"Hooh! hooh!"
The Apache had noted4 the empty canoe drifting below him in the shadow, and surveyed it with something of the feeling of the detective who suddenly stumbles upon a clue, the precise meaning of which is at first a mystery to him.
It is hardly to be supposed that he intended this outcry as a hail to the boat, which he must have seen contained no one. Its appearance would naturally suggest to one in his situation that the occupant had been alarmed by the signs of danger and had taken to the land. This supposition was so natural that Hardynge would probably have got safely by the dangerous point but for a totally unlooked-for mishap5. The water, which up to this time had been fully6 six feet in depth, suddenly shallowed to less than a quarter of that, so that he struck his knees against the bottom. The shock was very slight, and scarcely caused a ripple7; but it takes only the slightest noise to alarm an Indian, especially when he is on the watch. That faint plash caused by the jar of the body caught the ear of the listening, peering redskin, who instantly slid his body over the bluff8, and balancing himself for an instant, dropped with such precision that he struck the canoe in the very center, and preserved its gravity so well that it tipped neither to the right nor left.
At the very moment the Apache dropped, the hunter rose to his feet, knife in hand. The water rose scarcely to his knees, and the bottom was hard, so that it was almost the same as if he stood upon dry land. The warrior9 had not time to recover from the slight shock of his leap, when Tom grasped him by the throat and used his weapon with such effect that it was all over in a few seconds.
"There! I reckon you won't go into the telegraph business again very soon!" he growled10, as the inanimate body disappeared down the stream, and he coolly re-entered the canoe, which had floated but a short distance away.
He had scarcely done this when a new idea struck him, and, hastening after the receding12 body, he carefully drew it into the boat again. Here it was the work of but a few minutes to place it in a sitting position in the stern in the most natural posture13 imaginable, so that any one looking upon the figure would not have suspected for an instant that it was anything but an animate11 being. Making sure that its pose could not be improved, the scout then turned the boat directly away from the bank, never changing its course until the very middle of the Gila was reached, when he began paddling in as leisurely14 a manner as if no danger threatened. It was a daring stratagem15, but it is only by such means that men are enabled to escape from peril16, and although fully aware of the danger he was incurring17, he kept on his way with that coolness that years of experience had given him.
As he approached a point opposite that where he had seen the first signal he did not turn his head, but he looked sideways and scanned the bank with the most searching scrutiny18. Sure enough, at this moment he plainly discerned the figures of fully a half-dozen Indians standing19 upon the bluff and apparently20 watching the canoe with a curiosity that was natural.
"All right," thought the hunter; "so long as you let me alone I won't hurt you."
Had there been but the single occupant of the canoe the Apaches would not have stood debating in this fashion as to what they should do, if, indeed, they should do anything at all. Unity21 in the question would have shown that it was the identical individual for whom they were searching, for they knew that he was alone; but the fact that there were two, and both in the guise22 of Indians, could be explained upon no other hypothesis than that they were really what they seemed to be.
"Hooh! Hooh!"
It was precisely23 the same exclamation24 which had been uttered by the warrior who sat so cold and inanimate in the stern of the canoe, and Tom, without the least hesitancy, ceased paddling for the instant, straightened up, and responded in the same gutteral fashion, resuming the use of the oar25 at the same time, as if he meant that that should be the end of it. But the Apaches immediately followed up their ejaculations with some other sounds, which were doubtless intended as a summons for the craft to heave to and "show her papers." Tom did not understand the Apache tongue well enough to comprehend the precise meaning of these words, although he was pretty well convinced of what the others were driving at. He did not dare to attempt to reply, nor did he dare to move faster; so he did the only dignified26 thing possible under the circumstances. He continued that automatic paddling, and, assisted by the current, was rapidly leaving his enemies in the rear when they called to him again, moving at the same time down the bank in a fashion which showed that they meant business. The hunter, not yet ready to make the desperate dash which he had reserved for the last final effort, if he should be driven to the wall, ceased work again and called out:
"Hooh!"
He said it as impatiently as he could in the hope of "cutting off further debate," and resumed paddling, knowing that a comparatively short distance down the river the banks were so depressed27 that he could readily make his way from the boat to the land, so that after getting fairly below the Apaches his chances of ultimate escape were greatly increased.
The Indians must have been exasperated28 at the refusal, for Tom had taken scarcely a dozen strokes when he saw the flash of several guns upon the bank, and the whizzing of the bullets around his head left no doubt of the target at which they aimed.
"I can do somethin' of that myself," growled the hunter, as he laid down his paddle and took up his gun.
Without the least hesitation29, he fired directly into the group, and the wild cry that instantly followed told with what a fatal result also. All diplomacy30 was ended by this act, and without pausing to reload his piece, he dropped his gun and bent31 to the task. The long ashen32 paddle was dipped deep into the water, and the light vessel33 shot like an arrow down stream. It seemed, indeed, to be imbued34 with life, and fairly skimmed over the surface. The unexpected and defiant35 response to the summons of the Apaches threw them into temporary bewilderment, and the minutes thus lost to them were golden ones gained to the fugitive36, who shot the canoe as close to the opposite shore as was prudent37, and wielded38 the paddle with the skill of a veteran.
Having now no need of the dummy39 that had stood him so well for the time, Tom did not hesitate to throw him overboard as a useless incumbrance, and, thus relieved of the dead weight, he sped forward with wonderful speed. In a short time after that the redskins had vanished from view, and almost any one would have supposed that the danger was passed; but Tom was well aware that it was only a temporary lull40 in the storm. The Apaches were like bloodhounds, who, having once taken the trail of their prey41, would relax no effort so long as there was a chance of capturing him, and so he abated42 not a jot43 of his tremendous exertions44.
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1
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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entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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3
scout
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| n.童子军，侦察员；v.侦察，搜索 | |
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noted
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| adj.著名的，知名的 | |
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mishap
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| n.不幸的事，不幸；灾祸 | |
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6
fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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7
ripple
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| n.涟波，涟漪，波纹，粗钢梳；vt.使...起涟漪，使起波纹； vi.呈波浪状，起伏前进 | |
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8
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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9
warrior
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| n.勇士，武士，斗士 | |
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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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11
animate
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| v.赋于生命，鼓励；adj.有生命的，有生气的 | |
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12
receding
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| v.逐渐远离( recede的现在分词 )；向后倾斜；自原处后退或避开别人的注视；尤指问题 | |
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13
posture
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| n.姿势，姿态，心态，态度；v.作出某种姿势 | |
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14
leisurely
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| adj.悠闲的；从容的，慢慢的 | |
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15
stratagem
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| n.诡计，计谋 | |
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peril
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| n.(严重的)危险；危险的事物 | |
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17
incurring
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| 遭受，招致，引起( incur的现在分词 ) | |
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18
scrutiny
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| n.详细检查，仔细观察 | |
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19
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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20
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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21
unity
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| n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调 | |
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22
guise
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| n.外表，伪装的姿态 | |
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23
precisely
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| adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地 | |
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24
exclamation
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| n.感叹号，惊呼，惊叹词 | |
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25
oar
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| n.桨，橹，划手；v.划行 | |
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26
dignified
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| a.可敬的，高贵的 | |
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27
depressed
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| adj.沮丧的，抑郁的，不景气的，萧条的 | |
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28
exasperated
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| adj.恼怒的 | |
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29
hesitation
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| n.犹豫，踌躇 | |
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30
diplomacy
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| n.外交；外交手腕，交际手腕 | |
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31
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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32
ashen
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| adj.灰的 | |
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33
vessel
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| n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管 | |
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34
imbued
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| v.使（某人/某事）充满或激起（感情等）( imbue的过去式和过去分词 )；使充满；灌输；激发（强烈感情或品质等） | |
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35
defiant
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| adj.无礼的，挑战的 | |
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36
fugitive
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| adj.逃亡的，易逝的；n.逃犯，逃亡者 | |
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37
prudent
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| adj.谨慎的，有远见的，精打细算的 | |
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38
wielded
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| 手持着使用（武器、工具等）( wield的过去式和过去分词 )； 具有； 运用（权力）； 施加（影响） | |
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39
dummy
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| n.假的东西；(哄婴儿的)橡皮奶头 | |
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40
lull
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| v.使安静，使入睡，缓和，哄骗；n.暂停，间歇 | |
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41
prey
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| n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨 | |
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42
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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43
jot
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| n.少量；vi.草草记下；vt.匆匆写下 | |
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44
exertions
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| n.努力( exertion的名词复数 )；费力；（能力、权力等的）运用；行使 | |
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