Amy Ella Blanchard

“ She might be like Hannah Maria and be fond of all love stories except her own.”
“The girl I mean could never be like Hannah Maria.”
Alison laughed merrily. “You don’t know what twenty years can do to a woman, especially down here where people grow careless.”
Blythe’s eyes roved over Alison’s neat dress, her soft hair, smooth and tidy except where the little curling tendrils were blown about her face by the breeze, and he shook his head. “She could never look like Hannah Maria,” he insisted.
“If she turns out to be half as good and unselfish, she may count herself lucky,” said Alison. ”

“ Overhead the stars shone brightly. A hundred odors arose from the masses of prairie flowers. The night breeze in the trees, the distant plash of the river, the bark of a coyote, the screech of an owl, once in a while the wild [79] note of a mocking-bird, these were all the sounds distinguishable, as the two girls stole to the clump of trees at the edge of the chaparral.
“They’ll have to pass down the road,” whispered Alison as they came to a halt under the trees. “If they have Hero I shall surely fire. Do you suppose it is Indians?”
“Laws, I hope not,” whispered Louisa. ”

“ Van Dorn in her quiet black silk, Aunt Maria similarly attired, and dignified Uncle Brown. Alison named them all over as she stood upon the step before her own door and waited for Neal to return from turning out the horses. One and all would have nothing in their hearts but love for her, and above all was the love of him whose home she had promised herself to make a happy one. ”

“ Alison tipped back her head upon her clasped hands and fixed her eyes upon the fleecy clouds drifting across the blue sky. “He must not be too young,” she began, “nor too wise in such things as I cannot understand, like Latin and—law. He must be tall and muscular and rather dark than fair. He must be brave and cheerful under difficulties and true as steel, loving the things that grow out of doors, and animals and skies and streams more than books. ”

“ THE OLD KENTUCKY HOME THE sun was shining gloriously across level sweeps of blue-grass meadow-land, and sending its beams through the windows of a plain, substantial, country house, where it made squares of brightness on the whitewashed walls, sharply outlining the shadows, and touching to gold the fair hair of a girl who sat motionless on a low stool near the window. ”

“ Cyrus Sparks went on, “I’d like to know what right any one has to Stephen Hayward’s property. Ef he’s dead an’ gone why don’t his heirs come forrard? Ef he ain’t got no heirs one has as much right as another and I can’t see that I’d be any more stealin’ than John Ross is. ’Tain’t his, and if it ain’t mine whose is it? Not John Ross’s.”
This logic added to Louisa’s bewilderment. She felt as if the world were suddenly turned upside down. All her preconceived ideas were overthrown and she looked at the man in helpless amazement. ”

“ Nowhere to sleep but in the room where we can see the sky through the rafters. Nothing to do but to listen to Hannah Maria’s incessant chatter. It may amuse you, Tina, to talk to her and to Cynthia Thompson and Laura Van Dorn, when they come in, but as for me I get tired of them. I enjoy Lolita much more. She is really entertaining and far more lovable. Besides we teach each other many things.” So off Alison would go to spend the morning with Lolita, while Christine would turn her attention to whatever she could find to occupy her. ”

“ She hoped that Christine would not awaken, for if she gave the alarm and directed the men’s attention to the house where she was alone it might be the worse for her, since a desperado would stand at nothing. The country was full of such men who lost no opportunity of securing plunder whenever chance afforded, and who would not hesitate to commit murder when thwarted. Dreadful possibilities crowded to Alison’s mind as she crouched in the dew-laden thicket by Louisa’s side. ”

“ John is so glad he is back. For all one can say, no one else is quite so companionable to John. He says that though Neal is always ready for a frolic and is no prig, he never forgets that he is a gentleman and he never disgraces himself by using bad language and by carousing in the dreadful way some of his comrades-in-arms did. Yet he always had their respect and confidence.”
“I know all that,” replied Alison, her eyes shining.
“Come up and I will show you my present,” said Christine, “such a rare piece as it is. I’ll wager mine is the best. Has Neal told what he has brought you?” ”

“ I shall probably have been married years by that time, and I will come to your wedding and say, ‘Law, I remember when Blythe Van Dorn was a snip of a boy and used to tell me what he meant to do when he was a man. He hasn’t married a girl a bit like what he thought he would.’”
At this final shot the boy of twenty grew suddenly moody, arose from his place in the oak tree’s cool shade and went to where his horse was picketed. “Good-bye,” he said.
“Going?” called Alison cheerily. “If you see Hannah Maria as you are passing, tell her I shall be home in time for supper.” ”

“ And Lolita gravely seated herself upon the grass, leaving the bench for her guest’s sole occupancy. “I wish to know——” Mrs. Van Dorn felt that it was brutal for a stranger to try to probe the girl’s secrets, but she remembered her son and steeled herself to go on. “I wish to know if my son is more than a friend; if he has said things to you such as young men will say and to which girls like to listen.” ”

“ I can understand why he might want you to marry old Jabez Manypenny, for he’s rich, but I can’t see why he should pick out Pike when he’s about the most disagreeable, glum looking wretch that I ever saw. I can’t bear him. I’d rather you’d marry Jabez, old as he is. Goodness knows there are enough hard characters down here in Texas, and sometimes I think every other man must be an escaped criminal, but of them all I do think Pike is about the worst. ”

“ Now at home, any one who murdered the king’s English and who lived as most of our neighbors do, would be considered impossible.”
“Alison and I have often spoken of that,” said Christine. “Look at dear old Hannah Maria Haley for example.”
“That is another peculiarity; every one here is old so and so. If it is a boy of eighteen who happens to be married, or a young woman of twenty-five who isn’t married, they are spoken of as old. Now Hannah Maria cannot be over thirty, yet everybody calls her ‘Old’ Hannah Maria.” ”

“ Christine was as joyous as a maid could be. She and Alison took turns in sitting with John on the front seat, Alison taking the first ten miles by her brother’s side, and Christine the last ten. Louisa was quite content to sit anywhere.
“I shouldn’t wonder if we met up with Steve somewhere hereabouts,” said John, as the last five miles only lay before them.
Christine smiled and murmured: “Two years. Has he changed much, John?” she asked.
“Changed? In what way?” John laughed. “He hasn’t turned gray; neither has he grown decrepit and wrinkled. A man doesn’t alter noticeably in two years. ”

“ Alison regarded him thoughtfully. She had heard others talk less mercifully and yet she knew no man was braver, more ready to rush into action, to lead a band against the Indians, than this same Neal Jordan. Ira Korner, too, was noted for his fearlessness, but he had not Neal’s sense of justice. “Then you wouldn’t fight now if you didn’t believe it right,” the girl said.
“No,” was the reply. “As it is, we only want our own. We claim a certain boundary, you know; the Mexicans say we want more than is coming to us and they are ready to go to war about it. ”

“ Old Pedro has no special belief; he told me so. Lolita’s happiness has always been, and will always be, his first consideration. He has many American friends, and is not the bigoted old man you would think. Pedro is really a very superior person, if he is only a greaser. If you knew Lolita as well as I do you would see what a lovable girl she is and would be glad to welcome her as a sister.”
“Perhaps you would like to have had her for your sister,” said Laura, who had always been a little jealous of Alison’s love for Lolita. ”

“ Van Dorn. “I will sit here, if you will allow. Christine, are not those magnolias nearly in bloom? I wonder if you would get me a bud. They are the first I have seen.” And Christine, thus dismissed, left Lolita to face the situation alone.
For a moment Mrs. Van Dorn said nothing, but sat looking at the girl standing before her, eyes downcast and hands clasped. It was useless to deny that she was a beautiful creature. Surely one would needs go far to find a maiden so near perfection. Her face in repose was very serious. ”

“ Alison urged on her little mustang as she approached the road through the woods. It was here alone that she felt any timidity. There were many possible dangers lurking in the silent forest. Suppose a wildcat should suddenly spring upon her, or a Mexican lion. Suppose some band of wandering Indians should be prowling about in search of booty, or, if not Indians, some of those lawless freebooters who haunted lonely places, and who, seeing a damsel thus alone and unprotected, might attack her and carry her off. ”

“ Before they had reached the prairie a second cold blast made Alison shiver.
“We’re going to get a norther,” said Neal. “We’d better be traveling, little lady, or you will feel it. You are rather thinly dressed.”
“It was warm when I started,” said Alison with another shiver.
“It will be a cold ride across the prairie,” said Neal. “If there were a house between here and home I’d leave you there and ride on for something to wrap around you. Foolishly I left my blanket [263] when I started out to meet you, and that’s something a Texan ought never to do, part from his blanket.” ”

“ It has swallowed up Stephen Hayward and now John must go. Must we give up all that we have left? If John is killed what will happen to us, to two defenseless girls alone in this crude country?”
Neal’s face flushed slightly, but he answered quietly, “I’m something of a believer in fatality, Miss Christine. If fate decrees that John must go to his death, [62] he will go as a brave man and not as a coward. He might stay at home and be killed by an Injun or a wildcat and there would be no special glory in it. ”

“ Since my eldest sister has married here it seems as if we may as well remain, for there is always a future for an enterprising young man in a new country. When I am judge you will see how well I have done for myself.”
“That seems a great many years to look ahead when one is not yet of age,” remarked Alison. “I am afraid you will get discouraged long before that.”
“Not if I have the proper incentive, if the girl I want will encourage me. Tell me now what you admire in a man.” ”

“ Herds of deer and wild horses haunted the plains; wild turkeys in great droves frequented the borders of the streams; thickets of prickly pear harbored more dangerous creatures, and the bark of the coyote made the presence of this ubiquitous little creature known even when he was not seen. The wagon in which the girls sat was driven by John Ross, while the others belonging to the party were guided by Mexicans. Neal Jordan and two or three of his comrades accompanied the travelers. ”

“ Neal’s happy smile brightened his face. “That’s right. I want you to feel that you can do that. I know how Steve looked forward to your coming and what his dreams were. I know that we hadn’t a man [64] in the country that I’d rather call my friend than Steve Hayward. Now, Miss Christine, don’t let your feelings interfere with the needs of our army. We want John and you must let him go. That little sister of yours has grit; she’ll stand by you.”
“Alison? She is still such a child. She doesn’t know the troubles that lie in wait for us; she doesn’t understand the bitterness of disappointment.” ”

“ Alison’s laugh rang out unaffectedly. “Now, look here, Blythe Van Dorn, don’t pretend any longer; you don’t have to. I am sure I don’t know why in the world you asked me that silly question a while ago, unless you had promised your mother you would, for you know perfectly well that you are not a bit cut up about my answer. Confess, are you?”
He remained silent for a minute. “You are the only girl about here that is worth having,” he remarked after the pause.
“That’s begging the question. I am not the only girl in the world. There’s—Lolita.” ”

“ Man, whoever you are, you keep yourself quiet. You can’t get away. Every one of us is a good shot, so you’d better make up your mind to take it easy while you can. If you want to go to sleep, we’ll watch. If you try to escape you know what’s waiting for ye. Now make the best of it.” She took a station not far from him, grimly holding a pistol. Pedro had returned and was on guard in the gallery. Christine and Alison snuggled together in a corner. In a half hour the prisoner was sleeping quietly. Louisa, wide awake, kept a ceaseless watch. ”

“ Her cry awoke her sister who turned to soothe her, patting her as she would a child. “Why, Alison, dear child, you must have had a horrid dream,” she said. “Go to sleep. There are no Indians.”
But Alison did not go to sleep. In the fastnesses of the mountains she knew there were Indians. She [293] had sent her knight into their midst. What folly! what folly! Why had she not considered the danger? She clasped the ribbon by which she had swung her ring around her neck and feeling for the circlet she softly kissed it. “Oh, Neal, Neal,” she whispered, “if I could call you back, I would. ”

“ I am perfectly satisfied with Neal Jordan.”
“He is no such hero as you pretend,” said Neal, looking down at her and holding her hands in his. “There’s a good many kinds of sense I haven’t got, Alison, my darling, and I reckon I shall make you mad pretty often on account of what I lack, but I reckon even a smart lawyer couldn’t work out more ways of loving you.”
“As if you needed to tell me that,” she replied. “Is there another man in the world would have had sense enough to find Steve? ”

“ I am thankful we learned what cleanliness and good housekeeping meant before we came here.”
“Where ignorance is bliss,” said Christine. “Hannah Maria is perfectly satisfied. She likes greasy sop and heavy corn pone, so why should we pity her?”
“Such depraved taste, though,” sighed Alison.
Christine laughed. “Never mind, we don’t have to stand it any longer, though it does seem ungrateful to say so. Think how kind she has been to us.”
“She surely has been. I feel mean to say a word even against old Dally. Isn’t it a glorious morning, Tina? ”