（
可爱公主闯校园）（
闪婚,染上惹火甜妻）（
豪门游戏，前夫莫贪欢）（
护花保镖）（
战兽斗天）（
至尊少女复仇记）keesh, sonkeesh
by jack london
“thus wilive six blankets, warm and double; six files, large and hard; six hudson bay knives, keen edged and long; two canoes, the workmogum, the makerthings; ten dogs, heavy-shouldered and strongthe harness; and three guns the triggeronebroken, butiood gun and can doubtlessmended.”
keesh paused and swept his eyes over the circleinten was the timethe great fishing, andwas biddinggnob forsuplace was the st. gee missionthe yukon, and the tribes had gathered for manundre north, south, east, and west they had e, even from tozikakat and far tana-naw.
“and further, o gnob, thou art chiefthe tana-naw; and i, keesh, the sonkeesh,chiefth, whenseed springs from the loinsthy daughter, there shalla friendship between the tribes, a great friendship, and tana naw and thlunget shallbrothersthe bloodthe tim have saiill do, that wilo.and howit with you, o gnob,this matter?”
gnob nodded his head gravely, his gnarled and age twisted face inscrutably masking the soul that dwel narrow eyes burned like twin coals through their narrow slits,he pipeda high-cracked voice, “but thatnot all.”“what more?” keesh demanded.“havot offered full measure?was there ever yeana naw maiden who fetchedgrearice?then name her!”an open snicker passed round the circle, and keesh knew thatstoodshame before these people.
“nay, nay, good keesh, thou dost not understand.”gnob madoft, stroking gesture.“the pricegooi question the broke thatnothe man?”“ay, whatthe man?” the circle snarled.“itsaid,” gnob’s shrill voice piped, “itsaid that keesh does not walkthe wayhisaid thathas wandered into the dark, after strange gods, and thatis bee afraid.”the facekeesh went dark.“ita lie!”thundered.“keeshafraidno man!”
“itsaid,” old gnob piped on, “thathas harkenedthe speechthe white manat the big house, and thatbends headthe white man’s god, and, moreover, that blooddispleasingthe white man’s god.”keesh dropped his eyes, and his hands clenche savage circle laughed derisively, andthe eargnob whispered madwan, the shaman, high-priestthe tribe and makehaman poked among the shadowsthe rimthe firelight and rouseda slender young boy, whombrought faceface with keesh; andthe handkeeshthrusnife.
gnob leaned forward.“keesh!o keesh!darest thoukilan?behold!thiskitz noo, , o keesh, strike with the strengththy arm!”the boy trembled and waitedlookedhim, and thoughtsmr. brown’s higher morality floated through his mind, and strong upon him waisionthe leaping flamesmr. brown’s particular brandhell fire.
the knife fellthe ground, and the boy sighed and went out beyond the firelight with shakin the feetgnob sprawleolf-dog, which bared its gleaming teeth and preparedspring afterthe shaman ground his foot into the brute’s body, anddoing, gave gnobidea.“and then, o keesh, what wouldst thou do, shoulanthis thingyou?”he spoke, gnob helibbonsalmonwhite fang, and when the animal attemptedtake it, smote him sharplythe nose wittick.“and afterward, o keesh, wouldst thouthus?” white fang was cringing backhis belly and fawningthe handgnob.
“listen!” leaningthe armmadwan, gnob had risenhis feet.“ivery old, and because ivery olill tell the father, keesh, waightdid love the songthe bowstringbattle, and these eyes have beheld him caspear till the head stood out beyonan’ thouthou left the ravenworship the wolf, thou art bee afraidblood, and thou makest thy peoplnot good.
for behold, wheaoy, evenkitz noo there, there waswhite manallthey came, oneone, these white men, till now theythey arestless breed, never contentrestthe fire witull belly and let the morrow bring itswas laid upon them,would seem, and they must workouttoil and hardship.”keeshoazy story toldmr. brownone adam,old time, camehim, andseemed that mr. brown had spoken true.
“so they lay hands upon all they behold, these white men, and theyeverywhere and beholdevermore followtheir steps,thatnothingdohey will epossess all the land and there willno room for the tribesthis meet thatfight with them till nonewillhold the passes and the land, and perhaps our children and our children’s children shall flourish and grow fat.
therea great strugglee, when wolf and raven shall grapple; but keesh will not fight, nor willlet his people fight.
sois not well thatshould takehimdaughter.
thus havpoken, i, gnob, chiefthe tana naw.”
“but the white men are good and great,” keesh made answer.“the white men have taughtman white men have givenblankets and knives and guns, suchwe have never made and never coulwhat mannerlived before the unborn then, buavefrom mwentthe huntmust creepclosethe moose thapear cast would coverwe use the white man’s rifle, and farther away than cahild’s crte fish and meat and berries there was nothing elseeat andate withou manythere among you who carego backthe fish and meat without salt?”
it would have sunk home, had not madwan leapedhis feet ere silence could e.“and firsuestionthee, white manat the big house tells you thatis wrong twe not know that the white men kill?havefotten the great fightthe koyokuk?the great fightnuklukyeto, where three white men killed twentythe tozikakats?do you thinkno longer remember the three menthe tana naw that the white man macklewrath killed?tell me, o keesh, why does the shaman brown teach you thatis wrongfight, when all his brothers fight?”
“nay, nay, thereno needanswer,” gnob piped, while keesh struggled with the paradox.“itver good man brown would hold the raven tight whilst his brothers pluck the feathers.”he raised his voice.“butlongthereoana nawstriklow,one maidenbeaan child, the raven shall notplucked!”gnob turneda husky young man across the fire.“and what sayest thou, makamuk, who art brothersu su?”
makamuk camehi face scar lifted his upper lip interpetual grin which belied the glowing ferocityhis eyes.“this day,”began with cunning irrelevance,camethe trader macklewrath’the dooahild laughingth the child lookedme with the trader macklewrath’s eyes, andwa mother ranit and quieted it.the mother was ziska, the thlunget woman.”a snarlrage roseand drowned his voice, whichstilledturning dramatically upon keesh with outstretched arm and accusing finger.
“so?you give your women away, you thlunget, and ethe tana naw for more?buthave needour women, keesh; formust breed men, many men, against the day when the raven grapples with the wolf.”through the stormapplause, gnob’s voice shrilled clear.“and thou, nossabok, who art her favorite brother?”
the young fellow was slender and graceful, with the strong aquiline nose and high browshis type; but from some nervous affliction the lidone eye droopedodd timesa suggestivhe aroseso drooped and resteoment againstit was not greeted with the accustome face was grave.
“i, too, passedthe trader macklewrath’s cabin,”rippledsoft, girlish tones, wherein there was muchyouth and muchhis sister.“anaw indians with the sweat running into their eyes and their knees shaking with wearinesay, i saw indians groaning under the logs for the store which the trader macklewratht witheyeaw them chopping woodkeep the shaman brown’s big house warm through the frostthe lonsqua shall the tana-nawth shallblood brothersmen, not squaws; and the thlungetsquaws.”
a deep silence fell, and all eyes centreooked about him carefully, deliberately, full into the faceeach grown man.“so,”sai “so,” h turnedhis heel without further word and passed out into the darkness.
wading among sprawling babies and bristling wolf dogs,threaded the great camp, andits outskirts came upoomanworkthe light stringsbark stripped from the long rootscreeping vines, she was braiding rope forsome time, without speech,watched her deft hands bringing law and order outthe unruly masscurlin was goodlook upon, swaying thereher task, strong-limbed, deep chested, and with hips madethe bronzeher face was goldenthe flickering light, her hair blue-black, her eyes jet.
“osu,”spoke finally, “thou hast looked uponkindlythe days that have gone andthe days yet young ”“i looked kindly upon thee for that thou wert chiefthe thlunget,” she answered quickly, “and because thou wert big and strong.”“ay ”“but that wasthe old daysthe fishing,” she hastenedadd, “before the shaman brown came and taught thee ill things and led thy feetstrange trails.”“buould tell thee the ”she heldone handa gesture which reminded himher father.“nay, i know already the speech that stirsthy throat, o keesh, anake answer now.
ithappeh that the fishthe water and the beaststhe forest bring forth after thei this ihappeh tfor thembring forth their kind, and even the maiden, while sheyeaiden, feels the pangthe birth, and the painthe breast, and the small handsth when such feelingstrong, then does each maiden look about her with secret eyes for the man for the man who shallfitfatherhavelt.
so dieel wheooked upon thee and found thee big and strong, a hunter and fighterbeasts and men, well ablewin meat whehould eat for two, well ablekeep danger afar off whenhelplessness dre that was before the day the shaman brown came into the land and taught thee ”“butis not right, haveon good word ”“itnot righhat thou woulds breed thou after thy kind, the kind that does not kill; but e notsuch quest among the tana-naw.
foris saidthe timee, that the raven shall grapple withnot know, for thisthe affairmen; but iknow thatis forto bring forth men against that time.”“su su,” keesh broke in, “thou must hear”“a man would beatwittick and makehear,” she sneered.“but thou...here!”she thrusunchbark into his hand.“i cannot give thee myself, but this, yes.it looks fittestthsquaw work,braid away.”
he flungfrom him, the angry blood poundinuddy path under his bronze.“ohing more,” she went on.“therean old custom which thy father and mine were not strangers to.whean fallsbattle, his scalpcarried away i thou, who have forsworn the raven, musust bring me, not scalps, but heads, two heads, and then wilive thee, not bark, burave-beaded belt, and sheath, and long russia wilook kindly upon thee once again, and all willwell.”
“so,” the man pondered.“so.”thenturned and passed out through the light.“nay, o keesh!” she called after him.“not two heads, but threeleast!”but keesh remained truehis conversion, lived uprightly, and made his tribespeople obey the gospelpropoundedth brown.
through all the timethe fishinggaveheedthe tana naw, nor took noticethe sly things which were said, northe laughterthe womenthe man the fishing, gnob and his people, with great storesalmon, sun dried and smoke cured, departed for the huntingthe head reachesthe tan watched them go, but did not failhis attendancemission service, whereprayed regularly and led the singing with his deep bass voice.
th brown delightedthat deep bass voice, and becausehis sterling qualities deemed him the most promisin doubte did not believethe efficacythe conversionthe heathen, andwas not slowspeakingmr. brown waarge man,his way, andarguedout with such convincingness, allone long fall night, that the trader, driven from position after position, finally announceddesperation, “knock outbrains with apples, brown,i don’t beonvert myself,keesh holds fast, true blue, for two years!”
mr. brown never lostopportunity,he clinched the matterthe spot witirile hand grip, and thenceforth the conductkeesh wasdetermihe ultimate abiding placemacklewrath’s soul.
but there came news one day, after the winter’s rime had settled down over the land sufficientlynaw man arrivedthe st. gee missionquestammunition and bringing information thatsu had set eyesnee koo, a nervy young hunter who had bid brilliantly for herold gnob’ wasabout this time thatbrown came upon keeshthe wood trail which leads downth had his best dogsthe harness, and shoved under the sled lashings was his largest and finest pairsnow-shoes.
“where goest thou, o keesh?hunting?”mr. brown asked, falling into the india looked him steadilythe eyes foull minute, then startedhi again, turning his deliberate gaze upon the missionary,answered, “no; ito hell.”
inan open space, strivingburrow into the snowthough for shelter from the appalling desolateness, huddled three drear all about, a dozen paces away, was the sombr there waskeen, blue skynaked space, buague, misty curtain, pregnant with snow, which had draw waswind,sound, nothing but the snowwas there even the general stirlife about the camp; for the hunting party had run upon the flankthe caribou herd and the kill had bee, after the periodfasting had e the plenitudefeasting, and thus,broad daylight, they slept heavily under their roofsmoosehide.
bire, before onethe lodges, five pairssnow shoes stoodendtheir element, andthe fire hoodher squirrel skin parka was about her hair, and well drawnaround her throat; but her hands were unmittened and nimblywork with needle and sinew, pleting the last fantastic designa beltleather faced with bright scarle, somewherethe rearonethe lodges, raisehort, sharp bark, then ceasedabruptlyit ha, her father,the lodgeher back, gurgled and gruntedhis sleep.“bad dreams,” she smiledherself.“he grows old, and that last joint was too much.”
she placed the last bead, knotted the sinew, and replenished th, after gazing long into the flames, she lifted her headthe harsh crunch cruncha moccasined foot against the flinty sno washer side, bending slightly forwarda load whichbore uponwas wrapped looselya soft tanned moosehide, anddroppedcarelessly into the snow andlookedeach other long and without speech.
“ita far fetch, o keesh,” she saidlast,far fetch from st. gee missionthe yukon.”“ay,”made answer, absently, his eyes fixed keenly upon the belt and taking noteits girth.“but wherethe knife?”demanded.“here.”she drewfrom inside her parka and flashed its naked lengththe firelight.“ita good knife.”“giveme!”manded.“nay, o keesh,” she laughed.“it maythat thou wast not bornwear it.”“giveme!”reiterated, without changetone.“i wasborn.”but her eyes, glancing coquettishly past himthe moosehide, saw the snow aboutslowly reddening.“itblood, keesh?” she asked.“ay,i givethe belt and the long russian knife.”
she felt suddenly afraid, but thrilled whentook the belt roughly from her, thrilledth lookedhim softly, and was awarea painthe breast andsmall hands clutching her throat.“it was made fomaller man,”remarked grimly, drawinghis abdomen and clasping the bucklethe firs smiled, and her eyes wereshe felt the soft handshe was goodlook upon, and the belt was indeed small, made fomaller man; but what didmatter?she could make many belts.
“but the blood?” she asked, urgedbope new born and growing.“the blood, keesh?is it...are they...heads?”“ay.”“they mustvery fresh, else would the bloodfrozen.”“ay,is not cold, and theyfresh, quite fresh.”“oh, keesh!”her face was warm and bright.“and for me?”“ay; for thee.”he took holda cornerthe hide, flirtedopen, and rolled the heads out before her.“three,”whispered savagely; “nay, fourleast.”
but shethey lay the soft featured nee koo; the gnarled old facegnob; makamuk, grinningher with his lifted upper lip; and lastly, nossabok, his eyelid,to its old trick, droopedhis girlish cheeka suggestiv they lay, the firelight flashing upon and playing over them, and from eachtheidening circle dyed the snow tthe fire, the white crust gave way beneath the headgnob, which rolled over likhing alive, spun around, and cameresthe she did no, too, sat motionless, his eyes unblinking, centred steadfastly upon her.
once,the forest,overburdened pine dropped its loadsnow, and the echoes reverberated hollowly down the ge; but neithe short day had been waning fast, and darkness was wrapping round the camp when white fang trottedtowardpausedreconnoitre, but not being driven back, cam nose shot swiftlythe side, nostrilremble and bristles rising along the spine; and straight and true,followed the sudden scenthis master’ sniffedgingerlyfirst and licked the forehead with his red lollinsat abruptly down, pointed his noseat the first faint star, and raised the long wolf-howl.
this broughtslanced acrosskeesh, who had unsheathed the russian knife and was watchingface was firm and set, andit she readback the hoodher parka, she bared her neck and rosehe she paused and tooong look about her,the rimming forest,the faint starsthe sky,the camp,the snow shoesthe snoast long prehensive looreeze stirred her hair from the side, and for the spaceone deep breath she turned her head and followedaround until she metful she thoughther children, everbe unborn, and she walked overkeesh and said,am ready.”
m.pi.co
(梨树文学http://www.lishu123.com)