XXIX
Bob had no very clear idea of where he was, except that it was in theunfriendly Durham country. It seemed well to postpone all publicappearances until he should be beyond a chance that Saleratus Bill mighthear of him. Bob was quite satisfied that the gun-man should believe himto have been swept away by the current.
Accordingly, after he had well rested from his vigorous climb, he setout to parallel the dim old road by which the two had entered the Cove.At times this proved so difficult a matter that Bob was almost on thepoint of abandoning the hillside tangle of boulders and brush in favourof the open highway. He reflected in time that Saleratus Bill must comeout by this route; and he shrewdly surmised the expert trailer might beable from some former minute observation to recognize his footprints.Therefore he struggled on until the road dipped down toward the lowercountry. He remembered that, on the way in, his captor had led him firstdown the mountain, and then up again. Bob resolved to abandon the roadand keep to the higher contours, trusting to cut the trail where itagain mounted to his level. To be sure, it was probable that thereexisted some very good reason why the road so dipped to the valley--somedike, ridge or deep canon impassable to horses. Bob knew enough ofmountains to guess that. Still, he argued, that might not stop a manafoot.
The rest of a long, hard day he spent in proving this latterproposition. The country was very broken. A dozen times Bob scrambledand slid down a gorge, and out again, doing thus an hour's work for ahalf mile gain. The sun turned hot, and he had no food. Fortunatelywater was abundant. Toward the close of the afternoon he struck in to along slope of pine belt, and conceived his difficulties over.
After the heat and glare of the rocks, the cool shadows of the forestwere doubly grateful. Bob lifted his face to the wandering breezes, andstepped out with fresh vigour. The way led at first up the narrow spineof a "hogback," but soon widened into one of the ample and spaciousparks peculiar to the elevations near the summits of the First Rampart.Occasional cattle tracks meandered here and there, but save for theseBob saw no signs of man's activities--no cuttings, no shake-bolts, noblazes on the trees to mark a way. Nevertheless, as he rose on the slow,even swell of the mountain the conviction of familiarity began to forceits way in him. The forest was just like every other forest; there wasno outlook in any direction; but all the same, with that instinct forlocality inherent in a natural woodsman, he began to get his bearings,to "feel the lay of the country," as the saying is. This is probably aneffect of the subconscious mind in memory; a recognition of what the eyehas seen without reporting to the conscious mind. However that may be,Bob was not surprised when toward sunset he came suddenly on a littleclearing, a tiny orchard, and a house built rudely of logs and shakes.
Relieved that he was not to spend the night without food and fire, hevaulted the "snake" fence, and strode to the back door. A woman wasfrying venison steaks.
"Hullo, Mrs. Ward," Bob shouted at her. "That smells good to me; Ihaven't had a bite since last night!"
The woman dropped her pan and came to the door. A lank and lean PikeCounty Missourian rose from the shadows and advanced.
"Light and rest yo' hat, Mr. Orde!" he called before he came well intoview. "But yo' already lighted, and you ain't go no hat!" he cried inpuzzled tones. "Whar yo'all from?"
"Came from north," Bob replied cheerfully, "and I lost my horse down acanon, and my hat in a river."
"And yere yo' be plumb afoot!"
"And plumb empty," supplemented Bob. "Maybe Mrs. Ward will make me somecoffee," he suggested with a side glance at the woman who had once triedto poison him.
She turned a dull red under the tan of her sallow complexion.
"Shore, Mr. Orde--" she began.
"We didn't rightly understand each other," Bob reassured her. "That wasall."
"Did she-all refuse you coffee onct?" asked Ward. "What yo' palaverin'about?"
"She isn't refusing to make me some now," said Bob.
He spent the night comfortably with his new friends who a few months agohad been ready to murder him. The next morning early, supplied with anample lunch, he set out. Ward offered him a riding horse, but hedeclined.
"I'd have to send it back," said he, "and, anyway, I'd neither want toborrow your saddle nor ride bareback. I'd rather walk."
The old man accompanied him to the edge of the clearing.
"By the way," Bob mentioned, as he said farewell, "if some one asks you,just tell them you haven't seen me."
The old man stopped short.
"What-for a man?" he asked.
"Any sort."
A frosty gleam crept into the old Missourian's eye.
"I'll keep hands off," said he. He strode on twenty feet. "I got anextra gun--" said he.
"Thanks," Bob interrupted. "But I'll get organized better when I gethome."
"Hope you git him," said the old man by way of farewell. "He won't gitnothing out of me," he shot back over his shoulder.
Bob now knew exactly where he was going. Reinvigorated by the food, thenight's rest, and the cool air of these higher altitudes, he made goodtime. By four o'clock of the afternoon he at last hit the broad, dustythoroughfare over which were hauled the supplies to Baker's upper works.Along this he swung, hands in pockets, a whistle on his lips, the fine,light dust rising behind his footsteps. The slight down grade releasedhis tired muscles from effort. He was enjoying himself.
Then he came suddenly around a corner plump against a horseman climbingleisurely up the grade. Both stopped.
If Bob had entertained any lingering doubt as to Oldham's complicity inhis abduction, the expression on the land agent's face would haveremoved it. For the first time in public Oldham's countenance expresseda livelier emotion than that of cynical interest. His mouth fell openand his eyeglasses dropped off. He stared at Bob as though that youngman had suddenly sprung into visibility from clear atmosphere. Bobsurveyed him grimly.
"Delighted to see me, aren't you?" he remarked. A slow anger surged upwithin him. "Your little scheme didn't work, did it? Wanted me out ofthe way, did you? Thought you'd keep me out of court! Well, I'm here,just as I said I'd be here. You can pay your villainous tool or kick himout, as you please. He's failed, and he won't get another chance. Youmiserable whelp!"
But Oldham had recovered his poise.
"Get out of my way. I don't know what you are talking about. I'll landyou in the penitentiary a week after you appear in court. You'rewarned."
"Oh, I've been warned for some time. But first I'll land you."
"Really! How?"
"Right here and now," said Bob stepping forward.
Oldham reined back his horse, and drew from his side pocket a short,nickel-plated revolver.
"Let me pass!" he commanded harshly. He presented the weapon, and hisgray eyes contracted to pin points.
"Throw that thing away," said Bob, laying his hand on the other man'sbridle. "_I'm going to give you the very worst licking you ever heardtell of!_"
The young man's muscles were tense with the expectation of a shot. Tohis vast astonishment, at his last words Oldham turned deadly pale,swayed in the saddle, and the revolver clattered past his stirrup tofall in the dust. With a snarl of contempt at what he erroneously tookfor a mere physical cowardice, Bob reached for his enemy and dragged himfrom the saddle.
The chastisement was brief, but effective. Bob's anger cooled with thefirst blow, for Oldham was no match for his younger and more vigorousassailant. In fact, he hardly offered any resistance. Bob knocked himdown, shook him by the collar as a terrier shakes a ground squirrel, andcast him fiercely in the dust. Oldham sat up, his face bleedingslightly, his eyes bewildered with the suddenness of the onslaught. Theyoung man leaned over him, speaking vehemently to rivet his attention.
"Now you listen to me," said he. "You leave me alone. If I ever hear anygossip, even, about what you will or will not do to me, I'll know whereit started from. The first word I hear from any one anywhere, I'll startfor you."
He looked down for a moment
at the disorganized man seated in the thick,white dust that was still floating lazily around him. Then he turnedabruptly away and resumed his journey.