it was the gap where the screen of bush broke off, leaving the barren shoulder overlooking the valley. it was where the hard-beaten, converging cattle-paths hurled themselves over the brink to the wide depths below.
the stillness that prevailed was unbroken by a single night sound. even the insect life seemed wrapped in a deep hush of somnolence. as yet the night scavengers had not emerged from their hidings to bay the silvery radiance of a moonlit night. the deep hush beneath the myriad of eyes of night was as beautiful as it was treacherous, for it only cloaked hot, stirring passions ready in a moment to break out into warring chaos.
crouching low under the shelter of the screening bush three figures huddled closely. they were peering across the wide gulf, searching with eyes that only half read what lay before them in the starlight. their gaze rested upon one definite spot whose shadowy outline was indicated by the outstretched arm of one of the party. it was a deep woodland bluff, leaning, as it seemed, for support against the far wall of the valley's western slope.
after some tense moments the straining eyes beheld the faintest glimmer of artificial light flickering in the depths of its silent heart. so faint was it, at the distance, that, for a while, doubt prevailed. then conviction supervened as each of the watchers recorded his observation and a sigh of certitude made itself heard. the point of light was held by all. it was dwelt upon. it was the verification needed to convey absolute faith in the woman's tale miraculous.
perhaps it was the light in some window of a secret abode. perhaps it was the steady flicker of an unscreened camp-fire. perhaps, even, it was the beam of some lantern carelessly set down and left alight. whatever it was it was certainly of human agency, and human agency in these regions had only one interpretation for the minds of those who were watching from the high eastern wall of the valley.
presently a woman's voice spoke in the hush of suppressed excitement. her tone was full of an eagerness that hurled her words swiftly upon the still night air.
"that's where i marked them down," she whispered. "there--just there. right where that light's shining. somewhere in the heart of that bluff. there was a herd grazing out in front, with three mounted men guarding it. there's no mistake. it's a bee-line right across. and the men who fired up this way came out of those trees. it's steep down these paths. they sort of zigzag their way, but it's a path any horse can make without danger. it just needs care. once in the valley it's a stretch of sweet-grass without a bluff or a break of any sort. there's no slough either. it's just grass. one big flat of sweet-grass."
there was no reply from her companions. they were engrossed with the object of their straining scrutiny. presently the woman went on again.
"this is where my work quits," she said. then she withdrew her gaze and looked up at the dim outline of the big man nearest her. there was just a shade of eagerness in her manner now. "that's lightfoot's camp, mr. mcfarlane," she assured. "i've done all that's needed. you see, i'm a woman, and i don't guess you need anything more from me. shall i stop right here, or--get back to home?"
bob whitstone was watching his wife closely as she addressed herself to the rancher. he noted her tone, her evident anxiety now, and he understood. a curious repulsion surged through him. in the brief two years of his married life no such sensation had ever possessed him. but he recognized it. it was the breaking point. effie no longer held place in his affections. he glanced up at mcfarlane as his deep tones whispered in the silence.
"yes, ma'am, get right back to home. there's no need for you to get mussed up with what's goin' to happen. it's man's work, not a woman's. your husband's got my word. you'll find we aren't forgetful."
then he drew back under cover, and moved away to where, scattered along the path, well sheltered from view, a large party of dismounted horsemen were awaiting his orders.
effie turned to her husband.
"you're coming back with me, bob?" she said, almost pleadingly. "it's a long way to home."
bob's eyes gazed straight into hers. even in the darkness effie felt something of the coldness of his regard.
"are you scared?" he demanded.
effie shook her head.
"there's nothing to be scared at. but you've nothing to do with--the rest of it."
"haven't i?"
"you're not going down there with them?"
there was a curious sharpness in the woman's whispering voice. bob's cold regard remained unwavering.
"i'm leaving nothing to chance. you've got to get your wages. i'm going to see you get them. yes, i'm going--down there."
a sudden fierce passion swept through the woman's heart. hot words in retort surged to her lips. but they remained unuttered. a strong effort of restraint checked them. she turned away coldly, her eyes focussing once more upon the tiny point of light across the hollow.
"guess you must do as you think," she said, with a shrug. and she remained with her back turned upon the man she was destined never to address again.
bob moved away and joined the rest of the vigilantes. they were already in the saddle. dug mcfarlane had given his final orders. in a moment bob surveyed the scene in the dim light. then he turned away to his own horse and sprang into the saddle.
mcfarlane saw him and rode up.
"you coming along?" he enquired curiously.
"sure."
"good boy." then he drew a deep breath. "maybe there'll be an empty saddle or two before we've done. but i don't guess that'll need to worry us any. the man who 'passes in' to-night won't have any kick comin'. it's better that way--with your duty done."
"yes."
the simple monosyllable was strangely expressive, but dug mcfarlane had no understanding of the thought that prompted it. it would have been difficult indeed, even with understanding, to have probed the depths of feeling prompting it. but whitstone was incapable of seeing the broader aspect of anything pertaining to himself. he saw only as his feelings dictated, without logic or reason of any sort. he was of that nature which leans for support upon prejudices absorbed in early youth. principles inculcated through early environment and teaching. he was incapable of testing or questioning their verity. robbed of them he was left floundering. and effie, the woman whom he had married only out of hot, youthful human regard, had so robbed him.
effie drew back. she pressed herself close into the bush as the cavalcade sought the path at the edge of the valley. she watched the burly leader vanish over the brink. then, one by one, twenty-five others passed her in review, and were swallowed up by the depths below. she knew none of them personally, but she knew they were all ranchers and ranchmen of varying degree. she knew that each individual had at some time suffered at the hands of the rustlers. that deep in each heart was the craving for a vengeance which possessed small enough thought of justice in it. these men were vigilantes. they were so called not from any desire to enforce law and order, but purely for their own self-defense, the defending of self-interests.
they impressed her not from any justice of motive, but from the merciless purpose upon which they were bent.
the last to pass over the brink was her husband, a slight figure, almost puny, amongst these hard prairie folk. just for one weak moment she was on the point of raising a protesting voice. just for one moment a womanly softening held her yielding. he was her husband, and memories crowded. but almost as they were born they died. their place was once more taken by the recollection of the life she had been forced to endure for the sake of her first youthful passion. her heart hardened. no impulse had driven her to her present actions. they were the result of a craving she was powerless to resist. her husband must go his way. he must act as he saw fit. for herself she would not forego one tithe of the reward which she believed would help her to that comfort in life for which her soul yearned.
with the passing of the vigilantes she moved clear of the bush. she would see this out. home? she had no desire for her home. the night had no terrors for her. nothing had terror for her, except the failure of these men.
she flung herself upon the ground and lay with wide eyes searching the remoteness of the valley beyond. her impatience had developed into something almost feverish. she wanted a sign. she wanted assurance. but the world seemed so still, so entirely peaceful.
the moments pursued for her a sluggish course. the jeweled sky was an added regret. she desired light, light that she might witness the whole drama she hoped--yes, hoped--would be played out down there in the valley. a sort of dementia had taken possession of her. she had no thought of the blood to be poured out at her bidding. she thought nothing of the strong lives to be given up in sacrifice for her well-being. she thought only of herself, and all that the success of that night's affairs would mean to her.
but the dragging minutes extending upward of half an hour wore her fever down. and slowly depression replaced her more tense emotions. it all seemed so long in happening that failure began to loom, and to become a certainty.
it was too good to hope. ten thousand dollars! the amount bulked in her mind. it grew greater and greater in its significance as delay thrust hope further and further from her thought. again impatience grew, hot, angry impatience, and drove depression out. what were they doing down there? why did they not surround the bluff? there were enough of them. look! the light was still shining. it was the camp. where that light shone the men lay in hiding. well--it was simple. to her mind there was no need for----
the sound of a rifle shot split the air with significant abruptness. the sound banished the last of her half-angry causing. the moment had come. she raised herself up for no other reason than tense drawn suspense.
a second shot. then a rattle of musketry which suggested general conflict. she drew a deep breath. far away in the distance it seemed she heard a sharp cry. it was the final shriek of a human creature in the agony of a mortal wound. then followed the sound of hoarse voices shouting.
for some moments nothing in the scene changed. the speck of light shone out twinkling and gleaming like some evil eye. for the rest--there remained the deep twilight marked by the myriads of summer stars.
but the cries of men, the trampling of speeding hoofs held her. the breathlessness of the whole thing was upon her now, making it impossible to detach her regard from the main features.
the rattle of rifles had become almost incessant. and a few moments later a blaze of light shot up from the far side of the bluff. it grew, licking up the great, sun-dried, resinous pine wood with paralyzing rapidity. another great sheet of flame soared upward further away to the right. then another to the south. a fire trap had been set at the far side of the great bluff, and only the hither side remained open to those seeking shelter within it.
effie's gaze was fascinated beyond her control. the vigilantes had planned their coup deliberately and well. the air she was breathing began to reek with the pungent smell of burning. a light smoke haze began to flood the picture. now she beheld moving figures in the lurid glow which backed the scene. they were horsemen. but whether or not they were the vigilantes she could not be certain. they were racing across the open, and the crack of their rifles mingled with the spluttering crackle of the conflagration beyond.
never for one moment did the woman withdraw her gaze. the spell of it all was almost painful. she knew that life and death were at grips down there in that cauldron of conflict. and though at moments shudders passed through her body, they were neither shudders of weakness nor womanish horror. her only emotion was excitement, and her nerves were ready to respond in physical expression to every vision her eyes communicated to them.
an hour passed thus. the bluff was a furnace, roaring, booming. it lit the valley seemingly from end to end. the night shadows had been swept aside, and the scene lay spread out before her eyes. she saw dismounted riders moving about. she beheld one group; a number of men huddled together, held as though they were prisoners.
at last firing altogether ceased and the straggling horsemen began to reassemble in the vicinity of the chief group. then, as the raging fire ate its way through to the hither side of the bluff, and turned the final barrier into a wall of fire, the whole party moved away down the valley with obvious signs of haste.
effie gazed after them with widening eyes while the hot breath of the conflagration fanned her cheeks. she was wondering, speculating, and slowly the significance of their movements began to take hold of her.
at first she had thought that the movement was inspired by the overpowering heat of the forest fire. she had warned herself of the danger. the grass down there. the flying sparks. but almost in the same breath she realized that there was more, far more in that movement. the grass was far too green in the valley to form any real danger and the bluff was sufficiently isolated. no, there was more in it than the danger of fire.
she shivered, although the night air now possessed something of the temperature of a summer noon. all her excitement had passed. she had even forgotten for the time all that the doings of that night meant to her. she was thinking of the deliberate administration of justice as these men understood it. it was crude, deadly, and full of a painful horror, and now, now, in saner moments, she beheld the dawn of emotions which had come all too late. whither were those men riding? whither? and then? ah--she shuddered, and her shudder was full of realization. for well she knew that the men she had seen grouped were living prisoners. living prisoners. how long would they remain so? what would be their end?
