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第16节

before adam-第16节

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west till we came to a small stream that flowed through

marshlands。  Here we turned away toward the north;

skirting the marshes and after several days arriving at

what I have called Long Lake。  We spent some time

around its upper end; where we found food in plenty;

and then; one day; in the forest; we ran foul of the

Tree People。  These creatures were ferocious apes;

nothing more。  And yet they were not so different from

us。  They were more hairy; it is true; their legs were

a trifle more twisted and gnarly; their eyes a bit

smaller; their necks a bit thicker and shorter; and

their nostrils slightly more like orifices in a sunken

surface; but they had no hair on their faces and on the

palms of their hands and the soles of their feet; and

they made sounds similar to ours with somewhat similar

meanings。  After all; the Tree People and the Folk were

not so unlike。



I found him first; a little withered; dried…up old

fellow; wrinkled…faced and bleary…eyed and tottery。  He

was legitimate prey。  In our world there was no

sympathy between the kinds; and he was not our kind。

He was a Tree…Man; and he was very old。  He was sitting

at the foot of a treeevidently his tree; for we could

see the tattered nest in the branches; in which he

slept at night。



I pointed him out to Lop…Ear; and we made a rush for

him。  He started to climb; but was too slow。  I caught

him by the leg and dragged him back。  Then we had fun。

We pinched him; pulled his hair; tweaked his ears; and

poked twigs into him; and all the while we laughed with

streaming eyes。  His futile anger was most absurd。  He

was a comical sight; striving to fan into flame the

cold ashes of his youth; to resurrect his strength dead

and gone through the oozing of the yearsmaking woful

faces in place of the ferocious ones he intended;

grinding his worn teeth together; beating his meagre

chest with feeble fists。



Also; he had a cough; and he gasped and hacked and

spluttered prodigiously。  Every time he tried to climb

the tree we pulled him back; until at last he

surrendered to his weakness and did no more than sit

and weep。  And Lop…Ear and I sat with him; our arms

around each other; and laughed at his wretchedness。



From weeping he went to whining; and from whining to

wailing; until at last he achieved a scream。  This

alarmed us; but the more we tried to make him cease;

the louder he screamed。  And then; from not far away in

the forest; came a 〃Goek! Goek!〃 to our ears。 To this

there were answering cries; several of them; and from

very far off we could hear a big; bass 〃Goek! Goek!

Goek!〃  Also; the 〃Whoo…whoo !〃 call was rising in the

forest all around us。



Then came the chase。  It seemed it never would end。

They raced us through the trees; the whole tribe of

them; and nearly caught us。 We were forced to take to

the ground; and here we had the advantage; for they

were truly the Tree People; and while they out…climbed

us we out…footed them on the ground。  We broke away

toward the north; the tribe howling on our track。

Across the open spaces we gained; and in the brush they

caught up with us; and more than once it was nip and

tuck。  And as the chase continued; we realized that we

were not their kind; either; and that the bonds between

us were anything but sympathetic。



They ran us for hours。  The forest seemed interminable。

We kept to the glades as much as possible; but they

always ended in more thick forest。  Sometimes we

thought we had escaped; and sat down to rest; but

always; before we could recover our breath; we would

hear the hateful 〃Whoo…whoo!〃 cries and the terrible

〃Goek! Goek! Goek!〃 This latter sometimes terminated in

a savage 〃Ha ha ha ha haaaaa!!!〃



And in this fashion were we hunted through the forest

by the exasperated Tree People。  At last; by

mid…afternoon; the slopes began rising higher and

higher and the trees were becoming smaller。  Then we

came out on the grassy flanks of the mountains。 Here

was where we could make time; and here the Tree People

gave up and returned to their forest。



The mountains were bleak and inhospitable; and three

times that afternoon we tried to regain the woods。  But

the Tree People were lying in wait; and they drove us

back。  Lop…Ear and I slept that night in a dwarf tree;

no larger than a bush。  Here was no security; and we

would have been easy prey for any hunting animal that

chanced along。



In the morning; what of our new…gained respect for the

Tree People; we faced into the mountains。  That we had

no definite plan; or even idea; I am confident。  We

were merely driven on by the danger we had escaped。  Of

our wanderings through the mountains I have only misty

memories。  We were in that bleak region many days; and

we suffered much; especially from fear; it was all so

new and strange。  Also; we suffered from the cold; and

later from hunger。



Itwas a desolate land of rocks and foaming streams

and clattering cataracts。  We climbed and descended

mighty canyons and gorges; and ever; from every view

point; there spread out before us; in all directions;

range upon range; the unceasing mountains。 We slept at

night in holes and crevices; and on one cold night we

perched on top a slender pinnacle of rock that was

almost like a tree。



And then; at last; one hot midday; dizzy with hunger;

we gained the divide。  From this high backbone of

earth; to the north; across the diminishing;

down…falling ranges; we caught a glimpse of a far lake。

The sun shone upon it; and about it were open; level

grass…lands; while to the eastward we saw the dark line

of a wide…stretching forest。



We were two days in gaining the lake; and we were weak

with hunger; but on its shore; sleeping snugly in a

thicket; we found a part…grown calf。  It gave us much

trouble; for we knew no other way to kill than with our

hands。  When we had gorged our fill; we carried the

remainder of the meat to the eastward forest and hid it

in a tree。  We never returned to that tree; for the

shore of the stream that drained Far Lake was packed

thick with salmon that had come up from the sea to

spawn。



Westward from the lake stretched the grass…lands; and

here were multitudes of bison and wild cattle。  Also

were there many packs of wild dogs; and as there were

no trees it was not a safe place for us。  We followed

north along the stream for days。  Then; and for what

reason I do not know; we abruptly left the stream and

swung to the east; and then to the southeast; through a

great forest。  I shall not bore you with our journey。

I but indicate it to show how we finally arrived at the

Fire People's country。



We came out upon the river; but we did not know it for

our river。 We had been lost so long that we had come to

accept the condition of being lost as habitual。  As I

look back I see clearly how our lives and destinies are

shaped by the merest chance。  We did not know it was

our riverthere was no way of telling; and if we had

never crossed it we would most probably have never

returned to the horde; and I; the modern; the thousand

centuries yet to be born; would never have been born 。



And yet Lop…Ear and I wanted greatly to return。  We had

experienced homesickness on our journey; the yearning

for our own kind and land; and often had I had

recollections of the Swift One; the young female who

made soft sounds; whom it was good to be with; and who

lived by herself nobody knew where。  My recollections

of her were accompanied by sensations of hunger; and

these I felt when I was not hungry and when I had just

eaten。



But to come back to the river。  Food was plentiful;

principally berries and succulent roots; and on the

river bank we played and lingered for days。  And then

the idea came to Lop…Ear。  It was a visible process;

the coming of the idea。  I saw it。  The expression in

his eyes became plaintive and querulous; and he was

greatly perturbed。  Then his eyes went muddy; as if he

had lost his grip on the inchoate thought。  This was

followed by the plaintive; querulous expression as the

idea persisted and he clutched it anew。  He looked at

me; and at the river and the far shore。  He tried to

speak; but had no sounds with which to express the

idea。  The result was a gibberish that made me laugh。

This angered him; and he grabbed me suddenly and threw

me on my back。 Of course we fought; and in the end I

chased him up a tree; where he secured a long branch

and poked me every time I tried to get at him。



And the idea had gone glimmering。  I did not know; and

he had forgotten。  But the next morning it awoke in him

again。  Perhaps it was the homing instinct in him

asserting itself that made the idea persist。  At any

rate it was there; and clearer than before。 He led me

down to the water; where a log had grounded in an eddy。

I thought he was minded to play; as we had played in

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