Spur could see the bright orb of the moon reflected in the distant river. He puffed with great appreciation at what was almost his last pipe of tobacco.
He thought of what lay before him and realized coldly the craziness of the thing he meant to do. He was a fool to even contemplate it, but he knew that he would never live with himself again if he did not do it. Having this girl here with him, free, forever kept the little Grimes girl fresh in his mind.
He reviewed the happenings of the last six weeks. And his thoughts inevitably turned again to the girl, Jane.
The fact that the three of them had been left horseless in a horseman’s country, horseless in a country where a man on foot was as good as a man dead, reminded him how from the start the girl had shown no fear. It had been she who had scouted around and found the sign of the wild mustangs. It was she who had told them how the animals could be caught. And it was she who led them in what Spur and Pagley had thought to be an impossible task. She had brought to bear on the problem of catching the wild ones the years of experience of her father. Under her instruction, Spur had helped her build the brush catch-pen and they had caught the mustangs after days of patient watching and waiting. The animals had come down to the river to drink and six of them were theirs as the rest fled wildly from captivity.
It was she who had gentled the six of them in a way that Spur had never seen before. It was the Indian way, she told him, a mixture of harshness and kindness, always stopping short of breaking the entire will of the animal. Now the six animals that fed on the dried out grass would all allow her to approach and stroke them. They were not creatures of beauty, but she assured the two men that they would run all day on a handful of grass.
Spur realized as he had realized few things clearer in his life that here was a woman in a million: tough, reliable and, though not without fear, a brave woman. She thought, as Pagley thought, that they would stay together and go into the country of the Kiowas and rescue the Grimes girl. Spur had decided differently. Pagley was still too weak for long rides. He and the girl must head for the settlements to the south-east. They might not persuade easily, but his mind was made up.
The soft sound of footsteps brought his hand to his gun-butt. He turned his head and saw the girl dark against the night sky.
She came and sat beside him, her arm touching his.
“How long do we stay here?” she asked. “If we wait too long there won’t be the grass for the ponies to take us to the Kiowas and back.”
“We pull out tomorrow,” he said.
“Tomorrow!” She was surprised. “You think Pagley’s strong enough for the trip?”
“He’s not.”
“Why then?”
“He’s not going.”
The pale oval of her face turned to him in the moonlight and he had an almost irresistible impulse to kiss her.
“He won’t take kindly to being left.”
“He has to go back into Texas. You’re going with him.”
She started.
“No,” she said. “I’m not goin’ an’ you can’t make me.”
“Pagley would never make it on his own.”
“Nor would you up against the Kiowas.”
“Better than with a sick man and a girl.”
He heard her suck her breath in angrily. “When did I ever hold you up?” she demanded.
“Never. But I’ll get along better alone.”
“My God,” she said furiously, “I could hit you.”
He reached out and touched her face and she flinched at his touch.
“Jane,” he said, “don’t make it hard for me. Please.”
She rested her cheek against the palm of his hand and said: “I want to go along.”
“It has to be my way,” he said and caught her by the hair, pulling her toward him. She did not resist, but slid naturally into his arms. “Girl, I love you.”
She rolled over in his arms so that she lay across his lap and pulled his head down to hers. She smelled of sagebrush and the warmth of the sun. Her lips were soft and yielding under his. When she took her mouth away from his, she whispered: “I have to come with you. I couldn’t stand bein’ away.”
“And what would it be like for me, knowing any minute you could be killed. No, we got you away from the Indians and you stay away.”
“Think of me,” she said. “For months I’ll be wondering if you’re dead or alive.”
“I shan’t take risks,” he told her. “I promise you that. I have one good reason for staying alive.”
“But you have to—” He stopped her mouth with his and murmured: “Save it - we’ll argue later. There’s a time for everything.”
She giggled gently and put her arms around him. They both surrendered to the uprush of passion that enveloped them both and when they lay dreamily in each other’s arms, he knew that here indeed he had a woman in a million.
Later, while Jane attended to the horses, he talked to Pagley as the Indian lay on the tarp by the fire.
“Pagley,” he said, “I don’t want a whole lot of argument. I’m going after the Grimes girl in the morning. You get Jane to a settlement.”
The Indian sat up. His dark eyes glittered in the firelight.
“Will I hell?” he said.
Spur leaned forward urgently.
“For God’s sake listen and quit making like a hero. Something’s happened between Jane and me.”
Pagley raised his almost non-existent eyebrows. “Like that, huh?”
“Like that. And I don’t want anything happening to her. Savvy?”
“Savvy.”
“So it’s up to you. I told her you aren’t strong enough to get into any Indian fights. She’s taking you back to the settlements.”
Pagley snarled. “I can ride the ass off you any day of the week, sick or not.”
“I know. I never said different. But you get that girl somewhere safe and put her on ice for me. Hear?”
“Sure, I ain’t deaf. But I’m damned if I like it.”
“Who asked you to like it?”
“You can’t buck that Two Bulls and his crowd on your lonesome and you know it.”
“One man might stand a chance where three wouldn’t.”
“How many Kiowas did we kill? Five? You think they’re goin’ to forget that?”
“I’ve a plan. It’ll come off.”
“It better be a good one.”
“Will you do this for me, Pagley?”
“I say to hell with you.”
“Listen. We’ve been partners, man. I’m asking you to do this for me. I’m begging like I never begged a man in my life before.”
They heard Jane returning. Spur caught the Indian by the arm: “For God’s sake, will you do it?”
Pagley growled: “All right. But I don’t like it.”
Spur said: “Thanks.”