While Cheenbuk was thus entrancing the souls of his friends near the big hut, his mother and sister were exercising hospitality to the Indian girl in their private residence. It was rather a dark and smoky residence, with only one hole in the roof, about eight inches square, to let in light. If truth must be told, it was also somewhat dirty, for, besides having only one large room in which living, cooking, receiving company, and sleeping were carried on, the dogs of the family were permitted to repose1 there—when they were good! Anything approaching to badness ensured their summary and violent ejection.
Branching from this family room was a little recess2, screened off by skin curtains, which formed Nootka’s private apartment or boudoir. It was singularly unlike the boudoirs of other lands! Black smoke, instead of whitewash3, coloured the walls and ceiling. No glass hung on the wall to reflect the visage of the Arctic beauty, but there were several pegs5, from one of which hung Nootka’s seal-skin bad-weather jacket, the tadpole-tail of which reached to the ground, while from another depended a pair of her long waterproof6 boots. One half of the floor being raised about eight inches, constituted the Eskimo maiden7’s couch—also her chair and sofa. There was no table, but the skull8 of a walrus9 did service as a stool.
To this apartment Nootka introduced her young Indian friend, leaving her mother in the outer hall, and the two maidens10 at once began, as might have been expected, an earnest and confidential11 conversation. In their eagerness they had not reflected that each knew not one word of the other’s language, but of course the first sentences opened their eyes to the melancholy12 fact.
They had, indeed, been opened already to some extent, but not so impressively as now when they longed for a good talk.
“Come here,” said Nootka—of course in Eskimo—as she dragged rather than led her new friend into the boudoir; “I want you to tell me all about your saving my brother’s life.”
“I don’t understand a word you say,” replied Adolay—of course in Dogrib Indian—with a look of great perplexity in her wide-open eyes.
“Oh! I’m stupid and sorry. I forgot. You don’t speak our language.”
“What funny sounds! It seems like nonsense,” remarked Adolay—more to herself than to her friend.
“So curious!” soliloquised Nootka; “what one might expect from a seal if it tried to speak. Say that over again. I like to hear it.”
The perplexity on the face of the Indian maid deepened, and she shook her head, while the look of fun in that of the Eskimo maiden increased, and she smiled knowingly.
Here at last they had hit on common ground—tapped a universal spring of human communication. Adolay at once beamed an answering smile, and displayed all her brilliant teeth in doing so. This drew a soft laugh of pleasure from Nootka and an intelligent nod.
Nods and smiles, however, pleasant in their way though they be, form a very imperfect means of intercourse14 between souls which wish to unite, and the perplexed15 expression was beginning again to steal over both their youthful countenances16, when something in the nature of a happy thought seemed to strike the Indian girl, for a gleam as of sunlight flashed from her eyes and teeth, as she suddenly beat with her little fist three times on her own bosom17, exclaiming, “Adolay! Adolay! Adolay!” with much emphasis. Then, poking18 her finger against her friend’s breast, she added—“You? you?”
Here again was “a touch of nature” which made these two damsels “kin.” Although the “You? you?” was not intelligible19 to the Eskimo, the gaze of inquiry20 was a familiar tongue. With a smile of delight she nodded, struck her own bosom with her fist, and said, “Nootka! Nootka!” Then, tapping her friend, she said—“Addi-lay?” The Indian, nodding assent21, tapped her in return and exclaimed, “No–oot-ko?”
After this little sparring match they both burst into a fit of hearty22 laughter, which roused the curiosity of Mrs Mangivik in the outer hall.
“What is the joke?” shouted the old lady, who was hospitably23 preparing a feast of steaks and ribs24 for her guest.
“Oh, mother, she is so funny!—Come, Addi-lay, let her hear your fun,” said the girl, taking her guest’s hand and leading her back to the hall. “Her name is Addi-lay. I know, for she told me herself. We quite understand each other already.
“Speak to mother, Addi-lay. Tell her something.”
“I don’t know what you want me to do, No–oot-ko,” returned the Indian girl, with a bright look, “but I know that whatever you are saying must be kind, for you’ve got such a nice face.”
By way of emphasising her opinion she took the face between her hands and laid her own against it.
We have never been quite sure as to what Adolay did on this occasion—whether she rubbed noses or chins or touched lips. All that we are sure of is that the operation was equivalent to a kiss, and that it was reciprocated25 heartily26.
“Didn’t I tell you, mother, that she was funny? I’ll explain to you what she said when we are alone; but Addi-lay is hungry now, and so am I. Let us feed, mother.”
Without more ado the trio sat down beside the cooking-lamp and began to do justice to the savoury viands27, the odour of which was so enticing28 that it was too much for the dogs of the family. These had to be expelled by means of old bones. Mrs Mangivik being an expert shot with such artillery29, the hall was soon cleared.
After the meal, conversation was resumed, and conducted with considerably30 greater ease, owing to the chief subject of it being the Indian girl’s costume, which was somewhat elaborate, for, being a chief’s daughter, her dress was in many respects beautiful—especially those portions of it, such as the leggings and the head-dress, which were profusely31 ornamented32 with coloured beads33 and porcupine-quill work. The examination of the various parts occupied a considerable time. The mode of ascertaining34 names had been already discovered, and looks of admiration35 require no translation, so that the three women were deeply engaged in a most interesting talk when Cheenbuk and his father entered the hut after the conference.
“Ribs, ribs and slices! Quick, woman,” cried Mangivik cheerily as he sat down. “Cheenbuk has been talking and I have been listening till we are both quite hungry.—That is a pretty girl you have brought home with you, my son,” said the old man, with a stare of approval. “Almost as pretty as some of our own girls.”
“Much prettier, I think,” returned the youth, as he quietly selected a rib13 of walrus that seemed suitable to his capacity.
“Tell your mother how you got hold of her,” said Mangivik, whose teeth were next moment fastened in a steak.
Cheenbuk made no reply. Eskimo manners did not require an answer in the circumstances. But when he had taken the edge off his appetite—and it took a good deal of dental grinding to do that—he looked across at Adolay with a genial36 expression and began to give his mother and sister a second, and much more graphic37, edition of the speech which he had just delivered to the men.
Of course the narration38 served to strengthen the bonds of friendship which had already been formed between the Mangivik family and the Indian girl, who had been thus unexpectedly added to their circle.
That evening Nootka begged her brother to give her a lesson in the Dogrib language. On the same evening, during a moonlight ramble39, Adolay asked him to give her a little instruction in the Eskimo tongue, and, just before he retired40 for the night, his mother asked him if he intended to take the Indian girl as one of his wives.
“You know, mother,” was Cheenbuk’s reply, “I have always differed from my friends about wives. I think that one wife is enough for one man; sometimes too much for him! I also think that if it is fair for a man to choose a woman, it is also fair for the woman to choose the man. I would gladly take Adolay for a wife, for she is good as well as pretty, but I do not know that she would take me for a husband.”
“Have you not asked her, then?” persisted Mrs Mangivik.
“No. I have been till now her protector. I can wait. If she wants to return to her people I have promised to take her to them.”
“But surely my son is not bound to keep a promise given to one of our fire-spouting enemies?”
“That may seem right to you, mother, but it seems wrong to me. I do not understand why I disagree with you, and with most of my people, but there is something inside of me which, I think, is not me. It tells me not to do many things that I want to do, and sometimes bids me go forward when I wish to draw back. What it is I cannot tell, but I must not disobey it, I will not disobey it.”
With this answer the old lady had to be content, for she could extract nothing more from her son after that but a smile.
As for old Mangivik, he asked and said nothing, but he thought much.
A few days after Cheenbuk’s arrival, it was arranged by the heads of the village that there should be a general scattering41 of the tribe for a great hunt after seals and wild-fowl, as provisions were not so plentiful42 as might have been desired. An expedition of this kind was always hailed with great glee by Anteek, whose youth and very excitable disposition43 were not easily satisfied with the prosaic44 details of village life.
Previous to setting out, however, an event occurred which was well-nigh attended with disastrous45 consequences.
It had been arranged that Cheenbuk and his friends Oolalik and Anteek should keep together in their kayaks, accompanied by an oomiak to carry the game. This woman’s boat was to be manned, so to speak, by young Uleeta, Cowlik, and two other girls. Adolay had been offered a place in it, but she preferred going in her own bark canoe, with the management of which she was familiar. Perhaps a touch of national pride had something to do with this preference of the Indian craft. Nootka, who had made several trials of the canoe, was judged sufficiently46 expert to wield47 the bow paddle.
While preparations were being made, Adolay and Nootka went to the bay where the canoe was lying—a short distance from the village, on the other side of a high cliff that sheltered the bay from any breeze that might blow in from the sea. The light craft was turned bottom up on the beach, and the two girls carried it down to the water’s edge. Launching it, Nootka got in first, and Adolay was preparing to follow when a boyish shout arrested her, and she saw Anteek come skimming round the point in his kayak, wielding48 his double-bladed paddle with great dexterity49 and power. In a few seconds the kayak was alongside the canoe and the boy stepped out upon the shore.
“Let me try to steer50 your canoe,” he said, pointing eagerly to the place where the Indian girl was about to seat herself.
Although Adolay did not understand the words, she had no difficulty with the boy’s expressive51 pantomime. She nodded assent cheerfully. Anteek took the paddle, stepped into her place, and the girl pushed them off into deep water.
Delighted with the novelty of their position the two paddled away with great vigour52, and were soon a considerable distance from the shore. Then it occurred to Adolay that she would have some fun on her own account, and perhaps give her new friends a surprise. With this intent she floated the kayak and pushed it alongside of a flat stone in the water from which she could step into it. But she found that stepping into a small round hole in the centre of a covered craft was not the same as stepping into her own canoe, and even when, with great care, she succeeded, she found that her garments rendered the process of sitting down rather difficult—not a matter of wonder when we consider that the kayak is meant only for men.
However, she succeeded at last, and grasping the paddle pushed off to sea. But the long paddle with its blade at each end perplexed her greatly, and she had not quite overcome the awkwardness and begun to feel somewhat at ease when she chanced to touch on a ledge53 of rock that cropped up at that place near to the surface. Fortunately the rock was quite smooth, else it would have ripped up the skin with which the vessel54 was covered, but the shock and the paddle together were too much for the inexperienced girl. She lost her balance, and next moment was in the water with the kayak bottom up, and she incapable55 of extricating56 herself from the hole into which she had squeezed.
It happened that Anteek and Nootka had observed what Adolay was about, and were watching her with interest, so that before the kayak had turned fairly over their paddles dipped with a flash in the water and they rushed to the rescue. And not a moment too soon, for the poor girl’s power of endurance was almost exhausted57 when her friends turned the kayak violently up. This was well, and Adolay drew a long gasping58 breath; but now the inexperience of the rescuers came into play, for, being ignorant of the cranky nature of a birch-bark canoe, they acted without the necessary caution, the canoe overturned and they all found themselves in the water. This time Adolay managed to wriggle59 out of her position, but being unable to swim she could only cling helplessly to the kayak. Nootka, equally helpless, clung to the canoe. Fortunately Anteek could swim like a fish, and bravely set to work to push both crafts towards the shore. But they were a long way out; the weight of the two girls made them difficult to push, and, being separate, they had a tendency to diverge60 in different directions.
After a few vigorous efforts, the boy, perceiving the difficulty and the extreme danger of their position, at once set up a series of yells that awoke sympathetic echoes in the neighbourhood; but he did not for a moment relax his efforts to push his charge towards the shore.
Startled by the sudden outburst of alarming cries, several men ran along shore in the direction whence they came. Foremost among these was the powerful and active Oolalik. On turning the point and seeing what had occurred he plunged61 into the sea and swam like a dolphin to the rescue. Great was the size of his eyes, and intense the swelling62 of his heart, when he saw that Nootka was one of the swimmers.
“Take care of Addi-lay and the kayak,” he remarked to Anteek as he drew near, “I will look after Nootka and the canoe.”
What Nootka felt on hearing these words we cannot tell, but any one might have seen that, despite her unpleasant position, there was a pleased expression on her wet face.
A very few minutes more sufficed to bring them all safe to land, and no one was a whit4 the worse, but as the girls required a complete change of garments, it was finally decided63 that the hunting expedition should be postponed64 until the following day.
点击收听单词发音
1 repose | |
v.(使)休息;n.安息 | |
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2 recess | |
n.短期休息,壁凹(墙上装架子,柜子等凹处) | |
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3 whitewash | |
v.粉刷,掩饰;n.石灰水,粉刷,掩饰 | |
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4 whit | |
n.一点,丝毫 | |
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5 pegs | |
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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6 waterproof | |
n.防水材料;adj.防水的;v.使...能防水 | |
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7 maiden | |
n.少女,处女;adj.未婚的,纯洁的,无经验的 | |
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8 skull | |
n.头骨;颅骨 | |
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9 walrus | |
n.海象 | |
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10 maidens | |
处女( maiden的名词复数 ); 少女; 未婚女子; (板球运动)未得分的一轮投球 | |
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11 confidential | |
adj.秘(机)密的,表示信任的,担任机密工作的 | |
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12 melancholy | |
n.忧郁,愁思;adj.令人感伤(沮丧)的,忧郁的 | |
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13 rib | |
n.肋骨,肋状物 | |
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14 intercourse | |
n.性交;交流,交往,交际 | |
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15 perplexed | |
adj.不知所措的 | |
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16 countenances | |
n.面容( countenance的名词复数 );表情;镇静;道义支持 | |
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17 bosom | |
n.胸,胸部;胸怀;内心;adj.亲密的 | |
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18 poking | |
n. 刺,戳,袋 vt. 拨开,刺,戳 vi. 戳,刺,捅,搜索,伸出,行动散慢 | |
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19 intelligible | |
adj.可理解的,明白易懂的,清楚的 | |
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20 inquiry | |
n.打听,询问,调查,查问 | |
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21 assent | |
v.批准,认可;n.批准,认可 | |
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22 hearty | |
adj.热情友好的;衷心的;尽情的,纵情的 | |
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23 hospitably | |
亲切地,招待周到地,善于款待地 | |
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24 ribs | |
n.肋骨( rib的名词复数 );(船或屋顶等的)肋拱;肋骨状的东西;(织物的)凸条花纹 | |
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25 reciprocated | |
v.报答,酬答( reciprocate的过去式和过去分词 );(机器的部件)直线往复运动 | |
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26 heartily | |
adv.衷心地,诚恳地,十分,很 | |
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27 viands | |
n.食品,食物 | |
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28 enticing | |
adj.迷人的;诱人的 | |
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29 artillery | |
n.(军)火炮,大炮;炮兵(部队) | |
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30 considerably | |
adv.极大地;相当大地;在很大程度上 | |
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31 profusely | |
ad.abundantly | |
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32 ornamented | |
adj.花式字体的v.装饰,点缀,美化( ornament的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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33 beads | |
n.(空心)小珠子( bead的名词复数 );水珠;珠子项链 | |
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34 ascertaining | |
v.弄清,确定,查明( ascertain的现在分词 ) | |
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35 admiration | |
n.钦佩,赞美,羡慕 | |
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36 genial | |
adj.亲切的,和蔼的,愉快的,脾气好的 | |
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37 graphic | |
adj.生动的,形象的,绘画的,文字的,图表的 | |
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38 narration | |
n.讲述,叙述;故事;记叙体 | |
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39 ramble | |
v.漫步,漫谈,漫游;n.漫步,闲谈,蔓延 | |
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40 retired | |
adj.隐退的,退休的,退役的 | |
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41 scattering | |
n.[物]散射;散乱,分散;在媒介质中的散播adj.散乱的;分散在不同范围的;广泛扩散的;(选票)数量分散的v.散射(scatter的ing形式);散布;驱散 | |
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42 plentiful | |
adj.富裕的,丰富的 | |
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43 disposition | |
n.性情,性格;意向,倾向;排列,部署 | |
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44 prosaic | |
adj.单调的,无趣的 | |
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45 disastrous | |
adj.灾难性的,造成灾害的;极坏的,很糟的 | |
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46 sufficiently | |
adv.足够地,充分地 | |
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47 wield | |
vt.行使,运用,支配;挥,使用(武器等) | |
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48 wielding | |
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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49 dexterity | |
n.(手的)灵巧,灵活 | |
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50 steer | |
vt.驾驶,为…操舵;引导;vi.驾驶 | |
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51 expressive | |
adj.表现的,表达…的,富于表情的 | |
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52 vigour | |
(=vigor)n.智力,体力,精力 | |
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53 ledge | |
n.壁架,架状突出物;岩架,岩礁 | |
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54 vessel | |
n.船舶;容器,器皿;管,导管,血管 | |
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55 incapable | |
adj.无能力的,不能做某事的 | |
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56 extricating | |
v.使摆脱困难,脱身( extricate的现在分词 ) | |
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57 exhausted | |
adj.极其疲惫的,精疲力尽的 | |
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58 gasping | |
adj. 气喘的, 痉挛的 动词gasp的现在分词 | |
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59 wriggle | |
v./n.蠕动,扭动;蜿蜒 | |
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60 diverge | |
v.分叉,分歧,离题,使...岔开,使转向 | |
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61 plunged | |
v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 );暴跌;骤降;突降 | |
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62 swelling | |
n.肿胀 | |
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63 decided | |
adj.决定了的,坚决的;明显的,明确的 | |
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64 postponed | |
vt.& vi.延期,缓办,(使)延迟vt.把…放在次要地位;[语]把…放在后面(或句尾)vi.(疟疾等)延缓发作(或复发) | |
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