The little party of escort arrived before school was closed on Friday afternoon, and came down to the school-house in full force to take her away with them. The young man Forsythe, with his sister, the hostess herself, and a young army officer from the fort, comprised the party. Margaret dismissed school ten minutes early and went back with them to the Tanners' to make a hurried change in her dress and pick up her suit-case, which was already packed. As they rode away from the school-house Margaret looked back and saw Rosa Rogers posing in one of her sprite dances in the school-yard, saw her kiss her hand laughingly toward their party, and saw the flutter of a handkerchief in young Forsythe's hand. It was all very general and elusive1, a passing bit of fun, but it left an uncomfortable impression on the teacher's mind. She looked keenly at the young man as he rode up smiling beside her, and once more experienced that strange, sudden change of feeling about him.
She took opportunity during that long ride to find out if the young man had known Rosa Rogers before; but he frankly2 told her that he had just come West to visit his sister, was bored to death because he didn't know a soul in the whole State, and until he had seen her had not laid eyes on one whom he cared to know. Yet while she could not help enjoying the gay badinage3, she carried a sense of uneasiness whenever she thought of the young girl Rosa in her pretty fairy pose, with her fluttering pink fingers and her saucy4, smiling eyes. There was something untrustworthy, too, in the handsome face of the man beside her.
There was just one shadow over this bit of a holiday. Margaret had a little feeling that possibly some one from the camp might come down on Saturday or Sunday, and she would miss him. Yet nothing had been said about it, and she had no way of sending word that she would be away. She had meant to send Mom Wallis a letter by the next messenger that came that way. It was all written and lying on her bureau, but no one had been down all the week. She was, therefore, greatly pleased when an approaching rider in the distance proved to be Gardley, and with a joyful5 little greeting she drew rein6 and hailed him, giving him a message for Mom Wallis.
Only Gardley's eyes told what this meeting was to him. His demeanor7 was grave and dignified8. He acknowledged the introductions to the rest of the party gracefully9, touched his hat with the ease of one to the manner born, and rode away, flashing her one gleam of a smile that told her he was glad of the meeting; but throughout the brief interview there had been an air of question and hostility10 between the two men, Forsythe and Gardley. Forsythe surveyed Gardley rudely, almost insolently11, as if his position beside the lady gave him rights beyond the other, and he resented the coming of the stranger. Gardley's gaze was cold, too, as he met the look, and his eyes searched Forsythe's face keenly, as though they would find out what manner of man was riding with his friend.
When he was gone Margaret had the feeling that he was somehow disappointed, and once she turned in the saddle and looked wistfully after him; but he was riding furiously into the distance, sitting his horse as straight as an arrow and already far away upon the desert.
"Your friend is a reckless rider," said Forsythe, with a sneer12 in his voice that Margaret did not like, as they watched the speck13 in the distance clear a steep descent from the mesa at a bound and disappear from sight in the mesquite beyond.
"Isn't he fine-looking? Where did you find him, Miss Earle?" asked Mrs. Temple, eagerly. "I wish I'd asked him to join us. He left so suddenly I didn't realize he was going."
Margaret felt a wondering and pleasant sense of possession and pride in Gardley as she watched, but she quietly explained that the young stranger was from the East, and that he was engaged in some kind of cattle business at a distance from Ashland. Her manner was reserved, and the matter dropped. She naturally felt a reluctance14 to tell how her acquaintance with Gardley began. It seemed something between themselves. She could fancy the gushing15 Mrs. Temple saying, "How romantic!" She was that kind of a woman. It was evident that she was romantically inclined herself, for she used her fine eyes with effect on the young officer who rode with her, and Margaret found herself wondering what kind of a husband she had and what her mother would think of a woman like this.
There was no denying that the luxury of the ranch16 was a happy relief from the simplicity17 of life at the Tanners'. Iced drinks and cushions and easy-chairs, feasting and music and laughter! There were books, too, and magazines, and all the little things that go to make up a cultured life; and yet they were not people of Margaret's world, and when Saturday evening was over she sat alone in the room they had given her and, facing herself in the glass, confessed to herself that she looked back with more pleasure to the Sabbath spent with Mom Wallis than she could look forward to a Sabbath here. The morning proved her forebodings well founded.
Breakfast was a late, informal affair, filled with hilarious18 gaiety. There was no mention of any church service, and Margaret found it was quite too late to suggest such a thing when breakfast was over, even if she had been sure there was any service.
After breakfast was over there were various forms of amusement proposed for her pleasure, and she really felt very much embarrassed for a few moments to know how to avoid what to her was pure Sabbath-breaking. Yet she did not wish to be rude to these people who were really trying to be kind to her. She managed at last to get them interested in music, and, grouping them around the piano after a few preliminary performances by herself at their earnest solicitation19, coaxed20 them into singing hymns21.
After all, they really seemed to enjoy it, though they had to get along with one hymn-book for the whole company; but Margaret knew how to make hymn-singing interesting, and her exquisite22 voice was never more at its best than when she led off with "My Jesus, as Thou Wilt," or "Jesus, Saviour23, Pilot Me."
"You would be the delight of Mr. Brownleigh's heart," said the hostess, gushingly24, at last, after Margaret had finished singing "Abide25 With Me" with wonderful feeling.
"And who is Mr. Brownleigh?" asked Margaret. "Why should I delight his heart?"
"Why, he is our missionary26—that is, the missionary for this region—and you would delight his heart because you are so religious and sing so well," said the superficial little woman. "Mr. Brownleigh is really a very cultured man. Of course, he's narrow. All clergymen are narrow, don't you think? They have to be to a certain extent. He's really quite narrow. Why, he believes in the Bible literally27, the whale and Jonah, and the Flood, and making bread out of stones, and all that sort of thing, you know. Imagine it! But he does. He's sincere! Perfectly28 sincere. I suppose he has to be. It's his business. But sometimes one feels it a pity that he can't relax a little, just among us here, you know. We'd never tell. Why, he won't even play a little game of poker29! And he doesn't smoke! Imagine it—not even when he's by himself, and no one would know! Isn't that odd? But he can preach. He's really very interesting; only a little too Utopian in his ideas. He thinks everybody ought to be good, you know, and all that sort of thing. He really thinks it's possible, and he lives that way himself. He really does. But he is a wonderful person; only I feel sorry for his wife sometimes. She's quite a cultured person. Has been wealthy, you know. She was a New York society girl. Just imagine it; out in these wilds taking gruel30 to the dirty little Indians! How she ever came to do it! Of course she adores him, but I can't really believe she is happy. No woman could be quite blind enough to give up everything in the world for one man, no matter how good he was. Do you think she could? It wasn't as if she didn't have plenty of other chances. She gave them all up to come out and marry him. She's a pretty good sport, too; she never lets you know she isn't perfectly happy."
"She is happy; mother, she's happier than anybody I ever saw," declared the fourteen-year-old daughter of the house, who was home from boarding-school for a brief visit during an epidemic31 of measles32 in the school.
"Oh yes, she manages to make people think she's happy," said her mother, indulgently; "but you can't make me believe she's satisfied to give up her house on Fifth Avenue and live in a two-roomed log cabin in the desert, with no society."
"Mother, you don't know! Why, any woman would be satisfied if her husband adored her the way Mr. Brownleigh does her."
"Well, Ada, you're a romantic girl, and Mr. Brownleigh is a handsome man. You've got a few things to learn yet. Mark my words, I don't believe you'll see Mrs. Brownleigh coming back next month with her husband. This operation was all well enough to talk about, but I'll not be surprised to hear that he has come back alone or else that he has accepted a call to some big city church. And he's equal to the city church, too; that's the wonder of it. He comes of a fine family himself, I've heard. Oh, people can't keep up the pose of saints forever, even though they do adore each other. But Mr. Brownleigh certainly is a good man!"
The vapid33 little woman sat looking reflectively out of the window for a whole minute after this deliverance. Yes, certainly Mr. Brownleigh was a good man. He was the one man of culture, education, refinement34, who had come her way in many a year who had patiently and persistently35 and gloriously refused her advances at a mild flirtation36, and refused to understand them, yet remained her friend and reverenced37 hero. He was a good man, and she knew it, for she was a very pretty woman and understood her art well.
Before the day was over Margaret had reason to feel that a Sabbath in Arizona was a very hard thing to find. The singing could not last all day, and her friends seemed to find more amusements on Sunday that did not come into Margaret's code of Sabbath-keeping than one knew how to say no to. Neither could they understand her feeling, and she found it hard not to be rude in gently declining one plan after another.
She drew the children into a wide, cozy38 corner after dinner and began a Bible story in the guise39 of a fairy-tale, while the hostess slipped away to take a nap. However, several other guests lingered about, and Mr. Temple strayed in. They sat with newspapers before their faces and got into the story, too, seeming to be deeply interested, so that, after all, Margaret did not have an unprofitable Sabbath.
But altogether, though she had a gay and somewhat frivolous40 time, a good deal of admiration41 and many invitations to return as often as possible, Margaret was not sorry when she said good night to know that she was to return in the early morning to her work.
Mr. Temple himself was going part way with them, accompanied by his niece, Forsythe, and the young officer who came over with them. Margaret rode beside Mr. Temple until his way parted from theirs, and had a delightful42 talk about Arizona. He was a kindly43 old fellow who adored his frivolous little wife and let her go her own gait, seeming not to mind how much she flirted44.
The morning was pink and silver, gold and azure45, a wonderful specimen46 of an Arizona sunrise for Margaret's benefit, and a glorious beginning for her day's work in spite of the extremely early hour. The company was gay and blithe47, and the Eastern girl felt as if she were passing through a wonderful experience.
They loitered a little on the way to show Margaret the wonders of a fern-plumed cañon, and it was almost school-time when they came up the street, so that Margaret rode straight to the school-house instead of stopping at Tanners'. On the way to the school they passed a group of girls, of whom Rosa Rogers was the center. A certain something in Rosa's narrowed eyelids48 as she said good morning caused Margaret to look back uneasily, and she distinctly saw the girl give a signal to young Forsythe, who, for answer, only tipped his hat and gave her a peculiar49 smile.
In a moment more they had said good-by, and Margaret was left at the school-house door with a cluster of eager children about her, and several shy boys in the background, ready to welcome her back as if she had been gone a month.
In the flutter of opening school Margaret failed to notice that Rosa Rogers did not appear. It was not until the roll was called that she noticed her absence, and she looked uneasily toward the door many times during the morning, but Rosa did not come until after recess50, when she stole smilingly in, as if it were quite the thing to come to school late. When questioned about her tardiness51 she said she had torn her dress and had to go home and change it. Margaret knew by the look in her eyes that the girl was not telling the truth, but what was she to do? It troubled her all the morning and went with her to a sleepless52 pillow that night. She was beginning to see that life as a school-teacher in the far West was not all she had imagined it to be. Her father had been right. There would likely be more thorns than roses on her way.
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1
elusive
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| adj.难以表达(捉摸)的；令人困惑的；逃避的 | |
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2
frankly
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| adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说 | |
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badinage
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| n.开玩笑，打趣 | |
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saucy
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| adj.无礼的；俊俏的；活泼的 | |
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5
joyful
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| adj.欢乐的，令人欢欣的 | |
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6
rein
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| n.疆绳，统治，支配；vt.以僵绳控制，统治 | |
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7
demeanor
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| n.行为；风度 | |
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8
dignified
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| a.可敬的，高贵的 | |
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9
gracefully
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| ad.大大方方地；优美地 | |
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10
hostility
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| n.敌对，敌意；抵制［pl.］交战，战争 | |
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insolently
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| adv.自豪地，自傲地 | |
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12
sneer
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| v.轻蔑；嘲笑；n.嘲笑，讥讽的言语 | |
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13
speck
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| n.微粒，小污点，小斑点 | |
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reluctance
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| n.厌恶，讨厌，勉强，不情愿 | |
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15
gushing
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| adj.迸出的；涌出的；喷出的；过分热情的v.喷，涌( gush的现在分词 )；滔滔不绝地说话 | |
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16
ranch
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| n.大牧场，大农场 | |
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simplicity
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| n.简单，简易；朴素；直率，单纯 | |
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18
hilarious
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| adj.充满笑声的，欢闹的；[反]depressed | |
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19
solicitation
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| n.诱惑；揽货；恳切地要求；游说 | |
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20
coaxed
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| v.哄，用好话劝说( coax的过去式和过去分词 )；巧言骗取；哄劝，劝诱 | |
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21
hymns
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| n.赞美诗，圣歌，颂歌( hymn的名词复数 ) | |
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22
exquisite
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| adj.精美的；敏锐的；剧烈的，感觉强烈的 | |
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23
saviour
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| n.拯救者，救星 | |
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24
gushingly
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25
abide
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| vi.遵守；坚持；vt.忍受 | |
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26
missionary
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| adj.教会的，传教(士)的；n.传教士 | |
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literally
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| adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实 | |
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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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29
poker
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| n.扑克；vt.烙制 | |
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30
gruel
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| n.稀饭，粥 | |
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31
epidemic
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| n.流行病；盛行；adj.流行性的，流传极广的 | |
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32
measles
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| n.麻疹，风疹，包虫病，痧子 | |
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33
vapid
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| adj.无味的；无生气的 | |
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34
refinement
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| n.文雅；高尚；精美；精制；精炼 | |
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35
persistently
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| ad.坚持地；固执地 | |
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36
flirtation
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| n.调情，调戏，挑逗 | |
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37
reverenced
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| v.尊敬，崇敬( reverence的过去式和过去分词 )；敬礼 | |
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38
cozy
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| adj.亲如手足的，密切的，暖和舒服的 | |
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39
guise
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| n.外表，伪装的姿态 | |
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40
frivolous
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| adj.轻薄的；轻率的 | |
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41
admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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42
delightful
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| adj.令人高兴的，使人快乐的 | |
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43
kindly
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| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
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44
flirted
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| v.调情，打情骂俏( flirt的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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45
azure
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| adj.天蓝色的，蔚蓝色的 | |
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46
specimen
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| n.样本，标本 | |
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47
blithe
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| adj.快乐的，无忧无虑的 | |
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48
eyelids
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| n.眼睑( eyelid的名词复数 )；眼睛也不眨一下；不露声色；面不改色 | |
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49
peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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50
recess
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| n.短期休息，壁凹（墙上装架子，柜子等凹处） | |
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51
tardiness
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| n.缓慢；迟延；拖拉 | |
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52
sleepless
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| adj.不睡眠的，睡不著的，不休息的 | |
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