The Desert Valley

by Jackson Gregory

  Chapter VII

  Waiting for Moonrise

  For upward of two hours Longstreet and Helen were at the store, makingtheir purchases. Carr said good-bye, promising to look them up attheir camp at the ridge by the time they should be ready for callers;he shook hands warmly with the professor, and for a moment stood overHelen, looking steadily into her eyes. She returned his regard franklyand friendlily, but in the end flushed a little. When Carr went out,Howard, saying that he would be back presently, went out with him.

  'Two bang-up, square-shooting gents!' cried Longstreet warmly. Helenturned upon him in amazement.

  'Papa!' she gasped. 'Where on earth did you get that sort of talk?'

  Longstreet smiled brightly.

  'Haven't I told you, my dear.' he explained, 'that when in Rome oneshould learn from the Romans?'

  He led the way to the counter. It was heaped high with all sorts ofmerchandise, dry goods and groceries, and hardware--anything thepurchaser might desire from ham and bacon and tinned goods to shirtsand overalls, spurs and guns. Behind it stood the proprietor, aslant-eyed, thievish-looking Mexican, while behind him were his untidyshelves--a further jumble of commodities. He looked his approval atthe girl, his professional interest at the father.

  Longstreet frankly turned out the contents of his purse upon thecounter, his ready way of computing their resources and judging theproper cash outlay for the present. The slant eyes grew narrower withspeculation.

  'One hundred and eighty-odd dollars,' he computed approximately.'We'll spend about a hundred with you to-day, my friend.'

  '_Bueno, senor_,' agreed the Mexican. And he waved to his shelves.

  Helen, who knew only too well her father's carelessness in moneymatters, was not satisfied with an approximate estimate of theirresources. She counted carefully.

  'You should have had nearer two hundred dollars, pops,' she told himgently. 'Have you felt in all your pockets? I am afraid that you havelost a five or ten-dollar piece.'

  He evaded. 'It's of no moment.' he said hastily. 'A few bucks one wayor the other won't plug a hole in a 'dobe wall. And this _hombre_ iswaiting.'

  This time Helen did not even gasp. Something had occurred to workhavoc with her father's accustomed fine academic speech. This smacked,she thought, of the influence of Barbee.

  But soon she forgot this and with it the discrepancy in cash; she hadbegun to purchase, to barter with the storekeeper, to fairly revel indelights of camp preparations. For, after all, life was not allseriousness, and here, offering itself for the morrow, was a rare lark.A spice of recklessness entered the moment; the dollars went skippingacross the counter, and packages and boxes came heaped up in theirplaces.

  Howard looked in on them once; they did not see him. He went his way,and still Longstreet made new suggestions and Helen and the Mexicanbargained. The first coolness of the late afternoon was stirring, thebroad sun had gone down, leaving the land in soft, grateful shadow,something over a hundred dollars had been spent, when with a sigh Helenput the residue of the family fortune into the old purse, and thepurse, though reluctantly, into her father's pocket. She did not wantto hurt his feelings now; but she really thought that once they weresettled in their new home, she ought to employ some tactful method ofacquiring custody.

  They went down the dusty street arm in arm and in gay spirits. TodBarstow had driven off to a stable somewhere; the goods were to becalled for to-morrow morning; now they could go down to the hotel, tothe chairs on the shady porch, and then to dinner. And, thought Helen,with more than a flicker of interest, she would see the 'widow.'

  As though she were awaiting them, Mrs. Murray was on the porch. Withher was Barbee, who rose promptly and elaborately performed theceremony of introduction.

  'Mr. Longstreet,' he said formally, 'shake hands with my friend, Mrs.Murray. Miss Longstreet, make you acquainted with my friend, Mrs.Murray.'

  Mrs. Murray shook hands with them both, exclaiming brightly at herdelight. Then, as they all sat down, she and Helen considered eachother. Oddly, Helen had known all along that she would not like Mrs.Murray; now, and after the first probing glance, she was prepared fordownright dislike. Longstreet, on the other hand, was obviously veryfavourably impressed. Nor without more than a little to be said on hisside of the question. The woman was young, petite, dark and unusuallypretty. Her teeth flashed in engaging smiles, her eyes were large andquick and bright; she was all vivacity; her glance could be at onemoment limpid, humid, haunting, and at the moment hold a gleam andsparkle of mirth. Even Helen could find no fault with her littletravelling suit.

  Plain to be read by anyone with a claim to eyesight was Yellow Barbee'sdevotion; equally plainly decipherable, thought Helen, was the fact ofMrs. Murray's amusement at Barbee's infatuation. It meant nothing toher; she was playing with him as, no doubt, she had played with manyanother susceptible youngster. Helen was sure she read that in theeyes which the young woman turned now and then upon the languishingyoung cowboy.

  Presently Alan Howard put in his appearance, freshly shaven and shorn,and they all went in together to supper. Helen was unaffectedly gladto see him; she had seen all that she cared to see of Mrs. Murray andsomething more than that of Barbee. Howard greeted Mrs. Murraycasually; she cried a friendly, 'Oh, hello, Al!' and he stepped toHelen's side. Barbee hastened to place his big palm under Mrs.Murray's elbow and steered her, after the approved fashion of thecommunity, in to the table. She allowed him the liberty; but whileBarbee's eyes devoured her face, Helen managed to mark that the 'widow'was studying Alan Howard.

  At table Alan and Helen found a variety of subjects to interest them;Mrs. Murray stared at them a moment, then shrugged her plump shouldersand made Barbee transcendently happy and miserable by turns; Longstreetate his dried beef stew abstractedly. Barbee and Mrs. Murray, whofinished first, excused themselves and went back to the gathering duskof the porch, whence her light laughter came now and then trilling backinto the dining-room.

  'Who is she?' asked Helen, her eyes full upon Howard's.

  'Mrs. Murray?' He shrugged. 'That is all I know of her; or that anyoneI know knows of her. I don't fancy,' he added coolly, 'that you willlike her.'

  'I don't,' the girl announced briefly.

  'Mind you,' he hurried to continue, 'I don't know a blessed thingagainst her. I just meant that I didn't think her your kind.'

  'Thank you,' Helen replied, accepting the statement as a satisfactorycompliment. He laughed. Then he looked toward the professor, whosethoughts were plainly a thousand miles away.

  'I've caught an inspiration,' he said softly.

  'What is it?' smiled Helen.

  There'll be a moon in two or three hours. At best the accommodationshere are bad; rooms stuffy and close and hot. If you are not tootired-----'

  He saw that she understood what he meant, and further that she gave herglad acceptance.

  'It will be fun!' she told him. He even detected a something ofeagerness in her tone; he had already thought that it would be just heand she this time--they two alone riding together out through theglorious night, chaperoned only by the knowledge that somewhere in thedistance behind them the wagon jolted along. He wondered if she, too,had thought of this?

  When the three at table finished and went out into the cool of theporch they found only empty chairs; a half-silhouette showed whereBarbee leaned against a pepper tree by the roadside. Helen settledherself comfortably, wandering if Mrs. Murray had re-entered the hotelby some side door or if she had business elsewhere. Howard made thesuggestion of the return to Desert Valley. Longstreet hesitated, thenobjected, saying that by now the store would be closed and that thewagon was still to be loaded.

  'Tod Barstow will be up at the saloon, probably looking for a game ofcribbage,' said Howard. 'It will take me about three shakes to locatehim. The store will be open; old Mexican Pete lives in the back. I'llhave Tod hitch up at the first peep of the moon; he can load your stuffon in twenty minutes.'
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  Helen added her voice to Alan's. Longstreet's eyes travelled out tothe listless figure against the pepper tree. At the moment Barbee'ssilhouette disengaged itself from the tree's shadowy trunk and startedup the road.

  'All right,' said Longstreet. 'But you needn't trouble about lookingup Barstow; I'd enjoy the walk. If you and Helen will wait here, I'llsee that the wagon is ready about moonrise.' And as though he had justremembered an important engagement, he hurried away.

  They saw him overtake Barbee; they heard his cheerful voice, and then asurly rejoinder from the boy. Then, far across the sky, a star felland their eyes went to it together and they fell silent. When thebrief silence was gone, and they talked in lowered voices, they hadboth forgotten Longstreet and Barbee. And, for one, Alan Howard was inno haste for the rising moon.