The country was rugged1 and in the distance were always the great hills with here and there some mighty2 peak piercing the blue sky. There was a wildness in the surroundings that they had never seen before. Perhaps they felt it as much as saw it. For one thing there were no distant habitations, no friendly, little church spires3 to soften4 the landscape. The towering heights rolled away till they became misty6 in the distance, and it seemed to these hapless wayfarers7 that they might reach to the farthest ends of the earth.
But the immediate8 neighborhood of the road was not forbidding, the way led through no deep ravines nor skirted any dizzy precipices10 and it was hard for the boys to realize that they were in the Rocky Mountains. They lolled for an hour or so at noontime and talked as they might have talked along some road in their own familiar Catskills.
One thing they did notice which distinguished11 this storied region from any they had seen and that was the abundance of great birds that flew high above them. They had never seen birds so large nor flying at so great a height. They appeared and disappeared among the crags and startled the quiet day with their screeching12, which the boys could hear, spent and weak by the great distance. They supposed these birds to be eagles. Their presence suggested the wild life to be encountered in those dizzy fastnesses. The boys saw no sign of this, but their imaginations pictured those all but inaccessible13 retreats filled with grizzlies14 and other savage15 denizens16 of that mighty range. As Westy looked about him he fancied some secret cave here and there among the mountains, the remote haunt of outlaws17 and of the storied “bad men” of the West.
They hiked all day assured of their direction by the friendly sun. Now and again they passed a house, usually a primitive18 affair, and were tempted19 to verify the correctness of their route by comforting verbal information. But Westy thought of Mr. Madison C. Wilde and refrained. They were not often tempted, for houses were few and far between. Once they encountered a lanky20 stranger lolling on the step of a shabby little house. He seemed to be all hat and suspenders.
THEY HIKED ALL DAY ASSURED OF THEIR DIRECTION BY THE FRIENDLY SUN.
“Shall we ask him if this is the way?” Warde cautiously asked.
“No,” said Westy.
“I’m going to ask him,” said Ed.
“You do——” said Westy threateningly, “and——”
But before he had a chance to complete his threat, the blithesome21 Ed had carried out his fiendish purpose.
“Hey, mister, is this the way?” he said.
“Vot vay?” the stranger inquired.
“Thanks,” said Ed.
“You make me tired,” Westy said, constrained22 to laugh as they hiked along. “If that man could have spoken English——”
“All would have been lost,” said Ed, “and we would be sure of going in the right direction; we had a narrow escape. That’s because I was a good scout23; I saw that he was a foreigner; I remembered what it said in my school geography. ‘Montana has been settled largely by Germans who own extensible—extensive farms—in this something or other region. The mountains abound24 in crystal streams which are filled with trout25—that can easily be caught with safety-pins.’ It’s good there’s one scout in the party. If we had some eggs we’d fry some ham and eggs if we only had some ham; I’m getting hungry.”
“Now that you mentioned it——” said Warde.
“How many miles do you think we’ve hiked?” asked Westy.
“I don’t know how many you’ve hiked,” said Ed, “but I’ve hiked about ninety-seven. I think we’ve passed Yellowstone Park without knowing it, that’s what I think. Maybe we went right through it; the plot grows thicker. I hope we won’t walk into the Pacific Ocean.”
It was now late in the afternoon and they had hiked fifteen or eighteen miles. Once in the midafternoon they had heard, faint in the long distance, what they thought might be a locomotive whistle and this encouraged them to think that they were still within a few miles of the railroad line.
Westy would not harbor, much less express, any misgivings26 as to the reliability27 of the sun as a guide. Perhaps it would be better to say that he would not admit any inability on his part to use it. Yet as the great orb9 began to descend28 upon the mountain peaks far to the right of their route and to tinge29 those wild heights with a crimson30 glow, he began to imbibe31 something of the spirit of loneliness and isolation32 which that vast, rugged country imparted. After all, amid such a fathomless33 wilderness34 of rock and mountain it would have been good to hear some one say, “Yes, just follow this road and take the second turn to your left.”
“You mean where the sun is setting?” asked Warde. “Oh, absolutely.”
“It sets there every night,” said Ed, “including Sundays and holidays.”
“Well then,” said Westy, feeling a little silly, “we’re all right.”
“We’re not all right,” said Warde; “at least I’m not, I’m hungry.”
“Well, here’s a brook36,” said Westy. “Do you see—look over there in the west—do you see a little shiny spot away up between those two hills? Away up high, only kind of between the two hills? It’s only about half a mile or so. It’s the sun shining on this brook away up there. That shows it comes down between those two hills.”
They all paused and looked. Up among those dark hills in the west was a little glinting spot like gold. It flickered37 and glistened38.
“Maybe it’s a bonfire,” said Warde.
“You crazy dub,” said Westy.
“My social error,” said Ed.
“What do you say we go over there?” Westy said. “Do you see—notice on that hill where all the rocks are—do you see a big tree? If one of us climbed up that tree I bet we could see for miles and miles; we could see just where the road goes. It’s only about fifteen or twenty miles to the entrance of the park; maybe we could see something—some building or something. Then we could camp for the night up there and catch some fish. Wouldn’t you rather not reach Gardiner by the road? Maybe we can plan out a short-cut. Anyway, we can see what’s what. What do you say?”
“The fish part sounds good to me,” said Ed.
“How are we going to cook the fish?” Warde asked.
“I thought you threw them away,” said Westy. “Do you think we couldn’t get a fire started without matches?”
“A scout never wastes anything,” said Ed. “The scouts41 of old never wasted a thing, I learned that out of the Handbook. Again it shows what a fine scout I am. Do you suppose Mr. Madison C. Wild West lights his cigars with sparks from a rock?”
“The Indians——” began Westy.
“The Indians were glad enough to sell Massachusetts or Connecticut or Hoboken or some place or other for a lot of glass beads,” said Ed. “They would have sold the whole western hemisphere for a couple of matches. You make me weary with your Indians! I wish I had a chocolate soda42 now, that’s what I wish. The Indians invented Indian summer and what good is it? It comes after school opens, deny it if you dare. Hey, Warde? If I’d lived in colonial days I bet I could have got the whole of Cape5 Cod43 for this safety-pin of mine.”
“Well, what do you say?” laughed Westy. “Shall we go up there and camp? And that will give us a chance to get a good squint44 at the country.”
“Decided by an unanimous majority,” said Ed.
“When do we eat?” said Warde.
“Leave it to me,” said Ed slyly. And again he went through that funny performance of appearing to throw his matches away by pulling them nonchalantly from one pocket and depositing them in another. “If there are no trout up there I’ll never believe the school geography again. I may even never go to school again, I’ll be so peeved45.”
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1
rugged
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| adj.高低不平的，粗糙的，粗壮的，强健的 | |
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2
mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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3
spires
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| n.（教堂的） 塔尖，尖顶( spire的名词复数 ) | |
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4
soften
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| v.(使)变柔软；(使)变柔和 | |
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5
cape
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| n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风 | |
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6
misty
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| adj.雾蒙蒙的，有雾的 | |
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7
wayfarers
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| n.旅人，（尤指）徒步旅行者( wayfarer的名词复数 ) | |
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8
immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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9
orb
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| n.太阳；星球；v.弄圆；成球形 | |
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10
precipices
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| n.悬崖，峭壁( precipice的名词复数 ) | |
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11
distinguished
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| adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的 | |
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12
screeching
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| v.发出尖叫声( screech的现在分词 )；发出粗而刺耳的声音；高叫 | |
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13
inaccessible
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| adj.达不到的，难接近的 | |
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14
grizzlies
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| 北美洲灰熊( grizzly的名词复数 ) | |
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15
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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16
denizens
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| n.居民，住户( denizen的名词复数 ) | |
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17
outlaws
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| 歹徒，亡命之徒( outlaw的名词复数 )； 逃犯 | |
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18
primitive
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| adj.原始的；简单的；n.原(始)人，原始事物 | |
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19
tempted
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| v.怂恿（某人）干不正当的事；冒…的险（tempt的过去分词） | |
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20
lanky
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| adj.瘦长的 | |
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blithesome
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| adj.欢乐的，愉快的 | |
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22
constrained
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| adj.束缚的,节制的 | |
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scout
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| n.童子军，侦察员；v.侦察，搜索 | |
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24
abound
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| vi.大量存在；(in，with)充满，富于 | |
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trout
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| n.鳟鱼；鲑鱼(属) | |
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26
misgivings
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| n.疑虑，担忧，害怕；疑虑，担心，恐惧( misgiving的名词复数 )；疑惧 | |
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27
reliability
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| n.可靠性，确实性 | |
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28
descend
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| vt./vi.传下来，下来，下降 | |
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29
tinge
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| vt.(较淡)着色于，染色；使带有…气息；n.淡淡色彩，些微的气息 | |
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30
crimson
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| n./adj.深(绯)红色(的)；vi.脸变绯红色 | |
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31
imbibe
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| v.喝，饮；吸入，吸收 | |
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32
isolation
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| n.隔离，孤立，分解，分离 | |
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33
fathomless
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| a.深不可测的 | |
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34
wilderness
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| n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠 | |
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35
plodded
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| v.沉重缓慢地走（路）( plod的过去式和过去分词 )；努力从事；沉闷地苦干；缓慢进行（尤指艰难枯燥的工作） | |
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36
brook
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| n.小河，溪；v.忍受，容让 | |
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37
flickered
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| （通常指灯光）闪烁，摇曳( flicker的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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38
glistened
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| v.湿物闪耀，闪亮( glisten的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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39
Ford
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| n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过 | |
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40
winking
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| n.瞬眼，目语v.使眼色( wink的现在分词 )；递眼色（表示友好或高兴等）；（指光）闪烁；闪亮 | |
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41
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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42
soda
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| n.苏打水；汽水 | |
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43
cod
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| n.鳕鱼；v.愚弄；哄骗 | |
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44
squint
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| v. 使变斜视眼, 斜视, 眯眼看, 偏移, 窥视; n. 斜视, 斜孔小窗; adj. 斜视的, 斜的 | |
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45
peeved
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| adj.恼怒的，不高兴的v.（使）气恼，（使）焦躁，（使）愤怒( peeve的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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