The Call Of The Canyon, Zane Grey [good non fiction books to read txt] 📗
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- Author: Zane Grey
Book online «The Call Of The Canyon, Zane Grey [good non fiction books to read txt] 📗». Author Zane Grey
Her Heart Gave A Mighty Throb And Seemed To Stop.
"What--Do You See?" Cried Flo, Sharply, Peering Ahead. "Oh! . . . Come,
Carley. Run!"
Flo's Cry Showed She Must Nearly Be Strangled With Terror. But Carley Was
Frozen In Her Tracks. Her Eyes Were Riveted Upon The Gray Furry Object. It
Chapter 4 Pg 63Stopped. Then It Came Faster. It Magnified. It Was A Huge Beast. Carley Had
No Control Over Mind, Heart, Voice, Or Muscle. Her Legs Gave Way. She Was
Sinking. A Terrible Panic, Icy, Sickening, Rending, Possessed Her Whole
Body.
The Huge Gray Thing Came At Her. Into The Rushing Of Her Ears Broke
Thudding Sounds. The Thing Leaped Up. A Horrible Petrifaction Suddenly Made
Stone Of Carley. Then She Saw A Gray Mantlelike Object Cast Aside To
Disclose The Dark Form Of A Man. Glenn!
"Carley, Dog-Gone It! You Don't Scare Worth A Cent," He Laughingly
Complained.
She Collapsed Into His Arms. The Liberating Shock Was As Great As Had Been
Her Terror. She Began To Tremble Violently. Her Hands Got Back A Sense Of
Strength To Clutch. Heart And Blood Seemed Released From That Ice-Banded Vise.
"Say, I Believe You Were Scared," Went On Glenn, Bending Over Her.
"Scar-Ed!" She Gasped. "Oh--There's No Word--To Tell--What I Was!"
Flo Came Running Back, Giggling With Joy. "Glenn, She Shore Took You For A
Bear. Why, I Felt Her Go Stiff As A Post! . . . Ha! Ha! Ha! Carley, Now How
Do You Like The Wild And Woolly?"
"Oh! You Put Up A Trick On Me!" Ejaculated Carley. "Glenn, How Could You?
. . . Such A Terrible Trick! I Wouldn't Have Minded Something Reasonable.
But That! Oh, I'll Never Forgive You!"
Glenn Showed Remorse, And Kissed Her Before Flo In A Way That Made Some
Little Amends. "Maybe I Overdid It," He Said. "But I Thought You'd Have A
Momentary Start, You Know, Enough To Make You Yell, And Then You'd See
Through It. I Only Had A Sheepskin Over My Shoulders As I Crawled On Hands
And Knees."
"Glenn, For Me You Were A Prehistoric Monster--A Dinosaur, Or Something,"
Replied Carley.
It Developed, Upon Their Return To The Campfire Circle, That Everybody Had
Been In The Joke; And They All Derived Hearty Enjoyment From It.
"Reckon That Makes You One Of Us," Said Hutter, Genially. "We've All Had
Chapter 4 Pg 64Our Scares."
Carley Wondered If She Were Not So Constituted That Such Trickery Alienated
Her. Deep In Her Heart She Resented Being Made To Show Her Cowardice. But
Then She Realized That No One Had Really Seen Any Evidence Of Her State. It
Was Fun To Them.
Soon After This Incident Hutter Sounded What He Called The Roll-Call For
Bed. Following Flo's Instructions, Carley Sat On Their Bed, Pulled Off Her
Boots, Folded Coat And Sweater At Her Head, And Slid Down Under The
Blankets. How Strange And Hard A Bed! Yet Carley Had The Most Delicious
Sense Of Relief And Rest She Had Ever Experienced. She Straightened Out On
Her Back With A Feeling That She Had Never Before Appreciated The Luxury Of
Lying Down.
Flo Cuddled Up To Her In Quite Sisterly Fashion, Saying: "Now Don't Cover
Your Head. If It Rains I'll Wake And Pull Up The Tarp. Good Night, Carley."
And Almost Immediately She Seemed To Fall Asleep.
For Carley, However, Sleep Did Not Soon Come. She Had Too Many Aches; The
Aftermath Of Her Shock Of Fright Abided With Her; And The Blackness Of
Night, The Cold Whip Of Wind Over Her Face, And The Unprotected
Helplessness She Felt In This Novel Bed, Were Too Entirely New And
Disturbing To Be Overcome At Once. So She Lay Wide Eyed, Staring At The
Dense Gray Shadow, At The Flickering Lights Upon The Cedar. At Length Her
Mind Formed A Conclusion That This Sort Of Thing Might Be Worth The
Hardship Once In A Lifetime, Anyway. What A Concession To Glenn's West! In
The Secret Seclusion Of Her Mind She Had To Confess That If Her Vanity Had
Not Been So Assaulted And Humiliated She Might Have Enjoyed Herself More.
It Seemed Impossible, However, To Have Thrills And Pleasures And
Exaltations In The Face Of Discomfort, Privation, And An Uneasy
Half-Acknowledged Fear. No Woman Could Have Either A Good Or A Profitable
Time When She Was At Her Worst. Carley Thought She Would Not Be Averse To
Getting Flo Hutter To New York, Into An Atmosphere Wholly Strange And
Difficult, And See How She Met Situation After Situation Unfamiliar To Her.
And So Carley's Mind Drifted On Until At Last She Succumbed To Drowsiness.
Chapter 4 Pg 65
A Voice Pierced Her Dreams Of Home, Of Warmth And Comfort. Something Sharp,
Cold, And Fragrant Was Scratching Her Eyes. She Opened Them. Glenn Stood
Over Her, Pushing A Sprig Of Cedar Into Her Face.
"Carley, The Day Is Far Spent," He Said, Gayly. "We Want To Roll Up Your
Bedding. Will You Get Out Of It?"
"Hello, Glenn! What Time Is It?" She Replied.
"It's Nearly Six."
"What! . . . Do You Expect Me To Get Up At That Ungodly Hour?"
"We're All Up. Flo's Eating Breakfast. It's Going To Be A Bad Day, I'm
Afraid. And We Want To Get Packed And Moving Before It Starts To Rain."
"Why Do Girls Leave Home?" She Asked, Tragically.
"To Make Poor Devils Happy, Of Course," He Replied, Smiling Down Upon Her.
That Smile Made Up To Carley For All The Clamoring Sensations Of Stiff,
Sore Muscles. It Made Her Ashamed That She Could Not Fling Herself Into
This Adventure With All Her Heart. Carley Essayed To Sit Up. "Oh, I'm
Afraid My Anatomy Has Become Disconnected! . . . Glenn, Do I Look A
Sight?" She Never Would Have Asked Him That If She Had Not Known She Could
Bear Inspection At Such An Inopportune Moment.
"You Look Great," He Asserted, Heartily. "You've Got Color. And As For Your
Hair--I Like To See It Mussed That Way. You Were Always One To Have It
Dressed--Just So. . . . Come, Carley, Rustle Now."
Thus Adjured, Carley Did Her Best Under Adverse Circumstances. And She Was
Gritting Her Teeth And Complimenting Herself When She Arrived At The Task
Of Pulling On Her Boots. They Were Damp And Her Feet Appeared To Have
Swollen. Moreover, Her Ankles Were Sore. But She Accomplished Getting Into
Them At The Expense Of Much Pain And Sundry Utterances More Forcible Than
Elegant. Glenn Brought Her Warm Water, A Mitigating Circumstance. The
Morning Was Cold And Thought Of That Biting Desert Water Had Been Trying.
"Shore You're Doing Fine," Was Flo's Greeting. "Come And Get It Before We
Throw It Out."
Carley Made Haste To Comply With The Western Mandate, And Was Once Again
Confronted With The Singular Fact That Appetite Did Not Wait Upon The
Troubles Of A Tenderfoot. Glenn Remarked That At Least She Would Not Starve
To Death On The Trip.
Chapter 4 Pg 66
Across The Desert Clear To Sunset Peak. There's A Good Spring Of Granite
Water. I'd Run Water From The Lake Down Into The Lower Flats, And I'd Sure
Raise Some Stock."
"What Do You Call This Place?" Asked Carley, Curiously.
"Deep Lake. It's Only A Watering Place For Sheep And Cattle. But There's
Fine Grazing, And It's A Wonder To Me No One Has Ever Settled Here."
Looking Down, Carley Appreciated His Wish To Own The Place; And Immediately
There Followed In Her A Desire To Get Possession Of This Tract Of Land
Before Anyone Else Discovered Its Advantages, And To Hold It For Glenn. But
This Would Surely Conflict With Her Intention Of Persuading Glenn To Go
Back East. As Quickly As Her Impulse Had Been Born It Died.
Suddenly The Scene Gripped Carley. She Looked From Near To Far, Trying To
Grasp The Illusive Something. Wild Lonely Arizona Land! She Saw Ragged
Dumpy Cedars Of Gray And Green, Lines Of Red Earth, And A Round Space Of
Water, Gleaming Pale Under The Lowering Clouds; And In The Distance
Isolated Hills, Strangely Curved, Wandering Away To A Black Uplift Of Earth
Obscured In The Sky.
These Appeared To Be Mere Steps Leading Her Sight Farther And Higher To The
Cloud-Navigated Sky, Where Rosy And Golden Effulgence Betokened The Sun And
The East. Carley Held Her Breath. A Transformation Was Going On Before Her
Eyes.
Chapter 4 Pg 67
Crowned The Symmetrical Domes. Southward Along The Horizon Line,
Down-Dropping Veils Of Rain, Just Touched With The Sunrise Tint, Streamed
In Drifting Slow Movement From Cloud To Earth. To The North The Range Of
Foothills Lifted Toward The Majestic Dome Of Sunset Peak, A Volcanic
Upheaval Of Red And Purple Cinders, Bare As Rock, Round As The Lower Hills,
And Wonderful In Its Color. Full In The Blaze Of The Rising Sun It Flaunted
An Unchangeable Front. Carley Understood Now What Had Been Told Her About
This Peak. Volcanic Fires Had Thrown
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