“It is Sheila Langford.”
She had turned her head and was giving her attention to the window above her. The fingers of the hand that had been supporting his head slowly clenched, he raised himself slightly, his body rigid, his chin thrusting, his face pale, his eyes burning with a sudden fierce fire. Once he opened his lips to speak, but instantly closed them again, and a smile wreathed them – a mirthless smile that had in it a certain cold caution and cunning. After a silence that lasted long his voice came again, drawling, well-controlled, revealing nothing of the emotion which had previously affected him.
“What is your father’s name?”
“David Dowd Langford. An uncommon middle name, isn’t it?”
“Yes. Uncommon,” came his reply. His face, with the light of the candle gleaming full upon it, bore a queer pallor – the white of cold ashes. His right hand, which had been resting carelessly on the blanket, was now gripping it, the muscles tense and knotted. Yet after another long silence his voice came again – drawling, well-controlled, as before:
“What is he coming out here for?”
“He has retired from business and is coming out here for his health.”
“What business was he in?”
“Wholesale hardware.”
He was silent again and presently, hearing him stir, Sheila looked covertly at him. He had turned, his back was toward her, and he was stretched out on the blanket as though, fully satisfied with the result of his questioning, he intended going to sleep. For several minutes Sheila watched him with a growing curiosity. It was like a man to ask all and give nothing. He had questioned her to his complete satisfaction but had told nothing of himself. She was determined to discover something about him.
“Who are you?” she questioned.
“Dakota,” he said shortly.
“Dakota?” she repeated, puzzled. “That isn’t a name; it’s a State – or a Territory.”
“I’m Dakota. Ask anybody.” There was a decided drawl in his voice.
This information was far from being satisfactory, but she supposed it must answer. Still, she persisted. “Where are you from?”
“Dakota.”
That seemed to end it. It had been a short quest and an unsatisfactory one. It was perfectly plain to her that he was some sort of a rancher – at the least a cowboy. It was also plain that he had been a cowboy before coming to this section of the country – probably in Dakota. She was perplexed and vexed and nibbled impatiently at her lips.
“Dakota isn’t your real name,” she declared sharply.
“Ain’t it?” There came the drawl again. It irritated her this time.
“No!” she snapped.
“Well, it’s as good as any other. Good-night.”
Sheila did not answer. Five minutes later she was asleep.
CHAPTER II
THE DIM TRAIL
Sheila had been dreaming of a world in which there was nothing but rain and mud and clouds and reckless-eyed individuals who conversed in irritating drawls when a sharp crash of thunder awakened her. During her sleep she had turned her face to the wall, and when her eyes opened the first thing that her gaze rested on was the small window above her head. She regarded it for some time, following with her eyes the erratic streams that trickled down the glass, stretching out wearily, listening to the wind. It was cold and bleak outside and she had much to be thankful for.
She was glad that she had not allowed the mysterious inhabitant of the cabin to sleep out in his tarpaulin, for the howling of the wind brought weird thoughts into her mind; she reflected upon her helplessness and it was extremely satisfying to know that within ten feet of her lay a man whose two big revolvers – even though she feared them – seemed to insure protection. It was odd, she told herself, that she should place so much confidence in Dakota, and her presence in the cabin with him was certainly a breach of propriety which – were her friends in the East to hear of it – would arouse much comment – entirely unfavorable to her. Yes, it was odd, yet considering Dakota, she was not in the least disturbed. So far his conduct toward her had been that of the perfect gentleman, and in spite of the recklessness that gleamed in his eyes whenever he looked at her she was certain that he would continue to be a gentleman.
It was restful to lie and listen to the rain splashing on the roof and against the window, but sleep, for some unaccountable reason, seemed to grow farther from her – the recollection of events during the past few hours left no room in her thoughts for sleep. Turning, after a while, to seek a more comfortable position, she saw Dakota sitting at the table, on the side opposite her, watching her intently.
“Can’t sleep, eh?” he said, when he saw her looking at him. “Storm bother you?”
“I think it was the thunder that awakened me,” she returned. “Thunder always does. Evidently it disturbs you too.”
“I haven’t been asleep,” he said in a curt tone.
He continued to watch her with a quiet, appraising gaze. It was evident that he had been thinking of her when she had turned to look at him. She flushed with embarrassment over the thought that while she had been asleep he must have been considering her, and yet, looking closely at him now, she decided that his expression was frankly impersonal.
He glanced at his watch. “You’ve been asleep two hours,” he said. “I’ve been watching you – and envying you.”
“Envying me? Why? Are you troubled with insomnia?”
He laughed. “Nothing so serious as that. It’s just thoughts.”
“Pleasant ones, of course.”
“You might call them pleasant. I’ve been thinking of you.”
Sheila found no reply to make to this, but blushed again.
“Thinking of you,” repeated Dakota. “Of the chance you took in coming out here alone – in coming into my shack. We’re twenty miles from town here – twenty miles from the Double R – the nearest ranch. It isn’t likely that a soul will pass here for a month. Suppose – ”
“We won’t ‘suppose,’ if you please,” said Sheila. Her face had grown slowly pale, but there was a confident smile on her lips as she looked at him.
“No?” he said, watching her steadily. “Why? Isn’t it quite possible that you could have fallen in with a sort of man – ”
“As it happens, I did not,” interrupted Sheila.
“How do you know?”
Sheila’s gaze met his unwaveringly. “Because you are the man,” she said slowly.
She thought she saw a glint of pleasure in his eyes, but was not quite certain, for his expression changed instantly.
“Fate, or Providence – or whatever you are pleased to call the power that shuffles us flesh and blood mannikins around – has a way of putting us all in the right places. I expect that’s one of the reasons why you didn’t fall in with the sort of man I was going to tell you about,” said Dakota.
“I don’t see what Fate has to do – ” began Sheila, wondering at his serious tone.
“Odd, isn’t it?” he drawled.
“What is odd?”
“That you don’t see. But lots of people don’t see. They’re chucked and shoved around like men on a chess board, and though they’re always interested they don’t usually know what it’s all about. Just as well too – usually.”
“I don’t see – ”
He smiled mysteriously. “Did I say that I expected you to see?”