Part 16 (2/2)
”Do you know her?”
”Her other name is--”
”Harris--Anita Harris, in full. Do you know her, or aught of her?”
”I--I--I did, once!” was the slow reply. ”Where is she; I want to see her?”
Redburn took a moment to consider.
Would it be best to permit a meeting between the two until he should be able to learn something more definite concerning the secret? If Ned Harris were here would he sanction such a meeting? No! something told the young miner that he would not; something warned him that it could result in no good to allow the scarlet youth an interview with sad, sweet-faced Anita.
”You cannot see her!” he at last said, decidedly. ”There is a reason why you two should never meet again, and if you remain in the gulch, as you will be obliged to, for the present, you must give me your word of honor that you will not go near yonder cabin.”
Fearless Frank had expected this; therefore he was not surprised.
Neither did Redburn know how close he had s.h.i.+ed his stone at the real truth.
”I promise,” McKenzie said, after a moment's deliberation, ”on my honor, that I will not approach the cabin, providing you will furnish me my meals and lodgings elsewhere. If Anita comes to me, what then?”
”I will see that she does not,” Redburn answered, positively.
Gradually he was a.s.suming full control of things, in the absence of Harris, himself. ”Miss Terry, you may ride down to yonder cabin, and tell Anita I sent you. Pilgrim, you can come along with me.”
”No; I will accompany Alice as far as where your forces are stationed,” said Frank, and then they rode down the slope, Redburn turning toward where the road-agents sat upon their horses in a compact body, with Deadwood d.i.c.k at their head.
As the miner drew nigh and came to a standstill, the Prince of the road rode forward to his side.
”Well--?” he said, interrogatively, his voice heavy yet pleasant; ”I suppose you desire to know what bizness we've got in your cornfield, eh, stranger?”
”That's about the dimensions of it, yes,” replied Redburn, at once conceiving a liking for the young road-agent, in whom he thought he saw a true gentleman, in the disguise of a devil. ”I came over to learn the object you have in view, in invading our little valley, if you have no objections in telling.”
”Certainly not. As you may have guessed already, we are a band of road-agents, whose field of action we have lately confined to the Black Hills country. I have the honor of being the leader, and you have doubtless heard of me--Deadwood d.i.c.k, the 'Road-Agent Prince,' as the _Pioneer_ persists in terming me. Just at present, things are rather sultry in the immediate vicinity of Deadwood, so far as we are concerned, and we sought this locality to escape a small army of the Deadwood military, who have been nosing around after us for the past week.”
”Well--?”
”Well, we happened to see a man and woman come this way, and believing that it must lead to somewhere or other, we followed, and here we are, out of the reach of the blue-coats, but, I take it, _in_ the way of a party of secret miners. Is it not so?”
”No, not necessarily so, unless you put yourselves in the way. You wish to remain quartered here for the present?”
”If not contrary to your wishes, we should like to, yes.”
”I have no objections to offer, providing you will agree to two points.”
”And what are they, may I ask?”
”These. That you will camp at the mouth of the pa.s.sage, and thus keep out any other intruders that may come; second, that you will keep your men to this side or the valley, and not interfere with any of our laborers.”
”To which I eagerly agree. You shall experience no inconvenience from our presence here; you furnish us a haven of safety from the pursuing soldiers; we in return will extend you our aid in repelling a host of fortune-seekers who may any moment come down this way in swarms.”
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