The latter withdrew his gaze from the boy and turned with lightning-like swiftness upon his adversary5, while the latter, as cool and self-possessed as if he were about to slice up an antelope6 or buffalo7, continued approaching with his hunting knife firmly clasped in his right hand. The Indian, perceiving the character of the fight, flung his rifle several yards from him, where it was beyond the reach of both, and recoiling8 a single step, put himself in form to receive the charge of his assailant.
"Ned, my boy," said the latter, without looking at him, "get back. There's no telling what may happen."
This was no more than a prudent10 caution. The fight was over the boy, and if Lone Wolf should find the battle going against him, he would resort to any treacherous11 trick by which to destroy the prize,—such, for instance, as a sudden dart12 upon the unsuspecting spectator and the plunging13 of his knife to his heart before the active hunter could thwart14 him. Ned obeyed his rescuer, whom he had never seen before, and stepped back full a dozen yards from the combatants, but with his eyes intently fixed15 upon them.
Tom was not the man to advance blindly to the assault, for none knew better than he did the character of the foe16 he was about to assail9. When, therefore, he was just within striking distance, he paused, and, with his grey eyes centered upon the black, snake-like orbs17 of the chief, began circling around him in a stealthy cat-like movement, on the lookout18 for some opening of which he might take advantage.
"Lone Wolf is a coward and a dog," he growled19 between his set teeth. "He fights with pappooses, but he is afraid of men."
This was said with the sole purpose of exasperating20 the warrior21, who would thus have been placed at a slight disadvantage; but he was already like a concentrated volcano—calm outwardly, but surcharged with fire and death within. The taunt22 did not move his nerves an iota23, and he replied in words which were scarcely less irritating.
"It is the boasting dog which never hurts. If Lone Wolf is a dog, why are you so afraid to come within his reach?"
The words were yet in his mouth when the scout24 dashed forward like a catapult and struck a tremendous blow, driven with such directness and swiftness that it could not have been parried. At the very instant Hardynge made the charge, Lone Wolf did the same, and the two similar blows, aimed at the same moment, encountered half way with such terrible violence that both knives were hurled25 twenty feet beyond over the cliff at their side, and irrevocably beyond their reach. This left them with no weapons except such as nature had provided them with, and, now that their blood was up and each was smarting under the pain of the first collision, they immediately closed in and grappled each other like a couple of infuriated gladiators.
Hardynge was a marvel26 of strength and activity, and so was the Apache. The two were nearly evenly matched, a slight superiority in wrestling attaching to the white man, who, after a furious struggle of a minute or so, flung his antagonist27 as flat as could be, upon his back. He struck like an India-rubber ball, and, before Tom could fasten him down, so as to hold him, bounded up again and renewed his fight without a second's hesitation28.
"The devil take you!" growled the maddened hunter, as he let drive a sledgehammer-like blow straight from the shoulder.
It encountered the chief fairly upon the forehead, with a force apparently29 sufficient to crush his skull30, but it only sent him reeling back several paces, when his sinewy31 activity saved him from falling. With the same unhesitating promptness he charged as before.
"If that skull ain't more than six inches thick, it'll go this time," muttered Tom, as he gathered all his strength and sent out his fist like the thrust of a piston32 rod.
But Lone Wolf was expecting it and a quick flirt33 of the head to one side let the mallet34 go harmlessly by, while the impetus35 of his own blow threw Hardynge forward several steps, and narrowly escaped carrying him off his feet altogether. With an exasperating taunt the chief landed a blow upon the face of his antagonist as he shot by, and, catching36 him about the shoulder before he could recover, flung him to the ground with great violence, falling heavily upon him.
Had the knife of the Apache been in his hand at this juncture37 he would have ended the struggle in short order; but he was without the means of improving his advantage, and before he knew it he was turned from the chest of the prostrate38 man. And this critical moment, when the issue of the contest was very doubtful, a second figure came out from the rocks, and approached the combatants. It was that of Dick Morris, who coolly asked:
"Sha'n't I knock him on the head, Tom, and end this little row?"
"No," fairly shouted the enraged39 hunter, as they hammered away at each other. "If you do it, I'll knock you on the head. This is a fair and square fight in which the best man wins. If I can't knock thunder and lightning out of this redskin, let him knock it out of me. Stand back!"
"All right," replied Dick, very contentedly40, walking to where the enthralled41 Ned Chadmund stood and asking him whether he wished to stake a little wager42 on the result.
The appearance of this third party ended the contest in a manner neither of the whites anticipated. The words of Tom Hardynge, declining the assistance of his friend, were understood by Lone Wolf; but, treacherous and faithless himself, he regarded them as only a part of a trap in which he was to be caught, and his whole purpose was to get out of the dilemma43 as quickly as possible. However hopeful he might be in a single hand-to-hand encounter with one of the men, he was not vain enough to think that he could master both. In their struggling they had approached quite close to the cliff, and Lone Wolf made a determined44 attempt to throw Tom over. By a little feinting and dodging45, he managed to get him between himself and the edge and then began pressing him furiously.
"That's your game, is it?" exclaimed the scout. "If it is, sail in, and may the best man win."
Both were striking very wildly, when, hastily parrying several blows, Hardynge made a sudden rush, closed in, grasping the chief around the waist, and, lifting him clear of the ground, ran to the edge of the cliff and flung him over!
But Hardynge was outwitted. This was the very thing for which Lone Wolf had maneuvered46 so slyly. The cliff was not more than twenty feet in height, and when the hunter peered over the margin47, expecting to see his enemy dashed to pieces at a great depth below, he saw him land as lightly as a panther upon his feet and then whisk out of sight among the rocks.
"Thunder and blazes!" he exclaimed, when he comprehended the little trick that had been played upon him. Jerking off his hat, he slammed it impatiently to the ground, and turning to his comrade, said:
"Did you ever see a bigger fool than me?"
"Don't think I ever did," was the serious reply.
"Never thought what the Injun was after till it was too late to hinder him."
"I knowed it all the time. This ere little chap could have seed as much himself," was the tantalizing48 reply.
"Why didn't you sing out, then, when you seed me pick him up and start to throw him over?"
"'Cause I thought you was only fooling. Do you know there's a reward of five hundred dollars offered for Lone Wolf, dead or alive? See what you have lost?"
"Who offered it?" demanded Tom.
"Colonel Chadmund told me that old Captain Alvarez, that owns a big ranch49 near Santa Fe, lost a thousand cattle by a stampede that he had got up, and he's the man that has promised a hundred times to give that reward to whoever wipes out the chief."
"Anything else to tell?" said Hardynge, disgustedly.
"Yes. When Colonel Chadmund told me that, he punched me slyly in the side, and says, 'And yes, Dick, I'll put another five hundred on top of it.'"
"Hain't you got a little more such news?" asked poor Tom, who was wondering whether it was possible to feel any more angered or disgusted with himself than he now felt.
"No—that'll do just now. I think you've had enough."
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1
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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crevice
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| n.(岩石、墙等)裂缝；缺口 | |
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concealed
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| a.隐藏的，隐蔽的 | |
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lone
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| adj.孤寂的，单独的；唯一的 | |
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adversary
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| adj.敌手，对手 | |
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antelope
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| n.羚羊；羚羊皮 | |
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buffalo
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| n.(北美)野牛；(亚洲)水牛 | |
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8
recoiling
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| v.畏缩( recoil的现在分词 )；退缩；报应；返回 | |
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assail
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| v.猛烈攻击，抨击，痛斥 | |
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prudent
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| adj.谨慎的，有远见的，精打细算的 | |
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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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dart
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| v.猛冲，投掷；n.飞镖，猛冲 | |
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13
plunging
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| adj.跳进的，突进的v.颠簸( plunge的现在分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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14
thwart
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| v.阻挠，妨碍，反对；adj.横(断的) | |
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fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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foe
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| n.敌人，仇敌 | |
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orbs
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| abbr.off-reservation boarding school 在校寄宿学校n.球，天体，圆形物( orb的名词复数 ) | |
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lookout
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| n.注意，前途，瞭望台 | |
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19
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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exasperating
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| adj. 激怒的 动词exasperate的现在分词形式 | |
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warrior
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| n.勇士，武士，斗士 | |
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taunt
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| n.辱骂，嘲弄；v.嘲弄 | |
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iota
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| n.些微，一点儿 | |
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scout
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| n.童子军，侦察员；v.侦察，搜索 | |
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hurled
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| v.猛投，用力掷( hurl的过去式和过去分词 )；大声叫骂 | |
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marvel
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| vi.(at)惊叹vt.感到惊异；n.令人惊异的事 | |
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antagonist
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| n.敌人，对抗者，对手 | |
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hesitation
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| n.犹豫，踌躇 | |
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apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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skull
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| n.头骨；颅骨 | |
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sinewy
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| adj.多腱的，强壮有力的 | |
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32
piston
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| n.活塞 | |
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flirt
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| v.调情，挑逗，调戏；n.调情者，卖俏者 | |
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mallet
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| n.槌棒 | |
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impetus
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| n.推动，促进，刺激；推动力 | |
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catching
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| adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住 | |
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juncture
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| n.时刻，关键时刻，紧要关头 | |
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prostrate
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| v.拜倒，平卧，衰竭；adj.拜倒的，平卧的，衰竭的 | |
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enraged
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| 使暴怒( enrage的过去式和过去分词 )； 歜； 激愤 | |
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contentedly
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| adv.心满意足地 | |
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41
enthralled
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| 迷住，吸引住( enthrall的过去式和过去分词 )； 使感到非常愉快 | |
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42
wager
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| n.赌注；vt.押注，打赌 | |
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43
dilemma
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| n.困境，进退两难的局面 | |
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determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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45
dodging
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| n.避开，闪过，音调改变v.闪躲( dodge的现在分词 )；回避 | |
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46
maneuvered
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| v.移动，用策略( maneuver的过去式和过去分词 )；操纵 | |
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47
margin
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| n.页边空白；差额；余地，余裕；边，边缘 | |
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48
tantalizing
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| adj.逗人的；惹弄人的；撩人的；煽情的v.逗弄，引诱，折磨( tantalize的现在分词 ) | |
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49
ranch
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| n.大牧场，大农场 | |
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