Young Jefferson Hope rode on with his companions, gloomy and taciturn. He and they had been among the Nevada Mountains prospecting for silver, and were returning to Salt Lake City in the hope of raising capital enough to work some lodes which they had discovered. He had been as keen as any of them upon the business until this sudden incident had drawn his thoughts into another channel. The sight of the fair young girl, as frank and wholesome as the Sierra breezes, had stirred his volcanic, untamed heart to its very depths. When she had vanished from his sight, he realized that a crisis had come in his life, and that neither silver speculations nor any other questions could ever be of such importance to him as this new and all-absorbing one. The love which had sprung up in his heart was not the sudden, changeable fancy of a boy, but rather the wild, fierce passion of a man of strong will and imperious temper. He had been accustomed to succeed in all that he undertook. He swore in his heart that he would not fail in this if human effort and human perseverance could render him successful.

ジェファーソン･ホープは暗くて無口な仲間達と馬を走らせていた◆彼らは銀を求めてネバダ山脈に分け入っていた / そしてソルトレイクシティに戻るところだった / 彼らが発見した鉱脈を掘る資金を集めようとして◆彼はこの仕事にだれよりも熱心だった / この突然の事件が彼の考えを別の方向に引っ張るまで◆美しい若い女性を見て / 山の風のように率直で健康そうな / 彼は激しく感情を乱された / これまでに知らなかった心の奥底まで◆彼女が視界から消えた時 / 彼は一つの重大局面が訪れた事に気付いた / 銀に対する投機も / それ以外のどんな問題も / 彼にはそんなに重要ではなくなった / この新しい全てを飲み込むものに比べれば◆彼の心に突然生まれた愛は / 少年にありがちな、突然の気まぐれな考えではなく / 激しく荒々しい衝動だった / 強い決意と傲慢な気質を持った男の◆彼はやる事全てが成功する事に慣れていた◆彼は心の中で誓った / 絶対にしくじらないと / もし人間の努力と忍耐力によって成功が形作られるなら

He called on John Ferrier that night, and many times again, until his face was a familiar one at the farmhouse. John, cooped up in the valley, and absorbed in his work, had had little chance of learning the news of the outside world during the last twelve years. All this Jefferson Hope was able to tell him, and in a style which interested Lucy as well as her father. He had been a pioneer in California, and could narrate many a strange tale of fortunes made and fortunes lost in those wild, halcyon days. He had been a scout too, and a trapper, a silver explorer, and a ranchman. Wherever stirring adventures were to be had, Jefferson Hope had been there in search of them. He soon became a favourite with the old farmer, who spoke eloquently of his virtues. On such occasions, Lucy was silent, but her blushing cheek and her bright, happy eyes showed only too clearly that her young heart was no longer her own. Her honest father may not have observed these symptoms, but they were assuredly not thrown away upon the man who had won her affections.

彼はその夜ジョン・フェリアーを訪ねた / そしてそれから何度となく / 彼の顔は家で親しいものとなるまで◆ジョンは / この谷に閉じこもり / 仕事に没頭していた / 外の世界の出来事を知るチャンスはほとんどなかった / この12年間◆ジェファーソン・ホープが彼に語れる事全て / そしてルーシーが引かれる態度に父も同様に引かれた◆彼はカリフォルニアの開拓者であり / そして沢山の奇妙な話をする事が出来た / 荒っぽい古きよき時代に財産を作ったり財産を失ったりする◆彼は偵察兵もした / 猟師も / 銀の山師も / そして農場経営も◆どこであれ心を掻き立てられるような冒険があれば / ジェファーソン・ホープはそれを探しに出かけていった◆彼はすぐに老いた農夫のお気に入りになった / 自分の徳を雄弁に語る◆こういう時 / ルーシーは黙っていた / しかし彼女の赤らんだ頬と輝く幸せそうな目は / 彼女の若い心はもう自分だけのものでない事をただ明白に示すだけだった◆彼女の実直な父はこれらの兆しを見逃したかもしれない / しかしそれらは間違いなく投げ捨てられなかった / 彼女の関心を勝ち取った男は

One summer evening he came galloping down the road and pulled up at the gate. She was at the doorway, and came down to meet him. He threw the bridle over the fence and strode up the pathway.

ある夏の夕暮れ / 彼は道を駆けてきて門のところで止まった◆彼女は戸口にいた / そして彼に会いに出てきた◆彼は手綱を柵の向こうに投げ / 大股で小道を上がってきた

“I am off, Lucy,” he said, taking her two hands in his, and gazing tenderly down into her face: “I won’t ask you to come with me now, but will you be ready to come when I am here again?”

「俺は行く / ルーシー」 / 彼は言った / 両手を握って / そして優しく顔を覗き込んで / 「今一緒に来てくれとは頼まない / しかしもう一度戻ってきた時に来れるように準備しておいてくれるかい？」

“And when will that be?” she asked, blushing and laughing.

「それはいつ頃なの？」 / 彼女は尋ねた / 顔を赤くして笑いながら

“A couple of months at the outside. I will come and claim you then, my darling. There’s no one who can stand between us.”

「二ヶ月街を出る◆それから戻ってきて君を連れて行く◆俺達二人を邪魔するものは誰もいない」

“And how about father?” she asked.

「お父さんはどうなるの？」 / 彼女は尋ねた

“He has given his consent, provided we get these mines working all right. I have no fear on that head.”

「お父さんは同意してくれた / この鉱山の仕事が上手く行けば◆俺はその事は心配していない」

“Oh, well; of course, if you and father have arranged it all, there’s no more to be said,” she whispered, with her cheek against his broad breast.

「ええ / もちろん / お父さんとあなたが全て手筈を整えていれば / 何も言う事はないわ」 / 彼女は小さな声で言った / 彼の広い胸に頬を寄せて

“Thank God!” he said, hoarsely, stooping and kissing her. “It is settled, then. The longer I stay, the harder it will be to go. They are waiting for me at the canon. Good-bye, my own darling – good-bye. In two months you shall see me.”

「ありがとう！」 / 彼は言った / かすれた声で / 覆い被さってキスしながら◆「ではこれで決まった◆ここに長くいればいるほど / 行くのが辛くなる◆谷で仲間が待っている◆さようなら / 最愛の人よ / / さようなら◆二ヶ月経ったらまた会える」

He tore himself from her as he spoke, and, flinging himself upon his horse, galloped furiously away, never even looking round, as though afraid that his resolution might fail him if he took one glance at what he was leaving. She stood at the gate, gazing after him until he vanished from her sight. Then she walked back into the house, the happiest girl in all Utah.

話しながら彼は体を離し / そして / 馬にひらりとまたがり / 猛烈に馬を駆って去っていた / あたりを見回すこともなく / あたかも決意が鈍ることを恐れるように / 後にした場所に少しでも目をやれば◆彼女は門のところに立ち / 彼が視界から消えるまでじっと見送っていた◆それから彼女は家の中に戻った / ユタで一番幸せな女だった