CHAPTER XXIX. — A STRANGE OCCURRENCE.

 "Do you know," inquired Sterry, "how soon it is contemplated¹ making the attack?"

 

"I have not heard Inman or Cadmus say, but from the talk of the men I judge it will be quite soon."

 

"Probably within a couple of hours?" "Sooner than that—by 9 o'clock at the latest."

 

It was the mother who now spoke²: "Suppose Jennie and I decline to leave the house?"

 

"That has been considered," replied the son, "and I am sorry to say it will make no difference. The rustlers are in an uglier mood than before—wrathful because they have been kept idle so long. They can claim that they have given you ample notice, and if you refuse to come out they cannot be held blamable for the consequences."

 

This would never do, and Hawkridge interposed:

 

"If the attack cannot be prevented, Fred, it must be delayed."

 

"On what grounds?"

 

"Any that you can think of; they must not disturb us until near midnight."

 

"But I shall have to give a reason; I am as anxious as you to do my utmost, but I do not see how I can do anything."

 

The quick wit of Jennie came to the rescue.

 

"Tell Capt. Inman and Larch³ Cadmus for me that we have a number of articles we wish to save from destruction; ask them in the name of mother and myself to give us time in which to gather them together."

 

Fred was silent for a moment.

 

"At least it will do no harm to try it, even though I do not believe it will be of any use."

 

"Ask them to make it between 11 and 12; we will then have time to collect all we want—in fact a good deal more time than is necessary."

 

"I do not see the need of this," replied the brother, who, it need not be repeated, had no knowledge of what was in the minds of the few; "I think I can say that if I do not return in the course of ten or fifteen minutes, you may consider your prayer granted."

 

Bidding them good-by once more, he passed out of the door and disappeared in the darkness, which had now fully⁴ descended⁵ and shut from sight the impatient rustlers.

 

It was a peculiar⁶ situation in which the defenders⁷, including the mother and sister, dreaded⁸ the return of the head of the household, but the front of the dwelling⁹ was watched with an intensity¹⁰ of interest it would be hard to describe.

 

"By gracious! there he is!" exclaimed Dick Hawkridge, hardly ten minutes after Fred's departure; "it's no use."

 

A shadowy figure was observed moving across the dark space in front, but while they were waiting for him to enter the door, which was unfastened to admit him, he passed on and vanished in the gloom without checking his motion or speaking.

 

"That wasn't Fred," whispered Jennie; "I know his walk too well."

 

"It makes no difference," replied Sterry, "you can depend that he will soon put in an appearance."

 

But the slow minutes dragged along and nothing was seen of him. By and by a faint hope began to form that the urgent request of the ladies had been conceded, for they insisted that they could see no reason why it should not be.

 

A full hour passed, and, when it was after 9 o'clock, all doubt was removed. The attack would not be made until close upon midnight. Monteith Sterry would be given the chance, provided Duke Vesey showed the way for him.

 

The crisis was so near that it was deemed best to let all know what was in contemplation. Capt. Asbury, therefore, explained it to the men, as the daughter had explained to the mother.

 

"Those fellows can't be trusted," the leader added; "they may seek to give the impression that the delay has been granted, while preparing to assail¹¹ us when least expected. The night is dark, as you see, and favourable¹² to their plans. Keep the closest watch possible on all sides of the house, for to set fire to it they must approach near enough to touch the building."

 

"Suppose we catch sight of some one stealing up?" asked one of the cattlemen.

 

"Challenge him, and if he does not give a satisfactory response, fire."

 

"What will be a satisfactory response?"

 

"The voice of Fred Whitney, and I may say of Duke Vesey, or the announcement that the individual is the bearer of a message for us. In the latter case, of course, he will approach from the front. When you shoot, too, boys, you mustn't throw away any shots, for this isn't going to be child's play."

 

"We understand that," was the significant response of a couple of the stockmen.

 

It was now growing so late that Sterry placed himself near the rear door to watch for the expected signal from Vesey, feeling, as the minutes passed, a nervousness greater than at any time before.

 

Since no light burned in the house, the only means of determining the hour was by striking a match and holding it in front of a watch. Hope became high when 10 o'clock was at hand.

 

Sterry half expected, in case everything promised well, that Vesey would manage to give something in the nature of a preliminary signal, but the closest scrutiny¹³ showed nothing of the kind.

 

Capt. Asbury, who maintained his place near one of the front windows, close to the door, suddenly called:

 

"Come here a moment, Sterry."

 

The young man stepped hastily across the room.

 

"You have everything clear in your mind?" was the question which struck the young man as slightly inopportune.

 

"Yes; as clear as I can have; why do you ask?"

 

"I wanted to be certain, for your task is a delicate one; we will hold the door ajar a little while after you go, so that if anything happens, such as their recognizing you, you will be able to dash back. You know it won't do for you to be identified."

 

"I understand," replied Sterry, who felt that he ought to be at his post.

 

He hastily stepped back, and as he did so was surprised to find the door drawn¹⁴ open several inches.

 

"What does that mean?" he asked of the several gathered around in the darkness, whose faces he could not see.

 

"Why," replied Hawkridge, "what does it mean, indeed? I thought you passed out just now."

 

"You see I did not. Why do you make such a remark?"

 

"Some one went out," was the amazing declaration.

1 contemplated   

adj. 预期的 动词contemplate的过去分词形式

参考例句：

• The doctor contemplated the difficult operation he had to perform. 医生仔细地考虑他所要做的棘手的手术。
• The government has contemplated reforming the entire tax system. 政府打算改革整个税收体制。

2 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。

3 larch   

n.落叶松

参考例句：

• This pine is called the larch.这棵松树是落叶松。
• I shall be under those larch trees.我将在那些落叶松下面。

4 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

5 descended   

a.为...后裔的，出身于...的

参考例句：

• A mood of melancholy descended on us. 一种悲伤的情绪袭上我们的心头。
• The path descended the hill in a series of zigzags. 小路呈连续的之字形顺着山坡蜿蜒而下。

6 peculiar   

adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的

参考例句：

• He walks in a peculiar fashion.他走路的样子很奇特。
• He looked at me with a very peculiar expression.他用一种很奇怪的表情看着我。

7 defenders   

n.防御者( defender的名词复数 )；守卫者；保护者；辩护者

参考例句：

• The defenders were outnumbered and had to give in. 抵抗者寡不敌众，只能投降。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• After hard fighting,the defenders were still masters of the city. 守军经过奋战仍然控制着城市。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 dreaded   

adj.令人畏惧的；害怕的v.害怕，恐惧，担心( dread的过去式和过去分词)

参考例句：

• The dreaded moment had finally arrived. 可怕的时刻终于来到了。
• He dreaded having to spend Christmas in hospital. 他害怕非得在医院过圣诞节不可。 来自《用法词典》

9 dwelling   

n.住宅，住所，寓所

参考例句：

• Those two men are dwelling with us.那两个人跟我们住在一起。
• He occupies a three-story dwelling place on the Park Street.他在派克街上有一幢3层楼的寓所。

10 intensity   

n.强烈，剧烈；强度；烈度

参考例句：

• I didn't realize the intensity of people's feelings on this issue.我没有意识到这一问题能引起群情激奋。
• The strike is growing in intensity.罢工日益加剧。

11 assail   

v.猛烈攻击，抨击，痛斥

参考例句：

• The opposition's newspapers assail the government each day.反对党的报纸每天都对政府进行猛烈抨击。
• We should assist parents not assail them.因此我们应该帮助父母们，而不是指责他们。

12 favourable   

adj.赞成的，称赞的，有利的，良好的，顺利的

参考例句：

• The company will lend you money on very favourable terms.这家公司将以非常优惠的条件借钱给你。
• We found that most people are favourable to the idea.我们发现大多数人同意这个意见。

13 scrutiny   

n.详细检查，仔细观察

参考例句：

• His work looks all right,but it will not bear scrutiny.他的工作似乎很好，但是经不起仔细检查。
• Few wives in their forties can weather such a scrutiny.很少年过四十的妻子经得起这么仔细的观察。

14 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。