(原版)澳大利亞語(yǔ)文第四冊(cè) LESSON 8

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LESSON 8 A KANGAROO AT BAY

A KANGAROO AT BAY

DONALD MACDONALD , Australian journalist and author. Wrote Gum Boughs and Wattle Blossom, How We Kept the Flag Flying , and articles on natural history.

THE fighting kangaroo is one in a hundred. The “old man’s” legs must have failed him in flight before he trusts to their powers in battle. The fiercest fighter that I ever saw “stuck up” against a red gum-tree in the delta of the Edward and Wakool. It was during the rains of late winter, when the watercourses were running full; and, at some points, the two rivers had spread their waters over many miles of plain.

The dogs were not inclined to go to close quarters [1] with this fine six-foot specimen; and, while one of us threatened him with a stick in front, the other crept up behind the tree for a tail-hold. Once get a tail-hold of the largest kangaroo, and he is conquered. He may leap into the air, but a pull brings him back to the spot whence he sprang; while, at any moment, a sharp twitch to one side throws him off his legs. In an instant, the dogs rush in,and, keeping clear of the crescents [2] cut in air by his sweeping hind legs, slowly worry the life out of the game.

This one, for a time, very cleverly warded off the blows with his feeble little forearms, but, at last, springing clear over the dogs, made a dash for the watercourse. As he plunged into the yellow waters, the dog,were, once more by his side; and again the “boomer” wheeled, and backed against one of the big trees that stud these hollows. While he was standing on the bottom, and had his scarred [3] forearms, clear, the dogs were swimming. They were almost at his mercy now; and the usually soft eyes were blazing, and the nose twitching, in a way that showed the “old man” was more angry than afraid.

AN OLD-MAN KANGAROO

As the dogs neared him, he bent forward, and pushed them beneath the water. There was no flurry, no mistake. Each dog, as he rose, was quietly patted down again—now the brindle, now the fawn. The latter had less of the bulldog blood in him, and soon tired, but the brindle kept up the struggle. With only one dog to deal with, the kangaroo would have soon finished the fight. Clasping the brindle in his arms, he held him now beneath the water. The owner of the dog must interfere, or lose his favourite.

Rushing in waist-deep, he aimed a swinging blow at the “old man” with a waddy of stunted gum. There were no arms to ward off the blow, but it fell a few inches short. On the crown of the head, it would have killed him instantly, but it struck the kangaroo just above the nose. A leap, one last lunge forward at his enemy, and kangaroo and dog went down together. They rose apart in the current, but neither wanted to renew the fight now. For nearly a quarter of a mile they were whirled along towards the Edward; there they swung round in an eddy to the farther bank, among floating leaves and rushes, and, side by side, crept ashore. There they lay within a few feet of each other, both badly injured, both beyond the reach of interference.

Next-day, the dog crept home with his side badly gashed; and the kangaroo had also disappeared. In that last lunge, the “old man” had struck his enemy just below the ribs, and the long, dagger-like claw had cut like steel through the flesh. The wound was stitched; and, in a week or so, the dog, whose sides were seamed with black sears, was winning new laurels [4] , and multiplying his wounds.

—DONALD MACDONALD

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[1] close quarters: Quite near; within reach.

[2] crescents: Semi-circles.

[3] scarred: Bearing marks of former battles.

[4] new laurels: Fresh victories.