“Smokingissnug,too,“saidI。Andwemarkedourpointsforanhour,withnowordssaveaboutthecards。
“I’llbeprettyneargladwhenwegetoutofthesemountains,“
saidtheVirginian。“They’remosttoobig。“
Thepineshadaltogetherceased;buttheirsilencewasastremendousastheirroarhadbeen。
“Idon’tknow,though,“heresumed。“There’stimeswhentheplainscanbeawfulbig,too。“
Presentlywefinishedahand,andhesaid,“Letmeseethatpaper。“
Hesatreadin,itapparentlythrough,whileIarrangedmyblanketstomakeawarmbed。Then,sincethepapercontinuedtoabsorbhim,Igotmyselfready,andslidbetweenmyblanketsforthenight。“You’llneedanothercandlesooninthatlantern,“
saidI。
Heputthepaperdown。“Iwoulddoitalloveragain,“hebegan。
“Thewholethingjustthesame。Heknowedthecustomsofthecountry,andheplayedthegame。Nocalltoblamemeforthecustomsofthecountry。Youleaveotherfolks’cattlealone,oryoutaketheconsequences,anditwasallknowntoStevefromthestart。WouldhehavemetaketheJudge’swagesandgivehimthewink?HemusthavechangedaheapfromtheSteveIknewifheexpectedthat。Idon’tbelieveheexpectedthat。Heknewwellenoughtheonlythingthatwouldhavelethimoffwouldhavebeenaregularjury。ForthethieveshavegotholdofthejuriesinJohnsonCounty。Iwoulddoitallover,justthesame。“
Theexpiringflameleapedinthelantern,andfellblue。Hebrokeoffinhiswordsasiftoarrangethelight,butdidnot,sittingsilentinstead,justvisible,andseemingtowatchthedeathstruggleoftheflame。Icouldfindnothingtosaytohim,andI
believedhewasnowwinninghiswaybacktoserenitybyhimself。
HekepthisoutwardmansonearlynaturalthatIforgotaboutthatcoldtouchofhishand,andneverguessedhowfaroutfromreasonthetideofemotionwasevennowwhirlinghim。“IrememberatCheyenneonced,“heresumed。AndhetoldmeofaThanksgivingvisittotownthathehadmadewithSteve。“Wewasjustcoltsthen,“hesaid。Hedweltontheircoltishdoings,theiradventuressoughtandwroughtintheperfectfellowshipofyouth。
“ForSteveandmemostalwayshuntedincouplesbackinthemgamesomeyears,“heexplained。Andhefellintotheelementaltalkofsex,suchtalkaswouldbeanelk’sortiger’s;andspokensobyhim,simplyandnaturally,aswespeakoftheseasons,orofdeath,orofanyactuality,itwaswithoutoffense。ItwouldbeoffenseshouldIrepeatit。Then,abruptlyendingthesememoriesofhimselfandSteve,hewentoutofthetent,andIheardhimdraggingalogtothefire。Whenithadblazedup,thereonthetentwallwashisshadowandthatofthelogwherehesatwithhishalf-brokenheart。AndallthewhileI
supposedhewasmasterofhimself,andself-justifiedagainstSteve’somissiontobidhimgood-by。
Imusthavefallenasleepbeforehereturned,forIremembernothingexceptwakingandfindinghiminhisblanketsbesideme。
Thefireshadowwasgone,andgray,coldlightwasdimlyonthetent。Hesleptrestlessly,andhisforeheadwasploughedbylinesofpain。WhileIlookedathimhebegantomutter,andsuddenlystartedupwithviolence。“No!“hecriedout;“no!Justthesame!“andthuswakenedhimself,staring。“What’sthematter?“hedemanded。Hewasslowingettingbacktowherewewere;andfullconsciousnessfoundhimsittingupwithhiseyesfixedonmine。
Theyweremorehauntedthantheyhadbeenatall,andhisnextspeechcamestraightfromhisdream。“Maybeyou’dbetterquitme。
Thisain’tyourtrouble。“
Ilaughed。“Why,whatisthetrouble?“
Hiseyesstillintentlyfixedonmine。“Doyouthinkifwechangedourtrailwecouldlosethemfromus?“
IwasframingajocosereplyaboutOuncesbeingagoodwalker,whenthesoundofhoofsrushinginthedistancestoppedme,andheranoutofthetentwithhisrifle。WhenIfollowedwithminehewasupthebank,andallhispowersalert。Butnothingcameoutofthedimnesssaveourthreestampededhorses。Theycrashedoverfallentimberandacrosstheopentowheretheirpicketedcomradegrazedattheendofhisrope。Byhimtheycametoastand,andtoldhim,Isuppose,whattheyhadseen;forallfournowfacedinthesamedirection,lookingawayintothemysteriousdawn。Welikewisestoodpeering,andmyriflebarrelfeltcoldinmyhand。Thedawnwasallwesaw,theinscrutabledawn,comingandcomingthroughtheblackpinesandthegrayopenofthebasin。Thereaboveliftedthepeaks,nosunyetonthem,andbehindusourstreammadealittletinkling。
“Abear,Isuppose,“saidI,atlength。
Hisstrangelookfixedmeagain,andthenhiseyeswenttothehorses。“Theysmellthingswecan’tsmell,“saidhe,veryslowly。
“Willyouprovetometheydon’tseethingswecan’tsee?“
Achillshotthroughme,andIcouldnothelpafrightenedglancewherewehadbeenwatching。ButoneofthehorsesbegantograzeandIhadawholesomethought。“He’stiredofwhateverhesees,then,“saidI,pointing。
AsmilecameforamomentintheVirginian’sface。“Mustbeapoorshow,“heobserved。Allthehorsesweregrazingnow,andheadded,“Itain’thurttheirappetitesany。“
Wemadeourownbreakfastthen。AndwhatuncannydreadImayhavebeentouchedwithuptothistimehenceforthleftmeinthefaceofarealalarm。TheshockofStevewasworkingupontheVirginian。Hewasawareofithimself;hewasfightingitwithallhismight;andhewasbeingovercome。Hewasindeedlikeagallantswimmeragainstwhombothwindandtidehaveconspired。
Andinthisnowforebodingsolitudetherewasonlymyselftothrowhimropes。Hisstrokesforsafetywereasboldaswastheundertowthatceaselesslyannulledthem。
“IreckonImadeafussinthetent?“saidhe,feelinghiswaywithme。
Ithrewhimarope。“Yes。Nightmare——indigestion——toomuchnewspaperbeforeretiring。
Hecaughttherope。“That’scorrect!Ihadahellofafoolishdreamforagrowed-upman。You’dnotthinkitofme。“
“Oh,yes,Ishould。I’vehadthemafterprolongedlobsterandchampagne。“
“Ah,“hemurmured,“prolonged!Prolongediswhatdoesit。“Heglancedbehindhim。“Stevecameback——“
“Inyourlobsterdream,“Iputin。
Buthemissedthisrope。“Yes,“heanswered,withhiseyessearchingme。“Andhehandedmethepaper——“
“Bytheway,whereisthat?“Iasked。
“Ibuiltthefirewithit。ButwhenItookitfromhimitwasasix-shooterIhadholdof,andpointingatmybreast。AndthenStevespoke。’Doyouthinkyou’refittolive?’Stevesaid;andI
gothotathim,andIreckonImusthavetoldhimwhatIthoughtofhim。Youheardme,Iexpect?“
“GladIdidn’t。Yourlanguagesometimesis——“
Helaughedout。“Oh,Iaccountforallthisthat’shappeningjustlikeyoudo。Ifwegaveourexplanations,they’dbeprettyneartwins。“
“Thehorsessawabear,then?“
“Maybeabear。Maybe“——butherethetidecaughthimagain——“What’syourideaaboutdreams?“
Myropeswereallout。“Liver——nerves,“wasthebestIcoulddo。
Butnowheswamstronglybyhimself。
“YoumaythinkI’mdiscreditable,“hesaid,“butIknowIam。Itoughttotakemorethan——well,menhavelosttheirfriendshipsbefore。Feudsandwarshaveclovenarightsmartofbondsintwain。Andifmyhaidisgoingtogetshookbyalittleoldpieceofnewspaper——I’mashamedIburnedthat。I’mashamedtohavebeenthatweak。“
“Anymangetsunstrung,“Itoldhim。Myropeshadbecomestraws;
andIstrovetoframesomepolicyforthenexthours。
Wenowfinishedbreakfastandsetforthtocatchthehorses。AswedrovetheminIfoundthattheVirginianwastellingmeaghoststory。“Athalf-pastthreeinthemorningshesawherrunawaydaughterstandingwithababeinherarms;butwhenshemoveditwasallgone。LatertheyfounditwastheverysamehourtheyoungmotherdiedinNogales。Andshesentforthechildandraiseditherself。Iknowedthembothbackhome。Doyoubelievethat?“
Isaidnothing。
“NomoredoIbelieveit,“heasserted。“Andseehere!NogalestimeisthreehoursdifferentfromRichmond。Ididn’tknowaboutthatpointthen。“
Onceoutofthesemountains,Iknewhecouldrighthimself;butevenI,whohadnoStevetodreamabout,feltthissilenceofthepeakswaspreyingonme。
“Herdaughterandhermighthavebeenthinkin’mightyhardabouteachotherjustthen,“hepursued。“ButSteveisdead。Finished。
Youcert’nlydon’tbelievethere’sanythingmore?“
“IwishIcould,“Itoldhim。
“No,I’msatisfied。Heavendidn’tneverinterestmemuch。Butiftherewasaworldofdreamsafteryouwent——“Hestoppedhimselfandturnedhissearchingeyesawayfrommine。“There’saheapo’
darknesswhereveryoutrytostep,“hesaid,“andIthoughtI’dleftoffwastingthoughtsonthesubject。Yousee“——hedexterouslyropedahorse,andoncemorehissplendidsanitywasturnedtogoldbyhisimagination——“Iexpectinmany“rowed-upmenyou’dcallsensiblethere’salittleboysleepin’——thelittlekidtheyoncedwas——thatstillkeepshisfearofthedark。Youmentionedthedarkyourselfyesterday。Well,thisexperiencehaswokeupthatkidinme,andblamedifIcancoaxthelittlecusstogotosleepagain!Ikeepa-tellinghimdaylightwillsurecome,buthekeepsa-cryingandholdingontome。“
Somewherefarinthebasintherewasafaintsound,andwestoodstill。
“Hush!“hesaid。
Butitwaslikeourwatchingthedawn;nothingmorefollowed。
“Theyhaveshotthatbear,“Iremarked。
Hedidnotanswer,andweputthesaddlesonwithouttalk。Wemadenohaste,butwewerenotoverhalfanhour,Isuppose,ingettingoffwiththepacks。Itwasnotanewthingtohearashotwherewildgamewasinplenty;yetaswerodethatshotsoundedalreadyinmyminddifferentfromothers。PerhapsIshouldnotbelievethisto-daybutforwhatIlookbackto。Tomakecamplastnightwehadturnedoffthetrail,andnowfollowedthestreamdownforawhile,takingnextacutthroughthewood。Inthiswaywecameuponthetracksofourhorseswheretheyhadbeengallopingbacktothecampaftertheirfright。Theyhadkickedupthedampandmattedpineneedlesveryplainlyallalong。
“Nothinghasbeenherebutthemselves,though,“saidI。
“Andtheyain’tshowingsignsofrememberinganyscare,“saidtheVirginian。
Inalittlewhileweemergeduponanopen。
“Here’swheretheywasgrazing,“saidtheVirginian;andthesignswereclearenough。“Here’swheretheymusthavegottheirscare,“hepursued。“YoustaywiththemwhileIcirclealittle。“
SoIstayed;andcertainlyouranimalswereverycalmatvisitingthisscene。Whenyoubringahorsebacktowherehehasrecentlyencounteredawildanimalhisearsandhisnostrilsareapttobewideawake。
TheVirginianhadstoppedandwasbeckoningtome。
“Here’syourbear,“saidhe,asIarrived。“Two-legged,yousee。
Andhehadahawssofhisown。“Therewasastakedrivendownwhereananimalhadbeenpicketedforthenight。
“LookslikeOunces,“Isaid,consideringtheFootprints。
“It’sOunces。AndOunceswantedanotherhawssverybad,sohimandPoundscouldtravellikegentlemenshould。“
“ButPoundsdoesn’tseemtohavebeenwithhim。“
“Oh,Pounds,hewasmakingcoffee,somewheresinyonder,whenthishappened。Neitherofthemguessedthere’dbeotherhawsseswanderinghereinthenight,ortheybothwouldhavecome。“Heturnedbacktoourpackanimals。
“Thenyou’llnothuntforthiscamptomakesure?“
“Iprefermakingsurefirst。Wemightbeexpectedatthatcamp。“
Hetookouthisriflefrombeneathhislegandsetitacrosshissaddleathalf-cock。Ididthesame;andthuscautiouslyweresumedourjourneyinaslightlydifferentdirection。“Thisain’tallwe’regoingtofindout,“saidtheVirginian。“Ounceshadagoodidea;butIreckonhemadeabadmistakelater。“
Wehadfoundoutagooddealwithoutanymore,Ithought。Ounceshadgonetobringintheirsinglehorse,andcominguponthreemoreinthepasturehadundertakentocatchoneandfailed,merelydrivingthemwherehefearedtofollow。