1 > S r ,;.., am THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES '-' BETH NORVELL Bv MR. PARRISH WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING. A Tale of the Illinois Country. Illustrated by the Kinneys. MY LADY OF THE NORTH. The Love Story of a Gray- Jacket. Illustrated by E. M. Ashe. A SWORD OF THE OLD FRONTIER. A Romance of the Time of Pontiac's Conspiracy. Illustrated by F. C. Yohn. BOB HAMPTON OF PLACER. Illustrated by Arthur I. Keller. BETH NORVELL. A Romance of the West. Illustrated by N. C. Wyeth. Each $1.50 HISTORIC ILLINOIS. The Romance of the Earlier Days. With Map and Fifty Illustrations. Price $2.50 net. THE GREAT PLAINS. The Romance of Western Amer ican Exploration, Warfare, and Settlement, 1527-1870. With numerous illustrations. Price $1.75 net. A. C. MCCLURG & Co., CHICAGO THE WOMAN NEVER CHANGED HER POSTURE, NEVER SEEMED TO REALIZE THE APPROACH OF DAWN ; BUT WINSTON ROUSED UP, LIFTING HIS HEAD TO GAZE WEARILY FORWARD. [Page 316] BETH NORVELL A ROMANCE OF THE WEST BY RANDALL PARRISH AUTHOR OF "WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING," " MY LADY OF THE NORTH," " BOB HAMPTON OF PLACER," ETC. WITH FRONTISPIECE IN COLOR BY N. C. WYETH CHICAGO A. C. McCLURG & CO. 1907 COPYRIGHT A. C. MCCLURG & Co. 1907 Entered at Stationers' Hall, London All Rights Reserved Published September 21, 1907 R. R. DONNELLEY & SONS COMPANY CHICAGO P5 I 3551 CONTENTS 9 18 34 61 76 I A CHANCE MEETING II OUT WITH A ROAD COMPANY III A BREAKING OF ICE IV A NEW DEAL OF THE CARDS V IN OPEN REBELLION VI THE "LITTLE YANKEE" MINE . . . VII A DISMISSAL 92 VIII "HE MEANS FIGHT" 106 IX THE FORCE OF CIRCUMSTANCES .... 122 X A NEW ALLIANCE 134 XI HALF-CONFIDENCES 147 XII THE COVER OF DARKNESS 154 XIII Two WOMEN 165 XIV UNDERGROUND 175 XV THE PROOF OF CRIME 182 XVI A RETURN TO THE DAY 191 XVII A COUNCIL OF WAR 199 XVIII THE CONFESSION 211 XIX THE POINT OF VIEW 224 XX THE GAME OF FOILS 233 XXI UNDER ARREST 241 XXII THE INTERVENTION OF SWANSON . . . 250 XXIII A NEW VOLUNTEER 261 W 1763810 CONTENTS CONTINUE-D CHAPTER XXIV AN AVOWAL OF LOVE . . XXV THE PROOF OF LOVE XXVI BENEATH THE DARKNESS . . XXVII THE SHADOW OF CRIME . . . XXVIII ACROSS THE DESERT TO THE END XXIX THE SUMMIT OF SUCCESS . . . XXX THE MISSION OF A LETTER PAGE 2 7 I 28l 29O 300 3 I2 321 332 [vi] BETH NORVELL BETH NORVELL A TALE OF THE WEST CHAPTER I A CHANCE MEETING THERE were nine altogether in the party regis tering. This number included the manager, who, both on and offthe stage, quite successfully impersonated the villain a rather heavy-jawed, mid dle-aged fellow, of foreign appearance, with coarse, gruff voice; three representatives of the gentler sex; a child of eight, exact species unknown, wrapped up like a mummy ; and four males. Beyond doubt the most notable member of the troupe was the comedian " star," Mr. T. Macready Lane, whose well-known cognomen must even now awaken happy histrionic memories throughout the western circuit. The long night's ride from their previous stand, involving as it did two changes of trains, had proven exceedingly wearisome ; and the young woman in the rather natty blue toque, the collar of her long gray coat turned up in partial concealment of her face, was so utterly fatigued that she refused to wait for a belated breakfast, and insisted upon being at once directed to her room. There was a substantial bolt decorating the inside of the door, but, [9] BETH NORVELL rendered careless by sheer exhaustion of both mind and body, she forgot everything except her desire for immediate rest, dropped her wraps upon the only chair visible, and flung herself, fully dressed, upon the bed. Her cheek had barely pressed the hard pillow before she was sleeping like a tired child. It must have been an hour later when Winston drove in from Flat Rock, shook the powdery snow from off his long fur overcoat, his cheeks still tingling from the sharp wind, and, with fingers yet stiffened by cold, wrote his name carelessly across the lower line of the dilapidated hotel register. " Can you let me have the same room, Tom ? " he questioned familiarly of the man ornamenting the high stool behind the desk. The latter, busy with some figures, nodded carelessly, and the last arrival promptly picked up his valise from the floor and began climbing the stairs, whistling softly. He was a long-limbed, broad-chested young fellow, with clean-shaven face, and a pair of dark-gray eyes that looked straight ahead of him ; and he ran up the somewhat steep steps as though finding such exercise a pleasure. Rounding the upper railing, he stopped abruptly before Number Twenty-seven, flung open the door, took a single step within, and came to a sud den pause, his careless whistling suspended in breath less surprise. With that single glance the complete picture became indelibly photographed upon his mem ory, the narrow, sparsely furnished room with roughly plastered walls; the small, cheap mirror; the faded- green window curtain, torn half in two; the sheet-iron [.o] A CHANCE MEETING wash-stand ; the wooden chair, across which rested the gray coat with the blue toque on top ; and the single cot bed bearing its unconscious occupant. Somehow as he gazed, his earliest conscious emotion was that of sympathy it all appeared so unspeakably pathetic, so homesick, so dismally forlorn and barren. Then that half-upturned face riveted his attention and seemed to awaken a vague, dreamy memory he found himself unable to localize ; it reminded him of some other face he had known, tantalizing from its dim indistinctness. Then this earlier impression slightly faded away, and he merely beheld her alone, a perfect stranger appropriating little by little her few claims to womanly beauty. There was no certain guessing at her age as she lay thus, one hand pressed beneath her cheek, her eyes closed, the long, dark lashes clearly outlined against the white flesh, her bosom rising and falling with the steady breathing of absolute exhaustion. She appeared so extremely tired, discouraged, unhappy, that the young man involuntarily closed his teeth tightly, as though some wrong had been personally done to himself. He marked the dense blackness of her heavy mass of hair ; the perfect clearness of her skin ; the shapeliness of the slender, outstretched figure; the narrow boot, with its high-arched instep, peeping shyly beneath the blue skirt ; the something rarely interest ing, yet which scarcely made for beauty, revealed unconsciously in the upturned face with its rounded chin and parted lips. There was no distinct regularity of features, but there was unquestionably character, such character as BETH NORVELL we recognize vaguely in a sculptured face, lacking that life-like expression which the opened eyes alone are capable of rendering. All this swept across his mind in that instant during which he remained irresolute from surprise. Yet Winston was by nature a gentle man ; almost before he had grasped the full significance of it all he stepped silently backward, and gently closed the door. For an uncertain moment he remained there staring blankly at the wood, that haunt ing memory once again mocking every vain attempt to associate this girl-face with some other he had known before. Finally, leaving valise and overcoat lying in the hall, he retraced his way slowly down the stairs. "Tom," and the young man leaned against the rough counter, his voice grown graver, " there chances to be a woman at present occupying that room you just assigned me." "No! Is that so?" and the clerk swung easily down from his high stool, drawing the register toward him. " Must be one of the troupe, then. Let 's see Num ber Twenty-seven, was n't it ? Twenty-seven oh, yes, here it is. That 's a fact," and his finger slowly traced the line as he spelled out the name, tc< Miss Beth Nor- vell.' Oh, I remember her now black hair, and a long gray coat; best looker among 'em. Manager said she 'd have to be given a room all to herself; but I clean forgot I assigned her to Twenty-seven. Make much of a row ? " The other shook his head, bending down so as to read the name with his own eyes. There was nothing in the least familiar about the sound of it, and he became [n] A CHANCE MEETING faintly conscious of an undefined feeling of disappoint ment. Still, if she was upon the stage, the name quite probably was an assumed one ; the very utterance of it left that impression. He walked over toward the cigar stand and picked out a weed, thinking gravely while he held a flaming match to the tip. Somehow he was not altogether greatly pleased with this information; he should have preferred to discover her to be some one else. He glanced at the clerk through the slight haze of blue smoke, his increasing curiosity finding reluctant utterance. "What troupe is it?" he questioned with seeming carelessness. "'Heart of the World,'" answered Tom with some considerable increase of enthusiasm. "A dandy play, and a blamed good company, they tell me. Got some fine press notices anyhow, an' a carload o' scenery. Played in Denver a whole month ; and it costs a dol lar and a half to buy a decent seat even in this measly town, so you can bet it ain't no slouch of a show. House two-thirds sold out in advance, but I know where I can get you some good seats for just a little extra. Lane is the star. You 've heard of Lane, have n't you? Funniest fellow you ever saw; makes you laugh just to look at him. And this this Miss Norvell, why she 's the leadin' lady, and the travellin' men tell me she 's simply immense. There's one of their show bills hanging over there back of the stove." Winston sauntered across to the indicated red and yellow abomination, and dumbly stood staring at it through the blue rings of his cigar. It represented a CJ] BETH NORVELL most thrilling stage picture, while underneath, and in type scarcely a shade less pronounced than that devoted to the eminent comedian T. Macready Lane, appeared the announcement of the great emotional actress, Miss Beth Norvell, together with several quite flattering Western press notices. The young man read these slowly, wondering why they should particularly interest him, and on a sudden his rather grave face brightened into a smile, a whimsical thought flashing into his mind. " By Jove, why not ? " he muttered, as if arguing the matter out with himself. "The report has gone East, and there is nothing more to be accomplished in Flat Rock for at least a month. This snow will have to melt away before they can hope to put any miners to work, and in the meanwhile I might just as well be laying up experiences on the road as wasting my sub stance in riotous living at Denver. It ought to prove a great lark, and I Ve always had ambition to have a try at something of the kind. Well, here 's my chance ; and besides, I can't help believing that that girl might prove interesting; her face is, anyhow." He walked back to where Tom still hung idly over the cigar case. "Who is running this show outfit?" "That big fellow writing at the table. His name 's Albrecht," suspiciously. " But see here, I tell you there ain't any use of your hittin' him for f comps '; he 's tighter than a drum." " c Comps ' ? Oh, ye of little faith ! " exclaimed Win ston genially. " It is n't ' comps ' I 'm after, Tommy, it's a job." A CHANCE MEETING Albrecht looked up from his writing, scowling some what under his heavily thatched brows, and revealing a coarse face, with little glinting eyes filled with low cunning. At that first glance Winston instinctively disliked the fellow ; yet he put his case in a few brief sentences of explanation, and, as the other listened, the managerial frown slightly relaxed. " Actor ? " he questioned laconically, when the younger man paused, his glance wandering apprecia tively over the sturdy, erect figure. "Well, hardly that; at least, merely in an amateur way," and the applicant laughed lightly. "You see, I imagined you might possibly make use of me in some minor capacity until I learn more about the business. I don't care very much regarding pay, but I desire to get a taste of the life." " Oxactly, mein frient." And the worthy Albrecht became almost briskly cordial in manner. Perhaps here was an " angel " waiting to be plucked in the holy name of art ; at least, he appeared well dressed, looked intellectually promising, and expressed himself as totally indifferent regarding salary. Such visitors were indeed few and far between, and the astute manager sufficiently understood his business to permit his heavy features to relax into a hearty, welcoming smile. "Oxactly, young man. Sit down, und I vill see yoost vat vos pest for us both. You vould be an actor ; you haf the ambition. Ah ! I see it in your eyes, and it gif me great bleasure. But, young man, it vos unfortunate dot I haf not mooch just now to gif you, yet the vay vill open if you only stays mit me. BETH NORVELL Sure; yaw, I, Samuel Albrecht, vill make of you a great actor. I can see dot in your face, und for dot reason I vill now gif you the chance. You begin at the pottom, but not for long; all I vants now vos a utility man some one to take small barts, understudy, und be ready to help out mit der scenery und der trunks. I could not bay moch monies for dot," and he spread his beringed hands deprecatingly, "but it vos only der first step on der ladder of fame. Every day I teach you de great art of de actor. You come with me dot way, mein frient? " " Certainly ; that will be perfectly satisfactory." "Ah," delightedly, "you vos a goot poy, villin' to learn, I see. Next season, who knows, you might be leading man if you vork hardt. I bay you now after one veek's trial, when I know petter vot you are vort, hey?" Winston carelessly nodded his acceptance of these rather indefinite terms, his hands thrust into his pock ets, his gray eyes smiling their appreciation of the situ ation. Albrecht was deliberately looking him over, as he might a horse he had just purchased. "You are kinder slim to look at," he confessed at last, thoughtfully. "Are you bretty strong?" The younger man silently held forth his right arm to the inspection of the other, who fingered the iron rigidity of muscle under the cloth with evident respect. " God of Yacob ! " the manager muttered in uncon cealed surprise, " it is vonderful, and you such a slen der young man to look at. I vos most afraidt you could not do mein vork, but it is all right. You vill eat A CHANCE MEETING mit us at the long table," he waved his hand indefinitely toward the dining-room, "at 12:30, and then I valk mit you over py der Obera House, und show you vat der is to be done mit dot scenery und dem trunks. Mein Gott ! it vos vonderful dot muscles vot you haf got you vould make a great Davy Crockett ven I learns you de business, mein frient." The manager's appreciation of his new acquisition was so clearly evident that Winston felt compelled to notice it. " I am rejoiced you appear so well satisfied," he said, rising to his feet. " Satisfied ! Mein Gott," and the overjoyed Albrecht cordially clasped the hand of his new recruit. "It vos a great season of luck for me, mein frient. Dot Meess Norvell, she makes me mooch monies vile I shows her how to be an actress, oh, it vos yoost beautiful to see her act, und now you comes mit me also, und cares nottings for vot I bay you, und I can see you haf der actor genius. Mein Gott ! it vos too goot to be true." Winston broke away gladly, and drifted back toward the cigar stand, where the mystified Tommy yet stood staring at him. " Well, did you get it? " the latter questioned, grin ning. "Thomas," returned the other loftily. "You can hand me out another cigar, and I will thank you not to be quite so familiar in the future. I am now gen eral utility man with the c Heart of the World ' com pany, and consequently entitled to greater respect." ['7] CHAPTER II OUT WITH A ROAD COMPANY MISS NORVELL failed to appear at the noon meal, though Winston met the other members of the company. He found them genial enough, even somewhat boisterous, with the single exception of Mr. Lane, who maintained a dignified and rather gloomy silence, such as became one of his recognized profes sional standing, after having favored the newcomer with a long, impertinent stare, apparently expressing disap proval. The manager was outwardly in most excellent humor, narrating several stories, at' which all, excepting the reserved comedian, laughed quite heartily. At the conclusion of the repast, Albrecht condescended to purchase his new recruit a cigar, and then walked beside him toward the Opera House, where the necessary in structions in new duties promptly began. If Winston had previously imagined his earlier steps toward his trionic honors were destined to be easy ones, he was very soon undeceived under the guidance of the en thusiastic manager. It proved a strenuous afternoon, yet the young fellow had the right stuff in him to make good, that stubborn pride which never sur renders before difficulties ; he shut his teeth, rolled up his shirt-sleeves, and went earnestly to work. It was a small, cheaply built theatre, having restricted stage space, while a perfect riff-raff of trunks [18] OUT WITH A ROAD COMPANY and detached pieces of canvas scenery littered the wings. At first sight it appeared a confused medley of odds and ends, utterly impossible to bring into any con formity to order, but Albrecht recognized each separate piece of luggage, every detached section of canvas, recalling exactly where it properly belonged during the coming performance. For more than an hour he pranced about the dirty stage, shouting minute direc tions, and giving due emphasis to them by growling German oaths ; while Winston, aided by two local assistants, bore trunks into the various dressing-rooms, hung drop curtains in designated positions, placed set pieces conveniently at hand, and arranged the various required properties where they could not possibly be overlooked during the rush of the evening's perform ance. Thus, little by little, order was evolved from chaos, and the astute manager chuckled happily to him self in quick appreciation of the unusual rapidity with which the newly engaged utility man grasped the situa tion and mastered the confusing details. Assuredly he had discovered a veritable jewel in this fresh recruit. At last, the affairs of principal importance having been attended to, Albrecht left some final instructions, and departed for the hotel, feeling serenely confident that this young man would carry out his orders to the letter. And Winston did. He was of that determined nature which performs thoroughly any work once delib erately undertaken ; and, although the merest idle whim had originally brought him to this position of utility man in the "Heart of the World" company, he was already beginning to experience a slight degree [19] BETH NORVELL of interest in the success of the coming show, and to feel a faint esprit de corps, which commanded his -best efforts. Indeed, his temporary devotion to the prep aration of the stage proved sufficiently strong to obscure partially for the time being all recollection of that first incentive which had suggested his taking such a step the young lady discovered asleep in Number Twenty-seven. The remembrance of her scarcely recurred to him all through the afternoon, yet it finally returned in overwhelming rush when, in the course of his arduous labors, he raised up a small leather trunk and discovered her name painted plainly upon the end of it. The chalk mark designating where it belonged read " Dressing-room No. 2," and, instead of rolling it roughly in that direction, as he had rolled numerous others, the new utility man lifted it carefully upon his shoulder and deposited it gently against the farther wall. He glanced with curiosity about the restricted apartment to which Miss Beth Norvell had been assigned. It appeared the merest hole of a place, narrow and ill-ventilated, the side walls and ceil ing composed of rough lumber, and it was evidently designed to be lit at night by a single gas jet, inclosed within a wire netting. This apartment contained merely a single rude chair, of the kitchen variety, and an exceedingly small mirror cracked across one corner and badly fly-specked. Numerous rusty spikes, in tended to hold articles of discarded clothing, decorated both side walls and the back of the door. It was dismally bare, and above all, it was abominably dirty, the dust lying thick everywhere, the floor apparently OUT WITH A ROAD COMPANY unswept for weeks. With an exclamation of disgust Winston hunted up broom and dust-rag, and gave the gloomy place such a cleansing as it probably had not enjoyed since the house was originally erected. At the end of these arduous labors he looked the scene over critically, the honest perspiration streaming down his face, glancing, with some newly awakened curi osity, into the surrounding dressing-rooms. They were equally filthy and unfit for occupancy, yet he did not feel called upon to invade them with his cleansing broom. By four o'clock everything was in proper position, the stage set in perfect order for the opening act, and Winston returned with his report to the hotel, and to the glowing Albrecht. Miss Norvell joined the company at the supper table, sitting between the manager and Mr. T. Mac- ready Lane, although Winston was quick to observe that she gave slight attention to either, except when addressed directly. She met the others present with all necessary cordiality and good-fellowship, yet there appeared a certain undefined reserve about her manner which led to an immediate hush in the rather free con versation of what Albrecht was pleased to term the " training table," and when the murmur of voices was resumed after her entrance, a somewhat better choice of subjects became immediately noticeable. Without so much as either word or look, the silent influence of the actress was plainly for refinement, while her mere presence at the table gave a new tone to Bohemianism. Winston, swiftly realizing this, began observing the lady with a curiosity which rapidly developed into BETH NORVELL deeper interest. He became more and more attracted by her unique personality, which persistently appealed to his aroused imagination, even while there continued to haunt him a dim tantalizing remembrance he was unable wholly to master. He assuredly had never either seen or heard of this young woman before, yet she constantly reminded him of the past. Her eyes, the peculiar contour of her face, the rather odd trick she had of shaking back the straying tresses of her dark, glossy hair, and, above all, that quick smile with which she greeted any flash of humor, and which produced a fascinating dimple in her cheek, all served to puzzle and stimulate him ; while admiration of her so apparent womanliness began as instantly to replace the vague curiosity he had felt toward her as an actress. She was different from what he had imagined, with abso lutely nothing to suggest the glare and glitter of the footlights. Until this time he had scarcely been con scious that she possessed any special claim to beauty; yet now, her face, illumined by those dark eyes filled with quick intelligence, became most decidedly attrac tive, peculiarly lovable and womanly. Besides, she evidently possessed a rare taste in dress, which met with his masculine approval. Much of this, it is true, he reasoned out later and slowly, for during that first meal only two circumstances impressed him clearly the depth of feeling glowing within those wonderfully revealing eyes, and her complete ignoring of his pres ence. If she recognized any addition to their number, there was not the slightest sign given. Once their eyes met by merest accident ; but hers apparently saw OUT WITH A ROAD COMPANY nothing, and Winston returned to his disagreeable labors at the Opera House, nursing a feeling akin to disappointment. Concealed within the gloomy shadows of the wings, he stood entranced that night watching her depict the character of a wife whose previous happy life had been irretrievably ruined by deceit; and the force, the quiet originality of her depiction, together with its marvellous clearness of detail and its intense realism, held him captive. The plot of the play was ugly, melodramatic, and entirely untrue to nature; against it Winston's cultivated taste instantly revolted; yet this woman interpreted her own part with the rare instinct of a true artist, picturing to the very life the particular character intrusted to her, and holding the house to a breathless realization of what real artistic portrayal meant. In voice, manner, action, in each minute detail of face and figure, she was truly the very woman she represented. It was an art so fine as to make the auditors forget the artist, forget even themselves. Her perfect work manship, clear-cut, rounded, complete, stood forth like a delicate cameo beside the rude buffoonery of T. Mac- ready Lane, the coarse villany of Albrccht, and the stiff mannerisms of the remainder of the cast. They were automatons as compared with a figure instinct with life, animated by intelligence. She seemed to redeem the common clay of the coarse, unnatural story, and give to it some vital excuse for existence; the howls of laughter greeting the cheap wit of the comedian changed to a sudden hush of expectancy at her mere entrance upon the stage, while her slightest word, or action, BETH NORVELL riveted the attention. It was a triumph beyond applause, beyond any mere outward demonstration of approval. Winston felt the spell deeply, his entire body thrill ing to her marvellous delineation of this com mon thing, her uplifting of it out of the vile ruck of its surroundings and giving unto it the abundant life of her own interpretation. Never once did he question the real although untrained genius back of those glowing eyes, that expressive face, those sincere, quiet tones which so touched and swayed the heart. In other days he had seen the stage at its best, and now he recognized in this woman that subtle power which must conquer all things, and eventually "arrive." Early the following morning, tossing uneasily upon a hard cot-bed in the next town listed in their itinerary, he discovered himself totally unable to divorce this memory from his thoughts. She even mingled with his dreams, a rounded, girlish figure, her young face glowing with the emotions dominating her, her dark eyes grave with thoughtfulness, and he awoke, at last, facing another day of servile toil, actually rejoicing to remember that he was part of the " Heart of the World." That which he had first assumed from a mere spirit of play, the veriest freak of boyish adven ture, had suddenly developed into a real impulse to which his heart gave complete surrender. To all outward appearances Miss Beth Norvell remained serenely unconscious regarding either his ad miration or his presence. It was impossible to imagine that in so small a company he could continually pass and repass without attracting notice, yet neither word OUT WITH A ROAD COMPANY nor look passed between them ; no introduction had been accorded, and she merely ignored him, under the natural impression, without doubt, that he was simply an ignorant roustabout of the stage, a wielder of trunks, a manipulator of scenery, in whom she could feel no possible interest. A week passed thus, the troupe displaying their talents to fair business, and constantly penetrating into more remote regions, stop ping at all manner of hotels, travelling in every species of conveyance, and exhibiting their ability, or lack of it, upon every makeshift of a stage. Sometimes this was a bare hall ; again it was an armory, with an occa sional opera house like an oasis in the vast desert to yield them fresh professional courage. Small cities, straggling towns, boisterous mining camps welcomed and speeded them on, until sameness became routine, and names grew meaningless. It was the sort of life to test character thoroughly, and the " Heart of the World" troupe of strollers began very promptly to exhibit its kind. Albrecht, who was making money, retained his coarse good-nature unruffled by the hard ships of travel ; but the majority of the stage people grew morose and fretful, the eminent comedian, glum and unapproachable as a bear; the leading gentleman swearing savagely over every unusual worry, and act ing the boor generally ; the ingenue, snappy and cat like. Miss Norvell alone among them all appeared as at first, reserved, quiet, uncomplaining, forming no intimate friendships, yet performing her nightly work with constantly augmenting power. Winston, ever observing her with increasing interest, imagined that [as] BETH NORVELL the strain of such a life was telling upon her health, exhibiting its baleful effect in the whitening of her cheeks, in those darker shadows forming beneath her eyes, as well as in a shade less of animation in her manner. Yet he saw comparatively little of her, his own work proving sufficiently onerous ; the quick jumps from town to town leaving small opportunity for either rest or reflection. He had been advanced to a small speaking part, but the remainder of his waking hours, while he was attired in working-clothes, was diligently devoted to the strenuous labor of his mus cles. The novelty of the life had long since vanished, the so eagerly expected experience had already become amply sufficient ; again and again, flinging his wearied body upon a cot in some strange room, he had called himself an unmitigated ass, and sworn loudly that he would certainly quit in the morning. Yet the girl held him. He did not completely realize how or why, yet some peculiar, indefinite fascination appeared to bind his destinies to her; he ever desired to see her once again, to be near her, to feel the charm of her work, to listen to the sound of her voice, to experience the thrill of her presence. So strong and compelling became this influence over him that day after day he held on, actually afraid to sever that slight bond of professional companionship. This was most assuredly through no fault of hers. It was at Shelbyville that she first spoke to him, first gave him the earliest intimation that she even so much as recognized his presence in the company. The house that particular night was crowded to the doors, OUT WITH A ROAD COMPANY and she, completing a piece of work which left her cheeks flushed, her slender form trembling from intense emo tion, while the prolonged applause thundered after her from the front, stepped quickly into the gloomy shad ows of the wings, and thus came face to face with Winston. His eyes were glowing with unconcealed appreciation of her art. Perhaps the quick reaction had partially unstrung her nerves, for she spoke with feverish haste at sight of his uprolled sleeves and coarse woollen shirt. " How does it occur that you are always standing directly in my passage whenever I step from the stage ? " she questioned impetuously. " Is there no other place where you can wait to do your work except in my exit?" For a brief moment the surprised man stood hesi tating, hat in hand. " I certainly regret having thus unintentionally of fended you, Miss Norvell," he explained at last, slowly. "Yet, surely, the occasion should bring you pleasure rather than annoyance." "Indeed! Why, pray?" " Because I so greatly enjoy your work. I stood here merely that I might observe the details more care fully." She glanced directly at him with suddenly aroused interest. "You enjoy my work?" she exclaimed, slightly smiling. " How extremely droll ! Yet without doubt you do, precisely as those others, out yonder, with out the slightest conception of what it all means. BETH NORVELL Probably you are equally interested in the delicate art of Mr. T. Macready Lane?" Winston permitted his cool gray eyes to brighten, his firmly set lips slightly to relax. " Lane is the merest buffoon," he replied quietly. "You are an artist. There is no comparison possible, Miss Norvell. The play itself is utterly unworthy of your talent, yet you succeed in dignifying it in a way I can never cease to admire." She stood staring straight at him, her lips parted, apparently so thoroughly startled by these unexpected words as to be left speechless. "Why," she managed to articulate at last, her cheeks flushing, " I supposed you like the others we have had with us just just a common stage hand. You speak with refinement, with meaning." " Have you not lived sufficiently long in the West to discover that men of education are occasionally to be found in rough clothing?" " Oh, yes," doubtfully, her eyes still on his face, "miners, stockmen, engineers, but scarcely in your present employment." " Miss Norvell," and Winston straightened up, "pos sibly I may be employed here for a reason similar to that which has induced you to travel with a troupe of barn-stormers." She shrugged her shoulders, her lips smiling, the seductive dimple showing in her cheeks. "And what was that?" " The ambition of an amateur to attain a foothold upon the professional stage." OUT WITH A ROAD COMPANY "Who told you so?" "Mr. Samuel Albrecht was guilty of the sugges tion." " It was extremely nice of him to discuss my motives thus freely with a stranger. But he told you only a very small portion of the truth. In my case it was rather the imperative necessity of an amateur to earn her own living a deliberate choice between the pro fessional stage and starvation." "Without ambition ? " She hesitated slightly, yet there was a depth of respect slumbering within those gray eyes gazing so directly into her darker ones, together with a strength she felt. "Without very much at first, I fear," she confessed, as though admitting it rather to herself alone, "yet I acknowledge it has since grown upon me, until I have determined to succeed." His eyes brightened, the admiration in them uncon cealed, his lips speaking impulsively. "And what is more, Miss Norvell, you '11 make it." " Do you truly believe so ? " She had already forgotten that the man before her was a mere stage hand, and her cheeks burned eagerly to the undoubted sincerity of his utterance. " No one else has ever said that to me only the audiences have appeared to care and appreciate. Albrecht and all those others have scarcely offered me a word of encouragement." "Albrecht and the others are asses," ejaculated Winston, with sudden indignation. "They imagine they are actors because they prance and bellow on a BETH NORVELL stage, and they sneer at any one who is not in their class. But I can tell you this, Miss Norvell, the manager considers you a treasure ; he said as much to me." She stood before him, the glare of the stage glinting in her hair, her hands clasped, her dark eyes eagerly reading his face as though these unexpected words of appreciation had yielded her renewed courage, like a glass of wine. "Really, is that true? Oh, I am so glad. I thought, perhaps, they were only making fun of me out in front, although I have always tried so hard to do my very best. You have given me a new hope that I may indeed master the art. Was that my cue ? " She stepped quickly backward, listening to the voices droning on the stage, but there remained still a mo ment of liberty, and she glanced uncertainly about at Winston. "Am I to thank you for giving me such immaculate dressing-rooms of late?" she questioned, just a little archly. " I certainly wielded the broom." " It was thoughtful of you," and her clear voice hesitated an instant. "Was was it you, also, who placed those flowers upon my trunk last evening? " He bowed, feeling slightly embarrassed by the swift returning restraint in her manner. "They were most beautiful. Where did you get them ? " " " From Denver ; they were forwarded by express, and I am only too glad if they brought you pleasure." [30] OUT WITH A ROAD COMPANY " Miracle of miracles ! A stage-hand ordering roses from Denver! It must have cost you a week's sal ary." He smiled : "And, alas, the salary has not even been paid." Her eyes were uplifted to his face, yet fell as sud denly, shadowed behind the long lashes. "I thank you very much," she said, her voice trembling, " only please don't do it again ; I would rather not have you." Before he could frame a satisfactory answer to so unexpected a prohibition she had stepped forth upon the stage. This brief interview did not prove as prolific of results as Winston confidently expected. Miss Norvell evidently considered such casual conversation no foun dation for future friendship, and although she greeted him when they again met, much as she acknowl edged acquaintanceship with the others of the troupe, there remained a quiet reserve about her man ner, which effectually barred all thought of possible familiarity. Indeed, that she ever again considered him as in any way differing from the others about her did not once occur to Winston until one evening at Bluffton, when by chance he stood resting behind a piece of set scenery and thus overheard the manager as he halted the young lady on the way to her dress ing room. " Meess Norvell," and Albrecht stood rubbing his hands and smiling genially, " at Gilchrist we are pilled to blay for dwo nights, und der second blay vill be der [31] BETH NORVELL 'Man from der Vest' you know dot bart, Ida Somers ?" "Yes," she acknowledged, "I am perfectly ac quainted with the lines, but who is to play Ralph Wilde?" " Mister Mooney, of course. You tink dot I import some actors venever I change der pill?" She lifted her dark, expressive eyes to his mottled face, slowly gathering up her skirts in one hand. "As you please," she said quietly, "but I shall not play Ida Somers to Mr. Mooney's Ralph Wilde. I told you as much plainly before we left Denver, and it was for that special reason the c Heart of the World ' was substituted. The more I have seen of Mr. Mooney since we took the road, the less I am inclined to yield in this matter." Albrecht laughed coarsely, his face reddening. " Oh, bah ! " he .exclaimed, gruffly derisive. " Ven you begome star then you can have dem tantrums, but not now, not mit me. You blay vat I say, or I send back after some von else. You bedder not get too gay, or you lose your job damn quick. You don't vant Mooney to make lofe to you ? You don't vant him to giss you? hey, vos dot it?" "Yes, that was exactly it." " Ach ! you too nice to be brofessional ; you like to choose your lofer, hey? You forget you earn a livin' so. Vot you got against Mooney ? " Miss Norvell, her cheeks burning indignantly, her eyes already ablaze, did not mince words. " Nothing personally just so long as he keeps away OUT WITH A ROAD COMPANY from me," she retorted clearly. "He is coarse, vulgar, boorish, and I have far too much respect for myself to permit such a man to touch me, either upon the stage or off; to have him kiss me would be an unbearable insult." Albrecht, totally unable to comprehend the feelings of the girl, shifted uneasily beneath the sharp sting of her words, yet continued to smile idiotically. " Dot is very nice, quite melodramatic, but it is not brofessional, Meess," he stammered, striving to get hold of some satisfactory argument. "Vy, Mooney vos not so pad. Meess Lyle she act dot bart mit him all der last season, and make no kick. Dunder ! vat you vant an angel ? You don't hafe to take dot bart mit me, or Meester Lane either, don't it, hey?" Miss Norvell turned contemptuously away from him, her face white with determination. " If you really want to know, there is only one man in all your troupe I would consent to play it with," she declared calmly. "Unddotis?" " I do not even know his name," and she turned her head just sufficiently to look directly into Albrecht's surprised face ; " but I refer to your new utility man ; he, at least, possesses some of the ordinary attributes of a gentleman." The door of her dressing-room opened and closed, leaving the startled manager standing alone without, gasping for breath, his thick lips gurgling impotent curses, while Winston discreetly drew farther back amid the intricacy of scenery.,, [33] CHAPTER III A BREAKING OF ICE THE troupe in its wandering arrived at Bolton Junction early on a Saturday afternoon, and Winston, lingering a moment in the hotel office, overheard Miss Norvell ask the manager if they would probably spend Sunday there; and later question the hotel clerk regarding any Episcopalian services in the town. Their rather late arrival, however, kept him so exceedingly busy with stage preparation for the even ing's performance that this conversation scarcely recurred to mind until his night's labor had been com pleted. Then, in the silence of his room, he resolved upon an immediate change in conditions, or else the deliberate giving up of further experiment altogether. He was long since tired enough of it, yet a strange, almost unaccountable attraction for this young woman continued binding him to disagreeable servitude. He came down stairs the following morning, his plans completely determined upon. He was carefully dressed in the neat business suit which had been packed away ever since his first reckless plunge into theatrical life, and thus attired he felt more like his old self than at any moment since his surrender to the dictation of Albrecht. In some degree self-confidence, audacity, hope, came promptly trooping back with the mere donning of clean linen and semi-fashionable attire, so [34] A BREAKING OF I CE that Winston "utility" became Winston gentleman, in the twinkling of an eye. The other members of the troupe slept late, leaving him to breakfast alone after vainly loitering about the office in the hope that Miss Norvell might by some chance appear and keep him company. It was almost mortifying to behold that young woman enter the deserted dining-room soon after he had returned to the lonely office, but she gave no sign of recognition in passing, and his returned audacity scarcely proved sufficient to permit his encroachment upon her privacy. He could only linger a moment at the desk in an effort to catch a better view of her through the partially open door. Nervously gripping a freshly lighted cigar, Winston finally strolled forth upon the wide porch to await, with all possible patience, the opportunity he felt assured was fast approaching. It was a bright spring morning, sufficiently warm to be comfortable without in the sun shine, although the mountains overshadowing the town were yet white with snow. The one long, strag gling business street appeared sufficiently lonely, being almost deserted, the shops closed. The notable con trast between its present rather dreary desolation and the wild revelry of the previous night seemed really painful, while the solemn prevailing stillness served to weaken Winston's bold resolutions and brought him a strange timidity. He slowly strolled a block or more, peering in at the shop windows, yet never venturing beyond easy view of the hotel steps. Then he saun tered as deliberately back again. Lane and Mooney were now stationed upon the porch, tipping far back [35] BETH NORVELL in their chairs, their feet deposited on the convenient railing, smoking and conversing noisily with a group of travelling men. Winston, to his disgust, caught little scraps of the coarse stories exchanged, constantly greeted by roars of laughter, but drew as far away from their immediate vicinity as possible, leaning idly against the rail. Far down the street, from some unseen steeple, a church bell rang solemnly. Listening, he wondered if she would come alone, and a dread lest she might not set his heart throbbing. Albrecht, looking not unlike a fat hog newly shaven, sauntered out of the open office door, and stared idly about. He spoke a gracious word or two to his rather silent utility man, viewing his well-cut clothing with some apparent misgiving, finally drifting over to join the more congenial group beyond. Winston did not alter his chosen position, but remained with watchful eyes never long straying from off the ladies' entrance, a few steps to his left. All at once that slightly used door opened, and the hot blood leaped through his veins as Miss Norvell stepped forth unaccompanied. She appeared well groomed, looking dainty enough in her blue skirt and jacket, her dark hair crowned by the tasteful blue toque, a prayer-book clasped in one neatly gloved hand. As she turned unconsciously toward the steps, Winston lifted his hat and bowed. With a quick upward glance of surprise the girl recognized him, a sud den flush crimsoning her cheeks, her eyes as instantly dropping before his own. In that sudden revela tion the young man appeared to her an utterly differ ent character from what she had formerly considered [36] A BREA KING OF ICE him ; the miracle of good clothing, of environment, had suddenly placed them upon a level of com panionship. That Winston likewise experienced something of this same exaltation was plainly evident, although his low voice trembled in momentary excite ment. cc I trust you will pardon my presumption," he said, taking the single step necessary to face her, "but I confess having been deliberately waiting here to request the privilege of walking to church beside you." "Beside me? Indeed!" and both lips and eyes smiled unreservedly back at him. "And how did you chance to guess it was my intention to attend? Is it a peculiarity of leading ladies ? " "As to that I cannot safely say, my acquaintance among them being limited." He was acquiring fresh confidence from her cordial manner. " But I chanced to overhear your questioning the clerk last night, and the bold project at once took possession of me. Am I granted such permission ? " Her dark eyes wandered from their early scrutiny of his eager face toward that small group of interested smokers beyond. What she may have beheld there was instantly reflected in a pursing of the lips, a swift decision. " I shall be delighted to have your company," she responded, frankly meeting his eyes, " but longer delay will probably make us late, and I abominate that." As they passed down the steps to the street Winston caught a glimpse of the others. They were all intently gazing after them, while Mooney had even [37] BETH NORVELL risen to his feet and taken a step forward, his cigar still in his mouth. Then the group behind laughed loudly, and the younger man set his teeth, his cheeks flushed from sudden anger. He would have enjoyed dashing back up the steps, and giving those grinning fools a much-needed lesson, but he glanced aside at his com panion, her eyes downcast, seemingly utterly uncon scious of it all, and gripped himself, walking along beside her, erect and silent. They traversed the entire deserted block without speaking, each busied indeed with the intricacies of the board walk. Then Winston sought to break the somewhat embarrassing silence, his first words sounding strangely awkward and constrained. " It was exceedingly kind of you to grant such privilege when we have scarcely even spoken to each other before." She glanced aside at his grave face, a certain coquet tish smile making her appear suddenly girlish. " Possibly if you realized the exact cause of my complete surrender you might not feel so highly flattered," she confessed, shyly. " Indeed ! You mean why it was you consented so easily ? Then possibly you had better inform me at once, for I acknowledge feeling quite conceited already at my good fortune." She lifted her eyes questioningly, and for the first time he looked directly down into their unveiled depths. " Then I must certainly make confession. What if I should say, I merely accepted the lesser of two evils in short, preferred your company to something I con sidered infinitely worse ? " A BREAKING OF ICE "You refer to Mooney? " She nodded, her dark eyes once again shadowed, her cheeks slightly reddening beneath his steady gaze. "Why, I can scarcely feel greatly flattered at being made the subject of such a choice," Winston acknowl edged with frankness. " The very conception brings me uneasiness in fear lest my presence may be unwel come now that Mooney has been safely left behind. Yet it yields me boldness also, and I venture to ask Miss Norvell what she would probably have answered had Mooney been left out of the problem entirely?" His low voice held a ring of subdued earnestness, and the face of the woman as quickly lost its smile. An instant she hesitated, her eyes downcast, fully con scious he was anxiously searching her countenance for the exact truth. "And under those conditions," she responded finally, " Miss Norvell would very probably have answered yes, only it would have been more deliberately uttered, so that you should have realized the measure of her con descension." Winston laughed. "You can have small conception of the intense relief brought me by that last acknowledgment," he explained cheerfully. " Now I can proceed with clear conscience, and shall undoubtedly discover in the church service an expression of my own devout gratitude." It was an exceedingly alert exchange of words which followed, each cautiously exploring a way in toward a somewhat clearer understanding of the other, yet both becoming quickly convinced that they were not [39] BETH NORVELL destined for ordinary acquaintanceship. To Miss Nor- vell, observing her companion with shy intentness, this erect, manly young fellow with weather-browned, clean-shaven face and straightforward gray eyes seemed to evince a power of manhood she instinc tively felt and surrendered to. His were those ele ments which a woman of her nature must instantly recognize physical strength and daring, combined with mental acuteness and indomitable will. The fact of his present unworthy employment added the fas cination of mystery to his personality, for it was mani festly impossible to conceive that such a position was all this man had ever achieved in life. And Win ston wondered likewise at her, his earlier admiration for the bright attractiveness of face and manner broad ening as her mind gave quick response to his leader ship. Here was certainly no commonplace girl of the stage, but an educated, refined, ambitious woman, matured beyond her years by experience, her conversa tion exhibiting a wide range of reading, interwoven with a deep knowledge of life. They spoke of ideals, of art, of literature, of secret aspirations, not often mentioned during such early acquaintanceship, break ing through that mental barrenness which had charac terized their living for weeks, this common ground of thought and interest awakening between them an im mediate friendliness and frankness of utterance delight fully inspiring. Almost without comprehending how it occurred they were chatting together as if the eventful years had already cemented their acquaint anceship. With cheeks flushed and eyes glowing [40] A BREAKING OF ICE from aroused interest Miss Norvell increased in beauty, and Winston observed her with an admiration finding frank expression in his eyes. It was a small chapel they sought, situated at the extreme end of the straggling street, and the worship pers were few. At the conclusion of the ritual and the sermon the two walked forth together in silence, their former brief intimacy a mere memory, neither realiz ing exactly how best to resume a conversation which had been interrupted by so solemn a service. It was Miss Norvell who first broke the constraint. "You are evidently well acquainted with the intrica cies of the prayer-book," she remarked quietly, " and hence I venture to inquire if you are a churchman." " Not exactly, although my parents are both com municants, and I was brought up to attend service." " Do you know, I am glad even of that? It is a lit tle additional bond between us merely to feel interested in the same church, isn't it? I was guilty during the service of thinking how exceedingly odd it was for us to talk so frankly together this morning when we knew absolutely nothing regarding each other. Would you mind if I questioned you just a little about yourself?" He glanced aside at her in surprise, all remembrance that they were comparatively strangers having deserted his mind. It seemed as if he had already known her for years. " Most certainly question; I had no thought of any concealment." She smiled at the confusedness of his words, yet her BETH NORVELL own speech was not entirely devoid of embarrass ment. " It does appear almost ridiculous, but really I do not even know your name." " It is Ned Winston." "Not so bad a name, is it? Do you mind telling me where your home is?" " I can scarcely lay claim to such a spot, but my people live in Denver." She drew a quick, surprised breath, her eyes instantly falling, as though she would thus conceal some half-revealed secret. For a moment her parted lips trembled to a question she hesitated asking. t% I I believe I have heard of a Colonel Daniel Winston in Denver, a banker," she said finally. " I I have seen his house." " He is my father." Her shadowing lashes suddenly uplifted, the color once again flooding the clear cheeks. "You are, indeed, becoming a man of mystery," she exclaimed, affecting lightness of utterance. " The son of Colonel Winston acting as utility for a troupe of strollers ! I can hardly believe it true." Winston laughed. " It does seem a trifle out of proportion," he con fessed, " and I can hardly hope to make the situation entirely clear. Yet I am not quite so unworthy my birthright as would appear upon the surface. I will trust you with a portion of the story, at least, Miss Norvell. I am by profession a mining engineer, and was sent out, perhaps a month ago, by a syndicate of A BREAKING OF ICE Denver capitalists to examine thoroughly into some promising claims at Shell Rock. I made the exami nation, completed and mailed my report, and finally, on the same day your company arrived there, I discovered myself in Rockton with nothing to do and several weeks of idleness on my hands. I had intended returning to Denver, but a sudden temptation seized me to try the experiment of a week or two in wandering theatrical life. I had always experienced a boyish hankering that way, and have a natural inclination to seek new experiences. Albrecht was favorably impressed with my application, and hence I easily attained to my pres ent exalted position upon the stage." "And is that all?" " Not entirely ; there yet remains a chapter to be added to my confessions. I acknowledge I should have long since tired of the life and its hardships, had you not chanced to be a member of the same troupe." " I, Mr. Winston ? Why, we have scarcely spoken to each other until to-day." " True, yet I strenuously deny that it was my fault. In fact, I had firmly determined that we should, and, having been a spoiled child, I am accustomed to having my own way. This, perhaps, will partially account for my persistency and for my still being with c The Heart of the World.' But all else aside, I early became intensely interested in your work, Miss Nor- vell, instantly recognizing that it required no common degree of ability to yield dignity to so poor a thing as the play in which you appear. I began to study you and your interpretation ; I never tired of noting [43] BETH NORVELL those little fresh touches with which you constantly succeeded in embellishing your lines and your c busi ness/ and how clearly your conception of character stood forth against the crude background of those mummers surrounding you. It was a lesson in inter pretative art to me, and one I never wearied of. Then, I must likewise confess, something else occurred." He paused, looking aside at her, and, as though she felt the spell of that glance, she turned her own face, brightened by such earnest words of praise, their eyes meeting frankly, "What?" "The most natural thing in the world my admi ration for the art only served to increase my early interest in the artist. I began to feel drawn not only to the actress but to the woman," he said gravely. Her eyes never faltered, but faced him bravely, although her cheeks were like poppies, and her lips faltered in their first bold effort at swift reply. " I am so glad you honestly think that about my work ; so glad you told me. It is a wonderful encour agement, for I know now that you speak as a man of education, of cultivation. You must have seen the highest class of stage interpretation, and, I am sure, have no desire merely to flatter me. You do not speak as if you meant an idle compliment. Oh, you can scarcely conceive how much success will spell to me, Mr. Winston," her voice growing deeper from increasing earnestness, her eyes more thoughtful; " but I am going to tell you a portion of my life-story in order that you may partially comprehend. This is my first professional [44] A BREAKING OF ICE engagement ; but I was no stage-struck girl when I first applied for the position. Rather, the thought was most repugnant to me. My earlier life had been passed under conditions which held me quite aloof from anything of the kind. While I always enjoyed interpreting character as a relaxation, and even achieved, while at school in the East, a rather enviable reputation as an amateur, I nevertheless had a distinct prejudice against the professional stage, even while intensely admiring its higher exponents. My turning to it for a livelihood was a grim necessity, my first week on the road a continual horror. I abhorred the play, the making of a nightly spectacle of myself, the rudeness and freedom of the audiences, the coarse, common place people with whom I was constantly compelled to consort. You know them, and can therefore realize to some extent what daily association with them must necessarily mean to one of my early training and familiarity with quieter social customs. But my posi tion in the troupe afforded me certain privileges of isolation, while my necessities compelled me to perse vere. As a result, the dormant art-spirit within appar ently came to life ; ambition began to usurp the place of indifference; I became more and more disgusted with mediocrity, and began an earnest struggle toward higher achievements. I had little to guide me other than my own natural instincts, yet I persevered. I insisted on living my own life while off the stage, and, to kill unhappy thought, I devoted all my spare moments to hard study. Almost to my surprise, the very effort brought with it happiness. I began to [45] BETH NO R VELL forget the past and its crudities, to blot out the present with its dull, unpleasant realities, and to live for the future. My ideals, at first but vague dreams, took form and substance. I determined to succeed, to master my art, to develop whatever of talent I might possess to its highest possibility, to become an actress worthy of the name. This developing ideal has already made me a new woman it has given me something to live for, to strive toward." She came to a sudden pause, perceiving in the frank gray eyes scanning her animated face a look which caused her own to droop. Then her lips set in firmer resolution, and she continued as though in utter indifference to his presence. "You may not comprehend all this, but I do. It was the turning-point in my life. And I began right where I was. I endeavored to make the utmost possible out of that miserable melodramatic part which had been assigned to me. I elected to play it quietly, with an intensity to be felt and not heard, the very opposite from the interpretation given by Miss Lyle last season, and I felt assured my efforts were appreciated by the audiences. It encouraged me to discover them so responsive ; but Albrecht, Lane, and Mooney merely laughed and winked at each other, and thus hurt me cruelly, although I had little respect for their criticisms. Still, they were professional actors of experience, and I was not yet certain that my judgment might not be wrong. Miss Head, the ingenue, a girl of sweet disposition but little education, praised my efforts warmly, but otherwise your evident [46] A BREAKING OF ICE appreciation is my only real reward. I spoke to you that evening in the wings not so much to scold you for being in the way, as from a hungry, despairing hope that you might speak some word of encourage ment. I was not disappointed, and I have felt stronger ever since." " I should never have suspected any such purpose. We have never so much as exchanged speech since, until to-day, and then I forced it." She shook her head, a vagrant tress of her black hair loosening. "You must be a very young and inexperienced man to expect to comprehend all that any woman feels merely by what she says or does." "No," smilingly, "I have advanced beyond that stage of development, although the mystery of some womanly natures may always remain beyond me. But can I ask you a somewhat personal question, also?" " Most assuredly, yet I expressly reserve the privi lege of refusing a direct reply." "Is Beth Norvell your real, or merely your stage name?" "Why do you ask ? That is a secret which, I believe, an actress is privileged to keep inviolate." " For one particular reason because I cannot escape a vague impression that somewhere we have met before." She did not respond immediately, her gloved fingers perceptibly tightening about the prayer-book, her eyes carefully avoiding his own. " You are mistaken in that, for we have never met," she said slowly, and with emphasis. " Moreover, Beth [47] BETH NORVELL Norvell is my stage name, but in part it is my true name also." Suddenly she paused and glanced aside at him. " I have spoken with unusual frankness to you this morning, Mr. Winston. Most people, I imagine, find me diffident and uncommunicative perhaps I appear according to my varying moods. But I have been lonely, and in some way you have inspired my confidence and unlocked my life. I believe you to be a man worthy of trust, and because I thus believe I am now going to request you not to ask me any more. My past life has not been so bright that I enjoy dwelling upon it. I have chosen rather to forget it entirely, and live merely for the future." They were standing before the door of the ladies' entrance to the hotel by this time, and the young man lifted his hat gravely. "Your wish shall certainly be respected," he said with courtesy, " yet that does not necessarily mean that our friendship is to end here." Her face became transfigured by a sudden smile, and she impulsively extended her hand. " Assuredly not, if you can withstand my vagaries. I have never made friends easily, and am the greater sur prised atmy unceremonious frankness with you. Yet that only makes it harder to yield up a friendship when once formed. Do you intend, then, to remain with the com pany? I have no choice, but you have the whole world." "Yet, my intense devotion to the art of the Thespian holds me captive." Their eyes met smilingly, and the next instant the door closed quietly between them. [48] A BREAKING OF ICE Winston turned aside and entered the gloomy hotel office, feeling mentally unsettled, undetermined in regard to his future conduct. Miss Norvell had proven frankly intimate, delightfully cordial, yet overshadowing it all there remained unquestionably a certain constraint about both words and actions which continued to per plex and tantalize. She had something in her past life to conceal ; she did not even pretend to deceive him in this regard, but rather held him off with deliberate coolness. The very manner in which this had been accomplished merely served to stimulate his eagerness to penetrate the mystery of her reserve, and caused him to consider her henceforth as altogether differing from other girls. She had become a problem, an enigma, which he would try to solve ; and her peculiar nature, baffling, changeable, full of puzzling moods, served to fascinate his imagination, to invite his dreaming. A strange thrill swept him when he caught a fleeting glimpse of white skirt and well-turned ankle as she ran swiftly up the steep staircase, yet, almost at the same instant, he returned to earth with a sudden shock, facing Mooney, when the latter turned slowly away from the window and sneeringly confronted him. The mottled face was unpleasantly twisted, a half- smoked cigar tilted between his lips. An instant the half-angry eyes of the two men met. "Must have made a conquest, from all appearances," ventured the leading man with a knowing wink. "Not so damned hard to catch on with, is she, when the right man tries it?" There was a swift, passionate blow, a crash among [49] BETH NORVE LL the overturned chairs, and Mooney, dazed and trem bling, gazed up from the floor at the rigid, erect figure towering threateningly above him, with squared shoul ders and clenched fists. " Utter another word like that, you cur," said Win ston, sternly, "and I '11 break your head. Don't you dare doubt that I '11 keep my word." For a breathless moment he stood there, glowering down at the shrinking wretch on the floor. Then, his face, still set and white with passion, he turned con temptuously away. Mooney, cursing cowardly behind his teeth, watched him ascend the stairs, but the younger man never so much as glanced below. [50] CHAPTER IV A NEW DEAL OF THE CARDS FOR the two performances following there occurred an enforced shift of actors, owing to Mr. Mooney 's being somewhat indisposed ; and Winston, aided by considerable prompting from the others, succeeded in getting through his lines, conscious of much good- natured guying out in front, and not altogether insen sible to Miss Norvell's efforts not to appear amused. This experience left him in no pleasanter frame of mind, while a wish to throw over the whole thing returned with renewed temptation. Why not? What was he continuing to make such a fool of himself for, anyhow? He was assuredly old enough to be done with chasing after will-o'-the-wisps ; and besides, there was his constant liability to meet some old acquaint ance who would blow the whole confounded story through the Denver clubs. The thought of the prob able sarcasm of his fellows made him wince. More over, he was himself ashamed of his actions. This actress was nothing to him ; he thoroughly convinced himself of that important fact at least twenty times a day. She was a delightful companion, bright, witty, full of captivating character, attractively winsome, to be sure, yet it was manifestly impossible for him ever to consider her in any more serious way. This became sufficiently clear to his reasoning, yet, at the same time, [50 BETH NORVELL he could never quite break free. She seldom appeared to him twice the same proving as changeable as the winds, her very nature seeming to vary with a sudden ness which never permitted his complete escape from her fascinations, but left him to surmise how she would greet him next. Frank or distant, filled with unre strained gayety or dignified by womanly reserve, smiling or grave, the changeable vagaries of Miss Norvell were utterly beyond his guessing, while back of all these outward manifestations of tantalizing per sonality, there continually lurked a depth of hidden womanhood, which as constantly baffled his efforts at fathoming. It piqued him to realize his own help lessness, to comprehend how completely this girl turned aside his most daring efforts at uncovering the true trend of her heart and life. She refused to be read, wearing her various masks with a cool defiance which apparently bespoke utter indifference to his good opinion, while constantly affording him brief, tantalizing glimpses into half-revealed depths that caused his heart to throb with anticipation never entirely realized. It did not once occur to his mind that such artifices might be directed as much toward herself as him ; he lacked the conceit which could have convinced him that they merely marked a secret struggle for mastery, a desperate effort to crush an inclination to surrender before the temptation of the moment. It was a battle for deliverance being fought silently behind a mask of smiles, an exchange of sparkling commonplace ; yet ever beneath this surface play she was breathing a [5*] A NEW DEAL OF THE CARDS fervent prayer that he would go away of his own voli tion and leave her free. Far more clearly than he, the woman recognized the utter impossibility of any serious purpose between them, and she fought his advances with every weapon in her armory, her very soul trem bling behind the happy smiling of her lips. It was bravely attempted, and yet those dull weapons of defence served merely to increase his interest, to awaken his passion, and thus bind him more strongly to her. Safe once again from general observation, he returned to the obscurity of the wings and to the routine handling of trunks and scenery, feeling totally unable to permit her to pass entirely out of his life. Within her own room she dampened her pillow with tears of regret and remorse, yet finally she sank to sleep strangely happy because he lingered. It was the way of a woman; it was no less the way of a man. It was thus that the " Heart of the World " players came to fulfil their engagement at San Juan upon a Saturday night. This was the liveliest camp in all that mountain region, a frantic, feverish, mushroom city of tents and shacks, sprawling frame business blocks, and a few ugly brick abominations, perched above the golden rocks of the Vila Valley, bounded on one side by the towering cliffs, on the other by the pitiless desert. In those days San Juan recognized no material distinction between midnight and noon day. All was glitter, glow, life, excitement along the streets ; the gloomy overhanging mountains were pour ing untold wealth into her lap, while vice and crime, ostentation and lawlessness, held high carnival along the BETH NORVELL crowded, straggling byways. The exultant residents existed to-day in utter carelessness of the morrow, their one dominant thought gold, their sole acknowledged purpose those carnal pleasures to be purchased with it. Everything was primitive, the animal yet in full control, the drinking, laughing, fighting animal, filled with passion and blood-lust, worshipping bodily strength, and governed by the ideals of a frontier society wherein the real law hung dangling at the hip. Saloons, gam bling halls, dance halls, and brothels flaunted them selves shamelessly upon every hand; the streets exhibited one continual riot, while all higher life was seemingly rendered inactive by inordinate grasping after wealth, and reckless squandering of it on appetite and vice ; over all, as if blazoned across the blue sky, appeared the ever-recurring motto of careless humanity, " Eat, drink, and be merry, for to-morrow ye die." Hardly a week before a short railroad spur had been con structed up the narrow, rock-guarded valley from Bol- ton Junction, eighteen miles to the northward, and over those uneven rails the "Heart of the World" troupe of adventurous strollers arrived at San Juan, to find lodgment in that ramshackle pile of boards known locally as the " Occidental Hotel." The San Juan Opera House, better known as the Gayety, was in truth merely an adjunct to the Poodle- Dog Saloon, the side-doors from the main floor open ing directly into the inviting bar-room, while those in the gallery afforded an equally easy egress into the spacious gambling apartments directly above. It was a monstrous ugly building, constructed entirely [54] A NEW DEAL OF THE CARDS of wood most hastily prepared ; the stage was utilized both night and day for continuous variety entertain ments of the kind naturally demanded by the motley gathering. These, however, were occasionally sus pended to make room for some adventurous travelling company to appear in the legitimate drama, but at the close of every evening performance the main floor was promptly cleared, the rows of chairs pushed hastily back from the centre, and the space thus vacated util ized for a general dance, which invariably continued until dawn. When the drop-curtain slowly rose that Saturday evening fully three thousand people crowded the hall, eager for any fresh excitement; and ready enough either to taunt or applaud a performer, as the whim moved them. Bearded miners conspicuous in red shirts ; cattlemen wearing wide sombreros and hairy "chaps"; swarthy Mexicans lazily purring the insepa rable cigarette ; gamblers attired in immaculate linen, together with numerous women gaudy of cheek and attire, composed a frontier audience full of possibilities. The result might easily prove good or evil, accord ing to the prevailing temper, but fortunately the " Heart of the World " quickly caught the men's fancy, the laughter ringing loud in appreciation of Mr. Lane's ardent buffoonery, while the motley crowd sat in sur prised silence evincing respect, as Miss Norvell drove home to their minds the lesson of a woman's sorrow and struggle against temptation. It was well worth while looking out across the oil-lamp footlights upon those hard-faced, bearded men, those [55] BETH NORVELL gaudily attired women, thus held and controlled by perfectly depicted emotion, the vast audience so silent that the click of the wheel, the rattle of ivory chips in the rooms beyond, became plainly audible. There was inspiration in it likewise, and never before did Beth Norvell more clearly exhibit her native power, her spark of real genius. Winston found little to do in his department that night, either on or off the stage, as the company expected to spend Sunday in the place. Consequently, he was only slightly behind the other members of the troupe in attaining the hotel at the conclusion of the evening's performance. Indeed, he was earlier than many, for most of the male members had promptly adjourned to the convenient bar-room, with whatsoever small sums of money they could wring from out the reluctant palm of Albrecht. Winston chanced to pause for a moment at the cigar stand to exchange a pleasant good-night word with the seemingly genial clerk. "You one of the actors?" questioned the latter, exhibiting some slight interest. The young man nodded indifferently, not feeling unduly proud of the distinction. "Sorry I couldn't have been there," the other went on cordially. "The boys tell me you gave 'em a mighty fine show, but I 'm here to bet that some of your people wish they 'd steered clear of San Juan." "How's that?" "Why, that fat fellow what 's his name? oh, yes, Albrecht the sheriff was in here hunting him with A NEW DEAL OF THE CARDS some papers he had to serve, and it would have made you laugh just to see that duck climb out when I met him yonder on the street a few minutes ago, and gave him the highball. Guest of the house, you know, and we did n't want him pinched in here ; besides, we under stood he carried the scads for the rest of your bunch, and we naturally wanted our share. The sheriff's out tryin' to find him now ; but Lord ! the fellow 's safe enough out of the county by this time, if he skipped the way I advised him he 'd better. There was an extra ore train goin' down to Bolton to-night, and he just had time to catch it on the run." The dramatic situation slowly dawned on Winston while the clerk was speaking. "Do you mean to tell me Albrecht has actually skipped out?" he questioned, anxiously. "Did he leave any money?" "Sure; he paid your folks' board till Monday. You bet I looked after that." "Board till Monday!" and Winston totally forgot himself. "That is n't salary, man; there is something infernally dirty about this whole deal. Why, he took in over three thousand dollars to-night, and he's got all of that, and at least a week's receipts besides the infernal cur! Was he alone?" "Tall fellow with clipped black moustache, and bald head." "Lane; I expected as much; they're birds of a feather. When can they get out of the Junction?" "Well, the first train scheduled goes east at four o'clock, but it 's generally late." [57] BETH NORVELL Winston walked twice across the floor, alternately swearing and thinking. "Is there any way I could get there before that time?" he questioned, finally, his square jaw setting firm. "Well, I reckon you might, by goin' hossback across the old trail, but you 'd need to have a guide in the dark, and you 'd find it a hell of a hard ride." The young engineer stood a moment staring out of the window into the night. The street was well illumined by the numerous saloon lights, and he could perceive scattering flakes of snow in the air, blown about by the gusty wind. He no longer felt the slight est doubt regarding Albrecht's desertion, and a wave of indignation swept over him. He did not greatly care himself regarding the small amount of money due for his services, but it was a dirty, contemptible trick, and he resented being so easily made the victim of such a scheme. Suddenly he wondered how this unexpected occurrence might affect the others. With one of them alone in mind he strode back to the counter, his teeth clinched savagely. "What is the number of Miss Norvell's room?" "Fifty-four first door to the right of the stairs." He took the steep flight of steps at a run, caught a glimpse of dimly reflected light shining through the closed transom, and rapped sharply. There was a hurried movement within, and her voice spoke. "What is wanted?" "I am Mr. Winston, and I must speak with you at once." [58] A NEW DEAL OF THE CARDS His tone was sufficiently low and earnest to make her realize instantly some grave emergency. Without hesitation the door was held open, and she stood before him in the faint light of the single lamp, wearing a fleecy white wrapper, her dark hair partially disar ranged, her eyes seeking his own in bewilderment. "What is it?" "Are you aware that both Albrecht and Lane have skipped out?" "Why, no," her cheeks suddenly paling, her fingers clasping the edge of the door. "Do you mean they have deserted us here to to take care of ourselves?" He nodded. "Yes, that 's about it. What I came to ask was, does that fellow owe you any money?" For an instant she hesitated, as if in lingering dis trust of his exact purpose, her lips parted, her face still plainly picturing the shock of discovery. " What difference can that possibly make now ? Why do you require to know? " " Because I half believe you have been left penni less. Albrecht has not even spoken about any pay to me since I joined the company; and when I learned he had deliberately left us stalled here, my first thought was of your unpleasant situation if my suspicions proved true." " If they were, what is there you can do ? " "The hotel clerk says it is possible to reach the Junction on horseback before any trains leave there on the main line. I propose to make him disgorge, but I must know first exactly how things stand. Have you any money ? " [59] BETH NORVELL She stood gazing at him, her anger, shame, all for gotten in the fascination of Winston's determined face. For the first time she thoroughly comprehended the cool, compelling power of this man, and it mastered her completely. She felt no longer the slightest doubt of what he purposed doing, and her woman heart swelled responsively to his masculine strength. "I I haven't got a dollar," she confessed simply, her lashes drooping over her lowered eyes. "What does that fellow owe you?" " Two hundred and sixty dollars ; he has merely dribbled out what little I have been actually compelled to ask for." A moment he remained standing there, breathing hard. Once she ventured to glance up inquiringly, only to catch his stern eyes, and as instantly lower her own. "All right, Miss Norvell," he said finally, the words seeming fairly to explode from between his lips. " I understand the situation now, and you are to remain here until I come back. I '11 get your money, don't fear, if I have to trail him clear to Denver, but I '11 take what little the miserable thief owes me out of his hide." The next moment he was down below in the office rapidly preparing for action, and Miss Norvell, leaning far out across the banister, listened to his quick, nervous words of instruction with an odd thrill of pride that left her cheeks crimson. [60] CHAPTER V IN OPEN REBELLION H TT WUS about the durndest fight as ever I see," explained Bill Hicks confidentially to a group of his cronies in the bar-room of the Poodle-Dog, while he tossed down a glass of red liquor, and shook the powdered snowflakes from his bearskin coat. " He wus a sorter slim, long-legged chap, thet young actor feller I showed the trail down ter Bolton ter, an' he scurcely spoke a word all durin' thet whol' blame ride. Search me, gents, if I c 'd git either head er tail outer jist whut he wus up to, only thet he proposed ter knock ther block off some feller if he had the good luck ter ketch 'im. Somehow, I reckoned he 'd be mighty likely ter perform the job, the way his jaw set an' his eyes flared. Leastwise, I didn't possess no rip-roarin' ambition fer ter be thet other feller. Still, I did n't suppose he was no whirlwind." Bill mechanically held out his drained glass, and, warming up somewhat, flung his discarded overcoat across a vacant bench, his eyes beginning to glow with reawakened enthusiasm. " But, by gory, he wus ! He wus simply chain lightnin', thet kid, an' the way he handed out his dukes wus a sight fer sore eyes. I got onto the facts sorter slow like, neither of us bein' much on the converse, but afore we hed reached Bolton I managed to savvy [6:] BETH NORVELL the most of it. It seems thet feller Albrecht the big, cock-eyed cuss who played Damon, ye recollect, gents vvus the boss of the show. He wus the Grand Moke, an' held the spuds. Well, he an' thet one they call Lane jumped the ore train last night, carryin' with 'em 'bout all the specie they'd been corrallin' fer a week past, and started hot-foot fer Denver, intendin' ter leave all them other actor people in the soup. This yere lad hed got onter the racket somehow, an' say, he wus plumb mad ; he wus too damn mad ter talk, an' when they git thet fur gone it's 'bout time fer the innocent spectator ter move back outen range. So he lassoed me down at Gary's barn fer ter show him the ol' trail, an' we had one hell of a night's ride of it. But, gents, I would n't o' missed bein' thar fer a heap. It was a great scrap, let me tell you. We never see hide ner hair of thet Albrecht or his partner till jist afore the main-line train pulled in goin' north. The choo-choo wus mighty nigh two hours late, so it wus fair daylight by then, an' we got a good sight o' them two fellers a-leggin' it toward the station from out the crick bottom, whar they 'd been layin' low. They wus both husky-lookin' bucks, an' I was sufficient interested by then ter offer ter sorter hold one of 'em while the kid polished off the other. But Lord! that wan't his style, no how, and he just politely told me ter go plumb ter hell, an' then waltzed out alone with out nary a gun in his fist. He wus purty white round the lips, but I reckon it wus only mad, fur thar wus n't nothin' weak about his voice, an' the way he lambasted thet thief wus a caution ter snakes. Say, I Ve heerd [61] IN OPEN REBELLION some considerable ornate language in my time, but thet kid had a cinch on the dictionary all right, an' he read them two ducks the riot act good an' plenty. Thet long-legged Lane, he did n't have no sand, an' hung back and did n't say much, but the other feller tried every sneakin' trick a thief knows, only he bucked up agin a stone wall every time. Thet young feller just simply slathered him ; he called him every name I ever heerd, an' some considerable others, an' finally, when the train was a-pullin' in, the cuss unlimbered his wad, an' began peelin' off the tens an' twenties till I thought the whole show wus over fer sure. But Lord! I didn't know thet kid no more did thet Albrecht." Hicks wet his lips with his tongue, pausing, after the manner of a good raconteur ', to gaze calmly about upon the faces of his auditors. " I could n't see jist how much the feller disgorged, but he wus almighty reluctant an' nifty about it ; an' then I heerd him say, sneerin'-like, f Now, damn yer, how much more do you want?' An', gents, what do yer think thet actor kid did ? Cop ther whole blame pile? Not on yer whiskers, he didn't. He jist shoved them scads what hed been given him careless- like down inter his coat pocket, an' faced Mister Manager. c Not a dirty penny, Albrecht,' he said, sorter soft-like ; f I 'm a-goin' to take whut yer owe me out of yer right now.' An,' by gory, gents, he sure did. I can't say as how I see much o' the fracas, 'ceptin' the dust, but when thet long-legged Lane jerked out a pearl-handled pop-gun I jist naturally [63] BETH NORVELL rapped him over the knuckles with my ' 45,' an' then tossed him over inter the bunch. Say, thet beat any three-ringed circus ever I see. The kid he pounded Albrecht's head on the platform, occasionally interestin' Lane by kickin' him in the stomick, while I jist waltzed 'round promiscous-like without seein' no special occa sion to take holt anywhar. I reckon they 'd a been thar yit, if the train hands had n't pried 'em apart, an' loaded the remains onter a keer. An' then thet actor kid he stood thar lookin' fust at me, an' then after them keers. f Hicks,' he panted, c did I git fifty dol lars' worth ? ' * I rather reckon ye did,' I said, thought fully, f en maybe it mought be a hundred.' An' then he laughed, an' brushed the dust off his clothes. *A11 right, then,' says he; f let's eat.' An' I never see no nicer feller after he got thet load offen his mind." Winston, totally unconscious that he had thus achieved an enviable reputation in certain rather exclu sive social circles of San Juan, proceeded straight to the hotel, pausing merely a moment in the wash-room to make himself a trifle more presentable, tramped up the stairs, and rapped briskly at Miss Norvell's door. He was still flushed with victory, while the natural confidence felt in her appreciation of his efforts yielded him a sense of exhilaration not easily concealed. The door was promptly opened, and, with her first glance, she read the success of his mission pictured within his face. As instantly her eyes smiled, and her hand was extended in the cordiality of welcome. " I can perceive without a word being spoken that you discoveredy our man," she exclaimed,"and I am so glad ! " [64] IN OPEN REBELLION " Yes," he returned, stepping past, and emptying his pockets on the white coverlet of the bed. " There is the money." She glanced at the pile doubtfully. "What money? " "Why, yours, of course. The money you told me Albrecht owed you." She turned, somewhat embarrassed, her eyes upon his surprised face. " Do you mean that was all you got ? " she questioned finally. " Did he send nothing for the others ? Did n't you know he was equally in debt to every member of the company ? " With these words the entire situation dawned upon him for the first time. He had been thinking only about Miss Norvell, and had permitted the rascally manager to escape with the greater portion of his stolen goods. The realization of how easily he had been tricked an gered him, his face darkening. She read the truth as quickly, and, before he found speech in explanation, had swept the little pile of loose bills into her lap. "Wait here a moment, please," she exclaimed quickly; "I shall be right back." He remained as bidden, wondering dimly as to her purpose, yet her brief absence yielded but little oppor tunity for thought. He met her at the door with an indignantly suspicious question: "What have you been doing? Surely, you have n't given all that money away? " The girl smiled, a gleam of defiance visible in the uplifted eyes. [65] BETH NORVELL "Every cent of it. Why, what else could I do? They actually have nothing, and must get back to Denver or starve." For an instant he completely lost his self-control. "Why did n't you tell me first?" he asked sharply. " Did you suppose I collected my own money, and could therefore meet your expenses ? " He never forgot the expression which swept instantly into her face the quick indignation that leaped from the depths of those dark eyes. " I was not aware I had ever requested any help from Mr. Winston," she returned clearly, her slight form held erect. "Your following after Albrecht was entirely voluntary, but I naturally presumed the money you brought back belonged to me. You said it did, and hence I supposed it could be disposed of at my own discretion." "You have exhibited none." "That would seem to depend entirely upon the point of view. Until I request your aid, however, your criticism is not desired." Both voice and manner were so cold that they were equivalent to dismissal, but Winston hesitated, already beginning to regret the bitter harshness of his speech. Beneath his steady gaze her cheeks flamed hotly. "We have been friends," he began more humbly. "Would you mind telling me something regarding your plans? Just now I feel unable to offer you either aid or advice." Her face perceptibly brightened, as if this new mood quickly appealed' to her. [66] IN OPEN REBELLION "That sounds ever so much better," she admitted, glancing up into his face. " I have never enjoyed being scolded, as though I were a child who had done wrong. Besides, I am quite convinced in this case I have done precisely right. I think you would admit it also if you only had patience to hear my story. I know exactly what I intend doing, or I should never have given all that money away. I have an engage ment." "An engagement? Where? Is there another troupe playing here ? " She shrugged her shoulders, her hands clasped. " No, not in the sense you mean ; not the legitimate. I am going to appear at the Gayety." Winston stood grasping the back of the chair, star ing straight at her, his body motionless. For an instant he was conscious of a sudden revulsion of feel ing, a vague distrust of her true character, a doubt of the real nature of this perverse personality. Such a resolution on her part shocked him with its reckless ness. Either she did not in the least appreciate what such action meant, or else she woefully lacked in moral judgment. Slowly those shadowed dark eyes were uplifted to his face, as if his very silence had awakened alarm. Yet she merely smiled at the gravity of his look, shaking her dark hair in coquet tish disdain. " Again you apparently disapprove," she said with pretence of carelessness. " How easily I succeed in shocking you to-day! Really, a stranger might imag ine I was under particular obligations to ask your [67] BETH NORVELL permission for the mere privilege of living. We have known each other by sight for all of two weeks, and yet your face already speaks of dictation. Evidently you do not like the Gayety." "No; do you?" " I ? " she replied doubtfully, with a slight movement of the body more expressive than words. "There are times when necessity, rather than taste, must control the choice. But truly, since you ask the question, I do not like the Gayety. It is far too noisy, too dirty, too gaudy, and too decidedly primitive. But then, beggars may not always be choosers, you know. I am no bright, scintillating c star'; I am not even a mining engineer possessing a bank account in Denver; I am merely an unknown professional actress, temporarily stranded, and the good angel of the Gayety offers me twenty dollars a week. That is my answer." The young man flushed to the roots of his fair hair, his teeth meeting firmly. " There is no f good angel ' of the Gayety the very atmosphere of that place would soil an angel's wing," he exclaimed hotly. " Besides, you are not driven by neces sity to any such choice. There is another way out. As you gently suggested, I am a mining engineer possessing a bank account at Denver. I will most gladly draw a sight draft to-morrow, and pay your expenses back to that city, if you will only accept my offer. Is this fair ? " "Perfectly so; yet supposing I refuse?" "And deliberately choose the Gayety instead?" "Yes, and deliberately choose the Gayety instead what then ? " [68] IN OPEN REBELLION She asked the momentous question calmly enough, her mouth rigid, her eyes challenging him to speak the whole truth. He moistened his dry lips, realizing that he was being forced into an apparently brutal bluntness he had sincerely hoped to avoid. "Then," he replied, with quiet impressiveness, "I fear such deliberate action would forfeit my respect." She went instantly white before the blow of these unexpected words, her fingers clasping the door, her eyes as full of physical pain as if he had struck her with clinched hand. "Forfeit your respect!" she echoed, the slender figure quivering, the voice tremulous. "Rather should I forever forfeit my own, were I to accept your proffer of money." Her form straightened, a slight tinge of color rising to the cheeks. "You totally mistake my character. I have never been accustomed to listening to such words, Mr. Winston, nor do I now believe I merit them. I choose to earn my own living, and I retain my own self-respect, even although while doing this I am unfortunate enough to forfeit yours." "But, Miss Norvell, do you realize what the Gayety is?" "Not being deprived of all my natural powers of observation, I most certainly believe I do we were there together last evening." She puzzled, confused him, outwardly appearing to trifle with those matters which seemed to his mind most gravely serious. Yet, his was a dogged resolution that would not easily confess defeat. "Miss Norvell," he began firmly, and in the depth [69] BETH NOR VELL of his earnestness he touched her hand where it yet clung to the door, "I may, indeed, be presuming upon an exceedingly brief friendship, but my sole excuse must be the very serious interest I feel in you, especially in your undoubted ability and future as an actress. It is always a great misfortune for any man to repose trust and confidence in the character of a woman, and then suddenly awaken to discover himself deceived. Under these circumstances I should be unworthy of friendship did I fail in plain speaking. To me, your reckless acceptance of this chance engagement at the Gayety seems inexpressibly degrading; it is a lowering of every ideal with which my imagination has heretofore invested your character. I am not puritan ical, but I confess having held you to a higher plane than others of my acquaintance, and I find it hard to realize my evident mistake. Yet, surely, you cannot fully comprehend what it is you are choosing. I was with you last night, true, but I considered it no honor to appear upon that stage, even with the 'Heart of the World,' and it hurt me even then to behold you in the midst of such surroundings. But deliberately to take part in the regular variety bill is a vastly more serious matter. It is almost a total surrender to evil, and involves a daily and nightly association with vice which cannot but prove most repugnant to true woman hood. Surely, you do not know the true nature of this place?" "Then tell it to me." "I will, and without any mincing of words. The Gayety is a mere adjunct to the Poodle-Dog saloon [70] IN OPEN REBELLION and the gambling hell up-stairs. They are so closely connected that on the stage last evening I could easily hear the click of ivory chips and the clatter of drink ing glasses. One man owns and controls the entire outfit, and employs for his variety stage any kind of talent which will please the vicious class to which he caters. All questioning as to morality is thoroughly eliminated. Did you comprehend this?" The young girl bowed slightly, her face as grave as his own, and again colorless, the whiteness of her cheeks a marked contrast to her dark hair. "I understood those conditions fully." "And yet consented to appear there?" She shook back her slightly disarranged hair, and looked him directly in the eyes, every line of her face stamped with resolve. "Mr. Winston, in the first place, I deny your slight est right to question me in this manner, or to pass moral judgment upon my motives. I chance to pos sess a conscience of my own, and your presumption is almost insulting. While you were absent in pursuit of Albrecht, the manager of the Gayety, having chanced to learn the straits we were in, called upon me here with his proposal. It appeared an honorable one, and the offer was made in a gentlemanly man ner. However, I did not accept at the time, for the plain reason that I had no desire whatever to appear upon that stage, and in the midst of that unpleasant environment. I decided to await your return, and learn whether such a personal sacrifice of pride would be necessary. Now, I believe I recognize my duty, [71] BETH NORVELL and am not afraid to perform it, even in the face of your displeasure. I am going to deliver the parting scene from the 'Heart of the World,' and I do not imagine my auditors will be any the worse for hearing it. I certainly regret that the Gayety is an adjunct to a saloon; I should greatly prefer not to appear there, but, unfortunately, it is the only place offering me work. I may be compelled to sink a certain false pride in order to accept, but I shall certainly not sacri fice one iota of my womanhood. You had no cause even to intimate such a thing." " Possibly not ; yet had you been my sister I should have said the same." " Undoubtedly, for you view this matter 'entirely from the standpoint of the polite world, from the out look of social respectability, where self rules every action with the question, 'What will others say?' So should I two years ago, but conditions have somewhat changed my views. Professional necessity can never afford to be quite so punctilious, cannot always choose the nature of its environments : the nurse must care for the injured, however disagreeable the task; the newspaper woman must cover her assignment, although it takes her amid filth; and the actress must thor oughly assume her character, in spite of earlier preju dices. The woman who deliberately chooses this life must, sooner or later, adjust herself to its unpleasant requirements; and if her womanhood remain true, the shallow criticism of others cannot greatly harm her. I had three alternatives in this case I could selfishly accept my handful of money, go to Denver, and leave [7*] IN OPEN REBELLION these other helpless people here to suffer; I could accept assistance from you, a comparative stranger ; or I could aid them and earn my own way by assuming an unpleasant task. I chose the last, and my sense of right upholds me." Winston watched her earnestly as she spoke, his gray eyes brightening with unconscious appreciation, his face gradually losing its harshness of disapproval. A spirit of independence always made quick appeal to his favor, and this girl's outspoken defiance of his good opinion set his heart throbbing. Back of her outward quietness of demeanor there was an untamed spirit flashing into life. "We may never exactly agree as to this question of proprieties," he acknowledged slowly. "Yet I can partially comprehend your position as viewed profes sionally. Am I, then, to understand that your future is definitely decided upon ? You really purpose dedi cating your life to dramatic art? " She hesitated, her quickly lowered eyes betraying a moment of embarrassment. "Yes," she answered finally. "I am beginning to find myself, to believe in myself." "You expect to find complete satisfaction in this way?" "Complete? Oh, no; one never does that, you know, unless, possibly, the ideals are very low; but more than I can hope to find elsewhere. Even now I am certainly happier in the work than I have been for years." She looked up at him quickly, her eyes pleading. " It is not the glitter, the sham, the [73] BETH NORVELL applause," she hastened to explain, fc but the real work itself, that attracts and rewards me the hidden labor of fitly interpreting character the hard, secret study after details. This has become a positive passion, an inspiration. I may never become the perfected artist of which I sometimes dream, yet it must be that I have within me a glimmering of that art. I feel it, and cannot remain false to it." " Possibly love may enter to change your plans," he ventured to suggest, influenced by the constantly changing expression of her face. She flushed to the roots of her hair, yet her lips laughed lightly. " I imagine such an unexpected occurrence would merely serve to strengthen them," she replied quickly. " I cannot conceive of any love so supremely selfish as to retard the development of a worthy ideal. But really, there is small need yet of discussing such a possibility." She stood aside as he made a movement toward the open door, yet, when he had stepped forth into the hall, she halted him with a sudden question : " Do you intend returning at once to Denver? " " No, I shall remain here." She said nothing, but he clearly read a further unasked question in her face. " I remain here, Miss Norvell, while you do. I shall be among your audiences at the Gayety. I do not altogether agree that your choice has been a cor rect one, but I do sincerely believe in you, in your motives, and, whether you desire it or not, I propose [74] IN OPEN REBELLION to constitute myself your special guardian. There is likely to be trouble at the Gayety, if any drunken fool becomes too gay." With flushed cheeks she watched him go slowly down the stairway, and there were tears glistening within those dark eyes as she drew back into the room and locked the door. A moment she remained looking at her reflected face in the little mirror, her fingers clinched as if in pain. " Oh, why does n't he go away without my having to tell him?" she cried, unconsciously aloud. "I I thought he surely would, this time." [75] CHAPTER VI THE "LITTLE YANKEE" MINE A WIDE out-jutting wall of rock, uneven and precipitous, completely shut off all view toward the broader valley of the Vila, as well as of the town of San Juan, scarcely three miles distant. Beyond its stern guardianship Echo Canyon stretched grim and desolate, running far back into the very heart of the gold-ribbed mountains. The canyon, a mere shapeless gash in the side of the great hills, was deep, long, undulating, ever twisting .about like some immense serpent, its sides darkened by clinging cedars and bunches of chaparral, and rising in irregular terraces of partially exposed rock toward a narrow strip of blue sky. It was a fragment of primitive nature, as wild, gloomy, desolate, and silent as though never yet ex plored by man. A small clear stream danced and sang over scattered stones at the bottom of this grim chasm, constantly twisting and curving from wall to wall, generally half concealed from view by the dense growth of overhang ing bushes shadowing its banks. High up along the brown rock wall the gleam of the afternoon sun rested warm and golden, but deeper down within those dis mal, forbidding depths there lingered merely a purple twilight, while patches of white snow yet clung desper ately to the steep surrounding hills, or showered in [76] THE "LITTLE YANKEE" MINE powdery clouds from off the laden cedars whenever the disturbing wind came soughing up the gorge. Early birds were beginning to flit from tree to tree, singing their welcome to belated Springtime ; a fleecy cloud lazily floating far overhead gave deeper back ground to the slender strip of over-arching blue. It all combined to form a nature picture of primeval peace, rendered peculiarly solemn by those vast ranges of overshadowing mountains, and more deeply impres sive by the grim silence and loneliness, the seemingly total absence of human life. Yet in this the scene was most deceptive. Neither peace nor loneliness lurked amid those sombre rock shadows; over all was the dominance of men primi tive, fighting men, rendered almost wholly animal by the continued hardships of existence, the ceaseless struggle after gold. The vagrant trail, worn deep between rocks by the constant passage of men and mules, lay close beside the singing water, while here and there almost imperceptible branches struck off to left or right, running as directly as possible up the terraced benches until the final dim traces were com pletely lost amid the low-growing cedars. Each one of these led as straight as nature would permit to some specific spot where men toiled incessantly for the golden dross, guarding their claims with loaded rifles, while delving deeper and deeper beneath the mysteri ous rocks, ever seeking to make their own the secret hoards of the world's great storehouse. Countless centuries were being rudely unlocked through the ceaseless toil of pick and shovel, the green hillsides [77] BETH NO RVELL torn asunder and disfigured by ever-increasing piles of debris, while eager-eyed men struggled frantically to obtain the hidden riches of the rocks. Here and there a rudely constructed log hut, perched with apparent recklessness upon the brink of the precipice, told the silent story of a claim, while in other places the smoul dering remains of a camp-fire alone bespoke primitive living. Yet every where along that upper terrace, where in places the seductive gold streak lay half uncovered to the sun, were those same yawning holes leading far down beneath the surface ; about them grouped the puny figures of men performing the labors of Hercules under the galling spur of hope. On this higher ledge, slightly beyond a shallow intersecting gorge shadowed by low-growing cedars, two men reclined upon a rock-dump, gazing carelessly off six hundred feet sheer down into the gloomy depths of the canyon below. Just beyond them yawned the black opening of their shaft-hole, the rude windlass outlined against the gray background of rock, while somewhat to the left, seemingly overhanging the edge of the cliff, perched a single-roomed cabin of logs rep resenting home. This was the " Little Yankee " claim, owners William Hicks and "Stutter" Brown. The two partners were sitting silent and idle, a single rifle lying between them on the dump. Hicks was tall, lank, seamed of face, with twinkling gray eyes, a goat's beard dangling at his chin to the constant motion of his nervous jaws ; and Brown, twenty years his junior, was a young, sandy-haired giant, limited of speech, of movement, of thought, with freckled cheeks [78] THE "LITTLE YANKEE" MINE and a downy little moustache of decidedly red hue. They had been laboriously deciphering a letter of con siderable length and peculiar illegibility, and the slow but irascible Stutter had been swearing in disjointed syllables, his blue eyes glaring angrily across the gully, where numerous moving figures, conspicuous in blue and red shirts, were plainly visible about the shaft-hole of the "Independence," the next claim below them on the ledge. Yet for the moment neither man spoke otherwise. Finally, shifting uneasily, yet with mind evidently made up for definite action, Hicks broke the prolonged silence. " I was thinkin' it over, Stutter, all the way hoofin' it out yere," he said, chewing continually on his tobacco, " but sorter reckoned ez how yer ought ter see the writin' furst, considerin' ez how you're a full partner in this yere claim. It sorter strikes me thet the lawyer hes give us the straight tip all right, an' thar 's no other way fer gittin' the cinch on them ornary fellers over thar," and the speaker waved his hand toward the distant figures. " Yer see, it 's this yere way, Stutter. You an' I could swar, of course, thet the damned cusses hed changed the stakes on us more 'n onct, an' thar 's no doubt in our two minds but what they 're a-followin' out our ore-lead right now, afore we kin git down ter it. Hell! of [course they are they got the fust start, an' the men, an' the money back of 'em. We ain't got a darn thing but our own muscle, an' the rights of it, which latter don't amount ter two bumps on a log. Fer about three weeks we Ve been watchin' them measly skunks take out our [79] BETH NO RVELL mineral, an' for one I 'm a-goin' ter quit. I never did knuckle down ter thet sort, an' I 'm too old now ter begin. The lawyer says ez how we ain't got no legal proof, an' I reckon it 's so. But I 'm damned if I don't git some. Thar ain't a minin' engineer in San Juan that '11 come up yere fer us. Them fellers hes got 'em all on the hip; but I reckon, if we hunt long 'nough, we kin find some feller in Colorado with nerve 'nough to tackle this yere job, an' I 'm a-goin' out gunnin' for jist that man." He got to his feet, his obstinate old eyes wandering across the gully, and the younger man watched him with slow curiosity. "How f-f-far you g-g-going, Bill?" he burst forth stutteringly. " Denver, if I need to," was the elder's resolute response. " I '11 tell ye what I 'm a-goin' ter do, Stut ter. I 'm a-goin' ter draw out every blamed cent we Ve got in the bank down at San Juan. 'T ain't much of a pile, but I reckon it 's got ter do the business. Then I '11 strike out an' hunt till I find a minin' engineer thet 's got a soul of his own, an' grit 'nough behind it ter root out the facts. I Ve been a-prospectin' through these here mountings fer thirty years, an' now thet I Ve hit somethin' worth havin', I 'm hanged if I 'm a-goin' ter lie down meek ez Moses an* see it stole out plumb from under me by a parcel o' tin-horn gamblers. Not me, by God ! If I can't git a cinch on sich a feller ez I want, then I '11 come back an' blow a hole through that Farnham down at San Juan. I reckon I '11 go in an' tell him so afore I start." THE "LITTLE YANKEE" MINE The old man's square jaws set ominously, his gnarled hand dropping heavily on the butt of the Colt dang ling at his hip. "You stay right yere, Stutter, on the dump, and don't yer let one o' them measly sneaks put nary foot on our claim, if yer have ter blow 'em plumb ter hell. You an' Mike kin tend ter thet all right, an' you bet I 'm goin' ter have some news fer yer when I git home, my boy." He swung around, and strode back along the ledge to the door of the cabin, reappearing scarcely a moment later with a small bundle in his hand. " Thar 's 'nough grub in thar ter last you an' Mike fer a week yit, an' I '11 be back afore then, er else planted. Adios" Brown sat up, his gun resting between his knees, and in silence watched his partner scrambling down the steep trail. It was not easy for him to converse, and he therefore never uttered a word unless the situ ation demanded the sacrifice. He could swear, how ever, with considerable fluency, but just now even that relief seemed inadequate. Finally, the older man disappeared behind the scrub, and, except for those more distant figures about the dump of the " Independence," the blond giant remained apparently alone. But Stutter had long ago become habituated to loneliness ; the one condition likely to worry him was lack of occupation. He scrambled to his feet and climbed the dump, until able to lean far over and look down into the black mouth of the uncovered shaft. "Got yer b-b-bucket full, M-M-Mike?" he ques- [81] BETH NORVELL tioned, sending his deep, sputtering voice far down into the depths below. " Oi have thot," came the disgusted response from out the darkness. "Ye measly spalpeen, ain't Oi bin shakin' of the rope fer twinty minutes? Oi tought maybe ye'd run off an' left me to rot down in the hole. Whut 's up now, ye freckled-face ilephant, yer? " Brown indulged in a cautious glance about, then stuck his almost boyish face farther down within the safety of the hole before venturing an explanation. " B-B-Bill 's g-gone to find s-s-some engi-n-neer w-with nerve 'nough ter r-r-run our lines," he managed to spit out disjointedly. " S-s-says he '11 go plumb ter Denver 'fore he '11 g-g-give up, an' if he d-don't f-find any sich he '11 c-c-come back an' p-p-perforate F-F-Farnham." "Bedad!" a tinge of unrestrained delight apparent in the sudden roar, "an' was he hot?" "H-he sure was. He m-m-m-meant business all r-right, an' hed f-f-forty rounds b-b-buckled on him. H-here goes, Mike," and Brown grasped the warped handle of the windlass and began to grind slowly, coiling the heavy rope, layer upon layer, around the straining drum. He brought the huge ore-bucket to the surface, dumped its load of rock over the edge of the shaft-hole, and had permitted it to run down swiftly to the waiting Mike, when a slight noise behind sent the man whirling suddenly about, his hand instinctively reaching forth toward the dis carded but ready rifle. A moment he stared, incredu lous, at the strange vision fronting him, his face quickly [82] THE "LITTLE YANKEE" MINE reddening from embarrassment, his eyes irresolute and puzzled. Scarcely ten feet away, a woman, rather brightly attired and apparently very much at her ease, sat upon a rather diminutive pony, her red lips curved in lines of laughter, evidently no little amused at thus startling him. Brown realized that she was young and pretty, with jet black, curling hair, and eyes of the same color, her skin peculiarly white and clear, while she rode man fashion, her lower limbs daintily encased within leggings of buckskin. She had carelessly dropped her reins upon the high pommel of the saddle, and as their glances fairly met, she laughed outright. "You mooch frighten, senor, and you so ver' big. It make me joy." Her broken English was oddly attractive. "Poof! los Americanos not all find me so ver' ter'ble." Stutter Brown ground his white teeth together sav agely, his short red moustache bristling. He was quite young, never greatly accustomed to companionship with the gentler sex, and of a disposition strongly opposed to being laughed at. Besides, he felt seriously his grave deficiencies of speech. "I-I-I was s-sorter expectin' a-a-another kind of c-c-caller," he stuttered desperately, in explanation, every freckle standing out in prominence, "an' th-th-thought m-m-maybe somebody 'd g-g-got the d-drop on me." The girl only laughed again, her black eyes spark ling. Yet beneath his steady, questioning gaze her face slightly sobered, a faint flush becoming apparent in either cheek. [83] BETH NORVELL "You talk so ver' funny, senor; you so big like de tree, an' say vords dat vay; it make me forget an' laf. You moost not care just for me. Pah! but it vas fight all de time vid you, was n't it, senor? Biff, bang, kill ; ver' bad," and she clapped her gauntleted hands together sharply. "But not me; I vas only girl; no gun, no knife see. I just like know more 'bout mine Americano's mine; you show me how it vork. Sabe?" Stutter appeared puzzled, doubtful. "Mexicana?" he questioned, kicking apiece of rock with his heavy boot. "Si, senor, but I speak de English ver' good. I Mercedes Morales, an' I like ver' much de brav' Americanos. I like de red hair, too, senor in Mex ico it all de same color like dis," and she shook out her own curling ebon locks in sudden shower. "I tink de red hair vas more beautiful." Mr. Brown was not greatly accustomed to having his rather fiery top-knot thus openly referred to in tones of evident admiration. It was a subject he naturally felt somewhat sensitive about, and in spite of the open honesty of the young girl's face, he could not help doubting for a moment the sincerity of her speech. "L-l-like f-fun yer do," he growled uneasily. "A-a-anyhow, whut are yer d-d-doin' yere?" For answer she very promptly swung one neatly booted foot over and dropped lightly to the ground, thus revealing her slender figure. Her most notable beauty was the liquid blackness of her eyes. [84] THE "LITTLE YANKEE" MINE "Si, I tell you all dat ver' quick, senor," she explained frankly, flipping the rock-pile with her rid ing whip, and bending over to peer, with undisguised curiosity, into the yawning shaft-hole, "I ride out from San Juan for vat you call constitutional mercy, such a vord, senor! an' I stray up dis trail. See? It vas most steep, my, so steep, like I slide off; but de mustang he climb de hill, all right, an' den I see you, senor, an' know dere vas a mine here. Not de big mine bah! I care not for dat kind but just one leetle mine, vere I no be 'fraid to go down. Don I look at you, so big, vid de beautiful red hair, an' de kin' face, an' I sink he vood let me see how dey do such tings he vas nice fellow, if he vas all mud on de clothes. Si, for I know nice fellow, do I not, amigo? Si, bueno. So you vill show to me how de brav' Americanos dig out de yellow gold, senor?" She flashed her tempting glance up into the man's face, and Brown stamped his feet nervously, endeavor ing to appear stern. " C-c-could n't h-hardly do it, m-m-miss. It's t-too blame dirty d-d-down below fer y-your sort. B-b-besides, my p-pardner ain't yere, an' he m-m- might not 1-like it." "You haf de pardner? Who vas de pardner? " " H-h-his name 's H-H-Hicks." She clasped her hands in an ecstasy of unrestrained delight. " Beell Heeks? Oh, senor, I know Beell Heeks. He vas ver' nice fellow, too but no so pretty like you; he old man an' swear Holy Mother, how he swear! [85] BETH NORVELL He tol' me once come out any time an' see hees mine. I not know vere it vas before. Maybe de angels show me. You vas vat Beell call Stutter Brown, I tink maybe? Ah, now it be all right, senor. Bueno ! " She laid her gauntleted hand softly on the rough sleeve of his woollen shirt, her black, appealing eyes flashing suddenly up into his troubled face. " I moost laugh, senor ; such a brav' Americano 'fraid of de girl. Why not you shoot me?" "A-a-afraid nothin'," and Stutter's freckled face became instantly as rosy as his admired hair, " b-but I t-tell ye, miss, it 's a-a-all d-dirt down th-there, an' not f-f-fit fer no lady ter t-t-traipse round in." The temptress, never once doubting her power, smiled most bewitchingly, her hands eloquent. "You vas good boy, just like I tink ; I wear dis ol' coat see; an' den I turn up de skirt, so. I no 'fraid de dirt. Now, vat you say, senor? Bueno?" Thus speaking, she seized upon the discarded and somewhat disreputable garment, flung it carelessly about her shapely shoulders, shrugging them coquet- tishly, her great eyes shyly uplifting to his relenting face, and began swiftly to fasten up her already short dress in disregard of the exposure of trim ankles. The agitated Mr. Brown coughed, his uneasy glances straying down the open shaft. He would gladly, and with extreme promptness, have shoved the cold muz zle of his Colt beneath the nose of any man at such moment of trial ; but this young girl, with a glance and a laugh, had totally disarmed him. Disturbed conscience, a feeling akin to disloyalty, pricked him, [86] THE "LITTLE YANKEE" MINE but the temptation left him powerless to resist those black eyes held him already captive; and yet in this moment of wavering indecision, that teasing hand once again rested lightly upon his shirt-sleeve. " Please do dat, senor," the voice low and pleading. " It vas not ver' mooch just to let a girl see your leetle mine. What harm, senor? But maybe it's so because you no like me? " Startled by so unjust a suspicion, the eyes of the young giant instantly revealed a degree of interest which caused her own to light up suddenly, her red lips parting in a quick, appreciative smile which dis closed the white teeth. "Ah, I see it vas not dat. Eet make glad de heart make eet to sing like de birds. Now I know eet vill be as I vish. How do I get down, senor?" Thus easily driven from his last weak entrench ments, his heart fluttering to the seduction of her suggestive glance, the embarrassed Stutter made uncon ditional surrender, a gruff oath growling in his throat. He leaned out over the dark shaft, his supporting hand on the drum. "Come u-u-up, M-M-Mike," he called, rattling his letters like castanets. " I w-w-want to g-go d-d- down." There followed a sound of falling rocks below, a fierce shaking of the suspended rope, and then a muffled voice sang out an order, " H'ist away, and be dommed ter yer." Brown devoted himself assidu ously to the creaking windlass, although never able entirely to remove his attention from that bright- [87] BETH NORVELL robed, slender figure standing so closely at his side. For one brief second he vaguely wondered if she could be a witch, and he looked furtively aside, only to per ceive her bright eyes smiling happily at him. Then suddenly a totally bald head shot up through the opening, a seamed face the color of parchment, with squinting gray eyes, peered suspiciously about, while a gnarled hand reached forth, grasped a post in sup port, and dragged out into the sunlight a short, sturdy body. Mike straightened up, with a peculiar jerk, on the dump, spat viciously over the edge of the canyon, and drew a short, black pipe from out a convenient pocket in his shirt. He made no audible comment, but stood, his back planted to the two watchers ; and Stutter cleared his throat noisily. "Th-th-this 1-1-lady wants ter s-s-see how v/e m-m-mine," he explained in painful embarrassment, " a-an' I th-th-thought I 'd t-take her d-d-down if you 'd w-work the w-w-windlass a b-bit." Old Mike turned slowly around and fronted the two, his screwed-up eyes on the girl, while with great deliberation he drew a match along the leg of his can vas trousers. "Ony thing to oblige ye," he said gruffly. "Always ready to hilp the ladies be me sowl, Oi Ve married three of thim already. An' wus this Hicks's orthers, Stutter?" "N-n-no, not exactly," Brown admitted, with evi dent reluctance. " B-but ye s-s-see, she 's a g-great friend o' B-B-Bill's, an' so I reckon it '11 be all r-right. Don't s-see how n-no harm kin be d-d-done." [88] THE "LITTLE YANKEE" MINE The pessimistic Michael slowly blew a cloud of pungent smoke into the air, sucking hard at his pipe- stem, and laid his rough hands on the windlass handle. " None o' my dommed funeral, beggin' yer pardon, miss," he condescended to mutter in slight apology. " Long as the pay goes on, Oi 'd jist as soon work on top as down below. H'ist the female into the bucket, ye overgrown dood ! " Stutter Brown, still nervous from recurring doubts, awkwardly assisted his vivacious charge to attain safe footing, anxiously bade her hold firmly to the sway ing rope, and stood, carefully steadying the line as it slowly disappeared, hypnotized still by those mar vellous black eyes, which continued to peer up at him until they vanished within the darkness. Leaning far over to listen, the young miner heard the bucket touch bottom, and then, with a quick word of warning to the man grasping the handle, he swung himself out on the taut rope, and went swiftly dov/n, hand over hand. Mike, still grumbling huskily to himself, waited until the windlass ceased vibrating, securely anchored the handle with a strip of raw-hide, and composedly sat down, his teeth set firmly on the pipe-stem, his eyes already half closed. It was an obstinate, mulish old face, seamed and creased, the bright sunlight rendering more manifest the leather-like skin, the marvellous network of wrinkles about eyes and mouth. Not being paid for thought, the old fellow now contented himself with dozing, quite confident of not being quickly disturbed. P9] BETH NORVELL In this he was right. The two were below for fully an hour, while above them Mike leaned with back comfortably propped against the windlass in perfect contentment, and the hobbled pony peacefully cropped the short grass along the ledge. Then the brooding silence was abruptly broken by a voice rising from out the depths of the shaft, while a vigorous shaking of the dangling rope caused the windlass to vibrate sharply. Old Mike, with great deliberation stowing away his pipe, unslipped the raw-hide, and, calmly indifferent to all else except his necessary labor, slowly hauled the girl to the surface. She was radiant, her eyes glowing from the excitement of unusual adven ture, and scrambled forth from the dangling bucket without awaiting assistance. Before Brown attained to the surface, the lady had safely captured the straying pony and swung herself lightly into the saddle. Squaring his broad shoulders with surprise as he came out, his face flushed, his lips set firm, the young giant laid restraining fingers on her gloved hand. " Y-y-you really m-mean it ? " he asked, eagerly, as though fearing the return to daylight might already have altered her decision. " C-can I c-call on you wh-wh-where you s-s-said ? " She smiled sweetly down at him, her eyes picturing undisguised admiration of his generous proportions, and frank, boyish face. " Si, si, senor. Sapristi, why not? 'T is I, rather, who 'fraid you forget to come." "Y-you n-need n't be," he stammered, coloring. " S-senorita, I sh-shall never f-f-forget this day." [90] THE "LITTLE YANKEE" MINE f< $uien sabe? poof! no more vill I; but now, adioS) senor." She touched her pony's side sharply with the whip, and, standing motionless, Stutter watched them dis appear over the abrupt ledge. Once she glanced shyly back, with a little seductive wave of the gauntleted hand, and then suddenly dropped completely out of view down the steep descent of the trail. Old Mike struck another match, and held the tiny flame to his pipe-bowl. "An* it's hell ye played the day," he remarked reflectively, his eyes glowing gloomily. The younger man wheeled suddenly about and faced him. "Wh-what do ye m-m-mean?" " Jist the same whut I said, Stutter. Ye 're a broight one, ye are. That 's the Mexican dancer down at the Gayety at San Juan, no less; and it 's dollars to dough nuts, me bye, that that dom Farnham sint her out here to take a peek at us. It wud be loike the slip pery cuss, an' I hear the two of thim are moighty chummy." And Stutter Brown, his huge fists clinched in anger, looked ofF into the dark valley below, and, forgetting his affliction of speech, swore like a man. CHAPTER VII A DISMISSAL THE far from gentle orchestra at the Gayety was playing with a vivacity which set the pulses leaping, while the densely packed audience, scarcely breathing from intensity of awakened interest, were focussing their eager eyes upon a slender, scarlet- robed figure, an enveloping cloud of gossamer floating mistily about her, her black hair and eyes vividly con trasting against the clear whiteness of her skin, as she yielded herself completely to the strange convolutions of her weird dance. The wide stage was a yellow flood of light, and she the very witch of motion. This was her third encore, but, as wildly grotesque as ever, her full skirts shimmering in the glare of the foot-lights, her tripping feet barely touching the sanded floor, her young, supple figure, light as a fairy, weaving in the perfect rhythm of music, the tireless child of Mexico leaped and spun, wheeled and twirled, at times appar ently floated upon the very air, her bare white arms extended, her wonderful eyes blazing from the exhil aration of this moment of supreme triumph. Beth Norvell, neatly gowned for the street, her own more sedate performance already concluded, had paused for a single curious instant in the shadow of the wings, and remained looking out upon that scarlet figure, flitting here and there like some tropical bird, through [9*] A DISMISSAL the gaudy glare of the stage. Winston, waiting patiently for twenty minutes amid the denser gloom just inside the stage door, watched the young girl's unconsciously interested face, wondering alike at both himself and her. This entire adventure remained an unsolved problem to his mystified mind how it was she yet continued to retain his interest ; why it was he could never wholly succeed in divorcing her from his life. He endeavored now to imagine her a mere ordi nary woman of the stage, whom he might idly flirt with to-night, and quite as easily forget to-morrow. Yet from some cause the mind failed to respond to such suggestion. There was something within the calm, womanly face as revealed beneath the reflection of garish light, something in the very poise of the slender figure bending slightly forward in aroused enthusiasm, which compelled his respect, aroused his admiration. She was not a common woman, and he could not suc ceed in blinding himself to that fact. Even the garish, cheap environments, the glitter and tinsel, the noise and brutality, had utterly failed to tarnish Beth Norvell. She stood forth different, distinct, a per fectly developed flower, rarely beautiful, although blooming in muck that was overgrown with noxious weeds. Winston remained clearly conscious that some peculiar essence of her native character had myste riously perfumed the whole place it glorified her slight bit of stage work, and had already indelibly impressed itself upon those rough, boisterous Western spirits out in front. Before her parting lips uttered a line she had thoroughly mastered them, the innate [93] BETH NORVELL purity of her perfected womanhood, the evident inno cence of her purpose, shielding her against all indecency and insult. The ribald scoffing, the insolent shuffling of feet, the half-drunken uneasiness, ceased as if by magic; and as her simple act proceeded, the stillness out in front became positively solemn, the startled faces picturing an awakening to higher things. It was a triumph far exceeding the noisy outburst that greeted the Mexican a moral victory over unrestrained law lessness won simply by true womanliness, unaided and alone. That earlier scene had brought to Winston a deeper realization of this girl's genius, a fresher appre ciation of the true worth of her esteem. No struggle of heart or head could ever again lower her in his secret thought to the common level. The swinging strains of the dancer's accompaniment concluded with a blare of noisy triumph, the mad enthusiasts out in front wildly shouting her name above the frantic din of applause, while, flushed and panting, the agile Mexican dancer swept into the darkened wings like a scarlet bird. "Ah, de Americana!" she exclaimed, her eyes yet blazing from excitement, poising herself directly in front of her silent watcher. "Senorita, it ees not de same as yours dey like you, si; but dey lofe Mercedes." Miss Norvell smiled gently, her gaze on the other's flushed, childish face, and extended her hand. "There seems ample room for both of us," she replied, pleasantly, "yet your dancing is truly wonder ful. It is an art, and you must let me thank you." It is difficult to understand why, but the untamed, [94] A DI SMISSAL passionate girl, stung in some mysterious manner by these quietly spoken words of appreciation, instantly drew her slight form erect. "You nevar forget you not one of us, do you?" she questioned in sudden bitterness of spirit. " Pah ! maybe you tink I care what you like. I dance because I lofe to; because it sets my blood on fire. I no care for all your airs of fine lady." "I exceedingly regret you should feel so. I cer tainly spoke in kindness and appreciation. Would you permit me to pass?" The angry young Mexican swept back her scarlet skirts as though in disdain, her white shoulders uplifted. She did not know why she felt thus vindictive; to save her soul she could not have told the reason, yet deep down within her passionate heart there existed a hatred for this white, silent American, whose slightest word sounded to her like rebuke. She stood there still, watching suspiciously, smouldering dislike burning in her black eyes, when Winston suddenly stepped from the concealing shadows with a word of unexpected greeting. She noticed the sudden flush sweep into Miss Norvell's cheek, the quick uplifting of her eyes, the almost instant drooping again of veiling lashes, and, quickly comprehending it all, stepped promptly forward just far enough to obtain a clear view of the young man's face. The next moment the two had vanished into the night without. Mercedes laughed unpleasantly to herself, her white teeth gleaming. "Ah, Merciful Mother! so my ver' fine lady has found herself a lofer here already. Sapristi, an' he is [95] BETH NORVELL well worth lookin' at! I vill ask of de stage manager his name." Outside, beneath the faint glimmer of the stars, Winston offered his arm, and Miss Norvell accepted it silently. It was no more than a short stroll to the hotel, and the street at that particular hour was suffi ciently deserted, so the young man rather keenly felt the evident constraint of his companion. It impressed him as unnatural, and he felt inclined to attribute her state of mind to the unpleasant scene he had just beheld. "Senorita Mercedes does not appear very kindly disposed toward you," he ventured. "Have you quarrelled already?" "You refer to the Mexican dancer?" she questioned, glancing aside at him curiously. "Really, I did not remember having heard the girl's name mentioned before. Do you know her?" "Only as she is announced on the bills, and having seen her dance from the front of the house. She is certainly a true artist in her line, the most expert I recall ever having seen. What has ever made her your enemy?" "I am sure I do not know. Her words were a complete surprise; I was too greatly astonished even to resent them. I have never spoken to the girl until to-night, and then merely uttered a sentence of sincere congratulation. She is extremely pretty, and it seems quite too bad she should be compelled to lead such a life. She does not appear older than seventeen." He glanced about at her in surprise. [96] A DISMISSAL "Such a life," he echoed, recklessly. "So then you actually pity others while remaining totally unconcerned regarding yourself?" "Oh, no; you greatly mistake, or else wilfully mis construe. I am not unconcerned, yet there is a very wide difference, I am sure. This girl is at the Gayety from deliberate choice; she as much as told me so. She is in love with that sort of life. Probably she has never known anything better, while I am merely fight ing out a bit of hard luck, and, within two weeks, at the longest, shall again be free. Surely, you cannot hint that we stand upon the same level." "God forbid!" fervently. "Yet just as sincerely I wish you did not deem it necessary to remain for even that brief length of time. It is a shock to me to realize your intimate association with such depraved characters. You are surely aware that my purse remains at your disposal, if you will only cut the whole thing." She lifted her eyes reproachfully to his face. "Yes, I know; and possibly you are justified accord ing to your code for feeling in that way. But I do not believe I am becoming in the least contaminated by evil associations, nor do I feel any lowering of moral ideals. I am doing what I imagine to be right under the circumstances, and have already given you my final decision, as well as my reason for it. You say c such depraved characters.' Can you refer to this Mercedes? Strange as it may seem, I confess feeling an interest in this beautiful Mexican girl. What is it you know regarding her? " [97] BETH NORVELL The young man impulsively started to speak, but as instantly paused. An instinctive dread of uttering those plain words he would much prefer she should never hear served to soften his language. "There is not a great deal of reserve about the Gayety," he explained lightly, "and indiscriminate gossip is a part of its advertising equipment. As to Senorita Mercedes, my only informant is common rumor out in front. That connects her name quite familiarly with one of the proprietors of the gambling rooms." " You have no reason to know this ? " " None whatever. As I say, it has come to me in the form of common rumor. The man referred to is the special faro expert, a fellow named Farnham." Miss Norvell started violently, her fingers clutching his arm as if to keep her body from falling, her face grown suddenly white. " Farnham, did you say ? What what Farnham ? " "I believe I have heard him familiarly spoken of as ' Biff.' " " Here ? Here in San Juan ? f Biff' Farnham here?" The startled words appeared to stick in the swelling white throat, and she stood staring at him, her slender figure swaying as though he had struck her a physical blow. " Oh, I never knew that ! " Winston, shocked and surprised by this unexpected outburst, did not speak, his face slowly hardening to the dim suspicion thus suddenly aroused by her agita tion and her impetuous exclamation. She must have taken instant warning from the expression of his eyes, [98] A DISMISSAL for, with an effort, she faced him in regained calmness, a slight tremor in her low voice alone betraying the lack of complete self-control. "Your information certainly startled me greatly," she exclaimed slowly. " It was so unexpected, and so much has happened of late to affect my nerves." They walked on in silence, and as he ventured to glance aside at her, uncertain regarding his future course, her eyes were lowered and hidden behind the drooping lashes. "And is that all ? " he asked. "All ? Why, what more is there? " He compressed his lips, striving not to exhibit openly his impatience. " Nothing, of course," he acquiesced quietly, "if the lady prefers keeping silent. Only, as matters now stand, the result may prove an unpleasant misunder standing." They were now at the bottom of the few steps leading up toward the hotel entrance, and Miss Nor- vell, removing her hand from the support of his arm, stood before him outwardly calm. " Beyond doubt, you refer to my apparent surprise at first hearing Mr. Farnham's name mentioned?" He bowed quietly, again fascinated and disarmed by the revelation in those dark eyes. "The explanation is quite simple," and the voice exhibited a touch of coolness easily perceptible. " I chanced to be somewhat acquainted with this man in the East before well, before he became a gambler. Of course, I do not know him now, have not the slight- [99] est desire to do so, but the sudden information that he was actually here, and and all the rest came to me with a shock. Is that sufficient?" The young man was unsatisfied, and, without doubt, his face quite clearly exhibited his true feeling. Yet there was that about her constrained manner which held him to respectful silence, so that for a moment the hesitation between them grew almost painful. Miss Norvell, realizing this new danger, struggled weakly against sudden temptation to throw herself unreserv edly upon the mercy of this new friend, confide wholly in him, accept his proffered aid, and flee from possible coming trouble. But pride proved even stronger than fear, and her lips closed in firm resolution. " Mr. Winston," she said, and now her eyes were uplifted unfaltering to his own. " I find myself obliged to speak with a frankness I have hoped to avoid. It was never my desire that you should call for me at the theatre to-night." " Indeed?" His surprised tone clearly exhibited the sudden hurt of the wound. "Yes ; yet, pray do not misunderstand me. I find it exceedingly difficult to say this, and 1 confess I have even prayed that you would be led to go away volun tarily, and without its being necessary for me to appear discourteous. I appreciate your kindness, your gentlemanly conduct. I I greatly value your friendship, prize it more highly, possibly, than you will ever be able to realize; yet, believe me, there are reasons why I cannot permit you to to be with me any longer in this way. It is for your sake, as well as [100] A DISMISSAL my own, that I am driven to speak thus frankly, and I am certain you will not add to my pain, my embar rassment, by asking more definite explanation." His heart beating like a trip-hammer, Winston stood motionless, staring into the girl's appealing face, suddenly aroused to her full meaning, and as thor oughly awakened to a conception of what she really had become to him. The thought of losing her, losing her perhaps to another, seemed to chill his very soul. "Assuredly, I will respect your secret," he answered, mastering his voice with an effort. "I understand when I am bowled out. What is it you desire me to do?" He could not perceive in that dim light the sudden mist of tears clouding her eyes, but she lifted her gloved hand and swept them aside. "It is not easy to say such things, yet I must. I wish you to go away ; go back to Denver," she exclaimed ; then, all at once, her strained voice broke into a little sob. " I cannot stand your presence here!" That last impetuous sentence burst through his armor of constraint, and for the instant he forgot every thing but that thoughtless confession. She read it in his face, and as quickly flung forth her hand in warning, but he only grasped it tightly within his own. "You cannot stand it!" he cried in passionate eager ness. " Then you must care for me ? You must love me, Beth?" BETH NORVELL " No, no ! " Her eyes were full of agony, and she sought to free her imprisoned hand. " Oh, hush ! I beg of you, hush! You you hurt me so. I will not permit you to speak such words. Please release my hand." He loosened his grasp, feeling bewildered, ashamed, dimly conscious that he had been guilty of an ungentle- manly action, yet deep within his own heart assured that he felt no regret. " Do you mean that ? " he questioned vaguely. "Yes," and all the previous tremor had left her clear voice. " I did not suppose you would ever say such a thing to me. I gave you no right to speak those words." " My own heart gave me the right." Possibly the woman in her conquered ; perhaps there was a nameless hunger within her soul which made her long to hear the forbidden words just once from his lips. " The right, you say ? What right ? " "To tell you that I love you." She drew a quick, quivering breath, the rich color surging into her cheeks, her gloved hands clasped across her heaving bosom as though to still the fierce throbbing of her heart. An instant she stood as if palsied, trembling, from head to foot, although he could perceive nothing. Her lips smiled. "Oh, indeed," she said archly, "and how very prettily you said it ! The only son of Colonel Win ston, the wealthy banker of Denver, honors Miss Nor- vell, actress, and she, of course, feels highly grateful !" [102] A DISMISSAL " Beth, stop ! " His voice was indignantly earnest. "It is not that; you must know it is not that!" " I only know it is supremely ridiculous," she returned, more coldly; "yet if I did not believe you spoke with some degree of honesty I should deem your words a deliberate insult, and treat them accord ingly. As it is, I prefer regarding your speech merely as an evidence of temporary insanity. Ned Winston making love to Beth Norvell ! Why, you do not even know my true name, the story of my life, or that I am in any way worthy of your mere friendship. Love ! You love me, an actress in a fly-by-night com pany, a variety artist at the Gayety! What would they say at home? " " I know you." "Ah, but you do not in the least," her voice grown steady and serious. " That is the whole trouble. You do not in the least know me. I am not even what you imagine me to be. I am a fraud, a cheat, a mas- querader. Know me ! Why, if you did, instead of speaking words of love you would despise ; instead of seeking, you would run away. Oh, let us end this farce forever ; it is as painful to myself as to you. Promise me, Ned Winston, that you will return to Denver." She tantalized, tempted him even while she thus openly renounced. He struggled madly with an almost overmastering desire to burst forth in strenuous denial, to lay his whole life unreservedly at her feet. Yet something within the girl's resolute face steadied him, made him feel her decision as unchangeable. ' c Beth you you will not listen?" L I0 3] BETH NORVELL "No not to another word." "You do not believe me? " He marked the quick restraining pressure of her lips, the tumultuous rise and fall of her breast. " Yes, I believe you," she admitted, almost wearily. "You mean it now; but but it is impossible. I wish you to go." An instant Winston stood looking straight into those dark, glowing eyes, and all his inherited strength of manhood came trooping back to aid him. He com prehended in that moment of intense resolution that this woman had become the whole world to him. That one fact never would change. It came over him as a distinct revelation untinged by either despair or hope. It was merely an unalterable truth, which he must henceforth face as fate willed. He was of fighting blood, and the seeming obstacles in the way of success did not dismay ; they merely served to inspire him to greater efforts. " Unfortunately, I am not at present free to go," he replied, more quietly, "for the reason that I have already accepted some professional work here. However, I agree not to trouble you again with my presence until " He paused in uncertainty as to his next word. "What?" "You give me welcome." She extended her hand. " You certainly speak with sufficient confidence." " ( Fools rush in where angels fear to tread,' " he quoted lightly ; " and I herewith announce myself a firm believer in miracles." [104] A DISMISSAL " Then your faith is about to be put to a most severe test." " I welcome that. Yet, if parting is insisted upon, we can, at least, remain friends. You certainly do not hold my words against me ? " The flush, although fainter, again crept into the clear cheeks, and her eyes fell before this questioning. " No true woman ever remains wholly indifferent," she acknowledged with swift frankness, " or neglects to think kindly in her secret heart of any one who has told her that story ; and I am a woman." For a brief moment her hand rested warm and throbbing within his own, and there passed an electric flash of the eyes between them. Then she withdrew her fingers and opened the door. " Good-bye," she whispered, the word lingering like perfume, and vanished, even as he took a step toward her. CHAPTER VIII "HE MEANS FIGHT" WINSTON remained staring blankly at the closed door behind which she had so swiftly vanished, his mind a chaos of doubt. He assuredly never purposed saying what he had said under the jpur of deprivation, yet he regretted no single word that he had uttered. That he earnestly worshipped this briefly known woman was a fact borne in upon him suddenly; yet now, the fact once completely realized, he surrendered unconditionally to the inevitable. For a moment his thought of her obscured all lesser things; he saw nothing else in the wide world really worth striving after every aroused impulse thrilled to the fair face, the soft voice of Beth Norvell. He was no "quitter," no faint-heart either in love or in war, and he was now far too deeply in earnest to accept as final a stingless rejection spoken by lips that were so openly contradicted by the smiling eyes above. Whatever of stern necessity might have inspired the utterance of such words of cold renuncia tion, it was assuredly neither indifference nor dislike. He forgave the lips, recalling only the eyes. With his hand still pressed against the porch rail ing, the young man suddenly recalled Biff Farnham, his cool gray eyes as instantly hardening, his lips pressed together. What possible part in the dusk of [106] "HE MEANS FIGHT' the shadowed past did that disreputable gambler play? What connection could he hold, either in honor or dishonor, with the previous life history of Beth Norvell ? He did not in the least doubt her, for it was Winston's nature to be entirely loyal, to be unsuspicious of those he once trusted. Yet he could not continue completely blind. That there once existed some connection it was impossible to ignore entirely. Her laughing, yet clearly embarrassed, attempt at explanation had not in the slightest deceived him, for beyond it remained her quick surprise at that earliest unexpected mention of the man's name, the suddenly blanched cheeks, the unconcealed fright revealed by the dark eyes. The full truth was to be read there, and not in her later more deliberate attempt at leading his suspicions astray. There was nothing pleasant about this thought, and Winston's sensitive face flushed, his glance wandering uneasily down the midnight street. For the space of a block, or more, where numerous tents and low wooden buildings stood deserted of tenants, all remained dark and silent; but just beyond glowed brilliantly the many-hued lights of the wide-awake Poodle-Dog, and he could even hear the band playing noisily within the still more distant dance hall. This combined sight and sound served to arouse him to action and a cool resolve. If he really intended to play out this game successfully he must learn something of its conditions. Besides, he had now two most excellent reasons for desiring to form an early acquaintance with this man Farnham the fellow had come across his line of life twice within the past [107] BETH NORVELL twelve hours. For the purpose there could be no time better than the present. He struck a match against the rough railing and lighted for himself a fresh cigar, his clear-cut, manly features showing calmly determined in that instant glare of sputtering flame. Almost unconsciously, following the instinct of his long Western training, he slipped a revolver from its customary resting-place at the hip, and dropped the weapon conveniently into the side pocket of his loose sack coat. He had heard some tales of this man he purposed seeking, and it might prove well to be pre pared for emergencies. The bar-room of the blazing Poodle-Dog was thronged with men men standing before the long, sloppy bar, men seated around rough tables, and men lounging here and there in groups about the heavily sanded floor. Uninterestedly glancing at these, Win ston paused for an idle moment, his eyes fastened upon a whirling spectacle of dancers in the hall beyond. It formed a scene of mad revelry; yet in his present state of mind, he cared little for its frontier pictur- esqueness, and soon turned away, mounting the broad stairway down which, like an invitation, echoed the sharp click of ivory chips, and the excited voices of those absorbed in play. In both size and gorgeousness of decoration the rooms above were a surprise a glit ter of lights, a babel of noises, a continuous jumble of figures, while over all trembled a certain tension of excitement, terrible in its enchaining power. The very atmosphere seemed electric, filled with a deadly charm. The dull roar of undistinguishable voices sounded [108] "HE MEANS FIGHT" incessantly, occasionally punctuated by those sharp, penetrating tones with which the scattered dealers called varied turns of play, or by some deep oath fall ing unnoted from desperate lips as the unhappy end came. Winston, who had seen many similar scenes, glanced with his usual cool indifference at the various groups of players, careless except in his search, and pressing straight through the vibrating, excited throng, regardless of the many faces fronting him. He under stood that Farnham dealt faro, and consequently moved directly down the long main room totally indifferent to all else. He discovered his particular goal at last, almost at the farther end of the great apartment, the crowd gathered about the faro table dense and silent. He succeeded in pressing in slowly through the outer fringe of players until he attained a position within ten feet of the dealer. There he halted, leaning against the wall, the narrow space between them unoccupied. He saw before him a slenderly built, fashionably dressed figure, surmounted by clear-cut, smooth-shaven features a man of thirty, possibly, decidedly aristo cratic, perfectly self-controlled, his eyes cool, calculat ing, his hands swift, unhesitating in play. From some mysterious cause this masterful repose of the absorbed dealer began immediately to exercise a serious fascina tion over the man watching him. He did not appear altogether human, he seemed rather like some per fectly adjusted machine, able to think and plan, yet as unemotional as so much tempered steel. There was no perceptible change passing in that utterly impas sive face, no brightening of those cold, observant eyes, [109] BETH NORVELL no faintest movement of the tightly compressed lips. It was as though he wore a mask completely eclipsing every natural human feeling. Twice Winston, observ ing closely from his post of vantage slightly to the rear the swift action of those slender white fingers, could have sworn the dealer faced the wrong card, yet the dangerous trick was accomplished so quickly, so coolly, with never a lowering of the eyes, the twitching of a muscle, that a moment later the half-jealous watcher doubted the evidence of his own keen eye sight. As the final fateful card came silently gliding forth and was deliberately turned, face upward, amid bitter curses telling the disappointment of that breath less crowd, a young woman suddenly swept around the lower edge of the long table, brushing Winston with her flapping skirt as she passed, bent down, and whispered a half-dozen rapid sentences into the gamb ler's ear. The hands, already deftly shuffling the cards for another deal, scarcely paused in their opera tions, nor did those cool, observant eyes once desert the sea of excited faces before him. He asked a single brief question, nodded carelessly to the hastily spoken reply, and then, as the woman drew noiselessly away, Winston gazed directly into the startled black eyes of Senorita Mercedes. Instantly she smiled mer rily, exhibiting her white teeth. "Ah, sefior," and she bent toward him in seductive whisper, "so my lady, de Americana, let you escape early to-night ! ". Surprised at her recognition, he failed to answer imme diately, and the girl touched him gently with her hand. [110] "HE MEANS FIGHT' " De girls of my race never so cold, senor. Try me some time, an' see." With a happy laugh and coquettish uplifting of the dark eyes, the dancer was as quickly gone, vanishing into the throng like a flash of red flame. For a breath less moment Winston's admiring gaze followed, con scious merely of her dark beauty, her slender, graceful figure. He was young, impressionable, and there was rare witchery about the girl which momentarily fasci nated him. His attention shifted .back to Farnham with a swift remembrance of the stern purpose which had brought him there. The gambler was play ing out his case silently, emotionless as ever. If he had observed anything unusual, if he considered any thing beyond his card-play, no eye could have detected it in that impassive countenance, those cold, expres sionless eyes. Apparently he was a mere automaton, the sole symbol of life showing in the white fingers so deftly dealing the fateful pasteboards from the box. The impatient, excited crowd facing him moved rest lessly, cursing or laughing with each swift turn of play; but he who wrought the spell neither spoke nor smiled, his face remaining fixed, immutable, as emotionless as carven granite. Suddenly he glanced meaningly aside, and, nodding silently to a black-moustached fellow lounging beside the croupier, rose quickly from his chair. The other as instantly slipped into it, his hands guarding the few remaining cards, while Farnham stood for a moment behind the chair, idly looking on. There was no noticeable interruption to the game, and when the final card came gliding forth from the silver box, Cm] BETH NORVELL the imperturbable gamester turned deliberately away from the table, heedless of the desperate struggle about him, the curses and uproar, and faced the younger man still leaning against the wall. " Mr. Winston ? " he questioned quietly. Surprised by this unexpected notice, the other bowed in silent acknowledgment of his name. A faint sarcastic smile curved the thin, com pressed lips, while Farnham ran one hand carelessly through his slightly curling hair. " I should like a few words with you in private," he explained politely. "There is a vacant room we can use this way." Astonished into yielding without protest, and at the same time feeling sufficiently eager to learn the cause for such a request, Winston unhesitatingly followed the other through the press, marking as he did so the slender erectness of that figure in advance, the square set of the broad shoulders, the easy air of authority with which he cleared the way. Without ceremony Farnham flung aside a heavy brocaded curtain, glanc ing inquiringly into the smaller room thus revealed. It contained a square table and half a dozen chairs. Three men sat within, their feet elevated, quietly smoking. The gambler coolly ran his eyes over their uplifted faces. " I desire to use this room, gents," he announced quietly. "You '11 find plenty of vacant space outside." Whether the lounging trio knew the speaker of old, or were sufficiently satisfied from his stern face of the probable results should they long hesitate to comply, "HE MEANS FIGHT" the three pairs of feet came down together, their own ers passing out in single file. Farnham waved his hand politely toward the vacated interior, a slight measure of deference apparent in his modulated voice. " Help yourself to a chair, Mr. Winston, and per mit me to offer you a fresh cigar ; a fairly good one I imagine, as I chance to be somewhat particular regard ing the weed." A moment they sat thus furtively studying each other's face across the table through the increasing clouds of blue smoke, the younger man puzzled and filled with vague suspicion, the elder still rather un certain of his present ground, as well as of the exact sort of character opposing him. He was somewhat expert in judging human nature ; and the full, square chin, the frank, open look in those steady gray eyes across the table left him doubtful of the final outcome. "No doubt, my addressing you by name was some thing of a surprise," he began, leaning slightly forward, his cigar between his fingers; "but as it chanced, you were pointed out to me on the street a few hours since. May I inquire in this connection if, by any freak of fortune, you can be Ned Winston, of Denver?" "I am." Farnham permitted his lips to smile genially, although his eyes remained utterly devoid of humor. He was skating upon rather thin ice now, realizing it to be far safer to make the venture in all boldness. What he might need to say later would altogether depend upon how much this man really knew. "I was not previously assured of that fact," he ["3] BETH NOR V ELL explained, pleasantly. "It was my pleasure at one time to be quite intimately associated with an old friend of yours, a college chum, I believe Robert Craig, of Chicago." The swift light of pleasant remembrance glowed instantly within the other's watchful eyes. For the moment he dropped his guard in the surprise of this avowal. "Bob Craig! Indeed; why, I do not recall his ever having mentioned your name to me." Farnham's suspended breath burst through his compressed lips in sudden relief. "Very probably not," he admitted, quietly, yet hav ing the grace to lower his eyes slightly. "My own intimacy with Craig occurred since his college days. However, he has spoken to me regarding you quite frequently, and I naturally esteem it a pleasure to meet with you personally." Winston did not immediately reply, puzzling his confused mind in a wholly useless attempt at recall ing his ever having heard this man's name before. But Farnham, placed completely at his ease regarding possi ble recognition, proceeded coolly. "Yet, that does not sufficiently account for my inviting you here." And he leaned farther across the table, slightly lowering his voice. "My important rea- ?on for speaking is entirely a business one. You are, I understand, a mining engineer?" Winston permitted his eyes to acquiesce, fully determined now to allow this man to exhibit his own hand completely before making any return play. ["4] "HE MEANS FIGHT" Farnham, watching the face of the other closely, paused to relight his cigar. "The simple fact is," he resumed, carelessly, "we are having some little difficulty at present regarding certain mining claims we are operating up in Echo Canyon. Nothing at all serious, you understand, but there 's plenty of bad blood, and we naturally prefer keeping the entire controversy out of the courts, if possible. A lawsuit, whatever its final result, would be quite certain to tie up the property for an indefinite period. Besides, lawsuits in this country cost money. The man who has been making the greater part of the existing trouble, a drunken, quarrelsome old mountain shell-back, named Hicks, came in here to see me this afternoon. He was in blamed bad humor, and threatened to blow my brains out unless I came to his terms. No doubt he meant it, and consequently I got rid of him the easiest way I could, and that was by lying. I 've always preferred to lie rather than get shot. Hard to account for tastes, you know. However, among other things the fellow chanced to mention while here was that you had been employed to look after their interests. I presume that statement was merely a bluff?" "Well, not precisely," admitted Winston, when the other paused. "I agreed to go out there, and look over the ground." Farnham smiled deprecatingly, his cigar gripped tightly between his white teeth. "Just about as I supposed. No particular harm done as yet, and no contract made; time enough left BETH NORVELL to draw out of a bad bargain. Well, Winston, I am here to tell you that outfit is not the kind you want to associate yourself with if you desire to stand well in this camp. That 's the straight goods. They 're sim ply a lot of blackmailers and irresponsible thieves. Why, damn it, man, the actual fact is, they can't get a single reputable mining engineer in all this whole dis trict to take hold of their dirty work. That 's why they 've had to hunt up a new man, and got track of you." " So Hicks admitted," interposed the younger man gravely, " although he put it in rather different form. He said it was because you had the money, and your crowd bought them all up." "Oh, he did, did he?" and the gambler laughed outright. " Well, that sort of a job would n't be very costly to outbid that measly outfit. It would be a sight cheaper than litigation, I reckon. What did he offer you, by the way ? " The young engineer hesitated slightly, his cheeks flushing at the cool impudence of the other's direct question. ".I do not recall that any positive offer was made," he replied finally. "At least, the question of payment was not broached." "The old cuss proved more honest than I had supposed," and Farnham dropped his clinched hand on the table. "Now, see here, Winston, I propose giving you this thing right out from the shoulder. There is no use beating around the bush. Those fellows have n't got so much as a leg to stand on; their claim is no good, [116] "HE MEANS FIGHT" and never will be. They 're simply making a bluff to wring some good money out of us, and I don't want to see you get tangled up in that sort of a skin game. You 're Bob Craig's friend, and therefore mine. Now, listen. There are two fellows concerned in that f Little Yankee' claim, this whiskey-soaked Hicks and his partner, a big, red-headed, stuttering fool named Brown c Stutter' Brown, I believe they call him and what have they got between them? A damned hole in the ground, that 's all. Oh, I know ; I 've had them looked after from A to Z. I always handle my cards over before I play. They had exactly two hundred dollars between them deposited in a local bank here last week. That 's their total cash capital. Yesterday one of my people managed to get down in their dinky mine. It was a girl who did the job, but she 's a bright one, and that fellow Brown proved dead easy when she once got her black eyes playing on him. He threw up both hands and caved. Well, say, they 're down less than fifty feet, and their vein actually is n't paying them grub-stakes. That 's the exact state of the case. Now, Winston, you do n't propose to tie yourself profession ally with that sort of a beggarly outfit, do you?" The younger man had been sitting motionless, his arm resting easily on the back of the chair, his eyes slowly hardening as the other proceeded. " I never before clearly understood that poverty was necessarily a crime," he remarked thoughtfully, as Farnham came to a pause. " Besides, I am not tied up with that special outfit. I have merely agreed to examine into the matter." BETH NORVELL " Of course, I understand that ; but what 's the use ? You '11 only come to exactly the same conclusion all the others have. Besides, I have been especially authorized to offer you a thousand dollars simply to drop the thing. It 's worth that much to us just now to be let alone." Winston's eyes half closed, his fingers gripping nervously into the palm of his hand. "It occurs to me you place my selling-out price at rather low figures," he said contemptuously. Farnham straightened up in his chair, instantly real izing he had been guilty of playing the wrong card, and for the moment totally unable to perceive how safely to withdraw it. Even then he utterly failed to comprehend the deeper meaning in the other's words. " I was thinking rather of what it was directly worth to us," he explained, "and had no conception you would look at it that way. However, we are per fectly willing to be liberal how much do you want? " For a moment Winston stared straight at him, his lips firmly set, his gray eyes grown hard as steel. Then he deliberately pushed back his chair, and rose to his feet, one clinched hand resting on the table. " You may not fully understand my position," he began quietly, " for in all probability such a conception is utterly beyond you, but I do n't want a dollar, nor a cent. Good-night." He turned deliberately toward the entrance, but the thoroughly astounded gambler leaped to his feet with one hand extended in sudden protest. He was angry, yet believed he perceived a great light shining through the darkness. [,18] "HE MEANS FIGHT" "Hold on, Winston," he exclaimed anxiously; "just a moment. I 'd totally forgotten that you were the son of a millionaire, and therefore possessed no desire for money like the rest of us more ordinary mortals. Now, let 's be sensible. By God, you must want something ! What is it ? " " You have received my final answer. I am not in the market." Farnham crushed a bitter oath between his gleaming teeth, and flung his sodden cigar-butt to the floor. " Do you actually mean you are crazy enough to go with Hicks, after all I Ve told you ? " " I propose to discover for myself whether his claim is just. If it is, I 'm with him." The gambler caught his breath sharply, for an instant utterly speechless, his face pallid with rage. Then the fierce, angry words burst forth in unre strained torrent through the calm of his accustomed self-control. " Oh, you '11 play hell, you infernal cur. Do it, and I '11 guarantee you '11 get a bullet in the brain, even if you are old Winston's son. We Ve got a way of taking care of your kind out here when you get too gay. You 're with him, are you ? Well, I 'm damned if you ever get any chance even to sit in the game. We '11 get you, and get you early, see if we don't. There are other things besides money in this world, and you Ve got your price, just as well as every other man. Perhaps it 's silk, perhaps it 's calico ; but you bet it 's something, for you 're no angel. By God, I believe I could name it, even now." ["9] BETH NORVELL Winston wheeled, his right hand thrust deeply into his coat pocket, his face sternly set. " What, for instance ? " "Well, just to take a chance, Beth Norvell." Farnham never forgot the flame of those gray eyes, or the sharp sting of the indignant voice. "What do you know regarding her? Speak out, damn you ! " The gambler laughed uneasily ; he had seen that look in men's faces before, and knew its full, deadly meaning. He had already gone to the very limit of safety. " Oh, nothing, I assure you. I never even saw the lady," he explained coldly. " But I have been told that she was the attraction for you in this camp ; and I rather guess I hit the bull's-eye that time, even if it was a chance shot." Winston moistened his dry lips, his eyes never wavering from off the sneering face of the other. "Farnham," the voice sounding low and distinct, " I have got something to say to you, and you are going to listen to the end. You see that?" He thrust sharply forward the skirt of his short coat. "Well, that 's a thirty-eight, cocked and loaded, and I 've got you covered. I know your style, and if you make a single move toward your hip I '11 uncork the whole six shots into your anatomy. Understand ? Now, see here I'm not on the bargain counter for money or anything else. I had not the slightest personal inter est in this affair an hour ago, but I have now, and, what is more, I am going directly after the facts. [120] "HE MEANS FIGHT' Neither you, nor all of your crowd put together, can stop me with either money, bullets, or women. I don't bully worth !a cent, and I don't scare. You took the wrong track, and you Ve got me ready now to fight this out to a finish. And the first pointer I desire to give you is this if your lips ever again besmirch the name of Beth Norvell to my knowledge, I '11 hunt you down as I would a mad dog. I believe you are a dirty liar and thief, and now I 'm going after the facts to prove it. Good-night." He backed slowly toward the curtained doorway, his gaze never wavering from off the surprised coun tenance of the other, his hidden hand grasping the masked revolver. Then he stepped through the opening and disappeared. Farnham remained motion less, his face like iron, his teeth gripping savagely. Then he dropped his hand heavily on the table, still staring, as if fascinated, at the quivering curtains. " By God, the fellow actually means fight," he muttered slowly. " He means fight." CHAPTER IX THE FORCE OF CIRCUMSTANCES SHE had expected the probability of such a happening, yet her face perceptibly paled while perusing the brief note handed her by the stage manager upon coming forth from her dressing-room. Her first impulse was to refuse compliance, to trust fortune in an endeavor to keep beyond reach, to turn and run from this new, threatening danger like a frightened deer. But she recalled the financial necessity which held her yet a prisoner at the Gayety. This writer was partner in the gambling rooms, possi bly in the theatre also ; her chance for escaping him would be very slender. Besides, it might be far better to face the man boldly and have it over. Undoubtedly a meeting must occur some time ; as well now as later so that the haunting shadow would not remain ever before her. The color stole slowly back into her cheeks as she stood twisting the paper between her fingers, her eyes darkening with returning courage. "Where is the gentleman, Ben ? " she asked, steady ing herself slightly against a fly. " First box, Miss ; right through that narrow door, yonder," and the man smiled, supposing he understood. " Very convenient arrangement for the stage ladies." She paused, her hand resting upon the latch, in a final effort to quiet her rapid breathing and gain firmer [122] FORCE OF CIRCUMSTANCES control over her nerves. This was to be a struggle for which she must steel herself. She stepped quietly within, and stood, silent and motionless, amid the shadows of the drawn curtains, gazing directly at the sole occupant of the box, her dark eyes filled with contemptuous defiance. Farnham lounged in the sec ond chair, leaning back in affected carelessness with one arm resting negligently upon the railing, but there came into his pale face a sudden glow of appreciation as he swept his cool eyes over the trim figure, the flushed countenance there confronting him. A realiza tion of her fresh womanly fairness came over him with such suddenness as to cause the man to draw his breath quickly, his eyes darkening with passion. " By thunder, Lizzie, but you are actually develop ing into quite a beauty ! " he exclaimed with almost brutal frankness. " Life on the stage appears to agree with you ; or was it joy at getting rid of me ? " She did not move from where she had taken her first stand against the background of curtains, nor did the expression upon her face change. " I presume you did not send for me merely for the purpose of compliment," she remarked, quietly. "Well, no; not exactly," and the man laughed with assumed recklessness in an evident effort to appear per fectly at ease. " I was simply carried away by the enthusi asm of the moment. I was always, as you will remember, something of a connoisseur regarding the charms of the sex, and you have certainly improved wonderfully. Why, I actually believe I might fall in love with you again if I were to receive the slightest encouragement." BETH NORVELL " I do not think I am offering you any." " Hardly ; even my egotism will not permit me to believe so. An iceberg would seem warm in compari son. Yet, at least, there is no present occasion for our quarrelling. Sit down." " Thank you, I prefer to remain standing. I pre sume whatever you may desire to say will not require much time?" Farnham leaned forward, decidedly jarred from out his assumed mood of cold sarcasm. He had expected something different, and his face hardened with definite purpose. " That depends," he said soberly, " on your frame of mind. You do not appear extremely delighted to meet me again. Considering that it is now fully three years since our last conversation, you might strive to be, at least outwardly, cordial." She gathered up her skirts within her left hand, and turned calmly toward the door. " Is that all ? " The man leaped impulsively to his feet, his cheeks burning with sudden animation, his previous mask of reckless indifference entirely torn away. " Hell, no ! " he exclaimed warmly, as instantly pausing when she wheeled swiftly about and faced him firmly. " No, it is not all. Of course, I had a special purpose in sending for you. Yet I cannot help feel ing a natural curiosity. Tell me, what are you doing here?" " That is quite easily seen ; I am endeavoring to earn a living." C'H] FORCE OF CIRCUMSTANCES "A nice, quiet, respectable sort of a place you have chosen, certainly. It is about the last spot I should ever have expected to discover you in, knowing as I do your former puritanical morals. Your tastes must have greatly changed under the spur," and he laughed lightly, in mockery. Miss Norvell's lips curled in unconcealed contempt, her eyes darkening with indignation. " My present associations were not entered into from choice but from necessity. With you, I under stand, it is deliberate choice." The man stood undecided, fingering the edge of the curtain, vaguely realizing that he was merely injuring his own cause by continuing to anger her, yet far too deeply hit to remain entirely silent. "You seem inclined to strike out as hard as ever," he retorted, yet in tones of manifest regret. " But just now there is not the slightest occasion for any bitter ness. I am perfectly prepared to do the square thing, and if we can only pull together pleasantly for a little while, it will prove far better for both of us." " In plainer words, you chance just now to have some special use for me?" " Well, I hope you will look at the situation from my viewpoint. But the actual truth is, that when. I first came up here to-night, I had not the faintest sus picion that it was you I was seeking." "No?" doubtfully. " That is an actual fact, Lizzie. I did n't suppose you were within a thousand miles of this place," and Farnham quietly settled himself again in his chair. BETH NORVELL " I came up here merely intending to get a glimpse of an actress named Beth Norvell. I was never more thoroughly surprised in my life than when you first came out on the stage. For a moment it knocked me silly. Say, you 're an artist all right, my girl. That was a great stunt. Why, those boys down below hardly breathed until you disappeared. You ought to get a chance in Chicago ; you 'd be wearing diamonds. Damned if I was n't honestly proud of you myself." The girl caught her breath sharply, her hand pressed tightly against her side. "What what was it you desired of Beth Nor vell ? " she questioned. Farnham's white teeth gleamed in a sudden smile of appreciation. "Hope you are not becoming jealous," he said insinuatingly. " Positively no occasion, I assure you, for it was not to make love to the girl, I wanted to see her. Lord, no ! This was purely a business deal. The truth is, I chanced to hear she had a lover already, and he was the fellow I was really after." "A lover?" she stepped toward him, her eyes blazing, her cheeks aflame. "I? How dare you? What can you mean by so false an insinuation ? " " Oh, don't flare up so, Lizzie," and the complacent gambler looked at her with eyes not entirely devoid of admiration. " It really makes you prettier than ever, but that sort of thing cuts no ice with me. However, what I have just said stands : the story flying around here is that you have captured old Winston's boy, and a damned good catch it is, too." [,26] FORCE OF CIRCUMSTANCES She went instantly white as a sheet, her body trembling like an aspen, her quivering lips faltering forth words she could not wholly restrain. "The story, you say the story! Do do you believe that of me?" " Oh, that does n't make any difference," the brute in him frankly enjoying her evident pain. " Lord, what do you care about my belief? That was all passed and over with long ago. All I know is, the fellow is gone on you, all right. Why, he pulled a gun on me last night merely because I chanced to mention your name in his presence." The telltale color swept back into her cheeks in swift wave. For an instant her eyes wavered, then came back to the man's sneering face. " Did did you dare tell him ? " He laughed lightly, softly patting his hand on the railing, his own eyes partially veiled by lowered lids. " Torn off the mask of unimpeachable virtue, have I ? " he chuckled, well pleased. " Rather prefer not to have our late affair blowed to this particular young man, hey ? Well, I suspected as much ; and really, Lizzie, you ought to know I am not that sort of a cur. I 've held my tongue all right so far, and consequently I expect you to do me a good deed in return. That 's a fair enough proposition, is n't it?" She did not immediately answer, gazing upon him as she might at some foul snake which had fascinated her, her breath coming in half-stifled sobs, her hand clutching the heavy curtain for support. " Oh, good God ! " she faltered at last, speaking as [127] BETH NORVELL though half dazed. "You must possess the spirit of a demon. Why do you continue to torture me so? You have no right no right; you forfeited all you ever possessed years ago. Under Heaven, I am noth ing to you ; and in your heart you know I have done nothing wrong, nothing to awaken even the foul sus picions of jealousy. Mr. Winston has been my friend, yet even that friendship innocent and unsullied is already past; we have parted for all time." "Indeed! You are such a consummate actress, Lizzie, I scarcely know what really to believe. Prob ably, then, you no longer object to my telling the gen tleman the story? " Her lips closed firmly. " I shall tell him myself." " Oh ! Then, after all your fine words of renuncia tion, you will see him again ! Your reform is soon ended. Well, my girl, there is really no necessity for any such sacrifice on your part. No one here suspects anything regarding our little affair excepting you and me. You do what I desire with this Winston, and I 'm mum. What do you say?" She sank back into a chair, utterly unable to stand longer, hiding her face in her hands. "What what is it you wish?" she questioned wearily. He leaned forward and placed his hand, almost in caress, upon her skirt, but she drew the cloth hastily away, a sudden sob shaking her voice. " Oh, please, don't touch me ! I cannot stand it only tell me what it is you wish . " FORCE OF CIRCUMSTANCES " I want you to exercise your influence over that fellow, and prevent his taking professional employ ment at the ' Little Yankee ' mine." "Why? " she lifted her head again, facing him with questioning eyes. " Simply because his doing so will interfere seriously with some of my business plans that 's all." "Then why don't you act the part of a man, and go to him yourself? Why, in this, do you prefer hiding behind the skirts of a woman ? " Farnham laughed grimly, in no way embarrassed by the query. " Good Lord, Lizzie ! I 've been to him, all right, but the fellow is like a stubborn mule. He has n't got but one selling-out price, so far as I can learn, and that chances to be Beth Norvell. You see the point? Well, that 's exactly why I came here to-night. I wanted to be able to tender him the goods." For a moment her eyes remained pitifully pleading; then they suddenly appeared to harden into resolute defiance. As though moving in a dream, she arose slowly to her feet, taking a single step away from him toward the closed door. " As I have already explained," she paused to say coldly, " Mr. Winston is no more to me than any other gentleman whom I may have chanced to meet in friendship. I have not the faintest reason to sup pose I could influence his decision in any matter appertaining to his professional work. Moreover, I have not the slightest inclination to try." " Do you dare refuse, in spite of all I can say to [129] BETH NORVKLL your injury ? " he asked, even then doubtful of her meaning. " I definitely decline to be your catspaw, yes. Nothing you can relate truthfully will ever harm me in the estimation of a gentleman, and I shall certainly know how to combat falsehood." "Quite pretty. Injured innocence, I perceive, is to be the line of defence. What ! are you already going?" " I am." "Where?" She turned again, standing erect, her face flushing, her hand upon the latch of the door. "If it is imperative that you know, I will tell you. I intend seeking Mr. Winston, and informing him exactly who and what I am." "Now? at this hour of the night?" " Better now, and at this hour of the night, than venture waiting until after you have had an inning. I am not at all ashamed to confess the truth, if I can only be the first to tell my story." She pressed the latch of the door, her breathing so rapid as to be positively painful. With an ill-repressed oath, Farnham sprang to his feet, his rising anger putting an end to all prudence. "Wait!" he exclaimed gruffly. "Wait where you are until I am done. You have heard only a part of this thing so far. My God, girl ! don't you know me well enough by this time to comprehend that I always have my way, whatever the cost may be to others ? Lord! what do I care for this fellow? or, for the FORCE OF CIRCUMSTANCES matter of that, what do I care for you? I don't permit people to stand in my path ; and I supposed you had thoroughly learned that lesson, if no other. Faith, you had cause enough, surely. So you refuse all endeavor to keep Winston out of this affair, do you? Perhaps you had better pause a minute, and remember who it is you are dealing with. I reckon you never saw any signs of the quitter about me. Now, it 's true I 'd rather have you do this business up quietly ; but if you refuse, don't forget there are other means fully as effective, and a damn sight quicker." He reached out suddenly, grasping her hand. " Did you ever hear the adage, f Dead men tell no tales ' ? " he questioned savagely. She drew her hand sharply back from its instant of imprisonment, with a smothered cry, her eyes rilled with undisguised horror. "You threaten you threaten murder?" " Oh, we never use that word out in this country - it is considered far too coarse, my dear," and Farn- ham's thin lips curled sardonically. " We merely f silence' our enemies in Colorado. It is an extremely simple matter; nothing at all disagreeable or boorish about it, I can assure you. A stick of dynamite dropped quietly down a shaft-hole, or pushed beneath a bunk house that's all. The coroner calls it an accident ; the preachers, a dispensation of Providence ; while the fellows who really know never come back to tell. If merely one is desired, a well-directed shot from out a cedar thicket affords a most gentlemanly way of shuffling off this mortal coil." BETH NORVELL " You would not ! You dare not ! " " I ? Why, such a thought is preposterous, of course, for the risk would be entirely unnecessary. Quite evidently you are not well acquainted with one of the flourishing industries of this section, my dear. There are always plenty of men out of a job in this camp; conscience does n't come high, and the present market price for that sort of work is only about twenty-five dollars a head. Not unreasonable, all things considered, is it ? " If she had not thoroughly known this man, had not previously sounded his depths, she might have doubted his meaning, deceived by the lazy drawl in his soft voice, the glimmer of grim humor in his eyes. But she did know him ; she comprehended fully the slum bering tiger within, the lurking spirit of vindictiveness of his real nature, and that knowledge overcame her, left her weak and trembling like a frightened child. For an instant she could not articulate, staring at him with white face and horrified eyes. "You you mean that?" and for the first time she clasped his loose coat between her clutching fingers. " It is hardly a subject to be deliberately selected for jest," he replied coolly, "but if you prefer you might wait and see." She stepped back from him, leaning heavily against the frame of the door, her face again hidden behind uplifted hands. The man did not move, his face emotionless, his lips tightly set. He was watching her with the intentness of a hawk, absolutely certain now of his victim. Suddenly she looked up, her eyes FORCE OF CIRCUMSTANCES picturing the courage of desperation. One glance into his face and the woman stood transformed, at bay, the fierce spirit of battle flaming into her face. " Have it so, then," she exclaimed sharply. " I pledge myself to do everything possible to prevent his remaining here." She drew herself up, her eyes dark ening from sudden, uncontrollable anger. " Oh, how I despise you, you coward, you [cur ! I know you, what you are capable of, and I do this to preserve the life of a friend ; but my detestation of you is beyond expression in words. My one and greatest shame is that I ever trusted you ; that I once believed you to be a man. Good God ! how could I ever have been so blind ! " She opened the door with her hand extended behind her, and backed slowly away, facing him where he stood motionless, smiling still as though her sudden outburst of passion merely served to feed his conceit. " Then I may trust you in this ? " Her eyes shone fairly black with the depth of scorn glowing in them. "Have have you ever known me to lie?" she asked, her voice faltering from reaction. The door closed. [133] CHAPTER X A NEW ALLIANCE HER eyes blinded by a strange mist of tears, Beth Norvell clung to the latch of the closed door, fearful lest the man within might decide to fol low, endeavoring to gaze about, while gaining control over her sorely shattered nerves. Strong as she had appeared when nerved by indignation and despair, that stormy interview with Farnham his scarcely veiled threats, his heartless scoffing had left her a wreck, for the moment scarcely mistress of her own mind. One thing alone stood forth as a rallying point for all her benumbed energies she must save Winston from a real danger, the nature of which she did not in the least doubt. The gambler's boast was no idle one ; she, who had before tasted of his depravity, felt fully convinced of his intention now. Yet what could she hope to do ? How best might she accomplish that imperative duty of rescue? There occurred to her only one feasible plan a complete surrender of her womanly pride, an immedi ate acceptance of the young man's proffered aid to Denver, with an insistence that he also accompany her. Woman enough to realize her power, she could not but have faith in the results. The color crept back in her cheeks at this daring conception, for, after those hastily uttered words of the previous night, what construction [134] A NEW ALLIANCE would he be likely to put on this sudden yielding ? An instant she hesitated, afraid, shrinking back before the sacrifice as from fire. Then her fine eyes darkened, the clinging tears vanishing while her fingers clinched in passionate resolve. Do it ? Why, of course she must do it ! What was her pitiful pride in the balance against his life? He might never dream what so great a sacrifice cost her; might even despise her for such an exhibition of weakness ; but she would know, and be the stronger in her own soul from the brave per formance of duty. Besides, she intended to tell him the whole miserable story of her wrecked life not now, not even to-night, but some time, on their way back into the world, as they were nearing Denver, per haps, and at the moment of final parting. It almost seemed easy as she faced the stern necessity, so easy that her parted lips smiled sarcastically when she heard Farnham rise and leave the darkened box through the opposite entrance. Perhaps, when he comprehended it all, this other, who had spoken love words to her, would understand where the real blame lay, and so prove manly enough to absolve her from any concep tion of evil. This hope was sweet, strengthening, yet it faded immediately away. Ah, no ; such result was not natural, as she understood the world it was always the woman who bore the burden of condemna tion. Far safer to expect nothing, but do the right simply because it was right. She no longer questioned what that would be. It stood there before her like a blazing cross of flame; she must hold those two men apart, even though they both trampled her heart [135] BETH NORVELL beneath their feet. This was her destiny, the payment she must return the world for having once made a mis take. One out of the multitude, she felt strong enough in the crisis to choose deliberately the straight and nar row path leading through Gethsemane. And this very choosing gave back her womanhood, cleared her dazed brain for action, and sent the red blood throbbing through her veins. Her immediate surroundings began to take definite form. To the left the great, deserted stage extended, wrapped in total darkness, silent, forsaken, the heavy drop-curtain low ered to the floor. Through its obscuring folds resounded noisily a crash of musical instruments, the incessant shuffling of feet, a mingled hum of voices, evidencing that the dance was already on in full volume. Far back, behind much protruding scenery, a single light flickered like a twinkling star, its dim, uncertain radiance the sole guide through the intricacies of cluttered passageways leading toward the distant stage entrance. Half frightened at this gloomy loneliness, the girl moved gingerly forward, her skirts gathered closely about her slender figure, with anxious eyes scanning the gloomy shadows in vague suspicion. Suddenly a hand gripped her extended wrist, and she gazed for a startled instant into fiercely burning eyes, her own heart throbbing with nervous excitement. "Vat vas he to you? Answer me! Answer me quick!" The blood came back into her blanched cheeks with a sudden rush of anger. Instantly indignation swept back the mists of fear. With unnatural strength she A NEW ALLIANCE wrenched free her captured hand, and sternly fronted the other, a barely recognized shadow in the gloom. "Permit me to pass," she exclaimed, clearly. "How dare you hide here to halt me?" The other exhibited her teeth, gleaming white and savage behind parted lips, yet she never stirred. "Dare? Pah! you vaste time to talk so," she cried brokenly, her voice trembling from passion. "You no such fine lady now, senorita. You see dis knife ; I know how use eet quick. Bah! you go to him like all de rest, but I vill know de truth first, if I have to cut eet out you. So vat ees de Senor Farnham to you ? Say quick!" The American remained silent, motionless, her breath quickening under the threat, her eyes striving to see clearly the face of the one confronting her. "Do you expect to frighten me?" she asked, coldly, her earlier anger strangely changing to indifference. "It is you who wastes time, senorita, for I care little for your knife. Only it would be an extremely foolish thing for you to do, as I have not come between you and your lover." The impulsive Mexican dancer laughed, but with no tone of joy perceptible. "My lofer! Mother of God! sometime I think I hate, not lofe. He vas like all you Americanos, cold as de ice. He play vis Mercedes, and hurt gracious, how he hurt! But I must be told. Vat vas he to you? Answer me dat." Beth Norvell's eyes softened in sudden pity. The unconscious appeal within that broken voice, which [-37] BETH NORVELL had lost all semblance of threat, seemed to reveal instantly the whole sad story, and her heart gave immediate response. She reached out, touching gently the hand in which she saw the gleam of the knife- blade. There was no fear in her now, nothing but an infinite womanly sympathy. "He is nothing to me," she said, earnestly, "abso lutely nothing. I despise him that is all. He is unworthy the thought of any woman." The slender figure of the Mexican swayed as though stricken by a blow, the fierce, tigerish passion dying out of her face, her free hand seeking her throat as though choking. "Nothing?" she gasped, incredulously. "Sapristi, I think you lie, senorita. Nothing? Vy you go to him in secret? Vy you stay and talk so long? I not understand." "He sent for me; he wished me to aid him in a business matter." The other stared incredulous, her form growing rigid with gathering suspicion that this fair American was only endeavoring to make her a fool through the use of soft speech. The white teeth gleamed again maliciously. " You speak false to Mercedes," she cried hotly, her voice trembling. "Vy he send for you, senorita? You know him ? " There was a bare instant of seeming hesitation, then the quiet, better controlled voice answered soberly: "Yes, in the East, three years ago." Like a flash of powder, the girl of the hot-blooded A NEW ALLIANCE South burst into fresh flame of passion, her foot stamping the floor, her black eyes glowing with unre strained anger. " Dios de Dios / Eet ees as I thought. He lofe you, not Mercedes. Vy I not kill you? hey?" Miss Norvell met her fiercely threatening look, her single step of advance, without tremor or lowering of the eyes. She even released her grasp upon the uplifted knife, as if in utter contempt. For a moment they confronted each other, and then, as suddenly as she had broken into flame, the excitable young Mexi can burst into tears. As though this unexpected exhibition of feeling had inspired the action, the other as quickly decided upon her course. " Listen to me, girl," she exclaimed gravely, again grasping the lowered knife hand. " I am going to trust you implicitly. You feel deeply ; you will understand when I tell you all. You call me a fine lady because I hold myself aloof from the senseless revelry of this mining camp ; and you believe you hate me because you suppose I feel above you. But you are a woman, and, whatever your past life may have been, your heart will respond to the story of a woman's trouble. I 'm going to tell you mine, not so much for my sake as for your own. I am not afraid of your knife ; why, its sharp point would be almost welcome, were it not that I have serious work to do in the world before I die. And you are going to aid me in accomplish ing it. You say you do not really know now whether you truly love or hate this man, this Farnham. But I know for myself beyond all doubt. All that once E T 39] BETH NORVELL might have blossomed into love in my heart has been withered into hatred, for I know him to be a moral leper, a traitor to honor, a remorseless wretch, unworthy the tender remembrance of any woman. You sup pose I went to him this night through any deliberate choice of my own ? Almighty God, no ! I went because I was compelled; because there was no possi ble escape. Now, I am going to tell you why." Mercedes, the tears yet clinging to her long, black lashes, stood motionless, gazing at the other with fascination, her slender, scarlet-draped figure quivering to the force of these impetuous words. She longed, yet dreaded, to hear, her own lips refusing utterance. But Beth Norvell gave little opportunity ; her deter mination made, she swept forward unhesitatingly. As though fearful of being overheard, even in the midst of that loneliness, she leaned forward, whispering one quick, breathless sentence of confession. The startled dancer swayed backward at the words, clutching at her breast, the faint glimmer of light revealing her staring eyes and pallid cheeks. " Mother of God ! " she sobbed convulsively. " No, no ! not dat ! He could not lie to me like dat ! " " Lie ? " in bitter scornfulness. " Lie ! Why, it is his very life to lie to women. God pity us! This world seems filled with just such men, and we are their natural victims. Love ? Their only conception of it is passion, and, that once satiated, not even ordinary kind ness is left with which to mock the memory. In Heaven's name, girl, in your life have you not long since learned this ? Now, I will tell you what this [140] A NEW ALLIANCE monster wanted of me to-night." She paused, scarcely knowing how best to proceed, or just how much of the plot this other might already comprehend. " Have you ever heard of the c Little Yankee ' mine ? " she questioned. " Si, senorita," the voice faltering slightly, the black eyes drooping. " Eet is up in de deep canyon yon der ; I know eet." "He told me about it," Miss Norvell continued more calmly. " He is having trouble with those people out there. There is something wrong, and he is afraid of exposure. You remember the young man who walked home with me last night? Well, he is a mining engi neer. He has agreed to examine into the claims of the * Little Yankee' people, and this this Farnham wants him stopped. You understand ? He sent for me to use my influence and make him go away. I refused, and then this this creature threatened to kill Mr. Winston if he remained in camp, and and I know he will." The Mexican's great black eyes widened, but not with horror. Suddenly in the silent pause she laughed. "Si, si; now I know all you lofe dis man. Buenof I see eet as eet vas." The telltale red blood swept to the roots of Miss Norvell's hair, but her indignant reply came swift and vehement. " No, stop ! Never dare to speak such words. I am not like that ! Can you think of nothing except the cheap masquerade of love? Have you never known any true, pure friendship existing between man and BETH NORVELL woman ? This mining engineer has been good to me ; he has proved himself a gentleman. It is not love which makes me so ^anxious now to serve him, to warn him of imminent danger it is gratitude, friendship, common humanity. Is it impossible for you to com prehend such motives?" The other touched her for the first time with extended hand, her face losing much of its previous savagery. " I know so ver' leettle 'bout such kinds of peoples, senorita," she explained regretfully, her voice low, "de kind vat are good and gentle and vidout vantin' somting for eet. Eet ees not de kinds I meet vis ver' much. Dey be all alike vis me lofe, lofe, lofe, till I get seek of de vord only de one, an' I not know him ver' veil yet. Maybe he teach me vat you mean some day. He talk better, not like a fool, an' he not try to make me bad. Is dat eet, senorita ? " "Yes; who is it you mean?" "He? Oh! it vas most odd, yet I do not laugh, senorita. I know not vy, but he make me to feel vat you calls eet? si, de respect; I tink him to be de good man, de gentle. He was at de * Little Yankee ' too. I vonder vas all good out at de f Little Yankee ' ? Sapristi! he vas such a funny man to talk he sput ter like de champagne ven it uncorked. I laugh at him, but I like him just de same, for he act to me like I vas de lady, de ver' fine lady. I never forget dat. You know him, senorita? So big like a great bear, vis de beautiful red hair like de color of dis dress. No? He so nice I just hate to have to fool him, but maybe I get chance to make eet all up some day you [' 4*] A NEW ALLIANCE tink so ? Merciful saints ! Ve are queer, ve vomens ! Eet vas alvays de voman vat does like de vay you do, hey ? Ve vas mooch fools all de time." "Yes, we are f much fools'; that seems ordained. Yet there are true, noble men in this world, Mercedes, and blessed is she who can boast of such a friendship. This Mr. Winston is one, and, perhaps, your stutter ing giant may prove another." She caught at a straw of hope in thus interesting the girl. " So he is at the f Little Yankee' ? and you wish to serve him? Then listen ; he is in danger also if this scheme of revenge carries in danger of his life. Dynamite does not pick out one victim, and permit all others to escape." " Dynamite? " " That was Farnham's threat, and God knows he is perfectly capable of it. Now, will you aid me ? " The young Mexican girl stood staring with parted lips. " Help you how? Vat you mean?" " Warn the men of the ' Little Yankee.' ' The other laughed behind her white teeth, yet with no mirth in the sound. "Ah, maybe I see, senorita; you try make a fool out me. No, I not play your game. You try turn me against Senor Farnham. I tink you not catch Mercedes so." "You do not believe me?" " Sapristif I know not for sure. Maybe I help, maybe I not. First I talk vis Senor Farnham, an' den I know vether you lie, or tell true. Vatever ees right I do." [H3] BETH NORVELL "Then permit me to pass." Miss Norvell took a resolute step forward, clasp ing her skirts closely to keep them from contact with the dusty scenery crowding the narrow passage. The jealous flame within the black eyes of the Mexican dimmed. "You can no pass dat vay," she explained swiftly, touching the other's sleeve. "Not through the stage door?" The other shook her head doggedly. " Eet is alvay locked, senorita." Beth Norvell turned about in dismay, her eyes pleading, her breath quickening. "You mean we are shut in here for the night? Is n't there any way leading out? " " Oh, si, si," and Mercedes smiled, waving her hands. "Zar is vay yonder vare de orchestra goes. Eet leads to de hall ; I show you." "Did he know?" " Vat ? Senor Farnham ? No doubt, senorita. Come, eet ees but de step." The bewildered American hung back, her eyes filled with dread resting upon the black shadow of the cur tain, from behind which clearly arose the strains of a laboring orchestra, mingling with the discordant noise of a ribald crowd. Farnham understood she was locked in ; knew she might hope to escape only through that scene of pollution ; beyond doubt, he waited in its midst to gloat over her degradation, pos sibly even to accost her. She shrank from such an ordeal as though she fronted pestilence. [144] A NEW ALLIANCE " Oh, not that way ; not through the dance hall ! " she exclaimed. Mercedes clapped her hands with delight. To her it appeared amusing. "Holy Mother! Vy not? Eet make me laugh to see you so ver' nice. Vat you 'fraid 'bout? Vas eet de men ? Pah ! I snap my fingers at all of dem dis vay. Dey not say boo ! But come, now, Mercedes show you vay out vere you no meet vis de men, no meet vis anybody. Poof, eet ees easy." She danced lightly away, her hand beckoning, her black eyes aglow with aroused interest. Reluctantly the puzzled American slowly followed, dipping down into the black labyrinth leading beneath the stage. Amid silence and darkness Mercedes grasped her arm firmly, leading unhesitatingly forward. Standing within the glare of light streaming through the partially open door, Miss Norvell drew a sudden breath of relief. The chairs and benches, piled high along the side of the great room, left a secluded passageway running close against the wall. Along this the two young women moved silently, catching merely occasional glimpses of the wild revelry upon the other side of that rude barrier, unseen themselves until within twenty feet of the street door. There Miss Norvell hesitated, her anxious eyes searching the mixed crowd of dancers now for the first time fully revealed. Even as she gazed upon the riot, shocked into silence at the inexpressible profligacy displayed, and ashamed of her presence in the midst of it, a merry peal of laughter burst through the parted lips of the Mexican dancer. CHS] BETH NORVELL " Dios de Dios, but I had all forgot dis vas your night for de dance, senor. But you no so easy forget Mercedes, hey ? " He stood directly before them, plainly embarrassed, gripping his disreputable hat in both hands like a great bashful boy, his face reddening under her smiling eyes, his voice appearing to catch within his throat. Mer cedes laughed again, patting his broad shoulder with her white hand as though she petted a great, good-natured dog. Then her sparkling black eyes caught sight of something unexpected beyond, and, in an instant, grew hard with purpose. " Holy Mother ! but eet 's true he ees here, senorita see yonder by de second vindow," she whispered fiercely. " Maybe it vas so he tink to get you once more, but he not looked dis vay yet. Bueno! I make him dance vis me. Dis man Stutter Brown, an' he go vis you to de hotel ; ees eet not so, amigo? " " I-I have no t-t-time," he stuttered, totally con fused. " Y-you see, I 'm in a h-hell of a h-h-hurry." " Pah ; eet vill not take five minute, an' I be here ven you come back. Si, senor, I vait for you for de dance, sure." She turned eagerly to Miss Norvell. "You go vis him, senorita; he ver' good man, I, Mercedes, know." The American looked at them both, her eyes slightly smiling in understanding. "Yes," she assented quietly, "I believe he is." [146] CHAPTER XI HALF-CONFIDENCES WHATEVER Stutter Brown may secretly have thought concerning this new arrange ment of his affairs, he indulged in no outward manifestations. Not greatly gifted in speech, he was nevertheless sufficiently prompt in action. The swift, nervous orders of the impulsive Mexican dancer had sufficiently impressed him with one controlling idea, that something decidedly serious was in the air ; and, as she flitted across the room, looking not unlike a red bird, he watched her make directly toward a man who was leaning negligently back in a chair against the farther wall. For a moment he continued to gaze through the obscuring haze of tobacco smoke, uncertain as to the other's identity, his eyes growing angry, his square jaw set firm. " W-who is the f-f-feller ? " he questioned gruffly. " Wh-what 's she m-mean 1-leavin' me to go over th-thar ter h-him?" Beth Norvell glanced up frankly into his puzzled face. " She has gone to keep him away from me," she explained quietly. " His name is Farnham." Brown's right hand swung back to his belt, his teeth gripped like those of a fighting dog. "Hell!" he ejaculated, forgetting to stutter. "Is [147] BETH NORVELL that him ? Biff Farnham ? An' he 's after you is he, the damned Mormon?" She nodded, her cheeks growing rosy from embarrass ment. Brown cast a quick, comprehensive glance from the face of the woman to where the man was now lean ing lazily against the wall. "All r-right, little g-girl," he said slowly, and with grave deliberation. " I-I reckon I n-never went b-back on any p-pard yet. B-blamed if y-y-you hate thet c-cuss any worse th-than I do. Y-you bet, I '11 take you out o' h-h-here safe 'nough." He drew her more closely against his side, completely shielding her slender figure from observationby the inter vention of his giant body, and thus they passed out together into the gloomy but still riotous street. A block or more down, under the glaring light of a noisy saloon, the girl looked up questioningly into his boyish face. "Are you Stutter Brown, of the ' Little Yankee'?" she asked doubtfully. " I-I reckon you 've c-c-called the t-turn, Miss." She hes'itated a moment, but there was something about this big, awkward fellow, with his sober eyes and good-natured face, which gave her confidence. "Do do you know a Mr. Ned Winston?" He shook his head, the locks of red hair showing conspicuously under the wide hat-brim. " I r-reckon not. Leastwise, don't s-s-sorter seem to r-recall no such n-name, Miss. Was the g-gent a f-friend o' your 'n ? " " Y-yes. He is a mining engineer, and, I have been told, is under engagement at the * Little Yankee.' ' [148] HALF-CONFIDENCES Brown's eyes hardened, looking down into the upturned face, and his hands clinched in sudden awakening suspicion. "You d-did, hey?" he questioned sullenly. "Wh- who told you that r-rot ? " " Farnham." The man uttered an unrestrained oath, fully believ ing now that he was being led into a cunningly devised trap. His mental operations were slow, but he was swift and tenacious enough in prejudice. He stopped still, and the two stood silently facing each other, the same vague spectre of suspicion alive in the minds of both. " Farnham," the man muttered, for one instant thrown off his guard from surprise. " How th-the hell d-d-did he g-git hold o' that?" "I don't know; but is n't it true?" He turned her face around toward the light, not roughly, yet with an unconscious strength which she felt irresistible, and looked at her searchingly, his own eyes perceptibly softening. "Y-you sure 1-1-look all fight, little g-girl," he admitted, slowly, "but I 've h-heard th-th-that feller was hell with w-women. I-I reckon you b-better go b-back to Farnham an' find out." He paused, wiping his perspiring face with the back of his hand, his cheeks reddening painfully under her unfaltering gaze. Finally he blurted out: "Say, w-who are you, anyhow?" "Beth Norvell, an actress." "You kn-kn-know Farnham?" BETH NORVELL She bent her head in regretful acknowledgment. "An' you kn-kn-know the senorita?" "Yes, a very little." Stutter Brown wet his lips, shifting awkwardly. "Well, y-you '11 excuse me, M-Miss," he stuttered in an excess of embarrassment, yet plunging straight ahead with manly determination to have it out. "I-I ain't much used t-t-to this sorter th-thing, an' maybe I-I ain't got no r-r-right ter be a-botherin' you with m-my affairs, nohow. But you s-see it 's th-this way. I Ve sorter t-took a big 1-1-likin' to that dancin' girl. Sh-she 's a darn sight n-n-nearer my s-style than any thing I 've been up a-against fer s-some time. I-I don't just kn-know how it h-h-happened, it was so blame s-sudden, b-but she 's got her 1-1-lasso 'bout me all r-right. But Lord! sh-she 's all fun an' laugh; sh-sh-she don't seem to take n-nothin' serious like, an' you c-can't make much ou-ou-out o' that kind; you n -never know just how to t-take 'em; leastwise, I don't. N-now, I 'm a plain s-s-sorter man, an' I m-make bold ter ask ye a m-mighty plain sorter qu-question is that there M-M- Mercedes on the squar?" He stood there motionless before her, a vast, uncer tain bulk in the dim light, but he was breathing hard, and the deep earnestness of his voice had impressed her strongly. "Why do you ask me that?" she questioned, for the moment uncertain how to answer him. "I scarcely know her; I know almost nothing regarding her life." "Y-you, you are a w-woman, Miss," he insis ted, doggedly, "an', I t-take it, a woman who will HAL F-C ONFIDENCES u-understand such th-th-things. T-tell me, is she on the squar?" "Yes," she responded, warmly. "She has not had much chance, I think, and may have made a mistake, perhaps many of them, but I believe she 's on the square." "Did did sh-she come out t-to our m-m-mine spy ing for Farnham?" "Really, I don't know." His grave face darkened anxiously; she could per ceive the change even in that shadow, and distinguish the sharp grind of his teeth. "Damn him," he muttered, his voice bitter with hate. "It w-would be 1-1-like one of his 1-low-lived tricks. Wh-what is that g-girl to him, anyhow?" It was no pleasant task to hurt this man deliberately, yet, perhaps, it would be best. Anyway, it was not in Beth Norvell's nature either to lie or to be afraid. "He has been her friend; there are some who say her lover." He stared fixedly at her, as though she had struck him a stinging, unexpected blow. "Him? A-an' you s-s-say she 's on the squar?" "Yes; I say she is on the square, because I think so. It 's a hard life she 's had to live, and no one has any right to judge her by strict rules of propriety. I may not approve, neither do I condemn. Good women have been deceived before now have innocently done wrong in the eyes of the world and this Mercedes is a woman. I know him also, know him to be a cold blooded, heartless brute. She is merely a girl, pulsating BETH NORVELL with the fiery blood of the South, an artist to her fingers' tips, wayward and reckless. It would not be very diffi cult for one of that nature to be led astray by such a consummate deceiver as he is. I pity her, but I do not reproach.. Yet God have mercy on him when she awakes from her dream, for that time is surely coming, perhaps is here already ; and the girl is on the square. I believe it, she is on the square." For a silent, breathless moment Brown did not stir, did not once take his eyes from off her face. She saw his hand slip down and close hard over the butt of his dangling revolver. Then he drew a deep breath, his head thrown back, his great shoulders squared. " D-damn, but that helps me," he said soberly. "It it sure does. G-good-night, little g-girl." "Are you going to leave me now?" " Why, sure. Th-this yere is the h-h-hotel, ain 't it ? W-well, I Ve got t-to be back to th-the ' Little Yankee ' afore d-d-daylight, or thar '11 be h-hell to pay, an' I sure m-mean to see her first, an' an' maybe h-him." She stood there in thoughtful perplexity, oblivious to all else in her strange surroundings, watching the dark shadow of his burly figure disappear through the dim light. There was a strength of purpose, a grim, unchangeable earnestness about the man which im pressed her greatly, which won her admiration. He was like some great faithful dog, ready to die at his master's bidding. Down in her heart she wondered what would be the tragic end of this night's confidence. "There goes a good friend," she said slowly, under HAL F-C ONFIDENCES her breath, "and a bad enemy." Then she turned away, aroused to her own insistent mission of warning, and entered the silent hotel. The night clerk, a mere boy with pallid cheeks and heavy eyes bespeaking dissipation, reclined on a couch behind the rough counter, reading a Denver paper. He was alone in the room, excepting a drunken man noisily slumbering in an arm-chair behind the stove. Miss Norvell, clasping her skirts tightly, picked her way forward across the littered floor, the necessity for immediate action rendering her supremely callous to all ordinary questions of propriety. " Can you inform me if Mr. Winston is in his room ? " she questioned, leaning across the counter until she could see the clerk's surprised face. The young fellow smiled knowingly, rising instantly to his feet. " Not here at all," he returned pleasantly. " He left just before noon on horseback. Heard him say something 'bout an engineering job he had up Echo Canyon. Reckon that 's where he 's gone. Anything important, Miss Norvell ? " CHAPTER XII THE COVER OF DARKNESS BETH NORVELL did not remember ever hav ing fainted in her life, yet for a moment after these words reached her, all around grew dark, and she was compelled to grasp the counter to keep from falling. The strain of the long night, coupled with such unexpected news proving she had arrived too late with her warning, served to daze her brain, to leave her utterly unable either to think or plan. The clerk, alarmed by the sudden pallor of her face, was at her side instantly, holding eagerly forth that panacea for all fleshly ills in the West, a bottle of whiskey. "Good Lord, Miss, don't faint away!" he cried excitedly. " Here, just take a swig of this ; there 's plenty of water in it, and it 's the stuff to pull you through. There, that 's better. Great Scott, but I sure thought you was goin' to flop over that time. " He assisted her to a convenient chair, then stepped back, gazing curiously into her face, the black bottle still in his hand. "What 's the trouble, anyhow?" he questioned, his mind filled with sudden suspicion. "That that fellow did n't throw you, did he? " Miss Norvell, her fingers clasping the chair arm for support, rose hurriedly to her feet, a red flush sweep ing into her pallid cheeks. For an instant her intense indignation held her speechless. THE COVER OF DARKNESS " f Throw' me? What is it you mean?" she exclaimed, her voice faltering. " Do you rank me with those shameless creatures out yonder ? It is for Mr. Winston's sake I sought word with him ; it has nothing whatever to do with myself. I chanced to learn news of the utmost importance, news which he must pos sess before morning ; yet it is not a message I can trust to any one else. My God ! what can I do ? " She paused irresolute, her hands pressing her temples. The boy, his interest aroused, took a step forward. " Can I be of service ? " "Oh, I hardly know; I scarcely seem able to think. Could could you leave here for just ten minutes long enough to go to the dance hall at the Gayety ? " "Sure thing; there 's nothin' doin'." "Then please go ; find a big, red-headed miner there named Brown ' Stutter ' Brown they call him and bring him back here to me. If if he is n't there any longer, then get Mercedes, the Mexican dancer. You know her, don't you?" The clerk nodded, reaching for his hat. " Get one of those two ; oh, you must get one of them. Tell them I say it is most important." There was a terrible earnestness about the girl's words and manner, which instantly impressed the lad with the necessity for immediate haste. He was off at a run, slamming the door heavily behind him, and plunging headlong into the black street. As he dis appeared, Miss Norvell sank back into the vacated chair, and sat there breathing heavily, her eyes fastened upon the drunken man opposite, her natural coolness [iJ5] BETH N ORVELL and resource slowly emerging from out the haze of disappointment. Brown could surely be trusted in this emergency, for his interest was only second to her own. But why had she not told him the entire story before? Why, when she had opportunity, did she fail to reveal to him Farnham's threats, and warn him against impending danger? She realized fully now the possible injury wrought by her secrecy. She felt far too nervous, too intensely anxious, to remain long quiet ; her eyes caught the ticking timepiece hanging above the clerk's desk, and noted the hour with a start of surprise. It was already after two. Once, twice, thrice she paced across the floor of the office and stood for a moment striving to peer through the dirty window-glass into the blackness without, faintly splotched with gleams of yellow light. Finally, she flung back the door and ventured forth upon the shadowed porch, standing behind the low railing, where those passing below were little likely to notice her presence. Her head throbbed and ached, and she loosened her heavy hair, pressing her palms to the temples. The boy returned at last hurriedly, bare headed, but unaccompanied, and she met him at the top of the steps, realizing, even before he spoke, that those she sought had not been found. " Not there ? Neither there ? " " No, Miss." The clerk was breathing hard from his run, but his tone was sympathetic. " Darned if I did n't hustle that outfit from pit to boxes, but nobody there seemed to sabe this yere Brown. Mercedes, she was there all right, 'bout ten minutes ago, but just THE COVER OF DARKNESS naturally faded away before I hit the shebang. Door keeper piped it she had a guy with her when she broke loose, an' he reckoned she must have lit out fer home." " For home? " a faint ray of light breaking from the word. " Where does the girl live ? Do you know?" " Sure ; I 'm wise ; she has a couple of dandy rooms over at the old fort, just across the creek ; you know where that is, don't you ? " She nodded silently, her eyes brightening with reso lution. " It 's a blame tough bit of hiking to take alone on a dark night like this," he commented gravely. "You was n't plannin' to try any such trip as that, was you, Miss?" " Oh, no ; certainly not. I 'm going upstairs to wait for daylight. But I thank you so much," and she cordially extended her hand. " You see, I I could hardly go to the Gayety myself at such an hour." The boy colored, still clasping the extended hand. Something in her low tone had served to recall to his mind those hasty words uttered in the office. " Sure not, Miss Norvell ; it 's a bit tough, all right, for anybody like you down there at this time o' night." She opened, the door, the bright light from within shining about her slender figure, yet leaving her face still in shadow. "Did did you chance to notice if Mr. Farnham remained in the dance hall ? " " Biff Farnham ? " in sudden, choking surprise. BETH N ORVELL " Great guns, do you know him, too ? No, he was n't there, but I can tell you where he is, all the same. He 's at the Palace Livery, saddling up, along with half a dozen other fellows. I saw 'em as I come trottin' along back, and wondered what the dickens was on tap at this time o' night." The girl made no attempt to answer. She stood clutching the edge of the door for support, her lips tightly compressed, feeling as if her heart would rise up and choke her. She realized instantly that the crisis had arrived, that Winston's life probably hung upon her next decision. Twice she endeavored bravely to speak, and when she finally succeeded, the strange calm ness of her voice made her doubt her own sanity. "Thank you," she said gravely, "you have been most kind, good-night," and vanished up the stairs. Within the privacy of her own securely locked room Beth Norvell flung herself upon the narrow bed, not to sleep, not even to rest, but in an earnest effort to clarify her brain, to gain fresh conception of this grim reality which fronted her. She realized now pre cisely what Ned Winston stood for in her life must ever stand for until the bitter end. There was no upbraiding, no reviling. Not in the slightest degree did she even attempt to deceive herself; with set, tearless eyes, and without a sigh of regret, she simply faced the naked truth. She had made the mistake herself; now she must bear the burden of discovery. It was not the dull inertia of fatalism, but rather the sober decision of a woman who had been tried in the fire, who understood her own heart, and comprehended THE COVER OF DARKNESS the strength of her own will. Personal suffering and sacrifice were no new chapters written in her life ; these had been met before, and now, in yet another guise, they could be courageously met again. She sat up quickly upon the edge of the bed, her hands pressing back the heavy hair from off her hot forehead. What right had she to lie there shuddering at destiny when lives his life might be trembling in the balance? She could at least serve, and, whatever else of weak ness may have lurked in Beth Norvell, there was no germ of cowardice. Clearer and more clear she per ceived duty, until it overshadowed love and brought her upon her feet in active preparation, in burning desire for action. Standing before the little mirror, she wondered dimly at those dark circles beneath her eyes, the unusually sharp lines visible at the corners of her mouth. She felt hot, feverish, and in hope of thus relieving the painful throbbing of her temples she buried her face in the bowl of cool water. Rapidly, almost carelessly, she gathered up her dishevelled locks, fastening them in some simple, yet secure fashion back out of the way. From the open trunk standing against the wall, she caught up a plain, soft hat, one she had used in character upon the stage, and drew it down firmly over the mass of soft hair, never noting how coquettishly the wide brim swept up in front, or what witchery of archness it gave to her dark eyes. She took a quick step toward the door, and then, her hand already on the latch, she paused in uncertainty; finally, she drew a small, pearl-handled [59] BETH NORVELL revolver from the bottom tray, and placed it carefully in a pocket of her jacket. "I I hardly believe I could ever use it," she thought, " but maybe I might." Outside, in the narrow, deserted hall, she stood at the head of the steep flight of stairs and listened. The snoring of the drunken man in the office below was the only disturbing sound. Out through the open office door a dull bar of yellow light streamed across the lower steps. Like a ghost she stole silently down, treading so softly not a stair creaked beneath her cautious footfalls. The next moment she had opened the door, and was alone in the dark street. Dark it was, but neither deserted nor silent. The unleashed evil of San Juan was now in full control, more madly riotous than ever beneath the cloak of so late an hour. Nothing short of complete return of day light would bring semblance of peace to that carnival of saloons, gambling dens, and dance halls. Through the shadows stalked unrebuked, uncontrolled, the votaries of dissipation and recklessness, of "easy money" and brutal lust. Yellow rays of light streamed from out dirty, uncurtained windows, leaving the nar row street weirdly illuminated, with here and there patches of dense shadows. Shifting figures, often unsteady of step, appeared and disappeared like dis embodied spirits, distorted from all human semblance by that uncertain radiance; on every side the discord ant sounds of violins and pianos commingled in one hideous din, punctuated by drunken shouts and every species of noise of which civilized savagery is capable. [160] THE COVER OF DARKNESS Yet this was not what she feared, this saturnalia of unbridled passion, for the way was comparatively well lighted, and in traversing it she was reasonably certain to be within call of some one sober enough to protect her from insult or injury. Even in drink these men remained courteous to women of the right sort. No, she had travelled that path alone at night before, again and again, returning from her work. She shrank, womanlike, from the sights and sounds, but was con scious of no personal fear. What she dreaded beyond expression was that long, black stretch of narrow, desolate alley-way leading down toward the creek bridge and the old fort beyond. She had been over that path once in broad daylight, and it made her shudder to think she must now feel her way there alone through the dark. The growing fear of it got upon her nerves as she stood hesitating; then, almost angry with her self, she advanced swiftly down toward the distant glowing lights of the Gayety. It was just beyond there that the alley turned off toward the foothills, a mere thread of a path wandering amid a maze of unlighted tents and disreputable shacks; she remem bered this, and the single rotten strip of plank which answered for a sidewalk. There was an unusually boisterous, quarrelsome crowd congregated in front of the Poodle-Dog, and she turned aside into the middle of the street in order to get past undisturbed. Some one called noisily for her to wait and have a drink, but she never glanced about, or gave slightest heed. At the curb a drunken woman reeled against her, peering sneeringly into her [161] BETH NORVELL face with ribald laugh, but Beth Norvell pushed silently past, and vanished into the protecting shadows beyond. The wide doors of the brilliantly illuminated Gayety were flung open, the bright light from within stream ing far across the road. Many of its patrons, heated with liquor and the dance, had swarmed forth upon the broad platform outside in search of fresher air. To avoid pushing her way through this noisy crowd the girl swiftly crossed the street into the darkness oppo site. As she paused there for an instant, scarcely conscious that the glow of the lamps reflected full upon her face, there sounded a sudden clatter of horses' hoofs to her right, and a half-dozen riders swept around the sharp corner, dashing forward into the glare. She had barely time in which to leap backward out of their direct path, when one of the horsemen jerked his mount upon its haunches, and, uttering an oath of astonishment, leaned forward across his pommel, star ing down into her startled face. Then he laughed. "Go on, boys," he cried, sitting erect, with a wave of his hand to the others. "I '11 catch up within half a mile. I Ve got a word to say first to this precious dove fluttering here." He struck the flank of his horse, causing the sensitive beast to quiver, his own lips curl ing maliciously. The girl, panting between parted lips, never lowered her eyes from his face, and the steady look angered him. "Still hunting for Winston?" he questioned, sneer- ingly. "Well, I can inform you where he may very easily be found." "Indeed!" [162] THE COVER OF DARKNESS "Yes, out at the c Little Yankee.' It seems you were a trifle late in getting him word, or else your fas cinations failed to move him. You must be losing your grip." She neither moved nor spoke, her eyes dark, unwinking beneath the wide hat-brim telling him nothing. Yet her hand closed upon the pearl handle hidden away in the jacket pocket, and her lips formed a straight line. " I 'm damned sorry you did n't land the fellow, Lizzie," he went on brutally. " He 's about the best catch you 're liable to get, and besides, it leaves me a rather unpleasant job. Still, I thought I 'd better tell you, so you would n't feel it necessary to hang around the streets here any longer. Fact is, I 'm anxious to shield your reputation, you know." He looked about carelessly, his glance settling on the open doors of the Gayety. " Don't strike me this is exactly the sort of place for one of your moral respectability to be dis covered in. Lord ! but what would the old man or that infernal prig of a brother of yours say, if they could only see you now ? A monologue artist at the Gayety was bad enough, but this, this is the limit." There was a flash of something white and glittering within six inches of his face, a sharp click, and an eye looked directly into his own across a short, steel barrel. " Go ! " The word was like the spat of a bullet. " But, Lizzie " Go, you cur ! or, as God is my witness, if you stay I '11 kill you ! " BETH NORVEL L With a sharp dig of the spur his horse sprang half way across the road, a black, prancing shadow against the glare of light. She saw the rider fling up one arm, and bring down the stinging quirt on the animal's flank ; the next instant, with a bound, they were swal lowed up in the darkness. A moment she leaned against the shack, nerveless, half fainting from reaction, her face deathly white. Then she inhaled a long, deep breath, gathered her skirts closely within one hand, and plunged boldly into the black alley. [164] CHAPTER XIII Two WOMEN MERCEDES stood in the shade of the towering hillside, the single beam of light shining from an uncurtained window alone faintly revealing her slenderness of figure in its red drapery. No other gleam anywhere cleft the prevailing darkness of the night, and the only perceptible sound was that of horses' hoofs dying away in the distance. The girl was not crying, although one of her hands was held across her eyes, and her bosom rose and fell tumultuously to labored breathing. She stood silent, motionless, the strange radiance causing her to appear unreal, some divinely moulded statue, an artist's dream carven in colored stone. Suddenly she sprang backward from out that revealing tongue of light and crouched low at the angle of the house, not unlike some affrighted wild animal, her head bent forward intently listening. There was a plainly perceptible movement in the gloom, the sound of an approaching footstep and of rapid breath ing, and finally a shadow became visible. The watcher leaped to her feet half angrily. " Ah ! so eet vas you, senorita ! " she exclaimed, her voice betraying her emotion, " you, who come so dis night. Sapristi! vy you follow me dis vay? By all de saints, I make you tell me dat! You vant him, too? You vant rob me of all thing?" BETH NORVELL The visitor, startled by this sudden challenge, stood before her trembling from head to foot with the nervous excitement of her journey, yet her eyes remained darkly resolute. "You recognize me," she responded quickly, reach ing out and touching the other with one hand, as if to make certain of her actual presence. " Then for God's sake do not waste time now in quarrelling. I did not make this trip without a purpose. 'He,' you say? Who is he? Who was it that rode away from here just now? Not Farnham?" Mercedes laughed a trifle uneasily, her eyes sud denly lowered before the other's anxious scrutiny. "Ah, no, senorita," she answered softly. "Eet sur prises me mooch you not know ; eet vas Senor Brown." Miss Norvell grasped her firmly by the shoulder. " Brown ? " she exclaimed eagerly. " Stutter Brown ? Oh, call him back ; cannot you call him back ? " The young Mexican shook her head, her white teeth gleaming, as she drew her shoulder free from the fingers clasping it. "You vas too late, senorita," she replied, sweetly confident. " He vas already gone to de ' Little Yankee.' But he speak mooch to me first." " Much about what ? " "Vel, he say he lofe me he say eet straight, like eet vas vat he meant." "Oh!" "Si, senorita; he not even talk funny, maybe he so excited he forgot how, hey ? An' vat you tink dat he say den to Mercedes vat?" [166] TWO WOMEN The other shook her head, undecided, hesitating as to her own purpose. " He ask me vould I marry him. Si, si, vat you tink of dat me, Mercedes Morales, de dancer at de Gayety he ask me vould I marry him. Oh, Mother of God ! " The young American stared at her upturned ani mated face, suddenly aroused to womanly interest. " And what did you say ? " Mercedes stamped her foot savagely on the hard ground, her eyes glowing like coals of fire. "You ask vat I say? Saints of God! vat could I say ? He vas a good man, dat Sefior Brown, but I I vas not a good voman. I no tell him dat no ! no ! I vas shamed ; I get red, vite ; I hardly speak at all ; my heart thump so I tink maybe eet choke me up here, but I say no. I say no once, tvice, tree time. I tell him he big fool to tink like dat of me. I tell him go vay an' find voman of his own race good voman. I tell him eet could nevah be me, no, nevah." " Then you do not love him ? " The puzzled dancer hesitated, her long lashes low ered, and outlined against her cheeks.