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Betty Zane-Part18_Zane Gray(1872-1939)_English Literature(文学名著)-第2页

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plunged into the water and floating down with the swift current he soon got

out of sight of the flickering camp fires. Half a mile below he left the water



and ran along the bank until he came to a large tree, a landmark he

remembered, when he turned abruptly to the east and struck out through the



dense woods. He travelled due east all that night and the next day without

resting, and with nothing to eat except a small piece of jerked buffalo meat



which he had taken the precaution to hide in his hunting shirt. He rested part

of the second night and next morning pushed on toward the east. He had



expected to reach the Ohio that day, but he did not and he noticed that the

ground seemed to be gradually rising. He did not come across any swampy lands



or saw grass or vegetationcharacteristic of the lowlands. He stopped and

tried to get his bearings. The country was unknown to him, but he believed he



knew the general lay of the ridges and the water-courses.

The fourth day found Isaac hopelessly lost in the woods. He was famished,



having eaten but a few herbs and berries in the last two days; his buckskin

garments were torn in tatters; his moccasins were worn out and his feet



lacerated by the sharp thorns.

Darkness was fast approaching when he first realized that he was lost. He



waited hopefully for the appearance of the north star--that most faithful of

hunter's guides--but the sky clouded over and no stars appeared. Tired out and



hopeless he dragged his weary body into a dense laurelthicket end lay down to

wait for dawn. The dismal hoot of an owl nearby, the stealthy steps of some



soft-footed animal prowling round the thicket, and the mournful sough of the

wind in the treetops kept him awake for hours, but at last he fell asleep.



CHAPTER VII.

The chilling rains of November and December's flurry of snow had passed and



mid-winter with its icy blasts had set in. The Black Forest had changed

autumn's gay crimson and yellow to the somber hue of winter and now looked



indescribably dreary. An ice gorge had formed in the bend of the river at the

head of the island and from bank to bank logs, driftwood, broken ice and giant



floes were packed and jammed so tightly as to resist the action of the mighty

current. This natural bridge would remain solid until spring had loosened the



frozen grip of old winter. The hilly surrounding Fort Henry were white with

snow. The huge drifts were on a level with Col. Zane's fence and in some



places the top rail had disappeared. The pine trees in the yard were weighted

down and drooped helplessly with their white burden.



On this frosty January morning the only signs of life round the settlement

were a man and a dog walking up Wheeling hill. The man carried a rifle, an



axe, and several steel traps. His snow-shoes sank into the drifts as he

labored up the steep hill. All at once he stopped. The big black dog had put



his nose high in the air and had sniffed at the cold wind.

"Well, Tige, old fellow, what is it?" said Jonathan Zane, for this was he.



The dog answered with a low whine. Jonathan looked up and down the creek

valley and along the hillside, but he saw no living thing. Snow, snow



everywhere, its white monotony relieved here and there by a black tree trunk.

Tige sniffed again and then growled. Turning his ear to the breeze Jonathan



heard faint yelps from far over the hilltop. He dropped his axe and the traps

and ran the remaining short distance up the hill. When he reached the summit



the clear baying of hunting wolves was borne to his ears.

The hill sloped gradually on the other side, ending in a white, unbroken plain



which extended to the edge of the laurelthicket a quarter of a mile distant.

Jonathan could not see the wolves, but he heard distinctly their peculiar,



broken howls. They were in pursuit of something, whether quadruped or man he

could not decide. Another moment and he was no longer in doubt, for a deer



dashed out of the thicket. Jonathan saw that it was a buck and that he was

well nigh exhausted; his head swung low from side to side; he sank slowly to



his knees, and showed every indication of distress.

The next instant the baying of the wolves, which had ceased for a moment,



sounded close at hand. The buck staggered to his feet; he turned this way and

that. When he saw the man and the dog he started toward them without a



moment's hesitation.

At a warning word from Jonathan the dog sank on the snow. Jonathan stepped



behind a tree, which, however, was not large enough to screen his body. He

thought the buck would pass close by him and he determined to shoot at the



most favorable moment.

The buck, however, showed no intention of passing by; in his abjectterror he



saw in the man and the dog foes less terrible than those which were yelping on




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