The Tragedy of Wild River Valley

by Martha Finley

  CHAPTER XII.

  At the time of the breaking out of the war for the Union, WarrenCharlton was a rising young lawyer in Fairfield, a town situated, likePrairieville, in Wild River Valley, but some miles farther up thestream. On his return from the war he had established himself inPrairieville, much to the disgust and ire of Bangs, who looked uponCharlton as a dangerous rival in business, as also in love; and he wasproving himself such, building up a fine and lucrative practice thereand in the surrounding country.

  Some of his old clients still preferred him to his successors inFairfield, and when they had important business requiring legal advice,would come to or send for him to attend to it.

  And Dr. Jasper, having attained to the reputation of being the mostskilful physician and surgeon in all that region of country, was notinfrequently summoned thither, and to other like distant points, incases of severe sickness or serious accident.

  On the morning of the day that saw the embarkation of Mr. and Mrs.Himes, both these gentlemen had received an urgent call to the vicinityof Fairfield. A man of property had been thrown from his carriage andseriously injured. His recovery was doubtful, and a will was to bemade, while at the same time every effort put forth to save his life.

  The town was not on the line of the railroad, nor was the residence ofMr. Connor, the injured man. It lay beyond Fairfield and near theriver. So the two gentlemen drove over together.

  They found the patient dangerously hurt, but in full possession of hismental powers. Physician and lawyer were in attendance upon himtogether or by turns through the remainder of that day and thefollowing night.

  Toward morning he slept under the influence of an opiate administeredto deaden the sense of pain. Then the doctor withdrew from the room,leaving him in the care of his wife and daughter, and passing out uponthe front porch, joined the captain, who was slowly pacing it to andfro.

  "Any change?" Charlton asked, stopping in his walk.

  "Yes, for the better; I have strong hope that he will recover. How areyou progressing with your work?"

  "I have finished; nothing is wanting now but Mr. Connor's signature."

  "I think he will be able to add it when he wakes," the doctor said; "heis sleeping now. Hark! what was that?"

  "A pistol shot and a cry for help!" exclaimed the captain. "It camefrom the direction of the river, did it not? Some one is, perhaps, indeadly peril. Let us go to the rescue. I have a loaded revolver on thetable in the room yonder. It's hardly safe to be without one in thesetimes of continual burglaries."

  "No; I carry one constantly in travelling about the country roads," thedoctor said; and as the words left his lips two young men belonging tothe family came rushing out, excitedly, but with care to make no noise.

  "Did you gentlemen hear that shot and cry for help?" they asked, one ofthem adding, "That band of burglars is after old Himes and his money,I'm afraid. I heard he'd started down the river on a raft and mooredfor the night about half a mile below here."

  There was a hasty consultation and gathering up of weapons; then thefour set off on a run for the river, intending to follow its coursetill they should reach the probable scene of conflict.

  But before they had traversed half the distance a woman came rushingwildly toward them, shrieking for help.

  "Who? where? what?" they asked.

  "Mr. Himes--my husband!" she panted. "Oh, make haste! they're killinghim!"

  "Show us the way," said Dr. Jasper; "lead on, and we'll follow."

  She turned and retraced her steps, almost flying over the ground, sothat they had some difficulty in keeping up with her.

  Day was faintly dawning in the east, and as they neared the spot theycould see the outlines of the raft where it lay on the water, thenseveral dark figures leap ashore from it and fled swiftly in adirection opposite to that from which they were approaching.

  One of the young men sent a shot after them, but without effect, thelight being insufficient for certain aim. All was darkness and silenceon the raft.

  "Oh, we're too late! they've killed him!" exclaimed Belinda, with ahysterical sob.

  "Perhaps not," said the doctor, stepping cautiously aboard, the othersfollowing. "Can you get a light?"

  "There was a candle and matches on a shelf in the cabin there, close tothe door," she answered, in a shaking voice. "Get them yourselves; Ican't go in there to look at--"

  "No need; here they are," he said, in a low, excited tone, havingalready stepped to the door and laid his hand upon them.

  He struck a match, lighted the candle, and glanced about the tinyapartment, the other men pressing up behind him and looking over hisshoulder.

  A shudder ran through the little group, and a low exclamation of horrorburst from the lips of the young Connors; but the doctor and thecaptain, inured to scenes of blood and carnage by their experiences inthe late war, viewed this one in awed silence. Yet only for an instant.

  "Life may not be extinct!" exclaimed the doctor, hastily setting downthe light and stooping over the prostrate, bleeding, and apparentlylifeless form of the old man.

  Belinda, lingering on the outside of the group, overheard the wordswith strangely mingled relief and terror. To think that he had beenmurdered was so horrible; yet if he were still alive and should recoverconsciousness and the power of speech! Ah, who could tell how much heknew or would be able to reveal of her complicity in the crime?Trembling and half fainting with fright she clutched at the wall of thecabin to keep from falling.

  Her first impulse was to flee; but a second thought told her that wouldbut confirm the suspicion of her guilt, were such once set afloat,while if she remained and bore herself with an air of innocence, thefact that she had promptly summoned assistance would be strong evidencein her favor.

  She dropped down upon the floor, and leaning her head against the wall,listened intently for further sounds from within, though her heart wasbeating so loud that it seemed as if she could hear nothing else.

  "He lives! he is reviving!" were the next words that reached her earafter what had seemed hours of waiting, though in reality but a veryfew moments had passed.

  Then the old man spoke, feebly, tremulously, but quite distinctly. "Hethought he'd finished me, the scoundrel! Run, somebody, and catch him!It's Phelim O'Rourke; he's robbed me! he's got it all!" feeling for thebelt he had worn about his waist. "And she--she's hand and glove withhim--curse her! take her too, and let the law deal with 'em both!"

  "Who?" asked one of the bystanders.

  "B'lindy--my Judas of a wife! She's betrayed me into the hands o' themburglars."

  He paused, panting for breath, while the doctor said, soothingly, "Ithink you are mistaken. She has saved your life by bringing us here toyour aid."

  "Humph!" grunted the old man, incredulously. Then, impatiently, andstruggling to rise, "Why don't ye run and ketch the robbers, some o'ye? they'll git away with every cent I had."

  "It shall be attended to," said the doctor; "but you must stop talking,if you want to live to bring them to justice."

  "I'm off after the sheriff and a posse of men to pursue them as fast aspossible!" cried one of the young men, springing ashore.

  His brother was about to follow, but the doctor detained him. "We musthave help to carry Mr. Himes to some place where he can have the careand nursing he is likely to need for days or weeks to come."

  "He'll have to be taken on a litter?"

  "Yes, certainly; he is too weak for any other mode of conveyance."

  "I'll see to it; I'll have two or three more men here before I'm anhour older, or my name's not Bob Connor!" and away he sped toward thetown.

  Charlton stepped out from the cabin, leaving Dr. Jasper alone with thewounded man.

  At the sound of his step Belinda lifted her head. "Is there anything Ican do to help, sir?" she asked, in a shaking voice.

  "I think not," he replied; "and I should judge it best for you to keepout of his sight for a while, as the excitement of seeing you mig
htprove injurious."

  "Yes, I s'pose so," she said, gloomily, and averting her face."Where'll he be took to?"

  "The tavern in Fairfield, I presume; I know of no more suitableplace--do you?"

  "No; we hain't got no home no more. I told him 'twas a fool thing tosell it; but of course he thought I didn't know nothin'; but if he'ddone as I said, this awful thing wouldn't never a happened."

  "No, I presume not; and I think myself it was a foolhardy thing toattempt to go down the river in this way, particularly with such a sumof money on board, and in the face of the fact that so many burglarieshave been committed in the neighborhood of late."

  "I wisht he a been wiser," she sighed, dropping her face into herhands; "but I'll nurse him out o' this ov he'll let me."

  The captain suggested that she could at least gather up his clothingand such other things as would be needed for his comfort while ill.

  She said she would stay behind and do so when they carried him away,then follow to the hotel with the things; she knew the way quite well.

  "You were by when the attack was made?" Charlton presently remarked,interrogatively. "I hope you may be able to testify to the identity ofthe would-be murderers?"

  She started and trembled afresh. "I--I didn't see one o' their faces,"she said. "How could I? 'twas dark as pitch."

  "O'Rourke was employed by Mr. Himes for several weeks, I know; and youmay have been able to recognize his voice."

  "He--I mean the fellar that come in the cabin where we wassleepin'--didn't say a word, only grabbed Himes--to git a holt o' thebelt he kep' his money in, I s'pose--and Himes he begun to screechmurder! an' I cut an' run fer help hard as ever I could," she said, ina sullen tone. "He kin say whatsomever he's a mind to; I hadn't nothin'to do with the affair."

  "I hope not, indeed," returned the captain; "and I trust you will beready to do what you can to bring the scoundrels to justice."

  She made no response to that, but presently rose and went around to theother side of the raft, where she remained out of sight till thewounded man had been carried away.

  The town, situated a mile or more farther up the river, could bereached by traversing half that distance by land. Taking that route,Mr. Himes's bearers bore him thither, stepping carefully to avoidjolting him.

  The news of the attack upon him had spread like wildfire, and early aswas the hour, the streets were full of people--men, women, andchildren--eager to catch a glimpse of his features as he was carriedpast, and to learn every particular of the affair. Many of them,falling into line behind the litter, followed it to the outer door ofthe tavern, and would have even pressed into the room to which he wasfinally taken had not the doctor positively forbidden it and resolutelyshut the door in their faces.

  All was still excitement in and about the building when the stage fromFrederic drove up.

  "Stop here for breakfast," the driver called out, laconically, to hispassengers as he reined in his horses and sprang to the ground. Thenholding the lines in one hand, he opened the door of the stage with theother.

  Several men alighted, one of them hailing the landlord:

  "Hello, Strong, what's up?"

  "Why, hello, Smith! how d'y do?" returned mine host, stepping brisklyforward and shaking hands. "Glad to see you. But haven't ye heard thenews? Old Farmer Himes, simpleton that he was to be travelling down theriver on a raft, was attacked by the burglars last night--or, rather,early this morning I suppose it was--and pretty nigh murdered. Dr.Jasper's been working with him for the last two hours; he's in therenow," nodding his head in the direction of the room where the woundedman lay, "but I reckon he'll bring him round."

  A stranger standing at Smith's side started slightly at the mention ofthe doctor's name, and, fixing his eyes on the speaker, listenedintently as he went on to give a detailed account of the nature andextent of Himes's hurts, and what had been done for his relief. "Ah,here comes the doc himself!" he exclaimed, pausing in his narrative asa gentleman stepped from the doorway into their midst. "How's yourpatient, doc?"

  "Doing as well as could reasonably be expected, Mr. Strong," returnedDr. Jasper, quietly, but as one in some haste. "Not well enough for meto leave him to-day," he added, "and I must send a telegram to my wife,lest she should be anxious at not seeing me."

  "Got it ready, I see," said Strong, noticing that the doctor held aslip of paper in his fingers. "Just give it to me, and I'll have itsent right away. Now walk in to breakfast, gentlemen--all of you; it'son the table, smoking hot."

  All this time the stranger had eyed Dr. Jasper askance, and now takinga seat nearly opposite him at the table, he continued to do so duringthe meal.

  The doctor did not seem to perceive the scrutiny to which he was beingsubjected, but ate as one whose thoughts were preoccupied withsomething else than his immediate surroundings or the food of which hewas partaking.

  Naturally the talk at the table ran principally on the startling eventof a few hours previous; but the doctor took no part in it, except whendirectly addressed by remark or query.

  Presently the announcement, "Stage for Prairieville leaves in fiveminutes!" sent several persons, including the stranger who had sopersistently eyed the doctor, hurrying out.

  Dr. Jasper rose the next moment, and was passing through the hall onhis way to his patient, when the driver slammed the door to upon hispassengers, the stranger leaning eagerly forward to catch a lastglimpse of the physician.

  "You appear to take considerable interest in Dr. Jasper, sir," remarkedSmith, eyeing the man with a quizzical look, as the driver vaulted tohis elevated seat and took up the reins.

  "Yes; I've heard him spoken of," was the reply.

  "Nothing bad, I'll venture to say; he's well thought of in theseparts," remarked Smith, with emphasis.

  But the stranger was gazing from the window, as they whirled rapidlydown the street, and paid no attention to the remark.