"Oh! wind that whistles, o'er thorns and thistles
Of the fruitful earth, like a goblin elf,
Why should he labor2 to help his neighbor,
Who feels too reckless to help himself?"
He felt altogether reckless. In just such a mood, he reflected, his grandmother had probably poisoned her first husband. He could almost have poisoned Landor, the big duty-narrowed, conventional, military machine. Why could he not have married some one of his own mental circumspection3?—Mrs. Campbell, for instance. He had watched that affair during his enlistment4. More the pity it had come to nothing. Landor could have understood Mrs. Campbell. Then he thought of Felipa, as he had seen her first, looking full into the glare of the sunset, and afterward5 at him, with magnificent impersonality6.
"He has caught a lioness and tricked her out in fashionable rags and taught her some capers7, and now he thinks he has improved the animal," he said to himself, and raged inwardly, asking the intangible Fate, which was always opposing him, if there was not[Pg 216] enough little doll women in the world that such an one as Felipa must be whittled8 down to the size.
The probable outcome of things at the rate they were going was perfectly9 apparent. Landor would advance in age, respectability, and rank, and would be retired10 and settle down on three-fourths pay. He himself would end up in some cow-boy row, degraded and worthless, a tough character very probably, a fine example of nothing save atavism. And Felipa would grow old. That splendid triumphant11 youth of hers would pass, and she would be a commonplace, subdued12, middle-aged13 woman, in whom a relapse to her nature would be a mere14 vulgarity.
He recalled the dark, unbecoming flush that had deepened the color of her skin just enough to show the squaw, beyond mistaking, at least to one who knew. It was all very well now. But later, later she would look like that frequently, if not all the time. With youth she would lose her excuse for being. He knew that very well. But it was the youth, the majestic15, powerful youth, that he loved. He had seen too many old hags of squaws, disfigurers of the dead and wounded, drudges16 of the rancheria, squatting17 on hides before their tepees, not to know what Felipa's decline would be in spite of the Anglo-Saxon strain that seemed to show only in her white skin.
Her only salvation19, he knew that too, was to keep that strain always uppermost, to force it to the surface, exactly as Landor was doing now. Conventional, stately, reserved, in the garb20 of civilization, she would[Pg 217] have a certain dignity. But youth was too good to sell for that.
"Where is the use of the lip's red charm,
The heaven of hair, the pride of the brow,
And the blood that blues21 the inside arm?"—
He laughed crossly. Evidently he was dropping back into the poetical22 tendencies of his most callow youth. He would be doing her a sonnet23 next, forsooth. He had done two or three of them in his school days for Sydney damsels. That was when he had aspired24 to be ranked in his own country with Gordon. Good Lord! how many aspirations25 of various sorts he had had. And he was a cow-boy.
Somewhere in that same poem, he remembered, there had been advice relative to a man's contending to the uttermost for his life's set prize, though the end in sight were a vice26. He shrugged27 his shoulders. It might be well enough to hold to that in Florence and the Middle Ages. It was highly impracticable for New Mexico and the nineteenth century. So many things left undone28 can be conveniently laid to the prosaic29 and materialistic30 tendencies of the age. Things were bad enough now—for Landor, for himself, and most especially for Felipa. But if one were to be guided by the romantic poets, they could conceivably be much worse.
He struck his pony31 with the fringed end of the horse-hair lariat32 that hung around his pommel, and cantered on in the direction of the post. The pony had been found among the foot-hills, without any[Pg 218] trouble. That, at any rate, had been a stroke of luck. He had led it into the fort just at the end of guard-mounting, and had met a party of riders going out.
Mrs. Landor was with them. She had a little battered33, brass34 trumpet35 hanging from her horn, and he knew that they were going to play at hare and hounds. She and the three with her were evidently the hares. They would take a ten minutes' start; then, at the sound of the trumpet, the hounds would follow. The riding was sometimes reckless. A day or two before he had seen Felipa leap an arroyo36, the edges of which were crumbling37 in, and take a fallen tree on very dangerous ground.
He looked about now for a sign of either party. Across the creek38 was some one riding slowly along the crest39 of a hill, seeming so small and creeping that only a very trained eye could have made it out. It was probably a hound. The hares lay low, in ca?ons and gullies and brush, as a rule. As he scanned the rest of the valley, his horse stopped short, with its fore18 legs planted stiffly. He looked down and saw that he was at the brink40 of a sheer fall of twenty feet or more, like a hole scooped41 in the side of the little rise he was riding over. He remembered, then, that there was a cave somewhere about. He had often heard of it, and probably it was this. He dismounted, and, tying the pony in a clump42 of bushes, walked down and around to investigate.
It was plainly the cave. He went and stood in the mouth and looked into the dark, narrowing throat. A[Pg 219] weird43 silence poured up with the damp, earthy smell. He went farther in, half sliding down the steep bank of soft, powdery, white earth. There was only the uncanny light which comes from reflection from the ground upward. But by it he could see innumerable tiny footprints, coyote, squirrel, prairie-dog, polecat tracks and the like. It took very little imagination to see yellow teeth and eyes gleaming from black shadows also, although he knew there were no dangerous animals in those parts.
When he was well within, he began to investigate, and he recalled now that he had heard a great deal of this cave. It was very large, supposedly, but almost unexplored. Tradition ran that the Spaniards, in the long-past days of their occupation, had had a big silver mine in there, worked by padres who had taught the timid Indians to believe that it was haunted, that they might not take it for themselves, nor yet guide others to it. And, too, it had been the refuge and hiding-place of Billy the Kid for years. It was said that since then a corporal and three men had gone in once, and that a search party had found their gnawed44 skeletons by the edge of the river that flowed there underground. Oddly enough, and thanks to the missionary45 fathers, it had never served as an Indian stronghold, though its advantages for such a use were manifest.
Cairness sat himself down and tried to listen for the flow of the great black river yonder in the great black hollow. By dint46 of straining his ears he almost fancied[Pg 220] that he did catch a sound. But at the same instant, there came a real and unmistakable one. He started a little, not quite sure, just at first, what manner of wild beast, or man, or genius of the cave might pounce47 out upon him.
It was only some one standing48 at the mouth of the hole, however, a shadow against the shimmering49 sunlight. And it was a woman—it was Felipa.
He sat quite still, clinching50 his teeth and clawing his fingers tensely. In the great crises of life, training and upbringing and education fall away, and a man is governed by two forces, his instincts and his surroundings. And Cairness's instincts were in entire accord with his surroundings; they were of the Stone Age, when men fought with the beasts of the wilderness51 in their cave homes, and had only the law of sheer strength. He leaned forward, holding his breath, and watched her. Had she seen his horse tied up above, and come here to find him—because he was here?
She might have seen two dots of light fixed52 on her from the shadow, if she had looked that way. But she did not, and came unconcernedly down. She was sure-footed and agile53, and she was daring, too. He himself had felt a qualm at coming here. But she did not appear to hesitate once. She came on, close by where he sat, and going to the dark passage peered in. Then she turned away and caught sight of him.
He was accustomed to the gloom by now, but she was not. She could only see that there was some one in the shadow. It flashed through his mind that she[Pg 221] would scream, but the next moment he knew that she would not.
She drew herself up and grasped her loaded quirt more firmly. There are some natures to which flight from a thing feared is physically54 impossible. They must not only face danger, they must go up to it. It is a trait, like any other. Felipa took two steps toward him.
He came out of the rock nook into the half light and spoke55 her own name.
She was frightened now. The quirt fell from her hand with a thud. She loosed her hold upon her long riding skirt and tripped over it.
If he had not sprung forward, with his arms outstretched to catch her, she would have fallen, face downward in the dust. It was three times now he had so saved her.
He knew even then while her hand grasped at his arm, that he should have set her upon her feet, as he had done before. He knew that she had merited at least that. But he held her tight and close, and bending back her head, his own very close above it, looked into her eyes.
Then he stopped, with every muscle drawn56, for he had seen in her answering, unflinching gaze that he was losing her, surely, irrevocably losing her. He let her go, almost throwing her away, and she caught hold of a ledge57 of rock to steady herself. He picked up the heavy quirt and held it out to her, with a shaking hand, shame-faced, and defiant58, too.
She took it, and they both stood for a time without[Pg 222] speaking. Then she turned her head and looked up at the sunshine. "I think I must go," she whispered. But she did not move.
He asked her angrily why she had ever come at all, and she explained, with a piteous whimper, like a penitent59 child's, that she had left her horse tied in a little hollow and had come to explore. She had often meant to explore before this.
He was still more exasperated60, with himself and with her, that he had allowed himself to think for one moment that she had come on purpose to find him. Where were the others? How did she happen to be here alone? he asked.
She told him that they had all scattered61 some time before, with the hounds in full cry. "I must go," she repeated more firmly now, "they will be looking—" She stopped short.
There was the crunching62 of heavy feet up above, on the gravel63. It came to them both, even to her, that for them to be seen there together would be final. There would be no explaining it away. Cairness thought of her. She thought of her husband. It would ruin him and his life.
It was done before either of them was conscious of doing it. The black throat of the cave was open behind him. Cairness jumped back into it, and she turned away and stood waiting, stiff with fear, not of the man whoever it might prove to be up there, but for the one who had stepped into the unknown dangers of the darkness behind her.
[Pg 223]
The man up above showed himself, and putting his hands to his mouth shouted, "Felipa!"
She gave a cry of relief. "Mr. Cairness, Mr. Cairness," she called, "it is only my husband." She went herself a little way into the passage. "Jack64, Mr. Cairness has gone in there, call to him." And she called again herself.
Landor came sliding and running down. His face was misshapen with the anger that means killing65. She saw it, and her powers came back to her all at once. She put both hands against his breast and pushed him back, with all the force of her sinewy66 arms. His foot slipped on a stone and he fell.
She dropped beside him and tried to hold him down. "He did not know I was coming here," she pleaded. "It was a mistake, Jack! Will you wait until I tell you? Will you wait?" She was clinging around his neck and would not be shaken off. He dragged her in the dust, trying to get free himself.
Cairness had groped his way back. He stood watching them. And he, too, was ready to kill. If Landor had raised his hand against her, he would have shot him down.
But, instead, Landor stopped abruptly67, rigid68 with the force of will. "I will wait. Go on," he said. His voice was low and rasping.
It dawned upon Cairness that this was rather more than a military machine after all, that he had underestimated it.
Felipa stood up and told the truth shortly. "It[Pg 224] was my fault, if it was any one's," she ended. "You may kill me, if you like. But if you hurt him, I will kill myself." It was she who was threatening now, and she never said more than she meant. She turned almost disdainfully from them, and went up and out of the cave.
Landor stopped behind, looking at Cairness undecidedly for a moment longer. "It is well for you that I can believe her implicitly," he said. It had been a relapse to the Stone Age, but the rebound69 to the nineteenth century was as quick.
Cairness bowed, with no realization70 of the humor of it. "You are equally fortunate," he said easily, and motioned with his hand to the opening above, where Felipa was going. He might have been under his own roof, and that the door.
Landor went. Felipa waited for him, already mounted. He mounted his own horse and rode beside her back to the post. They did not speak, and he was conscious above his anger that his fondness for her had been gradually turning to dislike, and was now loathing71. He had seen her dragging in the dust before him, pleading abjectly72. She had humiliated73 him and herself in the presence of Cairness, of all men, and he would never forget it. A woman who once grovels74 at a man's feet has lost thenceforth her power over him.
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1
tune
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| n.调子；和谐，协调；v.调音，调节，调整 | |
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2
labor
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| n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦 | |
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circumspection
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| n.细心，慎重 | |
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enlistment
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| n.应征入伍，获得，取得 | |
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5
afterward
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| adv.后来；以后 | |
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impersonality
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| n.无人情味 | |
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capers
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| n.开玩笑( caper的名词复数 )；刺山柑v.跳跃，雀跃( caper的第三人称单数 ) | |
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8
whittled
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| v.切，削（木头），使逐渐变小( whittle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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9
perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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10
retired
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| adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的 | |
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11
triumphant
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| adj.胜利的，成功的；狂欢的，喜悦的 | |
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12
subdued
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| adj. 屈服的，柔和的，减弱的 动词subdue的过去式和过去分词 | |
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13
middle-aged
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| adj.中年的 | |
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14
mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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15
majestic
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| adj.雄伟的，壮丽的，庄严的，威严的，崇高的 | |
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16
drudges
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| n.做苦工的人，劳碌的人( drudge的名词复数 ) | |
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17
squatting
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| v.像动物一样蹲下( squat的现在分词 )；非法擅自占用（土地或房屋）；为获得其所有权；而占用某片公共用地。 | |
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18
fore
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| adv.在前面；adj.先前的；在前部的；n.前部 | |
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salvation
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| n.（尤指基督）救世，超度，拯救，解困 | |
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20
garb
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| n.服装，装束 | |
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21
blues
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| n.抑郁，沮丧；布鲁斯音乐 | |
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22
poetical
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| adj.似诗人的；诗一般的；韵文的；富有诗意的 | |
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23
sonnet
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| n.十四行诗 | |
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aspired
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| v.渴望，追求( aspire的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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25
aspirations
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| 强烈的愿望( aspiration的名词复数 )； 志向； 发送气音； 发 h 音 | |
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26
vice
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| n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的 | |
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27
shrugged
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| vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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undone
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| a.未做完的，未完成的 | |
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prosaic
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| adj.单调的，无趣的 | |
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30
materialistic
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| a.唯物主义的，物质享乐主义的 | |
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31
pony
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| adj.小型的；n.小马 | |
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32
lariat
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| n.系绳，套索；v.用套索套捕 | |
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33
battered
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| adj.磨损的；v.连续猛击；磨损 | |
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34
brass
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| n.黄铜；黄铜器，铜管乐器 | |
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35
trumpet
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| n.喇叭，喇叭声；v.吹喇叭，吹嘘 | |
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arroyo
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| n.干涸的河床，小河 | |
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crumbling
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| adj.摇摇欲坠的 | |
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38
creek
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| n.小溪，小河，小湾 | |
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39
crest
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| n.顶点；饰章；羽冠；vt.达到顶点；vi.形成浪尖 | |
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40
brink
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| n.(悬崖、河流等的)边缘，边沿 | |
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41
scooped
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| v.抢先报道( scoop的过去式和过去分词 )；（敏捷地）抱起；抢先获得；用铲[勺]等挖（洞等） | |
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42
clump
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| n.树丛，草丛；vi.用沉重的脚步行走 | |
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43
weird
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| adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的 | |
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44
gnawed
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| 咬( gnaw的过去式和过去分词 )； （长时间） 折磨某人； （使）苦恼； （长时间）危害某事物 | |
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45
missionary
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| adj.教会的，传教(士)的；n.传教士 | |
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46
dint
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| n.由于，靠；凹坑 | |
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47
pounce
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| n.猛扑；v.猛扑，突然袭击，欣然同意 | |
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48
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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49
shimmering
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| v.闪闪发光，发微光( shimmer的现在分词 ) | |
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50
clinching
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| v.（尤指两人）互相紧紧抱[扭]住( clinch的现在分词 )；解决（争端、交易），达成（协议） | |
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51
wilderness
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| n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠 | |
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52
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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53
agile
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| adj.敏捷的，灵活的 | |
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54
physically
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| adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律 | |
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55
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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56
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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57
ledge
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| n.壁架，架状突出物；岩架，岩礁 | |
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58
defiant
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| adj.无礼的，挑战的 | |
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59
penitent
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| adj.后悔的；n.后悔者；忏悔者 | |
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60
exasperated
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| adj.恼怒的 | |
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61
scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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62
crunching
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| v.嘎吱嘎吱地咬嚼( crunch的现在分词 )；嘎吱作响；（快速大量地）处理信息；数字捣弄 | |
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63
gravel
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| n.砂跞；砂砾层；结石 | |
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64
jack
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| n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克 | |
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65
killing
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| n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财 | |
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66
sinewy
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| adj.多腱的，强壮有力的 | |
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67
abruptly
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| adv.突然地，出其不意地 | |
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68
rigid
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| adj.严格的，死板的；刚硬的，僵硬的 | |
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69
rebound
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| v.弹回；n.弹回，跳回 | |
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70
realization
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| n.实现；认识到，深刻了解 | |
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71
loathing
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| n.厌恶，憎恨v.憎恨，厌恶( loathe的现在分词)；极不喜欢 | |
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72
abjectly
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| 凄惨地； 绝望地； 糟透地； 悲惨地 | |
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73
humiliated
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| 感到羞愧的 | |
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grovels
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| v.卑躬屈节，奴颜婢膝( grovel的第三人称单数 )；趴 | |
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