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首页 » 英文短篇小说 » The Wolf Demon or, The Queen of the Kanawha » CHAPTER XXVI. THE GREAT MEDICINE.
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CHAPTER XXVI. THE GREAT MEDICINE.
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 Ke-ne-ha-ha gazed at the old Medicine Man in astonishment1, not unmixed with awe2.
“Did the great chief hear right? Did my father say that he could show the Wolf Demon3 to Ke-ne-ha-ha?”
“Yes, the Great Medicine of the Shawnee nation can raise the dead—can bring the evil spirit—the Wolf Demon—from the air, the earth, or from the fire where he has his wigwam,” chanted the old Indian.
For a few moments in silence the Shawnee chief looked up on the Great Medicine.
“My father speaks straight,” he said, at length, breaking the silence. “His tongue is not forked. Is the wolf Demon an Indian devil?”
“No, white.”
“White!” and the chief started.
“Yes, as white as the Ohio waves when the Great Spirit lashes4 them with his storm-whip, and they bind5 white plumes6 around their scalp-locks.”
The chief pondered with moody7 brows. The old Indian from the covert8 of his blankets watched him with searching eyes.
“Then the Great Medicine can show me the Wolf Demon?”
“Yes.”
“When?”
“Does the chief see that green stick?” and the old Indian pointed9 to the fire.
“Yes.”
“When that stick becomes a flaming brand, then turns to a blackened coal, the Wolf Demon will be here.”
“In this wigwam?” asked the chief, in wonder.
“Yes.”
“Why not before?”
[27]
“The Wolf Demon is far down below the earth. His home is in the fire that burns in the mouth of the tortoise that carries the earth on his back. He can not come in an instant. The Great Medicine knew that Ke-ne-ha-ha would seek his counsel before the young moon died. He knew that the chief would wish to see the Wolf Demon, and he summoned him from the land of shadows long ago. But for that, the chief would not be able to have his wish gratified to-night.”
“The Wolf Demon will come, then?” and instinctively10 Ke-ne-ha-ha’s hand sought the handle of his tomahawk as he spoke11.
“Yes; the chief is wise to prepare, for the Wolf Demon comes to take his life.”
“Ah!” and Ke-ne ha-ha’s eyes shot lurid12 fires as he uttered the simple exclamation13.
“Does the chief fear?”
“What! the white devil? ugh! Ke-ne-ha-ha’s heart is like rock. He does not fear.”
“Then the chief will meet and fight the Wolf Demon?” asked the Great Medicine.
“Yes, if the Wolf Demon comes, the chief will fight him. Many great warriors14 have fallen by the tomahawk of the Wolf Demon. He is a coward. He does not attack the Shawnee braves like a warrior15 and a man. He creeps behind them in the forest like a cat and strikes them in the back. He will not dare to meet Ke-ne-ha-ha, face to face.”
“See, the green stick is burning,” and the Medicine Man looked toward the fire as he spoke. “When it is ashes, the chief will stand face to face with the Wolf Demon. He will tremble like a squaw when he sees the white man’s devil.”
“The Great Medicine is wise, but he lies when he says that Ke-ne-ha-ha will tremble!” cried the Shawnee chief, anger sparkling in his eyes. “The great fighting-man of the Shawnee nation never turned his back to mortal foe17, either red or white-skinned warrior. Why should he fear the devil that hides in the wood, and who, like a coward, strikes his foes18 in the back?” And Ke-ne-ha-ha drew himself up proudly, as he spoke.
“The chief has the heart of a lion; it is a pity that he should die like the snake,” said the old Indian, slowly.
“When the chief dies it will be upon the war-path!” exclaimed the Shawnee brave, in defiance19; “a hundred scalps will hang at his belt—his hand will be red with the blood of his foe. When he enters the happy hunting-grounds, the chiefs will bow in homage20, to him, and say, ‘Here is a great warrior; welcome.’”
“The chief is wrong,” said the Great Medicine, slowly; “he will not die on the war-path. The Great Medicine sees the future. It is clouded to all other eyes but his. His heart is Shawnee—it is torn with anguish21 when he reads the future and sees the desolation and dismay that must come upon the Shawnee nation. Before his eyes is a sea of blood, not white blood but red, the blood of the Indian.”
Over the brow of the chief came a gloomy cloud as he listened to the prophetic words of the old man.
His heart sunk within him as he heard the prophecy of disaster and death.
“Does the Great Medicine read the future straight?” he asked, anxiously. “Is not the blood that he sees the blood of the white settlers by the banks of the Ohio? the blood of the false-hearted, crooked-tongued chiefs who have stolen the lands of the red-men and whose mouths are full of lies?”
Sorrowfully the old Indian shook his head.
“The blood is the life-current of the Shawnees, the Mingoes, the Wyandots and the Hurons. The heart of the Great Medicine is sad, but he must speak the truth.”
“Then the expedition of the Shawnee chief against the whites on the Ohio will be defeated?” asked Ke-ne-ha-ha, with a frown upon his face.
“Yes.”
“The chief will go if he had ten thousand lives to lose and knew that by the act he would sacrifice them all,” said the Shawnee, proudly, and with an air of dogged defiance.
“The chief has but one life to lose, and he will lose it in the Shawnee village by the banks of the Scioto,” said the Great Medicine.
Ke-ne-ha-ha started as the words fell upon his ears, and a look of anger swept over his face.
“Will the chief die by the hand of a spy—a snake who will creep into the Shawnee village to strike him in the back?”
“No, Ke-ne-ha-ha will be killed in a fair and open fight, but he will be killed in the midst of the Shawnees and die in one of the wigwams of his own people.”
The chief looked puzzled at the strange words of the old Indian.
“Ke-ne-ha-ha does not understand; will my father speak straighter?”
“The chief does not fear then to learn the future?”
“No,” said the Shawnee warrior, proudly.
“Not even when he is to hear of the manner of his death?”
“A warrior must die some time. Ke-ne-ha-ha is ready when the Great Spirit calls him.”
“Good; the Great Medicine will speak then. He must speak words that cause him tears of blood, for they tell of the death of the Shawnee chieftain.”
“Ke-ne-ha-ha’s ears are open—he listens.”
“Before the moon dies, a terrible figure will be in the Shawnee village. All fly from its path—the birds of the night, and the insects of the earth—for it is not of human mold. The moonbeams shining in fear will show the figure of a huge gray wolf. The wolf walks on its hind16 legs like a man. It has the face of a human, and it is striped with war-paint, black and white. In its paw it carries a tomahawk—the edge is crusted with blood that dims the brightness of the steel. The blood comes from the veins22 of some of the best warriors of the Shawnee nation. The Little Crow hunted the brown deer in the woods of the Scioto. He came not back. His brother found him in the forest dead—the print of a tomahawk in his skull23 and a Red Arrow graven on his breast. Watega is another great brave of the Shawnee nation. Not two sleeps ago he went with the white red-men—the renegades—on a scout24. He has not come back to his wigwam, though the others have returned. His squaw sits in his lodge25 and wonders where he is. He will never come back. In a little glade26 on the other side of the Ohio is his body—a tomahawk cut in the skull, and on his breast the totem of the Red Arrow.”
Ke-ne-ha-ha started. The death of Watega, who was one of his favorite warriors, startled him.
“Watega dead!” he cried, hardly willing to believe the news.
“The Great Medicine has said that he sleeps the long sleep that knows no waking,” chanted the old Indian, his voice coming from beneath the blankets wrapped around his head like a voice from the tomb.
“How can my father know that Watega is dead?” demanded the chief, obstinately27 refusing to believe.
“Does the Shawnee chief question the power of the Great Medicine, and yet come to him for advice?” said the old Indian, with an accent of scorn in his voice.
“My father is sure?”
“Yes.”
“Watega was a great warrior; peace be with him,” said the chief, solemnly.
“Little Crow and Watega fell by the tomahawk of the Wolf Demon in the forest, and not an hour ago the Red Leaf met his death by the Scioto, and the Wolf Demon dealt the blow.”
“Ke-ne-ha-ha saw the slain28 brave, the last victim of the white devil,” the chief said, sorrowfully.
“No, the chief is wrong; not the last victim, for another Shawnee has felt the keen edge of the tomahawk of the Wolf Demon, since the Red Leaf died by his hand.”
“Another of my braves killed!” cried Ke-ne-ha-ha, in wonder and in anger.
“Yes, two have had the totem of the Red Arrow graven on their breasts since the moon rose.”
“And who was the other?”
“The Great Medicine can not tell the chief now, but the chief will know when the stick burns to ashes and the Wolf Demon comes.”
“But the fate of Ke-ne-ha-ha?”
“The red chief will fall by the tomahawk of the Wolf Demon.”
There was silence for a few moments in the wigwam.
Over the face of the Shawnee chief came a look of stern resolution. There was no trace of fear in the bearing of the Shawnee.
“Let my father keep his word and bring the white devil,” Ke-ne-ha-ha said, breaking the silence. “If the Great Spirit wills that the chief of the Shawnee nation is to die by the hand of the scourge29 of his race, Ke-ne-ha-ha is content. But he will fight the Wolf Demon before he dies.”

点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 astonishment VvjzR     
n.惊奇,惊异
参考例句:
  • They heard him give a loud shout of astonishment.他们听见他惊奇地大叫一声。
  • I was filled with astonishment at her strange action.我对她的奇怪举动不胜惊异。
2 awe WNqzC     
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。
3 demon Wmdyj     
n.魔鬼,恶魔
参考例句:
  • The demon of greed ruined the miser's happiness.贪得无厌的恶习毁掉了那个守财奴的幸福。
  • He has been possessed by the demon of disease for years.他多年来病魔缠身。
4 lashes e2e13f8d3a7c0021226bb2f94d6a15ec     
n.鞭挞( lash的名词复数 );鞭子;突然猛烈的一击;急速挥动v.鞭打( lash的第三人称单数 );煽动;紧系;怒斥
参考例句:
  • Mother always lashes out food for the children's party. 孩子们聚会时,母亲总是给他们许多吃的。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Never walk behind a horse in case it lashes out. 绝对不要跟在马后面,以防它突然猛踢。 来自《简明英汉词典》
5 bind Vt8zi     
vt.捆,包扎;装订;约束;使凝固;vi.变硬
参考例句:
  • I will let the waiter bind up the parcel for you.我让服务生帮你把包裹包起来。
  • He wants a shirt that does not bind him.他要一件不使他觉得过紧的衬衫。
6 plumes 15625acbfa4517aa1374a6f1f44be446     
羽毛( plume的名词复数 ); 羽毛饰; 羽毛状物; 升上空中的羽状物
参考例句:
  • The dancer wore a headdress of pink ostrich plumes. 那位舞蹈演员戴着粉色鸵鸟毛制作的头饰。
  • The plumes on her bonnet barely moved as she nodded. 她点点头,那帽子的羽毛在一个劲儿颤动。
7 moody XEXxG     
adj.心情不稳的,易怒的,喜怒无常的
参考例句:
  • He relapsed into a moody silence.他又重新陷于忧郁的沉默中。
  • I'd never marry that girl.She's so moody.我决不会和那女孩结婚的。她太易怒了。
8 covert voxz0     
adj.隐藏的;暗地里的
参考例句:
  • We should learn to fight with enemy in an overt and covert way.我们应学会同敌人做公开和隐蔽的斗争。
  • The army carried out covert surveillance of the building for several months.军队对这座建筑物进行了数月的秘密监视。
9 pointed Il8zB4     
adj.尖的,直截了当的
参考例句:
  • He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
  • She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。
10 instinctively 2qezD2     
adv.本能地
参考例句:
  • As he leaned towards her she instinctively recoiled. 他向她靠近,她本能地往后缩。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • He knew instinctively where he would find her. 他本能地知道在哪儿能找到她。 来自《简明英汉词典》
11 spoke XryyC     
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。
12 lurid 9Atxh     
adj.可怕的;血红的;苍白的
参考例句:
  • The paper gave all the lurid details of the murder.这份报纸对这起凶杀案耸人听闻的细节描写得淋漓尽致。
  • The lurid sunset puts a red light on their faces.血红一般的夕阳映红了他们的脸。
13 exclamation onBxZ     
n.感叹号,惊呼,惊叹词
参考例句:
  • He could not restrain an exclamation of approval.他禁不住喝一声采。
  • The author used three exclamation marks at the end of the last sentence to wake up the readers.作者在文章的最后一句连用了三个惊叹号,以引起读者的注意。
14 warriors 3116036b00d464eee673b3a18dfe1155     
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。
15 warrior YgPww     
n.勇士,武士,斗士
参考例句:
  • The young man is a bold warrior.这个年轻人是个很英勇的武士。
  • A true warrior values glory and honor above life.一个真正的勇士珍视荣誉胜过生命。
16 hind Cyoya     
adj.后面的,后部的
参考例句:
  • The animal is able to stand up on its hind limbs.这种动物能够用后肢站立。
  • Don't hind her in her studies.不要在学业上扯她后腿。
17 foe ygczK     
n.敌人,仇敌
参考例句:
  • He knew that Karl could be an implacable foe.他明白卡尔可能会成为他的死敌。
  • A friend is a friend;a foe is a foe;one must be clearly distinguished from the other.敌是敌,友是友,必须分清界限。
18 foes 4bc278ea3ab43d15b718ac742dc96914     
敌人,仇敌( foe的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • They steadily pushed their foes before them. 他们不停地追击敌人。
  • She had fought many battles, vanquished many foes. 她身经百战,挫败过很多对手。
19 defiance RmSzx     
n.挑战,挑衅,蔑视,违抗
参考例句:
  • He climbed the ladder in defiance of the warning.他无视警告爬上了那架梯子。
  • He slammed the door in a spirit of defiance.他以挑衅性的态度把门砰地一下关上。
20 homage eQZzK     
n.尊敬,敬意,崇敬
参考例句:
  • We pay homage to the genius of Shakespeare.我们对莎士比亚的天才表示敬仰。
  • The soldiers swore to pay their homage to the Queen.士兵们宣誓效忠于女王陛下。
21 anguish awZz0     
n.(尤指心灵上的)极度痛苦,烦恼
参考例句:
  • She cried out for anguish at parting.分手时,她由于痛苦而失声大哭。
  • The unspeakable anguish wrung his heart.难言的痛苦折磨着他的心。
22 veins 65827206226d9e2d78ea2bfe697c6329     
n.纹理;矿脉( vein的名词复数 );静脉;叶脉;纹理
参考例句:
  • The blood flows from the capillaries back into the veins. 血从毛细血管流回静脉。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • I felt a pleasant glow in all my veins from the wine. 喝过酒后我浑身的血都热烘烘的,感到很舒服。 来自《简明英汉词典》
23 skull CETyO     
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。
24 scout oDGzi     
n.童子军,侦察员;v.侦察,搜索
参考例句:
  • He was mistaken for an enemy scout and badly wounded.他被误认为是敌人的侦察兵,受了重伤。
  • The scout made a stealthy approach to the enemy position.侦察兵偷偷地靠近敌军阵地。
25 lodge q8nzj     
v.临时住宿,寄宿,寄存,容纳;n.传达室,小旅馆
参考例句:
  • Is there anywhere that I can lodge in the village tonight?村里有我今晚过夜的地方吗?
  • I shall lodge at the inn for two nights.我要在这家小店住两个晚上。
26 glade kgTxM     
n.林间空地,一片表面有草的沼泽低地
参考例句:
  • In the midst of a glade were several huts.林中的空地中间有几间小木屋。
  • The family had their lunch in the glade.全家在林中的空地上吃了午饭。
27 obstinately imVzvU     
ad.固执地,顽固地
参考例句:
  • He obstinately asserted that he had done the right thing. 他硬说他做得对。
  • Unemployment figures are remaining obstinately high. 失业数字仍然顽固地居高不下。
28 slain slain     
杀死,宰杀,杀戮( slay的过去分词 ); (slay的过去分词)
参考例句:
  • The soldiers slain in the battle were burried that night. 在那天夜晚埋葬了在战斗中牺牲了的战士。
  • His boy was dead, slain by the hand of the false Amulius. 他的儿子被奸诈的阿缪利乌斯杀死了。
29 scourge FD2zj     
n.灾难,祸害;v.蹂躏
参考例句:
  • Smallpox was once the scourge of the world.天花曾是世界的大患。
  • The new boss was the scourge of the inefficient.新老板来了以后,不称职的人就遭殃了。


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