The Fall Of Balancing Rock

: Riders Of The Purple Sage

Through tear-blurred sight Jane Withersteen watched Venters and



Elizabeth Erne and the black racers disappear over the ridge of



sage.







"They're gone!" said Lassiter. "An' they're safe now. An'



there'll never be a day of their comin' happy lives but what



they'll remember Jane Withersteen an'--an' Uncle Jim!...I reckon,



Jane, we'd better be on our way."







The burros obediently wheeled and started down the break with



little cautious steps, but Lassiter had to leash the whining dogs



and lead them. Jane felt herself bound in a feeling that was



neither listlessness nor indifference, yet which rendered her



incapable of interest. She was still strong in body, but



emotionally tired. That hour at the entrance to Deception Pass



had been the climax of her suffering--the flood of her wrath--the



last of her sacrifice--the supremity of her love--and the



attainment of peace. She thought that if she had little Fay she



would not ask any more of life.







Like an automaton she followed Lassiter down the steep trail of



dust and bits of weathered stone; and when the little slides



moved with her or piled around her knees she experienced no



alarm. Vague relief came to her in the sense of being enclosed



between dark stone walls, deep hidden from the glare of sun, from



the glistening sage. Lassiter lengthened the stirrup straps on



one of the burros and bade her mount and ride close to him. She



was to keep the burro from cracking his little hard hoofs on



stones. Then she was riding on between dark, gleaming walls.



There were quiet and rest and coolness in this canyon. She noted



indifferently that they passed close under shady, bulging shelves



of cliff, through patches of grass and sage and thicket and



groves of slender trees, and over white, pebbly washes, and



around masses of broken rock. The burros trotted tirelessly; the



dogs, once more free, pattered tirelessly; and Lassiter led on



with never a stop, and at every open place he looked back. The



shade under the walls gave place to sunlight. And presently they



came to a dense thicket of slender trees, through which they



passed to rich, green grass and water. Here Lassiter rested the



burros for a little while, but he was restless, uneasy, silent,



always listening, peering under the trees. She dully reflected



that enemies were behind them--before them; still the thought



awakened no dread or concern or interest.







At his bidding she mounted and rode on close to the heels of his



burro. The canyon narrowed; the walls lifted their rugged rims



higher; and the sun shone down hot from the center of the blue



stream of sky above. Lassiter traveled slower, with more



exceeding care as to the ground he chose, and he kept speaking



low to the dogs. They were now hunting-dogs--keen, alert,



suspicious, sniffing the warm breeze. The monotony of the yellow



walls broke in change of color and smooth surface, and the rugged



outline of rims grew craggy. Splits appeared in deep breaks, and



gorges running at right angles, and then the Pass opened wide at



a junction of intersecting canyons.







Lassiter dismounted, led his burro, called the dogs close, and



proceeded at snail pace through dark masses of rock and dense



thickets under the left wall. Long he watched and listened before



venturing to cross the mouths of side canyons. At length he



halted, fled his burro, lifted a warning hand to Jane, and then



slipped away among the boulders, and, followed by the stealthy



dogs, disappeared from sight. The time he remained absent was



neither short nor long to Jane Withersteen.







When he reached her side again he was pale, and his lips were set



in a hard line, and his gray eyes glittered coldly. Bidding her



dismount, he led the burros into a covert of stones and cedars,



and tied them.







"Jane, I've run into the fellers I've been lookin' for, an' I'm



goin' after them," he said.







"Why?" she asked.







"I reckon I won't take time to tell you."







"Couldn't we slip by without being seen?"







"Likely enough. But that ain't my game. An' I'd like to know, in



case I don't come back, what you'll do."







"What can I do?"







"I reckon you can go back to Tull. Or stay in the Pass an' be



taken off by rustlers. Which'll you do?"







"I don't know. I can't think very well. But I believe I'd rather



be taken off by rustlers."







Lassiter sat down, put his head in his hands, and remained for a



few moments in what appeared to be deep and painful thought. When



he lifted his face it was haggard, lined, cold as sculptured



marble.







"I'll go. I only mentioned that chance of my not comin' back. I'm



pretty sure to come."







"Need you risk so much? Must you fight more? Haven't you shed



enough blood?"







"I'd like to tell you why I'm goin'," he continued, in coldness



he had seldom used to her. She remarked it, but it was the same



to her as if he had spoken with his old gentle warmth. "But I



reckon I won't. Only, I'll say that mercy an' goodness, such as



is in you, though they're the grand things in human nature, can't



be lived up to on this Utah border. Life's hell out here. You



think--or you used to think--that your religion made this life



heaven. Mebbe them scales on your eyes has dropped now. Jane, I



wouldn't have you no different, an' that's why I'm going to try



to hide you somewhere in this Pass. I'd like to hide many more



women, for I've come to see there are more like you among your



people. An' I'd like you to see jest how hard an' cruel this



border life is. It's bloody. You'd think churches an' churchmen



would make it better. They make it worse. You give names to



things--bishops, elders, ministers, Mormonism, duty, faith,



glory. You dream--or you're driven mad. I'm a man, an' I know. I



name fanatics, followers, blind women, oppressors, thieves,



ranchers, rustlers, riders. An' we have--what you've lived



through these last months. It can't be helped. But it can't last



always. An' remember his--some day the border'll be better,



cleaner, for the ways of ten like Lassiter!"







She saw him shake his tall form erect, look at her strangely and



steadfastly, and then, noiselessly, stealthily slip away amid the



rocks and trees. Ring and Whitie, not being bidden to follow,



remained with Jane. She felt extreme weariness, yet somehow it



did not seem to be of her body. And she sat down in the shade and



tried to think. She saw a creeping lizard, cactus flowers, the



drooping burros, the resting dogs, an eagle high over a yellow



crag. Once the meanest flower, a color, the flight of the bee, or



any living thing had given her deepest joy. Lassiter had gone



off, yielding to his incurable blood lust, probably to his own



death; and she was sorry, but there was no feeling in her sorrow.







Suddenly from the mouth of the canyon just beyond her rang out a



clear, sharp report of a rifle. Echoes clapped. Then followed a



piercingly high yell of anguish, quickly breaking. Again echoes



clapped, in grim imitation. Dull revolver shots--hoarse



yells--pound of hoofs--shrill neighs of horses--commingling of



echoes--and again silence! Lassiter must be busily engaged,



thought Jane, and no chill trembled over her, no blanching



tightened her skin. Yes, the border was a bloody place. But life



had always been bloody. Men were blood-spillers. Phases of the



history of the world flashed through her mind--Greek and Roman



wars, dark, mediaeval times, the crimes in the name of religion.



On sea, on land, everywhere--shooting, stabbing, cursing,



clashing, fighting men! Greed, power, oppression, fanaticism,



love, hate, revenge, justice, freedom--for these, men killed one



another.







She lay there under the cedars, gazing up through the delicate



lacelike foliage at the blue sky, and she thought and wondered



and did not care.







More rattling shots disturbed the noonday quiet. She heard a



sliding of weathered rock, a hoarse shout of warning, a yell of



alarm, again the clear, sharp crack of the rifle, and another cry



that was a cry of death. Then rifle reports pierced a dull volley



of revolver shots. Bullets whizzed over Jane's hiding-place; one



struck a stone and whined away in the air. After that, for a



time, succeeded desultory shots; and then they ceased under long,



thundering fire from heavier guns.







Sooner or later, then, Jane heard the cracking of horses' hoofs



on the stones, and the sound came nearer and nearer. Silence



intervened until Lassiter's soft, jingling step assured her of



his approach. When he appeared he was covered with blood.







"All right, Jane," he said. "I come back. An' don't worry."







With water from a canteen he washed the blood from his face and



hands.







"Jane, hurry now. Tear my scarf in two, en' tie up these places.



That hole through my hand is some inconvenient, worse 'n this at



over my ear. There--you're doin' fine! Not a bit nervous--no



tremblin'. I reckon I ain't done your courage justice. I'm glad



you're brave jest now--you'll need to be. Well, I was hid pretty



good, enough to keep them from shootin' me deep, but they was



slingin' lead close all the time. I used up all the rifle shells,



an' en I went after them. Mebbe you heard. It was then I got hit.



Had to use up every shell in my own gun, an' they did, too, as I



seen. Rustlers an' Mormons, Jane! An' now I'm packin' five bullet



holes in my carcass, an' guns without shells. Hurry, now."







He unstrapped the saddle-bags from the burros, slipped the



saddles and let them lie, turned the burros loose, and, calling



the dogs, led the way through stones and cedars to an open where



two horses stood.







"Jane, are you strong?" he asked.







"I think so. I'm not tired," Jane replied.







"I don't mean that way. Can you bear up?"







"I think I can bear anything."







"I reckon you look a little cold an' thick. So I'm preparin'



you."







"For what?"







"I didn't tell you why I jest had to go after them fellers. I



couldn't tell you. I believe you'd have died. But I can tell you



now--if you'll bear up under a shock?"







"Go on, my friend."







"I've got little Fay! Alive--bad hurt--but she'll live!"







Jane Withersteen's dead-locked feeling, rent by Lassiter's deep,



quivering voice, leaped into an agony of sensitive life.







"Here," he added, and showed her where little Fay lay on the



grass.







Unable to speak, unable to stand, Jane dropped on her knees. By



that long, beautiful golden hair Jane recognized the beloved Fay.



But Fay's loveliness was gone. Her face was drawn and looked old



with grief. But she was not dead--her heart beat--and Jane



Withersteen gathered strength and lived again.







"You see I jest had to go after Fay," Lassiter was saying, as he



knelt to bathe her little pale face. "But I reckon I don't want



no more choices like the one I had to make. There was a crippled



feller in that bunch, Jane. Mebbe Venters crippled him. Anyway,



that's why they were holding up here. I seen little Fay first



thing, en' was hard put to it to figure out a way to get her. An'



I wanted hosses, too. I had to take chances. So I crawled close



to their camp. One feller jumped a hoss with little Fay, an' when



I shot him, of course she dropped. She's stunned an' bruised--she



fell right on her head. Jane, she's comin' to! She ain't bad



hurt!"







Fay's long lashes fluttered; her eyes opened. At first they



seemed glazed over. They looked dazed by pain. Then they



quickened, darkened, to shine with



intelligence--bewilderment--memory--and sudden wonderful



joy.







"Muvver--Jane!" she whispered.







"Oh, little Fay, little Fay!" cried Jane, lifting, clasping the



child to her.







"Now, we've got to rustle!" said Lassiter, in grim coolness.



"Jane, look down the Pass!"







Across the mounds of rock and sage Jane caught sight of a band of



riders filing out of the narrow neck of the Pass; and in the lead



was a white horse, which, even at a distance of a mile or more,



she knew.







"Tull!" she almost screamed.







"I reckon. But, Jane, we've still got the game in our hands.



They're ridin' tired hosses. Venters likely give them a chase. He



wouldn't forget that. An' we've fresh hosses."







Hurriedly he strapped on the saddle-bags, gave quick glance to



girths and cinches and stirrups, then leaped astride.







"Lift little Fay up," he said.







With shaking arms Jane complied.







"Get back your nerve, woman! This's life or death now. Mind that.



Climb up! Keep your wits. Stick close to me. Watch where your



hoss's goin' en' ride!"







Somehow Jane mounted; somehow found strength to hold the reins,



to spur, to cling on, to ride. A horrible quaking, craven fear



possessed her soul. Lassiter led the swift flight across the wide



space, over washes, through sage, into a narrow canyon where the



rapid clatter of hoofs rapped sharply from the walls. The wind



roared in her ears; the gleaming cliffs swept by; trail and sage



and grass moved under her. Lassiter's bandaged, blood-stained



face turned to her; he shouted encouragement; he looked back down



the Pass; he spurred his horse. Jane clung on, spurring likewise.



And the horses settled from hard, furious gallop into a



long-stridng, driving run. She had never ridden at anything like



that pace; desperately she tried to get the swing of the horse,



to be of some help to him in that race, to see the best of the



ground and guide him into it. But she failed of everything except



to keep her seat the saddle, and to spur and spur. At times she



closed her eyes unable to bear sight of Fay's golden curls



streaming in the wind. She could not pray; she could not rail;



she no longer cared for herself. All of life, of good, of use in



the world, of hope in heaven entered in Lassiter's ride with



little Fay to safety. She would have tried to turn the iron-jawed



brute she rode, she would have given herself to that relentless,



dark-browed Tull. But she knew Lassiter would turn with her, so



she rode on and on.







Whether that run was of moments or hours Jane Withersteen could



not tell. Lassiter's horse covered her with froth that blew back



in white streams. Both horses ran their limit, were allowed slow



down in time to save them, and went on dripping, heaving,



staggering.







"Oh, Lassiter, we must run--we must run!"







He looked back, saying nothing. The bandage had blown from his



head, and blood trickled down his face. He was bowing under the



strain of injuries, of the ride, of his burden. Yet how cool and



gay he looked--how intrepid!







The horses walked, trotted, galloped, ran, to fall again to walk.



Hours sped or dragged. Time was an instant--an eternity. Jane



Withersteen felt hell pursuing her, and dared not look back for



fear she would fall from her horse.







"Oh, Lassiter! Is he coming?"







The grim rider looked over his shoulder, but said no word. Fay's



golden hair floated on the breeze. The sun shone; the walls



gleamed; the sage glistened. And then it seemed the sun vanished,



the walls shaded, the sage paled. The horses



walked--trotted--galloped--ran--to fall again to walk. Shadows



gathered under shelving cliffs. The canyon turned, brightened,



opened into a long, wide, wall-enclosed valley. Again the sun,



lowering in the west, reddened the sage. Far ahead round,



scrawled stone appeared to block the Pass.







"Bear up, Jane, bear up!" called Lassiter. "It's our game, if you



don't weaken."







"Lassiter! Go on--alone! Save little Fay!"







"Only with you!"







"Oh!--I'm a coward--a miserable coward! I can't fight or think or



hope or pray! I'm lost! Oh, Lassiter, look back! Is he coming?



I'll not--hold out--"







"Keep your breath, woman, an' ride not for yourself or for me,



but for Fay!"







A last breaking run across the sage brought Lassiter's horse to a



walk.







"He's done," said the rider.







"Oh, no--no!" moaned Jane.







"Look back, Jane, look back. Three--four miles we've come across



this valley, en' no Tull yet in sight. Only a few more miles!"







Jane looked back over the long stretch of sage, and found the



narrow gap in the wall, out of which came a file of dark horses



with a white horse in the lead. Sight of the riders acted upon



Jane as a stimulant. The weight of cold, horrible terror



lessened. And, gazing forward at the dogs, at Lassiter's limping



horse, at the blood on his face, at the rocks growing nearer,



last at Fay's golden hair, the ice left her veins, and slowly,



strangely, she gained hold of strength that she believed would



see her to the safety Lassiter promised. And, as she gazed,



Lassiter's horse stumbled and fell.







He swung his leg and slipped from the saddle.







"Jane, take the child," he said, and lifted Fay up. Jane clasped



her arms suddenly strong. "They're gainin'," went on Lassiter, as



he watched the pursuing riders. "But we'll beat 'em yet."







Turning with Jane's bridle in his hand, he was about to start



when he saw the saddle-bag on the fallen horse.







"I've jest about got time," he muttered, and with swift fingers



that did not blunder or fumble he loosened the bag and threw it



over his shoulder. Then he started to run, leading Jane's horse,



and he ran, and trotted, and walked, and ran again. Close ahead



now Jane saw a rise of bare rock. Lassiter reached it, searched



along the base, and, finding a low place, dragged the weary horse



up and over round, smooth stone. Looking backward, Jane saw



Tull's white horse not a mile distant, with riders strung out in



a long line behind him. Looking forward, she saw more valley to



the right, and to the left a towering cliff. Lassiter pulled the



horse and kept on.







Little Fay lay in her arms with wide-open eyes--eyes which were



still shadowed by pain, but no longer fixed, glazed in terror.



The golden curls blew across Jane's lips; the little hands feebly



clasped her arm; a ghost of a troubled, trustful smile hovered



round the sweet lips. And Jane Withersteen awoke to the spirit of



a lioness.







Lassiter was leading the horse up a smooth slope toward cedar



trees of twisted and bleached appearance. Among these he halted.







"Jane, give me the girl en' get down," he said. As if it wrenched



him he unbuckled the empty black guns with a strange air of



finality. He then received Fay in his arms and stood a moment



looking backward. Tull's white horse mounted the ridge of round



stone, and several bays or blacks followed. "I wonder what he'll



think when he sees them empty guns. Jane, bring your saddle-bag



and climb after me."







A glistening, wonderful bare slope, with little holes, swelled up



and up to lose itself in a frowning yellow cliff. Jane closely



watched her steps and climbed behind Lassiter. He moved slowly.



Perhaps he was only husbanding his strength. But she saw drops of



blood on the stone, and then she knew. They climbed and climbed



without looking back. Her breast labored; she began to feel as if



little points of fiery steel were penetrating her side into her



lungs. She heard the panting of Lassiter and the quicker panting



of the dogs.







"Wait--here," he said.







Before her rose a bulge of stone, nicked with little cut steps,



and above that a corner of yellow wall, and overhanging that a



vast, ponderous cliff.







The dogs pattered up, disappeared round the corner. Lassiter



mounted the steps with Fay, and he swayed like a drunken man, and



he too disappeared. But instantly he returned alone, and half



ran, half slipped down to her.







Then from below pealed up hoarse shouts of angry men. Tull and



several of his riders had reached the spot where Lassiter had



parted with his guns.







"You'll need that breath--mebbe!" said Lassiter, facing downward,



with glittering eyes.







"Now, Jane, the last pull," he went on. "Walk up them little



steps. I'll follow an' steady you. Don't think. Jest go. Little



Fay's above. Her eyes are open. She jest said to me, 'Where's



muvver Jane?'"







Without a fear or a tremor or a slip or a touch of Lassiter's



hand Jane Withersteen walked up that ladder of cut steps.







He pushed her round the corner of the wall. Fay lay, with wide



staring eyes, in the shade of a gloomy wall. The dogs waited.



Lassiter picked up the child and turned into a dark cleft. It



zigzagged. It widened. It opened. Jane was amazed at a



wonderfully smooth and steep incline leading up between ruined,



splintered, toppling walls. A red haze from the setting sun



filled this passage. Lassiter climbed with slow, measured steps,



and blood dripped from him to make splotches on the white stone.



Jane tried not to step in his blood, but was compelled, for she



found no other footing. The saddle-bag began to drag her down;



she gasped for breath, she thought her heart was bursting.



Slower, slower yet the rider climbed, whistling as he breathed.



The incline widened. Huge pinnacles and monuments of stone stood



alone, leaning fearfully. Red sunset haze shone through cracks



where the wall had split. Jane did not look high, but she felt



the overshadowing of broken rims above. She felt that it was a



fearful, menacing place. And she climbed on in heartrending



effort. And she fell beside Lassiter and Fay at the top of the



incline in a narrow, smooth divide.







He staggered to his feet--staggered to a huge, leaning rock that



rested on a small pedestal. He put his hand on it--the hand that



had been shot through--and Jane saw blood drip from the ragged



hole. Then he fell.







"Jane--I--can't--do--it!" he whispered.







"What?"







"Roll the--stone!...All my--life I've loved--to roll stones--en'



now I--can't!"







"What of it? You talk strangely. Why roll that stone?"







"I planned to--fetch you here--to roll this stone. See! It'll



smash the crags--loosen the walls--close the outlet!"







As Jane Withersteen gazed down that long incline, walled in by



crumbling cliffs, awaiting only the slightest jar to make them



fall asunder, she saw Tull appear at the bottom and begin to



climb. A rider followed him-- another--and another.







"See! Tull! The riders!"







"Yes--they'll get us--now."







"Why? Haven't you strength left to roll the stone?"







"Jane--it ain't that--I've lost my nerve!"







"You!...Lassiter!"







"I wanted to roll it--meant to--but I--can't. Venters's valley is



down behind here. We could--live there. But if I roll the



stone--we're shut in for always. I don't dare. I'm thinkin' of



you!"







"Lassiter! Roll the stone!" she cried.







He arose, tottering, but with set face, and again he placed the



bloody hand on the Balancing Rock. Jane Withersteen gazed from



him down the passageway. Tull was climbing. Almost, she thought,



she saw his dark, relentless face. Behind him more riders



climbed. What did they mean for Fay--for Lassiter--for herself?







"Roll the stone!...Lassiter, I love you!"







Under all his deathly pallor, and the blood, and the iron of



seared cheek and lined brow, worked a great change. He placed



both hands on the rock and then leaned his shoulder there and



braced his powerful body.







ROLL THE STONE!







It stirred, it groaned, it grated, it moved, and with a slow



grinding, as of wrathful relief, began to lean. It had waited



ages to fall, and now was slow in starting. Then, as if suddenly



instinct with life, it leaped hurtingly down to alight on the



steep incline, to bound more swiftly into the air, to gather



momentum, to plunge into the lofty leaning crag below. The crag



thundered into atoms. A wave of air--a splitting shock! Dust



shrouded the sunset red of shaking rims; dust shrouded Tull as he



fell on his knees with uplifted arms. Shafts and monuments and



sections of wall fell majestically.







From the depths there rose a long-drawn rumbling roar. The outlet



to Deception Pass closed forever.



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