CHAPTER X THE MYSTERIOUS HAND

The Indians of the Peoria village were interested spectators of the events which were being acted out by the band of Frenchmen. Father Membré lived in their town and they gave him respectful attention. Among themselves they talked much of his white friends within the stockaded walls of the fort. There were scarcely a dozen men with Tonty now, and upon them the Indians looked with a mixture of curiosity, contempt, and awe¹. Among them there were ship carpenters and soldiers, on some of whose faces rascality² and cowardice³ were written. Had the Peorias not seen them nervous with fear while Nicanopé told them of the imaginary terrors of the river, and at a public council, too,—what could more clearly stamp the coward?

The old friar Ribourde shuffled⁴ about in his gray gown and bare sandaled feet, saying mass among the Frenchmen as Membré did among the Peorias. The strong-armed man, Le Meilleur, whom his comrade called La Forge, swung the hammer on the red-hot iron and mended the tools of the French at the precious forge. Down by the river, Moyse Hillaret and La Roze and the other shipbuilders and carpenters laid out and joined together the ribs⁵ of the huge wooden skeleton. Among these brawny⁶ men was a muscular young lad from Paris named Renault, L’Espérance, a brave-hearted young servant of La Salle, and Boisrondet, a man of higher birth than the rest and a special friend of Tonty. But it was not of these men that the Peorias talked most to the bands of hunters and warriors⁷ returning now to the village—it was of La Salle, the white chief, who had left the fort, and of Tonty, the man of mystery, who remained in charge of the garrison⁸.

The Indians could not understand the curious commander of the fort. Why was his skin darker than that of his comrades and his hair so black—like the hair of their own Indian women, though not so straight? But most of all they wondered at the queer way in which he used his right hand. They told the newly arrived Indians of the day the white men came to the village. At the feast of welcome Tonty had used his left hand always as he ate of their sagamite and meat, and now they watched him as he passed here and there among his men. If he pulled a canoe up on shore or grasped a piece of timber down at the shipyard it was never with his right hand. Yet they had seen him deal blows with that mysterious right hand which had the effect of an Indian war club. With what strange “medicine” his powerful arm was gifted they could not tell; and it was partly for that reason that they feared him. Often, in the adventurous⁹ years that followed, red-skinned warriors in many parts of the Great Valley were startled and awed¹⁰ by the ease with which this man could by one heavy swing of his right hand break the teeth or crack the skull¹¹ of an unruly Indian.

If the Peorias could have looked off into lands they had never seen and read the events of other times and places, as it now seemed to them that La Salle could do, they might have found the explanation of the mystery. Not many years before the white men came to the Peoria village, the little island of Sicily, in the far-away Mediterranean¹² Sea, was in the throes of a bitter war. Along its coast grim-mouthed ships of war and galleys¹³, propelled by the oars¹⁴ of convicts and captives, bore the flags of three nations—France, Holland, and Spain.

In one of the battles the figure of Henry de Tonty might have been seen fighting under the flag of France. For many years he had so fought—four campaigns on ships of war and three on galleys—and had gained high rank in the service. But he was not of French birth. His father had come to Paris as an exile from Naples in the sunny land of Italy after taking a prominent part in the Neapolitan Revolt of 1647. Sicily like Naples had long been under the hated rule of Spain, and now the Sicilians rising in revolt had called upon the French for help. The Spaniards, hard pressed, called a Dutch fleet in to aid them. So the war was waged, now on sea, now on land; and Tonty, in the thick of the battle, rejoiced in a struggle to free men of his father’s country from the Spanish yoke¹⁵.

The cannon¹⁶ flashed and roared. Men fell all about him. A hand grenade, thrown by the enemy, burst near by into a thousand pieces and tore away the right hand of Henry de Tonty. He was captured by the enemy and held prisoner for six months. Then he was released in exchange for the governor’s son. In place of his lost member he substituted a hand of metal which he wore encased in a glove. But now peace had settled upon the Mediterranean, and the restless Tonty joined La Salle and came across the sea to where the land was young and adventure lay in every river valley.

In time the Indians learned the story of his “medicine” arm; and throughout the Great Valley, from the Lakes to the mouth of the Mississippi, Tonty came to be known to the tribes as the “Man with the Iron Hand.”

1 awe   

n.敬畏，惊惧；vt.使敬畏，使惊惧

参考例句：

• The sight filled us with awe.这景色使我们大为惊叹。
• The approaching tornado struck awe in our hearts.正在逼近的龙卷风使我们惊恐万分。

2 rascality   

流氓性，流氓集团

参考例句：

3 cowardice   

n.胆小，怯懦

参考例句：

• His cowardice reflects on his character.他的胆怯对他的性格带来不良影响。
• His refusal to help simply pinpointed his cowardice.他拒绝帮助正显示他的胆小。

4 shuffled   

v.洗（纸牌）( shuffle的过去式和过去分词 )；拖着脚步走；粗心地做；摆脱尘世的烦恼

参考例句：

• He shuffled across the room to the window. 他拖着脚走到房间那头的窗户跟前。
• Simon shuffled awkwardly towards them. 西蒙笨拙地拖着脚朝他们走去。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 ribs   

n.肋骨( rib的名词复数 )；（船或屋顶等的）肋拱；肋骨状的东西；（织物的）凸条花纹

参考例句：

• He suffered cracked ribs and bruising. 他断了肋骨还有挫伤。
• Make a small incision below the ribs. 在肋骨下方切开一个小口。

6 brawny   

adj.强壮的

参考例句：

• The blacksmith has a brawny arm.铁匠有强壮的胳膊。
• That same afternoon the marshal appeared with two brawny assistants.当天下午，警长带着两名身强力壮的助手来了。

7 warriors   

武士，勇士，战士( warrior的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• I like reading the stories ofancient warriors. 我喜欢读有关古代武士的故事。
• The warriors speared the man to death. 武士们把那个男子戳死了。

8 garrison   

n.卫戍部队；驻地，卫戍区；vt.派(兵)驻防

参考例句：

• The troops came to the relief of the besieged garrison.军队来援救被围的守备军。
• The German was moving to stiffen up the garrison in Sicily.德军正在加强西西里守军之力量。

9 adventurous   

adj.爱冒险的；惊心动魄的，惊险的，刺激的　

参考例句：

• I was filled with envy at their adventurous lifestyle.我很羨慕他们敢于冒险的生活方式。
• He was predestined to lead an adventurous life.他注定要过冒险的生活。

10 awed   

adj.充满敬畏的，表示敬畏的v.使敬畏，使惊惧( awe的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The audience was awed into silence by her stunning performance. 观众席上鸦雀无声，人们对他出色的表演感到惊叹。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I was awed by the huge gorilla. 那只大猩猩使我惊惧。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 skull   

n.头骨；颅骨

参考例句：

• The skull bones fuse between the ages of fifteen and twenty-five.头骨在15至25岁之间长合。
• He fell out of the window and cracked his skull.他从窗子摔了出去，跌裂了颅骨。

12 Mediterranean   

adj.地中海的；地中海沿岸的

参考例句：

• The houses are Mediterranean in character.这些房子都属地中海风格。
• Gibraltar is the key to the Mediterranean.直布罗陀是地中海的要冲。

13 galleys   

n.平底大船，战舰( galley的名词复数 )；（船上或航空器上的）厨房

参考例句：

• Other people had drowned at sea since galleys swarmed with painted sails. 自从布满彩帆的大船下海以来，别的人曾淹死在海里。 来自辞典例句
• He sighed for the galleys, with their infamous costume. 他羡慕那些穿着囚衣的苦工。 来自辞典例句

14 oars   

n.桨，橹( oar的名词复数 )；划手v.划（行）( oar的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• He pulled as hard as he could on the oars. 他拼命地划桨。
• The sailors are bending to the oars. 水手们在拼命地划桨。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 yoke   

n.轭；支配；v.给...上轭，连接，使成配偶

参考例句：

• An ass and an ox,fastened to the same yoke,were drawing a wagon.驴子和公牛一起套在轭上拉车。
• The defeated army passed under the yoke.败军在轭门下通过。

16 cannon   

n.大炮，火炮；飞机上的机关炮

参考例句：

• The soldiers fired the cannon.士兵们开炮。
• The cannon thundered in the hills.大炮在山间轰鸣。