CHAPTER XXVII
KATE DEFIES
The instant he saw Kate in Hawk's keeping, Laramie rode down with theflood, looking sharply for a chance to get out the two horses; whenfinally he did get them ashore he was spent. Leading Kate's horse, hemade his way up-creek through the willows to where she should be withHawk.
Hawk's horse he found browsing in the heavy wet grass at the old ford.Neither Kate nor Hawk were in sight. Laramie walked down to thewater's edge where Hawk had pulled her out. Familiar with the meanderof the bank below the ford, he saw what had happened. The bank,under-cut, had been swallowed by the flood. Laramie ran down streamand came suddenly on Kate standing alone on a rock jutting out abovethe torrent.
In the uncertain light of the gray morning he saw her anxious face.She explained what had happened. Laramie showed no alarm. "I guessAbe will handle himself," he said.
"Can't we do anything to help him?"
"I'll put you on your trail, then I'll ride down the creek and look forhim. He'll make it if his strength doesn't give out."
Laramie took Kate up the creek and, riding through the hills, broughther, unexpectedly, out on a trail within sight of her father'sranch-house hardly three miles away. He pointed to a break headingfrom the creek. "You can follow that draw almost to the house," heexplained. Then, reining about, he wheeled his horse to take the backtrail. "Are you going to run away without giving me a chance to thankyou?" she exclaimed, with a feminine touch of surprise.
"There's a gate near the head of the draw where you can get through thewire," he rejoined stubbornly.
"I can't see how I can ever repay you for what you've done tonight,"she persisted.
He was coldly uncompromising. "You needn't bother about any pay, ifthat's what you call it."
Skilfully she drew her horse a step closer to him. "What shall I callit?" she asked innocently, "debt, obligation? I owe you a lot, ever somuch to me--my life."
"I've done no more for you than I've done for less than a human being,"he returned impatiently.
"I'm sure that's so. But human beings," she added, with a touch ofgentle good-nature, "are supposed to have more feeling than cows orsteers, you know."
"I never had a cow or a steer call me names," he retorted rudely.
"If you weren't a human being you wouldn't mind being called names; youwouldn't be so angry with me, either."
"I'm not angry," he said resentfully. His very helplessness in herhands pricked her conscience at the moment that it restored hersupremacy. His strength might menace others--she at least had nothingto fear from it.
"Do you know," she exclaimed, shaking off for the moment all restraint,"what I'd like to do?"
He looked at her surprised.
"I'd like to ride back this minute with you and help find Abe Hawk. Iknow I mustn't," she went on as he listened. "But I'd like to," shepersisted hurriedly. And then, afraid of herself more than of him, sherepressed a quick "good-by" and, without giving him time to answer,galloped away.
She reached the ranch-house without further difficulty. No one wasstirring. She stopped at the corral and turned in her horse and,walking awkwardly on her swollen ankle to the kitchen, built a fire,warmed herself as best she could and went to her room. By the time herfather was stirring, Kate, under her coverlets, quite exhausted, wasfast asleep.
It was broad day when she woke. Through an open window, she saw sullengray clouds still rolling down from the northwest, but between them thesun shot out at ragged intervals--the storm had broken. Walkinggingerly from her room, on her lame foot, she found the house empty.Her father, Kelly told her, had gone out early, and she sat down to alate breakfast glad to be undisturbed in her thoughts. Her mind wasstill in a confusion of opinions; some, long-cherished being crowded,so to say, to the wall; others, more than once rejected, growingbolder. It was in this mental condition that her seclusion was invadedby Van Horn.
He swept off his hat with a show of spirits. "Just heard you'd gothome." He sat down with her at the table. "Everybody thought youstayed in town last night. Got lost, eh?"
Kate raised her coffee cup non-committally. "For awhile," she murmuredbetween sips.
"What time did you get here?"
"I was so glad to get to bed I never looked at my watch." Again sheregarded him, quite innocently, over the rim of her cup. "Did anybodylose any stock?"
He did not abandon his inquisition willingly, but each time he asked aquestion, Kate parried and asked one in turn. He gave up withouthaving gained any information she meant to withhold.
It was not hard to keep him in good humor; indeed, it was rather tooeasy. He pushed back his chair, crossed his legs, talked of a strongcattle market for the fall and spoke of Hawk and the hunt he waskeeping up for him. "They had a story around--or some of the boys hadthe idea--that his friends would pick a wet night like last night totake him into town."
"Is he still in the country?"
"Sure he is. Say, Kate," he changed his attitude as lightly as he didhis subject--uncrossed his legs, squared himself in his chair and threwhis elbows on the table.
She met the new disposition with a tone of prudent reserve: "What isit?"
"When are you going to do something for a lonesome old scout?" he askedbluntly.
With as little concern as possible, she put down her knife and fork,and, with her hands seeking her napkin, looked at him. "What do youmean?" she returned collectedly, "by 'doing something'?"
"Marry me."
"Never."
The passage was disconcertingly quick. Van Horn, thrown quite aback,remonstrated. His discomfiture was so undisguised that Kate wasembarrassed. The next moment he was very angry. "If that's the case,"he blurted out, "what's the use o' my sticking around here fightingyour battles?"
"You're not fighting my battles."
"Maybe you don't call 'em your father's, either," he exclaimedscornfully.
"They're your own battles," declared Kate. "You know that as well as Ido."
"All the same, your father gets the benefit of them," he continuedhotly.
"I wish to heaven he had kept out of them."
Van Horn eyed her sharply. His face reflected his sarcasm. "Ofcourse, you needn't worry," he grinned, with implication. "Theywouldn't steal your horse even if you do always leave it in Kitchen'sbarn; the Falling Wall bunch think too much of you for that."
Surprised as she was at this outbreak, Kate kept her head. "There aresome of the rustlers I'd trust as far as I would some of the raiders,"she rejoined coolly.
"Why don't you say Jim Laramie," he exclaimed harshly.
"Jim Laramie," she returned defiantly, "is not the only one."
"He'll be the 'only one' after our next clean-up in the Falling Wall.And he won't be 'one' if he doesn't change his tune."
Kate's eyes were snapping fire. "Take care that next time the FallingWall doesn't clean you up," she said bitingly.
He snorted. "I mean it," she exclaimed. "Next time you'll need tolook out for yourself."
He bolted from his chair. "That's the first time I ever heard anybodyon this ranch take sides with the men that's robbing it--or carry athreat to this ranchhouse for rustlers."
"Call it whatever you please, you won't change my opinion of you. But,of course, I'm only a woman and don't know anything."
"I'm thinking you know a whole lot more than you let on," he declared.
"Anyway, I wish you'd leave this ranch out of the rest of it. If youkeep on 'cleaning up,' as you call it, you'll go farther and fareworse."
He brought down his fist. "Not until I've cleaned out two more pups,anyway! Now, look here, Kate," he went on, "you may be fooling aboutthis marrying, but you can bet I'm not."
"Well, you can bet _I'm_ not," she returned, echoing his pert slangsharply.
"Who's the man?" He flung the question at her point-blank.
If she flushed the least bit it was with anger at his rudeness. "Thereisn't any man, and there is
n't going to be any--so please never talkagain about my marrying you or anybody else."
She rose and left the table. He jumped to intercept her and tried tocatch her hands. She let him see she was not in the least afraid andas he confronted her, she faced him without a tremor. "Let me pass!"She fairly snapped out the words.
Van Horn, without moving, broke into a boisterous laugh. Kelly walkedin just then from the kitchen and Van Horn, losing none of hismalevolence, did stand aside.
"All right," he said, "--this time."