Arizona -- Social life and customs -- Fiction; Man-woman relationships -- Fiction; Religious fiction; Teachers -- Fiction
But how manage to get her to Walpi without her suspicions being aroused?
She might word the note so that Margaret would be told to come half-way,
expecting to meet the missionaries, say at Keams. There was a trail
straight up from Ashland to Keams, cutting off quite a distance and
leaving Ganado off at the right. Keams was nearly forty miles west of
Ganado. That would do nicely. Then if she could manage to have another
note left at Keams, saying they could not wait and had gone on, Margaret
would suspect nothing and go all the way to Walpi. That would be fine
and would give the school-teacher an interesting experience which
wouldn't hurt her in the least. Rosa thought it might be rather
interesting than otherwise. She had no compunctions whatever about how
Margaret might feel when she arrived in that strange Indian town and
found no friends awaiting her. Her only worry was where she was to find
a suitable escort, for she felt assured that Margaret would not start
out alone with one man servant on an expedition that would keep her out
overnight. And where in all that region could she find a woman whom she
could trust to send on the errand? It almost looked as though the thing
were an impossibility. She lay tossing and puzzling over it till gray
dawn stole into the room. She mentally reviewed every servant on the
place on whom she could rely to do her bidding and keep her secret, but
there was some reason why each one would not do. She scanned the
country, even considering old Ouida, who had been living in a shack over
beyond the fort ever since her cabin had been raided; but old Ouida was
too notorious. Mrs. Tanner would keep Margaret from going with her, even
if Margaret herself did not know the old woman's reputation. Rosa
considered if there were any way of wheedling Mom Wallis into the
affair, and gave that up, remembering the suspicious little twinkling
eyes of Jasper Kemp. At last she fell asleep, with her plan still
unformed but her determination to carry it through just as strong as
ever. If worst came to worst she would send the half-breed cook from the
ranch kitchen and put something in the note about his expecting to meet
his sister an hour's ride out on the trail. The half-breed would do
anything in the world for money, and Rosa had no trouble in getting all
she wanted of that commodity. But the half-breed was an evil-looking
fellow, and she feared lest Margaret would not like to go with him.
However, he should be a last resort. She would not be balked in her
purpose.
CHAPTER XXVIII
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account