登陆注册
15705000000015

第15章 The Three Johns(2)

There was always a bit of stirring gossip to be picked up,and now and then there was a "show"at the "opera-house,"in which,it is almost unnecessary to say,no opera had ever been sung.Then there was the hotel,at which one not only got good fare,but a chat with the three daughters of Jim O'Neal,the proprietor --girls with the acci-dent of two Irish parents,who were,not-withstanding,as typically American as they well could be.A half-hour's talk with these cheerful young women was all the more to be desired for the reason that within riding distance of the three Johns'ranch there were only two other women.One was Minerva Fitch,who had gone out from Michigan accompanied by an oil-stove and a knowl-edge of the English grammar,with the intention of teaching school,but who had been unable to carry these good intentions into execution for the reason that there were no children to teach,--at least,none but Bow-legged Joe.He was a sad little fellow,who looked like a prairie-dog,and who had very much the same sort of an outlook on life.

The other woman was the brisk and efficient wife of Mr.Bill Deems,of "Missourah."Mr.Deems had never in his life done any-thing,not even so much as bring in a basket of buffalo chips to supply the scanty fire.

That is to say,he had done nothing strictly utilitarian.Yet he filled his place.He was the most accomplished story-teller in the whole valley,and this accomplishment of his was held in as high esteem as the improvisa-tions of a Welsh minstrel were among his reverencing people.His wife alone depre-cated his skill,and interrupted his spirited narratives with sarcastic allusions concerning the empty cupboard,and the "state of her back,"to which,as she confided to any who would listen,"there was not a rag fit to wear."These two ladies had not,as may be surmised,any particular attraction for John Henderson.Truth to tell,Henderson had not come West with the intention of lik-ing women,but rather with a determina-tion to see and think as little of them as possible.Yet even the most confirmed misogynist must admit that it is a good thing to see a woman now and then,and for this reason Henderson found it amusing to converse with the amiable Misses O'Neal.

At twenty-five one cannot be unyielding in one's avoidance of the sex.

Henderson,with his pony at a fine lope,was on his way to town one day,in that comfortable frame of mind adduced by an absence of any ideas whatever,when he suddenly became conscious of a shiver that seemed to run from his legs to the pony,and back again.The animal gave a startled leap,and lifted his ears.There was a stir-ring in the coarse grasses;the sky,which a moment before had been like sapphire,dulled with an indescribable grayness.

Then came a little singing afar off,as if from a distant convocation of cicadæ,and before Henderson could guess what it meant,a cloud of dust was upon him,blinding and bewildering,pricking with sharp particles at eyes and nostrils.The pony was an ugly fellow,and when Henderson felt him put his forefeet together,he knew what that meant,and braced himself for the struggle.But it was useless;he had not yet acquired the knack of staying on the back of a bucking bronco,and the next moment he was on the ground,and around him whirled that saffron chaos of dust.The temperature lowered every moment.Henderson in-stinctively felt that this was but the begin-ning of the storm.He picked himself up without useless regrets for his pony,and made his way on.

The saffron hue turned to blackness,and then out of the murk shot a living green ball of fire,and ploughed into the earth.

Then sheets of water,that seemed to come simultaneously from earth and sky,swept the prairie,and in the midst of it struggled Henderson,weak as a little child,half bereft of sense by the strange numbness of head and dullness of eye.Another of those green balls fell and burst,as it actually appeared to him,before his horrified eyes,and the bellow and blare of the explosion made him cry out in a madness of fright and physical pain.In the illumination he had seen a cabin only a few feet in front of him,and toward it he made frantically,with an ani-mal's instinctive desire for shelter.

The door did not yield at once to his pressure,and in the panic of his fear he threw his weight against it.There was a cry from within,a fall,and Henderson flung himself in the cabin and closed the door.

In the dusk of the storm he saw a woman half prostrate.It was she whom he had pushed from the door.He caught the hook in its staple,and turned to raise her.She was not trembling as much as he,but,like himself,she was dizzy with the shock of the lightning.In the midst of all the clamor Henderson heard a shrill crying,and looking toward the side of the room,he dimly perceived three tiny forms crouched in one of the bunks.The woman took the smallest of the children in her arms,and kissed and soothed it;and Henderson,after he had thrown a blanket at the bottom of the door to keep out the drifting rain,sat with his back to it,bracing it against the wind,lest the frail staple should give way.

He managed some way to reach out and lay hold of the other little ones,and got them in his arms,--a boy,so tiny he seemed hardly human,and a girl somewhat sturdier.

They cuddled in his arms,and clutched his clothes with their frantic little hands,and the three sat so while the earth and the heavens seemed to be meeting in angry combat.

And back and forth,back and forth,in the dimness swayed the body of the woman,hushing her babe.

Almost as suddenly as the darkness had fallen,it lifted.The lightning ceased to threaten,and almost frolicked,--little way-ward flashes of white and yellow dancing in mid-air.The wind wailed less frequently,like a child who sobs in its sleep.And at last Henderson could make his voice heard.

同类推荐
热门推荐
  • 血祭宝典

    血祭宝典

    一瘸腿少年,心中充满仇恨,只为复仇而生,憎恨使他强大,经历数不清的折磨与苦难,从小封存情感。一心只求强者路,杀尽天下,脚踏大陆之巅。成长之路结识伙伴,做过错事,后悔终生,从此人生出现了转折……
  • 网游之剑斩诸天

    网游之剑斩诸天

    未来,神秘游戏超元面世,一个充满无限可能的神奇世界。在那儿。有人帝统江山,有人名扬天下,有人塑造传奇,有人成就神话。唯独那个人,他挥动手中的魔剑,为了一个承诺,誓要斩碎诸天神魔!
  • 每个午夜都住着一个诡故事

    每个午夜都住着一个诡故事

    你从来都没遇见过,却每时每刻发生在你身边的诡故事。前所未有的“真鬼”形象,如:箢箕鬼、鬼妓、一目五先生……一位海航空姐在网上留言:“每次飞完,回家的第一件事情就是看《诡故事》更新没;每天在飞机上,都跟美女同事们分享“诡故事”;有富商想搭讪,就冷笑一声,‘午夜,讲个诡故事给你听……’”主人公在读大三的时候,宿舍里搬进来一个湖南的学生,他的肚子里装满了诡异的湖南特色的故事。每一个故事都让人毛骨悚然,但是结尾处却有着感人的人情味儿,体现了普通人的情与爱,每一个故事都让人毛骨悚然,却引人深思。这个同学有个奇怪的习惯,他只在0:00的时候才开始讲那些故事……你,准备好了吗?午夜,亮兄来讲诡故事……
  • 假面玉将军

    假面玉将军

    一个是被王朝誉为守护神的将军,就像喜马拉雅的高岭之花,他腹黑又真挚,诡计多端又正直善良!一个外表纯良的丫鬟,却又风靡整个将军府,在主人不知道的地方混得风声水起。
  • 原始文明之崛起

    原始文明之崛起

    人在江湖飘,哪有不挨刀!刘宇在缅甸丛林里混了六年,没想到这回居然被老板给坑了!引爆炸弹,冲击波横扫一切!哼!敢黑我,谁也别想好过!当意识再次恢复时,刘宇发现周围的一切都变了!看着几个体毛旺盛比猩猩帅气多的同伴,刘宇不得不相信自己来到了一个远古时代!看着头顶的青黄色的大月亮,刘宇也肯定了,这地方,还特么不是地球!我草!【本故事纯属虚构!!!】
  • 图云传

    图云传

    来到未知异世界,摆脱屌丝身份。开始新的生活,学习经历诸多之后,成就了不一样的自己。而这一路走来,他所经历的却不是这一本书能写尽的。
  • 锈剑骑士

    锈剑骑士

    阿修罗与阿托克斯的大战,地狱之门开启,地狱里的恶魔降临人间,人类的英雄们与恶魔之间的战斗拉开帷幕。
  • 《星星漫天,流星滑过……》

    《星星漫天,流星滑过……》

    他总是习惯斜靠在舞台的一侧,酷酷的拿着吉他,古褐色的头发盖住了眼睛,该死的,哪有人斜靠在舞台的一侧演奏的,真是欠扁!他是那么冷漠,偏偏对我却是那么霸道,该死的,他貌似完全占据了我——大名鼎鼎的冰梦瑶的生活,可是怎么突然发现不跟他吵架会很难受?“一场车祸,让你把我拒之门外……臭虫冷叶飞!你以为你失忆了忘记我了就可以彻彻底底甩掉我了吗?我告诉你!不可能!我会一直缠着你!直到你记起我,并且爱上我!我不知道也不想知道,为什么上天夺取了你有我的记忆?既然注定不可能那么干嘛会有开始?那场车祸分开了你我,我的歌曲能否换回你的记忆?还记得那个有流星的夜晚吗?你我共同许下诺言,未来的我们,无论发生什么,都永远,在一起……”星星漫天,流星滑过了……流星下,他和她手牵手,发誓永不分离……这是最浪漫的一幕……
  • 云淡风轻闯乾坤

    云淡风轻闯乾坤

    下古时代,神魔人鬼共同占据着这个多灾多难的地球,互相利用,互相攻击,纷争和制衡的戏码不断上演。一个小婴儿,阴差阳错地被水火二神附体,无端地成为各种势力争夺的对象!她会有怎么跌宕起伏的命运呢?又有怎样的爱恨情仇呢?请您开卷有益,一探究竟吧!
  • 天使总裁的偷心贼

    天使总裁的偷心贼

    “龙皓天”:名副其实的“冷面天使总裁”。“梅南果”:江湖上数一数二的神偷。为何一身好功夫的她,却在他面前毕恭毕敬,不敢有任何的反抗,还要不得不忍受他非人般的折磨。她不明白,为什么随时随地,他总能找到她,她并没有发现自己身上有任何的跟踪仪。他是她今生最讨厌的人,可是为什么突然有一天,她竟然疯狂的爱上了他???他从不相信爱情,但却无法摆脱爱情的魔力。当他终于意识到自己深深的爱上她时,她却得知,他竟是杀父仇人的儿子,他们的爱情该何去何从?尽请期待。