Beyond that second range, however, the down slope stretched smoothly6, evenly, for mile on mile and mile on mile; perfect going for Grey Molly over easy hills with patches of forest here and there where he might double, or where he might stop with the hunt sweeping7 past. All this the sheriff must have known perfectly8 well, for he no longer kept back with his pack of five, but skirted on ahead, hunting alone. Again and again Vic heard the little shrill9 whistle with which Pete Glass encouraged the roan. Vic used the spurs twice, and then he desisted from the useless brutality10 for Molly was doing her best and no power on earth could make her do more. After all, her best would be good enough, for now Vic looked up and his heart leaped into his throat; there was only one more rise above him, and beyond lay the easy ground and a running chance for Molly's slender legs. Even as he raised his head something whined11 evilly over him, followed by a sound like two heavy hammers swung together, face to face, and shattered by the stroke. A rifle!
He looked back, saw the roan standing12 broadside towards him, watched the sun waver and then flash in a straight steady line along the barrel of the sheriff's gun. The line of light jerked up, and before the sound reached him a blow on his right shoulder sent Vic lurching forward against the pommel. Afterwards the voice of the rifle rang around him and a sharp pain twitched13 up and down his side, then ran tingling14 to his fingertips.
It was the stunning15 blow which saved him, for the sheriff had the range and his third bullet would have clipped Vic between the shoulders, but Glass had seen his quarry16 pitch forward in the saddle and he would not waste ammunition17. The thrift18 of his New England ancestry19 spoke20 in Pete now and then and he could only grit21 his teeth when he saw Vic, disappearing on the other side of the crest, straighten in the saddle; the next instant the top of the hill shielded the fugitive22.
Well and nobly, then, Grey Molly repaid all the praise, all the tenderness and care which Vic had lavished23 upon her in the past years, for with her legs shaking from the struggle of that last climb, with a rider who wobbled crazily in his seat, with reins24 hanging loose on her neck, with not even a voice to guide or to encourage her, she swept straight across the falling ground, gaining strength and courage at every stride. By the time Vic had regained26 his self-control and rallied a little from that first terrible falling of the heart, the dusty roan was over the crest and streaking27 after the game. Grey Molly gained steadily28, yet even when he gathered the reins in his left hand Vic knew that the fight was done, in effect. How could he double or dodge29 when his own blood spotted30 the trail he kept, and how long could he keep the saddle with the agony which tore like saw teeth at his shoulder?
Grey Molly plunged31 straight into the shadow of pine trees, and the cool gloom fell like a blessing32 upon Vic in his torment33; it was heaven to be sheltered even for a few moments from the eyes of the posse. At the opposite edge of the wood he drew rein25 with a groan34. Some devil had prompted Gus Reeve and some devil had poured Reeve's horse full of strength, for yonder down the valley, not a hundred yards away, galloped35 a rider on a black horse; yet Vic could have sworn that when he looked back from the crest he had seen Gus riding the very last in the posse. An instant later the illusion vanished, for the black horse of Gus was never an animal such as this, never had this marvelous, long gait. Its feet flicked36 the earth and shot it along with a reaching stride so easy, so flowing that only the fluttered mane and the tail stretching straight behind gave token of the speed. For the rest, it carried its head high, with pricking37 ears, the sure sign of a horse running well within his strength, yet Grey Molly, fresh and keen for racing38, could hardly have kept pace with the black as it slid over the hills. God in heaven, if such a horse were his a thousand sheriffs on a thousand dusty roans could never take him; five minutes would sweep him out of sight and reach.
Before the horseman ran a tall dog, wolfish in head and wolfish in the gait which carried it like a cloud shadow over the ground, but it was over-large for any wolf Vic had ever seen. It turned its head now, and leaped aside at sight of the stranger, but the rider veered39 from his course and swept down on Vic. He came to a halt close up without either a draw at the reins or a spoken word, probably controlling his mount with pressure of the knees, and Gregg found himself facing a delicately handsome fellow. He was neither cowpuncher nor miner, Vic knew at a glance, for that face had never been haggard with labor. A tenderfoot, probably, in spite of his dress, and Vic felt that if his right arm were sound he could take that horse at the point of his gun and leave the rider thanking God that his life had been spared; but his left hand was useless on the butt40 of a revolver, and three minutes away came the posse, racing. There was only time for one desperate appeal.
“Stranger,” he burst out, “I'm follered. I got to have your hoss. Take this one in exchange; it's the best I ever threw a leg over. Here's two hundred bucks—” he flung his wallet on the ground and swung himself out of the saddle.
The wolfish dog, which had growled41 softly all this time and roughed up the hair of its neck, now slunk forward on its belly42.
“Heel, Bart!” commanded the stranger sharply, and the dog whipped about and stood away, whining43 with eagerness.
The moment Gregg's feet struck the ground his legs buckled44 like saplings in a wind for the long ride had sapped his strength, and the flow of blood told rapidly on him now. The hills and trees whirled around him until a lean, strong hand caught him under either armpit. The stranger stood close.
“You could have my hoss if you could ride him,” said he. His voice was singularly unhurried and gentle. “But you'd drop out of the saddle in ten minutes. Who's after you?”
A voice shouted far off beyond the wood; another voice answered, nearer, and the whole soul of Gregg turned to the stallion. Grey Molly was blown, she stood now with hanging head and her flanks sunk in alarmingly at every breath, but even fresh from the pasture she was not a rag, not a straw compared to the black.
“You couldn't stick the saddle. Come in here out of sight; I'm going to take 'em off your trail.”
While he spoke, he led, half carried Vic, into a thicket46 of shrubs47 with a small open space at the center. The black and the wolf-dog followed and now the stranger pulled at the bridle48 rein. The stallion kneeled like a trained dog, and lying thus the shrubbery was high enough to hide him. Closer, sweeping through the wood, Vic heard the crash of the pursuit, yet the other was maddeningly slow of speech.
“You stay here, partner, and sit over there. I'm borrowin' your gun”—a swift hand appropriated it from Vic's holster and his own fingers were too paralyzed to resist—“and don't you try to ride my hoss unless you want them teeth in your throat. Lie quiet and tie up your hurt. Bart, watch him!”
And there sat Gregg where he had slipped down in his daze49 of weakness with the great dog crouched50 at his feet and snarling51 ominously52 every time he raised his hand. The voices came closer; the crashing burst on his very ears, and now, through the interstices of the shrubbery he saw the stranger swing into the saddle on Grey Molly and urge her to a gallop. He could follow them for only an instant with his eyes, but it seemed to Vic that Molly cantered under her new rider with strange ease and lightness. It was partly the rest, no doubt, and partly the smaller burden.
A deep beat of racing hoofs53, and then the dusty roan shot out of the trees close by with the sheriff leaning forward, jockeying his horse. It seemed that no living thing could escape from that relentless54 rider. Then right behind Vic a horse snorted and grunted—as it leaped a fallen log, perhaps—and he watched in alarm to see if the stallion would answer that sound with start or whinney. The black lay perfectly still, and instead of lifting up to answer or to look, the head lowered with ears flat back until the long, outstretched neck gave the animal a snaky appearance. The dog, too, though it showed murderous fangs55 whenever Vic moved, did not stir from his place, but lay flattening56 into the ground.
“Cut to the right! Cut to the right, Harry57!” came the voice of the sheriff, already piping from the distance as the last of the posse brushed out from the trees. “Yo hoi! Gus, take the left arroyo58!”
Two answering yells, and then the rush of hoofs fell away. They were cornering the stranger, no doubt, and Vic struggled to lift himself to his feet and watch until a faint sound from the dog made him look down. Bart lay with his haunches drawn59 up under him, his forepaws digging into the soft loam60, his eyes demoniac. Instinctively61 Vic reached for his absent gun, and then, despairing, relaxed to his former position. The wolf-dog lowered his head to his paws and there remained with the eyes following each intake62 of Gregg's breath. A rattle63 of gunshots flung back loosely from the hills, and among them Vic winced at the sound of the sheriff's rifle, clear and ringing over the bark of the revolvers.
Had they nailed the stranger? The firing recommenced, more faintly and prolonged, so that it was plain the posse maintained a running fusilade after the fugitive. After that fear of his own growing weakness shut out all else from the mind of Gregg as he felt his senses, his physical strength, flowing out like an ebb64 tide to a sea which, he knew, was death. He began to work desperately65 to bind66 up the wound and stop the flow of blood and it was fear which gave him momentary67 strength to tear away his shirt and then with his teeth and left hand rip it into strips. After that, heedless of the pain, he constructed a rude bandage, very clumsily, for he had to work over his shoulder. Here his teeth, once more, were almost as useful as another hand, and as the bandage grew tight the deadly, warm trickle68 along his side lessened69 and his fingers fell away from the last knot. He fainted.
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1
crest
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| n.顶点；饰章；羽冠；vt.达到顶点；vi.形成浪尖 | |
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2
plunge
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| v.跳入，(使)投入，(使)陷入；猛冲 | |
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gallop
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| v./n.(马或骑马等)飞奔；飞速发展 | |
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winced
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| 赶紧避开，畏缩( wince的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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labor
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| 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 | |
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smoothly
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| adv.平滑地，顺利地，流利地，流畅地 | |
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sweeping
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| adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的 | |
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perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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shrill
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| adj.尖声的；刺耳的；v尖叫 | |
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brutality
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| n.野蛮的行为，残忍，野蛮 | |
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whined
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| v.哀号( whine的过去式和过去分词 )；哀诉，诉怨 | |
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12
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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13
twitched
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| vt.& vi.（使）抽动，（使）颤动（twitch的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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14
tingling
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| v.有刺痛感( tingle的现在分词 ) | |
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15
stunning
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| adj.极好的；使人晕倒的 | |
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quarry
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| n.采石场；v.采石；费力地找 | |
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ammunition
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| n.军火，弹药 | |
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18
thrift
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| adj.节约，节俭；n.节俭，节约 | |
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ancestry
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| n.祖先，家世 | |
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20
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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21
grit
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| n.沙粒，决心，勇气；v.下定决心，咬紧牙关 | |
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22
fugitive
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| adj.逃亡的，易逝的；n.逃犯，逃亡者 | |
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23
lavished
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| v.过分给予，滥施( lavish的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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24
reins
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| 感情，激情； 缰( rein的名词复数 )； 控制手段； 掌管； （成人带着幼儿走路以防其走失时用的）保护带 | |
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25
rein
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| n.疆绳，统治，支配；vt.以僵绳控制，统治 | |
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26
regained
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| 复得( regain的过去式和过去分词 )； 赢回； 重回； 复至某地 | |
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27
streaking
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| n.裸奔（指在公共场所裸体飞跑）v.快速移动( streak的现在分词 )；使布满条纹 | |
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28
steadily
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| adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地 | |
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29
dodge
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| v.闪开，躲开，避开；n.妙计，诡计 | |
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30
spotted
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| adj.有斑点的，斑纹的，弄污了的 | |
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31
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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32
blessing
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| n.祈神赐福；祷告；祝福，祝愿 | |
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33
torment
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| n.折磨；令人痛苦的东西(人)；vt.折磨；纠缠 | |
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34
groan
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| vi./n.呻吟，抱怨；(发出)呻吟般的声音 | |
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35
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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36
flicked
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| （尤指用手指或手快速地）轻击( flick的过去式和过去分词 )； （用…）轻挥； （快速地）按开关； 向…笑了一下（或瞥了一眼等） | |
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37
pricking
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| 刺，刺痕，刺痛感 | |
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38
racing
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| n.竞赛，赛马；adj.竞赛用的，赛马用的 | |
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39
veered
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| v.（尤指交通工具）改变方向或路线( veer的过去式和过去分词 )；（指谈话内容、人的行为或观点）突然改变；（指风） （在北半球按顺时针方向、在南半球按逆时针方向）逐渐转向；风向顺时针转 | |
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40
butt
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| n.笑柄；烟蒂；枪托；臀部；v.用头撞或顶 | |
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41
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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42
belly
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| n.肚子，腹部；(像肚子一样)鼓起的部分，膛 | |
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43
whining
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| n. 抱怨，牢骚 v. 哭诉，发牢骚 | |
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44
buckled
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| a. 有带扣的 | |
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45
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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46
thicket
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| n.灌木丛，树林 | |
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47
shrubs
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| 灌木( shrub的名词复数 ) | |
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48
bridle
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| n.笼头，束缚；vt.抑制，约束；动怒 | |
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49
daze
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| v.(使)茫然，(使)发昏 | |
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50
crouched
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| v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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51
snarling
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| v.（指狗）吠，嗥叫， （人）咆哮( snarl的现在分词 )；咆哮着说，厉声地说 | |
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52
ominously
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| adv.恶兆地，不吉利地；预示地 | |
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53
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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54
relentless
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| adj.残酷的，不留情的，无怜悯心的 | |
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55
fangs
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| n.（尤指狗和狼的）长而尖的牙( fang的名词复数 )；（蛇的）毒牙；罐座 | |
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56
flattening
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| n. 修平 动词flatten的现在分词 | |
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57
harry
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| vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼 | |
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58
arroyo
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| n.干涸的河床，小河 | |
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59
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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60
loam
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| n.沃土 | |
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61
instinctively
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| adv.本能地 | |
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62
intake
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| n.吸入，纳入；进气口，入口 | |
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63
rattle
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| v.飞奔，碰响；激怒；n.碰撞声；拨浪鼓 | |
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64
ebb
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| vi.衰退，减退；n.处于低潮，处于衰退状态 | |
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65
desperately
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| adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地 | |
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66
bind
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| vt.捆，包扎；装订；约束；使凝固；vi.变硬 | |
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67
momentary
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| adj.片刻的，瞬息的；短暂的 | |
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68
trickle
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| vi.淌，滴，流出，慢慢移动，逐渐消散 | |
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69
lessened
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| 减少的，减弱的 | |
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