Show su aiwood of N E rt k e y by FRANK H SPEARMAN service copyright by charles charlei scribners son CHAPTER 20 the death in the cards card after supper james mcalpin with tome some ceremony drove Se lwoods team the rangy american bays up to the hotel christie came out on Se lwoods arm bandages and all it was their first ride together and christie was to be driver they drove out on the divide for a few more minutes to themselves nod and then down and around by the river to the camp of the padre they found him before a little campfire camp fire you married my father and mother inathe padre said selwood when he had told his hi own and christies christias Chri sties story we want you to marry us while they talked selwood fed the little fire with the driftwood the indians had gathered the padre told of that other marriage of f the night the storm the flooded river and the pine torches of the indians after leaving the camp christie and selwood drove back bach to the hotel hoping everybody had gone to bed but in this they were doomed to dis appointment in the brightly lighted office a brave company of frontier adventurers closely tuned to selwood Se lwoods s movements were tirelessly tilting sitting I 1 in a suffocating atmosphere around a seriously overheated stove christie was allowed to go upstairs unmolested indeed she was ignored with chivalrous ceremony selwood belwood on the other hand was dragged into the office and held a victim till he could negotiate peace with his retainers and effected his escape in the end only by inviting them all to a wedding at sunrise down own at the river in the camp of the padre in the dawn of a glorious morning they were married perhaps on such a spot as that to which Se lwoods father had brought his big bride to be in the storm so BO many years before after the wedding breakfast attended by all the guests with the padre as a special guest of honor bonor christie persuaded her new husband to go up with her to general ropers room the old man weakened by wounds n and softened by years broke ind and asked his grandson to forgive what had passed it was one of those moments for banishing resentments presentments resent ments end and forgetting for gettins the cruelties cruel ties of pride and nd obstinacy christie wiped the tears from the old mans eyes and he repaid her by throwing a bomb into her unsuspecting camp when he sincerely condrat them both and named as the only favor he would ask that the first boy be named john roper selwood ind and sent to west point for a day or two no trip and no escape from work was possible for selwood belwood lie he was up to ills his neck in work at the barns barnis and the warehouse straightening out the tangle into which the conflagration and the rioting at sleepy cat had thrown the stage and wagon schedules during the day scattered lots of supplies A 4 T in the dawn of a glorious morning they were married began to filter in from medicine bend slid did by nightfall the hotel cook was lile able to promise dr doctor actor carpy a respectable spec r table wedding upper supper as his compliment to the llie bride and groom and to ti a company from which no co loyal friend was excluded at nine in the evening be hind the closely curtained windows of lie u K room ruet guests made DWITY christie flushed with happl had bad stolen from the table or t moment to run up to the generals general 9 with will a alere of wedding cake alieu one of the two wal waitresses tresses corn com ky lr up behind Se lwoods chair c wills in his ear abe fate fat clouded I 1 N V lio ito Is itri it he demanded lu in an im am ihna undertone Is it one of my rien men dont know mr selwood I 1 dont thiril ib nh so I 1 never alv him before tall him blin directed selwood vexed to come around in the morning ive worked about fourteen hours today the waitress appeared perplexed 1 I told him you want to be interrupted she said in nn an earnest whisper but it seemed like lie he was in terrible trouble ile he told me to ask you for gods sake to come out to see him for just it minute selwood muttered a protest where Is he he asked in an aside at the kitchen door the girl thought that Sc Se lwoods keen eyes would have burned her up during the instant before he spoke again tell him he be continued in a low voice to go around to the front door and sit down on the porch with his face to the street understand to go around to the front door and sit down on the porch with his face to the street he repeated and his back to the door the wh waitress itress passed out into the kitchen when she returned she whispered again iles hes gone to the front door mr selwood the talk had all been going on around the table but Pard aloes L balry eyes had not lost sight of the low spoken colloquy amat a mat ter john he demanded suspiciously some stranger outside wants to see me answered selwood rising ill be right back Par daloe was on his feet before selwood had bad taken a step from the table ile he put up his bearpaw bear paw of a hand hold on john he be said definitely pushing back his chair you dont go out alone to see no stranger tonight specially not in your recent shape hold your horses the table rose as ag one man there was a momentary upset and some conflict of claims as to who should accompany selwood without passing on these in words selwood nodded to Par daloe and the discussion cert ceased sed the mule boss followed hl him in in ong strides toward the diaan dining g room door bob scott at the table sat close to the door leading into the dining room from the kitchen the other two men had bad not got out of the room when scott with his habitual smile of apology rose in perfect silence and with incredible celerity slipped out into the kitchen and was out of the back door and halt way around to the front of the hotel in the dark by the time Par daloe had carefully drawn every shade in the hotel office and beckoned to selwood t to 0 come in from the hall he be himself then slipped across the hall into carlys private office and throwing up tho sash of the window that commanded the porch trained his shotgun on the outer gloom selwood his revolver in his left hand threw open the hall door without exposing himself seated on the porch his bis face to the street sat a large loosely built man with his bis bead hidden in a dark pull down cap who are you and what do you want asked selwood inspecting his caller from behind the hall door aej through the crack of the opening you know roe john answered the man hoarse and short in utterance cut but I 1 aint very popular in these parts just now your name id like to give that to you private john im keeping some under cover I 1 something in the cadence of the words told selwood that lie he knew the man A question that followed was only a precaution for lie he felt sure from the cracked and husky tones that the man was big haynes whoever you are youre well covered where you sit remarked selwood with apparent indifference 1 I know it put up your hands stand up and turn around here came tile the next order froni from the hall the man did as he be was told A disappointment awaited Se lwoods confidence in his bis usually keen ear car the pInc pinched ted haggard and unshaven features now turned toward him could not be those of abe lie bluff portly docs auctioneer ti tio neer a hasty glance told him abi this s could not be big haynes the cheeks checks were bruised and swollen the eyes sunken in hollow soch sockets ets and the mans clothing was in ID tatters before selwood sc lwood could speak a voice come came from the darkness and a man came forward 1101 scott Is at the corner of the house said the voice its blk big haynes john continued the indian low voiced hes aloo alone SeI selwood wOOd stepped from behind the door out on tile the porch ile he could hardly credit his senses it was two days since lie had seen 1103 nes but those two days had aged the man ten years what in god a name has blis happened did our men catch you have iou had a light fight selwood asked not the kind you yon merin mean john give 1 me a drink tor for gods sake 8 and od le ie me sit down and tell the story I 1 I 1 aint had a bite to eat since last night they led him into the lie office helped him birn into the washroom arid and scott went to the kitchen for strong coffee big claynes drank four cupfuls defore lie could quit then sitting in front of selwood abo stood with anith his back against the writing table end bcd with Par daloe and the indian listening I 1 he spoke we got away from here yes yesterday terray morning 0 K after you turned back bob starbuck meg rind me and we made time on the medicine bend trail till daylight the going was pretty bad especially on meg her horse picked up a stone and went lame early in the morning and that held us back then we nye figured out nobody would molest her alone on the trail nor the teamsters bother her none about the horse for they all knowel meg so we rode her over to the trail and starbuck rind me made up to meet her at crawling stone creek that night so we are parted haynes shook ills his head there was a game woman john if ever there was one there was a kame game woman john echoed selwood suspicious and angry what do you mean ile he started Is meg dead he thundered at haynes did starbuck kill her he asked in a rage haynes put up his hand in all the wreck of his sorry plight whatever it might be there was something for the first time that commanded respect let me alone john hear bear it all soon enough she was there ahead of us nt at dark walting waiting down by the quicksand crossing we planned to take the trail when the moon come up and ride all night but we was plum tuckered all three of 0 us so starbuck said we would go up the canyon a ways and camp for the night and rest up megs horse all the next day that was today and ride all the next night that was wai tonight when we thought we was up far enough for to be pretty well hid we staked the horses up above where there was a little grass and built a fire d down own on a ledge and had supper r I 1 never knowel no more than a baby that starbuck and meg was former in man an and wife never drempt it after supper they told me their story starbuck said shed saved his life and they were going to head for the panhandle and start over ag again a in we talk long all meg said was she w wanted anted me to know she was star bucks real wife and she like to be called just meg but margaret starbuck Ay anyway way the two of em went to sleep close to the fire I 1 moved off a way I 1 was so blamed done out I 1 just sleep so there I 1 was lying on my back on the rock thinking I 1 land next when I 1 began to hear a tunny funny kind of noise and it kept getting louder in n louder in n funnier and funnier up the canyon I 1 lifted up to loot and there away up the canyon I 1 seen a big w white bite streak stretched clear across ll it right from wall to wall and roaring I 1 set up and called down to starbuck and pointed that white thing I 1 says ile he jumped like he was shot WATER he yells margaret 1 he yells cloudburst 1 quick for your life I 1 grab your saddle haynes II aynes get to the horses up up ile he grabbed their two saddles I 1 grabbed my saddle and we made hard as we vie could up the canyon wall id got magbe ten feet when I 1 heard meg scream shed fell down the water was aas crashing and roaring down on oil us like all hell bell was let loo loose she idled to starbuck to save himself ile he dropped the saddles and picked up meg rind and started climbing with her and the water struck us 1 I was mailie mabe twenty feet higher than starbuck arid and meg libeg if id been forty feet it have helped that water was a hundred feet deep it picked me up like a match and picked them up and picked the horses up I 1 never knew a tiling till III I 1 carne came to on a shelf away down the can canon on I 1 was pounded clean to pieces how I 1 ever blied flied I 1 dont know kno but there I 1 was 1 I looked careful for signs and kept calling starbuck and meg but have no hope much of ever seeing lem cm again till I 1 spied something down at tile the mouth of the canyon nod pretty well out in the creek on a gravel bar first I 1 thought it was a big piece of drift driftwood then I 1 thought it was one of the horses I 1 seen when I 1 got closter it it was starbuck and meg 1 I 1 waded a ways out into the creel creek and nd got pretty near tile the sand bar to see if either of ell ein was allie alfe megs skirt must a caught in a snag on the bar and that held em there when tile the water went down there they were liing on the up of the bar alth their arms taht round ench other and their heads part under anter Star bucks head was clean under water harries wiped ills his the ohp back of 0 his grimy hand 1 I waded hack back ashore and kept or on down the wash till 1111 I 1 got to the main set down there to walt wait for help inside an hour a u couple 0 your wagons come along headon west I 1 auld the boys the story jes az z alicd rhoid heard aicard about tile tho trouble at sleepy cut cat but irit know about it they agreed to help me we lve unloaded most of the hay bay on one wagon and drove the wagon ud u tle creek close as we could to where they lay we waded out and one of the boys took aholt of their feet and the other one and I 1 took their shoulders together so eo we got lem cm out to the ung wagon on the way they lay t in n got em into the wagon so john jobu well liere here we are hollow eyed he said no more selwood after a moments silence spoke to scott 1 I guess everybody out of the kitchen he said get hold of bull and tell him to coole cook some supper for haynes and hunt up a bed for or him lie ile turned back to haynes II aynes where are they john we laid ern em down at the barn in the harness room there want no other place in n I 1 jus plum know what lint to do with ern cm till I 1 seen you it if you dont think its right lie ile hesitated selwood finished the sentence Ws its all right he said rising As he be started toward tile the dining room rard aloe laid a heavy hand on ills his shoulder and he looked down at him with serious eyes bjes john he said solemnly remember what the cards said saturday night fit at Cala calabasas basas we figure out just how it was coming could we but the old deck lie death was in it that night sure enough it selwood stepped into the hall to find christie wide eyed at the open door she caught his hands when I 1 came downstairs they told me you had been called from the table I 1 was frightened and I 1 ran out to see where you were she whispered 1 I heard that terrible story john what shall we do they called carpy and while par daloe told the story to the merryman ers selwood and christie told the doctor ile he vowed with hardened oaths that meg hyde should hive have the best there was wag to be had in sleepy cat and the three started for the barn for christie would not be denied let rue me go john she pleaded im a woman ashes a R woman let me go 0 0 0 0 they lay on a blanket rudely spread on the harness barness room floor still locked in each others arms carpy held a lantern to their faces Sel selwood wooI and christie stood at their side theres Il leros a considerable bruise on do his forehead said carpy speaking after his brief examination when the water struck him I 1 guess it knocked him flat on the rocks well load ern cm into a wagon john well take lern ero up to the hotel to the hotel doc echoed meal pin who with the rest had followed from the hotel and crowded into the room where else roared carpy up to the hotel in n into my office christie knelt at margarets side the men stood by her tears moistened the dark sand strewn hair as she tried to gather it up and knot it a little at margaret hydes neck when she rose from her knees knee she burled buried her cheek on Sc Se lwoods breast at least john were her liala ails words she died where site she would have asked to dle die in his arms |