Bruce and Linda had a long talk while the sun climbed up over the great
ridges to the east and old Elmira cooked their breakfast. There was no
passion in their words this morning. They had got down to a basis of
cold planning.
"Let me refresh my memory about a few of those little things you told
me," Bruce requested. "First--on what date does the twenty-year
period--of Turners' possession of the land--expire?"
"On the thirtieth of October, of this year."
"Not very long, is it? Now you understand that on that date they will
have had twenty years of undisputed possession of the land; they will
have paid taxes on it that long; and unless their title is proven false
between now and that date, we can't ever drive them out."
"That's just right."
"And the fall term of court doesn't begin until the fifth of the
following month."
"Yes, we're beaten. That's all there is to it. Simon told me so the last
time he talked to me."
"It would be to his interest to have you think so. But Linda--we mustn't
give up yet. We must try as long as one day remains. The law is full of
twists; we might find a way to checkmate them, especially if that secret
agreement should show up. It isn't just enough--to have vengeance. That
wouldn't put the estate back in your hands; they would have won, after
all. It seems to me that the first thing to do is to find the trapper,
Hudson--the one witness that is still alive. You say he witnessed that
secret agreement between your father and mine."
"Yes."
"His testimony would be invaluable to us. He might be able to prove to
the court that as my father never owned the land in reality, he couldn't
possibly have deeded it to the Turners. Do you know where this Hudson
is?"
"I asked old Elmira last night. She thinks she knows. A man told her he
had his trap line on the upper Umpqua, and his main headquarters--you
know that trappers have a string of camps--was at the mouth of Little
River, that flows into the Umpqua. But it is a long way from here."
Bruce was still a moment. "How far?" he asked.
"Two full days' tramp at the least--barring out accidents. But if you
think it is best--you can start out to-day."
Bruce was a man who made decisions quickly. He had learned the wisdom of
it,--that after all the evidence is gathered on each side, a single
second is all the time that is needed for any kind of decision. Beyond
that point there is only vacillation. "Then I'll start--right away. Can
you tell me how to find the trail?"
"I can only tell you to go straight north. Use your watch as a compass
in the daytime and the North Star at night."
"I didn't suppose that it was wisdom to travel at night."
She looked at him in sudden astonishment. "And where did you learn that
fact, Bruce?"
The man tried hard to remember. "I don't know. I suppose it was
something I heard when I was a baby--in these mountains."
"It is one of the first things a mountaineer has to know--to make camp
at nightfall. You would want to, anyway, Bruce. You've got enough real
knowledge of the wilderness in you--born in you--to want a camp and a
fire at night. Besides, the trails are treacherous."
"Then the thing to do is to get ready at once. And then try to bring
Hudson back with me--down to the valley. After we get there we can see
what can be done."
Linda smiled rather sadly. "I'm not very hopeful. But he's our last
chance--and we might as well make a try. There is no hope that the
secret agreement will show up in these few weeks that remain. We'll get
your things together at once."
They breakfasted, and after the simple meal was finished, Bruce began to
pack for the journey. He was very thankful for the months he had spent
in an army camp. He took a few simple supplies of food: a piece of
bacon, a little sack of dried venison--that delicious fare that has held
so many men up on long journeys--and a compact little sack of prepared
flour. There was no space for delicacies in the little pack. Besides, a
man forgets about such things on the high trails. Butter, sugar, even
that ancient friend coffee had to be left behind. He took one little
utensil for cooking--a small skillet--and Linda furnished him with a
camp ax and a long-bladed hunting knife. These things (with the
exception of the knife and ax) he tied up in one heavy, all-wool
blanket, making a compact pack for carrying on his back.
In his pocket he carried cartridges for the rifle, pipe, tobacco, and
matches. Linda took the hob-nails out of her own shoes and pounded them
into his. For there are certain trails in Trail's End that to the
unnailed shoe are quite like the treadmills of ancient days; the foot
slips back after every step.
One thing more was needed: tough leggings. The soft flannel trousers had
not been tailored for wear in the brush coverts. And there is still
another reason why the mountain men want their ankles covered. In
portions of Trail's End there are certain rock ledges--gray, strange
stone heaps blasted by the summer sun--and some of the paths that Bruce
would take crossed over them. These ledges are the home of a certain
breed of forest creatures that Bruce did not in the least desire to
meet. Unlike many of the wild folk, they are not at all particular about
getting out of the way, and they are more than likely to lash up at a
traveler's instep. It isn't wise to try to jump out of the way. If a man
were practiced at dodging lightning bolts he might do it, but not an
ordinary mortal. For that lunging head is one of the swiftest things in
the whole swift-moving animal world. And it isn't entirely safe to rely
on a warning rattle. Sometimes the old king-snake forgets to give it.
These are the poison people--the gray rattlesnakes that gather in
mysterious, grim companies on the rocks--and the only safety from them
is thick covering to the knees that the fangs cannot penetrate.
But the old woman solved this problem with a deer hide that had been
curing for some seasons on the wall behind the house. Her eyes were
dimmed with age, her fingers were stiff, but in an astonishingly short
period of time she improvised a pair of leathern puttees, fastening with
a strap, that answered the purpose beautifully. The two women walked
with him, out under the pine.
Bruce shook old Elmira's scrawny hand; then she turned back at once into
the house. The man felt singularly grateful. He began to credit the old
woman with a great deal of intuition, or else memories from her own
girlhood of long and long ago. He _did_ want a word alone with this
strange girl of the pines. But when Elmira had gone in and the coast was
clear, it wouldn't come to his lips.
He felt curious conjecturings and wonderment arising within him. He
couldn't have shaped them into words. It was just that the girl's face
intrigued him, mystified him, and perhaps moved him a little too. It was
a frank, clear, girlish face, wonderfully tender of feature, and at
first her eyes held him most of all. They gave an impression of
astounding depth. They were quite serious now; and they had a luster
such as can be seen on cold spring water over dark moss,--and few other
places on earth.
"It seems strange," he said, "to come here only last night--and then to
be leaving again."
It seemed to his astonished gaze that her lips trembled ever so
slightly. "We have been waiting for each other a long time, Bwovaboo,"
she replied. She spoke rather low, not looking straight at him. "And I
hate to have you go again so soon."
"But I'll be back--in a few days."
"You don't know. No one ever knows when they start out in these
mountains. Promise me, Bruce--to keep watch every minute. Remember
there's nothing--_nothing_--that Simon won't stoop to do. He's like a
wolf. He has no rules of fighting. He'd just as soon strike from ambush.
How do I know that you'll ever come back again?"
"But I will." He smiled at her, and his eyes dropped from hers to her
lips. His heart seemed to miss a beat. He hadn't noticed these lips in
particular before. The mouth was tender and girlish, its sensitiveness
scarcely seeming fitting in a child of these wild places. He reached out
and took her hand.
"Good-by, Linda," he said, smiling.
She smiled in reply, and her old cheer seemed to return to her.
"Good-by, Bwovaboo. Be careful."
"I'll be careful. And this reminds me of something."
"What?"
"That for all the time I've been away--and for all the time I'm going to
be away now--I haven't done anything more--well, more intimate--than
shake your hand."
Her answer was to pout out her lips in the most natural way in the
world. Bruce was usually deliberate in his motions; but all at once his
deliberation fell away from him. There seemed to be no interlude of time
between one position and another. His arms went about her, and he kissed
her gently on the lips.
But it was not at all as they expected. Both had gone into it
lightly,--a boy-and-girl caress such as is usually not worth thinking
about twice. He had supposed it would be just like the other kisses he
had known in his growing-up days: a moment's soft pressure of the lips,
a moment's delight, and nothing either to regret or rejoice in. But it
was far more than this, after all. Perhaps because they had been too
long in one another's thoughts; perhaps--living in a land of hated
foes--because Linda had not known many kisses, this little caress
beneath the pine went very straight home indeed to them both. They fell
apart, both of them suddenly sobered. The girl's eyes were tender and
lustrous, but startled too.
"Good-by, Linda," he told her.
"Good-by--Bwovaboo," she answered. He turned up the trail past the pine.
He did not know that she stood watching him a long time, her hands
clasped over her breast.