“You are sure this is Upper Chain?” he inquired.
“’Spects it is, boss, but I ain’t no ways sho’. Ain’t never been up this way afore,” replied the porter, yawning sleepily.
The boy vainly strove to pierce the night mist which shrouded2 everything in ghostly gray, hoping to see the conductor or a brakeman, but he could see barely half the length of the next Pullman. A warning rumble3 at the head of the long train admonished4 him that he must act at once; he must make up [12] his mind to stay or he must climb aboard again, and that quickly.
The long night ride had been a momentous5 event to him. He had slept little, partly from the novelty of his first experience in a sleeping car, and partly from the excitement of actually being on his way into the big north woods, the Mecca of all his desires and daydreams6. Consequently he had kept a fairly close record of the train’s running time, dozing7 off between stations but waking instantly whenever the train came to a stop. According to his reckoning he should now be at Upper Chain. He had given the porter strict orders to call him twenty minutes before reaching his destination, but to his supreme8 disgust he had had to perform that service for the darkey. That worthy9 had then been sent forward to find the conductor and make sure of their whereabouts. Unsuccessful, he had returned just in time to hand down the lad’s duffle.
Now, as the preliminary jerk ran down the heavy train, the boy once more looked at his watch, and made up his mind. If the train was on time, and he felt sure that it was, this [13] was Upper Chain, the junction10 where he was to change for the final stage of his journey. He would stay.
The dark, heavy sleepers11 slowly crept past as the train gathered way, till suddenly he found himself staring for a moment at the red and green tail lights. Then they grew dim and blinked out in the enveloping12 fog. He shivered a bit, for the first time realizing how cold it was at this altitude before daybreak. And, to be quite honest, there was just a little feeling of loneliness as he made out the dim black wall of evergreens13 on one side and the long string of empty freight cars shutting him in on the other. The whistle of the laboring14 locomotive shrieked15 out of the darkness ahead, reverberating16 with an eery hollowness from mountain to mountain. Involuntarily he shivered again. Then, with a boyish laugh at his momentary17 loss of nerve, he shouldered his duffle bag and picked up his fishing-rod.
“Must be a depot18 here somewhere, and it’s up to me to find it,” he said aloud. “Wonder what I tipped that stupid porter for, anyway! Dad would say I’m easy. Guess I am, all right. Br-r-r-r, who says this is July?”
[14] Trudging19 along the ties he soon came to the end of the string of empties and, a little way to his right, made out the dim outlines of a building. This proved to be the depot. A moment later he was in the bare, stuffy20 little waiting-room, in the middle of which a big stove was radiating a welcome warmth.
On a bench at one side sat two roughly-dressed men, who glanced up as the boy entered. One was in the prime of vigorous manhood. Broad of shoulder, large of frame, he was spare with the leanness of the professional woodsman, who lives up to the rule that takes nothing useless on the trail and, therefore, cannot afford to carry superfluous21 flesh. The gray flannel22 shirt, falling open at the neck, exposed a throat which, like his face, was roughened and bronzed by the weather.
The boy caught the quick glance of the keen blue eyes which, for all their kindly23 twinkle, bored straight through him. Instinctively24 he felt that here was one of the very men his imagination had so often pictured, a man skilled in woodcraft, accustomed to meeting danger, clear-headed, resourceful—in fact just such a man as was [15] Deerslayer, whose rifle had so often roused the echoes in these very woods.
The man beside him was short, thick-set, black-haired and mare-browed. His skin was swarthy, with just a tinge25 of color to hint at Indian ancestry26 among his French forebears. He wore the large check mackinaw of the French Canadian lumberman. Against the bench beside him rested a double-bladed axe27. A pair of beady black eyes burned their way into the boy’s consciousness. They were not good eyes; they seemed to carry a hint of hate and evil, an unspoken threat. The man, taking in the new khaki suit of the boy and the unsoiled case of the fishing-rod, grunted28 contemptuously and spat29 a mouthful of tobacco juice into the box of sawdust beside the stove. The boy flushed and turned to meet the kindly, luminous30 eyes of the other man.
“If you please, is this Upper Chain?” he inquired.
“Sure, son,” was the prompt response. “Reckon we must hev come in on th’ same train, only I was up forward. Guess you’re bound for Woodcraft Camp. So’m I, so let’s shake. My name’s Jim Everly—‘Big Jim’ [16] they call me—and I’m goin’ in t’ guide fer Dr. Merriam th’ rest o’ th’ summer and try to teach you youngsters a few o’ th’ first principles. What might yer name be an’ whar be yer from?”
“Walter Upton, but the boys mostly call me ‘Walt.’ My home is in New York,” replied the boy.
“Never hit th’ trail t’ th’ big woods afore, did yer?” inquired the big guide, rising to stretch.
“No,” said Walter, and then added eagerly: “But I’ve read lots and lots of books about them, and I guess I could most find my way along a trail even if I am a city tenderfoot. I’ve paddled a canoe some, and I know all about the habits of wild animals and how to build a fire and——”
“Son,” interrupted Big Jim, “stop right thar! Forget it—all this rot you’ve been a-readin’. Woodcraft never yet was larned out o’ books, and it never will be. I reckon you an’ me are goin’ t’ hitch31 up together fine, an’ when yer go back t’ yer daddy this fall yer’ll be able t’ take him out in th’ tall timbers an’ show him a few stunts32 what ain’t [17] down in th’ program o’ city schools, but what every cottontail born in the north woods larns the second day he gets his eyes open. Now yer jes’ fergit all this stuff yer’ve been a-readin’ and stick t’ me; we’ll git along fine. I’ll make a woodsman o’ yer yer dad will be proud o’. Let’s have a look outside t’ see how the weather is.”
As he followed the big fellow out onto the platform Walter felt his cheeks burn at this wholesale33 condemnation34 of his treasured books, one of which, “A Complete Guide to Woodcraft,” was at that moment within easy reach in the top of his duffle bag. Despite his natural admiration35 for this big guide, to whom the mountains, lakes and woods were as an open book, and his unbounded delight in having made a good impression, Walter was not yet willing to overthrow36 his former idols37 for this new one, and he was independent enough to stand by his opinions until convinced that he was wrong.
“Have you ever read any of them, Mr. Everly?” he inquired courteously38.
“Me? Read them books?” Big Jim’s laugh rolled out infectiously. “What would [18] I read ’em for, sonny? I’ve seen some o’ them book-writers in th’ woods, and thet’s enough fer me. Lordy!” and again Jim’s hearty39 laugh rolled forth40.
Walter laughed a little too, but deep in his heart he resolved that he would yet show Big Jim that there was some good in the despised books. To change the subject he inquired about the low-browed owner of the axe back by the fire.
“Him? Why, thet’s Red Pete, a French canuck with some Indian in him, an’ th’ meanest man in th’ mountains,” replied Big Jim.
The mist had begun to burn off. Even as they watched they saw it roll in great tattered41 masses up the side of the opposite mountain. With the coming of the sun Walter was able to take note of his surroundings, and his eager eyes drank in the scene so strange to him but so familiar to his companion. It was one of those few moments which come to all of us, when we experience sensations which so impress themselves upon the memory that never are they forgotten. Walter felt a thrill that made him tingle42 from head to foot and, from [19] sheer delight, clinch43 his hands till the nails nearly bit into the flesh. Since he was big enough to read “Deerslayer” and “The Pathfinder” and Captain Mayne Reid’s fascinating tales of adventure in forest and on the plains he had lived in an imaginary world of his own—a wonderful world, where he penetrated44 vast wildernesses45, voyaged on great rivers and climbed snow-capped mountains. Now he was really in the great woods; his dreams were coming true in a measure.
Indeed, it was a scene to stir any red-blooded boy. A gentle breeze, moving across an unsuspected lake, rolled before it great billowing masses of vapor46. The sun, just rising above the eastern hills, drew the mist swiftly up the mountainsides in broken, detached masses that eddied47, separated, came together and in an incredibly short time dissipated in thin, clear air, till naught48 remained save in the deepest hollows not yet penetrated by the sun’s rays. Walter drew a long breath.
“Oh!” he gasped49, and again, “Oh!”
Big Jim looked at him curiously50, while a sincere liking51 twinkled in his blue eyes.
“Never see a sunrise in th’ mountains [20] afore, did yer, sonny?” he asked. “Jes’ yer wait till yer see a sunup from th’ top of old Baldy, and watch forty lakes throw off their night clothes all at once.”
Sordid52 enough was the scene now revealed close at hand in the clear morning light, the ulcer53 of so-called civilization, to be seen wherever man has pushed the outposts of commercialism into the great forests. A dozen log houses and a few ugly frame buildings, the latter unpainted for the most part, but with one a glaring red and another a washed-out blue, dotted an irregular clearing on either side of the railroad. Close by, the tail of a log jam choked a narrow river, while the tall iron stack of a sawmill towered above the rough board roof that afforded some protection to the engine and saws. Off to the right glistened54 the end of a lake of which the river was the outlet55, its margin56 a mass of stark57, drowned timber. The peculiar58 odor of wet sawdust filled the air. A sawdust road threaded its way among the scattered59 buildings, and all about were unsightly piles of slabs60, heaps of bark and mill waste.
But to Walter it was all fascinating. The [21] sky-scrapers of his native city seemed not half so wonderful as these moss61 and clay chinked cabins. He pinched himself to make quite sure he was awake, that it was all real. An engine and single dingy62 coach were backing down a siding.
“Thar’s our train, son,” said his companion. “Better stow yer duffle aboard. It won’t pull out for half an hour, and then it’ll be a twenty-minute run over t’ Upper Lake. I want to see Tim Mulligan over yonder t’ th’ store, but I’ll join yer on th’ train.”
Taking the hint, Walter put his duffle aboard the train beside the pack basket of his friend, and then, to kill time, started out to form a closer acquaintance with the town. From most of the houses thin columns of smoke and the odor of frying bacon or pork proclaimed that breakfast was being prepared. Occasionally he had glimpses of weary-faced women in faded calico gowns. One, standing63 in the doorway64 of her cabin, was barefooted. A frowzy-headed, dirty-faced little urchin65 stared at him from the shelter of her skirts. The men he met were for the most part rough, good-natured fellows, dressed in the flannel [22] shirt of the woods, their trousers thrust into high, laced, hobnailed boots. Several nodded kindly or exchanged a “howdy” with the bright-faced boy.
On his way back, as he neared a cabin somewhat apart from the others, he heard voices in angry dispute. Turning a corner of the cabin he was just in time to see a boy of about his own age, but a good head taller, strike a vicious blow at a whimpering hunchback. In a flash Walter confronted the astonished young ruffian, eyes flashing and fists doubled.
“You coward!” he shouted. “You miserable66 coward, to strike a boy smaller than yourself, and a cripple!”
For an instant the other stared. Then his face darkened with an ugly scowl67, and he advanced threateningly.
“Get out av here! This ain’t any av your business, ye city dude!” he growled68.
“I’ll make it my business when you hit a little fellow like that,” replied Walter, edging between the bully69 and his victim.
“Want ter foight?” demanded the other.
“No, I don’t,” said Walter, “but I want you to leave that little chap alone.”
[23] “Huh, yez do, do yez?” responded the other, and rushing in he aimed an ugly blow at Walter’s face. The fight was on.
And just here the young ruffian was treated to the greatest surprise of his bullying70 career. Instead of crushing his slight antagonist71 as he had contemptuously expected to, he lunged into empty space. The next instant he received a stinging blow fairly on the nose. For a moment he gasped from sheer surprise, then, with a howl of pain and rage, he rushed again.
To all appearances it was a most unequal match. The young backwoodsman was not only taller, but was heavy in proportion; his muscles were hardened by work and rough outdoor life in a sawmill village, and hard knocks had toughened him as well. In contrast, the city boy seemed slight and hopelessly at a disadvantage. But underneath72 that neat khaki jacket was a well-knit, wiry frame, and muscles developed in the home gymnasium. Moreover, Walter’s father believed in teaching a boy to take care of himself, and it was not for nothing that Walter had taken lessons in boxing and wrestling.
[24] As before, he avoided the rush by lightly side-stepping, driving in a vigorous left to the ear and following this with a right which raised a lump just under his opponent’s left eye. The latter backed away. Then he came in again, but more cautiously. He was beginning to respect this elusive73 antagonist who hit so hard, yet managed to get away untouched. It was all so new in his experience that he was utterly74 at a loss to know what to expect.
Round and round they circled, each watching for an opening. Suddenly Walter took the offensive. As he started to rush he slipped in the wet sawdust. His opponent saw his advantage and swung hard, but Walter caught the blow on his right forearm, and the next instant they were locked in a clinch. This was what the bully wanted. Now he would throw his antagonist and, once he had him down, that would end the battle, for his ethics75 knew no quarter for a fallen foe76.
But again he reckoned without his host. Scientific wrestling was an unheard-of art to the young giant, while in the home gymnasium Walter had twice won the championship [25] for his weight. For a few minutes they swayed this way and that, then Walter secured the lock he was trying for, there was an instant of straining muscles, then the bully was pinned flat on his back.
A big hand fell on Walter’s shoulder. “Son,” said Big Jim, “I hate t’ break into yer morning exercise, but you an’ me hev an engagement at Upper Lake, and we’ve got jes’ two minutes t’ ketch thet train.”
Walter jumped up at once, and then held out his hand to the discomfited77 bully. “Will you shake?” he asked.
To the surprise of the delighted onlookers78 the fallen terror of the village arose and in a manly79 way, though sheepishly, shook the outstretched hand, for at heart he had the right stuff in him.
“Ye licked me fair an’ square,” he mumbled80. “Oi wish ye’d show me some av thim thricks.”
“I will if I ever have a chance. You ought to be a Boy Scout,” shouted Walter as he and Big Jim sprinted81 for the train.
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1
sleeper
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| n.睡眠者，卧车，卧铺 | |
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shrouded
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| v.隐瞒( shroud的过去式和过去分词 )；保密 | |
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rumble
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| n.隆隆声；吵嚷；v.隆隆响；低沉地说 | |
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4
admonished
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| v.劝告( admonish的过去式和过去分词 )；训诫；（温和地）责备；轻责 | |
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5
momentous
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| adj.重要的，重大的 | |
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6
daydreams
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| n.白日梦( daydream的名词复数 )v.想入非非，空想( daydream的第三人称单数 ) | |
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7
dozing
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| v.打瞌睡,假寐 n.瞌睡 | |
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supreme
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| adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的 | |
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worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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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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sleepers
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| n.卧铺（通常以复数形式出现）；卧车( sleeper的名词复数 )；轨枕；睡觉（呈某种状态）的人；小耳环 | |
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12
enveloping
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| v.包围，笼罩，包住( envelop的现在分词 ) | |
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13
evergreens
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| n.常青树，常绿植物，万年青( evergreen的名词复数 ) | |
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laboring
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| n.劳动，操劳v.努力争取(for)( labor的现在分词 )；苦干；详细分析；（指引擎）缓慢而困难地运转 | |
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15
shrieked
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| v.尖叫( shriek的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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16
reverberating
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| 回响，回荡( reverberate的现在分词 )； 使反响，使回荡，使反射 | |
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17
momentary
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| adj.片刻的，瞬息的；短暂的 | |
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depot
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| n.仓库，储藏处；公共汽车站；火车站 | |
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19
trudging
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| vt.& vi.跋涉，吃力地走（trudge的现在分词形式） | |
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20
stuffy
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| adj.不透气的，闷热的 | |
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superfluous
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| adj.过多的，过剩的，多余的 | |
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flannel
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| n.法兰绒；法兰绒衣服 | |
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kindly
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| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
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instinctively
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| adv.本能地 | |
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25
tinge
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| vt.(较淡)着色于，染色；使带有…气息；n.淡淡色彩，些微的气息 | |
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26
ancestry
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| n.祖先，家世 | |
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axe
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| n.斧子；v.用斧头砍，削减 | |
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28
grunted
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| （猪等）作呼噜声( grunt的过去式和过去分词 )； （指人）发出类似的哼声； 咕哝着说 | |
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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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luminous
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| adj.发光的，发亮的；光明的；明白易懂的；有启发的 | |
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31
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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32
stunts
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| n.惊人的表演( stunt的名词复数 )；（广告中）引人注目的花招；愚蠢行为；危险举动v.阻碍…发育[生长]，抑制，妨碍( stunt的第三人称单数 ) | |
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wholesale
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| n.批发；adv.以批发方式；vt.批发，成批出售 | |
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condemnation
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| n.谴责; 定罪 | |
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admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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36
overthrow
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| v.推翻，打倒，颠覆；n.推翻，瓦解，颠覆 | |
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37
idols
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| 偶像( idol的名词复数 )； 受崇拜的人或物； 受到热爱和崇拜的人或物； 神像 | |
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courteously
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| adv.有礼貌地，亲切地 | |
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hearty
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| adj.热情友好的；衷心的；尽情的，纵情的 | |
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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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41
tattered
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| adj.破旧的，衣衫破的 | |
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42
tingle
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| vi.感到刺痛，感到激动；n.刺痛，激动 | |
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43
clinch
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| v.敲弯，钉牢；确定；扭住对方 [参]clench | |
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44
penetrated
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| adj. 击穿的，鞭辟入里的 动词penetrate的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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45
wildernesses
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| 荒野( wilderness的名词复数 )； 沙漠； （政治家）在野； 不再当政（或掌权） | |
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46
vapor
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| n.蒸汽，雾气 | |
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47
eddied
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| 起漩涡，旋转( eddy的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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48
naught
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| n.无，零 [=nought] | |
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49
gasped
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| v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要 | |
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50
curiously
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| adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地 | |
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51
liking
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| n.爱好；嗜好；喜欢 | |
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52
sordid
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| adj.肮脏的，不干净的，卑鄙的，暗淡的 | |
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53
ulcer
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| n.溃疡，腐坏物 | |
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54
glistened
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| v.湿物闪耀，闪亮( glisten的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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55
outlet
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| n.出口/路；销路；批发商店；通风口；发泄 | |
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56
margin
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| n.页边空白；差额；余地，余裕；边，边缘 | |
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57
stark
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| adj.荒凉的；严酷的；完全的；adv.完全地 | |
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58
peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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59
scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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60
slabs
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| n.厚板，平板，厚片( slab的名词复数 )；厚胶片 | |
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61
moss
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| n.苔，藓，地衣 | |
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62
dingy
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| adj.昏暗的，肮脏的 | |
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63
standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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doorway
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| n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径 | |
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65
urchin
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| n.顽童；海胆 | |
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66
miserable
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| adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的 | |
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67
scowl
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| vi.(at)生气地皱眉，沉下脸，怒视；n.怒容 | |
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68
growled
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| v.（动物）发狺狺声， （雷）作隆隆声( growl的过去式和过去分词 )；低声咆哮着说 | |
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69
bully
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| n.恃强欺弱者，小流氓；vt.威胁，欺侮 | |
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70
bullying
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| v.恐吓，威逼( bully的现在分词 )；豪；跋扈 | |
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71
antagonist
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| n.敌人，对抗者，对手 | |
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72
underneath
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| adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面 | |
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73
elusive
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| adj.难以表达(捉摸)的；令人困惑的；逃避的 | |
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utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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ethics
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| n.伦理学；伦理观，道德标准 | |
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foe
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| n.敌人，仇敌 | |
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77
discomfited
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| v.使为难( discomfit的过去式和过去分词)；使狼狈；使挫折；挫败 | |
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78
onlookers
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| n.旁观者，观看者( onlooker的名词复数 ) | |
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79
manly
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| adj.有男子气概的；adv.男子般地，果断地 | |
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mumbled
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| 含糊地说某事，叽咕，咕哝( mumble的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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81
sprinted
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| v.短距离疾跑( sprint的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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