英语故事-GunsOnTheHillside

1、英语故事Guns On The HillsideA shot rang out in the clear winter morning.Another and another. The sound echoed among the surrounding hills and sent a clamour of rooks flying into the air ， cawing like crazy as they circled the deodar trees. Ten-year-old Bishnu stopped dead in his tracks. The hunters were

2、 back again ！ What were they after this time ？With a couple of bounds Bishnu gained the main road above his village. The was just peeping over the hills to theeast. Bishnu knew it was time he rushed to Col. Dutta s farmwhere he worked. There was lots to do in the apple orchard attached to the farm.

3、The apple trees were being sprayed with fungicide and work began early in the morning. But Bishnu knew he could not go just then. First he had to find out what the shots were all about.From where he stood on the main road ， Bishnu could see the orchard directly below him， some two hundred feet down

4、the hill. To his left lay a stretch of terraced wheat fields.The wheat was ripe ， the delicate ears turned from green to gold. Here and there an eager farmer had begun to harvest his crop and there were small squares of stubble among the wheat.Suddenly Bishnu understood. Partridges ！ At harvest time

5、 there were lots of partridges in the wheat， feeding onthe grain that had dropped. And hunters knew about it Another shot rang out. Bishnu forget all about the farm. He forget about the apple trees. Instead ， like a whirlwind ， he took off for the patch of wheat.At the edge of the fields he stopped

6、and looked around. There were a few people to be seen on the hillside，but he knewall of them. Healso knew that none of them possessed a gun. With a thudding heart Bishnu hurriedly scanned the wheat. But there was no movement anywhere except when the breeze stirred the crop. Not a bird chirped， only

7、the rooks stillcircled in the sky. A hunter was at large. But where was he？Would he strike again ？Bishnu went down on his knees and peered among the wheat. From that angle ， only the stalks could be seen and the foliage was not so dense. Perhaps it would be easier for him to spot the intruder that w

8、ay. Bishnu clenched his fists. He would teach the fellow a lesson. Howdare he comehere shootingbirds ？WHA！ MBut his fist paused in mid-air ， for just then ， scurrying among the stalks came a half-grown partridge. Even as Bishnu watched， the partridge lurched and fell to one side ， flapping its wings

9、 helplessly. “ It is hurt ， ” said Bishnu. “ I must catch it before the hunters do.”Bishnu took a few quick steps. But the partridge knew what was coming and picking itselfup，it limped downthe rowsof wheat stalks ， out of Bishnu s reach. Bishnu pulled a face. “ Stop！ ” he muttered under his breath.

10、“ I am not going to hurt you. ” But the partridge hurried on. Bishnu crouched as low as he could and gave chase on all fours. But the partridge had been alarmed. Off it went ， as fast as it could.Suddenly Bishnu had an idea. He took off his sweater and， holding it in both hands， went after the partr

11、idge. The bird scurried desperately ， in fear for its life. Once again it flapped its wings， as if to fly ， but fell on one side instead. And that was when Bishnu went into action. Creeping up from behind ， with one swift ， clean movemen，t he threw his sweater over the bird. Next minute he dashed ou

12、t of the wheat， thepartridge held firmly in both hands.Up the hill ran Bishnu ， his bare feet flying overthe dark brown earth. To his right was the wheat， to his lefta barbed wire fence that Col. Dutta had put up. On his own，Bishnu had ducked under the fence several times. But he could not dream of

13、doing it with the partridge in his hands. He had no choice but to run straight up to the road， turn left andrace down to the safely of Col. Dutta s farm.Bishnu bent almost double as he spend on his way.He had nearly cleared the line of wheat when a harsh voice boomedout and behind him，“ You there ！

14、Stop this minute orI will shoot ！ ” called the voice again. No two voices. A minute later a shot rang out； Bishnu heard somepellets hit the barbed wire fence. His chest was heaving like the bellows his mother used back home to light the fire ， but there was no stopping him.And now he heard footsteps

15、 behind him. Heavy， lumbering footsteps. Adult voices. Cursing. Calling him names. “ Just you wait. Wewill grab you by the neck. What do you think you are doing ， making off with other people s game？”Thefootsteps camenearer and nearer. Bishnu was beginning to tire and the partridge wriggled much. It

16、 seemed bent of breaking free. Bishnu clutched harder. Another yard ， two ， three and he had gained the main road.For a brief momentan outcrop of rock shielded Bishnufrom view but it would not be for long. The hunters were gaining on him. Bishnu looked at the road. It swept pass him to thevery edge

17、of the hill before turning back in a giant loop andsloping down to Col. Dutta s farm. Bishnu knew he could notrisk talking the road. It was too long and the hunters weresure to catch him before he reached the farm. No he would have to take a short cut.Without another thought ， Bishnu turned and dive

18、dinto the wild raspberry thicket to his left. It was one bigmass of thorns and tangled branches and below it the hillsidesloped sharply all the way to Col. Dutta s farmhouse. Not many people could go down that slope. But mountain goats did andBishnu was determined to try. It was his only hope.Bishnu

19、 fought his way out of the thicket ， pushing with his elbows and ducking when the thorns came too close to his eyes. His arms legs were scratched and bleeding. One of his sleeves had almost apart. His mother would be cross ， but at least the partridge was sage between his hands. Bishnu bent down and

20、 brushed the partridge with his cheek. “ I won t. ” But deep with in he was not so sure.Bishnu stepped out of the thicket and tried to rundown the hill at the angle. He knew that it was the best way to go down a steep slope. But it did not work. His feet slipped on the short grass ， still wet with t

21、he morning dew. NowBishnu had no choice but to sit down and slide the rest of the way.Whenhe hit a level patch of ground ， he got up and ran again. Sliding and running by turns ， he reached the wild plum tree half-way down the hillside.Here he paused to rest and get back his breath ， for he was comp

22、letely winded. A few minutes later ， sweat pouring down his face ， his shirt in tatters ， and the skin peeled off his right big toe ， Bishnu reached the woodshed at the back of Col. Dutta s farmhouse. Luckily for him， the door was open. Bishnu dived in and hid behind a pile of firewood ， the partrid

23、ge still clutched to his heart.Slowly he regained his breath and his heart stopped beating like a wild thing. As the ringing in his ears stopped too ， he became aware of other sounds. The pressure cooker whistling in the kitchen. The hens in their coops， scratching for corn and Amar Singh ， the olde

24、st farmhand ， patiently sweeping the yard. All at once a loud barking filled the air.Bishnu froze. Hansa ， Col. Dutta s Alsatian ！ Hansa barking meant only one thing-strangers on the farm. So the hunters hadcaught up with himBishnu knew that he was safe inside the woodshed.Nobody camethere except ea

25、rly in the morning. And if the stuck around long enough ， he would not be discovered. But he could not contain his curiosity. He found an old basket in a corner ， put the partridge in ， sweater and all ， and closed the lid firmly. “ Nowto see what is happening outside ， ” said Bishnu.The roof of the

26、 woodshed sloped down to a convenientheight at the back. Bishnu scrambled up. He tiptoed his wayover the slate tiles and hid behind a chimney. Through theopening at the top of the chimney， he could see the path sloping to the farmhouse. Coming down the path were two tough-lookingmen. Both carried gu

27、ns and both had large bags slung over their shoulders. Hansa was barking loud enough to deafen anyone. Col. Dutta quietened her. He faced the two men. “ Yes， what can I do for you ？” he asked.Oneof the mensaid ， “ A boy from your farm has stolenour game. A partridge. More likely two. Wemust have the

28、m back.Oh， so it was your guns I heard.Yes.You come every year ？”Wedo. Wehave a license and MadhoRam， the sarpanch of this village ， knows us very well.“ What do you do with the partridge that you collect ？”“ Eat them ， naturally. And now ， will you please get hold of the boy and let us have the bir

29、ds back？”But Col. Dutta was not done yet. He towered over the two menand boomed， “ You comeevery year ， shoot downa whole lot of partridges ， collect a few and leave the rest to die among the wheat ！ What do you mean by this ？”The men looked uneasy. They were not prepared for this attack. Col. Dutta

30、 went on，“ If you hunt for the table ，the least that you can do is not to kill any more than you need. And you must take care to put a woundedbird out of its misery. Please leave my farm this minute. I don t wish to exchange another word with people like you ！ ”From his position behind the chimney ， Bishnu saw the two men turn on their heels and ， without another word ， march up the path to the main road. A minute later， Col.Dutta s voice rang through the house，“ AmarSingh ， get thesprayer. Quick ！ Wemust start work on the orchard right away！