But to Oscar’s great surprise Big Thompson walked straight up to the pony and vaulted5 into the saddle, whereupon the little fellow’s head came up, his sleepy eyes opened, and, breaking at once into a gallop6, he carried his heavy rider through the gate and down the hill out of sight.
Oscar watched him as long as he remained 28in view, and then broke out into a cheery laugh, in which the colonel heartily7 joined.
“That beats me!” exclaimed the boy as soon as he could speak. “I think it would look better if Thompson would get off and carry the horse instead of making the horse carry him. His great weight will break the beast down before he has gone a mile.”
“You don’t know anything about an Indian pony,” replied the colonel. “I once had occasion to send Thompson to Fort Laramie with despatches, and he rode that same horse eighty-five miles in twenty-four hours without the least trouble.”
“I shouldn’t have believed that little animal had so much strength and endurance,” said Oscar, still more astonished. “Thompson doesn’t seem to think much of my skill as a hunter, does he?”
“You can’t wonder at it after the experience he has had with people from the States. He once shot four buffaloes9 for a gentleman living in New York, who cut off the tails of the game, took them home, and hung them up in his library as trophies10 of his own prowess.”
29“I don’t see how he could do that,” said Oscar almost indignantly. “I will gladly pay Thompson for any specimens11 I cannot procure12 myself, but I couldn’t have the face to pass them off as my own. He hasn’t a very high opinion of my courage, either. He thinks I shall be willing to come back to the fort before spring.”
“That’s another thing you can’t wonder at. He knows what is before you, and you don’t. Now you have two days to spend in any manner most agreeable to yourself—this is Thursday, and you are not to start until Monday, you know—and, if you are not too weary with travel, I think I can put it in your power to obtain two or three fine specimens before you start for the hills. Do you ride?”
“Yes, sir. I have broken more than one colt to the saddle.”
“Then that is something you will not have to learn over again. Could you stand a fifteen-mile canter to-night?”
“I should enjoy it,” replied Oscar with great eagerness.
“All right. We’ll make up a little party 30among the officers, and spend the greatest part of to-morrow in coursing antelope13. That is a sport you know nothing about, of course, and I tell you beforehand that your horsemanship, and skill with the revolver and lasso, will be pretty thoroughly14 tested.”
“Lasso?” repeated Oscar. “I didn’t know that antelope were ever hunted with the lasso.”
“Certainly they are; and it is the most exciting way of capturing them. You can’t imagine what hard riding it takes to enable one to slip a lariat15 over the head of a youngster about six months old. The little fellows run like the wind, and have a way of dodging16 and ducking their heads, just as the noose17 is about to settle down over their necks, that is perfectly18 exasperating19. On Saturday we will pay our respects to the wolves. They are not worth a charge of powder, but we manage to get a little sport out of them by shooting them with the bow and arrow.”
“Then I shall not get any,” said Oscar. “I don’t know how to use a bow.”
“You can’t learn younger. The first thing, however, is to go down to the corral and pick 31out a pony. The quartermaster knows all about them, and we will ask him to go with us and make the selection. Orderly, tell Major Baker20 I want to see him.”
The major, who was the acting21 quartermaster, made his appearance in a few minutes, and the three walked leisurely22 toward the gate, discussing the merits of the captured ponies23 as they went.
At a sign from the colonel, accompanied by a pantomime that Oscar could not understand, a man who was sitting on the opposite side of the parade ground, with a blanket over his shoulders, arose to his feet and disappeared through an open doorway24.
When he came out again Oscar saw that he was an Indian, and that he had exchanged his blanket for a coil of rope, which he carried in his hand.
He fell in behind the colonel and his two companions, and followed them down the hill toward the corral in which the ponies were confined.
There were twenty-five or thirty of them in the enclosure, and they looked so very small, 32when compared with the cavalry horses that were picketed25 on the outside, that Oscar could hardly bring himself to believe that they were full-grown animals.
They looked more like colts, and it did not seem possible that they could carry a rider for weeks at a time, with nothing but grass to eat, or beat a Kentucky thoroughbred in a race of twenty miles.
The officers stopped when they had passed through the gate of the corral, and while the major was running his eyes over the herd26 in search of the particular pony he wanted to find, Oscar had opportunity to take a good survey of the Indian.
He was one of the Osage scouts27 attached to the colonel’s command, and though not so large a man as Big Thompson, he was taller than either of the officers, and the battered28 stovepipe hat he wore on his head made him look taller than he really was.
He wore leggings and moccasins, a gray flannel29 shirt, a tattered30 officer’s dress coat, with a captain’s epaulet on one shoulder and a sergeant’s chevron31 on the other, and 33the band on his hat was stuck full of feathers.
He did not look like a very formidable person, and yet, as Oscar afterward32 learned, he had the reputation of being the bravest man in his nation. He stood quietly by, with his lasso on his arm, awaiting the colonel’s further orders.
“There he is! there he is!” exclaimed the major, laying his hand on his commander’s shoulder, and pointing toward the pony of which he was in search. “Come here, Preston, and tell me what you think of him.”
“I don’t see him,” replied Oscar, stepping behind the major, and raising himself on tiptoe, so that he could look along the officer’s outstretched arm. “I can’t tell one from the other. They are all sorrels, and look exactly alike to me.”
“But there is a big difference in them, all the same,” answered the major. “That fellow is a trained hunter, and worth fifty dollars of any man’s money. He will follow a buffalo8, antelope, or elk33 over the roughest ground or 34through a prairie-dogs’ village without making a single misstep, and without the least guidance from the reins34. I know that to be a fact, for I have seen him do it. If you want something a little handsomer and more fancy,” added the major, pointing to a pony that was trotting35 about on the outskirts36 of the herd, as if to show off the ribbons and feathers that were braided in his mane and tail, “there he is, and he is worth thirty dollars more.”
“I don’t care for anything fancy,” replied Oscar. “I came out here to work, not to put on style. Those thirty dollars are worth more to me than they are to Uncle Sam.”
“I think the buffalo hunter is the one you want,” remarked the colonel. “You will have two days in which to try him, and if he doesn’t suit you can bring him back and exchange him for another.”
So saying he turned to the Osage, and pointing out the horse in question, told him to secure it.
The Indian at once went in among the ponies, which had retreated to the furthest corner of the corral, and when he came out 35again, leading the buffalo hunter by his lasso, which he had twisted about the animal’s lower jaw37, the rest of the herd turned and followed at his heels.
The presence of the Indian seemed to quiet them at once. They stood in no fear of him; but the moment they caught sight of the white men, who were waiting in front of the gate, they wheeled in their tracks and ran back to the other end of the corral again.
When Oscar came to take a good look at the animal he told himself that he was the homeliest thing in the shape of a pony he had ever seen.
There were a dozen others in the corral, which, if left to himself, he would have selected in preference to this one.
He was not at all pleased with the animal’s actions, either; for when he advanced to lay his hand upon him the pony snorted loudly, threw his ears close to his head, and retreated away from him as far as the length of the lariat would allow. He was vicious as well as homely38.
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1
pony
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| adj.小型的；n.小马 | |
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2
bridled
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| 给…套龙头( bridle的过去式和过去分词 )； 控制； 昂首表示轻蔑（或怨忿等）； 动怒，生气 | |
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diminutive
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| adj.小巧可爱的，小的 | |
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cavalry
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| n.骑兵；轻装甲部队 | |
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vaulted
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| adj.拱状的 | |
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gallop
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| v./n.(马或骑马等)飞奔；飞速发展 | |
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7
heartily
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| adv.衷心地，诚恳地，十分，很 | |
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8
buffalo
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| n.(北美)野牛；(亚洲)水牛 | |
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9
buffaloes
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| n.水牛（分非洲水牛和亚洲水牛两种）( buffalo的名词复数 )；（南非或北美的）野牛；威胁；恐吓 | |
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10
trophies
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| n.（为竞赛获胜者颁发的）奖品( trophy的名词复数 )；奖杯；（尤指狩猎或战争中获得的）纪念品；（用于比赛或赛跑名称）奖 | |
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11
specimens
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| n.样品( specimen的名词复数 )；范例；（化验的）抽样；某种类型的人 | |
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12
procure
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| vt.获得，取得，促成；vi.拉皮条 | |
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13
antelope
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| n.羚羊；羚羊皮 | |
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14
thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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15
lariat
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| n.系绳，套索；v.用套索套捕 | |
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16
dodging
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| n.避开，闪过，音调改变v.闪躲( dodge的现在分词 )；回避 | |
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17
noose
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| n.绳套，绞索（刑）；v.用套索捉；使落入圈套；处以绞刑 | |
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perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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exasperating
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| adj. 激怒的 动词exasperate的现在分词形式 | |
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baker
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| n.面包师 | |
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acting
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| n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的 | |
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leisurely
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| adj.悠闲的；从容的，慢慢的 | |
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23
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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doorway
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| n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径 | |
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picketed
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| 用尖桩围住（picket的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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26
herd
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| n.兽群，牧群；vt.使集中，把…赶在一起 | |
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27
scouts
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| 侦察员[机，舰]( scout的名词复数 )； 童子军； 搜索； 童子军成员 | |
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28
battered
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| adj.磨损的；v.连续猛击；磨损 | |
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29
flannel
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| n.法兰绒；法兰绒衣服 | |
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30
tattered
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| adj.破旧的，衣衫破的 | |
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31
chevron
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| n.V形臂章；V形图案 | |
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32
afterward
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| adv.后来；以后 | |
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33
elk
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| n.麋鹿 | |
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34
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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35
trotting
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| 小跑，急走( trot的现在分词 )； 匆匆忙忙地走 | |
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36
outskirts
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| n.郊外，郊区 | |
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37
jaw
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| n.颚，颌，说教，流言蜚语；v.喋喋不休，教训 | |
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38
homely
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| adj.家常的，简朴的；不漂亮的 | |
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