That night, when considering where he should pass the coming day, his thoughts, as always in time of worry, turned to the hill, and at the approach of dawn, instead of heading for the farm, he set his face for Chapel4 Carn Brea. He was quite elated at the prospect5 of returning to the familiar upland; he even made up his mind where to sit; yet all came to nothing, for when he was a mile on the way another retreat won his favour and turned him from his purpose.
As he skirted the large pool on the Land’s End moor6 his ever alert eyes fell on the tiny island in its midst; immediately there flashed on his mind an idea of the immunity7 from molestation8 such a retreat would afford. There, with the water around him, he felt that he would be safer than anywhere else; that neither fox nor cat, polecat nor weasel, would disturb him, nor man intrude9; in short, that the islet offered the sanctuary10 he had often longed for and hitherto sought in vain. But there was one disadvantage, and a most serious one—the apparent impossibility of reaching the island without swimming. He knew from his experience at the mill-pool that no amount of shaking could dry a wet coat sufficiently11 to make sitting in it endurable for a whole day; and because of this he was on the point of abandoning the project and continuing his way, when, on second thoughts, prompted by the low state of the water, he decided12 to try whether he could reach the island by wading13.
After looking round to see that he was not observed, he entered the pool and made straight for a rock where he meant to land before attempting to gain his goal, which lay just beyond it. But the water was soon so deep that at every step he dreaded15 finding himself out of his depth. Nevertheless, he was able to keep touch of the bottom until within some ten yards of the rock: there suddenly he had to rear on his hind16 legs to prevent his shoulders from being submerged. Most hares in this situation would have wheeled round and made for shore; but the jack18 was not so easily thwarted19. A difficult situation called forth20 his resource: before you could count three, so quick was he to act, he was advancing on his hind legs over the rough bed, and he actually succeeded in gaining the rock without wetting more than a few inches of his coat. He stood a moment on the rock to shake the water from his chest and belly21, then examined the strait between him and the island. It was far too deep to bottom, apparently22 far too wide to cross by a standing23 leap. But he meant to try. The worst that could befall him was a good drenching24 and the consequent abandonment of his plan. Twice he gathered himself to spring; as often he drew back; he was not satisfied with the hold of his front feet. A third time he gathered his strong hind limbs well under him, got a firm grip of the rock with his fore14 pads, launched himself with all the force he was capable of, and landed high and dry with a few inches to spare. After surveying his refuge, he leapt to the spot he had selected for his seat, and squatting25 close to the ground with his ears pressed close on his back, was indistinguishable from his surroundings.
The sudden disappearance26 of the animal which an instant before had been so very conspicuous27 was little short of magical; even when the sun rose it was difficult to pick him out, so happily did his colouring blend with the russet of the fern and the gold and grey of the lichens28. One thing alone betrayed him, his eyes: they were wide open, maintaining their unbroken watch. For months they had kept vigil on cornfield, pasturage, and the enclosing hedges; now they scanned a waste of sullen29 mere30 and barren moor without sign of life save a wheatear flitting from stack to stack of the turf that dotted the heathery ground.
A harmless intruder was this frail31 bird; equally harmless the seagulls which came almost daily to drink and bathe and preen34 their plumage. At times the islet was ringed with their elegant forms: they might have been taken for the bodyguard35 of the hare, if there had been anything to suggest danger.
Dawn after dawn the hare stole back to his island retreat, where after awhile he began to throw aside his ordinary precautions and to relax his vigilance, passing the day in careless content. One noon he even grew so reckless as to abandon his usual wakeful position and rest on his side, with head and ears erect36, his hind legs stretched out to their full length, and the white underfur exposed in a way that would have betrayed him to any prying37 eyes. The following day, soothed38 by the hot sun and the ripple39 against the bank, he actually fell so soundly asleep as to be insensible to his surroundings.
Alas40, he was soon to be rudely apprised41 of the insecurity of his refuge, which was in fact an ancient holt of the otters43 that visited the pool. The awakening44 came on the nineteenth day in this wise. He was just back in the form casting his restless eyes about him as usual, when he saw something rise to the surface of the mere and almost instantly sink from view. The grey light and a mist prevented him from seeing clearly; yet he knew that it was an otter42. At once he became alarmed for his safety, because he felt almost sure that the intruder would seek the island to couch on.
He was on the point of obeying his instinct to steal away whilst there was yet time, but irresolution45 held him back. He half rose; he resettled himself; he wavered again, and finally decided to await the issue. There he sat, watching and hoping that the creature would seek harbourage in the reeds beyond the spot where he had seen it. Minutes passed without a sign, he thought that his hopes were realised; he had almost ceased to scan the pool, when to his dismay the otter rose with a snort within a few yards, and lay motionless with his black bead-like eyes fixed46 on the island. It was a trying moment for the hare; had he moved ever so slightly the otter must have seen him, but he remained as rigid47 as the rock beside him; even his nostrils48 were at rest.
Presently, shaking the water out of her ears, the otter dived, only, however, to reappear with an eel17 in her mouth and land where the only creek49 on the islet had often invited her. Scarcely more than her length from the hare she lay down at full length with her head towards the water, and, holding the prey50 firmly between her fore paws, proceeded to devour51 it. Her wet coat gleamed when the sun rose across the level waste marking moor and pool with the shadows of the turf-stacks, yet the otter took no notice of the unfriendly rays; she was too much engrossed52 with her prey. Once she looked up, but no noise had attracted her; the slicing and champing of the flesh by her sharp white teeth was the only sound of that hushed hour. When she had eaten part of the fish, she dropped the remainder, advanced a few inches into the water and washed her muzzle53 with her great splayed foot, interrupting her ablutions to listen momentarily to the faint echo raised by a train of pack-mules. Then she returned to the islet and rolled on the fern. Now this way, now that, the long sleek54 creature turned and twisted, approaching dangerously near the little knoll55 against which the hare was pressed so close as to look scarcely more than half his size. At last, having dried her coat, she sought a clump56 of osmunda some five lengths from the hare, coiled herself up, and fell asleep.
Now again there was an opportunity for the hare to steal away: surely he would take advantage of it. But no; rather than run the risk of awakening the otter and being pursued, he decided to wait till twilight57 should call his enemy away and leave the way clear for him to effect his escape. So he sat watching the flank of the otter rise and fall, his gaze never shifting, even when a cormorant58 rose close to the island and looked at him with its green eyes before resuming its fishing.
Meanwhile the otter lay unconscious of the presence of the bird; but towards sundown the scream of a gull32, and again soon after, the croak59 of a raven60 caused her suddenly to stir and scan the moor in order to satisfy herself that there was no cause for alarm. A glance telling her that all was well, she immediately lowered her head and dropped off again. The raven that had alighted close to the pool remained till near roosting time, and then flew away in the direction of the cliffs.
The bird was still in sight when an altogether unlooked-for intruder arrived. An old man with a dog at his heels came on the moor driving two donkeys to fetch turf; whilst he was loading the panniers from one of the stacks the terrier trotted61 to the pool to drink. There he hit the scent62 left by the otter at dawn. In an instant he was all excitement; being as intelligent as he was keen-nosed, he concluded that the otter must be lying on the island, and his one thought was to get at it. He entered the water and struck out as fast as he could swim. The otter, startled out of her sleep by a shout from the man, was at once on the alert, and when the dog drew near she slipped into the water; but the dog had seen her. Then a strange thing happened; the cormorant chancing to rise in the line of pursuit, the terrier took up the chase of the bird as if ignorant of the change of quarry63. His master of course recalled him; he swam to shore; and immediately he landed, the otter, who was watching from the reeds, returned to the island, reaching it in one long dive. She landed at the creek as before, and crouching64 through the fern stole towards her lair65.
She had taken but a step or two when she suddenly stopped, and turning her mask examined the ground to her left. She had caught the scent of the hare; she knew he was close by, and she was doing her utmost to descry66 him. She looked here, she looked there, and at last, as she was about to advance, she made him out. On the instant she sank slowly to the ground; she feared that quick movement on her part would put the prey to flight before she was free to pursue, for her shy nature restrained her from exposing herself to view of man and dog. So there she stayed, eyeing the timid prey which met her gaze with a frightened stare. Presently the man left with his donkeys. Now surely the otter would try and secure the prize. But no, she was in no hurry; the sun would soon be down, then she would secure him.
In that tense interval67 the hare again rehearsed, as he had done half a score times since he had been face to face with his enemy, the steps of his escape. The first leap he reckoned would land him on the far side of the islet, the next on the rock, a third in the water, on recollection of the depth of which he endured the agonies of a nightmare as in imagination he saw the ferocious68 brute69 overtaking him while he floundered; but the feeling passed, leaving him as undaunted as ever and determined70 to make a supreme71 effort to escape.
By this the sun approached the level of the moor; the gulls33 had left; the cormorant, which had stood and dried its wings on the rock, flew low over the lurid72 surface of the pool, looking black as the raven against the crimson73 disc: the actors in the impending74 tragedy were left absolutely alone. Soon, less than half the great orb75 remained above the horizon; in a few minutes, which seemed as many hours to the hare, it had sunk to the merest arc; then it disappeared.
This was the instant that the hare awaited; the otter knew it, and the hare saw that she knew it; the sudden gathering76 of her limbs proclaimed it. With a tremendous bound he was off, with the otter in hot pursuit. It was a close chase; for though the hare gained the rock a good ten feet ahead of the otter and increased his lead to fully77 fifteen at his next spring, the water, as he had foreseen, impeded78 his further progress so much that he seemed to be at the mercy of his swiftly advancing enemy. What floundering, what splashing by the hare! What ploughing of the water by the otter in her desperate haste! Foot by foot she gained till at last her nose all but touched his hind legs. It looked as if she must seize him; so she would have done but for a timely rock which gave the hare the foothold he needed. The spring he made from it was one of the longest of his life; it landed him well on to the shallows; two more leaps and he was on the heather, over which he sped like the wind. How good the herbage felt under his feet! Further pursuit was vain; yet the otter, maddened at the loss of the prey she had accounted hers, held on at her best speed to the corner of the pool before checking her steps to watch the hare. He stood awhile and returned her gaze. Then he shook his coat and resumed his way over the darkening moor.
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1
pestered
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| 使烦恼，纠缠( pester的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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buffeting
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| 振动 | |
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forsook
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| forsake的过去式 | |
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chapel
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| n.小教堂，殡仪馆 | |
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prospect
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| n.前景，前途；景色，视野 | |
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moor
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| n.荒野，沼泽；vt.(使)停泊；vi.停泊 | |
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immunity
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| n.优惠；免除；豁免，豁免权 | |
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molestation
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| n.骚扰，干扰，调戏；折磨 | |
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intrude
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| vi.闯入；侵入；打扰，侵扰 | |
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sanctuary
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| n.圣所，圣堂，寺庙；禁猎区，保护区 | |
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11
sufficiently
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| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
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decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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wading
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| （从水、泥等）蹚，走过，跋( wade的现在分词 ) | |
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14
fore
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| adv.在前面；adj.先前的；在前部的；n.前部 | |
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15
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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16
hind
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| adj.后面的，后部的 | |
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eel
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| n.鳗鲡 | |
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jack
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| n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克 | |
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19
thwarted
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| 阻挠( thwart的过去式和过去分词 )； 使受挫折； 挫败； 横过 | |
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20
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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belly
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| n.肚子，腹部；(像肚子一样)鼓起的部分，膛 | |
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22
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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23
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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24
drenching
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| n.湿透v.使湿透( drench的现在分词 )；在某人（某物）上大量使用（某液体） | |
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25
squatting
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| v.像动物一样蹲下( squat的现在分词 )；非法擅自占用（土地或房屋）；为获得其所有权；而占用某片公共用地。 | |
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26
disappearance
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| n.消失，消散，失踪 | |
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27
conspicuous
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| adj.明眼的，惹人注目的；炫耀的，摆阔气的 | |
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28
lichens
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| n.地衣( lichen的名词复数 ) | |
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29
sullen
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| adj.愠怒的，闷闷不乐的，(天气等)阴沉的 | |
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mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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frail
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| adj.身体虚弱的；易损坏的 | |
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gull
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| n.鸥；受骗的人；v.欺诈 | |
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gulls
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| n.鸥( gull的名词复数 )v.欺骗某人( gull的第三人称单数 ) | |
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34
preen
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| v.（人）打扮修饰 | |
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bodyguard
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| n.护卫，保镖 | |
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erect
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| n./v.树立，建立，使竖立；adj.直立的，垂直的 | |
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37
prying
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| adj.爱打听的v.打听，刺探（他人的私事）( pry的现在分词 )；撬开 | |
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38
soothed
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| v.安慰( soothe的过去式和过去分词 )；抚慰；使舒服；减轻痛苦 | |
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39
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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40
alas
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| int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等) | |
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41
apprised
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| v.告知，通知( apprise的过去式和过去分词 )；评价 | |
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42
otter
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| n.水獭 | |
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43
otters
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| n.（水）獭( otter的名词复数 )；獭皮 | |
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44
awakening
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| n.觉醒，醒悟 adj.觉醒中的；唤醒的 | |
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45
irresolution
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| n.不决断，优柔寡断，犹豫不定 | |
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46
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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47
rigid
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| adj.严格的，死板的；刚硬的，僵硬的 | |
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48
nostrils
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| 鼻孔( nostril的名词复数 ) | |
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49
creek
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| n.小溪，小河，小湾 | |
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50
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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51
devour
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| v.吞没；贪婪地注视或谛听，贪读；使着迷 | |
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52
engrossed
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| adj.全神贯注的 | |
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53
muzzle
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| n.鼻口部；口套；枪(炮)口；vt.使缄默 | |
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54
sleek
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| adj.光滑的，井然有序的；v.使光滑，梳拢 | |
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55
knoll
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| n.小山，小丘 | |
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56
clump
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| n.树丛，草丛；vi.用沉重的脚步行走 | |
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57
twilight
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| n.暮光，黄昏；暮年，晚期，衰落时期 | |
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58
cormorant
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| n.鸬鹚，贪婪的人 | |
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59
croak
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| vi.嘎嘎叫，发牢骚 | |
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60
raven
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| n.渡鸟，乌鸦；adj.乌亮的 | |
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61
trotted
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| 小跑，急走( trot的过去分词 )； 匆匆忙忙地走 | |
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62
scent
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| n.气味，香味，香水，线索，嗅觉；v.嗅，发觉 | |
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63
quarry
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| n.采石场；v.采石；费力地找 | |
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64
crouching
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| v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的现在分词 ) | |
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65
lair
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| n.野兽的巢穴；躲藏处 | |
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66
descry
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| v.远远看到；发现；责备 | |
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67
interval
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| n.间隔，间距；幕间休息，中场休息 | |
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68
ferocious
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| adj.凶猛的，残暴的，极度的，十分强烈的 | |
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brute
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| n.野兽，兽性 | |
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70
determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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71
supreme
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| adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的 | |
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72
lurid
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| adj.可怕的；血红的；苍白的 | |
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73
crimson
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| n./adj.深(绯)红色(的)；vi.脸变绯红色 | |
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74
impending
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| a.imminent, about to come or happen | |
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orb
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| n.太阳；星球；v.弄圆；成球形 | |
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76
gathering
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| n.集会，聚会，聚集 | |
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77
fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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78
impeded
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| 阻碍，妨碍，阻止( impede的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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