When the hunter had stood for full five minutes gazing at the beautiful scenery by which he was surrounded, it suddenly occurred to him that a pipe would render him much more capable of enjoying it; so he sat down on the trunk of a fallen tree, leaned his gun on it, pulled the fire-bag from his belt, and began to fill his pipe, which was one of the kind used by the savages1 of the country, with a stone head and a wooden stem. It was soon lighted, and Jasper was thinking how much more clear and beautiful a landscape looked through tobacco smoke, when a hand was laid lightly on his shoulder. Looking quickly round, he beheld2 a tall dark-faced Indian standing3 by his side.
Jasper betrayed neither alarm nor surprise; for the youth was his own comrade, who had merely come to tell him that the canoe in which they had been travelling together, and which had been slightly damaged, was repaired and ready for service.
“Why, Arrowhead, you steal on me with the soft tread of a fox. My ears are not dull, yet I did not hear your approach, lad.”
A smile lighted up the countenance4 of the young Indian for a moment, as he listened to a compliment which gratified him much; but the grave expression which was natural to him instantly returned, as he said, “Arrowhead has hunted in the Rocky Mountains where the men are treacherous5; he has learned to tread lightly there.”
“No doubt, ye had need to be always on the look out where there are such varmints; but hereaway, Arrowhead, there are no foes6 to fear, and therefore no need to take yer friends by surprise. But ye’re proud o’ your gifts, lad, an’ I suppose it’s natural to like to show them off. Is the canoe ready?”
The Indian replied by a nod.
“That’s well, lad, it will be sun-down in another hour, an’ I would like to camp on the point of pines to-night; so come along.”
“Hist!” exclaimed the Indian, pointing to a flock of geese which came into view at that moment.
“Ah! you come of a masterful race,” said Jasper, shaking his head gravely, “you’re never content when ye’ve got enough, but must always be killing7 God’s creatures right and left for pure sport. Haven’t we got one grey goose already for supper, an’ that’s enough for two men surely. Of course I make no account o’ the artist, poor cratur’, for he eats next to nothin’. Hows’ever, as your appetite may be sharper set than usual, I’ve no objection to bring down another for ye.”
So saying the hunter and the Indian crouched8 behind a bush, and the former, while he cocked his gun and examined the priming, gave utterance9 to a series of cries so loud and discordant10, that any one who was ignorant of a hunter’s ways must have thought he was anxious to drive all the living creatures within six miles of him away in terror. Jasper had no such wish, however. He was merely imitating the cry of the wild geese. The birds, which were at first so far-off that a rifle-ball could not have reached them, no sooner heard the cry of their friends (as they doubtless thought it) than they turned out of their course, and came gradually towards the bush where the two men lay hidden.
The hunter did not cease to cry until the birds were within gunshot. Then he fixed11 his eye on one of the flock that seemed plump and fat. The long barrel of the gun was quickly raised, the geese discovered their mistake, and the whole flock were thrown into wild confusion as they attempted to sheer off; but it was too late. Smoke and fire burst from the bush, and an enormous grey goose fell with a heavy crash to the ground.
“What have you shot? what have you shot?” cried a shrill12 and somewhat weak voice in the distance. In another moment the owner of the voice appeared, running eagerly towards the two men.
“Use your eyes, John Heywood, an’ ye won’t need to ask,” said Jasper, with a quiet smile, as he carefully reloaded his gun.
“Ah! I see—a grey swan—no, surely, it cannot be a goose?” said Heywood, turning the bird over and regarding it with astonishment13; “why, this is the biggest one I ever did see.”
“What’s yon in the water? Deer, I do believe,” cried Jasper, quickly drawing the small shot from his gun and putting in a ball instead. “Come, lads, we shall have venison for supper to-night. That beast can’t reach t’other side so soon as we can.”
Jasper leaped quickly down the hill, and dashed through the bushes towards the spot where their canoe lay. He was closely followed by his companions, and in less than two minutes they were darting14 across the lake in their little Indian canoe, which was made of birch-bark, and was so light that one man could carry it easily.
While they are thus engaged I will introduce the reader to John Heywood. This individual was a youth of nineteen or twenty years of age, who was by profession a painter of landscapes and animals. He was tall and slender in person, with straight black hair, a pale haggard-looking face, an excitable nervous manner, and an enthusiastic temperament15. Being adventurous16 in his disposition17, he had left his father’s home in Canada, and entreated18 his friend, Jasper Derry, to take him along with him into the wilderness19. At first Jasper was very unwilling20 to agree to this request; because the young artist was utterly21 ignorant of everything connected with a life in the woods, and he could neither use a paddle nor a gun. But Heywood’s father had done him some service at a time when he was ill and in difficulties, so, as the youth was very anxious to go, he resolved to repay this good turn of the father by doing a kindness to the son.
Heywood turned out but a poor backwoodsman, but he proved to be a pleasant, amusing companion, and as Jasper and the Indian were quite sufficient for the management of the light canoe, and the good gun of the former was more than sufficient to feed the party, it mattered nothing to Jasper that Heywood spent most of his time seated in the middle of the canoe, sketching22 the scenery as they went along. Still less did it matter that Heywood missed everything he fired at, whether it was close at hand or far away.
At first Jasper was disposed to look upon his young companion as a poor useless creature; and the Indian regarded him with undisguised contempt. But after they had been some time in his company, the opinions of these two men of the woods changed; for they found that the artist was wise, and well informed on many subjects of which they were extremely ignorant; and they beheld with deep admiration23 the beautiful and life-like drawings and paintings which he produced in rapid succession.
Such was the romantic youth who had, for the sake of seeing and painting the wilderness, joined himself to these rough sons of the forest, and who now sat in the centre of the canoe swaying his arms about and shouting with excitement as they quickly drew near to the swimming herd24 of deer.
“Keep yourself still,” said Jasper, looking over his shoulder, “ye’ll upset the canoe if ye go on like that.”
“Take your pencil and draw him,” observed the hunter, with a quiet laugh. “Now, Arrowhead, two good strokes of the paddle will do—there—so.”
As he spoke26 the canoe glanced up alongside of an affrighted deer, and in the twinkling of an eye Jasper’s long knife was in its heart, and the water was dyed with blood. This happened quite near to the opposite shore of the lake, so that in little more than half an hour after it was killed the animal was cut up and packed, and the canoe was again speeding towards the upper end of the lake, where the party arrived just as night began to fling its dark mantle27 over the wilderness.
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1
savages
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| 未开化的人，野蛮人( savage的名词复数 ) | |
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2
beheld
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| v.看，注视( behold的过去式和过去分词 )；瞧；看呀；（叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现）哎哟 | |
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3
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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4
countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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5
treacherous
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| adj.不可靠的，有暗藏的危险的；adj.背叛的，背信弃义的 | |
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6
foes
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| 敌人，仇敌( foe的名词复数 ) | |
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killing
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| n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财 | |
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8
crouched
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| v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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9
utterance
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| n.用言语表达，话语，言语 | |
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10
discordant
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| adj.不调和的 | |
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11
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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12
shrill
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| adj.尖声的；刺耳的；v尖叫 | |
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13
astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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14
darting
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| v.投掷，投射( dart的现在分词 )；向前冲，飞奔 | |
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15
temperament
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| n.气质，性格，性情 | |
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adventurous
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| adj.爱冒险的；惊心动魄的，惊险的，刺激的 | |
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17
disposition
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| n.性情，性格；意向，倾向；排列，部署 | |
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18
entreated
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| 恳求，乞求( entreat的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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wilderness
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| n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠 | |
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20
unwilling
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| adj.不情愿的 | |
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utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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22
sketching
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| n.草图 | |
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23
admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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24
herd
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| n.兽群，牧群；vt.使集中，把…赶在一起 | |
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axe
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| n.斧子；v.用斧头砍，削减 | |
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26
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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mantle
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| n.斗篷，覆罩之物，罩子；v.罩住，覆盖，脸红 | |
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