The hour was eleven o'clock at night. One of the unmarried daughters was still busily engaged at the loom1, but the other members of the family, with the exception of one of the sons, had retired2 to rest. Some symptoms of an alarming nature had engaged the attention of the young man for an hour before any thing of a decided3 character took place. The cry of owls4 was heard in the adjoining wood, answering each other in rather an unusual manner. The horses which were enclosed as usual in a pound near the house were more than commonly their excited, and by repeated snorting and galloping6, announced the presence of some object of terror. The young man was often upon the point of awakening7 his brother, but was as often restrained by the fear of incurring8 ridicule9 and their reproach of timidity, at that time an unpardonable blemish10 in the character of a Kentuckian. At length, hasty steps were heard in the yard, and quickly afterwards several knocks at the door, accompanied by the usual exclamation11, "who keeps house?" in very good English.
The young man, supposing from the language, that some benighted12 settlers were at the door, hastily arose and advancing to withdraw the bar which secured it, when his mother, who had long lived upon the frontiers, and had probably detected the Indian tone in the demand for admission, sprung out of bed, and ordered her son not to admit them, declaring that they were Indians. She instantly awakened13 her other son, and the two young men seizing their guns, which were always charged, prepared to repel14 the enemy.
The Indians finding it impossible to enter under their assumed characters, began to thunder at the door with great violence, but a single shot from a loophole, compelled them to shift the attack to some less exposed point; and, unfortunately, they discovered the door of the other cabin, which contained the three daughters. The rifles of the brothers could not be brought to bear upon this point, and by means of several rails taken from the yard fence, the door was forced from its hinges and the three girls were at the mercy of the savage15. One was immediately secured, but the eldest16 defended herself desperately17 with a knife which she had been using in the loom, and stabbed one of the Indians to the heart, before she was tomahawked.
In the meantime the little girl, who had been overlooked by the enemy in their eagerness to secure the others, ran out into the yard, and might have effected her escape had she taken advantage of the darkness and fled, but instead of that the terrified little creature ran round the house wringing18 her hands, and crying out that her sisters were killed. The brothers, unwilling19 to hear her cries without risking every thing for her rescue, rushed to the door and were preparing to sally out to her assistance, when their mother threw herself before them and calmly declared that the child must be abandoned to its fate—that the sally would sacrifice the lives of the rest without the slightest benefit to the little girl. Just then the child uttered a loud scream, followed by a faint moan, and all was again silent. Presently the crackling of flames was heard, accompanied by a triumphant20 yell from the Indians, announcing that they had set fire to that division of the house which had been occupied by the daughters, and of which they had undisputed possession.
The fire was quickly communicated to part of the building, it became necessary to abandon it or perish in the flames. In the one case, there was a possibility that some might escape; in the other, their fate would be equally certain and terrible. The rapid approach of the flames cut short their momentary21 suspense22. The door was thrown open, just as some of the Indians began to enter the house through a breach23 made by the fire. The old lady, supported by her eldest son, attempted to cross the fence at one point, while the other son carried his sister and her son in another direction.
The old lady was permitted to reach the stile unmolested, but in the act of crossing, received several balls in the breast and fell dead. Her son, providentially, remained unhurt, and by extraordinary agility24 effected his escape. The other party succeeded also in reaching the fence unhurt, but in the act of crossing, were vigorously assailed25 by several Indians, who throwing down their guns, rushed upon them with their tomahawks. The young man defended his sister gallantly26, firing upon the enemy as they approached, and then wielding27 the butt28 of his rifle with a fury that drew the whole attention upon himself, and gave his sister an opportunity of effecting her escape. He quickly fell, however, under the tomahawk of his enemies, and was found at daylight, scalped and mangled29 in a shocking manner. Of the whole family, consisting of eight persons, when the attack commenced, only three escaped. Four were killed upon the spot, and one, the second daughter, carried off a prisoner.
The neighborhood was quickly alarmed, and by daylight about thirty men were assembled under the command of Colonel Edwards. A slight snow had fallen during the latter part of the night, and the Indian trail could be pursued at a gallop5. It led directly into the mountainous country bordering on Licking, and afforded evidences of great hurry and precipitation on the part of the fugitives30. Unfortunately, a hound had been permitted to accompany the whites, and as the trail became fresh and the scent31 warm, she followed it with eagerness, baying loudly and giving the alarm to the Indians.
The consequences of this imprudence were soon displayed. The enemy finding the pursuit keen, and perceiving that the strength of the prisoner began to fail, sunk their tomahawks in her head and left her, still warm and bleeding upon the snow. As the whites came up, she retained strength enough to wave her hand in token of recognition, and appeared desirous of giving them some information, with regard to the enemy, but her strength was too far gone. Her brother sprung from his horse, and knelt by her side, endeavoring to stop the effusion of blood, but in vain. She gave him her hand, muttering some inarticulate words, and expired within two minutes after the arrival of the party.
The pursuit was renewed with additional ardor32, and in twenty minutes the enemy was within view. They had taken possession of a steep narrow ridge33 and seemed desirous of magnifying their numbers in the eyes of the whites, as they ran rapidly from tree to tree, and maintained a steady yell in their most appalling34 tones. The pursuers, however, were too experienced to be deceived by so common an artifice35, and being satisfied that the number of the enemy must be inferior to their own, they dismounted, tied their horses, and flanking out in such a manner as to enclose the enemy, ascended36 the ridge as rapidly as was consistent with a due regard to the shelter of their persons. The firing quickly commenced, and now for the first time they discovered that only two Indians were opposed to them. They had voluntarily sacrificed themselves for the safety of the main body, and had succeeded in delaying pursuit until their friends had reached the mountains. One of them was shot dead, and the other was badly wounded, as was evident from the blood upon his blanket, as well as that which filled his tracks in the snow for a considerable distance. The pursuit was recommenced, and urged keenly until night, when the trail entered a running stream and was lost. On the following morning the snow had melted, and every trace of the enemy was obliterated37.
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收听单词发音
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1
loom
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| n.织布机，织机；v.隐现，(危险、忧虑等)迫近 | |
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retired
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| adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的 | |
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decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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owls
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| n.猫头鹰( owl的名词复数 ) | |
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gallop
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| v./n.(马或骑马等)飞奔；飞速发展 | |
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galloping
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| adj. 飞驰的, 急性的 动词gallop的现在分词形式 | |
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7
awakening
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| n.觉醒，醒悟 adj.觉醒中的；唤醒的 | |
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8
incurring
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| 遭受，招致，引起( incur的现在分词 ) | |
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ridicule
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| v.讥讽，挖苦；n.嘲弄 | |
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10
blemish
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| v.损害；玷污；瑕疵，缺点 | |
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exclamation
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| n.感叹号，惊呼，惊叹词 | |
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benighted
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| adj.蒙昧的 | |
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awakened
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| v.（使）醒( awaken的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）觉醒；弄醒；（使）意识到 | |
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repel
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| v.击退，抵制，拒绝，排斥 | |
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savage
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| adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人 | |
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eldest
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| adj.最年长的，最年老的 | |
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desperately
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| adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地 | |
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wringing
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| 淋湿的，湿透的 | |
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unwilling
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| adj.不情愿的 | |
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triumphant
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| adj.胜利的，成功的；狂欢的，喜悦的 | |
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momentary
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| adj.片刻的，瞬息的；短暂的 | |
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suspense
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| n.（对可能发生的事）紧张感，担心，挂虑 | |
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breach
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| n.违反，不履行；破裂；vt.冲破，攻破 | |
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agility
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| n.敏捷，活泼 | |
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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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gallantly
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| adv. 漂亮地，勇敢地，献殷勤地 | |
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wielding
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| 手持着使用（武器、工具等）( wield的现在分词 )； 具有； 运用（权力）； 施加（影响） | |
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butt
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| n.笑柄；烟蒂；枪托；臀部；v.用头撞或顶 | |
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mangled
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| vt.乱砍（mangle的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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fugitives
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| n.亡命者，逃命者( fugitive的名词复数 ) | |
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31
scent
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| n.气味，香味，香水，线索，嗅觉；v.嗅，发觉 | |
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ardor
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| n.热情，狂热 | |
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ridge
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| n.山脊；鼻梁；分水岭 | |
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34
appalling
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| adj.骇人听闻的，令人震惊的，可怕的 | |
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artifice
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| n.妙计，高明的手段；狡诈，诡计 | |
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36
ascended
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| v.上升，攀登( ascend的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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obliterated
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| v.除去( obliterate的过去式和过去分词 )；涂去；擦掉；彻底破坏或毁灭 | |
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