Brownleigh was off his horse beside her, his hat off, before she had finished speaking.
"Don't, I beg of you, think of it again," he pleaded, his eyes devouring2 her face. "It is all right. I quite understand. And you understand too, I am sure."
"Yes, I understand," she said, lifting her eyes full of the love she had not dared to let him see. She was fidgetting with her rings as she spoke3 and looked back anxiously at the onrushing train. Her brother, hurrying down the platform to their car, called to her to hasten as he passed her, and she knew she would be allowed but a moment more. She caught her breath and looked at the tall missionary4 wistfully.
"You will let me leave something of my own with you, just for remembrance?" she asked eagerly.
"Of course," he said, his voice suddenly husky, "though I shall need nothing to remember you by. I can never forget you." The memory of that look of his eyes was meat and drink to her soul during many days that followed, but she met it now steadily6, not even flushing at her open recognition of his love.
"This is mine," she said. "My father bought it for me when I was sixteen. I have worn it ever since. He will never care." She slipped a ring from her finger and dropped it in his palm.
"Hurry up there, sister!" called young Radcliffe once more from the car window, and looking up, Brownleigh saw the evil face of Hamar peering from another window.
Brownleigh flung the reins8 of the pony9 to a young Indian who stood near and turning walked beside her, conscious the while of the frowning faces watching them from the car windows.
"And I have nothing to give you," he said to her in a low tone, deeply moved at what she had done.
"Will you let me have the little book?" she asked shyly.
His eyes lit with a kind of glory as he felt in his pocket for his Bible.
"It is the best thing I own," he said. "May it bring you the same joy and comfort it has often brought to me." And he put the little book in her hand.
The train backed crashing up and jarred into the private car with a snarling10, grating sound. Brownleigh put Hazel on the steps and helped her up. Her father was hurrying towards them and some train hands were making a great fuss shouting directions. There was just an instant for a hand-clasp, and then he stepped back to the platform, and her father swung himself on, as the train moved off. She stood on the top step of the car, her eyes upon his face, and his upon hers, his hat lifted in homage11, and renunciation upon his brow as though it were a crown.
It was the voice of her Aunt Maria that recalled her to herself, while the little station with its primitive12 setting, its straggling onlookers13 and its one great man, slipped past and was blurred14 into the landscape by the tears which she could not keep back.
"Hazel! For pity's sake! Don't stand mooning and gazing at that rude creature any longer. We'll have you falling off the train and being dramatically rescued again for the delectation of the natives. I'm sure you've made disturbance15 enough for one trip, and you'd better come in and try to make amends16 to poor Mr. Hamar for what you have made him suffer with your foolish persistence17 in going off on a wild western pony that ran away. You haven't spoken to Mr. Hamar yet. Perhaps you don't know that he risked his life for you trying to catch your horse and was thrown and kicked in the face by his own wretched little beast, and left lying unconscious for hours on the desert, until an Indian came along and picked him up and helped him back to the station." (As a matter of fact Milton Hamar had planned and enacted18 this touching19 drama with the help of a passing Indian, when he found that Hazel was gone, leaving an ugly whip mark on his cheek which must be explained to the family.) "He may bear that dreadful scar for life! He will think you an ungrateful girl if you don't go at once and make your apologies."
For answer Hazel, surreptitiously brushing away the tears, swept past her aunt and locked herself into her own little private stateroom.
She rushed eagerly to the window which was partly open, guarded with a screen, and pressed her face against the upper part of the glass. The train had described a curve across the prairie, and the station was still visible, though far away. She was sure she could see the tall figure of her lover standing20 with hat in hand watching her as she passed from his sight.
With quick impulse she caught up a long white crepe scarf that lay on her berth21, and snatching the screen from the window fluttered the scarf out to the wind. Almost instantly a flutter of white came from the figure on the platform, and her heart quickened with joy. They had sent a message from heart to heart across the wide space of the plains, and the wireless22 telegraphy of hearts was established. Great tears rushed to blot23 the last flutter of white from the receding24 landscape, and then a hill loomed25 brilliant and shifting, and in a moment more shut out the sight of station and dim group and Hazel knew that she was back in the world of commonplace things once more, with only a memory for her company, amid a background of unsympathetic relatives.
She made her toilet in a leisurely26 way, for she dreaded27 to have to talk as she knew she would, and dreaded still more to meet Hamar. But she knew she must go and tell her father of her experiences, and presently she came out to them fresh and beautiful, with eyes but the brighter for her tears, and a soft wild-rose flush on her wind-browned cheeks that made her beauty all the sweeter.
They clamoured at once, of course, for all the details of her experience, and began by rehearsing once more how hard Mr. Hamar had tried to save her from her terrible plight28, risking his life to stop her horse. Hazel said nothing to this, but one steady clear look at the disfigured face of the man who had made them believe all this was the only recognition she gave of his would-be heroism29. In that look she managed to show her utter disbelief and contempt, though her Aunt Maria and perhaps even her father and brother thought her gratitude too deep for utterance30 before them all.
The girl passed over the matter of the runaway31 with a brief word, saying that the pony had made up his mind to run, and she had lost the bridle32, which of course explained her inability to control him. She made light of her ride, however, before her aunt, and told the whole story most briefly33 until she came to the canyon34 and the howl of the coyotes. She was most warm in praise of her rescuer, though here too she used few words and avoided any description of the ride back, merely saying that the missionary had shown himself a gentleman in every particular, and had given her every care and attention that her own family could have done under the circumstances, making the way pleasant with stories of the country and the people. She said that he was a man of unusual culture and refinement35, she thought, and yet most earnestly devoted36 to his work, and then she abruptly37 changed the subject by asking about certain plans for their further trip and seeming to have no further interest in what had befallen her; but all the while she was conscious of the piercing glance and frowning visage of Milton Hamar watching her, and she knew that as soon as opportunity offered itself he would continue the hateful interview begun on the plain. She decided38 mentally that she would avoid any such interview if possible, and to that end excused herself immediately after lunch had been served, saying she needed a good sleep to make up for the long ride she had taken.
But it was not to sleep that she gave her[155]self when she was at last able to take refuge in her little apartment again. She looked out at the passing landscape, beautiful with varied39 scenery, all blurred with tears as she thought of how she had but a little while before been out in its wide free distance with one who loved her. How that thought thrilled and thrilled her, and brought her a fresh joy each time it repeated itself! She wondered over the miracle of it. She never had dreamed that love was like this. She scarce believed it now. She was excited, stirred to the depths by her unusual experience, put beyond the normal by the strangeness of the surroundings that had brought this man into her acquaintance; so said common sense, and warned her that to-morrow, or the next day, or at most next week, the thrill would all be gone and she would think of the stranger missionary as one curious detail of her Western trip. But her heart resented this, and down, deep down, something else told her this strange new joy would not vanish, that it would live throughout her life, and that whatever in the years came to her, she would always know underneath40 all that this had been the real thing, the highest fullness of a perfect love for her.
As the miles lengthened41 and her thoughts grew sad with the distance, she drew from its hiding place the little book he had given her at parting. She had slipped it into the breast pocket of her riding habit as she received it, for she shrank from having her aunt's keen eyes detect it and question her. She had been too much engrossed42 with the thought of separation to remember it till now.
She touched it tenderly, shyly, as though it were a part of himself; the limp, worn covers, the look of constant use, all made it inexpressibly dear. She had not known before that an inanimate object, not beautiful in itself, could bring such tender love.
Opening to the flyleaf, there in clear, bold writing was his name, "John Chadwick Brownleigh," and for the first time she realized that there had passed between them no word of her name. Strange that they two should have come so close as to need no names one with the other. But her heart leaped up with joy that she knew his name, and her eyes dwelt yearningly43 upon the written characters. John! How well the name fitted him. It seemed that she would have known it was his even if she had not seen it written first in one of his possessions. Then she fell to meditating44 whether he would have any way of discovering her name. Perhaps her father had given it to him, or the station agent might have known to whom their car belonged. Of course he would when he received the orders,—or did they give orders about cars only by numbers? She wished she dared ask some one. Perhaps she could find out in some way how those orders were written. And yet all the time she had an instinctive45 feeling that had he known her name a thousand times he would not have communicated with her. She knew by that exalted46 look of renunciation upon his face that no longing47 whatsoever48 could make him overstep the bounds which he had laid down between her soul and his.
With a sigh she opened the little book, and it fell apart of itself to the place where he had read the night before, the page still marked by the little silk cord he had placed so carefully. She could see him now with the firelight flickering49 on his face, and the moonlight silvering his head, that strong tender look upon his face. How wonderful he had been!
She read the psalm50 over now herself, the first time in her life she had ever consciously given herself to reading the Bible. But there was a charm about the words that gave them new meaning, the charm of his voice as she heard them in memory and watched again his face change and stir at the words as he read.
The day waned51 and the train flew on, but the landscape had lost its attraction now for the girl. She pleaded weariness and remained apart from the rest, dreaming over her wonderful experience, and thinking new deep thoughts of wonder, regret, sadness, joy, and when night fell and the great moon rose lighting52 the world again, she knelt beside her car window, looking long into the wide clear sky, the sky that covered him and herself; the moon that looked down upon them both. Then switching on the electric light over her berth she read the psalm once more, and fell asleep with her cheek upon the little book and in her heart a prayer for him.
John Brownleigh, standing upon the station platform, watching the train disappear behind the foot-hills, experienced, for the first time since his coming to Arizona, a feeling of the utmost desolation. Lonely he had been, and homesick, sometimes, but always with a sense that he was master of it all, and that with the delight of his work it would pass and leave him free and glad in the power wherewith his God had called him to the service. But now he felt that with this train the light of life was going from him, and all the glory of Arizona and the world in which he had loved to be was darkened on her account. For a moment or two his soul cried out that it could not be, that he must mount some winged steed and speed after her whom his heart had enthroned. Then the wall of the inevitable53 appeared before his eager eyes, and Reason crowded close to bring him to his senses. He turned away to hide the emotion in his face. The stolid54 Indian boy, who had been holding both horses, received his customary smile and pleasant word, but the missionary gave them more by habit than thought this time. His soul had entered its Gethsemane, and his spirit was bowed within him.
As soon as he could get away from the people about the station who had their little griefs and joys and perplexities to tell him, he mounted Billy, and leading the borrowed pony rode away into the desert, retracing55 the way they had come together but a short time before.
Billy was tired and walked slowly, drooping56 his head, and his master was sad at heart, so there was no cheerful converse57 between them as they travelled along.
It was not far they went, only back to the edge of the corn, where they had made their last stop of the journey together a few short hours before, and here the missionary halted and gave the beasts their freedom for a respite58 and refreshment59. He himself felt too weary of soul to go further.
He took out the ring, the little ring that was too small to go more than half-way on his smallest finger, the ring she had taken warm and flashing from her white hand and laid within his palm!
The sun low down in the west stole into the heart of the jewel and sent its glory in a million multicoloured facets60, piercing his soul with the pain and the joy of his love. He cast himself down upon the grass where she had sat, where, with his eyes closed and his lips upon the jewel she had worn, he met his enemy and fought his battle out.
Wearied at last with the contest, he slept. The sun went down, the moon made itself manifest once more, and when the night went coursing down its way of silver, two jewels softly gleamed in its radiance, the one upon his finger where he had pressed her ring, the other from the grass beside him. With a curious wonder he put forth61 his hand to the second and found it was the topaz set in the handle of her whip which she had dropped and forgotten when they sat together and talked by the way. He seized it eagerly now, and gathered it to him. It seemed almost a message of comfort from her he loved. It was something tangible62, this, and the ring, to show him he had not dreamed her coming; she had been real, and she had wanted him to tell her of his love, had said it would make a difference all the rest of her life.
He remembered that somewhere he had read or heard a great man say that to be worthy63 of a great love one must be able to do without it. Here now, then, he would prove his love by doing without. He stood with uplifted face, transfigured in the light of the brilliant night, with the look of exalted self-surrender, but only his heart communed that night, for there were no words on his dumb lips to express the fullness of his abnegation.
Then forth upon his way he went, his battle fought, the stronger for it, to be a staff for other men to lean upon.[1
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1
gratitude
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| adj.感激，感谢 | |
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2
devouring
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| 吞没( devour的现在分词 )； 耗尽； 津津有味地看； 狼吞虎咽地吃光 | |
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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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missionary
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| adj.教会的，传教(士)的；n.传教士 | |
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misty
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| adj.雾蒙蒙的，有雾的 | |
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6
steadily
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| adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地 | |
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7
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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8
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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pony
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| adj.小型的；n.小马 | |
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10
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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11
homage
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| n.尊敬，敬意，崇敬 | |
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12
primitive
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| adj.原始的；简单的；n.原(始)人，原始事物 | |
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onlookers
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| n.旁观者，观看者( onlooker的名词复数 ) | |
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14
blurred
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| v.（使）变模糊( blur的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）难以区分；模模糊糊；迷离 | |
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15
disturbance
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| n.动乱，骚动；打扰，干扰；(身心)失调 | |
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amends
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| n. 赔偿 | |
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persistence
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| n.坚持，持续，存留 | |
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enacted
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| 制定（法律），通过（法案）( enact的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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touching
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| adj.动人的，使人感伤的 | |
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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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21
berth
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| n.卧铺，停泊地，锚位；v.使停泊 | |
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22
wireless
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| adj.无线的；n.无线电 | |
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23
blot
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| vt.弄脏（用吸墨纸）吸干；n.污点，污渍 | |
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24
receding
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| v.逐渐远离( recede的现在分词 )；向后倾斜；自原处后退或避开别人的注视；尤指问题 | |
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25
loomed
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| 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 | |
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26
leisurely
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| adj.悠闲的；从容的，慢慢的 | |
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27
dreaded
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| adj.令人畏惧的；害怕的v.害怕，恐惧，担心( dread的过去式和过去分词) | |
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28
plight
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| n.困境，境况，誓约，艰难；vt.宣誓，保证，约定 | |
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29
heroism
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| n.大无畏精神，英勇 | |
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30
utterance
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| n.用言语表达，话语，言语 | |
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31
runaway
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| n.逃走的人，逃亡，亡命者；adj.逃亡的，逃走的 | |
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32
bridle
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| n.笼头，束缚；vt.抑制，约束；动怒 | |
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33
briefly
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| adv.简单地，简短地 | |
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canyon
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| n.峡谷，溪谷 | |
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35
refinement
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| n.文雅；高尚；精美；精制；精炼 | |
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devoted
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| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
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abruptly
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| adv.突然地，出其不意地 | |
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decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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varied
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| adj.多样的，多变化的 | |
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40
underneath
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| adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面 | |
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41
lengthened
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| （时间或空间）延长，伸长( lengthen的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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42
engrossed
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| adj.全神贯注的 | |
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43
yearningly
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| 怀念地，思慕地，同情地； 渴 | |
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44
meditating
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| a.沉思的，冥想的 | |
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45
instinctive
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| adj.(出于)本能的；直觉的；(出于)天性的 | |
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46
exalted
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| adj.(地位等)高的，崇高的；尊贵的，高尚的 | |
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47
longing
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| n.（for）渴望 | |
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48
whatsoever
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| adv.（用于否定句中以加强语气）任何；pron.无论什么 | |
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49
flickering
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| adj.闪烁的，摇曳的，一闪一闪的 | |
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50
psalm
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| n.赞美诗，圣诗 | |
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51
waned
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| v.衰落( wane的过去式和过去分词 )；（月）亏；变小；变暗淡 | |
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52
lighting
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| n.照明，光线的明暗，舞台灯光 | |
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53
inevitable
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| adj.不可避免的，必然发生的 | |
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54
stolid
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| adj.无动于衷的，感情麻木的 | |
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55
retracing
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| v.折回( retrace的现在分词 )；回忆；回顾；追溯 | |
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56
drooping
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| adj. 下垂的，无力的 动词droop的现在分词 | |
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57
converse
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| vi.谈话，谈天，闲聊；adv.相反的，相反 | |
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58
respite
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| n.休息，中止，暂缓 | |
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59
refreshment
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| n.恢复，精神爽快，提神之事物；（复数）refreshments:点心，茶点 | |
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60
facets
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| n.（宝石或首饰的）小平面( facet的名词复数 )；（事物的）面；方面 | |
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61
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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62
tangible
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| adj.有形的，可触摸的，确凿的，实际的 | |
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63
worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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