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　　布蘭迪淺灘

　　貝阿德·泰勒(1825～1878)，1825年出生在賓西法尼亞洲的肯尼特廣場，所受教育也很有限，但他從小就顯示出了非凡的才能和精力。他四處游歷，著文作詩樣樣精通，文筆流暢優(yōu)美。本文即選自他的作品《肯尼特的故事》。貝阿德·泰勒于1878年去世。

　　黑沉沉的夜，似乎沒有盡頭。吉爾伯特只能靠猜測來辨認(rèn)地標(biāo)，因而不得不更多地依賴身下的這匹叫羅杰的馬兒對路況的直覺，而不是自己感官的指引。聽到遠(yuǎn)處傳來的兩三聲雄雞的清啼，他斷定時間已是將近午夜。此時雨幾乎完全停了。

　　凜冽的寒風(fēng)刮起來了，堅(jiān)實(shí)的天穹稍微升起了一點(diǎn)。他感覺就像右邊的山已經(jīng)消失，而地平線突然壓向了北面。羅杰開始在愈來愈深的水里行進(jìn)，濺起朵朵水花。不久，夜空中傳來轟鳴聲，而這聲音分明不是風(fēng)聲。

　　這里應(yīng)該是布蘭迪淺灘。河水漫過了廣闊的草地，漲勢十分兇猛。周圍渾濁的河水發(fā)出昏暗的微光。很快籬笆就不見了蹤影，河水即將沒過馬腿。

　　但他知道小樹林邊緣的空地便是淺灘。無論怎樣，河堤比后面的草地要略高一些，而且至少到目前為止，他還可以冒下險。淺灘不過 二十碼，他完全相信羅杰能夠游過去。

　　忠心耿耿的羅杰勇敢地前進(jìn)著，但是吉爾伯特很快注意到它似乎出了什么毛病。湍急的流水迫使它離開了大路，而它總是不時停下來，顯得十分焦急不安。就在前面不遠(yuǎn)，小樹林依稀可見，幾分鐘后他們就能上岸。

　　那是什么？一種奇怪的窸窣聲，像是牛群趟過干草地的聲音。即便是疾風(fēng)也沒能遮住這令人戰(zhàn)栗的聲音！羅杰呼哧呼哧地噴著氣，一動不動地站著，四條腿都在打顫，一陣恐懼使吉爾伯特不寒而栗。聲音越來越近，很快就變成了狂野的怒吼聲，回蕩在整個山谷。

　　“水壩！水壩！”吉爾伯特驚叫道，“水壩塌了！”他調(diào)轉(zhuǎn)馬頭，拉緊韁繩，一面用力鞭策著馬，一面大聲鼓勵著它。勇敢的羅杰與洪水作著斗爭，但洶涌而至的洪水已經(jīng)齊了馬肚。馬在搖晃。一排翻騰的泡沫逼近了他們，可怖的吼聲裹住了他們，人和馬都被卷進(jìn)了水中。

　　頭幾分鐘究竟發(fā)生了什么，吉爾伯特?zé)o論如何都回想不起來了。現(xiàn)在他們淹沒在水中，一會兒乘著猛沖向前的浪頭，一會兒被折斷的樹枝末梢鉤住，一會兒遭到大壩浮木的推擠，可卻好像總是被無情地困在混亂和毀滅的中心。

　　終于他看見他們落在了狂暴的洪水的后面，然而羅杰還在水里掙扎，不時奮力將頭伸出水面，同時把水從鼻孔里噴出。它所有想站穩(wěn)的努力都宣告失敗，它渾身的力氣幾乎都使盡了，除非幾分鐘之內(nèi)就能獲得救援，否則就沒得救了。天是那么暗，水又是那么湍急，怎么才能獲救呢？

　　突然羅杰停住了。下面有些什么東西絆住了它，洪水受到阻礙，沖擊著人和馬。吉爾伯特伸手摸到了粗糙的樹皮。他斜身一把抱住了樹干，從馬鞍上掙脫出來，減輕了負(fù)擔(dān)的羅杰使勁游回到水流中，頓時消失得無影無蹤。

　　吉爾伯特勉強(qiáng)看清原來是幾根大樹干交錯盤結(jié)在了一起，也許是給插在了河水的某處小礁島中，最上面的那根斜著伸出了水面。他竭盡全力抵住了拼命想把他卷跑的急流，攀到了足以逃開洪水吞噬的高處，同時又盡量不讓樹干失去平衡。雖然他仍是半浸在水里，但他終于暫時相對安全了一些，可離最終脫險還很遙遠(yuǎn)。

　　然而新的危險向他無情地襲來。天氣越變越冷，刺骨的寒風(fēng)已經(jīng)夾雜著冰霜。一小時后，天邊幾乎看不見一片云，他只有通過漸漸下沉的月亮才能注意到夜晚的消逝。可此刻的他已經(jīng)快失去知覺了。

　　月亮西沉，黎明將至，天邊開始泛起了魚肚白。這時，吉爾伯特突然抬起了頭。在嘈雜的水聲和呼嘯的風(fēng)聲之間，他聽到了一個熟悉的聲音，那是馬在嘶叫，尖銳而且刺耳。他掙扎著挺直了身子，看見下面不遠(yuǎn)處有兩個騎馬的人正涉水打草地經(jīng)過。他們忽然停了下來，好像在商議什么，很快又趕上前來。

　　吉爾伯特想呼喊，可是喉嚨僵硬，肺部也沒力氣。馬又在嘶叫，這次絕對沒錯，是羅杰！他大叫了一聲——叫聲沙啞，異樣而不自然。

　　騎馬的人聽到了他的叫聲，立即沿著堤岸往上走，一直走到了他正對面的地方。得救的希望給他的身體帶來了生命的震顫，他環(huán)顧四周，發(fā)現(xiàn)洪水真的退了。

　　“我們沒帶繩子。”他聽見其中的一個人說，“我們怎么才能夠得著他呢？”

　　“沒有時間回去拿了。”另一個人回答說，“我的馬比你的強(qiáng)壯，我到下面的小溪里去，那兒更寬一點(diǎn)，也沒有那么深，我再慢慢靠近他。”

　　“可是一匹馬又馱不動兩個人。”

　　“相信他的馬看見我后會跟過去的。”

　　當(dāng)最后說話的那個人騎馬下水的時候，吉爾伯特看見他領(lǐng)著的另一匹馬也一同跳進(jìn)了水里。這是一項(xiàng)十分艱巨而危險的任務(wù)，他們開始進(jìn)入河水的干流，因?yàn)槭呛铀慕粎R處，所以水面明顯變寬了，但水還是沒過了馬的肚帶，流速也很快。

　　有時馬失足跌倒在了水里，但是他們還是迎難而上，一英寸一英寸地挪到了離吉爾伯特有六英尺遠(yuǎn)的地方。看來是不可能再前進(jìn)一步了。

　　“你會游泳嗎？”那人問道。

　　吉爾伯特?fù)u了搖頭。接著他叫道：“把羅杰的韁繩扔給我！”

　　那人解開了韁繩，把一頭扔給了他。吉爾伯特想努力抓住，但他的手已經(jīng)凍得麻木了。然而他還是設(shè)法挽住了韁繩，然后松開了樹干。

　　那人俯身拽住了他的衣領(lǐng)，他感到自己被一只強(qiáng)有力的手提了起來，放到了羅杰的鞍上。由于他體力不支，又四肢僵硬，所以要使身子坐直絕非易事。返回時，盡管對馬來說更輕松一些，但因?yàn)榧獱柌貨]有幫助根本就無法支撐自己，所以也是同樣危險。

　　當(dāng)他們終于上岸時，那人對吉爾伯特說：“你現(xiàn)在安全了。你能活下來真是老天在發(fā)慈悲啊！”

　　另外那個騎馬人加入了他們的行列，他們緩緩地走過了滿是水的草地。他們把自己的斗篷都給吉爾伯特披上，兩人一邊一個把他小心地扶好。吉爾伯特實(shí)在是太累了，他都沒有力氣問他們是怎么找到他的，或是問他們要帶他去哪——他已經(jīng)麻木得失去了好奇心，甚至連感激都不會了。

　　其中一人拍了拍羅杰的肩膀說：“它才是你的救命恩人，我們是跟著它才找到你的。你想知道是怎么回事嗎——三點(diǎn)鐘的時候，大概是這個時間吧，我的妻子叫醒了我。‘你聽到了嗎？’她問。

　　“我聽到門前的小路上有一匹馬在嘶叫——我說不上來是什么樣的叫聲，好像它想把屋里的人全叫醒似的。我覺得有些奇怪，于是起身往窗外一瞧，看見它似乎背著一副馬鞍。它用蹄子又踏地，又刨地，然后發(fā)出了聲聲嘶叫。

　　“我對我妻子說：‘出事了。’然后穿上衣服出門。馬一看見我，就做出了最為奇怪的舉動。我心想要是有什么動物想要開口說話的話，它就會是這樣。我想去接近它，它卻猛然加速，順著小路跑幾步，然后再跑回來，舉動十分奇怪。

　　“我走進(jìn)屋子，弄醒了我的弟弟。隨后我們騎馬一起動身了。你的馬走在前頭，每隔一會兒就停下來回頭看我們有沒有跟上。當(dāng)我們看到水這么大時，我確實(shí)有些猶豫。但是卻沒有用，你的馬催著我們前進(jìn)，直到找到你為止。以前我從來沒有聽過這樣的怪事，這一輩子都沒聽說過。”吉爾伯特說不出話，但兩顆大大的淚珠在他的眼睛里慢慢凝聚，最后順著臉頰滾落了下來。兩兄弟感受到他的情感，心中也充滿感動。

　　在曙光中，他們頂著寒風(fēng)走了一英里地，終于來到了一座溫暖的農(nóng)舍。兩兄弟把他抬下了馬鞍，準(zhǔn)備立即把他抬到屋子里去，可吉爾伯特還是先倚在羅杰的脖子上，一把摟住它的頭，深情地吻著。

　　Brandywine Ford

　　Bayard Taylor was born at Kennett Square, Penn., in 1825. He received a limited school education, but at an early age displayed great energy and talent. He was a great traveler, and a fluent, graceful writer, both of prose and verse.  The following selection is adapted from "The Story of Kennett". He died in 1878.

　　The black, dreary night, seemed interminable. He could only guess, here and there, at a landmark, and was forced to rely more upon Roger's instinct of the road than upon the guance of his senses. Toward mnight, as he judged, by the solitary crow of a cock, the rain almost entirely ceased。

　　The wind began to blow sharp and keen, and the hard vault of the sky to lift a little. He fancied that the hills on his right had fallen away, and that the horizon was suddenly depressed towards the north. Roger's feet began to splash in constantly deepening water, and presently a roar, distinct from that of the wind, filled the air。

　　It was the Brandywine. The stream had overflowed its broad meadow bottoms, and was running high and fierce beyond its main channel. The turb waters made a dim, dusky gleam around him; soon the fences disappeared, and the flood reached to his horse's body。

　　But he knew that the ford could be distinguished by the break in the fringe of timber; moreover, that the creek bank was a little higher than the meadows behind it, and so far, at least, he might venture. The ford was not more than twenty yards across, and he could trust Roger to swim that distance。

　　The faithful animal pressed bravely on, but Gilbert soon noticed that he seemed at fault. The swift water had forced him out of the road, and he stopped from time to time, as if anxious and uneasy. The timber could now be discerned, only a short distance in advance, and in a few minutes they would gain the bank。

　　What was that? A strange, rustling, hissing sound, as of cattle trampling through dry reeds — a sound which quivered and shook, even in the breath of the hurrying wind! Roger snorted, stood still, and trembled in every limb; and a sensation of awe and terror struck a chill through Gilbert's heart. The sound drew swiftly nearer, and became a wild, seething roar, filling the whole breadth of the valley。

　　"The dam! The dam!" cried Gilbert, "the dam has given way!" He turned Roger's head, gave him the rein, struck, spurred, cheered, and shouted. The brave beast struggled through the impeding flood, but the advance wave of the coming inundation already touched his se. He staggered; a line of churning foam bore down upon them, the terrible roar was all around and over them, and horse and rer were whirled away。

　　What happened during the first few seconds, Gilbert could never distinctly recall. Now they were whelmed in the water, now ring its careering te, torn through the tops of brushwood, jostled by floating logs and timbers of the dam, but always, as it seemed, remorselessly held in the heart of the tumult and the ruin。

　　He saw at last that they had fallen behind the furious onset of the flood, but Roger was still swimming with it, desperately throwing up his head from time to time, and snorting the water from his nostrils. All his efforts to gain a foothold failed; his strength was nearly spent, and unless some help should come in a few minutes it would come in vain. And in the darkness, and the rapity with which they were borne along, how should help come?

　　All at once Roger's course stopped. He became an obstacle to the flood, which pressed him against some other obstacle below, and rushed over horse and rer. Thrusting out his hand, Gilbert felt the rough bark of a tree. Leaning towards it, and clasping the log in his arms, he drew himself from the saddle, while Roger, freed from his burden, struggled into the current and instantly disappeared。

　　As nearly as Gilbert could ascertain, several timbers, thrown over each other, had lodged, probably upon a rocky islet in the stream, the uppermost one projecting slantingly out of the flood. It required all his strength to resist the current which sucked, and whirled, and tugged at his body, and to climb high enough to escape its force, without overbalancing his support. At last, though still half immerged, he found himself comparatively safe for a time, yet as far as ever from a final rescue。

　　Yet a new danger now assailed him, from the increasing cold. There was already a sting of frost, a breath of ice, in the wind. In another hour the sky was nearly swept bare of clouds, and he could note the lapse of the night by the sinking of the moon. But he was by this time hardly in a condition to note anything more。

　　The moon was low in the west, and there was a pale glimmer of the coming dawn in the sky, when Gilbert Potter suddenly raised his head. Above the noise of the water and the whistle of the wind, he heard a familiar sound — the shrill, sharp neigh of a horse. Lifting himself with great exertion, to a sitting posture, he saw two men, on horseback, in the flooded meadow, a little below him. They stopped, seemed to consult, and presently drew nearer。

　　Gilbert tried to shout, but the muscles of his throat were stiff, and his lungs refused to act. The horse neighed again. This time there was no mistake;it was Roger that he heard! Voice came to him, and he cried aloud — a hoarse, strange, unnatural cry。

　　The horsemen heard it, and raply pushed up the bank, until they reached a point directly opposite to him. The prospect of escape brought a thrill of life to his frame; he looked around and saw that the flood had indeed fallen。

　　"We have no rope," he heard one of the men say. "How shall we reach him?"

　　"There is no time to get one now," the other answered. "My horse is stronger than yours. I'll go into the creek just below, where it's broader and not so deep, and work my way up to him,"

　　"But one horse can't carry both."

　　"His will follow, be sure, when it sees me."

　　As the last speaker moved away, Gilbert saw a led horse plunging through the water bese the other. It was a difficult and dangerous undertaking. The horseman and the loose horse entered the main stream below, where its dived channel met and broadened, but it was still above the saddle girths, and very swift。

　　Sometimes the animals plunged, losing their foothold; nevertheless, they gallantly breasted the current, and inch by inch worked their way to a point about six feet below Gilbert. It seemed impossible to approach nearer。

　　"Can you swim?" asked the man。

　　Gilbert shook his head. "Throw me the end of Roger's brle!" he then cried。

　　The man unbuckled the brle and threw it, keeping the end of the rein in his hand. Gilbert tried to grasp it, but his hands were too numb. He managed, however, to get one arm and his head through the opening, and relaxed his hold on the log。

　　A plunge, and the man had him by the collar. He felt himself lifted by a strong arm and la across Roger's saddle. With his failing strength and stiff limbs, it was no slight task to get into place; and the return, though less laborious to the horses, was equally dangerous, because Gilbert was scarcely able to support himself without help。

　　"You're safe now," sa the man, when they reached the bank, "but it's a downright mercy of God that you're alive!"

　　The other horseman joined them, and they rode slowly across the flooded meadow. They had both thrown their cloaks around Gilbert, and carefully steadied him in the saddle, one on each se. He was too much exhausted to ask how they had found him, or whither they were taking him — too numb for curiosity, almost for gratitude。

　　"Here's your savior!" sa one of the men, patting Roger's shoulder. "It was through him that we found you. Do you wish to know how? Well — about three o'clock it was, maybe a little earlier, maybe a little later, my wife woke me up. 'Do you hear that?' she sa。

　　"I listened and heard a horse in the lane before the door, neighing, — I can't tell you exactly how it was — as though he would call up the house. It was rather queer, I thought, so I got up and looked out of the window, and it seemed to me he had a saddle on. He stamped, and pawed, and then he gave another neigh, and stamped again。

　　"Sa I to my wife, 'There is something wrong here,' and I dressed and went out. When he saw me, he acted in the strangest way you ever saw; thought I, if ever an animal wanted to speak, that animal does。

　　When I tried to catch him, he shot off, ran down the lane a bit, and then came back acting as strangely as ever。

　　"I went into the house and woke up my brother, here, and we saddled our horses and started. Away went yours ahead, stopping every minute to look around and see if we followed. When we came to the water I rather hesitated, but it was of no use; the horse would have us go on and on, till we found you. I never heard of such a thing before, in all my life." Gilbert d not speak, but two large tears slowly gathered in his eyes, and rolled down his cheeks. The men saw his emotion, and respected it。

　　In the light of the cold, keen dawn, they reached a snug farmhouse, a mile from the Brandywine. The men lifted Gilbert from the saddle, and would have carried him immediately into the house, but he first leaned upon Roger's neck, took the faithful creature's head in his arms, and kissed it。

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