CHAPTER XXV. WERE-WOLF CAPÍTULO XXV. LOBISOMEM

Doctor Byrne, pacing the front veranda with his thoughtful head bowed, saw Buck Daniels step out with his quirt dangling in his hand, his cartridge belt buckled about his waist, and a great red silk bandana knotted at his throat. O Dr. Byrne, andando de um lado para o outro na varanda da frente com a cabeça pensativa abaixada, viu Buck Daniels sair com a camisa pendurada na mão, o cinturão de cartuchos afivelado na cintura e uma grande bandana de seda vermelha amarrada na garganta.

He was older by ten years than he had been a few days before, when the doctor first saw him. Ele era dez anos mais velho do que alguns dias antes, quando o médico o viu pela primeira vez. To be sure, his appearance was not improved by a three days' growth of beard. Com certeza, sua aparência não melhorou por causa de uma barba de três dias. It gave his naturally dark skin a dirty cast, but even that rough stubble could not completely shroud the new hollows in Daniels' cheeks. Dava à sua pele naturalmente escura um tom sujo, mas mesmo aquela barba áspera não conseguia cobrir completamente as novas cavidades nas bochechas de Daniels. His long, black, uncombed hair, sagged down raggedly across his forehead, hanging almost into his eyes; the eyes themselves were sunk in such formidable cavities that Byrne caught hardly more than two points of light in the shadows. Seu cabelo comprido, preto e despenteado, caía irregularmente sobre a testa, quase caindo nos olhos; os próprios olhos estavam afundados em cavidades tão formidáveis que Byrne captou pouco mais de dois pontos de luz nas sombras. All the devil-may-care insouciance of Buck Daniels was quite, quite gone. Toda a despreocupação despreocupada de Buck Daniels havia desaparecido. In its place was a dogged sullenness, a hang-dog air which one would not care to face of a dark night or in a lonely place. Em seu lugar havia uma teimosia rabugice, um ar de cão de caça que não se gostaria de enfrentar em uma noite escura ou em um lugar solitário. His manner was that of a man whose back is against the wall, who, having fled some keen pursuit, has now come to the end of his tether and prepares for desperate even if hopeless battle. Sua atitude era a de um homem cujas costas estão contra a parede, que, tendo fugido de uma perseguição feroz, agora chegou ao fim de suas forças e se prepara para uma batalha desesperada, embora sem esperança. There was that about him which made the doctor hesitate to address the cowpuncher. Havia algo nele que fez o médico hesitar em se dirigir ao vaqueiro.

At length he said: "You're going out for an outing, Mr. Por fim, ele disse: "Você vai sair para um passeio, Sr. Daniels?" Buck Daniels started violently at the sound of this voice behind him, and whirled upon the doctor with such a set and contorted expression of fierceness that Byrne jumped back. Buck Daniels sobressaltou-se violentamente ao ouvir aquela voz atrás de si e virou-se para o médico com uma expressão de ferocidade tão firme e contorcida que Byrne deu um pulo para trás.

"Good God, man!" cried the doctor, "What's up with you?" "Nothin'," answered Buck, gradually relaxing from his first show of suspicion. "Nada", respondeu Buck, gradualmente relaxando de sua primeira demonstração de suspeita. "I'm beating it. "Estou vencendo. That's all." "Leaving us?" "Yes." "Not really!" "D'you think I ought to stay?" asked Buck, with something of a sneer. perguntou Buck, com uma espécie de escárnio.

The doctor hesitated, frowning in a puzzled way. O médico hesitou, franzindo a testa de uma forma perplexa. At length he threw out his hands in a gesture of mute abandonment. Por fim, estendeu as mãos num gesto de abandono mudo.

"My dear fellow," he said with a faint smile, "I've about stopped trying to think." "Meu caro amigo", disse ele com um leve sorriso, "já parei de tentar pensar." At this Buck Daniels grinned mirthlessly. Diante disso, Buck Daniels sorriu sem alegria.

"Now you're talkin' sense," he nodded. "Agora você está falando com bom senso," ele assentiu. "They ain't no use in thinking." "But why do you leave so suddenly?" Buck Daniels shrugged his broad shoulders. Buck Daniels encolheu os ombros largos.

"I am sure," went on Byrne, "that Miss Cumberland will miss you." "She will not," answered the big cowpuncher. "She's got her hands full with— him ." "Ela tem as mãos cheias com ele." "Exactly. But if it is more than she can do, if she makes no headway with that singular fellow—she may need help——" Mas se for mais do que ela pode fazer, se ela não fizer nenhum progresso com aquele sujeito singular... ela pode precisar de ajuda... He was interrupted by a slow, long-drawn, deep-throated curse from Buck Daniels. Ele foi interrompido por uma maldição lenta, longa e profunda de Buck Daniels.

"Why in hell should I help her with— him? " "There is really no reason," answered the doctor, alarmed, "except, I suppose, old friendship——" "Damn old friendship!" burst out Buck Daniels. "There's an end to all things and my friendship is worn out—on both sides. "Há um fim para todas as coisas e minha amizade está desgastada - em ambos os lados. It's done!" He turned and scowled at the house. Ele se virou e fez uma careta para a casa.

"Help her to win him over? "Ajudá-la a conquistá-lo? I'd rather stick the muzzle of my gun down my throat and pull the trigger. Prefiro enfiar o cano da minha arma na garganta e puxar o gatilho. I'd rather see her marry a man about to hang. Prefiro vê-la casar com um homem prestes a ser enforcado. Well—to hell with this place. I'm through with it. Estou farto disso. S'long, doc." Longe, doutor." But Doctor Byrne ran after him and halted him at the foot of the steps down from the veranda. Mas o doutor Byrne correu atrás dele e o deteve ao pé da escada da varanda.

"My dear Mr. Daniels," he urged, touching the arm of Buck. "Meu caro Sr. Daniels", ele insistiu, tocando o braço de Buck. "You really mustn't leave so suddenly as this. There are a thousand questions on the tip of my tongue." Buck Daniels regarded the professional man with a hint of weariness and disgust. Buck Daniels olhou para o profissional com uma pitada de cansaço e desgosto.

"Well," he said, "I'll hear the first couple of hundred. “Bem”, disse ele, “ouço as primeiras duzentas. Shoot!" Atirar!" "First: the motive that sends you away." "Dan Barry." "Ah—ah—fear of what he may do?" "Damn the fear. At least, it's him that makes me go." Pelo menos, é ele que me faz ir." "It seems an impenetrable mystery," sighed the doctor. "I saw you the other night step into the smoking hell of that barn and keep the way clear for this man. I knew, before that, how you rode and risked your life to bring Dan Barry back here. Eu sabia, antes disso, como você cavalgou e arriscou sua vida para trazer Dan Barry de volta aqui. Surely those are proofs of friendship!" Buck Daniels laughed unpleasantly. He laid a large hand on the shoulder of the doctor and answered: "If them was the only proofs, doc, I wouldn't feel the way I do. Colocou uma grande mão no ombro do médico e respondeu: "Se fossem as únicas provas, doutor, eu não me sentiria como sinto. Proofs of friendship? Dan Barry has saved me from the—rope!—and he's saved me from dyin' by the gun of Jim Silent. Dan Barry me salvou da – corda! – e me salvou de morrer pela arma de Jim Silent. He took me out of a rotten life and made me a man that could look honest men in the face!" Ele me tirou de uma vida podre e me fez um homem que podia olhar homens honestos na cara!" He paused, swallowing hard, and the doctor's misty, overworked eyes lighted with some comprehension. Ele fez uma pausa, engolindo em seco, e os olhos enevoados e sobrecarregados do médico se iluminaram com alguma compreensão. He had felt from the first a certain danger in this big fellow, a certain reckless disregard of laws and rules which commonly limit the actions of ordinary men. Sentira desde o início um certo perigo nesse grande sujeito, um certo desrespeito imprudente às leis e regras que comumente limitam as ações dos homens comuns. Now part of the truth was hinted at. Agora, parte da verdade foi insinuada. Buck Daniels, on a time, had been outside the law; and Barry had drawn him back to the ways of men. Buck Daniels, uma vez, esteve fora da lei; e Barry o havia atraído de volta aos costumes dos homens. That explained some of the singular bond that lay between them.

"That ain't all," went on Buck. "Blood is thick, and I've loved him better nor a brother. "O sangue é grosso, e eu o amei mais do que a um irmão. I've gone to hell and back for him. For him I took Kate Cumberland out of the hands of Jim Silent, and I left myself in her place. Por ele, tirei Kate Cumberland das mãos de Jim Silent e me deixei no lugar dela. I took her away and all so's she could go to him. Eu a levei embora e tudo para que ela pudesse ir até ele. Damn him! Maldito seja! And now on account of him I got to leave this place." His voice rose to a ringing pitch. Sua voz subiu para um tom de toque.

"D'you think it's easy for me to go? D'you think it ain't like tearing a finger-nail off'n the flesh for me to go away from Kate? Você acha que não é como arrancar uma unha da carne para eu me afastar de Kate? God knows what she means to me! Deus sabe o que ela significa para mim! God knows, but if He does, He's forgotten me!" Deus sabe, mas se souber, esqueceu-se de mim!" Anguish of spirit set Buck Daniels shaking, and the doctor looked on in amazement. A angústia de espírito fez Buck Daniels tremer, e o médico olhou com espanto. He was like one who reaches in his pocket for a copper coin and brings out a handful of gold-pieces. Ele era como alguém que pega no bolso uma moeda de cobre e tira um punhado de moedas de ouro.

"Kind feelin's don't come easy to me," went on Buck Daniels. "Sentimentos gentis não são fáceis para mim", continuou Buck Daniels. "I been raised to fight. "Fui criado para lutar. I been raised to hard ridin' and dust in the throat. I been raised on whiskey and hate. And then I met Dan Barry, and his voice was softer'n a girl's voice, and his eyes didn't hold no doubt of me. Me that had sneaked in on him at night and was goin' to kill him in his sleep—because my chief had told me to! That was the Dan Barry what I first knew. He give me his hand and give me the trust of his eyes, and after he left me I sat down and took my head between my hands and my heart was like to bust inside me. Ele me deu sua mão e me deu a confiança de seus olhos, e depois que ele me deixou eu me sentei e peguei minha cabeça entre minhas mãos e meu coração estava prestes a explodir dentro de mim. It was like the clouds had blowed away from the sun and let it shine on me for the first time in my life. Era como se as nuvens tivessem soprado para longe do sol e o deixado brilhar sobre mim pela primeira vez na vida. And I swore that if the time come I'd repay him. E jurei que, se chegasse a hora, eu o recompensaria. For every cent he give me I'd pay him back in gold. I'd foller to the end of the world to do what he bid me do." Eu seguiria até o fim do mundo para fazer o que ele me mandasse fazer." His voice dropped suddenly, choked with emotion. Sua voz caiu de repente, sufocada pela emoção.

"Oh, doc, they was tears come in my eyes; and I felt sort of clean inside, and I wasn't ashamed of them tears! "Oh, doutor, eram lágrimas nos meus olhos; e eu me senti meio limpo por dentro, e não tinha vergonha daquelas lágrimas! That was what Dan Barry done for me!

"And I did pay him back, as much as I could. I met Kate Cumberland and she was to me among girls what Dan Barry was to me among men. Conheci Kate Cumberland e ela foi para mim entre as garotas o que Dan Barry foi para mim entre os homens. I ain't ashamed of sayin' it. I loved her till they was a dryness like ashes inside me, but I wouldn't even lift up my eyes to her, because she belonged to him. Eu a amei até que eles fossem uma secura como cinzas dentro de mim, mas eu nem sequer levantava meus olhos para ela, porque ela pertencia a ele. I follered her around like a dog. Eu a segui como um cachorro. I done her bidding. Eu fiz o lance dela. I asked no questions. What she wanted—that was law to me, and all the law I wanted. O que ela queria era lei para mim, e toda a lei que eu queria. All that I done for the sake of Dan Barry. And then I took my life in my hands for him—not once, but day after day.

"Then he rode off and left her and I stayed behind. D'you think it's been easy to stay here? Man, man, I've had to hear her talkin' about Dan Barry day after day, and never a word for me. And I had to tell her stories about Dan and what he'd used to do, and she' sit with her eyes miles away from me, listenin' an smilin' and me there hungerin' for just one look out of her eyes—hungerin' like a dyin' dog for water. E eu tive que contar a ela histórias sobre Dan e o que ele costumava fazer, e ela ficou sentada com os olhos a milhas de distância de mim, ouvindo um sorriso e eu ali faminto por apenas um olhar em seus olhos - faminto ' como um cachorro morrendo de vontade de água. And then for her and Joe I rode down south and when I met Dan Barry d'you think they was any light in his eyes when he seen me? "No, he'd forgotten me the way even a hoss won't forget his master. Forgot me after a few months—and after all that'd gone between us! Not even Kate—even she was nothin' to him. But still I kept at it and I brought him back. I had to hurt him to do it, but God knows it wasn't out of spite that I hit him—God knows! "And when I seen Dan go into that burnin' barn I says to myself: 'Buck, if nothin' is done that wall will fall and there's the end of Dan Barry. There's the end of him, that ain't any human use, and when he's finished after a while maybe Kate will get to know that they's other men in the world besides Dan.' Aí está o fim dele, que não serve para nada humano, e quando ele terminar depois de um tempo, talvez Kate saiba que eles são outros homens no mundo além de Dan. I says that to myself, deep and still inside me. And then I looked at Kate standin' in that white thing with her yaller hair all blowin' about her face—and I wanted her like a dyin' man wants heaven! E então eu olhei para Kate de pé naquela coisa branca com seu cabelo todo esvoaçando sobre o rosto - e eu a queria como um homem moribundo quer o céu! But then I says to myself again: 'No matter what's happened, he's been my friend. He's been my pal. Ele tem sido meu amigo. He's been my bunkie.' Ele tem sido meu beliche. "Doc, you ain't got a way of knowin' what a partner is out here. "Doc, você não tem como saber o que é um parceiro aqui. Maybe you sit in the desert about a thousand miles from nowhere, and across the little mesquite fire, there's your pal, the only human thing in sight. Talvez você esteja sentado no deserto a cerca de 1.600 quilômetros de lugar nenhum, e do outro lado da pequena fogueira de algaroba esteja seu amigo, a única coisa humana à vista. Maybe you go months seein' only him. If you're sick he takes care of you. If you're blue he cheers you up. Se você é azul, ele te anima. And that's what Dan Barry was to me. So I stands sayin' these things to myself, and I says: 'If I keep that wall from fallin' Dan'll know about it, and they won't be no more of that yaller light in his eyes when he looks at me. Então eu fico dizendo essas coisas para mim mesmo, e eu digo: 'Se eu impedir que essa parede caia, Dan vai saber sobre isso, e eles não serão mais aquela luz maior em seus olhos quando ele olhar para mim . That's what I says to myself, poor fool! "And I went into the fire and I fought to keep that wall from fallin'. You know what happened. When I come out, staggerin' and blind and three parts dead, Dan Barry looks up to me and touches his face where I'd hit him, and the yaller comes up glimmerin' and blazin' in his eyes. Quando eu saio cambaleando e cego e três partes morto, Dan Barry olha para mim e toca seu rosto onde eu o acertei, e o yaller aparece brilhando e brilhando em seus olhos. Then I went back to my room and I fought it out. Então voltei para o meu quarto e lutei contra isso.

"And here's where I stand now. If I stay here, if I see that yaller light once more, they won't be no waitin'. Se eu ficar aqui, se eu ver aquela luz mais uma vez, eles não vão esperar. Him and me'll have to have it out right then. Ele e eu teremos que resolver logo então. Am I a dog, maybe, that I got to stand around and jump when he calls me?" Eu sou um cachorro, talvez, que eu tenho que ficar parado e pular quando ele me chama?" "My dear fellow—my dear Mr. Daniels!" cried the horrified Doctor Byrne. "Surely you're wrong. He wouldn't go so far as to make a personal attack upon you!" Ele não iria tão longe a ponto de fazer um ataque pessoal a você!" "Wouldn't he? Bah! Not if he was a man, no. Não se ele fosse um homem, não. I tell you, he ain't a man; he's what the canuks up north call a were-wolf! Eu lhe digo, ele não é um homem; ele é o que os canuks do norte chamam de lobisomem! There ain't no mercy or kindness in him. Não há misericórdia ou bondade nele. The blood of a man means nothin' to him. The world would be better rid of him. Oh, he can be soft and gentle as a girl. Mostly he is. But cross him once and he forgets all you done for him. Give him a taste of blood and he jumps at your throat. I tell you, I've seen him do it!" He broke off with a shudder. Ele se interrompeu com um estremecimento.

"Doc," he said, in a lower and solemn voice. "Maybe I've said too much. Don't tell Kate nothin' about why I'm goin'. Let her go on dreamin' her fool dream. But now hear what I'm sayin'; If Dan Barry crosses me once more, one of us two dies, and dies damned quick. Mas agora ouça o que estou dizendo; Se Dan Barry me cruzar mais uma vez, um de nós dois morre, e morre muito rápido. It may be me, it may be him, but I've come to the end of my rope. Pode ser eu, pode ser ele, mas cheguei ao fim da minha corda. I'm leavin' this place till Barry gets a chance to come to his senses and see what I've done for him. That's all. I'm leavin' this place because they's a blight on it, and that blight is Dan Barry. Estou deixando este lugar porque eles são uma praga, e essa praga é Dan Barry. I'm leaving this place because—doc—because I can smell the comin' of bloodshed in it. Estou deixando este lugar porque... doutor... porque posso sentir o cheiro de derramamento de sangue nele. They's a death hangin' over it. Eles são uma morte pairando sobre isso. If the lightnin' was to hit and burn it up, house and man, the range would be better for it!" Se o raio atingisse e queimasse, casa e homem, o alcance seria melhor para isso!" And he turned on his heel and strode slowly down towards the corral. Doctor Byrne followed his progress with starting eyes. O Dr. Byrne acompanhou seu progresso com olhos arregalados.