下载辰思小说免费APP
“Shortynevercouldropeahorsealone，“Iremarked。
TheVirginiangrinned。“Shorty？Well，ShortysoundsaswellasOunces。Butthatain’tthemistakeI’mthinkinghemade。“
Iknewthathewouldnottellme，butthatwasjustlikehim。Forthelasttwentyminutes，havingsomethingtodo，hehadbecomehimselfagain，hadcometoearthfromthatunsafecountryofthebrainwherebeckonedaspectralSteve。Nothingwasleftbutinhiseyesthatquestionwhichpainhadsetthere；andIwonderedifhisfriendofold，whoseemedsobraveandamiable，wouldhavedealthimthathurtatthesolemnendhadheknownwhatapoisonedwounditwouldbe。
Wecameoutonaridgefromwhichwecouldlookdown。“Youalwayswanttorideonhighplaceswhenthere’sfolksaroundwhoseintentionsain’tbeendeclared，“saidtheVirginian。Andwewentalongourridgeforsomedistance。Then，suddenlyheturneddownandguidedusalmostatoncetothetrail。“That’sit，“hesaid。
“See。“
Thetrackofahorsewasveryfreshonthetrail。Butitwasagallopinghorsenow，andnobootprintswerekeepingupwithitanymore。Nobootscouldhavekeptupwithit。Theriderwasmakingtimeto-day。Yesterdaythathorsehadbeenriddenupintothemountainsatleisure。Whowasonhim？Therewasnevertobeanycertainanswertothat。Butwhowasnotonhim？Weturnedbackinourjourney，backintotheheartofthatbasinwiththetallpeaksallrisingliketeethinthecloudlesssun，andthesnow-fieldsshiningwhite。
“Hewasafraidofus，“saidtheVirginian。“Hedidnotknowhowmanyofushadcomeuphere。Threehawssesmightmeanadozenmorearound。“
Wefollowedthebackwardtrailinamongthepines，andcameafteratimeupontheircamp。AndthenIunderstoodthemistakethatShortyhadmade。Hehadreturnedafterhisfailure，andhadtoldthatothermanofthepresenceofnewhorses。Heshouldhavekeptthisasecret；forhastehadtobemadeatonce，andtwocannotgetawayquicklyupononehorse。ButitwaspoorShorty’slastblunder。Helaytherebytheirextinctfire，withhiswistful，lost-dogfaceupward，andhisthickyellowhairunpartedasithadalwaysbeen。Themurderhadbeendonefrombehind。Weclosedtheeyes。
“Therewasnonaturalharminhim，“saidtheVirginian。“Butyoumustdoathingwellinthiscountry。“
Therewasnotatrace，notaclew，oftheotherman；andwefoundaplacewherewecouldsooncoverShortywithearth。Asweliftedhimwesawthenewspaperthathehadbeenreading。Hehadbroughtitfromtheclumpofcottonwoodswhereheandtheothermanhadmadealatervisitthanourstobesureofthefateoftheirfriends——orpossiblyinhopesofanotherhorse。Evidently，whenthepartyweresurprised，theyhadbeenabletoescapewithonlyone。AllofthenewspaperwastheresavetheleafIhadpickedup——allandmore，forthishadpencilwritingonitthatwasnotmine，nordidIatfirsttakeitin。Ithoughtitmightbeaclew，andIreaditaloud。“Good-by，Jeff，“itsaid。“Icouldnothavespoketoyouwithoutplayingthebaby。“
“Who’sJeff？“Iasked。ButitcameovermewhenIlookedattheVirginian。Hewasstandingbesidemequitemotionless；andthenheputouthishandandtookthepaper，andstoodstill，lookingatthewords。“SteveusedtocallmeJeff，“hesaid，“becauseI
wasSouthern，Ireckonnobodyelseeverdid。“
Heslowlyfoldedthemessagefromthedead，broughtbythedead，androlleditinthecoatbehindhissaddle。Forahalf-minutehestoodleaninghisforeheaddownagainstthesaddle。AfterthishecamebackandcontemplatedShorty’sfaceawhile。“IwishIcouldthankhim，“hesaid。“IwishIcould。“
WecarriedShortyoverandcoveredhimwithearth，andonthatlaidafewpinebranches；thenwetookupourjourney，andbytheendoftheforenoonwehadgonesomedistanceuponourtrailthroughtheTetonMountains。Butinfrontofusthehoofprintseverheldtheirstrideofhaste，drawingfartherfromusthroughthehours，untilbythenextafternoonsomewherewenoticedtheywerenolongertobeseen；andafterthattheynevercameuponthetrailagain。
SomewhereattheeasternbaseoftheTetonsdidthoseh
