The lad accompanied the mountaineer, who had expected to find some tracks or traces by which Ralph’s adventure might be verified. But the ground was rocky, and the soft bed of the forest beyond held no tracks, so that they were disappointed in their anticipation3 of finding some clew to the strange appearance of the night.
“You’re certain sure, dead certain sure that[82] you did see something. Didn’t just dream it?” questioned Mountain Jim as they made their way back to camp where the others were busy packing the ponies4, even Persimmons being by this time able to cast a “diamond hitch5.”
“I’m positive,” declared Ralph firmly; “if I hadn’t been so certain that what I saw was a man, I would have fired. But who could it have been?” he added in a perplexed6 voice. Jim shook his blond head.
“Great Blue Bells of Scotland, I dunno, boy,” he said, thoughtfully puffing7 at his pipe. “You ain’t the sort of lad to dream things, I can see that. But it’s got me. If we’d been in the gold country now it might have been a prospector8, but nobody goes through here, not even hunters, for right where we are now is a bad place for game.”
So, for the time being, the mystery of the midnight visitor was unsolved and almost forgotten. It was destined9 to be recalled later in a startling manner, but for the present even Ralph began to[83] believe that he might have been the victim of some sort of an hallucination, caused, possibly, by the fact that he was only half awake when he had beheld10 the figure on the rock.
As Mountain Jim had said, the country through which they were now traveling was indeed a bad section for hunters. Although the boys made several detours11 after game, not so much as a rabbit did they see. The day following the night on which Ralph had seen, or thought he had seen, the figure of the watching man, they encountered, for the first time, a tract13 of country common enough in the Canadian wilds but particularly unpleasant to travel through, namely, a brulee or vast tract of woods through which a forest fire has swept, leaving desolation in its path.
Nothing more depressing can be imagined than these burned forests. Naked, blackened trees, with rags of scorched14 bark peeling from their bare trunks, tower out of a desert expanse of[84] gray-black ash. Horses or foot travelers passing through, churn up clouds of this ashen15 dust which chokes the nostrils16, burns the eyes and blackens everything with which it comes in contact.
Our travelers found themselves on the outskirts17 of such a place some time before noon on the day mentioned. Mountain Jim had at first thought of making a detour12 up a mountain side, but after a consultation18 it was decided19 to press on through the desolate20 waste, where charred21 trunks stuck up like the blackened stumps22 of teeth in an old man’s jaws23.
As they plunged24 into the brulee they found their ponies sinking over the fetlocks in the ashes. In places, huge piles of trunks, burned through at the base, lay like barriers across their path, and it was necessary to go around them to find a passable way. Long before they were out of the wretched place the water in their canteens was gone, and their throats were clogged26 and lips[85] cracked from the dry, acrid27 dust that rose in clouds. From time to time the boys were compelled to rub their eyes to relieve the tingling28 smart in them, and speedily their faces were blackened like those of coal heavers. A more sorry-looking party it would be hard to imagine than that which, hour after hour, painfully wended its way through the burned forest. Not a sprig of green, not a rill of water refreshed their sight. No birds or animals could be seen or heard. On every side was nothing but black desolation.
Ralph and young Ware29 rode ahead, side by side, while behind straggled the rest of the party. Mountain Jim brought up the rear behind the pack animals, which needed urging with whip and voice through the desolation of the brulee. Now and then, far off, they could hear the crash of some forest giant as its burned-through trunk gave way and it came smashing to the ground[86] with a roar like thunder, not infrequently bringing two or three of its mates with it.
Jim had warned the boys and the professor to be on the lookout30 for such things, and as Ralph and Harry31 Ware rode along they kept a bright and vigilant32 watch for any tree that looked as if its fall was imminent33.
“Gee whiz! I feel like an ant that has lost its way in the ashes of a camper’s fire,” was the graphic34 way in which Hardware expressed his feelings, as for the twentieth time that morning he tried to clear his throat of ashes.
They ate a hasty lunch, of which, the boys declared, ashes formed the chief ingredient, for the dry, implacable gray dust appeared to sift35 into every mouthful they tasted. A long stop was out of the question. There was no knowing how far the brulee extended and they must push on and get to water, for already the ponies were beginning to show signs of distress36. The poor animals’ sweaty sides were caked with gray dust till they[87] all appeared of one uniform drab color. For the matter of that, the travelers themselves were no better off. Like a dull monochrome, they were cloaked in ashen gray from head to foot.
Hardly speaking, for their spirits were at the lowest ebb37 in this ghastly ruin of a majestic38 forest, they pushed on. The only life in the brulee appeared to be the black flies and mosquitoes which bit till they drew blood, further annoying them.
“I thought I’d rough it in the West,” muttered Ralph once as his pony39 tumbled over a blackened trunk that lay across the trail, “but this beats anything I’ve ever experienced,—pah!” and he spat40 out a mouthful of ashy dust.
The afternoon wore on, and still they stumbled along through the brulee without any signs of its coming to an end. As far as they could see the forest of blackened trunks extended, the same carpet of ashen dust was everywhere. The sun, growing lower, hung like a glowing ball of copper[88] in a red sky, seen through the dust that they kicked up as they moved painfully along.
The horses were driven half mad by the biting flies, and their fetlocks were cruelly bruised41 and cut by the charred logs and rocks. It was heartbreaking traveling, but of a kind that must befall sooner or later everyone who ventures into the wilds of the Canadian Rockies.
Tired, choked and irritable42, Harry Ware was lagging behind Ralph, who was now riding in advance alone. Behind him he could hear the voice of Mountain Jim unceasingly urging on the pack animals. Mountain Jim never swore, but his range of words which were forceful and expressive43 without being profane44, was amazing. Evidently, too, his adjurations had their effect on the jaded45 ponies, for they stumbled bravely on leaping logs and dodging46 stones with renewed agility47 every time the guide’s voice boomed through that blackened, fire-swept wilderness48.
Ralph had fallen into a semi-doze. The deadly[89] monotony of the half-calcined columns on every hand, the close heat of the brulee made him drowsy49. The voice of Mountain Jim fell more and more faintly on his ears. Harry Ware, kicking his pony viciously, passed him.
“I’m going to be the first out of this beastly place,” he remarked with emphasis as he rode by.
“Well, don’t kick any more dust in my face than you can help,” rejoined Ralph, only a shade less irritably50.
“Oh, shut up!” snapped Harry, ordinarily the best and most even-tempered of boys.
Ralph flushed angrily for an instant and his hand clenched51 as a cloud of choking dust was spurned52 in his face by the heels of Harry Ware’s mount. But the next instant he gained control of himself.
“Pshaw! I guess we’re all losing our tempers,” he murmured to himself, “and it’s a fact that this place would make a saint cross—Hold up there, pony! Not much longer now.”
[90]
Content with his spurt53 ahead, Hardware slowed his pony down to a walk a few paces in front of Ralph. He did not apologize for his unthinking act of smothering54 Ralph with dust. Instead, he gazed sullenly55 straight ahead of him.
He was hot, thirsty, and bitten mercilessly by black flies. The lad was in no mood to go around obstacles. Rather was he in that savage56 humor that rushes recklessly on, although he had been warned of the dangers of the brulee. In fact, the frequent crashing of half burned-through trees, as a vagrant57 wind caught them and snapped them off, would have been sufficient indication that a sharp lookout was necessary to anyone in a less irritable mood. But Harry didn’t think of this. Instead, he urged his tired pony viciously over blackened logs with quirt and heel.
Suddenly Ralph, whose vigilance had not relaxed although he was fearfully drowsy, thought he saw a great blackened trunk directly ahead of[91] them lean over a trifle. He was sure of it in another moment.
“Pull out!” he yelled to Harry, who was driving his pony straight in a path which would bring him under the swaying trunk.
“Oh, mind your own business!” flung back Hardware crossly, and drove his little mount right on.
Ralph did not hesitate a minute. He wore spurs, the same blunt-rowelled pair he had used on the border. He drove these into his pony’s side and brought down his quirt with a crack that made the little animal snort angrily and plunge25 forward.
In front of him he saw the mighty58 column sway and oscillate as though in a vain attempt to recover its equipoise. Directly under it was Harry Ware, sullenly riding on with his eyes on the ground. Once more Ralph yelled and his pony gave a wild leap forward.
Suddenly the mighty trunk rushed earthward.[92] Simultaneously59 Ralph’s hand fell on Hardware’s bridle60. He gave a tug61 that brought the latter’s pony up on its haunches. It reared wildly, almost toppling backward.
At the same instant a cold wind fanned both boys as the trunk swept down. There was a deafening62 crash almost under the feet of the plunging63 ponies, and both lads were shrouded64 in a cloud of black dust that rose up like a dark veil.
“Good heavens! They’re killed!” shouted the professor dashing forward.
About the two boys the dust whirled and eddied65. The ponies plunged wildly, almost unseating them, but Ralph held on till he had dragged Hardware’s mount out of the black dust cloud.
As he did so, from ahead of them, came crash after crash with a startling suddenness. The brulee was filled with shocks of sound that rang in thunderous reverberations along the steep rocks. The echoes flung back and forth66 till the[93] uproar67 was deafening. In the meantime the party, including the two lads who had been saved from what appeared certain death, stood fast.
They hardly breathed till the crashes grew less and less frequent and a brooding silence settled down over the brulee once more.
Then Hardware, shaking all over, gazed at the great trunk lying recumbent not two yards from them. His eyes filled with tears. He held out a blackened hand to Ralph, who smiled at him through his mask of gray ash.
“I—I—I don’t know how to thank you, Ralph, old man,” he choked out. “If it hadn’t been for you, in my silly temper I’d have gone right on without minding you, and—and——”
He could not go further, but Ralph’s fingers closed on his out-stretched hand.
“That’s all right, old man,” was all he said; but between both boys a thrill ran as their fingers clasped. Hardware had learned a lesson there in the brulee that all the schools in Christendom[94] couldn’t have taught him, and he knew it.
“A mighty near thing,” said Mountain Jim, as the others rode up, “I guess I’ll have a smoke.”
His voice was steady enough, but his hands shook as he filled his old brier. Death had swept by too closely for any of them to recover their nerve for half an hour or more. By that time, as they rode on, the charred trunks were fewer and fewer, and an hour before sundown they came out of that “Valley of Desolation” into a wide canon, carpeted with lush, green grass and watered by a crystal clear stream. On each side towered rocky scraps68 of cliff clothed with dark pines and balsams.
Boys and men broke into a cheer, and even the dispirited ponies fell into a brisk gait without urging. The travelers forgot their trials as they laved in the fresh, cold water of the mountain stream and watched Jim getting supper, assisted by Jimmie, while the ponies ravenously69 cropped the fresh, juicy grass. But it was days before[95] the last trace of ashes was removed from their belongings70, and one at least of the party was destined never to forget that brulee in the Rockies as long as he might live.
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1
feverish
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| adj.发烧的，狂热的，兴奋的 | |
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apparition
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| n.幽灵，神奇的现象 | |
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anticipation
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| n.预期，预料，期望 | |
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ponies
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| 矮种马，小型马( pony的名词复数 )； ￡25 25 英镑 | |
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hitch
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| v.免费搭(车旅行)；系住；急提；n.故障；急拉 | |
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perplexed
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| adj.不知所措的 | |
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puffing
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| v.使喷出( puff的现在分词 )；喷着汽（或烟）移动；吹嘘；吹捧 | |
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prospector
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| n.探矿者 | |
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destined
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| adj.命中注定的；(for)以…为目的地的 | |
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10
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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11
detours
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| 绕行的路( detour的名词复数 )； 绕道，兜圈子 | |
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detour
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| n.绕行的路，迂回路；v.迂回，绕道 | |
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13
tract
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| n.传单，小册子，大片(土地或森林) | |
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14
scorched
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| 烧焦，烤焦( scorch的过去式和过去分词 )； 使（植物）枯萎，把…晒枯； 高速行驶； 枯焦 | |
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15
ashen
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| adj.灰的 | |
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16
nostrils
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| 鼻孔( nostril的名词复数 ) | |
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17
outskirts
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| n.郊外，郊区 | |
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18
consultation
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| n.咨询；商量；商议；会议 | |
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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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desolate
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| adj.荒凉的，荒芜的；孤独的，凄凉的；v.使荒芜，使孤寂 | |
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21
charred
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| v.把…烧成炭( char的过去式)；烧焦 | |
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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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23
jaws
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| n.口部；嘴 | |
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plunged
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| v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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plunge
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| v.跳入，(使)投入，(使)陷入；猛冲 | |
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clogged
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| （使）阻碍( clog的过去式和过去分词 )； 淤滞 | |
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acrid
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| adj.辛辣的，尖刻的，刻薄的 | |
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tingling
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| v.有刺痛感( tingle的现在分词 ) | |
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29
ware
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| n.(常用复数)商品，货物 | |
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30
lookout
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| n.注意，前途，瞭望台 | |
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31
harry
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| vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼 | |
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vigilant
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| adj.警觉的，警戒的，警惕的 | |
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imminent
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| adj.即将发生的，临近的，逼近的 | |
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graphic
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| adj.生动的，形象的，绘画的，文字的，图表的 | |
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35
sift
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| v.筛撒，纷落，详察 | |
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distress
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| n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛 | |
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ebb
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| vi.衰退，减退；n.处于低潮，处于衰退状态 | |
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38
majestic
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| adj.雄伟的，壮丽的，庄严的，威严的，崇高的 | |
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39
pony
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| adj.小型的；n.小马 | |
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spat
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| n.口角，掌击；v.发出呼噜呼噜声 | |
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41
bruised
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| [医]青肿的，瘀紫的 | |
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42
irritable
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| adj.急躁的；过敏的；易怒的 | |
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43
expressive
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| adj.表现的，表达…的，富于表情的 | |
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44
profane
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| adj.亵神的，亵渎的；vt.亵渎，玷污 | |
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45
jaded
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| adj.精疲力竭的；厌倦的；（因过饱或过多而）腻烦的；迟钝的 | |
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46
dodging
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| n.避开，闪过，音调改变v.闪躲( dodge的现在分词 )；回避 | |
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47
agility
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| n.敏捷，活泼 | |
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48
wilderness
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| n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠 | |
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49
drowsy
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| adj.昏昏欲睡的，令人发困的 | |
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50
irritably
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| ad.易生气地 | |
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51
clenched
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| v.紧握，抓紧，咬紧( clench的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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52
spurned
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| v.一脚踢开，拒绝接受( spurn的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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53
spurt
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| v.喷出；突然进发；突然兴隆 | |
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54
smothering
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| （使）窒息， （使）透不过气( smother的现在分词 )； 覆盖； 忍住； 抑制 | |
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55
sullenly
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| 不高兴地，绷着脸，忧郁地 | |
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56
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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57
vagrant
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| n.流浪者，游民；adj.流浪的，漂泊不定的 | |
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58
mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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59
simultaneously
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| adv.同时发生地，同时进行地 | |
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60
bridle
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| n.笼头，束缚；vt.抑制，约束；动怒 | |
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61
tug
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| v.用力拖(或拉)；苦干；n.拖；苦干；拖船 | |
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62
deafening
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| adj. 振耳欲聋的, 极喧闹的 动词deafen的现在分词形式 | |
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63
plunging
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| adj.跳进的，突进的v.颠簸( plunge的现在分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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64
shrouded
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| v.隐瞒( shroud的过去式和过去分词 )；保密 | |
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65
eddied
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| 起漩涡，旋转( eddy的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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66
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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67
uproar
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| n.骚动，喧嚣，鼎沸 | |
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68
scraps
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| 油渣 | |
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69
ravenously
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| adv.大嚼地，饥饿地 | |
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70
belongings
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| n.私人物品，私人财物 | |
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