CHAPTER XXIX NERO

 There was no time or inclination¹ on his part to speculate upon such an extraordinary appearance. He felt that his life was in peril², and he must consider at once whether there was any chance of his saving it.

 

He was armed with a rifle, which thus far he had had no occasion to use. He was not unskilled in the use of firearms, and luckily the rifle was loaded. To use it seemed to be his one chance of safety.

 

When his horse espied³ the lion he seemed almost paralyzed with terror. If the lion had no other claim to be called king of beasts, the terror which he inspires in all other animals might be taken for a strong evidence of his royal supremacy⁴. The horse stood stock still, and it seemed to Gerald that he would remain so till the lion came up. This being the case, he thought it best to slip off the horse's back and jump to the ground. It was this act of his, perhaps, that startled the horse into life and motion. At any rate he set out on a wild run, attaining⁵ a pace probably unprecedented⁶ in his history. The animal could not have rendered his rider a better service. Hitherto the lion's attention had been divided between the horse and the boy. Now that he saw the horse in rapid flight, the hunting instinct came to him. More than one have testified that when they saw a person or animal running they were seized with an impulse to follow. This was the case with the lion. Apparently⁷ he did not notice Gerald, but, swerving⁸ from his course, set out in pursuit of the horse.

 

When Gerald noted⁹ the fortunate turn that matters had taken, he breathed a sigh of deep-felt relief. But his relief was only temporary. It might not be long before the lion would overtake and kill the horse. Then, inflamed¹⁰ by the sight of blood, he would probably turn back and pursue the rider.

 

What could Gerald do?

 

 

HIS HORSE STOPPED ON SEEING THE LION

 

He turned his eyes toward the distant town. Probably it was only three miles away, but it might almost as well have been three hundred. Yet to reach it was his only hope of safety.

 

He turned and ran toward the town as fast as his legs could carry him. He soon became scant¹¹ of breath. The high elevation¹² helped to make him so. Probably the excitement, too, had its effect.

 

He had no means of knowing whether the lion had caught up with his intended victim. Gerald fervently¹³ hoped not. The longer the horse could hold out, the more time he had to get away. He hardly dared to look, for he felt that even this might take time and so delay him.

 

He did look up, however, and, to his infinite relief, he discovered that a horseman was speeding toward him from the town.

 

He stood still and waited.

 

The man stopped his horse when he saw Gerald, and asked: "Boy, have you seen a lion hereabouts?"

 

The speaker had long hair, and wore a large sombrero, after the fashion of Buffalo¹⁴ Bill.

 

"Yes," answered Gerald, as soon as he could get his breath. "I am running away from him."

 

"But where is he?"

 

"In pursuit of my horse."

 

"But why are you not on your horse? Did he throw you?"

 

"No; I slipped off his back, and he started off in wild terror, the lion in pursuit."

 

"That probably saved your life."

 

"But how does a lion happen to be in this territory?" asked Gerald, in curiosity. "I never heard that lions were to be found in Montana."

 

"Nor are they. This lion belongs to a circus. He escaped only half an hour ago, and I am in pursuit of him."

 

"Are you connected with the circus?"

 

"Yes. My brother and I own it. We want to recover the lion, for he cost us a large sum of money."

 

"But suppose you meet him—won't you be in danger?"

 

"No. Any one else would; but I am his keeper, and he is afraid of me."

 

Gerald looked at him in curiosity. He could not understand how any one could gain such power over a lion.

 

"In what direction did the lion go?"

 

Gerald pointed¹⁵ eastward¹⁶.

 

"I suppose, then, there is nothing to do but wait till he comes back."

 

"I would rather not wait. You may have power over the lion, but I have not."

 

"Then you can push on to the village; I will wait here."

 

"How far is it?"

 

"Rather more than a mile."

 

"But if the lion should overtake me, I should be in a bad case."

 

"I'll tell you what you may do. You may take my horse, and I will stay here. Go to the hotel and say that I sent you."

 

"What name shall I use?"

 

"King. I am Paul King, and I belong to King Brothers' Circus."

 

"I don't like to deprive you of your horse."

 

"It is of no consequence. If Nero comes back I can meet him just as well alone."

 

"Do you think he will come back?"

 

"Aye. Look!" he added, with excitement, "there he is!"

1 inclination   

n.倾斜；点头；弯腰；斜坡；倾度；倾向；爱好

参考例句：

• She greeted us with a slight inclination of the head.她微微点头向我们致意。
• I did not feel the slightest inclination to hurry.我没有丝毫着急的意思。

2 peril   

n.(严重的)危险；危险的事物

参考例句：

• The refugees were in peril of death from hunger.难民有饿死的危险。
• The embankment is in great peril.河堤岌岌可危。

3 espied   

v.看到( espy的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• One day a youth espied her as he was hunting.She saw him and recognized him as her own son, mow grown a young man. 一日，她被一个正在行猎的小伙子看见了，她认出来这个猎手原来是自己的儿子，现在已长成为一个翩翩的少年。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• In a little while he espied the two giants. 一会儿就看见了那两个巨人。 来自辞典例句

4 supremacy   

n.至上；至高权力

参考例句：

• No one could challenge her supremacy in gymnastics.她是最优秀的体操运动员，无人能胜过她。
• Theoretically,she holds supremacy as the head of the state.从理论上说，她作为国家的最高元首拥有至高无上的权力。

5 attaining   

（通常经过努力）实现( attain的现在分词 )； 达到； 获得； 达到（某年龄、水平、状况）

参考例句：

• Jim is halfway to attaining his pilot's licence. 吉姆就快要拿到飞行员执照了。
• By that time she was attaining to fifty. 那时她已快到五十岁了。

6 unprecedented   

adj.无前例的，新奇的

参考例句：

• The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
• A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。

7 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

8 swerving   

v.（使）改变方向，改变目的( swerve的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• It may stand as an example of the fitful swerving of his passion. 这是一个例子，说明他的情绪往往变化不定，忽冷忽热。 来自辞典例句
• Mrs Merkel would be foolish to placate her base by swerving right. 默克尔夫人如果为了安抚她的根基所在而转到右翼就太愚蠢了。 来自互联网

9 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

10 inflamed   

adj.发炎的，红肿的v.（使）变红，发怒，过热( inflame的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• His comments have inflamed teachers all over the country. 他的评论激怒了全国教师。
• Her joints are severely inflamed. 她的关节严重发炎。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 scant   

adj.不充分的，不足的；v.减缩，限制，忽略

参考例句：

• Don't scant the butter when you make a cake.做糕饼时不要吝惜奶油。
• Many mothers pay scant attention to their own needs when their children are small.孩子们小的时候，许多母亲都忽视自己的需求。

12 elevation   

n.高度；海拔；高地；上升；提高

参考例句：

• The house is at an elevation of 2,000 metres.那幢房子位于海拔两千米的高处。
• His elevation to the position of General Manager was announced yesterday.昨天宣布他晋升总经理职位。

13 fervently   

adv.热烈地，热情地，强烈地

参考例句：

• "Oh, I am glad!'she said fervently. “哦，我真高兴！”她热烈地说道。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• O my dear, my dear, will you bless me as fervently to-morrow?' 啊，我亲爱的，亲爱的，你明天也愿这样热烈地为我祝福么？” 来自英汉文学 - 双城记

14 buffalo   

n.(北美)野牛；(亚洲)水牛

参考例句：

• Asian buffalo isn't as wild as that of America's. 亚洲水牛比美洲水牛温顺些。
• The boots are made of buffalo hide. 这双靴子是由水牛皮制成的。

15 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

16 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。