Chapter23 Indian War-cry 印第安人的战斗呐喊-双语名著无障碍阅读丛书——《草原小屋Little House on the Prairie》下

Chapter 23 Indian War-cry NEXT morning Pa went whistling to his plowing.He came in at noon black with soot from the burned prairie,but he was pleased.The tall grass didn't bother him any more. But there was an uneasiness about the Indians.More and more Indians were in the creek bottoms.Mary and Laura saw the smoke from their fires by day,and at night they heard the savage voices shouting. Pa came early from the field.He did the chores early,and shut Pet and Patty,Bunny and the cow and calf,into the stable.They could not stay out in the yard to graze in the cool moonlight When shadows began to gather on the prairie and the wind was quiet,the noises from the Indian camps grew louder and wilder.Pa brought Jack into the house.The door was shut and the latch-string pulled in.No one could go outdoors till morning. Night crept toward the little house,and the darkness was frightening.It yelped with Indian yells,and one night it began to throb with Indian drums. In her sleep Laura heard all the time that savage yipping and the wild,throbbing drums.She heard Jack's claws clicking,and his low ·336· 23 印第安人的战斗呐喊 第二天清晨，爸爸吹着口哨去耕地。中午回来 ①soot/sut/n煤烟， 时，他被烧过的大草原弄得满身是烟灰，但是他很 烟尘 愉快，再没有长草妨碍他耕地了。 ②uneasiness /An'i:zn1s/i.不安， 可是，印第安人总是令人不安。在河边低地的 担忧，不自在 印第安人越聚越多。玛丽和劳拉白天能看到营地上 炊烟缭绕；晚上，能听到他们粗暴的叫喊声。 爸爸早早地从田里回来。他提前干家务活，把 ③graze /greiz/.使吃 皮特、帕蒂、邦尼和母牛、牛犊关进牲口棚。这些 發 牲口不能在院子里凉爽的月光下吃草了。 ④moonlight mu:nlant/n.月光 在暮色徐徐笼罩在大草原上，风静下来的时候， 印第安人营地传来的喧闹声越来越大，越来越狂。 爸爸把杰克牵进屋子。他关上门，拉进门门绳。天 亮前，谁也不能再出门。 ⑤creep /kri:p/爬， 夜晚悄悄来到小屋，黑夜令人恐怖。印第安人 蔓延 yelp /jelp/叫吠， 的喊声响彻夜空，一天晚上他们开始敲起了鼓，咚 叫喊 )thob/rDb/以.悸动 咚鼓声震颤大地。 8 yip /jp/.(动物，小 劳拉睡了也总能听到野蛮的喊声和疯狂的令人 狗等)叫喊声 胆战心惊的鼓声。她听到杰克的爪子咔嚓咔嚓的抓 337· Little House on the Prairie growl.Sometimes Pa sat up in bed,listening. One evening he took his bullet-mold2 from the box under the bed. He sat for a long time on the hearth,melting lead and making bullets. He did not stop till he had used the last bit of lead. Laura and Mary lay awake and watched him.He had never made so many bullets at one time before.Mary asked,"What makes you do that, Pa?” "Oh,I haven't anything else to do,"Pa said,and he began to whistle cheerfully.But he had been plowing all day.He was too tired to play the fiddle.He might have gone to bed,instead of sitting up so late, making bullets. No more Indians came to the house.For days,Mary and Laura had not seen a single Indian.Mary did not like to go out of the house any more Laura had to play outdoors by herself,and she had a queer feeling about the prairie.It didn't feel safe.It seemed to be hiding something.Sometimes Laura had a feeling that something was watching her,something was creeping up behind her.She turned around quickly, and nothing was there. Mr.Scott and Mr.Edwards,with their guns,came and talked to Pa in the field.They talked quite a while,then they went away together. Laura was disappointed because Mr.Edwards did not come to the house. At dinner Pa said to Ma that some of the settlers were talking about a stockade.Laura didn't know what a stockade was.Pa had told Mr. Scott and Mr.Edwards that it was a foolish notion.He told Ma,"If we need one,we'd need it before we could get it built.And the last thing we want to do is to act like we're afraid." Mary and Laura looked at each other.They knew it was no use to ask questions.They would only be told again that children must not 338· 草原小屋 地响声和它低沉的吠叫声。有时，爸爸从床上坐起 ①bullet /bolrt/.n子 来，侧耳倾听。 弹 ②mold/mauld/.n.模 一天晚上，他从床下一个箱子里取出子弹模子。 子 他坐在炉子前，花了很长时间，把铅熔化了制成子 ③lead /li:d/n.铅 弹。他不停地制作，直到用完最后一块铅。 劳拉和玛丽躺在床上，没有一点睡意，看着他 做子弹。过去他从来没有一次就制造这么多子弹。 玛丽问：“爸爸，你这是干什么用呀？” “噢，我闲得没事儿干。”爸爸说着乐呵呵地吹 起了口哨。可是爸爸整整耕了一天地，累得连小提 琴都不拉了。他应该是早点去睡觉，而不该为制造 子弹熬得那么晚。 印第安人不再到家里来了。连日来玛丽和劳拉 ④any more更，再 没有看到单独行动的印第安人。玛丽再不愿意到外 边去了。劳拉只好一个人出去玩。她对大草原有一 种异样的感觉。它给人以一种不安全感，好像里面 隐藏着什么似的。有时劳拉感到有什么东西在盯着 她，有什么东西在悄悄跟着她，她赶忙转过身来 看，却什么东西也没有。 斯科特先生和爱德华兹先生带着枪来到地里与 ⑤disappointed 爸爸交谈。他们谈了好长一阵子，然后俩人一起走 /ds3'porntid/a失 望的 了。爱德华滋先生没进屋里来，劳拉感到很失望。 吃午饭时，爸爸对妈妈说，有些移民正在商量 搞围桩的事情。劳拉不懂围桩是什么。爸爸告诉斯 ⑥stockade/stp'kerd/n. 栅栏，围栏 科特先生和爱德华兹先生，那是一种愚蠢的想法。 ⑦foolish/fu:lj/a愚 他对妈妈说：“如果咱们需要搞围桩的话，应该在 套的 notion /'naufan/n. 建房之前就搞。现在搞，好像我们害怕他们似的。 观念，想法，主张 咱们可最不愿干这种事。” 玛丽和劳拉互相看了看，她们知道提问题没有用。 ·339 Little House on the Prairie speak at table until they were spoken to.Or that children should be seen and not heard. That afternoon Laura asked Ma what a stockade was.Ma said it was something to make little girls ask questions.That meant that grown-ups would not tell you what it was.And Mary looked a look at Laura that said,“I told you so.” Laura didn't know why Pa said he must not act as if he were afraid. Pa was never afraid.Laura didn't want to act as if she were afraid,but she was.She was afraid of the Indians. Jack never laid back his ears and smiled at Laura any more.Even while she petted him,his ears were lifted his neck bristled,and his lips twitched back from his teeth.His eyes were angry.Every night he growled more fiercely,and every night the Indian drums beat faster, faster,and the wild yipping rose higher and higher,faster,wilder. In the middle of the night Laura sat straight5 up and screamed. Some terrible sound had made cold sweat come out all over her. Ma came to her quickly and said in her gentle way:"Be quiet, Laura.You mustn't frighten Carrie." Laura clung to Ma,and Ma was wearing her dress.The fire was covered with ashes and the house was dark,but Ma had not gone to bed. Moonlight came through the window.The shutter was open,and Pa stood in the dark by the window,looking out.He had his gun. Out in the night the drums were beating and the Indians were wildly yelling. Then that terrible sound came again.Laura felt as if she were falling;she couldn't hold on to anything;there was nothing solid anywhere.It seemed a long time before she could see or think or speak. She screamed:"What is it?What is it?Oh,Pa,what is it?" She was shaking all over and she felt sick in her middle.She heard ·340· 草原小屋【 大人只能再一次告诉她们，吃饭时大人不问话，小孩 子不要讲话，或者说孩子可以在场，但不能说话。 那天下午，劳拉问妈妈什么是围桩。妈妈说， ①grown-up 引起女孩子提问题的不是件小事。那意思是大人不 grUn-plH.成年 人 会告诉你的。玛丽看了劳拉一眼，意思说，“我告 诉你，问也没用。” ②afraid/a'fred/a.害 劳拉不明白爸爸为什么说，他不能做出害怕的 怕的，担心的 样子来。爸爸从来不害怕。劳拉不想表现出害怕的 样子，可是她心里很害怕。她怕印第安人。 杰克不再把耳朵顺到头后面去了，也不对劳拉 ③iff/.竖起 笑了。即使她抚摸它，它也竖起耳朵，脖子上的毛支 ④twitch/twitj/vu.急 棱着，龇牙咧嘴，怒目而视。每天夜里，它吠叫得更 拉（抽动】 凶了，每天夜里印第安人的鼓敲得一阵紧似一阵，粗 野的叫喊声越喊越高，越喊越快，越来越疯狂。 5 straight /streit/ad. 半夜，劳拉突然坐起来，尖声叫喊。一阵可怕 直地 的声音吓得她出了一身冷汗。 妈妈急忙过来，温柔地说：“别吵，劳拉，别 ⑥frighten"fraitn/v. 吓着卡里。” 使惊吓，惊恐 劳拉紧紧抱住妈妈。妈妈给她穿上衣服。炉火 clung/klAg/cling的 过去式（分词） 用灰压着，屋子里黑糊糊的，但妈妈没有睡觉。月 光从窗户射进来，窗板开着。黑暗中，爸爸站在窗 户旁注视着外面。他手里拿着枪。 在外面的黑暗中，鼓声响个不停，印第安人正 在疯狂地呐喊。 不久，那种可怕的声音又传来了。劳拉觉得她 ⑧solid /'splid/ad..结 好像在往下坠，她抓不住任何东西；哪里都没有什 实的，可靠的 么结实的东西。似乎好长时间她什么也看不到，什 么也不会想，什么也说不出来。 她尖声叫道：“这是什么？这是什么？哎呀， ·341· Little House on the Prairie the drums pounding and the wild yipping yells and she felt Ma holding her safe.Pa said,"It's the Indian war-cry,Laura." Ma made a soft sound,and he said to her,"They might as well know,Caroline.” He explained to Laura that that was the Indian way of talking about war.The Indians were only talking about it,and dancing around their fires.Mary and Laura must not be afraid,because Pa was there,and Jack was there,and soldiers were at Fort Gibson and Fort Dodge. "So don't be afraid,Mary and Laura,"he said again. Laura gasped and said,“No,Pa.”But she was horribly①afraid. Mary couldn't say anything;she lay shivering under the covers. Then Carrie began to cry,so Ma carried her to the rocking-chair and gently rocked her.Laura crept out of bed and huddled against Ma's knee.And Mary,left all alone,crept after her and huddled close,too. Pa stayed by the window,watching. The drums seemed to beat in Laura's head.They seemed to beat deep inside her.The wild,fast yipping yells were worse than wolves. Something worse was coming,Laura knew it.Then it came-the Indian war-cry. A nightmare is not so terrible as that night was.A nightmare is only a dream,and when it is worst you wake up.But this was real and Laura could not wake up.She could not get away from it. When the war-cry was over,Laura knew it had not got her yet. She was still in the dark house and she was pressed close against Ma. Ma was trembling all over.Jack's howling ended in a sobbing growl. Carrie began to scream again,and Pa wiped his forehead and said, “Whew!” “I never heard anything like it,”Pa said.He asked,“How do you ·342· 草原小屋【 爸爸，这是什么？” 她浑身打战，心中作呕。她听到许多鼓在猛烈 地敲击，疯狂的叫喊，声浪滚滚，感到妈妈抱着 她，才觉得安全。爸爸说：“劳拉，这是印第安人 作战的呐喊声。” 妈妈轻轻地哼一声，让他别说，爸爸对她说： “卡罗琳，让她们知道也好。” 他向劳拉解释说，那是印第安人商议战争的方 式。他们只是在商议战争，围着营火跳舞。玛丽和 劳拉不必害怕，有爸爸在身边，有杰克在这里，吉 horribly /'hprabll/ad. 可怕地，非常地 普森和道奇要塞还驻扎着军队。 “所以不用害怕，玛丽和劳拉。”他又说。 劳拉结结巴巴地说：“不害怕，爸爸。”但实际 ②huddle/"had/.推 挤 上她害怕得要命。玛丽吓得说不出话来，躺在被窝 里哆嗦。 这时，卡里哭了，于是妈妈抱着她坐到摇椅 里，轻轻地摇着。劳拉爬下床，蜷缩着靠在妈妈 的膝盖旁。玛丽不愿孤零零地躺在床上，也跟着 劳拉爬过来，缩在她身边。爸爸站在窗前注视外 面的动静。 ③nightmare 那些鼓声仿佛击到劳拉头上似的。好像重重地 naitme3(r/n恶 梦 敲在她的心灵深处。疯狂的急促叫喊声比狼嚎还难 听。劳拉知道要出事了。一会儿，传来了印第安人 的叫战声。 做恶梦也不像那天夜晚那么可怕。恶梦仅仅是 ④tremble /'trembl/t 一场梦，梦到最可怕的时候你就会醒过来。可是， 战悚 现在面临的是实实在在的事情，劳拉不能一醒了 ⑤forehead /fprid,'fo:hed/n. 事，她无法摆脱这个现实。 额，前额 叫战声过后，劳拉知道事情还没有结束。她仍 ·343· Little House on the Prairie suppose they learned to do it?"but nobody answered that. "They don't need guns.That yell's enough to scare anybody to death,”he said.“My mouth's so dry I couldn't whistle a tune①to save my life.Bring me some water,Laura." That made Laura feel better.She carried a dipper full of water to Pa at the window.He took it and smiled at her,and that made her feel very much better.He drank a little and smiled again and said,"There!Now I can whistle!” He whistled a few notes?to show her that he could. Then he listened.And Laura,too,heard far away the soft pitter- pat,pat-pat,pitter-pat pat,of a pony's galloping.It came nearer. From one side of the house came the drum-throbbing and the fast, shrill,yapping yells,and from the other side came the lonely sound of the rider's galloping. Nearer and nearer it came.Now the hoofs clattered loudly and suddenly they were going by.The galloping went by and grew fainter, down the creek road. In the moonlight Laura saw the behind of a little black Indian pony,and an Indian on its back.She saw a huddle of blanket and a naked head and a flutter of feathers above it,and moonlight on a gun barrel and then it was all gone.Nothing was there but empty prairie. Pa said he was durned if he knew what to make of it.He said that was the Osage who had tried to talk French to him. He asked,"What's he doing,out at this hour,riding hell bent for leather?” Nobody answered because nobody knew. The drums throbbed and the Indians went on yelling.The terrible war-cry came again and again. ·344· 草原小屋【 然在昏黑的屋子里紧紧地依偎着妈妈，妈妈浑身打 战。杰克的吠声变成了鸣噜鸣噜的鸣咽。卡里又尖 ①tune /tju:n/n.歌曲， 叫起来，爸爸擦了擦前额上的汗，“吁！”地叹了 旋律 一口气。 “我从来没听过这样的声音，”爸爸说完问她们， “你们认为他们是怎么学会这样叫喊的？”但没有人回 答他的问题。“他们不需要枪，光这种叫喊声就足以 把人吓死，”他说，“我口很干，不能吹一支曲子挽 ②note/m3u/n.音符 救自己的生命了。劳拉，给我送点水来。” 这使劳拉感到好过一些。她舀了满满一勺水递 ③gallop /'galop/n.疾 给站在窗口的爸爸。爸爸接过水冲劳拉笑了笑，使 驰，飞奔 ④shrill/rlWn.尖锐的 劳拉感到舒服多了。爸爸喝了一口水，又笑着对劳 声音 拉说，“好了！我又能吹口哨了！” ⑤yap /jap/n.狂吠 他吹了几声，向劳拉显示他能吹了。 0hoof/hu:fn.蹄 之后，他又倾听外面的动静。劳拉也侧耳听着， G⑦clatter/klaeto/y,发 听到从远处传来了小马飞跑的声音，噼嗒啪嗒，噼 出哗啦声，卡搭卡搭 的响 嗒啪嗒，啪嗒啪嗒，声音越来越近。 ⑧faint/femt/a.微弱 的 从屋子的一侧传来击鼓的声音和一阵急促、刺耳 的喊叫声，从屋子的另一侧传来单马独骑的飞跑声。 ⑨blanket/blaenkit/n 毛毯 声音越来越近。这会儿，啪嗒啪嗒的马蹄声更 0 flutter /'flAta/.摆 大了，靠近屋子一闪而过。快马飞驰，奔向通往河 动 边低地的大路，蹄声渐渐减弱。 Idum/d3:nl.责难， 毁谤，贬责 月光下，劳拉看见一个印第安人骑着一匹黑色 印第安小马的背影。她看到那人身上胡乱缠着一条 毛毯，赤裸的头上插着一簇羽毛，月光照着枪筒亮 2 leather /'leoa/n.皮 革 闪闪的，眨眼的功夫他就过去了。再往外看，除了 空荡荡的大草原，什么也没有了。 爸爸说，他也真的搞不清楚到底是怎么回事。 他说，那个人就是以前想跟他说法国话的那个奥赛 ·345·