Chapter 31 Blue Pete Returns

 Inspector¹ Barker drummed on his desk.

 

"Bert, of the 3-bar-Y, has turned up, Priest tells me."

 

Sergeant² Mahon managed to stifle³ outward evidence of the thrill that sent his blood tingling⁴. He did not reply. "Don't mangle⁵ your brains over it, Boy. You've been in the Police long enough to add two and two."

 

Still no reply.

 

"While you're digesting it, bite on this: Most of the horses Dutch Henry and Bilsy stole last fall are back in their owners' hands."

 

Mahon began to laugh happily. "I'll stake my life that every one Blue Pete stole--every one that's alive, anyway--is among them."

 

"You're coming along, Boy . . . but just a bit too fast. Try and take this standing⁶: Blue Pete never stole a horse after he left the Police!"

 

Mahon's brows met in surprise.

 

"No, I'm not crazy," grinned the Inspector. "I'm not even trying to delude⁷ myself. . . . And he never was such a friend of mine as you thought he was of yours."

 

Mahon controlled himself to formality. "I'll go out and find him, sir, if you say so, and let him tell his own story."

 

"You'll find him when it pleases him to be found."

 

"If you don't mind, sir, I'd like to get back to the Lodge⁸ right away. I feel as if I need ranchers and cowboys to remove the taste of that north country from my mouth."

 

A slow smile crept into the Inspector's face.

 

"I imagine it'll please him to be found--and by you," he said.

 

As the door was closing behind the Sergeant, the grey-haired man threw a parting word: "Take my advice, Boy, and don't do any adding till Blue Pete gives you the figures. If the addition's unpleasant then . . . wait till I add for you."

 

 

Mahon covered the thirty miles to the Police post at Medicine Lodge without a rest. A fever of uncertainty⁹ was consuming him. The Inspector's faith in the halfbreed made the whole uncanny affair a deeper mystery than ever. For eight months Blue Pete had been "on the run," and then had come the great sacrifice they had all believed--at least all but the Inspector--to be his death. During those eight months the Sergeant himself had traced northward¹⁰ the horses the halfbreed had stolen. He had actually caught Mira Stanton, Blue Pete's partner, in the act of rustling¹¹.

 

Yet, insisted the Inspector, the halfbreed was not rustling. Mahon gave it up.

 

Ahead of him loomed¹² the dark line of the beloved Hills, swelling¹³ as he cantered along. Over the yellow glare of the dead prairie grass his eyes rested on the deep green with the affection of a long-absent friend. There swept over him an irrepressible longing¹⁴ to dash into the cool shadows and feast his eyes on the maze¹⁵ of hill and dell, rocky height and grass-grown bottom, mirrored lake and whispering stream; to hear the leap of fish and the rustle¹⁶ of creeping things unseen, the cry of distant birds and the howl of prowling wolf. There he would be in touch with the spirit of his old friend, wherever he might be now.

 

Some day--he felt certain of it--he would grasp the hand of Blue Pete somewhere within the Hills.

 

Constable¹⁷ Priest was not at the post when he pushed open the barracks door. He was glad of that. Leaving a short note, he galloped¹⁸ off south-east toward the Hills. His horse, with memories of many a free run there, made straight for Windy Coulee, the familiar western entrance to the mysteries of the Cypress²⁰ Hills.

 

Mahon did not direct. When the sloping trail leading up into the trees rose before him, he smiled. With Windy Coulee the halfbreed's memory was bound by a hundred incidents. There they had entered their first great adventure together; there they had dived into the shadows on the trail of many a rustler²¹. And there he had erected²² the rough stone that marked his grief when he thought Blue Pete had given his life for him.

 

Wrapped in the past, Mahon gave the horse his head.

 

At the top of the hollowed trail, just where the trees began, the horse came to a halt so suddenly that Mahon jerked against the pommel and lifted his eyes in surprise.

 

Not thirty yards ahead stood the granite²³ column with its simple tribute, "Greater Love." But Mahon did not notice it. All he saw was a man slouched on its pedestal. He was smiling at him--a twisted, awkward smile of embarrassed affection.

 

Mahon's lips parted, but he could not speak. With unsteady hand he quieted the impatient horse--blinking incredulously. There were the high cheek bones, the bluish tinge--darker now--the pleading smile, the leather chaps and dirty Stetson and polka dot neckerchief and huge spurs, there the coarse brown hands hanging limply over the leather-clad knees. Two changes had come--one shoulder hung lower than its mate, and the stiff black hair was tidier. The first, he knew, was the result of the old wound; the last the outward token of a woman's care.

 

"Pete!"

 

He breathed the beloved name without knowing that he spoke²⁴.

 

The grin on the dusky face widened, the big hands rubbed each other in confusion. For several seconds they faced each other thus. Suddenly the half breed whistled twice, and out from the trees trotted²⁵ an ugly little pinto. Its right ear turned forward for Mahon's familiar welcome, the left, struggling to follow, fell away grotesquely²⁶ in its upper half. But the weirdly²⁷ coloured blotches²⁸ that made it a pinto were unlike any colour of living hide; and the pinto seemed to feel it.

 

"Whiskers ain't quite got back 'spectable yet, Boy," grinned Blue Pete. "I sure dosed her fer fair up thar among them bohunks, an' she's hangin' her head a bit. But she's the same ole gal¹⁹, ain't yuh, Whiskers?"

 

He whistled again. The pinto sank to the ground and lay as motionless as the rocks about.

 

"Ain't lost a trick, not a dang one. An' she knows yuh, Boy. Yuh ain't changed--not 's much as me. . . . But I'm sure the same old Blue Pete."

 

Mahon dug cruel spurs into his horse's sides. Throwing himself from the saddle, he seized the half-breed's hand and held it in both his own without a word. A great tear gathered on either eyelid³⁰. Blue Pete laughed in shamefaced happiness and dropped his squinting³¹ eyes.

 

And the pinto tore to shreds³² the rule of a lifetime: she clambered to her feet without orders and reached up to nibble³³ at the edge of Mahon's Stetson. The Sergeant threw an arm about her neck and pressed his face to the yellow blotch²⁹ below the left eye. . . .

 

As the evening shadows from the Hills lay long across the prairie, and the birds chirped³⁴ sleepily, Mahon stood up with a sigh.

 

"You'll have to come in to the barracks, Pete. I--I can't help it."

 

"Get goin'," grinned the halfbreed.

 

The Sergeant bent³⁵ over his girth with flushed face.

 

"I have no idea what's in store for you, Pete. The Inspector has a lot of faith in you."

 

Blue Pete studied him quizzically. "More'n you have?"

 

"I don't know. Oh, I don't understand."

 

A shadow of pain came into the halfbreed's face. "I wudn't try then," he said shortly. And Mahon remembered that the Inspector had advised the same.

 

When they had been riding a long time the half-breed spoke wistfully. "I wasn't rustlin', Boy. All I did was to take from Duchy and Bilsy some o' the horses they rustled³⁶. If I hadn't, yuh wudn't 'a' seed 'em ever again. I've got 'em all back--all I took from them. . . . An' I ain't chargin' nothin' fer it neither."

 

Mahon thought it all out laboriously³⁷.

 

"But you stole them again from Torrance."

 

"Sure! Torrance knowed they was stole. He wudn't 'a got any other kind fer ten bucks³⁸. Yuh don't call that rustlin'?"

 

Mahon smiled--the halfbreed's code was so simple.

 

"Tell it to the Inspector like that," he pleaded.

 

"Sure I will! An' I know dang well he'll see."

 

 

Inspector Barker lifted frowning eyes to the opening door. Stiff, waiting for permission to enter, Sergeant Mahon stood looking at him from the hall. A brown hand reached forward from behind and pushed him aside. And there was the grinning face of the half-breed.

 

The Inspector cleared his throat huskily. The proper thing, he knew, was to look severe, but the lines wouldn't form in the right places. Hungrily the halfbreed's eyes roamed to the tobacco pouch³⁹ spilled on the blotter; the old corncob pipe was fumbling⁴⁰ expectantly in his big fist.

 

"Same baccy, Inspector?" he enquired⁴¹ innocently, stepping through the door.

 

The lines in the Inspector's face were getting out of hand entirely⁴². In another moment--

 

He swung fiercely on the Sergeant.

 

"Get out!" he snapped; and slammed the door in his face.

 

The End

1 inspector   

n.检查员，监察员，视察员

参考例句：

• The inspector was interested in everything pertaining to the school.视察员对有关学校的一切都感兴趣。
• The inspector was shining a flashlight onto the tickets.查票员打着手电筒查看车票。

2 sergeant   

n.警官，中士

参考例句：

• His elder brother is a sergeant.他哥哥是个警官。
• How many stripes are there on the sleeve of a sergeant?陆军中士的袖子上有多少条纹？

3 stifle   

vt.使窒息；闷死；扼杀；抑止，阻止

参考例句：

• She tried hard to stifle her laughter.她强忍住笑。
• It was an uninteresting conversation and I had to stifle a yawn.那是一次枯燥无味的交谈，我不得不强忍住自己的呵欠。

4 tingling   

v.有刺痛感( tingle的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• My ears are tingling [humming; ringing; singing]. 我耳鸣。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• My tongue is tingling. 舌头发麻。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

5 mangle   

vt.乱砍，撕裂，破坏，毁损，损坏，轧布

参考例句：

• New shoes don't cut,blister,or mangle his feet.新鞋子不会硌脚、起泡或让脚受伤。
• Mangle doesn't increase the damage of Maul and Shred anymore.裂伤不再增加重殴和撕碎的伤害。

6 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

7 delude   

vt.欺骗；哄骗

参考例句：

• You won't delude him into believing it.你不能诱使他相信此事。
• Don't delude yourself into believing that she will marry you.不要自欺，别以为她会嫁给你。

8 lodge   

v.临时住宿，寄宿，寄存，容纳；n.传达室，小旅馆

参考例句：

• Is there anywhere that I can lodge in the village tonight?村里有我今晚过夜的地方吗？
• I shall lodge at the inn for two nights.我要在这家小店住两个晚上。

9 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。

10 northward   

adv.向北；n.北方的地区

参考例句：

• He pointed his boat northward.他将船驶向北方。
• I would have a chance to head northward quickly.我就很快有机会去北方了。

11 rustling   

n. 瑟瑟声，沙沙声 adj. 发沙沙声的

参考例句：

• the sound of the trees rustling in the breeze 树木在微风中发出的沙沙声
• the soft rustling of leaves 树叶柔和的沙沙声

12 loomed   

v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的过去式和过去分词 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近

参考例句：

• A dark shape loomed up ahead of us. 一个黑糊糊的影子隐隐出现在我们的前面。
• The prospect of war loomed large in everyone's mind. 战事将起的庞大阴影占据每个人的心。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 swelling   

n.肿胀

参考例句：

• Use ice to reduce the swelling. 用冰敷消肿。
• There is a marked swelling of the lymph nodes. 淋巴结处有明显的肿块。

14 longing   

n.（for）渴望

参考例句：

• Hearing the tune again sent waves of longing through her.再次听到那首曲子使她胸中充满了渴望。
• His heart burned with longing for revenge.他心中燃烧着急欲复仇的怒火。

15 maze   

n.迷宫，八阵图，混乱，迷惑

参考例句：

• He found his way through the complex maze of corridors.他穿过了迷宮一样的走廊。
• She was lost in the maze for several hours.一连几小时，她的头脑处于一片糊涂状态。

16 rustle   

v.沙沙作响；偷盗(牛、马等)；n.沙沙声声

参考例句：

• She heard a rustle in the bushes.她听到灌木丛中一阵沙沙声。
• He heard a rustle of leaves in the breeze.他听到树叶在微风中发出的沙沙声。

17 constable   

n.(英国)警察，警官

参考例句：

• The constable conducted the suspect to the police station.警官把嫌疑犯带到派出所。
• The constable kept his temper,and would not be provoked.那警察压制着自己的怒气，不肯冒起火来。

18 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：

• Jo galloped across the field towards him. 乔骑马穿过田野向他奔去。
• The children galloped home as soon as the class was over. 孩子们一下课便飞奔回家了。

19 gal   

n.姑娘，少女

参考例句：

• We decided to go with the gal from Merrill.我们决定和那个从梅里尔来的女孩合作。
• What's the name of the gal? 这个妞叫什么？

20 cypress   

n.柏树

参考例句：

• The towering pine and cypress trees defy frost and snow.松柏参天傲霜雪。
• The pine and the cypress remain green all the year round.苍松翠柏，常绿不凋。

21 rustler   

n.[美口]偷牛贼

参考例句：

• The ants have cornered the rustler and are attacking it. 蚂蚁把大虫围困起来并展开进攻。
• Roffman is a cattle-rustler, and he'sgot some stuff for sale. 罗夫曼是个盗肉贼，他又有赃可销了。

22 ERECTED   

adj. 直立的，竖立的，笔直的 vt. 使 ... 直立，建立

参考例句：

• A monument to him was erected in St Paul's Cathedral. 在圣保罗大教堂为他修了一座纪念碑。
• A monument was erected to the memory of that great scientist. 树立了一块纪念碑纪念那位伟大的科学家。

23 granite   

adj.花岗岩，花岗石

参考例句：

• They squared a block of granite.他们把一块花岗岩加工成四方形。
• The granite overlies the older rocks.花岗岩躺在磨损的岩石上面。

24 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：

• 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。

25 trotted   

小跑，急走( trot的过去分词 )； 匆匆忙忙地走

参考例句：

• She trotted her pony around the field. 她骑着小马绕场慢跑。
• Anne trotted obediently beside her mother. 安妮听话地跟在妈妈身边走。

26 grotesquely   

adv. 奇异地,荒诞地

参考例句：

• Her arched eyebrows and grotesquely powdered face were at once seductive and grimly overbearing. 眉棱棱着，在一脸的怪粉上显出妖媚而霸道。 来自汉英文学 - 骆驼祥子
• Two faces grotesquely disfigured in nylon stocking masks looked through the window. 2张戴尼龙长袜面罩的怪脸望着窗外。

27 weirdly   

古怪地

参考例句：

• Another special characteristic of Kweilin is its weirdly-shaped mountain grottoes. 桂林的另一特点是其形态怪异的岩洞。
• The country was weirdly transformed. 地势古怪地变了样。

28 blotches   

n.（皮肤上的）红斑，疹块( blotch的名词复数 )；大滴 [大片]（墨水或颜色的）污渍

参考例句：

• His skin was covered with unsightly blotches. 他的皮肤上长满了难看的疹块。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• His face was covered in red blotches, seemingly a nasty case of acne. 他满脸红斑，像是起了很严重的粉刺。 来自辞典例句

29 blotch   

n.大斑点；红斑点；v.使沾上污渍，弄脏

参考例句：

• He pointed to a dark blotch upon the starry sky some miles astern of us.他指着我们身后几英里处繁星点点的天空中的一朵乌云。
• His face was covered in ugly red blotches.他脸上有许多难看的红色大斑点。

30 eyelid   

n.眼睑，眼皮

参考例句：

• She lifted one eyelid to see what he was doing.她抬起一只眼皮看看他在做什么。
• My eyelid has been tumid since yesterday.从昨天起，我的眼皮就肿了。

31 squinting   

斜视( squint的现在分词 )； 眯着眼睛； 瞟； 从小孔或缝隙里看

参考例句：

• "More company," he said, squinting in the sun. "那边来人了，"他在阳光中眨巴着眼睛说。
• Squinting against the morning sun, Faulcon examined the boy carefully. 对着早晨的太阳斜起眼睛，富尔康仔细地打量着那个年轻人。

32 shreds   

v.撕碎，切碎( shred的第三人称单数 )；用撕毁机撕毁（文件）

参考例句：

• Peel the carrots and cut them into shreds. 将胡罗卜削皮，切成丝。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I want to take this diary and rip it into shreds. 我真想一赌气扯了这日记。 来自汉英文学 - 中国现代小说

33 nibble   

n.轻咬，啃；v.一点点地咬，慢慢啃，吹毛求疵

参考例句：

• Inflation began to nibble away at their savings.通货膨胀开始蚕食他们的存款。
• The birds cling to the wall and nibble at the brickwork.鸟儿们紧贴在墙上，啄着砖缝。

34 chirped   

鸟叫，虫鸣( chirp的过去式 )

参考例句：

• So chirped fiber gratings have broad reflection bandwidth. 所以chirped光纤光栅具有宽的反射带宽，在反射带宽内具有渐变的群时延等其它类型的光纤光栅所不具备的特点。
• The crickets chirped faster and louder. 蟋蟀叫得更欢了。

35 bent   

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。

36 rustled   

v.发出沙沙的声音( rustle的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He rustled his papers. 他把试卷弄得沙沙地响。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Leaves rustled gently in the breeze. 树叶迎着微风沙沙作响。 来自《简明英汉词典》

37 laboriously   

adv.艰苦地；费力地；辛勤地；（文体等）佶屈聱牙地

参考例句：

• She is tracing laboriously now. 她正在费力地写。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She is laboriously copying out an old manuscript. 她正在费劲地抄出一份旧的手稿。 来自辞典例句

38 bucks   

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

参考例句：

• They cost ten bucks. 这些值十元钱。
• They are hunting for bucks. 他们正在猎雄兔。 来自《简明英汉词典》

39 pouch   

n.小袋，小包，囊状袋；vt.装...入袋中，用袋运输；vi.用袋送信件

参考例句：

• He was going to make a tobacco pouch out of them. 他要用它们缝制一个烟草袋。
• The old man is always carrying a tobacco pouch with him.这老汉总是随身带着烟袋。

40 fumbling   

n. 摸索,漏接 v. 摸索,摸弄,笨拙的处理

参考例句：

• If he actually managed to the ball instead of fumbling it with an off-balance shot. 如果他实际上设法拿好球而不是fumbling它。50-balance射击笨拙地和迅速地会开始他的岗位移动，经常这样结束。
• If he actually managed to secure the ball instead of fumbling it awkwardly an off-balance shot. 如果他实际上设法拿好球而不是fumbling它。50-50提议有时。他从off-balance射击笨拙地和迅速地会开始他的岗位移动，经常这样结束。

41 enquired   

打听( enquire的过去式和过去分词 )； 询问； 问问题； 查问

参考例句：

• He enquired for the book in a bookstore. 他在书店查询那本书。
• Fauchery jestingly enquired whether the Minister was coming too. 浮式瑞嘲笑着问部长是否也会来。

42 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。