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The Seventh Man by Max Brand, Chapter X. One Trail Ends

Chapter X. One Trail Ends

"You can trust Grey Molly to me, Vic," said Dan, standing at the head of the gray mare. "I'll keep her as safe as if she was Satan." Gregg watched her almost sadly. He had always taken a rather childish pride in her fierceness. She knew him as a dog knows its master and he had always been the only one who could handle her readily in the saddle. But one who knew nothing of horses and their ways could see the entente which had been instantly established between Barry and Grey Molly. When he spoke her ears pricked. When he raised his hand she stretched her nose inquisitively.

There was no pitch in her when Barry swung into the saddle and that was a thing without precedent in Molly's history. She tried none of her usual catlike side-steps and throwing of the head. Altogether, Vic was troubled even as he would have been at the sight of Betty Neal in the arms of another man. It was desertion.

"Dan," he said, "I know what you've done for me and I know what you're doin' now." He took the slender hand of the other in his big paw.

"If the time comes when I can pay you back, so help me God—" "Oaths don't do no good," cut in Barry without a trace of emotion. He added frankly: "It ain't altogether for your sake. Those gents down there have played tag once with me and now I'd like to play with them. Molly's fresh today." He was already looking over his shoulder while he spoke; as if his mind were even then at work upon the posse.

"S'long." "S'long, partner. Good luck." So they parted and Vic, jogging slowly up the steep path, saw Grey Molly wheeled and sent at a sweeping gallop over the meadow. His heart leaped jealously and the next moment went out in a flood of gratitude, admiration, as Barry swung off the shoulder of the mountain, waved his hat towards Kate, and dipped at once out of sight.

The shelving ground along which Barry rode sometimes was a broad surface like a spacious, graded road; again it shelved away and opened a view of all the valley. When he reached the first of these places the rider looked back and down and saw the posse skirting rapidly on his side of the river, behind him and close to the cliff. They rode at an easy lope, and he could see that their heads were bent to watch the ground. Even at this casual gait they would reach the point at which he and the gray must swing onto the floor of the valley before him unless he urged Molly to top speed. He must get there at a sufficient distance from them to escape close rifle fire, and certainly beyond point-blank revolver range. Accordingly he threw his weight more into the stirrups and over the withers of the mare. This brought greater poundage on her forehand and made her apt to stumble or actually miss her step, but it increased her running power.

There was no need of a touch of the spurs. The gathering of the reins seemed to tell Molly everything. One ear flickered back, then she leaped out at full speed. It was as though the mind of the man had sent an electric current down the reins and told her his thought. Now she floundered at her foot, struck a loose stone, now she veered sharply and wide to escape a boulder, now she cleared a gulley with a long leap, and riding high as he was, bent forward out of balance to escape observation from below. It was only a miracle of horsemanship that kept her from breaking her neck as they lurched down the pitch. Grey Molly seemed to be carrying no weight, only a clinging intelligence.

At this speed he was sure to reach the valley safely in front unless the posse caught sight of him on the way and gave chase, and Barry counted on that instinct in hunting men which makes them keep their eyes low—the same sense which leads a searcher to look first under the bed and last of all at the wall and ceiling. Once more, as he neared his goal, he looked back and down, and there came the six horsemen, their quirts swinging, their hat-brims blown straight up they raced at full speed. They had seen the gray and they rode for blood.

The outstretched neck of Grey Molly, her flattened ears, the rapid clangor of her hoofs on the rocks, seemed to indicate that she already was doing her uttermost, but after the glimpse of the pursuit, Barry crouched a little lower, his hand gathering the reins just behind her head, his voice was near her, speaking softly, quickly. She responded with a snort of effort, as though she realized the danger and willingly accepted it. One ear, as she rushed down the slope, was pricked and one flagged back to the guiding, strengthening voice of the rider.

The path wound in leisurely curves now, but there was a straight cut down a slide of gravel, a dangerous slope even in firm ground, a terrible angle with those loose pebbles underfoot. Yet this was a time for chance-taking. Already the dusty man on the roan rode with his revolver balanced for the snap shot. The next instant his gun swung down, he actually reined up in astonishment. The fugitive had flung himself far back against the cantle and sent Grey Molly at the slide. It was not a matter of running as the mare shot over the brink. Molly sat back on her haunches, braced her forelegs, and went down like an avalanche. Over the rush and roar of the pebbles, over the yell of wonder from the pursuers, she heard the voice of her rider, a clear and steady voice, and the tautened reins telegraphed to her bewildered mind the wish of the man. She struck the level with stunning force, toppled, nearly fell, and then straightened along her course in a staggering gallop. Started from its nice balance by the rush of stones they loosened, a ten-ton rock came toppling after, leaped up from the valley floor like a live thing, and then thundered away towards the river.

Grey Molly, finding her legs once more, tried the level going. She had beaten the same horses before under the crushing impost of Gregg's weight. With this lighter rider who clung like a part of her, who gave perfectly to the rhythm of her gallop, she fairly walked away from the posse. Once, twice and again the gun spoke from the hand of Pete Glass, but it was the taking of a long last chance rather than a sign of closing on his chase. In ten minutes Grey Molly dipped out of sight among the hills.

After the first hour Barry could have cut away across country with little fear of discovery from the sheriff, but he was in no hurry to escape. Sometimes he dismounted and looked to his cinches and talked to the horse. Grey Molly listened with pricking ears and often canted her head to one side as though she strove to understand the game.

It was a new and singular pleasure to Barry. He was accustomed to the exhaustless, elastic strength of Satan, with the cunning brain of a beast of prey and the speed of an antelope. On the black horse he could have ridden circles around that posse all day. But Grey Molly was a different problem. She was not a force to be simply directed and controlled. She was something to be helped. Her very weakness, compared with the stallion, appealed to him. And it was a thrilling pleasure to feel his power over her grow until she, also, seemed to have entered the game.

A game it was, as he had said to Vic when they parted, with the rather essential difference that in this pastime one was tagged with a forty-five caliber chunk of lead and was quite apt to remain "it" for the remainder of eternity. Barry dropped further and further back towards the posse. The danger fascinated him. Once he whistled high and shrill as a hawk's scream from the top of a bluff while the posse labored through a ravine below. He saw the guns flash out, and waited. He heard the sing of the bullets around him, and the splashing lead on a solid-rock face just beneath him; he listened till the deep echoes spoke from the gulch, then waved his hat and disappeared.

This was almost defeating the purpose of his play for if he came that close again they would probably make out that they were following a decoy. Accordingly, since he had now drawn them well away from Vic's line of escape, he turned his back reluctantly on the posse and struck across the hills. He kept on for the better part of an hour before he doubled and swung in a wide circle towards his cabin. He had laid out a course which the wise sheriff could follow until dark and be none the wiser; and if Pete Glass were the finest trailer who ever studied sign and would never be able to read the tokens of the return ride. Accordingly, with all this well in mind, he brought Grey Molly to a full halt and gazed around, utterly stunned by surprise, when, half way up the valley, a rifle spoke small but sharp from one side, and a bullet clipped the rocks not the length of the horse away. He understood. When he cut straightaway across the country he had indeed left a baffling trail, a trail so dim, in fact, that Pete Glass had wisely given it up and taken the long chance by cutting back to the point at which the hunt began. So their paths crossed.

Barry spoke sharply to the mare and loosed the reins, but she started into a full gallop too late. There came a brief hum, a thudding blow, and Grey Molly pitched forward.


Chapter X. One Trail Ends

"You can trust Grey Molly to me, Vic," said Dan, standing at the head of the gray mare. "Tu peux me confier Grey Molly, Vic", dit Dan, debout à la tête de la jument grise. "I'll keep her as safe as if she was Satan." Gregg watched her almost sadly. He had always taken a rather childish pride in her fierceness. Il avait toujours tiré une fierté un peu enfantine de sa férocité. She knew him as a dog knows its master and he had always been the only one who could handle her readily in the saddle. Elle le connaissait comme un chien connaît son maître et il avait toujours été le seul à pouvoir la maîtriser en selle. But one who knew nothing of horses and their ways could see the entente which had been instantly established between Barry and Grey Molly. Mais celui qui ne connaissait rien aux chevaux et à leurs habitudes pouvait voir l'entente qui s'était instantanément établie entre Barry et Grey Molly. When he spoke her ears pricked. When he raised his hand she stretched her nose inquisitively.

There was no pitch in her when Barry swung into the saddle and that was a thing without precedent in Molly's history. Il n'y avait pas de tangage en elle lorsque Barry se mettait en selle et c'était une chose sans précédent dans l'histoire de Molly. She tried none of her usual catlike side-steps and throwing of the head. Elle n'a pas essayé de faire ses habituels pas de côté et de lancer la tête comme un chat. Altogether, Vic was troubled even as he would have been at the sight of Betty Neal in the arms of another man. Dans l'ensemble, Vic était troublé, tout comme il l'aurait été à la vue de Betty Neal dans les bras d'un autre homme. It was desertion.

"Dan," he said, "I know what you've done for me and I know what you're doin' now." "Dan, dit-il, je sais ce que tu as fait pour moi et je sais ce que tu fais maintenant. He took the slender hand of the other in his big paw. Il prend la main fine de l'autre dans sa grosse patte.

"If the time comes when I can pay you back, so help me God—" "Si le moment vient où je peux vous rembourser, que Dieu me vienne en aide..." "Oaths don't do no good," cut in Barry without a trace of emotion. He added frankly: "It ain't altogether for your sake. Il ajoute franchement : "Ce n'est pas tout à fait pour votre bien. Those gents down there have played tag once with me and now I'd like to play with them. Ces messieurs ont déjà joué au chat et à la souris avec moi et j'aimerais maintenant jouer avec eux. Molly's fresh today." He was already looking over his shoulder while he spoke; as if his mind were even then at work upon the posse. Il regardait déjà par-dessus son épaule pendant qu'il parlait, comme si son esprit était déjà en train de travailler sur la troupe.

"S'long." "S'long, partner. Good luck." So they parted and Vic, jogging slowly up the steep path, saw Grey Molly wheeled and sent at a sweeping gallop over the meadow. Ils se séparèrent et Vic, qui remontait lentement le sentier escarpé en trottinant, vit Grey Molly faire un tour de roue et partir au galop dans la prairie. His heart leaped jealously and the next moment went out in a flood of gratitude, admiration, as Barry swung off the shoulder of the mountain, waved his hat towards Kate, and dipped at once out of sight. Son coeur bondit jalousement et, l'instant d'après, s'évanouit dans un flot de gratitude et d'admiration, lorsque Barry bascula de l'épaule de la montagne, agita son chapeau en direction de Kate et plongea aussitôt hors de vue.

The shelving ground along which Barry rode sometimes was a broad surface like a spacious, graded road; again it shelved away and opened a view of all the valley. Le terrain en pente le long duquel Barry chevauchait parfois était une large surface comme une route spacieuse et nivelée ; de temps en temps, il s'éloignait et ouvrait une vue sur toute la vallée. When he reached the first of these places the rider looked back and down and saw the posse skirting rapidly on his side of the river, behind him and close to the cliff. They rode at an easy lope, and he could see that their heads were bent to watch the ground. Ils chevauchaient à une allure facile, et il pouvait voir qu'ils avaient la tête penchée pour observer le sol. Even at this casual gait they would reach the point at which he and the gray must swing onto the floor of the valley before him unless he urged Molly to top speed. Même à cette allure décontractée, ils atteindraient le point où lui et le gris devraient basculer sur le fond de la vallée devant lui, à moins qu'il ne pousse Molly à la vitesse maximale. He must get there at a sufficient distance from them to escape close rifle fire, and certainly beyond point-blank revolver range. Il doit arriver à une distance suffisante d'eux pour échapper aux tirs rapprochés de fusils, et certainement hors de portée d'un revolver à bout portant. Accordingly he threw his weight more into the stirrups and over the withers of the mare. En conséquence, il s'appuie davantage sur les étriers et sur le garrot de la jument. This brought greater poundage on her forehand and made her apt to stumble or actually miss her step, but it increased her running power. Cela lui donnait plus de poids sur son coup droit et la rendait susceptible de trébucher ou de manquer sa marche, mais cela augmentait sa puissance de course.

There was no need of a touch of the spurs. The gathering of the reins seemed to tell Molly everything. Le rassemblement des rênes semble tout dire à Molly. One ear flickered back, then she leaped out at full speed. It was as though the mind of the man had sent an electric current down the reins and told her his thought. C'était comme si l'esprit de l'homme avait envoyé un courant électrique le long des rênes et lui avait dit ce qu'il pensait. Now she floundered at her foot, struck a loose stone, now she veered sharply and wide to escape a boulder, now she cleared a gulley with a long leap, and riding high as he was, bent forward out of balance to escape observation from below. Tantôt elle vacillait sur son pied, heurtant une pierre branlante, tantôt elle bifurquait brusquement et largement pour échapper à un rocher, tantôt elle franchissait un ravin d'un long bond et, à cheval, se penchait en avant, en déséquilibre, pour échapper à l'observation d'en bas. It was only a miracle of horsemanship that kept her from breaking her neck as they lurched down the pitch. Ce n'est qu'un miracle de l'équitation qui l'a empêchée de se rompre le cou alors qu'ils dévalaient le terrain. Grey Molly seemed to be carrying no weight, only a clinging intelligence. Grey Molly semblait n'avoir aucun poids, seulement une intelligence qui s'accrochait.

At this speed he was sure to reach the valley safely in front unless the posse caught sight of him on the way and gave chase, and Barry counted on that instinct in hunting men which makes them keep their eyes low—the same sense which leads a searcher to look first under the bed and last of all at the wall and ceiling. A cette vitesse, il était sûr d'atteindre la vallée sans encombre, à moins que le posse ne l'aperçoive en chemin et ne le poursuive, et Barry comptait sur cet instinct des chasseurs qui leur fait garder les yeux baissés - le même sens qui pousse un chercheur à regarder d'abord sous le lit et, en dernier lieu, le mur et le plafond. Once more, as he neared his goal, he looked back and down, and there came the six horsemen, their quirts swinging, their hat-brims blown straight up they raced at full speed. Une fois de plus, alors qu'il se rapprochait de son but, il regarda en arrière et en bas, et les six cavaliers apparurent, leurs jupes se balançant, les bords de leurs chapeaux s'envolant vers le haut, ils couraient à toute allure. They had seen the gray and they rode for blood. Ils avaient vu le gris et ils roulaient pour le sang.

The outstretched neck of Grey Molly, her flattened ears, the rapid clangor of her hoofs on the rocks, seemed to indicate that she already was doing her uttermost, but after the glimpse of the pursuit, Barry crouched a little lower, his hand gathering the reins just behind her head, his voice was near her, speaking softly, quickly. Le cou tendu de Grey Molly, ses oreilles aplaties, le claquement rapide de ses sabots sur les rochers, semblaient indiquer qu'elle faisait déjà le maximum, mais après l'aperçu de la poursuite, Barry s'accroupit un peu plus bas, sa main rassemblant les rênes juste derrière sa tête, sa voix était près d'elle, parlant doucement, rapidement. She responded with a snort of effort, as though she realized the danger and willingly accepted it. One ear, as she rushed down the slope, was pricked and one flagged back to the guiding, strengthening voice of the rider. Alors qu'elle se précipitait sur la pente, elle tendit l'oreille et revint à la voix du cavalier qui la guidait et la fortifiait.

The path wound in leisurely curves now, but there was a straight cut down a slide of gravel, a dangerous slope even in firm ground, a terrible angle with those loose pebbles underfoot. Le sentier s'enroulait en courbes tranquilles, mais il y avait une coupe droite sur une pente de gravier, une pente dangereuse même sur un sol ferme, un angle terrible avec ces cailloux en vrac sous les pieds. Yet this was a time for chance-taking. Already the dusty man on the roan rode with his revolver balanced for the snap shot. Déjà, l'homme poussiéreux sur le roan chevauche avec son revolver en équilibre pour la prise de vue instantanée. The next instant his gun swung down, he actually reined up in astonishment. L'instant d'après, son arme s'est abaissée et il s'est redressé, stupéfait. The fugitive had flung himself far back against the cantle and sent Grey Molly at the slide. Le fugitif s'était jeté loin en arrière contre le troussequin et avait envoyé Grey Molly à la glissade. It was not a matter of running as the mare shot over the brink. Il ne s'agissait pas de courir, car la jument s'est jetée dans le vide. Molly sat back on her haunches, braced her forelegs, and went down like an avalanche. Molly s'est assise sur ses fesses, a pris appui sur ses pattes avant et est descendue comme une avalanche. Over the rush and roar of the pebbles, over the yell of wonder from the pursuers, she heard the voice of her rider, a clear and steady voice, and the tautened reins telegraphed to her bewildered mind the wish of the man. Par-dessus la ruée et le grondement des cailloux, par-dessus les cris d'étonnement des poursuivants, elle entendit la voix de son cavalier, une voix claire et ferme, et les rênes tendues télégraphièrent à son esprit désemparé le désir de l'homme. She struck the level with stunning force, toppled, nearly fell, and then straightened along her course in a staggering gallop. Elle a heurté le sol avec une force stupéfiante, a basculé, a failli tomber, puis a redressé sa course dans un galop stupéfiant. Started from its nice balance by the rush of stones they loosened, a ten-ton rock came toppling after, leaped up from the valley floor like a live thing, and then thundered away towards the river. Déséquilibré par la ruée des pierres qu'il a détachées, un rocher de dix tonnes s'est détaché, a sauté du fond de la vallée comme un être vivant, puis s'est éloigné en tonnant en direction de la rivière.

Grey Molly, finding her legs once more, tried the level going. Grey Molly, retrouvant ses jambes, tenta le coup. She had beaten the same horses before under the crushing impost of Gregg's weight. Elle avait déjà battu les mêmes chevaux sous le poids écrasant de Gregg. With this lighter rider who clung like a part of her, who gave perfectly to the rhythm of her gallop, she fairly walked away from the posse. Avec ce cavalier plus léger qui s'accroche à elle comme une partie d'elle-même, qui se plie parfaitement au rythme de son galop, elle s'éloigne de la troupe. Once, twice and again the gun spoke from the hand of Pete Glass, but it was the taking of a long last chance rather than a sign of closing on his chase. Une fois, deux fois et encore, l'arme a parlé dans la main de Pete Glass, mais il s'agissait d'une dernière chance à saisir plutôt que d'un signe d'achèvement de la poursuite. In ten minutes Grey Molly dipped out of sight among the hills.

After the first hour Barry could have cut away across country with little fear of discovery from the sheriff, but he was in no hurry to escape. Après la première heure, Barry aurait pu s'enfuir à l'autre bout du pays sans craindre d'être découvert par le shérif, mais il n'était pas pressé de s'échapper. Sometimes he dismounted and looked to his cinches and talked to the horse. Parfois, il mettait pied à terre, regardait ses bracelets et parlait au cheval. Grey Molly listened with pricking ears and often canted her head to one side as though she strove to understand the game. Grey Molly écoutait en dressant les oreilles et en penchant souvent la tête d'un côté, comme si elle s'efforçait de comprendre le jeu.

It was a new and singular pleasure to Barry. He was accustomed to the exhaustless, elastic strength of Satan, with the cunning brain of a beast of prey and the speed of an antelope. Il était habitué à la force élastique et inépuisable de Satan, avec le cerveau rusé d'une bête de proie et la vitesse d'une antilope. On the black horse he could have ridden circles around that posse all day. Sur son cheval noir, il aurait pu tourner en rond autour de cette troupe toute la journée. But Grey Molly was a different problem. She was not a force to be simply directed and controlled. Elle n'était pas une force qu'il suffisait de diriger et de contrôler. She was something to be helped. Her very weakness, compared with the stallion, appealed to him. Sa faiblesse même, comparée à celle de l'étalon, lui plaisait. And it was a thrilling pleasure to feel his power over her grow until she, also, seemed to have entered the game. Et c'était un plaisir exaltant de sentir son pouvoir sur elle grandir jusqu'à ce qu'elle semble elle aussi entrer dans le jeu.

A game it was, as he had said to Vic when they parted, with the rather essential difference that in this pastime one was tagged with a forty-five caliber chunk of lead and was quite apt to remain "it" for the remainder of eternity. C'était un jeu, comme il l'avait dit à Vic lorsqu'ils s'étaient quittés, avec la différence essentielle que, dans ce passe-temps, on était marqué d'un morceau de plomb de calibre quarante-cinq et qu'on risquait fort de rester "ça" pour le reste de l'éternité. Barry dropped further and further back towards the posse. Barry s'éloigne de plus en plus de la troupe. The danger fascinated him. Once he whistled high and shrill as a hawk's scream from the top of a bluff while the posse labored through a ravine below. Une fois, il a sifflé haut et fort, comme le cri d'un faucon, du haut d'une falaise, tandis que la troupe progressait dans un ravin en contrebas. He saw the guns flash out, and waited. Il a vu les armes sortir et a attendu. He heard the sing of the bullets around him, and the splashing lead on a solid-rock face just beneath him; he listened till the deep echoes spoke from the gulch, then waved his hat and disappeared. Il entendit le chant des balles autour de lui et l'éclatement du plomb sur une paroi rocheuse juste en dessous de lui ; il écouta jusqu'à ce que les échos profonds parlent depuis le ravin, puis il agita son chapeau et disparut.

This was almost defeating the purpose of his play for if he came that close again they would probably make out that they were following a decoy. Cela allait presque à l'encontre du but de son jeu, car s'il s'approchait à nouveau aussi près, ils se rendraient probablement compte qu'ils suivaient un leurre. Accordingly, since he had now drawn them well away from Vic's line of escape, he turned his back reluctantly on the posse and struck across the hills. En conséquence, comme il les avait éloignés de la ligne de fuite de Vic, il tourna le dos à contrecœur à la troupe et s'élança à travers les collines. He kept on for the better part of an hour before he doubled and swung in a wide circle towards his cabin. Il a continué pendant près d'une heure avant de doubler et de tourner en rond vers sa cabine. He had laid out a course which the wise sheriff could follow until dark and be none the wiser; and if Pete Glass were the finest trailer who ever studied sign and would never be able to read the tokens of the return ride. Il avait tracé une route que le shérif avisé pourrait suivre jusqu'à la nuit sans s'en apercevoir, et si Pete Glass était la meilleure caravane qui ait jamais étudié les signes, il ne serait jamais capable de lire les signes de la chevauchée du retour. Accordingly, with all this well in mind, he brought Grey Molly to a full halt and gazed around, utterly stunned by surprise, when, half way up the valley, a rifle spoke small but sharp from one side, and a bullet clipped the rocks not the length of the horse away. C'est donc bien conscient de tout cela qu'il arrêta Grey Molly et regarda autour de lui, complètement abasourdi par la surprise, lorsque, à mi-chemin dans la vallée, un fusil parla d'un côté, petit mais précis, et qu'une balle s'écrasa sur les rochers, à une distance qui n'était pas celle du cheval. He understood. When he cut straightaway across the country he had indeed left a baffling trail, a trail so dim, in fact, that Pete Glass had wisely given it up and taken the long chance by cutting back to the point at which the hunt began. En coupant tout droit à travers le pays, il avait en effet laissé une piste déconcertante, une piste si faible, en fait, que Pete Glass avait sagement renoncé à cette piste et pris le risque de revenir au point de départ de la chasse. So their paths crossed.

Barry spoke sharply to the mare and loosed the reins, but she started into a full gallop too late. Barry s'adressa vivement à la jument et lâcha les rênes, mais elle partit au galop trop tard. There came a brief hum, a thudding blow, and Grey Molly pitched forward. Il y eut un bref bourdonnement, un coup sourd, et Grey Molly bascula en avant.