“Shot a coyote just first light,” he told Jack1 the next evening, sloshing his face with hot water, lathering2 up soap and hoping his razor had some cut left in it, while Jack peeled potatoes. “Big son of a bitch. Balls on him size a apples. I bet he’d took a few lambs. Looked like he could a eat a camel. You want some a this hot water?
There’s plenty.”
“It’s all yours.”
“Well, I’m goin a warsh everthing I can reach,” he said, pulling off his boots and jeans (no drawers, no socks, Jack noticed), slopping the green washcloth around until the fire spat3. They had a high-time supper by the fire, a can of beans each, fried potatoes and a quart of whiskey on shares, sat with their backs against a log, boot soles and copper4 jeans rivets5 hot, swapping6 the bottle while the lavender sky emptied of color and the chill air drained down, drinking, smoking cigarettes, getting up every now and then to piss, firelight throwing a sparkle in the arched stream, tossing sticks on the fire to keep the talk going, talking horses and rodeo, roughstock events, wrecks7 and injuries sustained, the submarine Thresher lost two months earlier with all hands and how it must have been in the last doomed8 minutes, dogs each had owned and known, the draft, Jack’s home ranch9 where his father and mother held on, Ennis’s family place folded years ago after his folks died, the older brother in Signal and a married sister in Casper. Jack said his father had been a pretty well known bullrider years back but kept his secrets to himself, never gave Jack a word of advice, never came once to see Jack ride, though he had put him on the woolies when he was a little kid. Ennis said the kind of riding that interested him lasted longer than eight seconds and had some point to it. Money’s a good point, said Jack, and Ennis had to agree. They were respectful of each other’s opinions, each glad to have a companion where none had been expected. Ennis, riding against the wind back to the sheep in the treacherous10, drunken light, thought he’d never had such a good time, felt he could paw the white out of the moon. The summer went on and they moved the herd11 to new pasture, shifted the camp; the distance between the sheep and the new camp was greater and the night ride longer. Ennis rode easy, sleeping with his eyes open, but the hours he was away from the sheep stretched out and out. Jack pulled a squalling burr out of the harmonica, flattened12 a little from a fall off the skittish13 bay mare14, and Ennis had a good raspy voice; a few nights they mangled15 their way through some songs. Ennis knew the salty words to “Strawberry Roan.” Jack tried a Carl Perkins song, bawling16 “what I say-ay-ay,” but he favored a sad hymn17, “Water-Walking Jesus,” learned from his mother who believed in the Pentecost, that he sang at dirge18 slowness, setting off distant coyote yips.
“Too late to go out to them damn sheep,” said Ennis, dizzy drunk on all fours one cold hour when the moon had notched19 past two. The meadow stones glowed white-green and a flinty wind worked over the meadow, scraped the fire low, then ruffled20 it into yellow silk sashes. “Got you a extra blanket I’ll roll up out here and grab forty winks21, ride out at first light.”
“Freeze your ass22 off when that fire dies down. Better off sleepin in the tent.”
“Doubt I’ll feel nothin.” But he staggered under canvas, pulled his boots off, snored on the ground cloth for a while, woke Jack with the clacking of his jaw23.
“Jesus Christ, quit hammerin and get over here. Bedroll’s big enough,” said Jack in an irritable24 sleep-clogged voice. It was big enough, warm enough, and in a little while they deepened their intimacy25 considerably26. Ennis ran full-throttle on all roads whether fence mending or money spending, and he wanted none of it when Jack seized his left hand and brought it to his erect27 cock. Ennis jerked his hand away as though he’d touched fire, got to his knees, unbuckled his belt, shoved his pants down, hauled Jack onto all fours and, with the help of the clear slick and a little spit, entered him, nothing he’d done before but no instruction manual needed.
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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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2
lathering
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| n.痛打，怒骂v.（指肥皂）形成泡沫( lather的现在分词 )；用皂沫覆盖；狠狠地打 | |
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spat
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| n.口角，掌击；v.发出呼噜呼噜声 | |
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copper
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| n.铜；铜币；铜器；adj.铜(制)的；(紫)铜色的 | |
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rivets
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| 铆钉( rivet的名词复数 ) | |
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swapping
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| 交换，交换技术 | |
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wrecks
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| n.沉船( wreck的名词复数 )；（事故中）遭严重毁坏的汽车（或飞机等）；（身体或精神上）受到严重损伤的人；状况非常糟糕的车辆（或建筑物等）v.毁坏[毁灭]某物( wreck的第三人称单数 )；使（船舶）失事，使遇难，使下沉 | |
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doomed
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| 命定的 | |
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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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herd
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| n.兽群，牧群；vt.使集中，把…赶在一起 | |
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flattened
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| [医]（水）平扁的，弄平的 | |
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skittish
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| adj.易激动的，轻佻的 | |
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mare
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| n.母马，母驴 | |
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mangled
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| vt.乱砍（mangle的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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bawling
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| v.大叫，大喊( bawl的现在分词 )；放声大哭；大声叫出；叫卖（货物） | |
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hymn
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| n.赞美诗，圣歌，颂歌 | |
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dirge
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| n.哀乐，挽歌，庄重悲哀的乐曲 | |
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notched
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| a.有凹口的，有缺口的 | |
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ruffled
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| adj. 有褶饰边的, 起皱的 动词ruffle的过去式和过去分词 | |
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21
winks
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| v.使眼色( wink的第三人称单数 )；递眼色（表示友好或高兴等）；（指光）闪烁；闪亮 | |
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22
ass
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| n.驴；傻瓜，蠢笨的人 | |
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jaw
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| n.颚，颌，说教，流言蜚语；v.喋喋不休，教训 | |
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irritable
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| adj.急躁的；过敏的；易怒的 | |
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intimacy
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| n.熟悉，亲密，密切关系，亲昵的言行 | |
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considerably
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| adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上 | |
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erect
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| n./v.树立，建立，使竖立；adj.直立的，垂直的 | |
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