第34章

类别:其他 作者:Owen Wister字数:5082更新时间:18/12/26 17:11:26
“Good-by,Pedro,“hesaid——“good-by。“Pedrolookedforbread。 “No,“saidhismaster,sorrowfully,“notanymore。Yu’knowwellI’dgiveityu’ifIhadit。Youandmedidn’tfigureonthis,didwe,Pedro?Good-by!“ Hehuggedhisponyagain,andgotasfarasthebarsofthepasture,butreturnedoncemore。“Good-by,mylittlehorse,mydearhorse,mylittle,littlePedro,“hesaid,ashistearswetthepony’sneck。Thenhewipedthemwithhishand,andgothimselfbacktothebunkhouse。AfterbreakfastheandhisbelongingsdepartedtoDrybone,andPedrofromhisfieldcalmlywatchedthisdeparture;forhorsesmustrecognizeevenlessthanmentheblackcornersthattheirdestiniesturn。Theponystoppedfeedingtolookatthemail-wagonpassby;butthemastersittinginthewagonforeboretoturnhishead。 ResignedtowaitfortheJudge’shorses,Balaamwentintohisofficethisdry,brightmorningandreadnineaccumulatednewspapers;forhewasbehindhand。Thenherodeoutontheditches,andmethismanreturningwiththetroublesomeanimalsatlast。HehastenedhomeandsentfortheVirginian。Hehadmadeadecision。 “Seehere,“hesaid;“thosehorsesarecoming。WhattrailwouldyoutakeovertotheJudge’s?“ “Shortesttrail’srightthroughtheBowLaigMountains,“saidtheforeman,inhisgentlevoice。 “Guessyou’reright。It’sdinner-time。We’llstartrightafterward。We’llmakeLittleMuddyCrossingbysundown,andSunkCreekto-morrow,andthenextday’llseeusthrough。CanawagongetthroughSunkCreekCanyon?“ TheVirginiansmiled。“Ireckonitcan’t,seh,andstayresemblingawagon。“ BalaamtoldthemtosaddlePedroandonepackhorse,anddrivethebunchofhorsesintoacorral,ropingtheJudge’stwo,whoprovedextremelywild。HehaddecidedtotakethisjourneyhimselfonrememberingcertainpoliticssoontoberifeinCheyenne。ForJudgeHenrywasindeedagreatermanthanBalaam。Thispersonallyconductedreturnofthehorseswouldtemperitstardiness,and,moreover,thesightofsomeNewYorkvisitorswouldbeagoodthingaftersevenmonthsofnowarmertouchwiththatmetropolisthantheSundayHERALD,alwayseightdaysoldwhenitreachedtheButteCreekRanch。 TheyfordedButteCreek,and,crossingthewell-travelledtrailwhichfollowsdowntoDrybone,turnedtheirfacestowardtheuninhabitedcountrythatbeganimmediately,astheoceanbeginsoffasandyshore。Andasasinglemastonwhichnosailisshiningstandsatthehorizonandseemstoaddalonelinesstothesurroundingsea,sothelonggraylineoffence,almostamileaway,thatendedBalaam’slandonthissidethecreek,stretchedalongthewastegroundandaddeddesolationtotheplain。Nosolitarywatercoursewithmarginofcottonwoodsorwillowthicketsflowedheretostripethedingy,yellowworldwithinterruptinggreen,norwerecattletobeseendottingthedistance,normovingobjectsatall,noranybirdinthesoundlessair。ThelastgatewasshutbytheVirginian,wholookedbackatthepleasanttreesoftheranch,andthenfollowedoninsinglefileacrossthealkaliofNoMan’sLand。 Nocloudwasinthesky。Thedesert’sgrimnoonshonesombrelyonflatandhill。Thesagebrushwasdulllikezinc。Thickheatrosenearathandfromthecakedalkali,andpaleheatshroudedthedistantpeaks。 Therewerefivehorses。BalaamledonPedro,hissquatfigurestiffinthesaddle,butsolidasarock,andtiltedalittleforward,ashishabitwas。OneoftheJudge’shorsescamenext,asorrel,draggingbackcontinuallyontheropebywhichhewasled。AfterhimambledBalaam’swisepack-animal,carryingthelightburdenoftwodays’foodandlodging。Shewasanoldmarewhocouldstillgowhenshechose,buthadbeenschooledbytheyears,andkeptthetrail,givingnotroubletotheVirginianwhocamebehindher。Healsosatsolidasarock,yetsubtlybendingtothestrugglesofthewildhorseheled,asasteelspringbendsandbalancesandresumesitspoise。 Thustheymadebutslowtime,andwhentheytoppedthelastdullriseofgroundandlookeddownonthelongslantofragged,cakedearthtothecrossingofLittleMuddy,withitssingletreeandfewmeanbushes,thefinaldistancewhereeyesightendshaddeepenedtovioletfromthethin,steadybluetheyhadstaredatforsomanyhours,andallheatwasgonefromtheuniversaldryness。Thehorsesdrankalongtimefromthesluggishyellowwater,anditsalkalinetasteandwarmthwereequallywelcometothemen。Theybuiltalittlefire,andwhensupperwasended,smokedbutashortwhileandinsilence,beforetheygotintheblanketsthatwerespreadinasmoothplacebesidethewater。 TheyhadpicketedthetwohorsesoftheJudgeinthebestgrasstheycouldfind,lettingtherestgofreetofindpasturewheretheycould。Whenthefirstlightcame,theVirginianattendedtobreakfast,whileBalaamrodeawayonthesorreltobringintheloosehorses。Theyhadgonefaroutofsight,andwhenhereturnedwiththem,aftersometwohours,hewasonPedro。Pedrowassoakingwithsweat,andredfrothcreamedfromhismouth。TheVirginiansawthehorsesmusthavebeenhardtodrivein,especiallyafterBalaambroughtthemthewildsorrelasaleader。 “Ifyou’dkep’ridin’him,’steadofchangin’offonyourhawss,they’dhavebehavedquieter,“saidtheforeman。 “That’sgoodseasonableadvice,“saidBalaam,sarcastically。“I couldhavetoldyouthatnow。“ “Icouldhavetoldyouwhenyoustarted,“saidtheVirginian,heatingthecoffeeforBalaam。 Balaamwaseloquentontheoutrageousconductofthehorses。HehadcomeupwiththemevidentlystrikingbackforButteCreek,withtheoldmareinthelead。 “ButIsoonshowedhertheroadshewastogo,“hesaid,ashedrovethemnowtothewater。 TheVirginiannoticedtheslightlimpofthemare,andhowherpasternwascutasifwithastoneorthesharpheelofaboot。 “Iguessshe’llnotbeinahurrytotravelexceptwhenshe’swantedto,“continuedBalaam。Hesatdown,andsullenlypouredhimselfsomecoffee。“We’llbeinluckifwemakeanySunkCreekthisnight。“ Hewentonwithhisbreakfast,thinkingaloudforthebenefitofhiscompanion,whomadenocomments,preferringsilencetothediscomfortoftalkingwithamanwhosevindictivehumorwassothoroughlyuppermost。Hedidnotevenlistenveryattentively,butcontinuedhispreparationsfordeparture,washingthedishes,rollingtheblankets,andmovingaboutinhisusualwayofeasyandvisiblegoodnature。 “Sixo’clock,already,“saidBalaam,saddlingthehorses。“Andwe’llnotgetstartedfortenminutesmore。“ThenhecametoPedro。“Soyouhaven’tquitfoolingyet,haven’tyou?“heexclaimed,fortheponyshrankasheliftedthebridle。“Takethatforyoursoremouth!“andherammedthebitin,atwhichPedroflungbackandreared。 “Well,IneversawPedroactthatwayyet,“saidtheVirginian。 “Ah,rubbish!“saidBalaam。“They’reallthesame。Notabastardonebut’slayingforhischancetodoforyou。Some’llbuckyouoff,andsome’llrollwithyou,andsome’llfightyouwiththeirforefeet。Theymayplaygoodforayear,buttheWesternpony’sman’senemy,andwhenhejudgeshe’sgothischance,he’sgoingtodohisbest。Andifyoucomeoutaliveitwon’tbehisfault。“ Balaampausedforawhile,packing。“You’vegottokeepthemafraidofyou,“hesaidnext;“that’swhatyou’vegottodoifyoudon’twanttrouble。ThatPedrohorsetherehasbeenfed,hand-fed,andfooledwithlikeadamnpet,andwhat’sthatpolicydone?Why,hegoesuglywhenhethinksit’stime,anddecideshe’llnotdriveanyhorsesintocampthismorning。Heknowsbetternow。“ “Mr。Balaam,“saidtheVirginian,“I’llbuythathawssoffyu’ rightnow。“ Balaamshookhishead。“You’llnotdothatrightnoworanyothertime,“saidhe。“Ihappentowanthim。“ TheVirginiancoulddonomore。Hehadheardcow-puncherssaytorefractoryponies,“Youkeepstill,orI’llBalaamyou!“andhenowunderstoodtheaptnessoftheexpression。 MeanwhileBalaambegantoleadPedrotothecreekforalastdrinkbeforestartingacrossthetorriddrought。Thehorseheldbackonthereinalittle,andBalaamturnedandcutthewhipacrosshisforehead。Adelayofforcingandbackingfollowed,whiletheVirginian,alreadyinthesaddle,waited。Theminutespassed,andnoimmediateprospect,apparently,ofgettingnearerSunkCreek。 “Heain’goin’tofollowyouwhileyou’rebeatin’hishaid,“theSoutherneratlengthremarked。 “Doyouthinkyoucanteachmeanythingabouthorses?“retortedBalaam。 “Well,itdon’tlooklikeIcould,“saidtheVirginian,lazily。 “Thendon’ttryit,solongasit’snotyourhorse,myfriend。“ AgaintheSouthernerlevelledhiseyeonBalaam。“Allright,“hesaid,inthesamegentlevoice。“Anddon’tyoucallmeyourfriend。You’vemadethatmistaketwiced。“ Theroadwasshadeless,asithadbeenfromthestart,andtheycouldnottravelfast。Duringthefirstfewhoursallcoolnesswasdrivenoutoftheglassymorning,andanotherdayofillimitablesuninvestedtheworldwithitsblaze。ThepaleBowLegRangewascomingnearer,butitshardhotslantsandriftssuggestednosortoffreshness,andeventhepinesthatspreadforwidemilesalongnearthesummitcountedfornothinginthedistanceandtheglare,butseemedmerepatchesofdulldrydiscoloration。Notalkwasexchangedbetweenthetwotravellers,forthecow-puncherhadnothingtosayandBalaamwassulky,sotheymovedalonginsilentenduranceofeachother’scompanyandthetediumofthejourney。 Buttheslowsuccessionofriseandfallintheplainchangedandshortened。Theearth’ssurfacebecamelumpy,risingintomoundsandknottedsystemsofsteepsmallhillscutapartbystaringgashesofsand,wherewaterpouredinthespringfromthemeltingsnow。Afteratimetheyascendedthroughthefoot-hillstilltheplainbelowwasforawhileconcealed,butcameagainintoviewinitsentirety,distantandathingofthepast,whilesomemagpiessaileddowntomeetthemfromthenewcountrytheywereentering。Theypassedupthroughasmalltransparentforestofdeadtreesstandingstarkandwhite,andalittlehighercameonalineofnarrowmoisturethatcrossedthewayandformedastalepoolamongsomewillowthickets。Theyturnedasidetowatertheirhorses,andfoundnearthepoolacircularspotofashesandsomepoleslying,andbesidetheseacage-likeedificeofwillowwandsbuiltintheground。 “Indiancamp,“observedtheVirginian。 Therewerethetracksoffiveorsixhorsesonthefarthersideofthepool,andtheydidnotcomeintothetrail,butledoffamongtherocksonsomesystemoftheirown。 “They’reaboutaweekold,“saidBalaam。“It’spartofthatoutfitthat’sbeenhunting。“ “They’vegoneontovisittheirfriends,“addedthecow-puncher。 “Yes,ontheSouthernReservation。HowfardoyoucallSunkCreeknow?“ “Well,“saidtheVirginian,calculating,“it’smightynighfo’tymilesfromMuddyCrossin’,an’Ireckonwe’vecomeeighteen。“ “Justabout。It’snoon。“Balaamsnappedhiswatchshut。“We’llrestheretill12:30。“ Whenitwastimetogo,theVirginianlookedmusinglyatthemountains。“We’llneedtotravelrightsmarttogetthroughthecanyonto-night,“hesaid。 “Tellyouwhat,“saidBalaam;“we’llropetheJudge’shorsestogetheranddrive’eminfrontofus。That’llmakespeed。“ “Mightn’ttheygetawayonus?“objectedtheVirginian。“They’repow’fulwild。“ “Theycan’tgetawayfromme,Iguess,“saidBalaam,andthearrangementwasadopted。“We’rethefirstthisseasonoverthispieceofthetrail,“heobservedpresently。