It was certainly Old Bob, however, who had been seen saddling the horse, and Morris concluded that the man before him was he. Had it been Scotty, he might have hardened his heart to almost any degree of severity, but heretofore he had had no quarrel with Bob, for whom he felt contempt chiefly, and he intended to let him off as easily as it would be safe to do.{170}
Rousing himself at the sound of the stumbling nag5, Morris had but half a minute to pause, before suddenly springing in front of the horse, with a blow at the animal’s head and a yell like a wild Shoshone.
The startled and punished animal reared, spun6 round in the narrow trail as nimbly as a deer could have done, slipped on the wet stones, and fell headlong over the low bank at the edge of the trail, flinging his astounded7 rider over his head into the creek8.
Morris, delighted at the effect of his first charge, followed it up with a second whoop9, hearing which the horse picked himself up and rushed up the trail at break-neck speed, frightened out of its senses.
Old Bob, panic-stricken, dumb-founded, and shocked by his fall, was just rising from the shallow water, when Morris got down the bank. Leaping upon him, he seized the wretched victim by collar, and shook him by both hands as a terrier does a rat. Then snatching up his stick he began to lay it vigor{171}ously over Bob’s shoulders, keeping at it until the old fellow could find enough of his scattered10 wits and tangled11 legs to enable him to run away.
“Get back in your hole, you old sarpint!” Morris yelled, as he flung his cudgel after the retreating enemy. “Next time you thieves want to sneak12 off to town, mind you get permission of your betters!”
To this Bob replied, as was expected, by a couple of shots from his revolver, which, up to this time, he had fairly forgotten in the surprise of the unexpected attack, but Morris dodged13 behind a rock at the first flash, and no harm was done.
He did not return this random14 fire, but kept wide-awake for a few minutes, thinking Bob might come back with his companions. This, however, he did not do, and Morris lost no further time in starting home.
Bob admitted afterward15, that he thought that at least two men had attacked him, which spoke16 well for Morris’s activity, and that it{172} was Max who was giving him the shaking. Wet, sore, chilled and altogether dazed, he was in no condition to lead an attack against an ambushed17 enemy in the middle of a snowy night, nor were his accomplices18 eager to go and avenge19 his wrongs, preferring, so long as their own precious skins remained whole, to stay where they were and scold at him for his failure.
All this happened on Friday night, and to that fact the superstitious20 miner attributed his misfortunes.
The storm ceased before daybreak. Then what a strange, new, glorious landscape was that the sun rose upon! Its beams streamed athwart limitless spaces of snow. Overhead, the height Sandy had partly ascended21 rose in rounded outlines, a huge dome22 of unblemished white. Ahead, as if a mighty23 drift had been heaped across the gap between the mountains, lay the saddle over which the trail led through the woods; and inside the gorge24 all the roughnesses were smoothed, all the bowlders{173} and prostrate25 logs, the boughs26 of the spruces and cottonwoods, bushes, ferns, and weeds, were packed full and weighed down with the soft and flurry flakes.
Beyond calling for a little shoveling inside the fort, the snow was no hindrance27, of course, to the underground work of the firm of B. B. & Co. They hammered away at improving their tunnel all day on Saturday and until late at night, and followed it by a pleasant Sunday’s rest, in spite of their cramped28 quarters and tedious guard-duty.
The case was far different with the unfortunate jumpers, who, at the Aurora29, had no shelter, and no way of getting free from the snow and the wet.
This misfortune was doubled by a thaw30 on Sunday afternoon, suddenly letting loose a great flood of melted snow, and turning the creek into a torrent31, which, before Monday morning, had so swollen32 as to cover the trail and ford33 with a rushing flood six or eight feet deep, that it would have been madness to cross.{174}
Old Bob and his companions, therefore, were not only very uncomfortable, but between the impassable creek and the unscalable wall on one side, and the rifles of our friends on the other, they were really prisoners.
“I reckon they’re getting hungry over yonder, too,” remarked Morris, when a heavy rain on Monday night had produced a second flood in the creek. “I don’t believe they have grub enough to last much longer. They couldn’t have brought a great deal with ’em, and it must be about used up.”
That was the fact of the case. Rations34 were growing very short in the enemy’s camp, and if the end had not come pretty soon they would have been obliged to surrender, since it was impossible to get to where their provisions had been cached with such great labor35 preparatory to this campaign.
Even to our friends, who had no such miseries36 to fret37 them, the situation was becoming extremely monotonous38 and annoying.{175} Max was glum39 and anxious. Sandy had lost his humor. Morris would growl40 softly at himself first for letting Old Bob get away with a single unbroken bone, and then for having allowed that kid, as he called Len, to go on alone to town in the storm. It was tedious enough to be shut up in this cabin, in the midst of such miserable41 weather, and in hourly danger of a bullet in one’s brain, but when to that was added the worry over Len’s safety, the suspense42 became nearly unendurable.
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1
softened
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| （使）变软( soften的过去式和过去分词 )； 缓解打击； 缓和； 安慰 | |
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2
hoofs
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| n.（兽的）蹄，马蹄( hoof的名词复数 )v.（兽的）蹄，马蹄( hoof的第三人称单数 ) | |
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3
ambush
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| n.埋伏(地点)；伏兵；v.埋伏；伏击 | |
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4
flakes
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| 小薄片( flake的名词复数 )； （尤指）碎片； 雪花； 古怪的人 | |
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5
nag
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| v.(对…)不停地唠叨；n.爱唠叨的人 | |
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spun
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| v.纺，杜撰，急转身 | |
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astounded
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| v.使震惊(astound的过去式和过去分词)；愕然；愕；惊讶 | |
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creek
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| n.小溪，小河，小湾 | |
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9
whoop
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| n.大叫，呐喊，喘息声；v.叫喊，喘息 | |
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10
scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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11
tangled
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| adj. 纠缠的，紊乱的 动词tangle的过去式和过去分词 | |
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12
sneak
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| vt.潜行(隐藏,填石缝)；偷偷摸摸做；n.潜行；adj.暗中进行 | |
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13
dodged
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| v.闪躲( dodge的过去式和过去分词 )；回避 | |
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14
random
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| adj.随机的；任意的；n.偶然的(或随便的)行动 | |
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15
afterward
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| adv.后来；以后 | |
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16
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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17
ambushed
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| v.埋伏( ambush的过去式和过去分词 )；埋伏着 | |
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18
accomplices
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| 从犯，帮凶，同谋( accomplice的名词复数 ) | |
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19
avenge
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| v.为...复仇，为...报仇 | |
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superstitious
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| adj.迷信的 | |
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ascended
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| v.上升，攀登( ascend的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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dome
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| n.圆屋顶，拱顶 | |
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23
mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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24
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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25
prostrate
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| v.拜倒，平卧，衰竭；adj.拜倒的，平卧的，衰竭的 | |
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26
boughs
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| 大树枝( bough的名词复数 ) | |
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27
hindrance
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| n.妨碍，障碍 | |
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28
cramped
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| a.狭窄的 | |
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aurora
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| n.极光 | |
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30
thaw
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| v.（使）融化，（使）变得友善；n.融化，缓和 | |
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31
torrent
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| n.激流，洪流；爆发，(话语等的)连发 | |
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32
swollen
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| adj.肿大的，水涨的；v.使变大，肿胀 | |
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33
Ford
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| n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过 | |
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34
rations
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| 定量( ration的名词复数 )； 配给量； 正常量； 合理的量 | |
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35
labor
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| n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦 | |
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36
miseries
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| n.痛苦( misery的名词复数 )；痛苦的事；穷困；常发牢骚的人 | |
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37
fret
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| v.(使)烦恼；(使)焦急；(使)腐蚀，(使)磨损 | |
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38
monotonous
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| adj.单调的，一成不变的，使人厌倦的 | |
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39
glum
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| adj.闷闷不乐的，阴郁的 | |
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40
growl
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| v.（狗等）嗥叫，（炮等）轰鸣；n.嗥叫，轰鸣 | |
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41
miserable
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| adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的 | |
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42
suspense
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| n.（对可能发生的事）紧张感，担心，挂虑 | |
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