After several days had passed away, our travellers found themselves among the higher passes of the great mountain range of the Andes.
Before reaching that region, however, they had, in one of the villages through which they passed, supplied themselves each with a fresh stout2 mule3, besides two serviceable animals to carry their provisions and camp equipage.
Pedro, who of course rode ahead in the capacity of guide, seemed to possess an unlimited4 supply of cash, and Lawrence Armstrong had at least sufficient to enable him to bear his fair share of the expenses of the journey. As for Quashy, being a servant he had no expenses to bear.
Of course the finest, as well as the best-looking, mule had been given to the pretty Manuela, and, despite the masculine attitude of her position, she sat and managed her steed with a grace of motion that might have rendered many a white dame5 envious6. Although filled with admiration7, Lawrence was by no means surprised, for he knew well that in the Pampas, or plains, to which region her father belonged, the Indians are celebrated8 for their splendid horsemanship. Indeed, their little children almost live on horseback, commencing their training long before they can mount, and overcoming the difficulty of smallness in early youth, by climbing to the backs of their steeds by means of a fore-leg, and not unfrequently by the tail.
The costume of the girl was well suited to her present mode of life, being a sort of light tunic9 reaching a little below the knees, with loose leggings, which were richly ornamented11 with needlework. A straw hat with a simple feather, covered her head, beneath which her curling black hair flowed in unconfined luxuriance. She wore no ornament10 of any kind, and the slight shoes that covered her small feet were perfectly12 plain. In short, there was a modest simplicity13 about the girl’s whole aspect and demeanour which greatly interested the Englishman, inducing him to murmur14 to himself, “What an uncommonly15 pretty girl she would be if she were only white!”
The colour of her skin was, indeed, unusually dark, but that fact did not interfere16 with the classic delicacy17 of her features, or the natural sweetness of her expression.
The order of progress in narrow places was such that Manuela rode behind Pedro and in front of Lawrence, Quashy bringing up the rear. In more open places the young Englishman used occasionally to ride up abreast18 of Manuela and endeavour to engage her in conversation. He was, to say truth, very much the reverse of what is styled a lady’s man, and had all his life felt rather shy and awkward in female society, but being a sociable19, kindly20 fellow, he felt it incumbent21 on him to do what in him lay to lighten the tedium22 of the long journey to one who, he thought, must naturally feel very lonely with no companions but men. “Besides,” he whispered to himself, “she is only an Indian, and of course cannot construe23 my attentions to mean anything so ridiculous as love-making—so, I will speak to her in a fatherly sort of way.”
Filled with this idea, as the party came out upon a wide and beautiful table-land, which seemed like a giant emerald set in a circlet of grand blue mountains, Lawrence pushed up alongside, and said—
“Poor girl, I fear that such prolonged riding over these rugged24 passes must fatigue25 you.” Manuela raised her dark eyes to the youth’s face, and, with a smile that was very slight—though not so slight but that it revealed a double row of bright little teeth—she replied softly—
“W’at you say?”
“Oh! I forgot, you don’t speak English. How stupid I am!” said Lawrence with a blush, for he was too young to act the “fatherly” part well.
He felt exceedingly awkward, but, observing that the girl’s eyes were again fixed26 pensively27 on the ground, he hoped that she had not noticed the blush, and attempted to repeat the phrase in Spanish. What he said it is not possible to set down in that tongue, nor can we gratify the reader with a translation. Whatever it was, Manuela replied by again raising her dark eyes for a moment—this time without a smile—and shaking her head.
Poor Lawrence felt more awkward than ever. In despair he half thought of making trial of Latin or Greek, when Pedro came opportunely28 to the rescue. Looking back he began—
“Senhor Armstrong—”
“Nay, I like to use it,” returned the guide. “It reminds me so forcibly of the time when I addressed your good old father thus.”
“Well, Senhor Pedro, call me what you please. What were you about to say?”
“Only that we are now approaching one of the dangerous passes of the mountains, where baggage-mules30 sometimes touch the cliffs with their packs, and so get tilted31 over the precipices33. But our mules are quiet, and with ordinary care we have nothing to fear.”
The gorge34 in the mountains, which the travellers soon afterwards entered, fully35 justified36 the guide’s expression “dangerous.” It was a wild, rugged glen, high up on one side of which the narrow pathway wound—in some places rounding a cliff or projecting boulder37, which rendered the passage of the baggage-mules extremely difficult. Indeed, one of the mules did slightly graze a rock with its burden; and, although naturally sure-footed, was so far thrown off its balance as to be within a hair’s-breadth of tumbling over the edge and being dashed to pieces on the rocks below, where a turbulent river rushed tumultuously at the bottom of the glen.
One of the snow-clad peaks of the higher Andes lay right before them. One or two guanacos—animals of the lama species—gazed at them from the other side of the gorge, and several ill-omened vultures wheeled in the sky above, as if anticipating a catastrophe38 which would furnish them with a glorious meal.
“A most suitable place for the depredations39 of banditti, or fellows like Conrad of the Mountains, I should think,” said Lawrence.
“Bandits are sometimes met with here,” returned Pedro, quietly.
“And what if we should meet with such in a place where there is scarcely room to fight?”
“Why then,” returned the guide, with a slight curl of his moustache, “we should have to try who could fight best in the smallest space.”
For some time they rode together in silence; but Quashy, who had overheard, the conversation, and was of a remarkably41 combative42 disposition43, though the reverse of bad-tempered44 or quarrelsome, could not refrain from asking—
“W’y de Guv’mint not hab lots ob sojers an’ pleece in de mountains to squash de raskils?”
“Because Government has enough to do to squash the rascals45 nearer home, Quashy,” answered Pedro. “Have a care, the track gets rather steep here.”
He glanced over his shoulder at the Indian girl as he spoke46. She was riding behind with an air of perfect ease and self-possession.
“Fall to the rear, Quashy,” said Pedro.
The black obeyed at once, and a minute later they turned the corner of a jutting47 rock, which had hitherto shut out from view the lower part of the gorge and the track they were following.
The sight that met their view was calculated to try the strongest nerves, for there, not a hundred paces in advance, and coming towards them, were ten of the most villainous-looking cut-throats that could be imagined, all mounted, and heavily armed with carbine, sword, and pistol.
Taken completely by surprise, the bandits—for such Pedro knew them to be—pulled up. Not so our guide. It was one of the peculiarities48 and strong points of Pedro’s character that he was never taken by surprise, or uncertain what to do.
Instantly he drew his sword with one hand, a pistol with the other, and, driving his spurs deep into his mule, dashed down the steep road at the banditti. In the very act he looked back, and, in a voice that caused the echoes of the gorge to ring, shouted in Spanish—
“Come on, comrades! here they are at last! close up!”
A yell of the most fiendish excitement and surprise from Quashy—who was only just coming into view—assisted the deception49. If anything was wanting to complete the effect, it was the galvanic upheaval51 of Lawrence’s long arms and the tremendous flourish of his longer legs, as he vaulted52 over his mule’s head, left it scornfully behind, uttered a roar worthy53 of an African lion, and rushed forward on foot. He grasped his great cudgel, for sword and pistol had been utterly54 forgotten!
Like a human avalanche55 they descended56 on the foe57. That foe did not await the onset58. Panic-stricken they turned and went helter-skelter down the pass—all except two, who seemed made of sterner stuff than their fellows, and hesitated.
One of these Pedro rode fairly down, and sent, horse and all, over the precipice32. Lawrence’s cudgel beat down the guard of the other, flattened59 his sombrero, and stopping only at his skull60, stretched him on the ground. As for those who had fled, the appalling61 yells of Quashy, as he pursued them, scattered62 to the winds any fag-ends of courage they might have possessed63, and effectually prevented their return. So tremendous and sudden was the result, that Manuela felt more inclined to laugh than cry, though naturally a good deal frightened.
Lawrence and Pedro were standing64 in consultation65 over the fallen bandit when the negro came back panting from the chase.
“What would you recommend?” asked Pedro.
“No, I cannot kill in cold blood, though I have no doubt he richly deserves it. We’ll bind67 his hands and leave him. It may be weakness on my part, but we can’t take him on, you know.”
While Pedro was in the act of binding68 the robber, a wild shriek69, as of some one in terrible agony, startled them. Looking cautiously over the precipice, where the sound seemed to come from, they saw that the man whom Pedro had ridden down was hanging over the abyss by the boughs70 of a small shrub71. His steed lay mangled72 on the rocks of the river bank at the bottom. There was an agonised expression in the man’s countenance73 which would have touched a heart much less soft than that of Lawrence Armstrong. Evidently the man’s power of holding on was nearly exhausted74, and he could not repress a shriek at the prospect of the terrible death which seemed so imminent75.
Being a practised mountaineer, Lawrence at once, without thought of personal danger, and moved only by pity, slipped over the crags, and, descending76 on one or two slight projections78, the stability of which even a Swiss goat might have questioned, reached the bush. A look of fierce and deadly hate was on the robber’s face, for, judging of others by himself, he thought, no doubt, that his enemy meant to hasten his destruction.
“Here, catch hold—I’ll save you!” cried Lawrence, extending his strong right hand.
A glance of surprise told that he was understood. The bandit let go the hold of one of his hands and made a convulsive grasp at his rescuer. Their fingers touched, but at the same moment the branch gave way, and, with a cry of wild despair, the wretched man went headlong down.
Not, however, to destruction. The effort he had made threw him slightly to one side of the line which his horse had taken in its fall. The difference was very slight indeed, yet it sufficed to send him towards another bush lower down the cliff. Still, the height he had to fall would have ensured the breaking of all his bones if the bush had not hurled79 him off with a violent rebound80.
Lawrence almost felt giddy with horror. Next moment a heavy plunge81 was heard. The man had fallen into a deep dark pool in the river, which was scarce distinguishable from the cliffs above. Being fringed with bushes, it was impossible to note whether he rose again. Lawrence was still gazing anxiously at the pool, when something touched his cheek. It was a lasso which Pedro had quietly dropped over his shoulders.
“Hold fast to it, senhor, you’ll never get up without it,” he said, in tones so earnest that the youth became suddenly alive to the great danger of his position. In the haste and anxiety of his descent he had failed to note that one or two of the slight projections on which he had placed his feet had broken away, and that therefore a return to the top of the almost perpendicular82 precipice by the same route was impracticable. Even the slight ledge83 on which he stood, and from which the little shrub grew, seemed to be crumbling84 away beneath his great weight. With that feeling of alarm which the sudden and unexpected prospect of instant death brings, we presume, even to the stoutest85 hearts, Lawrence clutched the line convulsively. He was ignorant at that time of the great strength of the South American lasso, and hesitated to trust his life entirely86 to it. Pedro guessed his feelings.
“Don’t fear to trust it,” he said, “many a wild bull it has held, four times your size; but wait till Quashy and I get our feet well fixed—we’ll haul you up easily.”
“Have you made the end fast?” cried Lawrence, looking up and encountering the anxious gaze of the Indian maiden87.
“Yes, massa, all fast,” answered Quashy, whose look of horror can be more easily imagined than described.
“Hold on, then, and don’t haul.”
The two men obeyed, and the active youth pulled himself up hand over hand, making good use in passing of any hollow or projection77 that afforded the slightest hold for his toes. At the top he was roughly grasped by his rescuers and dragged into safety.
“Poor fellow!” he exclaimed, on reaching the top.
“Well, massa,” said Quashy, with a broad grin, “das jist w’at I’s agwine to say, but you’s too quick for me.”
“I meant the bandit, not myself,” said Lawrence, looking over the cliff at the pool with an expression of great pity.
“Ha! don’t be uneasy about him,” said Pedro, with a short laugh, as he resumed the binding of the stunned88 robber. “If he’s killed or drowned he’s well out o’ the way. If he has escaped he’ll be sure to recover and make himself a pest to the neighbourhood for many a day to come.—No, no, my good man, it’s of no use, you needn’t try it.”
The latter part of this speech was in Spanish, and addressed to the robber, who, having recovered consciousness, had made a sudden struggle to shake off his captor. As suddenly he ceased the effort on finding that the strength of the guide was greatly superior to his own.
In another minute Pedro stood up, having bound the bandit’s hands in front of him in a manner that rendered any effort at self-liberation impossible—at least in a short space of time.
“There,” said Pedro to Lawrence, “I’ll warrant him to lead a harmless life until to-morrow at any rate.”
As he spoke he drew the man’s pistols, knife, and carbine, and handed them to Quashy.
“There,” he said, “you may find these useful.”
Meanwhile the robber lay quietly on his back, glancing from one to another of the party with looks of hatred89 that told clearly enough how he would have acted had he been free.
Turning to him as he was about to remount and quit the scene, Pedro said very sternly in Spanish—
“You and I have met before, friend, and you know my powers with the rifle at long-range. If you offer to rise from the spot where you now lie until we have disappeared round that rocky point half a mile along the road, you are a dead man. After we have turned the point, you may go where you will and do what you please. I might point out that in refraining from cutting your throat I am showing mercy which you don’t deserve—but it is useless to throw pearls to swine.”
The man spoke no word of reply, though he did look a little surprised as the party left him and rode away.
“Would it not have been safer to have bound his hands behind his back?” asked Lawrence.
“No doubt it would, but he is secure enough for our purpose as he is. If I had bound him as you suggest, he would have been almost certain to perish, being quite unable to help himself. As it is, he can use his tied hands to some extent, and, by perseverance90 in sawing the lines against sharp rocks, he will set himself free at last. By that time, however, we shall be beyond his reach.”
From time to time they all glanced over their shoulders as they rode along, but the bound man did not stir. After they had passed beyond the point of rock before referred to, Lawrence’s curiosity prompted him to turn back and peep round.
The bandit had already risen from the ground, and could be seen walking, as quickly as circumstances permitted, up the track by which they had just descended.
In a few minutes his tall figure was seen to pause for a brief space at the summit of the pass. Then it disappeared on the other side into the gloomy recesses91 of the mountains.
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1
advent
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| n.(重要事件等的)到来，来临 | |
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mule
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| n.骡子，杂种，执拗的人 | |
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unlimited
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| adj.无限的，不受控制的，无条件的 | |
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dame
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| n.女士 | |
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envious
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| adj.嫉妒的，羡慕的 | |
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admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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celebrated
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| adj.有名的，声誉卓著的 | |
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tunic
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| n.束腰外衣 | |
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ornament
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| v.装饰，美化；n.装饰，装饰物 | |
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ornamented
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| 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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12
perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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simplicity
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| n.简单，简易；朴素；直率，单纯 | |
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murmur
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| n.低语，低声的怨言；v.低语，低声而言 | |
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uncommonly
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| adv. 稀罕(极，非常) | |
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16
interfere
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| v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰 | |
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delicacy
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| n.精致，细微，微妙，精良；美味，佳肴 | |
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18
abreast
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| adv.并排地；跟上(时代)的步伐，与…并进地 | |
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sociable
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| adj.好交际的，友好的，合群的 | |
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20
kindly
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| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
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incumbent
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| adj.成为责任的，有义务的；现任的，在职的 | |
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tedium
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| n.单调；烦闷 | |
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construe
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| v.翻译，解释 | |
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rugged
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| adj.高低不平的，粗糙的，粗壮的，强健的 | |
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fatigue
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| n.疲劳，劳累 | |
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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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pensively
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| adv.沉思地，焦虑地 | |
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opportunely
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| adv.恰好地，适时地 | |
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dispense
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| vt.分配，分发；配(药)，发(药)；实施 | |
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mules
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| 骡( mule的名词复数 )； 拖鞋； 顽固的人； 越境运毒者 | |
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tilted
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| v. 倾斜的 | |
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precipice
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| n.悬崖，危急的处境 | |
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precipices
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| n.悬崖，峭壁( precipice的名词复数 ) | |
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gorge
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| n.咽喉，胃，暴食，山峡；v.塞饱，狼吞虎咽地吃 | |
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fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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justified
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| a.正当的，有理的 | |
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boulder
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| n.巨砾；卵石，圆石 | |
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catastrophe
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| n.大灾难，大祸 | |
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depredations
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| n.劫掠，毁坏( depredation的名词复数 ) | |
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prospect
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| n.前景，前途；景色，视野 | |
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remarkably
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| ad.不同寻常地，相当地 | |
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combative
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| adj.好战的；好斗的 | |
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disposition
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| n.性情，性格；意向，倾向；排列，部署 | |
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bad-tempered
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| adj.脾气坏的 | |
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rascals
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| 流氓( rascal的名词复数 )； 无赖； （开玩笑说法）淘气的人（尤指小孩）； 恶作剧的人 | |
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46
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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47
jutting
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| v.（使）突出( jut的现在分词 )；伸出；（从…）突出；高出 | |
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48
peculiarities
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| n. 特质, 特性, 怪癖, 古怪 | |
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deception
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| n.欺骗，欺诈；骗局，诡计 | |
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wan
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| (wide area network)广域网 | |
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51
upheaval
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| n.胀起，(地壳)的隆起；剧变，动乱 | |
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vaulted
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| adj.拱状的 | |
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53
worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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avalanche
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| n.雪崩，大量涌来 | |
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descended
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| a.为...后裔的，出身于...的 | |
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foe
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| n.敌人，仇敌 | |
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onset
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| n.进攻，袭击，开始，突然开始 | |
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flattened
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| [医]（水）平扁的，弄平的 | |
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skull
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| n.头骨；颅骨 | |
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appalling
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| adj.骇人听闻的，令人震惊的，可怕的 | |
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scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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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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consultation
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| n.咨询；商量；商议；会议 | |
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pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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bind
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| vt.捆，包扎；装订；约束；使凝固；vi.变硬 | |
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binding
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| 有约束力的，有效的，应遵守的 | |
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shriek
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| v./n.尖叫，叫喊 | |
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70
boughs
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| 大树枝( bough的名词复数 ) | |
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shrub
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| n.灌木，灌木丛 | |
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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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countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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exhausted
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| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
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imminent
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| adj.即将发生的，临近的，逼近的 | |
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descending
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| n. 下行 adj. 下降的 | |
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projection
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| n.发射，计划，突出部分 | |
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projections
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| 预测( projection的名词复数 )； 投影； 投掷； 突起物 | |
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hurled
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| v.猛投，用力掷( hurl的过去式和过去分词 )；大声叫骂 | |
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rebound
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| v.弹回；n.弹回，跳回 | |
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plunge
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| v.跳入，(使)投入，(使)陷入；猛冲 | |
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perpendicular
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| adj.垂直的，直立的；n.垂直线，垂直的位置 | |
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ledge
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| n.壁架，架状突出物；岩架，岩礁 | |
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crumbling
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| adj.摇摇欲坠的 | |
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stoutest
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| 粗壮的( stout的最高级 )； 结实的； 坚固的； 坚定的 | |
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entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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maiden
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| n.少女，处女；adj.未婚的，纯洁的，无经验的 | |
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stunned
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| adj. 震惊的，惊讶的 动词stun的过去式和过去分词 | |
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hatred
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| n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨 | |
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perseverance
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| n.坚持不懈，不屈不挠 | |
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recesses
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| n.壁凹( recess的名词复数 )；（工作或业务活动的）中止或暂停期间；学校的课间休息；某物内部的凹形空间v.把某物放在墙壁的凹处( recess的第三人称单数 )；将（墙）做成凹形，在（墙）上做壁龛；休息，休会，休庭 | |
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