Chapter 3 third chapter

Collis Adrian came and joined their conversation. "Don't you think this is awesome?" she asked, her voice languid from fatigue. Hank Lucas had tied up his horse, took out a can of juice from the canvas bag beside the saddle, inserted a hunting knife through the lid of the can, then took out some paper cups and a bottle, and he quickly Stir in ingredients. "Hey," he said, "it's a tonic in the mountains. Take some to relax aching muscles, relieve back spasms, and improve your appetite. How about a little, Mr. DeWitt? Want me to get out your fishing gear for you, at the Fishing for some trout before dinner?"

DeWitt grabs the cocktail. "God, no," he said, "I just want to lie down and rest. Where's the sleeping bag?" Lucas distributed the drinks to everyone, then drank his own, said "right away", and immediately went to unpack. Marion was thankful for the fatigue that pervaded the campsite.She had been trying to avoid her scheduled questioning, and now she realized that the fatigue was doing her a favor.DeWitt had finished his task, and Collis was mentally overwhelmed by exhaustion. As the sun set, the shadow of the mountain on the other side of the stream quickly moved towards them.In the blink of an eye, the weather turned cool, and when they were served grilled steak, potatoes, and salad, the strong smell of the mountain air, combined with the effect of cocktails, whetted their appetites and they ate with all their heart. The meal is coming.The food they just ate made people drowsy immediately, and they were not even willing to strike up a conversation without saying a word.

The bonfire blazed for a while, then gradually died out, and the darkness that was waiting just outside the camp had quietly crept in. "I'm going to bed," said Marion. "Good night, everyone." James DeWitt sighed and said "good night".He stood up and walked over to his sleeping bag.He wobbled a little in his first two steps, nearly lost his balance, and staggered as he tried to stand up, but at this moment his numb muscles were a little out of control.After a while, Collis Adrian went to bed, and Marion hurriedly undressed and got into the sleeping bag.She looked at the campfire, Hank Lucas, Sam Eaton, and Howard Kenny sitting around it, their black silhouettes against the glowing embers.

She felt sleepy, thinking about what they were talking about.Suddenly suspicious of their concentration, she decided to lie awake and watch them. She folded the lightweight sleeping bag pillow in half and raised the headrest so she could see them more clearly.Her eyes began to sting, so she closed them temporarily to avoid the light of the campfire.Almost immediately her consciousness plunged into a warm and cozy abyss... When she awoke, there was something dawn in the air.The stars above the tall pines had receded into a pale turquoise sky. She knew it must be cold outside because she could feel a tingle on the tip of her nose, but the sleeping bag cover was warm and she barely wanted to move.She lay there, half asleep, listening to the babble of the water and the sounds around the tent.Time no longer exists.

Now the color of the pine forest can be seen.The stars have receded and the sky is blue.She heard shouts in the distance, and then the neckbell of a horse that suddenly turned into a hysterical din.The sound of horseshoes is endless.Waking up with a start, she leaned on one elbow and saw Howard Kenny riding bareback, chanting cowboy chants from time to time, and driving the horses into camp.Marion was all sleepy. Marion struggled to get dressed, splashed some cold water on his face, and immediately felt full of vitality, which was the feeling he often felt when he woke up in the morning after a night's sleep in the open air.

The fresh air whetted her appetite, and Marion watched the cook fry the pancakes until they were golden brown, then put them on her plate, along with a few slices of bacon.A thick dollop of homemade butter has melted and dripped down the warm sides of the cake, mingling with the maple syrup.Served in a large steel mug is straight espresso. She finished her breakfast with gusto and walked down to the river, where DeWitt had just loaded the rods.He had done a few pre-casts to soften the bait.Now, with a deft flick of his wrist, he is throwing a fly far away. "Hi, hello," he said, grinning kindly at her. "You look good this morning." Controlling the line with his left hand through the guide rod, he steered the fly away from a small ripple and through a rapids .

"It feels great," she said. A trout popped out of the water, pounced on the fly bait, missed it, and dove resentfully to the bottom. "He let it go," DeWitt said. "I was so impatient. Tore the fly out of its mouth." Hank Lucas quietly joined them.He said in his characteristic drawl, "There's no need to be discouraged, there's plenty here. If you try to fish for an hour or so while we pack, you'll be able to catch more than you can take away. . . . See Lady Adrian?" DeWitt jerked the line back suddenly and cast it again. "Didn't see, is she up?" he asked, keeping his eyes on the fly.

"Certainly. She went for a walk up the river and didn't come back for breakfast." DeWitt said suddenly, "You said she was gone?" "Yeah. Looks like I went for a walk," Lucas said, "but there's no track. I figured I'd better go along the river and see you fishing here." Lucas was walking aimlessly along the river bank among the rocks, and suddenly said, "She walked from here." Marion looked twice before he saw the footprints, just faint marks on the ground.But about 20 yards ahead, Lucas, who had been walking ahead, spotted another new track—this time in wet sand, clearly visible.

DeWitt suddenly lost interest in fishing and withdrew his line: "I guess I'd better follow her." "Go ahead and fish if you want," Hank said, "I'll do it... Maybe you want to take a walk." He said to Marion, then grinned again, "In case she's swimming, you can go over there , and tell her to hurry up if she wants breakfast. We have to pack." DeWitt hesitated. "Really, I should," he said. "Why?" Hank asked, before adding, "I can follow her tracks like you can." DeWitt grinned. "Oh, well, if you say that," he said.

He started fishing again, and Hank and Marion made their way up the stream slowly. In the blink of an eye, the lazy smile disappeared from Hank's eyes.His manner became tense and methodical. "Do you know where she might be?" he asked. "Don't know, I woke up a little before dawn and then dozed off. I didn't hear her move." "She was still in the sleeping bag when Kenny and I went out to drive the horses. You have no idea what she might be doing?" "Maybe she wants to take a bath." "The water is cold," Hank said, and then added abruptly, "Do you know why she's here?"

"She wants to find her husband?" Hank said tentatively. "Yes...are you a photographer?" "yes." Hank said, "Here's a photocopy of a photo. It's not clear because it's not a photoprint, it's a photo of a photo. Can you tell anything from it?" He handed her a Tom Copies of postcards made by Morton. "About it," Marion asked, considering the picture, "what do you want to know?" "I want to know all you can see, all you can see." "A lot," Marion said with a smile. "For example." "First," she said, "this photo was probably taken with a triple-A folding Kodak camera with a fast rectilinear lens. It was taken at noon." "How did you deduce that?" "Well," she said, "although the lens has been turned down, there is still some fuzziness in the extreme corners of the photo, and there is some particularly diffused warm color in the shadows. You can achieve this with a fast rectilinear lens." Effect. Astigmatism-free lenses usually bring things out very sharply, but don't have this warmth in the shadows, and—" "Wait a minute. What do you mean the lens is downsized?" Marion asked. "When the shutter is wide open, the speed increases, but the lens has no depth of field," she said. In other words, if you take a long focal length lens to cover a postcard-sized negative, and then adjust the lens, Say set it to 25 feet and turn the lens on. Things beyond about 30 feet will be out of focus, and objects within 20 feet will be blurry. I forgot the exact data sheet, but this example is enough to illustrate the problem. And if Turn the lens down and almost everything will be in focus. Turning the lens down adds depth to the field of view of the lens. Objects 8 or 10 feet away will be fairly sharp, and objects farther away will be just as sharp.” "Did the lens diameter of this photo be reduced?" "Turned down," Marion said, "and, do you see that little white blur in the corner? Well, that's a light leak, probably from a little hole in the bellows behind the camera lens. If It's an accidental reel of film, and you'll see another type of light leak, and... oh, Mrs. Adrian's here." Collis Adrian, neat and sprightly, stepped out from behind a rock.Evidently she was looking intently across the stream.But she seemed to have watched it for so long that she was a little too surprised to see Hank and Marion at the end. Marion was about to say "I think she's been watching us," but quickly changed her mind and remained silent. Hank said kindly, but there was still some reproach in his words: "Our search team is out to find the lost novice." "Don't worry about me," said Collis Adrian, with a quick unease smile. "I'm going to see if I can see a deer." "did you see it?" "I saw some does and fawns, and a buck." "Breakfast is almost done," Hank said. "We're cleaning up for the road." "Oh, I'm so sorry. I'll run right back, Hank." "What's the matter?" "Do you see that canyon over there, the place with the oddly shaped rock near the top of the ridge?" "Ok." "What is that place?" "Broken Leg Valley." "I was wondering if we could go up there, it looks like a wonderful place." "We're going there," Hank said. "Oh, great." "You see," Hank explained, "when Bill showed me the picture of the cabin, there was nothing on it that gave a clue as to where exactly it was, yet, from the state of the ground, I had a hunch It might be in Broken Leg Hollow. I think we'd better go up and see, if Miss Marion is all right." "Oh, I think that would be great," said Marion eagerly. "It looks very attractive. That rock would make for a really good picture." "Then it's settled," Collis said. Marion wondered if Hank Lucas sensed some smugness in Collis's voice.She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, but he seemed intent on picking his way among the river-weary gravel. DeWitt was so busy pulling in a fish when they passed that he was so focused that he didn't see them.The cook was visibly annoyed, and Howard Kenny, faced with the task of putting the pack saddle on the horse, was resentfully silent. Collis Adrian went to the fire, ignoring the cook's sullenness.Lucas started putting the pack saddle on the horse, and Marion walked over to Hank and Kenny. "What can I do?" she asked Kenny. "No need," Kenny said with a smile, "you can pack your things and let the air out of the inflatable mattress. There's no need to be in such a hurry to start, that big beauty will still be dawdling for a while." Marion glanced at Collis Adrian, who was sitting in a folding chair by the camp table, about to enjoy a leisurely breakfast. "We'll have to wait until the kitchen is loaded," Kenny explained. "Maybe I'll help you get the air out of the mattress." He went to the bed, unscrewed the valve, and slowly Roll up the sleeping bag and let the air out. "Do you like this life?" Marion asked. "like very much." "But it's hard work, isn't it?" "Oh, sometimes. But it's a good job. It's the only way I can roam around the area, sort of like a vacation." "I see." "Did you sleep well last night?" he asked. "Good." "You will. You rode well yesterday, and you're used to riding the trails in the western saddle." From his eyes, she sensed that he was asking curiously, and immediately realized that this was no accident, but a well-planned investigation closely related to the conversation of the three people around the campfire last night. "Yes, I have ridden in the mountains," she said, and turning away calmly, she began to pack her things. Marion has been avoiding Howard Kenny ever since... With the camp dismantled and only two horses left waiting to be racked and loaded, Hank Lucas walks over to the tourists. "With the help of the chef, Kenny can put the rest of the luggage on the shelf, and then lead the pack team forward." Lucas said, "I want to go first and find a good camping place. If you want to come with me Go, you can save some time." "That's great," said Marion. "Wait," DeWitt objected cautiously. "How are you going to squeeze in the extra time? I see the pack party leaving in fifteen minutes." "There's a pretty flat road ahead," Hank said. "We can get the horses to a trot." "Trot!" cried Collis Adrian in alarm. Hank grinned. "You don't like it, huh?" "If that's the case, I'd be happy to follow," said Colliss with dignity, "but if not, I think I'd rather let the horse go. You're the leader, though, and I'm at your command. " DeWitt cut in. "Go ahead, you two," he said. "Slow down, take your time, we'll go with the pack party. After all, we've got a whole day. Our time isn't worth that much." Lucas glanced at Marion. Marion nodded. "Okay, let's go," Lucas said.He took his loose chaps from the saddle head, put them on, buttoned the waist, fastened the hooks under the legs, slipped on the spikes, and rolled onto the horse. They set off at a brisk trot.Where another stream empties into a tributary of the Salmon River, a large valley surrounds it.They detoured an extra three miles to the opposite side of the mouth of the canyon on the other side of the stream.The horses waded through a ford, followed a relatively gentle path, and then started uphill. They stopped for a while on the way, and Marion watched the horses sweat profusely. "Don't you think it's a little too fast for the horse?" she asked. Hank tipped his sombrero back. "To tell you the truth, I didn't want to go with those two. I didn't want to disappoint them in case I couldn't find what I was looking for." "What are you looking for?" "The cabin in the picture." "Where do you think it is?" "Well," Hank said, moving over to the side of the saddle and tucking his right knee over the pommel, "I think the best answer to that question is that I know it's not there." she laughed. "You know," Hank went on, serious, "that cabin is on a ridge somewhere. I just know roughly when it was built, after the middle of last winter, and I've been deduced from felled trees. I found it to have the general character of the area. And, well, I've been asking around, too." "A year ago, a guy, who might have been the man they were looking for, showed up here with a partner. They went into the area and disappeared. People think they came through the white They took a draft horse, and I talked to the man who sold them the horse. One of them was a pretty good camper, and the other was a complete novice. Here, this There's probably a log cabin that was built and then abandoned somewhere up there." "Do you know where it is?" Hank shook his head.