Chapter 28

WHAT remains¹ to be told will not take long. Hardshipsnaturally increased as the means of bearing them diminished.

　　I have said the salmon² held out for many days. We cut it instrips, and dried it as well as we could; but the flies andmaggots robbed us of a large portion of it. At length wewere reduced to two small hams; nothing else except a littletea. Guessing the distance we had yet to go, and taking intoaccount our slow rate of travelling, I calculated the numberof days which, with the greatest economy, these could be madeto last. Allowing only one meal a day, and that of thescantiest, I scored the hams as a cook scores a leg of roastpork, determined³ under no circumstances to exceed the dailyration.

　　No little discipline was requisite⁴ to adhere to thisresolution. Samson broke down under the exposure andprivation; superadded dysentery rendered him all buthelpless, and even affected⁵ his mind. The whole labour ofthe camp then devolved on me. I never roused him in themorning till the mules⁷ were packed - with all but his blanketand the pannikin for his tea - and until I had saddled hishorse for him. Not till we halted at night did we get ourration of ham. This he ate, or rather bolted, raw, like awild beast. My share I never touched till after I lay downto sleep. And so tired have I been, that once or twice Iwoke in the morning with my hand at my mouth, the unswallowedmorsel between my teeth. For three weeks we went on in thisway, never exchanging a word. I cannot say how I might havebehaved had Fred been in Samson's place. I hope I shouldhave been at least humane⁸. But I was labouring for my life,and was not over tender-hearted.

　　Certainly there was enough to try the patience of a betterman. Take an instance. Unable one morning to find my ownhorse, I saddled his and started him off, so as not to wastetime, with his spare animal and the three mules. It sohappened that our line of march was rather tortuous⁹, owing tosome hills we had to round. Still, as there were highmountains in the distance which we were making for, it seemedimpossible that anyone could miss his way. It was twentyminutes, perhaps, before I found my horse; this would givehim about a mile or more start of me. I hurried on, butfailed to overtake him. At the end of an hour I rode to thetop of a hill which commanded a view of the course he shouldhave taken. Not a moving speck¹⁰ was to be seen. I knew thenthat he had gone astray. But in which direction?

　　My heart sank within me. The provisions and blankets werewith him. I do not think that at any point of my journey Ihad ever felt fear - panic that is - till now. Starvationstared me in the face. My wits refused to suggest a line ofaction. I was stunned¹¹. I felt then what I have often feltsince, what I still feel, that it is possible to wrestlesuccessfully with every difficulty that man has overcome, butnot with that supreme¹² difficulty - man's stupidity. It didnot then occur to me to give a name to the impatience¹³ thatseeks to gather grapes of thorns or figs¹⁴ of thistles.

　　I turned back, retraced¹⁵ my steps till I came to the track ofthe mules. Luckily the ground retained the footprints,though sometimes these would be lost for a hundred yards orso. Just as I anticipated - Samson had wound round the baseof the very first hill he came to; then, instead ofcorrecting the deviation¹⁶, and steering¹⁷ for the mountains, hadsimply followed his nose, and was now travelling due east, -in other words, was going back over our track of the daybefore. It was past noon when I overtook him, so that aprecious day's labour was lost.

　　I said little, but that little was a sentence of death.

　　'After to-day,' I began, 'we will travel separately.'

　　At first he seemed hardly to take in my meaning. I explainedit.

　　'As well as I can make out, before we get to the Dalles,where we ought to find the American outposts, we have onlyabout 150 miles to go. This should not take more than eightor nine days. I can do it in a week alone, but not with you.

　　I have come to the conclusion that with you I may not be ableto do it at all. We have still those mountains' - pointingto the Blue Mountain range in the distance - 'to cross. Theyare covered with snow, as you see. We may find themtroublesome. In any case our food will only last eight ornine days more, even at the present rate. You shall have thelargest half of what is left, for you require more than I do.

　　But I cannot, and will not, sacrifice my life for your sake.

　　I have made up my mind to leave you.'

　　It must always be a terrible thing for a judge to pass thesentence of death. But then he is fulfilling a duty, merelycarrying out a law which is not of his making. Moreover, hehas no option - the responsibility rests with the jury; lastof all, the sufferer is a criminal. Between the judge's caseand mine there was no analogy. My act was a purely¹⁸ selfishone - justifiable¹⁹ I still think, though certainly notmagnanimous. I was quite aware of this at the time, but astarving man is not burdened with generosity²⁰.

　　I dismounted, and, without unsaddling the mules, took offtheir packs, now reduced to a few pounds, which was all thewretched, raw-backed, and half-dead, animals could staggerunder; and, putting my blanket, the remains of a ham, and alittle packet of tea - some eight or ten tea-spoonfuls - onone mule⁶, I again prepared to mount my horse and depart.

　　I took, as it were, a sneaking²¹ glance at Samson. He wassitting upon the ground, with his face between his knees,sobbing.

　　At three-and-twenty the heart of a man, or of a woman - ifeither has any, which, of course, may be doubtful - is apt toplay the dynamite²² with his or her resolves. Water-drops haveever been formidable weapons of the latter, as we all know;and, not being so accustomed to them then as I have becomesince, the sight of the poor devil's abject²³ woe²⁴ anddestitution, the thought that illness and suffering were thecauses, the secret whisper that my act was a cowardly one,forced me to follow the lines of least resistance, and submitto the decrees of destiny.

　　One more page from my 'Ride,' and the reader will, I think,have a fair conception of its general character. For thelast two hours the ascent²⁵ of the Blue Mountains had been verysteep. We were in a thick pine forest. There was a track -probably made by Indians. Near the summit we found a springof beautiful water. Here we halted for the night. It was asnug spot. But, alas²⁶! there was nothing for the animals toeat except pine needles. We lighted our fire against thegreat up-torn roots of a fallen tree; and, though it wasfreezing hard, we piled on such masses of dead boughs²⁷ thatthe huge blaze seemed to warm the surrounding atmosphere.

　　I must here give the words of my journal, for one exclamationin it has a sort of schoolboy ring that recalls the buoyancyof youthful spirits, the spirits indeed to which in earlylife we owe our enterprise and perseverance²⁸:

　　'As I was dozing²⁹ off, a pack of hungry wolves that hadscented us out set up the most infernal chorus ever heard.

　　In vain I pulled the frozen buffalo-robe over my head, andtried to get to sleep. The demons³⁰ drew nearer and nearer,howling, snarling³¹, fighting, moaning, and making a row in theperfect stillness which reigned³² around, as if hell itselfwere loose. For some time I bore it with patience. Atlength, jumping up, I yelled in a voice that made the valleyring: You devils! will you be quiet? The appeal wasimmediately answered by silence; but hearing them tuning³³ upfor a second concert, I threw some wood on the blazing fireand once more retired³⁴ to my lair³⁵. For a few minutes I layawake to admire a brilliant Aurora³⁶ Borealis shooting out itsstreams of electric light. Then, turning over on my side, Inever moved again till dawn.'

　　The first objects that caught my eye were the animals. Theywere huddled³⁷ together within a couple of yards of where welay. It was a horrible sight. Two out of the three mules,and Samson's horse, had been attacked by the wolves. Theflanks of the horse were terribly torn, and the entrails ofboth the mules were partially³⁸ hanging out. Though all threewere still standing³⁹ with their backs arched, they wererapidly dying from loss of blood. My dear little '

　　Strawberry' - as we called him to match William's 'Cream' andmy mare⁴⁰ were both intact.

　　A few days after this, Samson's remaining horse gave out. Ihad to surrender what remained of my poor beast in order toget my companion through. The last fifty miles of thejourney I performed on foot; sometimes carrying my rifle torelieve the staggering little mule of a few pounds extraweight. At long last the Dalles hove in sight. And our cry,'The tents! the tents!' echoed the joyous⁴¹ 'Thalassa!

　　Thalassa!' of the weary Greeks.

1 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

2 salmon   

n.鲑，大马哈鱼，橙红色的

参考例句：

• We saw a salmon jumping in the waterfall there.我们看见一条大马哈鱼在那边瀑布中跳跃。
• Do you have any fresh salmon in at the moment?现在有新鲜大马哈鱼卖吗？

3 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

4 requisite   

adj.需要的，必不可少的；n.必需品

参考例句：

• He hasn't got the requisite qualifications for the job.他不具备这工作所需的资格。
• Food and air are requisite for life.食物和空气是生命的必需品。

5 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

6 mule   

n.骡子，杂种，执拗的人

参考例句：

• A mule is a cross between a mare and a donkey.骡子是母马和公驴的杂交后代。
• He is an old mule.他是个老顽固。

7 mules   

骡( mule的名词复数 )； 拖鞋； 顽固的人； 越境运毒者

参考例句：

• The cart was pulled by two mules. 两匹骡子拉这辆大车。
• She wore tight trousers and high-heeled mules. 她穿紧身裤和拖鞋式高跟鞋。

8 humane   

adj.人道的，富有同情心的

参考例句：

• Is it humane to kill animals for food?宰杀牲畜来吃合乎人道吗？
• Their aim is for a more just and humane society.他们的目标是建立一个更加公正、博爱的社会。

9 tortuous   

adj.弯弯曲曲的，蜿蜒的

参考例句：

• We have travelled a tortuous road.我们走过了曲折的道路。
• They walked through the tortuous streets of the old city.他们步行穿过老城区中心弯弯曲曲的街道。

10 speck   

n.微粒，小污点，小斑点

参考例句：

• I have not a speck of interest in it.我对它没有任何兴趣。
• The sky is clear and bright without a speck of cloud.天空晴朗，一星星云彩也没有。

11 stunned   

adj. 震惊的，惊讶的 动词stun的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• The fall stunned me for a moment. 那一下摔得我昏迷了片刻。
• The leaders of the Kopper Company were then stunned speechless. 科伯公司的领导们当时被惊得目瞪口呆。

12 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

13 impatience   

n.不耐烦，急躁

参考例句：

• He expressed impatience at the slow rate of progress.进展缓慢，他显得不耐烦。
• He gave a stamp of impatience.他不耐烦地跺脚。

14 figs   

figures 数字，图形，外形

参考例句：

• The effect of ring dyeing is shown in Figs 10 and 11. 环形染色的影响如图10和图11所示。
• The results in Figs. 4 and 5 show the excellent agreement between simulation and experiment. 图4和图5的结果都表明模拟和实验是相当吻合的。

15 retraced   

v.折回( retrace的过去式和过去分词 )；回忆；回顾；追溯

参考例句：

• We retraced our steps to where we started. 我们折回我们出发的地方。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• We retraced our route in an attempt to get back on the right path. 我们折返，想回到正确的路上。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 deviation   

n.背离，偏离；偏差，偏向；离题

参考例句：

• Deviation from this rule are very rare.很少有违反这条规则的。
• Any deviation from the party's faith is seen as betrayal.任何对党的信仰的偏离被视作背叛。

17 steering   

n.操舵装置

参考例句：

• He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration. 他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。
• Steering according to the wind, he also framed his words more amicably. 他真会看风使舵，口吻也马上变得温和了。

18 purely   

adv.纯粹地，完全地

参考例句：

• I helped him purely and simply out of friendship.我帮他纯粹是出于友情。
• This disproves the theory that children are purely imitative.这证明认为儿童只会单纯地模仿的理论是站不住脚的。

19 justifiable   

adj.有理由的，无可非议的

参考例句：

• What he has done is hardly justifiable.他的所作所为说不过去。
• Justifiable defense is the act being exempted from crimes.正当防卫不属于犯罪行为。

20 generosity   

n.大度，慷慨，慷慨的行为

参考例句：

• We should match their generosity with our own.我们应该像他们一样慷慨大方。
• We adore them for their generosity.我们钦佩他们的慷慨。

21 sneaking   

a.秘密的，不公开的

参考例句：

• She had always had a sneaking affection for him. 以前她一直暗暗倾心于他。
• She ducked the interviewers by sneaking out the back door. 她从后门偷偷溜走，躲开采访者。

22 dynamite   

n./vt.(用)炸药(爆破)

参考例句：

• The workmen detonated the dynamite.工人们把炸药引爆了。
• The philosopher was still political dynamite.那位哲学家仍旧是政治上的爆炸性人物。

23 abject   

adj.极可怜的，卑屈的

参考例句：

• This policy has turned out to be an abject failure.这一政策最后以惨败而告终。
• He had been obliged to offer an abject apology to Mr.Alleyne for his impertinence.他不得不低声下气，为他的无礼举动向艾莱恩先生请罪。

24 woe   

n.悲哀，苦痛，不幸，困难；int.用来表达悲伤或惊慌

参考例句：

• Our two peoples are brothers sharing weal and woe.我们两国人民是患难与共的兄弟。
• A man is well or woe as he thinks himself so.自认祸是祸，自认福是福。

25 ascent   

n.(声望或地位)提高；上升，升高；登高

参考例句：

• His rapid ascent in the social scale was surprising.他的社会地位提高之迅速令人吃惊。
• Burke pushed the button and the elevator began its slow ascent.伯克按动电钮，电梯开始缓慢上升。

26 alas   

int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等)

参考例句：

• Alas!The window is broken!哎呀！窗子破了！
• Alas,the truth is less romantic.然而，真理很少带有浪漫色彩。

27 boughs   

大树枝( bough的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The green boughs glittered with all their pearls of dew. 绿枝上闪烁着露珠的光彩。
• A breeze sighed in the higher boughs. 微风在高高的树枝上叹息着。

28 perseverance   

n.坚持不懈，不屈不挠

参考例句：

• It may take some perseverance to find the right people.要找到合适的人也许需要有点锲而不舍的精神。
• Perseverance leads to success.有恒心就能胜利。

29 dozing   

v.打瞌睡,假寐 n.瞌睡

参考例句：

• The economy shows no signs of faltering. 经济没有衰退的迹象。
• He never falters in his determination. 他的决心从不动摇。

30 demons   

n.恶人( demon的名词复数 )；恶魔；精力过人的人；邪念

参考例句：

• demons torturing the sinners in Hell 地狱里折磨罪人的魔鬼
• He is plagued by demons which go back to his traumatic childhood. 他为心魔所困扰，那可追溯至他饱受创伤的童年。 来自《简明英汉词典》

31 snarling   

v.（指狗）吠，嗥叫， （人）咆哮( snarl的现在分词 )；咆哮着说，厉声地说

参考例句：

• "I didn't marry you," he said, in a snarling tone. “我没有娶你，"他咆哮着说。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• So he got into the shoes snarling. 于是，汤姆一边大喊大叫，一边穿上了那双鞋。 来自英汉文学 - 汤姆历险

32 reigned   

vi.当政，统治（reign的过去式形式）

参考例句：

• Silence reigned in the hall. 全场肃静。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Night was deep and dead silence reigned everywhere. 夜深人静，一片死寂。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

33 tuning   

n.调谐，调整，调音v.调音( tune的现在分词 )；调整；（给收音机、电视等）调谐；使协调

参考例句：

• They are tuning up a plane on the flight line. 他们正在机场的飞机跑道上调试一架飞机。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The orchestra are tuning up. 管弦乐队在定弦。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

34 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

35 lair   

n.野兽的巢穴；躲藏处

参考例句：

• How can you catch tiger cubs without entering the tiger's lair?不入虎穴，焉得虎子？
• I retired to my lair,and wrote some letters.我回到自己的躲藏处，写了几封信。

36 aurora   

n.极光

参考例句：

• The aurora is one of nature's most awesome spectacles.极光是自然界最可畏的奇观之一。
• Over the polar regions we should see aurora.在极地高空,我们会看到极光。

37 huddled   

挤在一起（huddle的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• We huddled together for warmth. 我们挤在一块取暖。
• We huddled together to keep warm. 我们挤在一起来保暖。

38 partially   

adv.部分地，从某些方面讲

参考例句：

• The door was partially concealed by the drapes.门有一部分被门帘遮住了。
• The police managed to restore calm and the curfew was partially lifted.警方设法恢复了平静，宵禁部分解除。

39 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

40 mare   

n.母马，母驴

参考例句：

• The mare has just thrown a foal in the stable.那匹母马刚刚在马厩里产下了一只小马驹。
• The mare foundered under the heavy load and collapsed in the road.那母马因负载过重而倒在路上。

41 joyous   

adj.充满快乐的；令人高兴的

参考例句：

• The lively dance heightened the joyous atmosphere of the scene.轻快的舞蹈给这场戏渲染了欢乐气氛。
• They conveyed the joyous news to us soon.他们把这一佳音很快地传递给我们。