"I guess they'll have to give it up," he said to himself, with a peculiar7 chuckle8. "They ketched me in a bad box, that's sartin, where I couldn't climb out on either side. But things are a little better here," he added, as he looked from side to side at the bluffs10, which were so low that the tops could be easily reached from his boat. "I don't much want to tramp over-land, but if it is necessary I've got somethin' of a chance, which isn't what I had before."
He might well prefer the water to the land; for on the former, whether he went fast or slow, there was no trail left for the keenest bloodhound to follow; on the latter it was impossible to conceal11 his most cautious footsteps from the eyes of the redskins. The surface of this portion of Arizona was of such a nature that everything was against the hunter. There was no wood nor tributary12 streams for miles. If he left the Gila, and struck across the country, it would be over an open plain, where he could be seen for miles. He would be on foot, while his enemies would all be mounted on their fleet mustangs. How, then, could he elude13 them by leaving his boat? His only hope was in traveling at night, but night must always be followed by day.
"I wonder what ideas will creep into their skulls," he muttered, reflecting upon the view the Apaches had gained of him a short time before from the bank. "A dead Injun is a good deal better than a live one, as that 'ere critter proved to me. If I hadn't fired back agin, they might have thought I was one of their own warriors—mebbe they'll think so now. Great Scott!"
The scout was paddling along in his leisurely14 manner, when his eyes, by the merest accident, happened to rest upon the other shore, at a point a short distance below him. While thus looking, he saw distinctly a point of light appear and vanish three times! It performed no such gyration15 as those which he had first seen, but simply came forward and receded16 until it was gone altogether, leaving the same misty17 darkness as before. More by instinct than from any other cause, Tom turned his eyes to the point opposite where he had seen this exhibition. He had scarcely done so when precisely18 the same thing was seen!
"Jest what I expected," he said as he checked the downward progress of his boat. "The varmints have 'spicioned that one of the chaps in that 'ere canoe which passed before 'em is myself, and they're goin' for me like lightnin'. They've mounted their horses, and kept it up till they knowed they'd struck a p'int below me, and there they've signaled to each other that I'm still above 'em on the river, and still to be ketched."
The scout was certain that his theory was correct, and that, distasteful and dangerous as it might be, the time had come for him to leave the river. To continue further would be to precipitate19 a collision in which there was no possibility of the good fortune that had followed him in the first place. Besides this the night was so far advanced and the moon so high up in the sky, that the shadow had narrowed to a band which was practically useless.
"No use makin' faces when you've got a dose of medicine to take," he added, as he ran the canoe close to the shore.
There he found that by standing20 upon his feet he could easily reach the edge of the bluff9 above and thus draw himself up when he chose. This he proceeded to do, but he was too skillful a hunter to leave behind him such tell-tale evidence as the canoe itself would have proven. Were he to leave that as it was, it would be sure to catch the eye of the Apaches within a quarter of an hour and tell them precisely what had been done. And so, as the hunter hung thus by his hands, with his long rifle secured at his back, he caught the toe of his moccasin in the craft in such a way that it dipped and took water. He held it thus until it could contain no more; but its composition was such that even then it would not sink. There were loose boulders21 in the bank, and the hunter proceeded to drop these carefully into the boat below. It required several for ballast, when it quietly went to the bottom, where it was certain to stay. This done he addressed himself to the task before him.
As he straightened up and looked off in the moonlight, a very discouraging, although familiar sight, met his eye. The moonlight was quite strong, and he was enabled to see objects indistinctly for a considerable distance. It was everywhere the same. A level, treeless prairie, where for miles there was not a drop of water to be obtained, and over which, as has been already shown, in case he attempted to make his way, he would be placed at the greatest disadvantage possible, especially as his own mustang was still a good hundred miles to the southwest, if he had succeeded in avoiding capture up to that time. But the life of a frontiersman, besides being perilous22 at all times, is hardly ever anything but disagreeable, despite the curious fascination23 which it holds for those who follow it. Tom did not hesitate a moment longer than was necessary, now that a disagreeable expedient24 was forced upon him.
His first precaution was to make sure that none of the Apaches were in sight. The point at which he had seen the answering signal was so far below that he was certain it would be beyond his vision, and, this much determined25, gave him just the "leverage26" needed to work upon. It needed but a few seconds to assure himself upon this point, and then he struck off to the southwest. This course, while it took him away from the Gila, would eventually bring him back to it, the winding of the stream being such as to make this junction27 certain, if continued. The great thing now required was haste; for a great deal depended upon the ground that could be passed over during these favoring hours of darkness. He had taken scarcely a dozen steps when he struck into a long, loping trot28, not particularly rapid in itself, but of such a character that it could be kept for hours at a stretch. It was the genuine Indian dog trot, which is so effective in long distances. As the runner went along in this fashion, his thoughts were busy, and all his senses on the alert. He concluded that it was nearly midnight, and that he had, consequently, a number of hours at his command; so he aimed to get as far below the intercepting29 Apaches as possible, with the intention of returning to the river, before daylight, where he was hopeful of discovering some canoe, or at least of hitting upon some feasible method of hiding his trail from his lynx-eyed pursuers.
This loping trot was kept up for fully two hours, at the end of which time Tom was certain that he was approaching the river again. He still pressed forward for another hour, when he came to a halt. Although he had continued this great exertion30 for so long a time, yet so good was his wind that when he paused there was no perceptible quickening of the respiration31. Years of training had made him capable of standing far more trying tests of his strength than this. The scout carefully turned his head from side to side, looking and listening. All was still, and his ear caught no ominous32 sound. Then he moistened his finger and held it over his head. Yes, there was the least possible breath of air stirring, as was told him by the fact that one side of the moistened finger was slightly chilled. Everywhere, right, left, in front or rear, so far as the bright moonlight permitted his vision to extend, was the same dead level of treeless plain. Kneeling down he applied33 his ear to the ground. Could it be? There was a sound thus carried to his ears—the very sound which above all others he dreaded34 to hear. It was a faint, almost inaudible, tapping upon the earth. Far away it was, but drawing nearer every minute.
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1
phantom
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| n.幻影，虚位，幽灵；adj.错觉的，幻影的，幽灵的 | |
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2
scout
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| n.童子军，侦察员；v.侦察，搜索 | |
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3
winding
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| n.绕，缠，绕组，线圈 | |
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4
fugitive
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| adj.逃亡的，易逝的；n.逃犯，逃亡者 | |
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5
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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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
peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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8
chuckle
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| vi.／n.轻声笑，咯咯笑 | |
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9
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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10
bluffs
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| 恐吓( bluff的名词复数 )； 悬崖； 峭壁 | |
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11
conceal
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| v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽 | |
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12
tributary
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| n.支流；纳贡国；adj.附庸的；辅助的；支流的 | |
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13
elude
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| v.躲避，困惑 | |
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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
gyration
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| n.旋转 | |
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16
receded
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| v.逐渐远离( recede的过去式和过去分词 )；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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17
misty
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| adj.雾蒙蒙的，有雾的 | |
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18
precisely
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| adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地 | |
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19
precipitate
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| adj.突如其来的；vt.使突然发生；n.沉淀物 | |
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20
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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21
boulders
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| n.卵石( boulder的名词复数 )；巨砾；（受水或天气侵蚀而成的）巨石；漂砾 | |
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22
perilous
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| adj.危险的，冒险的 | |
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23
fascination
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| n.令人着迷的事物，魅力，迷恋 | |
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24
expedient
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| adj.有用的，有利的；n.紧急的办法，权宜之计 | |
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determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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26
leverage
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| n.力量，影响；杠杆作用，杠杆的力量 | |
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27
junction
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| n.连接，接合；交叉点，接合处，枢纽站 | |
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28
trot
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| n.疾走，慢跑；n.老太婆；现成译本；(复数）trots:腹泻（与the 连用）；v.小跑，快步走，赶紧 | |
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29
intercepting
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| 截取（技术），截接 | |
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30
exertion
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| n.尽力，努力 | |
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31
respiration
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| n.呼吸作用；一次呼吸；植物光合作用 | |
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32
ominous
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| adj.不祥的，不吉的，预兆的，预示的 | |
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33
applied
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| adj.应用的；v.应用，适用 | |
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34
dreaded
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| adj.令人畏惧的；害怕的v.害怕，恐惧，担心( dread的过去式和过去分词) | |
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35
hoofs
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| n.（兽的）蹄，马蹄( hoof的名词复数 )v.（兽的）蹄，马蹄( hoof的第三人称单数 ) | |
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