Lonesome Dove 孤鸽镇

But he wouldn’t. He liked talk, woman’s talk, and the comforts of the bed. He even liked it that she lived above the saloon, since it meant a game was handy if he felt like playing.

Since the Hat Creek outfit had been gathering cattle and getting ready for their drive, games were handier than they had been for a while. Several cowboys drifted into Lonesome Dove, looking for work; some of them had enough snap left at night to wander in and cut the cards. A tall cowboy named Needle Nelson showed up from north of San Antonio, and a cheerful cowboy from Brownsville named Bert Borum.

At first Xavier was cheered by all the new customers, until it occurred to him that they would only be there for a week or two. Then the thought of how empty the saloon would soon be filled him with gloom, and he stood by the door most of the night, his washrag dripping down his leg.

Lippy was kept plenty busy, for the cowboys were always requesting songs. Lippy liked the company. He was proud of his talent at the keyboard and would pound out any song that was requested.

Jake took pains to teach Lorena a few things about card playing that she didn’t know. She came to wonder how Jasper and Bert and Needle Nelson got by on so little sleep, for the Captain worked them hard all day and the games went on half the night. The only cowboy likely to pull a sour face if she sat in was Dish Boggett, who wouldn’t get over being in love with her. It amused her that he sat there looking so solemn, with his big mustache. Jake did not even seem to notice that the man was in love with her. She was tempted to tease Jake a little, but he had told her plain out he was a jealous

man:

for all she knew, he might shoot Dish, which would be a pity. Dish was nice enough—it was just that he couldn’t compare with Jake Spoon.

When the gathering and branding of cattle had been going on for about ten days, Lorena began to feel a crisis coming.

She heard the boys speculate that the branding would be done in another week, which meant they were close to starting the drive. The boys were saying they were already late.

“Hell, we’ll be crossing the Yellowstone on the dern ice, if we don’t get started,” Needle Nelson said. He was a funny- looking man, thin as a wire, and with an Adam’s apple that looked as big as a turkey egg.

“Why, I doubt we’ll make the Yellowstone,” Jasper Fant said. “Most of us will get drownt before we get that far.” “Needle won’t,” Dish Boggett suggested. “There ain’t a river up that way deep enough he couldn’t walk through it and not get his hat wet.” “I can swim, anyway,” Needle remarked.

“I’d like to see you swim with fifty or sixty cattle on top of you, or maybe your own horse,” Jasper said.

“Ain’t no fifty or sixty cattle going to be on top of me,” Needle replied, unruffled. “Nor no dern horse neither.” Bert Borum thought Needle was hilarious—he thought pretty near everything was hilarious. He was one of those menwho have a laugh you like to hear.

“I’m getting me a float before I cross airy river,” he declared.

“What kind of float?” Dish inquired.

“Ain’t decided,” Bert said. “Might tie a few jugs to my horse. Jugs are good floats.” “Where would you get a dern jug on a cattle drive?” Jasper asked. “If the Captain was to catch you with a jug, he’d want to know who drank the whiskey out of it.” Jake was tolerant of the cowboys but careful to keep himself a bit apart from them. He never chimed in when they talked about the life they would have on the trail, and he never spoke to Lorena about the fact that the herd would be leaving in ten days. He didn’t work much on the branding, either, though once in a while he spent a night helping them gather more stock. Mostly he let it appear that the drive had nothing to do with him.

Lorena didn’t press him, but she kept an eye on him. If he wanted to stay, that was one thing, but if he planned on going he was going to have to figure a way to take her. He wasn’t leaving without her, whatever he might think about the matter.

Then, before the issue came to a head, something happened that took Lorena completely unaware. It was a blistering day, the saloon totally empty except for Lippy. Xavier, who had a taste for fish, had gone off to the river to see if he could catch any. Lorena was sitting at a table, practicing one or two card tricks Jake had taught her, when who should walk in but Gus. His shirt was as wet from sweat as if he’d been underwater a week, and even his hatband was sweated through.

He went around behind the bar, got himself a bottle and brought it over to the table, grinning a big grin despite the heat.

She noted that he brought her a glass, which struck her as bold, but then Gus would do anything, as Jake was always saying.

“What I can’t figure out is why there ain’t but two sinners in this saloon,” Gus said.

Lorena made no comment, but Lippy piped up.

“I’ve tried to sin all my life—ain’t you gonna count me?” he asked.

“No, you got a hole in your stomach,” Augustus said. “You paid for yours, but so far me and Lorie have got off scot-free.” Gus poured a little whiskey in her glass, and filled his to just below the brim.

“I want a poke,” he said, as casual as if he were asking her to loan him two bits.

Lorena was so taken aback that she didn’t know what to say. She looked at Lippy, who was just sitting there listening, as if it were his right.