CHAPTER XVIII
FOR DAKOTA
Though in a state of anxiety and excitement over the incident of Duncan'sattack on Doubler and the subsequent shooting, together with a realizationof Dakota's danger, Sheila did not lose her composure. She ran to theriver and secured the water, aware that it might be needed now more thanever. Then, hurrying as best she could with the weight of the pail, shereturned to the cabin.
She was relieved to find that Doubler had received no injury, and shepaused long enough to allow him to tell her that Duncan had entered thecabin shortly after she had left it. He had attacked Doubler, but had beeninterrupted by Allen, who had suddenly ridden up. Duncan had heard himcoming, and had concealed himself behind the door, and when Allen hadentered Duncan had struck him on the head with the butt of hissix-shooter, knocking him down. The blow had been a glancing one, however,and Allen had recovered quickly, seizing Doubler's rifle and trying tobring down the would be murderer as he fled.
While attending to Doubler's bandages, Sheila repeated the conversationshe had had with Allen concerning the situation in which he had leftDakota, and instantly the nester's anxiety for his friend took precedenceover any thoughts for his own immediate welfare.
"There'll be trouble sure, now that Allen's left there," he said. "Dakotawon't be a heap easy with them deputies."
He told Sheila to let the bandaging go until later, but she refused.
"Dakota'll be needin' you a heap more than I need you," he insisted,refusing to allow her to touch the bandages. "There'll be the devil to payif any of them deputies try to rush Dakota's shack. I want you to go downthere right now. If you wait, it'll mebbe be too late."
Sheila hesitated for a moment, and then, yielding to the entreaty inDoubler's eyes, she was at his side, pressing his hand.
"Ride ma'am!" he told her, when she was ready to go, his cheeks flushedwith excitement, his eyes bright.
Her pony snorted with surprise when she brought her riding whip downagainst its flanks when turning from the corral gates, but it needed nosecond urging, and its pace when it splashed through the shallow water ofthe crossing was fully as great as that of Duncan's pony, which hadpreviously passed through it.
Once on the hard sand of the river trail it settled into a long, swinginggallop, under which the miles flew by rapidly and steadily. Sheila drewthe animal up on the rises, breathing it sometimes, but on the levels sheurged it with whip and spur, and in something more than an hour afterleaving Doubler's cabin, she flashed by the quicksand crossing, which sheestimated as being not more than twelve miles from her journey's end.
She was tired after her long vigil at Doubler's side, but the wearinesswas entirely physical, for her brain was working rapidly, filling herthoughts with picturesque conjectures, drawing pictures in which she sawDakota being shot down by Allen's deputies. And he was innocent!
She did not blame herself for Dakota's dilemma, though she felt a keenregret over her treatment of him, over her unjust suspicions. He hadreally been in earnest when he had told her the night before on the rivertrail that he was not guilty--that everybody had misjudged him. Vivid inher recollection was the curious expression on his face when he had saidto her just before leaving her that night:
"Won't you believe me?"
And that other time, when he had taken her by the shoulders and lookedsteadily into her eyes--she remembered that, too; she could almost feelhis fingers, and the words he had uttered then were fresh in her memory:"I've treated you mean, Sheila, about as mean as a man could treat awoman. I am sorry. I want you to believe that. And maybe some day--whenthis business is over--you'll understand, and forgive me."
There had been mystery in his actions ever since she had seen him thefirst time, and though she could not yet understand it, she had discoveredthat there were forces at work in his affairs which seemed to indicatethat he had not told her that for the purpose of attempting to justify hisprevious actions.
Evidently, whatever the mystery that surrounded him, her father and Duncanwere concerned in it, and this thought spurred her on, for it gave her akeen delight to think that she was arrayed against them, even though shewere on the side of the man who had wronged her. He, at least, had notbeen concerned in the plot to murder Doubler.
When she reached the last rise--on the crest of which she had sat on herpony on the morning following her marriage to Dakota in the cabin and fromwhich she had seen the parson riding away--she was trembling witheagerness and dread for fear that something might happen before she couldarrive. It was three miles down the slope, and when she reached the levelthere was Dakota's cabin before her.
She drew her pony to a walk, for she saw men grouped in front of the cabindoor, saw Dakota there himself, standing in the open doorway, framed inthe light from within. There were no evidences of the conflict which shehad dreaded. She had arrived in time.
Convinced of this, she felt for the first time her physical weariness, andshe leaned forward on her pony, holding to its mane for support,approaching the cabin slowly.
Her father was there, she observed, as she drew nearer; and threestrangers--and Allen! And near Allen, sitting on his horse dejectedly, wasDuncan!
One of Duncan's arms swung oddly at his side, and Sheila thought instantlyof his curse when he had been riding near her at the river crossing.Evidently Allen's bullet had struck him.
Sheila's presence at Dakota's cabin was now unnecessary, for it wasevident that an understanding had been reached with Allen, and Sheilaexperienced a sudden aversion to appearing among the men. Turning herpony, she was about to ride away, intending to return to Doubler's cabin,when Allen turned and saw her. He spurred quickly to her side, seizing thepony by the bridle rein and leading it toward the cabin door.
"It's all right, ma'am," he said, "I got him. Holy smoke!" he exclaimed asshe came within the radius of the light. "You certainly rode some, didn'tyou, ma'am?"
She did not answer. She saw her father look at her, noted his start,smiled scornfully when she observed a paleness overspreading his face. Shelooked from him to Duncan, and the latter flushed and turned his head.Then Allen's voice reached her, as he spoke to Dakota.
"This young woman has rode twenty miles to-night--to save your hide--youdurned cuss. If you was anyways hospitable, you'd----"
Allen's voice seemed to grow distant to Sheila, the figures of the men inthe group blurred, the light danced, she reeled in the saddle, tried tocheck herself, failed, and toppled limply forward over her pony's neck.She heard an exclamation, saw Dakota spring suddenly from the doorway,felt his arms around her. She struggled in his grasp, trying to fight himoff, and then she drifted into oblivion.