It was slow and very cold work, but the boy stuck to it bravely until his fingers became so stiff that he could not manage his little weapon, and then he crept down to the stove, to dance about and wring1 his hands with pain as the heat of the room set them aching.
As soon as possible he went out again—missed twice and hit once. Just as he was taking aim a fourth time his foot slipped, and he tumbled backwards2, followed by a small avalanche3, which half buried him at the foot of the rock. When he picked himself up, every feather had disappeared.
Running round to the front, he found two dead birds and three wounded ones, whose necks were speedily wrung4. Never was a boy prouder than this young sportsman, as he laid his trophies5 in a row and admired them.
"I'm hungry enough to eat 'em raw, like an Indian. Oh, Tug7, look what I've shot!" Jim added, as his friend opened the door and stood shaking off the snow.
"Good for you! I've got nothin' 'cept a mighty8 good appetite. Why, they're cross-bills and red-polls!"
"What are they?"
"Birds that come down in winter from away up north. This little streaked9 sparrow-like fellow, with the rosy10 breast and the red cap, is the red-poll; they say he never breeds south of Greenland. Now look at these larger ones—see how strong the bills are, and how their points cross! That's so they can twist the hard scales off the cones11 and get at the seeds."
"Yes," said Jim; "they were hanging upside down and every way on the cones, and I could hardly see them to take aim."
"That's 'cause their plumage is such a vague sort of red and green, so near the color of the leaves and scales on those evergreen12 trees. The hawks13 and owls14 can't see 'em, either, half as well as if they were bright, and that's where the little fellows have the advantage of their big enemies. Did you notice any other kinds?"
"There was one different one, a little larger than any of these, that I caught a glimpse of—it was green, just like the hemlock15 leaves, and kept inside out of the storm—"
"Like a sensible bird, eh? Correct! I guess he was a pine grosbeak."
"That means 'pine bigbeak' doesn't it? It ought to, for this fellow had a beak16 twice as thick as any bird I ever saw, except a cardinal17 from South Carolina that a man had in a cage last summer. Do you think they'll come back?"
"I reckon so. None of these winter birds are shy—lucky for us! and I think the shelter of these trees and the warmth of our smoke will fetch 'em, especially if we scatter19 some crumbs20 out on the roof."
"But we have none to scatter," Katy protested.
All three then went to work picking the birds, whose bodies looked surprisingly small after their puffy coats had been taken off. "See what a warm undershirt of down this one wears at the roots of his feathers!" Tug pointed21 out, holding up a red-poll.
"Wish I were a bird," said Jimmy; "I'd get out o' this in no time."
"Perhaps if you were, this would be the very place you would most want to come to and stay in," Katy remarked, "just as these poor little things did. The 'if' makes a lot of difference, Master Jim."
By this time it began to grow dusk, and though the snow was falling as fast as ever, the air had grown much warmer, as though the storm would end in rain. Aleck had not come yet, and the three, in their snug22 house, looking out upon the deep drifts and the clouded air, and listening to the melancholy23 sound of the wind in the trees, became more and more anxious for his appearance.
When it had grown quite dark, and the broth Katy had made was ready, together with cakes of corn-meal, and tea, or, rather, hot water flavored with tea and sugar—the best meal they had seen for many a day—Tug said that if the Captain did not come before they got through eating he would go and look for him. So they tried to keep up each other's spirits; but when the meal was done, and still no brother appeared, all their merriment faded.
"Jim and Rex ought both to go with you, Tug; and you must take along the lantern, and these extra corn cakes I have baked, and some bacon—"
"The bacon's raw," Jim protested.
"Well, stupid, you could fry it over some coals on the end of a stick, couldn't you?" exclaimed Tug, impatiently. He was getting very tired of Jim's constant objections.
"And you must take this little bit of brandy, because you know, he might—might be—"
"Now, Katy, dear Katy," said Tug, his own eyes moist, as he threw his arm around the shoulders of the girl, who had broken down at last, and was crying bitterly. "Don't cry, Katy. If you give in, what are we goin' to do? You are the life of the party, and there ain't nothin' we wouldn't any of us—and specially18 me—do for you. Really now, Katy—Here, you young cub24, what are you bellerin' about? If I catch you crying round here again, discouragin' your sister in this style, I'll thrash you well!"
Tug was thoroughly25 excited and distressed26 by this last and heaviest trouble, and most anxious of all to make the rest believe he wasn't anxious. As usual, when excited, he dropped into the slang he had been striving to forget. But this added force to his speeches, for when it occurred everybody understood that he was very much in earnest.
"I knew a young fellow," Tug himself used to say, when laughed at for this peculiarity27, "whose father was a Dutchman, but who could never be persuaded to learn that language. 'Why not?' we used to ask him. 'Well, fellows,' he would say, 'my daddy talks English till he catches me up to some mischief28; then he begins to talk Dutch, and goes for his whip; so I've got a terrible distaste for Dutch.' It's with me as it was with that man. When I am mad, or mean business, I'm pretty likely to talk in the 'Dutch' I learned when I was a boy."
The two boys and the dog—for Rex had nursed his foot until it was of use to him again, protected by bandages—bundled themselves up, took the lantern, the hatchet29, and luncheon30, and started out. Katy said she should not be a bit afraid, and would keep up a good fire. As they disappeared, letting in a flurry of snow before they could shut the door, she dropped into a seat (if truth must be told) to finish her crying. Let her do it, poor girl!—few of her associates, or yours, my pretty maiden31, ever had better cause. We will flounder along with Tug and Jim, who are bowing their faces to the storm, and toiling32 up the dark and treacherous33 hillside.
When the top of the ridge34 had been gained they paused to get breath and to shout Aleck's name. No reply came, and they pushed on down to the isthmus35, where the snow, which was becoming more and more sleety36, swept about their faces with double force. In a few moments, however, they reached the shelter of the woods, which covered pretty much the whole of that part of the island; and then came the question whether it would be better to work along the beach or plunge37 into the woods.
There seemed very small chance of success, in the midst of this darkness and storm, either way, but they felt sure that some accident had happened to the Captain, and they were eager to help him. After talking it over, they decided38 upon the right-hand or southern shore of the island, because that was to leeward39, and better sheltered, and marched on as rapidly as they could. They had no strength to talk, but hand-in-hand pushed ahead, stopping now and then to shout, but never getting an answer.
"There's one good thing about this storm," Tug remarked, after a while, as they halted to rest in a sort of cleft40 in the rock. "Those confounded dogs will be likely to stay indoors and not bother us."
"I wonder where they keep themselves at night?"
"If our island is like the rest, this limestone41 rock is full of caves. There's no telling, for instance, how deep this here opening we're sitting in goes back; and in some of the Puddin' Bay [Put-in-Bay] islands big caves have been explored that people go away into to see the stalactites. There are plenty of rocky holes, therefore, where they could find good shelter and beds of leaves that the wind had blown in. But we must get out of this, Youngster."
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1
wring
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| n.扭绞；v.拧，绞出，扭 | |
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backwards
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| adv.往回地，向原处，倒，相反，前后倒置地 | |
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avalanche
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| n.雪崩，大量涌来 | |
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wrung
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| 绞( wring的过去式和过去分词 )； 握紧（尤指别人的手）； 把（湿衣服）拧干； 绞掉（水） | |
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trophies
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| n.（为竞赛获胜者颁发的）奖品( trophy的名词复数 )；奖杯；（尤指狩猎或战争中获得的）纪念品；（用于比赛或赛跑名称）奖 | |
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broth
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| n.原(汁)汤(鱼汤、肉汤、菜汤等) | |
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tug
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| v.用力拖(或拉)；苦干；n.拖；苦干；拖船 | |
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mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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streaked
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| adj.有条斑纹的，不安的v.快速移动( streak的过去式和过去分词 )；使布满条纹 | |
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rosy
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| adj.美好的，乐观的，玫瑰色的 | |
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cones
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| n.（人眼）圆锥细胞；圆锥体( cone的名词复数 )；球果；圆锥形东西；（盛冰淇淋的）锥形蛋卷筒 | |
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evergreen
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| n.常青树；adj.四季常青的 | |
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hawks
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| 鹰( hawk的名词复数 )； 鹰派人物，主战派人物 | |
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owls
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| n.猫头鹰( owl的名词复数 ) | |
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hemlock
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| n.毒胡萝卜，铁杉 | |
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beak
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| n.鸟嘴，茶壶嘴，钩形鼻 | |
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cardinal
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| n.(天主教的)红衣主教；adj.首要的，基本的 | |
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specially
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| adv.特定地；特殊地；明确地 | |
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scatter
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| vt.撒，驱散，散开；散布/播；vi.分散，消散 | |
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crumbs
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| int. (表示惊讶)哎呀 n. 碎屑 名词crumb的复数形式 | |
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pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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snug
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| adj.温暖舒适的，合身的，安全的；v.使整洁干净，舒适地依靠，紧贴；n.（英）酒吧里的私房 | |
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melancholy
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| n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的 | |
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cub
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| n.幼兽，年轻无经验的人 | |
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thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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distressed
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| 痛苦的 | |
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peculiarity
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| n.独特性，特色；特殊的东西；怪癖 | |
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mischief
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| n.损害，伤害，危害；恶作剧，捣蛋，胡闹 | |
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hatchet
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| n.短柄小斧；v.扼杀 | |
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luncheon
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| n.午宴，午餐，便宴 | |
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maiden
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| n.少女，处女；adj.未婚的，纯洁的，无经验的 | |
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toiling
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| 长时间或辛苦地工作( toil的现在分词 )； 艰难缓慢地移动，跋涉 | |
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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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ridge
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| n.山脊；鼻梁；分水岭 | |
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isthmus
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| n.地峡 | |
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sleety
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| 雨夹雪的，下雨雪的 | |
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37
plunge
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| v.跳入，(使)投入，(使)陷入；猛冲 | |
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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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leeward
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| adj.背风的；下风的 | |
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cleft
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| n.裂缝；adj.裂开的 | |
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limestone
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| n.石灰石 | |
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