It was Tom Preston who spoke1. The last time we saw him he was hurrying into a thicket2, with an axe3 on his shoulder, ostensibly for the purpose of cutting some wood for the fire, which he had allowed to burn itself nearly out; but his real object was to get 308away from his brother, whose presence he could no longer endure.
He now stood in the edge of the thicket, listening to the echoes made by the pony4’s feet as Oscar rode away from the camp. As soon as the sound ceased he walked out of the bushes, threw his axe spitefully down upon the ground, and seated himself on his log again. He had never been so nearly overcome with rage before in his life.
“This is a pretty state of affairs, I must say!” he exclaimed aloud. “Here’s Oscar, with a thousand dollars in clean cash at his command, a fine hunting rig of his own, a pony to ride, and living like a gentleman at the fort, with those gold-bespangled officers, who wouldn’t so much as look at me if they met me on the trail, or even speak of me, unless it was to say, ‘There goes some worthless vagabond.’ And he even had the impudence5 to tell me that he has a guide, and is going to the mountains in style; while I——It’s a lucky thing for him that he left his money at the fort,” said Tom, grinding his teeth in his fury. “I’d have choked some of 309it out of him in short order. He must have seen at a glance how miserable6 I am, and yet he seemed to take delight in telling me how comfortably he is situated7.”
For a long time Tom sat on his log, making himself miserable with such thoughts as these, and the longer he indulged them the madder he became. He could see very plainly that there was a wide gulf8 between him and his brother, and it hurt him terribly to know that he had made that gulf by his own acts.
He had never dreamed that there was anything in Oscar, or “Old Sober Sides,” as he used to call him; but here he was, the associate of a college faculty9 and the daily companion of officers who held high and honorable positions under the government.
As for himself, there was only one person in the world he could lean upon, or to whom he could look for a kind word; and he was so low down in the scale of humanity that, had he presumed to intrude10 among those with whom Oscar associated on terms of the closest intimacy11, he would have been promptly12 kicked out of doors.
310When Tom thought his brother had been allowed time enough to ride to the fort, and purchase the blankets and clothing he had promised to give him, he arose to his feet and walked slowly down the ravine.
“If there were any way in which I could smash up that expedition of his, and send him back to the States with as heavy a heart as I carry at this moment, I’d do it,” said Tom, who was so envious13 of Oscar that he would gladly have injured him by every means in his power; and, this being his state of mind, he was quite eager to fall in with a plan that was suggested to him a few days afterward14. “It must be broken up, for it would never do to allow him to go back to Eaton and Yarmouth, and earn honors and money there, while I am out here in this deplorable condition. I’ll speak to Lish about it as soon as he comes back.”
While Tom was ready to throw all the obstacles he could in the way of his brother’s success, he was equally ready to accept from him a suit of thick clothes and a pair of blankets to keep him warm of nights. He 311thought Oscar ought to be on his way back by this time, and so he was, as Tom found when he reached the mouth of the ravine.
He was coming at a gallop15 along the path that led through the sage-brush. Tom did not want to meet him again, so he sought a hasty concealment16 among the bushes on the side of the ravine opposite to that on which stood the rock he had described to his brother.
He heard Oscar pronounce his name and say that he had news for him, but he could not be coaxed17 out of his hiding-place. He saw the bundle that Oscar carried on the horn of his saddle, watched him as he rode up the bank toward the rock behind which the bundle was to be left, and wondered what it was that kept him there so long.
He also saw his worthy18 partner when he went by, and was somewhat surprised that Lish, whose eyes were as sharp as an Indian’s, did not see the trail that Oscar’s pony made when passing through the bushes. Oscar, too, saw the wolfer, as we know, and made all haste to quit the ravine as soon as he had passed out of hearing.
312“He’s gone at last,” said Tom, as he drew a long breath of relief, sprang to his feet, and ran across the ravine toward the rock. “If he had stayed here much longer I should have thought that he was making the clothes or weaving the blankets for me. Oh, I see what it was that kept him,” he added, snatching up the note that Oscar had thrust under the string with which the bundle was tied. “Perhaps I shall now find out what it was he wanted to tell me, and perhaps, too, he has been thoughtful enough to put a ten-dollar note into this. No, he hasn’t! I might have known better than to expect it.”
Tom opened the letter, but there was nothing but writing in it. He quickly made himself master of its contents; and, after cramming19 it into his pocket, untied20 the bundle, threw out the blankets, which were on the top, and began a hurried examination of all the pockets in his new suit; but he did not find what he was looking for—every one of them was empty.
“He must have hurt himself,” said Tom in great disgust, as he picked up the blankets, one after the other, and shook them violently 313in the air, at the same time keeping a close watch of the ground under them to see if anything fell out. “A pair of blankets, an overcoat, and a suit of clothes, but not a cent of money, although he knows that I stand in great need of it. You haven’t made anything by this day’s work, Mr. Oscar. Yes, you have,” he added a moment later. “You have made an implacable enemy of me, and of Lish also; for I know he will be hopping21 mad when I read that note to him. I wish I knew what that ‘affair’ was, for then I could read something to Lish to make him madder. No matter. I can make up something.”
Although Tom’s rage was greatly increased by the sight of his brother’s gift—the articles comprising it were not as fine and costly22 as he had expected them to be—he did not hesitate to take it. On the contrary, he made all haste to pull off his threadbare garments and get inside the new and warmer ones.
He did not abandon his old clothes, but wrapped them up in his blankets, threw them over his shoulder, and started toward the bottom of the ravine.
314Just as he reached it his steps were arrested by an exclamation23 of astonishment24 that fell upon his ear, and, looking up, he saw Lish the Wolfer peeping out from behind a rock a little distance away.
“Hello! What brought you back here?” exclaimed Tom. “I thought I saw you ride toward the camp a quarter of an hour ago.”
“Mebbe ye did,” replied the wolfer, still keeping his position behind the rock, and showing nothing but his head around the side of it. “Thar’s been a hoss through this gulch25 since I went away. But, see here, pard. Ye don’t look like yerself.”
“Don’t I?” replied Tom, who now walked up and presented himself before the wolfer. “Well, you can see that it is I, can’t you? Come on. I’ve a story to tell and a letter to read to you; and if you don’t get mad and vow26 vengeance27 against the one who wrote it, you are not the man I take you for. Lish, you had an awful row with some fellow last summer, and injured him seriously, and if you don’t dig out of here in a little less than no time you’ll be arrested.”
315“’Taint no sich thing!” exclaimed Lish, stopping suddenly, and facing his companion.
Tom saw at once that he had made a mistake. If he had been a little better acquainted with his partner he never would have accused him of being in a fight with anybody, for he lacked the courage to carry him through such an ordeal28.
“Well, you are suspected of it, anyway,” said Tom; “and if you stay here and allow yourself to be taken into custody29 our trip to the hills is up stump30. But you did steal something,” he added, closely watching his companion’s face, on which a change at once became visible, “and I know it.”
That he had hit the nail on the head this time was evident. Lish turned all sorts of colors, and looked up and down the ravine, and before and behind him, as if he were trying to make up his mind which way he would run, in case circumstances rendered it necessary for him to seek safety in flight.
Finally he backed into the bushes, and said, almost in a whisper:
“Who told ye that story, pard?”
316“I will begin at the beginning and tell you all about it,” was Tom’s reply. “You met a boy on horseback up there in the sage-brush, didn’t you? Well, that fellow was my brother, whom I supposed to be a long way from——Don’t interrupt me now,” he exclaimed, when he saw his companion’s eyes growing larger and his mouth open as if he were about to speak. “Let me tell my story in my own way, and then I will answer all the questions you can ask. That was my brother, as I told you, and he is——”
Here Tom went on to tell, in language the wolfer could easily comprehend, all about the unexpected meeting between himself and Oscar, and to repeat, as nearly as he could, the conversation that passed between them.
He described how his brother happened to be there, told what he intended to do, how much money he had, and wound up with the remark that he was soon to start for the hills, with Big Thompson for a companion.
Then he exhibited the new clothes and blankets that Oscar had purchased for him, and finally he came to the note, which he read 317to suit himself, not forgetting to put in something about the theft Lish had committed, and going into the particulars of that terrible fight he was suspected of being engaged in during the previous summer.
It may have been all imagination on Tom’s part, but he really thought that his companion seemed to grow taller and swell31 out considerably32 when he read that imaginary part of the letter that related to the fight. He certainly did grow bigger in feeling, if not in person, for he had never before been suspected of “severely injuring” anybody, and he regarded it as a high honor. He forgot the strange story to which he had listened, and became lost in admiration33 of himself.
“Mebbe thar’s sunthin’ in that thar account, arter all,” said he, looking reflectively at the ground. “I’ve had so many of them triflin’ skrimmages, an’ tumbled over so many fellers that I don’t seem to rightly know which one that thar letter tells on. Don’t amount to nothin’ when ye gits used to ’em.”
As the wolfer said this he drew himself up to his full height and looked formidable indeed.
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1
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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2
thicket
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| n.灌木丛，树林 | |
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3
axe
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| n.斧子；v.用斧头砍，削减 | |
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pony
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| adj.小型的；n.小马 | |
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5
impudence
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| n.厚颜无耻；冒失；无礼 | |
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6
miserable
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| adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的 | |
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7
situated
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| adj.坐落在...的，处于某种境地的 | |
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8
gulf
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| n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂 | |
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9
faculty
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| n.才能；学院，系；(学院或系的)全体教学人员 | |
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10
intrude
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| vi.闯入；侵入；打扰，侵扰 | |
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11
intimacy
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| n.熟悉，亲密，密切关系，亲昵的言行 | |
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12
promptly
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| adv.及时地，敏捷地 | |
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envious
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| adj.嫉妒的，羡慕的 | |
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14
afterward
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| adv.后来；以后 | |
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15
gallop
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| v./n.(马或骑马等)飞奔；飞速发展 | |
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16
concealment
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| n.隐藏, 掩盖，隐瞒 | |
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17
coaxed
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| v.哄，用好话劝说( coax的过去式和过去分词 )；巧言骗取；哄劝，劝诱 | |
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18
worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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19
cramming
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| n.塞满，填鸭式的用功v.塞入( cram的现在分词 )；填塞；塞满；（为考试而）死记硬背功课 | |
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20
untied
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| 松开，解开( untie的过去式和过去分词 )； 解除，使自由； 解决 | |
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21
hopping
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| n. 跳跃 动词hop的现在分词形式 | |
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22
costly
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| adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的 | |
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23
exclamation
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| n.感叹号，惊呼，惊叹词 | |
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24
astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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25
gulch
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| n.深谷，峡谷 | |
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26
vow
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| n.誓(言)，誓约；v.起誓，立誓 | |
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27
vengeance
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| n.报复，报仇，复仇 | |
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28
ordeal
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| n.苦难经历，（尤指对品格、耐力的）严峻考验 | |
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29
custody
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| n.监护，照看，羁押，拘留 | |
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30
stump
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| n.残株，烟蒂，讲演台；v.砍断，蹒跚而走 | |
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31
swell
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| vi.膨胀，肿胀；增长，增强 | |
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32
considerably
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| adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上 | |
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33
admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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