The sun was hot! Smith looked at the waterhole1. There was no water in it. \"Well，\" he said， \"no water， no farm !\"

\"Perhaps there is water deeper down， under the mud，\" I said.

Smith did not look at me. He started to dig in the hole. I did not help him. I was pushing the cattle away from us. They crowded around in the hole looking for water. They sank to their knees in the mud crying for water. They were dying of thirst２.

Smith got out of the hole. He stood again just looking down. There was no water. Then he grew angry. He said he hoped it would never rain again. He shook his hands at the sky3 and shouted against4 God and nature. Then he went to his horse. He did not speak on the way back to the farmhouse. I did not say anything either. There was nothing to say. It was the end for Smith， the farmer， for the cattle and for the farm.

It was difficult for Smith to understand， or believe; for his wife too. I thought about her as we rode over the dry earth to the farm- house. Yesterday I had seen her on her knees5 in frong of the house.

\"God， give us rain，\" she was saying in a low voice. Over and over again6 she prayed for rain.

I did not understand how she could listen to the cattle crying for water and not lost control of herself. They cried all day and all night. Their terrible cries never stopped. I wanted to put something in my ears so that I would not hear them any more.

We could still hear them when we went inside the house. None of us could escape from their cries. The food was ready when Smith and I rode up to the farm. His wife was smiling as usual， but her hands were shaking. Smith was quiet now. He did not have that wild look in his eyes any more.

When she turned on the light， I could see deep lines of worry on her face. Then I looked closely at Smith. He had grown ten years older in that one day. We all sat down around the table in the warm kitchen. She did not touch the food or drink the coffee.

Once， many weeks ago when the sun first grew hot， she told me she could not drink water when she knew the cattle were dying of thirst. Nobody spoke. She looked at Smith. He was not eating either. Finally he pushed his food away. I knew he was deeply troubled. But all he said to her was \"You know about it?\"

She nodded and pushed some gray hair away from her face. When she spoke， her voice was firm. \"I know，\" she said. \"the wa- terhole went dry today.\"

Something began to tighten7 inside me when I saw her try to smile. I walked outside. It was better to leave them alone.

I looked up at the dark sky. Black clouds were floating low over the hills. A long time ago clouds like that meant rain. But not any more. Tomorrow's sun would burn them away. A full moon was rising over the mountains. I had watched it rise two years ago from this same place. It was the night I came to work for the Smiths.

In those days it was a good farm， with healthy horses to ride and fat cattle. There had been many rains then and the waterholes were full. The farm fields were covered with grass. Every hill was green and the cattle had food. Smith had more water than any other farmer in Arizona8. They made plans to make the farm bigger and better. They were very happy.

The woman had often talked about their first years together twenty years ago. She was a school teacher when she first met Smith. He was a young cowboy， training horses at a nearby farm. When they decided to marry， Smith started to save money. He stayed away from town where he knew he could spend it all quickly. Four years later she put her money with his and they bought a farm and a few cows.

They thought they had the best land in the world. Smith built the little house with his own hands. He added wooden fences to keep the cattle inside. Often she held a light for him when he worked at night. In the soft9 darkness， they talked about their dreams and hopes for the future.

There was also a vegetable garden and fruit trees. She like to look out the kitchen window at her trees. \"That fruit tree is beautiful， isn't it?\" she would say. \"I wish I could paint a picture of it.\"

Like all farmers in Arizona they had good times and bad. There had been wet years and dry years. Sometimes the bank lent them money. They always paid it back. The Smiths watched their cattle grow until they had more than 5000 cows and steers10.

Then the dry weather came. Farmers said it was the longest dry season in the history of the state. More than half of Smith's cattle had died.

Memories crowded my mind. I remembered when Smith and I had done a day's work， we would ride out to the hills and look for the cattle. My job was to hold the animals while Smith burned his name on them. Other days we rode for many kilometers to fix the farm fences.

But all that changed when the rains stopped. One by one the waterholes went dry. Every day we rode to different parts of the farm and dug holes——always looking for water and never finding it. For weeks and months the clouds blew１１ across the sky but dropped their rain far away from us. Then when our last waterhole went dry， there was no more hope.

If it would rain， they could still save the farm. Cattle could always eat dry grass if they had water. Even now there was enough food back in the hills——if only it would rain.

When I went to bed， outside on the front porch12， there was still a light on in the house. Through the window I could see the Smiths sitting at the table. They were praying.

I lay down， thinking I could never sleep with the cattle crying in my ears. But I did sleep， because the next thing I knew it was morning and there was another sound——something dropping on the roof. A warm feeling went through my body. No， I thought， it could not be rain. I must be dreaming. The dropping stopped. I closed my eyes again， trying to forget the cries of the cattle.

Then it came. The clouds opened up and rain came down with a sudden roar. It sounded like a solid wall of water strong enough to break through the roof.

I could hear the Smiths moving around inside the house as I pulled on my shoes. I do not remember exactly what I did for the next few minutes. They told me I was yelling and dancing around like a wild man. Ｌater Smith said it was the first time he had ever seen a cowboy go wild13 from drinking pure water.

But I remember what they did. I remember the woman on her knees in the rain， praying. Smith was standing out in the yard， reaching both hands toward the sky. His head was thrown back and water streamed down his face.

And still it came. It was the middle of the day before we thought about food14. We laughed and talked while eating. We ate with the rain still pounding15 hard on the roof.

The three of us sat， listening to the music of the rain. It sounded pleasant on the house. There was a cool wind blowing and the air felt wet and fresh. We saw the dry earth swallow the rain. For the first time in many cruel months， the cattle were quiet.

Smith turned a peaceful face to me. \"To think，\" he said， \"that yesterday at the waterhole I said I hoped it would never rain again. what a fool I was!\"

We both smiled. Then I went to bed. I knew that on this night， no crying cattle would break my sleep.

注釋：

1． waterholen．池塘

2. be dying of thirst快要渴死

3． shook hands at the sky振臂

4． shout against喊反對…的話

5． on one's knees 跪下

6． over and over again一遍又一遍

7． tighten vi．繃緊

8． Arizonan．(美)亞利桑那州

9． soft adj．平靜的

10． steern. 食用牛

11． blow vi.(美口)逃掉，走掉

12. porchn．門廊

13. go wild發(fā)狂

14. before we thought about food才想到吃東西

15. pound vi．連續(xù)重?fù)?/p>

太陽火辣辣的!史密斯兩眼注視著池塘，里面沒有水了?！鞍パ?，”他說，“沒有水，就沒有牧場!”

“也許水在深處，在泥土下面，”我說。

史密斯沒有看我，就開始在坑里挖起來。我沒幫他，我在把牛群從我們身邊趕開。群牛擠在坑里眼巴巴地找水喝。它們下跪在泥中因口渴而號叫。個(gè)個(gè)快要渴死。

史密斯走出池塘，只是站在邊上往下看，沒有一點(diǎn)水。他生氣了，他說他希望永遠(yuǎn)別再下雨。他振臂呼喊，詛咒蒼天，詛咒大自然。然后他去牽馬，在返回住宅的一路上，他沒說一句話。我也一句沒說，因?yàn)闆]有說的。池塘干涸，牧場主史密斯沒指望了，牲口和牧場也都沒指望了。

如此浩劫，對史密斯來說，是難以理解、難以置信的，他的妻子也是如此。在干硬的土地上我們騎著馬往回走時(shí)，我忽然想到了她，昨天我還曾看見她雙膝跪在房前。

“主啊，快降雨吧，”她低聲懇求，一遍又一遍地為雨而祈禱。

我不解：她怎能既傾聽牲口因口渴而號叫，又未失去對自己的控制。牲口整日整夜地叫，那種可怕的叫聲始終未停止。我很想在耳朵里塞點(diǎn)東西以避免再聽到它們的聲音。

我們走進(jìn)房子里，依然能聽到它們在叫。對此聲音我們誰也無法逃避。當(dāng)史密斯和我騎馬來到農(nóng)莊時(shí)，菜飯已經(jīng)準(zhǔn)備好。他的妻子一如既往，面帶微笑，但她的手在顫抖。當(dāng)時(shí)史密斯倒還平靜，眼睛里沒再閃出煩躁的神色。

在她打開燈光時(shí)，我看到她臉上因憂郁而產(chǎn)生的深深的皺紋。

我再仔細(xì)看看史密斯，他在那一天里，就老了十歲。我們都圍著廚房溫暖的餐桌坐了下來，她對吃的動(dòng)也不動(dòng)，咖啡也不喝。

有一次，在許多星期之前，天氣剛剛變熱，她告訴我當(dāng)她聽說牲口渴得要命，她自己也喝不下水。我們沒言語。她看了看史密斯，他也沒在進(jìn)餐。最后他把吃的東西推開。我知道他深陷愁苦之中。但他只對她說了一句：“你都知道了？”

她點(diǎn)點(diǎn)頭，把幾根銀發(fā)從臉上撥開。她說話語氣堅(jiān)定?！拔抑溃彼f，“今天池塘干了?！?/p>

現(xiàn)在見她強(qiáng)做一笑，我心里極不是滋味，我走了出去，不看他們倒還好些。

我抬眼看看黑暗的天空，烏云低浮在山巒之上。許久以前，象那樣的云彩意味著有雨，但如今不是這樣。明天的驕陽會(huì)燒滅一切云彩。一輪明月升至群山之巔。記得在兩年前我也曾就在此處目睹它冉冉上升。那是我來這里給史密斯家?guī)凸さ牡谝粋€(gè)夜晚。

那時(shí)期，這是一個(gè)興旺的農(nóng)莊，馬壯牛肥，喜雨常降，池塘滿滿的。田野綠草如茵，群巒滴翠，牛群有足夠的食物。史密斯比亞利桑那的其他農(nóng)牧民擁有更多的水源，夫妻倆制定了擴(kuò)大牧場和發(fā)展農(nóng)莊的計(jì)劃。他們的日子過得非常幸福。

那女人常提起他們的婚戀時(shí)期——二十年前的事。她與他相遇時(shí)她是個(gè)小學(xué)教師；他是個(gè)年輕的牛仔，在附近的一個(gè)農(nóng)莊訓(xùn)練馬匹。他們決定結(jié)婚后，史密斯開始攢錢，他離開鎮(zhèn)子去鄉(xiāng)下謀生，因?yàn)樗涝阪?zhèn)子里他的積蓄容易花掉。四年之后，她把她的錢與他的合在一起，買了一處牧場和幾頭乳牛。

他倆認(rèn)為他們擁有了世界上最好的土地。史密斯用雙手建起一座小小的住宅。又加長了保護(hù)牛只的木籬。她常常手舉一盞燈為他在夜間干活照亮。在寂靜的黑夜，他們暢談夢想和對未來的憧憬。

住宅旁邊有了菜園和果樹，她喜歡從廚房的窗戶觀看她的那片果樹?！澳强霉麡湔婧每矗彼f，“我要能把它畫下來該多好!”

就像生活在亞利桑那所有的農(nóng)牧民一樣，有痛快的日子也有犯愁的日子。年成有澇有旱。銀行有時(shí)候給他們貸款，他們到時(shí)就還。夫妻二人眼看自己的牛群一天天擴(kuò)大，直到擁有乳牛和菜牛達(dá)5000余頭。

不久干旱天氣來臨，農(nóng)牧民說這是該州歷史上歷時(shí)最久的一次干旱。史密斯的?？仕肋^半。

樁樁往事記憶猶新，記得史密斯和我干完一天的活之后，總愛縱馬奔馳，去各山坡把牛群圈回。史密斯常在牛身上烙上他的名字，我的工作就是牢牢地把住牲口別動(dòng)。另外的日子我們就策馬去很遠(yuǎn)的地方修補(bǔ)牧場的木籬。

但是雨水停降，一切就都變了。池塘一個(gè)接一個(gè)地干涸了。每天我們策馬去牧場的各個(gè)部分去挖水坑——總是在找水，總是找不到。有幾個(gè)星期乃至幾個(gè)月，云彩浮在上空，眨眼就飄走，到遠(yuǎn)離我們的地方去降雨。終于我們最后的池塘也干了，一切希望就都沒了。

如果下點(diǎn)雨，牧場就有救；只要有水喝，牲口總能以干草充饑。即使現(xiàn)在山后面也有足夠的飼料——只有下了雨才有救。

我走往前廊去睡覺時(shí)，房里仍有燈光在亮著，透過窗子，我看見那夫妻倆坐在桌旁，他們是在禱告。

我躺在床上，心想有牲口在耳邊號叫，我會(huì)永遠(yuǎn)睡不著。但是我卻真的睡著了，因?yàn)槲倚褋頃r(shí)已是凌晨，又有了另一種聲音——某種東西滴落在房頂上。一股暖流傳遍我的全身。不會(huì)的，我想，它不會(huì)是雨。我一定是在做夢。嘀嗒聲停止了，我的眼又閉上，盡力把牲口的號叫給忘掉。

然后，嘀嗒聲來了，云彩鋪開，大雨伴隨著咆哮聲傾盆而降。

那雨聽起來像一堵堅(jiān)實(shí)的水墻，氣勢之猛足以砸漏屋頂。

在我慌忙地穿鞋時(shí)，我看到那夫妻倆在屋內(nèi)轉(zhuǎn)來轉(zhuǎn)去。然后一段時(shí)間我干了些什么，實(shí)在記不清了。據(jù)他們說我高聲吼叫，手舞足蹈，像個(gè)瘋子。過后，史密斯說，他第一次見到一個(gè)放牧人只因?yàn)楹攘怂l(fā)起狂來。

然而我也記得他倆的表現(xiàn)：女的雙膝跪在雨中，口中念念有詞；男的站在院中，雙手夠天，頭朝后仰，任雨水從臉上向下流淌。

雨還在下，時(shí)到中午我們才想起該吃東西了。我們邊吃邊笑，邊談。我們吃飯時(shí)，大雨仍在重重地?fù)糁蓓敗?/p>

我們?nèi)诉吜奶?，邊傾聽雨奏響的樂曲，它響徹屋頂之上，優(yōu)美動(dòng)聽。一股涼風(fēng)吹來，空氣濕潤而又新鮮，我們眼看著干渴的土地在貪婪地鯨吞著甘露。在這么漫長的殘酷日子，那些牛只第一次變得安安靜靜。

史密斯把他那張安祥的臉朝我轉(zhuǎn)來?！跋胍幌搿?，他說，“我昨天在池塘那里說的‘我希望它永遠(yuǎn)別再下雨；我是多么糊涂的傻瓜!”

我倆都笑了起來。之后我去睡覺了，我相信在這一夜，決不會(huì)再有牲口的哀號，破壞我的安睡。