Fortunately the ponies3, seeming to sense the fact that their danger was over, became quieter, and hastily the agent made them fast to the sapling, then rushed to the boy’s assistance.
“Jove! That was close work. He’s a monster. Did he tear Ted with his claws?”
“I don’t think so. I can’t find any wounds.” By this time Andy himself was kneeling beside the still motionless lad, swiftly running his hands over his limbs to learn if any were broken.
“Thank goodness the bear didn’t cuff4 him with his paws. There isn’t a mark on him. Bring the coffee-pot. I think he has only fainted.”
Quickly Phil did as he was bidden, and Andy raised Ted’s head, opened his mouth, and poured a long draught5 of the strong black coffee down his throat.
“Rub his hands!” he commanded.
The treatment, however, did not revive the young homesteader.
“Oh, Andy, do something!” pleaded Phil. “He isn’t d—”
But a vigorous sneeze by Ted stopped the dread6 word on his lips, for the agent had struck a match and held the sulphurous fumes7 to the boy’s nose.
“That’s the stuff!” cried Andy, in relief. “Another match and he’ll be himself again.”
“Ugh! Stop sticking matches up my nose,” exclaimed Ted, sitting up. Then, as he recognized his surroundings, he asked: “Did I get him?”
“You sure did, and he’s a monster,” returned the agent.
“He was just reaching for our bacon when I caught sight of him. I’d got our rifles and was starting back when I heard a branch crack right beside me, and there was Mister Bear, standing8 on his hind9 legs, clawing at the bacon.
“I was so frightened, I just stood and shook. Then I let out a yell for you fellows. The bear must have heard it, for he turned his head, then rushed for me and I fired. But he kept on coming and I kept firing. The last I remember, he seemed right on top of me. I’m sorry I fainted.”
“Never mind. There are not many men who would have been able to shoot at all, seeing a bear so close and for the first time,” returned the agent.
“Let’s take a look at him,” suggested Phil, when his brother was on his feet again. And quickly they reached the carcass.
While the young homesteaders pulled the long fur and examined the terrible claws, Andy was searching to find where the bullets had hit.
“That was some shooting, Ted,” he finally announced; “five shots and every one in the head.”
“Beats hitting a tin can, what?” said Phil.
“It certainly does, especially in the night, when it is always harder to hit a mark because things look bigger.”
“Probably I couldn’t do it again.”
“You got him, though, and that’s what counts.”
“How much do you suppose he weighs?” asked Phil.
“Can’t tell exactly—about five hundred, I should think.”
“Guess I won’t have something to write home about, what?” cried Ted, and again the boys examined the black monster until they were called away by their companion.
“I don’t blame you for being proud of him. I had my first bear stuffed and sent home. But we can’t stay here all night. We’ve got to move,” cried Andy, who had been picking up their kits10 while the boys were admiring the prize.
“That’s what. The horses are beginning to tread again, they smell the blood, and they wouldn’t give us a minute’s rest all night. But we won’t go far, just fifteen or twenty rods to leeward12.”
Taking only the blankets, saddles, and firearms, they quickly found another suitable place close at hand where the wind would blow the scent13 away from them, and when they had lighted another fire they returned for the horses, which they finally managed to lead around the bear.
After about an hour they had calmed their mounts, and again they rolled up in their blankets, falling into a sleep from which nothing aroused them.
“Get up, sleepyheads!” called Andy, as he set the coffee-pot on the coals and made ready to fry some bacon.
“I’m too stiff to move. How do you feel, Ted?” inquired his brother.
“The only thing I can do without its hurting is open my eyes.”
“Try opening your mouths for some of this coffee,” laughed their companion, standing over them with the steaming pot, from which he poured a few drops onto their necks.
“Hey, quit that! Ouch, don’t!” yelled the young homesteaders, leaping to their feet under the smart of the hot liquid.
“Nothing like a shock to drive away the aches,” grinned Andy, and as the boys remembered how quickly they had forgotten their complaints of the moment before, they laughed with him.
“Go and rub down your ponies, that will take a few more kinks out of you,” their companion ordered, yet before they had finished, he called them to breakfast.
“What’s to do first?” inquired Phil.
“Skin the bear,” returned Andy. “Then I’m going back to Chikau and you can do what you please, but I should advise you to go to Bradley and get your outfit16. With proper tools you can begin work on your homestead in earnest. You will only be wasting time trying to accomplish anything with what you brought from Peleg’s.”
The thought of being left alone in a place so wild that bears roamed it, sobered the young homesteaders instantly.
“Can’t you manage, somehow, to stay with us at least another day?” pleaded Ted, his eyes wandering unconsciously to where the huge fur-covered carcass lay.
“No, I can’t,” returned Andy, sharply. “You boys must start in on your own resources sometime, so the sooner the better.”
“But you know so much about everything. We can learn more from you in a day than by ourselves in a week,” flattered Phil.
“Now see here, none of that sort of talk.”
“But it’s true,” protested Ted.
“Perhaps it is. But I learned mostly by experience, and so must you. Did you expect to have some one do the work for you when you left home?”
“No,” chorused both boys, stung by his tone.
“Then why should you change your minds just because you found me and was good enough to take an interest in you and come over here with you?”
“You are right, Andy,” exclaimed Phil, after a short pause.
“That’s better. You boys have the stuff in you. The way you faced the Black Swede and the bear proves that. You are educated, you have studied upon farming and homesteading, and Ted, here, has at least mechanical knowledge if not genius. Left to yourselves, you ought to come out on top—but you never will if you are going to rely on some one else to solve all your difficulties.”
As they had finished breakfast while talking, without another word the young homesteaders arose, picked up and washed the dishes, after which they announced their readiness to go for their outfit.
Amused at their sudden independence, the agent asked:
“Don’t you want me to show you how to skin the bear?”
“I’ve read up on that,” returned Phil. “We can do it when we get back.”
“Undoubtedly. But while I am with you, I shall give you the benefit of my experience,” smiled Andy. “If you don’t dress the bear before you start, you will have trouble with the horses you are going to bring back. They’ll be afraid. Come on, let’s see you skin the beast, Phil.”
Thus put on his mettle17, the elder boy took his hunting-knife, whetted18 it on his leather boots, went to the carcass, picked up one paw, inserted the knife, and slit19 the skin to the body, repeating the operation on the other three legs, then made a slit down the belly20.
With now and then a word of direction, Andy watched, and soon the pelt21 had been removed. This done, the agent showed the boys how to cut up the meat and hang it on poles.
“You said we could outfit in Bradley, didn’t you, Andy?” asked Ted, when the task was ended.
“I did.”
“How do we get there?”
“Thank you. When will you be over again?”
“As soon as I can. Come on, I’ll see you started.”
And when the ponies were saddled, the young homesteaders bade the agent good-bye, shouting their thanks to him as they rode away.
With very little trouble they were able to keep along the brook, reaching the road in due course, and noon found them riding down the main, and only, street of Bradley.
A mushroom town built to cater23 to the desires of the lumberjacks from three near-by camps, and the handful of settlers; there were more public houses and dance halls than anything else, among which was tucked the inevitable24 “general store,” and before this they drew rein25.
Several loungers seated on the store porch sat up and took notice as the boys made their ponies fast.
“Orphans’ home is first street to the left,” drawled one of them.
Phil flashed upon him what he intended to be a look of contempt.
“Look out, Bill, that’s young ‘Eat-em-alive,’” grinned another loafer, rising and advancing toward the boys.
The proprietor26 of the store, however, had chanced to hear the loafers’ remarks, and, hurrying to learn their cause, arrived just as the young homesteaders entered the door.
Struck by the clean-cut and manly27 appearance of the boys, he ordered the bullies28 to be quiet, then asked:
“What can I do for you, gents?”
“We want a homesteader’s outfit,” replied Phil.
“For whom?” asked the store-keeper.
“Ourselves!” snapped Ted.
“Where have you filed?”
“Can’t we buy what we wish without giving our history?” demanded Phil.
“Say, do you think I’m letting an outfit go without knowing where it’s going?” snorted the proprietor. “How could I collect?”
“We intend to pay cash,” announced Ted. This statement evoked even more surprise from those who had heard it than anything that had happened before, and the loungers commented freely upon it.
To the boys’ relief, however, it turned the store-keeper from a “doubting Thomas” to an eager salesman. And straightway he bustled31 about, dragging out plows32, harrows, cultivators, chains, hoes, rakes, and the many other things needed to work the ground and furnish the cabin.
Determined33 not to be denied some fun from baiting the boys, the loungers advised the purchase of all sorts of useless implements34, drawing upon their imaginations for instances when the possession of such and such a tool would have spelled the difference between success and failure to themselves or friends. But Phil and Ted paid them no more heed35 than as if they had not been within a hundred miles.
Selecting only the best, the outfit was at last complete, even to the seed, included in which Ted insisted upon having some “durum” wheat, much to the amusement of the proprietor.
“How much do we owe you?” asked Ted, drawing out his pocket-book.
“Hundred and sixty-five dollars,” said the store-keeper, after adding up the amounts.
“That means a hundred and forty-eight dollars and a half, allowing us the usual discount for cash,” said Phil. “Pay him, Ted. Kindly36 give us a receipt, please.”
Several times the proprietor opened his mouth to protest, but the sight of the money in the younger boy’s hands and the chuckles37 of the loafers caused him to shut it each time in silence, and, as though in a daze38, he passed over a receipt.
“How on earth are you going to get all these things home?” asked one of the bullies. “You can’t load them on your ponies.”
“But you haven’t any.”
“Not yet, but we’re going to buy one.” And he led the way from the store, followed by the loungers, mounted, and rode up the street, stopping at a big barn.
“Hey, Sam Turner, here are a couple of babies want a go-cart.”
The words brought the horse-dealer and hostlers to the door on the run.
Before any of them could speak, however, Phil said:
“We want to buy a pair of horses, a wagon, and harnesses.”
“Entrymen?” grinned the horse-dealer.
“We are,” smiled Phil.
“Where’s the claim?”
“We are friends of Si Hopkins,” declared Ted.
“Will he sign the mortgage?”
“We aren’t giving a mortgage—that is, how much do you want for the horses and wagon, Mr. Turner?” asked the younger boy.
“H’m! Let me see. You’ll want time, of course, even if Si is back of you. Money’s high now, so I ought to get four hundred and fifty dollars, one hundred down, the balance fifty every three months.”
“We haven’t asked for time, sir,” exclaimed Phil curtly41. “Come, Ted, let’s see if we can’t get horses of some one who doesn’t charge three or four prices.”
“If you knew Sam as well as I do, you wouldn’t mind his trying to be a robber,” exclaimed a hanger42 on.
“We’ll give you just two hundred and seventy-five dollars in cash, Mr. Turner. Take it or leave it.”
“Make it three hundred and you can take the team with you.”
“Two hundred and seventy-five, I said,” returned Phil.
“They’re yours, for cash.”
“Write out the receipt, then,” exclaimed the elder boy, and Ted again counted out the money. “That only leaves us one hundred and fifteen dollars until harvest time,” he said as the horse-dealer went away to get the team. “Wouldn’t it be best to buy on time, after all?”
“No, it wouldn’t. Mr. Hopkins said that is the way so many settlers lose out. These traders are sharpers, and if a man lacks five cents of the amount for a payment, they’ll take everything away from him.”
As Turner exchanged the receipt for the money, the boys hurried to inspect their latest purchases, and loud were they in their admiration43 of the powerful blacks.
“Are they vicious?” inquired Phil, cautiously, visions of trouble in harnessing and unharnessing such big creatures before his eyes.
“Gentle as lambs. Only thing you have to look out for is that they don’t step on you.”
“Better let us hitch44 ’em, Mr. Turner,” said Ted. “We’ve got to learn how sometime.” With a smile, the horse-dealer agreed; and he explained which was the nigh and which the off horse, and showed them how to handle the heavy harnesses.
Two or three trials, however, was necessary before the young homesteaders could harness and hitch in properly. At last, with Daisy and Pat on lead ropes, they drove from the barn and up to the store, where their purchases were duly loaded into the stout45 farm wagon.
Several men were lounging about when Phil and Ted drove up, and they commented freely upon the horses and the whole outfit, watching the boys closely.
“Hope you need something more soon. I like cash customers,” smiled the store-keeper, as he placed the last package on the wagon.
“Aren’t you going to eat before you start back?” asked Turner, who had ridden up to look the boys’ equipment over.
“Can’t. We haven’t any money left,” laughed Phil.
“Then Sam and I will set up the dinners,” declared the store-keeper.
The boys, however, declined, and starting their blacks were soon out of sight.
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收听单词发音
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1
ted
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| vt.翻晒，撒，撒开 | |
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implored
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| 恳求或乞求（某人）( implore的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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3
ponies
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| 矮种马，小型马( pony的名词复数 )； ￡25 25 英镑 | |
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cuff
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| n.袖口；手铐；护腕；vt.用手铐铐；上袖口 | |
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5
draught
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| n.拉，牵引，拖；一网（饮，吸，阵)；顿服药量，通风；v.起草，设计 | |
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dread
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| vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧 | |
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fumes
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| n.(强烈而刺激的)气味，气体 | |
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standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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9
hind
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| adj.后面的，后部的 | |
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10
kits
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| 衣物和装备( kit的名词复数 )； 成套用品； 配套元件 | |
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11
amazement
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| n.惊奇，惊讶 | |
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12
leeward
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| adj.背风的；下风的 | |
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13
scent
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| n.气味，香味，香水，线索，嗅觉；v.嗅，发觉 | |
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14
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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15
relish
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| n.滋味，享受，爱好，调味品；vt.加调味料，享受，品味；vi.有滋味 | |
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16
outfit
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| n.（为特殊用途的）全套装备，全套服装 | |
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17
mettle
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| n.勇气，精神 | |
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18
whetted
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| v.（在石头上）磨（刀、斧等）( whet的过去式和过去分词 )；引起，刺激（食欲、欲望、兴趣等） | |
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19
slit
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| n.狭长的切口；裂缝；vt.切开，撕裂 | |
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20
belly
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| n.肚子，腹部；(像肚子一样)鼓起的部分，膛 | |
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pelt
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| v.投掷，剥皮，抨击，开火 | |
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brook
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| n.小河，溪；v.忍受，容让 | |
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cater
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| vi.(for/to)满足，迎合；(for)提供饮食及服务 | |
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24
inevitable
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| adj.不可避免的，必然发生的 | |
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rein
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| n.疆绳，统治，支配；vt.以僵绳控制，统治 | |
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26
proprietor
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| n.所有人；业主；经营者 | |
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27
manly
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| adj.有男子气概的；adv.男子般地，果断地 | |
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28
bullies
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| n.欺凌弱小者, 开球 vt.恐吓, 威胁, 欺负 | |
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29
evoked
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| [医]诱发的 | |
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30
guffaws
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| n.大笑，狂笑( guffaw的名词复数 )v.大笑，狂笑( guffaw的第三人称单数 ) | |
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31
bustled
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| 闹哄哄地忙乱，奔忙( bustle的过去式和过去分词 )； 催促 | |
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32
plows
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| n.犁( plow的名词复数 )；犁型铲雪机v.耕( plow的第三人称单数 )；犁耕；费力穿过 | |
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33
determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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34
implements
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| n.工具( implement的名词复数 )；家具；手段；[法律]履行（契约等）v.实现( implement的第三人称单数 )；执行；贯彻；使生效 | |
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35
heed
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| v.注意，留意；n.注意，留心 | |
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36
kindly
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| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
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37
chuckles
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| 轻声地笑( chuckle的名词复数 ) | |
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38
daze
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| v.(使)茫然，(使)发昏 | |
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39
wagon
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| n.四轮马车，手推车，面包车；无盖运货列车 | |
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40
conclave
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| n.秘密会议，红衣主教团 | |
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41
curtly
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| adv.简短地 | |
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42
hanger
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| n.吊架，吊轴承；挂钩 | |
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43
admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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44
hitch
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| v.免费搭(车旅行)；系住；急提；n.故障；急拉 | |
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