CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

Half supporting her, one arm about his neck, her hands clinging to his as if she was afraid some unseen power would take him from her, the two regained¹ the camp, the blaze of freshly heaped-up logs having lighted the way.

"Give Dinsmore something hot to drink at once," were Thayor's first words on reaching the group. "He's been in water up to his neck. Had it not been for him we should have had to lie out all night; he sees in the dark like an owl². We've had a hard tramp." He stood steaming before the fire as he spoke³—drenched to the skin, the others crowding round him, too happy for the moment to ply⁴ him with questions. He himself was quivering with an inward joy. Alice's kisses were still on his lips.

The trapper edged nearer. "And what did them fellers say, Mr. Thayor, when ye found 'em?" he asked. He had asked the question before, but Thayor only waved his hand saying he would wait until they reached camp so all could hear the story.

"What did they say to me, Hite? They told me for one thing that they had done their best to find me, and I guess that was true," and he smiled grimly. "And now, who do you think was leading them, Billy?"

"Shank Dollard, I guess," returned Holcomb.

"No—Le Boeuf!"

"That Frenchman—and you kept the doctor a week to look after him!" exclaimed Holcomb indignantly.

"Yes. That was the reason he hunted for me."

The men crowded about the speaker, the women drawing closer, the old dog closest of all. Dinsmore, who was seated on a stump⁵ just outside the firelight, listened eagerly. He had heard the story before, but he wanted every detail of it again. His father had pulled the dripping coat from his back when they reached the fire, and he was now wrapped in one of the blankets that Margaret had placed about his thin shoulders.

"Yes—Le Boeuf," continued Thayor. "His arm was still in a sling⁶, but he and his crowd—there were six of them in all—had done their best to overtake us before we got to the railroad. He was more afraid of me than I was of him. When I walked in among them he jumped to his feet and came straight toward me. I was alone—with Mr. Dinsmore within reach but out of sight—and, Hite, they never saw your son—just as I promised you—"

"'I hear you men are looking for me,' I said. 'What can I do for you?' They all stood around, their eyes on Le Boeuf, as if they wanted him to speak. A more surprised and frightened lot of men I never saw.

"'Well, we didn't burn de house,' Le Boeuf began. 'We 'fraid you come and 'rest us. We haf no money to fight reech man like you—we want work for you again. We know who burn de house—it not us.'

"'That's all right, Le Boeuf,' I said. 'I know you didn't have anything to do with the fire or you wouldn't be here. Now go back home all of you, and if I rebuild Big Shanty⁷ I'll send for you to help. Good-bye!' and I turned on my tracks, picked up Mr. Dinsmore where he had hidden himself and started back. We really have been running away from our shadows—" and Thayor laughed one of his hearty⁸ laughs that showed how greatly his mind was relieved.

"And what kep' ye so long?" broke in the trapper.

"The fear of running across some of them who would know your son. You see we had to go around the lake, and we didn't know which side of it they would take. The rain, too, made the night settle the earlier. We were almost within sight of the camp here when we saw the torches. Holcomb and Margaret reached us first. I guess you carried her over the rough places—didn't you, Billy? Well, I don't blame you, my boy." There was a twinkle in his eye when he spoke. He was very happy to-night! "And so you see we have had our scare for nothing."

"And now one thing more before I turn in," he added in his quick, business-like way. "This has been on my mind all day, and as we have no secrets now that we can't share with each other, I want you all to hear what I am going to say. Will you come closer, Mr. Dinsmore"—it was marvellous how he never omitted the prefix⁹; "would you mind moving up so that you can listen the better? I am going to do what I can to end your sufferings." The hide-out shambled up and sat in a crouching¹⁰ position, the blanket about his shoulders, his hollow eyes fixed¹¹ on Thayor.

"What I want to say to you all is this: I have had several conferences with this poor fellow and he has my deepest sympathy. I believe every word he has told me. What I intend to do now is to find a place for him among the lumber¹² gangs in the great Northwest. There he will be safe; there, too, he can earn his living for he knows the woods thoroughly¹³, but he must get to Canada without a day's delay. I can handle the matter better there than here. I have some friends in Montreal who can help, and some others farther north—correspondents of mine."

The head of the hide-out dropped to his breast; then he muttered, half to himself:

"I dassent—ain't nobody to look arter her but me; 'taint¹⁴ much, but it's all she's got."

Thayor turned quickly. "You mean your little girl? I've thought of that; she shall join you whenever you're safe." Then he added in a lower tone—so low that only Dinsmore heard: "Your wife was in Montreal, remember, when you last heard from her, and now that Bergstein's dead she may get free."

The owl-like eyes stared at the slowly dying fire; hot tears trickled¹⁵ over the cavernous sockets¹⁶ and stopped in the unkempt beard. Before he could answer there came a voice behind him:

"Didn't I tell ye so, son—didn't I tell ye ye could trust him?"

"I hope so, Hite," returned Thayor—"and you heard what I said about his getting to Canada, didn't you?"

"Yes, I heard ye, Mr. Thayor." "And are you willing?"

"Yes."

Thayor paused a moment, then he said thoughtfully: "There is only one thing that worries me and that is how to get him clear of the woods and across the line. Somebody must help. The question is now whom can we trust?"

"That needn't worry ye a mite," answered the old man in a decided¹⁷ tone. "He's got all the help he wants."

Thayor looked up. "Who?" he asked in some surprise.

"Me and the old dog. We'll git him thar."

THE END

1 regained   

复得( regain的过去式和过去分词 )； 赢回； 重回； 复至某地

参考例句：

• The majority of the people in the world have regained their liberty. 世界上大多数人已重获自由。
• She hesitated briefly but quickly regained her poise. 她犹豫片刻，但很快恢复了镇静。

2 owl   

n.猫头鹰，枭

参考例句：

• Her new glasses make her look like an owl.她的新眼镜让她看上去像只猫头鹰。
• I'm a night owl and seldom go to bed until after midnight.我睡得很晚，经常半夜后才睡觉。

3 spoke   

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

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

4 ply   

v.(搬运工等)等候顾客，弯曲

参考例句：

• Taxis licensed to ply for hire at the railway station.许可计程车在火车站候客。
• Ferryboats ply across the English Channel.渡船定期往返于英吉利海峡。

5 stump   

n.残株，烟蒂，讲演台；v.砍断，蹒跚而走

参考例句：

• He went on the stump in his home state.他到故乡所在的州去发表演说。
• He used the stump as a table.他把树桩用作桌子。

6 sling   

vt.扔；悬挂；n.挂带；吊索，吊兜；弹弓

参考例句：

• The boy discharged a stone from a sling.这个男孩用弹弓射石头。
• By using a hoist the movers were able to sling the piano to the third floor.搬运工人用吊车才把钢琴吊到3楼。

7 shanty   

n.小屋，棚屋；船工号子

参考例句：

• His childhood was spent in a shanty.他的童年是在一个简陋小屋里度过的。
• I want to quit this shanty.我想离开这烂房子。

8 hearty   

adj.热情友好的；衷心的；尽情的，纵情的

参考例句：

• After work they made a hearty meal in the worker's canteen.工作完了，他们在工人食堂饱餐了一顿。
• We accorded him a hearty welcome.我们给他热忱的欢迎。

9 prefix   

n.前缀；vt.加…作为前缀；置于前面

参考例句：

• We prefix "Mr."to a man's name.我们在男士的姓名前加“先生”。
• In the word "unimportant ","un-" is a prefix.在单词“unimportant”中“un”是前缀。

10 crouching   

v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• a hulking figure crouching in the darkness 黑暗中蹲伏着的一个庞大身影
• A young man was crouching by the table, busily searching for something. 一个年轻人正蹲在桌边翻看什么。 来自汉英文学 - 散文英译

11 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

12 lumber   

n.木材，木料；v.以破旧东西堆满；伐木；笨重移动

参考例句：

• The truck was sent to carry lumber.卡车被派出去运木材。
• They slapped together a cabin out of old lumber.他们利用旧木料草草地盖起了一间小屋。

13 thoroughly   

adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地

参考例句：

• The soil must be thoroughly turned over before planting.一定要先把土地深翻一遍再下种。
• The soldiers have been thoroughly instructed in the care of their weapons.士兵们都系统地接受过保护武器的训练。

14 taint   

n.污点；感染；腐坏；v.使感染；污染

参考例句：

• Everything possible should be done to free them from the economic taint.应尽可能把他们从经济的腐蚀中解脱出来。
• Moral taint has spread among young people.道德的败坏在年轻人之间蔓延。

15 trickled   

v.滴( trickle的过去式和过去分词 )；淌；使)慢慢走；缓慢移动

参考例句：

• Blood trickled down his face. 血从他脸上一滴滴流下来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The tears trickled down her cheeks. 热泪一滴滴从她脸颊上滚下来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 sockets   

n.套接字，使应用程序能够读写与收发通讯协定(protocol)与资料的程序( Socket的名词复数 )；孔( socket的名词复数 )；（电器上的）插口；托座；凹穴

参考例句：

• All new PCs now have USB sockets. 新的个人计算机现在都有通用串行总线插孔。
• Make sure the sockets in your house are fingerproof. 确保你房中的插座是防触电的。 来自超越目标英语 第4册

17 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。