The Dillon herald. [volume] (Dillon, S.C.) 1894-????, 1919-04-17
CHATTER xviii.
A Discovery.

arQS ramaua. Ines leauer, enteimS
the office, announced that they were
on the track Of criminal, the mur-
.derer Of rurale. Maldonado. He was
an Indian named Felipe. He repeated
the story Rickard had heard before.
Would the senior give his, respected
permission for notices to be posted
about the camp? A description OF the
Indian, reward for his capture; the
favor would be inestimable~ a. y
.Rickard saw the notice later that
day. 1t was nailed to the back plat
form of,the Palmyra. BE was on Mar
shalps trail, his chief having failed to
keep an appointment with him. They
were TO test the gate1 that afternoon;
Marshall was returning soon to Tue
' son. Jta., as C+ ia.st1' 0Y ryntf ~,
Riekard turned back toward camp,
deep In thought; so intent that q sharp
cry had lost its echo before the import
came to him. He stopped, hearing rum
ming steps behind him. innes Hardin
was Looping up the bank like q young
deer, with terror in her eyes. ~
"Mr. Rickard!" she cried. mi
Rickard 70 ~
She was trembling. Her fright had
flushed her; cheek to brow was glow
Ing with startled blood. He saw an
odd flash OF startling beauty, the veil
of tan torn off by her emotion. The
wave of her terror caught him. He
put out his hand to steady her. She
stood recovering herself, regaining her
spent breath. Rickard remembered
that this was the first time he had seen
her since the murder Of Maldonado,
since the meeting with the Mexican
woman at his tent. "What was 1t
frightened your
"The Indian, the murderer. Just as
they describe him on those notices. l
must have fallen. asleep. I'd been
reading. / heard a noise In the brush
and there was his face staring at me.'
Her breath was still uneven. u
screamed and ran. Silly. to be SO
scared" n,...t., bef ~. eaat5et
He started toward the willows but
she grabbed his sleeve. "Oh, don't" )"
She flushed, thinking to meet the quiz
zicnl smile, but his eyes were grave.
He. 30, had had his fright. They stood
stirring at each other. I'm afraid"
she completed. How he would despise
her cowardlce But she could not let
him know that her fear had been for
him!
He was looking at her, Suppose any
thing had happened to herl he had q
: minute of nausea. II that brute had
hurt her-and then he kl- Y how 1t
was with him! a~ r: iia =
He looked at her grayely. OF course.
he had known 1t long time. 1t was
true. She was going to belong to, him.
II that brute had hurt her! G
She shrank un6er his gravity; this
was something she did not understand.
They were silent, walking toward the
encampment. Rickard did not care to
talk. It was not the time; and he had
been badly shaken. Innes was tremu,
lously conscious Of the palpltatlng 81
lence. Sne fiuttered toward giddy
speech. Her walk that day, Mr.. Rick;
ard She had heard that water had
Started to flow down the old river bed; ;
she had wanted to see 1t, and there
was no one to go with her. Her SEN
tence broke of. The look he had
turned on her was 20 dominant, so ten
der. Amused at her giddiness, and
yet loving her! Loving her! They
were silent again. -. 1t:i
"You won't go Oft alone, again." He
had not asked it, at parting. His In
Election, demanding 1t Of her, was Of
ownership. She did not meet his eyes.
Later, when she was lying on her
bed, face downward, routed, she tried
to analyze that possessiye challenge OF
his gaze, but it eluded words. She
summoned her pride, bat the meaning
called her, sense and mind and soul
of her. It cried to her: 81, Casey
Rickard, whom your brother hates,
once the lover of Gerty Holmes, I am
the mate for you. And I'm going to
come and take you some day. Some
day, when I have time!"
Oh, yes, she was angry with him;
she had some pride. "Why didn't he
tell me thenP she cried in warm tn.
multi to her pillow. "For I would have
given him his answer. had time,
ample time, to tell him that 1t was
not true" For she wanted different
sort of lover, not secondhand dis.
card; but one who belonged all to her
self; one who would WOO, not take her
with that strange sure look Of his.
"You'll be waiting when come" All,
she would not indeed! She would
show him!
And then she lay quite still with her
hand over her heart. She would be
waiting when he came for her! Be-
cause, though life had brought them
together so roughly, so tactlessly had
rnuddled things, yet she knew. She