The Man of the Forest by Zane Grey (fastest ebook reader .TXT) đ
- Author: Zane Grey
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pine-needles thrown up into his face. This frightened him so
that he leaped aside blindly to butt into a tree, rolled
over, gained his feet, and then the cover of the forest.
Dale was amused at this. His hand was against all the
predatory beasts of the forest, though he had learned that
lion and bear and wolf and fox were all as necessary to the
great scheme of nature as were the gentle, beautiful wild
creatures upon which they preyed. But some he loved better
than others, and so he deplored the inexplicable cruelty.
He crossed the wide, grassy plain and struck another gradual
descent where aspens and pines crowded a shallow ravine and
warm, sunlighted glades bordered along a sparkling brook.
Here he heard a turkey gobble, and that was a signal for him
to change his course and make a crouching, silent detour
around a clump of aspens. In a sunny patch of grass a dozen
or more big gobblers stood, all suspiciously facing in his
direction, heads erect, with that wild aspect peculiar to
their species. Old wild turkey gobblers were the most
difficult game to stalk. Dale shot two of them. The others
began to run like ostriches, thudding over the ground,
spreading their wings, and with that running start launched
their heavy bodies into whirring flight. They flew low, at
about the height of a man from the grass, and vanished in
the woods.
Dale threw the two turkeys over his shoulder and went on his
way. Soon he came to a break in the forest level, from which
he gazed down a league-long slope of pine and cedar, out
upon the bare, glistening desert, stretching away, endlessly
rolling out to the dim, dark horizon line.
The little hamlet of Pine lay on the last level of sparsely
timbered forest. A road, running parallel with a
dark-watered, swift-flowing stream, divided the cluster of
log cabins from which columns of blue smoke drifted lazily
aloft. Fields of corn and fields of oats, yellow in the
sunlight, surrounded the village; and green pastures, dotted
with horses and cattle, reached away to the denser woodland.
This site appeared to be a natural clearing, for there was
no evidence of cut timber. The scene was rather too wild to
be pastoral, but it was serene, tranquil, giving the
impression of a remote community, prosperous and happy,
drifting along the peaceful tenor of sequestered lives.
Dale halted before a neat little log cabin and a little
patch of garden bordered with sunflowers. His call was
answered by an old woman, gray and bent, but remarkably
spry, who appeared at the door.
âWhy, landâs sakes, if it ainât Milt Dale!â she exclaimed,
in welcome.
âReckon itâs me, Mrs. Cass,â he replied. âAnâ Iâve brought
you a turkey.â
âMilt, youâre that good boy who never forgits old Widow
Cass⊠. What a gobbler! First one Iâve seen this fall.
My man Tom used to fetch home gobblers like that⊠. Anâ
mebbe heâll come home again sometime.â
Her husband, Tom Cass, had gone into the forest years before
and had never returned. But the old woman always looked for
him and never gave up hope.
âMen have been lost in the forest anâ yet come back,â
replied Dale, as he had said to her many a time.
âCome right in. You air hungry, I know. Now, son, when last
did you eat a fresh egg or a flapjack?â
âYou should remember,â he answered, laughing, as he followed
her into a small, clean kitchen.
âLaws-aâ-me! Anâ thetâs months ago,â she replied, shaking
her gray head. âMilt, you should give up that wild life â
anâ marry â anâ have a home.â
âYou always tell me that.â
âYes, anâ Iâll see you do it yet⊠. Now you set there,
anâ pretty soon Iâll give you thet to eat which âll make
your mouth water.â
âWhatâs the news, Auntie?â he asked.
âNary news in this dead place. Why, nobodyâs been to
Snowdrop in two weeks! ⊠Sary Jones died, poor old soul
â sheâs better off â anâ one of my cows run away. Milt,
sheâs wild when she gits loose in the woods. Anâ youâll have
to track her, âcause nobody else can. Anâ John Dakkerâs
heifer was killed by a lion, anâ Lem Hardenâs fast hoss â
you know his favorite â was stole by hoss-thieves. Lem is
jest crazy. Anâ that reminds me, Milt, whereâs your big
ranger, thet youâd never sell or lend?â
âMy horses are up in the woods, Auntie; safe, I reckon, from
horse-thieves.â
âWell, thatâs a blessinâ. Weâve had some stock stole this
summer, Milt, anâ no mistake.â
Thus, while preparing a meal for Dale, the old woman went on
recounting all that had happened in the little village since
his last visit. Dale enjoyed her gossip and quaint
philosophy, and it was exceedingly good to sit at her table.
In his opinion, nowhere else could there have been such
butter and cream, such ham and eggs. Besides, she always had
apple pie, it seemed, at any time he happened in; and apple
pie was one of Daleâs few regrets while up in the lonely
forest.
âHowâs old Al Auchincloss?â presently inquired Dale.
âPoorly â poorly,â sighed Mrs. Cass. âBut he tramps anâ
rides around same as ever. Alâs not long for this world⊠.
Anâ, Milt, that reminds me â thereâs the biggest news you
ever heard.â
âYou donât say so!â exclaimed Dale, to encourage the excited
old woman.
âAl has sent back to Saint Joe for his niece, Helen Rayner.
Sheâs to inherit all his property. Weâve heard much of her
â a purty lass, they say⊠. Now, Milt Dale, hereâs your
chance. Stay out of the woods anâ go to work⊠. You can
marry that girl!â
âNo chance for me, Auntie,â replied Dale, smiling.
The old woman snorted. âMuch you know! Any girl would have
you, Milt Dale, if youâd only throw a kerchief.â
âMe! ⊠Anâ why, Auntie?â he queried, half amused, half
thoughtful. When he got back to civilization he always had
to adjust his thoughts to the ideas of people.
âWhy? I declare, Milt, you live so in the woods youâre like
a boy of ten â anâ then sometimes as old as the hills⊠.
Thereâs no young man to compare with you, hereabouts. Anâ
this girl â sheâll have all the spunk of the
Auchinclosses.â
âThen maybe sheâd not be such a catch, after all,â replied
Dale.
âWal, youâve no cause to love them, thatâs sure. But, Milt,
the Auchincloss women are always good wives.â
âDear Auntie, youâre dreaminâ,â said Dale, soberly. âI want
no wife. Iâm happy in the woods.â
âAir you goinâ to live like an Injun all your days, Milt
Dale?â she queried, sharply.
âI hope so.â
âYou ought to be ashamed. But some lass will change you,
boy, anâ mebbe itâll be this Helen Rayner. I hope anâ pray
so to thet.â
âAuntie, supposinâ she did change me. Sheâd never change old
Al. He hates me, you know.â
âWal, I ainât so sure, Milt. I met Al the other day. He
inquired for you, anâ said you was wild, but he reckoned men
like you was good for pioneer settlements. Lord knows the
good turns youâve done this village! Milt, old Al doesnât
approve of your wild life, but he never had no hard feelinâs
till thet tame lion of yours killed so many of his sheep.â
âAuntie, I donât believe Tom ever killed Alâs sheep,â
declared Dale, positively.
âWal, Al thinks so, anâ many other people,â replied Mrs.
Cass, shaking her gray head doubtfully. âYou never swore he
didnât. Anâ there was them two sheep-herders who did swear
they seen him.â
âThey only saw a cougar. Anâ they were so scared they ran.â
âWho wouldnât? Thet big beast is enough to scare any one.
For landâs sakes, donât ever fetch him down here again! Iâll
never forgit the time you did. All the folks anâ children
anâ hosses in Pine broke anâ run thet day.â
âYes; but Tom wasnât to blame. Auntie, heâs the tamest of my
pets. Didnât he try to put his head on your lap anâ lick
your hand?â
âWal, Milt, I ainât gainsayinâ your cougar pet didnât act
better ân a lot of people I know. Fer he did. But the looks
of him anâ whatâs been said was enough for me.â
âAnâ whatâs all that, Auntie?â
âThey say heâs wild when out of your sight. Anâ thet heâd
trail anâ kill anythinâ you put him after.â
âI trained him to be just that way.â
âWal, leave Tom to home up in the woodsâwhen you visit us.â
Dale finished his hearty meal, and listened awhile longer to
the old womanâs talk; then, taking his rifle and the other
turkey, he bade her good-by. She followed him out.
âNow, Milt, youâll come soon again, wonât you â jest to see
Alâs niece â whoâll be here in a week?â
âI reckon Iâll drop in some day⊠. Auntie, have you seen
my friends, the Mormon boys?â
âNo, I âainât seen them anâ donât want to,â she retorted.
âMilt Dale, if any one ever corrals you itâll be Mormons.â
âDonât worry, Auntie. I like those boys. They often see me
up in the woods anâ ask me to help them track a hoss or help
kill some fresh meat.â
âTheyâre workinâ for Beasley now.â
âIs that so?â rejoined Dale, with a sudden start. âAnâ what
doinâ?â
âBeasley is gettinâ so rich heâs buildinâ a fence, anâ
didnât have enough help, so I hear.â
âBeasley gettinâ rich!â repeated Dale, thoughtfully. âMore
sheep anâ horses anâ cattle than ever, I reckon?â
âLaws-aâ-me! Why, Milt, Beasley âainât any idea what he
owns. Yes, heâs the biggest man in these parts, since poor
old Alâs took to failinâ. I reckon Alâs health ainât none
improved by Beasleyâs success. Theyâve bad some bitter
quarrels lately â so I hear. Al ainât what he was.â
Dale bade good-by again to his old friend and strode away,
thoughtful and serious. Beasley would not only be difficult
to circumvent, but he would be dangerous to oppose. There
did not appear much doubt of his driving his way rough-shod
to the dominance of affairs there in Pine. Dale, passing
down the road, began to meet acquaintances who had hearty
welcome for his presence and interest in his doings, so that
his pondering was interrupted for the time being. He carried
the turkey to another old friend, and when he left her house
he went on to the village store. This was a large log cabin,
roughly covered with clapboards, with a wide plank platform
in front and a hitching-rail in the road. Several horses
were standing there, and a group of lazy, shirt-sleeved
loungers.
âIâll be doggoned if it ainât Milt Dale!â exclaimed one.
âHowdy, Milt, old buckskin! Right down glad to see you,â
greeted another.
âHello, Dale! You air shore good for sore eyes,â drawled
still another.
After a long period of absence Dale always experienced a
singular warmth of feeling when he met these acquaintances.
It faded quickly when he got back to the intimacy of his
woodland, and that was because the people of Pine, with few
exceptions â though they liked him and greatly admired his
outdoor wisdom â regarded him as a sort of nonentity.
Because he loved the wild and preferred it to village and
range life, they had classed
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