CHAPTER XXXIII.
WILLARD HOLMES RECEIVES HIS ANSWER.
When Barbara returned to the living room with some trivial excuse toexplain her rather long absence, she found Holmes determined to go withMr. Greenfield to his rooms in the hotel in Kingston.
When she protested he answered: "Really, Miss Worth, my shouldertroubles me so little that I am ashamed to offer myself as an invalid;and now that Uncle Jim is with me I haven't the shadow of an excuse forburdening you any longer."
"I am sorry if I have made you feel that you were a burden," shereturned with a brave smile.
He answered warmly: "You know I did not mean to imply that. I shallnever forget your kindness--never."
Greenfield too expressed his appreciation of her kindness but sheanswered the engineer as if she had not heard the older man. "And I cannever thank you for what you have done for us."
As they stood on the porch while Greenfield went on ahead to the buggy,Holmes held out his hand. "And we are square again?"
"Yes, we are square."
"Then adios, Senorita."
"Adios, amigo."
Bravely she stood watching until the carriage disappeared down thestreet. Then she went slowly into the house to Abe's room.
The surveyor lay propped up in bed with pillows, looking quitecheerful. "Well, sister," was his greeting; "you have lost one patientand you are going to lose the other one before long. I feel like a newman already."
For a little she made no answer and, as she stood before him silent,those eyes that were trained to let nothing escape their notice studiedher face and noted her hands clasped in nervous pain. "Why, Barbara!What is it, sister? What has gone wrong?"
At his words the brown eyes filled.
"Barbara!"
She dropped into the chair by the bedside and, throwing herself towardhim, buried her face in her arms in the pillow by his side, her formshaking with sobs.
The surveyor's face was white now under its bronze--white and set.Lightly he placed his hand upon the soft brown hair so near hisshoulder and his eyes seemed now to be looking far away. When her griefhad spent itself a little he said quietly: "Don't you think, sister,that you had better tell me about this?"
When she did not answer he said again gently: "Do you care for him somuch, Barbara?"
The brown head nodded her confession and for a moment the man closedhis eyes and turned away his face. Then: "Won't you let me help you?"
Slowly, with many pauses, she told him what she had overheard. When shehad finished Abe said simply: "But he has not told you of his love,Barbara. Perhaps you are mistaken."
"No, Abe; I'm not mistaken. He has not told me--not in words, but Iknow; I know!"
"Then," said the surveyor, "he will tell you. Listen, Barbara. The manwho went through those Mexicans in Devil's Canyon with me is not thekind of a man who gives up the woman he loves for what others think.Wait a little, dear, and you will see that I am right. You have beentoo quick. Be patient a little and you shall see."
"But Abe, Mr. Greenfield is right. I am a nameless nobody; and he--heis--"
"He is a man and you are a woman, and this is La Palma de la Mano deDios where nothing else matters," said Abe Lee almost sternly.
A few minutes later, when Barbara was gone, the surveyor slipped loweron the pillows and wearily turned his face to the wall. Several timesthat day Barbara looked in on him and at last, when he had not movedfor so long, called him softly. He answered with a smile, but when shehad arranged his pillows for him he closed his eyes again with a wordof thanks.
Jefferson Worth arrived that evening and with him came the Seer, whohad joined him in the city by the sea. But Barbara's joy at theircoming was overshadowed by her anxiety for Abe, who seemed to havefallen into a half-unconscious condition that was alarming. When theyentered his room the surveyor, who still lay with his face to the wall,did not look up.
"Daddy is here, Abe," said Barbara; "Daddy and the Seer."
Slowly the man turned toward them and held out his hand with a word ofgreeting for each. "I'm mighty glad you have come," he added; "Barbarahas had rather more than her hands full."
But the old engineer noticed that he did not look at Barbara as hespoke.
While the three were at supper Barbara told the men the whole story,and when they had finished the meal the Seer said: "Now Jeff, I knowyou have important business needing your immediate attention and ourgirl here must have a good night's rest--she has been through enough tokill an average woman. I'm going to take care of Abe to-night myself."
When his old chief was alone with the surveyor he drew a chair to thebedside and sat for some time looking at the man on the bed. Then hesaid: "I think, son, that you and I had better get to the bottom ofthis. First, I'll have a look at that leg."
When the examination was over the big man eyed the surveyor. "Humph!This is not a scratch beside what that greaser did to you with hisknife in Arizona. You didn't even stop work for that. Your ride to SanFelipe and back ordinarily would call for about twelve hours sleep andthat's all. Come, lad, what's the matter? Out with it." Abe smiled."I'm down and out, I reckon."
"Down and out, hell!" returned the big man. "That won't do, Abe. Youforget that you are talking to me." Then he leaned forward and spoke ina low tone. "I know what it is, my boy. It's Barbara." By the pain inthe surveyor's eyes the Seer knew that he was right.
Then the Seer in his own way did for Abe what Abe had done for Barbara.
When the young woman brought in his breakfast the next morning Abegreeted her with his old cheery "Hello!", and declared facetiously thatthe Seer had talked him into a sleep from which he had awakened ashungry as a bear and ready to go to work.
Two days later Texas Joe, who had ridden in from somewhere late thenight before, came to report.
"We were beginning to think that you were not coming back at all, UncleTex," said Barbara, who with the others was curious to hear of theold-timer's adventure.
"I 'lowed once mebbe I wouldn't come back no more neither," he drawled."You see, Mr. Worth, after we-all got Abe at Wolf Wells I figuredthat--bein' so far on the way--I might as well go on over to Felipe an'get that ol' buckskin hawss o' mine what Abe had left." He paused, and,turning his head to one side, looked meditatively down at the spur onhis high-heeled boot. "That there buckskin is sure some hawss, Barbara;he sure is."
"Did you get him?" asked Barbara.
Texas looked up, mildly surprised. "Sure we got him. That's what I'ma-tellin' you."
Then he laughed softly as though mildly amused at some incidentsuddenly remembered. "Abe, you know that greaser that tumbled into theDry River Spillway when we-all was puttin' in Number Five Gate?"
"Yes."
"I 'lowed you'd know him. I heard somethin' funny about him when I wasin San Felipe after that buckskin."
"What was it, Texas?"
"He's daid."
The recovery of the two wounded men was rapid. For a while Holmes cameover from Kingston every day to see Lee, and the two, with the Seer andBarbara, spent many delightful hours on the big front porch.
Jefferson Worth's enterprises pushed steadily toward completion. Thepower plant in Barba was finished and The King's Basin Central hadstretched its steel length from the junction at Republic to withinthree miles of the terminal.
When Abe was able to go back to his work, Holmes did not go so often tothe Worth home; but the presence of the Seer still enabled him toexcuse to himself his quite frequent visits. But while the youngengineer continually sought the Seer, not only because of their growingfriendship but because he was always sure of meeting Barbara, heavoided seeing the girl alone for he felt that he could not trusthimself; and the young woman, feeling his attitude toward her, wasconvinced against her will and Abe's protest that the man who loved herguarded himself against her for the reasons that she had overheardGreenfield urge upon him.
Then Holmes received a letter from the Southwestern and ContinentalRailroad Company offering him a position that
would place him at thehead of the engineering department of the district that included TheKing's Basin. The letter stated that the position was tendered onrecommendation of Jefferson Worth and, in view of the fact that theflood season was at hand and that conditions seriously threatening tothe Company's property might be expected at any hour, urged him toaccept by wire and take charge immediately.
With the letter in his hand a sudden desire to go with it to Barbaramastered him. He knew that the Seer had planned to go that morning withAbe Lee to Barba and that the young woman was alone.
An hour later he dismounted in front of the Worth home. Barbara herselfmet him at the door. "The Seer is not at home to-day" she said, as theyentered the living room. "I thought you knew."
"I did not come to see the Seer to-day. I came to see you," he answeredbluntly.
"To see me?"
"Yes; to ask you how I shall answer this." He handed her the letter.
She read it slowly, gaining time for self-control. "But I do notunderstand why you should come to me."
He studied her face a moment before he answered. How could he explainto her the impulse that had prompted him, as every man is prompted totake the big things of his life to the one woman who--if she be reallythe one woman for him--is more than all? "I thought--I hoped that youwould be interested," he said.
"And I am!" she cried eagerly, feeling that which he could not put intowords. "Of course I'm interested. I was only surprised that you shouldhesitate a moment to accept. Don't you want to continue your work?Don't you want to stay with us?" She added the last words wistfully andthe heart of the man longed to tell her that which she longed to hear.
"Yes," he said slowly, "I want to stay, but I--I am afraid." The wordsslipped out unbidden.
Barbara interpreted his answer in the light of his conversation withGreenfield, which she had overheard, and her woman's pride was aroused.He should be made to understand that he was in no danger from her. Hernext words were a challenge. "Afraid of what?"
"Afraid of you," he burst forth savagely. "Afraid of myself. Because Ilove you. From the first day when you showed me the desert you havebeen so closely associated in my mind with this work that I cannotthink of it without thinking of you. Everything I have done I have feltwas done for you. I would have given it all up a hundred times but mythoughts of you would not let me. When I have been untrue to the work Ihave felt that I have been untrue to you. If I have accomplished anygood here it has been through you. Everywhere I have gone in thiscountry you have seemed to me to be there. Everything I see speaks tome of you. The desert--the mountains--the farms and homes and towns; itis all you--and you--and you. I did not realize it at first, but I feltit, and then as I came to love my work I came to love you. I did notintend to tell you this. I hate myself for telling you--but I love you.I love you! Do you understand now why I came to you with this letter?Do you understand why I am afraid to stay?"
At the man's passionate outburst that came as if dragged from himagainst his will, Barbara shrank back as if he threatened her. He hadnot asked if she loved him; he had only spoken brutally--savagely, ofhis passion for her. She repeated insistently, blindly, to herself: "Hemust not know! He must not know!"
The man spoke again. "Forgive me, Miss Worth; I did not mean to let goof myself. I know how you love this work--how hard you have tried tohold me true to it. I could not bear that you should think of me asleaving it without reason. But you see--you see how impossible it isnow for me to stay."
As he spoke, a running horse stopped suddenly in front of the house andthrough the open door they saw Pablo leap from the saddle and runswiftly up the walk toward the house.
"Senorita!" the Mexican cried, as Barbara sprang towards him; "theriver! the river! It has come. The Company works--it is all gone! SenorWorth send me quick to tell Senor Holmes. I go to Kingston; he notthere. They say he ride this way. I come to you, Senorita; I thinkmaybe you know where I find him." He turned to the engineer. "SenorHolmes, the river has come again into La Palma de la Mano de Dios likethe Indians say it was long time ago. Senor Worth say you come pleasepronto!"
Barbara wheeled on the engineer with flushed cheeks and blazing eyes.
"This is your answer!" she cried. "Not for me; not for yourself; butfor the work--_your_ work--_our_ work!"
For an instant he looked into her eyes, then turned and ran towards hishorse with Pablo at his heels.
Barbara saw them spring into their saddles and disappear in a cloud ofdust, and the engineer, as he rode, remembered what Abe Lee had oncetold him of Pablo's saying: "In the Company there is no Senorita!"