Honoré Willsie

“ He glanced at the sun, thought of Miriam alone on the ledge, and Jessie, struggling on toward the horse ranch, then set his teeth and held his course to the east.
And virtue had its immediate reward, for, almost at once, in the sandstone bank which he began to climb, he came upon a deep brown out-cropping which brought him to his knees for closer observation. The brown mass was a fossil vertebra of huge proportions. Hugh studied it closely, his cheeks flushing with excitement. ”

“ The junction is a hundred miles west of here,” replied Jessie.
“How about the airplane?” asked Miriam.
“Marten has gone up to Cheyenne,” replied Hugh. “Don’t be in too much of a hurry, Miriam.”
“There’s every reason in the world to hurry,” returned Miriam, looking at Jessie, who nodded.
“I have a suggestion to make; Hughie, you’re a fairly good airman now, they say. Let’s make a spectacle. You drive Miss Page and me to the junction. Nobody has gone to bed in Fort Sioux except perhaps Mrs. Ellis. It ought to shut people’s mouths for this once.” ”

“ Miriam’s voice sounded forlorn, and he reached out to touch her knee comfortingly.
“I have an idea we’re sitting on the shoulder of Big Fang, the highest peak of the White Wolves. If that’s true we’re twenty bad miles from help at Heckle’s ranch. But there’s no danger at all. There’s a couple of days’ grub in the Dinosaur. I’ll leave you girls here and make Heckle’s in a few hours.”
“We’d better all go together,” said Jessie.
“Don’t be foolish,” exclaimed Hugh. “Miriam couldn’t make that trip.” ”

“ Got a horse for me? I think the best move will be from the mountain top. I can show you the exact spot.”
“You go back to the ranch, Hughie, and let them take you in the car to Fort Sioux,” said Jessie. “You must get to the doctor as soon as you can You must be in misery.”
“I am going on up with you all,” insisted Hugh. “You’ll need all the help you can get.”
“You’ll be no help in the shape you’re in!” exclaimed Heckle. “The young lady up there ain’t hurt and is fairly husky, as I understand it. ’T won’t take any time at all to work her up off that ledge.” ”

“ He shook hands with Hugh, then with Miriam.
“Come out to help, Miss Page?” he asked.
“If I can, in the few days of my stay,” answered Miriam.
Principal Jones nodded and turned to Hugh. “The men over at the barber shop are about torn in two. They hate you for your attitude on Thumb Butte. But they’d like to have it appear as if they had some influence in getting a Fort Sioux man nominated for governor of the state. So far, hate has won.” ”

“ From Easter on to the fall elections Hugh gave all his time to the fight. He turned The Lariat over to Principal Jones’s care. Afraid of Fred Allward’s capacity for getting into trouble, he sent the old miner out on a long prospecting trip that should cover the northern extreme of that section of the Old Sioux Tract which the building of the dam would cause the river to inundate. Fred departed under strict orders to confine himself only to prospecting and to curb his ambition to exhume the fossils himself. ”

“ Ellis,” he said, “this is Miss Page, of Boston.”
Mrs. Ellis bowed and stood in silence while Hugh made the other introductions. No one offered to shake hands with Miriam. No one spoke when introduced. It was Mrs. Morgan who made the first attack.
“You are here for the summer, Miss Page?”
“No, Mrs. Morgan I am on a business trip to Seattle, and I’ve stopped over for a few days to congratulate Hugh on his success as a politician.”
“I'm no politician!” exclaimed Hugh. “Here are the politicians!” He included the group in a gesture.
“Are there no men?” asked Miriam. ”

“ She hasn’t a Wyoming girl’s nerves. Maybe I’d better get on to a doctor. Don’t do anything but secure the plane to the ledge I’ll send Marten back to superintend lowering it off the ledge. It can be handled best that way I’d have come by that route myself if it hadn’t been for this arm.”
Hugh’s voice died away in a mumble of pain.
“Can you get back to the ranch alone, Hughie?” asked Jessie, anxiously. “I think you need me more than Miriam does.”
“Pshaw! Heckle might wander over Big Fang for two days without locating Miriam’s ledge. You’ve got to guide him, Jessie. ”

“ But he was inured to this sort of death play, and his mind dealt mechanically with the difficulties of the climb while it gave its real attention to the fact that something far more hazardous, far more tremendous in its significance than this tense scaling of the mountainside was threatening him. ”