The Ranchman Part 28

And so they returned to the Arrow, to find that the Dawes doctor was still with Taylor. The doctor sent out word to them that there was a slight chance for his patient, and satisfied that they had done all they could, they rode away, to attend to "business."

For the first time in her life Marion Harlan was witnessing the fight of a strong man to live despite grievous wounds that, she was certain, would have instantly killed most men. But Taylor fought his fight unconsciously, for he was still in that deep coma that had descended upon him when he had gently slipped to the ground beside the house, still fighting, still scorning the efforts of his enemies to finish him.

And during the first night's fever he still fought; the powerful sedatives administered by the doctor had little effect. In his delirium he muttered such terms and phrases as these: "Run, d.a.m.n you-run! I ain't in any hurry, and I'll get you!" And-"I'll certainly smash you some!" And-"A 'thing,' eh-I'll show you! She's mine, you miserable whelp!"

Whether these were thoughts, or whether they were memories of past utterances, made vivid and brought into the present by the fever, the girl did not know. She sat beside his bed all night, with the doctor near her, waiting and watching and listening.

And she heard more: "That's Larry's girl, and it's up to me to protect her." And-"I knew she'd look like that." Also-"They're both tryin' to send her to h.e.l.l! But I'll fool them!" At these times there was ineffable tenderness in his voice. But at times he broke out in terrible wrath. "Ambush me, eh? Ha, ha! That was right clever of you, Spotted Tail-we didn't make a good target, did we? Only for your sense we'd have-" He ceased, to begin anew: "I've got _you_-d.a.m.n you!" And then he would try to sit erect, swinging his arms as though he were trying to hit someone.

But toward morning he fell into a fitful sleep-the sleep of exhaustion; and when the dawn came, Mrs. Mullarky ordered the girl, pale and wan from her night's vigilance and service, to "go to bed."

For three days it was the same. And for three days the doctor stayed at the side of the patient, only sleeping when Miss Harlan watched over Taylor.

And during the three days' vigil, Taylor's delirium lasted. The girl learned more of his character during those three days of constant watchfulness than she would have learned in as many years otherwise.

That he was honorable and courageous, she knew; but that he was so sincerely apprehensive over her welfare she had never suspected. For she learned through his ravings that he had fought Carrington and the three men for her; that he had deliberately sought Carrington to punish him for the attack on her, and that he had not considered his own danger at all.

And at the beginning of the fourth day, when he opened his eyes and stared wonderingly about the room, his gaze at first resting upon the doctor, and then traveling to the girl's face, and remaining there for a long time, while a faint smile wreathed his lips, the girl's heart beat high with delight.

"Well, I'm still a going it," he said weakly.

"I remember," he went on, musingly. "When they was handing it to me, I was thinking that I was in pretty bad shape. And then they must have handed it to me some more, for I quit thinking at all. I'm going to pull through-ain't I?"

"You are!" declared the doctor. "That is," he amended, "if you keep your trap shut and do a lot of sleeping."

"For which I'm going to have a lot of time," smiled Taylor. "I'm going to sleep, for I feel mighty like sleeping. But before I do any sleeping, there's a thing I want to know. Did Carrington's men-the last two-get away, or did I--"

"You did," grinned the doctor. "Bothwell rode over there to find out-and Mullarky saw them. Mullarky brought you back-and got me."

"Carrington?" inquired the patient.

"Mullarky saw him. He says he never saw a man so beat up in his life.

Besides, you shot him, too-in the side. Not dangerous, but a heap painful."

Taylor smiled and looked at Miss Harlan. "I knew you were here," he said; "I've felt you near me. It was mighty comforting, and I want to thank you for it. There were times when I must have shot off my mouth a heap. If I said anything I shouldn't have said, I'm a whole lot sorry.

And I'm asking your pardon."

"You didn't," she said, her eyes eloquent with joy over the improvement in him.

"Well, then, I'm going to sleep." He raised his right hand-his good one-and waved it gayly at them-and closed his eyes.

CHAPTER XXIII-A WORLD-OLD LONGING

Looking back upon the long period of Taylor's convalescence, Marion Harlan could easily understand why she had surrendered to the patient.

In the first place, she had liked Taylor from the very beginning-even when she had affected to ridicule him on the train coming toward Dawes.

She had known all along that she had liked him, and on that morning when she had visited the Arrow to ask about her father Taylor had woven a magnetic spell about her.

That meeting and the succeeding ones had merely strengthened her liking for him. But the inevitable intimacy between nurse and patient during several long weeks of convalescence had wrought havoc with her heart.

Taylor's unfailing patience and good humor had been another factor in bringing about her surrender. It was hard for her to believe that he had fought a desperate battle which had resulted in the death of three men and the wounding of Carrington and himself; for there were no savage impulses or pa.s.sions gleaming in the eyes that followed her every movement while she had been busy in the sickroom for some weeks. Nor could she see any lingering threat in them, promising more violence upon his recovery. He seemed to have forgotten that there had been a fight, and during the weeks that she had been close to him he had not even mentioned it. He had been content, it seemed, to lounge in a chair and listen to her while she read, to watch her; and there had been times when she had seen a glow in his eyes that told her things that she longed to hear him say.

The girl's surrender had not been conveyed to Taylor in words, though she was certain he knew of it; for the signs of it must have been visible, since she could feel the blushes in her cheeks at times when a word or a look pa.s.sing between them was eloquent with the proof of her aroused emotions.

It was on a morning about six weeks following the incident of the shooting that she and Taylor had walked to the river. Upon a huge flat rock near the edge of a slight promontory they seated themselves, Taylor turned slightly, so that she had only a profile view of him.

Taylor's thoughts were grave. For from where he and the girl sat-far beyond the vast expanse of green-brown gra.s.s that carpeted the big level-he could see a huge cleft in some mountains. And the sight of that cleft sent Taylor's thoughts leaping back to the days he and Larry Harlan had spent in these mountains, searching for-and finding-that gold for which they had come. And inevitably as the contemplation of the mountains brought him recollections of Larry Harlan he was reminded of his obligation to his old-time partner. And the difficulties of discharging that obligation were increasing, it seemed.

At least, Taylor's duty was not quite clear to him. For while Parsons still retained a place in the girl's affections he could not turn over to her Larry's share of the money he had received from the sale of the mine.

And Parsons did retain the girl's affections-likewise her confidence and trust. A man must be blind who could not see that. For the girl looked after him as any dutiful girl might care for a father she loved.

Her att.i.tude toward the man puzzled Taylor, for, he a.s.sured himself, if she would but merely study the man's face perfunctorily she could not have failed to see the signs of deceit and hypocrisy in it. All of which convinced Taylor of the truth of the old adage: "Love is blind."

One other influence which dissuaded Taylor from an impulse to turn over Larry's money to the girl was his determination to win her on his own merits. That might have seemed selfishness on his part, but now that the girl was at the Arrow he could see that she was well supplied with everything she needed. Her legacy would not buy her more than he would give her gratuitously. And he did not want her to think for a single moment he was trying to buy her love. That, to his mind was gross commercialism.

Marion was not looking at the mountains; she was watching Taylor's profile-and blushing over thoughts that came to her.

For she wished that she might have met him under different conditions-upon a basis of equality. And that was not the basis upon which they stood now. She had come to the Arrow because she had no other place to go, vindicating her action upon Taylor's declaration that he had been her father's friend.

That had been a tangible premise, and was sufficient to satisfy, or to dull, any surface scruples he might have had regarding the propriety of the action. But her own moral sense struck deeper than that. She felt she had no right to be here; that Taylor had made the offer of a partnership out of charity. And so long as she stayed here, dependent upon him for food and shelter, she could not permit him to speak a word of love to her-much as she wanted him to speak it. Such was the puritanical principle driven deep into the moral fabric of her character by a mother who had set her a bad example.

This man had fought for her; he had risked his life to punish a man who had wronged her in thought, only; and she knew he loved her. And yet, seated so near him, she could not put out the hand that longed to touch him.

However, her thoughts were not tragic-far from it! Youth is hopeful because it has so long to wait. And there was in her heart at this moment a presentiment that time would sever the bonds of propriety that held her. And the instincts of her s.e.x-though never having been tested in the arts of coquetry-told her how to keep his heart warm toward her until that day, having achieved her independence, she could meet him on a basis of equality.

"Mr. Squint," she suddenly demanded; "what are you thinking about?"

He turned and looked full at her, his eyes glowing with a grave humor.

"I'd tell you if I thought you'd listen to me," he returned, significantly. "But it seems that every time I get on that subject you poke fun at me. Is there _anything_ I can do to show you that I love you-that I want you more than any man ever wanted a woman?"

"Yes-there is." Her smile was tantalizing.

"Name it!" he demanded, eagerly.

"Stop being tragic. I don't like you when you are tragic-or when you are talking nonsense about love. I have heard so much of it!"

"From me, I suppose?" he said, gloomily.

He had turned his head and she shot a quick, eloquent glance at him.

"From you-and several others," she said, deliberately.

There was a resentful, hurt look in his eyes when he turned and looked at her. "Just how many?" he demanded, somewhat gruffly.

"Jealous!" she said, shaking her finger at him. "Do you want a bill of particulars? Because if you do," she added, looking demurely downward, "I should have to take several days to think it over. You see, a woman can't catalogue everything men say to her-for they say so many silly things!"