第33章

The reappearance of Chivers in the mill with Collinson,and the brief announcement that the prisoner had consented to a satisfactory compromise,were received at first with a half contemptuous smile by the party;but for the commands of their leaders,and possibly a conviction that Collinson's fatuous cooperation with Chivers would be safer than his wrath,which might not expend itself only on Chivers,but imperil the safety of all,it is probable that they would have informed the unfortunate prisoner of his real relations to his captor.In these circumstances,Chivers's half satirical suggestion that Collinson should be added to the sentries outside,and guard his own property,was surlily assented to by Riggs,and complacently accepted by the others.Chivers offered to post him himself,--not without an interchange of meaning glances with Riggs,--Collinson's own gun was returned to him,and the strangely assorted pair left the mill amicably together.

But however humanly confident Chivers was in his companion's faithfulness,he was not without a rascal's precaution,and determined to select a position for Collinson where he could do the least damage in any aberration of trust.At the top of the grade,above the mill,was the only trail by which a party in force could approach it.This was to Chivers obviously too strategic a position to intrust to his prisoner,and the sentry who guarded its approach,five hundred yards away,was left unchanged.But there was another "blind"trail,or cut-off,to the left,through the thickest undergrowth of the woods,known only to his party.To place Collinson there was to insure him perfect immunity from the approach of an enemy,as well as from any confidential advances of his fellow sentry.This done,he drew a cigar from his pocket,and handing it to Collinson,lighted another for himself,and leaning back comfortably against a large boulder,glanced complacently at his companion.

"You may smoke until I go,Mr.Collinson,and even afterwards,if you keep the bowl of your pipe behind a rock,so as to be out of sight of your fellow sentry,whose advances,by the way,if I were you,I should not encourage.Your position here,you see,is a rather peculiar one.You were saying,I think,that a lingering affection for your wife impelled you to keep this place for her,although you were convinced of her death?"Collinson's unaffected delight in Chivers's kindliness had made his eyes shine in the moonlight with a doglike wistfulness."I reckon I did say that,Mr.Chivers,"he said apologetically,"though it ain't goin'to interfere with you usin'the shanty jest now.""I wasn't alluding to that,Collinson,"returned Chivers,with a large rhetorical wave of the hand,and an equal enjoyment in his companion's evident admiration of him,"but it struck me that your remark,nevertheless,implied some doubt of your wife's death,and I don't know but that your doubts are right.""Wot's that?"said Collinson,with a dull glow in his face.

Chivers blew the smoke of his cigar lazily in the still air.

"Listen,"he said."Since your miraculous conversion a few moments ago,I have made some friendly inquiries about you,and I find that you lost all trace of your wife in Texas in '52,where a number of her fellow emigrants died of yellow fever.Is that so?""Yes,"said Collinson quickly.

"Well,it so happens that a friend of mine,"continued Chivers slowly,"was in a train which followed that one,and picked up and brought on some of the survivors.""That was the train wot brought the news,"said Collinson,relapsing into his old patience."That's how I knowed she hadn't come.""Did you ever hear the names of any of its passengers?"said Chivers,with a keen glance at his companion.

"Nary one!I only got to know it was a small train of only two wagons,and it sorter melted into Californy through a southern pass,and kinder petered out,and no one ever heard of it agin,and that was all.""That was NOT all,Collinson,"said Chivers lazily."I saw the train arrive at South Pass.I was awaiting a friend and his wife.

There was a lady with them,one of the survivors.I didn't hear her name,but I think my friend's wife called her 'Sadie.'Iremember her as a rather pretty woman--tall,fair,with a straight nose and a full chin,and small slim feet.I saw her only a moment,for she was on her way to Los Angeles,and was,I believe,going to join her husband somewhere in the Sierras."The rascal had been enjoying with intense satisfaction the return of the dull glow in Collinson's face,that even seemed to animate the whole length of his angular frame as it turned eagerly towards him.So he went on,experiencing a devilish zest in this deion of his mistress to her husband,apart from the pleasure of noting the slow awakening of this apathetic giant,with a sensation akin to having warmed him into life.Yet his triumph was of short duration.The fire dropped suddenly out of Collinson's eyes,the glow from his face,and the dull look of unwearied patience returned.

"That's all very kind and purty of yer,Mr.Chivers,"he said gravely;"you've got all my wife's pints thar to a dot,and it seems to fit her jest like a shoe I picked up t'other day.But it wasn't my Sadie,for ef she's living or had lived,she'd bin just yere!"The same fear and recognition of some unknown reserve in this trustful man came over Chivers as before.In his angry resentment of it he would have liked to blurt out the infidelity of the wife before her husband,but he knew Collinson would not believe him,and he had another purpose now.His full lips twisted into a suave smile.