血字的研究 68逃命(7)

It was as well that his prairie training had given Jefferson Hope the ears of a lynx.

这也是由于侯波在草原上久经锻炼，使他的一双耳朵象山猫一样的敏锐。

He and his friends had hardly crouched¹ down before the melancholy² hooting⁴ of a mountain owl⁵ was heard within a few yards of them, which was immediately answered by another hoot³ at a small distance.

他们刚刚伏下，只听见离他们几步之外有一声猫头鹰的惨啼。同时，在不远的地方立刻又有另外一声呼应着。

At the same moment a vague, shadowy figure emerged from the gap for which they had been making, and uttered the plaintive⁶ signal cry again, on which a second man appeared out of the obscurity.

只见一个隐隐约约的人影，在他们亲手所开辟的那个缺口处出现了，他又发出一声这种凄惨的暗号，立刻，另外一个人便应声从暗处出来了。

"To-morrow at midnight," said the first, who appeared to be in authority. "When the whippoorwill calls three times."

"明天半夜，怪鸱叫三声时下手。"头一个人这样说，看来他是一个领头的人物。

"It is well," returned the other. "Shall I tell Brother Drebber?"

另一个答道："好的，要我传达给锥伯兄弟吗？"

"Pass it on to him, and from him to the others. Nine to seven!"

"告诉他，让他再传达给其他的人。九到七！"

"Seven to five!" repeated the other; and the two figures flitted away in different directions.

"七到五！"另一个接着说。于是，这两个人便分道悄然而去了。

Their concluding words had evidently been some form of sign and countersign⁷.

他们最后说的两句话，显然是一种问答式的暗号。

The instant that their footsteps had died away in the distance, Jefferson Hope sprang to his feet,

在他们刚刚走远，脚步声刚刚消失的时候，杰弗逊·侯波就立刻跳起身来，

and helping⁸ his companions through the gap, led the way across the fields at the top of his speed,

扶着他的同伴穿过缺口，一面用他的最快速度领着他们飞快地越过田地。

supporting and half-carrying the girl when her strength appeared to fail her.

这时，露茜似乎已经精疲力竭了，于是他又半扶半拖地拉着她飞跑。

"Hurry on! hurry on!" he gasped⁹ from time to time.

"快点！赶快！"他气喘喘地一次又一次地催促着，

"We are through the line of sentinels. Everything depends on speed. Hurry on!"

"咱们已经闯过了警戒线了。一切就靠迅速了，快跑！"

Once on the high road, they made rapid progress.

一上了大道，他们就立刻快速前进了。

Only once did they meet anyone, and then they managed to slip into a field, and so avoid recognition.

路上，他们碰到过一次人，于是立刻闪进了一片麦田中去躲避，以免被人识破。

Before reaching the town the hunter branched away into a rugged¹⁰ and narrow footpath¹¹ which led to the mountains.

他们快到城边的时候，侯波又折进了一条通向山间去的崎岖小道。

Two dark, jagged peaks loomed¹² above them through the darkness, and the defile¹³ which led between them was the Eagle Canon in which the horses were awaiting them.

黑暗中，只见两座黑压压的巍峨大山浮现在眼前。他们所走的这条狭窄的峡道就是鹰谷，马匹就在这里等候着他们。

1 crouched   

v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He crouched down beside her. 他在她的旁边蹲了下来。
• The lion crouched ready to pounce. 狮子蹲下身，准备猛扑。

2 melancholy   

n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的

参考例句：

• All at once he fell into a state of profound melancholy.他立即陷入无尽的忧思之中。
• He felt melancholy after he failed the exam.这次考试没通过，他感到很郁闷。

3 hoot   

n.鸟叫声，汽车的喇叭声； v.使汽车鸣喇叭

参考例句：

• The sudden hoot of a whistle broke into my thoughts.突然响起的汽笛声打断了我的思路。
• In a string of shrill hoot of the horn sound,he quickly ran to her.在一串尖声鸣叫的喇叭声中，他快速地跑向她。

4 hooting   

（使）作汽笛声响，作汽车喇叭声( hoot的现在分词 )； 倒好儿； 倒彩

参考例句：

• He had the audience hooting with laughter . 他令观众哄堂大笑。
• The owl was hooting. 猫头鹰在叫。

5 owl   

n.猫头鹰，枭

参考例句：

• Her new glasses make her look like an owl.她的新眼镜让她看上去像只猫头鹰。
• I'm a night owl and seldom go to bed until after midnight.我睡得很晚，经常半夜后才睡觉。

6 plaintive   

adj.可怜的，伤心的

参考例句：

• Her voice was small and plaintive.她的声音微弱而哀伤。
• Somewhere in the audience an old woman's voice began plaintive wail.观众席里，一位老太太伤心地哭起来。

7 countersign   

v.副署，会签

参考例句：

• Traveller's check need countersign.旅行支票要复签。
• Enclosed is our contract No.345 in duplicate,of which please return us one copy,duly countersign.随函附上我方第345号合同一式两分，请会签并回寄一份。

8 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

9 gasped   

v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要

参考例句：

• She gasped at the wonderful view. 如此美景使她惊讶得屏住了呼吸。
• People gasped with admiration at the superb skill of the gymnasts. 体操运动员的高超技艺令人赞叹。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

10 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。

11 footpath   

n.小路，人行道

参考例句：

• Owners who allow their dogs to foul the footpath will be fined.主人若放任狗弄脏人行道将受处罚。
• They rambled on the footpath in the woods.他俩漫步在林间蹊径上。

12 loomed   

v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的过去式和过去分词 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近

参考例句：

• A dark shape loomed up ahead of us. 一个黑糊糊的影子隐隐出现在我们的前面。
• The prospect of war loomed large in everyone's mind. 战事将起的庞大阴影占据每个人的心。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 defile   

v.弄污，弄脏；n.(山间)小道

参考例句：

• Don't defile the land of our ancestors!再不要污染我们先祖们的大地！
• We respect the faith of Islam, even as we fight those whose actions defile that faith.我们尊重伊斯兰教的信仰，并与玷污伊斯兰教的信仰的行为作斗争。