They marched through the forest to where Whitehall now stands, and thence made their way up Wood Creek2 to old Fort Anne, long abandoned and falling into decay. Here in the already overgrown clearing that surrounded the ruin they encamped.
Up to this time Rogers had observed his usual caution, commanding silence on the march, and forbidding fires at night, but having discovered no signs of the enemy, and led into over-confidence, perhaps, by the unusual strength of his party, he was rash enough to accept a wager3 with one of the officers of the light infantry as to which was the best marksman, and the following morning was set for the trial of skill.
When Seth learned of this he was much troubled, for although he had not come upon any trace of the enemy, he somehow had a conviction that they were not far away, and he ventured to suggest to his chief that it might not be wise to have musket4 firing until the neighborhood had been more thoroughly5 examined.
But the Major took his remonstrance6 amiss.
"When I wish your advice I will ask you for it, young man," he said, with an asperity7 of tone that made Seth's countenance8 redden. "I am quite sure there are no French or Indians within cannon9 sound of us, so you need give yourself no concern about what I propose to do."
Seth knew that it was vain to argue the matter, and said no more, although the foreboding of approaching disaster grew stronger through the night.
Soon after daylight the shooting match took place, and Major Rogers proved an easy victor, but the triumph, which evidently gave him great satisfaction, was obtained at a fearful cost, for the sound of the shots reached the ears of a large band of French and Indians under command of the famous partisan10 Marin, who at once took steps to reconnoitre and ambuscade his reckless enemy.
All around the old fort the forest had formerly11 been cut down and burned, but during the long years of neglect the opening thus made became overgrown with bushes and saplings so densely12 as to be impassable save where a narrow Indian path traversed it.
Along this path Major Rogers and his men were forced to march in single file, and so soon as the shooting contest was settled they slung14 their packs and set out.
The Connecticut men were in the lead, then came the regulars, and the Rangers15 brought up the rear.
Never in his life before had Seth felt so depressed17 in spirits, although he could in no wise account to himself for it.
"I'm sure there's trouble coming," he said to the Ranger16 who walked next him. "I do wish they hadn't been firing at the mark. The sound of their guns will go far this still morning."
The words had hardly left his lips when the noise of rapid firing came over the tops of the bushes, and he exclaimed excitedly:
"I knew it! I knew it! The French have ambushed18 us. Quick now to the front!"
And he dashed off through the brushwood, followed by his men. They had, of course, great difficulty in making their way, although the yells of Indians mingling19 with the reports of the muskets20 made clear to them that Seth's surmise21 as to what had taken place was correct, and they were wild to get to the assistance of their imperilled comrades.
What had happened was this: When the head of the line emerged from the tangled22 shrubbery, and was about to enter the forest there broke forth23 a horrid24 chorus of savage25 yells, and suddenly the place became alive with Indians.
One of them, a huge Caughnawaga chief, with uplifted hatchet26 sprang at the foremost of the English, who threw up his gun, and pulled trigger. But unhappily it missed fire, and the next moment he fell with cloven skull27.
Then the firing began. The French and the Indians, lying across the path in a semicircle, had the double advantage of surprise and of position, and the Connecticut men at first fell back among the bushes in disorder28, but presently rallied, and held their opponents in check until the regulars and Rangers could force their way through the thickets29 to their support.
So dense13 was the brushwood that it was only after much loss of time and with great difficulty that the English were able to assume some kind of order in front of the enemy, and even then each man was forced to fight for himself as best he could.
The fulfilment of his foreboding cast no spell over Seth's courage. He plunged30 into the conflict as though he bore a charmed life, and many an Indian fell at the crack of his gun.
Yet with the wisdom of the true woodsman he did not expose himself unnecessarily, but took advantage to the utmost of such cover as their position afforded.
The fusillade continued for nearly two hours with heavy loss on both sides, but without the combatants coming to close quarters, as the French evidently feared a hand-to-hand struggle, and the English leaders, having no idea of the actual strength of their assailants, did not deem it prudent31 to attempt to charge upon them.
The fierce and bloody32 conflict was at its height when Seth, moving forward to get a better position for shooting, suddenly found himself face to face with three Indians, who had crept upon him through the underbrush.
His gun was empty, and he had no time to reload it, but he felled one of the savages33 with the butt34, and was about to treat another in the same fashion when the third sprang at him and tripping him cleverly, flung him heavily to the ground, where both threw themselves on him, and pinned him fast.
They were powerful braves, and, although Seth struggled frantically35 to free himself, they soon had his hands bound with thongs36 which hurt cruelly, and rendered him helpless.
Then, each seizing an arm, they rushed him to the rear of their own line, where they lashed37 him to a tree so that he could not move a limb.
All this time Seth had not spoken. He knew how vain was any appeal for mercy, and steeled his heart for the torture that was sure to be his fate.
Having secured him to the tree, his captors, letting the battle take care of itself, proceeded to amuse themselves in characteristic fashion by throwing their tomahawks at Seth's head with the idea of seeing which could come closest to without actually striking their living target.
ordeal38
IT WAS A TERRIBLE ORDEAL FOR SETH.
It was fine fun for the dusky fiends no doubt, but it was a terrible ordeal for Seth, and yet the brave fellow hardly blinked as the cruel steel flashed past his eyes, and buried itself in the tree with a vicious thud, sometimes severing39 a stray lock of his hair in its flight.
Nor were the redskins the only ones to act thus inhumanly40, for when they had wearied of their amusement, a French officer came up, who after assailing41 the helpless captive with vigorous abuse, thrust the muzzle42 of his gun violently against his body, pretending to fire it, and then struck him in the face with the butt, inflicting43 a painful bruise44.
Still Seth maintained his stoical silence, for he had determined45 that although they should tear him to pieces, or burn him with slow fire, they should not extort46 from him any sign or sound of weakness.
When the retreat began the Indians unloosed Seth from the tree, stripped him of nearly all his clothing, bound his wrists together so tightly that the pain was intense, and then placing upon his bare back as many of the packs of their wounded as could be piled up, they hurried him along until at last in sheer exhaustion47 he fell to the ground, and could not move despite the blows showered upon him.
He might have been despatched there and then had not a French officer, moved to compassion48 by his desperate plight49, persuaded the Indians to untie50 his hands, and lighten his crushing burden. They also gave him a pair of moccasins to protect his lacerated feet, from which they had taken his shoes and stockings.
His misery51 being thus somewhat mitigated52, Seth was able to go on and to stagger under his load until his captors encamped for the night.
But cruelly as he had suffered already there was worse yet to come, for, having removed the last vestige53 of clothing, they tied him to a tree, and set to work to surround him with brushwood.
"Merciful Heaven, they are going to burn me!" he groaned54. "If they would only kill me first! How can I stand the terrible torture?"
Nevertheless he nerved himself to bear the awful ordeal, not deigning55 to utter a cry for mercy.
The savages were evidently impressed by his heroic bearing, and delayed lighting56 the wood, while they danced about him, brandishing57 their tomahawks in his face, and trying to make him flinch58 from their pretended blows.
In the midst of their fiendish frolicking there fell a sudden shower of rain which soaked the wood so that it would not light, and this seemed to offer some hope of a respite59 for their victim. But no sooner had the rain ceased than the merciless wretches60 resumed their horrid preparations, and this time succeeded in surrounding him with a circle of brushwood which they set on fire, and then yelled and danced before him in delight at his vain endeavors to avoid the rising flames.
His case certainly seemed desperate to the last degree. Thus far he had held the hope that his tormentors might stop short of taking his life in order to carry him back to Canada as a trophy61 of their prowess, but when the fire began to scorch62 his naked limbs he gave himself up to despair.
The flames were climbing to his waist. A few more minutes and it would have been all over with him, when into the midst of the dancing, yelling crowd there burst a stalwart figure shouting in French:
"You red devils, what are you about? How dare you torture one of our prisoners like that and disgrace us all? If I had known what you were about I would have put a stop to it before this."
It was Marin, the Canadian leader of the war party, who, on hearing what was taking place, had with courageous63 humanity rushed to the scene, determined to interpose at all hazards.
Nor was he content with upbraiding64 the Indians for their cruelty, but dashed at the blazing brushwood, tore it away from Seth, cut his bonds with a slash65 of his knife, and dragged him out of danger.
The whole thing was done so quickly and in so dauntless a fashion that the savages were completely taken back, and when Marin, having berated66 them further, placed Seth under the protection of a Caughnawaga chief, who promised to be responsible for him, they acquiesced67 in the arrangement without a murmur68.
The Caughnawaga accepted the trust reposed69 in him, and at first seemed disposed to treat Seth kindly70, but the means he took to insure the prisoner not attempting his escape, while certainly effective, were by no means considerate of his comfort, seeing that he stretched him on the ground in the form of a St. Andrew's cross with his wrists and ankles fastened to the stems of young trees.
Nor was he satisfied with this, but must needs place brushwood upon his body, and across it long slender saplings on the ends of which several warriors71 lay down to sleep, so that Seth could not make the slightest movement without rousing them.
The misery of that night may hardly be conceived, since in addition to all the physical suffering, the proud, sensitive nature of the New Englander writhed72 as he realized what an utterly73 ludicrous figure he presented.
Next day after a painful march he reached Fort Ticonderoga, and was taken before Montcalm, who asked him a number of questions about the strength of the English forces, and their plans for the future.
But he got little light from Seth, who, thoroughly understanding the purpose of the examination, either evaded74 the questions, or firmly refused to reply to them, even though the French commander threatened to have him tortured if he did not answer in the way desired.
The end of it was that Montcalm, finding he could elicit75 nothing from him, ordered him to be sent up to Montreal as a prisoner of war.
点击
收听单词发音
收听单词发音 |
1
infantry
|
|
| n.[总称]步兵(部队) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
creek
|
|
| n.小溪，小河，小湾 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
wager
|
|
| n.赌注；vt.押注，打赌 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
musket
|
|
| n.滑膛枪 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
thoroughly
|
|
| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
remonstrance
|
|
| n抗议，抱怨 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
asperity
|
|
| n.粗鲁，艰苦 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
countenance
|
|
| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
cannon
|
|
| n.大炮，火炮；飞机上的机关炮 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
partisan
|
|
| adj.党派性的；游击队的；n.游击队员；党徒 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
formerly
|
|
| adv.从前，以前 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
densely
|
|
| ad.密集地；浓厚地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
dense
|
|
| a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
slung
|
|
| 抛( sling的过去式和过去分词 )； 吊挂； 遣送； 押往 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
rangers
|
|
| 护林者( ranger的名词复数 )； 突击队员 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
ranger
|
|
| n.国家公园管理员，护林员；骑兵巡逻队员 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
depressed
|
|
| adj.沮丧的，抑郁的，不景气的，萧条的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
ambushed
|
|
| v.埋伏( ambush的过去式和过去分词 )；埋伏着 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
mingling
|
|
| adj.混合的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
muskets
|
|
| n.火枪，（尤指）滑膛枪( musket的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
surmise
|
|
| v./n.猜想，推测 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
tangled
|
|
| adj. 纠缠的，紊乱的 动词tangle的过去式和过去分词 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
forth
|
|
| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
horrid
|
|
| adj.可怕的；令人惊恐的；恐怖的；极讨厌的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
savage
|
|
| adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
hatchet
|
|
| n.短柄小斧；v.扼杀 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
27
skull
|
|
| n.头骨；颅骨 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
28
disorder
|
|
| n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
29
thickets
|
|
| n.灌木丛( thicket的名词复数 )；丛状物 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
30
plunged
|
|
| v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
31
prudent
|
|
| adj.谨慎的，有远见的，精打细算的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
32
bloody
|
|
| adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
33
savages
|
|
| 未开化的人，野蛮人( savage的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
34
butt
|
|
| n.笑柄；烟蒂；枪托；臀部；v.用头撞或顶 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
35
frantically
|
|
| ad.发狂地, 发疯地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
36
thongs
|
|
| 的东西 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
37
lashed
|
|
| adj.具睫毛的v.鞭打( lash的过去式和过去分词 )；煽动；紧系；怒斥 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
38
ordeal
|
|
| n.苦难经历，（尤指对品格、耐力的）严峻考验 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
39
severing
|
|
| v.切断，断绝( sever的现在分词 )；断，裂 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
40
inhumanly
|
|
| adv.无人情味地，残忍地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
|
41
assailing
|
|
| v.攻击( assail的现在分词 )；困扰；质问；毅然应对 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
42
muzzle
|
|
| n.鼻口部；口套；枪(炮)口；vt.使缄默 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
43
inflicting
|
|
| 把…强加给，使承受，遭受( inflict的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
44
bruise
|
|
| n.青肿，挫伤；伤痕；vt.打青；挫伤 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
45
determined
|
|
| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
46
extort
|
|
| v.勒索，敲诈，强要 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
47
exhaustion
|
|
| n.耗尽枯竭，疲惫，筋疲力尽，竭尽，详尽无遗的论述 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
48
compassion
|
|
| n.同情，怜悯 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
49
plight
|
|
| n.困境，境况，誓约，艰难；vt.宣誓，保证，约定 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
50
untie
|
|
| vt.解开，松开；解放 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
51
misery
|
|
| n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
52
mitigated
|
|
| v.减轻，缓和( mitigate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
53
vestige
|
|
| n.痕迹，遗迹，残余 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
54
groaned
|
|
| v.呻吟( groan的过去式和过去分词 )；发牢骚；抱怨；受苦 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
55
deigning
|
|
| v.屈尊，俯就( deign的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
56
lighting
|
|
| n.照明，光线的明暗，舞台灯光 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
57
brandishing
|
|
| v.挥舞( brandish的现在分词 )；炫耀 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
58
flinch
|
|
| v.畏缩，退缩 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
59
respite
|
|
| n.休息，中止，暂缓 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
60
wretches
|
|
| n.不幸的人( wretch的名词复数 )；可怜的人；恶棍；坏蛋 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
61
trophy
|
|
| n.优胜旗，奖品，奖杯，战胜品，纪念品 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
62
scorch
|
|
| v.烧焦，烤焦；高速疾驶；n.烧焦处，焦痕 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
63
courageous
|
|
| adj.勇敢的，有胆量的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
64
upbraiding
|
|
| adj.& n.谴责（的）v.责备，申斥，谴责( upbraid的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
65
slash
|
|
| vi.大幅度削减；vt.猛砍，尖锐抨击，大幅减少；n.猛砍，斜线，长切口，衣衩 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
66
berated
|
|
| v.严厉责备，痛斥( berate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
67
acquiesced
|
|
| v.默认，默许( acquiesce的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
68
murmur
|
|
| n.低语，低声的怨言；v.低语，低声而言 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
69
reposed
|
|
| v.将（手臂等）靠在某人（某物）上( repose的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
70
kindly
|
|
| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
71
warriors
|
|
| 武士，勇士，战士( warrior的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
72
writhed
|
|
| （因极度痛苦而）扭动或翻滚( writhe的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
73
utterly
|
|
| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
74
evaded
|
|
| 逃避( evade的过去式和过去分词 )； 避开； 回避； 想不出 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
75
elicit
|
|
| v.引出,抽出,引起 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |