She was about sixteen, and was as pretty as one of the wild flowers that bloom unseen amid the rocky ravines through which ran the tumultuous Kanawha.
Dark-brown hair rippled2 in wavy3 masses back from her olive-tinged brow, browned by exposure to the free winds of the wilderness4 and the sunbeams that danced so merrily over the surface of the rolling river.
The bright color in the cheeks of the girl, her free step, that possessed5 all the grace and lightness of the bounding fawn6, told of perfect health, as also did the sparkling brown eyes and rose-red lips that seemed to hold such dewy sweetness in their graceful7 curves.
The maiden8 was known as Virginia Treveling. She was the daughter of General Lemuel Treveling, a man who had great experience as an Indian-fighter on the Western border, and who had settled down in Point Pleasant, and was reputed to be by far the wealthiest man in all the country around.
So, by virtue9 of her father’s wealth, as well as by the aid of her own beauty, Virginia Treveling was the belle10 of the station known as Point Pleasant.
Her right to the title was not disputed, and few envied her, for Virginia was as good as she was beautiful.
Many of the young men of Point Pleasant and of the neighboring stations had sought to gain the favor of the winsome11 maid, but to all she said, nay12!
The man to whom the fair girl would freely give her heart had not yet met her eye; but Virginia was young—scarcely old enough to be wooed and won.
The maid was clad in simple homespun garments, the work of her own hands, for she was a true American girl, a daughter of the frontier, and looked not with favor upon the gaudy13 trappings of fashion.
The little tin pail that she carried in her hand told her mission.
The great blackberries were shining in huge purple clusters in the rocky passes that surrounded Point Pleasant, and, like the fortifications of the olden time, seemed to forbid approach.
With her light, graceful step, the girl passed through the village, and taking the trail that led to the south, along the bank of the stream, soon left the settlement behind.
There was little danger in this incursion into the deep woods, for the Indians were on the northern bank of the Ohio; and then, too, there had been peace between the settlements and their red neighbors for some time.
The girl followed the trail for about half a mile, then, turning abruptly15 to the east, entered a little defile16, where the blackberries grew thick and rank.
Picking the berries as she went slowly along, she soon lost sight of the trail leading from the town.
The maiden had not been gone from the path many minutes when the hoof-stroke of a horse rung out with a dull “thud” on the still air of the forest.
A horseman was approaching from the south. A traveler, probably, from Virginia.
Then the horseman came into sight. He was a young man, dressed plainly in a homespun suit of blue. Upon his head he wore a broad-leafed felt hat, that shaded the sun from his eyes. A short, German rifle, carrying a ball of forty to the pound, and richly ornamented17 on the stock with silver, was resting across his saddle in front of him. A keen-edged hunting-knife, the blade some eighteen inches in length, was thrust through the leather belt that girded in his waist.
The face of the young horseman was a frank and honest one. The full, steel-blue eyes showed plainly both courage and firmness. The handsome, resolute18 mouth confirmed this.
In figure, the rider was about the medium size, but his well-built, sinewy19 form gave promise of great muscular power.
The rider was named Harvey Winthrop. A descendant was he of one of the staunch old Puritan fathers. And now he was seeking his fortune in the far Western wilds, for the fickle20 goddess had not smiled upon the young man. A student at a foreign university, he had been hurriedly called home by the sickness of his father, his only parent. He arrived just in time to close that father’s eyes. And when he came to settle up his parent’s estate, instead of finding himself—as he had expected—the possessor of a goodly fortune, he discovered that some few hundred dollars was all in the world that he could call his own.
Young Harvey Winthrop, though, had the right stuff in his nature. Bidding his friends adieu, he set forth21 to make new ones, and to carve out for himself a fortune by the banks of the “Beautiful River” the Ohio.
So it is that, on that pleasant summer’s day, the young Bostonian found himself on the trail leading to Point Pleasant, and was fast approaching that station.
“The settlement can not be far off now,” he said, musing22 to himself as he rode along, and, rising in his stirrups, he strove with his gaze to penetrate23 through the mazes24 of the almost trackless forest before him.
Then, to the astonished ears of the young man came a woman’s scream, evidently given under great alarm.
The traveler checked his horse and snatched the rifle from the saddle.
Again on the still air rung out the scream, shrilly26, coupled with a cry for help. The cry came from the ravine on the right.
In a second he leaped from the saddle, and, rifle in hand, plunged27 into the ravine. His horse—a well-trained beast—remained motionless on the spot where his rider had left him.
The noise made by his steps fell upon the ears of the woman who uttered the scream. She knew that help was near.
Fleeing down the ravine came a young girl—who, even at this moment of excitement, he noticed was beautiful, almost beyond expression; and behind her, in full pursuit, was a huge black bear.
The girl was Virginia Treveling. In her search for berries she had stumbled upon the bear, who was busily engaged feasting upon the luscious31 fruit.
Then from the lips of the girl came the shrill25 screams that had brought the traveler to her rescue.
[5]
The girl reached the young man.
Small time was there for conversation, for the bear, at his lumbering34 trot35, was coming rapidly onward36.
“He will kill you!” cried the terrified girl.
“Yes, and you, too, if you don’t run,” said the young man, coolly. “One life is enough; so save yours.”
“I will not go!” exclaimed the girl. “Give me your powder flask37 and a bullet. After you fire, if you miss him, I can load.”
The hunter threw a glance of admiration38 at the heroic maid who seemed so cool at this moment of danger; but he did as she requested. Then, as the bear came on, he leveled his rifle at the brute, and sighting one of his eyes, fired. But the bear swerving39 in its course at the moment, the ball glanced across his bony head and shot off as if it had been but a boy’s marble.
The beast paused for an instant, shook its head as if annoyed, then, with an angry growl40, he came straight upon the young man.
Winthrop had handed his rifle to the girl, and, drawing his knife, awaited the onset41. His only hope of escape was to close in with the animal, and stab him in some vital part before he could use the terrible claws and teeth.
Winthrop felt that the crisis had come.
The young man raised his knife to plunge28 it into the shaggy breast before him, while, with eager but trembling hands, the girl reloaded the rifle.
But the sharp crack of a rifle came quick on the air.
Winthrop heard the “hiss” of a bullet that whirled past, close to his ear. Then, with a grunt42 of agony, the bear fell over on its side, clawed the air wildly for a moment—growled in pain, and sunk into the silence of death.
The rifle-ball which had passed so near to the ear of the young man had entered the body of the bear between the fore-legs and buried itself in the great red heart.
Winthrop could hardly believe his eyes when he beheld the grim king of the forest lying in death at his feet; when he saw the huge paws motionless that he had expected to feel tearing his own flesh.
He had been saved almost by a miracle.
A timely shot, and a good one, for an inch either way would have missed the heart of the bear or killed the young hunter.
Winthrop felt that both he and the beautiful girl had been saved by the shot of the, as yet, hidden friend.
The young man looked for his preserver. Judge of his astonishment43 when forth from the bushes that fringed the rocks, with a rifle in hand—a very forest queen—came a young girl!
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1
dwellings
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| n.住处，处所( dwelling的名词复数 ) | |
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2
rippled
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| 使泛起涟漪（ripple的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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3
wavy
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| adj.有波浪的，多浪的，波浪状的，波动的，不稳定的 | |
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wilderness
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| n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠 | |
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possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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fawn
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| n.未满周岁的小鹿；v.巴结，奉承 | |
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7
graceful
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| adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的 | |
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8
maiden
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| n.少女，处女；adj.未婚的，纯洁的，无经验的 | |
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9
virtue
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| n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力 | |
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10
belle
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| n.靓女 | |
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winsome
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| n.迷人的，漂亮的 | |
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12
nay
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| adv.不；n.反对票，投反对票者 | |
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13
gaudy
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| adj.华而不实的；俗丽的 | |
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14
hind
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| adj.后面的，后部的 | |
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abruptly
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| adv.突然地，出其不意地 | |
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16
defile
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| v.弄污，弄脏；n.(山间)小道 | |
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17
ornamented
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| adj.花式字体的v.装饰，点缀，美化( ornament的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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18
resolute
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| adj.坚决的，果敢的 | |
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19
sinewy
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| adj.多腱的，强壮有力的 | |
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20
fickle
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| adj.(爱情或友谊上)易变的，不坚定的 | |
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21
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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22
musing
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| n. 沉思，冥想 adj. 沉思的, 冥想的 动词muse的现在分词形式 | |
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23
penetrate
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| v.透(渗)入；刺入，刺穿；洞察，了解 | |
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24
mazes
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| 迷宫( maze的名词复数 )； 纷繁复杂的规则； 复杂难懂的细节； 迷宫图 | |
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25
shrill
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| adj.尖声的；刺耳的；v尖叫 | |
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shrilly
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| 尖声的； 光亮的，耀眼的 | |
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27
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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28
plunge
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| v.跳入，(使)投入，(使)陷入；猛冲 | |
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29
ascent
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| n.(声望或地位)提高；上升，升高；登高 | |
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30
beheld
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| v.看，注视( behold的过去式和过去分词 )；瞧；看呀；（叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现）哎哟 | |
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31
luscious
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| adj.美味的；芬芳的；肉感的，引与性欲的 | |
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32
forsook
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| forsake的过去式 | |
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33
brute
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| n.野兽，兽性 | |
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34
lumbering
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| n.采伐林木 | |
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35
trot
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| n.疾走，慢跑；n.老太婆；现成译本；(复数）trots:腹泻（与the 连用）；v.小跑，快步走，赶紧 | |
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36
onward
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| adj.向前的，前进的；adv.向前，前进，在先 | |
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37
flask
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| n.瓶，火药筒，砂箱 | |
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38
admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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39
swerving
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| v.（使）改变方向，改变目的( swerve的现在分词 ) | |
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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
onset
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| n.进攻，袭击，开始，突然开始 | |
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42
grunt
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| v.嘟哝；作呼噜声；n.呼噜声，嘟哝 | |
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43
astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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