The silence of the grave lay over the white world. Deep in the forest a tree detonated with the frost. There by the cold last night's camp the four human figures posed, motionless as a wind that has died. Only the dogs, lolling, stretching, sending the warm steam of their breathing into the dead air, seemed to stand for the world of life, and the world of sentient1 creatures. And yet their very presence, unobtrusive in the forest shadows, by contrast thrust farther these others into the land of phantoms2 and of ghosts.
Then quietly, as with one consent, the three living ones turned away. The older woodsman stepped into the trail, leading the way for the dogs; the younger woodsman swung in behind at the gee-pole; the girl followed. Once more; slowly, as though reluctant, the forest trees resumed their silent progress past those three toiling3 in the treadmill4 of the days. The camp dropped back; it confused itself in the frost mists; it was gone, gone into the mystery and the vastness of the North, gone with its tragedy and its symbol of the greatness of human passion, gone with its one silent watcher staring at the sky, awaiting the coming of day. The frost had mercifully closed again about its revelation. No human eye would ever read that page again.
Each of the three seemed wrapped in the splendid isolation5 of his own dream. They strode on sightless, like somnambulists. Only mechanically they kept the trail, and why they did so they could not have told. No coherent thoughts passed through their brains. But always the trees, frost-rimed, drifted past like phantoms; always the occult influences of the North loomed6 large on their horizon like mirages7, dwindled8 in the actuality, but threatened again in the bigness of mystery when they had passed. The North was near, threatening, driving the terror of her tragedy home to the hearts of these staring mechanical plodders, who now travelled they knew not why, farther and farther into the depths of dread9.
But the dogs stopped, and Billy, the leader, sniffed10 audibly in inquiry12 of what lay ahead. Instantly, in the necessity for action, the spell broke. The mystery which had lain so long at their horizon, which but now had crept in, threatening to smother13 them, rolled back to its accustomed place. The north withheld14 her hand.
Before them was another camp, one that had been long used. A conical tepee or wigwam, a wide space cleared of snow, much débris, racks and scaffolds for the accommodation of supplies, all these attested15 long occupancy.
Sam jerked the cover from his rifle, and cast a hasty glance at the nipple to see if it was capped. Dick jumped forward and snatched aside the opening into the wigwam.
"Not at home!" said he.
"Gone," corrected Sam, pointing to a fresh trail beyond.
At once the two men turned their attention to this. After some difficulty they established the fact of a three-dog team. Testing the consistency16 of the snow they proved a heavy load on the toboggan.
"I'm afraid that means he's gone for good," said Sam.
A further examination of camp corroborated17 this. The teepee had been made double, with the space between the two walls stuffed with moss18, so evidently it had been built as permanent winter quarters. The fact of its desertion at this time of year confirmed the reasoning as to the identity of its occupant and the fact of his having been warned by the dead Chippewa. Skulls19 of animals indicated a fairly prosperous fur season. But the skulls of animals, a broken knife, a pile of balsam-boughs, and the deserted20 wigwam were all that remained. Jingoss had taken with him his traps, his pelts21, his supplies.
"That's a good thing," concluded Sam, "a mighty22 good thing. It shows he ain't much scared. He don't suspect we're anywhere's near him; only that it ain't very healthy to spend the winter in this part of the country. If he'd thought we was close, he wouldn't have lugged23 along a lot of plunder24; he'd be flying mighty light."
"That's right," agreed Dick.
"And in that case he isn't travelling very fast. We'll soon catch up."
"He only left this morning," supplemented Dick, examining the frost-crystals in the new-cut trail.
Without wasting further attention, they set out in pursuit. The girl followed. Dick turned to her.
"I think we shall catch him very soon," said he, in Ojibway.
The girl's face brightened and her eyes filled. The simple words admitted her to confidence, implied that she, too, had her share in the undertaking25, her interest in its outcome. She stepped forward with winged feet of gladness.
Luckily a light wind had sprung up against them. They proceeded as quietly and as swiftly as they could. In a short time they came to a spot where Jingoss had boiled tea. This indicated that he must have started late in the morning to have accomplished26 only so short a distance before noon. The trail, too, became fresher.
Billy, the regular lead dog, on this occasion occupied his official position ahead, although, as has been pointed27 out, he was sometimes alternated with the hound, who now ran just behind him. Third trotted28 Wolf, a strong beast, but a stupid; then Claire, at the sledge29, sagacious, alert, ready to turn the sledge from obstruction30. For a long, time all these beasts, with the strange intelligence of animals much associated with man, had entertained a strong interest in the doings of their masters. Something besides the day's journey was in the wind. They felt it through their keen instinctive31 responsiveness to the moods of those over them; they knew it by the testimony32 of their bright eyes which told them that these investigations33 and pryings were not all in an ordinary day's travel. Investigations and pryings appeal to a dog's nature. Especially did Mack, the hound, long to be free of his harness that he, too, might sniff11 here and there in odd nooks and crannies, testing with that marvelously keen nose of his what his masters regarded so curiously34. Now at last he understood from the frequent stops and examinations that the trail was the important thing. From time to time he sniffed of it deeply, saturating35 his memory with the quality of its effluvia. Always it grew fresher. And then at last the warm animal scent36 rose alive to his nostrils37, and he lifted his head and bayed.
The long, weird38 sound struck against the silence with the impact of a blow. Nothing more undesirable39 could have happened. Again Mack bayed, and the echoing bell tones of his voice took on a strange similarity to a tocsin of warning. Rustling40 and crackling across the men's fancies the influences of the North moved invisible, alert, suddenly roused.
Dick whirled with an exclamation41, throwing down and back the lever of his Winchester, his face suffused42, his eye angry.
"Damnation!" exclaimed Bolton, anticipating his intention, and springing forward in time to strike up the muzzle43 of the rifle, though not soon enough to prevent the shot.
Against the snow, plastered on a distant tree, the bullet hit, scattering44 the fine powder; then ricochetted, shrieking45 with increasing joy as it mounted the upper air. After it, as though released by its passage from the spell of the great frost, trooped the voices and echoes of the wilderness46. In the still air such a racket would carry miles.
Sam looked from the man to the dog.
"Well, between the two of you!" said he.
Dick sprang forward, lashing47 the team with his whip.
"After him!" he shouted.
They ran in a swirl48 of light snow. In a very few moments they came to a bundle of pelts, a little pile of traps, the unnecessary impediments discarded by the man they pursued. So near had they been to a capture.
Sam, out of breath, peremptorily49 called a halt.
"Hold on!" he commanded. "Take it easy. We can't catch him like this. He's travelling light, and he's one man, and he has a fresh team. He'll pull away from us too easy, and leave us with worn-out dogs." The old man sat and deliberately50 filled his pipe.
Dick fumed51 up and down, chafing52 at the delay, convinced that something should be done immediately, but at a loss to tell what it should be.
"What'll we do, then?" he asked, after a little.
"He leaves a trail, don't he?" inquired Sam. "We must follow it."
"But what good--how can we ever catch up?"
"We've got to throw away our traps and extra duffle. We've got to travel as fast as we can without wearing ourselves out. He may try to go too fast, and so we may wear him down. It's our only show, anyway. If we lose him now, we'll never find him again. That trail is all we have to go by."
"How if it snows hard? It's getting toward spring storms."
"If it snows hard--well--" The old man fell silent, puffing53 away at his pipe. "One thing I want you to understand," he continued, looking up with a sudden sternness, "don't you ever take it on yourself to shoot that gun again. We're to take that man alive. The noise of the shot to-day was a serious thing; it gave Jingoss warning, and perhaps spoiled our chance to surprise him. But he might have heard us anyway. Let that go. But if you'd have killed that hound as you started out to do, you'd have done more harm than your fool head could straighten out in a lifetime. That hound--why--he's the best thing we've got. I'd--I'd almost rather lose our rifles than him--" he trailed off again into rumination54.
Dick, sobered as he always was when his companion took this tone, inquired why, but received no answer. After a moment Sam began to sort the contents of the sledge, casting aside all but the necessities.
"What's the plan?" Dick ventured.
"To follow."
"How long do you think it will be before we catch him?"
"God knows."
The dogs leaned into their harness, almost falling forward at the unexpected lightness of the load. Again the little company moved at measured gait. For ten minutes nothing was said. Then Dick:
"Sam," he said, "I think we have just about as much chance as a snowball in hell."
"So do I," agreed the old woodsman, soberly.
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sentient
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| adj.有知觉的，知悉的；adv.有感觉能力地 | |
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phantoms
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| n.鬼怪，幽灵( phantom的名词复数 ) | |
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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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treadmill
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| n.踏车；单调的工作 | |
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isolation
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| n.隔离，孤立，分解，分离 | |
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loomed
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| v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的过去式和过去分词 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近 | |
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mirages
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| n.海市蜃楼，幻景( mirage的名词复数 ) | |
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dwindled
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| v.逐渐变少或变小( dwindle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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dread
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| vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧 | |
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sniffed
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| v.以鼻吸气，嗅，闻( sniff的过去式和过去分词 )；抽鼻子（尤指哭泣、患感冒等时出声地用鼻子吸气）；抱怨，不以为然地说 | |
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sniff
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| vi.嗅…味道；抽鼻涕；对嗤之以鼻，蔑视 | |
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inquiry
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| n.打听，询问，调查，查问 | |
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smother
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| vt./vi.使窒息；抑制；闷死；n.浓烟；窒息 | |
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withheld
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| withhold过去式及过去分词 | |
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attested
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| adj.经检验证明无病的，经检验证明无菌的v.证明( attest的过去式和过去分词 )；证实；声称…属实；使宣誓 | |
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consistency
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| n.一贯性，前后一致，稳定性；(液体的)浓度 | |
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corroborated
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| v.证实，支持（某种说法、信仰、理论等）( corroborate的过去式 ) | |
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moss
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| n.苔，藓，地衣 | |
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skulls
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| 颅骨( skull的名词复数 )； 脑袋； 脑子； 脑瓜 | |
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deserted
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| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
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pelts
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| n. 皮毛，投掷, 疾行 vt. 剥去皮毛，（连续）投掷 vi. 猛击，大步走 | |
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mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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lugged
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| vt.用力拖拉（lug的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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plunder
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| vt.劫掠财物，掠夺；n.劫掠物，赃物；劫掠 | |
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undertaking
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| n.保证，许诺，事业 | |
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accomplished
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| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
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pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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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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sledge
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| n.雪橇，大锤；v.用雪橇搬运，坐雪橇往 | |
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obstruction
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| n.阻塞，堵塞；障碍物 | |
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instinctive
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| adj.(出于)本能的；直觉的；(出于)天性的 | |
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testimony
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| n.证词；见证，证明 | |
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investigations
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| （正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究 | |
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curiously
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| adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地 | |
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35
saturating
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| 浸湿，浸透( saturate的现在分词 )； 使…大量吸收或充满某物 | |
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36
scent
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| n.气味，香味，香水，线索，嗅觉；v.嗅，发觉 | |
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37
nostrils
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| 鼻孔( nostril的名词复数 ) | |
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38
weird
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| adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的 | |
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undesirable
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| adj.不受欢迎的，不良的，不合意的，讨厌的；n.不受欢迎的人，不良分子 | |
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40
rustling
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| n. 瑟瑟声，沙沙声 adj. 发沙沙声的 | |
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exclamation
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| n.感叹号，惊呼，惊叹词 | |
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42
suffused
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| v.（指颜色、水气等）弥漫于，布满( suffuse的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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43
muzzle
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| n.鼻口部；口套；枪(炮)口；vt.使缄默 | |
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44
scattering
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| n.[物]散射；散乱，分散；在媒介质中的散播adj.散乱的；分散在不同范围的；广泛扩散的；（选票）数量分散的v.散射(scatter的ing形式)；散布；驱散 | |
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45
shrieking
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| v.尖叫( shriek的现在分词 ) | |
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46
wilderness
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| n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠 | |
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47
lashing
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| n.鞭打；痛斥；大量；许多v.鞭打( lash的现在分词 )；煽动；紧系；怒斥 | |
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48
swirl
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| v.(使)打漩，(使)涡卷；n.漩涡，螺旋形 | |
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49
peremptorily
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| adv.紧急地，不容分说地，专横地 | |
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50
deliberately
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| adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地 | |
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51
fumed
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| 愤怒( fume的过去式和过去分词 )； 大怒； 发怒； 冒烟 | |
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52
chafing
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| n.皮肤发炎v.擦热（尤指皮肤）( chafe的现在分词 )；擦痛；发怒；惹怒 | |
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53
puffing
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| v.使喷出( puff的现在分词 )；喷着汽（或烟）移动；吹嘘；吹捧 | |
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54
rumination
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| n.反刍，沉思 | |
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