It had been a long walk to the top and he was tired. He knew the horse he was trying to capture¹ could not be too far away. He looked at the mountain and the valleys below, searching footmarks left by the horse.

他走了很长一段路才到山顶的，所以感到浑身乏力。他知道他想方设法要逮住的那匹马离此不会太远。他察看折山上及下面的山谷，寻找着那匹马留下的蹄印。

Then he saw the marks going down the other side of the mountain. He must capture the horse. He knew better men than he had tried. Tom Raglan, the best rancher in the state, had tried with the help of his cowboys².

这时，他看到在山的另一侧，顺坡而下有一行马蹄印。他一定要逮住这匹马。他知道曾有比他更有能耐的人尝试过。州内最好的牧场主汤姆·拉格伦就曾经在他那帮牛仔的帮助下做过尝试.

But they had not been able to capture it. It had gotten away from others, too. They all said it was too wild. It could not be captured³.

但他们并没有能逮住它,其他试图去逮它的人也都失败了，都让它逃脱了。他们都说他太野，是不可能被逮住的。

After a slow, painful walk down the mountain, Jed came to a cool-looking river. He drank the clear water.顺着山路向下，慢慢地、艰难地走了一段之后，杰德到达一条水看上去十分清澈的河边，喝了几口河水。

Further down the valley he saw the black horse. It stood under a tree out of the sun. Jed moved closer, then hid behind a tree to watch. It was the biggest and blackest and blackest he had ever seen.

接着又沿山谷向前走了一段，这是他看到了那匹黑马，他站在一棵树下遮太阳。杰德又走进了些，然后躲在一棵树后观察。这是他有生以来见过的最大、最黑的马。

Jed knew all about horse. He had grown into a man caring for them. He had never earned more than '10 but he had dreams: If he could get a male and female⁴ house and 10 hectares⁵ of land, he could sell horses. That would be all the happiness Jed wanted.

杰德对马了如指掌。他是一个从小与马厮混、在马背上长大的人。尽管他挣的钱从来没有超过10美元，但他有自己的梦想：如果他能够得到一匹公马、一匹母马和10公顷土地，他就可以养马并以卖马为生了。那就是杰德想要得到的全部幸福了。

Night came. The big black house moved from under the tree and began to eat grass near the river. Jed watched again. A few hours later, he found a soft place in the ground. He placed his head against an old fallen tree and slept.

夜幕降临。那匹大黑马从树下走了出来，走到河边开始吃草。杰德继续观察着。几小时后，他在地上找了一块柔软的地方，将头靠在一棵倒着的老树上睡着了。

The next day he woke with the sun. His eyes searched for the horse, and there it was, grazing⁶. Jed saw how it ate, then lifted its head and looked all around. It was the mark of the wild, always looking for hidden danger.

第二天日出时他醒了过来，马上就用目光寻找那匹马，还好，它就站在那里，正吃着草呢。杰德看着它吃草，随后又见它抬起头，朝四周看看。这就是野马的特征：它们总是十分小心，不时地看看四周是否有什么暗藏的危险。

Jed started to walk toward⁷ the horse. The horse stopped eating and looking at Jed. Jed's heart began to beat heavily. Men had said the horse was a killer. Still, he walked closer.

杰德开始慢慢向它走近。它停止吃草，看着杰德。杰德的心开始“咚咚”直跳。人们都说这马是一个杀手，但他还是继续向它靠近。

Fifteen meters away from the horse Jed stopped. The horse had lifted its front feet high in the air, then placed them heavily back on the ground. Jed moved closer. He talked to the horse in a soft voice.

在离它15米远的地方，杰德停了下来。只见它高高的抬起前蹄，然后又重重的落回原地。杰德又走近了些。他开始柔声跟它说话。

Then, with a loud scream, the horse turned and ran down the valley. Jed sank to the ground wet with excitement. He had done what no man had done.

接着，随着一声响亮的嘶鸣，这匹马转身顺着山谷跑了下去。杰德却因兴奋而浑身大汗淋漓，倒在地上。他已经做了别人没有做到的事儿.

He had almost touched the wild horse. The animal was not a killer. If it had been, Jed would be dead now.

他几乎快要挨到这匹野马了。它并不是一个杀手，如果它是的话，杰德现在已经没命了。

For six days he followed the horse. He rested when the horse rested. Jed did not like the land they were in now. The sides of the valley were high and filled with big rocks. Few trees were around. And the bottom of the valley was soft and wet.

他一连跟踪了这匹马6天。只有马歇的时候，他才歇。杰德不喜欢他现在所呆的地方。这山谷的两侧都很高，到处是大岩石，周围没有多少树，而且谷底又软又湿。

Jed watched the horse a while, and then lay down to sleep.

杰德又看了一会儿马，随后躺下来睡觉。

In the middle of the night, he was awakened⁸ by thunder and rain. He walked up the rocks until he found a dry hole, safe from the rain, and he slept again.

半夜十分，他被雷雨声惊醒。他立刻沿着岩石向上走，直到找了一个可以蔽雨的干燥的山洞，他再接着睡。

The next day was cold and wet. Heavy rains had softened⁹ the bottom of the valley. He followed the house most of the day. The wet valley was the only place it could walk now.

第二天又冷又湿。大雨已经泡软了谷底的土壤。这一天他大部分时间都在跟着马走。湿湿的山谷是现在它唯一可以行走的地方了。

The sides of the valley had gotten higher. Toward evening he saw it again. But this time there was fear in its face. He stopped and watched. The horse's nose was smelling the air. It smelled danger. It smelled danger.

越走，山谷两侧就显得越高。临近黄昏时分，他才又见到了它，但这次它的脸上出现了一种恐惧的神情。他停下来仔细观察，只见马鼻子在嗅着空气，他闻到了危险的气息。

Jed thought of wild animals, a wildcat(链接至同目录下wildcat）or bear maybe. He pulled his knife from his pants. He looked among the rocks but saw nothing.

杰德想到是不是有什么野兽，一只豹猫，也可能是一只熊。他从裤子里抽出刀，在岩石间四处看看，但什么也没有看见。