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out of solid rock and it was about six foot long and maybe a foot and a half wide and about that deep。 just chiseled out of the rock。 and i got to thinkin about the man that done that。 that country had not had a time of peace much of any length at all that i knew of。 ive read a little of the history of it since and i aint sure it ever had one。 but this man had set down with a hammer and chisel and carved out a stone water trough to last ten thousand years。 why was that？ what was it that he had faith in？ it wasnt that nothin would change。 which is what you might think； i suppose。 he had to know bettern that。 ive thought about it a good deal。 i thought about it after i left there with that house blown to pieces。 im goin to say that water trough is there yet。 it would of took somethin to move it； i can tell you that。 so i think about him settin there with his hammer and his chisel； maybe just a hour or two after supper； i dont know。 and i have to say that the only thing i can think is that there was some sort of promise in his heart。
and i dont have no intentions of carvin a stone water trough。 but i would like to be able to make that kind of promise。 i think thats what i would like most of all。
the other thing is that i have not said much about my father and i know i have not done him justice。 ive been older now than he ever was for almost twenty years so in a sense im lookin back at a younger man。 he went on the road tradin horses when he was not much more than a boy。 he told me the first time or two he got skinned pretty good but he learned。 he said this trader one time he put his arm around him and he looked down at him and he told him； said： son； im goin to trade with you like you didnt even have a horse。 point bein some people will actually tell you what it is they aim to do to you and whenever they do you might want to listen。 that stuck with me。 he knew about horses and he was good with em。 ive seen him break a few and he knew what he was doin。
very easy on the horse。 talked to em a lot。 he never broke nothin in me and i owe him more than i would of thought。 as the world might look at it i suppose i was a better man。
bad as that sounds to say。 bad as that is to say。 that has got to of been hard to live with。
let alone his daddy。 he would never of made a lawman。 he went to college i think two years but he never did finish。 ive thought about him a lot less than i should of and i know that aint right neither。 i had two dreams about him after he died。 i dont remember the first one all that well but it was about meetin him in town somewheres and he give me some money and i think i lost it。 but the second one it was like we was both back in older times and i was on horseback goin through the mountains of a night。 goin through this pass in the mountains。 it was cold and there was snow on the ground and he rode past me and kept on goin。 never said nothin。 he just rode on past and he had this blanket wrapped around him and he had his head down and when he rode past i seen he was carryin fire in a horn the way people used to do and i could see the horn from the light inside of it。 about the color of the moon。 and in the dream i knew that he was goin on ahead and that he was fixin to make afire somewhere out there in all that dark and all that cold and i knew that whenever i got there he would be there。 and then i woke up。
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ALSO BY CORMAC McCARTHY
：
cities of the plain
the crossing
all the pretty horses
the stonemason （a play）
the gardeners son （a screenplay）
blood meridian
suttree
child of god
outer dark
the orchard keeper
set in our own time along the bloody frontier between texas and mexico； this is cormac mccarthys first novel since cities of the plain pleted his acclaimed； best… selling border trilogy。
llewelyn moss； hunting antelope near the rio grande； instead finds men shot dead； a load of heroin； and more than 2 million in cash。 packing the money out； he knows； will change everything。 but only after two more men are murdered does a victims burning car lead sheriff bell to the carnage out in the desert； and he soon realizes how desperately moss and his young wife need protection。 one party in the failed transaction hires an ex…special forces officer to defend his interests against a mesmerizing freelancer； while on either side are men accustomed to spectacular violence and mayhem。 the pursuit stretches up and down and across the border； each participant seemingly determined to answer what one asks another： how does a man decide in what order to abandon his life？
a harrowing story of a war that society is waging on itself； and an enduring meditation on the ties of love and blood and duty that inform lives and shape destinies； no country for old men is a novel of extraordinary resonance and power。
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