首页 >出版文学> McTeague>第63章

第63章

  “Donefor?“murmuredtheother,lookingaboutstupidly。
  “Donefor,that’stheword。Donefor?Yes,Iguesswe’redonefor。“
  “WhatarewegoingtodoNOW?“exclaimedMarcus,sharply,afterawhile。
  “Well,let’s——let’sbemovingalong——somewhere。“
  “WHERE,I’dliketoknow?What’sthegoodofmovingon?“
  “What’sthegoodofstoppinghere?“
  Therewasasilence。
  “Lord,it’shot,“saidthedentist,finally,wipinghisforeheadwiththebackofhishand。Marcusgroundhisteeth。
  “Donefor,“hemuttered;“donefor。“
  “IneverWASsothirsty,“continuedMcTeague。“I’mthatdryIcanhearmytonguerubbingagainsttheroofofmymouth。“
  “Well,wecan’tstophere,“saidMarcus,finally;“wegottogosomewhere。We’lltryandgetback,butitain’tnomannerofuse。Anythingwewanttotakealongwithusfromthemule?Wecan——“
  Suddenlyhepaused。Inaninstanttheeyesofthetwodoomedmenhadmetasthesamethoughtsimultaneouslyroseintheirminds。Thecanvassackwithitsfivethousanddollarswasstilltiedtothehornofthesaddle。
  Marcushademptiedhisrevolveratthemule,andthoughhestillworehiscartridgebelt,hewasforthemomentasunarmedasMcTeague。
  “Iguess,“beganMcTeaguecomingforwardastep,“Iguess,evenifwearedonefor,I’lltake——someofmytruckalong。“
  “Holdon,“exclaimedMarcus,withrisingaggressiveness。
  “Let’stalkaboutthat。Iain’tsosureaboutwhothat——whothatmoneybelongsto。“
  “Well,IAM,yousee,“growledthedentist。
  Theoldenmitybetweenthetwomen,theirancienthate,wasflamingupagain。
  “Don’ttryan’loadthatguneither,“criedMcTeague,fixingMarcuswithhislittleeyes。
  “Thendon’tlayyourfingeronthatsack,“shoutedtheother。“You’remyprisoner,doyouunderstand?You’lldoasIsay。“Marcushaddrawnthehandcuffsfromhispocket,andstoodreadywithhisrevolverheldasaclub。“Yousoldieredmeoutofthatmoneyonce,andplayedmeforasucker,an’it’smyturnnow。Don’tyoulayyourfingeronthatsack。“
  MarcusbarredMcTeague’sway,whitewithpassion。McTeaguedidnotanswer。Hiseyesdrewtotwofine,twinklingpoints,andhisenormoushandsknottedthemselvesintofists,hardaswoodenmallets。HemovedastepnearertoMarcus,thenanother。
  Suddenlythemengrappled,andinanotherinstantwererollingandstrugglinguponthehotwhiteground。McTeaguethrustMarcusbackwarduntilhetrippedandfelloverthebodyofthedeadmule。Thelittlebirdcagebrokefromthesaddlewiththeviolenceoftheirfall,androlledoutupontheground,theflour-bagsslippingfromit。McTeaguetoretherevolverfromMarcus’sgripandstruckoutwithitblindly。Cloudsofalkalidust,fineandpungent,envelopedthetwofightingmen,allbutstranglingthem。
  McTeaguedidnotknowhowhekilledhisenemy,butallatonceMarcusgrewstillbeneathhisblows。Thentherewasasuddenlastreturnofenergy。McTeague’srightwristwascaught,somethinglickeduponit,thenthestrugglingbodyfelllimpandmotionlesswithalongbreath。
  AsMcTeaguerosetohisfeet,hefeltapullathisrightwrist;somethinghelditfast。Lookingdown,hesawthatMarcusinthatlaststrugglehadfoundstrengthtohandcufftheirwriststogether。Marcuswasdeadnow;McTeaguewaslockedtothebody。Allabouthim,vastinterminable,stretchedthemeasurelessleaguesofDeathValley。
  McTeagueremainedstupidlylookingaroundhim,nowatthedistanthorizon,nowattheground,nowatthehalf-deadcanarychitteringfeeblyinitslittlegiltprison。
  TheEnd