'Drag' Harlan - Charles Alden Seltzer (best ebook for manga .TXT) š
- Author: Charles Alden Seltzer
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She stood, holding the glittering links in the palm of one hand, doubt and suspicion in her eyes.
āWhy,ā she called after him; āhe was just here, and you say you talked with him! Why didnāt you give it to him?ā
āForgot it, maāam. Anā I reckon youāll be seeinā him before I do.ā
Then he strode out through the gate, leaving her to speculate upon the mystery of his words and his odd action in leaving the chain with her when he could have personally returned it to Haydon.
Harlan, however, was grinning as he returned to the bunkhouse. For he wanted Barbara to see Haydonās face when the section of chain was returned to him, to gain whatever illumination she could from the incident. He did not care to tell herāyetāthat Haydon had killed her father; but he did desire to create in her mind a doubt of Haydon, so that she would hesitate to confide to him everything that happened at the Rancho Seco.
For himself, he wanted to intimate delicately to Haydon his knowledge of what had really occurred at Sentinel Rock; it was a message to the man conveying a significance that Haydon could not mistake. It meant that for some reason, known only to himself, Harlan did not intend to tell what he knew.
The impulse which had moved Harlan to send Red Linton to the T Down ranch to enlist the services of some of his old friends had resulted from a conviction that he could not depend upon those men of the Rancho Seco outfit who had seemed to him, to be unfriendly to Stroud, the straw-boss. He knew nothing about them, and their loyalty to Barbara Morgan might be of a quality that would not endure through the sort of trouble that seemed to be imminent.
The T Down menāthose who would comeāwould stand with him no matter what happenedāthey would do his will without question.
There was no doubt in Harlanās mind that John Haydon was the mysterious āChiefāāthe man who had sent into Lane Morganās breast the bullet that had ultimately killed him; and there was no doubt that some powerful, secret force was at work in the country, and that the force was directing its attention to the Rancho Seco and the defenseless girl who was at the nominal head of it. For some reason the secret force had killed her father, had isolated the ranch, had encompassed it with enemies, and was working slowly and surely to enmesh the girl herself.
Harlan was convinced that one of the motives behind the subtle aggressions of the men was a yearning for the gold that Morgan had leftāin fact the presence of Dolver and Laskar at Sentinel Rockāand Morganās word to him about the goldāprovided sufficient evidence on that score.
They had watched Morgan; they suspected he was taking gold to Pardo to have it assayed, and they had killed him in the hope of finding something on his person which would reveal to them where he had hidden the rest of it.
One other motive was that of the eternal, ages-old passion of a man for woman. Evidence of that passion had been revealed to Harlan at Lamo, by the attack on Barbara by Devenyās hirelingāHiggins; by the subtle advances of John Haydon. It seemed to Harlan that all of these men had beenāand wereāequally determined to possess the girl.
And yet back of it allābehind that which had been rendered visible by the actions of the man and by Harlanās own deductionsāwas something elseāsomething stealthy and hidden; a secret threat of dire things to comeāa lingering promise of trickery.
Standing at one of the gates of the corral upon the third morning following Lintonās departure, Harlan considered this phase of the situation. He felt the hidden threat of something sinister that lurked in the atmosphere.
It was all around him. It seemed to lie secreted in the yawning space that engulfed the Rancho Secoāsouth, north, and east. From the haze that stretched into the unending distance westward it seemed to come, bearing its whispered promise. The solemn hills that flanked the wide stretches of Sunset Valley seemed to hint of itāsomberly.
Mystery was in the serene calm that seemed to encompass the big basin; from the far reaches westward, in the misty veil that seemed to hang from the far-flung shafts of sunlight that penetrated the fleecy clouds, came the sinister threatāthe whole section seemed to pulse with it.
And yet Harlan knew there could be no mystery except the mysteries of men. Nature was the same here as in any other section of the world, and her secrets were not more profound than usual.
He grinned mirthlessly at the wonderful basin, noting that the Rancho Seco buildings seemed to lie on a direct line with its center; that the faint trail that ran through the basināthe trail men traveledācame on in its undulating way straight toward the Rancho Seco ranchhouse, seemed to bring the mystery of the big basin with it; seemed to be a link that connected the Rancho Seco with the promise of trouble.
That impression might have engaged the serious thoughts of some men. It widened the smile on Harlanās face. For he knew there was no threat in the beauty of the valley; that it did not hide its secrets from the prying eyes of men. Whatever secret the valley held was in the minds of menāthe minds of Deveny and the mysterious āChief,ā and their followers.
Harlan had not absented himself from the ranchhouse since the departure of Linton. He had lounged in the vicinity of the buildings during the dayāand Barbara had seen him many times from the windows; and he had spent his nights watching the ranchhouse, half expecting another attack on Barbara.
The girl had seen him at night, too; and she had smiled at the picture he made with the moonlight shining upon himāor standing in some shadowāsomber, motionless, undoubtedly guarding her.
She saw him this morning, too, as he stood beside the corral gate, and there was a glow in her eyes that, had he seen it, might have thrilled him with its gratitude.
She came out of a rear door after a while, and Harlan was still standing at the gate.
He watched her as she came toward himāit was the first time she had ventured in that direction since the return from Lamo with himānoting that she seemed to be in better spiritsāthat she was smiling.
āYou looked lonesome,ā she said, as she halted near him. āDid Linton join the outfit?ā
āItās likely; he went three days ago.ā
āI knew he had gone; I saw you several times, and you were always alone. And,ā she added, looking keenly at him; āI saw you several times, at night. Donāt you ever sleep?ā
āI reckon Iām a sort of restless cuss.ā
Her face took on serious lines.
āLook here, Harlan,ā she said, reprovingly, āyou are keeping something back. You have been watching the ranchhouse at nightāand during the day. You are guarding me. Why is it? Do you think I am going to run away?ā
āFrom me?ā he queried; āI was hopinā you wouldnāt.ā
She stiffened with exasperation, for she felt the insincerity in his mannerācaught the humorous note in his voice.
āYou are treating me as you would treat a child,ā she declared; āand I wonāt have it. Are you watching me because you fear there might be anotherāLawson?ā
āThere might be.ā
āNonsense! There isnāt another man in the section would dare what Lawson dared!ā
āGentlemenāeh?ā he said, tauntingly. āWell, Iāve nosed around quite considerable, anā I donāt remember to have ever run into a place where there was fewer men than in this neck of the woods.ā
āThere are plenty of gentlemen. Do you think John Haydonāāā
Harlan grinned faintly. āHeās been fanninā it right along for half an hour,ā he said, with seeming irrelevance.
āWho?ā she asked, with a swift, uncomprehending glance at him.
āYour gentleman,ā he said slowly.
She followed the direction of his gaze, and saw, on the trail that led downward from a little table-land to the level that stretched toward the ranchhouse, a horseman, coming rapidly toward them.
āItās Mr. Haydon!ā she ejaculated, her voice leaping.
āSo it is,ā said Harlan, dryly. He looked keenly at her, noting the flush on her face, the brightness of her eyes. āYou aināt forgettinā to give him that piece of chain.ā
āWhy,ā she said, drawing the glittering links from a pocket of her skirt; āI have it here. You may return it to him.ā
āMe anā Haydon aināt on speakinā terms,ā he smiled. āHe wouldnāt appreciate it none, if I give it to him.ā
āWhyāā she began, only to pause and look at him with a sudden comprehension in her eyes. For into Harlanās face had come an expression that, she thought, she could analyze. It was jealousy. That was why he was reluctant to return the chain to Haydon.
The situation was so positively puerile, she thought, that she almost felt like laughing. She would have laughed had it not been that she knew of Harlanās unfailing vigilanceāand that she felt differently toward him now than she had felt during the first days of their acquaintance. His steadfast vigilance, she decided, must have been responsible for the change, together with the steady consideration he revealed for her.
At any rate, something about him had affected her. She felt more gentle toward him; more inclined to believe in him; and there had been times during the past few days when she had been astonished at the subtle, warm sensation that had stolen over her whenever she saw him or whenever she thought of him.
Something of that warmth toward him was in her eyes now as she watched him and she decided that she should humor his whim; that she should perform the action that he was reluctant to perform.
She smiled, with the wisdom of a woman to whom a secret had been unwittingly revealed.
āYou donāt like Haydon?ā
āHim anā me aināt goinā to be bosom friends.ā
āWhy donāt you like him?ā she asked banteringly.
She thought his grin was brazen. āWhy donāt you like me?ā
āI donāt know,ā she said coldly. But her face reddened a little.
āWell,ā he laughed; āthatās why I donāt like Haydon.ā
Haydon had crossed the big level, and was close to the ranchhouse.
The girl had determined to remain where she was, to return the piece of chain to Haydon in the presence of Harlanāin order to learn what she could of the depth of Harlanās dislike for Haydon when in the presence of the latter. And so a silence came between them as they watched Haydon ride toward them.
When Haydon rode close to them he halted his horse and sat in the saddle, an expression of cold inquiry on his face. His smile at Miss Barbara was a trifle forced; his glance at Harlan had a fair measure of frank dislike and suspicion in it.
Harlan deliberately turned his back toward Barbara and Haydon when the latter dismounted; walked a little distance, and pretended to be interested in a snubbing post in the corral.
Yet he cast furtive glances toward the two, and when he saw the girl reaching into a pocket for the section of chain he had given her, he slowly sauntered forward, and was within hearing distance when Barbara spoke to Haydon.
āI was to give you this,ā she saidāand she extended a hand toward Haydon, the chain dangling from her fingers.
Harlan saw Haydonās muscles leap and become tense. He saw the manās color go, saw his cheeks whiten; observed that his eyes widened and gleamed with mingled astonishment and alarm.
He regained control of himself instantly, however, but Harlan had seen enough to strengthen his convictions, and he grinned as Haydon flashed a sharp glance at him.
Barbara, too, had noted the strange light in Haydonās eyes; she had
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