CHAPTER III

 As they stopped a moment to rest under some sage-bushes, they saw something which frightened them.

 

A band of fierce Indians was coming toward¹ them.

 

 

The Indians had paint on their faces and bows in their hands. They had long black hair like Teni’s, but their skin was much darker.

 

Mavo clung² to Teni, and both crouched³ behind the bushes.

 

They did not speak, for fear the Indians might hear them.

 

Teni drew Mavo close to him and wiped the tears from her eyes. He knew that this tribe⁴ of Indians hated his people, and would kill him and his sister if they should find them.

 

It was well that the children were hidden by the trees, for the Indians passed by without seeing them.

 

The children’s eyes were filled with red dust so that they could not see for a long time.

 

When the dust cleared away, they saw a man running toward them.

 

 

He was running from those fierce Indians.

 

“Look, look, Teni,” said Mavo, “there is father coming for us. See! Here he is! Call him, Teni!”

 

Teni jumped up very quickly and called as loudly as he could.

 

The man understood the call because he was a cliff⁵-dweller too.

 

The cliff people were Indians, who had a language of their own.

 

As the man came nearer, the children saw it was not their father, though he looked very much like him.

 

“What are you doing here?” he said to Teni.

 

“We want to go home,” said the boy, “but we can not find the way.”

 

“You can not go home now,” said the man, “for those Indians would get you.”

 

“Come, I will take care of you.”

 

He took Mavo in his strong arms, and telling Teni to follow, he walked over the hot sand to a tall tower on the cliff.

 

The tower was made of stones held together with clay.

 

It stood high on the cliff, and from its little windows one could see far into the valley.

 

When the cliff-dwellers were in this fortress⁶, they were safe from their enemies because when the ladders were pulled up there was no way to get in.

 

The man found a ladder and raised it to a hole high in the tower.

 

They climbed it and were soon inside.

 

Mavo and Teni looked through the peep-holes in the walls while their new friend pulled in the ladder.

 

“Are you hungry?” said the man, looking toward the children.

 

 

Mavo nodded, for she was very hungry.

 

The brother and sister had had nothing but herbs to eat since the day before.

 

“I will look for some food,” said their new friend. “There must be some here.”

 

Then he climbed into the storeroom and came back with his hands full of dried meat.

 

He gave the meat to the children, and while they ate, he climbed down to a room below and pulled some willow⁷ branches from a hole in the wall. He called the children, and lifted them into this room.

 

It was dark down there, but he told Mavo and Teni not to be afraid, for they would soon be out in the light.

 

They crawled⁸ through the hole into a dark tunnel.

 

The way was very long and the children were very tired.

 

But soon they reached the end of the tunnel.

1 toward   

prep.对于，关于，接近，将近，向，朝

参考例句：

• Suddenly I saw a tall figure approaching toward the policeman.突然间我看到一个高大的身影朝警察靠近。
• Upon seeing her,I smiled and ran toward her. 看到她我笑了，并跑了过去。

2 Clung   

v.附着于( cling的过去式和过去分词 )；抓紧或抱住；坚持；依恋，依附于

参考例句：

• The Prime Minister clung to his job like a limpet, despite calls for him to resign. 首相不顾有人要求他辞职，死赖在他的职位上不下台。
• She clung to the hope that her son was not dead. 她抱定儿子并没有死的希望不放。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 crouched   

v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He crouched down beside her. 他在她的旁边蹲了下来。
• The lion crouched ready to pounce. 狮子蹲下身，准备猛扑。

4 tribe   

n.部落，种族，一伙人

参考例句：

• This is a subject tribe.这是个受他人统治的部落。
• Many of the tribe's customs and rituals are as old as the hills.这部落的许多风俗、仪式都极其古老。

5 cliff   

n.悬崖，峭壁

参考例句：

• The cliff edge is dangerous and should be railed.崖边危险，应该用栏杆围起来。
• He took the measure of the cliff before he climbed it.他把悬崖的高度估量一下后再攀登。

6 fortress   

n.堡垒，防御工事

参考例句：

• They made an attempt on a fortress.他们试图夺取这一要塞。
• The soldier scaled the wall of the fortress by turret.士兵通过塔车攀登上了要塞的城墙。

7 willow   

n.柳树

参考例句：

• The river was sparsely lined with willow trees.河边疏疏落落有几棵柳树。
• The willow's shadow falls on the lake.垂柳的影子倒映在湖面上。

8 crawled   

v.爬( crawl的过去式和过去分词 )；（昆虫）爬行；缓慢行进；巴结

参考例句：

• They crawled along on their bellies. 他们匍匐前进。
• She crawled onto the river bank and lay there gulping in air. 她爬上河岸，躺在那里喘着粗气。 来自《简明英汉词典》