第9部分(第1/7 頁)

like　those　outsiders　all　the　time。”

Seeing　that　the　women　had　unloaded　the　carts　and　dug　paths　to　the　deep　snow　by　clearing　out　troughs　the　wolves　had　made　when　dragging　the　gazelle　carcasses　through　the　snow；　and　that　they’d　also　built　up　a　snowbank；　Bilgee　looked　skyward　and　chanted　something。　Chen　Zhen　guessed　that　he　was　asking　Tengger　for　permission　to　go　out　in　the　snow　and　bring　up　the　dead　gazelles。

The　old　man　closed　his　eyes　briefly；　then　opened　them　again　and　said；　“There　are　plenty　of　frozen　gazelles　at　the　bottom　of　the　snow；　so　don’t　get　greedy。　When　you’re　out　there；　first　free　the　surviving　animals；　all　of　them；　before　ing　back　to　dig　out　the　frozen　ones。　Tengger　didn’t　want　those　animals　to　die；　so　we　must　save　them。”　He　lowered　his　head　and　said　to　Chen　Zhen　and　Yang　Ke；　“When　Genghis　Khan　finished　an　encirclement　hunt；　he　let　a　small　number　of　animals　go。

The　Mongols　have　fought　like　that　for　centuries；　and　the　reason　we　can　have　these　hunts　year　after　year　is　that；　like　the　wolves；　we　don’t　kill　off　all　the　prey。”

Bilgee　assigned　gazelle　collection　sectors　to　each　family；　then　let　them　go　off　and　work　on　their　own。　Everyone　followed　hunting　custom　by　leaving　the　nearest　and　most　plentiful　holes　for　the　students　and　for　Bilgee；　who　led　Chen　and　Yang　over　to　his　cart；　where　they　unloaded　two　large　rolls　of　felt；　each　about　two　yards　wide　and　four　yards　long。　They　appeared　to　have　been　sprayed　with　water　beforehand；　for　they　were　frozen　stiff。　Chen　and　Yang　each　dragged　one　along　the　cleared　path；　while　Bilgee　carried　a　long　birch　club；　tipped　with　a　metal　hook。　Batu　and　Gasmai　also　carried　large　rolls　of　felt　to　the　deep　snow；　little　Bayar　walked　behind　his　parents　with　a　hook　over　his　shoulder。

After　they　reached