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Trailin’! by Max Brand, CHAPTER I. "LA-A-A-DIES AN' GEN'L'MUN"

CHAPTER I. "LA-A-A-DIES AN' GEN'L'MUN"

All through the exhibition the two sat unmoved; yet on the whole it was the best Wild West show that ever stirred sawdust in Madison Square Garden and it brought thunders of applause from the crowded house. Even if the performance could not stir these two, at least the throng of spectators should have drawn them, for all New York was there, from the richest to the poorest; neither the combined audiences of a seven-day race, a prize-fight, or a community singing festival would make such a cosmopolitan assembly.

All Manhattan came to look at the men who had lived and fought and conquered under the limitless skies of the Far West, free men, wild men—one of their shrill whoops banished distance and brought the mountain desert into the very heart of the unromantic East. Nevertheless from all these thrills these two men remained immune.

To be sure the smaller tilted his head back when the horses first swept in, and the larger leaned to watch when Diaz, the wizard with the lariat, commenced to whirl his rope; but in both cases their interest held no longer than if they had been old vaudevillians watching a series of familiar acts dressed up with new names.

The smaller, brown as if a thousand fierce suns and winds had tanned and withered him, looked up at last to his burly companion with a faint smile.

"They're bringing on the cream now, Drew, but I'm going to spoil the dessert." The other was a great, grey man whom age apparently had not weakened but rather settled and hardened into an ironlike durability; the winds of time or misfortune would have to break that stanch oak before it would bend.

He said: "We've half an hour before our train leaves. Can you play your hand in that time?" "Easy. Look at 'em now—the greatest gang of liars that never threw a diamond hitch! Ride? I've got a ten-year kid home that would laugh at 'em all. But I'll show 'em up. Want to know my little stunt?" "I'll wait and enjoy the surprise." The wild riders who provoked the scorn of the smaller man were now gathering in the central space; a formidable crew, long of hair and brilliant as to bandannas, while the announcer thundered through his megaphone:

"La-a-a-dies and gen'l'mun! You see before you the greatest band of subduers and breakers of wild horses that ever rode the cattle ranges. Death defying, reckless, and laughing at peril, they have never failed; they have never pulled leather. I present 'Happy' Morgan!" Happy Morgan, yelling like one possessed of ten shrill-tongued demons, burst on the gallop away from the others, and spurring his horse cruelly, forced the animal to race, bucking and plunging, half way around the arena and back to the group. This, then, was a type of the dare-devil horse breaker of the Wild West? The cheers travelled in waves around and around the house and rocked back and forth like water pitched from side to side in a monstrous bowl.

When the noise abated somewhat, "And this, la-a-a-dies and gen'l'mun, is the peerless, cowpuncher, 'Bud Reeves.'" Bud at once imitated the example of Happy Morgan, and one after another the five remaining riders followed suit. In the meantime a number of prancing, kicking, savage-eyed horses were brought into the arena and to these the master of ceremonies now turned his attention.

"From the wildest regions of the range we have brought mustangs that never have borne the weight of man. They fight for pleasure; they buck by instinct. If you doubt it, step down and try 'em. One hundred dollars to the man who sticks on the back of one of 'em—but we won't pay the hospital bill!" He lowered his megaphone to enjoy the laughter, and the small man took this opportunity to say: "Never borne the weight of a man! That chap in the dress-suit, he tells one lie for pleasure and ten more from instinct. Yep, he has his hosses beat. Never borne the weight of man! Why, Drew, I can see the saddle-marks clear from here; I got a mind to slip down there and pick up the easiest hundred bones that ever rolled my way." He rose to make good his threat, but Drew cut in with: "Don't be a damn fool, Werther. You aren't part of this show." "Well, I will be soon. Watch me! There goes Ananias on his second wind." The announcer was bellowing: "These man-killing mustangs will be ridden, broken, beaten into submission in fair fight by the greatest set of horse-breakers that ever wore spurs. They can ride anything that walks on four feet and wears a skin; they can—" Werther sprang to his feet, made a funnel of his hand, and shouted: "Yi-i-i-ip!" If he had set off a great quantity of red fire he could not more effectively have drawn all eyes upon him. The weird, shrill yell cut the ringmaster short, and a pleased murmur ran through the crowd. Of course, this must be part of the show, but it was a pleasing variation.

"Partner," continued Werther, brushing away the big hand of Drew which would have pulled him down into his seat; "I've seen you bluff for two nights hand running. There ain't no man can bluff all the world three times straight." The ringmaster retorted in his great voice: "That sounds like good poker. What's your game?" "Five hundred dollars on one card!" cried Werther, and he waved a fluttering handful of greenbacks. "Five hundred dollars to any man of your lot—or to any man in this house that can ride a real wild horse." "Where's your horse?" "Around the corner in a Twenty-sixth Street stable. I'll have him here in five minutes." "Lead him on," cried the ringmaster, but his voice was not quite so loud. Werther muttered to Drew:

"Here's where I hand him the lemon that'll curdle his cream," and ran out of the box and straight around the edge of the arena. New York, murmuring and chuckling through the vast galleries of the Garden, applauded the little man's flying coat-tails. He had not underestimated the time; in a little less than his five minutes the doors at the end of the arena were thrown wide and Werther reappeared. Behind him came two stalwarts leading between them a rangy monster. Before the blast of lights and the murmurs of the throng the big stallion reared and flung himself back, and the two who lead him bore down with all their weight on the halter ropes. He literally walked down the planks into the arena, a strange, half-comical, half-terrible spectacle. New York burst into applause. It was a trained horse, of course, but a horse capable of such training was worth applause.

At that roar of sound, vague as the beat of waves along the shore, the stallion lurched down on all fours and leaped ahead, but the two on the halter ropes drove all their weight backward and checked the first plunge. A bright-coloured scarf waved from a nearby box, and the monster swerved away. So, twisting, plunging, rearing, he was worked down the arena. As he came opposite a box in which sat a tall young man in evening clothes the latter rose and shouted: "Bravo!" The fury of the stallion, searching on all sides for a vent but distracted from one torment to another, centred suddenly on this slender figure. He swerved and rushed for the barrier with ears flat back and bloodshot eyes. There he reared and struck at the wood with his great front hoofs; the boards splintered and shivered under the blows.

As for the youth in the box, he remained quietly erect before this brute rage. A fleck of red foam fell on the white front of his shirt. He drew his handkerchief and wiped it calmly away, but a red stain remained. At the same time the two who led the stallion pulled him back from the barrier and he stood with head high, searching for a more convenient victim.

Deep silence spread over the arena; more hushed and more hushed it grew, as if invisible blankets of soundlessness were dropping down over the stirring masses; men glanced at each other with a vague surmise, knowing that this was no part of the performance. The whole audience drew forward to the edge of the seats and stared, first at the monstrous horse, and next at the group of men who could "ride anything that walks on four feet and wears a skin." Some of the women were already turning away their heads, for this was to be a battle, not a game; but the vast majority of New York merely watched and waited and smiled a slow, stiff-lipped smile. All the surroundings were changed, the flaring electric lights, the vast roof, the clothes of the multitude, but the throng of white faces was the same as that pale host which looked down from the sides of the Coliseum when the lions were loosed upon their victims.

As for the wild riders from the cattle ranges, they drew into a close group with the ringmaster between them and the gaunt stallion, almost as if the fearless ones were seeking for protection. But the announcer himself lost his almost invincible sang-froid ; in all his matchless vocabulary there were no sounding phrases ready for this occasion, and little Werther strutted in the centre of the great arena, rising to his opportunity.

He imitated the ringmaster's phraseology. "La-a-a-dies and gen'l'mun, the price has gone up. The 'death-defyin', dare-devils that laugh at danger' ain't none too ready to ride my hoss. Maybe the price is too low for 'em. It's raised. One thousand dollars—cash—for any man in hearin' of me that'll ride my pet." There was a stir among the cattlemen, but still none of them moved forward toward the great horse; and as if he sensed his victory he raised and shook his ugly head and neighed. A mighty laugh answered that challenge; this was a sort of "horse-humour" that great New York could not overlook, and in that mirth even the big grey man, Drew, joined. The laughter stopped with an amazing suddenness making the following silence impressive as when a storm that has roared and howled about a house falls mute, then all the dwellers in the house look to one another and wait for the voice of the thunder. So all of New York that sat in the long galleries of the Garden hushed its laughter and looked askance at one another and waited. The big grey man rose and cursed softly.

For the slender young fellow in evening dress at whom the stallion had rushed a moment before was stripping off his coat, his vest, and rolling up the stiff cuffs of his sleeves. Then he dropped a hand on the edge of the box, vaulted lightly into the arena, and walked straight toward the horse.

CHAPTER I. "LA-A-A-DIES AN' GEN'L'MUN" |||||||Панове ||||||CAPÍTULO I. "SENHORAS E SENHORES"| I SKYRIUS. "LA-A-A-DIES AN' GEN'L'MUN" HOOFDSTUK I. "LA-AA-DIES AN' GEN'L'MUN" ROZDZIAŁ I. "LA-A-A-DIES I GEN'L'MUN" ГЛАВА I. "ЛА-А-А-ДЫ И ГЕН'Л'МУН" BÖLÜM I. "LA-A-A-DIES AN' GEN'L'MUN" РОЗДІЛ І. "ЛА-А-А-ДІС І ДЖЕНН'Л'МУН"

All through the exhibition the two sat unmoved; yet on the whole it was the best Wild West show that ever stirred sawdust in Madison Square Garden and it brought thunders of applause from the crowded house. ||||||||||||||||||||||sciure de bois|||||||||||||| |||the show||||without reacting||||||||||||||moved through|the arena floor||||||||roars of applause|||||| |||||||непорушні|||||||||||||||||||||||гучні оплески|||||| |durante||||||||||||foi|||||espetáculo|||agitou||||||||atraiu||||||lotado|plateia طوال فترة المعرض جلس الاثنان دون أن يتأثرا؛ ومع ذلك، فقد كان على العموم أفضل عرض للغرب المتوحش أثار نشارة الخشب على الإطلاق في ماديسون سكوير غاردن، وأثار تصفيقًا حادًا من المنزل المزدحم. Przez całą wystawę obaj siedzieli niewzruszeni, ale w sumie był to najlepszy pokaz Dzikiego Zachodu, jaki kiedykolwiek poruszył trociny w Madison Square Garden i wywołał gromkie brawa od zatłoczonej sali. Even if the performance could not stir these two, at least the throng of spectators should have drawn them, for all New York was there, from the richest to the poorest; neither the combined audiences of a seven-day race, a prize-fight, or a community singing festival would make such a cosmopolitan assembly. |||the show|||||||||||onlookers||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||бійка||||||||||| |mesmo que|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| Nawet jeśli przedstawienie nie mogło poruszyć tych dwojga, to przynajmniej tłum widzów powinien ich przyciągnąć, ponieważ był tam cały Nowy Jork, od najbogatszych do najbiedniejszych; ani połączona publiczność siedmiodniowego wyścigu, walki o nagrody, ani festiwalu śpiewu społecznościowego nie stworzyłaby tak kosmopolitycznego zgromadzenia.

All Manhattan came to look at the men who had lived and fought and conquered under the limitless skies of the Far West, free men, wild men—one of their shrill whoops banished distance and brought the mountain desert into the very heart of the unromantic East. |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||бойові кличі|проганяли|||||||||||||| Nevertheless from all these thrills these two men remained immune. ||||emocje||||| ||||хвилювання||||| no entanto||||||||| No entanto, estes dois homens permaneceram imunes a todas estas emoções.

To be sure the smaller tilted his head back when the horses first swept in, and the larger leaned to watch when Diaz, the wizard with the lariat, commenced to whirl his rope; but in both cases their interest held no longer than if they had been old vaudevillians watching a series of familiar acts dressed up with new names. In order||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||ласо|||||||||||||||||||||естрадні артисти||||||||||| |||||||||||||||||||||||||z||||||||||||||||||||||starymi weteranami||||||||||||

The smaller, brown as if a thousand fierce suns and winds had tanned and withered him, looked up at last to his burly companion with a faint smile. ||||||||||||||зів'яли|||||||||||||

"They're bringing on the cream now, Drew, but I'm going to spoil the dessert." |||||||||||estragar||sobremesa |||||зараз|||||||| "Estão a trazer o creme agora, Drew, mas eu vou estragar a sobremesa". The other was a great, grey man whom age apparently had not weakened but rather settled and hardened into an ironlike durability; the winds of time or misfortune would have to break that stanch oak before it would bend. ||||||||||||||||||||залізна міцність|||||||||||||стійкий||||| ||||||||||||||||||||żelazną trwałość|||||||||||||niezłomny|||||

He said: "We've half an hour before our train leaves. Can you play your hand in that time?" Peux-tu||||||| Можеш||||||| "Easy. Look at 'em now—the greatest gang of liars that never threw a diamond hitch! |||||||||||||diamant| ||||||||брехуни||||||зав'язували вузол Ride? I've got a ten-year kid home that would laugh at 'em all. But I'll show 'em up. Want to know my little stunt?" |||||coup d'éclat "I'll wait and enjoy the surprise." The wild riders who provoked the scorn of the smaller man were now gathering in the central space; a formidable crew, long of hair and brilliant as to bandannas, while the announcer thundered through his megaphone: ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||bandanas||||||| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||bandany lub chusty|||||||

"La-a-a-dies and gen'l'mun! You see before you the greatest band of subduers and breakers of wild horses that ever rode the cattle ranges. ||||||||dompteurs et briseurs||dompteurs||||||||| ||||||||підкорювачі||||||||||| ||||||||poskramiacze dzikich koni||||||||||| Death defying, reckless, and laughing at peril, they have never failed; they have never pulled leather. |bravant|||||||||||||tiré sur les rênes| I present 'Happy' Morgan!" Happy Morgan, yelling like one possessed of ten shrill-tongued demons, burst on the gallop away from the others, and spurring his horse cruelly, forced the animal to race, bucking and plunging, half way around the arena and back to the group. |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||rzucając się|||||||||| |||||||||язикатий|||||||||||шпорячи|||||||||||пірнаючи|||||||||| This, then, was a type of the dare-devil horse breaker of the Wild West? ||||||||зухвалий|||||| The cheers travelled in waves around and around the house and rocked back and forth like water pitched from side to side in a monstrous bowl.

When the noise abated somewhat, "And this, la-a-a-dies and gen'l'mun, is the peerless, cowpuncher, 'Bud Reeves.'" ||||||||||||||||kowboj|| |||вщухнув||||||||||||незрівнянний|ковбой|| Bud at once imitated the example of Happy Morgan, and one after another the five remaining riders followed suit. In the meantime a number of prancing, kicking, savage-eyed horses were brought into the arena and to these the master of ceremonies now turned his attention. ||||||гарцюючі|||||||||||||||||||| ||||liczba||||dzikie spojrzenia||||||||||||||||||

"From the wildest regions of the range we have brought mustangs that never have borne the weight of man. ||||||||||mustangi|||||||| They fight for pleasure; they buck by instinct. If you doubt it, step down and try 'em. One hundred dollars to the man who sticks on the back of one of 'em—but we won't pay the hospital bill!" He lowered his megaphone to enjoy the laughter, and the small man took this opportunity to say: "Never borne the weight of a man! |||||||||||||||||Ніколи не ніс|||||| That chap in the dress-suit, he tells one lie for pleasure and ten more from instinct. ||||||||||||||||інстинкт Цей тип в костюмі, він говорить одну брехню задоволення, а ще десять з інстинкту. Yep, he has his hosses beat. ||||коні| ||||konie| Так, його коні перемогли. Never borne the weight of man! Ніколи не ніс вагу людини! Why, Drew, I can see the saddle-marks clear from here; I got a mind to slip down there and pick up the easiest hundred bones that ever rolled my way." Чому, Дрю, я бачу керма-знаки чітко звідси; У мене є намір злізти вниз і забрати найлегші сто костей, які коли-небудь ковзнулися на мою стежку." He rose to make good his threat, but Drew cut in with: "Don't be a damn fool, Werther. Він піднявся, щоб виконати свою загрозу, але Дрю втрутився: "Не будь дурнем, Вертер. You aren't part of this show." Ти не частина цього шоу." "Well, I will be soon. Watch me! There goes Ananias on his second wind." The announcer was bellowing: "These man-killing mustangs will be ridden, broken, beaten into submission in fair fight by the greatest set of horse-breakers that ever wore spurs. |||||||||||||||||||||||konie||||| |||ревів||||||||||||||||||||||||| They can ride anything that walks on four feet and wears a skin; they can—" Werther sprang to his feet, made a funnel of his hand, and shouted: "Yi-i-i-ip!" |||||||воронка з руки||||||||| If he had set off a great quantity of red fire he could not more effectively have drawn all eyes upon him. The weird, shrill yell cut the ringmaster short, and a pleased murmur ran through the crowd. ||||||mistrz areny||||||||| ||||перервало||розпорядник цирку||||||||| Of course, this must be part of the show, but it was a pleasing variation. ||||||||||||||варіація Of course, this must be part of the show, but it was a pleasing variation.

"Partner," continued Werther, brushing away the big hand of Drew which would have pulled him down into his seat; "I've seen you bluff for two nights hand running. ||||||||||||||||||||||блефувати||||| There ain't no man can bluff all the world three times straight." The ringmaster retorted in his great voice: "That sounds like good poker. What's your game?" "Five hundred dollars on one card!" cried Werther, and he waved a fluttering handful of greenbacks. |||||||||зелені банкноти |||||||garść banknotów|| "Five hundred dollars to any man of your lot—or to any man in this house that can ride a real wild horse." "Where's your horse?" "Around the corner in a Twenty-sixth Street stable. I'll have him here in five minutes." "Lead him on," cried the ringmaster, but his voice was not quite so loud. Werther muttered to Drew:

"Here's where I hand him the lemon that'll curdle his cream," and ran out of the box and straight around the edge of the arena. ||||||||згортати його вершки|||||||||||||||| ||||||||zważyć się|||||||||||||||| New York, murmuring and chuckling through the vast galleries of the Garden, applauded the little man's flying coat-tails. He had not underestimated the time; in a little less than his five minutes the doors at the end of the arena were thrown wide and Werther reappeared. |||недооцінив|||||||||||||||||||||||| Behind him came two stalwarts leading between them a rangy monster. ||||міцні чоловіки|||||високий і худий| ||||mocni ludzie|||||| Before the blast of lights and the murmurs of the throng the big stallion reared and flung himself back, and the two who lead him bore down with all their weight on the halter ropes. |||||||||||||жеребець||||||||||||||||||||недоуздок| He literally walked down the planks into the arena, a strange, half-comical, half-terrible spectacle. New York burst into applause. It was a trained horse, of course, but a horse capable of such training was worth applause.

At that roar of sound, vague as the beat of waves along the shore, the stallion lurched down on all fours and leaped ahead, but the two on the halter ropes drove all their weight backward and checked the first plunge. На той рев звуку, що був невизначеним, як стук хвиль об пляж, жеребець рвонувся на всі чотири копита і стрибнув вперед, але двоє на поводках витягли всю свою вагу назад і стримали перший обрий. A bright-coloured scarf waved from a nearby box, and the monster swerved away. Яскравий платок махався з недалекої ложі, і монстр різко відвернувся. So, twisting, plunging, rearing, he was worked down the arena. Таким чином, крутячись, рвучись, піднімаючись на дзьобі, він був приведений по арені. As he came opposite a box in which sat a tall young man in evening clothes the latter rose and shouted: "Bravo!" The fury of the stallion, searching on all sides for a vent but distracted from one torment to another, centred suddenly on this slender figure. |||||||||||вихід для гніву|||від|||||||||| Ярость жеребца, ищущего во все стороны выхода, но отвлекающегося от одной муки к другой, сосредоточилась вдруг на этой стройной фигуре. He swerved and rushed for the barrier with ears flat back and bloodshot eyes. There he reared and struck at the wood with his great front hoofs; the boards splintered and shivered under the blows. |||||||||||||||||temblaron||| |він|Став дибки||||||||||копита передніх ніг|||розкололися|||||удари

As for the youth in the box, he remained quietly erect before this brute rage. ||||||||||стійкий|||| A fleck of red foam fell on the white front of his shirt. |пляма|||піна|||||||| He drew his handkerchief and wiped it calmly away, but a red stain remained. At the same time the two who led the stallion pulled him back from the barrier and he stood with head high, searching for a more convenient victim. |||||||||||||||||||||||||||жертву

Deep silence spread over the arena; more hushed and more hushed it grew, as if invisible blankets of soundlessness were dropping down over the stirring masses; men glanced at each other with a vague surmise, knowing that this was no part of the performance. ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||здогадка||||||||| ||||||bardziej||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| The whole audience drew forward to the edge of the seats and stared, first at the monstrous horse, and next at the group of men who could "ride anything that walks on four feet and wears a skin." |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||шкіру Some of the women were already turning away their heads, for this was to be a battle, not a game; but the vast majority of New York merely watched and waited and smiled a slow, stiff-lipped smile. ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||стиснуті губи| All the surroundings were changed, the flaring electric lights, the vast roof, the clothes of the multitude, but the throng of white faces was the same as that pale host which looked down from the sides of the Coliseum when the lions were loosed upon their victims. |||||||||||||ubrania tłumu||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ||||||палаючі|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||леви||випущені на|||

As for the wild riders from the cattle ranges, they drew into a close group with the ringmaster between them and the gaunt stallion, almost as if the fearless ones were seeking for protection. But the announcer himself lost his almost invincible  sang-froid ; in all his matchless vocabulary there were no sounding phrases ready for this occasion, and little Werther strutted in the centre of the great arena, rising to his opportunity. |||||||||холоднокровність||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ||||||||spokój ducha|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| Проте сам анонсер втратив свою майже непереможну самохолодність; в усьому його неперевершеному словнику не було готових звучних фраз на цей випадок, і малий Вертер крокував по центру великого арени, розширюючи свою можливість.

He imitated the ringmaster's phraseology. |||фразеологію конферансьє| Він імітував фразеологію директора цирку. "La-a-a-dies and gen'l'mun, the price has gone up. "Ла-а-а-дії та шановні гості, ціна піднялася. The 'death-defyin', dare-devils that laugh at danger' ain't none too ready to ride my hoss. ||зухвалий||шибайголови||||||||||||кінь |śmierć||||||||||||||| Maybe the price is too low for 'em. It's raised. One thousand dollars—cash—for any man in hearin' of me that'll ride my pet." ||||||чоловік||чутності|||||| There was a stir among the cattlemen, but still none of them moved forward toward the great horse; and as if he sensed his victory he raised and shook his ugly head and neighed. ||||||скотарі|||||||||||||||||||||||||||іржав A mighty laugh answered that challenge; this was a sort of "horse-humour" that great New York could not overlook, and in that mirth even the big grey man, Drew, joined. |||||||||||||||||||||||веселощі||||||| The laughter stopped with an amazing suddenness making the following silence impressive as when a storm that has roared and howled about a house falls mute, then all the dwellers in the house look to one another and wait for the voice of the thunder. ||||||раптовістю|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| So all of New York that sat in the long galleries of the Garden hushed its laughter and looked askance at one another and waited. The big grey man rose and cursed softly. ||||||вилаявся тихо|

For the slender young fellow in evening dress at whom the stallion had rushed a moment before was stripping off his coat, his vest, and rolling up the stiff cuffs of his sleeves. |||||||||||||||||||знімав із себе||||жилет||||||||| Then he dropped a hand on the edge of the box, vaulted lightly into the arena, and walked straight toward the horse. |||||||||||перестрибнув через||||||||||