Gabe hesitated at the thought of letting King go away alone, but knowing his protests would be quite useless, he entered the store and King went off.
At first King found it difficult to make up his mind to go directly to the cabin. In his heart of hearts he yearned for one look at Cherry. But he knew Cherry's disposition. He knew that she had resolved upon a course of action in her future relations with him that he might just as well save himself the trouble of trying to change. And yet he wanted to hear her voice again; he wanted to speak to her and explain. He wondered if Anne might not have already said something that would make it easy for him to attempt to restore himself to Cherry's confidence.
And so, as he strolled along in the darkness, his mind was divided as to what he should do. By the time he had come to within a dozen yards of the cabin he had decided to allow his course of action to grow out of the dictates of the moment. One step at a time, he thought to himself, and started off again towards the cabin.
The light still shone from the cabin window, and the thought came to King that he might creep up and perhaps get a glimpse of Cherry through the window. But before he had covered half the distance he became instinctively aware of the presence of someone behind him. At first he had only a vague presentiment such as comes often to one moving about alone at night. But soon the feeling took complete possession of him, and he turned to see if he might not catch sight of someone following him. His first thought naturally was of McCartney, but he realized on second thought that McCartney was at that moment in no condition to justify the suspicion.
As a precautionary measure he walked back slowly along the pathway. He had gone not more than a dozen yards, however, when he stopped suddenly where the pathway was obscured by a clump of bushes that hung over from one side. Directly in front of him a form was moving towards him out of the darkness. When it had come within three yards of him it stopped and King thought he recognized the newcomer as one of the two riders whom he had met coming into camp earlier in the evening.
There was a quick movement that King could scarcely discern in the darkness, and he threw up his arms instinctively to ward off an attack. He was too late, however. Something struck him heavily upon the head and for a few moments he swayed dizzily with his hands upon his face, his teeth clenched in a struggle to beat back by sheer will-power a flood of horrible darkness that threatened to engulf his senses. For one brief moment he thought how utterly ridiculous it was that his legs should tremble so uncertainly under him, and that the world about him should seem to be moving in a dizzy circle. Then suddenly the realization came to him that he was in danger of losing the fight, and he redoubled his efforts to shake himself free from a power that clutched him like some black monster battling for his overthrow. He was vaguely conscious of something warm creeping down his cheek—like a great bead of sweat. He put his hand slowly to his head and ran his fingers through his hair. The sensation turned him sick.
In one last remaining moment of consciousness he realized that the struggle was going against him, and he summoned all the energy and power of will that was left him in an effort to reach the cabin before giving up. The noises in his ears became suddenly more deafening—he found it impossible to place his feet where they should go—his knees became sickeningly weak—then he stumbled over nothing and put his hands out blindly before him as he fell.
In a moment it was as if all the darkness that brooded over the world had crowded into one brain and blotted out the last ray of light.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
King awoke and looked round him. There had been a sound of a door closing somewhere and voices coming to him across a great distance. He remembered the passing of a cool breeze across his cheek with the fresh scent of wet pine in it.