The starting point was so far north in Texas that the first day carried them close to the Indian Nation, through whose territory they expected to tramp for several days.
The night, as has been explained, was raw, with a fine, misty3 rain and a cutting wind. The youth was seated on his fleet-footed and intelligent Thunderbolt, with his back to the wind, after the fashion not only of all cowboys, under such circumstances, but of the animals themselves, who sometimes drift many miles before a driving storm.
He had his thick army blanket gathered about his body and shoulders, and, though the night was dismal4 and his situation far from pleasant, it still lacked the discomfort5 of many hours spent on the vast plains of the Lone6 Star State.
The young man had held his position for less than an hour when the wind changed, veering7 completely around, so that, instead of being in front of the herd and edging gradually from it, he was thrown behind the cattle, for they immediately faced about and began moving away from him.
The situation of the young herdsman became a delicate one at once. His proper place was in front, and to reach that point, he must ride around the animals, and not among them. One of the many singular features of herding8 and driving cattle is the wonderful sensitiveness shown at times by them. While there is nothing extraordinary in the wild panic often created by a thunderstorm, there are occasions when a whole herd is stampeded by a cause too trifling9 to be understood.
Our experience leads us to agree with many veteran cowboys that the cattle, when lying on the ground asleep, are sometimes troubled with bad dreams which cause such fright on their part that their excitement becomes contagious10. Then again the electrical conditions produce a morbid11 uneasiness among them as well as among men, and there seem to be times when they are simply awaiting a pretext12 for dashing off in uncontrollable panic.
Avon Burnet’s fear was that if he rode directly after the cattle, the sound of his mustang’s hoofs13 would cause alarm, since it was too dark for them to identify him. A stampede is the terror of the cowmen’s life, and no labor14 or trouble is too great to avert15 it. He, therefore, checked Thunderbolt and waited a few minutes until the cattle were so far off that he could wheel and gallop16 around their flank without frightening them.
When he thought sufficient time had elapsed, he decided17 to wait a brief while longer. His dread18 of a stampede was so strong that he was unusually careful, but 231with no thought of shirking any duty, he twitched19 the reins20 of his horse, spoke22 sharply, and without touch of spur, was off like an arrow.
Although not an animal was visible, the rider had the contour of the herd so vividly23 impressed on his mind that he felt no misgiving24, when he began edging his steed more to the left, and finally brought him to a stand-still, as he believed, at the very front of the collection. Indeed, his confidence would not have been greater had the sun been shining.
But when he halted and listened he failed to hear anything of them.
“I must have ridden too far ahead,” was his conclusion, as he started his horse on a walk to meet them; “but they are surely near by.”
Five, ten, fifteen minutes passed, and then he drew rein21 with an exclamation25 of amazement26, for his keen sense of hearing did not catch the first sound of the cattle.
“I have lost the herd!” he muttered in dismay, and such was the fact. His cheeks burned with chagrin27 at the consciousness of what at first thought seems an impossible error on the part of man or youth with any experience in attending cattle.
It was Avon’s first mishap28 of the kind, and he felt as though he could never face his comrades again, if they should discover the blunder, which, after all, was not so striking, when the attendant circumstances are borne in mind.
But if excuse could be accepted for his slip, there was none for inaction after its discovery. It was not to be supposed that the animals would set out to hunt him, nor that any knowledge could be gained of them by idleness. There were other men on duty, and he shouted at the top of his voice, in the hope of receiving a response, but there was none.
Slipping from his saddle, he knelt down and placed his ear to the ground. He fancied he detected faint sounds, such as are made by multitudinous hoofs on the soft, wet earth, but the noises were so slight that he could not identify the direction whence they came, and he hastily climbed into the saddle again.
He realized that he was lost, and well aware that at such times it is useless to puzzle one’s brains about the point of the compass, he dashed in the direction which seemed to be the right one. Of course, as in his recent experience, it proved to be wrong, and he now spurred toward the top of the ridge29 or hill, which it was easy to identify under the tread of his mustang. He was confident that this elevation30 would yield the key to the situation and he was not mistaken.
From the crest31 he observed the starlike glimmer32 of a lantern, and no sight, except that of the herd itself, could have been more welcome. It was the signal suspended every night from the front bow of the wagon33, to guide the men whenever they needed guidance.
Confident that someone would be found at that point who could give him the important news he was seeking, Avon rode thither34 on a dead run. He saw no one stirring as he galloped35 up. The cook, who had charge of the wagon, was asleep, and the men off duty were slumbering36 soundly, while the chance was theirs.
But young Burnet had scarcely checked his mustang, when the sound of someone riding his horse equally fast reached his ear, and the next instant Oscar Gleeson dashed beside him.
“Howdy, Baby, is that you?” he asked, peering at the young man dimly seen in the scant37 yellow rays of the lantern.
“Yes, Ballyhoo,” was the reply; “I’m in trouble.”
“What is it?”
“I’ve lost the herd.”
The Texan shook in his saddle with laughter.
“That’s me, too; the first thing I knowed they was gone. I yelled for you, but you couldn’t have heard me, and, after cantering round awhile, I struck for the wagon in quest of news.”
Avon drew a sigh of relief, and with a smile:
“I’m glad you lost them, for the boys won’t laugh at you, while they would at me.”
“I don’t think there’s anyone in that crowd that will laugh, for they all had the same experience. I know Old Bronze and Short Stop have lost a herd more than once.”
“It won’t do to stay here,” remarked Avon, “for you know there is another herd only a mile off, and if the two become mixed, it will be a big job to cut out ours to-morrow.”
“I shouldn’t wonder,” replied Gleeson, “if the cattle have gone back to the bed-ground; at any rate we’ll look for them there.”
The return to the wagon enabled the couple to obtain their bearings, and they knew the proper course to reach the spot, but the possibility of the theory being wrong caused them to separate, so as to proceed thither by routes which, while substantially parallel, were so far apart that they were out of each other’s sight and hearing, the latter being chiefly due to the direction of the wind.
Avon spurred Thunderbolt into an easy canter, the soft grass making the travel easy, though there was always the risk of his animal sinking one or more of his hoofs into a hole, with the prospect38 of a broken leg for the horse and a dislocated neck for his rider.
When it seemed to the latter that he had passed the intervening distance, he drew his mustang to a walk, listening and peering through the gloom with all the power at his command. There was no lighting39 of the darkness, the wind still blew keenly, and the fine drizzling40 rain continued.
No sight nor sound came to him, and, once more bringing his animal to a halt, he dismounted and pressed his ear to the ground.
This time he caught a distinct noise: it was that made by the hoofs of a horse. He was walking, and was so near that Thunderbolt pricked41 his ears and uttered a faint whinny of salutation. Avon instantly rose to his feet, and remounted.
Looking keenly into the wet darkness, he became aware that a horse was standing42 motionless but a short distance off on his left. In the gloom the outlines could be traced, but so dimly that he was uncertain whether he had a rider or not. The steed held his head well up like Thunderbolt, and appeared to be scrutinizing43 the youth and his animal with a curiosity equal to theirs.
There was something so impressive in the sight of the statue-like object, which emitted not the slightest sound, that young Burnet hesitated whether to advance or to await its approach. The man could not be Gleeson, and, whoever he was, it was evident that he regarded Avon with inquiring suspicion.
But unwilling44 to maintain the trying situation, the latter touched the neck of his mustang in a way which the animal recognized as a command to move forward very slowly. He obeyed, and had advanced but a few short steps when Avon to his astonishment45 perceived that the strange horse was without a rider.
“I don’t understand that,” mused46 the mystified young man, stopping his own animal, with several yards separating them; “he must have an owner, and what can have become of him, and why is–––”
At that instant he observed a suspicious movement, seemingly from the other side of the steed. Before he could divine its nature, a rifle was discharged almost in his face and he went off his mustang like a flash.
点击收听单词发音
1 helping | |
n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的,辅助的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
2 herd | |
n.兽群,牧群;vt.使集中,把…赶在一起 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
3 misty | |
adj.雾蒙蒙的,有雾的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
4 dismal | |
adj.阴沉的,凄凉的,令人忧郁的,差劲的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
5 discomfort | |
n.不舒服,不安,难过,困难,不方便 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
6 lone | |
adj.孤寂的,单独的;唯一的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
7 veering | |
n.改变的;犹豫的;顺时针方向转向;特指使船尾转向上风来改变航向v.(尤指交通工具)改变方向或路线( veer的现在分词 );(指谈话内容、人的行为或观点)突然改变;(指风) (在北半球按顺时针方向、在南半球按逆时针方向)逐渐转向;风向顺时针转 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
8 herding | |
中畜群 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
9 trifling | |
adj.微不足道的;没什么价值的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
10 contagious | |
adj.传染性的,有感染力的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
11 morbid | |
adj.病的;致病的;病态的;可怕的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
12 pretext | |
n.借口,托词 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
13 hoofs | |
n.(兽的)蹄,马蹄( hoof的名词复数 )v.(兽的)蹄,马蹄( hoof的第三人称单数 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
14 labor | |
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 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
15 avert | |
v.防止,避免;转移(目光、注意力等) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
16 gallop | |
v./n.(马或骑马等)飞奔;飞速发展 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
17 decided | |
adj.决定了的,坚决的;明显的,明确的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
18 dread | |
vt.担忧,忧虑;惧怕,不敢;n.担忧,畏惧 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
19 twitched | |
vt.& vi.(使)抽动,(使)颤动(twitch的过去式与过去分词形式) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
20 reins | |
感情,激情; 缰( rein的名词复数 ); 控制手段; 掌管; (成人带着幼儿走路以防其走失时用的)保护带 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
21 rein | |
n.疆绳,统治,支配;vt.以僵绳控制,统治 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
22 spoke | |
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: |
|
|
23 vividly | |
adv.清楚地,鲜明地,生动地 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
24 misgiving | |
n.疑虑,担忧,害怕 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
25 exclamation | |
n.感叹号,惊呼,惊叹词 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
26 amazement | |
n.惊奇,惊讶 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
27 chagrin | |
n.懊恼;气愤;委屈 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
28 mishap | |
n.不幸的事,不幸;灾祸 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
29 ridge | |
n.山脊;鼻梁;分水岭 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
30 elevation | |
n.高度;海拔;高地;上升;提高 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
31 crest | |
n.顶点;饰章;羽冠;vt.达到顶点;vi.形成浪尖 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
32 glimmer | |
v.发出闪烁的微光;n.微光,微弱的闪光 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
33 wagon | |
n.四轮马车,手推车,面包车;无盖运货列车 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
34 thither | |
adv.向那里;adj.在那边的,对岸的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
35 galloped | |
(使马)飞奔,奔驰( gallop的过去式和过去分词 ); 快速做[说]某事 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
36 slumbering | |
微睡,睡眠(slumber的现在分词形式) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
37 scant | |
adj.不充分的,不足的;v.减缩,限制,忽略 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
38 prospect | |
n.前景,前途;景色,视野 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
39 lighting | |
n.照明,光线的明暗,舞台灯光 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
40 drizzling | |
下蒙蒙细雨,下毛毛雨( drizzle的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
41 pricked | |
刺,扎,戳( prick的过去式和过去分词 ); 刺伤; 刺痛; 使剧痛 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
42 standing | |
n.持续,地位;adj.永久的,不动的,直立的,不流动的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
43 scrutinizing | |
v.仔细检查,详审( scrutinize的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
44 unwilling | |
adj.不情愿的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
45 astonishment | |
n.惊奇,惊异 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
46 mused | |
v.沉思,冥想( muse的过去式和过去分词 );沉思自语说(某事) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
欢迎访问英文小说网 |