Mad River
Page 18
Cohoon ran forward; he was climbing into the wagon when the sound of many riders brought him around quickly, snatching up the revolver dropped by Westerman.
"Ach, there'll be no need for that, my boy," said Van Houck. coming around the corner of the building. "It's Westerman they want, not you. We have learned that he was the General's accomplice. . . . Conscience is a hard master, Boyd. I have worked hard for you this day. To avenge you, I thought. I'm glad it was not necessary. Aren't you going to help a tired old man off his horse?"
Cohoon grinned. "Fall off, you old fraud. Westerman's under the wagon. Excuse me, there's somebody who needs help worse than you do—and deserves it more, too."
27
SHE HAD NOT spoken for some time, riding beside him through the luminous night. He stopped at last, dismounted, and helped her down, steadying her.
"Are you all right?" he asked, suddenly concerned.
"It's a little late to ask," she said. "I died five miles back. Where in heaven's name are we?"
He pointed to a grove of trees below them, dark in the moonlight. "That's Willow Spring," he said. "Nan, what was in your mind when you sent Claire to warn me?"
She glanced at him quickly, "Sent? Did she say I sent her?"
"Far from it. But I say it."
She moved her shoulders in an abrupt manner. "Well, suppose I did. It was the logical thing. Being born and brought up here, she had a much better chance of finding you in time than I did." She paused; Cohoon did not speak. She asked, "Where is Claire now?"
"With Black. Riding south."
"You let her go?"
"There was no reason for her to stay. We learned that down there." He motioned toward where the distant canyon made a black pattern in the sloping plain below. "Did you know it when you sent her, Nan?"
She shook her head. "It was a chance. Perhaps I'm a gambler at heart." After a moment she said, "I've had a hard day, Cohoon. I'm dirty and bruised, and I have rope-burns and saddle sores. So if you brought me here just to talk over old times—"
Cohoon said, "I would put the house up on this rise, although it means a longer walk for water. On a clear day, when the dust is not blowing, you can see Sombrero through a notch in the hills over there, thirty miles away."
"I've seen Sombrero," Nan said, "A woman likes a house with trees around it."
"I've asked you twice to marry me," he said. "I'm asking again. This time I'm free to ask."
"I know," she said, and seemed to be waiting.
He said, "I need you, Nan."
"Need?" she said. "Who cares about your needs, Cohoon?" "I love you," he said, and she turned to him quickly, her waiting at an end.
THE END
of a Gold Medal Novel
BY DONALD HAMILTON