第39章
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  Mrs。Hoovermethimembarrassedlyinthehall。“Iwassayin’toHiramheoughttotellye,buthedidn’tliketotillitwascertain。Concha’sgone。“

  “Gone?“echoedthemaster。

  “Yes。RunoffwithPedro。MarriedtohimyesterdaybythePopishpriestatthemission。“

  “Married!Thatchild?“

  “Shewasn’tnochild,Mr。Brooks。Weweredeceived。Mybrotherwasafool,andmendon’tunderstandthesethings。Shewasagrownwoman——accordin’tothesefolks’waysandages——whenshekemhere。

  Andthat’swhatbotheredme。“

  Therewasaweek’sexcitementatChestnutRidge,butitpleasedthemastertoknowthatwhilethechildrengrievedforthelossofConchatheyneverseemedtounderstandwhyshehadgone。

  DICKBOYLE’SBUSINESSCARD

  TheSageWoodandDeadFlatstagecoachwaswaitingbeforethestation。ThePineBarrensmailwagonthatconnectedwithitwaslongoverdue,withitstransferpassengers,andthestationhadrelapsedintolistlessexpectation。EventhehumorsofDickBoyle,theChicago“drummer,“——and,sofar,thesolitarypassenger——whichhaddivertedthewaitingloungers,begantofailineffect,thoughthecheerfulnessofthehumoristwasunabated。Theostlershadslunkbackintothestables,thestationkeeperandstagedriverhadreducedtheirconversationtoimpatientmonosyllables,asifeachthoughttheotherresponsibleforthedelay。AsolitaryIndian,wrappedinacommissaryblanketandcoveredbyacast-offtallhat,crouchedagainstthewallofthestationlookingstolidlyatnothing。Thestationitself,along,ramblingbuildingcontainingitsentireaccommodationformanandbeastunderonemonotonous,shed-likeroof,offerednothingtoattracttheeye。

  Stilllesstheprospect,ontheonesidetwomilesofaridwastetothestunted,far-spacedpinesinthedistance,knownasthe“Barrens;“ontheotheranapparentlylimitlesslevelwithdarkerpatchesofsagebrush,likethescarsofburnt-outfires。

  DickBoyleapproachedthemotionlessIndianasapossiblerelief。

  “YOUdon’tseemtocaremuchifschoolkeepsornot,doyou,Lo?“

  TheIndian,whohadbeenhalfcrouchingonhisupturnedsoles,herestraightenedhimselfwithalithe,animal-likemovement,andstoodup。Boyletookholdofacornerofhisblanketandexamineditcritically。

  “Gov’mentain’tpamperingyouwithA1goods,Lo!Ireckontheagentcharged’emfourdollarsforthat。Ourfirmcouldhavedeliveredthemtoyoufor2dols。37cents,andthrowninaboxofbeadsinthebargain。Suthinlikethis!“HetookfromhispocketasmallboxcontainingagaudybeadnecklaceandhelditupbeforetheIndian。

  Thesavage,whohadregardedhim——orratherlookedbeyondhim——withthetoleratingindifferenceofoneinterruptedbyafriskinginferioranimal,heresuddenlychangedhisexpression。Alookofchildisheagernesscameintohisgloomyface;hereachedouthishandforthetrinket。

  “Hol’on!“saidBoyle,hesitatingforamoment;thenhesuddenlyejaculated,“Well!takeit,andoneo’these,“anddrewabusinesscardfromhispocket,whichhestuckinthebandofthebatteredtallhatoftheaborigine。“There!showthattoyourfriends,andwhenyou’rewantin’anythinginourline“——

  Theinterruptingroaroflaughter,comingfromtheboxseatofthecoach,wasprobablywhatBoylewasexpecting,forheturnedawaydemurelyandwalkedtowardsthecoach。“Allright,boys!I’vesquaredthenobleredman,andthestarofempireistakingitswestwardway。AndIreckonourfirmwilldothe’GreatFather’

  businessforhimatabouthalfthepricethatitisdoneinWashington。“

  Butatthispointtheostlerscamehurryingoutofthestables。

  “She’scomin’,“saidone。“That’sherdustjustbehindtheLonePine——andbythewayshe’sracin’Ireckonshe’scomin’inmightylight。“

  “That’sso,“saidthemailagent,standingupontheboxseatforabetterview,“butdarnedefIkinseeanyoutsidepassengers。I

  reckonwehaven’twaitedformuch。“

  Indeed,asthegallopinghorsesoftheincomingvehiclepulledoutofthehangingdustinthedistance,thesolitarydrivercouldbeseenurgingonhisteam。Inafewmomentsmoretheyhadhaltedatthelowerendofthestation。

  “Wonderwhat’sup!“saidthemailagent。

  “Nothin’!OnlyabigInjinscareatPineBarrens,“saidoneoftheostlers。“Injinsdoin’ghostdancin’——orsuthinlikethat——andthepassengersjustskunkedoutandwentonbytheotherline。Thar’sonlyoneezdarcome——andshe’salady。“

  “Alady?“echoedBoyle。

  “Yes,“answeredthedriver,takingadeliberatesurveyofatall,gracefulgirlwho,waivingthegallantassistanceofthestationkeeper,hadleapedunaidedfromthevehicle。“Alady——andthefortcommandant’sdarteratthat!She’sclargrit,youbet——achipo’

  theoldblock。Andallthismeans,sonny,thatyou’retogiveupthatboxseattoHER。MissJuliaCantiredon’ttakeanythin’lesswhenI’maround。“

  Theyoungladywasalreadywalking,directlyandcomposedly,towardsthewaitingcoach——erect,self-contained,wellglovedandbooted,andclothed,eveninherdustcloakandcapeofplainashenmerino,withtheunmistakablepanoplyoftasteandsuperiority。A

  good-sizedaquilinenose,whichmadeherhandsomemouthlooksmaller;grayeyes,withanoccasionalhumidyellowsparkleintheirdepths;brownpenciledeyebrows,andbrowntendrilsofhair,allseemedtoBoyletobecharminglyframedinbythesilvergrayveiltwistedaroundherneckandunderherovalchin。Inhersobertintssheappearedtohimtohaveevokedaharmonyevenoutofthedreadfuldustaroundthem。WhatHEappearedtoherwasnotsoplain;shelookedhimover——hewasrathershort;throughhim——hewaseasilypenetrable;andthenhereyesrestedwithafrankrecognitiononthedriver。

  “Good-morning,Mr。Foster,“shesaid,withasmile。

  “Mornin’,miss。Ihearthey’rehavin’anInjinscareoverattheBarrens。Ireckonthemmenmustfeelmightymeanatbein’stumpedbyalady!“

  “Idon’tthinktheybelievedIwouldgo,andsomeofthemhadtheirwiveswiththem,“returnedtheyoungladyindifferently;“besides,theyareEasternpeople,whodon’tknowIndiansaswellasWEdo,Mr。Foster。“

  Thedriverblushedwithpleasureattheassociation。“Yes,ma’am,“

  helaughed,“Ireckonthesightofevenold’FleasintheBlanket’

  overthere,“pointingtotheIndian,whowaswalkingstolidlyawayfromthestation,“wouldfrighten’emouto’theirboots。Andyethe’sgotinsidehishatthebusinesscardo’thisgentleman——Mr。

  DickBoyle,travelingforthebigfirmo’Fletcher&Co。ofChicago“——heinterpolated,risingsuddenlytotheformalheightsofpoliteintroduction;“soitsorterlooksezefanySKELPIN’wastobedoneitmightbetheotherwayround,ha!ha!“

  MissCantireacceptedtheintroductionandthejokewithpolitebutcoolabstraction,andclimbedlightlyintotheboxseatasthemailbagsandaquantityofluggage——evidentlybelongingtotheevadingpassengers——werequicklytransferredtothecoach。Butforhisfaircompanion,thedriverwouldprobablyhavegivenprofanevoicetohisconvictionthathisvehiclewasusedasa“d——dbaggagetruck,“butheonlysmiledgrimly,gathereduphisreins,andflickedhiswhip。Thecoachplungedforwardintothedust,whichinstantlyrosearoundit,andmadeitthereafteramerecloudinthedistance。SomeofthatdustforamomentovertookandhidtheIndian,walkingstolidlyinitstrack,butheemergedfromitatanangle,withaquickenedpaceandapeculiarhaltingtrot。Yetthattrotwassowellsustainedthatinanhourhehadreachedafringeofrocksandlowbusheshithertoinvisiblethroughtheirregularitiesoftheapparentlylevelplain,intowhichheplungedanddisappeared。Thedustcloudwhichindicatedthecoach——

  probablyowingtothesesameirregularities——hadlongsincebeenlostonthevisiblehorizon。

  Thefringewhichreceivedhimwasreallytherimofadepressionquiteconcealedfromthesurfaceoftheplain,——whichitfollowedforsomemilesthroughatangledtrough-likebottomoflowtreesandunderbrush,——andwasanaturalcoverforwolves,coyotes,andoccasionallybears,whosehalf-humanfootprintmighthavedeceivedastranger。Thisdidnot,however,diverttheIndian,who,trottingstilldoggedlyon,pausedonlytoexamineanotherfootprint——muchmorefrequent——thesmooth,inward-toedtrackofmoccasins。Thethicketgrewmoredenseanddifficultashewenton,yetheseemedtoglidethroughitsdensityanddarkness——anobscuritythatnowseemedtobestirredbyothermovingobjects,dimlyseen,andasuncertainandintangibleassunlitleavesthrilledbythewind,yetbearingastrangeresemblancetohumanfigures!Pressingafewyardsfurther,hehimselfpresentlybecameapartofthisshadowyprocession,whichoncloserscrutinyrevealeditselfasasinglefileofIndians,followingeachotherinthesametirelesstrot。Thewoodsandunderbrushwerefullofthem;allmovingon,ashehadmoved,inalineparallelwiththevanishingcoach。Sometimesthroughtheopeningsabaredpaintedlimb,acrestoffeathers,orastripofgaudyblanketwasvisible,butnothingmore。Andyetonlyafewhundredyardsawaystretchedthedusky,silentplain——vacantofsoundormotion!

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