PART TWO Chapter Six Ghond Goes Reconnoitring

About the first week of December, Ghond and Gay-Neck were to go on a reconnaissance trip all by themselves. The place they went to was a forest not far from Ypres, Armentieres and Hazebrouck. If you take a map of France and draw a line from Calais south almost in a straight line, you will come across a series of places where the British and Indian armies were situated. Near Armentieres there are many graves of Indian Mohammedan soldiers. There are no graves of Indian Hindu soldiers because the Hindus from time immemorial have cremated their dead, and those that are cremated occupy no grave. Their ashes are scattered to the winds, and no place is marked or burdened with their memory.

To return to Ghond and Gay-Neck. They were sent to a forest near Hazebrouck, which was behind the enemy's line, to find out the exact location of an enormous underground ammunition dump. If found, Ghond and the pigeon, singly or together, were to return to the British Army Headquarters with an exact map of the place. That was all. So one clear December morning, Gay-Neck was taken on an aeroplane. It flew about twenty miles over a forest, part of which was held by the Indian Army and the rest by the Germans. When they had gone beyond the German line, Gay-Neck was released. He flew all over the woods; then having gained some knowledge of the nature of the land, he flew back home. This was done to make sure that Gay-Neck knew his route and had some inkling of what was expected of him.

That afternoon when the sun had gone down, which happened at about four o'clock at this latitude ten degrees north of New York, Ghond, most warmly dressed, with Gay-Neck under his coat, started. They went on an ambulance as far as the second line of the Indian Army in the great forest. In utter darkness they proceeded to the front, conducted by some members of the Intelligence Service.

Soon they found themselves in what is called No Man's Land, but fortunately it was covered with trees, most of which had not yet been destroyed by shell-fire. Ghond, who did not know French or German and whose knowledge of English was confined to three words, "yes," "no" and "very well," was now left to find a German ammunition dump in a forest, accompanied only by a pigeon fast asleep under his coat.

First of all he had to remind himself that he was in a country of the cold Himalayan climate where, during the winter, trees stood bare and the ground was covered with dry autumn leaves and frost. Since there was very little foliage on tree or sapling, concealment of himself proved not an easy task. The night was dark, and as cold as a corpse, but since he could see in the dark better than any living man, and because his sense of smell was as keen as the keenest of all animals, he knew how to steer his course in No Man's Land. Fortunately, that night the wind was from the east.

Edging his way between tree-trunks, he pushed forward as fast as possible. His nose told him minutes before their arrival that a company of Germans was passing his way. Like a leopard he crawled up a tree, and waited. They never heard even the flicker of a sound. Had it been daylight they would have found him, for his bare feet bled as he walked on the frost-stricken ground, leaving distinct marks behind.

Once he had a very close shave. As he went up a tree and sat on a branch to let a couple of German sentries pass below him, he heard someone whisper from a branch into his ear. He knew at once that it was a German sharpshooter. But he bent his head, and listened. The German said, "Guten nacht," then stepped over and slid down the tree. No doubt he had taken Ghond for one of his fellow-soldiers who had come to relieve him. After a while Ghond descended to the ground and followed the footprint of that German. Dark though it was, his bare feet could feel where the ground had been worn down by the feet of man. No difficult task that, for him.

At last he reached a place where a lot of men were bivouacking. He had to skirt around them softly, still pressing forward. He heard a strange noise right at his feet. He stopped and listened. No mistake, this was a familiar sound! He waited. The steps of an animal: Patter pat, patter-r-r! Ghond moved towards the sound, and a suppressed growl ensued. Instead of fear, joy gripped his heart. He who had spent nights at a time in the tiger-infested jungles of India was not to be deterred by the growl of a wild dog. Soon enough two red eyes greeted his vision. Ghond sniffed the air before him carefully as he stood there, and lo! He could not detect there was the slightest odour of man about that dog; the creature had gone wild. The dog, too, was sniffing the air to find out what kind of being he was facing, for Ghond did not exude the usual human odour of fear, and so the animal came forward and rubbed against him and sniffed vigorously. Fortunately, Ghond carried Gay-Neck above the dog's nose, and the odour of the bird's presence was carried up by the wind, so the wild dog perceived in the man before him nothing but a friendly fearless fellow. He wagged his tail, and whined. Ghond, instead of patting his head with his hand, slowly put it before the dog's eyes to see and smell. A moment of suspense followed. Was the dog going to bite the hand? Another moment passed. Then… the dog licked it. He now whined with pleasure. Ghond said to himself: "So this hunter's dog is without a master. Probably his master is dead. The poor beast has become as wild as a wolf. He lives by preying on the food supply of the German Army, for it is evident he had not yet eaten any human flesh. So much the better."

Ghond whistled softly, the call of all hunters of all ages no matter in what country. It meant "Lead." And the dog led. He skirted all the bivouacs of the German soldiers as deftly as a stag slips by a tiger's den. After hours of wandering, they reached their destination. There was no mistake about it; Ghond had found the very depot not only of munitions but also of German food supplies. His leader, the wild dog, went through a secret hole in the ground, then after half an hour emerged with a large leg of veal between his jaws. That it was bovine meat Ghond could tell by its odour. The dog sat down to his dinner on the frosty ground, while the man put on his boots, which he had carried slung over his shoulder all night long, and then looked up and took observations. By the position of the stars he could tell where he was. He waited there some time.

Slowly the day began to break. He took a compass from his pocket. Yes, he felt quite sure that he could draw a map of the place. Just then the dog jumped up and grabbed Ghond's coat with his teeth. There was no doubt in the man's mind that the dog wanted to lead him on again. He ran ahead, and Ghond followed as fast. Soon they reached a spot so thickly covered with thorns and frozen vines that passage through it was possible only for an animal. The dog crawled under a lot of sharp thorns, and disappeared.

Now Ghond drew a diagram showing the position of the stars, and the exact position of this compass, and tied both to Gay-Neck's foot, and let him go. He watched the pigeon fly from tree to tree, resting on each for a minute or so, and preening his wings. Then he struck the message tied to his foot with his beak—probably he was making sure that it was securely tied—flew up to the top of the tallest tree, and sat there examining the lay of the land. That moment Ghond, who was looking up, felt something pull him. He looked down at his feet; the dog was dragging him to a hole under the thorns. Ghond bent low, low enough to follow his mentor's direction, but at that moment he heard the flutter of wings overhead, then the barking of rifles. He had no desire to get up and investigate whether Gay-Neck had been killed or not. He crawled down under the thorns till he felt as if his stomach were glued against his backbone, and both sewed tightly to the ground. He pushed and crawled till suddenly he slid down, falling about eight feet into a dark hole. It was pitch dark, but Ghond hardly noticed that at first, for he was occupied in rubbing his bruised head.

When finally he tried to discover where he was, he made out that he must be sitting on a frozen water-hole covered, like a thieves' den, by impenetrable thorn-bushes. Even in winter when no leaf clad the branches and vines overhead, the darkness in daytime was thick there. The dog was still with him, and had evidently dragged him there to safety. The poor beast was so happy to have a friend with him that he wanted to play by the hour with Ghond, but the latter, being sleepy, dozed off into perfect slumber in spite of the noise of the guns not very far away.

After about three hours the dog suddenly whined and then yelled as if he were stricken with madness, after which the earth rocked under terrific sounds of explosion. Unable to bear it, the animal kept tugging the sleeve of Ghond's coat. The detonations rose crescendo upon crescendo till the place where Ghond lay literally swayed like a cradle, but he would not leave his hiding. All he said to himself was: "O Gay-Neck, thou incomparable bird, how well thou hast done thy task! Already thou hast borne the message to the cherry-faced chief, and this is his thunderous reply. O thou pearl among winged creatures!" So on he mumbled while the bombs dropped by aeroplanes ignited the German munitions dump.

Then the dog, who had been trying to pull him away by the sleeve of his coat, whined and shivered like one in high fever, and that instant something sizzled through the air and fell near by with a thud. With a desperate yell the poor dog dashed out of his hiding place. Ghond followed. But too late. For hardly had he crept half way under the thorns when an ear-splitting explosion seemed to cut the ground from under him, and a violent pain pierced his shoulder. He felt borne up by some demoniac power and flung to the ground with great force. Scarlet diamonds of light danced before his eyes for a few moments, followed by quenching darkness.

An hour later when he regained consciousness the first thing that he became aware of was a sound of Hindustani voices. In order to hear his native language more distinctly, he tried to raise his head. That instant he felt a shooting pain like the sting of a thousand cobras. There was no doubt in his mind now that he had been hit and probably mortally wounded. All the same his soul rejoiced every time he heard Hindustani spoken near him, for that meant that Indian troops, and not the enemy, were in possession of the forest now. "Ah," he said to himself, "my task is accomplished. I can die in peace."

第二部 第六章　刚德去侦察

大约是十二月的第一个星期，刚德和彩虹鸽要独自进行一次现场勘探。他们去的地方是距离伊普尔[1]、阿尔芒蒂耶尔[2]和阿兹布鲁克[3]不远的森林。要是你有一张法国地图，从加来[4]向南画一条直线，你就会无意中发现英国和印度军队驻扎的一系列地方。阿尔芒蒂耶尔附近有许多印度伊斯兰士兵的坟墓。之所以没有印度教士兵的坟墓，是因为自古以来印度教都实行火葬，那些火化的尸体不占用任何坟墓，骨灰随风而逝，没有标记地点，也不用背负记忆。

还是要回到刚德和彩虹鸽身上。他们被派到阿兹布鲁克附近位于敌人阵地后面的一片森林，寻找一个巨大的临时地下军火库的准确位置。要是找到，刚德和彩虹鸽——无论是单个还是一起——就要带着一份准确的地图返回英军司令部。这就是所有的任务。于是，十二月一个晴朗的早晨，彩虹鸽被带上了一架飞机。飞机在森林上空飞行了大约二十英里。这片森林一部分被印度军队占领，一部分由德国军队占领。他们飞过德军阵地之后，彩虹鸽被放飞了。彩虹鸽飞过了整个树林，对地形有了一些了解，又飞了回来。这样做是确保彩虹鸽了解航线，对期望他完成的任务略知一二。

那天下午四点左右，太阳落山后，这个纬度比纽约靠北十度，穿得最暖和的刚德把彩虹鸽揣在大衣下面出发了。他们乘坐一辆救护车，一直到了大森林里印度军队的第二条防线。在一片漆黑中，他们在情报人员的引导下继续前进，来到了前线。

不久，他们来到了所谓的无人地带，但幸运的是，这里被树木覆盖，且大部分还没有被炮火毁灭。刚德既不懂法语，也不懂德语，英语知识仅限于三个词：“是”“不是”和“很好”，现在要留下来找到德国军队在森林里的临时军火库，伴随他的只有大衣下面的一只熟睡的鸽子。

首先，刚德不得不提醒自己，他现在在一个像喜马拉雅山寒冷气候的国家。冬天，这里的树木光秃秃的，地上落满了干枯的秋天的落叶和白霜。因为大树上或小树上的叶子寥寥无几，所以隐藏自己并非易事。夜晚漆黑，像尸体一样冰冷，但刚德在黑暗中比任何活着的人看得更清楚，他的嗅觉像最灵敏的动物那样灵敏，他知道如何在无人地带调整航向。幸运的是，那天夜里风是从东边吹来的。

刚德尽可能贴着树干前进。他的鼻子告诉他，在他们到达几分钟前，一连德国士兵正在经过。刚德像猎豹一样爬上树，等待着。他们连一丝风声都听不到。要是白天，德国兵就会发现他，因为他走在霜冻的地面上，赤脚流着血，身后会留下一串串明显的脚印。

有一次，刚德侥幸脱险，当他爬上一棵树坐在树枝上，让两个德国哨兵从他下面走过去的时候，他听到有人从一个树枝上对他耳语。他马上明白这是一名德军狙击手，但是，他只低着头倾听。这个德国兵说：“Gutennacht[5]。”然后跨过去，从树上溜了下来。毫无疑问，他把刚德看成了一名过来换岗的战友。过了一会儿，刚德下到地上，跟着那个德国兵的脚印。尽管天黑，但他的赤脚能感觉到那里的地面被人脚踩来踩去。对他来说，这不是什么难事。

最后，他到达了一个许多人露营的地方，他必须轻轻地绕过他们，继续奋力向前。这时候，他听到脚边传来一种奇怪的声音，他停下来，侧耳倾听。没错，这是一种熟悉的声音！他等待着。是动物的脚步声，啪嗒，啪嗒，啪嗒嗒！刚德向那个声音走去，接着传来了一声压抑的低吼。他没有害怕，心里反而充满了快乐。他曾经在老虎大批出没的印度丛林里过夜，不会被一条野狗的低吠吓倒。很快，两只红眼迎向刚德的目光。刚德站在那里，仔细地嗅了嗅他面前的空气，瞧！他从那条狗身上嗅不到一丁点的人味；那只动物已经发疯了。那条狗也嗅了嗅空气，想弄清他面对的是什么动物。因为刚德没有散发出一般人那种恐惧的气味，所以这条狗走上前，在他身上蹭了蹭，用力嗅着。幸运的是，刚德把彩虹鸽放在了狗鼻子的上方，而鸟儿的气味被风吹走了。于是，这条野狗感觉面前这个人只不过是一个友好而又大胆的家伙。他摇了摇尾巴，发出了呜呜声。刚德没有用手轻轻地拍他的脑袋，而是慢慢地把一只手放在狗的眼前，让他去看和嗅。接下来他担心了一会儿。狗会咬他的手吗？又过了一会儿。然后……这条狗舔了舔他的手，高兴地发出了呜呜声。刚德自言自语说：“这么说，这条猎狗没有主人，也许他的主人死了。可怜的狗已经变得像狼一样狂野。他是以抢夺德军的食品供给为生，因为显然他还没有吃过任何人肉。那就更好了。”

刚德轻轻地吹了一声口哨，这是任何一个国家所有年龄段的猎手的呼唤，意思是“带路”。那条狗就带起了路，他像公鹿溜过虎穴一样灵巧地绕过德军士兵的露营地。经过几个小时的漫游之后，他们到达了目的地。毫无疑问，刚德不仅找到了军需品仓库，而且找到了德军的食品供应站。他的向导——那条野狗——钻过了地里的一个秘密洞口，随后，过了半个小时，嘴里叼着一只大大的小牛腿又出现了。根据气味，刚德能分辨出这是牛肉。狗坐下来，趴在结霜的地面上吃起了美餐，这时候刚德穿上了靴子——他整夜都把这双靴子挎在肩上——然后抬头观察。根据星星的位置，他能说出自己在什么地方。他在那里等了一段时间。

天开始慢慢地亮了，他从口袋里掏出一个指南针。是的，他完全确信他可以画下一张地形图。就在这时，狗跳起来，用牙齿一下子咬住了刚德的大衣。刚德脑海里毫无疑问，他明白这只狗想带着他继续前行。狗跑在前面，刚德快步跟上。很快，他们就到达了一个荆棘丛生的地方，那里冰冻的藤蔓缠绕着，中间有一条只能容下一只动物的通道。野狗从许多荆棘下爬过去，就不见了踪影。

这时候，刚德画出了星星位置图和准确的地形图，然后把这两张图系在彩虹鸽的脚上，放飞了他。他望着彩虹鸽从一棵树飞到另一棵树上，在每棵树上都栖息一分钟左右，用嘴整理一下翅膀，随后用嘴理理系在脚上的情报——大概他是在确定是不是安全地系在那里——飞到了最高的树梢上，坐在那里侦察地形。那个时刻，刚德正抬头，感觉有什么东西在拽他。他低头看着自己的双脚，只见那条野狗正在拽着他走到荆棘下面的一个洞口。刚德低下身，低得足以遵循向导的指示，但正在这时，他听到头顶翅膀的拍动声，然后又听到步枪的嗒嗒声。他不想站起来去看彩虹鸽是不是已被杀害。他趴在荆棘下面，直到感觉肚子粘住脊椎，两者紧紧地贴在了地上。他向前努力爬行，突然滑下来，下落了大约八英尺，掉进了一个黑洞里。洞里一片漆黑，但刚德起初几乎没有注意到这一点，因为他正忙着揉自己擦伤的头。

他想设法弄清他在哪里，终于辨认出他一定是坐在一片结冰的水坑上面，这就像是贼窝似的，上面覆盖着密不透风的荆棘丛。即使冬天头顶没有叶子包裹树枝和藤蔓的时候，那里的白天也是一片漆黑。野狗仍然跟刚德在一起，显然已经把他拖到了那里的安全地带。这个可怜的畜生非常高兴有一个朋友能跟他在一起，他想跟刚德玩一个小时，刚德却昏昏欲睡，尽管不远处炮声隆隆，但他还是打起了盹，完全睡着了。

大约三个小时后，这条狗突然发出呜呜声，然后大叫起来，好像患了疯病一般。之后，在一阵阵可怕的爆炸声中，地面摇晃起来。狗难以忍受，就不断用力拽着刚德的大衣袖子。爆炸声一浪高过一浪，直到刚德趴的地方简直像摇篮一样晃动起来，但刚德不愿离开这个藏身之地。他对自己说的所有话就是：“噢，彩虹鸽，你这盖世无双的鸟儿，这项任务你完成得是多么出色！你已经把情报送到了笑容可掬的司令手里，这就是他雷鸣般的回答。噢，你这鸟中的珍品。”当飞机投下的炸弹引燃德军军需供应库的时候，刚德喃喃自语。

接着，那条一直尽力咬着刚德的衣袖想把他拽走的野狗，像发高烧一样哀号哆嗦起来。正在此时，一个东西咝咝作响破空而来，砰的一声落在附近。可怜的野狗不顾一切地嗥叫着冲出藏身地，刚德尾随其后。但是，已经来不及了。因为他刚从荆棘下面爬到一半，一阵震耳欲聋的爆炸声好像炸开了他下面的地面，一阵剧痛刺穿了他的肩膀。他感觉被某种魔力抛起来，又重重摔到了地上，深红色的钻石般的光芒在他眼前跳动了一会儿，接着就是一片昏暗。

一个小时后，刚德恢复了知觉，首先听到的就是一个印度斯坦人的声音。为了更加清晰地听到母语，他努力抬起头。那个时刻，他感觉就像被几千条眼镜蛇叮咬般的闪痛。毫无疑问，现在他的脑海里想到的是他被打中了，很可能是致命伤。同时，每次听到印度斯坦人在他附近说话，他心里又感到高兴，因为那意味着现在是印度军队而不是敌人占领了森林。“啊，”他对自己说，“我的任务完成了，我可以安息了。”

* * *

[1]伊普尔，比利时西佛兰德省的一座城市。

[2]阿尔芒蒂耶尔，法国北部城镇。

[3]阿兹布鲁克，法国北部小集镇。

[4]加来，法国加来海峡省的一座城市。

[5]Gutennacht，德语，意思是“晚安”。