human
Then we are done with that, she said quietly.
gpt
I have asked no favours save this last one for myself,--but it is a greater one than you may think. You know everything now, Kenneth. You have called me Rachel Carter. Was it divination or was it stubborn memory? I wonder. So far as I know, you are the only person left in the world who knows that I was not his wife, the only one who knows that I am still Rachel Carter. No matter what this man Braley may know, or what he may tell, he--But we are wasting time. Viola must be wondering. Now as to this plan of Barry Lapelle's. I think I can safely assure you that nothing will come of it.
human
Then, you knew about it before I told you?
gpt
No. You brought me word of Jasper Suggs this morning. You said he was staying at Martin Hawk's cabin. You may have forgotten what I said to you at the time. Now you bring me word that Barry Lapelle's plot was hatched at Martin Hawk's. Well, this afternoon I went to the Court House and swore out a warrant charging Martin Hawk with stealing some of my yearling calves and sheep. That warrant is now in the hands of the sheriff. It will be served before another day is gone.
human
That's pretty sharp work, he said, but still a little puzzled.
gpt
Naturally it will upset Barry's plans, but Suggs is still to be accounted for. You mentioned something about charging him with a murder back in--
human
I guess that can wait till another day, said she, with a smile that he did not quite understand.
gpt
It would be rather stupid of me, don't you think, to have him arrested?
human
You said he was not the kind of a man to be taken alive,
gpt
I think I said something of the kind. The name of Simon Braley is known from one end of this State to the other. It is a name to conjure fear with. Every Indian uprising in the past ten years has had Braley's name connected with it. It was he who led the band of Chippewas twelve years ago when they massacred some fifteen or eighteen women and children in a settlement on White River while their men were off in the fields at work. Isn't it rather significant that the renegade Simon Braley should turn up in these parts at a time when Black Hawk is--But that is neither here nor there. My warrant calls for the arrest of Martin Hawk. For more than two years Hawk has been suspected of stealing livestock down on the Wea, but no one has ever been willing to make a specific charge against him. He is very cunning and he has always covered his tracks.
human
Do you think he will resist the sheriff? I mean, is there likely to be fighting?
gpt
It all depends on whether Martin is caught napping, she replied in a most casual manner.
human
By the way, has Isaac Stain told you much about himself?
gpt
He has mentioned one or two affairs of the heart.
human
His sister was one of the women massacred by the Chippewas down on White River that time. She was the young wife of a settler. Isaac will be overjoyed when he finds out that Jasper Suggs and Simon Braley are one and the same person.
gpt
By all that's holy! he exclaimed, something like awe in his voice.
human
I am beginning to understand. Stain will be one of the sheriff's party?
gpt
We will stop at his cabin on the way to Hawk's, she replied.
human
If he chooses to join us after I have told him who I think this man Suggs really is, no one will object.
gpt
You say 'we.' Do you mean to tell me that you are going along with the posse? Good God, woman, there will be shooting! You must not think of--
human
I cannot send these men to face a peril that I am not willing to face myself. That would be dastardly. I will take my chances with the rest of them. You seem to forget that I spent a good many years of my life in the wilderness. This will not be my first experience with renegades and outlaws. When I first came to this State, the women had to know how to shoot. Not only to shoot birds and beasts, but men as well. Those were hard days. I was not like the men who cut notches in their rifle stocks for every Indian they slew, and yet there is a gun in my room upstairs that could have two notches on it if I had cared to put them there.
gpt
What time do you start? he said, the fire of excitement in his eyes.
human
I insist on being one of the--
gpt
You will not be needed, she said succinctly.
human
I think you had better go now. The storm will soon be upon us. Thank you for coming here to-night, Kenneth.