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.