A steep, tall mountain, heavily wooded, reared itself above the Indian reservation. A creek1 tumbled over the boulders2 in the mountainside and raced through the village of huts; and the combined millions of all the irrigation and power companies in the West could not have bought a drop of its water until Uncle Sam's charges had finished with it and set it free again.
It was a picturesque3 spot. Huge liveoaks, centuries old, sprawled4 over the cabins. Tiny gardens dotted the sunny land. Horses and dogs were anything but scarce, and up the mountainside goats and burros browsed5 off the chaparral. Wrinkled old squaws washed clothes at the creekside, or pounded last season's acorns6 into bellota—the native dish—in mortars7 hollowed in solid stone. Some made earthen ollas of red clay; some weaved baskets. Over all hung that weird8, indescribable odour which only Indians or their much-handled belongings9 can produce.
"This is peace," smiled Oliver to Jessamy, as their horses leaped the stream side by side and cantered toward the cluster of dark, squat10 huts. "What do they call this reservation?"
"It is named after an age-old dweller11 in our midst whom, since you are a Westerner, you must have often met."
"Who is that?"
"Mr. Rattlesnake."
"Oh, certainly. I've met him on many occasions—mostly to his sorrow, I fancy. Rattlesnake Reservation, eh?"
"Well, that would be it in English. But in the Pauba tongue Mr. Rattlesnake becomes Showut Poche-daka."
"What's that!" Oliver turned quickly in his saddle to find her dark wide eyes fixed12 on him intently. "Say that again, please."
"Showut Poche-daka," she repeated slowly.
"M'm-m! Strikes me as something of a coincidence—a part of that name."
"Showut is one word," she said, still watching him. "Poche and daka are two words hyphenated."
"And how do the English-speaking people spell the second word, Poche?" he asked.
Oliver reined14 in. "Stop a second," he ordered crisply. "Why, that's the way my horse's name is spelled. Say, that's funny!"
"Is your trail growing plainer?"
He looked at her earnestly. "Look here," he said bluntly. "I distinctly remember telling you the other day that my horse's name is Poche. Didn't you connect it with the name of the reservation at the time?"
"I did."
He looked at her in silence. "You did, eh?" he remarked finally. "I don't even know what my horse's name means. Dad bought him while I was away at college. I understood the horse was named that when Dad got hold of him, and that he merely hadn't changed it. Now, I won't say that Dad told me as much outright15, but I gathered that impression somehow. I knew it was an Indian name, but had no idea of the meaning."
"Literally16 Poche means bob-tailed—short-tailed. That's why it occurs in the title of our friend Mr. Rattlesnake. While your Poche-horse is not bob-tailed, his tail is rather heavy and short, you'll admit. Has nothing of the length and graceful17 sweep of White Ann's tail, if you'll pardon me."
"You can't lead me into joshing just now, young lady. Answer this: Why didn't you tell me, when I told you my caballo's name, that you knew what it meant? Most everybody asks me what it means when I tell 'em his name; but you did not even show surprise over the oddity of it—and I wondered. And before, when you spoke18 of this tribe of Indians, you called them the Paubas."
"Certainly I showed no surprise, for I am familiar with the word poche and have just proved that I know its meaning. And I'm not very clever at simulating an emotion that I don't feel. I didn't tell you, moreover, because I wanted you to find out for yourself. I thought you'd do so here. Yes—and I deliberately19 called these people the Paubas. They are Paubas—a branch of the Pauba tribe."
"Not at all. I'm showing you the trail. You must follow it yourself. Knowing the country, I see bits here and there that tell me where to go to help you out. Poche's name is one of them. Keep your eyes and ears open while I'm steering21 you around."
"All right," he agreed after a pause. "Lead on!"
"Then we'll make a call on Chupurosa Hatchinguish," she proposed. "Chupurosa means hummingbird22, as you doubtless know, since it is Spanish. And if my Chupurosa isn't a bird and also a hummer, I never hope to see one."
Oliver's riding outfit23 created a sensation as the two entered the village. Faces appeared in doorways24. Squat, dark men, their black-felt hats invariably two sizes too large, came from nowhere, it seemed, to gaze silently. Dogs barked. Women ceased their simple activities and chattered25 noisily to one another.
Jessamy reined in before a black low door presently, and left the saddle. Oliver followed her. Through a profusion26 of morning-glories the girl led the way to the door and knocked.
From within came a guttural response, and, with a smile at her companion, she passed through the entrance.
It was so dark within that for a little Oliver, coming from the bright sunlight, could see almost nothing. Then the light filtering in through the vines that covered the hut grew brighter.
The floor was of earth, beaten brick-hard by the padding of tough bare feet. In the centre was a fireplace—little more than a circle of blackened stones—from which the smoke was sucked out through a hole in the roof, presumably after it had considerately asphyxiated28 the occupants of the dwelling29. Red earthenware30 and beautifully woven baskets represented the household utensils31. There were a few old splint-bottom chairs, a pack-saddle hanging on the wall, a bed of green willow32 boughs33 in one corner.
These simple items he noticed later, and one by one. For the time being his interested attention was demanded by the figure that sat humped over the fire, smoking a black clay pipe.
Chupurosa Hatchinguish, headman of the Showut Poche-dakas and a prominent figure in the fiestas and yearly councils of the Pauba tribes, was a treasure for anthropologists. Years beyond the ken27 of most human beings had wrought34 their fabric35 in his face. It was cross-hatched, tattooed36, pitted, knurled, and wrinkled till one was reminded of the surface of some strange, intricately veined leaf killed and mummified by the frost. From this crunched-leather frame two little jet-black eyes blazed out with the unquenched fires of youth and all the wisdom in the world. A black felt hat, set straight on his iron-grey hair and almost touching37 ears and eyebrows38, faded-blue overalls39, and a dingy40 flannel41 shirt completed his garb42, as he wore nothing on his feet.
"Hello, my Hummingbird!" Jessamy cried merrily in the Spanish tongue.
Chupurosa seemed not to be the stoic43, "How-Ugh!" sort of Indian with which fiction has made the world familiar. All the tragedy and unsolvable mystery of his race was written in his face, but he could smile and laugh and talk, and seemed to enjoy life hugely.
His leathery face now parted in a grin, and, though he did not rise, he extended a rawhide44 hand and made his callers welcome. Then he waved them to seats.
Much as any other human being would do, he politely inquired after the girl's health and that of her family. Asked as to his own, he shook his head and made a rheumatic grimace45.
"I've brought a friend to see you, Chupurosa," said Jessamy at last, as, for some reason or other, she had not yet exactly introduced Oliver.
Chupurosa looked at the man inquiringly and waited.
"This is Oliver Drew," said the girl in what Oliver thought were unnatural46, rather tense tones. He saw Jessamy's lips part slightly after his name, and that she was watching the old man intently.
Chupurosa nodded in an exaggerated way, and extended a hand, though the two had already gone through the handshake formality. Oliver arose and did his part again, then stood a bit awkwardly before their host.
He heard a half-sigh escape the girl. "Señor Drew has not been in our country long," she informed the old man. "He comes from the southern part of the state—from San Bernardino County."
Again the exaggerated nodding on the part of Chupurosa.
Then there was a pause, which the girl at length broke—
"Did you catch the name, Chupurosa? Oliver Drew."
Chupurosa politely but haltingly repeated it, and grinned accommodatingly.
Jessamy tried again. "Do you know a piece of land down in Clinker Creek Cañon that is called the Old Ivison Place, Chupurosa?"
His nod this time was thoughtful.
"Señor Drew now owns that, and lives there," she added.
Both Jessamy and Oliver were watching him keenly. It seemed to Oliver that there was the faintest suggestion of dilation47 of the eye-pupils as this last bit of information was imparted. Still, it may have meant nothing.
"Any friend of yours is welcome to this country and to my hospitality," he said.
"Señor Drew rode all the way up here horseback," the girl pushed on. "You like good horses, Chupurosa. Señor Drew has a fine one. His name is Poche."
For the fraction of a second the match that Oliver had handed Chupurosa stood stationary49 on its trip to the tobacco in his pipe. Chupurosa nodded in his slow way again, and the match completed its mission and fell between the blackened stones.
"And you like saddles and bridles51, too, I know. You should see Señor Drew's equipment, Chupurosa."
"Is it here, Señorita?"
"Yes," said the girl breathlessly. "Will you go out and look at it?"
This time the headman puffed53 for nearly a minute; then suddenly he rose with surprising briskness54.
"I will look at this horse called Poche," he announced, and stalked out ahead of them.
A number of Indians, old and young, had gathered about the horses outside the little gate. They were silent but for a low, seemingly guarded word to one another now and then. Every black eye there was fixed on the gorgeous saddle and bridle50 of Poche in awe55 and admiration56.
Then came Chupurosa, tall, dignified57 as the distant mountain peaks, and they backed off instantly. At his heels were Oliver and the girl, whose cheeks now glowed like sunset clouds and whose eyes spoke volumes.
Thrice in absolute silence the headman walked round the horse. Completing the third trip, he stepped to Poche's head and stood attentively58 looking at the left-hand concha with its glistening59 stone. Then Chupurosa lifted his hands, slipped the chased-silver keeper that held the throatlatch in place, and let the throatlatch drop. Both hands grasped the cheekstrap near the brow-band, and turned this part of the bridle inside out.
Oliver felt a slight trembling, it was all so weird, so portentous60. He almost knew that the jet eyes were searching for the "B" chiselled61 into the silver on the inside of the concha, knew positively62 by the quick dilation of the pupils when they found it.
At once the old man released the bridle and readjusted the throatlatch. He turned to them then, and silently motioned toward the hut. Jessamy cast a triumphant63 glance at Oliver as they followed him inside.
To Oliver's surprise he closed the door after them. Then, though it was now so dark inside that Oliver could scarce see at all, Chupurosa stood directly before him and looked him up and down.
"Señor," he asked, "is there in the middle of your body, on the left side, the scar of a wound like a man's eye?"
Oliver caught his breath. "Yes," he replied. "I brought it back from France. A bayonet wound."
Up and down went the iron-grey head of the sage65. "I have never seen the weapon nor the sort of wound it makes," he informed Oliver gravely. "Take off your shirt."
"Oh, Chupu-ro-sa!" screamed Jessamy as she threw open the door and slammed it after her.
点击
收听单词发音
收听单词发音 |
1
creek
|
|
| n.小溪，小河，小湾 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
boulders
|
|
| 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 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
picturesque
|
|
| adj.美丽如画的，（语言）生动的，绘声绘色的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
sprawled
|
|
| v.伸开四肢坐[躺]( sprawl的过去式和过去分词)；蔓延；杂乱无序地拓展；四肢伸展坐着（或躺着） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
browsed
|
|
| v.吃草( browse的过去式和过去分词 )；随意翻阅；（在商店里）随便看看；（在计算机上）浏览信息 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
acorns
|
|
| n.橡子，栎实( acorn的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
mortars
|
|
| n.迫击炮( mortar的名词复数 )；砂浆；房产；研钵 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
weird
|
|
| adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
belongings
|
|
| n.私人物品，私人财物 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
squat
|
|
| v.蹲坐，蹲下；n.蹲下；adj.矮胖的，粗矮的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
dweller
|
|
| n.居住者，住客 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
fixed
|
|
| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
syllable
|
|
| n.音节；vt.分音节 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
reined
|
|
| 勒缰绳使（马）停步( rein的过去式和过去分词 )； 驾驭； 严格控制； 加强管理 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
outright
|
|
| adv.坦率地；彻底地；立即；adj.无疑的；彻底的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
literally
|
|
| adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
graceful
|
|
| adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
spoke
|
|
| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
deliberately
|
|
| adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
grumbled
|
|
| 抱怨( grumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 发牢骚； 咕哝； 发哼声 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
steering
|
|
| n.操舵装置 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
hummingbird
|
|
| n.蜂鸟 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
outfit
|
|
| n.（为特殊用途的）全套装备，全套服装 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
doorways
|
|
| n.门口，门道( doorway的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
chattered
|
|
| （人）喋喋不休( chatter的过去式 )； 唠叨； （牙齿）打战； （机器）震颤 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
profusion
|
|
| n.挥霍；丰富 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
27
ken
|
|
| n.视野，知识领域 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
28
asphyxiated
|
|
| v.渴望的，有抱负的，追求名誉或地位的( aspirant的过去式和过去分词 )；有志向或渴望获得…的人 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
29
dwelling
|
|
| n.住宅，住所，寓所 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
30
earthenware
|
|
| n.土器，陶器 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
31
utensils
|
|
| 器具，用具，器皿( utensil的名词复数 )； 器物 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
32
willow
|
|
| n.柳树 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
33
boughs
|
|
| 大树枝( bough的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
34
wrought
|
|
| v.引起；以…原料制作；运转；adj.制造的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
35
fabric
|
|
| n.织物，织品，布；构造，结构，组织 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
36
tattooed
|
|
| v.刺青，文身( tattoo的过去式和过去分词 )；连续有节奏地敲击；作连续有节奏的敲击 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
37
touching
|
|
| adj.动人的，使人感伤的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
38
eyebrows
|
|
| 眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
39
overalls
|
|
| n.（复）工装裤；长罩衣 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
40
dingy
|
|
| adj.昏暗的，肮脏的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
41
flannel
|
|
| n.法兰绒；法兰绒衣服 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
42
garb
|
|
| n.服装，装束 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
43
stoic
|
|
| n.坚忍克己之人，禁欲主义者 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
44
rawhide
|
|
| n.生牛皮 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
45
grimace
|
|
| v.做鬼脸，面部歪扭 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
46
unnatural
|
|
| adj.不自然的；反常的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
47
dilation
|
|
| n.膨胀，扩张，扩大 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
48
crumbled
|
|
| （把…）弄碎， （使）碎成细屑( crumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 衰落； 坍塌； 损坏 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
49
stationary
|
|
| adj.固定的，静止不动的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
50
bridle
|
|
| n.笼头，束缚；vt.抑制，约束；动怒 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
51
bridles
|
|
| 约束( bridle的名词复数 )； 限动器； 马笼头； 系带 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
52
puffs
|
|
| n.吸( puff的名词复数 )；（烟斗或香烟的）一吸；一缕（烟、蒸汽等）；（呼吸或风的）呼v.使喷出( puff的第三人称单数 )；喷着汽（或烟）移动；吹嘘；吹捧 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
53
puffed
|
|
| adj.疏松的v.使喷出( puff的过去式和过去分词 )；喷着汽（或烟）移动；吹嘘；吹捧 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
54
briskness
|
|
| n.敏捷，活泼 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
55
awe
|
|
| n.敬畏，惊惧；vt.使敬畏，使惊惧 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
56
admiration
|
|
| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
57
dignified
|
|
| a.可敬的，高贵的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
58
attentively
|
|
| adv.聚精会神地；周到地；谛；凝神 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
59
glistening
|
|
| adj.闪耀的，反光的v.湿物闪耀，闪亮( glisten的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
60
portentous
|
|
| adj.不祥的，可怕的，装腔作势的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
61
chiselled
|
|
| adj.凿过的，凿光的； （文章等）精心雕琢的v.凿，雕，镌( chisel的过去式 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
62
positively
|
|
| adv.明确地，断然，坚决地；实在，确实 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
63
triumphant
|
|
| adj.胜利的，成功的；狂欢的，喜悦的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
64
melodious
|
|
| adj.旋律美妙的，调子优美的，音乐性的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
65
sage
|
|
| n.圣人，哲人；adj.贤明的，明智的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |