Let loose in the wilderness2! How romantic, how inexpressibly delightful3, that idea seems to some minds! Ay, even when the weight of years begins to stiffen4 the joints5 and slack the cords of life the memory of God’s great, wild, untrammelled, beautiful wilderness comes over the spirit like a refreshing6 dream and restores for a time something like the pulse of youth.
We sometimes think what a joy it would be if youth could pass through its blessings7 with the intelligent experience of age. And it may be that this is to be one of the joys of the future, when man, redeemed8 and delivered from sin by Jesus Christ, shall find that the memory of the sorrows, sufferings, weaknesses of the past shall add inconceivably to the joys of the present. It may be so. Judging from analogy it does not seem presumptuous9 to suppose and hope that it will be so.
“Sufficient unto the day,” however, is the joy thereof.
When the two canoes pushed off and swept rapidly over the fair bosom10 of Red River, the heart of Archie Sinclair bounded with a feeling of exultant11 joy which it would have been very hard indeed to convince him was capable of increase, while the bosom of his invalid12 brother was filled with a sort of calm serenity13 which constituted, in his opinion at the time being, a quite sufficient amount of felicity.
When we add that the other hunters were, in their several ways, pretty much in the same condition as the boys, we have said enough to justify14 the remark that their circumstances were inexpressibly delightful.
Proceeding15 some distance up stream they finally diverged16 into a minor17 tributary18 which led to waters that were swarming19 with water-fowl and other game.
“This is a grand burst, Little Bill,” said Archie, as he plied20 his paddle vigorously, and glanced over his shoulder at the invalid behind him.
“Prime!” answered Billie. “Isn’t it?” he added, with a backward glance at Okématan.
“Ay, ‘Waugh!’ that’s all you’ll get out of him when he’s puzzled,” said Archie; “though what he means by it is more than I know. You must speak respectable English to a Red-skin if you want to convince him. Why, if he had understood you literally23, you know—and obeyed you—he’d have had something to do immediately with the lock of his gun.”
“I have often wondered, Archie,” returned his brother with a languid smile, “what a lot you manage to say sometimes with nothing in it.”
“Ha! ha!—ho! ho! what a wag you’re becoming, Little Bill. But I thank ’ee for the compliment, for you know it’s only philosophers that can say an awful lot without a’most sayin’ anything at all. Look at Oké there, now, what a depth of stupidity lies behind his brown visage; what bucketsful of ignorance swell24 out his black pate25, but he expresses it all in the single word ‘Waugh!’ because he’s a philosopher. If he was like La Certe, he’d jabber26 away to us by the hour of things he knows nothin’ about, and tell us long stories that are nothin’ less than big lies. I’m glad you think me a philosopher, Little Bill, for it takes all the philosophy I’ve got to keep me up to the scratch of goin’ about the world wi’ you on my back. Why, I’m a regular Sindbad the Sailor, only I’m saddled with a young man o’ the plains instead of an old man of the sea. D’ee understand what I’m saying, Oké?”
The chief, who understood little more than that his own name and that of La Certe were mentioned, nodded his head gravely and allowed the corners of his mouth to droop27, which was his peculiar28 way of smiling—a smile that might have been unintelligible29 to his friends had it not been relieved and interpreted by a decided30 twinkle in his eyes.
While they were conversing31, the two canoes had rounded a rocky point and swept out upon a lake-like expanse in the river, which was perfectly32 smooth and apparently33 currentless. Several islets studded its calm breast and were reflected in the clear water. These were wooded to the water’s edge, and from among the sedges near their margin34 several flocks of wild-fowl sprang up in alarm and went off in fluttering confusion.
It chanced that just then a trumpet-like note was heard overhead, as a flock of wild geese passed the spot and came suddenly close within range of the canoes which had been concealed35 from them by the bushes that fringed the river.
Guns were seized at once by the bowmen in each canoe, but Archie was smarter than Fergus. Before the Highlander36 had got the weapon well into his hands the boy fired and one of the flock fell into the river with a heavy plunge37.
Little Bill signalised the successful shot with a high-toned cheer, and the Indian with a low-toned “Waugh,” while Fergus made a hurried and therefore bad, shot at the scared flock.
“That wass a fery good shot, Archie,” remarked Fergus, as the canoes ranged up alongside of the dead bird.
“Yours was a very good one, too, Fergus,” returned the boy; “only not quite straight.”
The smile on the face of Okématan proved that he understood the drift of the reply, and that this was the style of humour he appreciated so highly in his young friend. We civilised people may wonder a little at the simplicity38 of the savage, but when we reflect that the chief had been born and bred among the solemnities of the wilderness, and had been up to that time wholly unacquainted with the humours and pleasantries that sometimes accompany juvenile39 “cheek,” our wonder may perhaps be subdued40.
“This would be a splendid place to camp for the rest of the day,” suggested Davidson, while they rested on their paddles after the goose had been secured. “We must lay in a small stock of fresh provisions, you know, if we are to push on to-morrow or next day to our hunting ground. What say you, Okématan?” he added in Cree, turning to their guide.
“The will of the Paleface chief is the wish of Okématan. Let him speak.”
“Well, then, I vote for encamping on the small island over there, in the middle o’ the lake—for it’s far more like a lake than a river hereabouts—that one over which the hawk41 is hovering42.”
“I vote for it too,” said Archie.
“So do I,” chimed in Little Bill.
“I will be sayin’ ditto to that,” put in Fergus.
“Moreover,” suggested Dan, “I vote for roasting the goose at once.”
“Ay, and eating him right away,” said Archie. As the invalid followed this up with a feeble cheer, the proposal was carried into effect without delay.
The islet was low and flat, and so thickly covered with bush that it afforded a most enticing43 spot for a night-encampment. There was also plenty of dead wood on it, with which to replenish44 the fire, and various peeps through sundry45 openings afforded exquisite46 views of woodland and river with which to charm the eyes. Over all, the sun was pouring his noontide rays in a glorious flood.
We need not waste time in going into the details of the feast that followed: how the goose was delightfully47 plump and tender—especially tender to teeth that would have scarcely observed the difference if it had been tough—how, in addition to the goose, they had wild-ducks enough—shot earlier in the day—to afford each one a duck to himself, leaving a brace48 over, of which Okématan ate one, as well as his share of the goose, and seemed to wish that he might eat the other, but he didn’t, for he restrained himself; how they drank tea with as much gusto and intemperance49 as if it had been a modern “afternoon”; and how, after all was over, the Red-man filled the pipe-head on the back of his iron tomahawk and began to smoke with the air of a man who meant business and regarded all that had gone before as mere50 child’s-play.
The afternoon was well advanced when the feast was concluded, for appetites in the wilderness are not easily or soon satisfied.
“I feel tight,” said Billie with a sigh and something of pathos51 in his tone, when he at last laid down his knife—we cannot add fork, for they scorned such implements52 at that time.
“That’s right, Little Bill,” said Archie, “try another leg or wing—now, don’t shake your head. We’ve come on this trip a-purpose to make you fat an’ strong. So you must—here, try this drum-stick. It’s only a little one, like yourself, Billie.”
“True, Archie, but I’m too little to hold it. I feel like an egg now.”
“Hallo! Oké, are you overcome already?” asked Archie.
“The sun sinks to rest at night and the birds go to sleep. If we intend to hunt we must begin now.”
“It’s always the way,” returned the boy with an air of discontent; “whenever a fellow gets into a state of extreme jollity there’s sure to be something bothersome to come and interrupt us. Obfusticate your faculties53 with some more smoke, Oké, till Billie and I finish our tea. We can’t shoot with half-empty stomachs, you know.”
“They must be three-quarters full by this time—whatever,” remarked Fergus, wiping his clasp-knife on the grass.
Just then, Dan Davidson, who had gone to explore the islet, returned with the information that some hunters must have recently visited the same place, for he had discovered the remains54 of an encampment at the extreme eastern side, which looked as if it had been recently occupied, for bones of wild-fowl were scattered55 about, the meat on which was neither dried nor decayed.
On hearing this, Okématan rose quickly, put out his pipe, and stuck the tomahawk in his belt. The sluggish56 good-natured air of contentment with which he had been smoking vanished; the half-sleepy eyes opened, and a frown rested on his brow as he said, shortly—
“Okématan goes to look.”
“May I go with you?” asked Dan.
“No. Okématan goes alone. It is known that a band of Saulteaux have been seen. They are roused just now by the actions of the great white chief and the words of my Nation. Rest here till I come. Go on eating. If they are here they may be watching us now.”
“D’ee hear that, Little Bill? You’ve got to go on eating,” said Archie. “Our guide commands it. If you disobey, the rascally57 Saulteaux will come down upon us somehow.”
But Archie’s light-heartedness was not shared by his older companions. They knew too well that the disturbed state of the country at the time, and especially the ill-will engendered58 between the Crees and Saulteaux by the ill-advised action of Lord Selkirk’s agents, rendered an explosion not improbable at any time, and a certain feeling of disappointment came over them when they reflected that the hunting expedition, which they had entered on with so much enthusiastic hope, might perhaps be brought to an abrupt59 close.
“If there’s to be any fighting I shall only be in your way,” said the invalid in a tone in which there was much of sadness, though none of fear.
“Not a bit of it, Little Bill,” returned Dan, quickly. “You’ll be in nobody’s way in the canoes. You’re as light as a feather. If we had even to take to the bush, Archie could run with you; an’ when he gets tired, Fergus and I would think no more o’ you than a grasshopper60.”
“Iss it carryin’ him you will be taalkin’ of?” said Fergus. “Ay, ay! I would be forgettin’ that he wass on my back if I had him there.”
As he spoke61, the Indian returned to the camp with the cat-like tread so characteristic of the Red-man.
“A big band has been here,” he said. “They slept on the island last night, and the signs show that they do not come as friends.”
“Are you sure of that?” asked Dan.
“Okématan is sure of nothing. Even the sun may not rise to-morrow.”
“Had we not better, then, return at once to the Settlement, and tell what we have seen?” said Dan.
“If we did, the Saulteaux would see us and give chase. Their canoes are big and have strong men in them. They would overtake us soon and our scalps would be swinging at their belts to-morrow.”
“Not pleesant to think of—whatever,” said Fergus.
“What, then, do you advise?” asked Dan. “You understand the ways of the wilderness, and we will follow your lead.”
The chief appeared to think for a few moments.
“We will remain where we are,” he said; “only we will send the boys off in one of the canoes, as if to shoot some ducks for us. The Saulteaux will think that we are lazy, idle men, who like to lie in camp and sleep or smoke while the boys hunt for us. When night comes we will escape in the dark and go down the river to warn the settlers.”
“But what if they attack us before night comes on?” asked Dan.
“They will not do that,” answered the Indian, gravely. “They know that we are well supplied with powder and shot. They know that some one must lead in every attack, and that such leaders would be doomed62 to death. Saulteaux do not love death. They prefer life. They will not come till it is dark.”
“Ha! ha!” laughed Fergus, who seemed greatly tickled63 with the latter part of the chief’s observation, “fery goot! ho! fery goot!—they do not love death, an’ it iss life they will be preferrin’. Ay, ay! It iss the Heelandman that will be of much the same opeenion, only, when fightin’ hes got to be done, he’s not afraid to do it in daylight.”
“He may not be afraid, Fergus,” said Dan, “yet I suspect that the Red-man’s tactics are often the wisest, for what would be the use of making an attack in daylight, at the cost of several lives, when the attack might be made quite as well, if not better, at night, without the loss, perhaps, of any life at all?”
“I will not be sayin’,” returned Fergus, who was of an argumentative disposition64, “anything at all about attackin’ by day or by night. I will only be remarkin’ that the Heelandman iss like the savitch in that he prefers life to death.”
“Come along to the fire, Fergus,” said Dan, laughing; “I will argue that out with you.”
“It will be difficult to argue, then, for there iss no argument in it at all. It is only a statement of opeenion.”
“Well, but surely it is possible to controvert65 your opinion! Besides, we are somewhat exposed where we stand. Even an arrow might reach us from the near bank.”
“Never you fear, Tan. They will not be so foolish as to fire now, instead of attack at night. They are sly—whatever.”
While the two friends were thus conversing, the Cree chief was arranging the smaller of the canoes for the use of the young hunters—that is, he took out all the lading, making it so light that it would skim over the water like an egg-shell with the slightest impulse of the paddle.
“You’ll have to put a big stone in the stern, Oké,” said Archie, “to make up for Little Bill’s lightness—”
“For your heaviness, you mean,” interrupted the invalid.
“No; I mean what I say, Billie, for you are light-headed as well as light-hearted—a sort o’ human balloon, ready to go up like a rocket at any time—so that even an or’nary man like me weighs you down. Besides, Oké, he steers67 better than me and I shoot better than him. Also, I like the hardest work, so I always take the bow.”
Arranging things according to directions, the Indian held the canoe steady while the brothers stepped carefully in—for they had learned from experience that the birch-bark canoe, besides being easily broken, is apt to overturn on small provocation68.
“Let not Arch-ee go near the river-bank on either side,” said the chief in a warning voice, as he was about to shove the frail69 bark out upon the glassy water. “The Saulteaux might catch him. And let him not go far up or down stream. Let him keep among the reeds round the island. There are many ducks there. Shoot plenty, as if Arch-ee had no suspicion—no fear of Indians.”
“I say, Oké,” demanded the lad, with what was meant for an overwhelming frown, “do you mean to hint that I have any fear of the Indians?”
“Okématan has the belief that Arch-ee never knew fear at all,” returned the chief, earnestly; “that he has the courage of the young buffalo-bull.”
“Well, I’m not quite so sure o’ that,” returned the boy, with a modest look. “I would not myself put it quite so strong, you know. But you’re a wise chief, and I hope you’ve got a lot of brothers as wise as yourself. Good-bye, Oké—shove off. Now, then, mind how you steer66, Little Bill.”
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1
auspicious
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| adj.吉利的；幸运的，吉兆的 | |
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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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delightful
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| adj.令人高兴的，使人快乐的 | |
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stiffen
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| v.(使)硬，(使)变挺，(使)变僵硬 | |
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joints
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| 接头( joint的名词复数 )； 关节； 公共场所（尤指价格低廉的饮食和娱乐场所） （非正式）； 一块烤肉 （英式英语） | |
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refreshing
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| adj.使精神振作的，使人清爽的，使人喜欢的 | |
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blessings
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| n.（上帝的）祝福( blessing的名词复数 )；好事；福分；因祸得福 | |
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redeemed
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| adj. 可赎回的，可救赎的 动词redeem的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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presumptuous
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| adj.胆大妄为的，放肆的，冒昧的，冒失的 | |
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bosom
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| n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的 | |
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exultant
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| adj.欢腾的，狂欢的，大喜的 | |
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invalid
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| n.病人，伤残人；adj.有病的，伤残的；无效的 | |
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serenity
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| n.宁静，沉着，晴朗 | |
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justify
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| vt.证明…正当(或有理)，为…辩护 | |
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proceeding
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| n.行动，进行，(pl.)会议录，学报 | |
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diverged
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| 分开( diverge的过去式和过去分词 )； 偏离； 分歧； 分道扬镳 | |
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minor
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| adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修 | |
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tributary
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| n.支流；纳贡国；adj.附庸的；辅助的；支流的 | |
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swarming
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| 密集( swarm的现在分词 )； 云集； 成群地移动； 蜜蜂或其他飞行昆虫成群地飞来飞去 | |
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plied
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| v.使用（工具）( ply的过去式和过去分词 )；经常供应（食物、饮料）；固定往来；经营生意 | |
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reticent
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| adj.沉默寡言的；言不如意的 | |
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savage
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| adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人 | |
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literally
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| adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实 | |
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swell
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| vi.膨胀，肿胀；增长，增强 | |
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pate
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| n.头顶；光顶 | |
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jabber
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| v.快而不清楚地说；n.吱吱喳喳 | |
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droop
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| v.低垂，下垂；凋萎，萎靡 | |
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peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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unintelligible
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| adj.无法了解的，难解的，莫明其妙的 | |
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decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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conversing
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| v.交谈，谈话( converse的现在分词 ) | |
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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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apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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margin
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| n.页边空白；差额；余地，余裕；边，边缘 | |
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concealed
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| a.隐藏的，隐蔽的 | |
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highlander
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| n.高地的人，苏格兰高地地区的人 | |
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plunge
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| v.跳入，(使)投入，(使)陷入；猛冲 | |
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simplicity
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| n.简单，简易；朴素；直率，单纯 | |
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juvenile
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| n.青少年，少年读物；adj.青少年的，幼稚的 | |
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subdued
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| adj. 屈服的，柔和的，减弱的 动词subdue的过去式和过去分词 | |
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hawk
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| n.鹰，骗子；鹰派成员 | |
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hovering
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| 鸟( hover的现在分词 )； 靠近（某事物）； （人）徘徊； 犹豫 | |
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enticing
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| adj.迷人的；诱人的 | |
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replenish
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| vt.补充；(把…)装满；(再)填满 | |
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sundry
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| adj.各式各样的，种种的 | |
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exquisite
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| adj.精美的；敏锐的；剧烈的，感觉强烈的 | |
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delightfully
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| 大喜，欣然 | |
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brace
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| n. 支柱,曲柄,大括号; v. 绷紧,顶住,(为困难或坏事)做准备 | |
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intemperance
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| n.放纵 | |
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mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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pathos
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| n.哀婉，悲怆 | |
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implements
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| n.工具( implement的名词复数 )；家具；手段；[法律]履行（契约等）v.实现( implement的第三人称单数 )；执行；贯彻；使生效 | |
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faculties
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| n.能力( faculty的名词复数 )；全体教职员；技巧；院 | |
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remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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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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sluggish
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| adj.懒惰的，迟钝的，无精打采的 | |
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rascally
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| adj. 无赖的，恶棍的 adv. 无赖地，卑鄙地 | |
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engendered
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| v.产生（某形势或状况），造成，引起( engender的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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abrupt
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| adj.突然的，意外的；唐突的，鲁莽的 | |
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grasshopper
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| n.蚱蜢，蝗虫，蚂蚱 | |
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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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62
doomed
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| 命定的 | |
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63
tickled
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| （使）发痒( tickle的过去式和过去分词 )； （使）愉快，逗乐 | |
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64
disposition
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| n.性情，性格；意向，倾向；排列，部署 | |
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65
controvert
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| v.否定；否认 | |
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66
steer
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| vt.驾驶，为…操舵；引导；vi.驾驶 | |
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67
steers
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| n.阉公牛，肉用公牛( steer的名词复数 )v.驾驶( steer的第三人称单数 )；操纵；控制；引导 | |
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68
provocation
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| n.激怒，刺激，挑拨，挑衅的事物，激怒的原因 | |
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frail
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| adj.身体虚弱的；易损坏的 | |
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