by Max Brand
13
First his glance plunged into vacancy; then it flicked over his shoulderat Nelly Lebrun and he bit his lip. Plainly, it was not the most welcomenews that Jack Landis had ever heard.
"Where is she?" he asked nervously of Donnegan, and he looked over theragged fellow again.
"I'll take you to her."
The big man swayed back and forth from foot to foot, balancing in hishesitation. "Wait a moment."
He strode to Nelly Lebrun and bent over her; Donnegan saw her eyes flashup--oh, heart of the south, what eyes of shadow and fire! Jack Landistrembled under the glance; yes, he was deeply in love with the girl. AndDonnegan watched her face shade with suspicion, stiffen with cold anger,warm and soften again under the explanations of Jack Landis.
Donnegan, looking from the distance, could read everything; it isnearness that bewitches a man when he talks to a woman. When Odysseustalked to Circe, no doubt he stood on the farther side of the room!
When Landis came again, he was perspiring from the trial of firethrough which he had just passed.
"Come," he ordered, and set out at a sweeping stride.
Plainly he was anxious to get this matter done with as soon as possible.As for Donnegan, he saw a man whom Landis had summoned to take his placesit down at the table with Nelly Lebrun. She was laughing with thenewcomer as though nothing troubled her at all, but over his shoulderher glance probed the distance and followed Jack Landis. She wanted tosee the messenger again, the man who had called her companion away; butin this it was fox challenging fox. Donnegan took note and was carefulto place between him and the girl every pillar and every group ofpeople. As far as he was concerned, her first glance must do to read andjudge and remember him by.
Outside Landis shot several questions at him in swift succession; hewanted to know how the girl had happened to make the trip. Above all,what the colonel was thinking and doing and if the colonel himself hadcome. But Donnegan replied with monosyllables, and Landis, apparentlyreconciling himself to the fact that the messenger was a fool, ceasedhis questions. They kept close to a run all the way out of the camp andup the hillside to the two detached tents where Donnegan and the girlslept that night. A lantern burned in both the tents.
"She has made things ready for me," thought Donnegan, his heart opening."She has kept house for me!"
He pointed out Lou's tent to his companion and the big man, with asingle low word of warning, threw open the flap of the tent and strodein.
There was only the split part of a second between the rising and thefall of the canvas, but in that swift interval, Donnegan saw the girlstarting up to receive Landis. Her calm was broken at last. Her cheekswere flushed; her eyes were starry with what? Expectancy? Love?
It stopped Donnegan like a blow in the face and turned his heart tolead; and then, shamelessly, he glided around the tent and dropped downbeside it to eavesdrop. After all, there was some excuse. If she lovedthe man he, Donnegan, would let him live; if she did not love him, he,Donnegan, would kill him like a worthless rat under heel. That is, if hecould. No wonder that the wanderer listened with heart and soul!
He missed the first greeting. It was only a jumble of exclamations, butnow he heard: "But, Lou, what a wild idea. Across the mountains--withwhom?"
"The man who brought you here."
"Who's he?"
"I don't know."
"You don't know? He looks like a shifty little rat to me."
"He's big enough, Jack."
Such small praise was enough to set Donnegan's heart thumping.
"Besides, father told me to go with him, to trust him."
"Ah!" There was an abrupt chilling and lowering of Landis' voice. "Thecolonel knows him? He's one of the colonel's men?"
Plainly the colonel was to him as the rod to the child.
"Why didn't you come directly to me?"
"We thought it would be better not to."
"H'm-m. Your guide--well, what was the colonel's idea in sending youhere? Heavens above, doesn't he know that a mining camp is no place fora young girl? And you haven't a sign of a chaperon, Lou! What the devilcan I do? What was in his mind?"
"You haven't written for a long time."
"Good Lord! Written! Letters! Does he think I have time for letters?"The lie came smoothly enough. "Working day and night?"
Donnegan smoothed his whiskers and grinned into the night. Landis mightprove better game than he had anticipated.
"He worried," said the girl, and her voice was as even as ever. "Heworried, and sent me to find out if anything is wrong."
Then: "Nonsense! What is there to worry about? Lou, I'm half inclined tothink that the colonel doesn't trust me!"
She did not answer. Was she reading beneath the boisterous assurance ofLandis?
"One thing is clear to me--and to you, too, I hope. The first thing isto send you back in a hurry."
Still no answer.
"Lou, do you distrust me?"
At length she managed to speak, but it was with some difficulty: "Thereis another reason for sending me."
"Tell me."
"Can't you guess, Jack?"
"I'm not a mind reader."
"The cad," said Donnegan through his teeth.
"It's the old reason."
"Money?"
"Yes."
A shadow swept across the side of the tent; it was Landis waving his armcarelessly.
"If that's all, I can fix you up and send you back with enough to carrythe colonel along. Look here--why, I have five hundred with me. Take it,Lou. There's more behind it, but the colonel mustn't think that there'sas much money in the mines as people say. No idea how much living costsup here. Heavens, no! And the prices for labor! And then they shirk thejob from dawn to dark. I have to watch 'em every minute, I tell you!"
He sighed noisily.
"But the end of it is, dear"--how that small word tore into the heart ofDonnegan, who crouched outside--"that you must go back tomorrow morning.I'd send you tonight, if I could. As a matter of fact, I don't trust thered-haired rat who--"
The girl interrupted while Donnegan still had control of hishair-trigger temper.
"You forget, Jack. Father sent me here, but he did not tell me to comeback."
At this Jack Landis burst into an enormous laughter.
"You don't mean, Lou, that you actually intend to stay on?"
"What else can I mean?"
"Of course it makes it awkward if the colonel didn't expressly tell youjust what to do. I suppose he left it to my discretion, and I decidedefinitely that you must go back at once."
"I can't do it."
"Lou, don't you hear me saying that I'll take the responsibility? Ifyour father blames you let him tell me--"
He broke down in the middle of his sentence and another of thoseuncomfortable little pauses ensued. Donnegan knew that their eyes weremiserably upon each other; the man tongue-tied by his guilt; the girlwretchedly guessing at the things which lay behind her fiance's words.
"I'm sorry you don't want me here."
"It isn't that, but--"
He apparently expected to be interrupted, but she waited coolly for himto finish the sentence, and, of course, he could not. After all, for ahelpless girl she had a devilish effective way of muzzling Landis.Donnegan chuckled softly in admiration.
All at once she broke through the scene; her voice did not rise orharden, but it was filled with finality, as though she were weary of theinterview.
"I'm tired out; it's been a hard ride, Jack. You go home now and look meup again any time tomorrow."
"I--Lou--I feel mighty bad about having you up here in this infernaltent, when the camp is full, and--":
"You can't lie across the entrance to my tent and guard me, Jack.Besides, I don't need you for that. The man who's with me will protectme."
"He doesn't look capable of protecting a cat!"
"My father said that in any circumstances he would be able to take careof me."
This reply seemed to o
verwhelm Landis.
"The colonel trusts him as far as all that?" he muttered. "Then Isuppose you're safe enough. But what about comfort, Lou?"
"I've done without comfort all my life. Run along, Jack. And take thismoney with you. I can't have it."
"But, didn't the colonel send--"
"You can express it through to him. To me it's--not pleasant to takeit."
"Why, Lou, you don't mean--"
"Good night, Jack. I don't mean anything, except that I'm tired."
The shadow swept along the wall of the tent again. Donnegan, with ashaking pulse, saw the profile of the girl and the man approach as hestrove to take her in his arms and kiss her good night. And then oneslender bar of shadow checked Landis.
"Not tonight."
"Lou, you aren't angry with me?"
"No. But you know I have queer ways. Just put this down as one of them.I can't explain."
There was a muffled exclamation and Landis went from the tent and strodedown the hill; he was instantly lost in the night. But Donnegan, turningto the entrance flap, called softly. He was bidden to come in, and whenhe raised the flap he saw her sitting with her hands clasped loosely andresting upon her knees. Her lips were a little parted, and colorless;her eyes were dull with a mist; and though she rallied herself a little,the wanderer could see that she was only half-aware of him.
The face which he saw was a milestone in his life. For he had loved herjealously, fiercely before; but seeing her now, dazed, hurt, anduncomplaining, tenderness came into Donnegan. It spread to his heartwith a strange pain and made his hands tremble.
All that he said was: "Is there anything you need?"
"Nothing," she replied, and he backed out and away.
But in that small interval he had turned out of the course of his gay,selfish life. If Jack Landis had hurt her like this--if she loved him sotruly--then Jack Landis she should have.
There was an odd mixture of emotions in Donnegan; but he felt mostnearly like the poor man from whose hand his daughter tugs back andlooks wistfully, hopelessly, into the bright window at all the toys.What pain is there greater than the pain that comes to the poor man insuch a time? He huddles his coat about him, for his heart is as cold asa Christmas day; and if it would make his child happy, he would pour outhis heart's blood on the snow.
Such was the grief of Donnegan as he backed slowly out into the night.Though Jack Landis were fixed as high as the moon he would tear him outof his place and give him to the girl.