兒童英語讀物《神奇樹屋》 第十冊 Ghost Town at Sundown 06

6 Split the Wind

The sky was dark by the time they got to the rise.The wind was cool，almost cold.

“Whoa，” said Slim.

Dusty slowed to a halt.

“They’re camped down there，” Slim said in a low voice. “In that patch of trees.”

Jack saw a campfire at the bottom of the slope. He saw the horses gathered in a dark clump.One let out a loud whinny.

“Hear that?” said Slim.“The mare.She senses Sunset is nearby.”

The mare whinnied again.

“Sounds like she’s tied to a tree，” said Slim.“I think the rest of the herd are loose.”

“What’s our plan?” whispered Jack.

“Smiley， you stay here and guard Sunset，” said Slim.

“Right，” said Annie.

“Shorty， you and I ride down near their camp，” said Slim. “You keep Dusty quiet while I cut the mare loose.”

How do you keep a horse quiet?wondered Jack.

“Once the mare’s loose， she’ll break for Sunset，” said Slim. “Then you and Sunset take off， Smiley.”

“Got it，” said Annie.

“Then we’ll split the wind，” said Slim.

What’s that mean?wondered Jack.

“Till we get to Blue Canyon，” said Slim.

Where’s that?wondered Jack.

“All set?Any questions?” asked Slim.

“Nope，” said Annie cheerfully.

Yup， about a million， thought Jack.

“Okay， pardners，” said Slim. “See ya soon， Smiley. Come on， Shorty.”

“Have fun，” said Annie.

Fun?thought Jack. Is she nuts?Our lives are at stake.

Slim snapped his reins. Dusty started down the rise.Their way was litby a nearly full moon and a million stars.

Maybe now I can ask Slim some questions， thought Jack.

But just then voices came from the rustlers’ camp. They were mean voices， followed by mean laughter.

A chill went through Jack.

Dusty halted.

“This is far enough，” whispered Slim. He slipped off of Dusty.

“Keep him here，” Slim whispered to Jack， “and keep him quiet.”

“Wait—” whispered Jack. He needed more information.

But Slim was gone.

Jack gripped the reins and held his breath. He hoped Dusty wouldn’t do anything.

For a moment Dusty was still.But then he snorted and began walking.

Oh， no!thought Jack. He tried to think of the rules on how to treat a horse.

He remembered：a soft hand，a firm voice.

He patted Dusty softly.

“Whoa!” he said firmly. To his surprise， Dusty froze and was quiet.

Jack remembered another rule：a sunny attitude.He patted Dusty again.“Don’t worry，” he whispered. “Everything’s going to be fine.”

Just then a loud whinny came from the herd of mustangs.They began moving up the moonlit slope.

“Hey!The horses!” a rustler shouted.

A gun went off. Jack ducked.

“Come on， Shorty!” came Slim’s voice. Jack looked up. Slim was riding the mare!

Jack was shocked.He had thought that Slim was coming back to ride Dusty.

Instead， Slim rode right past him!As he got close to Annie， she took off on Sunset.

The mare galloped after Sunset. And the band of mustangs galloped after the mare.

Bang!Bang!

Jack snapped the reins. “Go， Dusty!” he said.

Dusty leaped after the mustangs. Jack nearly fell off. He clutched the reins in one hand and the saddle horn in the other.

Bang!Bang!

The rustlers were on their horses now.They were getting closer.

“Hurry!”Jack cried.

Dusty cleared the rise in an awkward leap.Jack started to slip out of the saddle. He let go of the reins and tried to hold on to the saddle

horn， but his weight pulled him down.He closed his eyes as he fell to the ground.

Bang!Bang!

Oh， man， thought Jack， this is the end.

He opened his eyes. Dusty was looking at him.Jack scrambled up and tried to climb back into the saddle.It was hard without Slim’s help.

As Jack struggled， he heard shouts from the rustlers. Their horses gave high-pitched neighs.

Jack looked back.

A shimmering white figure was moving across the top of the rise!The rustlers’ horses were panicking and backing away.

Jack didn’t have time to think about what he was seeing. He knew it might be his only chance to escape.Using all his strength， he pulled himself into the saddle.

“Go， Dusty， go!” he shouted.

Dusty took off at full gallop over the prairie.Jack held on for dear life as they split the wind.

6穿風(fēng)而過

他們到達高處時，天已經(jīng)黑了。風(fēng)涼涼的，甚至有些冷。

“吁!”瘦子說。

灰塵慢了下來，最后停下了腳步。

“他們就在那里扎營。”瘦子壓低聲音說，“就在那片樹林里。”

杰克看到斜坡的下面有一堆篝火，他還看到那些馬聚在一起，其中一匹馬還大聲地嘶叫。

“聽見沒?”瘦子說，“是那匹母馬。它一定是感覺到了日落就在附近。”

母馬又嘶叫起來。

“聽起來它被拴在樹上了。”瘦子說，“我想其他的馬應(yīng)該沒被拴著。”

“你有什么計劃?”杰克小聲地問。

“愛笑的丫頭，你就留在這里保護日落。”瘦子說。

“好。”安妮回答。

“小矮子，你和我騎馬到他們的營地附近去。”瘦子說，“我解開母馬的時候你要讓灰塵保持安靜。”

怎么才能讓馬保持安靜呢?杰克琢磨著。

“母馬一被解開，就會朝日落奔來。”瘦子說，“愛笑的丫頭，這時你和日落就開始跑。”

“明白了。”安妮說。

“然后我們就能穿風(fēng)而過。”

這是什么意思?杰克想。

“直到我們到達藍色大峽谷。”瘦子說。

那是什么地方?杰克想。

“都準(zhǔn)備好了嗎?還有問題嗎?”瘦子問。

“沒了。”安妮開心地說。

“有啊，有上百萬個問題呢。”杰克心想。

“好，伙計們。”瘦子說，“一會兒見，愛笑的丫頭。來吧，小矮子。”

“祝你愉快。”安妮說。

愉快?杰克想，她該不是傻了吧。我們的性命都難保呢。

瘦子一揮韁繩，灰塵立刻往坡下跑去。一輪滿月和數(shù)不清的星星照亮著他們前行的道路。

也許我現(xiàn)在可以問瘦子幾個問題。杰克這么想著。

但是就在這時從盜馬賊的營地傳來了一陣聲音，聲音聽起來不懷好意，還夾雜著不懷好意的笑聲。

杰克不禁周身感到一股寒意。

灰塵停住了步伐。

“這已經(jīng)夠遠了。”瘦子小聲說道，一下子溜下了馬背。

“就讓它待在這里，”瘦子對杰克小聲地說，“別讓它出聲。”

“等等——”杰克輕聲說。他還需要更多的信息。

但瘦子已經(jīng)走了。

杰克握緊韁繩，屏住呼吸。他真希望灰塵不要有任何動靜。

灰塵安靜了一小會兒，但不久就開始發(fā)出呼嚕呼嚕的聲音，并且踱起了步。

哦，千萬別!杰克想。他開始回憶那些對待馬的方法。

他想起來了：手要輕柔，聲音要堅定。

他輕輕地拍了拍灰塵。

“吁!”杰克堅定地說。讓他吃驚的是，灰塵真的停住了，安靜了下來。

杰克想起了另一個方法：態(tài)度要熱情。他又拍了拍灰塵，輕聲說：“別著急，一切都會順利的。”

就在這時，一聲響亮的響鼻從那群野馬的方向傳來。馬群開始向月光照亮的斜坡上走。

“嘿!看那些馬!”一個盜馬賊喊道。

一聲槍響。杰克急忙低頭一躲。

“快來，小矮子!”瘦子的聲音響了起來。杰克抬頭一看，瘦子正騎在母馬背上。

杰克嚇了一跳。他還以為瘦子回來時要騎灰塵呢。

瘦子騎著馬從杰克身邊飛奔而過。就在他快跑到安妮身邊時，安妮也騎著日落跑了起來。

母馬跟在日落后面，而那群野馬就跟在母馬身后。

砰!砰!

杰克揮動韁繩，大叫：“快跑，灰塵!”

灰塵跟在野馬后面一路飛馳，杰克幾乎跌下馬來。他一手緊緊抓住韁繩，一手緊緊握著馬鞍的鞍頭。

砰!砰!

盜馬賊們已經(jīng)上了馬，離杰克他們越來越近。

“快啊!”杰克喊著。

灰塵一個陡躍上了斜坡。杰克開始往下滑，就快滑下馬鞍了。他松了韁繩，試圖抓住鞍頭，但他自身的重量直把他往下拽。在摔下馬來的一瞬間，杰克閉上了眼　　睛。

砰!砰!

哦，天啊!杰克想，我的末日到了。

他睜開眼睛，灰塵正望著他。杰克掙扎著爬起來，想再爬上馬鞍。但沒有瘦子幫忙這真是太難了。

杰克正掙扎著，只聽盜馬賊們又喊又叫，他們的馬也高聲嘶叫著。

杰克回頭看去。

一個耀眼的白色身影正越過斜坡頂。盜馬賊的馬受到驚嚇，直往后退。

杰克都來不及去想他看到的是什么。他只知道這可能是他逃生的惟一機會了。他使上全身力氣爬上了馬鞍。

“跑，灰塵，快跑!”他喊著。

灰塵全力向前跑去，飛奔在大草原上。杰克緊緊地抓著馬鞍，一路穿風(fēng)而過。