CHAPTER XXVII. THE CONQUEST CAPÍTULO XXVII. A CONQUISTA 第 XXVII 章.征服

There was no star-storming confidence in Kate Cumberland after that first victory. Não houve confiança em Kate Cumberland após essa primeira vitória. Rather she felt as the general who deploys his skirmishers and drives in the outposts of an enemy. Em vez disso, ela se sentiu como o general que desdobra seus escaramuçadores e dirige nos postos avançados de um inimigo. The advantage is his, but it has really only served to give him some intimation of the strength of the enemy. A vantagem é dele, mas na verdade só serviu para lhe dar uma ideia da força do inimigo. At the supper table this night she found Whistling Dan watching her—not openly, for she could never catch his eye—but subtly, secretly, she knew that he was measuring her, studying her; whether in hostility, amity, or mere wonder, she could not tell. Na mesa do jantar esta noite ela encontrou Whistling Dan observando-a — não abertamente, pois ela nunca conseguia olhar para ele — mas sutilmente, secretamente, ela sabia que ele a estava medindo, estudando-a; se por hostilidade, amizade ou mera admiração, ela não sabia dizer. Finally a vast uneasiness overtook her and she turned to the doctor for relief. Finalmente, um grande mal-estar a dominou e ela se voltou para o médico em busca de alívio. Doctor Randall Byrne held a singular position in the attention of Kate. O doutor Randall Byrne ocupava uma posição singular na atenção de Kate. Since the night of the fire and her open talk with him, the doctor knew "everything," and women are troubled in the presence of a man who knows the details of the past. The shield behind which they hide in social intercourse is a touch of mystery—or at least a hope of mystery. O escudo atrás do qual eles se escondem nas relações sociais é um toque de mistério - ou pelo menos uma esperança de mistério. The doctor, however, was not like other men; he was more similar to a precocious child and she comforted herself in his obvious talent for silence. O médico, porém, não era como os outros homens; ele era mais parecido com uma criança precoce e ela se confortava em seu óbvio talento para o silêncio. If he had been alert, strong, self-confident, she might have hated him because he knew so much about her; but when she noted the pale, thoughtful face, the vast forehead outbalancing the other features, and the wistful, uncertain eyes, she felt nothing towards him stronger than pity. Se ele estivesse alerta, forte, autoconfiante, ela poderia tê-lo odiado porque ele sabia muito sobre ela; mas quando ela notou o rosto pálido e pensativo, a testa vasta superando as outras feições, e os olhos melancólicos e incertos, ela não sentiu nada mais forte do que pena.

It is good for a woman to have something which she may pity, a child, an aged parent, or a house-dog. É bom que uma mulher tenha algo de que possa ter pena, um filho, um pai idoso ou um cão doméstico. It provides, in a way, the background against which she acts; so Kate, when in doubt, turned to the doctor, as on this night. Ele fornece, de certa forma, o pano de fundo contra o qual ela atua; então Kate, quando em dúvida, recorreu ao médico, como naquela noite. There was a certain cruelty in it, for when she smiled at him the poor doctor became crimson, and when she talked to him his answers stumbled on his tongue; and when she was silent and merely looked at him that was worst of all, for he became unable to manage knife and fork and would sit crumbling bread and looking frightened. Havia uma certa crueldade nisso, pois quando ela sorria para ele o pobre médico ficava vermelho, e quando ela falava com ele suas respostas tropeçavam em sua língua; e quando ela ficava em silêncio e apenas olhava para ele, era o pior de tudo, pois ele se tornava incapaz de manejar faca e garfo e ficava sentado esfarelando o pão e parecendo assustado. Then he was apt to draw out his glasses and make a move to place them on his nose, but he always caught and checked himself in time—which added to his embarrassment. Em seguida, ele costumava tirar os óculos e fazer um movimento para colocá-los no nariz, mas ele sempre pegava e se controlava a tempo - o que aumentava seu constrangimento.

These small maneuvres had not lasted long before the girl became aware that the silent attention of Whistling Dan had passed from her to the doctor—and held steadily upon him. Essas pequenas manobras não duraram muito antes que a garota percebesse que a atenção silenciosa de Whistling Dan havia passado dela para o médico – e se manteve firme nele. She did not go so far as to call it jealousy, but certainly it was a grave and serious consideration that measured the doctor up and down and back again; and it left her free to examine the two men in contrast. Ela não chegou a chamar isso de ciúmes, mas certamente era uma consideração séria e séria que mediu o médico para cima e para baixo e para trás novamente; e a deixou livre para examinar os dois homens em contraste. For the first time it struck her that they were much alike in many ways. Pela primeira vez, ocorreu-lhe que eles eram muito parecidos em muitos aspectos. Physically, for instance, there was the same slenderness, the same delicacy with which the details were finished; the same fragile hands, for instance. Fisicamente, por exemplo, havia a mesma esbeltez, a mesma delicadeza com que os detalhes eram acabados; as mesmas mãos frágeis, por exemplo. The distinction lay in a suggestion of strength and inexhaustible reserve of energy which Dan Barry possessed. A distinção estava em uma sugestão de força e reserva inesgotável de energia que Dan Barry possuía. The distinction lay still more in their faces. A distinção estava ainda mais em seus rostos. That of Byrne was worn and pallied from the long quest and struggle for truth; the body was feeble; the eyes were uncertain; but within there was a powerful machine which could work infallibly from the small to the large and the large to the small. A de Byrne estava desgastada e apaziguada pela longa busca e luta pela verdade; o corpo estava fraco; os olhos eram incertos; mas dentro havia uma máquina poderosa que podia trabalhar infalivelmente do pequeno ao grande e do grande ao pequeno. With Whistling Dan there was no suggestion at all of mental care. She could not imagine him worrying over a problem. His knowledge was not even communicable by words; it was more impalpable than the instinct of a woman; and there was about him the wisdom and the coldness of Black Bart himself. Seu conhecimento não era nem mesmo comunicável por palavras; era mais impalpável que o instinto de uma mulher; e havia nele a sabedoria e a frieza do próprio Black Bart.

The supper ended too soon for Kate. O jantar acabou cedo demais para Kate. She had been rallying Randall Byrne, and as soon as he could graciously leave, the poor fellow rose with a crimson face and left the room; and behind him, sauntering apparently in the most casual manner, went Whistling Dan. Ela estava reunindo Randall Byrne, e assim que ele pôde graciosamente sair, o pobre sujeito se levantou com o rosto vermelho e saiu da sala; e atrás dele, passeando aparentemente da maneira mais casual, foi Whistling Dan. As for Kate Cumberland, she could not put all the inferences together—she dared not; but when she lay in her bed that night it was a long time before she could sleep, for there was a voice inside her, singing. Quanto a Kate Cumberland, ela não conseguia juntar todas as inferências — não ousava; mas quando ela se deitou na cama naquela noite, demorou muito para que ela pudesse dormir, pois havia uma voz dentro dela, cantando.

She chose her time the next day. Ela escolheu seu horário no dia seguinte. Dan alternated between Black Bart and old Joe Cumberland during most of the day, and no sooner had he left the wolf-dog in the morning than she went out to Bart. Dan alternava entre Black Bart e o velho Joe Cumberland durante a maior parte do dia, e assim que ele deixou o cão-lobo pela manhã ela foi até Bart.

As always, Black Bart lay with his head flattened against the sand, dreaming in the sun, and not an eyelid quivered when she approached, yet she understood perfectly that the animal knew every move she made. Como sempre, Black Bart estava deitado com a cabeça achatada contra a areia, sonhando ao sol, e nem uma pálpebra tremia quando ela se aproximava, mas ela entendia perfeitamente que o animal conhecia cada movimento que ela fazia. She would have attempted to dress the wound again, but the memory of the ordeal of yesterday was too terrible. Ela teria tentado fazer um curativo no ferimento novamente, mas a lembrança da provação de ontem era terrível demais. She might break down in the midst of her effort, and the first sign of weakness, she knew, was the only spur which Black Bart needed. Ela poderia desmoronar no meio de seu esforço, e o primeiro sinal de fraqueza, ela sabia, era o único estímulo que Black Bart precisava. So she went, instead, to the chair where Dan often sat for hours near the dog, and there she took her place, folded her hands on her lap, and waited. Então ela foi para a cadeira onde Dan costumava sentar-se por horas perto do cachorro, e lá ela tomou seu lugar, cruzou as mãos no colo e esperou. She had no particular plan in mind, more than that she hoped to familiarize the great brute with the sight of her. Once he had known her well enough, but now he had forgotten all that passed before as completely, no doubt, as Whistling Dan himself had forgotten. Uma vez ele a conhecia bem o suficiente, mas agora ele havia esquecido tudo o que havia passado tão completamente, sem dúvida, quanto o próprio Whistling Dan havia esquecido.

While she sat there, musing, she remembered a scene that had occurred not many a month before. Enquanto ela estava sentada lá, meditando, ela se lembrou de uma cena que ocorrera não muito um mês antes. She had been out walking one fall day, and had gone from the house down past the corrals where a number of cattle newly driven in from the range were penned. Ela tinha saído para passear um dia de outono, e tinha ido da casa para baixo passando pelos currais onde um número de gado recém-chegado da pastagem estava encurralado. They were to be driven off for shipment the next day. Eles deveriam ser levados para embarque no dia seguinte. A bellowing caught her ear from one of the enclosures and she saw two bulls standing horn to horn, their heads lowered, and their puffing and snorting breaths knocking up the dust while they pawed the sand back in clouds against their flanks. Um berro pegou seu ouvido de um dos cercados e ela viu dois touros parados chifre a chifre, suas cabeças abaixadas, e suas respirações ofegantes e bufantes levantando a poeira enquanto eles empurravam a areia em nuvens contra seus flancos. While she watched, they rushed together, bellowing, and for a moment they swayed back and forth. Enquanto ela observava, eles correram juntos, berrando, e por um momento balançaram para frente e para trás. It was an unequal battle, however, for one of the animals was a hardened veteran, scarred from many a battle on the range, while the other was a young three-year old with a body not half so strong as his heart. Foi uma batalha desigual, no entanto, pois um dos animais era um veterano endurecido, marcado por muitas batalhas no campo, enquanto o outro era um jovem de três anos com um corpo não tão forte quanto seu coração. For a short time he sustained the weight of the larger bull, but eventually his knees buckled, and then dropped heavily against the earth. Por um curto período de tempo ele suportou o peso do touro maior, mas eventualmente seus joelhos se dobraram e então caíram pesadamente contra a terra. At that the older bull drew back a little and charged again. Com isso, o touro mais velho recuou um pouco e atacou novamente. This time he avoided the long horns of his rival and made the unprotected flank of the animal his target. Desta vez ele evitou os chifres longos de seu rival e fez do flanco desprotegido do animal seu alvo. If he had charged squarely the horns would have been buried to the head; but striking at an angle only one of them touched the target and delivered a long, ripping blow. Se ele tivesse atacado diretamente, os chifres teriam sido enterrados na cabeça; mas golpeando em um ângulo, apenas um deles tocou o alvo e desferiu um golpe longo e cortante. With the blood streaming down his side, the wounded bull made off into a group of cows, and when the victor pursued him closely, he at length turned tail and leaped the low fence—for the corral was a new one, hastily built for the occasion. Com o sangue escorrendo pelo lado, o touro ferido fugiu para um grupo de vacas, e quando o vencedor o perseguiu de perto, ele finalmente virou a cauda e pulou a cerca baixa - pois o curral era novo, construído às pressas para o ocasião. The conqueror raised his head inside the fence and bellowed his triumph, and outside the fence the other commenced pawing up the sand again, switching his tail across his bleeding side, and turning his little red eyes here and there. O conquistador ergueu a cabeça dentro da cerca e gritou seu triunfo, e do lado de fora da cerca o outro começou a cavar a areia novamente, balançando o rabo no lado sangrento e virando seus olhinhos vermelhos aqui e ali. They fixed, at length, upon Kate Cumberland, and she remembered with a start of horror that she was wearing a bright red blouse. Fixaram-se, por fim, em Kate Cumberland, e ela se lembrou com um sobressalto de horror que estava usando uma blusa vermelha brilhante. The next instant the bull was charging. No instante seguinte, o touro estava atacando. She turned in a hopeless flight. Ela se virou em um vôo sem esperança. Safety was hundreds of yards away in the house; the skirts tangled about her legs; and behind her the dull impacts of the bull's hoofs swept close and closer. A segurança estava a centenas de metros da casa; as saias emaranhadas em suas pernas; e atrás dela os impactos surdos dos cascos do touro se aproximavam cada vez mais. Then she heard a snarl in front, a deep-throated, murderous snarl, and she saw Black Bart racing towards her. Então ela ouviu um rosnado na frente, um rosnado assassino e profundo, e ela viu Black Bart correndo em sua direção. He whizzed by her like a black thunderbolt; there was a roar and bellow behind her, and at the same time she stumbled over a fence-board and fell upon her knees. Ele passou zunindo por ela como um raio negro; ouviu-se um rugido atrás dela, e ao mesmo tempo ela tropeçou em uma cerca e caiu de joelhos. But when she cast a glance of terror behind her she saw the bull lying on its side with lolling tongue and glazing eyes and the fangs of Black Dart were buried in its throat. Mas quando ela lançou um olhar de terror para trás ela viu o touro deitado de lado com a língua pendurada e olhos vidrados e as presas de Black Dart estavam enterradas em sua garganta.

When she reached this point in her musings her glance naturally turned towards the wolf-dog, and she started violently when she saw that Bart was slinking towards her, trailing the helpless leg. Quando ela chegou a esse ponto em suas reflexões, seu olhar se voltou naturalmente para o cão-lobo, e ela se assustou violentamente quando viu que Bart estava se esgueirando em sua direção, arrastando a perna indefesa. The moment he felt her eyes upon him, Bart dropped down, motionless, with a wicked baring of his teeth; his eyes closed, and he seemed, as usual, dreaming in the sun. No momento em que sentiu os olhos dela sobre ele, Bart caiu, imóvel, com um malvado arreganhar os dentes; seus olhos se fecharam e ele parecia, como sempre, sonhando ao sol.

Was the brute stalking her? O bruto a estava perseguindo? It was worse, in a way, than the ordeal of the day before, this stealthy, noiseless approach. Era pior, de certa forma, do que a provação do dia anterior, essa abordagem furtiva e silenciosa. And in her panic she first thought of springing from her chair and reaching a distance which the chain would keep him from following. Yet it was very strange. Black Bart in his wildest days after Dan brought him to the ranch had never been prone to wantonly attack human beings. Black Bart em seus dias mais selvagens depois que Dan o trouxe para o rancho nunca foi propenso a atacar seres humanos desenfreadamente. Infringe upon his right, come suddenly upon him, and then, indeed, there was a danger to all saving his master. Infringir sua direita, vir de repente sobre ele, e então, de fato, havia um perigo para todos salvarem seu mestre. But this daylight stalking was stranger than words could tell.

She forced her eyes to look straight ahead and sat with a beating heart, waiting. Ela forçou os olhos a olhar para frente e sentou-se com o coração batendo, esperando. Then, by slow degrees, she let her glance travel cautiously back towards Bart without turning her head. Então, lentamente, ela deixou seu olhar viajar cautelosamente de volta para Bart sem virar a cabeça. There was no doubt about it! The great wolf-dog was slinking towards her on his belly, still trailing the wounded foreleg. O grande cão-lobo se esgueirava para ela de barriga para baixo, ainda atrás da perna dianteira ferida. There was something snakelike in that slow approach, so silent and so gradual.

And yet she waited, moving neither hand nor foot.

A sort of nightmare paralysis held her, as when we flee from some horror in our dreams and find that our limbs have grown numb. Uma espécie de paralisia de pesadelo a dominava, como quando fugimos de algum horror em nossos sonhos e descobrimos que nossos membros ficaram dormentes. Behind us races the deadly thing, closer and closer; before us is the door of safety—only a step to reach it—and yet we cannot move a foot!

It was not all pure terror. There was an incredible excitement as well—her will against the will of the dumb brute—which would conquer? Havia uma excitação incrível também – sua vontade contra a vontade do bruto mudo – que venceria?

She heard a faint rustling of the sand beside her and could hardly keep from turning her head again. Ela ouviu um leve farfalhar da areia ao seu lado e mal conseguiu evitar virar a cabeça novamente. But she succeeded. Waves of coldness broke on her mind; her whole body would have shuddered had not fear chilled her into motionlessness. Ondas de frieza quebraram em sua mente; todo o seu corpo teria estremecido se o medo não a tivesse imobilizado. All reason told her that it was madness to sit there with the stealthy horror sliding closer; even now it might be too late. If she rose the shaggy form might spring from the ground at her. Perhaps the wolf had treasured up the pain from the day before and now— Talvez o lobo tenha entesourado a dor do dia anterior e agora...

A black form did, indeed, rise from the ground, but slowly. And standing on three legs, Bart stood a moment and stared in the face of the girl. The fear rushed out of her heart; and her face flushed hotly with relief. O medo saiu de seu coração; e seu rosto ficou vermelho de alívio. There was no enmity in the steady stare of the wolf-dog. Não havia inimizade no olhar fixo do cão-lobo. She could feel that even though she did not look. Ela podia sentir isso, embora não olhasse. Something that Whistling Dan had said long before came to her: "Even a hoss and a dog, Kate, can get terrible lonesome." Algo que Whistling Dan havia dito muito antes lhe ocorreu: "Mesmo um hoss e um cachorro, Kate, podem ficar terrivelmente solitários." Black Bart moved until he faced her directly. His ears were pricking in eagerness; she heard a snarl, but so low and muffled that there was hardly a threat in it; could it be a plea for attention? Suas orelhas estavam aguçadas de ansiedade; ela ouviu um rosnado, mas tão baixo e abafado que quase não havia ameaça; poderia ser um pedido de atenção? She would not look down to the sharp eyes, until a weight fell on her knees—it was the long, scarred head of the wolf! The joy that swelled in her was so great that it pained her like a grief. A alegria que crescia nela era tão grande que a doía como uma dor.

She stretched out her hand, slowly, slowly towards that head. Ela estendeu a mão, lentamente, lentamente para aquela cabeça. And Black Bart shrank and quivered, and his lips writhed back from the long, deadly teeth, and his snarl grew to a harsher, hoarser threat; still he did not remove his head, and he allowed the hand to touch him between the eyes and stroke the fur back to between the ears. E Black Bart encolheu e estremeceu, e seus lábios se contorceram para trás dos dentes longos e mortais, e seu rosnado cresceu para uma ameaça mais áspera e rouca; mesmo assim ele não tirou a cabeça, e permitiu que a mão o tocasse entre os olhos e acariciasse o pêlo de volta entre as orelhas. Only one other hand had ever touched that formidable head in such a manner! The teeth no longer showed; the keen, suspicious eyes grew dim with pleasure; the snarl sank to murmur and then died out. Os dentes não apareciam mais; os olhos penetrantes e desconfiados escureceram de prazer; o rosnado se transformou em murmúrio e então se extinguiu.

"Bart!" commanded the girl, sharply.

The head jerked up, but the questing eyes did not look at her. A cabeça se ergueu, mas os olhos curiosos não a olharam. He glanced over his shoulder to find the danger that had made her voice so hard. And she yearned to take the fierce head in her arms; there were tears she could have wept over it. E ela ansiava por tomar a cabeça feroz em seus braços; havia lágrimas que ela poderia ter chorado por isso. He was snarling again, prepared already to battle, and for her sake. Ele estava rosnando novamente, já preparado para a batalha, e por causa dela.

"Bart!" she repeated, more gently. "Lie down!" He turned his head slowly back to her and looked with the unspeakable wistfulness of the dumb brutes into her eyes. Ele virou a cabeça lentamente de volta para ela e olhou com a indescritível melancolia dos brutos mudos em seus olhos. But there was only one voice in which Bart could speak, and that was the harsh, rattling snarl which would have made a mountain-lion check itself mid-leap and slink back to its lair. Mas havia apenas uma voz na qual Bart podia falar, e essa era o rosnado áspero e estridente que faria um leão da montanha parar no meio do salto e se esgueirar de volta para seu covil. In such a voice he answered Kate, and then sank down, gradually. Com tal voz ele respondeu a Kate, e então afundou, gradualmente. And he lay still. E ele ficou imóvel.

So simply, and yet so mysteriously, she was admitted to the partnership. Tão simples, mas tão misteriosamente, ela foi admitida na sociedade. But though one member of that swift, grim trio had accepted her, did it mean that the other two would take her in? Mas, embora um membro daquele trio rápido e sombrio a tivesse aceitado, isso significava que os outros dois a aceitariam?

A weight sank on her feet and when she looked down she saw that Black Bart had lowered his head upon them, and so he lay there with his eyes closed, dreaming in the sun.