Border Legion (1990) Page 18

  Next day Joan watched for an opportunity to tell Jim Cleve that he might come to her little window any time after dark to talk and plan with her. No chance presented itself. Joan wore the dress she had made, to the evident pleasure of Bate Wood and Pearce. They had conceived as strong an interest in her fortunes as she had in Kells's. Wood nodded his approval and Pearce said she was a lady once more. Strange it was to Joan that this villain Pearce, whom she could not have dared trust, grew open in his insinuating hints of Kells's blackguardism. Strange because Pearce was absolutely sincere!

  When Jim Cleve did see Joan in her dress the first time he appeared so glad and relieved and grateful that she feared he might betray himself, so she got out of his sight.

  Not long after that Kells called her from her room. He wore his somber and thoughtful cast of countenance. Red Pearce and Jesse Smith were standing at attention. Cleve was sitting on the threshold of the door and Wood leaned against the wall.

  "Is there anything in the pack of stuff I bought you that you could use for a veil?" asked Kells of Joan.

  "Yes," she replied.

  "Get it," he ordered. "And your hat, too."

  Joan went to her room and returned with the designated articles, the hat being that which she had worn when she left Hoadley.

  "That'll do. Put it on--over your face--and let's see how you look."

  Joan complied with this request, all the time wondering what Kells meant.

  "I want it to disguise you, but not to hide your youth--your good looks," he said, and he arranged it differently about her face.

  "There! ... You'd sure make any man curious to see you now. ... Put on the hat."

  Joan did so. Then Kells appeared to become more forcible.

  "You're to go down into the town. Walk slow as far as the Last Nugget. Cross the road and come back. Look at every man you meet or see standing by. Don't be in the least frightened. Pearce and Smith will be right behind you. They'd get to you before anything could happen. ... Do you understand?"

  "Yes," replied Joan.

  Red Pearce stirred uneasily. "Jack, I'm thinkin' some rough talk'll come her way," he said, darkly.

  "Will you shut up!" replied Kells in quick passion. He resented some implication. "I've thought of that. She won't hear what's said to her. ... Here," and he turned again to Joan, "take some cotton--or anything--and stuff up your ears. Make a good job of it."

  Joan went back to her room and, looking about for something with which to execute Kells's last order, she stripped some soft, woolly bits from a fleece-lined piece of cloth. With these she essayed to deaden her hearing. Then she returned. Kells spoke to her, but, though she seemed dully to hear his voice, she could not distinguish what he said. She shook her head. With that Kells waved her out upon her strange errand.

  Joan brushed against Cleve as she crossed the threshold. What would he think of this? She would not see his face. When she reached the first tents she could not resist the desire to look back. Pearce was within twenty yards of her and Smith about the same distance farther back. Joan was more curious than anything else. She divined that Kells wanted her to attract attention, but for what reason she was at a loss to say. It was significant that he did not intend to let her suffer any indignity while fulfilling this mysterious mission.

  Not until Joan got well down the road toward the Last Nugget did any one pay any attention to her. A Mexican jabbered at her, showing his white teeth, flashing his sloe-black eyes. Young miners eyed her curiously, and some of them spoke. She met all kinds of men along the plank walk, most of whom passed by, apparently unobserving. She obeyed Kells to the letter. But for some reason she was unable to explain, when she got to the row of saloons, where lounging, evil- eyed rowdies accosted her, she found she had to disobey him, at least in one particular. She walked faster. Still that did not make her task much easier. It began to be an ordeal. The farther she got the bolder men grew. Could it have been that Kells wanted this sort of thing to happen to her? Joan had no idea what these men meant, but she believed that was because for the time being she was deaf.

  Assuredly their looks were not a compliment to any girl. Joan wanted to hurry now, and she had to force herself to walk at a reasonable gait. One persistent fellow walked beside her for several steps.

  Joan was not fool enough not to realize now that these wayfarers wanted to make her acquaintance. And she decided she would have something to say to Kells when she got back.

  Below the Last Nugget she crossed the road and started upon the return trip. In front of this gambling-hell there were scattered groups of men, standing, and going in. A tall man in black detached himself and started out, as if to intercept her. He wore a long black coat, a black bow tie, and a black sombrero. He had little, hard, piercing eyes, as black as his dress. He wore gloves and looked immaculate, compared with the other men. He, too, spoke to Joan, turned to walk with her. She looked straight ahead now, frightened, and she wanted to run. He kept beside her, apparently talking. Joan heard only the low sound of his voice. Then he took her arm, gently, but with familiarity. Joan broke from him and quickened her pace.

  "Say, there! Leave thet girl alone!"

  This must have been yelled, for Joan certainly heard it. She recognized Red Pearce's voice. And she wheeled to look. Pearce had overhauled the gambler, and already men were approaching.

  Involuntarily Joan halted. What would happen? The gambler spoke to Pearce, made what appeared deprecating gestures, as if to explain.

  But Pearce looked angry.

  "I'll tell her daddy!" he shouted.

  Joan waited for no more. She almost ran. There would surely be a fight. Could that have been Kells's intention? Whatever it was, she had been subjected to a mortifying and embarrassing affront. She was angry, and she thought it might be just as well to pretend to be furious. Kells must not use her for his nefarious schemes. She hurried on, and, to her surprise, when she got within sight of the cabin both Pearce and Smith had almost caught up with her. Jim Cleve sat where she had last seen him. Also Kells was outside. The way he strode to and fro showed Joan his anxiety. There was more to this incident than she could fathom. She took the padding from her ears, to her intense relief, and, soon reaching the cabin, she tore off the veil and confronted Kells.

  "Wasn't that a--a fine thing for you to do?" she demanded, furiously. And with the outburst she felt her face blazing. "If I'd any idea what you meant--you couldn't--have driven me! ... I trusted you. And you sent me down there on some--shameful errand of yours.

  You're no gentleman!"

  Joan realized that her speech, especially the latter part, was absurd. But it had a remarkable effect upon Kells. His face actually turned red. He stammered something and halted, seemingly at a loss for words. How singularly the slightest hint of any act or word of hers that approached a possible respect or tolerance worked upon this bandit! He started toward Joan appealingly, but she passed him in contempt and went to her room. She heard him cursing Pearce in a rage, evidently blaming his lieutenant for whatever had angered her.

  "But you wanted her insulted!" protested Pearce, hotly.

  "You mullet-head!" roared Kells. "I wanted some man--any man--to get just near enough to her so I could swear she'd been insulted. You let her go through that camp to meet real insult! ... Why--! Pearce, I've a mind to shoot you!"

  "Shoot!" retorted Pearce. "I obeyed orders as I saw them. ... An' I want to say right here thet when it comes to anythin' concernin' this girl you're plumb off your nut. That's what. An' you can like it or lump it! I said before you'd split over this girl. An' I say it now!"

  Through the door Joan had a glimpse of Cleve stepping between the angry men. This seemed unnecessary, however, for Pearce's stinging assertion had brought Kells to himself. There were a few more words, too low for Joan's ears, and then, accompanied by Smith, the three started off, evidently for the camp. Joan left her room and watched them from the cabin door. Bate Wood sat outside smoking.

  "I'm declarin' my
hand," he said to Joan, feelingly. "I'd never hev stood for thet scurvy trick. Now, miss, this's the toughest camp I ever seen. I mean tough as to wimmen! For it ain't begun to fan guns an' steal gold yet."

  "Why did Kells want me insulted?" asked Joan.

  "Wal, he's got to hev a reason for raisin' an orful fuss," replied Wood.

  "Fuss?"

  "Shore," replied Wood, dryly.

  "What for?"

  "Jest so he can walk out on the stage," rejoined Wood, evasively.

  "It's mighty strange," said Joan.

  "I reckon all about Mr. Kells is some strange these days. Red Pearce had it correct. Kells is a-goin' to split on you!"

  "What do you mean by that?"

  "Wal, he'll go one way an' the gang another."

  "Why?" asked Joan, earnestly.

  "Miss, there's some lot of reasons," said Wood, deliberately. "Fust, he did for Halloway an' Bailey, not because they wanted to treat you as he meant to, but just because he wanted to be alone. We're all wise thet you shot him--an' thet you wasn't his wife. An' since then we've seen him gradually lose his nerve. He organized his Legion an' makes his plan to run this Alder Creek red. He still hangs on to you. He'd kill any man thet batted an eye at you. ... An' through all this, because he's not Jack Kells of old, he's lost his pull with the gang. Sooner or later he'll split."

  "Have I any real friends among you?" asked Joan.

  "Wal, I reckon."

  "Are you my friend, Bate Wood?" she went on in sweet wistfulness.

  The grizzled old bandit removed his pipe and looked at her with a glint in his bloodshot eyes, "I shore am. I'll sneak you off now if you'll go. I'll stick a knife in Kells if you say so."

  "Oh, no, I'm afraid to run off--and you needn't harm Kells. After all, he's good to me."

  "Good to you! ... When he keeps you captive like an Indian would?

  When he's given me orders to watch you--keep you locked up?"

  Wood's snort of disgust and wrath was thoroughly genuine. Still Joan knew that she dared not trust him, any more than Pearce or the others. Their raw emotions would undergo a change if Kells's possession of her were transferred to them. It occurred to Joan, however, that she might use Wood's friendliness to some advantage.

  "So I'm to be locked up?" she asked.

  "You're supposed to be."

  "Without any one to talk to?"

  "Wal, you'll hev me, when you want. I reckon thet ain't much to look forward to. But I can tell you a heap of stories. An' when Kells ain't around, if you're careful not to get me ketched, you can do as you want."

  "Thank you, Bate. I'm going to like you," replied Joan, sincerely, and then she went back to her room. There was sewing to do, and while she worked she thought, so that the hours sped. When the light got so poor that she could sew no longer she put the work aside and stood at her little window, watching the sunset. From the front of the cabin came the sound of subdued voices. Probably Kells and his men had returned, and she was sure of this when she heard the ring of Bate Wood's ax.

  All at once an object darker than the stones arrested Joan's gaze.

  There was a man sitting on the far side of the little ravine.

  Instantly she recognized Jim Cleve. He was looking at the little window--at her. Joan believed he was there for just that purpose.

  Making sure that no one else was near to see, she put out her hand and waved it. Jim gave a guarded perceptible sign that he had observed her action, and almost directly got up and left. Joan needed no more than that to tell her how Jim's idea of communicating with her corresponded with her own. That night she would talk with him and she was thrilled through. The secrecy, the peril, somehow lent this prospect a sweetness, a zest, a delicious fear. Indeed, she was not only responding to love, but to daring, to defiance, to a wilder nameless element born of her environment and the needs of the hour.

  Presently, Bate Wood called her in to supper. Pearce, Smith, and Cleve were finding seats at the table, but Kells looked rather sick.

  Joan observed him then more closely. His face was pale and damp, strangely shaded as if there were something dark under the pale skin. Joan had never seen him appear like this, and she shrank as from another and forbidding side of the man. Pearce and Smith acted naturally, ate with relish, and talked about the gold-diggings.

  Cleve, however, was not as usual; and Joan could not quite make out what constituted the dissimilarity. She hurried through her own supper and back to her room.

  Already it was dark outside. Joan lay down to listen and wait. It seemed long, but probably was not long before she heard the men go outside, and the low thump of their footsteps as they went away.

  Then came the rattle and bang of Bate Wood's attack on the pans and pots. Bate liked to cook, but he hated to clean up afterward. By and by he settled down outside for his evening smoke and there was absolute quiet. Then Joan rose to stand at the window. She could see the dark mass of rock overhanging the cabin, the bluff beyond, and the stars. For the rest all was gloom.

  She did not have to wait long. A soft step, almost indistinguishable, made her pulse beat quicker. She put her face out of the window, and on the instant a dark form seemed to loom up to meet her out of the shadow. She could not recognize that shape, yet she knew it belonged to Cleve.

  "Joan," he whispered.

  "Jim," she replied, just as low and gladly.

  He moved closer, so that the hand she had gropingly put out touched him, then seemed naturally to slip along his shoulder, round his neck. And his face grew clearer in the shadow. His lips met hers, and Joan closed her eyes to that kiss. What hope, what strength for him and for her now in that meeting of lips!

  "Oh, Jim! I'm so glad--to have you near--to touch you," she whispered.

  "Do you love me still?" he whispered back, tensely.

  "Still? More--more!"

  "Say it, then."

  "Jim, I love you!"

  And their lips met again and clung, and it was he who drew back first.

  "Dearest, why didn't you let me make a break to get away with you-- before we came to this camp?"

  "Oh, Jim, I told you. I was afraid. We'd have been caught. And Gulden--"

  "We'll never have half the chance here. Kells means to keep you closely guarded. I heard the order. He's different now. He's grown crafty and hard. And the miners of this Alder Creek! Why, I'm more afraid to trust them than men like Wood or Pearce. They've gone clean crazy. Gold-mad! If you shouted for your life they wouldn't hear you. And if you could make them hear they wouldn't believe.

  This camp has sprung up in a night. It's not like any place I ever heard of. It's not human. It's so strange--so--Oh, I don't know what to say. I think I mean that men in a great gold strike become like coyotes at a carcass. You've seen that. No relation at all!"

  "I'm frightened, too, Jim. I wish I'd had the courage to run when we were back in Cabin Gulch, But don't ever give up, not for a second!

  We can get away. We must plan and wait. Find out where we are--how far from Hoadley--what we must expect--whether it's safe to approach any one in this camp."

  "Safe! I guess not, after to-day," he whispered, grimly.

  "Why? What's happened?" she asked quickly.

  "Joan, have you guessed yet why Kells sent you down into camp alone?"

  "No."

  "Listen. ... I went with Kells and Smith and Pearce. They hurried straight to the Last Nugget. There was a crowd of men in front of the place. Pearce walked straight up to one--a gambler by his clothes. And he said in a loud voice. 'Here's the man!' ... The gambler looked startled, turned pale, and went for his gun. But Kells shot him! ... He fell dead, without a word. There was a big shout, then silence. Kells stood there with his smoking gun. I never saw the man so cool--so masterful. Then he addressed the crowd:

  "This gambler insulted my daughter! My men here saw him. My name's Blight. I came here to buy up gold claims. And I want to say this:

  Your Alder Creek has got the gold. But it needs
some of your best citizens to run it right, so a girl can be safe on the street.'

  "Joan, I tell you it was a magnificent bluff," went on Jim, excitedly. "And it worked. Kells walked away amid cheers. He meant to give an impression of character and importance. He succeeded. So far as I could tell, there wasn't a man present who did not show admiration for him. I saw that dead gambler kicked."

  "Jim!" breathed Joan. "He killed him--just for that?"

  "Just for that--the bloody devil!"

  "But still--what for? Oh, it was cold-blooded murder."

  "No, an even break. Kells made the gambler go for his gun. I'll have to say that for Kells."

  "It doesn't change the thing. I'd forgotten what a monster he is."

  "Joan, his motive is plain. This new gold-camp has not reached the blood-spilling stage yet. It hadn't, I should say. The news of this killing will fly. It'll focus minds on this claim-buyer, Blight. His deed rings true--like that of an honest man with a daughter to protect. He'll win sympathy. Then he talks as if he were prosperous.

  Soon he'll be represented in this changing, growing population as a man of importance. He'll play the card for all he's worth.

  Meanwhile, secretly he'll begin to rob the miners. It'll be hard to suspect him. His plot is just like the man--great!"

  "Jim, oughtn't we tell?" whispered Joan, trembling.

  "I've thought of that. Somehow I seem to feel guilty. But whom on earth could we tell? We wouldn't dare speak here. ... Remember-- you're a prisoner. I'm supposed to be a bandit--one of the Border Legion. How to get away from here and save our lives--that's what tortures me."

  "Something tells me we'll escape, if only we can plan the right way.