Oscar was as hungry as the rest, and never did he partake of homely5 fare with more relish6 than he did that night. The black coffee sweetened with brown sugar, and served up without milk, was equal to any his mother had ever made; the fat bacon was better than most beef, and the hardtack was to be preferred to pastry7.
He ate his full share of the viands8, and then rolled himself up in his blankets, and, with his saddle for a pillow, slept the sleep of the weary, until he was aroused by the voices of 138the teamsters, who, with the help of the Indian, had kept watch of the horses during the night.
A dash of cold water in his face, and a hasty breakfast, prepared him for the hunt, the details of which were arranged while the horses were being brought up.
“Now, Oscar,” said the colonel, as he sprang into the saddle and led the way toward a plateau that lay about two miles distant from the camp, “stay as close to me as you can, and if we don’t secure a specimen9 of something before another meal is served up to us, it will not be our fault. What do you intend to do with that rifle, I’d like to know?”
“Why, I am going to shoot a prong-horn with it if I get the chance,” answered Oscar.
“Take it back to camp, and tell the teamsters to take care of it until you return,” said the colonel. “It will only be in your way. Your revolver and lasso are what you must depend on this morning.”
Oscar hastened to obey, and, when he reached the camp, he found that the colonel 139had not brought his hounds along. As soon as he came up with the officer again he asked why he had not done so.
“We want to see some sport while our horses are fresh,” was the reply, “and the best way to get it is to run the game down ourselves. A dash of three or four miles will take all the breath out of them, and then we’ll give the hounds a chance. This afternoon we will try still-hunting, which has gone almost out of style, except among the Indians and a few white pot-hunters, and then you can use your rifle.”
During the ride to the plateau the colonel improved the opportunity to give Oscar some instructions in regard to the manner in which antelope10 were hunted, and the course he must pursue to make the hunt successful.
He showed him how to throw the lasso, and, although the boy tried hard to imitate him, he did it simply out of politeness, and not because he believed that he would ever be able to capture anything with that novel weapon.
He could throw the lasso with all ease as far as its length would permit, and sometimes the 140noose would go, and sometimes it wouldn’t. He was not very expert with the revolver either, and often wished he had held fast to his rifle.
When the hunting party mounted the hills that led to the plateau, Oscar obtained his first view of a prong-horn.
He was disappointed, as almost everybody is who sees for the first time something he has often read or heard about. He knew that the antelope seldom exceeds three feet in height at the shoulders, and that it rarely weighs more than sixty or seventy pounds; but still he did not expect to find it so diminutive13 a creature.
There were several small herds14 grazing quietly within range of his vision, and but for their color they might have been taken for so many sheep.
Having carefully marked the position of the different herds, the hunters drew silently back down the ridge15, and following in the lead of the colonel made a detour16 of a mile or more, in order to reach some hillocks on the leeward17 side of the game, under cover of 141which they could approach some hundreds of yards nearer to the spot on which they were grazing.
On reaching this place of concealment18, they dismounted for a few minutes to tighten19 their saddle-girths, arrange their lassoes and look to their revolvers; and, when everything was ready for the exciting chase that was to follow, they rode out on the plateau and showed themselves to the antelope.
The actions of the animals, who were thus disturbed at their quiet repast by the sudden appearance of enemies whose presence they had never suspected, astonished Oscar.
Instead of setting off in full flight at once, as he had expected they would, they one and all made a few “buck20-jumps”—that is, sprang straight up and down in the air; and then, running together in a group, stood and stared at the intruders.
But when the colonel, with a wild Indian yell and a wave of his hat, dashed toward them at the top of his speed, they scattered21 like leaves before a storm, and made off at their best pace.
142Oscar followed close at the colonel’s heels, the gallant22 little black on which he was mounted easily keeping pace with the officer’s more bulky horse; and presently he saw a full-grown doe, with a couple of fawns24 at her side, break away from the others and direct her course across the plateau toward the lower prairie that lay beyond.
“There’s your chance, Preston!” shouted the colonel. “Shoot the doe and lasso the youngsters. You’ll never find finer specimens25 if you hunt until your hair is as white as mine. Go it, now, and don’t forget that the louder you yell the more fun you’ll have!”
The hubbub26 that arose behind him made Oscar believe that the other members of the party must be of the same opinion.
The chorus of whoops27 and howls that rent the air when the game was seen in full flight was almost enough to raise a doubt in his mind as to whether his hunting companions were friendly white men or hostile Indians.
Oscar shoots the Prong-horn.
143The colonel kept on after a magnificent buck on which he had set his eye. Oscar turned off in pursuit of the trio which had been pointed12 out to him as his quarry28, and Lieutenant29 Warwick came dashing after him, uttering hideous30 yells to urge both horses to renewed exertions31.
The prong-horns ran with such surprising swiftness that Oscar, almost from the start, began to despair of overtaking them; but by the time he had gone half a mile, he saw that he was rapidly closing up the gap that lay between himself and the game.
If the antelope’s staying powers were equal to its speed for a short distance, all efforts to run it down on horseback would be unavailing; but it soon begins to show signs of weariness, and then even a moderately fast horse can come up with it.
As soon as he had approached within easy range, Oscar drew his revolver from his belt, and, by a lucky snap shot, threw the doe in her tracks—an achievement which the lieutenant hailed with another chorus of yells.
Well satisfied with his work so far, Oscar returned his revolver to its place, and taking his lasso from the horn of his saddle, kept on 144after the fawns, which were running wildly about, as if bewildered and terror-stricken by the loss of their guardian32.
He hardly expected to capture one of them, for the little fellows, having shown themselves to be very light of foot, now proved that they were equally quick at dodging33 and doubling; but after he had made a few throws, which were nimbly eluded34 by the game, he succeeded, to his great surprise and the infinite delight of the lieutenant, who still followed close at his heels, shouting out words of encouragement and advice, in slipping the noose11 over the head of the nearest fawn23 and pulling it to the ground.
In an instant the two horses were at a stand-still, and the lieutenant was on the ground beside the struggling captive. With his own lariat35 he securely tied its feet, and then he threw off the noose that was around its neck.
“Go on and capture the other one,” he shouted, “and you will have a couple of the nicest pets you ever saw! You know how it is done now.”
Setting his horse in motion again, the successful 145hunter galloped36 away in pursuit of the captive’s mate, and soon discovered it standing37 on a little hill a short distance away, looking wistfully around, as if trying to find its lost companion.
It allowed Oscar to come pretty close to it before it took the alarm; but when it was fairly started it made up for lost time. It ran faster than it did before; and it was only after a two-mile chase that Oscar was near enough to it to use his lasso.
He threw until his arm ached, and was on the point of settling the matter with a shot from his revolver, when the fawn, in the most accommodating manner, ran its head directly into the noose and was quickly pulled to the ground.
“There!” exclaimed Oscar, panting loudly after his exertions, “I did it, didn’t I? Now, Gipsy, I am going to see if you are as smart as your master thinks you are. I want you to hold that fellow for me until I see what he looks like.”
Oscar had often heard and read of the wonderful intelligence exhibited by trained horses 146in assisting their riders to secure animals that had been lassoed in the chase, but he had never put the least faith in it. Now he had an opportunity to test the matter for himself, and the result proved that their skill had not in the least been exaggerated.
Having wrapped his lariat around the horn of his saddle, Oscar dismounted to take a nearer look at his captive.
As he approached, the little creature sprang to its feet, but was almost instantly pulled down again by a quick movement on the part of the horse, which stepped backward, throwing her weight upon the lasso as she did so.
“I declare, you do understand your business, after all, Gipsy!” exclaimed the boy, who watched her movements with great admiration38. “Now, how am I going to tie this fellow? I believe I’ll slip that noose under his forelegs, and make him walk to camp. If he doesn’t feel like going peaceably, I can make the mare39 drag him. Hollo! What’s that?”
Oscar, who had bent40 over his captive in readiness to carry out the plan he had hit upon, 147suddenly straightened up, and burying his hands deep in his pockets, looked first toward a distant swell41, down which the lieutenant was coming at headlong speed, waving his hat in the air and uttering triumphant42 yells, and then he looked at the fawn.
He was a born hunter, and whenever he bagged any game of which he had long been in search, and which promised, when mounted, to make an unusually fine specimen, he was a proud and happy boy; but just now he felt anything but pride in his success.
His little captive shed tears so copiously43, and looked up at him with so appealing an expression, that Oscar, for the moment, was completely unnerved.
Then, too, its forelegs were lacerated, the skin having been cut away by repeated blows from the sharp points of the hinder hoofs44, and Oscar knew that it must be suffering intensely.
Besides this, Gipsy, who was doing her duty faithfully, was leaning back so heavily on the lariat that the iron ring which formed the noose was pressed down upon the little 148creature’s throat until it seemed on the point of strangling.
“Good gracious!” cried Oscar, who took this all in at a glance, “I can’t stand it, and I won’t, either. There you are! Clear out, and take better care of yourself in future.”
To run to his horse and undo45 the lariat that was made fast around the horn of his saddle was scarcely the work of a moment.
Holding it in his hand, just tightly enough to prevent the captive from jumping to its feet, he approached it, and with a quick movement opened the noose and threw it off its neck.
The fawn was on its feet in an instant, and in a few seconds more it was making railroad time down the ridge.
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1
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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bridle
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| n.笼头，束缚；vt.抑制，约束；动怒 | |
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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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ravenous
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| adj.极饿的，贪婪的 | |
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homely
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| adj.家常的，简朴的；不漂亮的 | |
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6
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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7
pastry
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| n.油酥面团，酥皮糕点 | |
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viands
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| n.食品，食物 | |
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specimen
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| n.样本，标本 | |
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antelope
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| n.羚羊；羚羊皮 | |
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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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12
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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diminutive
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| adj.小巧可爱的，小的 | |
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herds
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| 兽群( herd的名词复数 )； 牧群； 人群； 群众 | |
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ridge
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| n.山脊；鼻梁；分水岭 | |
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detour
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| n.绕行的路，迂回路；v.迂回，绕道 | |
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17
leeward
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| adj.背风的；下风的 | |
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18
concealment
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| n.隐藏, 掩盖，隐瞒 | |
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19
tighten
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| v.(使)变紧；(使)绷紧 | |
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20
buck
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| n.雄鹿，雄兔；v.马离地跳跃 | |
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21
scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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gallant
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| adj.英勇的，豪侠的；(向女人)献殷勤的 | |
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23
fawn
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| n.未满周岁的小鹿；v.巴结，奉承 | |
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24
fawns
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| n.（未满一岁的）幼鹿( fawn的名词复数 )；浅黄褐色；乞怜者；奉承者v.（尤指狗等）跳过来往人身上蹭以示亲热( fawn的第三人称单数 )；巴结；讨好 | |
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25
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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26
hubbub
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| n.嘈杂；骚乱 | |
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27
whoops
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| int.呼喊声 | |
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28
quarry
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| n.采石场；v.采石；费力地找 | |
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29
lieutenant
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| n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员 | |
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30
hideous
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| adj.丑陋的，可憎的，可怕的，恐怖的 | |
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31
exertions
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| n.努力( exertion的名词复数 )；费力；（能力、权力等的）运用；行使 | |
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32
guardian
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| n.监护人；守卫者，保护者 | |
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33
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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34
eluded
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| v.（尤指机敏地）避开( elude的过去式和过去分词 )；逃避；躲避；使达不到 | |
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35
lariat
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| n.系绳，套索；v.用套索套捕 | |
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36
galloped
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| （使马）飞奔，奔驰( gallop的过去式和过去分词 )； 快速做[说]某事 | |
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37
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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38
admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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39
mare
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| n.母马，母驴 | |
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40
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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41
swell
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| vi.膨胀，肿胀；增长，增强 | |
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42
triumphant
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| adj.胜利的，成功的；狂欢的，喜悦的 | |
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43
copiously
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| adv.丰富地，充裕地 | |
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44
hoofs
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| n.（兽的）蹄，马蹄( hoof的名词复数 )v.（兽的）蹄，马蹄( hoof的第三人称单数 ) | |
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45
undo
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| vt.解开，松开；取消，撤销 | |
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