“I, too, am glad,” said the Mammoth5. “We have come far to find you. But why should these men destroy each other? I do not see Pic and am so afraid. Where is he?”
Kutnar stared at the huge beast like one not in his right mind. He pointed6 to the body over which he kneeled and replied in a hollow voice: “Here he lies and yet it is not he. The best of him is gone.[211] He tried to save me from these savage7 men. For that he died;” and the boy rocked back and forth8 over his father’s body, moaning as though his heart would break.
The Mammoth bowed his head, overwhelmed, crushed as the terrible truth drove itself home. “Dead?” he groaned9 dismally10. “I too will stay. I will not leave him.”
“Nor I,” said the Rhinoceros11 solemnly.
All three remained with heads bent12 low, paying their last tribute to the Mousterian chief. The Mammoth was the first to recover himself. He stamped his feet and flapped his ears. His eyes reddened like hot coals. “Who killed him?” he screamed. “If one of these men did it, I will trample13 the life out of every one of them, even though I have to climb over the top of this mountain to do it.”
Kutnar was on his feet in an instant. “Who killed him? I do not know. But there is one who caused all this, my traitor14-friend the Hyena15 Man. I heard his voice above us. He must die.” He darted16 across the ledge and picked up his sling17 and pebble18-pouch19 which had fallen there during the melee20, then leaped down the slope and looked above him. A man was ascending21 the Scarp. Kutnar ran to one side of the rock-shelter and began climbing up.
High above his head, Gonch was ascending leisurely22, feeling comfortable in the thought that Totan and Pic were no more. He had seen Totan’s[212] body and would have relished23 a glimpse of Pic’s but the Mammoth and Rhinoceros stood on guard below and he dared not descend24. However Pic was as dead as Totan, he felt reasonably certain and now that his enemies were out of the way, he planned to return to Castillo and seize the reins25 of authority. Some day, Fate permitting, he might even venture into the Mousterian country and take Pic’s place. The possibilities of his future were unlimited26. He might become the foremost potentate27 in all the world.
He was looking behind him now and then from force of habit. There were none left to pursue him but he had not seen Pic’s body and therefore could not feel absolutely sure. As he snatched one of his hurried glances, to his horror, he saw a figure scaling the cliff below him. For an instant he thought that the Mousterian chief must have risen from the grave to destroy him, then he breathed a sigh of relief. It was not Pic but a much smaller man. One of his own people perhaps. He halted until the other came near enough to be recognized. Gonch stared at him in amazement28 then snarled29 hatefully, “Kutnar! What brings the boy here?”
As if in reply, Kutnar shook his fist at the Muskman and cried out, “Traitor, you shall not escape me this time,” and climbed up as fast as he could.
Gonch laughed a loud bitter laugh. The boy carried no ax and he was at a disadvantage, attacking from below. The Muskman seized a stone from the wall behind him and raised it above his[213] head in both hands. There he stood howling derision at his pursuer.
Kutnar heard but he only climbed the faster. His was a lithe30 active body. In his brain lurked31 the inborn32 gift of clear-headedness and sure-footedness working in perfect harmony. But never had his climbing powers been subjected to so severe a test. In places the wall, for rods at a time appeared so smooth and unbroken that it seemed impossible for a human being to adhere to it; but Kutnar not only did adhere but continued upward at an astonishing rate. His toes and fingers found every minute wrinkle and crevice33. His legs were the sustaining members, his shoulders the windlass, his arms the tackle of a self-propelling derrick lifting itself in mid-air. Kutnar was expending34 his energy at a lavish35 rate. He might have rested temporarily on the occasional rock-shelves that marked his route. His enemy was resting and he could have done likewise. In a saner36 moment he would have so chosen but now he was insane; a maniac37 bearing a death message to the man whose perfidy38 had destroyed the one he loved best. The human derrick was strained almost to the breaking point and still it continued to propel itself skyward. Not until Kutnar reached an unusually deep shelf which gave him more than standing39 room, did he pause even for a moment; then he halted and looked up. The Muskman stood waiting above him. Kutnar could see his open red mouth and white teeth. Gonch’s face wore an expression of cruel[214] eagerness such as a panther wears when about to spring from the tree branches upon a fawn40 passing beneath. His back was set against the wall, both hands raised high above his head. He was preparing to hurl41 the stone.
Kutnar braced42 his legs, secured a firm foothold and whirled his sling. Gonch trembled. He could almost feel the pebble striking his skull43 with deadly precision. He faltered44, tossed the stone wildly and fled in a panic up the wall behind him. The boy dodged45 the stone as it fell but now the Muskman was beyond effective throwing range and so Kutnar ceased whirling his sling and followed after. “The traitor must die,” repeated itself over and over in his mind and drove out all thought of himself, a stripling pitted against a full-grown man. His breath came in gasps46, for what with the struggle below and his exhausting climb, the limit of his endurance was nearly reached. There came over him the fear that Gonch might escape after all and so he strove desperately47, forcing his shaking legs to carry him on.
Gonch was comparatively fresh and perhaps it was just as well for the boy that he had abandoned all thought of fight. The Muskman had become obsessed48 with fear of the magic sling whose deadly accuracy he had become familiar with through long experience. Kutnar’s legs would no longer aid him in that heart-breaking ascent49. The sling launched its bolt but in his anxiety, he missed his aim. Gonch was struggling up the slippery rock[215] when he heard the stone whizz close by his head and click against the wall. The sounds spurred him on but in his over-eagerness he slipped and dropped back several feet. This slip terrified him.
Kutnar felt in his pouch and drew forth another pebble—the last. He had but one chance left. He reloaded his weapon but he neither whirled nor threw at his enemy now moving slowly but surely to safety. He was waiting until his heart would ease its pounding and his muscles could be brought under control for the final cast.
Gonch had recovered himself and was making progress. No second missile had followed the first to shake his nerves. Desperation gave him courage for the supreme50 effort required. His hands were raised to within a few yards of the crowning pinnacles51 of the Scarp. Once ahold of them he could drag himself to the top—and safety.
Kutnar saw. His heart had ceased palpitating. He no longer trembled. His body was as cold as ice. “That man must die,” he said for the last time. The thong52 hissed53. Every ounce of strength in the guiding muscles followed the stone in its flight and sent it whizzing to the mark.
Gonch doubled up. His feet jerked convulsively as the death-messenger crashed into his ribs54. His hands had already found anchorage. He might have pulled himself to the top, had not the sling-stone bid him halt. His lower limbs half-paralyzed, dabbed55 feebly against the smooth wall in a vain effort to relieve the weight of his body,[216] thrown suddenly upon his arms. Once, twice, thrice, his feet sought support, then his muscles relaxed, his body straightened out and he hung suspended in mid-air.
Beneath him, his destroyer watched and waited, cold and implacable as an avenging56 Fate. The Muskman yet clung to the coping fluttering like a wounded bird. Slowly his head fell back and turned so that he could see over his right shoulder. His face blanched57, his eyes started from their sockets58 at sight of the vast emptiness beneath him. Gradually his grip relaxed. He made a last effort for one more moment of sweet life, then with a despairing screech59, down he fell. His body shot along the face of the Scarp until it encountered a rugged60 projection61 which sent it bounding clear of the rock-wall. Down, down it fell, whirling in space, finally crashing to its last resting place at the base of the Scarp. The traitor had come into his own at last and his body lay amid those of his comrades who now shared their lot with the true author of their destruction.
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1
ledge
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| n.壁架，架状突出物；岩架，岩礁 | |
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shambles
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| n.混乱之处；废墟 | |
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reeking
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| v.发出浓烈的臭气( reek的现在分词 )；散发臭气；发出难闻的气味 (of sth)；明显带有（令人不快或生疑的跡象） | |
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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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mammoth
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| n.长毛象；adj.长毛象似的，巨大的 | |
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pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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savage
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| adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人 | |
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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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groaned
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| v.呻吟( groan的过去式和过去分词 )；发牢骚；抱怨；受苦 | |
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dismally
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| adv.阴暗地，沉闷地 | |
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rhinoceros
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| n.犀牛 | |
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bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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trample
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| vt.踩，践踏；无视，伤害，侵犯 | |
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traitor
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| n.叛徒，卖国贼 | |
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hyena
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| n.土狼，鬣狗 | |
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darted
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| v.投掷，投射( dart的过去式和过去分词 )；向前冲，飞奔 | |
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sling
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| vt.扔；悬挂；n.挂带；吊索，吊兜；弹弓 | |
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18
pebble
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| n.卵石，小圆石 | |
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19
pouch
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| n.小袋，小包，囊状袋；vt.装...入袋中，用袋运输；vi.用袋送信件 | |
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20
melee
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| n.混战；混战的人群 | |
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ascending
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| adj.上升的，向上的 | |
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leisurely
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| adj.悠闲的；从容的，慢慢的 | |
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relished
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| v.欣赏( relish的过去式和过去分词 )；从…获得乐趣；渴望 | |
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24
descend
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| vt./vi.传下来，下来，下降 | |
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reins
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| 感情，激情； 缰( rein的名词复数 )； 控制手段； 掌管； （成人带着幼儿走路以防其走失时用的）保护带 | |
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26
unlimited
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| adj.无限的，不受控制的，无条件的 | |
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potentate
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| n.统治者；君主 | |
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amazement
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| n.惊奇，惊讶 | |
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29
snarled
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| v.（指狗）吠，嗥叫， （人）咆哮( snarl的过去式和过去分词 )；咆哮着说，厉声地说 | |
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30
lithe
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| adj.(指人、身体)柔软的，易弯的 | |
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31
lurked
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| vi.潜伏，埋伏（lurk的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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32
inborn
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| adj.天生的，生来的，先天的 | |
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crevice
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| n.(岩石、墙等)裂缝；缺口 | |
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34
expending
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| v.花费( expend的现在分词 )；使用（钱等）做某事；用光；耗尽 | |
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35
lavish
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| adj.无节制的；浪费的；vt.慷慨地给予，挥霍 | |
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36
saner
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| adj.心智健全的( sane的比较级 )；神志正常的；明智的；稳健的 | |
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37
maniac
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| n.精神癫狂的人；疯子 | |
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38
perfidy
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| n.背信弃义，不忠贞 | |
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39
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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40
fawn
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| n.未满周岁的小鹿；v.巴结，奉承 | |
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41
hurl
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| vt.猛投，力掷，声叫骂 | |
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42
braced
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| adj.拉牢的v.支住( brace的过去式和过去分词 )；撑牢；使自己站稳；振作起来 | |
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43
skull
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| n.头骨；颅骨 | |
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44
faltered
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| （嗓音）颤抖( falter的过去式和过去分词 )； 支吾其词； 蹒跚； 摇晃 | |
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45
dodged
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| v.闪躲( dodge的过去式和过去分词 )；回避 | |
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46
gasps
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| v.喘气( gasp的第三人称单数 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要 | |
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47
desperately
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| adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地 | |
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48
obsessed
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| adj.心神不宁的,鬼迷心窍的,沉迷的 | |
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49
ascent
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| n.(声望或地位)提高；上升，升高；登高 | |
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50
supreme
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| adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的 | |
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51
pinnacles
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| 顶峰( pinnacle的名词复数 )； 顶点； 尖顶； 小尖塔 | |
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52
thong
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| n.皮带；皮鞭；v.装皮带 | |
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53
hissed
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| 发嘶嘶声( hiss的过去式和过去分词 )； 发嘘声表示反对 | |
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54
ribs
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| 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 | |
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55
dabbed
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| （用某物）轻触( dab的过去式和过去分词 )； 轻而快地擦掉（或抹掉）； 快速擦拭； （用某物）轻而快地涂上（或点上）… | |
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56
avenging
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| adj.报仇的，复仇的v.为…复仇，报…之仇( avenge的现在分词 )；为…报复 | |
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57
blanched
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| v.使变白( blanch的过去式 )；使（植物）不见阳光而变白；酸洗（金属）使有光泽；用沸水烫（杏仁等）以便去皮 | |
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58
sockets
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| n.套接字，使应用程序能够读写与收发通讯协定(protocol)与资料的程序( Socket的名词复数 )；孔( socket的名词复数 )；（电器上的）插口；托座；凹穴 | |
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59
screech
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| n./v.尖叫；(发出)刺耳的声音 | |
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60
rugged
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| adj.高低不平的，粗糙的，粗壮的，强健的 | |
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61
projection
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| n.发射，计划，突出部分 | |
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