登陆注册
15441200000013

第13章 CHAPTER IV(5)

Saxon, looking on, saw his eyes and learned more about him. She was frightened, but clear-seeing, and she was startled by the disappearance of all depth of light and shadow in his eyes. They showed surface only--a hard, bright surface, almost glazed, devoid of all expression save deadly seriousness. Bert's eyes showed madness. The eyes of the Irishmen were angry and serious, and yet not all serious. There was a wayward gleam in them, as if they enjoyed the fracas. But in Billy's eyes was no enjoyment. It was as if he had certain work to do and had doggedly settled down to do it.

Scarcely more expression did she note in the face, though there was nothing in common between it and the one she had seen all day. The boyishness had vanished. This face was mature in a terrifying, ageless way. There was no anger in it, Nor was it even pitiless. It seemed to have glazed as hard and passionlessly as his eyes. Something came to her of her wonderful mother's tales of the ancient Saxons, and he seemed to her one of those Saxons, and she caught a glimpse, on the well of her consciousness, of a long, dark boat, with a prow like the beak of a bird of prey, and of huge, half-naked men, wing-helmeted, and one of their faces, it seemed to her, was his face. She did not reason this. She felt it, and visioned it as by an unthinkable clairvoyance, and gasped, for the flurry of war was over. It had lasted only seconds, Bert was dancing on the edge of the slippery slope and mocking the vanquished who had slid impotently to the bottom. But Billy took charge.

"Come on, you girls," he commanded. "Get onto yourself, Bert. We got to get onta this. We can't fight an army."

He led the retreat, holding Saxon's arm, and Bert, giggling and jubilant, brought up the rear with an indignant Mary who protested vainly in his unheeding ears.

For a hundred yards they ran and twisted through the trees, and then, no signs of pursuit appearing, they slowed down to a dignified saunter. Bert, the trouble-seeker, pricked his ears to the muffled sound of blows and sobs, and stepped aside to investigate.

"Oh! look what I've found!" he called.

They joined him on the edge of a dry ditch and looked down. In the bottom were two men, strays from the fight, grappled together and still fighting. They were weeping out of sheer fatigue and helplessness, and the blows they only occasionally struck were open-handed and ineffectual.

"Hey, you, sport--throw sand in his eyes," Bert counseled.

"That's it, blind him an' he's your'n."

"Stop that!" Billy shouted at the man, who was following instructions, "Or I'll come down there an' beat you up myself.

It's all over--d'ye get me? It's all over an' everybody's friends. Shake an' make up. The drinks are on both of you. That's right--here, gimme your hand an' I'll pull you out."

They left them shaking hands and brushing each other's clothes.

"It soon will be over," Billy grinned to Saxon. "I know 'em.

Fight's fun with them. An' this big scrap's made the days howlin' success. what did I tell you!--look over at that table there."

A group of disheveled men and women, still breathing heavily, were shaking hands all around.

"Come on, let's dance," Mary pleaded, urging them in the direction of the pavilion.

All over the park the warring bricklayers were shaking hands and making up, while the open-air bars were crowded with the drinkers.

Saxon walked very close to Billy. She was proud of him. He could fight, and he could avoid trouble. In all that had occurred he had striven to avoid trouble. And, also, consideration for her and Mary had been uppermost in his mind.

"You are brave," she said to him.

"It's like takin' candy from a baby," he disclaimed. "They only rough-house. They don't know boxin'. They're wide open, an' all you gotta do is hit 'em. It ain't real fightin', you know." With a troubled, boyish look in his eyes, he stared at his bruised knuckles. "An' I'll have to drive team to-morrow with 'em," he lamented. "Which ain't fun, I'm tellin' you, when they stiffen up."

同类推荐
热门推荐
  • 小人物逆袭归来

    小人物逆袭归来

    我是唐大山,是一个孤儿,从小跟随爷爷长大,爷爷去世后我被亲生父亲接到了美国,因为对我的憎恨,对我不管不问!我决定报复他一下,我离家出走了!我不自量力的爬了‘迈克山,从此我的人生将被整个改变!’
  • 混乱序曲

    混乱序曲

    人生不过选择,似简单似复杂。人,不是没得选,只是不好选,选不好。可一旦抉择了,就不畏人言,勇于追逐自己所喜爱的事物,不去计较别人的目光或者评论,心有坚定,一往无前当一场恐怖活动席卷全球的时候,看那背弃少年如何做出自己的选择。
  • 乱世小魔妃

    乱世小魔妃

    “丫头,你是本王的!”霸道的男人一把搂住自家媳妇,嘚瑟又欠揍地斜睨着面前七位大小不一的美男,笑得万分嚣张。七位美男同时一副重伤的模样:“灵儿,你不要我们了么?”……欢乐的男女强,架空穿越,看受绝宠的小魔妃如何玩转异界……
  • 樱花季:谁的承诺

    樱花季:谁的承诺

    他们在树下承诺:不能忘记对方。这么一个承诺却成了他们一生的羁绊。十年后,他们如承诺,没有忘记对方,却因一场车祸,改变了他们整个人生……“同学们,我们班转来两位新同学。进来吧。”老班班躲着门口点点头,“大家好,我是景殇。”一个粉色头发的男生微微一笑,全班的女生尖叫起来,雨泽、辰逸和婷不禁皱眉,“安诺空。”诺空低着头走进教室,三人抬起头看到的是一年前的那个身影,三人一起跑向诺空。“小空,你去哪里了,我好想你啊!”婷扑到诺空身上,诺空嫌弃的看了她一眼,慢慢出口:“对不起小姐,你能走开点吗?我不认识你。”“!”婷放开诺空:“你就是小空啊,我不可能认错的。”“殇。”诺空拽拽景殇。
  • 看起来你很好吃

    看起来你很好吃

    主要人物:夜惊魂,姬如神幽风格:搞笑结局:开放式情节:远古神话男主:放荡不羁型女主:善良型背景:上古
  • 左眼天堂右眼地狱

    左眼天堂右眼地狱

    这本书在小说阅读网弃坑,想继续看的话,请各位去云起书院搜索我的书,书名还是《左眼天堂右眼地狱》谢谢大家对我的关注,
  • 福妻驾到

    福妻驾到

    现代饭店彪悍老板娘魂穿古代。不分是非的极品婆婆?三年未归生死不明的丈夫?心狠手辣的阴毒亲戚?贪婪而好色的地主老财?吃上顿没下顿的贫困宭境?不怕不怕,神仙相助,一技在手,天下我有!且看现代张悦娘,如何身带福气玩转古代,开面馆、收小弟、左纳财富,右傍美男,共绘幸福生活大好蓝图!!!!快本新书《天媒地聘》已经上架开始销售,只要3.99元即可将整本书抱回家,你还等什么哪,赶紧点击下面的直通车,享受乐乐精心为您准备的美食盛宴吧!)
  • 豪门驭夫之绔少从良记

    豪门驭夫之绔少从良记

    厉风行,K城商业王朝的少东家,生性风流,纨绔不羁;凌晨,K城商业界新秀女王,沉着睿智,骄傲冷艳;因为一场交易,两个性格迥异的人被搓合在一起。凌晨为救自己的家族,认了;可是向来自由惯了的厉风行,不认。于是——在全城瞩目的婚礼上,只有新娘一人,新郎厉大少爷竟然不见踪影!就在所有人都唏嘘婚礼要就此结束的时候,带着女王气势的新娘却说一个人也能把婚礼完成!全城哗然!(本文纯属虚构,请勿模仿。)
  • 双生姐妹之彼岸花开

    双生姐妹之彼岸花开

    从小就形影不离的悄悄和细语两姐妹从没想过会有这么一天,只因为一次旅游而让她们饱受了那么多的故事,,,那些原本只是历史书上无关紧要的人,却在她们的人生中刻下了那么多那么深刻的记忆。只因一千年前的一时意气让整个仙界都惊为天人的蔓罗仙子因为一个大魔王而自愿投入地狱,却被众魔遣回,但她仍徘徊于黄泉路上,众仙不忍,遂同意让她,投生凡间,需历经99世情劫方能与同样转世的魔界之王成就美好姻缘。蔓罗自是愿意,不料被嫉恨自己的九天仙女打散仙根,后被爱慕者风神相助幻化为一对姐妹投下人界。而因此双双触犯天规的风神与九天仙子也被贬凡间-----
  • 福妻驾到

    福妻驾到

    现代饭店彪悍老板娘魂穿古代。不分是非的极品婆婆?三年未归生死不明的丈夫?心狠手辣的阴毒亲戚?贪婪而好色的地主老财?吃上顿没下顿的贫困宭境?不怕不怕,神仙相助,一技在手,天下我有!且看现代张悦娘,如何身带福气玩转古代,开面馆、收小弟、左纳财富,右傍美男,共绘幸福生活大好蓝图!!!!快本新书《天媒地聘》已经上架开始销售,只要3.99元即可将整本书抱回家,你还等什么哪,赶紧点击下面的直通车,享受乐乐精心为您准备的美食盛宴吧!)