When Terry Clark saw his friend go spinning into the whirlpool, he scrambled4 back from the trunk of the tree, on which he had found refuge, and ran at full speed down the bank. Fast as he went, he was just in time to see Fred swimming through the foaming5 waters toward the land.
"Give me yer hand!" called out the delighted youngster; "there isn't any body in the wide wurruld that could bate6 that onless it is mesilf, and I couldn't do it."
"Whew!" exclaimed Fred, as he laboriously7 clambered up the steep bank; "that was the biggest lot of swimming and diving crowded into the space of a minute or two that I ever knew; I wouldn't like to take such a trip each day."
"And I'm thinkin' that it'll be a few days after this whin we try it agin," added Terry, delighted to see his loved comrade before him unharmed; "I jist give up when I seen you plunge8 in among the rocks, and was wonderin' how your father and mother and sister Edith would faal when I should be luggin' your dead body home."
"I'm thankful that you haven't that to do," said Fred with an earnestness that could not be mistaken; "but come, the clothes of us both are dripping, and we can't get away any too soon."
It was not far to walk, and a few minutes later they reached the other side of the clearing, where the cluster of cabins stood. The first living object on which their eyes rested was Brindle, lying on the ground and chewing her cud with an air of contentment which belongs exclusively to her kind, or rather kine.
The boys laughed and Terry said:
"If she had such a thing as conscience she wouldn't be takin' things in that aisy style, after givin' us a duckin' that come nigh bein' our last one."
"You are right, Terry, but what did you do with that bell that Deerfoot took away from the Winnebago?"
"I lift it wid my gun on the other side of the creek9; I didn't want it tollin' our funeral knell10 all the time we was goin' through the rapids and splittin' the rocks to pieces by bangin' our heads agin them."
"It is just as well, for the creek will be so low that there will be no danger in crossing it to-morrow, and you can get the bell again; well, here we are at home."
The boys separated, and at the same moment, each entered the cabin where he lived. They were only a short distance apart. Several men and a number of the lads, some older and some younger than the two in whom we are interested, were moving about, and looked curiously11 at the dripping figures. A couple asked an explanation of Fred, but he laughingly answered that he would tell them after he had got dry, and immediately disappeared in his own house.
Mrs. Linden and Edith, her daughter, who was two years younger than Fred, looked up in surprise when they saw the state of the lad.
"Terry and I started to paddle across the creek, that is higher than usual, and were overturned by a tree that stove in the side of the boat and gave us a ducking."
Having heard this explanation his folks seemed to feel no more curiosity about it. The lad passed into his room, he being one of those fortunate ones who had two complete suits of clothing, with the exception of cap and shoes. It took him but a short time to effect the change, when he reappeared, placing his foot and head gear near the fire, where they would soon dry.
The home of Fred Linden may be taken as a type of the best that were found on the frontier. As a matter of course, it was made of logs, with a stone chimney so huge that it projected like an irregular bay window from the rear. The fire-place took up the greater part of one side of the house, where the immense blocks of oak and hickory not only diffused12 a cheery warmth through the lower portion, but sent fully13 one-half the heat up the enormous throat of the chimney.
The large room, which served for parlor14, sitting and dining room, was furnished simply, but comfortably, with plain chairs, a bench, spinning-wheel, a rocking-chair, table, a few cheap pictures and the indispensable cooking utensils15. There was no stove, every thing being prepared in the fire-place. At that day, as you well know, no one had ever dreamed of using coal as an article of fuel, and the old-fashioned stoves were exceedingly few in number. Carpets, of course, were not thought of, though the rough floor was kept clean enough to serve as a table for food.
A rifle rested on two deer prongs over the mantel-piece, and there seemed to be any number of knick-knacks about the room, though it would have been found that nearly every one had a distinct use in the household.
Two rooms were connected on the same floor with the larger apartment. One of these served as the sleeping quarters for the parents when Mr. Linden was at home, and the other for Edith, while Fred occupied the loft16, which had the rafters for a ceiling, and extended over half the lower floor. During the absence of the father, Edith and her mother used one room, while Fred had the other.
Noon had passed when the son came home, and his substantial dinner of venison—procured some days before by Fred himself—brown bread, potatoes, butter and milk, were awaiting him. Taking his place at the table, he ate as only a rugged17, growing boy of sixteen can eat.
He made no further mention of the dangerous adventure that had just befallen him, but gave the full particulars of Terry Clark's encounter with the Winnebago Indian, who stole the bell from the cow, and tried to have a little sport at the expense of the boy. It was an interesting story, and mother and daughter listened with rapt attention. Edith, who was a bright girl, and very fond of her brother, asked many questions as to how the Winnebago looked, what he said, and whether he really meant to kill poor Terry. Then her interest suddenly transferred itself to Deerfoot, and she plied18 Fred with all sorts of queries19, until he laughingly told her that she was asking them two and three times over, and really he had nothing more to tell.
Then Fred drew out the moist and soiled bit of paper that he had taken from his other clothes, and which contained the message of his father. This, of course, caused a sensation, for it made known the fact that the son was to join his parent for several months. It would be supposed that this would cause some inconvenience, but in such a primitive20 community all were neighbors, and the chores and work that would have been done by Fred Linden would be cheerfully attended to by others. It was not until many years afterward21, when the settlements became towns, that the social distinctions between families were formed.
During all the conversation, after it had been agreed that Fred should start alone on a hundred mile journey through the wild forest,111 nothing was said about such a thing as the personal danger attending it. And that, too, directly on the heels of the Winnebago's attempt on Terry Clark. The habit of self-reliance was taught to the children of the pioneers at such an early age, that their parents felt no solicitude22, where in these times they would have been tortured by anxiety, and, no doubt, with abundant reason.
Mrs. Bowlby was told of the mishap23 that had befallen her absent lord, when she was asked by Edith to come over in the evening, but she was assured that there was no cause for alarm, and so she felt none. She wrote a letter to her husband, as did the wife of Hardin, and Fred's own mother. These constituted all the extra luggage that he was to take, for it would have been oppressive to load him with any thing in the nature of a burden when the hunters had been absent only a few days.
The decision was that Fred should make his start at early dawn the next day. It was his purpose to reach camp on the fourth day; that would be only an ordinary tramp for a rugged youngster like him, and he was confident that he would have no trouble in keeping to the trail that had been ridden over so recently by his friends.
The little personal articles, as they may be called, which the lad would require, were mostly the same as those of his father, and could be utilized24 by the son. Such, as from the nature of things, could not answer for both were tied into a compact package with his linen25 and strapped26 over his shoulders with a thick blanket. His powder horn and bullet pouch27 were not forgotten. An extra flint for his rifle was placed in his pocket, and the weapon, which belonged to the lad himself, was slung28 over his shoulder after the manner of a professional hunter. Then making sure that nothing had been left behind, Fred gave his sister and mother a warm hug and kiss apiece, called to them a jaunty29 good-by, and set his face toward the Ozark mountains.
It had become known that he was to start on quite a lengthy30 journey, and those who were astir at that early hour called their hearty31 good wishes to the lad, who was popular with all. Fred looked for Terry, and seeing nothing of him, shouted his name as he passed by his door, but receiving no response, concluded that he was still asleep.
The heart of the boy was light as he strode at a rapid pace across the clearing. He felt no inconvenience from the bruises32 received the day before, during the passage of the rapids, and his natural buoyancy caused him to look upon the tramp through the woods as a school boy views his long expected vacation. There was no fear of any peril33 in the stretch of unbroken forest that opened before him. It was fortunate indeed for his peace of mind that he did not know what was awaiting him in the dark arches and labyrinths34 of the almost interminable wilderness35.
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1
bruised
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| [医]青肿的，瘀紫的 | |
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flirting
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| v.调情，打情骂俏( flirt的现在分词 ) | |
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vigor
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| n.活力，精力，元气 | |
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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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foaming
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| adj.布满泡沫的；发泡 | |
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bate
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| v.压制；减弱；n.（制革用的）软化剂 | |
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laboriously
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| adv.艰苦地；费力地；辛勤地；（文体等）佶屈聱牙地 | |
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plunge
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| v.跳入，(使)投入，(使)陷入；猛冲 | |
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creek
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| n.小溪，小河，小湾 | |
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knell
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| n.丧钟声；v.敲丧钟 | |
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curiously
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| adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地 | |
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diffused
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| 散布的，普及的，扩散的 | |
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fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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parlor
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| n.店铺，营业室；会客室，客厅 | |
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utensils
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| 器具，用具，器皿( utensil的名词复数 )； 器物 | |
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loft
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| n.阁楼，顶楼 | |
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rugged
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| adj.高低不平的，粗糙的，粗壮的，强健的 | |
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plied
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| v.使用（工具）( ply的过去式和过去分词 )；经常供应（食物、饮料）；固定往来；经营生意 | |
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queries
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| n.问题( query的名词复数 )；疑问；询问；问号v.质疑，对…表示疑问( query的第三人称单数 )；询问 | |
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primitive
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| adj.原始的；简单的；n.原(始)人，原始事物 | |
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afterward
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| adv.后来；以后 | |
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solicitude
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| n.焦虑 | |
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mishap
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| n.不幸的事，不幸；灾祸 | |
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utilized
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| v.利用，使用( utilize的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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linen
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| n.亚麻布，亚麻线，亚麻制品；adj.亚麻布制的，亚麻的 | |
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strapped
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| adj.用皮带捆住的，用皮带装饰的；身无分文的；缺钱；手头紧v.用皮带捆扎(strap的过去式和过去分词)；用皮带抽打；包扎；给…打绷带 | |
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pouch
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| n.小袋，小包，囊状袋；vt.装...入袋中，用袋运输；vi.用袋送信件 | |
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28
slung
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| 抛( sling的过去式和过去分词 )； 吊挂； 遣送； 押往 | |
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29
jaunty
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| adj．愉快的，满足的；adv.心满意足地，洋洋得意地；n.心满意足；洋洋得意 | |
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lengthy
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| adj.漫长的，冗长的 | |
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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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32
bruises
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| n.瘀伤，伤痕，擦伤( bruise的名词复数 ) | |
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33
peril
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| n.(严重的)危险；危险的事物 | |
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34
labyrinths
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| 迷宫( labyrinth的名词复数 )； （文字，建筑）错综复杂的 | |
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wilderness
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| n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠 | |
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