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The Night Horseman by Max Brand, CHAPTER XXX. THE VOICE OF BLACK BART

CHAPTER XXX. THE VOICE OF BLACK BART

Her father lay propped high with pillows among which his head lolled back. The only light in the room was near the bed and it cast a glow upon the face of Joe Cumberland and on the white linen, the white hair, the white, pointed beard. All the rest of the room swam in darkness. The chairs were blotches, indistinct, uncertain; even the foot of the bed trailed off to nothingness. It was like one of those impressionistic, very modern paintings, where the artist centres upon one point and throws the rest of his canvas into dull oblivion. The focus here was the face of the old cattleman. The bedclothes, never stirred, lay in folds sharply cut out with black shadows, and they had a solid seeming, as the mort-cloth rendered in marble over the effigy. That suggested weight exaggerated the frailty of the body beneath the clothes. Exhausted by that burden, the old man lay in the arms of a deadly languor, so that there was a kinship of more than blood between him and Kate at this moment. She stepped to the side of the bed and stood staring down at him, and there was little gentleness in her expression. So cold was that settled gaze that her father stirred, at length, shivered, and without opening his eyes, fumbled at the bed-spread and drew it a little more closely about his shoulders. Even that did not give him rest; and presently the wrinkled eyelids opened and he looked up at his daughter. A film of weariness heavier than sleep at first obscured his sight, but this in turn cleared away; he frowned a little to clear his vision, and then wagged his head slowly from side to side.

"Kate," he said feebly, "I done my best. It simply wasn't good enough." She answered in a voice as low as his, but steadier: "What could have happened? Dad, what happened to make you give up every hold on Dan? What was it? You were the last power that could keep him here. You knew it. Why did you tell him he could go?" The monotone was more deadly than any emphasis of a raised word.

"If you'd been here," pleaded Joe Cumberland, "you'd have done what I done. I couldn't help it. There he sat on the foot of the bed—see where them covers still kind of sag down—after he told me that he had something to do away from the ranch and that he wanted to go now that Black Bart was well enough to travel in short spells. He asked me if I still needed him." "And you told him no?" she cried. "Oh Dad, you know it means everything to me—but you told him no?" He raised a shaking hand to ward off the outburst and stop it.

"Not at first, honey. Gimme a chance to talk, Kate. At first I told him that I needed him—and God knows that I do need him. I dunno why—not even Doc Byrne knows what there is about Dan that helps me. I told Dan all them things. And he didn't say nothin', but jest sat still on the foot of the bed and looked at me. "It ain't easy to bear his eyes, Kate. I lay here and tried at first to smile at him and talk about other things—but it ain't easy to bear his eyes. You take a dog, Kate. It ain't supposed to be able to look you in the eye for long; but s'pose you met up with a dog that could. It'd make you feel sort of queer inside. Which I felt that way while Dan was lookin' at me. Not that he was threatenin' me. No, it wasn't that. He was only thoughtful, but I kept gettin' more nervous and more fidgety. I felt after a while like I couldn't stand it. I had to crawl out of bed and begin walkin' up and down till I got quieter. But I seen that wouldn't do. "Then I begun to think. I thought of near everything in a little while. I thought of what would happen s'pose Dan should stay here. Maybe you and him would get to like each other again. Maybe you'd get married. Then what would happen?

"I thought of the wild geese flyin' north in the spring o' the year and the wild geese flyin' south in the fall o' the year. And I thought of Dan with his heart followin' the wild geese—God knows why!—and I seen a picture of him standin' and watchin' them, with you nearby and not able to get one look out of him. I seen that, and it made my blood chilly, like the air on a frosty night.

"Kate, they's something like the power of prophecy that comes to a dyin' man!" "Dad!" she cried. "What are you saying?" She slipped to her knees beside the bed and drew his cold hands towards her, but Joe Cumberland shook his head and mildly drew one hand away. He raised it, with extended forefinger—a sign of infinite warning; and with the glow of the lamp full upon his face, the eyes were pits of shadow with stirring orbs of fire in the depths.

"No, I ain't dead now," he said, "but I ain't far away from it. Maybe days, maybe weeks, maybe whole months. But I've passed the top of the hill, and I know I'm ridin' down the slope. Pretty soon I'll finish the trail. But what little time I've got left is worth more'n everything that went before. I can see my life behind me and the things before like a cold mornin' light was over it all—you know before the sun begins to beat up the waves of heat and the mist gets tanglin' in front of your eyes? You know when you can look right across a thirty mile valley and name the trees, a'most the other side? That's the way I can see now. They ain't no feelin' about it. My body is all plumb paralyzed. I jest see and know—that's all. "And what I see of you and Dan—if you ever marry—is plain—hell! Love ain't the only thing they is between a man and a woman. They's something else. I dunno what it is. But it's a sort of a common purpose; it's havin' both pairs of feet steppin' out on the same path. That's what it is. But your trail would go one way and Dan's would go another, and pretty soon your love wouldn't be nothin' but a big wind blowin' between two mountains—and all it would do would be to freeze up the blood in your hearts." "I seen all that, while Dan was sittin' at the foot of the bed. Not that I don't want him here. When I see him I see the world the way it was when I was under thirty. When there wasn't nothin' I wouldn't try once, when all I wanted was a gun and a hoss and a song to keep me from tradin' with kings. No, it ain't goin' to be easy for me when Dan goes away. But what's my tag-end of life compared with yours? You got to be given a chance; you got to be kept away from Dan. That's why I told him, finally, that I thought I could get along without him." "Whether or not you save me," she answered, "you signed a death warrant for at least two men when you told him that." "Two men? They's only one he's after—and Buck Daniel has had a long start. He can't be caught!" "That Marshal Calkins is here to-night. He saw Buck at Rafferty's, and he talked about it in the hearing of Dan at the table. I watched Dan's face. You may read the past and see the future, Dad, but I know Dan's face. I can read it as the sailor reads the sea. Before to-morrow night Buck Daniels will be dead; and Dan's hands will be red." She dropped her head against the bedclothes and clasped her fingers over the bright hair.

When she could speak again she raised her head and went on in the same swift, low monotone: "And besides, Black Bart has found the trail of the man who fired the barn and shot him. And the body of Buck won't be cold before Dan will be on the heels of the other man. Oh, Dad, two lives lay in the hollow of your hand. You could have saved them by merely asking Dan to stay with you; but you've thrown them away." "Buck Daniels!" repeated the old man, the horror of the thing dawning on him only slowly. "Why didn't he get farther away? Why didn't he ride night and day after he left us? He's got to be warned that Dan is coming!" "I've thought of that. I'm going into my room now to write a note and send it to Buck by one of our men. But at the most he'll have less than a day's start—and what is a day to Satan and Dan Barry?" "I thought it was for the best," muttered old Joe. "I couldn't see how it was wrong. But I can send for Dan and tell him that I've changed my mind." He broke off in a groan. "No, that wouldn't be no good. He's set his mind on going by this time, and nothing can keep him back. But —Kate, maybe I can delay him. Has he gone up to his room yet?" "He's in there now. Talk softly or he'll hear us. He's walking up and down, now." "Ay, ay, ay!" nodded old Joe, his eyes widening with horror, "and his footfall is like the padding of a big cat. I could tell it out of a thousand steps. And I know what's going on inside his mind!" "Yes, yes; he's thinking of the blow Buck Daniels struck him; he's thinking of the man who shot down Bart. God save them both!" "Listen!" whispered the cattleman. "He's raised the window. I heard the rattle of the weights. He's standing there in front of the window, letting the wind of the night blow in his face!" The wind from the window, indeed, struck against the door communicating with Joe Cumberland's room, and shook it as if a hand were rattling at the knob. The girl began to speak again, as swiftly as before, her voice the barely audible rushing of a whisper: "The law will trail him, but I won't give him up. Dad, I'm going to fight once more to keep him here—and if I fail, I'll follow him around the world." Such words should have come loudly, ringing. Spoken so softly, they gave a terrible effect; like the ravings of delirium, or the monotone of insanity. And with the white light against her face she was more awe-inspiring than beautiful. "He loved me once; and the fire must still be in him; such fire can't go out, and I'll fan it back to life, and then if it burns me—if it burns us both—the fire itself cannot be more torture than to live on like this!" "Hush, lass!" murmured her father. "Listen to what's coming!" It was a moan, very low pitched, and then rising slowly, and gaining in volume, rising up the scale with a dizzy speed, till it burst and rang through the house—the long-drawn wail of a wolf when it hunts on a fresh trail.

CHAPTER XXX. THE VOICE OF BLACK BART

Her father lay propped high with pillows among which his head lolled back. Seu pai jazia alto com travesseiros entre os quais sua cabeça pendia para trás. The only light in the room was near the bed and it cast a glow upon the face of Joe Cumberland and on the white linen, the white hair, the white, pointed beard. A única luz no quarto era perto da cama e lançava um brilho sobre o rosto de Joe Cumberland e sobre o linho branco, o cabelo branco, a barba branca e pontiaguda. All the rest of the room swam in darkness. Todo o resto da sala nadava na escuridão. The chairs were blotches, indistinct, uncertain; even the foot of the bed trailed off to nothingness. As cadeiras eram manchas, indistintas, incertas; até o pé da cama se desvaneceu. It was like one of those impressionistic, very modern paintings, where the artist centres upon one point and throws the rest of his canvas into dull oblivion. Era como uma daquelas pinturas impressionistas, muito modernas, onde o artista se concentra em um ponto e joga o resto de sua tela no esquecimento. The focus here was the face of the old cattleman. The bedclothes, never stirred, lay in folds sharply cut out with black shadows, and they had a solid seeming, as the mort-cloth rendered in marble over the effigy. As roupas de cama, nunca mexidas, jaziam em dobras nitidamente recortadas com sombras negras, e tinham uma aparência sólida, como a mortalha pintada em mármore sobre a efígie. That suggested weight exaggerated the frailty of the body beneath the clothes. Esse peso sugerido exagerava a fragilidade do corpo sob as roupas. Exhausted by that burden, the old man lay in the arms of a deadly languor, so that there was a kinship of more than blood between him and Kate at this moment. Exausto por esse fardo, o velho estava nos braços de um langor mortal, de modo que havia um parentesco mais do que sangue entre ele e Kate neste momento. She stepped to the side of the bed and stood staring down at him, and there was little gentleness in her expression. Ela deu um passo para o lado da cama e ficou olhando para ele, e havia pouca gentileza em sua expressão. So cold was that settled gaze that her father stirred, at length, shivered, and without opening his eyes, fumbled at the bed-spread and drew it a little more closely about his shoulders. Tão frio era aquele olhar fixo que seu pai se mexeu, por fim, estremeceu e, sem abrir os olhos, apalpou a colcha e puxou-a um pouco mais para perto dos ombros. Even that did not give him rest; and presently the wrinkled eyelids opened and he looked up at his daughter. Mesmo isso não lhe deu descanso; e logo as pálpebras enrugadas se abriram e ele olhou para sua filha. A film of weariness heavier than sleep at first obscured his sight, but this in turn cleared away; he frowned a little to clear his vision, and then wagged his head slowly from side to side. Uma camada de cansaço mais pesada do que o sono a princípio obscureceu sua visão, mas isso por sua vez desapareceu; ele franziu um pouco a testa para clarear a visão, e então balançou a cabeça lentamente de um lado para o outro.

"Kate," he said feebly, "I done my best. "Kate," ele disse debilmente, "eu fiz o meu melhor. It simply wasn't good enough." Simplesmente não foi bom o suficiente." She answered in a voice as low as his, but steadier: "What could have happened? Ela respondeu em uma voz tão baixa quanto a dele, mas mais firme: "O que poderia ter acontecido? Dad, what happened to make you give up every hold on Dan? Pai, o que aconteceu para te fazer desistir de tudo sobre o Dan? What was it? You were the last power that could keep him here. You knew it. Why did you tell him he could go?" The monotone was more deadly than any emphasis of a raised word. O tom monótono era mais mortal do que qualquer ênfase de uma palavra levantada.

"If you'd been here," pleaded Joe Cumberland, "you'd have done what I done. "Se você estivesse aqui", implorou Joe Cumberland, "você teria feito o que eu fiz. I couldn't help it. Eu não pude evitar. There he sat on the foot of the bed—see where them covers still kind of sag down—after he told me that he had something to do away from the ranch and that he wanted to go now that Black Bart was well enough to travel in short spells. Lá ele se sentou no pé da cama – veja onde as cobertas ainda estão meio caídas – depois que ele me disse que tinha algo a fazer fora do rancho e que queria ir agora que Black Bart estava bem o suficiente para viajar. feitiços curtos. He asked me if I still needed him." "And you told him no?" she cried. "Oh Dad, you know it means everything to me—but you told him no?" He raised a shaking hand to ward off the outburst and stop it. Ele levantou a mão trêmula para evitar a explosão e pará-la.

"Not at first, honey. Gimme a chance to talk, Kate. At first I told him that I needed him—and God knows that I do need him. I dunno why—not even Doc Byrne knows what there is about Dan that helps me. I told Dan all them things. Eu contei a Dan todas aquelas coisas. And he didn't say nothin', but jest sat still on the foot of the bed and looked at me. "It ain't easy to bear his eyes, Kate. I lay here and tried at first to smile at him and talk about other things—but it ain't easy to bear his eyes. You take a dog, Kate. Você pega um cachorro, Kate. It ain't supposed to be able to look you in the eye for long; but s'pose you met up with a dog that could. It'd make you feel sort of queer inside. Isso faria você se sentir meio esquisito por dentro. Which I felt that way while Dan was lookin' at me. Not that he was threatenin' me. Não que ele estivesse me ameaçando. No, it wasn't that. He was only thoughtful, but I kept gettin' more nervous and more fidgety. Ele estava apenas pensativo, mas eu continuei ficando mais nervoso e mais inquieto. I felt after a while like I couldn't stand it. Eu senti depois de um tempo como se eu não pudesse suportar. I had to crawl out of bed and begin walkin' up and down till I got quieter. Eu tive que rastejar para fora da cama e começar a andar para cima e para baixo até ficar mais quieto. But I seen that wouldn't do. Mas eu vi que isso não funcionaria. "Then I begun to think. I thought of near everything in a little while. Pensei em quase tudo em pouco tempo. I thought of what would happen s'pose Dan should stay here. Maybe you and him would get to like each other again. Talvez você e ele pudessem gostar um do outro novamente. Maybe you'd get married. Then what would happen?

"I thought of the wild geese flyin' north in the spring o' the year and the wild geese flyin' south in the fall o' the year. "Pensei nos gansos selvagens voando para o norte na primavera do ano e nos gansos selvagens voando para o sul no outono do ano. And I thought of Dan with his heart followin' the wild geese—God knows why!—and I seen a picture of him standin' and watchin' them, with you nearby and not able to get one look out of him. E eu pensei em Dan com seu coração seguindo os gansos selvagens — Deus sabe por quê! — e eu vi uma foto dele parado e olhando para eles, com você por perto e sem conseguir tirar um olhar dele. I seen that, and it made my blood chilly, like the air on a frosty night. Eu vi isso, e fez meu sangue gelar, como o ar em uma noite gelada.

"Kate, they's something like the power of prophecy that comes to a dyin' man!" "Kate, eles são algo como o poder da profecia que vem para um moribundo!" "Dad!" she cried. "What are you saying?" She slipped to her knees beside the bed and drew his cold hands towards her, but Joe Cumberland shook his head and mildly drew one hand away. Ela caiu de joelhos ao lado da cama e puxou as mãos frias para ela, mas Joe Cumberland balançou a cabeça e afastou suavemente uma mão. He raised it, with extended forefinger—a sign of infinite warning; and with the glow of the lamp full upon his face, the eyes were pits of shadow with stirring orbs of fire in the depths. Ele a ergueu, com o dedo indicador estendido — um sinal de aviso infinito; e com o brilho da lâmpada cheio sobre seu rosto, os olhos eram poços de sombra com orbes de fogo nas profundezas.

"No, I ain't dead now," he said, "but I ain't far away from it. "Não, não estou morto agora", disse ele, "mas não estou longe disso. Maybe days, maybe weeks, maybe whole months. But I've passed the top of the hill, and I know I'm ridin' down the slope. Pretty soon I'll finish the trail. But what little time I've got left is worth more'n everything that went before. Mas o pouco tempo que me resta vale mais do que tudo o que aconteceu antes. I can see my life behind me and the things before like a cold mornin' light was over it all—you know before the sun begins to beat up the waves of heat and the mist gets tanglin' in front of your eyes? Eu posso ver minha vida atrás de mim e as coisas antes como uma luz fria da manhã estava sobre tudo - você sabe antes que o sol comece a bater as ondas de calor e a névoa fique emaranhada na frente de seus olhos? Я вижу свою жизнь позади и то, что было раньше, словно холодный утренний свет над всем этим - знаете, перед тем как солнце начинает бить волны тепла и туман клубится перед глазами? You know when you can look right across a thirty mile valley and name the trees, a'most the other side? Você sabe quando você pode olhar através de um vale de trinta milhas e nomear as árvores, quase do outro lado? That's the way I can see now. They ain't no feelin' about it. Они не испытывают никаких чувств. My body is all plumb paralyzed. Meu corpo está completamente paralisado. I jest see and know—that's all. "And what I see of you and Dan—if you ever marry—is plain—hell! "E o que eu vejo de você e Dan - se você se casar - é claro - inferno! Love ain't the only thing they is between a man and a woman. They's something else. I dunno what it is. But it's a sort of a common purpose; it's havin' both pairs of feet steppin' out on the same path. That's what it is. But your trail would go one way and Dan's would go another, and pretty soon your love wouldn't be nothin' but a big wind blowin' between two mountains—and all it would do would be to freeze up the blood in your hearts." Mas seu rastro iria para um lado e o de Dan para outro, e muito em breve seu amor não seria nada além de um grande vento soprando entre duas montanhas - e tudo o que faria seria congelar o sangue em seus corações. " "I seen all that, while Dan was sittin' at the foot of the bed. "Eu vi tudo isso, enquanto Dan estava sentado ao pé da cama. Not that I don't want him here. Não que eu não o queira aqui. Не то чтобы я не хотел, чтобы он был здесь. When I see him I see the world the way it was when I was under thirty. Quando o vejo, vejo o mundo como era quando eu tinha menos de trinta anos. When there wasn't nothin' I wouldn't try once, when all I wanted was a gun and a hoss and a song to keep me from tradin' with kings. Quando não havia nada que eu não tentaria uma vez, quando tudo que eu queria era uma arma e um hoss e uma música para me impedir de negociar com reis. Когда не было ничего, чего бы я не попробовал, когда все, что мне было нужно, - это ружье, мох и песня, чтобы не торговать с королями. No, it ain't goin' to be easy for me when Dan goes away. But what's my tag-end of life compared with yours? Mas qual é o meu fim de vida comparado com o seu? You got to be given a chance; you got to be kept away from Dan. Você tem que ter uma chance; você tem que ficar longe de Dan. Вам нужно дать шанс; вас нужно держать подальше от Дэна. That's why I told him, finally, that I thought I could get along without him." É por isso que eu disse a ele, finalmente, que pensei que poderia passar sem ele." "Whether or not you save me," she answered, "you signed a death warrant for at least two men when you told him that." "Quer você me salve ou não", ela respondeu, "você assinou uma sentença de morte para pelo menos dois homens quando disse isso a ele." "Спасешь ты меня или нет, - ответила она, - но, сказав ему это, ты подписал смертный приговор по меньшей мере двум мужчинам". "Two men? They's only one he's after—and Buck Daniel has had a long start. É o único que ele procura — e Buck Daniel teve um longo começo. Он охотится только за одним - за Баком Дэниелом. He can't be caught!" "That Marshal Calkins is here to-night. He saw Buck at Rafferty's, and he talked about it in the hearing of Dan at the table. Ele viu Buck no Rafferty's e falou sobre isso na presença de Dan na mesa. Он видел Бака в "Рафферти" и говорил об этом в присутствии Дэна за столом. I watched Dan's face. You may read the past and see the future, Dad, but I know Dan's face. I can read it as the sailor reads the sea. Before to-morrow night Buck Daniels will be dead; and Dan's hands will be red." She dropped her head against the bedclothes and clasped her fingers over the bright hair. Ela deixou cair a cabeça contra a roupa de cama e entrelaçou os dedos sobre o cabelo brilhante.

When she could speak again she raised her head and went on in the same swift, low monotone: "And besides, Black Bart has found the trail of the man who fired the barn and shot him. Quando ela conseguiu falar novamente, ela levantou a cabeça e continuou no mesmo tom rápido e monótono: "E, além disso, Black Bart encontrou o rastro do homem que atirou no celeiro e atirou nele. And the body of Buck won't be cold before Dan will be on the heels of the other man. E o corpo de Buck não estará frio antes de Dan estar no encalço do outro homem. Oh, Dad, two lives lay in the hollow of your hand. Oh, pai, duas vidas estão na palma da sua mão. О, папа, две жизни лежат в твоей руке. You could have saved them by merely asking Dan to stay with you; but you've thrown them away." "Buck Daniels!" repeated the old man, the horror of the thing dawning on him only slowly. repetiu o velho, o horror da coisa surgindo nele apenas lentamente. "Why didn't he get farther away? Why didn't he ride night and day after he left us? He's got to be warned that Dan is coming!" "I've thought of that. I'm going into my room now to write a note and send it to Buck by one of our men. But at the most he'll have less than a day's start—and what is a day to Satan and Dan Barry?" "I thought it was for the best," muttered old Joe. "I couldn't see how it was wrong. But I can send for Dan and tell him that I've changed my mind." Mas posso mandar chamar Dan e dizer a ele que mudei de ideia." He broke off in a groan. Ele se interrompeu em um gemido. Он прервался со стоном. "No, that wouldn't be no good. He's set his mind on going by this time, and nothing can keep him back. Ele está decidido a ir a essa altura, e nada pode detê-lo. But —Kate, maybe I can delay him. Has he gone up to his room yet?" Ele já subiu para o quarto dele?" "He's in there now. Talk softly or he'll hear us. Fale baixinho ou ele nos ouvirá. He's walking up and down, now." "Ay, ay, ay!" nodded old Joe, his eyes widening with horror, "and his footfall is like the padding of a big cat. acenou com a cabeça o velho Joe, seus olhos se arregalando de horror, "e seus passos são como o estofamento de um grande felino. I could tell it out of a thousand steps. Eu poderia dizer isso em mil passos. And I know what's going on inside his mind!" "Yes, yes; he's thinking of the blow Buck Daniels struck him; he's thinking of the man who shot down Bart. "Да, да; он думает об ударе, который нанес ему Бак Дэниелс; он думает о человеке, который застрелил Барта. God save them both!" "Listen!" whispered the cattleman. sussurrou o vaqueiro. "He's raised the window. "Ele levantou a janela. I heard the rattle of the weights. Ouvi o barulho dos pesos. He's standing there in front of the window, letting the wind of the night blow in his face!" Ele está ali na frente da janela, deixando o vento da noite soprar em seu rosto!" The wind from the window, indeed, struck against the door communicating with Joe Cumberland's room, and shook it as if a hand were rattling at the knob. O vento da janela, de fato, batia contra a porta que comunicava com o quarto de Joe Cumberland e a sacudia como se uma mão estivesse chacoalhando a maçaneta. The girl began to speak again, as swiftly as before, her voice the barely audible rushing of a whisper: "The law will trail him, but I won't give him up. A garota começou a falar novamente, tão rapidamente quanto antes, sua voz quase inaudível como um sussurro: “A lei o seguirá, mas eu não vou desistir dele. Девушка заговорила снова, так же быстро, как и раньше, ее голос был едва слышным, похожим на шепот: "Закон пустит его по следу, но я не отдам его. Dad, I'm going to fight once more to keep him here—and if I fail, I'll follow him around the world." Папа, я еще раз буду бороться за то, чтобы он остался здесь, а если не получится, то отправлюсь за ним по всему миру". Such words should have come loudly, ringing. Tais palavras deveriam ter vindo em voz alta, soando. Spoken so softly, they gave a terrible effect; like the ravings of delirium, or the monotone of insanity. Faladas tão suavemente, davam um efeito terrível; como os delírios do delírio, ou o tom monótono da insanidade. And with the white light against her face she was more awe-inspiring than beautiful. E com a luz branca contra seu rosto, ela era mais inspiradora do que bonita. "He loved me once; and the fire must still be in him; such fire can't go out, and I'll fan it back to life, and then if it burns me—if it burns us both—the fire itself cannot be more torture than to live on like this!" "Ele me amou uma vez; e o fogo ainda deve estar nele; esse fogo não pode se apagar, e eu vou trazê-lo de volta à vida, e então se ele me queimar - se ele queimar nós dois - o próprio fogo não pode ser mais tortura do que viver assim!" "Hush, lass!" "Silêncio, moça!" murmured her father. "Listen to what's coming!" It was a moan, very low pitched, and then rising slowly, and gaining in volume, rising up the scale with a dizzy speed, till it burst and rang through the house—the long-drawn wail of a wolf when it hunts on a fresh trail. Era um gemido, muito baixo, e depois subindo lentamente e ganhando volume, subindo na escala com uma velocidade vertiginosa, até explodir e ressoar pela casa - o lamento prolongado de um lobo quando caça em um trilha fresca.