The Hunted Woman

by James Oliver Curwood

  CHAPTER XX

  At last Joanne realized that the explosion was not to come, that Blacktonand his men were working to save them. And now, as she listened with him,her breath began to come in sobbing excitement between her lips--for therewas no mistaking that sound, that steady _beat-beat-beat_ that came frombeyond the cavern wall and seemed to set strange tremors stirring in theair about their ears. For a few moments they stood stunned and silent, asif not yet quite fully comprehending that they had come from out of the pitof death, and that men were fighting for their rescue. They askedthemselves no questions--why the "coyote" had not been fired? how thoseoutside knew they were in the cavern. And, as they listened, there came tothem a voice. It was faint, so faint that it seemed to whisper to themthrough miles and miles of space--yet they knew that it was a voice!

  "Some one is shouting," spoke Aldous tensely. "Joanne, my darling, standaround the face of the wall so flying rock will not strike you and I willanswer with my pistol!"

  When he had placed her in safety from split lead and rock chips, he drewhis automatic and fired it close up against the choked tunnel. He firedfive times, steadily, counting three between each shot, and then he placedhis ear to the mass of stone and earth and listened. Joanne slipped to himlike a shadow. Her hand sought his, and they held their breaths. They nolonger heard sounds--nothing but the crumbling and falling of dust andpebbles where the bullets had struck, and their own heart-beats. The picksand rock-hammers had ceased.

  Tighter and tighter grew the clasp of Joanne's fingers, and a terriblethought flashed into John's brain. Perhaps a, rock from the slide had cut awire, and they had found the wire--had repaired it! Was that thought inJoanne's mind, too? Her finger-nails pricked his flesh. He looked at her.Her eyes were closed, and her lips were tense and gray. And then her eyesshot open--wide and staring. They heard, faintly though it came tothem--once, twice, three times, four, five--the firing of a gun!

  John Aldous straightened, and a great breath fell from his lips.

  "Five times!" he said. "It is an answer. There is no longer doubt."

  He was holding out his arms to her, and she came into them with a chokingcry; and now she sobbed like a little child with her head against hisbreast, and for many minutes he held her close, kissing her wet face, andher damp hair, and her quivering lips, while the beat of the picks and thecrash of the rock-hammers came steadily nearer.

  Where those picks and rock-hammers fell a score of men were working likefiends: Blackton, his arms stripped to the shoulders; Gregg, sweating andurging the men; and among them--lifting and tearing at the rock like amadman--old Donald MacDonald, his shirt open, his great hands bleeding, hishair and beard tossing about him in the wind. Behind them, her handsclasped to her breast--crying out to them to hurry, _hurry_--stood PeggyBlackton. The strength of five men was in every pair of arms. Huge boulderswere rolled back. Men pawed earth and shale with their naked hands.Rock-hammers fell with blows that would have cracked the heart of a graniteobelisk. Half an hour--three quarters--and Blackton came back to wherePeggy was standing, his face black and grimed, his arms red-seared wherethe edges of the rocks had caught them, his eyes shining.

  "We're almost there, Peggy," he panted. "Another five minutes and----"

  A shout interrupted him. A cloud of dust rolled out of the mouth of thetunnel, and into that dust rushed half a dozen men led by old Donald.Before the dust had settled they began to reappear, and with a shrillscream Peggy Blackton darted forward and flung her arms about thegold-shrouded figure of Joanne, swaying and laughing and sobbing in thesunshine. And old Donald, clasping his great arms about Aldous, criedbrokenly:

  "Oh, Johnny, Johnny--something told me to foller ye--an' I was just intime--just in time to see you go into the coyote!"

  "God bless you, Mac!" said Aldous, and then Paul Blackton was wringing hishands; and one after another the others shook his hand, but Peggy Blacktonwas crying like a baby as she hugged Joanne in her arms.

  "MacDonald came just in time," explained Blackton a moment later; and hetried to speak steadily, and tried to smile. "Ten minutes more, and----"

  He was white.

  "Now that it has turned out like this I thank God that it happened, Paul,"said Aldous, for the engineer's ears alone. "We thought we were facingdeath, and so--I told her. And in there, on our knees, we pledged ourselvesman and wife. I want the minister--as quick as you can get him, Blackton.Don't say anything to Joanne, but bring him to the house right away, willyou?"

  "Within half an hour," replied Blackton. "There comes Tony with thebuckboard. We'll hustle up to the house and I'll have the preacher there ina jiffy."

  As they went to the wagon, Aldous looked about for MacDonald. He haddisappeared. Requesting Gregg to hunt him up and send him to the bungalow,he climbed into the back seat, with Joanne between him and Peggy. Herlittle hand lay in his. Her fingers clung to him. But her hair hid herface, and on the other side of her Peggy Blackton was laughing and talkingand crying by turns.

  As they entered the bungalow, Aldous whispered to Joanne:

  "Will you please go right to your room, dear? I want to say something toyou--alone."

  When she went up the stair, Peggy caught a signal from her husband. Aldousremained with them. In two minutes he told the bewildered and finallydelighted Peggy what was going to happen, and as Blackton hustled out forthe minister's house he followed Joanne. She had fastened her door behindher. He knocked. Slowly she opened it.

  "John----"

  "I have told them, dear," he whispered happily. "They understand. And,Joanne, Paul Blackton will be back in ten minutes--with the minister. Areyou glad?"

  She had opened the door wide, and he was heading out his arms to her again.For a moment she did not move, but stood there trembling a little, anddeeper and sweeter grew the colour in her face, and tenderer the look inher eyes.

  "I must brush my hair," she answered, as though she could think of no otherwords. "I--I must dress."

  Laughing joyously, he went to her and gathered the soft masses of her hairin his hands, and piled it up in a glorious disarray about her face andhead, holding it there, and still laughing into her eyes.

  "Joanne, you are mine!"

  "Unless I have been dreaming--I am, John Aldous!"

  "Forever and forever."

  "Yes, forever--and ever."

  "And because I want the whole world to know, we are going to be married bya minister."

  She was silent.

  "And as my wife to be," he went on, his voice trembling with his happiness,"you must obey me!"

  "I think that I shall, John."

  "Then you will not brush your hair, and you will not change your dress, andyou will not wash the dust from your face and that sweet little beauty-spotfrom the tip of your nose," he commanded, and now he drew her head close tohim, so that he whispered, half in her hair: "Joanne, my darling, I wantyou _wholly_ as you came to me there, when we thought we were going to die.It was there you promised to become my wife, and I want you as you werethen--when the minister comes."

  "John, I think I hear some one coming up the front steps!"

  They listened. The door opened. They heard voices--Blackton's voice,Peggy's voice, and another voice--a man's voice.

  Blackton's voice came up to them very distinctly.

  "Mighty lucky, Peggy," he said. "Caught Mr. Wollaver just as he was passingthe house. Where's----"

  "Sh-h-hh!" came Peggy Blackton's sibilant whisper.

  Joanne's hands had crept to John's face.

  "I think," she said, "that it is the minister, John."

  Her warm lips were near, and he kissed them.

  "Come, Joanne. We will go down."

  Hand in hand they went down the stair; and when the minister saw Joanne,covered in the tangle and glory of her hair; and when he saw John Aldous,with half-naked arms and blackened face; and when, with these things, hesaw the wonderful joy shining in their eyes, he stood like one struck dumbat sight of a miracle descending out of the s
kies. For never had Joannelooked more beautiful than in this hour, and never had man looked more likeentering into paradise than John Aldous.

  Short and to the point was the little mountain minister's service, and whenhe had done he shook hands with them, and again he stared at them as theywent back up the stair, still hand in hand. At her door they stopped. Therewere no words to speak now, as her heart lay against his heart, and herlips against his lips. And then, after those moments, she drew a littleback, and there came suddenly that sweet, quivering, joyous play of herlips as she said:

  "And now, my husband, may I dress my hair?"

  "My hair," he corrected, and let her go from his arms.

  Her door closed behind her. A little dizzily he turned to his room. Hishand was on the knob when he heard her speak his name. She had reopened herdoor, and stood with something in her hand, which she was holding towardhim. He went back, and she gave him a photograph.

  "John, you will destroy this," she whispered. "It is hisphotograph--Mortimer FitzHugh's. I brought it to show to people, that itmight help me in my search. Please--destroy it!"

  He returned to his room and placed the photograph on his table. It waswrapped in thin paper, and suddenly there came upon him a most compellingdesire to see what Mortimer FitzHugh had looked like in life. Joanne wouldnot care. Perhaps it would be best for him to know.

  He tore off the paper. And as he looked at the picture the hot blood in hisveins ran cold. He stared--stared as if some wild and maddening joke wasbeing played upon his faculties. A cry rose to his lips and broke in agasping breath, and about him the floor, the world itself, seemed slippingaway from under his feet.

  For the picture he held in his hand was the picture of Culver Rann!