Julie of the Wolves (Excerpt VI)《狼女朱莉》（节选六）

琼·克雷格黑德·乔治 吴文安

As she worked on her hands and knees， she felt a rhythmical beat， like the rumble of Eskimo drums. Pressing her ear to the ground she heard the vibration of many feet—a herd of caribou was not far away.

The fog thinned more and Kapu came into view. As alert as an eagle， he was sniffing the wind and wagging his tail as if reading some amusing wolf story. She sniffed， too， but for her the pages were blank.

The vibrations in the earth grew stronger; Miyax drew back， as out of the fog came a huge caribou， running her way. His head was out straight and his eyes rolled wildly. At his neck， leaping with the power of an ocean wave， was Amoroq. Nails was diving in and out under his legs， and at his flank dashed Silver. Miyax held her breath， wondering whether to run or dodge.

Then Amaroq jumped， floated in the air for an instant， and sank his teeth into the shoulder of the beast. He hung on while Silver attacked from the side. Then he dropped to the ground as the bull bellowed. The fog closed in briefly， and when it thinned the caribou was poised above Amaroq， his cleaver-like hoofs aimed at his head. There was a low grunt， a flash of hoofs， and the huge feet cut uselessly into the sod; for Amaroq had vaulted into the air again and had sunk his teeth in the animal’s back. Snarling， using the weight of his body as a tool， he rode the circling and stumbling beast. Silver leaped in front of the bull trying to trip him or slow him down. Nails had a grip on one hind leg. The caribou bucked， writhed， then dropped to his knees. His antlers pierced the ground; he bellowed and fell.

He was dying， his eyes glazed with the pain-killing drug of shock; yet his muscles still flexed. His hoofs flailed at the three who were ending the hunt with slashes and blood-letting bites.

After what seemed to Miyax an eternity， the bull lay still. Amaroq tore open his side as if it were a loaf of bread and， without ceremony， fell to the feast.

Kapu and the little wolves came cautiously up to the huge animal and sniffed. They did not know what to do with this beast. It was the first one they had seen and so they wandered curiously around the kill， watching their elders. Amaroq snarled with pleasure as he ate， then licked his lips and looked at Kapu. Kapu pounced on a piece of meat and snarled， too; then he looked at Amaroq again. The leader growled and ate. Kapu growled and ate.

米婭克斯正跪在地上用手挖野菜，突然感到有节奏的撞击声，好像爱斯基摩鼓的隆隆声。她把耳朵贴到地上，听到很多只脚的震动——不远处有一群北美驯鹿。

浓雾变得淡了些，看得见卡普了。卡普像一只机警的鹰，正在嗅着空气，摇着尾巴，似乎在阅读某个有趣的狼故事。米娅克斯也闻了闻，但对她而言，什么都感觉不到。

地上的震动越来越强烈;米娅克斯往后退去，因为有一只巨大的驯鹿从雾中出现，朝她奔过来。驯鹿的头往前伸着，眼睛咕噜噜乱转。驯鹿的脖子上，像狂怒的大海波涛上下跃动着的，是巨狼阿马罗克。“指甲”一边追着跑，一边在驯鹿的腿之间进进出出。驯鹿的旁边还飞奔着“银白”。米娅克斯摒住呼吸，琢磨着该跑开还是躲避。

然后阿马罗克跳起来，在空中悬停了一小会儿，随后牙齿深深陷进驯鹿的肩膀里。阿马罗克一直咬住不放，同时“银白”从驯鹿的侧面展开攻击。接着阿马罗克掉到地上，公驯鹿惨叫不已。浓雾立刻包围上来，一切又模糊了。浓雾变淡时，驯鹿就在阿马罗克上方，利刃一般的蹄子对准了阿马罗克的头。接下来一声低哼，蹄影翻飞，驯鹿的大脚失去准头插入草地;因为阿马罗克再一次跳到空中，尖牙深深插入驯鹿的后背。阿马罗克嚎叫着，利用自己身体的重量，骑压在一边转圈一边跌跌撞撞的驯鹿身上。“银白”跳到公驯鹿的前面，试图绊倒他或让他慢下来。“指甲”咬住了驯鹿的一条后腿。驯鹿弓背跳起来，身子扭曲，随后跪在地上，鹿角插进土里，惨叫数声，摔倒了。

驯鹿奄奄一息，目光呆滞，似乎因为惊愕而暂时忘记了疼痛;但驯鹿的肌肉还在抽搐。驯鹿的蹄子朝着三只狼乱踢一番，而三只狼猛烈撕咬，让驯鹿流血不止，无力挣扎。

对米娅克斯而言，似乎过了很久，公驯鹿才躺着不动。阿马罗克撕开了驯鹿的半边身子，好像撕开一长条面包似的。随后毫不客气地就开始了大块朵颐。

卡普和其他小狼小心翼翼地走近这个庞然大物，用鼻子嗅嗅。他们不知道该如何下口。这是他们第一次见到这样的猎物，于是好奇地围着猎物转圈，看长辈们如何进食。阿马罗克一边进食一边高兴地嚎叫，然后舔舔嘴唇，看着卡普。卡普扑向一块肉，然后也嚎叫起来;接着他又看看阿马罗克。头狼低吼一声，然后吃肉。卡普紧跟着低吼，也开始吃肉。