She answered his question sullenly with a shrug of her shoulders.
“No, no.”
“But Nellie—oh, Nellie, Nellie—poor little girl, don’t you see that—that—”
“What?” she asked, for even she, indifferent as she was, could not fail to see that the man was shaken by strong emotion. “I ‘m all right.”
“All right, with a devil like that after you, a brute who—Nellie, Nellie, for God’s sake give me the right to take care of you.”
She looked at him stupidly and then a light dawned on her.
“Do you mean Jim?” she said. “Why, Jim—” and for a moment a tender smile broke about her lips, and a light was in her eyes such as would never be there for the man beside her.
“Oh, Nellie,” he groaned, “am I too late after all? I only want to take care of you, Nellie—only to take care of you.”
He stepped forward and caught her hands, holding them fiercely as Jim Newton himself might have done.
“Nellie, if you won’t let me do anything else, let me help you; for your own sake let me help you.”
Clearly outlined they stood against the summer sky; if there should be anybody in the creek-bed, lurking among the rushes and scrub round the waterhole, they would be plainly visible to him. Their attitudes were significant, and their speech was inaudible. If Jim should be there, thought Nellie, and then dismissed the thought. Rash as he was, he would never be so foolhardy as that. And yet she might have noticed a slight movement among the reeds—might have remembered that Gentleman Jim found no companionship in her brothers, and would be pretty sure to find his way to the water-hole at any risk, if it were only to vary the monotony and to see how the land lay. And so after one vain effort to free her hands, she stood still and listened, while Fisher poured into her unwilling, uncomprehending ears the story of his love for her, and then, since that made no impression, he warned her again and again against Gentleman Jim. Foolishly warned her—for was ever woman yet warned against the man she loved. An angry gleam flashed into Nellie’s eyes, and she stamped her feet and strove to draw away her hands again.
“I hate you—I hate you. He is good, I tell you—good—good—good! He loves me an’ ”—oh, the unanswerable argument all the world over—“I love him.”
Fisher dropped her hands.
“Oh Nell! Nell! My God! it is too hard.”
She looked at him wonderingly, and a dawning pity softened her face. It had never occurred to her that this man could feel any pain. She read it in his haggard face now, and because she was pitiful of all things she put her hand on his arm and said gently, “Poor Ben, I ‘m sorry.”
It was too much—Fisher had stood her coldness, had heeded not her anger—but the pretty, wistful face looking up so pitifully into his was too much for him. He could resist temptation no longer, he caught her in his arms and smothered her with kisses. Clearly it was marked against the sky, clearly the man crouching among the reeds saw it, and put his own interpretation upon it, and that one passionate embrace sealed Nellie Durham’s fate. Well might the cards prophesy disaster and death, for as he slunk away back to his ambush a mile further down, with raging hate at his heart, he swore revenge against the girl who was trifling with him, swore it and meant to keep his oath.
Nellie with an inarticulate cry freed herself and ran towards the hut, and Fisher flung himself face downwards on the crisp dry salt-bush. He had lost everything now he realised, she would not even accord him pity.
And Nellie up at the hut was trying to make her grandmother understand that all chance of the ghost trick being played again with success was out of the question. Not only would it be a failure, but the man who rode through the cattle rode at the risk of his life. But the old woman could not or would not see it.
“Let ‘un alone, Nell, let ‘un alone—a parcel of women ain’t wanted meddlin’ wi’ the men-folks’ business.”
“But, Gran—” the girl was wild with anxiety, and trembling with excitement, and the old woman shut her up sharply. She did not choose to hear any more about it, and turned a deaf ear on purpose. Like Nellie she too was of opinion that Gentleman Jim would play the ghost, and if—through no fault of hers—he came to grief, she felt she would not grieve unduly. Nellie’s infatuation for him was undeniable, and with a good decent man like Ben Fisher ready to take her it was unpardonable. Nellie had always been soft and yielding to her, once this man were out of the way she would be so again, and the old woman had seen enough of the seamy side of life to desire better things for the helpless girl. So she turned a deaf ear to her anxious warnings; not by word or sign would she interfere. Let be, let be, it should be fate—it should be no doing of hers. Nellie gave up the struggle at last and taking up her favourite position on the doorstep, with her chin in her hands and her elbows on her knees, stared out moodily across the plains, seeking in her brain some way to help. It was not possible to go near them by daylight, the risk of detection was too great, she must wait till it was dark. Fisher crossed her path once, and for a moment a wild thought crossed her brain—to confide her trouble to him—to ask him to have mercy, but she dismissed it as soon as it was born. Betray her lover and then ask his rival to spare him! It was out of the question; she must find some other way. She thought and thought, till for very weariness she closed her eyes, and slept with her head against the door-post. The long level beams of the setting sun made a golden glory of her hair and seemed to be striving to smooth out the look of care and pain, which was already marked on the fair young face. Ben Fisher passed and paused.
“Pretty, ain’t she?” said the old woman; “a dainty mossel for any man.”
“Ay,” said Fisher quietly, “ay,” and passed on, wondering to himself, as many another man has done before him—why this girl was so priceless in his eyes—and why, seeing that she was so, he might not have her rather than this reckless outlaw, who would make her the toy of his idle hours, and when she became a burden to him throw her aside, like a worn-out horse or a dog he had no further use for.
He bit his lip and clenched his hands, and the men when he gave the orders for the night, muttered to one another that the boss meant business an’ no mistake. “Ghost or no ghost. ‘T wouldn’t be much good anybody meddlin’ wi’ the cattle now. He was mighty struck on the gal, he was—but it didn’t seem to be interfering wi’ business nohow.”
He was mighty struck on the girl, and his thoughts were so full of her that sleep seemed out of the question, so he took the first watch with Ned Kirton for his mate.
Out on the plains here, had they been quite certain of the honesty of the Durhams, one man would have been quite sufficient to mount guard, his duties being simply to ride round the cattle, and should any seem restless or inclined to roam to head them back again. Even as it was, two seemed an almost unnecessary waste of energy, more especially as the other men were camped close by, ready to spring to their feet at a moment’s call.
It was a still, hot night; the moon, though not near full, still shed a sufficient light to distinguish everything quite plainly; the men’s camp, the sleeping cattle, the hut and outbuildings a little to the left, so calm and peaceful.
Fisher, as he sat on his motionless horse, began to think one guard was more than enough, and to speculate as to whether he should not tell Kirton to go to sleep and leave the cattle to him. Sleep was not likely to come to him, he thought, with that haunting girl’s face ever before his eyes. He turned his horse so that he should not see the hut, and then found himself riding round the camp, in order to bring it into view again.
“It’s all right, boss,” said Kirton, as he passed. “Things is as quiet as quiet. Ghosts ain’t expected to walk before twelve though, are they?”
Fisher laughed. “No,” he said,