CHAPTER III ROBINSON'S PARTNER

 Jake Harper had once been a very large man. Now he was a little bowed with age, a bit heavy with superfluous² flesh, his hair quite white, his face seamed with heavy lines. The old eyes were keen as ever; the heavy mustache, fresh dyed a lustrous³ black, gave the beholder⁴ a decided⁵ shock when contrasted with white hair and brows. He rode a huge, rawboned beast whose eye was roving and vicious—a brute⁶ named Celestine. No man but Jake had ever ridden her, and no man wanted to. Celestine had a reputation.

 

When he came upon Arnold and Robinson waiting in the road, Jake Harper drew rein⁷ very abruptly⁸. At sight of Robinson's laughing gaze, a shock of surprise crossed his seamed features. His eyes opened wide.

 

"For the love of Mike!" he uttered. "You!"

 

"C'rect the first shot as usual, Jake. Sure's my name's Jack⁹ Robinson, it's me! I been having quite a bit o' talk with Arnold; friendly and peaceable. How're you, Jake?"

 

They shook hands warmly. Suddenly old Jake broke into a storm of affectionate curses. His huge paw pounded Robinson on the back again and again.

 

"Boy, I'm glad to see ye!" he cried, lustily roaring the words. "Dog-gone it, I'm the happiest man in the Territory—State, I mean. Hurray! By gosh, if I'd knowed it was you under that black hat——"

 

"Uh-huh." Robinson's eyes crinkled. "I thought you was layin' up there in the brush, most likely. Right here and now, Jake, I utters heartfelt thanks. Sure's my name's Jack Robinson, I ain't a bit scart to explore the other world, but I don't aim to do it any sooner than I have to. If you hadn't attended to Mr. Knute, I'd certain sure be wandering lonesome and lonely the other side Jordan this minute. That's what comes of bein' a stranger, now. Say, Sam Fisher said to tell you he couldn't get away, so I come instead."

 

"Huh?" Jake Harper puffed¹⁰ out his cheeks. "Oh, he did, did he? Durned fool, that Sam Fisher! Got a big repytation and ain't got the nerve to live up to it! Hey, Arnold! What in time are you exposin' your flannels¹¹ for thataway?"

 

Arnold grinned. "I got swiped by a long-distance bee, thirty-thirty caliber," he said. "If you ain't got no objections, Jake, where's Matt Brady and Knute?"

 

Jake Harper twirled his vivid black mustache. "I dunno," he responded thoughtfully. "I could make a blamed good guess where they ain't, though; they ain't reposin' on no fleecy clouds with a harp¹ in each hand! This here Jack Robinson is severeal seconds faster'n Matt Brady was, Arnold; yes, sir, severeal! Guess I'd better give him a job, hadn't I?"

 

Arnold put out his hand to Robinson again, and they shook. "Guess you had, Jake," he responded. "They tried the old game on the stranger, eh? Knute off to one side?"

 

"Uh-huh—blamed near got him, too, only I was watchin' the trail. Let's travel, gents. We got to git home 'fore¹² dark."

 

"You seem to have met before," observed Arnold.

 

"Once or twice," said Robinson, and chuckled¹³. A huge billow of laughter shook the big frame of Jake Harper, as though there were some unuttered joke.

 

After this they rode on in silence. Jake Harper, old Indian fighter, ex-scout, plainsman, and borderer, was plainly in high fettle over the day's events. Every now and again his eye rested upon the slim figure of Jack Robinson, and a vast good humor rolled into his features. The presence of this young man appeared hugely gratifying to him.

 

"Ain't been so happy," he blurted¹⁵, breaking the silence only once, "since me and ol' John Parker met up with Gen'ral Reno one day in San Francisco, all three of us plumb¹⁶ lonesome, and not knowin' they was a friend in ten miles. Sure is good to see ye, boy."

 

Robinson nodded, but did not respond.

 

It was dusk when they reached the Harper ranch¹⁷. Robinson left his pinto at the corral, shook hands with half a dozen punchers whom he could scarcely see, and followed Jake Harper to the big house on the knoll¹⁸. As soon as he set foot in the porch, Jake turned.

 

"The house is yourn!" he said emphatically. "Set an' talk! We eats with the boys when supper's ready. Meantime, talk!"

 

"Suits me." Robinson dropped into a chair. "You weren't in town to-day?"

 

"Nope." Jake Harper lowered his bulk into a groaning¹⁹ rocker. "I got so danged much rheumatiz lately it's knocked me up. You didn't meet Mig Cervantes?"

 

"Uh-huh. Met him and Buck²⁰ and Mike and a man calling himself Murphy, only he was Matt Brady's brother—Pincher. Maybe you remember him? Bad to the backbone²¹."

 

"You met 'em?" asked Jake Harper. "All of 'em?"

 

Robinson laughed softly. "Yep. Also Sheriff Tracy. I left town in a hurry. Pincher Brady has a sore hand, but no one was hurt. By the way, I had quite a long talk with Frank Shumway last week."

 

"My lord! You did?" Jake Harper was eager, incredulous, astonished. "How come? Thought Buck was keeping a close watch on things."

 

"Sam Fisher sent me up to the pen," Robinson chuckled. "Frank gets out next spring. He's in pretty fair shape, but badly worried. I bucked²² him up and promised we'd take care of everything here. By the way, Jake, Templeton Buck has a fine scheme lined out. He got Pincher Brady here to handle it. He bought the Shumway mortgage in Pincher's name—assumed name, I should say, of Murphy. He aims to let Murphy foreclose, then to step up and rescue Estella. I don't understand it all myself. Isn't Estella wise to him?"

 

Jake Harper tugged²³ at his mustache.

 

"She is, and she ain't," he returned, rumbling²⁴ his words. "Buck, he's played his cards mighty²⁵ cute with her, allowing he's done all in his power to git Frank out of jail and so forth²⁶. Between you and me, I suspicions that Buck has got a friend in the post office, and that he ain't above monkeying with letters."

 

"That's old stuff," said Robinson calmly. "You folks up here have a fine county organization, looks like."

 

The insistent²⁷ banging of a tin pan interrupted them, and they hastily departed.

 

Seated about the chuck table with the half-dozen Circle Bar boys, Robinson sized up things without much trouble. Except for Arnold, the Circle Bar had no young blood at all. An old Swede and his wife took care of the place. The foreman was a grizzled, crippled person who had helped to run down Geronimo—and held his job on the strength of it.

 

The other men were much of the same stamp, all of them elderly, one or two efficient, but working for Jake Harper because they had appealed to his soft side, not because they were first-class range men. Jake introduced Robinson as a new hand who was going to do some special work for him, and let it go at that. Few of the men paid much attention or seemed interested.

 

To Robinson the meal was tragic²⁸. He had looked for help here, and found none. When it was over, he pushed back his chair and left. Out in the open air, he found Arnold at his elbow, with a quiet chuckle¹⁴.

 

"Live bunch, ain't it?" opined Arnold. "Looks to me, Red, like you was some disappointed."

 

"What at?" queried²⁹ Robinson.

 

"Ain't my business." Arnold rolled a cigarette with elaborate carelessness. "Only, I ain't seen you throw no war bag into a bunk³⁰. I been thinkin' more or less about quittin' here anyhow, and applying for a job over to the Lazy S."

 

"Oh!" said Robinson. "Call you Mister Arnold over there, would they?"

 

"It's always been Steve around home."

 

"Oh! All right, Steve. You and me, what say we go ridin' for a change?"

 

"Your hoss look plumb wore out, Red."

 

"Maybe we can get Jake to lend us a bit o' flesh. What about it, Jake?" Robinson turned, as Jake Harper joined them under the stars. "Steve, here, he allows there's too much excitement around these parts to suit him. I agrees with him plenty. Can I put my rope on a couple of your broncs and get Steve to take me out and show me the country?"

 

Jake Harper inspected the two slender figures, hands on his hips³¹.

 

"Dog-gone it!" he broke out plaintively³². "Here I been ridin' and crawlin' in the bresh all day, and now you-all aims to go away, and figgers I'm too blamed wore out to trail along! Why don't you stick around and talk a while, Robinson?"

 

"What you want to go for, Jake?" queried Robinson softly. "S'pose Buck and Pincher Brady, or Murphy, comes ridin' along here in about half an hour to inquire about the red-headed stranger what took the wrong road to Laredo and met up with Matt Brady and Knute—huh? If you wasn't here, where'd I be? That's a conundrum³³."

 

"And what's the answer to the durned thing?" asked the old plainsman.

 

"That you're the fanciest liar³⁴ ever I did see, Jake, when it's plumb necessary. Also, that you don't give a hoot³⁵ for Buck—and if you was setting on your front porch with the lights out and a Winchester handy, Buck and his friends would be mighty slow about startin' any ructions with you."

 

"Oh!" said Jake, fingering his very black mustache. "I see! You think I'd lie to save your worthless neck?"

 

"You seen Matt Brady draw first, didn't you?"

 

"Uh-huh, now I think about it—he done so." Jake Harper chuckled. "That's all right, boy; I know what's stirrin' in your fool brain, too. Ye think the Circle Bar bunch is too old an' helpless to stir much, huh? Well, jest you go along. Take anything you fancy in the corral, boys, and remember me to Estella. I'll be over myself in a day or two."

 

Arnold and Robinson started away together, and lost themselves in the shadows near the corral. Robinson touched his companion's arm.

 

"Steve, any time you think old Jake is slow, guess again! Friend Buck is coming along here pretty soon, and he'll run into a surprise party. Meantime, we'll be elsewhere."

 

Steve Arnold grunted³⁶. "What you want to run for, then?"

 

"Me? I ain't running," and Robinson laughed. "I'm off to see the country, that's all. Maybe Miss Shumway will sort of take to me more, if you introduce me."

 

Arnold glanced at him suspiciously.

 

"You tryin' to run some joke on me, Red?"

 

"None a-tall, Steve; cross my heart! Sure's my name's Jack Robinson, I'm a quiet and peaceable stranger what always gets took in. When Jake Harper gets done orating to Buck, that affluent³⁷ gentleman will give up lookin' for me, except by accident. He won't be real sure whether I'm workin' for Jake or not, and the Circle Bar boys won't be sure neither. In fact, nobody will be sure of anything, except you and me. That's the best way to play her, ain't it?"

 

"Looks all right," vouchsafed³⁸ Arnold. "Got your saddle handy?"

 

Ten minutes later the two were quietly drawing away from the Circle Bar without making any effusive³⁹ farewells. They had been riding for perhaps five minutes more, when both pulled up their horses suddenly. Across the night lifted the faint bang of a shotgun.

 

"That's Jake's old Brown Bess," said Steve. "Trouble back of us!"

 

Robinson held up a hand for silence. They sat motionless, listening. No further shot came, and Robinson relaxed with a soft laugh.

 

"Nope, no trouble. We slid out just in time, Steve. Buck comes riding up, and old Jake salutes⁴⁰ him out of the darkness, then apologizes for the mistake. Savvy⁴¹? Buck accepts the apology—otherwise we'd have heard real trouble a-starting. Let's go, cowboy!"

 

They merged⁴² into the darkness. The moon would not be up until midnight.

 

1 harp   

n.竖琴；天琴座

参考例句：

• She swept her fingers over the strings of the harp.她用手指划过竖琴的琴弦。
• He played an Irish melody on the harp.他用竖琴演奏了一首爱尔兰曲调。

2 superfluous   

adj.过多的，过剩的，多余的

参考例句：

• She fined away superfluous matter in the design. 她删去了这图案中多余的东西。
• That request seemed superfluous when I wrote it.我这样写的时候觉得这个请求似乎是多此一举。

3 lustrous   

adj.有光泽的；光辉的

参考例句：

• Mary has a head of thick,lustrous,wavy brown hair.玛丽有一头浓密、富有光泽的褐色鬈发。
• This mask definitely makes the skin fair and lustrous.这款面膜可以异常有用的使肌肤变亮和有光泽。

4 beholder   

n.观看者，旁观者

参考例句：

• Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. 看起来觉得美就是美。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• It has been said that art is a tryst, for in the joy of it maker and beholder meet. 有人说艺术是一种幽会，因为艺术家和欣赏者可在幽会的乐趣中相遇在一起。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

6 brute   

n.野兽，兽性

参考例句：

• The aggressor troops are not many degrees removed from the brute.侵略军简直象一群野兽。
• That dog is a dangerous brute.It bites people.那条狗是危险的畜牲，它咬人。

7 rein   

n.疆绳，统治，支配；vt.以僵绳控制，统治

参考例句：

• The horse answered to the slightest pull on the rein.只要缰绳轻轻一拉,马就作出反应。
• He never drew rein for a moment till he reached the river.他一刻不停地一直跑到河边。

8 abruptly   

adv.突然地，出其不意地

参考例句：

• He gestured abruptly for Virginia to get in the car.他粗鲁地示意弗吉尼亚上车。
• I was abruptly notified that a half-hour speech was expected of me.我突然被通知要讲半个小时的话。

9 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

10 puffed   

adj.疏松的v.使喷出( puff的过去式和过去分词 )；喷着汽（或烟）移动；吹嘘；吹捧

参考例句：

• He lit a cigarette and puffed at it furiously. 他点燃了一支香烟，狂吸了几口。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He felt grown-up, puffed up with self-importance. 他觉得长大了，便自以为了不起。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 flannels   

法兰绒男裤； 法兰绒( flannel的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Erik had been seen in flannels and an imitation Panama hat. 人们看到埃里克身穿法兰绒裤，头戴仿制巴拿马草帽。
• He is wearing flannels and a blue jacket. 他穿着一条法兰绒裤子和一件蓝夹克。

12 fore   

adv.在前面；adj.先前的；在前部的；n.前部

参考例句：

• Your seat is in the fore part of the aircraft.你的座位在飞机的前部。
• I have the gift of fore knowledge.我能够未卜先知。

13 chuckled   

轻声地笑( chuckle的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She chuckled at the memory. 想起这件事她就暗自发笑。
• She chuckled softly to herself as she remembered his astonished look. 想起他那惊讶的表情，她就轻轻地暗自发笑。

14 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。

15 blurted   

v.突然说出，脱口而出( blurt的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She blurted it out before I could stop her. 我还没来得及制止，她已脱口而出。
• He blurted out the truth, that he committed the crime. 他不慎说出了真相，说是他犯了那个罪。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 plumb   

adv.精确地，完全地；v.了解意义，测水深

参考例句：

• No one could plumb the mystery.没人能看破这秘密。
• It was unprofitable to plumb that sort of thing.这种事弄个水落石出没有什么好处。

17 ranch   

n.大牧场，大农场

参考例句：

• He went to work on a ranch.他去一个大农场干活。
• The ranch is in the middle of a large plateau.该牧场位于一个辽阔高原的中部。

18 knoll   

n.小山，小丘

参考例句：

• Silver had terrible hard work getting up the knoll.对于希尔弗来说，爬上那小山丘真不是件容易事。
• He crawled up a small knoll and surveyed the prospect.他慢腾腾地登上一个小丘，看了看周围的地形。

19 groaning   

adj. 呜咽的, 呻吟的 动词groan的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• She's always groaning on about how much she has to do. 她总抱怨自己干很多活儿。
• The wounded man lay there groaning, with no one to help him. 受伤者躺在那里呻吟着，无人救助。

20 buck   

n.雄鹿，雄兔；v.马离地跳跃

参考例句：

• The boy bent curiously to the skeleton of the buck.这个男孩好奇地弯下身去看鹿的骸骨。
• The female deer attracts the buck with high-pitched sounds.雌鹿以尖声吸引雄鹿。

21 backbone   

n.脊骨，脊柱，骨干；刚毅，骨气

参考例句：

• The Chinese people have backbone.中国人民有骨气。
• The backbone is an articulate structure.脊椎骨是一种关节相连的结构。

22 bucked   

adj.快v.（马等）猛然弓背跃起( buck的过去式和过去分词 )；抵制；猛然震荡；马等尥起后蹄跳跃

参考例句：

• When he tried to ride the horse, it bucked wildly. 当他试图骑上这匹马时，它突然狂暴地跃了起来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The plane bucked a strong head wind. 飞机顶着强烈的逆风飞行。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

23 tugged   

v.用力拉，使劲拉，猛扯( tug的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She tugged at his sleeve to get his attention. 她拽了拽他的袖子引起他的注意。
• A wry smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. 他的嘴角带一丝苦笑。 来自《简明英汉词典》

24 rumbling   

n. 隆隆声, 辘辘声 adj. 隆隆响的 动词rumble的现在分词

参考例句：

• The earthquake began with a deep [low] rumbling sound. 地震开始时发出低沉的隆隆声。
• The crane made rumbling sound. 吊车发出隆隆的响声。

25 mighty   

adj.强有力的；巨大的

参考例句：

• A mighty force was about to break loose.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。
• The mighty iceberg came into view.巨大的冰山出现在眼前。

26 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

27 insistent   

adj.迫切的，坚持的

参考例句：

• There was an insistent knock on my door.我听到一阵急促的敲门声。
• He is most insistent on this point.他在这点上很坚持。

28 tragic   

adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的

参考例句：

• The effect of the pollution on the beaches is absolutely tragic.污染海滩后果可悲。
• Charles was a man doomed to tragic issues.查理是个注定不得善终的人。

29 queried   

v.质疑，对…表示疑问( query的过去式和过去分词 )；询问

参考例句：

• She queried what he said. 她对他说的话表示怀疑。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• \"What does he have to do?\" queried Chin dubiously. “他有什么心事？”琴向觉民问道，她的脸上现出疑惑不解的神情。 来自汉英文学 - 家（1-26） - 家（1-26）

30 bunk   

n.(车、船等倚壁而设的)铺位；废话

参考例句：

• He left his bunk and went up on deck again.他离开自己的铺位再次走到甲板上。
• Most economists think his theories are sheer bunk.大多数经济学家认为他的理论纯属胡说。

31 hips   

abbr.high impact polystyrene 高冲击强度聚苯乙烯，耐冲性聚苯乙烯n.臀部( hip的名词复数 )；[建筑学]屋脊；臀围（尺寸）；臀部…的

参考例句：

• She stood with her hands on her hips. 她双手叉腰站着。
• They wiggled their hips to the sound of pop music. 他们随着流行音乐的声音摇晃着臀部。 来自《简明英汉词典》

32 plaintively   

adv.悲哀地，哀怨地

参考例句：

• The last note of the song rang out plaintively. 歌曲最后道出了离别的哀怨。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Birds cry plaintively before they die, men speak kindly in the presence of death. 鸟之将死，其鸣也哀；人之将死，其言也善。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

33 conundrum   

n.谜语；难题

参考例句：

• Let me give you some history about a conundrum.让我给你们一些关于谜题的历史。
• Scientists had focused on two explanations to solve this conundrum.科学家已锁定两种解释来解开这个难题。

34 liar   

n.说谎的人

参考例句：

• I know you for a thief and a liar!我算认识你了，一个又偷又骗的家伙！
• She was wrongly labelled a liar.她被错误地扣上说谎者的帽子。

35 hoot   

n.鸟叫声，汽车的喇叭声； v.使汽车鸣喇叭

参考例句：

• The sudden hoot of a whistle broke into my thoughts.突然响起的汽笛声打断了我的思路。
• In a string of shrill hoot of the horn sound,he quickly ran to her.在一串尖声鸣叫的喇叭声中，他快速地跑向她。

36 grunted   

（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

参考例句：

• She just grunted, not deigning to look up from the page. 她只咕哝了一声，继续看书，不屑抬起头来看一眼。
• She grunted some incomprehensible reply. 她咕噜着回答了些令人费解的话。

37 affluent   

adj.富裕的，富有的，丰富的，富饶的

参考例句：

• He hails from an affluent background.他出身于一个富有的家庭。
• His parents were very affluent.他的父母很富裕。

38 vouchsafed   

v.给予，赐予( vouchsafe的过去式和过去分词 )；允诺

参考例句：

• He vouchsafed to me certain family secrets. 他让我知道了某些家庭秘密。
• The significance of the event does, indeed, seem vouchsafed. 这个事件看起来确实具有重大意义。 来自辞典例句

39 effusive   

adj.热情洋溢的；感情(过多)流露的

参考例句：

• Every visitor noticed that her effusive welcome was not sincere.所有的客人都看出来她那过分热情的欢迎是不真诚的。
• Her effusive thanks embarrassed everybody.她道谢时非常激动，弄得大家不好意思。

40 salutes   

n.致敬，欢迎，敬礼( salute的名词复数 )v.欢迎，致敬( salute的第三人称单数 )；赞扬，赞颂

参考例句：

• Poulengey salutes, and stands at the door awaiting orders. 波仑日行礼，站在门口听侯命令。 来自辞典例句
• A giant of the world salutes you. 一位世界的伟人向你敬礼呢。 来自辞典例句

41 savvy   

v.知道，了解；n.理解能力，机智，悟性；adj.有见识的，懂实际知识的，通情达理的

参考例句：

• She was a pretty savvy woman.她是个见过世面的漂亮女人。
• Where's your savvy?你的常识到哪里去了？

42 merged   

（使）混合( merge的过去式和过去分词 )； 相融； 融入； 渐渐消失在某物中

参考例句：

• Turf wars are inevitable when two departments are merged. 两个部门合并时总免不了争争权限。
• The small shops were merged into a large market. 那些小商店合并成为一个大商场。