章节正文
with the club, perhaps so it shall grow gentle that your feet may pass
it!'
"I answered nothing to their mocking, only I bound the shield upon my
shoulders with a string, and the bag that I had brought I made fast
about my middle, and I held the great club in my teeth by the thong.
Then I plunged into the river and swam. Twice, stranger, the current
bore me under, and those on the bank shouted that I was lost; but I
rose again, and in the end I won the farther shore.
"Now those on the bank mocked no more; they stood still wondering, and
I walked on till I came to the foot of the cliff. That cliff is hard
to climb, stranger; when you are strong upon your feet, I will show
you the path. Yet I found a way up it, and by midday I came to the
forest. Here, on the edge of the forest, I rested awhile, and ate a
little food that I had brought with me in the bag, for now I must
gather up my strength to meet the ghosts, if ghosts there were. Then I
rose and plunged into the forest. The trees were great that grow
there, stranger, and their leaves are so think that in certain places
the light is as that of night when the moon is young. Still, I wended
on, often losing my path. But from time to time between the tops of
the trees I saw the figure of the grey stone woman who sits on the top
of Ghost Mountain, and shaped my course towards her knees. My heart
beat as I travelled through the forest in dark and loneliness like
that of the night, and ever I looked round searching for the eyes of
the Amatongo. But I saw no spirits, though at times great spotted
snakes crept from before my feet, and perhaps these were the Amatongo.
At times, also, I caught glimpses of some grey wolf as he slunk from
tree to tree watching me, and always high above my head the wind
sighed in the great boughs with a sound like the sighing of women.
"Still, I went on, singing to myself as I went, that my heart might
not be faint with fear, and at length, towards the end of the second
hour, the trees grew fewer, the ground sloped upwards, and the light
poured down from the heavens again. But, stranger, you are weary, and
the night wears on; sleep now, and to-morrow I will end the tale. Say,
first, how are you named?"
"I am named Umslopogaas, son of Mopo," he answered, "and my tale shall
be told when yours is done; let us sleep!"
Now when Galazi heard this name he started and was troubled, but said
nothing. So they laid them down to sleep, and Galazi wrapped
Umslopogaas with the skins of bucks.
But Galazi the Wolf was so hardy that he lay on the bare ground and
had no covering. So they slept, and without the door of the cave the
wolves howled, scenting the blood of men.
CHAPTER XIII
GALAZI BECOMES KING OF THE WOLVES
On the morrow Umslopogaas awoke, and knew that strength was growing on
him fast. Still, all that day he rested in the cave, while Galazi went
out to hunt. In the evening he returned, bearing a buck upon his
shoulders, and they skinned the buck and ate of it as they sat by the
fire. And when the sun was down Galazi took up his tale.
"Now Umslopogaas, son of Mopo, hear! I had passed the forest, and had
come, as it were, to the legs of the old stone Witch who sits up aloft
there forever waiting for the world to die. Here the sun shone
merrily, here lizards ran and birds flew to and fro, and though it
grew towards the evening--for I had wandered long in the forest--I was
afraid no more. So I climbed up the steep rock, where little bushes
grow like hair on the arms of a man, till at last I came to the knees
of the stone Witch, which are the space before the cave. I lifted by
head over the brink of the rock and looked, and I tell you,
Umslopogaas, my blood ran cold and my heart turned to water, for
there, before the cave, rolled wolves, many and great. Some slept and
growled in their sleep, some gnawed at the skulls of dead game, some
sat up like dogs and their tongues hung from their grinning jaws. I
looked, I saw, and beyond I discovered the mouth of the cave, where
the bones of the boy should be. But I had no wish to come there, being
afraid of the wolves, for now I knew that these were the ghosts who
live upon the mountain. So I bethought me that I would fly, and turned
to go. And, Umslopogaas, even as I turned, the great club Watcher of
the Fords swung round and smote me on the back with such a blow as a
man smites upon a coward. Now whether this was by chance or whether
the Watcher would shame him who bore it, say you, for I do not know.
At the least, shame entered into me. Should I go back to be mocked by
the people of the kraal and by the old woman? And if I wished to go,
should I not be killed by the ghosts at night in the forest? Nay, it
was better to die in the jaws of the wolves, and at once.
"Thus I thought in my heart; then, tarrying not, lest fear should come
upon me again, I swung up the Watcher, and crying aloud the war-cry of
the Halakazi, I sprang over the brink of the rock and rushed upon the
wolves. They, too, sprang up and stood howling, with bristling hides
and fiery eyes, and the smell of them came into my nostrils. Yet when
they saw it was a man that rushed upon them, they were seized with
sudden fear and fled this way and that, leaping by great bounds from
the place of rock, which is the knees of the stone Witch, so that
presently I stood alone in front of the cave. Now, having conquered
the wolf ghosts and no blow struck, my heart swelled within me, and I
walked to the mouth of the cave proudly, as a cock walks upon a roof,
and looked in through the opening. As it chanced, the sinking sun
shone at this hour full into the cave, so that all its darkness was
made red with light. Then, once more, Umslopogaas, I grew afraid
indeed, for I could see the end of the cave.
"Look now! There is a hole in the wall of the cave, where the
firelight falls below the shadow of the roof, twice the height of a
man from the floor. It is a narrow hole and a high, is it not?--as
though one had cut it with iron, and a man might sit in it, his legs
hanging towards the floor of the cave. Ay, Umslopogaas, a man might
sit in it, might he not? And there a man sat, or that which had been a
man. There sat the bones of a man, and the black skin had withered on
his bones, holding them together, and making him awful to see. His
hands were open beside him, he leaned upon them, and in the right hand
was a piece of hide from his moocha. It was half eaten, Umslopogaas;
he had eaten it before he died. His eyes also were bound round with a
band of leather, as though to hide something from their gaze, one foot
was gone, one hung over the edge of the niche towards the floor, and
beneath it on the floor, red with rust, lay the blade of a broken
spear.
"Now come hither, Umslopogaas, place your hand upon the wall of the
cave, just here; it is smooth, is it not?--smooth as the stones on
which women grind their corn. 'What made it so smooth?' you ask. I
will tell you.
"When I peered through the door of the cave I saw this: on the floor
of the cave lay a she-wolf panting, as though she had galloped many a
mile; she was great and fierce. Near to her was another wolf--he was a
dog--old and black, bigger than any I have seen, a very father of
wolves, and all his head and flanks were streaked with grey. But this
wolf was on his feet. As I watched he drew back nearly to the mouth of
the cave, then of a sudden he ran forward and bounded high into the
air towards the withered foot of that which hung from the cleft of the
rock. His pads struck upon the rock here where it is smooth, and there
for a second he seemed to cling, while his great jaws closed with a
clash but a spear's breadth beneath the dead man's foot. Then he fell
back with a howl of rage, and drew slowly down the cave. Again he ran
and leaped, again the great jaws closed, again he fell down howling.
Then the she-wolf rose, and they sprang together, striving to pull
down him who sat above. But it was all in vain; they could never come
nearer than within a spear's breadth of the dead man's foot. And now,
Umslopogaas, you know why the rock is smooth and shines. From month to
month and year to year the wolves had ravened there, seeking to devour
the bones of him who sat above. Night upon night they had leaped thus
against the wall of the cave, but never might their clashing jaws
close upon his foot. One foot they had, indeed, but the other they
could not come by.
"Now as I watched, filled with fear and wonder, the she-wolf, her
tongue lolling from her jaws, made so mighty a bound that she almost
reached the hanging foot, and yet not quite. She fell back, and then I
saw that the leap was her last for that time, for she had oversprung
herself, and lay there howling, the black blood flowing from her
mouth. The wolf saw also: he drew near, sniffed at her, then, knowing
that she was hurt, seized her by the throat and worried her. Now all
the place was filled with groans and choking howls, as the wolves
rolled over and over beneath him who sat above, and in the blood-red
light of the dying sun the sight and sounds were so horrid that I
trembled like a child. The she-wolf grew faint, for the fangs of her
mate were buried in her throat. Then I saw that now was the time to
smite him, lest when he had killed her he should kill me also. So I
lifted the Watcher and sprang into the cave, having it in my mind to
slay the wolf before he lifted up his head. But he heard my footsteps,
or perhaps my shadow fell upon him. Loosing his grip, he looked up,
this father of wolves; then, making no sound, he sprang straight at my
throat.
"I saw him, and whirling the Watcher aloft, I smote with all my
strength. The blow met him in mid-air; it fell full on his chest and
struck him backwards to the earth. But there he would not say, for,
rising before I could smite again, once more he sprang at me. This
time I leaped aside and struck downwards, and the blow fell upon his
right leg and broke it, so that he could spring no more. Yet he ran at
me on three feet, and, though the club fell on his side, he seized me
with his teeth, biting through that leather bag, which was wound about
my middle, into the flesh behind. Then I yelled with pain and rage,
and lifting the Watcher endways, drove it down with both hands, as a
man drives a stake into the earth, and that with so great a stroke
that the skull of the wolf was shattered like a pot, and he fell dead,
dragging me with him. Presently I sat up on the ground, and, placing
the handle of the Watcher between his jaws, I forced them open,
freeing my flesh from the grip of his teeth. Then I looked at my
wounds; they were not deep, for the leather bag had saved me, yet I
feel them to this hour, for there is poison in the mouth of a wolf.
Presently I glanced up, and saw that the she-wolf had found her feet
again, and stood as though unhurt; for this is the nature of these
ghosts, Umslopogaas, that, though they fight continually, they cannot
destroy each other. They may be killed by man alone, and that hardly.
There she stood, and yet she did not look at me or on her dead mate,
but at him who sat above. I saw, and crept softly behind her, then,
lifting the Watcher, I dashed him down with all my strength. The blow
fell on her neck and broke it, so that she rolled over and at once was
dead.
"Now I rested awhile, then went to the mouth of the cave and looked
out. The sun was sinking: all the depth of the forest was black, but
the light still shone on the face of the stone woman who sits forever
on the mountain. Here, then, I must bide this night, for, though the
moon shone white and full in the sky, I dared not wend towards the
plains alone with the wolves and the ghosts. And if I dared not go
alone, how much less should I dare to go bearing with me him who sat
in the cleft of the rock! Nay, here I must bide, so I went out of the
cave to the spring which flows from the rock on the right yonder and
washed my wounds and drank. Then I came back and sat in the mouth of
the cave, and watched the light die away from the face of the world.
While it was dying there was silence, but when it was dead the forest
awoke. A wind sprang up and tossed it till the green of its boughs
waved like troubled water on which the moon shines faintly. From the
heart of it, too, came howlings of ghosts and wolves, that were
answered by howls from the rocks above--hearken, Umslopogaas, such
howlings as we hear to-night!
"It was awful here in the mouth of the cave, for I had not yet learned
the secret of the stone, and if I had known it, should I have dared to
close it, leaving myself alone with the dead wolves and him whom the
wolves had struggled to tear down? I walked out yonder on to the
platform and looked up. The moon shone full upon the face of the stone
Witch who sits aloft forever. She seemed to grin at me, and, oh! I
grew afraid, for now I knew that this was a place of dead men, a place
where spirits perch like vultures in a tree, as they sweep round and
round the world. I went back to the cave, and feeling that I must do
something lest I should go mad, I drew to me the carcase of the great
it!'
"I answered nothing to their mocking, only I bound the shield upon my
shoulders with a string, and the bag that I had brought I made fast
about my middle, and I held the great club in my teeth by the thong.
Then I plunged into the river and swam. Twice, stranger, the current
bore me under, and those on the bank shouted that I was lost; but I
rose again, and in the end I won the farther shore.
"Now those on the bank mocked no more; they stood still wondering, and
I walked on till I came to the foot of the cliff. That cliff is hard
to climb, stranger; when you are strong upon your feet, I will show
you the path. Yet I found a way up it, and by midday I came to the
forest. Here, on the edge of the forest, I rested awhile, and ate a
little food that I had brought with me in the bag, for now I must
gather up my strength to meet the ghosts, if ghosts there were. Then I
rose and plunged into the forest. The trees were great that grow
there, stranger, and their leaves are so think that in certain places
the light is as that of night when the moon is young. Still, I wended
on, often losing my path. But from time to time between the tops of
the trees I saw the figure of the grey stone woman who sits on the top
of Ghost Mountain, and shaped my course towards her knees. My heart
beat as I travelled through the forest in dark and loneliness like
that of the night, and ever I looked round searching for the eyes of
the Amatongo. But I saw no spirits, though at times great spotted
snakes crept from before my feet, and perhaps these were the Amatongo.
At times, also, I caught glimpses of some grey wolf as he slunk from
tree to tree watching me, and always high above my head the wind
sighed in the great boughs with a sound like the sighing of women.
"Still, I went on, singing to myself as I went, that my heart might
not be faint with fear, and at length, towards the end of the second
hour, the trees grew fewer, the ground sloped upwards, and the light
poured down from the heavens again. But, stranger, you are weary, and
the night wears on; sleep now, and to-morrow I will end the tale. Say,
first, how are you named?"
"I am named Umslopogaas, son of Mopo," he answered, "and my tale shall
be told when yours is done; let us sleep!"
Now when Galazi heard this name he started and was troubled, but said
nothing. So they laid them down to sleep, and Galazi wrapped
Umslopogaas with the skins of bucks.
But Galazi the Wolf was so hardy that he lay on the bare ground and
had no covering. So they slept, and without the door of the cave the
wolves howled, scenting the blood of men.
CHAPTER XIII
GALAZI BECOMES KING OF THE WOLVES
On the morrow Umslopogaas awoke, and knew that strength was growing on
him fast. Still, all that day he rested in the cave, while Galazi went
out to hunt. In the evening he returned, bearing a buck upon his
shoulders, and they skinned the buck and ate of it as they sat by the
fire. And when the sun was down Galazi took up his tale.
"Now Umslopogaas, son of Mopo, hear! I had passed the forest, and had
come, as it were, to the legs of the old stone Witch who sits up aloft
there forever waiting for the world to die. Here the sun shone
merrily, here lizards ran and birds flew to and fro, and though it
grew towards the evening--for I had wandered long in the forest--I was
afraid no more. So I climbed up the steep rock, where little bushes
grow like hair on the arms of a man, till at last I came to the knees
of the stone Witch, which are the space before the cave. I lifted by
head over the brink of the rock and looked, and I tell you,
Umslopogaas, my blood ran cold and my heart turned to water, for
there, before the cave, rolled wolves, many and great. Some slept and
growled in their sleep, some gnawed at the skulls of dead game, some
sat up like dogs and their tongues hung from their grinning jaws. I
looked, I saw, and beyond I discovered the mouth of the cave, where
the bones of the boy should be. But I had no wish to come there, being
afraid of the wolves, for now I knew that these were the ghosts who
live upon the mountain. So I bethought me that I would fly, and turned
to go. And, Umslopogaas, even as I turned, the great club Watcher of
the Fords swung round and smote me on the back with such a blow as a
man smites upon a coward. Now whether this was by chance or whether
the Watcher would shame him who bore it, say you, for I do not know.
At the least, shame entered into me. Should I go back to be mocked by
the people of the kraal and by the old woman? And if I wished to go,
should I not be killed by the ghosts at night in the forest? Nay, it
was better to die in the jaws of the wolves, and at once.
"Thus I thought in my heart; then, tarrying not, lest fear should come
upon me again, I swung up the Watcher, and crying aloud the war-cry of
the Halakazi, I sprang over the brink of the rock and rushed upon the
wolves. They, too, sprang up and stood howling, with bristling hides
and fiery eyes, and the smell of them came into my nostrils. Yet when
they saw it was a man that rushed upon them, they were seized with
sudden fear and fled this way and that, leaping by great bounds from
the place of rock, which is the knees of the stone Witch, so that
presently I stood alone in front of the cave. Now, having conquered
the wolf ghosts and no blow struck, my heart swelled within me, and I
walked to the mouth of the cave proudly, as a cock walks upon a roof,
and looked in through the opening. As it chanced, the sinking sun
shone at this hour full into the cave, so that all its darkness was
made red with light. Then, once more, Umslopogaas, I grew afraid
indeed, for I could see the end of the cave.
"Look now! There is a hole in the wall of the cave, where the
firelight falls below the shadow of the roof, twice the height of a
man from the floor. It is a narrow hole and a high, is it not?--as
though one had cut it with iron, and a man might sit in it, his legs
hanging towards the floor of the cave. Ay, Umslopogaas, a man might
sit in it, might he not? And there a man sat, or that which had been a
man. There sat the bones of a man, and the black skin had withered on
his bones, holding them together, and making him awful to see. His
hands were open beside him, he leaned upon them, and in the right hand
was a piece of hide from his moocha. It was half eaten, Umslopogaas;
he had eaten it before he died. His eyes also were bound round with a
band of leather, as though to hide something from their gaze, one foot
was gone, one hung over the edge of the niche towards the floor, and
beneath it on the floor, red with rust, lay the blade of a broken
spear.
"Now come hither, Umslopogaas, place your hand upon the wall of the
cave, just here; it is smooth, is it not?--smooth as the stones on
which women grind their corn. 'What made it so smooth?' you ask. I
will tell you.
"When I peered through the door of the cave I saw this: on the floor
of the cave lay a she-wolf panting, as though she had galloped many a
mile; she was great and fierce. Near to her was another wolf--he was a
dog--old and black, bigger than any I have seen, a very father of
wolves, and all his head and flanks were streaked with grey. But this
wolf was on his feet. As I watched he drew back nearly to the mouth of
the cave, then of a sudden he ran forward and bounded high into the
air towards the withered foot of that which hung from the cleft of the
rock. His pads struck upon the rock here where it is smooth, and there
for a second he seemed to cling, while his great jaws closed with a
clash but a spear's breadth beneath the dead man's foot. Then he fell
back with a howl of rage, and drew slowly down the cave. Again he ran
and leaped, again the great jaws closed, again he fell down howling.
Then the she-wolf rose, and they sprang together, striving to pull
down him who sat above. But it was all in vain; they could never come
nearer than within a spear's breadth of the dead man's foot. And now,
Umslopogaas, you know why the rock is smooth and shines. From month to
month and year to year the wolves had ravened there, seeking to devour
the bones of him who sat above. Night upon night they had leaped thus
against the wall of the cave, but never might their clashing jaws
close upon his foot. One foot they had, indeed, but the other they
could not come by.
"Now as I watched, filled with fear and wonder, the she-wolf, her
tongue lolling from her jaws, made so mighty a bound that she almost
reached the hanging foot, and yet not quite. She fell back, and then I
saw that the leap was her last for that time, for she had oversprung
herself, and lay there howling, the black blood flowing from her
mouth. The wolf saw also: he drew near, sniffed at her, then, knowing
that she was hurt, seized her by the throat and worried her. Now all
the place was filled with groans and choking howls, as the wolves
rolled over and over beneath him who sat above, and in the blood-red
light of the dying sun the sight and sounds were so horrid that I
trembled like a child. The she-wolf grew faint, for the fangs of her
mate were buried in her throat. Then I saw that now was the time to
smite him, lest when he had killed her he should kill me also. So I
lifted the Watcher and sprang into the cave, having it in my mind to
slay the wolf before he lifted up his head. But he heard my footsteps,
or perhaps my shadow fell upon him. Loosing his grip, he looked up,
this father of wolves; then, making no sound, he sprang straight at my
throat.
"I saw him, and whirling the Watcher aloft, I smote with all my
strength. The blow met him in mid-air; it fell full on his chest and
struck him backwards to the earth. But there he would not say, for,
rising before I could smite again, once more he sprang at me. This
time I leaped aside and struck downwards, and the blow fell upon his
right leg and broke it, so that he could spring no more. Yet he ran at
me on three feet, and, though the club fell on his side, he seized me
with his teeth, biting through that leather bag, which was wound about
my middle, into the flesh behind. Then I yelled with pain and rage,
and lifting the Watcher endways, drove it down with both hands, as a
man drives a stake into the earth, and that with so great a stroke
that the skull of the wolf was shattered like a pot, and he fell dead,
dragging me with him. Presently I sat up on the ground, and, placing
the handle of the Watcher between his jaws, I forced them open,
freeing my flesh from the grip of his teeth. Then I looked at my
wounds; they were not deep, for the leather bag had saved me, yet I
feel them to this hour, for there is poison in the mouth of a wolf.
Presently I glanced up, and saw that the she-wolf had found her feet
again, and stood as though unhurt; for this is the nature of these
ghosts, Umslopogaas, that, though they fight continually, they cannot
destroy each other. They may be killed by man alone, and that hardly.
There she stood, and yet she did not look at me or on her dead mate,
but at him who sat above. I saw, and crept softly behind her, then,
lifting the Watcher, I dashed him down with all my strength. The blow
fell on her neck and broke it, so that she rolled over and at once was
dead.
"Now I rested awhile, then went to the mouth of the cave and looked
out. The sun was sinking: all the depth of the forest was black, but
the light still shone on the face of the stone woman who sits forever
on the mountain. Here, then, I must bide this night, for, though the
moon shone white and full in the sky, I dared not wend towards the
plains alone with the wolves and the ghosts. And if I dared not go
alone, how much less should I dare to go bearing with me him who sat
in the cleft of the rock! Nay, here I must bide, so I went out of the
cave to the spring which flows from the rock on the right yonder and
washed my wounds and drank. Then I came back and sat in the mouth of
the cave, and watched the light die away from the face of the world.
While it was dying there was silence, but when it was dead the forest
awoke. A wind sprang up and tossed it till the green of its boughs
waved like troubled water on which the moon shines faintly. From the
heart of it, too, came howlings of ghosts and wolves, that were
answered by howls from the rocks above--hearken, Umslopogaas, such
howlings as we hear to-night!
"It was awful here in the mouth of the cave, for I had not yet learned
the secret of the stone, and if I had known it, should I have dared to
close it, leaving myself alone with the dead wolves and him whom the
wolves had struggled to tear down? I walked out yonder on to the
platform and looked up. The moon shone full upon the face of the stone
Witch who sits aloft forever. She seemed to grin at me, and, oh! I
grew afraid, for now I knew that this was a place of dead men, a place
where spirits perch like vultures in a tree, as they sweep round and
round the world. I went back to the cave, and feeling that I must do
something lest I should go mad, I drew to me the carcase of the great
- shield [ʃi:ld]
n.盾牌；防御 v.保护 (初中英语单词) - awhile [ə´wail] ad.少顷；片刻 (初中英语单词)
- waiting [´weitiŋ] n.等候；伺候 (初中英语单词)
- coward [´kauəd] n.胆怯者 a.胆小的 (初中英语单词)
- sprang [spræŋ] spring 的过去式 (初中英语单词)
- proudly [´praudli] ad.骄傲地；傲慢地 (初中英语单词)
- opening [´əupəniŋ] n.开放；开端 a.开始的 (初中英语单词)
- height [hait] n.高度；顶点；卓越 (初中英语单词)
- hither [´hiðə] ad.到此处 (初中英语单词)
- fierce [fiəs] a.残忍的；强烈的 (初中英语单词)
- throat [θrəut] n.咽喉；嗓子；出入口 (初中英语单词)
- presently [´prezəntli] ad.不久；目前 (初中英语单词)
- poison [´pɔizən] n.毒物 v.毒害 a.有毒的 (初中英语单词)
- softly [´sɔftli] ad.软化地；柔和地 (初中英语单词)
- loneliness [´ləunliniz] n.孤独，寂寞 (高中英语单词)
- bearing [´beəriŋ] n.举止；忍耐；关系 (高中英语单词)
- breadth [bredθ] n.宽度，幅面，广度 (高中英语单词)
- mighty [´maiti] a.强有力的 ad.很 (高中英语单词)
- hanging [´hæŋiŋ] n.绞刑 a.悬挂着的 (高中英语单词)
- horrid [´hɔrid] a.令人讨厌的；极糟的 (高中英语单词)
- continually [kən´tinjuəli] ad.不断地，频繁地 (高中英语单词)
- faintly [´feintli] ad.微弱地，软弱无力的 (高中英语单词)
- midday [´middei] n.中午 (英语四级单词)
- upwards [´ʌpwədz] ad.=upward (英语四级单词)
- morrow [´mɔrəu] n.翌日 (英语四级单词)
- downwards [´daunwədz] ad.向下，以下 (英语四级单词)
- holding [´həuldiŋ] n.保持，固定，存储 (英语六级单词)
- backwards [´bækwədz] ad.向后 a.向后的 (英语六级单词)
- biting [´baitiŋ] a.刺痛的；尖利的 (英语六级单词)
文章标签:名著
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