第 5 节
作者:冬恋      更新:2021-04-30 15:53      字数:9322
  my people。 So that night I added till it became a great pile; and I
  hauled up my oomiak; which was of the value of twenty kayaks。 And in
  the morning there was no pile。
  'Then made I preparation for the wedding; and the people that
  lived even to the east came for the food of the feast and the potlatch
  token。 Unga was older than I by the age of four suns in the way we
  reckoned the years。 I was only a stripling; but then I was a chief;
  and the son of a chief; and it did not matter。
  'But a ship shoved her sails above the floor of the ocean; and
  grew larger with the breath of the wind。 From her scuppers she ran
  clear water; and the men were in haste and worked hard at the pumps。
  On the bow stood a mighty man; watching the depth of the water and
  giving commands with a voice of thunder。 His eyes were of the pale
  blue of the deep waters; and his head was maned like that of a sea
  lion。 And his hair was yellow; like the straw of a southern harvest or
  the manila rope yarns which sailormen plait。
  'Of late years we had seen ships from afar; but this was the first
  to come to the beach of Akatan。 The feast was broken; and the women
  and children fled to the houses; while we men strung our bows and
  waited with spears in hand。 But when the ship's forefoot smelled the
  beach the strange men took no notice of us; being busy with their
  own work。 With the falling of the tide they careened the schooner
  and patched a great hole in her bottom。 So the women crept back; and
  the feast went on。
  'When the tide rose; the sea wanderers kedged the schooner to deep
  water and then came among us。 They bore presents and were friendly; so
  I made room for them; and out of the largeness of my heart gave them
  tokens such as I gave all the guests; for it was my wedding day; and I
  was head man in Akatan。 And he with the mane of the sea lion was
  there; so tall and strong that one looked to see the earth shake
  with the fall of his feet。 He looked much and straight at Unga; with
  his arms folded; so; and stayed till the sun went away and the stars
  came out。 Then he went down to his ship。 After that I took Unga by the
  hand and led her to my own house。 And there was singing and great
  laughter; and the women said sly things; after the manner of women
  at such times。 But we did not care。 Then the people left us alone
  and went home。
  'The last noise had not died away when the chief of the sea
  wanderers came in by the door。 And he had with him black bottles; from
  which we drank and made merry。 You see; I was only a stripling; and
  had lived all my days on the edge of the world。 So my blood became
  as fire; and my heart as light as the froth that flies from the surf
  to the cliff。 Unga sat silent among the skins in the corner; her
  eyes wide; for she seemed to fear。 And he with the mane of the sea
  lion looked upon her straight and long。 Then his men came in with
  bundles of goods; and he piled before me wealth such as was not in all
  Akatan。 There were guns; both large and small; and powder and shot and
  shell; and bright axes and knives of steel; and cunning tools; and
  strange things the like of which I had never seen。 When he showed me
  by sign that it was all mine; I thought him a great man to be so free;
  but he showed me also that Unga was to go away with him in his ship。
  Do you understand?… that Unga was to go away with him in his ship。 The
  blood of my fathers flamed hot on the sudden; and I made to drive
  him through with my spear。 But the spirit of the bottles had stolen
  the life from my arm; and he took me by the neck; so; and knocked my
  head against the wall of the house。 And I was made weak like a newborn
  child; and my legs would no more stand under me。 Unga screamed; and
  she laid hold of the things of the house with her hands; till they
  fell all about us as he dragged her to the door。 Then he took her in
  his great arms; and when she tore at his yellow hair laughed with a
  sound like that of the big bull seal in the rut。
  'I crawled to the beach and called upon my people; but they were
  afraid。 Only Yash…Noosh was a man; and they struck him on the head
  with an oar; till he lay with his face in the sand and did not move。
  And they raised the sails to the sound of their songs; and the ship
  went away on the wind。
  'The people said it was good; for there would be no more war of
  the bloods in Akatan; but I said never a word; waiting till the time
  of the full moon; when I put fish and oil in my kayak and went away to
  the east。 I saw many islands and many people; and I; who had lived
  on the edge; saw that the world was very large。 I talked by signs; but
  they had not seen a schooner nor a man with the mane of a sea lion;
  and they pointed always to the east。 And I slept in queer places;
  and ate odd things; and met strange faces。 Many laughed; for they
  thought me light of head; but sometimes old men turned my face to
  the light and blessed me; and the eyes of the young women grew soft as
  they asked me of the strange ship; and Unga; and the men of the sea。
  'And in this manner; through rough seas and great storms; I came
  to Unalaska。 There were two schooners there; but neither was the one I
  sought。 So I passed on to the east; with the world growing ever
  larger; and in the island of Unamok there was no word of the ship; nor
  in Kadiak; nor in Atognak。 And so I came one day to a rocky land;
  where men dug great holes in the mountain。 And there was a schooner;
  but not my schooner; and men loaded upon it the rocks which they
  dug。 This I thought childish; for all the world was made of rocks; but
  they gave me food and set me to work。 When the schooner was deep in
  the water; the captain gave me money and told me to go; but I asked
  which way he went; and he pointed south。 I made signs that I would
  go with him; and he laughed at first; but then; being short of men;
  took me to help work the ship。 So I came to talk after their manner;
  and to heave on ropes; and to reef the stiff sails in sudden
  squalls; and to take my turn at the wheel。 But it was not strange; for
  the blood of my fathers was the blood of the men of the sea。
  'I had thought it an easy task to find him I sought; once I got
  among his own people; and when we raised the land one day; and
  passed between a gateway of the sea to a port; I looked for perhaps as
  many schooners as there were fingers to my hands。 But the ships lay
  against the wharves for miles; packed like so many little fish; and
  when I went among them to ask for a man with the mane of a sea lion;
  they laughed; and answered me in the tongues of many peoples。 And I
  found that they hailed from the uttermost parts of the earth。
  'And I went into the city to look upon the face of every man。 But
  they were like the cod when they run thick on the banks; and I could
  not count them。 And the noise smote upon me till I could not hear; and
  my head was dizzy with much movement。 So I went on and on; through the
  lands which sang in the warm sunshine; where the harvests lay rich
  on the plains; and where great cities were fat with men that lived
  like women; with false words in their mouths and their hearts black
  with the lust of gold。 And all the while my people of Akatan hunted
  and fished; and were happy in the thought that the world was small。
  'But the look in the eyes of Unga coming home from the fishing was
  with me always; and I knew I would find her when the time was met。 She
  walked down quiet lanes in the dusk of the evening; or led me chases
  across the thick fields wet with the morning dew; and there was a
  promise in her eyes such as only the woman Unga could give。
  'So I wandered through a thousand cities。 Some were gentle and
  gave me food; and others laughed; and still others cursed; but I
  kept my tongue between my teeth; and went strange ways and saw strange
  sights。 Sometimes I; who was a chief and the son of a chief; toiled
  for men… men rough of speech and hard as iron; who wrung gold from the
  sweat and sorrow of their fellow men。 Yet no word did I get of my
  quest till I came back to the sea like a homing seal to the rookeries。
  But this was at another port; in another country which lay to the
  north。 And there I heard dim tales of the yellow…haired sea
  wanderer; and I learned that he was a hunter of seals; and that even
  then he was abroad on the ocean。
  'So I shipped on a seal schooner with the lazy Siwashes; and
  followed his trackless trail to the north where the hunt was then
  warm。 And we were away weary months; and spoke many of the fleet;
  and heard much of the wild doings of him I sought; but never once
  did we raise him above the sea。 We went north; even to the
  Pribilofs; and killed the seals in herds on the beach; and brought
  their warm bodies aboard till our scuppers ran grease and blood and no
  man could stand upon the deck。 Then were we chased by a ship of slow
  steam; which fired upon us with great guns。 But we put sail till the
  sea was over our decks and washed them clean; and los