Nearby three ragged4 burros were cropping the scanty5 growth. Behind them the sharp elbow of the mountain ascended6, scarred and furrowed7 and littered with rocky debris8. Before them the hill sloped for a few rods and levelled into a narrow plateau, across which, eastward and westward9, the railway, tired from its long twisting climb up the mountain, seemed to pause for a moment and gasp10 for breath before beginning its descent. Beyond the tracks a fringe of stunted11 trees held precarious12 foothold on the lower slope of a smaller peak, which reared its bare cone13 against the evening sky. There were no buildings at Saddle Pass save a snow-shed which began where the rails slipped downward toward the east and, dropping from sight, followed for a quarter of a mile around the long face of the mountain. It was very still up here on the Pass, so still that when the Western Slope Limited, two hours and more late at Eagle Cliff, whistled for the tunnel four miles below the sound came echoing about them startlingly clear.
"Train coming up from the west," said the elder of the two men. "Must be the Limited." The other nodded as he drained the last drop in his tin cup and looked speculatively14 at the battered15 coffee pot.
"Any more of the Arbuckle nectar, Ed?" he asked.
"Not a drop, but I can make some."
"No, I've had enough, I reckon. That's the trouble with dining late, Ed; you have too much appetite."
"We'll have to get some more grub before long," was the reply, "or it'll be appetite and nothing else with us. I can eat bacon with the next man, but I don't want to feast on it six days running. What we need, Wade16, is variety."
"And plenty of it," sighed the other, stretching his tired legs and finding a new position. "The fact is, even after this banquet I feel a little hollow."
"Same here, but I figure we'd better go a little short till we get nearer town. We ought to strike Bosa Grande to-morrow night."
"Couldn't get back before to-morrow afternoon. What's the good of wasting a whole day?"
"Looks to me like we'd wasted about twenty of them already, Ed."
Craig made no reply. He fished a corn-cob pipe and a little sack of tobacco from his pocket and began to fill the bowl. Wade watched for a moment in silence. Then, with a protesting groan18, he rolled over until he could get at his own pipe. Craig drew an ember from the edge of the fire with calloused19 fingers, held it to his bowl and passed it on to Wade. Then with grunts20 of contentment they settled back against the sagging21 canvas of their tent and puffed22 wreaths of acrid23 smoke into the twilight24.
The shadows were creeping up the mountain side. Overhead the wide sweep of sky began to glitter with white stars. A little chill breeze sprang up in the west and fanned the fire, sending a fairy shower of tiny lemon-yellow sparks into the air. And borne on the breeze came a hoarse25 pounding and drumming that grew momentarily louder and reverberated26 from wall to wall. The ground trembled and the grazing burros lifted their shaggy heads inquiringly.
"She's almost up," said Wade. Craig nodded and replaced his pipe between his teeth. The noise became multisonous. With the clangor of the pounding wheels came the stertorous27 gasping28 of the engines, the creak and clatter29 of protesting metal. The uproar30 filled the pass deafeningly.
"She's making hard work of it," shouted Craig.
"Probably a heavy train," Wade answered.
Then a path of pale light swept around the elbow of the mountain and the wheezing31, puffing32 monsters reached the head of the grade. The watchers could almost hear the sighs of relief from the two big mountain-climbers as they found the level track beneath them. Their breathing grew easier, quieter as they clanged slowly across the pass a few rods below the camp. The burros, having satisfied their curiosity, went back to supper. The firemen in the cab windows raised their hands in greeting and the campers waved back. Behind the engines came a baggage and express car, then a day coach, a diner and a sleeper33. Slower and slower moved the train and finally, with a rasping of brakes and the hissing34 of released steam, it stopped.
"What's up?" asked Wade.
"Hot-box on the diner; see it?"
"Yes, and smell it. Let's go down."
But Craig shook his head lazily, and Wade, cinching his loosened belt, limped with aching legs down the slope. The trainmen were already pulling the smouldering, evil-smelling waste from the box, and after watching a minute he loitered along the track beside the car. Several of the shades were raised and the sight of the gleaming white napery and silver brought a wistful gleam to his eyes. But there was worse to come. At the last table a belated diner was still eating. He was a large man with a double chin, under which he had tucked a corner of his napkin. He ate leisurely35, but with gusto.
He suddenly felt very empty, and mechanically tightened37 his leather belt another inch. It came over him all at once that he was frightfully hungry. For the last two days he and his partner had been travelling on short rations38, and to-day they had been on the go since before sun-up. For a moment the wild idea came to him of jumping on the train and riding down to Aroya just so he could take a seat in the dining-car and eat his fill.
"They wouldn't make much out of me at a dollar a throw," he reflected, with a grin. But it wouldn't be fair to Craig, and he abandoned the idea in the next breath. He couldn't stand there any longer, though, and see that man eat. He addressed himself to the closed window before he turned away.
"I hope it chokes you," he muttered, venomously.
Some of the passengers had descended39 from the day coach to stretch their limbs, and with a desire to avoid them Wade walked toward the rear of the train. Daylight dies hard up here in the mountains, but at last twilight held the world, a clear, starlit twilight. Overhead the vault40 of heaven was hung with deep blue velvet41, pricked42 out with a million diamonds. Up the slope the camp-fire glowed ruddily. In the west the smouldering sunset embers had cooled to ashes of dove-gray and steel, against which Sierra Blanca crouched43, a grim, black giant. Wade had reached the observation platform at the end of the sleeping-car. With a tired sigh he turned toward the slope and the beckoning44 fire. But the sound of a closing door brought his head around and the fire no longer beckoned45.
On the platform, one hand on the knob of the car door as though meditating46 retreat, stood the straight, slim figure of a girl. She wore a light skirt and a white waist, and a bunch of flowers drooped47 from her breast. Her head was uncovered and the soft brown hair waved lustrously48 away from a face of ivory. The eyes that looked down into his reflected the stars in their depths, the gently-parted mouth was like a vivid red rosebud49 in the dusk. To Wade she seemed the very Spirit of Twilight, white and slim and ethereal, and so suddenly had the apparition50 sprung into his vision that he was startled and bewildered. For a long moment their looks held. Then, somewhat faintly,
"Why have we stopped?" she asked.
"There's a hot-box," he answered, in the tones of one repeating a lesson learned. His eyes devoured52 her face hungrily.
"Oh!" said the girl, softly. "Then—then you aren't a robber, are you?" Wade merely shook his head. "I heard noises, and then—when I opened the door—and saw you standing53 there—." The first alarm was yielding to curiosity. She glanced at the scarred and stained hand which grasped the brass54 railing, and from there to the pleasant, eager, sunburnt face under the upturned brim of the battered sombrero. "No, I see you're not that," she went on reflectively. "Are you a miner?"
"No, only a prospector55. We're camped up there." He tilted56 his head toward the slope without moving his gaze.
"Oh," said the girl. Perhaps she found that steady, unwinking regard of his disconcerting, for she turned her head away slightly so that her eyes were hidden from him. But the soft profile of the young face stood clear against the darkening sky, and Wade gazed enravished.
"You are looking for gold?" she asked.
"Yes."
"And—have you found it?"
"No."
"Oh, I'm so sorry!" There was sympathy in the voice and in the look she turned upon him, and the boy's heart sang rapturously. Perhaps weariness and hunger and the girl's radiant twilit beauty combined to make him light-headed; otherwise how account for his behavior? Or perhaps starlight as well as moonlight may affect the brain; the theory is at least plausible57. Or perhaps no excuse is needed for him save that he was twenty-three, and a Southerner! He leaned against the railing and laughed softly and exultantly58.
"I've found no gold," he said, "but I don't care about that now. For I've found to-night what is a thousand times better!"
"The girl I love!" he whispered up to her.
She gasped60, and the hand on the knob began to turn slowly. Even in the twilight he could see the swift blood staining the ivory of her cheek. His eyes found hers and held them.
"What is your name?" he asked, softly, imperatively61.
Oh, surely there is some quality, some magic power in mountain starlight undreamed of in our philosophy, for,
"Evelyn," whispered the girl, her wide eyes on his and a strange wonder on her face.
"Evelyn!" he echoed radiantly. "Evelyn! Evelyn what?"
"Walton," answered the girl obediently. He nodded his head and murmured the name half aloud to his memory.
"Evelyn Walton. And you live in God's country?"
"In New York." Her breath came fast and one hand crept to her breast where the flowers drooped.
"I'll remember," he said, "and some day—soon—I'll come for you. I love you, girl. Don't forget."
There was a quick, impatient blast from the engine. The wheels creaked against the rails. The train moved forward.
"Good night," he said. His hand reached over the railing and one of hers fell into it. For a moment it lay hidden there, warm and tremulous. Then his fingers released it and it fled to join its fellow at her breast.
"Good night—dear," he said again. "Remember!"
Then he dropped from the step. There was a long piercing wail62 of the whistle that was smothered63 as the engine entered the snow-shed. The girl on the platform stood motionless a moment. Then one of her hands dropped from her breast, and with it came a faded spray of purple lilac. She stepped quickly to the rail and tossed it back into the twilight. Wade sprang forward, snatched it from the track and pressed it to his lips. When the last car dipped into the mouth of the snow-shed he was still standing there, gazing after, his hat in hand, a straight, lithe64 figure against the starlit sky.
该作者的其它作品
《The Brother of a Hero》
该作者的其它作品
《The Brother of a Hero》
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1
notch
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| n.(V字形)槽口，缺口，等级 | |
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grandeur
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| n.伟大，崇高，宏伟，庄严，豪华 | |
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eastward
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| adv.向东；adj.向东的；n.东方，东部 | |
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ragged
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| adj.衣衫褴褛的，粗糙的，刺耳的 | |
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scanty
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| adj.缺乏的，仅有的，节省的，狭小的，不够的 | |
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ascended
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| v.上升，攀登( ascend的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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furrowed
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| v.犁田，开沟( furrow的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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debris
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| n.瓦砾堆，废墟，碎片 | |
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westward
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| n.西方，西部；adj.西方的，向西的；adv.向西 | |
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10
gasp
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| n.喘息，气喘；v.喘息；气吁吁他说 | |
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stunted
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| adj.矮小的；发育迟缓的 | |
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precarious
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| adj.不安定的，靠不住的；根据不足的 | |
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cone
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| n.圆锥体，圆锥形东西，球果 | |
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speculatively
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| adv.思考地，思索地；投机地 | |
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battered
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| adj.磨损的；v.连续猛击；磨损 | |
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16
wade
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| v.跋涉，涉水；n.跋涉 | |
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17
hop
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| n.单脚跳，跳跃；vi.单脚跳，跳跃；着手做某事；vt.跳跃，跃过 | |
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18
groan
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| vi./n.呻吟，抱怨；(发出)呻吟般的声音 | |
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calloused
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| adj.粗糙的，粗硬的，起老茧的v.（使）硬结，（使）起茧( callous的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）冷酷无情 | |
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grunts
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| （猪等）作呼噜声( grunt的第三人称单数 )； （指人）发出类似的哼声； 咕哝着说； 石鲈 | |
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sagging
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| 下垂[沉，陷]，松垂，垂度 | |
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puffed
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| adj.疏松的v.使喷出( puff的过去式和过去分词 )；喷着汽（或烟）移动；吹嘘；吹捧 | |
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acrid
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| adj.辛辣的，尖刻的，刻薄的 | |
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twilight
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| n.暮光，黄昏；暮年，晚期，衰落时期 | |
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hoarse
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| adj.嘶哑的，沙哑的 | |
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reverberated
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| 回响，回荡( reverberate的过去式和过去分词 )； 使反响，使回荡，使反射 | |
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stertorous
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| adj.打鼾的 | |
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gasping
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| adj. 气喘的, 痉挛的 动词gasp的现在分词 | |
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clatter
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| v./n.(使)发出连续而清脆的撞击声 | |
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uproar
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| n.骚动，喧嚣，鼎沸 | |
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31
wheezing
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| v.喘息，发出呼哧呼哧的喘息声( wheeze的现在分词 )；哮鸣 | |
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32
puffing
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| v.使喷出( puff的现在分词 )；喷着汽（或烟）移动；吹嘘；吹捧 | |
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33
sleeper
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| n.睡眠者，卧车，卧铺 | |
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hissing
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| n. 发嘶嘶声, 蔑视 动词hiss的现在分词形式 | |
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leisurely
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| adj.悠闲的；从容的，慢慢的 | |
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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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tightened
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| 收紧( tighten的过去式和过去分词 )； （使）变紧； （使）绷紧； 加紧 | |
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rations
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| 定量( ration的名词复数 )； 配给量； 正常量； 合理的量 | |
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descended
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| a.为...后裔的，出身于...的 | |
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vault
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| n.拱形圆顶，地窖，地下室 | |
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velvet
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| n.丝绒，天鹅绒；adj.丝绒制的，柔软的 | |
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42
pricked
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| 刺，扎，戳( prick的过去式和过去分词 )； 刺伤； 刺痛； 使剧痛 | |
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43
crouched
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| v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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beckoning
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| adj.引诱人的，令人心动的v.（用头或手的动作）示意，召唤( beckon的现在分词 ) | |
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beckoned
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| v.（用头或手的动作）示意，召唤( beckon的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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46
meditating
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| a.沉思的，冥想的 | |
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drooped
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| 弯曲或下垂，发蔫( droop的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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lustrously
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| adv.光亮地；有光泽地；灿烂地 | |
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49
rosebud
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| n.蔷薇花蕾，妙龄少女 | |
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50
apparition
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| n.幽灵，神奇的现象 | |
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51
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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52
devoured
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| 吞没( devour的过去式和过去分词 )； 耗尽； 津津有味地看； 狼吞虎咽地吃光 | |
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53
standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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54
brass
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| n.黄铜；黄铜器，铜管乐器 | |
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prospector
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| n.探矿者 | |
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56
tilted
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| v. 倾斜的 | |
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plausible
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| adj.似真实的，似乎有理的，似乎可信的 | |
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exultantly
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| adv.狂欢地，欢欣鼓舞地 | |
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faltered
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| （嗓音）颤抖( falter的过去式和过去分词 )； 支吾其词； 蹒跚； 摇晃 | |
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60
gasped
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| v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要 | |
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imperatively
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| adv.命令式地 | |
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wail
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| vt./vi.大声哀号，恸哭；呼啸，尖啸 | |
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63
smothered
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| （使）窒息， （使）透不过气( smother的过去式和过去分词 )； 覆盖； 忍住； 抑制 | |
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lithe
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| adj.(指人、身体)柔软的，易弯的 | |
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