The tall stranger who had thus suddenly presented himself bore so strong a resemblance to the vikings of old that Paul Burns, who was familiar with tales and legends about the ancient sea-rovers, felt stealing over him at the first glance a sensation somewhat akin1 to awe2, for it seemed as if one of the sea-kings had actually risen from his grave to visit them.
This feeling was succeeded, however, by one of intense surprise when the stranger addressed them in the English tongue.
“I thought, years ago,” he said, “that I had seen the last of white faces!”
It immediately occurred to Oliver Trench3 that, as their faces were by that time deeply embrowned by the sun, the stranger must be in a bantering4 mood, but neither he nor his companions replied. They were too much astonished to speak or even move, and waited for more.
“This is not a land where the men whose ruling ideas seem to be war and gold are likely to find what they want,” continued the stranger, somewhat sternly. “Whence come ye? Are you alone, or only the advance-guard of the bloodthirsty race?”
There was something so commanding as well as courtly in the tone and bearing of this extraordinary man, that Paul half involuntarily removed his cap as he replied:
“Forgive me, sir, if astonishment5 at your sudden appearance has made me appear rude. Will you sit down beside us and share our meal, while I answer your questions?”
With a quiet air and slight smile the stranger accepted the invitation, and listened with profound interest to Paul as he gave a brief outline of the wreck6 of the Water Wagtail, the landing of the crew, the mutinous7 conduct of Big Swinton and his comrades, and the subsequent adventures and wanderings of himself, Master Trench, and Oliver.
“Your voices are like the echoes of an old, old song,” said the stranger, in a low sad voice, when the narrative8 was concluded. “It is many years since I heard my native tongue from English lips. I had forgotten it ere now if I had not taken special means to keep it in mind.”
“And pray, good sir,” said Paul, “may I ask how it happens that we should find an Englishman in this almost unheard-of wilderness9? To tell you the truth, my first impression on seeing you was that you were the ghost of an ancient sea-king.”
“I am the ghost of my former self,” returned the stranger, “and you are not far wrong about the sea-kings, for I am in very truth a descendant of those rovers who carried death and destruction round the world in ancient times. War and gold—or what gold represents—were their gods in those days.”
“It seems to me,” said Captain Trench, at last joining in the conversation, “that if you were in Old England just now, or any other part of Europe, you’d say that war and gold are as much worshipped now-a-days as they ever were in the days of old.”
“If you add love and wine to the catalogue,” said Paul, “you have pretty much the motive10 powers that have swayed the world since the fall of man. But tell us, friend, how you came to be here all alone.”
“Not now—not now,” replied the stranger hurriedly, and with a sudden gleam in his blue eyes that told of latent power and passion under his calm exterior11. “When we are better acquainted, perhaps you shall know. At present, it is enough to say that I have been a wanderer on the face of the earth for many years. For the last ten years my home has been in this wilderness. My native land is one of those rugged12 isles13 which form the advance-guard of Scotland in the Northern Ocean.”
“But are you quite alone here?” asked Captain Trench, with increasing interest.
“Not quite alone. One woman has had pity on me, and shares my solitude14. We dwell, with our children, on an island in a great lake, to which I will conduct you if you will accept my hospitality. Red men have often visited me there, but I had thought that the face of a white man would never more grieve my sight.”
“Is, then, the face of the white man so distasteful to you?” asked Paul.
“It was; but some change must have come over me, for while I hold converse15 with you the old hatred16 seems melting away. If I had met you eight or ten years ago, I verily believe that I would have killed you all in cold blood, but now—”
He stopped abruptly17, and gazed into the flames of the camp-fire, with a grave, almost tender air that seemed greatly at variance19 with his last murderous remark.
“However, the feeling is past and gone—it is dead,” he presently resumed, with a toss of his head which sent the yellow curls back, and appeared at the same time to cast unpleasant memories behind him, “and I am now glad to see and welcome you, though I cannot help grieving that the white race has discovered my lonely island. They might have discovered it long ago if they had only kept their ears open.”
“Is it a big island, then—not a cluster of islands?” asked Trench eagerly.
“Yes, it is a large island, and there is a great continent of unknown extent to the westward21 of it.”
“But what do you mean, stranger, by saying that it might have been discovered long ago if people had kept their ears open?” asked Paul. “It is well known that only a few years ago a sea-captain named Columbus discovered the great continent of which you speak, and that so recently as the year 1497 the bold mariner22, John Cabot, with his son Sebastian, discovered these islands, which they have named Newfoundland.”
The stranger listened with evident interest, not unmingled with surprise, to this.
“Of Columbus and Cabot I have never heard,” he replied, “having had no intercourse23 with the civilised world for twenty years. I knew of this island and dwelt on it long before the time you say that Cabot came. But that reminds me that once, on returning from a hunting expedition into the interior, it was reported to me by Indians that a giant canoe had been seen off the coast. That may have been Cabot’s ship. As to Columbus, my forefathers24 discovered the great continent lying to the west of this about five hundred years before he could have been born. When I was a boy, my father, whose memory was stored with innumerable scraps25 of the old viking sagas26, or stories, used to tell me about the discovery of Vinland by the Norsemen, which is just the land that seems to have been re-discovered by Columbus and Cabot. My father used to say that many of the written sagas were believed to exist among the colonists27 of Iceland. I know not. It is long since my thoughts ceased to be troubled by such matters, but what you tell me has opened up the flood-gates of old memories that I had thought were dead and buried for ever.”
All that day the strange hunter accompanied them, and encamped with them at night. Next morning he resumed with ever-increasing interest the conversation which had been interrupted by the necessity of taking rest. It was evident that his heart was powerfully stirred; not so much by the news which he received, as by the old thoughts and feelings that had been revived. He was very sociable28, and, among other things, showed his new friends how to slice and dry their venison, so as to keep it fresh and make it convenient for carriage.
“But you won’t require to carry much with you,” he explained, “for the country swarms29 with living creatures at all times—especially just now.”
On this head he gave them so much information, particularly as to the habits and characteristics of birds, beasts, and fishes, that Paul’s natural-historic enthusiasm was aroused; and Oliver, who had hitherto concerned himself exclusively with the uses to which wild animals might be applied—in the way of bone-points for arrows, twisted sinews for bowstrings, flesh for the pot, and furs for garments—began to feel considerable curiosity as to what the creatures did when at home, and why they did it.
“If we could only find out what they think about,” he remarked to the hunter, “we might become quite sociable together.”
What it was in this not very remarkable31 speech that interested their new friend we cannot tell, but certain it is that from the time it was uttered he took greater interest in the boy, and addressed many of his remarks and explanations to him.
There was a species of dignity about this strange being which prevented undue32 familiarity either with or by him; hence, he always addressed the boy by his full name, and never condescended33 to “Olly!” The name by which he himself chose to be called was Hendrick, but whether that was a real or assumed name of course they had no means of knowing.
Continuing to advance through a most beautiful country, the party came at last to a river of considerable size and depth, up the banks of which they travelled for several days. Hendrick had by tacit agreement assumed the leadership of the party, because, being intimately acquainted with the land, both as to its character, form, and resources, he was naturally fitted to be their guide.
“It seems to me,” said Captain Trench, as they sat down to rest one afternoon on a sunny bank by the river side—out of which Olly had just pulled a magnificent trout—“that the climate of this island has been grossly misrepresented. The report was brought to us that it was a wild barren land, always enveloped34 in thick fogs; whereas, although I am bound to say we found fogs enough on the coast we have found nothing but beauty, sunshine, and fertility in the interior.”
“Does not this arise from the tendency of mankind to found and form opinions on insufficient35 knowledge?” said Hendrick. “Even the Indians among whom I dwell are prone36 to this error. If your discoverer Cabot had dwelt as many years as I have in this great island, he would have told you that it has a splendid climate, and is admirably adapted for the abode37 of man. Just look around you—the region which extends from your feet to the horizon in all directions is watered as you see by lakes and rivers, which swarm30 with fish and are alive with wildfowl; the woods, which are largely composed of magnificent and useful trees, give shelter to myriads38 of animals suitable for food to man; the soil is excellent, and the grazing lands would maintain thousands of cattle—what more could man desire?”
“Nothing more,” answered Paul, “save the opportunity to utilise it all, and the blessing39 of God upon his efforts.”
“The opportunity to utilise it won’t be long of coming, now that the facts about it are known, or soon to be made known, by us,” remarked Trench.
“I’m not so sure about that” said Paul. “It is wonderful how slow men are to believe, and still more wonderful how slow they are to act.”
That the captain’s hopes were not well founded, and that Paul’s doubts were justified40, is amply proved by the history of Newfoundland. At first its character was misunderstood; then, when its unparalleled cod-fishing banks were discovered, attention was entirely41 confined to its rugged shores. After that the trade fell into the hands of selfish and unprincipled monopolists, who wilfully42 misrepresented the nature of this island, and prevailed on the British Government to enact43 repressive laws, which effectually prevented colonisation. Then prejudice, privileges, and error perpetuated44 the evil state of things, so that the true character of the land was not known until the present century; its grand interior was not systematically45 explored till only a few years ago, and thus it comes to pass that even at the present day one of the finest islands belonging to the British Crown—as regards vast portions of its interior—still remains46 a beautiful wilderness unused by man.
But with this we have nothing at present to do. Our business is, in spirit, to follow Hendrick and his friends through that wilderness, as it was at the beginning of the sixteenth century.
Deer-tracks, as we have said, were innumerable, and along one of those tracks a herd47 of deer were seen trotting48 one day about two bow-shots from the party. With characteristic eagerness Oliver Trench hastily let fly an arrow at them. He might as well have let it fly at the pole-star. The only effect it had was to startle the deer and send them galloping49 into the shelter of the woods.
“What a pity!” exclaimed Oliver.
“Not so, my boy,” remarked his father. “Experience, they say, teaches fools; and if experience has now taught you that it is foolish to shoot at game out of range, you are no fool, which is not a pity, but matter for congratulation.”
“But what about practice, daddy? Did you not say only last night that there is nothing like practice to make perfect?”
“True, lad, but I did not recommend practising at deer beyond range. Besides, you can practise at stumps50 and stones.”
“But stumps and stones don’t afford running shots,” objected Olly.
“Yes they do, boy. You can run past the stumps while you shoot, and as to stones, you can roll them down hill and let fly at them as they roll. Now clap the hatches on your mouth; you’re too fond of argument.”
“I’m only a chip of the ancient tree, father,” retorted the boy, with a quiet laugh.
How much further this little skirmish might have proceeded we cannot tell, for it was brought to an abrupt18 close by the sudden appearance of a black bear. It was on turning a cliff which bordered the edge of a stream that they came upon the monster—so close to it that they had barely time to get ready their weapons when it rose on its hind20 legs to attack them.
“Look out!” yelled Oliver, who, being in advance, was the first to see the bear.
A stone from his sling51 was well though hastily aimed, for it hit the animal fairly on the nose, thereby52 rendering53 it particularly angry. Almost at the same moment a bolt and an arrow flew from the weapons of Paul and Trench; but they flew wide of the mark, and there is no saying what the result might have been had not Hendrick bent54 his short but powerful bow, and sent an arrow to the feather into the creature’s breast.
The modern bullet is no doubt more deadly than the ancient arrow, nevertheless the latter had some advantages over the former. One of these was that, as it transfixed several muscles, it tended to hamper55 the movements of the victim shot. It also drew attention in some degree from the assailant. Thus, on the present occasion the bear, with a savage56 growl57, seized the head of the arrow which projected from the wound and wrenched58 it off. This, although little more than a momentary59 act, gave the hunter time to fit and discharge a second arrow, which entered the animal’s throat, causing it to fall writhing60 on the ground, while Oliver, who had gone almost mad with excitement, grasped his axe61, bounded forward, and brought it down on bruin’s skull62.
Well was it for the reckless boy that Hendrick’s arrows had done their work, for, although his young arm was stout63 and the axe sharp, little impression was made on the hard-headed creature by the blow. Hendrick’s knife, however, completed the work and despatched the bear. Then they all sat down to rest while the hunter set to work to skin the animal.
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1
akin
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| adj.同族的，类似的 | |
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awe
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| n.敬畏，惊惧；vt.使敬畏，使惊惧 | |
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trench
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| n./v.(挖)沟，(挖)战壕 | |
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bantering
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| adj.嘲弄的v.开玩笑，说笑，逗乐( banter的现在分词 )；（善意地）取笑，逗弄 | |
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astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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wreck
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| n.失事，遇难；沉船；vt.(船等)失事，遇难 | |
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mutinous
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| adj.叛变的，反抗的；adv.反抗地，叛变地；n.反抗，叛变 | |
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8
narrative
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| n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的 | |
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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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motive
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| n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的 | |
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exterior
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| adj.外部的，外在的；表面的 | |
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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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isles
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| 岛( isle的名词复数 ) | |
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solitude
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| n. 孤独; 独居,荒僻之地,幽静的地方 | |
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converse
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| vi.谈话，谈天，闲聊；adv.相反的，相反 | |
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hatred
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| n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨 | |
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abruptly
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| adv.突然地，出其不意地 | |
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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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variance
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| n.矛盾，不同 | |
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hind
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| adj.后面的，后部的 | |
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westward
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| n.西方，西部；adj.西方的，向西的；adv.向西 | |
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mariner
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| n.水手号不载人航天探测器，海员，航海者 | |
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intercourse
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| n.性交；交流，交往，交际 | |
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forefathers
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| n.祖先，先人；祖先，祖宗( forefather的名词复数 )；列祖列宗；前人 | |
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scraps
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| 油渣 | |
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sagas
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| n.萨迦（尤指古代挪威或冰岛讲述冒险经历和英雄业绩的长篇故事）( saga的名词复数 )；（讲述许多年间发生的事情的）长篇故事；一连串的事件（或经历）；一连串经历的讲述（或记述） | |
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colonists
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| n.殖民地开拓者，移民，殖民地居民( colonist的名词复数 ) | |
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sociable
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| adj.好交际的，友好的，合群的 | |
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swarms
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| 蜂群，一大群( swarm的名词复数 ) | |
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swarm
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| n.(昆虫)等一大群；vi.成群飞舞；蜂拥而入 | |
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remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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undue
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| adj.过分的；不适当的；未到期的 | |
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condescended
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| 屈尊，俯就( condescend的过去式和过去分词 )； 故意表示和蔼可亲 | |
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enveloped
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| v.包围，笼罩，包住( envelop的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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insufficient
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| adj.(for，of)不足的，不够的 | |
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prone
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| adj.(to)易于…的，很可能…的；俯卧的 | |
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abode
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| n.住处，住所 | |
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myriads
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| n.无数，极大数量( myriad的名词复数 ) | |
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blessing
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| n.祈神赐福；祷告；祝福，祝愿 | |
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justified
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| a.正当的，有理的 | |
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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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wilfully
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| adv.任性固执地；蓄意地 | |
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enact
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| vt.制定(法律)；上演，扮演 | |
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perpetuated
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| vt.使永存（perpetuate的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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systematically
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| adv.有系统地 | |
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remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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herd
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| n.兽群，牧群；vt.使集中，把…赶在一起 | |
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trotting
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| 小跑，急走( trot的现在分词 )； 匆匆忙忙地走 | |
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galloping
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| adj. 飞驰的, 急性的 动词gallop的现在分词形式 | |
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50
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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51
sling
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| vt.扔；悬挂；n.挂带；吊索，吊兜；弹弓 | |
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thereby
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| adv.因此，从而 | |
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rendering
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| n.表现，描写 | |
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bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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hamper
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| vt.妨碍，束缚，限制；n.(有盖的)大篮子 | |
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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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growl
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| v.（狗等）嗥叫，（炮等）轰鸣；n.嗥叫，轰鸣 | |
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wrenched
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| v.（猛力地）扭( wrench的过去式和过去分词 )；扭伤；使感到痛苦；使悲痛 | |
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momentary
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| adj.片刻的，瞬息的；短暂的 | |
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writhing
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| （因极度痛苦而）扭动或翻滚( writhe的现在分词 ) | |
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axe
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| n.斧子；v.用斧头砍，削减 | |
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skull
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| n.头骨；颅骨 | |
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