N01 0010    DAN MORGAN TOLD HIMSELF HE WOULD FORGET Ann Turner. He
N01 0020 was well rid of her. He certainly didn't want a wife who was fickle
N01 0030 as Ann. If he had married her, he'd have been asking for trouble.
N01 0040    But all of this was rationalization. Sometimes he woke up in
N01 0050 the middle of the night thinking of Ann, and then could not get back
N01 0060 to sleep. His plans and dreams had revolved around her so much and for
N01 0070 so long that now he felt as if he had nothing. The easiest thing would
N01 0080 be to sell out to Al Budd and leave the country, but there was
N01 0090 a stubborn streak in him that wouldn't allow it.   The best antidote
N01 0100 for the bitterness and disappointment that poisoned him was hard
N01 0110 work. He found that if he was tired enough at night, he went to sleep
N01 0120 simply because he was too exhausted to stay awake. Each day he found
N01 0140 himself thinking less often of Ann; each day the hurt was a little
N01 0150 duller, a little less poignant.   He had plenty of work to do.
N01 0160 Because the summer was unusually dry and hot, the spring produced a
N01 0170 smaller stream than in ordinary years. The grass in the meadows came
N01 0180 fast, now that the warm weather was here. He could not afford to lose
N01 0190 a drop of the precious water, so he spent most of his waking hours along
N01 0200 the ditches in his meadows.   He had no idea how much time
N01 0210 Budd would give him. In any case, he had no intention of being caught
N01 0220 asleep, so he carried his revolver in its holster on his hip and he
N01 0230 took his Winchester with him and leaned it against the fence. He stopped
N01 0240 every few minutes and leaned on his shovel as he studied the horizon,
N01 0250 but nothing happened, each day dragging out with monotonous calm.
N01 0260    When, in late afternoon on the last day in June, he saw two
N01 0270 people top the ridge to the south and walk toward the house, he quit work
N01 0280 immediately and strode to his rifle. It could be some kind of trick
N01 0290 Budd had thought up. No one walked in this country, least of all
N01 0300 Ed Dow or Dutch Renfro or any of the rest of the Bar ~B crew.
N01 0310 Morgan watched the two figures for a time, puzzled. When they were closer
N01 0320 and he saw that one was a woman, he was more puzzled than ever.
N01 0330    He cleaned his shovel, left it against the fence, picked up his
N01 0340 Winchester, and started downstream. His visitors had crawled through
N01 0350 the south fence and were crossing the meadow, angling toward the house.
N01 0360 Now he saw that both the man and woman were moving slowly and irregularly,
N01 0370 staggering, as if they found it a struggle to remain on their
N01 0380 feet.   Reaching the house ahead of them, he waited with his
N01 0390 Winchester in his hands. They crawled through the north fence and came
N01 0400 on toward him, and now he saw that both were young, not more than nineteen
N01 0410 or twenty. They were dirty, their clothes were torn, and the
N01 0420 girl was so exhausted that she fell when she was still twenty feet from
N01 0430 the front door. She lay there, making no effort to get back on her
N01 0440 feet. The boy came on to the porch and sat down, his gaze on Morgan
N01 0450 as if half expecting him to shoot and not really caring.   Morgan
N01 0460 hesitated, thinking that if this was a trick, it was a good one. He
N01 0470 didn't think it was possible for this couple to be pretending. The
N01 0480 boy licked his dry lips. He asked, "Could we have a drink"?
N01 0490    Morgan jerked his head toward the front door. "In the kitchen",
N01 0500 he said. Leaning his Winchester against the front of the house,
N01 0510 he walked to the girl. "Get up. There's water in the house".
N01 0520    She didn't move or say anything. Her eyes were glazed as if
N01 0530 she didn't hear or even see him. She had reached a point at which
N01 0540 she didn't even care how she looked. Her face was very thin, and burned
N01 0550 by the sun until much of the skin was dead and peeling, the new
N01 0560 skin under it red and angry.   Her blond hair was frowzy, her dress
N01 0570 torn in several places, and her shoes were so completely worn out
N01 0580 that they were practically no protection. It must have hurt her even
N01 0590 to walk, for the sole was completely off her left foot and Morgan saw
N01 0600 that it was bruised and bleeding.   He picked her up, sliding one
N01 0610 hand under her shoulders, the other under her knees, and carried her
N01 0620 into the house. She was amazingly light, and so relaxed in his arms
N01 0630 that he wasn't even sure she was conscious. Any lingering suspicion
N01 0640 that this was a trick Al Budd had thought up was dispelled. No girl
N01 0650 would go this far to fool a man so she could kill him. Besides, she
N01 0660 had a sweet face that attracted him.   He put her down on the
N01 0670 couch, and going into the kitchen, saw that the boy had dropped into a
N01 0680 chair beside the table. They looked a good deal alike, Morgan thought.
N01 0690 Both had blonde hair and blue eyes, and there was even a faint similarity
N01 0700 of features.   Morgan filled the dipper from the water
N01 0710 bucket on the shelf, went back into the front room, lifted the girl's
N01 0720 head, and held the edge of the dipper to her mouth. She drank greedily,
N01 0730 and murmured, "Thank you", as he lowered her head.   He
N01 0740 stood looking down at her for a moment, wondering what could have reduced
N01 0750 her to this condition. He had seen a few nester wagons go through
N01 0760 the country, the families almost starving to death, but he had never
N01 0770 seen any of them on foot and as bad off as these two.   The girl
N01 0780 dropped off to sleep. Morgan returned to the kitchen, built a fire,
N01 0790 and carried in several buckets of water from the spring which he poured
N01 0800 into the copper boiler that he had placed on the stove. He brought
N01 0810 his Winchester in from the front of the house, then faced the boy.
N01 0820    "Who are you and what happened to you"? he asked.
N01 0830 "I'm Billy Jones", the boy answered. "That's my wife Sharon.
N01 0840 We ran out of money and we haven't eaten for two days".
N01 0850    "What are you doing here"?   "Are we in Wyoming"?
N01 0860    Morgan nodded. "About five miles north of the line".
N01 0870    Jones sighed as if relieved. "We've been looking for work,
N01 0880 but all the ranchers have turned us down".   "You mean you
N01 0890 dragged your wife all over hell's half-acre looking for work"?
N01 0900 Morgan demanded. "The town of Buckhorn's only about six miles
N01 0910 from here. Why didn't you go there"?   "We didn't want
N01 0920 town work", Jones said.   "This is a mighty empty country",
N01 0930 Morgan said. "There's only one more ranch three miles north
N01 0940 of here. You'd have starved to death if you'd missed both places".
N01 0950    "Then we're lucky we got here. Could you give us a
N01 0960 job, Mr& **h"   "Morgan. Dan Morgan".   He was
N01 0970 silent a moment, thinking he could use a man this time of year, and if
N01 0980 the girl could cook, it would give him more time in the meadows, but
N01 0990 he knew nothing about the couple. They might kill him in his sleep, thinking
N01 1000 there was money in the house. He dismissed the possibility at
N01 1010 once. The girl's thin face haunted him. It wasn't the face of a
N01 1020 killer. He wasn't so sure about the boy. He hadn't shaved for several
N01 1030 weeks, his sparse beard giving his face a pathetic, woebegone expression.
N01 1040    There was more to this than Jones had told him. They
N01 1050 were running from something. He'd be an idiot to let them stay
N01 1060 he thought, but he couldn't send them on, either.   "I could
N01 1070 use some help", Morgan said finally, "but I can't afford to pay
N01 1080 you anything. I guess you'd better go on in the morning".
N01 1090 "We'll work for our keep", the boy said eagerly. "I've been
N01 1100 mucking in a mine in the San Juan, but I used to work on a ranch.
N01 1110 Sharon, she's cooked in a restaurant. We'll work hard, Mr& Morgan".
N01 1120    "I'll see", Morgan said. "Right now you need
N01 1130 a meal and a bath. Your wife's in terrible shape".   "I
N01 1140 know", Jones said dejectedly.   Morgan filled the fire box
N01 1150 with wood again, then started supper and set the table. When the meal
N01 1160 was ready, he told Jones to wash up, and going into the front room,
N01 1170 woke the girl. He said, "I've got some supper ready".   She
N01 1180 rubbed her eyes and stretched, then sat up, her hands going to her
N01 1190 hair. "I'm a mess", she said, and suddenly she was alarmed. "Who
N01 1200 are you? How did we get here"?   "I'm Dan Morgan.
N01 1210 This is the Rafter ~M. You fell down in front of the house,
N01 1220 and I carried you in. I gave you a drink and then you went to sleep".
N01 1230    "Oh". She stared at him, her eyes wide as she thought
N01 1240 about what he had said; then she murmured: "You're very kind,
N01 1250 Mr& Morgan. Do you take in all the strays who come by"?
N01 1260    "I don't have many strays coming to my front door", he said.
N01 1270 "Think you can walk to the table"?   "Of course".
N01 1280    She got to her feet, staggered, and almost fell. He caught her
N01 1290 by an arm and helped her into the kitchen. She sat down at the table,
N01 1300 shaking her head. "I'm sorry, Mr& Morgan. I'm usually a
N01 1310 very strong woman, but I'm awfully tired".   "And hungry",
N01 1320 he said. "Start in. It's not much of a meal, but it's what
N01 1330 I eat".   "Not much of a meal"? the girl cried. "Mr&
N01 1340 Morgan, it's the best-looking food I ever saw".   He
N01 1350 told himself he had never seen two people eat so much. When they were
N01 1360 finally satisfied, Jones said, "I think he's going to give us work".
N01 1370    The grateful way she looked at Morgan made him ashamed
N01 1380 of himself. When he saw the expression in her eyes, he knew he couldn't
N01 1390 send them on. She said, "I guess the Lord looks out for fools,
N01 1400 drunkards, and innocents".   Morgan laughed. "Which are
N01 1410 you"?   "We're not drunkards", she said. "That's
N01 1420 all I'm sure of".   She helped him with the dishes, then
N01 1430 he brought more water in from the spring before it got dark. He carried
N01 1440 the tub from the back of the house where it hung from a nail in the
N01 1450 wall. He said: "You'll feel a lot better after you have a bath.
N01 1460 Your feet are in bad shape, Mrs& Jones. You'll have to go to
N01 1470 town to see the doc".   "No, she'll be all right", Jones
N01 1480 said quickly. "I mean, we don't have any way to get there and
N01 1490 we can't expect you to quit work just to take us to town".
N01 1500 "We'll see", Morgan said.   "Could you find me a needle
N01 1510 and thread"? the girl asked. "My dress needs some work on it".
N01 1520    He nodded and, going into the bedroom, brought a needle,
N01 1530 thread, and scissors. He said: "I'm going to bed". He nodded
N01 1540 at the door in front of him. "That's my spare bedroom. The bed
N01 1550 isn't made, but you'll find plenty of blankets there".   "You're
N01 1560 awfully kind", the girl said. "We'll pay you back if
N01 1570 you'll let us. Some way".   "It's all right", he said.
N01 1580 "I get up early. You'd better sleep".   Jones followed
N01 1590 him into the front room, closing the door behind him. He said: "If
N01 1600 it's all right with you, Mr& Morgan, I'll sleep out here
N01 1610 on the couch. We haven't slept together since we started. I just
N01 1620 can't take any chances on getting her pregnant, and if we were sleeping
N01 1630 together **h"   He stopped, embarrassed, and Morgan said,
N01 1640 "I understand that, but I don't savvy why you'd go off and leave
N01 1650 your jobs in the first place".   "We got fired", Jones
N01 1660 said. "We had to do something".   They were a pair of lost,
N01 1670 whipped kids, Morgan thought as he went to bed.
N02 0010    Gavin paused wearily. "You can't stay here with me. It's
N02 0020 late and you said they'd be here by dawn".   "You can't
N02 0030 make me go".   Gavin sank down again into his chair and began
N02 0040 to rock. He was thinking of Rittenhouse and how he had left him
N02 0050 there, to rock to death on the porch of the Splendide. It was the only
N02 0060 thing in his life for which he felt guilt. Beneath his black shirt
N02 0070 his frail shoulders shook and croaks of pain broke from his throat, the
N02 0080 stored pain shattering free in slow gasps, terrible to see. Clayton
N02 0090 tried to call back the face of the man he had known. Against that other
N02 0100 man he could rally his anger; against this bent man in the chair
N02 0110 he was powerless.   Gavin's lips moved so that Clayton had
N02 0120 to stoop to catch the words. "Do you remember Big Charlie"? he
N02 0130 whispered. "He stuck with me all these years. Just a half-breed
N02 0140 'pache, never said much, never meant anythin to me, but he stuck with
N02 0150 me. He got into a fight with Tom English, your brother's son.
N02 0160 It was a fair fight, the boy provoked it- Big Charlie told me so.
N02 0170 I believed him. They killed Big Charlie, dumped his body in my rose
N02 0180 garden two nights ago. My men, they all left me. Just cleared out.
N02 0190 I didn't understand why, Clay. They just all cleared out. I treated
N02 0200 them fair **h"
N02 0210    He wiped his lips with a sleeve, then stared
N02 0220 at Clayton in a childish kind of wonder. "Do you mean"- he
N02 0230 asked almost shyly- "you want me to go with you, wherever you're
N02 0240 goin"?   "Yes".   "You don't hate me any more"?
N02 0250    Clayton choked, shook his head, murmuring, "No".
N02 0260    "Come here". The old man beckoned with one finger and Clayton
N02 0270 went forward to him. Gavin slipped his arms around his chest and
N02 0280 hugged him fiercely. "All my life", he said, "I tried. I tried.
N02 0290 I saw you driftin away- but I tried. And you wanted no part
N02 0300 of me when I had so much to give. Now there's nothin left of me.
N02 0310 Laurel is gone, my men are gone, Ed is dead- and you come to me, to
N02 0320 help me. Oh! God in Heaven, I can't refuse you now. That would
N02 0330 mock me too much! Can't let you go way from me again **h" He
N02 0340 closed his eyes, ashamed of his tears.   "I'll go, Clay".
N02 0350    Clayton freed himself from the embrace and stepped back. The
N02 0360 eyes followed him fearfully. "The horses. There isn't much time.
N02 0370 I'll saddle the horses and bring them round. You get ready".
N02 0380    He burst from the hot confinement of the room into the cold
N02 0390 night air. Gavin's stallion was in the barn and he tightened the cinches
N02 0400 over the saddle blanket, working by touch in the darkness, comforting
N02 0410 the animal with easy words. When he had finished he led him and
N02 0420 the mare to the porch. The stallion had smelled the mare coming into
N02 0430 heat and began to paw the turf, shaking his head. Clayton looped the
N02 0440 reins in a
N02 0450 knot over the veranda post and patted the warm flesh of his
N02 0460 neck. The mare had backed away. "You take it easy, boy", Clayton
N02 0470 whispered. "She doesn't want you now. You take it easy, your time
N02 0480 will come".   Gavin stood on the porch, a thin figure. He
N02 0490 had taken a carbine down from the wall and it trailed from his hand,
N02 0500 the stock bumping on the wood floor. Clayton called to him and he came
N02 0510 slowly down the steps.   "Clay", he said, "where are we
N02 0520 goin"?   "To a ranch in the valley. There's someone there
N02 0530 I have to see. We may take her with us- to California. I don't
N02 0540 know yet, it's crazy; I have to think about it. But California
N02 0550 is where we're goin".   "California". Gavin began to
N02 0560 nod. "That's a new land. A man could make a mark there. two men,
N02 0570 together like us, we could do somethin fine out there, maybe find a
N02 0580 place where no one's ever been. Start out fresh, the two of us, like
N02 0590 nothin had ever happened".   "Yes, like a father and son".
N02 0600    "I made you what you are", Gavin whispered. "I made
N02 0610 you so you could stand up. I made you a man".   "Yes, Gavin,
N02 0620 you did".   He approached the horse and laid a hand on the
N02 0630 stallion's quivering neck. "Help me up, Clay. Help me up, I
N02 0640 feel kind of stiff". Clayton lifted him gently into the saddle, like
N02 0650 a child. "I hate to leave my garden", Gavin said. "They'll
N02 0660 trample it down. I loved my garden".   "It will grow again-
N02 0670 in California".   "I loved this valley", he whispered
N02 0671 huskily.
N02 0680 "Lived alone here for three years, before any man came. Lived
N02 0690 alone by the river. It was nice then, so peaceful and quiet. There
N02 0700 was no one but me. I don't want to leave it".   Clayton
N02 0710 swung into the saddle and whacked the stallion's rump. The two horses
N02 0720 broke from the yard, from the circle of light cast by the lamp still
N02 0730 burning in the house, into the darkness. #THIRTY-FIVE# THEY
N02 0740 RODE at a measured pace through the valley. Dawn would come soon
N02 0750 and the night was at its coldest. The moon had sunk below the black crest
N02 0760 of the mountains and the land, seen through eyes that had grown accustomed
N02 0770 to the absence of light, looked primeval, as if no man had ever
N02 0780 trespassed before. It looked as Gavin had first seen it years ago,
N02 0790 on those nights when he slept alone by his campfire and waked suddenly
N02 0800 to the hoot of an owl or the rustle of a blade of grass in the moon's
N02 0810 wind- a savage land, untenanted and brooding, too strong to be
N02 0820 broken by the will of men. Gavin sighed bitterly. In that inert landscape
N02 0830 the caravan of his desires passed before his mind. He saw them
N02 0840 ambushed, strewn in the postures of the broken and the dying. In vain
N02 0850 his mind groped to reassemble the bones of the relationships he had
N02 0860 sought so desperately, but they would not come to life. The silence oppressed
N02 0870 him, made him bend low over the horse's neck as if to hide
N02 0880 from a wind that had begun to blow far away and was twisting slowly through
N02 0890 the darkness in its slow search.   They passed ranches that
N02 0900 were framed dark gray against the black hills. Then at last the darkness
N02 0910 began to dissolve. A bold line of violet broke loose from the
N02 0920 high ridge of the mountains, followed by feathers of red that swept the
N02 0930 last stars from the sky. The wan light spread over the ground and the
N02 0940 valley revealed in the first glimmer the contours of trees and fences
N02 0950 and palely shadowed gullies. ## THEY HAD been seen as soon
N02 0960 as they left the ranch, picked out of the darkness by the weary though
N02 0970 watchful eyes of two men posted a few hundred yards away in the windless
N02 0980 shelter of the trees. The two men whipped their horses into town
N02 0990 and flung themselves up the steps of the saloon, crying their intelligence.
N02 1000    The men in Pettigrew's were tired from a night's
N02 1010 drinking, their faces red and baggy. But the liquor had flushed their
N02 1020 courage. They greeted the news angrily, as though they had been cheated
N02 1030 of purpose. Lester heard their muttering, saw their eyes reveal their
N02 1040 desire. He worked his tongue round and round in the hollow of his
N02 1050 cheek and his voice came out of his throat, dry and cracked. "He's
N02 1060 leavin. That's what you wanted, isn't it? Clayton is with
N02 1070 him, takin him out of the valley. You can't"-   "Keep out
N02 1080 of this", Purvis snarled. "He's not your brother, he's Gavin's
N02 1081 son.
N02 1090 You see, he lied to us when he said he was leavin alone".
N02 1100    Joe Purvis was thinking back many years. First he thought of
N02 1110 the time he had ridden to Gavin and told him how his cattle were being
N02 1120 rustled at the far end of the valley. He remembered Gavin's smirk,
N02 1130 his own cringing feeling, his impotence. Then he thought of a time
N02 1140 when Clayton's horse had fallen lame in the Gap. His wife had
N02 1150 said to him: "Nellie is in love with Clayton Roy. He wouldn't
N02 1160 even dance with her at Gavin's party. He treats her like she was
N02 1170 dirt. And you stand by like a fool and let him do it **h"   He
N02 1180 remembered Clayton's mocking smile in the saloon when he had asked
N02 1190 him what he would do if they brought their cattle to water. It was
N02 1200 the night Clayton had tricked them in the poker game. "You're Gavin's
N02 1210 son", Joe Purvis had said.   He turned to Lester.
N02 1220 "You brought him back to this valley thinkin he would help you find
N02 1230 your boy. He meant to help Gavin all the time. He made a fool of
N02 1240 you, Lester". He swung round to the other men- "We can catch
N02 1250 him easy! There are plenty of fresh horses halfway at my place. If
N02 1260 we let them go, they won't stay away, they'll find men to ride with
N02 1270 them and they'll be back. There's only one way they can get out
N02 1280 now and that's through the Gap- if we ride hard we can take them".
N02 1290    Lester's hand fluttered to Cabot's shoulder. The
N02 1300 boy jerked away.   "He killed Tom- do you understand that"?
N02 1310 Cabot turned back to the men and he was drunk with the thing they
N02 1320 would do, wild to break from the cloying warmth of the saloon into the
N02 1330 cold of the ebbing night. He fled through the door and down the steps,
N02 1340 running, and the men grunted and followed, pushing Lester to one
N02 1350 side where he backed against the wall with the sleeve of his jacket raised
N02 1360 before his eyes to shut out the light. Purvis and Silas Pettigrew
N02 1370 were the last to leave. They mounted up and rode slowly behind the
N02 1380 others at a safe distance. #THIRTY-SIX# IN THE cold dawn
N02 1390 the mist swirled low to the ground, then rose with a gust of sudden wind
N02 1400 to leave the valley clear. The clouds parted and hard gashes of sunlight
N02 1410 swooped down to stain the earth with streaks of white and gold
N02 1420 light so that the shadows of the running horses flowed like dark streams
N02 1430 over the dazzling snow. When they turned in the saddle they could
N02 1440 see the men behind them, strung out on the prairie in a flat black line.
N02 1450 The wind of their running was cold and wild, the horses were lathered
N02 1460 and their manes streamed like stiff black pennants in the wind.
N02 1470    The mare began to tire and Clayton felt the spray of snow from
N02 1480 the hoofs of Gavin's stallion. He looked over his shoulder at the
N02 1490 thin dotting of pursuers. They neither gained nor fell back. He rode
N02 1500 low on the mare's neck. Ahead of him Gavin turned slightly off the
N02 1510 trail and pointed for the Gap, no more than a mile away.   Gavin's
N02 1520 face was bloodless with excitement. He did not look back; he
N02 1530 could feel more than hear the staccato beat of hoofs that fanned out
N02 1540 across the prairie to the north. He knew who was riding after him-
N02 1550 the men he had known all his life, the men who had worked for him, sworn
N02 1560 their loyalty to him. Now they were riding to kill him. And he was
N02 1570 fleeing, running- fleeing his death and his life at the same time.
N02 1580 The land over which he sped was the land he had created and lived in:
N02 1590 his valley. With every leaping stride of the horse beneath him he
N02 1600 crossed one more patch of earth that had been his, that he would never
N02 1610 see again. The Gap looming before him- the place where had confronted
N02 1620 Jack English on that day so many years ago- was his exit from
N02 1630 all that had meaning to him.   California is too far, he thought.
N02 1640 He would never reach California. He was too old- when he passed
N02 1650 up and through the corridor of pines that lined the trail he could
N02 1660 see ahead, he was passing from life.
N03 0010    The sentry was not dead. He was, in fact, showing signs of
N03 0011 reviving.
N03 0020 He had been carrying an Enfield rifle and a holstered navy cap-and-ball
N03 0030 pistol. A bayonet hung in a belt scabbard. He was partially
N03 0040 uniformed in a cavalry tunic and hat. Mike stripped these from him
N03 0050 and donned them. He and Dean tied and gagged the man, using his belt
N03 0060 and shirt for the purpose. They dragged him inside the building.
N03 0070    Fiske joined them, unsteady on his feet. Julia, seeing the bandage,
N03 0080 rushed to him. "You <are> hurt"! she breathed.   "I
N03 0090 never felt better in my life", Fiske blustered.   He turned
N03 0100 to Susan and kissed her on the cheek. "Thank you, My dear",
N03 0110 he
N03 0120 said. "You are very brave".   Mike silenced them. "We'll
N03 0130 talk later. First, we've got to get out of here".   "We'll
N03 0140 grab horses", Dean said. "The main bunch is outside, but
N03 0150 there are some over there inside the wall".   Mike debated it,
N03 0160 trying to decide whether Fiske was strong enough to ride. But it at
N03 0170 least offered him a chance for living. He had none here. And, for
N03 0180 the sake of Julia and Susan, it had to be tried.   The guerrilla
N03 0181 bivouac
N03 0190 remained silent. Light showed in the orderly room across the
N03 0200 parade ground. Someone evidently was on duty there. No doubt there
N03 0210 would be men guarding the horses.   About a dozen animals were
N03 0220 held inside the stockade, as best Mike could make out in the moonlight.
N03 0230 Evidently this was a precaution so that mounts would be available
N03 0240 in an emergency.   He handed the guard's rifle to Fiske. "Dean
N03 0250 and myself will try to cut out horses to ride", he said. "We'll
N03 0260 stampede the rest. You stay with the ladies. All of you be ready
N03 0270 to ride hell for leather".   He added, "If this doesn't
N03 0280 work out, the three of you barricade yourself in the house and talk
N03 0290 terms with them".   He handed the bayonet to Dean and kept the
N03 0300 pistol. Susan halted Dean and kissed him. She clung to him, talking
N03 0310 to him, and dabbing at her eyes.   Mike turned away. He was
N03 0320 thinking that the way she had responded to his own kiss hadn't meant
N03 0330 what he had believed it had. He felt unutterably weary.   Dean
N03 0340 turned from Susan and took Julia Fortune in his arms. He kissed her
N03 0350 also, and with deep tenderness. She too began to weep. He released
N03 0360 her and joined Mike. "All right", he said.   Mike only said,
N03 0370 "Later".   "Be careful, McLish"! Susan said
N03 0380 fiercely.
N03 0390    "The way you were careful"? he snorted. "Running
N03 0400 around in the moonlight almost naked and slugging a man with a rock"?
N03 0410    He kept going. He wanted no more sentimental scenes with
N03 0420 her. He might say or do something foolish. Something all of them
N03 0430 would regret. He might tell her how sorry a spectacle she was making
N03 0440 of herself, pretending to be blind to the way Julia Fortune had taken
N03 0450 Dean's affections from her. And using him, Mike McLish, as a
N03 0460 sop to her pride.   He handed the bayonet to Dean and kept the
N03 0470 pistol. "Stay well back of me", he said. "I'm going to walk
N03 0480 up to the horses, bold as brass, pretending I'm one of the guerrillas.
N03 0490 There's bound to be someone on guard, but the hat might fool them
N03 0500 long enough for me to get close".   Holding the pistol concealed,
N03 0510 he walked to the rear wall of the stockade. It was pierced by
N03 0520 a wagon gate built of two wings. One wing stood open. Mike passed through
N03 0530 it and moved toward the dark mass of horses. They were tethered,
N03 0540 army style, on stable lines.   A voice spoke near-at-hand. "Who's
N03 0550 thet"?   Just me", Mike said. "Is that you,
N03 0560 Bill"?   He located his man. The guard stood in the shadow
N03 0570 of the stockade wall just out of reach of the moonlight. Mike kept
N03 0580 walking and got within arm's reach before the man became suspicious
N03 0590 and straightened from his lax slouch.   Mike struck with the muzzle
N03 0600 of the pistol. But the luck that had been running their way left
N03 0610 him. The guard instinctively parried the blow with his rifle. He tried
N03 0620 to veer the rifle around to fire into Mike's body.   Mike,
N03 0630 off balance, managed to bat the muzzle away a moment before it exploded.
N03 0640 The bullet went wide. Mike swung the pistol in a savage backlash.
N03 0650 This time it connected solidly on the man's temple, felling
N03 0660 him.   The explosion of the rifle had crashed against the walls
N03 0670 of the stockade and the deep echoes were still rolling in the hills. The
N03 0680 startled horses began rearing on their tethers.   Dean came
N03 0690 rushing up. "Are you hit"? he demanded.   "No, but the
N03 0700 fat's in the fire"! Mike said. "There's no chance now of all
N03 0710 of us getting away. You'll have to try it alone".   The
N03 0720 sentry's saddled horse stood picketed nearby, having been kept handy
N03 0730 in case of need.   Mike took the bayonet from Dean's hand and
N03 0740 slashed the picket line. "Up you go"! he said. "Ride"!
N03 0750    Dean resisted Mike's attempt to push him toward the horse.
N03 0760 "Why not you"? he protested.   "Dammit"! Mike said
N03 0770 frantically. "You're lighter than me. It's our only chance now.
N03 0780 Try to find these Feds. The rest of us can fort up in the house
N03 0790 and hang on until you get back. You're the one that's taking the
N03 0800 big chance".   Dean still hesitated, but Mike lifted him almost
N03 0810 bodily into the saddle and thrust the reins in his hand.   "No
N03 0820 telling how good this horse is", Mike panted. "Favor him and
N03 0830 save something in case you hit trouble. Watch out for Apaches when
N03 0840 it comes daylight. Take the pistol. You might need it. We'll still
N03 0850 have the rifle, and I might be able to round up some more. I'll
N03 0860 stampede the rest of these horses so they can't chase you".
N03 0870    Dean leaned from the saddle and gave him a mighty whack on the back.
N03 0880 "McLish", he said as he kicked the horse into motion, "I'd
N03 0890 be a mighty sad man if we never met again".   Then he was on
N03 0900 his way at a gallop. Mike ran down the line, slashing picket ropes
N03 0910 with the bayonet. He lifted a screeching war whoop. That touched off
N03 0920 a total stampede. He darted inside the stockade and freed the horses
N03 0930 there. These poured through the gate and joined the flight. The animals
N03 0940 thundered away into the moonlight, heading for the ridges.
N03 0950 The guerrillas were swarming from their bivouac at the west end of the
N03 0960 enclosure.   "'Paches"! Mike yelled. "They're
N03 0961 stealin'
N03 0970 the stock"!   He scuttled in shadow along the east wall
N03 0980 of the stockade and then followed the south wall until he was at the
N03 0990 rear of the two frame buildings. He crouched there.   His shout
N03 1000 had been taken up and repeated. The guerrillas were running across
N03 1010 the parade ground and through the rear gate in the wake of the departing
N03 1020 horses. All were carrying guns they had seized up, but they were
N03 1030 half-clad or hardly clad at all.   Durkin and Calhoun came running
N03 1040 from the post. They had pistols in their hands. They bawled questions
N03 1050 that were not answered in the uproar. They followed the others
N03 1060 toward the east gate. Beyond the stockade rifles began to explode as
N03 1061 some of the guerrillas
N03 1070 fired at shadows that they imagined were Apaches.
N03 1080    Mike made a dash to the rear of the frame buildings. He crawled beneath
N03 1090 the two supply wagons which stood between the buildings and peered
N03 1100 around a corner. The area was deserted. A man was standing in the
N03 1110 open door of the lighted orderly room a few yards to Mike's left,
N03 1120 but he, too, suddenly made up his mind and went racing to join the
N03 1130 confused activity at the east end of the stockade.   Mike crawled
N03 1140 to the door and peered in. The orderly room seemed to be deserted.
N03 1150 A lantern hung from a peg, giving light. Ducking inside, he found that
N03 1160 three rifles were stacked in a corner. A brace of pistols, holstered
N03 1170 on belts, hung from a peg, along with ammunition pouches. An ammunition
N03 1180 case stood open, containing canisters which contained powder cartridges.
N03 1190    Mike seized a blanket from a pallet in a corner, spread
N03 1200 it on the floor and used it to form a bag in which he placed his booty.
N03 1210    Shouldering the load he peered from the door. His looting
N03 1220 of the orderly room had taken only a minute or two and the vicinity
N03 1230 was still clear of guerrillas.   He looked at the looming hoods
N03 1240 of the supply wagons, struck by a new inspiration. He set his bundle
N03 1250 down. Snatching the lantern from its peg, he shattered its globe with
N03 1260 a blow against a post. He picked up the powder canister and ran out.
N03 1270 Bursting paper cartridges, he scattered powder beneath the nearest wagon
N03 1280 and dumped the contents of the canister upon it.   He shouldered
N03 1290 the blanket again, backed off, and tossed the lantern with its open
N03 1300 wick beneath the wagon. He turned and raced across the parade ground
N03 1310 toward the rock house.   Powder flame gushed beneath the wagon.
N03 1320 The stockade was brilliantly lighted and the guerrillas sighted him.
N03 1330 They realized the truth. Bullets began to snap past him. One struck
N03 1340 the muzzle of one of the rifles that projected from the shoulder
N03 1350 pack. Its force spun him around, but he recovered and got into stride
N03 1360 again.   A bullet tore the earth from beneath his foot when he
N03 1370 was a stride or two from safety. Another struck him heavily in the thigh
N03 1380 and he went down.   Guerrillas were racing toward him. Susan
N03 1390 and Julia came from the door and dragged him with them. The three
N03 1400 of them floundered through the door into the interior and fell in a heap.
N03 1410    Susan bounced to her feet and slammed the door. She crouched
N03 1420 aside as bullets beat at the portal, chewing into the planks. Some
N03 1430 tore entirely through the whipsawed post oak. The iron hinges held,
N03 1440 but the planks were in danger of being torn from the crossbars.
N03 1450    mike rolled to Susan, grasped her around the knees, dragging her off
N03 1460 her feet. He hovered over her to shield her, for spent bullets were
N03 1470 thudding against the rear walls.   He peered from a loophole. Guerrillas
N03 1480 were only a dozen yards away, charging the house. Mike snatched
N03 1490 a pistol from the heap of scattered booty and fired. He dropped
N03 1500 a man with the first bullet. At the same moment Wheeler Fiske fired
N03 1510 the rifle Mike had given him and another guerrilla was hit. That halted
N03 1520 the rush. The guerrillas scattered for cover.   The wagons
N03 1530 were burning fiercely. The mudwagon had caught fire also. The blaze
N03 1540 was spreading to the frame buildings.   The guerrillas realized
N03 1550 they faced a new problem. "Gawdamighty"! one screeched. "There
N03 1560 goes our grub an' ammunition"!   "Get a bucket line
N03 1570 going"! Calhoun shouted. "Hurry! Hurry"!   The guerrillas
N03 1580 began a frantic search for pails in which to bring water from
N03 1590 the spring. But what few containers they found were inadequate. Many
N03 1600 of them, in increasing panic, came running with water in their hats
N03 1610 in a ludicrous effort. Both buildings were in flames. The heat drove
N03 1620 the guerrillas back. The roof of the command post began to buckle.
N03 1630    "Drag the wagons to the spring"! Lew Durkin yelled. "Run
N03 1640 'em right into the spring! Hustle"!   One of the
N03 1650 wagons erupted a massive pillar of flame. A sizable supply of powder
N03 1660 had been touched off. The wagons and the coach were beyond saving and
N03 1670 so were the buildings.   The glow of the fire reached through the
N03 1680 openings in the windows, giving light enough to examine Mike's wound.
N03 1690 The bullet had torn through the flesh just above the knee, inflicting
N03 1700 an ugly gash that was forming a pool of blood on the floor. But
N03 1710 it had missed the bone and had passed on through. Susan and Julia
N03 1720 ripped strips from their clothing and bound the injury.   Mike tested
N03 1730 the leg and found that he was able to hobble around on it.
N04 0010    "So it wasn't the earthquake that made him return to his village"!
N04 0020    "No. Now dammit, I don't want to go into any
N04 0030 more explanations. Here comes Jason. Keep this to yourself".
N04 0040    Reverend Jason, looking worried, hurried toward us. "Anything
N04 0050 wrong, cap'n? The men seem to think so".   "Dirion found
N04 0060 a large war party south of us. They'll probably attack at dawn",
N04 0070 Montero said. He brushed past the clergyman and walked into the
N04 0080 center of the camp. Using his hands as a trumpet he shouted, "Fort
N04 0090 up! Fort up! There's a large war party on their way"!
N04 0100    For a second, engages, cooks, voyageurs appeared struck dumb. Then
N04 0110 Little Billy began shouting orders to round up the ponies and fill
N04 0120 the water buckets and for the cooks to hurry up with the meal. They
N04 0130 all flew into action.   "That was a terrible thing to do",
N04 0131 I
N04 0140 said to Oso. The Aricaras treated us like friends. And here all
N04 0150 the time you knew the Sioux would be using our rifles on them! God,
N04 0160 what a world you people live in".   Oso gave me an unruffled
N04 0170 look. "Old Knife's got the largest war party ever seen on the river",
N04 0180 he said calmly. "What would you have done in Montero's
N04 0190 moccasins? Let Old Knife come up and kill you and your people, or
N04 0200 would you steer him on someone else"? He shook his head. "Mr&
N04 0210 Manuel did that in the war. That's why the British never got the
N04 0220 tribes to fight for the King. Mr& Manuel whispered in the ears
N04 0230 of the Sioux that the Cheyennes were comin' to raid 'em for their
N04 0240 horses. Then he went on to the Cheyennes and told them that the Sioux
N04 0250 was goin' to move up. He did that with all the Nations. Hell,
N04 0260 they were fightin' each other so hard they had no time for anyone
N04 0270 else. The War Department wrote Mr& Manuel a letter and said he
N04 0280 was a hero. I saw that letter. He carried it in a little wallet made
N04 0290 of fish skin".   "But that was war", I said. "There's
N04 0300 no war on now".   "You're wrong, Matt. In this country
N04 0310 there's a war on every time the grass turns green. First it was
N04 0320 the Nations against themselves, then it was them against the whites.
N04 0330 And it's goin' to go on like this year after year until the white
N04 0340 people take over this land".   I remember being told it would
N04 0350 happen so fast people would think it took place overnight.   "That's
N04 0360 why this company's important. Once we get over the mountains
N04 0370 others will come along. That's why the Trust don't want us to
N04 0380 make it. That bastard Chambers!- Old Knife's not the only
N04 0390 chief he'll get to do his dirty work! Before we get through he'll
N04 0400 have the Blackfeet hankerin' for our hair and our goods. Well,
N04 0410 talkin' ain't goin' to help- let's fort up"!   As
N04 0420 I dug in behind one of the bales we were using as protection, I grudgingly
N04 0430 found myself agreeing with Oso's logic, especially when I imagined
N04 0440 what would have happened to Missy if Old Knife's large party
N04 0450 of screeching warriors had overrun our company.   For, unlike
N04 0460 the Sioux and the Crows, the Aricaras are not great horsemen, nor
N04 0470 are they aggressive like the savage Blackfeet. More of an agricultural
N04 0480 nation, they have relied on their warriors only for defense and for
N04 0490 survival in the endless wars of the plains. Still, I was disgusted
N04 0500 with myself for agreeing with Montero's methods.   Surprisingly,
N04 0510 he had told the others what he had done. In the brief moment I
N04 0520 had to talk to them before I took my post on the ring of defenses, I
N04 0530 indicated I was sickened by the methods men employed to live and trade
N04 0540 on the river.   "I think Montero did right", Amy said firmly.
N04 0550 "Let the savages kill each other What do we care"?
N04 0560    Reverend Jason was understandably bitter. "It was a terrible thing
N04 0570 to do. Those little children **h".   But Oso replied calmly,
N04 0580 "Trouble ain't easy to dodge out in this country, rev'rend".
N04 0590 #28. ATTACK# GRAY EYES ATTACKED OUR camp just as the first
N04 0600 pink threads stitched together the hills and the sky. Our camp was
N04 0610 in the center of a wide valley. Montero had set up a strong position,
N04 0620 using every bale and box we had in addition to barricades of logs and
N04 0630 brush. He had ordered the ponies brought inside the fortified circle
N04 0650 and had assigned Pierre and a band of picked engages the job of trying
N04 0660 to keep them steady under fire.   The pony herd was the one
N04 0670 flaw in our defense; the Rees undoubtedly would try to cut down as
N04 0680 many of the animals as possible. Wildly bucking horses would make the
N04 0690 position difficult to defend against charging warriors.   The cooks
N04 0700 had prepared one of the best meals we'd had in a long time, and
N04 0710 on Montero's orders had baked enough bread to last the day. Buckets
N04 0720 were filled, the herd fed and watered. The worst part had been the
N04 0730 waiting; although we didn't expect the attack before dawn, the long
N04 0740 cloudy night, filled with the sounds of the industrious insects, seemed
N04 0750 endless. Coyotes and hunting wolves sounded like signaling Indian
N04 0760 scouts, the whinny of a restless pony made one's skin crawl. Oso
N04 0770 slept unconcernedly, his rifle cradled in his arms; I didn't catch
N04 0780 a wink. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Gray Eyes rushing at
N04 0790 me with a knife.   It was a relief when they finally came.
N04 0800    They poured through the opening in the valley, then spread out in
N04 0810 a long line to come at us, brandishing their lances and filling the morning
N04 0820 with their spine-chilling scalp cry.   "Oso", Montero
N04 0830 called "I'll get Gray Eyes".   "That'll be a pleasure
N04 0840 to see", the big black murmured as he stared down the barrel of
N04 0850 his rifle.   "Hold your fire", Montero was shouting. "Wait
N04 0860 until my shot. I'll shoot the first man who doesn't".
N04 0870    I could see them in my sights. They were about a mile off; under
N04 0880 me the ground quivered slightly. At first they were only feathers
N04 0890 and dark indistinguishable faces and bodies, hunched over their horses'
N04 0900 heads. Gradually they emerged as men. Gray Eyes was in the lead.
N04 0910 His face was split by a vermilion streak, his eyes were pools of white;
N04 0920 jagged red and black medicine symbols covered his chest. He was
N04 0930 naked except for a clout. Next to him was a young boy I was sure
N04 0940 had sat near me at one of the trading sessions. His mouth was open, his
N04 0950 neck corded with the strain of his screams. I found his chest in my
N04 0960 sights. It had a red circle. The circle came nearer and nearer.
N04 0970    My God, how long is he going to wait, I thought **h.   Montero's
N04 0980 rifle cracked. At first I thought he had missed. Gray Eyes
N04 0990 remained erect. The feathered lance was still above his head. As
N04 1000 he started to slump over, another warrior swung him onto his horse.
N04 1010    I squeezed the trigger. At the last second I dropped my sights
N04 1020 from the bare chest and bright red circle to the chest of his pony.
N04 1030 I saw the pony fall like a stone and the young warrior flew over its
N04 1040 head, bouncing like a rubber ball. He started to run but Oso's shot
N04 1050 caught him on the wing. He jerked once in the grass and lay still.
N04 1060    "If you're goin' to kill 'em- kill 'em"! Oso
N04 1070 growled.   What else he said was lost in the rattle of gunfire
N04 1080 on all sides. The Aricaras broke under the devastating fire, wheeled
N04 1090 and retreated.   "Lead up! Lead up! They'll be back"!
N04 1100 Montero was shouting.   Far up the valley I could see the
N04 1110 Rees circling and reorganizing. Out in front of our walls the grass
N04 1120 was covered with dead and dying men, war shields, lances, blankets and
N04 1130 wounded and dead horses. The morning air was filled with the sweetish
N04 1140 odor of new-spilled blood, the acrid stench of frightened horses,
N04 1150 and the bitterness of burned powder. A horse screamed as it twisted from
N04 1160 side to side in a frenzy. A rifle cracked; the square head fell
N04 1170 over. One of the warriors suddenly leaped to his feet and began running
N04 1180 across the valley to the trees that lined the small creek. His legs
N04 1190 pumped furiously, his long black hair streamed out behind him. There
N04 1200 was a ragged volley. He was dead before he hit the ground.
N04 1210 "For Christ's sake, don't waste your powder on one of 'em"!
N04 1220 Montero shouted furiously. "Wait for the charge! The charge,
N04 1230 I tell you"!   The sharp cries at the end of the valley were
N04 1240 faint. They grew louder as the Indians charged again. I could see
N04 1250 their faces glistening with sweat and bear grease, their mouths open,
N04 1260 shouting their spine-chilling cries.   "Gray Eyes is back",
N04 1270 Montero said.   The war captain had been badly wounded and was
N04 1280 fighting to hold his seat. I could see the blood running down his
N04 1290 chest. He was riding between two warriors, who held him erect when he
N04 1300 started to slump.   I forgot to aim. In my sights I watched
N04 1310 him looming bigger and bigger. Montero's shot had caught him high in
N04 1320 the chest; there was no doubt he was dying. Again we waited for Montero.
N04 1330 This time he delayed so long that some of the engages shouted
N04 1340 frantically, but they held their fire. The horses were only several
N04 1350 lengths away when he fired. The bullet flung Gray Eyes from his horse.
N04 1360 Our rolling volley swept most of the other riders from their mounts.
N04 1370 But a few reached our wall. I heard the whir of an ax and a Canadian's
N04 1380 face burst apart in a bloody spray. I saw Little Billy rise
N04 1390 and fire almost point blank and an Indian's face became shattered
N04 1400 flesh and bone. A second leaped from his horse to the top of the bale,
N04 1410 firing four arrows in such rapid succession it didn't seem possible
N04 1420 they were in flight. Men screamed. Oso reached up, jerked the buck
N04 1430 from the bale and snapped his neck. Other Indians were running at
N04 1440 the ponies, shrilling and waving blankets. Reverend Jason got one,
N04 1450 the Canadians the others. I saw the clergyman kneel for a moment by
N04 1460 the twitching body of the man he had shot, then run back to his position.
N04 1470    The ponies were almost uncontrollable. The pall of dust
N04 1480 they raised made it difficult to see when the Aricaras charged again.
N04 1490 This time more of them hurdled the barrier. A small Indian dived at
N04 1500 Montero, who caught him with a swift upward stroke of his rifle butt.
N04 1510 It sounded like a man kicking a melon. Above me a dark rider was
N04 1520 whipping his pony with a quirt in an attempt to hurdle the bales.
N04 1530    Although my shot killed his horse, he rolled off the bale on top of
N04 1540 me. I could smell woodsmoke, grease, and oil. His eyes were dark,
N04 1550 fluid, fearful, and he gave a sigh as my knife went in. Coming over the
N04 1560 wall he had seemed like a hideous devil. Now under me I could see
N04 1570 him for what he really was, a boy dressed up in streaks of paint **h.
N04 1580    The Aricaras made one last desperate charge. It was pitiful
N04 1590 to see the thin ranks of warriors, old and young, wheeling and twisting
N04 1600 their ponies frantically from side to side only to be tumbled bleeding
N04 1610 from their saddles by the relentless slam, slam of the cruelly efficient
N04 1620 Hawkinses. Others, badly wounded, gripped hands in manes, knees
N04 1630 in bellies, held on as long as possible and then, weak from ghastly
N04 1640 wounds, slipped sideways, slowly, almost thoughtfully, to be broken under
N04 1650 the slashing hoofs. Some gracefully soared from the backs of their
N04 1660 wounded, screaming mounts to make one last defiant charge before the
N04 1670 lead split their hearts or tore their guts **h.   None of them
N04 1680 reached our walls again. The few survivors grudgingly turned away. In
N04 1690 the distance we could hear the drums and the wail of the death song.
N05 0010 She was carrying a quirt, and she started to raise it, then let it fall
N05 0020 again and dangle from her wrist.   "I saw your fire", she
N05 0030 said, speaking slowly, making an effort to control her anger. "You
N05 0040 could burn down this whole mountainside with a fire that size. It wouldn't
N05 0050 matter to a fool like you. It would to me".   "All
N05 0060 right", Wilson said quickly. "The fire's too big. And I appreciate
N05 0070 the advice".   He was losing patience again. An hour
N05 0080 before, with the children asleep and nothing but the strange darkness,
N05 0090 he would have appreciated company. She had helped him change his mind.
N05 0100    "I'm not advising you", she said. "I'm telling you.
N05 0110 That fire's too big. Let it burn down. And make sure it's out
N05 0120 when you leave in the morning".   He was taken aback. It
N05 0130 took him a long time to compose himself.   "There's some mistake",
N05 0140 he said finally. "You're right about the fire. It's bigger
N05 0150 than it has to be, though I don't see where it's doing any
N05 0160 harm. But you're wrong about the rest of it. I'm not leaving in
N05 0170 the morning. Why should I? I own the place".   She showed
N05 0180 her surprise by tightening the reins and moving the gelding around so
N05 0190 that she could get a better look at his face. It didn't seem to tell
N05 0200 her anything. She glanced around the clearing, taking in the wagon
N05 0210 and the load of supplies and trappings scattered over the ground, the
N05 0220 two kids, the whiteface bull that was chewing its cud just within the
N05 0230 far reaches of the firelight. She studied it for a long time. Then
N05 0240 she turned back to Wilson and smiled, and he wasn't quite sure what
N05 0245 she meant
N05 0250 by it.   "You own this place"? she said, and her tone
N05 0260 had softened until it was almost friendly. "You bought it"?
N05 0270    "From a man in St& Louis", Wilson said. "Jake Carwood.
N05 0280 Maybe you know him".   The girl laughed. "I know him.
N05 0290 I ought to. My father ran him off here six years ago".   Wilson
N05 0300 didn't say anything. He stood watching the girl, wondering what
N05 0310 was coming next. She had picked up the quirt and was twirling it around
N05 0320 her wrist and smiling at him.   "Carwood didn't tell you
N05 0330 that", she said.   "No", Wilson said. "But it's understandable.
N05 0340 It's not the kind of thing that a man would be proud of.
N05 0350 And it doesn't make any difference. He sold me a clear title. I
N05 0360 have it with me, right here. If you want to see"-   "Never
N05 0370 mind", she said sternly. "It wouldn't matter to my father,
N05 0380 and not to me. I meant what I said about that fire. Be sure it's
N05 0390 out when you leave. That's all. I'll let you go back to doing the
N05 0400 dishes now".   It was meant to insult him, and didn't quite
N05 0410 succeed. He took the reins just below the bit and held them firmly,
N05 0420 and it was his turn to smile now. "I don't mind washing dishes now
N05 0430 and then", he said pleasantly. "It doesn't hurt. It might hurt
N05 0440 <you,> though. Somebody might mistake you for a woman".
N05 0450    He meant to say more, but he never got the chance. She was quick.
N05 0460 She brought the quirt down, slashing it across his cheek, and he tried
N05 0470 to step back. She swung the quirt again, and this time he caught her
N05 0480 wrist and pulled her out of the saddle.   She came down against
N05 0490 him, and he tried to break her fall. He grabbed her by the shoulders
N05 0500 and went down on one knee, taking her weight so that some of the wind
N05 0510 was driven out of him. It made him a little sick, and he let go of
N05 0520 her. He got up slowly, and she was already on her feet, and he stood
N05 0530 facing her. He wiped the blood from his cheek.   "I ought to"-
N05 0540 he said. He was shaking with anger, his breath coming in long,
N05 0550 painful gasps. "That quirt- I ought to use it on you, where it would
N05 0560 do the most good. If you were a man"-   "She isn't,
N05 0570 mister".   The voice came from behind him, and Wilson turned.
N05 0580 The fire had gone down, and the man was only a shadow against the
N05 0590 trees. But a moment later he brought his horse forward into the light,
N05 0600 and Wilson had a good look at him. He was tall and dark-skinned, a
N05 0610 half-breed, Wilson thought. And he was handsome, despite the long thin
N05 0620 scar that slanted across his cheek.   "She's not a man,
N05 0630 mister", he said. "I am. If you've got any ideas". He raised
N05 0640 the Winchester and pointed it at Wilson's chest.   "Put
N05 0650 the rifle down, Joseph", the girl said. She seemed irritated. "I
N05 0660 thought I told you to stay home".   The half-breed eased the
N05 0670 Winchester down and rested it across his lap. The scar looked pure
N05 0680 white in the half-darkness; his eyes were black and deep-set, and expressionless.
N05 0690 "You shouldn't be riding up here after dark, Judith",
N05 0700 he said quietly. "I can take care of this. It's no job for
N05 0710 you".   The girl tapped the quirt impatiently against her knee
N05 0720 and glared at him. He took it without flinching.   "I said
N05 0730 go home, Joseph. You've got no business up here".   The half-breed
N05 0740 didn't answer this time. But the scar seemed to pull hard
N05 0750 at the corner of his mouth, and his eyes were hurt and angry. It made
N05 0760 Wilson wonder. He watched the half-breed as he turned silently. They
N05 0770 could hear the pony's feet on the dry leaves for a while, then the
N05 0780 sound faded out.   Wilson brushed the dust from his coat. "Who
N05 0790 was that"? he asked. "Your personal guard? You're pretty
N05 0800 hard on him".   "He works for my father", the girl said,
N05 0810 and then seemed to change her mind. "He's a friend. His name's
N05 0820 Joseph Sanchez. Is there anything else you want to know"?
N05 0830    "Not now", Wilson said. "I guess I'll find out soon
N05 0840 enough. You've got blood on your cheek. Not yours. Mine. It must
N05 0850 have got there when you fell against me".   She wiped it off
N05 0860 with the sleeve of her coat.   "I'll bet that's as close as
N05 0870 you've been to a man since you were a baby", Wilson said.
N05 0880    He saw her hand start to work down the leather thong toward the handle
N05 0890 of the quirt, and he grabbed her wrist. "Oh, no", he said,
N05 0895 and
N05 0900 he was without humor now. "I've had enough of that. I've had enough
N05 0910 of you. I don't know what goes on around here, and I don't
N05 0920 care. I don't know what makes you think you can get away with this
N05 0930 kind of business, and I don't care about that, either. You took me
N05 0940 by surprise. But I'll know how to handle you next time".
N05 0950    She brought up her free hand to hit him, but this time he was quicker.
N05 0960 He side-stepped her blow and she fell, stumbling against the gelding.
N05 0970 She finally regained her balance and got up in the saddle. Her
N05 0980 hat had come off and fallen behind her shoulders, held by the string,
N05 0990 and he could see her face more clearly than he had at any time before.
N05 1000 He had forgotten that she was so pretty. But her prettiness was what
N05 1010 he had noticed first, and all the other things had come afterward:
N05 1020 cruelty, meanness, self-will. He had known women like that, one woman
N05 1030 in particular. And one had been too many. He watched the girl until
N05 1040 she had gone into the trees, and waited until he couldn't hear the
N05 1050 sound of her horse any longer, then went up to where the children were
N05 1060 sleeping.   They weren't sleeping, of course, but they thought
N05 1070 they were doing him a favor by pretending. He hadn't shown up too
N05 1080 well in their eyes, letting himself be browbeaten by a woman. They
N05 1090 expected greater things from him, regardless of how trying the circumstances,
N05 1100 and they were disappointed. And determined not to show it. They
N05 1110 lay a little too stiffly, with their eyes straining to stay closed.
N05 1120    "Go to sleep", he said. "Both of you. There's better
N05 1130 things to do than listen to something like that. I'll be down at
N05 1140 the creek finishing the dishes, if you want me".   He found
N05 1150 the
N05 1160 pan where he had dropped it and carried it back down to the stream.
N05 1170 The coyote was calling again, and he hoped that this time there would
N05 1180 be no other sounds to interrupt it. Not tonight, at any rate. He had
N05 1190 a feeling that the girl meant trouble. If she did, he could stand
N05 1200 it better in the light.   He scrubbed absent-mindedly at the pans
N05 1210 and reflected on how things had turned out. That afternoon when they
N05 1220 had pulled up in front of the broken-down ranch house, his hopes had
N05 1230 been high. Already some of the pain had gone from Amelia's death.
N05 1240 Not all of it. There would still be plenty of moments of regret and
N05 1250 sadness and guilty relief. But they were starting a new life. And they
N05 1260 had almost everything they needed: land, a house, two whiteface
N05 1270 bulls, three horses.   The land wasn't all Wilson had expected
N05 1280 of it. Six hundred and forty acres, the old man back in St& Louis
N05 1290 had said; good grass, good water. Well, the grass was there, though
N05 1300 in some places the ground was too steep for a cow to get to it. The
N05 1310 water was there, so much of it that it spread all through
N05 1320 the dead orchard. And there was a house; livable perhaps, but
N05 1330 badly in need of repairs.   In the last analysis, though, Wilson
N05 1340 had little cause to complain. The place had been cheap- just the
N05 1350 little he had left after Amelia's burial- and it would serve its
N05 1360 purpose. There was only one place where Jake Carwood's description
N05 1370 had gone badly awry: the peace and quiet. It hadn't started out
N05 1380 that way. And he had a feeling- thanks to the girl- that things
N05 1390 would get worse before they got better. #2# They had the house cleaned
N05 1400 up by noon, and Wilson sent the boy out to the meadow to bring
N05 1405 in the horses.
N05 1410 He stood on the porch and watched him struggling with
N05 1420 the heavy harness, and finally went over to help him. Kathy was already
N05 1430 in the wagon. They were going to town, and they were both excited.
N05 1440    Wilson backed the team into the traces, and wished they weren't
N05 1450 going to town at all. He had an uneasy feeling about it. That girl
N05 1460 last night, what was her name? Judith Pierce. It was the only
N05 1470 thing about her that was the least bit hard to remember.   He finished
N05 1480 with the team and filled his pipe and stood looking about him.
N05 1490 He had spent two hours riding around the ranch that morning, and in
N05 1500 broad daylight it was even less inviting than Judith Pierce had made
N05 1510 it seem. There was brush, and stands of pine that no grass could grow
N05 1520 under, and places so steep that cattle wouldn't stop to graze. But
N05 1530 there was water. There was an artificial lake just out of sight in
N05 1540 the first stand of trees, fed by a half dozen springs that popped out
N05 1550 of the ground above the hillside orchard. Yes, there was plenty of water,
N05 1560 too much, and that was probably the trouble. There were tracks
N05 1570 of cattle all over his six hundred and forty acres.   The first
N05 1580 part of the road was steep, but it leveled off after the second bend and
N05 1590 curled gradually into the valley. It was hotter once they reached
N05 1600 the flat, and drier, but the grass was better. A warm breeze played across
N05 1610 it, moving it like waves. A red-tailed hawk flew in behind them
N05 1620 and stayed there, watching for any snakes or rabbits that they might
N05 1630 stir up from the side of the road. It took them an hour before they came
N05 1640 to the first houses of Kelseyville.   The town was about what
N05 1650 Wilson expected: one main street with its rows of false-fronted
N05 1660 buildings, a water tower, a few warehouses, a single hotel; all dusty
N05 1670 and sunbaked. The place was quiet.
N06 0010 Such was my state of mind that I did not question the possibility
N06 0015 of
N06 0020 this; under the circumstances I was only too willing to confess all.
N06 0030 I was nearly thirty at the time.   I went to the hall in the
N06 0040 afternoons only, on these preliminary matters. It was dark and, I sensed,
N06 0050 very large; only the counter at one end was lighted by a long
N06 0060 fluorescent tube suspended directly above it. Sometimes I was aware
N06 0070 of people moving about in the darkness. I would turn away from my
N06 0080 writing
N06 0090 in the hope of getting a good look at them but I never quite succeeded.
N06 0100 A glimpse of three of four vague figures, at the most. Drifting
N06 0110 here and there. Squatting, as if waiting. The pulsing glow of
N06 0120 a cigarette. Since they could see me but I not them, their presence
N06 0130 in the hall disturbed me. The clerk paid them no attention. This impressed
N06 0140 me, until I realized how limited was his sphere of influence.
N06 0150 His job simply consisted in registering new men. When the phone rang
N06 0160 he answered it. His authority extended to the far edge of the counter,
N06 0170 no further. None of the men hanging around the hall bothered to speak
N06 0180 to him. Baldness was attacking his pate. He spoke to me in a gruff
N06 0190 voice, an affectation which quite belied his personality. He wore
N06 0200 his white shirt open at the neck, revealing a bit of scrawny pale chest
N06 0210 underneath. It was obvious that he wished himself different from the
N06 0220 sort of person he thought he was. But it was not easy for him and he
N06 0230 often slipped. When one of the men in the hall behind us spat on the
N06 0240 floor and scraped his boot over the gob of spittle I noticed how the
N06 0250 clerk winced. I felt certain he was really a spineless little man.
N06 0260 His hat (the cause of his baldness?) hung on a hook on the wall, and
N06 0270 underneath it I could see his tie, knotted, ready to be slipped over
N06 0280 his head, a black badge of frayed respectability that ought never to
N06 0290 have left his neck. The morning's tabloids were on the counter, and
N06 0300 a stack of dog-eared men's magazines. On a shelf in the office behind
N06 0310 the counter was a small radio dialed permanently on a station which
N06 0320 broadcast only vulgar commercials and cheap popular music. Everything
N06 0330 about the clerk was trivial. Once, pressing him, I learned that his
N06 0340 job was only part-time, in the afternoons when nothing went on in the
N06 0350 hall. Noticing my disappointment he attempted to salvage what scraps
N06 0360 and shreds of authority he felt might still be clinging to his person.
N06 0370 With distaste I saw him assume a pompous air. When he saw me coming
N06 0380 he turned his radio off. He made a show of rearranging my forms on
N06 0390 the shelf. He would pick up the ringing phone with studied negligence,
N06 0400 then bark into it with gruff importance. What limited knowledge he
N06 0410 possessed he forced upon me. In the mornings, I was informed, fluorescent
N06 0420 tubes, similar to the one above the counter, illuminated the entire
N06 0430 hall. They, and the two large fans which I could dimly see as
N06 0440 daylight filtered through their vents, down at the far end of the hall,
N06 0450 could be turned on by a master switch situated inside the office. He
N06 0460 pointed out the switch to me and for a moment I foolishly believed
N06 0470 that he would let deed follow words. I was shown, instead, a batch of
N06 0480 white tickets of the sort handed out, he told me, every morning. Now,
N06 0490 here was something of obvious importance to me, yet when I reached
N06 0500 for the tickets he snatched them away from my hand. He couldn't afford
N06 0510 to have anyone mess around with them, he said. Each of those tickets
N06 0520 was of great value to its rightful recipient. I withdrew my hand.
N06 0530 Later I would remember what this pompous little man had told me about
N06 0540 the worth of a ticket.   Having nothing else to do except wait
N06 0550 for my forms to be processed, I gave myself over to speculations concerning
N06 0560 the hall itself. When suitably lighted, what would it look like?
N06 0570 The presence of the two exhaust fans seemed to indicate that the
N06 0580 hall could become crowded for air. One afternoon, upon receiving permission
N06 0590 and the necessary instructions from the clerk, I had visited
N06 0600 the toilet adjoining the hall. By counting the number of stalls and
N06 0610 urinals I attempted to form a loose estimate of how many men the hall
N06 0620 would hold at one time. For although I had crossed a corner of the
N06 0630 hall on my way to the toilet I still could not tell for sure how far
N06 0640 to the rear the darkness extended. I could observe the two fans down
N06 0650 at the end, but their size in themselves meant nothing to me as long
N06 0660 as I had no measure of comparison. I had for some time been hoping,
N06 0670 in vain, for one of the dim figures to pass between the fan vents and
N06 0680 myself. I knew that three or four of them were almost always present
N06 0690 in the hall, but what they were doing, and exactly where, I could not
N06 0700 tell.
N06 0710 It was, I felt, possible that they were men who, having received no
N06 0720 tickets for that day, had remained in the hall, to sleep perhaps, in
N06 0730 the corners farthest removed from the counter with its overhead light.
N06 0740 This light did not penetrate very far back into the hall, and my eyes
N06 0750 were hindered rather than aided by the dim daylight entering through
N06 0760 the fan vents when I tried to pick out whatever might be lying, or
N06 0770 squatting, on the floor below. Also the clerk appeared to disapprove
N06 0780 of my frequent curious glances back over my shoulder. No sooner would
N06 0790 I turn my head away from the counter before he would address me, at
N06 0800 times quite sharply, in order to bring back my attention. And I had
N06 0810 hardly finished my business in the toilet on the aforementioned occasion
N06 0820 when the lights in that place, like the hall lights controlled from
N06 0830 the switch in the office, flicked off and on impatiently. This sort
N06 0840 of petty vigilance annoyed me. I felt certain it was self-appointed.
N06 0850 It sprang from a type of mentality I'd encountered often enough but
N06 0870 certainly had not expected to find here. I decided to see no more of
N06 0880 the clerk until the processing of my papers was completed.   I
N06 0890 felt strongly attached to the hall, however, and hardly a day passed when
N06 0900 I did not go to look at it from a distance. I lived in a state of
N06 0910 suspense because of it. I could not cling to my past nor did I wish
N06 0920 to. I had signed it off on the forms. My future lay solely with the
N06 0930 hall, yet what did I know about the hall at this point? Although
N06 0940 I had been inside it I had not yet seen it functioning. I wished to
N06 0950 prepare myself but did not even know what sort of clothes I ought to
N06 0960 be wearing. I did not despair, however; far from it! I was constantly
N06 0970 searching for clues around the neighborhood of the hall. Though
N06 0980 only a relatively short walk separated it from my own part of town,
N06 0990 its character was wholly foreign to me. Large warehouses flanked the
N06 1000 street on which the hall fronted. The river was only a few blocks away
N06 1010 but an unbroken line of piers prevented me from seeing it. Sometimes
N06 1020 I noticed the tops of ships' masts and funnels reaching above the
N06 1030 pier roofs. The sounds issuing from beyond- winches whirring, men
N06 1040 shouting- indicated great activity and excited me. The hall, on the
N06 1050 other hand, appeared lifeless and deserted on these long waterfront
N06 1060 afternoons. It resembled nothing I'd ever seen before. Its front
N06 1070 was windowless, but irregularities in the masonry might be an indication
N06 1080 that windows, now blinded, had once looked out upon the street. I
N06 1090 kept circling the block hoping to see, from the street behind it, the
N06 1100 rear of the hall. But it was not a tall structure and other buildings
N06 1110 concealed it. For weeks I wandered about this neighborhood of warehouses
N06 1120 and garages, truck terminals and taxi repair shops, gasoline pumps
N06 1130 and longshoremen's lunch counters, yet never did I cease to feel
N06 1140 myself a stranger there.   I returned to the hall, despite my dislike
N06 1150 for the clerk. As I had expected, he insisted that my visits
N06 1160 to the hall would do nothing to further the process of my application.
N06 1170 Meanwhile spring had passed well into summer. At last, when I put
N06 1180 it to him directly, the clerk was forced to admit that the delay in my
N06 1190 case was unusual. When I asked him what, if anything, I could do about
N06 1200 it, he surprised me by referring me to the director of the hall.
N06 1210 I could consult this personage on any weekday morning, though not before
N06 1220 ten o'clock. The clerk impressed this upon me: that I should
N06 1230 not arrive in the hall before ten o'clock. When I went for my interview
N06 1240 with the director I saw why. Although it was dark as usual I
N06 1250 could see that the hall had only recently contained a great many people.
N06 1260 Cigarette butts littered the floor. The big fans were going, drawing
N06 1270 from the large room the remnants of stale smoke which drifted about
N06 1280 in pale strata underneath the ceiling. I had felt the draft they were
N06 1290 making while mounting the stairs. The staircase itself seemed still
N06 1300 to be echoing the heavy footfalls of many men. I stopped by the counter.
N06 1310 No one was behind it, but in the rear wall of the office I noticed,
N06 1320 for the first time, a door which had been left partially open.
N06 1330 Past it I could see part of a desk, a flag in a corner, a rug on
N06 1340 the floor. The director's office. I rapped my knuckles on the counter.
N06 1350 The director came to the door. I was at once disappointed, although
N06 1360 just what I had expected him to look like I could not have explained.
N06 1370 He was a man in his late forties, with graying hair, of medium
N06 1380 height; he looked dapper in a lightweight summer suit, brown silk
N06 1390 tie and green-tinted soft collar. He wore perforated, white-topped
N06 1391 shoes;
N06 1400 they somehow made me expect to see him launch into a vaudeville tapdance
N06 1410 routine any moment. But he came toward me sedately enough, showed
N06 1420 me around the counter, offered me a seat inside his office, then walked
N06 1430 to a file cabinet and got out my application. I had the impression
N06 1440 that he had read my forms, perhaps several times. He did not look
N06 1450 at them now. As he lowered himself on the chair behind his desk I wondered
N06 1460 what this dapper, slightly ridiculous man could possibly have to
N06 1470 do with the workings of the hall. He spoke, in a voice as immaculate
N06 1480 as his appearance. Why had I registered? Begging my pardon, he
N06 1490 must express his astonishment over seeing a person of my background applying
N06 1500 at the hall. He had looked over my forms and was impressed by
N06 1510 what he had seen there; indeed, my scholastic qualifications were such
N06 1520 that he, a college graduate himself, must envy me them. Was I sure,
N06 1530 he asked, that I knew what I was applying for? What sort of men
N06 1540 I would come into contact with, at the hall? These questions did
N06 1541 not surprise
N06 1550 me; I felt certain that the director, like the afternoon clerk,
N06 1560 seldom moved beyond the counter, that the hall, to them, was a jungle,
N06 1570 a dark and unwelcome place. Though I doubted that he would understand
N06 1580 me, I told the director my motives for applying. I had always, I
N06 1590 said, hankered after working hard with my hands. This desire, I went
N06 1600 on, growing voluble as my conviction was aroused, had mounted at such
N06 1610 a rate recently that I now found its realization necessary not only
N06 1620 to my physical but also to my spiritual wellbeing. To this effect I
N06 1630 had already severed all connections which bound me to my former existence.
N07 0010 The flat, hard cap was small, but he thrust it to the back of his head.
N07 0020    "Tie him up".   "Hell with it".   Before
N07 0030 they could guess his intention Rankin stepped forward and swung the
N07 0040 guard's own gun against the uncovered head, hard. The man went over
N07 0050 without sound, falling to the bare floor.   Barton said harshly,
N07 0060 "Why did you do that"?   Rankin sneered at him. "What
N07 0070 did you want me to do, kiss him? He dumped me in solitary twice".
N07 0080    Barton caught the lighter man's shoulder and swung him
N07 0090 around.   "Let's get one thing straight, you and me. The
N07 0100 only reason we brought you was to get Miller out. If you ever try anything
N07 0110 without my orders I'll kill you".   Fred Rankin looked
N07 0120 at him. It seemed to Barton that the green eyes mocked him, the
N07 0130 thin-lipped smile held insolence, but he had no time to waste now.
N07 0140    "Come on. Let's move".   They filed out through the
N07 0150 guard-room door, into the paved square. There were three other men within
N07 0160 this prison whom Barton would have liked to liberate, but they
N07 0170 were in other cell blocks. There was no chance. They moved slowly, toward
N07 0180 the main gate, following the wall. There was no moon. They had
N07 0190 chosen this night purposely. They reached the guard house without alerting
N07 0200 the men on the walls above, and Powers slipped through the door.
N07 0210    Two men were on duty inside, playing pinochle, relaxed. They
N07 0220 looked up in surprise as Powers came in.   "What are you doing
N07 0230 out of the block"?   "It's Curtiss", he said, naming
N07 0240 the man Rankin had hit. "I've got to have help".   They
N07 0250 stared at him. The sergeant in charge climbed to his feet.
N07 0260    "What's wrong with him"?   "He's having some kind
N07 0270 of a fit".   The sergeant turned to the door. As he passed through
N07 0280 it Barton shoved his gun against the man's side.   "One
N07 0290 sound and you're dead".   The sergeant froze. Powers had
N07 0300 not followed. Powers was covering the remaining guard. The man half-reached
N07 0310 for the cord of the alarm bell. Powers knocked his arm aside.
N07 0320 Deliberately, with none of Rankin's viciousness, he laid the barrel
N07 0330 of his gun alongside the guard's head.   They were free.
N07 0340 Even Barton could not quite believe it. It had gone without a hitch.
N07 0350 They slid through the wicket in the big gate, ghosted across the dark
N07 0360 ground. Five minutes later they reached the horses. Barton was relieved
N07 0370 to see that Carl Dill and Emmett Foster had brought extra mounts.
N07 0380 He had been worried that with Miller and Rankin added to the
N07 0390 escape party they would be short.   No one hurried. They walked
N07 0400 the horses, heading along the river, Barton and Emmett Foster in
N07 0410 the lead, seven men riding quietly through the night.   The only
N07 0420 thing which would have attracted attention was that two wore the uniform
N07 0430 of prison guards, three the striped suits of convicts.   Five
N07 0440 miles.   In a small grove against the river they halted, turning
N07 0450 deep into the protection of the trees. Foster had brought extra clothing
N07 0460 also. A good man, Emmett. He had been one of the original Night
N07 0470 Riders, one who had escaped the trial. It was to him that Barton
N07 0480 had sent Carl Dill on Dill's release from the prison.   Clyde
N07 0490 Miller was crying softly to himself, shedding his striped suit
N07 0500 and fumbling into the nondescript butternut pants, the worn brown shirt.
N07 0510 Kid Boyd was unusually silent, Rankin watchful, a few paces apart.
N07 0520 Barton finished his dressing and extended his hand to Powers.
N07 0530    "I won't even try to thank you".   The ex-prison guard
N07 0540 was embarrassed. He said in a studied voice, "I didn't do it for
N07 0550 you. I did it for the valley. You're the only man the Night Riders
N07 0560 will follow. We've been starving and I don't like to starve".
N07 0570    Barton turned away, his eyes falling upon Rankin beside
N07 0580 his horse.   "Good luck".   The murderer lifted his head.
N07 0590 "Meaning you want me to ride out"?   "You aren't
N07 0600 one of us. There's nothing for you here".   "I got no place
N07 0610 to go".   Barton hesitated. He did not trust Rankin, his
N07 0620 violent temper, his killer instinct. But ten years in prison had taught
N07 0630 him realities. They were in a fight, outweighed in both numbers and
N07 0640 money. It was all right to put a bunch of ranchers onto horses, to
N07 0650 call them Night Riders, to set out to attack the largest mining combination
N07 0660 the country had ever seen if all they wanted was adventure. But
N07 0670 if they really hoped to succeed they needed professionals, men who
N07 0680 knew how to use a gun against men, who would match the killers on the
N07 0690 other side.   "Your choice", he said briefly, and turned to
N07 0700 Kid Boyd. "Bury those uniforms so they won't be found".
N07 0710    Then Barton touched Carl Dill's arm and moved off, up the river
N07 0720 bank. He wanted a careful, uninterrupted report from Dill on the
N07 0730 conditions in the valley.   They squatted on their heels in the
N07 0740 deep mud and Dill found a cigar in his breast pocket, passing it over
N07 0750 silently. He too knew the agony of going for weeks, sometimes months
N07 0760 without the solace of tobacco.   Mitchell Barton drew in the fragrance
N07 0770 deeply, letting the smoke lie warm and soothing in his throat
N07 0780 for a moment before he exhaled.   Through the gloom he could not
N07 0790 see the man beside him clearly but he knew him thoroughly. For his
N07 0800 first five years in prison, they had shared a cell.   Carl Dill
N07 0810 was neither a rancher nor a valley man. He had been the auditor for
N07 0820 the mining syndicate, and he had stolen fifty thousand dollars of the
N07 0830 syndicate's money. He had done time for the theft.   The one
N07 0840 thing they had in common was their hatred. Both hated Donald Kruger.
N07 0850 It had drawn them together, and since his release from prison Dill
N07 0860 had worked tirelessly to effect this night's escape.   He
N07 0861 said
N07 0870 now, "I've got the perfect headquarters set up. The old Haskell
N07 0880 mine".   Mitch Barton knew the place. Twenty years before
N07 0890 a group of Easterners had bought out the Haskell claims in the rocky
N07 0900 hills south of Grass Valley. They had spent a million dollars, carving
N07 0910 in a road, putting up buildings, drilling their haulage tunnel. Then
N07 0920 the vein had petered out and the whole project had been abandoned.
N07 0940    "The road's washed badly", said Dill, "but there's a
N07 0950 trail you can get over with a horse. A company of cavalry couldn't
N07 0960 come in there if two men were guarding that trail".   Barton
N07 0970 nodded. "How do the valley people feel"?   "As mad as ever.
N07 0980 But Kruger's men keep them off balance, and they don't trust
N07 0990 me. I'm an outsider. When they learn you're in the hills though,
N07 1000 they'll rally, don't worry about that".   Barton waited
N07 1010 for a long moment, then asked the question which lay always uppermost
N07 1020 in his mind.   "My boy. Did you find him"?   Dill
N07 1030 was silent as if he hated to answer, and Barton had a cold, sick feeling
N07 1040 of apprehension.   "He's in Morgan's Ferry".
N07 1050    Barton half-straightened in surprise.   "What's he doing
N07 1060 there"?   Again Dill hesitated. "Dealing faro".
N07 1070 "Dealing faro? How come"?   "Your sister-in-law has
N07 1080 the faro bank in Cap Ayres' saloon".   Barton cursed under
N07 1090 his breath. After another long pause he asked, "How many people
N07 1100 know who they are"?   "Everyone. Your cousin Finley saw
N07 1110 to that. He's quite a rat, you know. He sold out to Kruger's men.
N07 1120 He's informed them of everything you've ever written him. He
N07 1130 wants your ranch".   Barton stood up. He said tensely, "All
N07 1140 right. Let's go get the boy".   Dill had come up also. "I
N07 1150 was afraid of this. I almost didn't tell you".   "If
N07 1160 you hadn't I'd have killed you".   Dill's voice tightened.
N07 1170 "But you can't ride into the Ferry. That's what they'll
N07 1180 expect you to do. They'll be there waiting for you. I understand
N07 1190 how you feel about the child **h".   "The hell you do". Barton's
N07 1200 voice was rougher than Dill had ever heard it. "I never
N07 1210 saw him. My wife died in childbirth after I was sent away.   "I
N07 1220 can't leave him there. Donald Kruger would like nothing better
N07 1230 than to hold him as hostage, and I wouldn't entrust a snake to his
N07 1240 tender care. I've got to get the boy. Let's ride". #CHAPTER
N07 1250 TWO# BARTON'S MEN CUT the telegraph wires in half a dozen
N07 1260 places, carrying away whole sections to make repairs more difficult. It
N07 1270 was over an hour before their escape was discovered, but still the
N07 1280 news that Barton was free flashed across the central portion of the state.
N07 1290    It reached Donald Kruger in his massive home in Burlingame.
N07 1300 It reached the mines at North San Juan and Bloomfield. It
N07 1310 brought men out of bed and sent them into hurried conferences.
N07 1320 For everyone involved knew that the whole valley was a powder keg, and
N07 1330 Mitchell Barton the fuse which could send it into explosive violence.
N07 1340    Creighton Hague sat in his office above the Ione pit. The
N07 1350 office was of logs, four rooms, each heated by an iron stove. The
N07 1360 building was dwarfed by the scene outside. There a dozen giant monitors
N07 1370 played their seventy-five-foot jets of water against the huge seam
N07 1380 of tertiary gravel which was the mountainside.   The gravel was
N07 1390 the bed of an ancient river, buckled in some prehistoric upheaval of
N07 1400 earth. It was partially cemented by ages and pressure, yet it crumpled
N07 1410 before the onslaught of the powerful streams, the force of a thousand
N07 1420 fire hoses, and with the gold it held washed down through the long sluices.
N07 1430 A million dollars' of gold a month. A million tons of rock
N07 1440 and soil and brush.   The monitors ran twenty-four hours each day.
N07 1450 Their roar, like the swelling volume of a hundred tornadoes could
N07 1460 be heard for miles. Hague, like all who worked near the pits, was partly
N07 1470 deafened from the constant assault against his eardrums.   He
N07 1480 was a big man, wearing a neat flannel shirt against the cold foothill
N07 1490 air. Fat showed in loose rolls beneath the shirt. Ten years older
N07 1500 than Mitch Barton, he had clawed his way up from mucker in the pits
N07 1510 to manager of the operation.   He was proud of his accomplishments,
N07 1520 proud of his job, proud that Donald Kruger and his associates trusted
N07 1530 him. He lived and breathed for the mining company.   No
N07 1540 man could have reached his spot nor held it without being ruthless, and
N07 1550 Hague had made a virtue of ruthlessness all of his life.   There
N07 1560 came a ghost of noise at the office door and Hague swung to see Kodyke
N07 1570 in the entrance from the outer room. Hague had never accustomed
N07 1580 himself to Kodyke. The man was tall, thin, with a narrow face and
N07 1590 a too-large nose. The eyes always held Hague, eyes of a dead man, lidless
N07 1600 as a lizard's, with the fixed intensity of a cobra. Even Hague
N07 1610 was repelled by the machinelike deadliness that was Kodyke.
N07 1620 He knew nothing about the man's history. Kodyke had appeared at the
N07 1630 mine one day bearing a letter from Kruger. Kodyke was to head the
N07 1640 dread company police. He ran the change rooms. He threw out the hi-graders.
N07 1650 He supervised the cleanups and handled the shipments of raw
N07 1660 gold which each week went out to San Francisco.   Hague squeezed
N07 1670 down his uneasy dislike. He pulled open the top drawer of his desk
N07 1680 and drew out a tintype.   "This is Mitchell Barton. He broke
N07 1690 out of Folsom last night. Apparently he bribed one of the guards.
N07 1700 We want him back there or we want him dead".   Kodyke took the
N07 1710 picture in a lean hand, studying it thoughtfully.   "Dangerous"?
N07 1720    "Dangerous, yes. You know how the ranchers in the
N07 1730 valley are. They blame us for all their troubles. Ten years ago they
N07 1740 blew up some of our ditches. It cost us a hundred thousand dollars
N07 1750 and thirty days lost time to fix them. We don't want Barton's Night
N07 1760 Riders loose again".   The gunman nodded, slipping the picture
N07 1770 into his breast pocket, saying nothing.   Normally Hague
N07 1780 wasted no words, but now he found himself unable to stop their flow although
N07 1790 he knew Kodyke was aware of all he said.
N08 0010 If she sensed any unusual preoccupation on the part of her mother, she
N08 0020 did not comment upon it.   After they had finished eating, Melissa
N08 0030 took Sprite the kitten under her arm- "so that Auntie Grace
N08 0040 can teach it about the whistle"- and climbed into the station wagon
N08 0050 beside her mother. She had offered to walk, but Pamela knew she
N08 0060 would not feel comfortable about her child until she had personally confided
N08 0070 her to the care of the little pink woman who chose to be called
N08 0080 "Auntie".   When they reached their neighbor's house, Pamela
N08 0090 said a few polite words to Grace and kissed Melissa lightly on
N08 0100 the forehead, the impulse prompted by a stray thought- of the type
N08 0110 to which she was frequently subject these days- that they might never
N08 0120 see one another again. Then she turned the station wagon around and
N08 0130 headed it back down the hill, with the village as her ostensible destination.
N08 0140    As she drove, she thought about her plan. It was really
N08 0150 quite simple. So simple, in fact, that it might even work- although
N08 0160 Pamela, now, in her new frame of mind, was careful not to pretend
N08 0170 too much assurance. That mistake, she thought, had cost her dearly
N08 0180 these past few days, and she wanted to avoid falling into any more of
N08 0190 the traps that the mountain might set for her. She must be cautious
N08 0200 so as not to alert the scheming forest.   When the station wagon
N08 0210 drew abreast of the dusty dirt road that led up to the porch of the Culver
N08 0220 house, Pamela turned the wheel, guiding the car to its familiar
N08 0230 parking spot close to the house, and stopped. All of her movements
N08 0240 were careful and methodical, partaking of the stealth of a criminal who
N08 0250 has plotted his felony for months in advance and knows exactly which
N08 0260 step to take next in the course of the final execution of his crime.
N08 0270 She locked the ignition, removed the keys, stepped out of the car and
N08 0280 went into the house. Here, she dropped the keys on a small table beside
N08 0290 the door and went upstairs to her bedroom.   On her bureau lay
N08 0300 a small, brass ornament of simple design and faded engraving- an
N08 0310 object which, Pamela believed now, had been the property of her
N08 0315 great-grandfather,
N08 0320 Major Hiram Munroe Culver. He had belonged to this
N08 0330 land and, perhaps, had desecrated it- and this was the only material
N08 0340 symbol that remained of him. If she, Pamela, were being held responsible
N08 0350 for his crimes, then hers must be the final act of expiation. She
N08 0360 would return this symbol to the mountain, as one pours seed back into
N08 0370 the soil every Spring **h or as ancient fertility cults demand annual
N08 0380 human sacrifice.   Slowly and thoughtfully, she slipped the
N08 0390 ornament into the pocket of her slacks, moved down the stairs and out
N08 0400 of the house. There was only one place where the mountain might receive
N08 0410 her- that unnamed, unnameable pool harbored in its secret bosom.
N08 0420 Atonement, if atonement were possible, could only be made at that sacred,
N08 0430 sacrificial basin. It was there that she would have to enact her
N08 0440 renunciation, beg forgiveness.   Perhaps it was insane, Pamela
N08 0450 thought. Perhaps it was all a vividly conceived dream. But she was
N08 0460 caught in it, and she faced the terrible possibility that, if it were
N08 0470 a dream, it was one from which she might never awaken.   Facing
N08 0480 the forest now, she who had not dared to enter it before, walked between
N08 0490 two trees at random and headed in what she believed was the direction
N08 0500 of the pool. She remembered little of her previous journey there with
N08 0510 Grace, and she could but hope that her dedication to her mission
N08 0520 would enable her to accomplish it.   The forest was open and freely
N08 0530 welcoming, extending an enchanted hand. The ground was covered with
N08 0540 soft pine needles and the slope was gentle. Birds chirped and chattered
N08 0550 in the trees and the sun, all dewy-eyed and soft, caressed her shoulders
N08 0560 warmly from time to time. It was not, thought Pamela, such
N08 0570 an evil place after all. No wonder Melissa responded so completely to
N08 0580 its beckoning.   Perhaps she had no reason to fear these trees
N08 0590 that whispered their secrets above her head as she passed. Was it not
N08 0600 possible, after all, that the forest was in league with her and her
N08 0610 child **h that its sympathy lay with the Culvers **h that she had erred
N08 0620 in failing to understand this?   Pamela felt calm and peaceful
N08 0630 as she walked along. The slight flutter that had disturbed the motion
N08 0640 of her heart when she entered the forest was gone now, and even the
N08 0650 dim groves of trees through which she occasionally passed did not reawaken
N08 0660 her fear. She regarded them as signs that she was nearing the
N08 0670 glen she sought, and she was glad to at last be doing something positive
N08 0680 in her unenunciated, undefined struggle with the mountain and its
N08 0690 darkling inhabitants.   Having persisted too long in deliberate
N08 0700 ignorance and denial of the forces that threatened her, Pamela was relieved
N08 0710 now to admit their potency and to be taking definite steps toward
N08 0720 grappling with them. A few days ago, she would have thought such an
N08 0730 expedition as this utterly ridiculous; today, on the contrary, it
N08 0740 seemed utterly reasonable.   She did not pause to consider what
N08 0750 she would do if her plan should fail; she directed all of her mental
N08 0760 and physical energy toward achieving this one goal. If, as she walked,
N08 0770 her steps fumbled from time to time, she chose to ignore that omen.
N08 0780 If the slope grew steeper and the groves more dim, she tried not to
N08 0790 heed. Success depended upon maintaining her equanimity; she must be
N08 0800 poised and proud and unafraid in order to prove to the mountain that
N08 0810 she was in earnest.   The forest took on an impersonal aspect.
N08 0820 It did not care what sort of person prowled its woods, plucked at its
N08 0830 bark or stripped the berries from its bushes. Unconcerned, indifferent,
N08 0840 unmotivated, the forest was simply there- fighting man's depredations
N08 0850 with more abundant growth and man's follies with its own musical
N08 0860 evening laughter. Red man or white man, pacifist or killer, the
N08 0870 forest would accept them all- knowing that it could thrive equally
N08 0880 well on slaughter and beneficence; knowing that its ageless mass would
N08 0890 always dwarf the short span of time allotted to any man.   Pamela
N08 0900 shook her head. She must not think about time. That was another
N08 0910 one of those traps.   In her grim pursuit of tranquillity, Pamela
N08 0920 focused her thoughts on her husband. If, when this was all over, she
N08 0930 found the words to tell him about it, she wondered if he would ever
N08 0940 understand. How could he comprehend her need when he himself was innocent?
N08 0950 Indian ghosts would not impinge upon his nights, nor would his
N08 0960 days be haunted by the dimly-outlined, ill-conceived figure of her
N08 0970 benighted ancestor. His bright, daylight mind would whistle away such
N08 0980 images; they would not dare to face his scoffing.   Pamela was
N08 0990 glad Jim was nowhere near. His presence would have interfered with
N08 1000 her duty.   The mountainside grew steeper and she slipped once
N08 1010 or twice on the smooth pine needles. The trees huddled more closely together,
N08 1020 their limbs and leaves intertwined in a coarse curtain against
N08 1030 the sun. Bushes and vines abetted the rocks in forming thorny detours
N08 1031 for the
N08 1040 struggling stranger, and without the direct light of the sun to
N08 1050 act as compass, Pamela could no longer be positive of her direction.
N08 1060    Nevertheless, she continued to move upward. She was sure she
N08 1070 would reach the pool by climbing, and she clung to that belief despite
N08 1080 the increasing number of obstacles. The forest had become an alien
N08 1090 world where she strove, alone, unprotected, unguided, to deal with whatever
N08 1100 hindrances were offered. It was a bold, dark castle of pine boughs
N08 1110 that stood like a medieval fortress, eclipsing the sun and human
N08 1120 time. At one and the same time, she was within it but still searching
N08 1130 for the drawbridge that would give her entry.   Silence came into
N08 1140 the forest- a solid being that clapped its hand over the murmuring
N08 1150 mouths of the birds and the whispered comfort of the trees. Silence
N08 1160 walked at Pamela's side, its presence numbingly close, yet too far
N08 1170 for her to hear. Silence stood in front of her, waiting, and in back
N08 1180 of her, blocking her retreat.   She stumbled over the root of a
N08 1190 tree that protruded maliciously above the earth. In spite of her attempt
N08 1200 to preserve her balance, she fell, bruising her arm on a naked stone.
N08 1210 For a moment, she could not catch her breath and then, her breath
N08 1220 returning in short, frightened spasms, she lifted herself to her feet
N08 1230 laboriously. She started to brush the dirt and bits of leaves off her
N08 1240 clothes. Her arm bled slightly, and the offended skin cried out in
N08 1250 pain.   She looked around. She was bewildered. She seemed to
N08 1260 have come such a long distance- too far for her destination which had
N08 1270 wilfully been swallowed up in the greedy gloom of the trees. She stood
N08 1280 quite still, trying to focus upon a direction in which to turn, a
N08 1290 path to follow, a clue to guide her.   She was standing in a thick
N08 1300 grove. The trees were crowded so closely together that their branches
N08 1310 overlapped, virtually shutting out the sun completely. The earth
N08 1320 smelled moist and pungent as it might in a cave deprived of the cleansing
N08 1340 effect of the sun's rays. She had the feeling that, under the mouldering
N08 1350 leaves, there would be the bodies of dead animals, quietly decaying
N08 1360 and giving their soil back to the mountain.   The thought
N08 1370 made Pamela shudder. A terrible chill swept through the grove. Not
N08 1380 a breeze exactly, but a pocket of icy air that settled with a loathsome
N08 1390 familiarity upon the deep confines of the grove, catching Pamela
N08 1400 in a leering embrace. There was a peculiar density about it, a thick
N08 1410 substance that could be sensed but never identified, never actually perceived.
N08 1420    Where before had she felt or dreamt or imagined such
N08 1430 a scene? She already knew this unwholesome, chilling atmosphere that
N08 1440 was somehow grotesquely alive. It enclosed her clammy hands and twined
N08 1450 around her ankles. It crept into the open neck of her blouse and
N08 1460 slid down her body, seeping into her flesh through all the quivering pores
N08 1470 of her skin. It crawled across her breasts, suffocating the life
N08 1480 in her nipples. It circled her thighs, exploring with its icy tentacles.
N08 1490 It entered her body with the ghastly intimacy of an incubus, and
N08 1500 its particles, spreading, creeping, crawling, joined themselves into
N08 1510 steel bands that constricted her knees so tightly that they ached; stifled
N08 1520 her lungs so that her breath came in harsh gasps; clutched her
N08 1530 throat and sucked up the moisture in her mouth so that her tongue was
N08 1540 dry and hard and stuck to the roof of her mouth and her teeth were clenched
N08 1550 together in the rigid fixture of her jaws.   She had to
N08 1560 get away from here before this demoniac possession swallowed up the liquid
N08 1570 of her eyes and sank into the fibers of her brain, depriving her
N08 1580 of reason and sight. But she did not know which way to go. The shadows
N08 1590 of the trees engulfed her, foreclosing every possible exit from the
N08 1600 grove. She had been snared here by a vile sensuality that writhed around
N08 1610 her throat in ever-tightening circles.   She could not scream,
N08 1620 for even if a sound could take shape within her parched mouth, who
N08 1630 would hear, who would listen?   Does the mountain listen?
N08 1640    Pamela groped blindly. She had to escape. She had to move in
N08 1650 some direction- any direction that would take her away from this evil
N08 1660 place.   She thrust forward through the shadows and the trees
N08 1670 that resisted her and tried to fling her back. Her own body protested,
N08 1680 aching painfully where the blood in her veins had congealed, where cold
N08 1690 demon wisps still clung and caressed.   Every movement she made
N08 1700 seemed unnecessarily noisy. Twigs cracked loudly under her feet;
N08 1710 bushes swished and scratched at her slacks; tree branches snapped
N08 1720 as she pushed them ruthlessly away from her.
N09 0010    Miraculously, she found exactly the right statement. She began
N09 0020 it deliberately, so that none of her words would be lost on him.
N09 0030    "I want to tell you something Thomas DeMontez Lord. I'm
N09 0040 well aware that you've got a pedigree as long as my leg, and that I
N09 0050 don't amount to anything. But"-   "But it don't matter
N09 0060 a-tall", Lord supplied fondly. "To me you'll always be the
N09 0070 girl o' my dreams, an' the sweetest flower that grows".   Beaming
N09 0080 idiotically, he pooched out his lips and attempted to kiss her.
N09 0090 She yanked away from him furiously.   "You shut up! <shu-tt
N09 0100 up-pp!> I've got something to say to you, and by God you're
N09 0110 going to listen. Do you hear me? You're going to listen"!
N09 0120    Lord nodded agreeably. He said he wanted very much to listen.
N09 0130 He knew that anything a brainy little lady like her had to say would
N09 0140 be plumb important, as well as pleasin' to the ear, and he didn't
N09 0150 want to miss a word of it. So would she mind speaking a little louder?
N09 0160    "I think you stink, Tom Lord! I think you're mean
N09 0170 and hateful and stupid, and- louder"? said Joyce.   "Uh-huh.
N09 0180 So I can hear you while I'm checkin' the car. Looks
N09 0190 like we might be in for a speck of trouble".   He opened the
N09 0200 door and got out. He waited at the car side for a moment, looking down
N09 0210 at her expectantly.   "Well? Wasn't you goin' to say
N09 0220 somethin'"? Then, helpfully, as she merely stared at him in weary
N09 0230 silence, "Maybe you could write it down for me, huh? Print it
N09 0240 in real big letters, an' I can cipher it out later".   "Aah,
N09 0250 go on", she said. "Just go the hell on".   He grinned,
N09 0260 nodded, and walked around to the front of the car. Lips pursed mournfully,
N09 0270 he stared down at its crazily sagging left side. Then he hunkered
N09 0280 down on the heels of his handmade boots, peered into the orderly
N09 0290 chaos of axle, shock absorber, and spring.   He went prone on
N09 0300 his stomach, the better to pursue his examination. After a time, he straightened
N09 0310 again, brushing the red Permian dust from his hands, slapping
N09 0320 it from his six-dollar levis and his tailored, twenty-five-dollar
N09 0330 shirt.   He wore no gun- a strange ommission for a peace officer
N09 0340 in this country. Never, he'd once told Joyce, had he encountered
N09 0350 any man or situation that called for a gun. <And he really feels
N09 0360 that way>, she thought. <That's really all he's got, all he is.
N09 0370 Just a big pile of self-confidence in an almost teensy package. If
N09 0380 I could make myself feel the same way> **h   She studied him
N09 0390 hopefully, yearningly; against the limitless background of sky and wasteland
N09 0400 it was easy to confirm her analysis. Here in the God-forsaken
N09 0410 place, the westerly end of nowhere, Tom Lord looked almost insignificant,
N09 0420 almost contemptible.   He <was> handsome, with his coal-black
N09 0430 hair and eyes, his fine-chiseled features. But she'd known
N09 0440 plenty of handsomer guys, and, conceding his good looks, what was there
N09 0450 left? He wasn't a big man; rather on the medium side. Neither
N09 0460 was he very powerful of build. He could move very quickly, she knew
N09 0470 (although he seldom found occasion to do so), but he was more wiry than
N09 0480 truly strong. And his relatively small hands and feet gave him an
N09 0490 almost delicate appearance.   <Just nothing>, she told herself.
N09 0500 <Just so darned sure of himself that he puts the Indian sign on
N09 0510 everyone. But, by gosh, I want him and I'm going to have him!>
N09 0520    He caught her eye, came back around the car with the boot-wearer's
N09 0530 teetering, half-mincing walk. <Why did these yokels still wear
N09 0540 boots, anyway, when most had scarcely sat a horse in years?> He
N09 0550 slid in at her side, tucked a cigar into his mouth, and politely proffered
N09 0560 one to her.   "Oh, cut it out, Tom"! she snapped. "Can't
N09 0570 you stop that stupid clowning for even a minute"?
N09 0580 "This ain't your brand, maybe", Lord suggested. "Or maybe
N09 0590 you just don't feel like a cigar"?   "I feel like getting
N09 0600 back to town, that's what I feel like! Now, are you going to take
N09 0610 me or am I supposed to walk"?   "Might get there faster
N09 0620 walkin'", Lord drawled, "seein' as how I got a busted front
N09 0630 spring. On the other hand, howsomever, maybe you wouldn't either.
N09 0640 I figger it's probl'y a sixty-five-mile walk, and I c'n maybe
N09 0650 get this spring patched up in a couple of hours".   "How-
N09 0660 with what? There's nothing out here but rattlesnakes".
N09 0670 "Now, ain't it the truth"? Lord laughed with secret amusement.
N09 0680 "Not a danged thing but rattlesnakes, so I reckon I'll get
N09 0690 the boss rattler to help me".   "Tom! For God's sake"!
N09 0700    "Looky". He pointed, cutting her off. "See
N09 0710 that wildcat"?   She saw it then, the distant derrick of the
N09 0720 wildcat- a test well in unexplored country. And even with her limited
N09 0730 knowledge of such things, she knew that the car could be repaired
N09 0740 there; sufficiently, at least, to get them back into town. A wildcatter
N09 0750 had to be prepared for almost any emergency. He had to depend on
N09 0760 himself, since he was invariably miles and hours away from others.
N09 0770    "Well, let's get going", she said impatiently. "I"-
N09 0780 She broke off, frowning. "What did you mean by that rattlesnake
N09 0790 gag? Getting the boss rattlesnake to help you"?   "Why,
N09 0800 I meant what I said", Lord declared. "What else would I mean,
N09 0810 anyways"?   She looked at him, lips compressed. Then, with
N09 0820 a shrug of pretended indifference, she took a compact from her purse
N09 0830 and went through the motions of fixing her make-up. In his mood, it
N09 0840 was the best way to handle him; that is, to show no curiosity whatsoever.
N09 0850 Otherwise, she would be baited into a tantrum- teased and provoked
N09 0860 until she lost control of herself, and thus lost still another battle
N09 0870 in the maddening struggle of Tom Lord Vs& Joyce Lakewood.
N09 0880    The car lurched along at a snail's crawl, the left-front mudguard
N09 0890 banging and scraping against the tire, occasionally scraping against
N09 0900 the road itself. Lord whistled tunelessly as he fought the steering
N09 0910 wheel. He seemed very pleased with himself, as though some intricate
N09 0920 scheme was working out exactly as he had planned. Along with this
N09 0930 self-satisfaction, however, Joyce sensed a growing tension. It poured
N09 0940 out of him like an electric current, a feeling that the muscles and
N09 0950 nerves of his fine-drawn body were coiling for action, and that that
N09 0960 action would be all that he anticipated.   Joyce had seen him like
N09 0970 this once before- more than once, actually, but on one particularly
N09 0980 memorable occasion. That was the day that he had practically mopped
N09 0990 up the main street of Big Sands with Aaron McBride, field boss
N09 1000 for the Highlands Oil + Gas Company.   Tom had been laying
N09 1010 for Aaron McBride for a long time, just waiting to catch him out of
N09 1020 line. McBride gave him his opportunity when he showed up in town with
N09 1030 a pistol on his hip. He had a legitimate reason for wearing it. It
N09 1040 was payday for Highlands, and he was packing a lot of money back into
N09 1050 the oil fields. Moreover, as long as the weapon was carried openly,
N09 1060 the sheriff's office had made no previous issue of it.   "So
N09 1070 what's this all about"? he demanded, when Lord confronted him.
N09 1080 I'm not the only man in town with a gun, or the only one without
N09 1090 a permit".   It was the wrong thing to say. By failing to do
N09 1100 as he was told instantly- to take out a permit or return the gun to
N09 1110 his car- he had played into Lord's hands.   The trouble was
N09 1120 that he had virtually had to protest. The deputy had forced him to
N09 1130 by his manner of accosting him.   So, "How about it"? he
N09 1140 said. "Why single me out on this permit deal"?   "Well,
N09 1150 I'll tell you about that", Lord told him. "We aim t' be see-lective,
N09 1160 y'know? Don't like to bother no one unless we have
N09 1170 to, which I figger we do, in your case. Figger we got to be plumb careful
N09 1180 with any of you Highlands big shots".   McBride reddened.
N09 1190 He himself had heard that there was gangster money in the company,
N09 1200 but that had nothing to do with him. He was an honest man doing a hard
N09 1210 job, and the implication that he was anything else was unbearable.
N09 1220    "Look, Lord", he said hoarsely. "I know you've got
N09 1230 a grudge against me, and maybe I can't blame you. You think that Highlands
N09 1240 swindled you and I helped 'em do it. But you're all wrong,
N09 1250 man! I'm no lawyer. I just do what I'm told, and"-
N09 1260    "Uh-huh. An' that could mean trouble with a fella that's
N09 1270 workin' for crooks. So you get rid of that pistol right now, Mis-ter
N09 1280 McBride. You do that or take you out a permit right now".
N09 1290    McBride couldn't do either, of course. Not immediately, as the
N09 1300 deputy demanded. Not without a face-saving respite of at least a few
N09 1310 minutes. To do so would make his job well-nigh impossible. Oil-field
N09 1320 workers were a rough-tough lot. How could he exert authority over
N09 1330 them- make them toe the line, as he had to- if he knuckled under to
N09 1340 this small-town clown?   "I'll get around to it a little
N09 1350 later", he mumbled desperately. "Just as soon as I go to the bank,
N09 1360 and"-   "Huh-uh. <Now,> Mis-ter McBride", said
N09 1370 Lord, and he laid a firmly restraining hand on the field boss's arm.
N09 1380    It was strictly the deputy's game, but McBride had gone
N09 1390 too far to throw in. Now, he could only play the last card in what was
N09 1400 probably the world's coldest deck.   He flung off Lord's
N09 1410 hand and attempted to push past him, inadvertently shoving him into a
N09 1420 storefront.   It was practically the last move that McBride made
N09 1430 of his own volition.   Lord slugged him in the stomach, so hard
N09 1440 that the organ almost pressed against his spine. Then, as he doubled,
N09 1450 gasping, vomiting the breakfast he had so lately eaten, Lord straightened
N09 1460 him with an uppercut. A rabbit punch redoubled him. And then
N09 1470 there was a numbing blow to the heart, and another gut-flattening blow
N09 1480 to the stomach **h   But he couldn't keep up with them. No
N09 1490 more could he defend himself against them. He seemed to be fighting
N09 1500 not one man but a dozen. And he could no longer think of face-saving,
N09 1510 of honor, but only of escape.   <Why, he's going to kill me,>
N09 1520 he thought wildly. <I meant him no harm. I've given willful hurt
N09 1530 to no man. I was just doing my job, just following orders, and for
N09 1540 that he's going to kill me. Beat me to death in front of a hundred
N09 1550 people>.   Somehow more terrible than the certainty that he was
N09 1560 about to die was the knowledge that Lord would probably not suffer for
N09 1570 it: the murder would go unpunished. He, McBride, would be cited
N09 1580 as in the wrong, and he, Lord, would go scot-free, an officer who had
N09 1590 only done his duty, though perhaps too energetically.   McBride
N09 1600 staggered into the street, flopped sprawling in the stinging dust.
N09 1610 Fear-maddened, fleeing the lengthening shadow of death, he scrambled
N09 1620 to his feet again. He couldn't see; he was long past the point of
N09 1630 coherent thinking. Dimly, he heard laughter, hoots of derision, but
N09 1640 he could not read the racket properly. He could not grasp that Lord
N09 1650 had withdrawn from the fight minutes ago, and that his leaden arms were
N09 1660 flailing at nothing but the air.   He hated them too much to
N09 1670 understand- the people of this isolated law-unto-itself world that
N09 1680 was Lord's world. This, he was sure, was the way they <would>
N09 1690 act;
N09 1700 laughing at a dying man, laughing as a man was beaten to death. And
N09 1710 nothing would be done about it. Nothing unless **h   <Donna!>
N09 1720 Donna, his young wife, the girl who was both daughter and wife
N09 1730 to him. Donna was like he was. She lived by the rules, never compromising,
N09 1740 never blinded or diverted by circumstance. And Donna would-
N09 1750    When he regained consciousness he was in Lord's house, in
N09 1760 the office of Doctor Lord, the deputy's deceased father.
N10 0010    The Brannon outfit- known as the Slash-B because of its brand-
N10 0020 reached Hondo Creek before sundown. The herd was watered and
N10 0030 then thrown onto a broad grass flat which was to be the first night's
N10 0040 bedground. Two of the new hands, a Mexican named Jose Amado and
N10 0050 a kid known only as Laredo, were picked for the first trick of riding
N10 0060 night herd.   The rest of the crew offsaddled their mounts and
N10 0070 turned them into the remuda. They got tin cups of coffee from the big
N10 0080 pot on the coosie's fire, rolled and lighted brown-paper cigarettes,
N10 0090 lounged about. There was some idle talk, a listless discussion of
N10 0100 this or that small happening during the day's drive. But they deliberately
N10 0110 avoided the one subject that had them all curious: the failure
N10 0120 of the boss's wife and son to join the outfit. It especially bothered
N10 0130 the older hands.   The cook, Mateo Garcia, had arrived
N10 0140 there long before the herd. He'd started a fire and put coffee on,
N10 0150 and now was busy at the work board of his chuck wagon. He was readying
N10 0160 a batch of sourdough biscuits for the Dutch oven. Supper would be
N10 0170 ready within the hour.   The Maguire family was setting up a separate
N10 0180 camp nearby. Billie had unhitched the mules from both Tom Brannon's
N10 0190 and his father's wagon. Hank had gathered wood for a cookfire,
N10 0200 and his wife was busy at it now. Conchita kept an eye on the twins
N10 0210 and little Elena, trying to keep them from falling into the creek
N10 0220 by which they persisted in playing. Conchita nagged at the younger children,
N10 0230 attempting without success to keep her thoughts off Tom Brannon.
N10 0240    Tom Brannon had caught up with the outfit shortly after
N10 0250 the Maguires joined it, which had been at midday. He'd come alone,
N10 0260 without his wife and child. He'd been in an angry mood: Conchita
N10 0270 had thought his face almost ugly with the anger in him.   She
N10 0280 wondered what had taken place in town, between him and his wife. She
N10 0290 wished that she could talk to her mother about it. Not that her mother
N10 0300 knew what had happened, but they could speculate upon it. But her
N10 0310 mother would rebuke her if she mentioned it, and say that it was none
N10 0320 of her concern.   "Pat, get out of that creek! You too, Sean!
N10 0330 Elena, you'll get mud all over your dress"!   Even
N10 0340 as she called to the children, Conchita let her gaze seek Tom Brannon.
N10 0350 Tomas, she called him- as the Mexican hands did. He was in earnest
N10 0360 conversation with her father and the old vaquero, Luis Hernandez.
N10 0370 Whatever they are talking about? Conchita wondered.   It
N10 0380 bothered her that she probably would never know. Certainly, she wouldn't
N10 0390 dare ask her father afterward. He would tell her not to pry into
N10 0400 grownups' affairs- as though she were a little kid like Elena!
N10 0410    At the moment, the three men were not saying much of anything.
N10 0420 They were sitting on their heels, rider-fashion, over by the still
N10 0430 empty calf wagon. Brannon was hunkered down with his broad back to
N10 0440 the left rear wheel, with the other two facing him. He held a cigarette
N10 0450 in his right hand. It was burning away, forgotten. His face was
N10 0460 clouded with unhappiness.   He'd told Hank Maguire and Luis
N10 0470 Hernandez about his wife's refusal to come with him and about what
N10 0480 he now intended to do. They were considering it gravely, neither seeming
N10 0490 to like what he planned.   Finally Hernandez said, "I could
N10 0500 offer you advice, Tomas, but you wouldn't heed it".   "Let's
N10 0510 hear it, anyway".   "Wait a little while. Let Senora
N10 0520 Brannon live in her father's house for a time. Give her time
N10 0530 to miss you. Maybe she will then come to you. After all, you want the
N10 0540 senora as much as you want the boy. You need her even more than you
N10 0550 need him".   "She won't change her mind", Brannon said.
N10 0560 "John Clayton will see to that".   "But after a time
N10 0570 away from you **h".   "A year, Luis? Five? Ten? How
N10 0580 long should I wait"? "Maybe in a year, Tomas **h".
N10 0590 "In a year she'll like living in Clayton's house too much to
N10 0600 come back to me", Brannon said flatly. "And the boy will be too
N10 0610 much under his influence by then. I've got to take Danny away from
N10 0620 Clayton before I lose him altogether. Hell, in a year or five or ten,
N10 0630 the boy will have forgotten me- his own father"!   "But
N10 0640 to take him and leave his mother behind is not good".   "In
N10 0650 my place, you'd follow such advice as you give me"?   Hernandez
N10 0660 looked suddenly uncertain. "That I can't answer, for I
N10 0670 can't imagine something like this happening to me. Maybe I should
N10 0680 withdraw my advice- no"?   Brannon looked at Hank Maguire.
N10 0690 "And you? What would you do in my place"?   Hank
N10 0700 shook his head. "I don't know, Tom. Like Luis, I can't see
N10 0710 something like this happening to me. With Maria and me, there's never
N10 0720 any problem. Where I go, she goes- and the kids with us. You're
N10 0730 going
N10 0740 to need your woman. And the boy will need his mother. If you take
N10 0750 the one, you'd better take both".   Brannon shook his head.
N10 0760 "I won't force Beth to come against her will. But I'm going
N10 0770 to have my son".   They were silent for a little while, each
N10 0780 looking glum.   Finally Luis Hernandez said, "What must be,
N10 0790 must be. I am with you, of course, Tomas".   And Hank Maguire
N10 0800 added, "So am I, Tom".   "All right", Brannon said,
N10 0810 rising. "We'll ride out as soon as we've had chuck". ##
N10 0820 Brannon timed it so that they rode in an hour after nightfall. They
N10 0830 had for cover both darkness and a summer storm. During much of the
N10 0840 fifteen-mile ride they had watched a lurid display of lightning in the
N10 0850 sky to the east. Later, they'd heard the rumble of thunder and then,
N10 0860 just outside Rockfork, they ran into rain. Those who had slickers
N10 0870 donned them. The others put on old coats or ducking jackets, whichever
N10 0880 they carried behind their saddle cantles.   There were seven
N10 0890 of them, enough for a show of strength- to run a bluff. It was to
N10 0900 be nothing more than that. There was to be no gunplay. If the bluff
N10 0910 failed and they ran into trouble, Brannon had told the others, they
N10 0920 would withdraw- and he would come after his son another time. He didn't
N10 0930 want to put himself outside the law.   With him were Hank
N10 0940 Maguire, Luis Hernandez, and Luis's son Pedro. The Ramirez
N10 0950 brothers were also along. The seventh man was Red Hogan, a wiry little
N10 0960 puncher with a wild streak and a liking for hell-raising. They were
N10 0970 all good men.   It was dark early, because of the storm. Also
N10 0980 because of the storm, the streets of Rockfork were deserted. Lighted
N10 0990 windows glowed jewel-bright through the downpour. They reined in
N10 1000 before the town marshal's office, a box-sized building on Main Street.
N10 1010 A lamp burned inside, but Brannon, peering through the window,
N10 1020 saw that the office was empty. He'd hoped to catch Jesse Macklin
N10 1030 there.   "Probably just stepped out", he said. "Maybe to
N10 1040 have supper. Red, come along. The rest of you wait here".   With
N10 1050 Red Hogan, he rode to the Welcome Cafe. Hogan got down from
N10 1060 the saddle and had a look inside. "Not there", he said, getting back
N10 1070 onto his horse. "Maybe he's at the hotel".   They rode
N10 1080 to the Rockfork House, a little farther along the opposite side of
N10 1090 the street. They reined in there, Brannon remaining in the saddle while
N10 1100 Hogan went to look for Jesse Macklin in the hotel dining room.
N10 1110 Brannon had no slicker. He'd put on his old brown corduroy coat and
N10 1120 it was already soaked. But he felt no physical discomfort. He was
N10 1130 only vaguely aware of the sluicing rain. He hardly noticed the blue-green
N10 1140 flashes of lightning and the hard claps of thunder.   Hogan
N10 1150 reappeared, stopped on the hotel porch, lifted a hand in signal. Brannon
N10 1160 dismounted and climbed the steps.   "He's finished eating",
N10 1170 Hogan said. "Sitting with a cup of coffee now. It shouldn't
N10 1180 be long".   It seemed long, at least to Tom Brannon. He
N10 1190 and Hogan waited by the door, one to either side. Macklin was the
N10 1200 third man to come out, and he came unhurriedly. He was puffing on a cigar,
N10 1210 and he was turning up his coat collar against the rain. It was
N10 1220 not until he moved across the porch that he became aware of them, and
N10 1230 then it was too late. They closed in fast, kept him from reaching inside
N10 1240 his coat for his gun.   "Just come along", Brannon told
N10 1250 him. "Don't start anything you can't finish".   "Now,
N10 1260 listen"- Macklin began.   "We'll talk over at your office".
N10 1270    "Brannon, I warn you"! "Let's go, Marsh
N10 1280 al", Brannon said, and took him by the arm.   Hogan gripped the
N10 1290 lawman's other arm. They escorted him down from the porch and through
N10 1300 the rain to his office. The other five Slash-B men followed them
N10 1310 inside, crowding the small room. His face was stiff with anger when
N10 1320 they let go of his arms. He looked at each of them in turn, Brannon
N10 1330 last of all.   "I'll remember you", he said. "Every
N10 1340 last one of you. As for you, Brannon"-   "Put your gun on
N10 1350 the desk, Marshal".   "Now, hold on, damn it; I won't"-
N10 1360    Red Hogan's patience ran out. He lifted the skirt
N10 1370 of Macklin's coat, took his gun from its holster, tossed it onto the
N10 1380 desk. "Too much fooling around", he said. "Don't press your
N10 1390 luck, badge-toter".   Brannon said, "Now the key to the lockup,
N10 1400 Marshal".   "Key"? Macklin said. "What for"?
N10 1410    "Can't you guess"? Brannon said. "We're putting
N10 1420 you where you won't come to harm. Come on- the key. Get it
N10 1430 out"!   "Damned if I will. Brannon, you've assaulted a
N10 1440 law officer and"-   They moved in on him, crowded him from
N10 1450 all sides. No man laid a hand on him, but the threat of violence was
N10 1460 there. His face took on a sudden pallor, became beaded with sweat, and
N10 1470 he seemed to have trouble with his breathing. He held out a moment
N10 1480 longer, then his nerve gave under the pressure.   He swore, and
N10 1490 said, "All right. It's here in my pocket".   "Get it out",
N10 1500 Brannon ordered. Then, as Macklin obeyed: "Now let's
N10 1501 go out
N10 1510 back".   Resignedly, Macklin turned to the back door. They
N10 1520 followed him into the rain and across to the squat stone building fifty
N10 1530 feet to the rear. The door of the lockup was of oak planks and banded
N10 1540 with strap iron. It was secured by an oversized padlock. Macklin
N10 1550 balked again, not wanting to unlock and open the door. They crowded
N10 1560 him in that threatening way once more, forced him to give in. Once the
N10 1570 door was open, they crowded him inside the dark building. He was uttering
N10 1580 threats in a low but savage voice when they closed and padlocked
N10 1590 the door.   They returned to the street, mounted their horses,
N10 1600 rode through the rain to the big house on Houston Street. Its windows
N10 1610 glowed with lamplight. Deputy Marshal Luke Harper still stood
N10 1620 guard on the veranda, a forlorn, scarecrowish figure in the murky dark.
N10 1630 He came to the edge of the veranda, peered down at them with his hand
N10 1640 on his gun.   "Don't try it", Brannon told him, dismounting
N10 1650 and starting up the steps with his men following. "Don't get
N10 1660 yourself killed for something that doesn't concern you".
N10 1670 He strode past the now frightened man, entered the house. Miguel and
N10 1680 Arturo Ramirez remained on the veranda to keep Harper from interfering.
N10 1690 The others followed Brannon inside. They trailed him across
N10 1700 the wide hallway to the parlor, four roughly garbed and tough-looking
N10 1710 men who probably had never before ventured into such a house. They brought
N10 1720 to it all the odors that clung to men like themselves, that of their
N10 1730 own sweat, of campfire smoke, of horses and cattle. They tracked
N10 1740 mud on the oaken floor, on the carpet. Their presence fouled the elegance
N10 1750 of that room.   And their arrival caught John Clayton and
N10 1760 Charles Ansley off guard.
N11 0010    The author of the anonymous notes seemed to be all-knowing. For
N11 0020 men who had left cattle alone after getting their first notices had
N11 0030 received no second. But the day of the deadline came and passed, and
N11 0040 the men who had scoffed at the warnings laughed with satisfaction. For,
N11 0050 with a single exception, nothing had happened to them.   The
N11 0060 exception was an Iron Mountain settler named William Lewis. After
N11 0070 walking out to his corral that morning, he'd been amazed to see the
N11 0080 dust puff up in front of his feet. A split second later, the distant
N11 0090 crack of a rifle had sounded. He'd mounted up immediately and raced
N11 0100 with a revolver ready toward the spot from which he'd estimated the
N11 0110 shot had come. But he had found all of the thickets and points of
N11 0120 cover deserted. There had been no sign of a rifleman and no track or
N11 0130 trace to show that anyone had been near.   Lewis was a man who had
N11 0140 made a full-time job of cow stealing. He hadn't even pretended to
N11 0150 be farming his spread. His land had never been plowed. He had done
N11 0160 his rustling openly and boasted about it. He had received both first
N11 0170 and second anonymous notices, and each time he had accused his neighbors
N11 0180 of writing them. He had cursed at them and threatened them. He was
N11 0190 a man, those neighbors testified later, who didn't have a friend
N11 0200 in the world.   William Lewis made the rounds of all who lived
N11 0210 near him again, that August morning after a bullet landed at his feet,
N11 0220 and once more he accused and threatened everyone.   "I'll
N11 0230 be ready next time"! he raged. "I'll be shootin' right back".
N11 0240    He had his chance the very next morning, for exactly the
N11 0250 same thing happened again. This time Lewis had his own rifle in his
N11 0260 hands, and he threw some answering fire back at the mysterious far-off
N11 0270 shot, then spent most of the day searching out the area. He found nothing,
N11 0280 but he still refused to give up and move out.   "Just
N11 0290 let me meet up with that damned bushwhackin' coward face-to-face"!
N11 0300 he exploded. "That's all I ask"!   He never got that
N11 0310 chance. For the unseen, ghostlike rifleman aimed a little higher the
N11 0320 third time. A .30-30 bullet smashed directly into the center of William
N11 0330 Lewis' chest. He slumped against a log fence rail, then tried
N11 0340 to lift himself. Two more shots followed in quick succession, dropping
N11 0350 him limp and huddled on the ground.   An inquest was held, and
N11 0360 after a good deal of testimony about the anonymous notes, the county
N11 0370 coroner estimated that the shooting had been done from a distance of
N11 0380 300 yards. Rumors of the offer Tom Horn had made at the Stockgrowers'
N11 0390 Association meeting had leaked out by then, and as a grand jury
N11 0400 investigation of the murder got underway, the prosecuting attorney,
N11 0410 a Colonel Baird, ordered that the tall stock detective be summoned for
N11 0420 questioning.   It took some time to locate Horn. He was finally
N11 0430 found in the Bates Hole region of Natrona County, two counties
N11 0440 away. Prosecutor Baird immediately assumed he was hiding out there
N11 0450 after the shooting and began preparing an indictment. But that indictment
N11 0460 was never made. For Tom Horn, it turned out, had a number of
N11 0470 rancher and cowboy witnesses ready and willing to swear with straight
N11 0480 faces that he had been in Bates Hole the day of the killing.
N11 0490 The former scout's alibi couldn't be shaken. The authorities had
N11 0500 to release him. He immediately rode on to Cheyenne, threw a ten-day
N11 0510 drinking spree and dropped some very strong hints among friends.
N11 0520    "Dead center at three hundred yards, that coroner said"! he'd
N11 0530 grin. "Three shots in that fella 'fore he hit the ground! You
N11 0540 reckon there's two men in this state can shoot like that"?
N11 0550    Publicly, he denied everything. Privately, he created and magnified
N11 0560 an image of himself as a hired assassin. For a blood-chilling ring
N11 0570 of terror to the very sound of his name was the tool he needed for
N11 0580 the job he'd promised to do. ## Tom Horn was soon back at work,
N11 0590 giving his secret employers their money's worth. A good many beef-hungry
N11 0600 settlers were accepting the death of William Lewis as proof
N11 0610 that the warning notes were not idle threats. The company herds were
N11 0620 being raided less often, and cabins and soddies all over the range were
N11 0630 standing deserted. But there were other homesteaders who passed the
N11 0640 Lewis murder off as a personal grudge killing, the work of one of his
N11 0650 neighbors. The rustling problem was by no means solved.   Even
N11 0660 in the very area where the shooting had been done, cattle were still
N11 0670 disappearing. For less than a dozen miles from the unplowed land of
N11 0680 the dead man lived another settler who had ignored the warnings that his
N11 0690 existence might be foreclosed on- a blatant and defiant rustler named
N11 0700 Fred Powell.   "Fred was mighty crude about the way he
N11 0710 took in cattle" his own hired man, Andy Ross, mentioned later.
N11 0720 "Everyone knew it, but he sort of acted like he didn't care
N11 0730 who knew it- even after them notes came, even after he'd heard about
N11 0740 Lewis, even after he'd been shot at a couple o' times hisself"!
N11 0750    On the morning of September 10, 1895, Powell and Ross
N11 0760 rose at dawn and began their day's work. Haying time was close at
N11 0770 hand, and they needed some strong branches to repair a hay rack. Harnessing
N11 0780 a team to a buckboard, they drove out to a willow-lined creek
N11 0790 about a half-mile off, then climbed down and began chopping.   Andy
N11 0800 Ross had just started swinging an ax at his second willow when the
N11 0810 distant blast of a rifle sounded. He looked around in surprise, then
N11 0820 noticed that Fred Powell was clutching his chest. The hired man
N11 0830 ran over to help his boss.   "My God, I'm shot"! Powell
N11 0840 gasped. And he collapsed and died instantly.   Ross had no
N11 0850 intention of searching for the assassin. He heaved the dead man onto
N11 0860 the buckboard, yelled and lashed at the team and got out of there fast.
N11 0870 But he brought back the sheriff and several deputies, and to the lawmen
N11 0880 the entire affair seemed a repetition of the Lewis killing.
N11 0890    A detailed scouring of the entire area revealed nothing beyond a
N11 0900 ledge of rocks that might have been the rifleman's hiding place. There
N11 0910 were no tracks of either hoofs or boots. Not even an empty cartridge
N11 0920 case could be found.   Once again, Tom Horn was the first
N11 0930 and most likely suspect, and he was brought in for questioning immediately.
N11 0940 Once again, he shook his head, kept his face expressionless and
N11 0950 his voice very calm, and had a strongly supported alibi ready. Later,
N11 0960 riding in for some lusty enjoyment of the liquor and professional ladies
N11 0970 of Cheyenne, he laid claim to the killing with the vague insinuations
N11 0980 he made.   "Exterminatin' cow thieves is just a business
N11 0990 proposition with me", he'd blandly announce. "And I sort o'
N11 1000 got a corner on the market".   "Tom", a friend asked him
N11 1010 once, "how come you bushwhacked them rustlers? They wouldn't
N11 1020 o' stood no chance with you in a plain, straight-out shoot-down".
N11 1030    He had lots of friends, then as always. Even as he became widely
N11 1040 known as a professional killer, nearly every cowboy and rancher in
N11 1050 Wyoming seemed proud to call him a friend. No man's name brought
N11 1060 more cheers when it was announced in a rodeo.   "Well", he
N11 1061 explained,
N11 1070 "s'posin' you was a nester swingin' the long rope?
N11 1080 Which would you be most scairt of- a dry-gulchin' or a shoot-down"?
N11 1090    "Yeah, I can see that", the friend was forced to
N11 1100 agree. "But **h well, it just don't seem sportin' somehow"!
N11 1110    "Sportin'"! The tall sunburnt rustler-hunter stared
N11 1120 in amazement. "Sportin'"! he echoed again in soft wonder. "I
N11 1130 seen a lot o' things in my time. I found a trooper once the Apache
N11 1140 had spread-eagled on an ant hill, and another time we ran across
N11 1150 some teamsters they'd caught, tied upside down on their own wagon wheels
N11 1160 over little fires until their brains was exploded right out o'
N11 1170 their skulls. I heard o' Texas cattlemen wrappin' a cow thief up
N11 1180 in green hides and lettin' the sun shrink 'em and squeeze him to
N11 1190 death. But there's one thing I never seen or heard of, one thing
N11 1200 I just don't think there is, and that's a sportin' way o' killin'
N11 1210 a man"!   After the first two murders, the warning notes
N11 1220 were rarely ignored. The lesson had been learned. The examples were
N11 1230 plain. When Fred Powell's brother-in-law, Charlie Keane, moved
N11 1240 into the dead man's home, the anonymous letter writer took no chances
N11 1250 on Charlie taking up where Fred had left off and wasted no time
N11 1260 on a first notice:   <IF YOU DON'T LEAVE THIS COUNTRY
N11 1270 WITHIN 3 DAYS, YOUR LIFE WILL BE TAKEN THE SAME AS POWELL'S WAS>.
N11 1280    This was the message found tacked to the cabin door. Keane
N11 1290 left, within three days.   All through Albany and Laramie counties,
N11 1300 other men were doing the same. Houses of settlers who'd treated
N11 1310 the company herds as a natural resource, free for the taking, were
N11 1320 sitting empty, with weeds growing high in their yards. The small half-heartedly
N11 1330 tended fields of men who'd spent more time rustling cattle
N11 1340 than farming were lying fallow. No cow thief could count on a jury
N11 1350 of his sympathetic peers to free him any longer. Jury, judge and executioner
N11 1360 were riding the range in the form of a single unknown figure
N11 1370 that could materialize anywhere, at any time, to dispense an ancient
N11 1380 brand of justice the men of the new West had believed long outdated.
N11 1390 ## For three straight years, Tom Horn patrolled the southern Wyoming
N11 1400 pastures, and how many men he killed after Lewis and Powell
N11 1410 (if he killed Lewis and Powell) will never be known. It is possible,
N11 1420 although highly doubtful, that he killed none at all but merely let
N11 1430 his reputation work for him by privately claiming every unsolved murder
N11 1440 in the state. It is also possible, but equally doubtful, that he actually
N11 1450 shot down the hundreds of men with which his legend credits him.
N11 1460    For that legend was growing explosively, Rumor was insisting
N11 1470 he received a price of $600 a man. (The best evidence is that he received
N11 1480 a monthly wage of about $125, very good money in an era when top
N11 1490 hands worked for $30 and found.) Rumor had it he slipped two small
N11 1500 rocks under each victim's head as a sort of trademark. (A detailed
N11 1510 search of old coroner's reports fails to substantiate this in the slightest.)
N11 1520    One thing was certain- his method was effective, so
N11 1530 effective that after a time even the warning notices were often unnecessary.
N11 1540 The mere fact that the tall figure with the rifle and field
N11 1550 glasses had been seen riding that way was enough to frighten three rustling
N11 1560 homesteaders out of the Upper Laramie country in a single week.
N11 1570    "My reputation's my stock in trade", Tom mentioned more
N11 1580 than once. He evidently couldn't foresee that it might be his downfall
N11 1590 in the end.   He had made himself the personification of the
N11 1600 Devil to the homesteaders. But to the cattlemen who had been facing
N11 1610 bankruptcy from rustling losses and to the cowboys who had been faced
N11 1620 with lay-offs a few years earlier, he was becoming a vastly different
N11 1630 type of legendary figure. Such ranchers as Coble and Clay and the
N11 1640 Bosler brothers carried him on their books as a cowhand even while
N11 1650 he was receiving a much larger salary from parties unknown. He made their
N11 1660 spreads his headquarters, and he helped out in their roundups.
N11 1670    In the cow camps, Tom Horn was regarded as a hero, as the same
N11 1680 kind of champion he was when he entered and invariably won the local
N11 1690 rodeos. The hands and their bosses saw him as a lone knight of the range,
N11 1700 waging a dedicated crusade against a lawless new society that was
N11 1710 threatening a beloved way of life. The wailing, guitar-strumming minstrels
N11 1720 of the cattle kingdom made up songs about him.   By 1898,
N11 1730 rustling losses had been driven down to the lowest level ever seen in
N11 1740 Wyoming.
N12 0010    When several minutes had passed and Curt hadn't emerged from
N12 0020 the livery stable, Brenner reentered the hotel and faced Summers across
N12 0030 the counter.   "I have a little job for you, Charlie. I'm
N12 0040 sure you won't mind doing me a small favor".   Brenner's
N12 0050 voice was oily, but Summers wasn't fooled. He moistened his lips
N12 0060 uneasily.   "What is it you want me to do, Mr& Brenner"?
N12 0070    Brenner shrugged carelessly.   "It's very simple.
N12 0080 I just want you to take a message to Diane Molinari. Tell her
N12 0090 to come here to the hotel".   Vastly relieved, Summers nodded
N12 0100 and started toward the door.   "One thing, Summers", Brenner
N12 0110 said. "You're not to mention my name. Tell her Curt Adams
N12 0120 wants to see her".   Summers pulled up short, and turned around.
N12 0130    "I don't know, Mr& Brenner", he said haltingly,
N12 0140 beginning to get an inkling of Brenner's plans. "It doesn't seem
N12 0150 quite right, telling her a thing like that. Couldn't I just"-
N12 0160 His voice trailed off into silence.   Brenner continued to smile,
N12 0170 but his eyes were cold. He turned and looked around at the lobby
N12 0180 as though seeing things he hadn't before noticed.   "You know,
N12 0190 Summers", he said thoughtfully. "Eagle's Nest ought to have
N12 0200 a fire company. If someone were to drop a match in here, this place
N12 0210 would go up like a haystack". He started toward the stairway, then
N12 0220 turned to add, "Tell her to come to Adams's room, that Adams
N12 0230 is in trouble. Tell her to hurry".   "Yes sir". His face
N12 0240 pale, Summers headed for the street. ## Curt's visit to the
N12 0250 livery stable had been merely a precaution in case anyone should be watching.
N12 0260 He paused only long enough to ascertain that Jess's buckskin
N12 0270 was still missing and that his own gray was all right, then climbed
N12 0280 through a back window and dropped to the ground outside.   The
N12 0290 fact that Jess's horse had not been returned to its stall could indicate
N12 0300 that Diane's information had been wrong, but Curt didn't interpret
N12 0310 it this way. A man like Jess would want to have a ready means
N12 0320 of escape in case it was needed. Probably his horse would be close
N12 0330 to where he was hiding.   From the back of the barn it was a simple
N12 0340 matter to reach Black's house without using the street. Curt
N12 0350 approached the place cautiously, and watched it several minutes from the
N12 0360 protection of a grove of trees.   There was a light in Black's
N12 0370 front room, but drawn curtains prevented any view of the interior.
N12 0380 Curt circled the house and located a barn out back. He could hear
N12 0390 horses moving around inside, and nothing else. There was no lock on the
N12 0400 door, only an iron hook which he unfastened. He opened the door and
N12 0410 went in, pulling it shut behind him.   Again he stood in the darkness
N12 0420 listening, but there was only the scrape of a shod hoof on a plank
N12 0430 floor. He moved ahead carefully, his left hand in front of him,
N12 0440 and came to a wooden partition. Horse smell was very strong, and he could
N12 0450 hear the crunch of grain being ground between strong jaws. He found
N12 0460 a match in his pocket and lit it.   There were two horses in
N12 0470 the barn, a sway-backed dun and Jess Crouch's buckskin. Curt snuffed
N12 0480 out the match.   It was certain now that Jess was in the house,
N12 0490 but also, presumably, was Stacey Black. Curt wanted to get Jess
N12 0500 alone, without interference from anyone, even as spineless a person
N12 0510 as the store owner.   He studied the problem for a few seconds
N12 0520 and thought of a means by which it might be solved. Reaching across
N12 0530 the side of the stall, he slapped the buckskin on the rump. The startled
N12 0540 animal let out a terrified squeal and thrashed around in the stall.
N12 0550    As Curt had hoped, the house door banged open. He slapped
N12 0560 the buckskin again and it kicked wildly, its hoofs rattling the side of
N12 0570 the stall.   Curt moved over beside the door and waited. Presently
N12 0580 he heard footsteps crossing the yard, and Jess's smothered curses.
N12 0590 The door swung open, and Jess said sourly, "What the hell's
N12 0600 the matter with <you?">   The horse continued to snort.
N12 0610 Curt doubted that any animal belonging to Jess would find much reassurance
N12 0620 in its owner's voice.   Jess cursed again, and entered
N12 0630 the barn. A match flared, and he reached above his head to light a lantern
N12 0640 which hung from a wire loop. As he crossed to the side of the
N12 0650 stall, Curt drew his gun and clicked back the hammer.   "Before
N12 0660 you try anything", he said. "Remember what happened to Gruller".
N12 0670    Jess caught his breath in surprise. He started to reach
N12 0680 for his gun, but apparently thought better of it.   "That's
N12 0690 the stuff", Curt said. "Just hold it that way". He reached out
N12 0700 to pull the door shut and fasten it with a sliding bolt. "You and
N12 0710 I have a little talking to do, Jess. You won't be needing this".
N12 0720 He moved up and lifted Jess's pistol out of its holster.
N12 0730    "Damn you, Adams"- Jess was beginning to recover from his initial
N12 0740 shock. "We ain't got nothing to talk about. If I don't
N12 0750 come back in the house, Breed's going to"-   "Your trigger-happy
N12 0760 brother isn't <in> the house. About now he's probably
N12 0770 having supper. That long ride the four of you took must've given
N12 0780 him a good appetite. Now turn around so I can see your face".
N12 0790    Jess turned. There was raw fury in his eyes, and the veins of his
N12 0800 neck were swollen.   "You're about as dumb as they come, Adams.
N12 0810 I don't know what you're up to, but when Brenner"-
N12 0820    "You can forget about Brenner, too", Curt said. "It's
N12 0830 Ben Arbuckle we're going to talk about".   "Arbuckle"?
N12 0840 Jess stiffened. "I don't know nothin' about him".
N12 0850 "No? I suppose you don't know anything about a piece of two-by-four,
N12 0860 either; one with blood all over it, Arbuckle's blood".
N12 0870 Curt's fingers put a little more pressure on the trigger of his gun.
N12 0880 "So help me, Crouch, I'd like to kill you where you stand, but,
N12 0890 before I do, I'm going to hear you admit killing him. Now start
N12 0900 talking. Who told you to do it? Was it Dutch Brenner"?
N12 0910    Curt was holding Jess's gun in his left hand. He drew back his
N12 0920 arm to slash the gunbarrel across Jess's face, but didn't finish
N12 0930 the motion. Pistol-whipping an unarmed man might come easy to someone
N12 0940 like Jess, but Curt couldn't bring himself to do it.   Apparently
N12 0950 sensing this, and realizing that it gave him an advantage, Jess
N12 0960 became bold.   "Having all the guns makes you a big man, don't
N12 0970 it, Adams? If we was both armed, you wouldn't talk so tough".
N12 0980    "No"? Curt reached out and dropped Jess's pistol
N12 0990 back into the holster. He retreated a step and holstered his own.
N12 1000    "All right, Crouch; we're on even terms. Now draw"!
N12 1010    Sweat bubbled out on Jess's swarthy face. The fingers of
N12 1020 his right hand twisted into a claw, but he didn't reach for the gun.
N12 1030    Curt, angry enough to be a little reckless, raised his hands
N12 1040 shoulder high.   "Does this make it any easier, coward"?
N12 1050    "I ain't drawin' against you", Jess said thickly. "I
N12 1060 heard how you outdrew Chico. I ain't a gunslinger".   "No.
N12 1070 You're the kind of bastard who sneaks up on a man from behind
N12 1080 and hits him with a club. I just wanted to hear you say so".
N12 1090    Jess stared at him without answering and let his hands fall to his
N12 1100 sides. He had found Curt's weakness, or what to Jess was a weakness,
N12 1110 and was smart enough to take advantage of it.   Somewhere in
N12 1120 the distance, a woman screamed. Curt was too involved in his own problems
N12 1130 to pay much attention. He had to make Jess talk, and he had to
N12 1140 do it before Stacey Black got curious and came to investigate. Once
N12 1150 more he lifted Jess's gun from its holster, only this time he tossed
N12 1160 it into the stall with the frightened buckskin. He dropped his own
N12 1170 beside it.   "We'll do it another way, then", he said harshly.
N12 1180    Jess's coarse features twisted in a surprised grin which
N12 1190 was smashed out of shape by Curt's fist. With a roar of pain
N12 1200 and fury Jess made his attack.   Curt managed to duck beneath the
N12 1210 man's flailing fist, and drove home a solid left to Jess's mid-section.
N12 1220 It was like hitting a sack of salt. Pain shout up Curt's
N12 1230 arm clear to the shoulder, but Jess seemed hardly aware that he had
N12 1240 been hit. He slammed into the wall, bounced back, and caught Curt with
N12 1250 a roundhouse right which sent him spinning. An inch lower and it
N12 1260 would have knocked him out. As it was, his vision blurred and for a moment
N12 1270 he was unable to move. When his eyes began to focus, he saw Jess
N12 1280 charging at him with a pitchfork.   Curt twisted to one side,
N12 1290 and the tines of the fork bit into the floor. Jess wasted a few seconds
N12 1300 trying to yank them loose. It gave Curt time to stagger to his feet.
N12 1310    The tines broke off under Jess's twisting, and he swung
N12 1320 the handle in an attempt to knock Curt's brains out. His aim was
N12 1330 hurried; so the pitchfork whistled over Curt's head.   By
N12 1340 now Curt was seeing clearly again. He stepped inside Jess's guard
N12 1350 and landed two blows to the big man's belly, putting everything he
N12 1360 had behind them. They made Jess double over. When his head came down,
N12 1370 Curt grabbed him by the hair and catapulted him head first into the
N12 1380 wall.   The building shook, setting the lantern to swaying, and
N12 1390 the buckskin to pitching again. Even Black's old crowbait began
N12 1400 to snort, and from the house Black yelled, "Jess! What's going
N12 1410 on out there"?   Jess didn't seem too sure himself. He
N12 1420 lurched drunkenly to his feet, lowered his head, and took one step away
N12 1430 from the wall. Curt caught him flush on the nose with a blow which
N12 1440 started at the floor.   Jess had had enough. Blood gushed from
N12 1450 his nose, and he backed off as rapidly as he could, stumbling over his
N12 1460 own feet in his frantic haste to get away from Curt's fists.
N12 1470    Curt was in almost as bad shape, but he wouldn't quit. He backed
N12 1480 Jess into a corner, grabbed a handful of the man's shirtfront, and
N12 1490 drew back his right fist.   "Tell me about Arbuckle! You
N12 1500 killed him, didn't you"?   "It was Brenner's idea",
N12 1510 Jess mumbled, dabbing at his nose. "He found out about you and Arbuckle
N12 1520 talking. He wanted to show the town what happened to anyone who
N12 1530 tried to start trouble".   "You mean anyone who stood up
N12 1540 for his rights", Curt said. He let go of the shirt, and Jess slumped
N12 1550 to the floor. Turning his back, Curt crossed to the stall, reached
N12 1560 over to untie the buckskin's halter rope, and waved his hand in the
N12 1570 animal's face.   The buckskin bolted out of the stall. Curt
N12 1580 moved in and picked up his gun. He shook loose straw out of the action,
N12 1590 and placed the gun in his holster. Leaving Jess's where it lay,
N12 1600 he left the stall.   "Get up, Crouch. We're going someplace".
N12 1610    Jess painfully got to his feet as someone rattled the
N12 1620 door.   "Who's in there"? Black called fearfully.
N12 1630    Curt opened the door, grabbed Black by the shoulder, and pulled him
N12 1640 into the barn.   "You're staying right here for a while.
N12 1650 This dirty coward just admitted killing Arbuckle. I'm going to let
N12 1660 him tell it to somebody else". He shoved Black toward the stall,
N12 1670 and pointed his pistol at Jess.   "Get out of here. You're
N12 1680 coming along peacefully, or I'll put a bullet in your leg".
N12 1690    Jess stumbled through the door. Curt followed, reaching behind him
N12 1700 to shut the door and hook it. Black would have little trouble getting
N12 1710 out, but it might delay him a few minutes.   "Where're you
N12 1720 takin' me"? Jess asked worriedly.   "We're going to
N12 1730 Marshal Woods's house. Maybe if the marshal hears this himself,
N12 1740 it'll make a difference. Somebody in this town must still have some
N12 1750 backbone".
N13 0010    Over his shoulder he could see Max's loose grin and the Burnsides'
N13 0020 glowering faces. "Honey", he whispered. "Soon as we
N13 0030 send them on their way and make camp, let's you and me go for a walk
N13 0040 down by the Snake- all by ourselves".   "Sally", admonished
N13 0050 her mother, "you've got all evening to visit with Dan. His
N13 0060 wounds need dressing now".   Mrs& Jackson's words recalled
N13 0070 Dan to his lack of fitness for courting. What a spectacle he was,
N13 0080 caked with dirt and sweat and blood, filthy as a pig and naked as an
N13 0090 Indian, kissing the finest, the sweetest, the bravest, and absolutely
N13 0100 the prettiest girl in this whole wonderful world. He released her reluctantly
N13 0110 for her enthusiastic reunion with Old Hap. "Got a lot
N13 0120 to tend to, but I'll get back quick as I can", he assured her.
N13 0130    Dan could hear Clayton Burnside and Eben Jackson summing up
N13 0140 their final reckoning for rental on the oxen. Jackson was doing most
N13 0150 of the talking. So long as Sally's pa was coming out best on the
N13 0160 haggle, Dan didn't feel the need of putting in his two-bits'
N13 0161 worth.
N13 0170    Soon as the Burnsides moved on, he'd lead Rex down by the
N13 0180 river; there he could shave and scrub himself up for the evening. Damn
N13 0190 it, he thought bitterly, picking up his shirt and staring at the fresh
N13 0200 bullet hole in the sleeve. If I hadn't got Nate stopped when
N13 0210 I did, my duds'd all be shot plumb to hell!   He stooped,
N13 0220 picked up his ruined hat, and pursed his lips thoughtfully. From the
N13 0230 way the wound in his head was itching, Dan knew that it would heal.
N13 0240 But his only
N13 0250 hat was something else again. "Nate! Nate"! he shouted.
N13 0260    The Burnsides, now ready to roll, were purposefully deaf to his
N13 0270 cry.   "Nate"! he bellowed to the retreating back directly
N13 0280 in front of him.   "I ain't going to fight you no more".
N13 0290 Nate turned his head, attempting to speak in a soothing voice.
N13 0300    "I know you ain't"! Dan affirmed, feeling ten feet tall.
N13 0310 He moved in close, jerked the handsome, broad-brimmed beaver hat from
N13 0320 Nate's head and clamped it on his own. "Here's a present for
N13 0330 you", he said, shoving his bullet-riddled hat down over Nate's purpling
N13 0340 forehead. "Me and you's trading hats so's you'll have
N13 0350 something permanent to remember me by"!   Sally left her choring
N13 0360 to stand beside Dan. Slipping her hand in his, they silently watched
N13 0370 the Burnsides make the bend in the road and disappear from sight.
N13 0380 Much as they had to look forward to, they didn't begrudge a moment
N13 0390 of the time they spent seeing them go. #40.# AT FIRST Matilda
N13 0400 could not believe her own eyes. She had spent too many hours looking
N13 0410 ahead, hoping and longing to catch even a glimpse of Dan and finding
N13 0420 nothing but emptiness. And now she could see him, looking uncommon
N13 0430 handsome, standing there beside Sally Jackson and her folks in front
N13 0440 of their trail-worn wagon.   Seeing them waiting there at the
N13 0450 foot of Emigrant Rock was so overwhelming that, for a good minute
N13 0460 after they rounded the bend and started down the grade leading toward
N13 0470 them, Matilda could not speak at all. Then, with a glory that almost
N13 0480 wiped out the deep, downward sags in her careworn face, Matilda leaned
N13 0490 over the wheel and shouted to Hez, who was stumbling along in the
N13 0500 heat and the dust on the opposite side of the wagon "Pa! Pa!
N13 0510 I can see Dan. And he's with the Jacksons"!   "What
N13 0520 about Burnsides"? Hez asked, who still believed they'd have them
N13 0530 to lick.   "They ain't even in sight"! she replied.
N13 0540    By then Hez could see for himself, and so could the others.
N13 0550 Soon they were all shouting greetings, exchanging smiles, and rejoicing
N13 0560 to think that they were all back together again. But even a reunion
N13 0570 as joyous as this one did not make a break in the routines of the day.
N13 0580 Nor could they stop and find out about all that had happened until
N13 0590 they made circle, tended the cattle, tethered the horses, gathered fuel,
N13 0600 carried water, and started their cooking fires. Then, and only then,
N13 0610 with the Jacksons and Dan as their true guests of honor, did the
N13 0620 Harrows take time to catch up on the news. No sooner did they hear
N13 0630 of Dan's injury than both Gran and Matilda went into immediate action.
N13 0640 The wound in his scalp was examined, pronounced healing, and well
N13 0650 doctored with simples, before they dished up the victuals. From then
N13 0660 on, in keeping with the traditions they had followed since childhood,
N13 0670 the whole group settled down to relish their food. Even Sally, in
N13 0680 spite of her gaiety and obvious welcome, followed the old taboo of "quitting
N13 0690 the gab when wearing the nosebag".   After their supper,
N13 0700 the evening turned into a regular "Hoe-Down". Only, they
N13 0701 carefully
N13 0710 substituted old country folk dances for the Virginia Reels and
N13 0720 square dances that were so popular among more worldly trains in the
N13 0730 great westward migration. But with Bill O'Connor on the fiddle,
N13 0740 and Gran Harrow exuberantly shouting "Glory Be" and "Hallelujah"
N13 0750 above their united chant of the lilting old ballads, they played
N13 0760 their quaint folk games with all the fervor and abandon of a real
N13 0770 celebration.   "Golly", Rod exclaimed to Harmony as he dutifully
N13 0780 stood by her side among the ringed spectators, "don't that
N13 0790 fiddle make you wish the Bible didn't say us Baptists can't dance"?
N13 0800    "Nor Methodists, neither", she replied. "Not
N13 0801 that
N13 0810 it matters to me, being this far along".   Rod gave her a warm
N13 0820 pat on the shoulder before he replied. "Come spring, you'll be
N13 0830 kicking up your heels and feeling coltish again too, gal".
N13 0840 At these words of sympathy and understanding, Harmony said generously,
N13 0850 "I don't mind setting here along with Gran while you go out and
N13 0860 join in the games".   Rod shifted his eager eyes from the milling
N13 0870 group out in the circle long enough to reply, "I ain't much
N13 0880 of a hand for Dare-Base and Farmer-in-the-Dell, but I'd sure
N13 0890 like to get in on the handhold and wrestles". He looked down at his
N13 0900 big hands and slowly flexed his long fingers. "Don't reckon there's
N13 0910 nobody out there, 'cept maybe Dan, who can outgrip me, Harmony".
N13 0920    With Rod on his way and Matilda visiting with Mrs&
N13 0930 Jackson while they searched out familiar names on the face of the cliff,
N13 0940 Harmony settled on the edge of the grub box, to ease the pressure
N13 0950 of her swollen body on her bone-weary legs, and worried about all that
N13 0960 might have happened to Sally. And she was deeply thankful that she
N13 0970 could see her now, out there in the midst of a gay, youthful circle,
N13 0980 skipping and singing, "Farmer in the dell, Farmer in the dell, Heigh-ho
N13 0990 the dairy-oh, the farmer in the dell".   At the sight
N13 1000 of Sally's happy face and carefree expression, Harmony's dark, brooding
N13 1010 eyes quickly brightened with unshed tears. She was glad, completely
N13 1020 and unselfishly glad, to see that things were working out the right
N13 1030 way for both Sally and Dan. **h And she really tried to go a step
N13 1040 further and say she hoped they'd be just as right as they now were
N13 1050 for her and for Rod. But she couldn't, not yet. Not with the memory
N13 1060 of her folks and the lost Conestoga still holding her close **h.
N13 1070    Out in the center of the circle the farmer, who was Dan, wasted
N13 1080 no time when they came to the line, "The farmer choose his wife".
N13 1090 With a swift swoop of his big arms, he grabbed Sally out of the
N13 1100 circle surrounding him, and then kissed her soundly before setting her
N13 1110 down so she could stand by his side while they jointly chose the rest
N13 1120 of their "outfit". Soon the child, the dog, the cat **h and even
N13 1130 the cheese, all joined them out there in the circle.   By now
N13 1140 Harmony could see that most of the adults in the train were winded and
N13 1150 resting, or else siphoned off from the games by the challenging lure
N13 1160 of the great cliff towering above them. No matter how many registry
N13 1170 rocks they came to on this journey, each one exerted its own appeal.
N13 1180 Even strange names seemed to make them feel closer to some kind of civilization
N13 1190 when stumbled across out here in this wilderness. Already
N13 1200 a few hardy folk from their own train were zealously chipping away at
N13 1210 the register rocks, leaving their own records along with those made by
N13 1220 the earlier trains. Soon she saw Rod and Hez moving over to join them.
N13 1230    No sooner were they through and the guards posted, than the
N13 1240 whole camp turned in for a night of sound sleep. For Matilda, it
N13 1250 was the first she had known in many a night. Even the knowledge that
N13 1260 she was losing another boy, as a mother always does when a marriage is
N13 1270 made, did not prevent her from having the first carefree, dreamless sleep
N13 1280 that she had known since they dropped down the canyon and into Bear
N13 1290 Valley, way, way back there when they were crossing those other mountains.
N13 1300 ## Next morning, they moved on again.   "My souls'
N13 1310 a-gracious"! Gran Harrow exclaimed, watching their rippling
N13 1320 muscles as Rod and Dan swung her up into the load. "A body would
N13 1330 swear I floated right up here on a cloud"!   Rod and Dan
N13 1340 released their holds on the arms of her hickory rocker and exchanged
N13 1350 embarrassed grins. "Shucks, Gran", they said almost in unison. "That
N13 1360 wasn't nothing at all"!   Leaning forward in her chair,
N13 1370 Gran nearsightedly scrutinized Dan's face. "How's Sally
N13 1380 like rubbin' agin that thar little ticklebrush ye're a-raising"?
N13 1390    "Quit ragging him, Gran", Rod protested.   "I
N13 1400 ain't ragging him"! Gran peered again at the week-old blond
N13 1410 mustache shadowing Dan's upper lip. "But honest-to-Betsy, I've
N13 1420 seed more hair than that on a piece o' bacon".   The two
N13 1421 tall
N13 1430 brothers waited silently while their mother handed Gran her cold
N13 1440 snack and water jug, placed the chamber pot beside her feet, and returned
N13 1450 to her place at the front of the wagon with Alice.   "Rheumatics
N13 1460 worse, Pa"? Dan asked Hez, who had limped back from his
N13 1470 team to hold the notched-stick chair braces in place while his boys swung
N13 1480 up the tailgate and tied it tight at the ends.   "My right
N13 1490 leg's stiff as a board this morning", he replied. "But the sun'll
N13 1500 fry it out'n me onct we git to rolling".   The three
N13 1510 men stepped out to the side to wait for Captain Clemens' signal.
N13 1520    Hez looked up at the high face of Emigrant Rock, official signboard
N13 1530 for the Raft River turnoff, and gloated, "Seems funny that
N13 1540 them Burnsides never took time to leave their John-Henry up thar".
N13 1550    "Wonder what made them hurry so", Rod drawled, giving
N13 1560 Dan a sly wink.   Dan grinned, and changed the subject. "From
N13 1570 now on, Sally and me and her folks aim to give you our turn when it
N13 1580 comes up and fall in behind you and Rod's outfit".   "Ain't
N13 1590 no sense you eating our dust", Rod protested.   "Sally
N13 1600 and her ma want to trade off on account of Harmony being so far along",
N13 1610 Dan explained. "Jackson recruited his critters, and him and
N13 1620 me fixed up his wagon while we was waiting for you to catch up. He's
N13 1630 got the tightest running gear in the train now. Besides, 'tain't
N13 1640 no more'n right for me to follow with my black oxen, so's I can
N13 1650 unhook and pull up fast if either of you get in a pinch".   Captain
N13 1660 Clemens' signal shot sent the men hurrying to their waiting
N13 1670 teams.   "Reckon ye're right, Dan", Hez called back over
N13 1680 his shoulder. "I'll shore be needing ye both on the pull out o'
N13 1690 the canyon".   Rod looked apprehensively ahead at the narrowing,
N13 1700 precipice-walled gorge. "We'll double teams zigzagging up the
N13 1710 mountain, Harmony", he spoke reassuringly, concerned by the pinched
N13 1720 look around her mouth. "Like enough we'll all be up on top by
N13 1730 sundown".   Out of the corner of his eye, he could see his father's
N13 1740 wheels beginning to turn.   Before Harmony had a chance
N13 1750 to reply, Rod cracked his long whip over his thin oxen's backs **h.
N14 0010 While no larger than Dutch Springs, this mining supply town had
N14 0015 the
N14 0020 appearance of being far busier and more prosperous. Men crowded the streets
N14 0030 and freight rigs and teams were moving about. Although they were
N14 0040 forced to maintain a sharper watch, this activity enabled them to ride
N14 0050 in and rack their broncs without any particular attention being paid
N14 0060 them.   "Gyp'll be holdin' forth in some bar if he's
N14 0070 here at all", Cobb declared, glancing along the street as they stretched
N14 0080 their legs.   There were no less than six or seven saloons
N14 0090 in Ganado, not counting the lower class dives, all vying for the trade
N14 0100 of celebrating miners and teamsters. Pat only nodded. "Take one
N14 0110 side of the street, and I'll take the other", he proposed. "If
N14 0120 you spot Carmer give a yell before you move in".   Cobb's
N14 0130 assent was tight. "You do the same. It's all I ask, Stevens".
N14 0140    Separating, they took different sides of the main drag and
N14 0150 systematically combed the bars. Russ visited two places without result
N14 0160 and his blood pressure was down to zero. Suddenly it seemed to him
N14 0170 insane that they might hope to locate Gyp Carmer so casually, even were
N14 0180 he to prove the thief. He tramped out of the Miners Rest with his
N14 0190 hopes plummeting, and headed doggedly for the Palace Saloon, the
N14 0200 last place of any consequence on this side of the street.   The
N14 0210 Palace was an elaborate establishment, built practically on stilts in
N14 0220 front, with long flights of wooden steps running up to the porch. Behind
N14 0230 its ornate facade the notorious dive clung like a bird's nest
N14 0240 to the rocky ribs of the canyonside. Russ ran up the steps quickly to
N14 0250 the plank porch. The front windows of the place were long and narrow,
N14 0260 reaching nearly to the floor and affording an unusually good view of
N14 0270 the interior. Heading for the batwings, Cobb glanced perfunctorily
N14 0280 through the nearest window, and suddenly dodged aside. Nerves tight as
N14 0290 a bowstring, he paused to gather his wits.   Against all expectation,
N14 0300 Carmer was inside, clearly enjoying himself to the hilt and already
N14 0310 so tipsy that it seemed unlikely he was bothering to note anything
N14 0320 or anyone about him. Fierce anger surged through Russ. He fought
N14 0330 down the impulse to rush in and collar the vicious puncher on the spot.
N14 0340    Reaching the porch rail beyond view of the bar windows, he
N14 0350 feverishly scanned the busy street below. Stevens was nowhere in sight.
N14 0360 Muffling an exclamation, Russ sprang to the nearest steps and ran
N14 0370 down. As luck had it, he had not gone twenty feet in the street before
N14 0380 Pat appeared.   "What luck, Cobb"? he said swiftly.
N14 0390    Russ pointed upward. "He's there", he got out tersely,
N14 0400 curbing his rising excitement. Hitching his cartridge belt around, Pat
N14 0410 glanced upward briefly at the Palace and started that way with Cobb
N14 0420 at his side.   Climbing the steps steadily, they reached the
N14 0430 top and headed for the door. Pat pushed through first. Forced behind
N14 0440 him momentarily, Russ followed at once and halted two steps inside.
N14 0450 His eyes widened. While five minutes ago the place had presented a scene
N14 0460 of easy revelry, with Gyp Carmer a prominent figure, it was now
N14 0470 as somnolent and dull as the day before payday. Carmer himself was nowhere
N14 0480 to be seen.   A man knocked the roulette ball about idly
N14 0490 in its track, and another dozed at one of the card tables. Two men murmured
N14 0500 with their heads together at the end of the bar, while the sleek-headed
N14 0510 bartender absently polished a glass. Looking the setup over,
N14 0520 Stevens started coolly for the rear of the place.   "Where yuh
N14 0530 goin'"?   It was the barkeep. Halting, Pat turned to
N14 0540 survey him deliberately. He did not reply, going on toward the back.
N14 0541 Less
N14 0550 assured than the tall, wide-shouldered man in the lead, Cobb followed
N14 0560 alertly, a hand on his gun butt. The bartender measured this situation
N14 0570 with heavy eyes and decided he wanted no part of it. He said no
N14 0580 more.   A hall opened in back of the bar, running toward an ell.
N14 0590 Pat moved into it. Small rooms, probably for cards, opened off on
N14 0591 either
N14 0600 side. All the doors were open at this hour except one, and it was
N14 0610 toward this that Stevens made his way with Russ close at his shoulder.
N14 0620    The door was locked. A single kick made it spring open,
N14 0630 shuddering. Pat saw Gyp Carmer staggering forward, a half-filled bottle
N14 0640 upraised
N14 0650 as if to strike. Russ sprang through to bat it nimbly aside.
N14 0660 With a bellow Carmer lunged at him. But he was more than half-drunk,
N14 0670 and his faculties were dulled. Cobb unleashed a single powerful jab
N14 0680 that sent Gyp reeling wildly and crashing down with a whining groan.
N14 0690 He started to struggle up, heaving desperately. Russ gave him a brutal
N14 0700 thrust that tumbled him over flat on his stomach. Kneeling, Cobb
N14 0710 planted a sturdy knee in the small of his back, holding him pinned.
N14 0720    "Okay, Stevens. I've drawn his fangs", he snapped. "Go
N14 0730 through his pockets, will you? If we have to we'll take him apart
N14 0740 and see what he's made of"!   Complying methodically,
N14 0750 Pat pulled pocket after pocket inside out without finding a thing. Cobb
N14 0760 watched this with hunted eyes, his desperate hope waning by the moment.
N14 0770 Stevens was grunting over the last empty pocket when Russ abruptly
N14 0780 rose and lunged toward Carmer's hat, which had tumbled half-a-dozen
N14 0790 feet away when he first fell. Cobb got it. Straightening up, his
N14 0800 eyes ablaze, he held out the battered Stetson.   "Look at
N14 0810 this"!   Inside the crown, stuffed behind the stained sweatband,
N14 0820 could be seen thin, crumpled wads of currency. Carmer's ingenious
N14 0830 cache for his loot had been found. #14# "By golly, Stevens!
N14 0840 You were right", Russ exclaimed, tearing the loose bills out
N14 0850 of Carmer's hat. "That is, if we can be sure this is Colcord's
N14 0860 money"-   Pat grunted. "Where else would he get it? Count
N14 0870 what you've got there, Cobb. We can soon tell".   Russ
N14 0880 ran through the bills and named an amount it was highly unlikely any
N14 0890 cowpuncher would come by honestly. Pat nodded. "It's within a
N14 0900 hundred of what Crip had", he declared. "We know Penny spent some-
N14 0910 and Carmer must have dropped a few dollars getting that load on".
N14 0920    Handing the money over, Russ wiped his hands on his pants-legs
N14 0930 as if ridding himself of something unclean. His glance at Gyp
N14 0940 Carmer was disdainful. "Shall we get out of here"?   Leaving
N14 0950 the card room, they moved back through the Palace the way they
N14 0960 had come. Glowering looks met them in the bar, but there was no attempt
N14 0970 to halt them. Pausing in the outside door to glance behind him, Pat
N14 0980 looked his unspoken warning and stepped out. He and Cobb clattered
N14 0990 down the high steps to the street.   Neither spoke till they reached
N14 1000 their horses. Pat paused there, looking across at the young fellow.
N14 1010 It'll be a pleasure for you to return this money to Colcord
N14 1020 and tell him about it, Russ". He started to return it.   To
N14 1030 his faint surprise Russ held up his hand. "Not me", he ruled decidedly.
N14 1040 I've had enough. It was you that tracked it down anyway, Stevens",
N14 1050 he pursued strictly. "I'll shove along home".
N14 1060    "Whatever you say". Pat swung into the saddle, yet still he delayed,
N14 1070 his brows puckered. "You owe it to Penny to give her a chance
N14 1080 to explain that she was defending you, really", he observed mildly.
N14 1090    "Old Crip wasn't", retorted Cobb tartly. "He'll
N14 1100 know when you tell him. But I want this to sink in awhile. Then maybe
N14 1110 next time he won't be so quick on the trigger".   "Pat
N14 1120 had never pretended to give advice in such affairs. "You're the
N14 1130 doctor", he returned with a smile. "But I still think Penny's
N14 1140 an awful nice girl, Russ"-   "You don't have to tell
N14 1150 me", flashed Cobb. Giving the other a dark look, he hauled his bronc
N14 1160 around and trotted down off the street. Pat let him go, following
N14 1170 more leisurely. At the first restaurant he sensibly pulled up to go in
N14 1180 for his dinner, and as a consequence did not see Cobb strike the open
N14 1190 range at the mouth of the canyon and head straight across the swells
N14 1200 for Antler.   The truth was, the puncher was both bewildered
N14 1210 and dismayed by his own mixed luck. "Penny's always glad to see me
N14 1220 over there", he mused bleakly. Yet had he not visited the girl at
N14 1230 Saw Buck he would never have been involved in this latest tangle.
N14 1240    Over and above that, however, was his growing suspicion of Chuck
N14 1250 Stober's part in recent events. "Gyp Carmer couldn't have
N14 1260 known about Colcord's money unless he was told- and who else would
N14 1270 have told him"? he asked himself. "It's the second time War
N14 1280 Ax hands made a play for that money.   How much of an accident
N14 1290 could that be"?   Nearing home, he jerked to attention at
N14 1300 the distant crack of a gun. In town no one paid much attention to an
N14 1310 occasional shot; but on the range gunfire had a meaning. Hauling up,
N14 1320 Russ listened carefully. Two minutes later it came again- a double
N14 1330 explosion, followed by a third, sounding more distant.   As near
N14 1340 as Cobb could determine the shots came from the direction of the
N14 1350 Antler ranch house. He tightened up in a twinkling. So far as he knew,
N14 1360 only his father could be there. What did it mean? Clapping spurs
N14 1370 to the bronc he set off at a sharp canter, with growing alarm.
N14 1380    His first glimpse of the ranch house across the brushy swells
N14 1385 told
N14 1390 him nothing. Still a quarter-mile away, the fresh clap of guns only served
N14 1400 to increase his speed. Setting a course straight for the house,
N14 1410 he was covering ground fast when an angry bee buzzed past close to his
N14 1420 face.   When it was followed by a second, whining even closer,
N14 1425 Cobb
N14 1430 swerved sharply aside into a depression. He knew now what he was
N14 1440 up against. Whoever was out there hiding in the brushy cover was besieging
N14 1450 the Antler house and, having spotted his approach, was determined
N14 1460 to drive him off before he could get into the fight.   Cursing
N14 1470 himself for having ridden out the last few days without a rifle in
N14 1480 his saddle boot, Russ drew his Colt and examined it briefly. If he
N14 1490 wondered whether the attackers would allow him to pull away unmolested,
N14 1500 he had his answer a moment later.   "Over this way! He ain't
N14 1510 gone far"! a harsh cry floated to him across the brush.
N14 1520    A carbine cracked more loudly, and a slug clipped fragments from the
N14 1530 brush off at one side. The would-be assassin had his position figured
N14 1540 pretty close. Dismounting, Russ looked about hastily. Toward the
N14 1550 west this depression led toward a draw. Leading his pony, he hurried
N14 1560 that way, not remounting till he was well below the level of the surrounding
N14 1570 range.   Swinging up then, and bending forward over the
N14 1580 horn, he urged his mount down the meandering draw. He had not covered
N14 1590 a hundred yards before a gun crashed from somewhere behind. He had
N14 1600 been sighted, and his attacker pumping shot after shot. A shot or two
N14 1610 went wild before Cobb felt something tug at his foot. A slug had torn
N14 1620 half of his stirrup-guard away. A second twitched his shirtsleeve,
N14 1630 and he felt a brief burn on his upper arm. Another snarled close overhead.
N14 1640    "Jumping Jerusalem! Let's get out of here"!
N14 1650    At the first shot Russ had hurled his mount to the left toward
N14 1660 the side of the winding draw. The long minute before he reached effective
N14 1670 cover seemed endless. Sweeping a look around, he saw that he
N14 1680 was safe for the moment. He heard cries from behind him, but he could
N14 1690 make out no words.   He dashed madly for the next elbow turn in
N14 1700 the draw, and made it. Recklessly hurling the bronc sidewise into an
N14 1710 intersecting draw, he plunged forward with undiminished speed. Gradually
N14 1720 the wash climbed upward, forcing him toward open range. Yet he must
N14 1730 chance it. He clambered out of the dwindling wash, the loose dirt
N14 1740 flying behind him, and flashed a look about.
N15 0010 Early in November the clouds lifted enough to carry out the assigned
N15 0020 missions. And Sweeney Squadron put its first marks on the combat
N15 0030 record. Every plane that could fly was sent into the air.
N15 0040    Cricket took eight ships and went south across the Straits and along
N15 0050 the north coast of Mindanao to Cagayan. Anything the enemy flew
N15 0060 or floated was his target. Fleischman with eight was to patrol the Leyte
N15 0070 Gulf area, with his main task to get any <kamikaze> before they
N15 0080 got to the ships. Greg himself took two flights, with Todman leading
N15 0090 the second, to patrol and look for targets of opportunities around
N15 0100 Ormoc on the east coast of Leyte. Each plane carried two five-hundred
N15 0110 pound bombs.   A weapons carrier took Greg, Todman, Belton,
N15 0120 Banjo Ferguson, and Walters and the others the two miles from the
N15 0130 bivouac area to the strip. It was a rough long ride through the mud
N15 0140 and pot holes. No one had much to say. The sky glowered down at them.
N15 0150 There was a feeling that this mission would be canceled like all the
N15 0160 others and that this muddy wet dark world of combat would go on forever.
N15 0170    The truck dropped them off at the various revetments spread
N15 0180 through the jungle. Donovan snatched Greg's chute from him with
N15 0190 a belligerent motion and almost ran to the plane with it. His face was
N15 0200 dark as the sky above it as he stood on the wing and waited for his
N15 0210 pilot. Greg climbed into the cockpit feeling as if he had never been
N15 0220 in one before. But his hands and those of Donovan moved automatically
N15 0230 adjusting and arranging in the check-out procedure.   "I've
N15 0240 got her as neat as I can", Donovan said, as he dropped the straps
N15 0250 of the Seton harness over Greg's shoulders. "But this goddamn
N15 0260 climate. It's for carabao not airplanes".   "We'll make
N15 0270 out. Don't you worry, chief", Greg replied, wondering if he himself
N15 0280 believed it.   "Yeah. See you", Donovan said as he jumped
N15 0290 off the wing. The expression was his trade-mark, his open sesame to
N15 0300 good luck, and his prayer that pilot and plane would always return.
N15 0310 At the prearranged time, Greg started the engine and taxied out. From
N15 0320 the time the chocks were pulled until the plane was out of sight,
N15 0330 he knew Donovan would keep his back to the strip. He wondered where
N15 0340 the superstition had originated that it was bad luck for a crew chief
N15 0350 to watch his plane take off on a combat mission. Yet long before the
N15 0360 scheduled time for return, Donovan would be watching for every speck
N15 0370 in the sky.   Greg rumbled down the rough metal taxi strip, and
N15 0380 one by one the seven members of his flight fell in behind him. The dark
N15 0390 brown bombs hanging under each wing looked large and powerful. The
N15 0400 pilots' heads looked ridiculously small. The control tower gave him
N15 0410 immediate take-off permission, and the clean roar of the engine that
N15 0420 took him off the rough strip spoke well of the skill of Donovan.
N15 0430    Greg's mission was the last to leave, and as he circled the ships
N15 0440 off Tacloban he saw the clouds were dropping down again. To the west,
N15 0450 the dark green hills of Leyte were lost in the clouds about halfway
N15 0460 up their slopes. Underneath him the sea was a dark and muddied gray.
N15 0470 Water splashed against his windshield as he led the flight in and
N15 0480 out of showers. The metal strip they had taken off from was coal black
N15 0490 against the green jungle around it. He possessed the fighter pilot's
N15 0500 horror of bad weather and instrument flying, and he wondered, if
N15 0510 the ceiling did drop, whether he and the other flights would be able to
N15 0520 find their way back in this unfamiliar territory. He shivered in the
N15 0530 warm cockpit.   The overcast was solid above him. As far as he
N15 0540 could see there was no hole to climb through it. They would have to
N15 0550 go west through the narrow river valley that separated Leyte from Samar
N15 0560 and hope that it didn't close in before they returned.   Greg
N15 0570 pushed the radio button on his throttle. "Todman, let's try
N15 0580 to go under this stuff. Stay in close and we'll go up the valley".
N15 0590    "Roger, Sweeney", Todman called back, and pulled his four
N15 0600 in and slightly above Greg.   Greg took the formation wide
N15 0610 around three ~A-26 attack bombers that were headed north over the Gulf.
N15 0620 He dropped down to five hundred feet, swinging a little north of
N15 0630 the city of Tacloban, and punched into the opening that showed against
N15 0640 the mountain.   The valley was only a few hundred yards wide
N15 0650 with just about room enough for a properly performed hundred-and-eighty-degree
N15 0660 turn. It was only a fifteen-minute flight, but before it was
N15 0670 through Greg felt
N15 0680 himself developing a case of claustrophobia. The ceiling
N15 0690 stayed solid above them at about eight hundred feet, and at times
N15 0700 the sheer cliffs seemed about to close in. If the other pilots were worried,
N15 0710 they did not show it. The formation remained perfect.
N15 0720 When the sea was visible ahead of them, the relief was as great as if
N15 0730 the sun had come out. He spread the flight out and led them across a
N15 0740 point of land and then down the coast. Although they drew light ground
N15 0750 fire they saw no signs of activity.   Once Todman thought he
N15 0760 had spotted a tank and went down to investigate while Greg covered him.
N15 0770 "Somebody beat us to it"! Todman said over the radio as he
N15 0780 came back up in formation.   Visibility continued to be limited,
N15 0790 and Greg was never able to get above a thousand feet. It was frustrating.
N15 0800 His earphones were constantly full of the sounds of enemy contacts
N15 0810 made by other flights. He thought once that he identified the somewhat
N15 0820 hysterical voice of Fleischman claiming a kill. But Greg's
N15 0830 area remained as placid as a Florida dawn.   Finally, as time
N15 0840 began to run out, he headed into Ormoc and glide-bombed a group of houses
N15 0850 that Intelligence had thought might contain Japanese supplies.
N15 0860 The low clouds made bombing difficult. There was not enough room to
N15 0870 make the usual vertical bomb run. The accuracy was deplorable. One
N15 0880 of Greg's bombs hung up, and he was miles from the target before he
N15 0890 could get rid of it. Only one of the flight scored a direct hit and
N15 0900 the rest blew up jungle.   With their load of bombs gone, the planes
N15 0910 moved swiftly and easily. Greg went up tight against the ceiling
N15 0920 and led them back to their pass to home. Mercifully, it was still open.
N15 0930 Like a man making a deep dive, Greg took full breath and plunged
N15 0940 back into the valley. He was about to make a gas check on his flight
N15 0950 when Todman's voice broke in: "Sweeneys! Three bogies. Twelve
N15 0960 o'clock level".   Greg's eyes flicked up from his instrument
N15 0970 panel. He saw them, specks against the gray, but closing fast.
N15 0980 They were headed straight for each other on a collision course. Friend
N15 0990 or enemy? The same old question. And only a few seconds to answer
N15 1000 it.   "Zeros"! Todman said excitedly, and hopefully.
N15 1010    And then he thought Todman might be right. His mind flicked
N15 1020 through the mental pictures he had from the hours of Aircraft Identification.
N15 1030 He narrowed the shape down to two: either a Zero or a U&
N15 1040 S& Navy type aircraft.   If it were the enemy, tactically
N15 1050 his position was correct. Japanese aircraft were strong on maneuverability,
N15 1060 American on speed and firepower. His present maximum altitude,
N15 1070 up against the overcast, gave him the opportunity to exploit his
N15 1080 advantages. But it also made him conspicuous to the enemy, if it was
N15 1090 the enemy, and he hadn't been spotted already. But the closing aircraft
N15 1100 showed no sign of deviating from their original course.   In
N15 1110 seconds, Greg made his decision.   He pushed the radio button.
N15 1120 "Sweeney Blue, hit the deck. Lots of throttle. Todman, you take
N15 1130 the one on the left. I'll take the middle. Belton, the one on the
N15 1140 right. If **h <if> they're Japs. Let's make sure first".
N15 1150 Greg had the stick forward and the throttle up before he heard the two
N15 1160 "Rogers".   The planes, light with most of the gas burned
N15 1170 out, responded beautifully. Greg's airspeed indicator was over 350
N15 1180 when he leveled off just above the trees. The opposing aircraft continued
N15 1190 to come on. They appeared to be the enemy. Greg wished the Air
N15 1200 Corps had continued to camouflage planes. There was, of course, no
N15 1210 way for the other planes to get by them. It was a box. But they could
N15 1220 turn and escape to the east.   Greg pushed the radio button again.
N15 1230 "Todman, drop your second element back. If any of us miss, they
N15 1240 can pick up the pieces. Now let's make sure they're Japs".
N15 1250    Even as he said it, Greg knew they had found the enemy. The
N15 1260 shapes were unmistakable and the Rising Suns were showing up, slightly
N15 1270 brighter pinpoints in the gray gloom.   Greg slapped his hand
N15 1280 across the switches that turned on the guns and gun camera and gun sight.
N15 1290 The circle with the dot in the center showed up yellow on the reflector
N15 1300 glass in front of him. His hands shook. "Arm your guns, Sweeneys".
N15 1310    "They're Japs. They're Japs", came a high-pitched
N15 1320 voice.   "Greg to Sweeney Blue. One pass only.
N15 1330 No turns. You'll bust your ass in this canyon. That's an order".
N15 1340    He moved the flights over against one wall. It gave them
N15 1350 all a chance to make a high-speed climbing turn attack and a break-away
N15 1360 that would not take them into the overcast or force a tight-turn recovery.
N15 1370 If the turn was too tight, a barrel roll would bring them out.
N15 1380 A hell of an altitude for a barrel roll, but it could be done.
N15 1390    Greg slammed his throttle to the fire wall and rammed up the ~RPM,
N15 1400 and the engine responded as if it had been waiting. The clearly
N15 1410 identifiable enemy continued on as if no one else were around. "They
N15 1420 haven't seen us", Greg yelled to himself over the engine noise.
N15 1430 "They haven't seen us". He hit the radio button. "Now, Sweeneys,
N15 1440 now. Let's take 'em home".   He hauled back on the
N15 1450 stick and felt his cheeks sag. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched
N15 1460 his wingman move out a bit and shoot up with him. Perfect, he thought.
N15 1470    With the rapid rate of closure, the approach from below,
N15 1480 the side, and ahead, there would be only a moment when damage could
N15 1490 be done. Just like shooting at a duck while performing a half-gainer
N15 1500 from a diving board.   He tightened his turn. His nose up. It
N15 1510 was going to be dangerous. Eight aircraft in this small box. Please,
N15 1520 dear God, make my pilots good, he prayed.   He took a lead on
N15 1530 the enemy, using a distance of five of the radii in his circular sight
N15 1540 and then added another. The enemy did not veer. It did not seem possible
N15 1550 that they hadn't been spotted. Blind fools.   Now!
N15 1560    Greg's fingers closed on the stick trigger. The plane rumbled
N15 1570 and slowed. Six red lines etched their way into the gray and vanished.
N15 1580 As if drawn by a wire the enemy flew into them. Greg tightened his
N15 1590 turn until the plane shuddered. Luck was with him. His burst held
N15 1600 for a second on the engine section of the plane. The Jap's propeller
N15 1610 flew off in pieces. A large piece of engine cowling vanished. It
N15 1620 was all Greg had time to see. His maneuvering for the shot had placed
N15 1630 him near the overcast, almost inverted and heading up into the clouds.
N15 1640 His speed was dropping rapidly. If he spun out now, he would join
N15 1650 his opponent on the ground.   Wingman, stay clear, he prayed. He
N15 1660 pushed stick and rudder and entered the overcast on his back. He fought
N15 1670 the panic of vertigo. He had no idea which was up and which was
N15 1680 down. He held the controls where they had been. Sweat popped out over
N15 1690 him and he felt the slick between his palm and the stick grip. His
N15 1700 air speed dropped until he thought he would spin out.
N16 0010    Over the rattling of fenders, humming of tires and chattering
N16 0020 of gears there was a charming melody of whispers and tiny giggles. Cool
N16 0030 air moving slowly through the open or smashed-out side windows hinted
N16 0040 of blooming roadside vegetation, and occasionally a faint fragrance
N16 0050 of perfume swirled from the back seat.   "Moriarty", my driver
N16 0060 suddenly exclaimed with something so definite, so final in his tone
N16 0070 I
N16 0080 once more repeated the absurdity, mustering all my latent powers of
N16 0090 hypocrisy to sound convinced.   We were coming to an intersection,
N16 0100 turning right, chuffing to a stop.   Forced to realize that
N16 0110 this was the end of a very short line I scanned a road marker and discovered
N16 0120 what the end of a slightly longer line would be for the old
N16 0130 Mexican: Moriarty, New Mexico.   "Gracias. Adios", I
N16 0140 said, exhausting my Spanish vocabulary on my host and exchanging one
N16 0150 of a scarcely-tapped store of smiles with my host's daughters. I
N16 0160 waved with discretion and moderation to the vague golden faces fading
N16 0170 through rising dust and the distortions of the back window glass. Then
N16 0180 I saw the father's head slightly turn; gauche rainbow shapes replaced
N16 0190 the poignant ovals of gold. ## Autos whizzed past. White-shirted
N16 0200 and conservatively-cravated drivers stared conspicuously toward
N16 0210 the eastern horizon and past my supplicating and accusing gaze.
N16 0220    Suddenly a treble auto horn tootley-toot-tootled, and, thumbing hopefully,
N16 0230 I saw emergent in windshield flash: red lips, streaming silk
N16 0240 of blonde hair and- ah, trembling confusion of hope, apprehension,
N16 0250 despair- the leering face of old Herry.   "Mor-ee-air-teeeee",
N16 0260 he shrieked, his white teeth grossly counterpointing those of
N16 0270 the glittering blonde.   Over the rapidly-diminishing outline of
N16 0280 a jump seat piled high with luggage Herry's black brushcut was just
N16 0290 discernible, near, or enviably near that spot where- hidden- more
N16 0300 delicately-textured, most beautifully tinted hair must still be streaming
N16 0310 back in cool, oh cool wind sweetly perfumed with sagebrush and yucca
N16 0320 flowers and engine fumes.   Damn his luck. I would have foregone
N16 0330 my romantic chances rather than leave a friend sweltering and dusty
N16 0340 and- Well, at least I wouldn't have shouted back a taunt.
N16 0350    Still nursing anger I listlessly thumbed a car that was slowly
N16 0360 approaching, its pre-war chrome nearly blinding me. It was stopping.
N16 0370    Just as I straightened up with my duffel bag, I heard: "Sahjunt
N16 0380 Yoorick, meet Mrs& Major J& A& Roebuck". The
N16 0390 voice
N16 0400 was that of Johnson, tail gunner off another crew.   Squeezing
N16 0410 a look between Johnson's fat jowls and the car frame a handsome
N16 0420 and still darkhaired lady inquired "Y'all drahve"?   I
N16 0430 nodded.   "Onleh one thiihng", Mrs& Roebuck continued.
N16 0440 "Ahm goin nawth t'jawn mah husbun in Sante Fe, an y'all maht
N16 0450 prefuh the suhthuhn rewt. But Corporal Johnson has alreadeh said it
N16 0460 didn make no diffrunce t'hi-im".   I said that it didn't
N16 0470 make any difference to me either, as far as I knew.   How far
N16 0480 I knew will shortly become apparent. Let me pass over the trip to Sante
N16 0490 Fe with something of the same speed which made Mrs& Roebuck
N16 0500 "wonduh if the wahtahm speed limit" (35 m&p&h&) "is still
N16 0510 in ee-faket".   I let up on the accelerator, only to gradually
N16 0520 reach again the 60 m&p&h& which would, I hoped, overhaul Herry
N16 0530 and the blonde, and as there were cars whose drivers apparently had
N16 0540 something more important to catch than had I, Mrs& Major Roebuck
N16 0550 settled down to practicing on Corporal Johnson the kittenish wiles
N16 0560 she would need when making her duty call on Colonel and Mrs& Somebody
N16 0570 in Sante Fe.   When Johnson ejaculated "Howsabout my
N16 0580 buying us all a nice cold Co-cola, Ma'am"? Mrs& Roebuck smilingly
N16 0590 declined and began suddenly to go on about her son, who was "onleh
N16 0600 a little younguh than you bawhs".   Johnson never would
N16 0610 have believed she had a son that age. Mrs& Roebuck thought Johnson
N16 0620 was a "sweet bawh t'lah lahk thet", but her Herman was getting
N16 0630 to be a man, there was no getting around it. "Just befoh he left
N16 0640 foh his academeh we wuh hevin dack-rihs on the vuhranduh, Major Roebuck
N16 0650 an Ah, an Huhmun says 'May Ah hev one <too>'? just as
N16 0660 p'lite an- an cohnfidunt, an Ah says 'Uh coahse you cain't',
N16 0670 but he says 'Whah nawt, you ah hevin one'? an Ah coudn ansuh
N16 0680 him an so Ah said 'Aw right, Ah gay-ess, an his fathuh didn uttuh
N16 0690 one wohd an aftuh Huhmun was gone, the majuh laughed an tole me
N16 0700 thet he an the bawh had been hevin an occasional drink t'gethuh f'ovuh
N16 0710 a yeah, onleh an occasional one, but just the same it was behahn
N16 0720 mah back, an Ah doan think <thet's> nahce at all, d'<you>"?
N16 0730    "No, I don't", Johnson said. "I'm a good Baptist,
N16 0740 and drinking **h" ## Mrs& Roebuck very kindly let me drive
N16 0750 through Sante Fe to a road which would, she said, lead us to Taos
N16 0760 and then Raton and "eventshahleh" out of New Mexico. How lightly
N16 0770 her "eventshah-leh" passed into the crannies where I was storing
N16 0780 dialect material for some vaguely dreamed opus, and how the word
N16 0790 would echo. And re-echo.   Hardly had Mrs& Roebuck driven
N16 0800 off when a rusty pick-up truck, father or grandfather of Senor
N16 0810 "Moriarty's" Ford sedan, came screeching to a dust-swirling stop,
N16 0820 and a brown face appeared, its nose threatened by shards of what
N16 0830 had once been the side window.   "Get in, buddies. Get in".
N16 0840 The straight, black hair flopped in a vigorous nod, the slender nose
N16 0850 plunged toward glass teeth and drew safely back.   Johnson unwired
N16 0860 the right hand door, whose window was, like the left one, merely loosely-taped
N16 0870 fragments of glass, and Johnson wadded himself into a narrow
N16 0880 seat made still more narrow by three cases of beer.   "In
N16 0890 back, buddy", the driver said to me.   Quickly but carefully
N16 0900 lowering my duffel bag over the low side-rack, I stepped on the running
N16 0910 board; it flopped down, sprang back up and gouged my shin. The truck
N16 0920 was hurtling forward. I seized the rack and made a western-style
N16 0930 flying-mount just in time, one of my knees mercifully landing on my duffel
N16 0940 bag- and merely wrecking my camera, I was to discover later-
N16 0950 my other knee landing on the slivery truck floor boards and- but this
N16 0960 is no medical report.   I was again in motion and at a speed
N16 0970 which belied the truck's similarity to Senor ~X's Ford turtle.
N16 0980 Maybe I would beat old Herry to Siberia after all. Whatever satisfaction
N16 0990 that might offer.   Something pulled my leg.   I
N16 1000 drew back, drawing back my foot for a kick. But it was only Johnson
N16 1010 reaching around the wire chicken fencing, which half covered the truck
N16 1020 cab's glassless rear window. The way his red rubber lips were stretched
N16 1030 across his pearly little teeth I though he was only having a
N16 1040 little joke, but, no, he wanted me to bend down from the roar of wind
N16 1050 so he could roar something into my ear.   "Wanna beer"?
N16 1060    "Hell, yes", I roared back between dusty lips. <Did> I
N16 1070 want a beer? Did an anteater want ants?   "Bueno, amigo.
N16 1080 Gracias", I hollered, my first long swallow filling me with confidence
N16 1090 and immediately doubling the size of my Spanish vocabulary.
N16 1100    At once my ears were drowned by a flow of what I took to be Spanish,
N16 1110 but- the driver's white teeth flashing at me, the road wildly
N16 1120 veering beyond his glistening hair, beyond his gesticulating bottle-
N16 1130 it could have
N16 1140 been the purest Oxford English I was half hearing; I
N16 1150 wouldn't have known the difference.   Johnson was trying to
N16 1160 grab the wheel, though the swerve of the truck was throwing him away from
N16 1170 it. White teeth suddenly vanishing, the driver slammed the side of
N16 1180 his bottle against Johnson's ear.   We were off the road, gleaming
N16 1190 barbed wire pulling taut. I ducked just as the first strand broke
N16 1200 somewhere down the line and came whipping over the sideboards. We
N16 1210 were in a field, in a tight, screeching turn. Prairie dogs were popping
N16 1220 up and popping down. When I fell on my back, I saw a vulture hovering.
N16 1230    Just as I got to my knees, there was again the sound
N16 1240 of the fence stretching, and I had time only to start taking my kneeling
N16 1250 posture seriously. This time no wire came whipping into the truck.
N16 1260    We were back on the road. I regained my squatting position
N16 1270 behind the truck cab's rear window. Johnson's left hand was pressed
N16 1280 against the side of his head, red cheeks whitening beneath his fingers.
N16 1290    "Tee-wah", the driver cackled, his black eyes glittering
N16 1300 behind dull silver chicken fencing. "That was Tee-wah I was
N16 1310 talking. You thought I was a Mexican, didn't you, buddy"?
N16 1320    I nodded.   "Hell, that's all right, buddy", the Indian
N16 1330 (I now guessed) said. "Drink your beer".   Miraculously,
N16 1340 the bottle was still in my hand, foam still geysering over my (luckily)
N16 1350 waterproof watch. No sooner had I started drinking than the driver
N16 1360 started zigzagging the truck. The beer foamed furiously. I drank
N16 1370 furiously. A long time. Emptied the bottle.   Teeth again flashing
N16 1380 back at me, the driver released a deluge of Spanish in which "amigo"
N16 1390 appeared every so often like an island in the stormy waves of
N16 1400 surrounding sound. I bobbed my head each time it appeared.   Suddenly
N16 1410 the Spanish became an English in which only one word emerged
N16 1420 with clarity and precision, "son of a bitch", sometimes hyphenated
N16 1430 by vicious jabs of a beer bottle into Johnson's quivering ribs.
N16 1440    A big car was approaching, its chrome teeth grinning. Beyond
N16 1450 it the gray road stretched a long, long way. The car was just about to
N16 1460 us, its driver's fat, solemn face intent on the road ahead, on business,
N16 1470 on a family in Sante Fe- on anything but an old pick-up truck
N16 1480 in which two human beings desperately needed rescue.   I tossed
N16 1490 the bottle. High, so it would only bounce harmlessly but loudly off
N16 1500 the car's steel roof. Too high. On unoccupied roadway the bottle
N16 1510 shattered into a small amber flash.   "Aye-yah-ah-ah"!
N16 1520    The Indian was again raising his bottle, but to my astonished relief-
N16 1530 probably only a fraction of Johnson's- the bottle this time
N16 1540 went to the Indian's lips.   Another car was coming, a tiny,
N16 1550 dark shape on a far hill. I started looking on the splintery truck
N16 1560 bed for a piece of board, a dirt clod- anything I could throw and
N16 1570 with better aim than I had thrown the beer bottle.   We were slowing.
N16 1580 In the ditch sand was white and soft-looking, only an occasional
N16 1590 pebble discernible, faintly gleaming. But Johnson couldn't quickly
N16 1600 unwire the truck door, and if I escaped, he might suffer.
N16 1610 The car was approaching fast. On the truck bed there was nothing smaller
N16 1620 than a piece of rusty machinery; with more time I could have
N16 1630 loosened a small burr or cotter pin-   Suddenly and not a second
N16 1640 too soon I thought of the coins in my pocket. There was no time to
N16 1650 pick out a penny; I got a coin between my thumb and forefinger, leaned
N16 1660 my elbows in a very natural and casual manner on top of the truck
N16 1670 cab and flipped my little missile.   There was a blur just under
N16 1680 my focus of vision, a crash; the car's far windshield panel turned
N16 1690 into a silver web with a dark hole in the center.   I heard
N16 1700 the screech of brakes behind me, an insane burst of laughter beneath me.
N16 1710 Looking back I saw a gray-haired man getting out of his halted car
N16 1720 and trying to read our license number.   "S-s-sahjunt". Johnson's
N16 1730 fat hand, another bottle were protruding from the truck cab,
N16 1740 and that self-proclaimed Baptist teetotaler, had a bottle at his own
N16 1750 lips.   Two cars came over a crest, their chrome and glass flashing.
N16 1760 The Indian's arm whipped sidewise- there was a flash of amber
N16 1770 and froth, the crash of the bottle shattering against the side of
N16 1780 the first car.   Brakes shrieked behind us. I saw Johnson's
N16 1790 bottle snatched from his hand, saw it go in a swirl of foam just behind
N16 1800 the second car. This time there was no sound of brakes but the shrieking
N16 1810 of women. I looked back at pale ovals framed in the elongated
N16 1820 oval of the car's rear window.   "Drink, you son of a bitch"!
N16 1830 I quickly turned around and began to drink. But the Indian was
N16 1840 jabbing another bottle toward Johnson.
N17 0010    I guided her to the divan, turned off the ~TV, faced her.
N17 0020 She sat quietly, staring at me from the wide eyes. And what eyes they
N17 0030 were. Big and dark, a melting, golden brown. Eyes like hot honey,
N17 0040 eyes that sizzled. Plus flawless skin, smooth brow and cheeks, lips that
N17 0050 looked as if you could get a shock from them. It was a disturbingly
N17 0060 familiar face, too, but I couldn't remember where we had met.
N17 0070    I said, "Do we know each other, Miss"?   "No, I
N17 0080 remembered reading about you in the papers and that you lived here, and
N17 0090 when it happened all I could think of was"- This time she stopped
N17 0100 the rush of words herself. "I'm sorry. Shall I go on"?
N17 0110 She smiled. It was her first smile. But worth waiting for.
N17 0120 "Sure". I said. "But one word at a time, O&K&"? She
N17 0130 was
N17 0140 still hugging the stained coat around her, so I said, "Relax, let
N17 0150 me take your things. Would you like a drink, or coffee"?
N17 0160 "No, thanks". She stood up, pulled the coat from her shoulders and
N17 0170 started to slide it off, then let out a high-pitched scream and I
N17 0180 let out a low-pitched, wobbling sound like a muffler blowing out. She
N17 0190 was wearing nothing beneath the coat. She jerked the coat back on and
N17 0200 squeezed it around her again, but not soon enough. There had been a
N17 0210 good second or two during which my muffler had been blowing out, and
N17 0220 now I was certain I'd seen her somewhere before. ## "I forgot"!
N17 0230 she yelped. "Oh, do forgive me. I'm sorry"!
N17 0240 "I forgive"-   "That's what started all the trouble in
N17 0250 the first place. Oh, dear, I'm all unstrung".   "You and
N17 0260 me both, dear. Haven't we **h haven't I seen you **h. I mean,
N17 0270 surely we've"-   "You may have seen me on ~TV",
N17 0280 she said. "I've done several filmed commercials for"-
N17 0290 Then it hit me. "ZING"! I cried.   "Why, yes. And
N17 0300 you recognized me"?   "Yes, indeed. In fact, I was watching
N17 0310 you on that little seventeen-inch screen when you rang my bell.
N17 0320 Man, you rang- it was in color, too, Miss, and **h Miss? What's
N17 0330 your name, anyway? Ah, you were splendid". I sat by her on
N17 0340 the divan. "Splendid. In a waterfall **h and all that".   "That's
N17 0350 the last one we did. That was a fun one".   "I'll
N17 0360 bet. It was fun for me, all right. I don't mean to pry, but do
N17 0370 they hide the swimsuit with the bubbles? I mean: Is advertising
N17 0380 honest?   "It depends on who does it. I never wear anything
N17 0390 at all. It wouldn't- wouldn't seem fair, somehow".
N17 0400 "I couldn't agree with you more".   "I really do have something
N17 0410 important to tell you, Mr& Scott. About the murder".
N17 0420    "Murder? Oh, yeah", I said. "Tell me about the murder".
N17 0430    She told me. ZING was the creation of two men, Louis
N17 0440 Thor and Bill Blake, partners in ZING!, Inc&. They'd
N17 0450 peddled the soap virtually alone, and without much success, until
N17 0460 about a year ago, when- with the addition of "~SX-21" to their
N17 0470 secret formula and the inauguration of a high-powered advertising
N17 0480 campaign- sales had soared practically into orbit. Their product had
N17 0490 been endorsed by <Good Housekeeping,> the A&M&A&, and the
N17 0500 <Veterinary Journal>, among other repositories of higher wisdom,
N17 0510 and before much longer if you didn't have a cake of their soap in
N17 0520 the john, even your best friends would think you didn't bathe.
N17 0530    My lovely caller- Joyce Holland was her name- had previously
N17 0540 done three filmed commercials for ZING, and this evening, the fourth,
N17 0550 a super production, had been filmed at the home of Louis Thor.
N17 0560 The water in Thor's big swimming pool had been covered with a blanket
N17 0570 of thick, foamy soapsuds- fashioned, of course, from ZING-
N17 0580 Joyce had dived from the board into the pool, then swirled and cavorted
N17 0590 in her luxurious "bath" while cameras rolled. The finished-
N17 0600 and drastically cut- product would begin with a hazy longshot of
N17 0610 Joyce entering the suds, then bursting above the pool's surface clad
N17 0620 in layers of lavender lather, and I had a hunch this item was going
N17 0630 to sell tons and tons of soap; even to clean men and boys.
N17 0640 Joyce went on, "When we'd finished, Lou- Mr& Thor- asked
N17 0650 me to stay a little longer. He wanted a few stills for magazine ads,
N17 0660 he said. Everybody left and I stayed in the pool, then Lou came
N17 0670 back alone and leaped into the pool too. And he didn't have any clothes
N17 0680 on".   "He didn't"!   "Yes, he didn't.
N17 0690 Did, I mean". She paused. "<Did> leap into the pool, and <didn't>
N17 0700 have anything on. Anyway, it was evident what he had in mind".
N17 0710    "You got away, didn't you"?   "Yes. He
N17 0720 caught up with me once and grabbed me, but I was all covered with ZING-
N17 0730 it's very slippery, you know".   "I didn't know.
N17 0740 I wouldn't have the stuff in the house. But I'm pleased to
N17 0750 hear"-   "So I just scooted out of his clutches. I swam
N17 0760 like mad, got out of the pool, grabbed my robe, and ran to the car. The
N17 0770 keys were still in it, and I was miles away before I remembered
N17 0780 that my clothes and purse and everything were still in the little cabana
N17 0790 where I'd changed".   She'd driven around for a while,
N17 0800 Joyce said, then, thinking Louis Thor would have calmed down by that
N17 0810 time, she'd gone back to his home on Bryn Mawr Drive, parked
N17 0820 in front, and walked toward the pool. While several yards from it, still
N17 0830 concealed by the shrubbery, she'd seen two men on her left at the
N17 0840 pool's edge. She went on:   "A man was holding onto Lou,
N17 0850 holding him up. Maybe Lou was only unconscious, but right then I
N17 0860 thought he must be dead. The man shoved him into the water, then ran
N17 0870 past the cabana. There's a walk there that goes out to Quebec Drive.
N17 0880 I was so scared **h well, I just ran to my car and came here".
N17 0890    "You know who the other man was"?   "No, I never
N17 0900 did see his face. I didn't get a good look at him at all, his back
N17 0910 was to me, and I was so scared **h It was just somebody in a man's
N17 0920 suit. But I'm sure the other one was Lou".   What Joyce
N17 0930 wanted me to do was go to Thor's house and "do whatever detectives
N17 0940 do", and get her clothes- and handbag containing her identification.
N17 0950 She realized I'd have to notify the police, but fervently
N17 0960 hoped I could avoid mentioning her name.   Her impact in the
N17 0970 ZING commercials had led to her being considered for an excellent
N17 0980 part in an upcoming ~TV series, <Underwater Western Eye,> a
N17 0990 documentary-type show to be sponsored by Oatnut Grits. But if Joyce
N17 1000 got involved in murder or salacious scandal, the role would probably
N17 1010 go to the sponsor's wife, Mrs& Oatnut Grits. Or at least not
N17 1020 to Joyce.   "And I so want the part", she said. "The
N17 1030 commercials have just been for money, there hasn't been any real incentive
N17 1040 for me to do them, but in <Underwater Western Eye> I'd
N17 1050 have a chance to <act>. I could show what I can <do>". ##
N17 1060 As far as I was concerned, she had already and had dandily shown what
N17 1070 she could do. But I promised Joyce I would mention her name, if
N17 1080 at all, only as a last resort. Seeming much relieved, she smiled one
N17 1090 of those worth-waiting-for smiles, and I smiled all the way into the
N17 1100 bedroom. There I got my Colt Special and shoulder harness, slipped
N17 1110 my coat on, and went back into the front room.   Joyce squirmed
N17 1120 a little on the divan. "I'm starting to itch", she said.
N17 1130    "Itch"?   "Yes, I'm still all covered with that
N17 1140 soap. I was loaded with suds when I ran away, and I haven't had a
N17 1150 chance to wash it off. Mmmm, it sure itches".   "You might
N17 1160 as well wait here while I'm gone, so you can use my shower if you'd
N17 1170 like".   "Oh, I'd love to". I showed her the shower
N17 1180 and tub, and she said, smiling, "If you really don't mind, I think
N17 1190 I'll get clean in the shower, then soak for a few minutes in your
N17 1200 tub. That always relaxes me. Doesn't it you"?   "Only
N17 1210 when I do it". I shook my head. One of my virtues or vices is
N17 1220 a sort of three-dimensional imagination complete with sound effects and
N17 1230 glorious living color. "Soak **h as long as you want, Joyce. It'll
N17 1240 probably be at least an hour or two before I can check back with
N17 1250 you. So you'll have everything all to yourself, doggone **h"
N17 1260    I looked at my watch. Ten after nine. Time to go, I supposed.
N17 1270 "Well, goodbye", I said.   "Goodbye. You'd better hurry".
N17 1280    "Oh, you can count on that".   She smiled slightly.
N17 1290 Softly. Warmly. "Don't hurry <too> much. I'll be soaking
N17 1300 for **h at least half an hour".   That was all she said.
N17 1310 But suddenly those hot-honey eyes seemed to have everything but swarms
N17 1320 of bees in them. However, when there's a job to be done, I'm
N17 1330 a monstrosity of grim determination, I like to think. I spun about
N17 1340 and clattered through the front room to the door. As I went out, I
N17 1350 could hear water pouring in the shower. Hot water. She wouldn't be
N17 1360 taking a cold shower. Hell, she couldn't.   Bryn Mawr Drive
N17 1370 is only two or three miles from the Spartan, and it took me less than
N17 1380 five minutes to get there. But the scene was not the quiet, calm scene
N17 1390 I'd expected. Four cars were parked at the curb, and two of them
N17 1400 were police radio cars. Lights blazed in the big house and surrounding
N17 1410 grounds. I followed a shrubbery-lined gravel path alongside the
N17 1420 house to the pool. Two uniformed officers, a couple of plain-clothesmen
N17 1430 I knew, and two other men stood on a gray cement area next to the
N17 1440 pool on my left. At the pool's far end was the little cabana Joyce
N17 1450 had mentioned, and on the water's surface floated scattered lavender
N17 1460 patches of limp-looking lather. A few yards beyond the group of men,
N17 1470 a man's nude body lay face down on a patch of thick green dichondra.
N17 1480    Lieutenant Rawlins, one of the plain-clothesmen, spotted
N17 1490 me and said, "Hi, Shell", and walked toward me. "How'd you
N17 1500 hear about this one"? I grinned, but ignored the question. He didn't
N17 1510 push it; Rawlins worked out of Central Homicide and we'd
N17 1520 been friends for years.   He filled me in. A call to the police
N17 1530 had been placed from here a couple of minutes after nine p&m&,
N17 1540 and the first police car had arrived two or three minutes after that-
N17 1550 10 minutes ago now. Present at the scene- in addition to the dead
N17 1560 man, who was indeed Louis Thor- had been Thor's partner Bill
N17 1570 Blake, and Antony Rose, an advertising agency executive who handled
N17 1580 the ZING account. Neither of them, I understood, had been present
N17 1590 at the filming session earlier.   "What were they doing here"?
N17 1600 I asked Rawlins.   "They were supposed to meet Thor
N17 1610 at nine p&m& for a conference concerning the ad campaign for their
N17 1620 soap, a new angle based on this ~SX-21 stuff".   "Yeah,
N17 1630 I've heard more about ~SX-21 than space exploration lately.
N17 1640 What is the gunk"?   "How would I know? It's a secret.
N17 1650 That was the new advertising angle- something about a Lloyd's
N17 1660 of London policy to insure the secrecy of the secret ingredient. Actually,
N17 1670 only two men know what the formula is, Blake and"- He
N17 1680 stopped and looked at Thor's body.   I said, "O&K&,
N17 1690 so now only Blake knows. How's it strike you, foul or fair"?
N17 1700    "Can't say yet. Deputy coroner says it looks like he sucked
N17 1710 in a big pile of those thick suds and strangled on 'em. The ~PM
N17 1720 might show he drowned instead, but that's what the once-over-lightly
N17 1730 gives us. Accident, murder, suicide- take your pick".
N17 1740 "I'll pick murder. Anything else"?   "According to Rose,
N17 1750 he arrived here a couple minutes before nine and spotted Thor in
N17 1760 the water, got a hooked pole from the pool-equipment locker and started
N17 1770 hauling him out.
N18 0010    Too many people think that the primary purpose of a higher education
N18 0020 is to help you make a living; this is not so, for education offers
N18 0030 all kinds of dividends, including how to pull the wool over a husband's
N18 0040 eyes while you are having an affair with his wife. If it were
N18 0050 not for an old professor who made me read the classics I would have
N18 0060 been stymied on what to do, and now I understand why they are classics;
N18 0070 those who wrote them knew people and what made people tick.
N18 0080    I worked for my Uncle (an Uncle by marriage so you will not think
N18 0090 this has a mild undercurrent of incest) who ran one of those antique
N18 0100 shops in New Orleans' Vieux Carre, the old French Quarter. The
N18 0110 arrangement I had with him was to work four hours a day. The rest
N18 0120 of the time I devoted to painting or to those other activities a young
N18 0130 and healthy man just out of college finds interesting.   I had
N18 0140 a one-room studio which overlooked an ancient courtyard filled with
N18 0150 flowers and plants, blooming everlastingly in the southern sun. I had
N18 0160 come to New Orleans two years earlier after graduating college, partly
N18 0170 because I loved the city and partly because there was quite a noted
N18 0180 art colony there. When my Uncle offered me a part-time job which
N18 0190 would take care of my normal expenses and give me time to paint I accepted.
N18 0200    The arrangement turned out to be excellent. I loved the
N18 0210 city and I particularly loved the gaiety and spirit of Mardi Gras.
N18 0220 I had seen two of them and we would soon be in another city-wide,
N18 0230 joyous celebration with romance in the air; and, when you took a walk
N18 0240 you never knew what adventure or pair of sparkling eyes were waiting
N18 0250 around the next corner. The very faces of the people bore this expectation
N18 0260 of fun and pleasure. It was as if they could hardly wait to get
N18 0270 into their costumes, cover their faces with masks and go adventuring.
N18 0280    My Uncle and I were not too close socially because
N18 0290 of the difference in our ages. Sometimes I wondered vaguely what he
N18 0300 did about women for my Aunt, by blood, had died some years ago, but neither
N18 0310 of us said anything. One Monday morning I saw him approach the
N18 0320 store with a woman and introduce me to her as my new Aunt. They were
N18 0330 married over the week-end, though he was easily sixty and she could
N18 0340 not have been even thirty. She looked more like twenty-five or six.
N18 0350 It was really a May and December combination.   My new Aunt
N18 0360 was perhaps three or four years older than I and it had been a long
N18 0370 time since I had seen as gorgeous a woman who oozed sex. There was
N18 0380 something about the contour of her face, her smile that was like New
N18 0390 Orleans sunshine, the way she held her head, the way she walked- there
N18 0400 was scarcely anything she did which did not fascinate me. Her legs
N18 0410 were the full, sexy kind, full bodied like a rare wine and just as
N18 0420 tantalizing to the appetite; the calf was magnificent, the ankle perfect.
N18 0430    You must forgive me if I seem to dwell too much on her
N18 0440 physical aspects but I am an artist, accustomed to studying the physical
N18 0450 body. The true artist is like one of those scientists who, from
N18 0460 a single bone can reconstruct an animal's entire body. The artist looks
N18 0470 at an ankle, a calf, a bosom and, in his mind's eye, the clothes
N18 0480 drop away and he sees her as she really is. And that is the way I
N18 0490 first saw her when my Uncle brought her into his antique store.
N18 0500    That she impressed me instantly was obvious; I was aware that when
N18 0510 our eyes met we both quickly averted them. I thought I saw a faint
N18 0520 surge of color rise to her neck and quickly suffuse her cheeks. True,
N18 0530 she was my Aunt, married to an Uncle related to me only by marriage,
N18 0540 but why she had married a man twice her age, and more, perhaps, I
N18 0550 did not know or much care.   She was standing with her back to
N18 0560 the glass door. Her form was silhouetted and with the strong light I
N18 0570 could see the outlines of her body, a body that an artist or anyone
N18 0580 else would have admired. As it is in so many affairs of the heart, a
N18 0590 man and a woman meet and something clicks. Something clicked in this
N18 0600 instance, but I treated her circumspectly and I felt that she knew
N18 0610 it, for we both kept our distance.   When she appeared at the store
N18 0620 to help out for a few hours even my looking at her was surreptitious
N18 0630 lest my Uncle notice it. And then I became aware that she, too,
N18 0640 glanced at me surreptitiously. I felt that her eyes were undressing me
N18 0650 as if she were a painter and I a nude model. I dismissed these feelings
N18 0660 as wishful thinking but I could not get it out of my head that
N18 0670 we had a strong physical attraction for one another and we both feared
N18 0680 to dwell on it because of our relationship. When our eyes met the air
N18 0690 was filled with an unuttered message of "Me, too". You have probably
N18 0700 experienced this. It is nothing you can put your fingers on but
N18 0710 the air suddenly fills with a high charge of electricity.   Why
N18 0720 she married him I do not know. I myself was fond of him but what a
N18 0730 young woman half his age saw in him was a mystery to me. He already
N18 0740 had that slow pace that comes over the elderly, while she herself had
N18 0750 all the signs of one who appreciates the joys of living. Perhaps, with
N18 0760 my Uncle, she found a measure of economic security that she needed;
N18 0770 or maybe she liked men old enough to be her father; some women with
N18 0780 father fixations do.   For several weeks we eyed one another
N18 0790 almost like sparring partners, and then one day Uncle was slightly indisposed
N18 0800 and stayed home; his bride opened the store. I was waiting
N18 0810 in front of it when she showed up and told me of my Uncle's indisposition.
N18 0820 Even as she was telling me about it I became aware of a give-away
N18 0830 flush that suffused her neck and moved upwards to her cheeks, and
N18 0840 subconsciously I realized that when she entered the store she did
N18 0850 not switch on the lights. The cavernous depth, cluttered with antiques,
N18 0860 echoed to her hard heels as she walked directly to the office in the
N18 0870 rear and took the seat at his desk. She placed her palms, fingers
N18 0880 outspread, on the desk in an odd gesture as if to say, "Now, what next"?
N18 0890    I was aware of a humid look in her eyes that told me
N18 0900 the time was opportune. There was little likelihood of any customers
N18 0910 walking in at that hour. I was standing beside her, watching the outspread
N18 0920 palms and wondering about the old horsehair sofa against the wall
N18 0930 on which he sometimes napped.   I bent and kissed the still pink
N18 0940 neck and suddenly she jumped up, and her two arms encircled me in
N18 0950 a bear-like crush. Her mouth, which had been so much in my thoughts,
N18 0960 was warm and moist and tender. I heard her murmur, "We'd better
N18 0970 lock the door".   It did not take me long to slip the bolt securely
N18 0980 and return to the rear and its couch.   When we opened the
N18 0990 door again for business and switched on the lights she said:
N18 1000    "He will not always be indisposed".   "I know. I was thinking
N18 1010 about that. How will we work it out"?   "I don't
N18 1020 know", she said. "You're the man. You figure it out. I've
N18 1030 noticed the way you've been looking at me ever since we met".
N18 1040    "I guess we both felt it". I said.   "I guess so",
N18 1050 she said.   "But now what"?   Even as I said it I
N18 1060 realized that an education can be invaluable.   "I know what
N18 1070 we can do", I said. "Tell him I made a pass at you".   She
N18 1080 raised a protesting hand with a startled air.   "What are
N18 1090 you trying to do? Get thrown out? If I even hint at it do you think
N18 1100 it will matter that you are his nephew- and not even a blood nephew"?
N18 1110    "I don't want to be thrown out and I don't think
N18 1120 I will. I think I have a way so we can carry on without his suspecting
N18 1130 us".   "By telling him you are making passes at me"?
N18 1140 she said incredulously.   "When I was in college", I
N18 1150 grinned, "I remember a poem I had to read in my lit class. I don't
N18 1160 even remember who wrote it but it was one of those 15th or 16th century
N18 1170 poets. In those days poems often told a story in verse and those
N18 1180 boys had some corkers to tell; and now I think we can use the knowledge
N18 1190 they passed on to us. Tomorrow Mardi Gras opens officially.
N18 1200 A lot of people will roam the streets in costumes and masks, and having
N18 1210 a ball. There will be romance and flirtation. If you tell him I
N18 1220 made a pass at you he might think you misunderstood something I said
N18 1230 or did, so instead of just telling him I made a pass, say I tried to
N18 1240 date you and that you agreed so you could prove to him what a louse
N18 1250 I really am. We made a rendezvous tomorrow evening at nine on some street
N18 1260 near Lake Ponchartrain. And to prove what you tell him about
N18 1270 me you suggest that he keep the date instead. You are both the same size.
N18 1280 He could use your clothes for a costume and a heavy veil for a mask.
N18 1290 When I show up he will know you are a good wife to have told him
N18 1300 about it".   "But you"- she began.   "Don't
N18 1310 worry about me. It will turn out all right".   "I don't understand",
N18 1320 she insisted. "Are you trying to cut your throat"?
N18 1330    "No", I chuckled, "I'm just beginning to collect dividends
N18 1340 on my investment in education".   As we expected, on
N18 1350 the following day my Uncle was completely recovered and opened the store
N18 1360 as usual at 10 in the morning. I felt that he looked at me coldly
N18 1370 and appraisingly and seemed to be uncertain what his attitude towards
N18 1380 me should be, but he did not say one word which might indicate that
N18 1390 he had been told of advances to his wife.   I quit work at my usual
N18 1400 hour as if this day was no different from other days. I heard subsequently
N18 1410 that my Uncle and Aunt had dinner in a nearby restaurant in
N18 1420 the French Quarter after which he went home to get into his costume
N18 1430 to keep the date. Shortly before nine I drove my jalopy to the street
N18 1440 facing the Lake and parked the car in shadows far enough away from
N18 1450 the rendezvous corner but near enough to keep the corner in clear view.
N18 1460 A few minutes later I saw my Uncle's car drive up and a woman's
N18 1470 figure emerge and walk to the corner. I must say the figure was
N18 1480 well made up. If it were not that I knew who it was I could have mistaken
N18 1490 it for my Aunt so well did her clothes fit him. In one hand he
N18 1500 gripped firmly a parasol though there had been no indication of rain.
N18 1510 I suspected why he brought it along.   In the half darkness I
N18 1520 approached cautiously, making sure he did not see me. He was looking
N18 1530 out on the dark waters of the Lake when I came upon him and without
N18 1540 wasting words I smacked him hard across the face.   "You cheap
N18 1550 bitch"! I exclaimed. "You cheap, no good, two-timing bitch!
N18 1560 You get a good, loyal husband- smack!- and you fall for a pass
N18 1570 by his own nephew! You should- smack!- be ashamed of yourself.
N19 0010 He had better write a postcard to Walter. He opened the myth book again
N19 0020 and there (along the margin next to Robert Graves' imaginative
N19 0030 interpretation of the creation of the Dactyls from Rhea's fingertips)
N19 0040 were the names of four Munich bars and Meredith Wilder's address.
N19 0050 The bars were marked as Walter had marked them in a small black
N19 0060 book kept in a nearly secret drawer. The code, which had probably
N19 0070 something to do with sex or some other interest, Nicolas was determined
N19 0080 to find out and put to use. A card to Walter would get him an introduction
N19 0090 to this Meredith, and that might be good for something. Nicolas
N19 0100 called on his muse, a line came back:   "<Squaresville,
N19 0110 man, and all the> palazzos <are crummy> Palasts".   That
N19 0120 ought
N19 0130 to draw a laugh, Nicolas reasoned, as he stored the line away on the
N19 0140 wax tape that was his mind.   And indeed, his postcard did draw
N19 0150 from Walter a letter recommending his friend, the poet Nicolas Manas,
N19 0160 to his friend Meredith Wilder. Five days later, on receiving it,
N19 0170 Meredith sat drumming his dactyls on his writing table. Dammit! he
N19 0180 inwardly cried.   His hand was large and square and heavily tanned.
N19 0190 The voice crying in him was the voice of guilt. His four weeks
N19 0200 in Italy had turned into nearer three months. He had returned to the
N19 0210 pension a week ago. Now, he was just in the late poems of Ho^lderlin
N19 0220 and therefore had most of the nineteenth century before him- plus
N19 0230 next semester's class preparation. He was determined to spend an
N19 0240 industrious summer. Well, maybe Manas wouldn't call. Meredith's
N19 0250 fingers slowed and stopped over a line before him: <Sie la^cheln,
N19 0260 die Schwarzen Hexen>. The menace of Manas gradually faded
N19 0280 as Meredith asked himself should he translate it, 'How the dark
N19 0290 fates laughed'? or, more rhythmically, 'The swarthy witches are
N19 0300 laughing'? And he missed the point that the swarthy witches might
N19 0310 be laughing at him for hoping to escape Nicolas Manas.   But
N19 0320 Nicolas, too, was being interrupted, that morning.   Not by the
N19 0330 11:00 sun which had spread a warmth around his spot of grass in the
N19 0340 English Gardens and sent him off to sleep; but by a blond girl in
N19 0350 a sweater and skirt who stood a few yards off and tenderly regarded
N19 0360 him. Should she wake him? She didn't have the heart. Her heart,
N19 0370 her maternal feeling, in fact her **h her being was too busy expressing
N19 0380 itself, as quietly thrilled by this sight of her Nicolas curled asleep
N19 0390 under a blanket, in a park like a scene from Poussin. She was just
N19 0400 not able to break the spell. (Would she have been able to had she
N19 0410 known that the blanket belonged to a young ballet dancer Nicolas had
N19 0420 found his first night in one of Walter's marked bars? Nicolas:
N19 0430 "Look, Nicolas doesn't go to bed with boys- no sex, see? So
N19 0440 if all these beers was to get me in bed, man, you just spent a lot
N19 0450 of money". Ballet dancer: Protests, tears, and "take what you
N19 0460 want, Nicolas, I am a dancer, you are a poet, it is all beautiful".
N19 0470 To this meek conjugation Nicolas had replied, "O&K& I can
N19 0480 use this blanket. And when you get off this job tonight, well, you
N19 0490 can gimme something to eat". And, as a matter of fact, Nicolas had
N19 0500 slept in the park only part of one night, when he discovered that Munich's
N19 0510 early mornings even in summer are laden with dew. He had always
N19 0520 known how to find a bed, and on his own terms. He used the blanket
N19 0530 for late morning naps when hosts of the night had gone off to jobs
N19 0540 and proved reluctant to leave him in their small rooms with their few
N19 0550 possessions. Mary Jane Lerner knew none of this.) Her Nicolas lay
N19 0560 curled in the sun like a fawn, black hair falling over his eyes. She
N19 0570 was telling herself that this might just be her reward at the end of
N19 0580 a long meaningful search for truth. This was surely a reunion in art,
N19 0590 it was all that poetry promised.   That long night with Nicolas
N19 0600 and marijuana in Venice had opened her eyes. His advice, his voice
N19 0610 saying his poems, the fact that he had not so much as touched her-
N19 0620 on the contrary, he had put his head back and she had stroked <his>
N19 0630 hair- this was all new. Her eyes had opened, she had caught a glimpse
N19 0640 of a new faith.   The next day he was gone.   Mary Jane
N19 0650 might not be the most intelligent woman, but she was one of the most
N19 0660 determined. Even so, it took her several days to force Walter to tell
N19 0670 her Nicolas's whereabouts. Packing a small suitcase, informing
N19 0680 her husband whom she found in Harry's Bar that she was taking a train
N19 0690 to Germany to get away for a while, patting his arm, refusing a
N19 0700 drink, getting on the train- all this had only taken her two hours.
N19 0710 She had arrived this morning and come straight to the English Gardens.
N19 0720 "Dear girl", Walter had finally said, "he writes me that he
N19 0730 is sleeping in the English Gardens". "How like him"! Mary
N19 0740 Jane had smilingly said. "His address", Walter added, "is that
N19 0750 great foundling home, the American Express. And I will greatly
N19 0760 appreciate it if you will not tell your husband **h". For the last
N19 0770 half hour Mary Jane had criss-crossed half the length of the Gardens
N19 0780 and, at last, come upon her knight. His presence there, asleep in
N19 0790 the grass, confirmed all that Mary Jane believed it was in his power
N19 0800 to teach her: freedom from the tedium of needs such as hotels, the meaning
N19 0810 of nature, how to live, simply, with the angels.   She set
N19 0820 down her suitcase. Should she wake him? No. Smiling, she sat down
N19 0830 on the suitcase and waited and watched.   The sun grew hotter
N19 0840 as it approached the midday. Nicolas was dreaming he had his head pressed
N19 0850 against the dashboard of a speeding car. He began sweating. In
N19 0860 his dream he cried, "Slow down, for Chrissake"! He half woke
N19 0870 and rolled over with his face in the cooler grass. His nose was tickled.
N19 0880 He sneezed. He blew his nose expertly between his fingers. He
N19 0890 spit. He half sat up and scratched at the hair on his forehead and then,
N19 0900 more vigorously, between his legs. He belched, he stretched.
N19 0910    Mary Jane got up, quietly, and walked away.   Twenty minutes
N19 0920 later she was at the desk of the Gra^fin's pension, her tears
N19 0930 dried, signing a hotel form and asking for a bath.   Mary Jane
N19 0940 belonged to a world acquainted with small attractive hotels and pensions
N19 0950 in all the major and minor cities. She had retreated to this world.
N19 0960 The Gra^fin, who was charmed by her, told her, "Your sister who
N19 0970 was here two years ago has quite <dark> hair. Families are <very>
N19 0980 interesting. Nevertheless, there is no bath. But a young American
N19 0990 has a bath next to his room and I shall ask him if you might use it
N19 1000 this once. And then we shall see **h". (The Gra^fin was partial
N19 1010 to the word 'shall'.)   Meredith was irritated when the Gra^fin
N19 1020 knocked at his door and told him, "She is a great beauty!
N19 1030 Shall we allow her not to have a bath? Actually, she is a sad beauty,
N19 1040 I believe. You shall see her at dinner". Rather erotically
N19 1050 he listened to the bath water running; when it stopped he began busily
N19 1060 typing, sitting up in a virtuous way. Before dinner, he shaved for
N19 1070 the second time that day. A thing he did not like doing, generally.
N19 1080 Singing into the mirror and his interested eyes, he was pleased to note,
N19 1090 when he stripped for his own bath, that he still had the best part
N19 1100 of his Italian sun tan. He flexed his muscles for several minutes,
N19 1110 got into the tub, and then grew self-conscious of splashing as he washed.
N19 1120    In the small gallery used as the guests' dining room, Meredith
N19 1130 sat down at his place and, as always, began teasing the young
N19 1140 waitress. He was asking had it been she who left the love note in his
N19 1150 sheets (she also served as maid) when he saw the Gra^fin followed
N19 1160 by a stately blond girl approaching his table. It would be literary
N19 1170 license calculated to glamorize life to say that he, oh, dropped his napkin,
N19 1180 so startled was he by Mary Jane's beauty. Yet he did drop
N19 1190 his badinage with the ordinary country girl as much in deference to the
N19 1200 Gra^fin as acknowledgement that here, indeed, was something special.
N19 1210 Mary Jane had made very little effort. Above a dark green skirt
N19 1220 she wore a pale green cashmere sweater with, as he soon perceived, no
N19 1230 brassiere
N19 1240 beneath. Her white blond hair was clean and brushed long straight
N19 1250 down to her shoulders. Perhaps her eyes were larger and more of
N19 1260 a summer blue for all they had seen and wept that day. She had touched
N19 1270 her face, truly a noble and pure face, only with a lip salve which
N19 1280 made her lips glisten but no redder than usual. The result was grace
N19 1290 and modesty. As she was rather tired this evening, her simple "Thank
N19 1300 you for the use of your bath"- when she sat down opposite him-
N19 1310 spoken in a low voice, came across with coolnesses of intelligence
N19 1320 and control. Meredith began falling in love.   Soup: "Only
N19 1325 this
N19 1330 morning"; veal cutlets: "Oh, I couldn't possibly eat all
N19 1340 this"!; wine: "Then you were typing poems this afternoon"?;
N19 1350 fruit compote: "If you think I would understand it";
N19 1360 a smile.   "What a beautiful room. Like **h <as if> it were
N19 1370 built of books".   Having opened the windows onto the terrace,
N19 1380 lit the fire, translated the motto, Meredith grinned and took down
N19 1390 a little triplet of books bound together in old calfskin. Opening these
N19 1400 he brought out a schnapps bottle and small gold thimble-sized glasses
N19 1410 hidden inside it. "I think the maids tipple in the afternoon".
N19 1420    "Those sweet girls? Oh **h you're joking. It tastes
N19 1430 a little like poppyseed. What's its name? <Steinha^ger> **h"
N19 1440 She whispered <Steinha^ger> to herself, several times, memorizing
N19 1450 it. "Would you first read the poem aloud to me and then let me
N19 1460 read it to myself"? Meredith's voice was always deep, with rough
N19 1470 bass notes in it; in reading, on platforms, even in the large auditorium
N19 1480 of the Y&M&H&A&, Poetry Center nights, his voice
N19 1490 was intimate, thoughtful, and a trifle shy. His new poem, a love poem,
N19 1500 told of a young husband leading his wife upstairs to the bedroom when
N19 1510 the lights in the house have failed. The husband points the steps
N19 1520 out with his flashlight: "<Its white stare filling her pale eyes
N19 1530 To the blind brim with appetite, Bleaching her hands that grazed my
N19 1540 thighs And sent us from the table in surprise To let the dishes soak
N19 1550 all night,>" (Mary Jane asked herself if Meredith was blushing
N19 1560 at this line, or was it the fire?) But he read on. In the bedroom
N19 1570 before the husband and wife find their way to the bed, the lights go
N19 1580 on: "<In dull domestic radiance I watch her staring face, still
N19 1590 blind, Start wincing in obedience To dirty waters, counters, pots
N19 1600 and pans, Waiting below stairs, in her mind>". Mary Jane took the
N19 1610 page from him and began reading it, moving her lips with the words.
N19 1620 "Oh, it's that myth, about Orpheus and **h What <is> her name?
N19 1630 I can never pronounce it". She repeated "Eurydice". The
N19 1640 third time rather urgently. But with her hand poem again. She raised
N19 1650 her face and nodded, "It's sweet, and very sad". They discussed
N19 1660 the way people never tell each other the things on their minds. They
N19 1670 finished the small bottle of Steinha^ger>. She confessed she
N19 1680 was unhappy, he asked was it her husband? She began to explain, "There
N19 1690 was this poet, in Italy **h" He interrupted, "Please don't
N19 1700 judge all poets". They smiled.   At her door, two or three
N19 1710 hours later, Mary Jane whispered, "Everyone is asleep". Kissing
N19 1720 her he whispered, several times, "Eurydice". The third time
N19 1730 rather urgently. But with her hand softly on his cheek for a last moment,
N19 1740 she closed the door and he went back down the hall and into his
N19 1750 bed excited, expectant, and finally faintly grinning with the feel of
N19 1760 her hand against his mouth.
N20 0010    They were west of the Sabine, but only God knew where.
N20 0020    For three days, their stolid oxen had plodded up a blazing valley
N20 0030 as flat and featureless as a dead sea. Molten glare singed their
N20 0040 eyelids an angry crimson; suffocating air sapped their strength and
N20 0050 strained their nerves to snapping; dust choked their throats and lay
N20 0060 like acid in their lungs. And the valley stretched endlessly out ahead,
N20 0070 scorched and baked and writhing in its heat, until it vanished into
N20 0080 the throbbing wall of fiery orange brown haze.   Ben Prime extended
N20 0090 his high-stepped stride until he could lay his goad across the
N20 0100 noses of the oxen. "Hoa-whup"! he commanded from his raw throat,
N20 0110 and felt the pain of movement in his cracked, black burned lips.
N20 0120    He removed his hat to let the trapped sweat cut rivulets through
N20 0130 the dust film upon his gaunt face. He spat. The dust-thick saliva came
N20 0140 from his mouth like balled cotton. He moved back to the wheel and
N20 0150 stood there blowing, grasping the top of a spoke to still the trembling
N20 0160 of his played-out limbs. The burning air dried his sweat-soaked clothes
N20 0170 in salt-edged patches.   He cleared his throat and wet his
N20 0180 lips. As cheerfully as possible, he said, "Well, I guess we could
N20 0190 all do with a little drink".   He unlashed the dipper and drew
N20 0200 water from a barrel. They could no longer afford the luxury of the
N20 0210 canvas sweat bag that cooled it by evaporation. The water was warm and
N20 0220 stale and had a brackish taste. But it was water. Thank the Lord,
N20 0230 they still had water!   He cleansed his mouth with a small quantity.
N20 0240 He took a long but carefully controlled draught. He replenished
N20 0250 the dipper and handed it to his young wife riding the hurricane deck.
N20 0260 She took it grudgingly, her dark eyes baleful as they met his.
N20 0270    She drank and pushed back her gingham bonnet to wet a kerchief and
N20 0280 wipe her face. She set the dipper on the edge of the deck, leaving
N20 0290 it for him to stretch after it while she looked on scornfully.
N20 0300 "What happens when there's no more water"? she asked smolderingly.
N20 0310    She was like charcoal, he thought- dark, opaque, explosive.
N20 0330 Her thick hair was the color and texture of charcoal. Her temper
N20 0340 sparked like charcoal when it first lights up. And all the time, she
N20 0350 had the heat of hatred in her, like charcoal that is burning on its
N20 0360 under side, but not visibly.   A ripple ran through the muscles
N20 0370 of his jaws, but he kept control upon his voice.   "There must
N20 0380 be some water under there". He tilted his homely face toward the
N20 0390 dry bed of the river. "We can get it if we dig", he said patiently.
N20 0400    "And add fever to our troubles"? she scoffed. "Or
N20 0410 do you want to see if I can stand fever, too"?   "We can
N20 0420 boil it", he said.   Her chin sharpened. "We're lost and
N20 0430 burning up already", she bit out tensely. "The tires are rattling
N20 0440 on the wheels now. They'll roll off in another day. There was no
N20 0450 valley like this on your map. You don't even know where we're headed".
N20 0460    "Hettie", he said as gently as he could, "we're
N20 0470 still headed west. Somewhere, we'll hit a trail".   "<Somewhere!>"
N20 0480 she repeated. "Maybe in time to make a cross and
N20 0490 dig our graves".   His wide mouth compressed. In a way, he couldn't
N20 0500 blame her. He had picked out this pathless trail, instead of
N20 0510 the common one, in a moment of romantic fancy, to give them privacy on
N20 0520 their honeymoon.   It had been a mistake, but anything would have
N20 0530 been a mistake, as it turned out. It wasn't the roughness and crudity
N20 0540 and discomfort of the trip that had frightened her. She had hated
N20 0550 the whole idea before they started. Actually, she had hated him before
N20 0560 she ever saw him. It had been five days too late before he learned
N20 0570 that she'd gone through the wedding ceremony in a semitrance of
N20 0580 laudanum, administered by her mother.   The bitterness of their
N20 0590 wedding night still ripped within him like an open wound. She had jumped
N20 0600 away from his shy touch like a cat confronted by a sidewinder. He
N20 0610 had left her inviolate, thinking familiarity would gentle her in time.
N20 0620 But each mile westward, she had hated him the deeper.   He stared
N20 0630 at the dipper, turning it over and over in his wide, calloused hands.
N20 0640 "I suppose", he muttered, "I can sell the outfit for enough
N20 0650 to send you home to your folks, once we find a settlement".
N20 0660    "Don't try to be noble"! Her laugh was hard. "They
N20 0670 wouldn't
N20 0680 have sold me in the first place if there'd been food enough to
N20 0690 go around".   He winced. "Hettie, they didn't sell you",
N20 0700 he said miserably. "They knew I was a good sharecrop farmer back
N20 0710 in Carolina, but out West was a chance to build a real farm of our
N20 0720 own. They thought it would be a chance for you to make a life out where
N20 0730 nobody will be thought any better than the next except for just what's
N20 0740 inside of them. Without money or property, what would you have
N20 0750 had at Baton Rouge"?   "I might have starved, but at least
N20 0760 I wouldn't be fried to a crisp and soaked with dirt"!
N20 0770    He darkened under his heavy burn. His blue eyes sought the shimmering
N20 0780 sea of haze ahead.   To his puzzlement, there suddenly was
N20 0781 no
N20 0790 haze. The valley lay clear, and open to the eye, right up to the sharp-limbed
N20 0800 line of gaunt, scoured hills that formed the horizon twenty
N20 0810 miles ahead. ## Then he noticed the clouds racing upon them- heavy,
N20 0820 ominous, leaden clouds that formed even as they sliced over the crests
N20 0830 of the surrounding hills. He had never seen clouds like them before,
N20 0840 but he had the primitive feel of danger that gripped a man before
N20 0850 a hurricane in Carolina.   He hollered hoarsely, "Hang on"!
N20 0860 and goaded the oxen as he yelled. He wanted to turn them, putting
N20 0870 the wagon against the storm. Too late, he realized that in turning,
N20 0880 he had wheeled them onto a patch of sandy ground, instead of atop a
N20 0890 grade or ridge.   He swung up over the wheel. "You had better
N20 0900 get inside", he warned her.   But she sat on in stubborn silence.
N20 0910    The clouds bulged downward and burst suddenly into a great
N20 0920 black funnel. Frozen, they stared at it whirling down the valley,
N20 0930 gouging and spitting out boulders and chunks of earth like a starving
N20 0940 hound dog cracking marrowbones. The six-ton Conestoga began to whip
N20 0950 and shake.   Their world turned black. It was filled with dust
N20 0960 and wind and sound and violence. The heavens opened, pelting them with
N20 0970 hail the size of walnuts. And then came the water- not rain, but
N20 0980 solid sheets that sluiced down like water slopping from a bucket. Walls
N20 0990 of water rushed down the slopes and filled the hollows like the crests
N20 1000 of flash floods. Through the splash of the rising waters, they could
N20 1010 hear the roar of the river as it raged through its canyon, gnashing
N20 1020 big chunks out of the banks.   The jetting, frothing surface of
N20 1030 the river reached the level of the runoff. The dangerous current upon
N20 1040 the prairie ceased, but the water stood and kept on rising. They cringed
N20 1050 under sodden covers, listening to the waves slop against the bottom.
N20 1060    The cloudburst cut off abruptly. They were engulfed by
N20 1070 the weird silence, broken only by the low, angry murmur of the river.
N20 1080 Then the darkness thinned, and there was light again, and then bright
N20 1090 sunlight.   Beaten with fear and sound and wet and chill, they
N20 1100 crawled to the hurricane deck and looked out haggardly at a world of water
N20 1110 that reached clear to the surrounding hills. The water level was
N20 1120 higher than their hubs. Only the heavy bones of the oxen kept them anchored.
N20 1130    There was no real sign of the river now, just a roiling,
N20 1140 oily ribbon of liquid movement through muddy waters that reached everywhere.
N20 1150 Clumps of brush rode down the ribbon. Now and then, the glistening
N20 1160 side of a half-swamped object showed as it swept past.
N20 1170    The girl crawled out into the renewing warmth of the sunshine, hugging
N20 1180 her shoulders and still trembling. Her face was pale but set and
N20 1190 her dark eyes smoldered with blame for Ben.   Out of compulsion
N20 1200 to say something cheery, Ben Prime blurted, "Well, we were lucky
N20 1210 to be on soft ground when the first floodheads hit. At least, the wheels
N20 1220 dug in. The soaking will put life back in the wagon, too".
N20 1230    His wife didn't give a sign she'd heard. She was watching a
N20 1240 tree ride wildly down that roiling current. Somebody was riding the
N20 1250 tree. It raced closer and they could see a woman with white hair, sitting
N20 1260 astride an upright branch.   She did not call out. But as
N20 1270 the tree passed, she lifted an arm in gesture of better luck and farewell.
N20 1280 They watched the tree until it twisted sharply on a bend. It speared
N20 1290 up into the air, then sinking back, the up-jutting branch turned
N20 1300 slowly. The pale blob of the woman disappeared.   "There's
N20 1310 the one who's lucky"! the girl murmured harshly.   Ben's
N20 1320 eyes strained with the bitter hurt, his homely face slashed with gray
N20 1330 and crimson. Then he took off his wet boots and dropped down into
N20 1340 the water to talk with the beasts, needing their comfort more than they
N20 1350 needed his.   It was nearly sundown and he went to the back of
N20 1360 the wagon, half-swimming his way, for he was not a tall man. He let
N20 1370 down the tailgate and was knocked over by the sluice of water.
N20 1380 He sputtered back to his feet and scrambled madly to pull his bags of
N20 1390 seed grain forward. They were already swollen to bursting. Of all
N20 1391 their worldly
N20 1400 belongings, next to the oxen and his gun, the seed grain had been
N20 1410 the most treasured. It was spoiled now for seed, and it would sour
N20 1420 and mold in three days if they failed to find a place and fuel to dry
N20 1430 it. The oxen might as well enjoy it.   He examined the water marks
N20 1440 on the iron tires when the animals were finished. The waters lay
N20 1450 muddy but placid, without a ripple of movement against the wheels; there
N20 1460 was not a match-width of damp mark to show they were receding.
N20 1470    He doubted if a man could wade as far as the desolate, dry hills
N20 1480 that rimmed the valley. A terrible, numbing sense of futility swept
N20 1490 over him.   He gripped the wheel hard to fight the despondency of
N20 1500 defeat. Then he noticed that the dry wood of the wheels had swollen.
N20 1510 The spokes were tight again, the iron tires gripped onto the wheels
N20 1520 as if of one piece.   Hope surged within him. He swung toward
N20 1530 the front
N20 1540 to give the news to Hettie, then stopped, barred from her by
N20 1550 the vehemence of her blame and hate. Still, he felt better. A tight
N20 1560 wagon meant so much. ## He got a small fire started and put on bacon
N20 1570 and coffee. He poured the water off the sourdough and off the flour,
N20 1580 salvaging the chunky, watery messes for biscuits of a sort. Their
N20 1590 jams and jellies had not suffered. He found a jar of preserved tomatoes
N20 1600 and one of eggs that they had meant to save. Now he broke them open,
N20 1610 hoping a good meal might lessen this depression crushing Hettie.
N20 1620    His long nose wiggled at the smells of frizzling bacon and heating
N20 1630 java, but the fire was low, and he wanted to waste no time. He
N20 1640 furled the slashed sides of the canvas tarpaulins, leaving the ribs and
N20 1650 wagon open.   He looked thoughtfully at his wife's trunk, holding
N20 1660 her meager treasures. He said hesitantly, "Hettie, I don't
N20 1670 figure your things got wet too much. That's a good trunk. If you
N20 1680 want to get them aired **h"   She said without turning her head,
N20 1690 "After that rain beating in atop the dust, there isn't a thing
N20 1700 that won't be streaked".   He drew a long breath and opened
N20 1710 the trunk and hung out her clothes and spoilables upon the wagon ribs.
N21 0010    Sulphur, oil, and copra make the kind of tinder any firebug dreams
N21 0020 of. I suppose a Lascar sailor had sneaked a cigarette in the hold
N21 0030 and touched off the blaze. Now, roaring up in great oily clouds of
N21 0040 smoke and flames, the fierce heat quickly drove us to the stern where
N21 0050 we huddled like suffocating sheep, not knowing what to do **h.
N21 0060 The lifeboats were stuck fast. We couldn't budge them. I heard a
N21 0070 cry from a stoker as a pillar of flame leaped from a hatch and tongued
N21 0080 the man's bare back. He sprinted to the rail and leaped overboard
N21 0090 into the shark-infested waters.   One especially bad detonation
N21 0100 shook Lifeboat No& 3 which trembled violently in the davits. Brassnose
N21 0110 yelled: "Come on, Sommers, Max **h <step on it, we got
N21 0120 a chance now>. Heave on those ropes; the boat's come unstuck".
N21 0130    We pulled and swore and yanked and wept, scraping our hands until
N21 0140 they bled profusely. The <Bonaventure> was quivering and lurching
N21 0150 like an old spavined mare. Her stern was down and a sharp list helped
N21 0160 us to cut loose the lifeboat which dropped heavily into the water.
N21 0170    Brassnose, Max and I leaped into the sea and swam to the
N21 0180 boat. "Let's get away fast", said Brassnose, shaking water from
N21 0190 his mop of bleached hair. "That tub is going to explode all at once".
N21 0200    Then the <Bonaventure> seemed to disintegrate with a
N21 0210 roar of live steam, geysers of sparks and flames, and a dense cloud of
N21 0220 black-and-orange smoke. Dimly, we heard the voices of men in mortal
N21 0230 agony but we couldn't go back into that inferno.   Already our
N21 0240 leaky lifeboat was filled with five inches of water. "Sommers, you
N21 0250 bale while we row", Brassnose commanded.   As best as I could
N21 0260 determine, we were some 700 miles west of New Guinea, in the Bismark
N21 0270 Archipelago. Three days previously, we had steamed past barren
N21 0280 Rennell Island in the distance. Now we peered anxiously for any speck
N21 0290 of land in the Pacific, for this interminable bailing would have
N21 0300 to stop soon. There were gigantic blisters and rope burns on our hands;
N21 0310 our muscles were hot wires of pain.   Brassnose was strangely
N21 0320 silent. The big man with the whitened hair murmured something: his
N21 0330 words sounded as if they were in the Manu tongue, which I recognized,
N21 0340 having studied the dialect in my Anthropology /6, class at the
N21 0350 University of Chicago.   He then said something which struck
N21 0360 a chord in my memory.   "God help us if we're near the island
N21 0370 of Eromonga. We'd be in real trouble then. I'd rather keep bailing-
N21 0380 or sink".   I was puzzled by the remark, then I recalled
N21 0390 the voice of mild Professor Howard Griggs three years ago in a
N21 0400 university lecture on primitive societies. He had been speaking of this
N21 0410 archipelago:   "Even when the islands were under German
N21 0420 mandate before World War /1,, Europeans gave Eromonga a wide berth.
N21 0430 The place is inhabited by several hundred warlike women who are
N21 0440 anachronisms of the Twentieth Century- stone age amazons who live
N21 0450 in an all-female, matriarchal society which is self-sufficient".
N21 0460    I remembered, too, the jesting voice of a classmate, Bobby Pauson:
N21 0470 "But how do they reproduce, Dr& Griggs? I'm sure that
N21 0480 males have something to do with that process"!   There had
N21 0490 been classroom guffaws which quickly subsided as Professor Griggs said
N21 0500 dryly: "I see your point, Pauson. Of course, males play a role
N21 0510 there, but believe me when I say you wouldn't enjoy yourself one
N21 0520 bit on Eromonga. Indeed, you wouldn't live long, for the females
N21 0530 either drive the men they've seized from neighboring islands back
N21 0540 to their boats after exploiting them for amatory purposes, or they destroy
N21 0550 them by revolting but ingenious methods. In fact, one important
N21 0560 aspect of their very religion is the annihilation of men".   "I
N21 0570 think I know what you mean, Brassnose", I said. "I know something
N21 0580 about Eromonga. Let's hope we come to a safer place".
N21 0590    But we didn't. Three hours later, while we were bailing desperately,
N21 0600 a dot of land came into view. Foster Lukuklu Frayne made a
N21 0610 sign over his heart with his two linked thumbs: I recognized it as
N21 0620 an ancient Manu gesture intended to propitiate the Devil.   A
N21 0630 half-hour passed; we had drifted closer. In a voice so frightened as
N21 0640 to seem not his own, the big bo'sun's mate quavered:   "<Tchalo!>
N21 0650 It <is> Eromonga- look hard, you can see with your
N21 0660 naked eye the wooden scaffolding on the cliff".   I squinted
N21 0670 at the looming shoreline. There <was> a wooden tower or derrick there,
N21 0680 something like a ski jump; it was perhaps 80 feet high and had
N21 0690 been artfully constructed of logs. A fine example of engineering in
N21 0700 a primitive society.   "What is the scaffolding for, Brassnose"?
N21 0710    He made a sound of despair deep in his throat. It was
N21 0720 embarrassing to see strapping, blonde Brassnose comport himself like
N21 0730 a child who talks about bogeymen.   "Aaa-ee! It is their
N21 0740 <tultul>, the 'jumping platform' of death. It is the last of the
N21 0750 three tests of manhood which the women impose, to discover if a male
N21 0760 in worthy of survival there. Often, I heard my uncles and cousins speak
N21 0770 of it when I was a small boy growing up in Rabaul. They had never
N21 0780 seen a <tultul> but they had heard about it from <their> fathers".
N21 0790    Our lifeboat was filling rapidly and despite what I had
N21 0800 heard of the inhabitants of Eromonga, I was glad to see a long and
N21 0810 graceful outrigger manned by three bronzed girls glide out of a lagoon
N21 0820 into the open sea and toward our craft.   I expected Brassnose-
N21 0830 as a man with a strain of Melanesian in his blood- to speak to
N21 0840 them. But he had turned a sickly green and appeared tongue-tied or panicked.
N21 0850    So, I mustered my few words of the Manu dialect and
N21 0860 said, "We greet you in peace. In <ngandlu>. My friends and I
N21 0870 come from a ship which was destroyed by fire. We are thirsty and hungry;
N21 0880 our sore and burned hands and arms need attention".   The
N21 0890 girl in the prow of the outrigger turned a smile like a beacon on me.
N21 0900 I noted that her full breasts were bare and that she wore a garland
N21 0910 of red pandanus fruit in her blue-black hair.   She said, "My
N21 0920 name is Songau and these girls are Ponkob and Piwen. You are welcome
N21 0930 to Eromonga. My people await you on the shore. You shall have
N21 0940 food, water and rest".   Thirty minutes later, the outrigger grated
N21 0950 on sand and other girls, waiting on shore, rushed forward to pull
N21 0960 it up on the beach and make it fast with vine ropes to a large boulder.
N21 0970 I saw a dozen or so other outriggers moored there.   I looked.
N21 0980 All my rosy visions of rest and even pleasure on this island vanished
N21 0990 at the sight. There was a mound of bleached human bones and skulls
N21 1000 at the base of the big wooden derrick. Some had been there for years;
N21 1010 others still had whitened shreds of decayed flesh sticking to them.
N21 1020    There was one object which sickened yet fascinated me. This
N21 1030 was also a corpse- a male, judging from the coral arm bands, the
N21 1040 tribal scars still discernible on the maggoty face, the painted bone of
N21 1050 the warrior caste which still pierced the septum of the rotting nose.
N21 1060    The body may have been two or three weeks' dead. I looked
N21 1070 with revulsion at the legs. They were shattered. Many small bones protruded
N21 1080 crazily from the shreds of flesh. The man must have leaped to
N21 1090 his death from the topmost rung of the <tultul>.   As if divining
N21 1100 my thoughts, the girl Songau smiled warmly and said in the casual
N21 1110 tone an American woman might use in describing her rose garden:
N21 1120    "This is our <tultul>, a jumping platform, <maku>. Later,
N21 1130 you shall know it better. Is it not well-made? Our old one blew
N21 1140 down in a storm at the time of the <pokeneu> festival fifteen moons
N21 1150 ago. It took thirty of our women almost six moons to build this one,
N21 1160 which is higher and stronger than the old one. We are very proud of
N21 1170 it".   "You have every right to be", I replied gravely in
N21 1180 the Manu dialect, but my attention was fixed on Brassnose, the biggest
N21 1190 and strongest of us. He looked as if he was going to keel over. I
N21 1200 felt a queasiness in my own stomach but it wouldn't do to show these
N21 1210 girls that we were afraid. Not so soon, anyway.   I clapped
N21 1220 the big man with the bleached hair on his shoulder and said heartily,
N21 1230 hoping it would make an impression on the women: "This one is the
N21 1240 <maku> Frayne. He speaks your language too, for he is the grandson
N21 1250 of a chieftain on Taui who made much magic and was strong and cunning.
N21 1260 The <maku> Frayne has inherited this strength from his grandfather".
N21 1270    This was the worst thing I could have said. Brassnose
N21 1280 turned a stricken face toward me and said brokenly, "Sommers, you
N21 1290 meddling Yank, you're a fool! They despise males who brag of
N21 1300 their strength; they destroy such men with their damned tests. You've
N21 1310 ruined me, blast you"!   At first, I thought he was out
N21 1320 of his head, talking wildly like this. But a glance at Songau and
N21 1330 the other women confirmed what Brassnose had blurted out.   The
N21 1340 women's faces had hardened after my statement. At a nod from Songau,
N21 1350 four lithe and muscular girls darted to Frayne's side and seized
N21 1360 him by the arms. The man was an ox and he put up a creditable struggle;
N21 1370 but four Eromonga women are more than a match for the strongest
N21 1380 male that ever lived.   Besides, terror had sapped some of Frayne's
N21 1390 vitality and will. My last impression as they led him off to
N21 1400 a stockade was of his pale face   In the Manu tongue, "eromonga"
N21 1410 means manhood- a quality which the women derisively toasted
N21 1420 in weekly feasts at which great quantities of a brew like <kava> were
N21 1430 imbibed. In the hut to which I was assigned- Max had his own quarters-
N21 1440 my food was brought to me by a wrinkled crone with bare drooping
N21 1450 breasts who seemed to enjoy conversing with me in rudimentary phrases.
N21 1460    Her name was L'Turu and she told me many things. For
N21 1470 an anthropologist, loquacious old L'Turu was a mine of information.
N21 1480 Though I had a great dread of the island and felt I would never
N21 1490 leave it alive, I eagerly wrote down everything she told me about its
N21 1500 women. (Her account was later confirmed by the Scobee-Frazier Expedition
N21 1510 from the University of Manitoba in 1951.)   From L'Turu,
N21 1520 I heard that until about 1850 the people of this island- which
N21 1530 was about the size of Guam or smaller- had been of both sexes,
N21 1540 and that the normal family life of Melanesian tribes was observed here
N21 1550 with minor variations.   But in the middle of the last century
N21 1560 an island woman named "Karipo" seized a spear in the heat of an
N21 1570 inter-tribal
N21 1580 battle and rallied the women after their men had fled. Miraculously,
N21 1590 Karipo and her women had succeeded in driving a hundred invaders
N21 1600 from the isle of Pamasu back to their war canoes, after considerable
N21 1610 loss of life on both sides.   Karipo was something of a
N21 1620 politician as well as a militarist. She quickly exploited the exalted
N21 1630 position she now occupied, by harassing the disorganized males and even
N21 1640 putting many of them to death. Within a decade or less, few men
N21 1650 were left and a feminist society had sprung up.   "Karipo was
N21 1660 great goddess, told our mothers that men were not necessary except to
N21 1670 father children", the crone told me. "All men went away from here.
N21 1680 Those who stayed had to pass tests. Few passed". She cackled with
N21 1690 mirth, showing the stumps of betel-stained teeth. "Karipo's women
N21 1700 then named this place 'Eromonga'- manhood- for just the strongest
N21 1710 men could stay here. Come, I show you".   The old woman
N21 1720 arose stiffly and led me to a clearing where a small hut stood. In
N21 1730 the shade of a palm tree in front of the squalid dwelling I saw four
N21 1740 figures in a semi-circle on the ground.
N22 0010    "I guess he spent the morning getting himself all organized,
N22 0020 then headed for home. Maybe to beat up on his squaw". Benson looked
N22 0030 up and saw Ramey's long head tilt forward to rub his chin on the
N22 0040 stiff edge of the overall bib. Ramey reached out with the tire iron
N22 0050 and dislodged a chunk of mud that was caked on the spare tire rack.
N22 0060    "I'd like to know just which it is that those guys don't
N22 0070 understand, the liquor or automobiles". Somehow the thought of a simple
N22 0080 man bewildered by things no one had ever really helped him understand
N22 0090 moved the driver. For a moment his hatred toward drunken or careless
N22 0100 drivers softened. Maybe the Indian wasn't too much at fault,
N22 0110 Ramey thought. Maybe he was only doing the best he knew how, like any
N22 0120 of us. Anyway, he doesn't deserve to lie there in the sun and be
N22 0130 stared at.   "Ever see yourself spread out on the pavement, Benny"?
N22 0140 he said to his partner.   "You mean dream"?
N22 0150    "Not exactly. Just see it". Benson grinned and flipped a rock
N22 0160 with his thumb like a marble.   "Nope, just you, all the time-
N22 0170 sometimes I think it's the only way I'll ever get a decent
N22 0180 partner".   Ramey smiled but he thought to himself, I always
N22 0190 see me too. Never Benny. Whenever he saw someone lying in the dirt,
N22 0200 Ramey wondered what the person had been thinking and he would try out
N22 0210 thoughts in his own mind. Then he would realize they were really things
N22 0220 that only he himself could think. With this realization, sometimes,
N22 0230 he saw himself as he looked down.   "You seen him yet"?
N22 0240 Benson said, referring to the Indian.   "He wasn't in the
N22 0250 car", Ramey said.   "You didn't go clear around", Benson
N22 0260 said. "If you want to see something, he's back on the other
N22 0270 side by the trunk of the car".   "Too long a waiting line",
N22 0280 Ramey answered, pretending to joke.   A few minutes later the
N22 0290 insurance man, a road checker, drove up in the gray coupe with license
N22 0300 plates on it from a far-away state. It was a trick they used to try
N22 0310 and conceal their identity when they followed trucks to check their
N22 0320 speed.
N22 0330 Sometimes they just parked at the side of the road and used radar
N22 0340 on the trucks as they passed. All the drivers knew about the plates
N22 0350 and they also knew about the big floppy straw hat with shredded edges,
N22 0360 the kind natives in travel ads wear when they are out joyfully chopping
N22 0370 cane. Horsely, an agent on the east end, wore the hat, trying to
N22 0380 look like a tourist. It had always seemed strange to Ramey that to
N22 0390 disguise himself as a tourist, an ex-truck driver like Horsely would
N22 0400 merely pick something outlandish and put it on his head.   The insurance
N22 0410 man informed them that he had talked to Crumley who was all
N22 0420 right and that he would watch the men's personal effects until they
N22 0430 towed the rig back to town. He chatted with Ramey and Benson for a
N22 0440 minute or so in the meager shade of the trailer. Every so often the
N22 0450 diminishing sound of a car came under the trailer as it slowed down for
N22 0460 the wreck then speeded up again as it got clear.   When they
N22 0470 were ready to leave, Benson and Ramey walked back around the rear of
N22 0480 the trailer.   "There's a body you won't mind looking at",
N22 0490 Benson said and they stopped. She had driven up with her husband
N22 0500 in a convertible with Eastern license plates, although the two drivers
N22 0510 knew nothing at the moment about that. She wore shorts and a loose
N22 0520 terry-cloth shirt. Slender and tanned, her dark brown hair was drawn
N22 0530 straight back, simply.   "What outfit does she drive for"?
N22 0540 Benson said.   Seeing her caused a lurch in Ramey, a recognition.
N22 0550 She might have been someone he had once loved. He had never seen
N22 0560 her before, but now he thought of the manner in which he and Benson
N22 0570 went in and out of the cities, at each end of their run. The truck
N22 0580 routes, the industrial areas with walls grimed with diesel smoke passed
N22 0590 briefly through his mind- back alleys were their access to a city
N22 0600 and they could never stay. How would you ever see her again? The feeling
N22 0610 subsided, it was only a small yearning. Their work was lonely.
N22 0620    "What's she doing in this bunch"? Benson said, and Ramey
N22 0630 wondered how close their thoughts might have been.   The girl
N22 0640 looked around at the countryside. Her glance swung past the trailer
N22 0650 where the two drivers were standing. It made only a tiny bump over
N22 0651 the two
N22 0660 men like a tire over a piece of gravel then moved on. She began
N22 0670 to watch a blonde-haired man, also in shorts, standing right at the rear
N22 0680 of the wrecked car in the one spot that most of the crowd had detoured
N22 0690 slightly. What had caught his attention was obscured by the car
N22 0700 itself, so that neither the girl nor the truck drivers could see, but
N22 0710 Benson knew what it was. The girl took a couple of steps toward the
N22 0720 man in shorts when Benson, in that barefoot courtliness Ramey could
N22 0730 never decide was real, said, "You don't want to go around there,
N22 0740 Ma'am". The girl stopped but did not turn her head or acknowledge
N22 0750 that someone had spoken to her.   The man stood near the bent
N22 0760 levi-clad body of the Indian who lay face down almost under the car.
N22 0770 The two drivers moved closer.   "What does he want, a spoon"?
N22 0780 Benson said to Ramey.   One tiny detail in a happening can
N22 0790 clog the memory and stick like meat in a crooked tooth, while the rest
N22 0800 of the occurrence will go hazy and uncertain. With Ramey it was
N22 0810 a dusty work shoe that was half-off the Indian's foot that he would
N22 0820 always remember. The laces were broken at the bottom of the eyelets
N22 0830 but there was still a bow knot at the top. The slightest twitch would
N22 0840 have parted the shoe entirely from the foot, yet the toes were still
N22 0850 inside.   The two men in overalls stood just behind the blonde-headed
N22 0860 man. He wore tennis shorts and a white sweater with a red ~V
N22 0870 at the neck, the sleeves pushed above the elbows. He turned and looked
N22 0880 at them with clear blue eyes, immaculate eyes. He was very tanned-
N22 0890 big hands might have torn him from a Coca-Cola poster.   "He's
N22 0900 dead, isn't he"? the man said. He turned and bent over
N22 0910 the body of the Indian. There was nothing in particular on the man's
N22 0920 face. It was simply a matter of curiosity, a natural right to examine.
N22 0930    "What's this"? the man said, backing up a step,
N22 0940 still looking down. His words were mostly to himself.   "Don't".
N22 0950 There was a gentle concern in Benson's voice. Ramey looked
N22 0960 down and saw the white sneaker at the bottom of the man's tanned
N22 0970 leg cautiously nudge a bit of folded, blood-flecked substance lying by
N22 0980 itself on the pavement.   "But what is it"? the man said
N22 0990 with a tone of impatience.   <But what is it?> The man had
N22 1000 spoken only once. Ramey heard the words again inside, weakened, the
N22 1010 way moving water sounds through a grove of trees, until he was not sure
N22 1020 whether it was sound or light-headedness pressing in his ears.
N22 1030    The sneaker reached out once more to tap against the mass and Ramey's
N22 1040 vision darkened except for an unreasonable clarity of the man's
N22 1050 leg. Ramey saw sunlight touch the curly blonde hairs on the brown
N22 1060 skin. He stared at the shining, shining circles of hairs and heard the
N22 1070 voice of his partner through trees, "Don't do that, fella. Them's
N22 1080 brains".   The man seemed to sink a little as Ramey brought
N22 1090 the tire iron down on his shoulder and it seemed that the blonde
N22 1100 head was turning as he hit the man again, with his fist. Ramey swung
N22 1110 and caught the man just to the left of his mouth. It was a straight,
N22 1120 solid, once-in-a-lifetime shot; he laid all four knuckles in between
N22 1130 the man's cheekbone and his chin. Ramey's fist and the air expelled
N22 1140 from the man's collapsing cheek made a hollow pop in the air like
N22 1150 cupped hands clapping together.   The man took two short steps
N22 1160 backward then sat down heavily on the pavement. Ramey heard a cry from
N22 1170 the girl and felt a slight pain somewhere in his hand. As he watched
N22 1180 the man sit suddenly, a detached part of his mind observed how very
N22 1190 difficult it was, really, to knock a man off his feet. He hadn't
N22 1200 done it this time and he would never again hit anyone so hard.
N22 1210 With a thoughtful look, the man sat on the pavement, legs straight out
N22 1220 in front of him. His arms hung like empty shirt sleeves, and his mouth
N22 1230 was slightly open. After what seemed several seconds, the open mouth
N22 1240 grew dark inside then blood began to ooze from it. The man brought
N22 1250 one hand up slowly and the fingers fumbled across his face until he
N22 1260 touched his mouth. He moaned and pulled the hand away. Even yet there
N22 1270 was no realization in his eyes.   Ramey could hear the crowd
N22 1280 coming up rapidly behind him and the questioning voices coming over his
N22 1290 shoulder had no identity or importance to him. He did not look around.
N22 1300    "What happened"? someone said.   "He's hurt"!
N22 1310 A woman's voice said, and then he heard a sort of wail from
N22 1320 the man's wife. The man on the ground began to move; one of his
N22 1330 hands flattened out on the pavement and supported him. Blood dripped
N22 1340 down the front of his sweater, soaking into a dark streak of dirt that
N22 1350 ran diagonally across the white wool on his shoulder, as though the
N22 1360 bright ~V woven into the neckline had melted, running a darker color.
N22 1370    The girl kneeled by her husband with one arm at his back.
N22 1380 "Can you hear, can you talk to me"? she begged. An incoherent,
N22 1390 puzzled sound came from the red mouth. The girl looked around quickly
N22 1400 at several of the people. None of the crowd had stepped forward to
N22 1410 help. Then she saw Ramey and her face was misshapen with bewilderment.
N22 1420    "Why did you do it- why did you hit him"? she said,
N22 1430 her voice rising. Ramey said nothing. A shine in her eyes suddenly
N22 1440 became tears and she turned back to her husband again.   Behind
N22 1450 Ramey feet scraped beneath sharp questioning whispers. No one seemed
N22 1460 to know for sure what had happened, nor was there any purpose or responsibility
N22 1470 in the muttering feet and urgent voices behind the driver,
N22 1480 beyond finding out.   Ramey looked around and caught sight of his
N22 1490 partner near the front end of the wrecked truck talking to the patrolman.
N22 1500 Benson moved his arms, gesturing with an unfamiliar vigor and
N22 1510 talking rapidly. Ramey caught a glimpse of the insurance man. Some of
N22 1520 the ruddiness was gone from his face and he stared at Ramey. It's
N22 1530 all over now, the driver thought as he saw the patrolman turn and walk
N22 1540 rapidly down along the trailer toward them. Ramey watched him coming
N22 1550 with a vision as clean as the glare on the metal sides of the trailer.
N22 1560 He saw the dark sweat spots flip in and out of sight under the patrolman's
N22 1570 swinging arms and in the leather holster that swaggered and
N22 1580 rolled at the side of his stocky body, the sun left a smoky shine on
N22 1590 the narrow strip of blue metal that ran between the horned handles of
N22 1600 his pistol.   "All right, step back"! the patrolman said
N22 1610 to no one in particular as he pushed between the fat man in the baseball
N22 1620 cap and a young boy in levis. He walked straight up to the man sitting
N22 1630 on the ground and bent over to look at him.   "You all right"?
N22 1640    "Mough- it's my mough", the man said, trying
N22 1650 to talk without moving his lips. His brown face looked gray from dirt
N22 1660 streaks where his hand had come off the dusty pavement and rubbed across
N22 1670 it.
N23 0010 Then he calmly and carefully slugged the remaining five shots into the
N23 0020 venomous head- caught in the wicker back of the chair, the eyes dead
N23 0030 on him as the life finally went out of the brute. The body continued
N23 0040 to lash, but now Keith used the legs of the chair to fork the loathsome,
N23 0050 bloody mass out of the bungalow. He slammed the door and listened
N23 0060 as his servants ran up, alarmed at the sound of the shots. He heard
N23 0070 their chattering, and then the sounds of hacking as they dismembered
N23 0080 the snake right on the porch with wood axes.   It was only then
N23 0090 that he turned to look at Penny.   She was sitting on the edge
N23 0100 of the bed again, back in the same position where the snake had found
N23 0110 her. The fear had not entirely gone from her face, but there were some
N23 0120 other emotions now, crowding into her eyes and the lines of her mouth.
N23 0130    But her hands were calm, now. <She's got guts,> thought
N23 0140 Keith. <She's got more guts than any other woman in the world>.
N23 0150    "Keith", said Penny, "Keith, you were wonderful. I
N23 0160 don't suppose a wife should be grateful to her husband for saving
N23 0170 her life, but I am. Thank you, Keith".   He smiled at her
N23 0180 sincerity. And for the hundredth time that week, he was startled at her
N23 0190 beauty. Strange. Seven years they'd been married. He knew her
N23 0200 mind pretty well, by now, its quick perceptions and sympathies, its painful
N23 0210 insistence on truth and directness, its capacity for love almost
N23 0220 too deep for a man to reciprocate, even in part. But her beauty always
N23 0230 surprised him anew.   "I realize that this is hardly the time
N23 0240 to say it, Penny", said Keith. "But knowing you, I know that
N23 0250 you're glad to be alive, and grateful- and sorry because I killed
N23 0260 the snake, even though I had to. Isn't that so"?   Penny
N23 0270 lowered her eyes.   "Yes", she said, almost in a whisper,
N23 0280 as if admitting to a crime.   "The snake was beautiful, wasn't
N23 0290 it"? asked Keith, his voice getting harsher in spite of himself,
N23 0300 as he struggled to control his growing anger. "It was a king
N23 0310 cobra, the largest you ever saw, and it deserved to live out its life
N23 0320 in the jungle, didn't it? <DIDN'T IT?">
N23 0330 Penny
N23 0340 did not answer. Now, she just sat there looking at him, without an expression
N23 0350 except concern for him.   "We're all God's creatures,
N23 0360 aren't we"? Keith was snarling now. "All of us- every
N23 0370 goddam roach and worm and killer in that jungle. You love this village
N23 0380 and these stinking brown people because they're God's creatures,
N23 0390 too. And you love Ahmiri, that black bastard of a servant even
N23 0400 a little more, because he's a beautiful man. And he loves you because
N23 0410 you're a beautiful woman. We're all God's creatures, <aren't
N23 0420 we, Penny?> All of us, that is, except me. You hate me, you
N23 0430 hate my guts, because I like to hunt. You actually hate me- and we
N23 0440 both know it- because I killed that filthy snake. **h Well, why don't
N23 0445 you
N23 0450 say something"?   Penny would not rise to his mood.
N23 0460    "There isn't anything left to say, is there, Keith"?
N23 0470    She softly let herself into the bed, and took her regular side,
N23 0480 away from the door, where she slept better because Keith was between
N23 0490 her and the invader. He knew she was not sulking, not even angry at
N23 0500 him. Just as he knew that she had stopped loving him.   The Brahmaputra
N23 0510 has its headwaters in the tableland of the world, the towering
N23 0520 white headwalls of the Himalayas that are unknown to man as any
N23 0530 other space on the planet. For a brief period each year, the rays of
N23 0540 the sun are warm enough to melt some of the snows piled a mile deep
N23 0550 at the base of the headwalls, and then the pinnacles glisten in the
N23 0560 daytime at high noon, and billions of gallons of water begin their slow
N23 0570 seepage under the glaciers and across the rockstrewn hanging valleys
N23 0580 on their long, meandering journey to the sea- running east past the
N23 0590 sky-carving massifs of Gurla Mandhata and Kemchenjunga, then turning
N23 0600 south and curling down through the jungles of Assam, past the Khasi
N23 0610 Hills, and into Bengal, past Sirinjani and Madaripur, until the
N23 0620 hard water of the melting snows mingles with the soft drainage of fields
N23 0630 and at length fans out to meld with the teeming salt depths of the
N23 0640 Bay of Bengal.   Keith Sterling had looked down on the Brahmaputra
N23 0650 more times than he could remember, during the war days when
N23 0660 he flew over the Hump of the world, thinking it high adventure in those
N23 0670 times before man was guiding himself through outer space. But Keith
N23 0680 looked down more than up. He thought of the jungles below him, and
N23 0690 of the wild, strange, untracked beauty there and he promised himself
N23 0700 that someday he would return, on foot perhaps, to hunt in this last corner
N23 0710 of the world where man is sometimes himself the hunted, and animals
N23 0720 the lords.   At first it had been just a romantic dream of his,
N23 0730 the same as the idea of finishing Oxford after the war. But "after
N23 0740 the war" was a luxury of a phrase he did not permit himself. Wing
N23 0750 Commanders in the ~RAF do not imply survival in the future either
N23 0760 in their orders or in their attitudes, to their men or to themselves.
N23 0770 And Keith's record of kills made him a man to listen to- a
N23 0780 man paradoxically, who might even survive. He became a fighter pilot
N23 0790 after the stint over the Hump in the big crates. The ~RAF was Britain's
N23 0800 weapon of attrition, and flying a fighter plane was the way
N23 0810 her sons could serve her best at this point in the war.   He knew
N23 0820 how to shoot down Nazis. And he knew that the men talked about him
N23 0830 behind his back, saying that he was one up on everybody else- including
N23 0840 the pilot of the plane with the swastika on it- because he was
N23 0850 chemically incapable of fear. That was true, but only half the truth.
N23 0860 The other half he didn't like to recognize, even to himself. He
N23 0870 enjoyed the killing. Not defending England, or being an ace, or fighting
N23 0880 for humanity. He enjoyed killing. And he would have enjoyed it
N23 0890 just as much if he had been a Nazi.   Nowadays, we talk as though
N23 0900 the blitz were just a short skirmish. The Nazis bombed Britain,
N23 0910 so the ~RAF retaliated and shot them all down. Not quite. It
N23 0920 was a war of nerves, of stamina, of dogged endurance in which the stupid
N23 0930 insistence of the British on their right to their own country became
N23 0940 ultimately an unsurmountable obstacle to the Nazis, who were better
N23 0950 organized and technically superior. It took a long time before the
N23 0960 British tipped the balance.   Keith learned too much about air
N23 0970 combat, and air killing, to be risked. They grounded him (over his protests-
N23 0980 not including his true reason for wanting to fly) and put
N23 0990 him
N23 1000 in the Command offices.   That was where he met Penny.
N23 1010 He was aware of her as a frightfully good-looking American ~WAC,
N23 1020 a second lieutenant assigned to do the paper work, (regardless of how
N23 1030 important <she> might have thought she was) in the Command offices,
N23 1040 but that was all. Penny knew him better, on her part. He had a war
N23 1050 reputation, but this was the kind of man women like even without medals.
N23 1060 They don't go for bull-like muscle, as a rule. He had strength
N23 1070 in his six-foot frame, but it was like the tensile steel in a rapier.
N23 1080 He was on the thin side, with big hands, and the kind of wrists that
N23 1090 give away the power in forearm and bicep.   His hair was black,
N23 1100 already greying at the temples in the classic beauty-idiom, the only
N23 1110 one permitted to a man. The pretty little twittering ~WACS said
N23 1120 he had the look of eagles- and Penny, hating the cliche, had to
N23 1130 admit that in this case it applied. Keith <was> an eagle.   Penny
N23 1140 and Keith had no romance. No dates or hand-holding. But they met
N23 1150 in one searing moment that gave them to one another instantly.
N23 1160    The Command offices were in the border country, up north, where the
N23 1170 radar systems centralized their intelligence reports, and the fighters
N23 1180 were dispatched to harry the enemy. The Nazis knew this, of course,
N23 1190 and while their chief quarry was the industrial centers, they let
N23 1200 a few drop every time they went over, hoping for a lucky hit.   This
N23 1210 time, they had been lucky. The Command post was underground, and
N23 1220 well camouflaged. But there hadn't been enough time to build it for
N23 1230 keeps. There was a measure of protection in its concrete walls and
N23 1240 ceiling, but the engineers who hastily installed it were well aware that
N23 1250 concrete is not much better than prayer, if as efficacious, when a
N23 1260 direct hit comes along.   This one was actually more of a "near
N23 1270 miss". The bomb plunged into the ground near the Post, but not
N23 1280 precisely into the Command room itself. There was a shattering, cracking
N23 1290 sound as the concrete started to buckle, the air filled with dust
N23 1300 and flying debris, and everyone in the room- men and women hit the
N23 1310 floor and used the desks as turtlebacks, as ordered.   That is,
N23 1320 everyone but Keith and Penny.   They stood there, just the two
N23 1330 of them, in the rocking, shattering blast. Keith was on his feet because
N23 1340 he didn't care at all about life any more: Penny on her feet,
N23 1350 proudly, because she cared too much.   The bomb was a solitary
N23 1360 one. The blast damaged, but did not destroy the room. Keith's eyes
N23 1370 met Penny's as they stood there in this strange marriage of destruction.
N23 1380 And, as the others began to crawl out from beneath the desks
N23 1390 and tend to those wounded, and mark the several killed, he climbed across
N23 1400 the debris to Penny and took her hand in his.   The chaplain
N23 1410 married them, on the next day.   After the war, Penny had wanted
N23 1420 Keith at least to visit her home with her. She came from Ohio,
N23 1430 from what she called a "small farm" of two hundred acres, as indeed
N23 1440 it was to farmer-type farmers. But to Keith's London-bred mind,
N23 1450 such acreage sounded rather invincible. It wasn't that, however, which
N23 1460 decided them not to go to America. Keith told Penny about his
N23 1470 dream to return to India and Burma. He stressed the wild beauty of
N23 1480 the mountains, and the jungles. He didn't tell her the truth he now
N23 1490 freely admitted to himself. He couldn't stop killing. That was his
N23 1500 true love, not Penny. The terrible power of a gun, the thing that
N23 1510 blasted the soul out of a living body, man or beast, was one he never
N23 1520 wanted to lose. And in the hunting land, this hunger was considered
N23 1530 to be a noble thing.   When they got to Shillong, in Assam,
N23 1540 he was happy. This is a paradise for hunters. This was the land of the
N23 1550 sladang, the great water buffalo with horns forty inches across the
N23 1560 spread. The great black leopards. The sambur buck, the jungle stag
N23 1570 that is even more noble than the Scottish elk. He even hunted elephant,
N23 1580 although the Asian elephant is not quite as ferocious as his African
N23 1590 cousin. But there are big rogues in both countries. These were
N23 1600 the ones Keith sought out- the loners, the ones who killed for the
N23 1610 joy of it, like himself.   He and Penny would go out on tame elephants,
N23 1620 raised from babyhood in the <keddah>. And while he was ever
N23 1630 alert for game, and most particularly a tiger, Penny marvelled at the
N23 1640 Eden they were traversing. They came upon cheetal deer at woodland
N23 1650 pools. Peacocks strutted across their path, preening. There were fantastic
N23 1660 flowers without perfume, and gaudy birds without song. Mouse
N23 1670 deer played around the feet of the elephants, or fled when the mighty
N23 1680 legs thrashed too close. Wild boar watched their progress with little
N23 1690 pig eyes, and grunted derision when they didn't consider such game
N23 1700 worthy of a shot from the .404's.
N24 0010 Now, the next morning, they were anchored at The Elbow and the boat
N24 0020 was riding directly over the underwater ledge where the green water turned
N24 0030 to deepest blue and the cliff dropped straight down 600 fathoms,
N24 0040 with the weighted line beside it; and Robinson Roy, who had gone
N24 0050 down this line ten minutes before to set a new depth record for the free
N24 0060 dive, was already back on the surface.   He and his safety man,
N24 0070 Herr Schaffner, swam up to the boarding ladder together. The German
N24 0080 courteously indicated that Robinson should mount first. Robinson
N24 0090 clambered heavily into the boat, sat down, and stripped off his triple-tank
N24 0100 assembly. He was frowning. He took his mask from his forehead
N24 0110 and threw it, unexpectedly, across the deck.   "Temper, temper",
N24 0120 Mrs& Forsythe said, laughing uneasily. A phony blonde hanging
N24 0130 onto a bygone youth and beauty, but irreparably stringy in the neck,
N24 0140 she was already working on her second gin and tonic, though it was
N24 0150 not yet ten A&M&   "I loused it", Rob said, with a
N24 0160 savage note in his voice. "All I have to do to set the record is to
N24 0170 go on down. So instead I come up".   "Was it my equipment"?
N24 0180 the German asked. "Was it something went bad with the breathing"?
N24 0190    "The equipment was fine", Rob stated, standing
N24 0200 up. He was a huge young man of twenty-four, clothed in muscle, immensely
N24 0210 strong, with a habitual gentleness and diffidence of manner that
N24 0220 was submerged under his present agitation. He stared stonily at the
N24 0230 floor. "I was down to 275. I've been that far half a dozen times.
N24 0240 I don't get it why this time I should pull such a stupid trick".
N24 0250    "Well, I get it", Artie said, still on the ladder. "You
N24 0260 are a big muscle-bound ape and you got this idea about setting
N24 0270 a record. And you also got this little spark in your bird-brain that
N24 0280 tells you to turn around before you drown yourself. So you turn around".
N24 0290    "No, it wasn't that", Rob said. A note of awe came
N24 0300 into his voice. "When I came up, damnit, <I thought I was going
N24 0310 down>. I came up maybe fifty feet before I knew what was happening".
N24 0320    "Pressure-happy", Artie said, and climbed in.
N24 0330    "That's right", Robinson said. "I was expecting it, sure.
N24 0340 But when it happens to you like that, I tell you, and you're a
N24 0350 hundred feet from where you thought you were- well, it makes you think.
N24 0360 You don't head back down again. Not me, anyway. Not right away".
N24 0370 He had his voice under control again: no one became aware that
N24 0380 he was terrified by what had just happened to him.   Waddell,
N24 0390 the newspaperman, was a fellow in his middle forties, with a graying crewcut,
N24 0400 heavy-framed glasses, and a large jaw padded with fat. Now he
N24 0410 was going to show how much he knew. "Our boy didn't chicken out,
N24 0420 no sir. He ran into the rapture of the depths. Nitrogen narcosis. It
N24 0430 makes the diver feel drunk".   "Well, that's the only way
N24 0440 to be", Mrs& Forsythe said, and gave her brassy laugh.
N24 0450 "Maybe not, if you're 200 feet under water", Artie said.
N24 0460    "Anyway", Waddell went on. "it's nothing to fool with. It
N24 0470 can kill you. Personally, I don't blame him for giving up the dive,
N24 0480 much as I regret losing the story".   "Nobody's giving
N24 0490 anything up", Robinson said. He stood there, towering over them
N24 0500 all: gentle, mighty, determined, the moving force in the group; and
N24 0510 yet like a child among adults. "You think I got you and Artie and
N24 0520 Herr Schaffner all the way out here just for the boat ride? I'm
N24 0530 going down again".   "That's my boy"! Mr& Forsythe
N24 0540 exclaimed. "Rob's not going to give up as easy as all that".
N24 0550 He was a florid, puffy man in his early sixties, very natty in his
N24 0560 yachting cap, striped jacket and white flannels. He went to Key West
N24 0570 every fall and winter and was the only man in town who did not know
N24 0580 that his title of "Commodore" was never used without irony. Old
N24 0590 Commodore Forsythe, who had once lost a fifty-dollar bet on whether
N24 0600 he could get both motors started and turn on the running lights without
N24 0610 accidentally turning on something else first. Now it did not occur
N24 0620 to him even to wonder whether it was wise for Robinson to dive again:
N24 0630 Rob was his boy, the kid he had rescued from the streets, the object
N24 0640 of his pride.   "Why", he went on, "when Rob asked me
N24 0650 if he could make his dive on this trip, I didn't think twice about
N24 0660 it. I've helped him along ever since he was a youngster hanging around
N24 0670 his brother's tackle shop. Hell, I gave him the first decent
N24 0680 job he ever had, six, seven- how many years ago was it, Rob"?
N24 0690    "Seven years ago, Commodore", Rob said impassively. He was
N24 0700 thinking, big deal: skipper on his drunken fishing parties for seven
N24 0710 years and no better off than when I started. "Excuse me", he
N24 0720 said abruptly. He went down the steps to the galley and sleeping quarters;
N24 0730 went into the forward stateroom and locked the door behind him.
N24 0740    "When you gotta go, you gotta go", Mrs& Forsythe said.
N24 0750    Waddell muttered something about taking a look around and
N24 0760 climbed up to the flying bridge. He was disturbed by what had happened
N24 0770 on the dive and by what he remembered of a conversation he had had the
N24 0780 night before with the German, who had come out of the head while he
N24 0790 was fixing himself a drink in the galley.   "Hi there, Schaffner",
N24 0800 he had said. "Can I make you one"?   "No thank
N24 0810 you very much", Schaffner had answered in his accented English.
N24 0820 "I do not drink so much, thank you".   Waddell had looked the
N24 0830 man over, trying to size him up. He was in his early forties, rather
N24 0840 short and very compactly built, and with a manner that was reserved
N24 0850 and stiff despite his efforts to adapt himself to American ways. His
N24 0860 open face seemed to promise a sort of innocence, until one looked into
N24 0870 his eyes, which had no warmth in them but only alert intelligence.
N24 0880 Waddell had heard that he had been a commando in Rommel's Afrika
N24 0890 Corps, and he said to himself: I'd hate to run into him in the desert
N24 0900 on a dark night. Aloud he had said, making conversation:
N24 0910    "Rob tells me he's using your Atlantis equipment on the dive".
N24 0920    "Yes", Herr Schaffner had said.   "He's one
N24 0930 hell of a decent boy. I like that kid".   "I agree, yes".
N24 0940    "And if the dive goes ~OK he has the exclusive import
N24 0950 rights to your line for this country, is that right"?   "Well,
N24 0960 no", Herr Schaffner said.   Waddell turned to face him.
N24 0970 "No"? he asked. "But that's what he told me. Why, that's
N24 0980 his main reason for making the dive".   Shaffner looked at
N24 0990 him, altogether without guile, and shrugged his shoulders, making a
N24 1000 little spreading gesture with his two hands.   "What do you mean"?
N24 1010 Waddell asked, frowning.   "Please let me explain",
N24 1020 the German said earnestly, his face still devoid of deceit. "I have
N24 1030 in Europe a gross business of seven million dollars the year. Now
N24 1040 I wish to enter the American market, where the competition is very
N24 1050 strong. I must have a powerful representative here, a firm with a national
N24 1060 distribution and ten, twenty thousand dollars to advertise my
N24 1070 products. With all respect to a fine young man, Mr& Roy is not able
N24 1080 to provide these necessaries".   Waddell was not an eminently
N24 1090 moral person, but he did not like what he had just heard. "Did you
N24 1100 tell him all this"? he asked.   "Perhaps not in so many
N24 1110 words", the German said. "But surely you have misunderstood Mr&
N24 1120 Roy. Never, never did I offer him the exclusive rights. We spoke
N24 1130 of the need for advertising, and I agreed that the deep dive would
N24 1140 be most useful for publicity. He was most eager to make the dive;
N24 1150 of course, I was willing. But there was no definite agreement about
N24 1160 business arrangements".   "Well, damn", Waddell said. There
N24 1170 was the end of his front-page feature story, with byline. He started
N24 1180 out the door.   "One moment"! Herr Schaffner said. "You
N24 1190 intend to speak with Mr& Roy"?   "What else"?
N24 1200 Waddell asked.   "If you will pardon, I think it would be
N24 1210 better if not. Mr& Roy is determined to make this dive. Whatever
N24 1220 you tell him he will dive. I know this from my talks with him".
N24 1230    "Well, let's let him make up his own mind, ~OK"? Waddell
N24 1240 said. "On the basis of the facts".   "You will make
N24 1250 him unhappy and anxious", the German said. "At 200, 300, 400 feet
N24 1260 under the water, when he must be paying very much attention, he will
N24 1270 be thinking about what you are telling him. It is not good, Mr&
N24 1280 Waddell: you will do him great harm".   There was no doubt
N24 1290 that Herr Schaffner meant every word of what he said. Waddell came
N24 1300 back from the door and sat on a bunk.   "I am an honest man",
N24 1310 the German said with fervor. "I will give Mr& Roy his due for
N24 1320 this dive. I will make him distributor for all of Florida- a big
N24 1330 market. All tourists come to Florida. This will help him to get out
N24 1340 of his little tackle shop. Yes! But there is no use causing him
N24 1350 to worry at this time".   The German's words worked on the
N24 1360 newspaperman like a reprieve from an odious duty. He took a big swig
N24 1370 of his drink. It would be a colossal shame to throw away a story like
N24 1380 this. "I think maybe you're right, Schaffner", he said. "He
N24 1390 has the distributorship for Florida, you say"?   "Yes",
N24 1400 the German said. "At least for South Florida".   "By
N24 1410 God", Waddell said, "we don't want to upset the boy at this
N24 1420 time of all times. I guess you're right". He sloshed his drink
N24 1430 around and drained it in a few large gulps. The story was shaping up
N24 1440 nicely in his mind: the young pioneer, as of old, altruistically braving
N24 1450 the unknown; the rewards prompt and juicy in modern big-business
N24 1460 America. "Join me in another"? he had asked.   "Thank
N24 1470 you", the German had said courteously. "I do not drink so much".
N24 1480 ## Now, in that same cabin, Robinson fell to his knees beside
N24 1490 a bunk. Fear and relief mingled in his churning emotions. He pressed
N24 1500 his palms together and addressed himself to the patron saint of divers
N24 1510 in a hurried and anxious whisper.   "Blessed Saint Nicholas,
N24 1520 I thank thee for getting me out of that mess and sending me up
N24 1530 instead of down when I was bewildered. And when I make the dive again"-
N24 1540 He paused; crossed himself; said a Hail Mary, slowly and
N24 1550 with understanding. Folding between his hands the cross that hung
N24 1560 from his neck, he took his appeal direct to Headquarters. "Holy Mary,
N24 1570 Mother of God, Star of the Sea, stay Thou with me on this next
N24 1580 dive. Make it come off all right. Let me set the record this time,
N24 1590 and let me get back ~OK, so the German will give me the exclusive.
N24 1600 And make my life different and better from this time on. Amen".
N24 1610    He crossed himself again and rose. He felt a good deal less
N24 1620 shaky. As he reached for the door there was a knock on it and when
N24 1630 he opened he found Artie, who came in and sat down on a bunk. Artie
N24 1640 had picked up a snorkle and was twirling it on his forefinger. He waited
N24 1650 awhile before he said, "Roy, you know your decompression table,
N24 1660 don't you"?   "You know I know it", Robinson answered
N24 1670 warily.   "You came straight up from 275 without a stop",
N24 1690 Artie said.   "Well, I was a little bit confused. Anyway,
N24 1700 I wasn't down long enough to matter. You don't see me stretched
N24 1710 out
N24 1720 on the deck, do you"?   "You know what they say about two
N24 1730 deep dives in one day", Artie went on, still twirling the snorkle and
N24 1740 studying it intently. "I don't think you should go down again".
N25 0010    EARLY that day Matsuo saw a marine. The enemy came looming
N25 0020 around a bend in the trail and Matsuo took a hasty shot, then fled
N25 0030 without knowing the result, ran until breath was a pain in his chest
N25 0040 and his legs were rubbery. As his feet slowed, he felt ashamed of the
N25 0050 panic and resolved to make a stand. He crossed the next meadow and
N25 0060 climbed a tree where the jungle trail resumed.   In the leafiest
N25 0070 part of the tree, straddling a broad horizontal limb, he could see over
N25 0075 the meadow. For
N25 0080 a while he was content to let events develop in their
N25 0090 good time. He had no doubt the marine was the lead scout of a column,
N25 0100 and while his shot had probably bred indecision, they would soon come
N25 0110 hunting.   His superiors had emphasized that marines tortured
N25 0120 others for the sheer pleasure. Yesterday; today; tomorrow: no
N25 0130 surrender. His remembering the self-dictate brought no peace- only
N25 0140 a faint chill of doubt. He murmured to himself, with firmness: "No
N25 0150 surrender". It was best to die fighting the marines. His superiors
N25 0160 had also preached this, saying it was the way for eternal honor.
N25 0170    What if the marines never came? His comrades were all dead.
N25 0180 He had no rice. Then it would be a choice between starvation and suicide.
N25 0190    Whichever the way, he would rot in this vast choking green,
N25 0200 his wife never to receive an urn of his ashes. He sighed and leaned
N25 0210 for a moment against the trunk. His fingers touched the bone handle
N25 0220 of a knife. The knife, an ammunition pouch, and a half-filled bottle
N25 0230 of purified water hung on his belt. Besides the belt he wore a loin
N25 0240 cloth.   As he looked up from picking at a leg ulcer, he saw
N25 0250 a marine in the jungle across the clearing. Gloom receded.   The
N25 0260 marine came to the edge of the green jungle mist and stayed, as though
N25 0270 debating whether to brave the sunlight. His fatigues made a streak
N25 0280 of almost phosphorescent green in the mist.   "Come out, come
N25 0290 out in the meadow", Matsuo said under his breath.   The man
N25 0300 leaned against a tree and wiped a sleeve across his face. A signal?
N25 0320 Matsuo lifted his rifle, easing the sling under his left upper arm for
N25 0330 steadiness.   Fresh on his mind were events of the past day when
N25 0340 his whole regiment was destroyed in the hills. They had fought from
N25 0350 caves, and the marines resorted to burning them out. Even now, like
N25 0360 a ringing in his ears, he heard the <wooooosh> of flame-throwers squirting
N25 0370 great orange billows. A wave of flame rippling through their
N25 0380 cave had reached Nagamo, his friend, and with a shriek the man bolted
N25 0390 through the entrance, then slowed to the jerky walk of a puppet, his
N25 0400 uniform blazing. The marines let him advance. When he sank on his knees,
N25 0410 they had allowed him to char without administering the stroke of
N25 0420 mercy.   Matsuo had faked death and was pitched on a stack of corpses,
N25 0430 both the burned and the unburned, the latter decomposing rapidly
N25 0440 under the tropical sun. The callous marines had laughed at each other's
N25 0450 retching, while stacking bodies. Matsuo repeatedly choked down
N25 0460 his own nausea. At nightfall he had been able to sneak down a hillside
N25 0470 and into the jungle, reeking of death.   Apprehensively he
N25 0480 peered
N25 0490 to the left, to the right into the leafy, vine-crisscrossed maze.
N25 0500 He decided that the marines must be deploying around the meadow, with
N25 0510 the one left to distract him. He strained his hearing. Cautious feet
N25 0520 stepping on leafmold; faint creaking of belts and slings; whispers:
N25 0530 he heard none of these. Only the hum of insects and the distant
N25 0540 fluttering call of a bird. Because he couldn't hear them, he was
N25 0550 more convinced they were there.   A spectacle occurred across the
N25 0560 meadow: the lone marine took a seat on the ground; leaning sidewise
N25 0570 on a tree trunk, he embraced it. Humiliation made Matsuo tremble.
N25 0580 While his comrades cocked the trap, that one behaved as if it was some
N25 0590 dull maneuver. Taking aim at the man's face, Matsuo squeezed the
N25 0600 trigger up to the point of discharge, and then he changed his mind.
N25 0610 He wanted the arrogant marine to know fear, and so he aimed above the
N25 0620 head.   The shot reverberated in diminishing whiplashes of sound.
N25 0630 Hush followed. Like a mischievous boy expecting punishment, Matsuo
N25 0640 awaited reaction from the jungle. How stupid to give his position
N25 0650 away.   The jungle did not retort. The sitter remained seated
N25 0660 hugging the tree. Before long the atmosphere reverted to its old normalcy,
N25 0670 and insects hummed and birds occasionally called. Matsuo puzzled
N25 0680 and grew anxious over the complete passiveness, concluding that he
N25 0690 was the butt of a devilish joke.   Five or so minutes later the
N25 0700 marine abruptly pulled up and stepped into sunlight, immediately throwing
N25 0710 his hands over his eyes. He went into a whirling dance, a sort of
N25 0720 blind chasing of the tail. It ended when he tumbled; but jumping right
N25 0730 up, he staggered in no particular direction. He wore no head cover
N25 0740 of any kind and, more odd, had no visible weapon.   With a sudden
N25 0750 decisiveness he lurched in Matsuo's direction, crossing the meadow
N25 0760 in a zigzagging gallop. When he got closer to the tree, Matsuo
N25 0770 noted the wild look on his face. The pockets of his jacket bulged. Hand
N25 0780 grenades.   the bobbing head was a poor target, so Matsuo shot
N25 0790 him in the upper trunk.   The marine spun, clapping a hand high
N25 0800 on his chest, and dived forward. In the hush that followed the echoes,
N25 0810 Matsuo was tense. They could come on him now without difficulty.
N25 0820 Gradually he reached a conclusion. The marine was alone, for they
N25 0830 were impatient people and by now would have vied to knock him from
N25 0840 the tree.   Down the tree he scrambled and knelt at the edge of
N25 0850 foliage. The marine was sprawled some thirty yards away, one arm extended.
N25 0860 Matsuo jumped when the hidden arm flopped out. Reflex?
N25 0870    Rifle leveled on the man, he made a rush. Heat, in the sunlight, pressed
N25 0880 in like an invisible crowd.   He squatted by the head, gently
N25 0890 placing the rifle
N25 0900 on the ground. With a snakestrike motion he grasped the
N25 0910 hair, and, twisting, pulled the marine over on his back. He was bearded.
N25 0920 The bullet had penetrated in the area of the right collarbone;
N25 0930 around the hole, blood glistened in a little patch. Maintaining his
N25 0940 clutch on the hair, Matsuo watched the closed eyes while rummaging in
N25 0950 the jacket pockets. In one: a package of cigarettes and a tinplated
N25 0960 lighter, both sticky from the man's bleeding. In the other: a
N25 0970 wristwatch with broken crystal wrapped in a dirty handkerchief. One
N25 0980 by one he tossed the objects aside. He didn't smoke and could not light
N25 0990 fires with a flintless lighter; he had no use any longer for exact
N25 1000 time, even had the watch been running. Then there was no saying how
N25 1010 many times the marine had blown his nose on the handkerchief.
N25 1020    Too bad the marine had no water. From its holder he took his own canteen.
N25 1030 The cap was stuck and made a thin rusty squeaking as he applied
N25 1040 pressure. The marine's eyes opened, squeezed shut, then opened squinted
N25 1050 in the glare.   So, alive. Matsuo put the bottle to his
N25 1060 own lips. The marine reached up a hand. Matsuo shook his head. "None
N25 1070 for you". The marine blinked, soon dropping his hand. Not only
N25 1080 had he no canteen, but he lacked even the belt to hang one on. "You
N25 1090 came well equipped to die".   Some odor made him lean over
N25 1100 the man. He sniffed and recognized it. <Sake>. So that had been his
N25 1110 difficulty. Drunk on <sake>, he must have wandered off from his
N25 1120 bivouac.   The marine tried to roll on his right side, and moaned.
N25 1130 When he rolled on the left side, propping on his left elbow, Matsuo
N25 1140 seized his hair and pulled him back over. "Be a good turtle".
N25 1150    Awkwardly with one hand Matsuo got the cap back on the water
N25 1160 bottle. The smell of <sake> had freshened yesterday's events in his
N25 1170 thoughts. In the caves, with other supplies, they had kept cases of
N25 1180 <sake>.   The marine shut his eyes. "Are you a thrower of
N25 1190 flame, marine"? Matsuo took the small knife from its scabbard and
N25 1200 laid it on the ground, out of the marine's reach and away from their
N25 1210 shadows. He waited in his squat, gripping the hair.   Every
N25 1220 so often he turned the knife. Its blade was dazzling in the intense sunlight.
N25 1230 The sun was noon high and Matsuo perspired until his body was
N25 1240 dripping. Wet also were the marine's fatigues and the face had an
N25 1250 oily film. The man had thrown the left hand over his eyes. Now and
N25 1260 again he murmured something that ended in a giggle. He must have saturated
N25 1270 himself in the drink, for the bullet not to shock him out of his
N25 1280 drunken haze. Matsuo shook his head. Strange.   At last he reached
N25 1290 for the knife. Even the bone handle scorched, and he retrieved
N25 1300 the marine's handkerchief to wrap it. First he barely touched the
N25 1310 blade on the hand which shaded the eyes. The marine yelled and flung
N25 1320 the hand away. With a firm grip on the man's hair Matsuo applied the
N25 1330 blade flat on a cheek. A shrill yelp, kicked legs, and groping hands
N25 1340 that circled Matsuo's wrist. Matsuo wrenched free and burned the
N25 1350 hands into retreat; burned the other cheek; burned each hand when
N25 1360 they came groping again. The marine commenced to weep and it blighted
N25 1370 the sense of enjoyment.   Matsuo stood up. "A small measure
N25 1380 of payment, marine". He dropped the knife in its scabbard, hung the
N25 1390 rifle behind a shoulder.   The marine, hands on cheeks, rolled
N25 1400 by his unwounded side onto his stomach. He ceased weeping.   Matsuo
N25 1410 walked toward his tree, once glancing back. The marine was still.
N25 1420 He would soon die.   As Matsuo climbed by using the vines
N25 1430 and kicking his feet against the trunk, a mood of gloom immersed him like
N25 1440 a jungle shadow. What now? In the jungle, birds were mute, while
N25 1450 insects preserved only the monotony of living.   Someone called.
N25 1460 It was the marine: head lifted, he strained and called. Then he
N25 1470 astonished Matsuo by pushing and dragging himself until he sat. He
N25 1480 cupped his mouth and yelled. Matsuo hustled the rifle off his shoulder.
N25 1490 Once and for all he'd finish this marine who would not die. He
N25 1500 aimed, but listened. It sounded as if the man were calling him: "Hey,
N25 1510 Japanese **h hey there, Japanese". The man tilted back his
N25 1520 head and went through the pantomime of drinking from a container. He
N25 1530 performed the act twice more, and the begging in his tone grew more distinct.
N25 1540    <"Sake"?> Matsuo called.   The marine nodded
N25 1550 vigorously.   Matsuo laughed, slung the rifle. The marine
N25 1560 was a winehead. His superiors had said that all marines were depraved.
N25 1570    The marine slumped forward into a bow like a priest before
N25 1580 an idol. Remembering his own thirst, Matsuo took out his water bottle.
N25 1590 One swallow was all he would have; he was very thirsty, but he must
N25 1600 observe water discipline. His years of campaigning had taught him
N25 1610 the value of water discipline.   He began to uncap the bottle,
N25 1620 the rusty cap squealing on its threads. Popping upright, the marine waved
N25 1630 both hands and shouted.   Of course it was water he really
N25 1640 craved; down in the broil of the sun he was becoming dried out. The
N25 1650 marine shouted for it until it seemed that his voice had to crack. Matsuo
N25 1660 shook his head. He had no water for an enemy. And when this was
N25 1670 gone, he hadn't even a little bitter tablet to purify other water
N25 1680 if he were to discover some stagnant jungle pool.   He capped the
N25 1690 bottle and replaced it. After all, he had less reason to desire it
N25 1700 than the marine.   Before much longer the marine quieted down. His
N25 1710 head slumped. The upper part of his packet had stained dark. "Marine.
N25 1720 There is nothing for you", Matsuo said. "Your superiors
N25 1730 will certainly beat you for your desertion, besides the dishonor of it.
N25 1740 I've nothing for you".   From the convulsive quivers of
N25 1750 the man's shoulders it was plain he had resumed the weeping. He reminded
N25 1760 Matsuo of a similar thing he had witnessed in China. In China
N25 1770 it was a baby sitting on a railroad platform, smudged, blood-specked,
N25 1780 with the village burning about him and shells exploding.
N26 0010    CHAIRS SCRAPED BACK and customers hastily vacated their tables
N26 0020 as the tall young buffalo hunter pushed open the swing doors and
N26 0030 walked towards the bar. Only Blue Throat and his gang stayed where
N26 0040 they were. Blue Throat was slumped with his back against the bar, elbows
N26 0050 supporting his massive frame. He leered at the stranger as the
N26 0060 distance between them closed.   "Since when did they allow beardless
N26 0070 kids into the saloon bars of this town, boys"? he asked. "Seems
N26 0080 to me I don't remember altering any law about that".
N26 0090    He straightened up, alert now as the buffalo hunter came closer. "Stay
N26 0100 right here where you are, kid", he called. "I don't aim
N26 0110 to have minors breathing down my neck when I'm a-drinking":
N26 0120    The stranger ignored him. He didn't stop till he was within three
N26 0130 feet of Blue Throat and by that time the gang leader's right
N26 0140 hand was on the butt of his revolver.   "I'm Billy Tilghman",
N26 0150 said the stranger, "and I've come for Pat Conyers' body".
N26 0160    "And what makes you think you're going to get it, pretty
N26 0170 boy"?   "Because I'm asking. Most of the time I get
N26 0180 what I ask for".   Blue Throat winked at his six cronies.
N26 0190 "The kid has no manners, boys. Shall we teach him some"? His
N26 0200 gun was half drawn when he asked the question, but the weapon never
N26 0210 left its holster. Tilghman's clenched fist swept over in a terrific
N26 0220 right cross and clipped the big gunfighter on the side of his chin. His
N26 0230 head snapped round and he reeled back, crashing into the table where
N26 0240 his buddies were sprawling.   Tilghman leapt on to him, dragged
N26 0250 him upright and hit him again, this time sending him careening against
N26 0260 the bar. A bullet gouged into the bar top an inch from Tilghman's
N26 0270 stomach as Blue Throat's henchmen started shooting. Tilghman
N26 0280 flung himself aside, dropped on one knee and pulled his own gun.
N26 0290    The Colt roared twice and two men dropped, writhing. A third shot
N26 0300 doused the light. Somewhere at the far end of the room a voice yelled,
N26 0310 "You all right, Billy"?   "Yes, George, but I ain't
N26 0320 got poor old Pat's body yet. And I aim to have it". He fired
N26 0330 again, and somewhere in the gloom a man screamed. Another took off
N26 0340 his gun belt and flung his weapons to the floor. "OK, Tilghman,
N26 0350 I'm quitting".   "And me", said another Blue Throat
N26 0360 henchman.   Somebody brought a light. Tilghman and his partner,
N26 0370 George Rust, herded the men into a corner. "And now", said Tilghman
N26 0380 with deadly calm, "I'll repeat what I said. I've come
N26 0390 for Pat Conyers' body".   In two minutes the body of Tilghman's
N26 0400 former comrade, who had been killed by Blue Throat in a gambling
N26 0410 brawl the previous night, was carried into the town's funeral
N26 0420 parlor to be prepared for decent burial. Blue Throat, nursing an aching
N26 0430 jaw and a collosal dose of wounded pride, rode out of town with the
N26 0440 survivors of the fight.   "That critter will be back tomorrow",
N26 0450 predicted George Rust, "and he'll bring fifty of his kind
N26 0460 back with him. Blue Throat won't stand for this. He'll shoot up
N26 0470 the town".   The prediction was correct. The Reverend James
N26 0480 Doran had scarcely completed Pat Conyers' last rites on Boot
N26 0490 Hill in the township of Petrie, when shots were heard in the distance.
N26 0500    "Amen", said the Reverend Doran, grabbing his rifle propped
N26 0510 up against a tombstone, "and now my brethren, it would seem that
N26 0520 our presence is required elsewhere".   Billy Tilghman and
N26 0530 his comrades rode off to the battle. Blue Throat, who had ruled the
N26 0540 town with his six-shooter for the last six months, certainly had no intention
N26 0550 of relinquishing his profitable dictatorship. It was essential
N26 0560 that he should restore his formidable reputation as a rip-roaring,
N26 0570 ruthless gun-slinger, and this was the time-honored Wild West method
N26 0580 of doing it.   He rode in at the head of sixty trigger-happy and
N26 0590 liquor-crazed desperadoes and took over a livery barn at the entrance
N26 0600 to Main Street. The entire length of the street could be raked with
N26 0610 rifle fire from this barn. Any posse riding down the street to demand
N26 0620 Blue Throat's surrender would be wiped out with one deadly burst
N26 0630 of fire.   The law-abiding citizens of Petrie had gathered
N26 0640 inside Kaster's Store, halfway down the street. Several were firing
N26 0650 into the barn when Billy Tilghman arrived. He sized up the situation
N26 0660 and shook his head.   "If Blue Throat has his way he'll
N26 0670 keep us all cooped up in here for days", he said. "There's only
N26 0680 one thing to move him fast, and we have it right here in this very
N26 0690 store".   He called the store owner and together they went into
N26 0700 the stockroom. Billy returned with six sticks of dynamite. "I'm
N26 0710 gonna drop these into Blue Throat's lap", he announced, "and
N26 0720 I'd like every gun to be firing into that barn while I get near
N26 0730 enough to toss 'em through the window".   He slipped outside,
N26 0740 hugging the walls of buildings and dodging into doorways. Blue Throat's
N26 0750 men spotted him and a hail of bullets splintered the store fronts
N26 0760 and board walk as he passed.   Fifty yards away from the barn
N26 0770 he dodged inside a barber's shop and came out at the back. Here he
N26 0780 couldn't be seen by Blue Throat and his gang. All he had to do
N26 0790 was light the fuses of the dynamite sticks, run to within ten yards of
N26 0800 an open window in the barn and hurl the sticks through.   Billy
N26 0810 Tilghman did just that. Within seconds the big barn was blasted into
N26 0820 smoking splinters, with every outlaw either dead or injured inside.
N26 0830 It was the abrupt end of Blue Throat's dictatorship in Petrie. Though
N26 0840 only slightly injured himself the big hoodlum never returned to
N26 0850 those parts.   To Tilghman the incident was just one of a long
N26 0860 list of hair-raising, smash-'em-down adventures on the side of the
N26 0870 law which started in 1872 when he was only eighteen years old, and did
N26 0880 not end till fifty years later when he was shot dead after warning
N26 0890 a drunk to be quiet.   Of all the rip-roaring two-fisted tough boys
N26 0900 of the Old West, "Uncle Billy Tilghman" stands out head and
N26 0910 shoulders. He was the lawman who survived more gunfights than any
N26 0920 other famous gun-slinging character in the book. He saw the most action,
N26 0930 beat up more badmen with his bare fists, broke up the most gangs and
N26 0940 sent more murderers to the gallows than any other U&S& marshal
N26 0950 who lived before or after him.   For fifty years his guns and
N26 0960 ham-like fists shot holes through and battered the daylights out of the
N26 0970 enemies of law and order in the frontier towns of the West.
N26 0980 The deeds of countless western bandits and outlaws have been glorified
N26 0990 almost to the point of hero-worship, but because Billy Tilghman remained
N26 1000 strictly on the side of the law throughout his action-packed career,
N26 1010 his achievements and the appalling risks he took while taming the
N26 1020 West have remained almost unsung.   Citizens took the view that
N26 1030 a lawman was expected to risk his life on the odd occasion anyway,
N26 1040 but this fighting fury of a man risked it regularly over a period of
N26 1050 half a century.   He came within an ace of being riddled with bullets
N26 1060 during his long fight with the Doolin gang which terrorized Oklahoma
N26 1070 in the 1890's. Led by Bill Doolin, these mobsters specialized
N26 1080 in train robberies but as a sideline they looted stores and robbed
N26 1090 banks, making liberal use of their guns. Bill Doolin's ambition,
N26 1100 it appeared, was to carve out his name with bullets alongside those of
N26 1110 Jesse James and Billy the Kid, and Bill Tilghman had sworn he would
N26 1120 stop him.   Tilghman knew that some ranchers were hand-in-glove
N26 1140 with the Doolin gang. They bought rustled cattle from the outlaw,
N26 1150 kept him supplied with guns and ammunition, harbored his men in their
N26 1160 houses. Billy decided to set an example by arresting one of the ranchers,
N26 1170 named Ed Dunn, who lived at Rock Fort.   On a bitterly
N26 1180 cold day in January, 1895, accompanied only by Neal Brown as his
N26 1190 deputy, Tilghman left the township of Guthrie and headed for Rock Fort
N26 1200 and Dunn's ranch. It was snowing hard when they got there and
N26 1210 they saw no horses outside. The only evidence of occupation came from
N26 1220 the chimney, which was belching out thick smoke.   The two lawmen
N26 1230 halted their wagon about twenty yards from the door. "Wait here,
N26 1240 Neal", said Tilghman. "If I don't come out within half an
N26 1250 hour ride back to town and bring out a posse".   Leaving his rifle
N26 1260 in the wagon, Tilghman walked up to the door and hammered on it.
N26 1270 There was no reply so he shoved it open with his foot and stepped inside.
N26 1280 Directly opposite the door was a roaring log fire, a welcome sight
N26 1290 on that bitterly cold day. Seated near it with his back to the door
N26 1300 was the rancher, Ed Dunn.   "Hello, Ed", said Tilghman.
N26 1310 The rancher grunted an acknowledgement but didn't move.   Tilghman
N26 1320 closed the door behind him and walked towards the fire. Suddenly
N26 1330 he saw something which made his big heart give a sickening lurch
N26 1340 and caused the hairs to bristle on the back of his neck. Along each side
N26 1350 of the room were six tiered bunks, each one screened off with a curtain.
N26 1360    And projecting wickedly through these curtains were the
N26 1370 gleaming muzzles of six rifles, all trained on Billy Tilghman. The
N26 1380 fighting marshal had walked right into a trap and at any moment six slugs
N26 1390 might slam into his hide.   Thinking fast, Tilghman never
N26 1400 hesitated for one instant. He walked right up to the fire as though blissfully
N26 1410 unaware of the guns covering him. The men behind them were
N26 1420 Bill Doolin and five of his gang- every man a killer.   "Cold
N26 1430 day", said Tilghman, placing his hands behind him and casually
N26 1440 presenting his backside to the fire. "Just dropped in to ask where
N26 1450 Jed Hawkins lives. Can't seem to locate landmarks in this snow".
N26 1460    The rancher was trembling. He wouldn't look Tilghman in
N26 1470 the face. "Follow the river for five miles", he said hoarsely. "Jed's
N26 1480 homestead is on the south bank".   Resisting the overwhelming
N26 1490 temptation to flng himself out of that bristling death-trap,
N26 1500 Tilghman deliberately engaged the nervous rancher in trivial conversation
N26 1510 for a good ten minutes. All that time rifle barrels were pointing
N26 1520 unwaveringly at his head and body. One false move on his part and
N26 1530 he would be a dead man.   "Well", he announced, "Guess I'll
N26 1540 be going now, Ed, and thanks for the warmup". He strolled back
N26 1550 to the door, whistling softly, hands still clasped behind him. He
N26 1560 left the house and almost certain death without even increasing his pace
N26 1570 and wondered by what remarkable stroke of Providence he had been
N26 1580 allowed to come out alive.   But he knew well enough that those
N26 1590 guns would still be trained on his back as he walked towards the wagon.
N26 1600 If he showed signs of collecting his rifle and going back with his
N26 1610 deputy to the ranch he would be shot down instantly.   Leisurely
N26 1620 he climbed on to the wagon next to Neal Brown. "Don't say or
N26 1630 do anything", he said softly. "Just get out of here without it looking
N26 1640 as though we're in a hurry. That place is crawling with Bill
N26 1650 Doolin and his gang".   Even as he spoke those words Billy
N26 1660 Tilghman's life hung on a thread. Back in the house a hoodlum named
N26 1670 Red Buck, sore because Billy had been allowed to leave unscathed,
N26 1680 jumped from a bunk and swore he was going after him to kill him right
N26 1690 then.   "You'll stay right here", commanded Bill Doolin,
N26 1700 covering Red with his rifle. "Billy Tilghman is too good a man
N26 1710 to shoot in the back. We'll let him go".   But the fighting
N26 1720 marshal's fifty-year run of immunity from violent death came to a
N26 1730 full and final stop one night in a street at Cromwell, Oklahoma, where
N26 1740 he had been sent to clean up the gambling and vice rackets.
N26 1750 Wiley Lynn, a self-styled prohibition officer, had hit town the previous
N26 1760 day and had been drinking ever since. That night he reeled out
N26 1770 of Ma Murphy's dance hall and proceeded to disturb the peace by shooting
N26 1780 off his revolver.
N27 0010 FOR SEVERAL MONTHS now, Jack Carter, a big overgrown boy of fifteen
N27 0020 with a fuzzy, pimpled face and greenish catlike eyes with a lot
N27 0030 of red in them, had been haunted by a dream, a vision, of a Woman. This
N27 0040 Woman had no distinct shape or size and no particular face, but she
N27 0050 radiated warmth, a sweet warmth; she would talk to him in a soothing
N27 0060 voice about things his mother would have said were not nice and put
N27 0070 her hands on him and kiss him passionately. When she would do these
N27 0080 things, he would turn blind for an instant and become sick at his stomach.
N27 0090 Then he would run to the toilet behind the house. Sometimes he
N27 0100 did this three or four times a day, for this Woman was almost always
N27 0110 with him. He would feel ashamed each time and wonder whether his mother
N27 0120 and father knew- thinking they might see it in his eyes or smell
N27 0130 it on him. But they never said anything, so he figured it was all right.
N27 0140    And so when Miss Langford came to teach at the one-room
N27 0150 Chestnut school, where Jack was a pupil in the eighth grade, the Woman
N27 0160 of Jack's mind assumed the teacher's face and figure. He could
N27 0170 not keep his eyes off her when at school; when he went home at
N27 0180 night, he took her with him in his mind, and she did the things the anonymous
N27 0190 Woman used to do, and he did the thing afterwards each time as
N27 0200 he used to do. When he awoke in the mornings, she was in his mind and
N27 0210 he could hardly wait to get to school to be near her in the flesh.
N27 0220    Miss Langford (her first name was Evelyn) was an attractive
N27 0230 girl. Tall, blonde, blue-eyes, fair, buxom without being heavy, she cut
N27 0240 a fine figure of budding womanhood as she swished among the pupils
N27 0250 in her fresh, starched summer dress. Something was beginning to stir
N27 0260 and come alive in her, too (it may have been there for a good while, since
N27 0270 she was twenty now; but if it had been, it had been smothered until
N27 0280 now by fear): you could tell it by the way she watched the older,
N27 0290 bigger boys, like Jack. She would look at Jack, with that hidden
N27 0300 something in her eyes, and Jack would see the Woman and become breathless
N27 0310 and a little sick.   School began in August, the hottest
N27 0320 part of the year, and for the first few days Miss Langford was very
N27 0330 lenient with the children, letting them play a lot and the new ones sort
N27 0340 of get acquainted with one another. The first two or three days they
N27 0350 went home early.   All, that is, except Jack. He hung around
N27 0360 the schoolhouse, watching through a window from outside while Miss
N27 0370 Langford straightened desks and put the room in order. Once (this was
N27 0380 on the third day of school) she kneeled down to pick up some books
N27 0390 where they'd dropped on the floor and Jack looked up her dress-
N27 0400 at the bare expanse of incredibly white leg. He thought for a moment
N27 0410 his heart had stopped beating. About that time Miss Langford straightened
N27 0420 up and looked out the window directly at him, he thought, although
N27 0430 probably she didn't even see him. He jumped back, ducked and ran,
N27 0440 crouching, down the hill away from the school.   He didn't
N27 0450 look back and he ran until he was out of sight of the schoolhouse and
N27 0460 out of breath; then he slowed to a walk. The vision became even stronger
N27 0465 now. "I'll get her yet",
N27 0470 he muttered to himself. "I've got to get her". That night he dreamed
N27 0480 a dream violent with passion, in which he and the Woman, now the
N27 0490 teacher, did everything except engage in the act (and this probably
N27 0500 only because he had never engaged in the act in reality), and when he
N27 0510 awoke the next morning his heart was afire.   He ate litle that
N27 0520 morning, and his mother became concerned, inasmuch as he usually ate
N27 0530 heartily.   "What's the matter, honey"? she said, with the
N27 0540 solicitude of a middle-aged woman for her only child. "Aren't
N27 0550 you hungry"?   "No, I'm not hungry", he said, pushing
N27 0560 back the bacon and eggs. Outside it was already hot at 7:30 A&M&,
N27 0570 and it was getting hot in the kitchen. He felt a little sick at
N27 0580 his stomach.   "Are you sick"?   "No", he said.
N27 0590 "I'll be all right. I guess it's this hot weather".
N27 0600 "Don't you play hard today then. And if you get sick, ask the teacher
N27 0610 to let you come home early. Daddy left the car for me, and I'm
N27 0620 going to town this afternoon".   "O& K&, I won't
N27 0630 play hard", he promised.   Just then Charles Lever yelled, "Hey,
N27 0640 Jack", from the quarry road which ran behind the Carter house,
N27 0650 and Jack grabbed the lunch from the table and darted out the kitchen
N27 0660 door, yelling "Good-bye, Mom" over his shoulder.   "Whaddya
N27 0670 say, boy"? Charles said, grinning, showing his huge yellow
N27 0680 teeth. Charles, also fifteen, was tall and skinny, scraggly, with
N27 0690 straight black hair like an Indian's and sharp brown eyes. He considered
N27 0700 himself handsome and seemed to think all the girls were after him.
N27 0710    "You know what I done last night"? Charles said as
N27 0720 they picked their way over the rocky road which led up the hill away
N27 0730 from the Dixie Highway, through a corn field and a patch of woods to
N27 0740 the school.   Jack knew of course that the tale to be unfolded
N27 0750 would involve a girl and probably be dirty, because girls were Charles'
N27 0760 only apparent interest. But Jack always derived vicarious sensual
N27 0770 thrills from Charles' revelations (even when he suspected his friend
N27 0780 of exaggeration or invention), so he usually invited them, as he
N27 0790 did now. "No. What"?   "I got Margaret Rider in one
N27 0800 of them old box cars down there by the quarry".   A nude imaginary
N27 0810 picture of Miss Langford flashed across Jack's mind. His heart
N27 0820 beat faster. "Hell you say"? he said, lapsing into the profanity
N27 0830 he often used when away from his parents and especially when he
N27 0840 was with Charles. "How'd you do it"?   "Hell, I jist
N27 0850 got on top of-"   "No, I mean how'd you get <her> to
N27 0860 do it"?   "Hell, I jist ask her".   "Jist like
N27 0870 that"?   "Hell, yes. She's been hangin' around me
N27 0880 a lot here lately, and I figgered I might as well's try it. Besides
N27 0890 I heard her old uncle that stays there has been doin' it".
N27 0900    "I never heard that".   "It's all over Branchville.
N27 0910 If you'd get out of your back yard once in a while you might even
N27 0920 get her your ownself".   "I might try it one of these days",
N27 0930 Jack said wonderingly, thinking of Miss Langford. ## WHEN
N27 0940 THEY reached the school, a gang of boys and girls were already
N27 0950 there playing "crack the whip" in front of the schoolhouse. Miss
N27 0960 Langford, in a fresh white dress and low-heeled white sandals, without
N27 0970 socks, was out there with them, trying to get them inside.   "Time
N27 0980 for books", she yelled, jingling a little five-and-dime store
N27 0990 bell in her right hand. "Let's go inside".   "Oh, come
N27 1000 on Miss Langford, play with us just onct", one of the little girls
N27 1010 begged, smiling wistfully.   "No, not now", said the teacher.
N27 1020 "Maybe at dinner time. Come inside now".   The children
N27 1030 grudgingly stopped playing then and straggled into the schoolhouse.
N27 1040    Jack watched Miss Langford all morning. He could think of nothing
N27 1050 else save his mental image of her nude figure and what Charles
N27 1060 had said that morning about Margaret Rider. Occasionally he would
N27 1070 look across the aisle at Margaret, fourteen and demure in a fresh green
N27 1080 organdy dress, sitting in the sixth-grade row, and he coud hardly believe
N27 1090 she would do what Charles had said she did.   At noontime,
N27 1100 remembering what the teacher had said about maybe playing with the
N27 1110 kids, Jack stayed close to the schoolhouse while all the other big boys,
N27 1120 except Charles, went off out the road to play ball. "Why ain't
N27 1130 you playin' ball"? he asked Charles suspiciously as they sat
N27 1140 in the well-house shade, watching the girls congregate in front of the
N27 1150 schoolhouse. "Miss Langford, come out and play with us like you
N27 1160 promised", several of the little girls called.   "I'd druther
N27 1170 stay here and watch the girls", Charles grinned. "Maybe some
N27 1180 of 'em will fall down and we'll see up their dress".   "Maybe",
N27 1190 Jack said idly, watching for Miss Langford.   Presently
N27 1200 she came out of the schoolhouse. When she appeared, two or three
N27 1210 of the little girls jumped up and down, yelling, "Goody, goody".
N27 1220    "Let's play with 'em", Jack said, rising from where
N27 1230 he sat on the ground and dusting off his overall pants.   "O&K&"
N27 1240 Charles rose also, and the two of them moved over to join
N27 1250 the girls.   They played crack the whip a few minutes without mishap.
N27 1260 Then when Miss Langford was on the end of the line of girls,
N27 1270 Jack, in the middle of the line, gave an extra hard pull and the young
N27 1280 teacher sprawled backwards, sitting down hard, her dress flying over
N27 1290 her head. While she was struggling to get her skirt down and get
N27 1300 on her feet again, Jack ran over, offered her his hand and said, "Gosh,
N27 1310 I'm sorry, Miss Langford. I didn't mean to pull so hard".
N27 1320    "That's all right", she said, tossing her head back
N27 1330 to get the hair out of her eyes. "It was my fault". With one hand
N27 1340 she held her skirt down while she took Jack's extended hand with
N27 1350 the other. When her hand touched his, fire went through Jack and he
N27 1360 felt weak, but he managed somehow to get her on her feet. He thought
N27 1370 she gave him that look with the hidden something in it as he let her hand
N27 1380 go.   "Thank you", she said, dusting herself off.
N27 1390 "Will you play with us again, Miss Langford"? one of the little
N27 1400 girls said.   "No more today. Maybe some other day".
N27 1410    "Oh, shucks", the girl said. "I don't believe I'll
N27 1420 play any more neither".   "Me neither", others said, and soon
N27 1430 the game broke up, the children going off in pairs, in larger groups
N27 1440 and alone.   Jack walked off alone out the road in the searing
N27 1450 midday sun, past Robert Allen's three-room, tarpapered house, toward
N27 1460 the field where the other boys were playing ball, thinking of what
N27 1470 he would do in order to make Miss Langford have him stay in after
N27 1480 school- because this was the day he had decided when he thought he saw
N27 1490 the look in her eyes.   When he came back to the schoolhouse,
N27 1500 his mind was made up. He simply would not work his arithmetic problems
N27 1510 when the teacher held his class. That should do it, he thought, because
N27 1520 Miss Langford had said she was going to be strict about school
N27 1530 work. He had considered throwing erasers or flipping paperwads at someone
N27 1540 or pulling the hair of the girl sitting in front of him, but he
N27 1550 couldn't take a chance on either of these possibilities: the teacher
N27 1560 probably would make him stand face-to-wall in a corner instead of stay
N27 1570 in after school.   The only drawback now to the plan he'd
N27 1580 decided on was that someone else might fail to do his work, too, and the
N27 1590 teacher would have that person stay late along with Jack. "But
N27 1600 I've got to take a chance on it", he told himself desperately.
N27 1610    To his surprise his plan worked perfectly. "All right, if you
N27 1620 can't do your arithmetic during school hours you can do it after school
N27 1630 it out", Miss Langford said firmly, not smiling. "You will
N27 1640 stay here thirty minutes after the others go home this afternoon and
N27 1650 work your problems".   And so when the others stampeded out that
N27 1660 afternoon
N27 1670 Jack remained docilely in his seat near a window, looking out in
N27 1680 what he hoped was a pitiable manner, while the other kids laughed and
N27 1690 yelled in at him and made faces as they dispersed, going home. He scarcely
N27 1700 saw them. His heart was pounding like a mighty dynamo and he was
N27 1710 trying to think, his mind seeming to scream at him like a hurt or frightened
N27 1720 child, "How will I do it?
N28 0010    On the fringe of the amused throng of white onlookers stood a
N28 0020 young woman of remarkable beauty and poise. She munched little ginger
N28 0030 cakes called mulatto's belly and kept her green, somewhat hypnotic
N28 0040 eyes fixed on a light-colored male who was prancing wildly with a 5-foot
N28 0050 king snake wrapped around his bronze neck.   The youth with
N28 0060 the snake had a natural pride and joy of life which appealed to the woman.
N28 0070 Lithe and muscular, he had well-molded features, and his light
N28 0080 color told of the European ancestors who had been intimate with the slave
N28 0090 women of his family.   The haughty white girl turned to a distinguished,
N28 0100 hawk-faced man standing at her side and murmured: "Look
N28 0110 at your watch, Col& Garvier. It is almost time for and calinda
N28 0120 to begin".   Col& Henri Garvier was one of New Orleans'
N28 0130 most important and enlightened slave owners. He chuckled and gave
N28 0140 the signal for the dance to start. The slaves ran gaily to the center
N28 0150 of Congo Square and gathered around a sweaty youth they called Johnny
N28 0160 No-Name.   Johnny vigorously pounded two bleached steer
N28 0170 bones against the gourd which served as his drum. He showed his gleaming
N28 0180 tusks of teeth and bellowed incoherently, his brass earrings jangling
N28 0190 discordantly as he shook and trembled in ecstasy.   The
N28 0195 drummer
N28 0200 flogged the gourd with frantic intensity as the dancers began the calinda,
N28 0210 a sensual gyration which had long been a favorite of voodoo practitioners
N28 0220 and their disciples in the Louisiana slave compounds. The
N28 0230 dance was of Haitian origin.   The white girl with the penetrating
N28 0240 green eyes sipped the lemonade handed to her by a handsome man of
N28 0250 about 30, who had coppery skin and beetling eyebrows. He was possessive
N28 0260 in his manner and, though a slave, obviously was educated after a
N28 0270 fashion and imitated the manners of his owners. He proudly wore the
N28 0280 blue livery of her house, for the girl was Madame Delphine Lalaurie,
N28 0290 wife of the prominent surgeon, Dr& Louis Lalaurie, who bore one
N28 0300 of the South's oldest and most cherished names.   Delphine was
N28 0310 a pace-setter in high society. She was a top horsewoman and one of
N28 0320 the city's most gracious hostesses. Although New Orleans was not
N28 0330 to learn of it for a spell, she also was a sadist, a nymphomaniac and
N28 0340 unobtrusively mad- the perpetrator of some of the worst crimes against
N28 0350 humanity ever committed on American soil.   Madame Lalaurie
N28 0360 gestured with her riding crop toward the 20-year-old youth who was
N28 0370 stomping and writhing with the king snake still draped over his bare shoulders.
N28 0380 The slender, handsome fellow was called Dandy Brandon by
N28 0390 the other slaves. He was gifted with animal magnetism and a potent allure
N28 0400 for women of any race. But Dandy had had little experience with
N28 0410 girls on his master's plantation in Bayou St& John.   Shy,
N28 0420 actually, he avoided feminine overtures and seemed truly ignorant
N28 0430 of the girls' desires when they sought to make liaisons with him in
N28 0440 the open fields, in carriages and in boathouses.   This young slave
N28 0450 was therefore quite unprepared when Delphine Lalaurie signaled
N28 0460 that she wanted him to draw near. The woman eyed the youth with the
N28 0470 avidity a coin collector might display toward a rare doubloon which is
N28 0480 not yet in his collection.   "What is your name, boy? Come
N28 0490 a bit closer. I won't bite, you know".   He gaped at Madame
N28 0500 Lalaurie and sniffed the Paris perfume which emanated from her. Then
N28 0510 he smiled shyly. "My name is Dandy Brandon, missy. I belong
N28 0520 to Master Alexander Prieur".   She said with intense feeling:
N28 0530 "Come near, let me feel your arms. You look quite strong and
N28 0540 healthy to me, Dandy".   Mrs& Lalaurie impatiently propelled
N28 0550 the slave toward her waiting carriage. Lifting her skirts, she climbed
N28 0560 in, never relinquishing her grip on his arm. The woman seemed utterly
N28 0570 unafraid of the snake which coiled on the floor in a torpor.
N28 0580    Once inside the luxuriosly-upholstered landau, she drew the curtains
N28 0590 and proceeded to give the startled youth the kind of physical examination
N28 0600 usually reserved for army inductees. Satisfied at last, and
N28 0610 after a few amorous gambits on her part which convinced Delphine that
N28 0620 Dandy was capable of learning new arts, she opened the window and called
N28 0630 to her liveried driver. This was the big man with the proprietory
N28 0640 air and the beetling, shaggy eyebrows.   "Aristide! I
N28 0645 want you
N28 0650 to find <Monsieur> Prieur at once and give him this money for the
N28 0660 boy's purchase. There's $600 in gold in this chamois sack. If the
N28 0670 old fool argues about the price, tell him I shall order my husband
N28 0680 not to treat him as a patient any longer. Prieur has gout and depends
N28 0690 on Louis' pills and bleedings. Besides, he owns 300 slaves.
N28 0695 One
N28 0700 less shouldn't matter to him".   Aristide Devol, the sardonic
N28 0710 manservant who had been brought in chains years before from his native
N28 0720 Sierra Leone, smiled thinly and touched his well-brushed beaver
N28 0730 hat. His bold eyes raked the woman, and a perceptive spectator might
N28 0740 sense that there was more to their relationship than that of slave to
N28 0750 owner.   "Another youth, Madame"? the coachman said softly.
N28 0760 "This one is a tender chicken, <oui?> Such delicate beauty,
N28 0770 such fine flesh. It will rip and shred easily for Madame".
N28 0780 "Be quiet, Devol! You are forgetting your place".   The
N28 0790 tall coachman walked off briskly in search of Alexander Prieur. Delphine
N28 0800 Lalaurie took the reins in her gloved hands and drove Dandy
N28 0810 Brandon- cowering in the back seat of the carriage- to her mansion
N28 0820 at 677 Perdido Street.   Dr& Louis Lalaurie stood on the
N28 0830 veranda at the head of the driveway and watched his carriage as it approached
N28 0840 the pillared mansion. Dandy, curiosity overcoming his apprehensions,
N28 0850 peered out at the doctor from the window of the vehicle. He
N28 0860 saw a pint-sized man with a graying spade beard and an unusually large
N28 0870 head. Dr& Lalaurie wore a maroon smoking jacket, and his myopic
N28 0880 eyes were blurry and glistened behind thick octagonal lenses. He was
N28 0890 about 50 years old.   "Another young man, my dear? Really,
N28 0900 you are most indiscreet to drive him here yourself", he said, frowning
N28 0910 with displeasure.   Delphine presented her cheek for a kiss,
N28 0920 and the physician pecked it like a timid rooster.   "Dandy is
N28 0930 to be our house guest, Louis. I want the room in the attic prepared
N28 0940 for him He is a most unusual lad, quite precocious in many ways. He
N28 0950 deserves a better life than just rotting away on the Prieur plantation".
N28 0960    "Quite so, my dear. His room will be ready shortly".
N28 0970    The physician led the horses to the stable after a cursory
N28 0980 glance at the cringing slave. Had Dandy been older or wiser, instinct
N28 0990 might have warned him that he would be well advised to flee from the
N28 1000 Lalauries' tender care if he valued his life.   But he liked
N28 1010 the smell of Delphine's perfume. Besides, her endearments and caresses
N28 1020 in the carriage had been new and stirring experiences to the simple
N28 1030 youth. Also, he was weary of plantation drudgery and monotony.
N28 1040    So Dandy Brandon trustingly entered the house with Delphine
N28 1050 Lalaurie and trudged up the rear steps to the attic room which was to
N28 1060 be his new home. Airless and dingy though it was, the attic represented
N28 1070 luxury to a slave who had led a wretched life with six brothers and
N28 1080 sisters and assorted relatives in a shanty at Bayou St& John.
N28 1090    He bounced exuberantly on the sagging bed and was even more delighted
N28 1100 when Madame Lalaurie- after closing the door- showed the
N28 1120 slave that the bed was designed for something other than slumber.
N28 1130    It was just as well that the ignorant Dandy enjoyed himself to the
N28 1140 hilt that first evening, for the room was to become his prison cell.
N28 1150 When he finally left the sinister mansion on Perdido Street, he was
N28 1160 carried out in a coroner's basket. ## JUST six weeks after
N28 1170 Dandy Brandon's arrival at the mansion, the little surgeon and
N28 1180 his svelte young wife gave their annual open house and ball, to which
N28 1190 only New Orleans' oldest and wealthiest families were invited.
N28 1200    A stringed orchestra played softly behind the potted palms, and Delphine
N28 1210 circulated graciously among her guests, chatting airily of the
N28 1220 forthcoming races, the latest fashions from Paris, and Louisiana
N28 1230 politics.
N28 1240    Suddenly there was a commotion upstairs, a despairing
N28 1250 boyish shriek, and the strains of the waltz faltered and died as the musicians
N28 1260 and guests gaped at an apparition descending the marble staircase.
N28 1270    It was Dandy Brandon, clad only in a bloody loincloth,
N28 1280 emaciated and quaking as if the devil were breathing hard on him. The
N28 1290 lad's once superb body was a mass of scars and welts. His pinched
N28 1300 face showed the ravages of malnutrition.   Feebly he pointed an
N28 1310 accusing finger at Madame Lalaurie and shouted: "Evil woman!
N28 1320 You did this **h you like to hurt **h to beat people **h I want **h
N28 1330 to go home".   These were the last words he ever uttered. Convulsively,
N28 1340 he spat up some blood and collapsed into the arms of Senator
N28 1350 Gaston Berche, crimsoning the frilly shirt and waistcoat the politician
N28 1360 wore.   Dr& Louis Lalaurie examined the inert form of
N28 1370 the slave on the parquet dance floor and pronounced him dead. The ball
N28 1380 broke up in confusion. Guests stared with horror at Madame Lalaurie
N28 1390 and made speedy departures. Delphine stood like stone,
N28 1395 her eyes alive
N28 1400 with hate as she looked down at the sheeted corpse.   But at
N28 1410 the coroner's inquest Delphine told a forthright story.   "I
N28 1420 saw the boy Dandy at the Congo Square festivities and felt sorry
N28 1430 for him. It was our hope to educate him and to give him his freedom
N28 1440 when the right time came, for he was a bright and friendly youth who
N28 1450 seemed worthy of our interest. After I paid <Monsieur> Prieur for
N28 1460 Dandy, I brought him home, but he was ill at ease and ran away the
N28 1470 same night. How he returned in such a ghastly condition, or why, I
N28 1480 cannot say. Dr& Lalaurie and I didn't even know he was in the
N28 1490 house until the night of our ball when he came down the stairs".
N28 1500    She daubed at her swimming eyes with a lacy handkerchief and said
N28 1510 with obvious emotion: "That poor boy! He must have fallen in
N28 1520 with evil companions, for he was a simple youth and quite trusting and
N28 1530 inexperienced. Ruffians must have robbed and beaten him before bringing
N28 1540 him back to our house to die. Such a pitiful end"!   Though
N28 1550 the slave's dying words about the woman troubled the coroner's
N28 1560 panel, Dandy's accusation was adjudged an aberration by the jury
N28 1570 and disregarded. The Lalauries were at the top rung of the social ladder,
N28 1580 and even a jury didn't feel privileged to doubt the veracity
N28 1590 of so illustrious a lady. Moreover, runaway slaves frequently got into
N28 1600 serious trouble in New Orleans' dives.   So the verict was
N28 1610 "death at the hands of a person or persons unknown", and the elite
N28 1620 of the city, accepting Delphine's testimony, welcomed her and the
N28 1630 doctor back into the fold. Once again life went its serene way- soirees,
N28 1640 fox hunts, balls and dinners.   The excitement over Brandon's
N28 1650 bizarre death abated and Madame Lalaurie's stock soared when
N28 1660 she resumed her self-imposed chores of visiting the poor and bringing
N28 1670 cakes and comfort to destitute patients in the county hospital. Then,
N28 1680 on July 2, there occurred another incident which set tongues to
N28 1690 wagging at a furious clip.   Mrs& Victor Dominique, socially
N28 1700 prominent and a neighbor of the Lalauries, chanced to glance out of
N28 1710 her parlor window at dusk one evening and beheld an amazing sight. The
N28 1720 manservant Devol and his mistress, Delphine Lalaurie, were pursuing
N28 1730 a young girl- an octoroon of cameo-like beauty- across the front
N28 1740 lawn of the Lalaurie mansion. The girl was not more than 16. She
N28 1750 was nude to the waist and her tumbled abundance of black hair did not
N28 1760 conceal the knife slashes on her back.   The bleeding girl was
N28 1770 tiring fast; the coachman and Delphine were gaining on her as she raced
N28 1780 down Perdido Street.   The fugitive cried out in an oddly
N28 1790 sibilant voice: "Help me, somebody! They have pulled out all
N28 1800 my teeth and now she will carve out my tongue with her hacksaw!
N29 0010 "Bastards", he would say, "all I did was put a beat to that Vivaldi
N29 0020 stuff, and the first chair clobbered me"! Since then, and
N29 0030 since the pure grain had gotten him divorced from every decent- and
N29 0040 even <in>decent- group from Greenwich Village to the Embarcadero,
N29 0050 he had become a sucker-rolling freight-jumper.   "There ain't
N29 0060 nothin' faster, or lonelier, or more direct than a cannonball
N29 0070 freight
N29 0080 when you wanna go someplace", Feathertop would say. "The accommodations
N29 0090 may not be the poshest, but man! there ain't nobody
N29 0100 askin' for your
N29 0110 ticket stub, neither".   He had been conning
N29 0120 the freights for a long, long time now. Ever since the hooch, and the
N29 0130 trouble with the Quartet, and Midge and the child. Ever since all
N29 0140 that. It had been a very long time that had no form and no end.
N29 0150    He was- as he told himself in the vernacular of a trade no longer
N29 0160 his own- riding the dark train out. Out and out and never to return
N29 0170 again. Till one day the last freight had been jumped, the last pint
N29 0180 had been killed, the last beat had been rapped. That was the day it
N29 0190 ended. ## THE FREIGHT CAR WAS COLD, early in the morning.
N29 0200    He was pressed far back into the corner of the car on his hay sacks,
N29 0210 the rattling and tinning of the wheels on the rails almost covering
N29 0220 the sound of his ocarina.   He held his elbows away from his
N29 0230 body, and the little sweet potato trilled neatly and sweetly as he tickled
N29 0240 its tune-belly.   The train slowed at a road crossing, and
N29 0250 the big door slid open; at first gratingly, caught by grains of corn-
N29 0260 then with a clash into its slot.   The boy lifted the girl
N29 0270 by the waist and set her on the lip of the floor. She pulled her legs
N29 0280 up under her, to rise, her full peasant skirt drawing up her thighs, and
N29 0281 Feathertop's music <pffft>-ed away.
N29 0290 "Now that is a very nice,
N29 0300 a very nice", he murmured to himself, back in his corner.   A
N29 0310 little thing, but the right twist for the action that counted. Hot,
N29 0320 that was the word, hot! Hair like a morning-frightened sparrow's
N29 0330 wings, with the sun shining down over them. A poet, yet! His thoughts
N29 0340 for the swanlike neck, the full, high breasts, the slim waist, and
N29 0350 the long legs were less than poetic, however.   <Zingggg-O!>
N29 0360    Then the boy straight-armed himself up, twisting at the last
N29 0370 moment so he landed sitting.   He was less to see, but Feathertop
N29 0380 took him in, too, just to keep the records straight.   Curly
N29 0390 hair, high cheekbones, wide gnomelike mouth, a pair of drummer's
N29 0400 blocky hands, and a body that said well, maybe I can wrestle you for
N29 0410 ten minutes- but then I'm finished.   "We made it, Cappy",
N29 0420 the chick said.   "Yeah, seems so, don't it", the boy
N29 0430 laughed, hugging her close.   "<Ah>-ah"! Feathertop interrupted,
N29 0440 standing up, brushing the pig offal from his dirty pants.
N29 0450 "None of that. We run a respectable house here".   They whirled
N29 0460 and saw him, standing there dim in the slatted light from the boarded
N29 0470 freight wall. He was big, and filthy, and his toes stuck out of
N29 0480 the flapping tops of his shoes. He held the black plastic kazoo lightly.
N29 0490    "Come sit", said Feathertop, motioning them toward
N29 0500 him. "That crap is softer over here".   The girl smiled, and
N29 0510 started forward. The boy yanked her back hard, tugging her off her
N29 0520 feet, and gathered her into the crook of his arm.   "Now stay
N29 0530 with me, Kitty", he snapped irritably. "I vowed to take care of
N29 0540 you- and that's what I'm gonna do. We don't know this guy".
N29 0550    "Oooo, square bit", Feathertop screwed his face up. This
N29 0560 guy was strictly from Outsville. But <no>where!   "What
N29 0570 is with this <vow> jazz"? Feathertop inquired, lounging against
N29 0580 the freight's vibrating wall.   "We- we eloped", Cappy
N29 0590 said. His head came up and he said it defiantly.   "Well,
N29 0600 congratulations". Feathertop made an elaborate motion with his hand.
N29 0610 These two were going to be easy pickins. They couldn't have much
N29 0620 dough, but then <none> of the freight-bums Feathertop rolled had
N29 0630 much. And besides, the chick had a little something the others didn't
N29 0640 have. <That> was gonna be fun collecting!   But not just
N29 0650 yet. Feathertop was a connoisseur. He liked to savor his meat before
N29 0660 he tasted it. "Come sit", he repeated, motioning to the piled
N29 0670 hay bags, over the pig leavings. "I'm just a poor ex-jazz man, name
N29 0680 of- uh- Boyd Smith". He grinned at them wolfishly.
N29 0690    "That ain't your name, Mister", the boy accused.   "And
N29 0700 you know- you're <right"!> Feathertop aimed a finger at
N29 0710 him.   "Oh, <come> on, Cappy", the girl chided. "He's
N29 0720 okay. He's a nice guy". She started to move toward the hay bags,
N29 0730 dragging the reluctant Cappy behind her.   Feathertop watched
N29 0740 the smooth scissoring of her slim, trim legs as she walked to the bags,
N29 0750 and tucked them beneath her, smoothing the skirt out in a wide circle.
N29 0760 He cleared his throat; it had been a long, hot while since he'd
N29 0770 seen anything as nice as this within grabbin' distance.
N29 0780 He had it all doped, of course. Slug the kid, grab his dough- at least
N29 0790 enough to get to Philadelphia- and then have a rockin' ball
N29 0800 with the doll. Hmm- diddle!   "Where'd you come from,
N29 0810 Mr&- uh- Mr& Smith"? Kitty inquired politely.   "Where
N29 0820 from"? he mused. "Out. I been riding train for a ways
N29 0830 now".   They lapsed into silence, and the freight wallowed up
N29 0840 a hill, scooted down the other side, shaking and clanking to itself.
N29 0850    After a while, Kitty murmured something to Cappy, and he held
N29 0860 her close, answering, "We'll just have to wait till we pull into
N29 0870 Philly, honey".   "What's the matter, she wanna go the
N29 0880 bathroom"? Ernie found it immensely funny.   The boy scowled
N29 0890 at him, and the girl looked shocked.   "No! Certainly not,
N29 0900 I mean, <no> that isn't what I said"! she snapped at him.
N29 0910 "I only said I was hungry. We haven't had anything to eat all
N29 0920 day".   Joviality suffused Feathertop Ernie Cargill's voice
N29 0930 as he reached behind him, pulling out a battered carpet bag, with
N29 0940 leather handles. "Whyn't ya say so, fellow travelers! Why, we
N29 0950 got dinner right here. C'mon, buddy, help me set up the kitchen and
N29 0960 we'll have food in a minute or two".   Cappy looked wary,
N29 0970 but he moved off the floorboards and followed the dirty ex-musician to
N29 0980 the center of the refuse-littered boxcar.   Ernie crouched and
N29 0990 opened the carpet bag. He took out a small packet filled with bits of
N29 1000 charcoal, a deep pot of thin metal, some sheets of newspaper, a book
N29 1010 of matches and a wrinkled and many-times folded piece of tin foil with
N29 1020 holes in it. He put the charcoal in the pot, lit the paper with the
N29 1030 matches, and carefully stretched the tin foil across the top of the pot.
N29 1040    "A charcoal pit, man", he said, indicating the
N29 1041 slightly-smoking
N29 1050 makeshift brazier. "Fan it", he told Cappy, handing him
N29 1060 a sheet of newspaper.   "Yeah, but what're we gonna eat?
N29 1070 Charcoal"?   "Fella", Ernie waggled a dirty finger at
N29 1080 the younger man, "you try my ever-lovin' patience". He reached
N29 1090 once more into the carpet bag and brought up a package of wieners.
N29 1100    "Hot dogs, man. Not the greatest, but they stick to your belly
N29 1110 insides".   He ripped down the cellophane carefully, and laid
N29 1120 three dogs on the tin foil. Almost immediately they began to sizzle.
N29 1130 He looked up and grinned.   "A Kroger's self-serve", he
N29 1140 explained. "I self served". ## WHEN THEY HAD LICKED the
N29 1150 last of the wieners' taste from their fingers, they settled back,
N29 1160 and Cappy offered Ernie a cigarette. <Nice kid>, Ernie thought,
N29 1170 <too bad>.   "How come you're riding the rods, kids like you"?
N29 1180 Ernie asked.   Cappy looked down at his wide hands, and
N29 1190 did not reply. But surprisingly, Kitty's face came up and she said,
N29 1200 "My father. He didn't want us to get married. So we ran away".
N29 1210    "Why didn't he want you to get hitched"?
N29 1220 This time even she did not answer. She looked down at her hands, too.
N29 1230 After a few seconds, she said, "Dad didn't like Cappy. It was
N29 1240 my fault".   Cappy's head came around sharply. "Your fault,
N29 1250 hell! It was all my fault. If I'd been careful it never woulda"-
N29 1260 he stopped abruptly.   Ernie's eyebrows went up. "What's
N29 1270 the matter"?   The girl still did not raise her
N29 1280 eyes, but she added simply, "I'm pregnant".   Cappy raged
N29 1290 at himself. "Oh he was stupid, her old man! You never heard nothin'
N29 1300 like it: Kitty's gonna go have an abortion, and Kitty's
N29 1310 gonna go away to a convent, and Kitty's this and Kitty's that **h
N29 1320 like he was nuts or somethin', y'know"?   Ernie nodded.
N29 1330 This was a slightly different matter. He remembered Midge, and the
N29 1340 child. But that had been a time before all this, a time he didn't
N29 1350 think about. A time before the white lightning and the bumming had
N29 1360 turned him inside out. But these kids weren't like him.   <Oh
N29 1370 crap!> he thought, <Pull out of it, old son. These are just another
N29 1380 couple of characters to roll. What they got, you get. Now forget
N29 1390 all this other>.   "Wanna drink"? Ernie offered, taking
N29 1400 the pint of sweet lucy from his jacket pocket.   "Yeah. Now
N29 1410 that you offer". The answer came from the open door of the boxcar.
N29 1420 From the man who had leaped in from the high bank outside, as the train
N29 1430 had slowed on the grade.   Ernie stared at the man. He was
N29 1440 big. Real big, with shoulders out to here, and hair all over him like
N29 1450 a grizzly. <Road gang>,
N29 1460 Ernie thought.   "You gonna give
N29 1470 me a drink, fella"? the big man asked again, taking a step into the
N29 1480 boxcar.   Ernie hesitated a moment. This character could break
N29 1490 him in half. "Sure", he said, and lifted the pint to his own lips.
N29 1500 He guzzled down three-quarters of the strong home-blend and proffered
N29 1510 the remainder. The man stalked toward them, his big boots heavy
N29 1520 on the wooden flooring. He took the bottle with undue belligerence,
N29 1530 and making sucking noises with his thick lips, drained it completely.
N29 1540    He threw his head back, closed his eyes, and belched ferociously.
N29 1550 He belched again, and opening his eyes, threw the bottle out the
N29 1560 open door.   "Well, now", he said, and reached into his pocket.
N29 1570 "I didn't know I was gonna have company in this car".
N29 1580    "We're going to Philadelphia", Kitty said, pulling her skirt
N29 1590 down around her legs all the more.   "No, I don't think
N29 1600 so", said the big man, and it was the final clincher for Ernie. He
N29 1610 had suspected this guy was trouble, and now he was sure of it.
N29 1620    "Maybe you and me will, girlie, but these two ain't goin' nowhere".
N29 1630    He advanced on them, and abruptly there was a shocked
N29 1640 electricity in the car. Ernie was screaming inside himself: <No,
N29 1650 damn you, you ain't gonna take my meal ticket away from me!>
N29 1660    The newcomer stalked toward them, and Kitty shied back, her hand
N29 1670 to her mouth. Her scream split up the silence of the car, accompanied
N29 1680 by the rattling of the freight, and then Cappy came off the floor,
N29 1690 his legs driving him hard. The kid hit the bigger man with an audible
N29 1700 thwump! and carried him backward in a footballer's tackle. They
N29 1710 went down in a heap and for a long minute there was nothing to see but
N29 1720 flailing arms and legs.   The kid showed for an instant, and his
N29 1730 arm was cocked back. The fist went down into the pile of flesh, and
N29 1740 Ernie heard the bigger man's deeper voice go, "Aaawww"!
N29 1750    Then they were tumbling again, and the big man reached into the
N29 1760 same pocket he had gone for earlier, and came up with a vicious switchblade.
N29 1770    He held the knife aloft an instant- an instant enough
N29 1780 to press the stud. The blade came out with a <snick!> He fisted
N29 1790 the knife overhand, and drew back to plunge it into the kid's throat.
N29 1800    Kitty screamed insanely and her face was white. She grabbed
N29 1810 at Feathertop's sleeve and shrieked, "Help him! Help him!
N29 1820 Do something"!