CHAPTER XXVII. THE LOST HORSE.

 Day followed day, and every sunset found the party from eighteen to twenty miles nearer[218] the land of gold. They had not yet been molested¹ by Indians, though on more than one occasion they had encountered the remains² of those whom the savages³ had ruthlessly slaughtered⁴. When they witnessed such a spectacle they were moved less by fear than indignation.

 

"I didn't think I should ever thirst for a fellow creature's blood," said John Miles; "but if I could meet the savages that did this bloody⁵ work, I would shoot them down like dogs, and sleep all the more soundly for it. How is it with you, friend Ferguson?"

 

"I am inclined to agree with you," said the Scotchman. "When an Indian makes himself a beast of prey⁶ he should be treated accordingly."

 

"Are there any Indians in California?" asked Peabody nervously⁷.

 

"I don't think we shall have any trouble with them there, Mr. Peabody," said Ferguson.

 

"Then I wish I was there now. It must be terrible to be scalped;" and the young man from Boston shuddered⁸.

 

"I don't think it would be an agreeable surgical⁹ operation," said Fletcher, who had just[219] come up. "Let us hope that we shall not be called upon to undergo it."

 

The next morning, when breakfast was over, and the party was preparing to start, an unpleasant discovery was made. One of the most valuable horses was missing. He must have slipped his tether during the night, and strayed away; as they were situated¹⁰, the loss of such an animal would be felt.

 

"He can't be far away," said Fletcher. "Some of us must go after him."

 

"Let Peabody mount the mustang, and undertake to find him," suggested John Miles, winking¹¹ at the captain.

 

"Mr. Peabody," said Captain Fletcher gravely, "will you undertake to recover the horse? We shall all feel under great obligations to you."

 

"I—I hope you will excuse me, Captain Fletcher," stammered¹² Peabody, in great alarm. "I know I couldn't find the horse. I shouldn't know where to look."

 

"This is where he got away. You can see his trail in the grass," said Scott, a young man from Indiana. "All you will have to do will be to follow the trail, Mr. Peabody."[220]

 

"I'm very near-sighted," pleaded Peabody. "I should lose my way, and never come back."

 

"Carrying the mustang with you? That would be a loss indeed," said John Miles pointedly¹³. "On the whole, Captain Fletcher, we had better excuse Mr. Peabody."

 

"Mr. Peabody is excused," said the leader.

 

"Thank you," said Peabody, looking relieved. "I would go, I am sure, if I could do any good; but I know I couldn't."

 

"Who will volunteer?" asked Fletcher.

 

"Let me go," said Tom eagerly.

 

"You are not afraid of losing your way, Tom?" said Miles.

 

"No; or if I do, I will find it again."

 

"That boy is more of a man now than Peabody will ever be," said Miles, in a low voice to Ferguson.

 

"That he is," said the Scotchman, who was a firm friend of our young hero. "There is the making of a noble man in him."

 

"I believe you."

 

"I have no objection to your going, Tom," said Fletcher; "but it is better that you should have company. Who will go with the boy?"[221]

 

"I," said several, among them John Miles and Henry Scott.

 

"You may go, Scott," said the leader. "I have work for Miles at camp. The sooner you get started the better."

 

"All right, captain. Come along, Tom."

 

The two were in the saddle before two minutes had passed, and, guided by the trail, struck out upon the prairie.

 

Scott was a tall, broad-shouldered young farmer, not over twenty-five, strong and athletic¹⁴, and reported, the best runner, wrestler¹⁵, and vaulter¹⁶ in the party. Tom was very well pleased to have his company.

1 molested   

v.骚扰( molest的过去式和过去分词 )；干扰；调戏；猥亵

参考例句：

• The bigger children in the neighborhood molested the younger ones. 邻居家的大孩子欺负小孩子。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He molested children and was sent to jail. 他猥亵儿童，进了监狱。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

3 savages   

未开化的人，野蛮人( savage的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There're some savages living in the forest. 森林里居住着一些野人。
• That's an island inhabited by savages. 那是一个野蛮人居住的岛屿。

4 slaughtered   

v.屠杀，杀戮，屠宰( slaughter的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The invading army slaughtered a lot of people. 侵略军杀了许多人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Hundreds of innocent civilians were cruelly slaughtered. 数百名无辜平民遭残杀。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 bloody   

adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染

参考例句：

• He got a bloody nose in the fight.他在打斗中被打得鼻子流血。
• He is a bloody fool.他是一个十足的笨蛋。

6 prey   

n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨

参考例句：

• Stronger animals prey on weaker ones.弱肉强食。
• The lion was hunting for its prey.狮子在寻找猎物。

7 nervously   

adv.神情激动地，不安地

参考例句：

• He bit his lip nervously,trying not to cry.他紧张地咬着唇，努力忍着不哭出来。
• He paced nervously up and down on the platform.他在站台上情绪不安地走来走去。

8 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：

• He slammed on the brakes and the car shuddered to a halt. 他猛踩刹车，车颤抖着停住了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I shuddered at the sight of the dead body. 我一看见那尸体就战栗。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 surgical   

adj.外科的，外科医生的，手术上的

参考例句：

• He performs the surgical operations at the Red Cross Hospital.他在红十字会医院做外科手术。
• All surgical instruments must be sterilised before use.所有的外科手术器械在使用之前，必须消毒。

10 situated   

adj.坐落在...的，处于某种境地的

参考例句：

• The village is situated at the margin of a forest.村子位于森林的边缘。
• She is awkwardly situated.她的处境困难。

11 winking   

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

参考例句：

• Anyone can do it; it's as easy as winking. 这谁都办得到，简直易如反掌。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The stars were winking in the clear sky. 星星在明亮的天空中闪烁。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 stammered   

v.结巴地说出( stammer的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He stammered most when he was nervous. 他一紧张往往口吃。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Barsad leaned back in his chair, and stammered, \"What do you mean?\" 巴萨往椅背上一靠，结结巴巴地说，“你是什么意思？” 来自英汉文学 - 双城记

13 pointedly   

adv.尖地，明显地

参考例句：

• She yawned and looked pointedly at her watch. 她打了个哈欠，又刻意地看了看手表。
• The demand for an apology was pointedly refused. 让对方道歉的要求遭到了断然拒绝。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 athletic   

adj.擅长运动的，强健的；活跃的，体格健壮的

参考例句：

• This area has been marked off for athletic practice.这块地方被划出来供体育训练之用。
• He is an athletic star.他是一个运动明星。

15 wrestler   

n.摔角选手，扭

参考例句：

• The wrestler tripped up his opponent.那个摔跤运动员把对手绊倒在地。
• The stronger wrestler won the first throw.较壮的那个摔跤手第一跤就赢了。

16 vaulter   

n.撑竿跳运动员

参考例句：

• The pole vaulter bettered the world's record by five inches. 这名撑杆跳高运动员以5英寸之多超过了世界纪录。
• And the almost unbeatable pole-vaulter Yelena Isinbayeva added one more gold to Russia's tally. 几乎不可战胜的撑杆跳高名将伊辛巴耶娃又给俄罗斯军团增添一金。