Carringtons experiences with Taylor had not dulled the mans savage
impulses, nor had they cooled his feverish desire for the possession
of Marion Harlan. In his brain rioted the dark, unbridled passions of
those progenitors he had claimed in his talk with Parsons on the
morning he had throttled the little man in his rooms above the Castle.
For the moment he had postponed the real beginning of his campaign for
the possession of Dawes, his venomous hatred for Taylor and his
passion for the girl overwhelming his greed.
He had watched the departure of Keats and his men, a flush of
exultation on his face, his eyes alight with fires that reflected the
malignant hatred he felt. And when Keats and the others disappeared
down the trail that led to the Arrow, Carrington spent some time in
Dawes. Shortly after noon he rode out the river trail toward the big
house with two men that he had engaged to set the interior in order.
Carrington had not seen the house since the fight with Taylor in the
front room, and the wreck and ruin that met his gaze as he stood in
the door brought a sullen pout to his lips.
But he intended to exact heavy punishment for what had occurred at the
big house; and as he watched the men setting things to ordermending
the doors and repairing the broken furniturehe drew mental pictures
that made his eyes flash with pleasure.
He felt that by this time Keats and his men should have settled with
Taylor. After that, he, himself, would make the girl pay.
So he was having the house put in order, that it would again be
habitable; and then, when that was done, and Taylor out of the way, he
would go to the Arrow after the girl. But before he went to the Arrow
he would await the return of Keats with the news that Taylor would no
longer be able to thwart him.
Never in his life had he met a man he feared as he feared Taylor.
There was something about Taylor that made Carringtons soul shrivel.
He knew what it wasit was his conviction of Taylors absolute
honorableness, as arrayed against his own beastly impulses. But that
knowledge merely served to intensify his hatred for Taylor.
Toward evening Carrington rode back to Dawes with the men; and while
there he sought news from Keats. Danforth, from whom he inquired,
could tell him nothing, and so Carrington knew that Taylor had not yet
been disposed of. But Carrington knew the time would not be long now;
and in a resort of a questionable character he found two men who
listened eagerly to his proposals. Later, the two men accompanying
him, he again rode to the big house.
And just as dusk began to settle over the big level at the foot of the
long slopeand while the last glowing light from the day still softly
bathed the big house, throwing it into bold relief on the crest of its
flat-topped hill, Carrington was standing on the front porch,
impatiently scanning the basin for signs of Keats and his men.
For a time he could distinguish little in the basin, for the mists of
twilight were heavy down there. And then a moving object far out in
the basin caught his gaze, and he leaned forward, peering intently,
consumed with eagerness and curiosity.
A few minutes later, still staring into the basin, Carrington became
aware that there were two moving objects. They were headed toward
Dawes, and proceeding slowly; and at last, when they came nearer and
he saw they were two women, on horses, he stiffened and shaded his
eyes with his hands. And then he exclaimed sharply, and his eyes
glowed with triumphfor he had recognized the women as Marion Harlan
and Martha.
Moving slowly, so that he might not attract the attention of the
women, should they happen to be looking toward the big house, he went
inside and spoke shortly to the two men he had brought with him.
An instant later the three, Carrington leading, rode into the timber
surrounding the house, filed silently through it, and with their
horses in a slow trot, sank down the long slope that led into the big
basin.
For a time they were not visible, as they worked their way through the
chaparral on a little level near the bottom of the slope; and then
they came into view again in some tall saccaton grass that grew as
high as the backs of their horses.
They might have been swimming in that much water, for all the sound
they made as they headed through the grass toward the Dawes trail, for
they made no sound, and only their heads and the heads of their horses
appeared above the swaying grass.
But they were seen. Martha, riding at a little distance behind Marion,
and straining her eyes to watch the trail ahead, noted the movement in
the saccaton, and called sharply to the girl:
Theys somethin movin in that grass off to your right, honey! It
wouldnt be no cattle, heah; theys never no cattle round heah, fo
they aint no water. Lawsey! she exclaimed, as she got a clear view
of them; its men!
Marion halted her horse. Marthas voice had startled her, for she had
not been thinking of the present; her thoughts had been centered on
Taylor.
A shiver of trepidation ran over her, though, when she saw the men,
and she gathered the reins tightly in her hands, ready to wheel the
animal under her should the appearance of the men indicate the
imminence of danger.
And when she saw that danger did indeed threaten, she spoke to the
horse and turned it toward the back trail. For she had recognized one
of the three men as Carrington.
But the horse had not taken a dozen leaps before Carrington was beside
her, his hand at her bridle. And as her horse came to a halt,
Carringtons animal lunged against it, bringing the two riders close
together. Carrington leaned over, his face close to hers; she could
feel his breath in her face as he laughed jeeringly, his voice
vibrating with passion:
So it _is_ you, eh? I thought for a moment that I had made a
mistake! Holding to her horses bridle-rein with a steady pull that
kept the horses close together, he spoke sharply to the two men who
had halted near Martha: Get the nigger! Ill take care of this one!
And instantly, with a brutal, ruthless strength and energy that took
the girl completely by surprise, Carrington threw a swift arm out,
grasped her by the waist, drew her out of the saddle, and swung her
into his own, crosswise, so that she lay face up, looking at him.
She fought him then, silently, ferociously, though futilely. For he
caught her hands, using both his own, pinning hers so that she could
not use them, meanwhile laughing lowly at her efforts to escape.
Even in the dusk she could see the smiling, savage exultation in his
eyes; the gloating, vindictive triumph, and her soul revolted at the
horror in store for her, and the knowledge nerved her to another
mighty effort. Tearing her hands free, she fought him again,
scratching his face, striking him with all her force with her fists;
squirming and twisting, even biting one of his hands when it came
close to her lips as he essayed to grasp her throat, his eyes gleaming
with ruthless malignance.
But her efforts availed little. In the end her arms were pinned again
to her sides, and he pulled a rope from his saddle-horn and bound
them. Then, as she lay back and glared at him, muttering imprecations
that brought a mocking smile to his lips, he urged his horse forward,
and sent it clattering up the slope, the two men following with
Martha.