登陆注册
5240500000005

第5章 CHAPTER II. COTTONWOODS(1)

Venters appeared too deeply moved to speak the gratitude his face expressed. And Jane turned upon the rescuer and gripped his hands. Her smiles and tears seemingly dazed him. Presently as something like calmness returned, she went to Lassiter's weary horse.

"I will water him myself," she said, and she led the horse to a trough under a huge old cottonwood. With nimble fingers she loosened the bridle and removed the bit. The horse snorted and bent his head. The trough was of solid stone, hollowed out, moss-covered and green and wet and cool, and the clear brown water that fed it spouted and splashed from a wooden pipe.

"He has brought you far to-day?"

"Yes, ma'am, a matter of over sixty miles, mebbe seventy."

"A long ride--a ride that--Ah, he is blind!"

"Yes, ma'am," replied Lassiter.

"What blinded him?"

"Some men once roped an' tied him, an' then held white-iron close to his eyes."

"Oh! Men? You mean devils....Were they your enemies--Mormons?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"To take revenge on a horse! Lassiter, the men of my creed are unnaturally cruel. To my everlasting sorrow I confess it. They have been driven, hated, scourged till their hearts have hardened. But we women hope and pray for the time when our men will soften."

"Beggin' your pardon, ma'am--that time will never come."

"Oh, it will!...Lassiter, do you think Mormon women wicked? Has your hand been against them, too?"

"No. I believe Mormon women are the best and noblest, the most long-sufferin', and the blindest, unhappiest women on earth."

"Ah!" She gave him a grave, thoughtful look. "Then you will break bread with me?"

Lassiter had no ready response, and he uneasily shifted his weight from one leg to another, and turned his sombrero round and round in his hands. "Ma'am," he began, presently, "I reckon your kindness of heart makes you overlook things. Perhaps I ain't well known hereabouts, but back up North there's Mormons who'd rest uneasy in their graves at the idea of me sittin' to table with you."

"I dare say. But--will you do it, anyway?" she asked.

"Mebbe you have a brother or relative who might drop in an' be offended, an' I wouldn't want to--"

"I've not a relative in Utah that I know of. There's no one with a right to question my actions." She turned smilingly to Venters.

"You will come in, Bern, and Lassiter will come in. We'll eat and be merry while we may."

"I'm only wonderin' if Tull an' his men'll raise a storm down in the village," said Lassiter, in his last weakening stand.

"Yes, he'll raise the storm--after he has prayed," replied Jane.

"Come."

She led the way, with the bridle of Lassiter's horse over her arm. Thev entered a grove and walked down a wide path shaded by great low-branching cottonwoods. The last rays of the setting sun sent golden bars through the leaves. The grass was deep and rich, welcome contrast to sage-tired eyes. Twittering quail darted across the path, and from a tree-top somewhere a robin sang its evening song, and on the still air floated the freshness and murmur of flowing water.

The home of Jane Withersteen stood in a circle of cottonwoods, and was a flat, long, red-stone structure with a covered court in the center through which flowed a lively stream of amber-colored water. In the massive blocks of stone and heavy timbers and solid doors and shutters showed the hand of a man who had builded against pillage and time; and in the flowers and mosses lining the stone-bedded stream, in the bright colors of rugs and blankets on the court floor, and the cozy corner with hammock and books and the clean-linened table, showed the grace of a daughter who lived for happiness and the day at hand.

Jane turned Lassiter's horse loose in the thick grass. "You will want him to be near you," she said, "or I'd have him taken to the alfalfa fields." At her call appeared women who began at once to bustle about, hurrying to and fro, setting the table. Then Jane, excusing herself, went within.

She passed through a huge low ceiled chamber, like the inside of a fort, and into a smaller one where a bright wood-fire blazed in an old open fireplace, and from this into her own room. It had the same comfort as was manifested in the home-like outer court; moreover, it was warm and rich in soft hues.

Seldom did Jane Withersteen enter her room without looking into her mirror. She knew she loved the reflection of that beauty which since early childhood she had never been allowed to forget.

Her relatives and friends, and later a horde of Mormon and Gentile suitors, had fanned the flame of natural vanity in her.

So that at twenty-eight she scarcely thought at all of her wonderful influence for good in the little community where her father had left her practically its beneficent landlord, but cared most for the dream and the assurance and the allurement of her beauty. This time, however, she gazed into her glass with more than the usual happy motive, without the usual slight conscious smile. For she was thinking of more than the desire to be fair in her own eyes, in those of her friend; she wondered if she were to seem fair in the eyes of this Lassiter, this man whose name had crossed the long, wild brakes of stone and plains of sage, this gentle-voiced, sad-faced man who was a hater and a killer of Mormons. It was not now her usual half-conscious vain obsession that actuated her as she hurriedly changed her riding-dress to one of white, and then looked long at the stately form with its gracious contours, at the fair face with its strong chin and full firm lips, at the dark-blue, proud, and passionate eyes.

"If by some means I can keep him here a few days, a week--he will never kill another Mormon," she mused. "Lassiter!...I shudder when I think of that name, of him. But when I look at the man I forget who he is--I almost like him. I remember only that he saved Bern. He has suffered. I wonder what it was--did he love a Mormon woman once? How splendidly he championed us poor misunderstood souls! Somehow he knows--much."

Jane Withersteen joined her guests and bade them to her board.

同类推荐
  • 圣救度佛母二十一种礼赞经

    圣救度佛母二十一种礼赞经

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 谈薮

    谈薮

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 石遗室诗话续编

    石遗室诗话续编

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 师子庄严王菩萨请问经

    师子庄严王菩萨请问经

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 花间集新注

    花间集新注

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
热门推荐
  • 云澜王妃

    云澜王妃

    (宠文+女强)因家族世代相传的蛊术,她家破人亡,逃亡途中吞下蛊皇,却因“没能降服”蛊皇而亡,后重生于异世云澜。她本以为能够平静生活,却没想到这里弱肉强食强者为尊,最终她不得不踏上一条强者之路…天下风起云涌,强者辈出,且看她如何翻手为云覆手为雨,大放异彩,再赢得一生一世一双人!当凤凰涅槃,重生归来之时,这异世大陆便多了一个一笑风华足以惊艳天下,一怒冲冠能够伏尸百万的传奇!
  • 异界修真之我要成神

    异界修真之我要成神

    唐寅,一个意外重生在异界的混混。本以为重生在天才之躯,再加上自己的猪脚光环可以纵横异界,却不知这世高手如云,神体辈出!看他如何凌傲众生,走向成神之路!
  • 我家封少太太太帅了

    我家封少太太太帅了

    what?他竟然回国了!为什么没有人告诉她?“怎么,我回来你很害怕么。”“哈哈,没有没有。”男人冷冷的看着她。
  • 写意周流

    写意周流

    好古以成文,但求片安之地,至于旁人眼光,谁顾?
  • 重生修仙在都市

    重生修仙在都市

    【最热火爆】绝世强者,重生五百年前。唐易发誓,要将曾经的敌人踩在脚下,要将曾经的爱人揽入怀中。新书《我有无数鬼将》欢迎收看建了个群:二群:807137331一群:97347415(已满)
  • 我眼中的爸爸

    我眼中的爸爸

    当代社会子女与父母之间的代沟越来越深,在我眼中父亲创业的艰难,我希望作为儿女理解父母苦心,还有说明大学生自己创业应做好的准备,不是一朝一夕的事,不管多难,都要坚持下去。
  • 足球圆舞曲

    足球圆舞曲

    一个平凡的男孩儿,一个体能极差、身体有缺陷的足球爱好者,自从第十八届世界杯结束后就踏上了自己的足球之路,他拥有很高的水平,但却有着自己的烦恼。他是如何征服一个个障碍,一步步地踏上足球之颠呢?
  • 武林大暴君

    武林大暴君

    暴,残暴,君,无敌。唯有无敌,才能称暴君。………………本书杀伐果断,有兴趣的同学可以看一看,第一章侍女名字有问题,后面的都恢复正常。
  • 男人吃什么才健康

    男人吃什么才健康

    吃是人的本能,但吃什么,怎么吃,这里面却大有讲究。“吃是人类身体健康的第一道关”,人的健康不能只停留在“不得病”的低水平上,要有健康的体魄,还要会“吃”。要会“吃”,就不能由着性子来,以至于想吃就吃,这是万万不可的。  总之,在解决了“吃饱”的问题后,现在是应该解决怎样“吃好”的时候了。为此,我们综合了国内外的最新研究成果,并根据现代男性的身体和生存状况,编辑了本书。主要是通过饮食营养达到保健、养生、壮阳、滋补、调理、食疗的功效,本书具有很强的科学性、权威性、系统性和实用性,是指导现代男性健康饮食的良好读物。
  • 末世女配之空间在手

    末世女配之空间在手

    女配郭琳只想拿回自己的一切,平安的活下去。可是前边穿越女磨刀霍霍夺机缘,后边重生女机关算尽预复仇。于是郭琳也跟着走上了这条坑着女主的大道。谁叫为成就了女主一人,就必须要牺牲无数的女配。人不为己天诛地灭,郭琳可没有什么蜡炬成灰泪始干的奉献情怀。