Chapter 5

第五章

THE AVENGING ANGELS

復讐の天使達

ALL night their course lay through intricate defiles and over irregular and rock-strewn paths. More than once they lost their way, but Hope’s intimate knowledge of the mountains enabled them to regain the track once more. When morning broke, a scene of marvellous though savage beauty lay before them. In every direction the great snow-capped peaks hemmed them in, peeping over each other’s shoulders to the far horizon. So steep were the rocky banks on either side of them that the larch and the pine seemed to be suspended over their heads, and to need only a gust of wind to come hurtling down upon them. Nor was the fear entirely an illusion, for the barren valley was thickly strewn with trees and boulders which had fallen in a similar manner. Even as they passed, a great rock came thundering down with a hoarse rattle which woke the echoes in the silent gorges, and startled the weary horses into a gallop.

一晩中 / 彼らの進行は複雑な渓谷を過ぎ / 岩がごろごろする不規則な道を越えていった◆一度ならず彼らは道に迷った / しかしホープの詳しい山の知識が / もう一度正しい道に戻す事を可能にした◆夜が明けた時 / 荒々しいが素晴らしい景色の美が彼らの前に現われた◆どの方向を見ても大きな雪を頂いた山頂が取り囲んでいた / 水平線の彼方でお互いの山肩を覗き込むように◆彼らの両側の岩だらけの土手は非常に険しく / 唐松も松も頭から吊るされたようだった / そしてちょっと突風が吹けば彼らの頭上に投げ出されそうだった◆この恐れは完全な錯覚ではなかった / 不毛の谷には分厚く木や巨石が撒き散らされていた / 似たような経過で落ちた◆彼らが通り過ぎた時でさえ / 一つの巨石が物凄い音を立てて転げ落ちた / それは静かな峡谷に木霊を響かせた / そして怯えた馬を駆け出させた

As the sun rose slowly above the eastern horizon, the caps of the great mountains lit up one after the other, like lamps at a festival, until they were all ruddy and glowing. The magnificent spectacle cheered the hearts of the three fugitives and gave them fresh energy. At a wild torrent which swept out of a ravine they called a halt and watered their horses, while they partook of a hasty breakfast. Lucy and her father would fain have rested longer, but Jefferson Hope was inexorable. “They will be upon our track by this time,” he said. “Everything depends upon our speed. Once safe in Carson, we may rest for the remainder of our lives.”

東の水平線からゆっくりと太陽があがり / 壮大な山脈の頂が一つずつ照らし出された / 祭りのランプのように / それらが全て赤く輝くまで◆壮観な景色は三人の逃亡者の心を活気付け / 新たな活力を与えた◆奔流が渓谷を洗う場所で / 彼らは立ち止まり馬に水を与えた / 彼らが慌てて朝食を食べる間に◆ルーシーと父はもう少し長く休んでいたかったかもしれないが / ジェファーソン・ホープは容赦しなかった◆「彼らはこの時刻までに俺らの後を追っているだろう」 / 彼は言った◆「すべてこちらの速度次第だ◆カーソンで安全を確保すれば / 残りの人生全て休む事も出来る」

During the whole of that day they struggled on through the defiles, and by evening they calculated that they were more than thirty miles from their enemies. At night-time they chose the base of a beetling crag, where the rocks offered some protection from the chill wind, and there, huddled together for warmth, they enjoyed a few hours’ sleep. Before daybreak, however, they were up and on their way once more. They had seen no signs of any pursuers, and Jefferson Hope began to think that they were fairly out of the reach of the terrible organization whose enmity they had incurred. He little knew how far that iron grasp could reach, or how soon it was to close upon them and crush them.

その日一日中 / 彼らは渓谷を越えようと奮闘した / そして夜までに彼らは計算した / 彼らは30マイル以上敵から離れたと◆夜が来て彼らは張り出した岩の下を選んだ / そこでは岩が冷たい風をいくらか防いでくれた / そこで / 身を寄せ合って暖をとり / 彼らは数時間の睡眠をとった◆しかし、夜明け前 / 彼らは起き出してもう一度進み出した◆後をつけてくる者の兆候はなく / そしてジェファーソン・ホープは考え始めていた / 彼らは恐ろしい組織の手から完全に逃れたと / その敵意を彼らが招いた◆彼はほとんど知らなかった / 鉄の爪がどれほど遠くにまで届くか / またはどれほどの速さでそれが閉じて彼らを押しつぶすかを

About the middle of the second day of their flight their scanty store of provisions began to run out. This gave the hunter little uneasiness, however, for there was game to be had among the mountains, and he had frequently before had to depend upon his rifle for the needs of life. Choosing a sheltered nook, he piled together a few dried branches and made a blazing fire, at which his companions might warm themselves, for they were now nearly five thousand feet above the sea level, and the air was bitter and keen. Having tethered the horses, and bid Lucy adieu, he threw his gun over his shoulder, and set out in search of whatever chance might throw in his way. Looking back, he saw the old man and the young girl crouching over the blazing fire, while the three animals stood motionless in the background. Then the intervening rocks hid them from his view.

彼らの逃避行の二日目の昼頃 / 彼らの乏しい食料は尽き始めた◆しかしこれは狩人にはほとんど心配ではなかった / なぜなら山には狩る獲物があり / そして彼は以前からしばしば銃に頼る必要があった / 生きていく必要のために◆一つの囲われた人目につかない場所を選び / 彼は枯れ木を幾らか積み重ね / 赤々と焚き火を起こした / これにあたって同行者が暖まれるように / 彼らは今ほとんど海抜五千フィートに達していたので / 空気は冷たく鋭かった◆馬を繋ぎ / ルーシーに別れを告げ / 彼は銃を肩にかけ / 何かチャンスが来ないかと探しに出かけた◆振り返って / 老人と若い女性が焚き火の炎に向かってかがんでいるのが見えた / 三匹の動物はその後ろにじっと立っていた◆その後、岩に隠れて彼らの姿が見えなくなった

He walked for a couple of miles through one ravine after another without success, though, from the marks upon the bark of the trees, and other indications, he judged that there were numerous bears in the vicinity. At last, after two or three hours’ fruitless search, he was thinking of turning back in despair, when casting his eyes upwards he saw a sight which sent a thrill of pleasure through his heart. On the edge of a jutting pinnacle, three or four hundred feet above him, there stood a creature somewhat resembling a sheep in appearance, but armed with a pair of gigantic horns. The big-horn – for so it is called – was acting, probably, as a guardian over a flock which were invisible to the hunter; but fortunately it was heading in the opposite direction, and had not perceived him. Lying on his face, he rested his rifle upon a rock, and took a long and steady aim before drawing the trigger. The animal sprang into the air, tottered for a moment upon the edge of the precipice, and then came crashing down into the valley beneath.

彼は二マイルほど歩いた / 一つの渓谷から別の渓谷へと / しかし獲物はなかった / 木の幹の印から見て / そして他の痕跡から / 彼は沢山の熊が近くにいると判断した◆遂に / 二時間無駄に探した後 / 彼は諦めて戻ろうと思い出していた / そのとき目を上に向けて / 彼は心が喜びに震える光景を目にした◆突き出した小山の端に / ３、４００フィート上の / ちょっと羊に似た姿の生き物が立っていた / しかし二本の巨大な角が生えていた◆ビッグホーンは / / そう呼ばれていた / / おそらく群れの見張りをしていたのだろう / その群れは狩人からは見えなかった / しかし幸いそれは反対の方向を向いていた / そして彼に気づかなかった◆うつ伏せになり / 彼はライフルを岩に乗せた / そして長い確実な狙いを決めてから引き金を引いた◆その動物は空に跳ね上がり / 絶壁の端で一瞬よろめいて / それから下の谷にもんどりうって転げ落ちた

The creature was too unwieldy to lift, so the hunter contented himself with cutting away one haunch and part of the flank. With this trophy over his shoulder, he hastened to retrace his steps, for the evening was already drawing in. He had hardly started, however, before he realized the difficulty which faced him. In his eagerness he had wandered far past the ravines which were known to him, and it was no easy matter to pick out the path which he had taken. The valley in which he found himself divided and sub-divided into many gorges, which were so like each other that it was impossible to distinguish one from the other. He followed one for a mile or more until he came to a mountain torrent which he was sure that he had never seen before. Convinced that he had taken the wrong turn, he tried another, but with the same result. Night was coming on rapidly, and it was almost dark before he at last found himself in a defile which was familiar to him. Even then it was no easy matter to keep to the right track, for the moon had not yet risen, and the high cliffs on either side made the obscurity more profound. Weighed down with his burden, and weary from his exertions, he stumbled along, keeping up his heart by the reflection that every step brought him nearer to Lucy, and that he carried with him enough to ensure them food for the remainder of their journey.

その動物は持ち上げるには重すぎた / なので狩人は片足と脇腹肉の一部を切り取って満足した◆この戦利品を肩にかつぎ / 彼は急いで来た道を戻った / すでに夕闇が迫っていたからだ◆しかし彼が出発するとすぐに / 彼は困難が立ちはだかっているのに気づいた◆熱心のあまり / 彼は良く知った渓谷を大きく過ぎて迷い込んでいた / そして自分が来た道を見つけ出すのは全く簡単ではなかった◆彼が分け入った渓谷は / 沢山の小さな峡谷に枝分かれしており / それぞれが非常に似ていて / 一つのものを他から見分けるのが不可能だった◆彼は一マイルかそれ以上も一つをたどった / 彼が一つの谷川に来るまで / それは彼が今までに間違いなく見たことがないものだった◆彼は間違ったところを曲がったと確信し / 別の方を試した / しかしこれも同じ結果だった◆急速に夜が迫っていた / そしてほとんど暗闇になっていた / 彼が遂に見覚えのある峡谷を見つける前に◆それでも正しい道筋をたどるのは容易ではなかった / 月はまだ出ておらず / 両側の高い絶壁は薄暗がりをより深いものにしていた◆荷物の重さが圧し掛かり / 激しい活動に体は疲れ / 彼はよろよろと進んだ / こう考えてくじけないようにして / 一歩ごとにルーシーに近づいているのだと / そして彼は運んでいるのだと / 残りの旅を確実にするのに十分な食料を

He had now come to the mouth of the very defile in which he had left them. Even in the darkness he could recognize the outline of the cliffs which bounded it. They must, he reflected, be awaiting him anxiously, for he had been absent nearly five hours. In the gladness of his heart he put his hands to his mouth and made the glen reecho to a loud halloo as a signal that he was coming. He paused and listened for an answer. None came save his own cry, which clattered up the dreary, silent ravines, and was borne back to his ears in countless repetitions. Again he shouted, even louder than before, and again no whisper came back from the friends whom he had left such a short time ago. A vague, nameless dread came over him, and he hurried onward frantically, dropping the precious food in his agitation.

彼はいま彼らと分かれた渓谷の入り口にまで到着した◆暗闇の中でも / 彼は隣接する絶壁の輪郭を見分ける事が出来た◆彼らはきっと / 彼は考えた / 自分を心配して待っているに違いない / ほとんど五時間近くもいなかったので◆嬉しい気持ちで / 彼は口に手を当てて / 彼が近づきつつある合図としてハローと大声で叫びそれは谷に木霊した◆彼はやめて返事に耳をすませた◆自分の叫び以外には何も聞こえなかった / それはわびしく静かな渓谷に響き渡り / 無数の繰り返しとなって彼の耳に帰ってきた◆もう一度彼は叫んだ / 前よりももっと大きな声で / そして再び彼の同行者からのささやき声さえも帰ってこなかった / ほんのちょっと前に別れたばかりの◆ぼんやりとした言葉に出来ない恐怖が彼を襲い / 彼は狂ったように前に駆け出した / 興奮して貴重な食料を落としながら