But, although the guns were lowered at the chief’s command, they were not put down, and for some minutes there was a jargon1 of loud and angry words among the Indians, with fierce gestures and scowls2, and it was evidently all that their leader could do to restrain them from taking instant vengeance3 for the outrage4 which had been inflicted5 upon them.
Some raised and succored6 the man who had been shot, but his wound was evidently mortal, and as they tried to stanch7 the blood which flowed profusely8 from his breast, their wrath9 and grief broke out afresh and threatened to set the authority of their leader at defiance10.
Running Water, in fact, did not look much less indignant than his comrades, when, their clamor having abated11, he turned toward Congo, and asked, in a mournful voice:
“Why have my brothers done this?”
“Wait! Let Joe be our spokesman, since he has already done so well. Tell him the truth, Joe, and see that the whole blame falls where it belongs.”
The chief repeated his question, and Joe, getting as near to him as he could, replied, rubbing his eyes:
“I tell you wot, cap’n—it’s all a mistake.”
“No un’stan’.”
“You see dis man?” pointing to Captain Meinhold.
The Indian nodded.
“He is our chief. He good man; we all goody men, except him,” pointing to Hare.
“Keep still, Hare,” replied Cody authoritatively15, “or you will be compelled to. This matter has got to be explained. You would not take our advice, and you must now bear the blame of your own actions.”
“I did what I thought was right.”
“Very well! And now we shall do what we think is right. You just keep still, that’s all you’ve got to do.”
“He bad man,” continued Congo. “He shooty-shooty. We try to stop him berry much. We all berry sorry. Cap’n Running Water—berry,” and again the negro knuckled16 his eyes and almost brought tears.
All this had to be repeated several times before it was understood, and when the chief had explained it to his people their concentrated gaze of hatred17 fell upon the rash offender18, who evidently quailed19 before it.
“We came in peace,” said Running Water. “We brought presents to our white brothers. See!”
He pointed20, as he spoke13, to a very large salmon21 trout22 and a string of black bass23 which lay in one of the boats, together with a bundle of dried corn and a gourd24 full of wild strawberries, red and luscious25.
The offerings left no doubt of the pacific—nay, friendly—nature of the visit, and the blush of shame succeeded the ashen26 hue27 of fear on the cheek of the guilty man as he gazed upon them.
Captain Meinhold now addressed the chief, expressing the deepest sorrow for what had happened, and begging that they might be forgiven and be permitted to proceed on their voyage, as they were a party of shipwrecked men in great distress28, being separated from their friends, and some of them from wives and children at their homes, besides the women in their charge.
Having seemingly made himself understood by words and signs, he next collected and offered to the chief all the silver coin in possession of the company, and Hare, taking the hint from these proceedings29, hastily drew out his watch and handed it to the captain to be added to the presents.
But Running Water turned scornfully away from these gifts, and refused to receive or to look at them.
“We must not sell our brother’s blood,” he said, and, turning to his men, he conferred with them for a few minutes, and then announced, as the general voice of his party, that the white men were all at liberty to proceed on their voyage, except the offender, who must be given up to them to be dealt with after their customs.
Hare turned pale and trembled very much when this decision was announced, but no argument or entreaties31 of his own or of his friends could produce any change or sign of wavering in the minds of the red men.
They listened attentively32 to all that was said, but still Running Water replied to it all in the same words, and almost in the same tone.
“Life for life,” was their law. He was very sorry for the young man, he said, but he could not protect[249] him, if he would, from those who had a right to demand his blood—the relations of the slain33 man.
“Pray don’t give me up, gentlemen,” exclaimed Hare. “They will burn me at the stake. They will torture me for a whole day.”
“We can’t possibly save you, Hare,” replied the captain. “We have no weapons excepting three small pistols, and here are twenty-six armed men.”
“Don’t give me up!”
“We certainly shall not give you up,” said Buffalo Bill; “but we can’t prevent them from taking you. The best that I can advise you to do, is to meet your fate like a man. As to their torturing you, I don’t believe they will do it.
“Even as it is, we might fight for you if it were not for the women. If we make a fight, they will be killed—or, worse still, made prisoners and forced to live all their lives as the squaws of brutal34 savages35.
“I will speak to the Indians about the torturing, and beg them to let you off it; or, rather, if our friends agree, we will all return with you to their village, and see if anything further can be done for you.”
“Thank you a thousand times, Cody. Yes, stay by me to the last.”
“I will do that,” replied Cody, “and try to save you even at the eleventh hour.”
“It will be something to have my friends near me, and not be left quite alone with these demons,” moaned Hare. “Oh, my father—my poor father! It will break his heart when he hears of this, and it will break my wife’s heart, too.”
Several of the white party protested earnestly against returning with the Indians, saying that it would mean running into terrible and unnecessary danger.
There was no telling what might happen when the savages were incited36 to wrath by their women and by their orators37, who would harangue38 them over the dead body of the murdered man and demand a tenfold retribution.
Buffalo Bill, however, with the aid of Captain Meinhold, persuaded the men to stay by their comrade.
It was at first proposed by the whites that Hare should remain with them on the way back to the village, but when this was attempted Running Water directed that he be put at once into one of the canoes, which movement better suited the Indians, who seemed anxious to get hold of their prisoner at once.
He was taken into the very boat which held his unfortunate victim, who was already quite dead.
Hare was made to sit down in the bottom of the craft, alongside of the corpse40. The horror of his position was indescribable, and was fully30 expressed in his countenance41, although he strove hard to maintain some degree of fortitude42 and manliness43.
“Promise that you will shoot me, Cody, if it comes to the worst,” he said eagerly, “and not let me be tortured. For Heaven’s sake, promise me that.”
“We will do all that we can for you,” was the evasive reply; “but remember that we are all in the power of these men, and that we have to be careful not to give them further offense44, for the sake of the women, if not for our own.”
The wretched man sighed, and looked over into the blue waters of the lake, as if he were tempted39 to throw himself into their calm depths and thus end his woes45. But watchful46 eyes were upon him and active hands would have defeated any such attempt.
Running Water made no objection to Buffalo Bill and his companions returning with them to the village.
He said, indeed, that they would be quite welcome, and would be at liberty to depart whenever they chose; but he warned them that they must not attempt to interfere47 in any way with the course of justice, or he would not be answerable for the consequences.
Of course the chief did not use exactly this language, but he contrived48 by words and signs to express himself in that way.
Running Water, who had waited with perfect composure and patience while the white men were discussing among themselves, now began the signal for starting to his own men.
The little fleet of canoes began to glide49 swiftly forward in the direction of the Indian village, followed more leisurely50 by the heavier boats of the white party, which was soon left far behind, and to which the prisoner continued to look eagerly back. He feared, indeed, that his friends, finding themselves so entirely51 at liberty, might change their minds and desert him, after all.
When the Indian canoes had got some distance ahead, one of the men in the white party stopped rowing at his oar54, and said:
“What’s the use of going on? We can’t save that poor fellow, and we shall only run ourselves into danger, and the women, too.”
“We can’t abandon him now,” replied Cody. “We gave him our promise and we can’t go back on it. We should be disgraced for life if we did.”
“It’s no use for us to indulge in any hope, or to promise what we cannot do—and shall not attempt,” was the blunt retort.
“We certainly shall attempt it,” said Cody, with a dangerous gleam in his eye, as he drew out of his belt one of the few pistols possessed55 by the party, which had been confided56 to his care.
He did not level it at the man, but the latter read his meaning plainly enough, and quailed visibly.
“We must stand by our own comrade to the last,” Buffalo Bill went on quietly. “Pick up that oar and go on rowing.”
The man obeyed without a word.
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1
jargon
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| n.术语，行话 | |
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scowls
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| 不悦之色，怒容( scowl的名词复数 ) | |
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vengeance
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| n.报复，报仇，复仇 | |
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outrage
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| n.暴行，侮辱，愤怒；vt.凌辱，激怒 | |
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inflicted
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| 把…强加给，使承受，遭受( inflict的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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6
succored
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| v.给予帮助( succor的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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stanch
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| v.止住（血等）；adj.坚固的；坚定的 | |
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profusely
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| ad.abundantly | |
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wrath
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| n.愤怒，愤慨，暴怒 | |
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defiance
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| n.挑战，挑衅，蔑视，违抗 | |
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abated
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| 减少( abate的过去式和过去分词 )； 减去； 降价； 撤消（诉讼） | |
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12
buffalo
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| n.(北美)野牛；(亚洲)水牛 | |
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13
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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14
rascal
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| n.流氓；不诚实的人 | |
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15
authoritatively
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| 命令式地，有权威地，可信地 | |
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16
knuckled
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| v.（指人）指关节( knuckle的过去式和过去分词 )；（指动物）膝关节，踝 | |
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17
hatred
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| n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨 | |
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offender
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| n.冒犯者，违反者，犯罪者 | |
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quailed
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| 害怕，发抖，畏缩( quail的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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salmon
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| n.鲑，大马哈鱼，橙红色的 | |
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trout
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| n.鳟鱼；鲑鱼(属) | |
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bass
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| n.男低音(歌手)；低音乐器；低音大提琴 | |
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24
gourd
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| n.葫芦 | |
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luscious
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| adj.美味的；芬芳的；肉感的，引与性欲的 | |
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26
ashen
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| adj.灰的 | |
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hue
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| n.色度；色调；样子 | |
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28
distress
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| n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛 | |
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29
proceedings
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| n.进程，过程，议程；诉讼(程序)；公报 | |
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30
fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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entreaties
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| n.恳求，乞求( entreaty的名词复数 ) | |
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attentively
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| adv.聚精会神地；周到地；谛；凝神 | |
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33
slain
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| 杀死，宰杀，杀戮( slay的过去分词 )； (slay的过去分词) | |
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brutal
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| adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的 | |
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savages
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| 未开化的人，野蛮人( savage的名词复数 ) | |
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36
incited
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| 刺激，激励，煽动( incite的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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orators
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| n.演说者，演讲家( orator的名词复数 ) | |
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harangue
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| n.慷慨冗长的训话，言辞激烈的讲话 | |
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39
tempted
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| v.怂恿（某人）干不正当的事；冒…的险（tempt的过去分词） | |
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40
corpse
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| n.尸体，死尸 | |
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41
countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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42
fortitude
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| n.坚忍不拔；刚毅 | |
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43
manliness
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| 刚毅 | |
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offense
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| n.犯规，违法行为；冒犯，得罪 | |
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45
woes
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| 困境( woe的名词复数 )； 悲伤； 我好苦哇； 某人就要倒霉 | |
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46
watchful
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| adj.注意的，警惕的 | |
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47
interfere
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| v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰 | |
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48
contrived
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| adj.不自然的，做作的；虚构的 | |
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49
glide
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| n./v.溜，滑行；(时间)消逝 | |
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50
leisurely
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| adj.悠闲的；从容的，慢慢的 | |
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51
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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52
unreasonable
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| adj.不讲道理的，不合情理的，过度的 | |
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53
justification
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| n.正当的理由；辩解的理由 | |
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54
oar
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| n.桨，橹，划手；v.划行 | |
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55
possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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56
confided
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| v.吐露（秘密，心事等）( confide的过去式和过去分词 )；（向某人）吐露（隐私、秘密等） | |
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