登陆注册
26501000000156

第156章

RUMOURS.

Almost from the first moment of his being domiciled on Glashgar, what with the good food, the fine exercise, the exquisite air, and his great happiness, Gibbie began to grow; and he took to growing so fast that his legs soon shot far out of his winsey garment.But, of all places, that was a small matter in Gormgarnet, where the kilt was as common as trowsers.His wiry limbs grew larger without losing their firmness or elasticity; his chest, the effort in running up hill constantly alternated with the relief of running, down, rapidly expanded, and his lungs grew hardy as well as powerful; till he became at length such in wind and muscle, that he could run down a wayward sheep almost as well as Oscar.And his nerve grew also with his body and strength, till his coolness and courage were splendid.Never, when the tide of his affairs ran most in the shallows, had Gibbie had much acquaintance with fears, but now he had forgotten the taste of them, and would have encountered a wild highland bull alone on the mountain, as readily as tie Crummie up in her byre.

One afternoon, Donal, having got a half-holiday, by the help of a friend and the favour of Mistress Jean, came home to see his mother, and having greeted her, set out to find Gibbie.He had gone a long way, looking and calling without success, and had come in sight of a certain tiny loch, or tarn, that filled a hollow of the mountain.

It was called the Deid Pot; and the old awe, amounting nearly to terror, with which in his childhood he had regarded it, returned upon him, the moment he saw the dark gleam of it, nearly as strong as ever--an awe indescribable, arising from mingled feelings of depth, and darkness, and lateral recesses, and unknown serpent-like fishes.The pot, though small in surface, was truly of unknown depth, and had elements of dread about it telling upon far less active imaginations than Donal's.While he stood gazing at it, almost afraid to go nearer, a great splash that echoed from the steep rocks surrounding it, brought his heart into his mouth, and immediately followed a loud barking, in which he recognized the voice of Oscar.Before he had well begun to think what it could mean, Gibbie appeared on the opposite side of the loch, high above its level, on the top of the rocks forming its basin.He began instantly a rapid descent towards the water, where the rocks were so steep, and the footing so precarious, that Oscar wisely remained at the top, nor attempted to follow him.Presently the dog caught sight of Donal, where he stood on a lower level, whence the water was comparatively easy of access, and starting off at full speed, joined him, with much demonstration of welcome.But he received little notice from Donal, whose gaze was fixed, with much wonder and more fear, on the descending Gibbie.Some twenty feet from the surface of the loch, he reached a point whence clearly, in Donal's judgment, there was no possibility of farther descent.But Donal was never more mistaken; for that instant Gibbie flashed from the face of the rock head foremost, like a fishing bird, into the lake.

Donal gave a cry, and ran to the edge of the water, accompanied by Oscar, who, all the time, had showed no anxiety, but had stood wagging his tail, and uttering now and then a little half-disappointed whine; neither now were his motions as he ran other than those of frolic and expectancy.When they reached the loch, there was Gibbie already but a few yards from the only possible landing-place, swimming with one hand, while in the other arm he held a baby lamb, its head lying quite still on his shoulder:

it had been stunned by the fall, but might come round again.Then first Donal began to perceive that the cratur was growing an athlete.When he landed, he gave Donal a merry laugh of welcome, but without stopping flew up the hill to take the lamb to its mother.Fresh from the icy water, he ran so fast that it was all Donal could do to keep up with him.

The Deid Pot, then, taught Gibbie what swimming it could, which was not much, and what diving it could, which was more; but the nights of the following summer, when everybody on mountain and valley were asleep, and the moon shone, he would often go down to the Daur, and throwing himself into its deepest reaches, spend hours in lonely sport with water and wind and moon.He had by that time learned things knowing which a man can never be lonesome.

The few goats on the mountain were for a time very inimical to him.

So often did they butt him over, causing him sometimes severe bruises, that at last he resolved to try conclusions with them; and when next a goat made a rush at him, he seized him by the horns and wrestled with him mightily.This exercise once begun, he provoked engagements, until his strength and aptitude were such and so well known, that not a billy-goat on Glashgar would have to do with him.

But when he saw that every one of them ran at his approach, Gibbie, who could not bear to be in discord with any creature, changed his behaviour towards them, and took equal pains to reconcile them to him--nor rested before he had entirely succeeded.

Every time Donal came home, he would bring some book of verse with him, and, leading Gibbie to some hollow, shady or sheltered as the time required, would there read to him ballads, or songs, or verse more stately, as mood or provision might suggest.The music, the melody and the cadence and the harmony, the tone and the rhythm and the time and the rhyme, instead of growing common to him, rejoiced Gibbie more and more every feast, and with ever-growing reverence he looked up to Donal as a mighty master-magician.But if Donal could have looked down into Gibbie's bosom, he would have seen something there beyond his comprehension.For Gibbie was already in the kingdom of heaven, and Donal would have to suffer, before he would begin even to look about for the door by which a man may enter into it.

同类推荐
  • 耒耜经

    耒耜经

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。
  • 猫苑

    猫苑

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。
  • 佛说瞿昙弥记果经

    佛说瞿昙弥记果经

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。
  • 法句经疏

    法句经疏

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。
  • 懒真子

    懒真子

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。
热门推荐
  • 探究式科普丛书-生命的基因密码:遗传

    探究式科普丛书-生命的基因密码:遗传

    本书主要从遗传的趣味现象入手,让读者逐步认识遗传,然后仔细领会遗传的基本概念,遗传的过程、方式、决定因素以及与遗传的相关疾病等,旨在让广大读者更确切地认识遗传及其重要作用和特性。
  • 力掌诸天

    力掌诸天

    寻剑身死,重获新生,身周一切,物是人非。这是哪?为什么我多了个冰山似的娇妻?为什么一大堆铺天盖地的破事要找上门来?算了,不管这些,灭了再说,冰山娇妻……等着,迟早拿下你。等等,我体内怎么和以前不同了。“精神空间?在这里面,境界就是渣。”“丹道?来来来,你是丹道宗师是吧,我正好缺个烧炉子的。”“用剑的?什么,你还想跟我比这个?你当我拿的太古神剑是吃草长大的!”洛尘认真的看着远方:“世界强者那么多,我想去踩踩。”
  • 中国宝藏:龙之藏

    中国宝藏:龙之藏

    一批秦朝末年神秘消失的宝藏背负着父亲遗愿的陆枫,和伙伴们毅然踏上了寻找宝藏的征程一个接一个的线索陆枫游历在中华的大江南北,苦苦追寻宝藏的面纱逐渐被揭开一个险恶的跨国阴谋也悄然浮出了水面。
  • 星星下的约定

    星星下的约定

    初恋,对每一个人来说都是非常难忘的。尽管每一个初恋都是那么纯洁、缠绵,可是随着时间的推移初恋的记忆还是会不断退色。可是如果平生第一次让你心颤的人,忽然离开这个世界,你会如何?不管时光怎么流逝,刻在心上的人,是永远无法忘记的!她洛宁来到这个城市只为他们的承诺。她碰到了,林俊逸英俊潇洒,他展萧风冷酷无情,他展萧云,风流花心。对于他们激起她心中的涟漪,她该何去何从,她不该来的,她不会忘记他的守护神,她不要他孤独。
  • 另类教师

    另类教师

    作为特种兵的石傲天回到中海,无奈的做起了教师,可是教师却让他做的说不出好坏,他到底做了什么事情呢?林欣欣、赵雅非、宣思雅....她们最后的泪水到底是为了谁呢?...
  • 勇创仙路

    勇创仙路

    天有路,人有言,懵懂少年来修仙。修仙路,步步艰,少年独力创青天!修仙途,历劫难,劫不死,此心变。人心变,天心转,由人成天步两端!
  • EXO之寒光逝雪

    EXO之寒光逝雪

    这是一场星球保卫战,也是一场完美的邂逅。当危机真正的降临,他们又该如何面对?在生与死之间,她又该如何抉择?“现在是该后悔的时候吗?”“对不起,看来是我太天真了,天真的以为你很天真!”日夜交错,花开花落,最终的结局会是两败俱伤,还是破镜重圆,风吹扰了我们的心绪,明天,会是何景象……
  • 超能左眼

    超能左眼

    平凡的人生,普通的男孩,却在机缘巧合下拥有了有着超能力的左眼。看他如何用自己的左眼去改变人生,去笑傲红尘。
  • 妖炼奇谭

    妖炼奇谭

    苍茫之天,九州大地,稷山庆国之修,问道苍茫,踏道而去!六代封妖,乱天时序,封扶妖孽,九州破碎不堪。阴氼列国,天行道下,征战不休!敢问!诸天霸主,可有我命修立足之地!敢问!妖孽横行,可有我命修一席之地!敢问!苍茫九州,我命修......何为命修!岁月中,命修一怒,杀仙十万八千里。传闻中,独断万古,必有命修一脉。可史有记,修蛮者,一蛮足以开天。更有蛮神一怒,灭仙十万八千界。而如今,仙族,八荒四海,五皇三帝,人道庭立,算尽蛮族气运,轰杀进无尽之界,永世不得出,更有命修,灭其道统。时逢今日,阴氼列国征战不修......
  • 未来篮球

    未来篮球

    2024年,世界篮球使用统一规则的第十个年头,同时也是中国青年体育大联盟、高中全国篮球联赛十周年。三个少年怀揣着的梦想加入了圣哲高中,开始了他们的征程。校园的日子是充斥着坎坷、友谊、爱情、奋斗、理想的综合载体。青春无悔,梦想最大。全球统一的规则、四分线、麦迪规则、无中锋阵容、逆天的黄皮肤少年,这就是未来篮球,千万不要觉得不可思议。记住未来有无限可能。