This attitude was but momentary3, however, for the cry was repeated (“Hi! Nelly, hi!”) in clear silvery tones, and Wapaw smiled as he recognised Roy’s voice, and quietly resumed his former occupation.
Nelly bounded up at once, and ran out to receive her brother, and tell him of the arrival of their old friend.
She slipped on her snow-shoes, and went off in the direction of the cry. On rounding the foot of a cliff she discovered Roy, standing4 as if he had been petrified5, with his eyes glaring at the snow with a mingled6 look of surprise and alarm.
Nelly’s step roused him.
“Ho! Nell,” he cried, giving vent7 to a deep sigh of relief, “I’m thankful to see you—but look here. What snow-shoe made this track? I came on it just this moment, and it pulled me up slick, I can tell ye.”
Nelly at once removed Roy’s alarm, and increased his surprise by telling him of the new arrival, who, she said, was friendly, but she did not tell him that he was an old friend.
“But come, now, what have you got for dinner, Roy?” said Nelly, with an arch smile, “for oh! I’m so hungry.”
Roy’s countenance8 fell, and he looked like a convicted culprit.
“Nell, I haven’t got nothin’ at all.”
“What a pity! We must just go supperless to bed, I suppose.”
“Come, lass, I see by the twinkle in your eye that you’ve got grub somehow or other. Has the redskin brought some ’at with him?”
“Yes, he has brought a little; but the best fun is that I shot a bird myself, and had it all ready beautifully cooked for your supper, when Wap—”
“Well, what d’ye mean by Wap?” inquired Roy, as Nelly stopped short.
“Nothing. I only meant to say that the Indian arrived suddenly, and ate it all up.”
“The villain9! Well, I’ll pay him off by eatin’ up some o’ his grub. Did he say what his name was, or where he came from?” inquired Roy.
“Never mind, you can ask him yourself,” said Nelly, as they drew near to the hut; “he seems to me to have been badly wounded by his enemies.”
They stooped and entered the hut as Nelly spoke10. The Indian looked up at her brother, and, uttering his wonted “Ho!” held out his hand.
“Good luck to ye!” cried Roy, grasping it and shaking it with a feeling of hearty11 hospitality. “It’s good to see yer face, though it is a strange un; but—hallo!—I say—yer face ain’t so strange, after all!—what! Why, you’re not Wap— Wap— Wapaw!”
The Indian displayed all his teeth, which were very numerous and remarkably12 white, and nodded his head gently.
“Well now, that beats everything!” cried Roy, seizing the Indian’s hand again and shaking it violently; then, turning to Nelly, he said, “Come, Nell, stir yer stumps13 and pluck two o’ them birds. I’ll split ’em, an’ wash ’em, an’ roast ’em, an’ we’ll all eat ’em—Wapaw’ll be ready for more before it’s ready for him. Jump, now, and see if we don’t have a feast to-night, if we should starve to-morrow. But I say, Wapaw, don’t ye think the redskins may be after you yet?”
The first part of this speech was uttered in wild glee, but the last sentence was spoken more earnestly, as the thought occurred to him that Wapaw might have been closely pursued, for Nelly had told him of the Indian having been wounded by enemies and obliged to fly.
Wapaw shook his head, and made his young friend understand as well as he could that there was little chance of that, as he had travelled with the utmost speed in order to distance his pursuers, and induce them to give up the chase.
“Well, it may be as you say, friend,” observed Roy, as he sat down before the fire and pulled off his hunting mocassins and socks, which he replaced by lighter14 foot-gear more suited to the hut; “but I don’t much like the notion o’ givin’ them a chance to come up and cut all our throats at once. It’s not likely, however, that they’ll be here to-night, considerin’ the pace you say you came at, so we’ll make our minds easy, but with your leave we’ll cut our sticks to-morrow, an’ make tracks for Fort Enterprise. We han’t got much in the way o’ grub to start wi’, it is true, but we have enough at least for two days’ eatin’, and for the rest, we have our guns, and you to be our guide.”
This plan was agreed to by Wapaw, who thereupon advised that they should all lie down to sleep without delay. Roy, who was fatigued15 with his day’s exertions16, agreed, and in less than half an hour the three were sound asleep.
Next morning they arose with the sun, much refreshed; and while Wapaw and Nelly collected together and packed on their new sledge17 the few things that they possessed18, Roy went for the last time to cast his line in Silver Lake. He was more fortunate than usual, and returned in an hour with four fine fish of about six pounds’ weight each.
With this acceptable, though small, addition to their slender stock of provisions, they left the hut about noon, and commenced their journey, making a considerable détour in order to avoid meeting with any of the Indians who might chance to have continued the pursuit of Wapaw.
That same evening, towards sunset, a party of hunters marched out of the woods, and stood upon the shores of Silver Lake, the tracks about which they began to examine with particular interest. There were six of the party, five of them being white hunters, and one an Indian. We need scarcely add that they were our friend Robin19 and his companions.
“I tell ’ee what it is,” cried Robin, in an excited tone, “that’s my Nelly’s fut; I’d know the prints o’t among a thousand, an’ it’s quite plain Roy is with her, an’ that Wapaw has come on ’em, for their tracks are clear.”
“Sure it looks like it,” observed Larry O’Dowd, scratching his head as if in perplexity, “but the tracks is so mixed up, it ain’t aisy to foller ’em.”
“See, here’s a well-beaten track goin’ into the wood!” cried Walter, who had, like his companions, been searching among the bushes.
Every one followed Walter, who led the way towards the hut, which was finally discovered with a thin, scarcely perceptible line of smoke still issuing from the chimney. They all stopped at once, and held back to allow Robin to advance alone. The poor man went forward with a beating heart, and stopped abruptly20 at the entrance, where he stood for a few seconds as if he were unable to go in. At length he raised the curtain and looked in; then he entered quickly.
“Gone, Walter, they’re gone!” he cried; “come in, lad, and see. Here’s evidence o’ my dear children everywhere. It’s plain, too, that they have left only a few hours agone.”
“True for ye, the fire’s hot,” said Larry, lighting21 his pipe from the embers in testimony22 of the truth of his assertion.
“They can’t be far off,” said Slugs, who was examining every relic23 of the absent ones with the most minute care. “The less time we lose in follerin’ of ’em the better—what think ye, lad?” The Black Swan nodded his approval of the sentiment.
“What! without sleep or supper?” cried Stiff, whose enthusiasm in the chase had long ago evaporated.
“Ay,” said Robin sternly, “I start now. Let those stop here who will.”
To do Stiff justice, his objections were never pressed home, so he comforted himself with a quid of tobacco, and accompanied Robin and his men with dogged resolution when they left the hut. Plunging24 once more into the forest, they followed up the track all night, as they had already followed it up all day.
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1
distended
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| v.（使）膨胀，肿胀( distend的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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2
nostrils
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| 鼻孔( nostril的名词复数 ) | |
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3
momentary
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| adj.片刻的，瞬息的；短暂的 | |
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4
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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5
petrified
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| adj.惊呆的；目瞪口呆的v.使吓呆，使惊呆；变僵硬；使石化(petrify的过去式和过去分词) | |
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6
mingled
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| 混合，混入( mingle的过去式和过去分词 )； 混进，与…交往[联系] | |
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7
vent
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| n.通风口，排放口；开衩；vt.表达，发泄 | |
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8
countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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9
villain
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| n.反派演员，反面人物；恶棍；问题的起因 | |
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10
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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11
hearty
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| adj.热情友好的；衷心的；尽情的，纵情的 | |
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12
remarkably
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| ad.不同寻常地，相当地 | |
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13
stumps
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| （被砍下的树的）树桩( stump的名词复数 )； 残肢； （板球三柱门的）柱； 残余部分 | |
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14
lighter
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| n.打火机，点火器；驳船；v.用驳船运送；light的比较级 | |
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15
fatigued
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| adj. 疲乏的 | |
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16
exertions
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| n.努力( exertion的名词复数 )；费力；（能力、权力等的）运用；行使 | |
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17
sledge
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| n.雪橇，大锤；v.用雪橇搬运，坐雪橇往 | |
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18
possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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19
robin
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| n.知更鸟，红襟鸟 | |
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20
abruptly
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| adv.突然地，出其不意地 | |
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21
lighting
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| n.照明，光线的明暗，舞台灯光 | |
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22
testimony
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| n.证词；见证，证明 | |
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23
relic
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| n.神圣的遗物，遗迹，纪念物 | |
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24
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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