| Show U UNDER PIK ie as UR 0 george agnew chamberlain by BS george 1391 agnew chamberlain W WW service CHAPTER XIV continued 16 you make a great mistake said dorado pleasantly two mis takes it is not so easy to die as you think also you would be no use to me dead I 1 wish you only kindness and goodness and a long life as the senora pepe dorado he paused we will enjoy la bar ranca aranca together she stared at him over the hall half empty plate set it aside on the cot but retained the three tined steel fork with a single sweeping movement unbelievably swift he leaned forward and struck the murderous weapon from her hand so violent violently ay it went flying out into the night you want things to be ant hein he cried his eyes flash ing good from now on you eat with your fingers like the peones deones you don t sleep in m here where there s plenty of air nol no you sleep inside in the dark no fire no air nothing me I 1 stay here and ten men more all right said joyce a faint light of hope dawning in her eyes can I 1 go now yes now said dorado calm ing himself by a mighty effort perhaps tomorrow when the priest comes you 11 have more sense what good would that do you asked joyce quickly you know as well as I 1 no marriage by a priest is legal in mexico no you know so much eh then you know that for the world the church is everything again he smiled after the religious con summation you won t mind so much the civil ceremony again he called and the same two men came back to carry cot mattress and blankets into the innermost room he followed waving a brand from the fire into a flaming torch and propelling joyce before him he pointed with his chin along the far ther reaches of the drift perhaps you think you can climb out that way try it and I 1 give you for a present to the men who catch you left alone in darkness joyce crept to the cot but not to lie down drag ging a blanket over her shivering shoulders she sat on its edge el bows on knees and her chin cupped in her hands it was no good think ing no good at all but she could listen keep on listening how often had she boasted to herself she was afraid of no man alive she was afraid now fear seemed to melt her bones and set the teeth in her head to chattering another sound came to her ears a single snore and soon after a veritable chorus there was something actually comforting in the harsh dissonance and the longer it continued the more did it soothe her presently she fell sidewise stretched out and tumbled into un consciousness she awoke to the flare of a wax match so it was here she had slept and the terror was upon her hert her throat thick ened and closed tight as she dis berned blackadder s eyes cavern ous and glowing not the end after all she thought drowsily thank god only another dream but his whis per took on form became actual words joyce don t make a sound lis ten do you see this rope roped W wait alt light another match now look I 1 m going to tie the end of it around your waist for safety but the rest will be up to you the second match went out but the whisper kept on take the rope in your hands that s it now follow it walk as quietly as you can test out each step before you put down your foot just follow wherever it leads his hands brushed across hers seized the rope and gave it three sharp pulls good by joyce good by she had answered automatically but now something in the manner of his final whisper troubled her and she frowned but presently was in tent on carrying out his orders to the letter she had gone quite a distance before she noticed there was no slack even her bemused mind knew what that meant some body at the other er d was taking it in suddenly the rope slanted u up p ward so sharply she stumbled and fell to her knees she was up again in a moment and stood quite still wondering if the sound of her fall had been heard apparently not she continued resting more and more weight on the rope as the climb grew steeper several yards of the ascent were behind her when a stone that had seemed firm sank away and went rumbling downward the next instant the roar of a dozen voices reverberated far down far behind her so the very earth seemed to shake then three lonely shots then an answering deafen ing volley now she knew why helm blackadder s good by had lingered so strangely in her ears the rope was lifting her dragging her upward faster than she could place her feet her knee struck here an elbow there and some times her shoulders dug into the damp loam of the disused shaft breath went out of her staved out her hands still clung to 0 t e rope but with a grip like the grasp after death her head drooped between her arms struck and struck again so this not that other was to be the end dirk kneeled beside her joyce for god gods s sake joyce you ve got to speak oh joyce wake up dar ling we ve got to get away you ve got to ridel let up on it advised leonardo sharply can t you see she s passed out get on your horse se nor and take her hurry 1 dirk mounted I 1 in ready what are you waiting for what are you doing you never can tell said leo nardo pausing to knot a tie rein to one of the thorn trees there s a bare chance the senor who went below may crawl out of this hole alive and if he does he s going to find a horse Tob alito Pre give me a hand with the senorita together they lifted joyce and placed ner in dirk s arms sitting on the ridge of the cantle he gave her all the saddle he could and trembled for fear might act badly under the unaccustomed bur den but the horse seemed to know exactly what it I 1 was all about they 0 thrust dirk back when he attempted to follow started Tob alito as guide in the lead dirk next and leonardo armed bringing up the rear A whinny from the tethered range po ny rang out sharply across the des ert air startled Tob alito put spurs to his flea bitten mount dirk found a trot galling but was at ease the minute reached out into the cradle like motion of his swinging canter he shifted joyce so her head lay against his shoulder passed the reins to his right hand and with his left held her knees securely though her coma per aisted he knew she lived by the faint tremor of her breathing and be cause while at first she had seemed rigid and cold now he could feel his own warmth gradually steal ing into her veins but he was troubled about some thing else leonardo he called over his shoulder do you really think there Is a chance blackadder s still alive none senor he did not wish to live why do you say that leonardo rode closer not caring to shout his answer he really died when he came to after wed we d pulled him out at the place of the fallen bridge he spoke and told us all but I 1 could see it was a dead man talking are you loco asked dirk no for I 1 ve seen it happen be fore said leonardo with some men pride takes the place of blood and bone destroy it and they die it was so with him his tongue talked but only to tell us of his shame I 1 could see his heart and eyes were dead he knew he could never return to his ancient path never walk upright except to death so he died god and the virgin rest his soul then why did you leave the horse asked dirk do you ex hect a miracle 7 no said leonardo hesitatingly distressed at being driven into a show of his secret thoughts though in my country miracles have often happened I 1 think I 1 was moved senor in the manner of my ances tors to make a living sacrifice to the memory of a brave man dirk imagined a faint stirring within the burden in his arms something vaguely different from the mere persistence of life he peered down at joyce s face tilted against his right shoulder deK and stud led it in the light of the stars it seemed deathly pale a patch of mooil mere reflection of a far away reflect on her eyes were ased r lies t urh agh half open never stirred he spoke to her joyce you aren t awake are you can you hear me mea just move something your hand or your lips show you hear me there was no answer by sound i or sign nevertheless so strong a feeling of content pervaded him he could not doubt all would yet be well Tob alito knew better than to follow the barranca too closely he made a detour through little used paths known to few but himself the pace slowed from a canter to a walk and dirk glad his compan ions knew no english began to talk joyce I 1 love you whether you can hear me or not doesn doean t matter in the least since anyway be tell ing it to you over and over again I 1 don t know when it began or where it will end and I 1 don t care I 1 in part of you and you of me there s nothing cheeky in what I 1 in saying really there isn t because its it s just something that s happened and can t be helped I 1 love you I 1 belong to you the way your hand belongs you can do anything you like with me except cut me off if you do that you 11 bleed bleed to death abruptly his face leaned lower nearer to hers oh that s non sense he cried how do I 1 know what makes me think you 13 11 bleed how can I 1 keep on believing it if you don t say so soa oh joyce dar ling please speak please tell me how can you be so near my heart and not answer it ita I 1 can feel yours and it s still so still it s almost as if it t beating at all but you can t be dead since I 1 still live my blood is your blood every thing I 1 was everything I 1 m going to be has rushed into this moment with you in my arms because I 1 love you I 1 love you I 1 Tob alito debouched suddenly from the shadowy recesses of an arroyo and came to a halt with dirk beside him leonardo drew level in plain view only a few hundred yards away stood the white mass of la barranca to the right was the towering blot of trees melting into the inky expanse of the lake choked with hyacinths to the left stretched the illimitable prairie marked here and there with the black candelabra and exclamation points of cacti no light showed from the hacienda yet they knew eyes were watching from every angle as they advanced toward the eastern gate it swung open at their approach and they entered promptly it slammed shut behind them luz took command of joyce still inert and thrust dirk back when he attempted to follow adan arnaldo gloomy because poor horsemanship had prevented his joining the res cuing expedition led him to don jorge in his office where he was greeted with the news a courier had come through from mexico city and tossed dispatches for himself and blackadder across the now ispass able barranca dirk opened the long envelope bearing his name with some trepidation and was relieved to find it a personal missive written in the ambassador ambassadors s own hand my dear van he read at last word has reached me through general onelia of your whereabouts for your diligence in following out to the letter the in in a certain cable from the department you are to be corn com mended for assuming I 1 was to be kept in pitch darkness as to your movements thereby robbing me of sleep and turning my hair from gray to white I 1 intend urging your dismissal from the service on the grounds of malfeasance unless you return at once to your regular du ties As you have darkened my days so will I 1 blacken your name and I 1 in no oking if you don t come back on the run it may in terest you to know my contact with general onelia arose from his ass as of the ministry of war our old friend in that post having i been crushed by the final straw of the mysterious disappearance of a battery of howitzers bad news asked adan botic ing dirk s thoughtful expression not particularly said dirk but I 1 guess have to rush back if it Is only to square myself give us your account of the res cue my son said don jorge plead angly we have been very patient forgive me maxie I 1 ve been rude as well as selfish said dirk and plunged into a detailed account of all that had happened As he finished luz came in search of him with the good news her mis tress had awaked and wished to see him for the first time he entered joyce s bedroom it was more cheerful than any other in the house there was an open fire burning gaily and opposite it two high win dows looking out upon a walled gar den between them stood a bed with scrolled back and no footboard its towering tester made it seem a throne but joyce her dark head half buried in pillows looked too small for a queen he sank on his knees and seized her listless hand joyce he whispered didn dian t you hear nothing at all hear what she asked her eyes studying his face feature by fea ture when I 1 was holding bolding you in my arms on he explained you were close to me your heart against my heart my lips were beside your ear oh joyce you couldn coulden t have stayed unconscious all that time you must have heard but what was it you said she insisted looking him full in the eyes I 1 I 1 told you I 1 loved you stam dirk desperately was that alp all no I 1 said a lot of things I 1 think I 1 said some of them over and over again what were they he knelt in silence looking into her grave eyes his hand dropped hers the arm he had thrown across her waist grew lax his head fell forward I 1 don t know he whispered I 1 ve forgotten I 1 can t remember a word so swiftly he never knew how it happened her arms were around his neck and she had drawn hi head down against her breast oh dirk darling of course I 1 heard 1 I 1 heard all you said and a lot more it wasn gasn t only your arms that were around me it was your thoughts I 1 lay in them and dreamed I 1 felt safe and happy glad to be sure I 1 d bleed if ever I 1 cut you off you kissed me once in your way now I 1 kiss you i in n mine I 1 in m kissing you with my heart against your face A dull boom rent the air and trailing it came a weird howl that passed over the house there fol lowed a rending of branches in the outer garden and then a terrific e ex x dirk leaped to his feet and stood transfixed joyce sank back against the pillows wide eyes star ing at him questioningly all the hacienda stirred into life with the hum of a threatened swarm of bees shouts were heard presently pone fuated by the thump of don jorge s approaching staff joyce half rose her shoulders gleaming white but strong above the yoke of her filmy nightdress abruptly she seemed no longer tor toc small to be a queen that was no earthquake she stated it was a gun a cannon TO BE CONTINUED |
