Betty Zane - Zane Grey (free ebook novel .txt) 📗

the barn door; the bluebirds twittered; a meadowlark caroled forth his pure melody, and the busy hum of bees came from the fragrant apple blossoms.

“Mis’ Betty, Madcap ’pears powerfo’ skittenish,” said old Sam, when he had led the pony to where Betty stood on the hitching block. “Whoa, dar, you rascal.”

Betty laughed as she leaped lightly into the saddle, and soon she was flying over the old familiar road, down across the creek bridge, past the old gristmill, around the fort and then out on the river bluff. The Indian pony was fiery and mettlesome. He pranced and sidestepped, galloped and trotted by turns. He seemed as glad to get out again into the warm sunshine as was Betty herself. He tore down the road a mile at his best speed. Coming back Betty pulled him into a walk. Presently her musings were interrupted by a sharp switch in the face from a twig of a tree. She stopped the pony and broke off the offending branch. As she looked around the recollection of what had happened to her in that very spot flashed into her mind. It was here that she had been stopped by the man who had passed almost as swiftly out of her life as he had crossed her path that memorable afternoon. She fell to musing on the old perplexing question. After all could there not have been some mistake? Perhaps she might have misjudged him? And then the old spirit, which resented her thinking of him in that softened mood, rose and fought the old battle over again. But as often happened the mood conquered, and Betty permitted herself to sink for the moment into the sad thoughts which returned like a mournful strain of music once sung by beloved voices, now forever silent.

She could not resist the desire to ride down to the old sycamore. The pony turned into the bridle path that led down the bluff and the surefooted beast picked his way carefully over the roots and stones. Betty’s heart beat quicker when she saw the noble tree under whose spreading branches she had spent the happiest day of her life. The old monarch of the forest was not one whit changed by the wild winds of winter. The dew sparkled on the nearly full grown leaves; the little sycamore balls were already as large as marbles.

Betty drew rein at the top of the bank and looked absently at the tree and into the foam covered pool beneath. At that moment her eyes saw nothing physical. They held the faraway light of the dreamer, the look that sees so much of the past and nothing of the present.

Presently her reflections were broken by the actions of the pony. Madcap had thrown up her head, laid back her ears and commenced to paw the ground with her forefeet. Betty looked round to see the cause of Madcap’s excitement. What was that! She saw a tall figure clad in brown leaning against the stone. She saw a long fishing rod. What was there so familiar in the poise of that figure? Madcap dislodged a stone from the path and it went rattling down the rocky slope and fell with a splash into the water. The man heard it, turned and faced the hillside. Betty recognized Alfred Clarke. For a moment she believed she must be dreaming. She had had many dreams of the old sycamore. She looked again. Yes, it was he. Pale, worn, and older he undoubtedly looked, but the features were surely those of Alfred Clarke. Her heart gave a great bound and then seemed to stop beating while a very agony of joy surged over her and made her faint. So he still lived. That was her first thought, glad and joyous, and then memory returning, her face went white as with clenched teeth she wheeled Madcap and struck her with the switch. Once on the level bluff she urged her toward the house at a furious pace.

Col. Zane had just stepped out of the barn door and his face took on an expression of amazement when he saw the pony come tearing up the road, Betty’s hair flying in the wind and with a face as white as if she were pursued by a thousand yelling Indians.

“Say, Betts, what the deuce is wrong?” cried the Colonel, when Betty reached the fence.

“Why did you not tell me that man was here again?” she demanded in intense excitement.

“That man! What man?” asked Col. Zane, considerably taken back by this angry apparition.

“Mr. Clarke, of course. Just as if you did not know. I suppose you thought it a fine opportunity for one of your jokes.”

“Oh, Clarke. Well, the fact is I just found it out myself. Haven’t I been away as well as you? I certainly cannot imagine how any man could create such evident excitement in your mind. Poor Clarke, what has he done now?”

“You might have told me. Somebody could have told me and saved me from making a fool of myself,” retorted Betty, who was plainly on the verge of tears. “I rode down to the old sycamore tree and he saw me in, of all the places in the world, the one place where I would not want him to see me.”

“Huh!” said the Colonel, who often gave vent to the Indian exclamation. “Is that all? I thought something had happened.”

“All! Is it not enough? I would rather have died. He is a man and he will think I followed him down there, that I was thinking of⁠—that⁠—Oh!” cried Betty, passionately, and then she strode into the house, slammed the door, and left the Colonel, lost in wonder.

“Humph! These women beat me. I can’t make them out, and the older I grow the worse I get,” he said, as he led the pony into the stable.

Betty ran upstairs to her room, her head in a whirl. Stronger than the surprise of Alfred’s unexpected appearance in Fort Henry and stronger