THE TRANSIENT TRIUMPH.
Redburn sprung from his seat, ran over to her side, and raised her
tenderly in his arms.
"Poor thing!" he murmured, gazing into her pale, still face, "the
shock was too much for her. No wonder she fainted." He laid her on the
couch, and kept off the others who crowded around.
"Bring cold water!" he ordered, "and I will soon have her out of this
fit."
Alice hastened to obey, and Anita's face and hands were bathed in the
cooling liquid until she began to show signs of returning
consciousness.
"You may now give me the particulars of the affair," Redburn said,
rising and closing the door, for a chilly breeze was sweeping into the
cabin.
Alice proceeded to comply with his request by narrating what had
occurred and, as nearly as possible, what had been said. When she had
concluded, he gazed down for several moments thoughtfully into the
face of Anita. There was much yet that was beyond his powers of
comprehension--a knotty problem for which he saw no immediate
solution.
"What do you think about it, "General"?" he asked, turning to the
mine-locater. "Have we sufficient evidence to hang this devil in
scarlet?"
"Hardly, boyee, hardly. 'Peers te me, 'cordin' to ther gal's tell,
thet thar war a fair shake all around, an' as duelin' ar' more or less
ther fashun 'round these parts,--considera'bly more o' less 'n less o'
more--et ain't law-fell ter yank a critter up by ther throat!"
"I know it is not, according to the customs of this country of the
Black Hills; but, look at it. That fellow, who I am satisfied is a
black-hearted knave, has not only taken the life of poor Harris, but,
very probably, has given his sister her death-blow. The question is:
should he go unpunished in the face of all this evidence?"
"Yes. Let him go; _I_ will be the one to punish him!"
It was Anita who spoke. She had partly arisen on the couch; her face
was streaked with water and slightly haggard; her hair blew unconfined
about her neck and shoulders; her eyes blazed with a wild, almost
savage fire.
* * * * *
"Let him go!" she repeated, more of fierceness in her voice than
Redburn had ever heard there, before. "He shall not escape my
vengeance. Oh, my poor, poor dead brother!"
She flung herself back upon the couch, and gave herself up to a wild,
passionate, uncontrollable outburst of tears and sobs--the wailings of
a sorrowing heart. For a long time she continued to weep and sob
violently; then came a lull, during which she fell asleep, from
exhaustion--a deep sleep. Redburn and Alice then carried her into an
adjoining room, where she was left under the latter's skillful care.
Awhile later the cabin was wrapped in silence.
When morning sunlight next peeped down into the Flower Pocket, it
found everything generally astir. Anita was up and pursuing her
household duties, but she was calm, now, even sadder than before,
making a strange contrast to blithe, gaysome Alice, who flitted about,
here and there, like some bright-winged butterfly surrounded by a halo
of perpetual sunshine.
* * * * *
Unknown to any one save themselves, two men were within the valley of
the Flower Pocket gold-mines--there on business, and that business
meant bloodshed. They were secreted in among the foothills on the
western side of the flowering paradise, at a point where they were not
observed, and at the same time were the observers of all that was
going on in front of them.
How came they here, when the hand of Deadwood Dick guarded the only
accessible entrance there was to the valley? The answer was: they came
secretly through the pass on the night preceding the arrival of the
road-agents, and had been lying in close concealment ever since.
The one was an elderly man of portly figure, and the other a young,
dandyish fellow, evidently the elder's son, for they resembled each
other in every feature. We make no difficulty to recognizing them as
the same precious pair whom Outlaw Dick captured from the stage, only
to lose them again through the treachery of two of his own band.
Both looked considerably the worse for wear, and the gaunt, hungry
expression on their features, as the morning sunlight shone down upon
them, declared in a language more adequate than words, that they were
beginning to suffer the first pangs of starvation.
"We cannot hold out at this rate much longer!" the elder Filmore
cried, as he watched the bustle in the valley below. "I'm as empty as
a collapsed balloon, and what's more, we're in no prospects of
immediate relief."
Filmore, the younger, groaned aloud in agony of spirit.
"Curse the Black Hills and all who have been fools enough to inhabit
them, anyhow!" he growled, savagely; "just let me get back in the land
of civilization again, and you can bet your bottom dollar I'll know
enough to stay there."
"Bah! this little rough experience will do you good. If we only had a
square meal or two and a basket of sherry, I should feel quite at
home. Nothing but a fair prospect of increasing our individual
finances would ever have lured me into this outlandish place. But
money, you know, is the root of all--"
"Evil!" broke in the other, "and after three months' wild-goose-chase
you are just as destitute of the desired root as you were at first."
"True, but we have at least discovered one of the shrubs at the bottom
of which grows the root."
"You refer to Deadwood Dick?"
"I do. He is here in the valley, and he must never leave it alive.
While we have the chance we must strike the blow that will forever
silence his tongue."
"Yes; but what about the girl? She will be just as much in the way, if
not a good deal more so."
"We can manage her all right when the proper time arrives. Dick is our
game, now."
"He may prove altogether too much game. But, now that we are counting
eggs, how much of the 'lay' is to be mine, when this boy and girl are
finished?" he queried.
"How much? Well, that depends upon circumstances. The girl _may_ fall
to you."
"The girl? Bah! I'd rather be excused."
* * * * *
The day passed without incident in the mines. The work went steadily
on, the sounds of the crusher making strange music for the mountain
echoes to mock.
Occasionally the crack of a rifle announced that either a road-agent
or a Ute miner had risked a shot at a mountain sheep, bird, or deer.
Generally their aim was attended with success, though sometimes they
were unable to procure the slaughtered game.
Redburn, on account of his clear-headedness and business tact, had
full charge of both mines, the "General" working under him in the
shaft, and Fearless Frank in the quartz mine.
When questioned about his duel with Harris by Redburn, McKenzie had
very little to say; he seemed pained when approached on the subject;
would answer no questions concerning the past; was reserved and at
times singularly haughty.
During the day Anita and Alice took a stroll through the valley, but
the latter had been warned, and fought shy of the quartz mine; so
there was no encounter between Anita and Fearless Frank.
Deadwood Dick joined them as they were returning to the cabin, loaded
down with flowers--flowers of almost every color and perfume.
"This is a beautiful day," he remarked, pulling up a daisy, as he
walked gracefully along. "One rarely sees so many beauties centered in
one little valley like this--beautiful landscape and mountain scenery,
beautiful flowers beneath smiling skies, and lovely women, the chief
center of attraction among all."
"Indeed!" and Alice gave him a coquettish smile; "you are flattering,
sir road-agent. You, at least, are not beautiful, in that horrible
black suit and villainous mask. You remind me of a picture I have seen
somewhere of the devil in disguise; all that is lacking is the horns,
tail and cloven-foot."
Dick broke out into a burst of laughter--it was one of those wild,
terrible laughs of his, so peculiar to hear from one who was evidently
young in years.
Both of the girls were terrified, and would have fled had he not
detained them.
"Ha, ha!" he said, stepping in front of them, "do not be frightened;
don't go, ladies. That's only the way I express my amusement at
anything."
"Then, for mercy's sake, don't get amused again," said Alice,
deprecatingly. "Why, dear me, I thought the Old Nick and all his
couriers had pounced down upon us."
"Well, how do you know but what he has? _I_ may be his Satanic
majesty, or one of his envoys."
"I hardly think so; you are too much an earthly being for that. Come,
now, take off that detestable mask and let me see what you look like."
"No, indeed! I would not remove this mask, except on conditions, for
all the gold yon toiling miners are finding, which, I am satisfied, is
no small amount."
"You spoke of conditions. What are they?"
"Some time, perhaps, I will tell you, lady, but not now. See! my men
are signaling to me, and I must go. Adieu, ladies;" and in another
moment he had wheeled, and was striding back toward camp.
In their concealment the two Filmores witnessed this meeting between
Dick and the two girls.
"So there are females here, eh?" grunted the elder, musingly. "From
observation I should say that Prince Dick was a comparative stranger
here."
"That is my opinion," groaned Clarence, his thoughts reverting to his
empty stomach. "Did you hear that laugh a moment ago? It was more like
the screech of a lunatic than anything else."
"Yes; he is a young tiger. There is no doubt of that to my mind."
"And we shall have to keep on the alert to take him. He came to the
cabin last night. If he does to-night we can mount him!"
Before night the elder Filmore succeeded in capturing a wild goose
that had strayed down with the stream from somewhere above. This was
killed, dressed and half cooked by a brushwood fire which they
hazarded in a fissure in the hillside whereto they had hidden. This
fowl they almost ravenously devoured, and thus thoroughly satisfied
their appetites. They now felt a great deal better, ready for the work
in hand--of capturing and slaying the dare-devil Deadwood Dick.
As soon as it was dark they crept, like the prowling wolves they were,
down into the valley, and positioned themselves midway between the
cabin and the road-agent's camp, but several yards apart, with a lasso
held above the grass between them, to serve as a "trip-up."
The sky had become overcast with dense black clouds, and the gloom to
the valley was quite impenetrable. From their concealment the two
Filmores could hear Redburn, Alice and the "General" singing up at
the cabin, and it told them to be on their guard, as Dick might now
come along at any moment.
Slowly the minutes dragged by, and both were growing impatient, when
the firm tread of "the Prince" was heard swiftly approaching. Quickly
the lasso was drawn taut. Dick, not dreaming of the trap, came boldly
along, tripped, and went sprawling to the ground. The next instant his
enemies were on him, each with a long murderous knife in hand.