The Call Of The Canyon - Zane Grey (easy readers TXT) 📗

Color. She Gasped. She Could Not Speak.

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

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Stopped. 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

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Our 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.

 

 

 

 

 

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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.

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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.

 

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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