They told stories of their wonderful feats with fowl, fish and quadruped—how many wild ducks and turkeys they had shot, what "savage trout" they had caught, and how they had bagged the craftiest foxes, outwitted the most clever 'possums and overtaken the fleetest deer, until I thought that surely the lion, the tiger, the bear and the rest of the wild tribe would not be able to stand before these wily hunters. "To-morrow to the chase!" was their good-night shout as the circle of merry friends broke up for the night. The men slept in the hall outside our door, and I could feel the deep breathing of the dogs and the hunters as they lay on their improvised beds.
他们讲述打鸟、钓鱼和捕猎的过人本事——比如，他们射杀了多少野鸭和火鸡，他们如何打捞凶蛮的鲑鱼，如何诱捕狡猾的狐狸，如何同聪明的负鼠斗智，如何追赶动作迅捷的驯鹿。我想，在这些老谋深算的猎手面前，像狮子、老虎、熊和其余的野生动物恐怕都要遭殃了。当三五成群的好兄弟们散去的时候，“明天去捕猎”的叫喊声成了他们道晚安的告别语。男人们都睡在门外的走廊里，而且，我能感觉到猎人和他们的狗儿熟睡后深沉的鼻息声。
At
dawn
I
was
awakened
by
the
smell
of
coffee,
the
rattling
of
guns,
and
the
heavy
footsteps
of
the
men
as
they
strode
about,
promising
themselves
the
greatest
luck
of
the
season.
I
could
also
feel
the
stamping
of
the
horses,
which
they
had
ridden
out
from
town
and
hitched
under
the
trees,
where
they
stood
all
night,
neighing
loudly,
impatient
to
be
off.
At
last
the
men
mounted,
and,
as
they
say
in
the
old
songs,
away
went
the
steeds
with
bridles
ringing
and
whips
cracking
and
hounds
racing
ahead,
and
away
went
the
champion
hunters
"
with
hark
and
whoop
and
wild
halloo!"
黎明时分，我被咖啡的味道、猎枪的撞击，还有男人们沉重的脚步声吵醒了。我知道，他们正大步走出房子，去寻找狩猎季节的好运气。我还能感觉到马蹄踏地的震动，它们被拴在远离城镇的树下。站了一整夜后，马儿们高声嘶鸣，迫不及待地想脱离束缚。终于，男人们爬上了马背，就像老歌里吟唱的那样，他们策马扬鞭，在猎犬的簇拥下奔向战场；他们为赢得狩猎冠军而呼声四起，响彻云霄！
Later
in
the
morning
we
made
preparations
for
a
barbecue.
A
fire
was
kindled
at
the
bottom
of
a
deep
hole
in
the
ground,
big
sticks
were
laid
crosswise
at
the
top,
and
meat
was
hung
from
them
and
turned
on
spits.
天亮以后，我们就忙着为野外烧烤做准备。我们在一个深深的土坑里燃起篝火，把大的柴枝架在火堆顶部，然后再把肉挂在上面炙烤，于是肉咝咝地冒着烟，诱人的香味在空气中弥漫。
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