With a stirrup-cup each to the one gracious woman that loves him.
—Louise Imogen Guiney.
"There's an abandoned lumber6 camp down here, if I'm not mistaken, and if we've made the right turns we ought to be south of Lamar and near the railroad."
"It's a strange business," Claiborne muttered half-aloud.
The cool air of the ridge9 sobered him, but he reviewed the events of the night without regret. Every young officer in the service would envy him this adventure. At military posts scattered10 across the continent men whom he knew well were either abroad on duty, or slept the sleep of peace. He lifted his eyes to the paling stars. Before long bugle11 and morning gun would announce the new day at points all along the seaboard. His West Point comrades were scattered far, and the fancy seized him that the bugle brought them together every day of their lives as it sounded the morning calls that would soon begin echoing down the coast from Kennebec Arsenal12 and Fort Preble in Maine, through Myer and Monroe, to McPherson, in Georgia, and back through Niagara and Wayne to Sheridan, and on to Ringgold and Robinson and Crook13, zigzagging14 back and forth15 over mountain and plain to the Pacific, and thence ringing on to Alaska, and echoing again from Hawaii to lonely outposts in Asian seas.
He was so intent with the thought that he hummed reveille, and was about to rebuke16 himself for unsoldierly behavior on duty when Armitage whistled for him to advance.
"It's all right; they haven't passed yet. I met a railroad track-walker down there and he said he had seen no one between here and Lamar. Now they're handicapped by the big country horse they had to take for that Servian devil, and we can push them as hard as we like. We must get them beyond Lamar before we crowd them; and don't forget that we want to drive them into my land for the round-up. I'm afraid we're going to have a wet morning."
They rode abreast beside the railroad through the narrow gap. A long freight-train rumbled17 and rattled18 by, and a little later they passed a coal shaft19, where a begrimed night shift loaded cars under flaring20 torches.
"Their message to Winkelried is still on this side of the Atlantic," said Armitage; "but Winkelried is in a strong room by this time, if the existing powers at Vienna are what they ought to be. I've done my best to get him there. The message would only help the case against him if they sent it."
"I suppose I'll know what it's all about when I read it in the morning papers. I like the game well enough, but it might be more amusing to know what the devil I'm fighting for."
"You enlisted22 without reading the articles of war, and you've got to take the consequences. You've done what you set out to do—you've found me; and you're traveling with me over the Virginia mountains to report my capture to Baron23 von Marhof. On the way you are going to assist in another affair that will be equally to your credit; and then if all goes well with us I'm going to give myself the pleasure of allowing Monsieur Chauvenet to tell you exactly who I am. The incident appeals to my sense of humor—I assure you I have one! Of course, if I were not a person of very great distinction Chauvenet and his friend Durand would not have crossed the ocean and brought with them a professional assassin, skilled in the use of smothering24 and knifing, to do away with me. You are in luck to be alive. We are dangerously near the same size and build—and in the dark—on horseback—"
"That was funny. I knew that if I ran for it they'd plug me for sure, and that if I waited until they saw their mistake they would be afraid to kill me. Ugh! I still taste the red soil of the Old Dominion25."
"Come, Captain! Let us give the horses a chance to prove their blood.
These roads will be paste in a few hours."
The dawn was breaking sullenly26, and out of a gray, low-hanging mist a light rain fell in the soft, monotonous27 fashion of mountain rain. Much of the time it was necessary to maintain single file; and Armitage rode ahead. The fog grew thicker as they advanced; but they did not lessen28 their pace, which had now dropped to a steady trot29.
Claiborne?"
"There are three horses all right enough, and they're forcing the beasts.
What's the word?"
"Drive them back! Ready—here we go!" roared Armitage in a voice intended to be heard.
They yelled at the top of their voices as they charged, plunging32 into the advancing trio after a forty-yard gallop4.
"'Not later than Friday'—back you go!" shouted Armitage, and laughed aloud at the enemy's rout33. One of the horses—it seemed from its rider's yells to be Chauvenet's—turned and bolted, and the others followed back the way they had come.
Soon they dropped their pace to a trot, but the trio continued to fly before them.
"We're getting close to my place," said Armitage; and as he spoke35 two shots fired in rapid succession cracked faintly through the fog and they jerked up their horses.
"It's Oscar! He's a good way ahead, if I judge the shots right."
"If he turns them back we ought to hear their horses in a moment," observed Claiborne. "The fog muffles36 sounds. The road's pretty level in here."
"We must get them out of it and into my territory for safety. We're within a mile of the gate and we ought to be able to crowd them into that long open strip where the fences are down. Damn the fog!"
The agreed signal of two shots reached them again, but clearer, like drum-taps, and was immediately answered by scattering37 shots. A moment later, as the two riders moved forward at a walk, a sharp volley rang out quite clearly and they heard shouts and the crack of revolvers again.
"By George! They're coming—here we go!"
They put their horses to the gallop and rode swiftly through the fog. The beat of hoofs was now perfectly38 audible ahead of them, and they heard, quite distinctly, a single revolver snap twice.
"Oscar has them on the run—bully for Oscar! They're getting close—thank the Lord for this level stretch—now howl and let 'er go!"
They went forward with a yell that broke weirdly39 and chokingly on the gray cloak of fog, their horses' hoofs pounding dully on the earthen road. The rain had almost ceased, but enough had fallen to soften40 the ground.
"They're terribly brave or horribly seared, from their speed," shouted
Claiborne. "Now for it!"
They rose in their stirrups and charged, yelling lustily, riding neck and neck toward the unseen foe41, and with their horses at their highest pace they broke upon the mounted trio that now rode upon them grayly out of the mist.
There was a mad snorting and shrinking of horses. One of the animals turned and tried to bolt, and his rider, struggling to control him, added to the confusion. The fog shut them in with each other; and Armitage and Claiborne, having flung back their own horses at the onset42, had an instant's glimpse of Chauvenet trying to swing his horse into the road; of Zmai half-turning, as his horse reared, to listen for the foe behind; and of Durand's impassive white face as he steadied his horse with his left hand and leveled a revolver at Armitage with his right.
With a cry Claiborne put spurs to his horse and drove him forward upon
Durand. His hand knocked the leveled revolver flying into the fog. Then
Zmai fired twice, and Chauvenet's frightened horse, panic-stricken at the
shots, reared, swung round and dashed back the way he had come, and
Durand and Zmai followed.
The three disappeared into the mist, and Armitage and Claiborne shook themselves together and quieted their horses.
"That was too close for fun—are you all there?" asked Armitage.
"Still in it; but Chauvenet's friend won't miss every time. There's murder in his eye. The big fellow seemed to be trying to shoot his own horse."
"Oh, he's a knife and sack man and clumsy with the gun."
They moved slowly forward now and Armitage sent his horse across the rough ditch at the roadside to get his bearings. The fog seemed at the point of breaking, and the mass about them shifted and drifted in the growing light.
"This is my land, sure enough. Lord, man, I wish you'd get out of this and go home. You see they're an ugly lot and don't use toy pistols."
"Remember the potato sack! That's my watchword," laughed Claiborne.
They rode with their eyes straight ahead, peering through the breaking, floating mist. It was now so clear and light that they could see the wood at either hand, though fifty yards ahead in every direction the fog still lay like a barricade43.
"I should value a change of raiment," observed Armitage. "There was an advantage in armor—your duds might get rusty44 on a damp excursion, but your shirt wouldn't stick to your hide."
"Who cares? Those devils are pretty quiet, and the little sergeant45 is about due to bump into them again."
They had come to a gradual turn in the road at a point where a steep, wooded incline swept up on the left. On the right lay the old hunting preserve and Armitage's bungalow46. As they drew into the curve they heard a revolver crack twice, as before, followed by answering shots and cries and the thump47 of hoofs.
"Ohee! Oscar has struck them again. Steady now! Watch your horse!" And Armitage raised his arm high above his head and fired twice as a warning to Oscar.
The distance between the contending parties was shorter now than at the first meeting, and Armitage and Claiborne bent48 forward in their saddles, talking softly to their horses, that had danced wildly at Armitage's shots.
"Lord! if we can crowd them in here now and back to the Port!"
"There!"
Exclamations49 died on their lips at the instant. Ahead of them lay the fog, rising and breaking in soft folds, and behind it men yelled and several shots snapped spitefully on the heavy air. Then a curious picture disclosed itself just at the edge of the vapor50, as though it were a curtain through which actors in a drama emerged upon a stage. Zmai and Chauvenet flashed into view suddenly, and close behind them, Oscar, yelling like mad. He drove his horse between the two men, threw himself flat as Zmai fired at him, and turned and waved his hat and laughed at them; then, just before his horse reached Claiborne and Armitage, he checked its speed abruptly51, flung it about and then charged back, still yelling, upon the amazed foe.
"He's crazy—he's gone clean out of his head!" muttered Claiborne, restraining his horse with difficulty. "What do you make of it?"
"He's having fun with them. He's just rattling52 them to warm himself up—the little beggar. I didn't know it was in him."
Back went Oscar toward the two horsemen he had passed less than a minute before, still yelling, and this time he discharged his revolver with seeming unconcern, for the value of ammunition53, and as he again dashed between them, and back through the gray curtain, Armitage gave the word, and he and Claiborne swept on at a gallop.
Durand was out of sight, and Chauvenet turned and looked behind him uneasily; then he spoke sharply to Zmai. Oscar's wild ride back and forth had demoralized the horses, which were snorting and plunging wildly. As Armitage and Claiborne advanced Chauvenet spoke again to Zmai and drew his own revolver.
But it was not a moment for speculation55 or regret. Both sides were perfectly silent as Claiborne, leading slightly, with Armitage pressing close at his left, galloped56 toward the two men who faced them at the gray wall of mist. They bore to the left with a view of crowding the two horsemen off the road and into the preserve, and as they neared them they heard cries through the mist and rapid hoof-beats, and Durand's horse leaped the ditch at the roadside just before it reached Chauvenet and Zmai and ran away through the rough underbrush into the wood, Oscar close behind and silent now, grimly intent on his business.
The revolvers of Zmai and Chauvenet cracked together, and they, too, turned their horses into the wood, and away they all went, leaving the road clear.
"My horse got it that time!" shouted Claiborne.
"So did I," replied Armitage; "but never you mind, old man, we've got them cornered now."
Claiborne glanced at Armitage and saw his right hand, still holding his revolver, go to his shoulder.
"Much damage?"
"It struck a hard place, but I am still fit."
The blood streamed from the neck of Claiborne's horse, which threw up its head and snorted in pain, but kept bravely on at the trot in which Armitage had set the pace.
"Poor devil! We'll have a reckoning pretty soon," cried Armitage cheerily. "No kingdom is worth a good horse!"
They advanced at a trot toward the Port.
"You'll be afoot any minute now, but we're in good shape and on our own soil, with those carrion57 between us and a gap they won't care to drop into! I'm off for the gate—you wait here, and if Oscar fires the signal, give the answer."
Armitage galloped off to the right and Claiborne jumped from his horse just as the wounded animal trembled for a moment, sank to its knees and rolled over dead.
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1
laggards
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| n.落后者( laggard的名词复数 ) | |
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abreast
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| adv.并排地；跟上(时代)的步伐，与…并进地 | |
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vault
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| n.拱形圆顶，地窖，地下室 | |
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4
gallop
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| v./n.(马或骑马等)飞奔；飞速发展 | |
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galloping
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| adj. 飞驰的, 急性的 动词gallop的现在分词形式 | |
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6
lumber
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| n.木材，木料；v.以破旧东西堆满；伐木；笨重移动 | |
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7
rein
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| n.疆绳，统治，支配；vt.以僵绳控制，统治 | |
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8
plunged
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| v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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9
ridge
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| n.山脊；鼻梁；分水岭 | |
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scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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11
bugle
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| n.军号，号角，喇叭；v.吹号，吹号召集 | |
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12
arsenal
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| n.兵工厂，军械库 | |
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13
crook
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| v.使弯曲；n.小偷，骗子，贼；弯曲(处) | |
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14
zigzagging
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| v.弯弯曲曲地走路，曲折地前进( zigzag的现在分词 )；盘陀 | |
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15
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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16
rebuke
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| v.指责，非难，斥责 [反]praise | |
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17
rumbled
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| 发出隆隆声，发出辘辘声( rumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 轰鸣着缓慢行进； 发现…的真相； 看穿（阴谋） | |
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18
rattled
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| 慌乱的，恼火的 | |
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19
shaft
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| n.(工具的)柄，杆状物 | |
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20
flaring
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| a.火焰摇曳的，过份艳丽的 | |
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21
groaned
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| v.呻吟( groan的过去式和过去分词 )；发牢骚；抱怨；受苦 | |
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22
enlisted
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| adj.应募入伍的v.（使）入伍， （使）参军( enlist的过去式和过去分词 )；获得（帮助或支持） | |
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23
baron
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| n.男爵；(商业界等)巨头，大王 | |
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24
smothering
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| （使）窒息， （使）透不过气( smother的现在分词 )； 覆盖； 忍住； 抑制 | |
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25
dominion
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| n.统治，管辖，支配权；领土，版图 | |
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26
sullenly
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| 不高兴地，绷着脸，忧郁地 | |
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27
monotonous
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| adj.单调的，一成不变的，使人厌倦的 | |
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28
lessen
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| vt.减少，减轻；缩小 | |
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29
trot
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| n.疾走，慢跑；n.老太婆；现成译本；(复数）trots:腹泻（与the 连用）；v.小跑，快步走，赶紧 | |
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30
hoofs
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| 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 ) | |
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31
bully
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| n.恃强欺弱者，小流氓；vt.威胁，欺侮 | |
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32
plunging
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| adj.跳进的，突进的v.颠簸( plunge的现在分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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33
rout
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| n.溃退，溃败；v.击溃，打垮 | |
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34
helping
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| n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的 | |
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35
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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36
muffles
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| v.压抑，捂住( muffle的第三人称单数 )；用厚厚的衣帽包着（自己） | |
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37
scattering
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| n.[物]散射；散乱，分散；在媒介质中的散播adj.散乱的；分散在不同范围的；广泛扩散的；（选票）数量分散的v.散射(scatter的ing形式)；散布；驱散 | |
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38
perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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39
weirdly
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| 古怪地 | |
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40
soften
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| v.(使)变柔软；(使)变柔和 | |
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41
foe
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| n.敌人，仇敌 | |
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42
onset
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| n.进攻，袭击，开始，突然开始 | |
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43
barricade
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| n.路障，栅栏，障碍；vt.设路障挡住 | |
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44
rusty
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| adj.生锈的；锈色的；荒废了的 | |
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45
sergeant
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| n.警官，中士 | |
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46
bungalow
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| n.平房，周围有阳台的木造小平房 | |
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47
thump
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| v.重击，砰然地响；n.重击，重击声 | |
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48
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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49
exclamations
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| n.呼喊( exclamation的名词复数 )；感叹；感叹语；感叹词 | |
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50
vapor
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| n.蒸汽，雾气 | |
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51
abruptly
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| adv.突然地，出其不意地 | |
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52
rattling
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| adj. 格格作响的, 活泼的, 很好的 adv. 极其, 很, 非常 动词rattle的现在分词 | |
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53
ammunition
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| n.军火，弹药 | |
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54
growled
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| v.（动物）发狺狺声， （雷）作隆隆声( growl的过去式和过去分词 )；低声咆哮着说 | |
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55
speculation
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| n.思索，沉思；猜测；投机 | |
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56
galloped
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| （使马）飞奔，奔驰( gallop的过去式和过去分词 )； 快速做[说]某事 | |
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57
carrion
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| n.腐肉 | |
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