“I never was shy about women. I never could understand why some men who can break a mustangmustang n.（墨西哥和北美平原的）野马，<美俚>海军行伍出身的军官 before breakfast and shave in the dark，get all lefthanded and full of perspiration and excuses when they see a bold of calico draped around what belongs to it. Inside of eight minutes me and Miss Willella was aggravating the croquet balls around as amiableamiable adj.亲切的，和蔼可亲的 as second cousins. She gave me a dig about the quantity of canned fruit I had eaten，and I got back at her，flatfooted，about how a certain lady named Eve started the fruit trouble in the first freegrass pasture—‘Over in Palestine，wasnt it？’ says I，as easy and pat as roping a oneyearold.
“我在女人面前从不腼腆。我一直弄不明白，有的男人没吃早饭都能制服一匹野马，在漆黑的地方都能刮胡子，为什么一见到穿花衣袋的大姑娘却变得缩手缩脚，汗流浃背，连话都说不上来了。不出八分钟，我同利赖特小姐已经在作弄球，混得像表兄妹那般亲热了。她取笑我，说我吃了那么多罐头水果。我马上回敬她，说水果乱子是一位叫做夏娃的太太在第一个天然牧场里面出来的 ‘在巴勒斯坦那面，对吗？’我随机应变地说，正像用套索捕捉一头一岁的小马那样轻松。
“That was how I acquired cordialitycordiality n.诚实，郑重，诚恳 for the proximities of Miss Willella Learight and the disposition grew larger as time passed. She was stopping at Pimienta Crossing for her health，which was very good，and for the climate，which was forty per cent. hotter than Palestine. I rode over to see her once every week for a while. and then I figured it out that if I doubled the number of trips I would see her twice as often.
“就那样，我获得了接近威莱拉·利赖特小姐的机会；日子一久，关系逐渐密切。她待在比绵塔渡口是为了她的健康和比绵塔的气候，其实她的健康情况非常好，而比绵塔的气候要比巴勒斯坦热百分之四十。开始时，我每星期骑马到她那里去一次，后来我盘算了一下，如果我把去的次数加一倍，我见到她的次数也会增加一倍了。
“One week I slipped in a third trip； and thats where the pancakes and the pinkeyed snoozer busted into the game.
“有一星期，我去了三次；就在那第三次里，薄饼和淡红眼睛的牧羊人插进来了。
“That evening，while I set on the counter with a peach and two damsons in my mouth，I asked Uncle Emsley how Miss Willella was.
“那晚，我坐在柜台上，嘴里含着一只桃子和两只李子，一边问埃姆斯利大叔，威莱拉小姐可好。
“‘Why，’ says Uncle Emsley，‘shes gone riding with Jackson Bird，the sheep man from over at Mired Mule Canada.’
“‘哟，’埃姆斯利大叔说，‘她同陷骡山谷里的那个牧羊人杰克逊·伯德出去骑马了。’
“I swallowed the peach seed and the two damson seeds. I guess somebody held the counter by the bridle while I got off； and then I walked out straight ahead till I butted against the mesquite where my roan was tied.
“我把一颗桃核、两颗李核囫囵吞了下去。我跳下柜台时，大概有人抓住了柜台，不然它早就翻了。接着，我两眼发直地跑出去，直到撞在我拴那匹杂毛马的牧豆树上才停住。
“‘Shes gone riding，’ I whisper in my broncs ear，‘with Birdstone Jack，the hired mule from Sheep Mans Canada. Did you get that，old LeatherandGallops？’
“‘她出去骑马了，’我凑在那头小野马耳朵旁边说，‘同伯德斯通·杰克，牧羊人山谷那头驮骡一起去的。明白了吗，你这个挨鞭子才跑的老家伙？’
“That bronc of mine wept，in his way. Hed been raised a cow pony and he didnt care for snoozers.
“我那匹小马以它自己的方式哭了一通。它是从小就给驯养来牧牛的，它才不关心牧羊人呢。
“I went back and said to Uncle Emsley： ‘Did you say a sheep man？’
“我又回到埃姆斯利大叔那儿，问他：‘你说的是牧羊人吗？’
“‘I said a sheep man.’ says Uncle Emsley again. ‘You must have heard tell of Jackson Bird. Hes got eight sections of grazing and four thousand head of the finest Merinos south of the Arctic Circle.’
“‘是牧羊人。’大叔又说了一遍。‘你一定听人家谈起过杰克逊·伯德。他有八个牧场和四千头在北冰洋以南数最好的美利奴绵羊。’
“I went out and sat on the ground in the shade of the store and leaned against a prickly pear. I sifted sand into my boots with unthinking hands while I soliloquised a quantity about this bird with the Jackson plumage to his name.
“我走进来，在店铺背阳的一边坐下，往一株带刺的霸王树上一靠。我自言自语，说了许多关于这个名叫杰克逊的恶鸟的话，两手不知不觉地抓起沙子往靴筒里灌。
“I never had believed in harming sheep men. I see one，one day，reading a Latin grammar on hossback，and I never touched him！ They never irritated me like they do most cowmen. You wouldnt go to work now，and impair and disfiguredisfigure v.损伤外貌，使变丑 snoozers，would you，that eat on tables and wear little shoes and speak to you on subjects？ I had always let em pass，just as you would a jackrabbit，with a polite word and a guess about the weather，but no stopping to swap canteens. I never thought it was worth while to be hostile with a snoozer. And because Id been lenient，and let em live，here was one going around riding with Miss Willella Learight！
“我一向不愿意欺侮牧羊人。有一次，我看到一个牧羊人坐在马背上读拉丁文法，我连碰都没有碰他！我不像大多数牧牛人那样，看见他们就有气。牧羊人都在桌上吃饭，穿着小尺码的鞋子，同你有说有笑，难道你能跟他们动粗，整治他们，害得他们破相吗？我总是抬抬手放他们过去，正如放兔子过去那样，最多讲一两句客套话，寒暄寒暄，从来不停下来同他们喝两杯。我认为根本犯不着同一个牧羊人过不去。正因为我宽大为怀，网开一面，现在居然有个牧羊人跑来同威莱拉·利赖特小姐骑马了！
“An hour by sun they come loping back，and stopped at Uncle Emsleys gate. The sheep person helped her off，and they stood throwing each other sentences all sprightful and sagacious for a while. And then this feathered Jackson flies up in his saddle and raises his little stewpot of a hat，and trots off in the direction of his mutton ranch. By this time I had turned the sand out of my boots and unpinnedunpin vt.拔去别针，拔掉闩 myself from the prickly pear，and by the time he gets half a mile out of Pimienta，I singlefoots up beside him on my bronc.
“太阳下山前一小时，他们骑着马缓缓而来，在埃姆斯利大叔家门停住了。牧羊人扶她下了马。他们站着，兴致勃勃，风趣横生地交谈了一会儿。随后，这个有羽毛的杰克逊跃上马鞍，掀掀他那顶小炖锅似的帽子，朝他的羊肉牧场方向跑去。这时候，我把靴子里的沙子抖搂了出来，挣脱了霸王树上的刺，在离比绵塔半英里光景的地方，我策马赶上了他。
“I said that snoozer was pinkeyed，but he wasnt. His seeing arrangement was grey enough，but his eyelashes was pink and his hair was sandy，and that gave you the idea. Sheep man？—He wasnt more than a lamb man，anyhow—a little thing with his neck involved in a yellow silk handkerchief，and shoes tied up in bowknots.
“我先前说过，牧羊人的眼睛是粉红色的，其实不然。他那看东西的家什倒是灰色的，只不过睫毛泛红，头发又是沙黄色，因此给人以一种错觉。那个牧羊人 其实只能算是牧羊人身材瘦小，脖子上围着一条黄绸巾，鞋带打成蝴蝶结。
“‘Afternoon！’ says I to him，‘You now ride with an equestrianequestrian adj.骑马的，马的，在马背上的，（古罗马）市民特权阶层成员的，骑士阶层的 n.骑手 who is commonly called DeadMoralCertainty Judson，on account of the way I shoot. When I want a stranger to know me I always introduce myself before the draw，for I never did like to shake hands with ghosts.’
“‘借光。’我对他说，‘现在骑马同你一道走的是素有“百发百中”之称的贾德森，那是由于我打枪的路数。每当我要让一个陌生人知道我时，我拔枪之前总是要自我介绍一下，因为我向来不喜欢同死鬼握手。’