Shoe-Bar Stratton - Chapter 28

Almost at once they struck a fresh trail, made by a number of horsemen riding in a bunch, which led diagonally across middle pasture. It was easy to follow, and Hardenberg pushed his men hard to make up for delays which were likely to come later on. For a time Buck ¹ rode beside the sheriff, discussing their plans and explaining the lay of the land. Then he fell back a little to chat with Jessup., ,"I'm sure glad of one thing," Bud said emphatically, after a few desultory ² remarks. "Miss Mary won't be bothered no more now with that son-of-a-gun hangin' around an' makin' eyes.", ,Stratton turned on him suddenly. "Who the devil do you mean?" he demanded sharply., , ,Buck scowled ⁴. "I never saw anything like that," he said brusquely, "except maybe once," he added. With a sudden recollection of that afternoon they moved the herd ⁵ out of south pasture., ,"Likely not," returned Bud. "He wasn't so bad till after yuh went. I got the notion he took to courtin' her, yuh might say, as a kind of last hope. If he could figger on gettin' her to marry him, he'd have the ranch ⁶ an' everythin' on it without no more trouble at all. You'd think even a scoundrel like him would see she wouldn't look at him.", ,The female deer attracts the buck with high-pitched sounds.雌鹿以尖声吸引雄鹿 。,Do not let the discussion fragment into a desultory conversation with no clear direction.不要让讨论变得支离破碎 ，成为没有明确方向的漫谈。