he sat up on the edge of the bed, found himself shaking a little again after that minor effort, but climbed to his feet anyway, and walked unsteadily over to the door. he stood there looking out. the cloud layers always faded away during the night, gathered again at dawn. by now the sky was almost clear. a green glow over the desert to the left meant the larger moon was just below the horizon. the little yellow moon rode high in the sky above it. if they came up together, this would be the very bright part of the night during which the birds and other animal life in the valley went about their pursuits as if it were daytime. he could hear bird-chirpings now against the restless mutter of the little stream which came down the center of the valley, starting at the lake at the right end and running out into stagnant and drying pools a short distance after it entered the desert.
he discovered suddenly he had brought the gun along from the bed with him and was holding it without having been in the least aware of the fact. grinning twistedly at the old and pointless precaution, he shoved the gun into his trousers pocket, brought out matches, a crumpled pack of cigarettes, and began to smoke. very considerate of them to see to it he wouldn't run out of minor conveniences ... like leaving him liquor enough to drink himself to death on any time he felt like it during these five years.
like leaving him the gun—
from the association's standpoint those things were up to him, of course, barney thought bitterly. in either unfortunate event, he wouldn't be on their consciences.
he felt a momentary spasm of the old hate, but a feeble one, hardly more than a brief wash of the early torrents of rage. something had burned out of him these months; an increasing dullness was moving into its place—
and just what, he thought, startled, was he doing outside the cabin door now? he hadn't consciously decided to go that far; it must have been months, actually, since he had walked beyond the doorway at all. during the first few weeks he had made half a dozen attempts to explore his surroundings by night, and learned quickly that he was confined to as much of the valley as he could see from the cabin. beyond the ridges lay naked desert and naked mountain ranges, silent and terrifying in the moonlight.
barney glanced up and down the valley, undecided but not knowing quite what he was undecided about. he didn't feel like going back into the cabin, and to just stand here was boring.
"well," he said aloud, sardonically, "it's a nice night for a walk, brother chard."
well, why not? it was bright enough to see by now if he kept away from the thickest growths of trees, and getting steadily brighter as the big moon moved up behind the distant desert rim. he'd walk till he got tired, then rest. by the time he got back to the cabin he'd be ready to lie down and sleep off the curious mood that had taken hold of him.
barney started off up the valley, stepping carefully and uncertainly along the sloping, uneven ground.
