CHAPTER XX
BETTY TALKS FRANKLY
Betty, however, had not been asleep. After seeking her room she hadheard the rapid beat of hoofs, and, looking out of her window, she hadseen Calumet when he had raced from the ranchhouse in search ofTaggart. Still watching at the window, she had seen him returning; sawhim disappear into the timber clump.
Some time later she had observed the Taggarts emerge and run as thoughtheir lives depended on haste. She watched Calumet as he rode by herwindow to take the two horses to the corral, stared at him withfascinated eyes, holding her breath with horror as he walked from theranchhouse to the timber clump with the pick and shovel on hisshoulder; stood at the window with a great fear gripping her until hecame back, still carrying the pick and shovel; watched him as hereleased the Taggart horses, drove them to the bend in the trail, andreturned to the house. His movements had been stealthy, but she heardhim when he came into the house and mounted the stairs. Then she heardhim no more.
But a great dread was upon her. What meant that journey to the timberclump with the pick and shovel, and what had been done there during thehour that he had remained there? The idol she knew, was buried in aclearing in the timber clump; she did not know just where, for she hadlooked at the diagram only once, when Calumet's father had shown it toher. She had a superstitious dread of the idol and would not, underany circumstances, have examined the diagram again. But she did notconnect Calumet's visit to the timber clump with the diagram, for thelatter was concealed in a safe place, under a board in the closet thatled off her room; she had looked at it only once since Calumet hadreturned, and that only hastily, to make sure that it was still there,and she was certain that Calumet had no knowledge of its whereabouts.
Could Calumet have-- She pressed her hands tightly over her breast atthis thought. She did not want to think that! But he had a violenttemper, and there were those men in Lazette, Denver and the other man,whom he had-- She shuddered. That must be the explanation for hisstrange actions. But still she had heard no shot, and there was achance that the diagram--
Tremblingly she made her way to the closet and removed the loose board.A tin box met her eyes, the box in which she had placed the diagram,and she lifted the box out, her fingers shaking as she fumbled at thefastening and raised the lid.
The box was empty.
For a long time she sat there looking at it, anger and resentmentfighting within her for the mastery.
Of course, the idol really belonged to Calumet; she would have given itto him in time, but that thought did not lessen her resentment againsthim. Somehow, though, she was conscious of a feeling of gratefulnessthat his visit to the timber clump had no significance beyond therecovery of the idol, and, despite his offense against her privacy, shebegan after a while to view the matter with greater calm. And thoughshe did not close her eyes during the remainder of the night, lying onher back in bed and wondering how he had discovered the hiding place ofthe diagram, she came downstairs shortly after daylight and proceededcalmly about her duties.
She managed, though, to be near the kitchen door when Calumet camedown, and, without appearing to do so, she watched his face closely ashe prepared himself for breakfast. But without result. If he hadgained possession of the idol his face did not betray him. But onceduring the meal she looked up unexpectedly, to see him looking at herwith amused, speculative eyes. Then she knew he was gloating over her.
With an appearance of grave concern, and not a little well-simulatedexcitement, she approached him during the morning where he was workingat the corral fence. She was determined to discover the truth.
"I have some bad news for you," she said.
"Shucks," he returned, with a grin that almost disarmed her; "you don'tsay!"
"Yes," she continued. "When your father left his other papers with mehe also left a diagram of a place in the timber clump where the idol ishidden. Some time yesterday the diagram was stolen."
"You don't say?" he said.
His voice had not been convincing enough; there had been a note ofmockery in it, and she knew he was guilty of the theft.
She looked at him fairly. "You took it," she accused.
"I didn't take it," he denied, returning her gaze. "But I've got it.What are you goin' to do about it?"
"Nothing," she replied. "But do you think that was a gentleman'saction--to enter my room, to search it--even for something thatbelonged to you?"
"No gentleman took it," he grinned; "therefore it couldn't have beenme. I told you I had it; I didn't take it."
"Who did, then?"
"Do you know Telza?"
"Telza?"
"Toltec," he said; "a Toltec from Yucatan. He got it yesterday--lastnight--while you was gassin' to your friend, Neal Taggart."
She started, recollection filling her eyes. "A Toltec!" she said in anawed voice. "I have heard that they are fanatics where their religionis concerned; your father told me that his--that woman--Ezela--toldhim. She said that the tribe would never give up the search for theidol. He laughed at her; he laughed at me when he told me about it."She drew a deep breath. "And so one of them has come," she said. "Ithought I heard a noise upstairs last night," she added. "It must havebeen then."
"An'," he jeered, "you was so busy about that time that you couldn't goto investigate. That's how you guarded it--how you filled your trust."
She gazed fixedly at him and his gaze dropped. "You are determined tocontinue your insults," she said coldly.
He reddened. "I reckon you deserve them," he said sneeringly."Taggart's makin' a fool of you. I heard him palaverin' to you lastnight. I followed him, but lost him. Then I got into the clearin' inthe timber. I run into a man named Al Sharp, who'd been knifed by theToltec. Him an' the Toltec had been detailed by Taggart to get thediagram. Sharp said Taggart knowed my dad had drawed one. Telza gotit last night while you was talkin' to Taggart. Frame-up. Sharp triedto take it away from Telza, an' Telza knifed him. Sharp's dead. Iburied him last night. Telza dropped the diagram. I got it. I reckonTelza has sloped. Then I met Taggart an' his dad. They reckoned theydidn't like my company overmuch an' they walked home. Didn't even waitto take their horses."
She drew a breath which sounded strangely like relief.
"Well," she said; "it was fortunate that you happened to be there toget the idol."
"Yes," he drawled, with a suspicious grin; "I reckon you feel a wholelot like congratulatin' me."
"I do," she said. "Of course you were not to have the idol just yet,but it is better for you to have it before the time than that theTaggarts should get hold of it."
"Do you know where the idol is hid?" he asked.
She told him no, that she had never consulted the diagram.
"I reckon," he said, looking into her steady eyes, "that you're tellin'the truth. In that case it will be safe where it is, for a while.I'll be lookin' it up when I get hold of the money."
Her chin raised triumphantly. "You will not get that so easily," shesaid. "But," she added, interestedly, "now that you know where theidol is, why don't you get it and convert it into cash?"
He reddened and eyed her with a decidedly crestfallen air. "I ain't somuch stuck on monkeyin' with them religious things," he admitted.
Again a doubt arose in his mind concerning her relations with NealTaggart. The fact that she had not divulged the hiding place of theidol to him was proof that if he had been trying to deceive her he hadnot succeeded. This thought filled him with a sudden elation.
"Lately," he said, "it begins to look as though you was gettin' somesense. You're gettin' reasonable. I reckon you'll be a bang-up girl,give you time."
Her lips curled, but there was a flash of something in her eyes that hecould not analyze. But he was sure that it wasn't anger ordisapproval. Neither was it scorn. It seemed to him that it mighthave been mockery, mingled with satisfaction. Certainly there wasmockery in her voice when she answered him.
"Indeed!"
she said. "I presume I am to take that as a compliment?"
"But you will be a fool if you cotton up to Neal Taggart," hecontinued, paying no attention to her question. "I know men.Taggart's a no good fourflusher, an' no woman can be anything if shetakes up with him."
She looked at him with a dazzling smile. In the smile were thosequalities that he had noticed during his other conversations with herwhen he had accused her of meeting Taggart secretly--mirth, temperedwith doubt. Also, just now there was enjoyment.
"I feel flattered to think that you are taking that much interest inme," she said. "But when I am in need of someone to lay down rules ofconduct for me I shall let you know. At present I feel quite competentto take care of myself. But if you are very much worried, I don't mindtelling you that I have not 'cottoned up' to Neal Taggart."
"What you meetin' him for, then?" he asked suspiciously.
"I have not met Neal Taggart since the day you made him apologize tome," she said slowly.
"Who are you meetin', then?" he demanded.
She looked straight at him. "I cannot answer that," she said.
His lips curled with disbelief, and her cheeks flushed a little.
"Can't you trust anybody?" she said.
"Why," she continued as he kept silent, "don't you think that if I hadintended, as you said once before, to cheat you, to take _anything_that belongs to you, that I could have done so long ago? I had thediagram; I could have kept the idol, the money, the ranch. What couldyou have done; what could you do now? Don't you think it is about timefor you to realize that you are hurting no one but yourself byharboring such black, dismal thoughts. Nobody is trying to cheatyou--except probably the Taggarts. Everybody here is trying their bestto be friendly to you, trying to aid in making those reforms which yourfather mentioned. Dade likes you; Bob loves you. And even mygrandfather said the other day that you are not a bad fellow. You havebeen making progress, more than I expected you to make. But you mustmake more."
The mirth had died out of her eyes; she was deeply in earnest. Calumetcould see that, and the knowledge kept him silent, hushed thehalf-formed sarcastic replies that were on his lips, made hissuspicions seem brutal, preposterous, ridiculous. There was muchfeeling in her voice; he was astonished and awed at the change in her;he had not seen her like this before. Her reserve was gone, thedisdain with it; there was naked sincerity in her glowing eyes, in herwords, in her manner. He watched her, fascinated, as she continued:
"I think you can see now that if I had wanted to be dishonest you couldnot have stopped me. My honesty proven, what must have been my motivein staying here to take your insults, to submit to your boorishness? Iwill tell you; you may believe me or not, as you please. I wasgrateful to your father. I gave him my promise. He wanted me to makea man of you.
"When you first came here, and I saw what a burden I had assumed, I wasafraid. But I saw that you did not intend to take advantage of me;that you weren't like a good many men--brutes who prey on unprotectedwomen; that only your temper was wanton. And instead of fearing you Ibegan to pity you. I saw promise in you; you had manly impulses, butyou hadn't had your chance. I had faith in you. To a certain extentyou have justified that faith. You have shown flashes of goodness ofheart; you have exhibited generous, manly sympathies--to everybody butme. But I do not care [there was a suspicious moisture in her eyes anda queer tightening of the lips that gave the lie to this declaration]how you treat me. I intend to keep my promise to your father, nomatter what you do. But I want to make you understand that I am notthe kind of woman you take me to be--that I am not being made a fool ofby Neal Taggart--or by any man!"
Calumet did not reply; the effect of this passionate defense of herselfon him was deep and poignant, and words would not come to his lips.Truth had spoken to him--he knew it. At a stroke she had subdued him,humbled him. It was as though a light had suddenly been turned on him,showing him the mean, despicable side of him, contrasting it with thelittle good which had come into being--good which had been placedthere, fostered, and cultivated into promise. Then the light had beenas suddenly turned off, leaving him with a gnawing, impotent longing tobe what she wanted him to be. Involuntarily, he took his hat off toher and bowed respectfully. Then he reached a swift hand into an innerpocket of his vest and withdrew it, holding out a paper to her. Shetook it and looked wonderingly at it. It was the diagram of theclearing in the timber clump showing where the idol was buried.
Her face paled, for she knew that his action in restoring the diagramto her was his tribute to her honesty, an evidence of his trust in her,despite his uttered suspicions. Also, it was his surrender.
She looked up, intending to thank him. He was walking away, and didnot look around at her call.