Back across the pleasant valley he hurried, his fire brand and stone hammer held in readiness, and his sharp eyes and keen ears alert to catch the first sign of trouble. On he pushed as swiftly as his short legs would carry him, and that was with incredible swiftness, all things considered.[127] On his way he passed several groups of tree people in the tops of palm trees, and they, too, seemed to be strangely agitated5, seeming to become more disturbed than ever as he passed with his fire brand.
Og tested the air with his nose. Something made him pause and sniff6 again and again, while his restless eyes roved the woods and the meadow, and even the skyline beyond. There was a strange tenseness about everything, and he saw a low-hung cloud beyond the tops of the palm trees that seemed all too near and very menacing. Yet even then he could not understand what was happening.
On he hurried, and presently he was picking his way among the boulders7 in the canyon toward the sheltering rocks that he called home. Everything appeared as he had left it. His precious tiger skin, and other trophies8 were still rolled in the corner among the rocks, his pile of sticks was there, too, and so were his extra stone hammers and his flint knives. What, then, could be wrong?
He looked about him. Then he gave a grunt9 of surprise and crossed over to his stone fireplace. Scar Face had been there. Scar Face had been there and stolen some fire from the embers in his[128] fireplace. Og stooped and picked up a stone hammer that lay close to the fire and by this token he knew all that had transpired10 in his absence. It was the hammer that he had given the leader of the tree people. Scar Face, as his kind were wont11 to do, had dropped it and left it there, forgetting it in his excitement at having a fire brand of his own.
Og picked up the hammer and scrutinized12 it carefully, then with it still in his hand, he turned and looked out across the valley, across the tops of the trees, to where the low-hung cloud appeared. It was much larger now and much nearer and Og could see that it was not as other clouds in the sky, for it ballooned upward and outward in great black billows and here and there it was shot with tongues of flame. Og was chilled with fear, for he knew that Scar Face had stolen the fire and carried it off to the bush, and not knowing its potentialities, had attempted to build himself a camp fire in the woods. And, in doing it, he had set the world on fire—loosed the wrathful Fire Demon13. Og could see it all, and he trembled as he thought of the result, for his mind leapt back to the volcano and the earthquake when the[129] wrathful Fire Demon had set the world aflame once before.
The hairy boy was thoroughly14 frightened. So, too, were the wolf cubs now, for they raised their sharp muzzles15 to the wind and sniffed16 apprehensively17, and whimpering drew closer to their master.
It was a terrible forest fire that Scar Face had started. A mass of dirty yellow smoke was rolling skyward and drifting across the heavens. Soon it began to obscure the sun. Og could see the great orb19 through the smoke and it looked sinister20 and menacing; like a great ball of fire itself. The air became heavy and pungent21 with the odor of burning vegetation. A great silence seemed to fall over everything, even the birds were still. Yet a part of this silence it seemed was an undertone that struck dread22 even to the stout23 heart of the hairy boy. It was the sinister moan of the fire, far off it seemed and dreadful, but as it drew nearer this moan would become a roar as the flames leapt from tree to tree and tore through the underbrush devouring24 everything in their path.
Og began to wonder about his own safety and the safety of the wolf cubs. He realized that the[130] lack of vegetation there in the canyon would prevent the flames from reaching him. But he realized, too, that there was sufficient fuel on the mountainsides above him, and in the pleasant valley, to bring the flames uncomfortably close, and blow billowing smoke clouds into the canyon, that would choke them to death. What was he to do?
Presently he realized that he was not the only one who was worried. A group of tree people appeared at the mouth of the canyon, all of them whimpering in terror. They paused there at the entrance and looked in at Og as if beseeching25 him to help them to safety. Others appeared. They came at first in family groups of threes and fours, and they gathered among the bowlders at the entrance of the canyon, where they crouched26 shivering with fear, and alternately watched the ever-increasing smoke cloud and the actions of the hairy boy. Still they came. In larger groups now; sometimes a dozen or a score at a time. Soon the entire entrance of the canyon was blocked with the mass of them, but still they came. Hundreds of them there were. Og marveled at their great number.
The fire was increasing to terrific proportions and drawing steadily27 nearer. The undertone that[131] had at first sounded like a far-off moaning became a steady roar, punctuated28 now and then by a great snapping and cracking, or a crash as some mighty29 tree, its trunk burned through, crashed to the ground. The tongues of flame that shot upward and split the rolling smoke bank like flashes of lightning were fiercer now, and the air was hot and heavy and pungent with the smoke. There was a constant rain of fine cinders30 and charred31 bits of sticks, some of them still hot and carrying live sparks of fire. When these fell among the mass of tree people squalls of terror arose and there was a wild scrambling32 and milling about in their mad effort to get out of the way of the dropping ashes.
Soon they began to crowd in through the mouth of the canyon, packing themselves into the declivity33 like a huge flock of sheep. Og watched them and wondered what would happen to them when the leaping fire roared across the pleasant valley and up the mountain’s sides overhead. Indeed, he wondered with great fear what was going to happen to him, too, when that situation developed.
The smoke was growing dreadfully thick even down there close to the ground. It was a black pall34 across the heavens by this time shutting out[132] the sun completely and a draught35 was drawing thick billows of it into the canyon. The tree people began coughing and spitting and rubbing their eyes. Some of them were quick to discover that the air was clearer and fresher close to the ground and many of them threw themselves prone36 among the stones and lay that way breathing in the meager37 quantity of smoke-free air that lingered in crevices38 between the rocks.
A terrific wind was roaring through the canyon. It was a torrid wind, hot and scorching39, for it was created by the fire itself, a terrific draught that whirled aloft great chunks40 of charred and still smoking wood and dropped them among the terror-stricken tree dwellers41. Screams of pain and anguish42 were added to the noise of the fire and Og shuddered43 as he saw some among them clutch at back or side and shriek44 with pain.
But the hairy boy was just as uncomfortable as the tree people and in almost as much of a panic. It was all too evident to him now that he could not live long in the canyon. The thick acrid45 smoke was in his lungs and he was coughing and spitting with the rest of them. His eyes burned like balls of fire themselves, for the smoke had scorched46 them until they were raw and painful.[133] He was busy, too, dodging47 the rain of charred wood and hot cinders and more than one singed48 his hair and bit deep into his flesh. It was a terrible situation and the hairy boy was put to it to find a way out of the difficulty.
He had clung to his refuge under the shelter of the bowlders where he had made his home for days past, but he was fast realizing now that this was a far from satisfactory place to hide in the face of this terrible threatening peril49. But where was he to go? In desperation he peered through the smoke for some better rocky refuge; some more protected corner of the canyon. And suddenly he found it. Through a rift18 in the swirling50 smoke bank he beheld51 the black opening of the sabre-toothed tiger’s cave. It was an awesome52 place to think of venturing into, but better by far than any refuge the canyon afforded.
Eagerly Og gathered up his tiger skin, his best knife and hammer, and his still burning fire brand. Then, calling to the cowering53 wolf cubs, he started to bolt through the smoke. But suddenly he paused. He thought of the tree people. He knew they would never think of the cave as a refuge nor have the courage to venture into it if they did think of it, and they would all perish there[134] in the canyon. He would show them. He would lead the way.
He raised his voice in a great glad shout which some of the ape men heard even above the roar of the fire. They looked at him in astonishment54, and when they saw him beckoning55 and calling them to follow, one by one they broke away from the huddling56, cringing57 mass and trailed him through the swirling smoke cloud. And presently Og was leading the whole tribe in the direction that safety lay.
It was a bold and daring thing that he was doing, and when Og reached the yawning entrance of the great cave he stood before it irresolutely58, with the ape men cowering behind him and peering into the sinister blackness of the interior. Not so the wolf cubs, however. Once they saw the cave they dashed inside. Og noticed that they never hesitated, nor did they utter a single growl59 of warning. Indeed, it was with a relieved whimper that they sought this refuge and Og took heart and stepped inside, but he slung60 his tiger skin back over his shoulders and clutched his hammer and fire brand ready for action as he went deeper into the great cave.
Only a few moments longer did the tree people[135] hesitate, then with much squealing61 and pushing and shoving the whole tribe crowded inside and began to follow the hairy boy whose fire brand torch dispelled62 some of the blackness and showed them the way through narrow passages that led deeper into the bowels63 of the mountain where the air was free from smoke and cool and damp and delightful64 to their singed and badly burned bodies.
点击
收听单词发音
收听单词发音 |
1
cubs
|
|
| n.幼小的兽，不懂规矩的年轻人( cub的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
impending
|
|
| a.imminent, about to come or happen | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
catastrophe
|
|
| n.大灾难，大祸 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
canyon
|
|
| n.峡谷，溪谷 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
agitated
|
|
| adj.被鼓动的，不安的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
sniff
|
|
| vi.嗅…味道；抽鼻涕；对嗤之以鼻，蔑视 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
boulders
|
|
| n.卵石( boulder的名词复数 )；巨砾；（受水或天气侵蚀而成的）巨石；漂砾 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
trophies
|
|
| 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 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
grunt
|
|
| v.嘟哝；作呼噜声；n.呼噜声，嘟哝 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
transpired
|
|
| （事实，秘密等）被人知道( transpire的过去式和过去分词 )； 泄露； 显露； 发生 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
wont
|
|
| adj.习惯于；v.习惯；n.习惯 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
scrutinized
|
|
| v.仔细检查，详审( scrutinize的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
demon
|
|
| n.魔鬼，恶魔 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
thoroughly
|
|
| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
muzzles
|
|
| 枪口( muzzle的名词复数 )； （防止动物咬人的）口套； （四足动物的）鼻口部； （狗）等凸出的鼻子和口 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
sniffed
|
|
| v.以鼻吸气，嗅，闻( sniff的过去式和过去分词 )；抽鼻子（尤指哭泣、患感冒等时出声地用鼻子吸气）；抱怨，不以为然地说 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
apprehensively
|
|
| adv.担心地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
rift
|
|
| n.裂口，隙缝，切口；v.裂开，割开，渗入 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
orb
|
|
| n.太阳；星球；v.弄圆；成球形 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
sinister
|
|
| adj.不吉利的，凶恶的，左边的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
pungent
|
|
| adj.（气味、味道）刺激性的，辛辣的；尖锐的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
dread
|
|
| vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
devouring
|
|
| 吞没( devour的现在分词 )； 耗尽； 津津有味地看； 狼吞虎咽地吃光 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
beseeching
|
|
| adj.恳求似的v.恳求，乞求（某事物）( beseech的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
crouched
|
|
| v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
27
steadily
|
|
| adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
28
punctuated
|
|
| v.（在文字中）加标点符号，加标点( punctuate的过去式和过去分词 )；不时打断某事物 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
29
mighty
|
|
| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
30
cinders
|
|
| n.煤渣( cinder的名词复数 )；炭渣；煤渣路；煤渣跑道 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
31
charred
|
|
| v.把…烧成炭( char的过去式)；烧焦 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
32
scrambling
|
|
| v.快速爬行( scramble的现在分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
33
declivity
|
|
| n.下坡，倾斜面 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
34
pall
|
|
| v.覆盖，使平淡无味；n.柩衣，棺罩；棺材；帷幕 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
35
draught
|
|
| n.拉，牵引，拖；一网（饮，吸，阵)；顿服药量，通风；v.起草，设计 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
36
prone
|
|
| adj.(to)易于…的，很可能…的；俯卧的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
37
meager
|
|
| adj.缺乏的，不足的，瘦的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
38
crevices
|
|
| n.（尤指岩石的）裂缝，缺口( crevice的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
39
scorching
|
|
| adj. 灼热的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
40
chunks
|
|
| 厚厚的一块( chunk的名词复数 )； （某物）相当大的数量或部分 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
41
dwellers
|
|
| n.居民，居住者( dweller的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
42
anguish
|
|
| n.(尤指心灵上的)极度痛苦，烦恼 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
43
shuddered
|
|
| v.战栗( shudder的过去式和过去分词 )；发抖；（机器、车辆等）突然震动；颤动 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
44
shriek
|
|
| v./n.尖叫，叫喊 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
45
acrid
|
|
| adj.辛辣的，尖刻的，刻薄的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
46
scorched
|
|
| 烧焦，烤焦( scorch的过去式和过去分词 )； 使（植物）枯萎，把…晒枯； 高速行驶； 枯焦 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
47
dodging
|
|
| n.避开，闪过，音调改变v.闪躲( dodge的现在分词 )；回避 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
48
singed
|
|
| v.浅表烧焦( singe的过去式和过去分词 )；（毛发）燎，烧焦尖端[边儿] | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
49
peril
|
|
| n.(严重的)危险；危险的事物 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
50
swirling
|
|
| v.旋转，打旋( swirl的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
51
beheld
|
|
| v.看，注视( behold的过去式和过去分词 )；瞧；看呀；（叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现）哎哟 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
52
awesome
|
|
| adj.令人惊叹的，难得吓人的，很好的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
53
cowering
|
|
| v.畏缩，抖缩( cower的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
54
astonishment
|
|
| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
55
beckoning
|
|
| adj.引诱人的，令人心动的v.（用头或手的动作）示意，召唤( beckon的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
56
huddling
|
|
| n. 杂乱一团, 混乱, 拥挤 v. 推挤, 乱堆, 草率了事 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
57
cringing
|
|
| adj.谄媚，奉承 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
58
irresolutely
|
|
| adv.优柔寡断地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
59
growl
|
|
| v.（狗等）嗥叫，（炮等）轰鸣；n.嗥叫，轰鸣 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
60
slung
|
|
| 抛( sling的过去式和过去分词 )； 吊挂； 遣送； 押往 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
61
squealing
|
|
| v.长声尖叫，用长而尖锐的声音说( squeal的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
62
dispelled
|
|
| v.驱散，赶跑( dispel的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
63
bowels
|
|
| n.肠，内脏，内部；肠( bowel的名词复数 )；内部，最深处 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
64
delightful
|
|
| adj.令人高兴的，使人快乐的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |