PART TWO Chapter Nine The Wisdom of the Lama

After about the tenth day of strict and most sincere meditation in the manner he had prescribed, the lama sent for Gay-Neck and myself. So with the pigeon between my hands, I climbed up to his cell. The lama's face, generally yellow, today looked brown and very powerful. A strange poise and power shone in his almond-shaped eyes. He took Gay-Neck in his hands, and said:

May the north wind bring healing unto you,

May the south wind bring healing unto you,

May the winds of east and west pour healing into you.

Fear flees from you,

Hate flees from you,

And suspicion flees from you.

Courage like a rushing tide gallops through you;

Peace possesses your entire being,

And serenity and strength have become your two wings.

In your eyes shines courage;

Power and prowess dwell in your heart!

You are healed,

You are healed,

You are healed!

Peace, peace, peace.

We sat there meditating on those thoughts till the sun set, smiting the Himalayan peaks into multi-coloured flames. The valleys, the hollows and the woods about us put on a mantle of purple glory.

Slowly Gay-Neck hopped down from the lama's hands, walked out to the entrance of the cell and looked at the sunset. He opened his left wing, and waited. Then softly and ever so slowly he opened his right wing, feather by feather, muscle by muscle, until at last it spread out like a sail. Instead of doing anything theatrical such as instantly flying off, he carefully shut his two wings as if they were two precious but fragile fans. He too knew how to salute the sunset. With the dignity of a priest he walked downstairs, but hardly had he gone out of sight when I heard—I fancied I heard—the flapping of his wings. I was about to get up hastily and see what had really happened, but the holy man put his hand on my shoulder and restrained me while an inscrutable smile played on his lips.

The next morning I told Ghond what had happened. He replied tartly: "Gay-Neck opened his wings to salute the setting sun, you say. There is nothing surprising in that. Animals are religious, though man in his ignorance thinks they are not. I have seen monkeys, eagles, pigeons, leopards and even the mongoose adore the dawn and sunset."

Can you show them to me?

Ghond answered, "Yes. But not now; let us go and give Gay- Neck his breakfast."

When we reached his cage we found its door open—and no pigeon within. I was not surprised, for I had left the cage unlocked every night that we had been at the lamasery. But where had he gone? We could not find him in the main building, so we went to the library. There in a deserted outer cell we found some of his feathers, and nearby Ghond detected a weasel's footprints. That made us suspect trouble. But if the weasel had attacked and killed him, there would be blood on the floor. Then, whither had he fled? What had he done? Where was he now? We wandered for an hour. Just as we had decided to give up the search, we heard him cooing, and there he was on the roof of the library, talking to his old friends the Swifts, who were clinging to their nest under the eaves. We could make out their answer to his cooing. Mr. Swift said, "Cheep, cheep, cheep!" I cried to Gay-Neck in joy, and gave him his call to breakfast: "Aya— á—ay." He curved his neck, and listened. Then, as I called again, he saw me, and instantly flapped his wings loudly, then flew down and sat on my wrist, as cool as a cucumber. During the earliest dawn he must have heard the priests' footsteps going up to their morning meditation, and got out of his cage, then gone astray to the outer cell where no doubt a young and inexpert weasel had attacked him. A veteran like Gay-Neck could easily outwit the weasel by presenting him with a few feathers only. While the young hopeful was looking for the pigeon inside a lot of torn feathers, his would-be victim flew up into the sky. There he found his old friend Swift, flying to salute the rising sun. And after they had performed their morning worship together, they had come down for a friendly chat on the roof of the monastery library.

That day very terrible news reached the lamasery. A wild buffalo had attacked the village that the lama had spoken of the day before. He had come there during the previous evening and killed two people who were going home from a meeting of the village elders that was held around the communal threshing floor. The villagers had sent up a deputation to the abbot to say a prayer for the destruction of the beast and begging him to exorcise the soul out of the brute. The holy man said that he would use means that would kill the murderous buffalo in twenty-four hours. "Go home in peace, O beloved ones of Infinite Compassion. Your prayers will be answered. Do not venture out of doors after nightfall. Stay home and meditate on peace and courage." Ghond, who was present, asked, "How long has this fellow been pestering your village?" The entire deputation affirmed that he had been coming every night for a week. He had eaten up almost half of their spring crop. Again begging for strong and effective incantation and exorcism to kill the buffalo, they went down to their village.

After the deputation had left, the lama said to Ghond, who was standing by, "O chosen one of victory, now that you are healed, go forth to slay the murderer."

But, my Lord!

Fear no more, Ghond. Your meditations have healed you. Now test in the woods what you have acquired here by this means. In solitude men gain power and poise that they must test in the multitude. Ere the sun sets twice from now, you shall return victorious. As an earnest of my perfect faith in your success, I request you to take this boy and his pigeon with you. Surely I would not ask you to take a boy of sixteen with you if I doubted your powers or the outcome of your mission. Go, bring the murderer to justice.

That afternoon we set out for the jungle. I was overjoyed at the prospect of spending at least one night in there again. What a pleasure it was to go with Ghond and the pigeon, both whole and well once more, in quest of a wild buffalo! Is there any boy on earth who would not welcome such an opportunity?

So, thoroughly equipped with rope ladders, a lasso and knives, with Gay-Neck on my shoulder, we set out. The British Government forbids the use of firearms to the common people of India, and so we carried no rifles.

About three in the afternoon we reached the village north- west of the lamasery. There we took up the trail of the buffalo. We followed it through dense woods and wide clearings. Here and there we crossed a brook or had to climb over mammoth fallen trees. It was extraordinary how clear the buffalo's hoof-prints were, and how deep!

Ghond remarked: "He must have been frightened to death, for see how heavily he had trodden here. Animals in their normal unafraid state leave very little trace behind, but when frightened, they act as if the terror of being killed weighed their bodies down. This fellow's hoofs have made prodigious and clear marks wherever he went. How frightened he must have been!"

At last we reached an impassable river. Its current, according to Ghond, was sharp enough to break our legs had we stepped into it. Strangely enough, the buffalo too had not dared to cross it. So we followed his precedent, looking for more hoof-prints on the bank. In twenty more minutes we found that they swerved off the stream bank and disappeared into a thick jungle that looked as black as a pit, although it was hardly five in the afternoon. This place could not have been more than half an hour's run from the village, for a wild buffalo of any age.

Ghond asked, "Do you hear the song of the water?" After listening for several minutes I heard the sound of water kissing the sedges, and other grass not far off, with gurgling groaning sounds. We were about twenty feet from a lake into which the river ran. "The murderous buffalo is hiding—probably asleep somewhere between here and the lagoon," cried Ghond. "Let us make our home on one of the twin trees yonder. It is getting dark, and I am sure he will be here soon. We should not be found on the floor of the jungle when he turns up. There is hardly a space of four feet between the trees!"

His last words struck me as curious. So I examined the space between the trees. They were tall and massive, and between them lay a piece of earth just broad enough to afford room for both of us walking abreast of each other.

Now I shall lay down my fear-soaked tunic half-way between these Twins. Then Ghond proceeded to take from under his tunic a bundle of old clothes that he had been wearing until today. He placed them on the ground, then climbed one of the trees. After Ghond had gone up, he swung down a rope ladder for me. I climbed up on it with Gay-Neck fluttering and beating his wings on my shoulders in order to keep his balance. Both of us safely reached the branch on which Ghond was sitting, and since the evening was coming on apace, we sat still for a while.

The first thing I noticed as the dusk fell was bird-life. Herons, hornbills, grouse, pheasant, song-sparrows and emerald flocks of parrots seemed to infest the forest. The drone of the bee, the cut-cut- cut of the woodpecker and the shrill cry of the eagle far overhead blended with the tearing, crying noises of the mountain torrent and the staccato laughter of the already waking hyenas.

The tree on which we made our home for the night was very tall. We went farther up in order to make sure that no leopard or serpent was above us. After a close inspection we chose a couple of branches between which we hung our rope ladder in the shape of a strong hammock. Just as we had made ourselves secure on our perch, Ghond pointed to the sky. I looked up at once. There floated on wings of ruby a very large eagle. Though darkness was rising like a flood from the floor of the jungle, in the spaces above the sky burned "like a pigeon's throat," and through it circled again and again that solitary eagle who was no doubt, according to Ghond, performing his worship of the setting sun. His presence had already had a stilling effect on the birds and insects of the forest. Though he was far above them, yet like a congregation of mute worshippers, they kept silent while he, their King, flew backwards and forwards, and vaulted before their God, the Father of Lights, with the ecstasy of a hierophant. Slowly the ruby fire ebbed from his wings. Now they became purple sails fringed with sparks of gold. As if his adoration was at last concluded, he rose higher and, as an act of self- immolation before his deity, flew towards the flaming peaks burning with fire, and vanished in their splendour like a moth.

Below, a buffalo's bellowing unlocked the insect voices one by one, tearing into shreds and tatters the stillness of the evening. An owl hooted near by, making Gay-Neck snuggle closely to my heart under my tunic. Suddenly the Himalayan Do?l, a night-bird, very much like a nightingale, flung abroad its magic song. Like a silver flute blown by a God, trill upon trill, cadenza upon cadenza, spilled its torrential peace that rushed like rain down the boughs of the trees, dripping over their rude barks to the floor of the jungle, then through their very roots into the heart of the earth.

The enchantment of an early summer night in the Himalayas will remain forever indescribable. In fact it was so sweet and lonely that I felt very sleepy. Ghond put an extra rope around me that held me secure to the trunk of the tree. Then I put my head on his shoulder in order to sleep comfortably. But before I did so, he told me of his plan:

Those cast-off garments of mine are what I wore while my heart was possessed of fear. They have a strange odour. If that brother-in-law (idiot) of a buffalo gets their scent, he will come hither. He who is frightened responds to the odour of fear. If he comes to investigate my cast-off dress, we shall do what we can to him. I hope we can lassoo and take him home as tame as a heifer… I did not hear the rest of his words, for I had fallen asleep.

I do not know how long I slept, but suddenly I was roused by a terrific bellowing. When I opened my eyes, Ghond, who was already awake, undid the rope around me and pointed below. In the faint light of the dawn at first I saw nothing, but I heard distinctly the groaning and grunting of an angry beast. In the tropics the day breaks rapidly. I looked down most intently. Now in the growing light of day I saw…There could be no two opinions about what I saw. Yes, there was a hillock of shining jet rubbing its dark side against the tree on which we sat. It was about ten feet long, I surmised, though half of its bulk was covered by the leaves and boughs of the trees. The beast looked like a black opal coming out of a green furnace, such was the glitter of the newly grown foliage under the morning sun. I thought, "The buffalo that in nature looks healthy and silken, in a zoo is a mangy creature with matted mane and dirty skin. Can those who see buffalo in captivity ever conceive how beautiful they can be? What a pity that most young people instead of seeing one animal in nature—which is worth a hundred in any zoo-must derive their knowledge of God's creatures from their appearance in prisons! If we cannot perceive any right proportion of man's moral nature by looking at prisoners in a jail, how do we manage to think that we know all about an animal by gazing at him penned in a cage?"

However, to return to that murderous buffalo at the foot of our tree. Gay-Neck was freed from under my tunic and left to roam on the tree, which Ghond and I descended by a number of branches, like the rungs of a ladder, till we reached a branch that was about two feet above the buffalo. He did not see us. Ghond swiftly tied around the tree-trunk one end of the long lassoo. I noticed that the buffalo was playing underneath by putting his horns now and then through a tattered garment, what was left of Ghond's clothes. No doubt the odour of man in them had attracted him. Though his horns were clean, there were marks of fresh blood on his head. Apparently he had gone to the village and killed another person during the night. That roused Ghond. He whispered into my ear: "We shall get him alive. You slip this lassoo over his horns from above." In a trice Ghond had leaped off the branch near the rear of the buffalo. That startled the beast. But he could not turn round, for close to his right was a tree that I mentioned before, and to his left was the tree on which I stood. He had to go back or forward between the twins in order to get out from them, but before this happened I had flung the lassoo over his head. The touch of the rope acted like electricity upon him. He hastened backwards, in order to slip off the lassoo, so fast that Ghond, had he not already gone around the next tree, would have been trampled and cut to death by the sharp hoofs of the beast. But now, to my utter consternation, I noticed that instead of gripping his two horns at the very root, I had succeeded in lassoing only one of them. That instant I shrieked to Ghond in terror: "Beware! Only one of his horns is caught. The rope may slip off that one any time. Run! Run up a tree."

But that intrepid hunter ignored my advice. Instead he stood facing the enemy a short distance away from him. Then I saw the brute lower his head and plunge forward. I shut my eyes in terror. When I opened them again, I saw that the bull was tugging at the rope that held him by the horn and kept him from butting into the tree behind which Ghond stood. His monstrous bellowing filled the jungle with a fearful racket. Echoes of it coursed one after another like frightened shrieking children.

Since the bull had not yet succeeded in reaching him, Ghond drew his razor-sharp dagger, about a foot and a half long and two inches broad. He slowly slipped behind another tree to the right, then vanished out of sight. The bull just ran straight at the spot where he had seen Ghond last. Fortunately, the rope was still clinging tightly to his horn.

Here Ghond changed his tactics. He ran away in the opposite direction, zigzagging in between different trees. This he did to go where his odour could not reach the bull, blown down to him by the wind. But though he was bewildered, yet the bull turned and followed. He again saw the bundle of Ghond's clothes on the ground under our tree. That maddened him. He sniffed, and then worried it with his horns.

By now Ghond was down wind. Though I could not see him, I surmised that he could tell by the odour where the bull was in case the trees hid him from view. The beast bellowed again, as he put his horns through Ghond's clothes, which raised a terrific tumult in the trees all around. From nowhere came flocks of monkeys running from branch to branch. Squirrels ran like rats from trees to the jungle-floor, then back again. Swarms of birds, such as jays, herons and parrots, were flying about and shrieking in unison with crows, owls and kites. Suddenly the bull charged again. I saw that Ghond was standing there calmly facing him. If ever I saw a man as calm as calmness itself, it was Ghond. The bull's hind legs throbbed and swept on like swords. Then something happened. He reared in the air; no doubt it was the pull of the lassoo rope, of which one end was tied to our tree. He rose several feet above the ground, then fell. That instant, like a dry twig snapped by a child, his horn cracked and flew up in the air. The breaking created an irresistible momentum that flung him sideways on the ground. He almost rolled over, his legs kicking the air violently. Instantly Ghond leaped forward like a spark from the flint. Seeing him, the buffalo balanced himself and sat on his haunches, snorting. He almost succeeded in rising to his feet, but Ghond struck near his shoulder with the dagger. Its deadly edge dug deep, and Ghond pressed on it with his entire weight. A bellow like a volcanic eruption shook the jungle, and with it a fountain of liquid ruby spurted up. Unable to bear the sight any longer, I again shut my eyes.

In a few minutes, when I came down from my perch, I found that the buffalo had died of a haemorrhage. It lay in a deep pool of blood. And near by sat Ghond on the ground, wiping himself from the stain of his encounter. I knew that he wished to be left alone. So I went to the old tree and called to Gay-Neck. He made no response. I went all the way up to the topmost branch of the tree. But in vain— he was not there.

When I came down, Ghond had cleansed himself. He pointed at the sky. We beheld nature's scavengers. Kites below, and far above them vultures flew. They had already learned that someone had died and they must clean up the jungle.

Ghond said: "We shall find the pigeon in the monastery. He flew with the rest of the birds, doubtless. Let us depart hence soon." But before starting homeward, I went to measure the dead buffalo, to whom flies had been swarming from every direction. He was ten feet and a half in length, and his forelegs measured over three feet.

Our trudge back towards the monastery was made in silence that was broken only when, about noonday, we had reached the stricken village and informed its headman that their enemy was dead. He was relieved to hear of it, though he was very sad because during the previous evening the buffalo had killed his aged mother, who was going to the village temple to her worship before sunset.

We were very hungry and walked fast, and soon we reached the monastery. At once I made inquiries about my pigeon. Gay- Neck was not there! It was terrible. But the old holy man said, as we chatted in his cell, "He is safe as are you, Ghond." After a pause of several minutes he asked, "What is troubling your peace of mind?"

The old hunter thought out quietly what he was going to say. "Nothing, my Lord, save this: I hate to kill anything. I wanted to catch that bull alive, and alas! I had to destroy him. When the horn of his broke, and there was nothing between him and me, I had to put my knife through a vital vein. I am so sorry I could not get him alive in order to sell him to a zoo."

O you soul of commercialism! I exclaimed. "I am not sorry that the bull died. Better death than to be caged for the rest of his life in a zoo. Real death is preferable to living death."

If you had only slipped the lassoo over both horns! Ghond retorted.

The holy one ejaculated, "Both of you should be concerned about Gay-Neck, not about what is already dead."

Ghond said, "True. Let us search for him on the morrow."

But the holy one replied: "No. Return to Dentam, my son. Your family is anxious about you. I hear their thoughts."

The next day we left for Dentam on a pair of ponies. By forced march and changing ponies twice a day at different posts, we reached Dentam in three day's time. As we were going up towards our house, we encountered a very excited servant of my family. He said that Gay-Neck had returned three days before. But since we had not come back with him, my parents had begun to worry, and they had sent out parties searching after us, alive or dead.

He and I almost ran up to the house. In another ten minutes my mother's arms were around me, and Gay-Neck, with his feet on my head, was fluttering his wings in order to balance himself.

I cannot begin to describe how overjoyed I was to hear that Gay-Neck had flown at last. He had winged all the way from the lamasery to our home in Dentam. He had not faltered or failed! "O thou soul of flight, thou pearl among pigeons," I exclaimed to myself as Ghond and I accelerated our steps.

Thus ended our pilgrimage to Singalila. It healed both Gay- Neck and Ghond of the disease of fear and hate that they had caught on the battle-fields. No labor would be in vain if it could heal a single soul of these worst ills of life.

Instead of spinning out a sermon at the end of this story, let me say this:

Whatever we think and feel will colour what we say or do. He who fears, even unconsciously, or has his least little dream tainted with hate, will inevitably, sooner or later, translate these two qualities into his action. Therefore, my brothers, live courage, breathe courage and give courage. Think and feel love so that you will be able to pour out of yourselves peace and serenity as naturally as a flower gives forth fragrance. Peace be unto all!"

第二部 第九章　喇嘛的智慧

按照喇嘛规定的方法，大约进行了严格而又最真诚的十天禅定之后，喇嘛派人来找我和彩虹鸽。于是，我两手捧着鸽子，爬上山顶，来到他的小屋。喇嘛通常发黄的脸色今天看上去呈褐色，很有感染力，杏仁状的眼睛里闪现出一种奇异的镇静和力量。他两手抱着彩虹鸽，说道：

愿北风治愈你，

愿南风治愈你，

愿东风和西风治愈你。

恐惧逃离你，

仇恨逃离你，

多疑逃离你。

勇气如湍急的潮汐奔流过你的全身；

平和占据你的整个生命，

宁静和力量已经成为你的翅膀。

你的眼里闪耀着勇气；

力量和英勇住在你的心里！你痊愈了，

你痊愈了，

你痊愈了！

平和，平和，平和！

我们坐在那里冥想那些想法，直到太阳下山，喜马拉雅山峰变成多彩的火焰，我们周围的山谷、洼地和树林都披上了紫光莹莹的斗篷。

慢慢地，彩虹鸽从喇嘛的手里单腿跳下来，走到小屋的入口，望着夕阳。他张开左翅，等待着，随后轻轻地、慢慢地张开右翅，羽毛一根根展开，肌肉一点点放松，最后翅膀终于像船帆一样张开。彩虹鸽没有立刻起飞，没有做出任何夸张的动作，而是仔细地收拢两只翅膀，好像它们是两把珍贵却易碎的扇子。他也知道怎样对夕阳致敬。他带着僧侣般的尊严，走下楼梯，但刚走出我的视野，我就听到了——我想自己听到了——他的翅膀拍打的声音。我正要急忙起身去看到底发生了什么事情，那位圣人却把一只手放在我的肩上，拦住了我，嘴角浮起了神秘的微笑。

第二天早晨，我把这一切告诉了刚德。他尖刻地回答说：“你说，彩虹鸽张开了翅膀向夕阳致敬，这没有什么大惊小怪的。动物们都很虔诚，只不过人类愚昧无知，认为动物不会虔诚罢了。我曾经见到过猴子、老鹰、鸽子、猎豹，甚至猫鼬都崇拜黎明和落日呢。”

“你能领我去看看他们吗？”

刚德回答说：“能，但不是现在。我们去喂彩虹鸽吃早饭吧。”

我们走到笼边的时候，发现笼门打开着——里面没有鸽子。我没有吃惊，因为我们待在喇嘛庙的时候，每天夜里我都没有锁笼子。但是，他到哪里去了呢？我们在主屋里找不到他，于是就去了藏经阁。在外面一间废弃的小屋里，我们发现了他的一些羽毛，刚德还在附近发现了一只黄鼠狼的脚印。这使我们怀疑出了问题。不过，要是黄鼠狼攻击咬死了彩虹鸽，地上就会有血迹。那么，他逃到哪里去了呢？他做了什么？如今他在哪里？我们四处寻找了一个小时。就在我们决定放弃搜寻的时候，我们听到了他在咕咕叫着，只见他站在藏经阁的房顶上，对他的老朋友雨燕们说着话。雨燕们待在屋檐下的窝巢里。我们可以听到雨燕们回应他的咕咕声。雨燕先生说：“吱吱，吱吱，吱吱！”我高兴地对彩虹鸽叫喊，叫他来吃早饭：“啊呀——啊——哎！”他弯了弯脖子，侧耳倾听。随后，当我又叫喊的时候，他看到了我，立刻响亮地拍打着翅膀，飞下来，落在了我的手腕上，镇定自若。黎明时分，他一定听到了喇嘛们拾级而上去晨祷时的脚步声，于是飞出了笼子，然后因为迷路飞到了外面那间小屋。毫无疑问，到了那里，一只缺乏经验的小黄鼠狼攻击过他。一只像彩虹鸽这样老道的鸟儿轻而易举就能仅仅通过拽掉几根羽毛骗过黄鼠狼。当这只满怀希望的小黄鼠狼在许多撕裂的羽毛里面寻找彩虹鸽的时候，那只眼看要成为他口中食的鸽子飞上了天空。在那里，彩虹鸽找到了他的老朋友雨燕，只见雨燕正在飞行着对初升的太阳敬礼。他们一起做完晨祷之后，就飞下来，在藏经阁的房顶上友好地交谈。

那天，非常可怕的消息传到了喇嘛庙，一头疯狂的野牛攻击了那位喇嘛前一天说起过的那个村子。那头野牛前一天晚上到那里去过，顶死了两个从公共打谷场附近聚会之后回家的老人。村民们派代表来找方丈，求他为这头野兽的害人行径祷告，恳请他驱除这头野兽的邪恶灵魂。方丈说，他会在二十四小时后作法，除掉那头杀气腾腾的野牛。“平安回家吧，大慈大悲的众生啊，你们的祈祷会应验的。夜幕降临后，不要冒险出门，待在家里，冥想平和与勇气吧。”在场的刚德问道：“这个家伙已经骚扰你们村多久了？”全体代表断言，一个星期来他每天夜里都来，几乎吃掉了春天的一半庄稼。他们再次强烈恳求通过咒语和驱魔仪式除掉野牛，之后就下山回村了。

代表们离开后，喇嘛对站在旁边的刚德说：“胜利之神的选民啊，既然你被治愈，那就上前杀死那个凶手吧。”

“可是，方丈！”

“刚德，别再害怕了，禅定已经治愈了你。现在通过这一手段在树林里测试一下你在这里获得的一切吧。在孤独中，人们获得力量和镇静，必须在人群中检验一下。从现在起，后天太阳下山之前，你将凯旋。我对你的成功完全信任，我要求你把这个男孩子和他的鸽子带上。要是我怀疑你的力量或这次任务的结局，就肯定不会请你把这个十六岁的男孩子带上了。去吧，把凶手绳之以法。”

那天下午，我们出发前往丛林，我对有望至少在那里再过一夜欢天喜地。跟刚德和彩虹鸽同行是多么开心，他们俩又一次健健康康地去寻找一头疯狂的野牛！地球上有一个不喜欢这种机会的男孩子吗？

因此，我们全副武装，配备了绳梯、套索和猎刀，彩虹鸽站在我的肩上，我们就出发了。英国政府禁止印度普通民众使用枪支，所以我们没有携带枪支。

大约下午三点钟，我们到达了位于喇嘛庙西北方的那个村子。到了那里，我们发现了野牛的踪迹，一路跟踪，穿过茂密树林和宽阔空地，不时地穿过一条小溪，或者不得不爬过一棵棵倒下的巨树。不同寻常的是野牛的脚印多么清晰、多么深。

刚德说：“他一定吓得要死了吧，看看野牛在这里踩得有多深！动物们在正常的不害怕状态下留下的痕迹微乎其微，但害怕的时候，他们行动起来，就像被杀害的恐怖压倒了他们的身体。这个家伙的蹄子大得惊人，所到之处都留下了清晰的蹄印，他一定害怕极了！”

最后，我们遇到了一条难以通行的河流。根据刚德判断，要是我们踏进河流，激流快得足以冲断我们的双腿。说来也怪，那头野牛也不敢穿过这条河。于是，我们顺着河岸继续追踪野牛的蹄印。不到二十分钟，我们就发现这些蹄印突然偏离了河岸，消失在了一片浓密的丛林里。尽管还不到下午五点钟，但那片丛林却黑如深渊。无论野牛有多大年龄，从这个地方跑到村子里用时不可能超过半个小时。

刚德问道：“你听到水声了吗？”听了几分钟之后，我听到了河水流过莎草和不远处其他草的声音，同时传来汩汩涌涌的响声。我们距离一个湖二十英尺左右，河流进了湖里。“那头害人的野牛躲起来了——说不定在这里和湖之间的某个地方睡觉。”刚德大声说道。“那边有两棵孪生树，我们就在其中一棵树上安营扎寨吧。天快要黑了，我相信野牛马上就要到这里了。他出现的时候，我们不能还在丛林的地上。树和树之间几乎只有不到四英尺的空间。”

他的最后一句话让我感到好奇。于是，我仔细观察了一下树和树之间的空隙。那些树高大粗壮，相互之间隔着一片土，提供的空间宽得足够我们俩并肩行走。

“现在我要把这身浸透恐惧气息的衣服扔到这两棵树之间。”接着，刚德脱掉一直穿在身上的束腰外衣下面的旧衣服。他把衣服放在地上，然后爬上其中一棵树。爬上去之后，刚德为我扔下一副绳梯，我攀着绳梯向上爬，彩虹鸽在我的肩上拍打着翅膀，以保持平衡。我们俩安全地到达了刚德坐着的树枝上。夜晚就要飞快地降临，我们静静地坐了一会儿。

当黄昏降临的时候，我注意到的第一件事情就是鸟类的生活。苍鹭、犀鸟、松鸡、野鸡、歌雀和成群的翠绿鹦鹉似乎遍布森林，蜜蜂的嗡嗡声、啄木鸟的嗒嗒声和头顶上方老鹰遥远的尖叫，跟奔涌咆哮的山洪声和已经醒来的鬣狗们断断续续的笑声交织在一起。

我们安营扎寨过夜的那棵树非常高大，我们向上爬得更远，以确保我们上方没有猎豹或毒蛇。仔细观察过后，我们选中了两根树枝，把绳梯悬在中间形成了一张结实的吊床。就在我们安顿下来的时候，刚德指着天空。我马上抬起头，只见那里有一只非常大的鹰，利用红宝石色的翅膀悬浮着。尽管黑暗犹如自丛林地面升起的洪水一样，但天空上面的空间“像一只鸽子的颈羽一样”色彩斑斓，孤鹰一次又一次地盘旋着，按照刚德的说法，毫无疑问是在膜拜落日。他的出现已经对森林里的鸟类和虫类产生了一种安抚的作用。尽管孤鹰远在天空，但鸟类和虫类像一群沉默的信徒一样默不作声。这时候，孤鹰作为百鸟之王飞来飞去，仿佛大祭司般入迷地膜拜光明之神。慢慢地，红宝石般的光泽从他的翅膀上退去。此刻，他的翅膀变成了点缀着金色火花的紫色船帆。膜拜好像终于结束了，孤鹰越飞越高，就像在神面前自焚一样，向熊熊燃烧的火焰峰飞去，然后飞蛾般消失在火焰峰灿烂的光辉之中。

下面，野牛的吼叫声把黑夜的寂静撕成了一个个的碎片，昆虫的鸣叫一个接一个地被解放了出来。一只猫头鹰在附近枭叫，使躲在束腰外衣下面的彩虹鸽紧紧地贴住了我的心脏。突然，一只喜马拉雅噪鹃[1]——夜间鸣鸟，酷似夜莺——唱起了迷人的歌曲，犹如神灵吹奏的银笛，颤音接着颤音，华彩乐章连着华彩乐段，犹如泼洒倾盆大雨，四周宁静，又如雨水顺着树干流下，滴在粗糙的树皮上，落在丛林地面，然后透过根部，渗入地球的心脏。

喜马拉雅山初夏夜晚的魅力将永远难以形容。事实上，它是如此甜美和孤独，我感到昏昏欲睡。刚德用另一根绳子绑住我，使我安全地固定在树干上。随后，我把头靠在他的肩上，以便睡得舒适。但是，还没等我睡着，刚德就对我讲起了他的计划：

“我那些扔掉的衣服是我心里充满恐惧时穿的。它们有一种奇怪的气味。要是那头白痴野牛闻到它们的气味，就会到这里来。他要是受到惊吓，就会对恐惧气味做出反应。他要是来探究我扔掉的衣服，我们就尽我们所能对他采取行动。我希望我们能套住他，把他带回家，让他像小母牛一样温顺……”我没有听到他剩下的话，因为我已经倒头睡着了。

我不知道自己睡了多久，但我突然被一声可怕的吼叫惊醒了。我睁开眼睛的时候，只见刚德已经醒来了，解开了我身上的绳子，指了指下面。在黎明的微光中，起初我什么也没有看见，但我听到了狂暴的野兽发出的呻吟声和咕噜声。热带地区，天亮得快。我聚精会神地向下看。此刻，在越来越亮的天光中，我看到了……我看到的决不可能是另外一种情景。是的，有一只小山似的闪亮乌黑的动物在我们坐着的树下蹭着黝黑的身体侧面。尽管树叶和树干遮住了它一半的身躯，但我推测它有十英尺左右长。看上去这头野兽就像出自绿色熔炉里的一块黑蛋白石，在朝阳下又像新生的绿叶一样闪闪发亮。我想：“自然界中看上去健壮光滑的野牛，在动物园里却脏兮兮的，鬃毛暗淡，皮肤肮脏。那些见过被关着的野牛的人能想象得到他们有多美吗？自然界中的动物价值会比动物园里的高一百倍，大多数年轻人都没有在自然界见过他们，而是从囚禁的表象了解他们，这多么遗憾！要是我们不能通过观看监狱里的囚犯来正确了解人类的道德本性，那我们如何设法通过观察笼里的动物认为我们对动物了如指掌呢？”

不过，还是回到我们树底下那头害人的野牛吧。彩虹鸽被放出了我的外衣，他在树上漫步。我和刚德顺着许多梯子般的树枝向下爬，一直爬到了野牛头顶上方大约两英尺的一根树枝上。野牛没有看到我们。刚德飞快地把长套索的一端绑在树干上。我注意到野牛正在树下玩耍，用犄角不时地挑起一件破烂的衣服，那是刚德的衣服的碎片。毫无疑问，衣服里发出的人的气味已经吸引了他。尽管野牛的犄角很干净，但他的头上留有鲜血的痕迹。显而易见，夜间他又去村子里杀了一个人。这激怒了刚德。他对我耳语道：“我们要活捉他。你从上面把这个套索套到他的犄角上。”转眼之间，刚德已经纵身跳下树枝，靠近了野牛的后部。这吓了野牛一跳。但是，他掉不过头来，因为紧贴着他的右侧是我刚提到过的一棵树，他的左侧是我站在上面的那棵树。为了脱身，他必须要么后退，要么前进，但还没等这一切发生，我就已经把绳索套在了他的头上。他碰到绳子，就像触电似的，赶忙后退，以便摆脱套索，动作飞快，要不是刚德已经绕过另一棵树，就会被野牛锋利的蹄子踩死。但现在，让我万分惊愕的是，我注意到套索没有从根部勒住野牛的两只角，只是成功地套住了其中一只。那一刻，我惊恐地对刚德尖声喊道：“当心！只套住了他的一只角，绳子随时可能会从另一只角上滑落。快跑！快爬上树。”

但是，那个无所畏惧的猎手没有理会我的建议，而是距离很近地站在那里，面对着敌人。紧接着，我看到那头野兽低下头，向前扑去。我恐惧地闭上了眼睛。

当我又睁开眼睛的时候，我看到野牛正在用力拽着套住他那只犄角的绳索，绳索使他无法够到隐蔽着刚德的那棵树。野牛发出可怕的咆哮声弥漫于整个丛林，回声一声接着一声，就像受到惊吓的孩子们的尖叫一般。

因为野牛还没有成功地顶到刚德，所以刚德就抽出一把大约长一英尺半、宽两英寸的锋利匕首，他慢慢地溜到了右侧另一棵树后面，然后就不见了踪影。野牛只是直奔向他最后看到刚德的地方。幸运的是，绳索还在紧紧地套住他的那只角。

这时候，刚德改变了战术，朝相反方向跑去，在树木之间绕来绕去。他这样做，是要去他的气味到不了野牛那里、被风吹到下风向的地方。不过，尽管野牛糊里糊涂，但他还是掉头，尾随其后。到了我们的树下，他又看到了刚德的那件衣服。这激怒了他，他嗅了嗅，然后用角挑了起来。

此时，刚德到了下风向，尽管我看不到他，但我猜到，即使树木挡住了他的视线，他也能通过气味判断出野牛在哪里。野牛一边用角挑穿刚德的衣服，一边又吼叫起来，这引起了四周树丛里的一阵可怕的骚动。一群群猴子不知从哪里钻出来，从一根树枝跑到另一根树枝。几只松鼠像老鼠一般从树上蹿到了丛林地面，然后又蹿回了树上。成群成群的鸟儿，松鸦、苍鹭和鹦鹉，跟乌鸦、猫头鹰和鸢一起四处乱飞尖叫。突然，野牛又发起了冲锋。我看到刚德正面对着野牛，镇定地站在那里。要是我曾见过一个人镇定到极致的话，那这个人就是刚德。野牛的后腿抽动，利剑般向前扑去。这时候，发生了一件事，他后腿直立了起来，毫无疑问，那是套索的拉力，因为套索的一头绑在我们的树上。野牛从地面上腾起好几英尺，然后落地。那一刻，他那个牛角像一根被小孩子折断的小枯枝一样嘎巴一声飞向了空中。折断引起了不可抗拒的冲力，把野牛斜抛到了地上。野牛几乎在翻滚，四条腿在空中猛烈地踢着。说时迟那时快，刚德像燧石飞溅的火花一样纵身向前。看到他的时候，野牛保持平衡，蹲坐下来，喷着鼻息。在他几乎成功地站起来的时候，刚德却把匕首扎向他的肩胛处。匕首致命的锋刃深深地扎进去，刚德用全身的重量压在了上面。火山爆发般的一声吼叫震撼了整个丛林，鲜血喷泉一般喷射而出。我不忍再看这个情景，便又闭上了眼睛。

过了几分钟，我从树上下来，发现那头野牛已经流干了血，倒地身亡，躺在了深深的血泊里。刚德坐在旁边的地上，擦着他与野牛搏斗的时候溅在身上的血迹。我知道他希望不受干扰。于是，我就走到原来那棵树下，呼喊彩虹鸽。彩虹鸽没有任何回应。我一路爬到树顶，但一无所获——他不在那里。

我从树上下来的时候，刚德已经擦净了自己身上的血迹。他指向天空。我们看到了大自然的清洁工食腐动物。鸢在下面，秃鹫高高地飞在他们上空。他们已经得知某个动物死了，所以他们必须清扫丛林。

刚德说：“我们会在喇嘛庙找到彩虹鸽。毫无疑问，他跟其他鸟儿一起飞走了。我们立刻离开这里吧。”但是，在向喇嘛庙出发之前，我走过去察看死去的野牛，苍蝇已从四面八方飞向野牛那里。野牛身长十英尺半，前腿目测有三英尺多长。

我们一路跋涉默默地返回喇嘛庙，大约中午时分，当我们走到那个遭殃的村子的时候，这种沉默才被打破。我们告诉村长说他们的敌人死了。听到这个消息，村长松了口气，尽管他非常伤心，因为前一天晚上，野牛顶死了他的老母亲，日落之前他的母亲正走向村庙去祈祷。

我们饥肠辘辘，走得飞快，很快就到了喇嘛庙。我马上询问彩虹鸽的情况，彩虹鸽不在那里。这很糟糕，但是，我们在老方丈的小屋里交谈的时候，方丈说：“刚德，他像你一样平安无事。”停顿了几分钟之后，他问道：“是什么打扰了你内心的宁静？”

这位老猎手默默地想出了自己要说的话：“长老，除了这一点之外，没什么，这一点就是我讨厌杀死任何生物。我本来想活捉那头野牛，唉！我不得不消灭了他。他的那只角折断了，我别无选择，只好把刀子插进了他的命脉。真对不起，我活捉不了他，要是能活捉，我就能把他卖给动物园了。”

“噢，你这财迷！”我大声嚷道，“野牛死了，我并不遗憾，死了比关进动