【英文原著类】ROWDY OF THE CROSS L.(戴L字架的劳迪).pdf

ROWDY OF THE "CROSS L."
ROWDY OF THE
"CROSS L."
By B. M. BOWER
1
ROWDY OF THE "CROSS L."
CHAPTER 1
Lost in a Blizzard.
"Rowdy" Vaughan--he had been christened Rowland by his mother,
and rechristened Rowdy by his cowboy friends, who are prone to treat
with much irreverence the names bestowed by mothers--was not happy.
He stood in the stirrups and shook off the thick layer of snow which clung,
damp and close-packed, to his coat. The dull yellow folds were full of it;
his gray hat, pulled low over his purple ears, was heaped with it. He
reached up a gloved hand and scraped away as much as he could, wrapped
the long-skirted, "sour-dough" coat around his numbed legs, then settled
into the saddle with a shiver of distaste at the plight he was in, and wished
himself back at the Horseshoe Bar.
Dixie, standing knee-deep in a drift, shook himself much after the
manner of his master; perhaps he, also, wished himself back at the
Horseshoe Bar. He turned his head to look back, blinking at the snow
which beat insistently in his eyes; he could not hold them open long
enough to see anything, however, so he twitched his ears pettishly and
gave over the attempt.
"It's up to you, old boy," Rowdy told him resignedly. "I'm plumb lost; I
never was in this damn country before, anyhow--and I sure wish I wasn't
here now. If you've any idea where we're at, I'm dead willing to have you
pilot the layout. Never mind Chub; locating his feed when it's stuck under
his nose is his limit."
Chub lifted an ear dispiritedly when his name was spoken; but, as was
usually the case, he heard no good of himself, and dropped his head again.
No one took heed of him; no one ever did. His part was to carry Vaughan's
bed, and to follow unquestionably where Vaughan and Dixie might lead.
He was cold and tired and hungry, but his faith in his master was strong;
the responsibility of finding shelter before the dark came down rested not
with him.
Vaughan pressed his chill