CHAPTER XXVI. THE BATTLE

The chain which fastened Black Bart had been passed around the trunk of a tree that stood behind the ranch house, and there the great dog lay tethered. A corrente que prendia Black Bart havia sido passada ao redor do tronco de uma árvore que ficava atrás da casa do rancho, e ali o grande cachorro estava amarrado. Doctor Byrne had told Whistling Dan, with some degree of horror, that the open air was in the highest degree dangerous to wounds, but Whistling Dan had returned no answer. O doutor Byrne dissera a Whistling Dan, com certo grau de horror, que o ar livre era altamente perigoso para ferimentos, mas Whistling Dan não respondeu. So Black Bart lay all day in the soft sand, easing himself from time to time into a new position, and his thoughtful eyes seemed to be concentrated on the desire to grow well. Então Black Bart ficou o dia todo na areia fofa, de vez em quando se acomodando em uma nova posição, e seus olhos pensativos pareciam estar concentrados no desejo de crescer bem. Beside him was the chair in which Dan Barry sat for many an hour of the day and even the night. Ao lado dele estava a cadeira em que Dan Barry se sentava por muitas horas do dia e até da noite.

Kate Cumberland watched the animal from the shadow of the house; his eyes were closed, and the long, powerful head lay inert on the sand, yet she knew that the wolf-dog was perfectly aware of her presence. Kate Cumberland observou o animal da sombra da casa; seus olhos estavam fechados, e a cabeça longa e poderosa jazia inerte na areia, mas ela sabia que o cão-lobo estava perfeitamente ciente de sua presença. Day after day since he lay there, she had attempted to approach Black Bart, and day after day he had allowed her to come within reaching distance of him, only to drive her back at the last moment by a sudden display of the murderous, long fangs; or by one of those snarls which came out of the black depths of his heart. Dia após dia, desde que ele estava lá, ela tentou se aproximar de Black Bart, e dia após dia ele permitiu que ela se aproximasse dele, apenas para levá-la de volta no último momento por uma exibição repentina do assassino e longo presas; ou por um daqueles rosnados que saíam das profundezas negras de seu coração. Now, a dog snarls from not far down in its throat, but the noise of an angered wild beast rolls up out of its very entrails—a passion of hate and defiance. Agora, um cachorro rosna não muito fundo em sua garganta, mas o barulho de uma fera enfurecida rola de suas próprias entranhas – uma paixão de ódio e desafio. And when she heard that sound, or when she saw the still more terrible silent rage of the beast, Kate Cumberland's spirit failed, and she would shrink back again to a safe distance. E quando ela ouviu aquele som, ou quando ela viu a raiva silenciosa ainda mais terrível da fera, o espírito de Kate Cumberland falhou, e ela recuou novamente para uma distância segura. She was not easily discouraged. Ela não se desencorajava facilmente. She had that grim resolution which comes to the gambler after he has played at the same table night after night, night after night, and lost, lost, lost, until, playing with the last of his money, he begins to mutter through his set teeth: "The luck must change!" Ela tinha aquela resolução sombria que vem ao jogador depois que ele jogou na mesma mesa noite após noite, noite após noite, e perdeu, perdeu, perdeu, até que, jogando com o resto de seu dinheiro, ele começa a resmungar durante seu set. dentes: "A sorte deve mudar!" So it was with Kate Cumberland. Assim foi com Kate Cumberland. For in Black Bart she saw the only possible clue to Whistling Dan. Pois em Black Bart ela viu a única pista possível para Whistling Dan. There was the stallion, to be sure, but she knew Satan too well. Havia o garanhão, com certeza, mas ela conhecia Satanás muito bem. Nothing in the wide world could induce that wild heart to accept more than one master—more than one friend. For Satan there was in the animal world Black Bart, and in the world of men, Dan Barry. These were enough. For all the rest he kept the disdainful speed of his slender legs or the terror of his teeth and trampling hoofs. De resto, manteve a velocidade desdenhosa de suas pernas esguias ou o terror de seus dentes e cascos rastejantes. Even if she could have induced the stallion to eat from her hand she could never have made him willing to trust himself to her guidance. Mesmo que ela pudesse ter induzido o garanhão a comer de sua mão, ela nunca poderia tê-lo disposto a confiar em sua orientação. Some such thing she felt that she must accomplish with Black Bart. Algo que ela sentiu que deveria realizar com Black Bart. To the wild beast with the scarred and shaggy head she must become a necessary, an accepted thing. Para a fera com a cabeça cheia de cicatrizes e desgrenhada, ela deve se tornar uma coisa necessária, uma coisa aceita.

One repulse did not dishearten her. Uma repulsa não a desanimava. Again and again she made the trial. She remembered having read that no animal can resist the thoughtful patience of thinking man, and hour after hour she was there, until a new light in the eye of the wolf-dog warned her that the true master was coming. Lembrou-se de ter lido que nenhum animal pode resistir à paciência pensativa do homem pensante, e hora após hora ela estava lá, até que uma nova luz no olho do cão-lobo a avisou de que o verdadeiro mestre estava chegando.

Then she fled, and from a post of vantage in the house she would watch the two. Então ela fugiu, e de um posto de observação na casa ela iria observar os dois. An intimacy surpassing the friendships and devotions of human beings existed between them. Uma intimidade que superava as amizades e devoções dos seres humanos existia entre eles. She had seen the wolf lie with his great head on the foot of his master and the unchanging eyes fixed on Barry's face—and so for an hour at a stretch in mute worship. Ela tinha visto o lobo deitado com sua grande cabeça no pé de seu mestre e os olhos imutáveis fixos no rosto de Barry – e assim por uma hora em uma adoração muda. Or she had watched the master go to the great beast to change the dressing—a thing which could not be done too often during the day. Ou ela tinha visto o mestre ir até a grande fera para trocar o curativo – uma coisa que não podia ser feita com muita frequência durante o dia. She had seen the swift hands remove the bandages and she had seen the cleansing solution applied. Ela tinha visto as mãos rápidas removerem as bandagens e tinha visto a solução de limpeza aplicada. She knew what it was; it stung even the unscratched skin, and to a wound it must be torture, but the wolf lay and endured—not even shuddering at the pain. Ela sabia o que era; doeu até a pele não arranhada, e para um ferimento deve ser uma tortura, mas o lobo deitou e suportou — nem mesmo estremecendo de dor.

It had seemed to her that this was the great test. Parecia-lhe que aquele era o grande teste. If she could make the wolf lie like this for her, then, truly, she might feel herself in some measure admitted to that mystic fellowship of the three—the man, the stallion, and the wolf. Se ela pudesse fazer o lobo mentir assim para ela, então, na verdade, ela poderia se sentir em certa medida admitida naquela comunhão mística dos três – o homem, o garanhão e o lobo. If she could, with her own unaided hands, remove the bandages and apply that solution, then she could know many things, and she could feel that she was nearer to Whistling Dan than ever before. Se ela pudesse, com as próprias mãos sem ajuda, remover as bandagens e aplicar aquela solução, então ela poderia saber muitas coisas, e ela poderia sentir que estava mais perto de Whistling Dan do que nunca.

So she had come, time and again, with the basin and the roll of cloth in her arm, and she had approached with infinite patience, step by step, and then inch by inch. Então ela veio, uma e outra vez, com a bacia e o rolo de pano em seu braço, e ela se aproximou com infinita paciência, passo a passo, e depois centímetro por centímetro. Once it had taken a whole hour for her to come within a yard of the beast. Uma vez, levou uma hora inteira para ela chegar a um metro da fera. And all that time Black Bart had lain with closed eyes. E todo esse tempo Black Bart ficou de olhos fechados. But at the critical instant always there was the silent writhing up of the lips and the gleam of hate—or the terrible snarl while the eyes fastened on her throat. Mas no instante crítico sempre havia o movimento silencioso dos lábios e o brilho de ódio — ou o terrível rosnado enquanto os olhos se fixavam em sua garganta. Her heart had stopped in mid-beat; and that day she ran back into the house and threw herself on her bed, and would not come from her room till the following morning. Seu coração parou no meio da batida; e naquele dia ela correu de volta para casa e se jogou em sua cama, e não saiu de seu quarto até a manhã seguinte.

Now, as she watched from the shadow of the house, with the basin of antiseptic under her arm, the gambler's desperation rose stronger and stronger. Agora, enquanto ela observava da sombra da casa, com a bacia de antisséptico debaixo do braço, o desespero do jogador aumentava cada vez mais. She came out, at length, and walked steadily towards Black Bart. She had grown almost heedless of fear at this moment, but when she was within a pace, once more the head reared back; the teeth flashed. Ela quase não se importava com o medo neste momento, mas quando estava a um passo, mais uma vez a cabeça se ergueu para trás; os dentes brilharam. And the heart of Kate Cumberland, as always, stopped. Yet she did not retreat this time. All the colour left her face, so that her eyes seemed amazingly blue and wide. Toda a cor deixou seu rosto, de modo que seus olhos pareciam incrivelmente azuis e arregalados. One foot drew back, tremblingly ready to spring to safety; yet she held her place. She moved—and it was towards Black Bart. Ela se moveu – e foi na direção de Black Bart.

At that came a snarl that would have made the heart of a lone grizzly quake and leave his new-found nuts. Com isso veio um rosnado que faria o coração de um urso pardo solitário estremecer e deixar suas nozes recém-descobertas. One further pace she made—and the beast plunged up, and braced itself with its one strong fore leg. Mais um passo ela deu — e a besta mergulhou, e se preparou com sua forte perna dianteira. A devil of yellow-green gleamed in either eye, and past the grinning fangs she saw the hot, red throat, and she saw the flattened ears, the scars on the bony forehead, the muscles that bulged on the base of the jaw. Um demônio de amarelo-esverdeado brilhava em cada olho, e por trás das presas sorridentes ela viu a garganta quente e vermelha, e viu as orelhas achatadas, as cicatrizes na testa ossuda, os músculos salientes na base da mandíbula. Ay, strength to drive those knife-like teeth through flesh and bone at a single snap. Sim, força para cravar aqueles dentes em forma de faca através de carne e osso em um único estalo. More—she had seen their effect, and the throat of a bull cut at a single slash. Mais – ela tinha visto o efeito deles, e a garganta de um touro cortada com um único golpe. And yet—she sank on her knees beside the monster. E ainda assim, ela caiu de joelhos ao lado do monstro.

His head was well nigh as high as hers, then; if he attacked there could be no dream of escape for her. Sua cabeça estava quase tão alta quanto a dela; se ele atacasse, não poderia haver nenhum sonho de fuga para ela. Or she might drag herself away from the tearing teeth—a disfigured horror forever. Ou ela pode se arrastar para longe dos dentes dilacerantes — um horror desfigurado para sempre. Think not that an iota of all these terrors missed her mind. Não pense que um pingo de todos esses terrores perdeu sua mente. No, she felt the fangs buried in her throat and heard the snarl of the beast stifled with blood. Não, ela sentiu as presas enterradas em sua garganta e ouviu o rosnado da besta abafado com sangue. Yet—she laid her hand on the bandage across the shoulder of Black Bart.

His head whirled. Sua cabeça girou. With those ears flattened, with that long, lean neck, it was like the head of a striking snake. Com aquelas orelhas achatadas, com aquele pescoço comprido e esguio, era como a cabeça de uma cobra atacando. Her sleeve was rolled up to the elbow, and over the bare skin the teeth of the wolf-dog were set. Sua manga estava enrolada até o cotovelo e sobre a pele nua os dentes do cão-lobo foram colocados. The snarl had grown so deep and hideous that the tremor of it fairly shook her, and she saw that the jaws of the beast slavered with hunger. O rosnado havia se tornado tão profundo e hediondo que o tremor quase a sacudiu, e ela viu que as mandíbulas da fera babavam de fome. She knew—a thousand things about Black Bart, and among the rest that he had tasted human blood. Ela sabia – mil coisas sobre Black Bart, e entre as outras, que ele havia provado sangue humano. And there is a legend which says that once a wild beast has tasted the blood of man he will taste it a second time before he dies. She thought of that—she dared not turn her head lest she should encounter the hellfire of Bart's eyes. Ela pensou nisso – ela não ousou virar a cabeça para não encontrar o fogo infernal dos olhos de Bart. Yet she had passed all ordinary fear. No entanto, ela havia superado todo o medo comum. She had reached that exquisite frenzy of terror when it becomes one with courage. Ela atingiu aquele frenesi de terror quando se torna um com coragem. The very arm over which the wolf's teeth were set moved—raised—and with both hands she untied the knot of the bandage. O próprio braço sobre o qual os dentes do lobo foram colocados se moveu – levantou – e com ambas as mãos ela desatou o nó da atadura. The snarling rose to a pitch of maniacal rage; the teeth compressed—if they broke the skin it was the end; the first taste of blood would be enough!—and drew away her arm. O rosnado chegou a um tom de raiva maníaca; os dentes se comprimiam — se quebravam a pele era o fim; bastaria o primeiro gosto de sangue! — e afastou o braço. If she had started then, all the devil in the creature would be loosed, for her terror taught her that. Se ela tivesse começado então, todo o diabo na criatura estaria solto, pois seu terror lhe ensinou isso. And by some mysterious power that entered her at that moment she was able to turn her head, slowly, and look deep into those terrible eyes.

Her arm was released.

But Black Bart crouched and the snakelike head lowered; he was quivering throughout that steel-muscled body to throw himself at her throat. Mas Black Bart se agachou e a cabeça de cobra baixou; ele estava tremendo por todo aquele corpo musculoso de aço para se jogar em sua garganta. The finger was on the hair-trigger; it needed a pressure not greater than a bodiless thought. O dedo estava no gatilho; precisava de uma pressão não maior do que um pensamento incorpóreo. And still she looked into the eyes of the wolf-dog; and her terror had made her strangely light of body and dizzy of mind. E ainda assim ela olhou nos olhos do cão-lobo; e seu terror a deixou estranhamente leve de corpo e tonta de mente. Then the change came, suddenly. The yellow-green changed, swirled in the eyes of Black Bart; the eyes themselves wavered, and at last looked away; the snarl dropped to a sullen growl. O verde-amarelo mudou, rodopiando nos olhos de Black Bart; os próprios olhos vacilaram e, por fim, desviaram o olhar; o rosnado baixou para um grunhido mal-humorado. And Black Bart lay down as he had been before.

His head was still turned towards her, to be sure. Sua cabeça ainda estava virada para ela, com certeza. And the teeth were still bared, as with rapid, deft fingers she undid the bandage; and from instant to instant, as the bandage in spite of her care pressed against the wound, the beast shivered and wicked glances flashed up at her face. E os dentes ainda estavam à mostra, pois com dedos rápidos e hábeis ela desfez o curativo; e de instante em instante, enquanto o curativo, apesar de seu cuidado, pressionava a ferida, a fera estremeceu e olhares perversos brilharam em seu rosto. The safe-blower who finds his "soup" cooling and dares not set it down felt as Kate Cumberland felt then. O sopro seguro que acha sua "sopa" esfriando e não ousa colocá-la no chão sentiu como Kate Cumberland se sentiu então. She never knew what kept her hands steady, but steady they were. The cloth was removed, and now she could see the red, angry wound, with the hair shaven away to a little distance on every side. O pano foi removido, e agora ela podia ver a ferida vermelha e raivosa, com o cabelo raspado a uma pequena distância de todos os lados. She dipped her cloth into the antiseptic; it stung her fingers! Ela mergulhou o pano no anti-séptico; machucou seus dedos! She touched the cloth lightly against the wound; and to her astonishment the wolf-dog relaxed every muscle and let his head fall to the ground; also the growl died into a soft whine, and this in turn ended. Ela tocou o pano levemente contra a ferida; e para seu espanto o cão-lobo relaxou cada músculo e deixou sua cabeça cair no chão; também o rosnado morreu em um gemido suave, e este por sua vez terminou.

She had conquered! Ela havia conquistado! Ay, when the wound was thoroughly cleansed and when she started to wind the bandage again, she had even the courage to touch Black Bart's body and make him rise up so that she could pass the cloth freely. Sim, quando a ferida foi completamente limpa e quando ela começou a enrolar o curativo novamente, ela teve até a coragem de tocar o corpo de Black Bart e fazê-lo se levantar para que ela pudesse passar o pano livremente. At her touch he shuddered, to be sure, as a man might shudder at the touch of an unclean thing, but there was no snarl, and the teeth were not bared. Ao toque dela, ele estremeceu, com certeza, como um homem pode estremecer ao toque de uma coisa impura, mas não houve rosnado, e os dentes não estavam à mostra.

As she tied the knot which secured the bandage in its place she was aware that the eyes of Bart, no longer yellow-green, watched her; and she felt some vague movement of the wonder that was passing through the brute mind. Ao dar o nó que prendia o curativo no lugar, percebeu que os olhos de Bart, não mais verde-amarelados, a observavam; e ela sentiu algum movimento vago da maravilha que estava passando pela mente bruta. Then the head of the wolf-dog jerked up; he was staring at something in the distance, and there was nothing under heaven that Bart would raise his head to look at in this manner except one thing. Então a cabeça do cão-lobo se ergueu; ele estava olhando para algo à distância, e não havia nada sob o céu que Bart levantasse a cabeça para olhar dessa maneira, exceto uma coisa. The fingers of Kate grew stiff, and trembled. Os dedos de Kate ficaram rígidos e tremeram. Slowly, in a panic, she finished the knot, and then she was aware of someone who had approached without sound and now stood behind her.

She looked up, at length, before she rose to her feet.

Thankfulness welled up warm in her heart to find her voice steady and commonplace when she said: "The wound is much better. A gratidão brotou quente em seu coração ao encontrar sua voz firme e comum quando ela disse: "A ferida está muito melhor. Bart will be well in a very few days now." Bart estará bem em poucos dias agora." Whistling Dan did not answer, and his wondering eyes glanced past her own. Dan assobiando não respondeu, e seus olhos maravilhados passaram pelos dela. She saw that he was staring at a double row of white indentations on her forearm, where the teeth of Black Bart had set. Ela viu que ele estava olhando para uma fileira dupla de reentrâncias brancas em seu antebraço, onde os dentes de Black Bart haviam se encaixado. He knew those marks, and she knew he knew. Strength was leaving her, and weakness went through her—water where blood should have been. She dared not stay. In another moment she would be hopelessly in the grip of hysteria. Em outro momento ela estaria irremediavelmente nas garras da histeria.

So she rose, and passed Dan without a word, and went slowly towards the house. She tried to hurry, indeed, but her legs would not quicken their pace. Ela tentou se apressar, de fato, mas suas pernas não aceleraram o passo. Yet at length she had reached shelter and no sooner was she past the door of the house than her knees buckled; she had to steady herself with both hands as she dragged herself up the stairs to her room. No entanto, finalmente ela chegou ao abrigo e assim que passou pela porta da casa, seus joelhos se dobraram; ela teve que se firmar com as duas mãos enquanto se arrastava escada acima até seu quarto. There, from the window, she looked down and saw Whistling Dan standing as she had left him, staring blankly at the wolf-dog. Lá, da janela, ela olhou para baixo e viu Whistling Dan parado como ela o deixou, olhando fixamente para o cão-lobo.