Shoe-Bar Stratton - Chapter 19
时间：2021-02-24 02:29:47
（单词翻译:单击）
Buck1 took to Jim Tenny at once. There was something about this long, lean, brown-faced foreman of the Rocking-R, with his clear gray eyes and that half-humorous twist to his thin lips, which inspired not only confidence but liking2 as well. He listened without comment to Buck's story, which included practically everything save the revelation of his own identity; but once or twice, especially at the brief mention of the fight in the bunk-house, his eyes gleamed with momentary3 approval. When Buck told about the blackleg incident his face darkened and he spoke4 for the first time.
Buck nodded. "I know; but I'm afraid he couldn't be convicted on my evidence alone. Kreeger and Siegrist fixed6 up a pretty decent alibi7, you see, and it would only be my word against theirs. Even the carcass of the beast wouldn't help much. They'd say it wandered through the pass by itself, and I suppose there's one chance in a thousand it could have."
"Sure; but the law's that way. You've got to be dead certain. Besides, if he was pulled in for that we might never find out just what's at the bottom of it all. That's the important thing, and if I can only get a line on what he's up to, we'll land him swift enough, believe me!"
Warned by Bud's unexpected question the evening before that he must have a more plausible9 motive10 for following up the case, Buck had coolly appointed himself one of Jim Hardenberg's deputies. He hinted that rumors11 of the cattle-stealing had reached the sheriff, who, debarred from taking up the matter openly by the absence of any complaint from the owner of the Shoe-Bar, had dispatched Stratton on a secret investigation12. The process of that investigation having disclosed evidences of rascality13 of which the rustling14 was but a minor15 feature, Stratton's desire to probe the mystery to the bottom seemed perfectly16 natural, and the need for secrecy17 was also accounted for. The only risk Buck ran was of Tenny's mentioning the matter to Hardenberg himself, and that seemed slight enough. At the worst it would merely mean anticipating a little; for if he did succeed in solving the problem of Tex Lynch's motives18, the next and final step would naturally be up to the sheriff.
"I get yuh," said Tenny, nodding. "That's true enough. Well, what do you want me to do?"
Buck told him briefly, and the foreman's eyes twinkled.
"That's some order," he commented.
"I'd pay you for the stock and grub, of course," Stratton assured him; "and at least put up a deposit for the cayuses."
"Oh, that part ain't frettin' me none. I reckon I can trust yuh. I was thinkin' about how I could stall off Lynch in case he comes around askin' questions. Yuh want he should get the idea I hired yuh?"
"I thought it would ease his mind and give him the notion I was safe for a while," smiled Stratton. "Of course you could say I tried for a job but you were full up."
"That would be easier," agreed Tenny. "I could keep my mouth shut, but I couldn't guarantee about the boys. They wouldn't say nothin' a-purpose, but like as not if they should meet up with one of that slick crowd at the Shoe-Bar they'd let somethin' slip without thinkin'. On the other hand, it sure would make him a mite19 careless if he thought yuh was tied down here on a reg'lar job."
He paused reflectively; then suddenly his eyes brightened.
"I got it," he chuckled20. "I'll send you down to help Gabby Smith at Red Butte camp. That's 'way to hell and gone down at the south end of the outfit21, where nobody goes from here more'n about once in six months. Gabby's one of these here solitary22 guys that's sorta soured on the world in gen'al, an' don't hardly open his face except to take in grub, but yuh can trust him. Jest tell him what yuh want and he'll do it, providin' yuh don't hang around the camp too long. Gabby does hate company worse'n a dose of poison."
Tenny lost no time in carrying out his plans. He hunted out a few simple cooking-utensils and enough canned goods and other stores to last two weeks, picked a pack-animal and a riding horse, and by dinner-time had everything ready for Buck to start immediately afterward24.
The six or seven cow-punchers who responded to the gong presented a marked and pleasant contrast to the Shoe-Bar outfit. They greeted Stratton with some brevity, but after the first pangs25 of hunger had been assuaged26 and they learned where he was bound for, they expanded, and Buck was the object of much joking commiseration27 on the prospect28 before him.
"You'll sure have one wild time," grinned a dark-haired, blue-eyed youngster called Broncho. "Gabby's about as sociable29 as a rattler. I wouldn't change places with yuh for no money."
No one seemed to suspect any ulterior motive beneath the plan, and when Buck rode off about one o'clock, leading his pack-horse, his spirits rose insensibly at the ease with which things seemed to be working out.
He reached Red Butte camp in a little more than three hours and found the adobe30 shack31 deserted32. It was similar in size and construction to Las Vegas, but there all likeness33 ceased, for the interior was surprisingly comfortable and as spick-and-span as the Shoe-Bar line camp was cluttered34 and dirty. Everything was so immaculate, in fact, that Buck had a moment of hesitation35 about flicking36 his cigarette ashes on the floor, and banished37 his scruples38 mainly because he had never heard of a cow-man dropping them anywhere else.
Gabby appeared about an hour later, a tall, stooping man of uncertain middle age, with a cold eye and a perpetual, sour droop39 to his lids. At the sight of Buck the sourness became accentuated40 and increased still more when he observed the ashes on the floor. His only reply to Stratton's introduction of himself was a grunt41 and Buck lost no time in easing the fellow's mind of any fear of a prolonged spell of company.
Even then Gabby's gloom scarcely lightened. He listened, however, to Stratton's brief explanation and in a few gruff words agreed that in the unlikely event of any inquiry42 he would say that the new hand was off riding fence or something of the sort. Then he swept out the offending ashes and proceeded methodically to get supper, declining any assistance from his visitor.
His manner was so dispiriting that Buck was thankful when the silent meal was over, and even more so an hour later to spread his blankets in one of the spare bunks43 and turn in. His relief at getting away early the next morning was almost as great as Gabby's could be to see him go.
It was late in the afternoon, after a careful circuit of the southern end of the Shoe-Bar, that Buck reached the foothills. Bud had told him of a spring to the northwest of Las Vegas camp, but the rough traveling decided44 him to camp that night on the further side of the creek45. In the morning he went on through a wilderness46 of arroyos47, cañons, and gullies that twisted endlessly between the barren hills, and made him realize how simple it would be for any number of men and cattle to evade48 pursuit in this wild country.
Fortunately Jessup's directions had been explicit49, and toward noon Buck found the spring at the bottom of a small cañon and proceeded to unpack50 and settle down. Bud himself had discovered the place by accident, and as far as Stratton could judge it was not a likely spot to be visited either by the Shoe-Bar hands or their Mexican confederates. A wide, overhanging ledge51 provided shelter for himself, and there was plenty of forage52 in sight for the two horses. Taken all in all, it was as snug53 a retreat as any one could wish, and Buck congratulated himself on having such safe and secluded54 headquarters from which to carry on his investigations55.
These first took him southward, and for five days he rode through the hills, traversing gullies and cañons, and spying out the whole country generally, in a systematic56 effort to find the route taken by the rustlers in driving off their booty.
Once he found the spot where they had taken to the hills, the rest was comparatively simple. There were a number of signs to guide him, including the bodies of two animals bearing the familiar brand, and he succeeded in tracing the thieves to a point on the edge of a stretch of desert twenty miles or more below the Shoe-Bar land. About twelve miles beyond lay another range of hills, which would give them cover until they were within a short distance of the border.
"A dozen good fellows stationed here," thought Stratton, critically surveying the gully behind him, "would catch them without any trouble. There's no other way I've seen of getting out with a bunch of cattle."
Having settled this point to his satisfaction, Buck's mind veered57 swiftly--with an odd sense of relief that now at last he could investigate the matter seriously--to the other problem which had stirred his curiosity so long.
When his attention was first attracted to the north pasture by Bud's account of Andrew Thorne's tragic58 death, its connection with the mystery of the ranch59 seemed trivial. But for some reason the thing stuck in his mind, returning again and again with a teasing persistence60 and gaining each time in significance. From much thinking about it, Buck could almost reconstruct the scene, with its familiar, humdrum61 background of bawling62 calves63, lowing mothers, dust, hot irons, swearing, sweating men, and all the other accompaniments of the spring branding. That was the picture into which Thorne had suddenly ridden, his face stamped with an excitement in marked contrast to his usual phlegmatic64 calm. In his mind's eye Stratton could see him clutch Tex Lynch and draw him hastily to one side, could imagine vividly65 the low-voiced conversation that followed, the hurried saddling of a fresh horse, and the swift departure of the two northward--to what?
Buck had asked himself that question a hundred times. Three hours had passed before the return of Lynch alone, with the shocking news--time enough to ride twice the distance to north pasture and back again. Where had the interval66 been passed, and how?
Stratton realized that they might easily have changed their direction, once they were out of sight of the men. They might have gone eastward67 toward the ranch-house--which they had not--or westward68 into the mountains. Once or twice Buck considered the possibility of the old man's having stumbled on a rich lode69 of precious metal. But as far as he knew no trace of gold had ever been found in these mountains. Moreover, though Lynch was perfectly capable of murdering his employer for that knowledge, his next logical move would have been an immediate23 taking up of the claims, instead of which he remained quietly on the ranch to carry on his slow and secret plotting.
Stratton long ago dismissed that possibility. There remained only the north pasture, and the longer he considered it the more he became convinced that Thorne had met his death there, and that the chances were strong that somewhere in those wastes of worthless desert land lay the key to the whole enthralling70 mystery.
Buck was so eager to start his investigations that it irked him to have to spend the few remaining hours of the afternoon in idleness. But as he knew that the undertaking71 would take a full day or even longer, he possessed72 his soul with patience and made arrangements for an early start next morning.
The dawn was just breaking when he left camp mounted on Pete, the Rocking-R horse that he had found so reliable in the rough country. The simplest and most direct way would have been to descend73 to level ground and ride along the edge of the Shoe-Bar land. But he dared not take any chances of being observed by Lynch or his gang, and was forced to make a long detour74 through the hills.
The way was difficult and roundabout. Frequently he was turned back by blind cañons or gullies which had no outlet75, and there were few places where the horse could go faster than a walk. To Buck's impatient spirit it was all tiresome76 and exasperating77, and he had moments of wondering whether he was ever going to get anywhere.
Finally, about the middle of the afternoon, he was cheered for the first time by an unexpected glimpse of his goal. For several miles he had been following a rough trail which wound around the side of a steep, irregular hill. Coming out abruptly78 on a little plateau, with the tumbled rocks rising at his back, there spread out suddenly before him to the east a wide, extended sweep of level country.
At first he could scarcely believe that the sandy stretch below him was the north pasture he was seeking. But swiftly he realized that the threadlike line a little to the south must be the fence dividing the desert from the fertile portions of the Shoe-Bar, and he even thought he recognized the corner where the infected steer79 had been driven through. With an exclamation80 of satisfaction he was reaching for his field-glasses when of a sudden a strange, slowly-moving shape out in the desert caught his attention and riveted81 it instantly.
For a few seconds Buck thought his eyes were playing tricks. Amazed, incredulous, forgetting for an instant the field-glasses in his hand, he stared blankly from under squinting82 lids at the incredible object that crawled lurchingly through the shimmering84, glittering desert atmosphere.
"I'm dotty!" he muttered at length. "It can't be!"
Then, remembering the glasses, he raised them hastily to his eyes and focused them with a twist or two of practised fingers.
He was neither crazy nor mistaken. Drawn85 suddenly out of its blurred86 obscurity by the powerful lenses, there sprang up before Buck's eyes, sharp and clear in every detail, a big gray motor-car that moved slowly but steadily87, with many a bump and sidewise lurch83, diagonally across the cactus-sprinkled desert below him.
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1
buck
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| n.雄鹿，雄兔；v.马离地跳跃 | |
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liking
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| n.爱好；嗜好；喜欢 | |
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momentary
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| adj.片刻的，瞬息的；短暂的 | |
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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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briefly
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| adv.简单地，简短地 | |
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fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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alibi
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| n.某人当时不在犯罪现场的申辩或证明；借口 | |
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shrugged
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| vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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plausible
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| adj.似真实的，似乎有理的，似乎可信的 | |
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motive
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| n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的 | |
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rumors
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| n.传闻( rumor的名词复数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷v.传闻( rumor的第三人称单数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷 | |
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investigation
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| n.调查，调查研究 | |
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rascality
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| 流氓性，流氓集团 | |
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rustling
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| n. 瑟瑟声，沙沙声 adj. 发沙沙声的 | |
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minor
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| adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修 | |
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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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secrecy
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| n.秘密，保密，隐蔽 | |
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motives
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| n.动机，目的( motive的名词复数 ) | |
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mite
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| n.极小的东西；小铜币 | |
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chuckled
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| 轻声地笑( chuckle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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outfit
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| n.（为特殊用途的）全套装备，全套服装 | |
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solitary
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| adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士 | |
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immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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afterward
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| adv.后来；以后 | |
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pangs
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| 突然的剧痛( pang的名词复数 )； 悲痛 | |
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assuaged
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| v.减轻( assuage的过去式和过去分词 )；缓和；平息；使安静 | |
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commiseration
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| n.怜悯，同情 | |
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prospect
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| n.前景，前途；景色，视野 | |
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sociable
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| adj.好交际的，友好的，合群的 | |
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adobe
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| n.泥砖，土坯，美国Adobe公司 | |
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shack
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| adj.简陋的小屋，窝棚 | |
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deserted
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| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
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likeness
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| n.相像，相似（之处） | |
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cluttered
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| v.杂物，零乱的东西零乱vt.( clutter的过去式和过去分词 )；乱糟糟地堆满，把…弄得很乱；（以…） 塞满… | |
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hesitation
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| n.犹豫，踌躇 | |
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flicking
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| （尤指用手指或手快速地）轻击( flick的现在分词 )； （用…）轻挥； （快速地）按开关； 向…笑了一下（或瞥了一眼等） | |
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banished
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| v.放逐，驱逐( banish的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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scruples
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| n.良心上的不安( scruple的名词复数 )；顾虑，顾忌v.感到于心不安，有顾忌( scruple的第三人称单数 ) | |
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droop
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| v.低垂，下垂；凋萎，萎靡 | |
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accentuated
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| v.重读( accentuate的过去式和过去分词 )；使突出；使恶化；加重音符号于 | |
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grunt
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| v.嘟哝；作呼噜声；n.呼噜声，嘟哝 | |
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inquiry
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| n.打听，询问，调查，查问 | |
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bunks
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| n.（车、船等倚壁而设的）铺位( bunk的名词复数 )；空话，废话v.（车、船等倚壁而设的）铺位( bunk的第三人称单数 )；空话，废话 | |
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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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creek
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| n.小溪，小河，小湾 | |
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wilderness
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| n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠 | |
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arroyos
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| n.（美洲沙漠中的）旱谷，干涸沟壑( arroyo的名词复数 )；干谷 | |
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evade
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| vt.逃避，回避；避开，躲避 | |
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explicit
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| adj.详述的，明确的；坦率的；显然的 | |
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unpack
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| vt.打开包裹（或行李），卸货 | |
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ledge
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| n.壁架，架状突出物；岩架，岩礁 | |
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forage
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| n.(牛马的)饲料，粮草；v.搜寻，翻寻 | |
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snug
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| adj.温暖舒适的，合身的，安全的；v.使整洁干净，舒适地依靠，紧贴；n.（英）酒吧里的私房 | |
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secluded
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| adj.与世隔绝的；隐退的；偏僻的v.使隔开，使隐退( seclude的过去式和过去分词) | |
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investigations
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| （正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究 | |
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systematic
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| adj.有系统的，有计划的，有方法的 | |
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veered
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| v.（尤指交通工具）改变方向或路线( veer的过去式和过去分词 )；（指谈话内容、人的行为或观点）突然改变；（指风） （在北半球按顺时针方向、在南半球按逆时针方向）逐渐转向；风向顺时针转 | |
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tragic
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| adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的 | |
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ranch
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| n.大牧场，大农场 | |
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persistence
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| n.坚持，持续，存留 | |
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humdrum
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| adj.单调的，乏味的 | |
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bawling
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| v.大叫，大喊( bawl的现在分词 )；放声大哭；大声叫出；叫卖（货物） | |
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calves
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| n.(calf的复数)笨拙的男子，腓；腿肚子( calf的名词复数 )；牛犊；腓；小腿肚v.生小牛( calve的第三人称单数 )；（冰川）崩解；生（小牛等），产（犊）；使（冰川）崩解 | |
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phlegmatic
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| adj.冷静的，冷淡的，冷漠的，无活力的 | |
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vividly
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| adv.清楚地，鲜明地，生动地 | |
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interval
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| n.间隔，间距；幕间休息，中场休息 | |
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eastward
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| adv.向东；adj.向东的；n.东方，东部 | |
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westward
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| n.西方，西部；adj.西方的，向西的；adv.向西 | |
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lode
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| n.矿脉 | |
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enthralling
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| 迷人的 | |
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71
undertaking
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| n.保证，许诺，事业 | |
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72
possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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73
descend
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| vt./vi.传下来，下来，下降 | |
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74
detour
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| n.绕行的路，迂回路；v.迂回，绕道 | |
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75
outlet
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| n.出口/路；销路；批发商店；通风口；发泄 | |
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76
tiresome
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| adj.令人疲劳的，令人厌倦的 | |
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77
exasperating
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| adj. 激怒的 动词exasperate的现在分词形式 | |
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78
abruptly
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| adv.突然地，出其不意地 | |
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79
steer
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| vt.驾驶，为…操舵；引导；vi.驾驶 | |
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80
exclamation
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| n.感叹号，惊呼，惊叹词 | |
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81
riveted
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| 铆接( rivet的过去式和过去分词 )； 把…固定住； 吸引； 引起某人的注意 | |
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82
squinting
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| 斜视( squint的现在分词 )； 眯着眼睛； 瞟； 从小孔或缝隙里看 | |
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83
lurch
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| n.突然向前或旁边倒；v.蹒跚而行 | |
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84
shimmering
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| v.闪闪发光，发微光( shimmer的现在分词 ) | |
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85
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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86
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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87
steadily
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| adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地 | |
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