CHAPTER XIX. SUSPENSE CAPÍTULO XIX. SUSPENSA

He found them as he had expected, the girl beside the couch, and the old man prone upon it, wrapped to the chin in a gaudy Navajo blanket. Encontrou-os como esperava, a garota ao lado do sofá e o velho deitado sobre ele, enrolado até o queixo em um espalhafatoso cobertor navajo. But to-night his eyes were closed, a most unusual thing, and Byrne could look more closely at the aged face. For on occasions when the eyes were wide, it was like looking into the throat of a searchlight to stare at the features—all was blurred. Pois nas ocasiões em que os olhos estavam arregalados, era como olhar para a garganta de um holofote para observar as feições – tudo estava embaçado. He discovered now wrinkled and purple-stained lids under the deep shadow of the brows—and eyes were so sunken that there seemed to be no pupils there. Ele descobriu agora pálpebras enrugadas e manchadas de roxo sob a sombra profunda das sobrancelhas - e os olhos estavam tão fundos que parecia não haver pupilas lá. Теперь под глубокой тенью бровей он обнаружил морщинистые и багровые веки, а глаза были настолько запавшими, что казалось, в них нет зрачков. Over the cheek bones the skin was drawn so tightly that it shone, and the cheeks fell away into cadaverous hollows. Sobre as maçãs do rosto, a pele era esticada com tanta força que brilhava, e as bochechas caíam em cavidades cadavéricas. But the lips, beneath the shag of grey beard, were tightly compressed. Mas os lábios, sob a barba grisalha, estavam firmemente comprimidos. No, this was not sleep. Não, isso não era sono. It carried, as Byrne gazed, a connotation of swifter, fiercer thinking, than if the gaunt old man had stalked the floor and poured forth a tirade of words. Carregava, enquanto Byrne olhava, uma conotação de pensamento mais rápido e feroz, do que se o velho esquelético tivesse espreitado no chão e despejado um discurso de palavras.

The girl came to meet the doctor. She said: "Will you use a narcotic?" Ela disse: "Você vai usar um narcótico?" "Why?" asked Byrne. "He seems more quiet than usual." "Look more closely," she whispered. And when he obeyed, he saw that the whole body of Joe Cumberland quivered like an aspen, continually. E quando obedeceu, viu que todo o corpo de Joe Cumberland estremecia como um álamo, continuamente. So the finger of the duellist trembles on the trigger of his gun before he receives the signal to fire—a suspense more terrible than the actual face of death. Assim, o dedo do duelista treme no gatilho de sua arma antes que ele receba o sinal para atirar — um suspense mais terrível do que a própria face da morte.

"A narcotic?" she pleaded. ela implorou. "Something to give him just one moment of full relaxation?" "I can't do it," said Byrne. "If his heart were a shade stronger, I should. "Se o coração dele fosse um pouco mais forte, eu deveria. But as it is, the only thing that sustains him is the force of his will-power. Do you want me to unnerve the very strength which keeps him alive?" Você quer que eu enerve a própria força que o mantém vivo?" She shuddered. Ela estremeceu.

"Do you mean that if he sleeps it will be—death?" "Você quer dizer que se ele dormir será... morte?" "I have told you before," said the doctor, "that there are phases of this case which I do not understand. "Já lhe disse antes", disse o médico, "que há fases deste caso que não entendo. I predict nothing with certainty. But I very much fear that if your father falls into a complete slumber he will never waken from it. Mas temo muito que, se seu pai cair em um sono completo, ele nunca mais acordará dele. Once let his brain cease functioning and I fear that the heart will follow suit." Uma vez que seu cérebro pare de funcionar e temo que o coração siga o exemplo." They stood on the farther side of the room and spoke in the softest of whispers, but now the deep, calm voice of the old man broke in: "Doc, they ain't no use of worryin'. Eles ficaram do outro lado da sala e falaram no mais suave dos sussurros, mas agora a voz profunda e calma do velho interrompeu: "Doutor, eles não precisam se preocupar. They ain't no use of medicine. Eles não usam remédio. All I need is quiet." Tudo que eu preciso é silêncio." "Do you want to be alone?" asked the girl.

"No, not so long as you don't make no noise. "Não, desde que você não faça barulho. I can 'most hear something, but your whisperin' shuts it off." Eu quase consigo ouvir alguma coisa, mas seus sussurros desligam. They obeyed him, with a glance at each other. And soon they caught the far off beat of a horse in a rapid gallop. E logo eles pegaram a batida distante de um cavalo em um galope rápido.

"Is it that?" cried Kate, leaning forward and touching her father's hand. "Is that horse what you hear?" "É esse cavalo o que você ouve?" "No, no!" he answered impatiently. "That ain't what I hear. "Isso não é o que eu ouço. It ain't no hoss that I hear!" Não é nenhum hoss que eu ouço!" The hoof-beats grew louder—stopped before the house—steps sounded loud and rattling on the veranda—a door squeaked and slammed—and Buck Daniels stood before them. As batidas dos cascos ficaram mais altas — pararam diante da casa — os passos soaram altos e chocalhantes na varanda — uma porta rangeu e bateu — e Buck Daniels parou diante deles. His hat was jammed down so far that his eyes were almost buried in the shadow of the brim; the bandana at his throat was twisted so that the knot lay over his right shoulder; he carried a heavy quirt in a hand that trembled so that the long lash seemed alive; a thousand bits of foam had dried upon his vest and stained it; the rowels of his spurs were caked and enmeshed with horsehair; dust covered his face and sweat furrowed it, and a keen scent of horse-sweat passed from him through the room. Seu chapéu estava tão enfiado que seus olhos estavam quase enterrados na sombra da aba; a bandana em sua garganta estava torcida de modo que o nó caía sobre seu ombro direito; ele carregava uma pesada espada na mão que tremia tanto que o longo chicote parecia vivo; mil pedaços de espuma haviam secado em seu colete e o manchado; as espigas de suas esporas estavam endurecidas e emaranhadas com crina de cavalo; a poeira cobria seu rosto e o suor o enrugava, e um cheiro forte de suor de cavalo passou dele pela sala. For a moment he stood at the door, bracing himself with legs spread wide apart, and stared wildly about—then he reeled drunkenly across the room and fell into a chair, sprawling at full length. Por um momento ele ficou parado na porta, apoiando-se com as pernas bem abertas, e olhou loucamente ao redor – então ele cambaleou bêbado pela sala e caiu em uma cadeira, esparramando-se completamente.

No one else moved. Joe Cumberland had turned his head; Kate stood with her hand at her throat; the doctor had placed his hand behind his head, and there it stayed. Joe Cumberland virou a cabeça; Kate ficou com a mão na garganta; o médico tinha colocado a mão atrás da cabeça, e lá ficou.

"Gimme smoke—quick!" "Me dê fumaça - rápido!" said Buck Daniels. "Run out of Durham a thousan' years ago!" "Fora de Durham há mil anos!" Kate ran into the next room and returned instantly with papers and a fresh sack of tobacco. On these materials Buck seized frantically, but his big fingers were shaking in a palsy, and the papers tore, one after another, as soon as he started to roll his smoke. Nesses materiais Buck agarrou-se freneticamente, mas seus dedos grandes tremiam em uma paralisia, e os papéis se rasgaram, um após o outro, assim que ele começou a enrolar a fumaça. "God!" he cried, in a burst of childish desperation, and collapsed again in the chair. ele gritou, em uma explosão de desespero infantil, e desabou novamente na cadeira.

But Kate Cumberland picked up the papers and tobacco which he had dashed to the floor and rolled a cigarette with deft fingers. Mas Kate Cumberland pegou os papéis e o tabaco que ele jogou no chão e enrolou um cigarro com dedos hábeis. She placed it between his lips and held the match by which he lighted it. Ela o colocou entre os lábios dele e segurou o fósforo pelo qual ele o acendeu. Once, twice, and again, he drew great breaths of smoke into his lungs, and then he could open his eyes and look at them. Uma, duas e outra vez, ele inalou grandes baforadas de fumaça em seus pulmões, e então pôde abrir os olhos e olhá-los. They were not easy eyes to meet. Não eram olhos fáceis de encontrar.

"You're hungry, Buck," she said. "I can see it at a glance. I'll have something for you in an instant." He stopped her with a gesture.

"I done it!" "Eu fiz isso!" said Buck Daniels. "He's comin'!" The doctor flashed his glance upon Kate Cumberland, for when she heard the words she turned pale and her eyes and her lips framed a mute question; but Joe Cumberland drew in a long breath and smiled. O médico lançou seu olhar para Kate Cumberland, pois quando ela ouviu as palavras empalideceu e seus olhos e seus lábios formaram uma pergunta muda; mas Joe Cumberland respirou fundo e sorriu.

"I knowed it!" "Eu sabia!" he said softly.

The wind whistled somewhere in the house and it brought Buck Daniels leaping to his feet and into the centre of the room. O vento assobiou em algum lugar da casa e trouxe Buck Daniels de um salto para o centro da sala.

"He's here!" he yelled. "God help me, where'll I go now! "Deus me ajude, para onde vou agora! He's here!" He had drawn his revolver and stood staring desperately about him as if he sought for a refuge in the solid wall. Ele havia sacado o revólver e ficou olhando desesperadamente ao redor, como se procurasse um refúgio na parede sólida. Almost instantly he recovered himself, however, and dropped the gun back into the holster. Quase instantaneamente ele se recuperou, no entanto, e jogou a arma de volta no coldre.

"No, not yet," he said, more to himself than the others. "It ain't possible, even for Dan." "Não é possível, mesmo para Dan." Kate Cumberland rallied herself, though her face was still white. Kate Cumberland se recompôs, embora seu rosto ainda estivesse branco. She stepped to Buck and took both his hands. Ela se aproximou de Buck e segurou suas duas mãos.

"You've been working yourself to death," she said gently. "Você tem trabalhado até a morte", disse ela gentilmente. "Buck, you're hysterical. "Buck, você está histérico. What have you to fear from Dan? Isn't he your friend? Hasn't he proved it a thousand times?" Her words threw him into a fresh frenzy. Suas palavras o lançaram em um novo frenesi.

"If he gets me, it's blood on your head, Kate. "Se ele me pegar, é sangue na sua cabeça, Kate. It was for you I done it." "No, no, Buck. For Dan's sake alone. Só por causa de Dan. Isn't that enough?" "For his sake?" Buck threw back his head and laughed—a crazy laughter. "He could rot in hell for all of me. "Ele poderia apodrecer no inferno por todos mim. He could foller his wild geese around the world. Ele poderia seguir seus gansos selvagens ao redor do mundo. Kate, it was for you!" "Hush!" she pleaded. ela implorou. "Buck, dear!" "Do I care who knows it? "Eu me importo com quem sabe disso? Not I! I got an hour—half an hour to live; and while I live the whole damned world can know I love you, Kate, from your spurs to the blue of your eyes. For your sake I brung him, and for your sake I'll fight him, damn him, in spite——" Por sua causa eu o trouxe, e por sua causa eu vou lutar com ele, maldito seja, apesar de...” The wind wailed again, far off, and Buck Daniels cowered back against the wall. O vento uivou novamente, distante, e Buck Daniels se encolheu contra a parede. He had drawn Kate with him, and he now kept her before him, towards the door. Ele havia puxado Kate com ele, e agora a mantinha diante dele, em direção à porta.

He began to whisper, swiftly, with a horrible tremble in his voice: "Stand between me, Kate. Ele começou a sussurrar, rapidamente, com um terrível tremor na voz: "Fique entre mim, Kate. Stand between me and him. Talk for me, Kate. Will you talk for me?" He drew himself up and caught a long, shuddering breath. Ele se levantou e respirou fundo e estremeceu. "What have I been doin'? "O que eu tenho feito? What have I been ravin' about?" Sobre o que eu estive delirando?" He looked about as if he saw the others for the first time.

"Sit here, Buck," said Kate, with perfect quiet. "Give me your hat. There's nothing to fear. Now tell us." "A whole day and a whole night," he said, "I been riding with the fear of him behind me. Kate, I ain't myself, and if I been sayin' things——" Kate, eu não sou eu mesmo, e se eu estivesse dizendo coisas——” "No matter. Only tell me how you made him follow you." Buck Daniels swept his knuckles across his forehead, as though to rub out a horrible memory. Buck Daniels passou os nós dos dedos pela testa, como se quisesse apagar uma lembrança horrível.

"Kate," he said in a voice which was hardly more than a whisper, "why did he follow Jim Silent?" "Kate", ele disse em uma voz que não passava de um sussurro, "por que ele seguiu Jim Silent?" The doctor slipped into a chair opposite Buck Daniels and watched him with unbelieving eyes. O médico se sentou em uma cadeira em frente a Buck Daniels e o observou com olhos incrédulos. When he had last seen Buck the man had seemed an army in himself; but now a shivering, unmanned coward sat before him. Quando vira Buck pela última vez, o homem parecia um exército em si mesmo; mas agora um covarde trêmulo e não tripulado estava sentado diante dele. Byrne glanced at Kate Cumberland for explanation of the mysterious change. She, also, was transformed with horror, and she stared at Buck Daniels as at one already among the dead. Ela também se transformou de horror, e olhou para Buck Daniels como se já estivesse entre os mortos.

"Buck, you didn't— strike him?" "Buck, você não... bateu nele?" Buck Daniels nodded jerkily. Buck Daniels assentiu bruscamente.

"I'll try to tell you straight from the beginning. "Vou tentar dizer-lhe diretamente desde o início. I found Dan in Brownsville. I begged him to come back with me, but he wouldn't stir. Eu implorei para ele voltar comigo, mas ele não se mexeu. This was why: A gunman had come to the town lookin' for trouble, and when he run acrost Dan he found plenty of it. Era por isso: um pistoleiro tinha ido à cidade procurando encrenca, e quando se deparou com Dan, encontrou muitos. No, don't look like that, Kate; it was self-defense, pure and simple—they didn't even arrest Dan for it. Não, não fique assim, Kate; foi legítima defesa, pura e simples — eles nem prenderam Dan por isso. But this dyin' man's brother, Mac Strann, come down from the hills and sat beside Jerry Strann waitin' for him to go west before he started out to clean up on Dan. Mas o irmão desse moribundo, Mac Strann, desceu das colinas e sentou-se ao lado de Jerry Strann esperando que ele fosse para o oeste antes de começar a limpar Dan. Yesterday evenin' Jerry was near dead and everybody in Brownsville was waitin' to see what would happen, because Dan wouldn't budge till Mac Strann had had his chance to get back at him. Ontem à noite Jerry estava quase morto e todo mundo em Brownsville estava esperando para ver o que aconteceria, porque Dan não se mexeu até que Mac Strann tivesse a chance de se vingar dele. So I sent a feller ahead to fix a relay of hosses to Elkhead, because I made up my mind I was going to make Dan Barry chase me out of that town. Então mandei um cara na frente para consertar um revezamento de mangueiras para Elkhead, porque decidi que ia fazer Dan Barry me expulsar daquela cidade. I walked into the saloon where Dan was sittin'—braidin' a little horsehair strand—my God, Kate, think of him sittin' there doin' that with a hundred fellers standin' about waitin' for him to kill or be killed! Entrei no salão onde Dan estava sentado—trançando um pequeno fio de crina—meu Deus, Kate, pense nele sentado ali fazendo isso com uma centena de caras esperando por ele para matar ou ser morto! I went up to him. Eu fui até ele. I picked a fight, and then I slapped him—in the face." Eu arranjei uma briga e então dei um tapa na cara dele." The sweat started on Daniels' forehead at the thought. "But you're still alive!" cried Kate Cumberland. gritou Kate Cumberland. "Had you handled his gun first?" "Você pegou a arma dele primeiro?" "No. As soon as I hit him I turned my back to him and took a couple of steps away from him." Assim que bati nele, virei as costas para ele e dei alguns passos para longe dele." "Oh, Buck, Buck!" she cried, her face lighting. ela gritou, seu rosto se iluminando. "You knew he wouldn't shoot you in the back!" "I didn't know nothin'. I couldn't even think—and my body was numb as a dead man's all below the hips. Eu não conseguia nem pensar — e meu corpo estava entorpecido como o de um morto, todo abaixo dos quadris. There I stood like I was chained to the floor—you know how it is in a nightmare when something chases you and you can't run? Lá estava eu como se estivesse acorrentado ao chão - você sabe como é em um pesadelo quando algo o persegue e você não pode correr? That was the way with me." "Buck! And he was sitting behind you—while you stood there?" E ele estava sentado atrás de você - enquanto você estava lá?" "Ay, sitting there with my death sittin' on his trigger finger. But I knowed that if I showed the white feather, if I let him see me shake, he'd be out of his chair and on top of me. Mas eu sabia que se eu mostrasse a pena branca, se eu o deixasse me ver tremer, ele estaria fora de sua cadeira e em cima de mim. No gun—he don't need nothin' but his hands—and what was in front of my eyes was a death like—like Jim Silent's!" Sem arma - ele não precisa de nada além de suas mãos - e o que estava na frente dos meus olhos era uma morte como - como a de Jim Silent!" He squinted his eyes close and groaned. Ele apertou os olhos e gemeu. Once more he roused himself. Mais uma vez ele se despertou.

"But I couldn't move a foot without my knees bucklin', so I takes out my makin's and rolls a cigarette. "Mas eu não conseguia mover um pé sem meus joelhos se dobrando, então eu pego meu makin e enrolo um cigarro. And while I was doin' it I was prayin' that my strength would come back to me before he come back to himself—and started!" E enquanto eu estava fazendo isso, eu estava rezando para que minha força voltasse para mim antes que ele voltasse a si mesmo - e começou!" "It was surprise that held him, Buck. "Foi a surpresa que o prendeu, Buck. To think of you striking him—you who have saved his life and fought for him like a blood-brother. Oh, Buck, of all the men in the world you're the bravest and the noblest!" "They ain't nothin' in that brand of talk," growled Buck, reddening. "Eles não são nada nesse tipo de conversa", rosnou Buck, enrubescendo. "Anyway, at last I started for the door. "De qualquer forma, finalmente fui para a porta. It wasn't farther away than from here to the wall. Outside was my hoss, and a chance for livin'. But that door was a thousand years away, and a thousand times while I walked towards it I felt Dan's gun click and bang behind me and felt the lead go tearin' through me. Mas aquela porta estava a mil anos de distância, e mil vezes enquanto eu caminhava em direção a ela eu senti a arma de Dan estalar e bater atrás de mim e senti o chumbo me rasgar. And I didn't dare to hurry, because I knew that might wake Dan up. E não ousei me apressar, porque sabia que isso poderia acordar Dan. So finally I got to the doors and just as they was swingin' to behind me, I heard a sort of a moan behind me——" Então finalmente cheguei às portas e assim que elas estavam indo atrás de mim, ouvi um tipo de gemido atrás de mim——” "From Dan!" whispered the white-faced girl. sussurrou a garota de rosto branco. "I know—a sort of a stifled cry when he's angered! "Eu sei - uma espécie de choro abafado quando ele está com raiva! Oh, Buck." "My first step took me ten yards from that door," reminisced Buck Daniels, "and my next step landed me in the saddle, and I dug them spurs clean into the insides of Long Bess. "Meu primeiro passo me levou a dez metros daquela porta", relembrou Buck Daniels, "e meu próximo passo me colocou na sela, e eu enfiei as esporas dentro de Long Bess. She started like a watch-spring uncoilin', and as she spurts down the streets I leans clean over to her mane and looks back and there I seen Dan standin' in the door with his gun in his hand and the wind blowin' his hair. Ela começou como uma mola de relógio se desenrolando, e enquanto ela corre pelas ruas eu me inclino sobre sua crina e olho para trás e lá eu vi Dan parado na porta com sua arma na mão e o vento soprando em seu cabelo . But he didn't shoot, because the next second I was swallowed up in the dark and couldn't see him no more." Mas ele não atirou, porque no segundo seguinte eu fui engolido no escuro e não pude mais vê-lo." "But it was no use!" "Mas não adiantou!" cried the girl. "With Black Bart to trail you and with Satan to carry him, he overtook you—and then——" "Com Black Bart atrás de você e com Satanás para carregá-lo, ele te alcançou—e então—" "He didn't," said Buck Daniels. "I'd fixed things so's he couldn't get started with Satan for some time. "Eu consertei as coisas para que ele não pudesse começar com Satanás por algum tempo. And before he could have Satan on my trail I'd put a long stretch behind me because Long Bess was racin' every step. E antes que ele pudesse ter Satanás no meu encalço, eu coloquei um longo trecho atrás de mim porque Long Bess estava correndo a cada passo. The lay of the land was with me. A configuração da terra estava comigo. It was pretty level, and on level goin' Long Bess is almost as fast as Satan; but on rocky goin' Satan is like a goat—nothin' stops him! Foi bem nivelado, e no nível, Long Bess é quase tão rápido quanto Satan; mas no caminho rochoso Satanás é como uma cabra - nada o impede! And I was ridin' Long Bess like to bust her heart, straight towards McCauley's. E eu estava cavalgando Long Bess como se fosse arrebentar o coração dela, direto para o de McCauley. We wasn't more'n a mile away when I thought—the wind was behind me, you see—that I heard a sort of far off whistling down the wind! Não estávamos a mais de um quilômetro e meio de distância quando pensei — o vento estava atrás de mim, veja bem — que ouvi um assobio ao longe contra o vento! My God!" He could not go on for a moment, and Kate Cumberland sat with parted lips, twisting her fingers together and then tearing them apart once more. Ele não pôde continuar por um momento, e Kate Cumberland estava sentada com os lábios entreabertos, torcendo os dedos e depois os separando mais uma vez.

"Well, that mile was the worst in my life. I thought maybe the man I'd sent on ahead hadn't been able to leave me a relay at McCauley's, and if he hadn't I knew I'd die somewhere in the hills beyond. And they looked as black as dead men, and all sort of grinnin' down at me. E eles pareciam negros como homens mortos, e todos meio que sorrindo para mim. "But when I got to McCauley's, there stood a hoss right in front of the house. "Mas quando cheguei ao McCauley's, havia um hoss bem na frente da casa. It didn't take me two second to make the saddle-change. Não levei dois segundos para fazer a troca de sela. And then I was off agin!" E então eu estava fora de novo!" A sigh of relief came from Byrne and Kate.

"That hoss was a beauty. "Aquela vadia era uma beleza. Not long-legged like Bess, nor half so fast, but he was jest right for the hills. Não de pernas compridas como Bess, nem metade tão rápido, mas ele estava certo para as colinas. Climbed like a goat and didn't let up. Subiu como uma cabra e não desistiu. Up and up we goes. Para cima e para cima nós vamos. The wind blows the clouds away when we gets to the top of the climb and I looks down into the valley all white in the moonlight. O vento afasta as nuvens quando chegamos ao topo da subida e eu olho para o vale todo branco ao luar. And across the valley I seen two little shadows slidin', smooth and steady. E através do vale eu vi duas pequenas sombras deslizando, suaves e firmes. It was Dan and Satan and Black Bart!" "Buck!" "My heart, it stood plumb still! "Meu coração, ficou parado! I gives my hoss the spurs and we went down the next slope. And I don't remember nothin' except that we got to the Circle K Bar after a million years, 'most, and when we got there the piebald flops on the ground—near dead. E não me lembro de nada, exceto que chegamos ao Circle K Bar depois de um milhão de anos, a maioria, e quando chegamos lá os malhados caíram no chão – quase mortos. But I made the change and started off agin, and that next hoss was even better than the piebald—a sure goer! Mas eu fiz a mudança e comecei de novo, e o próximo hoss foi ainda melhor do que o malhado - um frequentador certo! When he started I could tell by his gait what he was, and I looked up at the sky——" Quando ele começou eu podia dizer pelo seu andar o que ele era, e eu olhei para o céu——” He stopped, embarrassed. Ele parou, envergonhado.

"And thanked God, Buck?" "E graças a Deus, Buck?" "Kate, I ain't ashamed if maybe I did. "Kate, eu não tenho vergonha se talvez eu tenha. But since then I ain't seen or heard Dan, but all the time I rode I was expecting to hear his whistle behind me, close up." Mas desde então não vi nem ouvi Dan, mas durante todo o tempo em que andei esperava ouvir o apito dele atrás de mim, de perto." All the life died from her face.

"No, Buck, if he'd a followed all the way he would have caught you in spite of your relay. "Não, Buck, se ele tivesse seguido todo o caminho, ele teria pego você apesar do seu revezamento. No, I understand what happened. After a while he remembered that Mac Strann was waiting for him back in Brownsville. And he left your trail to be taken up later and went back to Brownsville. E ele deixou seu rastro para ser seguido mais tarde e voltou para Brownsville. You didn't see him follow you after you left the Circle X Bar?" "No. I didn't dare look back. But somehow I knew he was comin'." She shook her head. Ela balançou a cabeça.

"He won't come, Buck. "Ele não virá, Buck. He'll go back to meet Mac Strann—and then——" She ran to the chair of Buck swiftly and caught his hands: "What sort of a man is Mac Strann?" Ele vai voltar para encontrar Mac Strann... e depois... Ela correu para a cadeira de Buck rapidamente e pegou suas mãos: "Que tipo de homem é Mac Strann?" But Buck smiled strangely up into her face. Mas Buck sorriu estranhamente em seu rosto.

"Does it make any difference," he said, "to Dan?" She went slowly back to her place.

"No," she admitted, "no difference." "If you came by relays for twenty-four hours," said the doctor, numbering his points upon accurate fingertips, "it is humanly impossible that this man could have followed you very closely. "Se você passou vinte e quatro horas de revezamento", disse o médico, numerando seus pontos com a ponta dos dedos precisos, "é humanamente impossível que este homem pudesse tê-lo seguido de perto. It will probably take him another day to arrive." But here his glance fell upon old Joe Cumberland, and found the cattleman smiling faintly to himself. Mas aqui seu olhar caiu sobre o velho Joe Cumberland e encontrou o vaqueiro sorrindo levemente para si mesmo.

Buck Daniels was considering the last remark seriously.

"No," he said, "it ain't possible. Besides, what Kate says may be true. She ought to know—she says he'll wait for Mac Strann. Ela deveria saber, ela diz que ele vai esperar por Mac Strann. I didn't think of that; I thought I was savin' Dan from another—well, what a damn fool I been!" Eu não pensei nisso; Eu pensei que estava salvando Dan de outro - bem, que idiota eu fui!" He unknotted his bandana and with it mopped his face to a semblance of cleanliness. Ele desatou sua bandana e com ela enxugou seu rosto para uma aparência de limpeza.

"It was the ridin' that done it," he explained, shame-faced. "Foi a cavalgada que fez isso", explicou ele, envergonhado. "You put a man on a hoss for a certain time, and after a while he gets so he can't think. "Você coloca um homem em um hoss por um certo tempo, e depois de um tempo ele fica para que ele não possa pensar. He's sort of nutty. Ele é meio maluco. That was the way with me when I come in." Foi assim comigo quando entrei." "Open the window on the veranda," said Joe Cumberland. "I want to feel the wind." The doctor obeyed the instruction, and again he noted that same quiet, contented smile on the lips of the old man. For some reason it made him ill at ease to see it. Por alguma razão, isso o deixou desconfortável ao vê-lo.

"He won't get here for eight or ten hours," went on Buck Daniels, easing himself into a more comfortable position, and raising his head a little higher. "Ten hours more, even if he does come. That'll give me a chance to rest up; right now I'm kind of shaky." Isso me dará uma chance de descansar; agora estou meio trêmulo." "A condition, you will observe, in which Mr. Barry will also be when he arrives," remarked the doctor. "Uma condição, você observará, na qual o Sr. Barry também estará quando chegar", observou o médico. "Shaky?" grinned Buck Daniels. "M'frien', you don't know that bird!" He sat up, clenching his fist. Ele se sentou, cerrando o punho. "And if Dan does come, he can't affo'd to press me too far! "E se Dan vier, ele não pode se dar ao luxo de me pressionar demais! I'll take so much, and then——" Eu vou tomar tanto, e então——” He struck his fist on the arm of the chair. Ele deu um soco no braço da cadeira.

"Buck!" cried Kate Cumberland. "Are you mad? Have you lost your reason? Would you face him?" Você enfrentaria ele?" Buck Daniels winced, but he then shook his head doggedly. Buck Daniels estremeceu, mas então balançou a cabeça obstinadamente.

"He had his chance down in Brownsville," he said. "Ele teve sua chance em Brownsville", disse ele. "And he didn't take it. "E ele não aceitou. Why? Because my back was turned? Porque minhas costas estavam viradas? Well, he could of got in front of me if he'd been terrible anxious. Bem, ele poderia ter ficado na minha frente se estivesse muito ansioso. I've seen Dan in action; he's seen me in action! Maybe he's seen too much. Talvez ele tenha visto demais. They've been stranger things than that, in this world!" Eles foram coisas mais estranhas do que isso, neste mundo!" He hitched his belt so that the butt of his revolver came farther forward. Atou o cinto de modo que a coronha do revólver avançasse mais. But now Kate Cumberland advised: "Buck, you're tired out; you don't know what you're saying. Better go up to bed." He flushed a ruddy bronze. Ele corou um bronze corado.

"D'you think I'm jest talkin' words, Kate, to hear myself talk?" "Você acha que eu estou apenas falando palavras, Kate, para me ouvir falar?" "Listen!" broke in Joe Cumberland, and raised a bony forefinger for silence. interrompeu Joe Cumberland e ergueu o dedo indicador ossudo pedindo silêncio.

* * * * *

And the doctor noted a great change in the old man. There was no longer a tremor in his body. There was only a calm and smiling expectation—a certainty. A tinge of colour was in his withered face for the first time since Byrne had come to the ranch, and now the cattleman raised his finger with such an air of calm authority that at once every voice in the room was stilled. Pela primeira vez desde que Byrne chegara ao rancho, havia um tom de cor em seu rosto enrugado, e agora o vaqueiro ergueu o dedo com um ar de autoridade tão calma que imediatamente todas as vozes na sala se calaram.

"D'ye hear?" "Você ouviu?" They did not. They heard only the faint rushing of the air through the window. Eles ouviram apenas o leve ruído do ar através da janela. The flame danced in the chimney of the lamp and changed the faces in phantastic alteration. A chama dançava na chaminé do lampião e mudava os rostos em fantástica alteração. One and all, they turned and faced the window. Todos eles se viraram e olharam para a janela. Still there was not a sound audible, but the doctor felt as if the noise were approaching. Ainda não havia um som audível, mas o médico sentiu como se o barulho estivesse se aproximando. He knew it as surely as if he could see some far-off object moving near and nearer. Ele sabia disso com tanta certeza como se pudesse ver algum objeto distante se aproximando cada vez mais. And he knew, as clearly, that the others in the room felt the same thing. E ele sabia, com a mesma clareza, que os outros na sala sentiam a mesma coisa. He turned his glance from the window towards Kate Cumberland. Her face was upturned. Seu rosto estava virado para cima. There was about it a transparent pallor; the eyes were large and darkly ringed; the lips parted into the saddest and the most patient of smiles; and the slender fingers were interwoven and pressed against the base of her throat. Havia uma palidez transparente; os olhos eram grandes e escuros; os lábios se abriram no mais triste e paciente dos sorrisos; e os dedos finos estavam entrelaçados e pressionados contra a base de sua garganta.

For the first time he saw how the fire that was so manifest in the old man had been consuming her, also. Pela primeira vez ele viu como o fogo que era tão manifesto no velho a estava consumindo também. It left no mark of the coming of death upon her. Não deixou nenhuma marca da vinda da morte sobre ela. But it had burned her pure and left her transparent as crystal. Mas a tinha queimado pura e a deixou transparente como cristal. Pity swelled in the throat of Byrne as he realised the anguish of her long waiting. A pena inchou na garganta de Byrne quando ele percebeu a angústia de sua longa espera. Fear mingled with his pity. O medo se misturou com sua piedade. He felt that something was coming which would seize on her as the wind seizes on the dead leaf, whirling her off into an infinity of storm and darkness into which he could not follow a single pace. Ele sentiu que algo se aproximava que iria se apoderar dela como o vento se apodera da folha morta, girando-a em uma infinidade de tempestade e escuridão na qual ele não podia seguir um único passo.

He turned back towards the window. The rush of air played steadily, and then in pulses, upon his face. A corrente de ar tocou de forma constante, e depois em pulsações, em seu rosto. Then even the wind ceased; as if it, too, were waiting. Então até o vento cessou; como se também estivesse esperando. Not a sound. But silence has a greater voice than discord or music. It seemed to Byrne that he could tell how fast each heart was beating.

The old man had closed his eyes again. And yet the rigid forefinger remained raised, and the faint smile touched at the corners of his mouth. Buck Daniels sat lunging forward in his chair, his knees supporting his elbows, and scowled up at the window with a sort of sullen terror. Buck Daniels estava sentado na cadeira, com os joelhos apoiados nos cotovelos, e franziu o cenho para a janela com uma espécie de terror sombrio.

Then Byrne heard it—so small a voice that at first he thought it was only a part of the silence. Então Byrne a ouviu — uma voz tão pequena que a princípio pensou que fosse apenas uma parte do silêncio. It grew and grew—in a sudden burst it was clear to every ear—the honking of the wild geese! Cresceu e cresceu - em uma explosão repentina ficou claro para todos os ouvidos - o grasnar dos gansos selvagens!

And Byrne knew the picture they made. E Byrne conhecia a imagem que eles faziam. He could see them far up in the sky—a dim triangle of winter grey—moving with the beat of lightning wings each in an arrowy flight north, and north, and north. Ele podia vê-los lá em cima no céu — um tênue triângulo de inverno cinza — movendo-se com o bater de asas de relâmpagos, cada um em um vôo de flechas para o norte, para o norte e para o norte. Creatures for sport all the world over; here alone, in all the earth, in the heart of this mountain-desert, they were in some mysterious wise messengers. Criaturas para o esporte em todo o mundo; aqui sozinhos, em toda a terra, no coração deste deserto montanhoso, eles estavam em alguns misteriosos e sábios mensageiros. Once more the far discord showered down upon them, died as they rose, perhaps, to a higher level, and was heard no more. Mais uma vez a discórdia distante caiu sobre eles, morreu quando eles subiram, talvez, para um nível mais alto, e não foi mais ouvido.