Friar Tuck Part 43

Promotheus didn't make a report to us for about a week. Then he came out one night about eleven. He said 'at Ty hadn't doubted a word he'd said; but had done everything possible to make him comfortable, tellin' him to just loaf until he got in good order. He said 'at Ty and the woman didn't have much to do with each other and hadn't had since she'd come out. He said 'at the woman was kind to all the animals, in spite of everything 'at Ty could do, and the dogs was gettin' to act like regular, ordinary dogs. He said all but a few new pups had remembered him, and one had even wagged his tail, though he couldn't see any sense in this, he never havin' as much as spoke a kind word to the dog, so far as he could recollect.

He said he had held several talks with Ty, and Ty had asked him if he thought 'at Olaf was in league with any big outfits. He said 'at he had told Ty that he was sure Olaf had been in league with 'em several years before, but o' course, he couldn't know anything o' what had happened since. Ty said he had come to the conclusion that Olaf was set out for a kind of bait to draw him into trouble, which was why he had let him alone; but that he was short o' gra.s.s this season, and wanted Pearl Crick Spread bad. He also told The about the two Greasers disappearin', though he wasn't sure what had happened to 'em. He knew about us bein' over at Olaf's off and on, and The warned us to be careful, as Ty expected to have Olaf's place watched as soon as he got through movin' several bands o' cattle.

The said 'at the woman had a soft spot for any dumb brute, or even a human in distress, and that he had touched her by hobblin' around with the stick. He said she had cooked him some flabby invalid-food with her own hands, and that it was mighty captivatin'. He said she didn't speak much; but he was tryin' his best to get on the good side of her.

He said 'at all the boys claimed 'at Ty treated her well; but didn't seem to care much for her. Horace didn't happen to be with us when The came; but we said we'd move our camp higher up on the slope, to be on the safe side when Olaf's was watched, and would have Horace on deck sure the next time The came out; and we did this the next day.

The land was all slashed an' twisted around and broken, up west o' the Cross brand ranch houses. The ravine leadin' down to 'em ran east and west, the path leadin' up out of it to the trees where we had first seen the woman wasn't near so steep as the one comin' out of it on the north side toward the clump o' rocks. After the north path came out, the ravine narrowed down until it wasn't more than a crack, the south side not risin' so high as on the north; so that soon the north side stood up like a cliff above the land leadin' down to the clump of trees, and the only way we could get over to it was to go down the ravine and up again on the other side.

We made our camp consid'able higher than our look-out had been, and it was a well sheltered spot. An easy slopin' stretch led up to it from the north, and a ledge skirted the face o' the cliff up back of it, to the south. We examined this some distance; but it didn't seem to lead anywhere. We found several dips back in the hills where the snow water made grazin' for our ponies, and we were as comfortable as it's ever possible to be while waitin'.

I know what my plan would be for makin' a h.e.l.l which would be punishment for any mortal sin, and yet not severe enough to make me hate all the peace out o' my own existence. I'd make the wicked sit in the dark for a hundred years, waitin' to hear what their sentence was.

Then, I'd let 'em into heaven, and I bet they would be in a fair way to appreciate it. I never met up with any one able to out-wait me without showin' it more 'n I did; but I'll wager what I got, that the suspense was gorin' into me worse 'n into them, all the time.

One evenin', me an' Tank went up to camp after doin' our stunt at the look-out, and as we went, we caught sight o' two riders headin' our way. We hastened along so as to be ready to move in case this was a pair we didn't care to draw to; but by the time we reached camp, they were close enough to recognize as the Friar and Olaf. The plan was to keep the Friar in the dark as long as possible, and we waited their comin' with consid'able interest.

The Friar had squeezed the whole thing out of Olaf, as we might have known he would. You couldn't trust Olaf with a secret where the Friar was concerned. Tank, now, would have sent the Friar off to Bosco or Laramie as contented as a bug; but just as soon as Olaf was backed into a corner, he told the truth, and spoiled all our arrangements.

The Friar rode into our camp, dismounted, threw his reins to the ground, and sez: "Where is Promotheus?"

We looked at Olaf, and he nodded his head as sheepish as the under dog at a bee-swarmin'. "He's down at the ranch," sez Horace.

"Has he brought any news?" asked the Friar. So we told him all 'at The had reported. He took a few steps up and down, ponderin'.

"I can't permit this," he said after a minute. "He is riskin' his life down there, and I can't allow him to continue."

The rest all joined in and argued with him; but he was as obstinate as a burro, once he got his back up; so I didn't say anything. I went off and started to eat my supper. When I was about half through, Horace came over and said the Friar was bent on goin' down to Ty's himself.

"Well, let him go," sez I as cool as a snow-slide.

"Yes, but if he goes, Ty will kill both him and Promotheus!" sez Horace raisin' his voice. I noticed the others headin' toward us so I only flung my hands into the air, meanin' that it was none o' my business.

"Do you mean to say 'at you back the Friar up in this?" demanded Horace.

"Do I look like a fool?" sez I. The Friar's eyes were on me, and I knew they were cold; but I pertended not to notice him.

"You don't look like a fool; but you act like one," sez Horace, gettin' riled.

"You can't blame me, Horace," I sez in my most drawly voice, "because the Friar cares more for havin' his own way than he does for human life."

"What do you mean by that?" demanded the Friar.

"Oh, nothin'," sez I, "except that if you go down there, it shows Prometheus up at once, we'd all have to go along to save Promotheus, and this would start a fight, with us to blame; and no one knowin'

what the woman is, or how she stands in the matter. She seems perfectly satisfied with Ty Jones; and no matter how it turned out, all of us who survived would have to leave the country. I don't intend to argue with you, or to cross you in any way; but I do intend to stand by Promotheus, as it was me who first put the idee into his head."

I sympathized with the Friar, I knew that he wasn't himself. To find the woman he loved in the hands of the man who hated him, after all the years he had been in suspense about her was enough to tip any one off his balance; and I also knew the Friar. He had trained himself for eternity so long that some of his earthly idees weren't sound, and the surest way to bring him to himself was to let him bark his knees a time or two. Some imported hosses carry their gaze so high they can't see their footin' but after they've stepped into a few prairie-dog holes, they learn to take a little more interest in what they're treadin' on.

The Friar came over and looked down at me. "I shall wait until Promotheus comes up here, and then he can stay; and I shall go down,"

said the Friar in the voice a man uses when he thinks it's wrong to show the sarcasm he can't help but feel. "Have you any objection to this?"

"I have no objection to anything you choose to do, Friar," I said, finishin' my supper.

"Do I understand that you approve?" sez he.

"Certainlee not," sez I. "Ty would see the connection between you and Promotheus at once. He knows 'at The was a deserter, and he would set the law on him in one direction, and try to run him down on his own hook in the other. If you had been on hand while we were discussin'

the plan, you would have had the right to veto it; but now, it looks to me as though Prometheus was the one to consider."

The Friar sat down and ran his hands through his hair. "I can't see any way out!" he sez at last; "but I'm forced to admit that since Promotheus has gone down there, it would put him in danger for me to interfere."

"Well," sez ol' Tank, "here is The himself. Now, we'll know better what to do."

We looked up, and there was Promotheus with a bruise over his eye, comin' into our little nook.

CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

A SIDE-TRIP TO SKELTY'S

We all crowded around him, thinkin' 'at the bruise betokened some sort of trouble; but he said he'd got afraid they'd begin to suspicion him; so he had tried to ride a hoss that day, and had let it buck him off.

He said the' wasn't much lettin' needed, as it had been a mean one; but he had got his forehead grazed, and had lain on the ground, claimin' his back was hurt. It was only about eight o'clock, and we wondered how he had the nerve to come so early; but he said they were havin' a drinkin' bout over havin' dogged a feller by the name o'

Bryce off his claim on Ice Crick, thus gettin' a new outlet to gra.s.s and water.

He said the woman had been mighty good to him after his fall; but that he couldn't get her to talk about herself at all. "Have you ever mentioned the name of Carmichael to her?" I asked.

"No," sez he, "why should I?"

"That's the Friar's name," sez I. "He used to preach in a regular church down east, and she sang in the choir. Next time you get a chance, try to draw her out about this."

The Friar told him a lot o' small details to ask her about; and went part way back with him, as he wouldn't stay long for fear o' bein'

missed. The Friar insisted on stayin' along with us, while Olaf went back to the Spread.

Two nights after this Promotheus came up to our camp again. He said he had had several talks with her, and that she remembered the names and places, all right, but insisted that Carmichael was dead. She said he often came to her in her dreams; but that she knew he had died long ago.

"Does she ever sing?" asked the Friar.

"Never," sez The. "She don't even talk much. She has some sort of a pain in her head, and sometimes she seems to wander; but at other times she is perfectly clear."

"Is Ty Jones ever mean to her?" asked the Friar.

"Never," sez The. "Ty ain't mean to those about him. He has his own idees-he likes to have his men and dogs and hosses all fierce and nervy-but he's not mean to 'em. And all the boys treat her respectful, too. Fact is, I don't see where we got any grounds to take her away."

"But she does not care for him," sez the Friar; "she could not care for him! He must have used trick or force to bring her here; and you must find out the truth about it. It all depends on you, now."

"I'm doin' all I can, Friar," sez The; "but it's a hard tangle to see through."

When he left to go back, me an' the Friar and Horace went with him.

"Supposin' they should see you comin' back?" sez the Friar.