下载辰思小说免费APP
To-morrownightIshouldprobablybecampingwiththeVirginianinthefoot-hills。Athisletter’sbiddingIhadcomeeastwardacrossIdaho，abandoningmyhuntingintheSawToothRangetomakethisjourneywithhimbackthroughtheTetons。Itwasatrailknowntohim，andnottomanyotherhonestmen。HorseThiefPasswasthenamehislettergaveit。Business(hewasalwaysbrief)wouldcallhimoverthereatthistime。Returning，hemustattendtocertainmattersintheWindRivercountry。ThereI
couldleavebystagefortherailroad，orgoonwithhimthewholewaybacktoSunkCreek。Hedesignatedforourmeetingtheforksofacertainlittlestreaminthefoot-hillswhichto-day’sridehadbroughtinsight。Therewouldbenochanceforhimtoreceiveananswerfrommeintheinterveningtime。Ifbyacertainday——whichwasfourdaysoffstill——Ihadnotreachedtheforks，hewouldunderstandIhadotherplans。Tomeitwaslikelivingbackinagesgone，thiswayofmeetingmyfriend，thischoiceofastreamsofarandlonelythatitsverycourseuponthemapswaswronglytraced。Andtoleavebehindallnoiseandmechanisms，andsetoutatease，slowly，withonepackhorse，intothewilderness，mademefeelthattheancientearthwasindeedmymotherandthatIhadfoundheragainafterbeinglostamonghouses，customs，andrestraints。Ishouldarrivethreedaysearlyattheforks——threedaysofmarginseemingtomeawiseprecautionagainstdelaysunforeseen。IftheVirginianwerenotthere，good；Icouldfishandbehappy。Ifheweretherebutnotreadytostart，good；Icouldstillfishandbehappy。AndrememberingmyEasternhelplessnessintheyearwhenwehadmetfirst，IenjoyedthinkinghowIhadcometobetrusted。InthosedaysIhadnotbeenallowedtogofromtheranchforsomuchasanafternoon’srideunlesstiedtohimbyastring，sotospeak；
nowIwascrossingunmappedspaceswithnoguidance。Themanwhocoulddothiswasscarceanylongera“tenderfoot。“
Myvision，asIrode，tookinserenelythedimfoot-hills，——to-morrow’sgoal，——andnearerinthevastwetplaintheclumpofcottonwoods，andstillnearermylodgingforto-nightwiththedottedcattleroundit。Andnowmyhorseneighed。Ifelthisgaitfreshenforthejourney’send，andleaningtopathisneckInoticedhisearsnolongerslackandinattentive，butpointingforwardtowherefoodandrestawaitedbothofus。Twiceheneighed，impatientlyandlong；andashequickenedhisgaitstillmore，thepackhorsedidthesame，andI
realizedthattherewasaboutmestillaspiceofthetenderfoot:
thosedotswerenotcattle；theywerehorses。
Myhorsehadputmeinthewrong。Hehadknownhiskindfromafar，andwashasteningtothem。Theplainsman’seyewasnotyetmine；andIsmiledalittleasIrode。WhenwasIgoingtoknow，asbyinstinct，thedifferentlookofhorsesandcattleacrosssometwoorthreemilesofplain？
Thesemileswefinishedsoon。Thebuildingschangedintheiraspectastheygrewtomyapproach，showingtheirdesolationmoreclearly，andinsomewaybringingapprehensionintomymood。Andaroundthemthehorses，too，allstandingwithearserect，watchingmeasIcame——therewassomethingaboutthem；orwasitthesilence？ForthesilencewhichIhadlikeduntilnowseemedsuddenlytobemadetoogreatbythepresenceofthedesertedbuildings。Andthenthedoorofthestableopened，andmencameoutandstood，alsowatchingmearrive。BythetimeIwasdismountingmorewerethere。ItwassenselesstofeelasunpleasantasIdid，andIstrovetogivetothemagreetingthatshouldsoundeasy。ItoldthemthatIhopedtherewasroomforonemorehereto-night。Someofthemhadansweredmygreeting，butnoneofthemansweredthis；andasIbegantobesurethatI
recognizedseveraloftheirstrangelyimperturbablefaces，theVirginiancamefromthestable；andatthatwelcomesightmyreliefspokeoutinstantly。
“Iamhere，yousee！“
“Yes，Idosee。“Ilookedhardathim，forinhisvoicewasthesamestrangenessthatIfeltineverythingaroundme。Buthewaslookingathiscompanions。“Thisgentlemanisallright，“hetoldthem。
“Thatmaybe，“saidonewhomInowknewthatIhadseenbeforeatSunkCreek；“buthewasnotdueto-night。“
“Norto-morrow，“saidanother。
“Noryetthedayafter，“athirdadded。
TheVirg
