This settled, Max and Sandy returned to their mining, while Len and Morris lay down behind the newly-strengthened breastwork. The elder man filled his pipe and stretched himself in the sunshine, while Len brought out one of the few books they had and read the stirring story of the robber Doones, and the giant farmer who got his sweetheart from among them by such a pleasant mixture of strategy and strength.
Morris was interested, but his position was easy, the pipe was soothing1, the sun was warm, and Len’s steady tones were slumberous2 in their influence. The reader, therefore, presently found his listener asleep, in spite of his interest and his resolution. Seeing this he shut the book, and fell into a{154} reverie over the strange series of circumstances that had brought him to this remote spot and outlandish surroundings, how—Crack—ping!
Morris was wide-awake. Len’s dreams had vanished. Both men were on their knees behind the breastwork, guns in hand and every sense alert.
On the opposite dump they saw all three of the jumpers sitting with guns by their sides. They were gesticulating toward the smooth, whitish panel on the cliff walk which showed where the dyke3 had been cut through by the ice and floods that in ages past had carved this channel in the mountain side; they seemed to be paying no attention to the Last Chance people, but were pointing as though at a target, on the face of the cliff. After a short time Scotty raised his rifle and took steady aim, apparently4 at the target previously5 pointed6 out. The report of his gun was followed by the sharp click of the ball against the porphyry wall, and then by{155} its rattling7 among the rock on the slope of the dump in front of our sentinel friends.
“What do you suppose they’re shooting at?” muttered Len, straining his eyes to find some mark.
Morris did not reply. He was watching the enemy going through another pantomime, which looked as though Bob was explaining something wrong in the shot. This was speedily concluded by Scotty’s moving his position and aiming a third time at the face of the cliff, sighting at a little different angle than before.
Crack!—ping! went the report, and almost at the same instant a spruce log which lay just in front of Morris’s face jarred under the blow of a half-ounce of lead, which sank deeply into its tough core.
“Great Harry8!” shouted the incensed9 miner. “They’re caroming on us!”
And before Len could interfere10, Morris rose on one knee, brought his rifle to bear on the gambler, and pulled the trigger.{156}
Scotty’s hat flew off, and he tumbled over, while Bob and Stephens let loose a volley, which rattled11 harmlessly against the breastwork.
But Morris’s snap shot had not gone quite true, for Scotty picked himself up almost instantly and scrambled12 out of range, followed by his two companions.
This firing had brought Sandy and Max to the door of the mine with anxious faces, and you may believe they were not only enraged13, but made very solicitous14 by the incident.
“It’s clear,” remarked Max, “that they mean to kill us if they can do so without open-handed murder. Of course they intended those balls to glance and hurt somebody.”
“I meant mine to, anyhow!” exclaimed Morris.
“I am glad you fired; it’ll teach those scoundrels that we are wide-awake. But do you not think they knew you!”
“No, they couldn’t see well enough. I was kneeling behind the wall.”{157}
“There is a’ the mair necessity, Mr. Bushwick,” remarked Sandy, “why you should go to town to-night.”
“I feel it strongly, and Morris and I’ll get away as soon as it is dark. You fellows have worked enough to-day, haven’t you? Suppose you stay out now.”
“All right; we will. We’ve got a fair sort of a hole in there, anyhow. It’s pretty deep, and a man can walk upright all the way except in one or two places.”
They saw no more of the enemy that day, however, and Sandy occupied himself by cooking an extra good supper.
By seven o’clock that evening a deep gloom filled the gulch15, and was scarcely less heavy on the cliffs, for thick clouds stretched like a canopy16 from peak to peak.
The only means by which the jumpers could get away from their camp was by the trail down the ca?on, along which, during daylight, any one would be exposed for some distance to the fire of our friends in the garrison17.{158}
From the Last Chance, however, a man might easily ascend18, as we know, and then, by care and trouble, he could pass along ledges19 above the Aurora20, to where, some distance beyond, a crevice21 enabled him to clamber down to the bottom of the gulch, a few hundred yards below where the trail crossed the creek22.
This is what Morris and Len did, as soon as the shadows of the range enveloped23 them in its curtaining gloom. When they had made their way far enough, they crept to the edge of the cliff, and could see the jumpers eating their supper around their fire on the safe side of the dump. A horse was hitched24 near by, and Old Bob was saddling him.
“You are right,” Lennox whispered. “He’s going to town to-night, and is most ready to start. We’d better hurry up, if you want to get into ambush26 ahead of him.”
Moving as quietly as possible, they hastened to where the shelving of the cliff let them get down to the bed of the creek.
[Image unavailable.]
A SHORT CUT.
Silver Caves, Page 159.
{159}
Just as they reached this point, where they most needed the light to aid them, a fierce squall swept down upon the groaning27 and cracking branches of the spruce fringing the border of the crags, the air became suddenly colder, and whirling volleys of snowflakes were dashed in the faces of the wanderers.
“This is bad!” growled28 Morris. “’Taint none too easy a job to crawl down here in daylight, let alone trying to do it in this pitch; look out!”
Len had slipped on a wet stone and started to make the descent by an extremely short cut, but caught hold of a young tree stem just in time to stop himself. Warned by this, they felt their way with more caution, and finally succeeded in clambering down to the creek-bed without serious mishap29. On reaching the trail the coating of snow was found undisturbed, showing that as yet no one had passed over it.
A few rods below, the path was crowded into a narrow passage between a steep bank{160} and the water. This place Morris thought would suit his purpose capitally, and here he proposed to meet the unsuspecting enemy and turn him back.
His first movement was to cut and carefully trim a stout30 cudgel.
“Quakin-asp is the kind of a stick to make his bones ache,” said Morris, as he trimmed away the twigs31.
“I’ve no doubt of it, and I’d like to stay and see the fun, but I reckon I’d better mosey if I’m to get to town before this snow buries me.”
“You bet you had!” was the earnest advice of his roughly-speaking but good-hearted comrade. “It’s no soft job you’ve got on hand, and you want to be mighty32 careful. Got a thick overcoat?”
“Yes.”
“Any matches?”
“Yes, lots of ’em.”
“Got your pistol?”
“Yes, borrowed Max’s. Thought I might{161} meet wolves. I’ve heard ’em howl down here once or twice.”
“They’re ’round on snowy nights, but they’re cowardly. Any whisky?”
“No; and I don’t want any.”
“Hm! I’m not so sure about it. Whisky’s always good, I’m thinkin’, especially on a cold night like this.”
“You and Old Bob could agree on one point, at any rate.”
“Me and Squint-eyes agree?—not much! Still,—whisky’s good.”
“Well, I’ll wager33 you a jug34 o’ molasses, or a new hat, that I can get to town better to-night without whisky than with it.”
“Mebbe you’re right. I know whisky’s done me a heap more harm ’n it ever did me good, or any other fellow I ever heard of. Still, whisky’s good!”
Len laughed at this defiance35 of rhyme and reason, and shaking hands, started away, Morris calling out as a last word that if he lost the trail in the snow, or got bewildered, the{162} only proper thing to do was to build a fire and camp “right there,” instead of working into worse difficulties.
The brief gale36 with which the storm had leaped down from its headquarters in the heights of the Sierra had wholly subsided37 now, or only reappeared in occasional momentary38 squalls. The snow continued falling steadily39, nevertheless, and already the ground, tops of the bushes, and all the protruding40 rocks were white. The stars of course were blotted41 out, but there was a pale, unearthly luminosity in the air which showed that somewhere the moon was shining.
“How splendid a sight it would be,” thought the plucky42 young traveler as he pushed steadily on, “to be above this storm, and able to look down upon the wide sea of heaving, billowy snow-clouds, a sea of wan25, soft vapor43, gleaming in the moonlight here and there as rounded masses are rolled upward, and showing shadowy hollows or{163} curving wrinkles, coming and going, forming and changing before one’s eyes.”
Len had no great difficulty in keeping upon the trail, though he often felt himself in very delicate places where a wrong step might mean a bad fall, if not death.
In the wooded district lying between the Panther Creek gorge44 and the village side of the mountain, he got bewildered once or twice, but by keeping his wits about him passed safely beyond the forest, and felt thereafter in no great danger of going astray. Yet he was not prepared for the way the storm had quickly disguised all the landmarks45, so that he found the trail unexpectedly hard to follow.
This latter half of the journey was the strangest part of all. Now that he had got out of the gorge and past the woods upon the ridge46, he could see abroad for the most part; but the whole wide and beautiful landscape with which he had grown familiar was so lost and transformed that it was hard to{164} recognize its most familiar features. Where in the summer daylight, of that wonderfully crystal-clear daylight of the alpine47 air, he had been confronted by bold bluffs48 and clearly cut, prominent peaks, only the vaguest outlines of a few of the nearest headlands now appeared. Everything else was hidden under a veil of snowflakes. To his left, as he reached the opening, half-way down, which allowed the broadest view, a misty49 expanse took the place of a well-known rank of towering peaks; in front, an undefined, Titanic50 shadow against the sky showed dimly the wall of guardian51 cliffs enclosing the valley; while at the right, clusters of rugged52 and spruce-grown foot-hills were merged53 and invisible under the graceful54 arch of a mighty dome55, faintly outlined in the tumult56 of the storm, which was wrapping its mantle57 so swiftly round every mountain.
In spite of his haste, and of the cold wind which hurled58 the powdered snow against his face and drove it into the crevices59 of his{165} clothing, Lennox stood still here to gaze upon this shadowy picture of a new world, this ghostly Walpurgis Night, which formed the most impressive scene he had ever beheld60. And as he gazed, there came faintly to his ear, from far up the mountain behind him, a long, shrill61 scream as of some one in deadly distress62.
Len knew it was the cry of the mountain lion, but in that palely-lighted dance of the snow-spirits among these awful rocks, it might well have been taken for the last cry of some forlorn and freezing witch.
Shaking off these fancies and the snow together, our hero turned his steps downward, and an hour later aroused the astonished landlord and went to bed at the hotel, thoroughly63 tired, but safe and far ahead of his adversaries64.
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1
soothing
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| adj.慰藉的；使人宽心的；镇静的 | |
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slumberous
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| a.昏昏欲睡的 | |
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dyke
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| n.堤，水坝，排水沟 | |
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apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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previously
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| adv.以前，先前（地） | |
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pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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7
rattling
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| adj. 格格作响的, 活泼的, 很好的 adv. 极其, 很, 非常 动词rattle的现在分词 | |
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harry
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| vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼 | |
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incensed
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| 盛怒的 | |
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interfere
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| v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰 | |
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rattled
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| 慌乱的，恼火的 | |
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scrambled
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| v.快速爬行( scramble的过去式和过去分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞 | |
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enraged
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| 使暴怒( enrage的过去式和过去分词 )； 歜； 激愤 | |
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solicitous
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| adj.热切的，挂念的 | |
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gulch
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| n.深谷，峡谷 | |
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canopy
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| n.天篷，遮篷 | |
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garrison
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| n.卫戍部队；驻地，卫戍区；vt.派(兵)驻防 | |
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18
ascend
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| vi.渐渐上升，升高；vt.攀登，登上 | |
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ledges
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| n.（墙壁，悬崖等）突出的狭长部分( ledge的名词复数 )；（平窄的）壁架；横档；（尤指）窗台 | |
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aurora
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| n.极光 | |
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crevice
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| n.(岩石、墙等)裂缝；缺口 | |
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22
creek
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| n.小溪，小河，小湾 | |
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enveloped
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| v.包围，笼罩，包住( envelop的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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24
hitched
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| （免费）搭乘他人之车( hitch的过去式和过去分词 )； 搭便车； 攀上； 跃上 | |
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25
wan
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| (wide area network)广域网 | |
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ambush
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| n.埋伏(地点)；伏兵；v.埋伏；伏击 | |
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27
groaning
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| adj. 呜咽的, 呻吟的 动词groan的现在分词形式 | |
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28
growled
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| v.（动物）发狺狺声， （雷）作隆隆声( growl的过去式和过去分词 )；低声咆哮着说 | |
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29
mishap
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| n.不幸的事，不幸；灾祸 | |
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31
twigs
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| 细枝，嫩枝( twig的名词复数 ) | |
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32
mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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wager
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| n.赌注；vt.押注，打赌 | |
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jug
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| n.(有柄，小口，可盛水等的)大壶，罐，盂 | |
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defiance
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| n.挑战，挑衅，蔑视，违抗 | |
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gale
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| n.大风，强风，一阵闹声（尤指笑声等） | |
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subsided
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| v.（土地）下陷（因在地下采矿）( subside的过去式和过去分词 )；减弱；下降至较低或正常水平；一下子坐在椅子等上 | |
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momentary
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| adj.片刻的，瞬息的；短暂的 | |
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steadily
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| adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地 | |
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protruding
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| v.（使某物）伸出，（使某物）突出( protrude的现在分词 )；凸 | |
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blotted
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| 涂污( blot的过去式和过去分词 )； （用吸墨纸）吸干 | |
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42
plucky
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| adj.勇敢的 | |
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vapor
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| n.蒸汽，雾气 | |
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gorge
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| n.咽喉，胃，暴食，山峡；v.塞饱，狼吞虎咽地吃 | |
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45
landmarks
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| n.陆标( landmark的名词复数 )；目标；（标志重要阶段的）里程碑 ~ (in sth)；有历史意义的建筑物（或遗址） | |
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46
ridge
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| n.山脊；鼻梁；分水岭 | |
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47
alpine
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| adj.高山的；n.高山植物 | |
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48
bluffs
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| 恐吓( bluff的名词复数 )； 悬崖； 峭壁 | |
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49
misty
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| adj.雾蒙蒙的，有雾的 | |
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50
titanic
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| adj.巨人的，庞大的，强大的 | |
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51
guardian
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| n.监护人；守卫者，保护者 | |
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52
rugged
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| adj.高低不平的，粗糙的，粗壮的，强健的 | |
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53
merged
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| （使）混合( merge的过去式和过去分词 )； 相融； 融入； 渐渐消失在某物中 | |
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54
graceful
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| adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的 | |
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55
dome
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| n.圆屋顶，拱顶 | |
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56
tumult
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| n.喧哗；激动，混乱；吵闹 | |
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57
mantle
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| n.斗篷，覆罩之物，罩子；v.罩住，覆盖，脸红 | |
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58
hurled
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| v.猛投，用力掷( hurl的过去式和过去分词 )；大声叫骂 | |
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crevices
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| n.（尤指岩石的）裂缝，缺口( crevice的名词复数 ) | |
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60
beheld
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| v.看，注视( behold的过去式和过去分词 )；瞧；看呀；（叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现）哎哟 | |
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61
shrill
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| adj.尖声的；刺耳的；v尖叫 | |
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62
distress
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| n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛 | |
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63
thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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64
adversaries
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| n.对手，敌手( adversary的名词复数 ) | |
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