CHAPTER 4 KIL-FANG STARTLES TIMBERTANGLE

 THE news that Kil-fang and his pack were returning to the Black Hills was a startling surprise for all who gathered about Sandy, but they showed no fear, for all knew how to keep out of the way of the pack and all had faith in the power of Cho-gay. Now they wanted to hear what he would say.

“Where do you get the news, and where is proof that it is true?” Cho-gay asked.

“Yap-kii, the coyote, got the news secretly from one of the coyotes that live in the north. He told Rip and Rip told me. They say that the pack will come through the north canyon¹ when the moon is again full.”

“Where is Yap-kii?” asked Cho-gay, turning to the coyotes.

“Hunting,” said Fearful, who led the clan² while Yap-kii was away. “He has said nothing to us about the coming of Kil-fang, but he has said that before the moon was again full we would all go[122] over into the broad valley to the east, where there would soon be fine hunting.”

“That is proof enough for me,” said Kaw.

“Why is it proof?” asked Cho-gay.

“Yap-kii knows that with the coming of Kil-fang all small animals will run to get out of the way of the pack, and they will run eastward³ into the broad valley, as that is the easiest way out.”

“I believe the news must be true,” said Cho-gay, who placed great faith in the wisdom of his old friend Kaw.

“Is it good then that I brought the news to you?” asked Sandy timidly.

“It is good, and all people of the Black Hills will be glad that you have brought me the news,” said Cho-gay.

“Not all,” said Sandy. “For what will become of my brother that is kept shut up in the rocks?”

This surprising question puzzled Cho-gay and he scarcely knew how to reply.

“What do you say, brothers?” he asked. “Shall a thief who has twice stolen without cause be freed before he has been punished?”

“Kindness is greater than the law in this case,” said Kaw, “and Sandy has shown kindness to us all by bringing this news. It may be that the thief will be honest and steal no more.”

[123]“Free him,” advised Wongo.

“Free him! Free him!” echoed the coyotes.

At this Cho-gay, followed by Sandy, went up to the little cave of the imprisoned⁴ fox.

“Will you remember the law and steal no more if I set you free?” asked Cho-gay of his prisoner.

“Yes, I steal no more,” was the reply.

As Sandy and his brother trotted⁵ down the trail, Fearful and the remainder of his followers⁶ (for most of them had slipped away, one by one, to tell the great news to their friends) vanished into the sagebrush.

When Cho-gay had returned to the rock in front of the cave, Kaw asked, “What will you do about the coming of Kil-fang and his pack? The moon will be full again in fewer than a dozen days.”

“I shall kill him and all his pack,” said Cho-gay. “I will make many arrows and an extra bow, and I will have food and water in my cave to last until the wolves are all dead. I shall have big rocks at the door of my cave and I’ll shoot through the rocks, and cut with the knife all who try to enter.”

“All that might be very well,” said Kaw, slowly, “and you might kill them all. But Kil-fang with a dozen followers, and Kil-fang with a pack of fifty wolves of the north, are two different things. Why have a fight and kill and kill? Why[124] should we let our old enemy return to our hills to scare all the game away? Why not have a little fun with him and give him such a scare that he and his pack will be glad to go back into the north and stay there?”

“That is easy to say, but how could it be done?” asked Cho-gay.

Wongo, who was for the first time having his ever-present curiosity satisfied without asking questions, looked confidently up at Kaw, for he knew, from past experience, that the wise old crow never suggested a thing unless he himself had thought of a way in which it could be carried out.

“Well,” said Kaw, “my plan would be this: You remember that this end of the north canyon, where it opens into the valley, is very narrow. Kil-fang will come through the canyon because it is the easiest way and the other end is wide and full of small game. We will get a number of bears to help you, and you can roll some big rocks down into the narrow place at this end, until there will be left only a space where one wolf can pass through at a time. That you can do to-morrow, so that any fresh earth that is torn up will look old and dry when the pack comes. Nothing will scare wolves or coyotes like a big noise, if they are not expecting it, so we will make a big drum.”

[125]

 

Wongo, Cho-gay and Kaw plan to scare Kil-fang

 

[126]“What is that?” asked Cho-gay.

[127]“It’s just the thing?” exclaimed Wongo, who remembered the drums used by the Indian men when old Grouch⁷ was captured.

“We’ll tell you what a drum is and how to make it,” replied Kaw. “Up the valley, a little way from here, is a nice piece of a hollow log lying beside the trail.”

“I remember it,” said Wongo.

“Can you roll it down here this afternoon?” asked Kaw.

“Yes, easily,” replied the little bear.

Then, turning to Cho-gay, Kaw continued:

“You will have to kill a young buck⁸—which you will need for meat anyway—for you must have a fresh skin and one large enough to supply a piece of hide for each end of the log. When you kill the buck and Wongo brings the log I will be there to tell you how to finish the drum.

“When Kil-fang and his pack come down the canyon, he will be in the lead. It will be moonlight, for the pack will not travel in our country by day. We will have all the bears and coyotes we can get, hidden behind the big rocks that stand just this side of the narrow passage of the canyon, and it is there you can be stationed with the drum.

“We will let one of the biggest bears stand on[128] the wall of the canyon just above the narrow passage with some big, round rocks, and after Kil-fang and three or four of the pack have passed through into the valley, the big bear can roll in enough rocks to fill the passage and separate the pack from their leader. Then we’ll all let loose the big noise and chase Mr. Kil-fang down the valley and over the mountains. A pack without a leader is easily confused and the noise we make will scare them out of their skins.”

“It all sounds as if it could be done,” said Cho-gay. “I will hunt for a buck this afternoon and if you are here to-morrow we can make this thing that makes the noise.”

“I will be here,” replied Kaw, “and as I also have much to do, if this plan is carried out, I will be going.”

With this parting remark, Kaw left his companions and flew away down the valley in search of old Rip. As he flew along he talked to himself:

“If I can get the old rascal⁹ to do what I tell him to, we’ll have more fun than a cat fight. First—I’ll find him some food and get him in a good humor. I’ll tell him that he’ll be looked upon as a hero by all, if he will join in my plan.” And he chuckled¹⁰ as he thought of it.

1 canyon   

n.峡谷，溪谷

参考例句：

• The Grand Canyon in the USA is 1900 metres deep.美国的大峡谷1900米深。
• The canyon is famous for producing echoes.这个峡谷以回声而闻名。

2 clan   

n.氏族，部落，宗族，家族，宗派

参考例句：

• She ranks as my junior in the clan.她的辈分比我小。
• The Chinese Christians,therefore,practically excommunicate themselves from their own clan.所以，中国的基督徒简直是被逐出了自己的家族了。

3 eastward   

adv.向东；adj.向东的；n.东方，东部

参考例句：

• The river here tends eastward.这条河从这里向东流。
• The crowd is heading eastward,believing that they can find gold there.人群正在向东移去，他们认为在那里可以找到黄金。

4 imprisoned   

下狱，监禁( imprison的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was imprisoned for two concurrent terms of 30 months and 18 months. 他被判处30个月和18个月的监禁，合并执行。
• They were imprisoned for possession of drugs. 他们因拥有毒品而被监禁。

5 trotted   

小跑，急走( trot的过去分词 )； 匆匆忙忙地走

参考例句：

• She trotted her pony around the field. 她骑着小马绕场慢跑。
• Anne trotted obediently beside her mother. 安妮听话地跟在妈妈身边走。

6 followers   

追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件

参考例句：

• the followers of Mahatma Gandhi 圣雄甘地的拥护者
• The reformer soon gathered a band of followers round him. 改革者很快就获得一群追随者支持他。

7 grouch   

n.牢骚，不满；v.抱怨

参考例句：

• He's always having a grouch about something.他总是发脾气抱怨这个抱怨那个。
• One of the biggest grouches is the new system of payment.人们抱怨最多的一点就是这种新的支付方式。

8 buck   

n.雄鹿，雄兔；v.马离地跳跃

参考例句：

• The boy bent curiously to the skeleton of the buck.这个男孩好奇地弯下身去看鹿的骸骨。
• The female deer attracts the buck with high-pitched sounds.雌鹿以尖声吸引雄鹿。

9 rascal   

n.流氓；不诚实的人

参考例句：

• If he had done otherwise,I should have thought him a rascal.如果他不这样做，我就认为他是个恶棍。
• The rascal was frightened into holding his tongue.这坏蛋吓得不敢往下说了。

10 chuckled   

轻声地笑( chuckle的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She chuckled at the memory. 想起这件事她就暗自发笑。
• She chuckled softly to herself as she remembered his astonished look. 想起他那惊讶的表情，她就轻轻地暗自发笑。