CHAPTER XXXII. VICTORY

The grey light which Buck Daniels saw that morning, hardly brightened as the day grew, for the sky was overcast with sheeted mist and through it a dull evening radiance filtered to the earth. A luz cinzenta que Buck Daniels viu naquela manhã, mal se iluminou à medida que o dia crescia, pois o céu estava encoberto por uma neblina e através dela um brilho opaco da noite filtrava-se para a terra. Wung Lu, his celestial, slant eyes now yellow with cold, built a fire on the big hearth in the living-room. Wung Lu, seus olhos celestiais e oblíquos agora amarelos de frio, acendeu uma fogueira na grande lareira da sala. It was a roaring blaze, for the wood was so dry that it flamed as though soaked in oil, and tumbled a mass of yellow fire up the chimney. Era uma labareda ruidosa, pois a madeira estava tão seca que ardeu como se estivesse encharcada de óleo, e despejou uma massa de fogo amarelo pela chaminé. So bright was the fire, indeed, that its light quite over-shadowed the meagre day which looked in at the window, and every chair cast its shadow away from the hearth. Tão brilhante era o fogo, de fato, que sua luz ofuscava bastante o escasso dia que olhava pela janela, e cada cadeira projetava sua sombra para longe da lareira. Later on Kate Cumberland came down the backstairs and slipped into the kitchen. Mais tarde, Kate Cumberland desceu as escadas dos fundos e entrou na cozinha.

"Have you seen Dan?" she asked of the cook.

"Wung Lu make nice fire," grinned the Chinaman. "Wung Lu faz um belo fogo", sorriu o chinês. "Misser Dan in there." "Senhorita Dan aí." She thought for an instant.

"Is breakfast ready, Wung?" "Pretty soon quick," nodded Wung Lu. "Then throw out the coffee or the eggs," she said quickly. "Então jogue fora o café ou os ovos", disse ela rapidamente. "I don't want breakfast served yet; wait till I send you word." "Eu não quero o café da manhã servido ainda; espere até eu lhe enviar uma mensagem." As the door closed behind her, the eye-brows of Wung rose into perfect Roman arches. Quando a porta se fechou atrás dela, as sobrancelhas de Wung se ergueram em perfeitos arcos romanos.

"Ho!" grunted Wung Lu, "O ho!" grunhiu Wung Lu, "Oh ho!" In the hall Kate met Randall Byrne coming down the stairs. He was dressed in white and he had found a little yellow wildflower and stuck it in his button-hole. Ele estava vestido de branco e havia encontrado uma florzinha amarela do campo e a enfiou na lapela. He seemed ten years younger than the day he rode with her to the ranch, and now he came to her with a quick step, smiling. Ele parecia dez anos mais jovem do que no dia em que foi com ela para o rancho, e agora se aproximou dela com um passo rápido, sorrindo.

"Doctor Byrne," she said quietly, "breakfast will be late this morning. Also, I want no one to go into the living-room for a while. Will you keep them out?" Você vai mantê-los fora?" The doctor was instantly gone.

"He hasn't gone, yet?" "Ele ainda não foi?" he queried.

"Not yet." The doctor sighed and then, apparently following a sudden impulse, he reached his hand to her.

"I hope something comes of it," he said. "Espero que algo venha disso", disse ele. Even then she could not help a wan smile. Mesmo assim, ela não pôde evitar um sorriso pálido.

"What do you mean by that, doctor?" The doctor sighed again. O médico suspirou novamente.

"If the inference is not clear," he said, "I'm afraid that I cannot explain. But I'll try to keep everyone from the room." She nodded her thanks, and went on; but passing the mirror in the hall the sight of her face made her stop abruptly. Ela assentiu em agradecimento e continuou; mas, ao passar pelo espelho do corredor, a visão de seu rosto a fez parar abruptamente. There was no vestige of colour in it; and the shadow beneath her eyes made them seem inhumanly large and deep. Não havia vestígio de cor nele; e a sombra sob seus olhos os fazia parecer desumanamente grandes e profundos. The bright hair, to be sure, waved over her head and coiled on her neck, but it was like a futile shaft of sunlight falling on a dreary moor in winter. O cabelo brilhante, com certeza, ondulava sobre sua cabeça e enrolava em seu pescoço, mas era como um fútil raio de sol caindo em um pântano sombrio no inverno. She went on thoughtfully to the door of the living-room but there she paused again with her hand upon the knob; and while she stood there she remembered herself as she had been only a few months before, with the colour flushing in her face and a continual light in her eyes. Ela foi pensativa até a porta da sala de estar, mas ali parou novamente com a mão na maçaneta; e enquanto estava ali, lembrou-se de si mesma como havia sido apenas alguns meses antes, com a cor rubor em seu rosto e uma luz contínua em seus olhos. There had been little need for thinking then. Havia pouca necessidade de pensar então. One had only to let the wind and the sun strike on one, and live. Bastava deixar o vento e o sol baterem em um e viver. Then, in a quiet despair, she said to herself: "As I am—I must win or lose—as I am!" Então, em um desespero silencioso, ela disse a si mesma: "Como eu sou — devo ganhar ou perder — como sou!" and she opened the door and stepped in.

She had been cold with fear and excitement when she entered the room to make her last stand for happiness, but once she was in, it was not so hard. Ela estava fria de medo e excitação quando entrou na sala para fazer sua última tentativa de felicidade, mas uma vez que ela entrou, não foi tão difícil. Dan Barry lay on the couch at the far end of the room with his hands thrown under his head, and he was smiling in a way which she well knew; it had been a danger signal in the old days, and when he turned his face and said good-morning to her, she caught that singular glimmer of yellow which sometimes came up behind his eyes. Dan Barry estava deitado no sofá do outro lado da sala com as mãos debaixo da cabeça e sorria de um jeito que ela bem conhecia; tinha sido um sinal de perigo nos velhos tempos, e quando ele virou o rosto e disse bom-dia para ela, ela captou aquele brilho singular de amarelo que às vezes surgia atrás de seus olhos. In reply to his greeting she merely nodded, and then walked slowly to the window and turned her back to him. Em resposta à sua saudação, ela apenas acenou com a cabeça, e então caminhou lentamente até a janela e virou as costas para ele.

It was a one-tone landscape. Era uma paisagem de um tom. Sky, hills, barns, earth, all was a single mass of lifeless grey; in such an atmosphere old Homer had seen the wraiths of his dead heroes play again at the things they had done on earth. Céu, colinas, celeiros, terra, tudo era uma única massa cinza sem vida; em tal atmosfera, o velho Homero vira as aparições de seus heróis mortos brincarem novamente com as coisas que haviam feito na Terra. She noted these things with a blank eye, for a thousand thoughts were leaping through her mind. Ela notou essas coisas com os olhos vazios, pois milhares de pensamentos estavam saltando em sua mente. Something must be done. There he lay in the same room with her. Lá ele estava no mesmo quarto com ela. He had turned his head back, no doubt, and was staring at the ceiling as before, and the yellow glimmer was in his eyes again. Ele virou a cabeça para trás, sem dúvida, e estava olhando para o teto como antes, e o brilho amarelo estava em seus olhos novamente. Perhaps, after this day, she should never see him again; every moment was precious beyond the price of gold, and yet there she stood at the window, doing nothing. But what could she do? Mas o que ela poderia fazer?

Should she go to him and fall on her knees beside him and pour out her heart, telling him again of the old days. Ela deveria ir até ele e cair de joelhos ao lado dele e abrir seu coração, contando-lhe novamente os velhos tempos. No, it would be like striking on a wooden bell; no echo would rise; and she knew beforehand the deadly blackness of his eyes. Não, seria como bater em um sino de madeira; nenhum eco se ergueria; e ela sabia de antemão a escuridão mortal de seus olhos. So Black Bart lay often in the sun, staring at infinite distance and seeing nothing but his dreams of battle. Então Black Bart ficava muitas vezes ao sol, olhando para uma distância infinita e não vendo nada além de seus sonhos de batalha. What were appeals and what were words to Black Bart? O que foram apelos e quais foram as palavras para Black Bart? What were they to Dan Barry? O que eles eram para Dan Barry? Yet once, by sitting still—the thought made her blood leap with a great, joyous pulse that set her cheeks tingling. No entanto, uma vez, ao ficar sentada quieta, o pensamento fez seu sangue saltar com um pulso grande e alegre que fez suas bochechas formigarem.

She waited till the first impulse of excitement had subsided, and then turned back and sat down in a chair near the fire. Ela esperou até que o primeiro impulso de excitação passasse, e então se virou e se sentou em uma cadeira perto do fogo. From a corner of her eye she was aware that Whistling Dan had turned his head again to await her first speech. Pelo canto do olho, ela percebeu que Whistling Dan havia virado a cabeça novamente para aguardar seu primeiro discurso. Then she fixed her gaze on the wall of yellow flame. Então ela fixou seu olhar na parede de chamas amarelas. The impulse to speak to him was like a hand tugging to turn her around, and the words came up and swelled in her throat, but still she would not stir. O impulso de falar com ele foi como uma mão puxando para fazê-la virar, e as palavras surgiram e incharam em sua garganta, mas ela ainda não se mexeu.

In a moment of rationality she felt in an overwhelming wave of mental coldness the folly of her course, but she shut out the thought with a slight shudder. Em um momento de racionalidade ela sentiu em uma onda esmagadora de frieza mental a loucura de seu curso, mas ela bloqueou o pensamento com um leve estremecimento. Silence, to Dan Barry, had a louder voice and more meaning than any words.

Then she knew that he was sitting up on the couch. Então ela soube que ele estava sentado no sofá. Was he about to stand up and walk out of the room? Ele estava prestes a se levantar e sair da sala? For moment after moment he did not stir; and at length she knew, with a breathless certainty, that he was staring fixedly at her! The hand which was farthest from him, and hidden, she gripped hard upon the arm of the chair. That was some comfort, some added strength. Isso foi algum conforto, alguma força adicional.

She had now the same emotion she had had when Black Bart slunk towards her under the tree—if a single perceptible tremor shook her, if she showed the slightest awareness of the subtle approach, she was undone. Ela tinha agora a mesma emoção que tinha quando Black Bart se esgueirou em sua direção sob a árvore - se um único tremor perceptível a sacudisse, se ela mostrasse a menor consciência da abordagem sutil, ela estava arruinada. It was only her apparent unconsciousness which could draw either the wolf-dog or the master. Era apenas sua aparente inconsciência que poderia atrair o cão-lobo ou o mestre.

She remembered what her father had told her of hunting young deer—how he had lain in the grass and thrust up a leg above the grass in sight of the deer and how they would first run away but finally come back step by step, drawn by an invincible curiosity, until at length they were within range for a point blank shot. Ela se lembrou do que seu pai lhe dissera sobre caçar veados jovens - como ele se deitou na grama e colocou uma perna acima da grama à vista do veado e como eles primeiro fugiam, mas finalmente voltavam passo a passo, atraídos por uma curiosidade invencível, até que finalmente estavam ao alcance de um tiro à queima-roupa.

Now she must concentrate on the flames of the fireplace, see nothing but them, think of nothing but the swiftly changing domes and walls and pinnacles they made. Agora ela deve se concentrar nas chamas da lareira, não ver nada além delas, não pensar em nada além das cúpulas, paredes e pináculos que eles formavam. She leaned a little forward and rested her cheek upon her right hand—and thereby she shut out the sight of Dan Barry effectually. Ela se inclinou um pouco para a frente e apoiou o rosto na mão direita – e assim fechou a visão de Dan Barry efetivamente. Also it made a brace to keep her from turning her head towards him, and she needed every support, physical and mental. Também fez uma cinta para impedi-la de virar a cabeça para ele, e ela precisava de todo apoio, físico e mental.

Still he did not move. Was he in truth looking at her, or was he staring beyond her at the grey sky which lowered past the window? Ele estava realmente olhando para ela, ou ele estava olhando além dela para o céu cinza que descia pela janela? The faintest creaking sound told her that he had risen, slowly, from the crouch. O mais leve rangido lhe disse que ele havia se levantado, lentamente, do agachamento. Then not a sound, except that she knew, in some mysterious manner, that he moved, but whether towards her or towards the door she could not dream. But he stepped suddenly and noiselessly into the range of her vision and sat down on a low bench at one side of the hearth. Mas ele entrou repentina e silenciosamente no campo de visão dela e se sentou em um banco baixo ao lado da lareira. If the strain had been tense before, it now became terrible; for there he sat almost facing her, and looking intently at her, yet she must keep all awareness of him out of her eyes. Se a tensão antes era tensa, agora se tornou terrível; pois ali estava ele sentado quase de frente para ela, e olhando atentamente para ela, mas ela deveria manter toda a consciência dele longe de seus olhos. In the excitement a strong pulse began to beat in the hollow of her throat, as if her heart were rising. Na excitação, um pulso forte começou a bater na cavidade de sua garganta, como se seu coração estivesse subindo. She had won, she had kept him in the room, she had brought him to a keen thought of her. Ela ganhou, ela o manteve na sala, ela o trouxe a um pensamento agudo sobre ela. A Pyrrhic victory, for she was poised on the very edge of a cliff of hysteria. Uma vitória de Pirro, pois ela estava à beira de um penhasco de histeria. She began to feel a tremor of the hand which supported her cheek. If that should become visible to him he would instantly know that all her apparent unconsciousness was a sham, and then she would have lost him truly! Se isso se tornasse visível para ele, ele saberia instantaneamente que toda a aparente inconsciência dela era uma farsa, e então ela o teria perdido de verdade!

Something sounded at one of the doors—and then the door opened softly. Algo soou em uma das portas - e então a porta se abriu suavemente. She was almost glad of the interruption, for another instant might have swept away the last reserve of her strength. Ela estava quase feliz com a interrupção, pois outro instante poderia ter varrido a última reserva de suas forças. So this, then, was the end.

But the footfall which sounded in the apartment was a soft, padding step, with a little scratching sound, light as a finger running on a frosty window pane. Mas os passos que soaram no apartamento eram um passo suave e acolchoado, com um pequeno som de arranhar, leve como um dedo correndo em uma vidraça gelada. And then a long, shaggy head slipped close to Whistling Dan. It was Black Bart!

A wave of terror swept through her. She remembered another scene, not many months before, when Black Bart had drawn his master away from her and led him south, south, after the wild geese. The wolf-dog had come again like a demoniac spirit to undo her plans!

Only an instant—the crisis of a battle—then the great beast turned slowly, faced her, slunk with his long stride closer, and then a cold nose touched the hand which gripped the arm of her chair. Apenas um instante - a crise de uma batalha - então a grande fera virou-se lentamente, encarou-a, esgueirou-se com seu longo passo mais perto, e então um nariz frio tocou a mão que segurava o braço de sua cadeira. It gave her a welcome excuse for action of some sort; she reached out her hand, slowly, and touched the forehead of Black Bart. Isso lhe deu uma desculpa bem-vinda para algum tipo de ação; ela estendeu a mão, lentamente, e tocou a testa de Black Bart. He winced back, and the long fangs flashed; her hand remained tremulously poised in air, and then the long head approached again, cautiously, and once more she touched it, and since it did not stir, she trailed the tips of her fingers backwards towards the ears. Ele estremeceu para trás, e as longas presas brilharam; sua mão permaneceu trêmula no ar, e então a longa cabeça se aproximou novamente, cautelosamente, e mais uma vez ela a tocou, e como ela não se mexeu, ela arrastou as pontas dos dedos para trás em direção às orelhas. Black Bart snarled again, but it was a sound so subdued as to be almost like the purring of a great cat. Black Bart rosnou novamente, mas era um som tão suave que era quase como o ronronar de um grande gato. He sank down, and the weight of his head came upon her feet. Ele afundou, e o peso de sua cabeça caiu sobre os pés dela. Victory!

In the full tide of conscious power she was able to drop her hand from her face, raise her head, turn her glance carelessly upon Dan Barry; she was met by ominously glowing eyes. Em plena onda de poder consciente, ela foi capaz de tirar a mão do rosto, erguer a cabeça, voltar o olhar descuidadamente para Dan Barry; ela foi recebida por olhos ameaçadoramente brilhantes. Anger—at least it was not indifference.

He rose and stepped in his noiseless way behind her, but he reappeared instantly on the other side, and reached out his hand to where her fingers trailed limp from the arm of the chair. Ele se levantou e caminhou silenciosamente atrás dela, mas reapareceu instantaneamente do outro lado, e estendeu a mão para onde os dedos dela se arrastavam no braço da cadeira. There he let them lie, white and cool, against the darkness of his palm. Lá ele os deixou deitados, brancos e frios, contra a escuridão de sua palma. It was as if he sought in the hand for the secret of her power over the wolf-dog. She let her head rest against the back of the chair and watched the nervous and sinewy hand upon which her own rested. Ela deixou sua cabeça descansar contra o encosto da cadeira e observou a mão nervosa e vigorosa sobre a qual a sua própria descansava. She had seen those hands fixed in the throat of Black Bart himself, once upon a time. Ela tinha visto aquelas mãos presas na garganta do próprio Black Bart, uma vez. A grim simile came to her; the tips of her fingers touched the paw of the panther. Um símile sombrio veio a ela; as pontas de seus dedos tocaram a pata da pantera. The steel-sharp claws were sheathed, but suppose once they were bared, and clutched. As garras afiadas de aço estavam embainhadas, mas suponha que uma vez elas estivessem expostas e agarradas. Or she stood touching a switch which might loose, by the slightest motion, a terrific voltage. Ou ela estava tocando um interruptor que poderia soltar, pelo menor movimento, uma voltagem terrível. What would happen?

Nothing! Presently the hand released her fingers, and Dan Barry stepped back and stood with folded arms, frowning at the fire. Logo a mão soltou seus dedos, e Dan Barry deu um passo para trás e ficou com os braços cruzados, franzindo a testa para o fogo. In the weakness which overcame her, in the grip of the wild excitement, she dared not stay near him longer. Na fraqueza que a dominou, nas garras da excitação selvagem, ela não ousou ficar perto dele por mais tempo. She rose and walked into the dining-room.

"Serve breakfast now, Wung," she commanded, and at once the gong was struck by the cook. "Sirva o café da manhã agora, Wung", ela ordenou, e imediatamente o gongo foi tocado pelo cozinheiro. Before the long vibrations had died away the guests were gathered around the table, and the noisy marshal was the first to come. He slammed back a chair and sat down with a grunt of expectancy. Ele empurrou uma cadeira para trás e se sentou com um grunhido de expectativa.

"Mornin', Dan," he said, whetting his knife across the table-cloth, "I hear you're ridin' this mornin'? "Bom dia, Dan", disse ele, afiando a faca sobre a toalha da mesa, "Ouvi dizer que você está cavalgando esta manhã? Ain't going my way, are you?" Não está indo do meu jeito, está?" Dan Barry sat frowning steadily down at the table. Dan Barry sentou-se à mesa com o cenho franzido. It was a moment before he answered.

"I ain't leavin," he said softly, at length, "postponed my trip." "Eu não vou embora", ele disse suavemente, por fim, "adiei minha viagem."