[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]Cal burst out laughing. He and King were so much alike. The two of them swamped poor Alan.
It was just as well that he had a totally different career in mind than throwing in with either of his
brothers. Alone, he stood a better chance of being self-reliant.
King clapped his brother on the back and turned him toward the house. I ll ride into town with you
and bring your horse back.
It sounds as if I m leaving, he remarked.
King nodded. Since you ll be going through Tyler Junction anyway, stop and see how Tremayne s
doing. Tell him you heard we re pleased with his progress. That should reassure him.
It s all vaguely deceitful, you know, Cal remarked.
King shrugged. All for a good cause.
I suppose so. Cal relented, but reluctantly. He wasn t best pleased with the idea of seeing the
Tremaynes again after the way they d parted company. And the memories of Nora in that house were
going to tear him apart. For himself, he d just as soon send them a telegram as go out there and
deliver a message in person.
BUT IN THE END, he left Alan on the train as it pulled out of Tyler Junction en route to Louisiana,
hired a horse and rode out to the Tremayne ranch.
It was cold, as December often was, even in East Texas. He saw the fields spreading out bare and
lifeless before him, but the cattle had feed, thanks to that new combine and the tractors Tremayne had
bought at Cal s insistence. Everywhere he could see the benefits of the improvements, and he thought
that his father and brother were going to be pleased.
He d cabled Pike in Beaumont and heard that the part had come in early. Pike already had the derrick
put up and they were drilling. They had a problem with mud seeping into the shaft, but they d been
given some advice by another wildcatter and had solved it with a valve. Some oil and gas pockets had
been found in Gladys City, but there was the possibility of a real strike on Spindletop Hill, where
some serious drilling was being conducted despite the advice of one well-known geologist. Pike, like
Cal, refused to listen to him. Cal had good friends at the large oil field in Corsicana, and they had
invested in his several-hundred-acre tract of land. He refused to believe that they were going to find
any more dry holes. This time, he told himself, they would find oil. He knew they would. He planned
to swing by Beaumont on his way to Virginia and check that drill and the new valve before he left
Texas. He d worked with the men in Corsicana long enough to understand drilling, although he and
Pike had a contractor who knew the business better than either of them.
The Tremayne house was quiet when he rode up and left his horse with the stableboy. He walked onto
the porch and knocked.
To say that Chester was shocked to see him was an understatement. Cal looked different in his dark
suit and string tie and dressy black Stetson and boots. He looked like a businessman more than the
ranch foreman who d left several weeks before. Cal s hand was shaken profusely and he was greeted
like a lost-lost son.
We re just sitting down to dinner! Come in, come in, and join us. How have you been? Chester
enthused.
I ve been well. Things look good here, he added. Very profitable.
You d think so if you saw the balance sheets. Sure you don t want your old job back? the older man
coaxed as they entered the living room, where Helen sat alone at the dinner table. I haven t hired
anyone else.
No, I have other irons in the fire now, Cal said in a subdued tone. He swept off his hat and smiled at
Helen as he greeted her.
She was staring as if she d seen a ghost. She made a gesture to Chester, but he ignored it and told Cal
to sit down.
A minute later, oblivious to their guest, a harried Nora, in a stained apron and a faded dress, swept in
the door sideways with a huge platter of beef in one hand and a plate of biscuits in the other. She set
the containers on the table with an apology when one almost spilled, and only then looked up and saw
Cal across the table.
She went alternately white and red, and then began to tremble as her heart raced uncontrollably.
Cal s jaw clamped shut. He got slowly to his feet, made aware by the way she was dressed and what
she was doing that she d been reduced to the status of a servant here. He was all but trembling with
rage as he looked at Chester.
Would you care to explain this? he asked curtly, with an arrogance and authority that made
everyone suddenly nervous.
Why don t you ask me? Nora broke in, straightening as she struggled to regain her composure.
She smoothed her stained apron and stared at him levelly. I m working to earn my keep. I didn t want
to go home.
That bit of welcome news didn t stifle Cal s outrage at her changed status. You re still my wife, Cal
said furiously.
Her eyebrows arched. I am? Imagine that, and here I thought you d vanished off the face of the
earth!
You had the address of my attorney, he said coldly.
I ve been too busy to use it, she lied. Her chin came up. Why are you here?
Not to see you, he said with a cool smile. I stopped to ask Chester about his progress. And to tell
him that the combine thinks he s doing a fine job. I, uh, saw one of its representatives in my travels.
Chester beamed. How fortuitous!
Nora brushed off her apron. If you ll sit down, she invited her erstwhile husband coolly, I ll finish
serving.
She went back into the kitchen. Cal got up and followed her, without a query or an apology.
She was putting biscuits into a big bowl, but she turned as he entered the room and closed the door
behind him. I m busy, she said bluntly.
He leaned against the counter to study her. She was still thin, but she looked remarkably fit. She was
just as pretty as she had been. His eyes fed on the sight of her, and he felt at peace for the first time
since he d walked out of this house the night she started to recover.
Has the fever been kept at bay? he asked.
She nodded curtly, and kept putting biscuits in the bowl. I m much better. I didn t want to go home
and I didn t want to embarrass my people by getting a job with someone else. I do the housework and
the cooking, and I stay in the house with them. Melly is getting married in the spring. She s gone to
town with Mr. Langhorn and his son to shop.
Good for Melly. He folded his arms across his chest. I m going to Beaumont, he said, neglecting
to add that he d planned to go on to Virginia in search of her. She wasn t very receptive. Not that he d
expected anything else. There were open wounds in her heart that he d put there.
Are you? Why? she asked.
I have some leases on a prospective oil field, he said honestly. It s where I went on weekends.
I have a partner. We re drilling our third hole. The first two were dry. We re hoping to hit oil this
time.
She frowned. The Beaumont paper has mentioned some minor successes there, but one of the better-
known geologists says there is no major oil field there, she said.
And I tell you there is, he said easily. I worked in the oil fields in Corsicana before I started
looking in Beaumont over a year ago. I have leases on several hundred acres of land, and a crew hard
at work even now.
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]zanotowane.pldoc.pisz.plpdf.pisz.plkajaszek.htw.pl
