Part 56 (1/2)
If they had not crossed the river she felt that she ar and bits of bread had inspired in his equine soul a wondrous attachment for his temporary mistress
Down the beaten trail the aniirl hurried, her eyes penetrating the darkness ahead and to either hand for the loo which she entle little Brazos
The nearer she came to the river the lower dropped her spirits, for as yet no sign of the animals was to be seen To have attempted to place a hackamore upon any of the wild creatures in the corral would have been the height of foolishness--only a well-sped riata in the hands of a strong man could have captured one of these
Closer and closer to the fringe of s along the river she cae, there broke upon her already taut nerves the hideous and uncanny screairl stopped short in her tracks She felt the chill of fear creep through her skin, and a twitching at the roots of her hair evidenced to her the extreht be between her and the river, but judgment told her that they had crossed Should she brave the nervous fright of a passage through that dark, forbidding labyrinth of gloom when she knew that she should not find the horses within reach beyond?
She turned to retrace her steps She must find another way!
But was there another way? And ”Tomorrow they will shoot him!” She shuddered, bit her lower lip in an effort to coed into the thicket
Again the cat screairl never hesitated in her advance, and a few h the s a dozen paces froht; but no horses were to be seen
The trail, cut by the hoofs ofwater Upon the opposite side Brazos , just beyond reach
Barbara dug her nails into her palms in the bitterness of her disappointe of the water It was black and forbidding Even in the dayti the ford--by night it would be madness to attempt it
She choked down a sob Her shoulders drooped Her head bent forward She was the picture of disappointment and despair
”What can I do?” she ht seemed to electrify her
”They shall not shoot him!” she cried aloud ”They shall not shoot hiain her head was up and her shoulders squared Tying the hackale deep breath of reassurance and stepped out into the river For a dozen paces she found no difficulty in following the ford It was broad and straight; but toward the center of the river, as she felt her way along a step at a tie upon which she crossed shelved off into deep water She turned upward, trying to locate the direction of the new turn; but here too there was no footing Down river she felt solid rock beneath her feet Ah! this was the way, and boldly she stepped out, the water already above her knees Two, three steps she took, and with each one her confidence and hope arose, and then the fourth step--and there was no footing She felt herself lunging into the streae; but the force of the current was too much for her, and, so suddenly it seemed that she had thrown herself in, she was in the channel swi for her life
The trend of the current there was back in the direction of the bank she had but just quitted, yet so strong was her determination to succeed for Billy Byrne's sake that she turned her face toward the opposite shore and fought to reach the seeain and again she ept under by the force of the current
Again and again she rose and battled, not for her own life; but for the life of the man she once had loathed and whom she later had come to love Inch by inch she won toward the shore of her desire, and inch by inch of her progress she felt her strength failing Could she win? Ah!
if she were but a ht came another: Thank God that I ath to drive me into the clutches of death for his sake!
Her heart thundered in tus Her lih she was now convinced that she had thrown her life away uselessly They would find her body; but no one would ever guess what had driven her to her death Not even he would know that it was for his sake And then she felt the tugging of the channel current suddenly lessen, an eddy carried her gently inshore, her feet touched the sand and gravel of the botto, she reeled on a few paces and then slipped down clutching at the river's bank Here the water was shallow, and here she lay until her strength returned Then she urged herself up and onward, climbed to the top of the bank with success at last within reach
To find the horses now required but a few minutes' search They stood huddled in a black mass close to the barbed-wire fence at the extremity of the pasture As she approached the ahile they faced her in curiosity Softly she called: ”Brazos! Co
”Good Brazos!” she cooed ”That's a good pony,” and walked forward to meet him
The animal let her reach up and stroke his forehead, while he muzzled about her for the expected tidbit Gently she worked the hackamore over his nose and above his ears, and when it was safely in place she breathed a deep sigh of relief and throwing her arms about his neck pressed her cheek to his
”You dear old Brazos,” she whispered
The horse stood quietly while the girl wriggled herself to his back, and then at a word and a touch from her heelsthis time was one of infinite ease, for Barbara let the rope lie loose and Brazos take his oay
Through the s upon the opposite bank he shouldered his path, across the h a gate which led directly from the meadow into the ranchyard
Here she tied him to the outside of the corral, while she went in search of saddle and bridle Whose she took she did not know, nor care, but that the saddle was enored it halfway to where Brazos stood