"In the hotel;" answered Limber. "Alpaugh has charge of him till the
inquest is over."
They rode again in silence, each absorbed in thought until, after weary
hours, the lights of the town grew visible. At last the ponies stopped
in front of the Willcox Hotel. A few men loitering about, stared
curiously as Limber helped Katherine from her saddle. It was after two
in the morning. The by-standers who recognized Mrs. Glendon, lifted
their hats respectfully. One of them spoke her name. She turned her dull
eyes on him. Her lips moved but there was no sound. The man understood,
and choked an oath.
Limber untied the bundle from her saddle, and she followed him stiffly
into the hotel, shrinking in the narrow, dimly lighted hallway while the
cowboy made arrangements with the sleepy nightman.
"I'll take you up to the room," said Limber. She nodded silently.
On the second floor the cowboy paused at the door and knocked.
"Come in!" called Glendon's voice.
Limber smiled reassuringly to Katherine; then he turned and left her.
She stood biting her lips, trying to control her emotion, and holding
the doorknob in a nerveless hand that was trembling with exhaustion.
"What the blazes is the matter? Come in, I say!"
The door was jerked open violently and Glendon stood staring at his
wife. An oath rose to his lips.
"What brought you here?" he demanded roughly.
She passed into the room, turned and held out her hands to him, saying
simply, "Where else should I be, Jim, when you are in trouble? I thought
you wanted me to come."
"Well, I didn't. I might have known you'd not be able to resist an
opportunity to twit and remind me how you've begged me to stay away from
town, and all that rot! I only asked Limber to go and tell you what had
happened, and as usual, you go to extremes and come hiking in here in
the middle of the night. You're making a mountain out of a mole hill.
I'd been home by this evening. There was not the least excuse for your
coming here."
Obeying an impulse, she moved near and laid her hand on his shoulder. He
shook it off roughly and started from the chair into which he had
slumped.
"For God's sake, Katherine, cut out that rot! I'm sick of your saintly
pose, and I don't want any preaching or praying. I had to shoot Lafferty
or be shot myself."
"Was it self-defence, Jim?"
He noted the undercurrent of doubt and ripped out an oath.
"I told you once, and I'm not going to keep jabbering about it the rest
of the night. You go to the inquest and hear Alpaugh's testimony, as
long as you don't believe me."
He strode across the room to the table and poured out a generous glass
of raw whiskey, which he followed by a second, then a third, and at last
threw himself on the bed. In a few minutes the room was heavy with the
fumes of liquor and noisy with snores of the drunken sleeper.
Softly Katherine lifted the little window, and let the clean pure air
blow across her face. Somewhere a clock struck three. The woman, sitting
in the darkness, stared with dry aching eyes, thinking of the past,
wondering what the future held. It was like looking into a chasm.
When grey dawn, like a feeble, sick thing, crept through the window,
Glendon woke refreshed and buoyant; but his wife was haggered and worn,
with great dark rings under her eyes. Her husband looked at her
critically, contrasting her with the flamboyant attractions of Panchita.
"Can't you fix yourself up a bit?" he demanded in aggrieved tones.
"You're losing your good looks completely. Anyone would take you for
twice your age. Lot of good you do me, coming here with your glum face!"
She made no reply, which added to the anger he vented by kicking a chair
out of his way. Glendon's hand shook as he poured out a drink of liquor
to steady his nerves, while Katherine opened the parcel she had brought
with her, laying out his razor, a clean shirt and collar. His clothes
were creased and rumpled, as he had slept all night in them. Then she
picked up a small pitcher and went in search of hot water. She finally
obtained it from the Chinese cook in the kitchen, for the hotel bragged
no bell-boys or bells.
The inquisitive glance of the Chinaman and a Mexican whom she passed at
the kitchen door, brought to her the full realization of the ordeal she
was facing. If she could only believe that her husband had acted in
self-defence, she would stand unshaken beside him, defying the entire
world; but she could not make herself credit his story. Always when he
had tried to deceive her, some subtle instinct betrayed him to her.
Through the night she had reiterated again and again, "It was
self-defence," but louder and louder a chorus of voices kept whispering
in her ears, "He is lying! It was murder!"
She seized the pitcher of water from the Chinaman's hand and hurried up
stairs to her room. Glendon accepted her services as a matter of course,
proffering no word of thanks.
Half an hour later Alpaugh knocked, and the three went to the hotel
dining-room for breakfast. Glendon's appetite was excellent. Alpaugh and
he talked casually, occasionally interjecting a joke; but the food
choked Glendon's wife, and with a feeling of relief she rose and
returned to the bedroom followed by her husband. Alpaugh, as a matter of
form, hovered at the entrance of the hotel.
"The inquest is at nine," said Glendon as they entered their room. "It's
half-past eight now," he consulted his watch.
"Jim," she hesitated, "I think I will stay here in the room. I'm not
feeling quite well this morning."
He looked at her and a sullen rage consumed him. He realized that she
was not deceived by his story.
"Going to shirk it, eh?" he asked sneeringly, "Well, you will have to
come, that's all there is to it. Look fine for me when everyone knows
you rode here last night and then hid away just at the time when you, or
any decent wife, should stand by a man. That would be enough to condemn
any one in my fix."
It was not that he desired her company; but he was aware that her
presence would have its influence, in case anything should upset
Alpaugh's testimony. The bartender might have seen more then they
thought; besides there was no telling what unexpected snag might be
struck during the inquest. Paddy had many staunch friends.
As these thoughts beset him, Glendon looked at his wife. "Well, are you
going to stand by me, or not?"
Her reply was to pick up her hat which she adjusted. As he opened the
door, she said imploringly, "It was self-defence, wasn't it, Jim?"
"Good God, Katherine, you will drive me mad! I said it once. Now you can
listen to Alpaugh and make up your mind about it as you please. Stop
nagging me."
Without further conversation, husband and wife accompanied Alpaugh to
the little office of the Justice of Peace, where the inquest was to be
held. A group of men at the entrance, glanced peculiarly at Glendon;
then their expressions changed as they saw the woman at his side.
Glendon was quick to notice this and congratulated himself that
Katherine was with him. With assumed solicitude he led her to a chair
and stood silently beside her, his eyes on her bowed head, until the
proceedings began.
The inquest fully exonerated Glendon, as the bar-tender had not seen
what occurred and Alpaugh was the only actual witness. The broken
buckskin thong was admitted as proof that Paddy had drawn his gun, thus
making it impossible for any jury to bring in a verdict against
Glendon. There were many witnesses to the quarrel at the
shipping-corral, when Paddy had refused to shake hands with Glendon
after the latter had apologized to him; and as no one had heard Glendon
utter any threats against Paddy, there was apparently no motive except
that of self-defence. On the other hand, the old Irishman had often
expressed his dislike for Glendon.
As soon as the verdict was rendered, Glendon was surrounded and
congratulated by Bentz, Three-fingered Jack, Burks and Alpaugh. With
smiles and light words he shook their hands; but other men exchanged
glances and left the room, talking in subdued voices.
Katherine saw the doubt in many faces, and shrank at the reflection of
the fear in her own heart. Glendon's callous indifference, his careless
air, revealed her husband in a new and hideous light.
With trembling limbs she made her way to his side, placing her hand on
his arm. He looked down in surprise, and an expression of annoyance
crossed his face. He had completely forgotten his wife's presence and
had been about to suggest to the crowd that drinks were in order at the
most convenient place.
She realized it all, and wished that she had remained at the ranch.
"Jim--I don't feel very well. Will you take me to the hotel?"
He shrugged his shoulders, but remembering others were watching,
answered, "Yes." Husband and wife moved side by side toward the door.
"See you later, Glen," said Three-fingered Jack, and Alpaugh added:
"You're not going out today, are you?"
Katherine looked up. Glendon, with a sudden sense of shame, replied;
"I'll go back with my wife this afternoon when it gets cooler, but I'll
see you both before I leave town."
Her eyes were grateful. Glendon, conscious of a halo of self-importance
and good intentions, walked down the street, speaking to passers-by,
though many of them responded only in deference to the woman at his
side.
As they passed along the street, several men standing in front of the
post office, watched them disappear into the hotel.
"Glen's turned over a new leaf," observed one of them.
"'Twon't last very long. New leaves are awful tender. They get torn
mighty quick," laughed another.
"It'd been all-fired excitin' if Panchita had been in town. There'd been
fur flyin', and I bet Glendon would have vamoosed and let 'em fight it
out to a finish. You can get a rise outen Panchita any time you speak
about Mrs. Glendon."
"If it ever comes to a show down between 'em I bet on the Mexican girl
for a winner. She's got the inside track sure. Glen's wife is too
high-headed to win the race."
None of them noticed Limber pausing close by as he heard Mrs. Glendon's
name. The cowboy's eyes glinted, his lips were compressed and his hands
clenched.
"I ain't so sure about Mrs. Glendon losing the race," retorted the first
speaker. "I noticed that Glen quit prancing mighty quick when his wife
slipped the halter over his head and led him off to the home pasture!"
The burst of laughter that greeted this witticism was hushed suddenly,
as Limber broke through the group and faced them with blazing eyes.
"You are a fine bunch of things to call yourselves men! You fellers
ain't fit to wipe the dust off'n Mrs. Glendon's shoes, let alone takin'
her name on your dirty tongues. The feller what makes any more remarks
about her has got me to fight just as soon as I hear his name. If
there's any one here that don't like what I say, he knows what he kin
do."
Limber waited a reply, but the thoroughly abashed men were silent, and
the cowboy stalked away.
When he was well out of hearing, one of the men, a recent arrival in
Arizona, uttered an oath, "I ain't goin' to stand for that sass from
nobody," he blustered.
Another man grabbed his arm. "Look here! You ain't been very long in
this section and you won't be here very long if you think you can put it
over Limber. He's the best pistol shot in the Territory."
"And you'd have as much chance against him," warned another bystander,
"as a jackrabbit would have, if it smelt the cork of a whiskey bottle
and then got brash and slapped a bull-dog in the jaw."
"Go ahead and try it, if you want to," commented the third man, "We
haven't had a funeral 'round here for some time now. It'd liven things
up a bit for all of us--except yourself."
The new-comer looked after Limber's figure with respectful eyes.