登陆注册
15705000000019

第19章 The Three Johns(6)

Weeks went by,and though Gillispie and Waite were often at Catherine's,Henderson never came.Gillispie gave it out as his opinion that Henderson was an ungrateful puppy;but Waite said nothing.This strange man,who seemed like a mere unto-ward accident of nature,had changed dur-ing the summer.His big ill-shaped body had grown more gaunt;his deep-set gray eyes had sunk deeper;the gentleness which had distinguished him even on the wild ranges of Montana became more marked.

Late in August he volunteered to take on himself the entire charge of the night watch.

"It's nicer to be out at night,"he said to Catherine."Then you don't keep look-ing off at things;you can look inside;"and he struck his breast with his splay hand.

Cattle are timorous under the stars.The vastness of the plains,the sweep of the wind under the unbroken arch,frighten them;they are made for the close comforts of the barn-yard;and the apprehension is con-tagious,as every ranchman knows.Waite realized the need of becoming good friends with his animals.Night after night,riding up and down in the twilight of the stars,or dozing,rolled in his blanket,in the shelter of a knoll,he would hear a low roar;it was the cry of the alarmist.Then from every direction the cattle would rise with trembling awkwardness on their knees,and answer,giving out sullen bellowings.Some of them would begin to move from place to place,spreading the baseless alarm,and then came the time for action,else over the plain in mere fruitless frenzy would go the whole frantic band,lashed to madness by their own fears,trampling each other,heed-less of any obstacle,in pitiable,deadly rout.

Waite knew the premonitory signs well,and at the first warning bellow he was on his feet,alert and determined,his energy nerved for a struggle in which he always conquered.

Waite had a secret which he told to none,knowing,in his unanalytical fashion,that it would not be believed in.But soon as ever the dark heads of the cattle began to lift themselves,he sent a resonant voice out into the stillness.The songs he sang were hymns,and he made them into a sort of imperative lullaby.Waite let his lungs and soul fill with the breath of the night;he gave himself up to the exaltation of mastering those trembling brutes.Mount-ing,melodious,with even and powerful swing he let his full notes fall on the air in the confidence of power,and one by one the reassured cattle would lie down again,lowing in soft contentment,and so fall asleep with noses stretched out in mute attention,till their presence could hardly be guessed except for the sweet aroma of their cuds.

One night in the early dusk,he saw Cath-erine Ford hastening across the prairie with Bill Deems.He sent a halloo out to them,which they both answered as they ran on.

Waite knew on what errand of mercy Catherine was bent,and he thought of the chil-dren over at the cabin alone.The cattle were quiet,the night beautiful,and he con-cluded that it was safe enough,since he was on his pony,to ride down there about mid-night and see that the little ones were safe.

The dark sky,pricked with points of intensest light,hung over him so beneficently that in his heart there leaped a joy which even his ever-present sorrow could not dis-turb.This sorrow Waite openly admitted not only to himself,but to others.He had said to Catherine:"You see,I'll always hev to love yeh.An'yeh'll not git cross with me;I'm not goin'to be in th'way."And Catherine had told him,with tears in her eyes,that his love could never be but a com-fort to any woman.And these words,which the poor fellow had in no sense mistaken,comforted him always,became part of his joy as he rode there,under those piercing stars,to look after her little ones.He found them sleeping in their bunks,the baby tight in Kitty's arms,the little boy above them in the upper bunk,with his hand in the long hair of his brown spaniel.Waite softly kissed each of them,so Kitty,who was half waking,told her mother afterwards,and then,bethinking him that Catherine might not be able to return in time for their break-fast,found the milk and bread,and set it for them on the table.Catherine had been writing,and her unfinished letter lay open beside the ink.He took up the pen and wrote,"The childdren was all asleep at twelv.

"J.W."

He had not more than got on his pony again before he heard an ominous sound that made his heart leap.It was a frantic dull pounding of hoofs.He knew in a second what it meant.There was a stam-pede among the cattle.If the animals had all been his,he would not have lost his sense of judgment.But the realization that he had voluntarily undertaken the care of them,and that the larger part of them belonged to his friends,put him in a passion of appre-hension that,as a ranchman,was almost in-explicable.He did the very thing of all others that no cattle-man in his right senses would think of doing.Gillispie and Hender-son,talking it over afterward,were never able to understand it.It is possible --just barely possible --that Waite,still drunk on his solitary dreams,knew what he was doing,and chose to bring his little chapter to an end while the lines were pleasant.At any rate,he rode straight forward,shouting and waving his arms in an insane endeavor to head off that frantic mob.The noise woke the children,and they peered from the window as the pawing and bellowing herd plunged by,trampling the young steers under their feet.

In the early morning,Catherine Ford,spent both in mind and body,came walking slowly home.In her heart was a prayer of thanks-giving.Mary Deems lay sleeping back in her comfortless shack,with her little son by her side.

"The wonder of God is in it,"said Catherine to herself as she walked home."All the ministers of all the world could not have preached me such a sermon as I've had to-night."So dim had been the light and so per-turbed her mind that she had not noticed how torn and trampled was the road.But suddenly a bulk in her pathway startled her.

同类推荐
  • 空谷道澄禅师语录

    空谷道澄禅师语录

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。
  • 晚春

    晚春

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。
  • 四十二章经注

    四十二章经注

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。
  • 诸病主病诗

    诸病主病诗

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。
  • 武陵记

    武陵记

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。
热门推荐
  • 情之结

    情之结

    六年前,我们相遇,相识,相恋。我们是大家眼中的甜蜜情侣,可惜却走到了分手的路口。六年后,她才知道当年分手的真正原因。两人再次回到了当初,半路却杀出程咬金,磕磕碰碰的爱情还能重新回到最初吗?
  • 武运山河

    武运山河

    佛道是武。巫术是武。科技是武。儒亦是武!武,即是人类挣脱命运枷锁的无上手段。华纪历一万八千年,末法时代。众圣隐遁,大道不兴,玄门离散…………最黑暗的帷幕,在乱世缓缓拉下。唯有武道,可运山河。
  • 婉若蓉汐之挚宠

    婉若蓉汐之挚宠

    有没有人在你心里的存在如同阳光一般,只要出现或是想起,身处再阴暗的角落亦会感受到希望的温暖,给你用不完的勇气。可你是否想过,这样一个存在一旦消失,一旦离去,你的世界就会迅速的坠入没有光线的黑夜,入目皆是一望无际的绝望。
  • 相思谋:妃常难娶

    相思谋:妃常难娶

    某日某王府张灯结彩,婚礼进行时,突然不知从哪冒出来一个小孩,对着新郎道:“爹爹,今天您的大婚之喜,娘亲让我来还一样东西。”说完提着手中的玉佩在新郎面前晃悠。此话一出,一府宾客哗然,然当大家看清这小孩与新郎如一个模子刻出来的面容时,顿时石化。此时某屋顶,一个绝色女子不耐烦的声音响起:“儿子,事情办完了我们走,别在那磨矶,耽误时间。”新郎一看屋顶上的女子,当下怒火攻心,扔下新娘就往女子所在的方向扑去,吼道:“女人,你给本王站住。”一场爱与被爱的追逐正式开始、、、、、、、
  • 蚀骨宠婚:嚣张宝宝纯情妈

    蚀骨宠婚:嚣张宝宝纯情妈

    她嫁给他,非处儿,为钱。他娶她,不过是需要一个妻子罢了,妻子这称谓,可以让他名正言顺的在婚房里风流快活。这场婚姻,她不亏,他也赚了。那时赫连轩怎么也没有想到他娶的女人不止是非处儿,还以二十一岁的‘高龄’养着一个六岁的小包子。若知道,他绝对不会任由自己喜当了爹。至少,也多少为难她一下下?
  • 恶转换

    恶转换

    恶人最终变成受害者的故事,拥有善良的恶会被纯粹的恶吞噬。
  • 最是狐妖三百年

    最是狐妖三百年

    在人世漂泊了多久,我早已无任何记忆。转徒于江湖之间,一汪江南水乡的清泉伴流水在指尖缓缓流过,留下的,只不过是刹那间感触到的冰冷的记忆。游荡在江南水乡,做一条曳尾的鱼,在青石板,蝴蝶瓦铺垫而成的世界里轻轻地告别。无论爱与不爱,我们都没有紧握对方双手的权利。或许贪恋那双手的温暖,或许离不开那个怀抱的安全感,但,是时候放手了。从此,你走你的路,我过我的桥。或许在夜里,在梦中,还是会与你相依偎,但再见的时候,我们就那么擦肩而过,好不好?本文保证两日一更(虽然速度有点儿慢的说,但是小艾还是在校生,大家就将就些吧……),每次都约在19点左右。呼唤票票与收藏!!!如果有什么建议,请加QQ:896587922,并注明《最是》。谢谢啦~~~
  • 善恶神域

    善恶神域

    这个世界有一个最大的谎言——你知道么?在这个世界有你不知道的地方,那里住着神明。
  • 水墨倾城之十里香

    水墨倾城之十里香

    本是庄家的嫡女,可惜?在她生下来之时母亲变逝去了。而她,只有祖母的疼爱。从小在祖母的辟护之下,她知书达理,琴棋书画可谓精湛。而又有着绝世的红颜。可惜,在这乱世的舞台,她的命运如同水墨一般,美丽却又无奈、一生经历两个朝代。在真爱的面前,她只能忍受着别人的冷嘲热讽;亡国公主不过是战俘而已罢了?又或者说是和亲而已!!!
  • 时崎狂三之跨时空

    时崎狂三之跨时空

    时钟之眼,崎岖之路,狂我之心,三世轮回。一段跨越时空的爱情,一场时空轮回的战斗。你以为你活着,其实你早已死去。你以为你赢了,其实你一败再败。你以为你知道,其实你一直遗忘。这是一个以时崎狂三为女主的时空轮回,爱恨情仇,厮杀筹谋。