Love

: Riders Of The Purple Sage

During all these waiting days Venters, with the exception of the



afternoon when he had built the gate in the gorge, had scarcely



gone out of sight of camp and never out of hearing. His desire to



explore Surprise Valley was keen, and on the morning after his



long talk with the girl he took his rifle and, calling Ring, made



a move to start. The girl lay back in a r
de chair of boughs he



had put together for her. She had been watching him, and when he



picked up the gun and called the dog Venters thought she gave a



nervous start.







"I'm only going to look over the valley," he said.







"Will you be gone long?"







"No," he replied, and started off. The incident set him thinking



of his former impression that, after her recovery from fever, she



did not seem at ease unless he was close at hand. It was fear of



being alone, due, he concluded, most likely to her weakened



condition. He must not leave her much alone.







As he strode down the sloping terrace, rabbits scampered before



him, and the beautiful valley quail, as purple in color as the



sage on the uplands, ran fleetly along the ground into the



forest. It was pleasant under the trees, in the gold-flecked



shade, with the whistle of quail and twittering of birds



everywhere. Soon he had passed the limit of his former excursions



and entered new territory. Here the woods began to show open



glades and brooks running down from the slope, and presently he



emerged from shade into the sunshine of a meadow. The shaking of



the high grass told him of the running of animals, what species



he could not tell, but from Ring's manifest desire to have a



chase they were evidently some kind wilder than rabbits. Venters



approached the willow and cottonwood belt that he had observed



from the height of slope. He penetrated it to find a considerable



stream of water and great half-submerged mounds of brush and



sticks, and all about him were old and new gnawed circles at the



base of the cottonwoods.







"Beaver!" he exclaimed. "By all that's lucky! The meadow's full



of beaver! How did they ever get here?"







Beaver had not found a way into the valley by the trail of the



cliff-dwellers, of that he was certain; and he began to have more



than curiosity as to the outlet or inlet of the stream. When he



passed some dead water, which he noted was held by a beaver dam,



there was a current in the stream, and it flowed west. Following



its course, he soon entered the oak forest again, and passed



through to find himself before massed and jumbled ruins of cliff



wall. There were tangled thickets of wild plum-trees and other



thorny growths that made passage extremely laborsome. He found



innumerable tracks of wildcats and foxes. Rustlings in the thick



undergrowth told him of stealthy movements of these animals. At



length his further advance appeared futile, for the reason that



the stream disappeared in a split at the base of immense rocks



over which he could not climb. To his relief he concluded that



though beaver might work their way up the narrow chasm where the



water rushed, it would be impossible for men to enter the valley



there.







This western curve was the only part of the valley where the



walls had been split asunder, and it was a wildly rough and



inaccessible corner. Going back a little way, he leaped the



stream and headed toward the southern wall. Once out of the oaks



he found again the low terrace of aspens, and above that the



wide, open terrace fringed by silver spruces. This side of the



valley contained the wind or water worn caves. As he pressed on,



keeping to the upper terrace, cave after cave opened out of the



cliff; now a large one, now a small one. Then yawned, quite



suddenly and wonderfully above him, the great cavern of the



cliff-dwellers.







It was still a goodly distance, and he tried to imagine, if it



appeared so huge from where he stood, what it would be when he



got there. He climbed the terrace and then faced a long, gradual



ascent of weathered rock and dust, which made climbing too



difficult for attention to anything else. At length he entered a



zone of shade, and looked up. He stood just within the hollow of



a cavern so immense that he had no conception of its real



dimensions. The curved roof, stained by ages of leakage, with



buff and black and rust-colored streaks, swept up and loomed



higher and seemed to soar to the rim of the cliff. Here again was



a magnificent arch, such as formed the grand gateway to the



valley, only in this instance it formed the dome of a cave



instead of the span of a bridge.







Venters passed onward and upward. The stones he dislodged rolled



down with strange, hollow crack and roar. He had climbed a



hundred rods inward, and yet he had not reached the base of the



shelf where the cliff-dwellings rested, a long half-circle of



connected stone house, with little dark holes that he had fancied



were eyes. At length he gained the base of the shelf, and here



found steps cut in the rock. These facilitated climbing, and as



he went up he thought how easily this vanished race of men might



once have held that stronghold against an army. There was only



one possible place to ascend, and this was narrow and steep.







Venters had visited cliff-dwellings before, and they had been in



ruins, and of no great character or size but this place was of



proportions that stunned him, and it had not been desecrated by



the hand of man, nor had it been crumbled by the hand of time. It



was a stupendous tomb. It had been a city. It was just as it had



been left by its builders. The little houses were there, the



smoke-blackened stains of fires, the pieces of pottery scattered



about cold hearths, the stone hatchets; and stone pestles and



mealing-stones lay beside round holes polished by years of



grinding maize--lay there as if they had been carelessly dropped



yesterday. But the cliff-dwellers were gone!







Dust! They were dust on the floor or at the foot of the shelf,



and their habitations and utensils endured. Venters felt the



sublimity of that marvelous vaulted arch, and it seemed to gleam



with a glory of something that was gone. How many years had



passed since the cliff-dwellers gazed out across the beautiful



valley as he was gazing now? How long had it been since women



ground grain in those polished holes? What time had rolled by



since men of an unknown race lived, loved, fought, and died



there? Had an enemy destroyed them? Had disease destroyed them,



or only that greatest destroyer--time? Venters saw a long line of



blood-red hands painted low down upon the yellow roof of stone.



Here was strange portent, if not an answer to his queries. The



place oppressed him. It was light, but full of a transparent



gloom. It smelled of dust and musty stone, of age and disuse. It



was sad. It was solemn. It had the look of a place where silence



had become master and was now irrevocable and terrible and could



not be broken. Yet, at the moment, from high up in the carved



crevices of the arch, floated down the low, strange wail of



wind--a knell indeed for all that had gone.







Venters, sighing, gathered up an armful of pottery, such pieces



as he thought strong enough and suitable for his own use, and



bent his steps toward camp. He mounted the terrace at an opposite



point to which he had left. He saw the girl looking in the



direction he had gone. His footsteps made no sound in the deep



grass, and he approached close without her being aware of his



presence. Whitie lay on the ground near where she sat, and he



manifested the usual actions of welcome, but the girl did not



notice them. She seemed to be oblivious to everything near at



hand. She made a pathetic figure drooping there, with her sunny



hair contrasting so markedly with her white, wasted cheeks and



her hands listlessly clasped and her little bare feet propped in



the framework of the rude seat. Venters could have sworn and



laughed in one breath at the idea of the connection between this



girl and Oldring's Masked Rider. She was the victim of more than



accident of fate--a victim to some deep plot the mystery of which



burned him. As he stepped forward with a half-formed thought that



she was absorbed in watching for his return, she turned her head



and saw him. A swift start, a change rather than rush of blood



under her white cheeks, a flashing of big eyes that fixed their



glance upon him, transformed her face in that single instant of



turning, and he knew she had been watching for him, that his



return was the one thing in her mind. She did not smile; she did



not flush; she did not look glad. All these would have meant



little compared to her indefinite expression. Venters grasped the



peculiar, vivid, vital something that leaped from her face. It



was as if she had been in a dead, hopeless clamp of inaction and



feeling, and had been suddenly shot through and through with



quivering animation. Almost it was as if she had returned to



life.







And Venters thought with lightning swiftness, "I've saved



her--I've unlinked her from that old life--she was watching as if



I were all she had left on earth--she belongs to me!" The thought



was startlingly new. Like a blow it was in an unprepared moment.



The cheery salutation he had ready for her died unborn and he



tumbled the pieces of pottery awkwardly on the grass while some



unfamiliar, deep-seated emotion, mixed with pity and glad



assurance of his power to succor her, held him dumb.







"What a load you had!" she said. "Why, they're pots and crocks!



Where did you get them?"







Venters laid down his rifle, and, filling one of the pots from



his canteen, he placed it on the smoldering campfire.







"Hope it'll hold water," he said, presently. "Why, there's an



enormous cliff-dwelling just across here. I got the pottery



there. Don't you think we needed something? That tin cup of mine



has served to make tea, broth, soup--everything."







"I noticed we hadn't a great deal to cook in."







She laughed. It was the first time. He liked that laugh, and



though he was tempted to look at her, he did not want to show his



surprise or his pleasure.







"Will you take me over there, and all around in the



valley--pretty soon, when I'm well?" she added.







"Indeed I shall. It's a wonderful place. Rabbits so thick you



can't step without kicking one out. And quail, beaver, foxes,



wildcats. We're in a regular den. But--haven't you ever seen a



cliff-dwelling?"







"No. I've heard about them, though. The--the men say the Pass is



full of old houses and ruins."







"Why, I should think you'd have run across one in all your riding



around," said Venters. He spoke slowly, choosing his words



carefully, and he essayed a perfectly casual manner, and



pretended to be busy assorting pieces of pottery. She must have



no cause again to suffer shame for curiosity of his. Yet never in



all his days had he been so eager to hear the details of anyone's



life







"When I rode--I rode like the wind," she replied, "and never had



time to stop for anything."







"I remember that day I--I met you in the Pass--how dusty you



were, how tired your horse looked. Were you always riding?"







"Oh, no. Sometimes not for months, when I was shut up in the



cabin."







Venters tried to subdue a hot tingling.







"You were shut up, then?" he asked, carelessly.







"When Oldring went away on his long trips--he was gone for months



sometimes--he shut me up in the cabin."







"What for?"







"Perhaps to keep me from running away. I always threatened that.



Mostly, though, because the men got drunk at the villages. But



they were always good to me. I wasn't afraid."







"A prisoner! That must have been hard on you?"







"I liked that. As long as I can remember I've been locked up



there at times, and those times were the only happy ones I ever



had. It's a big cabin, high up on a cliff, and I could look out.



Then I had dogs and pets I had tamed, and books. There was a



spring inside, and food stored, and the men brought me fresh



meat. Once I was there one whole winter."







It now required deliberation on Venters's part to persist in his



unconcern and to keep at work. He wanted to look at her, to



volley questions at her.







"As long as you can remember--you've lived in Deception Pass?" he



went on.







"I've a dim memory of some other place, and women and children;



but I can't make anything of it. Sometimes I think till I'm



weary."







"Then you can read--you have books?"







"Oh yes, I can read, and write, too, pretty well. Oldring is



educated. He taught me, and years ago an old rustler lived with



us, and he had been something different once. He was always



teaching me."







"So Oldring takes long trips," mused Venters. "Do you know where



he goes?"







"No. Every year he drives cattle north of Sterling--then does not



return for months. I heard him accused once of living two



lives--and he killed the man. That was at Stone Bridge."







Venters dropped his apparent task and looked up with an eagerness



he no longer strove to hide.







"Bess," he said, using her name for the first time, "I suspected



Oldring was something besides a rustler. Tell me, what's his



purpose here in the Pass? I believe much that he has done was to



hide his real work here."







"You're right. He's more than a rustler. In fact, as the men say,



his rustling cattle is now only a bluff. There's gold in the



canyons!"







"Ah!"







"Yes, there's gold, not in great quantities, but gold enough for



him and his men. They wash for gold week in and week out. Then



they drive a few cattle and go into the villages to drink and



shoot and kill--to bluff the riders."







"Drive a few cattle! But, Bess, the Withersteen herd, the red



herd-- twenty-five hundred head! That's not a few. And I tracked



them into a valley near here."







"Oldring never stole the red herd. He made a deal with Mormons.



The riders were to be called in, and Oldring was to drive the



herd and keep it till a certain time--I won't know when--then



drive it back to the range. What his share was I didn't hear."







"Did you hear why that deal was made?" queried Venters.







"No. But it was a trick of Mormons. They're full of tricks. I've



heard Oldring's men tell about Mormons. Maybe the Withersteen



woman wasn't minding her halter! I saw the man who made the deal.



He was a little, queer-shaped man, all humped up. He sat his



horse well. I heard one of our men say afterward there was no



better rider on the sage than this fellow. What was the name? I



forget."







"Jerry Card?" suggested Venters.







"That's it. I remember--it's a name easy to remember--and Jerry



Card appeared to be on fair terms with Oldring's men."







"I shouldn't wonder," replied Venters, thoughtfully. Verification



of his suspicions in regard to Tull's underhand work--for the



deal with Oldring made by Jerry Card assuredly had its inception



in the Mormon Elder's brain, and had been accomplished through



his orders--revived in Venters a memory of hatred that had been



smothered by press of other emotions. Only a few days had elapsed



since the hour of his encounter with Tull, yet they had been



forgotten and now seemed far off, and the interval one that now



appeared large and profound with incalculable change in his



feelings. Hatred of Tull still existed in his heart, but it had



lost its white heat. His affection for Jane Withersteen had not



changed in the least; nevertheless, he seemed to view it from



another angle and see it as another thing--what, he could not



exactly define. The recalling of these two feelings was to



Venters like getting glimpses into a self that was gone; and the



wonder of them--perhaps the change which was too illusive for



him--was the fact that a strange irritation accompanied the



memory and a desire to dismiss it from mind. And straightway he



did dismiss it, to return to thoughts of his significant present.







"Bess, tell me one more thing," he said. "Haven't you known any



women-- any young people?"







"Sometimes there were women with the men; but Oldring never let



me know them. And all the young people I ever saw in my life was



when I rode fast through the villages."







Perhaps that was the most puzzling and thought-provoking thing



she had yet said to Venters. He pondered, more curious the more



he learned, but he curbed his inquisitive desires, for he saw her



shrinking on the verge of that shame, the causing of which had



occasioned him such self-reproach. He would ask no more. Still he



had to think, and he found it difficult to think clearly. This



sad-eyed girl was so utterly different from what it would have



been reason to believe such a remarkable life would have made



her. On this day he had found her simple and frank, as natural as



any girl he had ever known. About her there was something sweet.



Her voice was low and well modulated. He could not look into her



face, meet her steady, unabashed, yet wistful eyes, and think of



her as the woman she had confessed herself. Oldring's Masked



Rider sat before him, a girl dressed as a man. She had been made



to ride at the head of infamous forays and drives. She had been



imprisoned for many months of her life in an obscure cabin. At



times the most vicious of men had been her companions; and the



vilest of women, if they had not been permitted to approach her,



had, at least, cast their shadows over her. But--but in spite of



all this--there thundered at Venters some truth that lifted its



voice higher than the clamoring facts of dishonor, some truth



that was the very life of her beautiful eyes; and it was



innocence.







In the days that followed, Venters balanced perpetually in mind



this haunting conception of innocence over against the cold and



sickening fact of an unintentional yet actual gift. How could it



be possible for the two things to be true? He believed the latter



to be true, and he would not relinquish his conviction of the



former; and these conflicting thoughts augmented the mystery that



appeared to be a part of Bess. In those ensuing days, however, it



became clear as clearest light that Bess was rapidly regaining



strength; that, unless reminded of her long association with



Oldring, she seemed to have forgotten it; that, like an Indian



who lives solely from moment to moment, she was utterly absorbed



in the present.







Day by day Venters watched the white of her face slowly change to



brown, and the wasted cheeks fill out by imperceptible degrees.



There came a time when he could just trace the line of



demarcation between the part of her face once hidden by a mask



and that left exposed to wind and sun. When that line disappeared



in clear bronze tan it was as if she had been washed clean of the



stigma of Oldring's Masked Rider. The suggestion of the mask



always made Venters remember; now that it was gone he seldom



thought of her past. Occasionally he tried to piece together the



several stages of strange experience and to make a whole. He had



shot a masked outlaw the very sight of whom had been ill omen to



riders; he had carried off a wounded woman whose bloody lips



quivered in prayer; he had nursed what seemed a frail, shrunken



boy; and now he watched a girl whose face had become strangely



sweet, whose dark-blue eyes were ever upon him without boldness,



without shyness, but with a steady, grave, and growing light.



Many times Venters found the clear gaze embarrassing to him, yet,



like wine, it had an exhilarating effect. What did she think when



she looked at him so? Almost he believed she had no thought at



all. All about her and the present there in Surprise Valley, and



the dim yet subtly impending future, fascinated Venters and made



him thoughtful as all his lonely vigils in the sage had



not.







Chiefly it was the present that he wished to dwell upon; but it



was the call of the future which stirred him to action. No idea



had he of what that future had in store for Bess and him. He



began to think of improving Surprise Valley as a place to live



in, for there was no telling how long they would be compelled to



stay there. Venters stubbornly resisted the entering into his



mind of an insistent thought that, clearly realized, might have



made it plain to him that he did not want to leave Surprise



Valley at all. But it was imperative that he consider practical



matters; and whether or not he was destined to stay long there,



he felt the immediate need of a change of diet. It would be



necessary for him to go farther afield for a variety of meat, and



also that he soon visit Cottonwoods for a supply of food.







It occurred again to Venters that he could go to the canyon where



Oldring kept his cattle, and at little risk he could pack out



some beef. He wished to do this, however, without letting Bess



know of it till after he had made the trip. Presently he hit upon



the plan of going while she was asleep.







That very night he stole out of camp, climbed up under the stone



bridge, and entered the outlet to the Pass. The gorge was full of



luminous gloom. Balancing Rock loomed dark and leaned over the



pale descent. Transformed in the shadowy light, it took shape and



dimensions of a spectral god waiting--waiting for the moment to



hurl himself down upon the tottering walls and close forever the



outlet to Deception Pass. At night more than by day Venters felt



something fearful and fateful in that rock, and that it had



leaned and waited through a thousand years to have somehow to



deal with his destiny.







"Old man, if you must roll, wait till I get back to the girl, and



then roll!" he said, aloud, as if the stones were indeed a god.







And those spoken words, in their grim note to his ear, as well as



contents to his mind, told Venters that he was all but drifting



on a current which he had not power nor wish to stem.







Venters exercised his usual care in the matter of hiding tracks



from the outlet, yet it took him scarcely an hour to reach



Oldring's cattle. Here sight of many calves changed his original



intention, and instead of packing out meat he decided to take a



calf out alive. He roped one, securely tied its feet, and swung



it over his shoulder. Here was an exceedingly heavy burden, but



Venters was powerful--he could take up a sack of grain and with



ease pitch it over a pack-saddle--and he made long distance



without resting. The hardest work came in the climb up to the



outlet and on through to the valley. When he had accomplished it,



he became fired with another idea that again changed his



intention. He would not kill the calf, but keep it alive. He



would go back to Oldring's herd and pack out more calves.



Thereupon he secured the calf in the best available spot for the



moment and turned to make a second trip.







When Venters got back to the valley with another calf, it was



close upon daybreak. He crawled into his cave and slept late.



Bess had no inkling that he had been absent from camp nearly all



night, and only remarked solicitously that he appeared to be more



tired than usual, and more in the need of sleep. In the afternoon



Venters built a gate across a small ravine near camp, and here



corralled the calves; and he succeeded in completing his task



without Bess being any the wiser.







That night he made two more trips to Oldring's range, and again



on the following night, and yet another on the next. With eight



calves in his corral, he concluded that he had enough; but it



dawned upon him then that he did not want to kill one. "I've



rustled Oldring's cattle," he said, and laughed. He noted then



that all the calves were red. "Red!" he exclaimed. "From the red



herd. I've stolen Jane Withersteen's cattle!...That's about the



strangest thing yet."







One more trip he undertook to Oldring's valley, and this time he



roped a yearling steer and killed it and cut out a small quarter



of beef. The howling of coyotes told him he need have no



apprehension that the work of his knife would be discovered. He



packed the beef back to camp and hung it upon a spruce-tree. Then



he sought his bed.







On the morrow he was up bright and early, glad that he had a



surprise for Bess. He could hardly wait for her to come out.



Presently she appeared and walked under the spruce. Then she



approached the camp-fire. There was a tinge of healthy red in the



bronze of her cheeks, and her slender form had begun to round out



in graceful lines.







"Bess, didn't you say you were tired of rabbit?" inquired



Venters. "And quail and beaver?"







"Indeed I did."







"What would you like?"







"I'm tired of meat, but if we have to live on it I'd like some



beef."







"Well, how does that strike you?" Venters pointed to the quarter



hanging from the spruce-tree. "We'll have fresh beef for a few



days, then we'll cut the rest into strips and dry it."







"Where did you get that?" asked Bess, slowly.







"I stole that from Oldring."







"You went back to the canyon--you risked--" While she hesitated



the tinge of bloom faded out of her cheeks.







"It wasn't any risk, but it was hard work."







"I'm sorry I said I was tired of rabbit. Why! How--When did you



get that beef?"







"Last night."







"While I was asleep?"







"Yes."







"I woke last night sometime--but I didn't know."







Her eyes were widening, darkening with thought, and whenever they



did so the steady, watchful, seeing gaze gave place to the



wistful light. In the former she saw as the primitive woman



without thought; in the latter she looked inward, and her gaze



was the reflection of a troubled mind. For long Venters had not



seen that dark change, that deepening of blue, which he thought



was beautiful and sad. But now he wanted to make her think.







"I've done more than pack in that beef," he said. "For five



nights I've been working while you slept. I've got eight calves



corralled near a ravine. Eight calves, all alive and doing fine!"







"You went five nights!"







All that Venters could make of the dilation of her eyes, her slow



pallor, and her exclamation, was fear--fear for herself or for



him.







"Yes. I didn't tell you, because I knew you were afraid to be



left alone."







"Alone?" She echoed his word, but the meaning of it was nothing



to her. She had not even thought of being left alone. It was not,



then, fear for herself, but for him. This girl, always slow of



speech and action, now seemed almost stupid. She put forth a hand



that might have indicated the groping of her mind. Suddenly she



stepped swiftly to him, with a look and touch that drove from him



any doubt of her quick intelligence or feeling.







"Oldring has men watch the herds--they would kill you. You must



never go again!"







When she had spoken, the strength and the blaze of her died, and



she swayed toward Venters.







"Bess, I'll not go again," he said, catching her.







She leaned against him, and her body was limp and vibrated to a



long, wavering tremble. Her face was upturned to his. Woman's



face, woman's eyes, woman's lips--all acutely and blindly and



sweetly and terribly truthful in their betrayal! But as her fear



was instinctive, so was her clinging to this one and only



friend.







Venters gently put her from him and steadied her upon her feet;



and all the while his blood raced wild, and a thrilling tingle



unsteadied his nerve, and something--that he had seen and felt in



her--that he could not understand--seemed very close to him, warm



and rich as a fragrant breath, sweet as nothing had ever before



been sweet to him.







With all his will Venters strove for calmness and thought and



judgment unbiased by pity, and reality unswayed by sentiment.



Bess's eyes were still fixed upon him with all her soul bright in



that wistful light. Swiftly, resolutely he put out of mind all of



her life except what had been spent with him. He scorned himself



for the intelligence that made him still doubt. He meant to judge



her as she had judged him. He was face to face with the



inevitableness of life itself. He saw destiny in the dark,



straight path of her wonderful eyes. Here was the simplicity, the



sweetness of a girl contending with new and strange and



enthralling emotions here the living truth of innocence; here the



blind terror of a woman confronted with the thought of death to



her savior and protector. All this Venters saw, but, besides,



there was in Bess's eyes a slow-dawning consciousness that seemed



about to break out in glorious radiance.







"Bess, are you thinking?" he asked.







"Yes--oh yes!"







"Do you realize we are here alone--man and woman?"







"Yes."







"Have you thought that we may make our way out to civilization,



or we may have to stay here--alone--hidden from the world all our



lives?"







"I never thought--till now."







"Well, what's your choice--to go--or to stay here--alone with



me?"







"Stay!" New-born thought of self, ringing vibrantly in her voice,



gave her answer singular power.







Venters trembled, and then swiftly turned his gaze from her



face--from her eyes. He knew what she had only half divined--that



she loved him.



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