Collected Works of Zane Grey, page 213
He closed the door leading out into the yard, explaining that he did not want to take chances of Mercedes’s presence becoming known to neighbors. Then he went to the patio and called.
Both girls came in, Mercedes leading. Like Nell, she wore white, and she had a red rose in her hand. Dick would scarcely have recognized anything about her except her eyes and the way she carried her little head, and her beauty burst upon him strange and anew. She was swift, impulsive in her movements to reach his side.
“Senor, I am so sorry you were ill — so happy you are better.”
Dick greeted her, offering his left hand, gravely apologizing for the fact that, owing to a late infirmity, he could not offer the right. Her smile exquisitely combined sympathy, gratitude, admiration. Then Dick spoke to Nell, likewise offering his hand, which she took shyly. Her reply was a murmured, unintelligible one; but her eyes were glad, and the tint in her cheeks threatened to rival the hue of the rose she carried.
Everybody chatted then, except Nell, who had apparently lost her voice. Presently Dick remembered to speak of the matter of getting news to Thorne.
“Senor, may I write to him? Will some one take a letter?... I shall hear from him!” she said; and her white hands emphasized her words.
“Assuredly. I guess poor Thorne is almost crazy. I’ll write to him.... No, I can’t with this crippled hand.”
“That’ll be all right, Gale,” said Belding. “Nell will write for you. She writes all my letters.”
So Belding arranged it; and Mercedes flew away to her room to write, while Nell fetched pen and paper and seated herself beside Gale’s bed to take his dictation.
What with watching Nell and trying to catch her glance, and listening to Belding’s talk with the cowboys, Dick was hard put to it to dictate any kind of a creditable letter. Nell met his gaze once, then no more. The color came and went in her cheeks, and sometimes, when he told her to write so and so, there was a demure smile on her lips. She was laughing at him. And Belding was talking over the risks involved in a trip to Casita.
“Shore I’ll ride in with the letters,” Ladd said.
“No you won’t,” replied Belding. “That bandit outfit will be laying for you.”
“Well, I reckon if they was I wouldn’t be oncommon grieved.”
“I’ll tell you, boys, I’ll ride in myself with Carter. There’s business I can see to, and I’m curious to know what the rebels are doing. Laddy, keep one eye open while I’m gone. See the horses are locked up.... Gale, I’m going to Casita myself. Ought to get back tomorrow some time. I’ll be ready to start in an hour. Have your letter ready. And say — if you want to write home it’s a chance. Sometimes we don’t go to the P. O. in a month.”
He tramped out, followed by the tall cowboys, and then Dick was enabled to bring his letter to a close. Mercedes came back, and her eyes were shining. Dick imagined a letter received from her would be something of an event for a fellow. Then, remembering Belding’s suggestion, he decided to profit by it.
“May I trouble you to write another for me?” asked Dick, as he received the letter from Nell.
“It’s no trouble, I’m sure — I’d be pleased,” she replied.
That was altogether a wonderful speech of hers, Dick thought, because the words were the first coherent ones she had spoken to him.
“May I stay?” asked Mercedes, smiling.
“By all means,” he answered, and then he settled back and began.
Presently Gale paused, partly because of genuine emotion, and stole a look from under his hand at Nell. She wrote swiftly, and her downcast face seemed to be softer in its expression of sweetness. If she had in the very least been drawn to him — But that was absurd — impossible!
When Dick finished dictating, his eyes were upon Mercedes, who sat smiling curious and sympathetic. How responsive she was! He heard the hasty scratch of Nell’s pen. He looked at Nell. Presently she rose, holding out his letter. He was just in time to see a wave of red recede from her face. She gave him one swift gaze, unconscious, searching, then averted it and turned away. She left the room with Mercedes before he could express his thanks.
But that strange, speaking flash of eyes remained to haunt and torment Gale. It was indescribably sweet, and provocative of thoughts that he believed were wild without warrant. Something within him danced for very joy, and the next instant he was conscious of wistful doubt, a gravity that he could not understand. It dawned upon him that for the brief instant when Nell had met his gaze she had lost her shyness. It was a woman’s questioning eyes that had pierced through him.
During the rest of the day Gale was content to lie still on his bed thinking and dreaming, dozing at intervals, and watching the lights change upon the mountain peaks, feeling the warm, fragrant desert wind that blew in upon him. He seemed to have lost the faculty of estimating time. A long while, strong in its effect upon him, appeared to have passed since he had met Thorne. He accepted things as he felt them, and repudiated his intelligence. His old inquisitive habit of mind returned. Did he love Nell? Was he only attracted for the moment? What was the use of worrying about her or himself? He refused to answer, and deliberately gave himself up to dreams of her sweet face and of that last dark-blue glance.
Next day he believed he was well enough to leave his room; but Mrs. Belding would not permit him to do so. She was kind, soft-handed, motherly, and she was always coming in to minister to his comfort. This attention was sincere, not in the least forced; yet Gale felt that the friendliness so manifest in the others of the household did not extend to her. He was conscious of something that a little thought persuaded him was antagonism. It surprised and hurt him. He had never been much of a success with girls and young married women, but their mothers and old people had generally been fond of him. Still, though Mrs. Belding’s hair was snow-white, she did not impress him as being old. He reflected that there might come a time when it would be desirable, far beyond any ground of every-day friendly kindliness, to have Mrs. Belding be well disposed toward him. So he thought about her, and pondered how to make her like him. It did not take very long for Dick to discover that he liked her. Her face, except when she smiled, was thoughtful and sad. It was a face to make one serious. Like a haunting shadow, like a phantom of happier years, the sweetness of Nell’s face was there, and infinitely more of beauty than had been transmitted to the daughter. Dick believed Mrs. Belding’s friendship and motherly love were worth striving to win, entirely aside from any more selfish motive. He decided both would be hard to get. Often he felt her deep, penetrating gaze upon him; and, though this in no wise embarrassed him — for he had no shameful secrets of past or present — it showed him how useless it would be to try to conceal anything from her. Naturally, on first impulse, he wanted to hide his interest in the daughter; but he resolved to be absolutely frank and true, and through that win or lose. Moreover, if Mrs. Belding asked him any questions about his home, his family, his connections, he would not avoid direct and truthful answers.
Toward evening Gale heard the tramp of horses and Belding’s hearty voice. Presently the rancher strode in upon Gale, shaking the gray dust from his broad shoulders and waving a letter.
“Hello, Dick! Good news and bad!” he said, putting the letter in Dick’s hand. “Had no trouble finding your friend Thorne. Looked like he’d been drunk for a week! Say, he nearly threw a fit. I never saw a fellow so wild with joy. He made sure you and Mercedes were lost in the desert. He wrote two letters which I brought. Don’t mistake me, boy, it was some fun with Mercedes just now. I teased her, wouldn’t give her the letter. You ought to have seen her eyes. If ever you see a black-and-white desert hawk swoop down upon a quail, then you’ll know how Mercedes pounced upon her letter... Well, Casita is one hell of a place these days. I tried to get your baggage, and I think I made a mistake. We’re going to see travel toward Forlorn River. The federal garrison got reinforcements from somewhere, and is holding out. There’s been fighting for three days. The rebels have a string of flat railroad cars, all iron, and they ran this up within range of the barricades. They’ve got some machine guns, and they’re going to lick the federals sure. There are dead soldiers in the ditches, Mexican non-combatants lying dead in the streets — and buzzards everywhere! It’s reported that Campo, the rebel leader, is on the way up from Sinaloa, and Huerta, a federal general, is coming to relieve the garrison. I don’t take much stock in reports. But there’s hell in Casita, all right.”
“Do you think we’ll have trouble out here?” asked Dick, excitedly.
“Sure. Some kind of trouble sooner or later,” replied Belding, gloomily. “Why, you can stand on my ranch and step over into Mexico. Laddy says we’ll lose horses and other stock in night raids. Jim Lash doesn’t look for any worse. But Jim isn’t as well acquainted with Greasers as I am. Anyway, my boy, as soon as you can hold a bridle and a gun you’ll be on the job, don’t mistake me.”
“With Laddy and Jim?” asked Dick, trying to be cool.
“Sure. With them and me, and by yourself.”
Dick drew a deep breath, and even after Belding had departed he forgot for a moment about the letter in his hand. Then he unfolded the paper and read:
Dear Dick, — You’ve more than saved my life. To the end of my days you’ll be the one man to whom I owe everything. Words fail to express my feelings.
This must be a brief note. Belding is waiting, and I used up most of the time writing to Mercedes. I like Belding. He was not unknown to me, though I never met or saw him before. You’ll be interested to learn that he’s the unadulterated article, the real Western goods. I’ve heard of some of his stunts, and they made my hair curl. Dick, your luck is staggering. The way Belding spoke of you was great. But you deserve it, old man.
I’m leaving Mercedes in your charge, subject, of course, to advice from Belding. Take care of her, Dick, for my life is wrapped up in her. By all means keep her from being seen by Mexicans. We are sitting tight here — nothing doing. If some action doesn’t come soon, it’ll be darned strange. Things are centering this way. There’s scrapping right along, and people have begun to move. We’re still patrolling the line eastward of Casita. It’ll be impossible to keep any tab on the line west of Casita, for it’s too rough. That cactus desert is awful. Cowboys or rangers with desert-bred horses might keep raiders and smugglers from crossing. But if cavalrymen could stand that waterless wilderness, which I doubt much, their horses would drop under them.
If things do quiet down before my commission expires, I’ll get leave of absence, run out to Forlorn River, marry my beautiful Spanish princess, and take her to a civilized country, where, I opine, every son of a gun who sees her will lose his head, and drive me mad. It’s my great luck, old pal, that you are a fellow who never seemed to care about pretty girls. So you won’t give me the double cross and run off with Mercedes — carry her off, like the villain in the play, I mean.
That reminds me of Rojas. Oh, Dick, it was glorious! You didn’t do anything to the Dandy Rebel! Not at all! You merely caressed him — gently moved him to one side. Dick, harken to these glad words: Rojas is in the hospital. I was interested to inquire. He had a smashed finger, a dislocated collar bone, three broken ribs, and a fearful gash on his face. He’ll be in the hospital for a month. Dick, when I meet that pig-headed dad of yours I’m going to give him the surprise of his life.
Send me a line whenever any one comes in from F. R., and inclose Mercedes’s letter in yours. Take care of her, Dick, and may the future hold in store for you some of the sweetness I know now!
Faithfully yours, Thorne.
Dick reread the letter, then folded it and placed it under his pillow.
“Never cared for pretty girls, huh?” he soliloquized. “George, I never saw any till I struck Southern Arizona! Guess I’d better make up for lost time.”
While he was eating his supper, with appetite rapidly returning to normal, Ladd and Jim came in, bowing their tall heads to enter the door. Their friendly advances were singularly welcome to Gale, but he was still backward. He allowed himself to show that he was glad to see them, and he listened. Jim Lash had heard from Belding the result of the mauling given to Rojas by Dick. And Jim talked about what a grand thing that was. Ladd had a good deal to say about Belding’s horses. It took no keen judge of human nature to see that horses constituted Ladd’s ruling passion.
“I’ve had wimmen go back on me, but never no hoss!” declared Ladd, and manifestly that was a controlling truth with him.
“Shore it’s a cinch Beldin’ is agoin’ to lose some of them hosses,” he said. “You can search me if I don’t think there’ll be more doin’ on the border here than along the Rio Grande. We’re just the same as on Greaser soil. Mebbe we don’t stand no such chance of bein’ shot up as we would across the line. But who’s goin’ to give up his hosses without a fight? Half the time when Beldin’s stock is out of the alfalfa it’s grazin’ over the line. He thinks he’s careful about them hosses, but he ain’t.”
“Look a-here, Laddy; you cain’t believe all you hear,” replied Jim, seriously. “I reckon we mightn’t have any trouble.”
“Back up, Jim. Shore you’re standin’ on your bridle. I ain’t goin’ much on reports. Remember that American we met in Casita, the prospector who’d just gotten out of Sonora? He had some story, he had. Swore he’d killed seventeen Greasers breakin’ through the rebel line round the mine where he an’ other Americans were corralled. The next day when I met him again, he was drunk, an’ then he told me he’d shot thirty Greasers. The chances are he did kill some. But reports are exaggerated. There are miners fightin’ for life down in Sonora, you can gamble on that. An’ the truth is bad enough. Take Rojas’s harryin’ of the Senorita, for instance. Can you beat that? Shore, Jim, there’s more doin’ than the raidin’ of a few hosses. An’ Forlorn River is goin’ to get hers!”
Another dawn found Gale so much recovered that he arose and looked after himself, not, however, without considerable difficulty and rather disheartening twinges of pain.
Some time during the morning he heard the girls in the patio and called to ask if he might join them. He received one response, a mellow, “Si, Senor.” It was not as much as he wanted, but considering that it was enough, he went out. He had not as yet visited the patio, and surprise and delight were in store for him. He found himself lost in a labyrinth of green and rose-bordered walks. He strolled around, discovering that the patio was a courtyard, open at an end; but he failed to discover the young ladies. So he called again. The answer came from the center of the square. After stooping to get under shrubs and wading through bushes he entered an open sandy circle, full of magnificent and murderous cactus plants, strange to him. On the other side, in the shade of a beautiful tree, he found the girls. Mercedes sitting in a hammock, Nell upon a blanket.
“What a beautiful tree!” he exclaimed. “I never saw one like that. What is it?”
“Palo verde,” replied Nell.
“Senor, palo verde means ‘green tree,’” added Mercedes.
This desert tree, which had struck Dick as so new and strange and beautiful, was not striking on account of size, for it was small, scarcely reaching higher than the roof; but rather because of its exquisite color of green, trunk and branch alike, and owing to the odd fact that it seemed not to possess leaves. All the tree from ground to tiny flat twigs was a soft polished green. It bore no thorns.
Right then and there began Dick’s education in desert growths; and he felt that even if he had not had such charming teachers he would still have been absorbed. For the patio was full of desert wonders. A twisting-trunked tree with full foliage of small gray leaves Nell called a mesquite. Then Dick remembered the name, and now he saw where the desert got its pale-gray color. A huge, lofty, fluted column of green was a saguaro, or giant cactus. Another oddshaped cactus, resembling the legs of an inverted devil-fish, bore the name ocatillo. Each branch rose high and symmetrical, furnished with sharp blades that seemed to be at once leaves and thorns. Yet another cactus interested Gale, and it looked like a huge, low barrel covered with green-ribbed cloth and long thorns. This was the bisnaga, or barrel cactus. According to Nell and Mercedes, this plant was a happy exception to its desert neighbors, for it secreted water which had many times saved the lives of men. Last of the cacti to attract Gale, and the one to make him shiver, was a low plant, consisting of stem and many rounded protuberances of a frosty, steely white, and covered with long murderous spikes. From this plant the desert got its frosty glitter. It was as stiff, as unyielding as steel, and bore the name choya.
Dick’s enthusiasm was contagious, and his earnest desire to learn was flattering to his teachers. When it came to assimilating Spanish, however, he did not appear to be so apt a pupil. He managed, after many trials, to acquire “buenos dias” and “buenos tardes,” and “senorita” and “gracias,” and a few other short terms. Dick was indeed eager to get a little smattering of Spanish, and perhaps he was not really quite so stupid as he pretended to be. It was delightful to be taught by a beautiful Spaniard who was so gracious and intense and magnetic of personality, and by a sweet American girl who moment by moment forgot her shyness. Gale wished to prolong the lessons.
So that was the beginning of many afternoons in which he learned desert lore and Spanish verbs, and something else that he dared not name.
Nell Burton had never shown to Gale that daring side of her character which had been so suggestively defined in Belding’s terse description and Ladd’s encomiums, and in her own audacious speech and merry laugh and flashing eye of that never-to-be-forgotten first meeting. She might have been an entirely different girl. But Gale remembered; and when the ice had been somewhat broken between them, he was always trying to surprise her into her real self. There were moments that fairly made him tingle with expectation. Yet he saw little more than a ghost of her vivacity, and never a gleam of that individuality which Belding had called a devil. On the few occasions that Dick had been left alone with her in the patio Nell had grown suddenly unresponsive and restrained, or she had left him on some transparent pretext. On the last occasion Mercedes returned to find Dick staring disconsolately at the rose-bordered path, where Nell had evidently vanished. The Spanish girl was wonderful in her divination.
