The Merry Anne 34
"He told me it wasn't so," she whispered. "He told me it wasn't so."
"Oh, he's just a common, everyday liar. Madge is his wife. Didn't I tell
you so the first day I come to Spencer's?"
"I don't know. What can we do? Do you think we could get away?"
"Sure thing."
"But how?"
"We 'll sneak back a ways and off to one side in the woods. He can't come
back and search the whole county for us. Don't you see?"
"But wouldn't _they_ catch us?" She glanced toward the east, whence
pursuit might come.
"Not a bit of it. Just trust me. Come on--now's the time. Move cautious
till we get on the road."
He helped her up, and they stole away. For a few moments she was buoyed
up by this new excitement, but soon fell back into the old weariness.
She clung to Roche until he was almost carrying her. "Keep a-going," he
whispered. "I 'll skip back to the house and pick up something to eat,
and then we 'll take to the woods. They can't never catch me, I tell you.
_I 'll_ fool 'em."
They struggled along. Halfway back to the farm-house Estelle completely
lost heart. "I can't do it!" she moaned. "Stop--let me sit down."
"Not here, Estelle! Not in the road!"
"Let me down, I tell you!"
"But he may be along any minute."
"I don't care. Let me down."
"Look here, Estelle, can't you see how it is? If he gets you, he 'll half
kill you. And you 'll have to walk farther with him than you would with
me."
She was beyond reason. She clung around his neck, holding herself up
even while she begged to be let down. Her condition and the terrible
loneliness of the night were unnerving Roche. "Come along," he said
angrily, "or I 'll make you come!"
"Don't hurt me!"
"By------! Don't you say another word!"
He jerked her roughly forward, while his wild eyes sought the road
behind.
"You said you'd be good to me!"
"Well, ain't I good to you? Ain't I saving your life, and you haven't
got the sense to see it?"
"O dear! Don't--"
"Keep still, now--come on--Don't you say any more."
Soon they reached the clearing, and, pausing for breath in the shadows,
they looked about. The night was far advanced, but a light showed in an
upper window of the house. Over in the barn a horse was thrashing about
his stall; the noise was deafening after the stillness. Roche released
Estelle, and to his horror she sank to the ground in a faint. He spoke
to her--she did not hear. He bent over and shook her, felt her wrist and
her forehead. Then he straightened up and looked back along the road.
His breath came fast and hard; the loneliness was closing in on his
soul. He shivered, though the air was not cold, then stepped back,
mopped the sudden sweat from his face, looked down again at the
woman,--even stirred her with his foot,--then turned and ran. Not down
the road, for the lowbrowed McGlory lay sleeping there; not to the
south, for the stream barred the way; but skirting the clearing to the
northern edge and then plunging into the woods, endlong and overthwart,
with a thousand ugly fancies hounding him, with a traitor in his bosom
that opened the door for the mad thoughts freely to enter and gnaw
there. He tripped on a log, pitched headlong and rolled over, scrambled
up with bleeding hands, and ran on in an ecstasy of fear. And the vast
black forest shut in behind him and swallowed him.
[Illustration: 0315]
When Estelle's eyes opened, she returned from peace to wretchedness.
Yes, the trees and the night and the swollen feet were real. She crawled
toward the farm-house; something within her warned her not to try to
rise. She lived months in dragging that hundred yards; the one goal of
life was the low stoop and the door under the light. When she reached
it,--her clothes torn, the dust ground into her face and hands,--she
fainted again, and clung to the steps.
Dirck van Deelen was sitting at the window with a shot-gun across his
knees. He had watched the--he could not see what it was--crawling to
his door. Now he looked out and saw it lying there. Whatever, whoever it
was, this would not do; so he opened the door and carried her up to the
room where his frightened wife was trying to sleep.
"We 'll have to take her in, Saskia."
"What is the matter? Is she hurt?"
"I don't know. I found her on the stoop. Help me examine her."
But they found no mark of bullet, knife, or blunt instrument. And while
the Dutch woman worked over her, the man went for water. At last she was
brought to a sort of consciousness, and, leaving his wife to care for
her, Van Deelen returned to his window and his gun.
Roche and Estelle had not been gone an hour when McGlory, haunted by the
fear of pursuit, awoke. He stretched himself, sat up, and looked over to
the spot where Estelle had been lying when he fell asleep. At first he
thought he saw her, a darker shadow, but on rising and walking over he
found no sign of her. He looked about, and called. Roche, too, was not
in sight. He hesitated, not yet fully awake, then turned back and woke
his companion.
"Well, what's the matter?"
"They're gone."
"Who's gone?"
"Roche and Estelle."
"How do you know? Have you looked around?"
"Come over here."
They prowled behind the trees, parted the bushes here and there, called
as loud as they dared, lighted matches, and examined the ground. Finally
McGlory broke out with an oath: "The little fool! So she thinks she can
serve me this way, eh?"
"You think they've skipped out?"
"Think? Do I think it? What do I want to _think_ for? Didn't I see him
a-hugging her?"
"He was just helping her then."
"Oh, just helping her, was he?"
"Well, what you going to do about it?"
"What'm I going to do?" McGlory was lashing his anger. His voice swelled
until he was roaring out the words: "What'm I going to do? I'm going
to run that Pete Roche down if I have to go to hell for him! I'm going
to---"
"Drop your voice, Joe. I can hear you. How're you going to find him?"
"Who you telling to shut up?"
"Hold on, now. None o' that talk to me!"
"Oh, you think you can boss me, do you?"
"Think? I know it. Don't waste your breath trying to bluff me. I asked
you how you're going to find him."
"How'm I going to--how'm I--why, I 'll break his head--I 'll--"
"Don't work yourself up. It won't help you any."
"You think you can talk like that to me? If you ain't careful, I 'll
break _your_ head. I 'll--"
"How are you going to find him?"
"You say another word, and I 'll knock your teeth down your throat."
"I've got my hand in my pocket, Joe, and I've got a loaded gun in my
hand, and if you threaten me again, I 'll blow a hole through you. I've
half a mind to do it anyway. A fool like you has no business getting
into a scrape if he can't keep his head. I'd a heap rather kill you than
get caught through your fool noise. The sooner you understand me, the
better for you. Now tell me how you're going to find out which way to
take."
"How--" McGlory was not a coward, but he could not face down the
seasoned courage of the man before him. "Why--that's a cinch. Ain't he
headed the same way we are?"
"Now, Joe, hold on. Don't be a bigger fool than you can help. You don't
really think he'd take her right along over this road, do you?"
"Why--dam' it!"
"It's no good talking to you if you can't quiet down. You want to kill
Roche, and you're right. I want him killed, too. The longer he's alive,
the more danger for us. But if you go at him this way, he may kill you."
"Him! Kill me! Why--"
"I mean it. He's desperate, too. You can't be too sure that he 'll always
run like he did to-night. He's got Estelle to look out for, too. Now,
it's plain that he hasn't gone down the road, because, look here,--she
isn't good for more than a mile an hour, and he'd have sense enough to
know we'd catch him."
"Where is he gone, then?"
"Not very far--we know that much. Likely they're back here in the woods.
Or maybe they went back to Van Deelen's."
"They'd never go there."
댓글 없음:
댓글 쓰기