"I didn't suppose anything in the world could be so—so far," breathed Cordelia, who was with Mr. Hartley on the front seat of the carriage.
"No wonder Genevieve was always talking about 'space, wide, wide space,'" cried Bertha. "Why, it's just like the ocean—only more so, because there aren't any waves."
Mr. Hartley laughed good-naturedly.
"Never mind, Miss Bertha," he nodded. "Just you wait till there's a little more wind, and you'll see some waves, I reckon. It's mighty7 still just now; and yet—there, look! Over there to the right—see?"
They all looked, and they all saw. They saw far in the distance the green change to gray, and the gray to faint purple, and back again to green, while curious shifting lights and shadows glancing across the waving blades of grass, made them ripple8 like water in the sunlight. At the same time, from somewhere, came a soft, cool wind.
"Why, it is—it is just like the ocean," exulted9 Cordelia. "I've seen it look like that down to Nantasket, 'way, 'way off at sea."
"I told you 'twas," triumphed Bertha.
"Well, anyway," observed Tilly, demurely10, "they must be awfully11 dry waves—not much fun to jump!"
"Tilly, how can you?" protested Cordelia. "How you do take the poetry out of anything! I believe you'd take the poetry out of—of Shakespeare himself!"
"Tilly can't see poetry in anything that doesn't jingle14 like 'If you love me as I love you, no knife can cut our love in two,'" chanted Bertha.
"My dears!" remonstrated15 Mrs. Kennedy, feebly.
Tilly turned with swift pacification16.
"Don't you worry, Mrs. Kennedy. I'm used to it. They can't trouble me any!"
It was Mr. Hartley who broke the silence that followed.
"Well, Miss Cordelia," he asked laughingly, "what is the matter? You've been peering in all directions, and you look as if you hadn't found what you were hunting for. You weren't expecting to find soda17 fountains and candy stores on the prairie, were you?"
Cordelia smiled and shook her head.
"Of course not, Mr. Hartley! I was looking for the blue bonnets—the flowers, you know. Genevieve said they grew wild all through the prairie grass."
"And so they do—specially, early in the spring, my dear. I wish you could see them, then."
"I wish I could—Genevieve has told me so much about them. She says they're the state flower. I thought they had such a funny name; I wanted to pick one, if I could. She says they're lovely, too."
"They are, indeed, and I wish you could see them when they are at their best," rejoined Mr. Hartley; then he turned to Bertha, who had been listening with evident interest. "In the spring it's a blue ocean, Miss Bertha—I wish you could see the wind sweep across it then! And I wish you could smell it, too," he added with a laugh. "I reckon you wouldn't think it much like your salty, fishy18 east wind," he finished, twinkling.
"Oh, but we just love that salty, fishy east wind, every time we go near the shore," retorted a chorus of loyal Eastern voices; and Mr. Hartley laughed again.
In the ranch wagon3 behind them, Genevieve was doing the honors of the prairie right royally. Here, there, and everywhere she was pointing out something of interest. In the ranch wagon, too, the marvelous hush19 and charm of limitless distance had wrought20 its own spell; and all had fallen silent.
It was Alma Lane who broke the pause.
"What are all those deep, narrow paths, such a lot of them, running parallel to the wheel tracks?" she asked curiously21. "I've been watching them ever since we left Bolo. They are on both sides, too."
"They're made by the cattle," answered Genevieve; "such a lot of them, you know, traveling single file on their way to Bolo. Bolo is a 'cow town'—that is, they ship cattle to market from there."
"Poor things," sighed Elsie, sympathetically. "I saw some yesterday from the train. I thought then I never wanted to eat another piece of beefsteak—and I adore beefsteak, too."
Genevieve sobered a little.
"I know it; I know just how you feel. I hate that part—but it's business, I suppose. I reckon I hate business, anyhow—but I love the ranch! I can't get used to the branding, either."
"What's that?" asked Elsie.
Genevieve shook her head. A look of pain crossed her face.
"Don't ask me, Elsie, please. You'll find out soon enough. Branding is business, too, I suppose—but it's horrid22. Mammy Lindy says that the first time I saw our brand on a calf23 and realized what it meant and how it got there, I cried for hours—for days, in fact, much of the time."
"Why, Genevieve," cried Elsie, wonderingly. "How dreadful! What is a brand? I thought 'brand' meant the kind of coffee or tea one drank."
Alma frowned and threw a quick look into Genevieve's face.
"What a funny little town Bolo is!" she exclaimed, with a swift change of subject. "I declare, it looked 'most as sleepy as Sunbridge."
"Sleepy!" laughed Genevieve, her face clearing, much to Alma's satisfaction. "You should see Bolo when it's really awake—say when some association of cattlemen meet there. And there's going to be one next month, I think. There's no end of fun and frolic and horse-racing then, with everybody there, from the cowboys and cattle-kings to the trappers and Indians. You wouldn't think there was anything sleepy about Bolo then, I reckon," nodded Genevieve, gayly.
"Genevieve, quick—look!—off there," cried Elsie, excitedly.
"Some more of Fred's 'boats'—three of them this time," laughed Alma, her eyes on the three white-topped wagons glistening24 in the sunlight.
"Boats?" questioned Genevieve.
"That's what little Fred Wilson told us we were going to ride in," explained Alma. "He said they had prairie schooners25 here, and schooners were boats, of course."
Genevieve laughed merrily.
"I wish Fred could see these 'boats,'" she said.
"Well, I don't know; I feel as if they were boats," declared Alma, stoutly26. "I'm sure I don't think anybody on the ocean could be any more glad to see a sail than I should be to see one of these, if I were a lonely traveler on this sea of grass!"
"But where are they going?" questioned Elsie.
"I don't know—nor do they, probably," rejoined Genevieve, with a quizzical smile. "They're presumably emigrants27 hunting up cheap land for a new home. There used to be lots of them, Father says; but there aren't so many now. See—they're going to cross our way just ahead of us. We'll get a splendid view of them."
Nearer and nearer came the curiously clumsy, yet curiously airy-looking wagons. Sallow-faced women looked out mournfully, and tow-headed children peeped from every vantage point. Brawny28, but weary-looking men stalked beside their teams.
"Look at the men—walking!" cried Elsie.
"They're 'bull-whackers,'" nodded Genevieve, mischievously29.
"Bull-whackers!"
"Is that what you are, then?" asked Elsie, with a demureness31 that rivaled Tilly's best efforts. "You're driving mules, you know."
"Well, you better not call me that," laughed Genevieve. "See, they've stopped to speak to Father. I reckon we'll have to stop, too."
"They've got all their household goods and gods in those wagons," said Genevieve, musingly33. "I can see a tin coffeepot hanging straight over one woman's head."
"I shouldn't think they had anything but children," laughed Alma, as from every wagon there tumbled a scrambling34, squirming mass of barefoot legs, thin brown arms, and touseled hair above wide, questioning eyes.
Long minutes later, from the carriage, Cordelia Wilson followed with dreamy eyes the slow-receding wagons, now again upon their way.
"I feel just like 'ships that pass in the night,'" she murmured.
"I don't. I feel just like supper," whispered Tilly. Then she laughed at the frightened look Cordelia flung at Mr. Hartley.
On and on through the shimmering35 heat, under the cloudless sky, trailed the carriage and the ranch wagons. Mr. Tim had long ago galloped36 out of sight.
It was when they were within five miles of the ranch that Cordelia, looking far ahead, saw against the horizon a rapidly growing black speck37. For some time she watched it in silence; then, suddenly, she became aware that, large as was the speck now, it had broken into other specks38—bobbing, shifting specks that promptly39 became not specks at all, but men on horseback.
Spasmodically she clutched Mr. Hartley's arm.
"What—are—those?" she questioned, with dry lips.
Mr. Hartley gave an indifferent glance ahead.
"Cowboys, I should say," he answered.
Cordelia caught her breath. At that moment a shot rang out, then another, and another.
Mr. Hartley looked up now, sharply, a little angrily. The indifference40 was quite gone from his face.
It was then that Genevieve's voice came clear and strong from the wagon behind.
"It's the boys, Father—our boys!" she called. "I know it's the boys. I told them I'd promised the girls a welcome, and they're giving it to us!"
"By George! it is our boys," breathed Mr. Hartley. And the scowl41 on his face gave way to a broad smile.
"Is it really all—fun?" quavered Cordelia, breathlessly.
"Every bit," Mr. Hartley assured her. And then—though still breathlessly—Cordelia gave herself up to the excitement of the moment.
They were all about them soon—those lithe42, supple43 figures, swaying lightly, or sitting superbly erect44 in their saddles. From the top of their broad-brimmed hats to the tips of their high-heeled cowboy boots they were a wonder and a joy to the amazed eyes of Cordelia. With stirrups so long the chains clanked musically, they galloped back and forth45, shouting, laughing, and shooting wildly into the air. With their chaparejos, or leather overalls46, their big revolvers, their spurs, their bright silk handkerchiefs knotted loosely around their necks over the open collar of their flannel47 shirts, they made a brave show, indeed. Nor was the least of the wonders about them the graceful48 swirls49 of loosely-coiled lariats hanging from the horns of their saddles.
After all, it lasted only a minute before the revolvers were thrust into the waiting holsters, and before the men, bareheaded, were making a sweeping50 bow from their saddles.
It was Genevieve who led the clapping.
"Oh, boys, thank you! That was fine—just fine!" she crowed. "Now I reckon Cordelia thinks she has seen a cowboy all right!"
And Cordelia did. A little white, but bravely smiling, she was sitting erect, apparently51 serene52. And only Mr. Hartley knew that one of her hands was clutched about his arm in a grasp that actually hurt.
"They did that—all that shooting and yelling—just for a joke, then?" she asked Mr. Hartley, a little later.
"Only that. They were giving you a welcome to the Six Star Ranch."
"Then they don't act like that all the time?"
"Hardly!" laughed the man. "I reckon they wouldn't get much work done if they did."
Cordelia drew a relieved sigh. Her eyes, a little less fearful, rested on the erect figure of the nearest cowboy, just to the right of the carriage.
"I'm so glad," she murmured. "I'll tell Mrs. Miller53. She thought they did, you know—yell always without just and due provocation54, and shoot at sight."
"That's exactly it, Miss Cordelia—exactly the idea that some people have of the boys, and I'll grant that when they—they drink too much whiskey, they aren't exactly what you might call peaceable, desirable companions—though three-fourths of their antics then are caused by reckless high spirits rather than by real ugliness—with exceptions, of course. But when sober they are quiet, straightforward56, generous-hearted good fellows, hard-working and honest; certainly my boys are."
Mr. Hartley hesitated, then went on, still gravely.
"There's just as much difference in ranches57, of course, Miss Cordelia, as there is in folks; and all the ranches are changing fast, anyway, nowadays. Lots of the owners are quitting living on them at all. They've gone into the towns to live. On the Six Star the boys take their meals with the family; and in many places they don't do that, I know, even where the owner lives on the ranch. Our boys are very loyal to us, and very much interested in all that concerns us. They fairly worship Genevieve, and have, all the way up."
"I'm so glad," murmured Cordelia, again; and this time there was a look very much like admiration58 in the eyes that rested on Long John just ahead.
It was some time later that Mr. Hartley said, half turning around:
"Look straight ahead, a little to the right, young ladies, and you'll get a very good view of the Six Star Ranch."
"Oh, and you've got a windmill," cried Tilly. "I can see it against the sky; I know I can!"
"Yes, we've got a windmill," nodded Mr. Hartley.
"I love windmills," exulted Cordelia.
Only Cordelia noticed the odd smile he gave as he spoke60, and she did not know what it meant. Later, however, she remembered it. She was too much excited now to think of anything but the fact that the Six Star Ranch was so near.
Bertha craned her neck to look ahead.
"Only think, we haven't passed a house, not a house since we left Bolo," she cried.
Mr. Hartley smiled.
"You see, Miss Bertha, Bolo, eighteen miles away, is our nearest neighbor; and you'll have to go even farther than that in any other direction to strike another neighbor."
"My stars!" gasped Bertha. "How awful lonesome it must be, Mr. Hartley."
"Anyhow, you can't be much bothered with neighbors running in to borrow two eggs and a little soda, can you?" giggled Tilly.
"No; that isn't one of the difficulties we have to deal with," smiled Mr. Hartley; but Bertha bridled61 visibly.
"Well, really, Tilly Mack," she exclaimed in pretended anger, "I should like to know if you mean anything special! You see," she added laughingly to Mr. Hartley, "I happen to live next to Tilly, myself!"
From both carriage and wagon, now, came a babel of eager chatter62. There was so much to be seen on the one hand, so much to be explained on the other. The buildings and corrals were plainly visible by this time, and each minute they became more clearly defined.
"Do you mean that all that belongs to just one ranch?" demanded Tilly.
"Sure!" twinkled Mr. Hartley. "You see, if folks can't borrow of us, we can't borrow of them, either; so it's rather necessary that we have all the comforts of home ourselves."
"Well, I guess you've got them," laughed Tilly, looking wonderingly about her.
"I reckon we have," nodded Mr. Hartley, as he began to point out one and another of the buildings.
There was the long, low ranch house facing the wide reach of the prairie. Behind it, and connected with it by a covered way, were the dining room and the cook room. Beyond that was the long bunk63 house where the men slept, flanked by another building for the Mexican servants. There were stables, sheds, a storehouse and saddle-room, and a blacksmith's shop. Below the house an oblong bit of fenced ground showed a riot of color—Genevieve's flower garden. Below that was a vegetable garden. There was a large corral for the cattle, and a smaller one, high and circular, for the horses. There were three or four green trees near the house—tall, thin cottonwoods that had grown up along the slender streams of waste water from the windmill.
点击
收听单词发音
收听单词发音 |
1
boundless
|
|
| adj.无限的；无边无际的；巨大的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
ranch
|
|
| n.大牧场，大农场 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
wagon
|
|
| n.四轮马车，手推车，面包车；无盖运货列车 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
wagons
|
|
| n.四轮的运货马车( wagon的名词复数 )；铁路货车；小手推车 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
awe
|
|
| n.敬畏，惊惧；vt.使敬畏，使惊惧 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
giggled
|
|
| v.咯咯地笑( giggle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
mighty
|
|
| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
ripple
|
|
| n.涟波，涟漪，波纹，粗钢梳；vt.使...起涟漪，使起波纹； vi.呈波浪状，起伏前进 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
exulted
|
|
| 狂喜，欢跃( exult的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
demurely
|
|
| adv.装成端庄地，认真地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
awfully
|
|
| adv.可怕地，非常地，极端地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
shrugged
|
|
| vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
gasped
|
|
| v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
jingle
|
|
| n.叮当声，韵律简单的诗句；v.使叮当作响，叮当响，押韵 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
remonstrated
|
|
| v.抗议( remonstrate的过去式和过去分词 )；告诫 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
pacification
|
|
| n. 讲和，绥靖，平定 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
soda
|
|
| n.苏打水；汽水 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
fishy
|
|
| adj. 值得怀疑的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
hush
|
|
| int.嘘，别出声；n.沉默，静寂；v.使安静 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
wrought
|
|
| v.引起；以…原料制作；运转；adj.制造的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
curiously
|
|
| adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
horrid
|
|
| adj.可怕的；令人惊恐的；恐怖的；极讨厌的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
calf
|
|
| n.小牛，犊，幼仔，小牛皮 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
glistening
|
|
| adj.闪耀的，反光的v.湿物闪耀，闪亮( glisten的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
schooners
|
|
| n.（有两个以上桅杆的）纵帆船( schooner的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
stoutly
|
|
| adv.牢固地，粗壮的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
27
emigrants
|
|
| n.（从本国移往他国的）移民( emigrant的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
28
brawny
|
|
| adj.强壮的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
29
mischievously
|
|
| adv.有害地；淘气地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
30
mules
|
|
| 骡( mule的名词复数 )； 拖鞋； 顽固的人； 越境运毒者 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
31
demureness
|
|
| n.demure（拘谨的，端庄的）的变形 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
|
32
mimicked
|
|
| v.（尤指为了逗乐而）模仿( mimic的过去式和过去分词 )；酷似 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
33
musingly
|
|
| adv.沉思地，冥想地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
|
34
scrambling
|
|
| v.快速爬行( scramble的现在分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
35
shimmering
|
|
| v.闪闪发光，发微光( shimmer的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
36
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： |
|
|
|
|
37
speck
|
|
| n.微粒，小污点，小斑点 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
38
specks
|
|
| n.眼镜；斑点，微粒，污点( speck的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
39
promptly
|
|
| adv.及时地，敏捷地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
40
indifference
|
|
| n.不感兴趣，不关心，冷淡，不在乎 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
41
scowl
|
|
| vi.(at)生气地皱眉，沉下脸，怒视；n.怒容 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
42
lithe
|
|
| adj.(指人、身体)柔软的，易弯的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
43
supple
|
|
| adj.柔软的，易弯的，逢迎的，顺从的，灵活的；vt.使柔软，使柔顺，使顺从；vi.变柔软，变柔顺 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
44
erect
|
|
| n./v.树立，建立，使竖立；adj.直立的，垂直的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
45
forth
|
|
| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
46
overalls
|
|
| n.（复）工装裤；长罩衣 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
47
flannel
|
|
| n.法兰绒；法兰绒衣服 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
48
graceful
|
|
| adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
49
swirls
|
|
| n.旋转( swirl的名词复数 )；卷状物；漩涡；尘旋v.旋转，打旋( swirl的第三人称单数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
50
sweeping
|
|
| adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
51
apparently
|
|
| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
52
serene
|
|
| adj. 安详的，宁静的，平静的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
53
miller
|
|
| n.磨坊主 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
54
provocation
|
|
| n.激怒，刺激，挑拨，挑衅的事物，激怒的原因 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
55
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： |
|
|
|
|
56
straightforward
|
|
| adj.正直的，坦率的；易懂的，简单的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
57
ranches
|
|
| 大农场， （兼种果树，养鸡等的）大牧场( ranch的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
58
admiration
|
|
| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
59
eyebrows
|
|
| 眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
60
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： |
|
|
|
|
61
bridled
|
|
| 给…套龙头( bridle的过去式和过去分词 )； 控制； 昂首表示轻蔑（或怨忿等）； 动怒，生气 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
62
chatter
|
|
| vi.／n.喋喋不休；短促尖叫；(牙齿)打战 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
63
bunk
|
|
| n.(车、船等倚壁而设的)铺位；废话 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |