like an icicle I was awakened to the knowledge that every cent I hadpossessed was in those vanished garments. 

For an instant I stood paralyzed, fronting the calamity. I could notbelieve. It was as if the floor had swallowed my belongings. I had beenabsent not more than five minutes. Surely this was the room. Yes, NumberSix; and the beds were familiar, their tumbled covers unaltered. 

Now I held the bath-room responsible. The scoundrel in the bath had heard, had taken advantage, made a foray and hidden. Out I ran, exploring. Everyroom door was wide open, every apartment blank; but there was a splashing, from the bath--I listened at the threshold, gently tried the knob--andreceived such a cry of angry protest that it sent me to the right-about, on tiptoe. The thief was not in the bath. 

My heart sank as I bolted down for the office. The clerk had reinstatedhimself behind the counter. He composedly greeted me, with calm voice andwith eyes that noted my costume. 

"You can have your bath as soon as the porter gets back from the hanging, sir, " he said. "That is, unless you'd prefer to hurry up by toting yourown water. The party now in will be out directly. "

"Never mind the bath, " I uttered, breathless, in a voice that I scarcelyrecognized, so piping and aghast it was. "I've been robbed--of money, clothes, baggage, everything!"

"Well, what at?" he queried, with a glimmer of a smile. 

"What at? In my room, I tell you. I had just changed to try on thesethings; the street fight sounded; I was gone not five minutes andnevertheless the room was sacked. Absolutely sacked. "

"That, " he commented evenly, "is hard luck. "

"Hard luck!" I hotly rejoined. "It's an outrage. But you seem remarkablycool about it, sir. What do you propose to do?"

"I?" He lifted his brows. "Nothing. They're not my valuables. "

"But this is a respectable hotel, isn't it?"

"Perfectly; and no orphan asylum. We attend strictly to our business andexpect our guests to attend to theirs. "

"I was told that it was safe for me to leave my things in my room. "

"Not by me, sir. Read that. " And he called my attention to a placard thatsaid, among other matters: "We are not responsible for property of anynature left by guests in their rooms. "

"Where's the chief of police?" I demanded. "You have officers here, Ihope. "

"Yes, sir. The marshal is the chief of police, and he's the whole show. The provost guard from the post helps out when necessary. But you'll findthe marshal at the mayor's office or else at the North Star gambling hall, three blocks up the street. I don't think he'll do you any good, though. He's not likely to bother with small matters, especially when he'sdealing faro bank. He has an interest in the North Star. You'll never seeyour property again. Take my word for it. "

"I won't? Why not?"

"You've played the gudgeon for somebody; that's all. Easiest thing in theworld for a smart gentleman to slip into your room while you were absent, go through it, and make his getaway by the end of the hall, out over thekitchen roof. It's been done many a time. "

"A traveling salesman saw me dressing. He went out before me but he mighthave doubled, " I gasped. "He had one of the beds--who is he?"

"I don't know him, sir. "

"A round-bellied, fat-faced man--sold groceries and playing cards. "

"There is no such guest in your room, sir. You have bed Number One, bedNumber Two is assigned to Mr. Bill Brady, who doubtless will be in soon. Number Three is temporarily vacant. "

"The man said he was about to catch the train east, " I pursueddesperately. "A round-bellied, fat-faced man in pink striped shirt----"

"If he was to catch any train, that train has just pulled out. "

"And who was in the bath, ten or fifteen minutes ago?"

"My wife, sir; and still there. She has to take her chances like everybodyelse. No, sir; you've been done. You may find your clothes, but I doubtit. You are next upon the bath list. " And he became all business. "Theporter will carry up the water and notify you. You are allowed twentyminutes. That is satisfactory?"

A bath, now!

"No, certainly not, " I blurted. "I have no time nor inclination for abath, at present. And, " I faltered, ashamed, "I'll have to ask you torefund me the dollar and a half. I haven't a cent. "

"Under the circumstances I can do that, although it is against our rules, "he replied. "Here it is, sir. We wish to accommodate. "

"And will you advance me twenty dollars, say, until I shall have procuredfunds from the East?" I ventured. 

A mask fell over his face. He slightly smiled. 

"No, sir; I cannot. We never advance money. "

"But I've got to have money, to tide me over, man, " I pleaded. "Thisdollar and a half will barely pay for a meal. I can give youreferences----"

"From Colonel Sunderson, may I ask?" His voice was poised tentatively. 

"No. I never saw the Colonel before. My references are Eastern. Myfather----"

"As a gentleman the Colonel is O. K. , " he smoothly interrupted. "I do notquestion his integrity, nor your father's. But we never advance money. Itis against the policy of the house. "

"Has my trunk come up yet?" I queried. 

"Yes, sir. If you'd rather have it in your room----"

"In my room!" said I. "No! Else it might walk out the hall window, too. You have it safe?"

"Perfectly, except in case of burglary or fire. It is out of the weather. We're not responsible for theft or fire, you understand. Not in Benton. "

"Good Lord!" I ejaculated, weak. "You have my trunk, you say? Very good. Will you advance me twenty dollars and keep the trunk as security? That, Ithink, is a sporting proposition. "

He eyed me up and down. 

"Are you a surveyor? Connected with the road?"

"No. "

"What is your business, then?"

"I'm a damned fool, " I confessed. "I'm a gudgeon--I'm a come-on. In fact, as I've said before, I'm out here looking for health, where it's high anddry. " He smiled. "And high and dry I'm landed in short order. But thetrunk's not empty. Will you keep it and lend me twenty dollars? I presumethat trunk and contents are worth two hundred. "

"I'll speak with the porter, " he answered. 

By the lapse of time between his departure and his return he and the gnomeevidently had hefted the trunk and viewed it at all angles. Now he cameback with quick step. 

"Yes, sir; we'll advance you twenty dollars on your trunk. Here is themoney, sir. " He wrote, and passed me a slip of paper also. "And yourreceipt. When you pay the twenty dollars, if within thirty days, you canhave your trunk. "

"And if not?" I asked uncomfortably. 

"We shall be privileged to dispose of it. We are not in the pawn business, but we have trunks piled to the ceiling in our storeroom, left bygentlemen in embarrassed circumstances like yours. "

I never saw that trunk again, either. However, of this, more anon. At thatjuncture I was only too glad to get the twenty dollars, pending the timewhen I should be recouped from home; for I could see that to be stranded"high and dry" in Benton City of Wyoming Territory would be a diresituation. And I could not hope for much from home. It was a bitter doseto have to ask for further help. Three years returned from the war myfather had scarcely yet been enabled to gather the loose ends of hisformer affairs. 

"Now if you will direct me to the telegraph office----?" I suggested. 

"The telegraph into Benton is the Union Pacific Railroad line, " heinformed; "and that is open to only Government and official business. Ifyou wish to send a private dispatch you should forward it by post toCheyenne, one hundred and seventy-five miles, where it will be put on theOverland branch line for the East by way of Denver. The rate to New Yorkis eight dollars, prepaid. "

I knew that my face fell. Eight dollars would make a large hole in myslender funds--I had been foolish not to have borrowed fifty dollars onthe trunk. So I decided to write instead of telegraph; and with himwatching me I endeavored to speak lightly. 

"Thank you. Now where will I find the place known as the Big Tent?"

He laughed with peculiar emphasis. 

"If you had mentioned the Big Tent sooner you'd have got no twenty dollarsfrom me, sir. Not that I've anything against it, understand. It's allright, everybody goes there; perfectly legitimate. I go there myself. Andyou may redeem your trunk to-morrow and be buying champagne. "

"I am to meet a friend at the Big Tent, " I stiffly explained. "Furtherthan that I have no business there. I know nothing whatever about it. "

"I beg your pardon, sir. No offense intended. The Big Tent is highlyregarded--a great place to spend a pleasant evening. All Benton indulges. I wish you the best of luck, sir. You are heeled, I see. No one will takeyou for a pilgrim. " Despite the assertion there was a twinkle in his eye. "You will find the Big Tent one block and a half down this street. Youcannot miss it. "

CHAPTER VII

I GO TO RENDEZVOUS

The hotel lamps were being lighted by the gnome porter. When I steppedoutside twilight had deepened into dusk, the air was almost frosty, andthis main street had been made garish by its nightly illumination. 

It was a strange sight, as I paused for a moment upon the plank veranda. The near vicinity resembled a fair. As if inspired by the freshness andcoolness of the new air the people were trooping to and fro morerestlessly than ever, and in greater numbers. All up and down the streetcoal-oil torches or flambeaus, ruddily embossing the heads of the playersand onlookers, flared like votive braziers above the open-air gamblinggames; there were even smoked-chimney lamps, and candles, set onpedestals, signalizing other centers. The walls of the tentstore-buildings glowed spectral from the lights to be glimpsed throughdoorways and windows, and grotesque, gigantic figures flitted insilhouette. While through the interstices between the buildings I mightsee other structures, ranging from those of tolerable size to simple walltents and makeshift shacks, eerily shadowed. 

The noise had, if anything, redoubled. To the exclamations, the riotousshouts and whoops, the general gay vociferations and the footsteps of abusy people, the harangues of the barkers, the more distant puffing andshrieking of the locomotives at the railroad yards, the hammering wheremen and boys worked by torchlight, and now and then a revolver shot, therehad been added the inciting music of stringed instruments, cymbals, andsuch--some in dance measures, some solo, while immediately at hand soundedthe shuffling stamp of waltz, hoe-down and cotillion. 

Night at Benton plainly had begun with a gusto. It stirred one's blood. Itcalled--it summoned with such a promise of variety, of adventure, offlotsam and jetsam and shuttlecock of chances, that I, a youth withtwenty-one dollars and a half at disposal, all his clothes on his back, aman's weapon at his belt, and an appointment with a lady as his future, forgetful of past and courageous in present, strode confidently, evenrecklessly down, as eager as one to the manners of the country born. 

The mysterious allusions to the Big Tent now piqued me. It was arendezvous, popular, I deemed, and respectable, as assured. An amusementplace, judging by the talk; superior, undoubtedly, to other resorts that Imay have noted. I was well equipped to test it out, for I had little tolose, even time was of no moment, and I possessed a friend at court, there, whom I had interested and who very agreeably interested me. Thissingle factor would have glorified with a halo any tent, big or little, inBenton. 

There was no need for me to inquire my way to the Big Tent. Upon pushingalong down the street, beset upon my course by many sights and profferedallurements, and keenly alive to the romance of that hurly-burly ofpleasure and business combined here two thousand miles west of New York, always expectant of my goal I was attracted by music again, just ahead, from an orchestra. I saw a large canvas sign--The Big Tent--suspended inthe full shine of a locomotive reflector. Beneath it the people werestreaming into the wide entrance to a great canvas hall. 

Quickening my pace in accord with the increased pace of the throng, presently I likewise entered, unchallenged for any admission fee. Onceacross the threshold, I halted, taken all aback by the hubbub and thekaleidoscopic spectacle that beat upon my ears and eyes. 

The interior, high ceilinged to the ridged roof, was unbroken by supports. It was lighted by two score of lamps and reflectors in brackets along thewalls and hanging as chandeliers from the rafters. The floor, of planedboards, already teemed with men and women and children--along one sidethere was an ornate bar glittering with cut glass and silver and backed bya large plate mirror that repeated the lights, the people, the glasses, decanters and pitchers, and the figures of the white-coated, busybartenders. 

At the farther end of the room a stringed orchestra was stationed upon aplatform, while to the bidding of the music women, and men with hats upontheir heads and cigars in mouths, and men together, whirled in couples, sothat the floor trembled to the boot heels. Scattered thickly over theintervening space there were games of chance, every description, surrounded by groups looking on or playing. Through the atmosphere bluewith the smoke women, many of them lavishly costumed as if for a ball, strolled risking or responding to gallantries. The garb of the menthemselves ran the scale: from the comme il faut of slender shoes, fashionably cut coats and pantaloons, and modish cravats, through thecampaign uniforms of army officers and enlisted men, to the frontiercorduroy and buckskin of surveyors and adventurers, the flannel shirts, red, blue and gray, the jeans and cowhide boots of trainmen, teamsters, graders, miners, and all. 

From nearly every waist dangled a revolver. I remarked that not a few ofthe women displayed little weapons as in bravado. 

What with the music, the stamp of the dancers, the clink of glasses andthe ice in pitchers, the rattle of dice, the slap of cards and currency, the announcements of the dealers, the clap-trap of barkers and montespielers, the general chatter of voices, one such as I, a newcomer, scarcely knew which way to turn. 

Altogether this was an amusement palace which, though rough of exterior, eclipsed the best of the Bowery and might be found elsewhere, I imagined, not short of San Francisco. 

From the jostle of the doorway to pick out upon the floor any singlefigure and follow it was well-nigh impossible. Not seeing my Lady inBlack, at first sight--not being certain of her, that is, for there were anumber of black dresses--I moved on in. It might be that she was among thedancers, where, as I could determine by the vista, beauty appeared to bewhirling around in the embrace of the whiskered beast. 

Then, as I advanced resolutely among the gaming tables, I felt a cuff uponthe shoulder and heard a bluff voice in my ear. 

"Hello, old hoss. How are tricks by this time?"

Facing about quickly with apprehension of having been spotted by anothercapper, if not Bill Brady himself (for the voice was not ColonelSunderson's unctuous tones) I saw Jim of the Sidney station platform andthe railway coach fracas. 

He was grinning affably, apparently none the worse for wear save aslightly swollen lower lip; he seemed in good humor. 

"Shake, " he proffered, extending his hand. "No hard feelin's here. I'm noInjun. You knocked the red-eye out o' me. "

I shook hands with him, and again he slapped me upon the shoulder. "Hardlyknowed you in that new rig. Now you're talkin'. That's sense. Well; howyou comin' on?"

"First rate, " I assured, not a little nonplussed by this greeting from aman whom I had knocked down, tipsy drunk, only a few hours before. Butevidently he was a seasoned customer. 

"Bucked the tiger a leetle, I reckon?" And he leered cunningly. 

"No; I rarely gamble. "

"Aw, tell that to the marines. " Once more he jovially clapped me. "A younggent like you has to take a fling now and then. Hell, this is Benton, where everything goes and nobody the worse for it. You bet yuh! Trailalong with me. Let's likker. Then I'll show you the ropes. I like yourstyle. Yes, sir; I know a man when I see him. " And he swore freely. 

"Another time, sir, " I begged off. "I have an engagement thisevening----"

"O' course you have. Don't I know that, too, by Gawd? The when, where andwho? Didn't she tell me to keep my eyes skinned for you, and to cotton toyou when you come in? We'll find her, after we likker up. "

"She did?"

"Why not? Ain't I a friend o' hern? You bet! Finest little woman inBenton. Trail to the trough along with me, pardner, and name yourfavor-ite. I've got a thirst like a Sioux buck with a robe to trade. "

"I'd rather not drink, thank you, " I essayed; but he would have none ofit. He seized me by the arm and hustled me on. 

"O' course you'll drink. Any gent I ax to drink has gotto drink. Name yourpizen--make it champagne, if that's your brand. But the drinks are onme. "

So willy-nilly I was brought to the bar, where the line of men alreadyloafing there made space. 

"Straight goods and the best you've got, " my self-appointed pilot blared. "None o' your agency whiskey, either. What's yourn?" he asked of me. 

"The same as yours, sir, " I bravely replied. 

With never a word the bartender shoved bottle and glasses to us. Jimrather unsteadily filled; I emulated, but to scanter measure. 

"Here's how, " he volunteered. "May you never see the back of your neck. "

"Your health, " I responded. 

We drank. The stuff may have been pure; at least it was stout and cutfiery way down my unwonted throat; the one draught infused me with aswagger and a sudden rosy view of life through a temporary mist ofwatering eyes. 

"A-ah! That puts guts into a man, " quoth Jim. "Shall we have another? Onemore?"

"Not now. The next shall be on me. Let's look around, " I gasped. 

"We'll find her, " he promised. "Take a stroll. I'll steer you right. Havea seegar, anyway. "

As smoking vied with drinking, here in the Big Tent where even the dancerscavorted with lighted cigars in their mouths, I saw fit to humor him. 

"Cigars it shall be, then. But I'll pay. " And to my nod the bartender setout a box, from which we selected at twenty-five cents each. With my own"seegar" cocked up between my lips, and my revolver adequately heavy at mybelt, I suffered the guidance of the importunate Jim. 

We wended leisurely among games of infinite variety: keno, rondo coolo, poker, faro, roulette, monte, chuck-a-luck, wheels of fortune--advertised, some, by their barkers, but the better class (if there is such adistinction) presided over by remarkably quiet, white-faced, nimble-fingered, steady-eyed gentry in irreproachable garb running much towhite shirts, black pantaloons, velvet waistcoats, and polished boots, anddiamonds and gold chains worn unaffectedly; low-voiced gentry, these, protected, it would appear, mainly by their lookouts perched at theirsides with eyes alert to read faces and to watch the play. 

We had by no means completed the tour, interrupted by many jests and nodsexchanged between Jim and sundry of the patrons, when we indeed met MyLady. She detached herself, as if cognizant of our approach, from a littlegroup of four or five standing upon the floor; and turned for me with handoutstretched, a gratifying flush upon her spirited face. 

"You are here, then?" she greeted. 

I made a leg, with my best bow, not omitting to remove hat and cigar, while agreeably conscious of her approving gaze. 

"I am here, madam, in the Big Tent. "

Her small warm hand acted as if unreservedly mine, for the moment. Abouther there was a tingling element of the friendly, even of the intimate. She was a haven in a strange coast. 

"Told you I'd find him, didn't I?" Jim asserted--the bystanders listeningcuriously. "There he was, lookin' as lonesome as a two-bit piece on apoker table in a sky-limit game. So we had a drink and a seegar, and beenmakin' the grand tower. "

"You got your outfit, I see, " she smiled. 

"Yes. Am I correct?"

"You have saved yourself annoyance. You'll do, " she nodded. "Have youplayed yet? Win, or lose?"

"I did not come to play, madam, " said I. "Not at table, that is. "Whereupon I must have returned her gaze so glowingly as to embarrass her. Yet she was not displeased; and in that costume and with that liquorstill coursing through my veins I felt equal to any retort. 

"But you should play. You are heeled?"

"The best I could procure. " I let my hand rest casually upon my revolverbutt. 

She laughed merrily. There were smiles aside. 

"Oh, no; I didn't mean that. You are heeled for all to see. I meant, youhave funds? You didn't come here too light, did you?"

"I am prepared for all emergencies, madam, certainly, " I averred withproper dignity. Not for the world would I have confessed otherwise. Soothto say, I had the sensation of boundless wealth. The affair at the hoteldid not bother me, now. Here in the Big Tent prosperity reigned. Money, money, money was passing back and forth, carelessly shoved out andcarelessly pocketed or piled up, while the band played and the peoplelaughed and drank and danced and bragged and staked, and laughed again. 

"That is good. Shall we walk a little? And when you play--come here. " Westepped apart from the listeners. "When you play, follow the lead of Jim. He'll not lose, and I intend that you shan't, either. But you must play, for the sport of it. Everybody games, in Benton. "

"So I judge, madam, " I assented. "Under your chaperonage I am ready totake any risks, the gaming table being among the least. "

"Prettily said, sir, " she complimented. "And you won't lose. No, " sherepeated suggestively, "you won't lose, with me looking out for you. Jimbears you no ill will. He recognizes a man when he meets him, even whenthe proof is uncomfortable. "

"For that little episode on the train I ask no reward, madam, " said I. 

"Of course not. " Her tone waxed impatient. "However, you're a stranger inBenton and strangers do not always fare well. " In this she spoke thetruth. "As a resident I claim the honors. Let us be old acquaintances. Shall we walk? Or would you rather dance?"

"I'd cut a sorry figure dancing in boots, " said I. "Therefore I'd reallyprefer to walk, if all the same to you. "

"Thank you for having mercy on my poor feet. Walk we will. "

"May I get you some refreshment?" I hazarded. "A lemonade--or somethingstronger?"

"Not for you, sir; not again, " she laughed. "You are, as Jim would say, 'fortified. ' And I shall need all my wits to keep you from being tolledaway by greater attractions. "

With that, she accepted my arm. We promenaded, Jim sauntering near. And asshe emphatically was the superior of all other women upon the floor I didnot fail to dilate with the distinction accorded me: felt it in theglances, the deference and the ready make-way which attended upon ourprogress. Frankly to say, possibly I strutted--as a young man will when"fortified" within and without and elevated from the station ofnondescript stranger to that of favored beau. 

Whereas an hour before I had been crushed and beggarly, now I turned outmy toes and stepped bravely--my twenty-one dollars in pocket, mysix-shooter at belt, a red 'kerchief at throat, the queen of the hall onmy arm, and my trunk all unnecessary to my well-being. 

Thus in easy fashion we moved amidst eyes and salutations from the variousdegrees of the company. She made no mention of any husband, which mighthave been odd in the East but did not impress me as especially odd here inthe democratic Far West. The women appeared to have an independence ofaction. 

"Shall we risk a play or two?" she proposed. "Are you acquainted withthree-card monte?"

"Indifferently, madam, " said I. "But I am green at all gambling devices. "

"You shall learn, " she encouraged lightly. "In Benton as in Rome, youknow. There is no disgrace attached to laying down a dollar here andthere--we all do it. That is part of our amusement, in Benton. " Shehalted. "You are game, sir? What is life but a series of chances? Are youdisposed to win a little and flout the danger of losing?"

"I am in Benton to win, " I valiantly asserted. "And if under yourdirection, so much the quicker. What first, then? The three-card monte?"

"It is the simplest. Faro would be beyond you yet. Rondo coolo isboisterous and confusing--and as for poker, that is a long session ofnerves, while chuck-a-luck, though all in the open, is for children andfools. You might throw the dice a thousand times and never cast a luckycombination. Roulette is as bad. The percentage in favor of the bank in asquare game is forty per cent. Better than stealing. I'll initiate you onmonte. Are your eyes quick?"

"For some things, " I replied meaningly. 

She conducted me to the nearest monte game, where the "spieler"--asmooth-faced lad of not more than nineteen--sat behind his three-leggedlittle table, green covered, and idly shifting the cards about maintaineda rather bored flow of conversational incitement to bets. 

As happened, he was illy patronized at the moment. There were not morethan three or four onlookers, none risking but all waiting apparently uponone another. 

At our arrival the youth glanced up with the most innocent pair oflong-lashed brown eyes that I ever had seen. A handsome boy he was. 

"Hello, Bob. "

He smiled, with white teeth. 

"Hello yourself. "

My Lady and he seemed to know each other. 

"How goes it to-night, Bob?"

"Slow. There's no nerve or money in this camp any more. She's a deadone. "

"I'll not have Benton slandered, " My Lady gaily retorted. "We'll buck yourgame, Bob. But you must be easy on us. We're green yet. "

Bob shot a quick glance at me--in one look had read me from hat to boots. He had shrewder eyes than their first languor intimated. 

"Pleased to accommodate you, I'm sure, " he answered. "The greenies standas good a show at this board as the profesh. "

"Will you play for a dollar?" she challenged. 

"I'll play for two bits, to-night. Anything to start action. " He twistedhis mouth with ready chagrin. "I'm about ripe to bet against myself. "

She fumbled at her reticule, but I was beforehand. 

"No, no. " And I fished into my pocket. "Allow me. I will furnish the fundsif you will do the playing. "

"I choose the card?" said she. "That is up to you, sir. You are tolearn. "

"By watching, at first, " I protested. "We should be partners. "

"Well, " she consented, "if you say so. Partners it is. A lady brings luck, but I shall not always do your playing for you, sir. That kind ofpartnership comes to grief. "

"I am hopeful of playing on my own score, in due time, " I responded. "Asyou will see. "

"What's the card, Bob? We've a dollar on it, as a starter. "

He eyed her, while facing the cards up. 

"The ace. You see it--the ace, backed by ten and deuce. Here it is. Allready?" He turned them down, in order; methodically, even listlessly movedthem to and fro, yet with light, sure, well-nigh bewildering touch. Suddenly lifted his hands. "All set. A dollar you don't face up the ace atfirst try. "

She laughed, bantering. 

"Oh, Bob! You're too easy. I wonder you aren't broke. You're no montespieler. Is this your best?"

And I believed that I myself knew which card was the ace. 

"You hear me, and there's my dollar. " He coolly waited. 

"Not yours; ours. Will you make it five?"

"One is my limit on this throw. You named it. "

"Oho!" With a dart of hand she had turned up the middle card, exposing theace spot, as I had anticipated. She swept the two dollars to her. 

"Adios, " she bade. 

He smiled, indulgent. 

"So soon? Don't I get my revenge? You, sir. " And he appealed to me. "Yousee how easy it is. I'll throw you a turn for a dollar, two dollars, fivedollars--anything to combine business and pleasure. Whether I win or loseI don't care. You'll follow the lead of the lady? What?"

I was on fire to accept, but she stayed me. 

"Not now. I'm showing him around, Bob. You'll get your revenge later. Good-bye. I've drummed up trade for you. "

As if inspired by the winning several of the bystanders, some newlyarrived, had money in their hands, to stake. So we strolled on; and I wasconscious that the youth's brown eyes briefly flicked after us with apeculiar glint. 

"Yours, " she said, extending the coins to me. 

I declined. 

"No, indeed. It is part of my tuition. If you will play I will stake. "

She also declined. 

"I can't have that. You will at least take your own money back. "

"Only for another try, madam, " I assented. 

"In that case we'll find a livelier game yonder, " said she. "Bob's just alazy boy. His game is a piker game. He's too slow to learn from. Let uswatch a real game. "

CHAPTER VIII

I STAKE ON THE QUEEN

Jim had disappeared; until when we had made way to another monte tablethere he was, his hands in his pockets, his cigar half smoked. 

More of a crowd was here; the voice of the spieler more insistent, yetlow-pitched and businesslike. He was a study--a square-shouldered, wellset-up, wiry man of olive complexion, finely chiseled features save fornose somewhat cruelly beaked, of short black moustache, dead black longwavy hair, and, placed boldly wide, contrastive hard gray eyes that lentatmosphere of coldness to his face. His hat was pulled down over hisforehead, he held an unlighted cigar between his teeth while hemechanically spoke and shifted the three cards (a diamond flashing from afinger) upon the baize-covered little table. 

Money had been wagered. He had just raked in a few notes, adding them tohis pile. His monotone droned on. 

"Next, ladies and gentlemen. Sometimes I win, sometimes I lose. That is mybusiness. The play is yours. You may think I have two chances to yourone; that is not so. You make the choice. Always the queen, always thequeen. You have only to watch the queen, one card. I have to watch threecards. You have your two eyes, I have my two hands. You spot the card onlywhen you think you can. I meet all comers. It is an even gamble. "

Jim remarked us as we joined. 

"How you comin' now?" he greeted of me. 

"We won a dollar, " My Lady responded. 

"Not I. She did the choosing, " I corrected. 

"But you would have chosen the same card, you said, " she prompted. "Yousaw how easy it was. "

"Easy if you know how, " Jim asserted. "Think to stake a leetle here? I'vebeen keepin' cases and luck's breaking ag'in the bank to-night, by gosh. Made several turns, myself, already. "

"We'll wait a minute till we get his system, " she answered. 

"Are you watching, ladies and gentlemen?" bade the dealer, in that eventone. "You see the eight of clubs, the eight of spades, the queen ofhearts. The queen is your card. My hand against your eyes, then. You areset? There you are. Pick the queen, some one of you. Put your money on thequeen of hearts. You can turn the card yourself. What? Nobody? Don't bepikers. Let us have a little sport. Stake a dollar. Why, you'd toss adollar down your throat--you'd lay a dollar on a cockroach race--you'd betthat much on a yellow dog if you owned him, just to show your spirit. Andhere I'm offering you a straight proposition. "

With a muttered "I'll go you another turn, Mister, " Jim stepped closer andplanked down a dollar. The dealer cast a look up at him as with pleasedsurprise. 

"You, sir? Very good. You have spirit. Money talks. Here is my dollar. Now, to prove to these other people what a good guesser you are, which isthe queen?"

"Here, " Jim said confidently; and sure enough he faced up the queen ofhearts. 

"The money's yours. You never earned a dollar quicker, I'll wager, friend, " the dealer acknowledged, imperturbable--for he evidently was onewho never evinced the least emotion, whether he won or lost. "Very good. Now----"

From behind him a man--a newcomer to the spot, who looked like anyrespectable Eastern merchant, being well dressed and grave offace--touched him upon the shoulder. He turned ear; while he inclinedfarther they whispered together, and I witnessed an arm steal swiftlyforward at my side, and a thumb and finger slightly bend up the extremecorner of the queen. The hand and arm vanished; when the dealer fronted usagain the queen was apparently just as before. Only we who had seen wouldhave marked the bent corner. 

The act had been so clever and so audacious that I fairly held my breath. But the gambler resumed his flow of talk, while he fingered the cards asif totally unaware that they had been tampered with. 

"Now, again, ladies and gentlemen. You see how it is done. You back youreyes, and you win. I find that I shall have to close early to-night. Makeyour hay while the sun shines. Who'll be in on this turn? Watch the queenof hearts. I place her here. I coax the three cards a little----" he gavea swift flourish. "There they are. "

His audience hesitated, as if fearful of a trick, for the bent corner ofthe queen, raising this end a little, was plain to us who knew. It wasabsurdly plain. 

"I'll go you another, Mister, " Jim responded. "I'll pick out the queenag'in for a dollar. "

The gambler smiled grimly and shrugged his shoulders. 

"Oh, pshaw, sir. These are small stakes. You'll never get rich at thatrate and neither shall I. "

"I reckon I can set my own limit, " Jim grumbled. 

"Yes, sir. But let's have action. Who'll join this gentleman in his guess?Who'll back his luck? He's a winner, I admit that. "

The gray eyes dwelt upon face and face of our half circle; and still I, too, hesitated, although my dollar was burning a hole in my pocket. 

My Lady whispered to me. 

"All's fair in love and war. Here--put this on, with yours, for me. " Sheslipped a dollar of her own into my hand. 

Another man stepped forward. He was, I judged, a teamster. His clothes, offlannel shirt, belted trousers and six-shooter and dusty boots, soindicated. And his beard was shaggy and unkempt, almost covering his faceunderneath his drooping slouch hat. 

"I'll stake you a dollar, " he said. 

"Two from me, " I heard myself saying, and I saw my hand depositing them. 

"You're all on this gentleman's card, remember?"

We nodded. The bearded man tipped me a wink. 

"You, sir, then, turn the queen if you can, " the gambler challenged ofJim. 

With quick movement Jim flopped the bent-corner card, and the queenherself seemed to wink jovially at us. 

The gambler exclaimed. 

"By God, gentlemen, but you've skinned me again. I'm clumsy to-night. I'dbetter quit. " And he scarcely varied his level tone despite the chucklesof the crowd. "You must let me try once more. But I warn you, I wantaction. I'm willing to meet any sum you stack up against me, if it's largeenough to spell action. Shall we go another round or two before I closeup?" He gathered the three cards. "You see the queen--my unlucky queen ofhearts. Here she is. " He stowed the card between thumb and finger. "Hereare the other two. " He held them up in his left hand--the eight of clubs, the eight of spades. He transferred them--with his rapid motion he strewedthe three. "Choose the queen. I put the game to you fair and square. Thereare the cards. Maybe you can read their backs. That's your privilege. " Hefixed his eyes upon the teamster. "You, sir; where's your money, half ofwhich was mine?" He glanced at Jim. "And you, sir? You'll follow yourluck?" Lastly he surveyed me with a flash of steely bravado. "And you, young gentleman. You came in before. I dare you. "

The bent corner was more pronounced than ever, as if aggravated by themanipulations. It could not possibly be mistaken by the knowing. And asudden shame possessed me--a glut of this crafty advantage to which I wasstooping; an advantage gained not through my own wit, either, but throughthe dishonorable trick of another. 

"There's your half from me, if you want it, " said Jim, slapping down twodollars. "This is my night to howl. "

The teamster backed him. 

"I'm on the same card, " said he. 

And not to be outdone--urged, I thought, by a pluck at my sleeve--I boldlyfollowed with my own two dollars, reasoning that I was warranted inpartially recouping, for Benton owed me much. 

The gambler laughed shortly. His gaze, cool and impertinent, envelopedour front. He leaned back, defiant. 

"Give me a chance, gentlemen. I shall not proceed with the play for thatpicayune sum before me. This is my last deal and I've been loser. It'smake or break. Who else will back that gentleman's luck? I've placed thecards the best I know how. But six or eight dollars is no money to me. Itdoesn't pay for floor space. Is nobody else in? What? Come, come; let'shave some sport. I dare you. This time is my revenge or your good fortune. Play up, gentlemen. Don't be crabbers. " He smiled sarcastically; his wordsstung. "This isn't pussy-in-a-corner. It's a game of wits. You wouldn'tbet unless you felt cock-sure of winning. I'll give you one minute, gentlemen, before calling all bets off unless you make the pot worthwhile. "

The threat had effect. Nobody wished to let the marked card get away. Thatwas not human nature. Bets rained in upon the table--bank notes, silverhalf dollars, the rarer dollar coins, and the common greenbacks. He meteach wager, while he sat negligent and half smiled and chewed hisunlighted cigar. 

"This is the last round, gentlemen, " he reminded. "Are you all in? Don'tleave with regrets. You, " he said, direct to me. "Are you in such shortcircumstances that you have no spunk? Why did you come here, sir, if notto win? Why, the stakes you play would not buy refreshment for the lady!"

That was too much. I threw scruples aside. He had badgered me--he wasthere to win if he could; I now was hot with the same design. I extractedmy twenty-dollar note, and deaf to a quickly breathed "Wait the turn" fromMy Lady I planked it down before him. She should know me for a man ofdecision. 

"There, sir, " said I. "I am betting twenty-two dollars in all, which is mylimit to-night, on the same right-end card as I stand. "

I thought that I had him. Forthwith he straightened alertly, spoketartly. 

"The game is closed, gentlemen. Remember, you are wagering on the firstturn. There are no splits in monte. Not at this table. Our friend says theright-end card. You, sir, " and he addressed Jim. "They are backing you. Which do you say is the queen? Lay your finger on her. "

Jim so did, with a finger stubby, and dirty under the nail. 

"That is the card, is it? You are agreed?" he queried us, sweeping hiscold gray eyes from face to face. "We'll have no crabbing. "

We nodded, intently eying the card, fearful yet, some of us, that it mightbe denied us. 

"You, sir, then. " And he addressed me. "You are the heaviest better. Suppose you turn the card for yourself and those other gentlemen. "

I obediently reached for it. My hand trembled. There were sixty orseventy dollars upon the table, and my own contribution was my last cent. As I fumbled I felt the strain of bodies pressing against mine, and heardthe hiss of feverish breaths, and a foolish laugh or two. Nevertheless thesilence seemed overpowering. 

I turned the card--the card with the bent corner, of which I was ascertain as of my own name; I faced it up, confidently, my capital alreadydoubled; and amidst a burst of astonished cries I stared dumbfounded. 

It was the eight of clubs! My fingers left it as though it were a snake. It was the eight of clubs! Where I had seen, in fancy, the queen ofhearts, there lay like a changeling the eight of clubs, with corner bentas only token of the transformation. 

The crowd elbowed about me. With rapid movement the gambler raked in thebets--a slender hand flashed by me--turned the next card. The queen thatwas, after all. 

The gambler darkened, gathering the pasteboards. 

"We can't both win, gentlemen, " he said, tone passionless. "But I amwilling to give you one more chance, from a new deck. "

What the response was I did not know, nor care. My ears drummedconfusedly, and seeing nothing I pushed through into the open, painfullyconscious that I was flat penniless and that instead of having played theknave I had played the fool, for the queen of hearts. 

The loss of some twenty dollars might have been a trivial matter to meonce--I had at times cast that sum away as vainly as Washington had cast adollar across the Potomac; but here I had lost my all, whether large orsmall; and not only had I been bilked out of it--I had bilked myself outof it by sinking, in pretended smartness, below the level of a more artfuldodger. 

I heard My Lady speaking beside me. 

"I'm so sorry. " She laid hand upon my sleeve. "You should have beencontent with small sums, or followed my lead. Next time----"

"There'll be no next time, " I blurted. "I am cleaned out. "

"You don't mean----?"

"I was first robbed at the hotel. Now here. "

"No, no!" she opposed. Jim sidled to us. "That was a bungle, Jim. "

He ruefully scratched his head. 

"A wrong steer for once, I reckon. I warn't slick enough. Too much moneyon the table. But it looked like the card; I never took my eyes off'n it. We'll try ag'in, and switch to another layout. By thunder, I want revengeon this joint and I mean to get it. So do you, don't you, pardner?" heappealed to me. 

As with mute, sickly denial I turned away it seemed to me that I sensed ashifting of forms at the monte table--caught the words "You watch here amoment"; and close following, a slim white hand fell heavily upon MyLady's shoulder. It whirled her about, to face the gambler. His smootholive countenance was dark with a venom of rage incarnate that poisonedthe air; his syllables crackled. 

"You devil! I heard you, at the table. You meddle with my come-ons, willyou?" And he slapped her with open palm, so that the impact smacked. "Nowget out o' here or I'll kill you. "

She flamed red, all in a single rush of blood. 

"Oh!" she breathed. Her hand darted for the pocket in her skirt, but Isprang between the two. Forgetful of my revolver, remembering only what Ihad witnessed--a woman struck by a man--with a blow I sent him reelingbackward. 

He recovered; every vestige of color had left his face, except for thespot where I had landed; his hat had sprung aside from the shock--his grayeyes, contrasted with his black hair, fastened upon my eyes almostdeliberately and his upper lip lifted over set white teeth. With lightningmovement he thrust the fingers of his right hand into his waistcoatpocket. 

I heard a rush of feet, a clamor of voices; and all the while, whichseemed interminable, I was tugging, awkward with deadly peril, at myrevolver. His fingers had whipped free of the pocket, I glimpsed as withsecond sight (for my eyes were held strongly by his) the twin littleblack muzzles of a derringer concealed in his palm; a spasm of fearpinched me; they spurted, with ringing report, but just at the instant aflanneled arm knocked his arm up, the ball had sped ceiling-ward and theteamster of the gaming table stood against him, revolver barrel boringinto his very stomach. 

"Stand pat, Mister. I call you. "

In a trice all entry of any unpleasant emotion vanished from myantagonist's handsome face, leaving it olive tinted, cameo, inert. Hesteadied a little, and smiled, surveying the teamster's visage, close tohis. 

"You have me covered, sir. My hand is in the discard. " He composedlytucked the derringer into his waistcoat pocket again. "That gentlemanstruck me; he was about to draw on me, and by rights I might have killedhim. My apologies for this little disturbance. "

He bestowed a challenging look upon me, a hard unforgiving look upon thelady; with a bow he turned for his hat, and stepping swiftly went back tohis table. 

Now in the reaction I fought desperately against a trembling of the knees;there were congratulations, a hubbub of voices assailing me--and the armof the teamster through mine and his bluff invitation:

"Come and have a drink. "

"But you'll return. You must. I want to speak with you. "

It was My Lady, pleading earnestly. I still could scarcely utter a word;my brain was in a smother. My new friend moved me away from her. Heanswered for me. 

"Not until we've had a little confab, lady. We've got matters ofimportance jest at present. "

I saw her bite her lips, as she helplessly flushed; her blue eyes imploredme, but I had no will of my own and I certainly owed a measure of courtesyto this man who had saved my life. 

CHAPTER IX

I ACCEPT AN OFFER

We found a small table, one of the several devoted to refreshments for thedancers, in a corner and unoccupied. The affair upon the floor wasapparently past history--if it merited even that distinction. The placehad resumed its program of dancing, playing and drinking as though afterall a pistol shot was of no great moment in the Big Tent. 

"You had a narrow shave, " my friend remarked as we seated ourselves--Iwith a sigh of gratitude for the opportunity. "If you can't draw quickeryou'd better keep your hands in your pockets. Let's have a dose oft'rant'lar juice to set you up. " Whereupon he ordered whiskey from awaiter. 

"But I couldn't stand by and see him strike a woman, " I defended. 

"Wall, fists mean guns, in these diggin's. Where you from?"

"Albany, New York State. "

"I sized you up as a pilgrim. You haven't been long in camp, either, haveyou?"

"No. But plenty long enough, " I miserably replied. 

"Long enough to be plucked, eh?"

We had drunk the whiskey. Under its warming influence my tongue loosened. Moreover there was something strong and kindly in the hearty voice and therough face of this rudely clad plainsman, black bearded to the piercingblack eyes. 

"Yes; of my last cent. "

"All at gamblin', mebbe?"

"No. Only a little, but that strapped me. The hotel had robbed me ofpractically everything else. "

"Had, had it? Wall, what's the story?"

I told him of the hotel part; and he nodded. 

"Shore. You can't hold the hotel responsible. You can leave stuff loose inregular camp; nobody enters flaps without permission. But a room is adifferent proposition. I'd rather take chances among Injuns than amongwhite men. Why, you could throw in with a Sioux village for a year and notbe robbed permanent if the chief thought you straight; but in a whiteman's town--hell! Now, how'd you get tangled up with this other outfit?"

"Which?" I queried. 

"That brace outfit I found you with. "

"The fellow is a stranger to me, sir, " said I. "I simply was foolishenough to stake what little I had on a sure thing--I was bamboozled intofollowing the lead of the rest of you, " I reminded. "Now I see that therewas a trick, although I don't yet understand. After that the fellowassaulted the lady, my companion, and you stepped in--for which, sir, Iowe you more thanks than I can utter. "

"A trick, you think?" He opened his hairy mouth for a gust of shortlaughter. "My Gawd, boy! We were nicely took in, and we desarved it. Whenyou buck the tiger, look out for his claws. But I reckoned he'd postponethe turn till next time. He would have, if you fellers hadn't come down sohandsome with the dust. I stood pat, at that. So, you notice, did thecapper, your other friend. "

"The capper? Which was he, sir?"

"Why, Lord bless you, son. You're the greenest thing this side of Omyha. Acapper touched him on the shoulder, a capper bent that there card, acapper tolled you all on with a dollar or two, and another capper fed thecome-ons to his table. Aye, she's a purty piece. Where'd you meet up withher?"

"With her?" I gasped. 

"Yes, yes. The woman; the main steerer. That purty piece who damn nighlost you your life as well as losin' you your money. "

"You mean the lady with the blue eyes, in black?"

"Yes, the golden hair. Lady! Oh, pshaw! Where'd she hook you? At thedoor?"

"You shall not speak of her in that fashion, sir, " I answered. "We weretogether on the train from Omaha. She has been kindness itself. The onlypart she has played to-night, as far as I can see, was to chaperon me herein the Big Tent; and whatever small winnings I had made, for amusement, was due to her and the skill of an acquaintance named Jim. "

"Jim Daily, yep. O' course. And she befriended you. Why, d'you suppose?"

"Perhaps because I was of some assistance to her on the way out West. Ihad a little setto with Mr. Daily, when he annoyed her while he was drunk. But sobered up, he seemed to wish to make amends. "

"Oh, Lord!" My friend's mouth gaped. "Amends? Yep. That's his nature. Might call it mendin' his pocket and his lip. And you don't yet savvy thatyour 'lady' 's Montoyo's wife--his woman, anyhow?"

"Montoyo? Who's Montoyo?"

"The monte thrower. That same spieler who trimmed us, " he rappedimpatiently. 

The light that broke upon me dazed. My heart pounded. I must have lookedwhat I felt: a fool. 

"No, " I stammered in my thin small voice of the hotel. "I imagined--I hadreason to suspect that she might be married. But I didn't know to whom. "

"Married? Wall, mebbe. Anyhow, she's bound to Montoyo. He's a breed, someSpanish, some white, like as not some Injun. A devil, and as slick as theymake 'em. She's a power too white for him, herself, but he uses her andsome day he'll kill her. You're not the fust gudgeon she's hooked, to feedto him. Why, she's known all back down the line. They two have beenfollowin' end o' track from North Platte, along with Hell on Wheels. Had alayout in Omyha, and in Denver. They're not the only double-harness outfithyar, either. You can meet a friendly woman any time, but this one gothold you fust. "

I writhed to the words. 

"And that fellow Jim?" I asked. 

"He's jest a common roper. He alluz wins, to encourage suckers like you. 'Tisn't his money he plays with; he's on commish. Beginnin' to understand, ain't you?"

"But the bent card?" I insisted. "That is the mystery. It was the queen. What became of the queen?"

"Ho ho!" And again he laughed. "A cute trick, shore. That's what we gotfor bein' so plumb crooked ourselves. Why, o' course it was the queen, once. You see 'twas this way. That she-male and the capper in cahoots withher tolled you on straight for Montoyo's table; teased you a leetle alongthe trail, no doubt, to keep you interested. " I nodded. "They promised youwinnin's, easy winnin's. Then at Montoyo's table the game was a leetleslack; so one capper touched him on the shoulder and another marked thecard. O' course a gambler like him wouldn't be up to readin' his owncards. Oh, no! You sports were the smart ones. "

"How about yourself?" I retorted, nettled. 

"Me? I know them tricks, but I reckoned I was smart, too. Then that capperJim led out and we all made a small winnin', to prove the system. AndMontoyo, he gets tired o' losin'--but still he's blind to a card thateverybody else can see, and he calls for real play so he can go broke oreven up. I didn't look for much of a deal on that throw myself. Usu'ly itcomes less promisc'yus, with the gudgeon stakin' the big roll, and then Ipull out. But you-all slapped down the stuff in a stampede, sartin you hadhim buffaloed. On his last shuffle he'd straightened the queen and turneddown the eight, usin' an extra finger or two. Them card sharps have sixfingers on each hand and several in their sleeve, and he was slicker'n Ithought. He might have refused all bets and got your mad up for the nextpass; but you'd come down as handsome as you would, he figgered. So he letgo. 'Twas fair and squar', robber eat robber, and we none of us have anycall to howl. But you mind my word: Don't aim to put something over on aprofessional gamblin' sharp. It can't be done. As for me, I broke even andI alluz expect to lose. When I look to be skinned I leave most my dustbehind me where I can't get at it. "

Now I saw all, or enough. I had received no more than I deserved. Such awave of nausea surged into my mouth--but he was continuing. 

"Jest why he struck his woman I don't know. Do you?"

"Yes. She had cautioned me and he must have heard her. And she showedwhich was the right card. I don't understand that. "

"To save her face, and egg you on. Shore! Your twenty dollars was nothin'. She didn't know you were busted. Next time she'd have steered you to thetune of a hundred or two and cleaned you proper. You hadn't been workedalong, yet, to the right pitch o' smartness. Montoyo must ha' mistook her. She encouraged you, didn't she?"

"Yes, she did. " I arose unsteadily, clutching the table. "If you'll excuseme, sir, I think I'd better go. I--I--I thank you. I only wish I'd met youbefore. You are at liberty to regard me as a saphead. Good-night, sir. "

"No! Hold on. Sit down, sit down, man. Have another drink. "

"I have had enough. In fact, since arriving in Benton I've had more thanenough of everything. " But I sat down. 

"Where were you goin'?"

"To the hotel. I am privileged to stay there until to-morrow. Thank HeavenI was obliged to pay in advance. "

"Alluz safer, " said he. "And then what?"

"To-morrow?"

"Yes. To-morrow. "

"I don't know. I must find employment, and earn enough to get home with. "To write for funds was now impossible through very shame. "Home's theonly place for a person of my greenness. "

"Why did you come out clear to end o' track?" he inquired. 

"I was ordered by my physician to find a locality in the Far West, highand dry. " I gulped at his smile. "I've found it and shall go home toreport. "

"With your tail between your legs?" He clapped me upon the shoulder. "Stiffen your back. We all have to pay for eddication. You're not wolfmeat yet, by a long shot. You've still got your hair, and that's more thansome men I know of. You look purty healthy, too. Don't turn for home;stick it out. "

"I shall have to stick it out until I raise the transportation, " Ireminded. "My revolver should tide me over, for a beginning. "

"Sell it?" said he. "Sell your breeches fust. Either way you'd be onlyhalf dressed. No!"

"It would take me a little way. I'll not stay in Benton--not to be pointedat as a dupe. "

"Oh, pshaw!" he laughed. "Nobody'll remember you, specially if you'reknown to be broke. Busted, you're of no use to the camp. Let me make you aproposition. I believe you're straight goods. Can't believe anything else, after seein' your play and sizin' you up. Let me make you a proposition. I'm on my way to Salt Lake with a bull outfit and I'm in need of anotherman. I'll give you a dollar and a half a day and found, and it will begood honest work, too. "

"You are teaming west, you mean?" I asked. 

"Yes, sir. Freightin' across. Mule-whackin'. "

"But I never drove spans in my life; and I'm not in shape to standhardships, " I faltered. "I'm here for my health. I have----"

"Stow all that, son, " he interrupted more tolerantly than was my due. "Forget your lungs, lights and liver and stand up a full-size man. In myopinion you've had too much doctorin'. A month with a bull train, and adiet of beans and sowbelly will put a linin' in your in'ards and a heartin your chest. When you've slept under a wagon to Salt Lake and l'arned tosling a bull whip and relish your beans burned, you can look anybody inthe eye and tell him to go to hell, if you like. This roarin' townlife--it's no life for you. It's a bobtail, wide open in the middle. I'llbe only too glad to get away on the long trail myself. So you come withme, " and he smiled winningly. "I hate to see you ruined by women andlikker. Mule-skinnin' ain't all beer and skittles, as they say; but thisjob'll tide you over, anyhow, and you'll come out at the end with money inyour pocket, if you choose, and no doctor's bill to pay. "

"Sir, " I said gratefully, "may I think it over to-night, and let you knowin the morning? Where will I find you?"

"The train's camped near the wagon trail, back at the river. You can'tmiss it. It's mainly a Mormon train, that some of us Gentiles have thrownin with. Ask for Cap'n Hyrum Adams' train. My name's Jenks--George Jenks. You'll find me there. I'll hold open for you till ten o'clock--yes, tillnoon. I mean that you shall come. It'll be the makin' of you. "

I arose and gave him my hand; shook with him. 

"And I hope to come, " I asserted with glow of energy. "You've set me uponmy feet, Mr. Jenks, for I was desperate. You're the first honest man I'vemet in Benton. "

"Tut, tut, " he reproved. "There are others. Benton's not so bad as youthink it. But you were dead ripe; the buzzards scented you. Now you gostraight to your hotel, unless you'll spend the night with me. No? ThenI'll see you in the mornin'. I'll risk your gettin' through the streetalone. "

"You may, sir, " I affirmed. "At present I'm not worth further robbing. "

"Except for your gun and clothes, " he rejoined. "But if you'll use the oneyou'll keep the other. "

Gazing neither right nor left I strode resolutely for the exit. Now I hadan anchor to windward. Sometimes just one word will face a man about whenfor lack of that mere word he was drifting. Of the games and the people Iwished only to be rid forever; but at the exit I was halted by a hand laidupon my arm, and a quick utterance. 

"Not going? You will at least say good-night. "

I barely paused, replying to her. 

"Good-night. "

Still she would have detained me. 

"Oh, no, no! Not this way. It was a mistake. I swear to you I am not to beblamed. Please let me help you. I don't know what you've heard--I don'tknow what has been said about me--you are angry----"

I twitched free, for she should not work upon me again. With such as she, a vampire and yet a woman, a man's safety lay not in words but inunequivocal action. 

"Good-night, " I bade thickly, half choked by that same nausea, now hot. Bearing with me a satisfying but somehow annoyingly persistent imprint ofmoist blue eyes under shimmering hair, and startled white face plashed onone cheek with vivid crimson, and small hand left extended empty, Iroughly stalked on and out, free of her, free of the Big Tent, her lair. 

All the way to the hotel, through the garish street, I nursed my wrathwhile it gnawed at me like the fox in the Spartan boy's bosom; and once inmy room, which fortuitously had no other tenants at this hour, I had tolean out of the narrow window for sheer relief in the coolness. Surelypride had had a fall this night. 

There "roared" Benton--the Benton to which, as to prosperity, I hadhopefully purchased my ticket ages ago. And here cowered I, holedup--pillaged, dishonored, worthless in even this community: a young fellowin jaunty frontier costume, new and brave, but really reduced to sackclothand ashes; a young fellow only a husk, as false in appearance as the BigTent itself and many another of those canvas shells. 

The street noises--shouts, shots, music, songs, laughter, rattle of dice, whirr of wheel and clink of glasses--assailed me discordant. The scores oftents and shacks stretching on irregularly had become pocked with darkspots, where lights had been extinguished, but the street remained ablazeand the desert without winked at the stars. There were moving gleams atthe railroad yards where switch engines puffed back and forth; up thegrade and the new track, pointing westward, there were sparks ofcamp-fires; and still in other directions beyond the town other tokensredly flickered, where overland freighters were biding till the morning. 

Two or three miles in the east (Mr. Jenks had said) was his wagon train, camped at the North Platte River; and peering between the high canopy ofstars and the low stratum of spectrally glowing, earthy--yes, veryearthy--Benton, I tried to focus upon the haven, for comfort. 

I had made up my mind to accept the berth. Anything to get away. Benton Icertainly hated with the rage of the defeated. So in a fling I drew back, wrestled out of coat and boots and belt and pantaloons, tucked them inhiding against the wall at the head of my bed and my revolver underneathmy stained pillow; and tried to forget Benton, all of it, with the blanketto my ears and my face to the wall, for sleep. 

When once or twice I wakened from restless dreaming the glow and the noiseof the street seemed scarcely abated, as if down there sleep was despised. But when I finally aroused, and turned, gathering wits again, fulldaylight had paled everything else. 

Snores sounded from the other beds; I saw tumbled coverings, disheveledforms and shaggy heads. In my own corner nothing had been molested. Theworld outside was strangely quiet. The trail was open. So with noattention to my roommates I hastily washed and dressed, buckled on myarmament, and stumped freely forth, down the somnolent hall, down thecreaking stairs, and into the silent lobby. 

Even the bar was vacant. Behind the office counter a clerk sat sunk into adoze. At my approach he unclosed blank, heavy eyes. 

"I'm going out, " I said shortly. "Number Three bed in Room Six. "

"For long, sir?" he stammered. "You'll be back, or are you leaving?"

"I'm leaving. You'll find I'm paid up. "

"Yes, sir. Of course, sir. " He rallied to the problem. "Just a moment. Number Three, Room Six, you say. Pulling your freight, are you?" Hescanned the register. "You're the gentleman from New York who came inyesterday and met with misfortune?"

"I am, " said I. 

"Well, better luck next time. We'll see you again?" He quickened. "Here!One moment. Think I have a message for you. " And reaching behind him intoa pigeonhole he extracted an envelope, which he passed to me. "Yours, sir?" I stared at the fine slanting script of the address:

 Please deliver to Frank R. Beeson, Esqr. , At the Queen Hotel. Arrived from Albany, N. Y. 

CHAPTER X

I CUT LOOSE

I nodded; rebuffing his attentive eyes I stuffed the envelope into mypantaloons pocket. 

"Good-bye, sir. "

"Good luck. When you come back remember the Queen. "

"I'll remember the Queen, " said I; and with the envelope smirching myflesh I stepped out, holding my head as high as though my pocketscontained something of more value. 

The events of yesterday had hardened, thank Heaven; and so had I, into anobstinacy that defied this mocking Western country. I was down to theground and was going to scratch. To make for home like a whipped dog, there to hang about, probably become an invalid and die resistless, wasunthinkable. Already the Far West air and vigor had worked a change in me. In the fresh morning I felt like a fighting cock, or a runner recruited bya diet of unbolted flour and strong red meat. 

The falsity of the life here I looked upon as only an incident. The gaytawdry had faded; I realized how much more enduring were the rough, uncouth but genuine products like my friend Mr. Jenks and those of thatilk, who spoke me well instead of merely fair. Health of mind and bodyshould be for me. Hurrah!

But the note! It could have been sent by only one person--thesuperscription, dainty and feminine, betrayed it. That woman was stillpursuing me. How she had found out my name I did not know; perhaps fromthe label on my bag, perhaps through the hotel register. I did not recallhaving exchanged names with her--she never had proffered her own name. Atall events she appeared determined to keep a hold upon me, and that wasdisgusting. 

Couldn't she understand that I was no longer a fool--that I had wrenchedabsolutely loose from her and that she could do nothing with me? So inwrath renewed by her poor estimate of my common sense I was minded to tearthe note to fragments, unread, and contemptuously scatter them. Had shebeen present I should have done so, to show her. 

Being denied the satisfaction I saw no profit in wasting that modicum ofspleen, when I might double it by deliberately reading her effusion andknowingly casting it into the dust. One always can make excuses tooneself, for curiosity. Consequently I halted, around a corner in thisexhausted Benton; tore the envelope open with gingerly touch. The foldedpaper within contained a five-dollar bank note. 

That was enough to pump the blood to my face with a rush. It was aninsult--a shame, first hand. A shoddy plaster, applied to me--to me, FrankBeeson, a gentleman, whether to be viewed as a plucked greenhorn or not. With cheeks twitching I managed to read the lines accompanying the dole:

 Sir:

 You would not permit me to explain to you to-night, therefore I must write. The recent affair was a mistake. I had no intention that you should lose, and I supposed you were in more funds. I insist upon speaking with you. You shall not go away in this fashion. You will find me at the Elite Café, at a table, at ten o'clock in the morning. And in case you are a little short I beg of you to make use of the enclosed, with my best wishes and apologies. You may take it as a loan; I do not care as to that. I am utterly miserable. 

 E. To Frank Beeson, Esquire. 

Faugh! Had there been a sewer near I believe that I should have thrown thewhole enclosure in, and spat. But half unconsciously wadding both moneyand paper in my hand as if to squeeze the last drop of rancor from them Iswung on, seeing blindly, ready to trample under foot any last obstacle tomy passage out. 

Then, in the deserted way, from a lane among the straggling shacks, afigure issued. I disregarded it, only to hear it pattering behind me andits voice:

"Mr. Beeson! Wait! Please wait. "

I had to turn about to avoid the further degradation of acting the churlto her, an inferior. And as I had suspected, she it was, arrivingbreathless and cloak inwrapped, only her white face showing. 

"You have my note?" she panted. 

There were dark half circles under her eyes, pinch lines about her mouth, all her face was wildly strained. She simulated distress very wellindeed. 

"Here it is, and your money. Take them. " And I thrust my unclosed fist ather. 

"No! And you were going? You didn't intend to reply?"

"Certainly not. I am done with you, and with Benton, madam. Good-morning. I have business. "

She caught at my sleeve. 

"You are angry. I don't blame you, but you have time to talk with me andyou shall talk. " She spoke almost fiercely. "I demand it, sir. If not atthe café, then here and now. Will you stand aside, please, where the wholetown shan't see us; or do you wish me to follow you on? I'm riskingalready, but I'll risk more. "

I sullenly stepped aside, around the corner of a sheet-iron groggery(plentifully punctured, I noted, with bullet holes) not yet open forbusiness and faced by the blank wall of a warehouse. 

"I've been waiting since daylight, " she panted, "and watching the hotel. Iknew you were still there; I found out. I was afraid you wouldn't answermy note, so I slipped around and cut in on you. Where are you going, sir?"

"That, madam, is my private affair, " I replied. "And all your efforts toinfluence me in the slightest won't amount to a row of pins. And as I amin a hurry, I again bid you good-morning. I advise you to get back to yourhusband and your beauty sleep, in order to be fresh for your Big Tentto-night. "

"My husband? You know? Oh, of course you know. " She gazed affrightedlyupon me. "To Montoyo, you say? Him? No, no! I can't! Oh, I can't, Ican't. " She wrung her hands, she held me fast. "And I know where you'regoing. To that wagon train. Mr. Jenks has engaged you. You will bull-whackto Salt Lake? You? Don't! Please don't. There's no need of it. "

"I am done with Benton, and with Benton's society, madam, " I insisted. "Ihave learned my lesson, believe me, and I'm no longer a 'gudgeon. '"

"You never were, " said she. "Not that. And you don't have to turnbull-whacker or mule-skinner either. It's a hard life; you're not fittedfor it--never, never. Leave Benton if you will. I hate it myself. And letus go together. "

"Madam!" I rapped; and drew back, but she clung to me. 

"Listen, listen! Don't mistake me again. Last night was enough. I wantto go. I must go. We can travel separately, then; I will meet youanywhere--Denver, Omaha, Chicago, New York, anywhere yousay--anywhere----"

"Your husband, madam, " I prompted. "He might have objections to partingwith you. "

"Montoyo? That snake--you fear that snake? He is no husband to me. I couldkill him--I will do it yet, to be free from him. "

"My good name, then, " I taunted. "I might fear for my good name more thanI'd fear a man. "

"I have a name of my own, " she flashed, "although you may not know it. "

"I have been made acquainted with it, " I answered roundly. 

"No, you haven't. Not the true. You know only another. " Her tone becamehumbler. "But I'm not asking you to marry me, " she said. "I'm not askingyou to love me as a paramour, sir. Please understand. Treat me as youwill; as a sister, a friend, but anything human. Only let me have yourdecent regard until I can get 'stablished in new quarters. I can helpyou, " she pursued eagerly. "Indeed I can help you if you stay in the West. Yes, anywhere, for I know life. Oh, I'm so tired of myself; I can't runtrue, I'm under false colors. You saw how the trainmen curried favor allalong the line, how familiar they were, how I submitted--I even droppedthat coin a-purpose in the Omaha station, for _you_, just to test you. Those things are expected of me and I've felt obliged to play my part. Men look upon me as a tool to their hands, to make them or break them. Allthey want is my patronage and the secrets of the gaming table. And thereis Montoyo--bullying me, cajoling me, watching me. But you were different, after I had met you. I foolishly wished to help you, and last night theplay went wrong. Why did I take you to his table? Because I think myselfentitled, sir, " she said on, bridling a little, defiant of my gaze, "topromote my friends when I have any. I did not mean that you should wagerheavily for you. Montoyo is out for large stakes. There is safety in smalland I know his system. You remember I warned you? I did warn you. I sawtoo late. You shall have all your money back again. And Montoyo struckme--_me_, in public! That is the end. Oh, why couldn't I have killed him?But if you stayed here, so should I. Not with him, though. Never with him. Maybe I'm talking wildly. You'll say I'm in love with you. Perhaps Iam--quién sabe? No matter as to that. I shall be no hanger-on, sir. I onlyask a kind of partnership--the encouragement of some decent man near me. Ihave money; plenty, till we both get a footing. But you wouldn't live onme; no! I don't fancy that of you for a moment. I would be glad merely totide you over, if you'd let me. And I--I'd be willing to wash floors in arestaurant if I might be free of insult. You, I'm sure, would at leastprotect me. Wouldn't you? You would, wouldn't you? Say something, sir. "She paused, out of breath and aquiver. "Shall we go? Will you help me?"

For an instant her appeal, of swimming blue eyes, upturned face, tensedgrasp, breaking voice, swayed me. But what if she were an actress, anadventuress? And then, my parents, my father's name! I had already beencozened once, I had resolved not to be snared again. The spell cleared andI drew exultant breath. 

"Impossible, madam, " I uttered. "This is final. Good-morning. "

She staggered and with magnificent but futile last flourish clapped bothhands to her face. Gazing back, as I hastened, I saw her still there, leaning against the sheet-iron of the groggery and ostensibly weeping. 

Having shaken her off and resisted contrary temptation I looked not againbut paced rapidly for the clean atmosphere of the rough-and-honest bulltrain. As a companion, better for me Mr. Jenks. When my wrath cooled Ifelt that I might have acted the cad but I had not acted the simpleton. 

The advance of the day's life was stirring all along the road, where underclouds of dust the four and six horse-and-mule wagons hauled water for thetown, pack outfits of donkeys and plodding miners wended one way or theother, soldiers trotted in from the military post, and Overlanders slowlytoiled for the last supply depot before creaking onward into the desert. 

Along the railway grade likewise there was activity, of constructiontrains laden high with rails, ties, boxes and bales, puffing out, theirlocomotives belching pitchy black smoke that extended clear to theridiculous little cabooses; of wagon trains ploughing on, bearing suppliesfor the grading camps; and a great herd of loose animals, raising aprodigious spume as they were driven at a trot--they also headingwestward, ever westward, under escort of a protecting detachment ofcavalry, riding two by two, accoutrements flashing. 

The sights were inspiring. Man's work at empire building beckoned me, forsurely the wagoning of munitions to remote outposts of civilization wasvery necessary. Consequently I trudged best foot forward, although onempty stomach and with empty pockets; but glad to be at large, andexchanging good-natured greetings with the travelers encountered. 

Nevertheless my new boots were burning, my thigh was chafed raw from theswaying Colt's, and my face and throat were parched with the dust, when inabout an hour, the flag of the military post having been my landmark, Ihad arrived almost at the willow-bordered river and now scanned about forthe encampment of my train. 

Some dozen white-topped wagons were standing grouped in a circle upon thetrampled dry sod to the south of the road. Figures were busily movingamong them, and the thin blue smoke of their fires was a welcoming signal. I marked women, and children. The whole prospect--they, the breakfastsmoke, the grazing animals, the stout vehicles, a line of washedclothing--was homy. So I veered aside and made for the spot, to inquire myway if nothing more. 

First I addressed a little girl, tow-headed and barelegged, in a singlecotton garment. 

"I am looking for the Captain Adams wagon train. Do you know where itis?"

She only pointed, finger of other hand in her mouth; but as she indicatedthis same camp I pressed on. Mr. Jenks himself came out to meet me. 

"Hooray! Here you are. I knew you'd do it. That's the ticket. Broke loose, have you?"

"Yes, sir. I accept your offer if it's still open, " I said. 

We shook hands. 

"Wide open. Could have filled it a dozen times. Come in, come on in andsit. You fetched all your outfit?"

"What you see, " I confessed. "I told you my condition. They stripped meclean. "

He rubbed his beard. 

"Wall, all you need is a blanket. Reckon I can rustle you that. You canpay for it out of your wages or turn it in at the end of the trip. FustI'd better make you acquainted to the wagon boss. There he is, yonder. "

He conducted me on, along the groups and fires and bedding outside thewagon circle, and halted where a heavy man, of face smooth-shaven exceptchin, sat upon a wagon-tongue whittling a stick. 

"Mornin', Cap'n. Wall, I'm filled out. I've hired this lad and can movewhenever you say the word. You----" he looked at me. "What's your name, you say?"

"Frank Beeson, " I replied. 

"Didn't ketch it last night, " he apologized. "Shake hands with Cap'n HyrumAdams, Frank. He's the boss of the train. "

Captain Adams lazily arose--a large figure in his dusty boots, coarsetrousers and flannel shirt, and weather-beaten black slouch hat. Theinevitable revolver hung at his thigh. His pursed lips spurted a jet oftobacco juice as he keenly surveyed me with small, shrewd, china-blue eyessquinting from a broad flaccid countenance. But the countenance wasunemotional while he offered a thick hand which proved singularly soft andflatulent under the callouses. 

"Glad to meet you, stranger, " he acknowledged in slow bass. "Set down, setdown. "

He waved me to the wagon-tongue, and I thankfully seated myself. All of asudden I seemed utterly gone; possibly through lack of food. My sigh musthave been remarked. 

"Breakfasted, stranger?" he queried passively. 

"Not yet, sir. I was anxious to reach the train. "

"Pshaw! I was about to ask you that, " Mr. Jenks put in. "Come along andI'll throw together a mess for you. "

"Nobody goes hungry from the Adams wagon, stranger, " Captain Adamsobserved. He slightly raised his voice, peremptory. "Rachael! Fetch ourguest some breakfast. "

"But as Mr. Jenks has invited me, Captain, and I am in his employ----" Iprotested. He cut me short. 

"I have said that nobody, man, woman or child, or dog, goes hungry fromthe Adams wagon. The flesh must be fed as well as the soul. "

There were two women in view, busied with domestic cares. I had sensedtheir eyes cast now and then in my direction. One was elderly, as far asmight be judged by her somewhat slatternly figure draped in a draggledsnuff-colored, straight-flowing gown, and by the merest glimpse of herfeatures within her faded sunbonnet. The other promptly moved aside fromwhere she was bending over a wash-board, ladled food from a kettle to aplatter, poured a tin cupful of coffee from the pot simmering by the fire, and bore them to me; her eyes down, shyly handed them. 

I thanked her but was not presented. To the Captain's "That will do, Rachael, " she turned dutifully away; not so soon, however, but that I hadseen a fresh young face within the bonnet confines--a round rosy faceaccording well with the buxom curves of her as she again bent over herwash-board. 

"Our fare is that of the tents of Abraham, stranger, " spoke the Captain, who had resumed his whittling. "Such as it is, you are welcome to. We area plain people who walk in the way of the Lord, for that is commanded. "

His sonorous tones were delivered rather through the nose, but did notfail of hospitality. 

"I ask nothing better, sir, " I answered. "And if I did, my appetite wouldmake up for all deficiencies. "

"A healthy appetite is a good token, " he affirmed. "Show me a well man whopicks at his victuals and I will show you a candidate for the devil. Histhoughts will like to be as idle as his knife. "

The mess of pork and beans and the black unsweetened coffee evidently werewhat I needed, for I began to mend wonderfully ere I was half through thecourse. He had not invited me to further conversation--only, when I haddrained the cup he called again: "Rachael! More coffee, " whereupon thesame young woman advanced, without glancing at me, received my cup, andreturned it steaming. 

"You are from the East, stranger?" he now inquired. 

"Yes, sir. I arrived in Benton only yesterday. "

"A Sodom, " he growled harshly. "A tented sepulcher. And it will perish. Itell you, you do well to leave it, you do well to yoke yourself with theappointed of this earth, rather than stay in that sink-pit of theeternally damned. "

"I agree with you, sir, " said I. "I did not find Benton to be a pleasantplace. But I had not known, when I started from Omaha. "

"Possibly not, " he moodily assented. "The devil is attentive; he ispresent in the stations, and on the trains; he will ride in those gildedpalaces even to the Jordan, but he shall not cross. In the name of theLord we shall face him. What good there shall come, shall abide; but theevil shall wither. Not, " he added, "that we stand against the railroad. Itis needed, and we have petitioned without being heard. We are strong butisolated, we have goods to sell, and the word of Brigham Young has goneforth that a railroad we must have. Against the harpies, the gamblers, theloose women and the lustful men and all the Gentile vanities we will standupon our own feet by the help of Almighty God. "

At this juncture, when I had finished my platter of pork and beans and mysecond cup of coffee, a tall, double-jointed youth of about my age, carrying an ox goad in his hand, strolled to us as if attracted by theharangue. He was clad in the prevalent cowhide boots, linsey-woolseypantaloons tucked in, red flannel shirt, and battered hat from whichuntrimmed flaxen hair fell down unevenly to his shoulder line. He wore athis belt butcher-knife and gun. 

By his hulk, his light blue eyes, albeit a trifle crossed, and the generallineaments of his stolid, square, high-cheeked countenance I conceived himto be a second but not improved edition of the Captain. 

A true raw-bone he was; and to me, as I casually met his gaze, looked tobe obstinate, secretive and small minded. But who can explain those suddenantagonisms that spring up on first sight?

"My son Daniel, " the Captain introduced. "This stranger travels to Zionwith us, Daniel, in the employ of Mr. Jenks. "

The youth had the grip of a vise, and seemed to enjoy emphasizing it whilecunningly watching my face. 

"Haowdy?" he drawled. With that he twanged a sentence or two to hisfather. "I faound the caow, Dad. Do yu reckon to pull aout to-day?"

"I have not decided. Go tend to your duties, Daniel. "

Daniel bestowed upon me a parting stare, and lurched away, snapping thelash of his goad. 

"And with your permission I will tend to mine, sir, " I said. "Mr. Jenksdoubtless has work for me. I thank you for your hospitality. "

"We are commanded by the prophet to feed the stranger, whether friend orenemy, " he reproved. "We are also commanded by the Lord to earn our breadby the sweat of our brow. As long as you are no trifler you will bewelcome at my wagon. Good-day to you. "

As I passed, the young woman, Rachael--whom I judged to be his daughter, although she was evidently far removed from parent stock--glanced quicklyup. I caught her gaze full, so that she lowered her eyes with a blush. Shewas indeed wholesome if not absolutely pretty. When later I saw her withher sunbonnet doffed and her brown hair smoothly brushed back I thoughther more wholesome still. 

Mr. Jenks received me jovially. 

"Got your belly full, have you?"

"I'm a new man, " I assured. 

"Wall, those Mormons are good providers. They'll share with you whateverthey have, for no pay, but if you rub 'em the wrong way or go to dickerin'with 'em they're closer'n the hide on a cold mule. You didn't make sheep'seyes at ary of the women?"

"No, sir. I am done with women. "

"And right you are. "

"However, I could not help but see that the Captain's daughter is pleasingto look upon. I should be glad to know her, were there no objections. "

"How? His daughter?"

"Miss Rachael, I believe. That is the name he used. "

"The young one, you mean?"

"Yes, sir. The one who served me with breakfast. Rosy-cheeked and plump. "

"Whoa, man! She's his wife, and not for Gentiles. They're both his wives;whether he has more in Utah I don't know. But you'd best let her alone. She's been j'ined to him. "

This took me all aback, for I had no other idea than that she was hisdaughter, or niece--stood in that kind of relation to him. He was twiceher age, apparently. Now I could only stammer:

"I've no wish to intrude, you may be sure. And Daniel, his son--is hemarried?"

"That whelp? Met him, did you? No, he ain't married, yet. But he will be, soon as he takes his pick 'cordin' to law and gospel among them people. You bet you: he'll be married plenty. "

CHAPTER XI

WE GET A "SUPER"

What with assorting and stowing the bales of cloth and the other goods inthe Jenks two wagons, watering the animals and staking them out anew, tinkering with the equipment and making various essays with the bull whip, I found occupation enough; nevertheless there were moments of interim, orwhile passing to and fro, when I was vividly aware of the scenes andevents transpiring in this Western world around about. 

The bugles sounded calls for the routine at Fort Steele--a merecantonment, yet, of tents and rough board buildings squatting upon thebare brown soil near the river bank, north of us, and less than a monthold. The wagon road was a line of white dust from the river clear toBenton, and through the murk plodded the water haulers and emigrants andfreighters, animals and men alike befloured and choked. The dust cloudrested over Benton. It fumed in another line westward, kept in suspense byon-traveling stage and wagon--by wheel, hoof and boot, bound for Utah andIdaho. From the town there extended northward a third dust line, markingthe stage and freighting road through the Indian country to the miningsettlements of the famous South Pass of the old Oregon Trail; yes, andwith branches for the gold regions of Montana. 

The railroad trains kept thundering by us--long freights, dusty andindomitable, bringing their loads from the Missouri River almost sevenhundred miles in the east. And rolling out of Benton the never-ceasingconstruction trains sped into the desert as if upon urgent errands inresponse to some sudden demand of More, More, More. 

Upon all sides beyond this business and energy the country stretched loneand uninhabited; a great waste of naked, hot, resplendent land blotchedwith white and red, showing not a green spot except the course of thePlatte; with scorched, rusty hills rising above its fantastic surface, and, in the distance, bluish mountain ranges that appeared to float andwaver in the sun-drenched air. 

The sounds from Benton--the hammering, the shouting, the babbling, thepuffing of the locomotives--drifted faintly to us, merged into thecracking of whips and the oaths and songs by the wagon drivers along theroad. Of our own little camp I took gradual stock. 

It, like the desert reaches, evinced little of feverishness, for whilebooted men busied themselves at tasks similar to mine, others lolled, spinning yarns and whittling; the several women, at wash-boards and atpots and pans and needles, worked contentedly in sun and shade; childrenplayed at makeshift games, dogs drowsed underneath the wagons, and outsideour circle the mules and oxen grazed as best they might, their onlyvexation the blood-sucking flies. The flies were kin of Benton. 

Captain Adams loped away, as if to town. Others went in. While I was idleat last and rather enjoying the hot sun as I sat resting upon a convenientwagon-tongue Daniel hulked to me, still snapping his ox goad. 

"Haowdy?" he addressed again; and surveyed, eying every detail of myclothing. 

"Howdy?" said I. 

"Yu know me?"

"Your name is Daniel, isn't it?"

"No, 'tain't. It's Bonnie Bravo on the trail. "

"All right, sir, " said I. "Whichever you prefer. "

"I 'laow we pull out this arternoon, " he volunteered farther. 

"I'm agreeable, " I responded. "The sooner the better, where I'mconcerned. "

"I 'laow yu (and he pronounced it, nasally, yee-ou) been seein' theelephant in Benton an' it skinned yu. "

"I saw all of Benton I wish to see, " I granted. "You've been there?"

"I won four bits, an' then yu bet I quit, " he greedily proclaimed. "I wastoo smart for 'em. I 'laow yu're a greenie, ain't yu?"

"In some ways I am, in some ways I'm not. "

"I 'laow yu aim to go through with this train to Salt Lake, do yu?"

"That's the engagement I've made with Mr. Jenks. "

"Don't feel too smart, yoreself, in them new clothes?"

"No. They're all I have. They won't be new long. "

"Yu bet they won't. Ain't afeared of peterin' aout on the way, be yu? I'laow yu're sickly. "

"I'll take my chances, " I smiled, although he was irritating in theextreme. 

"It's four hunderd mile, an' twenty mile at a stretch withaout water. Mostthe water's pizen, too, from hyar to the mountings. "

"I'll have to drink what the rest drink, I suppose. "

"I 'laow the Injuns are like to get us. They're powerful bad in that thardesert. Ain't afeared o' Injuns, be yu?"

"I'll have to take my chances on that, too, won't I?"

"They sculped a whole passel o' surveyors, month ago, " he persisted. "Yu'll sing a different tyune arter yu've been corralled with nothin' todrink. " He viciously snapped his whip, the while inspecting me as ifseeking for other joints in my armor. "Yu aim to stay long in Zion?"

"I haven't planned anything about that. "

"Reckon yu're wise, Mister. We don't think much o' Gentiles, yonder. Wedon't want 'em, nohaow. They'd all better git aout. The Saints settledthat country an' it's ourn. "

"If you're a sample, you're welcome to live there, " I retorted. "I thinkI'd prefer some place else. "

"Haow?" he bleated. "Thar ain't no place as good. All the rest the worldhas sold itself to the devil. "

"How much of the world have you seen?" I asked. 

"I've seen a heap. I've been as fur east as Cheyenne--I've teamed acrosttwice, so I know. An' I know what the elders say; they come from the Eastan' some of 'em have been as fur as England. Yu can't fool me none withyore Gentile lies. "

As I did not attempt, we remained in silence for a moment while he waited, provocative. 

"Say, Mister, " he blurted suddenly. "Kin yu shoot?"

"I presume I could if I had to. Why?"

"Becuz I'm the dangest best shot with a Colt's in this hyar train, an'I'll shoot ye for--I'll shoot ye for (he lowered his voice and glancedabout furtively)--I'll shoot ye for two bits when my paw ain't 'raound. "

"I've no cartridges to waste at present, " I informed. "And I don't claimto be a crack shot. "

"Damn ye, I bet yu think yu are, " he accused. "Yu set thar like it. Allright, Mister; any time yu want to try a little poppin' yu let me know. "And with this, which struck me as a veiled threat, he lurched on, snapping that infernal whip. 

He left me with the uneasy impression that he and I were due to measurestrength in one way or another. 

Wagon Boss Adams returned at noon. The word was given out that the trainshould start during the afternoon, for a short march in order to break inthe new animals before tackling the real westward trail. 

After a deal of bustle, of lashing loads and tautening covers and geeing, hawing and whoaing, about three o'clock we formed line in obedience to thecommands "Stretch out, stretch out!"; and with every cask and barreldripping, whips cracking, voices urging, children racing, the CaptainAdams wagon in the lead (two pink sunbonnets upon the seat), the valorousDaniel's next, and Mormons and Gentiles ranging on down, we toiledcreaking and swaying up the Benton road, amidst the eddies of hot, scalding dust. 

It was a mixed train, of Gentile mules and the more numerous Mormon oxen;therefore not strictly a "bull" train, but by pace designated as such. Andin the vernacular I was a "mule-whacker" or even "mule-skinner" ratherthan a "bull-whacker, " if there is any appreciable difference in rôle. There is none, I think, to the animals. 

Trudging manfully at the left fore wheel behind Mr. Jenks' four span ofmules, trailing my eighteen-foot tapering lash and occasionally well-nighcutting off my own ear when I tried to throw it, I played theteamster--although sooth to say there was little of play in the job, onthat road, at that time of the day. 

The sun was more vexatious, being an hour lower, when we bravely enteredBenton's boiling main street. We made brief halt for the finishing up ofbusiness; and cleaving a lane through the pedestrians and vehicles andanimals there congregated, the challenges of the street gamblers havingassailed us in vain, we proceeded--our Mormons gazing straight ahead, scornful of the devil's enticements, our few Gentiles responding in kindto the quips and waves and salutations. 

Thus we eventually left Benton; in about an hour's march or some threemiles out we formed corral for camp on the farther side of the road fromthe railroad tracks which we had been skirting. 

Travel, except upon the tracks (for they were rarely vacant) ceased atsundown; and we all, having eaten our suppers, were sitting by our fires, smoking and talking, with the sky crimson in the west and the desertgetting mysterious with purple shadows, when as another construction trainof box cars and platform cars clanked by I chanced to note a figure springout asprawl, alight with a whiffle of sand, and staggering up hasten forus. 

First it accosted the hulk Daniel, who was temporarily out on herd, keeping the animals from the tracks. I saw him lean from his saddle; thenhe rode spurring in, bawling like a calf:

"Paw! Paw! Hey, yu-all! Thar's a woman yonder in britches an' she 'laowsto come on. She's lookin' for Mister Jenks. "

Save for his excited stuttering silence reigned, a minute. Then in a stormof rude raillery--"That's a hoss on you, George!" "Didn't know you ownedone o' them critters, George, " "Does she wear the britches, George?" andso forth--my friend Jenks arose, peering, his whiskered mouth so agapethat he almost dropped his pipe. And we all peered, with the women of thecaravan smitten mute but intensely curious, while the solitary figure, braving our stares, came on to the fires. 

"Gawd almighty!" Mr. Jenks delivered. 

Likewise straightening I mentally repeated the ejaculation, for now I knewher as well as he. Yes, by the muttered babble others in our party knewher. It was My Lady--formerly My Lady--clad in embroidered short Spanishjacket, tightish velvet pantaloons, booted to the knees, pulled down uponher yellow hair a black soft hat, and hanging from the just-revealed beltaround her slender waist, a revolver trifle. 

She paused, small and alone, viewing us, her eyes very blue, her face verywhite. 

"Is Mr. Jenks there?" she hailed clearly. 

"Damn' if I ain't, " he mumbled. He glowered at me. "Yes, ma'am, righthyar. You want to speak with me?"

"By gosh, it's Montoyo's woman, ain't it?" were the comments. 

"I do, sir. "

"You can come on closer then, ma'am, " he growled. "There ain't no secretsbetween us. "

Come on she did, with only an instant's hesitation and a littlecompression of the lips. She swept our group fearlessly--her gaze crossedmine, but she betrayed no sign. 

"I wish to engage passage to Salt Lake. "

"With this hyar train?" gasped Jenks. 

"Yes. You are bound for Salt Lake, aren't you?"

"For your health, ma'am?" he stammered. 

She faintly smiled, but her eyes were steady and wide. 

"For my health. I'd like to throw in with your outfit. I will cook, keepcamp, and pay you well besides. "

"We haven't no place for a woman, ma'am. You'd best take the stage. "

"No. There'll be no stage out till morning. I want to make arrangements atonce--with you. There are other women in this train. " She flashed a glancearound. "And I can take care of myself. "

"If you aim to go to Salt Lake your main holt is Benton and the stage. Thestage makes through in four days and we'll use thirty, " somebodycounseled. 

"An' this bull train ain't no place for yore kind, anyhow, " grumbledanother. "We've quit roarin'--we've cut loose from that hell-holeyonder. "

"So have I. " But she did not turn on him. "I'm never going back. I--Ican't, now; not even for the stage. Will you permit me to travel with you, sir?"

"No, ma'am, I won't, " rasped Mr. Jenks. "I can't do it. It's not in myline, ma'am. "

"I'll be no trouble. You have only Mr. Beeson. I don't ask to ride. I'llwalk. I merely ask protection. "

"So do we, " somebody sniggered; and I hated him, for I saw her sway uponher feet as if the words had been a blow. 

"No, ma'am, I'm full up. I wouldn't take on even a yaller dog, 'speciallya she one, " Jenks announced. "What your game is now I can't tell, and Idon't propose to be eddicated to it. But you can't travel along with me, and that's straight talk. If you can put anything over on these otherfellers, try your luck. "

"Oh!" she cried, wincing. Her hands clenched nervously, a red spot dyedeither cheek as she appealed to us all. "Gentlemen! Won't one of you helpme? What are you afraid of? I can pay my way--I ask no favors--I swear toyou that I'll give no trouble. I only wish protection across. "

"Where's Pedro? Where's Montoyo?"

She turned quickly, facing the jeer; her two eyes blazed, the red spotsdeepened angrily. 

"He? That snake? I shot him. "

"What! You? Killed him?" Exclamations broke from all quarters. 

She stamped her foot. 

"No. I didn't have to. But when he tried to abuse me I defended myself. Wasn't that right, gentlemen?"

"Right or wrong, he'll be after you, won't he?"

The question held a note of alarm. Her lip curled. 

"You needn't fear. I'll meet him, myself. "

"By gosh, I don't mix up in no quarrel 'twixt a man and his woman. "And--"'Tain't our affair. When he comes he'll come a-poppin'. " Such werethe hasty comments. I felt a peculiar heat, a revulsion of shame andindignation, which made the present seem much more important than thepast. And there was the recollection of her, crying, and still the accentsof her last appeals in the early morning. 

"I thought that I might find men among you, " she disdainfully said--abreak in her voice. "So I came. But you're afraid of _him_--of that breed, that vest-pocket killer. And you're afraid of me, a woman whose cards areall on the table. There isn't a one of you--even you, Mr. Beeson, sir, whom I tried to befriend although you may not know it. " And she turnedupon me. "You have not a word to say. I am never going back, I tell youall. You won't take me, any of you? Very well. " She smiled wanly. "I'lldrift along, gentlemen. I'll play the lone hand. Montoyo shall never seizeme. I'd rather trust to the wolves and the Indians. There'll be anotherwagon train. "

"I am only an employee, madam, " I faltered. "If I had an outfit of my ownI certainly would help you. "

She flushed painfully; she did not glance at me direct again, but herunspoken thanks enfolded me. 

"Here's the wagon boss, " Jenks grunted, and spat. "Mebbe you can throw inwith him. When it comes to supers, that's his say-so. I've all I can tendto, myself, and I don't look for trouble. I've got no love for Montoyo, neither, " he added. "Damned if I ain't glad you give him a dose. "

Murmurs of approval echoed him, as if the tide were turning a little. Allthis time--not long, however--Daniel had been sitting his mule, transfixedand gaping, his oddly wry eyes upon her. Now the large form of CaptainAdams came striding in contentious, through the gathering dusk. 

"What's this?" he demanded harshly. "An ungodly woman? I'll have notrafficking in my train. Get you gone, Delilah. Would you pursue us evenhere?"

"I am going, sir, " she replied. "I ask nothing from you orthese--gentlemen. "

"Them's the two she's after, paw: Jenks an' that greenie, " Daniel bawled. "They know her. She's follered 'em. She aims to travel with 'em. Oh, gosh!She's shot her man in Benton. Gosh!" His voice trailed off. "Ain't shepurty, though! She's dressed in britches. "

"Get you gone, " Captain Adams thundered. "And these your paramours withyou. For thus saith the Lord: There shall be no lusting of adultery amonghis chosen. And thus say I, that no brazen hussy in men's garments shalltravel with this train to Zion--no, not a mile of the way. "

Jenks stiffened, bristling. 

"Mind your words, Adams. I'm under no Mormon thumb, and I'll thank you notto connect me and this--lady in ary such fashion. As for your brat onhorseback, he'd better hold his yawp. She came of her own hook, and damnedif I ain't beginnin' to think----"

I sprang forward. Defend her I must. She should not stand there, slight, lovely, brave but drooping, aflame with the helplessness of a woman aloneand insulted. 

"Wait!" I implored. "Give her a chance. You haven't heard her story. Allshe wants is protection on the road. Yes, I know her, and I know the curshe's getting away from. I saw him strike her; so did Mr. Jenks. What wereyou intending to do? Turn her out into the night? Shame on you, sir. Shesays she can't go back to Benton, and if you'll be humane enough tounderstand why, you'll at least let her stay in your camp till morning. You've got women there who'll care for her, I hope. "

I felt her instant look. She spoke palpitant. 

"You have one man among you all. But I am going. Good-night, gentlemen. "

"No! Wait!" I begged. "You shall not go by yourself. I'll see you intosafety. "

Daniel cackled. 

"Haw haw! What'd I tell yu, paw? Hear him?"

"By gum, the boy's right, " Jenks declared. "Will you go back to Benton ifwe take you?" he queried of her. "Are you 'feared of Montoyo? Can he shootstill, or is he laid out?"

"I'll not go back to Benton, and I'm not afraid of that bully, " said she. "Yes, he can shoot, still; but next time I should kill him. I hope neverto see him again, or Benton either. "

The men murmured. 

"You've got spunk, anyhow, " said they. And by further impulse: "Let herstay the night, Cap'n. It'll be plumb dark soon. She won't harm ye. Someo' the woman folks can take care of her. "

Captain Adams had been frowning sternly, his heavy face unsoftened. 

"Who are you, woman?"

"I am the wife of a gambler named Montoyo. "

"Why come you here, then?"

"He has been abusing me, and I shot him. "

"There is blood on your hands? Are you a murderess as well as a harlot?"

"Shame!" cried voices, mine among them. "That's tall language. "

Strangely, and yet not strangely, sentiment had veered. We wereAmericans--and had we been English that would have made no difference. Itwas the Anglo-Saxon which gave utterance. 

She crimsoned, defiant; laughed scornfully. 

"You would not dare bait a man that way, sir. Blood on my hands? Notblood; oh, no! He couldn't pan out blood. "

"You killed him, woman?"

"Not yet. He's likely fleecing the public in the Big Tent at this verymoment. "

"And what did you expect here, in my train?"

"A little manhood and a little chivalry, sir. I am going to Salt Lake andI knew of no safer way. "

"She jumped off a railway train, paw, " bawled Daniel. "I seen her. An' sheaxed for Mister Jenks, fust thing. "

"I'll give you something to stop that yawp. Come mornin', we'll settle, young feller, " my friend Jenks growled. 

"I did, " she admitted. "I have seen Mr. Jenks; I have also seen Mr. Beeson; I have seen others of you in Benton. I was glad to know ofsomebody here. I rode on the construction train because it was thequickest and easiest way. "

"And those garments!" Captain Adams accused. "You wish to show yourshape, woman, to tempt men's eyes with the flesh?"

She smiled. 

"Would you have me jump from a train in skirts, sir? Or travel far afootin crinoline? But to soothe your mind I will say that I wore these clothesunder my proper attire and cloak until the last moment. And if you turn meaway I shall cut my hair and continue as a boy. "

"If you are for Salt Lake--where we are of the Lord's choosing and wishnone of you--there is the stage, " he prompted shrewdly. "Go to the stage. You cannot make this wagon train your instrument. "

"The stage?" She slowly shook her head. "Why, I am too well known, sir, take that as you will. And the stage does not leave until morning. Muchmight happen between now and morning. I have nobody in Benton that I candepend upon--nobody that I dare depend upon. And by railway, for the East?No. That is too open a trail. I am running free of Benton and PedroMontoyo, and stage and train won't do the trick. I've thought that out. "She tossed back her head, deliberately turned. "Good-night, ladies andgentlemen. "

Involuntarily I started forward to intercept. The notion of her headinginto the vastness and the gloom was appalling; the inertness of thatincreasing group, formed now of both men and women collected from all thecamp, maddened. So I would have besought her, pleaded with her, facedMontoyo for her--but a new voice mediated. 

"She shall stay, Hyrum? For the night, at least? I will look after her. "

The Captain's younger wife, Rachael, had stepped to him; laid one handupon his arm--her smooth hair touched ashine by the firelight as she gazedup into his face. Pending reply I hastened directly to My Lady herself anddetained her by her jacket sleeve. 

"Wait, " I bade. 

Whereupon we both turned. Side by side we fronted the group as if we mighthave been partners--which, in a measure, we were, but not wholy accordingto the lout Daniel's cackle and the suddenly interrogating countenanceshere and there. 

"You would take her in, Rachael?" the Captain rumbled. "Have you not heardwhat I said?"

"We are commanded to feed the hungry and shelter the homeless, Hyrum. "

"Verily that is so. Take her. I trust you with her till the morning. TheLord will direct us further. But in God's name clothe her for the daylightin decency. She shall not advertise her flesh to men's eyes. "

"Quick!" I whispered, with a push. Rachael, however, had crossed for us, and with eyes brimming extended her hand. 

"Will you come with me, please?" she invited. 

"You are not afraid of me?"

"I? No. You are a woman, are you not?" The intonation was gentle, andsweet to hear--as sweet as her rosy face to see. 

"Yes, " sighed My Lady, wearily. "Good-night, sir. " She fleetingly smiledupon me. "I thank you; and Mr. Jenks. "

They went, Rachael's arm about her; other women closed in; we heardexclamations, and next they were supporting her in their midst, for shehad crumpled in a faint. 

Captain Adams walked out a piece as if musing. Daniel pressed beside him, talking eagerly. His voice reached me. 

"She's powerful purty, ain't she, paw! Gosh, I never seen a woman inbritches before. Did yu? Paw! She kin ride in my wagon, paw. Be yu goin'to take her on, paw? If yu be, I got room. "

"Go. Tend to your stock and think of other things, " boomed his father. "Remember that the Scriptures say, beware of the scarlet woman. "

Daniel galloped away, whooping like an idiot. 

"Wall, there she is, " my friend Jenks remarked non-committally. "Whatnext'll happen, we'll see in the mornin'. Either she goes on or she goesback. I don't claim to read Mormon sign, myself. But she had me jumpin'sideways, for a spell. So did that young whelp. "

There was some talk, idle yet not offensive. The men appeared rather in ajudicial frame of mind: laid a few bets upon whether her husband wouldturn up, in sober fashion nodded their heads over the hope that he hadbeen "properly pinked, " all in all sided with her, while admiring herpluck roundly denied responsibility for women in general, and genially butcautiously twitted Mr. Jenks and me upon our alleged implication in theaffair. 

Darkness, still and chill, had settled over the desert--the onlydiscernible horizon the glow of Benton, down the railroad track. The ashesof final pipes were rapped out upon our boot soles. Our group dispersed, each man to his blanket under the wagons or in the open. 

"Wall, " friend Jenks again broadly uttered, in last words as he turnedover with a grunt, for easier posture, near me, "hooray! If it simmersdown to you and Dan'l, I'll be there. "

With that enigmatical comment he was silent save for stertorous breathing. Vaguely cogitating over his promise I lay, toes and face up, staring atthe bright stars; perplexed more and more over the immediate events of thefuture, warmly conscious of her astonishing proximity in this very train, prickled by the hope that she would continue with us, irritated by thevarious assumptions of Daniel, and somehow not at all adverse to thememory of her in "britches. "

That phase of the matter seemed to have affected Daniel and me similarly. Under his hide he was human. 

CHAPTER XII

DANIEL TAKES POSSESSION

I was more than ever convinced of her wisdom in choice of garb when inearly morning I glimpsed her with the two other women at the Adams fire;for, bright-haired and small, she had been sorrily dulled by the plainill-fitting waist and long shapeless skirt in one garment, as adopted bythe feminine contingent of the train. In her particular case these wereworse fitting and longer than common--an artifice that certainly snuffed aportion of her charms for Gentile and Mormon eyes alike. 

What further disposition of her was to be made we might not yet know. Weall kept to our own tasks and our own fires, with the exception thatDaniel gawked and strutted in the manner of a silly gander, and madefrequent errands to his father's household. 

It was after the red sun-up and the initial signaling by dust cloud todust cloud announcing the commencement of another day's desert traffic, and in response to the orders "Ketch up!" we were putting animals towagons (My Lady still in evidence forward), when a horseman bored in at agallop, over the road from the east. 

"Montoyo, by Gawd!" Jenks pronounced, in a grumble of disgust rather thanwith any note of alarm. "Look alive. " And--"He don't hang up my pelt; no, nor yourn if I can help it. "

I saw him give a twitch to his holster and slightly loosen the Colt's. ButI was unburthened by guilt in past events, and I conceived no reason forfearing the future--other than that now I was likely to lose her. Heavenpity her! Probably she would have to go, even if she managed later to killhim. The delay in our start had been unfortunate. 

It was dollars to doughnuts that every man in the company had had his eyeout for Montoyo, since daylight; and the odds were that every man hadsighted him as quickly as we. Notwithstanding, save by an occasional quickglance none appeared to pay attention to his rapid approach. We ourselveswent right along hooking up, like the others. 

As chanced, our outfit was the first upon his way in. I heard him reinsharply beside us and his horse fidget, panting. Not until he spoke did welift eyes. 

"Howdy, gentlemen?"

"Howdy yourself, sir, " answered Mr. Jenks, straightening up and meetinghis gaze. I paused, to gaze also. Montoyo was pale as death, his lips hardset, his peculiar gray eyes and his black moustache the only vivifyingfeatures in his coldly menacing countenance. 

He was in white linen shirt, his left arm slung; fine riding bootsencasing his legs above the knees and Spanish spurs at their heels--hishorse's flanks reddened by their jabs. The pearl butt of a six-shooterjutted from his belt holster. He sat jaunty, excepting for his lips andeyes. 

He looked upon me, with a trace of recognition less to be seen than felt. His glance leaped to the wagon--traveled swiftly and surely and returnedto Mr. Jenks. 

"You're pulling out, I believe. "

"Yes, you bet yuh. "

"This is the Adams train?"

"It is. "

"I'm looking for my wife, gentlemen. May I ask whether you've seen her?"

"You can. "

"You have seen her?"

"Yes, sir. We'll not beat around any bush over that. "

He meditated, frowning a bit, eying us narrowly. 

"I had the notion, " he said. "If you have staked her to shelter I thankyou; but now I aim to play the hand myself. This is a strictly privategame. Where is she?"

"I call yuh, Pedro, " my friend answered. "We ain't keepin' cases on her, or on you. You don't find her in my outfit, that's flat. She spent thenight with the Adams women. You'll find her waitin' for you, on ahead. "He grinned. "She'll be powerful glad to see you. " He sobered. "And I'llsay this: I'm kinder sorry I ain't got her, for she'd be interestin'company on the road. "

"The road to hell, yes, " Montoyo coolly remarked. "I'd guarantee you quickpassage. Good-day. "

With sudden steely glare that embraced us both he jumped his mount into agallop and tore past the team, for the front. He must have inquired, onceor twice, as to the whereabouts of the Captain's party; I saw fingerspointing. 

"Here! You've swapped collars on your lead span, boy, " Mr. Jenksreproved--but he likewise fumbling while he gazed. 

I could hold back no longer. 

"Just a minute, if you please, " I pleaded; and hastened on up, halfrunning in my anxiety to face the worst; to help, if I might, for thebest. 

A little knot of people had formed, constantly increasing by oncomers likemyself and friend Jenks who had lumbered behind me. Montoyo's horse stoodheaving, on the outskirts; and ruthlessly pushing through I found himinside, with My Lady at bay before him--her eyes brilliant, her cheekshot, her two hands clenched tightly, her slim figure dangerously tensewithin her absurd garment, and the arm of the brightly flushed but calmRachael resting restraintfully around her. The circling faces peered. 

Captain Adams, at one side apart, was replying to the gambler. His smallchina-blue eyes had begun to glint; otherwise he maintained an air ofstolidity as if immune to the outcome. 

"You see her, " he said. "She has had the care of my own household, for Iturn nobody away. She came against my will, and she shall go of her will. I am not her keeper. "

"You Mormons have the advantage of us white men, sir, " Montoyo sneered. "No one of the sex seems to be denied bed and board in yourestablishments. "

"By the help of the Lord we of the elect can manage our establishmentsmuch better than you do yours, " big Hyrum responded; and his facesombered. "Who are you? A panderer to the devil, a thief with paintedcard-boards, a despoiler of the ignorant, and a feeder to hell--yea, astriker of women and a trafficker in flesh! Who are you, to think the nameof the Lord's anointed? There she is, your chattel. Take her, or leaveher. This train starts on in ten minutes. "

"I'll take her or kill her, " Montoyo snarled. "You call me a feeder, butshe shall not be fed to your mill, Adams. You'll get on that horse pronto, madam, " he added, stepping forward (no one could question his nerve), "andwe'll discuss our affairs in private. "

She cast about with swift beseeching look, as if for a friendly face orsign of rescue. And that agonized quest was enough. Whether she saw me ornot, here I was. With a spring I had burst in. 

But somebody already had drawn fresh attention. Daniel Adams was standingbetween her and her husband. 

"Say, Mister, will yu fight?" he drawled, breathing hard, his broadnostrils quivering. 

A silence fell. Singularly, the circle parted right and left in a jostleand a scramble. 

Montoyo surveyed him. 

"Why?"

"For her, o' course. "

The gambler smiled--a slow, contemptuous smile while his gray eyes focusedwatchfully. 

"It's a case where I have nothing to gain, " said he. "And you've nothingto lose. I never bet in the teeth of a pat hand. Sabe? Besides, my youngMormon cub, when did you enter this game? Where's your ante? For the sportof it, now, what do you think of putting up, to make it interesting? Oneof your mammies? Tut, tut!"

Daniel's freckled bovine face flushed muddy red; in the midst of it hisfaulty eyes were more pronounced than ever--beady, twinkling, and so atcross purposes that they apparently did not center upon the gambler atall. But his right hand had stiffened at his side--extended there flat andtremulous like the vibrant tail of a rattlesnake. He blurted harshly:

"I 'laow to kill yu for that. Draw, yu----!"

We caught breath. Montoyo's hand had darted down, and up, with motion toosmooth and elusive for the eye, particularly when our eyes had to be uponboth. His revolver poised half-way out of the scabbard, held thererigidly, frozen in mid course; for Daniel had laughed loudly over leveledbarrel. 

How he had achieved so quickly no man of us knew. Yet there it was--hisColt's, out, cocked, wicked and yearning and ready. 

He whirled it with tempting carelessness, butt first, muzzle first, hisdiscolored teeth set in a yellow grin. The breath of the spectators ventedin a sigh. 

"Haow'll yu take it, Mister?" he gibed. "I could l'arn an old caow to beatyu on the draw. Aw, shucks! I 'laow yu'd better go back to yorepasteboards. Naow git!"

Montoyo, his eyes steady, scarcely changed expression. He let his revolverslip down into its scabbard. Then he smiled. 

"You have a pretty trick, " he commented, relaxing. "Some day I'd like totest it out again. Just now I pass. Madam, are you coming?"

"You know I'm not, " she uttered clearly. 

"Your choice of company is hardly to your credit, " he sneered. "Or, Ishould say, to your education. Saintliness does not set well upon you, madam. Your clothes are ill-fitting already. Of your two champions----"

And here I realized that I was standing out, one foot advanced, my fistsfoolishly doubled, my presence a useless factor. 

"--I recommend the gentleman from New York as more to your tastes. But youare going of your own free will. You will always be my wife. You can't getaway from that, you devil. I shall expect you in Benton, for I have thehunch that your little flight will fetch you back pretty well tamed, tothe place where damaged goods are not so heavily discounted. " He ignoredDaniel and turned upon me. "As for you, " he said, "I warn you you areplaying against a marked deck. You will find fists a poor hand. Ladies andgentlemen, good-morning. " With that he strode straight for his horse, climbed aboard (a trifle awkwardly by reason of his one arm disabled) andgalloped, granting us not another glance. 

Card shark and desperado that he was, his consummate aplomb nobody coulddeny, except Daniel, now capering and swaggering and twirling hisrevolver. 

"I showed him. I made him take water. I 'laow I'm 'bout the best man witha six-shooter in these hyar parts. "

"Ketch up and stretch out, " Captain Adams ordered, disregarding. "We've nomore time for foolery. "

My eyes met My Lady's. She smiled a little ruefully, and I responded, shamed by the poor rôle I had borne. With that still jubilating lout tothe fore, certainly I cut small figure. 

This night we made camp at Rawlins' Springs, some twelve miles on. Theday's march had been, so to speak, rather pensive; for while there werethe rough jokes and the talking back and forth, it seemed as though thescene of early morning lingered in our vista. The words of Montoyo hadscored deeply, and the presence of our supernumerary laid a kind ofincubus, like an omen of ill luck, upon us. Indeed the prophecies darklyuttered showed the current of thought. 

"It's a she Jonah we got. Sure a woman the likes o' her hain't no place ina freightin' outfit. We're off on the wrong fut, " an Irishman declared towagging of heads. "Faith, she's enough to set the saints above an' thesaints below both by the ears. " He paused to light his dudeen. "There'llbe a Donnybrook Fair in Utah, if belike we don't have it along the way. "

"No Mormon'll need another wife if he takes her, " laughed somebody else. 

"She'll be promised to Dan'l 'fore ever we cross the Wasatch. " And theyall in the group looked slyly at me. "Acts as if she'd been sealed to himalready, he does. "

This had occurred at our nooning hour, amidst the dust and the heat, whilethe animals drooped and dozed and panted and in the scant shade of thehooded wagons we drank our coffee and crunched our hardtack. Throughoutthe morning My Lady had ridden upon the seat of Daniel's wagon, with himsometimes trudging beside, in pride of new ownership, cracking his whip, and again planted sidewise upon one of the wheel animals, facing backwardto leer at her. 

Why I should now have especially detested him I would not admit to myself. At any rate the dislike dated before her arrival. That was one sop toconscience when I remembered that she was a wife. 

Friend Jenks must have read my thoughts, inasmuch as during the course ofthe afternoon he had uttered abruptly:

"These Mormons don't exactly recognize Gentile marriages. Did you knowthat?" He flung me a look from beneath shaggy brows. 

"What?" I exclaimed. "How so?"

"Meanin' to say that layin' on of hands by the Lord's an'inted isnecessary to reel j'inin' in marriage. "

"But that's monstrous!" I stammered. 

"Dare say, " said he. "It's the way white gospelers look at Injuns, ain'tit? Anyhow, to convert her out of sin, as they'd call it, and put her overinto the company of the saints wouldn't be no bad deal, by their kind o'thinkin'. It's been done before, I reckon. Jest thought I'd warn you. She's made her own bed and if it's a Mormon bed she's well quit ofMontoyo, that's sartin. Did you ever see the beat of that young feller onthe draw?"

"No, " I admitted. "I never did. "

"And you never will. "

"He says his name's Bonnie Bravo. Where did he find that?"

"Haw haw. " Friend Jenks spat. "Must ha' heard it in a play-house or got itread to him out a book. Sounds to him like he was some punkins. Anyhow, ifyou've any feelin's in the matter keep 'em under your hat. I don't knowwhat there's been between you and her, but the Mormon church is betweenyou now and it's got the dead-wood on you. It's either that for her, orMontoyo. He knows; he's no fool and he'll take his time. So you'd betterstick to mule-whacking and sowbelly. "

Still it was only decent that I should inquire after her. No Daniel and no"Bonnie Bravo" was going to shut me from my duty. Therefore this eveningafter we had formed corral, watered our animals at the one good-waterspring, staked them out in the bottoms of the ravine here, and eaten oursupper, I went with clean hands and face and, I resolved, a clean heart, to pay my respects at the Hyrum Adams fire. 

A cheery sight it was, too, for one bred as I had been to the company ofwomen. Whereas during the day and somewhat in the evenings we Gentiles andthe Mormon men fraternized without conflict of sect save by long-windedarguments, at nightfall the main Mormon gathering centered about the Adamsquarters, where the men and women sang hymns in praise of theirpretensions, and listened to homilies by Hyrum himself. 

They were singing now, as I approached--every woman busy also with herhands. The words were destined to be familiar to me, being from theirfavorite lines:

 Cheer, saints, cheer! We're bound for peaceful Zion! Cheer, saints, cheer! For that free and happy land! Cheer, saints, cheer! We'll Israel's God rely on; We will be led by the power of His hand. 

 Away, far away to the everlasting mountains, Away, far away to the valley in the West; Away, far away to yonder gushing fountains, Where all the faithful in the latter days are blest. 

Into this domestic circle I civilly entered just as they had finishedtheir hymn. She was seated beside the sleek-haired Rachael, with Danielupon her other hand. I sensed her quickly ready smile; and with the same asurly stare from him, disclosing that by one person at least I was notwelcomed. 

"Anything special wanted, stranger?" Hyrum demanded. 

"No, sir. I was attracted by your singing, " I replied. "Do I intrude?"

"Not at all, not at all. " He was more hospitable. "Set if you like, in thecircle of the Saints. You'll get no harm by it, that's certain. "

So I seated myself just behind Rachael. A moment of constraint seemed tofall upon the group. I broke it by my inquiry, addressed to a cleanprofile. 

"I came also to inquire after Mrs. Montoyo, " I carefully said. "You havestood the journey well, this far, madam?"

Daniel turned instantly. 

"Thar's no 'Mrs. Montoyo' in this camp, Mister. And I'll thank yu it's aname yu'd best leave alone. "

"How so, sir?"

"Cause that's the right of it. I 'laow I've told yu. "

"I'm called Edna now, by my friends, " she vouchsafed, coloring. "Yes, thank you, I've enjoyed the day. "

Rachael spoke softly, in her gentle English accents. I learned later thatshe was an English girl, convert to Mormonism. 

"We Latter Day Saints know that the marriage rites of Gentiles are notcountenanced by the Lord. If you would see the light you would understand. Sister Edna is being well cared for. Whatever we have is hers. "

"You will take her on with you to Salt Lake?"

"That is as Hyrum says. He has spoken of putting her on the stage at thenext crossing. He will decide. "

"I think I'd rather stay with the train, " My Lady murmured. 

"Yu will, too, by gum, " Daniel pronounced. "I'll talk with paw. Yu'regoin' to travel on to Zion 'long with me. I 'laow I'm man enough to lookout for ye an' I got plenty room. The hull wagon's yourn. Guess thar won'tnobody have anything to say ag'in that. " His tone was pointed, unmistakable, and I sat fuming with it. 

My Lady drily acknowledged. 

"You are very kind, Daniel. "

"Wall, yu see I'm the best man on the draw in this hyar train. I'm a badone, I am. My name's Bonnie Bravo. That gambler--he 'laowed to pop me butI could ha' killed him 'fore his gun was loose. I kin ride, wrastle, drivea bull team ag'in ary man from the States, an' I got the gift o' tongues. Ain't afeared o' Injuns, neither. I'm elected. I foller the Lord an' someday I'll be a bishop. I hain't been more'n middlin' interested in wimmen, but I'm gittin' old enough, an' yu an' me'll be purty well acquainted bythe time we reach Zion. Thar's a long spell ahead of us, but I aim to lookout for yu, yu bet. "

His blatancy was arrested by the intonation of another hymn. They allchimed in, except My Lady and me. 

 There is a people in the West, the world calls Mormonites in jest, The only people who can say, we have the truth, and own its sway. Away in Utah's valleys, away in Utah's valleys, Away in Utah's valleys, the chambers of the Lord. 

 And all ye saints, where'er you be, from bondage try to be set free, Escape unto fair Zion's land, and thus fulfil the Lord's command, And help to build up Zion, and help to build up Zion, And help to build up Zion, before the Lord appear. 

They concluded; sat with heads bowed while Hyrum, standing, deliveredhimself of a long-winded blessing, through his nose. It was the signal forbreaking up. They stood. My Lady arose lithely; encumbered by her trailingskirt she pitched forward and I caught her. Daniel sprang in a moment, with a growl. 

"None o' that, Mister. I'm takin' keer of her. Hands off. "

"Don't bully me, sir, " I retorted, furious. "I'm only acting thegentleman, and you're acting the boor. "

I would willingly have fought him then and there, probably to my disaster, but Hyrum's heavy voice cut in. 

"Who quarrels at my fire? Mark you, I'll have no more of it. Stranger, getyou where you belong. Daniel, get you to bed. And you, woman, takeyourself off properly and thank God that you are among his chosen and notadrift in sin. "

"Good-night, sir, " I answered. And I walked easily away, a triumphantwarmth buoying me, for ere releasing her strong young body I had felt anote tucked into my hand. 

CHAPTER XIII

SOMEONE FEARS

A note from a pretty woman always is a potential thing, no matter in whathumor it may have been received. The mere possession titillates; andalthough the contents may be most exemplary to the eye, the mind is apt togo hay-making between the lines and no offense intended. 

All the fatuousness that had led me astray to the lure of her blue eyes, upon the train and in hollow Benton, surged anew now--perhaps seasoned topresent taste by my peppery defiance of Daniel. A man could do no lessthan bristle a little, under the circumstances; could do no less thanchallenge the torpedoes, like Farragut in Mobile Bay. Whether the game wasworth the candle, I was not to be bullied out of my privileges by a clownswash-buckler who aped the characteristics of a pouter pigeon. 

Mr. Jenks was just going to bed under the wagon. With pretext of warmingup the coffee I kicked the fire together; while squatting and sipping Imanaged to unfold the note and read it by the flicker, my back to thecamp. 

All that it said, was:

 If you are not disgusted with me I will walk a stretch with you on the trail, during the morning. 

The engagement sent me to my blanket cogitating. When a woman proposes, one never knows precisely the reason. Anyway, I was young enough so tofancy. For a long time I lay outside the wagons, apart in the desert camp, gazing up at the twinkling stars, while the wolves whimpered around, andsomewhere she slept beside the gentle Rachael, and somewhere Danielsnored, and here I conned her face and her words, elatedly finding themvery pleasing. 

Salt Lake was far, the Big Tent farther by perspective if not by miles. Irecognized the legal rights of her husband, but no ruffling Daniel shouldquash the undeniable rights of Yours Truly. I indeed felt virtuous andpassing valorous, with that commonplace note in my pocket. 

We all broke camp at sunrise. She rode for a distance upon the seat ofDaniel's wagon--he lustily trudging alongside. Then I marked her walking, herself; she had shortened her skirt; and presently lingering by the trailshe dropped behind, leaving the wagon to lumber on, with Daniel helplesslyturning head over shoulder, bereft. 

"Bet you the lady up yonder is aimin' to pay you a visit, " quoth friendJenks the astute. "And Dan'l, he don't cotton to it. You ain't greatshakes with a gun, I reckon?"

"I've never had use for one, " said I. "But her whereabouts in the train isnot a matter of shooting, is it?"

"A feller quick on the draw, like him, is alluz wantin' to practice, tokeep his hand in. Anyhow I'd advise you to stay clear of her, else watchhim mighty sharp. He's thinkin' of takin' a squaw. "

We rolled on, in the dust, while the animals coughed and the teamsterschewed and swore. And next, here she was, idling until our outfit drewabreast. 

"Mornin', " Jenks grunted, with a shortness that bespoke his disapproval;whereupon he fell back and left us. 

She smiled at me. 

"Will you offer me a ride, sir?"

My response was instant: a long "Whoa-oa!" in best mule-whacker. Theeight-team hauled negligent, their mulish senses steeped in the drudgeryof the trail; only the wheel pair flopped inquiring ears. When I hailedagain, Jenks came puffing. 

"What's the matter hyar?" He ran rapid eye over wagon and animals and sawnothing amiss. 

"Mrs. Montoyo wishes to ride. "

"The hell, man!" He snatched whip and launched it, up the faltering team. The cracker popped an inch above the off lead mule's cringing haunchtwenty feet before. "You can't stop hyar! Can't hold the rest of thetrain. Joe! Baldy! Hep with you!" The team straightened out; he restoredme the whip. His wrath subsided, for in less dudgeon he addressed her. 

"Want to ride, do ye?"

"I did, sir. "

"Wall, in Gawd's name ride, then. But we don't stop for passengers. "

With that, in another white heat he had picked her up bodily, swung herupon the nearest mule; so that before she knew (she scarce had time toutter an astonished little ejaculation as she yielded to his arms) thereshe was, perched, breathless, upon the sweaty hide. I awaited results. 

Jenks chuckled. 

"What you need is an old feller, lady. These young bucks ain't broke tothe feed canvas. Now when you want to get off you call me. You don't weighmore'n a peck of beans. "

With a bantering wink at me he again fell back. Once more I had beenforestalled. There should be no third time. 

My Lady sat clinging, at first angry-eyed, but in a moment softened by mydiscomfiture. 

"Your partner is rather sudden, " she averred. "He asked permission ofneither me nor the mule. "

"He meant well. He isn't used to women, " I apologized. 

"More used to mules, I judge. "

"Yes. If he had asked the mule it would have objected, whereas it'sdelighted. "

"Perhaps he knows there's not much difference between a woman and a mule, in that respect, " she proffered. "You need not apologize for him. "

"I apologize for myself, " I blurted. "I see I'm a little slow for thiscountry. "

"You?" She soberly surveyed me as I ploughed through the dust, at herknees. "I think you'll catch up. If you don't object to my company, yourself, occasionally, maybe I can help you. "

"I certainly cannot object to your company whenever it is available, madam, " I assured. 

"You do not hold your experience in Benton against me?"

"I got no more than I deserved, in the Big Tent, " said I. "I went in as afool and I came out as a fool, but considerably wiser. "

"You reproached me for it, " she accused. "You hated me. Do you hate mestill, I wonder? I tell you I was not to blame for the loss of yourmoney. "

"The money has mattered little, madam, " I informed. "It was only a fewdollars, and it turned me to a job more to my liking and good health thanfiddling my time away, back there. I have you to thank for that. "

"No, no! You are cruel, sir. You thank me for the good and you saddle mewith the bad. I accept neither. Both, as happened, were misplays. Youshould not have lost money, you should not have changed vocation. Youshould have won a little money and you should have pursued health inBenton. " She sighed. "And we all would have been reasonably content. Nowhere you and I are--and what are we going to do about it?"

"We?" I echoed, annoyingly haphazard. "Why so? You're being well caredfor, I take it; and I'm under engagement for Salt Lake myself. "

The answer did sound rude. I was still a cad. She eyed me, with a certainwhiteness, a certain puzzled intentness, a certain fugitive wistfulness--amute estimation that made me too conscious of her clear appraising gazeand rack my brain for some disarming remark. 

"You're not responsible for me, you would say?"

"I'm at your service, " I corrected. The platitude was the best that Icould muster to my tongue. 

"That is something, " she mused. "Once you were not that--when I proposed apartnership. You are afraid of me?" she asked. 

"Why should I be?" I parried. But I was beginning; or continuing. I hadthat curious inward quiver, not unpleasant, anticipatory of possibleevents. 

"You are a cautious Yankee. You answer one question with another. " Shelaughed lightly. "Yes, why should you be? I cannot run away with you; notwhen Daniel and your Mr. Jenks are watching us so closely. And you haveno desire to be run away with. And Pedro must be considered. Altogether, you are well protected, even if your conscience slips. But tell me: Do youblame me for running away from Montoyo?"

"Not in the least, " I heartily assured. 

"You would have helped me, at the last?"

"I think I should have felt fully warranted. " Again I floundered. 

"Even to stowing me with a bull train?"

"Anywhere, madam, for your betterment, to free you from that brute. "

"Oh!" She clapped her hands. "But you didn't have to. I only embarrassedyou by appearing on my own account. You have some spirit, though. You cameto the Adams circle, last night. You did your duty. I expected you. Butyou must not do it again. "

"Why not?"

"There are objections, there. "

"From you?"

"No. "

"From Hyrum?"

"Not yet. "

"From that Daniel, then. Well, I will come to Captain Adams' camp as oftenas I like, if with the Captain's permission. And I shall come to see you, whether with his permission or not. "

"I don't know, " she faltered. "I--you would have helped me once, you say?And once you refused me. Would you help me next time?"

"As far as I could, " said I--another of those damned hedging responsesthat for the life of me I could not manipulate properly. 

"Oh!" she cried. "Of course! The queen deceived you; now you are wise. Youare afraid. But so am I. Horribly afraid. I have misplayed again. " Shelaughed bitterly. "I am with Daniel--it is to be Daniel and I in theLion's den. You know they call Brigham Young the Lion of the Lord. I doubtif even Rachael is angel enough. " She paused. "They're going to makenooning, aren't they? I mustn't stay. Good-bye. "

I sprang to lift her, but with gay shake of head she slipped off ofherself and landed securely. 

"I can stand alone. I have to. Men are always ready to do what I don't askthem to do, as long as I can serve as a tool or a toy. You will be very, very careful. Good-day, sir. "

She flashed just the trace of a smile; gathering her skirt she ran on, undeterred by the teamsters applauding her spryness. 

"Swing out!" shouted Jenks, from rear. "We're noonin'. " The lead wagonshad halted beside the trail and all the wagons following began to imitate. 

CHAPTER XIV

I TAKE A LESSON

From this hour's brief camp, early made, we should have turned southward, to leave the railroad line and cross country for the Overland Stage trailthat skirted the southern edge of the worse desert before us. But CaptainHyrum was of different mind. With faith in the Lord and bull confidence inhimself he had resolved to keep straight on by the teamster road whichthrough league after league ever extended fed supplies to the advance ofthe builders. 

Under its adventitious guidance we should strike the stage road at BitterCreek, eighty or one hundred miles; thence trundle, veering southwestward, for the famed City of the Saints, near two hundred miles farther. 

Therefore after nooning at a pool of stagnant, scummy water we hooked upand plunged ahead, creaking and groaning and dust enveloped, constantlyoutstripped by the hurrying construction trains thundering over the newlylaid rails, we ourselves the tortoise in the race. 

My Lady did not join me again to-day, nor on the morrow. She abandoned meto a sense of dissatisfaction with myself, of foreboding, and of a voidin the landscape. 

Our sorely laden train went swaying and pitching across the gaunt face ofa high, broad plateau, bleak, hot, and monotonous in contour; underfootthe reddish granite pulverized by grinding tire and hoof, over us the palebluish fiery sky without a cloud, distant in the south the shining tips ofa mountain range, and distant below in the west the slowly spreading vistaof a great, bared ocean-bed, simmering bizarre with reds, yellows anddeceptive whites, and ringed about by battlements jagged and rock hewn. 

Into this enchanted realm we were bound; by token of the smoke blotchesthe railroad line led thither. The teamsters viewed the unfolding expansephlegmatically. They called it the Red Basin. But to me, fresh for thesight, it beckoned with fantastic issues. Even the name breathed magic. Wizard spells hovered there; the railroad had not broken them--the carsand locomotives, entering, did not disturb the brooding vastness. A manmight still ride errant into those slumberous spaces and discover forhimself; might boldly awaken the realm and rule with a princess by hisside. 

But romance seemed to have no other sponsor in this plodding, whip-cracking, complaining caravan. So I lacked, woefully lacked, kindredcompanionship. 

Free to say, I did miss My Lady, perched upon the stoic mule while likean Arab chief I convoyed her. The steady miles, I admitted, were going tobe as disappointing as tepid water, when not aërated by her counsel andpiquant allusions, by her sprightly readiness and the essential elementsof her blue eyes, her facile lips, and that bright hair which no dustcould dim. 

After all she was distinctly feminine--bravely feminine; and if she wishedto flirt as a relief from the cock-sure Daniel and the calm methods of herMormon guardians, why, let us beguile the way. I should second with eyesopen. That was accepted. 

Moreover, something about her weighed upon me. A consciousness of failingher, a woman, in emergency, stung my self-respect. She had twitted me withbeing "afraid"; afraid of her, she probably meant. That I could passwarily. But she had said that she, too, was afraid: "horribly afraid, " andan honest shudder had attended upon the words as if a real danger hedged. She had an intuition. The settled convictions of my Gentile friendscoincided. "With Daniel in the Lion's den"--that phrase repeated itselfpersistent. She had uttered it in a fear accentuated by a mirthless laugh. Could such a left-handed wooer prove too much for her? Well, if she wasafraid of Daniel I was not and she should not think so. 

I could see her now and then, on before. She rode upon the wagon seat ofher self-appointed executor. And I might see him and his paradedimpertinences. 

Except for the blowing of the animals and the mechanical noises of theequipment the train subsided into a dogged patience, while parched by thedust and the thin dry air and mocked by the speeding construction crewsupon the iron rails it lurched westward at two and a half miles an hour, for long hours outfaced by the blinding sun. 

Near the western edge of the plateau we made an evening corral. Aftersupper the sound of revolver shots burst flatly from a mess beyond us, andstartled. Everything was possible, here in this lone horizon-land whererough men, chafed by a hard day, were gathered suddenly relaxed and idle. But the shots were accompanied by laughter. 

"They're only tryin' to spile a can, " Jenks reassured. "By golly, we'll goover and l'arn 'em a lesson. " He glanced at me. "Time you loosened up thatweepon o' yourn, anyhow. Purty soon it'll stick fast. "

I arose with him, glad of any diversion. The circle had not yet formed atHyrum's fire. 

"It strikes me as a useless piece of baggage, " said I. "I bought it inBenton but I haven't needed it. I can kill a rattlesnake easier with mywhip. "

"Wall, " he drawled, "down in yonder you're liable to meet up with arattler too smart for your whip, account of his freckles. 'Twon't do youno harm to spend a few ca'tridges, so you'll be ready for business. "

The men were banging, by turn, at a sardine can set up on the sand abouttwenty paces out. Their shadows stretched slantwise before them, grotesquely lengthened by the last efforts of the disappearing sun. Someaimed carefully from under pulled-down hat brims; others, their brimsflared back, fired quickly, the instant the gun came to the level. Theheavy balls sent the loose soil flying in thick jets made golden by theevening glow. But amidst the furrows the can sat untouched by the plungingmissiles. 

We were greeted with hearty banter. 

"Hyar's the champeens!"

"Now they'll show us. "

"Ain't never see that pilgrim unlimber his gun yit, but I reckon he's abad 'un. "

"Jenks, old hoss, cain't you l'an that durned can manners?"

"I'll try to oblige you, boys, " friend Jenks smiled. "What you thinkin' todo: hit that can or plant a lead mine?"

"Give him room. He's made his brag, " they cried. "And if he don't plug itthat pilgrim sure will. "

Mr. Jenks drew and took his stand; banged with small preparation andmissed by six inches--a fact that brought him up wide awake, so to speak, badgered by derision renewed. A person needs must have a bull hide, totravel with a bull train, I saw. 

"Gimme another, boys, and I'll hit it in the nose, " he growled sheepishly;but they shoved him aside. 

"No, no. Pilgrim's turn. Fetch on yore shootin'-iron, young feller. Thar'syore turkey. Show us why you're packin' all that hardware. "

Willy-nilly I had to demonstrate my greenness; so in all good nature Idrew, and stood, and cocked, and aimed. The Colt's exploded withprodigious blast and wrench--jerking, in fact, almost above head; andwhere the bullet went I did not see, nor, I judged, did anybody else. 

"He missed the 'arth!" they clamored. 

"No; I reckon he hit Montany 'bout the middle. That's whar he scoredcenter!"

"Shoot! Shoot!" they begged. "Go ahead. Mebbe you'll kill an Injununbeknownst. They's a pack o' Sioux jest out o' sight behind them hills. "

And I did shoot, vexed; and I struck the ground, this time, some fiftyyards beyond the can. Jenks stepped from amidst the riotous laughter. 

"Hold down on it, hold down, lad, " he urged. "To hit him in the heart aimat his feet. Here! Like this----" and taking my revolver he threw itforward, fired, the can plinked and somersaulted, lashed into action toolate. 

"By Gawd, " he proclaimed, "when I move like it had a gun in its fist I cansnap it. But when I think on it as a can I lack guts. "

The remark was pat. I had seen several of the men snip the head from arattlesnake with a single offhand shot--yes, they all carried theirweapons easily and wontedly. But the target of an immobile can lacked instimulation to concord of nerve and eye. 

Now I shot again, holding lower and more firmly, out of mere guesswork, and landed appreciably closer although still within the zone of ridicule. And somebody else shot, and somebody else, and another, until we all werewhooping and laughing and jesting, and the jets flew as if from the ballsof a mitrailleuse, and the can rocked and gyrated, spurring us to haste asit constantly changed the range. Presently it was merely a twist of raggedtin. Then in the little silence, as we paused, a voice spokeirritatingly. 

"I 'laow yu fellers ain't no great shucks at throwin' lead. "

Daniel stood by, with arms akimbo, his booted legs braggartly straddledand his freckled face primed with an intolerant grin at our recentefforts. My Lady had come over with him. Raw-boned, angular, cloddish butas strong as a mule, he towered over her in a maddening atmosphere ofproprietorship. 

She smiled at me--at all of us: at me, swiftly; at them, frankly. And Iknew that she was still afraid. 

"Reckon we don't ask no advice, friend, " they answered. Again a constraintenfolded, fastened upon us by an unbidden guest. "Like as not you can dobetter. "

Daniel laughed boisterously, his mouth widely open. 

"I couldn't do wuss. I seen yu poppin' at that can. Hadn't but one hole init till yu all turned loose an' didn't give it no chance. Haw haw! I 'laowfor a short bit I'd stand out in front o' that greenie from the States an'let him empty two guns at me. "

"S'pose you do it, " friend Jenks promptly challenged. "By thunder, I'llhire ye with the ten cents, and give him four bits if he hits you. "

"He wouldn't draw on me, nohaow, " scoffed Daniel. "I daren't shoot formoney, but I'll shoot for fun. Anybody want to shoot ag'in me?"

"Wasted powder enough, " they grumbled. 

"Ever see me shoot?" He was eager. "I'll show ye somethin'. I don't takeback seat for ary man. Yu set me up a can. That thar one wouldn't jump toa bullet. "

In sullen obedience a can was produced. 

"How fur?"

"Fur as yu like. "

It was tossed contemptuously out; and watching it, to catch its last roll, I heard Daniel gleefully yelp "Out o' my way, yu-all!"--half saw his handdart down and up again, felt the jar of a shot, witnessed the can jumplike a live thing; and away it went, with spasm after spasm, to explosionafter explosion, tortured by him into fruitless capers until with thefinal ball peace came to it, and it lay dead, afar across the twilightsand. 

Verily, by his cries and the utter savagery and malevolence of hisbombardment, one would have thought that he took actual lust in fanciedcruelty. 

"I 'laow thar's not another man hyar kin do that, " he vaunted. 

There was not, judging by the silence again ensuing. Only--

"A can's a different proposition from a man, as I said afore, " Jenkscoolly remarked. "A can don't shoot back. "

"I don't 'laow any man's goin' to, neither. " Daniel reloaded his smokingrevolver, bolstered it with a flip; faced me in turning away. "That'ssomethin' for yu to l'arn on, ag'in next time, young feller, " hevouchsafed. 

If he would have eyed me down he did not succeed. His gaze shifted and hepassed on, swaggering. 

"Come along, Edna, " he bade. "We'll be goin' back. "

A devil--or was it he himself?--twitted me, incited me, and in a moment, with a gush of assertion, there I was, saying to her, my hat doffed:

"I'll walk over with you. "

"Do, " she responded readily. "We're to have more singing. "

The men stared, they nudged one another, grinned. Daniel whirled. 

"I 'laow yu ain't been invited, Mister. "

"If Mrs. Montoyo consents, that's enough, " I informed, striving to keepsteady. "I'm not walking with you, sir; I am walking with her. The onlyground you control is just in front of your own wagon. "

"Yu've been told once thar ain't no 'Mrs. Montoyo, '" he snarled. "Andwhilst yu're l'arnin' to shoot yu'd better be l'arnin' manners. Yu comin'with me, Edna?"

"As fast as I can, and with Mr. Beeson also, if he chooses, " said she. "Ihave my manners in mind, too. "

"By gosh, I don't walk with ye, " he jawed. And in a huff, like the big boythat he was, he flounced about, vengefully striding on as though punishingher for a misdemeanor. 

She dropped the grinning group a little curtsy. A demure sparkle was inher eyes. 

"The entertainment is concluded, gentlemen. I wish you good-night. "

Yet underneath her raillery and self-possession there lay an appeal, thestronger because subtle and unvoiced. It seemed to me every man mustappreciate that as a woman she invoked protection by him against animpending something, of which she had given him a glimpse. 

So we left them somewhat subdued, gazing after us, their rugged facessobered reflectively. 

"Shall we stroll?" she asked. 

"With pleasure, " I agreed. 

Daniel was angrily shouldering for the Mormon wagons, his indignantfigure black against the western glow. She laughed lightly. 

"You're not afraid, after all, I see. "

"Not of him, madam. "

"And of me?"

"I think I'm more afraid for you, " I confessed. "That clown is gettinginsufferable. He sets out to bully you. Damn him, " I flashed, withpardonable flame, "and he ruffles at me on every occasion. In fact, heseems to seek occasion. Witness this evening. "

"Witness this evening, " she murmured. "I'm afraid, too. Yes, " shebreathed, confronted by a portent, "I'm afraid. I never have been afraidbefore. I didn't fear Montoyo. I've always been able to take care ofmyself. But now, here----"

"You have your revolver?" I suggested. 

"No, I haven't. It's gone. Mormon women don't carry revolvers. "

"They took it from you?"

"It's disappeared. "

"But you're not a Mormon woman. "

"Not yet. " She caught quick breath. "God forbid. And sometimes I fear Godwilling. For I do fear. You can't understand. Those other men do, though, I think. Do you know, " she queried, with sudden glance, "that Daniel meansto marry me?"

"He?" I gasped. "How so? With your--consent, of course. But you're notfree; you have a husband. " My gorge rose, regardless of fact. "Youscarcely expect me to congratulate you, madam. Still he may have points. "

"Daniel?" She shrugged her shoulders. "I cannot say. Pedro did. Most menhave. Oh!" she cried, impulsively stopping short. "Why don't you learn toshoot? Won't you?"

"I've about decided to, " I admitted. "That appears to be the savingaccomplishment of everybody out here. "

"Of everybody who stays. You must learn to draw and to shoot, both. Thedrawing you will have to practice by yourself, but I can teach you toshoot. So can those men. Let me have your pistol, please. "

I passed it to her. She was all in a flutter. 

"You must grasp the handle firmly; cover it with your whole palm, butdon't squeeze it to death; just grip it evenly--tuck it away. And keepyour elbow down; and crook your wrist, in a drop, until your triggerknuckle is pointing very low--at a man's feet if you're aiming for hisheart. "

"At his feet, for his heart?" I stammered. The words had an ugly sound. 

"Certainly. We are speaking of shooting now, and not at a tin can. Youhave to allow for the jump of the muzzle. Unless you hold it down withyour wrist, you over shoot; and it's the first shot that counts. Ofcourse, there's a feel, a knack. But don't aim with your eyes. You won'thave time. Men file off the front sight--it sometimes catches, in thedraw. And it's useless, anyway. They fire as they point with the finger, by the feel. You see, they _know_. "

"Evidently you do, too, madam, " I faltered, amazed. 

"Not all, " she panted. "But I've heard the talk; I've watched--I've seenmany things, sir, from Omaha to Benton. Oh, I wish I could tell you more;I wish I could help you right away. I meant, a dead-shot with the revolverknows beforehand, in the draw, where his bullet shall go. Some men areborn to shoot straight; some have to practice a long, long while. I wonderwhich you are. "

"If there is pressing need in my case, " said I, "I shall have to rely uponmy friends to keep me from being done for. "

"You?" she uttered, with a touch of asperity. "Oh, yes. Pish, sir!Friends, I am learning, have their own hides to consider. And thosegentlemen of yours are Gentiles with goods for Salt Lake Mormons. Are theygoing to throw all business to the winds?"

"You yourself may appeal to his father, and to the women, for protectionif that lout annoys you, " I ventured. 

"To them?" she scoffed. "To Hyrum Adams' outfit? Why, they're Mormons andgood Mormons, and why should I not be made over? I'm under theirteachings; I am Edna, already; it's time Daniel had a wife--or two, forreplenishing Utah. Rachael calls me 'sister, ' and I can't resent it. Goodat heart as she is, even she is convinced. Why, " and she laughedmirthlessly, "I may be sealed to Hyrum himself, if nothing worse is instore. Then I'll be assured of a seat with the saints. "

"You can depend upon me, then. I'll protect you, I'll fight for you, andI'll kill for you, " I was on the point of roundly declaring; but didn't. Her kind, I remembered, had spelled ruin upon the pages of men moreexperienced than I. Therefore out of that super-caution born of Benton, Istupidly said nothing. 

She had paused, expectant. She resumed. 

"But no matter. Here I am, and here you are. We were speaking of shooting. This is a lesson in shooting, not in marrying, isn't it? As to thepressing need, you must decide. You've seen and heard enough for that. Ilike you, sir; I respect your spirit and I'm sorry I led you intomisadventure. Now if I may lend you a little something to keep you frombeing shot like a dog, I'll feel as though I had wiped out your scoreagainst me. Take your gun. " I took it, the butt warm from her clasp. "There he is. Cover him!"

"Where?" I asked. "Who?"

"There, before you. Oh, anybody! Think of his heart and cover him. I wantto see you hold. "

I aimed, squinting. 

"No, no! You'll not have time to close an eye; both eyes are none toomany. And you are awkward; you are stiff. " She readjusted my arm andfingers. "That's better. You see that little rock? Hit it. Cock yourweapon, first. Hold firmly, not too long. There; I think you're going tohit it, but hold low, low, with the wrist. Now!"

I fired. The sand obscured the rock. She clapped her hands, delighted. 

"You would have killed him. No--he would have killed you. Quick! Give itto me!"

And snatching the revolver she cocked, leveled and fired instantly. Therock split into fragments. 

"I would have killed him, " she murmured, gazing tense, seeing I knew notwhat. Wrenching from the vision she handed back the revolver to me. "Ithink you're going to do, sir. Only, you must learn to draw. I can tellyou but I can't show you. The men will. You must draw swiftly, decisively, without a halt, and finger on trigger and thumb on hammer and be ready toshoot when the muzzle clears the scabbard. It's a trick. "

"Like this?" I queried, trying. 

"Partly. But it's not a sword you're drawing; it's a gun. You may drawlaughing, if you wish to dissemble for a sudden drop; they do, when theyhave iron in their heart and the bullet already on its way, in their mind. I mustn't stay longer. Shall we go to the fire now? I am cold. " Sheshivered. "Daniel is waiting. And when you've delivered me safe you'dbetter leave me, please. "

"Why so?"

She smiled, looking me straight in the eyes. 

"Quién sabe? To avoid a scene, perhaps; perhaps, to postpone. I have anidea that it is better so. You've baited Daniel far enough for to-night. "

We walked almost without speaking, to the Hyrum Adams fire. Daniel liftedupper lip at me as we entered; his eyes never wandered from my face. Imarked his right hand quivering stiffly; and I disregarded him. For if Ihad challenged him by so much as an overt glance he would have burstbonds. 

Rachael's eyes, the older woman's eyes, the eyes of all, men and women, curious, admonitory, hostile and apprehensive, hot and coldtogether--these I felt also amidst the dusk. I was distinctly unwelcome. Accordingly I said a civil "Good-evening" to Hyrum (whose response out ofcompressed lips was scarce more than a grunt) and raising my hat to MyLady turned my back upon them, for my own bailiwick. 

The other men were waiting en route. 

"Didn't kill ye, did he?"

"No. "

"Wall, " said one, "if you can swing a rattler by the tail, all right. Butwatch his haid. "

Friend Jenks paced on with me to our fire. 

"We were keepin' cases on you, and so was he. He saw that practice--damn, how he did crane! She was givin' you pointers, eh?"

"Yes; she wanted amusement. "

"It'll set Bonnie Bravo to thinkin'--it'll shorely set him to thinkin', "Jenks chuckled, mouthing his pipe. "She's a smart one. " He comfortablyrocked to and fro as we sat by the fire. "Hell! Wall, if you got to killhim you got to kill him and do it proper. For if you don't kill him he'llkill you; snuff you out like a--wall, you saw that can travel. "

"I don't want to kill him, " I pleaded. "Why should I?"

Jenks sat silent; and sitting silent I foresaw that kill Daniel I must. Iwas being sucked into it, irrevocably willed by him, by her, by them all. If I did not kill him in defense of myself I should kill him in defense ofher. Yet why I had to, I wondered; but when I had bought my ticket forBenton I had started the sequence, to this result. Here I was. As she hadsaid, here I was, and here she was. I might not kill for love--no, notthat; I was going to kill for hate. And while I never had killed a man, and in my heart of hearts did not wish to kill a man, since I had to killone, named Daniel, even though he was a bully, a braggart and an infernalover-stepper it was pleasanter to think that I should kill him in hotblood rather than in cold. 

Jenks spat, and yawned. 

"I can l'arn you a few things; all the boys'll help you out, " heproffered, "When you git him you'll have to git him quick; for if youdon't--adios. But we'll groom ye. "

Could this really be I? Frank Beeson, not a fortnight ago still living atjog-trot in dear Albany, New York State? It was puzzling how detached andhow strong I felt. 

CHAPTER XV

THE TRAIL NARROWS

Again we broke camp. We rolled down from the plateau into that wizardbasin lying all beautiful and slumberous and spell-locked like some landof heart's desire. We replenished our water casks from the tank cars, weswapped for a little feed, we occasionally exchanged greetings withcontractor outfits, and with grading crews. In due time we passed end o'track, where a bevy of sweated men were moiling like mad, clanging downthe rails upon the hasty ties and ever calling for more, more. I witnessedlittle General "Jack" Casement of Ohio--a small man with full russet beardand imperative bold blue eyes--teetering and tugging at his whiskers andrampantly swearing while he drove the work forward. And we left end o'track, vainly reaching out after us, until the ring of the rails and thestaccato of the rapid sledges faded upon our ears. 

Now we were following the long line of bare grade, upturned reddish by theplows and scrapers and picks and shovels; sometimes elevated, for contour, sometimes merged with the desert itself. There the navvies digged anddelved, scarcely taking time to glance at us. And day by day we ploddedin the interminable clouds of desert dust raised by the supply wagons. 

Captain Hyrum fought shy of their camps. The laborers were mainly Irish, trans-shipped from steerage, dock, and Bowery, and imported from Westernmining centers; turbulent in their relaxations and plentifully suppliedwith whiskey: companies, they, not at all to the Mormon mind. Consequentlywe halted apart from them--and well so, for those were womanless camps andthe daily stint bred strong appetites. 

There were places where we made half circuit out from the grade andabandoned it entirely. In this way we escaped the dust, the rough talk, and the temptations; now and again obtained a modicum of forage in theshape of coarse weedy grasses at the borders of sinks. 

But it was a cruel country on men and beasts. Our teamsters who had beenthrough by the Overland Trail said that the Bitter Creek desert was yetworse: drier, barer, dustier and uglier. Nevertheless this was our dailyprogram:

To rise after a shivery night, into the crisp dawn which once or twiceglinted upon a film of ice formed in the water buckets; to herd thestiffened animals and place them convenient; to swallow our hot coffee andour pork and beans, and flapjacks when the cooks were in the humor; tohook the teams to the wagons and break corral, and amidst cracking oflashes stretch out into column, then to lurch and groan onward, at snail'space, through the constantly increasing day until soon we also were wrungand parched by a relentless heat succeeding the frosty night. 

The sleeping beauties of the realm were ever farther removed. In thedistances they awaited, luring with promise of magic-invested azurebattlements, languid reds and yellows like tapestry, and patches of liquidblue and dazzling snowy white, canopied by a soft, luxurious sky. But whenwe arrived, near spent, the battlements were only isolated sandstoneoutcrops inhabited by rattlesnakes, the reds and yellows were sun-bakedsoil as hard, the liquid blue was poisonous, stagnant sinks, the snowpatches were soda and bitter alkali, the luxurious sky was the same oldwhite-hot dome, reflecting the blazing sun upon the fuming earth. 

Then at sunset we made corral; against theft, when near the grade; againstIndians and pillage when out from the grade, with the animals under herdguard. There were fires, there was singing at the Mormon camp, there wasthe heavy sleep beneath blanket and buffalo robe, through the biting chillof a breezeless night, the ground a welcomed bed, the stars vigilant fromhorizon to horizon, the wolves stalking and bickering like avid ghouls. 

So we dulled to the falsity of the desert and the drudgery of the trail;and as the grading camps became less frequent the men grew riper for anydiversion. That My Lady and Daniel and I were to furnish it seemed to begenerally accepted. Here were the time-old elements: two men, onewoman--elements so constituted that in other situation they might havebrought comedy but upon such a trail must and should pronounce fortragedy, at least for true melodrama. 

Besides, I was expected to uphold the honor of our Gentile mess along withmy own honor. That was demanded; ever offered in cajolery to encourage mypistol practice. I was, in short, "elected, " by an obsession equal to aconviction; and what with her insistently obtruded as a bonus I never waspermitted to lose sight of the ghastly prize of skill added to merit. 

At first the matter had disturbed and horrified me mightily, to the extentthat I anticipated evading the issue while preparing against it. Surelythis was the current of a prankish dream. And dreams I had--frightfullytumultuous dreams, of red anger and redder blood, sometimes my own blood, sometimes another's; dreams from which I awakened drenched in coldnightmare sweat. 

To be infused, even by bunkum and banter, with the idea of killing, is asad overthrow of sane balance. I would not have conceived the thingpossible to me a month back. But the monotonous desert trail, the closecompanying with virile, open minds, and the strict insistence uponindividual rights--yes, and the irritation of the same faces, the samefigures, the same fare, the same labor, the same scant recreations, allworked as poison, to depress and fret and stimulate like alternant chillsand fever. 

Practice I did, if only in friendly emulation of the others, as apass-the-time. I improved a little in drawing easily and firing snap-shot. The art was good to know, bad to depend upon. In the beginnings it worriedme as a sleight-of-hand, until I saw that it was the established code andthat Daniel himself looked to no other. 

In fact, he pricked me on, not so much by word as by manner, which wasworse. Since that evening when, in the approving parlance of my friends, Ihad "cut him out" by walking with her to the Adams fire, we had exchangedscarcely a word; he ruffled about at his end of the train and mainly inhis own precincts, and I held myself in leash at mine, withself-consciousness most annoying to me. 

But his manner, his manner--by swagger and covert sneer and ostentatioustriumph of alleged possession emanating an unwearied challenge to mymanhood. My revolver practice, I might mark, moved him to shrugs andflings; when he hulked by me he did so with a stare and a boastful grin, but without other response to my attempted "Howdy?"; now and again heassiduously cleaned his gun, sitting out where I should see even if I didnot straightway look; in this he was most faithful, with sundryflourishes babying me by thinking to intimidate. 

Withal he gave me never excuse of ending him or placating him, but shiftedupon me the burden of choosing time and spot. 

Once, indeed, we near had it. That was on an early morning. He was drivingin a yoke of oxen that had strayed, and he stopped short in passing whereI was busied with gathering our mules. 

"Say, Mister, I want a word with yu, " he demanded. 

"Well, out with it, " I bade; and my heart began to thump. Possibly Ipaled, I know that I blinked, the sun being in my eyes. 

He laughed, and spat over his shoulder, from the saddle. 

"Needn't be skeered. I ain't goin' to hurt ye. I 'laow yu expected to makeup to that woman, didn't yu, 'fore this?"

"What woman?" I encouraged; but I was wondering if my revolver was loose. 

"Edna. 'Cause if yu did, 'tain't no use, Mister. Why, " indulgently, "yucouldn't marry her--yu couldn't marry her no more'n yu could kill me. Yu're a Gentile, an' yu'd be bustin' yore own laws. But thar ain't noGentile laws for the Lord's an'inted; so I thought I'd tell yu I'm liableto marry her myself. Yu've kep' away from her consider'ble; this is totell yu yu mought as well keep keepin' away. "

"I sha'n't discuss Mrs. Montoyo with you, sir, " I broke, cold, instead ofhot, watching him very narrowly (as I had been taught to do), my handnerved for the inevitable dart. "But I am her friend--her friend, mindyou; and if she is in danger of being imposed upon by you, I stand readyto protect her. For I want you to know that I'm not afraid of you, day ornight. Why, you low dog----!" and I choked, itching for the crisis. 

He gawked, reddening; his right hand quivered; and to my chagrin he slowlylaughed, scanning me. 

"I seen yu practicin'. Go ahead. I wouldn't kill yu _naow_. Or if yu wantpractice in 'arnest, start to draw. " He waited a moment, in easyinsolence. I did not draw. "Let yore dander cool. Thar's no use yu tryin'to buck the Mormons. I've warned ye. " And he passed on, cracking hislash. 

Suddenly I was aware that, as seemed, every eye in the camp had beenfastened upon us two. My fingers shook while with show of nonchalance Iresumed adjusting the halters. 

"Gosh! Looked for a minute like you and him was to have it out proper, "Jenks commented, matter of fact, when I came in. "Hazin' you a bit, washe? What'd he say?"

"He warned me to keep away from Mrs. Montoyo. Went so far as to lay claimto her himself, the whelp. Boasted of it. "

"Throwed it in your face, did he? Wall, you goin' to let him cache heraway?"

"Look here, " I said desperately, still a-tremble: "Why do you men put thatup to me? Why do you egg me on to interfere? She's no more to me than sheis to you. Damn it, I'll take care of myself but I don't see why I shouldshoulder her, except that she's a woman and I won't see any womanmistreated. "

He pulled his whiskers, and grinned. 

"Dunno jest how fur you're elected. Looks like there was something betweenyou and her--though I don't say for shore. But she's your kind; she may bea leetle devil, but she's your kind--been eddicated and acts the lady. Sheain't our kind. Thunderation! What'd we do with her? She'd be better offmarryin' Dan'l. He'd give her a home. If you hadn't been with this train Idon't believe she'd have follered in. That's the proposition. You got tofight him anyway; he's set out to back you down. It's your fracas, isn'tit?"

"I know it, " I admitted. "He's been ugly toward me from the first, withoutreason. "

"Reckoned to amuse himself. He's one o' them fellers that think to showoff by ridin' somebody they think they can ride. The boys hate to see youlay down to that; for you'd better call him and eat lead or else quit thecountry. So you might as well give him a full dose and take the pot. "

"What pot?"

"The woman, o' course. "

"I tell you, Mrs. Montoyo has nothing to do with it, any more than anywoman. It's a matter between him and me--he began it by jeering at mebefore she appeared. I want her left out of it. "

"Oh, pshaw!" Jenks scoffed. "That can't be did. He's fetched her into it. What do you aim to do, then? Dodge her? When you're dodgin' her you'redodgin' him, or so he'll take it. "

"I'll not dodge him, you can bet on that, " I vowed. "I don't seek her, norhim; but I shall not go out of my way to avoid either of them. "

"And when you give him his dose, what'll you do?"

"If that is forced upon me, nothing. It will be in defense of my rights, won't it? But I don't want any further trouble with him. I hope to God Iwon't have. "

"Shore, " Jenks soothed. "You're not a killer. All the same, you'reelected; he began it and you'll have to finish it. Then you'll needs lookout for yourself and her too, for he's made her the stakes. "

"Why will I?"

"Got to. The hull train thinks so, one way or t'other, and you're white. "

"She can stay with the Mormons, if she wants to. "

"Oh, yes; if she wants to. But do you reckon she does? Not much! She'slookin' to you--she's lookin' to you. She's a smart leetle piece--knowshow to play her cards, and she's got you and Dan'l goin'. "

"But she's married. You can't expect----"

"Oh, yes, " he wagged again, interrupting. "Shore. There's Montoyo. I don'tenvy you your job, but damn' if you mightn't work harder and do wuss. She's a clipper, and I never did hear anything 'specially bad of her, beyond cappin'. Whoa, Jinny!"

I wrathfully cogitated. Now I began to hate her. I was a tool to her hand, once more, was I? And how had it come about? She had not directly besoughtme to it--not by word. Daniel had decreed, and already our antagonism hadbeen on. And I had defied him--naturally. He should not bilk me of freemovement. But the issue might, on the face of it, appear to be she. As Itugged at the harness, under breath I cursed the scurvy turn of events;and in seeking to place the blame found amazing cleverness in her. Justthe same, I was not going to kill him for her account; never, never! And Iwished to the deuce that she'd kept clear of me. 

Jenks was speaking. 

"So the fust chance you get you might as well walk straight into him, callhim all the names you can lay tongue to, and when he makes a move for hisgun beat him to the draw and come up shootin'. Then it'll be over with. The longer it hangs, the less peace you'll have; for you've got to do itsooner or later. It's you or him. "

"Not necessarily, " I faltered. "There may be another way. "

"There ain't, if you're a he critter on two legs, " snapped Jenks. "Not inthis country or any other white man's country; no, nor in red man'scountry neither. What you do back in the States, can't say. Trust inpray'r, mebbe. "

Nevertheless I determined to make a last effort even at the risk of losingcaste. In the reaction from the pressure of that recent encounter when Imight have killed, but didn't, I again had a spell of fierce, sick protestagainst the rôle being foisted upon me--foisted, I could see, by hermachinations as well as by his animosity. The position was too false to beborne. There was no joy in it, no zest, no adequate reward. Why, in God'sname, should I be sentenced to have blood upon my hands and soul? Surely Imight be permitted to stay clean. 

Therefore this evening immediately after corral was formed I sought outCaptain Adams, as master of the train; and disregarding the gazes thatfollowed me and that received me I spoke frankly, here at his own wagon, without preliminary. 

"Daniel and I appear to be at outs, sir, " I said. "Why, I do not know, except that he seems to have had a dislike for me from the first day. Ifhe'll let me alone I'll let him alone. I'm not one to look for trouble. "

His heavy face, with those thick pursed lips and small china blue eyes, changed not a jot. 

"Daniel will take care of himself. "

"That is his privilege, " I answered. "I am not here to question hisrights, Captain, as long as he keeps within them; but I don't require ofhim to take care of me also. If he will hold to his own trail I'll hold tomine, and I assure you there'll be no trouble. "

"Daniel will take care of himself, I say, " he reiterated. "Yes, and lookafter all that belongs to him, stranger. There's no use threateningDaniel. What he does he does as servant of the Lord and he fears naught. "

"Neither do I, sir, " I retorted hotly. "One may wish to avoid trouble andstill not fear it. I have not come to you with complaint. I merely wish toexplain. You are captain of the train and responsible for its conduct. Igive you notice that I shall defend myself against insult and annoyance. "

I turned on my heel--sensed poised forms and inquiring faces; and hisbooming voice stayed me. 

"A moment, stranger. Your talk is big. What have you to do with this womanEdna?"

"With Mrs. Montoyo? What I please, if it pleases her, sir. If she claimsyour protection, very good. Should she claim mine, she'll have it. " Andthere, confound it, I had spoken. "But with this, Daniel has nothing todo. I believe that the lady you mention is simply your present guest andmy former acquaintance. "

"You err, " he thundered, darkening. "You cannot be expected to see thelight. But I say to you, keep away, keep away. I will have nogallivanting, no cozening and smiling and prating and distracting. Shemust be nothing to you. Never can be, never shall be. Her way isappointed, the instrument chosen, and as a sister in Zion she shall knowyou not. Now get you gone----" a favorite expression of his. "Get yougone, meddle not hereabouts, and I'll see to it that you are spared fromharm. "

Surprising myself, and perhaps him, I gazed full at him and laughedwithout reserve or irritation. 

"Thank you, Captain, " I heard myself saying. "I am perfectly capable ofself-protection. And I expect to remain a friend of Mrs. Montoyo as longas she permits me. For your bluster and Daniel's I care not a sou. Infact, I consider you a pair of damned body-snatchers. Good-evening. "

Then out I stormed, boiling within, reckless of opposition--even courtingit; but met none, Daniel least of all (for he was elsewhere), until as Ipassed on along the lined-up wagons I heard my name uttered breathlessly. 

"Mr. Beeson. "

It was not My Lady; her I had not glimpsed. The gentle English girlRachael had intercepted me. She stood between two wagons, whither she hadhastened. 

"You will be careful?"

"How far, madam?"

"Of yourself, and for her. Oh, be careful. You can gain nothing. "

Her face and tone entreated me. She was much in earnest, the roses of herround cheeks paled, her hands clasped. 

"I shall only look out for myself, " said I. "That seems necessary. "

"You should keep away from our camp, and from Daniel. There is nothing youcan do. You--if you could only understand. " Her hands tightened upon eachother. "Won't you be careful? More careful? For I know. You cannotinterfere; there is no way. You but run great risk. Sister Edna will behappy. "

"Did she send you, madam?" I asked. 

"N-no; yes. Yes, she wishes it. Her place has been found. The Lord sowills. We all are happy in Zion, under the Lord. Surely you would not tryto interfere, sir?"

"I have no desire to interfere with the future happiness of Mrs. Montoyo, "I stiffly answered. "She is not the root of the business between Danieland me, although he would have it appear so. And you yourself, a woman, are satisfied to have her forced into Mormonism?"

"She has been living in sin, sir. The truth is appointed only among theLatter Day Saints. We have the book and the word--the Gentile priests arenot ordained of the Lord for laying on of hands. In Zion Edna shall bepurged and set free; there she shall be brought to salvation. Our bishops, perhaps Brigham Young himself, will show her the way. But no woman in Zionis married without consent. The Lord directs through our prophets. Oh, sir, if you could only see!"

An angel could not have pleaded more sweetly. To have argued with herwould have been sacrilege, for I verily believed that she was pure ofheart. 

"There is nothing for me to say, madam, " I responded. "As far as I can doso with self-respect I will avoid Daniel. I certainly shall not intrudeupon your party, or bother Mrs. Montoyo. But if Daniel brings trouble tome I will hand it back to him. That's flat. He shall not flout me out offace. It rests with him whether we travel on peacefully or not. And Ithank you for your interest. "

"I will pray for you, " she said simply. "Good-bye, sir. "

She withdrew, hastening again, sleek haired, round figured, modest in hershabby gown. I proceeded to the outfit with a new sense of disease. Ifshe--if Mrs. Montoyo really had yielded, if she were out of the game--butshe never had been in it; not to me. And still I conned the matter overand over, vainly convincing myself that the situation had cleared. Notwithstanding all my effort, I somehow felt that an incentive hadvanished, leaving a gap. The affair now had simmered down to plain temperand tit for tat. I championed nothing, except myself. 

Why, with her submissive, in a fracas I might be working hurt to her, beyond the harm to him. But she be hanged, as to that phase of it. I hadbeen led on so far that there was no solution save as Daniel turned aside. Heaven knows that the matter would have been sordid enough had it focusedupon a gambler's wife; and here it looked only prosaic. Thus viewing it Ifought an odd disappointment in myself, coupled with a keenerdisappointment in her. 

"You talked to Hyrum, I see, " Jenks commented. 

"I did. "

"'Bout Dan'l, mebbe?"

"I wanted to make plain that the business is none of my seeking. Hyrum iswagon master. "

"Didn't get any satisfaction, I'll bet. "

"No. On the contrary. "

"I could have told you you'd be wastin' powder. "

"At any rate, " I informed, "Mrs. Montoyo is entirely out of the matter. She never was in it except as she was entitled to protection, but now sherequires no further notice. "

"How so?"

"That is her wish. She sent me word by Rachael. "

"She did? Wall?" He eyed me. "You swaller that?"

"Willingly. " And I swallowed my bitterness also. 

"Means to marry him, does she?"

"Rachael did not say as to that. Rather, she gave me to understand that away would be found to release Mrs. Montoyo from Benton connections, butthat no woman in Utah is obliged to marry. Is that true?"

"Um-m. " Jenks rubbed his beard. "Wall, they do say Brigham Young is ag'inpromisc'yus swappin', and things got to be done straight, 'cordin' to thefaith. But an unjined female in the church is a powerful lonely critter. Sticks out like a sore thumb. They read the Bible at her plenty. Um-m, "mused he. "I don't put much stock in that yarn you bring me. There's anigger in the wood-pile, but he ain't black. What you goin' to do aboutit?"

"Nothing. It's not my concern. Now if Daniel will mind his affairs I'llcontinue to mind mine. "

"Wall, Zion's a long way off yet, " quoth friend Jenks. "I don't look tosee you or she get there--nor Dan'l either. "

He being stubborn, I let him have the last word; did not seek to develophis views. But his contentious harping shadowed like an omen. 

CHAPTER XVI

I DO THE DEED

We had camped well beyond a last bunch of the red-shirted graders, so thatthe thread of a trail wended before, lonely, sand-obscured, leadingapparently nowhere, through this desert devoid of human life. Line stakesof the surveyors denoted the grade; but the surveyors' work was done, here. Rush orders from headquarters had sent them all westward still, toset their final stakes across other deserts and across the mountains, clear to Ogden at the north end of the Salt Lake itself. 

Seemingly we had cut loose and were more than ever a world to ourselves. The country had grown sterile beneath ordinary, if possible; and ourthoughts and talk would have been sterile also were it not for that onerecurrent topic which kept them quick. In these journeyings men seize uponlittle things and magnify them; discuss and rediscuss a phase untillaunched maybe as an empty joke it returns freighted with tragedy. 

However, now that once My Lady had eliminated herself from my field I didnot see but that Daniel and I might taper off into at least an armedneutrality. If he continued to nag me, it would be wholly of his own freewill. He had no grievance. 

Then in case that I did kill him--if kill him I must (and that eventualityhung over me like the sword of Damocles) I should be not ashamed to telleven my mother. In this I took what small comfort I might. 

I had not spoken at length with Mrs. Montoyo for several days. We hadexchanged merely civil greetings. To-day I did not see her during themarch; did not attempt to see her--did not so much as curiously glance herway, being content to let well enough alone, although aware that my caremight be misinterpreted as a token of fear. But as to proving the caseagainst me, Daniel was at liberty to experiment with the status in quo. 

Toward evening we climbed a second wide, flat divide. We were leaving theRed Basin, they said, and about to cross into the Bitter Creek Plains, which, according to the talk, were "a damned sight wuss!" Somewhere in theBitter Creek Plains our course met the course of the Overland Stage road, trending up from the south for the passage of the Green River at thefarther edge of the Plains. 

I had only faint hope that Mrs. Montoyo would be delivered over to thestage there. It scarcely would be her wish. We were destined to travel onto Salt Lake City together--she, Daniel and I. 

If the Red Basin had been bad and if the Bitter Creek Plains were to beworse, assuredly this plateau was limbo: a gray, bleak, wind-sweptelevation fairly level and extending, in elevation perceptible mainly bythe vista, as far as eye might see, northward and southward, separatingbasin from basin--one Hell, as Jenks declared, from the other. 

Nevertheless there was a wild grandeur in the site, flooded all withcrimson as the sun sank in the clear western sky beyond the Plainsthemselves, so that our plateau was still bathed in ruddy color when theRed Basin upon the one hand had deepened to purple and the white blotchesof soda and alkali down in the Plains upon the other hand gleamed evillyin a tenuous gloaming. 

We had corralled adjacent to another tainted pond, of which the animalsrefused to drink but which furnished a little rank forage for them and anoasis for a half dozen ducks. A pretty picture these made, too, as theylightly sat the open water, burnished to brass by the sunset so that thesurface shimmered iridescent, its ripples from the floating bodies flowingmolten in all directions. 

After supper I took the notion to go over there, in the twilight, on idleexploration. Water of any kind had an appeal; a solitary pond always has;the ducks brought thoughts of home. Many a teal and widgeon and canvasbackhad fallen to my double-barreled Manton, back on the Atlantic coast--verylong ago, before I had got entangled in this confounded web ofmisadventure and homicidal tendencies. 

To the pond I went, mood subdued. It set slightly in a cup; and when I hademerged from a little swale or depression that I had followed, attractedby the laughter of children playing at the marge, whom should I see, approaching on line diagonal, but Mrs. Montoyo--her very hair andform--coming in likewise, perhaps with errand similar to mine: simpleinclination. 

And that (again perhaps) was a mutual surprise, indeed awkward to me, forwe both were in plain sight from the camp. Certainly I could not turn off, nor turn back. Not now. It was make or break. Hesitate I did, withinvoluntary action of muscles; I thought that she momentarily hesitated;then I drove on, defiant, and so did she. The fates were resolved thatthere should be no dilly-dallying by the principals chosen for this dramathat they had staged. 

Our obstinate paths met at the base of a small point white with alkali, running shortly into the sedges. Had we timed by agreement beforehand wecould not have acted with more precision. So here we halted, in narrowquarters, either willing but unable to yield to the other. 

She smiled. I thought that she looked thinner. 

"An unexpected pleasure, Mr. Beeson. At least, for me. It has been somedays. "

"I believe it has, " I granted. "Shall I pass on?"

"You might have turned aside. "

"And so, " I reminded, "might you. "

"But I didn't care to. "

"Neither did I, madam. The pond is free to all. "

I was conscious that a hush seemed to have gripped the whole camp, so thateven the animals had ceased bawling. The children near us stared, eyes andmouths open. 

"You have kept away from me purposely?" she asked. "I do not blame yourdiscretion. "

"I am not courting trouble. And as long as you are contented yonder----"

"I contented?" She drew up, paling. "Why do you say that, when you mustknow. " She laughed weakly. "I am still for the Lion's den. "

"You have become more reconciled--I've been requested not to interfere. "

"You? Without doubt. By Daniel, by Captain Adams, likely by others. Morethan requested, I fancy. And you do perfectly right to avoid trouble ifpossible. In fact, you can leave me now and continue your walk, sir, withno reproaches. Believe me, I shall not drag you farther into my affairs. "

"Daniel and Captain Adams have no weight with me, madam, " I stammered. "But when you yourself requested----"

"That was merely for the time being. I asked you to leave me at the firebecause I felt sure that Daniel would kill you. "

"But yesterday evening--I refer to yesterday, " I corrected. "You sent meword, following my talk with Hyrum. "

"I did not. "

"Not by Rachael?"

"No, sir. "

"I so understood. I thought that she intimated as much. She said that youwere to be happy; were already content. And that I would only be makingyou trouble if I continued our acquaintance. "

"Oh! Rachael. " She smiled with sudden softness. "Rachael cannotunderstand, either. I'm sure she intended well, poor soul. Were they alllike Rachael---- But I had no knowledge of her talk with you. Anyway, please leave me if you feel disposed. Whether I marry Daniel or not shouldbe no concern of yours. I shall have to find my own trail out. Look! Therego the ducks. I came down to watch them. Now neither of us has any excusefor staying. Good----"

The hush had tightened into a strange pent stillness like the poise ofearth and sky and beast and bird just before the breaking of a great andlowering storm. The quick clatter of the ducks' wings somehow alarmedme--the staring of the children, their eyes directed past us, sharpened mysenses for a new focus. And glancing, I witnessed Daniel nearing--stridingrapidly, straight for the point, a figure portentous in the fading glow, bringing the storm with him. 

She saw, too. Her eyes widened, startled, surveying not him, but me. 

"Please go. At once! I'll keep him. "

"It is too late now, " I asserted, in voice not mine. "I am here first andI'll go when I get ready. "

"You mean to face him?"

"I mean to hear what he has to say, and learn what he intends to do. Idon't see any other way--unless you really wish me to go?"

"No, no!" cried My Lady. "I don't want you to be harmed; but oh, how Ihave suffered. " All her countenance was suffused--with anger, with shame, and even with hope. She trembled, gazing at me, and fluctuant. 

"So have I, madam, " said I, grimly. 

"I think, " she remarked in quiet tone, "that in a show-down you will besthim. I'm sure of it; yes, I know it. You will play the man. You act cool. Good! Watch him very close. He'll give you little grace, this time. Butremember this: I'll never, never, never marry him. Rather than be bound tohim I'll deal with him myself. "

"It won't be necessary, madam, " said I--a catch in my throat; for while Iwas all iciness and clamminess, my hands cold and my tongue dry, I feltthat I was going to kill him at last. Something told me; the sheer horrorof it struck through; the inevitable loomed grisly and near indeed. 

A panoramic lifetime crowds the brain of a drowning man; that same crowdedmy brain during the few moments which swung in to us Daniel, scowling, masterful, his raw bulk and his long shambling stride never before soinsolent. 

From New York and home and peace I traveled clear here to desert, outlawryand blood--and thence on through a second life as a marked man; but whileI knew very well where I should shoot him (right through the heart), Iturned over and over the one doubtful pass: where would he shoot me? Shootme he would--chest, shoulder, arm, head; I could not escape, did not hopeto escape. Yet no matter where his ball ploughed (and I poignantly felt itenter and sear me) my final bullet would end the match. Also, I argued myrights in the business; argued them before my father and mother, beforethe camp, before the world. 

These thoughts which precede a certain duel to the death are not inspiringthoughts; since then I have learned that other men, even practicedgun-men, have had the same trepidation to the instant of pulling weapon. 

Daniel charged in for us. I did not touch revolver butt; he did not. MyLady lifted chin, to receive him. My eyes, fastened upon him, noted her, and noted, beyond us, the spying visages of the camp folk, all turned ourway, transfixed and agog. 

He barked first at her. 

"Go whar yu belong, yu Jezebel! Then I'll tend to this----" The rabidepithet leveled at me I shall not repeat. 

She straightened whitely. 

"Be careful what you say, Daniel. No man on this earth can speak to melike that. "

All his face flushed livid with a sneer, merging together yellow frecklesand tanned skin. 

"Can't, can't he? I kin an' I do. Why yu--yu--yu reckon yu kin shame me'fore that hull train? Yu sneak out this-away, meetin' this spindle-shank, no-'count States greenie who hain't sense enough to swing a bull whip an'ain't man enough to draw a gun? I've told yu an' I'm done tellin' yu. Nowyu git. I've stood yore fast an' loose plenty. I mean business. Git! Wharyu'll be safe. I'll not hold off much longer. "

"You threaten _me_?"

Her blue eyes were blazing above a spot of color in either cheek--with agrowl he took a step, so that she shrank from his clutching hand, itsscarred, burly fingers outcurved. And the time, perhaps the very momenthad arrived. I must, I must. 

"No more of that, you brute, " I uttered, while my pounding heart floodedme with a cold, tingling stream. "If you have anything to say, say it tome. "

He whirled. 

"Yu! Why, yu leetle piece o' nothin'--yu shut up!" By sudden reach hegripped her arm; to her sharp, short scream he thrust her about. 

"Git! I'm boss hyar. " And at me: "What yu goin' to do? She's promised tome. I'm takin' keer of her; she's rode on my wagon; an' naow yu think totoll her off? Yu meet her ag'in right under my nose arter I've warned yu?Git, yoreself, or I'll stomp on yu like on a louse. "

Absolutely, hot tears of mortification, of bitter injury, showed in hisglaring eyes. He was but a big boy, after all. 

"Our meeting here was entirely by accident, " I answered. "Mrs. Montoyo hadno expectation of seeing me, nor I of seeing her. You're making a fool ofyourself. "

He burst, red, quivering, insensate. 

"Yu're a liar! Yu're a sneakin', thievin' liar, like all Gentiles. Yu'reboth o' yu liars. What's she?" And he spoke it, raving with insult. "ButI'll tame her. She'll be snatched from yu an' yore kind. We'll settlenaow. Yu're a liar, I say. Yu gonna draw on me? Draw, yu Gentile dog; forif I lay hands on yu once----"

"Look out!" she gasped tensely. But she had spoken late. That cold bloodwhich had kept me in a tremor and a wonderment, awaiting his pistolmuzzle, exploded into a seethe of heat almost blinding me. I forgotinstructions, I disregarded every movement preliminary to the onset, Iremembered only the criminations and recriminations culminating here atlast. Bullets were too slow and easy. I did not see his revolver, I sawbut the hulk of him and the intolerable sneer of him, and that his fleshwas ready to my fingers. And quicker than his hand I was upon him, intohim, climbing him, clinging to him, arms binding him, legs twining aroundhis, each ounce of me greedy to crush him down and master him. 

The shock drove him backward. Again My Lady screamed shortly; the childrenscreamed. He proved very strong. Swelling and tugging and cursing he brokeone grip, but I was fast to him, now with guard against his holstered gun. We swayed and staggered, grappling hither and thither. I had his armspinioned once more, to bend him. He spat into my face; and shifting, sethis teeth into my shoulder so that they champed like the teeth of a horse, through shirt and hide to the flesh. I raised him; his boots hammered atmy shins, his knee struck me in the stomach and for an instant I sickened. Now I tripped him; we toppled together, came to the ground with a thump. Here we churned, while he flung me and still I stuck. The acrid dust ofthe alkali enveloped us. Again he spat, fetid--I sprawled upon him, smothering his flailing arms; gave him all my weight and strength; smelledthe sweat of him, snarled into his snarling face, close beneath mine. 

Once he partially freed himself and buffeted me in the mouth with hisfist, but I caught him--while struggling, tossed and upheaved, dimly sawthat as by a miracle we were surrounded by a ring of people, men andwomen, their countenances pale, alarmed, intent. Voices sounded in a dullroar. 

Presently I had him crucified: his one outstretched arm under my knees, his other arm tethered by my two hands, my body across his chest, whilehis legs threshed vainly. I looked down into his bulging crooked eyes, glaring back presumably into my eyes, and might draw breath. 

"'Nuf? Cry "Nuf, '" I bade. 

"'Nuf! Say "Nuf, '" echoed the crowd. 

He strained again, convulsive; and relaxed. 

"'Nuf!" he panted through bared teeth. "Lemme up, Mister. "

"This settles it?"

"I said "Nuf, '" he growled. 

With quick movement I sprang clear of him, to my feet. He lay for amoment, baleful, and slowly scrambled up. On a sudden, as he faced me, hishand shot downward--I heard the surge and shout of men and women, to thestunning report of his revolver ducked aside, felt my left arm jerk andsting--felt my own gun explode in my hand (and how it came there I did notknow)--beheld him spin around and collapse; an astonishing sight. 

CHAPTER XVII

THE TRAIL FORKS

So there I stood, amidst silence, gaping foolishly, breathing hard, myrevolver smoking in my fingers and my enemy in a shockingly prone postureat my feet, gradually reddening the white of the torn soil. He was uponhis face, his revolver hand outflung. He was harmless. The moment hadarrived and passed. I was standing here alive, I had killed him. 

Then I heard myself babbling. 

"Have I killed him? I didn't want to. I tell you, I didn't want to. "

Figures rushed in between. Hands grasped me, impelled me away, through ahaze; voices spoke in my ear while I feebly resisted, a warm salty tastein my throat. 

"I killed him. I didn't want to kill him. He made me do it. He shotfirst. "

"Yes, yes, " they said, soothing gruffly. "Shore he did; shore you didn't. It's all right. Come along, come along. "

Then----

"Pick him up. He's bad hurt, himself. See that blood? No, 'tain't his arm, is it? He's bleedin' internal. Whar's the hole? Wait! He's bustedsomething. "

They would have carried me. 

"No, " I cried, while their bearded faces swam. "He said "Nuf'--he shot meafterward. Not bad, is it? I can walk. "

"Not bad. Creased you in the arm, if that's all. What you spittin' bloodfor?"

As they hustled me onward I wiped my swollen lips; the back of my handseemed to be covered with thin blood. 

"Where he struck me, once, " I wheezed. 

"Yes, mebbe so. But come along, come along. We'll tend to you. "

The world had grown curiously darkened, so that we moved as through anobscuring veil; and I dumbly wondered whether this was night (had it beenmorning or evening when I started for the pond?) or whether I was dyingmyself. I peered and again made out the sober, stern faces hedging me, butthey gave me no answer to my mutely anxious query. Across a great distancewe stumbled by the wagons (the same wagons of a time agone), and halted ata fire. 

"Set down. Fetch a blanket, somebody. Whar's the water? Set down till welook you over. "

I let them sit me down. 

"Wash your mouth out. "

That was done, pinkish; and a second time, clearer. 

"You're all right. " Jenks apparently was ministering to me. "Swallerthis. "

The odor of whiskey fumed into my nostrils. I obediently swallowed, andgasped and choked. Jenks wiped my face with a sopping cloth. Hands wererummaging at my left arm; a bandage being wound about. 

"Nothin' much, " was the report. "Creased him, is all. Lucky he dodged. Itwas comin' straight for his heart. "

"He's all right, " Jenks again asserted. 

Under the bidding of the liquor the faintness from the exertion andreaction was leaving me. The slight hemorrhage from the strain to my weaklungs had ceased. I would live, I would live. But he--Daniel?

"Did I kill him?" I besought. "Not that! I didn't aim--I don't know how Ishot--but I had to. Didn't I?"

"You did. He'll not bother you ag'in. She's yourn. "

That hurt. 

"But it wasn't about her, it wasn't over Mrs. Montoyo. He bulliedme--dared me. We were man to man, boys. He made me fight him. "

"Yes, shore, " they agreed--and they were not believing. They still linkedme with a woman, whereas she had figured only as a transient occasion. 

Then she herself, My Lady, appeared, running in breathless and appealing. 

"Is Mr. Beeson hurt? Badly? Where is he? Let me help. "

She knelt beside me, her hand grasped mine, she gazed wide-eyed andimploring. 

"No, he's all right, ma'am. "

"I'm all right, I assure you, " I mumbled thickly, and helpless as a babeto the clinging of her cold fingers. 

"How's the other man?" they abruptly asked. 

"I don't know. He was carried away. But I think he's dead. I hope so--oh, I hope so. The coward, the beast!"

"There, there, " they quieted. "That's all over with. What he got is hisown business now. He hankered for it and was bound to have it. You'd beststay right hyar a spell. It's the place for you at present. "

They grouped apart, on the edge of the flickering fire circle. The duskhad heightened apace (for nightfall this really was), the glow and flickerbarely touched their blackly outlined forms, the murmur of their voicessounded ominous. In the circle we two sat, her hand upon mine, thrillingme comfortably yet abashing me. She surveyed me unwinkingly and grave--atriumph shining from her eyes albeit there were seamy shadows etched intoher white face. It was as though she were welcoming me through theoutposts of hell. 

"You killed him. I knew you would--I knew you'd have to. "

"I knew it, too, " I miserably faltered. "But I didn't want to--I shotwithout thinking. I might have waited. "

"Waited! How could you wait? 'Twas either you or he. "

"Then I wish it had been I, " I attempted. 

"What nonsense, " she flashed. "We all know you did your best to avoid it. But tell me: Do you think I dragged you into it? Do you hate me for it?"

"No. It happened when you were there. That's all. I'm sorry; only sorry. What's to be done next?"

"That will be decided, of course, " she said. "You will be protected, ifnecessary. You acted in self-defense. They all will swear to that and backyou up. "

"But you?" I asked, arousing from this unmanly despair which played me fora weakling. "You must be protected also. You can't go to that other camp, can you?"

She laughed and withdrew her hand; laughed hardly, even scornfully. 

"I? Above all things, don't concern yourself about me, please. I shalltake care of myself. He is out of the way. You have freed me of that much, Mr. Beeson, whether intentionally or not. And you shall be free, yourself, to act as your friends advise. You must leave me out of your plansaltogether. Yes, I know; you killed him. Why not? But he wasn't a man; hewas a wild animal. And you'll find there are matters more serious thankilling even a man, in this country. "

"You! You!" I insisted. "You shall be looked out for. We are partners inthis. He used your name; he made that an excuse. We shall have to makesome new arrangements for you--put you on the stage as soon as we can. Andmeanwhile----"

"There is no partnership, and I shall require no looking after, sir, " sheinterrupted. "If you are sorry that you killed him, I am not; but you areentirely free. "

The group at the edge of the fire circle dissolved. Jenks came and seatedhimself upon his hams, beside us. 

"Wall, how you feelin' now?" he questioned of me. 

"I'm myself again, " said I. 

"Your arm won't trouble you. Jest a flesh wound. There's nothin' betterthan axle grease. And you, ma'am?"

"Perfectly well, thank you. "

"You're the coolest of the lot, and no mistake, " he praised admiringly. "Wall, there'll be no more fracas to-night. Anyhow, the boys'll be onguard ag'in it; they're out now. You two can eat and rest a bit, whilstgettin' good and ready; and if you set out 'fore moon-up you can easy getcl'ar, with what help we give you. We'll furnish mounts, grub, anythingyou need. I'll make shift without Frank. "

"Mounts!" I blurted, with a start that waked my arm to throbbing. "'Setout, ' you say? Why? And where?"

"Anywhar. The stage road south'ard is your best bet. You didn't think tostay, did you? Not after that--after you'd plugged a Mormon, the son ofthe old man, besides! We reckoned you two had it arranged, by this time. "

"No! Never!" I protested. "You're crazy, man. I've never dreamed of anysuch thing; nor Mrs. Montoyo, either. You mean that I--we--should runaway? I'll not leave the train and neither shall she, until the propertime. Or do I understand that you disown us; turn your backs upon us;deliver us over?"

"Hold on, " Jenks bade. "You're barkin' up the wrong tree. 'Tain't aquestion of disownin' you. Hell, we'd fight for you and proud to do it, for you're white. But I tell you, you've killed one o' that party ahead, you've killed the wagon boss's son; and Hyrum, he's consider'ble of a manhimself. He stands well up, in the church. But lettin' that alone, he'scaptain of this train, he's got a dozen and more men back of him; and whenhe comes in the mornin' demandin' of you for trial by his Mormons, whatcan we do? Might fight him off; yes. Not forever, though. He's nearest tothe water, sech as it is, and our casks are half empty, critters dry. Wesha'n't surrender you; if we break with him we break ourselves and likelylose our scalps into the bargain. Why, we hadn't any idee but that you andher were all primed to light out, with our help. For if you stay you won'tbe safe anywhere betwixt here and Salt Lake; and over in Utah they'llvigilant you, shore as kingdom. As for you, ma'am, " he bluntly addressed, "we'd protect you to the best of ability, o' course; but you can see foryourself that Hyrum won't feel none too kindly toward you, and that ifyou'll pull out along with Beeson as soon as convenient you'll avoid aheap of unpleasantness. We'll take the chance on sneakin' you both away, and facin' the old man. "

"Mr. Beeson should go, " she said. "But I shall return to the Adams camp. Iam not afraid, sir. "

"Tut, tut!" he rapped. "I know you're not afraid; nevertheless we won'tlet you do it. "

"They wouldn't lay hands on me. "

"Um-m, " he mused. "Mebbe not. No, reckon they wouldn't. I'll say thatmuch. But by thunder they'd make you wish they did. They'd claim youtrapped Dan'l. You'd suffer for that, and in place of this boy, anda-plenty. Better foller your new man, lady, and let him stow you insafety. Better go back to Benton. "

"Never to Benton, " she declared. "And he's not my 'new man. ' I apologizeto him for that, from you, sir. "

"If you stay, I stay, then, " said I. "But I think we'd best go. It's theonly way. " And it was. We were twain in menace to the outfit and to eachother but inseparable. We were yoked. The fact appalled. It gripped mecoldly. I seemed to have bargained for her with word and fist and bullet, and won her; now I should appear to carry her off as my booty: a wife anda gambler's wife. Yet such must be. 

"You shall go without me. "

"I shall not. "

With a little sob she buried her face in her hands. 

"If you don't hate me now you soon will, " she uttered. "The cards don'tfall right--they don't, they don't. They've been against me from thefirst. I'm always forcing the play. "

Whereupon I knew that go together we should, or I was no man. 

"Pshaw, pshaw, " Jenks soothed. "Matters ain't so bad. We'll fix ye out andcover your trail. Moon'll be up in a couple o' hours. I'd advise you totake an hour's start of it, so as to get away easier. If you travelstraight south'ard you'll strike the stage road sometime in the mornin'. When you reach a station you'll have ch'ice either way. "

"I have money, " she said; and sat erect. 

CHAPTER XVIII

VOICES IN THE VOID

The directions had been plain. With the North Star and the moon as ourguides we scarcely could fail to strike the stage road where it bore offfrom the mountains northward into the desert. 

For the first half mile we rode without a word from either of us toviolate the truce that swathed us like the night. What her thoughts were Imight not know, but they sat heavy upon her, closing her throat with thetorture of vain self-reproach. That much I sensed. But I could notreassure her; could not volunteer to her that I welcomed her company, thatshe was blameless, that I had only defended my honor, that affairs wouldhave reduced to pistol work without impulse from her--that, in short, theresponsibility had been wholly Daniel's. My own thoughts were so grievousas to crush me with aching woe that forebade civil utterance. 

This, then, was I: somebody who had just killed a man, had broken from theopen trail and was riding, he knew not where, through darkness worse thannight, himself an outlaw with an outlawed woman--at the best a chancewoman, an adventuring woman, and as everybody could know, a claimedwoman, product of dance hall and gaming resort, wife of a half-breedgambler, and now spoil of fist and revolver. 

But that which burned me almost to madness, like hot lava underneath thedeadening crust, was the thought that I had done a deed and a defensibledeed, and was fleeing from it the same as a criminal. Such a contingencynever had occurred to me or I might have taken a different course, stillwith decency; although what course I could not figure. 

We rode, our mules picking their way, occasionally stumbling on rocks andshrubs. At last she spoke in low, even tones. 

"What do you expect to do with me, please?"

"We shall have to do whatever is best for yourself, " I managed to answer. "That will be determined when we reach the stage line, I suppose. "

"Thank you. Once at the stage line and I shall contrive. You must have nothought of me. I understand very well that we should not travel far incompany--and you may not wish to go in my direction. You have plans ofyour own?"

"None of any great moment. Everything has failed me, to date. There isonly the one place left: New York State, where I came from. I probably canwork my way back--at least, until I can recoup by telegraph message andthe mails. "

"You have one more place than I, " she replied. She hesitated. "Will youlet me lend you some money?"

"I've been paid my wages due, " said I. "But, " I added, "you have a place, you have a home: Benton. "

"Oh, Benton!" She laughed under breath. "Never Benton. I shall make shiftwithout Benton. "

"You will tell me, though?" I urged. "I must have your address, to knowthat you reach safety. "

"You are strictly business. I believe that I accused you before of being aYankee. " And I read sarcasm in her words. 

Her voice had a quality of definite estimation which nettled, humbled, andisolated me, as if I lacked in some essential to a standard set. 

"So you are going home, are you?" she resumed. "With the clothes on yourback, or will you stop at Benton for your trunk?"

"With the clothes on my back, " I asserted bitterly. "I've no desire to seeBenton. The trunk can be shipped to me. "

She said on, in her cool impersonal tone. 

"That is the easiest way. You will live warm and comfortably. You willneed to wear no belt weapon. The police will protect you. If a man injuresyou, you can summon him at law and wash your hands of him. Instead ofstaking on your luck among new people, you can enter into business amongyour friends and win from them. You can marry the girl next door--or eventake the chance of the one across the street, her parentage being comme ilfaut. You can tell stories of your trip into the Far West; your childrenwill love to hear of the rough mule-whacker trail--yes, you will havegreat tales but you will not mention that you killed a man who tried tokill you and then rode for a night with a strange woman alone at yourstirrup. Perhaps you will venture to revisit these parts by steam train, and from the windows of your coach point out the places where you sufferedthose hardships and adventures from which you escaped by leaving themaltogether. Your course is the safe course. By all means take it, Mr. Beeson, and have your trunk follow you. "

"That I shall do, madam, " I retorted. "The West and I have not agreed;and, I fear, never shall. "

"By honest confession, it has bested you; and in short order. "

"In short order, since you put it that way. Only a fool doesn't know whento quit. "

"The greatest fool is the one who fools himself, in the quitting as inother matters. But you will have no regrets--except about Daniel, possibly. "

"None whatever, save the regret that I ever tried this country. I wish toGod I had never seen it--I did not conceive that I should have to take ahuman life--should be forced to that--become like an outlaw in the night, riding for refuge----" And I choked passionately. 

"You deserve much sympathy, " she remarked, in that even tone. 

I lapsed into a turbulence of voiceless rage at myself, at her, atDaniel's treachery, at all the train, at Benton, and again at this damningpredicament wherein I had landed. When I was bound to wrest free afterhaving done my utmost, she appeared to be twitting me because I would notsubmit to farther use by her. I certainly had the right to extricatemyself in the only way left. 

So I conned over and over, and my heart gnawed, and the acid of vexationboiled in my throat, and despite the axle grease my arm nagged; while werode unspeaking, like some guilty pair through purgatory. 

My lip had subsided; the pistol wound was superficial. Under differentcircumstances the way would have been full of beauty. The high desertstretched vastly, far, far, far before, behind, on either side, theparched gauntness of its daytime aspect assuaged and evanescent. For themoon, now risen, although on the wane, shed a light sufficient, whiteningthe rocks and the scattered low shrubs, painting the land with sharp blackshadows, and enclosing us about with the mystery of great softly illuminedspaces into which silent forms vanished as if tempting us aside. Ofthese--rabbits, wolves, animals only to be guessed--there were many, likepotential phantoms quickened by the touch of the moonbeams. Mule-back, wetwain towered, the sole intruders visible between the two elysians ofglorified earth and beatific sky. 

The course was southward. After a time it seemed to me that we weredescending from the plateau; craunching gradually down a flank until, in amile or so, we were again upon the level, cutting through another basinformed by the dried bed of an ancient lake whose waters had evaporatedinto deposits of salt and soda. 

At first the mules had plodded with ears pricked forward, and with sundrysnorts and stares as if they were seeing portents in the moonshine. Eventually their imaginings dulled, so that they now moved careless ofwhere or why, their heads drooped, their minds devoted to achieving whatrest they might in the merely mechanical setting of hoof before hoof. 

I could not but be aware of my companion. Her hair glinted paly, for sherode bareheaded; her gown, tightened under her as she sat astride, revealed the lines of her boyish limbs. She was a woman, in any guise; andI being a man, protect her I should, as far as necessary. I found myselfwishing that we could upturn something pleasant to talk about; it wasungracious, even wicked, to ride thus side by side through peace andbeauty, with lips closed and war in the heart, and final parting as themain desire. 

But her firm pose and face steadily to the fore invited with no sign; andafter covertly stealing a glance or two at her clear unresponsive profileI still could manage no theme that would loosen my tongue. Thereby lether think me a dolt. Thank Heaven, after another twenty-four hours at mostit might not matter what she thought. 

The drooning round of my own thoughts revolved over and over, and thescuffing gait of the mules upon way interminable began to numb me. Lassitude seemed to be enfolding us both; I observed that she rode laxly, with hand upon the horn and a weary yielding to motion. Words might havestirred us, but no words came. Presently I caught myself dozing in thesaddle, aroused only by the twitching of my wounded arm. Then again Idozed, and kept dozing, fairly dead for sleep, until speak she did, hervoice drifting as from afar but fetching me awake and blinking. 

"Hadn't we better stop?" she repeated. 

That was a curious sensation. When I stared about, uncomprehending, myview was shut off by a whiteness veiling the moon above and the earthbelow except immediately underneath my mule's hoofs. She herself was aspecter; the weeds that we brushed were spectral; every sound that we madewas muffled, and in the intangible, opaquely lucent shroud which hadenveloped us like the spirit of a sea there was no life nor movement. 

"What's the matter?" I propounded. 

"The fog. I don't know where we are. "

"Oh! I hadn't noticed. "

"No, " she said calmly. "You've been asleep. "

"Haven't you?"

"Not lately. But I don't think there's any use in riding on. We've lostour bearings. "

She was ahead; evidently had taken the lead while I slept. Thatrealization straightened me, shamed, in my saddle. The fog, fleecy, not sowet as impenetrable--when had it engulfed us?

"How long have we been in it?" I asked, thoroughly vexed. 

"An hour, maybe. We rode right into it. I thought we might leave it, butwe don't. It's as thick as ever. We ought to stop. "

"I suppose we ought, " said I. 

And at the moment we entered into a sudden clearing amidst the fogenclosure: a tract of a quarter of an acre, like a hollow center, with thewhite walls held apart and the stars and moon faintly glimmering downthrough the mist roof overhead. 

She drew rein and half turned in the saddle. I could see her face. It wasdank and wan and heavy-eyed; her hair, somewhat robbed of its sheen, crowned with a pallid golden aureole. 

"Will this do? If we go on we'll only be riding into the fog again. "

I was conscious of the thin, apparently distant piping of frogs. 

"There seems to be a marsh beyond, " she uttered. 

"Yes, we'd better stop where we are, " I agreed. "Then in the morning wecan take stock. "

"In the morning, surely. We may not be far astray. " She swung off before Ihad awkwardly dismounted to help her. Her limbs failed--my own wereclamped by stiffness--and she staggered and collapsed with a littlelaugh. 

"I'm tired, " she confessed. "Wait just a moment. "

"You stay where you are, " I ordered, staggering also as I hastily landed. "I'll make camp. "

But she would have none of that; pleaded my one-handedness and insistedupon coöperating at the mules. We seemed to be marooned upon a small riseof gravel and coarsely matted dried grasses. The animals were staked out, fell to nibbling. I sought a spot for our beds; laid down a buffalo robefor her and placed her saddle as her pillow. She sank with a sigh, tuckingher skirt under her, and I folded the robe over. 

Her face gazed up at me; she extended her hand. 

"You are very kind, sir, " she said, in a smile that pathetically curvedher lips. There, at my knees, she looked so worn, so slight, so childish, so in need of encouragement that all was well and that she had a friend toserve her, that with a rush of sudden sympathy I would--indeed I couldhave kissed her, upon the forehead if not upon the lips themselves. It wasan impulse well-nigh overmastering; an impulse that must have dazed me sothat she saw or felt, for a tinge of pink swept into her skin; shewithdrew her hand and settled composedly. 

"Good-night. Please sleep. In the morning we'll reach the stage road andyour troubles will be near the end. "

Under my own robe I lay for a long time reviewing past and present anddiscussing with myself the future. Strangely enough the present occupiedme the most; it incorporated with that future beyond the fog, and when Iput her out back she came as if she were part and parcel of my life. Therewas a sense of balance; we had been associates, fellow tenants--in fact, she was entwined with the warp and woof of all my memories dating far backto my entrance, fresh and hopeful, into the new West. It ratherflabbergasted me to find myself thinking that the future was going to bevery tame; perhaps, as she had suggested, regretful. I had not apprehendedthat the end should be so drastic. 

And whether the regrets would center upon my slinking home defeated, or inhaving definitely cast her away, puzzled me as sorely as it did todiscover that I was well content to be here, with her, in our littleclearing amidst the desert fog, listening to her soft breathing anddebating over what she might have done had I actually kissed her tocomfort her and assure her that I was not unmindful of her really bravespirit. 

Daniel had been disposed of, Montoyo did not deserve her; I had won her, she could inspire and guide me if I stayed; and I saw myself staying, andI saw myself going home, and I already regretted a host of things, as aman will when at the forking of the trails. 

The fog gently closed in during the night. When I awakened we were againenshrouded by the fleece of it, denser than when we had ridden through it, but now whiter with the dawn. As I gazed sleepily about I could just makeout the forms of the two mules, standing motionless and huddled; I couldsee her more clearly, at shorter distance--her buffalo robe moist with thesemblance of dew that had beaded also upon her massy hair. 

Evidently she had not stirred all night; might be still asleep. No; hereyes were open, and when I stiffly shifted posture she looked across atme. 

"Sh!" she warned, with quick shake of head. The same warning bade melisten. In a moment I heard voices. 

CHAPTER XIX

I STAKE AGAIN

They were indistinguishable except as vocal sounds deadened by theimpeding fog; but human voices they certainly were. Throwing off her robeshe abruptly sat up, seeking, her features tensed with the strain. Shebeckoned to me. I scuttled over, as anxious as she. The voices might befar, they might be near; but it was an eerie situation, as if we wereneighboring with warlocks. 

"I've been hearing them some little while, " she whispered. 

"The Captain Adams men may be trailing us?"

"I hope not! Oh, I hope not, " she gasped, in sheer agony. "If we mightonly know in time. "

Suddenly the fog was shot with gold, as the sun flashed in. In obedienceto the command a slow and stately movement began, by all the troops ofmist. The myriad elements drifted in unison, marching and countermarchingand rearranging, until presently, while we crouched intent to fathom thesecrets of their late camp, a wondrously beautiful phenomenon offered. 

The great army rose for flight, lifting like a blanket. Gradually theearth appeared in glimpses beneath their floating array, so that whereasour plot of higher ground was still invested, stooping low and scanning wecould see beyond us by the extent of a narrow thinning belt capped withthe heavier white. 

"There!" she whispered, pointing. "Look! There they are!"

Feet, legs, moving of themselves, cut off at the knees by the fog layer, distant not more than short rifle range: that was what had been revealed. A peculiar, absurd spectacle of a score or two of amputated limbs nowresurrected and blindly in quest of bodies. 

"The Mormons!" I faltered. 

"No! Leggins! Moccasins! They are Indians. We must leave right away beforethey see us. "

With our stuff she ran, I ran, for the mules. We worked rapidly, bridlingand saddling while the fog rose with measured steadiness. 

"Hurry!" she bade. 

The whole desert was a golden haze when having packed we climbedaboard--she more spry than I, so that she led again. 

As we urged outward the legs, behind, had taken to themselves thighs. Butthe mist briefly eddied down upon us; our mules' hoofs made no soundappreciable, on the scantily moistened soil; we lost the legs, and thevoices, and pressing the pace I rode beside her. 

"Where?" I inquired. 

"As far as we can while the fog hangs. Then we must hide in the first goodplace. If they don't strike our trail we'll be all right. "

The fog lingered in patches. From patch to patch we threaded, with many aglance over shoulder. But time was traveling faster. I marked hersearching about nervously. Blue had already appeared above, the sun foundus again and again, and the fog remnants went spinning and coiling, inlast ghostly dance like that of frenzied wraiths. 

Now we came to a rough outcrop of red sandstone, looming ruddily on ourright. She quickly swerved for it. 

"The best chance. I see nothing else, " she muttered. "We can tie the mulesunder cover, and wait. We'll surely be spied if we keep on. "

"Couldn't we risk it?"

"No. We've not start enough. "

In a moment we had gained the refuge. The sculptured rock masses, detachedone from another, several jutting ten feet up, received us. We tied themules short, in a nook at the rear; and we ourselves crawled on, fartherin, until we lay snug amidst the shadowing buttresses, with the desertvista opening before us. 

The fog wraiths were very few; the sun blazed more vehemently and wipedthem out, so that through the marvelously clear air the expanse of lone, weird country stood forth clean cut. No moving object could escape noticein this watchful void. And we had been just in time. The slight knoll hadbeen left not a mile to the southwest. I heard My Lady catch breath, felther hand find mine as we lay almost touching. Rounding the knoll thereappeared a file of mounted figures; by their robes and blankets, theirtufted lances and gaudy shields, yes, by the very way they sat theirpainted ponies, Indians unmistakably. 

"They must have been camped near us all night. " And she shuddered. "Now ifthey only don't cross our trail. We mustn't move. "

They came on at a canter, riding bravely, glancing right and left--a scoreof them headed by a scarlet-blanketed man upon a spotted horse. Sotransparent was the air, washed by the fog and vivified by the sun, that Icould decipher the color pattern of his shield emblazonry: a checkerboardof red and black. 

"A war party. Sioux, I think, " she said. "Don't they carry scalps on thatfirst lance? They've been raiding the stage line. Do you see any squaws?"

"No, " I hazarded, with beating heart. "All warriors, I should guess. "

"All warriors. But squaws would be worse. "

On they cantered, until their paint stripes and daubs were hideouslyplain; we might note every detail of their savage muster. They wereparalleling our outward course; indeed, seemed to be diverging from ourambush and making more to the west. And I had hopes that, after all, wewere safe. Then her hand clutched mine firmly. A wolf had leaped fromcovert in the path of the file; loped eastward across the desert, andinstantly, with a whoop that echoed upon us like the crack of doom, ayoung fellow darted from the line in gay pursuit. 

My Lady drew quick breath, with despairing exclamation. 

"That is cruel, cruel! They might have ridden past; but now--look!"

The stripling warrior (he appeared to be scarcely more than a boy)hammered in chase, stringing his bow and plucking arrow. The wolf cast eyeover plunging shoulder, and lengthened. Away they tore, while the fileslackened, to watch. Our trail of flight bore right athwart the wolf'sprojected route. There was just the remote chance that the lad wouldoverrun it, in his eagerness; and for that intervening moment of grace westared, fascinated, hand clasping hand. 

"He's found it! He's found it!" she announced, in a little wail. 

In mid-career the boy had checked his pony so shortly that the four hoofsploughed the sand. He wheeled on a pivot and rode back for a few yards, scanning the ground, letting the wolf go. The stillness that had settledwhile we gazed and the file of warriors, reining, gazed, gripped andfairly hurt. I cursed the youth. Would to God he had stayed at home--Godgrant that mangy wolf died by trap or poison. Our one chance made thesport of an accidental view-halloo, when all the wide desert was open. 

The youth had halted again, leaning from his saddle pad. He raised, heflung up glad hand and commenced to ride in circles, around and around andaround. The band galloped to him. 

"Yes, he has found it, " she said. "Now they will come. "

"What shall we do?" I asked her. 

And she answered, releasing my hand. 

"I don't know. But we must wait. We can stand them off for a while, Isuppose----"

"I'll do my best, with the revolver, " I promised. 

"Yes, " she murmured. "But after that----?"

I had no reply. This contingency--we two facing Indians--was outside mycalculations. 

The Indians had grouped; several had dismounted, peering closely at ourtrail, reading it, timing it, accurately estimating it. They had nodifficulty, for the hoof prints were hardly dried of the fog moisture. Theothers sat idly, searching the horizons with their eyes, but at confidentease. In the wide expanse this rock fortress of ours seemed to me tosummon imperatively, challenging them. They surely must know. Yet therethey delayed, torturing us, playing blind, emulating cat and mouse; but ofcourse they were reasoning and making certain. 

Now the dismounted warriors vaulted ahorse; at a gesture from the chieftwo men rode aside, farther to the east, seeking other sign. They foundnone, and to his shrill hail they returned. 

There was another command. The company had strung bows, stripped theirrifles of the buckskin sheaths, had dropped robe and blanket about theirloins; they spread out to right and left in close skirmish order; theyadvanced three scouts, one on the trail, one on either flank; and in abroadened front they followed with a discipline, an earnestness, aprecision of purpose and a deadly anticipation that drowned every fleetinghope. 

This was unbearable: to lie here awaiting an inevitable end. 

"Shall we make a break for it?" I proposed. "Ride and fight? We mightreach the train, or a stage station. Quick!"

In my wild desire for action I half arose. Her hand restrained me. 

"It would be madness, Mr. Beeson. We'd stand no show at all in the open;not on these poor mules. " She murmured to herself. "Yes, they're Sioux. That's not so bad. Were they Cheyennes--dog-soldiers---- Let me think. Imust talk with them. "

"But they're coming, " I rasped. "They're getting in range. We've the gun, and twenty cartridges. Maybe if I kill the chief----"

She spoke, positive, under breath. 

"Don't shoot! Don't! They know we're here--know it perfectly well. I shalltalk with them. "

"You? How? Why? Can you persuade them? Would they let us go?"

"I'll do what I can. I have a few words of Sioux; and there's the signlanguage. See, " she said. "They've discovered our mules. They know we'reonly two. "

The scouts on either flanks had galloped outward and onward, in swiftcircle, peering at our defenses. Lying low they scoured at full speed;with mutual whoop they crisscrossed beyond and turned back for the mainbody halted two hundred yards out upon the flat plain. 

There was a consultation; on a sudden a great chorus of exultant criesrang, the force scattered, shaking fists and weapons, preparing for atentative charge; and ere I could stop her My Lady had sprung upright, tomount upon a rock and all in view to hold open hand above her head. Thesunshine glinted upon her hair; a fugitive little breeze bound her shabbygown closer about her slim figure. 

They had seen her instantly. Another chorus burst, this time inastonishment; a dozen guns were leveled, covering her and our nest whileevery visage stared. But no shot belched; thank God, no shot, with mepowerless to prevent, just as I was powerless to intercept her. The chiefrode forward, at a walk, his hand likewise lifted. 

[Illustration: The Scouts Galloped Onward]

"Keep down! Keep down, please, " she directed to me, while she stoodmotionless. "Let me try. "

The chief neared until we might see his every lineament--every item of histrappings, even to the black-tipped eagle feather erect at the part in hisbraids. And he rode carelessly, fearlessly, to halt within easy speakingdistance; sat a moment, rifle across his leggined thighs and the folds ofhis scarlet blanket--a splendid man, naked from the waist up, his copperychest pigment-daubed, his slender arms braceleted with metal, his eyesdevouring her so covetously that I felt the gloating thoughts behindthem. 

He called inquiringly: a greeting and a demand in one, it sounded. Shereplied. And what they two said, in word and sign, I could not know, butall the time I held my revolver upon him, until to my relief he abruptlywheeled his horse and cantered back to his men, leaving me with wristaching and heart pounding madly. 

She stepped lightly down; answered my querying look. 

"It's all right. I'm going, and so are you, " she said, with a faint smile, oddly subtle--a tremulous smile in a white face. 

About her there was a mystery which alarmed me; made me sit up, chilled, to eye her and accuse. 

"Where? We are free, you mean? What's the bargain?"

"I go to them. You go where you choose--to the stage road, of course. Ihave his promise. "

This brought me to my feet, rigid; more than scandalized, for no word canexpress the shock. 

"You go to them? And then where?"

She answered calmly, flushing a little, smiling a little, her eyessincere. 

"It's the best way and the only way. We shall neither of us be harmed, now. The chief will provide for me and you yourself are free. No, no, " shesaid, checking my first indignant cry. "Really I don't mind. The Indiansare about the only persons left to me. I'll be safe with them. " Shelaughed rather sadly, but brightened. "I don't know but that I prefer themto the whites. I told you I had no place. And this saves you also, yousee. I got you into it--I've felt that you blamed me, almost hated me. Things have been breaking badly for me ever since we met again in Benton. So it's up to me to make good. You can go home, and I shall not beunhappy, I think. Please believe that. The wife of a great chief is quitea personage--he won't inquire into my past. But if we try to stay here youwill certainly be killed, and I shall suffer, and we shall gain nothing. You must take my money. Please do. Then good-bye. I told him I would comeout, under his promise. "

She and the rocks reeled together. That was my eyes, giddy with a rush ofblood, surging and hot. 

"Never, never, never!" I was shouting, ignoring her hand. How she hadmisjudged me! What a shame she had put upon me! I could not credit. "Youshall not--I tell you, you sha'n't. I won't have it--it's monstrous, preposterous. You sha'n't go, I sha'n't go. But wherever we go we'll gotogether. We'll stand them off. Then if they can take us, let 'em. Youmake a coward of me--a dastard. You've no right to. I'd rather die. "

"Listen, " she chided, her hand grasping my sleeve. "They would take meanyway--don't you see? After they had killed you. It would be the worsefor both of us. What can you do, with one arm, and a revolver, and anunlucky woman? No, Mr. Beeson (she was firm and strangely formal); thecards are faced up. I have closed a good bargain for both of us. When youare out, you need say nothing. Perhaps some day I may be ransomed, shouldI wish to be. But we can talk no further now. He is impatient. Themoney--you will need the money, and I shall not. Please turn your back andI'll get at my belt. Why, " she laughed, "how well everything is coming. You are disposed of, I am disposed of----"

"Money!" I roared. "God in Heaven! You disposed of? I disposed of? And myhonor, madam! What of that?"

"And what of mine, Mr. Beeson?" She stamped her foot, coloring. "Will youturn your back, or----? Oh, we've talked too long. But the belt you shallhave. Here----" She fumbled within her gown. "And now, adios and goodluck. You shall not despise me. "

The chief was advancing accompanied by a warrior. Behind him his menwaited expectant, gathered as an ugly blotch upon the dun desert. Herhonor? The word had double meaning. Should she sacrifice the one honor inthis crude essay to maintain the other which she had not lost, to my nowopened eyes? I could not deliver her tender body over to that paintedswaggerer--any more than I could have delivered it over to Daniel himself. At last I knew, I knew. History had written me a fool, and a cad, but itshould not write me a dastard. We were together, and together we shouldalways be, come weal or woe, life or death. 

The money belt had been dropped at my feet. She had turned--I leapedbefore her, thrust her to rear, answered the hail of the pausing chief. 

"No!" I squalled. And I added for emphasis: "You go to hell. "

He understood. The phrase might have been familiar English to him. I sawhim stiffen in his saddle; he called loudly, and raised his rifle, threatening; with a gasp--a choked "Good-bye"--she darted by me, runningon for the open and for him. She and he filled all my landscape. In astark blinding rage of fear, chagrin, rancorous jealousy, I leveledrevolver and pulled trigger, but not at her, though even that was notbeyond me in the crisis. 

The bullet thwacked smartly; the chief uttered a terrible cry, his riflewas tossed high, he bowed, swayed downward, his comrade grabbed him, andthey were racing back closely side by side and she was running back to meand the warriors were shrieking and brandishing their weapons and bulletsspatted the rocks--all this while yet my hand shook to the recoil of therevolver and the smoke was still wafting from the poised muzzle. 

What had I done? But done it was. 

CHAPTER XX

THE QUEEN WINS

She arrived breathless, distraught, instantly to drag me down beside her, from where I stood stupidly defiant. 

"Keep out of sight, " she panted. And--"Oh, why did you do it? Why did you?I think you killed him--they'll never forgive. They'll call it treachery. You're lost, lost. "

"But he sha'n't have you, " I gabbled. "Let them kill me if they can. Tillthen you're mine. Mine! Don't you understand? I want you. "

"I don't understand, " she faltered. She turned frightened face upon me. "You should have let me go. Nothing can save you now; not even I. You'veruined the one chance you had. I wonder why. It was my own choice--you hadno hand in it, and it was my own chance, too. " Her voice broke, her eyeswelled piteously. "But you fired on him. "

"That was the only answer left me, " I entreated. "You misjudged me, youshamed me. I tell you----"

Her lips slightly curled. 

"Misjudged you? Shamed you? Was that all? You've misjudged and shamed mefor so long----" A burst of savage hoots renewed interrupted. "They'recoming!" She knelt up, to peer; I peered. The Indians had deployed, leaving the chief lying upon the ground, their fierce countenances glaringat our asylum. How clear their figures were, in the sunshine, limnedagainst the lazy yellowish sand, under the peaceful blue! "They'llsurround us. I might parley for myself, but I can do nothing for you. "

"Parley, then, " I bade. "Save yourself, any way you can. "

She drew in, whitening as if I had struck her. 

"And you accuse me of having misjudged you! I save myself--merely myself?What do you intend to do? Fight?"

"As long as you are with me; and after. They'll never take me alive; andtake you they shall not if I can prevent it. Damn them, if they get you Imean to make them pay for you. You're all I have. "

"You'd rather I'd stay? You need me? Could I help?"

"Need you!" I groaned. "I'm just finding out, too late. "

"And help? How? Quick! Could I?"

"By staying; by not surrendering yourself--your honor, my honor. By sayingthat you'd rather stay with me, for life, for death, here, anywhere--after I've said that I'm not deaf, blind, dumb, ungrateful. Ilove you; I'd rather die for you than live without you. "

Such a glory glowed in her haggard face and shone from her brimming eyes. 

"We will fight, we will fight!" she chanted. "Now I shall not leave you. Oh, my man! Had you kissed me last night we would have known this longer. We have so little time. " She turned from my lips. "Not now. They'recoming. Fight first; and at the end, then kiss me, please, and we'll gotogether. "

The furious yells from that world outside vibrated among our rocks. TheSioux all were in motion, except the prostrate figure of the chief. Straight onward they charged, at headlong gallop, to ride over us like agrotesquely tinted wave, and the dull drumming of their ponies' hoofs beata diapason to the shrill clamor of their voices. It was enough to cow, butshe spoke steadily. 

"You must fire, " she said. "Hurry! Fire once, maybe twice, to split them. I don't think they'll rush us, yet. "

So I rose farther on my knees and fired once--and again, pointblank atthem with the heavy Colt's. It worked a miracle. Every mother's son ofthem fell flat upon his pony; they all swooped to right and to left as ifthe bullets had cleaved them apart in the center; and while I gaped, wondering, they swept past at long range, half on either flank, pelting inbullet and near-spent arrow. 

She forced me down. 

"Low, low, " she warned. "They'll circle. They hold their scalps dearly. Wecan only wait. That was three. You have fifteen shots left, for them;then, one for me, one for you. You understand?"

"I understand, " I replied. "And if I'm disabled----?"

She answered quietly. 

"It will be the same. One for you, one for me. "

The circle had been formed: a double circle, to move in two directions, scudding ring reversed within scudding ring, the bowmen outermost. Aroundand 'round and 'round they galloped, yelling, gibing, taunting, shootingso malignantly that the air was in a constant hum and swish. The leadwhined and smacked, the shafts streaked and clattered----

"Are you sorry I shot the chief?" I asked. Amid the confusion my blood wascoursing evenly, and I was not afraid. Of what avail was fear?

"I'm glad, glad, " she proclaimed. But with sudden movement she was gone, bending low, then crawling, then whisking from sight. Had she abandonedme, after all? Had she--no! God be thanked, here she came back, flushedand triumphant, a canteen in her hand. 

"The mules might break, " she explained, short of breath. "This canteen isfull. We'll need it. The other mule is frantic. I couldn't touch her. "

At the moment I thought how wise and brave and beautiful she was! Mine forthe hour, here--and after? Montoyo should never have her; not in life norin death. 

"You must stop some of those fiends from sneaking closer, " she counseled. "See? They're trying us out. "

More and more frequently some one of the scurrying enemy veered sharply, tore in toward us, hanging upon the farther side of his horse; boldlyjerked erect and shot, and with demi-volt of his mount was away, whooping. 

I had been desperately saving the ammunition, to eke out this hour of minewith her. Every note from the revolver summoned the end a little nearer. But we had our game to play; and after all, the end was certain. So underher prompting (she being partner, commander, everything), when the nextpainted ruffian--a burly fellow in drapery of flannel-fringed cottonshirt, with flaunting crimson tassels on his pony's mane--bore down, Iguessed shrewdly, arose and let him have it. 

She cried out, clapping her hands. 

"Good! Good!"

The pony was sprawling and kicking; the rider had hurtled free, and wentjumping and dodging like a jack-rabbit. 

"To the right! Watch!"

Again I needs must fire, driving the rascals aside with the report of theColt's. That was five. Not sparing my wounded arm I hastily reloaded, forby custom of the country the hammer had rested over an empty chamber. Ifilled the cylinder. 

"They're killing the mules, " she said. "But we can't help it. "

The two mules were snorting and plunging; their hoofs rang against therocks. Sioux to rear had dismounted and were shooting carefully. There wasexultant shout--one mule had broken loose. She galloped out, reddened, stirrups swinging, canteen bouncing, right into the waiting line; and downshe lunged, abristle with feathered points launched into her by sheerspiteful joy. 

The firing was resumed. We heard the other mule scream with noteindescribable; we heard him flounder and kick; and again the savagesyelled. 

Now they all charged recklessly from the four sides; and I had to standand fire, right, left, before, behind, emptying the gun once more ere theyscattered and fled. I sensed her fingers twitching at my belt, extractingfresh cartridges. We sank, breathing hard. Her eyes were wide, and bluerthan any deepest summer sea; her face aflame; her hair of purest gold--andupon her shoulder a challenging oriflamme of scarlet, staining a rent inthe faded calico. 

"You're hurt!" I blurted, aghast. 

"Not much. A scratch. Don't mind it. And you?"

"I'm not touched. "

"Load, sir. But I think we'll have a little space. How many left? Nine. "She had been counting. "Seven for them. "

"Seven for them, " I acknowledged. I tucked home the loads; the six-shooterwas ready. 

"Now let them come, " she murmured. 

"Let them come, " I echoed. We looked one upon the other, and we smiled. Itwas not so bad, this place, our minds having been made up to it. In fact, there was something sweet. Our present was assured; we faced a futuretogether, at least; we were in accord. 

The Sioux had retired, mainly to sit dismounted in close circle, for aconfab. Occasionally a young brave, a vidette, exuberantly galloped forus, dared us, shook hand and weapon at us, no doubt spat at us, and gainednothing by his brag. 

"What will they do next?" I asked. 

"I don't know, " said she. "We shall see, though. "

So we lay, gazing, not speaking. The sun streamed down, flattening thedesert with his fervent beams until the uplifts cringed low and in thehorizons the mountain peaks floated languidly upon the waves of heat. Andin all this dispassionate land, from horizon to horizon, there were onlyMy Lady and I, and the beleaguering Sioux. It seemed unreal, a fantasy;but the rocks began to smell scorched, a sudden thirst nagged and mywounded arm pained with weariness as if to remind that I was here, in thebody. Yes, and here she was, also, in the flesh, as much as I, for shestirred, glanced at me, and smiled. I heard her, saw her, felt herpresence. I placed my hand over hers. 

"What is it?" she queried. 

"Nothing. I wanted to make sure. "

"Of yourself?"

"Of you, me--of everything. "

"There can be no doubt, " she said. "I wish there might, for your sake. "

"No, " I thickly answered. "If you were only out of it--if we could findsome way. "

"I'd rather be in here, with you, " said she. 

"And I, with you, then, " I replied honestly. The thought of waterobsessed. She must have read, for she inquired:

"Aren't you thirsty?"

"Are you?"

"Yes. Why don't we drink?"

"Should we?"

"Why not? We might as well be as comfortable as we can. " She reached forthe canteen lying in a fast dwindling strip of rock shade. We dranksparingly. She let me dribble a few drops upon her shoulder. Thenceforthby silent agreement we moistened our tongues, scrupulously turn about, wringing the most from each brief sip as if testing the bouquet ofexquisite wine. Came a time when we regretted this frugalness; but justnow there persisted within us, I suppose, that germ of hope which seems tobe nourished by the soul. 

The Sioux had counciled and decided. They faced us, in manner determined. We waited, tense and watchful. Without even a premonitory shout a ponybolted for us, from their huddle. He bore two riders, naked to the sun, save for breech clouts. They charged straight in, and at her mystified, alarmed murmur I was holding on them as best I could, finger crookedagainst trigger, coaxing it, praying for luck, when the rear rider droppedto the ground, bounded briefly and dived headlong, worming into a littlehollow of the sand. 

He lay half concealed; the pony had wheeled to a shrill, jubilant chorus;his remaining rider lashed him in retreat, leaving the first digginglustily with hand and knife. 

That was the system, then: an approach by rushes. 

"We mustn't permit it, " she breathed. "We must rout him out--we must keepthem all out or they'll get where they can pick you off. Can you reachhim?"

"I'll try, " said I. 

The tawny figure, prone upon the tawny sand, was just visible, lean andsnakish, slightly oscillating as it worked. And I took careful aim, andfired, and saw the spurt from the bullet. 

"A little lower--oh, just a little lower, " she pleaded. 

The same courier was in leash, posted to bring another fellow; all theSioux were gazing, statuesque, to analyze my marksmanship. And I firedagain--"Too low, " she muttered--and quickly, with a curse, again. 

She cried out joyfully. The snake had flopped from its hollow, plunged atfull length aside; had started to crawl, writhing, dragging its hinderparts. But with a swoop the pony arrived before we were noting; therecruit plumped into the hollow; and bending over in his swift circle thecourier snatched the snake from the ground; sped back with him. 

The Sioux seized upon the moment of stress. They cavorted, scouring hitherand thither, yelling, shooting, and once more our battered haven seethedwith the hum and hiss and rebound of lead and shaft. That, and myeagerness, told. The fellow in the foreground burrowed cleverly; hesubmerged farther and farther, by rapid inches. I fired twice--we couldnot see that I had even inconvenienced him. My Lady clutched my revolverarm. 

"No! Wait!" The tone rang dismayed. 

Trembling, blinded with heat and powder smoke, and heart sick, I paused, to fumble and to reload the almost emptied cylinder. 

"I can't reach him, " said I. "He's too far in. "

Her voice answered gently. 

"No matter, dear. You're firing too hastily. Don't forget. Please rest aminute, and drink. You can bathe your eyes. It's hard, shooting across thehot sand. They'll bring others. We've no need to save water, you know. "

"I know, " I admitted. 

We niggardly drank. I dabbled my burning eyes, cleared my sight. Of thefellow in the rifle pit there was no living token. The Sioux had ceasedtheir gambols. They sat steadfast, again anticipative. A stillness, menaceful and brooding, weighted the landscape. 

She sighed. 

"Well?"

The pregnant truce oppressed. What was hatching out, now? I cautiouslyshifted posture, to stretch and scan; instinctively groped for thecanteen, to wet my lips again; a puff of smoke burst from the hollow, thecanteen clinked, flew from my hand and went clattering among the rocks. 

"Oh!" she cried, aghast. "But you're not hurt?" Then--"I saw him. He'llcome up again, in a moment. Be ready. "

The Sioux in the background were shrieking. They had accounted for ourmules; by chance shot they had nipped our water. Yet neither eventaffected us as they seemed to think it should. Mules, water--these wereinconsequentials in the long-run that was due to be short, at most. Wehusbanded other relief in our keeping. 

Suddenly, as I craned, the fellow fired again; he was a good shot, haddiscovered a niche in our rampart, for the ball fanned my cheek with thewings of a vicious wasp. On the instant I replied, snapping quick answer. 

"I don't think you hit him, " she said. "Let me try. It may change theluck. You're tired. I'll hold on the spot--he'll come up in the sameplace, head and shoulders. You'll have to tempt him. Are you afraid, sir?"She smiled upon me as she took the revolver. 

"But if he kills me----?" I faltered. 

"What of that?"

"You. "

"I?" Her face filled. "I should not be long. "

She adjusted the revolver to a crevice a little removed from me--"Theywill be hunting you, not me, " she said--and crouched behind it, peeringearnestly out, intent upon the hollow. And I edged farther, and farther, as if seeking for a mark, but with all my flesh a-prickle and my breathfast, like any man, I assert, who forces himself to invite the strikingcapabilities of a rattlesnake. 

Abruptly it came--the strike, so venomous that it stung my face andscalded my eyes with the spatter of sandstone and hot lead; at the momenther Colt's bellowed into my ears, thunderous because even unexpected. Icould not see; I only heard an utterance that was cheer and sob in one. 

"I got him! Are you hurt? Are you hurt?"

"No. Hurrah!"

"Hurrah, dear. "

The air rocked with the shouts of the Sioux; shouts never before sowelcome in their tidings, for they were shouts of rage and disappointment. They flooded my eyes with vigor, wiped away the daze of the bullet impact;the hollow leaped to the fore--upon its low parapet a dull shade where noshade should naturally be, and garnished with crimson. 

He had doubled forward, reflexing to the blow. He was dead, stone dead;his crafty spirit issued upon the red trail of ball through his brain. 

"Thank God, " I rejoiced. 

She had sunk back wearily. 

"That is the last. "

"Won't they try again, you think?"

"The last spare shot, I mean. We have only our two left. We must savethose. " She gravely surveyed me. 

"Yes, we must save those, " I assented. The realization broke unbelievableacross a momentary hiatus; brought me down from the false heights, to faceit with her. 

A dizzy space had opened before me. I knew that she moved aside. Sheexclaimed. 

"Look!"

It was the canteen, drained dry by a jagged gash from the sharpshooter'slead. 

"No matter, dear, " she said. 

"No matter, " said I. 

The subject was not worth pursuing. 

"We have discouraged their game, again. And in case they rush us----"

This from her. 

"In case they rush us----" I repeated. "We can wait a little, and see. "

CHAPTER XXI

WE WAIT THE SUMMONS

The Sioux had quieted. They let the hollow alone, tenanted as it was withdeath; there was for us a satisfaction in that tribute to our defense. Quite methodically, and with cruel show of leisure they distributedthemselves by knots, in a half-encircling string around our asylum; theyposted a sentry, ahorse, as a lookout; and lolling upon the bare ground inthe sun glare they chatted, laughed, rested, but never for an instant werewe dismissed from their eyes and thoughts. 

"They will wait, too. They can afford it, " she murmured. "It is cheaperfor them than losing lives. "

"If they knew we had only the two cartridges----?"

"They don't, yet. "

"And they will find out too late, " I hazarded. 

"Yes, too late. We shall have time. " Her voice did not waver; it heartenedwith its vengeful, determined mien. 

Occasionally a warrior invoked us by brandishing arm or weapon in suretyof hate and in promise of fancied reprisal. What fools they were! Now andagain a warrior galloped upon the back trail; returned gleefully, perhapsto flourish an army canteen at us. 

"There probably is water where we heard the frogs last night, " sheremarked. 

"I'm glad we didn't try to reach it, for camp, " said I. 

"So am I, " said she. "We might have run right into them. We are betterhere. At least, I am. "

"And I, " I confirmed. 

Strangely enough we seemed to have little to say, now in this preciousdoldrums where we were becalmed, between the distant past and the unloggedfuture. We had not a particle of shade, not a trace of coolness: the sunwas high, all our rocky recess was a furnace, fairly reverberant with theheat; the flies (and I vaguely pondered upon how they had existed, previously, and whence they had gathered) buzzed briskly, attracted by thedead mule, unseen, and captiously diverted to us also. We lay tolerablybolstered, without much movement; and as the Sioux were not firing uponus, we might wax careless of their espionage. 

Her eyes, untroubled, scarcely left my face; I feared to let mine leavehers. Of what she was thinking I might not know, and I did not seek toknow--was oddly yielding and content, for our decisions had been made. Andstill it was unreal, impossible: we, in this guise; the Sioux, watching;the desert, waiting; death hovering--a sudden death, a violent death, theend of that which had barely begun; an end suspended in sight like theDionysian sword, with the single hair already frayed by the greedy shearsof the Fate. A snap, at our own signal; then presto, change!

It simply could not be true. Why, somewhere my father and mother busied, mindless; somewhere Benton roared, mindless; somewhere the wagon traintoiled on, mindless; the stage road missed us not, nor wondered; therailroad graders shoveled and scraped and picked as blithely as if thesame desert did not contain them, and us; cities throbbed, people workedand played, and we were of as little concern to them now as we would be ayear hence. 

Then it all pridefully resolved to this, like the warming tune of a finebattle chant: That I was here, with my woman, my partner woman, the muchdesirable woman whom I had won; which was more than Daniel, or Montoyo, orthe Indian chief, or the wide world of other men could boast. 

Soon she spoke, at times, musingly. 

"I did make up to you, at first, " she said. "In Omaha, and on the train. "

"Did you?" I smiled. She was so childishly frank. 

"But that was only passing. Then in Benton I knew you were different. Iwondered what it was; but you were different from anybody that I had metbefore. There's always such a moment in a woman's life. "

I soberly nodded. Nothing could be a platitude in such a place and such anhour. 

"I wished to help you. Do you believe that now?"

"I believe you, dear heart, " I assured. 

"But it was partly because I thought you could help me, " she said, like aconfession. And she added: "I had nothing wrong in mind. You were to be afriend, not a lover. I had no need of lovers; no, no. "

We were silent for an interval. Again she spoke. 

"Do you care anything about my family? I suppose not. That doesn't matter, here. But you wouldn't be ashamed of them. I ran away with Montoyo. Ithought he was something else. How could I go home after that? I tried tobe true to him, we had plenty of money, he was kind to me at first, but hedragged me down and my father and mother don't know even yet. Yes, I triedto help him, too. I stayed. It's a life that gets into one's blood. Ifeared him terribly, in time. He was a breed, and a devil--a gentlemandevil. " She referred in the past tense, as to some fact definitely bygone. "I had to play fair with him, or---- And when I had done that, hoping, why, what else could I do or where could I go? So many people knew me. "She smiled. "Suddenly I tied to you, sir. I seemed to feel--I took thechance. "

"Thank God you did, " I encouraged. 

"But I would not have wronged myself, or you, or him, " she eagerlypursued. "I never did wrong him. " She flushed. "No man can convict me. Youhurt me when you refused me, dear; it told me that you didn't understand. Then I was desperate. I had been shamed before you, and by you. You weregoing, and not understanding, and I couldn't let you. So I did follow youto the wagon train. You were my star. I wonder why. I did feel that you'dget me out--you see, I was so madly selfish, like a drowning person. Iclutched at you; might have put you under while climbing up, myself. "

"We have climbed together, " said I. "You have made me into a man. "

"But I forced myself on you. I played you against Daniel. I foresaw thatyou might have to kill him, to rid me of him. You were my weapon. And Iused you. Do you blame me that I used you?"

"Daniel and I were destined to meet, just as you and I were destined tomeet, " said I. "I had to prove myself on him. It would have happenedanyway. Had I not stood up to him you would not have loved me. "

"That was not the price, " she sighed. "Maybe you don't understand yet. I'mso afraid you don't understand, " she pleaded. "At the last I had resignedyou, I would have left you free, I saw how you felt; but, oh, it happenedjust the same--we were fated, and you showed that you hated me. "

"I never hated you. I was perplexed. That was a part of love, " said I. 

"You mean it? You are holding nothing back?" she asked, anxious. 

"I am holding nothing back, " I answered. "As you will know, I think, intime to come. "

Again we reclined, silent, at peace: a strange peace of mind and body, towhich the demonstrations by the waiting Sioux were alien things. 

She spoke. 

"Are we very guilty, do you think?"

"In what, dearest?"

"In this, here. I am already married, you know. "

"That is another life, " I reasoned. "It is long ago and under differentlaw. "

"But if we went back into it--if we escaped?"

"Then we should--but don't let's talk of that. "

"Then you should forget and I should return to Benton, " she said. "I havedecided. I should return to Benton, where Montoyo is, and maybe findanother way. But I should not live with him; never, never! I should askhim to release me. "

"I, with you, " I informed. "We should go together, and do what was best. "

"You would? You wouldn't be ashamed, or afraid?"

"Ashamed or afraid of what?"

She cried out happily, and shivered. 

"I hope we don't have to. He might kill you. Yes, I hope we don't have to. Do you mind?"

I shook my head, smiling my response. There were tears in her eyes, repaying me. 

Our conversation became more fitful. Time sped, I don't know how, exceptthat we were in a kind of lethargy, taking no note of time and hangingfast to this our respite from the tempestuous past. 

Once she dreamily murmured, apropos of nothing, yet apropos of much:

"We must be about the same age. I am not old, not really very old. "

"I am twenty-five, " I answered. 

"So I thought, " she mused. 

Then, later, in manner of having revolved this idea also, more distinctlyapropos and voiced with a certain triumph:

"I'm glad we drank water when we might; aren't you?"

"You were so wise, " I praised; and I felt sorry for her cracked lips. Itis astonishing with what swiftness, even upon the dry desert, amid the dryair, under the dry burning sun, thirst quickens into a consuming firescorching from within outward to the skin. 

We lapsed into that remarkable patience, playing the game with the Siouxand steadily viewing each other; and she asked, casually:

"Where will you shoot me, Frank?"

This bared the secret heart of me. 

"No! No!" I begged. "Don't speak of that. It will be bad enough at thebest. How can I? I don't know how I can do it!"

"You will, though, " she soothed. "I'd rather have it from you. You must bebrave, for yourself and for me; and kind, and quick. I think it should bethrough the temple. That's sure. But you won't wait to look, will you?You'll spare yourself that?"

This made me groan, craven, and wipe my hand across my forehead to brushaway the frenzy. The fingers came free, damp with cold sticky sweat--aprodigy of a parchment skin which puzzled me. 

We had not exchanged a caress, save by voice; had not again touched eachother. Sometimes I glanced at the Sioux, but not for long; I dreaded tolose sight of her by so much as a moment. The Sioux remained virtually asfrom the beginning of their vigil. They sat secure, drank, probably ate, with time their ally: sat judicial and persistent, as though dependingupon the progress of a slow fuse, or upon the workings of poison, whichindeed was the case. 

Thirst and heat tortured unceasingly. The sun had passed the zenith--thissun of a culminating summer throughout which he had thrived regal andlustful. It seemed ignoble of him that he now should stoop to torment onlyus, and one of us a small woman. There was all his boundless domain forhim. 

But stoop he did, burning nearer and nearer. She broke with sudden passionof hoarse appeal. 

"Why do we wait? Why not now?"

"We ought to wait, " I stammered, miserable and pitying. 

"Yes, " she whispered, submissive, "I suppose we ought. One always does. But I am so tired. I think, " she said, "that I will let my hair down. Ishall go with my hair down. I have a right to, at the last. "

Whereupon she fell to loosening her hair and braiding it with hurriedfingers. 

Then after a time I said:

"We'll not be much longer, dear. "

"I hope not, " said she, panting, her lips stiff, her eyes bright andfeverish. "They'll rush us at sundown; maybe before. "

"I believe, " said I, blurring the words, for my tongue was gettingunmanageable, "they're making ready now. "

She exclaimed and struggled and sat up, and we both gazed. Out there theSioux, in that world of their own, had aroused to energy. I fancied thatthey had palled of the inaction. At any rate they were upon their feet, several were upon their horses, others mounted hastily, squad joined squadas though by summons, and here came their outpost scout, galloping in, hisblanket streaming from one hand like a banner of an Islam prophet. 

They delayed an instant, gesticulating. 

"It will be soon, " she whispered, touching my arm. "When they arehalf-way, don't fail. I trust you. Will you kiss me? That is only theonce. "

I kissed her; dry cracked lips met dry cracked lips. She laid herself downand closed her eyes, and smiled. 

"I'm all right, " she said. "And tired. I've worked so hard, for only this. You mustn't look. "

"And you must wait for me, somewhere, " I entreated. "Just a moment. "

"Of course, " she sighed. 

The Sioux charged, shrieking, hammering, lashing, all of one purpose:that, us; she, I; my life, her body; and quickly kneeling beside her (Iwas cool and firm and collected) I felt her hand guide the revolverbarrel. But I did not look. She had forbidden, and I kept my eyes uponthem, until they were half-way, and in exultation I pulled the trigger, myhand already tensed to snatch and cock and deliver myself under their verygrasp. That was a sweetness. 

The hammer clicked. There had been no jar, no report. The hammer had onlyclicked, I tell you, shocking me to the core. A missed cartridge? An emptychamber? Which? No matter. I should achieve for her, first; then, myself. I heard her gasp, they were very near, how they shouted, how the bulletsand arrows spatted and hissed, and I had convulsively cocked the gun, shehad clutched it--when looking through them, agonized and blinded as Iwas--looking through them as if they were phantasms I sensed another soundand with sight sharpened I saw. 

Then I wrested the revolver from her. I fired pointblank, I fired again(the Colt's did not fail); they swept by, hooting, jostling; they thuddedon; and rising I screeched and waved, as bizarre, no doubt, as anyanimated scarecrow. 

It had been a trumpet note, and a cavalry guidon and a rank of bobbingfigures had come galloping, galloping over an imperceptible swell. 

She cried to me, from my feet. 

"You didn't do it! You didn't do it!"

"We're saved, " I blatted. "Hurrah! We're saved! The soldiers are here. "

Again the trumpet pealed, lilting silvery. She tottered up, clinging tome. She stared. She released me, and to my gladly questing gaze her facewas very white, her eyes struggling for comprehension, like those of oneawakened from a dream. 

"I must go back to Benton, " she faltered. "I shall never get away fromBenton. "

We stood mute while the blue-coats raced on with hearty cheers and braveclank of saber and canteen. We were sitting composedly when the lieutenantscrambled to us, among our rocks; the troopers followed, curiouslyscanning. 

His stubbled red face, dust-smeared, queried us keenly; so did his curtvoice. 

"Just in time?"

"In time, " I croaked. "Water! For her--for me. "

There was a canteen apiece. We sucked. 

"You are the two from the Mormon wagon train?" he asked. 

"Yes, sir. You know?" I uttered. 

"We came on as fast as we could. The Sioux are raiding again. By God, youhad a narrow squeak, sir, " he reproved. "You were crazy to try it--you anda woman, alone. We'll take you along as soon as my Pawnees get in fromchasing those beggars. "

Distant whoops from a pursuit drifted in to us, out of the desert. 

"Captain Adams sent you?" I inquired. 

"Yes, sir. "

"I will go back, " I agreed. "I will go back, but there's no need of Mrs. Montoyo. If you could see her safely landed at a stage station, and forBenton----?"

"We'll land you both. I have to report at Bridger. The train is all right. It has an escort to Bitter Creek. "

"I can overtake it, or join it, " said I. "But the lady goes to Benton. "

"Yes, yes, " he snapped. "That's nothing to me, of course. But you'll dobetter to wait for the train at Bridger, Mr. ----? I don't believe I haveyour name?"

"Beeson, " I informed, astonished. 

"And the lady's? Your sister? Wife?"

"Mrs. Montoyo, " I informed. And I repeated, that there should be nomisunderstanding. "Mrs. Montoyo, from Benton. No relative, sir. "

He passed it over, as a gentleman should. 

"Well, Mr. Beeson, you have business with the train?"

"I have business with Captain Adams, and he with me, " I replied. "Asprobably you know. Since he sent you, I shall consider myself underarrest; but I will return of my own free will as soon as Mrs. Montoyo issafe. "

"Under arrest? For what?" He blankly eyed me. 

"For killing that man, sir. Captain Adams' son. But I was forced to it--Idid it in self-defense. I should not have left, and I am ready to face thematter whenever possible. "

"Oh!" said he, with a shrug, tossing the idea aside. "If that's all! I didhear something about that, from some of my men, but nothing from Adams. You didn't kill him, I understand; merely laid him out. I saw him, myself, but I didn't ask questions. So you can rest easy on that score. His oldman seemed to have no grudge against you for it. Fact is, he scarcelyallowed me time to warn him of the Sioux before he told me you and a womanwere out and were liable to lose your scalps, if nothing worse. I think, "the lieutenant added, narrowing upon me, "that you'll find those Mormonsare as just as any other set, in a show down. The lad, I gathered from thetalk, drew on you after he'd cried quits. " He turned hastily. "You spoke, madam? Anything wanted?"

The trumpeter orderly plucked me by the sleeve. He was a squat, sun-scorched little man, and his red-rimmed blue eyes squinted at me withpainful interest. He whispered harshly from covert of bronzed hand. 

"Beg your pardon, sorr. Mrs. Montoyo, be it--that lady?"

"Yes. "

"From Benton City, sorr, ye say?"

"From Benton City. "

"Sure, I know the name. It's the same of a gambler the vigilantes strungup last week; for I was there to see. "

I heard a gusty sigh, an exclamation from the lieutenant. My Lady hadfainted again. 

"The reaction, sir, " I apologized, to the lieutenant, as we worked. 

"Naturally, " answered he. "You'll both go back to Benton?"

"Certainly, " said I. 

CHAPTER XXII

STAR SHINE

It was six weeks later, with My Lady all recovered and I long sincehealed, and Fort Bridger pleasant in our memories, when we two rode intoBenton once more, by horse from the nearest stage point. And here we satour saddles, silent, wondering; for of Benton there was little significantof the past, very little tangible of the present, naught promising of itsfuture. 

Roaring Benton City had vanished, you might say, utterly. The irontendrils of the Pacific Railway glistened, stretching westward into thesunset, and Benton had followed the lure, to Rawlins (as had been toldus), to Green River, to Bryan--likely now still onward, for the track wastraveling fast, charging the mountain slopes of Utah. The restless dusthad settled. The Queen Hotel, the Big Tent, the rows of canvas, plank, tin, sheet metal, what-not stores, saloons, gambling dens, dance halls, human habitations--the blatant street and the station itself had subsidedinto this: a skeleton company of hacked and weazened posts, a fantasticoutcrop of coldly blackened clay chimneys, a sprinkling of battered cans. The fevered populace who had ridden high upon the tide of rapid life hadremained only as ghosts haunting a potter's field, and the turmoil offrenzied pleasure had dwindled to a coyote's yelp mocking the twilight. 

"It all, all is wiped out, like he is, " she said. "But I wished to see. "

"All, all is wiped out, dear heart, " said I. "All of that. But here areyou and I. "

Through star shine we cantered side by side eastward down the old, emptyfreighting road, for the railway station at Fort Steele. 

THE END