They looked about them cautiously for a time, and exchanged some hasty words in their guttural dialect. Then the one who wore the odd-looking frock coat and the eagle feather slipped from his pony4 and approached those that were tied.
It was high time to interfere5 apparently6; but still Ralph hung back. Unarmed as he was, he was unwilling7 to show himself until actual necessity called for it. But when the frock-coated[211] Indian deliberately8 began to unknot the tie ropes of their ponies his intention was only too plain and the boy cast all prudence9 aside.
“Hey, you, let go of that pony!” he exclaimed, coming out from the shelter of the alders11.
The Indian started and turned, and his two companions did the same. For a minute they were considerably13 startled, for “red coats” (mounted police) occasionally rode through that part of the country.
But when they saw that it was only a boy who faced them, they quickly recovered their composure.
“Hullo, white boy,” said the one that appeared to be the leader, speaking a dialect that cannot be reproduced on paper. “Hullo, white boy, what you want, eh?”
“I want you to leave those ponies alone,” spoke14 back Ralph boldly, “they belong to me and my partner.”
[212]
“That so, eh? Well, we take them ’long small piece, savee?”
The rascal15 coolly bent16 over the rope and went on unfastening it. Ralph was, for a minute, at a loss what to do. Then he bethought himself of Jim in the cave.
“Jim! oh, Jim!” he cried shrilly17.
“Hullo,” came a hearty18 voice in reply, “what’s up?”
“Some rascals19 are stealing——” began Ralph, when one of the mounted Bloods slipped swiftly from his pony and, before the boy could utter an other syllable20, grasped him by the throat. Ralph was a powerful boy, but in the hands of the wiry, muscular Blood he was no more than an infant The man drew an ugly looking knife.
“You keep quiet, eh? Me plentee stickee you, you make any more chac-chac (talk).”
Whether the Indian would really have carried out his threat or not Ralph had no means of guessing, but he deemed it most prudent21 under[213] the circumstances to obey. The Indian smelled most abominably22 of liquor, and was evidently in no docile23 mood. A sort of reckless deviltry danced in his eyes that warned Ralph not to cross him.
But the next instant, to his unspeakable relief, he heard Jim’s voice again.
“I’m trying to climb up the rock. I’ll be there in a jiffy. Confound it, but it’s slippery!”
Of course Ralph could not reply, but the words cheered him. If Jim would only appear with his rifle maybe he could scare the Bloods off. In an agony of impatience24 he waited. Luckily the rain had wetted the knots so that they were hard to untie25 and the Blood leader was having a lot of trouble with them.
Suddenly Ralph heard a sharp cry from the Indian that still remained on horseback. The one that was bending over the knots heard the exclamation26 and glanced up, as did the one that[214] was threatening Ralph. The boy, too, looked around and soon saw what had alarmed them.
Creeping into the clearing were two immense, tawny27 forms. The female cougar28 had returned with her mate!
The Indians gave a series of sharp cries, and the one that held Ralph released his hold and ran for his pony. So did the one that had been bent on stealing the white men’s mounts.
Lashing29 the ground with their tails the lions began to give utterance30 to a sort of whining31 snarl32.
This was answered from within the cave by a chorus of mewings and squeals33 from the cubs34. The sound of her young appeared to drive the lioness to fury. She leaped full at the nearest Indian, and landed on the haunches of his terrified pony.
One of the others snatched a rifle from his saddle and fired at the animal, but before he could aim properly the male cougar had attacked him, and the bullet went wild. Evidently the[215] lions thought the Indians were responsible for keeping them from their cubs.
The rifle was an old, single-barrelled one, and having fired the one shot the Indian had no chance to reload. But as the bullet sang by her, the lioness had relaxed her hold on the terrified pony’s haunches and slipped to the ground to face this new antagonist35. Ralph gazed on with fascinated horror. The scene was unreal, fantastic almost. The three Indians, an instant before bent on thievery, were now fighting for their lives against two creatures urged to fury by the most powerful motive36 known to the animal kingdom—the love of their young.
“Cheysoyo tamya!” cried the one with the eagle feather, and, urging their ponies to mad flight, the Indians made off at top speed. The lions made two or three bounds after them, but then stopped to listen to the appealing cries of the cubs inside the cave.
They were a badly embarrassed pair of felines37.[216] Evidently the manner in which the cave had been sealed up during their absence was a mystery to them. They walked about in front of it sniffing38, growling39 and lashing their tails like gigantic cats in a rage. Dangerous as his position was, Ralph could not but admire the restless grace of the tawny creatures with their smooth, yellowish coats and great green savage40 eyes.
Suddenly, and without any particular reason that Ralph could see, although they had undoubtedly41 smelled him, the two cougars42 came bounding toward the alder12 thicket43 into which he had crouched44 back when first they appeared. Ralph’s heart almost stopped beating as they came. He looked toward the cave despairingly.
As he gazed he saw Jim’s rugged45 face appear in the crack above the rock. The mountaineer took in the scene instantly, and, although he could not see Ralph, he called to him.
“Come on the rock, boy! I’ll hold them back.”
Ralph saw the muzzle46 of Jim’s rifle gleam in[217] the afternoon sun as he thrust it through the crack and sighted with his keen eyes along the barrel.
Instantly his mind was made up as to what he would do. As the lions dived into the alders not far from him he dashed out and made for the rock. In the meantime the tethered ponies were plunging47 and rearing as if they would break their ropes. But the lions paid no attention to them. Apparently they were only seeking those who had invaded their den10.
As Ralph made his dart48 for safety the lions spied him. With crashing bounds they came out of the underbrush.
Ralph felt a bullet whiz by his ear, but he heard no howl to tell that one of the lions had been hit. Instead, came Jim’s voice from above.
“Oh, Lord! This plagued rock juts49 out too far for me to aim down on ’em.”
“Throw me down the rifle, quick!” cried Ralph, an agony in his voice.
[218]
He knew he could not clamber up the rock in time to avoid the lions’ claws. His one chance lay in the desperate plan he had formed as Jim’s exclamation came to his ears.
Jim let the rifle come sliding and clattering50 down the rock and Ralph caught it up. The strange noise of the weapon as it came to the ground after the startling report halted the lions for an instant. But as he turned to face them Ralph saw that they were all ready for another attack.
He bravely prepared to meet it, although his pulses throbbed51 and his breath came so fast that he could hardly hold the rifle in the proper position.
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1
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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appraising
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| v.估价( appraise的现在分词 )；估计；估量；评价 | |
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reassuring
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| a.使人消除恐惧和疑虑的，使人放心的 | |
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pony
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| adj.小型的；n.小马 | |
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interfere
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| v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰 | |
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apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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7
unwilling
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| adj.不情愿的 | |
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8
deliberately
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| adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地 | |
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prudence
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| n.谨慎，精明，节俭 | |
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10
den
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| n.兽穴；秘密地方；安静的小房间，私室 | |
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11
alders
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| n.桤木( alder的名词复数 ) | |
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alder
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| n.赤杨树 | |
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considerably
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| adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上 | |
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14
spoke
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| 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 | |
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15
rascal
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| n.流氓；不诚实的人 | |
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16
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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shrilly
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| 尖声的； 光亮的，耀眼的 | |
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18
hearty
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| adj.热情友好的；衷心的；尽情的，纵情的 | |
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19
rascals
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| 流氓( rascal的名词复数 )； 无赖； （开玩笑说法）淘气的人（尤指小孩）； 恶作剧的人 | |
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20
syllable
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| n.音节；vt.分音节 | |
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21
prudent
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| adj.谨慎的，有远见的，精打细算的 | |
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22
abominably
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| adv. 可恶地，可恨地，恶劣地 | |
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23
docile
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| adj.驯服的，易控制的，容易教的 | |
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24
impatience
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| n.不耐烦，急躁 | |
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untie
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| vt.解开，松开；解放 | |
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exclamation
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| n.感叹号，惊呼，惊叹词 | |
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27
tawny
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| adj.茶色的，黄褐色的；n.黄褐色 | |
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28
cougar
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| n.美洲狮；美洲豹 | |
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29
lashing
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| n.鞭打；痛斥；大量；许多v.鞭打( lash的现在分词 )；煽动；紧系；怒斥 | |
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30
utterance
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| n.用言语表达，话语，言语 | |
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31
whining
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| n. 抱怨，牢骚 v. 哭诉，发牢骚 | |
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32
snarl
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| v.吼叫，怒骂，纠缠，混乱；n.混乱，缠结，咆哮 | |
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33
squeals
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| n.长而尖锐的叫声( squeal的名词复数 )v.长声尖叫，用长而尖锐的声音说( squeal的第三人称单数 ) | |
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34
cubs
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| n.幼小的兽，不懂规矩的年轻人( cub的名词复数 ) | |
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35
antagonist
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| n.敌人，对抗者，对手 | |
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36
motive
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| n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的 | |
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37
felines
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| n.猫科动物( feline的名词复数 ) | |
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38
sniffing
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| n.探查法v.以鼻吸气，嗅，闻( sniff的现在分词 )；抽鼻子（尤指哭泣、患感冒等时出声地用鼻子吸气）；抱怨，不以为然地说 | |
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39
growling
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| n.吠声, 咆哮声 v.怒吠, 咆哮, 吼 | |
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40
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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41
undoubtedly
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| adv.确实地，无疑地 | |
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42
cougars
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| n.美洲狮( cougar的名词复数 ) | |
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43
thicket
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| n.灌木丛，树林 | |
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44
crouched
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| v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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45
rugged
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| adj.高低不平的，粗糙的，粗壮的，强健的 | |
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46
muzzle
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| n.鼻口部；口套；枪(炮)口；vt.使缄默 | |
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47
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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48
dart
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| v.猛冲，投掷；n.飞镖，猛冲 | |
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49
juts
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| v.（使）突出( jut的第三人称单数 )；伸出；（从…）突出；高出 | |
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50
clattering
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| 发出咔哒声（clatter的现在分词形式） | |
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51
throbbed
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| 抽痛( throb的过去式和过去分词 )； （心脏、脉搏等）跳动 | |
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