Brant handed to him the filled cup, noting as he did so the strange
steadiness of the hand which accepted it. Hampton lifted the tin to
the figure in the saddle, his own gaze directed straight into the eyes
as he might seek to control a wild animal.
"Drink it," he commanded, curtly, "every drop!"
For an instant the maniac glared back at him sullenly; then he appeared
to shrink in terror, and drank swiftly.
"We can make the rest of the way now," Hampton announced, quietly.
"Lord, but this has been a trip!"
Lane dismounted at Brant's order, and assisted Hampton to climb into
the vacated saddle. Then the trooper grasped the rein of Murphy's
horse, and the little party started toward where the pack-train was
hidden in the valley. The young officer rode silent and at a walk, his
eyes occasionally studying the face of the other and noting its drawn,
gray look. The very sight of Hampton had been a shock. Why was he
here and with Murphy? Could this strange journey have anything to do
with Naida? Could it concern his own future, as well as hers? He felt
no lingering jealousy of this man, for her truthful words had forever
settled that matter. Yet who was he? What peculiar power did he wield
over her life?
"Is Custer here?" said Hampton.
"No; that is, not with my party. We are guarding the pack-train. The
others are ahead, and Custer, with five troops, has moved to the right.
He is somewhere among those ridges back of the bluff."
The man turned and looked where the officer pointed, shading his eyes
with his hand. Before him lay only the brown, undulating waves of
upland, a vast desert of burnt grass, shimmering under the hot sun.
"Can you give me a fresh horse, a bite to eat, and a cup of coffee,
down there?" he asked, anxiously. "You see I 've got to go on."
"Go on? Good God! man, do you realize what you are saying? Why, you
can hardly sit the saddle! You carry despatches, you say? Well, there
are plenty of good men in my troop who will volunteer to take them on.
You need rest."
"Not much," said Hampton. "I'm fit enough, or shall be as soon as I
get food. Good Lord, boy, I am not done up yet, by a long way! It's
the cursed loneliness out yonder," he swept his hand toward the
horizon, "and the having to care for him, that has broken my heart. He
went that way clear back on the Powder, and it's been a fight between
us ever since. I 'll be all right now if you lads will only look after
him. This is going to reach Custer, and I'll take it!" He flung back
his ragged coat, his hand on the despatch-bag. "I 've earned the
right."