第42章

MissCantirestoppedshort，withaprettyflushofcolorandanadorablelaugh。“There！I’vedoneit，soImightaswelltellthewholestory。ButIcantrustyou，Mr。Boyle。“(Shefacedhimwithclear，penetratingeyes。)“Well，“shelaughedagain，“youmighthavenoticedthatwehadaquantityofbaggageofpassengerswhodidn’tgo？Well，thosepassengersneverintendedtogo，andhadn’tanybaggage！Doyouunderstand？Thoseinnocent-lookingheavytrunkscontainedcarbinesandcartridgesfromourpostforFortTaylor“——shemadehimamischievouscurtsy——“underMYcharge！ And，“sheadded，enjoyinghisastonishment，“asyousaw，Ibroughtthemthroughsafetothestation，andhadthemtransferredtothiscoachwithlessfussandtroublethanacommissarytransportandescortwouldhavemade。“ “AndtheywereinTHIScoach？“repeatedBoyleabstractedly。 “Were？TheyARE！“saidMissCantire。 “ThenthesoonerIgetyoubacktoyourtreasureagainthebetter，“ saidBoylewithalaugh。“DoesFosterknowit？“ “Ofcoursenot！DoyousupposeI’dtellittoanybodybutastrangertotheplace？Perhaps，likeyou，Iknowwhenandtowhomtoimpartinformation，“shesaidmischievously。 WhateverwasinBoyle’smindhehadspaceforprofoundandadmiringastonishmentoftheyoungladybeforehim。Thegirlishsimplicityandtrustfulnessofherrevelationseemedasinconsistentwithhispreviousimpressionofherreserveandindependenceashergirlishreasoningandmannerwasnowdelightfullyatvariancewithhertallness，heraquilinenose，andhererectfigure。Mr。Boyle，likemostshortmen，wasapttooverestimatethequalitiesofsize。 Theywalkedonforsomemomentsinsilence。Theascentwascomparativelyeasybutdevious，andBoylecouldseethatthisnewdetourwouldtakethemstillsometimetoreachthesummit。MissCantireatlastvoicedthethoughtinhisownmind。“Iwonderwhatinducedthemtoturnoffhere？andifyouhadn’tbeensocleverastodiscovertheirtracks，howcouldwehavefoundthem？But，“sheadded，withfemininelogic，“that，ofcourse，iswhytheyfiredthoseshots。“ Boyleremembered，however，thattheshotscamefromanotherdirection，butdidnotcorrectherconclusion。Neverthelesshesaidlightly:“PerhapsevenFostermighthavehadanIndianscare。“ “Heoughttoknow’friendlies’or’governmentreservationmen’ betterbythistime，“saidMissCantire；“however，thereissomethinginthat。Doyouknow，“sheaddedwithalaugh，“thoughI haven’tyourkeeneyesI’mgiftedwithakeenscent，andonceortwiceI’vethoughtISMELTIndians——thatpeculiarodoroftheircamps，whichisunlikeanythingelse，andwhichonedetectsevenintheirponies。IusedtonoticeitwhenIrodeone；noamountofgroomingcouldtakeitaway。“ “Idon’tsupposethattheintensityordegreeofthisodorwouldgiveyouanyideaofthehostileorfriendlyfeelingsoftheIndianstowardsyou？“askedBoylegrimly。 AlthoughtheremarkwasconsistentwithBoyle’sobjectionablereputationasahumorist，MissCantiredeignedtoreceiveitwithasmile，atwhichBoyle，whowasalittlerelievedbytheirsecuritysofar，andtheirnearnesstotheirjourney’send，developedfurtheringenioustriflinguntil，attheendofanhour，theystoodupontheplainagain。 Therewasnosignofthecoach，butitsfreshtrackwasvisibleleadingalongthebankoftheravinetowardstheintersectionoftheroadtheyshouldhavecomeby，andtowhichthecoachhadindubitablyreturned。Mr。Boyledrewalongbreath。Theywerecomparativelysafefromanyinvisibleattacknow。AttheendoftenminutesMissCantire，fromhersuperiorheight，detectedthetopofthemissingvehicleappearingabovethestuntedbushesatthejunctionofthehighway。 “Wouldyoumindthrowingthoseoldflowersawaynow？“shesaid，glancingatthespoilswhichBoylestillcarried。 “Why？“heasked。 “Oh，they’retooridiculous。Pleasedo。“ “MayIkeepone？“heasked，withthefirstintonationofmasculineweaknessinhisvoice。 “Ifyoulike，“shesaid，alittlecoldly。 Boyleselectedasmallsprayofmyrtleandcasttheotherflowersobedientlyaside。 “Dearme，howridiculous！“shesaid。 “Whatisridiculous？“heasked，liftinghiseyestoherswithaslightcolor。Buthesawthatshewasstraininghereyesinthedistance。 “Why，theredon’tseemtobeanyhorsestothecoach！“ Helooked。Throughagapinthefurzehecouldseethevehiclenowquitedistinctly，standingempty，horselessandalone。Heglancedhurriedlyaroundthem；ontheonesideafewrocksprotectedthemfromthetangledrimoftheridge；ontheotherstretchedtheplain。“Sitdown，don’tmoveuntilIreturn，“hesaidquickly。 “Takethat。“Hehandedbackherpistol，andranquicklytothecoach。Itwasnoillusion；thereitstoodvacant，abandoned，itsdroppedpoleandcuttracesshowingtooplainlythefearfulhasteofitsdesertion！Alightstepbehindhimmadehimturn。ItwasMissCantire，pinkandbreathless，carryingthecockedderringerinherhand。“Howfoolishofyou——withoutaweapon，“shegaspedinexplanation。 Thentheybothstaredatthecoach，theemptyplain，andateachother！Aftertheirtediousascent，theirlongdetour，theirprotractedexpectancyandtheireagercuriosity，therewassuchasuggestionofhideousmockeryinthisvacant，uselessvehicle—— apparentlylefttotheminwhatseemedtheirutterabandonment—— thatitinstinctivelyaffectedthemalike。AndasIamwritingofhumannatureIamcompelledtosaythattheybothburstintoafitoflaughterthatforthemomentstoppedallotherexpression！ “Itwassokindofthemtoleavethecoach，“saidMissCantirefaintly，asshetookherhandkerchieffromherwetandmirthfuleyes。“Butwhatmadethemrunaway？“ Boyledidnotreply；hewaseagerlyexaminingthecoach。Inthatbriefhourandahalfthedustoftheplainhadblownthickuponit，andcoveredanyfoulstainorblotthatmighthavesuggestedtheawfultruth。EventhesoftimprintoftheIndians’moccasinedfeethadbeentrampledoutbythelaterhorsehoofsofthecavalrymen。ItwasthesethatfirstattractedBoyle’sattention，buthethoughtthemthemarksmadebytheplungingofthereleasedcoachhorses。 Notsohiscompanion！Shewasexaminingthemmoreclosely，andsuddenlyliftedherbright，animatedface。“Look！“shesaid；“ourmenhavebeenhere，andhavehadahandinthis——whateveritis。“ “Ourmen？“repeatedBoyleblankly。 “Yes！——troopersfromthepost——theescortItoldyouof。Thesearetheprintsoftheregulationcavalryhorseshoe——notofFoster’steam，norofIndianponies，whoneverhaveany！Don’tyousee？“ shewentoneagerly；“ourmenhavegotwindofsomethingandhavegallopeddownhere——alongtheridge——see！“shewenton，pointingtothehoofprintscomingfromtheplain。“They’veanticipatedsomeIndianattackandsecuredeverything。“ “Butiftheywerethesameescortyouspokeof，theymusthaveknownyouwerehere，andhave“——hewasabouttosay“abandonedyou，“butcheckedhimself，rememberingtheywereherfather’ssoldiers。 “TheyknewIcouldtakecareofmyself，andwouldn’tstandinthewayoftheirduty，“saidtheyounggirl，anticipatinghimwithquickprofessionalpridethatseemedtofitheraquilinenoseandtallfigure。“Andiftheyknewthat，“sheadded，softeningwithamischievoussmile，“theyalsoknew，ofcourse，thatIwasprotectedbyagallantstrangervouchedforbyMr。Foster！No！“sheadded，withacertainblind，devotedconfidence，whichBoylenoticedwithaslightwincethatshehadnevershownbefore，“it’sallright！ and’byorders，’Mr。Boyle，andwhenthey’vedonetheirworkthey’llbeback。“ ButBoyle’smasculinecommonsensewas，perhaps，saferthanMissCantire’sfemininefaithandinheriteddiscipline，forinaninstanthesuddenlycomprehendedtheactualtruth！TheIndianshadbeenthereFIRST；THEYhaddespoiledthecoachandgotoffsafelywiththeirbootyandprisonersontheapproachoftheescort，whowerenownaturallypursuingthemwithafuryarousedbythebeliefthattheircommander’sdaughterwasoneoftheirprisoners。Thisconvictionwasadreadfulone，yetareliefasfarastheyounggirlwasconcerned。Butshouldhetellher？No！Betterthatsheshouldkeephercalmfaithinthetriumphantpromptnessofthesoldiers——andtheirspeedyreturn。 “Idaresayyouareright，“hesaidcheerfully，“andletusbethankfulthatintheemptycoachyou’llhaveatleastahalf- civilizedshelteruntiltheyreturn。MeantimeI’llgoandreconnoitrealittle。“ “Iwillgowithyou，“shesaid。 ButBoylepointedouttohersostronglythenecessityofherremainingtowaitforthereturnofthesoldiersthat，beingalsofaggedoutbyherlongclimb，sheobedientlyconsented，whilehe，evenwithhisinspirationofthetruth，didnotbelieveinthereturnofthedespoilers，andknewshewouldbesafe。 Hemadehiswaytothenearestthicket，whereherightlybelievedtheambushhadbeenprepared，andtowhichundoubtedlytheyfirstretreatedwiththeirbooty。Heexpectedtofindsomesignsortracesoftheirspoilwhichintheirhastetheyhadtoabandon。Hewasmoresuccessfulthanheanticipated。Afewstepsintothethicketbroughthimfulluponarealizationofmorethanhisworstconvictions——thedeadbodyofFoster！Nearitlaythebodyofthemailagent。Bothhadbeenevidentlydraggedintothethicketfromwheretheyfell，scalpedandhalfstripped。Therewasnoevidenceofanylaterstruggle；theymusthavebeendeadwhentheywerebroughtthere。