Friar Tuck

by Robert Alexander Wason

  CHAPTER FORTY-THREE

  THE GIFT OF THE DAWN

  The first thing I did was to light the lantern, for the daylight whichcame down there was too much in keepin' with the conditions to suitme. Promotheus was doubled up an' holdin' his side; so the first thingI did was to ask him if he was bad hurt. The' was a smile on his lips,a regular satisfied, self-composed smile, but I didn't just like thelook in his eyes.

  "Nope, I don't ache at all, Happy," he said in a firm voice; "but Ican't move much. Tend to the others first."

  It seems 'at Ty's first shot had hit the woman in the head, and hisnext had got The in the side--but The had managed to get the gun awayfrom him, which is why the rest of us were spared.

  The Friar had carried the woman into our offset, and was rubbin' herwrists and workin' over her, though the' didn't appear to be much use.She was still alive; but that was just all, so I left them andexamined the rest. Ty was all twisted out o' shape, and lay with hiseyes open, glassy an' stary and horrible. Olaf hadn't had time toquite finish the Chink, and he was crawlin' down the tunnel when Inabbed him. Then Horace took the lantern while Olaf and I hog-tiedPepper Kendal and the Chink.

  We next examined the cave-room where Ty had made his last stand. Itwas fair-sized an' well stocked, and also had half a dozen extra gunsin it. When I saw these fresh guns, I gave a low whistle to think whata lot o' suckers we'd been to discard our own trumps and set in a gameagainst a marked deck; but as the Friar allus said: "Wrong feeds ondeath and Right feeds on life; so the' can't be no doubt as to thefinal result, even though things do look blue sometimes."

  There was a fine spring in the corner o' this room--the same springwhich afterwards came out near the mouth of the ravine and was pipedinto the old cabin. The wounded Cross-brander was still babblin', sowe fed him some water and eased him around a little.

  Next we went outside and nailed some pieces to a couple o' lightpoles, and we were mighty glad to have enough left to man this vehiclewhen it was finished, for we were all purt nigh used up, Tillte, thetwo Simpson boys, and myself carried the litter, while Horace ran theillumination, and Olaf tended to Pepper and the Chink.

  We took 'em all out, even to the dead; and the one at the foot of thestairs turned out to be the boy, just as I'd thought. Next to thewoman, with the Friar walkin' beside her his head on his breast, thistrip with the boy cut me worse 'n any. Promotheus got off threeaverage good jokes while we were packin' him out, and cheered us up alot; but we put Ty Jones down with the dead. As we straightened himout he gave a groan which made us all jump. The whole thing had becomea nightmare, and we staggered about like the ingredients of a dream.

  The woman's head was shattered on top an' the' wasn't any hope forher; but still, it gave the Friar comfort to work over her, so weacted as though we thought she had a chance. The nearest doctor was atMeltner's stage station, a full day's ride. Tillte went after him,while Dan Simpson rode over to his father's to break the news andbring back Kit. What with the prisoners still on our hands, the deadto bury, and the wounded to wait on, we were in chin-deep; and theworst of it was, 'at we didn't want the news to get out. We had triedto settle things without botherin' the law, and we preferred to finishthat way if possible.

  We buried the four Cross-branders across the crick and down streamfrom the lower ford, and we buried Tim Simpson just a little way abovethe upper ford. The Friar went along and helped dig the graves andcarry them to it; but he didn't preach nor sing, and his face wasdrawn with sorrow.

  By evenin' we had got things to some system. Spider, Tank, Slim, andHorace were able to help quite a little; but Oscar, Tom Simpson, andPromotheus were in bad shape; while we had seven prisoners, countin'the Chink, and seven wounded enemies to look after. The feller Horacehad shot, up on top, got out o' the country, I reckon. Anyway theyleft him above with the horses, and we never heard of him again.

  Ol' man Simpson, Kit, and the boy arrived durin' the moonlight, and wewere all mighty glad to see Kit, though we hated to face the old man.Still, he was game, and took it mighty well. Tillte had got a freshhoss at Meltner's and had started right back with the doctor; so theyarrived a little after seven next mornin'. The doctor was purty younglookin' to me; but he had a bagful o' shiny instruments, and he madehimself at home without any fuss. He had been in a Colorado hospitalfor two years, a minin' hospital, and he was as familiar with afeller's insides, as a pony is with the range he was foaled on. He hadtook a claim near Meltner's, and was able to talk a long time on whyit was better for a young doctor to come west.

  He praised the Friar's work to the skies--and then turned in and didit all over to suit himself. He said that all the wounded stood a goodshow except the woman, Promotheus, and Ty Jones. We none of us thought'at The was in much danger; but the doctor shook his head. Ty's spinalcolumn had been unjointed near the base, and he was paralyzed from thehips down; but in all that skirmishin', he was the only one who hadn'tlost a drop o' blood. The Friar, himself, had two flesh-wounds besidethe one Ty had give him.

  I was with the doctor when he started to work on the woman's head; butI couldn't stand it. I'm not overly squeamish; but I own up I couldn'tstand this; so I backed out, leavin' the Friar with his face likechalk, to hand instruments while little old Kit held a basin. I hatedto leave 'em; but I didn't take a full breath until I was besidePromotheus again.

  His voice had got weaker, but the smile never left his lips, and itwas restful just to sit and watch him. Horace hovered over him like ayoung hen, and The drank so much water, simply to please Horace, thatI feared his bones would dissolve. Horace had told the doctor he wouldpay all the bills, and to go the full limit and not try to economizenone on his patch-work. We put the seven prisoners in the workshop,and slept in tarps around the door, which was fastened with a chain,so 'at if they got it open, a board would fall on these sleepin' next,and wake 'em.

  The Friar was all for notifyin' the authorities; but old man Simpsonhad been a notorious public, or some such official, back in Vermontand naturally he was up on all the twists and windin's of the law. Hesaid it would take the Su-preme Court itself fifteen years to sift outthe actual legalities of our tangle; and even then he wasn't surewhich side would get the worst of it, so he advised us to just work itout on our own hook, which we had decided to do anyway.

  For three days, the woman lay in a stupor. Kit had told me that herskull hadn't been actually shattered--that she had been shot in justabout the same way that Olaf had, but that Nature had counted on Olafgettin' into some such a fix, and had provided for it by givin' him aflint skull, while the woman's skull wasn't of much use except intimes of peace. Kit said the doctor had taken out a few splinters ofbone, and had fastened up the openin', but had said the' wasn't anyshow for her.

  On the other hand, Olaf had looked at her careful, and had said thatall the vital part of her was workin' on just this point. He said thatthe light about her body was the blue o' weakness; but that just atthis point, the' was a constant bulgin' out o' different colors in away he had never before seen. The doctor heaved up his eyebrows atOlaf's verdict, and looked as though he thought perhaps Olaf's brainhad been shifted a little out o' line, in spite of his flint skull.

  On the third night I was what the doctor called his orderly, and wenton duty at midnight. I was sittin' out on the porch of the old cabinwhen the Friar came out holdin' his hand across his eyes. We had movedthe wounded men over to the bunk-shack, and the woman was in Ty'sbedroom. I didn't speak to him, and he stood leanin' against one o'the posts for some time without seein' me.

  He trembled all over, and his breath came quick and catchy. Finally helooked up at the stars and said in a low tone, as though speakin'personal to some one near at hand: "Save me, oh God, from mockery! Ihave spoken for others in my vanity; and now that my own hour hascome, oh save me from the rebellion of my flesh; and give me grace tosay in my heart, Thy will be done."

  As he stood with his face upraised, the late moon crept out and shonefull upon it, and the agony in it struck me like a
blow; but even as Ilooked, the change came. Before my very eyes, I saw the sign of peacemade upon the Friar's brow. A moment before and it had been torn intowrinkles and covered with beads of sweat; but now it was smooth andcalm. He clasped his hands across his breast, closed his eyes, andthe' came a smile to his lips which drew a mist to my own eyes. Ican't be absolutely certain of it, because o' this blur in my eyes;but I think, I actually and honestly do think, that I saw white formshoverin' in the moonlight above him.

  He drew a full breath and turned to go in, but saw me settin' with myback again' the wall o' the cabin, and came over and put a hand on myshoulder. I couldn't say anything. I wanted to say somethin' tocomfort him; but I couldn't speak a word, until he asked me how theothers were gettin' along. I told him they were all doin' fine, andthat even Ty had been restin' well. He turned to go in, and then Ifound the nerve to ask him how things were inside.

  "It is all over, Happy," sez he, without even a catch in his voice."Just before I came out here, the doctor said the pulse had stopped."

  He caught his breath with a little gasp at this; but that was all."What did Olaf say?" I asked.

  "Olaf says that she still lives," he answered; "but I fear that Olafis not to be relied upon this time. He has a strange gift; but he doesnot understand it himself, and while I know he would not deceive me, Ifeel that the doctor must know best."

  "Well, I'll not give up until Olaf does!" I blurted.

  He smiled again and put his hand back on my shoulder. "Come in andlook at her," he said, "she is very beautiful. The strange mask hasfallen from her face, and she is once more as she was in those old,happy days when we walked together through our own Garden of Eden.Come in, I want you to see her."

  I went in with him, though I didn't want to. I knew what love did to aman, and that I hadn't seen the same woman he had; but the' wasanother face allus before my eyes, and no one else was beautiful tome. I didn't want to do any pertendin' to the Friar, even at such atime as this.

  I follered him inside, feelin' out o' place and embarrassed; but whenI looked down at the quiet face in the bed, I was glad I had come. Shedidn't look like the same woman, not at all. All the weary, puzzledexpression had left her face, and in spite of its whiteness, it lookedlike the face of a girl. I looked at her a long time and the thoughtthat came to me over and over was, what a shame she couldn't have hadjust a few words with the Friar before she was called on; just a fewwords, now that her right mind was back.

  After a time I looked up. Kit sat near the head of the bed, leanin'over and holdin' a handkerchief to her eyes, Olaf sat near her, astrange, grim set to his lips. His head was bandaged and he lookedless like a human than usual, as he kept his eyes fixed on the whiteface o' the woman. The' was a lamp on the stand and I could see hiseyes. Blue they were, deep blue, like the flowers on the benches inJune, and they didn't move; but kept a steady gaze upon the white,still face. The doctor sat in a corner, his eyes on the floor. Atfirst I thought he was asleep, and goodness knows, he was entitled toit; but just as I looked at him he rubbed his fingers together amoment and stood up.

  He walked over and put his hand on the Friar's shoulder. "You might aswell all go to sleep, now," he said, gently. "There is nothing more todo."

  "Are you positive?" asked the Friar.

  "Positive," said the doctor. "There is no heart action, and when Iheld a mirror to her lips no vapor was formed."

  "She is still alive," said the deep voice of Olaf, and we all gave alittle start.

  The doctor took a silver quarter and held it to the woman's nose for aminute, and then looked at it. A puzzled look came to his face, and hewent back and sat down in the corner again.

  "Was it discolored?" asked the Friar.

  "No," sez the doctor slowly; "but I am sure there is no liferemaining. I have seen several cases of suspended animation, butnothin' like this."

  "She lives, and the light is getting stronger," said Olaf.

  Kit took the handkerchief from her eyes which were still full o'tears. She wiped them away, and looked first at the woman and then atOlaf, and then she gave a sigh. The Friar's hands were opening andshutting. He had fought his fight out on the porch; but the suspensewas beginnin' to undermine him again.

  I went back to the porch and stayed a while. When I went in again,they were all as I had left them; and after a few minutes I made myrounds, found everything all right, and came back. I went into theroom several times, and just as I caught the first whiff o' the dawnbreeze, I went in once more, determined to coax the Friar to lie downand try to sleep.

  They were still in the same positions. Not a line had changed in thewoman's face, the Friar was almost as white as she was but still stoodat the foot o' the bed lookin' down at her; while the wrinkles onOlaf's set face seemed carved in stone.

  I had just put my hand on the Friar's arm to get his attention whenOlaf rose to his feet, pressed his hand to his blinkin' eyes, and saidwearily: "The blue color is givin' way to pink. She will get well."

  "Don't say it unless you're sure!" cried the Friar, his voice like asob.

  For answer Olaf pointed down at the woman's face. A faint color stoleinto her cheeks, and as we looked her eyes opened. The first thingthey rested upon was the Friar's face bent above her, and her lipsparted in a wonderin' smile--a smile which lighted her face like themornin' sun on ol' Mount Savage, and made her beautiful, to me an' toall who've ever seen her.

  "Is it you?" she whispered. "Is it really you?"

  A warm, rosy beam of sunshine slipped in through the window and fellacross the bed, and the rest of us tiptoed out, leavin' the Friaralone with the gift of life which the Dawn had brought back to him.