If I think, and try to write forever with the strongest words, I can not express to any other mind a thousandth part of the gratitude1 which was and is, and ought to be forever, in my own poor mind toward those who were so good to me. From time to time it is said (whenever any man with power of speech or fancy gets some little grievances) that all mankind are simply selfish, miserly, and miserable2. To contradict that saying needs experience even larger, perhaps, than that which has suggested it; and this I can not have, and therefore only know that I have not found men or women behave at all according to that view of them.
Whether Sampson Gundry owed any debt, either of gratitude or of loyalty3, to my father, I did not ask; and he seemed to be (like every one else) reserved and silent as to my father’s history. But he always treated me as if I belonged to a rank of life quite different from and much above his own. For instance, it was long before he would allow me to have my meals at the table of the household.
But as soon as I began in earnest to recover from starvation, loss, and loneliness, my heart was drawn4 to this grand old man, who had seen so many troubles. He had been here and there in the world so much, and dealt with so many people, that the natural frankness of his mind was sharpened into caution. But any weak and helpless person still could get the best of him; and his shrewdness certainly did not spring from any form of bitterness. He was rough in his ways sometimes, and could not bear to be contradicted when he was sure that he was right, which generally happened to him. But above all things he had one very great peculiarity5, to my mind highly vexatious, because it seemed so unaccountable. Sampson Gundry had a very low opinion of feminine intellect. He never showed this contempt in any unpleasant way, and indeed he never, perhaps, displayed it in any positive sayings. But as I grew older and began to argue, sure I was that it was there; and it always provoked me tenfold as much by seeming to need no assertion, but to stand as some great axiom.
The other members of the household were his grandson Ephraim (or “Firm” Gundry), the Indian woman Suan Isco, and a couple of helps, of race or nation almost unknown to themselves. Suan Isco belonged to a tribe of respectable Black Rock Indians, and had been the wife of a chief among them, and the mother of several children. But Klamath Indians, enemies of theirs (who carried off the lady of the cattle ranch6, and afterward7 shot Elijah), had Suan Isco in their possession, having murdered her husband and children, and were using her as a mere8 beast of burden, when Sampson Gundry fell on them. He, with his followers9, being enraged10 at the cold-blooded death of Elijah, fell on those miscreants11 to such purpose that women and children alone were left to hand down their bad propensities12.
But the white men rescued and brought away the stolen wife of the stockman, and also the widow of the Black Rock chief. She was in such poor condition and so broken-hearted that none but the finest humanity would have considered her worth a quarter of the trouble of her carriage. But she proved to be worth it a thousandfold; and Sawyer Gundry (as now he was called) knew by this time all the value of uncultivated gratitude. And her virtues13 were so many that it took a long time to find them out, for she never put them forward, not knowing whether they were good or bad.
Until I knew these people, and the pure depth of their kindness, it was a continual grief to me to be a burden upon them. But when I came to understand them and their simple greatness, the only thing I was ashamed of was my own mistrust of them. Not that I expected ever that any harm would be done to me, only that I knew myself to have no claim on any one.
One day, when I was fit for nothing but to dwell on trouble, Sampson Gundry’s grandson “Firm”— as he was called for Ephraim — ran up the stairs to the little room where I was sitting by myself.
“Miss Rema, will you come with us?” he said, in his deep, slow style of speech. “We are going up the mountain, to haul down the great tree to the mill.”
“To be sure I will come,” I answered, gladly. “What great tree is it, Mr. Ephraim?”
“The largest tree any where near here — the one we cut down last winter. Ten days it took to cut it down. If I could have saved it, it should have stood. But grandfather did it to prove his rights. We shall have a rare job to lead it home, and I doubt if we can tackle it. I thought you might like to see us try.”
In less than a minute I was ready, for the warmth and softness of the air made cloak or shawl unbearable14. But when I ran down to the yard of the mill, Mr. Gundry, who was giving orders, came up and gave me an order too.
“You must not go like this, my dear. We have three thousand feet to go upward. The air will be sharp up there, and I doubt if we shall be home by night-fall. Run, Suan, and fetch the young lady’s cloak, and a pair of thicker boots for change.”
Suan Isco never ran. That manner of motion was foreign to her, at least as we accomplish it. When speed was required, she attained15 it by increased length of stride and great vigor16 of heel. In this way she conquered distance steadily17, and with very little noise.
The air, and the light, and the beauty of the mountains were a sudden joy to me. In front of us all strode Sampson Gundry, clearing all tangles18 with a short, sharp axe19, and mounting steep places as if twoscore were struck off his threescore years and five. From time to time he turned round to laugh, or see that his men and trained bullocks were right; and then, as his bright eyes met my dark ones, he seemed to be sorry for the noise he made. On the other hand, I was ashamed of damping any one’s pleasure by being there.
But I need not have felt any fear about this. Like all other children, I wrapped myself up too much in my own importance, and behaved as if my state of mind was a thing to be considered. But the longer we rose through the freedom and the height, the lighter20 grew the heart of every one, until the thick forest of pines closed round us, and we walked in a silence that might be felt.
Hence we issued forth21 upon the rough bare rock, and after much trouble with the cattle, and some bruises22, stood panting on a rugged23 cone24, or crest25, which had once been crowned with a Titan of a tree. The tree was still there, but not its glory; for, alas26! the mighty27 trunk lay prostrate28 — a grander column than ever was or will be built by human hands. The tapering29 shaft30 stretched out of sight for something like a furlong, and the bulk of the butt31 rose over us so that we could not see the mountains. Having never seen any such tree before, I must have been amazed if I had been old enough to comprehend it.
Sampson Gundry, large as he was, and accustomed to almost every thing, collected his men and the whole of his team on the ground-floor or area of the stump32 before he would say any thing. Here we all looked so sadly small that several of the men began to laugh; the bullocks seemed nothing but raccoons or beavers33 to run on the branches or the fibres of the tree; and the chains and the shackles34, and the blocks and cranes, and all the rest of the things they meant to use, seemed nothing whatever, or at all to be considered, except as a spider’s web upon this tree.
The sagacious bullocks, who knew quite well what they were expected to do, looked blank. Some rubbed their horns into one another’s sadly, and some cocked their tails because they felt that they could not be called upon to work. The light of the afternoon sun came glancing along the vast pillar, and lit its dying hues35 — cinnamon, purple, and glabrous red, and soft gray where the lichens36 grew.
Every body looked at Mr. Gundry, and he began to cough a little, having had lately some trouble with his throat. Then in his sturdy manner he spoke37 the truth, according to his nature. He set his great square shoulders against the butt of the tree, and delivered himself:
“Friends and neighbors, and hands of my own, I am taken in here, and I own to it. It serves me right for disbelieving what my grandson, Firm Gundry, said. I knew that the tree was a big one, of course, as every body else does; but till you see a tree laid upon earth you get no grip of his girth, no more than you do of a man till he lieth a corpse38. At the time of felling I could not come anigh him, by reason of an accident; and I had some words with this boy about it, which kept me away ever since that time. Firm, you were right, and I was wrong. It was a real shame, now I see it, to throw down the ‘King of the Mountains.’ But, for all that, being down, we must use him. He shall be sawn into fifty-foot lengths. And I invite you all to come again, for six or seven good turns at him.”
At the hearing of this, a cheer arose, not only for the Sawyer’s manly39 truth, but also for his hospitality; because on each of these visits to the mountain he was the host, and his supplies were good. But before the descent with the empty teams began, young Ephraim did what appeared to me to be a gallant40 and straightforward41 thing. He stood on the chine of the fallen monster, forty feet above us, having gained the post of vantage by activity and strength, and he asked if he might say a word or two.
“Say away, lad,” cried his grandfather, supposing, perhaps, in his obstinate42 way (for truly he was very obstinate), that his grandson was going now to clear himself from art or part in the murder of that tree — an act which had roused indignation over a hundred leagues of lowland.
“Neighbors,” said Firm, in a clear young voice, which shook at first with diffidence, “we all have to thank you, more than I can tell, for coming to help us with this job. It was a job which required to be done for legal reasons which I do not understand, but no doubt they were good ones. For that we have my grandfather’s word; and no one, I think, will gainsay43 it. Now, having gone so far, we will not be beaten by it, or else we shall not be Americans.”
These simple words were received with great applause; and an orator44, standing45 on the largest stump to be found even in America, delivered a speech which was very good to hear, but need not now be repeated. And Mr. Gundry’s eyes were moist with pleasure at his grandson’s conduct.
“Firm knoweth the right thing to do,” he said; “and like a man he doeth it. But whatever aileth you, Miss Rema, and what can ‘e see in the distance yonner? Never mind, my dear, then. Tell me by-and-by, when none of these folk is ‘longside of us.”
But I could not bear to tell him, till he forced it from me under pain of his displeasure. I had spied on the sky-line far above us, in the desert track of mountain, the very gap in which my father stood and bade me seek this landmark46. His memory was true, and his eyesight also; but the great tree had been felled. The death of the “King of the Mountains” had led to the death of the king of mankind, so far as my little world contained one.
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1
gratitude
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| adj.感激，感谢 | |
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miserable
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| adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的 | |
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loyalty
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| n.忠诚，忠心 | |
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drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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5
peculiarity
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| n.独特性，特色；特殊的东西；怪癖 | |
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ranch
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| n.大牧场，大农场 | |
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afterward
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| adv.后来；以后 | |
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mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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followers
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| 追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件 | |
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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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miscreants
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| n.恶棍，歹徒( miscreant的名词复数 ) | |
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propensities
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| n.倾向，习性( propensity的名词复数 ) | |
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virtues
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| 美德( virtue的名词复数 )； 德行； 优点； 长处 | |
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unbearable
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| adj.不能容忍的；忍受不住的 | |
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15
attained
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| （通常经过努力）实现( attain的过去式和过去分词 )； 达到； 获得； 达到（某年龄、水平、状况） | |
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vigor
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| n.活力，精力，元气 | |
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steadily
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| adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地 | |
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tangles
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| （使）缠结， （使）乱作一团( tangle的第三人称单数 ) | |
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axe
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| n.斧子；v.用斧头砍，削减 | |
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lighter
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| n.打火机，点火器；驳船；v.用驳船运送；light的比较级 | |
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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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bruises
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| n.瘀伤，伤痕，擦伤( bruise的名词复数 ) | |
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rugged
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| adj.高低不平的，粗糙的，粗壮的，强健的 | |
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cone
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| n.圆锥体，圆锥形东西，球果 | |
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crest
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| n.顶点；饰章；羽冠；vt.达到顶点；vi.形成浪尖 | |
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alas
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| int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等) | |
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mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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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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tapering
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| adj.尖端细的 | |
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shaft
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| n.(工具的)柄，杆状物 | |
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butt
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| n.笑柄；烟蒂；枪托；臀部；v.用头撞或顶 | |
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32
stump
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| n.残株，烟蒂，讲演台；v.砍断，蹒跚而走 | |
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33
beavers
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| 海狸( beaver的名词复数 )； 海狸皮毛； 棕灰色； 拼命工作的人 | |
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shackles
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| 手铐( shackle的名词复数 )； 脚镣； 束缚； 羁绊 | |
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hues
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| 色彩( hue的名词复数 )； 色调； 信仰； 观点 | |
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lichens
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| n.地衣( lichen的名词复数 ) | |
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37
spoke
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| 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 | |
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corpse
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| n.尸体，死尸 | |
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manly
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| adj.有男子气概的；adv.男子般地，果断地 | |
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40
gallant
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| adj.英勇的，豪侠的；(向女人)献殷勤的 | |
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straightforward
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| adj.正直的，坦率的；易懂的，简单的 | |
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42
obstinate
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| adj.顽固的，倔强的，不易屈服的，较难治愈的 | |
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43
gainsay
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| v.否认，反驳 | |
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44
orator
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| n.演说者，演讲者，雄辩家 | |
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45
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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46
landmark
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| n.陆标，划时代的事，地界标 | |
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