第13章

TheVirginianstoppedlookingatthesky，andwatchedTrampasfromwherehelay。 “Ithinksheencouragesamansome，“saidpoorNebrasky。 “Encourages？Becausesheletsyu’teachherhowtoshoot，“saidWiggin。“Well——Idon’tguessI’majudge。I’vealwayskindo’ kep’awayfromthemgoodwomen。Don’tseemtothinkofanythingtochataboutto’em。TheonlyfolksI’dsaysheencouragesistheschoolkids。Shekissesthem。“ “Ridingandshootingandkissingthekids，“sneeredTrampas。 “That’saheaptoopussy-kittenforme。“ Theylaughed。Thesage-brushaudienceisreadilycynical。 “Lookfortheman，Isay，“Trampaspursued。“Andain’thethere？ SheleavesBaldysitonthefencewhilesheandLinMcLean——“ Theylaughedloudlyattheblackguardpicturewhichhedrew；andthelaughstoppedshort，fortheVirginianstoodoverTrampas。 “Youcanriseupnow，andtellthemyoulie，“hesaid。 Themanwasstillforamomentinthedeadsilence。“Ithoughtyouclaimedyouandherwasn’tacquainted，“saidhethen。 “Standonyourlaigs，youpolecat，andsayyou’realiar！“ Trampas’shandmovedbehindhim。 “Quitthat，“saidtheSoutherner，“orI’llbreakyourneck！“ Theeyeofamanistheprinceofdeadlyweapons。TrampaslookedintheVirginian’s，andslowlyrose。“Ididn’tmean——“hebegan，andpaused，hisfacepoisonouslybloated。 “Well，I’llcallthatsufficient。Keepa-standin’still。Iain’ goingtotroubleyu’long。Inadmittin’yourselftobealiaryouhavespokeGod’struthforonced。HoneyWiggin，youandmeandtheboyshavehittowntoofrequentforanyofustoplaySundayonthebalanceofthegang。“HestoppedandsurveyedPublicOpinion，seatedaroundincarefullyinexpressiveattention。“Weain’taChristianoutfitalittlebit，andmaybewehavemostforgottenwhatdecencyfeelslike。ButIreckonwehaven’tforgotwhatitmeans。Youcansitdownnow，ifyouwant。“ Theliarstoodandsneeredexperimentally，lookingatPublicOpinion。Butthischangefuldeitywasnolongerwithhim，andhehearditvariouslyassenting，“That’sso，“and“She’salady，“ andotherwiseexcellentlymoralizing。Soheheldhispeace。When，however，theVirginianhaddepartedtotheroastingsteer，andPublicOpinionrelaxedintothatcomfortwhichweallexperiencewhenthesermonends，Trampassatdownamidtherevivingcheerfulness，andventuredagaintobefacetious。 “Shutyourrankmouth，“saidWiggintohim，amiably。“Idon’tcarewhetherheknowsherorifhedoneitonprinciple。I’llaccepttheroundin’uphegaveus——andsay！You’llswallo’yourdose，too！Usboys’llstandinwithhiminthis。“ SoTrampasswallowed。AndwhatoftheVirginian？ Hehadchampionedthefeeble，andspokenhonorablyinmeeting，andaccordingtoalltheconstitutionsandby-lawsofmorality，heshouldhavebeenwalkinginvirtue’sespecialcalm。Butthereitwas！hehadspoken；hehadgiventhemapeepthroughthekey-holeathisinnerman；andasheprowledawayfromtheassemblagebeforewhomhestoodconvictedofdecency，itwasviciousratherthanvirtuousthathefelt。Othermattersalsodisquietedhim——soLinMcLeanwashangingroundthatschoolmarm！ YethejoinedBenSwintoninaseeminglyChristianspirit。Hetooksomewhiskeyandpraisedthesizeofthebarrel，speakingwithhishostlikethis:“Therecert’nlyain’goin’tobetroubleaboutasecondhelpin’。“ “Hopenot。We’doughttohavemoretrimmings，though。We’reshyonducks。“ “Yu’havethebarrel。HasLinMcLeanseenthat？“ “No。WetriedforducksawaydownasfarastheLapareloutfit。A realbarbecue——“ “There’slargethirstsonBearCreek。LinMcLeanwillpassonducks。“ “Lin’snotthirstythismonth。“ “Signedforonemonth，hashe？“ “Signed！He’sspooningourschoolmarm！“ “Theyclaimshe’sarightsweet-facedgirl。“ “Yes；yes；awfulagreeable。Andnextthingyou’refooledcleanthrough。“ “Yu’don’tsay！“ “Shekeepsa-teachingthedarnedkids，anditseemslikeagoodgrowed-upmancan’tinteresther。“ “YU’DON’TSAY！“ “ThereusedtobealltheducksyouwantedattheLaparel，buttheirfoolcook’sdeadstuckonraisingturkeysthisyear。“ “Thatmusthavebeenmightyclosetoadrowndin’theschoolmarmgotatSouthFork。“ “Why，Iguessnot。When？She’sneverspokenofanysuchthing——thatI’veheard。“ “Mos’likelythestage-drivergotitwrong，then。“ “Yes。Musthavedrowndedsomebodyelse。Heretheycome！That’sherridin’thehorse。There’stheWestfalls。Whereareyourunningto？“ “Tofixup。Gotanysoaparoundhyeh？“ “Yes，“shoutedSwinton，fortheVirginianwasnowsomedistanceaway；“towelsandeverythinginthedugout。“Andhewenttowelcomehisfirstformalguests。 TheVirginianreachedhissaddleunderashed。“Soshe’snevermentionedit，“saidhe，untyinghisslickerforthetrousersandscarf。“Ididn’tnoticeLinanywheresaroundher。“Hewasoverinthedugoutnow，whippingoffhisoveralls；andsoonhewasexcellentlycleanandready，exceptforthetieinhisscarfandthepartinhishair。“I’dhaveknowedherinGreenland，“heremarked。Heheldthecandleupanddownatthelooking-glass，andthelooking-glassupanddownathishead。“It’smightystrangewhysheain’tmentionedthat。“Heworriedthescarfafoldortwofurther，andatlength，atriflemorethansatisfiedwithhisappearance，heproceededmostserenelytowardthesoundofthetuningfiddles。Hepassedthroughthestore-roombehindthekitchen，steppinglightlylestheshouldrousethetenortwelvebabiesthatlayonthetableorbeneathit。OnBearCreekbabiesandchildrenalwayswentwiththeirparentstoadance，becausenurseswereunknown。SolittleAlfredandChristopherlaythereamongthewraps，parallelandcrosswisewithlittleTaylors，andlittleCarmodys，andLees，andalltheBearCreekoffspringthatwasnotyetabletoskipatlargeandhamperitsindulgenteldersintheball-room。 “Why，Linain’thyehyet！“saidtheVirginian，lookinginuponthepeople。TherewasMissWood，standingupforthequadrille。 “Ididn’trememberherhairwasthatpretty，“saidhe。“Butain’tshealittle，littlegirl！“ Nowshewasintruthfivefeetthree；butthenhecouldlookawaydownonthetopofherhead。 “Saluteyourhoney！“calledthefirstfiddler。Allpartnersbowedtoeachother，andassheturned，MissWoodsawthemaninthedoorway。Again，asithadbeenatSouthForkthatday，hiseyesdroppedfromhers，andshedivininginstantlywhyhehadcomeafterhalfayear，thoughtofthehandkerchiefandofthatscreamofhersintheriver，andbecamefilledwithtyrannyandanticipation；forindeedhewasfinetolookupon。Soshedancedaway，carefullyunawareofhisexistence。 “Firstlady，centre！“saidherpartner，remindingherofherturn。“Haveyouforgottenhowitgoessincelasttime？“ MollyWooddidnotforgetagain，butquadrilledwiththemostsprightlydevotion。 “Iseesomenewfacesto-night，“saidshe，presently。 “Yu’alwaysdoforgetourpoorfaces，“saidherpartner。 “Oh，no！There’sastrangernow。Whoisthatblackman？“ “Well——he’sfromVirginia，andheain’tallowin’he’sblack。“ “He’satenderfoot，Isuppose？“ “Ha，ha，ha！That’srich，too！“andsothesimplepartnerexplainedagreatdealabouttheVirginiantoMollyWood。Attheendofthesetshesawthemanbythedoortakeastepinherdirection。 “Oh，“saidshe，quickly，tothepartner，“howwarmitis！Imustseehowthosebabiesaredoing。“AndshepassedtheVirginianinabreezeofunconcern。 Hiseyesgravelylingeredwhereshehadgone。“Sheknowedmerightaway，“saidhe。Helookedforamoment’thenleanedagainstthedoor。“’Howwarmitis！’saidshe。Well，itain’tsoscreechin’hothyeh；andasforrushin’afterAlfredandChristopher，whentheirnaturalmothehisbumpin’aroundhandy——shecert’nlycan’tbeoffended？“hebrokeoff，andlookedagainwhereshehadgone。AndthenMissWoodpassedhimbrightlyagain，andwasdancingtheschottischealmostimmediately。“Oh，yes，sheknowsme，“theswarthycow-punchermused。“Shehastotaketroublenottoseeme。Andwhatshe’sa-fussin’atismightyinterestin’。Hello！“ “Hello！“returnedLinMcLean，sourly。Hehadjustlookedintothekitchen。 “Notdancin’？“theSouthernerinquired。 “Don’tknowhow。““Hadscyarletfeverandforgotyourpastlife？“ Lengrinned。 “Betterpersuadetheschoolmarmtolearnit。She’sgoin’togivemeinstruction。“ “Huh！“wentMr。McLean，andskulkedouttothebarrel。 “Why，theyclaimedyouweren’tdrinkin’thismonth！“saidhisfriend，following。 “Well，Iam。Here’sluck！“Thetwopledgedintincups。“ButI’mnotwaltzin’withher，“blurtedMr。McLeangrievously。“Shecalledmeanexception。“ “Waltzin’，“repeatedtheVirginianquickly，andhearingthefiddleshehastenedaway。 FewintheBearCreekCountrycouldwaltz，andwiththesefewitwasmostlyanunsteeredandponderousexhibition；thereforewastheSouthernerbentuponprofitingbyhisskill。Heenteredtheroom，andhisladysawhimcomewhereshesataloneforthemoment，andherthoughtsgrewalittlehurried。 “Willyoutryaturn，ma’am？“ “Ibegyourpardon？“Itwasaremote，well-schooledeyethatsheliftednowuponhim。 “Ifyoulikeawaltz，ma’am，willyouwaltzwithme？“ “You’refromVirginia，Iunderstand？“saidMollyWood，regardinghimpolitely，butnotrising。Onegainsauthorityimmenselybykeepingone’sseat。Allgoodteachersknowthis。 “Yes，ma’am，fromVirginia。“ “I’veheardthatSouthernershavesuchgoodmanners。“ “That’scorrect。“Thecow-puncherflushed，buthespokeinhisunvaryinglygentlevoice。 “ForinNewEngland，youknow，“pursuedMissMolly，notinghisscarfandclean-shavenchin，andthenagainsteadilymeetinghiseye，“gentlemenasktobepresentedtoladiesbeforetheyaskthemtowaltz。“ Hestoodamomentbeforeher，deeperanddeeperscarlet；andthemoreshesawhishandsomeface，thekeenerroseherexcitement。 Shewaitedforhimtospeakoftheriver；forthenshewasgoingtobesurprised，andgraduallytoremember，andfinallytobeverynicetohim。Buthedidnotwait。“Iaskyourpardon，lady，“ saidhe，andbowing，walkedoff，leavingheratonceafraidthathemightnotcomeback。Butshehadaltogethermistakenherman。 BackhecameserenelywithMr。Taylor，andwasdulypresentedtoher。Thusweretheconventionsvindicated。 Itcanneverbeknownwhatthecow-puncherwasgoingtosaynext； forUncleHugheysteppedupwithaglassofwaterwhichhehadleftWoodtobring，andaskingforaturn，mostgraciouslyreceivedit。Shedancedawayfromasituationwhereshebegantofeelherselfgettingtheworstofit。OnemomenttheVirginianstaredathisladyasshelightlycirculated，andthenhewentouttothebarrel。 LeavehimforUncleHershey！Jealousyisadeepanddelicatething，andworksitsspiteinmanyways。TheVirginianhadbeenreadytolookatLinMcLeanwithahostileeye；butfindinghimnowbesidethebarrel，hefeltabrotherhoodbetweenhimselfandLin，andhishostilityhadtakenanewandwhimsicaldirection。 “Here’show！“saidhetoMcLean。Andtheypledgedeachotherinthetincups。 “Beengettin’theminstructions？“saidMr。McLean，grinning。“I thoughtIsawyu’learningyourstepsthroughthewindow。“ “Here’syourgoodhealth，“saidtheSoutherner。Oncemoretheypledgedeachotherhandsomely。