"TAGGART" - читать интересную книгу автора (L'Amour Louis)

When first she saw the speck she did not believe it was a man . . . yet intuitively
she knew it must be. A moment before the speck had not been there, and then it was,
and now ... it was gone!
Only for an instant had something been visible there, some moving thing upon the
bare slope of Black Mesa, just beyond Salt River. There had only been the one speck,
so if it was a man it seemed almost certain that it was a white man.
Curious and puzzled, she directed her glass toward the area and inspected it with
care, but it was beyond the practical range of the glass and she detected nothing
more. Yet something had been there, and now it was gone.
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If it had been a man he had chosen a way never traveled, but one that would allow
him a good view of his back trail and the surrounding country. From below he would
not be visible, and it was unlikely anybody would be above him, for due to the conformation
of the mesa, going higher would be pure waste of time.
She left her position and worked her way around the top of the mountain, studying
the country in every direction. Their lives depended on remaining unknown to the
Apaches who occasionally passed through, and so far they had been secure.
Adam came up the mountain and met her at the first position. "See anything?"
"A rider, I think." She indicated the bare spot on the shoulder of Black Mesa. "Can
he get down to the river from there?" Adam took the glasses and studied the place.
"I killed a deer
over there the first week we were here. Yes, he can come down, all right."
He studied the area again. "No sign of anyone now." "There won't be. I have a feeling
he doesn't wish to be seen."
He made a slow search of the country. "Connie doesn't like it here," he commented
suddenly. "I don't blame her, exactly." "She's had enough, I think," Miriam responded.
"She had it before we did, you know. She grew up with it."
"Is she afraid?"
Miriam considered the question. "Aren't we all? I think she is less afraid than we
are. She's a strong woman."
"I know ... and she believes I'm weak." "You love her, don't you?"
"As I never loved anyone." He lowered the glasses. "There is somebody over there."
He handed her the glasses. "See? On the cliff above the river?"
"I see him. He's looking for a way down."
They were silent as Adam took back the glasses and watched the far-off figure.
"Yes, I love her," he said after a moment. "I loved her from the first day we met,
and I believed she would come to love me." "I think she does." As she spoke, Miriam
was surprised to
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realize she really believed it. "I don't believe she knows that she loves you, or
how much, but she doesn't believe you are strong. "
"I know."
"He's found a way," Miriam said, watching through the glasses. "He's coming down."
Adam took the glasses when she offered them and studied the distant figure of the
man on horseback. "One man alone in this country ... it doesn't look right."
"He could be an outlaw."
Adam continued to watch the rider. "When we've gold enough we'll go out," he said.
"I know the ranch I want, and once I have it we can go to San Francisco or even back