Prairie Flowers

by James B. Hendryx

  CHAPTER XII

  IN TIMBER CITY

  On the porch of the Cameron cottage, Endicott and Colston, absorbed inbusiness, talked until the ends of their cigars made glowing red spotsin the darkness. The deal by which Endicott became sole proprietor ofthe Y Bar outfit was consummated, and Colston's promise to have thepapers drawn up in the morning was interrupted by a furious volley ofshots from the direction of the Red Front. Colston smiled: "NL rodeoprobably camped near here an' the boys run in to wake up the town!"

  Endicott glanced swiftly about him: "But, my wife!" he exclaimed, "Whereis she? She promised to return before dark, and--why, it must have beendark for an hour!"

  Colston noting the look of genuine alarm on the man's face, sought toreassure him: "Oh, well, she probably got interested in the scenery androde a little farther than she intended. She'll be along directly----"

  "Something may have happened--an accident----"

  "Not much chance of that. Powder Face is woman broke, an' gentle as anycayuse can get. About that lower range I was tellin' you--where theWilson sheep are creepin' in--" With merely the barest pretence oflistening, Endicott rose, opened the screen door, tossed his cigar intothe yard, and began pacing up and down the porch. At each turn he pausedand peered out into the darkness.

  The older man got up and stood beside him: "There's nothin' to worryabout, my boy. An' that's one of the first things you'll learn--not toworry. A dozen things can happen to delay anyone, an' they're hardlyever serious. If it'll ease your mind any, we'll ride down town, maybeshe stopped to take in the excitement, an' if she ain't there we'll rideout on the trail a piece."

  The scattering shots that followed the volley had ceased and as the twoproceeded down the sandy street in silence, a light appeared suddenly inthe Red Front, from whose doors issued a babble of voices as of many mentalking at once. Dismounting, Colston and Endicott entered to see Barrasstanding upon the bar in the act of lighting the second of the two hugeswinging lamps. "Looks like there'd been a battle," grinned Colston,eyeing the barricade of kegs, the splintered mirror, and the litter ofbroken glass.

  "I'll tell a hand it was a battle!" vouchsafed a bystander. "That thereTexian, onct he got a-goin', was some ructious! He made his brag that hewas a wolf an' it was his night to howl. An', believe me! He was a curlywolf! An' he howled, an' by God, he prowled! An' he's prowlin' yet--himan' his woman, too."

  "Texan!" cried Colston.

  "Woman!" shouted Endicott. "What woman?"

  "What woman d'ye s'pose?" growled Barras, glaring wrathfully from thebar. "I don't know what woman. His woman, I guess--anyways they gotplumb away after we had him all _see_rounded, an' all over but theshoutin'--an' all on account of Timber City's got a marshal which hishead's solid bone plumb through, like a rock; an' left the keg shootwide open fer him to beat it!"

  "If you're so damn smart, why didn't you think of the keg shoot?"retorted the representative of law and order. "You know'd it was therean' I didn't."

  "You lie! Unless you've fergot a whole lot sence--" A crash of thunderdrowned the irate bartender's voice.

  "Hold on, Pete, don't git to runnin' off at the head an' say somethin'yer sorry fer----"

  "You'd be the one to be sorry, if folks know'd----"

  "Talkin' don't git you nothin'. You listen here. We'll git this partyyet. If the boys that took after him don't bring him in, I'll post areward of a hundred dollars cash money out of my own pocket fer him----"

  "Post it, then," snapped Barras, somewhat mollified, "git it on paper--"Another, louder clap of thunder followed a vivid lightning flash andwild with apprehension, Endicott forced his way to the bar andinterrupted the quarrel: "What did this woman look like? Where is she?"

  A dozen men, all talking at once answered him: "Good looker--" "Worebran' new ridin' outfit--" "Rode a blaze-face buckskin--" "Said sheknowed him--" "Went right in--" "Tried to dicker with Hod an' git himoff--" The marshal pushed through the crowd to Endicott's side: "An'what's more, when he come bustin' out of the alley an' rode off down thetrail she follered right in behind so we didn't dast to shoot; er we'dof got him. If you want to know what I think, they're a couple ofdesperadoes that figgered on stickin' up the express box over to thehotel, bein' as the payroll fer the Rock Creek mine come in today, onlyhe got drunk first an' queered the game. An' what I want to know," theman continued, thrusting his face close to Endicott's, "is who the hellyou be, an'----"

  The hotel keeper interrupted importantly: "Him an' the woman come in onthe stage an' wanted a couple rooms an' changed into them ridin'outfits, an' slipped out an' didn't show up fer supper! I mistrustedthey was somethin' suspicious--they wanted a bath--an' the old womanusin' the tubs----"

  "An' bein' as we couldn't git you all," broke in the marshal, drawinghis gun, and at the same time pulling back his coat and displaying ahuge badge, "we'll jest take what we kin git. Yer under arrest, an' ferfear you might be as handy with yer guns as yer pardner, you kin stickup yer hands----"

  "Hold on!" Colston's words boomed above the voices of the men who hadsurged forward to hold Endicott.

  "It's Y Bar Colston!" someone cried, and all eyes turned to the speaker.The marshal eyed him sullenly as the men made way for him.

  The ranchman was smiling: "Don't go makin' any mistakes, Hod," he said,"let me make you acquainted with Mr. Endicott, of Cincinnati, Ohio,owner of the Y Bar."

  "The Y Bar!"

  "Yes. I sold out to him this evenin'--lock, stock, an' barrel."

  The marshal dropped his gun into its holster and eyed Endicott shrewdly:"Sorry I got you wrong," he mumbled, extending his hand. "Blake's myname. Glad to meet you. I run the store here. Carry the biggest stockbetween Lewiston an' the Mizoo. Where do you figger on doin' yertradin'?"

  Endicott made a gesture of impatience: "I haven't figured at all. Butthis woman--my wife? How long has she been gone? Which way did she go?And why----?"

  "Be'n gone pretty clost to an' hour. Went down the trail to the Mizoo.You kin search me fer why, onless it was to keep us from shootin' afterthat hell-roarin' Texian. She said she know'd him. Who is he, an'what's she so anxious he don't git shot fer?"

  Before Endicott could reply, hoof-beats sounded on the trail, and in thedoorway a man yelled "They're comin' back!" Disregarding the rain whichfell in torrents the crowd surged into the street and surrounded thehorsemen who drew up before the door.

  "They didn't git 'em!" "Where'd they go?" Eager questions were hurled involleys.

  As the men dismounted the light from the windows glistened on wetslickers. Ike Stork acted as spokesman, and with white face andtight-pressed lips, Endicott hung on every word. "Got to the river," heexplained, as he shook the water from his hat, "an' piled onto LongBill's ferry, an' cut 'er loose. We didn't dast to shoot on account ofthe woman. We couldn't see nothin' then till the storm broke, an' by thelightnin' flashes we seen the boat in the middle of the river--an' boys,she's some river! I've be'n a residenter in these parts fer it's goin'on twenty year, an' I never seen the like--bank-full an' trees an' breshso thick you can't hardly see no water. Anyways, there they was an' allto onct there come a big flash, an' we seen a pine with its roots an'branches ra'red up high as a house right on top of 'em. Then, the cablewent slack--an' when the next flash come, they wasn't no boat--onlytimber an' bresh a-tearin' down stream, it looked like a mile aminute."

  "And they were both on the boat?" Endicott's words came haltingly, andin the lamplight his face looked grey and drawn.

  Ike Stork nodded: "Yes, both of 'em--an' the two horses."

  "Isn't there a chance? Isn't it possible that they're--that the boat isstill afloat?"

  "We-ell," considered Ike, "I wouldn't say it's plumb onpossible. But itwould be like ketchin' a straight-flush in the middle in a pot that hadbe'n boosted to the limit--with a full deck, an' nothin' wild."

  Endicott turned away as the crowd broke into a babble of voices. Colstontook him gently by the arm, but the younger man shook his head: "No,I--I want to think," he whis
pered, and with a nod of understanding theranchman proceeded slowly toward the hotel. As Endicott passed from theglare of light thrown by the windows of the Red Front, Ike Stork managedto pass close to him. "They're a-floatin'," he whispered, "I seen 'em aflash or two afterwards. But the others didn't, an' they ain't no usespittin' out all you know. If anyone kin make 'er, them twowill--they're game plumb through."

  "You mean--" cried Endicott--but Ike Stork had mingled with the crowd.

  At the door of the Red Front, Barras was importuning the marshal: "Gwanover to the printin' office an' git out that reward. I'm a-goin' to gitpaid fer these here damages."

  "I hain't a-goin' to pay out no reward fer no drownded man!"

  Endicott shuddered, and paused as the bartender's next words reached hisears: "If he's drownded the river'll take him farther than what themhand bills will git to. An' if he hain't, I want them damages."

  Endicott hurried toward the two who stood slightly apart from the crowd:"If you are offering a reward," he said, "I will add a thousand forinformation concerning my wife."

  "A thousand!" exclaimed the marshal, "dead or alive?"

  Endicott nodded: "Yes," he answered, "dead or alive," and turningabruptly, walked slowly up the street entirely unheeding the shadowyform that kept pace with him in the darkness.

  The storm ceased as suddenly as it had broken, and at the outskirts ofthe town the man paused and sank onto a boulder with his head in hisarms. Minutes passed as he sat thus, too dazed to think. He wasconscious of a dull pain in his heart, and his brain felt numb andpinched as though an iron band were being drawn tighter and tighterabout his skull. Gradually his mind began to function. The words of IkeStork recurred to him: "They're floatin'. If anyone kin make 'erthrough, them two will." Very possibly his wife was alive--but, where?Why had she ridden after this Texan, and why was she on the river withhim? Methodically, step by step, the man retraced the events of theiryear of married life. They had been wondrously happy together. They hadoften spoken of the Texan--had wondered what had become of him. They hadboth written to him, addressing their letters to Wolf River, but all theletters had come back stamped "Return to writer." He remembered that shehad been disappointed, but so had he. Was it possible that _all_ theletters had not been returned? He remembered how eager she had been tospend their anniversary in Timber City. She had talked of it for months.And he remembered how she had urged him to buy a ranch and live at leastpart of the time in the West. And when he had got in touch with Colstonthrough a real estate broker, he remembered how enthusiastic she hadbeen over the prospect. How they had planned and planned, until she hadimparted to him a goodly share of her enthusiasm. Was her love all forthe West? Could it be that the Texan--? Surely, her previous experiencehad hardly been one that should have engendered any great love for thecattle country. He thought with a shudder of Purdy, of the flight in thenight, and the subsequent trip through the bad lands. The one pleasantmemory in the whole adventure had been the Texan--Tex, thedevil-may-care, the irresponsible, the whimsical. And yet, withal, thecapable, the masterful. He recollected vividly that there had been daysof indecision--days when her love had wavered between himself and thisman of the broad open spaces. Long before this adventure of the wildsEndicott had known her,--had loved her--and she had never taken himseriously.

  With the suddenness of a blow, came the thought that when she did choosehim--when finally she yielded to his pleading and consented to becomehis wife, it was because he had unexpectedly shown some of theattributes that were the inborn heritage of the Texan. Could it be thathis great love for her had found no answering chord in her heart? If shehad loved the Texan, why had she married him? Could it be that she didnot even now take him seriously? Was her love so shallow a thing that itmust be fanned into a flame by the winds of high adventure? He knew thatthe commonplaces of society bored her to extinction. Had the humdrumexistence of civilization palled on her until her heart in verydesperation had turned to her knight of the boundless plains. Had shedeliberately planned this journey in order to be once more with theTexan? Had their meeting--their flight, even, been prearranged? Endicottgroaned aloud, and the next moment a hand was placed on his shoulder. Heleaped to his feet and peered into the face that stood vaguely outlinedin the darkness.

  "_Oui_, A'm t'ink you don' 'member Ol' Bat."

  "Bat! Bat!" cried the man, "remember you! I guess I do remember you!" Heseized a leathery hand in his own. "I'd rather see you, now, than anyman in the world. What do you make of it, Bat? Tell me--what hashappened?"

  "_Oui_, A'm t'ink dat 'bout tam' A'm com' 'long. A'm t'ink you feelpret' bad, _non_? A'm com' 'long w'en de men com' back for no kin ketchTex."

  "You heard what they said?"

  "_Oui_, A'm hear dat."

  "Do you think they're alive?"

  "_Oui, bien!_ A'm stan' clos' I kin git beside de hoss, an' A'm hear datman say de boat floatin' off, an' he ain' gon' spit 'bout dat. You com''long Ol' Bat--we fin' um."

  Endicott thrust his face close and stared straight into the half-breed'seyes: "Have you been with Tex all the time--this past year?"

  "_Oui_, him wagon boss on Y Bar, an' me, A'm cook."

  "Would you have known it if he had been writing letters? Has he evertalked about--about--my wife?"

  "_Non_, he ain' git lettaire. He don' talk 'bout dat 'oman. He lov' hertoo mooch----"

  "_What!_" Endicott grasped the half-breed's arm and shook him roughly.

  "_Oui_, he lov' dat 'oman so bad he ain' talk 'bout dat."

  "You mean, you think they've planned it all out to run away together?"

  Bat regarded the other gravely: "W'at you t'ink?" he asked, abruptly.

  Endicott found it strangely hard to answer the direct question: "I--Idon't know what to think."

  "W'at you t'ink?" insisted the half-breed.

  "What can I think?" cried the man in desperation. "She planned to behere today--and she met him here--and they are gone! What do you think?"

  The half-breed answered slowly and very directly: "Me, A'm t'ink, youpret' mooch, w'at you call, de Godam fool. You lov' dat 'oman. You be'nmarry wan year--an' you ain' know dat 'oman. You de gran' pilgrim. Me,A'm know dat 'oman. Ol' Bat, she tell Tex way back on Antelope Butte,dat tam, dat ain' hees 'oman--dat de pilgrim 'oman. Dat 'oman, he lov'you--Ol' Bat, know dat. Tex, she ain' belief dat," he paused andshrugged, expressively. "W'at de hell! She mar' de pilgrim, lak A'm say.An' Tex she feel ver' bad. She ain' drink no booze for wan' year--becos'she t'ink, w'en she feel lak dat, de booze she git heem--an' she would.A'm know 'bout dat, too. A'm know Tex. A'm know he gon' git drunk today,sure as hell. So A'm com' long tonight an' git heem hom'. He lov' datoman too mooch. Dat hurt heem lak hell een here." The old half-breedpaused to tap his breast, and proceeded. "He ain' wan' see dat 'oman nomore. She com' 'long, w'at you call, de haccident. Me, A'm ain' know howdat com' dey gon'--but no mattaire. Dat all right. Dat good 'oman an'Tex, he good man, too. He ain' harm dat 'oman--he got de good heart. A'main' say dat Tex she ain' got not'in' to do wit' 'omans. But she know degood 'oman--an' she lov' dat good 'oman--an' dat 'oman she safe wit'Tex lak she wit' de own modder. You come 'long now wit' Ol' Bat, an' gitde hoss, we gon' fin'. Mebbe-so tomor', mebbe-so nex' week--dat mak' nodiffer'. You fin' out dat all right." Old Bat ceased abruptly andstarted off and as Endicott followed him blindly through the dark, hiseyes burned hot, and scalding tears coursed down his cheeks and droppedunheeded to the ground.