CHAPTER XIX
DEADLOCK
Virginia, having changed swiftly to her riding-togs, took up her littleblack emergency kit, which would lend an air of business urgency to hernocturnal ride with Norton, and stepped out into the hall.
"There's a call for you from Las Estrellas," said Struve, appearingfrom the front, whence his voice had come to her mingled with theexcited tones of a Mexican. "Tony Garcia has been hurt; pretty badly,I expect. His brother says that Tony got his hand caught in some kindof machinery he was fooling with late this afternoon and crushed sothat it's all but torn off."
Into the light cast by the hotel porch-lamp Norton, leading Persis,rode around the corner of the building.
"I was just going out," said Virginia. "But I'll go on this casefirst. Mr. Norton is riding with me. Please ask him to wait while Iget my other bag."
In her room again, the lamp lighted on her table, she stood a momentfrowning thoughtfully into vacancy. Then with a quick shake of thehead she snatched up the two other bags which might be needed intreating Tony's hurt and again hastened out. Norton bending from hissaddle took them from her. As Struve relinquished into her gantlettedhands the reins of Persis's bridle she swung lightly up to the mare'sback.
"The poor fellow must be suffering all kinds of torture," she said asNorton reined in with her. "Let's hurry."
He offered no answer as they clattered out of San Juan and turned outacross the level lands toward Las Estrellas. So, as upon another nightwhen speeding upon a similar errand, they rode for a long time insilence. Again they two alone were pushing out into the dark and thevast silence that was broken only by the soft thudding of their ownhorses' hoofs and the creak of saddle leather and jingle of spur andbit chains.
"You wanted to talk with me?" suggested the girl after fifteen minutesof wordless restraint between them.
"Yes," he answered. "But not now. That is, if you will give me afurther chance after you have done what you can for poor old Tony. Youwill hardly need to stay at Las Estrellas all night, I imagine. Whenwe leave you can listen to me. Do you mind?"
"No," she said slowly. "I don't mind. I'd rather it was then. Youand I have a good bit to think about before we do any talking. Haven'twe?"
They fell silent again. The soft beauty of the night over the southerndesert lands . . . and there is no other earthly beauty like it . . .touched the girl's soul now as it had never done before; perhaps,similarly, it disturbed shadows in the man's. She was distressed bythe position in which she found herself, and the night's infinite quietand utter peace was grateful to her. As she left the hotel herthoughts were in chaos; she was caught in a fearsome labyrinth whencethere appeared no escape. Now, though no way out suggested itself,still the stars were shining.
At last the twinkling lights of Las Estrellas, seeming at first fallenstars caught in the mesquite branches, swam into view. Plainly Tony'saccident had stimulated much local interest; among the few stragglinghouses men came and went, while a knot of women, children, andcountless mongrel dogs had congregated just outside of the hut wherethe injured man lay. A brush fire in the street crackled rightmerrily, its sparks dancing skyward.
"You promise me," said Norton as they drew their horses down to a trot,"not to say anything until we can have had time to talk?"
"I promise," she said wearily.
She entered the sufferer's room first, Norton delaying to tie thehorses and lift down the instrument cases from the saddle-strings. Shestopped abruptly just beyond the threshold; the smell of chloroform washeavy upon the air, Tony lay whitefaced upon a table, Caleb Patten withcoat off and sleeves rolled up was bending over him.
"Oh, senorita!" cried a woman, hurrying forward, her hands twistingnervously in her apron. And a torrential outpouring in Spanish greetedthe mystified Virginia.
"I thought that I was wanted here," she said, looking about her at thefour or five grave faces. "Tony's brother came for me."
One of the men shambled forward to explain. "Tony want you," he saidquickly. "Tony ver' bad hurt. Dr. Patten come in Las Estrellas byaccident, he say got to cut off the arm, can't wait too long or Tonydie. He just beginnin' now."
The woman, who, it appeared was Tony's wife and the mother of two ofthe ragged children out by the fire, joined her voice eagerly to theman's. He translated.
"Eloisa say she thank God you come; Tony want you, she want you.Patten charge one hundred dollar an'. . . ." He shrugged eloquently."She say you do for Tony; you do better than Patten."
Virginia's eyes flashed upon Patten. He came a step toward her, hisattitude half belligerent.
"The man has to be operated upon immediately," he said sharply. "Hewas hurt in the afternoon out on the end of the ranch; has been all daygetting in; fainted half a dozen times, I guess. The arm has to comeoff at the elbow."
"Thank you," returned Virginia quietly, going to the table. "I'll takethe case now, Dr. Patten."
"You?" Patten laughed, his eyes jeering. "You operate? Do you thinkthat they want you to cut a skein of silk with a pair of scissors? Cutoff a man's arm . . . how far would you go before you fainted?"
"That'll be about all, Patten," came Norton's voice sternly from thedoor. "This is Dr. Page's case. Clear out."
"Thank you, Mr. Norton," said Virginia quickly. She was already makingan examination of the blood covered arm and hand, and did not lookaround. "And please clear the room, will you? Let Tony's wife stay,that is all. Eloisa."
The woman came forward, her eyes wide and frightened. Virginia smiledat her reassuringly.
"_No muy malo_," she said in the few Spanish words which she couldsummon for the occasion from those she had picked up from the desertpeople. "_Muy bueno manana_. And now get me some warm water . . ._agua caliente_. Mr. Norton, if you will open my instrumentcase . . . no; the other one. And then stand by to help with theanaesthetic if Patten hasn't already given him enough to keep himasleep all night!"
She gave her directions concisely and was obeyed. Norton put the lastof the undesired onlookers out of the door, closed it after them, foundanother lamp and some candles, did all that he could think of to helpand all that was asked of him. Eloisa, having brought the water,withdrew to a corner and kept her fascinated eyes upon Virginia's faceand stubbornly away from her husband's.
Virginia, when she had completed a very thorough examination, turnedtoward Norton, her eyes blazing.
"Patten has no more right to an M.D. after his name than you have," shecried angrily. "Not so much, for he hasn't even any brains! Cut theman's arm off! Why, there is only a simple fracture above the wristwhich won't cause a bit of trouble. The hand is another matter; buteven it isn't half as badly mangled as it looks. . . . The second andthird fingers are terribly crushed; they've got to come off. We mightas well do it now, while he is already under the chloroform. . . .Tell Eloisa just how matters stand and then send her out."
Eloisa, already prepared for the greater operation, gasped hergratitude for the lesser and allowed herself to be gently thrust fromthe room. Then Norton came back to the table, his eyes wonderinglyupon Virginia. He knew that she was capable; he had read that fact thefirst day when he had seen her hands. But it struck him as ratherunusual that a girl, any girl no matter what her training, should takehold as she was doing.
And as she selected her instruments, laid them out upon a bit ofsterilized gauze upon a chair, cleansed her hands and prepared tooperate he began to feel a sense of utter confidence in her. Rapidlyhis own anger rose at the thought of the crime Patten would haveperpetrated.
Tony Garcia, when in due time his consciousness came back to himbringing the attendant dizzy nausea in its wake, looked down at hisside curiously, wondering how it would be to go without an arm. Andwhen his Eloisa told him. . . .
"We are going to sell our cow and the goats to-morrow!" vowed Tonyfaintly. "And give her all the money!"
"_Si, si_, Tony," wept the wife.
Whereupon the small
children, who were teaching the goats to pull awagon, set up a wail of grief and rebellion.
It struck both Virginia and Norton as a shade odd that Patten should bestill in Las Estrellas when they rode out of it long after midnight.They saw him standing in the doorway of the one still lighted buildingof the village as they galloped past. It was the Three Star saloon.Patten's horse was tied in front of it. Since Patten neither drank norplayed at dice or cards here might have been matter to ponder on. Butin neither mind was there place now for any interest other than thatwhich again held them silent and constrained.
Las Estrellas lost behind them, they drew their horses down into arocking trot, then to a slow walk. Virginia rode with her head up, hereyes upon the field of stars. Her face, as Norton kept close to herside, looked very white in the starlight. He would have given much tohave seen her eyes when a little later he began to talk. And she wasconscious of a kindred wish.
"Look yonder," she said. "The late moon is coming up. There will be alittle more light then and. . . . And I want to look at you, RodNorton, while we thresh it out."
The thin curved sliver of silver thrusting up over the edge of theworld in the east, ghostly and pale, added little to the throbbinggleam of the stars; but the waiting for it had put Las Estrellas a milebehind them, had set them alone together out in the heart of thesilences, had given them that last excuse to be had to set back an evilmoment. Virginia, with a sigh, brought her eyes down from the glitterof the wide heavens and sought Norton's.
"I am afraid," she said listlessly, "that there is no way out for us,Rod Norton."
"There is a way!" he began quickly
"There is no way unless you do what I say. If you would only give meyour word to take the stage to-morrow, to go to a competent surgeon, tosubmit to the operation. If you would only give me your word. . . ."
"I give you my word," he said sharply, "that that is just the thingwhich I will never do. Virginia, breathe deep, fill your lungs withthe wonder of the night; realize what it means to live; think what itmeans to die! You say that I am not afraid of death; well, maybe notif it comes in a guise I have grown up to be familiar with. But to lieas I saw Tony Garcia lying just now, powerless, unconscious, withoutwill or knowledge of what was coming to me, and to let a man cut intome . . . I'd rather die, I think, standing upon my two feet andfighting it out with a gun! You would go on and tell me that thechances would be highly in favor of my recovery; and yet you wouldadmit that the danger would be grave."
"Then you are afraid, after all? That is it? That holds you back?"She found it hard to believe that he was telling her his true emotion.
"I am merely measuring the chances," he said steadily. "I am satisfiedwith life as I find it; I do not believe that there is anything wrongwith me; I see at least the possibility of death and nothing to begained by submitting to an operation."
"Then," she said again wearily, "there is no way out."
"But there is! My way, not the one you have thought of. You havestumbled upon a thing which you must forget; that is all. Give me thefree swing to finish Jim Galloway, to complete certain otherundertakings. Promise me that you will do this; in return I willpromise you not to . . . ."
And here he hesitated.
"Not to commit another theft?" She set the matter squarely before him."Can you promise that, Rod Norton? Could you keep the promise were itonce made?"
"Yes."
"No! You could not. You don't understand or you won't understand.You would obey the impulse which would come just as certainly as thesun will rise and set again. So I can neither accept yourpromise . . . nor give you mine."
"You will tell what you have guessed?"
"Rather what I know! Even if you were my own brother. . . ."
"Or your lover?" he demanded, a challenge in his voice.
"Or my lover. For his sake if not for the sake of others."
For a little while he made no answer. Again there was absolute silencebetween him, a troubled silence filled with pain. Then suddenly heleaned close to her, threw out his hand for Persis's rein, jerked bothhorses back to a fretful standstill.
"Can't you see what you force me to do?" he demanded half angrily. "Doyou picture what your denunciation would do for me? Do you think thatI can let you make it?"
His face was so near hers that she could see it clearly in the pallidlight. He could see hers and that it was lifted fearlessly.
"How will you stop me?" she asked quietly.
"I will finish Jim Galloway out of hand," he told her savagely. "Itwill no longer be the representative of the law against the lawbreaker;it will just be Norton and Galloway, both men! I will accomplish theone other matter I have planned. Both will require not over three orfour days. During that time . . . I tell you, Virginia, I have growninto a free man, a man who does what he wants to do, who takes what hewants to take, who is not bound by flimsy shackles of other men'scodes. During those three or four days I shall see that you do notalking!"
Once more, her voice quickened, she asked:
"How will you stop me?"
"We have come to a deadlock; argument does no good. Either I mustyield to you or you to me. There is too much at stake to allow of aman being squeamish. I don't care much for the job, but by high HeavenI am of no mind to watch life run by through the bars of apenitentiary. After all action becomes simplified when a crisis comes;doesn't it? There is just one answer, just one way out. You will comewith me, now. I will put you where you will have no opportunity to doany talking for the few days in which I shall finish what I have todo." His hand on Persis's rein drew the two horses still closertogether. "Give me your promise, Virginia; or come with me!"
Her quick spurt of anger rose, flared, and dwindled away like a littleflame extinguished by a splash of rain; the tears were stinging hereyes almost before the last word. For she felt that here was noRoderick Norton speaking, but rather a bit of bone pressing upon thedelicate machinery which is a man's brain.
"Where would you take me?" she asked faintly.
"To the King's Palace," he answered bitterly. "Where we had oneperfect, happy day, Virginia; where, I had hoped, we would have otherperfect days. Oh, girl, can't you see," and his voice went thrillingthrough her, "can't you see what I have hoped, what I havedreamed. . . ."
"You might still hope," she told him steadily. "You might still dream."
"I will!" His eyes shone at her, his erect form outlined against theblack of the earth and the gleam of the stars was eloquent of mastery."There will come a time when you will see life as I see it. . . . Andnow, for the last time, will you give me your promise, Virginia? It isforced upon you; you will be blameless in giving it. Will you do so?"
She only shook her head, her lips trembling, not trusting hervoice. . . . And then, in a sort of daze, she knew that they hadturned off to the left, that no longer was San Juan ahead of them, thatthey were riding toward the gloomy bulwark of the mountains.