CHAPTER XXXV. RUPERT MAKES A DISCOVERY.

 It was not easy for Rupert to form plans in his present destitute¹ condition. The money which he had lost was a minor² consideration. The boat and provisions were much more important.

 

Besides this, he still had his gun and his watch. Both these were likely to prove useful.

 

He wondered a little why Ben had not taken the watch. But his wonder diminished when he remembered that Boone had told him one day that he had never owned a watch.

 

"How, then, do you tell time?" Rupert inquired.

 

"By the sun," answered Ben.

 

Rupert had tested him more than once, and found that from long and close observation his guide could always guess within a[Pg 311] few minutes of the correct time. To Ben the watch had no value, and it didn't occur to him that he might raise money on it when he reached the settlements.

 

Rupert felt that he must lose no time in forming some plan of reaching the point from which he started. He went down to the river, faintly hoping that he might see Ben returning in the skiff, but this he owned to himself was extremely improbable.

 

Ben was ten, perhaps fifteen miles on the way back. What his object could have been in playing him such a dastardly trick, or what possible excuse he could make to Giles Packard for returning alone, Rupert could not conjecture³.

 

He took it for granted that Boone would go back to his old home at Red Gulch⁴. He did not dream of his plan of going to New York. If he had, this would have explained his sudden defection.

 

Rupert stood on the shore of the river and looked up the stream. Everything was calm and placid⁵, and lonely. At the East he would have seen houses, on the banks and passing[Pg 312] boats, but here he found himself alone with nature.

 

Without thinking especially what he was doing, he started to walk up stream, that is, along the river bank in an easterly direction.

 

"If I could only come across a boat," he soliloquized, "no matter how poor, I should think it a piece of great luck."

 

But it was too great luck for him. Still he kept on walking and looking about him, but he not only saw no boat, but no indication of any human presence.

 

He had walked quite five miles, as he judged from the passage of time, when at last he made a discovery. Moored⁶ to the bank was a dismantled⁷ raft, if such an expression is allowable. Rupert remembered now that on their trip down the river Boone had called his attention to it, saying: "It must have been left there by some party of travelers."

 

Rupert little thought how serviceable this would prove to him.

 

His eyes lighted up with joy, for he hailed the finding of the raft as a good omen⁸, and foresaw how important it would prove to him.

 

[Pg 313]

 

"But was it in a condition for use?"

 

That was the important question.

 

Rupert bent⁹ down and examined it critically. The boards were still pretty firm, though water-soaked, and seemed to be securely fastened together. The rope that fastened it to the small sapling on the bank was quite rotten, and it was a wonder that it had not parted.

 

Rupert pulled on it to see how secure it was, and it broke. This, however, was of little consequence. He selected a long stick to serve as an oar¹⁰, and getting on the raft, pushed out into the stream.

 

The stick, however, made a very poor substitute for an oar. Still he found that it was of some use.

 

But just as he was starting he discovered, almost covered with underbrush, the paddle which had probably been used by the parties who had constructed and used the raft. This worked tolerably well, and he was glad to have found it.

 

At last he was ready, and started on his journey. He found his progress slow, and[Pg 314] his task toilsome. Still he was making progress, and that was encouraging.

 

How rapid this progress he could only conjecture. It might be two miles an hour; probably it was not more than that, and he was obliged to confess with a sinking of the heart that it would take a very long time at this rate before he would get back.

 

He had tugged¹¹ away possibly three hours, when his strength began to give out. He began to feel faint and hungry, especially as his breakfast had not been very satisfying.

 

Then, for the first time, with a sinking heart, he realized that he had made a serious blunder. What few provisions were left after breakfast he had left behind him, and he was absolutely without a mouthful to eat.

 

1 destitute   

adj.缺乏的；穷困的

参考例句：

• They were destitute of necessaries of life.他们缺少生活必需品。
• They are destitute of common sense.他们缺乏常识。

2 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。

3 conjecture   

n./v.推测，猜测

参考例句：

• She felt it no use to conjecture his motives.她觉得猜想他的动机是没有用的。
• This conjecture is not supported by any real evidence.这种推测未被任何确切的证据所证实。

4 gulch   

n.深谷，峡谷

参考例句：

• The trail ducks into a narrow gulch.这条羊肠小道突然下到一个狭窄的峡谷里。
• This is a picture of California Gulch.这是加利福尼亚峡谷的图片。

5 placid   

adj.安静的，平和的

参考例句：

• He had been leading a placid life for the past eight years.八年来他一直过着平静的生活。
• You should be in a placid mood and have a heart-to- heart talk with her.你应该心平气和的好好和她谈谈心。

6 moored   

adj. 系泊的 动词moor的过去式和过去分词形式

参考例句：

• The ship is now permanently moored on the Thames in London. 该船现在永久地停泊在伦敦泰晤士河边。
• We shipped (the) oars and moored alongside the bank. 我们收起桨，把船泊在岸边。

7 dismantled   

拆开( dismantle的过去式和过去分词 )； 拆卸； 废除； 取消

参考例句：

• The plant was dismantled of all its equipment and furniture. 这家工厂的设备和家具全被拆除了。
• The Japanese empire was quickly dismantled. 日本帝国很快被打垮了。

8 omen   

n.征兆，预兆；vt.预示

参考例句：

• The superstitious regard it as a bad omen.迷信的人认为那是一种恶兆。
• Could this at last be a good omen for peace?这是否终于可以视作和平的吉兆了？

9 bent   

n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的

参考例句：

• He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
• We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。

10 oar   

n.桨，橹，划手；v.划行

参考例句：

• The sailors oar slowly across the river.水手们慢慢地划过河去。
• The blade of the oar was bitten off by a shark.浆叶被一条鲨鱼咬掉了。

11 tugged   

v.用力拉，使劲拉，猛扯( tug的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She tugged at his sleeve to get his attention. 她拽了拽他的袖子引起他的注意。
• A wry smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. 他的嘴角带一丝苦笑。 来自《简明英汉词典》