CHAPTER XXXI
THE BROKEN TRUST
To seek always for Truth and Justice and the common good of mankind hasseldom had its earthly reward but, twenty-three hundred and fifteenyears after he drank the cup of hemlock, the soul of Socrates receivedits oration. Not that the Colonel was hipped upon the subject of theancients, for he talked mining and showed some copper claims as well;but a similar tragedy in his own domestic life had evoked a profoundadmiration for Socrates. And if Wiley understood what lay behind hiswords he gave no hint to the Colonel. Always, morning, noon and night,he listened respectfully, his lips curling briefly at some thought; andat the end of a week the Colonel was as devoted to him as he had beenformerly to his father.
Yet when, as sometimes happened, the Colonel tried to draw him out, heshook his head stubbornly and was dumb. The problem that he had couldnot be solved by talk; it called for years to recover and forget; and ifthe Colonel once knew that his own daughter was involved he might riseup and demand a retraction. In his first rush of bitterness Wiley hadstated without reservation that Virginia had sold him out for money, andthe pride of the Huffs would scarcely allow this to pass unnoticed--andyet he would not retract it if he died for it. He knew from her own lipsthat Virginia had betrayed him, and it could never be explained away.
If she argued that she was misled by Blount and his associates, he hadwarned her before she left; and if she had thought that he was doing heran injustice, that was not the way to correct it. She had accepted atrust and she had broken that trust to gain a personal profit--and thatwas the unpardonable sin. He could have excused her if she had weakenedor made some mistake, but she had betrayed him deliberately andwillfully; and as he sat off by himself, mulling it over in his mind,his eyes became stern and hard. For the killing of Stiff Neck George hehad no regrets, and the treachery of Blount did not surprise him; but hehad given this woman his heart to keep and she had sold him for fiftythousand dollars. All the rest became as nothing but this wound refusedto heal, for he had lost his faith in womankind. Had he loved her less,or trusted her less, it would not have rankled so deep; but she had beenhis one woman, whose goings and comings he watched for, and all the timeshe was playing him false.
He sat silent one morning in the cool shade of a wild grapevine, jerkingthe meat of a mountain sheep that he had killed; and as he workedmechanically, shredding the flesh into long strips, he watched the lowertrail. Ten days had gone by since he had fled across the Valley, but thedanger of pursuit had not passed and, as he saw a great owl that wasnesting down below rise up blindly and flop away he paused and reachedfor his gun.
"Never mind," said the Colonel who had noticed the movement. "I expectan old Indian in with grub. But step into the cave and if it's who youthink it is you can count on me till the hair slips."
Wiley stepped in quietly, strapping on his belt and pistol, and then theColonel burst into a roar.
"It's Charley," he cried, leaping nimbly to his feet and putting up hisgun. "Come on, boy--here's where we get that drink!"
Wiley looked out doubtfully as Heine rushed up and sniffed at the pansof meat, and then he ducked back and hid. Around the shoulder of thecliff came Death Valley Charley; but behind him, on a burro, wasVirginia. He looked out again as the Colonel swore an oath and then sheleapt off and ran towards them.
"Oh--_Father_!" she cried and hung about his neck while theastonished Colonel kissed her doubtfully.
"Well, well!" he protested as she fell to weeping, "what's the cause ofall this distress? Is your mother not well, or----"
"We--we thought you were _dead_!" she burst out indignantly, "andCharley there knew--all the time!"
She let go of her father and turned upon Death Valley Charley, who wassolicitously attending to Heine, and the Colonel spoke up peremptorily.
"Here, Charley!" he commanded, "let that gluttonous cur wait. What'sthis I hear from Virginia? Didn't you tell her I was perfectly well?"
"Why--why yes, sir; I did, sir," replied Charley, apologetically,"but--she only thought I was crazy. I told her, all the time----"
"Oh, Charley!" reproached Virginia, "didn't you know better than that?You only said it when you had those spells. Why didn't you tell me whenyou were feeling all right--and you denied it, I know, repeatedly!"
"The Colonel would kill me," mumbled Charley sullenly. "He told me notto tell. But I brought you the whiskey, sir; a whole big----"
"Never mind the whiskey," said the Colonel sharply. "Now, let's get tothe bottom of this matter. Why should you think I was dead when I hadmerely absented myself----"
"But the body!" clamored Virginia. "We got word you were lost when yourburro came in at the Borax works. And when we hired trackers, theIndians said you were lost--and your body was out in the sand-hills!"
"It was that cursed camp-robber!" declared the Colonel with conviction."Well, I'm glad he's gone to his reward. It was only some rascal thatcame through here and stole my riding burro--did they care for old Jackat the Works? Well, I shall thank them for it kindly; and anything I cando--but what's the matter, Virginia?"
She had drawn away from him and was gazing about anxiously and Charleyhad slunk guiltily away.
"Why--where's Wiley?" she cried, clutching her father by the arm. "Oh,isn't he here, after all?"
"Wiley?" repeated the Colonel. "Why, who are you talking about? I nevereven heard of such a man."
"Oh, he's dead then; he's lost!" she sobbed, sinking down on the groundin despair. "Oh, I knew it, all the time! But that old Charley----" Shecast a hateful glance at him and the Colonel beckoned sternly.
"What now?" he demanded as Charley sidled near. "Who is this Mr. Wiley?"
"Why--er--Wiley; Wiley Holman, you know. I followed his tracks to theGateway. Ain't he around here somewhere? I found this bottle----" Heheld up the flask that he had given to Wiley, and the Colonel startedback with a cry.
"What, a tall young fellow with leather puttees?"
"Oh, yes, yes!" answered Virginia, suddenly springing to her feet again."We followed him--isn't he here?"
The Colonel turned slowly and glanced at the cave, where Wiley was stillhiding close, and then he cleared his throat.
"Well, kindly explain first why you should be following this gentleman,and----"
"Oh, he's here, then!" sighed Virginia and fell into her father's arms,at which Charley scuttled rapidly away.
"Mr. Holman," spoke up the Colonel, as Wiley did not stir, "may I askyou to come out here and explain?"
There was a rustle inside the cave and at last Wiley came out, stuffinga strip of dried meat into his hip pocket.
"I'll come out, yes," he said, "but, as I'm about to go, I'll leave itto your daughter to explain."
He picked up his canteen and started down to the water-hole, but theColonel called him sternly back.
"My friend," he said, "it is the custom among gentlemen to answer acourteous question. I must ask you then what there is between you and mydaughter, and why she should follow you across Death Valley?"
"There is nothing between us," answered Wiley categorically, "and Idon't know why she followed me--that is, if she really did."
"Well, I did!" sobbed Virginia, burying her face on her father's breast,"but I wish I hadn't now!"
"Huh!" grunted Wiley and stumped off down the trail where he filled hiscanteen at the pool. He was mad, mad all over, and yet he experienced astrange thrill at the thought of Virginia following him. He had left hersmiling and shaking hands with Blount, but a curse had been on themoney, and her conscience had forced her to follow him. It had beeneasy, for her, with a burro to ride on and Death Valley Charley to guideher; but with him it had been different. He had fled from arrest and itwas only by accident that he had won to the water-hole in time. But yet,she had followed him; and now she would apologize and explain, as shehad explained it all once before. Well, since she had come--and sincethe Colonel was watching him--he shouldered his canteen and came back.
"My daughter tells me," began the
Colonel formally, "that you are theson of my old friend, John Holman; and I trust that you will take myhand."
He held out his hand and Wiley blinked as he returned the warm clasp ofhis friend. Ten days of companionship in the midst of that solitude hadknitted their souls together and he loved the old Colonel like a father.
"That's all right," he muttered. "And--say, hunt up the Old Man! Becausehe thinks the world of you, still."
"I will do so," replied the Colonel, "but will you do me a favor? Bygad, sir; I can't let you go. No, you must stay with me, Wiley, if thatis your name; I want to talk with you later, about your father. But now,as a favor, since Virginia has come so far, I will ask you to sit downand listen to her. And--er--Wiley; just a moment!" He beckoned him toone side and spoke low in his ear. "About that woman who betrayed yourtrust--perhaps I'd better not mention her to Virginia?"
Wiley's eyes grew big and then they narrowed. The Colonel thought therewas another woman. How could he, proud soul, even think for a momentthat Virginia herself had betrayed him? No, to his high mind it wasinconceivable that a daughter of his should violate a trust; and therewas Virginia, watching them.
"Very well," replied Wiley, and smiled to himself as he laid down hisgun and canteen. He led the way up the creek to where a gnarled oldcottonwood cast its shadow against the cliff and smoothed out a seatagainst the bank. "Now sit down," he said, "and let's have this overwith before the Colonel gets wise. He's a fine old gentleman and if hisdaughter took after him I wouldn't be dodging the sheriff."
"Well, I came to tell you," began Virginia bravely, "that I'm sorry forwhat I've done. And to show you that I mean it I gave Blount back hisstock."
Wiley gazed at her grimly for a moment and then he curled up his lip."Why not come through," he asked at last, "and acknowledge that he heldit out on you?"
Virginia started and then she smiled wanly.
"No," she said, "it wasn't quite that. And yet--well, he didn't reallygive it to me."
"I knew it!" exploded Wiley, "the doggoned piker! But of course you madea clean-up on your other stock?"
"No, I didn't! I gave that away, too! But Wiley, why won't you listen tome? I didn't intend to do it, but he explained it all so nicely----"
"Didn't I tell you he would?" he raged.
"Yes, but listen; you don't understand. When I went to him first I askedfor Father's stock and--he must have known what was coming. I guess hesaw the bills. Anyway, he told me then that he had always loved myfather, and that he wanted to protect us from you; and so, he said, hewas just holding my Father's stock to keep you from getting it away fromus. And then he called in some friends of his; and oh, they all becameso indignant that I thought I couldn't be wrong! Why, they showed methat you would make millions by the deal, and all at our expense; andthen--I don't know, something came over me. We'd been poor so long, andit would make you so rich; and, like a fool, I went and did it."
"Well, that's all right," said Wiley. "I forgive you, and all that; butdon't let your father know. He's got old-fashioned ideas about keeping atrust and--say, do you know what he thinks? I happened to mention, thefirst night I got in, that a woman had thrown me down; and he just nowtook me aside and told me not to worry because he'd never mention thelady to you. He thinks it was somebody else."
"Oh," breathed Virginia, and then she sat silent while he kicked a holein the dirt and waited. He was willing to concede anything, agree toanything, look pleasant at anything, until the ordeal was over; and thenhe intended to depart. Where he would go was a detail to be consideredlater when he felt the need of something to occupy his mind; right nowhe was only thinking that she looked very pale--and there was a tired,hunted look in her eyes. She had nerves, of course, the same as he had,and the trip across Death Valley had been hard on her; but if shesuffered now, he had suffered also, and he failed to be as sorry as heshould.
"You'll be all right now," he said at last, when it seemed she wouldnever speak up, "and I'm glad you found your father. He'll go back withyou now and take a fall out of Blount and--well, you won't feel so poor,any more."
"Yes, I will," returned Virginia, suddenly rousing up and looking at himwith haggard eyes. "I'll always feel poor, because if I gave you backall I had it wouldn't be a tenth of what you lost."
"Oh, that's all right," grumbled Wiley. "I don't care about the money.Are they hunting me for murder, or what?"
"Oh, no; not for anything!" she answered eagerly. "You'll come back,won't you, Wiley? Mother was watching you through her glasses, and shesays George fired first. They aren't trying to arrest you; all they wantyou to do is to give up and stand a brief trial. And I'll help you,Wiley; oh, I've just got to do something or I'll be miserable all mylife!"
"You're tired now," said Wiley. "It'll look different, pretty soon;and--well, I don't think I'll go in, right now."
"But where will you go?" she entreated piteously. "Oh, Wiley, can't yousee I'm sorry? Why can't you forgive me and let me try to make amends,instead of making both our lives so miserable?"
"I don't know," answered Wiley. "It's just the way I feel. I've gotnothing _against_ you; I just want to get away and forget a fewthings that you've done."
"And then?" she asked, and he smiled enigmatically.
"Well, maybe you'll forget me, too."
"But Father!" she objected as he rose up suddenly and started off downthe creek. "He thinks we're lovers, you know." Wiley stopped and thecold anger in his eyes gave way to a look of doubt. "Why not pretend weare?" she suggested wistfully. "Not really, but just before him. I toldhim we'd quarreled--and he knows I followed after you. Just to-day,Wiley; and then you can go. But if my father should think----"
"Well, all right," he broke in, and as they stepped out into the openshe slipped her hand into his.