The Moccasin Ranch Page 6

  The man grew rigid with fear, and the hair of his head moved. He thought her delirious—dying, perhaps, of cold. He gathered her hands in his and fell upon his knees.

  "What is it, dear? What do you mean?"

  "Nothing, nothing," she murmured.

  "You're sure you're not worse? Can't I help you?"

  She did not reply, and he knelt there holding her hands until she sank into unmistakably quiet sleep.

  He feared the unspeakable. He imagined her taken in premature childbirth, brought on by exposure and excitement, and, for the first time, he took upon himself the burden of his guilt. The thought of danger to her had not hitherto troubled him. For the poor, weak fool of a husband he cared nothing; but this woman was his, and the child to come was his. Birth—of which many men make a jest—suddenly took on majesty and terror, and the little life seemed about to enter a world of storm which filled him with a sense of duty new to him.

  He bent down and laid his cheek against his woman's hands, and his throat choked with a passionate resolution. He put his merry, careless young manhood behind him at that moment and assumed the responsibilities of a husband.

  "May God strike me dead if I don't make you happy!" he whispered.

  * * *

  VII

  CONCLUSION

  Bailey woke in the night, chilled. The fire was low, and as he rose to add some coal to the stove he looked about him in his way. Rivers' bunk was empty. He glanced toward the bed, and saw him wrapped in his buffalo coat kneeling beside Blanche's pillow. He seemed asleep, as his cheek rested upon his right hand, which was clasped in both of hers.

  The young pioneer sat for several minutes thinking, staring straight at his friend. There was something here that made all the difference in the world. Suppose these people really loved each other as he loved Estelle? Then he softly fed the fire and lay down again.

  His brain whirled as if some sharp blow had dazzled him. Outside the implacable winds still rushed and warred, and beat and clamored, shrieking, wailing, like voices from hell. The snow dashed like surf against the walls. It seemed to cut off the little cabin from the rest of the world and to dwarf all human action like the sea. It made social conventions of no value, and narrowed the question of morality to the relationship of these three human souls.

  Lying there in the dark, with the elemental war of wind and snow filling the illimitable arch of sky, he came to feel, in a dim, wordless way, that this tragedy was born of conventions largely. Also, it appeared infinitesimal, like the activities of insects battling, breeding, dying. He came also to feel that the force which moved these animalculæ was akin to the ungovernable sweep of the wind and snow—all inexplicable, elemental, unmoral.

  His thought came always back to the man kneeling there, and the clasp of the woman's hands—that baffled him, subdued him.

  When he awoke it was light. The roar of the wind continued, but faint, far away, like the humming of a wire with the cold. He lay bewildered, half dreaming, not knowing what it was that had impressed him with this unwonted feeling of doubt and weariness. At last he heard a movement in the room and rose on his elbow. Rivers was awake and was peering out at the window.

  Blanche replied to his words of greeting with a low murmur—"I feel very weak."

  She seemed calmer, also, and her eyes had lost something of their tension of appeal.

  Bailey looked at her closely, and his heart softened with pity. He waited upon her and tried by his cheerful smiles to comfort her, nevertheless.

  They ate breakfast in silence, as if apprehending the struggle which was still to come.

  At last Rivers rose with abrupt resolution.

  "Well, now, I'll bring the team around, and we'll get away."

  "Wait a minute, Jim," Bailey said. "I want to say something to you." There was a note of pleading in his voice. "Wait a little. I've been thinking this thing over. I don't want you to go away feeling hard toward me." His throat choked up and his eyes grew dim. "I don't want to be hard on you, Jim. It's a mighty big question, and I'm not one to be unjust, specially toward a woman. Of course, somebody's got to suffer, but it hadn't ought to be the woman—I've made up my mind on that. Seems like the woman always does get the worst of it, and I want you to think of her. What is to become of her?"

  Blanche turned toward him with a wondrous look—a look which made him shiver with emotion. He looked down a moment, and his struggle to speak made him seem very boyish and gentle.

  "I can't exactly justify this trade, Jim, but I guess it all depends on the mother. She ought to be happy anyway, whether you are or not; so if she thinks she'd better go with you, why, I ain't got a word to say."

  Blanche gave a low cry, a cry such as no woman had ever uttered in his presence, and fell upon her knees before him.

  The cadence of her moan cut deep into his heart. He realized for the first time some part of her suffering, her temptations. Her eyes shone with a marvellous beauty. He was awed by the rapt expression of her face.

  "Don't do that," he stammered. "Please get up."

  "You're so good!" she breathed.

  "Oh no, I'm not. I don't know—I don't pretend to judge—that's all. Yesterday I did, but now—well, I leave the whole business with you and God. Please stand up."

  She rose, but stood looking upon him with a fixed, devouring look. He had never seen tears in her eyes before. She had been gay and sullen and tense and sad, but now she was transfigured with some emotion he could not follow. Her eyes were soft and dark, and her pale face, sad and sweet, was instinct with the tenderness of her coming maternity. The sturdy plainsman thrilled with unutterable pity as he looked down upon her.

  There was a silence, and then Rivers came to Bailey's side, and said, brokenly,

  "Rob, old man, you've done me good—you always have done me good—I'll be faithful to her, so help me God!"

  Bailey understood him, and shook his hand. They stood for a moment, palm to palm, as if this were in some sense a marriage ceremony. Bailey broke the tension by saying:

  "Well, now get your team—I wouldn't let you take her out into the cold only I know she ought to be where a doctor can be reached. The quicker you go the better."

  While Rivers was gone he turned to her and helped her with her cloak and shawl. His heart went out toward her with a brother's love. He talked with cheerful irrelevancy and bustled about, heating a bowlder for her feet and warming her overshoes.

  "Now it's all right. Jim will take care of you. Don't worry about Will; I'll go over and see him." He wrapped her in every available blanket and shawl, and at last helped her outside and into the sleigh. He tucked the robe around her while Rivers held the restless horses. His voice trembled as he said:

  "Now, Jim, get her under shelter as quick as you can. Leave the team at Wheatland. I'll come after it in a day or two. I want to see somebody in town, anyway."

  The woman turned toward him. He saw her eyes shine through her veil. She bared her hand and extended it toward him. "I hope you and Estelle will be happy."

  He covered her hand with both of his. The gesture was swift and tender. It seemed to shield and forgive. Then drawing the robe over it without a word, he briskly said, "Well, Jim, I guess this is the fork in the road," and he looked at his chum with misty eyes. Rivers turned away, and they again clasped hands without looking at each other.

  "Good-bye, old man," said Rivers.

  "Good-bye, Jim, and good luck!"

  Bailey saw his partner draw the woman close down under the shelter of his shoulder, while his powerful hand whirled the team to the south.

  He stood in the lee of the shanty until the swift sleigh was a slowly moving speck on the plain, then he went in and sat down to muse on the wondrous last look in the woman's eyes. "I wonder what Estelle will say?" he asked himself, and a sense of loneliness, of longing to see her, filled his heart with dreams.

  THE END

  End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Moccasin Ranch, by Hamlin Garland

>   *** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE MOCCASIN RANCH ***

  ***** This file should be named 19764-h.htm or 19764-h.zip *****

  This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:

  http://www.gutenberg.org/1/9/7/6/19764/

  Produced by Roger Frank and the Online Distributed

  Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net

  Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions

  will be renamed.

  Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no

  one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation

  (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without

  permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules,

  set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to

  copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to

  protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project

  Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you

  charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. If you

  do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the

  rules is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose

  such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and

  research. They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do

  practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks. Redistribution is

  subject to the trademark license, especially commercial

  redistribution.

  *** START: FULL LICENSE ***

  THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE

  PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK

  To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free

  distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work

  (or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project

  Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project

  Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at

  http://gutenberg.org/license).

  Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm

  electronic works

  1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm

  electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to

  and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property

  (trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all

  the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy

  all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession.

  If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project

  Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the

  terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or

  entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8.

  1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be

  used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who

  agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few

  things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works

  even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See

  paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project

  Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement

  and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic

  works. See paragraph 1.E below.

  1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation"

  or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project

  Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the

  collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an

  individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are

  located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from

  copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative

  works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg

  are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project

  Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by

  freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of

  this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with

  the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by

  keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project

  Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others.

  1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern

  what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in

  a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check

  the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement

  before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or

  creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project

  Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning

  the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United

  States.

  1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg:

  1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate

  access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently

  whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the

  phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project

  Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed,

  copied or distributed:

  This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with

  almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or

  re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included

  with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org

  1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived

  from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is

  posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied

  and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees

  or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work

  with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the

  work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1

  through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the

  Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or

  1.E.9.

  1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted

  with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution

  must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional

  terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked

  to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the

  permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work.

  1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm

  License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this

  work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm.

  1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this

  electronic work, or any p
art of this electronic work, without

  prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with

  active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project

  Gutenberg-tm License.

  1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary,

  compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any

  word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or

  distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than

  "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version

  posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org),

  you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a

  copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon

  request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other

  form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm

  License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.

  1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying,

  performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works

  unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.

  1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing

  access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided

  that

  - You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from

  the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method

  you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is

  owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he

  has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the

  Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments