Roy and Nelly had feasted heartily2, and had piled wood on the fire so high that the hut was comparatively warm, and they slept soundly till morning: but, about sunrise, the fire having died out, they both awoke shivering with cold. Being very sleepy, they tried for some time to drop off again in spite of the cold. Failing in this, Roy at last jumped up with vigour3 and said he would light the fire, but he had scarcely issued from the hut, when a shout brought Nelly in alarm and haste to his side.
If Silver Lake was worthy4 of its name before, it was infinitely5 more worthy of it now. The sun had just over-topped the opposite ridge6, and was streaming over a very world of silver. The frozen lake was like a sheet of the purest glass, which reflected the silvery clouds and white rolling mists of morning as perfectly7 in their form as the realities that floated in the blue sky. Every tree, every twig8, seemed made of silver, being encased in hoar-frost, and as these moved very gently in the calm air—for there was no breeze—millions of crystalline points caught the sun’s rays and scattered9 them around with dazzling lustre10. Nature seemed robed in cloth of diamonds; but the comparison is feeble, for what diamonds, cut by man, can equal those countless11 crystal gems12 that are fashioned by the hand of God to decorate, for an hour or two, the spotless robe of a winter morning?
Had Roy been a man and Nelly a woman, the two would probably have cast around a lingering glance of admiration13, and then gone quietly about their avocations14; but, being children, they made up their minds, on the spot, to enjoy the state of things to the utmost. They ran down to the lake and tried the ice. Finding that it was strong enough to bear them, they advanced cautiously out upon its glassy surface; then they tried to slide, but did not succeed well, owing to their soft mocassins being ill adapted for sliding. Then they picked up stones, and tried how far they could make them skim out on the lake.
“How I wish we could slide!” exclaimed Nelly, pausing in the midst of her amusement.
Roy also paused, and appeared to meditate15 for a minute.
“So you shall,” said he quickly. “Come and let us breakfast, and I’ll make you a pair of sliders.”
“Sliders! what are they?”
“You shall see; get breakfast ready, a man’s fit for nothing without grub.”
While breakfast was preparing, Roy began to fashion wooden soles for his sister’s feet and his own. These he fixed16 on by means of strips of deerskin, which were sunk into grooves17 in the under part of the soles to prevent them from chafing18. Rough and ready they were, nevertheless they fitted well and tightly to their feet; but it was found that the want of a joint19 at the instep rendered it difficult to walk with these soles on, and impossible to run. Roy’s ingenuity20, however, soon overcame this difficulty. He cut the soles through just under the instep, and then, boring two holes in each part, lashed21 them firmly together with deerskin, thus producing a joint or hinge. Eager to try this new invention, he fastened on his own “sliders” first, and, running down to the lake, made a rush at the ice and sent himself off with all his force. Never was boy more taken by surprise; he went skimming over the surface like a stone from a sling22. The other side of the lake seemed to be the only termination of his journey. “What if it should not be bearing in the middle!” His delight was evinced by a cheer. It was echoed, with the addition of a laugh by Nell, who stood in rapt admiration on the shore. Roy began well, with his legs far apart and his arms in the air; then he turned round and advanced the wrong way, then he staggered—tried to recover himself; failed, shouted, cheered again, and fell flat on his back, and performed the remainder of the journey in that position!
It was a magnificent slide, and was repeated and continued, with every possible and conceivable modification23, for full two hours, at the end of which time Nelly said she couldn’t take another slide to save her life, and Roy felt as if every bone in his body were going out of joint.
“This is all very well,” said Roy, as they went up to the hut together, “but it won’t do much in the way of getting us a supply of meat or fish.”
“That’s true,” assented24 Nelly.
“Well, then,” continued Roy, “we’ll rest a bit, and then set to work. It’s quite plain that we can have no more wading25 after ducks, but the fish won’t object to feed in cold weather, so we’ll try them again after having had a bit to eat.”
In pursuance of this plan the two went to the wharf26, after having refreshed themselves, and set to work with the fishing-line. Nelly baited the hook, and Roy cut a hole in the ice with his axe27. Having put in the hook, and let it down to the bottom, they stood at the edge of the hole—expectant!
“Frost seems to spoil their appetite,” said Roy, in a tone of disappointment, after about five minutes had elapsed.
A fish seemed to have been listening, for before Nelly could reply, there came a violent tug28 at the line. Roy returned a still more violent tug, and, instead of hauling it up hand over hand, ran swiftly along the ice, drawing the line after him, until the fish came out of the hole with a flop29 and a severe splutter. It was above four pounds weight, and they afterwards found that the deeper the water into which the line was cast the larger were the fish procured30. White-fish were the kind they caught most of, but there were a species of trout31, much resembling a salmon32 in colour and flavour, of which they caught a good many above ten and even fifteen pounds weight. All these fish, except those reserved for immediate33 use, they cleaned and hung up in the manner already described.
Thus they occupied themselves for several days, and as the work was hard, they did not wander much from their hut, but ate their meals with appetite, and slept at nights soundly.
One night, just as they were about to lay down to rest, Roy went out to fetch an armful of firewood. He returned with a look of satisfaction on his face.
“Look here, Nell, what call ye that?” pointing to a few specks34 of white on his breast and arms.
“Snow!” exclaimed Nelly.
“Ay—snow! it’s come at last, and I am glad of it, for we have far more than enough o’ grub now, and it’s time we were off from this. You see, lass, we can’t expect to find much game on a journey in winter, so we must carry all we can with us. Our backs won’t take so much as the sled, but the sled can’t go loaded till there’s snow on the ground, so the moment there is enough of it we’ll set off. Before starting, hows’ever, I must go off and try for a deer, for men can’t walk well on fish alone; and when I’m away you can be getting the snow-shoes repaired, and the sled-lashings overhauled35. We will set about all that to-morrow.”
“But isn’t to-morrow Sabbath?” said Nelly.
“So ’tis! I forgot; well, we can put it off till Monday.”
It may be well here to remark that Mrs Gore36, being a sincere Christian37, had a great reverence38 for the Sabbath-day, and had imbued39 her children with some of her own spirit in regard to it.
During the troubles and anxieties of the period when the children were lost in the snow and captured by the Indians, they had lost count of the days of the week. Roy was not much troubled about this, but his sister’s tender conscience caused her much uneasiness; and when they afterwards ran away from the Indians, and could do as they pleased, they agreed together to fix a Sabbath-day for themselves, beginning with the particular day on which it first occurred to them that they had not kept a Sabbath “for a long, long time.”
“We can’t find out the right day now, you know,” observed Nelly, in an apologetic tone.
“Of course not,” said Roy; “besides, it don’t matter, because you remember how it is in the Ten Commandments: ‘Six days shalt thou labour and do all thy work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath.’ We will keep to-day, then; work six days, and then keep the seventh day.”
We have elsewhere observed that Roy was a bit of a philosopher. Having reasoned the matter out thus philosophically40, the children held to their resolve; they travelled six days, and observed every seventh day as the Sabbath.
The particular Sabbath-day about which we are writing turned out to be a memorable41 one, as we shall see.
Roy and Nelly lay down that night, side by side, as was their wont1, with their separate blankets wrapped around them, and their feet pointing towards the fire. Of course they never undressed at night on this journey, but washed their underclothing as they found time and opportunity.
Soon they were sound asleep, and their gentle breathing was the only sound that broke the stillness of the night. But snow was falling silently in thick heavy flakes42, and it soon lay deep on the bosom43 of Silver Lake. Towards morning the wind arose, and snow-drift began to whirl round the hut, and block up its low doorway44.
Still the brother and sister slumbered45 peacefully, undisturbed by the gathering46 storm.
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1
wont
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| adj.习惯于；v.习惯；n.习惯 | |
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heartily
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| adv.衷心地，诚恳地，十分，很 | |
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vigour
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| （=vigor）n.智力，体力，精力 | |
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worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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infinitely
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| adv.无限地，无穷地 | |
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ridge
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| n.山脊；鼻梁；分水岭 | |
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perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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8
twig
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| n.小树枝，嫩枝；v.理解 | |
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9
scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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lustre
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| n.光亮，光泽；荣誉 | |
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countless
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| adj.无数的，多得不计其数的 | |
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gems
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| growth； economy； management； and customer satisfaction 增长 | |
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admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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avocations
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| n.业余爱好，嗜好( avocation的名词复数 )；职业 | |
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meditate
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| v.想，考虑，（尤指宗教上的）沉思，冥想 | |
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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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grooves
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| n.沟( groove的名词复数 )；槽；老一套；（某种）音乐节奏v.沟( groove的第三人称单数 )；槽；老一套；（某种）音乐节奏 | |
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18
chafing
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| n.皮肤发炎v.擦热（尤指皮肤）( chafe的现在分词 )；擦痛；发怒；惹怒 | |
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joint
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| adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合 | |
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ingenuity
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| n.别出心裁；善于发明创造 | |
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lashed
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| adj.具睫毛的v.鞭打( lash的过去式和过去分词 )；煽动；紧系；怒斥 | |
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sling
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| vt.扔；悬挂；n.挂带；吊索，吊兜；弹弓 | |
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modification
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| n.修改，改进，缓和，减轻 | |
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assented
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| 同意，赞成( assent的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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wading
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| （从水、泥等）蹚，走过，跋( wade的现在分词 ) | |
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wharf
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| n.码头，停泊处 | |
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axe
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| n.斧子；v.用斧头砍，削减 | |
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tug
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| v.用力拖(或拉)；苦干；n.拖；苦干；拖船 | |
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flop
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| n.失败(者)，扑通一声；vi.笨重地行动，沉重地落下 | |
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procured
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| v.（努力）取得， （设法）获得( procure的过去式和过去分词 )；拉皮条 | |
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trout
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| n.鳟鱼；鲑鱼(属) | |
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salmon
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| n.鲑，大马哈鱼，橙红色的 | |
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immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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specks
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| n.眼镜；斑点，微粒，污点( speck的名词复数 ) | |
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overhauled
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| v.彻底检查( overhaul的过去式和过去分词 )；大修；赶上；超越 | |
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gore
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| n.凝血，血污；v.（动物）用角撞伤，用牙刺破；缝以补裆；顶 | |
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Christian
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| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
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38
reverence
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| n.敬畏，尊敬，尊严；Reverence:对某些基督教神职人员的尊称；v.尊敬，敬畏，崇敬 | |
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imbued
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| v.使（某人/某事）充满或激起（感情等）( imbue的过去式和过去分词 )；使充满；灌输；激发（强烈感情或品质等） | |
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40
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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41
memorable
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| adj.值得回忆的，难忘的，特别的，显著的 | |
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42
flakes
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| 小薄片( flake的名词复数 )； （尤指）碎片； 雪花； 古怪的人 | |
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43
bosom
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| n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的 | |
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44
doorway
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| n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径 | |
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45
slumbered
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| 微睡，睡眠（slumber的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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46
gathering
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| n.集会，聚会，聚集 | |
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