While they were thus engaged, Henry, who had greatly admired the ingenuity5 displayed by Saloo in the construction of his singular ladder, bethought him of ascending7 it. He was led to this exploit partly out of curiosity to try what such a climb would be like; but more from a desire to examine the odd nest so discovered—for to him, as to most boys of his age, a bird’s nest was a peculiarly attractive object. He thought that Saloo had not sufficiently8 examined the one first plundered9, and that there might be another bird or an egg behind. He was not naturalist10 enough to know—what the ex-pilot’s old Sumatran experience had long ago taught him—that the hornbill only lays one egg, and brings forth11 but a single chick. Whether or no, he was determined12 to ascend6 and satisfy himself.
He had no fear of being able to climb the tree-ladder. It did not seem any more difficult than swarming13 up the shrouds14 of a ship, and not half so hard as going round the main-top without crawling through the “lubber’s hole”—a feat15 he had often performed on his father’s vessel16. Therefore, without asking leave, or saying a word to any one, he laid hold of the bamboo pegs17 and started up the tree.
None of the others had taken any notice of him. Captain Redwood was engaged in wiping out his gun, with little Helen attending upon him, while Saloo was playing poulterer, and Murtagh, a little way off in the woods, gathering18 faggots for the fire. Henry kept on, hand over hand, and foot after foot, till he at length stood upon the topmost round of the unfinished ladder. Being almost as tall as Saloo himself, he easily got his arm into the cavity that contained the nest, and commenced groping all over it. He could find no other bird, nor yet an egg. Only the dried-up ordure of the denizens19 that had lately occupied the prison cell, along with some bits of the shell out of which the young hornbill had been but recently hatched.
After a moment or two spent in examining the curious cavity, and reflecting on the odd habit of a bird being thus plastered up and kept for weeks in close confinement—all, too, done by its own mate, who surely could not so act from any intention of cruelty—after in vain puzzling himself as to what could be the object of such a singular imprisonment20, he determined upon returning to the ground, and seeking the explanation from Saloo.
He had returned upon the topmost step, and was about letting himself down to that next below, when not only were his ears assailed21 by sharp cries, but he suddenly saw his eyes in danger of being dug out of their sockets22 by the sharp beak23 of a bird, whose huge shadowy wings were flapping before his face!
Although somewhat surprised by the onslaught, so sudden and unexpected—and at the same time no little alarmed—there was no mystery about the matter. For he could see at a glance that the bird so assailing24 him was a hornbill; and a moment’s reflection told him it was the cock.
Afar off in the forest—no doubt in search of food—catering for his housekeeper25 and their new chick, of whose birth he was most probably aware, he could not have heard her cries of distress26; else would he have rushed to the rescue, and appeared much sooner upon the scene. But at length he had arrived; and with one glance gathered in the ruin that had occurred during his absence. There was his carefully plastered wall pulled down, the interior of his domicile laid open, his darlings gone, no doubt dragged out, throttled27 and slaughtered28, by the young robber still standing29 but a step from the door.
The enraged30 parent did not pause to look downward, else he might have seen a still more heart-rending spectacle at the bottom of the tree. He did not stay for this; on the instant he went swoop32 at the head of the destroyer, with a scream that rang far over the forest, and echoed in a thousand reverberations through the branches of the trees.
Fortunately for Henry, he had on his head a thick cloth cap, with its crown cotton-padded. But for this, which served as a helmet, the beak of the bird would have been into his skull33, for at the first dab34 it struck right at his crown.
At the second onslaught, which followed quick after, Henry, being warned, was enabled to ward31 off the blow, parrying with one hand, while with the other supporting himself on his perch35. For all this the danger was not at an end; as the bird, instead of being scared away, or showing any signs of an intention to retreat, only seemed to become more infuriated by the resistance, and continued its swooping36 and screaming more vigorously and determinedly37 than ever. The boy was well aware of the peril38 that impended39; and so, too, were those below; who, of course, at the first screech40 of the hornbill, had looked up and seen what was passing above them.
They would have called upon him to come down, and he would have done so without being summoned, if there had been a chance. But there was none: for he could not descend41 a single step without using both hands on the ladder; and to do this would leave his face and head without protection. Either left unguarded for a single instant, and the beak of the bird, playing about like a pickaxe, would be struck into his skull, or buried deep in the sockets of his eyes. He knew this, and so also they who looked from below. He could do nothing but keep his place, and continue to fight off the furious assailant with his free arm—the hand getting torn at each contact, till the blood could be seen trickling42 from the tips of his fingers.
It is difficult to say how long this curious contest might have continued, or how it would have terminated, had the combatants been left to themselves. In all probability it would have ended by the boy’s having his skull cleft43 open or his eyes torn out; or, growing feeble, he would have lost his hold upon the ladder and fallen to the foot of the tree—of itself certain death.
It in reality looked as if this would be the lamentable44 result, and very quickly. Saloo had sprung to the tree, and was already ascending to the rescue. But for all that he might be too late; or even if successful in reaching the elevated point where Henry struggled against danger, he might still be unable to effect his deliverance. The alarmed father seemed to fear this, as he stood gazing, with agony depicted45 on his face—agony at the thought of seeing his dear boy exposed to such a fearful peril, and feeling himself so helpless to rescue him.
All at once a thought flashed into his mind, that at least gave him some relief through the necessity of action. His rifle, which fortunately after cleaning he had reloaded, stood resting against the trunk of the tree. He sprang toward and seized hold of it. In another second it was raised to his shoulder; its muzzle46 pointed47 almost vertically48 upward, and circling around to get bearing upon the body of the bird.
It was a dangerous shot to take, like that of Tell with the arrow and the apple. But it seemed yet more dangerous not to venture it; and with this reflection passing through his mind he watched the hornbill through several of its swoopings, and when at length in one of these it receded49 to some distance from Henry’s face, he took quick sight upon it, and pulled trigger.
A splendid shot—a broken wing—a huge bird seen fluttering through the air to the earth—then flopping50 and screaming over the ground, till its cries were stilled and its strugglings terminated by a few blows from a boat-hook held in the hands of the ship-carpenter;—all this was the spectacle of only a few seconds!
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1
morsel
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| n.一口，一点点 | |
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exhausted
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| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
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larder
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| n.食物贮藏室，食品橱 | |
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kindled
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| （使某物）燃烧，着火( kindle的过去式和过去分词 )； 激起（感情等）； 发亮，放光 | |
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ingenuity
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| n.别出心裁；善于发明创造 | |
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6
ascend
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| vi.渐渐上升，升高；vt.攀登，登上 | |
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7
ascending
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| adj.上升的，向上的 | |
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8
sufficiently
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| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
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9
plundered
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| 掠夺，抢劫( plunder的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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10
naturalist
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| n.博物学家(尤指直接观察动植物者) | |
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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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13
swarming
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| 密集( swarm的现在分词 )； 云集； 成群地移动； 蜜蜂或其他飞行昆虫成群地飞来飞去 | |
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14
shrouds
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| n.裹尸布( shroud的名词复数 )；寿衣；遮蔽物；覆盖物v.隐瞒( shroud的第三人称单数 )；保密 | |
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15
feat
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| n.功绩；武艺，技艺；adj.灵巧的，漂亮的，合适的 | |
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16
vessel
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| n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管 | |
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pegs
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| n.衣夹( peg的名词复数 )；挂钉；系帐篷的桩；弦钮v.用夹子或钉子固定( peg的第三人称单数 )；使固定在某水平 | |
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gathering
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| n.集会，聚会，聚集 | |
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denizens
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| n.居民，住户( denizen的名词复数 ) | |
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imprisonment
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| n.关押，监禁，坐牢 | |
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assailed
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| v.攻击( assail的过去式和过去分词 )；困扰；质问；毅然应对 | |
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sockets
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| n.套接字，使应用程序能够读写与收发通讯协定(protocol)与资料的程序( Socket的名词复数 )；孔( socket的名词复数 )；（电器上的）插口；托座；凹穴 | |
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23
beak
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| n.鸟嘴，茶壶嘴，钩形鼻 | |
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24
assailing
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| v.攻击( assail的现在分词 )；困扰；质问；毅然应对 | |
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25
housekeeper
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| n.管理家务的主妇，女管家 | |
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26
distress
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| n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛 | |
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27
throttled
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| v.扼杀( throttle的过去式和过去分词 )；勒死；使窒息；压制 | |
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28
slaughtered
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| v.屠杀，杀戮，屠宰( slaughter的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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29
standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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enraged
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| 使暴怒( enrage的过去式和过去分词 )； 歜； 激愤 | |
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31
ward
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| n.守卫，监护，病房，行政区，由监护人或法院保护的人（尤指儿童）；vt.守护，躲开 | |
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32
swoop
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| n.俯冲，攫取；v.抓取，突然袭击 | |
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skull
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| n.头骨；颅骨 | |
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34
dab
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| v.轻触，轻拍，轻涂；n.(颜料等的)轻涂 | |
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35
perch
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| n.栖木，高位，杆；v.栖息，就位，位于 | |
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36
swooping
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| 俯冲，猛冲( swoop的现在分词 ) | |
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37
determinedly
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| adv.决意地；坚决地，坚定地 | |
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peril
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| n.(严重的)危险；危险的事物 | |
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39
impended
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| v.进行威胁，即将发生( impend的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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40
screech
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| n./v.尖叫；(发出)刺耳的声音 | |
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41
descend
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| vt./vi.传下来，下来，下降 | |
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42
trickling
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| n.油画底色含油太多而成泡沫状突起v.滴( trickle的现在分词 )；淌；使)慢慢走；缓慢移动 | |
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43
cleft
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| n.裂缝；adj.裂开的 | |
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44
lamentable
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| adj.令人惋惜的，悔恨的 | |
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45
depicted
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| 描绘，描画( depict的过去式和过去分词 )； 描述 | |
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46
muzzle
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| n.鼻口部；口套；枪(炮)口；vt.使缄默 | |
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47
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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48
vertically
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| adv.垂直地 | |
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49
receded
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| v.逐渐远离( recede的过去式和过去分词 )；向后倾斜；自原处后退或避开别人的注视；尤指问题 | |
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50
flopping
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| n.贬调v.（指书、戏剧等）彻底失败( flop的现在分词 )；（因疲惫而）猛然坐下；（笨拙地、不由自主地或松弛地）移动或落下；砸锅 | |
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