The Lawtons were not going to the picnic. Bennington was to take Mary down to Rapid, where the girl was to stay with a certain Dr. McPherson of the School of Mines.
An early start was accomplished1. They rode down the gulch2 through the dwarf3 oaks, past the farthermost point, and so out into the hard level dirt road of Battle Creek4 canon. Beyond were the pines, and a rugged5 road, flint-edged, full of dips and rises, turns and twists, hovering6 on edges, or bosoming itself in deep rock-strewn cuts. Mary's little pony7 cantered recklessly through it all, scampering8 along like a playful dog after a stone, leading Bennington's larger animal by several feet. He had full leisure to notice the regular flop9 of the Tam o'Shanter over the lighter10 dance of the hair, the increasing rosiness11 of the cheeks dimpled into almost continual laughter, to catch stray snatches of gay little remarks thrown out at random12 as they tore along. After a time they drew out from the shadow of the pines into the clearing at Rockerville, where the hydraulic13 "giants" had eaten away the hill-sides, and left in them ugly unhealed sores. Then more rough pine-shadowed roads, from which occasionally would open for a moment broad vistas14 of endless glades15, clear as parks, breathless descents, or sharp steep cuts at the bottom of which Spring Creek, or as much of it as was not turned into the Rockerville sluices16, brawled17 or idled along. It was time for lunch, so they dismounted near a deep still pool and ate. The ponies18 cropped the sparse19 grasses, or twisted on their backs, all four legs in the air. Squirrels chattered20 and scolded overhead. Some of the indigo-coloured jays of the lowlands shot in long level flight between the trees. The girl and the boy helped each other, hindered each other, playing here and there near the Question, but swerving21 always deliciously just in time.
After lunch, more riding through more pines. The road dipped strongly once, then again; and then abruptly22 the forest ceased, and they found themselves cantering over broad rolling meadows knee-high with grasses, from which meadow larks23 rose in all directions like grasshoppers24. Soon after they passed the canvas "schooners25" of some who had started the evening before. Down the next long slope the ponies dropped cautiously with bunched feet and tentative steps. Spring Creek was forded for the last time, another steep grassy26 hill was surmounted27, and they looked abroad into Rapid Valley and over to the prairie beyond.
Behind them the Hills lay, dark with the everlasting28 greenery of the North--even, low, with only sun-browned Harney to raise its cliff-like front above the rest of the range. As though by a common impulse they reined29 in their horses and looked back.
"I wonder just where the Rock is?" she mused30.
They tried to guess at its location.
The treeless ridge31 on which they were now standing32 ran like a belt outside the Hills. They journeyed along its summit until late in the afternoon, and then all at once found the city of Rapid lying below them at the mouth of a mighty33 canon, like a toy village on fine velvet34 brown.
In the city they separated, Mary going to the McPhersons', Bennington to the hotel. It was now near to sunset, so it was agreed that Bennington was to come round the following morning to get her. At the hotel Bennington spent an interesting evening viewing the pioneers with their variety of costume, manners, and speech. He heard many good stories, humorous and blood-curdling, and it was very late before he finally got to bed.
The immediate35 consequence was that he was equally late to breakfast. He hurried through that meal and stepped out into the street, with the intention of hastening to Dr. McPherson's for Mary, but this he found to be impossible because of the overcrowded condition of the streets. The sports of the day had already begun. From curb36 to curb the way was jammed with a dense37 mass of men, women, and children, through whom he had to worm his way. After ten feet of this, he heard his name called, and looking up, caught sight of Mary herself, perched on a dry-goods box, frantically38 waving a handkerchief in his direction.
"You're a nice one!" she cried in mock reproach as he struggled toward her. Her eyes were bright and her cheeks flew red signals of enjoyment39.
Bennington explained.
"I know. Well, it didn't matter, any way. I just captured this box. Climb up. There's room. I've lost the doctor and Mrs. McPherson already."
Two mounted men, decorated with huge tin marshals' badges, rode slowly along forcing the crowd back to the right and to the left. The first horse race was on. Suddenly there was an eager scramble40, a cloud of dust, a swift impression of dim ghostlike figures. It was over. The crowd flowed into the street again.
The two pressed together, hand in hand, on the top of the dry-goods box. They laughed at each other and everything. Something beautiful was very near to them, for this was the Pioneer's Picnic, and both remembered that the Pioneer's Picnic marked the limit of many things.
"What's next? What's next?" she called excitedly to a tall young cattleman.
The cowboy looked up at her, and his face relaxed into a pleased smile.
"Why, it's a drillin' match over in the next street, miss," he answered politely. "You'd better run right along over and get a good place." He glanced at de Laney, smiled again, and turned away, apparently41 to follow his own advice.
"Come on, we'll follow him," cried Mary, jumping down.
"And abandon our box?" objected Bennington. But she was already in full pursuit of the tall cowboy.
The ring around the large boulder42--dragged by mule43 team from the hills--had just begun to form when they arrived, so they were enabled to secure good places near the front rank, where they kneeled on their handkerchiefs, and the crowd hemmed44 them in at the back. The drilling match was to determine which pair of contestants45 could in a given time, with sledge46 and drill, cut the deepest hole in a granite47 boulder. To one who stood apart, the sight must have been picturesque48 in the extreme. The white dust, stirred by restless feet, rose lazily across the heated air. The sun shone down clear and hot with a certain wide-eyed glare that is seen only in the rarefied atmosphere of the West. Around the outer edge of the ring hovered49 a few anxious small boys, agonized50 that they were missing part of the show. Stolidly51 indifferent Indians, wrapped close in their blankets, smoked silently, awaiting the next pony race, the riders of which were skylarking about trying to pull each other from their horses' backs.
When the last pair had finished, the judges measured the depths of the holes drilled, and announced the victors.
The crowd shouted and broke for the saloons. The latter had been plying52 a brisk business, so that men were about ready to embrace in brotherhood53 or in battle with equal alacrity54.
Suddenly it was the dinner hour. The crowd broke. Bennington and Mary realized they had been wandering about hand in hand. They directed their steps toward the McPhersons with the greatest propriety55. It was a glorious picnic.
The house was gratefully cool and dark after the summer heat out of doors. The little doctor sat in the darkest room and dissertated cannily56 on the strange variety of subjects which a Scotchman can always bring up on the most ordinary occasions.
The doctor was not only a learned man, as was evidenced by his position in the School of Mines and his wonderful collections, but was a scout58 of long standing, a physician of merit, and an Indian authority of acknowledged weight. Withal he was so modest that these things became known only by implication or hearsay59, never by direct evidence. Mrs. McPherson was not Scotch57 at all, but plain comfortable American, redolent of wholesome60 cleanliness and good temper, and beaming with kindliness61 and round spectacles. Never was such a doctor; never was such a Mrs. McPherson; never was such a dinner! And they brought in after-dinner coffee in small cups.
"Ah, ha! Mr. de Laney," laughed the doctor, who had been watching him with quizzical eye. "We're pretty bad, but we aren't got quite to savagery62 yet."
Bennington hastened to disavow.
"That's all right," the doctor reassured63 him; "that's all right. I didn't wonder at ye in this country, but Mrs. McPherson and mysel' jest take a wee trip occasionally to keep our wits bright. Isn't it so, Mrs. Mac?"
"It is that," said she with a doubtful inner thought as to the propriety of offering cream.
"And as for you," went on the doctor dissertatively, "I suppose ye're getting to be somewhat of a miner yourself. I mind me we did a bit of assay64 work for your people the other day--the Crazy Horse, wasn't it? A good claim I should judge, from the sample, and so I wrote Davidson."
"When was this?" asked the Easterner, puzzled.
"The last week."
"I didn't know he had had any assaying done."
"O weel," said the doctor comfortably, "it may not have occurred to him to report yet. It was rich."
"Mrs. McPherson, let's talk about dresses," called Mary across the table. "Here we've come down for a _holiday_ and they insist on talking mining."
And so the subject was dropped, but Bennington could not get it out of his mind. Why should Mizzou have had the Crazy Horse assayed without saying anything about it to him? Why had he not reported the result? How did it happen that the doctor's assistants had found the ore rich when the company's assayers East had proved it poor? Why should Mizzou have it assayed at all, since he was no longer connected with the company? But, above all, supposing he had done this with the intention of keeping it secret from Bennington, what possible benefit or advantage could the old man derive65 from such an action?
He puzzled over this. It seemed to still the effervescence of his joy. He realized suddenly that he had been very careless in a great many respects. The work had all been trusted to Davidson, while he, often, had never even seen it. He had been entirely66 occupied with the girl. He experienced that sudden sinking feeling which always comes to a man whom neglected duty wakes from pleasure.
What was Davidson's object? Could it be that he hoped to "buy in" a rich claim at a low figure, and to that end had sent poor samples East? The more he thought of this the more reasonable it seemed. His resignation was for the purpose of putting him in the position of outside purchaser.
He resolved to carry through the affair diplomatically. During the afternoon he ruminated67 on how this was to be done. Mary could not understand his preoccupation. It piqued68 her. A slight strangeness sprang up between them which he was too _distrait_ to notice. Finally, as he tumbled into bed that night, an idea so brilliant came to him that he sat bolt upright in sheer delight at his own astuteness69.
He would ask Dr. McPherson for a copy of the assays70. If his suspicions were correct, these assays would represent the richest samples. He would send them at once to Bishop71 with a statement of the case, in that manner putting the capitalist on his guard. There was something exquisitely72 humorous to him in the idea of thus turning to his own use the information which Davidson had accumulated for his fraudulent purposes. He went to sleep chuckling73 over it.
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1
accomplished
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| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
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gulch
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| n.深谷，峡谷 | |
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dwarf
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| n.矮子，侏儒，矮小的动植物；vt.使…矮小 | |
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creek
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| n.小溪，小河，小湾 | |
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rugged
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| adj.高低不平的，粗糙的，粗壮的，强健的 | |
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hovering
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| 鸟( hover的现在分词 )； 靠近（某事物）； （人）徘徊； 犹豫 | |
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pony
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| adj.小型的；n.小马 | |
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scampering
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| v.蹦蹦跳跳地跑，惊惶奔跑( scamper的现在分词 ) | |
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flop
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| n.失败(者)，扑通一声；vi.笨重地行动，沉重地落下 | |
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lighter
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| n.打火机，点火器；驳船；v.用驳船运送；light的比较级 | |
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rosiness
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| n.玫瑰色；淡红色；光明；有希望 | |
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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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hydraulic
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| adj.水力的；水压的，液压的；水力学的 | |
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vistas
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| 长条形景色( vista的名词复数 )； 回顾； 展望； （未来可能发生的）一系列情景 | |
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glades
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| n.林中空地( glade的名词复数 ) | |
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sluices
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| n.水闸( sluice的名词复数 )；（用水闸控制的）水；有闸人工水道；漂洗处v.冲洗( sluice的第三人称单数 )；（指水）喷涌而出；漂净；给…安装水闸 | |
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brawled
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| 打架，争吵( brawl的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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ponies
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| 矮种马，小型马( pony的名词复数 )； ￡25 25 英镑 | |
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sparse
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| adj.稀疏的，稀稀落落的，薄的 | |
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chattered
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| （人）喋喋不休( chatter的过去式 )； 唠叨； （牙齿）打战； （机器）震颤 | |
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swerving
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| v.（使）改变方向，改变目的( swerve的现在分词 ) | |
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abruptly
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| adv.突然地，出其不意地 | |
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larks
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| n.百灵科鸟（尤指云雀）( lark的名词复数 )；一大早就起床；鸡鸣即起；（因太费力而不想干时说）算了v.百灵科鸟（尤指云雀）( lark的第三人称单数 )；一大早就起床；鸡鸣即起；（因太费力而不想干时说）算了 | |
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24
grasshoppers
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| n.蚱蜢( grasshopper的名词复数 )；蝗虫；蚂蚱；（孩子）矮小的 | |
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schooners
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| n.（有两个以上桅杆的）纵帆船( schooner的名词复数 ) | |
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grassy
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| adj.盖满草的；长满草的 | |
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surmounted
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| 战胜( surmount的过去式和过去分词 )； 克服（困难）； 居于…之上； 在…顶上 | |
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everlasting
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| adj.永恒的，持久的，无止境的 | |
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reined
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| 勒缰绳使（马）停步( rein的过去式和过去分词 )； 驾驭； 严格控制； 加强管理 | |
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mused
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| v.沉思，冥想( muse的过去式和过去分词 )；沉思自语说（某事） | |
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ridge
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| n.山脊；鼻梁；分水岭 | |
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standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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velvet
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| n.丝绒，天鹅绒；adj.丝绒制的，柔软的 | |
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immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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curb
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| n.场外证券市场，场外交易；vt.制止，抑制 | |
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dense
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| a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的 | |
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frantically
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| ad.发狂地, 发疯地 | |
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enjoyment
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| n.乐趣；享有；享用 | |
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scramble
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| v.爬行，攀爬，杂乱蔓延，碎片，片段，废料 | |
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apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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boulder
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| n.巨砾；卵石，圆石 | |
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mule
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| n.骡子，杂种，执拗的人 | |
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hemmed
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| 缝…的褶边( hem的过去式和过去分词 )； 包围 | |
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contestants
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| n.竞争者，参赛者( contestant的名词复数 ) | |
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sledge
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| n.雪橇，大锤；v.用雪橇搬运，坐雪橇往 | |
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47
granite
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| adj.花岗岩，花岗石 | |
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48
picturesque
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| adj.美丽如画的，（语言）生动的，绘声绘色的 | |
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49
hovered
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| 鸟( hover的过去式和过去分词 )； 靠近（某事物）； （人）徘徊； 犹豫 | |
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50
agonized
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| v.使（极度）痛苦，折磨( agonize的过去式和过去分词 )；苦斗；苦苦思索；感到极度痛苦 | |
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51
stolidly
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| adv.迟钝地，神经麻木地 | |
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52
plying
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| v.使用（工具）( ply的现在分词 )；经常供应（食物、饮料）；固定往来；经营生意 | |
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53
brotherhood
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| n.兄弟般的关系，手中情谊 | |
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54
alacrity
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| n.敏捷，轻快，乐意 | |
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55
propriety
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| n.正当行为；正当；适当 | |
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cannily
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| 精明地 | |
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57
scotch
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| n.伤口，刻痕；苏格兰威士忌酒；v.粉碎，消灭，阻止；adj.苏格兰(人)的 | |
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58
scout
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| n.童子军，侦察员；v.侦察，搜索 | |
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hearsay
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| n.谣传，风闻 | |
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60
wholesome
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| adj.适合；卫生的；有益健康的；显示身心健康的 | |
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61
kindliness
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| n.厚道，亲切，友好的行为 | |
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62
savagery
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| n.野性 | |
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63
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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64
assay
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| n.试验，测定 | |
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65
derive
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| v.取得；导出；引申；来自；源自；出自 | |
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entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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ruminated
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| v.沉思( ruminate的过去式和过去分词 )；反复考虑；反刍；倒嚼 | |
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piqued
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| v.伤害…的自尊心( pique的过去式和过去分词 )；激起（好奇心） | |
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69
astuteness
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| n.敏锐；精明；机敏 | |
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assays
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| n.化验( assay的名词复数 )；试验；尝试；试金 | |
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71
bishop
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| n.主教，（国际象棋）象 | |
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72
exquisitely
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| adv.精致地；强烈地；剧烈地；异常地 | |
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73
chuckling
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| 轻声地笑( chuckle的现在分词 ) | |
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