CHAPTER XII.

 Guy was surprised and delighted to find that his fool-hardy escapade had brought upon him no injury except a few bruises¹, which, however, did not prevent him from assisting the men to take into camp the carcasses of the three buffaloes² they had slain⁴.

 

That proved a busy afternoon in the camp. The buffaloes were skinned, and their shaggy hides hung up in the sun to dry. Then the choicest parts of the bodies were cut up and salted, and the rest left to the hungry wolves, who are the natural enemies of the buffalo³—one of which, when wounded, they will often follow, and harass⁵ to death.

 

And what a splendid supper of buffalo steak they had. Guy fancied he never had tasted anything so delicious, though George, in his usual contradictory⁶ mood, declared he thought beef much nicer. But as no one paid any attention to him, his opinion had not much effect, and no one enjoyed the supper the less for it.

 

As only a slight sketch⁷ of Guy's wonderful escape had been given by Harwood upon his return to camp, the children were anxious to hear a full account of it, and as soon as the dishes were washed, the fuel for the night brought in and Guy was at liberty to take his usual seat by the fire, they called upon him to tell them all about it. He did so in as few words as possible, for he felt as much ashamed of his discomfiture⁸ as an old hunter might have been likely to do.

 

Aggie⁹ looked very serious after hearing the account of her favorite's danger. George laughed as he thought of the figure Guy must have cut when pitched from his horse over the back of the buffalo; and Gus with great earnestness asked him what he thought of at the time it all happened.

 

"I saw and heard too much to think of anything," replied Guy, quite unable to repress a laugh at Gus' question and eager look, "the first thing I thought of when Mr. Graham took me from the ground was to clear the sand from my nose, eyes, and mouth. If you had seen me you would have fancied I had been burrowing¹⁰ in the dirt for a twelve month. After that I was very thankful that I escaped so well, and on the way home I recalled to mind almost everything I had ever read about buffaloes, and among other things a mode in which the Indians hunt them, and which is described in the adventures of Lewis and Clarke."

 

"Who were Lewis and Clarke?" asked Gus.

 

"Two men, who in the days of Washington and Jefferson, and chiefly by the aid of the latter, headed a party of men, who were the first to explore Oregon, and discover the rise of the Columbia and Missouri Rivers."

 

"What fun they must have had," exclaimed George, "among the Indians that had never seen a white man before."

 

"They were so constantly surrounded by dangers," said Guy, "that I guess they found the fun rather scarce. But they had a great many exciting adventures among the Indians, and learned many of their strange habits."

 

"Well, you were going to tell us about a way they had of hunting buffaloes," interrupted Gus. "How was it?"

 

"Well, first they would find, either by accident or after a search, a herd¹¹ of buffaloes, grazing on a plateau, perhaps three or four hundred feet above the river, for such are very often found a mile or more in length along the Columbia or Missouri Rivers, which abruptly¹² terminate, forming a precipice¹³ so perfectly¹⁴ perpendicular¹⁵ that neither man or beast can gain a foothold on their sides.

 

"Toward this precipice a young warrior¹⁶ wrapped in a buffalo robe, and crowned with the head and horns, decoys the game, while the others chase them forward, riding their swiftest horses, bearing their best arms, and uttering their wildest shouts. The whole herd maddened by the hunters, will usually follow the decoy—their fancied leader—when suddenly he will hide beneath some cliff, the buffaloes will rush on, seeing no danger ahead, or unable to check their headlong career, and thus very often a hundred or more will spring over the precipice, and be dashed to pieces on the rocks below."

 

"Good!" cried George, excitedly.

 

"And just think then what a good time the Indians have picking up the pieces," commented Gus, "I'd like to see them do it. Just think of two or three hundred Indians all at work together, jerking the meat, and shouting and dancing."

 

"Ah, yes. That's all very well!" said Aggie, thoughtfully. "But I wouldn't like so much to be the decoy. Suppose he couldn't hide in time."

 

"Sometimes he can't," said Guy, "and in that case he is trodden under foot by the herd, or carried with them over the precipice. I am like you, Aggie, I shouldn't like to be the decoy. It is bad enough to face one buffalo, and I have no wish to try a hundred."

 

"Oh, dear!" exclaimed Aggie, "I should die with fright if I were to meet even one."

 

"Oh! That's because you are nothing but a girl—but boys—!" George left his sentence unfinished, for of late he had become very careful of boasting before Guy, whom he knew was too well acquainted with him to be deceived by empty words.

 

"Girls, or no girls!" exclaimed Aggie, a little angrily, "I learned those verses mamma gave us, to-day, while you don't know them at all!"

 

"Verses are only made for girls!" answered George, contemptuously.

 

"And for some boys," said Guy, "I for one like to hear them. What are yours about Aggie?"

 

"Listen! They are about

 

'THE CHILDREN IN THE SKY.'

 

"Little Allie, tired with roaming,

Fell asleep one summer day;

In the soft, and mellow¹⁷ gloaming,

That the fairies haunt, they say.

And, into her dream, there came then

Fays, or Angels pure and fair,

Filling all the lonesome glen

With sweet music, rich and rare.

"'Child!' they said, as slow around her

One by one they floated on,

'Look into the clearer ether,

Close beside the setting sun!'

Then she looked, and lo! the cloudlets

Parted back and showed her there,

Myriad¹⁸ angels, sinless spirits

Sporting in a garden fair.

"Sporting, smiling, fondly twining,

Round each other snow white arms;

While a halo o'er them shining,

Saved them from the night's alarms.

Loud they sung in notes of gladness,

Ever o'er the sweet refrain;

'Jesus loves us! we shall never

Lose His tender care again."

"'Here the flow'rets bloom forever;

Here the sun of God doth shine;

Here doth flow the crystal river,

Giving all a life divine!'

Then the peerless vision faded,

And the fairies stole away;

All the dell with gloom was shaded,

Darkness 'round sweet Allie lay.

"Then she woke from out her slumber¹⁹,

And she said—within her heart—

'Shall I join that happy number?

In their joyous²⁰ song take part?'

Then she prayed that God would lead her

In the path to heaven above,

And that she might dwell forever

Blessed by Christ's redeeming²¹ love.

"And before the year was over,

God in love gave back reply,—

For He led the little rover,

To the children in the sky."

"That is a sweet little tale," said Guy, when Aggie had finished, "But it is almost a pity such a good little girl should die."

 

"But the good little girls, in stories, always do die!" exclaimed George, "And that is why I don't like to hear about them. That's the reason, too, that I tease our Aggie so, I want to get her into a passion so she won't get too good and be spirited out of the world right away."

 

They all laughed at this ingenious defense²²; and then as Guy declared himself very tired, and quite stiff and sore from the number of bruises upon his body, they soon separated for the night, and ere long all was still about the camp, except the fires that flickered²³ and blazed, as if in derision of the calm night, and its heavy-eyed attendant—Sleep.

1 bruises   

n.瘀伤，伤痕，擦伤( bruise的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He was covered with bruises after falling off his bicycle. 他从自行车上摔了下来，摔得浑身伤痕。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The pear had bruises of dark spots. 这个梨子有碰伤的黑斑。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 buffaloes   

n.水牛（分非洲水牛和亚洲水牛两种）( buffalo的名词复数 )；（南非或北美的）野牛；威胁；恐吓

参考例句：

• Some medieval towns raced donkeys or buffaloes. 有些中世纪的城市用驴子或水牛竞赛。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Water buffaloes supply Egypt with more meat than any other domestic animal. 水牛提供给埃及的肉比任何其它动物都要多。 来自辞典例句

3 buffalo   

n.(北美)野牛；(亚洲)水牛

参考例句：

• Asian buffalo isn't as wild as that of America's. 亚洲水牛比美洲水牛温顺些。
• The boots are made of buffalo hide. 这双靴子是由水牛皮制成的。

4 slain   

杀死，宰杀，杀戮( slay的过去分词 )； (slay的过去分词)

参考例句：

• The soldiers slain in the battle were burried that night. 在那天夜晚埋葬了在战斗中牺牲了的战士。
• His boy was dead, slain by the hand of the false Amulius. 他的儿子被奸诈的阿缪利乌斯杀死了。

5 harass   

vt.使烦恼，折磨，骚扰

参考例句：

• Our mission is to harass the landing of the main Japaness expeditionary force.我们的任务是骚乱日本远征军主力的登陆。
• They received the order to harass the enemy's rear.他们接到骚扰敌人后方的命令。

6 contradictory   

adj.反驳的，反对的，抗辩的；n.正反对，矛盾对立

参考例句：

• The argument is internally contradictory.论据本身自相矛盾。
• What he said was self-contradictory.他讲话前后不符。

7 sketch   

n.草图；梗概；素描；v.素描；概述

参考例句：

• My sister often goes into the country to sketch. 我姐姐常到乡间去写生。
• I will send you a slight sketch of the house.我将给你寄去房屋的草图。

8 discomfiture   

n.崩溃；大败；挫败；困惑

参考例句：

• I laughed my head off when I heard of his discomfiture. 听到别人说起他的狼狈相，我放声大笑。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Without experiencing discomfiture and setbacks,one can never find truth. 不经过失败和挫折，便找不到真理。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 aggie   

n.农校，农科大学生

参考例句：

• Maybe I will buy a Aggie ring next year when I have money.也许明年等我有了钱，我也会订一枚毕业生戒指吧。
• The Aggie replied,"sir,I believe that would be giddy-up."这个大学生慢条斯理的说，“先生，我相信是昏死过去。”

10 burrowing   

v.挖掘（洞穴），挖洞( burrow的现在分词 )；翻寻

参考例句：

• What are you burrowing around in my drawer for? 你在我抽屉里乱翻什么？ 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The forepaws are also used for burrowing and for dragging heavier logs. 它们的前爪还可以用来打洞和拖拽较重的树干。 来自辞典例句

11 herd   

n.兽群，牧群；vt.使集中，把…赶在一起

参考例句：

• She drove the herd of cattle through the wilderness.她赶着牛群穿过荒野。
• He had no opinions of his own but simply follow the herd.他从无主见，只是人云亦云。

12 abruptly   

adv.突然地，出其不意地

参考例句：

• He gestured abruptly for Virginia to get in the car.他粗鲁地示意弗吉尼亚上车。
• I was abruptly notified that a half-hour speech was expected of me.我突然被通知要讲半个小时的话。

13 precipice   

n.悬崖，危急的处境

参考例句：

• The hut hung half over the edge of the precipice.那间小屋有一半悬在峭壁边上。
• A slight carelessness on this precipice could cost a man his life.在这悬崖上稍一疏忽就会使人丧生。

14 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

15 perpendicular   

adj.垂直的，直立的；n.垂直线，垂直的位置

参考例句：

• The two lines of bones are set perpendicular to one another.这两排骨头相互垂直。
• The wall is out of the perpendicular.这墙有些倾斜。

16 warrior   

n.勇士，武士，斗士

参考例句：

• The young man is a bold warrior.这个年轻人是个很英勇的武士。
• A true warrior values glory and honor above life.一个真正的勇士珍视荣誉胜过生命。

17 mellow   

adj.柔和的；熟透的；v.变柔和；(使)成熟

参考例句：

• These apples are mellow at this time of year.每年这时节，苹果就熟透了。
• The colours become mellow as the sun went down.当太阳落山时，色彩变得柔和了。

18 myriad   

adj.无数的；n.无数，极大数量

参考例句：

• They offered no solution for all our myriad problems.对于我们数不清的问题他们束手无策。
• I had three weeks to make a myriad of arrangements.我花了三个星期做大量准备工作。

19 slumber   

n.睡眠，沉睡状态

参考例句：

• All the people in the hotels were wrapped in deep slumber.住在各旅馆里的人都已进入梦乡。
• Don't wake him from his slumber because he needs the rest.不要把他从睡眠中唤醒，因为他需要休息。

20 joyous   

adj.充满快乐的；令人高兴的

参考例句：

• The lively dance heightened the joyous atmosphere of the scene.轻快的舞蹈给这场戏渲染了欢乐气氛。
• They conveyed the joyous news to us soon.他们把这一佳音很快地传递给我们。

21 redeeming   

补偿的，弥补的

参考例句：

• I found him thoroughly unpleasant, with no redeeming qualities whatsoever. 我觉得他一点也不讨人喜欢，没有任何可取之处。
• The sole redeeming feature of this job is the salary. 这份工作唯其薪水尚可弥补一切之不足。

22 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

23 flickered   

（通常指灯光）闪烁，摇曳( flicker的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The lights flickered and went out. 灯光闪了闪就熄了。
• These lights flickered continuously like traffic lights which have gone mad. 这些灯象发狂的交通灯一样不停地闪动着。