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Besides showing Mark how to catch otter and alligators, Frank taught him how to kill or capture various other wild animals.
除了向马克展示如何捕捉水獭和短吻鳄外，弗兰克还教他如何杀死或捕捉其他各种野生动物。
Among other things he made plain the mysteries of fire hunting for deer, and this proved a more fascinating sport to Mark than any other.
除此之外，他还阐明了用火猎鹿的神秘之处，这对马克来说是比其他任何运动都更迷人的运动。
As explained by Frank, fire hunting is hunting at night, either on foot or horseback, by means of a fire-pan.
正如弗兰克所解释的，用火狩猎是在夜间步行或骑马狩猎，借助火盆。
It is filled with blazing light-wood knots, and the pole is carried over the hunter’s left shoulder, so that the blaze is directly behind and a little above his head.
它装满了燃烧的轻木节，杆子被扛在猎人的左肩上方，这样火焰就在他的身后和头顶上方一点。
While he himself is shrouded in darkness, any object getting within the long lane of light cast in front of him is distinctly visible, and in this light the eyes of a wild animal shine like coals of fire.
当他自己笼罩在黑暗中时，任何进入他前方投射的长光道内的物体都清晰可见，在这种光线下，野生动物的眼睛像燃烧的煤炭一样闪耀。
The animal, fascinated by the light, as all wild animals are, and being unable to see the hunter, stands perfectly still, watching the mysterious flames as they approach, until perhaps the first warning he has of danger is the bullet that, driven into his brain between the shining eyes, permanently satisfies his curiosity.
动物被光所吸引，就像所有野生动物一样，而且无法看到猎人，完全静止地站着，看着神秘的火焰接近，直到也许他对危险的第一个警告是子弹，子弹在闪亮的眼睛之间射入他的大脑，永久满足了他的好奇心。
When he goes afoot, the hunter must take with him an assistant to carry a bag of pine knots to replenish the fire; but on horseback he can carry his own fuel in a sack behind the saddle.
当他步行时，猎人必须带一个助手，携带一袋松木结来补充火力；但在马背上，他可以在马鞍后面的袋子里携带自己的燃料。
Some fire hunters prefer to carry a powerful bull’s-eye lantern strapped in front of their hats; but our boys did not possess any bull’s-eyes, and were forced to be content with the more primitive fire-pans.
一些火猎者更喜欢在帽子前面绑一个强大的牛眼灯；但我们的男孩没有任何牛眼灯，只能满足于更原始的火盆。
A method similar to this is practiced by the hunters of the North, who go at night in boats or canoes to the edges of ponds to which deer resort to feed upon lily-pads.
北方的猎人也采用类似的方法，他们在夜间乘船或独木舟到池塘边缘，鹿群会到那里吃百合垫。
There this method of hunting is called “jacking” for deer, and the fire-pan, or “jack,” is fixed in the bow of the boat, while the hunter, rifle in hand, crouches and watches beneath it.
在那里，这种狩猎方法被称为“猎鹿”，火盆或“杰克”固定在船头，而猎人手持步枪，蹲在下面观察。
Their first attempt at fire hunting was made by the boys on foot in the woods near the mill; but here they made so much noise in the underbrush that, though they “shined” several pairs of eyes, these vanished before a shot could be fired at them.
男孩们第一次尝试猎火是在磨坊附近的树林里步行进行的；但在这里，他们在灌木丛中制造了太多的噪音，尽管他们“照亮”了几对眼睛，但在开枪之前，这些眼睛就消失了。
In consequence of this ill-luck they returned home tired and disgusted, and Mark said he didn’t think fire hunting was very much fun after all.
由于这次运气不好，他们回家时疲惫又厌恶，马克说他觉得猎火毕竟不是很有趣。
Soon after this, however, Frank persuaded him to try it again, and this time they went on horseback. Both the Elmer horses were accustomed to the sound of fire-arms, and warranted, when purchased, to stand perfectly still, even though a gun should be rested between their ears and discharged.
然而，不久之后，弗兰克说服他再次尝试，这次他们骑马去了。埃尔默的两匹马都习惯了枪声，并且在购买时保证即使在它们的耳朵之间放一把枪并开枪，它们也会完全静止不动。
This time, having gone into a more open country, the hunters were successful; and having shot his first deer, and being well smeared with its blood by Frank, Mark came home delighted with his success and anxious to go on another hunt as soon as possible.
这一次，进入了一个更开阔的国家，猎人成功了；马克射中了他的第一只鹿，并被弗兰克涂上了它的鲜血，他高兴地回到家，渴望尽快再去打猎。
The country to the east of Wakulla being very thinly settled, abounded with game of all descriptions, and especially deer.
瓦库拉以东的国家人烟稀少，各种猎物丰富，尤其是鹿。
In it were vast tracts of open timber lands that were quite free from underbrush, and admirably fitted for hunting.
其中有大片开阔的林地，几乎没有灌木丛，非常适合狩猎。
This country was, however, much broken, and contained many dangerous “sink holes.”
然而，这个地区地形崎岖，有许多危险的“沉洞”。
In speaking of this section, and in describing these “sink holes” to the Elmers one evening, Mr. March had said,
一天晚上，在谈到这个地区，并向埃尔默一家描述这些“沉洞”时，马奇先生说：
“Sinks, or sink holes, such as the country to the east of this abounds in, are common to all limestone formations.
“像这个地区以东这样的‘沉洞’，在所有石灰岩地层中都很常见。
They are sudden and sometimes very deep depressions or breaks in the surface of the ground, caused by the wearing away of the limestone beneath it by underground currents of water or rivers.
它们是突然出现的，有时非常深的凹陷或地面断裂，是由地下水流或河流侵蚀石灰岩下面造成的。
In most of these holes standing water of great depth is found, and sometimes swiftly running water.
在大多数这些洞中，会发现很深的积水，有时还会有快速流动的水。
I know several men who have on their places what they call ‘natural wells,’ or small, deep holes in the ground, at the bottom of which flow streams of water.
我知道有几个人在他们的地方有他们所谓的‘天然井’，或者是地面上的小而深的洞，洞底有水流。”
Many of these sinks are very dangerous, as they open so abruptly that a person might walk into one of them on a dark night before he was aware of its presence.
许多这样的坑洞非常危险，因为它们开口非常突然，以至于一个人可能在黑暗的夜晚不知不觉地走进其中一个。
Several people who have mysteriously disappeared in this country are supposed to have lost their lives in that way.”
这个国家有几个人神秘失踪，据推测是这样失去生命的。”
This conversation made a deep impression upon Mark, and when the boys started on horseback, one dark night towards the end of March, with the intention of going on a fire hunt in this very “sink hole” country, he said to Frank, as they rode along,
这次谈话给马克留下了深刻的印象，当男孩们在三月底的一个漆黑的夜晚骑马出发，打算在这个“坑洞”地区进行一次火猎时，他在骑马的时候对弗兰克说，
“How about those holes in the ground that your father told us about the other night. Isn’t it dangerous for us to go among them?”
“你父亲那天晚上告诉我们的那些地上的洞怎么样了。我们在它们中间走不是很危险吗？”
“Not a bit of danger,” answered Frank, “as long as you’re on horseback. A horse’ll always steer clear of ‘em.”
“一点危险都没有，”弗兰克回答说，“只要你骑在马上。马总是会避开它们的。”
When they reached the hunting-ground, and had lighted the pine- knots in their fire-pans, Frank said,
当他们到达狩猎场，点燃了火盆里的松节时，弗兰克说，
“There’s no use our keeping together; we’ll never get anything if we do.
“我们在一起没有用；如果我们这样做，我们永远不会得到任何东西。
I’ll follow that star over this way”—and he pointed as he spoke to a bright one in the north-east—”and you go towards that one”—pointing to one a little south of east.
我会跟着那颗星星走这条路”——他说话时指着东北方向的一颗明亮的星星——“你朝那颗星星走”——指着稍微偏东一点的南方的一颗星星。
“We’ll ride for an hour, and then if we haven’t had any luck we’ll make the best of our way home.
“我们骑一个小时，如果我们没有任何运气，我们就尽力回家。
Remember that to get home you must keep the North- star exactly on your right hand, and by going due west you’ll be sure to strike the road that runs up and down the river.
记住，要回家，你必须把北极星正好放在你的右手边，一直往西走，你一定会碰到那条沿着河流上下的路。
If either of us fires, the other is to go to him at once, firing signal guns as he goes, and these the other must answer so as to show where he is.”
如果我们中的任何一个开枪，另一个人必须立即去找他，在去的路上开枪发出信号，另一个人必须回答，以显示他在哪里。”
Mark promised to follow these instructions, and as the two boys separated, little did either of them imagine the terrible circumstances under which their next meeting was to take place.
马克答应遵守这些指示，当两个男孩分开时，他们谁也没有想到他们下次见面的可怕情况。
Mark had ridden slowly along for some time, carefully scanning the lane of light ahead of him, without shining a single pair of eyes, and was beginning to feel oppressed by the death-like stillness and solitude surrounding him.
马克慢慢地骑了一段时间，仔细地扫描他前面的光带，没有照亮一双眼睛，开始感到被周围死一般的寂静和孤独所压迫。
Suddenly his light disappeared, his horse reared into the air, almost unseating him, and then dashed madly forward through the darkness.
突然，他的灯光消失了，他的马在空中仰起，差点把他掀下来，然后疯狂地冲进黑暗中。
The fire-pan, carelessly made, had given way, its blazing contents had fallen on the horse’s back, and, wild with pain, he was running away.
火盆，粗心制作，已经让步，燃烧的内容落在马背上，他因疼痛而疯狂奔跑。
All this darted through Mark’s mind in an instant; but before he had time to think what he should do, the horse, with a snort of terror, stopped as suddenly as he had started—so suddenly as to throw himself back on his haunches, and to send Mark flying through the air over his head.
这一切在一瞬间闪过马克的脑海；但在他有时间思考他应该做什么之前，马，带着恐惧的喷鼻声，突然停了下来——如此突然，以至于他向后仰坐在他的后腿上，把马克从他的头上飞过。
Thus relieved of his rider, the horse wheeled and bounded away. At the same instant Mark’s rifle, which he had held in his hand, fell to the ground, and was discharged with a report that rang loudly through the still night air.
这样一来，他的骑手就被解脱了，马转过身来，跳了起来。与此同时，马克手中拿着的步枪掉到了地上，随着一声响亮的枪声，在寂静的夜空中回荡。
The sound was distinctly heard by Frank, who was less than a mile away; and thinking it a signal from his companion, he rode rapidly in the direction from which it had come.
弗兰克听到了这个声音，他离这里不到一英里；他以为这是他同伴的信号，就迅速朝着声音传来的方向骑去。
He had not gone far before he heard the rapid galloping of a horse, apparently going in the direction of Wakulla.
他没走多远，就听到一匹马快速奔跑的声音，显然是朝着瓦库拉的方向去的。
Although he fired his own rifle repeatedly, he got no response, and he finally concluded that Mark was playing a practical joke, and had ridden home after firing his gun without waiting for him.
尽管他多次开枪，但没有得到回应，他最终得出结论，马克在开玩笑，开枪后不等他就骑马回家了。
Thus thinking, he turned his own horse’s head towards home, and an hour later reached the house.
这样想着，他把自己的马头转向家，一个小时后到达了房子。
He found Mark’s horse standing at the stable door in a lather of foam, and still saddled and bridled. Then it flashed across him that something had happened to Mark, and, filled with a sickening dread, he hurried into the house and aroused Mr. Elmer.
他发现马克的马站在马厩门口，浑身是泡沫，仍然带着马鞍和缰绳。然后他突然意识到马克出了什么事，心中充满了令人作呕的恐惧，他急忙进屋叫醒了埃尔默先生。
“No; and if he isn’t here something dreadful has happened to him, I’m afraid”; and then Frank hurriedly told Mr. Elmer what he knew of the events of the hunt.
“没有；如果他不在这里，恐怕他发生了可怕的事情”；然后弗兰克急忙告诉埃尔默先生他所知道的狩猎事件。
“We must go in search of him at once,” said Mr. Elmer, in a trembling voice, “and you must guide us as nearly as possible to the point from which you heard the shot.”
“我们必须马上去找他，”埃尔默先生用颤抖的声音说，“你必须尽可能地引导我们到你听到枪声的地方。”
Hastily arousing Mr. March and Jan, and telling them to saddle the mules, Mr. Elmer went to his wife, who was inquiring anxiously what had happened, and told her that Mark was lost, and that they were going to find him.
埃尔默先生急忙叫醒马奇先生和简，告诉他们给骡子上鞍，然后去他的妻子那里，她正在焦急地询问发生了什么事，告诉她马克迷路了，他们要去找他。
The poor mother begged to be allowed to go too; but assuring her that this was impossible, and telling Ruth to comfort her mother as well as she could, Mr. Elmer hurried away, mounted Mark’s horse, and the party rode off.
可怜的母亲恳求也让她去；但埃尔默先生向她保证这是不可能的，并告诉露丝尽可能安慰她的母亲，然后匆匆离开，骑上马克的马，一行人骑马离开了。
Frank knew the country so well that he had no difficulty in guiding them to the spot where he and Mark had separated.
弗兰克对这个国家非常熟悉，所以他毫不费力地把他们带到他和马克分开的地方。
From here they followed the star that Frank had pointed out to Mark, and riding abreast, but about a hundred feet apart, they kept up a continual shouting, and occasionally fired a gun, but got no answer.
从这里他们跟着弗兰克给马克指出的星星，并排骑行，但相隔约一百英尺，他们不断地喊叫，偶尔还开枪，但没有得到回应。
At length Mr. March detected a glimmer of light on the ground, and dismounting, found a few charred sticks, one of which still glowed with a coal of fire.
最后，马奇先生发现地上有一丝微光，他下马后发现了几根烧焦的木棍，其中一根还带着一块燃烧的煤。
They all gathered around, and having brought a supply of light- wood splinters with which to make torches, they each lighted one of these, and began a careful search for further evidences of the missing boy.
他们都聚集在一起，带来了一些轻木碎片，用来制作火把，他们每人点燃了一个，开始仔细寻找失踪男孩的进一步证据。
A shout from Jan brought them to him, and he showed the broken fire-pan which he had just picked up.
一声来自扬的呼喊把他们带到了他那里，他展示了他刚刚捡起的破碎的火盆。
A little farther search revealed the deep imprints of the horse’s hoofs when he had plunged and reared as the burning brands fell on his back; and then, step by step, often losing it, but recovering it again, they followed the trail until they came upon the rifle lying on the ground, cold and wet with the night dew.
再稍微搜索一下，就发现了马的蹄印，当燃烧的木棍落在他背上时，他猛地一跃，后腿直立；然后，一步一步，经常失去踪迹，但又重新找到，他们沿着痕迹一直走到发现步枪躺在地上，被夜露弄得又冷又湿。
Mr. March, holding his torch high above his head, took a step in advance of the others as they were examining the rifle, and uttered a cry of horror.
当他们检查步枪时，马奇先生高举火把，走在其他人前面一步，发出了一声恐怖的叫声。
A cold chill went through his hearers at these words, and they gathered close to the edge of the opening and peered into its black depths.
听到这些话，他的听众感到一阵寒意，他们聚集在洞口边缘，凝视着它的黑色深处。
“We must know beyond a doubt whether or not he is down there before we leave this place,” said Mr. Elmer, with forced composure, “and we must have a rope.
“在我们离开这个地方之前，我们必须毫无疑问地知道他是否在下面，”埃尔默先生强装镇定地说，“我们必须有一根绳子。
Ride for your life back to the house, and bring that Manila line you used to catch the alligator with.
为了你的生命，骑马回房子，带上你用来抓鳄鱼的那条马尼拉线。
While Frank was gone the others carefully examined the “sink hole,” and cut away the bushes and vines from around its edges. It was an irregular opening, about twenty feet across, and a short distance below the surface had limestone sides.
弗兰克走后，其他人仔细检查了“落水洞”，并砍掉了周围的灌木丛和藤蔓。这是一个不规则的开口，大约有二十英尺宽，在表面以下不远处有石灰岩壁。
Begging the others to be perfectly quiet, Mr. Elmer lay down on the ground, and reaching as far over the edge as he dared, called,
埃尔默先生恳求其他人保持绝对安静，然后躺在地上，尽可能地伸出边缘，喊道，
“Mark! my boy! Mark!” but there was no answer. Still Mr. Elmer listened, and when he rose to his feet he said,
“马克！我的孩子！马克！”但没有回应。埃尔默先生仍然倾听着，当他站起来时，他说，
“March, it seems as though I heard the sound of running water down there. Listen, and tell me if you hear it. If it is so, my boy is dead!”
“马奇，我好像听到下面有流水的声音。听，告诉我你是否听到了。如果是这样，我的孩子就死了！”
Mr. March lay down and listened, and the others held their breath. “Yes,” he said, “I hear it. Oh, my poor friend, I fear there is no hope.”
马奇先生躺下听了听，其他人屏住了呼吸。“是的，”他说，“我听到了。哦，我可怜的朋友，恐怕没有希望了。”
The first faint streaks of day were showing in the east when Frank returned with the rope and an additional supply of torches.
当弗兰克带着绳子和额外的火炬回来时，东方出现了第一缕淡淡的曙光。
“Now let me down there,” said Mr. Elmer, preparing to fasten the rope around him, “and God help me if I find the dead body of my boy.”
“现在让我下去吧，”埃尔默先生说，准备把绳子系在自己身上，“如果我找到我孩子的尸体，上帝保佑我。”
“No,” said Frank, “let me go. He saved my life, and I am the lightest. Please let me go!”
“不，”弗兰克说，“让我去吧。他救了我的命，而且我最轻。请让我去吧！”
Mr. Elmer reluctantly consented that Frank should take his place, and the rope was fastened around the boy’s body, under his arms, having first been wound with saddle blankets so that it should not cut him.
埃尔默先生不情愿地同意让弗兰克代替他，绳子被系在男孩的身体上，在他的胳膊下面，首先用马鞍毯子缠绕，这样它就不会割伤他。
Taking a lighted torch in one hand and some fresh splinters in the other, he slipped over the log which they had placed along the edge, so that the rope should not be cut by the rocks, and was gently lowered by the three anxious men into the awful blackness.
他一手拿着点燃的火把，一手拿着一些新鲜的碎片，滑过他们沿着边缘放置的原木，这样绳子就不会被岩石割断，然后被三个焦急的男人轻轻地放入可怕的黑暗中。
Thirty feet of the rope had disappeared, when it suddenly sagged to the opposite side of the hole, and at the same instant came the signal for them to pull up.
当三十英尺的绳子消失时，它突然向洞的另一边下垂，与此同时，传来让他们拉起的信号。
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