“It might have been worse,” he reflected, as he listened to the dismal4 howling, “for if they had happened to come down upon me when I was walking along the ravine, I could n't have gotten into any place like this in time to save me. Wolves don't know how to climb trees, and so long as I stay here I'm all right; but I can't stay here forever.”
By-and-by there was a sharp pattering upon the ground, and then the hoarse5 howling changed to quick, dog-like yelps7, such as these animals emit when leaping down upon their prey8, and which may be supposed to mean exultation9.
Fred came down sufficiently10 far from his perch11 to get a glimpse of the ground beneath. He saw nearly a score of huge mountain wolves, bounding hither and thither12, and over each other, and back and forth13, as though going through some preliminary exercise, so as to prepare themselves for the feast that was soon to be theirs.
“If I was down there,” thought the boy, with a shudder14, “I suppose I'd last them about two minutes, and then they'd be hungrier than ever. They'll stay there all night, but I wonder if they'll go away in the morning. If they don't, I can't tell what's to become of me.”
He watched them awhile with a lingering fear that some of them might manage to get among the branches, but they did not make the attempt. They had sufficient dexterity16 to leap from the ground up among the lowermost limbs, but had no power of retaining their position, or doing anything after they got there.
Nature had unfitted them for such work, and they did not try it. They seemed to possess tireless activity, and they kept up their leaping and frolicing as though they had nothing else in the world to do.
After watching them until he was tired, Fred carefully climbed up among the branches again, where he secured himself as firmly as was possible. He had lain his rifle across a couple of limbs above his head, and fixed17 upon a place within a dozen feet or so of the top, as the one offering the best support.
Here two or three limbs were gnarled and twisted in such a way that he could seat himself and arrange his body in such a way that he could have enjoyed a night's slumber with as much refreshment18 as if stretched out upon a blanket on the ground. But the serenade below was not calculated to soothe19 his nerves into soft, downy sleep, and he shuddered20 at the thought of sitting where he was for four or five hours, with the pattering feet below him, varied21 by a yelp6 or howl, when he should feel disposed to close his eyes.
“But, then, it can't be helped,” he added to himself, endeavoring to look philosophically22 at the matter. “I ought to be thankful that they didn't catch me before I reached the tree, and so I am; and I would be very thankful, too, if they would go away and leave me alone. I've got a bed here twice as good as I expected to find, and could sleep as well as anywhere else.”
Almost any sound long continued becomes monotonous24, and thus it was that scarcely a half-hour had passed when, in spite of the dreadful beasts below, his eyes began to grow heavy and his head to droop25.
But at this juncture26 he received a terrible shock. Just as everything was becoming dreamy and unreal, he was startled by a jarring of the tree, as though struck with some heavy object. When it was repeated several times, his senses returned to him, and he raised his head and listened.
“I wonder what that can be?” he said to himself. “Is some one hitting the tree? No, it isn't that.”
It seemed not so much a jarring of the trunk as a swaying of the whole tree.
Puzzled and alarmed, Fred drew his legs from their rather cramped27 position, and picked his way downward among the limbs until he had descended28 far enough to inform himself.
“Heaven save me! they're in the tree!” he gasped29, paralyzed for the moment with terror.
In one sense, such was the case. The frolicsome30 wolves had varied their amusement by springing upward among the lowermost branches. A brute31 would make a jump, and, landing upon the limb, sustain himself until one or two of his comrades imitated his performance, when they would all come tumbling to the ground.
Thus, it may be said, they were climbing the tree, but they were scarcely in it when they were out of it again, and Fred had nothing to fear from that source.
In his fright, he hastily clambered back again after his rifle, with the intention of shooting the one that was nearest, but by the time he laid his hand upon the weapon his terror had lessened32 so much that he concluded to wait until assured that it was necessary. And a few minutes' waiting convinced him that he had nothing to fear from that source. It was only another phase of the hilarious33 fun they were keeping up for their own amusement.
“I guess I'll try it again,” concluded Fred, as he proceeded to stow his arms and legs into position for the nap which he came so near commencing a few minutes before.
He did not consider it within the range of possibility that he could unconsciously displace his limbs during sleep sufficiently to permit him to fall.
He heard the yelping34 and occasional baying below, the rustling35 among the limbs, and the undulation caused by the animals leaping upward among the branches; but they ceased to disturb him after a time, and became like the sound of falling water in the ears of the hunter by his camp-fire. It was not long before slumber stole away his senses, and he slept.
A healthful boy generally sleeps well, and is untroubled by dreams, unless he has been indulging in some indiscretion in the way of diet, but the stirring scenes of the last few days were so impressed upon the mind of Fred that they reappeared in his visions of night, as he lived them all over again. He was again standing36 in the silent wood along the Rio Pecos, with Mickey O'Rooney, watching for the stealthy approach of the Apaches. As time passed, he saw the excited figure of Sut Simpson the scout37, as he came thundering over the prairie, with his warning cry of the approach of the red-skins. The rattling38 fight in front of the young settlement, the repulse39 of the Apaches, the swoop40 of Lone23 Wolf and the lad's capture, the night ride, the encampment among the mountains, his own singular escape, and, finally, his siege by the mountain wolves—all these passed through the mind of the sleeping lad, and finally settled down to a hand-to-hand fight with the leader of the brutes41.
Fred fancied that the two had met in the ravine, and, clubbing his gun, he whacked42 the beast over his head every time he leaped at him. He struck him royal, resounding43 blows, too, but, somehow or other, they failed to produce any effect. The wolf kept coming and coming again, until, at last, the boy concluded he would wind up the bout15 by jumping upon, and throwing him down, and then deliberately44 choking him to death.
He made the jump, and awakening45 instantly, found he had leaped “out of bed,” and was falling downward through the limbs. It all flashed upon the lad with the suddenness of lightning.
He remembered the ravenous46 wolves, and, with a shuddering47 horror which cannot be pictured or imagined, felt that he was dropping directly into their fangs48. It was the instinct of nature which caused him to throw out his feet and hands in the hope of checking his fall.
By a hair's breadth he succeeded. But it was nearly the lowermost limb which he grasped with his desperate clutch, and hung with his arms dangling49 within reach of the wolves below.
The famished50 brutes seemed to be expecting this choice tid-bit to drop into their maws, and their yelps and howls became wilder than ever, and they nearly broke each other's necks in their furious frolicing back and forth.
The moment young Munson succeeded in checking himself, he made a quick effort to draw up his feet and regain51 his place beyond the reach of the brutes. It was done in a twinkling, but not soon enough to escape one of the creatures, which made a leap and fastened upon his foot.
The lad was just twisting himself over the limb, when he felt one of his shoes seized in the jaws52 of a wolf. The sudden addition to his weight drew him down again, and almost jerked his hold from the limb, in which event he would have been snapped up and disposed of before he could have made a struggle in the way of resistance. But he held on, and with an unnatural53 spasm54 of strength, drew himself and the clogging55 weight part way up, kicking both feet with the fury of despair.
The wolf held fast to one shoe, while the heel of the other was jammed into his eyes. This, however, would not have dislodged him, had not his own comrades interfered56, and defeated the brute by their own eager greediness. Seeing that the first one had fastened to the prize, a half-dozen of them began leaping upward with the purpose of securing a share in the same. In this way they got into each other's way, and all came tumbling to the ground in a heap.
Before they could repeat the performance the terrified lad was a dozen feet beyond their reach, and climbing still higher.
When Fred reached his former perch, he was in doubt whether he should halt or go still higher. His heart was throbbing57 violently, and he was white and panting from the frightful58 shock he had received.
“That was awful!” he gasped, as he reflected upon what had taken place. “I don't know what saved me from death! Yes, I do; it was God!” he added, looking up through the leaves to the clear, moonlit sky above him. “He has brought me through a good many dangers, and He will not forsake59 me.”
After such an experience, it was impossible that sleep should return to the eyes of the lad. He resumed his old perch, but only because it was the most comfortable. Had he believed that there was a possibility of slumber, he would have fought it off, but there was not.
“I'll wait here till morning,” he said to himself. “It must be close at hand; and then, maybe, they will go away.”
He looked longingly60 for some sign of the breaking of day, but the moonlight, for a long time, was unrelieved by the rose-flush of the morning.
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1
prospect
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| n.前景，前途；景色，视野 | |
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besieged
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| 包围，围困，围攻( besiege的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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slumber
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| n.睡眠，沉睡状态 | |
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dismal
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| adj.阴沉的，凄凉的，令人忧郁的，差劲的 | |
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hoarse
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| adj.嘶哑的，沙哑的 | |
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yelp
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| vi.狗吠 | |
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yelps
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| n.（因痛苦、气愤、兴奋等的）短而尖的叫声( yelp的名词复数 )v.发出短而尖的叫声( yelp的第三人称单数 ) | |
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prey
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| n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨 | |
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exultation
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| n.狂喜，得意 | |
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sufficiently
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| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
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perch
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| n.栖木，高位，杆；v.栖息，就位，位于 | |
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thither
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| adv.向那里；adj.在那边的，对岸的 | |
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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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shudder
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| v.战粟，震动，剧烈地摇晃；n.战粟，抖动 | |
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bout
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| n.侵袭，发作；一次(阵，回)；拳击等比赛 | |
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dexterity
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| n.(手的)灵巧，灵活 | |
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fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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refreshment
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| n.恢复，精神爽快，提神之事物；（复数）refreshments:点心，茶点 | |
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soothe
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| v.安慰；使平静；使减轻；缓和；奉承 | |
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shuddered
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| 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 | |
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21
varied
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| adj.多样的，多变化的 | |
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philosophically
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| adv.哲学上；富有哲理性地；贤明地；冷静地 | |
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lone
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| adj.孤寂的，单独的；唯一的 | |
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monotonous
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| adj.单调的，一成不变的，使人厌倦的 | |
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droop
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| v.低垂，下垂；凋萎，萎靡 | |
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juncture
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| n.时刻，关键时刻，紧要关头 | |
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cramped
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| a.狭窄的 | |
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descended
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| a.为...后裔的，出身于...的 | |
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29
gasped
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| v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要 | |
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frolicsome
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| adj.嬉戏的，闹着玩的 | |
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brute
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| n.野兽，兽性 | |
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lessened
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| 减少的，减弱的 | |
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hilarious
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| adj.充满笑声的，欢闹的；[反]depressed | |
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34
yelping
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| v.发出短而尖的叫声( yelp的现在分词 ) | |
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rustling
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| n. 瑟瑟声，沙沙声 adj. 发沙沙声的 | |
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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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scout
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| n.童子军，侦察员；v.侦察，搜索 | |
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38
rattling
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| adj. 格格作响的, 活泼的, 很好的 adv. 极其, 很, 非常 动词rattle的现在分词 | |
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39
repulse
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| n.击退，拒绝；vt.逐退，击退，拒绝 | |
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40
swoop
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| n.俯冲，攫取；v.抓取，突然袭击 | |
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41
brutes
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| 兽( brute的名词复数 )； 畜生； 残酷无情的人； 兽性 | |
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42
whacked
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| a.精疲力尽的 | |
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43
resounding
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| adj. 响亮的 | |
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44
deliberately
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| adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地 | |
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45
awakening
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| n.觉醒，醒悟 adj.觉醒中的；唤醒的 | |
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46
ravenous
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| adj.极饿的，贪婪的 | |
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47
shuddering
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| v.战栗( shudder的现在分词 )；发抖；（机器、车辆等）突然震动；颤动 | |
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48
fangs
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| n.（尤指狗和狼的）长而尖的牙( fang的名词复数 )；（蛇的）毒牙；罐座 | |
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49
dangling
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| 悬吊着( dangle的现在分词 )； 摆动不定； 用某事物诱惑…； 吊胃口 | |
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50
famished
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| adj.饥饿的 | |
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51
regain
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| vt.重新获得，收复，恢复 | |
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52
jaws
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| n.口部；嘴 | |
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53
unnatural
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| adj.不自然的；反常的 | |
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54
spasm
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| n.痉挛，抽搐；一阵发作 | |
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55
clogging
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| 堵塞，闭合 | |
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56
interfered
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| v.干预( interfere的过去式和过去分词 )；调停；妨碍；干涉 | |
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57
throbbing
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| a. 跳动的,悸动的 | |
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58
frightful
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| adj.可怕的；讨厌的 | |
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59
forsake
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| vt.遗弃，抛弃；舍弃，放弃 | |
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60
longingly
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| adv. 渴望地 热望地 | |
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