【荆棘鸟】第四章 10

带领狗群的那只蓝色的昆士兰大猛犬对这位神父非常亲近，绝对服从，这意味着在它们眼中弗兰克毫无疑问是处于次要地位。弗兰克兰半点儿也没在意，在帕迪的几个儿子中他是唯一的不喜欢德罗海达的生活的人。他当时别无所求而一心想要离开新西兰，但并不是为了想到这儿来。他厌恶无休无止地在围场里逡巡，厌恶大部分夜晚都睡在硬梆梆的地面上，他讨厌那些不能当作宠畜来驯养的凶猛的狗：它们一旦不能干活儿，就会被枪打死。
 
　　但是，骑马跑进正在聚集的云海还是有几分新奇冒险的。就连迎风弯腰、噼啦作响的树木也像是带着一种稀奇古怪的喜悦在狂舞着。拉尔夫神父像着了魔似地奔忙着，教唆着牧羊犬去迫赶那些毫不犯疑的羊群，把那些毛哄哄的傻东西吓得蹦来跳去，咩咩地叫着，直到那些体型低矮的狗飞奔着穿过草地把它们紧紧地赶在一起，然后再把它们赶走。为数不多的牧人只有靠这些牧羊犬才管得了德罗海达这么大的产业，这些狗们经过赶羊赶牛的训练，聪慧令人惊异，极少需要加以指导。
　　夜幕降临的时候，拉尔夫神父和那群狗与跟在他们身后尽力协作但却交果欠佳的弗兰克的帮助下，把一个围栏里的羊全都赶了出来；这在通常情况下，是要付出几天的劳动。他在第二个围场门边的一片树林附近，给他的牝马卸了鞍，乐观的说，看来他们这下可以赶在下雨之前把羊都赶出围栏了。那些狗们此刻伸开四肢伏在草地上，懒洋洋伸着舌头，那头昆士兰大蓝狗摇头摆尾，讨好的爬在了拉尔夫神父的脚下。弗兰克从马褡裢里掏出了一大块看着让人恶心的袋鼠肉，抛给了那群狗；它们立刻扑过去争夺撕咬起来。
 
 
　　"该死的畜生，"他说道。"他们哪像是狗，简直是群豺狼。"
　　"我想，这些狗也许与上帝造狗的意图更接近吧，"拉尔夫神父温和地说。"警觉、聪明，喜欢攻击而又几乎从不驯服。就我自己来说，我宁可要它们，也不喜欢供家里宠养的那些品种。"他笑了笑。"猫也一样。你没发觉它们在棚子边转悠吗？像豹子一样狂野不驯、不让人们接近它们。可是它们捕猎的本领棒极了，谁也当不了它们的主人，谁也养不了它们。"
　　他从自己的马褡裢里掏出一块冷羊肉和一包面包及黄油，从羊肉上切下了一大片，把剩下的递给了弗兰克。他把面包和黄油放在了他们中间的一段圆木上，津津有味地用他那雪白的牙齿咬着羊肉。
 

The big Queensland blue brute 1 that led the dog pack took a slavish fancy to the priest
and followed him without question, meaning Frank was-very definitely the second-string man. Half of Frank didn't mind; he alone among Paddy's sons had not taken to life on Drogheda. He had wanted nothing more than to quit New Zealand, but not to come to this. He hated the ceaseless patrolling of the paddocks, the hard ground to sleep on most nights, the savage 2 dogs which could not be treated as pets and were shot if they failed to do their work. But the ride into the gathering 3 clouds had an element of adventure to it; even the bending, cracking trees seemed to dance with an outlandish joy. Father Ralph worked like a man in the grip of some obsession 4, sooling the dogs after unsuspecting bands of sheep, sending the silly woolly things leaping and bleating 5 in fright until the low shapes streaking 6 through the grass got them packed tight and running. Only having the dogs enabled a small handful of men to operate a property the size of Drogheda; bred to work sheep or cattle, they were amazingly intelligent and needed very little direction. By nightfall Father Ralph and the dogs, with Frank trying to do his inadequate 7 best behind them, had cleared all the sheep out of one paddock, normally several days' work. He unsaddled his mare 8 near a clump 9 of trees by the gate to the second paddock, talking optimistically of being able to get the stock out of it also before the rain started. The dogs were sprawled 10 flat out in the grass,tongues lolling, the big Queensland blue fawning 11 and cringing 12 at Father Ralph's feet. Frank dug a repulsive 13 collection of kangaroo meat out of his saddle bag and flung it to the dogs,which fell on it snapping and biting at each other jealously.
  "Bloody 14 awful brutes," he said. "They don't behave like dogs; they're just jackals."
  "I think these are probably a lot closer to what God intended dogs should be," said
Father Ralph mildly. "Alert, intelligent, aggressive and almost untamed. For myself, I
prefer them to the house-pet species." He smiled. "The cats, too. Haven't you noticed them around the sheds? As wild and vicious as panthers; won't let a human being near them. But they hunt magnificently, and call no man master or provider."
  He unearthed 15 a cold piece of mutton and a packet of bread and butter from his saddlebag, carved a hunk from the mutton and handed the rest to Frank. Putting the bread and butter on a log between them, he sank his white teeth into the meat with evident enjoyment 16.