【荆棘鸟】第二章 25

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The axe¹ was moving so fast it whistled, and the handle made its own separate swishing sound as it slid up and down within his slippery palms. Up it flashed above his head, down it came in a dull silver blur², carving³ a wedge-shaped chunk⁴ out of the iron-hard wood as easily as if it had been a pine or a deciduous⁵ tree. Sundered⁶ pieces of wood were flying in all directions, the sweat was running in streams down Frank's bare chest and back, and he had wound his handkerchief about his brow to keep the sweat from blinding him. It was dangerous work, undercutting; one mistimed or badly directed hack⁷, and he would be minus a foot. He had his leather wristbands on to soak up the sweat from his arms, but the delicate hands were ungloved, gripping the axe handle lightly and with exquisitely⁸ directed skill.

  Meggie crouched⁹ down beside his discarded shirt and undervest to watch, awed¹⁰. Three spare axes were lying nearby, for eucalyptus¹¹ wood blunted the sharpest axe in no time at all. She grasped one by its handle and dragged it onto her knees, wishing she could chop wood like Frank. The axe was so heavy she could hardly lift it. Colonial axes had only one blade, honed to hair- splitting sharpness, for double-bladed axes were too light for eucalyptus. The back of the axe head was an inch thick and weighted, the handle passing through it, firmly anchored with small bits of extra wood. A loose axe head could come off in midswing, snap through the air as hard and fast as a cannonball and kill someone.

  Frank was cutting almost instinctively¹² in the fast fading light; Meggie dodged¹³ the chips with the ease of long practice and waited patiently for him to spy her. The log was half severed¹⁴, and he turned himself the opposite way, gasping¹⁵; then he swung the axe up again, and began to cut the second side. It was a deep, narrow gap, to conserve¹⁶ wood and hasten the process; as he worked toward the center of the log the axe head disappeared entirely¹⁷ inside the cut, and the big wedges of wood flew out closer and closer to his body. He ignored them, chopping even faster. The log parted with stunning¹⁸ suddenness, and at the same moment he leaped lithely¹⁹ into the air, sensing that it was going almost before the axe took its last bite. As the wood collapsed²⁰ inward, he landed off to one side, smiling; but it was not a happy smile.

  He turned to pick up a new axe and saw his sister sitting patiently in her prim²¹ nightgown, all buttoned up and buttoned down.

 

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