CHAPTER XXV
VIRGINIA REPENTS
"I came for my stock," said Virginia coolly as she met his questioningeye and Wiley turned and rummaged in a drawer. The stock was hers andsince she came and asked for it--he laid it on the desk and went aheadwith his work. Virginia took the envelope and examined it carefully, butshe did not go away. She glanced at him curiously, writing away sogrimly, and there was a scar across his head. Could it be--yes, thereher rock had struck him. The mark was still fresh, but he had given herthe stock; and now he was privileged to hate her. That wound on his headwould soon be overgrown and covered, but she had left a deeper scar onhis heart. She had hurt his man's pride; and now he had hurt hers, andhumbled her to ask for her stock. He looked up suddenly, feeling hereyes upon him, and Virginia drew back and blushed.
"Oh--thank you," she stammered and turned to go, and yet she lingered tosee what he would say.
"You're welcome," he answered evenly, and took a fresh sheet of paper,but she refused to notice the hint. A sense of pique, of wonder at hispoliteness and half-resentment at his obliviousness of her presence,drew her back and she leaned against his desk.
"What are you writing?" she asked as he glanced at her inquiringly. "Isit a letter to that squaw?"
A sudden twitch of passion passed over his face at this reference to adark page in their past and he drew the written sheet away.
"No," he said, "I happened to remember a white girl----"
"What?" burst out Virginia before she could check herself and he curledhis lip up scornfully.
"Yes," he nodded, "and she seems to think I'm all right."
"Oh," she said and turned away her head with a painful twisted smile.Somehow she had always thought--and yet he must have met other girls--hewas meeting them all the time! She tried to summon her anger, to carryher past this fresh stab, but the tears rose to her eyes instead.
"I--we'll be going away soon," she went on hurriedly. "That is, if hegives us back our stock. Do you think he'll do it, Wiley? You know--theplan you spoke of. We're going to sell this stock to a broker and thenpay Mr. Blount back."
"I don't know," mumbled Wiley, and humped up over his letter, but it didnot produce the effect he had hoped for.
"Well--I'm sorry I hurt you," she broke out impulsively, rebuked by thelong gash in his hair, "but you shouldn't have tried to stop me! Iwasn't doing you any harm--I just came up there that night to see whatwas going on. And I did see Stiff Neck George, you can smile all youwant to, and he had something heavy in his hand."
She ran on with her explanation, only to trail off inconclusively as shesaw his face growing grim. He did not believe her, he did not evenlisten; he just sat there patiently and waited.
"Are you waiting for me to go?" she asked, smiling wanly, but even thenhe did not respond. There had been a time, not many weeks ago, when hewould have risen up and offered her a chair; but he had got past thatnow and seemed really and sincerely to prefer his own company to hers."I thought you might help us," she went on almost tearfully, "to getback our stock from Blount. It was nice of you to tell me, after the wayI acted; but--oh, I don't know what it was that came over me! And Inever even thanked you for telling me!"
A cynical smile came into Wiley's eyes as he sat back and put down hispen, but even after that she hurried on. "Yes, I know you don't likeme--you think I tried to wreck your mine and turned all your men againstyou--but I do thank you, all the same. You--you used to care, Wiley; butanyhow, I thank you and--I guess I'll be going now."
She started for the door but he did not try to stop her. He even pickedup his pen, and she turned back with fire in her eyes.
"Well, you might say something," she said defiantly, "or don't you carewhat happens to me?"
"No; I don't, Virginia," he answered quietly, "so just let it go atthat. We can't get along, so what's the use of trying? You go your wayand let me go mine."
"Oh, I know!" she sighed, "you think I'm ungrateful--and you think Ijust came for my stock. But I didn't, altogether; I wanted to say I'msorry and--oh, Wiley, _do_ you think he's alive?"
"Who?" he asked; but he knew already--she was thinking about theColonel.
"Why, Father," she ran on. "I heard you that time when you got oldCharley drunk. Do you think he's really alive? Because if he is!" Sheraised her eyes ecstatically and suddenly she was smiling into his."Because if he is," she said, "and I can find him again--oh, Wiley;won't you help me find him?"
"I'll think about it," responded Wiley, but his eyes were smiling backand the anger had died in his heart. After all, she was human; she couldsmile through her tears and reach out and touch his rough hand, and hecould not bring himself to hate her. "After I pay for the mine," hesuggested gently. "But now you'd better go."
"Oh, no," she protested, "please tell me about it. Is he hiding in theUbe-Hebes? Oh, you don't know how glad I was when I heard you talkingwith Charley--I never did think he was dead. He sent me word once, notto worry about him, but--the Indians said he had died. That is--well,they said if it hadn't been for that sandstorm they would surely havefound the body. And he'd thrown away his canteen, so he couldn't havehad any water; and there wasn't any more for miles. He was lost, youknow, and out of his head; and heading right out through the sand-hills.Oh, it's awful to talk about it, but of course we don't know forcertain; and it might have been somebody else. Don't you think it wassome other man?"
"I don't know," answered Wiley, and sat staring straight ahead as sheran on with her arguments and entreaties. After all, what did he haveto base his belief upon, except the babblings of brain-crackedCharley? They had found the Colonel's riding-burro, and hissaddle-bags and papers, besides his rifle and canteen; and theShoshone trailers had followed the tracks of a man until they werelost in the drifting sand-hills. And yet Charley's remarks, and hisrepeated attempts to get across the valley with some whiskey; therewas something there, certainly, upon which to build hope--and Virginiawas very insistent.
"Yes, I think it was another man," he said at length. "Either that oryour father escaped. He might have lost one canteen and still have hadanother, or he might have found his way to some water-hole. But from theway Charley talks, and tries to cover up his breaks, I feel sure thatyour father is alive."
"Oh, goodie!" she cried and before he could stop her she had stoopedover and kissed his bruised head. "Now you know I'm sorry," she burstout impulsively, "and will you go out and look for him at once?"
"Pretty soon," said Wiley, putting her gently away. "After I make mypayment on the mine. They'd be sure to jump me, now."
"Oh, but why not now?" she pleaded. "They wouldn't jump your mine."
"Yes, they would," he replied. "They'd jump me in a minute! I don't dareto go off the grounds."
"But what's the mine," she demanded insistently, "compared to findingfather?"
"Well, not very much," he conceded frankly, "but this is the way I'mfixed. I've got the whole world against me, including you and yourmother, and I've got to play out my hand. There's nobody I cantrust--even my father has turned against me--and I've got to fightthis out myself."
"What? Just for the money? Do you think more of that than you do offinding my father?"
"No, I don't," he said, "but I can't go now, and so there's no usetalking."
"No," she answered, drawing resentfully away from him, "there's no usetalking to _you_! He might be dying, or out of food, but you don'tthink of anything but that money!"
"Well, maybe so," he retorted tartly, "but if you'd just left me alone,instead of sicking all your dogs on me, I'd've been over there lookingfor him, long ago. Of course I'm wrong--that's understood from thestart; but----"
"What dogs did I set on you?" she demanded, flaring up, and he fixed herwith sullen eyes.
"Never mind," he said. "You know what you've done as well or better thanI do. All I've got to say is that my conscience is clear and we'd betterquit talking while we're friends."
"Yes--friends!" she repeated, and then she stopped and at l
ast sheheaved a sigh. "Well, I don't care," she defended. "You drove me to it.A woman must protect herself, somehow."
"Well, you can do it," he said, feeling tenderly of his head, andVirginia flew into a rage.
"I told you I was _sorry_!" she cried, stamping her foot. "Isn'tthat enough? I'm sorry, I said!"
"Yes, and I'm sorry," he answered, but his eyes were level and his jawjutted out like a crag.
"Sorry for what?" she demanded, and he sprang his trap.
"Sorry I can't go out and hunt for your father."
"Oh," she said, and drooped her head.
"If we could pay for what we've done by just being sorry," he went onwith a ghost of a smile, "we wouldn't be where we are. But you know wecan't, Virginia. I'm sorry for some things myself, and I expect to payfor them, but I can't stop to do it now."
"But will you go for him--sometime?" she asked, smiling wistfully."Then--oh, Wiley; why can't we be friends?" She held out her handsand he rose up and took them, but with a startled look in his eyes."You know that I'm sorry," she said, "and I'm willing to pay, too; ifthere's anything that I can do. Can't I help you, Wiley? Isn't theresomething I can do to help you pay for your mine? And I'll neveroppose you again--if you'll only go and find my father!"
She raised his hands and put them against her cheek and the quick tearssprang to his eyes.
"I'll do it," he promised, "just the minute I can go. And--I'll try tobe good to you, Virginia. Won't you give me a kiss, just to show it'sall right? I'm sorry I treated you so rough. But it'll be all right nowand we'll try to be friends again--I wasn't writing to any other girl."
"Oh, weren't you?" she smiled. "Well, I'll kiss you, then--just once.But somehow, I'm afraid it won't last."