Keith of the Border: A Tale of the Plains

by Randall Parrish

  They were two weary days reaching Carson City, travelling along theopen trail yet meeting with no one, not even a mail coach passing them.Evidently the Indians were so troublesome as to interrupt all trafficwith Santa Fe and the more western forts. The slowness of their progresswas on account of the General, whose condition became worse in spite ofFairbain's assiduous attentions. With no medicine the doctor coulddo but little to relieve the sufferings of the older man, although hedeclared that his illness was not a serious one, and would yield quicklyto proper medical treatment. They constructed a rude travois from limbsof the cottonwood, and securely strapped him thereon, one man leadingthe horse, while the doctor tramped behind.

  Keith, fretting more and more over this necessary delay, and nowobsessed with the thought that Hawley must have rejoined his partyon the Arkansas and gone south with them, finally broke away from theothers and rode ahead, to gather together the necessary horses andsupplies in advance of their arrival. He could not drive from his mindthe remembrance of the gambler's attempted familiarity with Hope, whenhe had her, as he then supposed, safe in his power once before in thatlonely cabin on the Salt Fork. Now, angry with baffled ambition, anda victim of her trickery, there was no guessing to what extremes thedesperado might resort. The possibilities of such a situation made theslightest delay in rescue an agony almost unbearable. Reaching CarsonCity, and perfectly reckless as to his own safety there from arrest, theplainsman lost no time in perfecting arrangements for pushing forward.Horses and provisions were procured, and he very fortunately discoveredin town two cowboys belonging to the "Bar X" outfit, their work thereaccomplished and about ready to return to, the ranch on the Canadian,who gladly allied themselves with his party, looking forward to thepossibilities of a fight with keen anticipation. Keith was more thanever delighted with adding these to his outfit, when, on the finalarrival of the others, the extra man brought from Sheridan announcedthat he had had enough, and was going to remain there. No efforts maderevealed any knowledge of Hawley's presence in Carson City; either hehad not been there, or else his friends were very carefully concealingthe fact. The utter absence of any trace, however, led Keith to believethat the gambler had gone elsewhere--probably to Fort Larned--for hisnew outfit, and this belief left him more fully convinced than ever ofthe fellow's efforts to conceal his trail.

  The party escorting Waite reached the town in the evening, and in thefollowing gray dawn, the adventurers forded the river, and mounted onfresh horses and fully equipped, headed forth into the sand hills. Thelittle company now consisted of Keith, Fairbain, who, in spite of hisrotundity of form had proven himself hard and fit, Neb, having chargeof the single pack-horse, the scout Bristoe, and the two cowboys of the"Bar X," rough, wiry fellows, accustomed to exposure and peril. It wasemphatically a fighting outfit, and to be trusted in emergency.

  They followed the cattle trail south toward the Salt Fork, as thiscourse would afford them a camp at the only water-hole in all that widedesert lying between. With this certainty of water, they ventured topress their animals to swifter pace, although the sand made travellingheavy, and the trail itself was scarcely discernible. It was a hard,wearisome ride, hour after hour through the same dull, dreary landscapeof desolation, the hot, remorseless sun beating down upon them,reflecting up into their blistered faces from the hot surface of sand.There was scarcely a breath of air, and the bodies of men and horseswere bathed in perspiration. Not a cloud hung in the blue sky; no wingof a bird broke the monotony of distance, no living animal creptacross the blazing surface of the desert. Occasionally a distant mirageattracted the eye, making the dead reality even more horrible by itssemblance to water, yet never tempting them to stray aside. After thefirst mile conversation ceased, the men riding grimly, silently forward,intent only on covering all the distance possible. Late that night theycamped at the water-hole, sleeping as best they could, scourged by thechill wind which swept over them and lashed grit into exposed faces.With the first gray of dawn they swung stiffened forms into the saddlesand rode on, straight as the crow flies, for the Salt Fork. Theyattained that stream at sundown, gray with sand dust, their facesstreaked from perspiration, feeling as though the sun rays had burnedtheir brains, with horses fairly reeling under them. According toKeith's calculation this cattle-ford must be fully ten miles below wherethe cabin sought was situated; two hours' rest, with water and food,would put both horses and men again in condition, and the travellingwas easier along the banks of the Fork. With this in mind, cinches wereloosened, the animals turned out to graze, and the men, snatching ahasty bite, flung themselves wearily on the ground.

  All but Fairbain were asleep when Keith aroused them once more, a littlebefore nine, unable in his impatience to brook longer delay. Within tenminutes horses were saddled, weapons looked to carefully, and the littleparty began their advance through the darkness, moving cautiously overthe uneven ground, assisted greatly by the bright desert stars gleamingdown upon them from the cloudless sky overhead. The distance provedsomewhat less than had been anticipated, and Keith's watch was not yetat eleven, when his eyes revealed the fact that they had reached thenear vicinity of the lonely island on which the cabin stood. Reiningin his horse sharply, he swung to the ground, the others instantlyfollowing his example, realizing they had reached the end of the route.Hands instinctively loosened revolvers in readiness for action, theyounger of the "Bar X" men whistling softly in an effort to appearunconcerned. Keith, with a gesture, gathered them more closely abouthim.

  "If Hawley is here himself," he said quietly, watching their faces inthe starlight, "he will certainly have a guard set, and there may be oneanyhow. We can't afford to take chances, for there will be five men, atleast, on the island, and possibly several more. If they are lookingfor trouble they will naturally expect it to come from thenorth--consequently we'll make our attack from the opposite direction,and creep in on them under the shadow of the corral. The first thingI want to do is to locate Miss Waite so she will be in no danger ofgetting hurt in the _melee_. You boys hold your fire, until I let looseor give the word. Now, Doctor, I want you and Neb to creep up this bankuntil you are directly opposite the cabin--he'll know the spot--and liethere out of sight until we begin the shooting. Then both sail in asfast as you can. I'll take Bristoe and you two 'Bar X' men along withme, and when we turn loose with our shooting irons you can all reckonthe fight is on. Any of you got questions to ask?"

  No one said anything, the silence accented by the desert wind howlingmournfully in the branches of a near-by cottonwood.

  "All right then, boys, don't get excited and go off half cocked; be easyon your trigger fingers. Come along, you fellows who are travelling withme."

  The four crossed the stream, wading to their waists in the water, theirhorses left bunched on the south bank, and finally crawled out into abunch of mesquite. As they crept along through the darkness, whateverdoubts Keith might have previously felt regarding the presence on theisland of the party sought, were dissipated by the unmistakable noisemade by numerous horses in the corral. Slowly, testing each step asthey advanced, so no sound should betray them, the four men reached theshelter of the stockade. The older of the "Bar X" men lifted himself byhis hands, and peered cautiously over.

  "Eight hosses in thar," he announced soberly; then turned to Keith."Say, Jack, what do you figure this shebang to be, anyhow? You don'treckon it's old Sanchez's outfit, do yer?"

  "Likely as not, Joe, though I never saw him around here."

  Joe filled his cheek with tobacco, staring about through the darkness.

  "Wall, if that ol' cuss is yere now we'uns is sure in fer a fight," hecommented positively.

  They rounded the corral fence on hands and knees, crawled into a bunchof bushes somewhat to the rear of the silent, desolate-appearing cabin,and lay down flat behind a pile of saddles, from which position theycould plainly discern the rear door. There was no movement, no evidenceanywhere that a living soul was about the place. Keith could barelydistinguish that it was Bristoe lying next
to him.

  "Had their camp over there in the corner of the corral when I was herebefore," he said in a whisper. "Where do you suppose they can be now?"

  The wary scout lifted his head, sniffing into the darkness like apointer dog.

  "West o' ther cabin thar, out o' ther wind, most likely. I smelltobacco."

  Even as the words left his lips a man came sauntering slowly around theeastern corner, his outlines barely visible, but the red glow of apipe bowl showing plainly. He stopped, directly facing them, yawningsleepily, and then turned the other corner. Another moment, and theydistinctly heard a voice:

  "Hustle up thar now, Manuel, an' turn out; it's your watch; wake up,damn yer--maybe that'll bring yer ter life."

  The remedy applied to the sleeper must have been efficacious, as,an instant later, another figure slouched into view, the new arrivalrubbing his eyes with one hand, the other clutching a short-barrelledgun. From the high peak of his hat it was evident this new guard wasa Mexican. He walked to the corner, glanced along the east side walltoward the front of the cabin, and then, apparently satisfied the coastwas clear, started toward the stream, shuffling along within a foot ofwhere Keith lay flat on the ground. A moment later the men heard himsplashing softly in the water, and Keith rolled over, his lips atBristoe's ear.

  "Slip down there; Ben," he whispered, "and quiet that fellow. I'll findout how many are on the west side. Do the job without any noise."

  He waited until the scout had disappeared like a snake, not even arustling leaf telling of his passage, and then silently crept forwardhimself, yet with less caution, until he was able to peer about thecorner of the cabin and dimly distinguish the blanketed forms of severalmen lying close in against the side wall. They rested so nearly togetherit was difficult to separate them in that darkness, stars giving theonly light, but he finally determined their number at five. Five; theMexican would make six, and there would surely be another guard postedout in the front--seven. But there were eight horses down there inthe corral. Then the eighth man--Hawley, without doubt--must be in thecabin. At the thought Keith's teeth clinched, and he had to struggle tocontrol his passion. But no; that would never do; he must discover firstexactly where the girl was located; after that they would attend tothe curs. Before creeping back to the others, he made quick examinationalong the rear of the cabin, but could find no visible point ofweakness. He tried to recall from memory the nature of the lock on thatback door, but could remember nothing except an ordinary wooden latch.If he could insert a knife into the crack that might very easilybe dislodged. He drew his hunting knife for the attempt, and, firstglancing about, perceived a man creeping toward him. It proved to beBristoe.

  "Fixed the greaser all right, cap, and I reckon he'll be quiet for anhour or two. Look whar he slashed me; struck a pack o' playin' keerds,er I'd a got my ticket." The front of his blouse was cut wide open, andKeith thought he perceived a stain of blood.

  "Pricked you as it was, didn't he?"

  "Opened the skin. Thought the cuss had give up, an' got careless. What's'round to the west?"

  Keith's lips closed, his hand shutting hard on the knife.

  "Five, and another out in front; that leaves the eighth man inside.Bring our fellows up closer, and post them where they can cover thosefellows asleep, while I make an effort at breaking in here."

  Bristoe crawled back like a snail, and confident the others would dotheir part, Keith thrust his knife blade deep into the narrow crack,and began probing after the latch. In spite of all caution this effortcaused a slight noise, and suddenly he started back, at the sound of awoman's voice:

  "What do you want? I am armed, and will fire through the door if you donot go away!"

  His heart leaping with exultation, Keith put his lips close to thecrack.

  "Hope," he exclaimed as loudly as he dared. "This is Keith; open thedoor."

  He could hear a little smothered cry break from her lips, and then thesound of a bar being hastily removed. An instant, and the door openedsilently, just wide enough to permit her slender figure to slip through.She grasped him with her hands, turning his face to the light of thestars, and he could feel her form tremble.

  "Oh, I knew you would come! I knew you would come!" she sobbed, thewords barely audible.

  The man's lips set firmly, yet he held her close to him, begging her notto break down now.

  "It's all right, little girl," he said pleadingly, "we've got you safe,but there is a fight to be attended to. Come with me; I must ask you aquestion or two."

  He drew her back into the fringe of bushes, placing her safely behindthe stack of saddles. She was not crying any more, just clinging to him,as though she could never again bear to let him go.

  "Oh, Jack, it is so good just to feel you near again."

  "Yes, dear," soothingly, "and it is good to hear you say Jack, but tellme one thing--is any one else in the cabin? Is Hawley here?"

  "No, no! He left us early the first morning. I haven't either seen orheard of him since. The men have left me alone since we got here; I havehad the cabin all to myself until to-night. I have not suffered,only mentally--from dread of what they intended doing with me--untilto-night. Three men rode in here just before sundown--two Mexicans andan Indian. One of them was an awful looking old man, with a scar on hischeek, and a face that made me shudder. He didn't see me, but I saw himthrough the window, and he had such strange eyes. All the men acted asthough they were afraid of him, and I heard him say he didn't care whatHawley's orders were, he was going to sleep inside; if the girl didn'tlike it she could take the other room. I didn't know what to do--oh, Iwas so afraid of him; but what he said gave me an idea, and I went intothe back room, and put up a bar across the door. When he came in hetried the door; then he spoke through it, but I never answered; andfinally he lay down and went to sleep. I sat there in the dark so long,and when I heard you--I--I thought it must be some of the others."

  He stroked her hair, whispering words of encouragement.

  "That is all done with now, Hope, and we'll have those fellows at ourmercy in another half-hour. But I must go now to the boys; lie down herebehind these saddles, and don't move until I come for you. I can trustyou to remain right here?"

  "Yes." He was bending over, and her eyes were upon his face. Suddenly,obeying an irresistible impulse, he clasped her to him, and their lipsmet.

  "Sweetheart," he whispered softly.

  He could not hear her answer, but her arms were about his neck.

  Chapter XXXV. The Cabin Taken