血字的研究 48沙漠中的旅客(6)

On reaching the base of the bluff¹ they halted, and held a short council among themselves.

他们来到山脚下，停了下来，简短地商议了一会儿。

"The wells are to the right, my brothers," said one, a hard-lipped, clean- shaven man with grizzly² hair.

一个嘴唇绷得紧紧的、胡子刮得光光的、头发斑白的人说："往右边走有井，弟兄。"

"To the right of the Sierra Blanco–so we shall reach the Rio Grande," said another.

另一个说："向布兰卡山的右侧前进，咱们就可以到达瑞奥·葛兰德。"

"Fear not for water," cried a third. "He who could draw it from the rocks will not now abandon His own chosen people."

第三个人大声喊道："不要担心没有水。能够从岩石中引水出来的真神，是不会舍其他的选民的。"

"Amen! amen!" responded the whole party.

"阿门!阿门!几个人同声回答道。

They were about to resume their journey when one of the youngest and keenest-eyed uttered an exclamation³ and pointed⁴ up at the rugged⁵ crag above them.

他们正要重新上路的时候，忽然一个年轻的眼光最锐利的小伙子指着他们头上那片嵯峨的峭壁惊叫了起来。

From its summit there fluttered a little wisp of pink, showing up hard and bright against the gray rocks behind.

原来山顶上有件很小的粉红色的东西在飘荡着，在灰色的岩石衬托下，显得非常鲜明突出。

At the sight there was a general reining⁶ up of horses and unslinging of guns, while fresh horsemen came galloping⁷ up to reinforce the vanguard.

这个东西一被发现，骑手们便一起勒住马缰，取枪在手。同时，更多的骑手从后面疾驰上来增援。

The word "Redskins" was on every lip. "There can't be any number of Injuns here," said the elderly man who appeared to be in command.

只听见异口同声一起喊叫："有了红人了。""这里不可能有红人，"一位年长的看来是领袖的人物说，

"We have passed the Pawnees, and there are no other tribes until we cross the great mountains."

"咱们已经越过波尼红人住区了，越过前面大山以前不会再有其他的部落了。"

"Shall I go forward and see, Brother Stangerson?" asked one of the band.

其中一个说道："我上去察看一下好吗，斯坦节逊兄弟？"

"And I," "And I," cried a dozen voices.

"我也去，我也去。"十多个人同声喊道。

"Leave your horses below and we will await you here," the elder answered.

那位长者回答说："把马留在下边，我们就在这里接应你们。"

In a moment the young fellows had dismounted, fastened their horses, and were ascending⁸ the precipitous slope which led up to the object which had excited their curiosity.

立刻，年轻人翻身下马，把马拴好，沿着峻峭的山坡，向着那个引其他们好奇心的目标攀登上去。

They advanced rapidly and noiselessly, with the confidence and dexterity⁹ of practised scouts¹⁰.

他们迅速无声地悄悄前进，显出久经锻炼的斥候的那种沉着和矫捷的动作。

The watchers from the plain below could see them flit from rock to rock until their figures stood out against the sky-line.

山下的人们只见他们在山石间行走如飞，一直来到了山巅。

The young man who had first given the alarm was leading them.

那个最先发现情况的少年走在前面。

Suddenly his followers¹¹ saw him throw up his hands, as though overcome with astonishment¹², and on joining him they were affected¹³ in the same way by the sight which met their eyes.

跟随在他后面的人忽然看见他两手一举，似乎显出大吃一惊的样子。大家上前一看，眼前这番情景也都使他们愣住了。

On the little plateau which crowned the barren hill there stood a single giant boulder¹⁴, and against this boulder there lay a tall man, long-bearded and hard-featured, but of an excessive thinness.

在这荒山顶上的一小块平地上，有一块单独的大石头。圆石旁，躺着一个高大的男子，但见他须发长长，相貌严峻，形容枯槁。

His placid¹⁵ face and regular breathing showed that he was fast asleep.

从他那安详的面容和均匀的呼吸可以看出，他睡得很熟。

Beside him lay a child, with her round white arms encircling his brown sinewy¹⁶ neck, and her golden-haired head resting upon the breast of his velveteen tunic¹⁷.

他的身旁睡着一个小女孩，小女孩的又圆又白的小手臂，搂着大人的又黑又瘦的脖子，她那披着金发的小脑袋，倚在这个穿着棉绒上身的男人的胸上，

Her rosy¹⁸ lips were parted, showing the regular line of snow-white teeth within, and a playful smile played over her infantile features.

红红的小嘴微微张开着，露着两排整齐雪白的牙齿，满含稚气的脸上带着顽皮的微笑；

Her plump little white legs, terminating in white socks and neat shoes with shining buckles¹⁹, offered a strange contrast to the long shrivelled members of her companion.

又白又胖的小腿上，穿着白色短袜，干净的鞋子，鞋子上的扣子闪闪发光，这些和她伙伴的长大而干瘦的手足形成奇异的对比。

1 bluff   

v.虚张声势，用假象骗人；n.虚张声势，欺骗

参考例句：

• His threats are merely bluff.他的威胁仅仅是虚张声势。
• John is a deep card.No one can bluff him easily.约翰是个机灵鬼。谁也不容易欺骗他。

2 grizzly   

adj.略为灰色的，呈灰色的；n.灰色大熊

参考例句：

• This grizzly liked people.这只灰熊却喜欢人。
• Grizzly bears are not generally social creatures.一般说来，灰熊不是社交型动物。

3 exclamation   

n.感叹号，惊呼，惊叹词

参考例句：

• He could not restrain an exclamation of approval.他禁不住喝一声采。
• The author used three exclamation marks at the end of the last sentence to wake up the readers.作者在文章的最后一句连用了三个惊叹号，以引起读者的注意。

4 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

5 rugged   

adj.高低不平的，粗糙的，粗壮的，强健的

参考例句：

• Football players must be rugged.足球运动员必须健壮。
• The Rocky Mountains have rugged mountains and roads.落基山脉有崇山峻岭和崎岖不平的道路。

6 reining   

勒缰绳使（马）停步( rein的现在分词 )； 驾驭； 严格控制； 加强管理

参考例句：

• "That's a fine bevy, Ma'm,'said Gerald gallantly, reining his horse alongside the carriage. "太太！好一窝漂亮的云雀呀！" 杰拉尔德殷勤地说，一面让自己的马告近塔尔顿的马车。
• I was a temperamental genius in need of reining in by stabler personalities. 我是个需要由更稳重的人降服住的神经质的天才。

7 galloping   

adj. 飞驰的, 急性的 动词gallop的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• The horse started galloping the moment I gave it a good dig. 我猛戳了马一下，它就奔驰起来了。
• Japan is galloping ahead in the race to develop new technology. 日本在发展新技术的竞争中进展迅速，日新月异。

8 ascending   

adj.上升的，向上的

参考例句：

• Now draw or trace ten dinosaurs in ascending order of size.现在按照体型由小到大的顺序画出或是临摹出10只恐龙。

9 dexterity   

n.(手的)灵巧，灵活

参考例句：

• You need manual dexterity to be good at video games.玩好电子游戏手要灵巧。
• I'm your inferior in manual dexterity.论手巧，我不如你。

10 scouts   

侦察员[机，舰]( scout的名词复数 )； 童子军； 搜索； 童子军成员

参考例句：

• to join the Scouts 参加童子军
• The scouts paired off and began to patrol the area. 巡逻人员两个一组，然后开始巡逻这个地区。

11 followers   

追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件

参考例句：

• the followers of Mahatma Gandhi 圣雄甘地的拥护者
• The reformer soon gathered a band of followers round him. 改革者很快就获得一群追随者支持他。

12 astonishment   

n.惊奇，惊异

参考例句：

• They heard him give a loud shout of astonishment.他们听见他惊奇地大叫一声。
• I was filled with astonishment at her strange action.我对她的奇怪举动不胜惊异。

13 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

14 boulder   

n.巨砾；卵石，圆石

参考例句：

• We all heaved together and removed the boulder.大家一齐用劲，把大石头搬开了。
• He stepped clear of the boulder.他从大石头后面走了出来。

15 placid   

adj.安静的，平和的

参考例句：

• He had been leading a placid life for the past eight years.八年来他一直过着平静的生活。
• You should be in a placid mood and have a heart-to- heart talk with her.你应该心平气和的好好和她谈谈心。

16 sinewy   

adj.多腱的，强壮有力的

参考例句：

• When muscles are exercised often and properly,they keep the arms firm and sinewy.如果能经常正确地锻炼肌肉的话，双臂就会一直结实而强健。
• His hard hands and sinewy sunburned limbs told of labor and endurance.他粗糙的双手，被太阳哂得发黑的健壮四肢,均表明他十分辛勤，非常耐劳。

17 tunic   

n.束腰外衣

参考例句：

• The light loose mantle was thrown over his tunic.一件轻质宽大的斗蓬披在上衣外面。
• Your tunic and hose match ill with that jewel,young man.你的外套和裤子跟你那首饰可不相称呢，年轻人。

18 rosy   

adj.美好的，乐观的，玫瑰色的

参考例句：

• She got a new job and her life looks rosy.她找到一份新工作，生活看上去很美好。
• She always takes a rosy view of life.她总是对生活持乐观态度。

19 buckles   

搭扣，扣环( buckle的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• She gazed proudly at the shiny buckles on her shoes. 她骄傲地注视着鞋上闪亮的扣环。
• When the plate becomes unstable, it buckles laterally. 当板失去稳定时，就发生横向屈曲。