He then slips his feet through the cords of his snow-shoes, and throws the line of a small hand-sledge over his shoulder. Having attached the sledge to his back, he stoops to receive his gun from his faithful squaw, who has been watching his operations through a hole in the tent; and throwing it on his shoulder, strides off, without uttering a word, across the moonlit space in front of the tent, turns into a narrow track that leads down the dark ravine, and disappears in the shades of the forest.
然后,他把脚滑进雪鞋中,系好鞋带,又把一柄长雪橇上的线甩在肩上。背上雪橇后,他弯腰从忠实的女人手中接过递来的猎枪,而她则一直通过帐篷上的一个小洞看着他整理着一切;他扛上猎枪,一言不发,大步穿过帐篷前那块洒满月光的空地,转入一个通向黝黑峡谷的狭窄小径,继而消失在森林阴影之中。
The forest is now almost dark, the foliage overhead having become so dense that the moon penetrates through it only in a few places, rendering the surrounding masses darker by contrast. The outline of an old snow-shoe track, at first faintly seen, is soon no longer visible; but still the Indian moves forward with rapid, noiseless step, as sure of his way as if a broad beaten track lay before him. In this manner he moves on for nearly two miles, sometimes stooping to examine closely the newly-made track of some wild animal, and occasionally giving a glance at the sky through the openings in the leafy canopy above him. Suddenly a faint sound in the bushes ahead brings him to a full stop.
现在森林里已经基本全黑了,头顶上的枝叶变得愈发浓密,以至于只有几个地方才能透进月光来,和周围混乱的黑暗形成了鲜明的对比,一双陈旧的雪靴子踩出的痕迹起初很模糊,很快得,连那个模糊的痕迹也消失了;可是,印第安人仍然快速的、静悄悄的向前走着,似乎前方的路线早已为他开辟好了似的,他非常自信的大步向前行进着。就这样,他大概走了两英里远,有时会停下来仔细检查动物们新近留下的脚印,偶尔也会透过头顶上茂密的天蓬看看天空。忽然间,前面灌木丛中发出的一个微弱的声音让他完全停下来。
He listens attentively, and a noise, like the rattling of a chain, is heard proceeding from the recesses of a dark, wild-looking hollow, a few paces in front. Another moment, and the rattle is again distinctly heard. A slight smile of satisfaction crosses the Indian's dark visage; for one of his traps is set in that place, and he knows that something has been caught. Quickly descending the slope, he enters the bushes whence the sound proceeds, and pauses when within a yard or two of his trap, to peer through the gloom.
他凝神听着,那声音有点像咔哒咔哒的廉政声,从前方几步远一个黑暗的隐秘处传来,那边看上去有点荒凉。过了一阵子,他又听到了那个声音,这次他清楚的听到了咯吱声。印第安人黝黑的脸庞上掠过了一丝满意的微笑;因为他设下的其中一个陷阱就在附近,他知道一定是有什么东西被抓住了。他快速的滑下坡去,走进那个声音发出的灌木丛,在距离他设的陷阱一两码远处停下来,在黑暗中张望着。
A cloud passes off the moon, and a faint ray reveals, it may be, a beautiful black fox caught in the snare. A slight blow on the snout from the Indian's axe-shaft kills the unfortunate animal; in ten minutes more it is tied on his sledge, the trap is re-set and again covered over with snow, so that it is almost impossible to tell that anything is there; and the Indian pursues his way.
一片乌云挡住了月亮,在微弱的光线中,他模糊的看到了一只漂亮的黑狐落入了陷阱。印第安人挥起大斧子,结果了这个不幸的动物;又过了十多分钟,狐狸被绑在他的雪橇上,陷阱也被重新布置好,并用积雪覆盖好,这样就不太可能被动物发现了;印度安人继续向前赶路。