第39章

Mrs。Hoovermethimembarrassedlyinthehall。“Iwassayin’toHiramheoughttotellye，buthedidn’tliketotillitwascertain。Concha’sgone。“ “Gone？“echoedthemaster。 “Yes。RunoffwithPedro。MarriedtohimyesterdaybythePopishpriestatthemission。“ “Married！Thatchild？“ “Shewasn’tnochild，Mr。Brooks。Weweredeceived。Mybrotherwasafool，andmendon’tunderstandthesethings。Shewasagrownwoman——accordin’tothesefolks’waysandages——whenshekemhere。 Andthat’swhatbotheredme。“ Therewasaweek’sexcitementatChestnutRidge，butitpleasedthemastertoknowthatwhilethechildrengrievedforthelossofConchatheyneverseemedtounderstandwhyshehadgone。 DICKBOYLE’SBUSINESSCARD TheSageWoodandDeadFlatstagecoachwaswaitingbeforethestation。ThePineBarrensmailwagonthatconnectedwithitwaslongoverdue，withitstransferpassengers，andthestationhadrelapsedintolistlessexpectation。EventhehumorsofDickBoyle，theChicago“drummer，“——and，sofar，thesolitarypassenger——whichhaddivertedthewaitingloungers，begantofailineffect，thoughthecheerfulnessofthehumoristwasunabated。Theostlershadslunkbackintothestables，thestationkeeperandstagedriverhadreducedtheirconversationtoimpatientmonosyllables，asifeachthoughttheotherresponsibleforthedelay。AsolitaryIndian，wrappedinacommissaryblanketandcoveredbyacast-offtallhat，crouchedagainstthewallofthestationlookingstolidlyatnothing。Thestationitself，along，ramblingbuildingcontainingitsentireaccommodationformanandbeastunderonemonotonous，shed-likeroof，offerednothingtoattracttheeye。 Stilllesstheprospect，ontheonesidetwomilesofaridwastetothestunted，far-spacedpinesinthedistance，knownasthe“Barrens；“ontheotheranapparentlylimitlesslevelwithdarkerpatchesofsagebrush，likethescarsofburnt-outfires。 DickBoyleapproachedthemotionlessIndianasapossiblerelief。 “YOUdon’tseemtocaremuchifschoolkeepsornot，doyou，Lo？“ TheIndian，whohadbeenhalfcrouchingonhisupturnedsoles，herestraightenedhimselfwithalithe，animal-likemovement，andstoodup。Boyletookholdofacornerofhisblanketandexamineditcritically。 “Gov’mentain’tpamperingyouwithA1goods，Lo！Ireckontheagentcharged’emfourdollarsforthat。Ourfirmcouldhavedeliveredthemtoyoufor2dols。37cents，andthrowninaboxofbeadsinthebargain。Suthinlikethis！“HetookfromhispocketasmallboxcontainingagaudybeadnecklaceandhelditupbeforetheIndian。 Thesavage，whohadregardedhim——orratherlookedbeyondhim——withthetoleratingindifferenceofoneinterruptedbyafriskinginferioranimal，heresuddenlychangedhisexpression。Alookofchildisheagernesscameintohisgloomyface；hereachedouthishandforthetrinket。 “Hol’on！“saidBoyle，hesitatingforamoment；thenhesuddenlyejaculated，“Well！takeit，andoneo’these，“anddrewabusinesscardfromhispocket，whichhestuckinthebandofthebatteredtallhatoftheaborigine。“There！showthattoyourfriends，andwhenyou’rewantin’anythinginourline“—— Theinterruptingroaroflaughter，comingfromtheboxseatofthecoach，wasprobablywhatBoylewasexpecting，forheturnedawaydemurelyandwalkedtowardsthecoach。“Allright，boys！I’vesquaredthenobleredman，andthestarofempireistakingitswestwardway。AndIreckonourfirmwilldothe’GreatFather’ businessforhimatabouthalfthepricethatitisdoneinWashington。“ Butatthispointtheostlerscamehurryingoutofthestables。 “She’scomin’，“saidone。“That’sherdustjustbehindtheLonePine——andbythewayshe’sracin’Ireckonshe’scomin’inmightylight。“ “That’sso，“saidthemailagent，standingupontheboxseatforabetterview，“butdarnedefIkinseeanyoutsidepassengers。I reckonwehaven’twaitedformuch。“ Indeed，asthegallopinghorsesoftheincomingvehiclepulledoutofthehangingdustinthedistance，thesolitarydrivercouldbeseenurgingonhisteam。Inafewmomentsmoretheyhadhaltedatthelowerendofthestation。 “Wonderwhat’sup！“saidthemailagent。 “Nothin’！OnlyabigInjinscareatPineBarrens，“saidoneoftheostlers。“Injinsdoin’ghostdancin’——orsuthinlikethat——andthepassengersjustskunkedoutandwentonbytheotherline。Thar’sonlyoneezdarcome——andshe’salady。“ “Alady？“echoedBoyle。 “Yes，“answeredthedriver，takingadeliberatesurveyofatall，gracefulgirlwho，waivingthegallantassistanceofthestationkeeper，hadleapedunaidedfromthevehicle。“Alady——andthefortcommandant’sdarteratthat！She’sclargrit，youbet——achipo’ theoldblock。Andallthismeans，sonny，thatyou’retogiveupthatboxseattoHER。MissJuliaCantiredon’ttakeanythin’lesswhenI’maround。“ Theyoungladywasalreadywalking，directlyandcomposedly，towardsthewaitingcoach——erect，self-contained，wellglovedandbooted，andclothed，eveninherdustcloakandcapeofplainashenmerino，withtheunmistakablepanoplyoftasteandsuperiority。A good-sizedaquilinenose，whichmadeherhandsomemouthlooksmaller；grayeyes，withanoccasionalhumidyellowsparkleintheirdepths；brownpenciledeyebrows，andbrowntendrilsofhair，allseemedtoBoyletobecharminglyframedinbythesilvergrayveiltwistedaroundherneckandunderherovalchin。Inhersobertintssheappearedtohimtohaveevokedaharmonyevenoutofthedreadfuldustaroundthem。WhatHEappearedtoherwasnotsoplain；shelookedhimover——hewasrathershort；throughhim——hewaseasilypenetrable；andthenhereyesrestedwithafrankrecognitiononthedriver。 “Good-morning，Mr。Foster，“shesaid，withasmile。 “Mornin’，miss。Ihearthey’rehavin’anInjinscareoverattheBarrens。Ireckonthemmenmustfeelmightymeanatbein’stumpedbyalady！“ “Idon’tthinktheybelievedIwouldgo，andsomeofthemhadtheirwiveswiththem，“returnedtheyoungladyindifferently；“besides，theyareEasternpeople，whodon’tknowIndiansaswellasWEdo，Mr。Foster。“ Thedriverblushedwithpleasureattheassociation。“Yes，ma’am，“ helaughed，“Ireckonthesightofevenold’FleasintheBlanket’ overthere，“pointingtotheIndian，whowaswalkingstolidlyawayfromthestation，“wouldfrighten’emouto’theirboots。Andyethe’sgotinsidehishatthebusinesscardo’thisgentleman——Mr。 DickBoyle，travelingforthebigfirmo’Fletcher&Co。ofChicago“——heinterpolated，risingsuddenlytotheformalheightsofpoliteintroduction；“soitsorterlooksezefanySKELPIN’wastobedoneitmightbetheotherwayround，ha！ha！“ MissCantireacceptedtheintroductionandthejokewithpolitebutcoolabstraction，andclimbedlightlyintotheboxseatasthemailbagsandaquantityofluggage——evidentlybelongingtotheevadingpassengers——werequicklytransferredtothecoach。Butforhisfaircompanion，thedriverwouldprobablyhavegivenprofanevoicetohisconvictionthathisvehiclewasusedasa“d——dbaggagetruck，“butheonlysmiledgrimly，gathereduphisreins，andflickedhiswhip。Thecoachplungedforwardintothedust，whichinstantlyrosearoundit，andmadeitthereafteramerecloudinthedistance。SomeofthatdustforamomentovertookandhidtheIndian，walkingstolidlyinitstrack，butheemergedfromitatanangle，withaquickenedpaceandapeculiarhaltingtrot。Yetthattrotwassowellsustainedthatinanhourhehadreachedafringeofrocksandlowbusheshithertoinvisiblethroughtheirregularitiesoftheapparentlylevelplain，intowhichheplungedanddisappeared。Thedustcloudwhichindicatedthecoach—— probablyowingtothesesameirregularities——hadlongsincebeenlostonthevisiblehorizon。 Thefringewhichreceivedhimwasreallytherimofadepressionquiteconcealedfromthesurfaceoftheplain，——whichitfollowedforsomemilesthroughatangledtrough-likebottomoflowtreesandunderbrush，——andwasanaturalcoverforwolves，coyotes，andoccasionallybears，whosehalf-humanfootprintmighthavedeceivedastranger。Thisdidnot，however，diverttheIndian，who，trottingstilldoggedlyon，pausedonlytoexamineanotherfootprint——muchmorefrequent——thesmooth，inward-toedtrackofmoccasins。Thethicketgrewmoredenseanddifficultashewenton，yetheseemedtoglidethroughitsdensityanddarkness——anobscuritythatnowseemedtobestirredbyothermovingobjects，dimlyseen，andasuncertainandintangibleassunlitleavesthrilledbythewind，yetbearingastrangeresemblancetohumanfigures！Pressingafewyardsfurther，hehimselfpresentlybecameapartofthisshadowyprocession，whichoncloserscrutinyrevealeditselfasasinglefileofIndians，followingeachotherinthesametirelesstrot。Thewoodsandunderbrushwerefullofthem；allmovingon，ashehadmoved，inalineparallelwiththevanishingcoach。Sometimesthroughtheopeningsabaredpaintedlimb，acrestoffeathers，orastripofgaudyblanketwasvisible，butnothingmore。Andyetonlyafewhundredyardsawaystretchedthedusky，silentplain——vacantofsoundormotion！