Веснянки
Chapter XIV
DoyousupposeIcouldhavethisskintannedandmadeintosuchamuffasthat?—anenormousbigone,sir?”
“Ofcourseyoucan,”saidMcLean.“That’safineideaandit’seasyenough.Wemustboxandexpresstheotter,coldstorage,bythefirsttrain.YoustandguardaminuteandI’lltellHalltocarryittothecabin.I’llputNellietoDuncan’srig,andwe’lldrivetotownandcallontheAngel’sfather.Thenwe’llstarttheotterwhileitisfresh,andI’llwriteyourinstructionslater.ItwouldbeamightyfinethingforyoutogivetotheAngelasalittlereminderoftheLimberlostbeforeitisdespoiled,andasasouvenirofhertripforyou.”
Frecklesliftedafacewithaglowofhappycolorcreepingintoitandeyeslightingwithaformerbrightness.ThrowinghisarmsaroundMcLean,hecried:“Oh,howIloveyou!Oh,IwishIcouldmakeyouknowhowIloveyou!”
McLeanstrainedhimtohisbreast.
“Godblessyou,Freckles,”hesaid.“Idoknow!We’regoingtohavesomegoodoldtimesoutofthisworldtogether,andwecan’tbegintoosoon.Wouldyourathersleepfirst,orhaveabiteoflunch,takethedrivewithme,andthenrest?Idon’tknowbutsleepwillcomesooneranddeepertotaketherideandhaveyourmindsetateasebeforeyouliedown.Supposeyougo.”
“SupposeIdo,”saidFreckles,withaglimmeroftheoldlightinhiseyesandnewlyfoundstrengthtoshouldertheotter.Togethertheyturnedintothetrail.
McLeannoticedandspokeofthebigblackchickens.
“They’vebeenhangingroundoutthereforseveraldayspast,”saidFreckles.
