"I guess the fools have opened up, Steele," I said. His response was an angry grunt4. It was just as well, I concluded, that things had begun to stir. Steele needed to be roused.
Suddenly a single sharp yell pealed5 out. Following it came a huge flare6 of light, a sheet of flame in which a great cloud of smoke or dust shot up. Then, with accompanying darkness, burst a low, deep, thunderous boom. The lights of the house went out, then came a crash. Points of light flashed in a half-circle and the reports of guns blended with the yells of furious men, and all these were swallowed up in the roar of a mob.
Another and a heavier explosion momentarily lightened the darkness and then rent the air. It was succeeded by a continuous volley and a steady sound that, though composed of yells, screams, cheers, was not anything but a hideous7 roar of hate. It kept up long after there could have been any possibility of life under the ruins of that house. It was more than hate of Steele. All that was wild and lawless and violent hurled8 this deed at the Ranger9 Service.
Such events had happened before in Texas and other states; but, strangely, they never happened more than once in one locality. They were expressions, perhaps, that could never come but once.
I watched Steele through all that hideous din10, that manifestation11 of insane rage at his life and joy at his death, and when silence once more reigned12 and he turned his white face to mine, I had a sensation of dread13. And dread was something particularly foreign to my nature.
"So Blome and the Sneckers think they've done for me," he muttered.
"Pleasant surprise for them to-morrow, eh, old man?" I queried14.
"To-morrow? Look, Russ, what's left of my old 'dobe house is on fire. The ruins can't be searched soon. And I was particular to fix things so it'd look like I was home. I just wanted to give them a chance. It's incomprehensible how easy men like them can be duped. Whisky-soaked! Yes, they'll be surprised!"
He lingered a while, watching the smoldering15 fire and the dim columns of smoke curling up against the dark blue. "Russ, do you suppose they heard up at the ranch16 and think I'm—"
"They heard, of course," I replied. "But the girls know you're safe with me."
"Safe? I—I almost wish to God I was there under that heap of ruins, where the rustlers think they've left me."
"Well, Steele, old fellow, come on. We need some sleep." With Steele in the lead, we stalked away into the open.
Two days later, about the middle of the forenoon, I sat upon a great flat rock in the shade of a bushy mesquite, and, besides enjoying the vast, clear sweep of gold and gray plain below, I was otherwise pleasantly engaged. Sally sat as close to me as she could get, holding to my arm as if she never intended to let go. On the other side Miss Sampson leaned against me, and she was white and breathless, partly from the quick ride out from the ranch, partly from agitation18. She had grown thinner, and there were dark shadows under her eyes, yet she seemed only more beautiful. The red scarf with which I had signaled the girls waved from a branch of the mesquite. At the foot of the ridge19 their horses were halted in a shady spot.
"Take off your sombrero," I said to Sally. "You look hot. Besides, you're prettier with your hair flying." As she made no move, I took it off for her. Then I made bold to perform the same office for Miss Sampson. She faintly smiled her thanks. Assuredly she had forgotten all her resentment20. There were little beads21 of perspiration22 upon her white brow. What a beautiful mass of black-brown hair, with strands23 of red or gold! Pretty soon she would be bending that exquisite24 head and face over poor Steele, and I, who had schemed this meeting, did not care what he might do to me.
Pretty soon, also, there was likely to be an interview that would shake us all to our depths, and naturally, I was somber25 at heart. But though my outward mood of good humor may have been pretense27, it certainly was a pleasure to be with the girls again way out in the open. Both girls were quiet, and this made my task harder, and perhaps in my anxiety to ward26 off questions and appear happy for their own sakes I made an ass3 of myself with my silly talk and familiarity. Had ever a Ranger such a job as mine?
"Diane, did Sally show you her engagement ring?" I went on, bound to talk.
Miss Sampson either did not notice my use of her first name or she did not object. She seemed so friendly, so helplessly wistful. "Yes. It's very pretty. An antique. I've seen a few of them," she replied.
"I hope you'll let Sally marry me soon."
"Let her? Sally Langdon? You haven't become acquainted with your fiancee. But when—"
"Oh, next week, just as soon—"
"Russ!" cried Sally, blushing furiously.
"What's the matter?" I queried innocently.
"You're a little previous."
"Well, Sally, I don't presume to split hairs over dates. But, you see, you've become extremely more desirable—in the light of certain revelations. Diane, wasn't Sally the deceitful thing? An heiress all the time! And I'm to be a planter and smoke fine cigars and drink mint juleps! No, there won't be any juleps."
"Russ, you're talking nonsense," reproved Sally. "Surely it's no time to be funny."
"All right," I replied with resignation. It was no task to discard that hollow mask of humor. A silence ensued, and I waited for it to be broken.
"Is Steele badly hurt?" asked Miss Sampson presently.
"No. Not what he or I'd call hurt at all. He's got a scalp wound, where a bullet bounced off his skull28. It's only a scratch. Then he's got another in the shoulder; but it's not bad, either."
"Where is he now?"
"Look across on the other ridge. See the big white stone? There, down under the trees, is our camp. He's there."
"When may—I see him?" There was a catch in her low voice.
"He's asleep now. After what happened yesterday he was exhausted29, and the pain in his head kept him awake till late. Let him sleep a while yet. Then you can see him."
"Did he know we were coming?"
"He hadn't the slightest idea. He'll be overjoyed to see you. He can't help that. But he'll about fall upon me with harmful intent."
"Why?"
"Well, I know he's afraid to see you."
"Why?"
"Because it only makes his duty harder."
"Ah!" she breathed.
It seemed to me that my intelligence confirmed a hope of hers and gave her relief. I felt something terrible in the balance for Steele. And I was glad to be able to throw them together. The catastrophe30 must fall, and now the sooner it fell the better. But I experienced a tightening31 of my lips and a tugging32 at my heart-strings.
"Sally, what do you and Diane know about the goings-on in town yesterday?" I asked.
"Not much. George was like an insane man. I was afraid to go near him. Uncle wore a sardonic33 smile. I heard him curse George—oh, terribly! I believe he hates George. Same as day before yesterday, there were men riding in and out. But Diane and I heard only a little, and conflicting statements at that. We knew there was fighting. Dick and the servants, the cowboys, all brought rumors34. Steele was killed at least ten times and came to life just as many.
"I can't recall, don't want to recall, all we heard. But this morning when I saw the red scarf flying in the wind—well, Russ, I was so glad I could not see through the glass any more. We knew then Steele was all right or you wouldn't have put up the signal."
"Reckon few people in Linrock realize just what did come off," I replied with a grim chuckle35.
"Russ, I want you to tell me," said Miss Sampson earnestly.
"What?" I queried sharply.
"About yesterday—what Steele did—what happened."
"Miss Sampson, I could tell you in a few short statements of fact or I could take two hours in the telling. Which do you prefer?"
"I prefer the long telling. I want to know all about him."
"But why, Miss Sampson? Consider. This is hardly a story for a sensitive woman's ears."
"I am no coward," she replied, turning eyes to me that flashed like dark fire.
"But why?" I persisted. I wanted a good reason for calling up all the details of the most strenuous36 and terrible day in my border experience. She was silent a moment. I saw her gaze turn to the spot where Steele lay asleep, and it was a pity he could not see her eyes then. "Frankly37, I don't want to tell you," I added, and I surely would have been glad to get out of the job.
"I want to hear—because I glory in his work," she replied deliberately38.
I gathered as much from the expression of her face as from the deep ring of her voice, the clear content of her statement. She loved the Ranger, but that was not all of her reason.
"His work?" I echoed. "Do you want him to succeed in it?"
"With all my heart," she said, with a white glow on her face.
"My God!" I ejaculated. I just could not help it. I felt Sally's small fingers clutching my arm like sharp pincers. I bit my lips to keep them shut. What if Steele had heard her say that? Poor, noble, justice-loving, blind girl! She knew even less than I hoped. I forced my thought to the question immediately at hand. She gloried in the Ranger's work. She wanted with all her heart to see him succeed in it. She had a woman's pride in his manliness39. Perhaps, with a woman's complex, incomprehensible motive40, she wanted Steele to be shown to her in all the power that made him hated and feared by lawless men. She had finally accepted the wild life of this border as something terrible and inevitable41, but passing. Steele was one of the strange and great and misunderstood men who were making that wild life pass.
For the first time I realized that Miss Sampson, through sharpened eyes of love, saw Steele as he really was—a wonderful and necessary violence. Her intelligence and sympathy had enabled her to see through defamation42 and the false records following a Ranger; she had had no choice but to love him; and then a woman's glory in a work that freed men, saved women, and made children happy effaced43 forever the horror of a few dark deeds of blood.
"Miss Sampson, I must tell you first," I began, and hesitated—"that I'm not a cowboy. My wild stunts44, my drinking and gaming—these were all pretense."
"Indeed! I am very glad to hear it. And was Sally in your confidence?"
"Only lately. I am a United States deputy marshal in the service of Steele."
She gave a slight start, but did not raise her head.
"I have deceived you. But, all the same, I've been your friend. I ask you to respect my secret a little while. I'm telling you because otherwise my relation to Steele yesterday would not be plain. Now, if you and Sally will use this blanket, make yourselves more comfortable seats, I'll begin my story."
Miss Sampson allowed me to arrange a place for her where she could rest at ease, but Sally returned to my side and stayed there. She was an enigma45 to-day—pale, brooding, silent—and she never looked at me except when my face was half averted46.
"Well," I began, "night before last Steele and I lay hidden among the rocks near the edge of town, and we listened to and watched the destruction of Steele's house. It had served his purpose to leave lights burning, to have shadows blow across the window-blinds, and to have a dummy47 in his bed. Also, he arranged guns to go off inside the house at the least jar. Steele wanted evidence against his enemies. It was not the pleasantest kind of thing to wait there listening to that drunken mob. There must have been a hundred men. The disturbance48 and the intent worked strangely upon Steele. It made him different. In the dark I couldn't tell how he looked, but I felt a mood coming in him that fairly made me dread the next day.
"About midnight we started for our camp here. Steele got in some sleep, but I couldn't. I was cold and hot by turns, eager and backward, furious and thoughtful. You see, the deal was such a complicated one, and to-morrow certainly was nearing the climax49. By morning I was sick, distraught, gloomy, and uncertain. I had breakfast ready when Steele awoke. I hated to look at him, but when I did it was like being revived.
"He said: 'Russ, you'll trail alongside me to-day and through the rest of this mess.'
"That gave me another shock. I want to explain to you girls that this was the first time in my life I was backward at the prospects50 of a fight. The shock was the jump of my pulse. My nerve came back. To line up with Steele against Blome and his gang—that would be great!
"'All right, old man,' I replied. 'We're going after them, then?'
"He only nodded.
"After breakfast I watched him clean and oil and reload his guns. I didn't need to ask him if he expected to use them. I didn't need to urge upon him Captain Neal's command.
"'Russ,' said Steele, 'we'll go in together. But before we get to town I'll leave you and circle and come in at the back of the Hope So. You hurry on ahead, post Morton and his men, get the lay of the gang, if possible, and then be at the Hope So when I come in.'
"I didn't ask him if I had a free hand with my gun. I intended to have that. We left camp and hurried toward town. It was near noon when we separated.
"I came down the road, apparently51 from Sampson's ranch. There was a crowd around the ruins of Steele's house. It was one heap of crumbled52 'dobe bricks and burned logs, still hot and smoking. No attempt had been made to dig into the ruins. The curious crowd was certain that Steele lay buried under all that stuff. One feature of that night assault made me ponder. Daylight discovered the bodies of three dead men, rustlers, who had been killed, the report went out, by random53 shots. Other participants in the affair had been wounded. I believed Morton and his men, under cover of the darkness and in the melee54, had sent in some shots not calculated upon the program.
"From there I hurried to town. Just as I had expected, Morton and Zimmer were lounging in front of the Hope So. They had company, disreputable and otherwise. As yet Morton's crowd had not come under suspicion. He was wild for news of Steele, and when I gave it, and outlined the plan, he became as cool and dark and grim as any man of my kind could have wished. He sent Zimmer to get the others of their clique55. Then he acquainted me with a few facts, although he was noncommittal in regard to my suspicion as to the strange killing56 of the three rustlers.
"Blome, Bo Snecker, Hilliard, and Pickens, the ringleaders, had painted the town in celebration of Steele's death. They all got gloriously drunk except old man Snecker. He had cold feet, they said. They were too happy to do any more shooting or mind what the old rustler17 cautioned. It was two o'clock before they went to bed.
"This morning, after eleven, one by one they appeared with their followers57. The excitement had died down. Ranger Steele was out of the way and Linrock was once more wide open, free and easy. Blome alone seemed sullen59 and spiritless, unresponsive to his comrades and their admirers. And now, at the time of my arrival, the whole gang, with the exception of old Snecker, were assembled in the Hope So.
"'Zimmer will be clever enough to drift his outfit60 along one or two at a time?' I asked Morton, and he reassured61 me. Then we went into the saloon.
"There were perhaps sixty or seventy men in the place, more than half of whom were in open accord with Blome's gang. Of the rest there were many of doubtful repute, and a few that might have been neutral, yet all the time were secretly burning to help any cause against these rustlers. At all events, I gathered that impression from the shadowed faces, the tense bodies, the too-evident indication of anything but careless presence there. The windows were open. The light was clear. Few men smoked, but all had a drink before them. There was the ordinary subdued62 hum of conversation. I surveyed the scene, picked out my position so as to be close to Steele when he entered, and sauntered round to it. Morton aimlessly leaned against a post.
"Presently Zimmer came in with a man and they advanced to the bar. Other men entered as others went out. Blome, Bo Snecker, Hilliard, and Pickens had a table full in the light of the open windows. I recognized the faces of the two last-named, but I had not, until Morton informed me, known who they were. Pickens was little, scrubby, dusty, sandy, mottled, and he resembled a rattlesnake. Hilliard was big, gaunt, bronzed, with huge mustache and hollow, fierce eyes. I never had seen a grave-robber, but I imagined one would be like Hilliard. Bo Snecker was a sleek63, slim, slender, hard-looking boy, marked dangerous, because he was too young and too wild to have caution or fear. Blome, the last of the bunch, showed the effects of a bad night.
"You girls remember how handsome he was, but he didn't look it now. His face was swollen64, dark, red, and as it had been bright, now it was dull. Indeed, he looked sullen, shamed, sore. He was sober now. Thought was written on his clouded brow. He was awakening65 now to the truth that the day before had branded him a coward and sent him out to bolster66 up courage with drink. His vanity had begun to bleed. He knew, if his faithful comrades had not awakened67 to it yet, that his prestige had been ruined. For a gunman, he had suffered the last degradation68. He had been bidden to draw and he had failed of the nerve.
"He breathed heavily; his eyes were not clear; his hands were shaky. Almost I pitied this rustler who very soon must face an incredibly swift and mercilessly fatal Ranger. Face him, too, suddenly, as if the grave had opened to give up its dead.
"Friends and comrades of this center group passed to and fro, and there was much lazy, merry, though not loud, talk. The whole crowd was still half-asleep. It certainly was an auspicious69 hour for Steele to confront them, since that duty was imperative70. No man knew the stunning71 paralyzing effect of surprise better than Steele. I, of course, must take my cue from him, or the sudden development of events.
"But Jack72 Blome did not enter into my calculations. I gave him, at most, about a minute to live after Steele entered the place. I meant to keep sharp eyes all around. I knew, once with a gun out, Steele could kill Blome's comrades at the table as quick as lightning, if he chose. I rather thought my game was to watch his outside partners. This was right, and as it turned out, enabled me to save Steele's life.
"Moments passed and still the Ranger did not come. I began to get nervous. Had he been stopped? I scouted73 the idea. Who could have stopped him, then? Probably the time seemed longer than it really was. Morton showed the strain, also. Other men looked drawn74, haggard, waiting as if expecting a thunderbolt. Once in my roving gaze I caught Blandy's glinty eye on me. I didn't like the gleam. I said to myself I'd watch him if I had to do it out of the back of my head. Blandy, by the way, is—was—I should say, the Hope So bartender." I stopped to clear my throat and get my breath.
"Was," whispered Sally. She quivered with excitement. Miss Sampson bent75 eyes upon me that would have stirred a stone man.
"Yes, he was once," I replied ambiguously, but mayhap my grimness betrayed the truth. "Don't hurry me, Sally. I guarantee you'll be sick enough presently.
"Well, I kept my eyes shifty. And I reckon I'll never forget that room. Likely I saw what wasn't really there. In the excitement, the suspense76, I must have made shadows into real substance. Anyway, there was the half-circle of bearded, swarthy men around Blome's table. There were the four rustlers—Blome brooding, perhaps vaguely77, spiritually, listening to a knock; there was Bo Snecker, reckless youth, fondling a flower he had, putting the stem in his glass, then to his lips, and lastly into the buttonhole of Blome's vest; there was Hilliard, big, gloomy, maybe with his cavernous eyes seeing the hell where I expected he'd soon be; and last, the little dusty, scaly78 Pickens, who looked about to leap and sting some one.
"In the lull79 of the general conversation I heard Pickens say: 'Jack, drink up an' come out of it. Every man has an off day. You've gambled long enough to know every feller gits called. An' as Steele has cashed, what the hell do you care?
"Hilliard nodded his ghoul's head and blinked his dead eyes. Bo Snecker laughed. It wasn't any different laugh from any other boy's. I remembered then that he killed Hoden. I began to sweat fire. Would Steele ever come?
"'Jim, the ole man hed cold feet an' he's give 'em to Jack,' said Bo. 'It ain't nothin' to lose your nerve once. Didn't I run like a scared jack-rabbit from Steele? Watch me if he comes to life, as the ole man hinted!'
"'About mebbe Steele wasn't in the 'dobe at all. Aw, thet's a joke! I seen him in bed. I seen his shadder. I heard his shots comin' from the room. Jack, you seen an' heerd same as me.'
"'Sure. I know the Ranger's cashed,' replied Blome. 'It's not that. I'm sore, boys.'
"'Deader 'n a door-nail in hell!' replied Pickens, louder, as he lifted his glass. 'Here's to Lone58 Star Steele's ghost! An' if I seen it this minnit I'd ask it to waltz with me!'
"The back door swung violently, and Steele, huge as a giant, plunged80 through and leaped square in front of that table.
"Some one of them let out a strange, harsh cry. It wasn't Blome or Snecker—probably Pickens. He dropped the glass he had lifted. The cry had stilled the room, so the breaking of the glass was plainly heard. For a space that must have been short, yet seemed long, everybody stood tight. Steele with both hands out and down, leaned a little, in a way I had never seen him do. It was the position of a greyhound, but that was merely the body of him. Steele's nerve, his spirit, his meaning was there, like lightning about to strike. Blome maintained a ghastly, stricken silence.
"Then the instant was plain when he realized this was no ghost of Steele, but the Ranger in the flesh. Blome's whole frame rippled81 as thought jerked him out of his trance. His comrades sat stone-still. Then Hilliard and Pickens dived without rising from the table. Their haste broke the spell.
"I wish I could tell it as quick as it happened. But Bo Snecker, turning white as a sheet, stuck to Blome. All the others failed him, as he had guessed they would fail. Low curses and exclamations82 were uttered by men sliding and pressing back, but the principals were mute. I was thinking hard, yet I had no time to get to Steele's side. I, like the rest, was held fast. But I kept my eyes sweeping83 around, then back again to that center pair.
"Blome slowly rose. I think he did it instinctively84. Because if he had expected his first movement to start the action he never would have moved. Snecker sat partly on the rail of his chair, with both feet square on the floor, and he never twitched85 a muscle. There was a striking difference in the looks of these two rustlers. Snecker had burning holes for eyes in his white face. At the last he was staunch, defiant86, game to the core. He didn't think. But Blome faced death and knew it. It was infinitely87 more than the facing of foes88, the taking of stock, preliminary to the even break. Blome's attitude was that of a trapped wolf about to start into savage89 action; nevertheless, equally it was the pitifully weak stand of a ruffian against ruthless and powerful law.
"The border of Pecos County could have had no greater lesson than this—Blome face-to-face with the Ranger. That part of the border present saw its most noted90 exponent91 of lawlessness a coward, almost powerless to go for his gun, fatally sure of his own doom92.
"But that moment, seeming so long, really so short, had to end. Blome made a spasmodic upheaval93 of shoulder and arm. Snecker a second later flashed into movement.
"Steele blurred94 in my sight. His action couldn't be followed. But I saw his gun, waving up, flame red once—twice—and the reports almost boomed together.
"Blome bent forward, arm down, doubled up, and fell over the table and slid to the floor.
"But Snecker's gun cracked with Steele's last shot. I heard the bullet strike Steele. It made me sick as if it had hit me. But Steele never budged95. Snecker leaped up, screaming, his gun sputtering96 to the floor. His left hand swept to his right arm, which had been shattered by Steele's bullet.
"Blood streamed everywhere. His screams were curses, and then ended, testifying to a rage hardly human. Then, leaping, he went down on his knees after the gun.
"Don't pick it up," called Steele; his command would have checked anyone save an insane man. For an instant it even held Snecker. On his knees, right arm hanging limp, left extended, and face ghastly with agony and fiendish fury, he was certainly an appalling97 sight.
"'Bo, you're courtin' death,' called a hard voice from the crowd.
"'Snecker, wait. Don't make me kill you!' cried Steele swiftly. 'You're still a boy. Surrender! You'll outlive your sentence many years. I promise clemency98. Hold, you fool!'
"But Snecker was not to be denied the last game move. He scrabbled for his gun. Just then something, a breathtaking intuition—I'll never know what—made me turn my head. I saw the bartender deliberately aim a huge gun at Steele. If he had not been so slow, I would have been too late. I whirled and shot. Talk about nick of time! Blandy pulled trigger just as my bullet smashed into his head.
"He dropped dead behind the bar and his gun dropped in front. But he had hit Steele.
"The Ranger staggered, almost fell. I thought he was done, and, yelling, I sped to him.
"But he righted himself. Then I wheeled again. Someone in the crowd killed Bo Snecker as he wobbled up with his gun. That was the signal for a wild run for outdoors, for cover. I heard the crack of guns and whistle of lead. I shoved Steele back of the bar, falling over Blandy as I did so.
"When I got up Steele was leaning over the bar with a gun in each hand. There was a hot fight then for a minute or so, but I didn't fire a shot. Morton and his crowd were busy. Men ran everywhere, shooting, ducking, cursing. The room got blue with smoke till you couldn't see, and then the fight changed to the street.
"Steele and I ran out. There was shooting everywhere. Morton's crowd appeared to be in pursuit of rustlers in all directions. I ran with Steele, and did not observe his condition until suddenly he fell right down in the street. Then he looked so white and so bloody99 I thought he'd stopped another bullet and—"
Here Miss Sampson's agitation made it necessary for me to halt my story, and I hoped she had heard enough. But she was not sick, as Sally appeared to me; she simply had been overcome by emotion. And presently, with a blaze in her eyes that showed how her soul was aflame with righteous wrath100 at these rustlers and ruffians, and how, whether she knew it or not, the woman in her loved a fight, she bade me go on. So I persevered101, and, with poor little Sally sagging102 against me, I went on with the details of that fight.
I told how Steele rebounded103 from his weakness and could no more have been stopped than an avalanche104. For all I saw, he did not use his guns again. Here, there, everywhere, as Morton and his squad105 cornered a rustler, Steele would go in, ordering surrender, promising106 protection. He seemed to have no thoughts of bullets. I could not hold him back, and it was hard to keep pace with him. How many times he was shot at I had no idea, but it was many. He dragged forth107 this and that rustler, and turned them all over to Morton to be guarded. More than once he protected a craven rustler from the summary dealing108 Morton wanted to see in order.
I told Miss Sampson particularly how Steele appeared to me, what his effect was on these men, how toward the end of the fight rustlers were appealing to him to save them from these new-born vigilantes. I believed I drew a picture of the Ranger that would live forever in her heart of hearts. If she were a hero-worshiper she would have her fill.
One thing that was strange to me—leaving fight, action, blood, peril109 out of the story—the singular exultation110, for want of some better term, that I experienced in recalling Steele's look, his wonderful cold, resistless, inexplicable111 presence, his unquenchable spirit which was at once deadly and merciful. Other men would have killed where he saved. I recalled this magnificent spiritual something about him, remembered it strongest in the ring of his voice as he appealed to Bo Snecker not to force him to kill. Then I told how we left a dozen prisoners under guard and went back to the Hope So to find Blome where he had fallen. Steele's bullet had cut one of the petals112 of the rose Snecker had playfully put in the rustler's buttonhole. Bright and fatal target for an eye like Steele's! Bo Snecker lay clutching his gun, his face set rigidly113 in that last fierce expression of his savage nature. There were five other dead men on the floor, and, significant of the work of Steele's unknown allies, Hilliard and Pickens were among them.
"Steele and I made for camp then," I concluded. "We didn't speak a word on the way out. When we reached camp all Steele said was for me to go off and leave him alone. He looked sick. I went off, only not very far. I knew what was wrong with him, and it wasn't bullet-wounds. I was near when he had his spell and fought it out.
"Strange how spilling blood affects some men! It never bothered me much. I hope I'm human, too. I certainly felt an awful joy when I sent that bullet into Blandy's bloated head in time. And I'll always feel that way about it. But Steele's different."
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adobe
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| n.泥砖，土坯，美国Adobe公司 | |
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jingle
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| n.叮当声，韵律简单的诗句；v.使叮当作响，叮当响，押韵 | |
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ass
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| n.驴；傻瓜，蠢笨的人 | |
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grunt
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| v.嘟哝；作呼噜声；n.呼噜声，嘟哝 | |
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pealed
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| v.（使）（钟等）鸣响，（雷等）发出隆隆声( peal的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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flare
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| v.闪耀，闪烁；n.潮红；突发 | |
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hideous
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hurled
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ranger
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| n.国家公园管理员，护林员；骑兵巡逻队员 | |
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din
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| n.喧闹声，嘈杂声 | |
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11
manifestation
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| n.表现形式；表明；现象 | |
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12
reigned
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| vi.当政，统治（reign的过去式形式） | |
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13
dread
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| vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧 | |
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14
queried
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| v.质疑，对…表示疑问( query的过去式和过去分词 )；询问 | |
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15
smoldering
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| v.用文火焖烧，熏烧，慢燃( smolder的现在分词 ) | |
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16
ranch
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| n.大牧场，大农场 | |
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17
rustler
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| n.[美口]偷牛贼 | |
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18
agitation
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| n.搅动；搅拌；鼓动，煽动 | |
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19
ridge
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| n.山脊；鼻梁；分水岭 | |
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20
resentment
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| n.怨愤，忿恨 | |
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21
beads
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| n.（空心）小珠子( bead的名词复数 )；水珠；珠子项链 | |
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22
perspiration
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| n.汗水；出汗 | |
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23
strands
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| n.（线、绳、金属线、毛发等的）股( strand的名词复数 )；缕；海洋、湖或河的)岸；（观点、计划、故事等的）部份v.使滞留，使搁浅( strand的第三人称单数 ) | |
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24
exquisite
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| adj.精美的；敏锐的；剧烈的，感觉强烈的 | |
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25
somber
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| adj.昏暗的，阴天的，阴森的，忧郁的 | |
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26
ward
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| n.守卫，监护，病房，行政区，由监护人或法院保护的人（尤指儿童）；vt.守护，躲开 | |
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27
pretense
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| n.矫饰，做作，借口 | |
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28
skull
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| n.头骨；颅骨 | |
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29
exhausted
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| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
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30
catastrophe
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| n.大灾难，大祸 | |
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31
tightening
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| 上紧，固定，紧密 | |
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32
tugging
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| n.牵引感v.用力拉，使劲拉，猛扯( tug的现在分词 ) | |
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33
sardonic
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| adj.嘲笑的，冷笑的，讥讽的 | |
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34
rumors
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| n.传闻( rumor的名词复数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷v.传闻( rumor的第三人称单数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷 | |
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35
chuckle
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| vi.／n.轻声笑，咯咯笑 | |
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36
strenuous
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| adj.奋发的，使劲的；紧张的；热烈的，狂热的 | |
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37
frankly
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| adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说 | |
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38
deliberately
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| adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地 | |
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39
manliness
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| 刚毅 | |
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40
motive
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| n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的 | |
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41
inevitable
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| adj.不可避免的，必然发生的 | |
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42
defamation
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| n.诽谤；中伤 | |
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43
effaced
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| v.擦掉( efface的过去式和过去分词 )；抹去；超越；使黯然失色 | |
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44
stunts
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| n.惊人的表演( stunt的名词复数 )；（广告中）引人注目的花招；愚蠢行为；危险举动v.阻碍…发育[生长]，抑制，妨碍( stunt的第三人称单数 ) | |
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45
enigma
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| n.谜，谜一样的人或事 | |
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46
averted
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| 防止，避免( avert的过去式和过去分词 )； 转移 | |
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dummy
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| n.假的东西；(哄婴儿的)橡皮奶头 | |
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disturbance
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| n.动乱，骚动；打扰，干扰；(身心)失调 | |
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49
climax
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| n.顶点；高潮；v.(使)达到顶点 | |
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50
prospects
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| n.希望，前途(恒为复数) | |
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51
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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52
crumbled
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| （把…）弄碎， （使）碎成细屑( crumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 衰落； 坍塌； 损坏 | |
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53
random
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| adj.随机的；任意的；n.偶然的(或随便的)行动 | |
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54
melee
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| n.混战；混战的人群 | |
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55
clique
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| n.朋党派系，小集团 | |
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56
killing
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| n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财 | |
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57
followers
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| 追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件 | |
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58
lone
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| adj.孤寂的，单独的；唯一的 | |
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59
sullen
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| adj.愠怒的，闷闷不乐的，(天气等)阴沉的 | |
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60
outfit
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| n.（为特殊用途的）全套装备，全套服装 | |
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61
reassured
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| adj.使消除疑虑的；使放心的v.再保证，恢复信心( reassure的过去式和过去分词) | |
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62
subdued
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| adj. 屈服的，柔和的，减弱的 动词subdue的过去式和过去分词 | |
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63
sleek
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| adj.光滑的，井然有序的；v.使光滑，梳拢 | |
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64
swollen
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| adj.肿大的，水涨的；v.使变大，肿胀 | |
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65
awakening
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| n.觉醒，醒悟 adj.觉醒中的；唤醒的 | |
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66
bolster
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| n.枕垫；v.支持，鼓励 | |
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67
awakened
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| v.（使）醒( awaken的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）觉醒；弄醒；（使）意识到 | |
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68
degradation
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| n.降级；低落；退化；陵削；降解；衰变 | |
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69
auspicious
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| adj.吉利的；幸运的，吉兆的 | |
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70
imperative
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| n.命令，需要；规则；祈使语气；adj.强制的；紧急的 | |
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71
stunning
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| adj.极好的；使人晕倒的 | |
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72
jack
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| n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克 | |
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73
scouted
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| 寻找，侦察( scout的过去式和过去分词 )； 物色（优秀运动员、演员、音乐家等） | |
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74
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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75
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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76
suspense
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| n.（对可能发生的事）紧张感，担心，挂虑 | |
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77
vaguely
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| adv.含糊地，暖昧地 | |
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78
scaly
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| adj.鱼鳞状的；干燥粗糙的 | |
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79
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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80
plunged
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| v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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81
rippled
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| 使泛起涟漪（ripple的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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82
exclamations
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| n.呼喊( exclamation的名词复数 )；感叹；感叹语；感叹词 | |
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83
sweeping
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| adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的 | |
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84
instinctively
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| adv.本能地 | |
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85
twitched
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| vt.& vi.（使）抽动，（使）颤动（twitch的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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86
defiant
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| adj.无礼的，挑战的 | |
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87
infinitely
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| adv.无限地，无穷地 | |
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88
foes
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| 敌人，仇敌( foe的名词复数 ) | |
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89
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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90
noted
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| adj.著名的，知名的 | |
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91
exponent
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| n.倡导者，拥护者；代表人物；指数，幂 | |
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92
doom
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| n.厄运，劫数；v.注定，命定 | |
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93
upheaval
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| n.胀起，(地壳)的隆起；剧变，动乱 | |
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94
blurred
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| v.（使）变模糊( blur的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）难以区分；模模糊糊；迷离 | |
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95
budged
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| v.（使）稍微移动( budge的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）改变主意，（使）让步 | |
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96
sputtering
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| n.反应溅射法；飞溅；阴极真空喷镀；喷射v.唾沫飞溅( sputter的现在分词 )；发劈啪声；喷出；飞溅出 | |
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97
appalling
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| adj.骇人听闻的，令人震惊的，可怕的 | |
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98
clemency
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| n.温和，仁慈，宽厚 | |
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99
bloody
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| adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染 | |
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100
wrath
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| n.愤怒，愤慨，暴怒 | |
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101
persevered
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| v.坚忍，坚持( persevere的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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102
sagging
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| 下垂[沉，陷]，松垂，垂度 | |
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103
rebounded
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| 弹回( rebound的过去式和过去分词 )； 反弹； 产生反作用； 未能奏效 | |
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104
avalanche
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| n.雪崩，大量涌来 | |
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105
squad
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| n.班，小队，小团体；vt.把…编成班或小组 | |
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106
promising
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| adj.有希望的，有前途的 | |
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107
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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108
dealing
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| n.经商方法，待人态度 | |
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109
peril
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| n.(严重的)危险；危险的事物 | |
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110
exultation
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| n.狂喜，得意 | |
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111
inexplicable
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| adj.无法解释的，难理解的 | |
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112
petals
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| n.花瓣( petal的名词复数 ) | |
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113
rigidly
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| adv.刻板地，僵化地 | |
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