CHAPTER XVI
THROUGH THE STORM
Bowed low to shield herself against the ever fiercer buffets of thestorm, Katherine gave Nelly free rein to pick her own way at her ownpace through the blackness. The rain volleyed into her pitilessly, thewind sought furiously to wrest her from the saddle, the lightningcracked open the heavens into ever more fiery chasms, and the thunderrattled and rolled and reverberated as though a thousand battles werewaging in the valley. It was as if the earth's dissolution were athand--as if the long-gathered wrath of the Judgment Day were rendingthe earth asunder and hurling the fragments afar into the black abysmof eternity.
But Katherine, though gasping and shivering, gave minor heed to thiselemental rage. Whatever terror she might have felt another time atsuch a storm, her brain had now small room for it. She was exultantlyfilled with the magnitude of her discovery. The water-works deal! TheNational Electric & Water Company! Bruce not a bona fide candidate atall, but only a pistol at Blake's head to make him stand and deliver!Blake and Blind Charlie--those two whole-hearted haters, whobelaboured each other so valiantly before the public--in a secret pactto rob that same dear public!
At the highest moments of her exultation it seemed that victory wasalready hers; that all that remained was to proclaim to Westville onthe morrow what she knew. But beneath all her exultation was a dimrealization that the victory itself was yet to be won. What she hadgained was only a fuller knowledge of who her enemies were, and whatwere their purposes.
Her mind raced about her discovery, seeking how to use it as the basisof her own campaign. But the moment of an extensive and astoundingdiscovery is not the moment for the evolving of well-calculated plans;so the energies of her mind were spent on extravagant dreams or theleaping play of her jubilation.
One decision, however, she did reach. That was concerning Bruce. Herfirst impulse was to go to him and tell him all, in triumphantrefutation of his ideas concerning woman in general, and her futilityin particular. But as she realized that she was not at the end of herfight, but only at a better-informed beginning, she saw that the dayof her triumph over him, if ever it was to come, had at least not yetarrived. As for admitting him into her full confidence, her woman'spride was still too strong for that. It held her to her determinationto tell him nothing. She was going to see this thing through withouthim.
Moreover, she had another reason for silence. She feared, if she toldhim all, his impetuous nature might prompt him to make a prematuredisclosure of the information, and that would be disastrous to herfuture plans. But since he was vitally concerned in Blake's and Peck'sagreement, it was at least his due that he be warned; and so shedecided to tell him, without giving her source of information, thatBlind Charlie proposed to sell him out.
Nelly's pace had slowed into a walk, and even then the gale at timesalmost swept the poor horse staggering from the road. The rain drovedown in ever denser sheets. The occasional flashes of lightning servedonly to emphasize the blackness. So dense was it, it seemed a solid.The world could not seem blacker to a toad in the heart of a stone.The instants of crackling fire showed Katherine the river, below herin the valley, leaping, surging, almost out of its banks--the trees,writhing and wrestling, here and there one jaggedly discrowned. Andonce, as she was crossing a little wooden bridge that spanned acreek, she saw that it was almost afloat--and for an instant ofterror she wished she had followed the higher back-country road takenby the two automobiles.
She had reached the foot of Red Man's Ridge, and was winding along theriver's verge, when she thought she heard her name sound faintlythrough the storm. She stopped Nelly and sat in sudden stiffness,straining her ears. Again the voice sounded, this time nearer, andthere was no mistaking her name.
"Miss West! Katherine!"
She sat rigid, almost choking. The next minute a shapeless figurealmost collided with Nelly. It eagerly caught the bridle-rein andcalled out huskily:
"Is that you, Miss West?"
She let out a startled cry.
"Who are you? What do you want?"
"It's you! Thank God, I've found you!" cried the voice.
"Arnold Bruce!" she ejaculated.
He loosened the rein and moved to her side and put his hand upon theback of her saddle.
"Thank God I've found you!" he repeated, with a strange quaver to hisvoice.
"Arnold Bruce! What are you doing here?"
"Didn't you hear me shout after you, when you started, that I wascoming, too?"
"I heard your voice, but not what you said."
"Do you think I would let you go out alone on a night like this?" hedemanded in his unstrung tone. "It's no night for a man to be out,much less a woman!"
"You mean--you followed me?"
"What else did you think I'd do?"
"And on foot?"
"If I had stopped to get a horse I'd have lost your direction. So Iran after you."
They were moving on now, his hand upon the back of her saddle to linkthem together in the darkness. He had to lean close to her that theirvoices might be heard above the storm.
"And you have run after me all this way?"
"Ran and walked. But I couldn't make much headway in thestorm--Calling out to you every few steps. I didn't know what mighthave happened to you. All kinds of pictures were in my mind. You mighthave been thrown and be lying hurt. In the darkness the horse mighthave wandered off the road and slipped with you into the river. Itwas--it was----" She felt the strong forearm that lay against her backquiver violently. "Oh, why did you do it!" he burst out.
A strange, warm tingling crept through her.
"I--I----" Something seemed to choke her.
"Oh, why did you do it!" he repeated.
Contrary to her determination of but a little while ago, an impulsesurged up in her to tell him all she had just learned, to tell him allher plans. She hung for a moment in indecision. Then her old attitude,her old determination, resumed its sway.
"I had a suspicion that I might learn something about father's case,"she said.
"It was foolishness!" he cried in fierce reproof, yet with the sameunnerved quaver in his voice. "You should have known you could findnothing on such a night as this!"
She felt half an impulse to retort sharply with the truth. But thethought of his stumbling all that way in the blackness subdued herrising impulse to triumph over him. So she made no reply at all.
"You should never have come! If, when you started, you had stoppedlong enough for me to speak to you, I could have told you you wouldnot have found out anything. You did not, now did you?"
She still kept silent.
"I knew you did not!" he cried in exasperated triumph. "Admit thetruth--you know you did not!"
"I did not learn everything I had hoped."
"Don't be afraid to acknowledge the truth!"
"You remember what I said when you were first offered the nominationby Mr. Peck--to beware of him?"
"Yes. You were wrong. But let's not talk about that now!"
"I am certain now that I was right. I have the best of reasons forbelieving that Mr. Peck intends to sell you out."
"What reasons?"
She hesitated a moment.
"I cannot give them to you--now. But I tell you I am certain he isplanning treachery."
"Your talk is wild. As wild as your ride out here to-night."
"But I tell you----"
"Let's talk no more about it now," he interrupted, brushing the matteraside. "It--it doesn't interest me now."
There was a blinding glare of lightning, then an awful clap of thunderthat rattled in wild echoes down the valley.
"Oh, why did you come?" he cried, pressing closer. "Why did you come?It's enough to kill a woman!"
"Hardly," said she.
"But you're wet through," he protested.
"And so are you."
"Have my coat." And he started to slip it off.
"No. One more wet garment won't make me any drier."
"Then put it ov
er your head. To keep off this awful beat of the storm.I'll lead your horse."
"No, thank you; I'm all right," she said firmly, putting out a handand checking his motion to uncoat himself. "You've been walking. I'vebeen riding. You need it more than I do." And then she added: "Did Ihurt you much?"
"Hurt me?"
"When I struck you with my crop."
"That? I'd forgotten that."
"I'm very sorry--if I hurt you."
"It's nothing. I wish you'd take my coat. Bend lower down." And movingforward, he so placed himself that his broad, strong body was apartial shield to her against the gale.
This new concern for her, the like of which he had never beforeevinced the faintest symptoms, begot in her a strange, tingling, butblurred emotion. They moved on side by side, now without speech,gasping for the very breath that the gale sought to tear away fromtheir lips. The storm was momently gaining power and fury. Afterwardthe ancient weather-men of Calloway County were to say that in theirtime they had never seen its like. The lightning split the sky intoeven more fearsome fiery chasms, and in the moments of wildillumination they could see the road gullied by scores of imprompturivulets, could glimpse the broad river billowing and raging, thecattle huddling terrified in the pastures, the woods swaying andwrithing in deathlike grapple. The wind hurled by them in a thousandmoods and tones, all angry; a fine, high shrieking on its topmostnote--a hoarse snarl--a lull, as though the straining monster werepausing to catch its breath--then a roaring, sweeping onrush as ifbent on irresistible destruction. And on top of this glare, this rage,was the thousandfold crackle, rattle, rumble of the thunder.
At such a time wild beasts, with hostility born in their blood, drawclose together. It was a storm to resolve, as it were, all complexshades of human feeling into their elementary colours--when fear andhate and love stand starkly forth, unqualified, unblended. Withoutbeing aware that she was observing, Katherine sensed that Bruce'sagitation was mounting with the storm. And as she felt his quiveringpresence beside her in the furious darkness, her own emotion surged upwith a wild and startling strength.
A tree top snapped off just before them with its toy thunder.
"Will this never stop!" gasped Bruce, huskily. "God, I wish I had yousafe home!"
The tremulous tensity in his voice set her heart to leaping with anunrestraint yet wilder. But she did not answer.
Suddenly Nelly stumbled in a gully and Katherine pitched forward fromthe saddle. She would have fallen, had not a pair of strong armsclosed about her in mid-air.
"Katherine--Katherine!" Bruce cried, distracted. Nelly righted herselfand Katherine regained her seat, but Bruce still kept his arm abouther. "Tell me--are you hurt?" he demanded.
She felt the arms around her trembling with intensity.
"No," she said with a strange choking.
"Oh, Katherine--Katherine!" he burst out. "If you only knew how I loveyou!"
What she felt could not crystallize itself into words.
"Do you love me?" he asked huskily.
Just then there was a flash of lightning. It showed her his upturnedface, appealing, tender, passion-wrought. A wild, exultant thrillswept through her. Without thinking, without speaking, her tinglingarm reached out, of its own volition as it were, and closed about hisneck, and she bent down and kissed him.
"Katherine!" he breathed hoarsely. "Katherine!" And he crushed herconvulsively to him.
She lay thrilled in his arms.... After a minute they moved on, his armabout her waist, her arm about his neck. Rain, wind, thunder wereforgotten. Forgotten were their theories of life. For that hour theman and woman in them were supremely happy.