Through the help of the Texans, Nick and Herbert secured three excellent animals, two of them possessing great speed and endurance, while the third was the equal of the best burro or mule4 for carrying a heavy burden. The Winchesters were the best, too, of their kind, the men being similarly armed. Nick and Herbert took care to provide themselves with an excellent field-glass apiece, for nothing[30] was more likely than that they would find abundant call for their use. The rest of the supplies were bought on the advice of the cowboys.
They passed near a number of towns and settlements during the first week, in one of which they generally stayed overnight. So long as they were able to secure the comforts of ordinary travel through a settled section, they would have been foolish to decline it.
It had been so long since the boys had ridden far on horseback, that they were stiffened5 for the first few days, so that, when they dismounted, they were hardly able to walk. This, however, soon wore off until they were able to stand a ride of forty or fifty miles without any ill effects.
No physician could have watched a patient with greater care than Nick watched Herbert. He tried to keep it from the knowledge of his friend, and thought he succeeded, though Herbert told him afterward6 that he knew all the time what he was doing.
The elder youth felt bad when they reached St. Louis, and was still worse on their arrival[31] in San Antonio. The long ride in the cars made him feverish7, and he had little appetite, but the new scenes and surroundings, the cheerful company of Nick, and his own ambition did wonders in the way of keeping him up.
He showed an improvement within twenty-four hours after arriving in the City of the Alamo, and this continued steadily8, until the second day out, when the beautiful weather, that they had been having for weeks, was broken by a norther which, however, was not severe, though it brought so much rain and dismal9 weather that they were compelled to lie by at one of the straggling frontier towns for several days.
They rode through the hills and highlands between Fredericksburg and Fort Clark, fording a tributary10 of the Llano River, and pushing almost due northwest toward New Mexico, whose southeast corner they were aiming to strike at the point of intersection11 between the twenty-sixth meridian12 and thirty-second parallel.
The country now began to assume a wilder[32] appearance. The weather was like a dream, and Nick could well understand how it is that more than twenty thousand people in Texas never sleep under a roof from one year’s end to another. He could appreciate, too, the reason why the immigrant, no matter how homesick, who braves it out for six months, never leaves Texas unless for a brief visit to his northern home, returning to die in the Lone13 Star State, which has become the land of his adoption14.
The appearance showed the country, or rather that portion of it, to contain a great many more people than the boys supposed before entering Texas. The settlements were generally miserable15 collections of shanties16, with the inevitable17 gambling18 and drinking saloon and the quota19 of “bad men,” on the lookout20 for tenderfeet, or those of their own class that were ready to mingle21 in a row off-hand. Everyone rode on horseback, and carried his revolver and rifle, the latter generally a Winchester of the repeating pattern.
The cattlemen were numerous, some of them nearly always in sight among the hills, or on the broad, rolling prairie. Occasionally an Indian[33] was met, but he was far from being the romantic individual that boys generally have in mind, when reading about the noble red man. He was untidy and sullen22 looking, with an appetite for whiskey that was never sated, and the odor of rank tobacco around him.
It was about a week after the departure from San Antonio that the youths noticed a marked change in things. The country became more broken, the settlements disappeared, and during the middle of the afternoon, when Herbert swept the horizon with his field glass, he made known, with an expression of surprise, that there was not a living person, so far as he knew, in sight.
“We’ve put a good piece of country behind us,” said Strubell, “and if nothing goes wrong, we ought to strike New Mexico in the course of the next ten days.”
Nick laughed.
“I fancied we would make it in less time than that.”
“So we mought,” remarked Lattin, “if there was any call to hurry; but, as I understand[34] this business, we aint runnin’ the pony23 express for Santa Fé or Rincon.”
That night their camp was in a section which charmed the boys, for there was an air of loneliness, and the danger that seemed to be brooding over the vicinity was of a kind not yet encountered since entering Texas.
In some respects, the camp reminded them of their moose hunt in Maine, though the contrast in the season was marked. There were the hills, rising almost to the dignity of mountains, the bowlders and rocks, the stream of water, not more than a few inches in width and depth, and the beautiful blue sky overhead.
The weather was cooler than it had been, and the hunters shook their heads, and hinted about a norther that was liable to break over them before many hours. There were no signs of Indians, and had there been, the aborigines would have been held in no greater dread24 than those of their own race. The party were so far westward25 that the arm of the law was weak, and everyone must depend on his own vigilance and alertness.
[35]
When the wood, which was not over abundant in those parts, was collected for the fire by which they intended to cook the meat obtained from a maverick26 earlier in the day, the horses were turned loose, and the four friends gathered around the blaze, which was kindled27 in an open space, where the light was visible for a long way in nearly every direction. Around this they sat, and, while the men smoked their pipes, they recalled many a thrilling encounter with the red men in the Pan Handle, in Arizona, and in New Mexico. Strubell and Lattin were equally interested in the story which Nick told of their hunt for the king of moose in Maine. That species of game was unfamiliar28 to them, and when they learned of the gallant29 style in which Herbert brought down the big fellow at the moment he was charging upon his companion, they looked upon the tall youth with something like wonder and admiration30. They had no idea of having such a hero “in their midst.”
Since it was necessary that everyone should bear a hand in guarding against the perils31 on which they were entering, the hunters[36] arranged that the youths should regularly take part in standing32 watch each night. Their method made it easy and safe for all, since the watches were four in number, each about two hours long. Everyone was able to keep awake for that length of time, even while sitting on the ground, and the turns alternated, so as to equalize the task all round. Had the watches been longer, the youths, as was the case while down East, would have been likely to slumber33 on their posts.
Arden Strubell was stretched out on the further side of the fire, flat on his back, his head resting on a stone, which was softened34 somewhat by his hands that were clasped between it and the back of his head, with the elbows projecting like wings from each side. One leg was partly drawn35 up, with the other crossed over it, his position being the picture of indolence and ease. The pipe, whose stem was in the corner of his mouth, was only gently puffed36 at long intervals37, for it was Arden’s turn to sleep until eleven o’clock. He was, therefore, taking no share in the conversation which went on in such gentle, murmuring[37] tones that it tended more to drowsiness38 than wakefulness on his part.
Matters were in this form, and the night was progressing, when Lattin, who was sitting directly opposite his friend, raised his hand for silence, and said in a frightened whisper:
“Arden, don’t move or you’re a dead man!”
“I know it,” was the quiet reply from the Texan, who did not stir a muscle, “but what can I do? I’m a dead man anyway.”
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1
possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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outspoken
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| adj.直言无讳的，坦率的，坦白无隐的 | |
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courageous
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| adj.勇敢的，有胆量的 | |
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mule
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| n.骡子，杂种，执拗的人 | |
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stiffened
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| 加强的 | |
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afterward
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| adv.后来；以后 | |
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feverish
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| adj.发烧的，狂热的，兴奋的 | |
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steadily
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| adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地 | |
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9
dismal
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| adj.阴沉的，凄凉的，令人忧郁的，差劲的 | |
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tributary
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| n.支流；纳贡国；adj.附庸的；辅助的；支流的 | |
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11
intersection
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| n.交集，十字路口，交叉点；[计算机] 交集 | |
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meridian
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| adj.子午线的；全盛期的 | |
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lone
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| adj.孤寂的，单独的；唯一的 | |
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14
adoption
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| n.采用，采纳，通过；收养 | |
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15
miserable
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| adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的 | |
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16
shanties
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| n.简陋的小木屋( shanty的名词复数 )；铁皮棚屋；船工号子；船歌 | |
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17
inevitable
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| adj.不可避免的，必然发生的 | |
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18
gambling
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| n.赌博；投机 | |
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19
quota
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| n.（生产、进出口等的）配额，（移民的）限额 | |
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20
lookout
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| n.注意，前途，瞭望台 | |
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21
mingle
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| vt.使混合，使相混；vi.混合起来；相交往 | |
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sullen
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| adj.愠怒的，闷闷不乐的，(天气等)阴沉的 | |
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pony
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| adj.小型的；n.小马 | |
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dread
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| vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧 | |
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westward
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| n.西方，西部；adj.西方的，向西的；adv.向西 | |
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maverick
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| adj.特立独行的；不遵守传统的；n.持异议者，自行其是者 | |
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27
kindled
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| （使某物）燃烧，着火( kindle的过去式和过去分词 )； 激起（感情等）； 发亮，放光 | |
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28
unfamiliar
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| adj.陌生的，不熟悉的 | |
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29
gallant
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| adj.英勇的，豪侠的；(向女人)献殷勤的 | |
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30
admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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31
perils
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| 极大危险( peril的名词复数 )； 危险的事（或环境） | |
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32
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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33
slumber
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| n.睡眠，沉睡状态 | |
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34
softened
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| （使）变软( soften的过去式和过去分词 )； 缓解打击； 缓和； 安慰 | |
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35
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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36
puffed
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| 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 | |
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37
intervals
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| n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 )；间隔时间；[数学]区间；（戏剧、电影或音乐会的）幕间休息 | |
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38
drowsiness
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| n.睡意；嗜睡 | |
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