Chako

“ She glanced at Chako again. He was looking over her head at his course downstream. A slight change of expression when Ann looked at. him showed that he was aware of her glance, but his gaze never deviated. His eyes were narrowed, and hard as a wolf's. In his hate and hardness, he was still splendid to look at; yet beauty was truth, and truth beauty!
How strange that a man should be so bent on killing that which loved him best! ”

“ XXIII As long as they stayed in Joe Maury's winter camp, Ann occupied the shack at night, and Chako slept outside. There was nothing in the way of a bed or a hammock for her, but the earth floor was no harder than the earth outside, on which she had slept for many a night now, and it was a comfort to sleep within walls, rude as they were. They shut out the presence of the vast stillness.
She awakened with a painful foreboding in her breast. Her love was not destined to be a happy one. ”

“ Think you'd be safe with Chako?”
“Why not?” said Ann.
“It's lucky you have me to advise you, said Cal dryly. “I've knowed Chako Lyllac since he first come up here, eight years ago—1903 it was, I mind. Ever seen a Great Dane pup? That was Chako. He has growed some. I got a soft spot for the kid. They don't turn out many like that nowadays; but he's a savage—as wild as a lynx or an eagle. Knows no law but his own instincts. A woman might as well commit suicide as trust herself to him. He has no feelings.” ”

“ During the tedious business of baking the biscuit, he took himself off out of sight.
When they had eaten, Chako remained sitting glumly. He had no appetite for his pipe to-day. Ann cleaned up without any help from him.
Glancing at him covertly, the realization suddenly came to her that a man might make himself hard and brutal, yet suffer the torments of the damned, too—that, in fact, such men were the damned. Behind Chako's cruel, savage mask she perceived an unspeakable wretchedness, and her heart melted. She began to feel again, but the warm tide had a healing effect. ”

“ She put a foot on the raft, and drew it back again. She walked up and down the shore, on the rack of indecision. Common sense told her that the wild Chako, having taken to flight, would never allow himself to be caught. There were a hundred good reasons why she should go; but it was none the less hard.
Her attention was caught by a little green object lazily circling in an eddy of the backwater. With amazement she recognized it as a splintered fragment of the gunwale of Chako's canoe. The ends of the wood were ground into fibers. It was significant of what had happened in the cañon. ”

“ Returning light was a simple affair. At the other end of the portage they ate heartily, and Chako said they had time for a sleep before starting to work again. They lay down, each in a blanket, on the pine needles. Ten feet or so separated them.
Ann flung an arm over her eyes, and watched Chako through a hole in the crook of her elbow. Sleep did not immediately visit his eyes. He lay on his back, staring up gravely at the pine boughs. What would not Ann have given to know his thoughts! There had been moments to-day when he had appeared almost human, only to become sullen again directly. ”

“ Cranmer had not learned the one thing that concerned her. All that Ann cared to know was the true state of Chako's mind that day.
All day the girl was pursued by the devils of restlessness. She could neither sit still nor put her hand to any work. In and out of the house she went, to and from the edge of the bank, up and down the trail. It was only the baby that kept her from flying off the handle altogether. To hold the baby in her arms gave her strength and sanity.
When night came, and they all went to bed, it was worse. Ann, in her loft, felt as if the low roof was suffocating her. ”

“ Out of that shack Chako had run with blazing, laughing eyes in pursuit of the little squeaking man in the store suit. In this store, while Chako bought groceries at one counter, she bought clothes at another, thrilling with a marvelous secret. Years seemed to have passed over her head since she had left Fort Edward. Then she had been a green girl; now she was a woman with life behind her.
On the platform in front of Maroney's the usual little crowd was loitering. One and all, they turned and stared at Ann as at a phenomenon from the skies. ”

“ When they turned on Chako, a complete self-abandonment showed in them.
“How terrible,” thought Ann, “when one of those girls gets fond of a man! I wish I could make friends with her.”
These two sat down at the other end of the table. If Chako had brought the girl for Nell's benefit, his ruse was scarcely a brilliant one, for he took no pains to conceal his scorn of his companion. ”

“ Obeying a subconscious prompting, she reached in for them, and laid them down on the shore.
Finally the canoe floated. Ann thrilled with a terrible satisfaction; but it was not yet out of Chako's reach. She crept slowly into the icy water, pushing it, careful to make no splash. The pebbly bottom dropped away quite steeply—ankle-deep, knee-deep, thigh-deep, waist-deep, Finally, gathering up all her strength, she shoved the light craft out into the swift current, and a wild, triumphant cry broke from her lips. ”

“ Chako said nothing at the moment, though his face was black with rage. When he rose, he observed:
“If you gorge yourself now, you'll only have to go hungry later. I'm not going to leave here until I find what I'm looking for.”
“You're mad!” said Ann.
“Sure,” he said. “It's great to be crazy!”
“What good will it do you if you haven't strength enough to carry it out?”
“Oh, finding it will give me plenty of strength,” said Chako, with the smile of one possessed. “I'm going to take to-morrow off to hunt. There are ptarmigan on the mountain, and I might get a shot at a goat.” ”

“ With a nervous gesture, Ann pushed the paddle away. Chako retrieved the fluttering piece of silk. Ann got to her feet, and essayed to walk away with firmness, but her legs gave way under her, and down she went without a sound.
She lay still, with her head between her arms. She had not fainted. No such mercy was vouchsafed her. She was fully conscious of her pain. No cries, no tears, came to ease her breast.
Chako, a little alarmed by her stillness, cried harshly:
“What's the matter with you? This is only play acting! Can't you act like a reasonable woman?” ”

“ Chako abandoned himself to rage.
“Oh, I know the kind of woman you are!” he shouted. “I've seen it from the first! It's rule or ruin with you! You want a man well broke, don't you? You want to keep your hands on your money, and your foot on my neck! Well, not for me! Not for me! No, thanks!”
There was much more of this.
Under the storm of Chako's rage, Ann came out of her daze. She finally sat up, oddly composed. She had recovered her human dignity. ”

“ When Chako gets drunk and raging, he's like a mad buffalo. Nothing can withstand him; and we thought Frank Bower was too good a man to make meat for Chako. He's near twenty years older than Chako, anyhow; but Frank, he says, cool as you please:
“'Take your hands off me, men. This cub needs a lickin', and he's goin' to get it at last!'”
A groan was forced from Ann.
“Well, didn't he need a lickin'?” Cal flashed on her.
Ann hung her head.
“Go on! Go on!” Ed Cranmer said, beside himself. ”

“ Ann went on passionately. “You're empty and hard and shallow. There's nothing to you but your strength. Well, a horse is stronger!”
This got under Chako's skin.
“I know what's biting you, all right,” he snarled. “You want a man to fall in love with you, don't you, and come crawling? Oh, I know women!” ”

“ He scowled, but not in anger—a hurt scowl, one might say, if one could conceive of anything hurting the self-sufficient Chako. Ann had been too sorely wounded to be easily convinced that Chako could be human.
They slept.
Of their second trip across the portage little need be said. It was just a dogged struggle for almost every yard of the five miles. How they got the canoe up through the fissure in the cliff Ann could never have told, but get it up they did. Ann did not see how Chako could have managed without her help, small as that might be, but she did not expect him to acknowledge it. ”

“ Better for her to be thinking how she could save herself. Surely there must be a right thing for her to say—a thing that would turn Chako from his purpose! If she could but find it! Surely, if she showed him how well she understood him and sympathized with him, even in his murderous promptings, he could not kill her!
But at that thought she smiled in self-scorn. When a man did not understand himself, how could she begin to explain that she understood him? ”

“ When the light came up, there was a fresh uproar. Some ran to pick up Red and drag him to one of the tables.
“Good boy, Chako!” somebody yelled.
A chorus took it up. Men and women started for him.
“Keep away from me!” cried Chako, with that contemptuous thrust of his open palm. He seemed to grow bigger in his scorn. “Shut your heads, you fools! I'm no man of yours!”
They fell back. The admiring atmosphere became hostile; but it was all one to Chako. He started down the hall.
Suddenly Ann saw Nell slip by her. Chako and the girl met midway on the dance floor. ”

“ The moment he had finished eating, he started back. He forgot that he had asked Ann to go with him. Ann had no desire to see those yellow sands. She hated the place without having seen it. Little yellow grains that in a moment could destroy all that was fine in a man! She felt no resentment against Chako, but only against that which had corrupted him. ”

“ Always, before this, he went into a scrap with a don't give-a-damn look that had his man half licked before they begun. This time he was mad—so mad he couldn't see good. Bower was mad too, but it was a different kind of mad; and I tell you we men got the surprise of our lives when we saw Chako measuring his long length on the floor!”
“Was that the end?” cried Ann.
“No, the beginning,” said Car dryly. “Chako was game, of course—game to the marrow. A man shows his true mettle in a losing fight, and I was proud of the boy. Chako came back again and again. ”

“ No more tracking up the rapids for him—no more rain on the trail, and cold grub, and soaked blankets at the end of the day! His work is done. He's gone home!”
“Ah, it isn't that!” murmured Ann. “One wouldn't regret a full life; but such a life! It's so pitiful! Not to love anybody—not to let himself be loved!”
“I wouldn't call it a wasted life,” said Chako queerly. ”

“ Chako and the breed boy lifted out the bags and bundles, while Joe Mixer stood by, chewing a grass stalk and goggling at Ann. Some sort of plot was visibly stirring in his muddy wits.
When the wagon was unloaded, Chako said:
“My canoe is cached down the shore a piece. I'll go bring it up.”
As soon as Chako passed out of sight among the willows, Joe Mixer, with mysterious nods and winks, beckoned Ann out of hearing of the breed boy.
“Say, what you want to tie yourself up to Chako Lyllac for?” he said hoarsely. “He ain't got nothing. Never will have nothing. Look at me! ”

“ Chako!” the girls were gasping. “Don't make any more trouble! What do you care, Chako? For God's sake, come back!”
Chako roughly freed himself of his encumbrances. The girl who clung to his arm was sent reeling back into the shadows. The uproar surrounding Foxy was suddenly stilled. All eyes turned on Chako.
“Ah! You make me sick with your cheering!” he cried, with a violent thrust of his spread palm. His deep voice made the hall ring. “If it was Red who beat, you'd cheer him just the same! Always ready to lick the boots of the night's hero!”
No voice answered him. He strode up to Foxy. ”

“ He only lays himself out to please because he hasn't got you yet. Once he had you, he'd treat you like dirt. Such is his savage nature. He doesn't even trouble himself to hide it. Better throw yourself in the river than give yourself in exchange for that!
Chako watched her agitated hands pounding the dough.
“Bet you'd like to do that to me,” he drawled. “I can see it in your eye. Go ahead! I'll hold my hands behind my back. Beat me up, kid! Make you feel better.”
“Don't be silly,” said Ann.
They embarked again without anything having happened, but Ann was despairing. ”

“ Chako got up with a flippant, jarring laugh.
“Gee, what stuff a pretty evening will make a man talk! That's what women lay for, isn't it?”
“Never mind!” thought Ann. “If I am patient, he will come back again.”
On the afternoon of the fifth day from the cañon they rounded a bend no different from hundreds of other bends, and a little choked cry escaped from Ann. The paddle dropped from her limp hands.
“There! There!” she gasped. “We have found it!”
Ahead of them on the river bank, in a clearing just big enough to hold it, stood a little shack built out of logs that had been chopped down. ”

“ Chako softly drawled. “Looks so comical to see my little man sewing for dear life! I won't know you when you put on skirts again. I'll be sorry—you're such a cocky little chap in your breeches and boots!”
Ann gave no sign. He was piqued by his failure to draw her.
“Haven't you got a word to throw me?” he grumbled.
“What is there to say?” murmured Ann, very low.
“Just like a woman!” he replied sorely. “Bound to hold things against a man until kingdom come. Got to store up every little thing until it spoils! Can't you let what's past be past? Can't we make a fresh start?” ”

“ She speculated on the curious relationship that must exist between him and Chako. Cal must love the youth in his own fashion, though he would deride that word. And Chako? Was he capable of loving any human creature? Probably not. So early in the morning, Ann's eyes were wide open.
As she approached the landing place on the Campbell River side, she was surprised to see a man sitting on a low pile of boards, with his back toward her. Her heart began to beat. Every man in Fort Edward who could afford it wore a Stetson hat, but this one was cocked at a certain angle ”