That evening there was no voice shouting from the hillside, and Gary spent a somberly ruminative3 hour in cleaning the mud off his shoes. He was worried about his clothes, which were looking the worse for his activities; until it occurred to him that he had passed and repassed a very efficient-looking store devoted4 to men’s clothing alone. It comforted him considerably5 to reflect that he could buy whatever he needed in Las Vegas.
On the eleventh day he started down the cañon on the chance that he might see Monty coming across the desert. The tall piñon trees shut out the view of the open country beyond until he came almost abreast6 of the last pool of the creek7 where the cattle watered. He was worrying a good deal now over Monty Girard. He could not believe that he had been deliberately8 left afoot there in the cañon, as effectively imprisoned9 as if four stone walls shut him in, held within the limit of his own endurance in walking. Should he push that endurance beyond the limit, he would die very miserably10.
Gary was not particularly alarmed over that phase of his desertion, however. He knew that he was not going to be foolish enough to start out afoot in the hope of getting somewhere. Only panic would drive a man to that extreme, and Gary was not of the panicky type. He had food enough to last for a long time. The air, as he told himself sardonically11, was good enough for any health resort. He didn’t feel as if he could get sick there if he tried. His physical well-being12, therefore, was not threatened; but he owned himself willing to tell a heartless world that he was most ungodly lonesome.
He was walking down the rough trail with his hands in his pockets, whistling a doleful ditty, the spotted13 cat at his heels like a dog. He was trying to persuade himself that this was about the time of day when Monty would be most likely to show up, when Faith ran before him, stopped abruptly14, arched her back and ruffled15 her tail at something by the water hole.
Gary stopped also and stared suspiciously at two men who were filling canteens at the water hole. What roused Gary’s suspicion was the manner of the two men. While they sunk their canteens beneath the surface of the water and held them so, they kept looking up the cañon and at the bluff16 across the creek; sending furtive17, frightened glances into the piñon grove18.
“Hello!” shouted Gary, going toward them. The cañon wall echoed the shout. The two dropped their canteens and fled incontinently out toward the open. Gary walked over to the pool, caught the two canteen straps19, filled the canteens and went after the men, considerably puzzled. He came upon them at their camp, beside a ten-foot ledge20 outcropping, a hundred yards or so below the pool. They were standing21 by their horses, evidently debating the question of moving on.
“Here’s your canteens,” Gary announced as he walked up to them. “What’s the big idea—running off like that?”
“Hello,” one responded guardedly. “We don’t see who hollers. That’s bad place. Don’t like ’m.”
They were Indians, though by their look they might almost be Mexicans. They were dressed much as Monty Girard had been clothed, in blue overalls22 and denim23 jacket, with old gray Stetson hats and coarse, sand-rusted shoes.
Gary lowered the canteens to the ground beside their little camp fire and got out his tobacco and papers, while he looked the two over.
“So you think it’s a bad place, do you? Is that why you camp out here?”
“Them cañon no good,” stated the other Indian, speaking for the first time. “Too much holler all time no see ’m. That’s bad luck.”
“You mean the man up on the bluff, that hollers so much?” Gary eyed them interestedly. “Who is he? You fellows know anything about it?”
They looked at one another and muttered some Indian words. The old man began to unpack24 the apathetic25 mule26 standing with dropped lip behind the two saddle horses.
“You know Monty Girard?” Gary asked, lighting27 his cigarette and proffering28 his smoking material to the younger Indian when he saw an oblique29 glance go hungrily to the smoke.
“Yass! Monty Girard. His camp by Kawich,” the old man answered in a tone of relief that the subject had changed.
“Well, I don’t know where Kawich is—I’m a stranger in the country. Seen him lately?” Gary waved his hand for the younger Indian to pass the tobacco and papers to the older buck30. “Seen Monty lately?”
“Nah. We don’t see him, two months, maybe.” The old buck was trying to conceal31 his pleasure over the tobacco.
Gary thought of something. “You see any Walking X horses—work horses, or saddle horses?”
With characteristic Indian deliberation the two waited until their cigarettes were going before either replied. Then the old man, taking his time in the telling, informed Gary that the horses were ranging about ten miles to the east of Johnnywater, and that they were watering at a small spring called Deer Lick. It occurred to Gary that he might be able to hire these Indians to run in the horses so that he could have a saddle horse at least and be less at the mercy of chance. With a horse he could get out of the country without Monty and the Ford32, if worst came to worst.
He squatted33 with the Indians in the shade of the ledge while they waited for the water to boil in a bent34 galvanized bucket blackened with the smoke of many camp fires, and set himself seriously to the business of winning their confidence. They were out of tobacco, and Gary had plenty, which helped the business along amazingly. He caught himself wishing they wore the traditional garb35 of the redman, which would have been picturesque36 and satisfying. But these Piutes were merely unkempt and not at all interesting, except that their speech was clipped to absolutely essential words. They were stodgy37 and apathetic, except toward the tobacco. He found that they could dicker harder than a white man.
They wanted ten dollars for driving in his horses, and even then they made it plain to Gary that the price did not include getting them into the corral. For ten dollars they would bring the horses right there to the mouth of the cañon.
“Not go in,” the old man stipulated38. “Bring ’m here, this place. Not corral. No. No more. You take my horse, drive ’m to corral. I wait here.”
Gary knew a little about Indians, and at the moment he did not ask for a reason. The corral was not a quarter of a mile farther on; as a matter of fact it was just beyond the cabin at the edge of the grove of piñons.
Faith came out from a clutter39 of rocks and hopped40 into Gary’s arms, purring and rubbing herself against him. The Piutes eyed the cat askance.
“B’long ’m Steve Carson, them cat,” the young Indian stated abruptly. “You ain’t scare them cat bad luck?”
Gary laughed. “No—I’m not afraid of the cat. Faith and I get along pretty well. Belongs to a Steve Carson, you say? I thought this was Waddell’s cat. It was left here when Waddell sold out.”
They deliberated upon this, as was their way. “Waddell sell this place?” The old Indian turned his head and looked into the cañon. “Hunh. You buy ’m?”
“No. A friend of mine bought it. I came here to see if it’s any good.” Gary began to feel as if he were making some headway at last.
“No good.” The old man carefully rubbed the ash from his cigarette. “Bad spirits. You call ’m bad luck.” He looked at Gary searchingly. “You hear ’m holler?”
Gary grinned. “Somebody hollers about half the time. Who is it?”
“Them’s ghos’. When Steve go, comes holler. Nobody holler when Steve’s all right. Five year them ghos’ holler. Same time Steve go. Nobody ketchum Steve. Nobody stop holler.”
“Well, that’s a heck of a note!” Gary smoothed the cat’s back mechanically and tried to laugh. “So the Voice is Steve Carson’s ghost, you think? And what happened to Steve?”
“Dunno. Don’ nobody know. Steve, he makes them shack43. Got cattle, got horses, got chickens. Mine a little, mebby. One time my brother she go there. No ketchum Steve Carson no place. Hears all time holler up there. My brother holler. Thinks that’s Steve, mebby. My brother wait damn long time. Steve don’t come. All time them holler up on hill. My brother thinks Steve’s hurt, mebby. My brother goes. Hunts damn long time. Looks all over. No ketchum Steve. My brother scare, you bet!
“My brother comes my place. Tells Steve Carson, he’s hurt, hollers all time. Tells no ketchum Steve no place. I go, my father goes. Other mans go. Hunt damn long time. Nobody hollers. No ketchum Steve Carson. Saddle in shed, wagon44 by tree, canteens hang up, beans on stove—burnt like hell. Them cat holler all time.
“By ’m by we go. Hunt two days, then go. We get on horses, then comes holler like hell up on hill. Get off horses. Hunt some more. All night. No ketchum holler. No ketchum Steve no place. Them cat go ‘Yeouw! Yeouw!’ all time like hell.
“My brother, she’s damn ’fraid for ghos’. My brother gets on horse and goes away from that place. Pretty soon my brother dies. That’s five years we don’t find Steve Carson. All them time holler comes sometimes. This place bad luck. Injuns don’t come here no more, you bet. We come here now little while when sun shines. Comes night time it’s damn bad place. You hear them hollers you don’t get scared?” It would seem that Gary’s assertion had not quite convinced them. The young Indian was plainly skeptical45. According to the judgment46 of his tribe, it was scarcely decent for a man to foregather with ghosts and feel no fear.
The mottled cat squirmed out of Gary’s embrace and went bounding away among the rocks. The eyes of the Indians followed it inscrutably. The old man got up, clawed in his pack, pulled out a dirty cloth in which something was tied. He opened the small bundle, scooped47 a handful of tea and emptied it into the bucket of boiling water. The young man opened a savage-looking pocket knife and began cutting thick slices of salt pork. The old Indian brought a dirty frying pan to the fire.
Gary leaned against the rock ledge and watched them interestedly. After so long an exile from all human intercourse48, even two grimy Piutes meant much to him in the way of companionship. They talked little while they were preparing the meal. And when they ate, squatting49 on their heels and spearing pork from the frying pan with the points of their big jackknives, and folding the pieces around fragments of hard, untempting bannock, they said nothing at all. Gary decided50 that eating was a serious business with them and was not to be interrupted by anything so trivial as conversation.
He wanted to hear more about the Johnnywater ghost and about Steve Carson. But the Piutes evidently considered the subject closed, and he could get nothing more out of them. He suspected that he had his sack of Bull Durham to thank for the unusual loquacity51 while they smoked.
After they had eaten they led their horses up to the pool and let them drink their fill. After that they mounted and rode away, in spite of Gary’s urging them to camp where they were until they had brought in the Walking X horses. They would go back, they said, to Deer Lick and camp there for the night. In the morning they would round up his horses and drive them over to Johnnywater.
Gary was not quite satisfied with the arrangement, but they had logic52 on their side so far as getting the horses was concerned. Their own mounts would be fresh in the morning for the work they had to do. But the thing Gary hated most was their flat refusal to spend a night at Johnnywater Cañon.
点击
收听单词发音
收听单词发音 |
1
paucity
|
|
| n.小量，缺乏 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
primitive
|
|
| adj.原始的；简单的；n.原(始)人，原始事物 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
ruminative
|
|
| adj.沉思的，默想的，爱反复思考的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
devoted
|
|
| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
considerably
|
|
| adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
abreast
|
|
| adv.并排地；跟上(时代)的步伐，与…并进地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
creek
|
|
| n.小溪，小河，小湾 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
deliberately
|
|
| adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
imprisoned
|
|
| 下狱，监禁( imprison的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
miserably
|
|
| adv.痛苦地；悲惨地；糟糕地；极度地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
sardonically
|
|
| adv.讽刺地，冷嘲地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
well-being
|
|
| n.安康，安乐，幸福 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
spotted
|
|
| adj.有斑点的，斑纹的，弄污了的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
abruptly
|
|
| adv.突然地，出其不意地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
ruffled
|
|
| adj. 有褶饰边的, 起皱的 动词ruffle的过去式和过去分词 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
bluff
|
|
| v.虚张声势，用假象骗人；n.虚张声势，欺骗 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
furtive
|
|
| adj.鬼鬼崇崇的，偷偷摸摸的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
grove
|
|
| n.林子，小树林，园林 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
straps
|
|
| n.带子( strap的名词复数 )；挎带；肩带；背带v.用皮带捆扎( strap的第三人称单数 )；用皮带抽打；包扎；给…打绷带 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
ledge
|
|
| n.壁架，架状突出物；岩架，岩礁 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
standing
|
|
| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
overalls
|
|
| n.（复）工装裤；长罩衣 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
denim
|
|
| n.斜纹棉布；斜纹棉布裤，牛仔裤 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
unpack
|
|
| vt.打开包裹（或行李），卸货 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
apathetic
|
|
| adj.冷漠的，无动于衷的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
mule
|
|
| n.骡子，杂种，执拗的人 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
27
lighting
|
|
| n.照明，光线的明暗，舞台灯光 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
28
proffering
|
|
| v.提供，贡献，提出( proffer的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
|
29
oblique
|
|
| adj.斜的，倾斜的，无诚意的，不坦率的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
30
buck
|
|
| n.雄鹿，雄兔；v.马离地跳跃 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
31
conceal
|
|
| v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
32
Ford
|
|
| n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
33
squatted
|
|
| v.像动物一样蹲下( squat的过去式和过去分词 )；非法擅自占用（土地或房屋）；为获得其所有权；而占用某片公共用地。 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
34
bent
|
|
| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
35
garb
|
|
| n.服装，装束 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
36
picturesque
|
|
| adj.美丽如画的，（语言）生动的，绘声绘色的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
37
stodgy
|
|
| adj.易饱的；笨重的；滞涩的；古板的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
38
stipulated
|
|
| vt.& vi.规定；约定adj.[法]合同规定的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
39
clutter
|
|
| n.零乱，杂乱；vt.弄乱，把…弄得杂乱 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
40
hopped
|
|
| 跳上[下]( hop的过去式和过去分词 )； 单足蹦跳； 齐足（或双足）跳行； 摘葎草花 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
41
stolidly
|
|
| adv.迟钝地，神经麻木地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
42
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： |
|
|
|
|
43
shack
|
|
| adj.简陋的小屋，窝棚 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
44
wagon
|
|
| n.四轮马车，手推车，面包车；无盖运货列车 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
45
skeptical
|
|
| adj.怀疑的，多疑的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
46
judgment
|
|
| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
47
scooped
|
|
| v.抢先报道( scoop的过去式和过去分词 )；（敏捷地）抱起；抢先获得；用铲[勺]等挖（洞等） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
48
intercourse
|
|
| n.性交；交流，交往，交际 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
49
squatting
|
|
| v.像动物一样蹲下( squat的现在分词 )；非法擅自占用（土地或房屋）；为获得其所有权；而占用某片公共用地。 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
50
decided
|
|
| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
51
loquacity
|
|
| n.多话，饶舌 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
52
logic
|
|
| n.逻辑(学)；逻辑性 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |