下载辰思小说免费APP
“Butperhapsyouareofthesameopinionstill？“theJudgeinquired。
“Itisallterribletome，“shesaid。
“Yes；andsoiscapitalpunishmentterrible。Andsoiswar。Andperhapssomedayweshalldowithoutthem。Buttheyarenoneofthemsoterribleasuncheckedtheftandmurderwouldbe。“
AftertheJudgehaddepartedonhiswaytoSunkCreek，noonespoketoMollyuponthissubject。Butherfacedidnotgrowcheerfulatonce。Itwasplainfromherfitsofsilencethatherthoughtswerenotatrest。Andsometimesatnightshewouldstandinfrontofherlover’slikeness，gazinguponitwithbrothloveandshrinking。
XXXIV。TOFITHERFINGER
ItwastworingsthattheVirginianwroteforwhennextIheardfromhim。
AftermydarksightofwhattheCattleLandcouldbe，IsoonhadjourneyedhomebywayofWashakieandRawlins。SteveandShortydidnotleavemymemory，norwilltheyever，Isuppose。
TheVirginianhadtouchedthewholethingthedayIlefthim。Hehadnoticedmelookingasortoffarewellattheplainsandmountains。
“Youwillcomebacktoit，“hesaid。“Iftherewasaheadstoneforeverymanthatoncepleasuredinhisfreedomhere，yu’dseeonemosteverytimeyu’turnedyourhead。It’saheapsadderthanagraveyard——butyu’loveitallthesame。“
Sadnesshadpassedfromhim——fromhisuppermostmood，atleast，whenhewroteabouttherings。Deepinhimwassadnessofcourse，aswellasjoy。ForhehadknownSteve，andhehadcoveredShortywithearth。Hehadlookeduponlifewithamarkseyes，veryclose；andnoone，ifhehaveaheart，canpassthroughthisandnotcarrysadnessinhisspiritwithhimforever。Butheseldomshowsitopenly；itbideswithinhim，enrichinghischeerfulnessandrenderinghimofbetterservicetohisfellow-men。
Itwasacommissionofcheerfulnessthathenowgave，beingdistantfromwhereringsaretobebought。HecouldnotgosofarastheEasttoprocurewhathehadplanned。RingsweretobehadinCheyenne，andastillgreaterchoiceinDenver；andsofaraseitherofthesetownshisaffairswouldhavepermittedhimtotravel。ButhewassetuponhavingringsfromtheEast。Theymustcomefromthebestplaceinthecountry；nothingshortofthatwasgoodenough“tofitherfinger，“ashesaid。Theweddingringwasasimplematter。Letitberight，thatwasall:thepurestgoldthatcouldbeused，withherinitialsandhistogethergravenroundtheinside，withthedayofthemonthandtheyear。
Thedatewasnowset。Ithadcomesofarasthis。Julythirdwastobetheday。Thenforsixtydaysandnightshewastobeabridegroom，freefromhisdutiesatSunkCreek，freetotakehisbridewheresoevershemightchoosetogo。Andshehadchosen。
Thosevoicesoftheworldhadmorethanangeredher；foraftertheangerasetpurposewasleft。Hersistershouldhavethechanceneithertocomenortostayaway。HadhermotherevenansweredtheVirginian’sletter，therecouldhavebeensomerelenting。Butthepoorladyhadbeeninadequateinthis，asinallothersearchingmomentsofherlife:shehadsentmessages，——kindones，tobesure，——butonlymessages。IfthishadhurttheVirginian，nooneknewitintheworld，leastofallthegirlinwhoseheartithadleftacold，frozenspot。Notagoodspiritinwhichtobemarried，youwillsay。No；frozenspotsarenotgoodatanytime。ButMolly’sownnaturegaveherduepunishment。Throughallthesedaysofherwarmhappinessachillcurrentran，likethosewhichinterrupttheswimmer’sperfectjoy。Thegirlwasonlyhalfashappyasherlover；butshehidthisdeepfromhim，——hidituntilthatfinal，fiercehourofreckoningthathernaturehadwithher，——nay，wasboundtohavewithher，beforethepunishmentwaslifted，andthefrozenspotmeltedatlengthfromherheart。
So，meanwhile，shemadeherdecreeagainstBennington。NotVermont，butWyoming，shouldbeherweddingplace。Noworld’svoicesshouldbewhispering，noworld’seyesshouldbelookingon，whenshemadehervowtohimandreceivedhisvow。ThosevoicesshouldbespokenandthatringputoninthiswildCattleL
