It was a cool, invigorating morning on which the Bradfords began their quest. The mountains about them wore below the snow-line the soft green of spring vegetation, while round their summits a few fleecy clouds vied with the snow in brightness. The Indian boy was left in charge of the camp,—an arrangement which he accepted without visible disappointment,—and the gold-hunters proceeded down the brawling6 creek,[217] walking with difficulty over loose pebbles7 of quartz8, granite9, and slate10. Occasionally Uncle Will picked up a stone and examined it through a magnifying-glass for traces of the precious metals.
Having reached the river after walking nearly a mile, they turned to the left up its valley, and soon, owing to the boulders12 below, were obliged to clamber along the hillsides. Few trees were to be seen, but there was a profusion13 of low bushes and plants on every sunny slope. Often in shaded places they crossed old snowdrifts which promised to last the summer through. Lucky led the way, picking the best path by a sort of instinct.
The hills became more and more precipitous. Great bluffs15 of gravel16 alternated with rocky walls, and often it was difficult to maintain a foothold. While crossing the face of one of the bluffs, Mr. Bradford met with an adventure which, as he afterwards declared, almost turned his hair white. The rest of the party had passed the declivity17 near its top by digging their feet and sticks into the soft gravel, while he had lingered to secure a blue forget-me-not which grew below him.
When he turned to follow the others, they were out of sight around the shoulder of the hill, and he could see nothing to mark their path across the bluff14. He had descended19 fifty feet or more, and since there appeared no reason for scrambling20 up again, he began to advance at[218] that level. Perhaps a third of the bluff had been crossed slowly and carefully when, without warning, he encountered a gravel of different character. Instead of being soft and loose, it was now compact, firmly bedded, and so steeply inclined that it offered not the slightest foothold. The moment Mr. Bradford's foot struck this hard gravel he slipped and fell, but as he did so he drove his staff firmly into the slope. By this means he was able to stay himself temporarily.
He now felt carefully about for a support for his feet, but the crumbling21 pebbles rolled away with every movement. However, he discovered a projecting stone which seemed able to bear some weight, and this relieved the strain upon his hands and arms. And now he shouted as loudly as possible, hoping that his friends would hear.
It was a perilous22 situation. Below him for a hundred and fifty feet the gravel was of the same hard, deceptive23 consistency24. He could see that it ended abruptly25 at least fifty feet above the little stream, and rightly conjectured26 that this interval27 was occupied by a perpendicular28 precipice29 of rock. What lay at the bottom he shuddered30 to imagine,—boulders, sharp rocks, at best a rough gravel-bed! And he could move neither hand nor foot; while, as if in mockery of his plight31, the pebbles kept bounding and rattling32 merrily down the terrible slope below him, leaping out into space at last as if it were a pleasant pastime.
[219]
Again and again he shouted, and now he was gladdened by an answering shout, and saw his brother hastening along the bluff above, followed by Lucky, David, and Roly.
"Quick, Will," he cried; "I can't hold out much longer."
Uncle Will grasped the situation in a twinkling. "Has any one some twine33?" he asked.
"I have," answered David, quickly producing a small ball of it from his pocket.
"Tie the walking-sticks together, then, and don't lose an instant. Roly, run to the top of the bluff and see if you can cut a tall poplar." With these words Uncle Will hastened to work his way down the face of the bluff toward his brother, while Lucky ran down to the point where Mr. Bradford had found the flower, and thence followed his course as far as he could out across the bare gravel. He was able to approach much nearer the imperilled man than was Uncle Will, who came upon the hard surface before he had covered half the distance, and could go no farther.
Indeed, the Indian was within a yard of Mr. Bradford and kicking one last foothold in the treacherous34 bank preparatory to reaching out for him when, to the horror of all, the stone upon which the white man stood gave way. The sudden wrench35 tore the stick also from its place. Having thus lost all support, the[220] unfortunate man at once slipped and slid and rolled toward the brink36 of the precipice. He was beyond human aid. Another moment, and, in spite of his frantic37 efforts to clutch at the shelving bank, he dashed over the edge of the rock and passed out of sight amid a shower of small stones dislodged by his fall.
There is something indescribably frightful38 in the sight of a strong man thus powerless to avert39 his own destruction, and when the victim is a father or brother the horror is intensified40 a hundred-fold. Uncle Will groaned41 and shut his eyes.
But he was a man of action, and quickly recovering himself he ran back along the hill with Lucky and David until they could descend18 to the stream, up which they made their way with reckless haste. Lucky was the most nimble; and as he scrambled42 to the top of a boulder11 which had obstructed43 his view ahead, his usual stolidity44 gave way to a glad cry. Mr. Bradford lay at the foot of the cliff upon a great bank of snow.
But he lay there so still and lifeless that the rescuers anxiously hastened to his side. They were immediately joined by Roly, whose face was pale with dread45. Mr. Bradford had either struck the cliff in his descent, or had been struck by one of the stones which fell with him, for blood was flowing from a cut in the forehead, and he was unconscious. Uncle Will washed the blood from the wound, and wetting his handkerchief in[221] the cold water of the stream, soon coaxed46 back the life.
"Well, Charley," said he, in a tone of intense satisfaction as he saw his eyes open, "that was the closest call you ever had, but you're coming through all right." And Mr. Bradford did. He had been stunned47 and shaken, but not seriously injured, and after an hour's rest was able to proceed.
They had not much farther to go. Lucky, who had keenly observed all landmarks48, soon halted in the rocky river-bottom and began to search carefully among the boulders. A few minutes later he called out, "Big nuggit here!" and pointed49 to a sort of knob projecting from a large rock in the stream. Uncle Will hastened to the spot and saw at a glance that this knob was an almost solid mass of yellow metal. But he was too careful a man to accept first appearances, and brought the microscope to bear.
"Ah!" said he, and his face grew long, "it's fool's gold, after all,—just a big chunk50 of iron pyrites."
"Why, it looks just like gold!" declared Roly, coming up. "I never saw iron of that color."
"Very likely not," said his uncle. "This isn't iron in its pure state, but combined with sulphur. Look through the microscope and you'll see that the metal is crystallized. You won't find gold in that shape."
Lucky did not comprehend this explanation, but he[222] read the disappointment in the faces of the others. To make him understand, Uncle Will tapped the blade of his knife and said, "Iron—no good,"—a simple form of expression which the Indian easily interpreted. He too showed genuine disappointment, for he had intended to do a kindness to Uncle Will.
"Well," said David, with at least a show of resignation, "I suppose there's nothing to do but retrace51 our steps."
"I don't care to retrace all of mine," said Mr. Bradford, whose pale face wore a smile beneath its bandage.
"Oh!" exclaimed his brother, "but those weren't steps! You didn't take a single step in the whole two hundred feet! The first fifty you slid, the next hundred you rolled, and the last fifty you flew, and we won't ask you to do it over again."
Indeed, they were all so thankful at Mr. Bradford's escape that the nugget was hardly given a thought, and on the whole it was a happy party which returned to Alder Creek that evening.
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1
prospectors
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| n.勘探者，探矿者( prospector的名词复数 ) | |
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junction
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| n.连接，接合；交叉点，接合处，枢纽站 | |
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alder
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| n.赤杨树 | |
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creek
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| n.小溪，小河，小湾 | |
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ascending
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| adj.上升的，向上的 | |
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brawling
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| n.争吵，喧嚷 | |
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7
pebbles
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| [复数]鹅卵石； 沙砾； 卵石，小圆石( pebble的名词复数 ) | |
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8
quartz
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| n.石英 | |
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granite
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| adj.花岗岩，花岗石 | |
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10
slate
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| n.板岩，石板，石片，石板色，候选人名单；adj.暗蓝灰色的，含板岩的；vt.用石板覆盖，痛打，提名，预订 | |
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11
boulder
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| n.巨砾；卵石，圆石 | |
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12
boulders
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| 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 | |
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13
profusion
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| n.挥霍；丰富 | |
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bluff
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| v.虚张声势，用假象骗人；n.虚张声势，欺骗 | |
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15
bluffs
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| 恐吓( bluff的名词复数 )； 悬崖； 峭壁 | |
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16
gravel
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| n.砂跞；砂砾层；结石 | |
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declivity
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| n.下坡，倾斜面 | |
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18
descend
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| vt./vi.传下来，下来，下降 | |
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19
descended
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| a.为...后裔的，出身于...的 | |
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20
scrambling
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| v.快速爬行( scramble的现在分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞 | |
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crumbling
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| adj.摇摇欲坠的 | |
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22
perilous
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| adj.危险的，冒险的 | |
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deceptive
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| adj.骗人的，造成假象的，靠不住的 | |
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consistency
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| n.一贯性，前后一致，稳定性；(液体的)浓度 | |
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abruptly
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| adv.突然地，出其不意地 | |
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conjectured
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| 推测，猜测，猜想( conjecture的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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interval
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| n.间隔，间距；幕间休息，中场休息 | |
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28
perpendicular
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| adj.垂直的，直立的；n.垂直线，垂直的位置 | |
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29
precipice
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| n.悬崖，危急的处境 | |
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30
shuddered
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| v.战栗( shudder的过去式和过去分词 )；发抖；（机器、车辆等）突然震动；颤动 | |
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plight
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| n.困境，境况，誓约，艰难；vt.宣誓，保证，约定 | |
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32
rattling
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| adj. 格格作响的, 活泼的, 很好的 adv. 极其, 很, 非常 动词rattle的现在分词 | |
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33
twine
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| v.搓，织，编饰；（使）缠绕 | |
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treacherous
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| adj.不可靠的，有暗藏的危险的；adj.背叛的，背信弃义的 | |
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35
wrench
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| v.猛拧；挣脱；使扭伤；n.扳手；痛苦，难受 | |
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brink
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| n.(悬崖、河流等的)边缘，边沿 | |
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frantic
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| adj.狂乱的，错乱的，激昂的 | |
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frightful
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| adj.可怕的；讨厌的 | |
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39
avert
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| v.防止，避免；转移(目光、注意力等) | |
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40
intensified
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| v.（使）增强， （使）加剧( intensify的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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41
groaned
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| v.呻吟( groan的过去式和过去分词 )；发牢骚；抱怨；受苦 | |
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42
scrambled
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| v.快速爬行( scramble的过去式和过去分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞 | |
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43
obstructed
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| 阻塞( obstruct的过去式和过去分词 )； 堵塞； 阻碍； 阻止 | |
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44
stolidity
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| n.迟钝，感觉麻木 | |
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45
dread
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| vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧 | |
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46
coaxed
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| v.哄，用好话劝说( coax的过去式和过去分词 )；巧言骗取；哄劝，劝诱 | |
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47
stunned
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| adj. 震惊的，惊讶的 动词stun的过去式和过去分词 | |
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48
landmarks
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| n.陆标( landmark的名词复数 )；目标；（标志重要阶段的）里程碑 ~ (in sth)；有历史意义的建筑物（或遗址） | |
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49
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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50
chunk
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| n.厚片，大块，相当大的部分（数量） | |
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51
retrace
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| v.折回；追溯，探源 | |
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