Finding there was no getting away from him, Nick, just as he reached the fallen tree, whirled around and, grasping his rifle by the barrel, swung the stock back over his shoulder and poised2 himself for the blow, which he believed must decide his own fate.
The boy made a formidable-looking picture; but it was all lost on the buck3, which did not halt nor slacken his pace.
It was a terrifying sight as he plunged4 toward the lad with lowered head and glowering5 front, for the deer was an exceptionally large and powerful one, and he meant to kill the individual that had sent the bullet into his side, and from which the red blood was already streaming.
It may be said just here, that Nick Ribsam no longer doubted the failure of the long-range shot of Herbert Watrous.
The imperiled lad drew a deep respiration7, poised himself on his advanced foot, and, swinging to one side, with a view of avoiding the full force of the charge, he brought down the stock of his gun with the utmost strength he could command.
It descended8 with great power—so far as a ten-year-old boy is concerned—but it was not sufficient to throw the buck off his base nor to interfere9 with his plan of procedure.
He struck the lad with tremendous force, sending the gun flying from his grasp and knocking Nick fully10 a dozen feet. Never in all his life had the boy received such a terrific shock, which drove the breath from his body and sent him spinning, as it seemed, through twenty yards of space.
Poor Nick believed half his bones were broken and that he was mortally hurt; but the result of the charge was most extraordinary.
As the antlers of the buck struck him he was thrown like a limp dummy11 toward the fallen tree, and, in reality, his greatest peril6 was therefrom. Had he been driven with full momentum12 against the solid trunk, he would have been killed as if smitten13 by a lightning stroke.
But his feet were entangled14 in some way and he fell headlong, his forehead within a few inches of the bark, and his head itself was driven under the trunk, which at that point was perhaps a foot above the ground.
Instinctively15 the nearly senseless lad did the only thing that could save him. He crawled under the trunk, so that it stood like a roof over him.
His head was toward the base, and he pushed along until the lessening16 space would not permit him to go further.
Thus he lay parallel with the uprooted17 tree, his feet at a point where the bark almost touched his heels, the space growing less and less toward his shoulders, until the back of his head rested against the shaggy bark and his nose touched the leaves.
He had scarcely done this when he heard a thud at his elbow: it was made by the knife-like hoofs18 of the buck, who, rearing on his hind19 legs, gathered his two front ones close together and brought them down with such force that, had they fallen on the body of the lad, as was intended, they would have cut into him like the edge of a powerfully driven ax.
As it was, the shielding tree trunk prevented it, and, grazing the bark, they were driven into the yielding earth half a foot deep.
The buck immediately reared and repeated the terrible blow several times, missing the body of the lad by what may be called a hair's breadth.
The animal was in a fury, and, believing his foe was at his mercy, he showed him none.
Nick heard the first thump20 of the sharp hoofs as they cut their way into the earth, and then his head seemed to spin, as though he had been whirled around with inconceivable velocity21; innumerable stars danced before his eyes, he felt as if shooting through space, and then consciousness left him.
The buck could know nothing of this, and, had he known it, his actions would not have been affected22. He continued his rearing and plunging23 until he saw he was inflicting24 no injury. Then he stopped, backed off several paces, and, lowering his head, tried to dislodge the lad from his place of refuge.
But the breadth of his antlers prevented success, which would have placed Nick just where he could finish him. The oak barred his progress, stopping the head and horns when they were almost against the body.
Then the buck reared and struck again, trying all manner of maneuvers25 which his instinct suggested, but providentially none of them succeeded.
All this time Nick Ribsam, who had been so badly bruised26, was oblivious27 of the efforts against his life. Had he possessed28 his faculties29, he could not have done anything more for his protection than he did, by lying motionless, extended along and below the trunk of the oak.
But the lusty, rugged30 nature of the lad soon asserted itself, and he began rallying from the shock. A reaction gradually set in, and slowly his senses returned.
It was a considerable time, however, before he realized where he was and what had befallen him. His head was still ringing, as though the clangor of a hundred anvils31 were sounding in his ears, and, when he drew a deep breath, a pain, as if made by a knife, was in his side.
He listened, but heard nothing of his enemy. Then, with a great labor32 and more suffering, he pushed himself a few inches backward, so as to give some freedom to his body and to enable him to move his head.
Turning his face, he peered out on his right: the buck was not visible in that direction.
Then he did the same toward the left: his enemy was invisible on that side also.
"He is gone," said the lad to himself, still afraid to venture from the shielding trunk that had been the means of saving him from the fury of the enraged33 deer.
Nick believed he was close at hand, waiting for him to make a move that would give another chance to assault him.
After several more minutes, the lad hitched34 farther backward, so that he was able to raise his head a few inches. This extended his field of observation, and, with a feeling of inexpressible relief, he still failed to catch sight of the game.
"I guess he got discouraged and left," said Nick, startled at the evidences of the buck's wrath35 so near him.
Finally the lad backed clear out from under the tree, and climbed to his feet; it was climbing in every sense, for he nearly cried with pain several times, and, still fearful that he had been seriously injured, he examined himself as best he could.
A few minutes convinced him that none of his bones was broken, although he afterward36 declared that he suspected his head had been fractured.
He now looked about for his gun and found it within a short distance, much scratched by the hard treatment it had received, but without any real injury.
Throwing the weapon over his shoulder, he started in the direction of the appointed rendezvous37, and, as he did so, observed that it was already grown dark in the woods. Night had come, and he had quite a long distance to walk.
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1
foe
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| n.敌人，仇敌 | |
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poised
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| a.摆好姿势不动的 | |
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buck
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| n.雄鹿，雄兔；v.马离地跳跃 | |
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plunged
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| v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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glowering
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| v.怒视( glower的现在分词 ) | |
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peril
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| n.(严重的)危险；危险的事物 | |
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respiration
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| n.呼吸作用；一次呼吸；植物光合作用 | |
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descended
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| a.为...后裔的，出身于...的 | |
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interfere
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| v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰 | |
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fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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dummy
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| n.假的东西；(哄婴儿的)橡皮奶头 | |
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momentum
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| n.动力，冲力，势头；动量 | |
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smitten
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| 猛打，重击，打击( smite的过去分词 ) | |
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entangled
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| adj.卷入的；陷入的；被缠住的；缠在一起的v.使某人（某物/自己）缠绕，纠缠于（某物中），使某人（自己）陷入（困难或复杂的环境中）( entangle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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instinctively
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| adv.本能地 | |
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lessening
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| 减轻，减少，变小 | |
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uprooted
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| v.把（某物）连根拔起( uproot的过去式和过去分词 )；根除；赶走；把…赶出家园 | |
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18
hoofs
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| n.（兽的）蹄，马蹄( hoof的名词复数 )v.（兽的）蹄，马蹄( hoof的第三人称单数 ) | |
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hind
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| adj.后面的，后部的 | |
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thump
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| v.重击，砰然地响；n.重击，重击声 | |
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velocity
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| n.速度，速率 | |
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affected
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| adj.不自然的，假装的 | |
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plunging
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| adj.跳进的，突进的v.颠簸( plunge的现在分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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inflicting
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| 把…强加给，使承受，遭受( inflict的现在分词 ) | |
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maneuvers
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| n.策略，谋略，花招( maneuver的名词复数 ) | |
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26
bruised
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| [医]青肿的，瘀紫的 | |
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oblivious
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| adj.易忘的，遗忘的，忘却的，健忘的 | |
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possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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faculties
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| n.能力( faculty的名词复数 )；全体教职员；技巧；院 | |
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rugged
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| adj.高低不平的，粗糙的，粗壮的，强健的 | |
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anvils
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| n.（铁）砧( anvil的名词复数 )；砧骨 | |
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labor
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| n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦 | |
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33
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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34
hitched
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| （免费）搭乘他人之车( hitch的过去式和过去分词 )； 搭便车； 攀上； 跃上 | |
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35
wrath
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| n.愤怒，愤慨，暴怒 | |
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afterward
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| adv.后来；以后 | |
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37
rendezvous
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| n.约会，约会地点，汇合点；vi.汇合，集合；vt.使汇合，使在汇合地点相遇 | |
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