Hedeparted;thecompanywasprofoundlyimpressed。
Abouttwentyminuteslater,whenMarcusSchoulerwasentertainingtheguestsbyeatingalmonds,shellsandall,Mr。Sieppestartedtohisfeet,watchinhand。
“Haf-bastelevun,“heshouted。“Attention!Derdimehafarrive,shtopeferyting。Wedepart。“
Thiswasasignalfortremendousconfusion。Mr。Sieppeimmediatelythrewoffhispreviousairofrelaxation,thecalf’sheadwasforgotten,hewasonceagaintheleaderofvastenterprises。
“Tome,tome,“hecried。“Mommer,dertervins,Owgooste。“
Hemarshalledhistribetogether,withtremendouscommandinggestures。Thesleepingtwinsweresuddenlyshakenintoadazedconsciousness;Owgooste,whomthealmond-eatingofMarcusSchoulerhadpetrifiedwithadmiration,wassmackedtoarealizationofhissurroundings。
OldGrannis,withacertaindelicacythatwasoneofhischaracteristics,feltinstinctivelythattheguests——themereoutsiders——shoulddepartbeforethefamilybeganitsleave-takingofTrina。Hewithdrewunobtrusively,afterahastygood-nighttothebrideandgroom。Therestfollowedalmostimmediately。
“Well,Mr。Sieppe,“exclaimedMarcus,“wewon’tseeeachotherforsometime。“MarcushadgivenuphisfirstintentionofjoiningintheSieppemigration。HespokeinalargewayofcertainaffairsthatwouldkeephiminSanFranciscotillthefall。Oflatehehadentertainedambitionsofaranchlife,hewouldbreedcattle,hehadalittlemoneyandwasonlylookingforsomeone“togoinwith。“Hedreamedofacowboy’slifeandsawhimselfinanentrancingvisioninvolvingsilverspursanduntamedbronchos。HetoldhimselfthatTrinahadcasthimoff,thathisbestfriendhad“playedhimforasucker,“thatthe“propercaper“wastowithdrawfromtheworldentirely。
“Ifyouhearofanybodydownthere,“hewenton,speakingtoMr。Sieppe,“thatwantstogoinforranching,whyjustletmeknow。“
“Soh,soh,“answeredMr。Sieppeabstractedly,peeringaboutforOwgooste’scap。
MarcusbadetheSieppesfarewell。HeandHeisewentouttogether。Oneheardthem,astheydescendedthestairs,discussingthepossibilityofFrenna’splacebeingstillopen。
ThenMissBakerdepartedafterkissingTrinaonbothcheeks。
Selinawentwithher。Therewasonlythefamilyleft。
Trinawatchedthemgo,onebyone,withanincreasingfeelingofuneasinessandvagueapprehension。Soontheywouldallbegone。
“Well,Trina,“exclaimedMr。Sieppe,“goot-py;perhapsyougomevisitussomedime。“
Mrs。Sieppebegancryingagain。
“Ach,Trina,venshallIeferseeyouagain?“
TearscametoTrina’seyesinspiteofherself。Sheputherarmsaroundhermother。
“Oh,sometime,sometime,“shecried。ThetwinsandOwgoosteclungtoTrina’sskirts,frettingandwhimpering。
McTeaguewasmiserable。Hestoodapartfromthegroup,inacorner。Noneofthemseemedtothinkofhim;hewasnotofthem。
“Writetomeveryoften,mamma,andtellmeabouteverything——aboutAugustandthetwins。“
“Itisdime,“criedMr。Sieppe,nervously。“Goot-py,Trina。
Mommer,Owgooste,saygoot-py,denwemustgo。Goot-py,Trina。“Hekissedher。Owgoosteandthetwinswereliftedup。“Gome,gome,“insistedMr。Sieppe,movingtowardthedoor。
“Goot-py,Trina,“exclaimedMrs。Sieppe,cryingharderthanever。“Doktor——whereisderdoktor——Doktor,pegoottoher,eh?pevairygoot,eh,won’tyou?Zumday,Dokter,youvillhafadaughter,denyouknowberhapshowIfeel,yes。“
Theywerestandingatthedoorbythistime。Mr。Sieppe,halfwaydownthestairs,keptcalling“Gome,gome,wemissderdrain。“
Mrs。SieppereleasedTrinaandstarteddownthehall,thetwinsandOwgoostefollowing。Trinastoodinthedoorway,lookingafterthemthroughhertears。Theyweregoing,going。Whenwouldsheeverseethemagain?Shewastobeleftalonewiththismantowhomshehadjustbeenmarried。
Asuddenvagueterrorseizedher;sheleftMcTeagueandrandownthehallandcaughthermotheraroundtheneck。
“Idon’tWANTyoutogo,“shewhisperedinhermother’sear,sobbing。“Oh,mamma,I——I’m’fraid。“
“Ach,Trina,youpreakmyheart。Don’tgry,poorleetlegirl。“SherockedTrinainherarmsasthoughshewereachildagain。“Poorleetlescairtgirl,don’gry——soh——soh——
soh,dere’snuttuntope’fraidoaf。Dere,gotoyourhoasban’。Listen,popper’sgallingagain;goden;goot-by。“
SheloosenedTrina’sarmsandstarteddownthestairs。Trinaleanedoverthebanisters,straininghereyesafterhermother。
“Whatisut,Trina?“
“Oh,good-by,good-by。“
“Gome,gome,wemissderdrain。“
“Mamma,oh,mamma!“
“Whatisut,Trina?“
“Good-by。“
“Goot-py,leetledaughter。“
“Good-by,good-by,good-by。“
Thestreetdoorclosed。Thesilencewasprofound。
ForanothermomentTrinastoodleaningoverthebanisters,lookingdownintotheemptystairway。Itwasdark。Therewasnobody。They——herfather,hermother,thechildren——hadlefther,leftheralone。Shefacedabouttowardtherooms——facedherhusband,facedhernewhome,thenewlifethatwastobeginnow。
Thehallwasemptyanddeserted。Thegreatflataroundherseemednewandhugeandstrange;shefelthorriblyalone。
EvenMariaandthehiredwaiterweregone。Ononeofthefloorsabovesheheardababycrying。Shestoodthereaninstantinthedarkhall,inherweddingfinery,lookingabouther,listening。Fromtheopendoorofthesitting-
roomstreamedagoldbaroflight。
Shewentdownthehall,bytheopendoorofthesitting-
room,goingontowardthehalldoorofthebedroom。
Asshesoftlypassedthesitting-roomsheglancedhastilyin。Thelampsandthegaswereburningbrightly,thechairswerepushedbackfromthetablejustastheguestshadleftthem,andthetableitself,abandoned,deserted,presentedtoviewthevagueconfusionofitsdishes,itsknivesandforks,itsemptyplattersandcrumplednapkins。
Thedentistsatthereleaningonhiselbows,hisbacktowardher;againstthewhiteblurofthetablehelookedcolossal。
Abovehisgiantshouldersrosehisthick,redneckandmaneofyellowhair。Thelightshonepinkthroughthegristleofhisenormousears。
Trinaenteredthebedroom,closingthedoorafterher。Atthesound,sheheardMcTeaguestartandrise。
“Isthatyou,Trina?“
Shedidnotanswer;butpausedinthemiddleoftheroom,holdingherbreath,trembling。
Thedentistcrossedtheoutsideroom,partedthechenilleportieres,andcamein。Hecametowardherquickly,makingasiftotakeherinhisarms。Hiseyeswerealight。
“No,no,“criedTrina,shrinkingfromhim。Suddenlyseizedwiththefearofhim——theintuitivefemininefearofthemale——herwholebeingquailedbeforehim。Shewasterrifiedathishuge,square-cuthead;hispowerful,salientjaw;hishuge,redhands;hisenormous,resistlessstrength。
“No,no——I’mafraid,“shecried,drawingbackfromhimtotheothersideoftheroom。
“Afraid?“answeredthedentistinperplexity。“Whatareyouafraidof,Trina?I’mnotgoingtohurtyou。Whatareyouafraidof?“
What,indeed,wasTrinaafraidof?Shecouldnottell。ButwhatdidsheknowofMcTeague,afterall?Whowasthismanthathadcomeintoherlife,whohadtakenherfromherhomeandfromherparents,andwithwhomshewasnowleftalonehereinthisstrange,vastflat?
“Oh,I’mafraid。I’mafraid,“shecried。
McTeaguecamenearer,satdownbesideherandputonearmaroundher。
“Whatareyouafraidof,Trina?“hesaid,reassuringly。“I
don’twanttofrightenyou。“
Shelookedathimwildly,heradorablelittlechinquivering,thetearsbrimminginhernarrowblueeyes。
第26章