“Mountain lion, cougar3, some calls ’em. Lucky she didn’t claw you, boy,” responded Mountain Jim. “If she hadn’t dived off so quick I’d have shot her. But hullo, what’s that?”
From the back of the cave came a plaintive4 sound of mewing, as if there were a litter of kittens concealed5 there.
“Young ones, by the Blue Bells of Scotland!” exclaimed Mountain Jim. “Say, we’re mighty6 lucky that the old lioness didn’t attack us.”
“Why didn’t she?” asked Ralph.
“Dunno. There’s no accountin’ for the freaks of wild things. At one time they’d attack a[193] battleship, at another time they’ll run like cotton-tails. But I reckon this old lioness is off looking for her mate.”
“And they will come back and attack us?”
“That ain’t worryin’ me. We’ve got good rifles, and cougars7 are mostly dumb cowards anyhow.”
“I hope these are,” said Ralph fervently8, “although I’d like a shot at one, all right.”
They went to the back of the cave to look at the kittens. There were four of them, pretty little fluffy9, fawn-colored creatures, whose eyes had apparently10 only just opened. They blinked as the lightning flashed and the thunder roared outside the cave.
But the two did not bend over the litter of lion cubs11 for long. The stench of decaying meat around the den12 was terrible. The carcasses of at least a dozen deer lay there, besides the bones of smaller creatures.
“The old man goes hunting and brings all that[194] truck back,” said Mountain Jim as they sought the front of the cave where the air was fresher.
“I’d like to get one of those cubs and tame it,” said Ralph.
“What for? He’d get so savage13 when you raised him that you couldn’t do much with him ’cept shoot him. Puts me in mind of a fellow that used to live back of Bear Mountain long time ago, and trained a grizzly14 so that he could ride him. Like to hear the yarn15?”
There was a twinkle in Mountain Jim’s eye as he spoke16 that warned Ralph to prepare for a wonderful tale of some sort; but anything would serve to pass the time, so as Jim drew out his old brier and lighted up, the boy nodded.
“Well, this here fellow, Abe Brown his name was, Abe J. Brown, caught this grizzly young and trained him so as he was most as good as a saddle horse. Abe and his bear was known all over the country thereabouts, and was accounted no common wonder.”
[195]
“I should think not. Do you mean to say that this fellow actually rode his bear just like a horse?”
“The very same identical way—Wow, what a flash!—Well, as I was sayin, Abe, he’d ride this bear all about, huntin’, fishin’, and all. Well, sir, one day Abe goes up on the mountain after a deer. The mountain was a famous place for grizzlies17 in them days, and what does Abe do but ride plumbbango right into the middle of a convention of sixteen of them that was discussing bear business.
“Well, Abe and his bear got mixed up right away, and Abe’s bear got killed in the scrap18, being sort of soft from having been raised a pet.”
“But what happened to Abe?” asked Ralph.
“He wasn’t no ways what you might call communicative about what happened in that canyon19 on the mountain, Abe wasn’t,” went on Mountain Jim, fixing Ralph with his eye as if to challenge any doubt in his story, “but the next day[196] Abe come into Baxter’s cross-roads riding one of them wild bears, and with sixteen skins, includin’ that of his tame beast, tied on behind. He was some hunter, Abe was.”
“And some story teller20, too,” laughed Ralph. “Do you believe that, Jim?”
“I ain’t sayin’ no and I ain’t sayin’ yes. I’m jes’ relatin’ the facts as they was told to me,” said Jim, with a twinkle in his eye.
Ralph had half a mind to tell Mountain Jim some of the staggering yarns21 he had heard along the southwestern border during his experiences in that country of tall men and tall stories; but at that instant something happened that quite put everything else out of his head.
Just above the entrance to the cave there was a huge rock which appeared, either from constant frost and thaw22 or from some other cause, to have slipped from its position among the other giant boulders23, for it was now perilously24 poised25 just above the small entrance to the cavern26. The[197] boy had noticed this rock when they slipped into the cave, but with the excitement of the cougar and the roar and crash of the storm, which was now at its height, he had quite forgotten it.
He now noticed that all around this rock the water from the hillside above was pouring in a perfect torrent27. The rain was coming down so hard that it fairly hissed28 on the ground as it fell. Under these conditions the whole steep hillside was a roaring sheet of water, but just above the pile of rocks under which they crouched29 was a small gully which, of course, attracted more water than any part of the hillside in the vicinity.
“That water’s coming down in a pretty considerable waterspout,” remarked Mountain Jim, as he followed the direction of Ralph’s eyes and noticed the cascade30 of rain water that was pouring like a veil in front of the cave mouth.
“Yes, Jim, and I’ve noticed something else, too. See that rock up there?”
[198]
“Yes, what of it? The water’s coming against it and it is dividing the cataract31 so that it doesn’t splash back in here.”
“Not only that; but it’s doing something else; something that may make trouble for us.”
“How do you mean?”
“Why, I’m certain that I saw the rock move.”
“Great Blue Bells of Scotland, you’re dreamin’, boy. That rock is as solid as the etarnal hills.”
“I’m not so sure. I’m sure I saw it quiver a minute back, when that roll of thunder shook the ground.”
“Guess you’re mistaken, boy. Jumpin’ Jehosophat! Come back here! Quick!”
Ralph had stepped forward to gaze up at the big poised rock. As he did so, there had come a brilliant flash and an earth-shaking peal32 of thunder.
The ground quivered and shook, and as it did so the great stone gave a lurch33 forward. The next instant it crashed downward right upon the[199] spot where Ralph had been standing34. But the boy had been snatched back by Jim’s muscular arm.
“Safe! Thank the Lord!” gasped35 out Mountain Jim fervently.
“But look at the rock, Jim! It has blocked the entrance to this place! We’re prisoners!”
It was only too true. The big stone was lodged36 in front of the small cave mouth, shutting out the light and almost excluding the air except for a small space at the top. To all intents and purposes they were as much captives as if a jailer had clanged a steel gate upon them and locked it securely.
点击
收听单词发音
收听单词发音 |
1
canopy
|
|
| n.天篷，遮篷 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
stammered
|
|
| v.结巴地说出( stammer的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
cougar
|
|
| n.美洲狮；美洲豹 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
plaintive
|
|
| adj.可怜的，伤心的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
concealed
|
|
| a.隐藏的，隐蔽的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
mighty
|
|
| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
cougars
|
|
| n.美洲狮( cougar的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
fervently
|
|
| adv.热烈地，热情地，强烈地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
fluffy
|
|
| adj.有绒毛的，空洞的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
apparently
|
|
| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
cubs
|
|
| n.幼小的兽，不懂规矩的年轻人( cub的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
den
|
|
| n.兽穴；秘密地方；安静的小房间，私室 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
savage
|
|
| adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
grizzly
|
|
| adj.略为灰色的，呈灰色的；n.灰色大熊 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
yarn
|
|
| n.纱，纱线，纺线；奇闻漫谈，旅行轶事 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
spoke
|
|
| 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 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
grizzlies
|
|
| 北美洲灰熊( grizzly的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
scrap
|
|
| n.碎片；废料；v.废弃，报废 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
canyon
|
|
| n.峡谷，溪谷 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
teller
|
|
| n.银行出纳员；(选举)计票员 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
yarns
|
|
| n.纱( yarn的名词复数 )；纱线；奇闻漫谈；旅行轶事 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
thaw
|
|
| v.（使）融化，（使）变得友善；n.融化，缓和 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
boulders
|
|
| n.卵石( boulder的名词复数 )；巨砾；（受水或天气侵蚀而成的）巨石；漂砾 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
perilously
|
|
| adv.充满危险地，危机四伏地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
poised
|
|
| a.摆好姿势不动的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
cavern
|
|
| n.洞穴，大山洞 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
27
torrent
|
|
| n.激流，洪流；爆发，(话语等的)连发 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
28
hissed
|
|
| 发嘶嘶声( hiss的过去式和过去分词 )； 发嘘声表示反对 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
29
crouched
|
|
| v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
30
cascade
|
|
| n.小瀑布，喷流；层叠；vi.成瀑布落下 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
31
cataract
|
|
| n.大瀑布，奔流，洪水，白内障 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
32
peal
|
|
| n.钟声；v.鸣响 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
33
lurch
|
|
| n.突然向前或旁边倒；v.蹒跚而行 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
34
standing
|
|
| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
35
gasped
|
|
| v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
36
lodged
|
|
| v.存放( lodge的过去式和过去分词 )；暂住；埋入；（权利、权威等）归属 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |