THE RAISING OF THE SIEGE
They were splendid horsemen who rode to our assistance, and their beasts
as fine; but a slight figure led them a clear length ahead. In another
minute Gordon's men copied their leader, who trotted forward with his
broad hat at his knee, and I rode bareheaded with--though I had
forgotten this--an ensanguined face, to greet the mistress of
Bonaventure. She was glowing with excitement, and I had never seen
anything equal the fine damask in her cheeks. She started at the sight
of me, and then impulsively held out a well-gloved hand.
"I hope you are not badly hurt?" she said.
"Only cut a trifle," I answered, gripping the little hand fervently.
"You have done a great deal for us, and no doubt prevented serious
bloodshed. It was wonderfully----"
"Don't. It was not in any way wonderful. My father was absent when Mr.
Boone brought me the news, and, as you know, I am responsible for the
prosperity of Bonaventure in his absence. Our cattle were in jeopardy."
She ceased abruptly, and grew pale, while I felt ashamed when I saw the
cause of it. My hands had been reddened from clearing my eyes, and glove
and wrist were foul with crimson stains. Courageous as she was, the girl
had sickened at the sight of them.
"I can't excuse myself. You must try to forgive me," I said. "Please
don't look at it."
Lucille Haldane promptly recovered from the shock of repulsion. "How
could you help it--and you were hurt protecting our cattle. I can see
the brand on some," she said. "It was very foolish of me to show such
weakness."
"You must come back to the house with me at once and rest," I said. "I'm
indebted to you, boys, but the best way you could help me would be to
drive those cattle into the corral. Then, for you are probably tired and
hungry, come up and see what Sally Steel can find for you."
The newcomers hesitated, and inquired whether they might not pursue and
chastise our adversaries instead, but Lucille Haldane rebuked them. "You
will do just what Rancher Ormesby tells you," she said; and, turning
towards me, added: "I am ready to go with you."
Lucille was still a trifle pale, and wondering, because I could not see
myself, that one with so much spirit should be affected by such a small
thing, I presently dismounted and led her horse by the bridle. I had
torn off the offending glove, and when we halted by the corral would
have removed the stains from the wrist with a handkerchief.
"No," said Lucile, snatching her hand away just too late, with a gesture
of dismay, "do not touch it with that, please."
Then I remembered that the handkerchief had last been used to rub out
the fouled breach of a gun. The girl looked at the blur of red and black
which resulted from my efforts, and frowned, then broke out into a
rippling laugh. "Beatrice said your ways were refreshingly primitive,
and I think she was right," she said.
The laugh put heart into me, but I still held the bridle with an
ensanguined hand close beside the little smeared one; and so, followed
by as fine an escort as a princess could desire, we came to my door side
by side.
However, when I helped Lucille Haldane from the saddle I had misgivings
concerning the reception Steel's sister might accord her. Sally's
loyalty to her friends was worthy of her name; but she was stanchly
democratic, more than a little jealous, and not addicted to concealing
her prejudices. The fears were groundless. Sally was waiting in the
doorway she had defended, and while I hoped for the best, the two stood
a moment face to face. They were both worthy of inspection, though the
contrast between them was marked. Haldane's daughter was slight and
slender, with grace and refinement stamped equally on every line of her
delicately chiseled face and on the curve of her dainty figure down to
the little feet beneath the riding skirt. Sally was round and ruddy of
countenance, stalwart in frame, with the carriage of an Amazon, and, I
think, could have crushed Lucille with a grip of her arms; but both had
an ample portion of the spirit of their race.
Then Steel's sister, stepping forward, took both the girl's hands within
her own, stooped a little, and kissed her on each cheek, after which she
drew her into the house, leaving her brother and myself equally
astonished. He looked at me whimsically, and though I tried, I could not
frown.
"That's about the last thing I expected. How does it strike you?" he
said. "Afraid of committing yourself? Well, I don't mind allowing I
expected most anything else. All women are curious, but there's no
understanding Sally."
We were not left long to wonder, for Miss Steel reappeared in the
doorway.
"You two still standing there as if there were nothing to do! Get a big
fire on in the outside stove and kill about half the chickens. You're
not to come in, Harry Ormesby, until I've fixed you so you're fit to be
seen."
I feared that Lucille heard her, and wondered what she thought. Our mode
of life was widely different from that at Bonaventure and from what
would have been for me possible had I not fallen into the hands of Lane.
We slew the chickens with the assistance of the newcomers, and sat down
on the grass to pluck them, a fowl for every guest, although I was
slightly uncertain whether that would be sufficient. There is a
similarity between the very old and the very new, and ancient poets
perhaps best portray the primitive, sometimes heroic, life of effort the
modern stockrider and plowman lead on the prairie.
"Why did you bring Miss Haldane, Boone? You should have known better
than to allow her to run the slightest risk," I said, on opportunity;
and the photographer smiled enigmatically.
"Miss Haldane did not ask my permission, and I am doubtful whether
anybody could have prevented her. She said she was mistress of
Bonaventure, and the way the men stirred when she told them was proof
enough that one could believe her."
Presently Sally came out with a roll of sticking-plaster, and, while
every bachelor present offered assistance and advice, she proceeded to
"fix me," as she expressed it. Then, amid a burst of laughter, she stood
back a little to survey her work with pride.
"I guess you can come in. You look too nice for anything. Gordon and
Adams, you'll walk in, too. The rest will find all you want in the cook
shed, and it will be your own fault if you don't help yourselves."
I was a little astonished when, with a cloth bound round my head, I
entered the house, for Miss Steel was in some respects a genius. There
was no trace of disorder. Sally was immaculately neat; Lucille Haldane
might never have passed the door of Bonaventure; and the two had
apparently become good friends, while a table had been set out with
Sally's pretty crockery, and, as I noticed, an absolutely spotless
cloth, which was something of a rarity. I was glad of the presence of
Boone, for Gordon was a big, gaunt, silent man, and the events of the
day had driven any conversational gifts we possessed out of both Steel
and myself. When it pleased him, Adams, by which name alone he was known
to the rest, could entertain anybody, and that, too, in their own
particular idiom. There was no trace of the pedlar about him now, and
his English was the best spoken in the Old Country. I noticed Lucille
Haldane looked hard at him when she took her place at the table.
"It is curious, but I have been haunted by a feeling that we have met
before to-day," she said. "If I am mistaken, it must have been somebody
who strongly resembles you."
For just a moment Boone looked uneasy, but he answered with a smile: "I
don't monopolize all the good looks on the prairie."
The girl flashed a swift sidelong glance at me, and I feared my
countenance was too wooden to be natural. "I am sure of the resemblance
now, though there is a change. It was one evening at Bonaventure, was it
not?" she said. "Have you forgotten me?"
"That would be impossible," and Boone bent his head a little as he made
the best of it. "I see that, if necessary I could rely on Miss Haldane's
kindness a second time."
Lucille looked thoughtful, Sally inquisitive, and I feared the latter
might complicate circumstances by attempting to probe the mystery.
Neither Gordon nor Steel noticed anything, but Boone was a judge of
character and Lucille keen of wit. He asked nothing further, but I saw a
question in his eyes.
"I think you could do so," she said. "You seem to have trusty friends,
Rancher Ormesby; though that is not surprising on the prairie."
The words were simply spoken, and wholly unstudied; but Lucille Haldane
had a very graceful way, and there was that in her eyes which brought a
sparkle into those of Sally, and I saw had made the silent Gordon her
slave. Her gift of fascination was part of her birthright, and she used
it naturally without taint of artifice.
"Could anybody doubt it after to-day?" I said.
Then Boone smiled dryly. "I suppose it devolves upon me to acknowledge
the compliment, and I am afraid that some of his friends are better than
he deserves," he said. "At least, I am willing to testify that Rancher
Ormesby does not importune them, for I never met any man slower to
accept either good advice or well-meant assistance. Have you not found
it so, Miss Steel?"
"All you men are foolish, and most of you slow," Sally answered archly.
"I had to convince one with a big hard brush to-day."
This commenced the relation of reminiscences, mostly humorous, of the
affray, for we could afford to laugh, and all joined in the burst of
merriment which rose from outside when several horsemen came up at a
gallop across the prairie. A stockrider of Caledonian extraction had
borrowed my banjo to amuse his comrades, and they appreciated his irony
when he played the new arrivals in to the tune of "The Campbells are
coming."
Then he took off his hat to the uniformed figure which led the advance.
"Ye're surely lang in comin', Sergeant, dear," he said.
There was another roar of laughter, and I heard Mackay's voice. "It was
no' my fault, and ye should ken what kind of horses ye sell the
Government; but now I'm here I'm tempted to arrest the whole of ye for
unlawful rioting!"
He halted in the doorway with displeasure in his face, and, disregarding
my invitation, waited until Miss Haldane bade him be seated, while
before commencing an attack upon a fowl, he said dryly: "Maybe I had
better begin my business first. It would be a poor return to eat your
supper and than arrest ye, Ormesby."
"You had better make sure of the supper, and if you can take me out of
the hands of my allies you are welcome to," I said.
Boone's lips twitched once or twice as though in enjoyment of a hidden
joke as he discoursed with the sergeant upon the handling of mounted men
and horses. He showed, I fancied, a curious knowledge of cavalry
equipment and maneuvers, and Mackay was evidently struck with his
opinions. I also saw Lucille Haldane smile when the sergeant said: "If
ever ye pass my station come in and see me. It's a matter o' regret to
me I had not already met ye."
"Thanks," said Boone, just moving his eyebrows as he looked across at
me. "I narrowly missed spending some time in your company a little while
ago."
"And now to business," said Mackay, with a last regretful glance at the
skeletonized chicken. "From what I gather ye are all of ye implicated. I
would like an account from Mr. Adams and Miss Haldane first."
"How did you come here instead of Gardiner; and how do you know there
is anything for you to trouble about?" I asked, and the sergeant showed
a trace of impatience.
"Gardiner goes back to-morrow. Ye are my own particular sheep, and it
would take a new man ten years to learn the contrariness of ye. I heard
some talk at the railroad and came on in a hurry. Do ye usually nail
your stable or cut your own head open, Rancher Ormesby?"
Each in turn furnished an account of the affray, I last of all; and
Mackay expressed no opinion until Lucille Haldane asked him: "Was it not
justifiable for me to take measures to protect my father's cattle?"
"Supposing the Bonaventure brand had not been on that draft, and Lane's
men retained possession, what would ye have done?" was the shrewd
rejoinder; and Lucille smiled as she looked steadily at the speaker.
"I really think, sergeant, that I should have ridden over them."
Mackay seemed to struggle with some natural feeling; but the silent
rancher smote the table. "By the Lord, you would, and I'd have given
five hundred dollars to go through beside you!" he said.
"Ye are quite old enough to ken better," said Mackay sententiously; and
the rancher squared his shoulders as he answered:
"I'm as good as any two of your troopers yet, and was never run into a
cattle corral. When I'm old enough to be useless I'll join the police."
"What were ye meaning?" asked the sergeant.
Gordon laughed. "Just that, for a tired man, it's a nice soft berth. You
take your money and as much care as you can that you never turn up until
the trouble's over!"
Before Mackay could retort, Lucille, smiling, raised her hand. "I think
you should both know better, and I want you to tell me, sergeant, what
will be the end of this. Surely nobody has any right to drive off cattle
and horses that don't belong to him?"
Mackay looked somewhat troubled, and one could guess that while eager
to please the fair questioner, he shrank with official caution from
committing himself. "It's not my part to express an opinion on points
that puzzle some lawyers," he said. "Still, I might tell ye that it will
cost one man his position. Human nature's aye deceitful, Miss Haldane,
and if Rancher Ormesby prosecuted them it would be just two or three
men's word against a dozen. Forby, they might make out illegal
resistance against him!"
"Sergeant," said Lucille Haldane, looking at him severely, "dare you
tell me that you would not take the word of three ranchers against the
oath of a dozen such men as Lane?"
Mackay smiled, though he answered dryly: "They're both hard to manage,
and ungrateful for their benefits; but maybe I would. Still, I am, ye
see, neither judge nor jury. Would ye prefer a charge against them,
Ormesby?"
I was willing enough to do so, but had already reflected. Every moment
of my time was needed, the nearest seat of justice was far away, and it
would be only helping Lane if I wasted days attempting to substantiate a
charge. I also surmised by his prompt disappearance when the fracas
became serious that it would be very difficult to implicate my enemy,
even if he did not turn the tables on me. Boone, when I looked at him,
made a just perceptible negative movement with his head.
"I must leave this affair to the discretion of the police," I said.
"Several of Lane's friends have good cause to be sorry for themselves
already, and it is hardly likely his action will be repeated."
Mackay said nothing further, and shortly afterwards Lucille said she
must take her departure. Sally stood smiling in the doorway while the
riders of Bonaventure did her homage, and those whose compliments did
not please her suffered for their clumsiness. When I rode out with
Lucille Haldane there was a lifting of wide hats, and the sergeant,
sitting upright in his saddle, saluted her as we passed with several
splendid horsemen riding on each side.
I afterwards heard that Sally said to him mischievously: "I guess you
men don't quite know everything. How long did it take you to break your
troopers in? Yonder's a slip of a girl who knows nothing of discipline
or drill, and there's not a man in all that outfit wouldn't ride right
into the place where bad policemen go if she told him to. As good as
your troopers, aren't they? What are you thinking now?"
The sergeant followed her pointing hand, and, as it happened, Lucille
and I were just passing beyond the rise riding close together side by
side. Mackay looked steadily after us, and doubtless noticed that
Lucille rode very well. "I would not blame them. I'm just thinking I'm
sorry for Corporal Cotton," he said.
Sally looked away across the prairie, and, turning, saw a faint smile
fade out of the sergeant's face. "What do you mean? Can't you ever talk
straight like a sensible man?" she asked.
"The corporal's young, an' needs considerable convincing," was the dry
answer.
When we dipped beyond the rise I turned to Lucille Haldane. "What did
you think of Sally? She is a stanch ally, but not always effusive to
strangers," I said.
I could not at the moment understand Lucille Haldane's expression. The
question was very simple, but the girl showed a trace of confusion, and
was apparently troubled as to how she should frame the answer. This did
not, however, last long, and when she raised her eyes to mine there was
in them the same look of confidence there had been when she said, "I
believe in you." It was very pleasant to see.
"I think a great deal of her, and must repeat what I said already. You
have very loyal friends. Miss Steel told me at length how kind you had
been to her and her brother, and I think they will fully repay you."
My wits must have been sharpened, for I understood, and blessed both
Sally and the speaker. If Lucille Haldane, being slow to think evil,
had faith in those she knew, it was possible she was glad of proof to
justify the confidence, and Sally must have furnished it.
"They have done so already," I said.
There was always something very winning about my companion, but she had
never appeared so desirable as she did just then. The day was drawing
towards its close, and the light in the west called up the warm coloring
that the wind and sun had brought into her face and showed each grace of
the slight figure silhouetted against it. The former was, perhaps, not
striking at first sight, though, with its setting of ruddy gold, and its
hazel eyes filled with swift changes, it was pretty enough; but its
charm grew upon one, and I noticed that when she patted the horse's neck
the dumb beast moved as though it loved her. There was nothing of the
Amazon about its rider except her courage.
"I have heard a good deal about your enemy and yourself of late, but
there are several points that puzzle me, and, though I know you have his
sympathies, father is not communicative," she said. "For instance, if
you do not resent the allusion, he could with so little trouble have
made a difference in the result of your sale."
"How could that be?" I asked, merely to see how far the speaker's
interest in my affairs had carried her, and she answered: "Even if there
had been nothing we needed at Bonaventure he could have made the others
pay fair prices for all they bought. I cannot understand why he said it
was better not to do so."
I also failed to understand; but a light broke in upon me. "Did you
suggest that he should?" I asked, and the girl answered with some
reluctance: "Yes; was it not natural that I should?"
"No one who knew you could doubt it," I said; and Lucille Haldane
presently dismissed me. I sat still and watched her and her escort
diminish across the long levels, and then rode slowly back towards Crane
Valley. Remembering Haldane's mention of a promise, the news that it was
his younger daughter who sent him to my assistance brought at first a
shock of disappointment. I had already convinced myself that Beatrice
Haldane must remain very far beyond my reach, but the thought that she
had remembered me and sent what help she could had been comforting,
nevertheless. Now it seemed that she had forgotten, and that that
consolation must be abandoned, too. And yet the disappointment was not
so crushing but that I could bear it with the rest. What might have been
had passed beyond the limits of possibility, and there was nothing in
the future to look forward to except a struggle against poverty and the
wiles of my enemy.
Steel took my horse when I rode up to the house, and it was a
coincidence that his first remark should be: "We beat him badly this
time and he'll lie low a while. Then I guess you'll want both eyes open
when he tries his luck again."