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ground, and more than once the riders ducked low to escape the branches of
outreaching and overhanging trees. They clattered over the small plank
bridges, and thundered over the larger iron ones to an ominous clanking of
loose rods.
They rode side by side, saving the animals for the rush at the finish, yet
putting them at a pace that drew upon vitality and staying power. Curving
around a clump of white oaks, the road straightened out before them for
several hundred yards, at the end of which they could see the ruined mill.
"Now for it!" the girl cried.
She urged the horse by suddenly leaning forward with her body, at the same
time, for an instant, letting the rein slack and touching the neck with her
bridle hand. She began to draw away from the man.
"Touch her on the neck!" she cried to him.
With this, the mare pulled alongside and began gradually to pass the girl.
Chris and Lute looked at each other for a moment, the mare still drawing
ahead, so that Chris was compelled slowly to turn his head. The mill was a
hundred yards away.
"Shall I give him the spurs?" Lute shouted.
The man nodded, and the girl drove the spurs in sharply and quickly, calling
upon the horse for its utmost, but watched her own horse forge slowly ahead of
her.
"Beaten by three lengths!" Lute beamed triumphantly, as they pulled into a
walk. "Confess, sir, confess! You didn't think the old mare had it in her."
Lute leaned to the side and rested her hand for a moment on Dolly's wet neck.
"Ban's a sluggard alongside of her," Chris affirmed. "Dolly's all right, if
she is in her Indian Summer."
Lute nodded approval. "That's a sweet way of putting it--Indian Summer. It
just describes her. But she's not lazy. She has all the fire and none of the
folly. She is very wise, what of her years."
"That accounts for it," Chris demurred. "Her folly passed with her youth.
Many's the lively time she's given you."
"No," Lute answered. "I never knew her really to cut up. I think the only
trouble she ever gave me was when I was training her to open gates. She was
afraid when they swung back upon her--the animal's fear of the trap, perhaps.
But she bravely got over it. And she never was vicious. She never bolted, nor
bucked, nor cut up in all her life--never, not once."
The horses went on at a walk, still breathing heavily from their run. The road
wound along the bottom of the valley, now and again crossing the stream. From
either side rose the drowsy purr of mowing-machines, punctuated by occasional
sharp cries of the men who were gathering the hay-crop. On the western side of
the valley the hills rose green and dark, but the eastern side was already
burned brown and tan by the sun.
"There is summer, here is spring," Lute said. "Oh, beautiful Sonoma Valley!"
Her eyes were glistening and her face was radiant with love of the land. Her
gaze wandered on across orchard patches and sweepingvineyard stretches,
seeking out the purple which seemed to hang like a dim smoke in the wrinkles
of the hills and in the more distant canyon gorges. Far up, among the more
rugged crests, where the steep slopes were covered with manzanita, she caught
a glimpse of a clear space where the wild grass had not yet lost its green.
"Have you ever heard of the secret pasture?" she asked, her eyes still fixed
on the remote green.
A snort of fear brought her eyes back to the man beside her. Dolly, upreared,
with distended nostrils and wild eyes, was pawing the air madly with her fore
legs. Chris threw himself forward against her neck to keep her from falling
backward, and at the same time touched her with the spurs to compel her to
drop her fore feet to the ground in order to obey the go-ahead impulse of the
spurs.
"Why, Dolly, this is most remarkable," Lute began reprovingly.
But, to her surprise, the mare threw her head down, arched her back as she
went up in the air, and, returning, struck the ground stiff-legged and
bunched.
"A genuine buck!" Chris called out, and the next moment the mare was rising
under him in a second buck.
Lute looked on, astounded at the unprecedented conduct of her mare, and
admiring her lover's horsemanship. He was quite cool, and was himself
evidently enjoying the performance. Again and again, half a dozen times, Dolly
arched herself into the air and struck, stiffly bunched. Then she threw her
head straight up and rose on her hind legs, pivoting about and striking with
her fore feet. Lute whirled into safety the horse she was riding, and as she
did so caught a glimpse of Dolly's eyes, with the look in them of blind brute
madness, bulging until it seemed they must burst from her head. The faint pink
in the white of the eyes was gone, replaced by a white that was like dull
marble and that yet flashed as from some inner fire.
A faint cry of fear, suppressed in the instant of utterance, slipped past
outreaching and overhanging trees. They clattered over the small plank
bridges, and thundered over the larger iron ones to an ominous clanking of
loose rods.
They rode side by side, saving the animals for the rush at the finish, yet
putting them at a pace that drew upon vitality and staying power. Curving
around a clump of white oaks, the road straightened out before them for
several hundred yards, at the end of which they could see the ruined mill.
"Now for it!" the girl cried.
She urged the horse by suddenly leaning forward with her body, at the same
time, for an instant, letting the rein slack and touching the neck with her
bridle hand. She began to draw away from the man.
"Touch her on the neck!" she cried to him.
With this, the mare pulled alongside and began gradually to pass the girl.
Chris and Lute looked at each other for a moment, the mare still drawing
ahead, so that Chris was compelled slowly to turn his head. The mill was a
hundred yards away.
"Shall I give him the spurs?" Lute shouted.
The man nodded, and the girl drove the spurs in sharply and quickly, calling
upon the horse for its utmost, but watched her own horse forge slowly ahead of
her.
"Beaten by three lengths!" Lute beamed triumphantly, as they pulled into a
walk. "Confess, sir, confess! You didn't think the old mare had it in her."
Lute leaned to the side and rested her hand for a moment on Dolly's wet neck.
"Ban's a sluggard alongside of her," Chris affirmed. "Dolly's all right, if
she is in her Indian Summer."
Lute nodded approval. "That's a sweet way of putting it--Indian Summer. It
just describes her. But she's not lazy. She has all the fire and none of the
folly. She is very wise, what of her years."
"That accounts for it," Chris demurred. "Her folly passed with her youth.
Many's the lively time she's given you."
"No," Lute answered. "I never knew her really to cut up. I think the only
trouble she ever gave me was when I was training her to open gates. She was
afraid when they swung back upon her--the animal's fear of the trap, perhaps.
But she bravely got over it. And she never was vicious. She never bolted, nor
bucked, nor cut up in all her life--never, not once."
The horses went on at a walk, still breathing heavily from their run. The road
wound along the bottom of the valley, now and again crossing the stream. From
either side rose the drowsy purr of mowing-machines, punctuated by occasional
sharp cries of the men who were gathering the hay-crop. On the western side of
the valley the hills rose green and dark, but the eastern side was already
burned brown and tan by the sun.
"There is summer, here is spring," Lute said. "Oh, beautiful Sonoma Valley!"
Her eyes were glistening and her face was radiant with love of the land. Her
gaze wandered on across orchard patches and sweepingvineyard stretches,
seeking out the purple which seemed to hang like a dim smoke in the wrinkles
of the hills and in the more distant canyon gorges. Far up, among the more
rugged crests, where the steep slopes were covered with manzanita, she caught
a glimpse of a clear space where the wild grass had not yet lost its green.
"Have you ever heard of the secret pasture?" she asked, her eyes still fixed
on the remote green.
A snort of fear brought her eyes back to the man beside her. Dolly, upreared,
with distended nostrils and wild eyes, was pawing the air madly with her fore
legs. Chris threw himself forward against her neck to keep her from falling
backward, and at the same time touched her with the spurs to compel her to
drop her fore feet to the ground in order to obey the go-ahead impulse of the
spurs.
"Why, Dolly, this is most remarkable," Lute began reprovingly.
But, to her surprise, the mare threw her head down, arched her back as she
went up in the air, and, returning, struck the ground stiff-legged and
bunched.
"A genuine buck!" Chris called out, and the next moment the mare was rising
under him in a second buck.
Lute looked on, astounded at the unprecedented conduct of her mare, and
admiring her lover's horsemanship. He was quite cool, and was himself
evidently enjoying the performance. Again and again, half a dozen times, Dolly
arched herself into the air and struck, stiffly bunched. Then she threw her
head straight up and rose on her hind legs, pivoting about and striking with
her fore feet. Lute whirled into safety the horse she was riding, and as she
did so caught a glimpse of Dolly's eyes, with the look in them of blind brute
madness, bulging until it seemed they must burst from her head. The faint pink
in the white of the eyes was gone, replaced by a white that was like dull
marble and that yet flashed as from some inner fire.
A faint cry of fear, suppressed in the instant of utterance, slipped past
- knowing [´nəuiŋ]
a.会意的，心照不宣的 (初中英语单词) - forgive [fə´giv] vt.原谅，谅解，宽恕 (初中英语单词)
- mystery [´mistəri] n.神秘；秘密；故弄玄虚 (初中英语单词)
- delicate [´delikət] a.精美的；微妙的 (初中英语单词)
- resolve [ri´zɔlv] v.决心 n.决心；刚毅 (初中英语单词)
- decree [di´kri:] n.法令；公告；天命 (初中英语单词)
- resolution [,rezə´lu:ʃən] n.决心；坚决；果断 (初中英语单词)
- mechanical [mi´kænikəl] a.机械的；力学的 (初中英语单词)
- absent [´æbsənt, əb´sent] a.不在的 vt.使缺席 (初中英语单词)
- intimate [´intimit] a.亲密的 n.知己 (初中英语单词)
- curiosity [,kjuəri´ɔsiti] n.好奇；奇事；珍品 (初中英语单词)
- blossom [´blɔsəm] n.花；开花期 vi.开花 (初中英语单词)
- cluster [´klʌstə] n.一串 v.群集；丛生 (初中英语单词)
- thrill [θril] v.震惊；激动；刺激 (初中英语单词)
- vision [´viʒən] n.视觉；想象力；幻影 (初中英语单词)
- hillside [´hilsaid] n.山腰 (初中英语单词)
- sunshine [´sʌnʃain] n.日光，阳光 (初中英语单词)
- companion [kəm´pæniən] n.同伴；同事；伴侣 (初中英语单词)
- passion [´pæʃən] n.激情；激怒；恋爱 (初中英语单词)
- breath [breθ] n.呼吸；气息 (初中英语单词)
- shaken [´ʃeikən] shake的过去分词 (初中英语单词)
- valley [´væli] n.谷；河谷；流域 (初中英语单词)
- approve [ə´pru:v] v.赞成；同意；批准 (初中英语单词)
- challenge [´tʃælindʒ] n.&vt.向….挑战；怀疑 (初中英语单词)
- sprang [spræŋ] spring 的过去式 (初中英语单词)
- instant [´instənt] a.立即的 n.紧迫；瞬间 (初中英语单词)
- sharply [´ʃɑ:pli] ad.锋利地；剧烈地 (初中英语单词)
- utmost [´ʌtməust] a.最大的 n.极端 (初中英语单词)
- indian [´indiən] a.印度的 n.印度人 (初中英语单词)
- lively [´laivli] a.活泼的；热烈的 (初中英语单词)
- stream [stri:m] n.河 vi.流出；飘扬 (初中英语单词)
- western [´westən] a.西的；西方的 (初中英语单词)
- orchard [´ɔ:tʃəd] n.果园 (初中英语单词)
- purple [´pə:pl] n.紫色 a.紫(红)的 (初中英语单词)
- glimpse [glimps] n.&v.瞥见 (初中英语单词)
- remote [ri´məut] a.遥远的；偏僻的 (初中英语单词)
- impulse [´impʌls] n.推动(力)；冲动；刺激 (初中英语单词)
- performance [pə´fɔ:məns] n.履行；行为；工作 (初中英语单词)
- striking [´straikiŋ] a.显著的，明显的 (初中英语单词)
- companionship [kəm´pæniənʃip] n.伴侣关系；友谊 (高中英语单词)
- tenderly [´tendəli] ad.娇嫩地；柔和地 (高中英语单词)
- appeal [ə´pi:l] vi.&n.请求；呼吁；上诉 (高中英语单词)
- knight [nait] n.骑士；爵士 (高中英语单词)
- approval [ə´pru:vəl] n.赞成，批准，认可 (高中英语单词)
- thoughtfully [´θɔ:tfuli] ad.深思地；体贴地 (高中英语单词)
- ponder [´pɔndə] v.沉思；考虑；估量 (高中英语单词)
- sleepy [´sli:pi] a.困的，想睡的 (高中英语单词)
- perfectly [´pə:fiktli] ad.理想地；完美地 (高中英语单词)
- forgiveness [fə´givnis] n.原谅，饶恕；宽仁 (高中英语单词)
- furthermore [,fə:ðə´mɔ:] ad.而且，此外 (高中英语单词)
- outrage [´aut,reidʒ] n.残暴 vt.虐待；伤害 (高中英语单词)
- alongside [əlɔŋ´said] ad.在旁 prep.横靠 (高中英语单词)
- bravely [´breivli] ad.勇敢地；毅然 (高中英语单词)
- drowsy [´drauzi] a.困倦的；催眠的 (高中英语单词)
- radiant [´reidiənt] a.发光的 n.光源(体) (高中英语单词)
- sweeping [´swi:piŋ] a.掠过的 n.扫除；清除 (高中英语单词)
- genuine [´dʒenjuin] a.真正的；真诚的 (高中英语单词)
- stiffly [´stifli] ad.硬；顽固地 (高中英语单词)
- resolved [ri´zɔlvd] a.决心的；坚定的 (英语四级单词)
- censure [´senʃə] vt.&n.责备；非难 (英语四级单词)
- utterance [´ʌtərəns] n.发音；言辞；所说的话 (英语四级单词)
- ominous [´ɔminəs] a.不祥的；预示的 (英语四级单词)
- vitality [vai´tæliti] n.活力；生命力；效力 (英语四级单词)
- touching [´tʌtʃiŋ] a.动人的 prep.提到 (英语四级单词)
- triumphantly [trai´ʌmfəntli] ad.胜利地；洋洋得意地 (英语四级单词)
- vicious [´viʃəs] a.不道德的；刻毒的 (英语四级单词)
- gathering [´gæðəriŋ] n.集会，聚集 (英语四级单词)
- vineyard [´vinjəd] n.葡萄园 (英语四级单词)
- canyon [´kænjən] n.峡谷 (英语四级单词)
- doggedly [´dɔgidli] ad.顽强地，固执地 (英语六级单词)
- speaking [´spi:kiŋ] n.说话 a.发言的 (英语六级单词)
- taking [´teikiŋ] a.迷人的 n.捕获物 (英语六级单词)
- outrun [aut´rʌn] vt.追过；逃脱 (英语六级单词)
- arched [´ɑ:tʃid] a.弓形(结构)的 (英语六级单词)
- unprecedented [ʌn´presidentid] a.空前的 (英语六级单词)
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章节正文
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