It is one thing to chase a horse; it is another thingto catch it. Little consideration and less sagacityare required to convince us of the truth of that fact.
The reader may perhaps venture to think this rathera trifling3 fact. We are not so sure of that. In thisworld of fancies, to have any fact incontestably provedand established is a comfort, and whatever is a sourceof comfort to mankind is worthy4 of notice. Surely ourreader won't deny that! Perhaps he will, so we canonly console ourself with the remark that there arepeople in this world who would deny anything--whowould deny that there was a nose on their face if yousaid there was!
Well, to return to the point, which was the chase ofa horse in the abstract; from which we will rapidlydiverge to the chase of Dick Varley's horse in particular.
This noble charger, having been ridden by savages untilall his old fire and blood and mettle5 were worked upto a red heat, no sooner discovered that he was pursuedthan he gave a snort of defiance6, which he accompaniedwith a frantic7 shake of his mane and a flingof contempt in addition to a magnificent wave ofhis tail. Then he thundered up the valley at a pacewhich would speedily have left Joe Blunt and Henriout of sight behind if--ay! that's the word, if! Whata word that if is! what a world of if's we live in!
There never was anything that wouldn't have beensomething else if something hadn't intervened to preventit! Yes, we repeat Charlie would have left histwo friends miles and miles behind in what is called"no time," if he had not run straight into a gorgewhich was surrounded by inaccessible9 precipices10, andout of which there was no exit except by the entrance,which was immediately barred by Henri, while Joeadvanced to catch the run-away.
For two hours at least did Joe Blunt essay to catchCharlie, and during that space of time he utterly11 failedThe horse seemed to have made up his mind for whatis vulgarly termed "a lark12.""It won't do, Henri," said Joe, advancing towardshis companion, and wiping his forehead with the cuffof his leathern coat; "I can't catch him. The wind'sa'most blowed out o' me body.""Dat am vexatiable," replied Henri, in a tone ofcommiseration. "S'pose I wos make try?""In that case I s'pose ye would fail. But go ahead,an' do what ye can. I'll hold yer horse."So Henri began by a rush and a flourish of legs andarms that nearly frightened the horse out of his wits.
For half-an-hour he went through all the complicationsof running and twisting of which he was capable, withoutsuccess, when Joe Blunt suddenly uttered a stentorianyell that rooted him to the spot on which hestood.
To account for this, we must explain that in theheights of the Rocky Mountains vast accumulations ofsnow take place among the crevices13 and gorges14 duringwinter. Such of these masses as form on steep slopesare loosened by occasional thaws15, and are precipitatedin the form of avalanches17 into the valleys below, carryingtrees and stones along with them in their thunderingdescent. In the gloomy gorge8 where Dick'shorse had taken refuge the precipices were so steep thatmany avalanches had occurred, as was evident from themounds of heaped snow that lay at the foot of most ofthem. Neither stones nor trees were carried down here,however, for the cliffs were nearly perpendicular20, andthe snow slipping over their edges had fallen on thegrass below. Such an avalanche18 was now about to takeplace, and it was this that caused Joe to utter his cryof alarm and warning.
Henri and the horse were directly under the cliff overwhich it was about to be hurled21, the latter close to thewall of rock, the other at some distance away from it.
Joe cried again, "Back, Henri! back vite!" whenthe mass flowed over and fell with a roar like prolongedthunder. Henri sprang back in time to save his life,though he was knocked down and almost stunned22; butpoor Charlie was completely buried under the avalanche,which now presented the appearance of a hill of snow.
The instant Henri recovered sufficiently23, Joe and hemounted their horses and galloped24 back to the camp asfast as possible.
Meanwhile, another spectator stepped forward uponthe scene they had left, and surveyed the snow hillwith a critical eye. This was no less than a grizzlybear, which had, unobserved, been a spectator, and whichimmediately proceeded to dig into the mound19, with thepurpose, no doubt, of disentombing the carcass of thehorse for purposes of his own.
While he was thus actively26 engaged the two huntersreached the camp, where they found that Pierre and hisparty had just arrived. The men sent out in search ofthem had scarcely advanced a mile when they foundthem trudging27 back to the camp in a very disconsolatemanner. But all their sorrows were put to flight onhearing of the curious way in which the horses hadbeen returned to them with interest.
Scarcely had Dick Varley, however, congratulatedhimself on the recovery of his gallant28 steed, when hewas thrown into despair by the sudden arrival of Joewith the tidings of the catastrophe29 we have just related.
Of course there was a general rush to the rescue.
Only a few men were ordered to remain to guard thecamp, while the remainder mounted their horses andgalloped towards the gorge where Charlie had been entombed.
On arriving, they found that Bruin hadworked with such laudable zeal30 that nothing but thetip of his tail was seen sticking out of the hole whichhe had dug. The hunters could not refrain fromlaughing as they sprang to the ground, and standing31 ina semicircle in front of the hole, prepared to fire. ButCrusoe resolved to have the honour of leading theassault. He seized fast hold of Bruin's flank, andcaused his teeth to meet therein. Caleb backed outat once and turned round, but before he could recoverfrom his surprise a dozen bullets pierced his heart andbrain.
"Now, lads," cried Cameron, setting to work with alarge wooden shovel32, "work like niggers. If there'sany life left in the horse, it'll soon be smothered33 outunless we set him free."The men needed no urging, however. They workedas if their lives depended on their exertions34. DickVarley, in particular, laboured like a young Hercules,and Henri hurled masses of snow about in a most surprisingmanner. Crusoe, too, entered heartily35 into thespirit of the work, and, scraping with his forepaws,sent such a continuous shower of snow behind him thathe was speedily lost to view in a hole of his own excavating36.
In the course of half-an-hour a cavern37 wasdug in the mound almost close up to the cliff, and themen were beginning to look about for the crushed bodyof Dick's steed, when an exclamation38 from Henri attractedtheir attention.
"Ha! mes ami, here am be one hole."The truth of this could not be doubted, for theeccentric trapper had thrust his shovel through thewall of snow into what appeared to be a cavern beyond,and immediately followed up his remark by thrustingin his head and shoulders. He drew them out in a fewseconds, with a look of intense amazement39.
"Voilà! Joe Blunt. Look in dere, and you shall seefat you vill behold40.""Why, it's the horse, I do b'lieve!" cried Joe. "Goahead, lads!"So saying, he resumed his shovelling41 vigorously, andin a few minutes the hole was opened up sufficiently toenable a man to enter. Dick sprang in, and there stoodCharlie close beside the cliff, looking as sedate42 and,unconcerned as if all that had been going on had noreference to him whatever.
The cause of his safety was simple enough. Theprecipice beside which he stood when the avalancheoccurred overhung its base at that point considerably,so that when the snow descended43 a clear space ofseveral feet wide was left all along its base. HereCharlie had remained in perfect comfort until hisfriends dug him out.
Congratulating themselves not a little on having savedthe charger and bagged a grizzly25 bear, the trappers remounted,and returned to the camp.
For some time after this nothing worthy of particularnote occurred. The trapping operations went onprosperously and without interruption from the Indians,who seemed to have left the locality altogether. Duringthis period, Dick, and Crusoe, and Charlie had manyexcursions together, and the silver rifle full many a timesent death to the heart of bear, and elk44, and buffalo;while, indirectly45, it sent joy to the heart of man,woman, and child in camp, in the shape of juicy steaksand marrow-bones. Joe and Henri devoted46 themselvesalmost exclusively to trapping beaver47, in which pursuitthey were so successful that they speedily becamewealthy men, according to backwood notions of wealth.
With the beaver that they caught they purchased fromCameron's store powder and shot enough for a longhunting expedition, and a couple of spare horses tocarry their packs. They also purchased a large assortmentof such goods and trinkets as would prove acceptableto Indians, and supplied themselves with newblankets, and a few pairs of strong moccasins, of whichthey stood much in need.
Thus they went on from day to day, until symptomsof the approach of winter warned them that it was timeto return to the Mustang Valley. About this time anevent occurred which totally changed the aspect ofaffairs in these remote valleys of the Rocky Mountains,and precipitated16 the departure of our four friends, Dick,Joe, Henri, and Crusoe. This was the sudden arrival ofa whole tribe of Indians. As their advent1 was somewhatremarkable, we shall devote to it the commencementof a new chapter.
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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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savages
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| 未开化的人，野蛮人( savage的名词复数 ) | |
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trifling
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| adj.微不足道的；没什么价值的 | |
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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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mettle
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| n.勇气，精神 | |
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defiance
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| n.挑战，挑衅，蔑视，违抗 | |
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frantic
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| adj.狂乱的，错乱的，激昂的 | |
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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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inaccessible
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| adj.达不到的，难接近的 | |
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precipices
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| n.悬崖，峭壁( precipice的名词复数 ) | |
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utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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lark
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| n.云雀，百灵鸟；n.嬉戏，玩笑；vi.嬉戏 | |
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crevices
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| n.（尤指岩石的）裂缝，缺口( crevice的名词复数 ) | |
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gorges
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| n.山峡，峡谷( gorge的名词复数 )；咽喉v.（用食物把自己）塞饱，填饱( gorge的第三人称单数 )；作呕 | |
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thaws
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| n.（足以解冻的）暖和天气( thaw的名词复数 )；（敌对国家之间）关系缓和v.（气候）解冻( thaw的第三人称单数 )；（态度、感情等）缓和；（冰、雪及冷冻食物）溶化；软化 | |
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precipitated
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| v.（突如其来地）使发生( precipitate的过去式和过去分词 )；促成；猛然摔下；使沉淀 | |
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avalanches
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| n.雪崩( avalanche的名词复数 ) | |
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avalanche
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| n.雪崩，大量涌来 | |
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mound
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| n.土墩，堤，小山；v.筑堤，用土堆防卫 | |
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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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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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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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sufficiently
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| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
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galloped
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| （使马）飞奔，奔驰( gallop的过去式和过去分词 )； 快速做[说]某事 | |
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grizzly
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| adj.略为灰色的，呈灰色的；n.灰色大熊 | |
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actively
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| adv.积极地，勤奋地 | |
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trudging
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| vt.& vi.跋涉，吃力地走（trudge的现在分词形式） | |
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gallant
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| adj.英勇的，豪侠的；(向女人)献殷勤的 | |
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catastrophe
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| n.大灾难，大祸 | |
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zeal
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| n.热心，热情，热忱 | |
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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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shovel
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| n.铁锨，铲子，一铲之量；v.铲，铲出 | |
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smothered
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| （使）窒息， （使）透不过气( smother的过去式和过去分词 )； 覆盖； 忍住； 抑制 | |
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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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heartily
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| adv.衷心地，诚恳地，十分，很 | |
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excavating
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| v.挖掘( excavate的现在分词 )；开凿；挖出；发掘 | |
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cavern
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| n.洞穴，大山洞 | |
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exclamation
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| n.感叹号，惊呼，惊叹词 | |
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amazement
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| n.惊奇，惊讶 | |
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behold
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| v.看，注视，看到 | |
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shovelling
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| v.铲子( shovel的现在分词 )；锹；推土机、挖土机等的)铲；铲形部份 | |
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sedate
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| adj.沉着的，镇静的，安静的 | |
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descended
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| a.为...后裔的，出身于...的 | |
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elk
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| n.麋鹿 | |
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indirectly
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| adv.间接地，不直接了当地 | |
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devoted
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| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
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beaver
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| n.海狸，河狸 | |
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