Part 19 (1/2)
He drew from his pocket a flat, pink box which, on being opened, proved to contain several cakes of chocolate of Peggy's favorite brand.
”Oh, dear,” sighed Peggy as she nibbled away at the confection, ”if only I knew positively that we were going to come out all right I'd really be inclined to enjoy this as a picnic.”
”Hooray! here comes the moon,” cried Roy, after an interval, during which the chocolate steadily diminished in quant.i.ty.
Over the eastern horizon, beyond the desolate peaks and barren ”ocean” of the desert, a silver rim crept. Rapidly it rose till the full moon was climbing on her nightly course and flooding the alkali with a soft radiance almost as bright as subdued electric light.
Against the glow the weird, ragged peaks stood out as blackly as if cut out of cardboard. One could see the tracery of every bit of brush and rock outlined as plainly as if they had been silhouetted by an artist at the craft.
All at once Peggy gave a frightened little cry and shrank close to Roy. The firelight showed her face drawn and startled.
”Oh, Roy, over there! No, not that peak--that one to the right!”
”Well, sis, what about it?” asked Roy indulgently.
”Something moved! No, don't laugh, I'm sure of it.”
”A coyote maybe or another jack rabbit. In that case we'll have a chance at a shot.”
”No, Roy, it wasn't an animal.” Peggy's tones were vibrant with alarm--tense as a taut violin string. ”What I saw was a man.”
”A man. Nonsense! Unless it was someone from the camp looking for us.”
”No, this man was watching us. He may have been crouching there for a long time. I saw the outline of his sombrero black against the moonlight behind that rise. Oh, Roy, I'm frightened.”
”Rubbish,” declared Roy stoutly, although his heart began to beat uncomfortably fast. ”What man could there be here unless it was Alverado, and he couldn't possibly have arrived by this time.”
”But, Roy, it wasn't my fancy. Truly it wasn't. I saw a man crouching there and watching us. When I looked up he vanished.”
”Must have been a rock or something, sis. Moonlight plays queer tricks you know. Don't let's make the situation any worse by imagining things.”
”It was not imagination,” repeated Peggy stoutly.
But Roy, perhaps because he did not wish to, would not admit the possibility of Peggy's vision being correct.
A long, loud cry like the laughing of an imprisoned soul cut the stillness startlingly.
”Ki-yi-yi-yi-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o!”
”Coyotes!” laughed Roy, ”that's what you saw.”
Peggy said nothing. The sudden sharp sound had rasped her overwrought nerves cruelly.
”Ki-yi-yi-yi-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o!”
The demoniacal laughing, half howl, half bark, cut the night again.
This time it came from a different direction. From other grim peaks the cry was caught up. It seemed that the creatures were all about them.