Near noon, the heavy rain that raged all night and all morning finally stopped. After the storm, the sugar maple forest outside the window was also clean, revealing the intoxicating greenery and moist and fresh air.
Pushing the door and opening the window, young girls with Indian face paint on their faces also walked to the corridor at the door one after another, taking deep breaths while moving their shoulders that were slightly stiff because they had been doing manual work.
By the way, including Wei Ran, who was the last to walk out, they were all observing with great interest the unknown birds chirping and jumping around on the grass at the door.
"That's a North American robin."
Tantu, who was also stretching, introduced with a smile, "They are the most common birds. In some Indian aboriginal traditions, these monogamous little guys are also a symbol of love."
Before she finished her words, whether she was agreeing with her introduction or refuting her statement, an extremely pitiful and low roar came from the direction of the redwood forest in the distance, "Ah~oh——!"
"Forehead…"
Tantu scratched his head in distress, looked at the direction where the sound came from, and guessed in a positive tone with a headache, "It's a moose, and judging from the sound, it seems to be angry."
"Ah~oh——!" As soon as Tantu finished speaking, another long-pitched scream came from the redwood forest in the distance.
"How about..." Suisui asked very excitedly, but cautiously, "We... go take a look?"
Seeing Tantu looking at her, Koko waited for Anfiya to translate Suisui's proposal, and then nodded immediately, "I've only heard that this kind of deer is very big, but I haven't seen it with my own eyes." "It's beyond your imagination.
"knowledge is great"
Tantu gritted his teeth and finally screamed, "Take the shotgun and let's go over there on foot to have a look. The sound of the motorcycle will frighten it. I don't want to anger such a monster."
After hearing this, everyone returned to the wooden house like a swarm, and each took the weapons they got from the trunk of Tantu's car when they entered the farm.
"Are you sure you want to bring this thing with you?"
Suisui looked at the American hunting bow and quiver in Wei Ran's hand, and her beautifully painted face expressed an undisguised question, "Brother, are you here to make a joke?"
"Anyway, Sister Tantu is here, so what are you afraid of?"
As Wei Ran spoke, he neatly bent his bow and aimed an arrow at the sugar maple tree in the distance that still had the mark of the axe. He released the fully drawn bowstring with a "Boom!"
Under the watchful eyes of the four girls and an Indian elder sister, the feathered arrow passed by the sugar maple tree about half a meter away from the sugar maple tree with a chest diameter of half a meter, as expected, "Dang!
"There was a steady poke on a stainless steel bucket used to collect sugar maple sap.
"Ahem!"
Wei Ran cleared his throat in embarrassment, "Well, I was originally aiming for that steel barrel. Do you believe it?"
"believe"
Tan Tu smiled helplessly, took off the cowhide holster from his waist, and handed it to Wei Ran along with the revolver inside. He teased in a gentle tone, "But if you plan to shoot a moose, you'd better aim.
The nearest sugar maple tree, I believe you will be able to give that big guy a fatal blow when the time comes."
After saying this, not only did the moose in the distance let out another scream, but even the four girls couldn't help but burst out laughing.
Although he became the target of ridicule, Wei Ran naturally didn't mind. He took the holster and hung it on his waist. He followed Tantu and walked to the front, walking through the wet bushes, with the Katenka sisters protecting him from behind.
The two girls, one foot deep and one foot shallow, cautiously approached the moose that kept screaming.
Of course, compared to moose, the first thing that appears in everyone's field of vision, in addition to the sugar maple trees that can be seen everywhere, are naturally the giant redwood trees.
"The most conspicuous one you can see is about 100 meters high."
Tantu pointed to the most conspicuous tree in front of him and introduced in a low voice, "Its base circumference exceeds ten meters. It is the largest North American redwood within a radius of 50 kilometers."
Seeing that everyone stopped and raised their necks, Tantu simply
They stood still, raised their necks together, looked at the tall redwood tree from a distance, and said, "In the legend of the aborigines, the gods live in such a big tree, and it is also the place where you can get closest to the deceased.
"
"When did you bring the telescope?" Suisui looked strangely at Wei Ran, who was standing next to him holding the telescope.
"I brought it with me when I came."
As Wei Ran spoke, he handed the heavy telescope to Suisui, "Look under those redwood trees. I found the reindeer."
"Where is it? Let me see!" As Suisui spoke, she had already taken the telescope and looked towards the redwood forest in the distance.
"To the right of the tallest redwood tree, there is a fallen sugar maple tree. Look into its crown." Wei Ran guided from the side.
"I am searching…"
Suisui moved the telescope she held with both hands, and then said excitedly, "I saw it! It seems...it seems to be trapped?"
"Let me see." Kou Kou waited for Anfisa to finish translating, then eagerly stretched out her little hand towards Suisui.
Without waiting for Wei Ran to translate, Suisui handed the telescope to Kou Kou, and Wei Ran helped guide the direction again.
"It seems to be really trapped..." Koko frowned and muttered in French.
"Can you let me take a look?" Tantu also asked in French. Hearing this, Kouko subconsciously looked at Wei Ran, and after he nodded, he immediately handed the telescope in his hand to Tantu.
After holding up the telescope and just taking a look, Tantu returned the telescope to Weiran, "We are indeed trapped. Wait for me here while I go over and take a look myself."
"I'll go with you," Wei Ran said, handing the binoculars to Suisui.
"Pay attention to safety." While Suisui took the telescope, he also handed the lever rifle that he had been carrying on his shoulder to Wei Ran.
"You also pay attention to safety." Wei Ran took the rifle and loaded the bullet with a "click".
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! Under Suisui's gaze with a telescope, Weiran and Tantu were five or six meters apart and cautiously walked towards the moose that kept screaming.
As the distance got closer, the two of them also saw the huge creature trapped in the canopy, struggling to stand up.
It was indeed a giant. Although its antlers seemed to be stuck with the branches of the fallen sugar maple tree, even so, its shoulder height was at least two meters high.
Of course, in addition to its huge size, Wei Ran and Tan Tu also noticed that in the belly of the moose, there was a maple tree that was as thick as a cucumber and dripping blood.
Looking at each other, Tantu sighed amidst the moose's constant whining, and while loading the civilian shotgun with a scope in his hand, he said, "This is an adult male moose, with such an injury.
It won't survive at all."
"This is Miss Kou Kou's farm," Wei Ran reminded kindly. Upon hearing this, Tan Tu's movements froze, and then nodded, "You're right, I really should ask about the wishes of the owner of this land."
"I didn't say anything." Wei Ran picked himself clean with his hands. "Thank you." Tan Tu put the shotgun on his shoulder, turned around and walked back quickly.
Soon, the woman came back, asked Wei Ran for her revolver, aimed behind the moose's ear, and pulled the trigger.
Before the sound of gunshots echoing in the forest subsided, Kou Kou and others quickly walked over, and the tall moose that had been shot in the head fell heavily to the wet grass with a "boom!"
superior.
"I'll go back and get the saw and car first, otherwise I won't be able to bring back such a big prey."
As Tantu said, he handed the revolver in his hand to Wei Ran again, "The safety of the girls is in your hands. I can trust you, right? Mr. Victor?"
"Of course, don't worry!" Wei Ran promised as he took the pistol.
As soon as she walked away, Suisui and others also ran over, got close to the huge body that was still trapped in the canopy, and took out their mobile phones.
"For such a big animal, I don't know what its slaughter rate is."
Koko said emotionally, "The closest thing I've broken down is Charolais beef, but the muscle fibers of that cow are rougher and the tenderness isn't good enough. Simply put, it's not delicious."
"Would you like to try it?"
Suisui waited for Wei Ran to help translate and immediately suggested, "I've always been curious about your butchering skills."
"And there are no police or extreme vegetarians here," Wei Ran joked after helping translate the Chinese into French.
Hearing this, Kerui pulled out the two hunting knives hanging on her waist and looked at them. She then made a particularly fancy circle around the two hunting knives in her palms and said, "I need a sharpening stick and..."
At this point, the rich butcher looked up and said, "We still need a winch to pull it up."
Upon hearing this, Wei Ran immediately took out his satellite phone and dialed Tantu, conveying Cong Kou's request.
Less than ten minutes later, a small but expensive Unimog U20 pickup truck also rolled over the low shrubs in the forest and drove slowly from a distance.
However, before Tantu, who was driving, could apply the brakes, Anfiya, who had been looking around with Weiran's telescope, suddenly said, "Boss, there seems to be something on the tallest redwood tree.
"
"Is there something?"
Wei Ran subconsciously looked at the tallest redwood tree dozens of meters away, while Suisui took the first step to take the telescope handed over by Anfiya.
This time, without Anfiya's guidance at all, Suisui shouted, "There is really something! I saw it too. It's hanging on the trunk of the tree. It seems... it seems like a helmet?"
"Let me take a look." Wei Ran took the telescope handed by the other party and looked in the direction pointed by her finger.
Moving up the thick trunk, he soon noticed that there seemed to be something really fixed on the trunk of the redwood tree, which was about twenty meters above the ground.
Turning the focus wheel, as the field of vision became clearer, Wei Ran finally saw clearly what seemed to be an American-style steel helmet from World War II and an elongated cylinder located directly below the helmet.
At this moment, Tantu also turned off the engine and pushed open the car door. "Tantu, what is that thing up there?" Wei Yan put down the telescope, raised his hand and pointed at the tallest redwood tree and asked curiously.
"What? Is there something up there?"
Tantu subconsciously raised his head and glanced at the tall tree pointed by Wei Ran and others, then jumped down from the cab, handed a canvas bag containing various slaughtering tools to Kou Kou with both hands, and then took out another milk bag.
He handed the white canvas apron to the other party, and then looked in the direction of Wei Ran and others' fingers again.
Handing the telescope to the other party, Tantu shook his head after observing it, returned the telescope and replied, "I don't know what it is. Although I grew up in this forest since I was a child, no matter whether my grandfather or
My parents didn't allow me to climb that redwood tree, and I never noticed anything up there."
"Is it because of Indian beliefs that people are not allowed to climb that tree?" Koko asked subconsciously.
"It's because it's too high and they're worried that I might fall and be in danger."
Tantu spread his hands helplessly, "Of course, if you want to know what's up there, I can climb up and have a look. It's just over 20 meters high, so it's not difficult for me."
Looking at each other, Wei Ran took the initiative to pull a chainsaw from the bed of the small truck, "Let's help Kou Kou get the moose out first."
Hearing this, Tantu nodded indifferently. After turning on the switch, he reached out and slowly pulled out the tow hook of the front winch, and then skillfully guided it around the trunk of a sugar maple tree.
While she was getting ready, Wei Ran also started the saw and cut off the branches around the reindeer.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! While he was cleaning up, he roughly guessed that perhaps it was the heavy rain last night or even today's breakfast that caused the tree trunk to seem to be eaten by insects.
The sugar maple tree broke in the middle, trapping the unlucky moose who was sheltering from the rain under the tree. At the same time, the broken branch also pierced its abdomen.
It can’t be said that it’s Wei Ran and others.
The moose and the sugar maple tree were lucky, but unlucky. Anyway, since they happened, they couldn't just leave them here and waste them.
In less than ten minutes, with the help of several girls, large and small branches were dragged aside. Tantu also tied the two hind hooves of the moose with a rope and used it to bypass another tree branch.
Using a dry tow hook, he slowly pulled it out and let it hang little by little at a height of less than half a meter above the ground.
At Wei Ran's suggestion, Kou Kou cut the lifeless moose's throat and accurately cut its carotid artery. Although there was not much blood flowing out because there was no heartbeat, it was still better than nothing.
.
While several girls were watching Ruirui, who was standing on the roof of the truck, skinning the behemoth, Tantu, who was carrying a crossbow, a canvas bag, and a bundle of ropes on his shoulders, also moved towards Wei Ran.
A look.
"Do you need me to go up and have a look?" Tantu led Wei Ran to the foot of the tall redwood tree and asked, raising his neck.
Without waiting for Wei Ran's reply, the Indian woman pulled the trigger toward the crown of the redwood tree.
With a soft sound of "Boom!", the blunt-headed steel crossbow arrow accurately flew over a thick branch with a thin nylon rope. Pull the rope gently, and the blunt-headed crossbow arrow also flew with a thin nylon rope.
The rope slowly dropped.
Using this thin rope, he pulled up the thick rope on his shoulder and wrapped it around the waist-thick branch. After fixing the rope, Tantu tugged hard, and then took out a tree-climbing pair from his waist.
Used iron palm.
"I'll do it." Wei Ran quickly took it before the other party put the iron palms on his shoes, and at the same time handed the other party the telescope hanging around his neck.
"It's best this isn't the first time you've done something like this."
Tantu grabbed the rope and reminded, "At such a high altitude, even if you can survive after falling, Mr. Hawking may not be much free."
"Don't worry, it's certainly not the first time."
Wei Ran said as he took out a pair of safety boots from the canvas bag at the opponent's feet and put them on.
Seeing Wei Ran's skillful appearance, Tan Tu hesitated for a moment and then did not stop him. He just helped carefully check all the locks.
After a little preparation, Wei Ran grasped the ascender and started climbing little by little on the rope.
When he was more than five meters above the ground, he also noticed that steel handles for climbing up and down seemed to have been nailed to the trunk of this towering tree.
However, perhaps because of the passage of time, most of these steel handles only have less than five centimeters left exposed, and the remaining parts have been eaten into the tree trunks.
Even so, Wei Ran can still use his hands and feet to grab or step on the force to further speed up his ascent.
A moment later, when he was riding on a branch wider than his body, he finally saw what was nailed to the trunk.
This is definitely an American-style steel helmet from World War II, an American-style steel helmet suspended in the air by thick steel bars firmly nailed to the tree trunk.
And directly under the helmet was a brass cannon shell suspended by a rusty iron chain.
Or to be more precise, this is a 127x680r (flanged) artillery shell. As for why he knows it so well, the reason is simple. Because the artillery using this kind of shell shell was the most representative in World War II.
The mk12 127 mm 38 times caliber naval gun on the U.S. warship Shalao.
After all, he is also a student brought out by Professor Alexei. Identifying weapons by bullets/cannon shells is one of the most basic professional skills that historians like them need to master in order to support their families.
Of course, the simpler reason is that the model number is clearly written on the butt of the shell. Not only that, but there is also something vaguely engraved on the waist of the copper shell shell, which is densely covered with black oxide layer.
He carefully picked up the shell shell and turned it around to look at it. Wei Ran, who was riding on the tree, subconsciously read out the hand-carved handwriting on it.
"ussjohnstondd-557...este·evans
..."
Johnston? dd-557? dd...destroyer? Destroyer USS Johnston?! Ernest Evans? Wei Ran took a breath after translating this notch to himself.
stagnation,
Carefully turn the black shell shell, and there is a second line of English engraved on it - this will be a battle ship, and she will fight her way out. Those who are scared should leave as soon as possible.
Although he has not been to North America many times, he also knows that this sentence is a famous saying of John Paul Jones, the father of the U.S. Navy.
As for the DD557 USS Johnston, when it comes to this warship, we have to mention the name engraved on the shell, Ernest Evans. Or, we should call him the Ernest of the USS Johnston.
Captain Ste Evans is the right one.
After carefully recalling the memories about this person's name and this destroyer, Wei Ran's face showed a look of surprise.
It goes without saying that the Johnston's heroic and fearless performance in the last battle before sinking was mentioned, but Captain Ernest Evans not only had the nickname "Big Chief", but he actually had a quarter of
Three Cherokee Indians of ancestry!
The most important thing is that in the final battle when the destroyer USS Johnston sank, the captain was eventually listed as missing!
Subconsciously he glanced at the Indian woman under the tree who was holding a telescope and looking up at him. Wei Ran swallowed involuntarily and suppressed his speculation that there might be some blood relationship between the captain and the woman on the ground.
In the bottom of my heart.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! Turning his attention to the shell shell again, Wei Ran carefully took out a thick glass tube with both ends sealed and a tube filled with wax oil and
Gauze-sealed small canning bottles.
In that glass tube, there is a wooden stick that is less than half a meter long at most. This wooden stick is also carved with patterns such as cobras, eagle heads, and Indians with feather crests. And on it
At one end, there was something that seemed to be made of horn.
In addition, there were three slender black feathers tied with leather ropes to the wooden stick, as well as a small metal pipe that looked about one size larger than chopsticks and was embossed in Ukiyo-e style.
Although it was separated by a thick glass tube, he could still roughly tell that this small metal pipe seemed to be made of pure silver, and the gold-stitched reliefs on it also exuded a sense of luxury from the inside out.
After carefully placing the glass tube back into the shell casing, Wei Ran picked up the glass can bottle that was almost perfectly inserted into the shell casing.
What was sealed inside was half-filled with something that seemed to be pipe tobacco, and buried inside the pipe tobacco was an Indian pipe ax without the handle.
Indian pipe ax? Wei Ran subconsciously looked at the glass tube, and then he realized that the wooden stick in the glass tube just now might be the missing ax handle.
Look at the pipe ax sealed in this can. There is a heart-shaped cutout on the axe, which is about the size of a fingernail. A little higher than the cutout, there are protruding sea anchor outlines on both sides. The pipe on the other end of the axe.
The pot was made to look like a lifebuoy, and there was even an embossed outline of a rope on it.
It was obvious that such an exquisite ax was definitely a custom-made product. What particularly interested Wei Ran was that there was a shiny silver sailor's whistle wrapped around the ax with a thin rope.
After looking over and over at the contents of the can, Wei Ran put it back into the shell shell after hesitating for a moment, then took out his cell phone and dialed the number of the Indian woman under the tree.
After describing his findings, Wei Ran finally asked, "Tantu, the ax placed here may be the relic of a missing American destroyer captain in history. Considering that your grandfather was a US Navy soldier, these
It is very likely that he put the things there, and it is not even ruled out that they are his personal belongings.
So it's up to you to decide whether to take these things down or let them stay here and wait to be completely swallowed up by the growing trunk one day."
After asking this question, Tantu, who had been holding up the telescope, said without thinking, "Help me take it off! Victor, that's what my ancestor said.
My father is actually the captain of a destroyer? How is this possible? He is an Indian. Also, what is the rank of the captain? General? "
"The missing captain I just mentioned is three-quarters Indian."
After Wei Ran finished speaking, he added uncertainly, "I don't remember clearly. The missing Captain Ernest Evans seems to have the rank of major or lieutenant colonel."
"Help take off the things on top!" Tantu said again, "I can take it and ask my father. He might know something."
Hearing this, Wei Ran put his cell phone in his pocket, bent down and pulled up the rope, and then used the rope to carefully send down the shell casing suspended by the chain, waiting until Tantu caught it steadily.
, and then skillfully rappelled back to the ground with the help of the buckle.
