Nat-u-ritch's life with her father, Tabywana, was passed in days of uneventful placidness. Since the death of Cash Hawkins the Chief had given her no cause for anxiety. Concerning the murder, neither she nor her father spoke3. Tabywana admired Jim Carston; he seemed to realize instinctively4 what Jim had saved him from that day at the saloon, and his unspoken devotion, sincere and steadfast5, often caused him to serve Jim without any one's knowledge.
Sometimes when Nat-u-ritch returned from a long day's ride her father would scrutinize6 her, and as he read in her the call of her nature for the Englishman, a curious smile would light up his face in sympathy with her. He saw the unmoved impassiveness that she showed to all the young bucks7 that sought her, and without protest let her go her way, and her trail always led towards Carston's ranch8.
Winter came with its treacherous9 winds, and Carston's ranch was more desolate10. Of Nat-u-ritch's unspoken devotion to him there was no doubt in Jim's mind, and the temptation to take her proffered11 companionship into his lonely life rose strong within him. After Cash Hawkins's death, Jim, had he cared for the life, might have been a leader in the Long Horn saloon, but a bar-room hero was not the role that he wished to play. His own men—Grouchy, Andy, and Shorty—openly expressed their disappointment to Big Bill at the boss's indifference12 to the position he might exert as a power in Maverick13, and even Big Bill only vaguely14 understood Jim's unappreciative attitude. He often watched Jim smoking his pipe and peering into the heart of the embers that glowed on the hearth15, and as he saw the careworn16 face Bill's great heart ached with sympathy for him. But Jim, as he realized the difficulties of the fight in which he was involved, only clinched17 his fists the tighter and accomplished18 the work of three men in his day's toil19.
At these times the physical drain on him was so great that there was no opportunity left in which to realize the biting ache of his loneliness. So one bleak20 day succeeded another, with the slim, mute figure of the Indian girl ever crossing his path.
The early spring brought with it a sudden melting of the snow-capped hills and the ice-covered pools. The cattle grew more troublesome. They seemed harder to control, or else the boys were more indifferent to their disappearance21. Big Bill had gone away on a deal for new cattle, so Jim's energies were redoubled.
One day as he rode across the plains searching for a lost herd22 that had wandered towards Jackson's Hole, the longing23 that the awakening24 spring had brought with it grew more insistent25. Life surely held for him possibilities greater than this, he told himself. He resolved, on Bill's return, to arrange with him to sell the place. He could not conquer the craving26 for the old haunts of civilization that took possession of him. He closed his eyes to shut out the endless stretch of prairie. Lost in his dream to escape from his lonely life and to take part again in the affairs of men of his own class, he failed to notice the small pony that followed him carrying Nat-u-ritch.
On he went, so absorbed in his thoughts that he did not notice how close he was to Jackson's Hole. Big Bill long ago had warned him of the treacherous ridge27 that lay near the gulley, but Jim had forgotten Bill's words. Unconscious of the danger ahead, he galloped28 towards the edge of the broken precipice29. In the distance he espied30 the marks of a herd of cattle that had passed around to the other side of the ridge. Jim urged his horse forward and started to jump the small, deceptive31 span that covered the hole. A sharp cry came from Nat-u-ritch, who had quickly gained ground on him as she saw his intention. But Jim, unheeding, gave a sharp command to his horse and urged him over. There was a sudden breaking of ground; then a whirling, dazed moment through which flashed an eternity32 of thought, and Nat-u-ritch stood alone, clinging to her pony as she peered over into the dark pool of broken ice around which stretched chasms33 of impenetrable blackness.
Two weeks later Jim opened his eyes to consciousness in Nat-u-ritch's wickyup. No man of those summoned by Nat-u-ritch to help had dared venture into the dreaded34 abyss, so Jim had been abandoned as dead. But the depth of her love gave the Indian girl the strength to accomplish his rescue. Jealous of her treasure, she dragged the unconscious body to her own village, which was nearer than Jim's ranch.
Then followed an illness from the long exposure in the gulley. Big Bill returned, only to find the ranch without its master, while Jim lay in the squaw's wickyup, with the Indian girl fighting to save his life, her love and loyalty35 making her his abject36 slave.
Weeks followed, and one day Big Bill and the boys brought the boss home. Then came a relapse, and again Nat-u-ritch's devotion and courage gave him back his life. This time Bill watched a double fight: the fight on the part of the woman to save the man so that she might win him for herself, and on Jim's part an effort to resist the mute surrender of the woman.
Without the boss's supervision37 the ranch had deteriorated38, and Jim's affairs had become so involved that he recovered only to find that all thought of abandoning the place was now impossible. His dream of escape was now a hope of the past. And so life began afresh for him on the plains.
Jim stood outside of the window of an adobe39 hut. From within he could hear the low moans of a woman and now and then the wail40 of a child. He was alone, save for the missionary41 who had married him a few months before to Nat-u-ritch, and who was now inside helping42 the sick woman. Big Bill had gone to fetch an old squaw who had promised to come to the ranch. As Jim leaned against the post of the porch he was stirred by a multitude of emotions. The wails43 from within grew louder and more fretful. As he watched the heavens, ablaze44 with a thousand eyes, he wondered why the old woman had failed to come in time. He hardly realized what the past hour had meant to him. A child had been given to him! Something of the wonder of the eternal mystery was numbing45 his spirit. The sick woman's moans grew fainter, only the cry of the babe persistently46 reached him.
At last the missionary came to him: Nat-u-ritch was asleep; he would go, he explained, and hurry along the Indian woman who was coming with Big Bill to the ranch. The cry of the child seemed to become more pitiful. Jim tiptoed to the door of the inner room. On the cot lay Nat-u-ritch. He softly crossed to the small bundle of life rolled in the blanket and lifted it in his arms. The warm, appealing little body lay limp against him. He began swaying to and fro until the cry grew fainter. Soon the babe slept; but Jim still stood rocking his son in his strong arms.
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1
pony
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| adj.小型的；n.小马 | |
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2
galloping
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| adj. 飞驰的, 急性的 动词gallop的现在分词形式 | |
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spoke
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| 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 | |
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instinctively
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| adv.本能地 | |
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steadfast
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| adj.固定的，不变的，不动摇的；忠实的；坚贞不移的 | |
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scrutinize
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| n.详细检查，细读 | |
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7
bucks
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| n.雄鹿( buck的名词复数 )；钱；（英国十九世纪初的）花花公子；（用于某些表达方式）责任v.（马等）猛然弓背跃起( buck的第三人称单数 )；抵制；猛然震荡；马等尥起后蹄跳跃 | |
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ranch
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| n.大牧场，大农场 | |
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treacherous
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| adj.不可靠的，有暗藏的危险的；adj.背叛的，背信弃义的 | |
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desolate
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| adj.荒凉的，荒芜的；孤独的，凄凉的；v.使荒芜，使孤寂 | |
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proffered
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| v.提供，贡献，提出( proffer的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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indifference
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| n.不感兴趣，不关心，冷淡，不在乎 | |
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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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14
vaguely
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| adv.含糊地，暖昧地 | |
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hearth
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| n.壁炉炉床，壁炉地面 | |
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careworn
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| adj.疲倦的，饱经忧患的 | |
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clinched
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| v.（尤指两人）互相紧紧抱[扭]住( clinch的过去式和过去分词 )；解决（争端、交易），达成（协议） | |
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accomplished
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| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
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toil
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| vi.辛劳工作，艰难地行动；n.苦工，难事 | |
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bleak
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| adj.(天气)阴冷的；凄凉的；暗淡的 | |
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disappearance
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| n.消失，消散，失踪 | |
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herd
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| n.兽群，牧群；vt.使集中，把…赶在一起 | |
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longing
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| n.（for）渴望 | |
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awakening
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| n.觉醒，醒悟 adj.觉醒中的；唤醒的 | |
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insistent
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| adj.迫切的，坚持的 | |
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craving
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| n.渴望,热望 | |
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ridge
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| n.山脊；鼻梁；分水岭 | |
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galloped
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| （使马）飞奔，奔驰( gallop的过去式和过去分词 )； 快速做[说]某事 | |
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precipice
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| n.悬崖，危急的处境 | |
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espied
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| v.看到( espy的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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deceptive
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| adj.骗人的，造成假象的，靠不住的 | |
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eternity
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| n.不朽，来世；永恒，无穷 | |
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chasms
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| 裂缝( chasm的名词复数 )； 裂口； 分歧； 差别 | |
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dreaded
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| 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) | |
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loyalty
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| n.忠诚，忠心 | |
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abject
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| adj.极可怜的，卑屈的 | |
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supervision
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| n.监督，管理 | |
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38
deteriorated
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| 恶化，变坏( deteriorate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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adobe
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| n.泥砖，土坯，美国Adobe公司 | |
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40
wail
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| vt./vi.大声哀号，恸哭；呼啸，尖啸 | |
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41
missionary
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| adj.教会的，传教(士)的；n.传教士 | |
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42
helping
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| n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的 | |
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43
wails
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| 痛哭，哭声( wail的名词复数 ) | |
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44
ablaze
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| adj.着火的，燃烧的；闪耀的，灯火辉煌的 | |
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45
numbing
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| adj.使麻木的，使失去感觉的v.使麻木，使麻痹( numb的现在分词 ) | |
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46
persistently
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| ad.坚持地；固执地 | |
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