3. Horse Thief

 Sam’s claim was not a gold strike or a bonanza¹. It was a pocket, very definite, and certainly limited in the amount of gravel² and black sand which carried much fine and some coarse gold. Sam knew its extent and its possibilities. He had kept its location a careful secret. It was not legally staked, for in staking it he would have brought a swarm³ of gold seekers to the ridge⁴, and he wanted this country to himself. He would take out enough to buy the black mare⁵ plus enough to buy supplies for the winter. When he finished there would still be gold left, a sort of bank account to be hoarded⁶ against the coming seasons.

 

For three weeks Sam shoveled⁸ and panned. At last he had enough yellow dust in his buck-hide pouch⁹. He carefully buried his shovel⁷, pick, and pan under a pile of rocks, covered his workings, and faced down the ridge.

 

As he trudged¹⁰ slowly through the fields of columbine and mountain lupine, he smiled softly to himself. The major would be completely flabbergasted. Sam laughed aloud, startling a cocky jay. The gaily¹¹ dressed fellow fluffed his feathers and his purple crest¹² bristled¹³. He burst into a volley of angry chattering¹⁴ as he hopped¹⁵ about in a young balsam tree.

 

“Got a right to ha-ha,” Sam said aloud. “The ol’ glory21 hole come through with five hunnert an’ some extra fer grub. Left me a bit fer seed, too.” He continued to chuckle¹⁶ as he tramped along.

 

He trudged on until he could see his mesa through the red trunks of the spruce. Breaking out at the edge of the meadow he halted and stood looking over the familiar scene. Every detail was so familiar to him that he seemed to be entering a room where he had lived a long time. The old yellowbelly whistler sounded a blasting warning and plunged¹⁷ from his high perch¹⁸. Ground squirrels romped¹⁹ to their dens²⁰. On the semibarren little hill the dogs began scolding, “squit-tuck! squit-tuck!” Sam grinned.

 

“Yuh ol’ fool, don’t yuh go makin’ me out no enemy,” he said aloud.

 

His eyes moved eagerly up and down the meadow, then he whistled a few high notes. There was no answering pound of hoofs²¹. The black mare must be at the far end of the mesa.

 

“Must be off cattin’ around,” he mumbled²² as he shuffled²³ to his cabin door.

 

Before Sam entered the cabin the old whistler discovered his mistake. He sounded an all-clear whistle and the meadow came to life. Sam dropped down on his old chair to watch the busy scene. After a time he got to his feet and pulled the latch²⁴ thong²⁵. The door swung inward protestingly. Everything was as he had left it, except that a wandering cowboy had stopped and made himself a pot of tea and fried a snack of bacon. Sam knew, because the skillet was carefully washed and polished and the cracked teapot was washed and turned upside down on the table.

 

Sam shuffled about the cabin peering at the familiar things within its walls. He finally built a fire. He was hungry for oven biscuits and stove-cooked coffee.

 

22

 

He was poking²⁶ the pine-knot fire to high heat when a voice from the open door made him turn. His faded eyes lighted up eagerly as he saw Major Howard standing²⁷ there. The major had a grim set to his eyes and his mustache bristled angrily.

 

“Come on out, Sam,” he said gruffly.

 

“Howdy, major,” Sam said. He began to chuckle. Might as well spring the big surprise right away. Then he saw that there were two men with the major, men wearing nickel-plated stars on the flaps of their wool shirts. He blinked his eyes.

 

“Howdy, sheriff,” he said. He barely knew Sheriff Miller²⁸, had met him only a couple of times.

 

“Now, Sam,” the major broke in harshly, “come clean. What did you do with that Lady Ebony horse?”

 

“Me?” Sam stared at the major.

 

“Yes!” the major snapped. “You took an awful fancy to that filly, wanted to buy her. You’ve been away a long spell. I brought the sheriff up here, so you better talk and talk fast.” The major’s face was beginning to redden as his anger rose.

 

Sam looked from one man to the other, slowly, his gaze searching their faces. Yes, they were in earnest. A horse thief? Bony fingers pulled at his straggling beard. This wasn’t the way men did, it wasn’t square shooting. He did not pause to consider that Major Howard was not a born western mountainman. He stared defiantly²⁹.

 

“So yuh came up here to make me out a hoss thief?”

 

The sheriff stepped forward and spoke³⁰ gruffly to the major. “I’m not here, Howard, to help you badger³¹ this old coot. You swore out a warrant for his arrest. I’m here to serve it.” He turned to Sam. “Get whatever you want to take along. This warrant calls for your arrest—charge is stealing one black mare.”

 

Sam blinked and his eyes shifted to the sheriff’s face.23 In all his life the law had never laid a hand on him. He had had some experiences of his own with horse thieves. When he caught a man with the goods he handled the affair himself. And claim jumpers were met and dealt with according to a man’s rights. He rubbed his bony fingers together. He could explain, he could even take the sheriff to his hidden claim, he could produce the pouch of dust. But it wasn’t the right of any man to ask where he had been or what he had been doing. Besides, the claim wasn’t staked and if fools who didn’t know pockets and glory holes saw that ground there’d be a rush and the whole ridge would be turned upside down. His eyes glinted brightly as he turned toward his door.

 

He backed past the table and one hand lifted to the belt hanging from its willow³² peg³³. His gnarled fingers closed around the familiar butt³⁴ of his forty-five Colt. The gun slid down and snuggled against his hip³⁵. Then he shuffled toward the door.

 

“Get! Get—afore I blast yuh!” he whispered hoarsely³⁶ as he stepped into the sunshine.

 

The deputy saw the gun first. He came to life with a jerk and his hand shot down to his own gun. Sam shot from the hip. His aim wasn’t steady; the black muzzle³⁷ wavered a little because Sam’s old eyes couldn’t see clearly. Black-powder smoke billowed in a blue-white cloud, filling the doorway³⁸. Through the smoke Sam saw the deputy double over, then pitch forward. He was swinging his gun around to bring it down on the major when the sheriff’s boot shot upward and sent it spinning from his hand. The officer’s voice out through the smoke.

 

“Now you got something to answer for, you old coot!”

 

He stepped forward and a heavy hand dropped upon Sam’s shoulder. He was jerked forward and in less than a minute his wrists were handcuffed together. He stood silently watching the sheriff and the major plug the24 deputy’s wound. The man was weak and sick, but he was alive.

 

The major straightened and glared at Sam. He had never intended to have the old fellow jailed, he merely wanted to scare him into revealing what he had done with the black mare. Sam’s reaction irritated and puzzled him. Now the old fool could take whatever the law handed him; the major made up his mind to that.

 

Sheriff Miller had a different slant³⁹ on the affair. He was a mountainman himself. All his life he had dealt with cowhands and miners. He recognized that Sam was acting⁴⁰ as most of them would act under the same conditions. He blamed himself because he had thought Sam too old to have any fire left.

 

“I’m not too proud of this job,” he said sourly to the major.

 

“You’d better do your duty,” the major snapped.

 

The sheriff nodded his head. He turned to Sam.

 

“Now get what you want. We’re going. I’ll go into the cabin with you just to make sure you don’t try anything else.”

 

“I don’t reckon I need anything,” Sam answered.

 

1 bonanza   

n.富矿带，幸运，带来好运的事

参考例句：

• Bargain hunters enjoyed a real bonanza today.到处买便宜货的人今天真是交了好运。
• What a bonanza for the winning ticket holders!对于手持胜券的人来说，这是多好的运气啊。

2 gravel   

n.砂跞；砂砾层；结石

参考例句：

• We bought six bags of gravel for the garden path.我们购买了六袋碎石用来铺花园的小路。
• More gravel is needed to fill the hollow in the drive.需要更多的砾石来填平车道上的坑洼。

3 swarm   

n.(昆虫)等一大群；vi.成群飞舞；蜂拥而入

参考例句：

• There is a swarm of bees in the tree.这树上有一窝蜜蜂。
• A swarm of ants are moving busily.一群蚂蚁正在忙碌地搬家。

4 ridge   

n.山脊；鼻梁；分水岭

参考例句：

• We clambered up the hillside to the ridge above.我们沿着山坡费力地爬上了山脊。
• The infantry were advancing to attack the ridge.步兵部队正在向前挺进攻打山脊。

5 mare   

n.母马，母驴

参考例句：

• The mare has just thrown a foal in the stable.那匹母马刚刚在马厩里产下了一只小马驹。
• The mare foundered under the heavy load and collapsed in the road.那母马因负载过重而倒在路上。

6 hoarded   

v.积蓄并储藏（某物）( hoard的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• It owned great properties and often hoarded huge treasures. 它拥有庞大的财产，同时往往窖藏巨额的财宝。 来自辞典例句
• Sylvia among them, good-naturedly applaud so much long-hoarded treasure of useless knowing. 西尔维亚也在他们中间，为那些长期珍藏的无用知识，友好地、起劲地鼓掌。 来自互联网

7 shovel   

n.铁锨，铲子，一铲之量；v.铲，铲出

参考例句：

• He was working with a pick and shovel.他在用镐和铲干活。
• He seized a shovel and set to.他拿起一把铲就干上了。

8 shoveled   

vt.铲，铲出（shovel的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• The hungry man greedily shoveled the food into his mouth. 那个饥饿的人贪婪地、大口大口地吃。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• They shoveled a path through the snow. 他们在雪中铲出一条小路。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

9 pouch   

n.小袋，小包，囊状袋；vt.装...入袋中，用袋运输；vi.用袋送信件

参考例句：

• He was going to make a tobacco pouch out of them. 他要用它们缝制一个烟草袋。
• The old man is always carrying a tobacco pouch with him.这老汉总是随身带着烟袋。

10 trudged   

vt.& vi.跋涉，吃力地走（trudge的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He trudged the last two miles to the town. 他步履艰难地走完最后两英里到了城里。
• He trudged wearily along the path. 他沿着小路疲惫地走去。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 gaily   

adv.欢乐地，高兴地

参考例句：

• The children sing gaily.孩子们欢唱着。
• She waved goodbye very gaily.她欢快地挥手告别。

12 crest   

n.顶点；饰章；羽冠；vt.达到顶点；vi.形成浪尖

参考例句：

• The rooster bristled his crest.公鸡竖起了鸡冠。
• He reached the crest of the hill before dawn.他于黎明前到达山顶。

13 bristled   

adj. 直立的，多刺毛的 动词bristle的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• They bristled at his denigrating description of their activities. 听到他在污蔑他们的活动，他们都怒发冲冠。
• All of us bristled at the lawyer's speech insulting our forefathers. 听到那个律师在讲演中污蔑我们的祖先，大家都气得怒发冲冠。

14 chattering   

n. （机器振动发出的）咔嗒声，(鸟等)鸣，啁啾 adj. 喋喋不休的，啾啾声的 动词chatter的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• The teacher told the children to stop chattering in class. 老师叫孩子们在课堂上不要叽叽喳喳讲话。
• I was so cold that my teeth were chattering. 我冷得牙齿直打战。

15 hopped   

跳上[下]( hop的过去式和过去分词 )； 单足蹦跳； 齐足（或双足）跳行； 摘葎草花

参考例句：

• He hopped onto a car and wanted to drive to town. 他跳上汽车想开向市区。
• He hopped into a car and drove to town. 他跳进汽车，向市区开去。

16 chuckle   

vi.／n.轻声笑，咯咯笑

参考例句：

• He shook his head with a soft chuckle.他轻轻地笑着摇了摇头。
• I couldn't suppress a soft chuckle at the thought of it.想到这个，我忍不住轻轻地笑起来。

17 plunged   

v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降

参考例句：

• The train derailed and plunged into the river. 火车脱轨栽进了河里。
• She lost her balance and plunged 100 feet to her death. 她没有站稳，从100英尺的高处跌下摔死了。

18 perch   

n.栖木，高位，杆；v.栖息，就位，位于

参考例句：

• The bird took its perch.鸟停歇在栖木上。
• Little birds perch themselves on the branches.小鸟儿栖歇在树枝上。

19 romped   

v.嬉笑玩闹( romp的过去式和过去分词 )；（尤指在赛跑或竞选等中）轻易获胜

参考例句：

• Children romped on the playground. 孩子们在操场上嬉笑玩闹。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• John romped home well ahead of all the other runners. 约翰赛马跑时轻而易举地战胜了所有的选手。 来自辞典例句

20 dens   

n.牙齿，齿状部分；兽窝( den的名词复数 )；窝点；休息室；书斋

参考例句：

• Female bears tend to line their dens with leaves or grass. 母熊往往会在洞穴里垫些树叶或草。 来自辞典例句
• In winter bears usually hibernate in their dens. 冬天熊通常在穴里冬眠。 来自辞典例句

21 hoofs   

n.（兽的）蹄，马蹄( hoof的名词复数 )v.（兽的）蹄，马蹄( hoof的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The stamp of the horse's hoofs on the wooden floor was loud. 马蹄踏在木头地板上的声音很响。 来自辞典例句
• The noise of hoofs called him back to the other window. 马蹄声把他又唤回那扇窗子口。 来自辞典例句

22 mumbled   

含糊地说某事，叽咕，咕哝( mumble的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He mumbled something to me which I did not quite catch. 他对我叽咕了几句话，可我没太听清楚。
• George mumbled incoherently to himself. 乔治语无伦次地喃喃自语。

23 shuffled   

v.洗（纸牌）( shuffle的过去式和过去分词 )；拖着脚步走；粗心地做；摆脱尘世的烦恼

参考例句：

• He shuffled across the room to the window. 他拖着脚走到房间那头的窗户跟前。
• Simon shuffled awkwardly towards them. 西蒙笨拙地拖着脚朝他们走去。 来自《简明英汉词典》

24 latch   

n.门闩，窗闩；弹簧锁

参考例句：

• She laid her hand on the latch of the door.她把手放在门闩上。
• The repairman installed an iron latch on the door.修理工在门上安了铁门闩。

25 thong   

n.皮带；皮鞭；v.装皮带

参考例句：

• He fastened the dog to the post with a thong.他用一根皮带把狗拴到柱子上。
• If I switch with Harry,do I have to wear a thong?如果我和哈里调换，我应该穿皮带吗？

26 poking   

n. 刺，戳，袋 vt. 拨开，刺，戳 vi. 戳，刺，捅，搜索，伸出，行动散慢

参考例句：

• He was poking at the rubbish with his stick. 他正用手杖拨动垃圾。
• He spent his weekends poking around dusty old bookshops. 他周末都泡在布满尘埃的旧书店里。

27 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

28 miller   

n.磨坊主

参考例句：

• Every miller draws water to his own mill.磨坊主都往自己磨里注水。
• The skilful miller killed millions of lions with his ski.技术娴熟的磨坊主用雪橇杀死了上百万头狮子。

29 defiantly   

adv.挑战地，大胆对抗地

参考例句：

• Braving snow and frost, the plum trees blossomed defiantly. 红梅傲雪凌霜开。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• She tilted her chin at him defiantly. 她向他翘起下巴表示挑衅。 来自《简明英汉词典》

30 spoke   

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

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

31 badger   

v.一再烦扰，一再要求，纠缠

参考例句：

• Now that our debts are squared.Don't badger me with them any more.我们的债务两清了。从此以后不要再纠缠我了。
• If you badger him long enough,I'm sure he'll agree.只要你天天纠缠他，我相信他会同意。

32 willow   

n.柳树

参考例句：

• The river was sparsely lined with willow trees.河边疏疏落落有几棵柳树。
• The willow's shadow falls on the lake.垂柳的影子倒映在湖面上。

33 peg   

n.木栓，木钉；vt.用木钉钉，用短桩固定

参考例句：

• Hang your overcoat on the peg in the hall.把你的大衣挂在门厅的挂衣钩上。
• He hit the peg mightily on the top with a mallet.他用木槌猛敲木栓顶。

34 butt   

n.笑柄；烟蒂；枪托；臀部；v.用头撞或顶

参考例句：

• The water butt catches the overflow from this pipe.大水桶盛接管子里流出的东西。
• He was the butt of their jokes.他是他们的笑柄。

35 hip   

n.臀部，髋；屋脊

参考例句：

• The thigh bone is connected to the hip bone.股骨连着髋骨。
• The new coats blouse gracefully above the hip line.新外套在臀围线上优美地打着褶皱。

36 hoarsely   

adv.嘶哑地

参考例句：

• "Excuse me," he said hoarsely. “对不起。”他用嘶哑的嗓子说。
• Jerry hoarsely professed himself at Miss Pross's service. 杰瑞嘶声嘶气地表示愿为普洛丝小姐效劳。 来自英汉文学 - 双城记

37 muzzle   

n.鼻口部；口套；枪(炮)口；vt.使缄默

参考例句：

• He placed the muzzle of the pistol between his teeth.他把手枪的枪口放在牙齿中间。
• The President wanted to muzzle the press.总统企图遏制新闻自由。

38 doorway   

n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径

参考例句：

• They huddled in the shop doorway to shelter from the rain.他们挤在商店门口躲雨。
• Mary suddenly appeared in the doorway.玛丽突然出现在门口。

39 slant   

v.倾斜，倾向性地编写或报道；n.斜面，倾向

参考例句：

• The lines are drawn on a slant.这些线条被画成斜线。
• The editorial had an antiunion slant.这篇社论有一种反工会的倾向。

40 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。