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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..5f200c3 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #51840 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/51840) diff --git a/old/51840-0.txt b/old/51840-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 2ece5e6..0000000 --- a/old/51840-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,10348 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Spoilers, by Rex Beach - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license - - -Title: The Spoilers - -Author: Rex Beach - -Illustrator: Clarence F. Underwood - -Release Date: April 23, 2016 [EBook #51840] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE SPOILERS *** - - - - -Produced by Charlene Taylor, Chuck Greif and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive) - - - - - - - - - - - The Spoilers - - _By_ REX E. BEACH - - [Illustration: colophon] - - With Four Illustrations - By CLARENCE F. UNDERWOOD - - A. L. BURT COMPANY, PUBLISHERS - NEW YORK. - - Copyright, 1905, by REX E. BEACH. - - _All rights reserved._ - - Published April, 1906. - - THIS BOOK - IS LOVINGLY DEDICATED TO - MY MOTHER - - - - -CONTENTS - - -CHAP. PAGE - -I. THE ENCOUNTER 1 - -II. THE STOWAWAY 13 - -III. IN WHICH GLENISTER ERRS 22 - -IV. THE KILLING 33 - -V. WHEREIN A MAN APPEARS 48 - -VI. AND A MINE IS JUMPED 59 - -VII. THE “BRONCO KID’S” EAVESDROPPING 68 - -VIII. DEXTRY MAKES A CALL 80 - -IX. SLUICE ROBBERS 94 - -X. THE WIT OF AN ADVENTURESS 107 - -XI. WHEREIN A WRIT AND A RIOT FAIL 120 - -XII. COUNTERPLOTS 132 - -XIII. IN WHICH A MAN IS POSSESSED OF A DEVIL 149 - -XIV. A MIDNIGHT MESSENGER 168 - -XV. VIGILANTES 183 - -XVI. IN WHICH THE TRUTH BEGINS TO BARE ITSELF 201 - -XVII. THE DRIP OF WATER IN THE DARK 218 - -XVIII. WHEREIN A TRAP IS BAITED 236 - -XIX. DYNAMITE 249 - -XX. IN WHICH THREE GO TO THE SIGN OF THE SLED AND BUT TWO RETURN 268 - -XXI. THE HAMMER-LOCK 285 - -XXII. THE PROMISE OF DREAMS 300 - - - - -THE SPOILERS - - - - -CHAPTER I - -THE ENCOUNTER - - -Glenister gazed out over the harbor, agleam with the lights of anchored -ships, then up at the crenelated mountains, black against the sky. He -drank the cool air burdened with its taints of the sea, while the blood -of his boyhood leaped within him. - -“Oh, it’s fine--fine,” he murmured, “and this is my country--my country, -after all, Dex. It’s in my veins, this hunger for the North. I grow. I -expand.” - -“Careful you don’t bust,” warned Dextry. “I’ve seen men get plumb drunk -on mountain air. Don’t expand too strong in one spot.” He went back -abruptly to his pipe, its villanous fumes promptly averting any danger -of the air’s too tonic quality. - -“Gad! What a smudge!” sniffed the younger man. “You ought to be in -quarantine.” - -“I’d ruther smell like a man than talk like a kid. You desecrate the -hour of meditation with rhapsodies on nature when your æsthetics ain’t -honed up to the beauties of good tobacco.” - -The other laughed, inflating his deep chest. In the gloom he stretched -his muscles restlessly, as though an excess of vigor filled him. - -They were lounging upon the dock, while before them lay the _Santa -Maria_ ready for her midnight sailing. Behind slept Unalaska, quaint, -antique, and Russian, rusting amid the fogs of Bering Sea. Where, a week -before, mild-eyed natives had dried their cod among the old bronze -cannon, now a frenzied horde of gold-seekers paused in their rush to the -new El Dorado. They had come like a locust cloud, thousands strong, -settling on the edge of the Smoky Sea, waiting the going of the ice that -barred them from their Golden Fleece--from Nome the new, where men found -fortune in a night. - -The mossy hills back of the village were ridged with graves of those who -had died on the out-trip the fall before, when a plague had gripped the -land--but what of that? Gold glittered in the sands, so said the -survivors; therefore men came in armies. Glenister and Dextry had left -Nome the autumn previous, the young man raving with fever. Now they -returned to their own land. - -“This air whets every animal instinct in me,” Glenister broke out again. -“Away from the cities I turn savage. I feel the old primitive -passions--the fret for fighting.” - -“Mebbe you’ll have a chance.” - -“How so?” - -“Well, it’s this way. I met Mexico Mullins this mornin’. You mind old -Mexico, don’t you? The feller that relocated Discovery Claim on Anvil -Creek last summer?” - -“You don’t mean that ‘tin-horn’ the boys were going to lynch for -claim-jumping?” - -“Identical! Remember me tellin’ you about a good turn I done him once -down Guadalupe way?” - -“Greaser shooting-scrape, wasn’t it?” - -“Yep! Well, I noticed first off that he’s gettin’ fat; high-livin’ fat, -too, all in one spot, like he was playin’ both ends ag’in the centre. -Also he wore di’mon’s fit to handle with ice-tongs. - -“Says I, lookin’ at his side elevation, ‘What’s accented your middle -syllable so strong, Mexico?’ - -“‘Prosperity, politics, an’ the Waldorf-Astorier,’ says he. It seems Mex -hadn’t forgot old days. He claws me into a corner an’ says, ‘Bill, I’m -goin’ to pay you back for that Moralez deal.’ - -“‘It ain’t comin’ to me,’ says I. ‘That’s a bygone!’ - -“‘Listen here,’ says he, an’, seein’ he was in earnest, I let him run -on. - -“‘How much do you value that claim o’ yourn at?’ - -“‘Hard tellin’,’ says I. ‘If she holds out like she run last fall, -there’d ought to be a million clear in her.’ - -“‘How much ’ll you clean up this summer?’ - -“‘’Bout four hundred thousand, with luck.’ - -“‘Bill,’ says he, ‘there’s hell a-poppin’ an’ you’ve got to watch that -ground like you’d watch a rattle-snake. Don’t never leave ’em get a grip -on it or you’re down an’ out.’ - -“He was so plumb in earnest it scared me up, ’cause Mexico ain’t a gabby -man. - -“‘What do you mean?’ says I. - -“‘I can’t tell you nothin’ more. I’m puttin’ a string on my own neck, -sayin’ _this_ much. You’re a square man, Bill, an’ I’m a gambler, but -you saved my life oncet, an’ I wouldn’t steer you wrong. For God’s sake, -don’t let ’em jump your ground, that’s all.’ - -“‘Let who jump it? Congress has give us judges an’ courts an’ -marshals--’ I begins. - -“‘That’s just it. How you goin’ to buck that hand? Them’s the best cards -in the deck. There’s a man comin’ by the name of McNamara. Watch him -clost. I can’t tell you no more. But don’t never let ’em get a grip on -your ground.’ That’s all he’d say.” - -“Bah! He’s crazy! I wish somebody would try to jump the Midas; we’d -enjoy the exercise.” - -The siren of the _Santa Maria_ interrupted, its hoarse warning throbbing -up the mountain. - -“We’ll have to get aboard,” said Dextry. - -“Sh-h! What’s that?” the other whispered. - -At first the only sound they heard was a stir from the deck of the -steamer. Then from the water below them came the rattle of rowlocks and -a voice cautiously muffled. - -“Stop! Stop there!” - -A skiff burst from the darkness, grounding on the beach beneath. A -figure scrambled out and up the ladder leading to the wharf. Immediately -a second boat, plainly in pursuit of the first one, struck on the beach -behind it. - -As the escaping figure mounted to their level the watchers perceived -with amazement that it was a young woman. Breath sobbed from her lungs, -and, stumbling, she would have fallen but for Glenister, who ran forward -and helped her to her feet. - -“Don’t let them get me,” she panted. - -He turned to his partner in puzzled inquiry, but found that the old man -had crossed to the head of the landing ladder up which the pursuers were -climbing. - -“Just a minute--you there! Back up or I’ll kick your face in.” Dextry’s -voice was sharp and unexpected, and in the darkness he loomed tall and -menacing to those below. - -“Get out of the way. That woman’s a runaway,” came from the one highest -on the ladder. - -“So I jedge.” - -“She broke qu--” - -“Shut up!” broke in another. “Do you want to advertise it? Get out of -the way, there, ye damn fool! Climb up, Thorsen.” He spoke like a bucko -mate, and his words stirred the bile of Dextry. - -Thorsen grasped the dock floor, trying to climb up, but the old miner -stamped on his fingers and the sailor loosened his hold with a yell, -carrying the under men with him to the beach in his fall. - -“This way! Follow me!” shouted the mate, making up the bank for the -shore end of the wharf. - -“You’d better pull your freight, miss,” Dextry remarked; “they’ll be -here in a minute.” - -“Yes, yes! Let us go! I must get aboard the _Santa Maria_. She’s leaving -now. Come, come!” - -Glenister laughed, as though there were a humorous touch in her remark, -but did not stir. - -“I’m gettin’ awful old an’ stiff to run,” said Dextry, removing his -mackinaw, “but I allow I ain’t too old for a little diversion in the way -of a rough-house when it comes nosin’ around.” He moved lightly, though -the girl could see in the half-darkness that his hair was silvery. - -“What do you mean?” she questioned, sharply. - -“You hurry along, miss; we’ll toy with ’em till you’re aboard.” They -stepped across to the dock-house, backing against it. The girl followed. - -Again came the warning blast from the steamer, and the voice of an -officer: - -“Clear away that stern line!” - -“Oh, we’ll be left!” she breathed, and somehow it struck Glenister that -she feared this more than the men whose approaching feet he heard. - -“_You_ can make it all right,” he urged her, roughly. “You’ll get hurt -if you stay here. Run along and don’t mind us. We’ve been thirty days on -shipboard, and were praying for something to happen.” His voice was -boyishly glad, as if he exulted in the fray that was to come; and no -sooner had he spoken than the sailors came out of the darkness upon -them. - -During the space of a few heart-beats there was only a tangle of -whirling forms with the sound of fist on flesh, then the blot split up -and forms plunged outward, falling heavily. Again the sailors rushed, -attempting to clinch. They massed upon Dextry only to grasp empty air, -for he shifted with remarkable agility, striking bitterly, as an old -wolf snaps. It was baffling work, however, for in the darkness his blows -fell short or overreached. - -Glenister, on the other hand, stood carelessly, beating the men off as -they came to him. He laughed gloatingly, deep in his throat, as though -the encounter were merely some rough sport. The girl shuddered, for the -desperate silence of the attacking men terrified - -[Illustration: “WHAT I WANT--I TAKE,” AND THEN, TURNING, HE KISSED HER -SOFTLY, FIERCELY, FULL UPON THE LIPS - -[See p. 32] - -her more than a din, and yet she stayed, crouched against the wall. - -Dextry swung at a dim target, and, missing it, was whirled off his -balance. Instantly his antagonist grappled with him, and they fell to -the floor, while a third man shuffled about them. The girl throttled a -scream. - -“I’m goin’ to kick ’im, Bill,” the man panted hoarsely. “Le’ me fix -’im.” He swung his heavy shoe, and Bill cursed with stirring eloquence. - -“Ow! You’re kickin’ me! I’ve got ’im, safe enough. Tackle the big un.” - -Bill’s ally then started towards the others, his body bent, his arms -flexed yet hanging loosely. He crouched beside the girl, ignoring her, -while she heard the breath wheezing from his lungs; then silently he -leaped. Glenister had hurled a man from him, then stepped back to avoid -the others, when he was seized from behind and felt the man’s arms -wrapped about his neck, the sailor’s legs locked about his thighs. Now -came the girl’s first knowledge of real fighting. The two spun back and -forth so closely entwined as to be indistinguishable, the others holding -off. For what seemed many minutes they struggled, the young man striving -to reach his adversary, till they crashed against the wall near her and -she heard her champion’s breath coughing in his throat at the tightening -grip of the sailor. Fright held her paralyzed, for she had never seen -men thus. A moment and Glenister would be down beneath their stamping -feet--they Would kick his life out with their heavy shoes. At thought of -it, the necessity of action smote her like a blow in the face. Her -terror fell away, her shaking muscles stiffened, and before realizing -what she did she had acted. - -The seaman’s back was to her. She reached out and gripped him by the -hair, while her fingers, tense as talons, sought his eyes. Then the -first loud sound of the battle arose. The man yelled in sudden terror; -and the others as suddenly fell back. The next instant she felt a hand -upon her shoulder and heard Dextry’s voice. - -“Are ye hurt? No? Come on, then, or we’ll get left.” He spoke quietly, -though his breath was loud, and, glancing down, she saw the huddled form -of the sailor whom he had fought. - -“That’s all right--he ain’t hurt. It’s a Jap trick I learned. Hurry up!” - -They ran swiftly down the wharf, followed by Glenister and by the groans -of the sailors in whom the lust for combat had been quenched. As they -scrambled up the _Santa Maria’s_ gang-plank, a strip of water widened -between the boat and the pier. - -“Close shave, that,” panted Glenister, feeling his throat gingerly, “but -I wouldn’t have missed it for a spotted pup.” - -“I’ve been through b’iler explosions and snow-slides, not to mention a -triflin’ jail-delivery, but fer real sprightly diversions I don’t recall -nothin’ more pleasin’ than this.” Dextry’s enthusiasm was boylike. - -“What kind of men are you?” the girl laughed nervously, but got no -answer. - -They led her to their deck cabin, where they switched on the electric -light, blinking at each other and at their unknown guest. - -They saw a graceful and altogether attractive figure in a trim, short -skirt and long, tan boots. But what Glenister first saw was her eyes; -large and gray, almost brown under the electric light. They were active -eyes, he thought, and they flashed swift, comprehensive glances at the -two men. Her hair had fallen loose and crinkled to her waist, all -agleam. Otherwise she showed no sign of her recent ordeal. - -Glenister had been prepared for the type of beauty that follows the -frontier; beauty that may stun, but that has the polish and chill of a -new-ground bowie. Instead, this girl with the calm, reposeful face -struck a note almost painfully different from her surroundings, -suggesting countless pleasant things that had been strange to him for -the past few years. - -Pure admiration alone was patent in the older man’s gaze. - -“I make oration,” said he, “that you’re the gamest little chap I ever -fought over, Mexikin, Injun, or white. What’s the trouble?” - -“I suppose you think I’ve done something dreadful, don’t you?” she said. -“But I haven’t. I had to get away from the _Ohio_ to-night for--certain -reasons. I’ll tell you all about it to-morrow. I haven’t stolen -anything, nor poisoned the crew--really I haven’t.” She smiled at them, -and Glenister found it impossible not to smile with her, though dismayed -by her feeble explanation. - -“Well, I’ll wake up the steward and find a place for you to go,” he said -at length. “You’ll have to double up with some of the women, though; -it’s awfully crowded aboard.” - -She laid a detaining hand on his arm. He thought he felt her tremble. - -“No, no! I don’t want you to do that. They mustn’t see me to-night. I -know I’m acting strangely and all that, but it’s happened so quickly I -haven’t found myself yet. I’ll tell you to-morrow, though, really. Don’t -let any one see me or it will spoil everything. Wait till to-morrow, -please.” - -She was very white, and spoke with eager intensity. - -“Help you? Why, sure Mike!” assured the impulsive Dextry, “an’, see -here, Miss--you take your time on explanations. We don’t care a cuss -what you done. Morals ain’t our long suit, ’cause ‘there’s never a law -of God or man runs north of Fifty-three,’ as the poetry man remarked, -an’ he couldn’t have spoke truer if he’d knowed what he was sayin’. -Everybody is privileged to ‘look out’ his own game up here. A square -deal an’ no questions asked.” - -She looked somewhat doubtful at this till she caught the heat of -Glenister’s gaze. Some boldness of his look brought home to her the -actual situation, and a stain rose in her cheek. She noted him more -carefully; noted his heavy shoulders and ease of bearing, an ease and -looseness begotten of perfect muscular control. Strength was equally -suggested in his face, she thought, for he carried a marked young -countenance, with thrusting chin, aggressive thatching brows, and mobile -mouth that whispered all the changes from strength to abandon. Prominent -was a look of reckless energy. She considered him handsome in a heavy, -virile, perhaps too purely physical fashion. - -“You want to stowaway?” he asked. - -“I’ve had a right smart experience in that line,” said Dextry, “but I -never done it by proxy. What’s your plan?” - -“She will stay here to-night,” said Glenister quickly. “You and I will -go below. Nobody will see her.” - -“I can’t let you do that,” she objected. “Isn’t there some place where I -can hide?” But they reassured her and left. - -When they had gone, she crouched trembling upon her seat for a long -time, gazing fixedly before her. “I’m afraid!” she whispered; “I’m -afraid. What am I getting into? Why do men look so at me? I’m -frightened. Oh, I’m sorry I undertook it.” At last she rose wearily. The -close cabin oppressed her; she felt the need of fresh air. So, turning -out the lights, she stepped forth into the night. Figures loomed near -the rail and she slipped astern, screening herself behind a life-boat, -where the cool breeze fanned her face. - -The forms she had seen approached, speaking earnestly. Instead of -passing, they stopped abreast of her hiding-place; then, as they began -to talk, she saw that her retreat was cut off and that she must not -stir. - -“What brings her here?” Glenister was echoing a question of Dextry’s. -“Bah! What brings them all? What brought ‘the Duchess,’ and Cherry -Malotte, and all the rest?” - -“No, no,” said the old man. “She ain’t that kind--she’s too fine, too -delicate--too pretty.” - -“That’s just it--too pretty! Too pretty to be alone--or anything except -what she is.” - -Dextry growled sourly. “This country has plumb ruined you, boy. You -think they’re all alike--an’ I don’t know but they are--all but this -girl. Seems like she’s different, somehow--but I can’t tell.” - -Glenister spoke musingly: - -“I had an ancestor who buccaneered among the Indies, a long time -ago--so I’m told. Sometimes I think I have his disposition. He comes and -whispers things to me in the night. Oh, he was a devil, and I’ve got his -blood in me--untamed and hot--I can hear him saying something -now--something about the spoils of war. Ha, ha! Maybe he’s right. I -fought for her to-night--Dex--the way he used to fight for his -sweethearts along the Mexicos. She’s too beautiful to be good--and -‘there’s never a law of God or man runs north of Fifty-three.’” - -They moved on, his vibrant, cynical laughter stabbing the girl till she -leaned against the yawl for support. - -She held herself together while the blood beat thickly in her ears, then -fled to the cabin, hurling herself into her berth, where she writhed -silently, beating the pillow with hands into which her nails had bitten, -staring the while into the darkness with dry and aching eyes. - - - - -CHAPTER II - -THE STOWAWAY - - -She awoke to the throb of the engines, and, gazing cautiously through -her stateroom window, saw a glassy, level sea, with the sun brightly -agleam on it. - -So this was Bering? She had clothed it always with the mystery of her -school-days, thinking of it as a weeping, fog-bound stretch of gray -waters. Instead, she saw a flat, sunlit main, with occasional -sea-parrots flapping their fat bodies out of the ship’s course. A -glistening head popped up from the waters abreast, and she heard the cry -of “seal!” - -Dressing, the girl noted minutely the personal articles scattered about -the cabin, striving to derive therefrom some fresh hint of the -characteristics of the owners. First, there was an elaborate, -copper-backed toilet-set, all richly ornamented and leather-bound. The -metal was magnificently hand-worked and bore Glenister’s initial. It -spoke of elegant extravagance, and seemed oddly out of place in an -Arctic miner’s equipment, as did also a small set of De Maupassant. - -Next, she picked up Kipling’s _Seven Seas_, marked liberally, and felt -that she had struck a scent. The roughness and brutality of the poems -had always chilled her, though she had felt vaguely their splendid pulse -and swing. This was the girl’s first venture from a sheltered life. She -had not rubbed elbows with the world enough to find that Truth may be -rough, unshaven, and garbed in homespun. The book confirmed her analysis -of the junior partner. - -Pendent from a hook was a worn and blackened holster from which peeped -the butt of a large Colt’s revolver, showing evidence of many years’ -service. It spoke mutely of the white-haired Dextry, who, before her -inspection was over, knocked at the door, and, when she admitted him, -addressed her cautiously: - -“The boy’s down forrad, teasin’ grub out of a flunky. He’ll be up in a -minute. How’d ye sleep?” - -“Very well, thank you,” she lied, “but I’ve been thinking that I ought -to explain myself to you.” - -“Now, see here,” the old man interjected, “there ain’t no explanations -needed till you feel like givin’ them up. You was in trouble--that’s -unfortunate; we help you--that’s natural; no questions asked--that’s -Alaska.” - -“Yes--but I know you must think--” - -“What bothers me,” the other continued irrelevantly, “is how in blazes -we’re goin’ to keep you hid. The steward’s got to make up this room, and -somebody’s bound to see us packin’ grub in.” - -“I don’t care who knows if they won’t send me back. They wouldn’t do -that, would they?” She hung anxiously on his words. - -“Send you back? Why, don’t you savvy that this boat is bound for Nome? -There ain’t no turnin’ back on gold stampedes, and this is the wildest -rush the world ever saw. The captain wouldn’t turn back--he -couldn’t--his cargo’s too precious and the company pays five thousand a -day for this ship. No, we ain’t puttin’ back to unload no stowaways at -five thousand per. Besides, we passengers wouldn’t let him--time’s too -precious.” They were interrupted by the rattle of dishes outside, and -Dextry was about to open the door when his hand wavered uncertainly -above the knob, for he heard the hearty greeting of the ship’s captain. - -“Well, well, Glenister, where’s all the breakfast going?” - -“Oo!” whispered the old man--“that’s Cap’ Stephens.” - -“Dextry isn’t feeling quite up to form this morning,” replied Glenister -easily. - -“Don’t wonder! Why weren’t you aboard sooner last night? I saw -you--‘most got left, eh? Served you right if you had.” Then his voice -dropped to the confidential: “I’d advise you to cut out those women. -Don’t misunderstand me, boy, but they’re a bad lot on this boat. I saw -you come aboard. Take my word for it--they’re a bad lot. Cut ’em out. -Guess I’ll step inside and see what’s up with Dextry.” - -The girl shrank into her corner, gazing apprehensively at the other -listener. - -“Well--er--he isn’t up yet,” they heard Glenister stammer; “better come -around later.” - -“Nonsense; it’s time he was dressed.” The master’s voice was gruffly -good-natured. “Hello, Dextry! Hey! Open up for inspection.” He rattled -the door. - -There was nothing to be done. The old miner darted an inquiring glance -at his companion, then, at her nod, slipped the bolt, and the captain’s -blue bulk filled the room. - -His grizzled, close-bearded face was genially wrinkled till he spied the -erect, gray figure in the corner, when his cap came off involuntarily. -There his courtesy ended, however, and the smile died coldly from his -face. His eyes narrowed, and the good-fellowship fell away, leaving him -the stiff and formal officer. - -“Ah,” he said, “not feeling well, eh? I thought I had met all of our -lady passengers. Introduce me, Dextry.” - -Dextry squirmed under his cynicism. - -“Well--I--ah--didn’t catch the name myself.” - -“What?” - -“Oh, there ain’t much to say. This is the lady we brought aboard last -night--that’s all.” - -“Who gave you permission?” - -“Nobody. There wasn’t time.” - -“There wasn’t _time_, eh? Which one of you conceived the novel scheme of -stowing away ladies in your cabin? Whose is she? Quick! Answer me.” -Indignation was vibrant in his voice. - -“Oh!” the girl cried--her eyes widening darkly. She stood slim and pale -and slightly trembling. - -His words had cut her bitterly, though through it all he had -scrupulously avoided addressing her. - -The captain turned to Glenister, who had entered and closed the door. - -“Is this your work? Is she yours?” - -“No,” he answered quietly, while Dextry chimed in: - -“Better hear details, captain, before you make breaks like that. We -helped the lady side-step some sailors last night and we most got left -doing it. It was up to her to make a quick get-away, so we helped her -aboard.” - -“A poor story! What was she running away from?” He still addressed the -men, ignoring her completely, till, with hoarse voice, she broke in: - -“You mustn’t talk about me that way--I can answer your questions. It’s -true--I ran away. I had to. The sailors came after me and fought with -these men. I had to get away quickly, and your friends helped me on here -from gentlemanly kindness, because they saw me unprotected. They are -still protecting me. I can’t explain how important it is for me to reach -Nome on the first boat, because it isn’t my secret. It was important -enough to make me leave my uncle at Seattle at an hour’s notice when we -found there was no one else who could go. That’s all I can say. I took -my maid with me, but the sailors caught her just as she was following me -down the ship’s ladder. She had my bag of clothes when they seized her. -I cast off the rope and rowed ashore as fast as I could, but they -lowered another boat and followed me.” - -The captain eyed her sharply, and his grim lines softened a bit, for she -was clean-cut and womanly, and utterly out of place. He took her in, -shrewdly, detail by detail, then spoke directly to her: - -“My dear young lady--the other ships will get there just as quickly as -ours, maybe more quickly. To-morrow we strike the ice-pack and then it -is all a matter of luck.” - -“Yes, but the ship I left won’t get there.” - -At this the commander started, and, darting a great, thick-fingered hand -at her, spoke savagely: - -“What’s that? What ship? Which one did you come from? Answer me.” - -“The _Ohio_,” she replied, with the effect of a hand-grenade. The master -glared at her. - -“The _Ohio_! Good God! You _dare_ to stand there and tell me that?” He -turned and poured his rage upon the others. - -“She says the _Ohio_, d’ye hear? You’ve ruined me! I’ll put you in -irons--all of you. The _Ohio_!” - -“What d’ye mean? What’s up?” - -“What’s up? There’s small-pox aboard the _Ohio_! This girl has broken -quarantine. The health inspectors bottled up the boat at six o’clock -last night! That’s why I pulled out of Unalaska ahead of time, to avoid -any possible delay. Now we’ll all be held up when we get to Nome. Great -Heavens! do you realize what this means--bringing this hussy aboard?” - -His eyes burned and his voice shook, while the two partners stared at -each other in dismay. Too well they knew the result of a small-pox panic -aboard this crowded troop-ship. Not only was every available cabin -bulging with passengers, but the lower decks were jammed with both -humanity and live stock all in the most unsanitary conditions. The -craft, built for three hundred passengers, was carrying triple her -capacity; men and women were stowed away like cattle. Order and a -half-tolerable condition were maintained only by the efforts of the -passengers themselves, who held to the thought that imprisonment and -inconvenience would last but a few days longer. They had been aboard -three weeks and every heart was aflame with the desire to reach Nome--to -reach it ahead of the pressing horde behind. - -What would be the temper of this gold-frenzied army if thrown into -quarantine within sight of their goal? The impatient hundreds would have -to lie packed in their floating prison, submitting to the foul disease. -Long they must lie thus, till a month should - -[Illustration: “SHE STEPPED BACK AGAINST THE WALL, HER WONDROUS, DEEP, -GRAY EYES WIDE AND TROUBLED”] - -have passed after the disappearance of the last symptom. If the disease -recurred sporadically, that might mean endless weeks of maddening -idleness. It might even be impossible to impose the necessary restraint; -there would be violence, perhaps mutiny. - -The fear of the sickness was nothing to Dextry and Glenister, but of -their mine they thought with terror. What would happen in their absence, -where conditions were as unsettled as in this new land; where titles -were held only by physical possession of the premises? During the long -winter of their absence, ice had held their treasure inviolate, but with -the warming summer the jewel they had fought for so wearily would lie -naked and exposed to the first comer. The Midas lay in the valley of the -richest creek, where men had schemed and fought and slain for the right -to inches. It was the fruit of cheerless, barren years of toil, and if -they could not guard it--they knew the result. - -The girl interrupted their distressing reflections. - -“Don’t blame these men, sir,” she begged the captain. “I am the only one -at fault. Oh! I _had_ to get away. I have papers here that must be -delivered quickly.” She laid a hand upon her bosom. “They couldn’t be -trusted to the unsettled mail service. It’s almost life and death. And I -assure you there is no need of putting me in quarantine. I haven’t the -small-pox. I wasn’t even exposed to it.” - -“There’s nothing else to do,” said Stephens. “I’ll isolate you in the -deck smoking-cabin. God knows what these madmen on board will do when -they hear about it, though. They’re apt to tear you to shreds. They’re -crazy!” - -Glenister had been thinking rapidly. - -“If you do that, you’ll have mutiny in an hour. This isn’t the crowd to -stand that sort of thing.” - -“Bah! Let ’em try it. I’ll put ’em down.” The officer’s square jaws -clicked. - -“Maybe so; but what then? We reach Nome and the Health Inspector hears -of small-pox suspects, then we’re all quarantined for thirty days; eight -hundred of us. We’ll lie at Egg Island all summer while your company -pays five thousand a day for this ship. That’s not all. The firm is -liable in damages for your carelessness in letting disease aboard.” - -“_My carelessness!_” The old man ground his teeth. - -“Yes; that’s what it amounts to. You’ll ruin your owners, all right. -You’ll tie up your ship and lose your job, that’s a cinch!” - -Captain Stephens wiped the moisture from his brow angrily. - -“My carelessness! Curse you--you say it well. Don’t you realize that I -am criminally liable if I don’t take every precaution?” He paused for a -moment, considering. “I’ll hand her over to the ship’s doctor.” - -“See here, now,” Glenister urged. “We’ll be in Nome in a week--before -the young lady would have time to show symptoms of the disease, even if -she were going to have it--and a thousand to one she hasn’t been -exposed, and will never show a trace of it. Nobody knows she’s aboard -but we three. Nobody will see her get off. She’ll stay in this cabin, -which will be just as effectual as though you isolated her in any other -part of the boat. It will avoid a panic--you’ll save your ship and your -company--no one will be the wiser--then if the girl comes down with -small-pox after she gets ashore, she can go to the pest-house and not -jeopardize the health of all the people aboard this ship. You go up -forrad to your bridge, sir, and forget that you stepped in to see old -Bill Dextry this morning. We’ll take care of this matter all right. It -means as much to us as it does to you. We’ve _got_ to be on Anvil Creek -before the ground thaws or we’ll lose the Midas. If you make a fuss, -you’ll ruin us all.” - -For some moments they watched him breathlessly as he frowned in -indecision, then-- - -“You’ll have to look out for the steward,” he said, and the girl sank to -a stool while two great tears rolled down her cheeks. The captain’s eyes -softened and his voice was gentle as he laid his hand on her head. - -“Don’t feel hurt over what I said, miss. You see, appearances don’t tell -much, hereabouts--most of the pretty ones are no good. They’ve fooled me -many a time, and I made a mistake. These men will help you through; I -can’t. Then when you get to Nome, make your sweetheart marry you the day -you land. You are too far north to be alone.” - -He stepped out into the passage and closed the door carefully. - - - - -CHAPTER III - -IN WHICH GLENISTER ERRS - - -“Well, bein’ as me an’ Glenister is gougin’ into the bowels of Anvil -Creek all last summer, we don’t really get the fresh-grub habit fastened -on us none. You see, the gamblers down-town cop out the few aigs an’ -green vegetables that stray off the ships, so they never get out as far -as the Creek none; except, maybe, in the shape of anecdotes. - -“We don’t get intimate with no nutriments except hog-boosum an’ brown -beans, of which luxuries we have unstinted measure, an’ bein’ as this is -our third year in the country we hanker for bony fido grub, somethin’ -scan’lous. Yes, ma’am--three years without a taste of fresh fruit nor -meat nor nuthin’--except pork an’ beans. Why, I’ve et bacon till my -immortal soul has growed a rind. - -“When it comes time to close down the claim, the boy is sick with the -fever an’ the only ship in port is a Point Barrow whaler, bound for -Seattle. After I book our passage, I find they have nothin’ aboard to -eat except canned salmon, it bein’ the end of a two years’ cruise, so -when I land in the States after seventeen days of a fish diet, I am what -you might call sated with canned grub, and have added salmon to the list -of things concernin’ which I am goin’ to economize. - -“Soon’s ever I get the boy into a hospital, I gallop up to the best -restarawnt in town an’ prepare for the huge pot-latch. This here, I -determine, is to be a gormandizin’ jag which shall live in hist’ry, an’ -wharof in later years the natives of Puget Sound shall speak with bated -breath. - -“First, I call for five dollars’ worth of pork an’ beans an’ then a -full-grown platter of canned salmon. When the waiter lays ’em out in -front of me, I look them vittles coldly in their disgustin’ visages, an’ -say in sarcastic accents: - -“‘Set there, damn you! an’ watch me eat _real_ grub,’ which I proceed to -do, cleanin’ the menu from soda to hock. When I have done my worst, I -pile bones an’ olive seeds an’ peelin’s all over them articles of -nourishment, stick toothpicks into ’em, an’ havin’ offered ’em what -other indignities occur to me, I leave the place.” - -Dextry and the girl were leaning over the stern-rail, chatting idly in -the darkness. It was the second night out and the ship lay dead in the -ice-pack. All about them was a flat, floe-clogged sea, leprous and -mottled in the deep twilight that midnight brought in this latitude. -They had threaded into the ice-field as long as the light lasted, -following the lanes of blue water till they closed, then drifting idly -till others appeared; worming out into leagues of open sea, again -creeping into the shifting labyrinth till darkness rendered progress -perilous. - -Occasionally they had passed herds of walrus huddled sociably upon -ice-pans, their wet hides glistening in the sunlight. The air had been -clear and pleasant, while away on all quarters they had seen the smoke -of other ships toiling through the barrier. The spring fleet was -knocking at the door of the Golden North. - -Chafing at her imprisonment, the girl had asked the old man to take her -out on deck under the shelter of darkness; then she had led him to speak -of his own past experiences, and of Glenister’s; which he had done -freely. She was frankly curious about them, and she wondered at their -apparent lack of interest in her own identity and her secret mission. -She even construed their silence as indifference, not realizing that -these Northmen were offering her the truest evidence of _camaraderie_. - -The frontier is capable of no finer compliment than this utter disregard -of one’s folded pages. It betokens that highest faith in one’s -fellow-man, the belief that he should be measured by his present deeds, -not by his past. It says, translated: “This is God’s free country where -a man is a man, nothing more. Our land is new and pure, our faces are to -the front. If you have been square, so much the better; if not, leave -behind the taints of artificial things and start again on the -level--that’s all.” - -It had happened, therefore, that since the men had asked her no -questions, she had allowed the hours to pass and still hesitated to -explain further than she had explained to Captain Stephens. It was much -easier to let things continue as they were; and there was, after all, so -little that she was at liberty to tell them. - -In the short time since meeting them, the girl had grown to like Dextry, -with his blunt chivalry and boyish, whimsical philosophy, but she -avoided Glenister, feeling a shrinking, hidden terror of him, ever since -her eavesdropping of the previous night. At the memory of that scene -she grew hot, then cold--hot with anger, icy at the sinister power and -sureness which had vibrated in his voice. What kind of life was she -entering where men spoke of strange women with this assurance and hinted -thus of ownership? That he was handsome and unconscious of it, she -acknowledged, and had she met him in her accustomed circle of friends, -garbed in the conventionalities, she would perhaps have thought of him -as a striking man, vigorous and intelligent; but here he seemed -naturally to take on the attributes of his surroundings, acquiring a -picturesque negligée of dress and morals, and suggesting rugged, -elemental, chilling potentialities. While with him--and he had sought -her repeatedly that day--she was uneasily aware of his strong -personality tugging at her; aware of the unbridled passionate flood of a -nature unbrooking of delay and heedless of denial. This it was that -antagonized her and set her every mental sinew in rigid resistance. - -During Dextry’s garrulous ramblings, Glenister emerged from the darkness -and silently took his place beside her, against the rail. - -“What portent do you see that makes you stare into the night so -anxiously?” he inquired. - -“I am wishing for a sight of the midnight sun or the aurora borealis,” -she replied. - -“Too late for one an’ too fur south for the other,” Dextry interposed. -“We’ll see the sun further north, though.” - -“Have you ever heard the real origin of the Northern Lights?” the young -man inquired. - -“Naturally, I never have,” she answered. - -“Well, here it is. I have it from the lips of a great hunter of the -Tananas. He told it to me when I was sick, once, in his cabin, and -inasmuch as he is a wise Indian and has a reputation for truth, I have -no doubt that it is scrupulously correct. - -“In the very old days, before the white man or corned beef had invaded -this land, the greatest tribe in all the North was the Tananas. The -bravest hunter of these was Itika, the second chief. He could follow a -moose till it fell exhausted in the snow and he had many belts made from -the claws of the brown bear which is deadly wicked and, as every one -knows, inhabited by the spirits of ‘Yabla-men,’ or devils. - -“One winter a terrible famine settled over the Tanana Valley. The moose -departed from the gulches and the caribou melted from the hills like -mist. The dogs grew gaunt and howled all night, the babies cried, the -women became hollow-eyed and peevish. - -“Then it was that Itika decided to go hunting over the saw-tooth range -which formed the edge of the world. They tried to dissuade him, saying -it was certain death because a pack of monstrous white wolves, taller -than the moose and swifter than the eagle, was known to range these -mountains, running madly in chase. Always, on clear, cold nights, could -be seen the flashing of the moonbeams from their gleaming hungry sides, -and although many hunters had crossed the passes in other years, they -never returned, for the pack slew them. - -“Nothing could deter Itika, however, so he threaded his way up through -the range and, night coming, burrowed into a drift to sleep in his -caribou-skin. Peering out into the darkness, he saw the flashing lights -a thousand times brighter than ever before. The whole heavens were -ablaze with shifting streamers that raced and writhed back and forth in -wild revel. Listening, he heard the hiss and whine of dry snow under the -feet of the pack, and a distant noise as of rushing winds, although the -air was deathly still. - -“With daylight, he proceeded through the range, till he came out above a -magnificent valley. Descending the slope, he entered a forest of -towering spruce, while on all sides the snow was trampled with tracks as -wide as a snow-shoe. There came to him a noise which, as he proceeded, -increased till it filled the woods. It was a frightful din, as though a -thousand wolves were howling with the madness of the kill. Cautiously -creeping nearer, he found a monstrous white animal struggling beneath a -spruce which had fallen upon it in such fashion as to pinion it -securely. - -“All brave men are tender-hearted, so Itika set to work with his axe and -cleared away the burden, regardless of the peril to himself. When he had -released it, the beast arose and instead of running away addressed him -in the most polite and polished Indian, without a trace of accent. - -“‘You have saved my life. Now, what can I do for you?’ - -“‘I want to hunt in this valley. My people are starving,’ said Itika, at -which the wolf was greatly pleased and rounded up the rest of the pack -to help in the kill. - -“Always thereafter when Itika came to the valley of the Yukon the giant -drove hunted with him. To this day they run through the mountains on -cold, clear nights, in a multitude, while the light of the moon flickers -from their white sides, flashing up into the sky in weird, fantastic -figures. Some people call it Northern Lights, but old Isaac assured me -earnestly, toothlessly, and with the light of ancient truth, as I lay -snow-blind in his lodge, that it is nothing more remarkable than the -spirit of Itika and the great white wolves.” - -“What a queer legend!” she said. “There must be many of them in this -country. I feel that I am going to like the North.” - -“Perhaps you will,” Glenister replied, “although it is not a woman’s -land.” - -“Tell me what led you out here in the first place. You are an Eastern -man. You have had advantages, education--and yet you choose this. You -must love the North.” - -“Indeed I do! It calls to a fellow in some strange way that a gentler -country never could. When once you’ve lived the long, lazy June days -that never end, and heard geese honking under a warm, sunlit midnight; -or when once you’ve hit the trail on a winter morning so sharp and clear -that the air stings your lungs, and the whole white, silent world -glistens like a jewel; yes--and when you’ve seen the dogs romping in -harness till the sled runners ring; and the distant mountain-ranges come -out like beautiful carvings, so close you can reach them--well, there’s -something in it that brings you back--that’s all, no matter where you’ve -lost yourself. It means health and equality and unrestraint. That’s what -I like best, I dare say--the utter unrestraint. - -“When I was a school-boy, I used to gaze at the map of Alaska for hours. -I’d lose myself in it. It wasn’t anything but a big, blank corner in the -North then, with a name, and mountains, and mystery. The word ‘Yukon’ -suggested to me everything unknown and weird--hairy mastodons, golden -river bars, savage Indians with bone arrow-heads and seal-skin trousers. -When I left college I came as fast as ever I could--the adventure, I -suppose.... - -“The law was considered my destiny. How the shades of old Choate and -Webster and Patrick Henry must have wailed when I forswore it. I’ll bet -Blackstone tore his whiskers.” - -“I think you would have made a success,” said the girl, but he laughed. - -“Well, anyhow, I stepped out, leaving the way to the United States -Supreme bench unobstructed, and came North. I found it was where I -belonged. I fitted in. I’m not contented--don’t think that. I’m -ambitious, but I prefer these surroundings to the others--that’s all. -I’m realizing my desires. I’ve made a fortune--now I’ll see what else -the world has.” - -He suddenly turned to her. “See here,” he abruptly questioned, “what’s -your name?” - -She started, and glanced towards where Dextry had stood, only to find -that the old frontiersman had slipped away during the tale. - -“Helen Chester,” she replied. - -“Helen Chester,” he repeated, musingly. “What a pretty name! It seems -almost a pity to change it--to marry, as you will.” - -“I am not going to Nome to get married.” - -He glanced at her quickly. - -“Then you won’t like this country. You are two years too early; you -ought to wait till there are railroads and telephones, and _tables -d’hôte_, and chaperons. It’s a man’s country yet.” - -“I don’t see why it isn’t a woman’s country, too. Surely we can take a -part in taming it. Yonder on the Oregon is a complete railroad, which -will be running from the coast to the mines in a few weeks. Another ship -back there has the wire and poles and fixings for a telephone system, -which will go up in a night. As to _tables d’hôte_, I saw a real French -count in Seattle with a monocle. He’s bringing in a restaurant outfit, -imported snails, and _pâté de foies gras_. All that’s wanting is the -chaperon. In my flight from the _Ohio_ I left mine. The sailors caught -her. You see I am not far ahead of schedule.” - -“What part are you going to take in this taming process?” he asked. - -She paused long before replying, and when she did her answer sounded -like a jest. - -“I herald the coming of the law,” she said. - -“The law! Bah! Red tape, a dead language, and a horde of shysters! I’m -afraid of law in this land; we’re too new and too far away from things. -It puts too much power in too few hands. Heretofore we men up here have -had recourse to our courage and our Colt’s, but we’ll have to unbuckle -them both when the law comes. I like the court that hasn’t any appeal.” -He laid hand upon his hip. - -“The Colt’s may go, but the courage never will,” she broke in. - -“Perhaps. But I’ve heard rumors already of a plot to prostitute the law. -In Unalaska a man warned Dextry, with terror in his eye, to beware of -it; that beneath the cloak of Justice was a drawn dagger whetted for us -fellows who own the rich diggings. I don’t think there’s any truth in -it, but you can’t tell.” - -“The law is the foundation--there can’t be any progress without it. -There is nothing here now but disorder.” - -“There isn’t half the disorder you think there is. There weren’t any -crimes in this country till the tender-feet arrived. We didn’t know what -a thief was. If you came to a cabin you walked in without knocking. The -owner filled up the coffee-pot and sliced into the bacon; then when he’d -started your meal, he shook hands and asked your name. It was just the -same whether his cache was full or whether he’d packed his few pounds of -food two hundred miles on his back. That was hospitality to make your -Southern article look pretty small. If there was no one at home, you ate -what you needed. There was but one unpardonable breach of etiquette--to -fail to leave dry kindlings. I’m afraid of the transitory stage we’re -coming to--that epoch of chaos between the death of the old and the -birth of the new. Frankly, I like the old way best. I love the license -of it. I love to wrestle with nature; to snatch, and guard, and fight -for what I have. I’ve been beyond the law for years and I want to stay -there, where life is just what it was intended to be--a survival of the -fittest.” - -His large hands, as he gripped the bulwark, were tense and corded, while -his rich voice issued softly from his chest with the hint of power -unlimited behind it. He stood over her, tall, virile, and magnetic. She -saw now why he had so joyously hailed the fight of the previous night; -to one of his kind it was as salt air to the nostrils. Unconsciously she -approached him, drawn by the spell of his strength. - -“My pleasures are violent and my hate is mighty bitter in my mouth. -What I want, I take. That’s been my way in the old life, and I’m too -selfish to give it up.” - -He was gazing out upon the dimly lucent miles of ice; but now he turned -towards her, and, doing so, touched her warm hand next his on the rail. - -She was staring up at him unaffectedly, so close that the faint odor -from her hair reached him. Her expression was simply one of wonder and -curiosity at this type, so different from any she had known. But the -man’s eyes were hot and blinded with the sight of her, and he felt only -her beauty heightened in the dim light, the brush of her garments, and -the small, soft hand beneath his. The thrill from the touch of it surged -over him--mastered him. - -“What I want--I take,” he repeated, and then suddenly he reached forth -and, taking her in his arms, crushed her to him, kissing her softly, -fiercely, full upon the lips. For an instant she lay gasping and stunned -against his breast, then she tore her fist free and, with all her force, -struck him full in the face. - -It was as though she beat upon a stone. With one movement he forced her -arm to her side, smiling into her terrified eyes; then, holding her like -iron, he kissed her again and again upon the mouth, the eyes, the -hair--and released her. - -“I am going to love you--Helen,” said he. - -“And may God strike me dead if I ever stop _hating_ you!” she cried, her -voice coming thick and hoarse with passion. - -Turning, she walked proudly forward towards her cabin, a trim, straight, -haughty figure; and he did not know that her knees were shaking and -weak. - - - - -CHAPTER IV - -THE KILLING - - -For four days the _Santa Maria_ felt blindly through the white fields, -drifting north with the spring tide that sets through Behring Strait, -till, on the morning of the fifth, open water showed to the east. -Creeping through, she broke out into the last stage of the long race, -amid the cheers of her weary passengers; and the dull jar of her engines -made welcome music to the girl in the deck state-room. - -Soon they picked up a mountainous coast which rose steadily into -majestic, barren ranges, still white with the melting snows; and at ten -in the evening under a golden sunset, amid screaming whistles, they -anchored in the roadstead of Nome. Before the rumble of her chains had -ceased or the echo from the fleet’s salute had died from the shoreward -hills, the ship was surrounded by a swarm of tiny craft clamoring about -her iron sides, while an officer in cap and gilt climbed the bridge and -greeted Captain Stephens. Tugs with trailing lighters circled discreetly -about, awaiting the completion of certain formalities. These over, the -uniformed gentleman dropped back into his skiff and rowed away. - -“A clean bill of health, captain,” he shouted, saluting the commander. - -“Thank ye, sir,” roared the sailor, and with that the row-boats swarmed -inward pirate-like, boarding the steamer from all quarters. - -As the master turned, he looked down from his bridge to the deck below, -full into the face of Dextry, who had been an intent witness of the -meeting. With unbending dignity, Captain Stephens let his left eyelid -droop slowly, while a boyish grin spread widely over his face. -Simultaneously, orders rang sharp and fast from the bridge, the crew -broke into feverish life, the creak of booms and the clank of -donkey-hoists arose. - -“We’re here, Miss Stowaway,” said Glenister, entering the girl’s cabin. -“The inspector passed us and it’s time for you to see the magic city. -Come, it’s a wonderful sight.” - -This was the first time they had been alone since the scene on the -after-deck, for, besides ignoring Glenister, she had managed that he -should not even see her except in Dextry’s presence. Although he had -ever since been courteous and considerate, she felt the leaping emotions -that were hidden within him and longed to leave the ship, to fly from -the spell of his personality. Thoughts of him made her writhe, and yet -when he was near she could not hate him as she willed--he overpowered -her, he would not be hated, he paid no heed to her slights. This very -quality reminded her how willingly and unquestioningly he had fought off -the sailors from the _Ohio_ at a word from her. She knew he would do so -again, and more, and it is hard to be bitter to one who would lay down -his life for you, even though he has offended--particularly when he has -the magnetism that sweeps you away from your moorings. - -“There’s no danger of being seen,” he continued. “The crowd’s crazy, -and, besides, we’ll go ashore right away. You must be mad with the -confinement--it’s on my nerves, too.” - -As they stepped outside, the door of an adjacent cabin opened, framing -an angular, sharp-featured woman, who, catching sight of the girl -emerging from Glenister’s state-room, paused with shrewdly narrowed -eyes, flashing quick, malicious glances from one to the other. They came -later to remember with regret this chance encounter, for it was fraught -with grave results for them both. - -“Good-evening, Mr. Glenister,” the lady said with acid cordiality. - -“Howdy, Mrs. Champian?” He moved away. - -She followed a step, staring at Helen. - -“Are you going ashore to-night or wait for morning?” - -“Don’t know yet, I’m sure.” Then aside to the girl he muttered, “Shake -her, she’s spying on us.” - -“Who is she?” asked Miss Chester, a moment later. - -“Her husband manages one of the big companies. She’s an old cat.” - -Gaining her first view of the land, the girl cried out, sharply. They -rode on an oily sea, tinted like burnished copper, while on all sides, -amid the faint rattle and rumble of machinery, scores of ships were -belching cargoes out upon living swarms of scows, tugs, stern-wheelers, -and dories. Here and there Eskimo oomiaks, fat, walrus-hide boats, slid -about like huge, many-legged water-bugs. An endless, ant-like stream of -tenders, piled high with freight, plied to and from the shore. A mile -distant lay the city, stretched like a white ribbon between the gold of -the ocean sand and the dun of the moss-covered tundra. It was like no -other in the world. At first glance it seemed all made of new white -canvas. In a week its population had swelled from three to thirty -thousand. It now wandered in a slender, sinuous line along the coast for -miles, because only the beach afforded dry camping ground. Mounting to -the bank behind, one sank knee-deep in moss and water, and, treading -twice in the same tracks, found a bog of oozing, icy mud. Therefore, as -the town doubled daily in size, it grew endwise like a string of -dominoes, till the shore from Cape Nome to Penny River was a long reach -of white, glinting in the low rays of the arctic sunset like foamy -breakers on a tropic island. - -“That’s Anvil Creek up yonder,” said Glenister. “There’s where the Midas -lies. See!” He indicated a gap in the buttress of mountains rolling back -from the coast. “It’s the greatest creek in the world. You’ll see gold -by the mule-load, and hillocks of nuggets. Oh, I’m glad to get back. -_This_ is life. That stretch of beach is full of gold. These hills are -seamed with quartz. The bed-rock of that creek is yellow. There’s gold, -gold, gold, everywhere--more than ever was in old Solomon’s mines--and -there’s mystery and peril and things unknown.” - -“Let us make haste,” said the girl. “I have something I must do -to-night. After that, I can learn to know these things.” - -Securing a small boat, they were rowed ashore, the partners plying their -ferryman with eager questions. Having arrived five days before, he was -exploding with information and volunteered the fruits of his ripe -experience till Dextry stated that they were “sourdoughs” themselves, -and owned the Midas, whereupon Miss Chester marvelled at the awe which -sat upon the man and the wondering stare with which he devoured the -partners, to her own utter exclusion. - -“Sufferin’ cats! Look at the freight!” ejaculated Dextry. “If a storm -come up it would bust the community!” - -The beach they neared was walled and crowded to the high-tide mark with -ramparts of merchandise, while every incoming craft deposited its quota -upon whatever vacant foot was close at hand, till bales, boxes, boilers, -and baggage of all kinds were confusedly intermixed in the narrow space. -Singing longshoremen trundled burdens from the lighters and piled them -on the heap, while yelling, cursing crowds fought over it all, -selecting, sorting, loading. - -There was no room for more, yet hourly they added to the mass. Teams -splashed through the lapping surf or stuck in the deep sand between -hillocks of goods. All was noise, profanity, congestion, and feverish -hurry. This burning haste rang in the voice of the multitude, showed in -its violence of gesture and redness of face, permeated the atmosphere -with a magnetic, electrifying energy. - -“It’s somethin’ fierce ashore,” said the oarsman. “I been up fer three -days an’ nights steady--there ain’t no room, nor time, nor darkness to -sleep in. Ham an’ eggs is a dollar an’ a half, an’ whiskey’s four bits a -throw.” He wailed the last, sadly, as a complaint unspeakable. - -“Any trouble doin’?” inquired the old man. - -“You _know_ it!” the other cried, colloquially. “There was a massacree -in the Northern last night.” - -“Gamblin’ row?” - -“Yep. Tin-horn called ‘Missou’ done it.” - -“Sho!” said Dextry. “I know him. He’s a bad actor.” All three men nodded -sagely, and the girl wished for further light, but they volunteered no -explanation. - -Leaving the skiff, they plunged into turmoil. Dodging through the -tangle, they came out into fenced lots where tents stood wall to wall -and every inch was occupied. Here and there was a vacant spot guarded -jealously by its owner, who gazed sourly upon all men with the -forbidding eye of suspicion. Finding an eddy in the confusion, the men -stopped. - -“Where do you want to go?” they asked Miss Chester. - -There was no longer in Glenister’s glance that freedom with which he had -come to regard the women of the North. He had come to realize dully that -here was a girl driven by some strong purpose into a position repellent -to her. In a man of his type, her independence awoke only admiration and -her coldness served but to inflame him the more. Delicacy, in Glenister, -was lost in a remarkable singleness of purpose. He could laugh at her -loathing, smile under her abuse, and remain utterly ignorant that -anything more than his action in seizing her that night lay at the -bottom of her dislike. He did not dream that he possessed -characteristics abhorrent to her; and he felt a keen reluctance at -parting. - -She extended both hands. - -“I can never thank you enough for what you have done--you two; but I -shall try. Good-bye!” - -Dextry gazed doubtfully at his own hand, rough and gnarly, then taking -hers as he would have handled a robin’s egg, waggled it limply. - -“We ain’t goin’ to turn you adrift this-a-way. Whatever your destination -is, we’ll see you to it.” - -“I can find my friends,” she assured him. - -“This is the wrong latitude in which to dispute a lady, but knowin’ this -camp from soup to nuts, as I do, I su’gests a male escort.” - -“Very well! I wish to find Mr. Struve, of Dunham & Struve, lawyers.” - -“I’ll take you to their offices,” said Glenister. “You see to the -baggage, Dex. Meet me at the Second Class in half an hour and we’ll run -out to the Midas.” They pushed through the tangle of tents, past piles -of lumber, and emerged upon the main thoroughfare, which ran parallel to -the shore. - -Nome consisted of one narrow street, twisted between solid rows of -canvas and half-erected frame buildings, its every other door that of a -saloon. There were fair-looking blocks which aspired to the dizzy height -of three stories, some sheathed in corrugated iron, others gleaming and -galvanized. Lawyers’ signs, doctors’, surveyors’, were in the upper -windows. The street was thronged with men from every land--Helen Chester -heard more dialects than she could count. Laplanders in quaint, -three-cornered, padded caps idled past. Men with the tan of the tropics -rubbed elbows with yellow-haired Norsemen, and near her a carefully -groomed Frenchman with riding-breeches and monocle was in pantomime with -a skin-clad Eskimo. To her left was the sparkling sea, alive with ships -of every class. To her right towered timberless mountains, unpeopled, -unexplored, forbidding, and desolate--their hollows inlaid with snow. -On one hand were the life and the world she knew; on the other, silence, -mystery, possible adventure. - -The roadway where she stood was a crush of sundry vehicles from bicycles -to dog-hauled water-carts, and on all sides men were laboring busily, -the echo of hammers mingling with the cries of teamsters and the tinkle -of music within the saloons. - -“And this is midnight!” exclaimed Helen, breathlessly. “Do they ever -rest?” - -“There isn’t time--this is a gold stampede. You haven’t caught the -spirit of it yet.” - -They climbed the stairs in a huge, iron-sheeted building to the office -of Dunham & Struve, and in answer to their knock, a red-faced, -white-haired, tousled man, in shirt-sleeves and stocking-feet, opened -the door. - -“What d’ye wan’?” he bawled, his legs wavering uncertainly. His eyes -were heavy and bloodshot, his lips loose, and his whole person exhaled -alcoholic fumes like a gust from a still-house. Hanging to the knob, he -strove vainly to solve the mystery of his suspenders--hiccoughing -intermittently. - -“Humph! Been drunk ever since I left?” questioned Glenister. - -“Somebody mus’ have tol’ you,” the lawyer replied. There was neither -curiosity, recognition, nor resentment in his voice. In fact, his head -drooped so that he paid no attention to the girl, who had shrunk back at -sight of him. He was a young man, with marks of brilliancy showing -through the dissipation betrayed by his silvery hair and coarsened -features. - -“Oh, I don’t know what to do,” lamented the girl. - -“Anybody else here besides you?” asked her escort of the lawyer. - -“No. I’m runnin’ the law business unassisted. Don’t need any help. -Dunham’s in Wash’n’ton, D. C, the lan’ of the home, the free of the -brave. What can I do for you?” - -He made to cross the threshold hospitably, but tripped, plunged forward, -and would have rolled down the stairs had not Glenister gathered him up -and borne him back into the office, where he tossed him upon a bed in a -rear room. - -“Now what, Miss Chester?” asked the young man, returning. - -“Isn’t that dreadful?” she shuddered. “Oh, and I must see him to-night!” -She stamped impatiently. “I must see him alone.” - -“No, you mustn’t,” said Glenister, with equal decision. “In the first -place, he wouldn’t know what you were talking about, and in the second -place--I know Struve. He’s too drunk to talk business and too sober -to--well, to see you alone.” - -“But I _must_ see him,” she insisted. “It’s what brought me here. You -don’t understand.” - -“I understand more than he could. He’s in no condition to act on any -important matter. You come around to-morrow when he’s sober.” - -“It means so much,” breathed the girl. “The beast!” - -Glenister noted that she had not wrung her hands nor even hinted at -tears, though plainly her disappointment and anxiety were consuming her. - -“Well, I suppose I’ll have to wait, but I don’t know where to go--some -hotel, I suppose.” - -“There aren’t any. They’re building two, but to-night you couldn’t hire -a room in Nome for money. I was about to say ‘love or money.’ Have you -no other friends here--no women? Then you must let me find a place for -you. I have a friend whose wife will take you in.” - -She rebelled at this. Was she never to have done with this man’s favors? -She thought of returning to the ship, but dismissed that. She undertook -to decline his aid, but he was half-way down the stairs and paid no -attention to her beginning--so she followed him. - -It was then that Helen Chester witnessed her first tragedy of the -frontier, and through it came to know better the man whom she disliked -and with whom she had been thrown so fatefully. Already she had thrilled -at the spell of this country, but she had not learned that strength and -license carry blood and violence as corollaries. - -Emerging from the doorway at the foot of the stairs, they drifted slowly -along the walk, watching the crowd. Besides the universal tension, there -were laughter and hope and exhilaration in the faces. The enthusiasm of -this boyish multitude warmed one. The girl wished to get into this -spirit--to be one of them. Then suddenly from the babble at their elbows -came a discordant note, not long nor loud, only a few words, penetrating -and harsh with the metallic quality lent by passion. - -Helen glanced over her shoulder to find that the smiles of the throng -were gone and that its eyes were bent on some scene in the street, with -an eager interest she had never seen mirrored before. Simultaneously -Glenister spoke: - -“Come away from here.” - -With the quickened eye of experience he foresaw trouble and tried to -drag her on, but she shook off his grasp impatiently, and, turning, -gazed absorbed at the spectacle which unfolded itself before her. -Although not comprehending the play of events, she felt vaguely the -quick approach of some crisis, yet was unprepared for the swiftness with -which it came. - -Her eyes had leaped to the figures of two men in the street from whom -the rest had separated like oil from water. One was slim and well -dressed; the other bulky, mackinawed, and lowering of feature. It was -the smaller who spoke, and for a moment she misjudged his bloodshot eyes -and swaying carriage to be the result of alcohol, until she saw that he -was racked with fury. - -“Make good, I tell you, quick! Give me that bill of sale, you ----.” - -The unkempt man swung on his heel with a growl and walked away, his -course leading him towards Glenister and the girl. With two strides he -was abreast of them; then, detecting the flashing movement of the other, -he whirled like a wild animal. His voice had the snarl of a beast in it. - -“Ye had to have it, didn’t ye? Well, there!” - -The actions of both men were quick as light, yet to the girl’s taut -senses they seemed theatrical and deliberate. Into her mind was seared -forever the memory of that second, as though the shutter of a camera had -snapped, impressing upon her brain the scene, sharp, clear-cut, and -vivid. The shaggy back of the large man almost brushing her, the -rage-drunken, white-shirted man in the derby hat, the crowd sweeping -backward like rushes before a blast, men with arms flexed and feet -raised in flight, the glaring yellow sign of the “Gold Belt Dance Hall” -across the way--these were stamped upon her retina, and then she was -jerked violently backward, two strong arms crushed her down upon her -knees against the wall, and she was smothered in the arms of Roy -Glenister. - -“My God! Don’t move! We’re in line!” - -He crouched over her, his cheek against her hair, his weight forcing her -down into the smallest compass, his arms about her, his body forming a -living shield against the flying bullets. Over them the big man stood, -and the sustained roar of his gun was deafening. In an instant they -heard the thud and felt the jar of lead in the thin boards against which -they huddled. Again the report echoed above their heads, and they saw -the slender man in the street drop his weapon and spin half round as -though hit with some heavy hand. He uttered a cry and, stooping for his -gun, plunged forward, burying his face in the sand. - -The man by Glenister’s side shouted curses thickly, and walked towards -his prostrate enemy, firing at every step. The wounded man rolled to his -side, and, raising himself on his elbow, shot twice, so rapidly that the -reports blended--but without checking his antagonist’s approach. Four -more times the relentless assailant fired deliberately, his last missile -sent as he stood over the body which twitched and shuddered at his feet, -its garments muddy and smeared. Then he turned and retraced his steps. -Back within arm’s-length of the two who pressed against the building he -came, and as he went by they saw his coarse and sullen features drawn -and working pallidly, while the breath whistled through his teeth. He -held his course to the door they had just quitted, then as he turned he -coughed bestially, spitting out a mouthful of blood. His knees wavered. -He vanished within the portals and, in the sickly silence that fell, -they heard his hob-nailed boots clumping slowly up the stairs. - -Noise awoke and rioted down the thoroughfare. Men rushed forth from -every quarter, and the ghastly object in the dirt was hidden by a -seething mass of miners. - -Glenister raised the girl, but her head rolled limply, and she would -have slipped to her knees again had he not placed his arm about her -waist. Her eyes were staring and horror-filled. - -“Don’t be frightened,” said he, smiling at her reassuringly; but his own -lips shook and the sweat stood out like dew on him; for they had both -been close to death. There came a surge and swirl through the crowd, and -Dextry swooped upon them like a hawk. - -“Be ye hurt? Holy Mackinaw! When I see ’em blaze away I yells at ye fit -to bust my throat. I shore thought you was gone. Although I can’t say -but this killin’ was a sight for sore eyes--so neat an’ genteel--still, -as a rule, in these street brawls it’s the innocuous bystander that has -flowers sent around to his house afterwards.” - -“Look at this,” said Glenister. Breast-high in the wall against which -they had crouched, not three feet apart, were bullet holes. - -“Them’s the first two he unhitched,” Dextry remarked, jerking his head -towards the object in the street. “Must have been a new gun an’ pulled -hard--throwed him to the right. See!” - -Even to the girl it was patent that, had she not been snatched as she -was, the bullet would have found her. - -“Come away quick,” she panted, and they led her into a near-by store, -where she sank upon a seat and trembled until Dextry brought her a glass -of whiskey. - -“Here, Miss,” he said. “Pretty tough go for a ‘cheechako.’ I’m afraid -you ain’t gettin’ enamoured of this here country a whole lot.” - -For half an hour he talked to her, in his whimsical way, of foreign -things, till she was quieted. Then the partners arose to go. Although -Glenister had arranged for her to stop with the wife of the merchant for -the rest of the night, she would not. - -“I can’t go to bed. Please don’t leave me! I’m too nervous. I’ll go -_mad_ if you do. The strain of the last week has been too much for me. -If I sleep I’ll see the faces of those men again.” - -Dextry talked with his companion, then made a purchase which he laid at -the lady’s feet. - -“Here’s a pair of half-grown gum boots. You put ’em on an’ come with us. -We’ll take your mind off of things complete. An’ as fer sweet dreams, -when you get back you’ll make the slumbers of the just seem as restless -as a riot, or the antics of a mountain-goat which nimbly leaps from crag -to crag, and--well, that’s restless enough. Come on!” - -As the sun slanted up out of Behring Sea, they marched back towards the -hills, their feet ankle-deep in the soft fresh moss, while the air -tasted like a cool draught and a myriad of earthy odors rose up and -encircled them. Snipe and reed birds were noisy in the hollows and from -the misty tundra lakes came the honking of brant. After their weary -weeks on shipboard, the dewy freshness livened them magically, -cleansing from their memories the recent tragedy, so that the girl -became herself again. - -“Where are we going?” she asked, at the end of an hour, pausing for -breath. - -“Why, to the Midas, of course,” they said; and one of them vowed -recklessly, as he drank in the beauty of her clear eyes and the grace of -her slender, panting form, that he would gladly give his share of all -its riches to undo what he had done one night on the _Santa Maria_. - - - - -CHAPTER V - -WHEREIN A MAN APPEARS - - -In the lives of countries there are crises where, for a breath, -destinies lie in the laps of the gods and are jumbled, heads or tails. -Thus are marked distinctive cycles like the seven ages of a man, and -though, perhaps, they are too subtle to be perceived at the time, yet, -having swung past the shadowy milestones, the epochs disclose -themselves. - -Such a period in the progress of the Far Northwest was the nineteenth -day of July, although to those concerned in the building of this new -empire the day appealed only as the date of the coming of the law. All -Nome gathered on the sands as lighters brought ashore Judge Stillman and -his following. It was held fitting that the _Senator_ should be the ship -to safeguard the dignity of the first court and to introduce Justice -into this land of the wild. - -The interest awakened by His Honor was augmented by the fact that he was -met on the beach by a charming girl, who flung herself upon him with -evident delight. - -“That’s his niece,” said some one. “She came up on the first -boat--name’s Chester--swell looker, eh?” - -Another new-comer attracted even more notice than the limb of the law; a -gigantic, well-groomed man, with keen, close-set eyes, and that -indefinable easy movement and polished bearing that come from -confidence, health, and travel. Unlike the others, he did not dally on -the beach nor display much interest in his surroundings; but, with -purposeful frown strode through the press, up into the heart of the -city. His companion was Struve’s partner, Dunham, a middle-aged, pompous -man. They went directly to the offices of Dunham & Struve, where they -found the white-haired junior partner. - -“Mighty glad to meet you, Mr. McNamara,” said Struve. “Your name is a -household word in my part of the country. My people were mixed up in -Dakota politics somewhat, so I’ve always had a great admiration for you -and I’m glad you’ve come to Alaska. This is a big country and we need -big men.” - -“Did you have any trouble?” Dunham inquired when the three had adjourned -to a private room. - -“Trouble,” said Struve, ruefully; “well, I wonder if I did. Miss Chester -brought me your instructions O. K. and I got busy right off. But, tell -me this--how did you get the girl to act as messenger?” - -“There was no one else to send,” answered McNamara. “Dunham intended -sailing on the first boat, but he was detained in Washington with me, -and the Judge had to wait for us at Seattle. We were afraid to trust a -stranger for fear he might get curious and examine the papers. That -would have meant--” He moved his hand eloquently. - -Struve nodded. “I see. Does she know what was in the documents?” - -“Decidedly not. Women and business don’t mix. I hope you didn’t tell her -anything.” - -“No; I haven’t had a chance. She seemed to take a dislike to me for some -reason. I haven’t seen her since the day after she got here.” - -“The Judge told her it had something to do with preparing the way for -his court,” said Dunham, “and that if the papers were not delivered -before he arrived it might cause a lot of trouble--litigation, riots, -bloodshed, and all that. He filled her up on generalities till the girl -was frightened to death and thought the safety of her uncle and the -whole country depended on her.” - -“Well,” continued Struve, “it’s dead easy to hire men to jump claims and -it’s dead easy to buy their rights afterwards, particularly when they -know they haven’t got any--but what course do you follow when owners go -gunning for you?” - -McNamara laughed. - -“Who did that?” - -“A benevolent, silver-haired old Texan pirate by the name of Dextry. -He’s one half owner in the Midas and the other half mountain-lion; as -peaceable, you’d imagine, as a benediction, but with the temperament of -a Geronimo. I sent Galloway out to relocate the claim, and he got his -notices up in the night when they were asleep, but at 6 A.M. he came -flying back to my room and nearly hammered the door down. I’ve seen -fright in varied forms and phases, but he had them all, with some added -starters. - -“‘Hide me out, quick!’ he panted. - -“‘What’s up?’ I asked. - -“‘I’ve stirred up a breakfast of grizzly bear, small-pox, and sudden -death and it don’t set well on my stummick. Let me in.’ - -“I had to keep him hidden three days, for this gentle-mannered old -cannibal roamed the streets with a cannon in his hand, breathing fire -and pestilence.” - -“Anybody else act up?” queried Dunham. - -“No; all the rest are Swedes and they haven’t got the nerve to fight. -They couldn’t lick a spoon if they tried. These other men are different, -though. There are two of them, the old one and a young fellow. I’m a -little afraid to mix it up with them, and if their claim wasn’t the best -in the district, I’d say let it alone.” - -“I’ll attend to that,” said McNamara. - -Struve resumed: - -“Yes, gentlemen, I’ve been working pretty hard and also pretty much in -the dark so far. I’m groping for light. When Miss Chester brought in the -papers I got busy instanter. I clouded the title to the richest placers -in the region, but I’m blamed if I quite see the use of it. We’d be -thrown out of any court in the land if we took them to law. What’s the -game--blackmail?” - -“Humph!” ejaculated McNamara. “What do you take me for?” - -“Well, it does seem small for Alec McNamara, but I can’t see what else -you’re up to.” - -“Within a week I’ll be running every good mine in the Nome district.” - -McNamara’s voice was calm but decisive, his glance keen and alert, while -about him clung such a breath of power and confidence that it compelled -belief even in the face of this astounding speech. - -In spite of himself, Wilton Struve, lawyer, rake, and gentlemanly -adventurer, felt his heart leap at what the other’s daring implied. The -proposition was utterly past belief, and yet, looking into the man’s -purposeful eyes, he believed. - -“That’s big--awful big--_too_ big,” the younger man murmured. “Why, man, -it means you’ll handle fifty thousand dollars a day!” - -Dunham shifted his feet in the silence and licked his dry lips. - -“Of course it’s big, but Mr. McNamara’s the biggest man that ever came -to Alaska,” he said. - -“And I’ve got the biggest scheme that ever came north, backed by the -biggest men in Washington,” continued the politician. “Look here!” He -displayed a type-written sheet bearing parallel lists of names and -figures. Struve gasped incredulously. - -“Those are my stockholders and that is their share in the venture. Oh, -yes; we’re incorporated--under the laws of Arizona--secret, of course; -it would never do for the names to get out. I’m showing you this only -because I want you to be satisfied who’s behind me.” - -“Lord! I’m satisfied,” said Struve, laughing nervously. “Dunham was with -you when you figured the scheme out and he met some of your friends in -Washington and New York. If he says it’s all right, that settles it. But -say, suppose anything went wrong with the company and it leaked out who -those stockholders are?” - -“There’s no danger. I have the books where they will be burned at the -first sign. We’d have had our own land laws passed but for Sturtevant of -Nevada, damn him. He blocked us in the Senate. However, my plan is -this.” He rapidly outlined his proposition to the listeners, while a -light of admiration grew and shone in the reckless face of Struve. - -“By heavens! you’re a wonder!” he cried, at the close, “and I’m with you -body and soul. It’s dangerous--that’s why I like it.” - -“Dangerous?” McNamara shrugged his shoulders. “Bah! Where is the danger? -We’ve got the law--or rather, we _are_ the law. Now, let’s get to work.” - -It seemed that the Boss of North Dakota was no sluggard. He discarded -coat and waistcoat and tackled the documents which Struve laid before -him, going through them like a whirlwind. Gradually he infected the -others with his energy, and soon behind the locked doors of Dunham & -Struve there were only haste and fever and plot and intrigue. - - * * * * * - -As Helen Chester led the Judge towards the flamboyant, three-storied -hotel she prattled to him light-heartedly. The fascination of a new land -already held her fast, and now she felt, in addition, security and -relief. Glenister saw them from a distance and strode forward to greet -them. - -He beheld a man of perhaps threescore years, benign of aspect save for -the eyes, which were neither clear nor steady, but had the trick of -looking past one. Glenister thought the mouth, too, rather weak and -vacillating; but the clean-shaven face was dignified by learning and -acumen and was wrinkled in pleasant fashion. - -“My niece has just told me of your service to her,” the old gentleman -began. “I am happy to know you, sir.” - -“Besides being a brave knight and assisting ladies in distress, Mr. -Glenister is a very great and wonderful man,” Helen explained, lightly. -“He owns the Midas.” - -“Indeed!” said the old man, his shifting eyes now resting full on the -other with a flash of unmistakable interest. “I hear that is a wonderful -mine. Have you begun work yet?” - -“No. We’ll commence sluicing day after to-morrow. It has been a late -spring. The snow in the gulch was deep and the ground thaws slowly. -We’ve been building houses and doing dead work, but we’ve got our men on -the ground, waiting.” - -“I am greatly interested. Won’t you walk with us to the hotel? I want to -hear more about these wonderful placers.” - -“Well, they _are_ great placers,” said the miner, as the three walked on -together; “nobody knows _how_ great because we’ve only scratched at them -yet. In the first place the ground is so shallow and the gold is so easy -to get, that if nature didn’t safeguard us in the winter we’d never dare -leave our claims for fear of ‘snipers.’ They’d run in and rob us.” - -“How much will the Anvil Creek mines produce this summer?” asked the -Judge. - -“It’s hard to tell, sir; but we expect to average five thousand a day -from the Midas alone, and there are other claims just as good.” - -“Your title is all clear, I dare say, eh?” - -“Absolutely, except for one jumper, and we don’t take him seriously. A -fellow named Galloway relocated us one night last month, but he didn’t -allege any grounds for doing so, and we could never find trace of him. -If we had, our title would be as clean as snow again.” He said the last -with a peculiar inflection. - -“You wouldn’t use violence, I trust?” - -“Sure! Why not? It has worked all right heretofore.” - -“But, my dear sir, those days are gone. The law is here and it is the -duty of every one to abide by it.” - -“Well, perhaps it is; but in this country we consider a man’s mine as -sacred as his family. We didn’t know what a lock and key were in the -early times and we didn’t have any troubles except famine and hardship. -It’s different now, though. Why, there have been more claims jumped -around here this spring than in the whole length and history of the -Yukon.” - -They had reached the hotel, and Glenister paused, turning to the girl as -the Judge entered. When she started to follow, he detained her. - -“I came down from the hills on purpose to see you. It has been a long -week--” - -“Don’t talk that way,” she interrupted, coldly. “I don’t care to hear -it.” - -“See here--what makes you shut me out and wrap yourself up in your -haughtiness? I’m sorry for what I did that night--I’ve told you so -repeatedly. I’ve wrung my soul for that act till there’s nothing left -but repentance.” - -“It is not that,” she said, slowly. “I have been thinking it over during -the past month, and now that I have gained an insight into this life I -see that it wasn’t an unnatural thing for you to do. It’s terrible to -think of, but it’s true. I don’t mean that it was pardonable,” she -continued, quickly, “for it wasn’t, and I hate you when I think about -it, but I suppose I put myself into a position to invite such actions. -No; I’m sufficiently broad-minded not to blame you unreasonably, and I -think I could like you in spite of it, just for what you have done for -me; but that isn’t all. There is something deeper. You saved my life and -I’m grateful, but you frighten me, always. It is the cruelty in your -strength, it is something away back in you--lustful, and ferocious, and -wild, and crouching.” - -He smiled wryly. - -“It is my local color, maybe--absorbed from this country. I’ll try to -change, though, if you want me to. I’ll let them rope and throw and -brand me. I’ll take on the graces of civilization and put away revenge -and ambition and all the rest of it, if it will make you like me any -better. Why, I’ll even promise not to violate the person of our -claim-jumper if I catch him; and Heaven knows _that_ means that Samson -has parted with his locks.” - -“I think I could like you if you did,” she said, “but you can’t do it. -You are a savage.” - - * * * * * - -There are no clubs nor marts where men foregather for business in the -North--nothing but the saloon, and this is all and more than a club. -Here men congregate to drink, to gamble, and to traffic. - -It was late in the evening when Glenister entered the Northern and -passed idly down the row of games, pausing at the crap-table, where he -rolled the dice when his turn came. Moving to the roulette-wheel, he -lost a stack of whites, but at the faro “lay-out” his luck was better, -and he won a gold coin on the “high-card.” Whereupon he promptly ordered -a round of drinks for the men grouped about him, a formality always -precedent to overtures of general friendship. - -As he paused, glass in hand, his eyes were drawn to a man who stood -close by, talking earnestly. The aspect of the stranger challenged -notice, for he stood high above his companions with a peculiar grace of -attitude in place of the awkwardness common in men of great stature. -Among those who were listening intently to the man’s carefully modulated -tones, Glenister recognized Mexico Mullins, the ex-gambler who had given -Dextry the warning at Unalaska. As he further studied the listening -group, a drunken man staggered uncertainly through the wide doors of the -saloon and, gaining sight of the tall stranger, blinked, then approached -him, speaking with a loud voice: - -“Well, if ’tain’t ole Alec McNamara! How do, ye ole pirate!” - -McNamara nodded and turned his back coolly upon the new-comer. - -“Don’t turn your dorsal fin to me; I wan’ to talk to ye.” - -McNamara continued his calm discourse till he received a vicious whack -on the shoulder; then he turned for a moment to interrupt his -assailant’s garrulous profanity: - -“Don’t bother me. I am engaged.” - -“Ye won’ talk to me, eh? Well, I’m goin’ to talk to _you_, see? I guess -you’d listen if I told these people all I know about you. Turn around -here.” - -His voice was menacing and attracted general notice. Observing this, -McNamara addressed him, his words dropping clear, concise, and cold: - -“Don’t talk to me. You are a drunken nuisance. Go away before something -happens to you.” - -Again he turned away, but the drunken man seized and whirled him about, -repeating his abuse, encouraged by this apparent patience. - -“Your pardon for an instant, gentlemen.” McNamara laid a large white and -manicured hand upon the flannel sleeve of the miner and gently escorted -him through the entrance to the sidewalk, while the crowd smiled. - -As they cleared the threshold, however, he clenched his fist without a -word and, raising it, struck the sot fully and cruelly upon the jaw. His -victim fell silently, the back of his head striking the boards with a -hollow thump; then, without even observing how he lay, McNamara -re-entered the saloon and took up his conversation where he had been -interrupted. His voice was as evenly regulated as his movements, -betraying not a sign of anger, excitement, or bravado. He lit a -cigarette, extracted a note-book, and jotted down certain memoranda -supplied him by Mexico Mullins. - -All this time the body lay across the threshold without a sign of life. -The buzz of the roulette-wheel was resumed and the crap-dealer began his -monotonous routine. Every eye was fixed on the nonchalant man at the -bar, but the unconscious creature outside the threshold lay unheeded, -for in these men’s code it behooves the most humane to practise a -certain aloofness in the matter of private brawls. - -Having completed his notes, McNamara shook hands gravely with his -companions and strode out through the door, past the bulk that sprawled -across his path, and, without pause or glance, disappeared. - -A dozen willing, though unsympathetic, hands laid the drunkard on the -roulette-table, where the bartender poured pitcher upon pitcher of water -over him. - -“He ain’t hurt none to speak of,” said a bystander; then added, with -enthusiasm: - -“But say! There’s a _man_ in this here camp!” - - - - -CHAPTER VI - -AND A MINE IS JUMPED - - -“Who’s your new shift boss?” Glenister inquired of his partner, a few -days later, indicating a man in the cut below, busied in setting a line -of sluices. - -“That’s old ‘Slapjack’ Simms, friend of mine from up Dawson way.” - -Glenister laughed immoderately, for the object was unusually tall and -loose-jointed, and wore a soiled suit of yellow mackinaw. He had laid -off his coat, and now the baggy, bilious trousers hung precariously from -his angular shoulders by suspenders of alarming frailty. His legs were -lost in gum boots, also loose and cavernous, and his entire costume -looked relaxed and flapping, so that he gave the impression of being -able to shake himself out of his raiment, and to rise like a burlesque -Aphrodite. His face was overgrown with a grizzled tangle that looked as -though it had been trimmed with button-hole scissors, while above the -brush heap grandly soared a shiny, dome-like head. - -“Has he always been bald?” - -“Naw! He ain’t bald at all. He shaves his nob. In the early days he wore -a long flowin’ mane which was inhabited by crickets, tree-toads, and -such fauna. It got to be a hobby with him finally, so that he growed -superstitious about goin’ uncurried, and would back into a corner with -both guns drawed if a barber came near him. But once Hank--that’s his -real name--undertook to fry some slapjacks, and in givin’ the skillet a -heave, the dough lit among his forest primeval, jest back of his ears, -soft side down. Hank polluted the gulch with langwidge which no man had -ought to keep in himself without it was fumigated. Disreppitableness -oozed out through him like sweat through an ice-pitcher, an’ since then -he’s been known as Slapjack Simms, an’ has kept his head shingled smooth -as a gun bar’l. He’s a good miner, though; ain’t none better--an’ square -as a die.” - -Sluicing had begun on the Midas. Long sinuous lengths of canvas hose -wound down the creek bottom from the dam, like gigantic serpents, while -the roll of gravel through the flumes mingled musically with the rush of -waters, the tinkle of tools, and the song of steel on rock. There were -four “strings” of boxes abreast, and the heaving line of shovellers ate -rapidly into the creek bed, while teams with scrapers splashed through -the tail races in an atmosphere of softened profanity. In the big white -tents which sat back from the bluffs, fifty men of the night shift were -asleep; for there is no respite here--no night, no Sunday, no halt, -during the hundred days in which the Northland lends herself to pillage. - -The mine lay cradled between wonderful, mossy, willow-mottled mountains, -while above and below the gulch was dotted with tents and huts, and -everywhere, from basin to hill crest, men dug and blasted, punily, -patiently, while their tracks grew daily plainer over the face of this -inscrutable wilderness. - -A great contentment filled the two partners as they looked on this -scene. To wrest from reluctant earth her richest treasures, to add to -the wealth of the world, to create--here was satisfaction. - -“We ain’t robbin’ no widders an’ orphans doin’ it, neither,” Dextry -suddenly remarked, expressing his partner’s feelings closely. They -looked at each other and smiled with that rare understanding that -exceeds words. - -Descending into the cut, the old man filled a gold-pan with dirt taken -from under the feet of the workers, and washed it in a puddle, while the -other watched his dexterous whirling motions. When he had finished, they -poked the stream of yellow grains into a pile, then, with heads -together, guessed its weight, laughing again delightedly, in perfect -harmony and contentment. - -“I’ve been waitin’ a turrible time fer this day,” said the elder. “I’ve -suffered the plagues of prospectin’ from the Mexicos to the Circle, an’ -yet I don’t begretch it none, now that I’ve struck pay.” - -While they spoke, two miners struggled with a bowlder they had -unearthed, and having scraped and washed it carefully, staggered back to -place it on the cleaned bed-rock behind. One of them slipped, and it -crashed against a brace which held the sluices in place. These boxes -stand more than a man’s height above the bed-rock, resting on supporting -posts and running full of water. Should a sluice fall, the rushing -stream carries out the gold which has lodged in the riffles and floods -the bed-rock, raising havoc. Too late the partners saw the string of -boxes sway and bend at the joint. Then, before they could reach the -threatened spot to support it, Slapjack Simms, with a shriek, plunged -flapping down into the cut and seized the flume. His great height stood -him in good stead now, for where the joint had opened, water poured -forth in a cataract. He dived under the breach unhesitatingly and, -stooping, lifted the line as near to its former level as possible, -holding the entire burden upon his naked pate. He gesticulated wildly -for help, while over him poured the deluge of icy, muddy water. It -entered his gaping waistband, bulging out his yellow trousers till they -were fat and full and the seams were bursting, while his yawning -boot-tops became as boiling springs. Meanwhile he chattered forth -profanity in such volume that the ear ached under it as must have ached -the heroic Slapjack under the chill of the melting snow. He was relieved -quickly, however, and emerged triumphant, though blue and puckered, his -wilderness of whiskers streaming like limber stalactites, his boots -loosely “squishing,” while oaths still poured from him in such profusion -that Dextry whispered: - -“Ain’t he a ring-tailed wonder? It’s plumb solemn an’ reverent the way -he makes them untamed cuss-words sit up an’ beg. It’s a privilege to be -present. That’s a _gift_, that is.” - -“You’d better get some dry clothes,” they suggested, and Slapjack -proceeded a few paces towards the tents, hobbling as though treading on -pounded glass. - -“Ow--w!” he yelled. “These blasted boots is full of gravel.” - -He seated himself and tugged at his foot till the boot came away with a -sucking sound, then, instead of emptying the accumulation at random, he -poured the contents into Dextry’s empty gold-pan, rinsing it out -carefully. The other boot he emptied likewise. They held a surprising -amount of sediment, because the stream that had emerged from the crack -in the sluices had carried with it pebbles, sand, and all the -concentration of the riffles at this point. Standing directly beneath -the cataract, most of it had dived fairly into his inviting waistband, -following down the lines of least resistance into his boot-legs and -boiling out at the knees. - -“Wash that,” he said. “You’re apt to get a prospect.” - -With artful passes Dextry settled it in the pan bottom and washed away -the gravel, leaving a yellow, glittering pile which raised a yell from -the men who had lingered curiously. - -“He pans forty dollars to the boot-leg,” one shouted. - -“How much do you run to the foot, Slapjack?” - -“He’s a reg’lar free-milling ledge.” - -“No, he ain’t--he’s too thin. He’s nothing but a stringer, but he’ll pay -to work.” - -The old miner grinned toothlessly. - -“Gentlemen, there ain’t no better way to save fine gold than with -undercurrents an’ blanket riffles. I’ll have to wash these garments of -mine an’ clean up the soapsuds ’cause there’s a hundred dollars in -gold-dust clingin’ to my person this minute.” He went dripping up the -bank, while the men returned to their work singing. - -After lunch Dextry saddled his bronco. - -“I’m goin’ to town for a pair of gold-scales, but I’ll be back by -supper, then we’ll clean up between shifts. She’d ought to give us a -thousand ounces, the way that ground prospects.” He loped down the -gulch, while his partner returned to the pit, the flashing shovel -blades, and the rumbling undertone of the big workings that so -fascinated him. - -It was perhaps four o’clock when he was aroused from his labors by a -shout from the bunk-tent, where a group of horsemen had clustered. As -Glenister drew near, he saw among them Wilton Struve, the lawyer, and -the big, well-dressed tenderfoot of the Northern--McNamara--the man of -the heavy hand. Struve straightway engaged him. - -“Say, Glenister, we’ve come out to see about the title to this claim.” - -“What about it?” - -“Well, it was relocated about a month ago.” He paused. - -“Yes. What of that?” - -“Galloway has commenced suit.” - -“The ground belongs to Dextry and me. We discovered it, we opened it up, -we’ve complied with the law, and we’re going to hold it.” Glenister -spoke with such conviction and heat as to nonplus Struve, but McNamara, -who had sat his horse silently until now, answered: - -“Certainly, sir; if your title is good you will be protected, but the -law has arrived in Alaska and we’ve got to let it take its course. -There’s no need of violence--none whatever--but, briefly, the situation -is this: Mr. Galloway has commenced action against you; the court has -enjoined you from working and has appointed me as receiver to operate -the mine until the suit is settled. It’s an extraordinary procedure, of -course, but the conditions are extraordinary in this country. The season -is so short that it would be unjust to the rightful owner if the claim -lay idle all summer--so, to avoid that, I’ve been put in charge, with -instructions to operate it and preserve the proceeds subject to the -court’s order. Mr. Voorhees here is the United States Marshal. He will -serve the papers.” - -Glenister threw up his hand in a gesture of restraint. - -“Hold on! Do you mean to tell me that any court would recognize such a -claim as Galloway’s?” - -“The law recognizes everything. If his grounds are no good, so much the -better for you.” - -“You can’t put in a receiver without notice to us. Why, good Lord! we -never heard of a suit being commenced. We’ve never even been served with -a summons and we haven’t had a chance to argue in our own defence.” - -“I have just said that this is a remarkable state of affairs and unusual -action had to be taken,” McNamara replied, but the young miner grew -excited. - -“Look here--this gold won’t get away. It’s safe in the ground. We’ll -knock off work and let the claim lie idle till the thing is settled. You -can’t really expect us to surrender possession of our mine on the mere -allegation of some unknown man. That’s ridiculous. We won’t do it. Why, -you’ll have to let us argue our case, at least, before you try to put us -off.” - -Voorhees shook his head. “We’ll have to follow instructions. The thing -for you to do is to appear before the court to-morrow and have the -receiver dismissed. If your title is as good as you say it is, you won’t -have any trouble.” - -“You’re not the only ones to suffer,” added McNamara. “We’ve taken -possession of all the mines below here.” He nodded down the gulch. “I’m -an officer of the court and under bond--” - -“How much?” - -“Five thousand dollars for each claim.” - -“What! Why, heavens, man, the poorest of these mines is producing that -much every day!” - -While he spoke, Glenister was rapidly debating what course to follow. - -“The place to argue this thing is before Judge Stillman,” said -Struve--but with little notion of the conflict going on within -Glenister. The youth yearned to fight--not with words nor quibbles nor -legal phrases, but with steel and blows. And he felt that the impulse -was as righteous as it was natural, for he knew this process was unjust, -an outrage. Mexico Mullins’s warning recurred to him. And yet--. He -shifted slowly as he talked till his back was to the door of the big -tent. They were watching him carefully, for all their apparent languor -and looseness in saddle; then as he started to leap within and rally his -henchmen, his mind went back to the words of Judge Stillman and his -niece. Surely that old man was on the square. He couldn’t be otherwise -with her beside him, believing in him; and a suspicion of deeper plots -behind these actions was groundless. So far, all was legal, he supposed, -with his scant knowledge of law; though the methods seemed unreasonable. -The men might be doing what they thought to be right. Why be the first -to resist? The men on the mines below had not done so. The title to this -ground was capable of such easy proof that he and Dex need have no -uneasiness. Courts do not rob honest people nowadays, he argued, and -moreover, perhaps the girl’s words were true, perhaps she _would_ think -more of him if he gave up the old fighting ways for her sake. Certainly -armed resistance to her uncle’s first edict would not please her. She -had said he was too violent, so he would show her he could lay his -savagery aside. She might smile on him approvingly, and that was Worth -taking a chance for--anyway it would mean but a few days’ delay in the -mine’s run. As he reasoned he heard a low voice speaking within the open -door. It was Slapjack Simms. - -“Step aside, lad. I’ve got the big uncovered.” - -Glenister saw the men on horseback snatch at their holsters, and, just -in time, leaped at his foreman, for the old man had moved out into the -open, a Winchester at shoulder, his cheek cuddling the stock, his eyes -cold and narrow. The young man flung the barrel up and wrenched the -weapon from his hands. - -“None of that, Hank!” he cried, sharply. “I’ll say when to shoot.” He -turned to look into the muzzles of guns held in the hands of every -horseman--every horseman save one, for Alec McNamara sat unmoved, his -handsome features, nonchalant and amused, nodding approval. It was at -him that Hank’s weapon had been levelled. - -“This is bad enough at the best. Don’t let’s make it any worse,” said -he. - -Slapjack inhaled deeply, spat with disgust, and looked over his boss -incredulously. - -“Well, of all the different kinds of damn fools,” he snorted, “you are -the kindest.” He marched past the marshal and his deputies down to the -cut, put on his coat, and vanished down the trail towards town, not -deigning a backward glance either at the mine or at the man unfit to -fight for. - - - - -CHAPTER VII - -THE “BRONCO KID’S” EAVESDROPPING - - -Late in July it grows dark as midnight approaches, so that the many -lights from doorway and window seem less garish and strange than they do -a month earlier. In the Northern there was good business doing. The new -bar fixtures, which had cost a king’s ransom, or represented the one -night’s losings of a Klondike millionaire, shone rich, dark, and -enticing, while the cut glass sparkled with iridescent hues, reflecting, -in a measure, the prismatic moods, the dancing spirits of the crowd that -crushed past, halting at the gambling games, or patronizing the theatre -in the rear. The old bar furniture, brought down by dog team from “Up -River,” was established at the rear extremity of the long building, just -inside the entrance to the dance-hall, where patrons of the drama might, -with a modicum of delay and inconvenience, quaff as deeply of the beaker -as of the ballet. - -Now, however, the show had closed, the hall had been cleared of chairs -and canvas, exposing a glassy, tempting surface, and the orchestra had -moved to the stage. They played a rollicking, blood-stirring two-step, -while the floor swam with dancers. - -At certain intervals the musicians worked feverishly up to a crashing -crescendo, supported by the voices of the dancers, until all joined at -the top note in a yell, while the drummer fired a .44 Colt into a box of -wet sawdust beside his chair--all in time, all in the swinging spirit of -the tune. - -The men, who were mostly young, danced like college boys, while the -women, who were all young and good dancers, floated through the measures -with the ease of rose-leaves on a summer stream. Faces were flushed, -eyes were bright, and but rarely a voice sounded that was not glad. Most -of the noise came from the men, and although one caught, here and there, -a hint of haggard lines about the girlish faces, and glimpsed occasional -eyes that did not smile, yet as a whole the scene was one of genuine -enjoyment. - -Suddenly the music ceased and the couples crowded to the bar. The women -took harmless drinks; the men, mostly whiskey. Rarely was the choice of -potations criticised, though occasionally some ruddy eschewer of -sobriety insisted that his lady “take the same,” avowing that “hootch,” -having been demonstrated beneficial in his case, was good for her also. -Invariably the lady accepted without dispute, and invariably the man -failed to note her glance at the bartender, or the silent substitution -by that capable person of ginger-ale for whiskey or of plain water for -gin. In turn, the mixers collected one dollar from each man, flipping to -the girl a metal percentage-check which she added to her store. In the -curtained boxes overhead, men bought bottles with foil about the corks, -and then subterfuge on the lady’s part was idle, but, on the other hand, -she was able to pocket for each bottle a check redeemable at five -dollars. - -A stranger, straight from the East, would have remarked first upon the -good music, next upon the good looks of the women, and then upon the -shabby clothes of the men--for some of them were in “mukluk,” others in -sweaters with huge initials and winged emblems, and all were collarless. - -Outside in the main gambling-room there were but few women. Men crowded -in dense masses about the faro lay-out, the wheel, craps, the Klondike -game, pangingi, and the card-tables. They talked of business, of home, -of women, bought and sold mines, and bartered all things from hams to -honor. The groomed and clean, the unkempt and filthy jostled shoulder to -shoulder, equally affected by the license of the gold-fields and the -exhilaration of the New. The mystery of the North had touched them all. -The glad, bright wine of adventure filled their veins, and they spoke -mightily of things they had resolved to do, or recounted with simple -diffidence the strange stories of their accomplishment. - -The “Bronco Kid,” familiar from Atlin to Nome as the best “bank” dealer -on the Yukon, worked the shift from eight till two. He was a slender man -of thirty, dexterous in movement, slow to smile, soft of voice, and -known as a living flame among women. He had dealt the biggest games of -the early days, and had no enemies. Yet, though many called him friend, -they wondered inwardly. - -It was a strong play the Kid had to-night, for Swede Sam, of Dawson, -ventured many stacks of yellow chips, and he was a quick, aggressive -gambler. A Jew sat at the king end with ten neatly creased -one-thousand-dollar bills before him, together with piles of smaller -currency. He adventured viciously and without system, while outsiders -to the number of four or five cut in sporadically with small bets. The -game was difficult to follow; consequently the lookout, from his raised -dais, was leaning forward, chin in hand, while the group was hedged -about by eager on-lookers. - -Faro is a closed book to most people, for its intricacies are confusing. -Lucky is he who has never persevered in solving its mysteries nor -speculated upon the “systems” of beating it. From those who have learned -it, the game demands practice, dexterity, and coolness. The dealer must -run the cards, watch the many shifting bets, handle the neatly piled -checks, figure, lightning-like, the profits and losses. It was his -unerring, clock like regularity in this that had won the Kid his -reputation. This night his powers were taxed. He dealt silently, -scowlingly, his long white fingers nervously caressing the cards. - -This preoccupation prevented his noticing the rustle and stir of a -new-comer who had crowded up behind him, until he caught the wondering -glances of those in front and saw that the Israelite was staring past -him, his money forgotten, his eyes beady and sharp, his ratlike teeth -showing in a grin of admiration. Swede Sam glared from under his unkempt -shock and felt uncertainly towards the open collar of his flannel shirt -where a kerchief should have been. The men who were standing gazed at -the new-comer, some with surprise, others with a half smile of -recognition. - -Bronco glanced quickly over his shoulder, and as he did so the breath -caught in his throat--but for only an instant. A girl stood so close -beside him that the lace of her gown brushed his sleeve. He was -shuffling at the moment and dropped a card, then nodded to her, -speaking quietly, as he stooped to regain the pasteboard: - -“Howdy, Cherry?” - -She did not answer--only continued to look at the “lay-out.” “What a -woman!” he thought. She was not too tall, with smoothly rounded bust and -hips, and long waist, all well displayed by her perfectly fitting -garments. Her face was oval, the mouth rather large, the eyes of dark, -dark-blue, prominently outlined under thin, silken lids. Her dull-gold -hair was combed low over the ears, and her smile showed rows of -sparkling teeth before it dived into twin dimples. Strangest of all, it -was an innocent face, the face and smile of a school-girl. - -The Kid finished his shuffling awkwardly and slid the cards into the -box. Then the woman spoke: - -“Let me have your place, Bronco.” - -The men gasped, the Jew snickered, the lookout straightened in his -chair. - -“Better not. It’s a hard game,” said the Kid, but her voice was -imperious as she commanded him: - -“Hurry up. Give me your place.” - -Bronco arose, whereupon she settled in his chair, tucked in her skirts, -removed her gloves, and twisted into place the diamonds on her hands. - -“What the devil’s this?” said the lookout, roughly. “Are you drunk, -Bronco? Get out of that chair, miss.” - -She turned to him slowly. The innocence had fled from her features and -the big eyes flashed warningly. A change had coarsened her like a puff -of air on a still pool. Then, while she stared at him, her lids drooped -dangerously and her lip curled. - -“Throw him out, Bronco,” she said, and her tones held the hardness of a -mistress to her slave. - -“That’s all right,” the Kid reassured the lookout. “She’s a better -dealer than I am. This is Cherry Malotte.” - -Without noticing the stares this evoked, the girl commenced. Her hands, -beautifully soft and white, flashed over the board. She dealt rapidly, -unfalteringly, with the finish of one bred to the cards, handling chips -and coppers with the peculiar mannerisms that spring from long practice. -It was seen that she never looked at her check-rack, but, when a bet -required paying, picked up a stack without turning her head; and they -saw further that she never reached twice, nor took a large pile and -sized it up against its mate, removing the extra disks, as is the -custom. When she stretched forth her hand she grasped the right number -unerringly. This is considered the acme of professional finish, and the -Bronco Kid smiled delightedly as he saw the wonder spread from the -lookout to the spectators and heard the speech of the men who stood on -chairs and tables for sight of the woman dealer. - -For twenty minutes she continued, until the place became congested, and -never once did the lookout detect an error. - -While she was busy, Glenister entered the front-door and pushed his way -back towards the theatre. He was worried and distrait, his manner -perturbed and unnatural. Silently and without apparent notice he passed -friends who greeted him. - -“What ails Glenister to-night?” asked a by-stander. “He acts funny.” - -“Ain’t you heard? Why, the Midas has been jumped. He’s in a bad way--all -broke up.” - -The girl suddenly ceased without finishing the deck, and arose. - -“Don’t stop,” said the Kid, while a murmur of dismay came from the -spectators. She only shook her head and drew on her gloves with a show -of ennui. - -Gliding through the crowd, she threaded about aimlessly, the recipient -of many stares though but few greetings, speaking with no one, a certain -dignity serving her as a barrier even here. She stopped a waiter and -questioned him. - -“He’s up-stairs in a gallery box.” - -“Alone?” - -“Yes’m. Anyhow, he was a minute ago, unless some of the rustlers has -broke in on him.” - -A moment later Glenister, watching the scene below, was aroused from his -gloomy absorption by the click of the box door and the rustle of silken -skirts. - -“Go out, please,” he said, without turning. “I don’t want company.” -Hearing no answer, he began again, “I came here to be alone”--but there -he ceased, for the girl had come forward and laid her two hot hands upon -his cheeks. - -“Boy,” she breathed--and he arose swiftly. - -“Cherry! When did you come?” - -“Oh, _days_ ago,” she said, impatiently, “from Dawson. They told me you -had struck it. I stood it as long as I could--then I came to you. Now, -tell me about yourself. Let me see you first, quick!” - -She pulled him towards the light and gazed upward, devouring him -hungrily with her great, languorous eyes. - -[Illustration: “WELL,” SHE SAID. “KISS ME!”] - -She held to his coat lapels, standing close beside him, her warm breath -beating up into his face. - -“Well,” she said, “kiss me!” - -He took her wrists in his and loosed her hold, then looked down on her -gravely and said: - -“No--that’s all over. I told you so when I left Dawson.” - -“All over! Oh no, it isn’t, boy. You think so, but it isn’t--it can’t -be. I love you too much to let you go.” - -“Hush!” said he. “There are people in the next box.” - -“I don’t care! Let them hear,” she cried, with feminine recklessness. -“I’m proud of my love for you. I’ll tell it to them--to the whole -world.” - -“Now, see here, little girl,” he said, quietly, “we had a long talk in -Dawson and agreed that it was best to divide our ways. I was mad over -you once, as a good many other men have been, but I came to my senses. -Nothing could ever result from it, and I told you so.” - -“Yes, yes--I know. I thought I could give you up, but I didn’t realize -till you had gone how I wanted you. Oh, it’s been a _torture_ to me -every day for the past two years.” There was no semblance now to the -cold creature she had appeared upon entering the gambling-hall. She -spoke rapidly, her whole body tense with emotion, her voice shaken with -passion. “I’ve seen men and men and men, and they’ve loved me, but I -never cared for anybody in the world till I saw you. They ran after me, -but you were cold. You made me come to you. Perhaps that was it. Anyhow, -I can’t stand it. I’ll give up everything--I’ll do anything just to be -where you are. What do you think of a woman who will beg? Oh, I’ve lost -my pride--I’m a fool--a fool--but I can’t help it.” - -“I’m sorry you feel this way,” said Glenister. “It isn’t my fault, and -it isn’t of any use.” - -For an instant she stood quivering, while the light died out of her -face; then, with a characteristic change, she smiled till the dimples -laughed in her cheeks. She sank upon a seat beside him and pulled -together the curtains, shutting out the sight below. - -“Very well”--then she put his hand to her cheek and cuddled it. “I’m -glad to see you just the same, and you can’t keep me from loving you.” - -With his other hand he smoothed her hair, while, unknown to him and -beneath her lightness, she shrank and quivered at his touch like a -Barbary steed under the whip. - -“Things are very bad with me,” he said. “We’ve had our mine jumped.” - -“Bah! You know what to do. You aren’t a cripple--you’ve got five fingers -on your gun hand.” - -“That’s it! They all tell me that--all the old-timers; but I don’t know -what to do. I thought I did--but I don’t. The law has come into this -country and I’ve tried to meet it half-way. They jumped us and put in a -receiver--a big man--by the name of McNamara. Dex wasn’t there and I let -them do it. When the old man learned of it he nearly went crazy. We had -our first quarrel. He thought I was afraid--” - -“Not he,” said the girl. “I know him and he knows you.” - -“That was a week ago. We’ve hired the best lawyer in Nome--Bill -Wheaton--and we’ve tried to have the injunction removed. We’ve offered -bond in any sum, but the Judge refuses to accept it. We’ve argued for -leave to appeal, but he won’t give us the right. The more I look into it -the worse it seems, for the court wasn’t convened in accordance with -law, we weren’t notified to appear in our own behalf, we weren’t allowed -a chance to argue our own case--nothing. They simply slapped on a -receiver, and now they refuse to allow us redress. From a legal -stand-point, it’s appalling, I’m told; but what’s to be done? What’s the -game? That’s the thing. What are they up to? I’m nearly out of my mind, -for it’s all my fault. I didn’t think it meant anything like this or I’d -have made a fight for possession and stood them off at least. As it is, -my partner’s sore and he’s gone to drinking--first time in twelve years. -He says I gave the claim away, and now it’s up to me and the Almighty to -get it back. If he gets full he’ll drive a four-horse wagon into some -church, or go up and pick the Judge to pieces with his fingers to see -what makes him go round.” - -“What’ve they got against you and Dextry--some grudge?” she questioned. - -“No, no! We’re not the only ones in trouble; they’ve jumped the rest of -the good mines and put this McNamara in as receiver on all of them, but -that’s small comfort. The Swedes are crazy; they’ve hired all the -lawyers in town, and are murdering more good American language than -would fill Bering Strait. Dex is in favor of getting our friends -together and throwing the receiver off. He wants to kill somebody, but -we can’t do that. They’ve got the soldiers to fall back on. We’ve been -warned that the troops are instructed to enforce the court’s action. I -don’t know what the plot is, for I can’t believe the old Judge is -crooked--the girl wouldn’t let him.” - -“Girl?” - -Cherry Malotte leaned forward where the light shone on the young man’s -worried face. - -“The girl? What girl? Who is she?” - -Her voice had lost its lazy caress, her lips had thinned. Never was a -woman’s face more eloquent, mused Glenister as he noted her. Every -thought fled to this window to peer forth, fearful, lustful, hateful, as -the case might be. He had loved to play with her in the former days, to -work upon her passions and watch the changes, to note her features -mirror every varying emotion from tenderness to flippancy, from anger to -delight, and, at his bidding, to see the pale cheeks glow with love’s -fire, the eyes grow heavy, the dainty lips invite kisses. Cherry was a -perfect little spoiled animal, he reflected, and a very dangerous one. - -“What girl?” she questioned again, and he knew beforehand the look that -went with it. - -“The girl I intend to marry,” he said, slowly, looking her between the -eyes. - -He knew he was cruel--he wanted to be--it satisfied the clamor and -turmoil within him, while he also felt that the sooner she knew and the -colder it left her the better. He could not note the effect of the -remark on her, however, for, as he spoke, the door of the box opened and -the head of the Bronco Kid appeared, then retired instantly with -apologies. - -“Wrong stall,” he said, in his slow voice. “Looking for another party.” -Nevertheless, his eyes had covered every inch of them--noted the drawn -curtains and the breathless poise of the woman--while his ears had -caught part of Glenister’s speech. - -“You won’t marry her,” said Cherry, quietly. “I don’t know who she is, -but I won’t let you marry her.” - -She rose and smoothed her skirts. - -“It’s time nice people were going now.” She said it with a sneer at -herself. “Take me out through this crowd. I’m living quietly and I don’t -want these beasts to follow me.” - -As they emerged from the theatre the morning air was cool and quiet, -while the sun was just rising. The Bronco Kid lighted a cigar as they -passed, nodding silently at their greeting. His eyes followed them, -while his hands were so still that the match burned through to his -fingers-then when they had gone his teeth met and ground savagely -through the tobacco so that the cigar fell, while he muttered: - -“So that’s the girl you intend to marry? We’ll see, by God!” - - - - -CHAPTER VIII - -DEXTRY MAKES A CALL - - -The water front had a strong attraction for Helen Chester, and rarely -did a fair day pass without finding her in some quiet spot from which -she could watch the shifting life along its edge, the ships at anchor, -and the varied incidents of the surf. - -This morning she sat in a dory pulled high up on the beach, bathed in -the bright sunshine, and staring at the rollers, while lines of -concentration wrinkled her brow. The wind had blown for some days till -the ocean beat heavily across the shallow bar, and now, as it became -quieter, longshoremen were launching their craft, preparing to resume -their traffic. - -Not until the previous day had the news of her friends’ misfortune come -to her, and although she had heard no hint of fraud, she began to -realize that they were involved in a serious tangle. To the questions -which she anxiously put to her uncle he had replied that their -difficulty arose from a technicality in the mining laws which another -man had been shrewd enough to profit by. It was a complicated question, -he said, and one requiring time to thrash out to an equitable -settlement. She had undertaken to remind him of the service these men -had done her, but, with a smile, he interrupted; he could not allow such -things to influence his judicial attitude, and she must not endeavor to -prejudice him in the discharge of his duty. Recognizing the justice of -this, she had desisted. - -For many days the girl had caught scattered talk between the Judge and -McNamara, and between Struve and his associates, but it all seemed -foreign and dry, and beyond the fact that it bore on the litigation over -the Anvil Creek mines, she understood nothing and cared less, -particularly as a new interest had but recently come into her life, an -interest in the form of a man--McNamara. - -He had begun with quiet, half-concealed admiration of her, which had -rapidly increased until his attentions had become of a singularly -positive and resistless character. - -Judge Stillman was openly delighted, while the court of one like Alec -McNamara could but flatter any girl. In his presence, Helen felt herself -rebelling at his suit, yet as distance separated them she thought ever -more kindly of it. This state of mind contrasted oddly with her feelings -towards the other man she had met, for in this country there were but -two. When Glenister was with her she saw his love lying nakedly in his -eyes and it exercised some spell which drew her to him in spite of -herself, but when he had gone, back came the distrust, the terror of the -brute she felt was there behind it all. The one appealed to her while -present, the other pled strongest while away. Now she was attempting to -analyze her feelings and face the future squarely, for she realized that -her affairs neared a crisis, and this, too, not a month after meeting -the men. She wondered if she would come to love her uncle’s friend. She -did not know. Of the other she was sure--she never could. - -Busied with these reflections, she noticed the familiar figure of Dextry -wandering aimlessly. He was not unkempt, and yet his air gave her the -impression of prolonged sleeplessness. Spying her, he approached and -seated himself in the sand against the boat, while at her greeting he -broke into talk as if he was needful only of her friendly presence to -stir his confidential chords into active vibration. - -“We’re in turrible shape, miss,” he said. “Our claim’s jumped. Somebody -run in and talked the boy out of it while I was gone, and now we can’t -get ’em off. He’s been tryin’ this here new law game that you-all -brought in this summer. I’ve been drunk--that’s what makes me look so -ornery.” - -He said the last, not in the spirit of apology, for rarely does your -frontiersman consider that his self-indulgences require palliation, but -rather after the manner of one purveying news of mild interest, as he -would inform you that his surcingle had broken or that he had witnessed -a lynching. - -“What made them jump your claim?” - -“I don’t know. I don’t know nothin’ about it, because, as I remarked -previous, I ’ain’t follered the totterin’ footsteps of the law none too -close. Nor do I intend to. I simply draws out of the game fer a spell, -and lets the youngster have his fling; then if he can’t make good, I’ll -take the cards and finish it for him. - -“It’s like the time I was ranchin’ with an Englishman up in Montana. -This here party claimed the misfortune of bein’ a younger son, whatever -that is, and is grubstaked to a ranch by his people back home. Havin’ -acquired an intimate knowledge of the West by readin’ Bret Harte, and -havin’ assim’lated the secrets of ranchin’ by correspondence school, he -is fitted, ample, to teach us natives a thing or two--and he does it. I -am workin’ his outfit as foreman, and it don’t take long to show me that -he’s a good-hearted feller, in spite of his ridin’-bloomers an’ pinochle -eye-glass. He ain’t never had no actual experience, but he’s got a Henry -Thompson Seton book that tells him all about everything from field-mice -to gorrillys. - -“We’re troubled a heap with coyotes them days, and finally this party -sends home for some Rooshian wolf-hounds. I’m fer pizenin’ a sheep -carcass, but he says: - -“‘No, no, me deah man; that’s not sportsman-like; we’ll hunt ’em. Ay, -hunt ’em! Only fawncy the sport we’ll have, ridin’ to hounds!’ - -“‘We will not,’ says I. ‘I ain’t goin’ to do no Simon Legree stunts. It -ain’t man’s size. Bein’ English, you don’t count, but I’m growed up.’ - -“Nothin’ would do him but those _Uncle Tom’s Cabin_ dogs, however, and -he had ’em imported clean from Berkshire or Sibeery or thereabouts, four -of ’em, great, big, blue ones. They was as handsome and imposin’ as a -set of solid-gold teeth, but somehow they didn’t seem to savvy our play -none. One day the cook rolled a rain bar’l down-hill from the kitchen, -and when them blooded critters saw it comin’ they throwed down their -tails and tore out like rabbits. After that I couldn’t see no good in -’em with a spy-glass. - -“‘They ’ain’t got no grit. What makes you think they can fight?’ I asked -one day. - -“‘Fight?’ says H’Anglish. ‘My deah man, they’re full-blooded. Cost -seventy pun each. They’re dreadful creatures when they’re -roused--they’ll tear a wolf to pieces like a rag--kill bears--anything. -Oh! Rully, perfectly dreadful!’ - -“Well, it wasn’t a week later that he went over to the east line with me -to mend a barb wire. I had my pliers and a hatchet and some staples. -About a mile from the house we jumped up a little brown bear that -scampered off when he seen us, but bein’ agin’ a bluff where he couldn’t -get away, he climbed a cotton-wood. H’Anglish was simply frothin’ with -excitement. - -“‘What a misfortune! Neyther gun nor hounds.’ - -“‘I’ll scratch his back and talk pretty to him,’ says I, ‘while you run -back and get a Winchester and them ferocious bull-dogs.’ - -“‘Wolf-hounds,’ says he, with dignity, ‘full-blooded, seventy pun each. -They’ll rend the poor beast limb from limb. I hate to do it, but it’ll -be good practice for them.’ - -“‘They may be good renders,’ says I, ‘but don’t forgit the gun.’ - -“Well, I throwed sticks at the critter when he tried to unclimb the -tree, till finally the boss got back with his dogs. They set up an awful -holler when they see the bear--first one they’d ever smelled, I -reckon--and the little feller crawled up in some forks and watched -things, cautious, while they leaped about, bayin’ most fierce and -blood-curdlin’. - -“‘How you goin’ to get him down?’ says I. - -“I’ll shoot him in the lower jaw,’ says the Britisher, ‘so he cawn’t -bite the dogs. It’ll give ’em cawnfidence.’ - -“He takes aim at Mr. Bear’s chin and misses it three times runnin’, he’s -that excited. - -“‘Settle down, H’Anglish,’ says I. ‘He ’ain’t got no double chins. How -many shells left in your gun?’ - -“When he looks he finds there’s only one more, for he hadn’t stopped to -fill the magazine, so I cautions him. - -“‘You’re shootin’ too low. Raise her.’ - -“He raised her all right, and caught Mr. Bruin in the snout. What -followed thereafter was most too quick to notice, for the poor bear let -out a bawl, dropped off his limb into the midst of them ragin’, tur’ble, -seventy-pun hounds, an’ hugged ’em to death, one after another, like he -was doin’ a system of health exercises. He took ’em to his boosum as if -he’d just got back off a long trip, then, droppin’ the last one, he made -at that younger son an’ put a gold fillin’ in his leg. Yes, sir; most -chewed it off. H’Anglish let out a Siberian-wolf holler hisself, an’ I -had to step in with the hatchet and kill the brute though I was most -dead from laughin’.” - -“That’s how it is with me an’ Glenister,” the old man concluded. “When -he gets tired experimentin’ with this new law game of hisn, I’ll step in -an’ do business on a common-sense basis.” - -“You talk as if you wouldn’t get fair play,” said Helen. - -“We won’t,” said he, with conviction. “I look on all lawyers with -suspicion, even to old bald-face--your uncle, askin’ your pardon an’ -gettin’ it, bein’ as I’m a friend an’ he ain’t no real relation of -yours, anyhow. No, sir; they’re all crooked.” - -Dextry held the Western distrust of the legal profession--comprehensive, -unreasoning, deep. - -“Is the old man all the kin you’ve got?” he questioned, when she refused -to discuss the matter. - -“He is--in a way. I have a brother, or I hope I have, somewhere. He ran -away when we were both little tads and I haven’t seen him since. I -heard about him, indirectly, at Skagway--three years ago--during the big -rush to the Klondike, but he has never been home. When father died, I -went to live with Uncle Arthur--some day, perhaps, I’ll find my brother. -He’s cruel to hide from me this way, for there are only we two left and -I’ve loved him always.” - -She spoke sadly and her mood blended well with the gloom of her -companion, so they stared silently out over the heaving green waters. - -“It’s a good thing me an’ the kid had a little piece of money ahead,” -Dextry resumed later, reverting to the thought that lay uppermost in his -mind, “‘cause we’d be up against it right if we hadn’t. The boy couldn’t -have amused himself none with these court proceedings, because they come -high. I call ’em luxuries, like brandied peaches an’ silk undershirts.” - -“I don’t trust these Jim Crow banks no more than I do lawyers, neither. -No, sirree! I bought a iron safe an’ hauled it out to the mine. She -weighs eighteen hundred, and we keep our money locked up there. We’ve -got a feller named Johnson watchin’ it now. Steal it? Well, hardly. They -can’t bust her open without a stick of ‘giant’ which would rouse -everybody in five miles, an’ they can’t lug her off bodily--she’s too -heavy. No; it’s safer there than any place I know of. There ain’t no -abscondin’ cashiers an’ all that. To-morrer I’m goin’ back to live on -the claim an’ watch this receiver man till the thing’s settled.” - -When the girl arose to go, he accompanied her up through the deep sand -of the lane-like street to the main, muddy thoroughfare of the camp. As -yet, the planked and gravelled pavements, which later threaded the -town, were unknown, and the incessant traffic had worn the road into a -quagmire of chocolate-colored slush, almost axle-deep, with which the -store fronts, show-windows, and awnings were plentifully shot and -spattered from passing teams. Whenever a wagon approached, pedestrians -fled to the shelter of neighboring doorways, watching a chance to dodge -out again. When vehicles passed from the comparative solidity of the -main street out into the morasses that constituted the rest of the town, -they adventured perilously, their horses plunging, snorting, terrified, -amid an atmosphere of profanity. Discouraged animals were down -constantly, and no foot-passenger, even with rubber boots, ventured off -the planks that led from house to house. - -To avoid a splashing team, Dextry pulled his companion close in against -the entrance to the Northern saloon, standing before her protectingly. - -Although it was late in the afternoon the Bronco Kid had just arisen and -was now loafing preparatory to the active duties of his profession. He -was speaking with the proprietor when Dextry and the girl sought shelter -just without the open door, so he caught a fair though fleeting glimpse -of her as she flashed a curious look inside. She had never been so close -to a gambling-hall before, and would have liked to peer in more -carefully had she dared, but her companion moved forward. At the first -look the Bronco Kid had broken off in his speech and stared at her as -though at an apparition. When she had vanished, he spoke to Reilly: - -“Who’s that?” - -Reilly shrugged his shoulders, then without further question the Kid -turned back towards the empty theatre and out of the back door. - -He moved nonchalantly till he was outside, then with the speed of a colt -ran down the narrow planking between the buildings, turned parallel to -the front street, leaped from board to board, splashed through puddles -of water till he reached the next alley. Stamping the mud from his shoes -and pulling down his sombrero, he sauntered out into the main -thoroughfare. - -Dextry and his companion had crossed to the other side and were -approaching, so the gambler gained a fair view of them. He searched -every inch of the girl’s face and figure, then, as she made to turn her -eyes in his direction, he slouched away. He followed, however, at a -distance, till he saw the man leave her, then on up to the big hotel he -shadowed her. A half-hour later he was drinking in the Golden Gate -bar-room with an acquaintance who ministered to the mechanical details -behind the hotel counter. - -“Who’s the girl I saw come in just now?” he inquired. - -“I guess you mean the Judge’s niece.” - -Both men spoke in the dead, restrained tones that go with their -callings. - -“What’s her name?” - -“Chester, I think. Why? Look good to you, Kid?” - -Although the other neither spoke nor made sign, the bartender construed -his silence as acquiescence and continued, with a conscious glance at -his own reflection while he adjusted his diamond scarf-pin: “Well, she -can have _me_! I’ve got it fixed to meet her.” - -“_Bah!_ I guess not,” said the Kid, suddenly, with an inflection that -startled the other from his preening. Then, as he went out, the man -mused: - -“Gee! Bronco’s got the worst eye in the camp! Makes me creep when he -throws it on me with that muddy look. He acted like he was jealous.” - - * * * * * - -At noon the next day, as he prepared to go to the claim, Dextry’s -partner burst in upon him. Glenister was dishevelled, and his eyes shone -with intense excitement. - -“What d’ you think they’ve done now?” he cried, as greeting. - -“I dunno. What is it?” - -“They’ve broken open the safe and taken our money.” - -“What!” - -The old man in turn was on his feet, the grudge which he had felt -against Glenister in the past few days forgotten in this common -misfortune. - -“Yes, by Heaven, they’ve swiped our money--our tents, tools, teams, -books, hose, and all of our personal property--everything! They threw -Johnson off and took the whole works. I never heard of such a thing. I -went out to the claim and they wouldn’t let me go near the workings. -They’ve got every mine on Anvil Creek guarded the same way, and they -aren’t going to let us come around even when they clean up. They told me -so this morning.” - -“But, look here,” demanded Dextry, sharply, “the money in that safe -belongs to us. That’s money we brought in from the States. The court -’ain’t got no right to it. What kind of a damn law is that?” - -“Oh, as to law, they don’t pay any attention to it any more,” said -Glenister, bitterly. “I made a mistake in not killing the first man that -set foot on the claim. I was a sucker, and now we’re up against a stiff -game. The Swedes are in the same fix, too. This last order has left them -groggy.” - -“I don’t understand it yet,” said Dextry. - -“Why, it’s this way. The Judge has issued what he calls an order -enlarging the powers of the receiver, and it authorizes McNamara to take -possession of everything on the claims--tents, tools, stores, and -personal property of all kinds. It was issued last night without notice -to our side, so Wheaton says, and they served it this morning early. I -went out to see McNamara, and when I got there I found him in our -private tent with the safe broken open.” - -“‘What does this mean?’ I said. And then he showed me the new order. - -“‘I’m responsible to the court for every penny of this money,’ said he, -‘and for every tool on the claim. In view of that I can’t allow you to -go near the workings.’ - -“‘Not go near the workings?’ said I. ‘Do you mean you won’t let us see -the clean-ups from our own mine? How do we know we’re getting a square -deal if we don’t see the gold weighed?’ - -“‘I’m an officer of the court and under bond,’ said he, and the smiling -triumph in his eyes made me crazy. - -“‘You’re a lying thief,’ I said, looking at him square. ‘And you’re -going too far. You played me for a fool once and made it stick, but it -won’t work twice.’ - -“He looked injured and aggrieved and called in Voorhees, the marshal. I -can’t grasp the thing at all; everybody seems to be against us, the -Judge, the marshal, the prosecuting attorney--everybody. Yet they’ve -done it all according to law, they claim, and have the soldiers to back -them up.” - -“It’s just as Mexico Mullins said,” Dextry stormed; “there’s a deal on -of some kind. I’m goin’ up to the hotel an’ call on the Judge myself. I -’ain’t never seen him nor this McNamara, either. I allus want to look a -man straight in the eyes once, then I know what course to foller in my -dealings.” - -“You’ll find them both,” said Glenister, “for McNamara rode into town -behind me.” - -The old prospector proceeded to the Golden Gate Hotel and inquired for -Judge Stillman’s room. A boy attempted to take his name, but he seized -him by the scruff of the neck and sat him in his seat, proceeding -unannounced to the suite to which he had been directed. Hearing voices, -he knocked, and then, without awaiting a summons, walked in. - -The room was fitted like an office, with desk, table, type-writer, and -law-books. Other rooms opened from it on both sides. Two men were -talking earnestly--one gray-haired, smooth-shaven, and clerical, the -other tall, picturesque, and masterful. With his first glance the miner -knew that before him were the two he had come to see, and that in -reality he had to deal with but one, the big man who shot at him the -level glances. - -“We are engaged,” said the Judge, “very busily engaged, sir. Will you -call again in half an hour?” - -Dextry looked him over carefully from head to foot, then turned his back -on him and regarded the other. Neither he nor McNamara spoke, but their -eyes were busy and each instinctively knew that here was a foe. - -“What do you want?” McNamara inquired, finally. - -“I just dropped in to get acquainted. My name is Dextry--Joe -Dextry--from everywhere west of the Missouri--an’ your name is McNamara, -ain’t it? This here, I reckon, is your little French poodle--eh?” -indicating Stillman. - -“What do you mean?” said McNamara, while the Judge murmured indignantly. - -“Just what I say. However, that ain’t what I want to talk about. I don’t -take no stock in such truck as judges an’ lawyers an’ orders of court. -They ain’t intended to be took serious. They’re all right for children -an’ Easterners an’ non compos mentis people, I s’pose, but I’ve always -been my own judge, jury, an’ hangman, an’ I aim to continue workin’ my -legislatif, executif, an’ judicial duties to the end of the string. You -look out! My pardner is young an’ seems to like the idee of lettin’ -somebody else run his business, so I’m goin’ to give him rein and let -him amuse himself for a while with your dinky little writs an’ -receiverships. But don’t go too far--you can rob the Swedes, ’cause -Swedes ain’t entitled to have no money, an’ some other crook would get -it if you didn’t, but don’t play me an’ Glenister fer Scandinavians. -It’s a mistake. We’re white men, an’ I’m apt to come romancin’ up here -with one of these an’ bust you so you won’t hold together durin’ the -ceremonies.” - -With his last words he made the slightest shifting movement, only a -lifting shrug of the shoulder, yet in his palm lay a six-shooter. He had -slipped it from his trousers band with the ease of long practice and -absolute surety. Judge Stillman gasped and backed against the desk, but -McNamara idly swung his leg as he sat sidewise on the table. His only -sign of interest was a quickening of the eyes, a fact of which Dextry -made mental note. - -“Yes,” said the miner, disregarding the alarm of the lawyer, “you can -wear this court in your vest-pocket like a Waterbury, if you want to, -but if you don’t let me alone, I’ll uncoil its main-spring. That’s all.” - -He replaced his weapon and, turning, walked out the door. - - - - -CHAPTER IX - -SLUICE ROBBERS - - -“We must have money,” said Glenister a few days later. “When McNamara -jumped our safe he put us down and out. There’s no use fighting in this -court any longer, for the Judge won’t let us work the ground ourselves, -even if we give bond, and he won’t grant an appeal. He says his orders -aren’t appealable. We ought to send Wheaton out to ’Frisco and have him -take the case to the higher courts. Maybe he can get a writ of -supersedeas.” - -“I don’t rec’nize the name, but if it’s as bad as it sounds it’s sure -horrible. Ain’t there no cure for it?” - -“It simply means that the upper court would take the case away from this -one.” - -“Well, let’s send him out quick. Every day means ten thousand dollars to -us. It ’ll take him a month to make the round trip, so I s’pose he ought -to leave to-morrow on the _Roanoke_.” - -“Yes, but where’s the money to do it with? McNamara has ours. My God! -What a mess we’re in! What fools we’ve been, Dex! There’s a conspiracy -here. I’m beginning to see it now that it’s too late. This man is -looting our country under color of law, and figures on gutting all the -mines before we can throw him off. That’s his game. He’ll work them as -hard and as long as he can, and Heaven only knows what will become of -the money. He must have big men behind him in order to fix a United -States judge this way. Maybe he has the ’Frisco courts corrupted, too.” - -“If he has, I’m goin’ to kill him,” said Dextry. “I’ve worked like a dog -all my life, and now that I’ve struck pay I don’t aim to lose it. If -Bill Wheaton can’t win out accordin’ to law, I’m goin’ to proceed -accordin’ to justice.” - -During the past two days the partners had haunted the court-room where -their lawyer, together with the counsel for the Scandinavians, had -argued and pleaded, trying every possible professional and -unprofessional artifice in search of relief from the arbitrary rulings -of the court, while hourly they had become more strongly suspicious of -some sinister plot--some hidden, powerful understanding back of the -Judge and the entire mechanism of justice. They had fought with the fury -of men who battle for life, and had grown to hate the lines of -Stillman’s vacillating face, the bluster of the district-attorney, and -the smirking confidence of the clerks, for it seemed that they all -worked mechanically, like toys, at the dictates of Alec McNamara. At -last, when they had ceased, beaten and exhausted, they were too confused -with technical phrases to grasp anything except the fact that relief was -denied them; that their claims were to be worked by the receiver; and, -as a crowning defeat, they learned that the Judge would move his court -to St. Michael’s and hear no cases until he returned, a month later. - -Meanwhile, McNamara hired every idle man he could lay hand upon, and -ripped the placers open with double shifts. Every day a stream of -yellow dust poured into the bank and was locked in his vaults, while -those mine-owners who attempted to witness the clean-ups were ejected -from their claims. The politician had worked with incredible swiftness -and system, and a fortnight after landing he had made good his boast to -Struve, and was in charge of every good claim in the district, the -owners were ousted, their appeals argued and denied, and the court gone -for thirty days, leaving him a clear field for his operations. He felt a -contempt for most of his victims, who were slow-witted Swedes, grasping -neither the purport nor the magnitude of his operation, and as to those -litigants who were discerning enough to see its enormity, he trusted to -his organization to thwart them. - -The two partners had come to feel that they were beating against a wall, -and had also come squarely to face the proposition that they were -without funds wherewith to continue their battle. It was maddening for -them to think of the daily robbery that they suffered, for the Midas -turned out many ounces of gold at every shift; and more maddening to -realize the receiver’s shrewdness in crippling them by his theft of the -gold in their safe. That had been his crowning stroke. - -“We MUST get money quick,” said Glenister. “Do you think we can borrow?” - -“Borrow?” sniffed Dextry. “Folks don’t lend money in Alaska.” - -They relapsed into a moody silence. - -“I met a feller this mornin’ that’s workin’ on the Midas,” the old man -resumed. “He came in town fer a pair of gum boots, an’ he says they’ve -run into awful rich ground--so rich that they have to clean up every -morning when the night shift goes off ’cause the riffles clog with -gold.” - -“Think of it!” Glenister growled. “If we had even a part of one of those -clean-ups we could send Wheaton outside.” - -In the midst of his bitterness a thought struck him. He made as though -to speak, then closed his mouth; but his partner’s eyes were on him, -filled with a suppressed but growing fire. Dextry lowered his voice -cautiously: - -“There’ll be twenty thousand dollars in them sluices to-night at -midnight.” - -Glenister stared back while his pulse pounded at something that lay in -the other’s words. - -“It belongs to us,” the young man said. “There wouldn’t be anything -wrong about it, would there?” - -Dextry sneered. “Wrong! Right! Them is fine an’ soundin’ titles in a -mess like this. What do they mean? I tell you, at midnight to-night Alec -McNamara will have twenty thousand dollars of our money--” - -“God! What would happen if they caught us?” whispered the younger, -following out his thought. “They’d never let us get off the claim alive. -He couldn’t find a better excuse to shoot us down and get rid of us. If -we came up before this Judge for trial, we’d go to Sitka for twenty -years.” - -“Sure! But it’s our only chance. I’d ruther die on the Midas in a fair -fight than set here bitin’ my hangnails. I’m growin’ old and I won’t -never make another strike. As to bein’ caught--them’s our chances. I -won’t be took alive--I promise you that--and before I go I’ll get my -satisfy. Castin’ things up, that’s about all a man gets in this vale of -tears, jest satisfaction of one kind or another. It ’ll be a fight in -the open, under the stars, with the clean, wet moss to lie down on, and -not a scrappin’-match of freak phrases and law-books inside of a -stinkin’ court-room. The cards is shuffled and in the box, pardner, and -the game is started. If we’re due to win, we’ll win. If we’re due to -lose, we’ll lose. These things is all figgered out a thousand years -back. Come on, boy. Are you game?” - -“Am I game?” Glenister’s nostrils dilated and his voice rose a tone. “Am -I game? I’m with you till the big cash-in, and Lord have mercy on any -man that blocks our game to-night.” - -“We’ll need another hand to help us,” said Dextry. “Who can we get?” - -At that moment, as though in answer, the door opened with the scant -ceremony that friends of the frontier are wont to observe, admitting the -attenuated, flapping, dome-crowned figure of Slapjack Simms, and Dextry -fell upon him with the hunger of a wolf. - - * * * * * - -It was midnight and over the dark walls of the valley peered a multitude -of stars, while away on the southern horizon there glowed a subdued -effulgence as though from hidden fires beneath the Gold God’s caldron, -or as though the phosphorescence of Bering had spread upward into the -skies. Although each night grew longer, it was not yet necessary to -light the men at work in the cuts. There were perhaps two hours in which -it was difficult to see at a distance, but the dawn came early, hence no -provision had been made for torches. - -Five minutes before the hour the night-shift boss lowered the gates in -the dam, and, as the rush from the sluices subsided, his men quit work -and climbed the bluff to the mess tent. The dwellings of the Midas, as -has already been explained, sat back from the creek at a distance of a -city block, the workings being thus partially hidden under the brow of -the steep bank. - -It is customary to leave a watchman in the pit during the noon and -midnight hours, not only to see that strangers preserve a neutral -attitude, but also to watch the waste-gates and water supply. The night -man of the Midas had been warned of his responsibility, and, knowing -that much gold lay in his keeping, was disposed to gaze on the -curious-minded with the sourness of suspicion. Therefore, as a man -leading a packhorse approached out of the gloom of the creek-trail, his -eyes were on him from the moment he appeared. The road wound along the -gravel of the bars and passed in proximity to the flumes. However, the -wayfarer paid no attention to them, and the watchman detected an -explanatory weariness in his slow gait. - -“Some prospector getting in from a trip,” he thought. - -The stranger stopped, scratched a match, and, as he undertook to light -his pipe, the observer caught the mahogany shine of a negro’s face. The -match sputtered out and then came impatient blasphemy as he searched for -another. - -“Evenin’, sah! You-all oblige me with a match?” He addressed the watcher -on the bank above, and, without waiting a reply, began to climb upward. - -No smoker on the trail will deny the luxury of a light to the most -humble, so as the negro gained his level the man reached forth to -accommodate him. Without warning, the black man leaped forward with the -ferocity of an animal and struck the other a fearful blow. The watchman -sank with a faint, startled cry, and the African dragged him out of -sight over the brow of the bank, where he rapidly tied him hand and -foot, stuffing a gag into his mouth. At the same moment two other -figures rounded the bend below and approached. They were mounted and -leading a third saddle-horse, as well as other pack-animals. Reaching -the workings, they dismounted. Then began a strange procedure, for one -man clambered upon the sluices and, with a pick, ripped out the riffles. -This was a matter of only a few seconds; then, seizing a shovel, he -transferred the concentrates which lay in the bottom of the boxes into -canvas sacks which his companion held. As each bag was filled, it was -tied and dumped into the cut. They treated but four boxes in this way, -leaving the lower two-thirds of the flume untouched, for Anvil Creek -gold is coarse and the heart of the clean-up lies where it is thrown in. -Gathering the sacks together, they lashed them upon the pack-animals, -then mounted the second string of sluices and began as before. -Throughout it all they worked with feverish haste and in unbroken -silence, every moment flashing quick glances at the figure of the -lookout who stood on the crest above, half dimmed in the shadow of a -willow clump. Judging by their rapidity and sureness, they were expert -miners. - -From the tent came the voices of the night shift at table, and the faint -rattle of dishes, while the canvas walls glowed from the lights within -like great fire-flies hidden in the grass. The foreman, finishing his -meal, appeared at the door of the mess tent, and, pausing to accustom -his eyes to the gloom, peered perfunctorily towards the creek. The -watchman detached himself from the shadow, moving out into plain sight, -and the boss turned back. The two men below were now working on the -sluices which lay close under the bank and were thus hidden from the -tent. - - * * * * * - -McNamara’s description of Anvil Creek’s riches had fired Helen Chester -with the desire to witness a clean-up, so they had ridden out from town -in time for supper at the claim. She had not known whither he led her, -only understanding that provision for her entertainment would be made -with the superintendent’s wife. Upon recognizing the Midas, she had -endeavored to question him as to why her friends had been dispossessed, -and he had answered, as it seemed, straight and true. - -The ground was in dispute, he said--another man claimed it--and while -the litigation pended he was in charge for the court, to see that -neither party received injury. He spoke adroitly, and it satisfied her -to have the proposition resolved into such simplicity. - -She had come prepared to spend the night and witness the early morning -operation, so the receiver made the most of his opportunity. He showed -her over the workings, explaining the many things that were strange to -her. Not only was he in himself a fascinating figure to any woman, but -wherever he went men regarded him deferentially, and nothing affects a -woman’s judgment more promptly than this obvious sign of power. He spent -the evening with her, talking of his early days and the things he had -done in the West, his story matching the picturesqueness of her -canvas-walled quarters with their rough furnishings of skins and -blankets. Being a keen observer as well as a finished raconteur, he had -woven a spell of words about the girl, leaving her in a state of tumult -and indecision when at last, towards midnight, he retired to his own -tent. She knew to what end all this was working, and yet knew not what -her answer would be when the question came which lay behind it all. At -moments she felt the wonderful attraction of the man, and still there -was some distrust of him which she could not fathom. Again her thoughts -reverted to Glenister, the impetuous, and she compared the two, so -similar in some ways, so utterly opposed in others. - -It was when she heard the night shift at their meal that she threw a -silken shawl about her head, stepped into the cool night, and picked her -way down towards the roar of the creek. “A breath of air and then to -bed,” she thought. She saw the tall figure of the watchman and made for -him. He seemed oddly interested in her approach, watching her very -closely, almost as though alarmed. It was doubtless because there were -so few women out here, or possibly on account of the lateness of the -hour. Away with conventions! This was the land of instinct and impulse. -She would talk to him. The man drew his hat more closely about his face -and moved off as she came up. Glenister had been in her thoughts a -moment since, and she now noted that here was another with the same -great, square shoulders and erect head. Then she saw with a start that -this one was a negro. He carried a Winchester and seemed to watch her -carefully, yet with indecision. - -To express her interest and to break the silence, she questioned him, -but at the sound of her voice he stepped towards her and spoke roughly. - -“What!” - -Then he paused, and stammered in a strangely altered and unnatural -voice: - -“Yass’m. I’m the watchman.” - -She noted two other darkies at work below and was vaguely surprised, not -so much at their presence, as at the manner in which they moved, for -they seemed under stress of some great haste, running hither and yon. -She saw horses standing in the trail and sensed something indefinably -odd and alarming in the air. Turning to the man, she opened her mouth to -speak, when from the rank grass under her feet came a noise which set -her a-tingle, and at which her suspicions leaped full to the solution. -It was the groan of a man. Again he gave voice to his pain, and she knew -that she stood face to face with something sinister. Tales of sluice -robbers had come to her, and rumors of the daring raids into which men -were lured by the yellow sheen--and yet this was incredible. A hundred -men lay within sound of her voice; she could hear their laughter; one -was whistling a popular refrain. A quarter-mile away on every hand were -other camps; a scream from her would bring them all. Nonsense, this was -no sluice robbery--and then the man in the bushes below moaned for the -third time. - -“What is that?” she said. - -Without reply the negro lowered the muzzle of his rifle till it covered -her breast and at the same time she heard the double click of the -hammer. - -“Keep still and don’t move,” he warned. “We’re desperate and we can’t -take any chances, Miss.” - -“Oh, you are stealing the gold--” - -She was wildly frightened, yet stood still while the lookout anxiously -divided his attention between her and the tents above until his -companions signalled him that they were through and the horses were -loaded. Then he spoke: - -“I don’t know what to do with you, but I guess I’ll tie you up.” - -“What!” she said. - -“I’m going to tie and gag you so you can’t holler.” - -“Oh, don’t you _dare_!” she cried, fiercely. “I’ll stand right here till -you’ve gone and I won’t scream. I promise.” She looked up at him -appealingly, at which he dipped his head, so that she caught only a -glimpse of his face, and then backed away. - -“All right! Don’t try it, because I’ll be hidden in those bushes yonder -at the bend and I’ll keep you covered till the others are gone.” He -leaped down the bank, ran to the cavalcade, mounted quickly, and the -three lashed their horses into a run, disappearing up the trail around -the sharp curve. She heard the blows of their quirts as they whipped the -packhorses. - -They were long out of sight before the girl moved or made sound, -although she knew that none of the three had paused at the bend. She -only stood and gazed, for as they galloped off she had heard the scrap -of a broken sentence. It was but one excited word, sounding through the -rattle of hoofs--her own name--“Helen”; and yet because of it she did -not voice the alarm, but rather began to piece together, bit by bit, the -strange points of this adventure. She recalled the outlines of her -captor with a wrinkle of perplexity. Her fright disappeared entirely, -giving place to intense excitement. “No, no--it can’t be--and yet I -wonder if it _is_!” she cried. “Oh, I wonder if it could be!” She -opened her lips to cry aloud, then hesitated. She started towards the -tents, then paused, and for many moments after the hoof-beats had died -out she stayed undecided. Surely she wished to give the signal, to force -the fierce pursuit. What meant this robbery, this defiance of the law, -of her uncle’s edicts and of McNamara? They were common thieves, -criminals, outlaws, these men, deserving punishment, and yet she -recalled a darker night, when she herself had sobbed and quivered with -the terrors of pursuit and two men had shielded her with their bodies. - -She turned and sped towards the tents, bursting in through the canvas -door; instantly every man rose to his feet at sight of her pallid face, -her flashing eyes, and rumpled hair. - -“Sluice robbers!” she cried, breathlessly. “Quick! A hold-up! The -watchman is hurt!” - -A roar shook the night air, and the men poured out past her, while the -day shift came tumbling forth from every quarter in various stages of -undress. - -“Where? Who did it? Where did they go?” - -McNamara appeared among them, fierce and commanding, seeming to grasp -the situation intuitively, without explanation from her. - -“Come on, men. We’ll run ’em down. Get out the horses. Quick!” - -He was mounted even as he spoke, and others joined him. Then turning, he -waved his long arm up the valley towards the mountains. “Divide into -squads of five and cover the hills! Run down to Discovery, one of you, -and telephone to town for Voorhees and a posse.” - -As they made ready to ride away, the girl cried: - -“Stop! Not that way. They went _down_ the gulch--three negroes.” - -She pointed out of the valley, towards the dim glow on the southern -horizon, and the cavalcade rode away into the gloom. - - - - -CHAPTER X - -THE WIT OF AN ADVENTURESS - - -Up creek the three negroes fled, past other camps, to where the stream -branched. Here they took to the right and urged their horses along a -forsaken trail to the head-waters of the little tributary and over the -low saddle. They had endeavored to reach unfrequented paths as soon as -possible in order that they might pass unnoticed. Before quitting the -valley they halted their heaving horses, and, selecting a stagnant pool, -scoured the grease paint from their features as best they could. Their -ears were strained for sounds of pursuit, but, as the moments passed and -none came, the tension eased somewhat and they conversed guardedly. As -the morning light spread they crossed the moss-capped summit of the -range, but paused again, and, removing two saddles, hid them among the -rocks. Slapjack left the others here and rode southward down the Dry -Creek Trail towards town, while the partners shifted part of the weight -from the overloaded packmules to the remaining saddle-animals and -continued eastward along the barren comb of hills on foot, leading the -five horses. - -“It don’t seem like we’ll get away this easy,” said Dextry, scanning the -back trail. “If we do, I’ll be tempted to foller the business reg’lar. -This grease paint on my face makes me smell like a minstrel man. I bet -we’ll get some bully press notices to-morrow.” - -“I wonder what Helen was doing there,” Glenister answered, irrelevantly, -for he had been more shaken by his encounter with her than at his part -in the rest of the enterprise, and his mind, which should have been -busied with the flight, held nothing but pictures of her as she stood in -the half darkness under the fear of his Winchester. “What if she ever -learned who that black ruffian was!” He quailed at the thought. - -“Say, Dex, I am going to marry that girl.” - -“I dunno if you be or not,” said Dextry. “Better watch McNamara.” - -“What!” The younger man stopped and stared. “What do you mean?” - -“Go on. Don’t stop the horses. I ain’t blind. I kin put two an’ two -together.” - -“You’ll never put those two together. Nonsense! Why, the man’s a rascal. -I wouldn’t let him have her. Besides, it couldn’t be. She’ll find him -out. I love her so much that--oh, my feelings are too big to talk -about.” He moved his hands eloquently. “You can’t understand.” - -“Um-m! I s’pose not,” grunted Dextry, but his eyes were level and held -the light of the past. - -“He may be a rascal,” the old man continued, after a little; “I’ll put -in with you on that; but he’s a handsome devil, and, as for manners, he -makes you look like a logger. He’s a brave man, too. Them three -qualities are trump-cards and warranted to take most any queen in the -human deck--red, white, or yellow.” - -“If he dares,” growled Glenister, while his thick brows came forward and -ugly lines hardened in his face. - -In the gray of the early morning they descended the foot-hills into the -wide valley of the Nome River and filed out across the rolling country -to the river bluffs where, cleverly concealed among the willows, was a -rocker. This they set up, then proceeded to wash the dirt from the sacks -carefully, yet with the utmost speed, for there was serious danger of -discovery. It was wonderful, this treasure of the richest ground since -the days of ’49, and the men worked with shining eyes and hands -a-tremble. The gold was coarse, and many ragged, yellow lumps, too large -to pass through the screen, rolled in the hopper, while the aprons -bellied with its weight. In the pans which they had provided there grew -a gleaming heap of wet, raw gold. - -Shortly, by divergent routes, the partners rode unnoticed into town, and -into the excitement of the hold-up news, while the tardy still lingered -over their breakfasts. Far out in the roadstead lay the _Roanoke_, black -smoke pouring from her stack. A tug was returning from its last trip to -her. - -Glenister forced his lathered horse down to the beach and questioned the -longshoremen who hung about. - -“No; it’s too late to get aboard--the last tender is on its way back,” -they informed him. “If you want to go to the ‘outside’ you’ll have to -wait for the fleet. That only means another week, and--there she blows -now.” - -A ribbon of white mingled with the velvet from the steamer’s funnel and -there came a slow, throbbing, farewell blast. - -Glenister’s jaw clicked and squared. - -“Quick! You men!” he cried to the sailors. “I want the lightest dory on -the beach and the strongest oarsmen in the crowd. I’ll be back in five -minutes. There’s a hundred dollars in it for you if we catch that ship.” - -He whirled and spurred up through the mud of the streets. Bill Wheaton -was snoring luxuriously when wrenched from his bed by a dishevelled man -who shook him into wakefulness and into a portion of his clothes, with a -storm of excited instructions. The lawyer had neither time nor -opportunity for expostulation, for Glenister snatched a valise and swept -into it a litter of documents from the table. - -“Hurry up, man,” he yelled, as the lawyer dived frantically about his -office in a rabbit-like hunt for items. “My Heavens! Are you dead? Wake -up! The ship’s leaving.” With sleep still in his eyes Wheaton was -dragged down the street to the beach, where a knot had assembled to -witness the race. As they tumbled into the skiff, willing hands ran it -out into the surf on the crest of a roller. A few lifting heaves and -they were over the bar with the men at the oars bending the white ash at -every swing. - -“I guess I didn’t forget anything,” gasped Wheaton as he put on his -coat. “I got ready yesterday, but I couldn’t find you last night, so I -thought the deal was off.” - -Glenister stripped off his coat and, facing the bow, pushed upon the -oars at every stroke, thus adding his strength to that of the oarsmen. -They crept rapidly out from the beach, eating up the two miles that lay -towards the ship. He urged the men with all his power till the sweat -soaked through their clothes and, under their clinging shirts, the -muscles stood out like iron. They had covered half the distance when -Wheaton uttered a cry and Glenister desisted from his work with a -curse. The _Roanoke_ was moving slowly. - -The rowers rested, but the young man shouted at them to begin again, -and, seizing a boat-hook, stuck it into the arms of his coat. He waved -this on high while the men redoubled their efforts. For many moments -they hung in suspense, watching the black hull as it gathered speed, and -then, as they were about to cease their effort, a puff of steam burst -from its whistle and the next moment a short toot of recognition reached -them. Glenister wiped the moisture from his brow and grinned at Wheaton. - -A quarter of an hour later, as they lay heaving below the ship’s steel -sides, he thrust a heavy buckskin sack into the lawyer’s hand. - -“There’s money to win the fight, Bill. I don’t know how much, but it’s -enough. God bless you. Hurry back!” - -A sailor cast them a whirling rope, up which Wheaton clambered; then, -tying the gripsack to its end, they sent it after. - -“Important!” the young man yelled at the officer on the bridge. -“Government business.” He heard a muffled clang in the engine-room, the -thrash of the propellers followed, and the big ship glided past. - -As Glenister dragged himself up the beach, upon landing, Helen Chester -called to him, and made room for him beside her. It had never been -necessary to call him to her side before; and equally unfamiliar was the -abashment, or perhaps physical weariness, that led the young man to sink -back in the warm sand with a sigh of relief. She noted that, for the -first time, the audacity was gone from his eyes. - -“I watched your race,” she began. “It was very exciting and I cheered -for you.” - -He smiled quietly. - -“What made you keep on after the ship started? I should have given -up--and cried.” - -“I never give up anything that I want,” he said. - -“Have you never been forced to? Then it is because you are a man. Women -have to sacrifice a great deal.” - -Helen expected him to continue to the effect that he would never give -her up--it was in accordance with his earlier presumption--but he was -silent; and she was not sure that she liked him as well thus as when he -overwhelmed her with the boldness of his suit. For Glenister it was -delightful, after the perils of the night, to rest in the calm of her -presence and to feel dumbly that she was near. She saw him secretly -caress a fold of her dress. - -If only she had not the memory of that one night on the ship. “Still, he -is trying to make amends in the best way he can,” she thought. “Though, -of course, no woman could care for a man who would do such a thing.” Yet -she thrilled at the thought of how he had thrust his body between her -and danger; how, but for his quick, insistent action, she would have -failed in escaping from the pest ship, failed in her mission, and met -death on the night of her landing. She owed him much. - -“Did you hear what happened to the good ship _Ohio_?” she asked. - -“No; I’ve been too busy to inquire. I was told the health officers -quarantined her when she arrived, that’s all.” - -“She was sent to Egg Island with every one aboard. She has been there -more than a month now and may not get away this summer.” - -“What a disappointment for the poor devils on her!” - -“Yes, and only for what you did, I should be one of them,” Helen -remarked. - -“I didn’t do much,” he said. “The fighting part is easy. It’s not half -so hard as to give up your property and lie still while--” - -“Did you do that because I asked you to--because I asked you to put -aside the old ways?” A wave of compassion swept over her. - -“Certainly,” he answered. “It didn’t come easy, but--” - -“Oh, I thank you,” said she. “I know it is all for the best. Uncle -Arthur wouldn’t do anything wrong, and Mr. McNamara is an honorable -man.” - -He turned towards her to speak, but refrained. He could not tell her -what he felt certain of. She believed in her own blood and in her -uncle’s friends--and it was not for him to speak of McNamara. The rules -of the game sealed his lips. - -She was thinking again, “If only you had not acted as you did.” She -longed to help him now in his trouble as he had helped her, but what -could she do? The law was such a confusing, intricate, perplexing thing. - -“I spent last night at the Midas,” she told him, “and rode back early -this morning. That was a daring hold-up, wasn’t it?” - -“What hold-up?” - -“Why, haven’t you heard the news?” - -“No,” he answered, steadily. “I just got up.” - -“Your claim was robbed. Three men overcame the watchman at midnight and -cleaned the boxes.” - -His simulation of excited astonishment was perfect and he rained a -shower of questions upon her. She noted with approval that he did not -look her in the eye, however. He was not an accomplished liar. Now -McNamara had a countenance of iron. Unconsciously she made comparison, -and the young man at her side did not lose thereby. - -“Yes, I saw it all,” she concluded, after recounting the details. “The -negro wanted to bind me so that I couldn’t give the alarm, but his -chivalry prevented. He was a most gallant darky.” - -“What did you do when they left?” - -“Why, I kept my word and waited until they were out of sight, then I -roused the camp, and set Mr. McNamara and his men right after them down -the gulch.” - -“_Down_ the gulch!” spoke Glenister, off his guard. - -“Yes, of course. Did you think they went _up_-stream?” She was looking -squarely at him now, and he dropped his eyes. “No, the posse started in -that direction, but I put them right.” There was an odd light in her -glance, and he felt the blood drumming in his ears. - -She sent them down-stream! So that was why there had been no pursuit! -Then she must suspect--she must know everything! Glenister was stunned. -Again his love for the girl surged tumultuously within him and demanded -expression. But Miss Chester, no longer feeling sure that she had the -situation in hand, had already started to return to the hotel. “I saw -the men distinctly,” she told him, before they separated, “and I could -identify them all.” - -At his own house Glenister found Dextry removing the stains of the -night’s adventure. - -“Miss Chester recognized us last night,” he announced. - -“How do you know?” - -“She told me so just now, and, what’s more, she sent McNamara and his -crowd down the creek instead of up. That’s why we got away so easily.” - -“Well, well--ain’t she a brick? She’s even with us now. By-the-way, I -wonder how much we cleaned up, anyhow--let’s weigh it.” Going to the -bed, Dextry turned back the blankets, exposing four moose-skin sacks, -wet and heavy, where he had thrown them. - -“There must have been twenty thousand dollars with what I gave Wheaton,” -said Glenister. - -At that moment, without warning, the door was flung open, and as the -young man jerked the blankets into place he whirled, snatched the -six-shooter that Dextry had discarded, and covered the entrance. - -“Don’t shoot, boy!” cried the new-comer, breathlessly. “My, but you’re -nervous!” - -Glenister dropped his gun. It was Cherry Malotte; and, from her heaving -breast and the flying colors in her cheeks, the men saw she had been -running. She did not give them time to question, but closed and locked -the door while the words came tumbling from her: - -“They’re on to you, boys--you’d better duck out quick. They’re on their -way up here now.” - -“What!” - -“Who?” - -“Quick! I heard McNamara and Voorhees, the marshal, talking. Somebody -has spotted you for the hold-ups. They’re on their way now, I tell you. -I sneaked out by the back way and came here through the mud. Say, but -I’m a sight!” She stamped her trimly booted feet and flirted her skirt. - -“I don’t savvy what you mean,” said Dextry, glancing at his partner -warningly. “We ain’t done nothin’.” - -“Well, it’s all right then. I took a long chance so you could make a -get-away if you wanted to, because they’ve got warrants for you for that -sluice robbery last night. Here they are now.” She darted to the window, -the men peering over her shoulder. Coming up the narrow walk they saw -Voorhees, McNamara, and three others. - -The house stood somewhat isolated and well back on the tundra, so that -any one approaching it by the planking had an unobstructed view of the -premises. Escape was impossible, for the back door led out into the -ankle-deep puddles of the open prairie; and it was now apparent that a -sixth man had made a circuit and was approaching from the rear. - -“My God! They’ll search the place,” said Dextry, and the men looked -grimly in each other’s faces. - -Then in a flash Glenister stripped back the blankets and seized the -“pokes,” leaping into the back room. In another instant he returned with -them and faced desperately the candid bareness of the little room that -they lived and slept in. Nothing could be hidden; it was folly to think -of it. There was a loft overhead, he remembered, hopefully, then -realized that the pursuers would search there first of all. - -“I told you he was a hard fighter,” said Dextry, as the quick footsteps -grew louder. “He ain’t no fool, - -[Illustration: “IN AN INSTANT THE FOUR SACKS WERE DROPPED SOFTLY INTO -THE FEATHERY BOTTOM”] - -neither. ’Stead of our bein’ caught in the mountains, I reckon we’ll -shoot it out here. We should have cached that gold somewhere.” - -He spun the cylinder of his blackened Colt, while his face grew hard and -vulture-like. - -Meanwhile, Cherry Malotte watched the hunted look in Glenister’s face -grow wilder and then stiffen into the stubbornness of a man at bay. The -posse was at the door now, knocking. The three inside stood rigid and -strained. Then Glenister tossed his burden on the bed. - -“Go into the back room, Cherry; there’s going to be trouble.” - -“Who’s there?” inquired Dextry through the door, to gain time. Suddenly, -without a word, the girl glided to the hot-blast heater, now cold and -empty, which stood in a corner of the room. These stoves, used widely in -the North, are vertical iron cylinders into which coal is poured from -above. She lifted the lid and peered in to find it a quarter full of -dead ashes, then turned with shining eyes and parted lips to Glenister. -He caught the hint, and in an instant the four sacks were dropped softly -into the feathery bottom and the ashes raked over. The daring -manœuvre was almost as quick as the flash of woman’s wit that -prompted it, and was carried through while the answer to Dextry’s -question was still unspoken. - -Then Glenister opened the door carelessly and admitted the group of men. - -“We’ve got a search-warrant to look through your house,” said Voorhees. - -“What are you looking for?” - -“Gold-dust from Anvil Creek.” - -“All right--search away.” - -They rapidly scoured the premises, covering every inch, paying no heed -to the girl, who watched them with indifferent eyes, nor to the old man, -who glared at their every movement. Glenister was carelessly sarcastic, -although he kept his right arm free, while beneath his _sang-froid_ was -a thoroughly trained alertness. - -McNamara directed the search with a manner wholly lacking in his former -mock courtesy. It was as though he had been soured by the gall of -defeat. The mask had fallen off now, and his character -showed--insistent, overbearing, cruel. Towards the partners he preserved -a contemptuous silence. - -The invaders ransacked thoroughly, while a dozen times the hearts of -Cherry Malotte and her two companions stopped, then lunged onward, as -McNamara or Voorhees approached, then passed the stove. At last Voorhees -lifted the lid and peered into its dark interior. At the same instant -the girl cried out, sharply, flinging herself from her position, while -the marshal jerked his head back in time to see her dash upon Dextry. - -“Don’t! Don’t!” She cried her appeal to the old man. “Keep cool. You’ll -be sorry, Dex--they’re almost through.” - -The officer had not seen any movement on Dextry’s part, but doubtless -her quick eye had detected signs of violence. McNamara emerged, -glowering, from the back room at that moment. - -“Let them hunt,” the girl was saying, while Dextry stared dazedly over -her head. “They won’t find anything. Keep cool and don’t act rash.” - -Voorhees’s duties sat uncomfortably upon him at the best, and, looking -at the smouldering eyes of the two men, he became averse to further -search in a powdery household whose members itched to shoot him in the -back. - -“It isn’t here,” he reported; but the politician only scowled, then -spoke for the first time directly to the partners: - -“I’ve got warrants for both of you and I’m tempted to take you in, but I -won’t. I’m not through yet--not by any means. I’ll get you--get you -both.” He turned out of the door, followed by the marshal, who called -off his guards, and the group filed back along the walk. - -“Say, you’re a jewel, Cherry. You’ve saved us twice. You caught Voorhees -just in time. My heart hit my palate when he looked into that stove, but -the next instant I wanted to laugh at Dextry’s expression.” - -Impulsively Glenister laid his hands upon her shoulders. At his look and -touch her throat swelled, her bosom heaved, and the silken lids -fluttered until she seemed choked by a very flood of sweet womanliness. -She blushed like a little maid and laughed a timid, broken laugh; then -pulling herself together, the merry, careless tone came into her voice -and her cheeks grew cool and clear. - -“You wouldn’t trust me at first, eh? Some day you’ll find that your old -friends are the best, after all.” - -And as she left them she added, mockingly: - -“Say, you’re a pair of ‘shine’ desperadoes. You need a governess.” - - - - -CHAPTER XI - -WHEREIN A WRIT AND A RIOT FAIL - - -A raw, gray day with a driving drizzle from seaward and a leaden rack of -clouds drifting low matched the sullen, fitful mood of Glenister. - -During the last month he had chafed and fretted like an animal in leash -for word of Wheaton. This uncertainty, this impotent waiting with folded -hands, was maddening to one of his spirit. He could apply himself to no -fixed duty, for the sense of his wrong preyed on him fiercely, and he -found himself haunting the vicinity of the Midas, gazing at it from -afar, grasping hungrily for such scraps of news as chanced to reach him. -McNamara allowed access to none but his minions, so the partners knew -but vaguely of what happened on their property, even though, under -fiction of law, it was being worked for their protection. - -No steps regarding a speedy hearing of the case were allowed, and the -collusion between Judge Stillman and the receiver had become so -generally recognized that there were uneasy mutterings and threats in -many quarters. Yet, although the politician had by now virtually -absorbed all the richest properties in the district and worked them -through his hirelings, the people of Nome as a whole did not grasp the -full turpitude of the scheme nor the system’s perfect working. - -Strange to say, Dextry, the fire-eater, had assumed an Oriental patience -quite foreign to his peppery disposition, and spent much of his time in -the hills prospecting. - -On this day, as the clouds broke, about noon, close down on the angry -horizon a drift of smoke appeared, shortly resolving itself into a -steamer. She lay to in the offing, and through his glasses Glenister saw -that it was the _Roanoke_. As the hours passed and no boat put off, he -tried to hire a crew, but the longshoremen spat wisely and shook their -heads as they watched the surf. - -“There’s the devil of an undertow settin’ along this beach,” they told -him, “and the water’s too cold to drownd in comfortable.” So he laid -firm hands upon his impatience. - -Every day meant many dollars to the watcher, and yet it seemed that -nature was resolute in thwarting him, for that night the wind freshened -and daylight saw the ship hugging the lee of Sledge Island, miles to the -westward, while the surf, white as boiling milk, boomed and thundered -against the shore. - -Word had gone through the street that Bill Wheaton was aboard with a -writ, or a subpœna, or an alibi, or whatever was necessary to put the -“kibosh” on McNamara, so public excitement grew. McNamara hoarded his -gold in the Alaska Bank, and it was taken for granted that there would -lie the scene of the struggle. No one supposed for an instant that the -usurper would part with the treasure peaceably. - -On the third morning the ship lay abreast of the town again and a -life-boat was seen to make off from her, whereupon the idle population -streamed towards the beach. - -“She’ll make it to the surf all right, but then watch out.” - -“We’d better make ready to haul ’em out,” said another. “It’s mighty -dangerous.” And sure enough, as the skiff came rushing in through the -breakers she was caught. - -She had made it past the first line, soaring over the bar on a foamy -roller-crest like a storm-driven gull winging in towards the land. The -wiry figure of Bill Wheaton crouched in the stern while two sailors -fought with their oars. As they gathered for their rush through the last -zone of froth, a great comber rose out of the sea behind them, rearing -high above their heads. The crowd at the surf’s edge shouted. The boat -wavered, sucked back into the ocean’s angry maw, and with a crash the -deluge engulfed them. There remained nothing but a swirling flood -through which the life-boat emerged bottom up, amid a tangle of oars, -gratings, and gear. - -Men rushed into the water, and the next roller pounded them back upon -the marble-hard sand. There came the sound of splitting wood, and then a -group swarmed in waist-deep and bore out a dripping figure. It was a -hempen-headed seaman, who shook the water from his mane and grinned when -his breath had come. - -A step farther down the beach the by-standers seized a limp form which -the tide rolled to them. It was the second sailor, his scalp split from -a blow of the gunwale. Nowhere was Wheaton. - -Glenister had plunged to the rescue first, a heaving-line about his -middle, and although buffeted about he had reached the wreck, only to -miss sight of the lawyer utterly. He had time for but a glance when he -was drawn outward by the undertow till the line at his waist grew taut, -then the water surged over him and he was hurled high up on the beach -again. He staggered dizzily back to the struggle, when suddenly a wave -lifted the capsized cutter and righted it, and out from beneath shot the -form of Wheaton, grimly clutching the life-ropes. They brought him in -choking and breathless. - -“I got it,” he said, slapping his streaming breast. “It’s all right, -Glenister. I knew what delay meant so I took a long chance with the -surf.” The terrific ordeal he had undergone had blanched him to the -lips, his legs wabbled uncertainly, and he would have fallen but for the -young man, who thrust an arm about his waist and led him up into the -town. - -“I went before the Circuit Court of Appeals in ’Frisco,” he explained -later, “and they issued orders allowing an appeal from this court and -gave me a writ of supersedeas directed against old Judge Stillman. That -takes the litigation out of his hands altogether, and directs McNamara -to turn over the Midas and all the gold he’s got. What do you think of -that? I did better than I expected.” - -Glenister wrung his hand silently while a great satisfaction came upon -him. At last this waiting was over and his peaceful yielding to -injustice had borne fruit; had proven the better course after all, as -the girl had prophesied. He could go to her now with clean hands. The -mine was his again. He would lay it at her feet, telling her once more -of his love and the change it was working in him. He would make her see -it, make her see that beneath the harshness his years in the wild had -given him, his love for her was gentle and true and all-absorbing. He -would bid her be patient till she saw he had mastered himself, till he -could come with his soul in harness. - -“I am glad I didn’t fight when they jumped us,” he said. “Now we’ll get -our property back and all the money they took out--that is, if McNamara -hasn’t salted it.” - -“Yes; all that’s necessary is to file the documents, then serve the -Judge and McNamara. You’ll be back on Anvil Creek to-morrow.” - -Having placed their documents on record at the court-house, the two men -continued to McNamara’s office. He met them with courtesy. - -“I heard you had a narrow escape this morning, Mr. Wheaton. Too bad! -What can I do for you?” - -The lawyer rapidly outlined his position and stated in conclusion: - -“I filed certified copies of these orders with the clerk of the court -ten minutes ago, and now I make formal demand upon you to turn over the -Midas to Messrs. Glenister and Dextry, and also to return all the -gold-dust in your safe-deposit boxes in accordance with this writ.” He -handed his documents to McNamara, who tossed them on his desk without -examination. - -“Well,” said the politician, quietly, “I won’t do it.” - -Had he been slapped in the face the attorney would not have been more -astonished. - -“Why--you--” - -“I won’t do it, I said,” McNamara repeated, sharply. “Don’t think for a -minute that I haven’t gone into this fight armed for everything. Writs -of supersedeas! Bah!” He snapped his fingers. - -“We’ll see whether you’ll obey or not,” said Wheaton; and when he and -Glenister were outside he continued: - -“Let’s get to the Judge quick.” - -As they neared the Golden Gate Hotel they spied McNamara entering. It -was evident that he had slipped from the rear door of his office and -beaten them to the judicial ear. - -“I don’t like that,” said Glenister. “He’s up to something.” - -So it appeared, for they were fifteen minutes in gaining access to the -magistrate and then found McNamara with him. Both men were astounded at -the change in Stillman’s appearance. During the last month his weak face -had shrunk and altered until vacillation was betrayed in every line, and -he had acquired the habit of furtively watching McNamara’s slightest -movement. It seemed that the part he played sat heavily upon him. - -The Judge examined the papers perfunctorily, and, although his air was -deliberate, his fingers made clumsy work of it. At last he said: - -“I regret that I am forced to doubt the authenticity of these -documents.” - -“My Heavens, man!” Wheaton cried. “They’re certified copies of orders -from your superior court. They grant the appeal that you have denied us -and take the case out of your hands altogether. Yes--and they order this -man to surrender the mine and everything connected with it. Now, sir, we -want you to enforce these orders.” - -Stillman glanced at the silent man in the window and replied: - -“You will, of course, proceed regularly and make application in court -in the proper way, but I tell you now that I won’t do anything in the -matter.” - -Wheaton stared at him fixedly until the old man snapped out: - -“You say they are certified copies. How do I know they are? The -signatures may all be false. Maybe you signed them yourself.” - -The lawyer grew very white at this and stammered until Glenister drew -him out of the room. - -“Come, come,” he said, “we’ll carry this thing through in open court. -Maybe his nerve will go back on him then. McNamara has him hypnotized, -but he won’t dare refuse to obey the orders of the Circuit Court of -Appeals.” - -“He won’t, eh? Well, what do you think he’s doing right now?” said -Wheaton. “I must think. This is the boldest game I ever played in. They -told me things while I was in ’Frisco which I couldn’t believe, but I -guess they’re true. Judges don’t disobey the orders of their courts of -appeal unless there is power back of them.” - -They proceeded to the attorney’s office, but had not been there long -before Slapjack Simms burst in upon them. - -“Hell to pay!” he panted. “McNamara’s taking your dust out of the bank.” - -“What’s that?” they cried. - -“I goes into the bank just now for an assay on some quartz samples. The -assayer is busy, and I walk back into his room, and while I’m there in -trots McNamara in a hurry. He don’t see me, as I’m inside the private -office, and I overhear him tell them to get his dust out of the vault -quick.” - -“We’ve got to stop that,” said Glenister. “If he takes ours, he’ll take -the Swedes’, too. Simms, you run up to the Pioneer Company and tell them -about it. If he gets that gold out of there, nobody knows what’ll become -of it. Come on, Bill.” - -He snatched his hat and ran out of the room, followed by the others. -That the loose-jointed Slapjack did his work with expedition was -evidenced by the fact that the Swedes were close upon their heels as the -two entered the bank. Others had followed, sensing something unusual, -and the space within the doors filled rapidly. At the disturbance the -clerks suspended their work, the barred doors of the safe-deposit vault -clanged to, and the cashier laid hand upon the navy Colt’s at his elbow. -“What’s the matter?” he cried. - -“We want Alec McNamara,” said Glenister. - -The manager of the bank appeared, and Glenister spoke to him through the -heavy wire netting. - -“Is McNamara in there?” - -No one had ever known Morehouse to lie. “Yes, sir.” He spoke -hesitatingly, in a voice full of the slow music of Virginia. “He is in -here. What of it?” - -“We hear he’s trying to move that dust of ours and we won’t stand for -it. Tell him to come out and not hide in there like a dog.” - -At these words the politician appeared beside the Southerner, and the -two conversed softly an instant, while the impatience of the crowd grew -to anger. Some one cried: - -“Let’s go in and drag him out,” and the rumble at this was not pleasant. -Morehouse raised his hand. - -“Gentlemen, Mr. McNamara says he doesn’t intend to take any of the gold -away.” - -“Then he’s taken it already.” - -“No, he hasn’t.” - -The receiver’s course had been quickly chosen at the interruption. It -was not wise to anger these men too much. Although he had planned to get -the money into his own possession, he now thought it best to leave it -here for the present. He could come back at any time when they were off -guard and get it. Beyond the door against which he stood lay three -hundred thousand dollars--weighed, sacked, sealed, and ready to move out -of the custody of this Virginian whose confidence he had tried so -fruitlessly to gain. - -As McNamara looked into the angry eyes of the lean-faced men beyond the -grating, he felt that the game was growing close, and his blood tingled -at the thought. He had not planned on a resistance so strong and swift, -but he would meet it. He knew that they hungered for his destruction and -that Glenister was their leader. He saw further that the man’s hatred -now stared at him openly for the first time. He knew that back of it was -something more than love for the dull metal over which they wrangled, -and then a thought came to him. - -“Some of your work, eh, Glenister?” he mocked. “Were you afraid to come -alone, or did you wait till you saw me with a lady?” - -At the same instant he opened a door behind him, revealing Helen -Chester. “You’d better not walk out with me, Miss Chester. This man -might--well, you’re safer here, you know. You’ll pardon me for leaving -you.” He hoped he could incite the young man to some rash act or word in -the presence of the girl, and counted on the conspicuous heroism of his -own position, facing the mob single-handed, one against fifty. - -“Come out,” said his enemy, hoarsely, upon whom the insult and the sight -of the girl in the receiver’s company had acted powerfully. - -“Of course I’ll come out, but I don’t want this young lady to suffer any -violence from your friends,” said McNamara. “I am not armed, but I have -the right to leave here unmolested--the right of an American citizen.” -With that he raised his arms above his head. “Out of my way!” he cried. -Morehouse opened the gate, and McNamara strode through the mob. - -It is a peculiar thing that although under fury of passion a man may -fire even upon the back of a defenceless foe, yet no one can offer -violence to a man whose arms are raised on high and in whose glance is -the level light of fearlessness. Moreover, it is safer to face a crowd -thus than a single adversary. - -McNamara had seen this psychological trick tried before and now took -advantage of it to walk through the press slowly, eye to eye. He did it -theatrically, for the benefit of the girl, and, as he foresaw, the men -fell away before him--all but Glenister, who blocked him, gun in hand. -It was plain that the persecuted miner was beside himself with passion. -McNamara came within an arm’s-length before pausing. Then he stopped and -the two stared malignantly at each other, while the girl behind the -railing heard her heart pounding in the stillness. Glenister raised his -hand uncertainly, then let it fall. He shook his head, and stepped aside -so that the other brushed past and out into the street. - -Wheaton addressed the banker: - -“Mr. Morehouse, we’ve got orders and writs of one kind or another from -the Circuit Court of Appeals at ’Frisco directing that this money be -turned over to us.” He shoved the papers towards the other. “We’re not -in a mood to trifle. That gold belongs to us, and we want it.” - -Morehouse looked carefully at the papers. - -“I can’t help you,” he said. “These documents are not directed to me. -They’re issued to Mr. McNamara and Judge Stillman. If the Circuit Court -of Appeals commands me to deliver it to you I’ll do it, but otherwise -I’ll have to keep this dust here till it’s drawn out by order of the -court that gave it to me. That’s the way it was put in here, and that’s -the way it’ll be taken out.” - -“We want it now.” - -“Well, I can’t let my sympathies influence me.” - -“Then we’ll take it out, anyway,” cried Glenister. “We’ve had the worst -of it everywhere else and we’re sick of it. Come on, men.” - -“Stand back!--all of you!” cried Morehouse. “Don’t lay a hand on that -gate. Boys, pick your men.” - -He called this last to his clerks, at the same instant whipping from -behind the counter a carbine, which he cocked. The assayer brought into -view a shot-gun, while the cashier and clerks armed themselves. It was -evident that the deposits of the Alaska Bank were abundantly -safeguarded. - -“I don’t aim to have any trouble with you-all,” continued the -Southerner, “but that money stays here till it’s drawn out right.” - -The crowd paused at this show of resistance, but Glenister railed at -them: - -“Come on--come on! What’s the matter with you?” And from the light in -his eye it was evident that he would not be balked. - -Helen felt that a crisis was come, and braced herself. These men were in -deadly earnest: the white-haired banker, his pale helpers, and those -grim, quiet ones outside. There stood brawny, sun-browned men, with set -jaws and frowning faces, and yellow-haired Scandinavians in whose blue -eyes danced the flame of battle. These had been baffled at every turn, -goaded by repeated failure, and now stood shoulder to shoulder in their -resistance to a cruel law. Suddenly Helen heard a command from the -street and the quick tramp of men, while over the heads before her she -saw the glint of rifle barrels. A file of soldiers with fixed bayonets -thrust themselves roughly through the crowd at the entrance. - -“Clear the room!” commanded the officer. - -“What does this mean?” shouted Wheaton. - -“It means that Judge Stillman has called upon the military to guard this -gold, that’s all. Come, now, move quick.” The men hesitated, then -sullenly obeyed, for resistance to the blue of Uncle Sam comes only at -the cost of much consideration. - -“They’re robbing us with our own soldiers,” said Wheaton, when they were -outside. - -“Ay,” said Glenister, darkly. “We’ve tried the law, but they’re forcing -us back to first principles. There’s going to be murder here.” - - - - -CHAPTER XII - -COUNTERPLOTS - - -Glenister had said that the Judge would not dare to disobey the mandates -of the Circuit Court of Appeals, but he was wrong. Application was made -for orders directing the enforcement of the writs--steps which would -have restored possession of the Midas to its owners, as well as -possession of the treasure in bank--but Stillman refused to grant them. - -Wheaton called a meeting of the Swedes and their attorneys, advising a -junction of forces. Dextry, who had returned from the mountains, was -present. When they had finished their discussion, he said: - -“It seems like I can always fight better when I know what the other -feller’s game is. I’m going to spy on that outfit.” - -“We’ve had detectives at work for weeks,” said the lawyer for the -Scandinavians; “but they can’t find out anything we don’t know already.” - -Dextry said no more, but that night found him busied in the building -adjoining the one wherein McNamara had his office. He had rented a back -room on the top floor, and with the help of his partner sawed through -the ceiling into the loft and found his way thence to the roof through a -hatchway. Fortunately, there was but little space between the two -buildings, and, furthermore, each boasted the square fronts common in -mining-camps, which projected high enough to prevent observation from -across the way. Thus he was enabled, without discovery, to gain the roof -adjoining and to cut through into the loft. He crept cautiously in -through the opening, and out upon a floor of joists sealed on the lower -side, then lit a candle, and, locating McNamara’s office, cut a -peep-hole so that by lying flat on the timbers he could command a -considerable portion of the room beneath. Here, early the following -morning, he camped with the patience of an Indian, emerging in the still -of that night stiff, hungry, and atrociously cross. Meanwhile, there had -been another meeting of the mine-owners, and it had been decided to send -Wheaton, properly armed with affidavits and transcripts of certain court -records, back to San Francisco on the return trip of the _Santa Maria_, -which had arrived in port. He was to institute proceedings for contempt -of court, and it was hoped that by extraordinary effort he could gain -quick action. - -At daybreak Dextry returned to his post, and it was midnight before he -crawled from his hiding-place to see the lawyer and Glenister. - -“They have had a spy on you all day, Wheaton,” he began, “and they know -you’re going out to the States. You’ll be arrested to-morrow morning -before breakfast.” - -“Arrested! What for?” - -“I don’t just remember what the crime is--bigamy, or mayhem, or -attainder of treason, or something--anyway, they’ll get you in jail and -that’s all they want. They think you’re the only lawyer that’s wise -enough to cause trouble and the only one they can’t bribe.” - -“Lord! What’ll I do? They’ll watch every lighter that leaves the beach, -and if they don’t catch me that way, they’ll search the ship.” - -“I’ve thought it all out,” said the old man, to whom obstruction acted -as a stimulant. - -“Yes--but how?” - -“Leave it to me. Get your things together and be ready to duck in two -hours.” - -“I tell you they’ll search the _Santa Maria_ from stem to stern,” -protested the lawyer, but Dextry had gone. - -“Better do as he says. His schemes are good ones,” recommended -Glenister, and accordingly the lawyer made preparation. - -In the mean time the old prospector had begun at the end of Front Street -to make a systematic search of the gambling-houses. Although it was very -late they were running noisily, and at last he found the man he wanted -playing “Black Jack,” the smell of tar in his clothes, the lilt of the -sea in his boisterous laughter. Dextry drew him aside. - -“Mac, there’s only two things about you that’s any good--your silence -and your seamanship. Otherwise, you’re a disreppitable, drunken insect.” - -The sailor grinned. - -“What is it you want now? If it’s concerning money, or business, or the -growed-up side of life, run along and don’t disturb the carousals of a -sailorman. If it’s a fight, lemme get my hat.” - -“I want you to wake up your fireman and have steam on the tug in an -hour, then wait for me below the bridge. You’re chartered for -twenty-four hours, and--remember, not a word.” - -“I’m on! Compared to me the Spinks of Egyp’ is as talkative as a -phonograph.” - -The old man next turned his steps to the Northern Theatre. The -performance was still in progress, and he located the man he was hunting -without difficulty. - -Ascending the stairs, he knocked at the door of one of the boxes and -called for Captain Stephens. - -“I’m glad I found you, Cap,” said he. “It saved me a trip out to your -ship in the dark.” - -“What’s the matter?” - -Dextry drew him to an isolated corner. “Me an’ my partner want to send a -man to the States with you.” - -“All right.” - -“Well--er--here’s the point,” hesitated the miner, who rebelled at -asking favors. “He’s our law sharp, an’ the McNamara outfit is tryin’ to -put the steel on him.” - -“I don’t understand.” - -“Why, they’ve swore out a warrant an’ aim to guard the shore to-morrow. -We want you to--” - -“Mr. Dextry, I’m not looking for trouble. I get enough in my own -business.” - -“But, see here,” argued the other, “we’ve got to send him out so he can -make a pow-wow to the big legal smoke in ’Frisco. We’ve been cold-decked -with a bum judge. They’ve got us into a corner an’ over the ropes.” - -“I’m sorry I can’t help you, Dextry, but I got mixed up in one of your -scrapes and that’s plenty.” - -“This ain’t no stowaway. There’s no danger to you,” began Dextry, but -the officer interrupted him: - -“There’s no need of arguing. I won’t do it.” - -“Oh, you _won’t_, eh?” said the old man, beginning to lose his temper. -“Well, you listen to _me_ for a minute. Everybody in camp knows that me -an’ the kid is on the square an’ that we’re gettin’ the bunk passed to -us. Now, this lawyer party must get away to-night or these grafters will -hitch the horses to him on some phony charge so he can’t get to the -upper court. It’ll be him to the bird-cage for ninety days. He’s goin’ -to the States, though, an’ he’s goin’--in--your--wagon! I’m talkin’ to -you--man to man. If you don’t take him, I’ll go to the health -inspector--he’s a friend of mine--an’ I’ll put a crimp in you an’ your -steamboat. I don’t want to do that--it ain’t my reg’lar graft by no -means--but this bet goes through as she lays. I never belched up a -secret before. No, sir; I am the human huntin’-case watch, an’ I won’t -open my face unless you press me. But if I should, you’ll see that it’s -time for you to hunt a new job. Now, here’s my scheme.” He outlined his -directions to the sailor, who had fallen silent during the warning. When -he had done, Stephens said: - -“I never had a man talk to me like that before, sir--never. You’ve taken -advantage of me, and under the circumstances I can’t refuse. I’ll do -this thing--not because of your threat, but because I heard about your -trouble over the Midas--and because I can’t help admiring your blamed -insolence.” He went back into his stall. - -Dextry returned to Wheaton’s office. As he neared it, he passed a -lounging figure in an adjacent doorway. - -“The place is watched,” he announced as he entered. “Have you got a back -door? Good! Leave your light burning and we’ll go out that way.” They -slipped quietly into an inky, tortuous passage which led back towards -Second Street. Floundering through alleys and over garbage heaps, by -circuitous routes, they reached the bridge, where, in the swift stream -beneath, they saw the lights from Mac’s tug. - -Steam was up, and when the Captain had let them aboard Dextry gave him -instructions, to which he nodded acquiescence. They bade the lawyer -adieu, and the little craft slipped its moorings, danced down the -current, across the bar, and was swallowed up in the darkness to -seaward. - -“I’ll put out Wheaton’s light so they’ll think he’s gone to bed.” - -“Yes, and at daylight I’ll take your place in McNamara’s loft,” said -Glenister. “There will be doings to-morrow when they don’t find him.” - -They returned by the way they had come to the lawyer’s room, -extinguished his light, went to their own cabin and to bed. At dawn -Glenister arose and sought his place above McNamara’s office. - -To lie stretched at length on a single plank with eye glued to a crack -is not a comfortable position, and the watcher thought the hours of the -next day would never end. As they dragged wearily past, his bones began -to ache beyond endurance, yet owing to the flimsy structure of the -building he dared not move while the room below was tenanted. In fact, -he would not have stirred had he dared, so intense was his interest in -the scenes being enacted beneath him. - -First had come the marshal, who reported his failure to find Wheaton. - -“He left his room some time last night. My men followed him in and saw a -light in his window until two o’clock this morning. At seven o’clock we -broke in and he was gone.” - -“He must have got wind of our plan. Send deputies aboard the _Santa -Maria_; search her from keel to top-mast, and have them watch the beach -close or he’ll put off in a small boat. You look over the passengers -that go aboard yourself. Don’t trust any of your men for that, because -he may try to slip through disguised. He’s liable to make up like a -woman. You understand--there’s only one ship in port, and--he mustn’t -get away.” - -“He won’t,” said Voorhees, with conviction, and the listener overhead -smiled grimly to himself, for at that moment, twenty miles offshore, lay -Mac’s little tug, hove to in the track of the outgoing steamship, and in -her tiny cabin sat Bill Wheaton eating breakfast. - -As the morning wore by with no news of the lawyer, McNamara’s uneasiness -grew. At noon the marshal returned with a report that the passengers -were all aboard and the ship about to clear. - -“By Heavens! He’s slipped through you,” stormed the politician. - -“No, he hasn’t. He may be hidden aboard somewhere among the -coal-bunkers, but I think he’s still ashore and aiming to make a quick -run just before she sails. He hasn’t left the beach since daylight, -that’s sure. I’m going out to the ship now with four men and search her -again. If we don’t bring him off you can bet he’s lying out somewhere in -town and we’ll get him later. I’ve stationed men along the shore for two -miles.” - -“I won’t have him get away. If he should reach ’Frisco--Tell your men -I’ll give five hundred dollars to the one that finds him.” - -Three hours later Voorhees returned. - -“She sailed without him.” - -The politician cursed. “I don’t believe it. He tricked you. I know he -did.” - -Glenister grinned into a half-eaten sandwich, then turned upon his back -and lay thus on the plank, identifying the speakers below by their -voices. - -He kept his post all day. Later in the evening he heard Struve enter. -The man had been drinking. - -“So he got away, eh?” he began. “I was afraid he would. Smart fellow, -that Wheaton.” - -“He didn’t get away,” said McNamara. “He’s in town yet. Just let me land -him in jail on some excuse! I’ll hold him till snow flies.” Struve sank -into a chair and lit a cigarette with wavering hand. - -“This ’s a hell of a game, ain’t it, Mac? D’you s’pose we’ll win?” - -The man overhead pricked up his ears. - -“Win? Aren’t we winning? What do you call this? I only hope we can lay -hands on Wheaton. He knows things. A little knowledge is a dangerous -thing, but more is worse. Lord! If only I had a _man_ for judge in place -of Stillman! I don’t know why I brought him.” - -“That’s right. Too weak. He hasn’t got the backbone of an angleworm. He -ain’t half the man that his niece is. _There’s_ a girl for you! Say! -What’d we do without her, eh? She’s a pippin!” Glenister felt a sudden -tightening of every muscle. What right had that man’s liquor-sodden lips -to speak so of her? - -“She’s a brave little woman all right. Just look how she worked -Glenister and his fool partner. It took nerve to bring in those -instructions of yours alone; and if it hadn’t been for her we’d never -have won like this. It makes me laugh to think of those two men stowing -her away in their state-room while they slept between decks with the -sheep, and her with the papers in her bosom all the time. Then, when we -got ready to do business, why, she up and talks them into giving us -possession of their mine without a fight. That’s what I call -reciprocating a man’s affection.” - -Glenister’s nails cut into his flesh, while his face went livid at the -words. He could not grasp it at once. It made him sick--physically -sick--and for many moments he strove blindly to beat back the hideous -suspicion, the horror that the lawyer had aroused. His was not a -doubting disposition, and to him the girl had seemed as one pure, -mysterious, apart, angelically incapable of deceit. He had loved her, -feeling that some day she would return his affection without fail. In -her great, unclouded eyes he had found no lurking-place for -double-dealing. Now--God! It couldn’t be that all the time she had -_known_! - -He had lost a part of the lawyer’s speech, but peered through his -observation-hole again. - -McNamara was at the window gazing out into the dark street, his back -towards the lawyer, who lolled in the chair, babbling garrulously of the -girl. Glenister ground his teeth--a frenzy possessed him to loose his -anger, to rip through the frail ceiling with naked hands and fall -vindictively upon the two men. - -“She looked good to me the first time I saw her,” continued Struve. He -paused, and when he spoke again a change had coarsened his features. -“Say, I’m crazy about her, Mac. I tell you, I’m crazy--and she likes -me--I know she does--or, anyway, she would--” - -“Do you mean that you’re in love with her?” asked the man at the window, -without shifting his position. It seemed that utter indifference was in -his question, although where the light shone on his hands, -tight-clinched behind his back, they were bloodless. - -“Love her? Well--that depends--ha! You know how it is--” he chuckled, -coarsely. His face was gross and bestial. “I’ve got the Judge where I -want him, and I’ll have her--” - -His miserable words died with a gurgle, for McNamara had silently leaped -and throttled him where he sat, pinning him to the wall. Glenister saw -the big politician shift his fingers slightly on Struve’s throat and -then drop his left hand to his side, holding his victim writhing and -helpless with his right despite the man’s frantic struggles. McNamara’s -head was thrust forward from his shoulders, peering into the lawyer’s -face. Struve tore ineffectually at the iron arm which was squeezing his -life out, while for endless minutes the other leaned his weight against -him, his idle hand behind his back, his legs braced like stone columns, -as he watched his victim’s struggles abate. - -Struve fought and wrenched while his breath caught in his throat with -horrid, sickening sounds, but gradually his eyes rolled farther and -farther back till they stared out of his blackened visage, straight up -towards the ceiling, towards the hole through which Glenister peered. -His struggles lessened, his chin sagged, and his tongue protruded, then -he sat loose and still. The politician flung him out into the room so -that he fell limply upon his face, then stood watching him. Finally, -McNamara passed out of the watcher’s vision, returning with a -water-bucket. With his foot he rolled the unconscious wretch upon his -back, then drenched him. Replacing the pail, he seated himself, lit a -cigar, and watched the return of life into his victim. He made no move, -even to drag him from the pool in which he lay. - -Struve groaned and shuddered, twisted to his side, and at last sat up -weakly. In his eyes there was now a great terror, while in place of his -drunkenness was only fear and faintness--abject fear of the great bulk -that sat and smoked and stared at him so fishily. He felt uncertainly of -his throat, and groaned again. - -“Why did you do that?” he whispered; but the other made no sign. He -tried to rise, but his knees relaxed; he staggered and fell. At last he -gained his feet and made for the door; then, when his hand was on the -knob, McNamara spoke through his teeth, without removing his cigar. - -“Don’t ever talk about her again. She is going to marry me.” - -When he was alone he looked curiously up at the ceiling over his head. -“The rats are thick in this shack,” he mused. “Seems to me I heard a -whole swarm of them.” - -A few moments later a figure crept through the hole in the roof of the -house next door and thence down into the street. A block ahead was the -slow-moving form of Attorney Struve. Had a stranger met them both he -would not have known which of the two had felt at his throat the clutch -of a strangler, for each was drawn and haggard and swayed as he went. - -Glenister unconsciously turned towards his cabin, but at leaving the -lighted streets the thought of its darkness and silence made him -shudder. Not now! He could not bear that stillness and the company of -his thoughts. He dared not be alone. Dextry would be down-town, -undoubtedly, and he, too, must get into the light and turmoil. He licked -his lips and found that they were cracked and dry. - -At rare intervals during the past years he had staggered in from a long -march where, for hours, he had waged a bitter war with cold and hunger, -his limbs clumsy with fatigue, his garments wet and stiff, his mind -slack and sullen. At such extreme seasons he had felt a consuming -thirst, a thirst which burned and scorched until his very bones cried -out feverishly. Not a thirst for water, nor a thirst which eaten snow -could quench, but a savage yearning of his whole exhausted system for -some stimulant, for some coursing fiery fluid that would burn and -strangle. A thirst for whiskey--for brandy! Remembering these occasional -ferocious desires, he had become charitable to such unfortunates as were -too weak to withstand similar temptations. - -Now with a shock he caught himself in the grip of a thirst as insistent -as though the cold bore down and the weariness of endless heavy miles -wrapped him about. It was no foolish wish to drown his thoughts nor to -banish the grief that preyed upon him, but only thirst! Thirst!--a -crying, trembling, physical lust to quench the fires that burned inside. -He remembered that it had been more than a year since he had tasted -whiskey. Now the fever of the past few hours had parched his every -tissue. - -As he elbowed in through the crowd at the Northern, those next him made -room at the bar, for they recognized the hunger that peers thus from -men’s faces. Their manner recalled Glenister to his senses, and he -wrenched himself away. This was not some solitary, snow-banked -road-house. He would not stand and soak himself, shoulder to shoulder -with stevedores and longshoremen. This was something to be done in -secret. He had no pride in it. The man on his right raised a glass, and -the young man strangled a madness to tear it from his hands. Instead, he -hurried back to the theatre and up to a box, where he drew the curtains. - -“Whiskey!” he said, thickly, to the waiter. “Bring it to me fast. Don’t -you hear? Whiskey!” - -Across the theatre Cherry Malotte had seen him enter and jerk the -curtains together. She arose and went to him, entering without ceremony. - -“What’s the matter, boy?” she questioned. - -“Ah! I am glad you came. Talk to me.” - -“Thank you for your few well-chosen remarks,” she laughed. “Why don’t -you ask me to spring some good, original jokes? You look like the finish -to a six-day go-as-you-please. What’s up?” - -She talked to him for a moment until the waiter entered; then, when she -saw what he bore, she snatched the glass from the tray and poured the -whiskey on the floor. Glenister was on his feet and had her by the -wrist. - -“What do you mean?” he said, roughly. - -“It’s whiskey, boy,” she cried, “and you don’t drink.” - -“Of course it’s whiskey. Bring me another,” he shouted at the attendant. - -“What’s the matter?” Cherry insisted. “I never saw you act so. You know -you don’t drink. I won’t let you. It’s booze--booze, I tell you, fit -for fools and brawlers. Don’t drink it, Roy. Are you in trouble?” - -“I say I’m thirsty--and I will have it! How do you know what it is to -smoulder inside, and feel your veins burn dry?” - -“It’s something about that girl,” the woman said, with quiet conviction. -“She’s double-crossed you.” - -“Well, so she has--but what of it? I’m thirsty. She’s going to marry -McNamara. I’ve been a fool.” He ground his teeth and reached for the -drink with which the boy had returned. - -“McNamara is a crook, but he’s a man, and he never drank a drop in his -life.” The girl said it, casually, evenly, but the other stopped the -glass half-way to his lips. - -“Well, what of it? Go on. You’re good at W. C. T. U. talk. Virtue -becomes you.” - -She flushed, but continued, “It simply occurred to me that if you aren’t -strong enough to handle your own throat, you’re not strong enough to -beat a man who has mastered his.” - -Glenister looked at the whiskey a moment, then set it back on the tray. - -“Bring two lemonades,” he said, and with a laugh which was half a sob -Cherry Malotte leaned forward and kissed him. - -“You’re too good a man to drink. Now, tell me all about it.” - -“Oh, it’s too long! I’ve just learned that the girl is in, hand and -glove, with the Judge and McNamara--that’s all. She’s an advance -agent--their lookout. She brought in their instructions to Struve and -persuaded Dex and me to let them jump our claim. She got us to trust in -the law and in her uncle. Yes, she hypnotized my property out of me and -gave it to her lover, this ward politician. Oh, she’s smooth, with all -her innocence! Why, when she smiles she makes you glad and good and -warm, and her eyes are as honest and clear as a mountain pool, but she’s -wrong--she’s wrong--and--great God! how I love her!” He dropped his face -into his hands. - -When she had pled with him for himself a moment before Cherry Malotte -was genuine and girlish but now as he spoke thus of the other woman a -change came over her which he was too disturbed to note. She took on the -subtleness that masked her as a rule, and her eyes were not pleasant. - -“I could have told you all that and more.” - -“More! What more?” he questioned. - -“Do you remember when I warned you and Dextry that they were coming to -search your cabin for the gold? Well, that girl put them on to you. I -found it out afterwards. She keeps the keys to McNamara’s safety vault -where your dust lies, and she’s the one who handles the Judge. It isn’t -McNamara at all.” The woman lied easily, fluently, and the man believed -her. - -“Do you remember when they broke into your safe and took that money?” - -“Yes.” - -“Well, what made them think you had ten thousand in there?” - -“I don’t know.” - -“I do. Dextry told her.” - -Glenister arose. “That’s all I want to hear now. I’m going crazy. My -mind aches, for I’ve never had a fight like this before and it hurts. -You see, I’ve been an animal all these years. When I wanted to drink, I -drank, and what I wanted, I got, because I’ve been strong enough to take -it. This is new to me. I’m going down-stairs now and try to think of -something else--then I’m going home.” - -When he had gone she pulled back the curtains, and, leaning her chin in -her hands, with elbows on the ledge, gazed down upon the crowd. The show -was over and the dance had begun, but she did not see it, for she was -thinking rapidly with the eagerness of one who sees the end of a long -and weary search. She did not notice the Bronco Kid beckoning to her nor -the man with him, so the gambler brought his friend along and invaded -her box. He introduced the man as Mr. Champian. - -“Do you feel like dancing?” the new-comer inquired. - -“No; I’d rather look on. I feel sociable. You’re a society man, Mr. -Champian. Don’t you know anything of interest? Scandal or the like?” - -“Can’t say that I do. My wife attends to all that for the family. But I -know there’s lots of it. It’s funny to me, the airs some of these people -assume up here, just as though we weren’t all equal, north of -Fifty-three. I never heard the like.” - -“Anything new and exciting?” inquired Bronco, mildly interested. - -“The last I heard was about the Judge’s niece, Miss Chester.” - -Cherry Malotte turned abruptly, while the Kid slowly lowered the front -legs of his chair to the floor. - -“What was it?” she inquired. - -“Why, it seems she compromised herself pretty badly with this fellow -Glenister coming up on the steamer last spring. Mighty brazen, according -to my wife. Mrs. Champian was on the same ship and says she was -horribly shocked.” - -Ah! Glenister had told her only half the tale, thought the girl. The -truth was baring itself. At that moment Champian thought she looked the -typical creature of the dance-halls, the crafty, jealous, malevolent -adventuress. - -“And the hussy masquerades as a lady,” she sneered. - -“She _is_ a lady,” said the Kid. He sat bolt upright and rigid, and the -knuckles of his clinched hands were very white. In the shadow they did -not note that his dark face was ghastly, nor did he say more except to -bid Champian good-bye when he left, later on. After the door had closed, -however, the Kid arose and stretched his muscles, not languidly, but as -though to take out the cramp of long tension. He wet his lips, and his -mouth was so dry that the sound caused the girl to look up. - -“What are you grinning at?” Then, as the light struck his face, she -started. “My! How you look! What ails you? Are you sick?” No one, from -Dawson down, had seen the Bronco Kid as he looked to-night. - -“No. I’m not sick,” he answered, in a cracked voice. - -Then the girl laughed harshly. - -“Do _you_ love that girl, too? Why, she’s got every man in town crazy.” - -She wrung her hands, which is a bad sign in a capable person, and as -Glenister crossed the floor below in her sight she said, “Ah-h--I could -kill him for that!” - -“So could I,” said the Kid, and left her without adieu. - - - - -CHAPTER XIII - -IN WHICH A MAN IS POSSESSED OF A DEVIL. - - -For a long time Cherry Malotte sat quietly thinking, removed by her -mental stress to such an infinite distance from the music and turmoil -beneath that she was conscious of it only as a formless clamor. She had -tipped a chair back against the door, wedging it beneath the knob so -that she might be saved from interruption, then flung herself into -another seat and stared unseeingly. As she sat thus, and thought, and -schemed, harsh and hateful lines seemed to eat into her face. Now and -then she moaned impatiently, as though fearing lest the strategy she was -plotting might prove futile; then she would rise and pace her narrow -quarters. She was unconscious of time, and had spent perhaps two hours -thus, when amid the buzz of talk in the next compartment she heard a -name which caused her to start, listen, then drop her preoccupation like -a mantle. A man was speaking of Glenister. Excitement thrilled his -voice. - -“I never saw anything like it since McMaster’s Night in Virginia City, -thirteen years ago. He’s _right_.” - -“Well, perhaps so,” the other replied, doubtfully, “but I don’t care to -back you. I never ‘staked’ a man in my life.” - -“Then _lend_ me the money. I’ll pay it back in an hour, but for -Heaven’s sake be quick. I tell you he’s as right as a golden guinea. -It’s the lucky night of his life. Why, he turned over the Black Jack -game in four bets. In fifteen minutes more we can’t get close enough to -a table to send in our money with a messenger-boy--every sport in camp -will be here.” - -“I’ll stake you to fifty,” the second man replied, in a tone that showed -a trace of his companion’s excitement. - -So Glenister was gambling, the girl learned, and with such luck as to -break the Black Jack game and excite the greed of every gambler in camp. -News of his winnings had gone out into the street, and the sporting men -were coming to share his fortune, to fatten like vultures on the -adversity of their fellows. Those who had no money to stake were -borrowing, like the man next door. - -She left her retreat, and, descending the stairs, was greeted by a -strange sight. The dance-hall was empty of all but the musicians, who -blew and fiddled lustily in vain endeavor to draw from the rapidly -swelling crowd that thronged the gambling-room and stretched to the -door. The press was thickest about a table midway down the hall. Cherry -could see nothing of what went on there, for men and women stood ten -deep about it and others perched on chairs and tables along the walls. A -roar arose suddenly, followed by utter silence; then came the clink and -rattle of silver. A moment, and the crowd resumed its laughter and talk. - -“All down, boys,” sounded the level voice of the dealer. “The field or -the favorite. He’s made eighteen straight passes. Get your money on the -line.” There ensued another breathless instant wherein she heard the -thud of dice, then followed the shout of triumph that told what the -spots revealed. The dealer payed off. Glenister reared himself head and -shoulders above the others and pushed out through the ring to the -roulette-wheel. The rest followed. Behind the circular table they had -quitted, the dealer was putting away his dice, and there was not a coin -in his rack. Mexico Mullins approached Cherry, and she questioned him. - -“He just broke the crap game,” Mullins told her; “nineteen passes -without losing the bones.” - -“How much did he win?” - -“Oh, he didn’t win much himself, but it’s the people betting with him -that does the damage! They’re gamblers, most of them, and they play the -limit. He took out the Black Jack bank-roll first, $4,000, then cleaned -the ‘Tub.’ By that time the tin horns began to come in. It’s the -greatest run I ever see.” - -“Did you get in?” - -“Now, don’t you know that I never play anything but ‘bank’? If he lasts -long enough to reach the faro lay-out, I’ll get mine.” - -The excitement of the crowd began to infect the girl, even though she -looked on from the outside. The exultant voices, the sudden hush, the -tensity of nerve it all betokened, set her a-thrill. A stranger left the -throng and rushed to the spot where Cherry and Mexico stood talking. He -was small and sandy, with shifting glance and chinless jaw. His eyes -glittered, his teeth shone ratlike through his dry lips, and his voice -was shrill. He darted towards them like some furtive, frightened little -animal, unnaturally excited. - -“I guess that isn’t so bad for three bets!” He shook a sheaf of -bank-notes at them. - -“Why don’t you stick?” inquired Mullins. - -“I am too wise. Ha! I know when to quit. He can’t win steady--he don’t -play any system.” - -“Then he has a good chance,” said the girl. - -“There he goes now,” the little man cried as the uproar arose. “I told -you he’d lose.” At the voice of the multitude he wavered as though -affected by some powerful magnet. - -“But he won again,” said Mexico. - -“No! Did he? Lord! I quit too soon!” - -He scampered back into the other room, only to return, hesitating, his -money tightly clutched. - -“Do you s’pose it’s safe? I never saw a man bet so reckless. I guess I’d -better quit, eh?” He noted the sneer on the woman’s face, and without -waiting a reply dashed off again. They saw him clamorously fight his way -in towards a post at the roulette-table. “Let me through! I’ve got money -and I want to play it!” - -“Pah!” said Mullins, disgustedly. “He’s one of them Vermont desperadoes -that never laid a bet till he was thirty. If Glenister loses he’ll hate -him for life.” - -“There are plenty of his sort here,” the girl remarked; “his soul would -fit in a flea-track.” She spied the Bronco Kid sauntering back towards -her and joined him. He leaned against the wall, watching the gossamer -thread of smoke twist upward from his cigarette, seemingly oblivious to -the surroundings, and showing no hint of the emotion he had displayed -two hours before. - -“This is a big killing, isn’t it?” said the girl. - -The gambler nodded, murmuring indifferently. - -“Why aren’t you dealing bank? Isn’t this your shift?” - -“I quit last night.” - -“Just in time to miss this affair. Lucky for you.” - -“Yes; I own the place now. Bought it yesterday.” - -“Good Heavens! Then it’s _your_ money he’s winning.” - -“Sure, at the rate of a thousand a minute.” - -She glanced at the long trail of devastated tables behind Glenister and -his followers. At that instant the sound told that the miner had won -again, and it dawned upon Cherry that the gambler beside her stood too -quietly, that his hand and voice were too steady, his glance too cold to -be natural. The next moment approved her instinct. - -The musicians, grown tired of their endeavors to lure back the dancers, -determined to join the excitement, and ceased playing. The leader laid -down his violin, the pianist trailed up the key-board with a departing -twitter and quit his stool. They all crossed the hall, headed for the -crowd, some of them making ready to bet. As they approached the Bronco -Kid, his lips thinned and slid apart slightly, while out of his -heavy-lidded eyes there flared unreasoning rage. Stepping forward, he -seized the foremost man and spun him about violently. - -“Where are you going?” - -“Why, nobody wants to dance, so we thought we’d go out front for a bit.” - -“Get back, damn you!” It was his first chance to vent the passion within -him. A glance at his maddened features was sufficient for the musicians, -and they did not delay. By the time they had resumed their duties, -however, the curtains of composure had closed upon the Kid, masking his -emotion again; but from her brief glimpse Cherry Malotte knew that this -man was not of ice, as some supposed. He turned to her and said, “Do you -mean what you said up-stairs?” - -“I don’t understand.” - -“You said you could kill Glenister.” - -“I could.” - -“Don’t you love--” - -“I _hate_ him,” she interrupted, hoarsely. He gave her a mirthless -smile, and spying the crap-dealer leaving his bankrupt table, called him -over and said: - -“Toby, I want you to ‘drive the hearse’ when Glenister begins to play -faro. I’ll deal. Understand?” - -“Sure! Going to give him a little ‘work,’ eh?” - -“I never dealt a crooked card in this camp,” exclaimed the Kid, “but -I’ll ‘lay’ that man to-night or I’ll kill him! I’ll use a ‘sand-tell,’ -see! And I want to explain my signals to you. If you miss the signs -you’ll queer us both and put the house on the blink.” - -He rapidly rehearsed his signals in a jargon which to a layman would -have been unintelligible, illustrating them by certain almost -imperceptible shiftings of the fingers or changes in the position of his -hand, so slight as to thwart discovery. Through it all the girl stood by -and followed his every word and motion with eager attention. She needed -no explanation of the terms they used. She knew them all, knew that the -“hearse-driver” was the man who kept the cases, knew all the code of the -“inside life.” To her it was all as an open page, and she memorized more -quickly than did Toby the signs by which the Bronco Kid proposed to -signal what card he had smuggled from the box or held back. - -In faro it is customary for the case-keeper to sit on the opposite side -of the table from the dealer, with a device before him resembling an -abacus, or Chinese adding-machine. When a card is removed from the -faro-box by the dealer, the “hearse-driver” moves a button opposite a -corresponding card on his little machine, in order that the players, at -a glance, may tell what spots have been played or are still in the box. -His duties, though simple, are important, for should he make an error, -and should the position of his counters not tally with the cards in the -box on the “last turn,” all bets on the table are declared void. When -honestly dealt, faro is the fairest of all gambling games, but it is -intricate, and may hide much knavery. When the game is crooked, it is -fatal, for out of the ingenuity of generations of card sharks there have -been evolved a multitude of devices with which to fleece the -unsuspecting. These are so carefully masked that none but the initiated -may know them, while the freemasonry of the craft is strong and -discovery unusual. - -Instead of using a familiar arrangement like the “needle-tell,” wherein -an invisible needle pricks the dealer’s thumb, thus signalling the -presence of certain cards, the Bronco Kid had determined to use the -“sand-tell.” In other words, he would employ a “straight box,” but a -deck of cards, certain ones of which had been roughened or sand-papered -slightly, so that, by pressing more heavily on the top or exposed card, -the one beneath would stick to its neighbor above, and thus enable him -to deal two with one motion if the occasion demanded. This roughness -would likewise enable him to detect the hidden presence of a marked card -by the faintest scratching sound when he dealt. In this manipulation it -would be necessary, also, to shave the edges of some of the pasteboards -a trifle, so that, when the deck was forced firmly against one side of -the box, there would be exposed a fraction of the small figure in the -left-hand corner of the concealed cards. Long practice in the art of -jugglery lends such proficiency as to baffle discovery and rob the game -of its uncertainty as surely as the player is robbed of his money. It -is, of course, vital that the confederate case-keeper be able to -interpret the dealer’s signs perfectly in order to move the sliding -ebony disks to correspond, else trouble will accrue at the completion of -the hand when the cases come out wrong. - -Having completed his instructions, the proprietor went forward, and -Cherry wormed her way towards the roulette-wheel. She wished to watch -Glenister, but could not get near him because of the crowd. The men -would not make room for her. Every eye was glued upon the table as -though salvation lurked in its rows of red and black. They were packed -behind it until the croupier had barely room to spin the ball, and -although he forced them back, they pressed forward again inch by inch, -drawn by the song of the ivory, drunk with its worship, maddened by the -breath of Chance. - -Cherry gathered that Glenister was still winning, for a glimpse of the -wheel-rack between the shoulders of those ahead showed that the checks -were nearly out of it. - -Plainly it was but a question of minutes, so she backed out and took her -station beside the faro-table where the Bronco Kid was dealing. His face -wore its colorless mask of indifference; his long white hands moved -slowly with the certainty that betokened absolute mastery of his art. He -was waiting. The ex-crap dealer was keeping cases. - -The group left the roulette-table in a few moments and surrounded her, -Glenister among the others. He was not the man she knew. In place of the -dreary hopelessness with which he had left her, his face was flushed and -reckless, his collar was open, showing the base of his great, corded -neck, while the lust of the game had coarsened him till he was again the -violent, untamed, primitive man of the frontier. His self-restraint and -dignity were gone. He had tried the new ways, and they were not for him. -He slipped back, and the past swallowed him. - -After leaving Cherry he had sought some mental relief by idly risking -the silver in his pocket. He had let the coins lie and double, then -double again and again. He had been indifferent whether he won or lost, -so assumed a reckless disregard for the laws of probability, thinking -that he would shortly lose the money he had won and then go home. He did -not want it. When his luck remained the same, he raised the stakes, but -it did not change--he could not lose. Before he realized it, other men -were betting with him, animated purely by greed and craze of the sport. -First one, then another joined till game after game was closed, and each -moment the crowd had grown in size and enthusiasm so that its fever -crept into him, imperceptibly at first, but ever increasing, till the -mania mastered him. - -He paid no attention to Cherry as he took his seat. He had eyes for -nothing but the “lay-out.” She clenched her hands and prayed for his -ruin. - -“What’s your limit, Kid?” he inquired. - -“One hundred, and two,” the Kid answered, which in the vernacular means -that any sum up to $200 may be laid on one card save only on the last -turn, when the amount is lessened by half. - -Without more ado they commenced. The Kid handled his cards smoothly, -surely, paying and taking bets with machine-like calm. The on-lookers -ceased talking and prepared to watch, for now came the crucial test of -the evening. Faro is to other games as war is to jackstraws. - -For a time Glenister won steadily till there came a moment when many -stacks of chips lay on the deuce. Cherry saw the Kid “flash” to the -case-keeper, and the next moment he had “pulled two.” The deuce lost. It -was his first substantial gain, and the players paid no attention. At -the end of half an hour the winnings were slightly in favor of the -“house.” Then Glenister said, “This is too slow. I want action.” - -“All right,” smiled the proprietor. “We’ll double the limit.” - -Thus it became possible to wager $400 on a card, and the Kid began -really to play. Glenister now lost steadily, not in large amounts, but -with tantalizing regularity. Cherry had never seen cards played like -this. The gambler was a revelation to her--his work was wonderful. Ill -luck seemed to fan the crowd’s eagerness, while, to add to its -impatience, the cases came wrong twice in succession, so that those who -would have bet heavily upon the last turn had their money given back. -Cherry saw the confusion of the “hearse-driver” even quicker than did -Bronco. Toby was growing rattled. The dealer’s work was too fast for -him, and yet he could offer no signal of distress for fear of -annihilation at the hands of those crowded close to his shoulder. In the -same way the owner of the game could make no objection to his helper’s -incompetence for fear that some by-stander would volunteer to fill the -man’s part--there were many present capable of the trick. He could only -glare balefully across the table at his unfortunate confederate. - -They had not gone far on the next game before Cherry’s quick eye -detected a sign which the man misinterpreted. She addressed him, -quietly, “You’d better brush up your plumes.” - -In spite of his anger the Bronco Kid smiled. Humor in him was strangely -withered and distorted, yet here was a thrust he would always remember -and recount with glee in years to come. He feared there were other -faro-dealers present who might understand the hint, but there was none -save Mexico Mullins, whose face was a study--mirth seemed to be -strangling him. A moment later the girl spoke to the case-keeper again. - -“Let me take your place; your reins are unbuckled.” - -Toby glanced inquiringly at the Kid, who caught Cherry’s reassuring look -and nodded, so he arose and the girl slid into the vacant chair. This -woman would make no errors--the dealer knew that; her keen wits were -sharpened by hate--it showed in her face. If Glenister escaped -destruction to-night it would be because human means could not -accomplish his downfall. - -In the mind of the new case-keeper there was but one thought--Roy must -be broken. Humiliation, disgrace, ruin, ridicule were to be his. If he -should be downed, discredited, and discouraged, then, perhaps, he would -turn to her as he had in the by-gone days. He was slipping away from -her--this was her last chance. She began her duties easily, and her -alertness stimulated Bronco till his senses, too, grew sharper, his -observation more acute and lightning-like. Glenister swore beneath his -breath that the cards were bewitched. He was like a drunken man, now as -truly intoxicated as though the fumes of wine had befogged his brain. He -swayed in his seat, the veins of his neck thickened and throbbed, his -features were congested. After a while he spoke. - -“I want a bigger limit. Is this some boy’s game? Throw her open.” - -The gambler shot a triumphant glance at the girl and acquiesced. “All -right, the limit is the blue sky. Pile your checks to the roof-pole.” He -began to shuffle. - -Within the crowded circle the air was hot and fetid with the breath of -men. The sweat trickled down Glenister’s brown skin, dripping from his -jaw unnoticed. He arose and ripped off his coat, while those standing -behind shifted and scuffed their feet impatiently. Besides Roy, there -were but three men playing. They were the ones who had won heaviest at -first. Now that luck was against them they were loath to quit. - -Cherry was annoyed by stertorous breathing at her shoulder, and glanced -back to find the little man who had been so excited earlier in the -evening. His mouth was agape, his eyes wide, the muscles about his lips -twitching. He had lost back, long since, the hundreds he had won and -more besides. She searched the figures walling her about and saw no -women. They had been crowded out long since. It seemed as though the -table formed the bottom of a sloping pit of human faces--eager, tense, -staring. It was well she was here, she thought, else this task might -fail. She would help to blast Glenister, desolate him, humiliate him. -Ah, but wouldn’t she! - -Roy bet $100 on the “popular” card. On the third turn he lost. He bet -$200 next and lost. He set out a stack of $400 and lost for the third -time. Fortune had turned her face. He ground his teeth and doubled until -the stakes grew enormous, while the dealer dealt monotonously. The spots -flashed and disappeared, taking with them wager after wager. Glenister -became conscious of a raging, red fury which he had hard shift to -master. It was not his money--what if he did lose? He would stay until -he won. He _would_ win. This luck would not, could not, last--and yet -with diabolic persistence he continued to choose the losing cards. The -other men fared better till he yielded to their judgment, when the -dealer took their money also. - -Strange to say, the fickle goddess had really shifted her banner at -last, and the Bronco Kid was dealing straight faro now. He was too good -a player to force a winning hand, and Glenister’s ill-fortune became as -phenomenal as his winning had been. The girl who figured in this drama -was keyed to the highest tension, her eyes now on her counters, now -searching the profile of her victim. Glenister continued to lose and -lose and lose, while the girl gloated over his swift-coming ruin. When -at long intervals he won a bet she shrank and shivered for fear he might -escape. If only he would risk it all--everything he had. He would have -to come to her then! - -The end was closer than she realized. The throng hung breathless upon -each move of the players, while there was no sound but the noise of -shifting chips and the distant jangle of the orchestra. The lookout sat -far forward upon his perch, his hands upon his knees, his eyes frozen to -the board, a dead cigar clenched between his teeth. Crowded upon his -platform were miners tense and motionless as statues. When a man spoke -or coughed, a score of eyes stared at him accusingly, then dropped to -the table again. - -Glenister took from his clothes a bundle of bank-notes, so thick that it -required his two hands to compass it. On-lookers saw that the bills were -mainly yellow. No one spoke while he counted them rapidly, glanced at -the dealer, who nodded, then slid them forward till they rested on the -king. He placed a “copper” on the pile. A great sigh of indrawn breaths -swept through the crowd. The North had never known a bet like this--it -meant a fortune. Here was a tale for one’s grandchildren--that a man -should win opulence in an evening, then lose it in one deal. This final -bet represented more than many of them had ever seen at one time before. -Its fate lay on a single card. - -Cherry Malotte’s fingers were like ice and shook till the buttons of her -case-keeper rattled, her heart raced till she could not breathe, while -something rose up and choked her. If Glenister won this bet he would -quit; she felt it. If he lost, ah! what could the Kid there feel, the -man who was playing for a paltry vengeance, compared to her whose hope -of happiness, of love, of life hinged on this wager? - -Evidently the Bronco Kid knew what card lay next below, for he offered -her no sign, and as Glenister leaned back he slowly and firmly pushed -the top card out of the box. Although this was the biggest turn of his -life, he betrayed no tremor. His gesture displayed the nine of -diamonds, and the crowd breathed heavily. The king had not won. Would it -lose? Every gaze was welded to the tiny nickelled box. If the face-card -lay next beneath the nine-spot, the heaviest wager in Alaska would have -been lost; if it still remained hidden, on the next turn, the money -would be safe for a moment. - -Slowly the white hand of the dealer moved back; his middle finger -touched the nine of diamonds; it slid smoothly out of the box, and there -in its place frowned the king of clubs. At last the silence was broken. - -Men spoke, some laughed, but in their laughter was no mirth. It was more -like the sound of choking. They stamped their feet to relieve the grip -of strained muscles. The dealer reached forth and slid the stack of -bills into the drawer at his waist without counting. The case-keeper -passed a shaking hand over her face, and when it came away she saw blood -on her fingers where she had sunk her teeth into her lower lip. -Glenister did not rise. He sat, heavy-browed and sullen, his jaw thrust -forward, his hair low upon his forehead, his eyes bloodshot and dead. - -“I’ll sit the hand out if you’ll let me bet the ‘finger,’” said he. - -“Certainly,” replied the dealer. - -When a man requests this privilege it means that he will call the amount -of his wager without producing the visible stakes, and the dealer may -accept or refuse according to his judgment of the bettor’s -responsibility. It is safe, for no man shirks a gambling debt in the -North, and thousands may go with a nod of the head though never a cent -be on the board. - -There were still a few cards in the box, and the dealer turned them, -paying the three men who played. Glenister took no part, but sat bulked -over his end of the table glowering from beneath his shock of hair. - -Cherry was deathly tired. The strain of the last hour had been so -intense that she could barely sit in her seat, yet she was determined to -finish the hand. As Bronco paused before the last turn, many of the -by-standers made bets. They were the “case-players” who risked money -only on the final pair, thus avoiding the chance of two cards of like -denomination coming together, in which event (“splits” it is called) the -dealer takes half the money. The stakes were laid at last and the deal -about to start when Glenister spoke. “Wait! What’s this place worth, -Bronco?” - -“What do you mean?” - -“You own this outfit?” He waved his hand about the room. “Well, what -does it stand you?” - -The gambler hesitated an instant while the crowd pricked up its ears, -and the girl turned wondering, troubled eyes upon the miner. What would -he do now? - -“Counting bank rolls, fixtures, and all, about a hundred and twenty -thousand dollars. Why?” - -“I’ll pick the ace to lose, my one-half interest in the Midas against -your whole damned lay-out!” - -There was an absolute hush while the realization of this offer smote the -on-lookers. It took time to realize it. This man was insane. There were -three cards to choose from--one would win, one would lose, and one would -have no action. - -Of all those present only Cherry Malotte divined even vaguely the real -reason which prompted the man to do this. It was not “gameness,” nor -altogether a brutish stubbornness which would not let him quit. It was -something deeper. He was desolate and his heart was gone. Helen was lost -to him--worse yet, was unworthy, and she was all he cared for. What did -he want of the Midas with its lawsuits, its intrigues, and--its -trickery? He was sick of it all--of the whole game--and wanted to get -away. If he won, very well. If he lost, the land of the Aurora would -know him no more. - -When he put his proposition; the Bronco Kid dropped his eyes as though -debating. The girl saw that he studied the cards in his box intently and -that his fingers caressed the top one ever so softly during the instant -the eyes of the rest were on Glenister. The dealer looked up at last, -and Cherry saw the gleam of triumph in his eye; he could not mask it -from her, though his answering words were hesitating. She knew by the -look that Glenister was a pauper. - -“Come on,” insisted Roy, hoarsely. “Turn the cards.” - -“You’re on!” - -The girl felt that she was fainting. She wanted to scream. The triumph -of this moment stifled her--or was it triumph, after all? She heard the -breath of the little man behind her rattle as though he were being -throttled, and saw the lookout pass a shaking hand to his chin, then wet -his parched lips. She saw the man she had helped to ruin bend forward, -his lean face strained and hard, an odd look of pain and weariness in -his eyes. She never forgot that look. The crowd was frozen in various -attitudes of eagerness, although it had not yet recovered from the -suspense of the last great wager. It knew the Midas and what it meant. -Here lay half of it, hidden beneath a tawdry square of pasteboard. With -maddening deliberation the Kid dealt the top card. Beneath it was the -trey of spades. Glenister said no word nor made a move. Some one -coughed, and it sounded like a gunshot. Slowly the dealer’s fingers -retraced their way. He hesitated purposely and leered at the girl, then -the three-spot disappeared and beneath it lay the ace as the king had -lain on that other wager. It spelled utter ruin to Glenister. He raised -his eyes blindly, and then the deathlike silence of the room was -shattered by a sudden crash. Cherry Malotte had closed her check-rack -violently, at the same instant crying shrill and clear: - -“That bet is off! The cases are wrong!” - -Glenister half rose, overturning his chair; the Kid lunged forward -across the table, and his wonderful hands, tense and talon-like, thrust -themselves forward as though reaching for the riches she had snatched -away. They worked and writhed and trembled as though in dumb fury, the -nails sinking into the oil-cloth table-cover. His face grew livid and -cruel, while his eyes blazed at her till she shrank from him -affrightedly, bracing herself away from the table with rigid arms. - -Reason came slowly back to Glenister, and understanding with it. He -seemed to awake from a nightmare. He could read all too plainly the -gambler’s look of baffled hate as the man sprawled on the table, his -arms spread wide, his eyes glaring at the cowering woman, who shrank -before him like a rabbit before a snake. She tried to speak, but choked. -Then the dealer came to himself, and cried harshly through his teeth one -word: - -“Christ!” - -He raised his fist and struck the table so violently that chips and -coppers leaped and rolled, and Cherry closed her eyes to lose sight of -his awful grimace. Glenister looked down on him and said: - -“I think I understand; but the money was yours, anyhow, so I don’t -mind.” His meaning was plain. The Kid suddenly jerked open the drawer -before him, but Glenister clenched his right hand and leaned forward. -The miner could have killed him with a blow, for the gambler was seated -and at his mercy. The Kid checked himself, while his face began to -twitch as though the nerves underlying it had broken bondage and were -dancing in a wild, ungovernable orgy. - -“You have taught me a lesson,” was all that Glenister said, and with -that he pushed through the crowd and out into the cool night air. -Overhead the arctic stars winked at him, and the sea smells struck him, -clean and fresh. As he went homeward he heard the distant, full-throated -plaint of a wolf-dog. It held the mystery and sadness of the North. He -paused, and, baring his thick, matted head, stood for a long time -gathering himself together. Standing so, he made certain covenants with -himself, and vowed solemnly never to touch another card. - -At the same moment Cherry Malotte came hurrying to her cottage door, -fleeing as though from pursuit or from some hateful, haunted spot. She -paused before entering and flung her arms outward into the dark in a -wide gesture of despair. - -“Why did I do it? Oh! _why_ did I do it? I can’t understand myself.” - - - - -CHAPTER XIV - -A MIDNIGHT MESSENGER - - -“My dear Helen, don’t you realize that my official position carries with -it a certain social obligation which it is our duty to discharge?” - -“I suppose so, Uncle Arthur; but I would much rather stay at home.” - -“Tut, tut! Go and have a good time.” - -“Dancing doesn’t appeal to me any more. I left that sort of thing back -home. Now, if you would only come along--” - -“No--I’m too busy. I must work to-night, and I’m not in a mood for such -things, anyhow.” - -“You’re not well,” his niece said. “I have noticed it for weeks. Is it -hard work or are you truly ill? You’re nervous; you don’t eat; you’re -growing positively gaunt. Why--you’re getting wrinkles like an old man.” -She rose from her seat at the breakfast-table and went to him, smoothing -his silvered head with affection. - -He took her cool hand and pressed it to his cheek, while the worry that -haunted him habitually of late gave way to a smile. - -“It’s work, little girl--hard and thankless work, that’s all. This -country is intended for young men, and I’m too far along.” His eyes grew -grave again, and he squeezed her fingers nervously as though at the -thought. “It’s a terrible country--this---- I--I--wish we had never seen -it.” - -“Don’t say that,” Helen cried, spiritedly. “Why, it’s glorious. Think of -the honor. You’re a United States judge and the first one to come here. -You’re making history--you’re building a State--people will read about -you.” She stooped and kissed him; but he seemed to flinch beneath her -caress. - -“Of course I’ll go if you think I’d better,” she said, “though I’m not -fond of Alaskan society. Some of the women are nice, but the others--” -She shrugged her dainty shoulders. “They talk scandal all the time. One -would think that a great, clean, fresh, vigorous country like this would -broaden the women as it broadens the men--but it doesn’t.” - -“I’ll tell McNamara to call for you at nine o’clock,” said the Judge as -he arose. So, later in the day she prepared her long unused finery to -such good purpose that when her escort called for her that evening he -believed her the loveliest of women. - -Upon their arrival at the hotel he regarded her with a fresh access of -pride, for the function proved to bear little resemblance to a -mining-camp party. The women wore handsome gowns, and every man was in -evening dress. The wide hall ran the length of the hotel and was flanked -with boxes, while its floor was like polished glass and its walls -effectively decorated. - -“Oh, how lovely!” exclaimed Helen as she first caught sight of it. “It’s -just like home.” - -“I’ve seen quick-rising cities before,” he said, “but nothing like this. -Still, if these Northerners can build a railroad in a month and a city -in a summer, why shouldn’t they have symphony orchestras and Louis -Quinze ballrooms?” - -“I know you’re a splendid dancer,” she said. - -“You shall be my judge and jury. I’ll sign this card as often as I dare -without the certainty of violence at the hands of these young men, and -the rest of the time I’ll smoke in the lobby. I don’t care to dance with -any one but you.” - -After the first waltz he left her surrounded by partners and made his -way out of the ballroom. This was his first relaxation since landing in -the North. It was well not to become a dull boy, he mused, and as he -chewed his cigar he pictured with an odd thrill, quite unusual with him, -that slender, gray-eyed girl, with her coiled mass of hair, her ivory -shoulders, and merry smile. He saw her float past to the measure of a -two-step, and caught himself resenting the thought of another man’s -enjoyment of the girl’s charms even for an instant. - -“Hold on, Alec,” he muttered. “You’re too old a bird to lose your head.” -However, he was waiting for her before the time for their next dance. -She seemed to have lost a part of her gayety. - -“What’s the matter? Aren’t you enjoying yourself?” - -“Oh, yes!” she returned, brightly. “I’m having a delightful time.” - -When he came for his third dance, she was more _distraite_ than ever. As -he led her to a seat they passed a group of women, among whom were Mrs. -Champian and others whom he knew to be wives of men prominent in the -town. He had seen some of them at tea in Judge Stillman’s house, and -therefore was astonished when they returned his greeting but ignored -Helen. She shrank slightly, and he realized that there was something -wrong; he could not guess what. Affairs of men he could cope with, but -the subtleties of women were out of his realm. - -“What ails those people? Have they offended you?” - -“I don’t know what it is. I have spoken to them, but they cut me.” - -“Cut _you?_” he exclaimed. - -“Yes.” Her voice trembled, but she held her head high. “It seems as -though all the women in Nome were here and in league to ignore me. It -dazes me--I do not understand.” - -“Has anybody said anything to you?” he inquired, fiercely. “Any man, I -mean?” - -“No, no! The men are kind. It’s the women.” - -“Come--we’ll go home.” - -“Indeed, we will not,” she said, proudly. “I shall stay and face it out. -I have done nothing to run away from, and I intend to find out what is -the matter.” - -When he had surrendered her, at the beginning of the next dance, -McNamara sought for some acquaintance whom he might question. Most of -the men in Nome either hated or feared him, but he espied one that he -thought suited his purpose, and led him into a corner. - -“I want you to answer a question. No beating about the bush. Understand? -I’m blunt, and I want you to be.” - -“All right.” - -“Your wife has been entertained at Miss Chester’s house. I’ve seen her -there. To-night she refuses to speak to the girl. She cut her dead, and -I want to know what it’s about.” - -“How should I know?” - -“If you don’t know, I’ll ask you to find out.” - -The other shook his head amusedly, at which McNamara flared up. - -“I say you will, and you’ll make your wife apologize before she leaves -this hall, too, or you’ll answer to me, man to man. I won’t stand to -have a girl like Miss Chester cold-decked by a bunch of mining-camp -swells, and that goes as it lies.” In his excitement, McNamara reverted -to his Western idiom. - -The other did not reply at once, for it is embarrassing to deal with a -person who disregards the conventions utterly, and at the same time has -the inclination and force to compel obedience. The boss’s reputation had -gone abroad. - -“Well--er--I know about it in a general way, but of course I don’t go -much on such things. You’d better let it drop.” - -“Go on.” - -“There has been a lot of talk among the ladies about--well, er--the fact -is, it’s that young Glenister. Mrs. Champian had the next state-room to -them--er--him--I should say--on the way up from the States, and she saw -things. Now, as far as I’m concerned, a girl can do what she pleases, -but Mrs. Champian has her own ideas of propriety. From what my wife -could learn, there’s some truth in the story, too, so you can’t blame -her.” - -With a word McNamara could have explained the gossip and made this man -put his wife right, forcing through her an elucidation of the silly -affair in such a way as to spare Helen’s feelings and cover the -busy-tongued magpies with confusion. Yet he hesitated. It is a wise -skipper who trims his sails to every breeze. He thanked his informant -and left him. Entering the lobby, he saw the girl hurrying towards him. - -“Take me away, quick! I want to go home.” - -“You’ve changed your mind?” - -“Yes, let us go,” she panted, and when they were outside she walked so -rapidly that he had difficulty in keeping pace with her. She was silent, -and he knew better than to question, but when they arrived at her house -he entered, took off his overcoat, and turned up the light in the tiny -parlor. She flung her wraps over a chair, storming back and forth like a -little fury. Her eyes were starry with tears of anger, her face was -flushed, her hands worked nervously. He leaned against the mantel, -watching her through his cigar smoke. - -“You needn’t tell me,” he said, at length. “I know all about it.” - -“I am glad you do. I never could repeat what they said. Oh, it was -brutal!” Her voice caught and she bit her lip. “What made me ask them? -Why didn’t I keep still? After you left, I went to those women and faced -them. Oh, but they were brutal! Yet, why should I care?” She stamped her -slippered foot. - -“I shall have to kill that man some day,” he said, flecking his cigar -ashes into the grate. - -“What man?” She stood still and looked at him. - -“Glenister, of course. If I had thought the story would ever reach you, -I’d have shut him up long ago.” - -“It didn’t come from him,” she cried, hot with indignation. “He’s a -gentleman. It’s that cat, Mrs. Champian.” - -He shrugged his shoulders the slightest bit, but it was eloquent, and -she noted it. “Oh, I don’t mean that he did it intentionally--he’s too -decent a chap for that--but anybody’s tongue will wag to a beautiful -girl! My lady Malotte is a jealous trick.” - -“Malotte! Who is she?” Helen questioned, curiously. - -He seemed surprised. “I thought every one knew who she is. It’s just as -well that you don’t.” - -“I am sure Mr. Glenister would not talk of me.” There was a pause. “Who -is Miss Malotte?” - -He studied for a moment, while she watched him. What a splendid figure -he made in his evening clothes! The cosey room with its shaded lights -enhanced his size and strength and rugged outlines. In his eyes was that -admiration which women live for. He lifted his bold, handsome face and -met her gaze. - -“I had rather leave that for you to find out, for I’m not much at -scandal. I have something more important to tell you. It’s the most -important thing I have ever said to you, Helen.” It was the first time -he had used that name, and she began to tremble, while her eyes sought -the door in a panic. She had expected this moment, and yet was not -ready. - -“Not to-night--don’t say it now,” she managed to articulate. - -“Yes, this is a good time. If you can’t answer, I’ll come back -to-morrow. I want you to be my wife. I want to give you everything the -world offers, and I want to make you happy, girl. There’ll be no gossip -hereafter--I’ll shield you from everything unpleasant, and if there is -anything you want in life, I’ll lay it at your feet. I can do it.” He -lifted his massive arms, and in the set of his strong, square face was -the promise that she should have whatever she craved if mortal man could -give it to her--love, protection, position, adoration. - -She stammered uncertainly till the humiliation and chagrin she had -suffered this night swept over her again. This town--this crude, -half-born mining-camp--had turned against her, misjudged her cruelly. -The women were envious, clacking scandal-mongers, all of them, who would -ostracize her and make her life in the Northland a misery, make her an -outcast with nothing to sustain her but her own solitary pride. She -could picture her future clearly, pitilessly, and see herself standing -alone, vilified, harassed in a thousand cutting ways, yet unable to run -away, or to explain. She would have to stay and face it, for her life -was bound up here during the next few years or so, or as long as her -uncle remained a judge. This man would free her. He loved her; he -offered her everything. He was bigger than all the rest combined. They -were his playthings, and they knew it. She was not sure that she loved -him, but his magnetism was overpowering, and her admiration intense. No -other man she had ever known compared with him, except Glenister--Bah! -The beast! He had insulted her at first; he wronged her now. - -“Will you be my wife, Helen?” the man repeated, softly. - -She dropped her head, and he strode forward to take her in his arms, -then stopped, listening. Some one ran up on the porch and hammered -loudly at the door. McNamara scowled, walked into the hall, and flung -the portal open, disclosing Struve. - -“Hello, McNamara! Been looking all over for you. There’s the deuce to -pay!” Helen sighed with relief and gathered up her cloak, while the hum -of their voices reached her indistinctly. She was given plenty of time -to regain her composure before they appeared. When they did, the -politician spoke, sourly: - -“I’ve been called to the mines, and I must go at once.” - -“You bet! It may be too late now. The news came an hour ago, but I -couldn’t find you,” said Struve. “Your horse is saddled at the office. -Better not wait to change your clothes.” - -“You say Voorhees has gone with twenty deputies, eh? That’s good. You -stay here and find out all you can.” - -“I telephoned out to the Creek for the boys to arm themselves and throw -out pickets. If you hurry you can get there in time. It’s only midnight -now.” - -“What is the trouble?” Miss Chester inquired, anxiously. - -“There’s a plot on to attack the mines to-night,” answered the lawyer. -“The other side are trying to seize them, and there’s apt to be a -fight.” - -“You mustn’t go out there,” she cried, aghast. “There will be -bloodshed.” - -“That’s just why I _must_ go,” said McNamara. “I’ll come back in the -morning, though, and I’d like to see you alone. Good-night!” There was a -strange, new light in his eyes as he left her. For one unversed in -woman’s ways he played the game surprisingly well, and as he hurried -towards his office he smiled grimly into the darkness. - -“She’ll answer me to-morrow. Thank you, Mr. Glenister,” he said to -himself. - -Helen questioned Struve at length, but gained nothing more than that -secret-service men had been at work for weeks and had to-day unearthed -the fact that Vigilantes had been formed. They had heard enough to make -them think the mines would be jumped again to-night, and so had given -the alarm. - -“Have you hired spies?” she asked, incredulously. - -“Sure. We had to. The other people shadowed us, and it’s come to a point -where it’s life or death to one side or the other. I told McNamara we’d -have bloodshed before we were through, when he first outlined the -scheme--I mean when the trouble began.” - -She wrung her hands. “That’s what uncle feared before we left Seattle. -That’s why I took the risks I did in bringing you those papers. I -thought you got them in time to avoid all this.” - -Struve laughed a bit, eying her curiously. - -“Does Uncle Arthur know about this?” she continued. - -“No, we don’t let him know anything more than necessary; he’s not a -strong man.” - -“Yes, yes. He’s not well.” Again the lawyer smiled. “Who is behind this -Vigilante movement?” - -“We think it is Glenister and his New Mexican bandit partner. At least -they got the crowd together.” She was silent for a time. - -“I suppose they really think they own those mines.” - -“Undoubtedly.” - -“But they don’t, do they?” Somehow this question had recurred to her -insistently of late, for things were constantly happening which showed -there was more back of this great, fierce struggle than she knew. It -was impossible that injustice had been done the mine-owners, and yet -scattered talk reached her which was puzzling. When she strove to follow -it up, her acquaintances adroitly changed the subject. She was baffled -on every side. The three local newspapers upheld the court. She read -them carefully, and was more at sea than ever. There was a disturbing -undercurrent of alarm and unrest that caused her to feel insecure, as -though standing on hollow ground. - -“Yes, this whole disturbance is caused by those two. Only for them we’d -be all right.” - -“Who is Miss Malotte?” - -He answered, promptly: “The handsomest woman in the North, and the most -dangerous.” - -“In what way? Who is she?” - -“It’s hard to say who or what she is--she’s different from other women. -She came to Dawson in the early days--just came--we didn’t know how, -whence, or why, and we never found out. We woke up one morning and there -she was. By night we were all jealous, and in a week we were most of us -drivelling idiots. It might have been the mystery or, perhaps, the -competition. That was the day when a dance-hall girl could make a -homestake in a winter or marry a millionaire in a month, but she never -bothered. She toiled not, neither did she spin on the waxed floors, yet -Solomon in all his glory would have looked like a tramp beside her.” - -“You say she is dangerous?” - -“Well, there was the young nobleman, in the winter of ’98, Dane, I -think--fine family and all that--big, yellow-haired boy. He wanted to -marry her, but a faro-dealer shot him. Then there was Rock, of the -mounted police, the finest officer in the service. He was cashiered. She -knew he was going to pot for her, but she didn’t seem to care--and there -were others. Yet, with it all, she is the most generous person and the -most tender-hearted. Why, she has fed every ‘stew bum’ on the Yukon, and -there isn’t a busted prospector in the country who wouldn’t swear by -her, for she has grubstaked dozens of them. I was horribly in love with -her myself. Yes, she’s dangerous, all right--to everybody but -Glenister.” - -“What do you mean?” - -“She had been across the Yukon to nurse a man with scurvy, and coming -back she was caught in the spring break-up. I wasn’t there, but it seems -this Glenister got her ashore somehow when nobody else would tackle the -job. They were carried five miles down-stream in the ice-pack before he -succeeded.” - -“What happened then?” - -“She fell in love with him, of course.” - -“And he worshipped her as madly as all the rest of you, I suppose,” she -said, scornfully. - -“That’s the peculiar part. She hypnotized him at first, but he ran away, -and I didn’t hear of him again till I came to Nome. She followed him, -finally, and last week evened up her score. She paid him back for saving -her.” - -“I haven’t heard about it.” - -He detailed the story of the gambling episode at the Northern saloon, -and concluded: “I’d like to have seen that ‘turn,’ for they say the -excitement was terrific. She was keeping cases, and at the finish -slammed her case-keeper shut and declared the bet off because she had -made a mistake. Of course they couldn’t dispute her, and she stuck to -it. One of the by-standers told me she lied, though.” - -“So, in addition to his other vices, Mr. Glenister is a reckless -gambler, is he?” said Helen, with heat. “I am proud to be indebted to -such a character. Truly this country breeds wonderful species.” - -“There’s where you’re wrong,” Struve chuckled. “He’s never been known to -bet before.” - -“Oh, I’m tired of these contradictions!” she cried, angrily. “Saloons, -gambling-halls, scandals, adventuresses! Ugh! I hate it! I _hate_ it! -Why did I ever come here?” - -“Those things are a part of every new country. They were about all we -had till this year. But it is women like you that we fellows need, Miss -Helen. You can help us a lot.” She did not like the way he was looking -at her, and remembered that her uncle was up-stairs and asleep. - -“I must ask you to excuse me now, for it’s late and I am very tired.” - -The clock showed half-past twelve, so, after letting him out, she -extinguished the light and dragged herself wearily up to her room. She -removed her outer garments and threw over her bare shoulders a negligée -of many flounces and bewildering, clinging looseness. As she took down -her heavy braids, the story of Cherry Malotte returned to her -tormentingly. So Glenister had saved _her_ life also at risk of his own. -What a very gallant cavalier he was, to be sure! He should bear a coat -of arms--a dragon, an armed knight, and a fainting maiden. “I succor -ladies in distress--handsome ones,” should be the motto on his shield. -“The handsomest woman in the North,” Struve had said. She raised her -eyes to the glass and made a mouth at the petulant, tired reflection -there. She pictured Glenister leaping from floe to floe with the hungry -river surging and snapping at his feet, while the cheers of the crowd on -shore gave heart to the girl crouching out there. She could see him -snatch her up and fight his way back to safety over the plunging -ice-cakes with death dragging at his heels. What a strong embrace he -had! At this she blushed and realized with a shock that while she was -mooning that very man might be fighting hand to hand in the darkness of -a mountain-gorge with the man she was going to marry. - -A moment later some one mounted the front steps below and knocked -sharply. Truly this was a night of alarms. Would people never cease -coming? She was worn out, but at the thought of the tragedy abroad and -the sick old man sleeping near by, she lit a candle and slipped -down-stairs to avoid disturbing him. Doubtless it was some message from -McNamara, she thought, as she unchained the door. - -As she opened it, she fell back amazed while it swung wide and the -candle flame flickered and sputtered in the night air. Roy Glenister -stood there, grim and determined, his soft, white Stetson pulled low, -his trousers tucked into tan half-boots, in his hand a Winchester rifle. -Beneath his corduroy coat she saw a loose cartridge-belt, yellow with -shells, and the nickelled flash of a revolver. Without invitation he -strode across the threshold, closing the door behind him. - -“Miss Chester, you and the Judge must dress quickly and come with me.” - -“I don’t understand.” - -“The Vigilantes are on their way here to hang him. Come with me to my -house where I can protect you.” - -She laid a trembling hand on her bosom and the color died out of her -face, then at a slight noise above they both looked up to see Judge -Stillman leaning far over the banister. He had wrapped himself in a -dressing-gown and now gripped the rail convulsively, while his features -were blanched to the color of putty and his eyes were wide with terror, -though puffed and swollen from sleep. His lips moved in a vain endeavor -to speak. - - - - -CHAPTER XV - -VIGILANTES - - -On the morning after the episode in the Northern, Glenister awoke under -a weight of discouragement and desolation. The past twenty-four hours -with their manifold experiences seemed distant and unreal. At breakfast -he was ashamed to tell Dextry of the gambling debauch, for he had dealt -treacherously with the old man in risking half of the mine, even though -they had agreed that either might do as he chose with his interest, -regardless of the other. It all seemed like a nightmare, those tense -moments when he lay above the receiver’s office and felt his belief in -the one woman slipping away, the frenzied thirst which Cherry Malotte -had checked, the senseless, unreasoning lust for play that possessed him -later. This lapse was the last stand of his old, untamed instincts. The -embers of revolt in him were dead. He felt that he would never again -lose mastery of himself, that his passions would never best him -hereafter. - -Dextry spoke. “We had a meeting of the ‘Strangles’ last night.” He -always spoke of the Vigilantes in that way, because of his early Western -training. - -“What was done?” - -“They decided to act quick and do any odd jobs of lynchin’, -claim-jumpin’, or such as needs doin’. There’s a lot of law sharps and -storekeepers in the bunch who figure McNamara’s gang will wipe them off -the map next.” - -“It was bound to come to this.” - -“They talked of ejectin’ the receiver’s men and puttin’ all us fellers -back on our mines.” - -“Good. How many can we count on to help us?” - -“About sixty. We’ve kept the number down, and only taken men with so -much property that they’ll have to keep their mouths shut.” - -“I wish we might engineer some kind of an encounter with the court crowd -and create such an uproar that it would reach Washington. Everything -else has failed, and our last chance seems to be for the government to -step in; that is, unless Bill Wheaton can do something with the -California courts.” - -“I don’t count on him. McNamara don’t care for California courts no -more’n he would for a boy with a pea-shooter--he’s got too much pull at -headquarters. If the ‘Stranglers’ don’t do no good, we’d better go in -an’ clean out the bunch like we was killin’ snakes. If that fails, I’m -goin’ out to the States an’ be a doctor.” - -“A doctor? What for?” - -“I read somewhere that in the United States every year there is forty -million gallons of whiskey used for medical purposes.” - -Glenister laughed. “Speaking of whiskey, Dex--I notice that you’ve been -drinking pretty hard of late--that is, hard for you.” - -The old man shook his head. “You’re mistaken. It ain’t hard for me.” - -“Well, hard or easy, you’d better cut it out.” - -It was some time later that one of the detectives employed by the -Swedes met Glenister on Front Street, and by an almost imperceptible -sign signified his desire to speak with him. When they were alone he -said: - -“You’re being shadowed.” - -“I’ve known that for a long time.” - -“The district-attorney has put on some new men. I’ve fixed the woman who -rooms next to him, and through her I’ve got a line on some of them, but -I haven’t spotted them all. They’re bad ones--‘up-river’ men -mostly--remnants of Soapy Smith’s Skagway gang. They won’t stop at -anything.” - -“Thank you--I’ll keep my eyes open.” - -A few nights after, Glenister had reason to recall the words of the -sleuth and to realize that the game was growing close and desperate. To -reach his cabin, which sat on the outskirts of the town, he ordinarily -followed one of the plank walks which wound through the confusion of -tents, warehouses, and cottages lying back of the two principal streets -along the water front. This part of the city was not laid out in -rectangular blocks, for in the early rush the first-comers had seized -whatever pieces of ground they found vacant and erected thereon some -kind of buildings to make good their titles. There resulted a formless -jumble of huts, cabins, and sheds, penetrated by no cross streets and -quite unlighted. At night, one leaving the illuminated portion of the -town found this darkness intensified. - -Glenister knew his course so well that he could have walked it -blindfolded. Nearing a corner of the warehouse this evening he -remembered that the planking at this point was torn up, so, to avoid the -mud, he leaped lightly across. Simultaneously with his jump he detected -a movement in the shadows that banked the wall at his elbow and saw the -flaming spurt of a revolver-shot. The man had crouched behind the -building and was so close that it seemed impossible to miss. Glenister -fell heavily upon his side and the thought flashed over him, “McNamara’s -thugs have shot me.” - -His assailant leaped out from his hiding-place and ran down the walk, -the sound of his quick, soft footfalls thudding faintly out into the -silence. The young man felt no pain, however, so scrambled to his feet, -felt himself over with care, and then swore roundly. He was untouched; -the other had missed him cleanly. The report, coming while he was in the -act of leaping, had startled him so that he had lost his balance, -slipped upon the wet boards, and fallen. His assailant was lost in the -darkness before he could rise. Pursuit was out of the question, so he -continued homeward, considerably shaken, and related the incident to -Dextry. - -“You think it was some of McNamara’s work, eh?” Dextry inquired when he -had finished. - -“Of course. Didn’t the detective warn me to-day?” - -Dextry shook his head. “It don’t seem like the game is that far along -yet. The time is coming when we’ll go to the mat with them people, but -they’ve got the aige on us now, so what could they gain by putting you -away? I don’t believe it’s them, but whoever it is, you’d better be -careful or you’ll be got.” - -“Suppose we come home together after this,” Roy suggested, and they -arranged to do so, realizing that danger lurked in the dark corners and -that it was in some such lonely spot that the deed would be tried again. -They experienced no trouble for a time, though on nearing their cabin -one night the younger man fancied that he saw a shadow glide away from -its vicinity and out into the blackness of the tundra, as though some -one had stood at his very door waiting for him, then became frightened -at the two figures approaching. Dextry had not observed it, however, and -Glenister was not positive himself, but it served to give him the -uncanny feeling that some determined, unscrupulous force was bent on his -destruction. He determined to go nowhere unarmed. - -A few evenings later he went home early and was busied in writing when -Dextry came in about ten o’clock. The old miner hung up his coat before -speaking, lit a cigarette, inhaled deeply, then, amid mouthfuls of -smoke, began: - -“I had my own toes over the edge to-night. I was mistook for you, which -compliment I don’t aim to have repeated.” - -Glenister questioned him eagerly. - -“We’re about the same height an’ these hats of ours are alike. Just as I -come by that lumber-pile down yonder, a man hopped out an throwed a -‘gat’ under my nose. He was quicker than light, and near blowed my skelp -into the next block before he saw who I was; then he dropped his weepon -and said: - -“‘My mistake. Go on.’ I accepted his apology.” - -“Could you see who he was?” - -“Sure. Guess.” - -“I can’t.” - -“It was the Bronco Kid.” - -“Lord!” ejaculated Glenister. “Do you think he’s after me?” - -“He ain’t after nobody else, an’, take my word for it, it’s got nothin’ -to do with McNamara nor that gamblin’ row. He’s too game for that. -There’s some other reason.” - -This was the first mention Dextry had made of the night at the Northern. - -“I don’t know why he should have it in for me--I never did him any -favors,” Glenister remarked, cynically. - -“Well, you watch out, anyhow. I’d sooner face McNamara an’ all the -crooks he can hire than that gambler.” - -During the next few days Roy undertook to meet the proprietor of the -Northern face to face, but the Kid had vanished completely from his -haunts. He was not in his gambling-hall at night nor on the street by -day. The young man was still looking for him on the evening of the dance -at the hotel, when he chanced to meet one of the Vigilantes, who -inquired of him: - -“Aren’t you late for the meeting?” - -“What meeting?” - -After seeing that they were alone, the other stated: - -“There’s an assembly to-night at eleven o’clock. Something important, I -think. I supposed, of course, you knew about it.” - -“It’s strange I wasn’t notified,” said Roy. “It’s probably an oversight. -I’ll go along with you.” - -Together they crossed the river to the less frequented part of town and -knocked at the door of a large, unlighted warehouse, flanked by a high -board fence. The building faced the street, but was enclosed on the -other three sides by this ten-foot wall, inside of which were stored -large quantities of coal and lumber. After some delay they were -admitted, and, passing down through the dim-lit, high-banked lanes of -merchandise, came to the rear room, where they were admitted again. -This compartment had been fitted up for the warm storage of perishable -goods during the cold weather, and, being without windows, made an ideal -place for clandestine gatherings. - -Glenister was astonished to find every man of the organization present, -including Dextry, whom he supposed to have gone home an hour since. -Evidently a discussion had been in progress, for a chairman was -presiding, and the boxes, kegs, and bales of goods had been shoved back -against the walls for seats. On these were ranged the threescore men of -the “Stranglers,” their serious faces lighted imperfectly by scattered -lanterns. A certain constraint seized them upon Glenister’s entrance; -the chairman was embarrassed. It was but momentary, however. Glenister -himself felt that tragedy was in the air, for it showed in the men’s -attitudes and spoke eloquently from their strained faces. He was about -to question the man next to him when the presiding officer continued: - -“We will assemble here quietly with our arms at one o’clock. And let me -caution you again not to talk or do anything to scare the birds away.” - -Glenister arose. “I came late, Mr. Chairman, so I missed hearing your -plan I gather that you’re out for business, however, and I want to be in -it. May I ask what is on foot?” - -“Certainly. Things have reached such a pass that moderate means are -useless. We have decided to act, and act quickly. We have exhausted -every legal resource and now we’re going to stamp out this gang of -robbers in our own way. We will get together in an hour, divide into -three groups of twenty men, each with a leader, then go to the houses -of McNamara, Stillman, and Voorhees, take them prisoners, and--” He -waved his hand in a large gesture. - -Glenister made no answer for a moment, while the crowd watched him -intently. - -“You have discussed this fully?” he asked. - -“We have. It has been voted on, and we’re unanimous.” - -“My friends, when I stepped into this room just now I felt that I wasn’t -wanted. Why, I don’t know, because I have had more to do with organizing -this movement than any of you, and because I have suffered just as much -as the rest. I want to know if I was omitted from this meeting -intentionally.” - -“This is an embarrassing position to put me in,” said the chairman, -gravely. “But I shall answer as spokesman for these men if they wish.” - -“Yes. Go ahead,” said those around the room. - -“We don’t question your loyalty, Mr. Glenister, but we didn’t ask you to -this meeting because we know your attitude--perhaps I’d better say -sentiment--regarding Judge Stillman’s niece--er--family. It has come to -us from various sources that you have been affected to the prejudice of -your own and your partner’s interest. Now, there isn’t going to be any -sentiment in the affairs of the Vigilantes. We are going to do justice, -and we thought the simplest way was to ignore you in this matter and -spare all discussion and hard feeling in every quarter.” - -“It’s a lie!” shouted the young man, hoarsely. “A damned lie! You -wouldn’t let me in for fear I’d kick, eh? Well, you were right. I will -kick. You’ve hinted about my feelings for Miss Chester. Let me tell you -that she is engaged to marry McNamara, and that she’s nothing to me. -Now, then, let me tell you, further, that you won’t break into her house -and hang her uncle, even if he is a reprobate. No, sir! This isn’t the -time for violence of that sort--we’ll win without it. If we can’t, let’s -fight like men, and not hunt in a pack like wolves. If you want to do -something, put us back on our mines and help us hold them, but, for -God’s sake, don’t descend to assassination and the tactics of the -Mafia!” - -“We knew you would make that kind of a talk,” said the speaker, while -the rest murmured grudgingly. One of them spoke up. - -“We’ve talked this over in cold blood, Glenister, and it’s a question of -their lives or our liberty. The law don’t enter into it.” - -“That’s right,” echoed another at his elbow. “We can’t seize the claims, -because McNamara’s got soldiers to back him up. They’d shoot us down. -You ought to be the last one to object.” - -He saw that dispute was futile. Determination was stamped on their faces -too plainly for mistake, and his argument had no more effect on them -than had the pale rays of the lantern beside him, yet he continued: - -“I don’t deny that McNamara deserves lynching, but Stillman doesn’t. -He’s a weak old man”--some one laughed derisively--“and there’s a woman -in the house. He’s all she has in the world to depend upon, and you -would have to kill her to get at him. If you _must_ follow this course, -take the others, but leave him alone.” - -They only shook their heads, while several pushed by him even as he -spoke. “We’re going to distribute our favors equal,” said a man as he -left. They were actuated by what they called justice, and he could not -sway them. The life and welfare of the North were in their hands, as -they thought, and there was not one to hesitate. Glenister implored the -chairman, but the man answered him: - -“It’s too late for further discussion, and let me remind you of your -promise. You’re bound by every obligation that exists for an honorable -man--” - -“Oh, don’t think that I’ll give the snap away!” said the other; “but I -warn you again not to enter Stillman’s house.” - -He followed out into the night to find that Dextry had disappeared, -evidently wishing to avoid argument. Roy had seen signs of unrest -beneath the prospector’s restraint during the past few days, and -indications of a fierce hunger to vent his spleen on the men who had -robbed him of his most sacred rights. He was of an intolerant, -vindictive nature that would go to any length for vengeance. Retribution -was part of his creed. - -On his way home, the young man looked at his watch, to find that he had -but an hour to determine his course. Instinct prompted him to join his -friends and to even the score with the men who had injured him so -bitterly, for, measured by standards of the frontier, they were pirates -with their lives forfeit. Yet, he could not countenance this step. If -only the Vigilantes would be content with making an example--but he knew -they would not. The blood hunger of a mob is easy to whet and hard to -hold. McNamara would resist, as would Voorhees and the -district-attorney, then there would be bloodshed, riot, chaos. The -soldiers would be called out and martial law declared, the streets would -become skirmish-grounds. The Vigilantes would rout them without -question, for every citizen of the North would rally to their aid, and -such men could not be stopped. The Judge would go down with the rest of -the ring, and what would happen to--her? - -He took down his Winchester, oiled and cleaned it, then buckled on a -belt of cartridges. Still he wrestled with himself. He felt that he was -being ground between his loyalty to the Vigilantes and his own -conscience. The girl was one of the gang, he reasoned--she had schemed -with them to betray him through his love, and she was pledged to the one -man in the world whom he hated with fanatical fury. Why should he think -of her in this hour? Six months back he would have looked with jealous -eyes upon the right to lead the Vigilantes, but this change that had -mastered him--what was it? Not cowardice, nor caution. No. Yet, being -intangible, it was none the less marked, as his friends had shown him an -hour since. - -He slipped out into the night. The mob might do as it pleased elsewhere, -but no man should enter her house. He found a light shining from her -parlor window, and, noting the shade up a few inches, stole close. -Peering through, he discovered Struve and Helen talking. He slunk back -into the shadows and remained hidden for a considerable time after the -lawyer left, for the dancers were returning from the hotel and passed -close by. When the last group had chattered away down the street, he -returned to the front of the house and, mounting the steps, knocked -sharply. As Helen appeared at the door, he stepped inside and closed it -after him. - -The girl’s hair lay upon her neck and shoulders in tumbled brown -masses, while her breast heaved tumultuously at the sudden, grim sight -of him. She stepped back against the wall, her wondrous, deep, gray eyes -wide and troubled, the blush of modesty struggling with the pallor of -dismay. - -The picture pained him like a knife-thrust. This girl was for his -bitterest enemy--no hope of her was for him. He forgot for a moment that -she was false and plotting, then, recalling it, spoke as roughly as he -might and stated his errand. Then the old man had appeared on the stairs -above, speechless with fright at what he overheard. It was evident that -his nerves, so sorely strained by the events of the past week, were now -snapped utterly. A human soul naked and panic-stricken is no pleasant -sight, so Glenister dropped his eyes and addressed the girl again: - -“Don’t take anything with you. Just dress and come with me.” - -The creature on the stairs above stammered and stuttered, inquiringly: - -“What outrage is this, Mr. Glenister?” - -“The people of Nome are up in arms, and I’ve come to save you. Don’t -stop to argue.” He spoke impatiently. - -“Is this some r-ruse to get me into your power?” - -“Uncle Arthur!” exclaimed the girl, sharply. Her eyes met Glenister’s -and begged him to take no offence. - -“I don’t understand this atrocity. They must be mad!” wailed the Judge. -“You run over to the jail, Mr. Glenister, and tell Voorhees to hurry -guards here to protect me. Helen, ’phone to the military post and give -the alarm. Tell them the soldiers must come at once.” - -“Hold on!” said Glenister. “There’s no use of doing that--the wires are -cut; and I won’t notify Voorhees--he can take care of himself. I came to -help you, and if you want to escape you’ll stop talking and hurry up.” - -“I don’t know what to do,” said Stillman, torn by terror and indecision. -“You wouldn’t hurt an old man, would you? Wait! I’ll be down in a -minute.” - -He scrambled up the stairs, tripping on his robe, seemingly forgetting -his niece till she called up to him, sharply: - -“Stop, Uncle Arthur! You mustn’t _run away_.” She stood erect and -determined. “You wouldn’t do _that_, would you? This is our house. You -represent the law and the dignity of the government. You mustn’t fear a -mob of ruffians. We will stay here and meet them, of course.” - -“Good Lord!” said Glenister. “That’s madness. These men aren’t ruffians; -they are the best citizens of Nome. You don’t realize that this is -Alaska and that they have sworn to wipe out McNamara’s gang. Come -along.” - -“Thank you for your good intentions,” she said, “but we have done -nothing to run away from. We will get ready to meet these cowards. You -had better go or they will find you here.” - -She moved up the stairs, and, taking the Judge by the arm, led him with -her. Of a sudden she had assumed control of the situation unfalteringly, -and both men felt the impossibility of thwarting her. Pausing at the -top, she turned and looked down. - -“We are grateful for your efforts just the same. Good-night.” - -“Oh, I’m not going,” said the young man. “If you stick I’ll do the -same.” He made the rounds of the first-floor rooms, locking doors and -windows. As a place of defence it was hopeless, and he saw that he would -have to make his stand up-stairs. When sufficient time had elapsed he -called up to Helen: - -“May I come?” - -“Yes,” she replied. So he ascended, to find Stillman in the hall, half -clothed and cowering, while by the light from the front chamber he saw -her finishing her toilet. - -“Won’t you come with me--it’s our last chance?” She only shook her head. -“Well, then, put out the light. I’ll stand at that front window, and -when my eyes get used to the darkness I’ll be able to see them before -they reach the gate.” - -She did as directed, taking her place beside him at the opening, while -the Judge crept in and sat upon the bed, his heavy breathing the only -sound in the room. The two young people stood so close beside each other -that the sweet scent of her person awoke in him an almost irresistible -longing. He forgot her treachery again, forgot that she was another’s, -forgot all save that he loved her truly and purely, with a love which -was like an agony to him. Her shoulder brushed his arm; he heard the -soft rustling of her garment at her breast as she breathed. Some one -passed in the street, and she laid a hand upon him fearfully. It was -very cold, very tiny, and very soft, but he made no move to take it. The -moments dragged along, still, tense, interminable. Occasionally she -leaned towards him, and he stooped to catch her whispered words. At such -times her breath beat warm against his cheek, and he closed his teeth -stubbornly. Out in the night a wolf-dog saddened the air, then came the -sound of others wrangling and snarling in a near-by corral. This is a -chickless land and no cock-crow breaks the midnight peace. The suspense -enhanced the Judge’s perturbation till his chattering teeth sounded like -castanets. Now and then he groaned. - -The watchers had lost track of time when their strained eyes detected -dark blots materializing out of the shadows. - -“There they come,” whispered Glenister, forcing her back from the -aperture; but she would not be denied, and returned to his side. - -As the foremost figures reached the gate, Roy leaned forth and spoke, -not loudly, but in tones that sliced through the silence, sharp, clean, -and without warning. - -“Halt! Don’t come inside the fence.” There was an instant’s confusion; -then, before the men beneath had time to answer or take action, he -continued: “This is Roy Glenister talking. I told you not to molest -these people and I warn you again. We’re ready for you.” - -The leader spoke. “You’re a traitor, Glenister.” - -He winced. “Perhaps I am. You betrayed me first, though; and, traitor or -not, you can’t come into this house.” - -There was a murmur at this, and some one said: - -“Miss Chester is safe. All we want is the Judge. We won’t hang him, not -if he’ll wear this suit we brought along. He needn’t be afraid. Tar is -good for the skin.” - -“Oh, my God!” groaned the limb of the law. - -Suddenly a man came running down the planked pavement and into the -group. - -“McNamara’s gone, and so’s the marshal and the rest,” he panted. There -was a moment’s silence, and then the leader growled to his men, “Scatter -out and rush the house, boys.” He raised his voice to the man in the -window. “This is your work--you damned turncoat.” His followers melted -away to right and left, vaulted the fence, and dodged into the shelter -of the walls. The click, click of Glenister’s Winchester sounded through -the room while the sweat stood out on him. He wondered if he could do -this deed, if he could really fire on these people. He wondered if his -muscles would not wither and paralyze before they obeyed his command. - -Helen crowded past him and, leaning half out of the opening, called -loudly, her voice ringing clear and true: - -“Wait! Wait a moment. I have something to say. Mr. Glenister didn’t warn -them. They thought you were going to attack the mines and so they rode -out there before midnight. I am telling you the truth, really. They left -hours ago.” It was the first sign she had made, and they recognized her -to a man. - -There were uncertain mutterings below till a new man raised his voice. -Both Roy and Helen recognized Dextry. - -“Boys, we’ve overplayed. We don’t want _these_ people--McNamara’s our -meat. Old bald-face up yonder has to do what he’s told, and I’m ag’in’ -this twenty-to-one midnight work. I’m goin’ home.” There were some -whisperings, then the original spokesman called for Judge Stillman. The -old man tottered to the window, a palsied, terror-stricken object. The -girl was glad he could not be seen from below. - -“We won’t hurt you this time, Judge, but you’ve gone far enough. We’ll -give you another chance, then, if you don’t make good, we’ll stretch you -to a lamppost. Take this as a warning.” - -“I--s-shall do my d-d-duty,” said the Judge. - -The men disappeared into the darkness, and when they had gone Glenister -closed the window, pulled down the shades, and lighted a lamp. He knew -by how narrow a margin a tragedy had been averted. If he had fired on -these men his shot would have kindled a feud which would have consumed -every vestige of the court crowd and himself among them. He would have -fallen under a false banner, and his life would not have reached to the -next sunset. Perhaps it was forfeit now--he could not tell. The -Vigilantes would probably look upon his part as traitorous; and, at the -very least, he had cut himself off from their support, the only support -the Northland offered him. Henceforth he was a renegade, a pariah, hated -alike by both factions. He purposely avoided sight of Stillman and -turned his back when the Judge extended his hand with expressions of -gratitude. His work was done and he wished to leave this house. Helen -followed him down to the door and, as he opened it, laid her hand upon -his sleeve. - -“Words are feeble things, and I can never make amends for all you’ve -done for us.” - -“For _us_!” cried Roy, with a break in his voice. “Do you think I -sacrificed my honor, betrayed my friends, killed my last hope, -ostracized myself, for ‘_us_’? This is the last time I’ll trouble you. -Perhaps the last time I’ll see you. No matter what else you’ve done, -however, you’ve taught me a lesson, and I thank you for it. I have found -myself at last. I’m not an Eskimo any longer--I’m a man!” - -“You’ve always been that,” she said. “I don’t understand as much about -this affair as I want to, and it seems to me that no one will explain -it. I’m very stupid, I guess; but won’t you come back to-morrow and tell -it to me?” - -“No,” he said, roughly. “You’re not of my people. McNamara and his are -no friends of mine, and I’m no friend of theirs.” He was half down the -steps before she said, softly: - -“Good-night, and God bless you--friend.” - -She returned to the Judge, who was in a pitiable state, and for a long -time she labored to soothe him as though he were a child. She undertook -to question him about the things which lay uppermost in her mind and -which this night had half revealed, but he became fretful and irritated -at the mention of mines and mining. She sat beside his bed till he dozed -off, puzzling to discover what lay behind the hints she had heard, till -her brain and body matched in absolute weariness. The reflex of the -day’s excitement sapped her strength till she could barely creep to her -own couch, where she rolled and sighed--too tired to sleep at once. She -awoke finally, with one last nervous flicker, before complete oblivion -took her. A sentence was on her mind--it almost seemed as though she had -spoken it aloud: - -“The handsomest woman in the North ... but Glenister ran away.” - - - - -CHAPTER XVI - -IN WHICH THE TRUTH BEGINS TO BARE ITSELF - - -It was nearly noon of the next day when Helen awoke to find that -McNamara had ridden in from the Creek and stopped for breakfast with the -Judge. He had asked for her, but on hearing the tale of the night’s -adventure would not allow her to be disturbed. Later, he and the Judge -had gone away together. - -Although her judgment approved the step she had contemplated the night -before, still the girl now felt a strange reluctance to meet McNamara. -It is true that she knew no ill of him, except that implied in the -accusations of certain embittered men; and she was aware that every -strong and aggressive character makes enemies in direct proportion to -the qualities which lend him greatness. Nevertheless, she was aware of -an inner conflict that she had not foreseen. This man who so confidently -believed that she would marry him did not dominate her consciousness. - -She had ridden much of late, taking long, solitary gallops beside the -shimmering sea that she loved so well, or up the winding valleys into -the foot-hills where echoed the roar of swift waters or glinted the -flash of shovel blades. This morning her horse was lame, so she -determined to walk. In her early rambles she had looked timidly askance -at the rough men she met till she discovered their genuine respect and -courtesy. The most unkempt among them were often college-bred, although, -for that matter, the roughest of the miners showed abundant -consideration for a woman. So she was glad to allow the men to talk to -her with the fine freedom inspired by the new country and its wide -spaces. The wilderness breeds a chivalry all its own. - -Thus there seemed to be no danger abroad, though they had told the girl -of mad dogs which roamed the city, explaining that the hot weather -affects powerfully the thick-coated, shaggy “malamoots.” This is the -land of the dog, and whereas in winter his lot is to labor and shiver -and starve, in summer he loafs, fights, grows fat, and runs mad with the -heat. - -Helen walked far and, returning, chose an unfamiliar course through the -outskirts of the town to avoid meeting any of the women she knew, -because of that vivid memory of the night before. As she walked swiftly -along she thought that she heard faint cries far behind her. Looking up, -she noted that it was a lonely, barren quarter and that the only figure -in sight was a woman some distance away. A few paces farther on the -shouts recurred--more plainly this time, and a gunshot sounded. Glancing -back, she saw several men running, one bearing a smoking revolver, and -heard, nearer still, the snarling hubbub of fighting dogs. In a flash -the girl’s curiosity became horror, for, as she watched, one of the dogs -made a sudden dash through the now subdued group of animals and ran -swiftly along the planking on which she stood. It was a handsome -specimen of the Eskimo malamoot--tall, gray, and coated like a wolf, -with the speed, strength, and cunning of its cousin. Its head hung low -and swung from side to side as it trotted, the motion flecking foam and -slaver. The creature had scattered the pack, and now, swift, menacing, -relentless, was coming towards Helen. There was no shelter near, no -fence, no house, save the distant one towards which the other woman was -making her way. The men, too far away to protect her, shouted hoarse -warnings. - -Helen did not scream nor hesitate--she turned and ran, terror-stricken, -towards the distant cottage. She was blind with fright and felt an utter -certainty that the dog would attack her before she could reach safety. -Yes--there was the quick patter of his pads close up behind her; her -knees weakened; the sheltering door was yet some yards away. But a -horse, tethered near the walk, reared and snorted as the flying pair -drew near. The mad creature swerved, leaped at the horse’s legs, and -snapped in fury. Badly frightened at this attack, the horse lunged at -his halter, broke it, and galloped away; but the delay had served for -Helen, weak and faint, to reach the door. She wrenched at the knob. It -was locked. As she turned hopelessly away, she saw that the other woman -was directly behind her, and was, in her turn, awaiting the mad animal’s -onslaught, but calmly, a tiny revolver in her hand. - -“Shoot!” screamed Helen. “Why don’t you shoot?” The little gun spoke, -and the dog spun around, snarling and yelping. The woman fired several -times more before it lay still, and then remarked, calmly, as she -“broke” the weapon and ejected the shells: - -“The calibre is too small to be good for much.” - -Helen sank down upon the steps. - -“How well you shoot!” she gasped. Her eyes were on the gray bundle whose -death agonies had thrust it almost to her feet. The men had run up and -were talking excitedly, but after a word with them the woman turned to -Helen. - -“You must come in for a moment and recover yourself,” she said, and led -her inside. - -It was a cosey room in which the girl found herself--more than -that--luxurious. There was a piano with scattered music, and many of the -pretty, feminine things that Helen had not seen since leaving home. The -hostess had stepped behind some curtains for an instant and was talking -to her from the next room. - -“That is the third mad dog I have seen this month. Hydrophobia is -becoming a habit in this neighborhood.” She returned, bearing a tiny -silver tray with decanter and glasses. - -“You’re all unstrung, but this brandy will help you--if you don’t object -to a swallow of it. Then come right in here and lie down for a moment -and you’ll be all right.” She spoke with such genuine kindness and -sympathy that Helen flashed a grateful glance at her. She was tall, -slender, and with a peculiar undulating suggestion in her movements, as -though she had been bred to the clinging folds of silken garments. Helen -watched the charm of her smile, the friendly solicitude of her -expression, and felt her heart warm towards this one kind woman in Nome. - -“You’re very good,” she answered; “but I’m all right now. I was badly -frightened. It was wonderful, your saving me.” She followed the other’s -graceful motion as she placed her burden on the table, and in doing so -gazed squarely at a photograph of Roy Glenister. - -“Oh--!” Helen exclaimed, then paused as it flashed over her who this -girl was. She looked at her quickly. Yes, probably men would consider -the woman beautiful, with that smile. The revelation came with a shock, -and she arose, trying to mask her confusion. - -“Thank you so much for your kindness. I’m quite myself now and I must -go.” - -Her change of face could not escape the quick perceptions of one -schooled by experience in the slights of her sex. Times without number -Cherry Malotte had marked that subtle, scornful change in other women, -and reviled herself for heeding it. But in some way this girl’s manner -hurt her worst of all. She betrayed no sign, however, save a widening of -the eyes and a certain fixity of smile as she answered: - -“I wish you would stay until you are rested, Miss--” She paused with -out-stretched hand. - -“Chester. My name is Helen Chester. I’m Judge Stillman’s niece,” hurried -the other, in embarrassment. - -Cherry Malotte withdrew her proffered hand and her face grew hard and -hateful. - -“Oh! So you are Miss Chester--and I--saved you!” She laughed harshly. - -Helen strove for calmness. “I’m sorry you feel that way,” she said, -coolly. “I appreciate your service to me.” She moved towards the door. - -“Wait a moment. I want to talk to you.” Then, as Helen paid no heed, the -woman burst out, bitterly: “Oh, don’t be afraid! I know you are -committing an unpardonable sin by talking to me, but no one will see -you, and in your code the crime lies in being discovered. Therefore, -you’re quite safe. That’s what makes me an outcast--I was found out. I -want you to know, however, that, bad as I am, I’m better than you, for -I’m loyal to those that like me, and I don’t betray my friends.” - -“I don’t pretend to understand you,” said Helen, coldly. - -“Oh yes, you do! Don’t assume such innocence. Of course it’s your rôle, -but you can’t play it with me.” She stepped in front of her visitor, -placing her back against the door, while her face was bitter and -mocking. “The little service I did you just now entitles me to a -privilege, I suppose, and I’m going to take advantage of it to tell you -how badly your mask fits. Dreadfully rude of me, isn’t it? You’re in -with a fine lot of crooks, and I admire the way you’ve done your share -of the dirty work, but when you assume these scandalized, supervirtuous -airs it offends me.” - -“Let me out!” - -“I’ve done bad things,” Cherry continued, unheedingly, “but I was forced -into them, usually, and I never, deliberately, tried to wreck a man’s -life just for his money.” - -“What do you mean by saying that I have betrayed my friends and wrecked -anybody’s life?” Helen demanded, hotly. - -“Bah! I had you sized up at the start, but Roy couldn’t see it. Then -Struve told me what I hadn’t guessed. A bottle of wine, a woman, and -that fool will tell all he knows. It’s a great game McNamara’s playing -and he did well to get you in on it, for you’re clever, your nerve is -good, and your make-up is great for the part. I ought to know, for I’ve -turned a few tricks myself. You’ll pardon this little burst of -feeling--professional pique. I’m jealous of your ability, that’s all. -However, now that you realize we’re in the same class, don’t look down -on me hereafter.” She opened the door and bowed her guest out with -elaborate mockery. - -Helen was too bewildered and humiliated to make much out of this vicious -and incoherent attack except the fact that Cherry Malotte accused her of -a part in this conspiracy which every one seemed to believe existed. -Here again was that hint of corruption which she encountered on all -sides. This might be merely a woman’s jealousy--and yet she said Struve -had told her all about it--that a bottle of wine and a pretty face would -make the lawyer disclose everything. She could believe it from what she -knew and had heard of him. The feeling that she was groping in the dark, -that she was wrapped in a mysterious woof of secrecy, came over her -again as it had so often of late. If Struve talked to that other woman, -why wouldn’t he talk to her? She paused, changing her direction towards -Front Street, revolving rapidly in her mind as she went her course of -action. Cherry Malotte believed her to be an actress. Very well--she -would prove her judgment right. - -She found Struve busy in his private office, but he leaped to his feet -on her entrance and came forward, offering her a chair. - -“Good-morning, Miss Helen. You have a fine color, considering the night -you passed. The Judge told me all about the affair; and let me state -that you’re the pluckiest girl I know.” - -She smiled grimly at the thought of what made her cheeks glow, and -languidly loosened the buttons of her jacket. - -“I suppose you’re very busy, you lawyer man?” she inquired. - -“Yes--but not too busy to attend to anything you want.” - -“Oh, I didn’t come on business,” she said, lightly. “I was out walking -and merely sauntered in.” - -“Well, I appreciate that all the more,” he said, in an altered tone, -twisting his chair about. “I’m more than delighted.” She judged she was -getting on well from the way his professionalism had dropped off. - -“Yes, I get tired of talking to uncle and Mr. McNamara. They treat me as -though I were a little girl.” - -“When do you take the fatal step?” - -“What step do you mean?” - -“Your marriage. When does it occur? You needn’t hesitate,” he added. -“McNamara told me about it a month ago.” - -He felt his throat gingerly at the thought, but his eyes brightened when -she answered, lightly: - -“I think you are mistaken. He must have been joking.” - -For some time she led him on adroitly, talking of many things, in a way -to make him wonder at her new and flippant humor. He had never dreamed -she could be like this, so tantalizingly close to familiarity, and yet -so maddeningly aloof and distant. He grew bolder in his speech. - -“How are things going with us?” she questioned, as his warmth grew -pronounced. “Uncle won’t talk and Mr. McNamara is as close-mouthed as -can be, lately.” - -He looked at her quickly. “In what respect?” - -She summoned up her courage and walked past the ragged edge of -uncertainty. - -“Now, don’t you try to keep me in short dresses, too. It’s getting -wearisome. I’ve done my part and I want to know what the rest of you are -doing.” She was prepared for any answer. - -“What do you want to know?” he asked, cautiously. - -“Everything. Don’t you think I can hear what people are saying?” - -“Oh, that’s it! Well, don’t you pay any attention to what people say.” - -She recognized her mistake and continued, hurriedly: - -“Why shouldn’t I? Aren’t we all in this together? I object to being used -and then discarded. I think I’m entitled to know how the scheme is -working. Don’t you think I can keep my mouth shut?” - -“Of course,” he laughed, trying to change the subject of their talk; but -she arose and leaned against the desk near him, vowing that she would -not leave the office without piercing some part of this mystery. His -manner strengthened her suspicion that there _was_ something behind it -all. This dissipated, brilliant creature knew the situation thoroughly; -and yet, though swayed by her efforts, he remained chained by caution. -She leaned forward and smiled at him. - -“You’re just like the others, aren’t you? You won’t give me any -satisfaction at all.” - -“Give, give, give,” said Struve, cynically. “That’s always the woman’s -cry. Give me this--give me that. Selfish sex! Why don’t you offer -something in return? Men are traders, women usurers. You are curious, -hence miserable. I can help you, therefore I should do it for a smile. -You ask me to break my promises and risk my honor on your caprice. Well, -that’s woman-like, and I’ll do it. I’ll put myself in your power, but I -won’t do it gratis. No, we’ll trade.” - -“It isn’t curiosity,” she denied, indignantly. “It is my due.” - -“No; you’ve heard the common talk and grown suspicious, that’s all. You -think I know something that will throw a new light or a new shadow on -everything you have in the world, and you’re worked up to such a -condition that you can’t take your own people’s word; and, on the other -hand, you can’t go to strangers, so you come to me. Suppose I told you I -had the papers you brought to me last spring in that safe and that they -told the whole story--whether your uncle is unimpeachable or whether he -deserved hanging by that mob. What would you do, eh? What would you give -to see them? Well, they’re there and ready to speak for themselves. If -you’re a woman you won’t rest till you’ve seen them. Will you trade?” - -“Yes, yes! Give them to me,” she cried, eagerly, at which a wave of -crimson rushed up to his eyes and he rose abruptly from his chair. He -made towards her, but she retreated to the wall, pale and wide-eyed. - -“Can’t you see,” she flung at him, “that I _must_ know?” - -He paused. “Of course I can, but I want a kiss to bind the bargain--to -apply on account.” He reached for her hand with his own hot one, but she -pushed him away and slipped past him towards the door. - -“Suit yourself,” said he, “but if I’m not mistaken, you’ll never rest -till you’ve seen those papers. I’ve studied you, and I’ll place a bet -that you can’t marry McNamara nor look your uncle in the eye till you -know the truth. You might do either if you _knew_ them to be crooks, but -you couldn’t if you only suspected it--that’s the woman. When you get -ready, come back; I’ll show you proof, because I don’t claim to be -anything but what I am--Wilton Struve, bargainer of some mean ability. -When they come to inscribe my headstone I hope they can carve thereon -with truth, ‘He got value received.’” - -“You’re a panther,” she said, loathingly. - -“Graceful and elegant brute, that,” he laughed. “Affectionate and full -of play, but with sharp teeth and sharper claws. To follow out the idea, -which pleases me, I believe the creature owes no loyalty to its fellows -and hunts alone. Now, when you’ve followed this conspiracy out and -placed the blame where it belongs, won’t you come and tell me about it? -That door leads into an outer hall which opens into the street. No one -will see you come or go.” - -As she hurried away she wondered dazedly why she had stayed to listen so -long. What a monster he was! His meaning was plain, had always been so -from the first day he laid eyes upon her, and he was utterly -conscienceless. She had known all this; and yet, in her proud, youthful -confidence, and in her need, every hour more desperate and urgent, to -know the truth, she had dared risk herself with him. Withal, the man was -shrewd and observant and had divined her mental condition with -remarkable sagacity. She had failed with him; but the girl now knew that -she could never rest till she found an answer to her questions. She -_must_ kill this suspicion that ate into her so. She thought tenderly of -her uncle’s goodness to her, clung with despairing faith to the last of -her kin. The blood ties of the Chesters were close and she felt in dire -need of that lost brother who was somewhere in this mysterious -land--need of some one in whom ran the strain that bound her to the weak -old man up yonder. There was McNamara; but how could he help her, how -much did she know of him, this man who was now within the darkest shadow -of her new suspicions? - -Feeling almost intolerably friendless and alone, weakened both by her -recent fright and by her encounter with Struve, Helen considered as -calmly as her emotions would allow and decided that this was no day in -which pride should figure. There were facts which it was imperative she -should know, and immediately; therefore, a few minutes later, she -knocked at the door of Cherry Malotte. When the girl appeared, Helen was -astonished to see that she had been crying. Tears burn hottest and leave -plainest trace in eyes where they come most seldom. The younger girl -could not guess the tumult of emotion the other had undergone during her -absence, the utter depths of self-abasement she had fathomed, for the -sight of Helen and her fresh young beauty had roused in the adventuress -a very tempest of bitterness and jealousy. Whether Helen Chester were -guilty or innocent, how could Glenister hesitate between them? Cherry -had asked herself. Now she stared at her visitor inhospitably and -without sign. - -“Will you let me come in?” Helen asked her. “I have something to say to -you.” - -When they were inside, Cherry Malotte stood and gazed at her visitor -with inscrutable eyes and stony face. - -“It isn’t easy for me to come back,” Helen began, “but I felt that I -had to. If you can help me, I hope you will. You said that you knew a -great wrong was being done. I have suspected it, but I didn’t know, and -I’ve been afraid to doubt my own people. You said I had a part in -it--that I’d betrayed my friends. Wait a moment,” she hurried on, at the -other’s cynical smile. “Won’t you tell me what you know and what you -think my part has been? I’ve heard and seen things that make me -think--oh, they make me afraid to think, and yet I can’t find the -_truth!_ You see, in a struggle like this, people will make all sorts of -allegations, but do they _know_, have they any proof, that my uncle has -done wrong?” - -“Is that all?” - -“No. You said Struve told you the whole scheme. I went to him and tried -to cajole the story out of him, but--” She shivered at the memory. - -“What success did you have?” inquired the listener, oddly curious for -all her cold dislike. - -“Don’t ask me. I hate to think of it.” - -Cherry laughed cruelly. “So, failing there, you came back to me, back -for another favor from the waif. Well, Miss Helen Chester, I don’t -believe a word you’ve said and I’ll tell you nothing. Go back to the -uncle and the rawboned lover who sent you, and inform them that I’ll -speak when the time comes. They think I know too much, do they?--so -they’ve sent you to spy? Well, I’ll make a compact. You play your game -and I’ll play mine. Leave Glenister alone and I’ll not tell on McNamara. -Is it a bargain?” - -“No, no, no! Can’t you _see_? That’s not it. All I want is the truth of -this thing.” - -“Then go back to Struve and get it. He’ll tell you; I won’t. Drive your -bargain with him--you’re able. You’ve fooled better men--now, see what -you can do with him.” - -Helen left, realizing the futility of further effort, though she felt -that this woman did not really doubt her, but was scourged by jealousy -till she deliberately chose this attitude. - -Reaching her own house, she wrote two brief notes and called in her Jap -boy from the kitchen. - -“Fred, I want you to hunt up Mr. Glenister and give him this note. If -you can’t find him, then look for his partner and give the other to -him.” Fred vanished, to return in an hour with the letter for Dextry -still in his hand. - -“I don’ catch dis feller,” he explained. “Young mans say he gone, come -back mebbe one, two, ’leven days.” - -“Did you deliver the one to Mr. Glenister?” - -“Yes, ma’am.” - -“Was there an answer?” - -“Yes, ma’am.” - -“Well, give it to me.” - -The note read: - - “DEAR MISS CHESTER,--A discussion of a matter so familiar to us - both as the Anvil Creek controversy would be useless. If your - inclination is due to the incidents of last night, pray don’t - trouble yourself. We don’t want your pity. I am, - -RIGHT -“Your servant, - -“ROY GLENISTER.” - - - -As she read the note, Judge Stillman entered, and it seemed to the girl -that he had aged a year for every hour in the last twelve, or else the -yellow afternoon light limned the sagging hollows and haggard lines of -his face most pitilessly. He showed in voice and manner the nervous -burden under which he labored. - -“Alec has told me about your engagement, and it lifts a terrible load -from me. I’m mighty glad you’re going to marry him. He’s a wonderful -man, and he’s the only one who can save us.” - -“What do you mean by that? What are we in danger of?” she inquired, -avoiding discussion of McNamara’s announcement. - -“Why, that mob, of course. They’ll come back. They said so. But Alec can -handle the commanding officer at the post, and, thanks to him, we’ll -have soldiers guarding the house hereafter.” - -“Why--they won’t hurt us--” - -“Tut, tut! I know what I’m talking about. We’re in worse danger now than -ever, and if we don’t break up those Vigilantes there’ll be -bloodshed--that’s what. They’re a menace, and they’re trying to force me -off the bench so they can take the law into their own hands again. -That’s what I want to see you about. They’re planning to kill Alec and -me--so he says--and we’ve got to act quick to prevent murder. Now, this -young Glenister is one of them, and he knows who the rest are. Do you -think you could get him to talk?” - -“I don’t think I quite understand you,” said the girl, through whitening -lips. - -“Oh yes, you do. I want the names of the ring-leaders, so that I can -jail them. You can worm it out of that fellow if you try.” - -Helen looked at the old man in a horror that at first was dumb. “You ask -this of me?” she demanded, hoarsely, at last. - -“Nonsense,” he said, irritably. “This isn’t any time for silly scruples. -It’s life or death for me, maybe, and for Alec, too.” He said the last -craftily, but she stormed at him: - -“It’s infamous! You’re asking me to betray the very man who saved us not -twelve hours ago. He risked his life for us.” - -“It isn’t treachery at all, it’s protection. If we don’t get them, -they’ll get us. I wouldn’t punish that young fellow, but I want the -others. Come, now, you’ve got to do it.” - -But she said “No” firmly, and quietly went to her own room, where, -behind the locked door, she sat for a long time staring with unseeing -eyes, her hands tight clenched in her lap. At last she whispered: - -“I’m afraid it’s true. I’m afraid it’s true.” - -She remained hidden during the dinner-hour, and pleaded a headache when -McNamara called in the early evening. Although she had not seen him -since he left her the night before, bearing her tacit promise to wed -him, yet how could she meet him now with the conviction growing on her -hourly that he was a master-rogue? She wrestled with the thought that he -and her uncle, her own uncle who stood in the place of a father, were -conspirators. And yet, at memory of the Judge’s cold-blooded request -that she should turn traitress, her whole being was revolted. If he -could ask a thing like that, what other heartless, selfish act might he -not be capable of? All the long, solitary evening she kept her room, but -at last, feeling faint, slipped down-stairs in search of Fred, for she -had eaten nothing since her late breakfast. - -Voices reached her from the parlor, and as she came to the last step -she froze there in an attitude of listening. The first sentence she -heard through the close-drawn curtains banished all qualms at -eavesdropping. She stood for many breathless minutes drinking in the -plot that came to her plainly from within, then turned, gathered up her -skirts, and tiptoed back to her room. Here she made haste madly, tearing -off her house clothes and donning others. - -She pressed her face to the window and noted that the night was like a -close-hung velvet pall, without a star in sight. Nevertheless, she wound -a heavy veil about her hat and face before she extinguished the light -and stepped into the hall. Hearing McNamara’s “Good-night” at the -front-door, she retreated again while her uncle slowly mounted the -stairs and paused before her chamber. He called her name softly, but -when she did not answer continued on to his own room. When he was safely -within she descended quietly, went out, and locked the front-door behind -her, placing the key in her bosom. She hurried now, feeling her way -through the thick gloom in a panic, while in her mind was but one -frightened thought: - -“I’ll be too late. I’ll be too late.” - - - - -CHAPTER XVII - -THE DRIP OF WATER IN THE DARK - - -Even after Helen had been out for some time she could barely see -sufficiently to avoid collisions. The air, weighted by a low-hung roof -of clouds, was surcharged with the electric suspense of an impending -storm, and seemed to sigh and tremble at the hint of power in leash. It -was that pause before the conflict wherein the night laid finger upon -its lips. - -As the girl neared Glenister’s cabin she was disappointed at seeing no -light there. She stumbled towards the door, only to utter a -half-strangled cry as two men stepped out of the gloom and seized her -roughly. Something cold and hard was thrust violently against her cheek, -forcing her head back and bruising her. She struggled and cried out. - -“Hold on--it’s a woman!” ejaculated the man who had pinioned her arms, -loosing his hold till only a hand remained on her shoulder. The other -lowered the weapon he had jammed to her face and peered closely. - -“Why, Miss Chester,” he said. “What are you doing here? You came near -getting hurt.” - -“I am bound for the Wilsons’, but I must have lost my way in the -darkness. I think you have cut my face.” She controlled her fright -firmly. - -“That’s too bad,” one said. “We mistook you for--” And the other broke -in, sharply, “You’d better run along. We’re waiting for some one.” - -Helen hastened back by the route she had come, knowing that there was -still time, and that as yet her uncle’s emissaries had not laid hands -upon Glenister. She had overheard the Judge and McNamara plotting to -drag the town with a force of deputies, seizing not only her two -friends, but every man suspected of being a Vigilante. The victims were -to be jailed without bond, without reason, without justice, while the -mechanism of the court was to be juggled in order to hold them until -fall, if necessary. They had said that the officers were already busy, -so haste was a crying thing. She sped down the dark streets towards the -house of Cherry Malotte, but found no light nor answer to her knock. She -was distracted now, and knew not where to seek next among the thousand -spots which might hide the man she wanted. What chance had she against -the posse sweeping the town from end to end? There was only one; he -might be at the Northern Theatre. Even so, she could not reach him, for -she dared not go there herself. She thought of Fred, her Jap boy, but -there was no time. Wasted moments meant failure. - -Roy had once told her that he never gave up what he undertook. Very -well, she would show that even a girl may possess determination. This -was no time for modesty or shrinking indecision, so she pulled the veil -more closely about her face and took her good name into her hands. She -made rapidly towards the lighted streets which cast a skyward glare, and -from which, through the breathless calm, arose the sound of carousal. -Swiftly she threaded the narrow alleys in search of the theatre’s rear -entrance, for she dared not approach from the front. In this way she -came into a part of the camp which had lain hidden from her until now, -and of the existence of which she had never dreamed. - -The vices of a city, however horrible, are at least draped scantily by -the mantle of convention, but in a great mining-camp they stand naked -and without concealment. Here there were rows upon rows of criblike -houses clustered over tortuous, ill-lighted lanes, like blow-flies -swarming to an unclean feast. From within came the noise of ribaldry and -debauch. Shrill laughter mingled with coarse, maudlin songs, till the -clinging night reeked with abominable revelry. The girl saw painted -creatures of every nationality leaning from windows or beckoning from -doorways, while drunken men collided with her, barred her course, -challenged her, and again and again she was forced to slip from their -embraces. At last the high bulk of the theatre building loomed a short -distance ahead. Panting and frightened, she tried the door with weak -hands, to find it locked. From behind it rose the blare of brass and the -sound of singing. She accosted a man who approached her through the -narrow alley, but he had cruised from the charted course in search of -adventure and was not minded to go in quest of doormen; rather, he chose -to sing a chantey, to the bibulous measures of which he invited her to -dance with him, so she slipped away till he had teetered past. He was -some long-shoreman in that particular epoch of his inebriety where life -had no burden save the dissipation of wages. - -Returning, she pounded on the door, possessed of the sense that the man -she sought was here, till at last it was flung open, framing the -silhouette of a shirt-sleeved, thick-set youth, who shouted: - -“What ’n ’ell do you want to butt in for while the show’s on? Go round -front.” She caught a glimpse of disordered scenery, and before he could -slam the door in her face thrust a silver dollar into his hand, at the -same time wedging herself into the opening. He pocketed the coin and the -door clicked to behind her. - -“Well, speak up. The act’s closin’.” Evidently he was the directing -genius of the performance, for at that moment the chorus broke into full -cry, and he said, hurriedly: - -“Wait a minute. There goes the finally,” and dashed away to tend his -drops and switches. When the curtain was down and the principals had -sought their dressing-rooms he returned. - -“Do you know Mr. Glenister?” she asked. - -“Sure. I seen him to-night. Come here.” He led her towards the -footlights, and, pulling back the edge of the curtain, allowed her to -peep past him out into the dance-hall. She had never pictured a place -like this, and in spite of her agitation was astonished at its gaudy -elegance. The gallery was formed of a continuous row of compartments -with curtained fronts, in which men and women were talking, drinking, -singing. The seats on the lower floor were disappearing, and the canvas -cover was rolling back, showing the polished hardwood underneath, while -out through the wide folding-doors that led to the main gambling-room -she heard a brass-lunged man calling the commencement of the dance. -Couples glided into motion while she watched. - -“I don’t see him,” said her guide. “You better walk out front and help -yourself.” He indicated the stairs which led up to the galleried boxes -and the steps leading down on to the main floor, but she handed him -another coin, begging him to find Glenister and bring him to her. -“Hurry; hurry!” she implored. - -The stage-manager gazed at her curiously, remarking, “My! You spend your -money like it had been left to you. You’re a regular pie-check for me. -Come around any time.” - -She withdrew to a dark corner and waited interminably till her messenger -appeared at the head of the gallery stairs and beckoned to her. As she -drew near he said, “I told him there was a thousand-dollar filly -flaggin’ him from the stage door, but he’s got a grouch an’ won’t stir. -He’s in number seven.” She hesitated, at which he said, “Go on--you’re -in right;” then continued, reassuringly: “Say, pal, if he’s your -white-haired lad, you needn’t start no roughhouse, ’cause he don’t flirt -wit’ these dames none whatever. Naw! Take it from me.” - -She entered the door her counsellor indicated to find Roy lounging back -watching the dancers. He turned inquiringly--then, as she raised her -veil, leaped to his feet and jerked the curtains to. - -“Helen! What are you doing here?” - -“You must go away quickly,” she gasped. “They’re trying to arrest you.” - -“They! Who? Arrest me for what?” - -“Voorhees and his men--for riot, or something about last night.” - -“Nonsense,” he said. “I had no part in it. You know that.” - -“Yes, yes--but you’re a Vigilante, and they’re after you and all your -friends. Your house is guarded and the town is alive with deputies. -They’ve planned to jail you on some pretext or other and hold you -indefinitely. Please go before it’s too late.” - -“How do you know this?” he asked, gravely. - -“I overheard them plotting.” - -“Who?” - -“Uncle Arthur and Mr. McNamara.” She faced him squarely as she said it, -and therefore saw the light flame up in his eyes as he cried: - -“And you came here to save me--came _here_ at the risk of your good -name?” - -“Of course. I would have done the same for Dextry.” The gladness died -away, leaving him listless. - -“Well, let them come. I’m done, I guess. I heard from Wheaton to-night. -He’s down and out, too--some trouble with the ’Frisco courts about -jurisdiction over these cases. I don’t know that it’s worth while to -fight any longer.” - -“Listen,” she said. “You must go. I am sure there is a terrible wrong -being done, and you and I must stop it. I have seen the truth at last, -and you’re in the right. Please hide for a time at least.” - -“Very well. If you have taken sides with us there’s some hope left. -Thank you for the risk you ran in warning me.” - -She had moved to the front of the compartment and was peering forth -between the draperies when she stifled a cry. - -“Too late! Too late! There they are. Don’t part the curtains. They’ll -see you.” - -Pushing through the gambling-hall were Voorhees and four others, -seemingly in quest of some one. - -“Run down the back stairs,” she breathed, and pushed him through the -door. He caught and held her hand with a last word of gratitude. Then he -was gone. She drew down her veil and was about to follow when the door -opened and he reappeared. - -“No use,” he remarked, quietly. “There are three more waiting at the -foot.” He looked out to find that the officers had searched the crowd -and were turning towards the front stairs, thus cutting off his retreat. -There were but two ways down from the gallery and no outside windows -from which to leap. As they had made no armed display, the presence of -the officers had not interrupted the dance. - -Glenister drew his revolver, while into his eyes came the dancing -glitter that Helen had seen before, cold as the glint of winter -sunlight. - -“No, not that--for God’s sake!” she shuddered, clasping his arm. - -“I must for your sake, or they’ll find you here, and that’s worse than -ruin. I’ll fight it out in the corridors so that you can escape in the -confusion. Wait till the firing stops and the crowd gathers.” His hand -was on the knob when she tore it loose, whispering hoarsely: - -“They’ll kill you. Wait! There’s a better way. Jump.” She dragged him to -the front of the box and pulled aside the curtains. “It isn’t high and -they won’t see you till it’s too late. Then you can run through the -crowd.” - -He grasped her idea, and, slipping his weapon back into its holster, -laid hold of the ledge before him and lowered himself down over the -dancers. He swung out unhesitatingly, and almost before he had been -observed had dropped into their midst. The gallery was but twice the -height of a man’s head from the floor, so he landed on his feet and had -drawn his Colt’s even while the men at the stairs were shouting at him -to halt. - -At sight of the naked weapons there was confusion, wherein the commands -of the deputies mingled with the shrieks of the women, the crash of -overturned chairs, and the sound of tramping feet, as the crowd divided -before Glenister and swept back against the wall in the same ominous way -that a crowd in the street had once divided on the morning of Helen’s -arrival. The trombone player, who had sunk low in his chair with closed -eyes, looked out suddenly at the disturbance, and his alarm was blown -through the horn in a startled squawk. A large woman whimpered, “Don’t -shoot,” and thrust her palms to her ears, closing her eyes tightly. - -Glenister covered the deputies, from whose vicinity the by-standers -surged as though from the presence of lepers. - -“Hands up!” he cried, sharply, and they froze into motionless attitudes, -one poised on the lowest step of the stairs, the other a pace forward. -Voorhees appeared at the head of the flight and rushed down a few steps -only to come abruptly into range and to assume a like rigidity, for the -young man’s aim shifted to him. - -“I have a warrant for you,” the officer cried, his voice loud in the -hush. - -“Keep it,” said Glenister, showing his teeth in a smile in which there -was no mirth. He backed diagonally across the hall, his boot-heels -clicking in the silence, his eyes shifting rapidly up and down the -stairs where the danger lay. - -From her station Helen could see the whole tableau, all but the men on -the stairs, where her vision was cut off. She saw the dance girls -crouched behind their partners or leaning far out from the wall with -parted lips, the men eager yet fearful, the bartender with a -half-polished glass poised high. Then a quick movement across the hall -suddenly diverted her absorbed attention. She saw a man rip aside the -drapery of the box opposite and lean so far out that he seemed in peril -of falling. He undertook to sight a weapon at Glenister, who was just -passing from his view. At her first glance Helen gasped--her heart gave -one fierce lunge, and she cried out. - -The distance across the pit was so short that she saw his every line and -lineament clearly; it was the brother she had sought these years and -years. Before she knew or could check it the blood call leaped forth. - -“Drury!” she cried, aloud, at which he whipped his head about, while -amazement and some other emotion she could not gauge spread slowly over -his features. For a long moment he stared at her without movement or -sign while the drama beneath went on, then he drew back into his retreat -with the dazed look of one doubting his senses, yet fearful of putting -them to the test. For her part, she saw nothing except her brother -vanishing slowly into the shadows as though stricken at her glance, the -curtains closing before his livid face--and then pandemonium broke loose -at her feet. - -Glenister, holding his enemies at bay, had retreated to the double doors -leading to the theatre. His coup had been executed so quickly and with -such lack of turmoil that the throng outside knew nothing of it till -they saw a man walk backward through the door. As he did so he reached -forth and slammed the wide wings shut before his face, then turned and -dashed into the press. Inside the dance-hall loud sounds arose as the -officers clattered down the stairs and made after their quarry. They -tore the barrier apart in time to see, far down the saloon, an eddying -swirl as though some great fish were lashing through the lily-pads of a -pond, and then the swinging doors closed behind Glenister. - -Helen made her way from the theatre as she had come, unobserved and -unobserving, but she walked in a dream. Emotions had chased each other -too closely to-night to be distinguishable, so she went mechanically -through the narrow alley to Front Street and thence to her home. - -Glenister, meanwhile, had been swallowed up by the darkness, the night -enfolding him without sign or trace. As he ran he considered what course -to follow--whether to carry the call to his comrades in town or to make -for the Creek and Dextry. The Vigilantes might still distrust him, and -yet he owed them warning. McNamara’s men were moving so swiftly that -action must be speedy to forestall them. Another hour and the net would -be closed, while it seemed that whichever course he chose they would -snare one or the other--either the friends who remained in town, or Dex -and Slapjack out in the hills. With daylight those two would return and -walk unheeding into the trap, while if he bore the word to them first, -then the Vigilantes would be jailed before dawn. As he drew near Cherry -Malotte’s house he saw a light through the drawn curtains. A heavy -raindrop plashed upon his face, another followed, and then he heard the -patter of falling water increasing swiftly. Before he could gain the -door the storm had broken. It swept up the street with tropical -violence, while a breath sighed out of the night, lifting the litter -from underfoot and pelting him with flying particles. Over the roofs the -wind rushed with the rising moan of a hurricane while the night grew -suddenly noisy ahead of the tempest. - -He entered the door without knocking, to find the girl removing her -coat. Her face gladdened at sight of him, but he checked her with quick -and cautious words, his speech almost drowned by the roar outside. - -“Are you alone?” She nodded, and he slipped the bolt behind him, saying: - -“The marshals are after me. We just had a ‘run in’ at the Northern, and -I’m on the go. No--nothing serious yet, but they want the Vigilantes, -and I must get them word. Will you help me?” He rapidly recounted the -row of the last ten minutes while she nodded her quick understanding. - -“You’re safe here for a little while,” she told him, “for the storm will -check them. If they should come, there’s a back door leading out from -the kitchen and a side entrance yonder. In my room you’ll find a French -window. They can’t corner you very well.” - -“Slapjack and Dex are out at the shaft house--you know--that quartz -claim on the mountain above the Midas.” He hesitated. “Will you lend me -your saddle-horse? It’s a black night and I may kill him.” - -“What about these men in town?” - -“I’ll warn them first, then hit for the hills.” - -She shook her head. “You can’t do it. You can’t get out there before -daylight if you wait to rouse these people, and McNamara has probably -telephoned the mines to send a party up to the quartz claim after Dex. -He knows where the old man is as well as you do, and they’ll raid him -before dawn.” - -“I’m afraid so, but it’s all I can offer. Will you give me the horse?” - -“No! He’s only a pony, and you’d founder him in the tundra. The mud is -knee-deep. I’ll go myself.” - -“Good Heavens, girl, in such a night! Why, it’s worth your life! Listen -to it! The creeks will be up and you’ll have to swim. No, I can’t let -you.” - -“He’s a good little horse, and he’ll take me through.” Then, coming -close, she continued: “Oh, boy! Can’t you see that I want to help? Can’t -you see that I--I’d _die_ for you if it would do any good?” He gazed -gravely into her wide blue eyes and said, awkwardly: “Yes, I know. I’m -sorry things are--as they are--but you wouldn’t have me lie to you, -little woman?” - -“No. You’re the only true man I ever knew. I guess that’s why I love -you. And I do love you, oh, so much! I want to be good and worthy to -love you, too.” - -She laid her face against his arm and caressed him with clinging -tenderness, while the wind yelled loudly about the eaves and the windows -drummed beneath the rain. His heavy brows knit themselves together as -she whispered: - -“I love you! I love you! I love you!” with such an agony of longing in -her voice that her soft accents were sharply distinguishable above the -turmoil. The growing wildness seemed a part of the woman’s passion, -which whipped and harried her like a willow in a blast. - -“Things are fearfully jumbled,” he said, finally. “And this is a bad -time to talk about them. I wish they might be different. No other girl -would do what you have offered to-night.” - -“Then why do you think of that woman?” she broke in, fiercely. “She’s -bad and false. She betrayed you once; she’s in the play now; you’ve told -me so yourself. Why don’t you be a man and forget her?” - -“I can’t,” he said, simply. “You’re wrong, though, when you think she’s -bad. I found to-night that she’s good and brave and honest. The part she -played was played innocently, I’m sure of that, in spite of the fact -that she’ll marry McNamara. It was she who overheard them plotting and -risked her reputation to warn me.” - -Cherry’s face whitened, while the shadowy eagerness that had rested -there died utterly. “She came into that dive alone? She did that?” He -nodded, at which she stood thinking for some time, then continued: -“You’re honest with me, Roy, and I’ll be the same with you. I’m tired of -deceit, tired of everything. I tried to make you think she was bad, but -in my own heart I knew differently all the time. She came here to-day -and humbled herself to get the truth, humbled herself to _me_, and I -sent her away. She suspected, but she didn’t know, and when she asked -for information I insulted her. That’s the kind of a creature I am. I -sent her back to Struve, who offered to tell her the whole story.” - -“What does that renegade want?” - -“Can’t you guess?” - -“Why, I’d rather--” The young man ground his teeth, but Cherry hastened. - -“You needn’t worry; she won’t see him again. She loathes the ground he -walks on.” - -“And yet he’s no worse than that other scoundrel. Come, girl, we have -work to do; we must act, and act quickly.” He gave her his message to -Dextry, then she went to her room and slipped into a riding-habit. When -she came out he asked: “Where is your rain-coat? You’ll be drenched in -no time.” - -“I can’t ride with it. I’ll be thrown, anyway, and I don’t want to be -all bound up. Water won’t hurt me.” - -She thrust her tiny revolver into her dress, but he took it and upon -examination shook his head. - -“If you need a gun you’ll need a good one.” He removed the belt from his -own waist and buckled his Colt’s about her. - -“But you!” she objected. - -“I’ll get another in ten minutes.” Then, as they were leaving, he said: -“One other request, Cherry. I’ll be in hiding for a time, and I must get -word to Miss Chester to keep watch of her uncle, for the big fight is on -at last and the boys will hang him sure if they catch him. I owe her -this last warning. Will you send it to her?” - -“I’ll do it for your sake, not for her--no, no; I don’t mean that. I’ll -do the right thing all round. Leave it here and I’ll see that she gets -it to-morrow. And--Roy--be careful of yourself.” Her eyes were starry -and in their depths lurked neither selfishness nor jealousy now, only -that mysterious glory of a woman who makes sacrifice. - -Together they scurried back to the stable, and yet, in that short -distance, she would have been swept from her feet had he not seized her. -They blew in through the barn door, streaming and soaked by the blinding -sheets that drove scythelike ahead of the wind. He struck a light, and -the pony whinnied at recognition of his mistress. She stroked the little -fellow’s muzzle while Glenister cinched on her saddle. Then, when she -was at last mounted, she leaned forward: - -“Will you kiss me once, Roy, for the last time?” - -He took her rain-wet face between his hands and kissed her upon the lips -as he would have saluted a little maid. As he did so, unseen by both of -them, a face was pressed for an instant against the pane of glass in the -stable wall. - -“You’re a brave girl and may God bless you,” he said, extinguishing the -light. He flung the door wide and she rode out into the storm. Locking -the portal, he plunged back towards the house to write his hurried note, -for there was much to do and scant time for its accomplishment, despite -the helping hand of the hurricane. He heard the voice of Bering as it -thundered on the Golden Sands, and knew that the first great storm of -the fall had come. Henceforth he saw that the violence of men would -rival the rising elements, for the deeds of this night would stir their -passions as Æolus was rousing the hate of the sea. - -He neglected to bolt the house door as he entered, but flung off his -dripping coat and, seizing pad and pencil, scrawled his message. The -wind screamed about the cabin, the lamp flared smokily, and Glenister -felt a draught suck past him as though from an open door at his back as -he wrote: - - “I can’t do anything more. The end has come and it has brought the - hatred and bloodshed that I have been trying to prevent. I played - the game according to your rules, but they forced me back to first - principles in spite of myself, and now I don’t know what the finish - will be. To-morrow will tell. Take care of your uncle, and if you - should wish to communicate with me, go to Cherry Malotte. She is a - friend to both of us. - - “Always your servant, ROY GLENISTER.” - - - -As he sealed this he paused, while he felt the hair on his neck rise and -bristle and a chill race up his spine. His heart fluttered, then pounded -onward till the blood thumped audibly at his ear-drums and he found -himself swaying in rhythm to its beat. The muscles of his back cringed -and rippled at the proximity of some hovering peril, and yet an -irresistible feeling forbade him to turn. A sound came from close behind -his chair--the drip, drip, drip of water. It was not from the caves, nor -yet from a faulty shingle. His back was to the kitchen door, through -which he had come, and, although there were no mirrors before him, he -felt a menacing presence as surely as though it had touched him. His -ears were tuned to the finest pin-pricks of sound, so that he heard the -faint, sighing “squish” of a sodden shoe upon which a weight had -shifted. Still something chained him to his seat. It was as though his -soul laid a restraining hand upon his body, waiting for the instant. - -He let his hand seek his hip carelessly, but remembered where his gun -was. Mechanically, he addressed the note in shaking characters, while -behind him sounded the constant drip, drip, drip that he knew came from -saturated garments. For a long moment he sat, till he heard the stealthy -click of a gun-lock muffled by finger pressure. Then he set his face and -slowly turned to find the Bronco Kid standing behind him as though risen -from the sea, his light clothes wet and clinging, his feet centred in a -spreading puddle. The dim light showed the convulsive fury of his -features above the levelled weapon, whose hammer was curled back like -the head of a striking adder, his eyes gleaming with frenzy. Glenister’s -mouth was powder dry, but his mind was leaping riotously like dust -before a gale, for he divined himself to be in the deadliest peril of -his life. When he spoke the calmness of his voice surprised himself. - -“What’s the matter, Bronco?” The Kid made no reply, and Roy repeated, -“What do you want?” - -“That’s a hell of a question,” the gambler said, hoarsely. “I want you, -of course, and I’ve got you.” - -“Hold up! I am unarmed. This is your third try, and I want to know -what’s back of it.” - -“_Damn_ the talk!” cried the faro-dealer, moving closer till the light -shone on his features, which commenced to twitch. He raised the revolver -he had half lowered. “There’s reason enough, and you know it.” - -Glenister looked him fairly between the eyes, gripping himself with firm -hands to stop the tremor he felt in his bones. “You can’t kill me,” he -said. “I am too good a man to murder. You might shoot a crook, but you -can’t kill a brave man when he’s unarmed. You’re no assassin.” He -remained rigid in his chair, however, moving nothing but his lips, -meeting the other’s look unflinchingly. The Kid hesitated an instant, -while his eyes, which had been fixed with the glare of hatred, wavered a -moment, betraying the faintest sign of indecision. Glenister cried out, -exultantly: - -“Ha! I knew it. Your neck cords quiver.” - -The gambler grimaced. “I can’t do it. If I could, I’d have shot you -before you turned. But you’ll have to fight, you dog. Get up and draw.” - -Roy refused. “I gave Cherry my gun.” - -“Yes, and more too,” the man gritted. “I saw it all.” - -Even yet Glenister had made no slightest move, realizing that a -feather’s weight might snap the gambler’s nervous tension and bring the -involuntary twitch that would put him out swifter than a whip is -cracked. - -“I have tried it before, but murder isn’t my game.” The Kid’s eye caught -the glint of Cherry’s revolver where she had discarded it. “There’s a -gun--get it.” - -“It’s no good. You’d carry the six bullets and never feel them. I don’t -know what this is all about, but I’ll fight you whenever I’m heeled -right.” - -“Oh, you black-hearted hound,” snarled the Kid. “I want to shoot, but -I’m afraid. I used to be a gentleman and I haven’t lost it all, I guess. -But I won’t wait the next time. I’ll down you on sight, so you’d better -get ironed in a hurry.” He backed out of the room into the semi-darkness -of the kitchen, watching with lynxlike closeness the man who sat so -quietly under the shaded light. He felt behind him for the outer -door-knob and turned it to let in a white sheet of rain, then vanished -like a storm wraith, leaving a parched-lipped man and a zigzag trail of -water, which gleamed in the lamplight like a pool of blood. - - - - -CHAPTER XVIII - -WHEREIN A TRAP IS BAITED - - -Glenister did not wait long after his visitor’s departure, but -extinguished the light, locked the door, and began the further -adventures of this night. The storm welcomed him with suffocating -violence, sucking the very breath from his lips, while the rain beat -through till his flesh was cold and aching. He thought with a pang of -the girl facing this tempest, going out to meet the thousand perils of -the night. And it remained for him to bear his part as she bore hers, -smilingly. - -The last hour had added another and mysterious danger to his full -measure. Could the Kid be jealous of Cherry? Surely not. Then what else? - -The tornado had driven his trailers to cover, evidently, for the streets -were given over to its violence, and Roy encountered no hostile sign as -he was buffeted from house to house. He adventured cautiously and yet -with haste, finding certain homes where the marshals had been before him -peopled now only by frightened wives and children. A scattered few of -the Vigilantes had been taken thus, while the warring elements had -prevented their families from spreading the alarm or venturing out for -succor. Those whom he was able to warn dressed hurriedly, took their -rifles, and went out into the drifting night, leaving empty cabins and -weeping women. The great fight was on. - -Towards daylight the remnants of the Vigilantes straggled into the big -blank warehouse on the sand-spit, and there beneath the smoking glare of -lanterns cursed the name of McNamara. As dawn grayed the ragged eastern -sky-line, Dextry and Slapjack blew in through the spindrift, bringing -word from Cherry and lifting a load from Glenister’s mind. - -“There’s a game girl,” said the old miner, as he wrung out his clothes. -“She was half gone when she got to us, and now she’s waiting for the -storm to break so that she can come back.” - -“It’s clearing up to the east,” Slapjack chattered. “D’you know, I’m -gettin’ so rheumatic that ice-water don’t feel comfortable to me no -more.” - -“Uriatic acid in the blood,” said Dextry. “What’s our next move?” he -asked of his partner. “When do we hang this politician? Seems like we’ve -got enough able-bodied piano-movers here to tie a can onto the whole -outfit, push the town site of Nome off the map, and start afresh.” - -“I think we had better lie low and watch developments,” the other -cautioned. “There’s no telling what may turn up during the day.” - -“That’s right. Stranglers is like spirits--they work best in the dark.” - - * * * * * - -As the day grew, the storm died, leaving ramparts of clouds hanging -sullenly above the ocean’s rim, while those skilled in weather prophecy -foretold the coming of the equinoctial. In McNamara’s office there was -great stir and the coming of many men. The boss sat in his chair -smoking countless cigars, his big face set in grim lines, his hard eyes -peering through the pall of blue at those he questioned. He worked the -wires of his machine until his dolls doubled and danced and twisted at -his touch. After a gusty interview he had dismissed Voorhees with a -merciless tongue-lashing, raging bitterly at the man’s failure. - -“You’re not fit to herd sheep. Thirty men out all night and what do you -get? A dozen mullet-headed miners. You bag the mud-hens and the big game -runs to cover. I wanted Glenister, but you let him slip through your -fingers--now it’s war. What a mess you’ve made! If I had even _one_ -helper with a brain the size of a flaxseed, this game would be a gift, -but you’ve bungled every move from the start. Bah! Put a spy in the -bull-pen with those prisoners and make them talk. Offer them anything -for information. Now get out!” - -He called for a certain deputy and questioned him regarding the night’s -quest, remarking, finally: - -“There’s treachery somewhere. Those men were warned.” - -“Nobody came near Glenister’s house except Miss Chester,” the man -replied. - -“What?” - -“The Judge’s niece. We caught her by mistake in the dark.” - -Later, one of the men who had been with Voorhees at the Northern asked -to see the receiver and told him: - -“The chief won’t believe that I saw Miss Chester in the dance-hall last -night, but she was there with Glenister. She must have put him wise to -our game or he wouldn’t have known we were after him.” - -His hearer made no comment, but, when alone, rose and paced the floor -with heavy tread while his face grew savage and brutal. - -“So that’s the game, eh? It’s man to man from now on. Very well, -Glenister, I’ll have your life for that, and then--you’ll pay, Miss -Helen.” He considered carefully. A plot for a plot. If he could not swap -intrigue with these miners and beat them badly, he deserved to lose. Now -that the girl gave herself to their cause he would use her again and see -how well she answered. Public opinion would not stand too great a -strain, and, although he had acted within his rights last night, he -dared not go much further. Diplomacy, therefore, must serve. He must -force his enemies beyond the law and into his trap. She had passed the -word once; she would do so again. - -He hurried to Stillman’s house and stormed into the presence of the -Judge. He told the story so artfully that the Judge’s astonished -unbelief yielded to rage and cowardice, and he sent for his niece. She -came down, white and silent, having heard the loud voices. The old man -berated her with shrewish fury, while McNamara stood silent. The girl -listened with entire self-control until her uncle made a reference to -Glenister that she found intolerable. - -“Hush! I will not listen!” she cried, passionately. “I warned him -because you would have sacrificed him after he had saved our lives. That -is all. He is an honest man, and I am grateful to him. That is the only -foundation for your insult.” - -McNamara, with apparent candor, broke in: - -“You thought you were doing right, of course, but your action will have -terrible consequences. Now we’ll have riot, bloodshed, and Heaven knows -what. It was to save all this that I wanted to break up their -organization. A week’s imprisonment would have done it, but now they’re -armed and belligerent and we’ll have a battle to-night.” - -“No, no!” she cried. “There mustn’t be any violence.” - -“There is no use trying to check them. They are rushing to their own -destruction. I have learned that they plan to attack the Midas to-night, -and I’ll have fifty soldiers waiting for them there. It is a shame, for -they are decent fellows, blinded by ignorance and misled by that young -miner. This will be the blackest night the North has ever seen.” - -With this McNamara left the house and went in search of Voorhees, -remarking to himself: “Now, Miss Helen--send your warning--the sooner -the better. If I know those Vigilantes, it will set them crazy, and yet -not crazy enough to attack the Midas. They will strike for me, and when -they hit my poor, unguarded office, they’ll think hell has moved North.” - -“Mr. Marshal,” said he to his tool, “I want you to gather forty men -quietly and to arm them with Winchesters. They must be fellows who won’t -faint at blood--you know the kind. Assemble them at my office after -dark, one at a time, by the back way. It must be done with absolute -secrecy. Now, see if you can do this one thing and not get balled up. If -you fail, I’ll make you answer to me.” - -“Why don’t you get the troops?” ventured Voorhees. - -“If there’s one thing I want to avoid, it’s soldiers, either here or at -the mines. When they step in, we step out, and I’m not ready for that -just yet.” The receiver smiled sinisterly. - -Helen meanwhile had fled to her room, and there received Glenister’s -note through Cherry Malotte’s messenger. It rekindled her worst fears -and bore out McNamara’s prophecy. The more she read of it the more -certain she grew that the crisis was only a question of hours, and that -with darkness, Tragedy would walk the streets of Nome. The thought of -the wrong already done was lost in the lonely girl’s terror of the crime -about to happen, for it seemed to her she had been the instrument to set -these forces in motion, that she had loosed this swift-speeding -avalanche of greed, hatred, and brutality. And when the crash should -come--the girl shuddered. It must not be. She would shriek a warning -from the house-tops even at cost of her uncle, of McNamara, and of -herself. And yet she had no proof that a crime existed. Although it all -lay clear in her own mind, the certainty of it arose only from her -intuition. If only she were able to take a hand--if only she were not a -woman. Then Cherry Malotte’s words anent Struve recurred to her, “A -bottle of wine and a woman’s face.” They brought back the lawyer’s -assurance that those documents she had safeguarded all through the long -spring-time journey really contained the proof. If they did, then they -held the power to check this impending conflict. Her uncle and the boss -would not dare continue if threatened with exposure and prosecution. The -more she thought of it, the more urgent seemed the necessity to prevent -the battle of to-night. There was a chance here, at least, and the only -one. - -Adding to her mental torment was the constant vision of that face in -the curtains at the Northern. It was her brother, yet what mystery -shrouded this affair, also? What kept him from her? What caused him to -slink away like a thief discovered? She grew dizzy and hysterical. - - * * * * * - -Struve turned in his chair as the door to his private office opened, -then leaped to his feet at sight of the gray-eyed girl standing there. - -“I came for the papers,” she said. - -“I knew you would.” The blood went out of his cheeks, then surged back -up to his eyes. “It’s a bargain, then?” - -She nodded. “Give them to me first.” - -He laughed unpleasantly. “What do you take me for? I’ll keep my part of -the bargain if you’ll keep yours. But this is no place, nor time. -There’s riot in the air, and I’m busy preparing for to-night. Come back -to-morrow when it’s all over.” - -But it was the terror of to-night’s doings that led her into his power. - -“I’ll never come back,” she said. “It is my whim to know to-day--yes, at -once.” - -He meditated for a time. “Then to-day it shall be. I’ll shirk the fight, -I’ll sacrifice what shreds of duty have clung to me, because the fever -for you is in my bones, and it seems to me I’d do murder for it. That’s -the kind of a man I am, and I have no pride in myself because of it. But -I’ve always been that way. We’ll ride to the Sign of the Sled. It’s a -romantic little road-house ten miles from here, perched high above the -Snake River trail. We’ll take dinner there together.” - -“But the papers?” - -“I’ll have them with me. We’ll start in an hour.” - -“In an hour,” she echoed, lifelessly, and left him. - -He chuckled grimly and seized the telephone. “Central--call the Sled -road-house--seven rings on the Snake River branch. Hello! That you, -Shortz? This is Struve. Anybody at the house? Good. Turn them away if -they come and say that you’re closed. None of your business. I’ll be out -about dark, so have dinner for two. Spread yourself and keep the place -clear. Good-bye.” - -Strengthened by Glenister’s note, Helen went straight to the other woman -and this time was not kept waiting nor greeted with sneers, but found -Cherry cloaked in a shy dignity, which she clasped tightly about -herself. Under her visitor’s incoherence she lost her diffidence, -however, and, when Helen had finished, remarked, with decision: “Don’t -go with him. He’s a bad man.” - -“But I _must_. The blood of those men will be on me if I don’t stop this -tragedy. If those papers tell the tale I think they do, I can call off -my uncle and make McNamara give back the mines. You said Struve told you -the whole scheme. Did you see the _proof_?” - -“No, I have only his word, but he spoke of those documents repeatedly, -saying they contained his instructions to tie up the mines in order to -give a foot-hold for the lawsuits. He bragged that the rest of the gang -were in his power and that he could land them in the penitentiary for -conspiracy. That’s all.” - -“It’s the only chance,” said Helen. “They are sending soldiers to the -Midas to lie in ambush, and you must warn the Vigilantes.” Cherry paled -at this and ejaculated: - -“Good Lord! Roy said he’d lead an attack to-night.” The two stared at -each other. - -“If I succeed with Struve I can stop it all--all of this injustice and -crime--everything.” - -“Do you realize what you’re risking?” Cherry demanded. “That man is an -animal. You’ll have to kill him to save yourself, and he’ll never give -up those proofs.” - -“Yes, he will,” said Helen, fiercely, “and I defy him to harm me. The -Sign of the Sled is a public road-house with a landlord, a telephone, -and other guests. Will you warn Mr. Glenister about the troops?” - -“I will, and bless you for a brave girl. Wait a moment.” Cherry took -from the dresser her tiny revolver. “Don’t hesitate to use this. I want -you to know also that I’m sorry for what I said yesterday.” - -As she hurried away, Helen realized with a shock the change that the -past few months had wrought in her. In truth, it was as Glenister had -said, his Northland worked strangely with its denizens. What of that -shrinking girl who had stepped out of the sheltered life, strong only in -her untried honesty, to become a hunted, harried thing, juggling with -honor and reputation, in her heart a half-formed fear that she might -kill a man this night to gain her end? The elements were moulding her -with irresistible hands. Roy’s contact with the primitive had not -roughened him more quickly than had hers. - -She met her appointment with Struve, and they rode away together, he -talkative and elated, she silent and icy. - -Late in the afternoon the cloud banks to the eastward assumed alarming -proportions. They brought with them an early nightfall, and when they -broke let forth a tempest which rivalled that of the previous night. -During the first of it armed men came sifting into McNamara’s office -from the rear and were hidden throughout the building. Whenever he -descried a peculiarly desperate ruffian the boss called him aside for -private instruction and gave minute description of a wide-shouldered, -erect youth in white hat and half-boots. Gradually he set his trap with -the men Voorhees had raked from the slums, and when it was done smiled -to himself. As he thought it over he ceased to regret the miscarriage of -last night’s plan, for it had served to goad his enemies to the point he -desired, to the point where they would rush to their own undoing. He -thought with satisfaction of the rôle he would play in the United States -press when the sensational news of this night’s adventure came out. A -court official who dared to do his duty despite a lawless mob. A -receiver who turned a midnight attack into a rout and shambles. That is -what they would say. What if he did exceed his authority thereafter? -What if there were a scandal? Who would question? As to soldiers--no, -decidedly no. He wished no help of soldiers at this time. - -The sight of a ship in the offing towards dark caused him some -uneasiness, for, notwithstanding the assurance that the course of -justice in the San Francisco courts had been clogged, he knew Bill -Wheaton to be a resourceful lawyer and a determined man. Therefore, it -relieved him to note the rising gale, which precluded the possibility of -interference from that source. Let them come to-morrow if they would. -By that time some of the mines would be ownerless and his position -strengthened a hundredfold. - -He telephoned the mines to throw out guards, although he reasoned that -none but madmen would think of striking there in the face of the warning -which he knew must have been transmitted through Helen. Putting on his -rain-coat he sought Stillman. - -“Bring your niece over to my place to-night. There’s trouble in the air -and I’m prepared for it.” - -“She hasn’t returned from her ride yet. I’m afraid she’s caught in the -storm.” The Judge gazed anxiously into the darkness. - - * * * * * - -During all the long day the Vigilantes lay in hiding, impatient at their -idleness and wondering at the lack of effort made towards their -discovery, not dreaming that McNamara had more cleverly hidden plans -behind. When Cherry’s note of warning came they gathered in the back -room and gave voice to their opinions. - -“There’s only one way to clear the atmosphere,” said the chairman. - -“You bet,” chorussed the others. “They’ve garrisoned the mines, so let’s -go through the town and make a clean job of it. Let’s hang the whole -outfit to one post.” - -This met with general approval, Glenister alone demurring. Said he: “I -have reasoned it out differently, and I want you to hear me through -before deciding. Last night I got word from Wheaton that the California -courts are against us. He attributes it to influence, but, whatever the -reason, we are cut off from all legal help either in this court or on -appeal. Now, suppose we lynch these officials to-night--what do we -gain? Martial law in two hours, our mines tied up for another year, and -who knows what else? Maybe a corrupter court next season. Suppose, on -the other hand, we fail--and somehow I feel that we will, for that boss -is no fool. What then? Those of us who don’t find the morgue will end in -jail. You say we can’t meet the soldiers. I say we can and must. We must -carry this row to them. We must jump it past the courts of Alaska, past -the courts of California, and up to the White House, where there’s one -honest man, at least. We must do something to wake up the men in -Washington. We must get out of politics, for McNamara can beat us there. -Although he’s a strong man he can’t corrupt the President. We have one -shot left, and it must reach the Potomac. When Uncle Sam takes a hand -we’ll get a square deal, so I say let us strike at the Midas to-night -and take her if we can. Some of us will go down, but what of it?” - -Following this harangue, he outlined a plan which in its unique daring -took away their breaths, and as he filled in detail after detail they -brightened with excitement and that love of the long chance which makes -gamblers of those who thread the silent valleys or tread the edge of -things. His boldness stirred them and enthusiasm did the rest. - -“All I want for myself,” he said, “is the chance to run the big risk. -It’s mine by right.” - -Dextry spoke, breathlessly, to Slapjack in the pause which ensued: - -“Ain’t he a heller?” - -“We’ll go you,” the miners chimed to a man. And the chairman added: -“Let’s have Glenister lead this forlorn hope. I am willing to stand or -fall on his judgment.” They acquiesced without a dissenting voice, and -with the firm hands of a natural leader the young man took control. - -“Let’s hurry up,” said one. “It’s a long ‘mush’ and the mud is -knee-deep.” - -“No walking for us,” said Roy. “We’ll go by train.” - -“By train? How can we get a train?” - -“Steal it,” he answered, at which Dextry grinned delightedly at his -loose-jointed companion, and Slapjack showed his toothless gums in -answer, saying: - -“He sure is.” - -A few more words and Glenister, accompanied by these two, slipped out -into the whirling storm, and a half-hour later the rest followed. One by -one the Vigilantes left, the blackness blotting them up an arm’s-length -from the door, till at last the big, bleak warehouse echoed hollowly to -the voice of the wind and water. - -Over in the eastern end of town, behind dark windows upon which the -sheeted rain beat furiously, other armed men lay patiently -waiting--waiting some word from the bulky shadow which stood with folded -arms close against a square of gray, while over their heads a wretched -old man paced back and forth, wringing his hands, pausing at every turn -to peer out into the night and to mumble the name of his sister’s -child. - - - - -CHAPTER XIX - -DYNAMITE - - -Early in the evening Cherry Malotte opened her door to find the Bronco -Kid on her step. He entered and threw off his rubber coat. Knowing him -well, she waited for his disclosure of his errand. His sallow skin was -without trace of color, his eyes were strangely tired, deep lines had -gathered about his lips, while his hands kept up constant little nervous -explorations as though for days and nights he had not slept and now -hovered on the verge of some hysteria. He gave her the impression of a -smouldering mine with the fire eating close up to the powder. She judged -that his body had been racked by every passion till now it hung jaded -and weary, yielding only to the spur of his restless, revengeful spirit. - -After a few objectless remarks, he began, abruptly: - -“Do you love Roy Glenister?” His voice, like his manner, was jealously -eager, and he watched her carefully as she replied, without quibble or -deceit: - -“Yes, Kid; and I always shall. He is the only true man I have ever -known, and I’m not ashamed of my feelings.” - -For a long time he studied her, and then broke into rapid speech, -allowing her no time for interruption. - -“I’ve held back and held back because I’m no talker. I can’t be, in my -business; but this is my last chance, and I want to put myself right -with you. I’ve loved you ever since the Dawson days, not in the way -you’d expect from a man of my sort, perhaps, but with the kind of love -that a woman wants. I never showed my hand, for what was the use? That -man outheld me. I’d have quit faro years back only I wouldn’t leave this -country as long as you were a part of it, and up here I’m only a -gambler, fit for nothing else. I’d made up my mind to let you have him -till something happened a couple of months ago, but now it can’t go -through. I’ll have to down him. It isn’t concerning you--I’m not a -welcher. No, it’s a thing I can’t talk about, a thing that’s made me -into a wolf, made me skulk and walk the alleys like a dago. It’s put -murder into my heart. I’ve tried to assassinate him. I tried it here -last night--but--I was a gentleman once--till the cards came. He knows -the answer now, though, and he’s ready for me--so one of us will go out -like a candle when we meet. I felt that I had to tell you before I cut -him down or before he got me.” - -“You’re talking like a madman, Kid,” she replied, “and you mustn’t turn -against him now. He has troubles enough. I never knew you cared for me. -What a tangle it is, to be sure. You love me, I love him, he loves that -girl, and she loves a crook. Isn’t that tragedy enough without your -adding to it? You come at a bad time, too, for I’m half insane. There’s -something dreadful in the air to-night--” - -“I’ll have to kill him,” the man muttered, doggedly, and, plead or -reason as she would, she could get nothing from him except those words, -till at last she turned upon him fiercely. - -“You say you love me. Very well--let’s see if you do. I know the kind of -a man you are and I know what this feud will mean to him, coming just at -this time. Put it aside and I’ll marry you.” - -The gambler rose slowly to his feet. “You do love him, don’t you?” She -bowed her face, and he winced, but continued: “I wouldn’t make you my -wife that way. I didn’t mean it that way.” - -At this she laughed bitterly. “Oh, I see. Of course not. How foolish of -me to expect it of a man like you. I understand what you mean now, and -the bargain will stand just the same, if that is what you came for. I -wanted to leave this life and be good, to go away and start over and -play the game square, but I see it’s no use. I’ll pay. I know how -relentless you are, and the price is low enough. You can have me--and -that--marriage talk--I’ll not speak of again. I’ll stay what I am for -his sake.” - -“Stop!” cried the Kid. “You’re wrong. I’m not that kind of a sport.” His -voice broke suddenly, its vehemence shaking his slim body. “Oh, Cherry, -I love you the way a man ought to love a woman. It’s one of the two good -things left in me, and I want to take you away from here where we can -both hide from the past, where we can start new, as you say.” - -“You would marry me?” she asked. - -“In an hour, and give my heart’s blood for the privilege; but I can’t -stop this thing, not even if your own dear life hung upon it. I _must_ -kill that man.” - -She approached him and laid her arms about his neck, every line of her -body pleading, but he refused steadfastly, while the sweat stood out -upon his brow. - -She begged: “They’re all against him, Kid.] He’s fighting a hopeless -fight. He laid all he had at that girl’s feet, and I’ll do the same for -you.” - -The man growled savagely. “He got his reward. He took all she had--” - -“Don’t be a fool. I guess I know. You’re a faro-dealer, but you haven’t -any right to talk like that about a good woman, even to a bad one like -me.” - -Into his dark eyes slowly crept a hungry look, and she felt him begin to -tremble the least bit. He undertook to speak, paused, wet his lips, then -carefully chose these words: - -“Do you mean--that he did not--that she is--a good girl?” - -“Absolutely.” - -He sat down weakly and passed a shaking hand over his face, which had -begun to twitch and jerk again as it had on that night when his -vengeance was thwarted. - -“I may as well tell you that I know she’s more than that. She’s honest -and high-principled. I don’t know why I’m saying this, but it was on my -mind and I was half distracted when you came. She’s in danger to-night, -though--at this minute. I don’t dare to think of what may have happened, -for she’s risked everything to make reparation to Roy and his friends.” - -“What?” - -“She’s gone to the Sign of the Sled alone with Struve.” - -“Struve!” shouted the gambler, leaping to his feet. “Alone with Struve -on a night like this?” He shook her fiercely, crying: “What for? Tell me -quick!” - -She recounted the reasons for Helen’s adventure, while the man’s face -became terrible. - -“Oh, Kid, I am to blame for letting her go. Why did I do it? I’m -afraid--afraid.” - -“The Sign of the Sled belongs to Struve, and the fellow who runs it is a -rogue.” The Bronco looked at the clock, his eyes bloodshot and dull like -those of a goaded, fly-maddened bull. “It’s eight o’clock now--ten -miles--two hours. Too late!” - -“What ails you?” she questioned, baffled by his strange demeanor. “You -called _me_ the one woman just now, and yet--” - -He swung towards her heavily. “She’s my sister.” - -“Your--sister? Oh, I--I’m glad. I’m glad--but don’t stand there like a -wooden man, for you’ve work to do. Wake up. Can’t you hear? She’s in -peril!” Her words whipped him out of his stupor so that he drew himself -somewhat under control. “Get into your coat. Hurry! Hurry! My pony will -take you there.” She snatched his garment from the chair and held it for -him while the life ran back into his veins. Together they dashed out -into the storm as she and Roy had done, and as he flung the saddle on -the buckskin, she said: - -“I understand it all now. You heard the talk about her and Glenister; -but it’s wrong. I lied and schemed and intrigued against her, but it’s -over now. I guess there’s a little streak of good in me somewhere, after -all.” - -He spoke to her from the saddle. “It’s more than a streak, Cherry, and -you’re my kind of people.” She smiled wanly back at him under the -lantern-light. - -“That’s left-handed, Kid. I don’t want to be your kind. I want to be his -kind--or your sister’s kind.” - - * * * * * - -Upon leaving the rendezvous, Glenister and his two friends slunk through -the night, avoiding the life and lights of the town, while the wind -surged out of the voids to seaward, driving its wet burden through their -flapping slickers, pelting their faces as though enraged at its failure -to wash away the purposes written there. Their course brought them to a -cabin at the western outskirts of the city, where they paused long -enough to adjust something beneath the brims of their hats. - -Past them ran the iron rails of the narrow-gauged road which led out -across the quaking tundra to the mountains and the mines. Upon this -slender trail of steel there rolled one small, ungainly teapot of an -engine which daily creaked and clanked back and forth at a snail’s pace, -screaming and wailing its complaint of the two high-loaded flat-cars -behind. The ties beneath it were spiked to planks laid lengthwise over -the semi-liquid road-bed, in places sagging beneath the surface till the -humpbacked, short-waisted locomotive yawed and reeled and squealed like -a drunken fish-wife. At night it panted wearily into the board station -and there sighed and coughed and hissed away its fatigue as the coals -died and the breath relaxed in its lungs. - -Early to bed and early to rise was perforce the motto of its grimy crew, -who lived near by. To-night they were just retiring when stayed by a -summons at their door. The engineer opened it to admit what appeared to -his astonished eyes to be a Krupp cannon propelled by a man in -yellow-oiled clothes and white cotton mask. This weapon assumed the -proportions of a great, one-eyed monster, which stared with baleful -fixity at his vitals, giving him a cold and empty feeling. Away back -beyond this Cyclops of the Sightless Orb were two other strangers -likewise equipped. - -The fireman arose from his chair, dropping an empty shoe with a thump, -but, being of the West, without cavil or waste of wind, he stretched his -hands above his head, balancing on one foot to keep his unshod member -from the damp floor. He had unbuckled his belt, and now, loosened by the -movement, his overalls seemed bent on sinking floorward in an ecstasy of -abashment at the intrusion, whereupon with convulsive grip he hugged -them to their duty, one hand and foot still elevated as though in the -grand hailing-sign of some secret order. The other man was new to the -ways of the North, so backed to the limit of his quarters, laid both -hands protectingly upon his middle, and doubled up, remarking, fervidly: - -“Don’t point that damn thing at my stomach.” - -“Ha, ha!” laughed the fireman, with unnatural loudness. “Have your joke, -boys.” - -“This ain’t no joke,” said the foremost figure, its breath bellying out -the mask at its mouth. - -“Sure it is,” insisted the shoeless one. “Must be--we ain’t got anything -worth stealing.” - -“Get into your clothes and come along. We won’t hurt you.” The two -obeyed and were taken to the sleeping engine and there instructed to -produce a full head of steam in thirty minutes or suffer a premature -taking off and a prompt elision from the realms of applied mechanics. As -stimulus to their efforts two of the men stood over them till the engine -began to sob and sigh reluctantly. Through the gloom that curtained the -cab they saw other dim forms materializing and climbing silently on to -the cars behind; then, as the steam-gauge touched the mark, the word was -given and the train rumbled out from its shelter, its shrill plaint at -curb and crossing whipped away and drowned in the storm. - -Slapjack remained in the cab, gun in lap, while Dextry climbed back to -Glenister. He found the young man in good spirits, despite the -discomfort of his exposed position, and striving to light his pipe -behind the shelter of his coat. - -“Is the dynamite aboard?” the old man questioned. - -“Sure. Enough to ballast a battle-ship.” - -As the train crept out of the camp and across the river bridge, its only -light or glimmer the sparks that were snatched and harried by the blast, -the partners seated themselves on the powder cases and conversed -guardedly, while about them sounded the low murmur of the men who risked -their all upon this cry to duty, who staked their lives and futures upon -this hazard of the hills, because they thought it right. - -“We’ve made a good fight, whether we win or lose to-night,” said Dextry. - -Roy replied, “_My_ fight is made and won.” - -“What does that mean?” - -“My hardest battle had nothing to do with the Midas or the mines of -Anvil. I fought and conquered myself.” - -“Awful wet night for philosophy,” the first remarked. “It’s apt to sour -on you like milk in a thunder-storm. S’pose you put overalls an’ gum -boots on some of them Boston ideas an’ lead ’em out where I can look ’em -over an’ find out what they’re up to.” - -“I mean that I was a savage till I met Helen Chester and she made a man -of me. It took sixty days, but I think she did a good job. I love the -wild things just as much as ever, but I’ve learned that there are duties -a fellow owes to himself, and to other people, if he’ll only stop and -think them out. I’ve found out, too, that the right thing is usually the -hardest to do. Oh, I’ve improved a lot.” - -“Gee! but you’re popular with yourself. I don’t see as it helps your -looks any. You’re as homely as ever--an’ what good does it do you after -all? She’ll marry that big guy.” - -“I know. That’s what rankles, for he’s no more worthy of her than I am. -She’ll do what’s right, however, you may depend upon that, and perhaps -she’ll change him the way she did me. Why, she worked a miracle in my -attitude towards life--my manner--” - -“Oh, your manners are good enough as they lay,” interrupted the other. -“You never did eat with your knife.” - -“I don’t believe in hara-kiri,” Glenister laughed. - -“No, when it comes to intimacies with decorum, you’re right on the job -along with any of them Easterners. I watched you close at them ’Frisco -hotels last winter, and, say--you know as much as a horse. Why, you was -wise to them tablewares and pickle-forks equal to a head-waiter, and it -give me confidence just to be with you. I remember putting milk and -sugar in my consommé the first time. It was pale and in a cup and looked -like tea--but not you. No, sir! You savvied plenty and squeezed a lemon -into yours--to clean your fingers, I reckon.” - -Roy slapped his partner’s wet back, for he was buoyant and elated. The -sense of nearing danger pulsed through him like wine. - -“That wasn’t just what I meant, but it goes. Say, if we win back our -mine, we’ll hit for New York next--eh?” - -“No, I don’t aim to mingle with no higher civilization than I got in -’Frisco. I use that word ‘higher’ like it was applied to meat. Not that -I wouldn’t seem apropos. I’m stylish enough for Fifth Avenue or -anywheres, but I like the West. Speakin’ of modes an’ styles, when I get -all lit up in that gray woosted suit of mine, I guess I make the jaded -sight-seers set up an’ take notice--eh? Somethin’ doin’ every minute in -the cranin’ of necks--what? Nothin’ gaudy, but the acme of neatness an’ -form, as the feller said who sold it to me.” - -Their common peril brought the friends together again, into that close -bond which had been theirs without interruption until this recent change -in the younger had led him to choose paths at variance with the old -man’s ideas; and now they spoke, heart to heart, in the half-serious, -half-jesting ways of old, while beneath each whimsical irony was that -mutual love and understanding which had consecrated their partnership. - -Arriving at the end of the road, the Vigilantes debouched and went into -the darkness of the cañon behind their leader, to whom the trails were -familiar. He bade them pause finally, and gave his last instructions. - -“They are on the alert, so you want to be careful. Divide into two -parties and close in from both sides, creeping as near to the pickets as -possible without discovery. Remember to wait for the last blast. When it -comes, cut loose and charge like Sioux. Don’t shoot to kill at first, -for they’re only soldiers and under orders, but if they stand--well, -every man must do his work.” - -Dextry appealed to the dim figures forming the circle. - -“I leave it to you, gents, if it ain’t better for me to go inside than -for the boy. I’ve had more experience with giant powder, an’ I’m so -blamed used up an’ near gone it wouldn’t hurt if they did get me, while -he’s right in his prime--” - -Glenister stopped him. “I won’t yield the privilege. Come now--to your -places, men.” - -They melted away to each side while the old prospector paused to wring -his partner’s hand. - -“I’d ruther it was me, lad, but if they get you--God help ’em!” He -stumbled after the departing shadows, leaving Roy alone. With his naked -fingers, Glenister ripped open the powder cases and secreted the -contents upon his person. Each cartridge held dynamite enough to -devastate a village, and he loaded them inside his pockets, inside his -shirt, and everywhere that he had room, till he was burdened and cased -in an armor one-hundredth part of which could have blown him from the -face of the earth so utterly as to leave no trace except, perhaps, a pit -ripped out of the mountain-side. He looked to his fuses and saw that -they were wrapped in oiled paper, then placed them in his hat. Having -finished, he set out, walking with difficulty under the weight he -carried. - -That his choice of location had been well made was evidenced by the fact -that the ground beneath his feet sloped away to a basin out of which -bubbled a spring. It furnished the drinking supply of the Midas, and he -knew every inch of the crevice it had worn down the mountain, so felt -his way cautiously along. At the bottom of the hill where it ran out -upon the level it had worn a considerable ditch through the soil, and -into this he crawled on hands and knees. His bulging clothes -handicapped him so that his gait was slow and awkward, while the rain -had swelled the streamlet till it trickled over his calves and up to his -wrists, chilling him so that his muscles cramped and his very bones -cried out with it. The sharp schist cut into his palms till they were -shredded and bleeding, while his knees found every jagged bit of -bed-rock over which he dragged himself. He could not see an arm’s-length -ahead without rising, and, having removed his slicker for greater -freedom of movement, the rain beat upon his back till he was soaked and -sodden and felt streamlets cleaving downward between his ribs. Now and -again he squatted upon his haunches, straining his eyes to either side. -The banks were barely high enough to shield him. At last he came to a -bridge of planks spanning the ditch and was about to rear himself for -another look when he suddenly flattened into the stream bed, half -damming the waters with his body. It was for this he had so carefully -wrapped his fuses. A man passed over him so close above that he might -have touched him. The sentry paused a few paces beyond and accosted -another, then retraced his steps over the bridge. Evidently this was the -picket-line, so Roy wormed his way forward till he saw the blacker -blackness of the mine buildings, then drew himself dripping out from the -bank. He had run the gauntlet safely. - -Since evicting the owners, the receiver had erected substantial houses -in place of the tents he had found on the mine. They were of frame and -corrugated-iron, sheathed within and suited to withstand a moderate -exposure. The partners had witnessed the operation from a distance, but -knew nothing about the buildings from close examination. - -A thrill of affection for this place warmed the young man. He loved this -old mine. It had realized the dream of his boyhood, and had answered the -hope he had clung to during his long fight against the Northland. It had -come to him when he was disheartened, bringing cheer and happiness, and -had yielded itself like a bride. Now it seemed a crime to ravage it. - -He crept towards the nearest wall and listened. Within was the sound of -voices, though the windows were dark, showing that the inhabitants were -on the alert. Beneath the foundations he made mysterious preparations, -then sought out the office building and cook-house, doing likewise. He -found that back of the seeming repose of the Midas there was a strained -expectancy. - -Although suspense had lengthened the time out of all calculation, he -judged he had been gone from his companions at least an hour and that -they must be in place by now. If they were not--if anything failed at -this eleventh hour--well, those were the fortunes of war. In every -enterprise, however carefully planned, there comes a time when chance -must take its turn. - -He made his way inside the blacksmith-shop and fumbled for a match. Just -as he was about to strike it he heard the swish of oiled clothes -passing, and waited for some time. Then, igniting his punk and hiding it -under his coat, he opened the door to listen. The wind had died down now -and the rain sang musically upon the metal roofs. - -He ran swiftly from house to house, and, when he had done, at the apices -of the triangle he had traced three glowing coals were sputtering. - -The final bolt was launched at last. He stepped down into the ditch and -drew his .45, while to his tautened senses it seemed that the very hills -leaned forth in breathless pause, that the rain had ceased, and the -whole night hushed its thousand voices. He found his lower jaw set so -stiffly that the muscles ached. Levelling his weapon at the eaves of the -bunk-house, he pulled trigger rapidly--the bang, bang, bang, six times -repeated, sounding dull and dead beneath the blanket of mist that -overhung. A shout sounded behind him, and then the shriek of a -Winchester ball close over his head. He turned in time to see another -shot stream out of the darkness, where a sentry was firing at the flash -of his gun, then bent himself double and plunged down the ditch. - -With the first impact overhead the men poured forth from their quarters -armed and bristling, to be greeted by a volley of gunshots, the thud of -bullets, and the dwindling whine of spent lead. They leaped from shelter -to find themselves girt with a fitful hoop of fire, for the “Stranglers” -had spread in the arc of a circle and now emptied their rifles towards -the centre. The defenders, however, maintained surprising order -considering the suddenness of their attack, and ran to join the -sentries, whose positions could be determined by the nearer flashes. The -voice of a man in authority shouted loud commands. No demonstration came -from the outer voids, nothing but the wicked streaks that stabbed the -darkness. Then suddenly, behind McNamara’s men, the night glared luridly -as though a great furnace-door had opened and then clanged shut, while -with it came a hoarse thudding roar that silenced the rifle play. They -saw the cook-house disrupt itself and disintegrate into a thousand -flying timbers and twisted sheets of tin which soared upward and -outward over their heads and into the night. As the rocking hills ceased -echoing, the sound of the Vigilantes’ rifles recurred like the cracking -of dry sticks, then everywhere about the defenders the earth was lashed -by falling débris while the iron roofs rang at the fusillade. - -The blast had come at their very elbows, and they were too dazed and -shaken by it to grasp its significance. Then, before they could realize -what it boded, the depths lit up again till the raindrops were outlined -distinct and glistening like a gossamer veil of silver, while the office -building to their left was ripped and rended and the adjoining walls -leaped out into sudden relief, their shattered windows looking like -ghostly, sightless eyes. The curtain of darkness closed heavier than -velvet, and the men cowered in their tracks, shielding themselves behind -the nearest objects or behind one another’s bodies, waiting for the sky -to vomit over them its rain of missiles. Their backs were to the -Vigilantes now, their faces to the centre. Many had dropped their -rifles. The thunder of hoofs and the scream of terrified horses came -from the stables. The cry of a maddened beast is weird and calculated to -curdle the blood at best, but with it arose a human voice, shrieking -from pain and fear of death. A wrenched and doubled mass of zinc had -hurtled out of the heavens and struck some one down. The choking -hoarseness of the man’s appeal told the story, and those about him broke -into flight to escape what might follow, to escape this danger they -could not see but which swooped out of the blackness above and against -which there was no defence. They fled only to witness another and -greater light behind them by which they saw themselves running, -falling, grovelling. This time they were hurled from their balance by a -concussion which dwarfed the two preceding ones. Some few stood still, -staring at the rolling smoke-bank as it was revealed by the explosion, -their eyes gleaming white, while others buried their faces in their -hollowed arms as if to shut out the hellish glare, or to shield -themselves from a blow. - -Out in the heart of the chaos rang a voice loud and clear: - -“Beware the next blast!” - -At the same instant the girdle of sharp-shooters rose up smiting the air -with their cries and charged in like madmen through the rain of -detritus. They fired as they came, but it was unnecessary, for there was -no longer a fight. It was a rout. The defenders, feeling they had -escaped destruction only by a happy chance in leaving the bunk-house the -instant they did, were not minded to tarry here where the heavens fell -upon their heads. To augment their consternation, the horses had broken -from their stalls and were plunging through the confusion. Fear swept -over the men--blind, unreasoning, contagious--and they rushed out into -the night, colliding with their enemies, overrunning them in the panic -to quit this spot. Some dashed off the bluff and fell among the pits and -sluices. Others ran up the mountain-side, and cowered in the brush like -quail. - -As the “Stranglers” assembled their prisoners near the ruins, they heard -wounded men moaning in the darkness, so lit torches and searched out the -stricken ones. Glenister came running through the smoke pall, revolver -in hand, crying: - -“Has any one seen McNamara?” No one had, and when they were later -assembled to take stock of their injuries he was greeted by Dextry’s -gleeful announcement: - -“That’s the deuce of a fight. We ’ain’t got so much as a cold sore among -us.” - -“We have captured fourteen,” another announced, “and there may be more -out yonder in the brush.” - -Glenister noted with growing surprise that not one of the prisoners -lined up beneath the glaring torches wore the army blue. They were -miners all, or thugs and ruffians gathered from the camp. Where, he -wondered, were the soldiers. - -“Didn’t you have troops from the barracks to help you?” he asked. - -“Not a troop. We haven’t seen a soldier since we went to work.” - -At this the young leader became alarmed. Had this whole attack -miscarried? Had this been no clash with the United States forces, after -all? If so, the news would never reach Washington, and instead of -accomplishing his end, he and his friends had thrust themselves into the -realms of outlawry, where the soldiers could be employed against them -with impunity, where prices would rest upon their heads. Innocent blood -had been shed, court property destroyed. McNamara had them where he -wanted them at last. They were at bay. - -The unwounded prisoners were taken to the boundaries of the Midas and -released with such warnings as the imagination of Dextry could conjure -up; then Glenister assembled his men, speaking to them plainly. - -“Boys, this is no victory. In fact, we’re worse off than we were -before, and our biggest fight is coming. There’s a chance to get away -now before daylight and before we’re recognized, but if we’re seen here -at sunup we’ll have to stay and fight. Soldiers will be sent against us, -but if we hold out, and the struggle is fierce enough, it may reach to -Washington. This will be a different kind of fighting now, though. It -will be warfare pure and simple. How many of you will stick?” - -“All of us,” said they, in unison, and, accordingly, preparations for a -siege were begun. Barricades were built, ruins removed, buildings -transformed into block-houses, and all through the turbulent night the -tired men labored till ready to drop, led always by the young giant, who -seemed without fatigue. - -It was perhaps four hours after midnight when a man sought him out. - -“Somebody’s callin’ you on the Assay Office telephone--says it’s life or -death.” - -Glenister hurried to the building, which had escaped the shock of the -explosions, and, taking down the receiver, was answered by Cherry -Malotte. - -“Thank God, you’re safe,” she began. “The men have just come in and the -whole town is awake over the riot. They say you’ve killed ten people in -the fight--is it true?” - -He explained to her briefly that all was well, but she broke in: - -“Wait, wait! McNamara has called for troops and you’ll all be shot. Oh, -what a terrible night it has been! I haven’t been to bed. I’m going mad. -Now, listen, carefully--yesterday Helen went with Struve to the Sign of -the Sled and she hasn’t come back.” - -The man at the end of the wire cried out at this, then choked back his -words to hear what followed. His free hand began making strange, futile -motions as though he traced patterns in the air. - -“I can’t raise the road-house on the wire and--something dreadful has -happened, I know.” - -“What made her go?” he shouted. - -“To save you,” came Cherry’s faint reply. “If you love her, ride fast to -the Sign of the Sled or you’ll be too late. The Bronco Kid has gone -there--” - -At that name Roy crashed the instrument to its hook and burst out of the -shanty, calling loudly to his men. - -“What’s up?” - -“Where are you going?” - -“To the Sign of the Sled,” he panted. - -“We’ve stood by you, Glenister, and you can’t quit us like this,” said -one, angrily. “The trail to town is good, and we’ll take it if you do.” -Roy saw they feared he was deserting, feared that he had heard some -alarming rumor of which they did not know. - -“We’ll let the mine go, boys, for I can’t ask you to do what I refuse to -do myself, and yet it’s not fear that’s sending me. There’s a woman in -danger and I _must_ go. She courted ruin to save us all, risked her -honor to try and right a wrong--and--I’m afraid of what has happened -while we were fighting here. I don’t ask you to stay till I come -back--it wouldn’t be square, and you’d better go while you have a -chance. As for me--I gave up the old claim once--I can do it again.” He -swung himself to the horse’s back, settled into the saddle, and rode out -through the lane of belted men. - - - - -CHAPTER XX - -IN WHICH THREE GO TO THE SIGN OF THE SLED AND BUT TWO RETURN - - -As Helen and her companion ascended the mountain, scarred and swept by -the tempest of the previous night, they heard, far below, the swollen -torrent brawling in its bowlder-ridden bed, while behind them the angry -ocean spread southward to a blood-red horizon. Ahead, the bleak -mountains brooded over forbidding valleys; to the west a suffused sun -glared sullenly, painting the high-piled clouds with the gorgeous hues -of a stormy sunset. To Helen the wild scene seemed dyed with the colors -of flame and blood and steel. - -“That rain raised the deuce with the trails,” said Struve, as they -picked their way past an unsightly “slip” whence a part of the -overhanging mountain, loosened by the deluge, had slid into the gulch. -“Another storm like that would wash out these roads completely.” - -Even in the daylight it was no easy task to avoid these danger spots, -for the horses floundered on the muddy soil. Vaguely the girl wondered -how she would find her way back in the darkness, as she had planned. She -said little as they approached the road-house, for the thoughts within -her brain had begun to clamor too wildly; but Struve, more arrogant -than ever before, more terrifyingly sure of himself, was loudly -garrulous. As they drew nearer and nearer, the dread that possessed the -girl became of paralyzing intensity. If she should fail--but she vowed -she would not, could not, fail. - -They rounded a bend and saw the Sign of the Sled cradled below them -where the trail dipped to a stream which tumbled from the comb above -into the river twisting like a silver thread through the distant valley. -A peeled flag-pole topped by a spruce bough stood in front of the -tavern, while over the door hung a sled suspended from a beam. The house -itself was a quaint structure, rambling and amorphous, from whose sod -roof sprang blooming flowers, and whose high-banked walls were pierced -here and there with sleepy windows. It had been built by a homesick -foreigner of unknown nationality whom the army of “mushers” who paid for -his clean and orderly hospitality had dubbed duly and as a matter of -course a “Swede.” When travel had changed to the river trail, leaving -the house lonesome and high as though left by a receding wave, Struve -had taken it over on a debt, and now ran it for the convenience of a -slender traffic, mainly stampeders, who chose the higher route towards -the interior. His hireling spent the idle hours in prospecting a hungry -quartz lead and in doing assessment work on near-by claims. - -Shortz took the horses and answered his employer’s questions curtly, -flashing a curious look at Helen. Under other conditions the girl would -have been delighted with the place, for this was the quaintest spot she -had found in the north country. The main room held bar and gold-scales, -a rude table, and a huge iron heater, while its walls and ceiling were -sheeted with white cloth so cunningly stitched and tacked that it seemed -a cavern hollowed from chalk. It was filled with trophies of the hills, -stuffed birds and animals, skins and antlers, from which depended, in -careless confusion, dog harness, snow-shoes, guns, and articles of -clothing. A door to the left led into the bunk-room where travellers had -been wont to sleep in tiers three deep. To the rear was a kitchen and -cache, to the right a compartment which Struve called the art gallery. -Here, free reign had been allowed the original owner’s artistic fancies, -and he had covered the place with pictures clipped from gazettes of -questionable repute till it was a bewildering arrangement of pink ladies -in tights, pugilists in scanty trunks, prize bull-dogs, and other less -moral characters of the sporting world. - -“This is probably the worst company you were ever in,” Struve observed -to Helen, with a forced attempt at lightness. - -“Are there no guests here?” she asked him, her anxiety very near the -surface. - -“Travel is light at this time of the year. They’ll come in later, -perhaps.” - -A fire was burning in this pink room where the landlord had begun -spreading the table for two, and its warmth was grateful to the girl. -Her companion, thoroughly at his ease, stretched himself on a -fur-covered couch and smoked. - -“Let me see the papers, now, Mr. Struve,” she began, but he put her off. - -“No, not now. Business must wait on our dinner. Don’t spoil our little -party, for there’s time enough and to spare.” - -She arose and went to the window, unable to sit still. Looking down the -narrow gulch she saw that the mountains beyond were indistinct for it -was growing dark rapidly. Dense clouds had rolled up from the east. A -rain-drop struck the glass before her eyes, then another and another, -and the hills grew misty behind the coming shower. A traveller with a -pack on his back hurried around the corner of the building and past her -to the door. At his knock, Struve, who had been watching Helen through -half-shut eyes, arose and went into the other room. - -“Thank Heaven, some one has come,” she thought. The voices were deadened -to a hum by the sod walls, till that of the stranger raised itself in -such indignant protest that she distinguished his words. - -“Oh, I’ve got money to pay my way. I’m no deadhead.” - -Shortz mumbled something back. - -“I don’t care if you are closed. I’m tired and there’s a storm coming.” - -This time she heard the landlord’s refusal and the miner’s angry -profanity. A moment later she saw the traveller plodding up the trail -towards town. - -“What does that mean?” she inquired, as the lawyer re-entered. - -“Oh, that fellow is a tough, and Shortz wouldn’t let him in. He’s -careful whom he entertains--there are so many bad men roaming the -hills.” - -The German came in shortly to light the lamp, and, although she asked no -further questions, Helen’s uneasiness increased. She half listened to -the stories with which Struve tried to entertain her and ate little of -the excellent meal that was shortly served to them. Struve, meanwhile, -ate and drank almost greedily, and the shadowy, sinister evening crept -along. A strange cowardice had suddenly overtaken the girl; and if, at -this late hour, she could have withdrawn, she would have done so gladly -and gone forth to meet the violence of the tempest. But she had gone too -far for retreat; and realizing that, for the present, apparent -compliance was her wisest resource, she sat quiet, answering the man -with cool words while his eyes grew brighter, his skin more flushed, his -speech more rapid. He talked incessantly and with feverish gayety, -smoking numberless cigarettes and apparently unconscious of the flight -of time. At last he broke off suddenly and consulted his watch, while -Helen remembered that she had not heard Shortz in the kitchen for a long -time. Suddenly Struve smiled on her peculiarly, with confident cunning. -As he leered at her over the disorder between them he took from his -pocket a flat bundle which he tossed to her. - -“Now for the bargain, eh?” - -“Ask the man to remove these dishes,” she said, as she undid the parcel -with clumsy fingers. - -“I sent him away two hours ago,” said Struve, arising as if to come to -her. She shrank back, but he only leaned across, gathered up the four -corners of the tablecloth, and, twisting them together, carried the -whole thing out, the dishes crashing and jangling as he threw his burden -recklessly into the kitchen. Then he returned and stood with his back to -the stove, staring at her while she perused the contents of the papers, -which were more voluminous than she had supposed. - -For a long time the girl pored over the documents. The purport of the -papers was only too obvious; and, as she read, the proof of her uncle’s -guilt stood out clear and damning. There was no possibility of mistake; -the whole wretched plot stood out plain, its darkest infamies revealed. - -In spite of the cruelty of her disillusionment, Helen was nevertheless -exalted with the fierce ecstasy of power, with the knowledge that -justice would at last be rendered. It would be her triumph and her -expiation that she, who had been the unwitting tool of this miserable -clique, would be the one through whom restitution was made. She arose -with her eyes gleaming and her lips set. - -“It is here.” - -“Of course it is. Enough to convict us all. It means the penitentiary -for your precious uncle and your lover.” He stretched his chin upward at -the mention as though to free his throat from an invisible clutch. “Yes, -your lover particularly, for he’s the real one. That’s why I brought you -here. He’ll marry you, but I’ll be the best man.” The timbre of his -voice was unpleasant. - -“Come, let us go,” she said. - -“Go,” he chuckled, mirthlessly. “That’s a fine example of unconscious -humor.” - -“What do you mean?” - -“Well, first, no human being could find his way down to the coast in -this tempest; second--but, by-the-way, let me explain something in those -papers while I think of it.” He spoke casually and stepped forward, -reaching for the package, which she was about to give up, when something -prompted her to snatch it behind her back; and it was well she did, for -his hand was but a few inches away. He was no match for her quickness, -however, and she glided around the table, thrusting the papers into the -front of her dress. The sudden contact with Cherry’s revolver gave her a -certain comfort. She spoke now with determination. - -“I intend to leave here at once. Will you bring my horse? Very well, I -shall do it myself.” - -She turned, but his indolence vanished like a flash, and springing in -front of the door he barred her way. - -“Hold on, my lady. You ought to understand without my saying any more. -Why did I bring you here? Why did I plan this little party? Why did I -send that man away? Just to give you the proof of my complicity in a -crime, I suppose. Well, hardly. You won’t leave here to-night. And when -you do, you won’t carry those papers--my own safety depends on that and -I am selfish, so don’t get me started. Listen!” They caught the wail of -the night crying as though hungry for sacrifice. “No, you’ll stay here -and--” - -He broke off abruptly, for Helen had stepped to the telephone and taken -down the receiver. He leaped, snatched it from her, and then, tearing -the instrument loose from the wall, raised it above his head, dashed it -upon the floor, and sprang towards her, but she wrenched herself free -and fled across the room. The man’s white hair was wildly tumbled, his -face was purple, and his neck and throat showed swollen, throbbing -veins. He stood still, however, and his lips cracked into his -ever-present, cautious smile. - -“Now, don’t let’s fight about this. It’s no use, for I’ve played to -win. You have your proof--now I’ll have my price;--or else I’ll take it. -Think over which it will be, while I lock up.” - - * * * * * - -Far down the mountain-side a man was urging a broken pony recklessly -along the trail. The beast was blown and spent, its knees weak and -bending, yet the rider forced it as though behind him yelled a thousand -devils, spurring headlong through gully and ford, up steep slopes and -down invisible ravines. Sometimes the animal stumbled and fell with its -master, sometimes they arose together, but the man was heedless of all -except his haste, insensible to the rain which smote him blindingly, and -to the wind which seized him savagely upon the ridges, or gasped at him -in the gullies with exhausted malice. At last he gained the plateau and -saw the road-house light beneath, so drove his heels into the flanks of -the wind-broken creature, which lunged forward gamely. He felt the pony -rear and drop away beneath him, pawing and scrambling, and instinctively -kicked his feet free from the stirrups, striving to throw himself out of -the saddle and clear of the thrashing hoofs. It seemed that he turned -over in the air before something smote him and he lay still, his gaunt, -dark face upturned to the rain, while about him the storm screamed -exultantly. - - * * * * * - -The moment Struve disappeared into the outer room Helen darted to the -window. It was merely a single sash, nailed fast and immovable, but -seizing one of the little stools beside the stove she thrust it through -the glass, letting in a smother of wind and water. Before she could -escape, Struve bounded into the room, his face livid with anger, his -voice hoarse and furious. - -But as he began to denounce her he paused in amazement, for the girl had -drawn Cherry’s weapon and levelled it at him. She was very pale and her -breast heaved as from a swift run, while her wondrous gray eyes were lit -with a light no man had ever seen there before, glowing like two jewels -whose hearts contained the pent-up passion of centuries. She had altered -as though under the deft hand of a master-sculptor, her nostrils growing -thin and arched, her lips tight pressed and pitiless, her head poised -proudly. The rain drove in through the shattered window, over and past -her, while the cheap red curtain lashed and whipped her as though in -gleeful applause. Her bitter abhorrence of the man made her voice sound -strangely unnatural as she commanded: - -“Don’t dare to stop me.” She moved towards the door, motioning him to -retreat before her, and he obeyed, recognizing the danger of her -coolness. She did not note the calculating treachery of his glance, -however, nor fathom the purposes he had in mind. - - * * * * * - -Out on the rain-swept mountain the prostrate rider had regained his -senses and now was crawling painfully towards the road-house. Seen -through the dark he would have resembled some misshapen, creeping -monster, for he dragged himself, reptile-like, close to the ground. But -as he came closer the man heard a cry which the wind seemed guarding -from his ear, and, hearing it, he rose and rushed blindly forward, -staggering like a wounded beast. - -Helen watched her captive closely as he backed through the door before -her, for she dared not lose sight of him until free. The middle room was -lighted by a glass lamp on the bar and its rays showed that the -front-door was secured by a large iron bolt. She thanked Heaven there -was no lock and key. - -Struve had retreated until his back was to the counter, offering no -word, making no move, but the darting brightness of his eyes showed that -he was alert and planning. But when the door behind Helen, urged by the -wind through the broken casement, banged to, the man made his first -lightning-like sign. He dashed the lamp to the floor, where it burst -like an egg-shell, and darkness leaped into the room as an animal -pounces. Had she been calmer or had time for an instant’s thought Helen -would have hastened back to the light, but she was midway to her liberty -and actuated by the sole desire to break out into the open air, so -plunged forward. Without warning, she was hurled from her feet by a body -which came out of the darkness upon her. She fired the little gun, but -Struve’s arms closed about her, the weapon was wrenched from her hand, -and she found herself fighting against him, breast to breast, with the -fury of desperation. His wine-burdened breath beat into her face and she -felt herself bound to him as though by hoops, while the touch of his -cheek against hers turned her into a terrified, insensate animal, which -fought with every ounce of its strength and every nerve of its body. She -screamed once, but it was not like the cry of a woman. Then the struggle -went on in silence and utter blackness, Struve holding her like a -gorilla till she grew faint and her head began to whirl, while darting -lights drove past her eyes and there was the roar of a cataract in her -ears. She was a strong girl, and her ripe young body, untried until this -moment, answered in every fibre, so that she wrestled with almost a -man’s strength and he had hard shift to hold her. But so violent an -encounter could not last. Helen felt herself drifting free from the -earth and losing grip of all things tangible, when at last they tripped -and fell against the inner door. This gave way, and at the same moment -the man’s strength departed as though it were a thing of darkness and -dared not face the light that streamed over them. She tore herself from -his clutch and staggered into the supper-room, her loosened hair falling -in a gleaming torrent about her shoulders, while he arose from his knees -and came towards her again, gasping: - -“I’ll show you who’s master here--” - -Then he ceased abruptly, cringingly, and threw up an arm before his face -as if to ward off a blow. Framed in the window was the pallid visage of -a man. The air rocked, the lamp flared, and Struve whirled completely -around, falling back against the wall. His eyes filled with horror and -shifted down where his hand had clutched at his breast, plucking at one -spot as if tearing a barb from his bosom. He jerked his head towards the -door at his elbow in quest of a retreat, a shudder ran over him, his -knees buckled and he plunged forward upon his face, his arm still -doubled under him. - -It had happened like a flash of light, and although Helen felt, rather -than heard, the shot and saw her assailant fall, she did not realize the -meaning of it till a drift of powder smoke assailed her nostrils. Even -so, she experienced no shock nor horror of the sight. On the contrary, a -savage joy at the spectacle seized her and she stood still, leaning -slightly forward, staring at it almost gloatingly, stood so till she -heard her name called, “Helen, little sister!” and, turning, saw her -brother in the window. - -That which he witnessed in her face he had seen before in the faces of -men locked close with a hateful death and from whom all but the most -elemental passions had departed--but he had never seen a woman bear the -marks till now. No artifice nor falsity was there, nothing but the -crudest, intensest feeling, which many people live and die without -knowing. There are few who come to know the great primitive, passionate -longings. But in this black night, fighting in defence of her most -sacred self, this girl’s nature had been stripped to its purely savage -elements. As Glenister had predicted, Helen at last had felt and yielded -to irresistibly powerful impulse. - -Glancing backward at the creature sprawled by the door, Helen went to -her brother, put her arms about his neck, and kissed him. - -“He’s dead?” the Kid asked her. - -She nodded and tried to speak, but began to shiver and sob instead. - -“Unlock the door,” he begged her. “I’m hurt, and I must get in.” - -When the Kid had hobbled into the room, she pressed him to her and -stroked his matted head, regardless of his muddy, soaking garments. - -“I must look at him. He may not be badly hurt,” said the Kid. - -“Don’t touch him!” She followed, nevertheless, and stood near by while -her brother examined his victim. Struve was breathing, and, discovering -this, the others lifted him with difficulty to the couch. - -“Something cracked in here--ribs, I guess,” the Kid remarked, gasping -and feeling his own side. He was weak and pale, and the girl led him -into the bunk-room, where he could lie down. Only his wonderful -determination had sustained him thus far, and now the knowledge of his -helplessness served to prevent Helen’s collapse. - -The Kid would not hear of her going for help till the storm abated or -daylight came, insisting that the trails were too treacherous and that -no time could be saved by doing so. Thus they waited for the dawn. At -last they heard the wounded man faintly calling. He spoke to Helen -hoarsely. There was no malice, only fear, in his tones: - -“I said this was my madness--and I got what I deserved, but I’m going to -die. O God--I’m going to die and I’m afraid.” He moaned till the Bronco -Kid hobbled in, glaring with unquenched hatred. - -“Yes, you’re going to die and I did it. Be game, can’t you? I sha’n’t -let her go for help until daylight.” - -Helen forced her brother back to his couch, and returned to help the -wounded man, who grew incoherent and began to babble. - -A little later, when the Kid seemed stronger and his head clearer, Helen -ventured to tell him of their uncle’s villany and of the proof she held, -with her hope of restoring justice. She told him of the attack planned -that very night and of the danger which threatened the miners. He -questioned her closely and, realising the bearing of her story, crept -to the door, casting the wind like a hound. - -“We’ll have to risk it,” said he. “The wind is almost gone and it’s not -long till daylight.” - -She pleaded to go alone, but he was firm. “I’ll never leave you again, -and, moreover, I know the lower trail quite well. We’ll go down the -gulch to the valley and reach town that way. It’s farther but it’s not -so dangerous.” - -“You can’t ride,” she insisted. - -“I can if you’ll tie me into the saddle. Come, get the horses.” - -It was still pitchy dark and the rain was pouring, but the wind only -sighed weakly as though tired by its violence when she helped the Bronco -into his saddle. The effort wrenched a groan from him, but he insisted -upon her tying his feet beneath the horse’s belly, saying that the trail -was rough and he could take no chance of falling again; so, having -performed the last services she might for Struve, she mounted her own -animal and allowed it to pick its way down the steep descent behind her -brother, who swayed and lurched drunkenly in his seat, gripping the horn -before him with both hands. - - * * * * * - -They had been gone perhaps a half-hour when another horse plunged -furiously out of the darkness and halted before the road-house door. Its -rider, mud-stained and dishevelled, flung himself in mad haste to the -ground and bolted in through the door. He saw the signs of confusion in -the outer room, chairs upset and broken, the table wedged against the -stove, and before the counter a shattered lamp in a pool of oil. He -called loudly, but, receiving no answer, snatched a light which he -found burning and ran to the door at his left. Nothing greeted him but -the empty tiers of bunks. Turning, he crossed to the other side and -burst through. Another lamp was lighted beside the couch where Struve -lay, breathing heavily, his lids half closed over his staring eyes. Roy -noted the pool of blood at his feet and the broken window; then, setting -down his lamp, he leaned over the man and spoke to him. - -When he received no answer he spoke again loudly. Then, in a frenzy, -Glenister shook the wounded man cruelly, so that he cried out in terror: - -“I’m dying--oh, I’m dying.” Roy raised the sick man up and thrust his -own face before his eyes. - -“This is Glenister. I’ve come for Helen--where is she?” A spark of -recognition flickered into the dull stare. - -“You’re too late--I’m dying--and I’m afraid.” - -His questioner shook Struve again. “Where is she?” he repeated, time -after time, till by very force of his own insistence he compelled -realization in the sufferer. - -“The Kid took her away. The Kid shot me,” and then his voice rose till -it flooded the room with terror. “The Kid shot me and I’m dying.” He -coughed blood to his lips, at which Roy laid him back and stood up. So -there was no mistake, after all, and he had arrived too late. This was -the Kid’s revenge. This was how he struck. Lacking courage to face a -man’s level eyes, he possessed the foulness to prey upon a woman. Roy -felt a weakening physical sickness sweep over him till his eye fell upon -a sodden garment which Helen had removed from her brother’s shoulders -and replaced with a dry one. He snatched it from the floor and in a -sudden fury felt it come apart in his hands like wet tissue-paper. - -He found himself out in the rain, scanning the trampled soil by light of -his lamp, and discerned tracks which the drizzle had not yet erased. He -reasoned mechanically that the two riders could have no great start of -him, so strode out beyond the house to see if they had gone farther into -the hills. There were no tracks here, therefore they must have doubled -back towards town. It did not occur to him that they might have left the -beaten path and followed down the little creek to the river; but, -replacing the light where he had found it, he remounted and lashed his -horse into a stiff canter up towards the divide that lay between him and -the city. The story was growing plainer to him, though as yet he could -not piece it all together. Its possibilities stabbed him with such -horror that he cried out aloud and beat his steed into faster time with -both hands and feet. To think of those two ruffians fighting over this -girl as though she were the spoils of pillage! He must overtake the -Kid--he _would_! The possibility that he might not threw him into such -ungovernable mental chaos that he was forced to calm himself. Men went -mad that way. He could not think of it. That gasping creature in the -road-house spoke all too well of the Bronco’s determination. And yet, -who of those who had known the Kid in the past would dream that his -vileness was so utter as this? - -Away to the right, hidden among the shadowed hills, his friends rested -themselves for the coming battle, waiting impatiently his return, and -timing it to the rising sun. Down in the valley to his left were the -two he followed, while he, obsessed and unreasoning, now cursing like a -madman, now grim and silent, spurred southward towards town and into the -ranks of his enemies. - - - - -CHAPTER XXI - -THE HAMMER-LOCK - - -Day was breaking as Glenister came down the mountain. With the first -light he halted to scan the trail, and having no means of knowing that -the fresh tracks he found were not those of the two riders he followed, -he urged his lathered horse ahead till he became suddenly conscious that -he was very tired and had not slept for two days and nights. The -recollection did not reassure the young man, for his body was a weapon -which must not fail in the slightest measure now that there was work to -do. Even the unwelcome speculation upon his physical handicap offered -relief, however, from the agony which fed upon him whenever he thought -of Helen in the gambler’s hands. Meanwhile, the horse, groaning at his -master’s violence, plunged onward towards the roofs of Nome, now growing -gray in the first dawn. - -It seemed years since Roy had seen the sunlight, for this night, -burdened with suspense, had been endlessly long. His body was faint -beneath the strain, and yet he rode on and on, tired, dogged, stony, his -eyes set towards the sea, his mind a storm of formless, whirling -thoughts, beneath which was an undeviating, implacable determination. - -He knew now that he had sacrificed all hope of the Midas, and likewise -the hope of Helen was gone; in fact, he began to realize dimly that from -the beginning he had never had the possibility of winning her, that she -had never been destined for him, and that his love for her had been sent -as a light by which he was to find himself. He had failed everywhere, he -had become an outlaw, he had fought and gone down, certain only of his -rectitude and the mastery of his unruly spirit. Now the hour had come -when he would perform his last mission, deriving therefrom that -satisfaction which the gods could not deny. He would have his vengeance. - -The scheme took form without conscious effort on his part and embraced -two things--the death of the gambler and a meeting with McNamara. Of the -former, he had no more doubt than that the sun rising there would sink -in the west. So well confirmed was this belief that the details did not -engage his thought; but on the result of the other encounter he -speculated with some interest. From the first McNamara had been a riddle -to him, and mystery breeds curiosity. His blind, instinctive hatred of -the man had assumed the proportions of a mania; but as to what the -outcome would be when they met face to face, fate alone could tell. -Anyway, McNamara should never have Helen--Roy believed his mission -covered that point as well as her deliverance from the Bronco Kid. When -he had finished--he would pay the price. If he had the luck to escape, -he would go back to his hills and his solitude; if he did not, his -future would be in the hands of his enemies. - -He entered the silent streets unobserved, for the mists were heavy and -low. Smoke columns arose vertically in the still air. The rain had -ceased, having beaten down the waves which rumbled against the beach, -filling the streets with their subdued thunder. A ship, anchored in the -offing, had run in from the lee of Sledge Island with the first lull, -while midway to the shore a tender was rising and falling, its oars -flashing like the silvered feelers of a sea insect crawling upon the -surface of the ocean. - -He rode down Front Street heedless of danger, heedless of the comment -his appearance might create, and, unseen, entered his enemy’s -stronghold. He passed a gambling-hall, through the windows of which came -a sickly yellow gleam. A man came out unsteadily and stared at the -horseman, then passed on. - -Glenister’s plan was to go straight to the Northern and from there to -track down its owner relentlessly, but in order to reach the place his -course led him past the office of Dunham & Struve. This brought back to -his mind the man dying out there ten miles at his back. The scantiest -humanity demanded that assistance be sent at once. Yet he dared not give -word openly, thus betraying his presence, for it was necessary that he -maintain his liberty during the next hour at all hazards. He suddenly -thought of an expedient and reined in his horse, which stopped with -wide-spread legs and dejected head while he dismounted and climbed the -stairs to leave a note upon the door. Some one would see the message -shortly and recognize its urgency. - -In dressing for the battle at the Midas on the previous night he had -replaced his leather boots with “mukluks,” which are waterproof, light, -and pliable footgear made from the skin of seal and walrus. He was thus -able to move as noiselessly as though in moccasins. Finding neither -pencil nor paper in his pocket, he tried the outer door of the office, -to find it unlocked. He stepped inside and listened, then moved towards -a table on which were writing materials, but in doing so heard a rustle -in Struve’s private office. Evidently his soft soles had not disturbed -the man inside. Roy was about to tiptoe out as he had come when the -hidden man cleared his throat. It is in these involuntary sounds that -the voice retains its natural quality more distinctly even than in -speaking. A strange eagerness grew in Glenister’s face and he approached -the partition stealthily. It was of wood and glass, the panes clouded -and opaque to a height of some six feet; but stepping upon a chair he -peered into the room beyond. A man knelt in a litter of papers before -the open safe, its drawers and compartments removed and their contents -scattered. The watcher lowered himself, drew his gun, and laid soft hand -upon the door-knob, turning the latch with firm fingers. His vengeance -had come to meet him. - - * * * * * - -After lying in wait during the long night, certain that the Vigilantes -would spring his trap, McNamara was astounded at news of the battle at -the Midas and of Glenister’s success. He stormed and cursed his men as -cowards. The Judge became greatly exercised over this new development, -which, coupled with his night of long anxiety, reduced him to a pitiful -hysteria. - -“They’ll blow _us_ up next. Great Heavens! Dynamite! Oh, that is -barbarous. For Heaven’s sake, get the soldiers out, Alec.” - -“Ay, we can use them now.” Thereupon McNamara roused the commanding -officer at the post and requested him to accoutre a troop and have them -ready to march at daylight, then bestirred the Judge to start the wheels -of his court and invoke this military aid in regular fashion. - -“Make it all a matter of record,” he said. “We want to keep our skirts -clear from now on.” - -“But the towns-people are against us,” quavered Stillman. “They’ll tear -us to pieces.” - -“Let ’em try. Once I get my hand on the ringleader, the rest may riot -and be damned.” - -Although he had made less display than had the Judge, the receiver was -no less deeply worried about Helen, of whom no news came. His jealousy, -fanned to red heat by the discovery of her earlier defection, was -enhanced fourfold by the thought of this last adventure. Something told -him there was treachery afoot, and when she did not return at dawn he -began to fear that she had cast in her lot with the rioters. This -aroused a perfect delirium of doubt and anger till he reasoned further -that Struve, having gone with her, must also be a traitor. He recognized -the menace in this fact, knowing the man’s venality, so began to reckon -carefully its significance. What could Struve do? What proof had he? -McNamara started, and, seizing his hat, hurried straight to the lawyer’s -office and let himself in with the key he carried. It was light enough -for him to decipher the characters on the safe lock as he turned the -combination, so he set to work scanning the endless bundles within, -hoping that after all the man had taken with him no incriminating -evidence. Once the searcher paused at some fancied sound, but when -nothing came of it drew his revolver and laid it before him just inside -the safe door and close beneath his hand, continuing to run through the -documents while his uneasiness increased. He had been engaged so for -some time when he heard the faintest creak at his back, too slight to -alarm and just sufficient to break his tension and cause him to jerk his -head about. Framed in the open door stood Roy Glenister watching him. - -McNamara’s astonishment was so genuine that he leaped to his feet, faced -about, and prompted by a secretive instinct swung to the safe door as -though to guard its contents. He had acted upon the impulse before -realizing that his weapon was inside and that now, although the door was -not locked, it would require that one dangerous, yes, fatal, second to -open it. - -The two men stared at each other for a time, silent and malignant, their -glances meeting like blades; in the older man’s face a look of defiance, -in the younger’s a dogged and grim-purposed enmity. McNamara’s first -perturbation left him calm, alert, dangerous; whereas the continued -contemplation of his enemy worked in Glenister to destroy his composure, -and his purpose blazed forth unhidden. - -He stood there unkempt and soiled, the clean sweep of jaw and throat -overgrown with a three days’ black stubble, his hair wet and matted, his -whole left side foul with clay where he had fallen in the darkness. A -muddy red streak spread downward from a cut above his temple, beneath -his eyes were sagging folds, while the flicker at his mouth corners -betrayed the high nervous pitch to which he was keyed. - -“I have come for the last act, McNamara; now we’ll have it out, man to -man.” - -The politician shrugged his shoulders. “You have the drop on me. I am -unarmed.” At which the miner’s face lighted fiercely and he chuckled. - -“Ah, that’s almost too good to be true. I have dreamed about such a -thing and I have been hungry to feel your throat since the first time I -saw you. It’s grown on me till shooting wouldn’t satisfy me. Ever had -the feeling? Well, I’m going to choke the life out of you with my bare -hands.” - -McNamara squared himself. - -“I wouldn’t advise you to try it. I have lived longer than you and I was -never beaten, but I know the feeling you speak about. I have it now.” - -His eyes roved rapidly up and down the other’s form, noting the lean -thighs and close-drawn belt which lent the appearance of spareness, -belied only by the neck and shoulders. He had beaten better men, and he -reasoned that if it came to a physical test in these cramped quarters -his own great weight would more than offset any superior agility the -miner might possess. The longer he looked the more he yielded to his -hatred of the man before him, and the more cruelly he longed to satisfy -it. - -“Take off your coat,” said Glenister. “Now turn around. All right! I -just wanted to see if you were lying about your gun.” - -“I’ll kill you,” cried McNamara. - -Glenister laid his six-shooter upon the safe and slipped off his own wet -garment. The difference was more marked now and the advantage more -strongly with the receiver. Though they had avoided allusion to it, each -knew that this fight had nothing to do with the Midas and each realized -whence sprang their fierce enmity. And it was meet that they should -come together thus. It had been the one certain and logical event which -they had felt inevitably approaching from long back. And it was fitting, -moreover, that they should fight alone and unwitnessed, armed only with -the weapons of the wilderness, for they were both of the far, free -lands, were both of the fighter’s type, and had both warred for the -first, great prize. - -They met ferociously. McNamara aimed a fearful blow, but Glenister met -him squarely, beating him off cleverly, stepping in and out, his arms -swinging loosely from his shoulders like whalebone withes tipped with -lead. He moved lightly, his footing made doubly secure by reason of his -soft-soled mukluks. Recognizing his opponent’s greater weight, he -undertook merely to stop the headlong rushes and remain out of reach as -long as possible. He struck the politician fairly in the mouth so that -the man’s head snapped back and his fists went wild, then, before the -arms could grasp him, the miner had broken ground and whipped another -blow across; but McNamara was a boxer himself, so covered and blocked -it. The politician spat through his mashed lips and rushed again, -sweeping his opponent from his feet. Again Glenister’s fist shot forward -like a lump of granite, but the other came on head down and the blow -finished too high, landing on the big man’s brow. A sudden darting agony -paralyzed Roy’s hand, and he realized that he had broken the metacarpal -bones and that henceforth it would be useless. Before he could recover, -McNamara had passed under his extended arm and seized him by the middle, -then, thrusting his left leg back of Roy’s, he whirled him from his -balance, flinging him clear and with resistless force. It seemed that a -fatal fall must follow, but the youth squirmed catlike in the air, -landing with set muscles which rebounded like rubber. Even so, the -receiver was upon him before he could rise, reaching for the young man’s -throat with his heavy hands. Roy recognized the fatal “strangle hold,” -and, seizing his enemy’s wrists, endeavored to tear them apart, but his -left hand was useless, so with a mighty wrench he freed himself, and, -locked in each other’s arms, the men strained and swayed about the -office till their neck veins were bursting, their muscles paralyzed. - -Men may fight duels calmly, may shoot or parry or thrust with cold -deliberation; but when there comes the jar of body to body, the sweaty -contact of skin to skin, the play of iron muscles, the painful gasp of -exhaustion--then the mind goes skittering back into its dark recesses -while every venomous passion leaps forth from its hiding-place and joins -in the horrid war. - -They tripped across the floor, crashing into the partition, which split, -showering them with glass. They fell and rolled in it; then, by consent, -wrenched themselves apart and rose, eye to eye, their jaws hanging, -their lungs wheezing, their faces trickling blood and sweat. Roy’s left -hand pained him excruciatingly, while McNamara’s macerated lips had -turned outward in a hideous pout. They crouched so for an instant, -cruel, bestial--then clinched again. The office-fittings were wrecked -utterly and the room became a litter of ruins. The men’s garments fell -away till their breasts were bare and their arms swelled white and -knotted through the rags. They knew no pain, their bodies were insensate -mechanisms. - -Gradually the older man’s face was beaten into a shapeless mass by the -other’s cunning blows, while Glenister’s every bone was wrenched and -twisted under his enemy’s terrible onslaughts. The miner’s chief effort, -it is true, was to keep his feet and to break the man’s embraces. Never -had he encountered one whom he could not beat by sheer strength till he -met this great, snarling creature who worried him hither and yon as -though he were a child. Time and again Roy beat upon the man’s face with -the blows of a sledge. No rules governed this solitary combat; the men -were deaf to all but the roaring in their ears, blinded to all but hate, -insensible to everything but the blood mania. Their trampling feet -caused the building to rumble and shake as though some monster were -running amuck. - -Meanwhile a bareheaded man rushed out of the store beneath, bumping into -a pedestrian who had paused on the sidewalk, and together they scurried -up the stairs. The dory which Roy had seen at sea had shot the breakers, -and now its three passengers were tracking through the wet sand towards -Front Street, Bill Wheaton in the lead. He was followed by two rawboned -men who travelled without baggage. The city was awakening with the sun -which reared a copper rim out of the sea. Judge Stillman and Voorhees -came down from the hotel and paused to gaze through the mists at a -caravan of mule teams which trotted into the other end of the street -with jingle and clank. The wagons were blue with soldiers, the early -golden rays slanting from their Krags, and they were bound for the -Midas. - -Out of the fogs which clung so thickly to the tundra there came two -other horses, distorted and unreal, on one a girl, on the other a figure -of pain and tragedy, a grotesque creature that swayed stiffly to the -motion of its steed, its face writhed into lines of suffering, its -hands clutching cantle and horn. - -It was as though Fate, with invisible touch, were setting her stage for -the last act of this play, assembling the principals close to the Golden -Sands where first they had made entrance. - -The man and the girl came face to face with the Judge and marshal, who -cried out upon seeing them, but as they reined in, out from the stairs -beside them a man shot amid clatter and uproar. - -“Give me a hand--quick!” he shouted to them. - -“What’s up?” inquired the marshal. - -“It’s murder! McNamara and Glenister!” He dashed back up the steps -behind Voorhees, the Judge following, while muffled cries came from -above. - -The gambler turned towards the three men who were hurrying from the -beach, and, recognizing Wheaton, called to him: “Untie my feet! Cut the -ropes! Quick!” - -“What’s the trouble?” the lawyer asked, but on hearing Glenister’s name -bounded after the Judge, leaving one of his companions to free the -rider. They could hear the fight now, and all crowded towards the door, -Helen with her brother, in spite of his warning to stay behind. - -She never remembered how she climbed those stairs, for she was borne -along by that hypnotic power which drags one to behold a catastrophe in -spite of his will. Reaching the room, she stood appalled; for the group -she had joined watched two raging things that rushed at each other with -inhuman cries, ragged, bleeding, fighting on a carpet of débris. Every -loose and breakable thing had been ground to splinters as though by iron -slugs in a whirling cylinder. - -To this day, from Dawson to the Straits, from Unga to the Arctics, men -tell of the combat wherever they foregather at flaring camp-fires or in -dingy bunk-houses; and although some scout the tale, there are others -who saw it and can swear to its truth. These say that the encounter was -like the battle of bull moose in the rutting season, though more -terrible, averring that two men like these had never been known in the -land since the days of Vitus Bering and his crew; for their rancor had -swollen till at feel of each other’s flesh they ran mad and felt -superhuman strength. It is true, at any rate, that neither was conscious -of the filling room, nor the cries of the crowd, even when the marshal -forced himself through the wedged door and fell upon the nearest, which -was Glenister. He came at an instant when the two had paused at -arm’s-length, glaring with rage-drunken eyes, gasping the labored breath -back into their lungs. - -With a fling of his long arms the young man hurled the intruder aside so -violently that his head struck the iron safe and he collapsed -insensible. Then, without apparent notice of the interruption, the fight -went on. It was seen during this respite that McNamara’s mouth was -running water as though he were deathly sick, while every retch brought -forth a groan. Helen heard herself crying: “Stop them! Stop them!” But -no one seemed capable of interference. She heard her brother muttering -and his breath coming heavily like that of the fighters, his body -swaying in time to theirs. The Judge was ashy, imbecile, helpless. - -McNamara’s distress was patent to his antagonist, who advanced upon him -with the hunger of promised victory; but the young man’s muscles obeyed -his commands sluggishly, his ribs seemed broken, his back was weak, and -on the inner side of his legs the flesh was quivering. As they came -together the boss reached up his right hand and caught the miner by the -face, burying thumb and fingers crablike into his cheeks, forcing his -slack jaws apart, thrusting his head backward, while he centred every -ounce of his strength in the effort to maim. Roy felt the flesh giving -way and flung himself backward to break the hold, whereupon the other -summoned his wasting energy and plunged towards the safe, where lay the -revolver. Instinct warned Glenister of treachery, told him that the man -had sought this last resource to save himself, and as he saw him turn -his back and reach for the weapon, the youth leaped like a panther, -seizing him about the waist, grasping McNamara’s wrist with his right -hand. For the first time during the combat they were not face to face, -and on the instant Roy realized the advantage given him through the -other’s perfidy, realized the wrestler’s hold that was his, and knew -that the moment of victory was come. - -The telling takes much time, but so quickly had these things happened -that the footsteps of the soldiers had not yet reached the door when the -men were locked beside the safe. - -Of what happened next many garbled accounts have gone forth, for of all -those present, none but the Bronco Kid knew its significance and ever -recounted the truth concerning it. Some claim that the younger man was -seized with a fear of death which multiplied his enormous strength, -others that the power died in his adversary as reward for his treason; -but it was not so. - -No sooner had Roy encompassed McNamara’s waist from the rear than he -slid his damaged hand up past the other’s chest and around the back of -his neck, thus bringing his own left arm close under his enemy’s left -armpit, wedging the receiver’s head forward, while with his other hand -he grasped the politician’s right wrist close to the revolver, thus -holding him in a grasp which could not be broken. Now came the test. The -two bodies set themselves rocklike and rigid. There was no lunging -about. Calling up the final atom of his strength, Glenister bore -backward with his right arm and it became a contest for the weapon -which, clutched in the two hands, swayed back and forth or darted up and -down, the fury of resistance causing it to trace formless patterns in -the air with its muzzle. McNamara shook himself, but he was close -against the safe and could not escape, his head bowed forward by the -lock of the miner’s left arm, and so he strained till the breath clogged -in his throat. Despite the grievous toil his right hand moved back -slightly. His feet shifted a bit, while the blood seemed bursting from -his eyes, but he found that the long fingers encircling his wrist were -like gyves weighted with the strength of the hills and the irresistible -vigor of youth which knew no defeat. Slowly, inch by inch, the great -man’s arm was dragged back, down past his side, while the strangling -labor of his breath showed at what awful cost. The muzzle of the gun -described a semicircle and the knotted hands began to travel towards the -left, more rapidly now, across his broad back. Still he struggled and -wrenched, but uselessly. He strove to fire the weapon, but his fingers -were woven about it so that the hammer would not work. Then the miner -began forcing upward. - -The white skin beneath the men’s strips of clothing was stretched over -great knots and ridges which sunk and swelled and quivered. Helen, -watching in silent terror, felt her brother sinking his fingers into her -shoulder and heard him panting, his face ablaze with excitement, while -she became conscious that he had repeated time and again: - -“It’s the hammer-lock--the hammer-lock.” - -By now McNamara’s arm was bent and cramped upon his back, and then they -saw Glenister’s shoulder dip, his elbow come closer to his side, and his -body heave in one final terrific effort as though pushing a heavy -weight. In the silence something snapped like a stick. There came a -deafening report and the scream of a strong man overcome with agony. -McNamara went to his knees and sagged forward on to his face as though -every bone in his huge bulk had turned to water, while his master reeled -back against the opposite wall, his heels dragging in the litter, -bringing up with outflung arms as though fearful of falling, swaying, -blind, exhausted, his face blackened by the explosion of the revolver, -yet grim with the light of victory. - -Judge Stillman shouted, hysterically: - -“Arrest that man, quick! Don’t let him go!” - -It was the miner’s first realization that others were there. Raising his -head he stared at the faces close against the partition, then groaned -the words: - -“I beat the traitor and--and--I broke him with--my hands!” - - - - -CHAPTER XXII - -THE PROMISE OF DREAMS - - -Soldiers seized the young man, who made no offer at resistance, and the -room became a noisy riot. Crowds surged up from below, clamoring, -questioning, till some one at the head of the stairs shouted down: - -“They’ve got Roy Glenister. He’s killed McNamara,” at which a murmur -arose that threatened to become a cheer. - -Then one of the receiver’s faction called: “Let’s hang him. He killed -ten of our men last night.” Helen winced, but Stillman, roused to a sort -of malevolent courage, quieted the angry voices. - -“Officer, hold these people back. I’ll attend to this man. The law’s in -my hands and I’ll make him answer.” - -McNamara reared himself groaning from the floor, his right arm swinging -from the shoulder strangely loose and distorted, with palm twisted -outward, while his battered face was hideous with pain and defeat. He -growled broken maledictions at his enemy. - -Roy, meanwhile, said nothing, for as the savage lust died in him he -realized that the whirling faces before him were the faces of his -enemies, that the Bronco Kid was still at large, and that his vengeance -was but half completed. His knees were bending, his limbs were like -leaden bars, his chest a furnace of coals. As he reeled down the lane of -human forms, supported by his guards, he came abreast of the girl and -her companion and paused, clearing his vision slowly. - -“Ah, there you are!” he said, thickly, to the gambler, and began to -wrestle with his captors, baring his teeth in a grimace of painful -effort; but they held him as easily as though he were a child and drew -him forward, his body sagging limply, his face turned back over his -shoulder. - -They had him near the door when Wheaton barred their way, crying: “Hold -up a minute--it’s all right, Roy--” - -“Ay, Bill--it’s all right. We did our--best, but we were done by a -damned blackguard. Now he’ll send me up--but I don’t care. I broke -him--with my naked hands. Didn’t I, McNamara?” He mocked unsteadily at -the boss, who cursed aloud in return, glowering like an evil mask, while -Stillman ran up dishevelled and shrilly irascible. - -“Take him away, I tell you! Take him to jail.” - -But Wheaton held his place while the room centred its eyes upon him, -scenting some unexpected dénouement. He saw it, and in concession to a -natural vanity and dramatic instinct, he threw back his head and stuffed -his hands into his coat-pockets while the crowd waited. He grinned -insolently at the Judge and the receiver. - -“This will be a day of defeats and disappointments to you, my friends. -That boy won’t go to jail because you will wear the shackles yourselves. -Oh, you played a shrewd game, you two, with your senators, your -politics, and your pulls; but it’s our turn now, and we’ll make you -dance for the mines you gutted and the robberies you’ve done and the men -you’ve ruined. Thank Heaven there’s _one_ honest court and I happened to -find it.” He turned to the strangers who had accompanied him from the -ship, crying, “Serve those warrants,” and they stepped forward. - -The uproar of the past few minutes had brought men running from every -direction till, finding no room on the stairs, they had massed in the -street below while the word flew from lip to lip concerning this closing -scene of their drama, the battle at the Midas, the great fight -up-stairs, and the arrest by the ’Frisco deputies. Like Sindbad’s genie, -a wondrous tale took shape from the rumors. Men shouldered one another -eagerly for a glimpse of the actors, and when the press streamed out, -greeted it with volleys of questions. They saw the unconscious marshal -borne forth, followed by the old Judge, now a palsied wretch, slinking -beside his captor, a very shell of a man at whom they jeered. When -McNamara lurched into view, an image of defeat and chagrin, their voices -rose menacingly. The pack was turning and he knew it, but, though racked -and crippled, he bent upon them a visage so full of defiance and -contemptuous malignity that they hushed themselves, and their final -picture of him was that of a big man downed, but unbeaten to the last. -They began to cry for Glenister, so that when he loomed in the doorway, -a ragged, heroic figure, his heavy shock low over his eyes, his unshaven -face aggressive even in its weariness, his corded arms and chest bare -beneath the fluttering streamers, the street broke into wild cheering. -Here was a man of their own, a son of the Northland who labored and -loved and fought in a way they understood, and he had come into his due. - -But Roy, dumb and listless, staggered up the street, refusing the help -of every man except Wheaton. He heard his companion talking, but grasped -only that the attorney gloated and gloried. - -“We have whipped them, boy. We have whipped them at their own game. -Arrested in their very door-yards--cited for contempt of court--that’s -what they are. They disobeyed those other writs, and so I got them.” - -“I broke his arm,” muttered the miner. - -“Yes, I saw you do it! Ugh! it was an awful thing. I couldn’t prove -conspiracy, but they’ll go to jail for a little while just the same, and -we have broken the ring.” - -“It snapped at the shoulder,” the other continued, dully, “just like a -shovel handle. I felt it--but he tried to kill me and I had to do it.” - -The attorney took Roy to his cabin and dressed his wounds, talking -incessantly the while, but the boy was like a sleep-walker, displaying -no elation, no excitement, no joy of victory. At last Wheaton broke out: - -“Cheer up! Why, man, you act like a loser. Don’t you realize that we’ve -won? Don’t you understand that the Midas is yours? And the whole world -with it?” - -“Won?” echoed the miner. “What do you know about it, Bill? The -Midas--the world--what good are they? You’re wrong. I’ve lost--yes--I’ve -lost everything she taught me, and by some damned trick of Fate she was -there to see me do it. Now, go away; I want to sleep.” - -He sank upon the bed with its tangle of blankets and was unconscious -before the lawyer had covered him over. - -There he lay like a dead man till late in the afternoon, when Dextry and -Slapjack came in from the hills, answering Wheaton’s call, and fell upon -him hungrily. They shook Roy into consciousness with joyous riot, -pommelling him with affectionate roughness till he rose and joined with -them stiffly. He bathed and rubbed the soreness from his muscles, -emerging physically fit. They made him recount his adventures to the -tiniest detail, following his description of the fight with absorbed -interest till Dextry broke into mournful complaint: - -“I’d have give my half of the Midas to see you bust him. Lord, I’d have -screeched with soopreme delight at that.” - -“Why didn’t you gouge his eyes out when you had him crippled?” -questioned Slapjack, vindictively. “I’d ’a’ done it.” - -Dextry continued: “They tell me that when he was arrested he swore in -eighteen different languages, each one more refreshin’ly repulsive an’ -vig’rous than the precedin’. Oh, I have sure missed a-plenty to-day, -partic’lar because my own diction is gettin’ run down an’ skim-milky of -late, showin’ sad lack of new idees. Which I might have assim’lated -somethin’ robustly original an’ expressive if I’d been here. No, sir; a -nose-bag full of nuggets wouldn’t have kept me away.” - -“How did it sound when she busted?” insisted the morbid Simms, but -Glenister refused to discuss his combat. - -“Come on, Slap,” said the old prospector, “let’s go down-town. I’m so -het up I can’t set still, an’ besides, mebbe we can get the story the -way it really happened, from somebody who ain’t bound an’ gagged an’ -chloroformed by such unbecomin’ modesties. Roy, don’t never go into -vawdyville with them personal episodes, because they read about as -thrillin’ as a cook-book. Why, say, I’ve had the story of that fight -from four different fellers already, none of which was within four -blocks of the scrimmage, an’ they’re all diff’rent an’ all better ’n -your account.” - -Now that Glenister’s mind had recovered some of its poise he realized -what he had done. - -“I was a beast, an animal,” he groaned, “and that after all my striving. -I wanted to leave that part behind, I wanted to be worthy of her love -and trust even though I never won it, but at the first test I am found -lacking. I have lost her confidence, yes--and what is worse, infinitely -worse, I have lost my own. She’s always seen me at my worst,” he went -on, “but I’m not that kind at bottom, not that kind. I want to do what’s -right, and if I have another chance I will, I _know_ I will. I’ve been -tried too hard, that’s all.” - -Some one knocked, and he opened the door to admit the Bronco Kid and -Helen. - -“Wait a minute, old man,” said the Kid. “I’m here as a friend.” The -gambler handled himself with difficulty, offering in explanation: - -“I’m all sewed up in bandages of one kind or another.” - -“He ought to be in bed now, but he wouldn’t let me come alone, and I -could not wait,” the girl supplemented, while her eyes avoided -Glenister’s in strange hesitation. - -“He wouldn’t _let_ you. I don’t understand.” - -“I’m her brother,” announced the Bronco Kid. “I’ve known it for a long -time, but I--I--well, you understand I couldn’t let her know. All I can -say is, I’ve gambled square till the night I played you, and I was as -mad as a dervish then, blaming you for the talk I’d heard. Last night I -learned by chance about Struve and Helen and got to the road-house in -time to save her. I’m sorry I didn’t kill him.” His long white fingers -writhed about the arm of his chair at the memory. - -“Isn’t he dead?” Glenister inquired. - -“No. The doctors have brought him in and he’ll get well. He’s like half -the men in Alaska--here because the sheriffs back home couldn’t shoot -straight. There’s something else. I’m not a good talker, but give me -time and I’ll manage it so you’ll understand. I tried to keep Helen from -coming on this errand, but she said it was the square thing and she -knows better than I. It’s about those papers she brought in last spring. -She was afraid you might consider her a party to the deal, but you -don’t, do you?” He glared belligerently, and Roy replied, with fervor: - -“Certainly not. Go on.” - -“Well, she learned the other day that those documents told the whole -story and contained enough proof to break up this conspiracy and convict -the Judge and McNamara and all the rest, but Struve kept the bundle in -his safe and wouldn’t give it up without a price. That’s why she went -away with him---- She thought it was right, and--that’s all. But it -seems Wheaton had succeeded in another way. Now, I’m coming to the -point. The Judge and McNamara are arrested for contempt of court and -they’re as good as convicted; you have recovered your mine, and these -men are disgraced. They will go to jail--” - -“Yes, for six months, perhaps,” broke in the other, hotly, “but what -does that amount to? There never was a bolder crime consummated nor one -more cruelly unjust. They robbed a realm and pillaged its people, they -defiled a court and made Justice a wanton, they jailed good men and sent -others to ruin; and for this they are to suffer--how? By a paltry fine -or a short imprisonment, perhaps, by an ephemeral disgrace and the loss -of their stolen goods. Contempt of court is the accusation, but you -might as well convict a murderer for breach of the peace. We’ve thrown -them off, it’s true, and they won’t trouble us again, but they’ll never -have to answer for their real infamy. That will go unpunished while -their lawyers quibble over technicalities and rules of court. I guess -it’s true that there isn’t any law of God or man north of Fifty-three; -but if there is justice south of that mark, those people will answer for -conspiracy and go to the penitentiary.” - -“You make it hard for me to say what I want to. I am almost sorry we -came, for I am not cunning with words, and I don’t know that you’ll -understand,” said the Bronco Kid, gravely. “We looked at it this way; -you have had your victory, you have beaten your enemies against odds, -you have recovered your mine, and they are disgraced. To men like them -that last will outlive and outweigh all the rest; but the Judge is our -uncle and our blood runs in his veins. He took Helen when she was a baby -and was a father to her in his selfish way, loving her as best he knew -how. And she loves him.” - -“I don’t quite understand you,” said Roy. - -And then Helen spoke for the first time eagerly, taking a packet from -her bosom as she began: - -“This will tell the whole wretched story, Mr. Glenister, and show the -plot in all its vileness. It’s hard for me to betray my uncle, but this -proof is yours by right to use as you see fit, and I can’t keep it.” - -“Do you mean that this evidence will show all that? And you’re going to -give it to me because you think it is your duty?” - -“It belongs to you. I have no choice. But what I came for was to plead -and to ask a little mercy for my uncle, who is an old, old man, and very -weak. This will kill him.” - -He saw that her eyes were swimming while the little chin quivered ever -so slightly and her pale cheeks were flushed. There rose in him the old -wild desire to take her in his arms, a yearning to pillow her head on -his shoulder and kiss away the tears, to smooth with tender caress the -wavy hair, and bury his face deep in it till he grew drunk with the -madness of her. But he knew at last for whom she really pleaded. - -So he was to forswear this vengeance, which was no vengeance after all, -but in verity a just punishment. They asked him--a man--a man’s man--a -Northman--to do this, and for what? For no reward, but on the contrary -to insure himself lasting bitterness. He strove to look at the -proposition calmly, clearly, but it was difficult. If only by freeing -this other villain as well as her uncle he would do a good to her, then -he would not hesitate. Love was not the only thing. He marvelled at his -own attitude; this could not be his old self debating thus. He had asked -for another chance to show that he was not the old Roy Glenister; well, -it had come, and he was ready. - -Roy dared not look at Helen any more, for this was the hardest moment he -had ever lived. - -“You ask this for your uncle, but what of--of the other fellow? You must -know that if one goes free so will they both; they can’t be separated.” - -“It’s almost too much to ask,” the Kid took up, uncertainly. “But don’t -you think the work is done? I can’t help but admire McNamara, and -neither can you--he’s been too good an enemy to you for -that--and--and--he loves Helen.” - -“I know--I know,” said Glenister, hastily, at the same time stopping an -unintelligible protest from the girl. “You’ve said enough.” He -straightened his slightly stooping shoulders and looked at the unopened -package wearily, then slipped the rubber band from it, and, separating -the contents, tore them up--one by one--tore them into fine bits without -hurry or ostentation, and tossed the fragments away, while the woman -began to sob softly, the sound of her relief alone disturbing the -silence. And so he gave her his enemy, making his offer gamely, -according to his code. - -“You’re right--the work is done. And now, I’m very tired.” - -They left him standing there, the glory of the dying day illumining his -lean, brown features, the vision of a great loneliness in his weary -eyes. - -He did not rouse himself till the sky before him was only a curtain of -steel, pencilled with streaks of soot that lay close down above the -darker sea. Then he sighed and said, aloud: - -“So this is the end, and I gave him to her with these hands”--he held -them out before him curiously, becoming conscious for the first time -that the left one was swollen and discolored and fearfully painful. He -noted it with impersonal interest, realizing its need of medical -attention--so left the cabin and walked down into the city. He -encountered Dextry and Simms on the way, and they went with him, both -flowing with the gossip of the camp. - -“Lord, but you’re the talk of the town,” they began. “The curio hunters -have commenced to pull Struve’s office apart for souvenirs, and the -Swedes want to run you for Congress as soon as ever we get admitted as a -State. They say that at collar-an’-elbow holts you could lick any of -them Eastern senators and thereby rastle out a lot of good legislation -for us cripples up here.” - -“Speakin’ of laws goes to show me that this here country is gettin’ too -blamed civilized for a white man,” said Simms, pessimistically, “and now -that this fight is ended up it don’t look like there would be anything -doin’ fit to claim the interest of a growed-up person for a long while. -I’m goin’ west.” - -“West! Why, you can throw a stone into Bering Strait from here,” said -Roy, smiling. - -“Oh, well, the world’s round. There’s a schooner outfittin’ for -Sibeery--two years’ cruise. Me an’ Dex is figgerin’ on gettin’ out -towards the frontier fer a spell.” - -“Sure!” said Dextry. “I’m beginnin’ to feel all cramped up hereabouts -owin’ to these fillymonarch orchestras an’ French restarawnts and such -discrepancies of scenery. They’re puttin’ a pavement on Front Street and -there’s a shoe-shinin’ parlor opened up. Why, I’d like to get where I -could stretch an’ holler without disturbin’ the pensiveness of some dude -in a dress suit. Better come along, Roy; we can sell out the Midas.” - -“I’ll think it over,” said the young man. - -The night was bright with a full moon when they left the doctor’s -office. Roy, in no mood for the exuberance of his companions, parted -from them, but had not gone far before he met Cherry Malotte. His head -was low and he did not see her till she spoke. - -“Well, boy, so it’s over at last!” - -Her words chimed so perfectly with his thoughts that he replied: “Yes, -it’s all over, little girl.” - -“You don’t need my congratulations--you know me too well for that. How -does it feel to be a winner?” - -“I don’t know. I’ve lost.” - -“Lost what?” - -“Everything--except the gold-mine.” - -“Everything except--I see. You mean that she--that you have asked her -and she won’t?” He never knew the cost at which she held her voice so -steady. - -“More than that. It’s so new that it hurts yet, and it will continue to -hurt for a long time, I suppose--but to-morrow I am going back to my -hills and my valleys, back to the Midas and my work, and try to begin -all over. For a time I’ve wandered in strange paths, seeking new gods, -as it were, but the dazzle has died out of my eyes and I can see true -again. She isn’t for me, although I shall always love her. I’m sorry I -can’t forget easily, as some do. It’s hard to look ahead and take an -interest in things. But what about you? Where shall you go?” - -“I don’t know. It doesn’t really matter--now.” The dusk hid her white, -set face and she spoke monotonously. “I am going to see the Bronco Kid. -He sent for me. He’s ill.” - -“He’s not a bad sort,” said Roy. “And I suppose he’ll make a new start, -too.” - -“Perhaps,” said she, gazing far out over the gloomy ocean. “It all -depends.” After a moment, she added, “What a pity that we can’t all -sponge off the slate and begin afresh and--forget.” - -“It’s part of the game,” said he. “I don’t know why it’s so, but it is. -I’ll see you sometimes, won’t I?” - -“No, boy--I think not.” - -“I believe I understand,” he murmured; “and perhaps it’s better so.” He -took her two soft hands in his one good right and kissed them. “God -bless you and keep you, dear, brave little Cherry.” - -She stood straight and still as he melted into the shadows, and only the -moonlight heard her pitiful sob and her hopeless whisper: - -“Good-bye, my boy, my boy.” - -He wandered down beside the sea, for his battle was not yet won, and -until he was surer of himself he could not endure the ribaldry and -rejoicing of his fellows. A welcome lay waiting for him in every public -place, but no one there could know the mockery of it, no one could gauge -the desolation that was his. - -The sand, wet, packed, and hard as a pavement, gave no sound to his -careless steps; and thus it was that he came silently upon the one woman -as she stood beside the silver surf. Had he seen her first he would have -slunk past in the landward shadows; but, recognizing his tall form, she -called and he came, while it seemed that his lungs grew suddenly -constricted, as though bound about with steel hoops. The very pleasure -of her sight pained him. He advanced eagerly, and yet with hesitation, -standing stiffly aloof while his heart fluttered and his tongue grew -dumb. At last she saw his bandages and her manner changed abruptly. -Coming closer she touched them with caressing fingers. - -“It’s nothing--nothing at all,” he said, while his voice jumped out of -all control. “When are you--going away?” - -“I do not know--not for some time.” - -He had supposed she would go to-morrow with her uncle and--the other, to -be with them through their travail. - -With warm impetuosity she began: “It was a noble thing you did to-day. -Oh, I am glad and proud.” - -“I prefer you to think of me in that way, rather than as the wild beast -you saw this morning, for I was mad, perfectly mad with hatred and -revenge, and every wild impulse that comes to a defeated man. You see, I -had played and lost, played and lost, again and again, till there was -nothing left. What mischance brought you there? It was a terribly brutal -thing, but you can’t understand.” - -“But I _can_ understand. I do. I know all about it now. I know the wild -rage of desperation; I know the exultation of victory; I know what hate -and fear are now. You told me once that the wilderness had made you a -savage, and I laughed at it just as I did when you said that my contact -with big things would teach me the truth, that we’re all alike, and that -those motives are in us all. I see now that you were right and I was -very simple. I learned a great deal last night.” - -“I have learned much also,” said he. “I wish you might teach me more.” - -“I--I--don’t think I could teach you any more,” she hesitated. - -He moved as though to speak, but held back and tore his eyes away from -her. - -“Well,” she inquired, gazing at him covertly. - -“Once, a long time ago, I read a Lover’s Petition, and ever since -knowing you I have made the constant prayer that I might be given the -purity to be worthy the good in you, and that you might be granted the -patience to reach the good in me--but it’s no use. But at least I’m glad -we have met on common ground, as it were, and that you understand, in a -measure. The prayer could not be answered; but through it I have found -myself and--I have known you. That last is worth more than a king’s -ransom to me. It is a holy thing which I shall reverence always, and -when you go you will leave me lonely except for its remembrance.” - -“But I am not going,” she said. “That is--unless--” - -Something in her voice swept his gaze back from the shimmering causeway -that rippled seaward to the rising moon. It brought the breath into his -throat, and he shook as though seized by a great fear. - -“Unless--what?” - -“Unless you want me to.” - -“Oh, God! don’t play with me!” He flung out his hand as though to stop -her while his voice died out to a supplicating hoarseness. “I can’t -stand that.” - -“Don’t you see? Won’t you see?” she asked. “I was waiting here for the -courage to go to you since you have made it so very hard for me--my -pagan.” With which she came close to him, looking upward into his face, -smiling a little, shrinking a little, yielding yet withholding, while -the moonlight made of her eyes two bottomless, boundless pools, dark -with love, and brimming with the promise of his dreams. - -THE END - - -Typographical errors corrected by the etext transcriber: - -courage and our Colts=> courage and our Colt’s {pg 30} - -The Colts may go=> The Colt’s may go {pg 30} - -buckled his Colts=> buckled his Colt’s {pg 231} - - - - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Spoilers, by Rex Beach - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE SPOILERS *** - -***** This file should be named 51840-0.txt or 51840-0.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/1/8/4/51840/ - -Produced by Charlene Taylor, Chuck Greif and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive) - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license - - -Title: The Spoilers - -Author: Rex Beach - -Illustrator: Clarence F. Underwood - -Release Date: April 23, 2016 [EBook #51840] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE SPOILERS *** - - - - -Produced by Charlene Taylor, Chuck Greif and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive) - - - - - - -</pre> - -<hr class="full" /> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/cover_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/cover.jpg" width="279" height="450" alt="[Image of the -bookcover unavailable.]" /></a> -</div> - -<div class="bbox"> -<h1> -<img src="images/spoilers.png" -width="300" -height="60" -alt="The Spoilers" -/></h1> - -<hr class="full2" /> - -<p class="cb"> <br /><i>By</i> REX E. BEACH</p> - -<hr /> - -<p class="cb"><img src="images/colophon.png" -width="80" -height="81" -alt="[image of colophon unavailable.]" -/> -<br /><br /> -With Four Illustrations<br /> -By CLARENCE F. UNDERWOOD</p> - -<hr /> - -<p class="cb">A. L. BURT COMPANY, <span class="smcap">Publishers</span><br /> -NEW YORK.<br /> </p> -</div> - -<div class="bboxx"> -<p class="c">Copyright, 1905, by <span class="smcap">Rex E. Beach</span>.<br /> -——<br /> -<i>All rights reserved.</i><br /> -Published April, 1906.</p> -</div> - -<p class="cb"> -THIS BOOK<br /> -IS LOVINGLY DEDICATED TO<br /> -MY MOTHER<br /> -</p> - -<h2><a name="CONTENTS" id="CONTENTS"></a>CONTENTS</h2> - -<table border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" summary=""> - -<tr><td class="rt"><small>CHAP.</small></td><td> </td> -<td class="rt"><small>PAGE</small></td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top"><a href="#CHAPTER_I">I.</a></td><td><span class="smcap">The Encounter</span></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_001">1</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top"><a href="#CHAPTER_II">II.</a></td><td><span class="smcap">The Stowaway</span></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_013">13</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top"><a href="#CHAPTER_III">III.</a></td><td><span class="smcap">In Which Glenister Errs</span></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_022">22</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top"><a href="#CHAPTER_IV">IV.</a></td><td><span class="smcap">The Killing</span></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_033">33</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top"><a href="#CHAPTER_V">V.</a></td><td><span class="smcap">Wherein a Man Appears</span></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_048">48</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top"><a href="#CHAPTER_VI">VI.</a></td><td><span class="smcap">And a Mine is Jumped</span></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_059">59</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top"><a href="#CHAPTER_VII">VII.</a></td><td><span class="smcap">The “Bronco Kid’s” Eavesdropping</span></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_068">68</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top"><a href="#CHAPTER_VIII">VIII.</a></td><td><span class="smcap">Dextry Makes a Call</span></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_080">80</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top"><a href="#CHAPTER_IX">IX.</a></td><td><span class="smcap">Sluice Robbers</span></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_094">94</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top"><a href="#CHAPTER_X">X.</a></td><td><span class="smcap">The Wit of an Adventuress</span></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_107">107</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top"><a href="#CHAPTER_XI">XI.</a></td><td><span class="smcap">Wherein a Writ and a Riot Fail</span></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_120">120</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top"><a href="#CHAPTER_XII">XII.</a></td><td><span class="smcap">Counterplots</span></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_132">132</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top"><a href="#CHAPTER_XIII">XIII.</a></td><td><span class="smcap">In Which a Man is Possessed of a Devil</span></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_149">149</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top"><a href="#CHAPTER_XIV">XIV.</a></td><td><span class="smcap">A Midnight Messenger</span></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_168">168</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top"><a href="#CHAPTER_XV">XV.</a></td><td><span class="smcap">Vigilantes</span></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_183">183</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top"><a href="#CHAPTER_XVI">XVI.</a></td><td><span class="smcap">In Which the Truth Begins to Bare Itself</span></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_201">201</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top"><a href="#CHAPTER_XVII">XVII.</a></td><td><span class="smcap">The Drip of Water in the Dark</span></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_218">218</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top"><a href="#CHAPTER_XVIII">XVIII.</a></td><td><span class="smcap">Wherein a Trap is Baited</span></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_236">236</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top"><a href="#CHAPTER_XIX">XIX.</a></td><td><span class="smcap">Dynamite</span></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_249">249</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top"><a href="#CHAPTER_XX">XX.</a></td><td><span class="smcap">In Which Three Go to the Sign of the Sled<br /> -and but Two Return</span></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_268">268</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXI">XXI.</a></td><td><span class="smcap">The Hammer-Lock</span></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_285">285</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXII">XXII.</a></td><td><span class="smcap">The Promise of Dreams</span></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_300">300</a></td></tr> -</table> - -<p><a name="page_001" id="page_001"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="THE_SPOILERS" id="THE_SPOILERS"></a>THE SPOILERS</h2> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_I" id="CHAPTER_I"></a>CHAPTER I<br /><br /> -<small>THE ENCOUNTER</small></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">G</span><b>LENISTER</b> gazed out over the harbor, agleam with the lights of anchored -ships, then up at the crenelated mountains, black against the sky. He -drank the cool air burdened with its taints of the sea, while the blood -of his boyhood leaped within him.</p> - -<p>“Oh, it’s fine—fine,” he murmured, “and this is my country—my country, -after all, Dex. It’s in my veins, this hunger for the North. I grow. I -expand.”</p> - -<p>“Careful you don’t bust,” warned Dextry. “I’ve seen men get plumb drunk -on mountain air. Don’t expand too strong in one spot.” He went back -abruptly to his pipe, its villanous fumes promptly averting any danger -of the air’s too tonic quality.</p> - -<p>“Gad! What a smudge!” sniffed the younger man. “You ought to be in -quarantine.”</p> - -<p>“I’d ruther smell like a man than talk like a kid. You desecrate the -hour of meditation with rhapsodies<a name="page_002" id="page_002"></a> on nature when your æsthetics ain’t -honed up to the beauties of good tobacco.”</p> - -<p>The other laughed, inflating his deep chest. In the gloom he stretched -his muscles restlessly, as though an excess of vigor filled him.</p> - -<p>They were lounging upon the dock, while before them lay the <i>Santa -Maria</i> ready for her midnight sailing. Behind slept Unalaska, quaint, -antique, and Russian, rusting amid the fogs of Bering Sea. Where, a week -before, mild-eyed natives had dried their cod among the old bronze -cannon, now a frenzied horde of gold-seekers paused in their rush to the -new El Dorado. They had come like a locust cloud, thousands strong, -settling on the edge of the Smoky Sea, waiting the going of the ice that -barred them from their Golden Fleece—from Nome the new, where men found -fortune in a night.</p> - -<p>The mossy hills back of the village were ridged with graves of those who -had died on the out-trip the fall before, when a plague had gripped the -land—but what of that? Gold glittered in the sands, so said the -survivors; therefore men came in armies. Glenister and Dextry had left -Nome the autumn previous, the young man raving with fever. Now they -returned to their own land.</p> - -<p>“This air whets every animal instinct in me,” Glenister broke out again. -“Away from the cities I turn savage. I feel the old primitive -passions—the fret for fighting.”</p> - -<p>“Mebbe you’ll have a chance.”</p> - -<p>“How so?”</p> - -<p>“Well, it’s this way. I met Mexico Mullins this mornin’. You mind old -Mexico, don’t you? The<a name="page_003" id="page_003"></a> feller that relocated Discovery Claim on Anvil -Creek last summer?”</p> - -<p>“You don’t mean that ‘tin-horn’ the boys were going to lynch for -claim-jumping?”</p> - -<p>“Identical! Remember me tellin’ you about a good turn I done him once -down Guadalupe way?”</p> - -<p>“Greaser shooting-scrape, wasn’t it?”</p> - -<p>“Yep! Well, I noticed first off that he’s gettin’ fat; high-livin’ fat, -too, all in one spot, like he was playin’ both ends ag’in the centre. -Also he wore di’mon’s fit to handle with ice-tongs.</p> - -<p>“Says I, lookin’ at his side elevation, ‘What’s accented your middle -syllable so strong, Mexico?’</p> - -<p>“ ‘Prosperity, politics, an’ the Waldorf-Astorier,’ says he. It seems Mex -hadn’t forgot old days. He claws me into a corner an’ says, ‘Bill, I’m -goin’ to pay you back for that Moralez deal.’</p> - -<p>“ ‘It ain’t comin’ to me,’ says I. ‘That’s a bygone!’</p> - -<p>“ ‘Listen here,’ says he, an’, seein’ he was in earnest, I let him run -on.</p> - -<p>“ ‘How much do you value that claim o’ yourn at?’</p> - -<p>“ ‘Hard tellin’,’ says I. ‘If she holds out like she run last fall, -there’d ought to be a million clear in her.’</p> - -<p>“ ‘How much ’ll you clean up this summer?’</p> - -<p>“ ‘ ’Bout four hundred thousand, with luck.’</p> - -<p>“ ‘Bill,’ says he, ‘there’s hell a-poppin’ an’ you’ve got to watch that -ground like you’d watch a rattle-snake. Don’t never leave ’em get a grip -on it or you’re down an’ out.’</p> - -<p>“He was so plumb in earnest it scared me up, ’cause Mexico ain’t a gabby -man.</p> - -<p>“ ‘What do you mean?’ says I.</p> - -<p>“ ‘I can’t tell you nothin’ more. I’m puttin’ a<a name="page_004" id="page_004"></a> string on my own neck, -sayin’ <i>this</i> much. You’re a square man, Bill, an’ I’m a gambler, but -you saved my life oncet, an’ I wouldn’t steer you wrong. For God’s sake, -don’t let ’em jump your ground, that’s all.’</p> - -<p>“ ‘Let who jump it? Congress has give us judges an’ courts an’ -marshals—’ I begins.</p> - -<p>“ ‘That’s just it. How you goin’ to buck that hand? Them’s the best cards -in the deck. There’s a man comin’ by the name of McNamara. Watch him -clost. I can’t tell you no more. But don’t never let ’em get a grip on -your ground.’ That’s all he’d say.”</p> - -<p>“Bah! He’s crazy! I wish somebody would try to jump the Midas; we’d -enjoy the exercise.”</p> - -<p>The siren of the <i>Santa Maria</i> interrupted, its hoarse warning throbbing -up the mountain.</p> - -<p>“We’ll have to get aboard,” said Dextry.</p> - -<p>“Sh-h! What’s that?” the other whispered.</p> - -<p>At first the only sound they heard was a stir from the deck of the -steamer. Then from the water below them came the rattle of rowlocks and -a voice cautiously muffled.</p> - -<p>“Stop! Stop there!”</p> - -<p>A skiff burst from the darkness, grounding on the beach beneath. A -figure scrambled out and up the ladder leading to the wharf. Immediately -a second boat, plainly in pursuit of the first one, struck on the beach -behind it.</p> - -<p>As the escaping figure mounted to their level the watchers perceived -with amazement that it was a young woman. Breath sobbed from her lungs, -and, stumbling, she would have fallen but for Glenister, who ran forward -and helped her to her feet.<a name="page_005" id="page_005"></a></p> - -<p>“Don’t let them get me,” she panted.</p> - -<p>He turned to his partner in puzzled inquiry, but found that the old man -had crossed to the head of the landing ladder up which the pursuers were -climbing.</p> - -<p>“Just a minute—you there! Back up or I’ll kick your face in.” Dextry’s -voice was sharp and unexpected, and in the darkness he loomed tall and -menacing to those below.</p> - -<p>“Get out of the way. That woman’s a runaway,” came from the one highest -on the ladder.</p> - -<p>“So I jedge.”</p> - -<p>“She broke qu—”</p> - -<p>“Shut up!” broke in another. “Do you want to advertise it? Get out of -the way, there, ye damn fool! Climb up, Thorsen.” He spoke like a bucko -mate, and his words stirred the bile of Dextry.</p> - -<p>Thorsen grasped the dock floor, trying to climb up, but the old miner -stamped on his fingers and the sailor loosened his hold with a yell, -carrying the under men with him to the beach in his fall.</p> - -<p>“This way! Follow me!” shouted the mate, making up the bank for the -shore end of the wharf.</p> - -<p>“You’d better pull your freight, miss,” Dextry remarked; “they’ll be -here in a minute.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, yes! Let us go! I must get aboard the <i>Santa Maria</i>. She’s leaving -now. Come, come!”</p> - -<p>Glenister laughed, as though there were a humorous touch in her remark, -but did not stir.</p> - -<p>“I’m gettin’ awful old an’ stiff to run,” said Dextry, removing his -mackinaw, “but I allow I ain’t too old for a little diversion in the way -of a rough-house when it comes nosin’ around.” He moved lightly, though<a name="page_006" id="page_006"></a> -the girl could see in the half-darkness that his hair was silvery.</p> - -<p>“What do you mean?” she questioned, sharply.</p> - -<p>“You hurry along, miss; we’ll toy with ’em till you’re aboard.” They -stepped across to the dock-house, backing against it. The girl followed.</p> - -<p>Again came the warning blast from the steamer, and the voice of an -officer:</p> - -<p>“Clear away that stern line!”</p> - -<p>“Oh, we’ll be left!” she breathed, and somehow it struck Glenister that -she feared this more than the men whose approaching feet he heard.</p> - -<p>“<i>You</i> can make it all right,” he urged her, roughly. “You’ll get hurt -if you stay here. Run along and don’t mind us. We’ve been thirty days on -shipboard, and were praying for something to happen.” His voice was -boyishly glad, as if he exulted in the fray that was to come; and no -sooner had he spoken than the sailors came out of the darkness upon -them.</p> - -<p>During the space of a few heart-beats there was only a tangle of -whirling forms with the sound of fist on flesh, then the blot split up -and forms plunged outward, falling heavily. Again the sailors rushed, -attempting to clinch. They massed upon Dextry only to grasp empty air, -for he shifted with remarkable agility, striking bitterly, as an old -wolf snaps. It was baffling work, however, for in the darkness his blows -fell short or overreached.</p> - -<p>Glenister, on the other hand, stood carelessly, beating the men off as -they came to him. He laughed gloatingly, deep in his throat, as though -the encounter were merely some rough sport. The girl shuddered, for the -desperate silence of the attacking men terrified<a name="page_007" id="page_007"></a></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/facing007_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/facing007_sml.jpg" width="316" height="450" alt="“WHAT I WANT—I TAKE,” AND THEN, TURNING, HE KISSED HER -SOFTLY, FIERCELY, FULL UPON THE LIPS - -See p. 32" /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">“WHAT I WANT—I TAKE,” AND THEN, TURNING, HE KISSED HER -SOFTLY, FIERCELY, FULL UPON THE LIPS -<br /> -<small>[See p. 32</small></span> -</div> - -<p class="nind">her more than a din, and yet she stayed, crouched against the wall.</p> - -<p>Dextry swung at a dim target, and, missing it, was whirled off his -balance. Instantly his antagonist grappled with him, and they fell to -the floor, while a third man shuffled about them. The girl throttled a -scream.</p> - -<p>“I’m goin’ to kick ’im, Bill,” the man panted hoarsely. “Le’ me fix -’im.” He swung his heavy shoe, and Bill cursed with stirring eloquence.</p> - -<p>“Ow! You’re kickin’ me! I’ve got ’im, safe enough. Tackle the big un.”</p> - -<p>Bill’s ally then started towards the others, his body bent, his arms -flexed yet hanging loosely. He crouched beside the girl, ignoring her, -while she heard the breath wheezing from his lungs; then silently he -leaped. Glenister had hurled a man from him, then stepped back to avoid -the others, when he was seized from behind and felt the man’s arms -wrapped about his neck, the sailor’s legs locked about his thighs. Now -came the girl’s first knowledge of real fighting. The two spun back and -forth so closely entwined as to be indistinguishable, the others holding -off. For what seemed many minutes they struggled, the young man striving -to reach his adversary, till they crashed against the wall near her and -she heard her champion’s breath coughing in his throat at the tightening -grip of the sailor. Fright held her paralyzed, for she had never seen -men thus. A moment and Glenister would be down beneath their stamping -feet—they Would kick his life out with their heavy shoes. At thought of -it, the necessity of action smote her like a blow in the face. Her -terror fell away, her shaking<a name="page_008" id="page_008"></a> muscles stiffened, and before realizing -what she did she had acted.</p> - -<p>The seaman’s back was to her. She reached out and gripped him by the -hair, while her fingers, tense as talons, sought his eyes. Then the -first loud sound of the battle arose. The man yelled in sudden terror; -and the others as suddenly fell back. The next instant she felt a hand -upon her shoulder and heard Dextry’s voice.</p> - -<p>“Are ye hurt? No? Come on, then, or we’ll get left.” He spoke quietly, -though his breath was loud, and, glancing down, she saw the huddled form -of the sailor whom he had fought.</p> - -<p>“That’s all right—he ain’t hurt. It’s a Jap trick I learned. Hurry up!”</p> - -<p>They ran swiftly down the wharf, followed by Glenister and by the groans -of the sailors in whom the lust for combat had been quenched. As they -scrambled up the <i>Santa Maria’s</i> gang-plank, a strip of water widened -between the boat and the pier.</p> - -<p>“Close shave, that,” panted Glenister, feeling his throat gingerly, “but -I wouldn’t have missed it for a spotted pup.”</p> - -<p>“I’ve been through b’iler explosions and snow-slides, not to mention a -triflin’ jail-delivery, but fer real sprightly diversions I don’t recall -nothin’ more pleasin’ than this.” Dextry’s enthusiasm was boylike.</p> - -<p>“What kind of men are you?” the girl laughed nervously, but got no -answer.</p> - -<p>They led her to their deck cabin, where they switched on the electric -light, blinking at each other and at their unknown guest.</p> - -<p>They saw a graceful and altogether attractive figure<a name="page_009" id="page_009"></a> in a trim, short -skirt and long, tan boots. But what Glenister first saw was her eyes; -large and gray, almost brown under the electric light. They were active -eyes, he thought, and they flashed swift, comprehensive glances at the -two men. Her hair had fallen loose and crinkled to her waist, all -agleam. Otherwise she showed no sign of her recent ordeal.</p> - -<p>Glenister had been prepared for the type of beauty that follows the -frontier; beauty that may stun, but that has the polish and chill of a -new-ground bowie. Instead, this girl with the calm, reposeful face -struck a note almost painfully different from her surroundings, -suggesting countless pleasant things that had been strange to him for -the past few years.</p> - -<p>Pure admiration alone was patent in the older man’s gaze.</p> - -<p>“I make oration,” said he, “that you’re the gamest little chap I ever -fought over, Mexikin, Injun, or white. What’s the trouble?”</p> - -<p>“I suppose you think I’ve done something dreadful, don’t you?” she said. -“But I haven’t. I had to get away from the <i>Ohio</i> to-night for—certain -reasons. I’ll tell you all about it to-morrow. I haven’t stolen -anything, nor poisoned the crew—really I haven’t.” She smiled at them, -and Glenister found it impossible not to smile with her, though dismayed -by her feeble explanation.</p> - -<p>“Well, I’ll wake up the steward and find a place for you to go,” he said -at length. “You’ll have to double up with some of the women, though; -it’s awfully crowded aboard.”</p> - -<p>She laid a detaining hand on his arm. He thought he felt her tremble.<a name="page_010" id="page_010"></a></p> - -<p>“No, no! I don’t want you to do that. They mustn’t see me to-night. I -know I’m acting strangely and all that, but it’s happened so quickly I -haven’t found myself yet. I’ll tell you to-morrow, though, really. Don’t -let any one see me or it will spoil everything. Wait till to-morrow, -please.”</p> - -<p>She was very white, and spoke with eager intensity.</p> - -<p>“Help you? Why, sure Mike!” assured the impulsive Dextry, “an’, see -here, Miss—you take your time on explanations. We don’t care a cuss -what you done. Morals ain’t our long suit, ’cause ‘there’s never a law -of God or man runs north of Fifty-three,’ as the poetry man remarked, -an’ he couldn’t have spoke truer if he’d knowed what he was sayin’. -Everybody is privileged to ‘look out’ his own game up here. A square -deal an’ no questions asked.”</p> - -<p>She looked somewhat doubtful at this till she caught the heat of -Glenister’s gaze. Some boldness of his look brought home to her the -actual situation, and a stain rose in her cheek. She noted him more -carefully; noted his heavy shoulders and ease of bearing, an ease and -looseness begotten of perfect muscular control. Strength was equally -suggested in his face, she thought, for he carried a marked young -countenance, with thrusting chin, aggressive thatching brows, and mobile -mouth that whispered all the changes from strength to abandon. Prominent -was a look of reckless energy. She considered him handsome in a heavy, -virile, perhaps too purely physical fashion.</p> - -<p>“You want to stowaway?” he asked.</p> - -<p>“I’ve had a right smart experience in that line,” said Dextry, “but I -never done it by proxy. What’s your plan?”<a name="page_011" id="page_011"></a></p> - -<p>“She will stay here to-night,” said Glenister quickly. “You and I will -go below. Nobody will see her.”</p> - -<p>“I can’t let you do that,” she objected. “Isn’t there some place where I -can hide?” But they reassured her and left.</p> - -<p>When they had gone, she crouched trembling upon her seat for a long -time, gazing fixedly before her. “I’m afraid!” she whispered; “I’m -afraid. What am I getting into? Why do men look so at me? I’m -frightened. Oh, I’m sorry I undertook it.” At last she rose wearily. The -close cabin oppressed her; she felt the need of fresh air. So, turning -out the lights, she stepped forth into the night. Figures loomed near -the rail and she slipped astern, screening herself behind a life-boat, -where the cool breeze fanned her face.</p> - -<p>The forms she had seen approached, speaking earnestly. Instead of -passing, they stopped abreast of her hiding-place; then, as they began -to talk, she saw that her retreat was cut off and that she must not -stir.</p> - -<p>“What brings her here?” Glenister was echoing a question of Dextry’s. -“Bah! What brings them all? What brought ‘the Duchess,’ and Cherry -Malotte, and all the rest?”</p> - -<p>“No, no,” said the old man. “She ain’t that kind—she’s too fine, too -delicate—too pretty.”</p> - -<p>“That’s just it—too pretty! Too pretty to be alone—or anything except -what she is.”</p> - -<p>Dextry growled sourly. “This country has plumb ruined you, boy. You -think they’re all alike—an’ I don’t know but they are—all but this -girl. Seems like she’s different, somehow—but I can’t tell.”</p> - -<p>Glenister spoke musingly:</p> - -<p>“I had an ancestor who buccaneered among the<a name="page_012" id="page_012"></a> Indies, a long time -ago—so I’m told. Sometimes I think I have his disposition. He comes and -whispers things to me in the night. Oh, he was a devil, and I’ve got his -blood in me—untamed and hot—I can hear him saying something -now—something about the spoils of war. Ha, ha! Maybe he’s right. I -fought for her to-night—Dex—the way he used to fight for his -sweethearts along the Mexicos. She’s too beautiful to be good—and -‘there’s never a law of God or man runs north of Fifty-three.’ ”</p> - -<p>They moved on, his vibrant, cynical laughter stabbing the girl till she -leaned against the yawl for support.</p> - -<p>She held herself together while the blood beat thickly in her ears, then -fled to the cabin, hurling herself into her berth, where she writhed -silently, beating the pillow with hands into which her nails had bitten, -staring the while into the darkness with dry and aching eyes.<a name="page_013" id="page_013"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_II" id="CHAPTER_II"></a>CHAPTER II<br /><br /> -<small>THE STOWAWAY</small></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">S</span><b>HE</b> awoke to the throb of the engines, and, gazing cautiously through -her stateroom window, saw a glassy, level sea, with the sun brightly -agleam on it.</p> - -<p>So this was Bering? She had clothed it always with the mystery of her -school-days, thinking of it as a weeping, fog-bound stretch of gray -waters. Instead, she saw a flat, sunlit main, with occasional -sea-parrots flapping their fat bodies out of the ship’s course. A -glistening head popped up from the waters abreast, and she heard the cry -of “seal!”</p> - -<p>Dressing, the girl noted minutely the personal articles scattered about -the cabin, striving to derive therefrom some fresh hint of the -characteristics of the owners. First, there was an elaborate, -copper-backed toilet-set, all richly ornamented and leather-bound. The -metal was magnificently hand-worked and bore Glenister’s initial. It -spoke of elegant extravagance, and seemed oddly out of place in an -Arctic miner’s equipment, as did also a small set of De Maupassant.</p> - -<p>Next, she picked up Kipling’s <i>Seven Seas</i>, marked liberally, and felt -that she had struck a scent. The roughness and brutality of the poems -had always chilled her, though she had felt vaguely their splendid pulse -and swing. This was the girl’s first venture from<a name="page_014" id="page_014"></a> a sheltered life. She -had not rubbed elbows with the world enough to find that Truth may be -rough, unshaven, and garbed in homespun. The book confirmed her analysis -of the junior partner.</p> - -<p>Pendent from a hook was a worn and blackened holster from which peeped -the butt of a large Colt’s revolver, showing evidence of many years’ -service. It spoke mutely of the white-haired Dextry, who, before her -inspection was over, knocked at the door, and, when she admitted him, -addressed her cautiously:</p> - -<p>“The boy’s down forrad, teasin’ grub out of a flunky. He’ll be up in a -minute. How’d ye sleep?”</p> - -<p>“Very well, thank you,” she lied, “but I’ve been thinking that I ought -to explain myself to you.”</p> - -<p>“Now, see here,” the old man interjected, “there ain’t no explanations -needed till you feel like givin’ them up. You was in trouble—that’s -unfortunate; we help you—that’s natural; no questions asked—that’s -Alaska.”</p> - -<p>“Yes—but I know you must think—”</p> - -<p>“What bothers me,” the other continued irrelevantly, “is how in blazes -we’re goin’ to keep you hid. The steward’s got to make up this room, and -somebody’s bound to see us packin’ grub in.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t care who knows if they won’t send me back. They wouldn’t do -that, would they?” She hung anxiously on his words.</p> - -<p>“Send you back? Why, don’t you savvy that this boat is bound for Nome? -There ain’t no turnin’ back on gold stampedes, and this is the wildest -rush the world ever saw. The captain wouldn’t turn back—he -couldn’t—his cargo’s too precious and the company pays five thousand a -day for this ship. No, we ain’t<a name="page_015" id="page_015"></a> puttin’ back to unload no stowaways at -five thousand per. Besides, we passengers wouldn’t let him—time’s too -precious.” They were interrupted by the rattle of dishes outside, and -Dextry was about to open the door when his hand wavered uncertainly -above the knob, for he heard the hearty greeting of the ship’s captain.</p> - -<p>“Well, well, Glenister, where’s all the breakfast going?”</p> - -<p>“Oo!” whispered the old man—“that’s Cap’ Stephens.”</p> - -<p>“Dextry isn’t feeling quite up to form this morning,” replied Glenister -easily.</p> - -<p>“Don’t wonder! Why weren’t you aboard sooner last night? I saw -you—‘most got left, eh? Served you right if you had.” Then his voice -dropped to the confidential: “I’d advise you to cut out those women. -Don’t misunderstand me, boy, but they’re a bad lot on this boat. I saw -you come aboard. Take my word for it—they’re a bad lot. Cut ’em out. -Guess I’ll step inside and see what’s up with Dextry.”</p> - -<p>The girl shrank into her corner, gazing apprehensively at the other -listener.</p> - -<p>“Well—er—he isn’t up yet,” they heard Glenister stammer; “better come -around later.”</p> - -<p>“Nonsense; it’s time he was dressed.” The master’s voice was gruffly -good-natured. “Hello, Dextry! Hey! Open up for inspection.” He rattled -the door.</p> - -<p>There was nothing to be done. The old miner darted an inquiring glance -at his companion, then, at her nod, slipped the bolt, and the captain’s -blue bulk filled the room.</p> - -<p>His grizzled, close-bearded face was genially wrinkled till he spied the -erect, gray figure in the corner, when<a name="page_016" id="page_016"></a> his cap came off involuntarily. -There his courtesy ended, however, and the smile died coldly from his -face. His eyes narrowed, and the good-fellowship fell away, leaving him -the stiff and formal officer.</p> - -<p>“Ah,” he said, “not feeling well, eh? I thought I had met all of our -lady passengers. Introduce me, Dextry.”</p> - -<p>Dextry squirmed under his cynicism.</p> - -<p>“Well—I—ah—didn’t catch the name myself.”</p> - -<p>“What?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, there ain’t much to say. This is the lady we brought aboard last -night—that’s all.”</p> - -<p>“Who gave you permission?”</p> - -<p>“Nobody. There wasn’t time.”</p> - -<p>“There wasn’t <i>time</i>, eh? Which one of you conceived the novel scheme of -stowing away ladies in your cabin? Whose is she? Quick! Answer me.” -Indignation was vibrant in his voice.</p> - -<p>“Oh!” the girl cried—her eyes widening darkly. She stood slim and pale -and slightly trembling.</p> - -<p>His words had cut her bitterly, though through it all he had -scrupulously avoided addressing her.</p> - -<p>The captain turned to Glenister, who had entered and closed the door.</p> - -<p>“Is this your work? Is she yours?”</p> - -<p>“No,” he answered quietly, while Dextry chimed in:</p> - -<p>“Better hear details, captain, before you make breaks like that. We -helped the lady side-step some sailors last night and we most got left -doing it. It was up to her to make a quick get-away, so we helped her -aboard.”</p> - -<p>“A poor story! What was she running away from?” He still addressed the -men, ignoring her completely, till, with hoarse voice, she broke in:<a name="page_017" id="page_017"></a></p> - -<p>“You mustn’t talk about me that way—I can answer your questions. It’s -true—I ran away. I had to. The sailors came after me and fought with -these men. I had to get away quickly, and your friends helped me on here -from gentlemanly kindness, because they saw me unprotected. They are -still protecting me. I can’t explain how important it is for me to reach -Nome on the first boat, because it isn’t my secret. It was important -enough to make me leave my uncle at Seattle at an hour’s notice when we -found there was no one else who could go. That’s all I can say. I took -my maid with me, but the sailors caught her just as she was following me -down the ship’s ladder. She had my bag of clothes when they seized her. -I cast off the rope and rowed ashore as fast as I could, but they -lowered another boat and followed me.”</p> - -<p>The captain eyed her sharply, and his grim lines softened a bit, for she -was clean-cut and womanly, and utterly out of place. He took her in, -shrewdly, detail by detail, then spoke directly to her:</p> - -<p>“My dear young lady—the other ships will get there just as quickly as -ours, maybe more quickly. To-morrow we strike the ice-pack and then it -is all a matter of luck.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, but the ship I left won’t get there.”</p> - -<p>At this the commander started, and, darting a great, thick-fingered hand -at her, spoke savagely:</p> - -<p>“What’s that? What ship? Which one did you come from? Answer me.”</p> - -<p>“The <i>Ohio</i>,” she replied, with the effect of a hand-grenade. The master -glared at her.</p> - -<p>“The <i>Ohio</i>! Good God! You <i>dare</i> to stand there<a name="page_018" id="page_018"></a> and tell me that?” He -turned and poured his rage upon the others.</p> - -<p>“She says the <i>Ohio</i>, d’ye hear? You’ve ruined me! I’ll put you in -irons—all of you. The <i>Ohio</i>!”</p> - -<p>“What d’ye mean? What’s up?”</p> - -<p>“What’s up? There’s small-pox aboard the <i>Ohio</i>! This girl has broken -quarantine. The health inspectors bottled up the boat at six o’clock -last night! That’s why I pulled out of Unalaska ahead of time, to avoid -any possible delay. Now we’ll all be held up when we get to Nome. Great -Heavens! do you realize what this means—bringing this hussy aboard?”</p> - -<p>His eyes burned and his voice shook, while the two partners stared at -each other in dismay. Too well they knew the result of a small-pox panic -aboard this crowded troop-ship. Not only was every available cabin -bulging with passengers, but the lower decks were jammed with both -humanity and live stock all in the most unsanitary conditions. The -craft, built for three hundred passengers, was carrying triple her -capacity; men and women were stowed away like cattle. Order and a -half-tolerable condition were maintained only by the efforts of the -passengers themselves, who held to the thought that imprisonment and -inconvenience would last but a few days longer. They had been aboard -three weeks and every heart was aflame with the desire to reach Nome—to -reach it ahead of the pressing horde behind.</p> - -<p>What would be the temper of this gold-frenzied army if thrown into -quarantine within sight of their goal? The impatient hundreds would have -to lie packed in their floating prison, submitting to the foul disease. -Long they must lie thus, till a month should<a name="page_019" id="page_019"></a></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/facing018_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/facing018_sml.jpg" width="286" height="450" alt="“SHE STEPPED BACK AGAINST THE WALL, HER WONDROUS, DEEP, -GRAY EYES WIDE AND TROUBLED”" /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">“SHE STEPPED BACK AGAINST THE WALL, HER WONDROUS, DEEP, -GRAY EYES WIDE AND TROUBLED”</span> -</div> - -<p class="nind">have passed after the disappearance of the last symptom. If the disease -recurred sporadically, that might mean endless weeks of maddening -idleness. It might even be impossible to impose the necessary restraint; -there would be violence, perhaps mutiny.</p> - -<p>The fear of the sickness was nothing to Dextry and Glenister, but of -their mine they thought with terror. What would happen in their absence, -where conditions were as unsettled as in this new land; where titles -were held only by physical possession of the premises? During the long -winter of their absence, ice had held their treasure inviolate, but with -the warming summer the jewel they had fought for so wearily would lie -naked and exposed to the first comer. The Midas lay in the valley of the -richest creek, where men had schemed and fought and slain for the right -to inches. It was the fruit of cheerless, barren years of toil, and if -they could not guard it—they knew the result.</p> - -<p>The girl interrupted their distressing reflections.</p> - -<p>“Don’t blame these men, sir,” she begged the captain. “I am the only one -at fault. Oh! I <i>had</i> to get away. I have papers here that must be -delivered quickly.” She laid a hand upon her bosom. “They couldn’t be -trusted to the unsettled mail service. It’s almost life and death. And I -assure you there is no need of putting me in quarantine. I haven’t the -small-pox. I wasn’t even exposed to it.”</p> - -<p>“There’s nothing else to do,” said Stephens. “I’ll isolate you in the -deck smoking-cabin. God knows what these madmen on board will do when -they hear about it, though. They’re apt to tear you to shreds. They’re -crazy!”</p> - -<p>Glenister had been thinking rapidly.<a name="page_020" id="page_020"></a></p> - -<p>“If you do that, you’ll have mutiny in an hour. This isn’t the crowd to -stand that sort of thing.”</p> - -<p>“Bah! Let ’em try it. I’ll put ’em down.” The officer’s square jaws -clicked.</p> - -<p>“Maybe so; but what then? We reach Nome and the Health Inspector hears -of small-pox suspects, then we’re all quarantined for thirty days; eight -hundred of us. We’ll lie at Egg Island all summer while your company -pays five thousand a day for this ship. That’s not all. The firm is -liable in damages for your carelessness in letting disease aboard.”</p> - -<p>“<i>My carelessness!</i>” The old man ground his teeth.</p> - -<p>“Yes; that’s what it amounts to. You’ll ruin your owners, all right. -You’ll tie up your ship and lose your job, that’s a cinch!”</p> - -<p>Captain Stephens wiped the moisture from his brow angrily.</p> - -<p>“My carelessness! Curse you—you say it well. Don’t you realize that I -am criminally liable if I don’t take every precaution?” He paused for a -moment, considering. “I’ll hand her over to the ship’s doctor.”</p> - -<p>“See here, now,” Glenister urged. “We’ll be in Nome in a week—before -the young lady would have time to show symptoms of the disease, even if -she were going to have it—and a thousand to one she hasn’t been -exposed, and will never show a trace of it. Nobody knows she’s aboard -but we three. Nobody will see her get off. She’ll stay in this cabin, -which will be just as effectual as though you isolated her in any other -part of the boat. It will avoid a panic—you’ll save your ship and your -company—no one will be the wiser—then if the girl comes down with -small-pox after she gets ashore, she can go to the pest-house and not<a name="page_021" id="page_021"></a> -jeopardize the health of all the people aboard this ship. You go up -forrad to your bridge, sir, and forget that you stepped in to see old -Bill Dextry this morning. We’ll take care of this matter all right. It -means as much to us as it does to you. We’ve <i>got</i> to be on Anvil Creek -before the ground thaws or we’ll lose the Midas. If you make a fuss, -you’ll ruin us all.”</p> - -<p>For some moments they watched him breathlessly as he frowned in -indecision, then—</p> - -<p>“You’ll have to look out for the steward,” he said, and the girl sank to -a stool while two great tears rolled down her cheeks. The captain’s eyes -softened and his voice was gentle as he laid his hand on her head.</p> - -<p>“Don’t feel hurt over what I said, miss. You see, appearances don’t tell -much, hereabouts—most of the pretty ones are no good. They’ve fooled me -many a time, and I made a mistake. These men will help you through; I -can’t. Then when you get to Nome, make your sweetheart marry you the day -you land. You are too far north to be alone.”</p> - -<p>He stepped out into the passage and closed the door carefully.<a name="page_022" id="page_022"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_III" id="CHAPTER_III"></a>CHAPTER III<br /><br /> -<small>IN WHICH GLENISTER ERRS</small></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">“W</span><b>ELL</b>, bein’ as me an’ Glenister is gougin’ into the bowels of Anvil -Creek all last summer, we don’t really get the fresh-grub habit fastened -on us none. You see, the gamblers down-town cop out the few aigs an’ -green vegetables that stray off the ships, so they never get out as far -as the Creek none; except, maybe, in the shape of anecdotes.</p> - -<p>“We don’t get intimate with no nutriments except hog-boosum an’ brown -beans, of which luxuries we have unstinted measure, an’ bein’ as this is -our third year in the country we hanker for bony fido grub, somethin’ -scan’lous. Yes, ma’am—three years without a taste of fresh fruit nor -meat nor nuthin’—except pork an’ beans. Why, I’ve et bacon till my -immortal soul has growed a rind.</p> - -<p>“When it comes time to close down the claim, the boy is sick with the -fever an’ the only ship in port is a Point Barrow whaler, bound for -Seattle. After I book our passage, I find they have nothin’ aboard to -eat except canned salmon, it bein’ the end of a two years’ cruise, so -when I land in the States after seventeen days of a fish diet, I am what -you might call sated with canned grub, and have added salmon to the list -of things concernin’ which I am goin’ to economize.<a name="page_023" id="page_023"></a></p> - -<p>“Soon’s ever I get the boy into a hospital, I gallop up to the best -restarawnt in town an’ prepare for the huge pot-latch. This here, I -determine, is to be a gormandizin’ jag which shall live in hist’ry, an’ -wharof in later years the natives of Puget Sound shall speak with bated -breath.</p> - -<p>“First, I call for five dollars’ worth of pork an’ beans an’ then a -full-grown platter of canned salmon. When the waiter lays ’em out in -front of me, I look them vittles coldly in their disgustin’ visages, an’ -say in sarcastic accents:</p> - -<p>“ ‘Set there, damn you! an’ watch me eat <i>real</i> grub,’ which I proceed to -do, cleanin’ the menu from soda to hock. When I have done my worst, I -pile bones an’ olive seeds an’ peelin’s all over them articles of -nourishment, stick toothpicks into ’em, an’ havin’ offered ’em what -other indignities occur to me, I leave the place.”</p> - -<p>Dextry and the girl were leaning over the stern-rail, chatting idly in -the darkness. It was the second night out and the ship lay dead in the -ice-pack. All about them was a flat, floe-clogged sea, leprous and -mottled in the deep twilight that midnight brought in this latitude. -They had threaded into the ice-field as long as the light lasted, -following the lanes of blue water till they closed, then drifting idly -till others appeared; worming out into leagues of open sea, again -creeping into the shifting labyrinth till darkness rendered progress -perilous.</p> - -<p>Occasionally they had passed herds of walrus huddled sociably upon -ice-pans, their wet hides glistening in the sunlight. The air had been -clear and pleasant, while away on all quarters they had seen the smoke -of<a name="page_024" id="page_024"></a> other ships toiling through the barrier. The spring fleet was -knocking at the door of the Golden North.</p> - -<p>Chafing at her imprisonment, the girl had asked the old man to take her -out on deck under the shelter of darkness; then she had led him to speak -of his own past experiences, and of Glenister’s; which he had done -freely. She was frankly curious about them, and she wondered at their -apparent lack of interest in her own identity and her secret mission. -She even construed their silence as indifference, not realizing that -these Northmen were offering her the truest evidence of <i>camaraderie</i>.</p> - -<p>The frontier is capable of no finer compliment than this utter disregard -of one’s folded pages. It betokens that highest faith in one’s -fellow-man, the belief that he should be measured by his present deeds, -not by his past. It says, translated: “This is God’s free country where -a man is a man, nothing more. Our land is new and pure, our faces are to -the front. If you have been square, so much the better; if not, leave -behind the taints of artificial things and start again on the -level—that’s all.”</p> - -<p>It had happened, therefore, that since the men had asked her no -questions, she had allowed the hours to pass and still hesitated to -explain further than she had explained to Captain Stephens. It was much -easier to let things continue as they were; and there was, after all, so -little that she was at liberty to tell them.</p> - -<p>In the short time since meeting them, the girl had grown to like Dextry, -with his blunt chivalry and boyish, whimsical philosophy, but she -avoided Glenister, feeling a shrinking, hidden terror of him, ever since -her eavesdropping of the previous night. At the memory<a name="page_025" id="page_025"></a> of that scene -she grew hot, then cold—hot with anger, icy at the sinister power and -sureness which had vibrated in his voice. What kind of life was she -entering where men spoke of strange women with this assurance and hinted -thus of ownership? That he was handsome and unconscious of it, she -acknowledged, and had she met him in her accustomed circle of friends, -garbed in the conventionalities, she would perhaps have thought of him -as a striking man, vigorous and intelligent; but here he seemed -naturally to take on the attributes of his surroundings, acquiring a -picturesque negligée of dress and morals, and suggesting rugged, -elemental, chilling potentialities. While with him—and he had sought -her repeatedly that day—she was uneasily aware of his strong -personality tugging at her; aware of the unbridled passionate flood of a -nature unbrooking of delay and heedless of denial. This it was that -antagonized her and set her every mental sinew in rigid resistance.</p> - -<p>During Dextry’s garrulous ramblings, Glenister emerged from the darkness -and silently took his place beside her, against the rail.</p> - -<p>“What portent do you see that makes you stare into the night so -anxiously?” he inquired.</p> - -<p>“I am wishing for a sight of the midnight sun or the aurora borealis,” -she replied.</p> - -<p>“Too late for one an’ too fur south for the other,” Dextry interposed. -“We’ll see the sun further north, though.”</p> - -<p>“Have you ever heard the real origin of the Northern Lights?” the young -man inquired.</p> - -<p>“Naturally, I never have,” she answered.</p> - -<p>“Well, here it is. I have it from the lips of a great<a name="page_026" id="page_026"></a> hunter of the -Tananas. He told it to me when I was sick, once, in his cabin, and -inasmuch as he is a wise Indian and has a reputation for truth, I have -no doubt that it is scrupulously correct.</p> - -<p>“In the very old days, before the white man or corned beef had invaded -this land, the greatest tribe in all the North was the Tananas. The -bravest hunter of these was Itika, the second chief. He could follow a -moose till it fell exhausted in the snow and he had many belts made from -the claws of the brown bear which is deadly wicked and, as every one -knows, inhabited by the spirits of ‘Yabla-men,’ or devils.</p> - -<p>“One winter a terrible famine settled over the Tanana Valley. The moose -departed from the gulches and the caribou melted from the hills like -mist. The dogs grew gaunt and howled all night, the babies cried, the -women became hollow-eyed and peevish.</p> - -<p>“Then it was that Itika decided to go hunting over the saw-tooth range -which formed the edge of the world. They tried to dissuade him, saying -it was certain death because a pack of monstrous white wolves, taller -than the moose and swifter than the eagle, was known to range these -mountains, running madly in chase. Always, on clear, cold nights, could -be seen the flashing of the moonbeams from their gleaming hungry sides, -and although many hunters had crossed the passes in other years, they -never returned, for the pack slew them.</p> - -<p>“Nothing could deter Itika, however, so he threaded his way up through -the range and, night coming, burrowed into a drift to sleep in his -caribou-skin. Peering out into the darkness, he saw the flashing lights -a thousand times brighter than ever before. The whole<a name="page_027" id="page_027"></a> heavens were -ablaze with shifting streamers that raced and writhed back and forth in -wild revel. Listening, he heard the hiss and whine of dry snow under the -feet of the pack, and a distant noise as of rushing winds, although the -air was deathly still.</p> - -<p>“With daylight, he proceeded through the range, till he came out above a -magnificent valley. Descending the slope, he entered a forest of -towering spruce, while on all sides the snow was trampled with tracks as -wide as a snow-shoe. There came to him a noise which, as he proceeded, -increased till it filled the woods. It was a frightful din, as though a -thousand wolves were howling with the madness of the kill. Cautiously -creeping nearer, he found a monstrous white animal struggling beneath a -spruce which had fallen upon it in such fashion as to pinion it -securely.</p> - -<p>“All brave men are tender-hearted, so Itika set to work with his axe and -cleared away the burden, regardless of the peril to himself. When he had -released it, the beast arose and instead of running away addressed him -in the most polite and polished Indian, without a trace of accent.</p> - -<p>“ ‘You have saved my life. Now, what can I do for you?’</p> - -<p>“ ‘I want to hunt in this valley. My people are starving,’ said Itika, at -which the wolf was greatly pleased and rounded up the rest of the pack -to help in the kill.</p> - -<p>“Always thereafter when Itika came to the valley of the Yukon the giant -drove hunted with him. To this day they run through the mountains on -cold, clear nights, in a multitude, while the light of the moon flickers -from their white sides, flashing up into the sky<a name="page_028" id="page_028"></a> in weird, fantastic -figures. Some people call it Northern Lights, but old Isaac assured me -earnestly, toothlessly, and with the light of ancient truth, as I lay -snow-blind in his lodge, that it is nothing more remarkable than the -spirit of Itika and the great white wolves.”</p> - -<p>“What a queer legend!” she said. “There must be many of them in this -country. I feel that I am going to like the North.”</p> - -<p>“Perhaps you will,” Glenister replied, “although it is not a woman’s -land.”</p> - -<p>“Tell me what led you out here in the first place. You are an Eastern -man. You have had advantages, education—and yet you choose this. You -must love the North.”</p> - -<p>“Indeed I do! It calls to a fellow in some strange way that a gentler -country never could. When once you’ve lived the long, lazy June days -that never end, and heard geese honking under a warm, sunlit midnight; -or when once you’ve hit the trail on a winter morning so sharp and clear -that the air stings your lungs, and the whole white, silent world -glistens like a jewel; yes—and when you’ve seen the dogs romping in -harness till the sled runners ring; and the distant mountain-ranges come -out like beautiful carvings, so close you can reach them—well, there’s -something in it that brings you back—that’s all, no matter where you’ve -lost yourself. It means health and equality and unrestraint. That’s what -I like best, I dare say—the utter unrestraint.</p> - -<p>“When I was a school-boy, I used to gaze at the map of Alaska for hours. -I’d lose myself in it. It wasn’t anything but a big, blank corner in the -North then, with a name, and mountains, and mystery. The word<a name="page_029" id="page_029"></a> ‘Yukon’ -suggested to me everything unknown and weird—hairy mastodons, golden -river bars, savage Indians with bone arrow-heads and seal-skin trousers. -When I left college I came as fast as ever I could—the adventure, I -suppose....</p> - -<p>“The law was considered my destiny. How the shades of old Choate and -Webster and Patrick Henry must have wailed when I forswore it. I’ll bet -Blackstone tore his whiskers.”</p> - -<p>“I think you would have made a success,” said the girl, but he laughed.</p> - -<p>“Well, anyhow, I stepped out, leaving the way to the United States -Supreme bench unobstructed, and came North. I found it was where I -belonged. I fitted in. I’m not contented—don’t think that. I’m -ambitious, but I prefer these surroundings to the others—that’s all. -I’m realizing my desires. I’ve made a fortune—now I’ll see what else -the world has.”</p> - -<p>He suddenly turned to her. “See here,” he abruptly questioned, “what’s -your name?”</p> - -<p>She started, and glanced towards where Dextry had stood, only to find -that the old frontiersman had slipped away during the tale.</p> - -<p>“Helen Chester,” she replied.</p> - -<p>“Helen Chester,” he repeated, musingly. “What a pretty name! It seems -almost a pity to change it—to marry, as you will.”</p> - -<p>“I am not going to Nome to get married.”</p> - -<p>He glanced at her quickly.</p> - -<p>“Then you won’t like this country. You are two years too early; you -ought to wait till there are railroads and telephones, and <i>tables -d’hôte</i>, and chaperons. It’s a man’s country yet.”<a name="page_030" id="page_030"></a></p> - -<p>“I don’t see why it isn’t a woman’s country, too. Surely we can take a -part in taming it. Yonder on the Oregon is a complete railroad, which -will be running from the coast to the mines in a few weeks. Another ship -back there has the wire and poles and fixings for a telephone system, -which will go up in a night. As to <i>tables d’hôte</i>, I saw a real French -count in Seattle with a monocle. He’s bringing in a restaurant outfit, -imported snails, and <i>pâté de foies gras</i>. All that’s wanting is the -chaperon. In my flight from the <i>Ohio</i> I left mine. The sailors caught -her. You see I am not far ahead of schedule.”</p> - -<p>“What part are you going to take in this taming process?” he asked.</p> - -<p>She paused long before replying, and when she did her answer sounded -like a jest.</p> - -<p>“I herald the coming of the law,” she said.</p> - -<p>“The law! Bah! Red tape, a dead language, and a horde of shysters! I’m -afraid of law in this land; we’re too new and too far away from things. -It puts too much power in too few hands. Heretofore we men up here have -had recourse to our courage and our Colt’s, but we’ll have to unbuckle -them both when the law comes. I like the court that hasn’t any appeal.” -He laid hand upon his hip.</p> - -<p>“The Colt’s may go, but the courage never will,” she broke in.</p> - -<p>“Perhaps. But I’ve heard rumors already of a plot to prostitute the law. -In Unalaska a man warned Dextry, with terror in his eye, to beware of -it; that beneath the cloak of Justice was a drawn dagger whetted for us -fellows who own the rich diggings. I don’t think there’s any truth in -it, but you can’t tell.”<a name="page_031" id="page_031"></a></p> - -<p>“The law is the foundation—there can’t be any progress without it. -There is nothing here now but disorder.”</p> - -<p>“There isn’t half the disorder you think there is. There weren’t any -crimes in this country till the tender-feet arrived. We didn’t know what -a thief was. If you came to a cabin you walked in without knocking. The -owner filled up the coffee-pot and sliced into the bacon; then when he’d -started your meal, he shook hands and asked your name. It was just the -same whether his cache was full or whether he’d packed his few pounds of -food two hundred miles on his back. That was hospitality to make your -Southern article look pretty small. If there was no one at home, you ate -what you needed. There was but one unpardonable breach of etiquette—to -fail to leave dry kindlings. I’m afraid of the transitory stage we’re -coming to—that epoch of chaos between the death of the old and the -birth of the new. Frankly, I like the old way best. I love the license -of it. I love to wrestle with nature; to snatch, and guard, and fight -for what I have. I’ve been beyond the law for years and I want to stay -there, where life is just what it was intended to be—a survival of the -fittest.”</p> - -<p>His large hands, as he gripped the bulwark, were tense and corded, while -his rich voice issued softly from his chest with the hint of power -unlimited behind it. He stood over her, tall, virile, and magnetic. She -saw now why he had so joyously hailed the fight of the previous night; -to one of his kind it was as salt air to the nostrils. Unconsciously she -approached him, drawn by the spell of his strength.</p> - -<p>“My pleasures are violent and my hate is mighty<a name="page_032" id="page_032"></a> bitter in my mouth. -What I want, I take. That’s been my way in the old life, and I’m too -selfish to give it up.”</p> - -<p>He was gazing out upon the dimly lucent miles of ice; but now he turned -towards her, and, doing so, touched her warm hand next his on the rail.</p> - -<p>She was staring up at him unaffectedly, so close that the faint odor -from her hair reached him. Her expression was simply one of wonder and -curiosity at this type, so different from any she had known. But the -man’s eyes were hot and blinded with the sight of her, and he felt only -her beauty heightened in the dim light, the brush of her garments, and -the small, soft hand beneath his. The thrill from the touch of it surged -over him—mastered him.</p> - -<p>“What I want—I take,” he repeated, and then suddenly he reached forth -and, taking her in his arms, crushed her to him, kissing her softly, -fiercely, full upon the lips. For an instant she lay gasping and stunned -against his breast, then she tore her fist free and, with all her force, -struck him full in the face.</p> - -<p>It was as though she beat upon a stone. With one movement he forced her -arm to her side, smiling into her terrified eyes; then, holding her like -iron, he kissed her again and again upon the mouth, the eyes, the -hair—and released her.</p> - -<p>“I am going to love you—Helen,” said he.</p> - -<p>“And may God strike me dead if I ever stop <i>hating</i> you!” she cried, her -voice coming thick and hoarse with passion.</p> - -<p>Turning, she walked proudly forward towards her cabin, a trim, straight, -haughty figure; and he did not know that her knees were shaking and -weak.<a name="page_033" id="page_033"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IV" id="CHAPTER_IV"></a>CHAPTER IV<br /><br /> -<small>THE KILLING</small></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">F</span><b>OR</b> four days the <i>Santa Maria</i> felt blindly through the white fields, -drifting north with the spring tide that sets through Behring Strait, -till, on the morning of the fifth, open water showed to the east. -Creeping through, she broke out into the last stage of the long race, -amid the cheers of her weary passengers; and the dull jar of her engines -made welcome music to the girl in the deck state-room.</p> - -<p>Soon they picked up a mountainous coast which rose steadily into -majestic, barren ranges, still white with the melting snows; and at ten -in the evening under a golden sunset, amid screaming whistles, they -anchored in the roadstead of Nome. Before the rumble of her chains had -ceased or the echo from the fleet’s salute had died from the shoreward -hills, the ship was surrounded by a swarm of tiny craft clamoring about -her iron sides, while an officer in cap and gilt climbed the bridge and -greeted Captain Stephens. Tugs with trailing lighters circled discreetly -about, awaiting the completion of certain formalities. These over, the -uniformed gentleman dropped back into his skiff and rowed away.</p> - -<p>“A clean bill of health, captain,” he shouted, saluting the commander.<a name="page_034" id="page_034"></a></p> - -<p>“Thank ye, sir,” roared the sailor, and with that the row-boats swarmed -inward pirate-like, boarding the steamer from all quarters.</p> - -<p>As the master turned, he looked down from his bridge to the deck below, -full into the face of Dextry, who had been an intent witness of the -meeting. With unbending dignity, Captain Stephens let his left eyelid -droop slowly, while a boyish grin spread widely over his face. -Simultaneously, orders rang sharp and fast from the bridge, the crew -broke into feverish life, the creak of booms and the clank of -donkey-hoists arose.</p> - -<p>“We’re here, Miss Stowaway,” said Glenister, entering the girl’s cabin. -“The inspector passed us and it’s time for you to see the magic city. -Come, it’s a wonderful sight.”</p> - -<p>This was the first time they had been alone since the scene on the -after-deck, for, besides ignoring Glenister, she had managed that he -should not even see her except in Dextry’s presence. Although he had -ever since been courteous and considerate, she felt the leaping emotions -that were hidden within him and longed to leave the ship, to fly from -the spell of his personality. Thoughts of him made her writhe, and yet -when he was near she could not hate him as she willed—he overpowered -her, he would not be hated, he paid no heed to her slights. This very -quality reminded her how willingly and unquestioningly he had fought off -the sailors from the <i>Ohio</i> at a word from her. She knew he would do so -again, and more, and it is hard to be bitter to one who would lay down -his life for you, even though he has offended—particularly when he has -the magnetism that sweeps you away from your moorings.</p> - -<p>“There’s no danger of being seen,” he continued.<a name="page_035" id="page_035"></a> “The crowd’s crazy, -and, besides, we’ll go ashore right away. You must be mad with the -confinement—it’s on my nerves, too.”</p> - -<p>As they stepped outside, the door of an adjacent cabin opened, framing -an angular, sharp-featured woman, who, catching sight of the girl -emerging from Glenister’s state-room, paused with shrewdly narrowed -eyes, flashing quick, malicious glances from one to the other. They came -later to remember with regret this chance encounter, for it was fraught -with grave results for them both.</p> - -<p>“Good-evening, Mr. Glenister,” the lady said with acid cordiality.</p> - -<p>“Howdy, Mrs. Champian?” He moved away.</p> - -<p>She followed a step, staring at Helen.</p> - -<p>“Are you going ashore to-night or wait for morning?”</p> - -<p>“Don’t know yet, I’m sure.” Then aside to the girl he muttered, “Shake -her, she’s spying on us.”</p> - -<p>“Who is she?” asked Miss Chester, a moment later.</p> - -<p>“Her husband manages one of the big companies. She’s an old cat.”</p> - -<p>Gaining her first view of the land, the girl cried out, sharply. They -rode on an oily sea, tinted like burnished copper, while on all sides, -amid the faint rattle and rumble of machinery, scores of ships were -belching cargoes out upon living swarms of scows, tugs, stern-wheelers, -and dories. Here and there Eskimo oomiaks, fat, walrus-hide boats, slid -about like huge, many-legged water-bugs. An endless, ant-like stream of -tenders, piled high with freight, plied to and from the shore. A mile -distant lay the city, stretched like a white ribbon between the gold of -the ocean sand and<a name="page_036" id="page_036"></a> the dun of the moss-covered tundra. It was like no -other in the world. At first glance it seemed all made of new white -canvas. In a week its population had swelled from three to thirty -thousand. It now wandered in a slender, sinuous line along the coast for -miles, because only the beach afforded dry camping ground. Mounting to -the bank behind, one sank knee-deep in moss and water, and, treading -twice in the same tracks, found a bog of oozing, icy mud. Therefore, as -the town doubled daily in size, it grew endwise like a string of -dominoes, till the shore from Cape Nome to Penny River was a long reach -of white, glinting in the low rays of the arctic sunset like foamy -breakers on a tropic island.</p> - -<p>“That’s Anvil Creek up yonder,” said Glenister. “There’s where the Midas -lies. See!” He indicated a gap in the buttress of mountains rolling back -from the coast. “It’s the greatest creek in the world. You’ll see gold -by the mule-load, and hillocks of nuggets. Oh, I’m glad to get back. -<i>This</i> is life. That stretch of beach is full of gold. These hills are -seamed with quartz. The bed-rock of that creek is yellow. There’s gold, -gold, gold, everywhere—more than ever was in old Solomon’s mines—and -there’s mystery and peril and things unknown.”</p> - -<p>“Let us make haste,” said the girl. “I have something I must do -to-night. After that, I can learn to know these things.”</p> - -<p>Securing a small boat, they were rowed ashore, the partners plying their -ferryman with eager questions. Having arrived five days before, he was -exploding with information and volunteered the fruits of his ripe -experience till Dextry stated that they were “sourdoughs”<a name="page_037" id="page_037"></a> themselves, -and owned the Midas, whereupon Miss Chester marvelled at the awe which -sat upon the man and the wondering stare with which he devoured the -partners, to her own utter exclusion.</p> - -<p>“Sufferin’ cats! Look at the freight!” ejaculated Dextry. “If a storm -come up it would bust the community!”</p> - -<p>The beach they neared was walled and crowded to the high-tide mark with -ramparts of merchandise, while every incoming craft deposited its quota -upon whatever vacant foot was close at hand, till bales, boxes, boilers, -and baggage of all kinds were confusedly intermixed in the narrow space. -Singing longshoremen trundled burdens from the lighters and piled them -on the heap, while yelling, cursing crowds fought over it all, -selecting, sorting, loading.</p> - -<p>There was no room for more, yet hourly they added to the mass. Teams -splashed through the lapping surf or stuck in the deep sand between -hillocks of goods. All was noise, profanity, congestion, and feverish -hurry. This burning haste rang in the voice of the multitude, showed in -its violence of gesture and redness of face, permeated the atmosphere -with a magnetic, electrifying energy.</p> - -<p>“It’s somethin’ fierce ashore,” said the oarsman. “I been up fer three -days an’ nights steady—there ain’t no room, nor time, nor darkness to -sleep in. Ham an’ eggs is a dollar an’ a half, an’ whiskey’s four bits a -throw.” He wailed the last, sadly, as a complaint unspeakable.</p> - -<p>“Any trouble doin’?” inquired the old man.</p> - -<p>“You <i>know</i> it!” the other cried, colloquially. “There was a massacree -in the Northern last night.”<a name="page_038" id="page_038"></a></p> - -<p>“Gamblin’ row?”</p> - -<p>“Yep. Tin-horn called ‘Missou’ done it.”</p> - -<p>“Sho!” said Dextry. “I know him. He’s a bad actor.” All three men nodded -sagely, and the girl wished for further light, but they volunteered no -explanation.</p> - -<p>Leaving the skiff, they plunged into turmoil. Dodging through the -tangle, they came out into fenced lots where tents stood wall to wall -and every inch was occupied. Here and there was a vacant spot guarded -jealously by its owner, who gazed sourly upon all men with the -forbidding eye of suspicion. Finding an eddy in the confusion, the men -stopped.</p> - -<p>“Where do you want to go?” they asked Miss Chester.</p> - -<p>There was no longer in Glenister’s glance that freedom with which he had -come to regard the women of the North. He had come to realize dully that -here was a girl driven by some strong purpose into a position repellent -to her. In a man of his type, her independence awoke only admiration and -her coldness served but to inflame him the more. Delicacy, in Glenister, -was lost in a remarkable singleness of purpose. He could laugh at her -loathing, smile under her abuse, and remain utterly ignorant that -anything more than his action in seizing her that night lay at the -bottom of her dislike. He did not dream that he possessed -characteristics abhorrent to her; and he felt a keen reluctance at -parting.</p> - -<p>She extended both hands.</p> - -<p>“I can never thank you enough for what you have done—you two; but I -shall try. Good-bye!”</p> - -<p>Dextry gazed doubtfully at his own hand, rough and<a name="page_039" id="page_039"></a> gnarly, then taking -hers as he would have handled a robin’s egg, waggled it limply.</p> - -<p>“We ain’t goin’ to turn you adrift this-a-way. Whatever your destination -is, we’ll see you to it.”</p> - -<p>“I can find my friends,” she assured him.</p> - -<p>“This is the wrong latitude in which to dispute a lady, but knowin’ this -camp from soup to nuts, as I do, I su’gests a male escort.”</p> - -<p>“Very well! I wish to find Mr. Struve, of Dunham & Struve, lawyers.”</p> - -<p>“I’ll take you to their offices,” said Glenister. “You see to the -baggage, Dex. Meet me at the Second Class in half an hour and we’ll run -out to the Midas.” They pushed through the tangle of tents, past piles -of lumber, and emerged upon the main thoroughfare, which ran parallel to -the shore.</p> - -<p>Nome consisted of one narrow street, twisted between solid rows of -canvas and half-erected frame buildings, its every other door that of a -saloon. There were fair-looking blocks which aspired to the dizzy height -of three stories, some sheathed in corrugated iron, others gleaming and -galvanized. Lawyers’ signs, doctors’, surveyors’, were in the upper -windows. The street was thronged with men from every land—Helen Chester -heard more dialects than she could count. Laplanders in quaint, -three-cornered, padded caps idled past. Men with the tan of the tropics -rubbed elbows with yellow-haired Norsemen, and near her a carefully -groomed Frenchman with riding-breeches and monocle was in pantomime with -a skin-clad Eskimo. To her left was the sparkling sea, alive with ships -of every class. To her right towered timberless mountains, unpeopled, -unexplored, forbidding, and desolate—their hollows<a name="page_040" id="page_040"></a> inlaid with snow. -On one hand were the life and the world she knew; on the other, silence, -mystery, possible adventure.</p> - -<p>The roadway where she stood was a crush of sundry vehicles from bicycles -to dog-hauled water-carts, and on all sides men were laboring busily, -the echo of hammers mingling with the cries of teamsters and the tinkle -of music within the saloons.</p> - -<p>“And this is midnight!” exclaimed Helen, breathlessly. “Do they ever -rest?”</p> - -<p>“There isn’t time—this is a gold stampede. You haven’t caught the -spirit of it yet.”</p> - -<p>They climbed the stairs in a huge, iron-sheeted building to the office -of Dunham & Struve, and in answer to their knock, a red-faced, -white-haired, tousled man, in shirt-sleeves and stocking-feet, opened -the door.</p> - -<p>“What d’ye wan’?” he bawled, his legs wavering uncertainly. His eyes -were heavy and bloodshot, his lips loose, and his whole person exhaled -alcoholic fumes like a gust from a still-house. Hanging to the knob, he -strove vainly to solve the mystery of his suspenders—hiccoughing -intermittently.</p> - -<p>“Humph! Been drunk ever since I left?” questioned Glenister.</p> - -<p>“Somebody mus’ have tol’ you,” the lawyer replied. There was neither -curiosity, recognition, nor resentment in his voice. In fact, his head -drooped so that he paid no attention to the girl, who had shrunk back at -sight of him. He was a young man, with marks of brilliancy showing -through the dissipation betrayed by his silvery hair and coarsened -features.</p> - -<p>“Oh, I don’t know what to do,” lamented the girl.<a name="page_041" id="page_041"></a></p> - -<p>“Anybody else here besides you?” asked her escort of the lawyer.</p> - -<p>“No. I’m runnin’ the law business unassisted. Don’t need any help. -Dunham’s in Wash’n’ton, D. C, the lan’ of the home, the free of the -brave. What can I do for you?”</p> - -<p>He made to cross the threshold hospitably, but tripped, plunged forward, -and would have rolled down the stairs had not Glenister gathered him up -and borne him back into the office, where he tossed him upon a bed in a -rear room.</p> - -<p>“Now what, Miss Chester?” asked the young man, returning.</p> - -<p>“Isn’t that dreadful?” she shuddered. “Oh, and I must see him to-night!” -She stamped impatiently. “I must see him alone.”</p> - -<p>“No, you mustn’t,” said Glenister, with equal decision. “In the first -place, he wouldn’t know what you were talking about, and in the second -place—I know Struve. He’s too drunk to talk business and too sober -to—well, to see you alone.”</p> - -<p>“But I <i>must</i> see him,” she insisted. “It’s what brought me here. You -don’t understand.”</p> - -<p>“I understand more than he could. He’s in no condition to act on any -important matter. You come around to-morrow when he’s sober.”</p> - -<p>“It means so much,” breathed the girl. “The beast!”</p> - -<p>Glenister noted that she had not wrung her hands nor even hinted at -tears, though plainly her disappointment and anxiety were consuming her.</p> - -<p>“Well, I suppose I’ll have to wait, but I don’t know where to go—some -hotel, I suppose.”<a name="page_042" id="page_042"></a></p> - -<p>“There aren’t any. They’re building two, but to-night you couldn’t hire -a room in Nome for money. I was about to say ‘love or money.’ Have you -no other friends here—no women? Then you must let me find a place for -you. I have a friend whose wife will take you in.”</p> - -<p>She rebelled at this. Was she never to have done with this man’s favors? -She thought of returning to the ship, but dismissed that. She undertook -to decline his aid, but he was half-way down the stairs and paid no -attention to her beginning—so she followed him.</p> - -<p>It was then that Helen Chester witnessed her first tragedy of the -frontier, and through it came to know better the man whom she disliked -and with whom she had been thrown so fatefully. Already she had thrilled -at the spell of this country, but she had not learned that strength and -license carry blood and violence as corollaries.</p> - -<p>Emerging from the doorway at the foot of the stairs, they drifted slowly -along the walk, watching the crowd. Besides the universal tension, there -were laughter and hope and exhilaration in the faces. The enthusiasm of -this boyish multitude warmed one. The girl wished to get into this -spirit—to be one of them. Then suddenly from the babble at their elbows -came a discordant note, not long nor loud, only a few words, penetrating -and harsh with the metallic quality lent by passion.</p> - -<p>Helen glanced over her shoulder to find that the smiles of the throng -were gone and that its eyes were bent on some scene in the street, with -an eager interest she had never seen mirrored before. Simultaneously -Glenister spoke:</p> - -<p>“Come away from here.”<a name="page_043" id="page_043"></a></p> - -<p>With the quickened eye of experience he foresaw trouble and tried to -drag her on, but she shook off his grasp impatiently, and, turning, -gazed absorbed at the spectacle which unfolded itself before her. -Although not comprehending the play of events, she felt vaguely the -quick approach of some crisis, yet was unprepared for the swiftness with -which it came.</p> - -<p>Her eyes had leaped to the figures of two men in the street from whom -the rest had separated like oil from water. One was slim and well -dressed; the other bulky, mackinawed, and lowering of feature. It was -the smaller who spoke, and for a moment she misjudged his bloodshot eyes -and swaying carriage to be the result of alcohol, until she saw that he -was racked with fury.</p> - -<p>“Make good, I tell you, quick! Give me that bill of sale, you ——.”</p> - -<p>The unkempt man swung on his heel with a growl and walked away, his -course leading him towards Glenister and the girl. With two strides he -was abreast of them; then, detecting the flashing movement of the other, -he whirled like a wild animal. His voice had the snarl of a beast in it.</p> - -<p>“Ye had to have it, didn’t ye? Well, there!”</p> - -<p>The actions of both men were quick as light, yet to the girl’s taut -senses they seemed theatrical and deliberate. Into her mind was seared -forever the memory of that second, as though the shutter of a camera had -snapped, impressing upon her brain the scene, sharp, clear-cut, and -vivid. The shaggy back of the large man almost brushing her, the -rage-drunken, white-shirted man in the derby hat, the crowd sweeping -backward like rushes before a blast, men with arms flexed<a name="page_044" id="page_044"></a> and feet -raised in flight, the glaring yellow sign of the “Gold Belt Dance Hall” -across the way—these were stamped upon her retina, and then she was -jerked violently backward, two strong arms crushed her down upon her -knees against the wall, and she was smothered in the arms of Roy -Glenister.</p> - -<p>“My God! Don’t move! We’re in line!”</p> - -<p>He crouched over her, his cheek against her hair, his weight forcing her -down into the smallest compass, his arms about her, his body forming a -living shield against the flying bullets. Over them the big man stood, -and the sustained roar of his gun was deafening. In an instant they -heard the thud and felt the jar of lead in the thin boards against which -they huddled. Again the report echoed above their heads, and they saw -the slender man in the street drop his weapon and spin half round as -though hit with some heavy hand. He uttered a cry and, stooping for his -gun, plunged forward, burying his face in the sand.</p> - -<p>The man by Glenister’s side shouted curses thickly, and walked towards -his prostrate enemy, firing at every step. The wounded man rolled to his -side, and, raising himself on his elbow, shot twice, so rapidly that the -reports blended—but without checking his antagonist’s approach. Four -more times the relentless assailant fired deliberately, his last missile -sent as he stood over the body which twitched and shuddered at his feet, -its garments muddy and smeared. Then he turned and retraced his steps. -Back within arm’s-length of the two who pressed against the building he -came, and as he went by they saw his coarse and sullen features drawn -and working pallidly, while the breath whistled through his teeth. He -held his course to the door they had just<a name="page_045" id="page_045"></a> quitted, then as he turned he -coughed bestially, spitting out a mouthful of blood. His knees wavered. -He vanished within the portals and, in the sickly silence that fell, -they heard his hob-nailed boots clumping slowly up the stairs.</p> - -<p>Noise awoke and rioted down the thoroughfare. Men rushed forth from -every quarter, and the ghastly object in the dirt was hidden by a -seething mass of miners.</p> - -<p>Glenister raised the girl, but her head rolled limply, and she would -have slipped to her knees again had he not placed his arm about her -waist. Her eyes were staring and horror-filled.</p> - -<p>“Don’t be frightened,” said he, smiling at her reassuringly; but his own -lips shook and the sweat stood out like dew on him; for they had both -been close to death. There came a surge and swirl through the crowd, and -Dextry swooped upon them like a hawk.</p> - -<p>“Be ye hurt? Holy Mackinaw! When I see ’em blaze away I yells at ye fit -to bust my throat. I shore thought you was gone. Although I can’t say -but this killin’ was a sight for sore eyes—so neat an’ genteel—still, -as a rule, in these street brawls it’s the innocuous bystander that has -flowers sent around to his house afterwards.”</p> - -<p>“Look at this,” said Glenister. Breast-high in the wall against which -they had crouched, not three feet apart, were bullet holes.</p> - -<p>“Them’s the first two he unhitched,” Dextry remarked, jerking his head -towards the object in the street. “Must have been a new gun an’ pulled -hard—throwed him to the right. See!”</p> - -<p>Even to the girl it was patent that, had she not been<a name="page_046" id="page_046"></a> snatched as she -was, the bullet would have found her.</p> - -<p>“Come away quick,” she panted, and they led her into a near-by store, -where she sank upon a seat and trembled until Dextry brought her a glass -of whiskey.</p> - -<p>“Here, Miss,” he said. “Pretty tough go for a ‘cheechako.’ I’m afraid -you ain’t gettin’ enamoured of this here country a whole lot.”</p> - -<p>For half an hour he talked to her, in his whimsical way, of foreign -things, till she was quieted. Then the partners arose to go. Although -Glenister had arranged for her to stop with the wife of the merchant for -the rest of the night, she would not.</p> - -<p>“I can’t go to bed. Please don’t leave me! I’m too nervous. I’ll go -<i>mad</i> if you do. The strain of the last week has been too much for me. -If I sleep I’ll see the faces of those men again.”</p> - -<p>Dextry talked with his companion, then made a purchase which he laid at -the lady’s feet.</p> - -<p>“Here’s a pair of half-grown gum boots. You put ’em on an’ come with us. -We’ll take your mind off of things complete. An’ as fer sweet dreams, -when you get back you’ll make the slumbers of the just seem as restless -as a riot, or the antics of a mountain-goat which nimbly leaps from crag -to crag, and—well, that’s restless enough. Come on!”</p> - -<p>As the sun slanted up out of Behring Sea, they marched back towards the -hills, their feet ankle-deep in the soft fresh moss, while the air -tasted like a cool draught and a myriad of earthy odors rose up and -encircled them. Snipe and reed birds were noisy in the hollows and from -the misty tundra lakes came the honking of brant. After their weary -weeks on shipboard,<a name="page_047" id="page_047"></a> the dewy freshness livened them magically, -cleansing from their memories the recent tragedy, so that the girl -became herself again.</p> - -<p>“Where are we going?” she asked, at the end of an hour, pausing for -breath.</p> - -<p>“Why, to the Midas, of course,” they said; and one of them vowed -recklessly, as he drank in the beauty of her clear eyes and the grace of -her slender, panting form, that he would gladly give his share of all -its riches to undo what he had done one night on the <i>Santa Maria</i>.<a name="page_048" id="page_048"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_V" id="CHAPTER_V"></a>CHAPTER V<br /><br /> -<small>WHEREIN A MAN APPEARS</small></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">I</span><b>N</b> the lives of countries there are crises where, for a breath, -destinies lie in the laps of the gods and are jumbled, heads or tails. -Thus are marked distinctive cycles like the seven ages of a man, and -though, perhaps, they are too subtle to be perceived at the time, yet, -having swung past the shadowy milestones, the epochs disclose -themselves.</p> - -<p>Such a period in the progress of the Far Northwest was the nineteenth -day of July, although to those concerned in the building of this new -empire the day appealed only as the date of the coming of the law. All -Nome gathered on the sands as lighters brought ashore Judge Stillman and -his following. It was held fitting that the <i>Senator</i> should be the ship -to safeguard the dignity of the first court and to introduce Justice -into this land of the wild.</p> - -<p>The interest awakened by His Honor was augmented by the fact that he was -met on the beach by a charming girl, who flung herself upon him with -evident delight.</p> - -<p>“That’s his niece,” said some one. “She came up on the first -boat—name’s Chester—swell looker, eh?”</p> - -<p>Another new-comer attracted even more notice than the limb of the law; a -gigantic, well-groomed man,<a name="page_049" id="page_049"></a> with keen, close-set eyes, and that -indefinable easy movement and polished bearing that come from -confidence, health, and travel. Unlike the others, he did not dally on -the beach nor display much interest in his surroundings; but, with -purposeful frown strode through the press, up into the heart of the -city. His companion was Struve’s partner, Dunham, a middle-aged, pompous -man. They went directly to the offices of Dunham & Struve, where they -found the white-haired junior partner.</p> - -<p>“Mighty glad to meet you, Mr. McNamara,” said Struve. “Your name is a -household word in my part of the country. My people were mixed up in -Dakota politics somewhat, so I’ve always had a great admiration for you -and I’m glad you’ve come to Alaska. This is a big country and we need -big men.”</p> - -<p>“Did you have any trouble?” Dunham inquired when the three had adjourned -to a private room.</p> - -<p>“Trouble,” said Struve, ruefully; “well, I wonder if I did. Miss Chester -brought me your instructions O. K. and I got busy right off. But, tell -me this—how did you get the girl to act as messenger?”</p> - -<p>“There was no one else to send,” answered McNamara. “Dunham intended -sailing on the first boat, but he was detained in Washington with me, -and the Judge had to wait for us at Seattle. We were afraid to trust a -stranger for fear he might get curious and examine the papers. That -would have meant—” He moved his hand eloquently.</p> - -<p>Struve nodded. “I see. Does she know what was in the documents?”</p> - -<p>“Decidedly not. Women and business don’t mix. I hope you didn’t tell her -anything.”<a name="page_050" id="page_050"></a></p> - -<p>“No; I haven’t had a chance. She seemed to take a dislike to me for some -reason. I haven’t seen her since the day after she got here.”</p> - -<p>“The Judge told her it had something to do with preparing the way for -his court,” said Dunham, “and that if the papers were not delivered -before he arrived it might cause a lot of trouble—litigation, riots, -bloodshed, and all that. He filled her up on generalities till the girl -was frightened to death and thought the safety of her uncle and the -whole country depended on her.”</p> - -<p>“Well,” continued Struve, “it’s dead easy to hire men to jump claims and -it’s dead easy to buy their rights afterwards, particularly when they -know they haven’t got any—but what course do you follow when owners go -gunning for you?”</p> - -<p>McNamara laughed.</p> - -<p>“Who did that?”</p> - -<p>“A benevolent, silver-haired old Texan pirate by the name of Dextry. -He’s one half owner in the Midas and the other half mountain-lion; as -peaceable, you’d imagine, as a benediction, but with the temperament of -a Geronimo. I sent Galloway out to relocate the claim, and he got his -notices up in the night when they were asleep, but at 6 <small>A.M.</small> he came -flying back to my room and nearly hammered the door down. I’ve seen -fright in varied forms and phases, but he had them all, with some added -starters.</p> - -<p>“ ‘Hide me out, quick!’ he panted.</p> - -<p>“ ‘What’s up?’ I asked.</p> - -<p>“ ‘I’ve stirred up a breakfast of grizzly bear, small-pox, and sudden -death and it don’t set well on my stummick. Let me in.’</p> - -<p>“I had to keep him hidden three days, for this<a name="page_051" id="page_051"></a> gentle-mannered old -cannibal roamed the streets with a cannon in his hand, breathing fire -and pestilence.”</p> - -<p>“Anybody else act up?” queried Dunham.</p> - -<p>“No; all the rest are Swedes and they haven’t got the nerve to fight. -They couldn’t lick a spoon if they tried. These other men are different, -though. There are two of them, the old one and a young fellow. I’m a -little afraid to mix it up with them, and if their claim wasn’t the best -in the district, I’d say let it alone.”</p> - -<p>“I’ll attend to that,” said McNamara.</p> - -<p>Struve resumed:</p> - -<p>“Yes, gentlemen, I’ve been working pretty hard and also pretty much in -the dark so far. I’m groping for light. When Miss Chester brought in the -papers I got busy instanter. I clouded the title to the richest placers -in the region, but I’m blamed if I quite see the use of it. We’d be -thrown out of any court in the land if we took them to law. What’s the -game—blackmail?”</p> - -<p>“Humph!” ejaculated McNamara. “What do you take me for?”</p> - -<p>“Well, it does seem small for Alec McNamara, but I can’t see what else -you’re up to.”</p> - -<p>“Within a week I’ll be running every good mine in the Nome district.”</p> - -<p>McNamara’s voice was calm but decisive, his glance keen and alert, while -about him clung such a breath of power and confidence that it compelled -belief even in the face of this astounding speech.</p> - -<p>In spite of himself, Wilton Struve, lawyer, rake, and gentlemanly -adventurer, felt his heart leap at what the other’s daring implied. The -proposition was utterly<a name="page_052" id="page_052"></a> past belief, and yet, looking into the man’s -purposeful eyes, he believed.</p> - -<p>“That’s big—awful big—<i>too</i> big,” the younger man murmured. “Why, man, -it means you’ll handle fifty thousand dollars a day!”</p> - -<p>Dunham shifted his feet in the silence and licked his dry lips.</p> - -<p>“Of course it’s big, but Mr. McNamara’s the biggest man that ever came -to Alaska,” he said.</p> - -<p>“And I’ve got the biggest scheme that ever came north, backed by the -biggest men in Washington,” continued the politician. “Look here!” He -displayed a type-written sheet bearing parallel lists of names and -figures. Struve gasped incredulously.</p> - -<p>“Those are my stockholders and that is their share in the venture. Oh, -yes; we’re incorporated—under the laws of Arizona—secret, of course; -it would never do for the names to get out. I’m showing you this only -because I want you to be satisfied who’s behind me.”</p> - -<p>“Lord! I’m satisfied,” said Struve, laughing nervously. “Dunham was with -you when you figured the scheme out and he met some of your friends in -Washington and New York. If he says it’s all right, that settles it. But -say, suppose anything went wrong with the company and it leaked out who -those stockholders are?”</p> - -<p>“There’s no danger. I have the books where they will be burned at the -first sign. We’d have had our own land laws passed but for Sturtevant of -Nevada, damn him. He blocked us in the Senate. However, my plan is -this.” He rapidly outlined his proposition to the listeners, while a -light of admiration grew and shone in the reckless face of Struve.<a name="page_053" id="page_053"></a></p> - -<p>“By heavens! you’re a wonder!” he cried, at the close, “and I’m with you -body and soul. It’s dangerous—that’s why I like it.”</p> - -<p>“Dangerous?” McNamara shrugged his shoulders. “Bah! Where is the danger? -We’ve got the law—or rather, we <i>are</i> the law. Now, let’s get to work.”</p> - -<p>It seemed that the Boss of North Dakota was no sluggard. He discarded -coat and waistcoat and tackled the documents which Struve laid before -him, going through them like a whirlwind. Gradually he infected the -others with his energy, and soon behind the locked doors of Dunham & -Struve there were only haste and fever and plot and intrigue.</p> - -<p> </p> - -<p>As Helen Chester led the Judge towards the flamboyant, three-storied -hotel she prattled to him light-heartedly. The fascination of a new land -already held her fast, and now she felt, in addition, security and -relief. Glenister saw them from a distance and strode forward to greet -them.</p> - -<p>He beheld a man of perhaps threescore years, benign of aspect save for -the eyes, which were neither clear nor steady, but had the trick of -looking past one. Glenister thought the mouth, too, rather weak and -vacillating; but the clean-shaven face was dignified by learning and -acumen and was wrinkled in pleasant fashion.</p> - -<p>“My niece has just told me of your service to her,” the old gentleman -began. “I am happy to know you, sir.”</p> - -<p>“Besides being a brave knight and assisting ladies in distress, Mr. -Glenister is a very great and wonderful man,” Helen explained, lightly. -“He owns the Midas.”<a name="page_054" id="page_054"></a></p> - -<p>“Indeed!” said the old man, his shifting eyes now resting full on the -other with a flash of unmistakable interest. “I hear that is a wonderful -mine. Have you begun work yet?”</p> - -<p>“No. We’ll commence sluicing day after to-morrow. It has been a late -spring. The snow in the gulch was deep and the ground thaws slowly. -We’ve been building houses and doing dead work, but we’ve got our men on -the ground, waiting.”</p> - -<p>“I am greatly interested. Won’t you walk with us to the hotel? I want to -hear more about these wonderful placers.”</p> - -<p>“Well, they <i>are</i> great placers,” said the miner, as the three walked on -together; “nobody knows <i>how</i> great because we’ve only scratched at them -yet. In the first place the ground is so shallow and the gold is so easy -to get, that if nature didn’t safeguard us in the winter we’d never dare -leave our claims for fear of ‘snipers.’ They’d run in and rob us.”</p> - -<p>“How much will the Anvil Creek mines produce this summer?” asked the -Judge.</p> - -<p>“It’s hard to tell, sir; but we expect to average five thousand a day -from the Midas alone, and there are other claims just as good.”</p> - -<p>“Your title is all clear, I dare say, eh?”</p> - -<p>“Absolutely, except for one jumper, and we don’t take him seriously. A -fellow named Galloway relocated us one night last month, but he didn’t -allege any grounds for doing so, and we could never find trace of him. -If we had, our title would be as clean as snow again.” He said the last -with a peculiar inflection.</p> - -<p>“You wouldn’t use violence, I trust?”<a name="page_055" id="page_055"></a></p> - -<p>“Sure! Why not? It has worked all right heretofore.”</p> - -<p>“But, my dear sir, those days are gone. The law is here and it is the -duty of every one to abide by it.”</p> - -<p>“Well, perhaps it is; but in this country we consider a man’s mine as -sacred as his family. We didn’t know what a lock and key were in the -early times and we didn’t have any troubles except famine and hardship. -It’s different now, though. Why, there have been more claims jumped -around here this spring than in the whole length and history of the -Yukon.”</p> - -<p>They had reached the hotel, and Glenister paused, turning to the girl as -the Judge entered. When she started to follow, he detained her.</p> - -<p>“I came down from the hills on purpose to see you. It has been a long -week—”</p> - -<p>“Don’t talk that way,” she interrupted, coldly. “I don’t care to hear -it.”</p> - -<p>“See here—what makes you shut me out and wrap yourself up in your -haughtiness? I’m sorry for what I did that night—I’ve told you so -repeatedly. I’ve wrung my soul for that act till there’s nothing left -but repentance.”</p> - -<p>“It is not that,” she said, slowly. “I have been thinking it over during -the past month, and now that I have gained an insight into this life I -see that it wasn’t an unnatural thing for you to do. It’s terrible to -think of, but it’s true. I don’t mean that it was pardonable,” she -continued, quickly, “for it wasn’t, and I hate you when I think about -it, but I suppose I put myself into a position to invite such actions. -No; I’m sufficiently broad-minded not to blame you unreasonably, and I -think I could like you in spite of it, just for what you<a name="page_056" id="page_056"></a> have done for -me; but that isn’t all. There is something deeper. You saved my life and -I’m grateful, but you frighten me, always. It is the cruelty in your -strength, it is something away back in you—lustful, and ferocious, and -wild, and crouching.”</p> - -<p>He smiled wryly.</p> - -<p>“It is my local color, maybe—absorbed from this country. I’ll try to -change, though, if you want me to. I’ll let them rope and throw and -brand me. I’ll take on the graces of civilization and put away revenge -and ambition and all the rest of it, if it will make you like me any -better. Why, I’ll even promise not to violate the person of our -claim-jumper if I catch him; and Heaven knows <i>that</i> means that Samson -has parted with his locks.”</p> - -<p>“I think I could like you if you did,” she said, “but you can’t do it. -You are a savage.”</p> - -<p> </p> - -<p>There are no clubs nor marts where men foregather for business in the -North—nothing but the saloon, and this is all and more than a club. -Here men congregate to drink, to gamble, and to traffic.</p> - -<p>It was late in the evening when Glenister entered the Northern and -passed idly down the row of games, pausing at the crap-table, where he -rolled the dice when his turn came. Moving to the roulette-wheel, he -lost a stack of whites, but at the faro “lay-out” his luck was better, -and he won a gold coin on the “high-card.” Whereupon he promptly ordered -a round of drinks for the men grouped about him, a formality always -precedent to overtures of general friendship.</p> - -<p>As he paused, glass in hand, his eyes were drawn to a man who stood -close by, talking earnestly. The aspect<a name="page_057" id="page_057"></a> of the stranger challenged -notice, for he stood high above his companions with a peculiar grace of -attitude in place of the awkwardness common in men of great stature. -Among those who were listening intently to the man’s carefully modulated -tones, Glenister recognized Mexico Mullins, the ex-gambler who had given -Dextry the warning at Unalaska. As he further studied the listening -group, a drunken man staggered uncertainly through the wide doors of the -saloon and, gaining sight of the tall stranger, blinked, then approached -him, speaking with a loud voice:</p> - -<p>“Well, if ’tain’t ole Alec McNamara! How do, ye ole pirate!”</p> - -<p>McNamara nodded and turned his back coolly upon the new-comer.</p> - -<p>“Don’t turn your dorsal fin to me; I wan’ to talk to ye.”</p> - -<p>McNamara continued his calm discourse till he received a vicious whack -on the shoulder; then he turned for a moment to interrupt his -assailant’s garrulous profanity:</p> - -<p>“Don’t bother me. I am engaged.”</p> - -<p>“Ye won’ talk to me, eh? Well, I’m goin’ to talk to <i>you</i>, see? I guess -you’d listen if I told these people all I know about you. Turn around -here.”</p> - -<p>His voice was menacing and attracted general notice. Observing this, -McNamara addressed him, his words dropping clear, concise, and cold:</p> - -<p>“Don’t talk to me. You are a drunken nuisance. Go away before something -happens to you.”</p> - -<p>Again he turned away, but the drunken man seized and whirled him about, -repeating his abuse, encouraged by this apparent patience.<a name="page_058" id="page_058"></a></p> - -<p>“Your pardon for an instant, gentlemen.” McNamara laid a large white and -manicured hand upon the flannel sleeve of the miner and gently escorted -him through the entrance to the sidewalk, while the crowd smiled.</p> - -<p>As they cleared the threshold, however, he clenched his fist without a -word and, raising it, struck the sot fully and cruelly upon the jaw. His -victim fell silently, the back of his head striking the boards with a -hollow thump; then, without even observing how he lay, McNamara -re-entered the saloon and took up his conversation where he had been -interrupted. His voice was as evenly regulated as his movements, -betraying not a sign of anger, excitement, or bravado. He lit a -cigarette, extracted a note-book, and jotted down certain memoranda -supplied him by Mexico Mullins.</p> - -<p>All this time the body lay across the threshold without a sign of life. -The buzz of the roulette-wheel was resumed and the crap-dealer began his -monotonous routine. Every eye was fixed on the nonchalant man at the -bar, but the unconscious creature outside the threshold lay unheeded, -for in these men’s code it behooves the most humane to practise a -certain aloofness in the matter of private brawls.</p> - -<p>Having completed his notes, McNamara shook hands gravely with his -companions and strode out through the door, past the bulk that sprawled -across his path, and, without pause or glance, disappeared.</p> - -<p>A dozen willing, though unsympathetic, hands laid the drunkard on the -roulette-table, where the bartender poured pitcher upon pitcher of water -over him.</p> - -<p>“He ain’t hurt none to speak of,” said a bystander; then added, with -enthusiasm:</p> - -<p>“But say! There’s a <i>man</i> in this here camp!”<a name="page_059" id="page_059"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VI" id="CHAPTER_VI"></a>CHAPTER VI<br /><br /> -<small>AND A MINE IS JUMPED</small></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">“W</span><span class="smcap">ho’s</span> your new shift boss?” Glenister inquired of his partner, a few -days later, indicating a man in the cut below, busied in setting a line -of sluices.</p> - -<p>“That’s old ‘Slapjack’ Simms, friend of mine from up Dawson way.”</p> - -<p>Glenister laughed immoderately, for the object was unusually tall and -loose-jointed, and wore a soiled suit of yellow mackinaw. He had laid -off his coat, and now the baggy, bilious trousers hung precariously from -his angular shoulders by suspenders of alarming frailty. His legs were -lost in gum boots, also loose and cavernous, and his entire costume -looked relaxed and flapping, so that he gave the impression of being -able to shake himself out of his raiment, and to rise like a burlesque -Aphrodite. His face was overgrown with a grizzled tangle that looked as -though it had been trimmed with button-hole scissors, while above the -brush heap grandly soared a shiny, dome-like head.</p> - -<p>“Has he always been bald?”</p> - -<p>“Naw! He ain’t bald at all. He shaves his nob. In the early days he wore -a long flowin’ mane which was inhabited by crickets, tree-toads, and -such fauna. It got to be a hobby with him finally, so that he growed -superstitious about goin’ uncurried, and would back<a name="page_060" id="page_060"></a> into a corner with -both guns drawed if a barber came near him. But once Hank—that’s his -real name—undertook to fry some slapjacks, and in givin’ the skillet a -heave, the dough lit among his forest primeval, jest back of his ears, -soft side down. Hank polluted the gulch with langwidge which no man had -ought to keep in himself without it was fumigated. Disreppitableness -oozed out through him like sweat through an ice-pitcher, an’ since then -he’s been known as Slapjack Simms, an’ has kept his head shingled smooth -as a gun bar’l. He’s a good miner, though; ain’t none better—an’ square -as a die.”</p> - -<p>Sluicing had begun on the Midas. Long sinuous lengths of canvas hose -wound down the creek bottom from the dam, like gigantic serpents, while -the roll of gravel through the flumes mingled musically with the rush of -waters, the tinkle of tools, and the song of steel on rock. There were -four “strings” of boxes abreast, and the heaving line of shovellers ate -rapidly into the creek bed, while teams with scrapers splashed through -the tail races in an atmosphere of softened profanity. In the big white -tents which sat back from the bluffs, fifty men of the night shift were -asleep; for there is no respite here—no night, no Sunday, no halt, -during the hundred days in which the Northland lends herself to pillage.</p> - -<p>The mine lay cradled between wonderful, mossy, willow-mottled mountains, -while above and below the gulch was dotted with tents and huts, and -everywhere, from basin to hill crest, men dug and blasted, punily, -patiently, while their tracks grew daily plainer over the face of this -inscrutable wilderness.</p> - -<p>A great contentment filled the two partners as they<a name="page_061" id="page_061"></a> looked on this -scene. To wrest from reluctant earth her richest treasures, to add to -the wealth of the world, to create—here was satisfaction.</p> - -<p>“We ain’t robbin’ no widders an’ orphans doin’ it, neither,” Dextry -suddenly remarked, expressing his partner’s feelings closely. They -looked at each other and smiled with that rare understanding that -exceeds words.</p> - -<p>Descending into the cut, the old man filled a gold-pan with dirt taken -from under the feet of the workers, and washed it in a puddle, while the -other watched his dexterous whirling motions. When he had finished, they -poked the stream of yellow grains into a pile, then, with heads -together, guessed its weight, laughing again delightedly, in perfect -harmony and contentment.</p> - -<p>“I’ve been waitin’ a turrible time fer this day,” said the elder. “I’ve -suffered the plagues of prospectin’ from the Mexicos to the Circle, an’ -yet I don’t begretch it none, now that I’ve struck pay.”</p> - -<p>While they spoke, two miners struggled with a bowlder they had -unearthed, and having scraped and washed it carefully, staggered back to -place it on the cleaned bed-rock behind. One of them slipped, and it -crashed against a brace which held the sluices in place. These boxes -stand more than a man’s height above the bed-rock, resting on supporting -posts and running full of water. Should a sluice fall, the rushing -stream carries out the gold which has lodged in the riffles and floods -the bed-rock, raising havoc. Too late the partners saw the string of -boxes sway and bend at the joint. Then, before they could reach the -threatened spot to support it, Slapjack Simms, with a shriek, plunged -flapping down into the cut and seized the flume.<a name="page_062" id="page_062"></a> His great height stood -him in good stead now, for where the joint had opened, water poured -forth in a cataract. He dived under the breach unhesitatingly and, -stooping, lifted the line as near to its former level as possible, -holding the entire burden upon his naked pate. He gesticulated wildly -for help, while over him poured the deluge of icy, muddy water. It -entered his gaping waistband, bulging out his yellow trousers till they -were fat and full and the seams were bursting, while his yawning -boot-tops became as boiling springs. Meanwhile he chattered forth -profanity in such volume that the ear ached under it as must have ached -the heroic Slapjack under the chill of the melting snow. He was relieved -quickly, however, and emerged triumphant, though blue and puckered, his -wilderness of whiskers streaming like limber stalactites, his boots -loosely “squishing,” while oaths still poured from him in such profusion -that Dextry whispered:</p> - -<p>“Ain’t he a ring-tailed wonder? It’s plumb solemn an’ reverent the way -he makes them untamed cuss-words sit up an’ beg. It’s a privilege to be -present. That’s a <i>gift</i>, that is.”</p> - -<p>“You’d better get some dry clothes,” they suggested, and Slapjack -proceeded a few paces towards the tents, hobbling as though treading on -pounded glass.</p> - -<p>“Ow—w!” he yelled. “These blasted boots is full of gravel.”</p> - -<p>He seated himself and tugged at his foot till the boot came away with a -sucking sound, then, instead of emptying the accumulation at random, he -poured the contents into Dextry’s empty gold-pan, rinsing it out -carefully. The other boot he emptied likewise. They held a surprising -amount of sediment, because<a name="page_063" id="page_063"></a> the stream that had emerged from the crack -in the sluices had carried with it pebbles, sand, and all the -concentration of the riffles at this point. Standing directly beneath -the cataract, most of it had dived fairly into his inviting waistband, -following down the lines of least resistance into his boot-legs and -boiling out at the knees.</p> - -<p>“Wash that,” he said. “You’re apt to get a prospect.”</p> - -<p>With artful passes Dextry settled it in the pan bottom and washed away -the gravel, leaving a yellow, glittering pile which raised a yell from -the men who had lingered curiously.</p> - -<p>“He pans forty dollars to the boot-leg,” one shouted.</p> - -<p>“How much do you run to the foot, Slapjack?”</p> - -<p>“He’s a reg’lar free-milling ledge.”</p> - -<p>“No, he ain’t—he’s too thin. He’s nothing but a stringer, but he’ll pay -to work.”</p> - -<p>The old miner grinned toothlessly.</p> - -<p>“Gentlemen, there ain’t no better way to save fine gold than with -undercurrents an’ blanket riffles. I’ll have to wash these garments of -mine an’ clean up the soapsuds ’cause there’s a hundred dollars in -gold-dust clingin’ to my person this minute.” He went dripping up the -bank, while the men returned to their work singing.</p> - -<p>After lunch Dextry saddled his bronco.</p> - -<p>“I’m goin’ to town for a pair of gold-scales, but I’ll be back by -supper, then we’ll clean up between shifts. She’d ought to give us a -thousand ounces, the way that ground prospects.” He loped down the -gulch, while his partner returned to the pit, the flashing shovel<a name="page_064" id="page_064"></a> -blades, and the rumbling undertone of the big workings that so -fascinated him.</p> - -<p>It was perhaps four o’clock when he was aroused from his labors by a -shout from the bunk-tent, where a group of horsemen had clustered. As -Glenister drew near, he saw among them Wilton Struve, the lawyer, and -the big, well-dressed tenderfoot of the Northern—McNamara—the man of -the heavy hand. Struve straightway engaged him.</p> - -<p>“Say, Glenister, we’ve come out to see about the title to this claim.”</p> - -<p>“What about it?”</p> - -<p>“Well, it was relocated about a month ago.” He paused.</p> - -<p>“Yes. What of that?”</p> - -<p>“Galloway has commenced suit.”</p> - -<p>“The ground belongs to Dextry and me. We discovered it, we opened it up, -we’ve complied with the law, and we’re going to hold it.” Glenister -spoke with such conviction and heat as to nonplus Struve, but McNamara, -who had sat his horse silently until now, answered:</p> - -<p>“Certainly, sir; if your title is good you will be protected, but the -law has arrived in Alaska and we’ve got to let it take its course. -There’s no need of violence—none whatever—but, briefly, the situation -is this: Mr. Galloway has commenced action against you; the court has -enjoined you from working and has appointed me as receiver to operate -the mine until the suit is settled. It’s an extraordinary procedure, of -course, but the conditions are extraordinary in this country. The season -is so short that it would be unjust to the rightful owner if the claim -lay idle all summer—so, to avoid that, I’ve<a name="page_065" id="page_065"></a> been put in charge, with -instructions to operate it and preserve the proceeds subject to the -court’s order. Mr. Voorhees here is the United States Marshal. He will -serve the papers.”</p> - -<p>Glenister threw up his hand in a gesture of restraint.</p> - -<p>“Hold on! Do you mean to tell me that any court would recognize such a -claim as Galloway’s?”</p> - -<p>“The law recognizes everything. If his grounds are no good, so much the -better for you.”</p> - -<p>“You can’t put in a receiver without notice to us. Why, good Lord! we -never heard of a suit being commenced. We’ve never even been served with -a summons and we haven’t had a chance to argue in our own defence.”</p> - -<p>“I have just said that this is a remarkable state of affairs and unusual -action had to be taken,” McNamara replied, but the young miner grew -excited.</p> - -<p>“Look here—this gold won’t get away. It’s safe in the ground. We’ll -knock off work and let the claim lie idle till the thing is settled. You -can’t really expect us to surrender possession of our mine on the mere -allegation of some unknown man. That’s ridiculous. We won’t do it. Why, -you’ll have to let us argue our case, at least, before you try to put us -off.”</p> - -<p>Voorhees shook his head. “We’ll have to follow instructions. The thing -for you to do is to appear before the court to-morrow and have the -receiver dismissed. If your title is as good as you say it is, you won’t -have any trouble.”</p> - -<p>“You’re not the only ones to suffer,” added McNamara. “We’ve taken -possession of all the mines below here.” He nodded down the gulch. “I’m -an officer of the court and under bond<a name="page_066" id="page_066"></a>—”</p> - -<p>“How much?”</p> - -<p>“Five thousand dollars for each claim.”</p> - -<p>“What! Why, heavens, man, the poorest of these mines is producing that -much every day!”</p> - -<p>While he spoke, Glenister was rapidly debating what course to follow.</p> - -<p>“The place to argue this thing is before Judge Stillman,” said -Struve—but with little notion of the conflict going on within -Glenister. The youth yearned to fight—not with words nor quibbles nor -legal phrases, but with steel and blows. And he felt that the impulse -was as righteous as it was natural, for he knew this process was unjust, -an outrage. Mexico Mullins’s warning recurred to him. And yet—. He -shifted slowly as he talked till his back was to the door of the big -tent. They were watching him carefully, for all their apparent languor -and looseness in saddle; then as he started to leap within and rally his -henchmen, his mind went back to the words of Judge Stillman and his -niece. Surely that old man was on the square. He couldn’t be otherwise -with her beside him, believing in him; and a suspicion of deeper plots -behind these actions was groundless. So far, all was legal, he supposed, -with his scant knowledge of law; though the methods seemed unreasonable. -The men might be doing what they thought to be right. Why be the first -to resist? The men on the mines below had not done so. The title to this -ground was capable of such easy proof that he and Dex need have no -uneasiness. Courts do not rob honest people nowadays, he argued, and -moreover, perhaps the girl’s words were true, perhaps she <i>would</i> think -more of him if he gave up the old fighting ways for her sake. Certainly -armed resistance to her uncle’s first edict<a name="page_067" id="page_067"></a> would not please her. She -had said he was too violent, so he would show her he could lay his -savagery aside. She might smile on him approvingly, and that was Worth -taking a chance for—anyway it would mean but a few days’ delay in the -mine’s run. As he reasoned he heard a low voice speaking within the open -door. It was Slapjack Simms.</p> - -<p>“Step aside, lad. I’ve got the big uncovered.”</p> - -<p>Glenister saw the men on horseback snatch at their holsters, and, just -in time, leaped at his foreman, for the old man had moved out into the -open, a Winchester at shoulder, his cheek cuddling the stock, his eyes -cold and narrow. The young man flung the barrel up and wrenched the -weapon from his hands.</p> - -<p>“None of that, Hank!” he cried, sharply. “I’ll say when to shoot.” He -turned to look into the muzzles of guns held in the hands of every -horseman—every horseman save one, for Alec McNamara sat unmoved, his -handsome features, nonchalant and amused, nodding approval. It was at -him that Hank’s weapon had been levelled.</p> - -<p>“This is bad enough at the best. Don’t let’s make it any worse,” said -he.</p> - -<p>Slapjack inhaled deeply, spat with disgust, and looked over his boss -incredulously.</p> - -<p>“Well, of all the different kinds of damn fools,” he snorted, “you are -the kindest.” He marched past the marshal and his deputies down to the -cut, put on his coat, and vanished down the trail towards town, not -deigning a backward glance either at the mine or at the man unfit to -fight for.<a name="page_068" id="page_068"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VII" id="CHAPTER_VII"></a>CHAPTER VII<br /><br /> -<small>THE “BRONCO KID’S” EAVESDROPPING</small></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">L</span><b>ATE</b> in July it grows dark as midnight approaches, so that the many -lights from doorway and window seem less garish and strange than they do -a month earlier. In the Northern there was good business doing. The new -bar fixtures, which had cost a king’s ransom, or represented the one -night’s losings of a Klondike millionaire, shone rich, dark, and -enticing, while the cut glass sparkled with iridescent hues, reflecting, -in a measure, the prismatic moods, the dancing spirits of the crowd that -crushed past, halting at the gambling games, or patronizing the theatre -in the rear. The old bar furniture, brought down by dog team from “Up -River,” was established at the rear extremity of the long building, just -inside the entrance to the dance-hall, where patrons of the drama might, -with a modicum of delay and inconvenience, quaff as deeply of the beaker -as of the ballet.</p> - -<p>Now, however, the show had closed, the hall had been cleared of chairs -and canvas, exposing a glassy, tempting surface, and the orchestra had -moved to the stage. They played a rollicking, blood-stirring two-step, -while the floor swam with dancers.</p> - -<p>At certain intervals the musicians worked feverishly up to a crashing -crescendo, supported by the voices of<a name="page_069" id="page_069"></a> the dancers, until all joined at -the top note in a yell, while the drummer fired a .44 Colt into a box of -wet sawdust beside his chair—all in time, all in the swinging spirit of -the tune.</p> - -<p>The men, who were mostly young, danced like college boys, while the -women, who were all young and good dancers, floated through the measures -with the ease of rose-leaves on a summer stream. Faces were flushed, -eyes were bright, and but rarely a voice sounded that was not glad. Most -of the noise came from the men, and although one caught, here and there, -a hint of haggard lines about the girlish faces, and glimpsed occasional -eyes that did not smile, yet as a whole the scene was one of genuine -enjoyment.</p> - -<p>Suddenly the music ceased and the couples crowded to the bar. The women -took harmless drinks; the men, mostly whiskey. Rarely was the choice of -potations criticised, though occasionally some ruddy eschewer of -sobriety insisted that his lady “take the same,” avowing that “hootch,” -having been demonstrated beneficial in his case, was good for her also. -Invariably the lady accepted without dispute, and invariably the man -failed to note her glance at the bartender, or the silent substitution -by that capable person of ginger-ale for whiskey or of plain water for -gin. In turn, the mixers collected one dollar from each man, flipping to -the girl a metal percentage-check which she added to her store. In the -curtained boxes overhead, men bought bottles with foil about the corks, -and then subterfuge on the lady’s part was idle, but, on the other hand, -she was able to pocket for each bottle a check redeemable at five -dollars.</p> - -<p>A stranger, straight from the East, would have remarked<a name="page_070" id="page_070"></a> first upon the -good music, next upon the good looks of the women, and then upon the -shabby clothes of the men—for some of them were in “mukluk,” others in -sweaters with huge initials and winged emblems, and all were collarless.</p> - -<p>Outside in the main gambling-room there were but few women. Men crowded -in dense masses about the faro lay-out, the wheel, craps, the Klondike -game, pangingi, and the card-tables. They talked of business, of home, -of women, bought and sold mines, and bartered all things from hams to -honor. The groomed and clean, the unkempt and filthy jostled shoulder to -shoulder, equally affected by the license of the gold-fields and the -exhilaration of the New. The mystery of the North had touched them all. -The glad, bright wine of adventure filled their veins, and they spoke -mightily of things they had resolved to do, or recounted with simple -diffidence the strange stories of their accomplishment.</p> - -<p>The “Bronco Kid,” familiar from Atlin to Nome as the best “bank” dealer -on the Yukon, worked the shift from eight till two. He was a slender man -of thirty, dexterous in movement, slow to smile, soft of voice, and -known as a living flame among women. He had dealt the biggest games of -the early days, and had no enemies. Yet, though many called him friend, -they wondered inwardly.</p> - -<p>It was a strong play the Kid had to-night, for Swede Sam, of Dawson, -ventured many stacks of yellow chips, and he was a quick, aggressive -gambler. A Jew sat at the king end with ten neatly creased -one-thousand-dollar bills before him, together with piles of smaller -currency. He adventured viciously and without system,<a name="page_071" id="page_071"></a> while outsiders -to the number of four or five cut in sporadically with small bets. The -game was difficult to follow; consequently the lookout, from his raised -dais, was leaning forward, chin in hand, while the group was hedged -about by eager on-lookers.</p> - -<p>Faro is a closed book to most people, for its intricacies are confusing. -Lucky is he who has never persevered in solving its mysteries nor -speculated upon the “systems” of beating it. From those who have learned -it, the game demands practice, dexterity, and coolness. The dealer must -run the cards, watch the many shifting bets, handle the neatly piled -checks, figure, lightning-like, the profits and losses. It was his -unerring, clock like regularity in this that had won the Kid his -reputation. This night his powers were taxed. He dealt silently, -scowlingly, his long white fingers nervously caressing the cards.</p> - -<p>This preoccupation prevented his noticing the rustle and stir of a -new-comer who had crowded up behind him, until he caught the wondering -glances of those in front and saw that the Israelite was staring past -him, his money forgotten, his eyes beady and sharp, his ratlike teeth -showing in a grin of admiration. Swede Sam glared from under his unkempt -shock and felt uncertainly towards the open collar of his flannel shirt -where a kerchief should have been. The men who were standing gazed at -the new-comer, some with surprise, others with a half smile of -recognition.</p> - -<p>Bronco glanced quickly over his shoulder, and as he did so the breath -caught in his throat—but for only an instant. A girl stood so close -beside him that the lace of her gown brushed his sleeve. He was -shuffling at the moment and dropped a card, then nodded to her,<a name="page_072" id="page_072"></a> -speaking quietly, as he stooped to regain the pasteboard:</p> - -<p>“Howdy, Cherry?”</p> - -<p>She did not answer—only continued to look at the “lay-out.” “What a -woman!” he thought. She was not too tall, with smoothly rounded bust and -hips, and long waist, all well displayed by her perfectly fitting -garments. Her face was oval, the mouth rather large, the eyes of dark, -dark-blue, prominently outlined under thin, silken lids. Her dull-gold -hair was combed low over the ears, and her smile showed rows of -sparkling teeth before it dived into twin dimples. Strangest of all, it -was an innocent face, the face and smile of a school-girl.</p> - -<p>The Kid finished his shuffling awkwardly and slid the cards into the -box. Then the woman spoke:</p> - -<p>“Let me have your place, Bronco.”</p> - -<p>The men gasped, the Jew snickered, the lookout straightened in his -chair.</p> - -<p>“Better not. It’s a hard game,” said the Kid, but her voice was -imperious as she commanded him:</p> - -<p>“Hurry up. Give me your place.”</p> - -<p>Bronco arose, whereupon she settled in his chair, tucked in her skirts, -removed her gloves, and twisted into place the diamonds on her hands.</p> - -<p>“What the devil’s this?” said the lookout, roughly. “Are you drunk, -Bronco? Get out of that chair, miss.”</p> - -<p>She turned to him slowly. The innocence had fled from her features and -the big eyes flashed warningly. A change had coarsened her like a puff -of air on a still pool. Then, while she stared at him, her lids drooped -dangerously and her lip curled.<a name="page_073" id="page_073"></a></p> - -<p>“Throw him out, Bronco,” she said, and her tones held the hardness of a -mistress to her slave.</p> - -<p>“That’s all right,” the Kid reassured the lookout. “She’s a better -dealer than I am. This is Cherry Malotte.”</p> - -<p>Without noticing the stares this evoked, the girl commenced. Her hands, -beautifully soft and white, flashed over the board. She dealt rapidly, -unfalteringly, with the finish of one bred to the cards, handling chips -and coppers with the peculiar mannerisms that spring from long practice. -It was seen that she never looked at her check-rack, but, when a bet -required paying, picked up a stack without turning her head; and they -saw further that she never reached twice, nor took a large pile and -sized it up against its mate, removing the extra disks, as is the -custom. When she stretched forth her hand she grasped the right number -unerringly. This is considered the acme of professional finish, and the -Bronco Kid smiled delightedly as he saw the wonder spread from the -lookout to the spectators and heard the speech of the men who stood on -chairs and tables for sight of the woman dealer.</p> - -<p>For twenty minutes she continued, until the place became congested, and -never once did the lookout detect an error.</p> - -<p>While she was busy, Glenister entered the front-door and pushed his way -back towards the theatre. He was worried and distrait, his manner -perturbed and unnatural. Silently and without apparent notice he passed -friends who greeted him.</p> - -<p>“What ails Glenister to-night?” asked a by-stander. “He acts funny.”<a name="page_074" id="page_074"></a></p> - -<p>“Ain’t you heard? Why, the Midas has been jumped. He’s in a bad way—all -broke up.”</p> - -<p>The girl suddenly ceased without finishing the deck, and arose.</p> - -<p>“Don’t stop,” said the Kid, while a murmur of dismay came from the -spectators. She only shook her head and drew on her gloves with a show -of ennui.</p> - -<p>Gliding through the crowd, she threaded about aimlessly, the recipient -of many stares though but few greetings, speaking with no one, a certain -dignity serving her as a barrier even here. She stopped a waiter and -questioned him.</p> - -<p>“He’s up-stairs in a gallery box.”</p> - -<p>“Alone?”</p> - -<p>“Yes’m. Anyhow, he was a minute ago, unless some of the rustlers has -broke in on him.”</p> - -<p>A moment later Glenister, watching the scene below, was aroused from his -gloomy absorption by the click of the box door and the rustle of silken -skirts.</p> - -<p>“Go out, please,” he said, without turning. “I don’t want company.” -Hearing no answer, he began again, “I came here to be alone”—but there -he ceased, for the girl had come forward and laid her two hot hands upon -his cheeks.</p> - -<p>“Boy,” she breathed—and he arose swiftly.</p> - -<p>“Cherry! When did you come?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, <i>days</i> ago,” she said, impatiently, “from Dawson. They told me you -had struck it. I stood it as long as I could—then I came to you. Now, -tell me about yourself. Let me see you first, quick!”</p> - -<p>She pulled him towards the light and gazed upward, devouring him -hungrily with her great, languorous eyes.<a name="page_075" id="page_075"></a></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/facing074_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/facing074_sml.jpg" width="288" height="450" alt="“WELL,” SHE SAID. “KISS ME!”" /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">“WELL,” SHE SAID. “KISS ME!”</span> -</div> - -<p>She held to his coat lapels, standing close beside him, her warm breath -beating up into his face.</p> - -<p>“Well,” she said, “kiss me!”</p> - -<p>He took her wrists in his and loosed her hold, then looked down on her -gravely and said:</p> - -<p>“No—that’s all over. I told you so when I left Dawson.”</p> - -<p>“All over! Oh no, it isn’t, boy. You think so, but it isn’t—it can’t -be. I love you too much to let you go.”</p> - -<p>“Hush!” said he. “There are people in the next box.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t care! Let them hear,” she cried, with feminine recklessness. -“I’m proud of my love for you. I’ll tell it to them—to the whole -world.”</p> - -<p>“Now, see here, little girl,” he said, quietly, “we had a long talk in -Dawson and agreed that it was best to divide our ways. I was mad over -you once, as a good many other men have been, but I came to my senses. -Nothing could ever result from it, and I told you so.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, yes—I know. I thought I could give you up, but I didn’t realize -till you had gone how I wanted you. Oh, it’s been a <i>torture</i> to me -every day for the past two years.” There was no semblance now to the -cold creature she had appeared upon entering the gambling-hall. She -spoke rapidly, her whole body tense with emotion, her voice shaken with -passion. “I’ve seen men and men and men, and they’ve loved me, but I -never cared for anybody in the world till I saw you. They ran after me, -but you were cold. You made me come to you. Perhaps that was it. Anyhow, -I can’t stand it. I’ll give up everything—I’ll do anything<a name="page_076" id="page_076"></a> just to be -where you are. What do you think of a woman who will beg? Oh, I’ve lost -my pride—I’m a fool—a fool—but I can’t help it.”</p> - -<p>“I’m sorry you feel this way,” said Glenister. “It isn’t my fault, and -it isn’t of any use.”</p> - -<p>For an instant she stood quivering, while the light died out of her -face; then, with a characteristic change, she smiled till the dimples -laughed in her cheeks. She sank upon a seat beside him and pulled -together the curtains, shutting out the sight below.</p> - -<p>“Very well”—then she put his hand to her cheek and cuddled it. “I’m -glad to see you just the same, and you can’t keep me from loving you.”</p> - -<p>With his other hand he smoothed her hair, while, unknown to him and -beneath her lightness, she shrank and quivered at his touch like a -Barbary steed under the whip.</p> - -<p>“Things are very bad with me,” he said. “We’ve had our mine jumped.”</p> - -<p>“Bah! You know what to do. You aren’t a cripple—you’ve got five fingers -on your gun hand.”</p> - -<p>“That’s it! They all tell me that—all the old-timers; but I don’t know -what to do. I thought I did—but I don’t. The law has come into this -country and I’ve tried to meet it half-way. They jumped us and put in a -receiver—a big man—by the name of McNamara. Dex wasn’t there and I let -them do it. When the old man learned of it he nearly went crazy. We had -our first quarrel. He thought I was afraid—”</p> - -<p>“Not he,” said the girl. “I know him and he knows you.”</p> - -<p>“That was a week ago. We’ve hired the best lawyer in Nome—Bill -Wheaton—and we’ve tried to have<a name="page_077" id="page_077"></a> the injunction removed. We’ve offered -bond in any sum, but the Judge refuses to accept it. We’ve argued for -leave to appeal, but he won’t give us the right. The more I look into it -the worse it seems, for the court wasn’t convened in accordance with -law, we weren’t notified to appear in our own behalf, we weren’t allowed -a chance to argue our own case—nothing. They simply slapped on a -receiver, and now they refuse to allow us redress. From a legal -stand-point, it’s appalling, I’m told; but what’s to be done? What’s the -game? That’s the thing. What are they up to? I’m nearly out of my mind, -for it’s all my fault. I didn’t think it meant anything like this or I’d -have made a fight for possession and stood them off at least. As it is, -my partner’s sore and he’s gone to drinking—first time in twelve years. -He says I gave the claim away, and now it’s up to me and the Almighty to -get it back. If he gets full he’ll drive a four-horse wagon into some -church, or go up and pick the Judge to pieces with his fingers to see -what makes him go round.”</p> - -<p>“What’ve they got against you and Dextry—some grudge?” she questioned.</p> - -<p>“No, no! We’re not the only ones in trouble; they’ve jumped the rest of -the good mines and put this McNamara in as receiver on all of them, but -that’s small comfort. The Swedes are crazy; they’ve hired all the -lawyers in town, and are murdering more good American language than -would fill Bering Strait. Dex is in favor of getting our friends -together and throwing the receiver off. He wants to kill somebody, but -we can’t do that. They’ve got the soldiers to fall back on. We’ve been -warned that the troops are instructed to enforce the court’s action. I -don’t know what the plot<a name="page_078" id="page_078"></a> is, for I can’t believe the old Judge is -crooked—the girl wouldn’t let him.”</p> - -<p>“Girl?”</p> - -<p>Cherry Malotte leaned forward where the light shone on the young man’s -worried face.</p> - -<p>“The girl? What girl? Who is she?”</p> - -<p>Her voice had lost its lazy caress, her lips had thinned. Never was a -woman’s face more eloquent, mused Glenister as he noted her. Every -thought fled to this window to peer forth, fearful, lustful, hateful, as -the case might be. He had loved to play with her in the former days, to -work upon her passions and watch the changes, to note her features -mirror every varying emotion from tenderness to flippancy, from anger to -delight, and, at his bidding, to see the pale cheeks glow with love’s -fire, the eyes grow heavy, the dainty lips invite kisses. Cherry was a -perfect little spoiled animal, he reflected, and a very dangerous one.</p> - -<p>“What girl?” she questioned again, and he knew beforehand the look that -went with it.</p> - -<p>“The girl I intend to marry,” he said, slowly, looking her between the -eyes.</p> - -<p>He knew he was cruel—he wanted to be—it satisfied the clamor and -turmoil within him, while he also felt that the sooner she knew and the -colder it left her the better. He could not note the effect of the -remark on her, however, for, as he spoke, the door of the box opened and -the head of the Bronco Kid appeared, then retired instantly with -apologies.</p> - -<p>“Wrong stall,” he said, in his slow voice. “Looking for another party.” -Nevertheless, his eyes had covered every inch of them—noted the drawn -curtains and the<a name="page_079" id="page_079"></a> breathless poise of the woman—while his ears had -caught part of Glenister’s speech.</p> - -<p>“You won’t marry her,” said Cherry, quietly. “I don’t know who she is, -but I won’t let you marry her.”</p> - -<p>She rose and smoothed her skirts.</p> - -<p>“It’s time nice people were going now.” She said it with a sneer at -herself. “Take me out through this crowd. I’m living quietly and I don’t -want these beasts to follow me.”</p> - -<p>As they emerged from the theatre the morning air was cool and quiet, -while the sun was just rising. The Bronco Kid lighted a cigar as they -passed, nodding silently at their greeting. His eyes followed them, -while his hands were so still that the match burned through to his -fingers-then when they had gone his teeth met and ground savagely -through the tobacco so that the cigar fell, while he muttered:</p> - -<p>“So that’s the girl you intend to marry? We’ll see, by God!”<a name="page_080" id="page_080"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VIII" id="CHAPTER_VIII"></a>CHAPTER VIII<br /><br /> -<small>DEXTRY MAKES A CALL</small></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">T</span><b>HE</b> water front had a strong attraction for Helen Chester, and rarely -did a fair day pass without finding her in some quiet spot from which -she could watch the shifting life along its edge, the ships at anchor, -and the varied incidents of the surf.</p> - -<p>This morning she sat in a dory pulled high up on the beach, bathed in -the bright sunshine, and staring at the rollers, while lines of -concentration wrinkled her brow. The wind had blown for some days till -the ocean beat heavily across the shallow bar, and now, as it became -quieter, longshoremen were launching their craft, preparing to resume -their traffic.</p> - -<p>Not until the previous day had the news of her friends’ misfortune come -to her, and although she had heard no hint of fraud, she began to -realize that they were involved in a serious tangle. To the questions -which she anxiously put to her uncle he had replied that their -difficulty arose from a technicality in the mining laws which another -man had been shrewd enough to profit by. It was a complicated question, -he said, and one requiring time to thrash out to an equitable -settlement. She had undertaken to remind him of the service these men -had done her, but, with a smile, he interrupted; he could not allow such -things to influence his judicial attitude, and she must not endeavor<a name="page_081" id="page_081"></a> to -prejudice him in the discharge of his duty. Recognizing the justice of -this, she had desisted.</p> - -<p>For many days the girl had caught scattered talk between the Judge and -McNamara, and between Struve and his associates, but it all seemed -foreign and dry, and beyond the fact that it bore on the litigation over -the Anvil Creek mines, she understood nothing and cared less, -particularly as a new interest had but recently come into her life, an -interest in the form of a man—McNamara.</p> - -<p>He had begun with quiet, half-concealed admiration of her, which had -rapidly increased until his attentions had become of a singularly -positive and resistless character.</p> - -<p>Judge Stillman was openly delighted, while the court of one like Alec -McNamara could but flatter any girl. In his presence, Helen felt herself -rebelling at his suit, yet as distance separated them she thought ever -more kindly of it. This state of mind contrasted oddly with her feelings -towards the other man she had met, for in this country there were but -two. When Glenister was with her she saw his love lying nakedly in his -eyes and it exercised some spell which drew her to him in spite of -herself, but when he had gone, back came the distrust, the terror of the -brute she felt was there behind it all. The one appealed to her while -present, the other pled strongest while away. Now she was attempting to -analyze her feelings and face the future squarely, for she realized that -her affairs neared a crisis, and this, too, not a month after meeting -the men. She wondered if she would come to love her uncle’s friend. She -did not know. Of the other she was sure—she never could.<a name="page_082" id="page_082"></a></p> - -<p>Busied with these reflections, she noticed the familiar figure of Dextry -wandering aimlessly. He was not unkempt, and yet his air gave her the -impression of prolonged sleeplessness. Spying her, he approached and -seated himself in the sand against the boat, while at her greeting he -broke into talk as if he was needful only of her friendly presence to -stir his confidential chords into active vibration.</p> - -<p>“We’re in turrible shape, miss,” he said. “Our claim’s jumped. Somebody -run in and talked the boy out of it while I was gone, and now we can’t -get ’em off. He’s been tryin’ this here new law game that you-all -brought in this summer. I’ve been drunk—that’s what makes me look so -ornery.”</p> - -<p>He said the last, not in the spirit of apology, for rarely does your -frontiersman consider that his self-indulgences require palliation, but -rather after the manner of one purveying news of mild interest, as he -would inform you that his surcingle had broken or that he had witnessed -a lynching.</p> - -<p>“What made them jump your claim?”</p> - -<p>“I don’t know. I don’t know nothin’ about it, because, as I remarked -previous, I ’ain’t follered the totterin’ footsteps of the law none too -close. Nor do I intend to. I simply draws out of the game fer a spell, -and lets the youngster have his fling; then if he can’t make good, I’ll -take the cards and finish it for him.</p> - -<p>“It’s like the time I was ranchin’ with an Englishman up in Montana. -This here party claimed the misfortune of bein’ a younger son, whatever -that is, and is grubstaked to a ranch by his people back home. Havin’ -acquired an intimate knowledge of the West by readin’ Bret Harte, and -havin’ assim’lated the secrets<a name="page_083" id="page_083"></a> of ranchin’ by correspondence school, he -is fitted, ample, to teach us natives a thing or two—and he does it. I -am workin’ his outfit as foreman, and it don’t take long to show me that -he’s a good-hearted feller, in spite of his ridin’-bloomers an’ pinochle -eye-glass. He ain’t never had no actual experience, but he’s got a Henry -Thompson Seton book that tells him all about everything from field-mice -to gorrillys.</p> - -<p>“We’re troubled a heap with coyotes them days, and finally this party -sends home for some Rooshian wolf-hounds. I’m fer pizenin’ a sheep -carcass, but he says:</p> - -<p>“ ‘No, no, me deah man; that’s not sportsman-like; we’ll hunt ’em. Ay, -hunt ’em! Only fawncy the sport we’ll have, ridin’ to hounds!’</p> - -<p>“ ‘We will not,’ says I. ‘I ain’t goin’ to do no Simon Legree stunts. It -ain’t man’s size. Bein’ English, you don’t count, but I’m growed up.’</p> - -<p>“Nothin’ would do him but those <i>Uncle Tom’s Cabin</i> dogs, however, and -he had ’em imported clean from Berkshire or Sibeery or thereabouts, four -of ’em, great, big, blue ones. They was as handsome and imposin’ as a -set of solid-gold teeth, but somehow they didn’t seem to savvy our play -none. One day the cook rolled a rain bar’l down-hill from the kitchen, -and when them blooded critters saw it comin’ they throwed down their -tails and tore out like rabbits. After that I couldn’t see no good in -’em with a spy-glass.</p> - -<p>“ ‘They ’ain’t got no grit. What makes you think they can fight?’ I asked -one day.</p> - -<p>“ ‘Fight?’ says H’Anglish. ‘My deah man, they’re full-blooded. Cost -seventy pun each. They’re dreadful creatures when they’re -roused—they’ll tear a wolf<a name="page_084" id="page_084"></a> to pieces like a rag—kill bears—anything. -Oh! Rully, perfectly dreadful!’</p> - -<p>“Well, it wasn’t a week later that he went over to the east line with me -to mend a barb wire. I had my pliers and a hatchet and some staples. -About a mile from the house we jumped up a little brown bear that -scampered off when he seen us, but bein’ agin’ a bluff where he couldn’t -get away, he climbed a cotton-wood. H’Anglish was simply frothin’ with -excitement.</p> - -<p>“ ‘What a misfortune! Neyther gun nor hounds.’</p> - -<p>“ ‘I’ll scratch his back and talk pretty to him,’ says I, ‘while you run -back and get a Winchester and them ferocious bull-dogs.’</p> - -<p>“ ‘Wolf-hounds,’ says he, with dignity, ‘full-blooded, seventy pun each. -They’ll rend the poor beast limb from limb. I hate to do it, but it’ll -be good practice for them.’</p> - -<p>“ ‘They may be good renders,’ says I, ‘but don’t forgit the gun.’</p> - -<p>“Well, I throwed sticks at the critter when he tried to unclimb the -tree, till finally the boss got back with his dogs. They set up an awful -holler when they see the bear—first one they’d ever smelled, I -reckon—and the little feller crawled up in some forks and watched -things, cautious, while they leaped about, bayin’ most fierce and -blood-curdlin’.</p> - -<p>“ ‘How you goin’ to get him down?’ says I.</p> - -<p>“I’ll shoot him in the lower jaw,’ says the Britisher, ‘so he cawn’t -bite the dogs. It’ll give ’em cawnfidence.’</p> - -<p>“He takes aim at Mr. Bear’s chin and misses it three times runnin’, he’s -that excited.</p> - -<p>“ ‘Settle down, H’Anglish,’ says I. ‘He ’ain’t got no double chins. How -many shells left in your gun?’<a name="page_085" id="page_085"></a></p> - -<p>“When he looks he finds there’s only one more, for he hadn’t stopped to -fill the magazine, so I cautions him.</p> - -<p>“ ‘You’re shootin’ too low. Raise her.’</p> - -<p>“He raised her all right, and caught Mr. Bruin in the snout. What -followed thereafter was most too quick to notice, for the poor bear let -out a bawl, dropped off his limb into the midst of them ragin’, tur’ble, -seventy-pun hounds, an’ hugged ’em to death, one after another, like he -was doin’ a system of health exercises. He took ’em to his boosum as if -he’d just got back off a long trip, then, droppin’ the last one, he made -at that younger son an’ put a gold fillin’ in his leg. Yes, sir; most -chewed it off. H’Anglish let out a Siberian-wolf holler hisself, an’ I -had to step in with the hatchet and kill the brute though I was most -dead from laughin’.”</p> - -<p>“That’s how it is with me an’ Glenister,” the old man concluded. “When -he gets tired experimentin’ with this new law game of hisn, I’ll step in -an’ do business on a common-sense basis.”</p> - -<p>“You talk as if you wouldn’t get fair play,” said Helen.</p> - -<p>“We won’t,” said he, with conviction. “I look on all lawyers with -suspicion, even to old bald-face—your uncle, askin’ your pardon an’ -gettin’ it, bein’ as I’m a friend an’ he ain’t no real relation of -yours, anyhow. No, sir; they’re all crooked.”</p> - -<p>Dextry held the Western distrust of the legal profession—comprehensive, -unreasoning, deep.</p> - -<p>“Is the old man all the kin you’ve got?” he questioned, when she refused -to discuss the matter.</p> - -<p>“He is—in a way. I have a brother, or I hope I have, somewhere. He ran -away when we were both<a name="page_086" id="page_086"></a> little tads and I haven’t seen him since. I -heard about him, indirectly, at Skagway—three years ago—during the big -rush to the Klondike, but he has never been home. When father died, I -went to live with Uncle Arthur—some day, perhaps, I’ll find my brother. -He’s cruel to hide from me this way, for there are only we two left and -I’ve loved him always.”</p> - -<p>She spoke sadly and her mood blended well with the gloom of her -companion, so they stared silently out over the heaving green waters.</p> - -<p>“It’s a good thing me an’ the kid had a little piece of money ahead,” -Dextry resumed later, reverting to the thought that lay uppermost in his -mind, “ ‘cause we’d be up against it right if we hadn’t. The boy couldn’t -have amused himself none with these court proceedings, because they come -high. I call ’em luxuries, like brandied peaches an’ silk undershirts.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t trust these Jim Crow banks no more than I do lawyers, neither. -No, sirree! I bought a iron safe an’ hauled it out to the mine. She -weighs eighteen hundred, and we keep our money locked up there. We’ve -got a feller named Johnson watchin’ it now. Steal it? Well, hardly. They -can’t bust her open without a stick of ‘giant’ which would rouse -everybody in five miles, an’ they can’t lug her off bodily—she’s too -heavy. No; it’s safer there than any place I know of. There ain’t no -abscondin’ cashiers an’ all that. To-morrer I’m goin’ back to live on -the claim an’ watch this receiver man till the thing’s settled.”</p> - -<p>When the girl arose to go, he accompanied her up through the deep sand -of the lane-like street to the main, muddy thoroughfare of the camp. As -yet, the planked and gravelled pavements, which later threaded<a name="page_087" id="page_087"></a> the -town, were unknown, and the incessant traffic had worn the road into a -quagmire of chocolate-colored slush, almost axle-deep, with which the -store fronts, show-windows, and awnings were plentifully shot and -spattered from passing teams. Whenever a wagon approached, pedestrians -fled to the shelter of neighboring doorways, watching a chance to dodge -out again. When vehicles passed from the comparative solidity of the -main street out into the morasses that constituted the rest of the town, -they adventured perilously, their horses plunging, snorting, terrified, -amid an atmosphere of profanity. Discouraged animals were down -constantly, and no foot-passenger, even with rubber boots, ventured off -the planks that led from house to house.</p> - -<p>To avoid a splashing team, Dextry pulled his companion close in against -the entrance to the Northern saloon, standing before her protectingly.</p> - -<p>Although it was late in the afternoon the Bronco Kid had just arisen and -was now loafing preparatory to the active duties of his profession. He -was speaking with the proprietor when Dextry and the girl sought shelter -just without the open door, so he caught a fair though fleeting glimpse -of her as she flashed a curious look inside. She had never been so close -to a gambling-hall before, and would have liked to peer in more -carefully had she dared, but her companion moved forward. At the first -look the Bronco Kid had broken off in his speech and stared at her as -though at an apparition. When she had vanished, he spoke to Reilly:</p> - -<p>“Who’s that?”</p> - -<p>Reilly shrugged his shoulders, then without further question the Kid -turned back towards the empty theatre and out of the back door.<a name="page_088" id="page_088"></a></p> - -<p>He moved nonchalantly till he was outside, then with the speed of a colt -ran down the narrow planking between the buildings, turned parallel to -the front street, leaped from board to board, splashed through puddles -of water till he reached the next alley. Stamping the mud from his shoes -and pulling down his sombrero, he sauntered out into the main -thoroughfare.</p> - -<p>Dextry and his companion had crossed to the other side and were -approaching, so the gambler gained a fair view of them. He searched -every inch of the girl’s face and figure, then, as she made to turn her -eyes in his direction, he slouched away. He followed, however, at a -distance, till he saw the man leave her, then on up to the big hotel he -shadowed her. A half-hour later he was drinking in the Golden Gate -bar-room with an acquaintance who ministered to the mechanical details -behind the hotel counter.</p> - -<p>“Who’s the girl I saw come in just now?” he inquired.</p> - -<p>“I guess you mean the Judge’s niece.”</p> - -<p>Both men spoke in the dead, restrained tones that go with their -callings.</p> - -<p>“What’s her name?”</p> - -<p>“Chester, I think. Why? Look good to you, Kid?”</p> - -<p>Although the other neither spoke nor made sign, the bartender construed -his silence as acquiescence and continued, with a conscious glance at -his own reflection while he adjusted his diamond scarf-pin: “Well, she -can have <i>me</i>! I’ve got it fixed to meet her.”</p> - -<p>“<i>Bah!</i> I guess not,” said the Kid, suddenly, with an inflection that -startled the other from his preening. Then, as he went out, the man -mused:<a name="page_089" id="page_089"></a></p> - -<p>“Gee! Bronco’s got the worst eye in the camp! Makes me creep when he -throws it on me with that muddy look. He acted like he was jealous.”</p> - -<p> </p> - -<p>At noon the next day, as he prepared to go to the claim, Dextry’s -partner burst in upon him. Glenister was dishevelled, and his eyes shone -with intense excitement.</p> - -<p>“What d’ you think they’ve done now?” he cried, as greeting.</p> - -<p>“I dunno. What is it?”</p> - -<p>“They’ve broken open the safe and taken our money.”</p> - -<p>“What!”</p> - -<p>The old man in turn was on his feet, the grudge which he had felt -against Glenister in the past few days forgotten in this common -misfortune.</p> - -<p>“Yes, by Heaven, they’ve swiped our money—our tents, tools, teams, -books, hose, and all of our personal property—everything! They threw -Johnson off and took the whole works. I never heard of such a thing. I -went out to the claim and they wouldn’t let me go near the workings. -They’ve got every mine on Anvil Creek guarded the same way, and they -aren’t going to let us come around even when they clean up. They told me -so this morning.”</p> - -<p>“But, look here,” demanded Dextry, sharply, “the money in that safe -belongs to us. That’s money we brought in from the States. The court -’ain’t got no right to it. What kind of a damn law is that?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, as to law, they don’t pay any attention to it any more,” said -Glenister, bitterly. “I made a mistake in not killing the first man that -set foot on the<a name="page_090" id="page_090"></a> claim. I was a sucker, and now we’re up against a stiff -game. The Swedes are in the same fix, too. This last order has left them -groggy.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t understand it yet,” said Dextry.</p> - -<p>“Why, it’s this way. The Judge has issued what he calls an order -enlarging the powers of the receiver, and it authorizes McNamara to take -possession of everything on the claims—tents, tools, stores, and -personal property of all kinds. It was issued last night without notice -to our side, so Wheaton says, and they served it this morning early. I -went out to see McNamara, and when I got there I found him in our -private tent with the safe broken open.”</p> - -<p>“ ‘What does this mean?’ I said. And then he showed me the new order.</p> - -<p>“ ‘I’m responsible to the court for every penny of this money,’ said he, -‘and for every tool on the claim. In view of that I can’t allow you to -go near the workings.’</p> - -<p>“ ‘Not go near the workings?’ said I. ‘Do you mean you won’t let us see -the clean-ups from our own mine? How do we know we’re getting a square -deal if we don’t see the gold weighed?’</p> - -<p>“ ‘I’m an officer of the court and under bond,’ said he, and the smiling -triumph in his eyes made me crazy.</p> - -<p>“ ‘You’re a lying thief,’ I said, looking at him square. ‘And you’re -going too far. You played me for a fool once and made it stick, but it -won’t work twice.’</p> - -<p>“He looked injured and aggrieved and called in Voorhees, the marshal. I -can’t grasp the thing at all; everybody seems to be against us, the -Judge, the marshal, the prosecuting attorney—everybody. Yet they’ve -done it all according to law, they claim, and have the soldiers to back -them up.”<a name="page_091" id="page_091"></a></p> - -<p>“It’s just as Mexico Mullins said,” Dextry stormed; “there’s a deal on -of some kind. I’m goin’ up to the hotel an’ call on the Judge myself. I -’ain’t never seen him nor this McNamara, either. I allus want to look a -man straight in the eyes once, then I know what course to foller in my -dealings.”</p> - -<p>“You’ll find them both,” said Glenister, “for McNamara rode into town -behind me.”</p> - -<p>The old prospector proceeded to the Golden Gate Hotel and inquired for -Judge Stillman’s room. A boy attempted to take his name, but he seized -him by the scruff of the neck and sat him in his seat, proceeding -unannounced to the suite to which he had been directed. Hearing voices, -he knocked, and then, without awaiting a summons, walked in.</p> - -<p>The room was fitted like an office, with desk, table, type-writer, and -law-books. Other rooms opened from it on both sides. Two men were -talking earnestly—one gray-haired, smooth-shaven, and clerical, the -other tall, picturesque, and masterful. With his first glance the miner -knew that before him were the two he had come to see, and that in -reality he had to deal with but one, the big man who shot at him the -level glances.</p> - -<p>“We are engaged,” said the Judge, “very busily engaged, sir. Will you -call again in half an hour?”</p> - -<p>Dextry looked him over carefully from head to foot, then turned his back -on him and regarded the other. Neither he nor McNamara spoke, but their -eyes were busy and each instinctively knew that here was a foe.</p> - -<p>“What do you want?” McNamara inquired, finally.</p> - -<p>“I just dropped in to get acquainted. My name is Dextry—Joe -Dextry—from everywhere west of the Missouri—an’ your name is McNamara, -ain’t it? This<a name="page_092" id="page_092"></a> here, I reckon, is your little French poodle—eh?” -indicating Stillman.</p> - -<p>“What do you mean?” said McNamara, while the Judge murmured indignantly.</p> - -<p>“Just what I say. However, that ain’t what I want to talk about. I don’t -take no stock in such truck as judges an’ lawyers an’ orders of court. -They ain’t intended to be took serious. They’re all right for children -an’ Easterners an’ non compos mentis people, I s’pose, but I’ve always -been my own judge, jury, an’ hangman, an’ I aim to continue workin’ my -legislatif, executif, an’ judicial duties to the end of the string. You -look out! My pardner is young an’ seems to like the idee of lettin’ -somebody else run his business, so I’m goin’ to give him rein and let -him amuse himself for a while with your dinky little writs an’ -receiverships. But don’t go too far—you can rob the Swedes, ’cause -Swedes ain’t entitled to have no money, an’ some other crook would get -it if you didn’t, but don’t play me an’ Glenister fer Scandinavians. -It’s a mistake. We’re white men, an’ I’m apt to come romancin’ up here -with one of these an’ bust you so you won’t hold together durin’ the -ceremonies.”</p> - -<p>With his last words he made the slightest shifting movement, only a -lifting shrug of the shoulder, yet in his palm lay a six-shooter. He had -slipped it from his trousers band with the ease of long practice and -absolute surety. Judge Stillman gasped and backed against the desk, but -McNamara idly swung his leg as he sat sidewise on the table. His only -sign of interest was a quickening of the eyes, a fact of which Dextry -made mental note.</p> - -<p>“Yes,” said the miner, disregarding the alarm of the<a name="page_093" id="page_093"></a> lawyer, “you can -wear this court in your vest-pocket like a Waterbury, if you want to, -but if you don’t let me alone, I’ll uncoil its main-spring. That’s all.”</p> - -<p>He replaced his weapon and, turning, walked out the door.<a name="page_094" id="page_094"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IX" id="CHAPTER_IX"></a>CHAPTER IX<br /><br /> -<small>SLUICE ROBBERS</small></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">“W</span><b>E</b> must have money,” said Glenister a few days later. “When McNamara -jumped our safe he put us down and out. There’s no use fighting in this -court any longer, for the Judge won’t let us work the ground ourselves, -even if we give bond, and he won’t grant an appeal. He says his orders -aren’t appealable. We ought to send Wheaton out to ’Frisco and have him -take the case to the higher courts. Maybe he can get a writ of -supersedeas.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t rec’nize the name, but if it’s as bad as it sounds it’s sure -horrible. Ain’t there no cure for it?”</p> - -<p>“It simply means that the upper court would take the case away from this -one.”</p> - -<p>“Well, let’s send him out quick. Every day means ten thousand dollars to -us. It ’ll take him a month to make the round trip, so I s’pose he ought -to leave to-morrow on the <i>Roanoke</i>.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, but where’s the money to do it with? McNamara has ours. My God! -What a mess we’re in! What fools we’ve been, Dex! There’s a conspiracy -here. I’m beginning to see it now that it’s too late. This man is -looting our country under color of law, and figures on gutting all the -mines before we can throw him off. That’s his game. He’ll work them as<a name="page_095" id="page_095"></a> -hard and as long as he can, and Heaven only knows what will become of -the money. He must have big men behind him in order to fix a United -States judge this way. Maybe he has the ’Frisco courts corrupted, too.”</p> - -<p>“If he has, I’m goin’ to kill him,” said Dextry. “I’ve worked like a dog -all my life, and now that I’ve struck pay I don’t aim to lose it. If -Bill Wheaton can’t win out accordin’ to law, I’m goin’ to proceed -accordin’ to justice.”</p> - -<p>During the past two days the partners had haunted the court-room where -their lawyer, together with the counsel for the Scandinavians, had -argued and pleaded, trying every possible professional and -unprofessional artifice in search of relief from the arbitrary rulings -of the court, while hourly they had become more strongly suspicious of -some sinister plot—some hidden, powerful understanding back of the -Judge and the entire mechanism of justice. They had fought with the fury -of men who battle for life, and had grown to hate the lines of -Stillman’s vacillating face, the bluster of the district-attorney, and -the smirking confidence of the clerks, for it seemed that they all -worked mechanically, like toys, at the dictates of Alec McNamara. At -last, when they had ceased, beaten and exhausted, they were too confused -with technical phrases to grasp anything except the fact that relief was -denied them; that their claims were to be worked by the receiver; and, -as a crowning defeat, they learned that the Judge would move his court -to St. Michael’s and hear no cases until he returned, a month later.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile, McNamara hired every idle man he could lay hand upon, and -ripped the placers open with double<a name="page_096" id="page_096"></a> shifts. Every day a stream of -yellow dust poured into the bank and was locked in his vaults, while -those mine-owners who attempted to witness the clean-ups were ejected -from their claims. The politician had worked with incredible swiftness -and system, and a fortnight after landing he had made good his boast to -Struve, and was in charge of every good claim in the district, the -owners were ousted, their appeals argued and denied, and the court gone -for thirty days, leaving him a clear field for his operations. He felt a -contempt for most of his victims, who were slow-witted Swedes, grasping -neither the purport nor the magnitude of his operation, and as to those -litigants who were discerning enough to see its enormity, he trusted to -his organization to thwart them.</p> - -<p>The two partners had come to feel that they were beating against a wall, -and had also come squarely to face the proposition that they were -without funds wherewith to continue their battle. It was maddening for -them to think of the daily robbery that they suffered, for the Midas -turned out many ounces of gold at every shift; and more maddening to -realize the receiver’s shrewdness in crippling them by his theft of the -gold in their safe. That had been his crowning stroke.</p> - -<p>“We <small>MUST</small> get money quick,” said Glenister. “Do you think we can borrow?”</p> - -<p>“Borrow?” sniffed Dextry. “Folks don’t lend money in Alaska.”</p> - -<p>They relapsed into a moody silence.</p> - -<p>“I met a feller this mornin’ that’s workin’ on the Midas,” the old man -resumed. “He came in town fer a pair of gum boots, an’ he says they’ve -run into awful rich ground—so rich that they have to clean up every<a name="page_097" id="page_097"></a> -morning when the night shift goes off ’cause the riffles clog with -gold.”</p> - -<p>“Think of it!” Glenister growled. “If we had even a part of one of those -clean-ups we could send Wheaton outside.”</p> - -<p>In the midst of his bitterness a thought struck him. He made as though -to speak, then closed his mouth; but his partner’s eyes were on him, -filled with a suppressed but growing fire. Dextry lowered his voice -cautiously:</p> - -<p>“There’ll be twenty thousand dollars in them sluices to-night at -midnight.”</p> - -<p>Glenister stared back while his pulse pounded at something that lay in -the other’s words.</p> - -<p>“It belongs to us,” the young man said. “There wouldn’t be anything -wrong about it, would there?”</p> - -<p>Dextry sneered. “Wrong! Right! Them is fine an’ soundin’ titles in a -mess like this. What do they mean? I tell you, at midnight to-night Alec -McNamara will have twenty thousand dollars of our money—”</p> - -<p>“God! What would happen if they caught us?” whispered the younger, -following out his thought. “They’d never let us get off the claim alive. -He couldn’t find a better excuse to shoot us down and get rid of us. If -we came up before this Judge for trial, we’d go to Sitka for twenty -years.”</p> - -<p>“Sure! But it’s our only chance. I’d ruther die on the Midas in a fair -fight than set here bitin’ my hangnails. I’m growin’ old and I won’t -never make another strike. As to bein’ caught—them’s our chances. I -won’t be took alive—I promise you that—and before I go I’ll get my -satisfy. Castin’ things up, that’s about all a man gets in this vale of -tears, jest<a name="page_098" id="page_098"></a> satisfaction of one kind or another. It ’ll be a fight in -the open, under the stars, with the clean, wet moss to lie down on, and -not a scrappin’-match of freak phrases and law-books inside of a -stinkin’ court-room. The cards is shuffled and in the box, pardner, and -the game is started. If we’re due to win, we’ll win. If we’re due to -lose, we’ll lose. These things is all figgered out a thousand years -back. Come on, boy. Are you game?”</p> - -<p>“Am I game?” Glenister’s nostrils dilated and his voice rose a tone. “Am -I game? I’m with you till the big cash-in, and Lord have mercy on any -man that blocks our game to-night.”</p> - -<p>“We’ll need another hand to help us,” said Dextry. “Who can we get?”</p> - -<p>At that moment, as though in answer, the door opened with the scant -ceremony that friends of the frontier are wont to observe, admitting the -attenuated, flapping, dome-crowned figure of Slapjack Simms, and Dextry -fell upon him with the hunger of a wolf.</p> - -<p> </p> - -<p>It was midnight and over the dark walls of the valley peered a multitude -of stars, while away on the southern horizon there glowed a subdued -effulgence as though from hidden fires beneath the Gold God’s caldron, -or as though the phosphorescence of Bering had spread upward into the -skies. Although each night grew longer, it was not yet necessary to -light the men at work in the cuts. There were perhaps two hours in which -it was difficult to see at a distance, but the dawn came early, hence no -provision had been made for torches.</p> - -<p>Five minutes before the hour the night-shift boss lowered the gates in -the dam, and, as the rush from the<a name="page_099" id="page_099"></a> sluices subsided, his men quit work -and climbed the bluff to the mess tent. The dwellings of the Midas, as -has already been explained, sat back from the creek at a distance of a -city block, the workings being thus partially hidden under the brow of -the steep bank.</p> - -<p>It is customary to leave a watchman in the pit during the noon and -midnight hours, not only to see that strangers preserve a neutral -attitude, but also to watch the waste-gates and water supply. The night -man of the Midas had been warned of his responsibility, and, knowing -that much gold lay in his keeping, was disposed to gaze on the -curious-minded with the sourness of suspicion. Therefore, as a man -leading a packhorse approached out of the gloom of the creek-trail, his -eyes were on him from the moment he appeared. The road wound along the -gravel of the bars and passed in proximity to the flumes. However, the -wayfarer paid no attention to them, and the watchman detected an -explanatory weariness in his slow gait.</p> - -<p>“Some prospector getting in from a trip,” he thought.</p> - -<p>The stranger stopped, scratched a match, and, as he undertook to light -his pipe, the observer caught the mahogany shine of a negro’s face. The -match sputtered out and then came impatient blasphemy as he searched for -another.</p> - -<p>“Evenin’, sah! You-all oblige me with a match?” He addressed the watcher -on the bank above, and, without waiting a reply, began to climb upward.</p> - -<p>No smoker on the trail will deny the luxury of a light to the most -humble, so as the negro gained his level the man reached forth to -accommodate him. Without warning, the black man leaped forward with the -ferocity of an animal and struck the other a fearful<a name="page_100" id="page_100"></a> blow. The watchman -sank with a faint, startled cry, and the African dragged him out of -sight over the brow of the bank, where he rapidly tied him hand and -foot, stuffing a gag into his mouth. At the same moment two other -figures rounded the bend below and approached. They were mounted and -leading a third saddle-horse, as well as other pack-animals. Reaching -the workings, they dismounted. Then began a strange procedure, for one -man clambered upon the sluices and, with a pick, ripped out the riffles. -This was a matter of only a few seconds; then, seizing a shovel, he -transferred the concentrates which lay in the bottom of the boxes into -canvas sacks which his companion held. As each bag was filled, it was -tied and dumped into the cut. They treated but four boxes in this way, -leaving the lower two-thirds of the flume untouched, for Anvil Creek -gold is coarse and the heart of the clean-up lies where it is thrown in. -Gathering the sacks together, they lashed them upon the pack-animals, -then mounted the second string of sluices and began as before. -Throughout it all they worked with feverish haste and in unbroken -silence, every moment flashing quick glances at the figure of the -lookout who stood on the crest above, half dimmed in the shadow of a -willow clump. Judging by their rapidity and sureness, they were expert -miners.</p> - -<p>From the tent came the voices of the night shift at table, and the faint -rattle of dishes, while the canvas walls glowed from the lights within -like great fire-flies hidden in the grass. The foreman, finishing his -meal, appeared at the door of the mess tent, and, pausing to accustom -his eyes to the gloom, peered perfunctorily towards the creek. The -watchman detached himself<a name="page_101" id="page_101"></a> from the shadow, moving out into plain sight, -and the boss turned back. The two men below were now working on the -sluices which lay close under the bank and were thus hidden from the -tent.</p> - -<p> </p> - -<p>McNamara’s description of Anvil Creek’s riches had fired Helen Chester -with the desire to witness a clean-up, so they had ridden out from town -in time for supper at the claim. She had not known whither he led her, -only understanding that provision for her entertainment would be made -with the superintendent’s wife. Upon recognizing the Midas, she had -endeavored to question him as to why her friends had been dispossessed, -and he had answered, as it seemed, straight and true.</p> - -<p>The ground was in dispute, he said—another man claimed it—and while -the litigation pended he was in charge for the court, to see that -neither party received injury. He spoke adroitly, and it satisfied her -to have the proposition resolved into such simplicity.</p> - -<p>She had come prepared to spend the night and witness the early morning -operation, so the receiver made the most of his opportunity. He showed -her over the workings, explaining the many things that were strange to -her. Not only was he in himself a fascinating figure to any woman, but -wherever he went men regarded him deferentially, and nothing affects a -woman’s judgment more promptly than this obvious sign of power. He spent -the evening with her, talking of his early days and the things he had -done in the West, his story matching the picturesqueness of her -canvas-walled quarters with their rough furnishings of skins and -blankets. Being a keen observer as well as a finished raconteur, he had -woven a spell of words about the<a name="page_102" id="page_102"></a> girl, leaving her in a state of tumult -and indecision when at last, towards midnight, he retired to his own -tent. She knew to what end all this was working, and yet knew not what -her answer would be when the question came which lay behind it all. At -moments she felt the wonderful attraction of the man, and still there -was some distrust of him which she could not fathom. Again her thoughts -reverted to Glenister, the impetuous, and she compared the two, so -similar in some ways, so utterly opposed in others.</p> - -<p>It was when she heard the night shift at their meal that she threw a -silken shawl about her head, stepped into the cool night, and picked her -way down towards the roar of the creek. “A breath of air and then to -bed,” she thought. She saw the tall figure of the watchman and made for -him. He seemed oddly interested in her approach, watching her very -closely, almost as though alarmed. It was doubtless because there were -so few women out here, or possibly on account of the lateness of the -hour. Away with conventions! This was the land of instinct and impulse. -She would talk to him. The man drew his hat more closely about his face -and moved off as she came up. Glenister had been in her thoughts a -moment since, and she now noted that here was another with the same -great, square shoulders and erect head. Then she saw with a start that -this one was a negro. He carried a Winchester and seemed to watch her -carefully, yet with indecision.</p> - -<p>To express her interest and to break the silence, she questioned him, -but at the sound of her voice he stepped towards her and spoke roughly.</p> - -<p>“What!”<a name="page_103" id="page_103"></a></p> - -<p>Then he paused, and stammered in a strangely altered and unnatural -voice:</p> - -<p>“Yass’m. I’m the watchman.”</p> - -<p>She noted two other darkies at work below and was vaguely surprised, not -so much at their presence, as at the manner in which they moved, for -they seemed under stress of some great haste, running hither and yon. -She saw horses standing in the trail and sensed something indefinably -odd and alarming in the air. Turning to the man, she opened her mouth to -speak, when from the rank grass under her feet came a noise which set -her a-tingle, and at which her suspicions leaped full to the solution. -It was the groan of a man. Again he gave voice to his pain, and she knew -that she stood face to face with something sinister. Tales of sluice -robbers had come to her, and rumors of the daring raids into which men -were lured by the yellow sheen—and yet this was incredible. A hundred -men lay within sound of her voice; she could hear their laughter; one -was whistling a popular refrain. A quarter-mile away on every hand were -other camps; a scream from her would bring them all. Nonsense, this was -no sluice robbery—and then the man in the bushes below moaned for the -third time.</p> - -<p>“What is that?” she said.</p> - -<p>Without reply the negro lowered the muzzle of his rifle till it covered -her breast and at the same time she heard the double click of the -hammer.</p> - -<p>“Keep still and don’t move,” he warned. “We’re desperate and we can’t -take any chances, Miss.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, you are stealing the gold—”</p> - -<p>She was wildly frightened, yet stood still while the lookout anxiously -divided his attention between her<a name="page_104" id="page_104"></a> and the tents above until his -companions signalled him that they were through and the horses were -loaded. Then he spoke:</p> - -<p>“I don’t know what to do with you, but I guess I’ll tie you up.”</p> - -<p>“What!” she said.</p> - -<p>“I’m going to tie and gag you so you can’t holler.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, don’t you <i>dare</i>!” she cried, fiercely. “I’ll stand right here till -you’ve gone and I won’t scream. I promise.” She looked up at him -appealingly, at which he dipped his head, so that she caught only a -glimpse of his face, and then backed away.</p> - -<p>“All right! Don’t try it, because I’ll be hidden in those bushes yonder -at the bend and I’ll keep you covered till the others are gone.” He -leaped down the bank, ran to the cavalcade, mounted quickly, and the -three lashed their horses into a run, disappearing up the trail around -the sharp curve. She heard the blows of their quirts as they whipped the -packhorses.</p> - -<p>They were long out of sight before the girl moved or made sound, -although she knew that none of the three had paused at the bend. She -only stood and gazed, for as they galloped off she had heard the scrap -of a broken sentence. It was but one excited word, sounding through the -rattle of hoofs—her own name—“Helen”; and yet because of it she did -not voice the alarm, but rather began to piece together, bit by bit, the -strange points of this adventure. She recalled the outlines of her -captor with a wrinkle of perplexity. Her fright disappeared entirely, -giving place to intense excitement. “No, no—it can’t be—and yet I -wonder if it <i>is</i>!” she cried. “Oh, I wonder if it could be!”<a name="page_105" id="page_105"></a> She -opened her lips to cry aloud, then hesitated. She started towards the -tents, then paused, and for many moments after the hoof-beats had died -out she stayed undecided. Surely she wished to give the signal, to force -the fierce pursuit. What meant this robbery, this defiance of the law, -of her uncle’s edicts and of McNamara? They were common thieves, -criminals, outlaws, these men, deserving punishment, and yet she -recalled a darker night, when she herself had sobbed and quivered with -the terrors of pursuit and two men had shielded her with their bodies.</p> - -<p>She turned and sped towards the tents, bursting in through the canvas -door; instantly every man rose to his feet at sight of her pallid face, -her flashing eyes, and rumpled hair.</p> - -<p>“Sluice robbers!” she cried, breathlessly. “Quick! A hold-up! The -watchman is hurt!”</p> - -<p>A roar shook the night air, and the men poured out past her, while the -day shift came tumbling forth from every quarter in various stages of -undress.</p> - -<p>“Where? Who did it? Where did they go?”</p> - -<p>McNamara appeared among them, fierce and commanding, seeming to grasp -the situation intuitively, without explanation from her.</p> - -<p>“Come on, men. We’ll run ’em down. Get out the horses. Quick!”</p> - -<p>He was mounted even as he spoke, and others joined him. Then turning, he -waved his long arm up the valley towards the mountains. “Divide into -squads of five and cover the hills! Run down to Discovery, one of you, -and telephone to town for Voorhees and a posse.”</p> - -<p>As they made ready to ride away, the girl cried:<a name="page_106" id="page_106"></a></p> - -<p>“Stop! Not that way. They went <i>down</i> the gulch—three negroes.”</p> - -<p>She pointed out of the valley, towards the dim glow on the southern -horizon, and the cavalcade rode away into the gloom.<a name="page_107" id="page_107"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_X" id="CHAPTER_X"></a>CHAPTER X<br /><br /> -<small>THE WIT OF AN ADVENTURESS</small></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">U</span><b>P</b> creek the three negroes fled, past other camps, to where the stream -branched. Here they took to the right and urged their horses along a -forsaken trail to the head-waters of the little tributary and over the -low saddle. They had endeavored to reach unfrequented paths as soon as -possible in order that they might pass unnoticed. Before quitting the -valley they halted their heaving horses, and, selecting a stagnant pool, -scoured the grease paint from their features as best they could. Their -ears were strained for sounds of pursuit, but, as the moments passed and -none came, the tension eased somewhat and they conversed guardedly. As -the morning light spread they crossed the moss-capped summit of the -range, but paused again, and, removing two saddles, hid them among the -rocks. Slapjack left the others here and rode southward down the Dry -Creek Trail towards town, while the partners shifted part of the weight -from the overloaded packmules to the remaining saddle-animals and -continued eastward along the barren comb of hills on foot, leading the -five horses.</p> - -<p>“It don’t seem like we’ll get away this easy,” said Dextry, scanning the -back trail. “If we do, I’ll be tempted to foller the business reg’lar. -This grease<a name="page_108" id="page_108"></a> paint on my face makes me smell like a minstrel man. I bet -we’ll get some bully press notices to-morrow.”</p> - -<p>“I wonder what Helen was doing there,” Glenister answered, irrelevantly, -for he had been more shaken by his encounter with her than at his part -in the rest of the enterprise, and his mind, which should have been -busied with the flight, held nothing but pictures of her as she stood in -the half darkness under the fear of his Winchester. “What if she ever -learned who that black ruffian was!” He quailed at the thought.</p> - -<p>“Say, Dex, I am going to marry that girl.”</p> - -<p>“I dunno if you be or not,” said Dextry. “Better watch McNamara.”</p> - -<p>“What!” The younger man stopped and stared. “What do you mean?”</p> - -<p>“Go on. Don’t stop the horses. I ain’t blind. I kin put two an’ two -together.”</p> - -<p>“You’ll never put those two together. Nonsense! Why, the man’s a rascal. -I wouldn’t let him have her. Besides, it couldn’t be. She’ll find him -out. I love her so much that—oh, my feelings are too big to talk -about.” He moved his hands eloquently. “You can’t understand.”</p> - -<p>“Um-m! I s’pose not,” grunted Dextry, but his eyes were level and held -the light of the past.</p> - -<p>“He may be a rascal,” the old man continued, after a little; “I’ll put -in with you on that; but he’s a handsome devil, and, as for manners, he -makes you look like a logger. He’s a brave man, too. Them three -qualities are trump-cards and warranted to take most any queen in the -human deck—red, white, or yellow.”</p> - -<p>“If he dares,” growled Glenister, while his thick brows came forward and -ugly lines hardened in his face.<a name="page_109" id="page_109"></a></p> - -<p>In the gray of the early morning they descended the foot-hills into the -wide valley of the Nome River and filed out across the rolling country -to the river bluffs where, cleverly concealed among the willows, was a -rocker. This they set up, then proceeded to wash the dirt from the sacks -carefully, yet with the utmost speed, for there was serious danger of -discovery. It was wonderful, this treasure of the richest ground since -the days of ’49, and the men worked with shining eyes and hands -a-tremble. The gold was coarse, and many ragged, yellow lumps, too large -to pass through the screen, rolled in the hopper, while the aprons -bellied with its weight. In the pans which they had provided there grew -a gleaming heap of wet, raw gold.</p> - -<p>Shortly, by divergent routes, the partners rode unnoticed into town, and -into the excitement of the hold-up news, while the tardy still lingered -over their breakfasts. Far out in the roadstead lay the <i>Roanoke</i>, black -smoke pouring from her stack. A tug was returning from its last trip to -her.</p> - -<p>Glenister forced his lathered horse down to the beach and questioned the -longshoremen who hung about.</p> - -<p>“No; it’s too late to get aboard—the last tender is on its way back,” -they informed him. “If you want to go to the ‘outside’ you’ll have to -wait for the fleet. That only means another week, and—there she blows -now.”</p> - -<p>A ribbon of white mingled with the velvet from the steamer’s funnel and -there came a slow, throbbing, farewell blast.</p> - -<p>Glenister’s jaw clicked and squared.</p> - -<p>“Quick! You men!” he cried to the sailors. “I want the lightest dory on -the beach and the strongest<a name="page_110" id="page_110"></a> oarsmen in the crowd. I’ll be back in five -minutes. There’s a hundred dollars in it for you if we catch that ship.”</p> - -<p>He whirled and spurred up through the mud of the streets. Bill Wheaton -was snoring luxuriously when wrenched from his bed by a dishevelled man -who shook him into wakefulness and into a portion of his clothes, with a -storm of excited instructions. The lawyer had neither time nor -opportunity for expostulation, for Glenister snatched a valise and swept -into it a litter of documents from the table.</p> - -<p>“Hurry up, man,” he yelled, as the lawyer dived frantically about his -office in a rabbit-like hunt for items. “My Heavens! Are you dead? Wake -up! The ship’s leaving.” With sleep still in his eyes Wheaton was -dragged down the street to the beach, where a knot had assembled to -witness the race. As they tumbled into the skiff, willing hands ran it -out into the surf on the crest of a roller. A few lifting heaves and -they were over the bar with the men at the oars bending the white ash at -every swing.</p> - -<p>“I guess I didn’t forget anything,” gasped Wheaton as he put on his -coat. “I got ready yesterday, but I couldn’t find you last night, so I -thought the deal was off.”</p> - -<p>Glenister stripped off his coat and, facing the bow, pushed upon the -oars at every stroke, thus adding his strength to that of the oarsmen. -They crept rapidly out from the beach, eating up the two miles that lay -towards the ship. He urged the men with all his power till the sweat -soaked through their clothes and, under their clinging shirts, the -muscles stood out like iron. They had covered half the distance when -Wheaton<a name="page_111" id="page_111"></a> uttered a cry and Glenister desisted from his work with a -curse. The <i>Roanoke</i> was moving slowly.</p> - -<p>The rowers rested, but the young man shouted at them to begin again, -and, seizing a boat-hook, stuck it into the arms of his coat. He waved -this on high while the men redoubled their efforts. For many moments -they hung in suspense, watching the black hull as it gathered speed, and -then, as they were about to cease their effort, a puff of steam burst -from its whistle and the next moment a short toot of recognition reached -them. Glenister wiped the moisture from his brow and grinned at Wheaton.</p> - -<p>A quarter of an hour later, as they lay heaving below the ship’s steel -sides, he thrust a heavy buckskin sack into the lawyer’s hand.</p> - -<p>“There’s money to win the fight, Bill. I don’t know how much, but it’s -enough. God bless you. Hurry back!”</p> - -<p>A sailor cast them a whirling rope, up which Wheaton clambered; then, -tying the gripsack to its end, they sent it after.</p> - -<p>“Important!” the young man yelled at the officer on the bridge. -“Government business.” He heard a muffled clang in the engine-room, the -thrash of the propellers followed, and the big ship glided past.</p> - -<p>As Glenister dragged himself up the beach, upon landing, Helen Chester -called to him, and made room for him beside her. It had never been -necessary to call him to her side before; and equally unfamiliar was the -abashment, or perhaps physical weariness, that led the young man to sink -back in the warm sand with a sigh of relief. She noted that, for the -first time, the audacity was gone from his eyes.<a name="page_112" id="page_112"></a></p> - -<p>“I watched your race,” she began. “It was very exciting and I cheered -for you.”</p> - -<p>He smiled quietly.</p> - -<p>“What made you keep on after the ship started? I should have given -up—and cried.”</p> - -<p>“I never give up anything that I want,” he said.</p> - -<p>“Have you never been forced to? Then it is because you are a man. Women -have to sacrifice a great deal.”</p> - -<p>Helen expected him to continue to the effect that he would never give -her up—it was in accordance with his earlier presumption—but he was -silent; and she was not sure that she liked him as well thus as when he -overwhelmed her with the boldness of his suit. For Glenister it was -delightful, after the perils of the night, to rest in the calm of her -presence and to feel dumbly that she was near. She saw him secretly -caress a fold of her dress.</p> - -<p>If only she had not the memory of that one night on the ship. “Still, he -is trying to make amends in the best way he can,” she thought. “Though, -of course, no woman could care for a man who would do such a thing.” Yet -she thrilled at the thought of how he had thrust his body between her -and danger; how, but for his quick, insistent action, she would have -failed in escaping from the pest ship, failed in her mission, and met -death on the night of her landing. She owed him much.</p> - -<p>“Did you hear what happened to the good ship <i>Ohio</i>?” she asked.</p> - -<p>“No; I’ve been too busy to inquire. I was told the health officers -quarantined her when she arrived, that’s all.”<a name="page_113" id="page_113"></a></p> - -<p>“She was sent to Egg Island with every one aboard. She has been there -more than a month now and may not get away this summer.”</p> - -<p>“What a disappointment for the poor devils on her!”</p> - -<p>“Yes, and only for what you did, I should be one of them,” Helen -remarked.</p> - -<p>“I didn’t do much,” he said. “The fighting part is easy. It’s not half -so hard as to give up your property and lie still while—”</p> - -<p>“Did you do that because I asked you to—because I asked you to put -aside the old ways?” A wave of compassion swept over her.</p> - -<p>“Certainly,” he answered. “It didn’t come easy, but—”</p> - -<p>“Oh, I thank you,” said she. “I know it is all for the best. Uncle -Arthur wouldn’t do anything wrong, and Mr. McNamara is an honorable -man.”</p> - -<p>He turned towards her to speak, but refrained. He could not tell her -what he felt certain of. She believed in her own blood and in her -uncle’s friends—and it was not for him to speak of McNamara. The rules -of the game sealed his lips.</p> - -<p>She was thinking again, “If only you had not acted as you did.” She -longed to help him now in his trouble as he had helped her, but what -could she do? The law was such a confusing, intricate, perplexing thing.</p> - -<p>“I spent last night at the Midas,” she told him, “and rode back early -this morning. That was a daring hold-up, wasn’t it?”</p> - -<p>“What hold-up?”</p> - -<p>“Why, haven’t you heard the news?”</p> - -<p>“No,” he answered, steadily. “I just got up.”<a name="page_114" id="page_114"></a></p> - -<p>“Your claim was robbed. Three men overcame the watchman at midnight and -cleaned the boxes.”</p> - -<p>His simulation of excited astonishment was perfect and he rained a -shower of questions upon her. She noted with approval that he did not -look her in the eye, however. He was not an accomplished liar. Now -McNamara had a countenance of iron. Unconsciously she made comparison, -and the young man at her side did not lose thereby.</p> - -<p>“Yes, I saw it all,” she concluded, after recounting the details. “The -negro wanted to bind me so that I couldn’t give the alarm, but his -chivalry prevented. He was a most gallant darky.”</p> - -<p>“What did you do when they left?”</p> - -<p>“Why, I kept my word and waited until they were out of sight, then I -roused the camp, and set Mr. McNamara and his men right after them down -the gulch.”</p> - -<p>“<i>Down</i> the gulch!” spoke Glenister, off his guard.</p> - -<p>“Yes, of course. Did you think they went <i>up</i>-stream?” She was looking -squarely at him now, and he dropped his eyes. “No, the posse started in -that direction, but I put them right.” There was an odd light in her -glance, and he felt the blood drumming in his ears.</p> - -<p>She sent them down-stream! So that was why there had been no pursuit! -Then she must suspect—she must know everything! Glenister was stunned. -Again his love for the girl surged tumultuously within him and demanded -expression. But Miss Chester, no longer feeling sure that she had the -situation in hand, had already started to return to the hotel. “I saw -the men distinctly,” she told him, before they separated, “and I could -identify them all.”<a name="page_115" id="page_115"></a></p> - -<p>At his own house Glenister found Dextry removing the stains of the -night’s adventure.</p> - -<p>“Miss Chester recognized us last night,” he announced.</p> - -<p>“How do you know?”</p> - -<p>“She told me so just now, and, what’s more, she sent McNamara and his -crowd down the creek instead of up. That’s why we got away so easily.”</p> - -<p>“Well, well—ain’t she a brick? She’s even with us now. By-the-way, I -wonder how much we cleaned up, anyhow—let’s weigh it.” Going to the -bed, Dextry turned back the blankets, exposing four moose-skin sacks, -wet and heavy, where he had thrown them.</p> - -<p>“There must have been twenty thousand dollars with what I gave Wheaton,” -said Glenister.</p> - -<p>At that moment, without warning, the door was flung open, and as the -young man jerked the blankets into place he whirled, snatched the -six-shooter that Dextry had discarded, and covered the entrance.</p> - -<p>“Don’t shoot, boy!” cried the new-comer, breathlessly. “My, but you’re -nervous!”</p> - -<p>Glenister dropped his gun. It was Cherry Malotte; and, from her heaving -breast and the flying colors in her cheeks, the men saw she had been -running. She did not give them time to question, but closed and locked -the door while the words came tumbling from her:</p> - -<p>“They’re on to you, boys—you’d better duck out quick. They’re on their -way up here now.”</p> - -<p>“What!”</p> - -<p>“Who?”</p> - -<p>“Quick! I heard McNamara and Voorhees, the marshal, talking. Somebody -has spotted you for the<a name="page_116" id="page_116"></a> hold-ups. They’re on their way now, I tell you. -I sneaked out by the back way and came here through the mud. Say, but -I’m a sight!” She stamped her trimly booted feet and flirted her skirt.</p> - -<p>“I don’t savvy what you mean,” said Dextry, glancing at his partner -warningly. “We ain’t done nothin’.”</p> - -<p>“Well, it’s all right then. I took a long chance so you could make a -get-away if you wanted to, because they’ve got warrants for you for that -sluice robbery last night. Here they are now.” She darted to the window, -the men peering over her shoulder. Coming up the narrow walk they saw -Voorhees, McNamara, and three others.</p> - -<p>The house stood somewhat isolated and well back on the tundra, so that -any one approaching it by the planking had an unobstructed view of the -premises. Escape was impossible, for the back door led out into the -ankle-deep puddles of the open prairie; and it was now apparent that a -sixth man had made a circuit and was approaching from the rear.</p> - -<p>“My God! They’ll search the place,” said Dextry, and the men looked -grimly in each other’s faces.</p> - -<p>Then in a flash Glenister stripped back the blankets and seized the -“pokes,” leaping into the back room. In another instant he returned with -them and faced desperately the candid bareness of the little room that -they lived and slept in. Nothing could be hidden; it was folly to think -of it. There was a loft overhead, he remembered, hopefully, then -realized that the pursuers would search there first of all.</p> - -<p>“I told you he was a hard fighter,” said Dextry, as the quick footsteps -grew louder. “He ain’t no fool,<a name="page_117" id="page_117"></a></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/facing116_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/facing116_sml.jpg" width="335" height="450" alt="“IN AN INSTANT THE FOUR SACKS WERE DROPPED SOFTLY INTO -THE FEATHERY BOTTOM”" /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">“IN AN INSTANT THE FOUR SACKS WERE DROPPED SOFTLY INTO -THE FEATHERY BOTTOM”</span> -</div> - -<p class="nind">neither. ’Stead of our bein’ caught in the mountains, I reckon we’ll -shoot it out here. We should have cached that gold somewhere.”</p> - -<p>He spun the cylinder of his blackened Colt, while his face grew hard and -vulture-like.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile, Cherry Malotte watched the hunted look in Glenister’s face -grow wilder and then stiffen into the stubbornness of a man at bay. The -posse was at the door now, knocking. The three inside stood rigid and -strained. Then Glenister tossed his burden on the bed.</p> - -<p>“Go into the back room, Cherry; there’s going to be trouble.”</p> - -<p>“Who’s there?” inquired Dextry through the door, to gain time. Suddenly, -without a word, the girl glided to the hot-blast heater, now cold and -empty, which stood in a corner of the room. These stoves, used widely in -the North, are vertical iron cylinders into which coal is poured from -above. She lifted the lid and peered in to find it a quarter full of -dead ashes, then turned with shining eyes and parted lips to Glenister. -He caught the hint, and in an instant the four sacks were dropped softly -into the feathery bottom and the ashes raked over. The daring -manœuvre was almost as quick as the flash of woman’s wit that -prompted it, and was carried through while the answer to Dextry’s -question was still unspoken.</p> - -<p>Then Glenister opened the door carelessly and admitted the group of men.</p> - -<p>“We’ve got a search-warrant to look through your house,” said Voorhees.</p> - -<p>“What are you looking for?”</p> - -<p>“Gold-dust from Anvil Creek.”<a name="page_118" id="page_118"></a></p> - -<p>“All right—search away.”</p> - -<p>They rapidly scoured the premises, covering every inch, paying no heed -to the girl, who watched them with indifferent eyes, nor to the old man, -who glared at their every movement. Glenister was carelessly sarcastic, -although he kept his right arm free, while beneath his <i>sang-froid</i> was -a thoroughly trained alertness.</p> - -<p>McNamara directed the search with a manner wholly lacking in his former -mock courtesy. It was as though he had been soured by the gall of -defeat. The mask had fallen off now, and his character -showed—insistent, overbearing, cruel. Towards the partners he preserved -a contemptuous silence.</p> - -<p>The invaders ransacked thoroughly, while a dozen times the hearts of -Cherry Malotte and her two companions stopped, then lunged onward, as -McNamara or Voorhees approached, then passed the stove. At last Voorhees -lifted the lid and peered into its dark interior. At the same instant -the girl cried out, sharply, flinging herself from her position, while -the marshal jerked his head back in time to see her dash upon Dextry.</p> - -<p>“Don’t! Don’t!” She cried her appeal to the old man. “Keep cool. You’ll -be sorry, Dex—they’re almost through.”</p> - -<p>The officer had not seen any movement on Dextry’s part, but doubtless -her quick eye had detected signs of violence. McNamara emerged, -glowering, from the back room at that moment.</p> - -<p>“Let them hunt,” the girl was saying, while Dextry stared dazedly over -her head. “They won’t find anything. Keep cool and don’t act rash.”</p> - -<p>Voorhees’s duties sat uncomfortably upon him at<a name="page_119" id="page_119"></a> the best, and, looking -at the smouldering eyes of the two men, he became averse to further -search in a powdery household whose members itched to shoot him in the -back.</p> - -<p>“It isn’t here,” he reported; but the politician only scowled, then -spoke for the first time directly to the partners:</p> - -<p>“I’ve got warrants for both of you and I’m tempted to take you in, but I -won’t. I’m not through yet—not by any means. I’ll get you—get you -both.” He turned out of the door, followed by the marshal, who called -off his guards, and the group filed back along the walk.</p> - -<p>“Say, you’re a jewel, Cherry. You’ve saved us twice. You caught Voorhees -just in time. My heart hit my palate when he looked into that stove, but -the next instant I wanted to laugh at Dextry’s expression.”</p> - -<p>Impulsively Glenister laid his hands upon her shoulders. At his look and -touch her throat swelled, her bosom heaved, and the silken lids -fluttered until she seemed choked by a very flood of sweet womanliness. -She blushed like a little maid and laughed a timid, broken laugh; then -pulling herself together, the merry, careless tone came into her voice -and her cheeks grew cool and clear.</p> - -<p>“You wouldn’t trust me at first, eh? Some day you’ll find that your old -friends are the best, after all.”</p> - -<p>And as she left them she added, mockingly:</p> - -<p>“Say, you’re a pair of ‘shine’ desperadoes. You need a governess.”<a name="page_120" id="page_120"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XI" id="CHAPTER_XI"></a>CHAPTER XI<br /><br /> -<small>WHEREIN A WRIT AND A RIOT FAIL</small></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">A</span><span class="smcap"> raw</span>, gray day with a driving drizzle from seaward and a leaden rack of -clouds drifting low matched the sullen, fitful mood of Glenister.</p> - -<p>During the last month he had chafed and fretted like an animal in leash -for word of Wheaton. This uncertainty, this impotent waiting with folded -hands, was maddening to one of his spirit. He could apply himself to no -fixed duty, for the sense of his wrong preyed on him fiercely, and he -found himself haunting the vicinity of the Midas, gazing at it from -afar, grasping hungrily for such scraps of news as chanced to reach him. -McNamara allowed access to none but his minions, so the partners knew -but vaguely of what happened on their property, even though, under -fiction of law, it was being worked for their protection.</p> - -<p>No steps regarding a speedy hearing of the case were allowed, and the -collusion between Judge Stillman and the receiver had become so -generally recognized that there were uneasy mutterings and threats in -many quarters. Yet, although the politician had by now virtually -absorbed all the richest properties in the district and worked them -through his hirelings, the people of Nome as a whole did not grasp the -full turpitude of the scheme nor the system’s perfect working.<a name="page_121" id="page_121"></a></p> - -<p>Strange to say, Dextry, the fire-eater, had assumed an Oriental patience -quite foreign to his peppery disposition, and spent much of his time in -the hills prospecting.</p> - -<p>On this day, as the clouds broke, about noon, close down on the angry -horizon a drift of smoke appeared, shortly resolving itself into a -steamer. She lay to in the offing, and through his glasses Glenister saw -that it was the <i>Roanoke</i>. As the hours passed and no boat put off, he -tried to hire a crew, but the longshoremen spat wisely and shook their -heads as they watched the surf.</p> - -<p>“There’s the devil of an undertow settin’ along this beach,” they told -him, “and the water’s too cold to drownd in comfortable.” So he laid -firm hands upon his impatience.</p> - -<p>Every day meant many dollars to the watcher, and yet it seemed that -nature was resolute in thwarting him, for that night the wind freshened -and daylight saw the ship hugging the lee of Sledge Island, miles to the -westward, while the surf, white as boiling milk, boomed and thundered -against the shore.</p> - -<p>Word had gone through the street that Bill Wheaton was aboard with a -writ, or a subpœna, or an alibi, or whatever was necessary to put the -“kibosh” on McNamara, so public excitement grew. McNamara hoarded his -gold in the Alaska Bank, and it was taken for granted that there would -lie the scene of the struggle. No one supposed for an instant that the -usurper would part with the treasure peaceably.</p> - -<p>On the third morning the ship lay abreast of the town again and a -life-boat was seen to make off from her, whereupon the idle population -streamed towards the beach.<a name="page_122" id="page_122"></a></p> - -<p>“She’ll make it to the surf all right, but then watch out.”</p> - -<p>“We’d better make ready to haul ’em out,” said another. “It’s mighty -dangerous.” And sure enough, as the skiff came rushing in through the -breakers she was caught.</p> - -<p>She had made it past the first line, soaring over the bar on a foamy -roller-crest like a storm-driven gull winging in towards the land. The -wiry figure of Bill Wheaton crouched in the stern while two sailors -fought with their oars. As they gathered for their rush through the last -zone of froth, a great comber rose out of the sea behind them, rearing -high above their heads. The crowd at the surf’s edge shouted. The boat -wavered, sucked back into the ocean’s angry maw, and with a crash the -deluge engulfed them. There remained nothing but a swirling flood -through which the life-boat emerged bottom up, amid a tangle of oars, -gratings, and gear.</p> - -<p>Men rushed into the water, and the next roller pounded them back upon -the marble-hard sand. There came the sound of splitting wood, and then a -group swarmed in waist-deep and bore out a dripping figure. It was a -hempen-headed seaman, who shook the water from his mane and grinned when -his breath had come.</p> - -<p>A step farther down the beach the by-standers seized a limp form which -the tide rolled to them. It was the second sailor, his scalp split from -a blow of the gunwale. Nowhere was Wheaton.</p> - -<p>Glenister had plunged to the rescue first, a heaving-line about his -middle, and although buffeted about he had reached the wreck, only to -miss sight of the lawyer utterly. He had time for but a glance when he -was<a name="page_123" id="page_123"></a> drawn outward by the undertow till the line at his waist grew taut, -then the water surged over him and he was hurled high up on the beach -again. He staggered dizzily back to the struggle, when suddenly a wave -lifted the capsized cutter and righted it, and out from beneath shot the -form of Wheaton, grimly clutching the life-ropes. They brought him in -choking and breathless.</p> - -<p>“I got it,” he said, slapping his streaming breast. “It’s all right, -Glenister. I knew what delay meant so I took a long chance with the -surf.” The terrific ordeal he had undergone had blanched him to the -lips, his legs wabbled uncertainly, and he would have fallen but for the -young man, who thrust an arm about his waist and led him up into the -town.</p> - -<p>“I went before the Circuit Court of Appeals in ’Frisco,” he explained -later, “and they issued orders allowing an appeal from this court and -gave me a writ of supersedeas directed against old Judge Stillman. That -takes the litigation out of his hands altogether, and directs McNamara -to turn over the Midas and all the gold he’s got. What do you think of -that? I did better than I expected.”</p> - -<p>Glenister wrung his hand silently while a great satisfaction came upon -him. At last this waiting was over and his peaceful yielding to -injustice had borne fruit; had proven the better course after all, as -the girl had prophesied. He could go to her now with clean hands. The -mine was his again. He would lay it at her feet, telling her once more -of his love and the change it was working in him. He would make her see -it, make her see that beneath the harshness his years in the wild had -given him, his love for her was gentle and true and <a name="page_124" id="page_124"></a>all-absorbing. He -would bid her be patient till she saw he had mastered himself, till he -could come with his soul in harness.</p> - -<p>“I am glad I didn’t fight when they jumped us,” he said. “Now we’ll get -our property back and all the money they took out—that is, if McNamara -hasn’t salted it.”</p> - -<p>“Yes; all that’s necessary is to file the documents, then serve the -Judge and McNamara. You’ll be back on Anvil Creek to-morrow.”</p> - -<p>Having placed their documents on record at the court-house, the two men -continued to McNamara’s office. He met them with courtesy.</p> - -<p>“I heard you had a narrow escape this morning, Mr. Wheaton. Too bad! -What can I do for you?”</p> - -<p>The lawyer rapidly outlined his position and stated in conclusion:</p> - -<p>“I filed certified copies of these orders with the clerk of the court -ten minutes ago, and now I make formal demand upon you to turn over the -Midas to Messrs. Glenister and Dextry, and also to return all the -gold-dust in your safe-deposit boxes in accordance with this writ.” He -handed his documents to McNamara, who tossed them on his desk without -examination.</p> - -<p>“Well,” said the politician, quietly, “I won’t do it.”</p> - -<p>Had he been slapped in the face the attorney would not have been more -astonished.</p> - -<p>“Why—you—”</p> - -<p>“I won’t do it, I said,” McNamara repeated, sharply. “Don’t think for a -minute that I haven’t gone into this fight armed for everything. Writs -of supersedeas! Bah!” He snapped his fingers.</p> - -<p>“We’ll see whether you’ll obey or not,” said Wheaton;<a name="page_125" id="page_125"></a> and when he and -Glenister were outside he continued:</p> - -<p>“Let’s get to the Judge quick.”</p> - -<p>As they neared the Golden Gate Hotel they spied McNamara entering. It -was evident that he had slipped from the rear door of his office and -beaten them to the judicial ear.</p> - -<p>“I don’t like that,” said Glenister. “He’s up to something.”</p> - -<p>So it appeared, for they were fifteen minutes in gaining access to the -magistrate and then found McNamara with him. Both men were astounded at -the change in Stillman’s appearance. During the last month his weak face -had shrunk and altered until vacillation was betrayed in every line, and -he had acquired the habit of furtively watching McNamara’s slightest -movement. It seemed that the part he played sat heavily upon him.</p> - -<p>The Judge examined the papers perfunctorily, and, although his air was -deliberate, his fingers made clumsy work of it. At last he said:</p> - -<p>“I regret that I am forced to doubt the authenticity of these -documents.”</p> - -<p>“My Heavens, man!” Wheaton cried. “They’re certified copies of orders -from your superior court. They grant the appeal that you have denied us -and take the case out of your hands altogether. Yes—and they order this -man to surrender the mine and everything connected with it. Now, sir, we -want you to enforce these orders.”</p> - -<p>Stillman glanced at the silent man in the window and replied:</p> - -<p>“You will, of course, proceed regularly and make application<a name="page_126" id="page_126"></a> in court -in the proper way, but I tell you now that I won’t do anything in the -matter.”</p> - -<p>Wheaton stared at him fixedly until the old man snapped out:</p> - -<p>“You say they are certified copies. How do I know they are? The -signatures may all be false. Maybe you signed them yourself.”</p> - -<p>The lawyer grew very white at this and stammered until Glenister drew -him out of the room.</p> - -<p>“Come, come,” he said, “we’ll carry this thing through in open court. -Maybe his nerve will go back on him then. McNamara has him hypnotized, -but he won’t dare refuse to obey the orders of the Circuit Court of -Appeals.”</p> - -<p>“He won’t, eh? Well, what do you think he’s doing right now?” said -Wheaton. “I must think. This is the boldest game I ever played in. They -told me things while I was in ’Frisco which I couldn’t believe, but I -guess they’re true. Judges don’t disobey the orders of their courts of -appeal unless there is power back of them.”</p> - -<p>They proceeded to the attorney’s office, but had not been there long -before Slapjack Simms burst in upon them.</p> - -<p>“Hell to pay!” he panted. “McNamara’s taking your dust out of the bank.”</p> - -<p>“What’s that?” they cried.</p> - -<p>“I goes into the bank just now for an assay on some quartz samples. The -assayer is busy, and I walk back into his room, and while I’m there in -trots McNamara in a hurry. He don’t see me, as I’m inside the private -office, and I overhear him tell them to get his dust out of the vault -quick.”</p> - -<p>“We’ve got to stop that,” said Glenister. “If he<a name="page_127" id="page_127"></a> takes ours, he’ll take -the Swedes’, too. Simms, you run up to the Pioneer Company and tell them -about it. If he gets that gold out of there, nobody knows what’ll become -of it. Come on, Bill.”</p> - -<p>He snatched his hat and ran out of the room, followed by the others. -That the loose-jointed Slapjack did his work with expedition was -evidenced by the fact that the Swedes were close upon their heels as the -two entered the bank. Others had followed, sensing something unusual, -and the space within the doors filled rapidly. At the disturbance the -clerks suspended their work, the barred doors of the safe-deposit vault -clanged to, and the cashier laid hand upon the navy Colt’s at his elbow. -“What’s the matter?” he cried.</p> - -<p>“We want Alec McNamara,” said Glenister.</p> - -<p>The manager of the bank appeared, and Glenister spoke to him through the -heavy wire netting.</p> - -<p>“Is McNamara in there?”</p> - -<p>No one had ever known Morehouse to lie. “Yes, sir.” He spoke -hesitatingly, in a voice full of the slow music of Virginia. “He is in -here. What of it?”</p> - -<p>“We hear he’s trying to move that dust of ours and we won’t stand for -it. Tell him to come out and not hide in there like a dog.”</p> - -<p>At these words the politician appeared beside the Southerner, and the -two conversed softly an instant, while the impatience of the crowd grew -to anger. Some one cried:</p> - -<p>“Let’s go in and drag him out,” and the rumble at this was not pleasant. -Morehouse raised his hand.</p> - -<p>“Gentlemen, Mr. McNamara says he doesn’t intend to take any of the gold -away.”</p> - -<p>“Then he’s taken it already.”<a name="page_128" id="page_128"></a></p> - -<p>“No, he hasn’t.”</p> - -<p>The receiver’s course had been quickly chosen at the interruption. It -was not wise to anger these men too much. Although he had planned to get -the money into his own possession, he now thought it best to leave it -here for the present. He could come back at any time when they were off -guard and get it. Beyond the door against which he stood lay three -hundred thousand dollars—weighed, sacked, sealed, and ready to move out -of the custody of this Virginian whose confidence he had tried so -fruitlessly to gain.</p> - -<p>As McNamara looked into the angry eyes of the lean-faced men beyond the -grating, he felt that the game was growing close, and his blood tingled -at the thought. He had not planned on a resistance so strong and swift, -but he would meet it. He knew that they hungered for his destruction and -that Glenister was their leader. He saw further that the man’s hatred -now stared at him openly for the first time. He knew that back of it was -something more than love for the dull metal over which they wrangled, -and then a thought came to him.</p> - -<p>“Some of your work, eh, Glenister?” he mocked. “Were you afraid to come -alone, or did you wait till you saw me with a lady?”</p> - -<p>At the same instant he opened a door behind him, revealing Helen -Chester. “You’d better not walk out with me, Miss Chester. This man -might—well, you’re safer here, you know. You’ll pardon me for leaving -you.” He hoped he could incite the young man to some rash act or word in -the presence of the girl, and counted on the conspicuous heroism of his -own position, facing the mob single-handed, one against fifty.<a name="page_129" id="page_129"></a></p> - -<p>“Come out,” said his enemy, hoarsely, upon whom the insult and the sight -of the girl in the receiver’s company had acted powerfully.</p> - -<p>“Of course I’ll come out, but I don’t want this young lady to suffer any -violence from your friends,” said McNamara. “I am not armed, but I have -the right to leave here unmolested—the right of an American citizen.” -With that he raised his arms above his head. “Out of my way!” he cried. -Morehouse opened the gate, and McNamara strode through the mob.</p> - -<p>It is a peculiar thing that although under fury of passion a man may -fire even upon the back of a defenceless foe, yet no one can offer -violence to a man whose arms are raised on high and in whose glance is -the level light of fearlessness. Moreover, it is safer to face a crowd -thus than a single adversary.</p> - -<p>McNamara had seen this psychological trick tried before and now took -advantage of it to walk through the press slowly, eye to eye. He did it -theatrically, for the benefit of the girl, and, as he foresaw, the men -fell away before him—all but Glenister, who blocked him, gun in hand. -It was plain that the persecuted miner was beside himself with passion. -McNamara came within an arm’s-length before pausing. Then he stopped and -the two stared malignantly at each other, while the girl behind the -railing heard her heart pounding in the stillness. Glenister raised his -hand uncertainly, then let it fall. He shook his head, and stepped aside -so that the other brushed past and out into the street.</p> - -<p>Wheaton addressed the banker:</p> - -<p>“Mr. Morehouse, we’ve got orders and writs of one<a name="page_130" id="page_130"></a> kind or another from -the Circuit Court of Appeals at ’Frisco directing that this money be -turned over to us.” He shoved the papers towards the other. “We’re not -in a mood to trifle. That gold belongs to us, and we want it.”</p> - -<p>Morehouse looked carefully at the papers.</p> - -<p>“I can’t help you,” he said. “These documents are not directed to me. -They’re issued to Mr. McNamara and Judge Stillman. If the Circuit Court -of Appeals commands me to deliver it to you I’ll do it, but otherwise -I’ll have to keep this dust here till it’s drawn out by order of the -court that gave it to me. That’s the way it was put in here, and that’s -the way it’ll be taken out.”</p> - -<p>“We want it now.”</p> - -<p>“Well, I can’t let my sympathies influence me.”</p> - -<p>“Then we’ll take it out, anyway,” cried Glenister. “We’ve had the worst -of it everywhere else and we’re sick of it. Come on, men.”</p> - -<p>“Stand back!—all of you!” cried Morehouse. “Don’t lay a hand on that -gate. Boys, pick your men.”</p> - -<p>He called this last to his clerks, at the same instant whipping from -behind the counter a carbine, which he cocked. The assayer brought into -view a shot-gun, while the cashier and clerks armed themselves. It was -evident that the deposits of the Alaska Bank were abundantly -safeguarded.</p> - -<p>“I don’t aim to have any trouble with you-all,” continued the -Southerner, “but that money stays here till it’s drawn out right.”</p> - -<p>The crowd paused at this show of resistance, but Glenister railed at -them:<a name="page_131" id="page_131"></a></p> - -<p>“Come on—come on! What’s the matter with you?” And from the light in -his eye it was evident that he would not be balked.</p> - -<p>Helen felt that a crisis was come, and braced herself. These men were in -deadly earnest: the white-haired banker, his pale helpers, and those -grim, quiet ones outside. There stood brawny, sun-browned men, with set -jaws and frowning faces, and yellow-haired Scandinavians in whose blue -eyes danced the flame of battle. These had been baffled at every turn, -goaded by repeated failure, and now stood shoulder to shoulder in their -resistance to a cruel law. Suddenly Helen heard a command from the -street and the quick tramp of men, while over the heads before her she -saw the glint of rifle barrels. A file of soldiers with fixed bayonets -thrust themselves roughly through the crowd at the entrance.</p> - -<p>“Clear the room!” commanded the officer.</p> - -<p>“What does this mean?” shouted Wheaton.</p> - -<p>“It means that Judge Stillman has called upon the military to guard this -gold, that’s all. Come, now, move quick.” The men hesitated, then -sullenly obeyed, for resistance to the blue of Uncle Sam comes only at -the cost of much consideration.</p> - -<p>“They’re robbing us with our own soldiers,” said Wheaton, when they were -outside.</p> - -<p>“Ay,” said Glenister, darkly. “We’ve tried the law, but they’re forcing -us back to first principles. There’s going to be murder here.”<a name="page_132" id="page_132"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XII" id="CHAPTER_XII"></a>CHAPTER XII<br /><br /> -<small>COUNTERPLOTS</small></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">G</span><b>LENISTER</b> had said that the Judge would not dare to disobey the mandates -of the Circuit Court of Appeals, but he was wrong. Application was made -for orders directing the enforcement of the writs—steps which would -have restored possession of the Midas to its owners, as well as -possession of the treasure in bank—but Stillman refused to grant them.</p> - -<p>Wheaton called a meeting of the Swedes and their attorneys, advising a -junction of forces. Dextry, who had returned from the mountains, was -present. When they had finished their discussion, he said:</p> - -<p>“It seems like I can always fight better when I know what the other -feller’s game is. I’m going to spy on that outfit.”</p> - -<p>“We’ve had detectives at work for weeks,” said the lawyer for the -Scandinavians; “but they can’t find out anything we don’t know already.”</p> - -<p>Dextry said no more, but that night found him busied in the building -adjoining the one wherein McNamara had his office. He had rented a back -room on the top floor, and with the help of his partner sawed through -the ceiling into the loft and found his way thence to the roof through a -hatchway. Fortunately, there was but little space between the two -buildings,<a name="page_133" id="page_133"></a> and, furthermore, each boasted the square fronts common in -mining-camps, which projected high enough to prevent observation from -across the way. Thus he was enabled, without discovery, to gain the roof -adjoining and to cut through into the loft. He crept cautiously in -through the opening, and out upon a floor of joists sealed on the lower -side, then lit a candle, and, locating McNamara’s office, cut a -peep-hole so that by lying flat on the timbers he could command a -considerable portion of the room beneath. Here, early the following -morning, he camped with the patience of an Indian, emerging in the still -of that night stiff, hungry, and atrociously cross. Meanwhile, there had -been another meeting of the mine-owners, and it had been decided to send -Wheaton, properly armed with affidavits and transcripts of certain court -records, back to San Francisco on the return trip of the <i>Santa Maria</i>, -which had arrived in port. He was to institute proceedings for contempt -of court, and it was hoped that by extraordinary effort he could gain -quick action.</p> - -<p>At daybreak Dextry returned to his post, and it was midnight before he -crawled from his hiding-place to see the lawyer and Glenister.</p> - -<p>“They have had a spy on you all day, Wheaton,” he began, “and they know -you’re going out to the States. You’ll be arrested to-morrow morning -before breakfast.”</p> - -<p>“Arrested! What for?”</p> - -<p>“I don’t just remember what the crime is—bigamy, or mayhem, or -attainder of treason, or something—anyway, they’ll get you in jail and -that’s all they want. They think you’re the only lawyer that’s wise -enough to cause trouble and the only one they can’t bribe.”<a name="page_134" id="page_134"></a></p> - -<p>“Lord! What’ll I do? They’ll watch every lighter that leaves the beach, -and if they don’t catch me that way, they’ll search the ship.”</p> - -<p>“I’ve thought it all out,” said the old man, to whom obstruction acted -as a stimulant.</p> - -<p>“Yes—but how?”</p> - -<p>“Leave it to me. Get your things together and be ready to duck in two -hours.”</p> - -<p>“I tell you they’ll search the <i>Santa Maria</i> from stem to stern,” -protested the lawyer, but Dextry had gone.</p> - -<p>“Better do as he says. His schemes are good ones,” recommended -Glenister, and accordingly the lawyer made preparation.</p> - -<p>In the mean time the old prospector had begun at the end of Front Street -to make a systematic search of the gambling-houses. Although it was very -late they were running noisily, and at last he found the man he wanted -playing “Black Jack,” the smell of tar in his clothes, the lilt of the -sea in his boisterous laughter. Dextry drew him aside.</p> - -<p>“Mac, there’s only two things about you that’s any good—your silence -and your seamanship. Otherwise, you’re a disreppitable, drunken insect.”</p> - -<p>The sailor grinned.</p> - -<p>“What is it you want now? If it’s concerning money, or business, or the -growed-up side of life, run along and don’t disturb the carousals of a -sailorman. If it’s a fight, lemme get my hat.”</p> - -<p>“I want you to wake up your fireman and have steam on the tug in an -hour, then wait for me below the bridge. You’re chartered for -twenty-four hours, and—remember, not a word.”<a name="page_135" id="page_135"></a></p> - -<p>“I’m on! Compared to me the Spinks of Egyp’ is as talkative as a -phonograph.”</p> - -<p>The old man next turned his steps to the Northern Theatre. The -performance was still in progress, and he located the man he was hunting -without difficulty.</p> - -<p>Ascending the stairs, he knocked at the door of one of the boxes and -called for Captain Stephens.</p> - -<p>“I’m glad I found you, Cap,” said he. “It saved me a trip out to your -ship in the dark.”</p> - -<p>“What’s the matter?”</p> - -<p>Dextry drew him to an isolated corner. “Me an’ my partner want to send a -man to the States with you.”</p> - -<p>“All right.”</p> - -<p>“Well—er—here’s the point,” hesitated the miner, who rebelled at -asking favors. “He’s our law sharp, an’ the McNamara outfit is tryin’ to -put the steel on him.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t understand.”</p> - -<p>“Why, they’ve swore out a warrant an’ aim to guard the shore to-morrow. -We want you to—”</p> - -<p>“Mr. Dextry, I’m not looking for trouble. I get enough in my own -business.”</p> - -<p>“But, see here,” argued the other, “we’ve got to send him out so he can -make a pow-wow to the big legal smoke in ’Frisco. We’ve been cold-decked -with a bum judge. They’ve got us into a corner an’ over the ropes.”</p> - -<p>“I’m sorry I can’t help you, Dextry, but I got mixed up in one of your -scrapes and that’s plenty.”</p> - -<p>“This ain’t no stowaway. There’s no danger to you,” began Dextry, but -the officer interrupted him:</p> - -<p>“There’s no need of arguing. I won’t do it.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, you <i>won’t</i>, eh?” said the old man, beginning<a name="page_136" id="page_136"></a> to lose his temper. -“Well, you listen to <i>me</i> for a minute. Everybody in camp knows that me -an’ the kid is on the square an’ that we’re gettin’ the bunk passed to -us. Now, this lawyer party must get away to-night or these grafters will -hitch the horses to him on some phony charge so he can’t get to the -upper court. It’ll be him to the bird-cage for ninety days. He’s goin’ -to the States, though, an’ he’s goin’—in—your—wagon! I’m talkin’ to -you—man to man. If you don’t take him, I’ll go to the health -inspector—he’s a friend of mine—an’ I’ll put a crimp in you an’ your -steamboat. I don’t want to do that—it ain’t my reg’lar graft by no -means—but this bet goes through as she lays. I never belched up a -secret before. No, sir; I am the human huntin’-case watch, an’ I won’t -open my face unless you press me. But if I should, you’ll see that it’s -time for you to hunt a new job. Now, here’s my scheme.” He outlined his -directions to the sailor, who had fallen silent during the warning. When -he had done, Stephens said:</p> - -<p>“I never had a man talk to me like that before, sir—never. You’ve taken -advantage of me, and under the circumstances I can’t refuse. I’ll do -this thing—not because of your threat, but because I heard about your -trouble over the Midas—and because I can’t help admiring your blamed -insolence.” He went back into his stall.</p> - -<p>Dextry returned to Wheaton’s office. As he neared it, he passed a -lounging figure in an adjacent doorway.</p> - -<p>“The place is watched,” he announced as he entered. “Have you got a back -door? Good! Leave your light burning and we’ll go out that way.” They -slipped<a name="page_137" id="page_137"></a> quietly into an inky, tortuous passage which led back towards -Second Street. Floundering through alleys and over garbage heaps, by -circuitous routes, they reached the bridge, where, in the swift stream -beneath, they saw the lights from Mac’s tug.</p> - -<p>Steam was up, and when the Captain had let them aboard Dextry gave him -instructions, to which he nodded acquiescence. They bade the lawyer -adieu, and the little craft slipped its moorings, danced down the -current, across the bar, and was swallowed up in the darkness to -seaward.</p> - -<p>“I’ll put out Wheaton’s light so they’ll think he’s gone to bed.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, and at daylight I’ll take your place in McNamara’s loft,” said -Glenister. “There will be doings to-morrow when they don’t find him.”</p> - -<p>They returned by the way they had come to the lawyer’s room, -extinguished his light, went to their own cabin and to bed. At dawn -Glenister arose and sought his place above McNamara’s office.</p> - -<p>To lie stretched at length on a single plank with eye glued to a crack -is not a comfortable position, and the watcher thought the hours of the -next day would never end. As they dragged wearily past, his bones began -to ache beyond endurance, yet owing to the flimsy structure of the -building he dared not move while the room below was tenanted. In fact, -he would not have stirred had he dared, so intense was his interest in -the scenes being enacted beneath him.</p> - -<p>First had come the marshal, who reported his failure to find Wheaton.</p> - -<p>“He left his room some time last night. My men followed him in and saw a -light in his window until<a name="page_138" id="page_138"></a> two o’clock this morning. At seven o’clock we -broke in and he was gone.”</p> - -<p>“He must have got wind of our plan. Send deputies aboard the <i>Santa -Maria</i>; search her from keel to top-mast, and have them watch the beach -close or he’ll put off in a small boat. You look over the passengers -that go aboard yourself. Don’t trust any of your men for that, because -he may try to slip through disguised. He’s liable to make up like a -woman. You understand—there’s only one ship in port, and—he mustn’t -get away.”</p> - -<p>“He won’t,” said Voorhees, with conviction, and the listener overhead -smiled grimly to himself, for at that moment, twenty miles offshore, lay -Mac’s little tug, hove to in the track of the outgoing steamship, and in -her tiny cabin sat Bill Wheaton eating breakfast.</p> - -<p>As the morning wore by with no news of the lawyer, McNamara’s uneasiness -grew. At noon the marshal returned with a report that the passengers -were all aboard and the ship about to clear.</p> - -<p>“By Heavens! He’s slipped through you,” stormed the politician.</p> - -<p>“No, he hasn’t. He may be hidden aboard somewhere among the -coal-bunkers, but I think he’s still ashore and aiming to make a quick -run just before she sails. He hasn’t left the beach since daylight, -that’s sure. I’m going out to the ship now with four men and search her -again. If we don’t bring him off you can bet he’s lying out somewhere in -town and we’ll get him later. I’ve stationed men along the shore for two -miles.”</p> - -<p>“I won’t have him get away. If he should reach ’Frisco—Tell your men -I’ll give five hundred dollars to the one that finds him.”<a name="page_139" id="page_139"></a></p> - -<p>Three hours later Voorhees returned.</p> - -<p>“She sailed without him.”</p> - -<p>The politician cursed. “I don’t believe it. He tricked you. I know he -did.”</p> - -<p>Glenister grinned into a half-eaten sandwich, then turned upon his back -and lay thus on the plank, identifying the speakers below by their -voices.</p> - -<p>He kept his post all day. Later in the evening he heard Struve enter. -The man had been drinking.</p> - -<p>“So he got away, eh?” he began. “I was afraid he would. Smart fellow, -that Wheaton.”</p> - -<p>“He didn’t get away,” said McNamara. “He’s in town yet. Just let me land -him in jail on some excuse! I’ll hold him till snow flies.” Struve sank -into a chair and lit a cigarette with wavering hand.</p> - -<p>“This ’s a hell of a game, ain’t it, Mac? D’you s’pose we’ll win?”</p> - -<p>The man overhead pricked up his ears.</p> - -<p>“Win? Aren’t we winning? What do you call this? I only hope we can lay -hands on Wheaton. He knows things. A little knowledge is a dangerous -thing, but more is worse. Lord! If only I had a <i>man</i> for judge in place -of Stillman! I don’t know why I brought him.”</p> - -<p>“That’s right. Too weak. He hasn’t got the backbone of an angleworm. He -ain’t half the man that his niece is. <i>There’s</i> a girl for you! Say! -What’d we do without her, eh? She’s a pippin!” Glenister felt a sudden -tightening of every muscle. What right had that man’s liquor-sodden lips -to speak so of her?</p> - -<p>“She’s a brave little woman all right. Just look how she worked -Glenister and his fool partner. It took nerve to bring in those -instructions of yours alone; and<a name="page_140" id="page_140"></a> if it hadn’t been for her we’d never -have won like this. It makes me laugh to think of those two men stowing -her away in their state-room while they slept between decks with the -sheep, and her with the papers in her bosom all the time. Then, when we -got ready to do business, why, she up and talks them into giving us -possession of their mine without a fight. That’s what I call -reciprocating a man’s affection.”</p> - -<p>Glenister’s nails cut into his flesh, while his face went livid at the -words. He could not grasp it at once. It made him sick—physically -sick—and for many moments he strove blindly to beat back the hideous -suspicion, the horror that the lawyer had aroused. His was not a -doubting disposition, and to him the girl had seemed as one pure, -mysterious, apart, angelically incapable of deceit. He had loved her, -feeling that some day she would return his affection without fail. In -her great, unclouded eyes he had found no lurking-place for -double-dealing. Now—God! It couldn’t be that all the time she had -<i>known</i>!</p> - -<p>He had lost a part of the lawyer’s speech, but peered through his -observation-hole again.</p> - -<p>McNamara was at the window gazing out into the dark street, his back -towards the lawyer, who lolled in the chair, babbling garrulously of the -girl. Glenister ground his teeth—a frenzy possessed him to loose his -anger, to rip through the frail ceiling with naked hands and fall -vindictively upon the two men.</p> - -<p>“She looked good to me the first time I saw her,” continued Struve. He -paused, and when he spoke again a change had coarsened his features. -“Say, I’m crazy about her, Mac. I tell you, I’m crazy—and she likes -me—I know she does—or, anyway, she would<a name="page_141" id="page_141"></a>—”</p> - -<p>“Do you mean that you’re in love with her?” asked the man at the window, -without shifting his position. It seemed that utter indifference was in -his question, although where the light shone on his hands, -tight-clinched behind his back, they were bloodless.</p> - -<p>“Love her? Well—that depends—ha! You know how it is—” he chuckled, -coarsely. His face was gross and bestial. “I’ve got the Judge where I -want him, and I’ll have her—”</p> - -<p>His miserable words died with a gurgle, for McNamara had silently leaped -and throttled him where he sat, pinning him to the wall. Glenister saw -the big politician shift his fingers slightly on Struve’s throat and -then drop his left hand to his side, holding his victim writhing and -helpless with his right despite the man’s frantic struggles. McNamara’s -head was thrust forward from his shoulders, peering into the lawyer’s -face. Struve tore ineffectually at the iron arm which was squeezing his -life out, while for endless minutes the other leaned his weight against -him, his idle hand behind his back, his legs braced like stone columns, -as he watched his victim’s struggles abate.</p> - -<p>Struve fought and wrenched while his breath caught in his throat with -horrid, sickening sounds, but gradually his eyes rolled farther and -farther back till they stared out of his blackened visage, straight up -towards the ceiling, towards the hole through which Glenister peered. -His struggles lessened, his chin sagged, and his tongue protruded, then -he sat loose and still. The politician flung him out into the room so -that he fell limply upon his face, then stood watching him. Finally, -McNamara passed out of the watcher’s vision, returning with a -water-bucket. With his foot he rolled the<a name="page_142" id="page_142"></a> unconscious wretch upon his -back, then drenched him. Replacing the pail, he seated himself, lit a -cigar, and watched the return of life into his victim. He made no move, -even to drag him from the pool in which he lay.</p> - -<p>Struve groaned and shuddered, twisted to his side, and at last sat up -weakly. In his eyes there was now a great terror, while in place of his -drunkenness was only fear and faintness—abject fear of the great bulk -that sat and smoked and stared at him so fishily. He felt uncertainly of -his throat, and groaned again.</p> - -<p>“Why did you do that?” he whispered; but the other made no sign. He -tried to rise, but his knees relaxed; he staggered and fell. At last he -gained his feet and made for the door; then, when his hand was on the -knob, McNamara spoke through his teeth, without removing his cigar.</p> - -<p>“Don’t ever talk about her again. She is going to marry me.”</p> - -<p>When he was alone he looked curiously up at the ceiling over his head. -“The rats are thick in this shack,” he mused. “Seems to me I heard a -whole swarm of them.”</p> - -<p>A few moments later a figure crept through the hole in the roof of the -house next door and thence down into the street. A block ahead was the -slow-moving form of Attorney Struve. Had a stranger met them both he -would not have known which of the two had felt at his throat the clutch -of a strangler, for each was drawn and haggard and swayed as he went.</p> - -<p>Glenister unconsciously turned towards his cabin, but at leaving the -lighted streets the thought of its darkness and silence made him -shudder. Not now!<a name="page_143" id="page_143"></a> He could not bear that stillness and the company of -his thoughts. He dared not be alone. Dextry would be down-town, -undoubtedly, and he, too, must get into the light and turmoil. He licked -his lips and found that they were cracked and dry.</p> - -<p>At rare intervals during the past years he had staggered in from a long -march where, for hours, he had waged a bitter war with cold and hunger, -his limbs clumsy with fatigue, his garments wet and stiff, his mind -slack and sullen. At such extreme seasons he had felt a consuming -thirst, a thirst which burned and scorched until his very bones cried -out feverishly. Not a thirst for water, nor a thirst which eaten snow -could quench, but a savage yearning of his whole exhausted system for -some stimulant, for some coursing fiery fluid that would burn and -strangle. A thirst for whiskey—for brandy! Remembering these occasional -ferocious desires, he had become charitable to such unfortunates as were -too weak to withstand similar temptations.</p> - -<p>Now with a shock he caught himself in the grip of a thirst as insistent -as though the cold bore down and the weariness of endless heavy miles -wrapped him about. It was no foolish wish to drown his thoughts nor to -banish the grief that preyed upon him, but only thirst! Thirst!—a -crying, trembling, physical lust to quench the fires that burned inside. -He remembered that it had been more than a year since he had tasted -whiskey. Now the fever of the past few hours had parched his every -tissue.</p> - -<p>As he elbowed in through the crowd at the Northern, those next him made -room at the bar, for they recognized the hunger that peers thus from -men’s faces.<a name="page_144" id="page_144"></a> Their manner recalled Glenister to his senses, and he -wrenched himself away. This was not some solitary, snow-banked -road-house. He would not stand and soak himself, shoulder to shoulder -with stevedores and longshoremen. This was something to be done in -secret. He had no pride in it. The man on his right raised a glass, and -the young man strangled a madness to tear it from his hands. Instead, he -hurried back to the theatre and up to a box, where he drew the curtains.</p> - -<p>“Whiskey!” he said, thickly, to the waiter. “Bring it to me fast. Don’t -you hear? Whiskey!”</p> - -<p>Across the theatre Cherry Malotte had seen him enter and jerk the -curtains together. She arose and went to him, entering without ceremony.</p> - -<p>“What’s the matter, boy?” she questioned.</p> - -<p>“Ah! I am glad you came. Talk to me.”</p> - -<p>“Thank you for your few well-chosen remarks,” she laughed. “Why don’t -you ask me to spring some good, original jokes? You look like the finish -to a six-day go-as-you-please. What’s up?”</p> - -<p>She talked to him for a moment until the waiter entered; then, when she -saw what he bore, she snatched the glass from the tray and poured the -whiskey on the floor. Glenister was on his feet and had her by the -wrist.</p> - -<p>“What do you mean?” he said, roughly.</p> - -<p>“It’s whiskey, boy,” she cried, “and you don’t drink.”</p> - -<p>“Of course it’s whiskey. Bring me another,” he shouted at the attendant.</p> - -<p>“What’s the matter?” Cherry insisted. “I never saw you act so. You know -you don’t drink. I won’t<a name="page_145" id="page_145"></a> let you. It’s booze—booze, I tell you, fit -for fools and brawlers. Don’t drink it, Roy. Are you in trouble?”</p> - -<p>“I say I’m thirsty—and I will have it! How do you know what it is to -smoulder inside, and feel your veins burn dry?”</p> - -<p>“It’s something about that girl,” the woman said, with quiet conviction. -“She’s double-crossed you.”</p> - -<p>“Well, so she has—but what of it? I’m thirsty. She’s going to marry -McNamara. I’ve been a fool.” He ground his teeth and reached for the -drink with which the boy had returned.</p> - -<p>“McNamara is a crook, but he’s a man, and he never drank a drop in his -life.” The girl said it, casually, evenly, but the other stopped the -glass half-way to his lips.</p> - -<p>“Well, what of it? Go on. You’re good at W. C. T. U. talk. Virtue -becomes you.”</p> - -<p>She flushed, but continued, “It simply occurred to me that if you aren’t -strong enough to handle your own throat, you’re not strong enough to -beat a man who has mastered his.”</p> - -<p>Glenister looked at the whiskey a moment, then set it back on the tray.</p> - -<p>“Bring two lemonades,” he said, and with a laugh which was half a sob -Cherry Malotte leaned forward and kissed him.</p> - -<p>“You’re too good a man to drink. Now, tell me all about it.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, it’s too long! I’ve just learned that the girl is in, hand and -glove, with the Judge and McNamara—that’s all. She’s an advance -agent—their lookout. She brought in their instructions to Struve and -persuaded Dex and me to let them jump our claim. She<a name="page_146" id="page_146"></a> got us to trust in -the law and in her uncle. Yes, she hypnotized my property out of me and -gave it to her lover, this ward politician. Oh, she’s smooth, with all -her innocence! Why, when she smiles she makes you glad and good and -warm, and her eyes are as honest and clear as a mountain pool, but she’s -wrong—she’s wrong—and—great God! how I love her!” He dropped his face -into his hands.</p> - -<p>When she had pled with him for himself a moment before Cherry Malotte -was genuine and girlish but now as he spoke thus of the other woman a -change came over her which he was too disturbed to note. She took on the -subtleness that masked her as a rule, and her eyes were not pleasant.</p> - -<p>“I could have told you all that and more.”</p> - -<p>“More! What more?” he questioned.</p> - -<p>“Do you remember when I warned you and Dextry that they were coming to -search your cabin for the gold? Well, that girl put them on to you. I -found it out afterwards. She keeps the keys to McNamara’s safety vault -where your dust lies, and she’s the one who handles the Judge. It isn’t -McNamara at all.” The woman lied easily, fluently, and the man believed -her.</p> - -<p>“Do you remember when they broke into your safe and took that money?”</p> - -<p>“Yes.”</p> - -<p>“Well, what made them think you had ten thousand in there?”</p> - -<p>“I don’t know.”</p> - -<p>“I do. Dextry told her.”</p> - -<p>Glenister arose. “That’s all I want to hear now. I’m going crazy. My -mind aches, for I’ve never had a fight like this before and it hurts. -You see, I’ve been<a name="page_147" id="page_147"></a> an animal all these years. When I wanted to drink, I -drank, and what I wanted, I got, because I’ve been strong enough to take -it. This is new to me. I’m going down-stairs now and try to think of -something else—then I’m going home.”</p> - -<p>When he had gone she pulled back the curtains, and, leaning her chin in -her hands, with elbows on the ledge, gazed down upon the crowd. The show -was over and the dance had begun, but she did not see it, for she was -thinking rapidly with the eagerness of one who sees the end of a long -and weary search. She did not notice the Bronco Kid beckoning to her nor -the man with him, so the gambler brought his friend along and invaded -her box. He introduced the man as Mr. Champian.</p> - -<p>“Do you feel like dancing?” the new-comer inquired.</p> - -<p>“No; I’d rather look on. I feel sociable. You’re a society man, Mr. -Champian. Don’t you know anything of interest? Scandal or the like?”</p> - -<p>“Can’t say that I do. My wife attends to all that for the family. But I -know there’s lots of it. It’s funny to me, the airs some of these people -assume up here, just as though we weren’t all equal, north of -Fifty-three. I never heard the like.”</p> - -<p>“Anything new and exciting?” inquired Bronco, mildly interested.</p> - -<p>“The last I heard was about the Judge’s niece, Miss Chester.”</p> - -<p>Cherry Malotte turned abruptly, while the Kid slowly lowered the front -legs of his chair to the floor.</p> - -<p>“What was it?” she inquired.</p> - -<p>“Why, it seems she compromised herself pretty badly with this fellow -Glenister coming up on the steamer last spring. Mighty brazen, according -to my wife. Mrs.<a name="page_148" id="page_148"></a> Champian was on the same ship and says she was -horribly shocked.”</p> - -<p>Ah! Glenister had told her only half the tale, thought the girl. The -truth was baring itself. At that moment Champian thought she looked the -typical creature of the dance-halls, the crafty, jealous, malevolent -adventuress.</p> - -<p>“And the hussy masquerades as a lady,” she sneered.</p> - -<p>“She <i>is</i> a lady,” said the Kid. He sat bolt upright and rigid, and the -knuckles of his clinched hands were very white. In the shadow they did -not note that his dark face was ghastly, nor did he say more except to -bid Champian good-bye when he left, later on. After the door had closed, -however, the Kid arose and stretched his muscles, not languidly, but as -though to take out the cramp of long tension. He wet his lips, and his -mouth was so dry that the sound caused the girl to look up.</p> - -<p>“What are you grinning at?” Then, as the light struck his face, she -started. “My! How you look! What ails you? Are you sick?” No one, from -Dawson down, had seen the Bronco Kid as he looked to-night.</p> - -<p>“No. I’m not sick,” he answered, in a cracked voice.</p> - -<p>Then the girl laughed harshly.</p> - -<p>“Do <i>you</i> love that girl, too? Why, she’s got every man in town crazy.”</p> - -<p>She wrung her hands, which is a bad sign in a capable person, and as -Glenister crossed the floor below in her sight she said, “Ah-h—I could -kill him for that!”</p> - -<p>“So could I,” said the Kid, and left her without adieu.<a name="page_149" id="page_149"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIII" id="CHAPTER_XIII"></a>CHAPTER XIII<br /><br /> -<small>IN WHICH A MAN IS POSSESSED OF A DEVIL.</small></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">F</span><b>OR</b> a long time Cherry Malotte sat quietly thinking, removed by her -mental stress to such an infinite distance from the music and turmoil -beneath that she was conscious of it only as a formless clamor. She had -tipped a chair back against the door, wedging it beneath the knob so -that she might be saved from interruption, then flung herself into -another seat and stared unseeingly. As she sat thus, and thought, and -schemed, harsh and hateful lines seemed to eat into her face. Now and -then she moaned impatiently, as though fearing lest the strategy she was -plotting might prove futile; then she would rise and pace her narrow -quarters. She was unconscious of time, and had spent perhaps two hours -thus, when amid the buzz of talk in the next compartment she heard a -name which caused her to start, listen, then drop her preoccupation like -a mantle. A man was speaking of Glenister. Excitement thrilled his -voice.</p> - -<p>“I never saw anything like it since McMaster’s Night in Virginia City, -thirteen years ago. He’s <i>right</i>.”</p> - -<p>“Well, perhaps so,” the other replied, doubtfully, “but I don’t care to -back you. I never ‘staked’ a man in my life.”</p> - -<p>“Then <i>lend</i> me the money. I’ll pay it back in an<a name="page_150" id="page_150"></a> hour, but for -Heaven’s sake be quick. I tell you he’s as right as a golden guinea. -It’s the lucky night of his life. Why, he turned over the Black Jack -game in four bets. In fifteen minutes more we can’t get close enough to -a table to send in our money with a messenger-boy—every sport in camp -will be here.”</p> - -<p>“I’ll stake you to fifty,” the second man replied, in a tone that showed -a trace of his companion’s excitement.</p> - -<p>So Glenister was gambling, the girl learned, and with such luck as to -break the Black Jack game and excite the greed of every gambler in camp. -News of his winnings had gone out into the street, and the sporting men -were coming to share his fortune, to fatten like vultures on the -adversity of their fellows. Those who had no money to stake were -borrowing, like the man next door.</p> - -<p>She left her retreat, and, descending the stairs, was greeted by a -strange sight. The dance-hall was empty of all but the musicians, who -blew and fiddled lustily in vain endeavor to draw from the rapidly -swelling crowd that thronged the gambling-room and stretched to the -door. The press was thickest about a table midway down the hall. Cherry -could see nothing of what went on there, for men and women stood ten -deep about it and others perched on chairs and tables along the walls. A -roar arose suddenly, followed by utter silence; then came the clink and -rattle of silver. A moment, and the crowd resumed its laughter and talk.</p> - -<p>“All down, boys,” sounded the level voice of the dealer. “The field or -the favorite. He’s made eighteen straight passes. Get your money on the -line.” There ensued another breathless instant wherein she<a name="page_151" id="page_151"></a> heard the -thud of dice, then followed the shout of triumph that told what the -spots revealed. The dealer payed off. Glenister reared himself head and -shoulders above the others and pushed out through the ring to the -roulette-wheel. The rest followed. Behind the circular table they had -quitted, the dealer was putting away his dice, and there was not a coin -in his rack. Mexico Mullins approached Cherry, and she questioned him.</p> - -<p>“He just broke the crap game,” Mullins told her; “nineteen passes -without losing the bones.”</p> - -<p>“How much did he win?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, he didn’t win much himself, but it’s the people betting with him -that does the damage! They’re gamblers, most of them, and they play the -limit. He took out the Black Jack bank-roll first, $4,000, then cleaned -the ‘Tub.’ By that time the tin horns began to come in. It’s the -greatest run I ever see.”</p> - -<p>“Did you get in?”</p> - -<p>“Now, don’t you know that I never play anything but ‘bank’? If he lasts -long enough to reach the faro lay-out, I’ll get mine.”</p> - -<p>The excitement of the crowd began to infect the girl, even though she -looked on from the outside. The exultant voices, the sudden hush, the -tensity of nerve it all betokened, set her a-thrill. A stranger left the -throng and rushed to the spot where Cherry and Mexico stood talking. He -was small and sandy, with shifting glance and chinless jaw. His eyes -glittered, his teeth shone ratlike through his dry lips, and his voice -was shrill. He darted towards them like some furtive, frightened little -animal, unnaturally excited.</p> - -<p>“I guess that isn’t so bad for three bets!” He shook a sheaf of -bank-notes at them.<a name="page_152" id="page_152"></a></p> - -<p>“Why don’t you stick?” inquired Mullins.</p> - -<p>“I am too wise. Ha! I know when to quit. He can’t win steady—he don’t -play any system.”</p> - -<p>“Then he has a good chance,” said the girl.</p> - -<p>“There he goes now,” the little man cried as the uproar arose. “I told -you he’d lose.” At the voice of the multitude he wavered as though -affected by some powerful magnet.</p> - -<p>“But he won again,” said Mexico.</p> - -<p>“No! Did he? Lord! I quit too soon!”</p> - -<p>He scampered back into the other room, only to return, hesitating, his -money tightly clutched.</p> - -<p>“Do you s’pose it’s safe? I never saw a man bet so reckless. I guess I’d -better quit, eh?” He noted the sneer on the woman’s face, and without -waiting a reply dashed off again. They saw him clamorously fight his way -in towards a post at the roulette-table. “Let me through! I’ve got money -and I want to play it!”</p> - -<p>“Pah!” said Mullins, disgustedly. “He’s one of them Vermont desperadoes -that never laid a bet till he was thirty. If Glenister loses he’ll hate -him for life.”</p> - -<p>“There are plenty of his sort here,” the girl remarked; “his soul would -fit in a flea-track.” She spied the Bronco Kid sauntering back towards -her and joined him. He leaned against the wall, watching the gossamer -thread of smoke twist upward from his cigarette, seemingly oblivious to -the surroundings, and showing no hint of the emotion he had displayed -two hours before.</p> - -<p>“This is a big killing, isn’t it?” said the girl.</p> - -<p>The gambler nodded, murmuring indifferently.</p> - -<p>“Why aren’t you dealing bank? Isn’t this your shift?”<a name="page_153" id="page_153"></a></p> - -<p>“I quit last night.”</p> - -<p>“Just in time to miss this affair. Lucky for you.”</p> - -<p>“Yes; I own the place now. Bought it yesterday.”</p> - -<p>“Good Heavens! Then it’s <i>your</i> money he’s winning.”</p> - -<p>“Sure, at the rate of a thousand a minute.”</p> - -<p>She glanced at the long trail of devastated tables behind Glenister and -his followers. At that instant the sound told that the miner had won -again, and it dawned upon Cherry that the gambler beside her stood too -quietly, that his hand and voice were too steady, his glance too cold to -be natural. The next moment approved her instinct.</p> - -<p>The musicians, grown tired of their endeavors to lure back the dancers, -determined to join the excitement, and ceased playing. The leader laid -down his violin, the pianist trailed up the key-board with a departing -twitter and quit his stool. They all crossed the hall, headed for the -crowd, some of them making ready to bet. As they approached the Bronco -Kid, his lips thinned and slid apart slightly, while out of his -heavy-lidded eyes there flared unreasoning rage. Stepping forward, he -seized the foremost man and spun him about violently.</p> - -<p>“Where are you going?”</p> - -<p>“Why, nobody wants to dance, so we thought we’d go out front for a bit.”</p> - -<p>“Get back, damn you!” It was his first chance to vent the passion within -him. A glance at his maddened features was sufficient for the musicians, -and they did not delay. By the time they had resumed their duties, -however, the curtains of composure had closed upon the Kid, masking his -emotion again; but<a name="page_154" id="page_154"></a> from her brief glimpse Cherry Malotte knew that this -man was not of ice, as some supposed. He turned to her and said, “Do you -mean what you said up-stairs?”</p> - -<p>“I don’t understand.”</p> - -<p>“You said you could kill Glenister.”</p> - -<p>“I could.”</p> - -<p>“Don’t you love—”</p> - -<p>“I <i>hate</i> him,” she interrupted, hoarsely. He gave her a mirthless -smile, and spying the crap-dealer leaving his bankrupt table, called him -over and said:</p> - -<p>“Toby, I want you to ‘drive the hearse’ when Glenister begins to play -faro. I’ll deal. Understand?”</p> - -<p>“Sure! Going to give him a little ‘work,’ eh?”</p> - -<p>“I never dealt a crooked card in this camp,” exclaimed the Kid, “but -I’ll ‘lay’ that man to-night or I’ll kill him! I’ll use a ‘sand-tell,’ -see! And I want to explain my signals to you. If you miss the signs -you’ll queer us both and put the house on the blink.”</p> - -<p>He rapidly rehearsed his signals in a jargon which to a layman would -have been unintelligible, illustrating them by certain almost -imperceptible shiftings of the fingers or changes in the position of his -hand, so slight as to thwart discovery. Through it all the girl stood by -and followed his every word and motion with eager attention. She needed -no explanation of the terms they used. She knew them all, knew that the -“hearse-driver” was the man who kept the cases, knew all the code of the -“inside life.” To her it was all as an open page, and she memorized more -quickly than did Toby the signs by which the Bronco Kid proposed to -signal what card he had smuggled from the box or held back.</p> - -<p>In faro it is customary for the case-keeper to sit on the opposite side -of the table from the dealer, with a<a name="page_155" id="page_155"></a> device before him resembling an -abacus, or Chinese adding-machine. When a card is removed from the -faro-box by the dealer, the “hearse-driver” moves a button opposite a -corresponding card on his little machine, in order that the players, at -a glance, may tell what spots have been played or are still in the box. -His duties, though simple, are important, for should he make an error, -and should the position of his counters not tally with the cards in the -box on the “last turn,” all bets on the table are declared void. When -honestly dealt, faro is the fairest of all gambling games, but it is -intricate, and may hide much knavery. When the game is crooked, it is -fatal, for out of the ingenuity of generations of card sharks there have -been evolved a multitude of devices with which to fleece the -unsuspecting. These are so carefully masked that none but the initiated -may know them, while the freemasonry of the craft is strong and -discovery unusual.</p> - -<p>Instead of using a familiar arrangement like the “needle-tell,” wherein -an invisible needle pricks the dealer’s thumb, thus signalling the -presence of certain cards, the Bronco Kid had determined to use the -“sand-tell.” In other words, he would employ a “straight box,” but a -deck of cards, certain ones of which had been roughened or sand-papered -slightly, so that, by pressing more heavily on the top or exposed card, -the one beneath would stick to its neighbor above, and thus enable him -to deal two with one motion if the occasion demanded. This roughness -would likewise enable him to detect the hidden presence of a marked card -by the faintest scratching sound when he dealt. In this manipulation it -would be necessary, also, to shave the edges of some of the pasteboards -a trifle, so<a name="page_156" id="page_156"></a> that, when the deck was forced firmly against one side of -the box, there would be exposed a fraction of the small figure in the -left-hand corner of the concealed cards. Long practice in the art of -jugglery lends such proficiency as to baffle discovery and rob the game -of its uncertainty as surely as the player is robbed of his money. It -is, of course, vital that the confederate case-keeper be able to -interpret the dealer’s signs perfectly in order to move the sliding -ebony disks to correspond, else trouble will accrue at the completion of -the hand when the cases come out wrong.</p> - -<p>Having completed his instructions, the proprietor went forward, and -Cherry wormed her way towards the roulette-wheel. She wished to watch -Glenister, but could not get near him because of the crowd. The men -would not make room for her. Every eye was glued upon the table as -though salvation lurked in its rows of red and black. They were packed -behind it until the croupier had barely room to spin the ball, and -although he forced them back, they pressed forward again inch by inch, -drawn by the song of the ivory, drunk with its worship, maddened by the -breath of Chance.</p> - -<p>Cherry gathered that Glenister was still winning, for a glimpse of the -wheel-rack between the shoulders of those ahead showed that the checks -were nearly out of it.</p> - -<p>Plainly it was but a question of minutes, so she backed out and took her -station beside the faro-table where the Bronco Kid was dealing. His face -wore its colorless mask of indifference; his long white hands moved -slowly with the certainty that betokened absolute mastery of his art. He -was waiting. The ex-crap dealer was keeping cases.<a name="page_157" id="page_157"></a></p> - -<p>The group left the roulette-table in a few moments and surrounded her, -Glenister among the others. He was not the man she knew. In place of the -dreary hopelessness with which he had left her, his face was flushed and -reckless, his collar was open, showing the base of his great, corded -neck, while the lust of the game had coarsened him till he was again the -violent, untamed, primitive man of the frontier. His self-restraint and -dignity were gone. He had tried the new ways, and they were not for him. -He slipped back, and the past swallowed him.</p> - -<p>After leaving Cherry he had sought some mental relief by idly risking -the silver in his pocket. He had let the coins lie and double, then -double again and again. He had been indifferent whether he won or lost, -so assumed a reckless disregard for the laws of probability, thinking -that he would shortly lose the money he had won and then go home. He did -not want it. When his luck remained the same, he raised the stakes, but -it did not change—he could not lose. Before he realized it, other men -were betting with him, animated purely by greed and craze of the sport. -First one, then another joined till game after game was closed, and each -moment the crowd had grown in size and enthusiasm so that its fever -crept into him, imperceptibly at first, but ever increasing, till the -mania mastered him.</p> - -<p>He paid no attention to Cherry as he took his seat. He had eyes for -nothing but the “lay-out.” She clenched her hands and prayed for his -ruin.</p> - -<p>“What’s your limit, Kid?” he inquired.</p> - -<p>“One hundred, and two,” the Kid answered, which in the vernacular means -that any sum up to $200 may<a name="page_158" id="page_158"></a> be laid on one card save only on the last -turn, when the amount is lessened by half.</p> - -<p>Without more ado they commenced. The Kid handled his cards smoothly, -surely, paying and taking bets with machine-like calm. The on-lookers -ceased talking and prepared to watch, for now came the crucial test of -the evening. Faro is to other games as war is to jackstraws.</p> - -<p>For a time Glenister won steadily till there came a moment when many -stacks of chips lay on the deuce. Cherry saw the Kid “flash” to the -case-keeper, and the next moment he had “pulled two.” The deuce lost. It -was his first substantial gain, and the players paid no attention. At -the end of half an hour the winnings were slightly in favor of the -“house.” Then Glenister said, “This is too slow. I want action.”</p> - -<p>“All right,” smiled the proprietor. “We’ll double the limit.”</p> - -<p>Thus it became possible to wager $400 on a card, and the Kid began -really to play. Glenister now lost steadily, not in large amounts, but -with tantalizing regularity. Cherry had never seen cards played like -this. The gambler was a revelation to her—his work was wonderful. Ill -luck seemed to fan the crowd’s eagerness, while, to add to its -impatience, the cases came wrong twice in succession, so that those who -would have bet heavily upon the last turn had their money given back. -Cherry saw the confusion of the “hearse-driver” even quicker than did -Bronco. Toby was growing rattled. The dealer’s work was too fast for -him, and yet he could offer no signal of distress for fear of -annihilation at the hands of those crowded close to his shoulder. In the -same way the owner of the<a name="page_159" id="page_159"></a> game could make no objection to his helper’s -incompetence for fear that some by-stander would volunteer to fill the -man’s part—there were many present capable of the trick. He could only -glare balefully across the table at his unfortunate confederate.</p> - -<p>They had not gone far on the next game before Cherry’s quick eye -detected a sign which the man misinterpreted. She addressed him, -quietly, “You’d better brush up your plumes.”</p> - -<p>In spite of his anger the Bronco Kid smiled. Humor in him was strangely -withered and distorted, yet here was a thrust he would always remember -and recount with glee in years to come. He feared there were other -faro-dealers present who might understand the hint, but there was none -save Mexico Mullins, whose face was a study—mirth seemed to be -strangling him. A moment later the girl spoke to the case-keeper again.</p> - -<p>“Let me take your place; your reins are unbuckled.”</p> - -<p>Toby glanced inquiringly at the Kid, who caught Cherry’s reassuring look -and nodded, so he arose and the girl slid into the vacant chair. This -woman would make no errors—the dealer knew that; her keen wits were -sharpened by hate—it showed in her face. If Glenister escaped -destruction to-night it would be because human means could not -accomplish his downfall.</p> - -<p>In the mind of the new case-keeper there was but one thought—Roy must -be broken. Humiliation, disgrace, ruin, ridicule were to be his. If he -should be downed, discredited, and discouraged, then, perhaps, he would -turn to her as he had in the by-gone days. He was slipping away from -her—this was her last chance. She began her duties easily, and her -alertness<a name="page_160" id="page_160"></a> stimulated Bronco till his senses, too, grew sharper, his -observation more acute and lightning-like. Glenister swore beneath his -breath that the cards were bewitched. He was like a drunken man, now as -truly intoxicated as though the fumes of wine had befogged his brain. He -swayed in his seat, the veins of his neck thickened and throbbed, his -features were congested. After a while he spoke.</p> - -<p>“I want a bigger limit. Is this some boy’s game? Throw her open.”</p> - -<p>The gambler shot a triumphant glance at the girl and acquiesced. “All -right, the limit is the blue sky. Pile your checks to the roof-pole.” He -began to shuffle.</p> - -<p>Within the crowded circle the air was hot and fetid with the breath of -men. The sweat trickled down Glenister’s brown skin, dripping from his -jaw unnoticed. He arose and ripped off his coat, while those standing -behind shifted and scuffed their feet impatiently. Besides Roy, there -were but three men playing. They were the ones who had won heaviest at -first. Now that luck was against them they were loath to quit.</p> - -<p>Cherry was annoyed by stertorous breathing at her shoulder, and glanced -back to find the little man who had been so excited earlier in the -evening. His mouth was agape, his eyes wide, the muscles about his lips -twitching. He had lost back, long since, the hundreds he had won and -more besides. She searched the figures walling her about and saw no -women. They had been crowded out long since. It seemed as though the -table formed the bottom of a sloping pit of human faces—eager, tense, -staring. It was well she was here,<a name="page_161" id="page_161"></a> she thought, else this task might -fail. She would help to blast Glenister, desolate him, humiliate him. -Ah, but wouldn’t she!</p> - -<p>Roy bet $100 on the “popular” card. On the third turn he lost. He bet -$200 next and lost. He set out a stack of $400 and lost for the third -time. Fortune had turned her face. He ground his teeth and doubled until -the stakes grew enormous, while the dealer dealt monotonously. The spots -flashed and disappeared, taking with them wager after wager. Glenister -became conscious of a raging, red fury which he had hard shift to -master. It was not his money—what if he did lose? He would stay until -he won. He <i>would</i> win. This luck would not, could not, last—and yet -with diabolic persistence he continued to choose the losing cards. The -other men fared better till he yielded to their judgment, when the -dealer took their money also.</p> - -<p>Strange to say, the fickle goddess had really shifted her banner at -last, and the Bronco Kid was dealing straight faro now. He was too good -a player to force a winning hand, and Glenister’s ill-fortune became as -phenomenal as his winning had been. The girl who figured in this drama -was keyed to the highest tension, her eyes now on her counters, now -searching the profile of her victim. Glenister continued to lose and -lose and lose, while the girl gloated over his swift-coming ruin. When -at long intervals he won a bet she shrank and shivered for fear he might -escape. If only he would risk it all—everything he had. He would have -to come to her then!</p> - -<p>The end was closer than she realized. The throng hung breathless upon -each move of the players, while there was no sound but the noise of -shifting chips and<a name="page_162" id="page_162"></a> the distant jangle of the orchestra. The lookout sat -far forward upon his perch, his hands upon his knees, his eyes frozen to -the board, a dead cigar clenched between his teeth. Crowded upon his -platform were miners tense and motionless as statues. When a man spoke -or coughed, a score of eyes stared at him accusingly, then dropped to -the table again.</p> - -<p>Glenister took from his clothes a bundle of bank-notes, so thick that it -required his two hands to compass it. On-lookers saw that the bills were -mainly yellow. No one spoke while he counted them rapidly, glanced at -the dealer, who nodded, then slid them forward till they rested on the -king. He placed a “copper” on the pile. A great sigh of indrawn breaths -swept through the crowd. The North had never known a bet like this—it -meant a fortune. Here was a tale for one’s grandchildren—that a man -should win opulence in an evening, then lose it in one deal. This final -bet represented more than many of them had ever seen at one time before. -Its fate lay on a single card.</p> - -<p>Cherry Malotte’s fingers were like ice and shook till the buttons of her -case-keeper rattled, her heart raced till she could not breathe, while -something rose up and choked her. If Glenister won this bet he would -quit; she felt it. If he lost, ah! what could the Kid there feel, the -man who was playing for a paltry vengeance, compared to her whose hope -of happiness, of love, of life hinged on this wager?</p> - -<p>Evidently the Bronco Kid knew what card lay next below, for he offered -her no sign, and as Glenister leaned back he slowly and firmly pushed -the top card out of the box. Although this was the biggest turn of his -life, he betrayed no tremor. His gesture displayed<a name="page_163" id="page_163"></a> the nine of -diamonds, and the crowd breathed heavily. The king had not won. Would it -lose? Every gaze was welded to the tiny nickelled box. If the face-card -lay next beneath the nine-spot, the heaviest wager in Alaska would have -been lost; if it still remained hidden, on the next turn, the money -would be safe for a moment.</p> - -<p>Slowly the white hand of the dealer moved back; his middle finger -touched the nine of diamonds; it slid smoothly out of the box, and there -in its place frowned the king of clubs. At last the silence was broken.</p> - -<p>Men spoke, some laughed, but in their laughter was no mirth. It was more -like the sound of choking. They stamped their feet to relieve the grip -of strained muscles. The dealer reached forth and slid the stack of -bills into the drawer at his waist without counting. The case-keeper -passed a shaking hand over her face, and when it came away she saw blood -on her fingers where she had sunk her teeth into her lower lip. -Glenister did not rise. He sat, heavy-browed and sullen, his jaw thrust -forward, his hair low upon his forehead, his eyes bloodshot and dead.</p> - -<p>“I’ll sit the hand out if you’ll let me bet the ‘finger,’ ” said he.</p> - -<p>“Certainly,” replied the dealer.</p> - -<p>When a man requests this privilege it means that he will call the amount -of his wager without producing the visible stakes, and the dealer may -accept or refuse according to his judgment of the bettor’s -responsibility. It is safe, for no man shirks a gambling debt in the -North, and thousands may go with a nod of the head though never a cent -be on the board.</p> - -<p>There were still a few cards in the box, and the dealer<a name="page_164" id="page_164"></a> turned them, -paying the three men who played. Glenister took no part, but sat bulked -over his end of the table glowering from beneath his shock of hair.</p> - -<p>Cherry was deathly tired. The strain of the last hour had been so -intense that she could barely sit in her seat, yet she was determined to -finish the hand. As Bronco paused before the last turn, many of the -by-standers made bets. They were the “case-players” who risked money -only on the final pair, thus avoiding the chance of two cards of like -denomination coming together, in which event (“splits” it is called) the -dealer takes half the money. The stakes were laid at last and the deal -about to start when Glenister spoke. “Wait! What’s this place worth, -Bronco?”</p> - -<p>“What do you mean?”</p> - -<p>“You own this outfit?” He waved his hand about the room. “Well, what -does it stand you?”</p> - -<p>The gambler hesitated an instant while the crowd pricked up its ears, -and the girl turned wondering, troubled eyes upon the miner. What would -he do now?</p> - -<p>“Counting bank rolls, fixtures, and all, about a hundred and twenty -thousand dollars. Why?”</p> - -<p>“I’ll pick the ace to lose, my one-half interest in the Midas against -your whole damned lay-out!”</p> - -<p>There was an absolute hush while the realization of this offer smote the -on-lookers. It took time to realize it. This man was insane. There were -three cards to choose from—one would win, one would lose, and one would -have no action.</p> - -<p>Of all those present only Cherry Malotte divined even vaguely the real -reason which prompted the man to do this. It was not “gameness,” nor -altogether a<a name="page_165" id="page_165"></a> brutish stubbornness which would not let him quit. It was -something deeper. He was desolate and his heart was gone. Helen was lost -to him—worse yet, was unworthy, and she was all he cared for. What did -he want of the Midas with its lawsuits, its intrigues, and—its -trickery? He was sick of it all—of the whole game—and wanted to get -away. If he won, very well. If he lost, the land of the Aurora would -know him no more.</p> - -<p>When he put his proposition; the Bronco Kid dropped his eyes as though -debating. The girl saw that he studied the cards in his box intently and -that his fingers caressed the top one ever so softly during the instant -the eyes of the rest were on Glenister. The dealer looked up at last, -and Cherry saw the gleam of triumph in his eye; he could not mask it -from her, though his answering words were hesitating. She knew by the -look that Glenister was a pauper.</p> - -<p>“Come on,” insisted Roy, hoarsely. “Turn the cards.”</p> - -<p>“You’re on!”</p> - -<p>The girl felt that she was fainting. She wanted to scream. The triumph -of this moment stifled her—or was it triumph, after all? She heard the -breath of the little man behind her rattle as though he were being -throttled, and saw the lookout pass a shaking hand to his chin, then wet -his parched lips. She saw the man she had helped to ruin bend forward, -his lean face strained and hard, an odd look of pain and weariness in -his eyes. She never forgot that look. The crowd was frozen in various -attitudes of eagerness, although it had not yet recovered from the -suspense of the last great wager. It knew the Midas and what it meant.<a name="page_166" id="page_166"></a> -Here lay half of it, hidden beneath a tawdry square of pasteboard. With -maddening deliberation the Kid dealt the top card. Beneath it was the -trey of spades. Glenister said no word nor made a move. Some one -coughed, and it sounded like a gunshot. Slowly the dealer’s fingers -retraced their way. He hesitated purposely and leered at the girl, then -the three-spot disappeared and beneath it lay the ace as the king had -lain on that other wager. It spelled utter ruin to Glenister. He raised -his eyes blindly, and then the deathlike silence of the room was -shattered by a sudden crash. Cherry Malotte had closed her check-rack -violently, at the same instant crying shrill and clear:</p> - -<p>“That bet is off! The cases are wrong!”</p> - -<p>Glenister half rose, overturning his chair; the Kid lunged forward -across the table, and his wonderful hands, tense and talon-like, thrust -themselves forward as though reaching for the riches she had snatched -away. They worked and writhed and trembled as though in dumb fury, the -nails sinking into the oil-cloth table-cover. His face grew livid and -cruel, while his eyes blazed at her till she shrank from him -affrightedly, bracing herself away from the table with rigid arms.</p> - -<p>Reason came slowly back to Glenister, and understanding with it. He -seemed to awake from a nightmare. He could read all too plainly the -gambler’s look of baffled hate as the man sprawled on the table, his -arms spread wide, his eyes glaring at the cowering woman, who shrank -before him like a rabbit before a snake. She tried to speak, but choked. -Then the dealer came to himself, and cried harshly through his teeth one -word:<a name="page_167" id="page_167"></a></p> - -<p>“Christ!”</p> - -<p>He raised his fist and struck the table so violently that chips and -coppers leaped and rolled, and Cherry closed her eyes to lose sight of -his awful grimace. Glenister looked down on him and said:</p> - -<p>“I think I understand; but the money was yours, anyhow, so I don’t -mind.” His meaning was plain. The Kid suddenly jerked open the drawer -before him, but Glenister clenched his right hand and leaned forward. -The miner could have killed him with a blow, for the gambler was seated -and at his mercy. The Kid checked himself, while his face began to -twitch as though the nerves underlying it had broken bondage and were -dancing in a wild, ungovernable orgy.</p> - -<p>“You have taught me a lesson,” was all that Glenister said, and with -that he pushed through the crowd and out into the cool night air. -Overhead the arctic stars winked at him, and the sea smells struck him, -clean and fresh. As he went homeward he heard the distant, full-throated -plaint of a wolf-dog. It held the mystery and sadness of the North. He -paused, and, baring his thick, matted head, stood for a long time -gathering himself together. Standing so, he made certain covenants with -himself, and vowed solemnly never to touch another card.</p> - -<p>At the same moment Cherry Malotte came hurrying to her cottage door, -fleeing as though from pursuit or from some hateful, haunted spot. She -paused before entering and flung her arms outward into the dark in a -wide gesture of despair.</p> - -<p>“Why did I do it? Oh! <i>why</i> did I do it? I can’t understand myself.”<a name="page_168" id="page_168"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIV" id="CHAPTER_XIV"></a>CHAPTER XIV<br /><br /> -<small>A MIDNIGHT MESSENGER</small></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">“M</span><b>Y</b> dear Helen, don’t you realize that my official position carries with -it a certain social obligation which it is our duty to discharge?”</p> - -<p>“I suppose so, Uncle Arthur; but I would much rather stay at home.”</p> - -<p>“Tut, tut! Go and have a good time.”</p> - -<p>“Dancing doesn’t appeal to me any more. I left that sort of thing back -home. Now, if you would only come along—”</p> - -<p>“No—I’m too busy. I must work to-night, and I’m not in a mood for such -things, anyhow.”</p> - -<p>“You’re not well,” his niece said. “I have noticed it for weeks. Is it -hard work or are you truly ill? You’re nervous; you don’t eat; you’re -growing positively gaunt. Why—you’re getting wrinkles like an old man.” -She rose from her seat at the breakfast-table and went to him, smoothing -his silvered head with affection.</p> - -<p>He took her cool hand and pressed it to his cheek, while the worry that -haunted him habitually of late gave way to a smile.</p> - -<p>“It’s work, little girl—hard and thankless work, that’s all. This -country is intended for young men, and I’m too far along.” His eyes grew -grave again,<a name="page_169" id="page_169"></a> and he squeezed her fingers nervously as though at the -thought. “It’s a terrible country—this—— I—I—wish we had never seen -it.”</p> - -<p>“Don’t say that,” Helen cried, spiritedly. “Why, it’s glorious. Think of -the honor. You’re a United States judge and the first one to come here. -You’re making history—you’re building a State—people will read about -you.” She stooped and kissed him; but he seemed to flinch beneath her -caress.</p> - -<p>“Of course I’ll go if you think I’d better,” she said, “though I’m not -fond of Alaskan society. Some of the women are nice, but the others—” -She shrugged her dainty shoulders. “They talk scandal all the time. One -would think that a great, clean, fresh, vigorous country like this would -broaden the women as it broadens the men—but it doesn’t.”</p> - -<p>“I’ll tell McNamara to call for you at nine o’clock,” said the Judge as -he arose. So, later in the day she prepared her long unused finery to -such good purpose that when her escort called for her that evening he -believed her the loveliest of women.</p> - -<p>Upon their arrival at the hotel he regarded her with a fresh access of -pride, for the function proved to bear little resemblance to a -mining-camp party. The women wore handsome gowns, and every man was in -evening dress. The wide hall ran the length of the hotel and was flanked -with boxes, while its floor was like polished glass and its walls -effectively decorated.</p> - -<p>“Oh, how lovely!” exclaimed Helen as she first caught sight of it. “It’s -just like home.”</p> - -<p>“I’ve seen quick-rising cities before,” he said, “but nothing like this. -Still, if these Northerners can build a railroad in a month and a city -in a summer, why<a name="page_170" id="page_170"></a> shouldn’t they have symphony orchestras and Louis -Quinze ballrooms?”</p> - -<p>“I know you’re a splendid dancer,” she said.</p> - -<p>“You shall be my judge and jury. I’ll sign this card as often as I dare -without the certainty of violence at the hands of these young men, and -the rest of the time I’ll smoke in the lobby. I don’t care to dance with -any one but you.”</p> - -<p>After the first waltz he left her surrounded by partners and made his -way out of the ballroom. This was his first relaxation since landing in -the North. It was well not to become a dull boy, he mused, and as he -chewed his cigar he pictured with an odd thrill, quite unusual with him, -that slender, gray-eyed girl, with her coiled mass of hair, her ivory -shoulders, and merry smile. He saw her float past to the measure of a -two-step, and caught himself resenting the thought of another man’s -enjoyment of the girl’s charms even for an instant.</p> - -<p>“Hold on, Alec,” he muttered. “You’re too old a bird to lose your head.” -However, he was waiting for her before the time for their next dance. -She seemed to have lost a part of her gayety.</p> - -<p>“What’s the matter? Aren’t you enjoying yourself?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, yes!” she returned, brightly. “I’m having a delightful time.”</p> - -<p>When he came for his third dance, she was more <i>distraite</i> than ever. As -he led her to a seat they passed a group of women, among whom were Mrs. -Champian and others whom he knew to be wives of men prominent in the -town. He had seen some of them at tea in Judge Stillman’s house, and -therefore<a name="page_171" id="page_171"></a> was astonished when they returned his greeting but ignored -Helen. She shrank slightly, and he realized that there was something -wrong; he could not guess what. Affairs of men he could cope with, but -the subtleties of women were out of his realm.</p> - -<p>“What ails those people? Have they offended you?”</p> - -<p>“I don’t know what it is. I have spoken to them, but they cut me.”</p> - -<p>“Cut <i>you?</i>” he exclaimed.</p> - -<p>“Yes.” Her voice trembled, but she held her head high. “It seems as -though all the women in Nome were here and in league to ignore me. It -dazes me—I do not understand.”</p> - -<p>“Has anybody said anything to you?” he inquired, fiercely. “Any man, I -mean?”</p> - -<p>“No, no! The men are kind. It’s the women.”</p> - -<p>“Come—we’ll go home.”</p> - -<p>“Indeed, we will not,” she said, proudly. “I shall stay and face it out. -I have done nothing to run away from, and I intend to find out what is -the matter.”</p> - -<p>When he had surrendered her, at the beginning of the next dance, -McNamara sought for some acquaintance whom he might question. Most of -the men in Nome either hated or feared him, but he espied one that he -thought suited his purpose, and led him into a corner.</p> - -<p>“I want you to answer a question. No beating about the bush. Understand? -I’m blunt, and I want you to be.”</p> - -<p>“All right.”</p> - -<p>“Your wife has been entertained at Miss Chester’s house. I’ve seen her -there. To-night she refuses to<a name="page_172" id="page_172"></a> speak to the girl. She cut her dead, and -I want to know what it’s about.”</p> - -<p>“How should I know?”</p> - -<p>“If you don’t know, I’ll ask you to find out.”</p> - -<p>The other shook his head amusedly, at which McNamara flared up.</p> - -<p>“I say you will, and you’ll make your wife apologize before she leaves -this hall, too, or you’ll answer to me, man to man. I won’t stand to -have a girl like Miss Chester cold-decked by a bunch of mining-camp -swells, and that goes as it lies.” In his excitement, McNamara reverted -to his Western idiom.</p> - -<p>The other did not reply at once, for it is embarrassing to deal with a -person who disregards the conventions utterly, and at the same time has -the inclination and force to compel obedience. The boss’s reputation had -gone abroad.</p> - -<p>“Well—er—I know about it in a general way, but of course I don’t go -much on such things. You’d better let it drop.”</p> - -<p>“Go on.”</p> - -<p>“There has been a lot of talk among the ladies about—well, er—the fact -is, it’s that young Glenister. Mrs. Champian had the next state-room to -them—er—him—I should say—on the way up from the States, and she saw -things. Now, as far as I’m concerned, a girl can do what she pleases, -but Mrs. Champian has her own ideas of propriety. From what my wife -could learn, there’s some truth in the story, too, so you can’t blame -her.”</p> - -<p>With a word McNamara could have explained the gossip and made this man -put his wife right, forcing through her an elucidation of the silly -affair in such a<a name="page_173" id="page_173"></a> way as to spare Helen’s feelings and cover the -busy-tongued magpies with confusion. Yet he hesitated. It is a wise -skipper who trims his sails to every breeze. He thanked his informant -and left him. Entering the lobby, he saw the girl hurrying towards him.</p> - -<p>“Take me away, quick! I want to go home.”</p> - -<p>“You’ve changed your mind?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, let us go,” she panted, and when they were outside she walked so -rapidly that he had difficulty in keeping pace with her. She was silent, -and he knew better than to question, but when they arrived at her house -he entered, took off his overcoat, and turned up the light in the tiny -parlor. She flung her wraps over a chair, storming back and forth like a -little fury. Her eyes were starry with tears of anger, her face was -flushed, her hands worked nervously. He leaned against the mantel, -watching her through his cigar smoke.</p> - -<p>“You needn’t tell me,” he said, at length. “I know all about it.”</p> - -<p>“I am glad you do. I never could repeat what they said. Oh, it was -brutal!” Her voice caught and she bit her lip. “What made me ask them? -Why didn’t I keep still? After you left, I went to those women and faced -them. Oh, but they were brutal! Yet, why should I care?” She stamped her -slippered foot.</p> - -<p>“I shall have to kill that man some day,” he said, flecking his cigar -ashes into the grate.</p> - -<p>“What man?” She stood still and looked at him.</p> - -<p>“Glenister, of course. If I had thought the story would ever reach you, -I’d have shut him up long ago.”</p> - -<p>“It didn’t come from him,” she cried, hot with indignation.<a name="page_174" id="page_174"></a> “He’s a -gentleman. It’s that cat, Mrs. Champian.”</p> - -<p>He shrugged his shoulders the slightest bit, but it was eloquent, and -she noted it. “Oh, I don’t mean that he did it intentionally—he’s too -decent a chap for that—but anybody’s tongue will wag to a beautiful -girl! My lady Malotte is a jealous trick.”</p> - -<p>“Malotte! Who is she?” Helen questioned, curiously.</p> - -<p>He seemed surprised. “I thought every one knew who she is. It’s just as -well that you don’t.”</p> - -<p>“I am sure Mr. Glenister would not talk of me.” There was a pause. “Who -is Miss Malotte?”</p> - -<p>He studied for a moment, while she watched him. What a splendid figure -he made in his evening clothes! The cosey room with its shaded lights -enhanced his size and strength and rugged outlines. In his eyes was that -admiration which women live for. He lifted his bold, handsome face and -met her gaze.</p> - -<p>“I had rather leave that for you to find out, for I’m not much at -scandal. I have something more important to tell you. It’s the most -important thing I have ever said to you, Helen.” It was the first time -he had used that name, and she began to tremble, while her eyes sought -the door in a panic. She had expected this moment, and yet was not -ready.</p> - -<p>“Not to-night—don’t say it now,” she managed to articulate.</p> - -<p>“Yes, this is a good time. If you can’t answer, I’ll come back -to-morrow. I want you to be my wife. I want to give you everything the -world offers, and I want to make you happy, girl. There’ll be no gossip -hereafter—I’ll shield you from everything unpleasant,<a name="page_175" id="page_175"></a> and if there is -anything you want in life, I’ll lay it at your feet. I can do it.” He -lifted his massive arms, and in the set of his strong, square face was -the promise that she should have whatever she craved if mortal man could -give it to her—love, protection, position, adoration.</p> - -<p>She stammered uncertainly till the humiliation and chagrin she had -suffered this night swept over her again. This town—this crude, -half-born mining-camp—had turned against her, misjudged her cruelly. -The women were envious, clacking scandal-mongers, all of them, who would -ostracize her and make her life in the Northland a misery, make her an -outcast with nothing to sustain her but her own solitary pride. She -could picture her future clearly, pitilessly, and see herself standing -alone, vilified, harassed in a thousand cutting ways, yet unable to run -away, or to explain. She would have to stay and face it, for her life -was bound up here during the next few years or so, or as long as her -uncle remained a judge. This man would free her. He loved her; he -offered her everything. He was bigger than all the rest combined. They -were his playthings, and they knew it. She was not sure that she loved -him, but his magnetism was overpowering, and her admiration intense. No -other man she had ever known compared with him, except Glenister—Bah! -The beast! He had insulted her at first; he wronged her now.</p> - -<p>“Will you be my wife, Helen?” the man repeated, softly.</p> - -<p>She dropped her head, and he strode forward to take her in his arms, -then stopped, listening. Some one ran up on the porch and hammered -loudly at the<a name="page_176" id="page_176"></a> door. McNamara scowled, walked into the hall, and flung -the portal open, disclosing Struve.</p> - -<p>“Hello, McNamara! Been looking all over for you. There’s the deuce to -pay!” Helen sighed with relief and gathered up her cloak, while the hum -of their voices reached her indistinctly. She was given plenty of time -to regain her composure before they appeared. When they did, the -politician spoke, sourly:</p> - -<p>“I’ve been called to the mines, and I must go at once.”</p> - -<p>“You bet! It may be too late now. The news came an hour ago, but I -couldn’t find you,” said Struve. “Your horse is saddled at the office. -Better not wait to change your clothes.”</p> - -<p>“You say Voorhees has gone with twenty deputies, eh? That’s good. You -stay here and find out all you can.”</p> - -<p>“I telephoned out to the Creek for the boys to arm themselves and throw -out pickets. If you hurry you can get there in time. It’s only midnight -now.”</p> - -<p>“What is the trouble?” Miss Chester inquired, anxiously.</p> - -<p>“There’s a plot on to attack the mines to-night,” answered the lawyer. -“The other side are trying to seize them, and there’s apt to be a -fight.”</p> - -<p>“You mustn’t go out there,” she cried, aghast. “There will be -bloodshed.”</p> - -<p>“That’s just why I <i>must</i> go,” said McNamara. “I’ll come back in the -morning, though, and I’d like to see you alone. Good-night!” There was a -strange, new light in his eyes as he left her. For one unversed in -woman’s ways he played the game surprisingly well, and as he hurried -towards his office he smiled grimly into the darkness.<a name="page_177" id="page_177"></a></p> - -<p>“She’ll answer me to-morrow. Thank you, Mr. Glenister,” he said to -himself.</p> - -<p>Helen questioned Struve at length, but gained nothing more than that -secret-service men had been at work for weeks and had to-day unearthed -the fact that Vigilantes had been formed. They had heard enough to make -them think the mines would be jumped again to-night, and so had given -the alarm.</p> - -<p>“Have you hired spies?” she asked, incredulously.</p> - -<p>“Sure. We had to. The other people shadowed us, and it’s come to a point -where it’s life or death to one side or the other. I told McNamara we’d -have bloodshed before we were through, when he first outlined the -scheme—I mean when the trouble began.”</p> - -<p>She wrung her hands. “That’s what uncle feared before we left Seattle. -That’s why I took the risks I did in bringing you those papers. I -thought you got them in time to avoid all this.”</p> - -<p>Struve laughed a bit, eying her curiously.</p> - -<p>“Does Uncle Arthur know about this?” she continued.</p> - -<p>“No, we don’t let him know anything more than necessary; he’s not a -strong man.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, yes. He’s not well.” Again the lawyer smiled. “Who is behind this -Vigilante movement?”</p> - -<p>“We think it is Glenister and his New Mexican bandit partner. At least -they got the crowd together.” She was silent for a time.</p> - -<p>“I suppose they really think they own those mines.”</p> - -<p>“Undoubtedly.”</p> - -<p>“But they don’t, do they?” Somehow this question had recurred to her -insistently of late, for things were constantly happening which showed -there was<a name="page_178" id="page_178"></a> more back of this great, fierce struggle than she knew. It -was impossible that injustice had been done the mine-owners, and yet -scattered talk reached her which was puzzling. When she strove to follow -it up, her acquaintances adroitly changed the subject. She was baffled -on every side. The three local newspapers upheld the court. She read -them carefully, and was more at sea than ever. There was a disturbing -undercurrent of alarm and unrest that caused her to feel insecure, as -though standing on hollow ground.</p> - -<p>“Yes, this whole disturbance is caused by those two. Only for them we’d -be all right.”</p> - -<p>“Who is Miss Malotte?”</p> - -<p>He answered, promptly: “The handsomest woman in the North, and the most -dangerous.”</p> - -<p>“In what way? Who is she?”</p> - -<p>“It’s hard to say who or what she is—she’s different from other women. -She came to Dawson in the early days—just came—we didn’t know how, -whence, or why, and we never found out. We woke up one morning and there -she was. By night we were all jealous, and in a week we were most of us -drivelling idiots. It might have been the mystery or, perhaps, the -competition. That was the day when a dance-hall girl could make a -homestake in a winter or marry a millionaire in a month, but she never -bothered. She toiled not, neither did she spin on the waxed floors, yet -Solomon in all his glory would have looked like a tramp beside her.”</p> - -<p>“You say she is dangerous?”</p> - -<p>“Well, there was the young nobleman, in the winter of ’98, Dane, I -think—fine family and all that—big, yellow-haired boy. He wanted to -marry her, but a<a name="page_179" id="page_179"></a> faro-dealer shot him. Then there was Rock, of the -mounted police, the finest officer in the service. He was cashiered. She -knew he was going to pot for her, but she didn’t seem to care—and there -were others. Yet, with it all, she is the most generous person and the -most tender-hearted. Why, she has fed every ‘stew bum’ on the Yukon, and -there isn’t a busted prospector in the country who wouldn’t swear by -her, for she has grubstaked dozens of them. I was horribly in love with -her myself. Yes, she’s dangerous, all right—to everybody but -Glenister.”</p> - -<p>“What do you mean?”</p> - -<p>“She had been across the Yukon to nurse a man with scurvy, and coming -back she was caught in the spring break-up. I wasn’t there, but it seems -this Glenister got her ashore somehow when nobody else would tackle the -job. They were carried five miles down-stream in the ice-pack before he -succeeded.”</p> - -<p>“What happened then?”</p> - -<p>“She fell in love with him, of course.”</p> - -<p>“And he worshipped her as madly as all the rest of you, I suppose,” she -said, scornfully.</p> - -<p>“That’s the peculiar part. She hypnotized him at first, but he ran away, -and I didn’t hear of him again till I came to Nome. She followed him, -finally, and last week evened up her score. She paid him back for saving -her.”</p> - -<p>“I haven’t heard about it.”</p> - -<p>He detailed the story of the gambling episode at the Northern saloon, -and concluded: “I’d like to have seen that ‘turn,’ for they say the -excitement was terrific. She was keeping cases, and at the finish -slammed her case-keeper shut and declared the bet<a name="page_180" id="page_180"></a> off because she had -made a mistake. Of course they couldn’t dispute her, and she stuck to -it. One of the by-standers told me she lied, though.”</p> - -<p>“So, in addition to his other vices, Mr. Glenister is a reckless -gambler, is he?” said Helen, with heat. “I am proud to be indebted to -such a character. Truly this country breeds wonderful species.”</p> - -<p>“There’s where you’re wrong,” Struve chuckled. “He’s never been known to -bet before.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, I’m tired of these contradictions!” she cried, angrily. “Saloons, -gambling-halls, scandals, adventuresses! Ugh! I hate it! I <i>hate</i> it! -Why did I ever come here?”</p> - -<p>“Those things are a part of every new country. They were about all we -had till this year. But it is women like you that we fellows need, Miss -Helen. You can help us a lot.” She did not like the way he was looking -at her, and remembered that her uncle was up-stairs and asleep.</p> - -<p>“I must ask you to excuse me now, for it’s late and I am very tired.”</p> - -<p>The clock showed half-past twelve, so, after letting him out, she -extinguished the light and dragged herself wearily up to her room. She -removed her outer garments and threw over her bare shoulders a negligée -of many flounces and bewildering, clinging looseness. As she took down -her heavy braids, the story of Cherry Malotte returned to her -tormentingly. So Glenister had saved <i>her</i> life also at risk of his own. -What a very gallant cavalier he was, to be sure! He should bear a coat -of arms—a dragon, an armed knight, and a fainting maiden. “I succor -ladies in distress—handsome ones,” should be the motto on his shield.<a name="page_181" id="page_181"></a> -“The handsomest woman in the North,” Struve had said. She raised her -eyes to the glass and made a mouth at the petulant, tired reflection -there. She pictured Glenister leaping from floe to floe with the hungry -river surging and snapping at his feet, while the cheers of the crowd on -shore gave heart to the girl crouching out there. She could see him -snatch her up and fight his way back to safety over the plunging -ice-cakes with death dragging at his heels. What a strong embrace he -had! At this she blushed and realized with a shock that while she was -mooning that very man might be fighting hand to hand in the darkness of -a mountain-gorge with the man she was going to marry.</p> - -<p>A moment later some one mounted the front steps below and knocked -sharply. Truly this was a night of alarms. Would people never cease -coming? She was worn out, but at the thought of the tragedy abroad and -the sick old man sleeping near by, she lit a candle and slipped -down-stairs to avoid disturbing him. Doubtless it was some message from -McNamara, she thought, as she unchained the door.</p> - -<p>As she opened it, she fell back amazed while it swung wide and the -candle flame flickered and sputtered in the night air. Roy Glenister -stood there, grim and determined, his soft, white Stetson pulled low, -his trousers tucked into tan half-boots, in his hand a Winchester rifle. -Beneath his corduroy coat she saw a loose cartridge-belt, yellow with -shells, and the nickelled flash of a revolver. Without invitation he -strode across the threshold, closing the door behind him.</p> - -<p>“Miss Chester, you and the Judge must dress quickly and come with me.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t understand.”<a name="page_182" id="page_182"></a></p> - -<p>“The Vigilantes are on their way here to hang him. Come with me to my -house where I can protect you.”</p> - -<p>She laid a trembling hand on her bosom and the color died out of her -face, then at a slight noise above they both looked up to see Judge -Stillman leaning far over the banister. He had wrapped himself in a -dressing-gown and now gripped the rail convulsively, while his features -were blanched to the color of putty and his eyes were wide with terror, -though puffed and swollen from sleep. His lips moved in a vain endeavor -to speak.<a name="page_183" id="page_183"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XV" id="CHAPTER_XV"></a>CHAPTER XV<br /><br /> -<small>VIGILANTES</small></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">O</span><b>N</b> the morning after the episode in the Northern, Glenister awoke under -a weight of discouragement and desolation. The past twenty-four hours -with their manifold experiences seemed distant and unreal. At breakfast -he was ashamed to tell Dextry of the gambling debauch, for he had dealt -treacherously with the old man in risking half of the mine, even though -they had agreed that either might do as he chose with his interest, -regardless of the other. It all seemed like a nightmare, those tense -moments when he lay above the receiver’s office and felt his belief in -the one woman slipping away, the frenzied thirst which Cherry Malotte -had checked, the senseless, unreasoning lust for play that possessed him -later. This lapse was the last stand of his old, untamed instincts. The -embers of revolt in him were dead. He felt that he would never again -lose mastery of himself, that his passions would never best him -hereafter.</p> - -<p>Dextry spoke. “We had a meeting of the ‘Strangles’ last night.” He -always spoke of the Vigilantes in that way, because of his early Western -training.</p> - -<p>“What was done?”</p> - -<p>“They decided to act quick and do any odd jobs of lynchin’, -claim-jumpin’, or such as needs doin’.<a name="page_184" id="page_184"></a> There’s a lot of law sharps and -storekeepers in the bunch who figure McNamara’s gang will wipe them off -the map next.”</p> - -<p>“It was bound to come to this.”</p> - -<p>“They talked of ejectin’ the receiver’s men and puttin’ all us fellers -back on our mines.”</p> - -<p>“Good. How many can we count on to help us?”</p> - -<p>“About sixty. We’ve kept the number down, and only taken men with so -much property that they’ll have to keep their mouths shut.”</p> - -<p>“I wish we might engineer some kind of an encounter with the court crowd -and create such an uproar that it would reach Washington. Everything -else has failed, and our last chance seems to be for the government to -step in; that is, unless Bill Wheaton can do something with the -California courts.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t count on him. McNamara don’t care for California courts no -more’n he would for a boy with a pea-shooter—he’s got too much pull at -headquarters. If the ‘Stranglers’ don’t do no good, we’d better go in -an’ clean out the bunch like we was killin’ snakes. If that fails, I’m -goin’ out to the States an’ be a doctor.”</p> - -<p>“A doctor? What for?”</p> - -<p>“I read somewhere that in the United States every year there is forty -million gallons of whiskey used for medical purposes.”</p> - -<p>Glenister laughed. “Speaking of whiskey, Dex—I notice that you’ve been -drinking pretty hard of late—that is, hard for you.”</p> - -<p>The old man shook his head. “You’re mistaken. It ain’t hard for me.”</p> - -<p>“Well, hard or easy, you’d better cut it out.”</p> - -<p>It was some time later that one of the detectives<a name="page_185" id="page_185"></a> employed by the -Swedes met Glenister on Front Street, and by an almost imperceptible -sign signified his desire to speak with him. When they were alone he -said:</p> - -<p>“You’re being shadowed.”</p> - -<p>“I’ve known that for a long time.”</p> - -<p>“The district-attorney has put on some new men. I’ve fixed the woman who -rooms next to him, and through her I’ve got a line on some of them, but -I haven’t spotted them all. They’re bad ones—‘up-river’ men -mostly—remnants of Soapy Smith’s Skagway gang. They won’t stop at -anything.”</p> - -<p>“Thank you—I’ll keep my eyes open.”</p> - -<p>A few nights after, Glenister had reason to recall the words of the -sleuth and to realize that the game was growing close and desperate. To -reach his cabin, which sat on the outskirts of the town, he ordinarily -followed one of the plank walks which wound through the confusion of -tents, warehouses, and cottages lying back of the two principal streets -along the water front. This part of the city was not laid out in -rectangular blocks, for in the early rush the first-comers had seized -whatever pieces of ground they found vacant and erected thereon some -kind of buildings to make good their titles. There resulted a formless -jumble of huts, cabins, and sheds, penetrated by no cross streets and -quite unlighted. At night, one leaving the illuminated portion of the -town found this darkness intensified.</p> - -<p>Glenister knew his course so well that he could have walked it -blindfolded. Nearing a corner of the warehouse this evening he -remembered that the planking at this point was torn up, so, to avoid the -mud, he leaped lightly across. Simultaneously with his jump he detected -a movement in the shadows that banked<a name="page_186" id="page_186"></a> the wall at his elbow and saw the -flaming spurt of a revolver-shot. The man had crouched behind the -building and was so close that it seemed impossible to miss. Glenister -fell heavily upon his side and the thought flashed over him, “McNamara’s -thugs have shot me.”</p> - -<p>His assailant leaped out from his hiding-place and ran down the walk, -the sound of his quick, soft footfalls thudding faintly out into the -silence. The young man felt no pain, however, so scrambled to his feet, -felt himself over with care, and then swore roundly. He was untouched; -the other had missed him cleanly. The report, coming while he was in the -act of leaping, had startled him so that he had lost his balance, -slipped upon the wet boards, and fallen. His assailant was lost in the -darkness before he could rise. Pursuit was out of the question, so he -continued homeward, considerably shaken, and related the incident to -Dextry.</p> - -<p>“You think it was some of McNamara’s work, eh?” Dextry inquired when he -had finished.</p> - -<p>“Of course. Didn’t the detective warn me to-day?”</p> - -<p>Dextry shook his head. “It don’t seem like the game is that far along -yet. The time is coming when we’ll go to the mat with them people, but -they’ve got the aige on us now, so what could they gain by putting you -away? I don’t believe it’s them, but whoever it is, you’d better be -careful or you’ll be got.”</p> - -<p>“Suppose we come home together after this,” Roy suggested, and they -arranged to do so, realizing that danger lurked in the dark corners and -that it was in some such lonely spot that the deed would be tried again. -They experienced no trouble for a time, though on nearing their cabin -one night the younger man<a name="page_187" id="page_187"></a> fancied that he saw a shadow glide away from -its vicinity and out into the blackness of the tundra, as though some -one had stood at his very door waiting for him, then became frightened -at the two figures approaching. Dextry had not observed it, however, and -Glenister was not positive himself, but it served to give him the -uncanny feeling that some determined, unscrupulous force was bent on his -destruction. He determined to go nowhere unarmed.</p> - -<p>A few evenings later he went home early and was busied in writing when -Dextry came in about ten o’clock. The old miner hung up his coat before -speaking, lit a cigarette, inhaled deeply, then, amid mouthfuls of -smoke, began:</p> - -<p>“I had my own toes over the edge to-night. I was mistook for you, which -compliment I don’t aim to have repeated.”</p> - -<p>Glenister questioned him eagerly.</p> - -<p>“We’re about the same height an’ these hats of ours are alike. Just as I -come by that lumber-pile down yonder, a man hopped out an throwed a -‘gat’ under my nose. He was quicker than light, and near blowed my skelp -into the next block before he saw who I was; then he dropped his weepon -and said:</p> - -<p>“ ‘My mistake. Go on.’ I accepted his apology.”</p> - -<p>“Could you see who he was?”</p> - -<p>“Sure. Guess.”</p> - -<p>“I can’t.”</p> - -<p>“It was the Bronco Kid.”</p> - -<p>“Lord!” ejaculated Glenister. “Do you think he’s after me?”</p> - -<p>“He ain’t after nobody else, an’, take my word for it, it’s got nothin’ -to do with McNamara nor that gamblin’<a name="page_188" id="page_188"></a> row. He’s too game for that. -There’s some other reason.”</p> - -<p>This was the first mention Dextry had made of the night at the Northern.</p> - -<p>“I don’t know why he should have it in for me—I never did him any -favors,” Glenister remarked, cynically.</p> - -<p>“Well, you watch out, anyhow. I’d sooner face McNamara an’ all the -crooks he can hire than that gambler.”</p> - -<p>During the next few days Roy undertook to meet the proprietor of the -Northern face to face, but the Kid had vanished completely from his -haunts. He was not in his gambling-hall at night nor on the street by -day. The young man was still looking for him on the evening of the dance -at the hotel, when he chanced to meet one of the Vigilantes, who -inquired of him:</p> - -<p>“Aren’t you late for the meeting?”</p> - -<p>“What meeting?”</p> - -<p>After seeing that they were alone, the other stated:</p> - -<p>“There’s an assembly to-night at eleven o’clock. Something important, I -think. I supposed, of course, you knew about it.”</p> - -<p>“It’s strange I wasn’t notified,” said Roy. “It’s probably an oversight. -I’ll go along with you.”</p> - -<p>Together they crossed the river to the less frequented part of town and -knocked at the door of a large, unlighted warehouse, flanked by a high -board fence. The building faced the street, but was enclosed on the -other three sides by this ten-foot wall, inside of which were stored -large quantities of coal and lumber. After some delay they were -admitted, and, passing down through the dim-lit, high-banked lanes of -merchandise, came to<a name="page_189" id="page_189"></a> the rear room, where they were admitted again. -This compartment had been fitted up for the warm storage of perishable -goods during the cold weather, and, being without windows, made an ideal -place for clandestine gatherings.</p> - -<p>Glenister was astonished to find every man of the organization present, -including Dextry, whom he supposed to have gone home an hour since. -Evidently a discussion had been in progress, for a chairman was -presiding, and the boxes, kegs, and bales of goods had been shoved back -against the walls for seats. On these were ranged the threescore men of -the “Stranglers,” their serious faces lighted imperfectly by scattered -lanterns. A certain constraint seized them upon Glenister’s entrance; -the chairman was embarrassed. It was but momentary, however. Glenister -himself felt that tragedy was in the air, for it showed in the men’s -attitudes and spoke eloquently from their strained faces. He was about -to question the man next to him when the presiding officer continued:</p> - -<p>“We will assemble here quietly with our arms at one o’clock. And let me -caution you again not to talk or do anything to scare the birds away.”</p> - -<p>Glenister arose. “I came late, Mr. Chairman, so I missed hearing your -plan I gather that you’re out for business, however, and I want to be in -it. May I ask what is on foot?”</p> - -<p>“Certainly. Things have reached such a pass that moderate means are -useless. We have decided to act, and act quickly. We have exhausted -every legal resource and now we’re going to stamp out this gang of -robbers in our own way. We will get together in an hour, divide into -three groups of twenty men, each<a name="page_190" id="page_190"></a> with a leader, then go to the houses -of McNamara, Stillman, and Voorhees, take them prisoners, and—” He -waved his hand in a large gesture.</p> - -<p>Glenister made no answer for a moment, while the crowd watched him -intently.</p> - -<p>“You have discussed this fully?” he asked.</p> - -<p>“We have. It has been voted on, and we’re unanimous.”</p> - -<p>“My friends, when I stepped into this room just now I felt that I wasn’t -wanted. Why, I don’t know, because I have had more to do with organizing -this movement than any of you, and because I have suffered just as much -as the rest. I want to know if I was omitted from this meeting -intentionally.”</p> - -<p>“This is an embarrassing position to put me in,” said the chairman, -gravely. “But I shall answer as spokesman for these men if they wish.”</p> - -<p>“Yes. Go ahead,” said those around the room.</p> - -<p>“We don’t question your loyalty, Mr. Glenister, but we didn’t ask you to -this meeting because we know your attitude—perhaps I’d better say -sentiment—regarding Judge Stillman’s niece—er—family. It has come to -us from various sources that you have been affected to the prejudice of -your own and your partner’s interest. Now, there isn’t going to be any -sentiment in the affairs of the Vigilantes. We are going to do justice, -and we thought the simplest way was to ignore you in this matter and -spare all discussion and hard feeling in every quarter.”</p> - -<p>“It’s a lie!” shouted the young man, hoarsely. “A damned lie! You -wouldn’t let me in for fear I’d kick, eh? Well, you were right. I will -kick. You’ve hinted about my feelings for Miss Chester. Let me tell you<a name="page_191" id="page_191"></a> -that she is engaged to marry McNamara, and that she’s nothing to me. -Now, then, let me tell you, further, that you won’t break into her house -and hang her uncle, even if he is a reprobate. No, sir! This isn’t the -time for violence of that sort—we’ll win without it. If we can’t, let’s -fight like men, and not hunt in a pack like wolves. If you want to do -something, put us back on our mines and help us hold them, but, for -God’s sake, don’t descend to assassination and the tactics of the -Mafia!”</p> - -<p>“We knew you would make that kind of a talk,” said the speaker, while -the rest murmured grudgingly. One of them spoke up.</p> - -<p>“We’ve talked this over in cold blood, Glenister, and it’s a question of -their lives or our liberty. The law don’t enter into it.”</p> - -<p>“That’s right,” echoed another at his elbow. “We can’t seize the claims, -because McNamara’s got soldiers to back him up. They’d shoot us down. -You ought to be the last one to object.”</p> - -<p>He saw that dispute was futile. Determination was stamped on their faces -too plainly for mistake, and his argument had no more effect on them -than had the pale rays of the lantern beside him, yet he continued:</p> - -<p>“I don’t deny that McNamara deserves lynching, but Stillman doesn’t. -He’s a weak old man”—some one laughed derisively—“and there’s a woman -in the house. He’s all she has in the world to depend upon, and you -would have to kill her to get at him. If you <i>must</i> follow this course, -take the others, but leave him alone.”</p> - -<p>They only shook their heads, while several pushed by him even as he -spoke. “We’re going to distribute our<a name="page_192" id="page_192"></a> favors equal,” said a man as he -left. They were actuated by what they called justice, and he could not -sway them. The life and welfare of the North were in their hands, as -they thought, and there was not one to hesitate. Glenister implored the -chairman, but the man answered him:</p> - -<p>“It’s too late for further discussion, and let me remind you of your -promise. You’re bound by every obligation that exists for an honorable -man—”</p> - -<p>“Oh, don’t think that I’ll give the snap away!” said the other; “but I -warn you again not to enter Stillman’s house.”</p> - -<p>He followed out into the night to find that Dextry had disappeared, -evidently wishing to avoid argument. Roy had seen signs of unrest -beneath the prospector’s restraint during the past few days, and -indications of a fierce hunger to vent his spleen on the men who had -robbed him of his most sacred rights. He was of an intolerant, -vindictive nature that would go to any length for vengeance. Retribution -was part of his creed.</p> - -<p>On his way home, the young man looked at his watch, to find that he had -but an hour to determine his course. Instinct prompted him to join his -friends and to even the score with the men who had injured him so -bitterly, for, measured by standards of the frontier, they were pirates -with their lives forfeit. Yet, he could not countenance this step. If -only the Vigilantes would be content with making an example—but he knew -they would not. The blood hunger of a mob is easy to whet and hard to -hold. McNamara would resist, as would Voorhees and the -district-attorney, then there would be bloodshed, riot, chaos. The -soldiers would be called out and martial law declared, the streets would -become<a name="page_193" id="page_193"></a> skirmish-grounds. The Vigilantes would rout them without -question, for every citizen of the North would rally to their aid, and -such men could not be stopped. The Judge would go down with the rest of -the ring, and what would happen to—her?</p> - -<p>He took down his Winchester, oiled and cleaned it, then buckled on a -belt of cartridges. Still he wrestled with himself. He felt that he was -being ground between his loyalty to the Vigilantes and his own -conscience. The girl was one of the gang, he reasoned—she had schemed -with them to betray him through his love, and she was pledged to the one -man in the world whom he hated with fanatical fury. Why should he think -of her in this hour? Six months back he would have looked with jealous -eyes upon the right to lead the Vigilantes, but this change that had -mastered him—what was it? Not cowardice, nor caution. No. Yet, being -intangible, it was none the less marked, as his friends had shown him an -hour since.</p> - -<p>He slipped out into the night. The mob might do as it pleased elsewhere, -but no man should enter her house. He found a light shining from her -parlor window, and, noting the shade up a few inches, stole close. -Peering through, he discovered Struve and Helen talking. He slunk back -into the shadows and remained hidden for a considerable time after the -lawyer left, for the dancers were returning from the hotel and passed -close by. When the last group had chattered away down the street, he -returned to the front of the house and, mounting the steps, knocked -sharply. As Helen appeared at the door, he stepped inside and closed it -after him.</p> - -<p>The girl’s hair lay upon her neck and shoulders in<a name="page_194" id="page_194"></a> tumbled brown -masses, while her breast heaved tumultuously at the sudden, grim sight -of him. She stepped back against the wall, her wondrous, deep, gray eyes -wide and troubled, the blush of modesty struggling with the pallor of -dismay.</p> - -<p>The picture pained him like a knife-thrust. This girl was for his -bitterest enemy—no hope of her was for him. He forgot for a moment that -she was false and plotting, then, recalling it, spoke as roughly as he -might and stated his errand. Then the old man had appeared on the stairs -above, speechless with fright at what he overheard. It was evident that -his nerves, so sorely strained by the events of the past week, were now -snapped utterly. A human soul naked and panic-stricken is no pleasant -sight, so Glenister dropped his eyes and addressed the girl again:</p> - -<p>“Don’t take anything with you. Just dress and come with me.”</p> - -<p>The creature on the stairs above stammered and stuttered, inquiringly:</p> - -<p>“What outrage is this, Mr. Glenister?”</p> - -<p>“The people of Nome are up in arms, and I’ve come to save you. Don’t -stop to argue.” He spoke impatiently.</p> - -<p>“Is this some r-ruse to get me into your power?”</p> - -<p>“Uncle Arthur!” exclaimed the girl, sharply. Her eyes met Glenister’s -and begged him to take no offence.</p> - -<p>“I don’t understand this atrocity. They must be mad!” wailed the Judge. -“You run over to the jail, Mr. Glenister, and tell Voorhees to hurry -guards here to protect me. Helen, ’phone to the military post and give -the alarm. Tell them the soldiers must come at once.”<a name="page_195" id="page_195"></a></p> - -<p>“Hold on!” said Glenister. “There’s no use of doing that—the wires are -cut; and I won’t notify Voorhees—he can take care of himself. I came to -help you, and if you want to escape you’ll stop talking and hurry up.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t know what to do,” said Stillman, torn by terror and indecision. -“You wouldn’t hurt an old man, would you? Wait! I’ll be down in a -minute.”</p> - -<p>He scrambled up the stairs, tripping on his robe, seemingly forgetting -his niece till she called up to him, sharply:</p> - -<p>“Stop, Uncle Arthur! You mustn’t <i>run away</i>.” She stood erect and -determined. “You wouldn’t do <i>that</i>, would you? This is our house. You -represent the law and the dignity of the government. You mustn’t fear a -mob of ruffians. We will stay here and meet them, of course.”</p> - -<p>“Good Lord!” said Glenister. “That’s madness. These men aren’t ruffians; -they are the best citizens of Nome. You don’t realize that this is -Alaska and that they have sworn to wipe out McNamara’s gang. Come -along.”</p> - -<p>“Thank you for your good intentions,” she said, “but we have done -nothing to run away from. We will get ready to meet these cowards. You -had better go or they will find you here.”</p> - -<p>She moved up the stairs, and, taking the Judge by the arm, led him with -her. Of a sudden she had assumed control of the situation unfalteringly, -and both men felt the impossibility of thwarting her. Pausing at the -top, she turned and looked down.</p> - -<p>“We are grateful for your efforts just the same. Good-night.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, I’m not going,” said the young man. “If you<a name="page_196" id="page_196"></a> stick I’ll do the -same.” He made the rounds of the first-floor rooms, locking doors and -windows. As a place of defence it was hopeless, and he saw that he would -have to make his stand up-stairs. When sufficient time had elapsed he -called up to Helen:</p> - -<p>“May I come?”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” she replied. So he ascended, to find Stillman in the hall, half -clothed and cowering, while by the light from the front chamber he saw -her finishing her toilet.</p> - -<p>“Won’t you come with me—it’s our last chance?” She only shook her head. -“Well, then, put out the light. I’ll stand at that front window, and -when my eyes get used to the darkness I’ll be able to see them before -they reach the gate.”</p> - -<p>She did as directed, taking her place beside him at the opening, while -the Judge crept in and sat upon the bed, his heavy breathing the only -sound in the room. The two young people stood so close beside each other -that the sweet scent of her person awoke in him an almost irresistible -longing. He forgot her treachery again, forgot that she was another’s, -forgot all save that he loved her truly and purely, with a love which -was like an agony to him. Her shoulder brushed his arm; he heard the -soft rustling of her garment at her breast as she breathed. Some one -passed in the street, and she laid a hand upon him fearfully. It was -very cold, very tiny, and very soft, but he made no move to take it. The -moments dragged along, still, tense, interminable. Occasionally she -leaned towards him, and he stooped to catch her whispered words. At such -times her breath beat warm against his cheek, and he closed his teeth -stubbornly. Out in the night a wolf-dog<a name="page_197" id="page_197"></a> saddened the air, then came the -sound of others wrangling and snarling in a near-by corral. This is a -chickless land and no cock-crow breaks the midnight peace. The suspense -enhanced the Judge’s perturbation till his chattering teeth sounded like -castanets. Now and then he groaned.</p> - -<p>The watchers had lost track of time when their strained eyes detected -dark blots materializing out of the shadows.</p> - -<p>“There they come,” whispered Glenister, forcing her back from the -aperture; but she would not be denied, and returned to his side.</p> - -<p>As the foremost figures reached the gate, Roy leaned forth and spoke, -not loudly, but in tones that sliced through the silence, sharp, clean, -and without warning.</p> - -<p>“Halt! Don’t come inside the fence.” There was an instant’s confusion; -then, before the men beneath had time to answer or take action, he -continued: “This is Roy Glenister talking. I told you not to molest -these people and I warn you again. We’re ready for you.”</p> - -<p>The leader spoke. “You’re a traitor, Glenister.”</p> - -<p>He winced. “Perhaps I am. You betrayed me first, though; and, traitor or -not, you can’t come into this house.”</p> - -<p>There was a murmur at this, and some one said:</p> - -<p>“Miss Chester is safe. All we want is the Judge. We won’t hang him, not -if he’ll wear this suit we brought along. He needn’t be afraid. Tar is -good for the skin.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, my God!” groaned the limb of the law.</p> - -<p>Suddenly a man came running down the planked pavement and into the -group.<a name="page_198" id="page_198"></a></p> - -<p>“McNamara’s gone, and so’s the marshal and the rest,” he panted. There -was a moment’s silence, and then the leader growled to his men, “Scatter -out and rush the house, boys.” He raised his voice to the man in the -window. “This is your work—you damned turncoat.” His followers melted -away to right and left, vaulted the fence, and dodged into the shelter -of the walls. The click, click of Glenister’s Winchester sounded through -the room while the sweat stood out on him. He wondered if he could do -this deed, if he could really fire on these people. He wondered if his -muscles would not wither and paralyze before they obeyed his command.</p> - -<p>Helen crowded past him and, leaning half out of the opening, called -loudly, her voice ringing clear and true:</p> - -<p>“Wait! Wait a moment. I have something to say. Mr. Glenister didn’t warn -them. They thought you were going to attack the mines and so they rode -out there before midnight. I am telling you the truth, really. They left -hours ago.” It was the first sign she had made, and they recognized her -to a man.</p> - -<p>There were uncertain mutterings below till a new man raised his voice. -Both Roy and Helen recognized Dextry.</p> - -<p>“Boys, we’ve overplayed. We don’t want <i>these</i> people—McNamara’s our -meat. Old bald-face up yonder has to do what he’s told, and I’m ag’in’ -this twenty-to-one midnight work. I’m goin’ home.” There were some -whisperings, then the original spokesman called for Judge Stillman. The -old man tottered to the window, a palsied, terror-stricken object. The -girl was glad he could not be seen from below.</p> - -<p>“We won’t hurt you this time, Judge, but you’ve<a name="page_199" id="page_199"></a> gone far enough. We’ll -give you another chance, then, if you don’t make good, we’ll stretch you -to a lamppost. Take this as a warning.”</p> - -<p>“I—s-shall do my d-d-duty,” said the Judge.</p> - -<p>The men disappeared into the darkness, and when they had gone Glenister -closed the window, pulled down the shades, and lighted a lamp. He knew -by how narrow a margin a tragedy had been averted. If he had fired on -these men his shot would have kindled a feud which would have consumed -every vestige of the court crowd and himself among them. He would have -fallen under a false banner, and his life would not have reached to the -next sunset. Perhaps it was forfeit now—he could not tell. The -Vigilantes would probably look upon his part as traitorous; and, at the -very least, he had cut himself off from their support, the only support -the Northland offered him. Henceforth he was a renegade, a pariah, hated -alike by both factions. He purposely avoided sight of Stillman and -turned his back when the Judge extended his hand with expressions of -gratitude. His work was done and he wished to leave this house. Helen -followed him down to the door and, as he opened it, laid her hand upon -his sleeve.</p> - -<p>“Words are feeble things, and I can never make amends for all you’ve -done for us.”</p> - -<p>“For <i>us</i>!” cried Roy, with a break in his voice. “Do you think I -sacrificed my honor, betrayed my friends, killed my last hope, -ostracized myself, for ‘<i>us</i>’? This is the last time I’ll trouble you. -Perhaps the last time I’ll see you. No matter what else you’ve done, -however, you’ve taught me a lesson, and I thank you for it. I have found -myself at last. I’m not an Eskimo any longer—I’m a man!”<a name="page_200" id="page_200"></a></p> - -<p>“You’ve always been that,” she said. “I don’t understand as much about -this affair as I want to, and it seems to me that no one will explain -it. I’m very stupid, I guess; but won’t you come back to-morrow and tell -it to me?”</p> - -<p>“No,” he said, roughly. “You’re not of my people. McNamara and his are -no friends of mine, and I’m no friend of theirs.” He was half down the -steps before she said, softly:</p> - -<p>“Good-night, and God bless you—friend.”</p> - -<p>She returned to the Judge, who was in a pitiable state, and for a long -time she labored to soothe him as though he were a child. She undertook -to question him about the things which lay uppermost in her mind and -which this night had half revealed, but he became fretful and irritated -at the mention of mines and mining. She sat beside his bed till he dozed -off, puzzling to discover what lay behind the hints she had heard, till -her brain and body matched in absolute weariness. The reflex of the -day’s excitement sapped her strength till she could barely creep to her -own couch, where she rolled and sighed—too tired to sleep at once. She -awoke finally, with one last nervous flicker, before complete oblivion -took her. A sentence was on her mind—it almost seemed as though she had -spoken it aloud: -<a name="page_201" id="page_201"></a> -“The handsomest woman in the North ... but Glenister ran away.”</p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVI" id="CHAPTER_XVI"></a>CHAPTER XVI<br /><br /> -<small>IN WHICH THE TRUTH BEGINS TO BARE ITSELF</small></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">I</span><b>T</b> was nearly noon of the next day when Helen awoke to find that -McNamara had ridden in from the Creek and stopped for breakfast with the -Judge. He had asked for her, but on hearing the tale of the night’s -adventure would not allow her to be disturbed. Later, he and the Judge -had gone away together.</p> - -<p>Although her judgment approved the step she had contemplated the night -before, still the girl now felt a strange reluctance to meet McNamara. -It is true that she knew no ill of him, except that implied in the -accusations of certain embittered men; and she was aware that every -strong and aggressive character makes enemies in direct proportion to -the qualities which lend him greatness. Nevertheless, she was aware of -an inner conflict that she had not foreseen. This man who so confidently -believed that she would marry him did not dominate her consciousness.</p> - -<p>She had ridden much of late, taking long, solitary gallops beside the -shimmering sea that she loved so well, or up the winding valleys into -the foot-hills where echoed the roar of swift waters or glinted the -flash of shovel blades. This morning her horse was lame, so she -determined to walk. In her early rambles she had looked timidly askance -at the rough men she met till<a name="page_202" id="page_202"></a> she discovered their genuine respect and -courtesy. The most unkempt among them were often college-bred, although, -for that matter, the roughest of the miners showed abundant -consideration for a woman. So she was glad to allow the men to talk to -her with the fine freedom inspired by the new country and its wide -spaces. The wilderness breeds a chivalry all its own.</p> - -<p>Thus there seemed to be no danger abroad, though they had told the girl -of mad dogs which roamed the city, explaining that the hot weather -affects powerfully the thick-coated, shaggy “malamoots.” This is the -land of the dog, and whereas in winter his lot is to labor and shiver -and starve, in summer he loafs, fights, grows fat, and runs mad with the -heat.</p> - -<p>Helen walked far and, returning, chose an unfamiliar course through the -outskirts of the town to avoid meeting any of the women she knew, -because of that vivid memory of the night before. As she walked swiftly -along she thought that she heard faint cries far behind her. Looking up, -she noted that it was a lonely, barren quarter and that the only figure -in sight was a woman some distance away. A few paces farther on the -shouts recurred—more plainly this time, and a gunshot sounded. Glancing -back, she saw several men running, one bearing a smoking revolver, and -heard, nearer still, the snarling hubbub of fighting dogs. In a flash -the girl’s curiosity became horror, for, as she watched, one of the dogs -made a sudden dash through the now subdued group of animals and ran -swiftly along the planking on which she stood. It was a handsome -specimen of the Eskimo malamoot—tall, gray, and coated like a wolf, -with the speed, strength, and cunning of its cousin.<a name="page_203" id="page_203"></a> Its head hung low -and swung from side to side as it trotted, the motion flecking foam and -slaver. The creature had scattered the pack, and now, swift, menacing, -relentless, was coming towards Helen. There was no shelter near, no -fence, no house, save the distant one towards which the other woman was -making her way. The men, too far away to protect her, shouted hoarse -warnings.</p> - -<p>Helen did not scream nor hesitate—she turned and ran, terror-stricken, -towards the distant cottage. She was blind with fright and felt an utter -certainty that the dog would attack her before she could reach safety. -Yes—there was the quick patter of his pads close up behind her; her -knees weakened; the sheltering door was yet some yards away. But a -horse, tethered near the walk, reared and snorted as the flying pair -drew near. The mad creature swerved, leaped at the horse’s legs, and -snapped in fury. Badly frightened at this attack, the horse lunged at -his halter, broke it, and galloped away; but the delay had served for -Helen, weak and faint, to reach the door. She wrenched at the knob. It -was locked. As she turned hopelessly away, she saw that the other woman -was directly behind her, and was, in her turn, awaiting the mad animal’s -onslaught, but calmly, a tiny revolver in her hand.</p> - -<p>“Shoot!” screamed Helen. “Why don’t you shoot?” The little gun spoke, -and the dog spun around, snarling and yelping. The woman fired several -times more before it lay still, and then remarked, calmly, as she -“broke” the weapon and ejected the shells:</p> - -<p>“The calibre is too small to be good for much.”</p> - -<p>Helen sank down upon the steps.<a name="page_204" id="page_204"></a></p> - -<p>“How well you shoot!” she gasped. Her eyes were on the gray bundle whose -death agonies had thrust it almost to her feet. The men had run up and -were talking excitedly, but after a word with them the woman turned to -Helen.</p> - -<p>“You must come in for a moment and recover yourself,” she said, and led -her inside.</p> - -<p>It was a cosey room in which the girl found herself—more than -that—luxurious. There was a piano with scattered music, and many of the -pretty, feminine things that Helen had not seen since leaving home. The -hostess had stepped behind some curtains for an instant and was talking -to her from the next room.</p> - -<p>“That is the third mad dog I have seen this month. Hydrophobia is -becoming a habit in this neighborhood.” She returned, bearing a tiny -silver tray with decanter and glasses.</p> - -<p>“You’re all unstrung, but this brandy will help you—if you don’t object -to a swallow of it. Then come right in here and lie down for a moment -and you’ll be all right.” She spoke with such genuine kindness and -sympathy that Helen flashed a grateful glance at her. She was tall, -slender, and with a peculiar undulating suggestion in her movements, as -though she had been bred to the clinging folds of silken garments. Helen -watched the charm of her smile, the friendly solicitude of her -expression, and felt her heart warm towards this one kind woman in Nome.</p> - -<p>“You’re very good,” she answered; “but I’m all right now. I was badly -frightened. It was wonderful, your saving me.” She followed the other’s -graceful motion as she placed her burden on the table, and<a name="page_205" id="page_205"></a> in doing so -gazed squarely at a photograph of Roy Glenister.</p> - -<p>“Oh—!” Helen exclaimed, then paused as it flashed over her who this -girl was. She looked at her quickly. Yes, probably men would consider -the woman beautiful, with that smile. The revelation came with a shock, -and she arose, trying to mask her confusion.</p> - -<p>“Thank you so much for your kindness. I’m quite myself now and I must -go.”</p> - -<p>Her change of face could not escape the quick perceptions of one -schooled by experience in the slights of her sex. Times without number -Cherry Malotte had marked that subtle, scornful change in other women, -and reviled herself for heeding it. But in some way this girl’s manner -hurt her worst of all. She betrayed no sign, however, save a widening of -the eyes and a certain fixity of smile as she answered:</p> - -<p>“I wish you would stay until you are rested, Miss—” She paused with -out-stretched hand.</p> - -<p>“Chester. My name is Helen Chester. I’m Judge Stillman’s niece,” hurried -the other, in embarrassment.</p> - -<p>Cherry Malotte withdrew her proffered hand and her face grew hard and -hateful.</p> - -<p>“Oh! So you are Miss Chester—and I—saved you!” She laughed harshly.</p> - -<p>Helen strove for calmness. “I’m sorry you feel that way,” she said, -coolly. “I appreciate your service to me.” She moved towards the door.</p> - -<p>“Wait a moment. I want to talk to you.” Then, as Helen paid no heed, the -woman burst out, bitterly: “Oh, don’t be afraid! I know you are -committing an unpardonable sin by talking to me, but no one will see -you, and in your code the crime lies in being discovered.<a name="page_206" id="page_206"></a> Therefore, -you’re quite safe. That’s what makes me an outcast—I was found out. I -want you to know, however, that, bad as I am, I’m better than you, for -I’m loyal to those that like me, and I don’t betray my friends.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t pretend to understand you,” said Helen, coldly.</p> - -<p>“Oh yes, you do! Don’t assume such innocence. Of course it’s your rôle, -but you can’t play it with me.” She stepped in front of her visitor, -placing her back against the door, while her face was bitter and -mocking. “The little service I did you just now entitles me to a -privilege, I suppose, and I’m going to take advantage of it to tell you -how badly your mask fits. Dreadfully rude of me, isn’t it? You’re in -with a fine lot of crooks, and I admire the way you’ve done your share -of the dirty work, but when you assume these scandalized, supervirtuous -airs it offends me.”</p> - -<p>“Let me out!”</p> - -<p>“I’ve done bad things,” Cherry continued, unheedingly, “but I was forced -into them, usually, and I never, deliberately, tried to wreck a man’s -life just for his money.”</p> - -<p>“What do you mean by saying that I have betrayed my friends and wrecked -anybody’s life?” Helen demanded, hotly.</p> - -<p>“Bah! I had you sized up at the start, but Roy couldn’t see it. Then -Struve told me what I hadn’t guessed. A bottle of wine, a woman, and -that fool will tell all he knows. It’s a great game McNamara’s playing -and he did well to get you in on it, for you’re clever, your nerve is -good, and your make-up is great for the part. I ought to know, for I’ve -turned a few<a name="page_207" id="page_207"></a> tricks myself. You’ll pardon this little burst of -feeling—professional pique. I’m jealous of your ability, that’s all. -However, now that you realize we’re in the same class, don’t look down -on me hereafter.” She opened the door and bowed her guest out with -elaborate mockery.</p> - -<p>Helen was too bewildered and humiliated to make much out of this vicious -and incoherent attack except the fact that Cherry Malotte accused her of -a part in this conspiracy which every one seemed to believe existed. -Here again was that hint of corruption which she encountered on all -sides. This might be merely a woman’s jealousy—and yet she said Struve -had told her all about it—that a bottle of wine and a pretty face would -make the lawyer disclose everything. She could believe it from what she -knew and had heard of him. The feeling that she was groping in the dark, -that she was wrapped in a mysterious woof of secrecy, came over her -again as it had so often of late. If Struve talked to that other woman, -why wouldn’t he talk to her? She paused, changing her direction towards -Front Street, revolving rapidly in her mind as she went her course of -action. Cherry Malotte believed her to be an actress. Very well—she -would prove her judgment right.</p> - -<p>She found Struve busy in his private office, but he leaped to his feet -on her entrance and came forward, offering her a chair.</p> - -<p>“Good-morning, Miss Helen. You have a fine color, considering the night -you passed. The Judge told me all about the affair; and let me state -that you’re the pluckiest girl I know.”</p> - -<p>She smiled grimly at the thought of what made her<a name="page_208" id="page_208"></a> cheeks glow, and -languidly loosened the buttons of her jacket.</p> - -<p>“I suppose you’re very busy, you lawyer man?” she inquired.</p> - -<p>“Yes—but not too busy to attend to anything you want.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, I didn’t come on business,” she said, lightly. “I was out walking -and merely sauntered in.”</p> - -<p>“Well, I appreciate that all the more,” he said, in an altered tone, -twisting his chair about. “I’m more than delighted.” She judged she was -getting on well from the way his professionalism had dropped off.</p> - -<p>“Yes, I get tired of talking to uncle and Mr. McNamara. They treat me as -though I were a little girl.”</p> - -<p>“When do you take the fatal step?”</p> - -<p>“What step do you mean?”</p> - -<p>“Your marriage. When does it occur? You needn’t hesitate,” he added. -“McNamara told me about it a month ago.”</p> - -<p>He felt his throat gingerly at the thought, but his eyes brightened when -she answered, lightly:</p> - -<p>“I think you are mistaken. He must have been joking.”</p> - -<p>For some time she led him on adroitly, talking of many things, in a way -to make him wonder at her new and flippant humor. He had never dreamed -she could be like this, so tantalizingly close to familiarity, and yet -so maddeningly aloof and distant. He grew bolder in his speech.</p> - -<p>“How are things going with us?” she questioned, as his warmth grew -pronounced. “Uncle won’t talk and Mr. McNamara is as close-mouthed as -can be, lately.”<a name="page_209" id="page_209"></a></p> - -<p>He looked at her quickly. “In what respect?”</p> - -<p>She summoned up her courage and walked past the ragged edge of -uncertainty.</p> - -<p>“Now, don’t you try to keep me in short dresses, too. It’s getting -wearisome. I’ve done my part and I want to know what the rest of you are -doing.” She was prepared for any answer.</p> - -<p>“What do you want to know?” he asked, cautiously.</p> - -<p>“Everything. Don’t you think I can hear what people are saying?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, that’s it! Well, don’t you pay any attention to what people say.”</p> - -<p>She recognized her mistake and continued, hurriedly:</p> - -<p>“Why shouldn’t I? Aren’t we all in this together? I object to being used -and then discarded. I think I’m entitled to know how the scheme is -working. Don’t you think I can keep my mouth shut?”</p> - -<p>“Of course,” he laughed, trying to change the subject of their talk; but -she arose and leaned against the desk near him, vowing that she would -not leave the office without piercing some part of this mystery. His -manner strengthened her suspicion that there <i>was</i> something behind it -all. This dissipated, brilliant creature knew the situation thoroughly; -and yet, though swayed by her efforts, he remained chained by caution. -She leaned forward and smiled at him.</p> - -<p>“You’re just like the others, aren’t you? You won’t give me any -satisfaction at all.”</p> - -<p>“Give, give, give,” said Struve, cynically. “That’s always the woman’s -cry. Give me this—give me that. Selfish sex! Why don’t you offer -something in return? Men are traders, women usurers. You are curious, -hence miserable. I can help you, therefore I should<a name="page_210" id="page_210"></a> do it for a smile. -You ask me to break my promises and risk my honor on your caprice. Well, -that’s woman-like, and I’ll do it. I’ll put myself in your power, but I -won’t do it gratis. No, we’ll trade.”</p> - -<p>“It isn’t curiosity,” she denied, indignantly. “It is my due.”</p> - -<p>“No; you’ve heard the common talk and grown suspicious, that’s all. You -think I know something that will throw a new light or a new shadow on -everything you have in the world, and you’re worked up to such a -condition that you can’t take your own people’s word; and, on the other -hand, you can’t go to strangers, so you come to me. Suppose I told you I -had the papers you brought to me last spring in that safe and that they -told the whole story—whether your uncle is unimpeachable or whether he -deserved hanging by that mob. What would you do, eh? What would you give -to see them? Well, they’re there and ready to speak for themselves. If -you’re a woman you won’t rest till you’ve seen them. Will you trade?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, yes! Give them to me,” she cried, eagerly, at which a wave of -crimson rushed up to his eyes and he rose abruptly from his chair. He -made towards her, but she retreated to the wall, pale and wide-eyed.</p> - -<p>“Can’t you see,” she flung at him, “that I <i>must</i> know?”</p> - -<p>He paused. “Of course I can, but I want a kiss to bind the bargain—to -apply on account.” He reached for her hand with his own hot one, but she -pushed him away and slipped past him towards the door.</p> - -<p>“Suit yourself,” said he, “but if I’m not mistaken, you’ll never rest -till you’ve seen those papers. I’ve studied you, and I’ll place a bet -that you can’t marry<a name="page_211" id="page_211"></a> McNamara nor look your uncle in the eye till you -know the truth. You might do either if you <i>knew</i> them to be crooks, but -you couldn’t if you only suspected it—that’s the woman. When you get -ready, come back; I’ll show you proof, because I don’t claim to be -anything but what I am—Wilton Struve, bargainer of some mean ability. -When they come to inscribe my headstone I hope they can carve thereon -with truth, ‘He got value received.’ ”</p> - -<p>“You’re a panther,” she said, loathingly.</p> - -<p>“Graceful and elegant brute, that,” he laughed. “Affectionate and full -of play, but with sharp teeth and sharper claws. To follow out the idea, -which pleases me, I believe the creature owes no loyalty to its fellows -and hunts alone. Now, when you’ve followed this conspiracy out and -placed the blame where it belongs, won’t you come and tell me about it? -That door leads into an outer hall which opens into the street. No one -will see you come or go.”</p> - -<p>As she hurried away she wondered dazedly why she had stayed to listen so -long. What a monster he was! His meaning was plain, had always been so -from the first day he laid eyes upon her, and he was utterly -conscienceless. She had known all this; and yet, in her proud, youthful -confidence, and in her need, every hour more desperate and urgent, to -know the truth, she had dared risk herself with him. Withal, the man was -shrewd and observant and had divined her mental condition with -remarkable sagacity. She had failed with him; but the girl now knew that -she could never rest till she found an answer to her questions. She -<i>must</i> kill this suspicion that ate into her so. She thought tenderly of -her uncle’s goodness to her, clung with<a name="page_212" id="page_212"></a> despairing faith to the last of -her kin. The blood ties of the Chesters were close and she felt in dire -need of that lost brother who was somewhere in this mysterious -land—need of some one in whom ran the strain that bound her to the weak -old man up yonder. There was McNamara; but how could he help her, how -much did she know of him, this man who was now within the darkest shadow -of her new suspicions?</p> - -<p>Feeling almost intolerably friendless and alone, weakened both by her -recent fright and by her encounter with Struve, Helen considered as -calmly as her emotions would allow and decided that this was no day in -which pride should figure. There were facts which it was imperative she -should know, and immediately; therefore, a few minutes later, she -knocked at the door of Cherry Malotte. When the girl appeared, Helen was -astonished to see that she had been crying. Tears burn hottest and leave -plainest trace in eyes where they come most seldom. The younger girl -could not guess the tumult of emotion the other had undergone during her -absence, the utter depths of self-abasement she had fathomed, for the -sight of Helen and her fresh young beauty had roused in the adventuress -a very tempest of bitterness and jealousy. Whether Helen Chester were -guilty or innocent, how could Glenister hesitate between them? Cherry -had asked herself. Now she stared at her visitor inhospitably and -without sign.</p> - -<p>“Will you let me come in?” Helen asked her. “I have something to say to -you.”</p> - -<p>When they were inside, Cherry Malotte stood and gazed at her visitor -with inscrutable eyes and stony face.</p> - -<p>“It isn’t easy for me to come back,” Helen began,<a name="page_213" id="page_213"></a> “but I felt that I -had to. If you can help me, I hope you will. You said that you knew a -great wrong was being done. I have suspected it, but I didn’t know, and -I’ve been afraid to doubt my own people. You said I had a part in -it—that I’d betrayed my friends. Wait a moment,” she hurried on, at the -other’s cynical smile. “Won’t you tell me what you know and what you -think my part has been? I’ve heard and seen things that make me -think—oh, they make me afraid to think, and yet I can’t find the -<i>truth!</i> You see, in a struggle like this, people will make all sorts of -allegations, but do they <i>know</i>, have they any proof, that my uncle has -done wrong?”</p> - -<p>“Is that all?”</p> - -<p>“No. You said Struve told you the whole scheme. I went to him and tried -to cajole the story out of him, but—” She shivered at the memory.</p> - -<p>“What success did you have?” inquired the listener, oddly curious for -all her cold dislike.</p> - -<p>“Don’t ask me. I hate to think of it.”</p> - -<p>Cherry laughed cruelly. “So, failing there, you came back to me, back -for another favor from the waif. Well, Miss Helen Chester, I don’t -believe a word you’ve said and I’ll tell you nothing. Go back to the -uncle and the rawboned lover who sent you, and inform them that I’ll -speak when the time comes. They think I know too much, do they?—so -they’ve sent you to spy? Well, I’ll make a compact. You play your game -and I’ll play mine. Leave Glenister alone and I’ll not tell on McNamara. -Is it a bargain?”</p> - -<p>“No, no, no! Can’t you <i>see</i>? That’s not it. All I want is the truth of -this thing.”</p> - -<p>“Then go back to Struve and get it. He’ll tell you;<a name="page_214" id="page_214"></a> I won’t. Drive your -bargain with him—you’re able. You’ve fooled better men—now, see what -you can do with him.”</p> - -<p>Helen left, realizing the futility of further effort, though she felt -that this woman did not really doubt her, but was scourged by jealousy -till she deliberately chose this attitude.</p> - -<p>Reaching her own house, she wrote two brief notes and called in her Jap -boy from the kitchen.</p> - -<p>“Fred, I want you to hunt up Mr. Glenister and give him this note. If -you can’t find him, then look for his partner and give the other to -him.” Fred vanished, to return in an hour with the letter for Dextry -still in his hand.</p> - -<p>“I don’ catch dis feller,” he explained. “Young mans say he gone, come -back mebbe one, two, ’leven days.”</p> - -<p>“Did you deliver the one to Mr. Glenister?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, ma’am.”</p> - -<p>“Was there an answer?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, ma’am.”</p> - -<p>“Well, give it to me.”</p> - -<p>The note read:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>“<span class="smcap">Dear Miss Chester</span>,—A discussion of a matter so familiar to us -both as the Anvil Creek controversy would be useless. If your -inclination is due to the incidents of last night, pray don’t -trouble yourself. We don’t want your pity. I am,</p> - -<p class="r"> -<span style="margin-right: 12%;">“Your servant,</span><br /> -“<span class="smcap">Roy Glenister</span>.”<br /> -</p></div> - -<p>As she read the note, Judge Stillman entered, and it seemed to the girl -that he had aged a year for every hour in the last twelve, or else the -yellow afternoon<a name="page_215" id="page_215"></a> light limned the sagging hollows and haggard lines of -his face most pitilessly. He showed in voice and manner the nervous -burden under which he labored.</p> - -<p>“Alec has told me about your engagement, and it lifts a terrible load -from me. I’m mighty glad you’re going to marry him. He’s a wonderful -man, and he’s the only one who can save us.”</p> - -<p>“What do you mean by that? What are we in danger of?” she inquired, -avoiding discussion of McNamara’s announcement.</p> - -<p>“Why, that mob, of course. They’ll come back. They said so. But Alec can -handle the commanding officer at the post, and, thanks to him, we’ll -have soldiers guarding the house hereafter.”</p> - -<p>“Why—they won’t hurt us—”</p> - -<p>“Tut, tut! I know what I’m talking about. We’re in worse danger now than -ever, and if we don’t break up those Vigilantes there’ll be -bloodshed—that’s what. They’re a menace, and they’re trying to force me -off the bench so they can take the law into their own hands again. -That’s what I want to see you about. They’re planning to kill Alec and -me—so he says—and we’ve got to act quick to prevent murder. Now, this -young Glenister is one of them, and he knows who the rest are. Do you -think you could get him to talk?”</p> - -<p>“I don’t think I quite understand you,” said the girl, through whitening -lips.</p> - -<p>“Oh yes, you do. I want the names of the ring-leaders, so that I can -jail them. You can worm it out of that fellow if you try.”</p> - -<p>Helen looked at the old man in a horror that at first was dumb. “You ask -this of me?” she demanded, hoarsely, at last.<a name="page_216" id="page_216"></a></p> - -<p>“Nonsense,” he said, irritably. “This isn’t any time for silly scruples. -It’s life or death for me, maybe, and for Alec, too.” He said the last -craftily, but she stormed at him:</p> - -<p>“It’s infamous! You’re asking me to betray the very man who saved us not -twelve hours ago. He risked his life for us.”</p> - -<p>“It isn’t treachery at all, it’s protection. If we don’t get them, -they’ll get us. I wouldn’t punish that young fellow, but I want the -others. Come, now, you’ve got to do it.”</p> - -<p>But she said “No” firmly, and quietly went to her own room, where, -behind the locked door, she sat for a long time staring with unseeing -eyes, her hands tight clenched in her lap. At last she whispered:</p> - -<p>“I’m afraid it’s true. I’m afraid it’s true.”</p> - -<p>She remained hidden during the dinner-hour, and pleaded a headache when -McNamara called in the early evening. Although she had not seen him -since he left her the night before, bearing her tacit promise to wed -him, yet how could she meet him now with the conviction growing on her -hourly that he was a master-rogue? She wrestled with the thought that he -and her uncle, her own uncle who stood in the place of a father, were -conspirators. And yet, at memory of the Judge’s cold-blooded request -that she should turn traitress, her whole being was revolted. If he -could ask a thing like that, what other heartless, selfish act might he -not be capable of? All the long, solitary evening she kept her room, but -at last, feeling faint, slipped down-stairs in search of Fred, for she -had eaten nothing since her late breakfast.</p> - -<p>Voices reached her from the parlor, and as she came<a name="page_217" id="page_217"></a> to the last step -she froze there in an attitude of listening. The first sentence she -heard through the close-drawn curtains banished all qualms at -eavesdropping. She stood for many breathless minutes drinking in the -plot that came to her plainly from within, then turned, gathered up her -skirts, and tiptoed back to her room. Here she made haste madly, tearing -off her house clothes and donning others.</p> - -<p>She pressed her face to the window and noted that the night was like a -close-hung velvet pall, without a star in sight. Nevertheless, she wound -a heavy veil about her hat and face before she extinguished the light -and stepped into the hall. Hearing McNamara’s “Good-night” at the -front-door, she retreated again while her uncle slowly mounted the -stairs and paused before her chamber. He called her name softly, but -when she did not answer continued on to his own room. When he was safely -within she descended quietly, went out, and locked the front-door behind -her, placing the key in her bosom. She hurried now, feeling her way -through the thick gloom in a panic, while in her mind was but one -frightened thought:</p> - -<p>“I’ll be too late. I’ll be too late.”<a name="page_218" id="page_218"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVII" id="CHAPTER_XVII"></a>CHAPTER XVII<br /><br /> -<small>THE DRIP OF WATER IN THE DARK</small></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">E</span><b>VEN</b> after Helen had been out for some time she could barely see -sufficiently to avoid collisions. The air, weighted by a low-hung roof -of clouds, was surcharged with the electric suspense of an impending -storm, and seemed to sigh and tremble at the hint of power in leash. It -was that pause before the conflict wherein the night laid finger upon -its lips.</p> - -<p>As the girl neared Glenister’s cabin she was disappointed at seeing no -light there. She stumbled towards the door, only to utter a -half-strangled cry as two men stepped out of the gloom and seized her -roughly. Something cold and hard was thrust violently against her cheek, -forcing her head back and bruising her. She struggled and cried out.</p> - -<p>“Hold on—it’s a woman!” ejaculated the man who had pinioned her arms, -loosing his hold till only a hand remained on her shoulder. The other -lowered the weapon he had jammed to her face and peered closely.</p> - -<p>“Why, Miss Chester,” he said. “What are you doing here? You came near -getting hurt.”</p> - -<p>“I am bound for the Wilsons’, but I must have lost my way in the -darkness. I think you have cut my face.” She controlled her fright -firmly.</p> - -<p>“That’s too bad,” one said. “We mistook you<a name="page_219" id="page_219"></a> for—” And the other broke -in, sharply, “You’d better run along. We’re waiting for some one.”</p> - -<p>Helen hastened back by the route she had come, knowing that there was -still time, and that as yet her uncle’s emissaries had not laid hands -upon Glenister. She had overheard the Judge and McNamara plotting to -drag the town with a force of deputies, seizing not only her two -friends, but every man suspected of being a Vigilante. The victims were -to be jailed without bond, without reason, without justice, while the -mechanism of the court was to be juggled in order to hold them until -fall, if necessary. They had said that the officers were already busy, -so haste was a crying thing. She sped down the dark streets towards the -house of Cherry Malotte, but found no light nor answer to her knock. She -was distracted now, and knew not where to seek next among the thousand -spots which might hide the man she wanted. What chance had she against -the posse sweeping the town from end to end? There was only one; he -might be at the Northern Theatre. Even so, she could not reach him, for -she dared not go there herself. She thought of Fred, her Jap boy, but -there was no time. Wasted moments meant failure.</p> - -<p>Roy had once told her that he never gave up what he undertook. Very -well, she would show that even a girl may possess determination. This -was no time for modesty or shrinking indecision, so she pulled the veil -more closely about her face and took her good name into her hands. She -made rapidly towards the lighted streets which cast a skyward glare, and -from which, through the breathless calm, arose the sound of carousal. -Swiftly she threaded the narrow alleys in search<a name="page_220" id="page_220"></a> of the theatre’s rear -entrance, for she dared not approach from the front. In this way she -came into a part of the camp which had lain hidden from her until now, -and of the existence of which she had never dreamed.</p> - -<p>The vices of a city, however horrible, are at least draped scantily by -the mantle of convention, but in a great mining-camp they stand naked -and without concealment. Here there were rows upon rows of criblike -houses clustered over tortuous, ill-lighted lanes, like blow-flies -swarming to an unclean feast. From within came the noise of ribaldry and -debauch. Shrill laughter mingled with coarse, maudlin songs, till the -clinging night reeked with abominable revelry. The girl saw painted -creatures of every nationality leaning from windows or beckoning from -doorways, while drunken men collided with her, barred her course, -challenged her, and again and again she was forced to slip from their -embraces. At last the high bulk of the theatre building loomed a short -distance ahead. Panting and frightened, she tried the door with weak -hands, to find it locked. From behind it rose the blare of brass and the -sound of singing. She accosted a man who approached her through the -narrow alley, but he had cruised from the charted course in search of -adventure and was not minded to go in quest of doormen; rather, he chose -to sing a chantey, to the bibulous measures of which he invited her to -dance with him, so she slipped away till he had teetered past. He was -some long-shoreman in that particular epoch of his inebriety where life -had no burden save the dissipation of wages.</p> - -<p>Returning, she pounded on the door, possessed of the sense that the man -she sought was here, till at last it<a name="page_221" id="page_221"></a> was flung open, framing the -silhouette of a shirt-sleeved, thick-set youth, who shouted:</p> - -<p>“What ’n ’ell do you want to butt in for while the show’s on? Go round -front.” She caught a glimpse of disordered scenery, and before he could -slam the door in her face thrust a silver dollar into his hand, at the -same time wedging herself into the opening. He pocketed the coin and the -door clicked to behind her.</p> - -<p>“Well, speak up. The act’s closin’.” Evidently he was the directing -genius of the performance, for at that moment the chorus broke into full -cry, and he said, hurriedly:</p> - -<p>“Wait a minute. There goes the finally,” and dashed away to tend his -drops and switches. When the curtain was down and the principals had -sought their dressing-rooms he returned.</p> - -<p>“Do you know Mr. Glenister?” she asked.</p> - -<p>“Sure. I seen him to-night. Come here.” He led her towards the -footlights, and, pulling back the edge of the curtain, allowed her to -peep past him out into the dance-hall. She had never pictured a place -like this, and in spite of her agitation was astonished at its gaudy -elegance. The gallery was formed of a continuous row of compartments -with curtained fronts, in which men and women were talking, drinking, -singing. The seats on the lower floor were disappearing, and the canvas -cover was rolling back, showing the polished hardwood underneath, while -out through the wide folding-doors that led to the main gambling-room -she heard a brass-lunged man calling the commencement of the dance. -Couples glided into motion while she watched.</p> - -<p>“I don’t see him,” said her guide. “You better walk out front and help -yourself.” He indicated the<a name="page_222" id="page_222"></a> stairs which led up to the galleried boxes -and the steps leading down on to the main floor, but she handed him -another coin, begging him to find Glenister and bring him to her. -“Hurry; hurry!” she implored.</p> - -<p>The stage-manager gazed at her curiously, remarking, “My! You spend your -money like it had been left to you. You’re a regular pie-check for me. -Come around any time.”</p> - -<p>She withdrew to a dark corner and waited interminably till her messenger -appeared at the head of the gallery stairs and beckoned to her. As she -drew near he said, “I told him there was a thousand-dollar filly -flaggin’ him from the stage door, but he’s got a grouch an’ won’t stir. -He’s in number seven.” She hesitated, at which he said, “Go on—you’re -in right;” then continued, reassuringly: “Say, pal, if he’s your -white-haired lad, you needn’t start no roughhouse, ’cause he don’t flirt -wit’ these dames none whatever. Naw! Take it from me.”</p> - -<p>She entered the door her counsellor indicated to find Roy lounging back -watching the dancers. He turned inquiringly—then, as she raised her -veil, leaped to his feet and jerked the curtains to.</p> - -<p>“Helen! What are you doing here?”</p> - -<p>“You must go away quickly,” she gasped. “They’re trying to arrest you.”</p> - -<p>“They! Who? Arrest me for what?”</p> - -<p>“Voorhees and his men—for riot, or something about last night.”</p> - -<p>“Nonsense,” he said. “I had no part in it. You know that.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, yes—but you’re a Vigilante, and they’re after you and all your -friends. Your house is guarded and<a name="page_223" id="page_223"></a> the town is alive with deputies. -They’ve planned to jail you on some pretext or other and hold you -indefinitely. Please go before it’s too late.”</p> - -<p>“How do you know this?” he asked, gravely.</p> - -<p>“I overheard them plotting.”</p> - -<p>“Who?”</p> - -<p>“Uncle Arthur and Mr. McNamara.” She faced him squarely as she said it, -and therefore saw the light flame up in his eyes as he cried:</p> - -<p>“And you came here to save me—came <i>here</i> at the risk of your good -name?”</p> - -<p>“Of course. I would have done the same for Dextry.” The gladness died -away, leaving him listless.</p> - -<p>“Well, let them come. I’m done, I guess. I heard from Wheaton to-night. -He’s down and out, too—some trouble with the ’Frisco courts about -jurisdiction over these cases. I don’t know that it’s worth while to -fight any longer.”</p> - -<p>“Listen,” she said. “You must go. I am sure there is a terrible wrong -being done, and you and I must stop it. I have seen the truth at last, -and you’re in the right. Please hide for a time at least.”</p> - -<p>“Very well. If you have taken sides with us there’s some hope left. -Thank you for the risk you ran in warning me.”</p> - -<p>She had moved to the front of the compartment and was peering forth -between the draperies when she stifled a cry.</p> - -<p>“Too late! Too late! There they are. Don’t part the curtains. They’ll -see you.”</p> - -<p>Pushing through the gambling-hall were Voorhees and four others, -seemingly in quest of some one.</p> - -<p>“Run down the back stairs,” she breathed, and<a name="page_224" id="page_224"></a> pushed him through the -door. He caught and held her hand with a last word of gratitude. Then he -was gone. She drew down her veil and was about to follow when the door -opened and he reappeared.</p> - -<p>“No use,” he remarked, quietly. “There are three more waiting at the -foot.” He looked out to find that the officers had searched the crowd -and were turning towards the front stairs, thus cutting off his retreat. -There were but two ways down from the gallery and no outside windows -from which to leap. As they had made no armed display, the presence of -the officers had not interrupted the dance.</p> - -<p>Glenister drew his revolver, while into his eyes came the dancing -glitter that Helen had seen before, cold as the glint of winter -sunlight.</p> - -<p>“No, not that—for God’s sake!” she shuddered, clasping his arm.</p> - -<p>“I must for your sake, or they’ll find you here, and that’s worse than -ruin. I’ll fight it out in the corridors so that you can escape in the -confusion. Wait till the firing stops and the crowd gathers.” His hand -was on the knob when she tore it loose, whispering hoarsely:</p> - -<p>“They’ll kill you. Wait! There’s a better way. Jump.” She dragged him to -the front of the box and pulled aside the curtains. “It isn’t high and -they won’t see you till it’s too late. Then you can run through the -crowd.”</p> - -<p>He grasped her idea, and, slipping his weapon back into its holster, -laid hold of the ledge before him and lowered himself down over the -dancers. He swung out unhesitatingly, and almost before he had been -observed had dropped into their midst. The gallery was but twice the -height of a man’s head from the floor, so he<a name="page_225" id="page_225"></a> landed on his feet and had -drawn his Colt’s even while the men at the stairs were shouting at him -to halt.</p> - -<p>At sight of the naked weapons there was confusion, wherein the commands -of the deputies mingled with the shrieks of the women, the crash of -overturned chairs, and the sound of tramping feet, as the crowd divided -before Glenister and swept back against the wall in the same ominous way -that a crowd in the street had once divided on the morning of Helen’s -arrival. The trombone player, who had sunk low in his chair with closed -eyes, looked out suddenly at the disturbance, and his alarm was blown -through the horn in a startled squawk. A large woman whimpered, “Don’t -shoot,” and thrust her palms to her ears, closing her eyes tightly.</p> - -<p>Glenister covered the deputies, from whose vicinity the by-standers -surged as though from the presence of lepers.</p> - -<p>“Hands up!” he cried, sharply, and they froze into motionless attitudes, -one poised on the lowest step of the stairs, the other a pace forward. -Voorhees appeared at the head of the flight and rushed down a few steps -only to come abruptly into range and to assume a like rigidity, for the -young man’s aim shifted to him.</p> - -<p>“I have a warrant for you,” the officer cried, his voice loud in the -hush.</p> - -<p>“Keep it,” said Glenister, showing his teeth in a smile in which there -was no mirth. He backed diagonally across the hall, his boot-heels -clicking in the silence, his eyes shifting rapidly up and down the -stairs where the danger lay.</p> - -<p>From her station Helen could see the whole tableau,<a name="page_226" id="page_226"></a> all but the men on -the stairs, where her vision was cut off. She saw the dance girls -crouched behind their partners or leaning far out from the wall with -parted lips, the men eager yet fearful, the bartender with a -half-polished glass poised high. Then a quick movement across the hall -suddenly diverted her absorbed attention. She saw a man rip aside the -drapery of the box opposite and lean so far out that he seemed in peril -of falling. He undertook to sight a weapon at Glenister, who was just -passing from his view. At her first glance Helen gasped—her heart gave -one fierce lunge, and she cried out.</p> - -<p>The distance across the pit was so short that she saw his every line and -lineament clearly; it was the brother she had sought these years and -years. Before she knew or could check it the blood call leaped forth.</p> - -<p>“Drury!” she cried, aloud, at which he whipped his head about, while -amazement and some other emotion she could not gauge spread slowly over -his features. For a long moment he stared at her without movement or -sign while the drama beneath went on, then he drew back into his retreat -with the dazed look of one doubting his senses, yet fearful of putting -them to the test. For her part, she saw nothing except her brother -vanishing slowly into the shadows as though stricken at her glance, the -curtains closing before his livid face—and then pandemonium broke loose -at her feet.</p> - -<p>Glenister, holding his enemies at bay, had retreated to the double doors -leading to the theatre. His coup had been executed so quickly and with -such lack of turmoil that the throng outside knew nothing of it till -they saw a man walk backward through the door. As he did so he reached -forth and slammed the wide wings<a name="page_227" id="page_227"></a> shut before his face, then turned and -dashed into the press. Inside the dance-hall loud sounds arose as the -officers clattered down the stairs and made after their quarry. They -tore the barrier apart in time to see, far down the saloon, an eddying -swirl as though some great fish were lashing through the lily-pads of a -pond, and then the swinging doors closed behind Glenister.</p> - -<p>Helen made her way from the theatre as she had come, unobserved and -unobserving, but she walked in a dream. Emotions had chased each other -too closely to-night to be distinguishable, so she went mechanically -through the narrow alley to Front Street and thence to her home.</p> - -<p>Glenister, meanwhile, had been swallowed up by the darkness, the night -enfolding him without sign or trace. As he ran he considered what course -to follow—whether to carry the call to his comrades in town or to make -for the Creek and Dextry. The Vigilantes might still distrust him, and -yet he owed them warning. McNamara’s men were moving so swiftly that -action must be speedy to forestall them. Another hour and the net would -be closed, while it seemed that whichever course he chose they would -snare one or the other—either the friends who remained in town, or Dex -and Slapjack out in the hills. With daylight those two would return and -walk unheeding into the trap, while if he bore the word to them first, -then the Vigilantes would be jailed before dawn. As he drew near Cherry -Malotte’s house he saw a light through the drawn curtains. A heavy -raindrop plashed upon his face, another followed, and then he heard the -patter of falling water increasing swiftly. Before he could gain the -door the storm had broken. It swept up the street with tropical -violence, while a<a name="page_228" id="page_228"></a> breath sighed out of the night, lifting the litter -from underfoot and pelting him with flying particles. Over the roofs the -wind rushed with the rising moan of a hurricane while the night grew -suddenly noisy ahead of the tempest.</p> - -<p>He entered the door without knocking, to find the girl removing her -coat. Her face gladdened at sight of him, but he checked her with quick -and cautious words, his speech almost drowned by the roar outside.</p> - -<p>“Are you alone?” She nodded, and he slipped the bolt behind him, saying:</p> - -<p>“The marshals are after me. We just had a ‘run in’ at the Northern, and -I’m on the go. No—nothing serious yet, but they want the Vigilantes, -and I must get them word. Will you help me?” He rapidly recounted the -row of the last ten minutes while she nodded her quick understanding.</p> - -<p>“You’re safe here for a little while,” she told him, “for the storm will -check them. If they should come, there’s a back door leading out from -the kitchen and a side entrance yonder. In my room you’ll find a French -window. They can’t corner you very well.”</p> - -<p>“Slapjack and Dex are out at the shaft house—you know—that quartz -claim on the mountain above the Midas.” He hesitated. “Will you lend me -your saddle-horse? It’s a black night and I may kill him.”</p> - -<p>“What about these men in town?”</p> - -<p>“I’ll warn them first, then hit for the hills.”</p> - -<p>She shook her head. “You can’t do it. You can’t get out there before -daylight if you wait to rouse these people, and McNamara has probably -telephoned the mines to send a party up to the quartz claim after Dex.<a name="page_229" id="page_229"></a> -He knows where the old man is as well as you do, and they’ll raid him -before dawn.”</p> - -<p>“I’m afraid so, but it’s all I can offer. Will you give me the horse?”</p> - -<p>“No! He’s only a pony, and you’d founder him in the tundra. The mud is -knee-deep. I’ll go myself.”</p> - -<p>“Good Heavens, girl, in such a night! Why, it’s worth your life! Listen -to it! The creeks will be up and you’ll have to swim. No, I can’t let -you.”</p> - -<p>“He’s a good little horse, and he’ll take me through.” Then, coming -close, she continued: “Oh, boy! Can’t you see that I want to help? Can’t -you see that I—I’d <i>die</i> for you if it would do any good?” He gazed -gravely into her wide blue eyes and said, awkwardly: “Yes, I know. I’m -sorry things are—as they are—but you wouldn’t have me lie to you, -little woman?”</p> - -<p>“No. You’re the only true man I ever knew. I guess that’s why I love -you. And I do love you, oh, so much! I want to be good and worthy to -love you, too.”</p> - -<p>She laid her face against his arm and caressed him with clinging -tenderness, while the wind yelled loudly about the eaves and the windows -drummed beneath the rain. His heavy brows knit themselves together as -she whispered:</p> - -<p>“I love you! I love you! I love you!” with such an agony of longing in -her voice that her soft accents were sharply distinguishable above the -turmoil. The growing wildness seemed a part of the woman’s passion, -which whipped and harried her like a willow in a blast.</p> - -<p>“Things are fearfully jumbled,” he said, finally. “And this is a bad -time to talk about them. I wish they might be different. No other girl -would do what you have offered to-night.”<a name="page_230" id="page_230"></a></p> - -<p>“Then why do you think of that woman?” she broke in, fiercely. “She’s -bad and false. She betrayed you once; she’s in the play now; you’ve told -me so yourself. Why don’t you be a man and forget her?”</p> - -<p>“I can’t,” he said, simply. “You’re wrong, though, when you think she’s -bad. I found to-night that she’s good and brave and honest. The part she -played was played innocently, I’m sure of that, in spite of the fact -that she’ll marry McNamara. It was she who overheard them plotting and -risked her reputation to warn me.”</p> - -<p>Cherry’s face whitened, while the shadowy eagerness that had rested -there died utterly. “She came into that dive alone? She did that?” He -nodded, at which she stood thinking for some time, then continued: -“You’re honest with me, Roy, and I’ll be the same with you. I’m tired of -deceit, tired of everything. I tried to make you think she was bad, but -in my own heart I knew differently all the time. She came here to-day -and humbled herself to get the truth, humbled herself to <i>me</i>, and I -sent her away. She suspected, but she didn’t know, and when she asked -for information I insulted her. That’s the kind of a creature I am. I -sent her back to Struve, who offered to tell her the whole story.”</p> - -<p>“What does that renegade want?”</p> - -<p>“Can’t you guess?”</p> - -<p>“Why, I’d rather—” The young man ground his teeth, but Cherry hastened.</p> - -<p>“You needn’t worry; she won’t see him again. She loathes the ground he -walks on.”</p> - -<p>“And yet he’s no worse than that other scoundrel. Come, girl, we have -work to do; we must act, and act<a name="page_231" id="page_231"></a> quickly.” He gave her his message to -Dextry, then she went to her room and slipped into a riding-habit. When -she came out he asked: “Where is your rain-coat? You’ll be drenched in -no time.”</p> - -<p>“I can’t ride with it. I’ll be thrown, anyway, and I don’t want to be -all bound up. Water won’t hurt me.”</p> - -<p>She thrust her tiny revolver into her dress, but he took it and upon -examination shook his head.</p> - -<p>“If you need a gun you’ll need a good one.” He removed the belt from his -own waist and buckled his Colt’s about her.</p> - -<p>“But you!” she objected.</p> - -<p>“I’ll get another in ten minutes.” Then, as they were leaving, he said: -“One other request, Cherry. I’ll be in hiding for a time, and I must get -word to Miss Chester to keep watch of her uncle, for the big fight is on -at last and the boys will hang him sure if they catch him. I owe her -this last warning. Will you send it to her?”</p> - -<p>“I’ll do it for your sake, not for her—no, no; I don’t mean that. I’ll -do the right thing all round. Leave it here and I’ll see that she gets -it to-morrow. And—Roy—be careful of yourself.” Her eyes were starry -and in their depths lurked neither selfishness nor jealousy now, only -that mysterious glory of a woman who makes sacrifice.</p> - -<p>Together they scurried back to the stable, and yet, in that short -distance, she would have been swept from her feet had he not seized her. -They blew in through the barn door, streaming and soaked by the blinding -sheets that drove scythelike ahead of the wind. He struck a light, and -the pony whinnied at recognition of his mistress. She stroked the little -fellow’s muzzle<a name="page_232" id="page_232"></a> while Glenister cinched on her saddle. Then, when she -was at last mounted, she leaned forward:</p> - -<p>“Will you kiss me once, Roy, for the last time?”</p> - -<p>He took her rain-wet face between his hands and kissed her upon the lips -as he would have saluted a little maid. As he did so, unseen by both of -them, a face was pressed for an instant against the pane of glass in the -stable wall.</p> - -<p>“You’re a brave girl and may God bless you,” he said, extinguishing the -light. He flung the door wide and she rode out into the storm. Locking -the portal, he plunged back towards the house to write his hurried note, -for there was much to do and scant time for its accomplishment, despite -the helping hand of the hurricane. He heard the voice of Bering as it -thundered on the Golden Sands, and knew that the first great storm of -the fall had come. Henceforth he saw that the violence of men would -rival the rising elements, for the deeds of this night would stir their -passions as Æolus was rousing the hate of the sea.</p> - -<p>He neglected to bolt the house door as he entered, but flung off his -dripping coat and, seizing pad and pencil, scrawled his message. The -wind screamed about the cabin, the lamp flared smokily, and Glenister -felt a draught suck past him as though from an open door at his back as -he wrote:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>“I can’t do anything more. The end has come and it has brought the -hatred and bloodshed that I have been trying to prevent. I played -the game according to your rules, but they forced me back to first -principles in spite of myself, and now I don’t know what the finish -will be. To-morrow will tell. Take care of your uncle, and if you -should wish to communicate with me, go to Cherry Malotte. She is a -friend to both of us.</p> - -<p class="c"> -“Always your servant, <span style="margin-left: 15%;"><span class="smcap">Roy Glenister</span>.”</span><br /> -</p></div> - -<p><a name="page_233" id="page_233"></a></p> - -<p>As he sealed this he paused, while he felt the hair on his neck rise and -bristle and a chill race up his spine. His heart fluttered, then pounded -onward till the blood thumped audibly at his ear-drums and he found -himself swaying in rhythm to its beat. The muscles of his back cringed -and rippled at the proximity of some hovering peril, and yet an -irresistible feeling forbade him to turn. A sound came from close behind -his chair—the drip, drip, drip of water. It was not from the caves, nor -yet from a faulty shingle. His back was to the kitchen door, through -which he had come, and, although there were no mirrors before him, he -felt a menacing presence as surely as though it had touched him. His -ears were tuned to the finest pin-pricks of sound, so that he heard the -faint, sighing “squish” of a sodden shoe upon which a weight had -shifted. Still something chained him to his seat. It was as though his -soul laid a restraining hand upon his body, waiting for the instant.</p> - -<p>He let his hand seek his hip carelessly, but remembered where his gun -was. Mechanically, he addressed the note in shaking characters, while -behind him sounded the constant drip, drip, drip that he knew came from -saturated garments. For a long moment he sat, till he heard the stealthy -click of a gun-lock muffled by finger pressure. Then he set his face and -slowly turned to find the Bronco Kid standing behind him as though risen -from the sea, his light clothes wet and clinging, his feet centred in a -spreading puddle. The dim light showed the convulsive fury of his -features above the levelled weapon, whose hammer was curled back like -the head of a striking adder, his eyes gleaming with frenzy. Glenister’s -mouth was powder dry, but his mind was leaping riotously like dust -before a gale, for he divined<a name="page_234" id="page_234"></a> himself to be in the deadliest peril of -his life. When he spoke the calmness of his voice surprised himself.</p> - -<p>“What’s the matter, Bronco?” The Kid made no reply, and Roy repeated, -“What do you want?”</p> - -<p>“That’s a hell of a question,” the gambler said, hoarsely. “I want you, -of course, and I’ve got you.”</p> - -<p>“Hold up! I am unarmed. This is your third try, and I want to know -what’s back of it.”</p> - -<p>“<i>Damn</i> the talk!” cried the faro-dealer, moving closer till the light -shone on his features, which commenced to twitch. He raised the revolver -he had half lowered. “There’s reason enough, and you know it.”</p> - -<p>Glenister looked him fairly between the eyes, gripping himself with firm -hands to stop the tremor he felt in his bones. “You can’t kill me,” he -said. “I am too good a man to murder. You might shoot a crook, but you -can’t kill a brave man when he’s unarmed. You’re no assassin.” He -remained rigid in his chair, however, moving nothing but his lips, -meeting the other’s look unflinchingly. The Kid hesitated an instant, -while his eyes, which had been fixed with the glare of hatred, wavered a -moment, betraying the faintest sign of indecision. Glenister cried out, -exultantly:</p> - -<p>“Ha! I knew it. Your neck cords quiver.”</p> - -<p>The gambler grimaced. “I can’t do it. If I could, I’d have shot you -before you turned. But you’ll have to fight, you dog. Get up and draw.”</p> - -<p>Roy refused. “I gave Cherry my gun.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, and more too,” the man gritted. “I saw it all.”</p> - -<p>Even yet Glenister had made no slightest move, realizing that a -feather’s weight might snap the gambler’s nervous tension and bring the -involuntary twitch that would put him out swifter than a whip is -cracked.<a name="page_235" id="page_235"></a></p> - -<p>“I have tried it before, but murder isn’t my game.” The Kid’s eye caught -the glint of Cherry’s revolver where she had discarded it. “There’s a -gun—get it.”</p> - -<p>“It’s no good. You’d carry the six bullets and never feel them. I don’t -know what this is all about, but I’ll fight you whenever I’m heeled -right.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, you black-hearted hound,” snarled the Kid. “I want to shoot, but -I’m afraid. I used to be a gentleman and I haven’t lost it all, I guess. -But I won’t wait the next time. I’ll down you on sight, so you’d better -get ironed in a hurry.” He backed out of the room into the semi-darkness -of the kitchen, watching with lynxlike closeness the man who sat so -quietly under the shaded light. He felt behind him for the outer -door-knob and turned it to let in a white sheet of rain, then vanished -like a storm wraith, leaving a parched-lipped man and a zigzag trail of -water, which gleamed in the lamplight like a pool of blood.<a name="page_236" id="page_236"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVIII" id="CHAPTER_XVIII"></a>CHAPTER XVIII<br /><br /> -<small>WHEREIN A TRAP IS BAITED</small></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">G</span><b>LENISTER</b> did not wait long after his visitor’s departure, but -extinguished the light, locked the door, and began the further -adventures of this night. The storm welcomed him with suffocating -violence, sucking the very breath from his lips, while the rain beat -through till his flesh was cold and aching. He thought with a pang of -the girl facing this tempest, going out to meet the thousand perils of -the night. And it remained for him to bear his part as she bore hers, -smilingly.</p> - -<p>The last hour had added another and mysterious danger to his full -measure. Could the Kid be jealous of Cherry? Surely not. Then what else?</p> - -<p>The tornado had driven his trailers to cover, evidently, for the streets -were given over to its violence, and Roy encountered no hostile sign as -he was buffeted from house to house. He adventured cautiously and yet -with haste, finding certain homes where the marshals had been before him -peopled now only by frightened wives and children. A scattered few of -the Vigilantes had been taken thus, while the warring elements had -prevented their families from spreading the alarm or venturing out for -succor. Those whom he was able to warn dressed hurriedly, took their -rifles, and went<a name="page_237" id="page_237"></a> out into the drifting night, leaving empty cabins and -weeping women. The great fight was on.</p> - -<p>Towards daylight the remnants of the Vigilantes straggled into the big -blank warehouse on the sand-spit, and there beneath the smoking glare of -lanterns cursed the name of McNamara. As dawn grayed the ragged eastern -sky-line, Dextry and Slapjack blew in through the spindrift, bringing -word from Cherry and lifting a load from Glenister’s mind.</p> - -<p>“There’s a game girl,” said the old miner, as he wrung out his clothes. -“She was half gone when she got to us, and now she’s waiting for the -storm to break so that she can come back.”</p> - -<p>“It’s clearing up to the east,” Slapjack chattered. “D’you know, I’m -gettin’ so rheumatic that ice-water don’t feel comfortable to me no -more.”</p> - -<p>“Uriatic acid in the blood,” said Dextry. “What’s our next move?” he -asked of his partner. “When do we hang this politician? Seems like we’ve -got enough able-bodied piano-movers here to tie a can onto the whole -outfit, push the town site of Nome off the map, and start afresh.”</p> - -<p>“I think we had better lie low and watch developments,” the other -cautioned. “There’s no telling what may turn up during the day.”</p> - -<p>“That’s right. Stranglers is like spirits—they work best in the dark.”</p> - -<p> </p> - -<p>As the day grew, the storm died, leaving ramparts of clouds hanging -sullenly above the ocean’s rim, while those skilled in weather prophecy -foretold the coming of the equinoctial. In McNamara’s office there was -great stir and the coming of many men. The boss sat<a name="page_238" id="page_238"></a> in his chair -smoking countless cigars, his big face set in grim lines, his hard eyes -peering through the pall of blue at those he questioned. He worked the -wires of his machine until his dolls doubled and danced and twisted at -his touch. After a gusty interview he had dismissed Voorhees with a -merciless tongue-lashing, raging bitterly at the man’s failure.</p> - -<p>“You’re not fit to herd sheep. Thirty men out all night and what do you -get? A dozen mullet-headed miners. You bag the mud-hens and the big game -runs to cover. I wanted Glenister, but you let him slip through your -fingers—now it’s war. What a mess you’ve made! If I had even <i>one</i> -helper with a brain the size of a flaxseed, this game would be a gift, -but you’ve bungled every move from the start. Bah! Put a spy in the -bull-pen with those prisoners and make them talk. Offer them anything -for information. Now get out!”</p> - -<p>He called for a certain deputy and questioned him regarding the night’s -quest, remarking, finally:</p> - -<p>“There’s treachery somewhere. Those men were warned.”</p> - -<p>“Nobody came near Glenister’s house except Miss Chester,” the man -replied.</p> - -<p>“What?”</p> - -<p>“The Judge’s niece. We caught her by mistake in the dark.”</p> - -<p>Later, one of the men who had been with Voorhees at the Northern asked -to see the receiver and told him:</p> - -<p>“The chief won’t believe that I saw Miss Chester in the dance-hall last -night, but she was there with Glenister. She must have put him wise to -our game or he wouldn’t have known we were after him.”<a name="page_239" id="page_239"></a></p> - -<p>His hearer made no comment, but, when alone, rose and paced the floor -with heavy tread while his face grew savage and brutal.</p> - -<p>“So that’s the game, eh? It’s man to man from now on. Very well, -Glenister, I’ll have your life for that, and then—you’ll pay, Miss -Helen.” He considered carefully. A plot for a plot. If he could not swap -intrigue with these miners and beat them badly, he deserved to lose. Now -that the girl gave herself to their cause he would use her again and see -how well she answered. Public opinion would not stand too great a -strain, and, although he had acted within his rights last night, he -dared not go much further. Diplomacy, therefore, must serve. He must -force his enemies beyond the law and into his trap. She had passed the -word once; she would do so again.</p> - -<p>He hurried to Stillman’s house and stormed into the presence of the -Judge. He told the story so artfully that the Judge’s astonished -unbelief yielded to rage and cowardice, and he sent for his niece. She -came down, white and silent, having heard the loud voices. The old man -berated her with shrewish fury, while McNamara stood silent. The girl -listened with entire self-control until her uncle made a reference to -Glenister that she found intolerable.</p> - -<p>“Hush! I will not listen!” she cried, passionately. “I warned him -because you would have sacrificed him after he had saved our lives. That -is all. He is an honest man, and I am grateful to him. That is the only -foundation for your insult.”</p> - -<p>McNamara, with apparent candor, broke in:</p> - -<p>“You thought you were doing right, of course, but your action will have -terrible consequences. Now we’ll<a name="page_240" id="page_240"></a> have riot, bloodshed, and Heaven knows -what. It was to save all this that I wanted to break up their -organization. A week’s imprisonment would have done it, but now they’re -armed and belligerent and we’ll have a battle to-night.”</p> - -<p>“No, no!” she cried. “There mustn’t be any violence.”</p> - -<p>“There is no use trying to check them. They are rushing to their own -destruction. I have learned that they plan to attack the Midas to-night, -and I’ll have fifty soldiers waiting for them there. It is a shame, for -they are decent fellows, blinded by ignorance and misled by that young -miner. This will be the blackest night the North has ever seen.”</p> - -<p>With this McNamara left the house and went in search of Voorhees, -remarking to himself: “Now, Miss Helen—send your warning—the sooner -the better. If I know those Vigilantes, it will set them crazy, and yet -not crazy enough to attack the Midas. They will strike for me, and when -they hit my poor, unguarded office, they’ll think hell has moved North.”</p> - -<p>“Mr. Marshal,” said he to his tool, “I want you to gather forty men -quietly and to arm them with Winchesters. They must be fellows who won’t -faint at blood—you know the kind. Assemble them at my office after -dark, one at a time, by the back way. It must be done with absolute -secrecy. Now, see if you can do this one thing and not get balled up. If -you fail, I’ll make you answer to me.”</p> - -<p>“Why don’t you get the troops?” ventured Voorhees.</p> - -<p>“If there’s one thing I want to avoid, it’s soldiers, either here or at -the mines. When they step in, we<a name="page_241" id="page_241"></a> step out, and I’m not ready for that -just yet.” The receiver smiled sinisterly.</p> - -<p>Helen meanwhile had fled to her room, and there received Glenister’s -note through Cherry Malotte’s messenger. It rekindled her worst fears -and bore out McNamara’s prophecy. The more she read of it the more -certain she grew that the crisis was only a question of hours, and that -with darkness, Tragedy would walk the streets of Nome. The thought of -the wrong already done was lost in the lonely girl’s terror of the crime -about to happen, for it seemed to her she had been the instrument to set -these forces in motion, that she had loosed this swift-speeding -avalanche of greed, hatred, and brutality. And when the crash should -come—the girl shuddered. It must not be. She would shriek a warning -from the house-tops even at cost of her uncle, of McNamara, and of -herself. And yet she had no proof that a crime existed. Although it all -lay clear in her own mind, the certainty of it arose only from her -intuition. If only she were able to take a hand—if only she were not a -woman. Then Cherry Malotte’s words anent Struve recurred to her, “A -bottle of wine and a woman’s face.” They brought back the lawyer’s -assurance that those documents she had safeguarded all through the long -spring-time journey really contained the proof. If they did, then they -held the power to check this impending conflict. Her uncle and the boss -would not dare continue if threatened with exposure and prosecution. The -more she thought of it, the more urgent seemed the necessity to prevent -the battle of to-night. There was a chance here, at least, and the only -one.</p> - -<p>Adding to her mental torment was the constant<a name="page_242" id="page_242"></a> vision of that face in -the curtains at the Northern. It was her brother, yet what mystery -shrouded this affair, also? What kept him from her? What caused him to -slink away like a thief discovered? She grew dizzy and hysterical.</p> - -<p> </p> - -<p>Struve turned in his chair as the door to his private office opened, -then leaped to his feet at sight of the gray-eyed girl standing there.</p> - -<p>“I came for the papers,” she said.</p> - -<p>“I knew you would.” The blood went out of his cheeks, then surged back -up to his eyes. “It’s a bargain, then?”</p> - -<p>She nodded. “Give them to me first.”</p> - -<p>He laughed unpleasantly. “What do you take me for? I’ll keep my part of -the bargain if you’ll keep yours. But this is no place, nor time. -There’s riot in the air, and I’m busy preparing for to-night. Come back -to-morrow when it’s all over.”</p> - -<p>But it was the terror of to-night’s doings that led her into his power.</p> - -<p>“I’ll never come back,” she said. “It is my whim to know to-day—yes, at -once.”</p> - -<p>He meditated for a time. “Then to-day it shall be. I’ll shirk the fight, -I’ll sacrifice what shreds of duty have clung to me, because the fever -for you is in my bones, and it seems to me I’d do murder for it. That’s -the kind of a man I am, and I have no pride in myself because of it. But -I’ve always been that way. We’ll ride to the Sign of the Sled. It’s a -romantic little road-house ten miles from here, perched high above the -Snake River trail. We’ll take dinner there together.”<a name="page_243" id="page_243"></a></p> - -<p>“But the papers?”</p> - -<p>“I’ll have them with me. We’ll start in an hour.”</p> - -<p>“In an hour,” she echoed, lifelessly, and left him.</p> - -<p>He chuckled grimly and seized the telephone. “Central—call the Sled -road-house—seven rings on the Snake River branch. Hello! That you, -Shortz? This is Struve. Anybody at the house? Good. Turn them away if -they come and say that you’re closed. None of your business. I’ll be out -about dark, so have dinner for two. Spread yourself and keep the place -clear. Good-bye.”</p> - -<p>Strengthened by Glenister’s note, Helen went straight to the other woman -and this time was not kept waiting nor greeted with sneers, but found -Cherry cloaked in a shy dignity, which she clasped tightly about -herself. Under her visitor’s incoherence she lost her diffidence, -however, and, when Helen had finished, remarked, with decision: “Don’t -go with him. He’s a bad man.”</p> - -<p>“But I <i>must</i>. The blood of those men will be on me if I don’t stop this -tragedy. If those papers tell the tale I think they do, I can call off -my uncle and make McNamara give back the mines. You said Struve told you -the whole scheme. Did you see the <i>proof</i>?”</p> - -<p>“No, I have only his word, but he spoke of those documents repeatedly, -saying they contained his instructions to tie up the mines in order to -give a foot-hold for the lawsuits. He bragged that the rest of the gang -were in his power and that he could land them in the penitentiary for -conspiracy. That’s all.”</p> - -<p>“It’s the only chance,” said Helen. “They are sending soldiers to the -Midas to lie in ambush, and you must<a name="page_244" id="page_244"></a> warn the Vigilantes.” Cherry paled -at this and ejaculated:</p> - -<p>“Good Lord! Roy said he’d lead an attack to-night.” The two stared at -each other.</p> - -<p>“If I succeed with Struve I can stop it all—all of this injustice and -crime—everything.”</p> - -<p>“Do you realize what you’re risking?” Cherry demanded. “That man is an -animal. You’ll have to kill him to save yourself, and he’ll never give -up those proofs.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, he will,” said Helen, fiercely, “and I defy him to harm me. The -Sign of the Sled is a public road-house with a landlord, a telephone, -and other guests. Will you warn Mr. Glenister about the troops?”</p> - -<p>“I will, and bless you for a brave girl. Wait a moment.” Cherry took -from the dresser her tiny revolver. “Don’t hesitate to use this. I want -you to know also that I’m sorry for what I said yesterday.”</p> - -<p>As she hurried away, Helen realized with a shock the change that the -past few months had wrought in her. In truth, it was as Glenister had -said, his Northland worked strangely with its denizens. What of that -shrinking girl who had stepped out of the sheltered life, strong only in -her untried honesty, to become a hunted, harried thing, juggling with -honor and reputation, in her heart a half-formed fear that she might -kill a man this night to gain her end? The elements were moulding her -with irresistible hands. Roy’s contact with the primitive had not -roughened him more quickly than had hers.</p> - -<p>She met her appointment with Struve, and they rode away together, he -talkative and elated, she silent and icy.<a name="page_245" id="page_245"></a></p> - -<p>Late in the afternoon the cloud banks to the eastward assumed alarming -proportions. They brought with them an early nightfall, and when they -broke let forth a tempest which rivalled that of the previous night. -During the first of it armed men came sifting into McNamara’s office -from the rear and were hidden throughout the building. Whenever he -descried a peculiarly desperate ruffian the boss called him aside for -private instruction and gave minute description of a wide-shouldered, -erect youth in white hat and half-boots. Gradually he set his trap with -the men Voorhees had raked from the slums, and when it was done smiled -to himself. As he thought it over he ceased to regret the miscarriage of -last night’s plan, for it had served to goad his enemies to the point he -desired, to the point where they would rush to their own undoing. He -thought with satisfaction of the rôle he would play in the United States -press when the sensational news of this night’s adventure came out. A -court official who dared to do his duty despite a lawless mob. A -receiver who turned a midnight attack into a rout and shambles. That is -what they would say. What if he did exceed his authority thereafter? -What if there were a scandal? Who would question? As to soldiers—no, -decidedly no. He wished no help of soldiers at this time.</p> - -<p>The sight of a ship in the offing towards dark caused him some -uneasiness, for, notwithstanding the assurance that the course of -justice in the San Francisco courts had been clogged, he knew Bill -Wheaton to be a resourceful lawyer and a determined man. Therefore, it -relieved him to note the rising gale, which precluded the possibility of -interference from that source. Let<a name="page_246" id="page_246"></a> them come to-morrow if they would. -By that time some of the mines would be ownerless and his position -strengthened a hundredfold.</p> - -<p>He telephoned the mines to throw out guards, although he reasoned that -none but madmen would think of striking there in the face of the warning -which he knew must have been transmitted through Helen. Putting on his -rain-coat he sought Stillman.</p> - -<p>“Bring your niece over to my place to-night. There’s trouble in the air -and I’m prepared for it.”</p> - -<p>“She hasn’t returned from her ride yet. I’m afraid she’s caught in the -storm.” The Judge gazed anxiously into the darkness.</p> - -<p> </p> - -<p>During all the long day the Vigilantes lay in hiding, impatient at their -idleness and wondering at the lack of effort made towards their -discovery, not dreaming that McNamara had more cleverly hidden plans -behind. When Cherry’s note of warning came they gathered in the back -room and gave voice to their opinions.</p> - -<p>“There’s only one way to clear the atmosphere,” said the chairman.</p> - -<p>“You bet,” chorussed the others. “They’ve garrisoned the mines, so let’s -go through the town and make a clean job of it. Let’s hang the whole -outfit to one post.”</p> - -<p>This met with general approval, Glenister alone demurring. Said he: “I -have reasoned it out differently, and I want you to hear me through -before deciding. Last night I got word from Wheaton that the California -courts are against us. He attributes it to influence, but, whatever the -reason, we are cut off from all legal help either in this court or on -appeal. Now, suppose we lynch<a name="page_247" id="page_247"></a> these officials to-night—what do we -gain? Martial law in two hours, our mines tied up for another year, and -who knows what else? Maybe a corrupter court next season. Suppose, on -the other hand, we fail—and somehow I feel that we will, for that boss -is no fool. What then? Those of us who don’t find the morgue will end in -jail. You say we can’t meet the soldiers. I say we can and must. We must -carry this row to them. We must jump it past the courts of Alaska, past -the courts of California, and up to the White House, where there’s one -honest man, at least. We must do something to wake up the men in -Washington. We must get out of politics, for McNamara can beat us there. -Although he’s a strong man he can’t corrupt the President. We have one -shot left, and it must reach the Potomac. When Uncle Sam takes a hand -we’ll get a square deal, so I say let us strike at the Midas to-night -and take her if we can. Some of us will go down, but what of it?”</p> - -<p>Following this harangue, he outlined a plan which in its unique daring -took away their breaths, and as he filled in detail after detail they -brightened with excitement and that love of the long chance which makes -gamblers of those who thread the silent valleys or tread the edge of -things. His boldness stirred them and enthusiasm did the rest.</p> - -<p>“All I want for myself,” he said, “is the chance to run the big risk. -It’s mine by right.”</p> - -<p>Dextry spoke, breathlessly, to Slapjack in the pause which ensued:</p> - -<p>“Ain’t he a heller?”</p> - -<p>“We’ll go you,” the miners chimed to a man. And the chairman added: -“Let’s have Glenister lead this forlorn hope. I am willing to stand or -fall on his judgment.”<a name="page_248" id="page_248"></a> They acquiesced without a dissenting voice, and -with the firm hands of a natural leader the young man took control.</p> - -<p>“Let’s hurry up,” said one. “It’s a long ‘mush’ and the mud is -knee-deep.”</p> - -<p>“No walking for us,” said Roy. “We’ll go by train.”</p> - -<p>“By train? How can we get a train?”</p> - -<p>“Steal it,” he answered, at which Dextry grinned delightedly at his -loose-jointed companion, and Slapjack showed his toothless gums in -answer, saying:</p> - -<p>“He sure is.”</p> - -<p>A few more words and Glenister, accompanied by these two, slipped out -into the whirling storm, and a half-hour later the rest followed. One by -one the Vigilantes left, the blackness blotting them up an arm’s-length -from the door, till at last the big, bleak warehouse echoed hollowly to -the voice of the wind and water.</p> - -<p>Over in the eastern end of town, behind dark windows upon which the -sheeted rain beat furiously, other armed men lay patiently -waiting—waiting some word from the bulky shadow which stood with folded -arms close against a square of gray, while over their heads a wretched -old man paced back and forth, wringing his hands, pausing at every turn -to peer out into the night and to mumble the name of his sister’s -child.<a name="page_249" id="page_249"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIX" id="CHAPTER_XIX"></a>CHAPTER XIX<br /><br /> -<small>DYNAMITE</small></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">E</span><b>ARLY</b> in the evening Cherry Malotte opened her door to find the Bronco -Kid on her step. He entered and threw off his rubber coat. Knowing him -well, she waited for his disclosure of his errand. His sallow skin was -without trace of color, his eyes were strangely tired, deep lines had -gathered about his lips, while his hands kept up constant little nervous -explorations as though for days and nights he had not slept and now -hovered on the verge of some hysteria. He gave her the impression of a -smouldering mine with the fire eating close up to the powder. She judged -that his body had been racked by every passion till now it hung jaded -and weary, yielding only to the spur of his restless, revengeful spirit.</p> - -<p>After a few objectless remarks, he began, abruptly:</p> - -<p>“Do you love Roy Glenister?” His voice, like his manner, was jealously -eager, and he watched her carefully as she replied, without quibble or -deceit:</p> - -<p>“Yes, Kid; and I always shall. He is the only true man I have ever -known, and I’m not ashamed of my feelings.”</p> - -<p>For a long time he studied her, and then broke into rapid speech, -allowing her no time for interruption.</p> - -<p>“I’ve held back and held back because I’m no<a name="page_250" id="page_250"></a> talker. I can’t be, in my -business; but this is my last chance, and I want to put myself right -with you. I’ve loved you ever since the Dawson days, not in the way -you’d expect from a man of my sort, perhaps, but with the kind of love -that a woman wants. I never showed my hand, for what was the use? That -man outheld me. I’d have quit faro years back only I wouldn’t leave this -country as long as you were a part of it, and up here I’m only a -gambler, fit for nothing else. I’d made up my mind to let you have him -till something happened a couple of months ago, but now it can’t go -through. I’ll have to down him. It isn’t concerning you—I’m not a -welcher. No, it’s a thing I can’t talk about, a thing that’s made me -into a wolf, made me skulk and walk the alleys like a dago. It’s put -murder into my heart. I’ve tried to assassinate him. I tried it here -last night—but—I was a gentleman once—till the cards came. He knows -the answer now, though, and he’s ready for me—so one of us will go out -like a candle when we meet. I felt that I had to tell you before I cut -him down or before he got me.”</p> - -<p>“You’re talking like a madman, Kid,” she replied, “and you mustn’t turn -against him now. He has troubles enough. I never knew you cared for me. -What a tangle it is, to be sure. You love me, I love him, he loves that -girl, and she loves a crook. Isn’t that tragedy enough without your -adding to it? You come at a bad time, too, for I’m half insane. There’s -something dreadful in the air to-night—”</p> - -<p>“I’ll have to kill him,” the man muttered, doggedly, and, plead or -reason as she would, she could get nothing from him except those words, -till at last she turned upon him fiercely.<a name="page_251" id="page_251"></a></p> - -<p>“You say you love me. Very well—let’s see if you do. I know the kind of -a man you are and I know what this feud will mean to him, coming just at -this time. Put it aside and I’ll marry you.”</p> - -<p>The gambler rose slowly to his feet. “You do love him, don’t you?” She -bowed her face, and he winced, but continued: “I wouldn’t make you my -wife that way. I didn’t mean it that way.”</p> - -<p>At this she laughed bitterly. “Oh, I see. Of course not. How foolish of -me to expect it of a man like you. I understand what you mean now, and -the bargain will stand just the same, if that is what you came for. I -wanted to leave this life and be good, to go away and start over and -play the game square, but I see it’s no use. I’ll pay. I know how -relentless you are, and the price is low enough. You can have me—and -that—marriage talk—I’ll not speak of again. I’ll stay what I am for -his sake.”</p> - -<p>“Stop!” cried the Kid. “You’re wrong. I’m not that kind of a sport.” His -voice broke suddenly, its vehemence shaking his slim body. “Oh, Cherry, -I love you the way a man ought to love a woman. It’s one of the two good -things left in me, and I want to take you away from here where we can -both hide from the past, where we can start new, as you say.”</p> - -<p>“You would marry me?” she asked.</p> - -<p>“In an hour, and give my heart’s blood for the privilege; but I can’t -stop this thing, not even if your own dear life hung upon it. I <i>must</i> -kill that man.”</p> - -<p>She approached him and laid her arms about his neck, every line of her -body pleading, but he refused steadfastly, while the sweat stood out -upon his brow.</p> - -<p>She begged: “They’re all against him, Kid.] He’s<a name="page_252" id="page_252"></a> fighting a hopeless -fight. He laid all he had at that girl’s feet, and I’ll do the same for -you.”</p> - -<p>The man growled savagely. “He got his reward. He took all she had—”</p> - -<p>“Don’t be a fool. I guess I know. You’re a faro-dealer, but you haven’t -any right to talk like that about a good woman, even to a bad one like -me.”</p> - -<p>Into his dark eyes slowly crept a hungry look, and she felt him begin to -tremble the least bit. He undertook to speak, paused, wet his lips, then -carefully chose these words:</p> - -<p>“Do you mean—that he did not—that she is—a good girl?”</p> - -<p>“Absolutely.”</p> - -<p>He sat down weakly and passed a shaking hand over his face, which had -begun to twitch and jerk again as it had on that night when his -vengeance was thwarted.</p> - -<p>“I may as well tell you that I know she’s more than that. She’s honest -and high-principled. I don’t know why I’m saying this, but it was on my -mind and I was half distracted when you came. She’s in danger to-night, -though—at this minute. I don’t dare to think of what may have happened, -for she’s risked everything to make reparation to Roy and his friends.”</p> - -<p>“What?”</p> - -<p>“She’s gone to the Sign of the Sled alone with Struve.”</p> - -<p>“Struve!” shouted the gambler, leaping to his feet. “Alone with Struve -on a night like this?” He shook her fiercely, crying: “What for? Tell me -quick!”</p> - -<p>She recounted the reasons for Helen’s adventure, while the man’s face -became terrible.</p> - -<p>“Oh, Kid, I am to blame for letting her go. Why did I do it? I’m -afraid—afraid.”<a name="page_253" id="page_253"></a></p> - -<p>“The Sign of the Sled belongs to Struve, and the fellow who runs it is a -rogue.” The Bronco looked at the clock, his eyes bloodshot and dull like -those of a goaded, fly-maddened bull. “It’s eight o’clock now—ten -miles—two hours. Too late!”</p> - -<p>“What ails you?” she questioned, baffled by his strange demeanor. “You -called <i>me</i> the one woman just now, and yet—”</p> - -<p>He swung towards her heavily. “She’s my sister.”</p> - -<p>“Your—sister? Oh, I—I’m glad. I’m glad—but don’t stand there like a -wooden man, for you’ve work to do. Wake up. Can’t you hear? She’s in -peril!” Her words whipped him out of his stupor so that he drew himself -somewhat under control. “Get into your coat. Hurry! Hurry! My pony will -take you there.” She snatched his garment from the chair and held it for -him while the life ran back into his veins. Together they dashed out -into the storm as she and Roy had done, and as he flung the saddle on -the buckskin, she said:</p> - -<p>“I understand it all now. You heard the talk about her and Glenister; -but it’s wrong. I lied and schemed and intrigued against her, but it’s -over now. I guess there’s a little streak of good in me somewhere, after -all.”</p> - -<p>He spoke to her from the saddle. “It’s more than a streak, Cherry, and -you’re my kind of people.” She smiled wanly back at him under the -lantern-light.</p> - -<p>“That’s left-handed, Kid. I don’t want to be your kind. I want to be his -kind—or your sister’s kind.”</p> - -<p> </p> - -<p>Upon leaving the rendezvous, Glenister and his two friends slunk through -the night, avoiding the life and<a name="page_254" id="page_254"></a> lights of the town, while the wind -surged out of the voids to seaward, driving its wet burden through their -flapping slickers, pelting their faces as though enraged at its failure -to wash away the purposes written there. Their course brought them to a -cabin at the western outskirts of the city, where they paused long -enough to adjust something beneath the brims of their hats.</p> - -<p>Past them ran the iron rails of the narrow-gauged road which led out -across the quaking tundra to the mountains and the mines. Upon this -slender trail of steel there rolled one small, ungainly teapot of an -engine which daily creaked and clanked back and forth at a snail’s pace, -screaming and wailing its complaint of the two high-loaded flat-cars -behind. The ties beneath it were spiked to planks laid lengthwise over -the semi-liquid road-bed, in places sagging beneath the surface till the -humpbacked, short-waisted locomotive yawed and reeled and squealed like -a drunken fish-wife. At night it panted wearily into the board station -and there sighed and coughed and hissed away its fatigue as the coals -died and the breath relaxed in its lungs.</p> - -<p>Early to bed and early to rise was perforce the motto of its grimy crew, -who lived near by. To-night they were just retiring when stayed by a -summons at their door. The engineer opened it to admit what appeared to -his astonished eyes to be a Krupp cannon propelled by a man in -yellow-oiled clothes and white cotton mask. This weapon assumed the -proportions of a great, one-eyed monster, which stared with baleful -fixity at his vitals, giving him a cold and empty feeling. Away back -beyond this Cyclops of the Sightless Orb were two other strangers -likewise equipped.<a name="page_255" id="page_255"></a></p> - -<p>The fireman arose from his chair, dropping an empty shoe with a thump, -but, being of the West, without cavil or waste of wind, he stretched his -hands above his head, balancing on one foot to keep his unshod member -from the damp floor. He had unbuckled his belt, and now, loosened by the -movement, his overalls seemed bent on sinking floorward in an ecstasy of -abashment at the intrusion, whereupon with convulsive grip he hugged -them to their duty, one hand and foot still elevated as though in the -grand hailing-sign of some secret order. The other man was new to the -ways of the North, so backed to the limit of his quarters, laid both -hands protectingly upon his middle, and doubled up, remarking, fervidly:</p> - -<p>“Don’t point that damn thing at my stomach.”</p> - -<p>“Ha, ha!” laughed the fireman, with unnatural loudness. “Have your joke, -boys.”</p> - -<p>“This ain’t no joke,” said the foremost figure, its breath bellying out -the mask at its mouth.</p> - -<p>“Sure it is,” insisted the shoeless one. “Must be—we ain’t got anything -worth stealing.”</p> - -<p>“Get into your clothes and come along. We won’t hurt you.” The two -obeyed and were taken to the sleeping engine and there instructed to -produce a full head of steam in thirty minutes or suffer a premature -taking off and a prompt elision from the realms of applied mechanics. As -stimulus to their efforts two of the men stood over them till the engine -began to sob and sigh reluctantly. Through the gloom that curtained the -cab they saw other dim forms materializing and climbing silently on to -the cars behind; then, as the steam-gauge touched the mark, the word was -given and the train rumbled out from its shelter, its shrill plaint at<a name="page_256" id="page_256"></a> -curb and crossing whipped away and drowned in the storm.</p> - -<p>Slapjack remained in the cab, gun in lap, while Dextry climbed back to -Glenister. He found the young man in good spirits, despite the -discomfort of his exposed position, and striving to light his pipe -behind the shelter of his coat.</p> - -<p>“Is the dynamite aboard?” the old man questioned.</p> - -<p>“Sure. Enough to ballast a battle-ship.”</p> - -<p>As the train crept out of the camp and across the river bridge, its only -light or glimmer the sparks that were snatched and harried by the blast, -the partners seated themselves on the powder cases and conversed -guardedly, while about them sounded the low murmur of the men who risked -their all upon this cry to duty, who staked their lives and futures upon -this hazard of the hills, because they thought it right.</p> - -<p>“We’ve made a good fight, whether we win or lose to-night,” said Dextry.</p> - -<p>Roy replied, “<i>My</i> fight is made and won.”</p> - -<p>“What does that mean?”</p> - -<p>“My hardest battle had nothing to do with the Midas or the mines of -Anvil. I fought and conquered myself.”</p> - -<p>“Awful wet night for philosophy,” the first remarked. “It’s apt to sour -on you like milk in a thunder-storm. S’pose you put overalls an’ gum -boots on some of them Boston ideas an’ lead ’em out where I can look ’em -over an’ find out what they’re up to.”</p> - -<p>“I mean that I was a savage till I met Helen Chester and she made a man -of me. It took sixty days, but I think she did a good job. I love the -wild things just as much as ever, but I’ve learned that there are duties -a<a name="page_257" id="page_257"></a> fellow owes to himself, and to other people, if he’ll only stop and -think them out. I’ve found out, too, that the right thing is usually the -hardest to do. Oh, I’ve improved a lot.”</p> - -<p>“Gee! but you’re popular with yourself. I don’t see as it helps your -looks any. You’re as homely as ever—an’ what good does it do you after -all? She’ll marry that big guy.”</p> - -<p>“I know. That’s what rankles, for he’s no more worthy of her than I am. -She’ll do what’s right, however, you may depend upon that, and perhaps -she’ll change him the way she did me. Why, she worked a miracle in my -attitude towards life—my manner—”</p> - -<p>“Oh, your manners are good enough as they lay,” interrupted the other. -“You never did eat with your knife.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t believe in hara-kiri,” Glenister laughed.</p> - -<p>“No, when it comes to intimacies with decorum, you’re right on the job -along with any of them Easterners. I watched you close at them ’Frisco -hotels last winter, and, say—you know as much as a horse. Why, you was -wise to them tablewares and pickle-forks equal to a head-waiter, and it -give me confidence just to be with you. I remember putting milk and -sugar in my consommé the first time. It was pale and in a cup and looked -like tea—but not you. No, sir! You savvied plenty and squeezed a lemon -into yours—to clean your fingers, I reckon.”</p> - -<p>Roy slapped his partner’s wet back, for he was buoyant and elated. The -sense of nearing danger pulsed through him like wine.</p> - -<p>“That wasn’t just what I meant, but it goes. Say, if we win back our -mine, we’ll hit for New York next—eh?”<a name="page_258" id="page_258"></a></p> - -<p>“No, I don’t aim to mingle with no higher civilization than I got in -’Frisco. I use that word ‘higher’ like it was applied to meat. Not that -I wouldn’t seem apropos. I’m stylish enough for Fifth Avenue or -anywheres, but I like the West. Speakin’ of modes an’ styles, when I get -all lit up in that gray woosted suit of mine, I guess I make the jaded -sight-seers set up an’ take notice—eh? Somethin’ doin’ every minute in -the cranin’ of necks—what? Nothin’ gaudy, but the acme of neatness an’ -form, as the feller said who sold it to me.”</p> - -<p>Their common peril brought the friends together again, into that close -bond which had been theirs without interruption until this recent change -in the younger had led him to choose paths at variance with the old -man’s ideas; and now they spoke, heart to heart, in the half-serious, -half-jesting ways of old, while beneath each whimsical irony was that -mutual love and understanding which had consecrated their partnership.</p> - -<p>Arriving at the end of the road, the Vigilantes debouched and went into -the darkness of the cañon behind their leader, to whom the trails were -familiar. He bade them pause finally, and gave his last instructions.</p> - -<p>“They are on the alert, so you want to be careful. Divide into two -parties and close in from both sides, creeping as near to the pickets as -possible without discovery. Remember to wait for the last blast. When it -comes, cut loose and charge like Sioux. Don’t shoot to kill at first, -for they’re only soldiers and under orders, but if they stand—well, -every man must do his work.”</p> - -<p>Dextry appealed to the dim figures forming the circle.<a name="page_259" id="page_259"></a></p> - -<p>“I leave it to you, gents, if it ain’t better for me to go inside than -for the boy. I’ve had more experience with giant powder, an’ I’m so -blamed used up an’ near gone it wouldn’t hurt if they did get me, while -he’s right in his prime—”</p> - -<p>Glenister stopped him. “I won’t yield the privilege. Come now—to your -places, men.”</p> - -<p>They melted away to each side while the old prospector paused to wring -his partner’s hand.</p> - -<p>“I’d ruther it was me, lad, but if they get you—God help ’em!” He -stumbled after the departing shadows, leaving Roy alone. With his naked -fingers, Glenister ripped open the powder cases and secreted the -contents upon his person. Each cartridge held dynamite enough to -devastate a village, and he loaded them inside his pockets, inside his -shirt, and everywhere that he had room, till he was burdened and cased -in an armor one-hundredth part of which could have blown him from the -face of the earth so utterly as to leave no trace except, perhaps, a pit -ripped out of the mountain-side. He looked to his fuses and saw that -they were wrapped in oiled paper, then placed them in his hat. Having -finished, he set out, walking with difficulty under the weight he -carried.</p> - -<p>That his choice of location had been well made was evidenced by the fact -that the ground beneath his feet sloped away to a basin out of which -bubbled a spring. It furnished the drinking supply of the Midas, and he -knew every inch of the crevice it had worn down the mountain, so felt -his way cautiously along. At the bottom of the hill where it ran out -upon the level it had worn a considerable ditch through the soil, and -into this he crawled on hands and knees. His bulging<a name="page_260" id="page_260"></a> clothes -handicapped him so that his gait was slow and awkward, while the rain -had swelled the streamlet till it trickled over his calves and up to his -wrists, chilling him so that his muscles cramped and his very bones -cried out with it. The sharp schist cut into his palms till they were -shredded and bleeding, while his knees found every jagged bit of -bed-rock over which he dragged himself. He could not see an arm’s-length -ahead without rising, and, having removed his slicker for greater -freedom of movement, the rain beat upon his back till he was soaked and -sodden and felt streamlets cleaving downward between his ribs. Now and -again he squatted upon his haunches, straining his eyes to either side. -The banks were barely high enough to shield him. At last he came to a -bridge of planks spanning the ditch and was about to rear himself for -another look when he suddenly flattened into the stream bed, half -damming the waters with his body. It was for this he had so carefully -wrapped his fuses. A man passed over him so close above that he might -have touched him. The sentry paused a few paces beyond and accosted -another, then retraced his steps over the bridge. Evidently this was the -picket-line, so Roy wormed his way forward till he saw the blacker -blackness of the mine buildings, then drew himself dripping out from the -bank. He had run the gauntlet safely.</p> - -<p>Since evicting the owners, the receiver had erected substantial houses -in place of the tents he had found on the mine. They were of frame and -corrugated-iron, sheathed within and suited to withstand a moderate -exposure. The partners had witnessed the operation from a distance, but -knew nothing about the buildings from close examination.<a name="page_261" id="page_261"></a></p> - -<p>A thrill of affection for this place warmed the young man. He loved this -old mine. It had realized the dream of his boyhood, and had answered the -hope he had clung to during his long fight against the Northland. It had -come to him when he was disheartened, bringing cheer and happiness, and -had yielded itself like a bride. Now it seemed a crime to ravage it.</p> - -<p>He crept towards the nearest wall and listened. Within was the sound of -voices, though the windows were dark, showing that the inhabitants were -on the alert. Beneath the foundations he made mysterious preparations, -then sought out the office building and cook-house, doing likewise. He -found that back of the seeming repose of the Midas there was a strained -expectancy.</p> - -<p>Although suspense had lengthened the time out of all calculation, he -judged he had been gone from his companions at least an hour and that -they must be in place by now. If they were not—if anything failed at -this eleventh hour—well, those were the fortunes of war. In every -enterprise, however carefully planned, there comes a time when chance -must take its turn.</p> - -<p>He made his way inside the blacksmith-shop and fumbled for a match. Just -as he was about to strike it he heard the swish of oiled clothes -passing, and waited for some time. Then, igniting his punk and hiding it -under his coat, he opened the door to listen. The wind had died down now -and the rain sang musically upon the metal roofs.</p> - -<p>He ran swiftly from house to house, and, when he had done, at the apices -of the triangle he had traced three glowing coals were sputtering.</p> - -<p>The final bolt was launched at last. He stepped<a name="page_262" id="page_262"></a> down into the ditch and -drew his .45, while to his tautened senses it seemed that the very hills -leaned forth in breathless pause, that the rain had ceased, and the -whole night hushed its thousand voices. He found his lower jaw set so -stiffly that the muscles ached. Levelling his weapon at the eaves of the -bunk-house, he pulled trigger rapidly—the bang, bang, bang, six times -repeated, sounding dull and dead beneath the blanket of mist that -overhung. A shout sounded behind him, and then the shriek of a -Winchester ball close over his head. He turned in time to see another -shot stream out of the darkness, where a sentry was firing at the flash -of his gun, then bent himself double and plunged down the ditch.</p> - -<p>With the first impact overhead the men poured forth from their quarters -armed and bristling, to be greeted by a volley of gunshots, the thud of -bullets, and the dwindling whine of spent lead. They leaped from shelter -to find themselves girt with a fitful hoop of fire, for the “Stranglers” -had spread in the arc of a circle and now emptied their rifles towards -the centre. The defenders, however, maintained surprising order -considering the suddenness of their attack, and ran to join the -sentries, whose positions could be determined by the nearer flashes. The -voice of a man in authority shouted loud commands. No demonstration came -from the outer voids, nothing but the wicked streaks that stabbed the -darkness. Then suddenly, behind McNamara’s men, the night glared luridly -as though a great furnace-door had opened and then clanged shut, while -with it came a hoarse thudding roar that silenced the rifle play. They -saw the cook-house disrupt itself and disintegrate into a thousand -flying timbers and<a name="page_263" id="page_263"></a> twisted sheets of tin which soared upward and -outward over their heads and into the night. As the rocking hills ceased -echoing, the sound of the Vigilantes’ rifles recurred like the cracking -of dry sticks, then everywhere about the defenders the earth was lashed -by falling débris while the iron roofs rang at the fusillade.</p> - -<p>The blast had come at their very elbows, and they were too dazed and -shaken by it to grasp its significance. Then, before they could realize -what it boded, the depths lit up again till the raindrops were outlined -distinct and glistening like a gossamer veil of silver, while the office -building to their left was ripped and rended and the adjoining walls -leaped out into sudden relief, their shattered windows looking like -ghostly, sightless eyes. The curtain of darkness closed heavier than -velvet, and the men cowered in their tracks, shielding themselves behind -the nearest objects or behind one another’s bodies, waiting for the sky -to vomit over them its rain of missiles. Their backs were to the -Vigilantes now, their faces to the centre. Many had dropped their -rifles. The thunder of hoofs and the scream of terrified horses came -from the stables. The cry of a maddened beast is weird and calculated to -curdle the blood at best, but with it arose a human voice, shrieking -from pain and fear of death. A wrenched and doubled mass of zinc had -hurtled out of the heavens and struck some one down. The choking -hoarseness of the man’s appeal told the story, and those about him broke -into flight to escape what might follow, to escape this danger they -could not see but which swooped out of the blackness above and against -which there was no defence. They fled only to witness another and -greater light behind them by which they saw<a name="page_264" id="page_264"></a> themselves running, -falling, grovelling. This time they were hurled from their balance by a -concussion which dwarfed the two preceding ones. Some few stood still, -staring at the rolling smoke-bank as it was revealed by the explosion, -their eyes gleaming white, while others buried their faces in their -hollowed arms as if to shut out the hellish glare, or to shield -themselves from a blow.</p> - -<p>Out in the heart of the chaos rang a voice loud and clear:</p> - -<p>“Beware the next blast!”</p> - -<p>At the same instant the girdle of sharp-shooters rose up smiting the air -with their cries and charged in like madmen through the rain of -detritus. They fired as they came, but it was unnecessary, for there was -no longer a fight. It was a rout. The defenders, feeling they had -escaped destruction only by a happy chance in leaving the bunk-house the -instant they did, were not minded to tarry here where the heavens fell -upon their heads. To augment their consternation, the horses had broken -from their stalls and were plunging through the confusion. Fear swept -over the men—blind, unreasoning, contagious—and they rushed out into -the night, colliding with their enemies, overrunning them in the panic -to quit this spot. Some dashed off the bluff and fell among the pits and -sluices. Others ran up the mountain-side, and cowered in the brush like -quail.</p> - -<p>As the “Stranglers” assembled their prisoners near the ruins, they heard -wounded men moaning in the darkness, so lit torches and searched out the -stricken ones. Glenister came running through the smoke pall, revolver -in hand, crying:<a name="page_265" id="page_265"></a></p> - -<p>“Has any one seen McNamara?” No one had, and when they were later -assembled to take stock of their injuries he was greeted by Dextry’s -gleeful announcement:</p> - -<p>“That’s the deuce of a fight. We ’ain’t got so much as a cold sore among -us.”</p> - -<p>“We have captured fourteen,” another announced, “and there may be more -out yonder in the brush.”</p> - -<p>Glenister noted with growing surprise that not one of the prisoners -lined up beneath the glaring torches wore the army blue. They were -miners all, or thugs and ruffians gathered from the camp. Where, he -wondered, were the soldiers.</p> - -<p>“Didn’t you have troops from the barracks to help you?” he asked.</p> - -<p>“Not a troop. We haven’t seen a soldier since we went to work.”</p> - -<p>At this the young leader became alarmed. Had this whole attack -miscarried? Had this been no clash with the United States forces, after -all? If so, the news would never reach Washington, and instead of -accomplishing his end, he and his friends had thrust themselves into the -realms of outlawry, where the soldiers could be employed against them -with impunity, where prices would rest upon their heads. Innocent blood -had been shed, court property destroyed. McNamara had them where he -wanted them at last. They were at bay.</p> - -<p>The unwounded prisoners were taken to the boundaries of the Midas and -released with such warnings as the imagination of Dextry could conjure -up; then Glenister assembled his men, speaking to them plainly.</p> - -<p>“Boys, this is no victory. In fact, we’re worse off<a name="page_266" id="page_266"></a> than we were -before, and our biggest fight is coming. There’s a chance to get away -now before daylight and before we’re recognized, but if we’re seen here -at sunup we’ll have to stay and fight. Soldiers will be sent against us, -but if we hold out, and the struggle is fierce enough, it may reach to -Washington. This will be a different kind of fighting now, though. It -will be warfare pure and simple. How many of you will stick?”</p> - -<p>“All of us,” said they, in unison, and, accordingly, preparations for a -siege were begun. Barricades were built, ruins removed, buildings -transformed into block-houses, and all through the turbulent night the -tired men labored till ready to drop, led always by the young giant, who -seemed without fatigue.</p> - -<p>It was perhaps four hours after midnight when a man sought him out.</p> - -<p>“Somebody’s callin’ you on the Assay Office telephone—says it’s life or -death.”</p> - -<p>Glenister hurried to the building, which had escaped the shock of the -explosions, and, taking down the receiver, was answered by Cherry -Malotte.</p> - -<p>“Thank God, you’re safe,” she began. “The men have just come in and the -whole town is awake over the riot. They say you’ve killed ten people in -the fight—is it true?”</p> - -<p>He explained to her briefly that all was well, but she broke in:</p> - -<p>“Wait, wait! McNamara has called for troops and you’ll all be shot. Oh, -what a terrible night it has been! I haven’t been to bed. I’m going mad. -Now, listen, carefully—yesterday Helen went with Struve to the Sign of -the Sled and she hasn’t come back.”</p> - -<p>The man at the end of the wire cried out at this,<a name="page_267" id="page_267"></a> then choked back his -words to hear what followed. His free hand began making strange, futile -motions as though he traced patterns in the air.</p> - -<p>“I can’t raise the road-house on the wire and—something dreadful has -happened, I know.”</p> - -<p>“What made her go?” he shouted.</p> - -<p>“To save you,” came Cherry’s faint reply. “If you love her, ride fast to -the Sign of the Sled or you’ll be too late. The Bronco Kid has gone -there—”</p> - -<p>At that name Roy crashed the instrument to its hook and burst out of the -shanty, calling loudly to his men.</p> - -<p>“What’s up?”</p> - -<p>“Where are you going?”</p> - -<p>“To the Sign of the Sled,” he panted.</p> - -<p>“We’ve stood by you, Glenister, and you can’t quit us like this,” said -one, angrily. “The trail to town is good, and we’ll take it if you do.” -Roy saw they feared he was deserting, feared that he had heard some -alarming rumor of which they did not know.</p> - -<p>“We’ll let the mine go, boys, for I can’t ask you to do what I refuse to -do myself, and yet it’s not fear that’s sending me. There’s a woman in -danger and I <i>must</i> go. She courted ruin to save us all, risked her -honor to try and right a wrong—and—I’m afraid of what has happened -while we were fighting here. I don’t ask you to stay till I come -back—it wouldn’t be square, and you’d better go while you have a -chance. As for me—I gave up the old claim once—I can do it again.” He -swung himself to the horse’s back, settled into the saddle, and rode out -through the lane of belted men.<a name="page_268" id="page_268"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XX" id="CHAPTER_XX"></a>CHAPTER XX<br /><br /> -<small>IN WHICH THREE GO TO THE SIGN OF THE SLED AND BUT TWO RETURN</small></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">A</span><b>S</b> Helen and her companion ascended the mountain, scarred and swept by -the tempest of the previous night, they heard, far below, the swollen -torrent brawling in its bowlder-ridden bed, while behind them the angry -ocean spread southward to a blood-red horizon. Ahead, the bleak -mountains brooded over forbidding valleys; to the west a suffused sun -glared sullenly, painting the high-piled clouds with the gorgeous hues -of a stormy sunset. To Helen the wild scene seemed dyed with the colors -of flame and blood and steel.</p> - -<p>“That rain raised the deuce with the trails,” said Struve, as they -picked their way past an unsightly “slip” whence a part of the -overhanging mountain, loosened by the deluge, had slid into the gulch. -“Another storm like that would wash out these roads completely.”</p> - -<p>Even in the daylight it was no easy task to avoid these danger spots, -for the horses floundered on the muddy soil. Vaguely the girl wondered -how she would find her way back in the darkness, as she had planned. She -said little as they approached the road-house, for the thoughts within -her brain had begun to clamor<a name="page_269" id="page_269"></a> too wildly; but Struve, more arrogant -than ever before, more terrifyingly sure of himself, was loudly -garrulous. As they drew nearer and nearer, the dread that possessed the -girl became of paralyzing intensity. If she should fail—but she vowed -she would not, could not, fail.</p> - -<p>They rounded a bend and saw the Sign of the Sled cradled below them -where the trail dipped to a stream which tumbled from the comb above -into the river twisting like a silver thread through the distant valley. -A peeled flag-pole topped by a spruce bough stood in front of the -tavern, while over the door hung a sled suspended from a beam. The house -itself was a quaint structure, rambling and amorphous, from whose sod -roof sprang blooming flowers, and whose high-banked walls were pierced -here and there with sleepy windows. It had been built by a homesick -foreigner of unknown nationality whom the army of “mushers” who paid for -his clean and orderly hospitality had dubbed duly and as a matter of -course a “Swede.” When travel had changed to the river trail, leaving -the house lonesome and high as though left by a receding wave, Struve -had taken it over on a debt, and now ran it for the convenience of a -slender traffic, mainly stampeders, who chose the higher route towards -the interior. His hireling spent the idle hours in prospecting a hungry -quartz lead and in doing assessment work on near-by claims.</p> - -<p>Shortz took the horses and answered his employer’s questions curtly, -flashing a curious look at Helen. Under other conditions the girl would -have been delighted with the place, for this was the quaintest spot she -had found in the north country. The main room<a name="page_270" id="page_270"></a> held bar and gold-scales, -a rude table, and a huge iron heater, while its walls and ceiling were -sheeted with white cloth so cunningly stitched and tacked that it seemed -a cavern hollowed from chalk. It was filled with trophies of the hills, -stuffed birds and animals, skins and antlers, from which depended, in -careless confusion, dog harness, snow-shoes, guns, and articles of -clothing. A door to the left led into the bunk-room where travellers had -been wont to sleep in tiers three deep. To the rear was a kitchen and -cache, to the right a compartment which Struve called the art gallery. -Here, free reign had been allowed the original owner’s artistic fancies, -and he had covered the place with pictures clipped from gazettes of -questionable repute till it was a bewildering arrangement of pink ladies -in tights, pugilists in scanty trunks, prize bull-dogs, and other less -moral characters of the sporting world.</p> - -<p>“This is probably the worst company you were ever in,” Struve observed -to Helen, with a forced attempt at lightness.</p> - -<p>“Are there no guests here?” she asked him, her anxiety very near the -surface.</p> - -<p>“Travel is light at this time of the year. They’ll come in later, -perhaps.”</p> - -<p>A fire was burning in this pink room where the landlord had begun -spreading the table for two, and its warmth was grateful to the girl. -Her companion, thoroughly at his ease, stretched himself on a -fur-covered couch and smoked.</p> - -<p>“Let me see the papers, now, Mr. Struve,” she began, but he put her off.</p> - -<p>“No, not now. Business must wait on our dinner.<a name="page_271" id="page_271"></a> Don’t spoil our little -party, for there’s time enough and to spare.”</p> - -<p>She arose and went to the window, unable to sit still. Looking down the -narrow gulch she saw that the mountains beyond were indistinct for it -was growing dark rapidly. Dense clouds had rolled up from the east. A -rain-drop struck the glass before her eyes, then another and another, -and the hills grew misty behind the coming shower. A traveller with a -pack on his back hurried around the corner of the building and past her -to the door. At his knock, Struve, who had been watching Helen through -half-shut eyes, arose and went into the other room.</p> - -<p>“Thank Heaven, some one has come,” she thought. The voices were deadened -to a hum by the sod walls, till that of the stranger raised itself in -such indignant protest that she distinguished his words.</p> - -<p>“Oh, I’ve got money to pay my way. I’m no deadhead.”</p> - -<p>Shortz mumbled something back.</p> - -<p>“I don’t care if you are closed. I’m tired and there’s a storm coming.”</p> - -<p>This time she heard the landlord’s refusal and the miner’s angry -profanity. A moment later she saw the traveller plodding up the trail -towards town.</p> - -<p>“What does that mean?” she inquired, as the lawyer re-entered.</p> - -<p>“Oh, that fellow is a tough, and Shortz wouldn’t let him in. He’s -careful whom he entertains—there are so many bad men roaming the -hills.”</p> - -<p>The German came in shortly to light the lamp, and, although she asked no -further questions, Helen’s uneasiness increased. She half listened to -the stories with<a name="page_272" id="page_272"></a> which Struve tried to entertain her and ate little of -the excellent meal that was shortly served to them. Struve, meanwhile, -ate and drank almost greedily, and the shadowy, sinister evening crept -along. A strange cowardice had suddenly overtaken the girl; and if, at -this late hour, she could have withdrawn, she would have done so gladly -and gone forth to meet the violence of the tempest. But she had gone too -far for retreat; and realizing that, for the present, apparent -compliance was her wisest resource, she sat quiet, answering the man -with cool words while his eyes grew brighter, his skin more flushed, his -speech more rapid. He talked incessantly and with feverish gayety, -smoking numberless cigarettes and apparently unconscious of the flight -of time. At last he broke off suddenly and consulted his watch, while -Helen remembered that she had not heard Shortz in the kitchen for a long -time. Suddenly Struve smiled on her peculiarly, with confident cunning. -As he leered at her over the disorder between them he took from his -pocket a flat bundle which he tossed to her.</p> - -<p>“Now for the bargain, eh?”</p> - -<p>“Ask the man to remove these dishes,” she said, as she undid the parcel -with clumsy fingers.</p> - -<p>“I sent him away two hours ago,” said Struve, arising as if to come to -her. She shrank back, but he only leaned across, gathered up the four -corners of the tablecloth, and, twisting them together, carried the -whole thing out, the dishes crashing and jangling as he threw his burden -recklessly into the kitchen. Then he returned and stood with his back to -the stove, staring at her while she perused the contents of the papers, -which were more voluminous than she had supposed.<a name="page_273" id="page_273"></a></p> - -<p>For a long time the girl pored over the documents. The purport of the -papers was only too obvious; and, as she read, the proof of her uncle’s -guilt stood out clear and damning. There was no possibility of mistake; -the whole wretched plot stood out plain, its darkest infamies revealed.</p> - -<p>In spite of the cruelty of her disillusionment, Helen was nevertheless -exalted with the fierce ecstasy of power, with the knowledge that -justice would at last be rendered. It would be her triumph and her -expiation that she, who had been the unwitting tool of this miserable -clique, would be the one through whom restitution was made. She arose -with her eyes gleaming and her lips set.</p> - -<p>“It is here.”</p> - -<p>“Of course it is. Enough to convict us all. It means the penitentiary -for your precious uncle and your lover.” He stretched his chin upward at -the mention as though to free his throat from an invisible clutch. “Yes, -your lover particularly, for he’s the real one. That’s why I brought you -here. He’ll marry you, but I’ll be the best man.” The timbre of his -voice was unpleasant.</p> - -<p>“Come, let us go,” she said.</p> - -<p>“Go,” he chuckled, mirthlessly. “That’s a fine example of unconscious -humor.”</p> - -<p>“What do you mean?”</p> - -<p>“Well, first, no human being could find his way down to the coast in -this tempest; second—but, by-the-way, let me explain something in those -papers while I think of it.” He spoke casually and stepped forward, -reaching for the package, which she was about to give up, when something -prompted her to<a name="page_274" id="page_274"></a> snatch it behind her back; and it was well she did, for -his hand was but a few inches away. He was no match for her quickness, -however, and she glided around the table, thrusting the papers into the -front of her dress. The sudden contact with Cherry’s revolver gave her a -certain comfort. She spoke now with determination.</p> - -<p>“I intend to leave here at once. Will you bring my horse? Very well, I -shall do it myself.”</p> - -<p>She turned, but his indolence vanished like a flash, and springing in -front of the door he barred her way.</p> - -<p>“Hold on, my lady. You ought to understand without my saying any more. -Why did I bring you here? Why did I plan this little party? Why did I -send that man away? Just to give you the proof of my complicity in a -crime, I suppose. Well, hardly. You won’t leave here to-night. And when -you do, you won’t carry those papers—my own safety depends on that and -I am selfish, so don’t get me started. Listen!” They caught the wail of -the night crying as though hungry for sacrifice. “No, you’ll stay here -and—”</p> - -<p>He broke off abruptly, for Helen had stepped to the telephone and taken -down the receiver. He leaped, snatched it from her, and then, tearing -the instrument loose from the wall, raised it above his head, dashed it -upon the floor, and sprang towards her, but she wrenched herself free -and fled across the room. The man’s white hair was wildly tumbled, his -face was purple, and his neck and throat showed swollen, throbbing -veins. He stood still, however, and his lips cracked into his -ever-present, cautious smile.</p> - -<p>“Now, don’t let’s fight about this. It’s no use, for<a name="page_275" id="page_275"></a> I’ve played to -win. You have your proof—now I’ll have my price;—or else I’ll take it. -Think over which it will be, while I lock up.”</p> - -<p> </p> - -<p>Far down the mountain-side a man was urging a broken pony recklessly -along the trail. The beast was blown and spent, its knees weak and -bending, yet the rider forced it as though behind him yelled a thousand -devils, spurring headlong through gully and ford, up steep slopes and -down invisible ravines. Sometimes the animal stumbled and fell with its -master, sometimes they arose together, but the man was heedless of all -except his haste, insensible to the rain which smote him blindingly, and -to the wind which seized him savagely upon the ridges, or gasped at him -in the gullies with exhausted malice. At last he gained the plateau and -saw the road-house light beneath, so drove his heels into the flanks of -the wind-broken creature, which lunged forward gamely. He felt the pony -rear and drop away beneath him, pawing and scrambling, and instinctively -kicked his feet free from the stirrups, striving to throw himself out of -the saddle and clear of the thrashing hoofs. It seemed that he turned -over in the air before something smote him and he lay still, his gaunt, -dark face upturned to the rain, while about him the storm screamed -exultantly.</p> - -<p> </p> - -<p>The moment Struve disappeared into the outer room Helen darted to the -window. It was merely a single sash, nailed fast and immovable, but -seizing one of the little stools beside the stove she thrust it through -the glass, letting in a smother of wind and water. Before she could -escape, Struve bounded into the<a name="page_276" id="page_276"></a> room, his face livid with anger, his -voice hoarse and furious.</p> - -<p>But as he began to denounce her he paused in amazement, for the girl had -drawn Cherry’s weapon and levelled it at him. She was very pale and her -breast heaved as from a swift run, while her wondrous gray eyes were lit -with a light no man had ever seen there before, glowing like two jewels -whose hearts contained the pent-up passion of centuries. She had altered -as though under the deft hand of a master-sculptor, her nostrils growing -thin and arched, her lips tight pressed and pitiless, her head poised -proudly. The rain drove in through the shattered window, over and past -her, while the cheap red curtain lashed and whipped her as though in -gleeful applause. Her bitter abhorrence of the man made her voice sound -strangely unnatural as she commanded:</p> - -<p>“Don’t dare to stop me.” She moved towards the door, motioning him to -retreat before her, and he obeyed, recognizing the danger of her -coolness. She did not note the calculating treachery of his glance, -however, nor fathom the purposes he had in mind.</p> - -<p> </p> - -<p>Out on the rain-swept mountain the prostrate rider had regained his -senses and now was crawling painfully towards the road-house. Seen -through the dark he would have resembled some misshapen, creeping -monster, for he dragged himself, reptile-like, close to the ground. But -as he came closer the man heard a cry which the wind seemed guarding -from his ear, and, hearing it, he rose and rushed blindly forward, -staggering like a wounded beast.<a name="page_277" id="page_277"></a></p> - -<p>Helen watched her captive closely as he backed through the door before -her, for she dared not lose sight of him until free. The middle room was -lighted by a glass lamp on the bar and its rays showed that the -front-door was secured by a large iron bolt. She thanked Heaven there -was no lock and key.</p> - -<p>Struve had retreated until his back was to the counter, offering no -word, making no move, but the darting brightness of his eyes showed that -he was alert and planning. But when the door behind Helen, urged by the -wind through the broken casement, banged to, the man made his first -lightning-like sign. He dashed the lamp to the floor, where it burst -like an egg-shell, and darkness leaped into the room as an animal -pounces. Had she been calmer or had time for an instant’s thought Helen -would have hastened back to the light, but she was midway to her liberty -and actuated by the sole desire to break out into the open air, so -plunged forward. Without warning, she was hurled from her feet by a body -which came out of the darkness upon her. She fired the little gun, but -Struve’s arms closed about her, the weapon was wrenched from her hand, -and she found herself fighting against him, breast to breast, with the -fury of desperation. His wine-burdened breath beat into her face and she -felt herself bound to him as though by hoops, while the touch of his -cheek against hers turned her into a terrified, insensate animal, which -fought with every ounce of its strength and every nerve of its body. She -screamed once, but it was not like the cry of a woman. Then the struggle -went on in silence and utter blackness, Struve holding her like a -gorilla till she grew faint and her head began to whirl, while darting -lights<a name="page_278" id="page_278"></a> drove past her eyes and there was the roar of a cataract in her -ears. She was a strong girl, and her ripe young body, untried until this -moment, answered in every fibre, so that she wrestled with almost a -man’s strength and he had hard shift to hold her. But so violent an -encounter could not last. Helen felt herself drifting free from the -earth and losing grip of all things tangible, when at last they tripped -and fell against the inner door. This gave way, and at the same moment -the man’s strength departed as though it were a thing of darkness and -dared not face the light that streamed over them. She tore herself from -his clutch and staggered into the supper-room, her loosened hair falling -in a gleaming torrent about her shoulders, while he arose from his knees -and came towards her again, gasping:</p> - -<p>“I’ll show you who’s master here—”</p> - -<p>Then he ceased abruptly, cringingly, and threw up an arm before his face -as if to ward off a blow. Framed in the window was the pallid visage of -a man. The air rocked, the lamp flared, and Struve whirled completely -around, falling back against the wall. His eyes filled with horror and -shifted down where his hand had clutched at his breast, plucking at one -spot as if tearing a barb from his bosom. He jerked his head towards the -door at his elbow in quest of a retreat, a shudder ran over him, his -knees buckled and he plunged forward upon his face, his arm still -doubled under him.</p> - -<p>It had happened like a flash of light, and although Helen felt, rather -than heard, the shot and saw her assailant fall, she did not realize the -meaning of it till a drift of powder smoke assailed her nostrils. Even<a name="page_279" id="page_279"></a> -so, she experienced no shock nor horror of the sight. On the contrary, a -savage joy at the spectacle seized her and she stood still, leaning -slightly forward, staring at it almost gloatingly, stood so till she -heard her name called, “Helen, little sister!” and, turning, saw her -brother in the window.</p> - -<p>That which he witnessed in her face he had seen before in the faces of -men locked close with a hateful death and from whom all but the most -elemental passions had departed—but he had never seen a woman bear the -marks till now. No artifice nor falsity was there, nothing but the -crudest, intensest feeling, which many people live and die without -knowing. There are few who come to know the great primitive, passionate -longings. But in this black night, fighting in defence of her most -sacred self, this girl’s nature had been stripped to its purely savage -elements. As Glenister had predicted, Helen at last had felt and yielded -to irresistibly powerful impulse.</p> - -<p>Glancing backward at the creature sprawled by the door, Helen went to -her brother, put her arms about his neck, and kissed him.</p> - -<p>“He’s dead?” the Kid asked her.</p> - -<p>She nodded and tried to speak, but began to shiver and sob instead.</p> - -<p>“Unlock the door,” he begged her. “I’m hurt, and I must get in.”</p> - -<p>When the Kid had hobbled into the room, she pressed him to her and -stroked his matted head, regardless of his muddy, soaking garments.</p> - -<p>“I must look at him. He may not be badly hurt,” said the Kid.</p> - -<p>“Don’t touch him!” She followed, nevertheless,<a name="page_280" id="page_280"></a> and stood near by while -her brother examined his victim. Struve was breathing, and, discovering -this, the others lifted him with difficulty to the couch.</p> - -<p>“Something cracked in here—ribs, I guess,” the Kid remarked, gasping -and feeling his own side. He was weak and pale, and the girl led him -into the bunk-room, where he could lie down. Only his wonderful -determination had sustained him thus far, and now the knowledge of his -helplessness served to prevent Helen’s collapse.</p> - -<p>The Kid would not hear of her going for help till the storm abated or -daylight came, insisting that the trails were too treacherous and that -no time could be saved by doing so. Thus they waited for the dawn. At -last they heard the wounded man faintly calling. He spoke to Helen -hoarsely. There was no malice, only fear, in his tones:</p> - -<p>“I said this was my madness—and I got what I deserved, but I’m going to -die. O God—I’m going to die and I’m afraid.” He moaned till the Bronco -Kid hobbled in, glaring with unquenched hatred.</p> - -<p>“Yes, you’re going to die and I did it. Be game, can’t you? I sha’n’t -let her go for help until daylight.”</p> - -<p>Helen forced her brother back to his couch, and returned to help the -wounded man, who grew incoherent and began to babble.</p> - -<p>A little later, when the Kid seemed stronger and his head clearer, Helen -ventured to tell him of their uncle’s villany and of the proof she held, -with her hope of restoring justice. She told him of the attack planned -that very night and of the danger which threatened the miners. He -questioned her closely and, realising the<a name="page_281" id="page_281"></a> bearing of her story, crept -to the door, casting the wind like a hound.</p> - -<p>“We’ll have to risk it,” said he. “The wind is almost gone and it’s not -long till daylight.”</p> - -<p>She pleaded to go alone, but he was firm. “I’ll never leave you again, -and, moreover, I know the lower trail quite well. We’ll go down the -gulch to the valley and reach town that way. It’s farther but it’s not -so dangerous.”</p> - -<p>“You can’t ride,” she insisted.</p> - -<p>“I can if you’ll tie me into the saddle. Come, get the horses.”</p> - -<p>It was still pitchy dark and the rain was pouring, but the wind only -sighed weakly as though tired by its violence when she helped the Bronco -into his saddle. The effort wrenched a groan from him, but he insisted -upon her tying his feet beneath the horse’s belly, saying that the trail -was rough and he could take no chance of falling again; so, having -performed the last services she might for Struve, she mounted her own -animal and allowed it to pick its way down the steep descent behind her -brother, who swayed and lurched drunkenly in his seat, gripping the horn -before him with both hands.</p> - -<p> </p> - -<p>They had been gone perhaps a half-hour when another horse plunged -furiously out of the darkness and halted before the road-house door. Its -rider, mud-stained and dishevelled, flung himself in mad haste to the -ground and bolted in through the door. He saw the signs of confusion in -the outer room, chairs upset and broken, the table wedged against the -stove, and before the counter a shattered lamp in a pool of oil. He -called<a name="page_282" id="page_282"></a> loudly, but, receiving no answer, snatched a light which he -found burning and ran to the door at his left. Nothing greeted him but -the empty tiers of bunks. Turning, he crossed to the other side and -burst through. Another lamp was lighted beside the couch where Struve -lay, breathing heavily, his lids half closed over his staring eyes. Roy -noted the pool of blood at his feet and the broken window; then, setting -down his lamp, he leaned over the man and spoke to him.</p> - -<p>When he received no answer he spoke again loudly. Then, in a frenzy, -Glenister shook the wounded man cruelly, so that he cried out in terror:</p> - -<p>“I’m dying—oh, I’m dying.” Roy raised the sick man up and thrust his -own face before his eyes.</p> - -<p>“This is Glenister. I’ve come for Helen—where is she?” A spark of -recognition flickered into the dull stare.</p> - -<p>“You’re too late—I’m dying—and I’m afraid.”</p> - -<p>His questioner shook Struve again. “Where is she?” he repeated, time -after time, till by very force of his own insistence he compelled -realization in the sufferer.</p> - -<p>“The Kid took her away. The Kid shot me,” and then his voice rose till -it flooded the room with terror. “The Kid shot me and I’m dying.” He -coughed blood to his lips, at which Roy laid him back and stood up. So -there was no mistake, after all, and he had arrived too late. This was -the Kid’s revenge. This was how he struck. Lacking courage to face a -man’s level eyes, he possessed the foulness to prey upon a woman. Roy -felt a weakening physical sickness sweep over him till his eye fell upon -a sodden garment which Helen had<a name="page_283" id="page_283"></a> removed from her brother’s shoulders -and replaced with a dry one. He snatched it from the floor and in a -sudden fury felt it come apart in his hands like wet tissue-paper.</p> - -<p>He found himself out in the rain, scanning the trampled soil by light of -his lamp, and discerned tracks which the drizzle had not yet erased. He -reasoned mechanically that the two riders could have no great start of -him, so strode out beyond the house to see if they had gone farther into -the hills. There were no tracks here, therefore they must have doubled -back towards town. It did not occur to him that they might have left the -beaten path and followed down the little creek to the river; but, -replacing the light where he had found it, he remounted and lashed his -horse into a stiff canter up towards the divide that lay between him and -the city. The story was growing plainer to him, though as yet he could -not piece it all together. Its possibilities stabbed him with such -horror that he cried out aloud and beat his steed into faster time with -both hands and feet. To think of those two ruffians fighting over this -girl as though she were the spoils of pillage! He must overtake the -Kid—he <i>would</i>! The possibility that he might not threw him into such -ungovernable mental chaos that he was forced to calm himself. Men went -mad that way. He could not think of it. That gasping creature in the -road-house spoke all too well of the Bronco’s determination. And yet, -who of those who had known the Kid in the past would dream that his -vileness was so utter as this?</p> - -<p>Away to the right, hidden among the shadowed hills, his friends rested -themselves for the coming battle, waiting impatiently his return, and -timing it to the<a name="page_284" id="page_284"></a> rising sun. Down in the valley to his left were the -two he followed, while he, obsessed and unreasoning, now cursing like a -madman, now grim and silent, spurred southward towards town and into the -ranks of his enemies.<a name="page_285" id="page_285"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXI" id="CHAPTER_XXI"></a>CHAPTER XXI<br /><br /> -<small>THE HAMMER-LOCK</small></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">D</span><b>AY</b> was breaking as Glenister came down the mountain. With the first -light he halted to scan the trail, and having no means of knowing that -the fresh tracks he found were not those of the two riders he followed, -he urged his lathered horse ahead till he became suddenly conscious that -he was very tired and had not slept for two days and nights. The -recollection did not reassure the young man, for his body was a weapon -which must not fail in the slightest measure now that there was work to -do. Even the unwelcome speculation upon his physical handicap offered -relief, however, from the agony which fed upon him whenever he thought -of Helen in the gambler’s hands. Meanwhile, the horse, groaning at his -master’s violence, plunged onward towards the roofs of Nome, now growing -gray in the first dawn.</p> - -<p>It seemed years since Roy had seen the sunlight, for this night, -burdened with suspense, had been endlessly long. His body was faint -beneath the strain, and yet he rode on and on, tired, dogged, stony, his -eyes set towards the sea, his mind a storm of formless, whirling -thoughts, beneath which was an undeviating, implacable determination.</p> - -<p>He knew now that he had sacrificed all hope of the<a name="page_286" id="page_286"></a> Midas, and likewise -the hope of Helen was gone; in fact, he began to realize dimly that from -the beginning he had never had the possibility of winning her, that she -had never been destined for him, and that his love for her had been sent -as a light by which he was to find himself. He had failed everywhere, he -had become an outlaw, he had fought and gone down, certain only of his -rectitude and the mastery of his unruly spirit. Now the hour had come -when he would perform his last mission, deriving therefrom that -satisfaction which the gods could not deny. He would have his vengeance.</p> - -<p>The scheme took form without conscious effort on his part and embraced -two things—the death of the gambler and a meeting with McNamara. Of the -former, he had no more doubt than that the sun rising there would sink -in the west. So well confirmed was this belief that the details did not -engage his thought; but on the result of the other encounter he -speculated with some interest. From the first McNamara had been a riddle -to him, and mystery breeds curiosity. His blind, instinctive hatred of -the man had assumed the proportions of a mania; but as to what the -outcome would be when they met face to face, fate alone could tell. -Anyway, McNamara should never have Helen—Roy believed his mission -covered that point as well as her deliverance from the Bronco Kid. When -he had finished—he would pay the price. If he had the luck to escape, -he would go back to his hills and his solitude; if he did not, his -future would be in the hands of his enemies.</p> - -<p>He entered the silent streets unobserved, for the mists were heavy and -low. Smoke columns arose<a name="page_287" id="page_287"></a> vertically in the still air. The rain had -ceased, having beaten down the waves which rumbled against the beach, -filling the streets with their subdued thunder. A ship, anchored in the -offing, had run in from the lee of Sledge Island with the first lull, -while midway to the shore a tender was rising and falling, its oars -flashing like the silvered feelers of a sea insect crawling upon the -surface of the ocean.</p> - -<p>He rode down Front Street heedless of danger, heedless of the comment -his appearance might create, and, unseen, entered his enemy’s -stronghold. He passed a gambling-hall, through the windows of which came -a sickly yellow gleam. A man came out unsteadily and stared at the -horseman, then passed on.</p> - -<p>Glenister’s plan was to go straight to the Northern and from there to -track down its owner relentlessly, but in order to reach the place his -course led him past the office of Dunham & Struve. This brought back to -his mind the man dying out there ten miles at his back. The scantiest -humanity demanded that assistance be sent at once. Yet he dared not give -word openly, thus betraying his presence, for it was necessary that he -maintain his liberty during the next hour at all hazards. He suddenly -thought of an expedient and reined in his horse, which stopped with -wide-spread legs and dejected head while he dismounted and climbed the -stairs to leave a note upon the door. Some one would see the message -shortly and recognize its urgency.</p> - -<p>In dressing for the battle at the Midas on the previous night he had -replaced his leather boots with “mukluks,” which are waterproof, light, -and pliable footgear made from the skin of seal and walrus. He was thus -able to move as noiselessly as though in moccasins.<a name="page_288" id="page_288"></a> Finding neither -pencil nor paper in his pocket, he tried the outer door of the office, -to find it unlocked. He stepped inside and listened, then moved towards -a table on which were writing materials, but in doing so heard a rustle -in Struve’s private office. Evidently his soft soles had not disturbed -the man inside. Roy was about to tiptoe out as he had come when the -hidden man cleared his throat. It is in these involuntary sounds that -the voice retains its natural quality more distinctly even than in -speaking. A strange eagerness grew in Glenister’s face and he approached -the partition stealthily. It was of wood and glass, the panes clouded -and opaque to a height of some six feet; but stepping upon a chair he -peered into the room beyond. A man knelt in a litter of papers before -the open safe, its drawers and compartments removed and their contents -scattered. The watcher lowered himself, drew his gun, and laid soft hand -upon the door-knob, turning the latch with firm fingers. His vengeance -had come to meet him.</p> - -<p> </p> - -<p>After lying in wait during the long night, certain that the Vigilantes -would spring his trap, McNamara was astounded at news of the battle at -the Midas and of Glenister’s success. He stormed and cursed his men as -cowards. The Judge became greatly exercised over this new development, -which, coupled with his night of long anxiety, reduced him to a pitiful -hysteria.</p> - -<p>“They’ll blow <i>us</i> up next. Great Heavens! Dynamite! Oh, that is -barbarous. For Heaven’s sake, get the soldiers out, Alec.”</p> - -<p>“Ay, we can use them now.” Thereupon McNamara roused the commanding -officer at the post and requested<a name="page_289" id="page_289"></a> him to accoutre a troop and have them -ready to march at daylight, then bestirred the Judge to start the wheels -of his court and invoke this military aid in regular fashion.</p> - -<p>“Make it all a matter of record,” he said. “We want to keep our skirts -clear from now on.”</p> - -<p>“But the towns-people are against us,” quavered Stillman. “They’ll tear -us to pieces.”</p> - -<p>“Let ’em try. Once I get my hand on the ringleader, the rest may riot -and be damned.”</p> - -<p>Although he had made less display than had the Judge, the receiver was -no less deeply worried about Helen, of whom no news came. His jealousy, -fanned to red heat by the discovery of her earlier defection, was -enhanced fourfold by the thought of this last adventure. Something told -him there was treachery afoot, and when she did not return at dawn he -began to fear that she had cast in her lot with the rioters. This -aroused a perfect delirium of doubt and anger till he reasoned further -that Struve, having gone with her, must also be a traitor. He recognized -the menace in this fact, knowing the man’s venality, so began to reckon -carefully its significance. What could Struve do? What proof had he? -McNamara started, and, seizing his hat, hurried straight to the lawyer’s -office and let himself in with the key he carried. It was light enough -for him to decipher the characters on the safe lock as he turned the -combination, so he set to work scanning the endless bundles within, -hoping that after all the man had taken with him no incriminating -evidence. Once the searcher paused at some fancied sound, but when -nothing came of it drew his revolver and laid it before him just inside -the safe door and close beneath his hand, continuing<a name="page_290" id="page_290"></a> to run through the -documents while his uneasiness increased. He had been engaged so for -some time when he heard the faintest creak at his back, too slight to -alarm and just sufficient to break his tension and cause him to jerk his -head about. Framed in the open door stood Roy Glenister watching him.</p> - -<p>McNamara’s astonishment was so genuine that he leaped to his feet, faced -about, and prompted by a secretive instinct swung to the safe door as -though to guard its contents. He had acted upon the impulse before -realizing that his weapon was inside and that now, although the door was -not locked, it would require that one dangerous, yes, fatal, second to -open it.</p> - -<p>The two men stared at each other for a time, silent and malignant, their -glances meeting like blades; in the older man’s face a look of defiance, -in the younger’s a dogged and grim-purposed enmity. McNamara’s first -perturbation left him calm, alert, dangerous; whereas the continued -contemplation of his enemy worked in Glenister to destroy his composure, -and his purpose blazed forth unhidden.</p> - -<p>He stood there unkempt and soiled, the clean sweep of jaw and throat -overgrown with a three days’ black stubble, his hair wet and matted, his -whole left side foul with clay where he had fallen in the darkness. A -muddy red streak spread downward from a cut above his temple, beneath -his eyes were sagging folds, while the flicker at his mouth corners -betrayed the high nervous pitch to which he was keyed.</p> - -<p>“I have come for the last act, McNamara; now we’ll have it out, man to -man.”</p> - -<p>The politician shrugged his shoulders. “You have<a name="page_291" id="page_291"></a> the drop on me. I am -unarmed.” At which the miner’s face lighted fiercely and he chuckled.</p> - -<p>“Ah, that’s almost too good to be true. I have dreamed about such a -thing and I have been hungry to feel your throat since the first time I -saw you. It’s grown on me till shooting wouldn’t satisfy me. Ever had -the feeling? Well, I’m going to choke the life out of you with my bare -hands.”</p> - -<p>McNamara squared himself.</p> - -<p>“I wouldn’t advise you to try it. I have lived longer than you and I was -never beaten, but I know the feeling you speak about. I have it now.”</p> - -<p>His eyes roved rapidly up and down the other’s form, noting the lean -thighs and close-drawn belt which lent the appearance of spareness, -belied only by the neck and shoulders. He had beaten better men, and he -reasoned that if it came to a physical test in these cramped quarters -his own great weight would more than offset any superior agility the -miner might possess. The longer he looked the more he yielded to his -hatred of the man before him, and the more cruelly he longed to satisfy -it.</p> - -<p>“Take off your coat,” said Glenister. “Now turn around. All right! I -just wanted to see if you were lying about your gun.”</p> - -<p>“I’ll kill you,” cried McNamara.</p> - -<p>Glenister laid his six-shooter upon the safe and slipped off his own wet -garment. The difference was more marked now and the advantage more -strongly with the receiver. Though they had avoided allusion to it, each -knew that this fight had nothing to do with the Midas and each realized -whence sprang their fierce enmity. And it was meet that they should<a name="page_292" id="page_292"></a> -come together thus. It had been the one certain and logical event which -they had felt inevitably approaching from long back. And it was fitting, -moreover, that they should fight alone and unwitnessed, armed only with -the weapons of the wilderness, for they were both of the far, free -lands, were both of the fighter’s type, and had both warred for the -first, great prize.</p> - -<p>They met ferociously. McNamara aimed a fearful blow, but Glenister met -him squarely, beating him off cleverly, stepping in and out, his arms -swinging loosely from his shoulders like whalebone withes tipped with -lead. He moved lightly, his footing made doubly secure by reason of his -soft-soled mukluks. Recognizing his opponent’s greater weight, he -undertook merely to stop the headlong rushes and remain out of reach as -long as possible. He struck the politician fairly in the mouth so that -the man’s head snapped back and his fists went wild, then, before the -arms could grasp him, the miner had broken ground and whipped another -blow across; but McNamara was a boxer himself, so covered and blocked -it. The politician spat through his mashed lips and rushed again, -sweeping his opponent from his feet. Again Glenister’s fist shot forward -like a lump of granite, but the other came on head down and the blow -finished too high, landing on the big man’s brow. A sudden darting agony -paralyzed Roy’s hand, and he realized that he had broken the metacarpal -bones and that henceforth it would be useless. Before he could recover, -McNamara had passed under his extended arm and seized him by the middle, -then, thrusting his left leg back of Roy’s, he whirled him from his -balance, flinging him clear and with resistless force. It seemed that a -fatal fall must follow,<a name="page_293" id="page_293"></a> but the youth squirmed catlike in the air, -landing with set muscles which rebounded like rubber. Even so, the -receiver was upon him before he could rise, reaching for the young man’s -throat with his heavy hands. Roy recognized the fatal “strangle hold,” -and, seizing his enemy’s wrists, endeavored to tear them apart, but his -left hand was useless, so with a mighty wrench he freed himself, and, -locked in each other’s arms, the men strained and swayed about the -office till their neck veins were bursting, their muscles paralyzed.</p> - -<p>Men may fight duels calmly, may shoot or parry or thrust with cold -deliberation; but when there comes the jar of body to body, the sweaty -contact of skin to skin, the play of iron muscles, the painful gasp of -exhaustion—then the mind goes skittering back into its dark recesses -while every venomous passion leaps forth from its hiding-place and joins -in the horrid war.</p> - -<p>They tripped across the floor, crashing into the partition, which split, -showering them with glass. They fell and rolled in it; then, by consent, -wrenched themselves apart and rose, eye to eye, their jaws hanging, -their lungs wheezing, their faces trickling blood and sweat. Roy’s left -hand pained him excruciatingly, while McNamara’s macerated lips had -turned outward in a hideous pout. They crouched so for an instant, -cruel, bestial—then clinched again. The office-fittings were wrecked -utterly and the room became a litter of ruins. The men’s garments fell -away till their breasts were bare and their arms swelled white and -knotted through the rags. They knew no pain, their bodies were insensate -mechanisms.</p> - -<p>Gradually the older man’s face was beaten into a shapeless mass by the -other’s cunning blows, while<a name="page_294" id="page_294"></a> Glenister’s every bone was wrenched and -twisted under his enemy’s terrible onslaughts. The miner’s chief effort, -it is true, was to keep his feet and to break the man’s embraces. Never -had he encountered one whom he could not beat by sheer strength till he -met this great, snarling creature who worried him hither and yon as -though he were a child. Time and again Roy beat upon the man’s face with -the blows of a sledge. No rules governed this solitary combat; the men -were deaf to all but the roaring in their ears, blinded to all but hate, -insensible to everything but the blood mania. Their trampling feet -caused the building to rumble and shake as though some monster were -running amuck.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile a bareheaded man rushed out of the store beneath, bumping into -a pedestrian who had paused on the sidewalk, and together they scurried -up the stairs. The dory which Roy had seen at sea had shot the breakers, -and now its three passengers were tracking through the wet sand towards -Front Street, Bill Wheaton in the lead. He was followed by two rawboned -men who travelled without baggage. The city was awakening with the sun -which reared a copper rim out of the sea. Judge Stillman and Voorhees -came down from the hotel and paused to gaze through the mists at a -caravan of mule teams which trotted into the other end of the street -with jingle and clank. The wagons were blue with soldiers, the early -golden rays slanting from their Krags, and they were bound for the -Midas.</p> - -<p>Out of the fogs which clung so thickly to the tundra there came two -other horses, distorted and unreal, on one a girl, on the other a figure -of pain and tragedy, a grotesque creature that swayed stiffly to the -motion<a name="page_295" id="page_295"></a> of its steed, its face writhed into lines of suffering, its -hands clutching cantle and horn.</p> - -<p>It was as though Fate, with invisible touch, were setting her stage for -the last act of this play, assembling the principals close to the Golden -Sands where first they had made entrance.</p> - -<p>The man and the girl came face to face with the Judge and marshal, who -cried out upon seeing them, but as they reined in, out from the stairs -beside them a man shot amid clatter and uproar.</p> - -<p>“Give me a hand—quick!” he shouted to them.</p> - -<p>“What’s up?” inquired the marshal.</p> - -<p>“It’s murder! McNamara and Glenister!” He dashed back up the steps -behind Voorhees, the Judge following, while muffled cries came from -above.</p> - -<p>The gambler turned towards the three men who were hurrying from the -beach, and, recognizing Wheaton, called to him: “Untie my feet! Cut the -ropes! Quick!”</p> - -<p>“What’s the trouble?” the lawyer asked, but on hearing Glenister’s name -bounded after the Judge, leaving one of his companions to free the -rider. They could hear the fight now, and all crowded towards the door, -Helen with her brother, in spite of his warning to stay behind.</p> - -<p>She never remembered how she climbed those stairs, for she was borne -along by that hypnotic power which drags one to behold a catastrophe in -spite of his will. Reaching the room, she stood appalled; for the group -she had joined watched two raging things that rushed at each other with -inhuman cries, ragged, bleeding, fighting on a carpet of débris. Every -loose and breakable thing had been ground to splinters as though by iron -slugs in a whirling cylinder.<a name="page_296" id="page_296"></a></p> - -<p>To this day, from Dawson to the Straits, from Unga to the Arctics, men -tell of the combat wherever they foregather at flaring camp-fires or in -dingy bunk-houses; and although some scout the tale, there are others -who saw it and can swear to its truth. These say that the encounter was -like the battle of bull moose in the rutting season, though more -terrible, averring that two men like these had never been known in the -land since the days of Vitus Bering and his crew; for their rancor had -swollen till at feel of each other’s flesh they ran mad and felt -superhuman strength. It is true, at any rate, that neither was conscious -of the filling room, nor the cries of the crowd, even when the marshal -forced himself through the wedged door and fell upon the nearest, which -was Glenister. He came at an instant when the two had paused at -arm’s-length, glaring with rage-drunken eyes, gasping the labored breath -back into their lungs.</p> - -<p>With a fling of his long arms the young man hurled the intruder aside so -violently that his head struck the iron safe and he collapsed -insensible. Then, without apparent notice of the interruption, the fight -went on. It was seen during this respite that McNamara’s mouth was -running water as though he were deathly sick, while every retch brought -forth a groan. Helen heard herself crying: “Stop them! Stop them!” But -no one seemed capable of interference. She heard her brother muttering -and his breath coming heavily like that of the fighters, his body -swaying in time to theirs. The Judge was ashy, imbecile, helpless.</p> - -<p>McNamara’s distress was patent to his antagonist, who advanced upon him -with the hunger of promised victory; but the young man’s muscles obeyed -his commands<a name="page_297" id="page_297"></a> sluggishly, his ribs seemed broken, his back was weak, and -on the inner side of his legs the flesh was quivering. As they came -together the boss reached up his right hand and caught the miner by the -face, burying thumb and fingers crablike into his cheeks, forcing his -slack jaws apart, thrusting his head backward, while he centred every -ounce of his strength in the effort to maim. Roy felt the flesh giving -way and flung himself backward to break the hold, whereupon the other -summoned his wasting energy and plunged towards the safe, where lay the -revolver. Instinct warned Glenister of treachery, told him that the man -had sought this last resource to save himself, and as he saw him turn -his back and reach for the weapon, the youth leaped like a panther, -seizing him about the waist, grasping McNamara’s wrist with his right -hand. For the first time during the combat they were not face to face, -and on the instant Roy realized the advantage given him through the -other’s perfidy, realized the wrestler’s hold that was his, and knew -that the moment of victory was come.</p> - -<p>The telling takes much time, but so quickly had these things happened -that the footsteps of the soldiers had not yet reached the door when the -men were locked beside the safe.</p> - -<p>Of what happened next many garbled accounts have gone forth, for of all -those present, none but the Bronco Kid knew its significance and ever -recounted the truth concerning it. Some claim that the younger man was -seized with a fear of death which multiplied his enormous strength, -others that the power died in his adversary as reward for his treason; -but it was not so.</p> - -<p>No sooner had Roy encompassed McNamara’s waist<a name="page_298" id="page_298"></a> from the rear than he -slid his damaged hand up past the other’s chest and around the back of -his neck, thus bringing his own left arm close under his enemy’s left -armpit, wedging the receiver’s head forward, while with his other hand -he grasped the politician’s right wrist close to the revolver, thus -holding him in a grasp which could not be broken. Now came the test. The -two bodies set themselves rocklike and rigid. There was no lunging -about. Calling up the final atom of his strength, Glenister bore -backward with his right arm and it became a contest for the weapon -which, clutched in the two hands, swayed back and forth or darted up and -down, the fury of resistance causing it to trace formless patterns in -the air with its muzzle. McNamara shook himself, but he was close -against the safe and could not escape, his head bowed forward by the -lock of the miner’s left arm, and so he strained till the breath clogged -in his throat. Despite the grievous toil his right hand moved back -slightly. His feet shifted a bit, while the blood seemed bursting from -his eyes, but he found that the long fingers encircling his wrist were -like gyves weighted with the strength of the hills and the irresistible -vigor of youth which knew no defeat. Slowly, inch by inch, the great -man’s arm was dragged back, down past his side, while the strangling -labor of his breath showed at what awful cost. The muzzle of the gun -described a semicircle and the knotted hands began to travel towards the -left, more rapidly now, across his broad back. Still he struggled and -wrenched, but uselessly. He strove to fire the weapon, but his fingers -were woven about it so that the hammer would not work. Then the miner -began forcing upward.<a name="page_299" id="page_299"></a></p> - -<p>The white skin beneath the men’s strips of clothing was stretched over -great knots and ridges which sunk and swelled and quivered. Helen, -watching in silent terror, felt her brother sinking his fingers into her -shoulder and heard him panting, his face ablaze with excitement, while -she became conscious that he had repeated time and again:</p> - -<p>“It’s the hammer-lock—the hammer-lock.”</p> - -<p>By now McNamara’s arm was bent and cramped upon his back, and then they -saw Glenister’s shoulder dip, his elbow come closer to his side, and his -body heave in one final terrific effort as though pushing a heavy -weight. In the silence something snapped like a stick. There came a -deafening report and the scream of a strong man overcome with agony. -McNamara went to his knees and sagged forward on to his face as though -every bone in his huge bulk had turned to water, while his master reeled -back against the opposite wall, his heels dragging in the litter, -bringing up with outflung arms as though fearful of falling, swaying, -blind, exhausted, his face blackened by the explosion of the revolver, -yet grim with the light of victory.</p> - -<p>Judge Stillman shouted, hysterically:</p> - -<p>“Arrest that man, quick! Don’t let him go!”</p> - -<p>It was the miner’s first realization that others were there. Raising his -head he stared at the faces close against the partition, then groaned -the words:</p> - -<p>“I beat the traitor and—and—I broke him with—my hands!”<a name="page_300" id="page_300"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXII" id="CHAPTER_XXII"></a>CHAPTER XXII<br /><br /> -<small>THE PROMISE OF DREAMS</small></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">S</span><b>OLDIERS</b> seized the young man, who made no offer at resistance, and the -room became a noisy riot. Crowds surged up from below, clamoring, -questioning, till some one at the head of the stairs shouted down:</p> - -<p>“They’ve got Roy Glenister. He’s killed McNamara,” at which a murmur -arose that threatened to become a cheer.</p> - -<p>Then one of the receiver’s faction called: “Let’s hang him. He killed -ten of our men last night.” Helen winced, but Stillman, roused to a sort -of malevolent courage, quieted the angry voices.</p> - -<p>“Officer, hold these people back. I’ll attend to this man. The law’s in -my hands and I’ll make him answer.”</p> - -<p>McNamara reared himself groaning from the floor, his right arm swinging -from the shoulder strangely loose and distorted, with palm twisted -outward, while his battered face was hideous with pain and defeat. He -growled broken maledictions at his enemy.</p> - -<p>Roy, meanwhile, said nothing, for as the savage lust died in him he -realized that the whirling faces before him were the faces of his -enemies, that the Bronco Kid was still at large, and that his vengeance -was but half<a name="page_301" id="page_301"></a> completed. His knees were bending, his limbs were like -leaden bars, his chest a furnace of coals. As he reeled down the lane of -human forms, supported by his guards, he came abreast of the girl and -her companion and paused, clearing his vision slowly.</p> - -<p>“Ah, there you are!” he said, thickly, to the gambler, and began to -wrestle with his captors, baring his teeth in a grimace of painful -effort; but they held him as easily as though he were a child and drew -him forward, his body sagging limply, his face turned back over his -shoulder.</p> - -<p>They had him near the door when Wheaton barred their way, crying: “Hold -up a minute—it’s all right, Roy—”</p> - -<p>“Ay, Bill—it’s all right. We did our—best, but we were done by a -damned blackguard. Now he’ll send me up—but I don’t care. I broke -him—with my naked hands. Didn’t I, McNamara?” He mocked unsteadily at -the boss, who cursed aloud in return, glowering like an evil mask, while -Stillman ran up dishevelled and shrilly irascible.</p> - -<p>“Take him away, I tell you! Take him to jail.”</p> - -<p>But Wheaton held his place while the room centred its eyes upon him, -scenting some unexpected dénouement. He saw it, and in concession to a -natural vanity and dramatic instinct, he threw back his head and stuffed -his hands into his coat-pockets while the crowd waited. He grinned -insolently at the Judge and the receiver.</p> - -<p>“This will be a day of defeats and disappointments to you, my friends. -That boy won’t go to jail because you will wear the shackles yourselves. -Oh, you played a shrewd game, you two, with your senators, your<a name="page_302" id="page_302"></a> -politics, and your pulls; but it’s our turn now, and we’ll make you -dance for the mines you gutted and the robberies you’ve done and the men -you’ve ruined. Thank Heaven there’s <i>one</i> honest court and I happened to -find it.” He turned to the strangers who had accompanied him from the -ship, crying, “Serve those warrants,” and they stepped forward.</p> - -<p>The uproar of the past few minutes had brought men running from every -direction till, finding no room on the stairs, they had massed in the -street below while the word flew from lip to lip concerning this closing -scene of their drama, the battle at the Midas, the great fight -up-stairs, and the arrest by the ’Frisco deputies. Like Sindbad’s genie, -a wondrous tale took shape from the rumors. Men shouldered one another -eagerly for a glimpse of the actors, and when the press streamed out, -greeted it with volleys of questions. They saw the unconscious marshal -borne forth, followed by the old Judge, now a palsied wretch, slinking -beside his captor, a very shell of a man at whom they jeered. When -McNamara lurched into view, an image of defeat and chagrin, their voices -rose menacingly. The pack was turning and he knew it, but, though racked -and crippled, he bent upon them a visage so full of defiance and -contemptuous malignity that they hushed themselves, and their final -picture of him was that of a big man downed, but unbeaten to the last. -They began to cry for Glenister, so that when he loomed in the doorway, -a ragged, heroic figure, his heavy shock low over his eyes, his unshaven -face aggressive even in its weariness, his corded arms and chest bare -beneath the fluttering streamers, the street broke into wild cheering. -Here was a man of their own, a son of the Northland<a name="page_303" id="page_303"></a> who labored and -loved and fought in a way they understood, and he had come into his due.</p> - -<p>But Roy, dumb and listless, staggered up the street, refusing the help -of every man except Wheaton. He heard his companion talking, but grasped -only that the attorney gloated and gloried.</p> - -<p>“We have whipped them, boy. We have whipped them at their own game. -Arrested in their very door-yards—cited for contempt of court—that’s -what they are. They disobeyed those other writs, and so I got them.”</p> - -<p>“I broke his arm,” muttered the miner.</p> - -<p>“Yes, I saw you do it! Ugh! it was an awful thing. I couldn’t prove -conspiracy, but they’ll go to jail for a little while just the same, and -we have broken the ring.”</p> - -<p>“It snapped at the shoulder,” the other continued, dully, “just like a -shovel handle. I felt it—but he tried to kill me and I had to do it.”</p> - -<p>The attorney took Roy to his cabin and dressed his wounds, talking -incessantly the while, but the boy was like a sleep-walker, displaying -no elation, no excitement, no joy of victory. At last Wheaton broke out:</p> - -<p>“Cheer up! Why, man, you act like a loser. Don’t you realize that we’ve -won? Don’t you understand that the Midas is yours? And the whole world -with it?”</p> - -<p>“Won?” echoed the miner. “What do you know about it, Bill? The -Midas—the world—what good are they? You’re wrong. I’ve lost—yes—I’ve -lost everything she taught me, and by some damned trick of Fate she was -there to see me do it. Now, go away; I want to sleep.”</p> - -<p>He sank upon the bed with its tangle of blankets and<a name="page_304" id="page_304"></a> was unconscious -before the lawyer had covered him over.</p> - -<p>There he lay like a dead man till late in the afternoon, when Dextry and -Slapjack came in from the hills, answering Wheaton’s call, and fell upon -him hungrily. They shook Roy into consciousness with joyous riot, -pommelling him with affectionate roughness till he rose and joined with -them stiffly. He bathed and rubbed the soreness from his muscles, -emerging physically fit. They made him recount his adventures to the -tiniest detail, following his description of the fight with absorbed -interest till Dextry broke into mournful complaint:</p> - -<p>“I’d have give my half of the Midas to see you bust him. Lord, I’d have -screeched with soopreme delight at that.”</p> - -<p>“Why didn’t you gouge his eyes out when you had him crippled?” -questioned Slapjack, vindictively. “I’d ’a’ done it.”</p> - -<p>Dextry continued: “They tell me that when he was arrested he swore in -eighteen different languages, each one more refreshin’ly repulsive an’ -vig’rous than the precedin’. Oh, I have sure missed a-plenty to-day, -partic’lar because my own diction is gettin’ run down an’ skim-milky of -late, showin’ sad lack of new idees. Which I might have assim’lated -somethin’ robustly original an’ expressive if I’d been here. No, sir; a -nose-bag full of nuggets wouldn’t have kept me away.”</p> - -<p>“How did it sound when she busted?” insisted the morbid Simms, but -Glenister refused to discuss his combat.</p> - -<p>“Come on, Slap,” said the old prospector, “let’s go down-town. I’m so -het up I can’t set still, an’ besides, mebbe we can get the story the -way it really happened,<a name="page_305" id="page_305"></a> from somebody who ain’t bound an’ gagged an’ -chloroformed by such unbecomin’ modesties. Roy, don’t never go into -vawdyville with them personal episodes, because they read about as -thrillin’ as a cook-book. Why, say, I’ve had the story of that fight -from four different fellers already, none of which was within four -blocks of the scrimmage, an’ they’re all diff’rent an’ all better ’n -your account.”</p> - -<p>Now that Glenister’s mind had recovered some of its poise he realized -what he had done.</p> - -<p>“I was a beast, an animal,” he groaned, “and that after all my striving. -I wanted to leave that part behind, I wanted to be worthy of her love -and trust even though I never won it, but at the first test I am found -lacking. I have lost her confidence, yes—and what is worse, infinitely -worse, I have lost my own. She’s always seen me at my worst,” he went -on, “but I’m not that kind at bottom, not that kind. I want to do what’s -right, and if I have another chance I will, I <i>know</i> I will. I’ve been -tried too hard, that’s all.”</p> - -<p>Some one knocked, and he opened the door to admit the Bronco Kid and -Helen.</p> - -<p>“Wait a minute, old man,” said the Kid. “I’m here as a friend.” The -gambler handled himself with difficulty, offering in explanation:</p> - -<p>“I’m all sewed up in bandages of one kind or another.”</p> - -<p>“He ought to be in bed now, but he wouldn’t let me come alone, and I -could not wait,” the girl supplemented, while her eyes avoided -Glenister’s in strange hesitation.</p> - -<p>“He wouldn’t <i>let</i> you. I don’t understand.”</p> - -<p>“I’m her brother,” announced the Bronco Kid. “I’ve known it for a long -time, but I—I—well, you understand<a name="page_306" id="page_306"></a> I couldn’t let her know. All I can -say is, I’ve gambled square till the night I played you, and I was as -mad as a dervish then, blaming you for the talk I’d heard. Last night I -learned by chance about Struve and Helen and got to the road-house in -time to save her. I’m sorry I didn’t kill him.” His long white fingers -writhed about the arm of his chair at the memory.</p> - -<p>“Isn’t he dead?” Glenister inquired.</p> - -<p>“No. The doctors have brought him in and he’ll get well. He’s like half -the men in Alaska—here because the sheriffs back home couldn’t shoot -straight. There’s something else. I’m not a good talker, but give me -time and I’ll manage it so you’ll understand. I tried to keep Helen from -coming on this errand, but she said it was the square thing and she -knows better than I. It’s about those papers she brought in last spring. -She was afraid you might consider her a party to the deal, but you -don’t, do you?” He glared belligerently, and Roy replied, with fervor:</p> - -<p>“Certainly not. Go on.”</p> - -<p>“Well, she learned the other day that those documents told the whole -story and contained enough proof to break up this conspiracy and convict -the Judge and McNamara and all the rest, but Struve kept the bundle in -his safe and wouldn’t give it up without a price. That’s why she went -away with him—— She thought it was right, and—that’s all. But it -seems Wheaton had succeeded in another way. Now, I’m coming to the -point. The Judge and McNamara are arrested for contempt of court and -they’re as good as convicted; you have recovered your mine, and these -men are disgraced. They will go to jail—”</p> - -<p>“Yes, for six months, perhaps,” broke in the other,<a name="page_307" id="page_307"></a> hotly, “but what -does that amount to? There never was a bolder crime consummated nor one -more cruelly unjust. They robbed a realm and pillaged its people, they -defiled a court and made Justice a wanton, they jailed good men and sent -others to ruin; and for this they are to suffer—how? By a paltry fine -or a short imprisonment, perhaps, by an ephemeral disgrace and the loss -of their stolen goods. Contempt of court is the accusation, but you -might as well convict a murderer for breach of the peace. We’ve thrown -them off, it’s true, and they won’t trouble us again, but they’ll never -have to answer for their real infamy. That will go unpunished while -their lawyers quibble over technicalities and rules of court. I guess -it’s true that there isn’t any law of God or man north of Fifty-three; -but if there is justice south of that mark, those people will answer for -conspiracy and go to the penitentiary.”</p> - -<p>“You make it hard for me to say what I want to. I am almost sorry we -came, for I am not cunning with words, and I don’t know that you’ll -understand,” said the Bronco Kid, gravely. “We looked at it this way; -you have had your victory, you have beaten your enemies against odds, -you have recovered your mine, and they are disgraced. To men like them -that last will outlive and outweigh all the rest; but the Judge is our -uncle and our blood runs in his veins. He took Helen when she was a baby -and was a father to her in his selfish way, loving her as best he knew -how. And she loves him.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t quite understand you,” said Roy.</p> - -<p>And then Helen spoke for the first time eagerly, taking a packet from -her bosom as she began:</p> - -<p>“This will tell the whole wretched story, Mr. Glenister,<a name="page_308" id="page_308"></a> and show the -plot in all its vileness. It’s hard for me to betray my uncle, but this -proof is yours by right to use as you see fit, and I can’t keep it.”</p> - -<p>“Do you mean that this evidence will show all that? And you’re going to -give it to me because you think it is your duty?”</p> - -<p>“It belongs to you. I have no choice. But what I came for was to plead -and to ask a little mercy for my uncle, who is an old, old man, and very -weak. This will kill him.”</p> - -<p>He saw that her eyes were swimming while the little chin quivered ever -so slightly and her pale cheeks were flushed. There rose in him the old -wild desire to take her in his arms, a yearning to pillow her head on -his shoulder and kiss away the tears, to smooth with tender caress the -wavy hair, and bury his face deep in it till he grew drunk with the -madness of her. But he knew at last for whom she really pleaded.</p> - -<p>So he was to forswear this vengeance, which was no vengeance after all, -but in verity a just punishment. They asked him—a man—a man’s man—a -Northman—to do this, and for what? For no reward, but on the contrary -to insure himself lasting bitterness. He strove to look at the -proposition calmly, clearly, but it was difficult. If only by freeing -this other villain as well as her uncle he would do a good to her, then -he would not hesitate. Love was not the only thing. He marvelled at his -own attitude; this could not be his old self debating thus. He had asked -for another chance to show that he was not the old Roy Glenister; well, -it had come, and he was ready.</p> - -<p>Roy dared not look at Helen any more, for this was the hardest moment he -had ever lived.<a name="page_309" id="page_309"></a></p> - -<p>“You ask this for your uncle, but what of—of the other fellow? You must -know that if one goes free so will they both; they can’t be separated.”</p> - -<p>“It’s almost too much to ask,” the Kid took up, uncertainly. “But don’t -you think the work is done? I can’t help but admire McNamara, and -neither can you—he’s been too good an enemy to you for -that—and—and—he loves Helen.”</p> - -<p>“I know—I know,” said Glenister, hastily, at the same time stopping an -unintelligible protest from the girl. “You’ve said enough.” He -straightened his slightly stooping shoulders and looked at the unopened -package wearily, then slipped the rubber band from it, and, separating -the contents, tore them up—one by one—tore them into fine bits without -hurry or ostentation, and tossed the fragments away, while the woman -began to sob softly, the sound of her relief alone disturbing the -silence. And so he gave her his enemy, making his offer gamely, -according to his code.</p> - -<p>“You’re right—the work is done. And now, I’m very tired.”</p> - -<p>They left him standing there, the glory of the dying day illumining his -lean, brown features, the vision of a great loneliness in his weary -eyes.</p> - -<p>He did not rouse himself till the sky before him was only a curtain of -steel, pencilled with streaks of soot that lay close down above the -darker sea. Then he sighed and said, aloud:</p> - -<p>“So this is the end, and I gave him to her with these hands”—he held -them out before him curiously, becoming conscious for the first time -that the left one was swollen and discolored and fearfully painful. He -noted it with impersonal interest, realizing its need of<a name="page_310" id="page_310"></a> medical -attention—so left the cabin and walked down into the city. He -encountered Dextry and Simms on the way, and they went with him, both -flowing with the gossip of the camp.</p> - -<p>“Lord, but you’re the talk of the town,” they began. “The curio hunters -have commenced to pull Struve’s office apart for souvenirs, and the -Swedes want to run you for Congress as soon as ever we get admitted as a -State. They say that at collar-an’-elbow holts you could lick any of -them Eastern senators and thereby rastle out a lot of good legislation -for us cripples up here.”</p> - -<p>“Speakin’ of laws goes to show me that this here country is gettin’ too -blamed civilized for a white man,” said Simms, pessimistically, “and now -that this fight is ended up it don’t look like there would be anything -doin’ fit to claim the interest of a growed-up person for a long while. -I’m goin’ west.”</p> - -<p>“West! Why, you can throw a stone into Bering Strait from here,” said -Roy, smiling.</p> - -<p>“Oh, well, the world’s round. There’s a schooner outfittin’ for -Sibeery—two years’ cruise. Me an’ Dex is figgerin’ on gettin’ out -towards the frontier fer a spell.”</p> - -<p>“Sure!” said Dextry. “I’m beginnin’ to feel all cramped up hereabouts -owin’ to these fillymonarch orchestras an’ French restarawnts and such -discrepancies of scenery. They’re puttin’ a pavement on Front Street and -there’s a shoe-shinin’ parlor opened up. Why, I’d like to get where I -could stretch an’ holler without disturbin’ the pensiveness of some dude -in a dress suit. Better come along, Roy; we can sell out the Midas.”</p> - -<p>“I’ll think it over,” said the young man.</p> - -<p>The night was bright with a full moon when they<a name="page_311" id="page_311"></a> left the doctor’s -office. Roy, in no mood for the exuberance of his companions, parted -from them, but had not gone far before he met Cherry Malotte. His head -was low and he did not see her till she spoke.</p> - -<p>“Well, boy, so it’s over at last!”</p> - -<p>Her words chimed so perfectly with his thoughts that he replied: “Yes, -it’s all over, little girl.”</p> - -<p>“You don’t need my congratulations—you know me too well for that. How -does it feel to be a winner?”</p> - -<p>“I don’t know. I’ve lost.”</p> - -<p>“Lost what?”</p> - -<p>“Everything—except the gold-mine.”</p> - -<p>“Everything except—I see. You mean that she—that you have asked her -and she won’t?” He never knew the cost at which she held her voice so -steady.</p> - -<p>“More than that. It’s so new that it hurts yet, and it will continue to -hurt for a long time, I suppose—but to-morrow I am going back to my -hills and my valleys, back to the Midas and my work, and try to begin -all over. For a time I’ve wandered in strange paths, seeking new gods, -as it were, but the dazzle has died out of my eyes and I can see true -again. She isn’t for me, although I shall always love her. I’m sorry I -can’t forget easily, as some do. It’s hard to look ahead and take an -interest in things. But what about you? Where shall you go?”</p> - -<p>“I don’t know. It doesn’t really matter—now.” The dusk hid her white, -set face and she spoke monotonously. “I am going to see the Bronco Kid. -He sent for me. He’s ill.”</p> - -<p>“He’s not a bad sort,” said Roy. “And I suppose he’ll make a new start, -too.”</p> - -<p>“Perhaps,” said she, gazing far out over the gloomy<a name="page_312" id="page_312"></a> ocean. “It all -depends.” After a moment, she added, “What a pity that we can’t all -sponge off the slate and begin afresh and—forget.”</p> - -<p>“It’s part of the game,” said he. “I don’t know why it’s so, but it is. -I’ll see you sometimes, won’t I?”</p> - -<p>“No, boy—I think not.”</p> - -<p>“I believe I understand,” he murmured; “and perhaps it’s better so.” He -took her two soft hands in his one good right and kissed them. “God -bless you and keep you, dear, brave little Cherry.”</p> - -<p>She stood straight and still as he melted into the shadows, and only the -moonlight heard her pitiful sob and her hopeless whisper:</p> - -<p>“Good-bye, my boy, my boy.”</p> - -<p>He wandered down beside the sea, for his battle was not yet won, and -until he was surer of himself he could not endure the ribaldry and -rejoicing of his fellows. A welcome lay waiting for him in every public -place, but no one there could know the mockery of it, no one could gauge -the desolation that was his.</p> - -<p>The sand, wet, packed, and hard as a pavement, gave no sound to his -careless steps; and thus it was that he came silently upon the one woman -as she stood beside the silver surf. Had he seen her first he would have -slunk past in the landward shadows; but, recognizing his tall form, she -called and he came, while it seemed that his lungs grew suddenly -constricted, as though bound about with steel hoops. The very pleasure -of her sight pained him. He advanced eagerly, and yet with hesitation, -standing stiffly aloof while his heart fluttered and his tongue grew -dumb. At last she saw his bandages and her manner changed abruptly. -Coming closer she touched them with caressing fingers.<a name="page_313" id="page_313"></a></p> - -<p>“It’s nothing—nothing at all,” he said, while his voice jumped out of -all control. “When are you—going away?”</p> - -<p>“I do not know—not for some time.”</p> - -<p>He had supposed she would go to-morrow with her uncle and—the other, to -be with them through their travail.</p> - -<p>With warm impetuosity she began: “It was a noble thing you did to-day. -Oh, I am glad and proud.”</p> - -<p>“I prefer you to think of me in that way, rather than as the wild beast -you saw this morning, for I was mad, perfectly mad with hatred and -revenge, and every wild impulse that comes to a defeated man. You see, I -had played and lost, played and lost, again and again, till there was -nothing left. What mischance brought you there? It was a terribly brutal -thing, but you can’t understand.”</p> - -<p>“But I <i>can</i> understand. I do. I know all about it now. I know the wild -rage of desperation; I know the exultation of victory; I know what hate -and fear are now. You told me once that the wilderness had made you a -savage, and I laughed at it just as I did when you said that my contact -with big things would teach me the truth, that we’re all alike, and that -those motives are in us all. I see now that you were right and I was -very simple. I learned a great deal last night.”</p> - -<p>“I have learned much also,” said he. “I wish you might teach me more.”</p> - -<p>“I—I—don’t think I could teach you any more,” she hesitated.</p> - -<p>He moved as though to speak, but held back and tore his eyes away from -her.</p> - -<p>“Well,” she inquired, gazing at him covertly.<a name="page_314" id="page_314"></a></p> - -<p>“Once, a long time ago, I read a Lover’s Petition, and ever since -knowing you I have made the constant prayer that I might be given the -purity to be worthy the good in you, and that you might be granted the -patience to reach the good in me—but it’s no use. But at least I’m glad -we have met on common ground, as it were, and that you understand, in a -measure. The prayer could not be answered; but through it I have found -myself and—I have known you. That last is worth more than a king’s -ransom to me. It is a holy thing which I shall reverence always, and -when you go you will leave me lonely except for its remembrance.”</p> - -<p>“But I am not going,” she said. “That is—unless—”</p> - -<p>Something in her voice swept his gaze back from the shimmering causeway -that rippled seaward to the rising moon. It brought the breath into his -throat, and he shook as though seized by a great fear.</p> - -<p>“Unless—what?”</p> - -<p>“Unless you want me to.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, God! don’t play with me!” He flung out his hand as though to stop -her while his voice died out to a supplicating hoarseness. “I can’t -stand that.”</p> - -<p>“Don’t you see? Won’t you see?” she asked. “I was waiting here for the -courage to go to you since you have made it so very hard for me—my -pagan.” With which she came close to him, looking upward into his face, -smiling a little, shrinking a little, yielding yet withholding, while -the moonlight made of her eyes two bottomless, boundless pools, dark -with love, and brimming with the promise of his dreams.</p> - -<p class="c">THE END</p> - -<p><a name="transcrib" id="transcrib"></a></p> - -<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary="" -style="padding:2%;border:3px dotted gray;"> -<tr><th align="center">Typographical errors corrected by the etext transcriber:</th></tr> -<tr><td align="center">courage and our Colts=> courage and our Colt’s {pg 30}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">The Colts may go=> The Colt’s may go {pg 30}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">buckled his Colts=> buckled his Colt’s {pg 231}</td></tr> -</table> - -<hr class="full" /> - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Spoilers, by Rex Beach - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE SPOILERS *** - -***** This file should be named 51840-h.htm or 51840-h.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/1/8/4/51840/ - -Produced by Charlene Taylor, Chuck Greif and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive) - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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