CHAPTER XXXIV. THE ACID TEST CAPÍTULO XXXIV. O TESTE DE ÁCIDO ГЛАВА XXXIV. КИСЛОТНЫЙ ТЕСТ

In the living-room below they heard it, Dan and Kate Cumberland. Na sala abaixo eles ouviram, Dan e Kate Cumberland. All day she had sat by the fire which still blazed on the hearth, replenished from time to time by the care of Wung Lu. Durante todo o dia ela ficou sentada ao lado do fogo que ainda ardia na lareira, reabastecido de tempos em tempos pelos cuidados de Wung Lu. She had taken up some sewing, and she worked at it steadily. Ela havia começado a costurar e trabalhava nisso com firmeza. Some of that time Dan Barry was in the room, sitting through long intervals, watching her with lynx-eyed attention. Durante algum tempo, Dan Barry estava na sala, sentado durante longos intervalos, observando-a com olhos de lince. Very rarely did he speak—almost never, and she could have numbered upon her two hands the words he had spoken—ay, and she could have repeated them one by one. Muito raramente ele falava - quase nunca, e ela poderia ter numerado em suas duas mãos as palavras que ele havia falado - sim, e ela poderia tê-las repetido uma por uma. Now and again he rose and went out, and the wolf-dog went with him each time. But towards the last Black Bart preferred to stay in the room, crouched in front of her and blinking at the fire, as if he knew that each time his master would return to the fire. Mas para o último Black Bart preferiu ficar no quarto, agachado na frente dela e piscando para o fogo, como se soubesse que a cada vez seu mestre voltaria ao fogo. Then, why leave the pleasant warmth for the chilly greyness of the day outside? Então, por que deixar o calor agradável para o cinza frio do dia lá fora?

There he remained, stirring only now and then to lift a clumsy paw and brush it across his eyes in an oddly human gesture. Lá ficou ele, mexendo-se apenas de vez em quando para levantar uma pata desajeitada e roçá-la nos olhos em um gesto estranhamente humano. Once or twice, also, he lifted that great, scarred head and laid it on her knees, looking curiously from her busy hands to her face, and from her face back again to her work, until, having apparently assured himself that all was well, he dropped his head again and lay once more motionless. Uma ou duas vezes, também, ele levantou aquela grande cabeça cheia de cicatrizes e a colocou sobre os joelhos dela, olhando com curiosidade das mãos ocupadas dela para o rosto, e do rosto dela de volta para o trabalho, até que, aparentemente, se assegurou de que tudo estava bem. , ele baixou a cabeça novamente e ficou mais uma vez imóvel. She could see him open a listless eye when the master entered the room again. Ela podia vê-lo abrir um olho apático quando o mestre entrou na sala novamente. And with each coming of Dan Barry she felt again surrounded as if by invisible arms. Something was prying at her, striving to win a secret from her. Algo a estava espionando, lutando para obter um segredo dela.

As the day wore on, a great, singing happiness rose in her throat, and at about the same time she heard a faint sound, impalpable, from the farther side of the room where Dan Barry sat. À medida que o dia passava, uma grande felicidade cantante subiu em sua garganta, e mais ou menos ao mesmo tempo ela ouviu um som fraco, impalpável, do outro lado da sala onde Dan Barry estava sentado. He was whistling.

A simple thing for a man to do, to be sure, but the astonishment of it nearly stopped the heart of Kate Cumberland. For in all her life she had never before heard him whistle except when he was in the open, and preferably when he was astride of the strength and the speed of Satan, with Black Bart scouting swiftly and smoothly ahead. Pois em toda a sua vida ela nunca o ouvira assobiar, exceto quando estava ao ar livre, e de preferência quando estava montado na força e velocidade de Satanás, com Black Bart explorando rápida e suavemente à frente. But now he whistled here by the warmth of the fire. To be sure the sound was small and thin, but there was such music in it as she had never heard before. It was so thin that it was almost ghostly, as if the soul of wild Paganini played here on a muted violin. Era tão fino que era quase fantasmagórico, como se a alma do selvagem Paganini tocasse aqui em um violino abafado. No tune that might be repeated, but as always when she heard it, a picture rose before the eyes of Kate. Nenhuma melodia que pudesse ser repetida, mas como sempre, quando ela a ouvia, uma imagem surgiu diante dos olhos de Kate. It wavered at first against the yellow glow of the firelight. Ele oscilou a princípio contra o brilho amarelo da luz do fogo. Then it quite shut out all else. Em seguida, fechou completamente todo o resto.

It was deep night, starry night. Era noite profunda, noite estrelada. The black horse and his rider wound up a deep ravine. O cavalo preto e seu cavaleiro chegaram a uma ravina profunda. To one side a bold mountain tumbled up to an infinite height, bristling with misshapen trees here and there, and losing its head against the very stars. De um lado, uma montanha ousada despencava até uma altura infinita, eriçada de árvores deformadas aqui e ali, e perdendo sua cabeça contra as próprias estrelas. On the other side were jagged hills, all carved in the solid rock. Do outro lado havia colinas irregulares, todas esculpidas na rocha sólida. And down the valley, between the mountains and the stars, blew a soft wind; as if that wind made the music. They were climbing up, up, up, and now they reach—the music rising also to a soft but triumphant outburst—a high plateau. Eles estavam subindo, subindo, subindo, e agora eles alcançam – a música subindo também para uma explosão suave, mas triunfante – um platô alto. They were pressed up against the heart of the sky. The stars burned low, and low. As estrelas queimavam baixo, e baixo. Around them the whole earth seemed in prospect at their feet. Ao redor deles toda a terra parecia em perspectiva a seus pés. The moon burst through a mass of clouds, and she saw, far off, a great river running silver through the night. A lua irrompeu através de uma massa de nuvens, e ela viu, ao longe, um grande rio prateado correndo pela noite.

Happy? Ay, and he was happy too, and his happiness was one with hers. He was not even looking out the window while he whistled, but his eyes were fixed steadily, unchangingly, upon her face. Ele nem estava olhando pela janela enquanto assobiava, mas seus olhos estavam fixos, imutáveis, no rosto dela.

It was then that they heard it: "Dan! Foi então que ouviram: "Dan! Dan Barry! Come out!" A hoarse, ringing cry, as of one who is shouting against a great wind: "Dan! Um grito rouco e retumbante, como de quem grita contra um vento forte: "Dan! Dan Barry! Come out!" Dan Barry was on his feet and gliding to the wall, where he took down his belt from a nail and buckled it swiftly around him. Dan Barry estava de pé e deslizando até a parede, onde tirou o cinto de um prego e o afivelou rapidamente ao seu redor. And Kate ran to the window with the wolf-dog snarling beside her and saw standing in front of the house, his hat off, his black hair wildly tumbled, and two guns in his hands, Buck Daniels! Behind him the tall bay mare shook with her panting and glistened with the sweat of the long ride.

She heard a scratching next and saw the wolf-dog rear up and paw at the door. Once through that door and he would be at the throat of the man outside, she knew. Nor he alone, for Dan Barry was coming swiftly across the room with that strange, padding step. He had no eye for her. He was smiling, and she had rather have seen him in a cursing fury than to see this smile. It curled the upper lip with something like a sneer; and she caught the white glint of his teeth; the wolf-dog snarled back over his shoulder to hurry his master. Ele curvou o lábio superior com algo como um sorriso de escárnio; e ela captou o brilho branco de seus dentes; o cão-lobo rosnou por cima do ombro para apressar seu mestre. It was the crisis which she had known all day was coming, sooner or later. She had only prayed that it might be delayed for a little time. And confronting the danger was like stepping into the path of runaway horses. E enfrentar o perigo era como pisar no caminho de cavalos fugitivos. Fear ruled her with an iron hand, and she swayed back against the wall and supported herself with an outstretched hand. O medo a dominou com mão de ferro, e ela balançou contra a parede e se apoiou com a mão estendida.

What was there to be done? O que havia para ser feito? If she stepped in between him and his man, he would brush her aside from his path and out of his life forever. If he went on to his vengeance he would no less be started on the path which led around the world away from her. Se ele prosseguisse em sua vingança, não seria menos iniciado no caminho que levava o mundo para longe dela. The law would be the hound which pursued him and relentlessly nipped at his heels—an eternal terror and unrest. A lei seria o cão de caça que o perseguiria e implacavelmente beliscou seus calcanhares — um eterno terror e inquietação. No thought of Buck Daniels who had done so much for her. Nenhum pensamento de Buck Daniels que tinha feito tanto por ela. She cast his services out of her mind with the natural cruelty of woman. Ela expulsou seus serviços de sua mente com a crueldade natural da mulher. Her whole thought was, selfishly, for the man before her, and for herself. Todo o seu pensamento era, egoisticamente, para o homem diante dela, e para ela mesma.

He was there—his hand was upon the knob of the door. And then she remembered how the teeth of Black Bart had closed over her arm—and how they had not broken even the skin. E então ela se lembrou de como os dentes de Black Bart se fecharam sobre seu braço – e como eles não tinham quebrado nem a pele. In an instant she was pressed against the door before Dan Barry—her arms outstretched. Em um instante, ela foi pressionada contra a porta diante de Dan Barry — com os braços estendidos.

He fell back the slightest bit before her, and then he came again and brushed her slowly, gently, to one side, with an irresistible strength. Ele caiu um pouco para trás diante dela, e então ele gozou novamente e roçou-a devagar, gentilmente, para o lado, com uma força irresistível. She had to meet his eyes now—there was no help for it—and she saw there that swirl of yellow light—that insatiable hunger. Ela tinha que encontrar seus olhos agora – não havia como evitar – e ela viu ali aquele redemoinho de luz amarela – aquela fome insaciável. And she knew, fully and bitterly, that she had failed. With the wolf-dog, indeed, she had conquered, but the man escaped her. If time had been granted her she would have won, she knew, but the hand of Buck Daniels, so long her ally, had destroyed her chances. Se o tempo tivesse sido concedido a ela, ela teria vencido, ela sabia, mas a mão de Buck Daniels, por tanto tempo seu aliado, havia destruído suas chances. It was his hand now which shook the knob of the door, and she turned with a sob of despair to face the new danger. Agora era a mão dele que apertava a maçaneta da porta, e ela se virou com um soluço de desespero para enfrentar o novo perigo.

In her wildest dreams she had never visioned Buck Daniels transformed like this. Em seus sonhos mais loucos, ela nunca tinha imaginado Buck Daniels transformado assim. She knew that in his past, as one of those long-riders who roam the mountain-desert, their hand against the hands of every man, Buck Daniels had been known and feared by the strongest. Ela sabia que em seu passado, como um daqueles cavaleiros que vagam pelo deserto da montanha, suas mãos contra as mãos de todos os homens, Buck Daniels era conhecido e temido pelos mais fortes. Она знала, что в прошлом, когда Бак Дэниелс был одним из тех всадников, что бродят по горным пустыням, и их рука против руки каждого мужчины, его знали и боялись самые сильные. But all she had seen of Buck Daniels had been gentleness itself. Mas tudo o que ela vira de Buck Daniels fora a própria gentileza. Yet what faced her as the door flew wide was a nightmare thing with haggard face and shadow-buried, glittering eyes—unshaven, unkempt of hair, his shirt open at the throat, his great hands clenched for the battle. No entanto, o que a enfrentou quando a porta se escancarou foi uma coisa de pesadelo com rosto abatido e sombras enterradas, olhos brilhantes - barba por fazer, cabelo despenteado, a camisa aberta na garganta, as grandes mãos cerradas para a batalha. The wolf-dog, at that familiar sight, whined a low greeting, but with a glance at his master knew that there was a change—the old alliance was broken—so he bared his white teeth and changed his whine to a snarl of hate. O cão-lobo, com aquela visão familiar, ganiu uma saudação baixa, mas com um olhar para seu mestre soube que havia uma mudança – a velha aliança foi quebrada – então ele mostrou seus dentes brancos e mudou seu lamento para um rosnado de ódio. .

Then a strange terror struck Kate Cumberland. Então um estranho terror atingiu Kate Cumberland. She had never dreamed that she could fear for Dan Barry at the hands of any man, but now the desperate resolve which breathed from every line of Buck Daniels, chilled her blood at the heart. Ela nunca sonhou que poderia temer por Dan Barry nas mãos de qualquer homem, mas agora a determinação desesperada que respirava de cada linha de Buck Daniels gelou seu sangue no coração. She sprang back before Dan Barry. Ela saltou para trás antes de Dan Barry. Facing him, she saw that demoniac glitter of yellow rising momently brighter in his eyes, and he was smiling. De frente para ele, ela viu aquele brilho demoníaco de amarelo subindo momentaneamente mais brilhante em seus olhos, e ele estava sorrindo. No execration or loud voiced curse could have contained the distilled malignancy of that smile. Nenhuma execração ou maldição em voz alta poderia conter a malignidade destilada daquele sorriso. All this she caught in a single glimpse. Tudo isso ela captou em um único vislumbre. The next instant she had whirled and stood before Dan, shielding him with outspread arms and facing Buck Daniels. No instante seguinte, ela se virou e parou diante de Dan, protegendo-o com os braços abertos e encarando Buck Daniels. The latter thrust back into the holster the gun which he had drawn when he entered the room. Este meteu de volta no coldre a arma que havia sacado quando entrou na sala.

"Stand away from him, Kate," he commanded, and his eyes went past her to dwell on the face of Barry. "Fique longe dele, Kate," ele ordenou, e seus olhos passaram por ela para se fixar no rosto de Barry. "Stand away from him. "Fique longe dele. It's been comin' for a long time, and now it's here. Está vindo há muito tempo, e agora está aqui. Barry I'm takin' no start on you. Barry, não vou começar com você. Stand away from the girl and pull your gun—and I'll pump you full of lead." Afaste-se da garota e puxe sua arma - e eu vou encher você de chumbo." The softest of soft voices murmured behind her: "I been waitin' for you, Buck, days and days and days. I ain't never been so glad to see anybody!" And she felt Barry slip shadowlike to one side. E ela sentiu Barry escorregar como uma sombra para o lado. She sprang in front of him again with a wild cry.

"Buck!" she begged, "don't shoot!" Laughter, ringing and unhuman, filled the throat of Buck Daniels. Risos, retumbantes e desumanos, encheram a garganta de Buck Daniels.

"Is it him you're beggin' for?" "É por ele que você está implorando?" he sneered at her. ele zombou dela. "Is it him you got your fears for? Ain't you got a word of pity for poor Buck Daniels that sneaked off like a whipped puppy? Você não tem uma palavra de pena pelo pobre Buck Daniels que escapou como um cachorrinho chicoteado? Bah! Dan Barry, the time is come. I been leadin' the life of a houn' dog for your sake. Eu tenho levado a vida de um cão de caça por sua causa. But it's ended. Pull your gun and get out from behind the skirts of that girl!" As long as they faced each other with the challenge in their eyes, nothing on earth could avert the fight, she knew, but if she could delay them for one moment—she felt that swift moving form behind her slipping away from behind her—she could follow Barry's movements by the light in Daniels' eyes. Enquanto eles se encarassem com o desafio em seus olhos, nada na terra poderia evitar a luta, ela sabia, mas se ela pudesse atrasá-los por um momento - ela sentiu aquela forma em movimento rápido atrás dela se afastando de trás dela - ela podia seguir os movimentos de Barry pela luz nos olhos de Daniels. "Buck!" she cried, "for God's sake—for my sake turn away from him—and—roll another cigarette!" ela gritou, "pelo amor de Deus... pelo meu amor, afaste-se dele... e... enrole outro cigarro!" For she remembered the story—how Daniels had turned under the very nose of danger and done this insane thing in the saloon at Brownsville and in her despair she could think of no other appeal. Pois ela se lembrava da história - como Daniels se virou sob o nariz do perigo e fez essa coisa insana no saloon em Brownsville e em seu desespero ela não conseguia pensar em outro apelo.

It was the very strangeness of it that gave it point. Foi a própria estranheza disso que deu sentido. Buck Daniels turned on his heel. Buck Daniels girou nos calcanhares.

"It's the last kindness I do you, Dan," he said, with his broad back to them. "But before you die you got to know why I'm killin' you. I'm going to roll one cigarette and smoke it and while I smoke it I'm goin' to tell you the concentrated truth about your worthless self and when I'm done smokin' I'm goin' to turn around and drop you where you stand. Eu vou enrolar um cigarro e fumar e enquanto eu fumo vou te contar a verdade concentrada sobre seu eu inútil e quando eu terminar de fumar eu vou me virar e te largar onde você está. D'ye hear?" "They's no need of waitin'," answered the soft voice of Barry. "Talkin' don't mean much." "Falar não significa muito." But Kate Cumberland turned and faced him. He was fairly a-quiver with eagerness and the hate welled and blazed and flickered in his eyes; his face was pale—very pale—and it seemed to her that she could make out in the pallor the print of the fingers of Buck Daniels and that blow those many days before. Ele estava bastante trêmulo de ansiedade e o ódio brotou e ardeu e cintilou em seus olhos; o rosto dele estava pálido — muito pálido — e parecia-lhe que conseguia distinguir na palidez as marcas dos dedos de Buck Daniels e daquele golpe de tantos dias antes. Он весь дрожал от нетерпения, и в глазах его пылала ненависть; лицо его было бледным, очень бледным, и ей показалось, что она различила в бледности отпечатки пальцев Бака Дэниелса и того удара, нанесенного много дней назад. And she feared him as she had never feared him before—yet she blocked his way still with the outspread arms. E ela o temia como nunca o tinha temido antes, mas bloqueou seu caminho ainda com os braços abertos.

They could hear the crinkle of the cigarette paper as Buck rolled his smoke. Eles podiam ouvir o barulho do papel do cigarro enquanto Buck enrolava a fumaça.

"No," said Buck, his voice suddenly altered to an almost casual moderation, "talk don't mean nothin' to you. Talk is human, and nothin' human means nothin' to you. But I got to tell you why you ought to die, Barry.

"I started out this mornin' hatin' the ground you walked on, but now I see that they ain't no use to hate you. "Comecei esta manhã odiando o chão que você pisou, mas agora vejo que eles não adiantam odiar você. Is they any use hatin' a mountain-lion that kills calves? Será que eles vão odiar um leão da montanha que mata bezerros? No, you don't hate it, but you get a gun and trail it and shoot it down. And that's the way with you." They heard the scratch of his match. Eles ouviram o arranhar de seu fósforo.

"That's the way with you. "É assim com você. I got my back to you right now because if I looked you in the eye I couldn't let you live no more'n I could let a mountain-lion live. Eu estou de costas para você agora porque se eu olhasse você nos olhos eu não poderia deixar você viver mais do que eu poderia deixar um leão da montanha viver. I know you're faster with your gun than I am and stronger than I am, and made to fight. But I know I'm going to kill you. You've done your work—you've left hell on all sides of you—it's your time to die. I know it! You been lyin' like a snake in the rocks with your poison ready for any man that walks past you. Você está mentindo como uma cobra nas rochas com seu veneno pronto para qualquer homem que passar por você. Now your poison is about used up." Agora seu veneno está quase esgotado." He paused, and then when he spoke again there was a ring of exultation in his voice: "I tell you, Dan, I don't fear you, and I know that the bullet in this gun here on my hips is the one that's goin' to tear your heart out. Ele fez uma pausa, e então, quando voltou a falar, havia um tom de exultação em sua voz: "Eu lhe digo, Dan, não tenho medo de você, e sei que a bala nesta arma aqui em meus quadris é a que está vai arrancar seu coração. I know it!" Something like a sob came from the lips of Dan Barry. His hands moved out towards Buck Daniels as though he were plucking something from the empty air. Suas mãos se moveram para Buck Daniels como se estivesse pegando algo do ar vazio.

"You've said enough," he said. "You said plenty. Now turn around and fight!" And Kate Cumberland stepped back, out of line of the two. E Kate Cumberland recuou, saindo da linha dos dois. She knew that in what followed she could not play the part of the protector or the delayer. Ela sabia que no que se seguiu não poderia desempenhar o papel de protetora ou de retardadora. Here they stood, hungry, for battle, and there was no power in her weak hands to separate them. She stood far back and fumbled with her hands at the wall for support. Ela ficou bem atrás e se atrapalhou com as mãos na parede em busca de apoio. She tried to close her eyes, but the fascination of the horror forced her to watch against her strongest will. And the chief part of that dreadful suspense lay in the even, calm voice of Buck Daniels as he went on: "I'll turn around and fight soon enough. E a parte principal desse suspense terrível estava na voz calma e calma de Buck Daniels enquanto ele prosseguia: "Vou me virar e lutar em breve. But Kate asked me to smoke another cigarette. I know what she means. She wants me to leave you the way I done in the saloon that day. I ain't goin' to leave, Dan. But I'm glad she asked me to turn away, because it gives me a chance to tell you some things you got to know before you go west. "Dan, you been like a fire that burns every hand that touches you." "Dan, você foi como um fogo que queima cada mão que toca em você." He inhaled a long breath of smoke and blew it up towards the ceiling. Ele inalou uma longa baforada de fumaça e a soprou em direção ao teto. "You've busted the heart of the friend that follered you; you've busted the heart of the girl that loves you." "Você quebrou o coração do amigo que te seguiu; você quebrou o coração da garota que te ama." He paused again, for another long inhalation, and Kate Cumberland, staring in fearful suspense, waiting for the instant when Buck should at last turn and when the shots should explode, saw that the yellow glow was now somewhat misted in the eyes of Barry. Ele parou de novo, para outra longa inalação, e Kate Cumberland, encarando com medonho suspense, esperando o instante em que Buck finalmente deveria virar e quando os tiros deveriam explodir, viu que o brilho amarelo estava agora um tanto enevoado nos olhos de Barry. He frowned, as one bewildered. Ele franziu a testa, como um perplexo.

"Think of her, Dan!" went on Buck Daniels. "Think of her wasting herself on a no-good houn' dog like you—a no-good wild wolf ! "Pense nela se desperdiçando com um cão de caça inútil como você - um lobo selvagem inútil! My God A'mighty, she might of made some good man happy—some man with a soul and a heart—but instead of that God sent you like a blast across her—you with your damned soul of wind and your heart of stone! Meu Deus Todo-Poderoso, ela pode ter feito um bom homem feliz — algum homem com alma e coração — mas em vez disso Deus enviou você como uma explosão através dela — você com sua maldita alma de vento e seu coração de pedra! Think of it! When you see what you been, Barry, I wonder you don't go out and take your own gun and blow off your head." Quando você vê o que você foi, Barry, eu me pergunto se você não sai e pega sua própria arma e explode sua cabeça." "Buck," called Dan Barry, "so help me God, if you don't turn your face to me—I'll shoot you through the back!" "I knew," said the imperturbable Daniels, "that you'd come to that in the end. "Eu sabia", disse o imperturbável Daniels, "que você chegaria a isso no final. You used to fight like a man, but now you're followin' your instincts, and you fight like a huntin' wolf. Look at the brute that's slinkin' up to me there! Olhe para o bruto que está se esgueirando até mim lá! That's what you are. You kill for the sake of killin'—like the beasts. "If you was a man, could you treat me like you've done? "Se você fosse um homem, você poderia me tratar como você fez? Your damned cold heart and your yaller eyes and all would of burned up in the barn the other night—you and your wolf and your damned hoss. Seu maldito coração frio e seus olhos amarelos e tudo teriam queimado no celeiro na outra noite – você e seu lobo e seu maldito hoss. Why didn't I let you burn? Because I was a fool. Because I still thought they was something of the man in you. But I seen afterwards what you was, and I rode off to get out of your way—to keep your hands from gettin' red with my blood. Mas vi depois o que você era, e saí cavalgando para sair do seu caminho, para evitar que suas mãos ficassem vermelhas com meu sangue. And then you plan on follerin' me—damn you!—on follerin' me! E então você planeja me seguir - maldito seja! - me seguir! "So that, Dan, is why I've come to put you out of the world—as I'm goin' to do now! "Então, Dan, é por isso que eu vim para tirá-lo do mundo - como vou fazer agora! Once you hated to give pain, and if you hurt people it was because you couldn't help it. Uma vez você odiou causar dor, e se machucou as pessoas foi porque não conseguiu evitar. But now you live on torturin' others. Mas agora você vive torturando os outros. Barry, pull your gun!" And as he spoke, he whirled, the heavy revolver leaping into his hand. E enquanto falava, ele girou, o revólver pesado saltando em sua mão.

Still Kate Cumberland could not close her eyes on the horror. She could not even cry out; she was frozen. Ela não conseguia nem gritar; ela estava congelada.

But there was no report—no spurt of smoke—no form of a man stumbling blindly towards death. Mas não houve nenhum relato - nenhum jato de fumaça - nenhuma forma de um homem tropeçando cegamente em direção à morte. Dan Barry stood with one hand pressed over his eyes and the other dangled at his side, harmless, while he frowned in bewilderment at the floor. Dan Barry estava com uma mão pressionada sobre os olhos e a outra pendurada ao seu lado, inofensiva, enquanto franzia a testa em perplexidade para o chão.

He said slowly, at length: "Buck, I kind of think you're right. Ele disse lentamente, por fim: "Buck, eu meio que acho que você está certo. They ain't no use in me. I been rememberin', Buck, how you sent Kate to me when I was sick." Eu estava lembrando, Buck, como você mandou Kate para mim quando eu estava doente. There was a loud clatter; the revolver dropped from the hand of Buck Daniels. Houve um barulho alto; o revólver caiu da mão de Buck Daniels.

The musical voice of Dan Barry murmured again: "And I remember how you stood up to Jim Silent, for my sake. A voz musical de Dan Barry murmurou novamente: "E eu me lembro de como você enfrentou Jim Silent, por minha causa. Buck, what's come between us since them days? Buck, o que aconteceu entre nós desde aqueles dias? You hit me a while back, and since then I been wantin' your blood—but hearin' you talk now, somehow—I feel sort of lost and lonesome—like I'd thrown somethin' away that I valued most." Você me bateu um tempo atrás, e desde então eu estou querendo o seu sangue – mas ouvindo você falar agora, de alguma forma – eu me sinto meio perdido e solitário – como se eu tivesse jogado fora algo que eu mais valorizava.” Ты ударил меня недавно, и с тех пор я жажду твоей крови... Но когда ты говоришь сейчас, я чувствую себя каким-то потерянным и одиноким, словно выбросил что-то, чем дорожил больше всего". Buck Daniels threw out his great arms and his voice was broken terribly. Buck Daniels estendeu seus grandes braços e sua voz falhou terrivelmente.

"Oh, God A'mighty, Dan," he cried, "jest take one step back to me and I'll come all the way around the world to meet you!" "Oh, Deus Todo-Poderoso, Dan", ele gritou, "dê um passo para trás para mim e eu vou dar a volta ao mundo para conhecê-lo!" "О Боже, Дэн, - воскликнул он, - только сделай один шаг ко мне, и я пройду весь мир, чтобы встретиться с тобой!" He stumbled across the floor and grasped at the hand of Barry, for a mist had half-blinded his eyes. Ele tropeçou no chão e agarrou a mão de Barry, pois uma névoa quase cegou seus olhos. Споткнувшись об пол, он схватился за руку Барри, так как туман наполовину застилал ему глаза.

"Dan," he pleaded, "ain't things as they once was? "Dan", ele implorou, "as coisas não são como antes? "Дэн, - взмолился он, - разве все не так, как было раньше? D'you forgive me?" "Why, Buck," murmured Dan Barry, in that same bewildered fashion, "seems like we was bunkies once." "Ora, Buck", murmurou Dan Barry, com o mesmo tom desnorteado, "parece que já fomos bunkers." "А что, Бак, - пробормотал Дэн Барри в той же озадаченной манере, - похоже, мы когда-то были нарами". "Dan," muttered Buck Daniels, choking, "Dan——" but he dared not trust his voice further, and turning, he fairly fled from the room. "Dan", murmurou Buck Daniels, engasgando, "Dan...", mas ele não ousou confiar mais em sua voz e, virando-se, fugiu do quarto. "Дэн, - пробормотал Бак Дэниелс, задыхаясь, - Дэн...", но не смел больше доверять своему голосу и, повернувшись, стремительно выбежал из комнаты. The dazed eyes of Dan Barry followed him. Os olhos atordoados de Dan Barry o seguiram. Then they moved until they encountered the face of Kate Cumberland. Então eles se moveram até encontrarem o rosto de Kate Cumberland. A shock, as if of surprise, widened the lids. Um choque, como de surpresa, abriu as pálpebras. For a long moment they stared in silence, and then he began to walk, very slowly, a step at a time, towards the girl. Now, as he faced her, she saw that there was no longer a hint of the yellow in his eyes, but he stepped closer and closer; he was right before her, watching her with an expression of mute suffering that made her heart grow large.

He said, more to himself than to her: "Seems like I been away a long time." Ele disse, mais para si mesmo do que para ela: "Parece que estou longe há muito tempo." "A very long time," she whispered. He drew a great breath.

"Is it true, what Buck said? About you?" "Oh, my dear, my dear!" she cried. "Don't you see?" He started a little, and taking both her hands he made her face the dull light from the windows. Ele se sobressaltou um pouco e, tomando as duas mãos dela, a fez encarar a luz baça das janelas. Он слегка вздрогнул и, взяв ее за обе руки, заставил посмотреть на тусклый свет из окон.

"Seems like you're kind of pale, Kate." "The colour went while I waited for you, Dan." "But there comes a touch of red—like morning—in your throat, and runnin' up your cheeks." "Mas há um toque de vermelho - como a manhã - em sua garganta e subindo pelas suas bochechas." "Don't you see? It's because you've come back!" He closed his eyes and murmured: "I remember we was close—closer than this. We were sittin' here—in this room—by a fire. And then something called me out and I follered it." "The wild geese—yes." "Wild geese?" he repeated blankly, and then shook his head. ele repetiu inexpressivamente, e então balançou a cabeça. "How could wild geese call me? But things happened. I was kept away. Sometimes I wanted to come back to you, but somehow I could never get started. Was it ten years ago that I left?" Foi há dez anos que eu saí?" "Months—months longer than years." "What is it?" he asked. "I been watchin' you, and waitin' to find out what was different in you. Black Bart seen something in you. I dunno what. Today I sort of guessed what it is. I can feel it now. It's something like a pain. It starts sort of in the stomach, Kate. It's like bein' away from a place where you want to be. Queer, ain't it? Estranho, não é? I ain't far from you. Eu não estou longe de você. I've got your hands in mine, but somehow you don't feel near. I want to walk—a long ways—closer. Eu quero caminhar – um longo caminho – mais perto. And the pain keeps growin'." His voice fell away to a murmur, and now a deadly silence lay between them, and it seemed as if lights were varying upon their faces, so swift and subtle were the changes of expression. And they drew closer by imperceptible degrees. E eles se aproximaram em graus imperceptíveis. So his arms, fumbling, found their away about her, drew her closer, till her head drooped back, and her face was close beneath his. Então seus braços, desajeitados, encontraram-se ao redor dela, puxando-a para mais perto, até que a cabeça dela caiu para trás, e seu rosto estava perto do dele.

"Was it true," he whispered, "what Buck said?" "There's nothing true except that we're together." "But your eyes are brimful of tears!" "Mas seus olhos estão cheios de lágrimas!" "The same pain you feel, Dan; the same loneliness and the hurt." "A mesma dor que você sente, Dan; a mesma solidão e mágoa." "But it's going now. "Mas está indo agora. I feel as if I'd been riding three days without more'n enough water to moisten my tongue every hour; with the sand white hot, and my hoss staggerin', and the sun droppin' closer and closer till the mountains are touched with white fire. Sinto como se estivesse cavalgando três dias sem água mais do que suficiente para umedecer minha língua a cada hora; com a areia branca quente, e meu hoss cambaleando, e o sol caindo cada vez mais perto até as montanhas serem tocadas com fogo branco. Then I come, in the evenin', to a valley with cool shadows beginning to slip across from the western side, and I stand in the shadow and feel the red-hot blood go smashin', smashin', smashin' in my temples—and then—a sound of runnin' water somewhere up the hill-side. Então eu chego, à noite, para um vale com sombras frias começando a deslizar do lado oeste, e eu fico na sombra e sinto o sangue em brasa ir esmagando, esmagando, esmagando em minhas têmporas... e então — um som de água correndo em algum lugar na encosta do morro. Runnin', cool, fresh, sparkling water whispering over the rocks. Correndo, água fresca, fresca e cintilante sussurrando sobre as rochas. Ah, God, that's what it means to me to stand here close to you, Kate! "And it's like standin' up in the mornin' on the top of a high hill and seein' the light jump up quick in the east, and there lies all the world at my feet, mile after mile of it—they's a river like silver away off yonder—and they's range after range walkin' off into a blue nothing. "E é como ficar de pé de manhã no topo de uma colina alta e ver a luz saltar rapidamente no leste, e lá está o mundo todo aos meus pés, quilômetro após quilômetro - eles são um rio como prateado lá longe - e eles estão de alcance após alcance caminhando para um nada azul. That's what it's like to stand here and look down into them blue eyes of yours, Kate—miles and miles into 'em, till I feel as if I seen your heart beneath. And they's the rose of the mornin' on your cheeks, and the breath of the mornin' stirrin' between your lips, and the light of the risin' sun comes flarin' in your eyes. And I own the world—I own the world.' E eu possuo o mundo — eu possuo o mundo.' "Two burnin' pieces of wood, that's you and me, and when I was away from you the fire went down to a smoulder; but now that we're close a wind hits us, and the flames come together and rise and jump and twine together. "Dois pedaços de madeira em chamas, somos você e eu, e quando eu estava longe de você o fogo se reduziu a uma brasa; mas agora que estamos perto um vento nos atinge, e as chamas se juntam e sobem e saltam e enrole junto. Two pieces of burnin' wood, but only one flame—d'you feel it?—Oh, Kate, our bodies is ashes and dust, and all that's worth while is that flame blowin' up from us, settin' the world on fire!"