Читать книгу TY HOLT-TEXAS RANGER - Aubrey Smith - Страница 5

Here,” she said, and sat on the rock, patting her free hand next to her. “Sit beside me.”

Ty couldn’t see the river, but he could hear the water running south, down the valley toward Utopia, as he sat beside Mary Jane. She was still holding his hand in hers. He was having a hard time keeping his mind on being a ranger, skeletons or no skeletons. He could smell Mary Jane next to him. He felt the heat from her body. Her pulse pumped in her hand and he could feel it in her fingertips.

“Feel it?” she asked.

Woman, he thought, what I’m feeling could start a man to baying at the moon.

“Do you feel it?” she asked again.

I need this like a tomcat needs a trousseau, Ty thought. Lord have mercy on me; this girl’s so pretty she muddles good sense. “Mary Jane, you ought to know I have this steady girl back in Utopia. I mean, we aren’t engaged or anything like that, but we’ve been friends since she moved to the canyon five years ago.”

Mary Jane dropped Ty’s hand like it was a two-headed rattlesnake. “Mr. Holt,” she said, “I think you’re a mighty handsome man, and under different circumstances, maybe we could become something more than friends, but not now.”

“I’m sorry, Mary Jane … I … just—”

“My pa was buried today, Mr. Holt … Ty.” Mary Jane began to cry.

After Mary Jane’s rebuff, Ty wasn’t sure what to do. He wanted to take her in his arms and comfort her. He didn’t hesitate; he took her gently in his arms and held her.

Good gosh, he thought, today’s the first time I’ve even talked to this woman. Now here I am, sitting on a river rock with two skeletons in a cave behind us, and I’m holding the most beautiful girl in the world in my arms, never wanting to let her go. You’re a fool, Ty Holt.

Ty felt Mary Jane melt into his arms, and it was all over. That was all it took for him to decide he’d do whatever she wanted. Not even realizing it, Mary Jane had wrapped Ty around her little finger. Suddenly he cared for her deeply. He hugged her tighter, burying his head against her hair, inhaling its sweet fragrance. In a few moments, much too quick for Ty, Mary Jane stopped crying and pulled away.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “You can feel it?”

Ty stammered and stuttered, trying to say something. Finally, he was able to utter, “Feel what, Mary Jane?”

“On the back of your neck, feel it now? You can smell it, too.”

Ty was more embarrassed than he had ever been in his life and that, in itself, took some doing. Right now, the only emotion he felt was stupid. Then he felt it. Right on the back of his neck, just like Mary Jane had said. And he could smell it, too.

There was no doubt about it. Ty could feel the coolness on his back. The smell reminded him of a root cellar.

“See, I told you,” Mary Jane said. “Feel it?” When Ty nodded, she said, “The cave’s behind those cedars. I wouldn’t have ever known it was there if I hadn’t sat right here on this rock that night. I’ve run up and down this river a thousand times, and I never knew it was there. If I hadn’t had to conk that drummer, I’d never have found it.”

It was good and dark now, and Ty wasn’t really sure he wanted to go prowling around in a cave without a lantern. “We can either go up to the house and get a lantern or wait until morning,” Ty said.

“I brought some matches. We can make a torch,” Mary Jane said, reaching into her dress pocket, bringing out two sulfur matches. She handed them to Ty. “That night, I wasn’t sure what was behind the brush and it scared me, so I took off to the house and came back the next day to look around.”

“You didn’t tell your pa?”

“Are you kidding me? I may be a grown woman, but if Pa had known I slipped out of the house to meet a man, he’d have whipped me like a biting horse.”

Ty gathered a handful of twigs and struck a match. In no time he had the torch lit and was pushing his way through the brush. The hole in the side of the mountain was three or four feet high and about a foot and a half wide. It was in reality no more than a large crack. Ahead, it was as dark as the inside of a wolf. It was easy for Ty to see why no one had noticed the cave. Mary Jane was pushing up against him as he stepped through the crack into a huge room. Even with the light from the torch, the ceiling was too high to see.

“Where’s the skeletons?” he asked.

“Over here,” Mary Jane answered, and tugged on Ty’s sleeve until she had him once again by the hand. Her hand felt tiny in his, and he wanted to protect her at all costs.

I might as well slash my wrist and get it over with, he thought. I’m letting this woman lead me around like a hog to slaughter. And what about Sarah? Why, we’re practically engaged, and here I am holding hands, traipsing around in a cave with this girl. There’s not a man alive who ever made a good decision holding hands with a beautiful woman.

“See, over there,” she said, pulling him farther into the cave.

Sure enough, sprawled on the rock floor were two skeletons. Even in the dim torch light, it was plain to Ty that the bones had been there for a long time. It was also apparent, from the gaping holes in the skulls, that both men, or women, had been shot between the eyes.

Mary Jane was firmly against him. He could feel her breath on the side of his neck. Her hand trembled in his as they toured the cave. The limestone room was almost as large as the Barrows’ cabin, which sat thirty feet above them. As they circled to their left, the torch suddenly flickered and nearly went out.

Ty’s voice echoed in the cave when he spoke. “Mary Jane, I think we’d better get out of here before we lose our light. We can come back and bring some lanterns.”

Mary Jane held tightly to his hand while they worked their way back to the opening. When they neared the entrance to the outside world, the flame twisted toward the opening and went out. The darkness was thick. Mary Jane dropped his hand and slipped her arm around his waist, moving even closer to him.

Her soft voice was almost childlike when she was scared. Ty told her it was all right. “I’m here,” he said and struck the last match. He had to cup his hands around the flickering flame to keep the draft from sucking the fire away. “Let’s get out of here.”

He told Mary Jane to crawl out. Immediately she bent over and wedged herself through the opening. From what little he could see, Ty thought Mary Jane looked mighty nice as she wiggled through the break in the wall.

I’d rather watch her crawl out of here than eat fried chicken, he thought, and then quickly followed after her. The match burned his fingers and he dropped it. Quickly, Ty pushed himself through the crack in the rock. The fresh air was a welcome relief from the musty dampness of the cave. Mary Jane was already through the brush and standing on the flat rock in front of the cave.

“Well?” Mary Jane asked. Her voice was filled with excitement, which caused him to feel somewhat excited himself about their discovery. As soon as he’d seen the skeletons, he knew he should report them to Dade, but he wouldn’t, at least not yet. This was his and Mary Jane’s secret. He wanted to play the game as long as he could.

What the heck, he thought. Those skeletons have been there for years. They have nothing to do with the shooting of the Indians. They certainly have nothing to do with the murder of Shine Barrow. He realized that as long as they could share their secret, he’d have an excuse to come back and help Mary Jane explore the cave.

He felt like a romantic fledgling when he talked to Mary Jane. “There’s more than one room in that cave,” Ty said. “Did you see the torch flicker when we walked past the back wall?”

“I saw that,” she answered and took his hand again as she moved right in front of him. “What should we do, Ty?”

In the moonlight, he could see her eyes sparkling. “I don’t think we should do anything right now. I’ve got to ride to Utopia first thing in the morning and investigate Banker Thornberry’s shooting. I suspect it has something to do with him slipping out of Shirley McGee’s house, but who knows? It could have been someone he cheated in a business deal. Everyone knows Thornberry wouldn’t cut you any slack. As soon as I can get back, I’ll be here with some rope and lanterns. Then, you and I will go exploring.”

“I knew I could trust you, Ty,” Mary Jane said as she turned his hand loose and threw her arms around his neck. She kissed him three or four times on the cheek. A burning blush of passion sparked. Ty flushed hot with desire, but before he could pull her to him, she danced away. “I knew I could trust you,” she said again as she jumped from the rock and started toward the house. “I won’t tell a soul, not even Ma, until you tell me it’s okay.”

After Mary Jane was gone, Ty sat on the flat rock in front of the cave. He had a feeling he was making the biggest mistake he’d ever made—and he had made a few in his day—but he couldn’t help himself. Mary Jane had set the hook and reeled him in without even realizing it.

If Dade ever finds out what I’ve done, I’ll be about as welcome in Bandera County as an egg-sucking dog, Ty thought.

Ty didn’t sleep much that night. Before he turned in, he told Dade he’d ride out at first light. “I have to get back to investigate Banker Thornberry’s murder,” he said. Dade nodded in agreement, indicating that he understood. He told Ty that he’d ride on into Utopia after he was finished at the Barrow’s.

Long after he’d rolled up in his blanket on the front porch, Ty was still thinking about Mary Jane.