Beneath them and away, far as they could see, lay range upon range of haze-empurpled [134]mountains. There was no end to these ranges. They rose one behind another to the dim, distant skyline, where they faded away with a vague promise of unending extension beyond. There were no clearings in the forest; north, south, east, and west, untouched, unbroken, it covered the land with its mighty4 growth.
They lay, feasting their eyes on the sight, her hand clasped in one of his; for this was their honeymoon5, and these were the redwoods of Mendocino. Across from Shasta they had come, with horses and saddle-bags, and down through the wilds of the coast counties, and they had no plan except to continue until some other plan entered their heads. They were roughly dressed, she in travel-stained khaki, he in overalls6 and woolen7 shirt. The latter was open at the sunburned neck, and in his hugeness he [135]seemed a fit dweller8 among the forest giants, while for her, as a dweller with him, there were no signs of aught else but happiness.
“Well, Big Man,” she said, propping9 herself up on an elbow to gaze at him, “it is more wonderful than you promised. And we are going through it together.”
“And there’s a lot of the rest of the world we’ll go through together,” he answered, shifting his position so as to get her hand in both of his.
“But not till we’ve finished with this,” she urged. “I seem never to grow tired of the big woods … and of you.”
He slid effortlessly into a sitting posture10 and gathered her into his arms.
“Oh, you lover,” she whispered. “And I had given up hope of finding such a one.”
“And I never hoped at all. I must [136]just have known all the time that I was going to find you. Glad?”
Her answer was a soft pressure where her hand rested on his neck, and for long minutes they looked out over the great woods and dreamed.
“You remember I told you how I ran away from the red-haired school teacher? That was the first time I saw this country. I was on foot, but forty or fifty miles a day was play for me. I was a regular Indian. I wasn’t thinking about you then. Game was pretty scarce in the redwoods, but there was plenty of fine trout11. That was when I camped on these rocks. I didn’t dream that some day I’d be back with you, YOU.”
“And be a champion of the ring, too,” she suggested.
“No; I didn’t think about that at all. Dad had always told me I was going to be, and I took it for granted. You see, [137]he was very wise. He was a great man.”
“But he didn’t see you leaving the ring.”
“I don’t know. He was so careful in hiding its crookedness13 from me, that I think he feared it. I’ve told you about the contract with Stubener. Dad put in that clause about crookedness. The first crooked12 thing my manager did was to break the contract.”
“And yet you are going to fight this Tom Cannam. Is it worth while?”
He looked at her quickly.
“Don’t you want me to?”
“Dear lover, I want you to do whatever you want.”
So she said, and to herself, her words still ringing in her ears, she marveled that she, not least among the stubbornly independent of the breed of Sangster, should utter them. Yet she knew they were true, and she was glad. [138]
“It will be fun,” he said.
“But I don’t understand all the gleeful details.”
“I haven’t worked them out yet. You might help me. In the first place I’m going to double-cross Stubener and the betting syndicate. It will be part of the joke. I am going to put Cannam out in the first round. For the first time I shall be really angry when I fight. Poor Tom Cannam, who’s as crooked as the rest, will be the chief sacrifice. You see, I intend to make a speech in the ring. It’s unusual, but it will be a success, for I am going to tell the audience all the inside workings of the game. It’s a good game, too, but they’re running it on business principles, and that’s what spoils it. But there, I’m giving the speech to you instead of at the ring.”
“I wish I could be there to hear,” she said. [139]
He looked at her and debated.
“I’d like to have you. But it’s sure to be a rough time. There is no telling what may happen when I start my program. But I’ll come straight to you as soon as it’s over. And it will be the last appearance of Young Glendon in the ring, in any ring.”
“But, dear, you’ve never made a speech in your life,” she objected. “You might fail.”
He shook his head positively14.
“I’m Irish,” he announced, “and what Irishman was there who couldn’t speak?” He paused to laugh merrily. “Stubener thinks I’m crazy. Says a man can’t train on matrimony. A lot he knows about matrimony, or me, or you, or anything except real estate and fixed15 fights. But I’ll show him that night, and poor Tom, too. I really feel sorry for Tom.” [140]
“My dear abysmal16 brute17 is going to behave most abysmally18 and brutally19, I fear,” she murmured.
He laughed.
“I’m going to make a noble attempt at it. Positively my last appearance, you know. And then it will be you, YOU. But if you don’t want that last appearance, say the word.”
“Of course I want it, Big Man. I want my Big Man for himself, and to be himself he must be himself. If you want this, I want it for you, and for myself, too. Suppose I said I wanted to go on the stage, or to the South Seas or the North Pole?”
He answered slowly, almost solemnly.
“Then I’d say go ahead. Because you are you and must be yourself and do whatever you want. I love you because you are you.”
“And we’re both a silly pair of lovers,” [141]she said, when his embrace had relaxed.
“Isn’t it great!” he cried.
He stood up, measured the sun with his eye, and extended his hand out over the big woods that covered the serried20, purple ranges.
“We’ve got to sleep out there somewhere. It’s thirty miles to the nearest camp.”
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1
virgin
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| n.处女，未婚女子；adj.未经使用的；未经开发的 | |
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2
monotonously
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| adv.单调地，无变化地 | |
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3
toiled
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| 长时间或辛苦地工作( toil的过去式和过去分词 )； 艰难缓慢地移动，跋涉 | |
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4
mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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honeymoon
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| n.蜜月（假期）；vi.度蜜月 | |
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6
overalls
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| n.（复）工装裤；长罩衣 | |
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7
woolen
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| adj.羊毛(制)的；毛纺的 | |
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8
dweller
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| n.居住者，住客 | |
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9
propping
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| 支撑 | |
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posture
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| n.姿势，姿态，心态，态度；v.作出某种姿势 | |
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11
trout
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| n.鳟鱼；鲑鱼(属) | |
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12
crooked
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| adj.弯曲的；不诚实的，狡猾的，不正当的 | |
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13
crookedness
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| [医]弯曲 | |
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positively
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| adv.明确地，断然，坚决地；实在，确实 | |
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15
fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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16
abysmal
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| adj.无底的，深不可测的，极深的；糟透的，极坏的；完全的 | |
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17
brute
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| n.野兽，兽性 | |
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abysmally
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| adv.极糟地；可怕地；完全地；极端地 | |
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19
brutally
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| adv.残忍地，野蛮地，冷酷无情地 | |
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serried
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| adj.拥挤的；密集的 | |
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