“We mustn’t lose count of the days,” he said to Dick.
“Oh, there won’t be so many of them as all that,” Dick answered.
Hugh said nothing. Oscar had talked to him more fully1 than to his comrade about the task of righting John Edmonds’ affairs.
“It may not be so simple to put them in order as he hopes it will,” he had said, “so the time may be three weeks or a month or perhaps more. I will not hide from you the chance that, if there is very bad weather soon, I may not get back to you for some time. The snow can lie very deep in these valleys.”
“Snow,” Hugh had exclaimed, “why, it is only October!”
“Remember it will be November in a week,” Oscar replied, “and that this is a climate very different from yours. Here the winter begins early and lasts long and we have to be ready for it. There are supplies enough to last until spring, I have made sure of that, and plenty of wood, so that there is no danger of your needing anything. I will come back to you as soon as I can, but at this season all plans go by the weather.”
So Hugh had written a long letter to his father for Oscar to send, explaining why mail must be uncertain and just what he was doing.
“I ought to learn a great deal from this experience,” he ended, “enough to make even you feel that I am fit for service in France. I am bound that I will make it before I am twenty-one.”
It did not look much like winter to-day, even though the woods were so bare and the hillsides so brown. The boys had arranged that they would hunt and fish as much as possible for the purpose of saving Oscar’s stores for future use, and that they would go out alone on alternate days, so that the cottage might never be left unguarded. Neither one was ever to go so far away that a certain signal of rifle shots could not call him back. It was agreed that Hugh was to go shooting the first day, so, very blithely2, he had made ready, shouldered his rifle and started forth3.
He stopped a moment before the door to look down at the lake, which was very still this morning and very blue. He knew now why Oscar had elected to start before the dawn, for two canoes were skimming over the quiet surface, pirate vessels4, although not of the accepted type. Often before Hugh had seen them patrolling these waters that Half-Breed Jake called his own, swift craft, dark and sinister5, ready to shoot any man or sink any boat that ventured through Harbin’s Channel. Harbin, he had learned, was an explorer who, fifty years ago, had coasted up and down Red Lake, mapping the islands and the bays and inlets. His boat had been wrecked6 in this channel: one could see its bleaching7 bones still wedged among the rocks, and he himself had perished at the hands of hostile Indians. Although the Indians had now nearly vanished and civilization had, since then, been creeping steadily8 nearer, the upper reaches of Red Lake were still as wild, unexplored and perilous9 as in his day. But—thus Hugh registered a vow10 within himself—they would soon be so no longer.
A long day’s tramp brought him fair sport, several partridges, two quail12, but no sight of larger game. Hugh was a good shot and did not often fail to bring down his quarry13.
“I wish I could get a deer,” he thought, but knew that for that he must go out at night.
The air was so still and the woods so silent that it seemed he must be the only person within a hundred miles. There was a sleepy swaying of the branches above his head and a quiet rustle14 of the leaves under his feet, otherwise there was scarcely a sound. Surely in this peaceful region there could be no such thing as quarreling and bloodshed. It was hard to believe that, only a few miles away, the dingy15 cabin clung to the slope of Jasper Peak and within it Half-Breed Jake and his Indian comrades were planning any sort of violence that would lead to the ruin of Oscar’s cherished scheme.
“It must be a mistake,” Hugh reflected almost aloud. “I believe I dreamed it. I don’t think this adventure is real.”
He had crossed a little brook16, in the late afternoon, and was climbing the long slope beyond it when he realized that he was thirsty and that the route he was about to follow lay along the ridge11, high above any water for many miles.
“I am not much of a woodsman,” he told himself. “I should have remembered to drink when I could. It would be better to go back.”
Quickly he ran down the hill, making a good deal of noise as he crashed through the underbrush. He stooped long to drink at the edge of the pool and then stood up to continue his journey. He glanced across at his own trail coming down to the water’s edge on the other shore, stared at it a moment, then ran splashing through the stream to look again. Close beside his own footprints and fresher even than they, were the marks of moccasined feet, as plain as those footprints of the big dog, Nicholas, that he had seen once, as plain and much more ominous17. Some person had been following him through the wood, tracking him so closely and eagerly that he had not taken the pains to cover his own trail.
Hugh stood still and looked and listened with every nerve tense, but there was nothing to be seen, nothing to be heard. The forest was as silent as a forest in a dream. He crossed the brook again, and climbed the hill hastily. More than once he turned his head quickly and looked back over his shoulder, but there was never a stirring leaf nor a snapping twig18 to prove that he was being followed. He made his way homeward in the straightest line possible, thinking deeply all the way.
Time passed, the weather grew colder and the daylight shorter, but still the pirates made no move. Only the blue haze19 of their smoke going up from Jasper Peak showed that they were still there, watching and ever watching. Game began to be scarce in the restricted limit the boys allowed themselves for hunting, so that they fell to dipping deeper and deeper into Oscar’s stores. Everything was kept in the small shed backing up against the cottage with its door opening into the main room. This place was carefully inspected every day, according to instructions.
“For,” Oscar had said, “if the fieldmice get in and chew up your bacon or a leak comes in the roof and spoils your flour and meal, where are you? In case of bad weather your lives might depend on these supplies being safe.”
The vigilance of Nicholas sniffed20 out any overbold mouse that ventured within, while the boys’ watchfulness21 prevented any mischance from wind and rain, so that for a time all went well. They began, indeed, to feel such a sense of security that it did not seem possible anything could go amiss and it appeared that, when Oscar returned, the report given him would be quite barren of adventure. Hugh, however, thinking of those footprints by the stream, still remembered that what danger did lurk22 about them was bound to be unsuspected and unseen.
It had been, one day, Hugh’s turn to replenish23 the empty larder24 so that he had spent the whole afternoon fishing about a mile from the cottage. Dusk was just beginning, yet he lingered for “just one more bite,” since luck had not been good and he wished to carry home enough fish for one meal at least. He waited long for a nibble25, shifting impatiently from foot to foot.
“It must be getting too cold for fishing,” he commented to himself. “Why, it feels like winter all of a sudden; it has changed a great deal since morning.”
He had just pulled in a flopping26 trout27 and had dropped it into the basket when a sudden sound startled him so that he dropped his rod. It was the sharp crack of a rifle, followed immediately by a second and a third, the prearranged signal of alarm. The pirates had struck at last!
A mile is a long way to run when the course is over a heavily wooded ridge and through a valley of poplar thickets28. Hugh covered it in extraordinarily30 short time, although it seemed to him unnumbered hours. He was just coming, panting, up the last slope, when he met Dick, equally breathless, running toward him.
“It’s Hulda,” gasped31 his friend. “The Indians are trying to drive her off; they have headed her away off yonder, over the hill.”
He pointed32, for even as he spoke33, they caught sight of Hulda crossing a clearing, running with the awkward gait common to excited cows and lowing her amazement34 and dismay at the indignity35 put upon her.
“You strike across the ridge and I will run down into the valley,” directed Dick. “I think I can head her off. They sha’n’t steal Hulda!”
With a shout, the two boys plunged36 to the rescue. Hugh was quick enough to reach her, halfway37 down the slope, but totally unable to check her course. The mild Hulda, now thoroughly38 alarmed, came down the hill with a blind rush, blundered against him and rolled him head over heels. He picked himself up, unhurt, and ran after her in determined39 pursuit. Indeed the pirates were not to be allowed the triumph of stealing Hulda!
On the more open ground below Dick succeeded in slowing her a little and Nicholas, flying through the thickets, like a streak40 of white lightning, to leap and bark beneath her very nose, managed to turn her back up the hill. Here the boys were able to gain on her terrified speed once more, and, on Hugh’s closing in and turning her again, she ran close by Dick, who triumphantly41 seized her by the halter and brought her to a standstill.
“I’ve got her,” he shouted to Hugh, raising his arm high in signal of victory. “She’s—ouch!”
For a sharp report sounded from a thicket29 and a bullet, speeding just over Dick’s head, nipped his uplifted hand. Hugh, on coming up, found him applying his thumb to his mouth, as undisturbed as though he had scratched it with a pin. Poor Hulda still plunged and dragged at her halter, her sides heaving and her gentle eyes wide with fright.
“I was just coming up from the spring,” Dick recounted as between them they led the cow homeward, “when I heard Nicholas bark, so I ran around the corner of the cabin and there she was, just going over the hill a quarter of a mile away. At first I thought I could stop her alone, but when I saw the two Indians driving her, I ran back and signaled for you. Here, let’s lead her along the valley. I am out of breath chasing her up hills.”
“Aren’t you hurt?” inquired Hugh anxiously as they trudged42 along.
Hulda still made the going difficult, jerking and snorting with excitement. Her calm disposition43, once completely roused, seemed almost impossible to soothe44.
“Pshaw, no, the bullet hardly touched me,” Dick replied. “What surprises me is that they let us get her with only one shot fired. I don’t quite understand.”
“I wonder—” began Hugh, then paused, for a thought had struck him.
It struck him so deeply that he dropped Hulda’s rope and turned to run up the hill. There was a growing misgiving45 in his heart that turned swiftly to real terror as he sped along: it seemed as though he would never reach the summit. Yet even while he was struggling up the slopes he began to see a red glow behind the trees that seemed to grow brighter and brighter. In spite of a contrary wind there was a queer suffocating46 smell in the air.
“Dick, Dick,” he called, “leave Hulda; come quickly.”
The loss of forty cows could be nothing beside the disaster before him, as he reached the hilltop. Scarlet47 flames licked across the roof of Oscar’s cabin, with dense48 clouds of smoke rolling out toward the lake and with a single tall figure moving swiftly across the clearing, black against the brilliant blaze.
Dick always maintained that Jake shot twice at Hugh as he raced across the clearing, but if he did so, Hugh was quite unconscious of the fact.
“We can’t put it out—we can’t put it out—there is so little water!” he caught himself gasping49 aloud as he ran.
Fortunately Dick, when he came from the spring, had set down his full pail by the doorstep when he went to rescue Hulda. Dashing inside, Hugh dragged the blankets from the bunks50, plunged them into the water and then swung himself up over the eaves to the burning roof. Blindly and furiously he beat at the flames, choking in the dense smoke, feeling sparks and coals burn through his coat, yet caring for nothing but that he must quench51 the fire. Dick handed him up pail after pail of water from below; how he ever went and came from the spring so quickly was impossible to understand.
It was Hugh who had the presence of mind to realize that the water must be husbanded and thrown upon the fire in well-aimed dipperfuls rather than poured pell-mell across the roof. It was Dick who shouted up to him that he must try to drive the flames back from the cabin proper, since saving the blazing shed behind it was already beyond hope. How they toiled52, now getting a little the better of the fire, now driven back by a fresh outburst of flame, too excited either to hope or to despair, feeling only one instinct—to fight. Hours passed, they were drenched53, blackened, their clothes singed54, their hands and faces burned, they were exhausted55; breathless, but at last victorious56.
Slowly the flames died down to smoldering57 ashes, the smoke cleared away, the last glowing coal was stamped upon, the last spark went out. Hugh slid to the ground, finding his knees suddenly a little shaky, and stood looking happily into Dick’s blackened face.
“We did it,” he said; “Oscar’s got his cabin still.”
“Yes,” the other assented58 a trifle quaveringly; “I thought once or twice it was really gone.”
“And now,” went on Hugh, “where’s Hulda?”
Fires, it seemed, did not excite Hulda in the least, for she was discovered grazing peacefully at the edge of the clearing, her former agitation59 entirely60 vanished. Nicholas had followed the boys at first, but, after getting a few sparks in his furry61 coat, had decided62 to retreat and was sitting solemnly beside her, mounting guard. The cow’s stable, set at a little distance, was untouched by the flames, so Hulda was driven in, her manner showing plainly that she was glad to get home again after the disturbing events of the last few hours. The boys lit a lantern and tended her together, as though she might escape again were one of them to minister to her alone. They made no comment on the fire, both seeming to avoid the subject as long as possible.
“It’s cold,” commented Dick, once, shivering in his dripping garments, to which Hugh replied:
“Yes, and getting colder every minute.”
That was all of their conversation.
They finished at last and, coming out of the shed, closed the door very carefully behind them. Not until they were halfway up the path to the cottage did either of them speak. Yet the extent of their tragedy must be faced.
“There’s quite a hole in the roof,” observed Dick, “but we can mend that easily enough.”
“And we can block up the store room door,” said Hugh. “We’ll nail the whole thing over with boards to keep the cold out.”
They were quiet again—but at last Dick burst out:
“Hugh, do you realize that our supplies are burned, the shed and everything in it? That we haven’t one thing left to eat?”
“I know it,” replied Hugh soberly. “I—I’ve been thinking about just that thing for the last hour.”
“They must have meant to do it all along,” observed Dick. “They drove off Hulda just for a blind. Oh, that Jake, that skulking63 blackguard!”
“Oscar said they would choose the mean, crooked64 way,” Hugh agreed. “He told me they would try some trick or other. I wish we could have guessed beforehand.”
“But Oscar will be back soon,” insisted Dick eagerly. “He must be back soon. Gee65, it’s cold!”
“Yes,” returned Hugh, “he may be back any day now.”
Yet he spoke absent-mindedly, as though his thoughts were upon other things. It was because he was swinging the lantern as he went along and his attention had been suddenly caught by something unexpected. In the circle of yellow light he saw a whirling flurry of tiny flakes66 of snow.
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1
fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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blithely
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| adv.欢乐地，快活地，无挂虑地 | |
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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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vessels
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| n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人 | |
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sinister
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| adj.不吉利的，凶恶的，左边的 | |
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wrecked
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| adj.失事的，遇难的 | |
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bleaching
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| 漂白法，漂白 | |
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steadily
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| adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地 | |
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perilous
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| adj.危险的，冒险的 | |
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vow
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| n.誓(言)，誓约；v.起誓，立誓 | |
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ridge
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| n.山脊；鼻梁；分水岭 | |
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quail
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| n.鹌鹑；vi.畏惧，颤抖 | |
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quarry
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| n.采石场；v.采石；费力地找 | |
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rustle
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| v.沙沙作响；偷盗(牛、马等)；n.沙沙声声 | |
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dingy
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| adj.昏暗的，肮脏的 | |
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brook
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| n.小河，溪；v.忍受，容让 | |
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ominous
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| adj.不祥的，不吉的，预兆的，预示的 | |
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twig
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| n.小树枝，嫩枝；v.理解 | |
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haze
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| n.霾，烟雾；懵懂，迷糊；vi.(over)变模糊 | |
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sniffed
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| v.以鼻吸气，嗅，闻( sniff的过去式和过去分词 )；抽鼻子（尤指哭泣、患感冒等时出声地用鼻子吸气）；抱怨，不以为然地说 | |
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watchfulness
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| 警惕，留心； 警觉（性） | |
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lurk
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| n.潜伏，潜行；v.潜藏，潜伏，埋伏 | |
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replenish
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| vt.补充；(把…)装满；(再)填满 | |
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larder
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| n.食物贮藏室，食品橱 | |
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nibble
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| n.轻咬，啃；v.一点点地咬，慢慢啃，吹毛求疵 | |
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flopping
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| n.贬调v.（指书、戏剧等）彻底失败( flop的现在分词 )；（因疲惫而）猛然坐下；（笨拙地、不由自主地或松弛地）移动或落下；砸锅 | |
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trout
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| n.鳟鱼；鲑鱼(属) | |
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thickets
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| n.灌木丛( thicket的名词复数 )；丛状物 | |
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thicket
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| n.灌木丛，树林 | |
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extraordinarily
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| adv.格外地；极端地 | |
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gasped
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| v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要 | |
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pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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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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amazement
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| n.惊奇，惊讶 | |
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indignity
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| n.侮辱，伤害尊严，轻蔑 | |
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plunged
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| v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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halfway
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| adj.中途的，不彻底的，部分的；adv.半路地，在中途，在半途 | |
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thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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streak
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| n.条理，斑纹，倾向，少许，痕迹；v.加条纹，变成条纹，奔驰，快速移动 | |
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41
triumphantly
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| ad.得意洋洋地；得胜地；成功地 | |
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trudged
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| vt.& vi.跋涉，吃力地走（trudge的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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43
disposition
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| n.性情，性格；意向，倾向；排列，部署 | |
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soothe
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| v.安慰；使平静；使减轻；缓和；奉承 | |
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45
misgiving
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| n.疑虑，担忧，害怕 | |
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suffocating
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| a.使人窒息的 | |
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47
scarlet
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| n.深红色，绯红色，红衣；adj.绯红色的 | |
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dense
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| a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的 | |
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49
gasping
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| adj. 气喘的, 痉挛的 动词gasp的现在分词 | |
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50
bunks
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| n.（车、船等倚壁而设的）铺位( bunk的名词复数 )；空话，废话v.（车、船等倚壁而设的）铺位( bunk的第三人称单数 )；空话，废话 | |
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51
quench
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| vt.熄灭，扑灭；压制 | |
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52
toiled
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| 长时间或辛苦地工作( toil的过去式和过去分词 )； 艰难缓慢地移动，跋涉 | |
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53
drenched
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| adj.湿透的；充满的v.使湿透( drench的过去式和过去分词 )；在某人（某物）上大量使用（某液体） | |
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54
singed
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| v.浅表烧焦( singe的过去式和过去分词 )；（毛发）燎，烧焦尖端[边儿] | |
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55
exhausted
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| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
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victorious
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| adj.胜利的，得胜的 | |
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smoldering
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| v.用文火焖烧，熏烧，慢燃( smolder的现在分词 ) | |
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assented
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| 同意，赞成( assent的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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agitation
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| n.搅动；搅拌；鼓动，煽动 | |
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entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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61
furry
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| adj.毛皮的；似毛皮的；毛皮制的 | |
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62
decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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63
skulking
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| v.潜伏，偷偷摸摸地走动，鬼鬼祟祟地活动( skulk的现在分词 ) | |
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64
crooked
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| adj.弯曲的；不诚实的，狡猾的，不正当的 | |
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65
gee
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| n.马；int.向右！前进！，惊讶时所发声音；v.向右转 | |
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66
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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