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作词：KONE 胡兴宇
作曲：KONE 胡兴宇
编曲/伴奏/beta 来源: 自行制作
编曲/伴奏/beta 来源网络制作人
伴奏来源网络制作人授权
Pop Daggett hesitated and glanced uneasily toward the door
I warned yuh didn't I the Shoe-Bar was a hoodoo outfit1 he evaded2
Stratton shook some tobacco into a cigarette-paper and jerked the draw-string with his teeth
The old man continued to cock an eye on the store entrance
Since yuh gotta know he answered in a lowered tone there was two About three months ago Jed Terry was scoutin' around back in the mountains Lord knows what fur an' fell into a caon an' broke his skull3 Four or five weeks arter that Sam Bennett was plugged through the chest down below Las Vegas
Did Lynch happen to be with either of them
Not that I know of He certainly didn't come with me
Huh Wal yuh never c'n tell with him As I was sayin' Terry's death was pernounced a accident an' they allowed Bennett was plugged by one of them greaser rustlers I hear tell of I ain't sayin' nothing to the contrary All I'm tellin' yuh is the Shoe-Bar ain't a healthy outfit to work for an' this business about Rick Bemis proves it I wouldn't sign on with 'em not for a hundred a month
Buck4 thrust the cigarette between his lips and felt for a match Still I've got a mind to stick it out a while he drawled Accidents come in threes they say so there won't likely be another right soon Well I reckon I'd better be traveling How long will it take that doctor man to get over
Not much longer than 't will yuh if he was home when yuh telephoned answered Daggett The railroad takes a bend an' Harpswell ain't more than a mile or two further from the Shoe-Bar than Paloma
Evidently Dr Blanchard must have been at home for Buck had just finished unsaddling and was coming away from the corral when he rode up Stratton took his horse and answered his brief questions as to the accident and then walked down to the bunk-house with his blankets tarp and other belongings5 The place was empty for it was after one o'clock and evidently the men had gone off somewhere directly after dinner Indeed Buck learned as much from Pedro when he went back to forage6 for something to eat
They go to move herd7 some place shrugged8 the Mexican W'ere I don' know
Stratton ate his meal of beef bread and warmed-over coffee in silence and then returned to the bunk-house vaguely9 dissatisfied at the idle afternoon which stretched before him Of course Lynch had no way of knowing when he would get back from town but it seemed to Buck that an up-and-doing foreman would have left word for him to join them when he did return
Unless of course he don't want me around murmured Stratton Though for the life of me I can't see what he gains by keeping me idle
Presently it occurred to him that this might be a good chance of pursuing some of the investigations10 he had planned Since noticing the disreputable condition of the fence the afternoon of his arrival he had kept his eyes open and a number of other little signs had confirmed his suspicion that the ranch11 had very much gone to seed Of course this might be merely the result of careless slovenly12 methods on the part of the foreman and possibly it did not extend to anything really radical13 It would need a much wider more general inspection14 to justify15 a definite conclusion and Stratton decided16 he might as well do some of it this afternoon On the plea of seeking Lynch and the other men he could ride almost anywhere without exciting suspicion and he at once left the bunk-house to carry out his plan Just outside the door he met Dr Blanchard
You made a good job of that dressing remarked the older man briefly17 He was tall with a slight stoop bearded a little slovenly in dress but with clear level eyes and a capable manner Where'd you learn how
Stratton smiled Overseas I was in the Transportation and we had to know a little of everything including first aid
Hum grunted18 the doctor Well the kid's doing all right I won't have to come over again unless fever develops
As they walked back to the hitching-rack he gave Buck a few directions about the care of the invalid19 There followed a slight pause
You're new here commented the doctor untying20 his bridle-reins
Just came yesterday answered Stratton
Friend of Lynch
Buck's lips twitched21 Not exactly he shrugged Miss Thorne hired me while he was in Paloma I got a notion he was rather peevish22 about it Reckon he prefers to pick hi
