It may be set down to their credit that they good-naturedly ignored her sullenness7, and tried so far as they could to interest her in their daily round of fun. As Sarah had confidentially8 remarked to Jane, “We expected Blanche would act like this, and now you see we haven’t been disappointed.”
Ruth alone knew the true cause of Blanche’s moroseness10. On the afternoon following their talk, the latter had coldly informed her that the promised letter had been written and delivered to the postman of the Rural Free Delivery Route, who brought the mail each morning. Since then little conversation had passed between them. Finding her friendly overtures11 coolly rebuffed, Ruth was careful to treat Blanche exactly as though nothing had happened, when in the presence of the others. Aside from that, she prudently12 let her alone. She did not wish her companions to discover that she was the real object of Blanche’s animosity. She was afraid it might lead to pointed9 questions. Refusal to answer them would be quite as embarrassing as to do so. She was earnestly trying to protect Blanche from the displeasure of her own friends, whom she felt would instinctively13 resent any churlish treatment of herself on Blanche’s part.
Naturally straightforward14, even kindly15 pretense16 came hard for Ruth. There were times when she heartily17 wished she had not made the unlucky discovery. Again she was glad of it. She was convinced, however, that she had done right in keeping it a secret. Nevertheless the strain irked her. It took its toll18 of her usual zest19 for enjoyment20. More than once, she reflected resentfully that it was hardly fair in Blanche not to meet her halfway21. The end of the week saw the breach22 between the two steadily23 widening through no fault of Ruth’s. Saturday morning’s mail had brought Blanche a scathing24 letter from an indignant young man, who accused her of the double crime of not knowing her own mind and spoiling his summer.
She had anticipated some such reply and it made her very angry. She promptly25 retaliated26 with an equally scathing letter to him, in which she expressed herself as thankful to have found out his true character in time and hoped she would never see him again. All of which proved conclusively27 that Blanche was merely a very foolish young girl. In consequence, she was particularly thorny28 all day, and so far forgot caution as to fling several ill-natured remarks directly at Ruth, whom she could not forgive for having “pried into her affairs.”
“What ails30 Blanche Shirly, anyway?” asked Jane Pellew disgustedly of Betty and Anne as the three girls met in their room, preparatory to going downstairs to dinner. “Did you hear her snap at Ruth when we were out on the veranda31 this afternoon? After all the trouble Ruth has taken for her, too!”
“Yes, I noticed it.” Betty frowned. “Ruth didn’t seem to mind, though. Blanche has hardly treated any of us civilly, of late. I suppose she doesn’t care much for our way of doing things. She certainly doesn’t seem interested in Camp Fire work.”
“Then why did she come up here?” demanded Jane tartly32. “She makes me tired. She might better have gone with her mother to the sanatorium. She’s a regular wet-blanket.”
“Give her time, Janie,” smiled Anne, unconsciously repeating Ruth’s own words. “You can’t expect her to see things as we do all in a minute. We’ve just got to keep on pretending we don’t notice her glum33 looks. It’s—well—it’s a kind of experiment. If it turns out well in the end, think how glad we’ll all be! Sooner or later, something will happen to make Blanche wake up.”
“That’s what Ruth says, too, but I don’t agree with either of you,” retorted Jane. “It’s awfully34 aggravating35 when one person in a jolly crowd like ours isn’t with us in our fun. If Blanche keeps on sulking as she has, I’ll tell her what I think of her. See if I don’t!”
“You mustn’t.” Betty shook a positive head. “Ruth wouldn’t like it. Do as Anne says and pay no attention to Blanche’s moods. You know how she’s always acted at Hillside. She and Jeanette Hayes are chums, yet they were on bad terms half the time last year.”
“Thank goodness we’ve been spared Jeanette, at least,” grumbled36 Jane. “There!” she continued, with a final pat to her fluffy37 brown locks. “I’m ready for dinner. I’m going down to the veranda. See you later.”
Running lightly down the stairs, Jane passed out to the veranda.
“Where’s everybody?” was her question as she spied Frances comfortably ensconced in the big porch swing.
“Why ask for ‘everybody’ when I am here?” counter-questioned Frances blandly38.
Jane elevated her nose, then giggled39. Advancing upon the swing with intent to seat herself beside Frances, her eyes lighted upon a strange figure just leaving the road and about to cross the lawn.
“Oh!” she ejaculated in a half-frightened tone, and turning, fled into the house.
Frances’ first inclination41 was to do likewise. Then she laughed. Slipping from the swing, she walked sedately42 forward to greet the newcomer, who had now reached the steps. Having been brought up on a ranch43, she was quite accustomed to the sight of Indians. She immediately recognized the caller as an unusually fine specimen44. At least six feet tall, with dark, piercing eyes and high cheek bones, his long black hair hanging in two braids over his shoulders, he looked every inch a warrior45. Unlike the majority of Indians she had seen, his attire46 differed from theirs in that he still clung to the fringed deerskin leggings. These, together with his long black braids and a rifle slung47 across one shoulder, gave him the picturesqueness48 of the red man of earlier days.
“How do you do?” greeted Frances affably. “I am sure you must be Blue Wolf!”
“How do,” grunted49 the caller, surveying Frances stolidly. “Me Blue Wolf.”
“Come up on the veranda and sit down,” she invited. “Miss Drexal has been expecting you. Excuse me while I find her. She will be so pleased to see you.”
“Thank!” commented Blue Wolf unemotionally. Though he accepted the invitation onto the veranda, he remained standing50, the picture of stoical indifference.
Stifling51 the chuckle52 that bubbled to her lips, Frances disappeared into the house in search of Miss Drexal. She bumped squarely against her in the hall, for Jane had already fled to the living room with the dire29 news that a “regular Indian war chief was coming straight for the house!”
“It’s Blue Wolf!” gasped53 Frances.
“I thought as much.” Miss Drexal smilingly stepped to the door and onto the veranda. “Why, how do you do, Blue Wolf?”
The Guardian’s voice had a friendly note as she offered her hand to her caller.
A swift gleam of pleasure shot into the Indian’s piercing eyes. “How do,” he returned. Setting his rifle carefully against the porch rail, he gravely shook hands. “You well?”
“Very well, indeed, thank you. I have been looking for you since Friday. You are just in time for dinner.”
Blue Wolf’s stern features relaxed into the shadow of a grin at this hospitable54 news.
“Hungry,” he admitted. “Come far. From Vermillon Lake. Next week, you ready, go there? Know good place camp. Find man in Tower who rent tents. After dinner we talk about?”
“We surely will. Now come into the kitchen, and Martha will take care of you. It’s very nice to see you again. Have you been hunting? I see you have your rifle.”
“Hunt little; no much get. Too much game law.”
“I see.” Miss Drexal led the way into the house, her strange guest stalking in her wake. Turning him over to Martha, who had furnished him with many a meal, the registrar55 returned to the living room where an excited bevy56 of girls awaited her. Ruth and Emmy were not among them. Detailed57 as first aids to Martha, they had already been presented to the famous old guide by Miss Drexal, and were at that very moment engaged in viewing him slyly at close range. So far as he was concerned, they might as well not have been in the kitchen. After gingerly shaking hands with them, he had taken a stiff stand at one end of the kitchen and vouchsafed58 them not so much as a glance from his sharp black eyes.
“He gave me an awful fright,” confessed Jane, during a brief lull59 in the eager questions the girls had hurled60 at their hostess. “Isn’t he really a bit fierce or savage61?”
“Not a bit,” laughed Miss Drexal. “He is a splendid man and not at all like the average Indian of to-day. As I have already told you, his grandfather was a great Cheyenne chief, and Blue Wolf can tell you all the most interesting traditions of the Cheyennes. Just now, he is out of his element. Wait until he gets used to the idea of you girls; then he will talk to you and become quite friendly in his proud, silent way. He is a dependable guide, too. After dinner I will ask him to come into the living room. I don’t imagine he will stay long to-night. I shall have to find out what arrangements he has made for us. Perhaps we shall be able to start on our trip within a day or two.”
This information elicited62 a chorus of gleeful cries. Even Jane had so far forgotten her recent fright as to inquire eagerly: “How shall we act when we’re introduced to Blue Wolf? Do we shake hands or just bow, or what?”
“You may offer him your hand,” replied Miss Drexal, “but don’t any of you dare to giggle40. If you do, you will offend him. Be strictly63 on your dignity with him at first. He will like that.”
The appearance of Emmy in the doorway64 announcing dinner brought to an end the discussion of the proper way to receive Blue Wolf.
“Someone ought to warn Blanche not to behave like a refrigerator when she meets him,” Sarah whispered wickedly to Frances as the party trooped into the dining room.
“Where is she? In the kitchen with Ruth?”
“Not she,” murmured Sarah. “She hasn’t helped with a single meal since she came. She’s upstairs sulking, I suppose, about goodness knows what.”
Frances answered with a discreet65 pressure of Sarah’s arm. Her roving eyes had glimpsed Blanche descending66 the last step of the stairway. The forbidding expression of the latter’s face quite bore out Sarah’s theory. Seated beside Miss Drexal at the table, she received the news of the arrival of the guide with marked indifference. Her sole disgruntled comment was, “I have always heard that Indians are thieves and not to be trusted.”
“Then Blue Wolf is the great exception,” laughed Ruth. “He looks too proud and splendid for that. Emmy and I were taking sly peeps at him all the time we were in the kitchen. He never noticed us, though.”
“Really, I am surprised.” Blanche lifted satiric67 eye-brows. “I am sure I hope you won’t be disappointed in him.”
“No danger of that.” Ruth forced herself to ignore the spitefulness of the speech, replying to it as pleasantly as though Blanche had paid her a compliment. “Is there, Miss Drexal?” she appealed smilingly to her hostess.
An almost imperceptible shade of displeasure crossed Miss Drexal’s fine face. Blanche’s frequent stabs at Ruth during the past few days had not been lost on her. “None whatever,” she assured with a placidity68 that nevertheless contained a hint of the authoritative69. “Blanche’s statement that Indians have a reputation for thieving is quite correct, however. Almost anyone living up here will tell you that. But, as Ruth says, Blue Wolf is indeed the ‘great exception.’”
Finding herself politely worsted, Blanche relapsed into moody70 silence. Nor did anyone at the table attempt to draw her into the merry talk, which her sarcastic71 fling at Ruth had halted for a moment. Dinner over, she rose with the others, but did not go with them into the living room to meet the quaint72 guest. Instead, she made a bee-line for the stairs. Called to the kitchen by Martha, Miss Drexal was unaware73 of this fact until, a little later, Blue Wolf in tow, she entered the living room. In the midst of introducing him to those of her flock who had yet to make his acquaintance, she discovered that Blanche was missing.
“Where is Blanche?” she inquired.
“I saw her go upstairs.” It was Marian who answered. “Shall I—”
“I’ll go and get her.” Ruth darted74 from the room and up the stairs. All in an instant she had decided75 that she had something to say to Blanche. Arriving at her door which stood slightly ajar, she knocked. “Who is there?” challenged a pettish76 voice.
For answer, Ruth swung open the door and boldly entered. “I came to tell you that Miss Drexal would like you to join us in the living room,” she announced. “She wants you to meet Blue Wolf.”
“I don’t want to meet a silly, old Indian!” Blanche sprang to her feet, slamming the book she had evidently been reading on the table. “Why can’t you let me alone, Ruth Garnier?” she demanded crossly. “I simply won’t stand your tagging me around! Haven’t you spied on me enough?”
For once Ruth’s sorely tried patience slipped its leash77. “You have no right to accuse me of any such thing!” she cried out heatedly. “Since you have, just let me tell you this, Blanche, you are acting78 very foolishly! You’ve been perfectly79 hateful to me ever since we had that talk. I’ve tried to pass it off, simply to keep the girls from guessing at anything that might make them ask questions I couldn’t answer. I’m sorry you can’t understand that I want to be your friend. I know you believe that I’m only pretending. I’m not, but as long as you will think that, I can’t make you see it differently. It hurts me, naturally, to have you say rude things to me, but it hurts you a good deal more in the eyes of the others. For your own sake, I wish you’d stop it!”
Her color high, Ruth wheeled and marched from the room. Halfway down stairs, she recalled that she had volunteered to escort belligerent80 Blanche to the living room. She paused, then went bravely back. “I think you had better come down now,” she said coolly, halting in the doorway.
Blanche eyed her for a second, then to Ruth’s intense surprise replied almost civilly, “All right.” Unbeknown to Ruth, she had made an astounding81 discovery. Ruth Garnier actually had a temper! As she followed the other girl’s fleeing footsteps down the stairs, she felt a certain grudging82 respect for her that had hitherto been quite absent in her estimation of Ruth’s character. And though neither of them could possibly know it, it was the first milestone83 along the road to Blanche’s better self.
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1
joyous
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| adj.充满快乐的；令人高兴的 | |
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equitable
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| adj.公平的；公正的 | |
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stolidly
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| adv.迟钝地，神经麻木地 | |
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heralded
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| v.预示( herald的过去式和过去分词 )；宣布（好或重要） | |
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indifference
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| n.不感兴趣，不关心，冷淡，不在乎 | |
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disdain
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| n.鄙视，轻视；v.轻视，鄙视，不屑 | |
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sullenness
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| n. 愠怒, 沉闷, 情绪消沉 | |
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confidentially
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| ad.秘密地，悄悄地 | |
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pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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moroseness
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overtures
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| n.主动的表示，提议；（向某人做出的）友好表示、姿态或提议( overture的名词复数 )；（歌剧、芭蕾舞、音乐剧等的）序曲，前奏曲 | |
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prudently
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| adv. 谨慎地，慎重地 | |
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instinctively
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| adv.本能地 | |
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straightforward
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| adj.正直的，坦率的；易懂的，简单的 | |
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kindly
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| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
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pretense
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| n.矫饰，做作，借口 | |
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heartily
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| adv.衷心地，诚恳地，十分，很 | |
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toll
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| n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟) | |
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zest
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| n.乐趣；滋味，风味；兴趣 | |
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enjoyment
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| n.乐趣；享有；享用 | |
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halfway
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| adj.中途的，不彻底的，部分的；adv.半路地，在中途，在半途 | |
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breach
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| n.违反，不履行；破裂；vt.冲破，攻破 | |
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steadily
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| adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地 | |
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24
scathing
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| adj.（言词、文章）严厉的，尖刻的；不留情的adv.严厉地，尖刻地v.伤害，损害（尤指使之枯萎）( scathe的现在分词) | |
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promptly
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| adv.及时地，敏捷地 | |
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retaliated
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| v.报复，反击( retaliate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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conclusively
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| adv.令人信服地，确凿地 | |
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thorny
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| adj.多刺的，棘手的 | |
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dire
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| adj.可怕的，悲惨的，阴惨的，极端的 | |
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ails
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| v.生病( ail的第三人称单数 )；感到不舒服；处境困难；境况不佳 | |
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veranda
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| n.走廊；阳台 | |
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tartly
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| adv.辛辣地，刻薄地 | |
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glum
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| adj.闷闷不乐的，阴郁的 | |
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awfully
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| adv.可怕地，非常地，极端地 | |
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aggravating
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| adj.恼人的，讨厌的 | |
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grumbled
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| 抱怨( grumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 发牢骚； 咕哝； 发哼声 | |
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fluffy
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| adj.有绒毛的，空洞的 | |
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blandly
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| adv.温和地，殷勤地 | |
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giggled
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| v.咯咯地笑( giggle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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giggle
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| n.痴笑，咯咯地笑；v.咯咯地笑着说 | |
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inclination
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| n.倾斜；点头；弯腰；斜坡；倾度；倾向；爱好 | |
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sedately
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| adv.镇静地，安详地 | |
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ranch
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| n.大牧场，大农场 | |
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specimen
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| n.样本，标本 | |
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warrior
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| n.勇士，武士，斗士 | |
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attire
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| v.穿衣，装扮[同]array；n.衣着；盛装 | |
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slung
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| 抛( sling的过去式和过去分词 )； 吊挂； 遣送； 押往 | |
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picturesqueness
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grunted
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| （猪等）作呼噜声( grunt的过去式和过去分词 )； （指人）发出类似的哼声； 咕哝着说 | |
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standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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stifling
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| a.令人窒息的 | |
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52
chuckle
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| vi.／n.轻声笑，咯咯笑 | |
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gasped
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| v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要 | |
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hospitable
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| adj.好客的；宽容的；有利的，适宜的 | |
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registrar
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| n.记录员，登记员；(大学的)注册主任 | |
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bevy
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| n.一群 | |
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detailed
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| adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的 | |
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vouchsafed
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| v.给予，赐予( vouchsafe的过去式和过去分词 )；允诺 | |
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lull
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| v.使安静，使入睡，缓和，哄骗；n.暂停，间歇 | |
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hurled
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| v.猛投，用力掷( hurl的过去式和过去分词 )；大声叫骂 | |
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savage
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| adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人 | |
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elicited
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| 引出，探出( elicit的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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strictly
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| adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地 | |
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doorway
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| n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径 | |
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discreet
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| adj.(言行)谨慎的；慎重的；有判断力的 | |
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descending
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| n. 下行 adj. 下降的 | |
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67
satiric
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| adj.讽刺的，挖苦的 | |
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68
placidity
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| n.平静，安静，温和 | |
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authoritative
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| adj.有权威的，可相信的；命令式的；官方的 | |
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70
moody
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| adj.心情不稳的，易怒的，喜怒无常的 | |
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71
sarcastic
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| adj.讥讽的，讽刺的，嘲弄的 | |
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72
quaint
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| adj.古雅的，离奇有趣的，奇怪的 | |
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73
unaware
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| a.不知道的，未意识到的 | |
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74
darted
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| v.投掷，投射( dart的过去式和过去分词 )；向前冲，飞奔 | |
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75
decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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76
pettish
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| adj.易怒的，使性子的 | |
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77
leash
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| n.牵狗的皮带，束缚；v.用皮带系住 | |
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78
acting
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| n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的 | |
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79
perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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80
belligerent
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| adj.好战的，挑起战争的；n.交战国，交战者 | |
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81
astounding
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| adj.使人震惊的vt.使震惊，使大吃一惊astound的现在分词) | |
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82
grudging
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| adj.勉强的，吝啬的 | |
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83
milestone
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| n.里程碑；划时代的事件 | |
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