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CHAPTER XIX RIDERS OF PORTENT
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 Minnie Pine could get from one place to another more quickly and with less noise than any one at Sky Line.
 
When Rod Stone came in at dusk she came running to him in the shadows to whisper in his ear.
 
“The Sun Woman from the flats on Nameless,” she said, “has thrown their words back in the faces of the Master and the Boss—and they have given her to Sud to guard—in Rainbow’s Pot with Big Basford at the Flange1. It’s devil’s work.”
 
There was little or no expression on the half-breed’s placid2 face, but there was plenty of it in her low voice.
 
“Good God!” said the boy, “are you sure, Minnie?”
 
“I heard—and I saw,” she answered, “and my heart is heavy for the pretty one with the eagle’s eyes. She does not fear—but she does not know.”
 
Rod Stone put out an arm and hugged the girl gently.
 
“You’re a real woman, kid, if your skin is brown,” he said admiringly, “and after all, it’s heart that counts. Now tell me about this.”
 
They stood close together in the shadows of the fir beside the corral and the girl talked swiftly, recounting with almost flawless accuracy what had taken place in the Inner Room.
 
The boy was silent but his lips were tightly compressed and his blue eyes shone with wrath3.
 
“I came,” said Minnie frankly4, “to you, because you are the only man at Sky Line. The rest are skunks5. Josefa says you have the heart of a Pomo chief.”
 
Stone stood for a long time considering.
 
Then he drew a deep breath and flung up his head.
 
The motion was full of portent6, as if something in him which had long bowed down sprang aloft with vigor7, like a young tree, bent8 to earth, released.
 
“You’re right,” he said, “it’s devil’s work and something must be done. I am the one to do it, too.”
 
He was silent for another space. Then he turned to the girl.
 
“Kid,” he said, “I’ve been thinking about you lately—about making a get-a-way down the Pipe some night and striking across the desert for Marston—we could find a parson there and drop over the Line into Mexico. Arnold hasn’t much on me—perhaps less than on anyone at Sky Line—and we could make a new start——”
 
There was the soft sound of an indrawn breath and Minnie Pine’s hand went to her shapely throat.
 
Stone went on.
 
“If I do this—if I hit down for Cordova tonight—you know, of course, that it is very likely to be the end of me one way or another, in the general stir-up that will follow. I want you to know any way before I start—that I’d like that new beginning—with you.”
 
For a long moment there was no sound save the myriad9 voices of the conifers talking mysteriously with the winds of night.
 
Then the Pomo girl put her hands on the white man’s shoulders.
 
“A chief,” she said, “does what must be done—without fear—and a chief’s woman follows him—even to death. Saddle two horses.”
 
At Sheriff Price Selwood’s ranch10 an anxious circle watched the still form on the bed. The doctor from Bement had not left his station for seven hours. Outside cowboys, all armed, walked here and there, and on the deep veranda11 sat the prospector12, Smith, smoking innumerable cigarettes and waiting on destiny.
 
Though he was filled with inner excitement his dark face gave no sign. He sat tilted13 back against the wall, his booted feet on the round of his chair, his hat pulled low over his eyes, and his keen vision sweeping14 the stretch of meadow that lay before the ranch house.
 
“It may be an hour—it may be ten—but something is going to happen soon,” the doctor had said at dusk, “he will either rally or sink. If he speaks he will be rational, I think.”
 
And on that chance the stranger waited to ask one question, namely: “What is the secret of Sky Line? Where is the other end of the passage?”
 
For all the hours that Price Selwood had lain unconscious fourteen men under Bossick had camped in a glade15 under the flaring16 skirts of Mystery’s western end, ready to answer Fair’s summons.
 
Diamond waited in Selwood’s stable, saddled and fit, and everything waited on the intrepid17 sheriff himself who had done such valiant18 work “to get the goods” on Sky Line.
 
A late round moon was rising above the distant rimrock of Rainbow Cliff, a great golden disc that promised full light, and all the little winds, born in the cañons of the Deep Heart hills, frolicked like elves among the trees.
 
Fair’s thoughts were of the girl on Nameless—of her long blue eyes with their steady light, of her smiling lips and the golden crown of her braided hair.
 
He drifted away, as lovers have done since time was, and it was the low-toned voice of the doctor which recalled him.
 
“Mr. Smith,” it said without a change of inflection, “come in carefully.”
 
He rose and, tossing away his cigarette, stepped softly across the sill.
 
In the faint light of the oil lamp on a stand Sheriff Selwood looked up into the face of his wife, bending above him.
 
“Sally,” he said weakly.
 
Then he turned his head and looked slowly around at the others.
 
“Hello, Doc,” he whispered, then—“they didn’t get me—after all! Smith—Smith——” a sudden light leaped into the dazed eyes, “I saw—them drive Bossick’s—Bossick’s steers19 into the face of—Rainbow Cliff a mile west—of Sky Line——”
 
“That’s plenty,” said Fair quickly, “you mustn’t talk, Selwood—mind the doctor—I’m leaving now.”
 
And with a gentle touch on the sick man’s shoulder he was gone.
 
He ran to the stable and got Diamond.
 
Five of Selwood’s riders were throwing saddles on horses.
 
In less time than seemed possible the six men were riding for the rendezvous20 on Nameless.
 
All along the flowing river there was the seeming of portent, a strange sense of impending21 tragedy, for many riders were abroad in the quiet night.
 
One of these was Bud Allison, his young face set and awful, his Pappy’s old rifle grasped in a steady hand, pushing Big Dan to an unaccustomed limit of speed toward Sheriff Selwood’s ranch.
 
The boy was praying that he might find Brand there—and the old gun was destined22 for action.
 
But within the narrow margin23 of a mile Fair was passing toward the north as he went south—and thus Bud missed him with the news of Nance24’s disappearance25. Had they met, the happenings of that night might have had a different ending, for Fair would have stormed the citadel26 of Sky Line like a fury, forgetting all things in his fear for the woman he loved—the ends of justice which he sought to serve, Bossick’s steers and everything else.
 
And in the shadow of Rainbow Cliff Rod Stone and Minnie Pine waited patiently for the ranch to settle down that they might slip away.
 
It was a dark night, soft and soundless, with all things waiting in a mysterious hush27.
 
At the camp on the skirts of Mystery, Fair found Bossick ready.
 
“Selwood’s conscious,” he told him quickly, “and his first thought was of his race for life. He said ‘they didn’t get me after all,’ and ‘I saw them driving Bossick’s steers into the face of Rainbow Cliff a mile from Sky Line.’ That’s the secret he discovered and for which they tried to kill him.
 
“There’s some sort of opening in the rock face which connects with the subterranean28 passage that leads to Blue Stone Cañon, the desert range beyond, and finally to Marston on the railroad. That, gentlemen, is the secret of your disappearing cattle. Selwood said they always vanished at the same time Kate Cathrew drove her stock down to Cordova and out to the station—do you see?
 
“The drive, coming down to the river, obliterated29 all tracks of those going up. Now that we know I think we’ve got the Sky Line rustlers dead to rights. There are twenty-one of us.
 
“We’ll divide you; you, Bossick, going with your party up to Rainbow Cliff, and I striking up through the mysterious passage. This trip will take a long hard grill30, for it is far up Blue Stone to the south, and none of us know the length of the underground way.
 
“However, it must lead to some pocket not far from the cliff itself and on the inside. A gun-shot will locate us when we are ready for each other. Lord knows what we’ll find, or what the outcome will be. Let’s go.”
 
And so it was that some time later Brand Fair with his posse passed close along the upper edge of Nance Allison’s ruined field and thought tenderly of the blue-eyed girl with her dogged courage and her simple faith, little dreaming that she was not safe in her bed in the cabin.
 
The hours of the night wore on.
 
Far down in the open reaches poor Dan was loping gallantly31 with open mouth and laboring32 lungs while the boy on his back drove him relentlessly33 on in a desperate attempt to overtake Fair, whom the sentries34 at Selwood’s ranch had described as on the way to Mystery Ridge35.
 
Crossing diagonally down, Rod Stone, safe away from Sky Line at last, made for Cordova with Minnie Pine behind him.
 
Bossick, having the shortest journey of all, sat in a clump36 of pines with his men around him, and waited in strained silence for a distant shot.
 
It was well after midnight when two things took place at almost the same moment—Brand Fair rode in behind the clump of willows37 that were always blowing out from the cañon’s wall with his men in single file behind him—and Rod Stone got off his horse at Cordova. He handed his rein38 to the Pomo girl and went swiftly up the steps, opening the door upon the lighted room where a group of men were playing. They were mostly from the Upper Country, though one or two were Cordovans. Among them were the bearded man who had sat on McKane’s porch that day in spring and watched Cattle Kate come riding in on Bluefire, and the young cowboy with whom he had spoken concerning them.
 
Stone, a Sky Line man, received cold glances from the faces raised at his entrance. All Nameless knew and disapproved40 of Sky Line. But the boy was made of courageous41 stuff and he tackled the issue promptly42.
 
“Men,” he said sharply, “I’m from Sky Line, as you all know, and you may class me now as a traitor43 to my outfit44. Perhaps I am. That’s neither here nor there. I don’t give a damn whether I am or not. I’d have stood true in all cases but one. That one has happened. There’s a good girl—a Bible girl, like I used to know back in the middle west—shut up in a secret spot with Sud Provine—and I’ve got to have help to save her and that quick. She’s a fighter, I think, and is strong—but—you all know Provine. I don’t know what I’m stirring up and I don’t care. Will you come?”
 
Every chair at the dirty canvas-covered table but one shot back and outward as the players rose.
 
“Where’s this here spot—an’ who’s th’ girl?” said the cowboy. “Lead us to ’em.”
 
“In Rainbow Cliff—and the Allison girl from the homestead on the River.”
 
“Th’ hell you say! Ain’t that poor kid had enough trouble?”
 
But McKane the trader spoke39 from where he sat, frowning.
 
“Ain’t you all taking a lot for granted?” he asked, “and mussing in Kate Cathrew’s business?”
 
The bearded man turned on him.
 
“Damn Kate Cathrew’s business! She can’t give a decent girl to that slimy rep-tile Provine and get by with it in this man’s country—not by a damn sight! Get your horses, boys!”
 
As the players surged out, McKane, obeying some apprehensive45 instinct which pulled at his heart like a cold hand, rose and followed.
 
“Wait till I get mine!” he shouted as he ran.
 

点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 flange 0jgxj     
n.边缘,轮缘,凸缘,法兰
参考例句:
  • These include gusset plates welded to the flange.这些包括焊接到翼缘上的节点板。
  • Three structures have exhibited cracking at the ends of flange gusset plates.已有三个结构在翼缘节点板端部出现了裂纹.
2 placid 7A1yV     
adj.安静的,平和的
参考例句:
  • He had been leading a placid life for the past eight years.八年来他一直过着平静的生活。
  • You should be in a placid mood and have a heart-to- heart talk with her.你应该心平气和的好好和她谈谈心。
3 wrath nVNzv     
n.愤怒,愤慨,暴怒
参考例句:
  • His silence marked his wrath. 他的沉默表明了他的愤怒。
  • The wrath of the people is now aroused. 人们被激怒了。
4 frankly fsXzcf     
adv.坦白地,直率地;坦率地说
参考例句:
  • To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说,我一点也不赞成这个主意。
  • Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说,我不反对改革。
5 skunks 0828a7f0a6238cd46b9be5116e60b73e     
n.臭鼬( skunk的名词复数 );臭鼬毛皮;卑鄙的人;可恶的人
参考例句:
  • Slim swans and slender skunks swim in the slippery slime. 苗条的天鹅和纤细的臭鼬在滑滑的黏泥上游泳。 来自互联网
  • But not all baby skunks are so lucky. -We're coming down. 但不是所有的臭鼬宝宝都会如此幸运。-我们正在下来。 来自互联网
6 portent 5ioy4     
n.预兆;恶兆;怪事
参考例句:
  • I see it as a portent of things to come.我把它看作是将要到来的事物的前兆。
  • As for her engagement with Adam,I would say the portents are gloomy.至于她和亚当的婚约,我看兆头不妙。
7 vigor yLHz0     
n.活力,精力,元气
参考例句:
  • The choir sang the words out with great vigor.合唱团以极大的热情唱出了歌词。
  • She didn't want to be reminded of her beauty or her former vigor.现在,她不愿人们提起她昔日的美丽和以前的精力充沛。
8 bent QQ8yD     
n.爱好,癖好;adj.弯的;决心的,一心的
参考例句:
  • He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
  • We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。
9 myriad M67zU     
adj.无数的;n.无数,极大数量
参考例句:
  • They offered no solution for all our myriad problems.对于我们数不清的问题他们束手无策。
  • I had three weeks to make a myriad of arrangements.我花了三个星期做大量准备工作。
10 ranch dAUzk     
n.大牧场,大农场
参考例句:
  • He went to work on a ranch.他去一个大农场干活。
  • The ranch is in the middle of a large plateau.该牧场位于一个辽阔高原的中部。
11 veranda XfczWG     
n.走廊;阳台
参考例句:
  • She sat in the shade on the veranda.她坐在阳台上的遮荫处。
  • They were strolling up and down the veranda.他们在走廊上来回徜徉。
12 prospector JRhxB     
n.探矿者
参考例句:
  • Although he failed as a prospector, he succeeded as a journalist.他作为采矿者遭遇失败,但作为记者大获成功。
  • The prospector staked his claim to the mine he discovered.那个勘探者立桩标出他所发现的矿区地以示归己所有。
13 tilted 3gtzE5     
v. 倾斜的
参考例句:
  • Suddenly the boat tilted to one side. 小船突然倾向一侧。
  • She tilted her chin at him defiantly. 她向他翘起下巴表示挑衅。
14 sweeping ihCzZ4     
adj.范围广大的,一扫无遗的
参考例句:
  • The citizens voted for sweeping reforms.公民投票支持全面的改革。
  • Can you hear the wind sweeping through the branches?你能听到风掠过树枝的声音吗?
15 glade kgTxM     
n.林间空地,一片表面有草的沼泽低地
参考例句:
  • In the midst of a glade were several huts.林中的空地中间有几间小木屋。
  • The family had their lunch in the glade.全家在林中的空地上吃了午饭。
16 flaring Bswzxn     
a.火焰摇曳的,过份艳丽的
参考例句:
  • A vulgar flaring paper adorned the walls. 墙壁上装饰着廉价的花纸。
  • Goebbels was flaring up at me. 戈塔尔当时已对我面呈愠色。
17 intrepid NaYzz     
adj.无畏的,刚毅的
参考例句:
  • He is not really satisfied with his intrepid action.他没有真正满意他的无畏行动。
  • John's intrepid personality made him a good choice for team leader.约翰勇敢的个性适合作领导工作。
18 valiant YKczP     
adj.勇敢的,英勇的;n.勇士,勇敢的人
参考例句:
  • He had the fame of being very valiant.他的勇敢是出名的。
  • Despite valiant efforts by the finance minister,inflation rose to 36%.尽管财政部部长采取了一系列果决措施,通货膨胀率还是涨到了36%。
19 steers e3d6e83a30b6de2d194d59dbbdf51e12     
n.阉公牛,肉用公牛( steer的名词复数 )v.驾驶( steer的第三人称单数 );操纵;控制;引导
参考例句:
  • This car steers easily. 这部车子易于驾驶。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Good fodder fleshed the steers up. 优质饲料使菜牛长肉。 来自辞典例句
20 rendezvous XBfzj     
n.约会,约会地点,汇合点;vi.汇合,集合;vt.使汇合,使在汇合地点相遇
参考例句:
  • She made the rendezvous with only minutes to spare.她还差几分钟时才来赴约。
  • I have a rendezvous with Peter at a restaurant on the harbour.我和彼得在海港的一个餐馆有个约会。
21 impending 3qHzdb     
a.imminent, about to come or happen
参考例句:
  • Against a background of impending famine, heavy fighting took place. 即将发生饥荒之时,严重的战乱爆发了。
  • The king convoke parliament to cope with the impending danger. 国王召开国会以应付迫近眉睫的危险。
22 destined Dunznz     
adj.命中注定的;(for)以…为目的地的
参考例句:
  • It was destined that they would marry.他们结婚是缘分。
  • The shipment is destined for America.这批货物将运往美国。
23 margin 67Mzp     
n.页边空白;差额;余地,余裕;边,边缘
参考例句:
  • We allowed a margin of 20 minutes in catching the train.我们有20分钟的余地赶火车。
  • The village is situated at the margin of a forest.村子位于森林的边缘。
24 nance Gnsz41     
n.娘娘腔的男人,男同性恋者
参考例句:
  • I think he's an awful nance.我觉得他这个人太娘娘腔了。
  • He doesn't like to be called a nance.他不喜欢被叫做娘娘腔。
25 disappearance ouEx5     
n.消失,消散,失踪
参考例句:
  • He was hard put to it to explain her disappearance.他难以说明她为什么不见了。
  • Her disappearance gave rise to the wildest rumours.她失踪一事引起了各种流言蜚语。
26 citadel EVYy0     
n.城堡;堡垒;避难所
参考例句:
  • The citadel was solid.城堡是坚固的。
  • This citadel is built on high ground for protecting the city.这座城堡建于高处是为保护城市。
27 hush ecMzv     
int.嘘,别出声;n.沉默,静寂;v.使安静
参考例句:
  • A hush fell over the onlookers.旁观者们突然静了下来。
  • Do hush up the scandal!不要把这丑事声张出去!
28 subterranean ssWwo     
adj.地下的,地表下的
参考例句:
  • London has 9 miles of such subterranean passages.伦敦像这样的地下通道有9英里长。
  • We wandered through subterranean passages.我们漫游地下通道。
29 obliterated 5b21c854b61847047948152f774a0c94     
v.除去( obliterate的过去式和过去分词 );涂去;擦掉;彻底破坏或毁灭
参考例句:
  • The building was completely obliterated by the bomb. 炸弹把那座建筑物彻底摧毁了。
  • He began to drink, drank himself to intoxication, till he slept obliterated. 他一直喝,喝到他快要迷糊地睡着了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
30 grill wQ8zb     
n.烤架,铁格子,烤肉;v.烧,烤,严加盘问
参考例句:
  • Put it under the grill for a minute to brown the top.放在烤架下烤一分钟把上面烤成金黄色。
  • I'll grill you some mutton.我来给你烤一些羊肉吃。
31 gallantly gallantly     
adv. 漂亮地,勇敢地,献殷勤地
参考例句:
  • He gallantly offered to carry her cases to the car. 他殷勤地要帮她把箱子拎到车子里去。
  • The new fighters behave gallantly under fire. 新战士在炮火下表现得很勇敢。
32 laboring 2749babc1b2a966d228f9122be56f4cb     
n.劳动,操劳v.努力争取(for)( labor的现在分词 );苦干;详细分析;(指引擎)缓慢而困难地运转
参考例句:
  • The young man who said laboring was beneath his dignity finally put his pride in his pocket and got a job as a kitchen porter. 那个说过干活儿有失其身份的年轻人最终只能忍辱,做了厨房搬运工的工作。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • But this knowledge did not keep them from laboring to save him. 然而,这并不妨碍她们尽力挽救他。 来自飘(部分)
33 relentlessly Rk4zSD     
adv.不屈不挠地;残酷地;不间断
参考例句:
  • The African sun beat relentlessly down on his aching head. 非洲的太阳无情地照射在他那发痛的头上。
  • He pursued her relentlessly, refusing to take 'no' for an answer. 他锲而不舍地追求她,拒不接受“不”的回答。
34 sentries abf2b0a58d9af441f9cfde2e380ae112     
哨兵,步兵( sentry的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • We posted sentries at the gates of the camp. 我们在军营的大门口布置哨兵。
  • We were guarded by sentries against surprise attack. 我们由哨兵守卫,以免遭受突袭。
35 ridge KDvyh     
n.山脊;鼻梁;分水岭
参考例句:
  • We clambered up the hillside to the ridge above.我们沿着山坡费力地爬上了山脊。
  • The infantry were advancing to attack the ridge.步兵部队正在向前挺进攻打山脊。
36 clump xXfzH     
n.树丛,草丛;vi.用沉重的脚步行走
参考例句:
  • A stream meandered gently through a clump of trees.一条小溪从树丛中蜿蜒穿过。
  • It was as if he had hacked with his thick boots at a clump of bluebells.仿佛他用自己的厚靴子无情地践踏了一丛野风信子。
37 willows 79355ee67d20ddbc021d3e9cb3acd236     
n.柳树( willow的名词复数 );柳木
参考例句:
  • The willows along the river bank look very beautiful. 河岸边的柳树很美。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Willows are planted on both sides of the streets. 街道两侧种着柳树。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
38 rein xVsxs     
n.疆绳,统治,支配;vt.以僵绳控制,统治
参考例句:
  • The horse answered to the slightest pull on the rein.只要缰绳轻轻一拉,马就作出反应。
  • He never drew rein for a moment till he reached the river.他一刻不停地一直跑到河边。
39 spoke XryyC     
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
参考例句:
  • They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
  • The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。
40 disapproved 3ee9b7bf3f16130a59cb22aafdea92d0     
v.不赞成( disapprove的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • My parents disapproved of my marriage. 我父母不赞成我的婚事。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • She disapproved of her son's indiscriminate television viewing. 她不赞成儿子不加选择地收看电视。 来自《简明英汉词典》
41 courageous HzSx7     
adj.勇敢的,有胆量的
参考例句:
  • We all honour courageous people.我们都尊重勇敢的人。
  • He was roused to action by courageous words.豪言壮语促使他奋起行动。
42 promptly LRMxm     
adv.及时地,敏捷地
参考例句:
  • He paid the money back promptly.他立即还了钱。
  • She promptly seized the opportunity his absence gave her.她立即抓住了因他不在场给她创造的机会。
43 traitor GqByW     
n.叛徒,卖国贼
参考例句:
  • The traitor was finally found out and put in prison.那个卖国贼终于被人发现并被监禁了起来。
  • He was sold out by a traitor and arrested.他被叛徒出卖而被捕了。
44 outfit YJTxC     
n.(为特殊用途的)全套装备,全套服装
参考例句:
  • Jenney bought a new outfit for her daughter's wedding.珍妮为参加女儿的婚礼买了一套新装。
  • His father bought a ski outfit for him on his birthday.他父亲在他生日那天给他买了一套滑雪用具。
45 apprehensive WNkyw     
adj.担心的,恐惧的,善于领会的
参考例句:
  • She was deeply apprehensive about her future.她对未来感到非常担心。
  • He was rather apprehensive of failure.他相当害怕失败。


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