Joyous4 triumph was in the face of Terry. His black hair was blowing about his forehead, for his hat was pushed back after the manner of one who has done a hard day's work and is ready to rest. He came close to the veranda5, and Le Sangre lifted his fine head and stared fearlessly, curiously6, with a sort of contemptuous pride, at Elizabeth and Vance.
Vance. A beauty, eh?"
Elizabeth said nothing at all. But she rocked herself back and forth8 a trifle in her chair as she nodded. She glanced over the terrace, hoping that others might be there to see the triumph of her boy. Then she looked back at Terence. But Vance was regarding the horse.
"He might have a bit more in the legs, Terry."
"Not much more. A leggy horse can't stand mountain work—or any other work, for that matter, except a ride in the park."
"I suppose you're right. He's a picture horse, Terry. And a devilish eye, but I see that you've beaten him."
"Beaten him?" He shook his head. "We reached a gentleman's agreement. As long as I wear spurs, he'll fight me till he gets his teeth in me or splashes my skull9 to bits with his heels. Otherwise he'll keep on fighting till he drops. But as soon as I take off the spurs and stop tormenting10 him, he'll do what I like. No whips or spurs for Le Sangre. Eh, boy?"
He held out the spurs so that the sun flashed on them. The horse stiffened11 with a shudder12, and that forward look of a horse about to bolt came in his eyes.
"No, no!" cried Elizabeth.
But Terry laughed and dropped the spurs back in his pocket.
The stallion moved off, and Terry waved to them. Just as he turned, the mind of Vance Cornish raced back to another picture—a man with long black hair blowing about his face and a gun in either hand, sweeping13 through a dusty street with shots barking behind him. It came suddenly as a revelation, and left him downheaded with the thought.
"What is it, Vance?" asked his sister, reaching out to touch his arm.
Elizabeth."
She grew gloomy.
"Are you going to insist on taking it to heart this way?"
"Not at all. I'm going to be back here in ten days and drink Terry's long life and happiness across the birthday dinner table."
"You noticed that—his gentleman's agreement with Le Sangre? I've made him detest17 fighting with the idea that only brute18 beasts fight—men argue and agree."
"I've noticed that he never has trouble with the cow-punchers."
"They've seen him box," chuckled19 Elizabeth. "Besides, Terry isn't the sort that troublemakers20 like to pick on. He has an ugly look when he's angry."
"H'm," murmured Vance. "I've noticed that. But as long as he keeps to his fists, he'll do no harm. But what is the reason for surrounding him with guns, Elizabeth?"
"A very good reason. He loves them, you know. Anything from a shotgun to a derringer is a source of joy to Terence. And not a day goes by that he doesn't handle them."
"Certainly the effect of blood, eh?" suggested Vance.
She glanced sharply at him.
"You're determined21 to be disagreeable today, Vance. As a matter of fact, I've convinced him that for the very reason he is so accurate with a gun he must never enter a gun fight. The advantage would be too much on his side against any ordinary man. That appeals to Terry's sense of fair play. No, he's absolutely safe, no matter how you look at it."
"No doubt."
He looked away from her and over the valley. The day had worn into the late afternoon. Bear Creek22 ran dull and dark in the shadow, and Mount Discovery was robed in blue to the very edge of its shining crown of snow. In this dimmer, richer light the Cornish ranch23 had never seemed so desirable to Vance. It was not a ranch; it was a little kingdom. And Vance was the dispossessed heir.
He knew that he was being watched, however, and all that evening he was at his best. At the dinner table he guided the talk so that Terence Colby was the lion of the conversation. Afterward24, when he was packing his things in his room for his journey of the next day, he was careful to sing at the top of his voice. He reaped a reward for this cautious acting25, for the next morning, when he climbed into the buckboard that was to take him down the Blue Mountain road and over to the railroad, his sister came down the steps and stood beside the wagon26.
"You will come back for the birthday party, Vance?" she pleaded.
"You want me to?"
"You were with me when I got Terry. In fact, you got him for me. And I want you to be here when he steps into his own."
In this he found enough to keep him thoughtful all the way to the railroad while the buckskins grunted27 up the grade and then spun28 away down the long slope beyond. It was one of those little ironies29 of fate that he should have picked up the very man who was to disinherit him some twenty- four years later.
He carried no grudge30 against Elizabeth, but he certainly retained no tenderness. Hereafter he would act his part as well as he could to extract the last possible penny out of her. And in the meantime he must concentrate on tripping up Terence Colby, alias31 Hollis.
Vance saw nothing particularly vicious in this. He had been idle so long that he rejoiced in a work which was within his mental range. It included scheming, working always behind the scenes, pulling strings32 to make others jump. And if he could trip Terry and actually make him shoot a man on or before that birthday, he had no doubt that his sister would actually throw the boy out of her house and out of her life. A woman who could give twenty-four years to a theory would be capable of grim things when the theory went wrong.
It was early evening when he climbed off the train at Garrison33 City. He had not visited the place since that cattle-buying trip of twenty-four years ago that brought the son of Black Jack34 into the affairs of the Cornish family. Garrison City had become a city. There were two solid blocks of brick buildings next to the station, a network of paved streets, and no less than three hotels. It was so new to the eye and so obviously full of the "booster" spirit that he was appalled35 at the idea of prying36 through this modern shell and getting back to the heart and the memory of the old days of the town.
At the restaurant he forced himself upon a grave-looking gentleman across the table. He found that the solemn-faced man was a travelling drummer. The venerable loafer in front of the blacksmith's shop was feeble-minded, and merely gaped37 at the name of Black Jack. The proprietor38 of the hotel shook his head with positive antagonism39.
"Of course, Garrison City has its past," he admitted, "but we are living it down, and have succeeded pretty well. I think I've heard of a ruffian of the last generation named Jack Hollis; but I don't know anything, and I don't care to know anything, about him. But if you're interested in Garrison City, I'd like to show you a little plot of ground in a place that is going to be the center of the—"
Vance Cornish made his mind a blank, let the smooth current of words slip off his memory as from an oiled surface, and gave up Garrison City as a hopeless job. Nevertheless, it was the hotel proprietor who dropped a valuable hint.
"If you're interested in the early legends, why don't you go to the State Capitol? They have every magazine and every book that so much as mentions any place in the state." So Vance Cornish went to the capitol and entered the library. It was a sweaty task and a most discouraging one. The name "Black Jack" revealed nothing; and the name of Hollis was an equal blank, so far as the indices were concerned. He was preserved in legend only, and Vance Cornish could make no vital use of legend. He wanted something in cold print.
So he began an exhaustive search. He went through volume after volume, but though he came upon mention of Black Jack, he never reached the account of an eyewitness40 of any of those stirring holdups or train robberies.
And then he began on the old files of magazines. And still nothing. He was about to give up with four days of patient labor41 wasted when he struck gold in the desert—the very mine of information which he wanted.
"How I Painted Black Jack," by Lawrence Montgomery.
There was the photograph of the painter, to begin with—a man who had discovered the beauty of the deserts of the Southwest. But there was more—much more. It told how, in his wandering across the desert, he had hunted for something more than raw-colored sands and purple mesas blooming in the distance.
He had searched for a human being to fit into the picture and give the softening42 touch of life. But he never found the face for which he had been looking. And then luck came and tapped him on the shoulder. A lone43 rider came out of the dusk and the desert and loomed44 beside his campfire. The moment the firelight flushed on the face of the man, he knew this was the face for which he had been searching. He told how they fried bacon and ate it together; he told of the soft voice and the winning smile of the rider; he told of his eyes, unspeakably soft and unspeakably bold, and the agile45, nervous hands, forever shifting and moving in the firelight.
The next morning he had asked his visitor to sit for a picture, and his request had been granted. All day he labored46 at the canvas, and by night the work was far enough along for him to dismiss his visitor. So the stranger asked for a small brush with black paint on it, and in the corner of the canvas drew in the words "Yours, Black Jack." Then he rode into the night.
Black Jack! Lawrence Montgomery had made up his pack and struck straight back for the nearest town. There he asked for tidings of a certain Black Jack, and there he got what he wanted in heaps. Everyone knew Black Jack—too well! There followed a brief summary of the history of the desperado and his countless47 crimes, unspeakable tales of cunning and courage and merciless vengeance48 taken.
Vance Cornish turned the last page of the article, and there was the reproduction of the painting. He held his breath when he saw it. The outlaw49 sat on his horse with his head raised and turned, and it was the very replica50 of Terence Colby as the boy had waved to them from the back of Le Sangre. More than a family, sketchy51 resemblance—far more.
There was the same large, dark eye; the same smile, half proud and half joyous; the same imperious lift of the head; the same bold carving52 of the features. There were differences, to be sure. The nose of Black Jack had been more cruelly arched, for instance, and his cheekbones were higher and more pronounced. But in spite of the dissimilarities the resemblance was more than striking. It might have stood for an actual portrait of Terence Colby masquerading in long hair.
When the full meaning of this photograph had sunk into his mind, Vance
Cornish closed his eyes. "Eureka!" he whispered to himself.
There was something more to be done. But it was very simple. It merely consisted in covertly53 cutting out the pages of the article in question. Then, carefully, for fear of loss, he jotted54 down the name and date of the magazine, folded his stolen pages, and fitted them snugly55 into his breast pocket. That night he ate his first hearty56 dinner in four days.
点击
收听单词发音
收听单词发音 |
1
warily
|
|
| adv.留心地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
gust
|
|
| n.阵风，突然一阵（雨、烟等），（感情的）迸发 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
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： |
|
|
|
|
4
joyous
|
|
| adj.充满快乐的；令人高兴的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
veranda
|
|
| n.走廊；阳台 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
curiously
|
|
| adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
killer
|
|
| n.杀人者，杀人犯，杀手，屠杀者 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
forth
|
|
| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
skull
|
|
| n.头骨；颅骨 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
tormenting
|
|
| 使痛苦的，使苦恼的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
stiffened
|
|
| 加强的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
shudder
|
|
| v.战粟，震动，剧烈地摇晃；n.战粟，抖动 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
sweeping
|
|
| adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
abruptly
|
|
| adv.突然地，出其不意地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
jaunt
|
|
| v.短程旅游；n.游览 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
marvelled
|
|
| v.惊奇，对…感到惊奇( marvel的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
detest
|
|
| vt.痛恨，憎恶 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
brute
|
|
| n.野兽，兽性 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
chuckled
|
|
| 轻声地笑( chuckle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
troublemakers
|
|
| n.惹是生非者，捣乱者( troublemaker的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
determined
|
|
| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
creek
|
|
| n.小溪，小河，小湾 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
ranch
|
|
| n.大牧场，大农场 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
afterward
|
|
| adv.后来；以后 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
acting
|
|
| n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
wagon
|
|
| n.四轮马车，手推车，面包车；无盖运货列车 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
27
grunted
|
|
| （猪等）作呼噜声( grunt的过去式和过去分词 )； （指人）发出类似的哼声； 咕哝着说 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
28
spun
|
|
| v.纺，杜撰，急转身 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
29
ironies
|
|
| n.反语( irony的名词复数 )；冷嘲；具有讽刺意味的事；嘲弄 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
30
grudge
|
|
| n.不满，怨恨，妒嫉；vt.勉强给，不情愿做 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
31
alias
|
|
| n.化名；别名；adv.又名 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
32
strings
|
|
| n.弦 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
33
garrison
|
|
| n.卫戍部队；驻地，卫戍区；vt.派(兵)驻防 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
34
jack
|
|
| n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
35
appalled
|
|
| v.使惊骇，使充满恐惧( appall的过去式和过去分词)adj.惊骇的；丧胆的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
36
prying
|
|
| adj.爱打听的v.打听，刺探（他人的私事）( pry的现在分词 )；撬开 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
37
gaped
|
|
| v.目瞪口呆地凝视( gape的过去式和过去分词 )；张开，张大 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
38
proprietor
|
|
| n.所有人；业主；经营者 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
39
antagonism
|
|
| n.对抗，敌对，对立 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
40
eyewitness
|
|
| n.目击者，见证人 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
41
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： |
|
|
|
|
42
softening
|
|
| 变软，软化 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
43
lone
|
|
| adj.孤寂的，单独的；唯一的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
44
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： |
|
|
|
|
45
agile
|
|
| adj.敏捷的，灵活的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
46
labored
|
|
| adj.吃力的，谨慎的v.努力争取(for)( labor的过去式和过去分词 )；苦干；详细分析；（指引擎）缓慢而困难地运转 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
47
countless
|
|
| adj.无数的，多得不计其数的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
48
vengeance
|
|
| n.报复，报仇，复仇 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
49
outlaw
|
|
| n.歹徒，亡命之徒；vt.宣布…为不合法 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
50
replica
|
|
| n.复制品 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
51
sketchy
|
|
| adj.写生的，写生风格的，概略的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
52
carving
|
|
| n.雕刻品，雕花 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
53
covertly
|
|
| adv.偷偷摸摸地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
54
jotted
|
|
| v.匆忙记下( jot的过去式和过去分词 )；草草记下，匆匆记下 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
55
snugly
|
|
| adv.紧贴地；贴身地；暖和舒适地；安适地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
56
hearty
|
|
| adj.热情友好的；衷心的；尽情的，纵情的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |