War Calls Gay-Neck戰爭召喚彩虹鴿

達恩·葛帕·默克奇

By the First Week of August just after the children were born Hira and Gay-Neck had gone from Calcutta to Bombay， setting sail with Ghond to serve in the World War. I sent that bachelor bird Hira with Gay-Neck because the army had need of both.

I was very glad that Gay-Neck had some knowledge of his little ones before he sailed for the battlefield of Flanders and France. The chief reason for this happiness was that I knew that a pigeon whose wife and new-born children are waiting at home rarely fails to return. That bond of love between Gay-Neck and his family assured me that he would do his work of carrying messages very well. No sound of gun-fire， nor bullets， as long as he lived， could keep him from returning home at the end.

But here one may raise the question that home was in Calcutta and the war was thousands of miles away. That is true. But all the same， because he had left his wife and children at home， he would do his utmost to fly back to his temporary nest with Ghond.

It is said Gay-Neck carried several important messages between the front and General Headquarters where the Commander-in-Chief and Ghond waited for him. Of course， Gay-Neck was attached to Ghond first. But in the course of the following months he became very fond of the Chief.

Ghond and not I went to the front with the two pigeons， for I was under age and ineligible for any kind of service， so the old fellow had to take them. During the voyage out from India to Marseilles， Hira and Gay-Neck and the old hunter became fast friends. I have yet to see any strange animal resist Ghond’s friendship long， and since my pigeons had known it was easy for them to respond to him.

During the stay of the Indian Army in Flanders from September 1914 till the following spring， Ghond remained near General Headquarters with his cage， while Hira or Gay-Neck was taken by different units to the front.

There from time to time messages were written on thin paper weighing no more than an ounce， and were tied to his feet; then he was released. Gay-Neck invariably flew to Ghond at the General Headquarters of the army. There the message was deciphered and answered by the Commander-in-Chief himself. It is rumoured that the latter personage loved Gay-Neck， and valued his services highly.

But it is better to listen to Gay-Neck’s own story. As the experiences of a dream cannot be told except by the dreamer， so some of the adventures of Gay-Neck he should recount in person.

“After we crossed the black water—the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean—we travelled by rail through a very strange country. Though it was September， yet that country—France—was as cold as southern India in the winter. I expected to see snow-capped mountains and giant trees， for I thought I was nearing the Himalayas. But no hills higher than our tallest bamboo trees could I perceive on the horizon. I do not see why a land has to be cold when it is not high.

“At last we reached the battle-front. It turned out to be the rear end of it， but even there you could hear the boom， boom， boom of the fire-spitters. And， as a normal pigeon， I have all fire-spitters no matter of what size and shape. Those metal dogs barking and belching out death were not to my liking. After I had been there a couple of days， our trial night began. There were only four pigeons of our own city besides Hira and myself. You know how rash Hira could be. No sooner had we flown up above the houses of a large village than Hira flew towards the direction of the boom， boom， boom. He wanted to investigate. Well， in an hour’s time we were there. Oh， what a noise！ Big balls of fire， spat out like thunderbolts by the metal dogs hidden under trees， hissed and exploded below us. I was frightened， so I rose higher and higher. But no peace there in the highest heavens could I find. From nowhere came vast eagles roaring and growling like trumpeting elephants. At such a terrific sight， we flew towards where Ghond was waiting for us. But the eagles， two of them， followed！ We went faster and faster. Fortunately， they could not overtake us. Just as we had expected， those eagles came down where we lived. I felt death was at hand. Those eagles were going to devour us in our cages like weasels. But no！ They stopped trumpeting soon and lay down on the field—dead. Two men each jumped out of the stomachs of those two birds and walked away. I wondered how eagles could devour human beings. And how could the fellows come out alive？

“Soon enough the men returned from their errand， climbed inside the eagles， and then with a groan and trumpeting racket， they came alive and flew up in the air again. That left no doubt in my mind that they were men’s chariots， and when I knew that I felt relieved.

“Though everything looked strange at first， it ceased to be so after we got used to it; yet the problem of sleeping soundly under the continual booming and barking noises remained unsolved. All those months in the army I never slept well. No wonder Hira and I were nervous and fidgety， like newly hatched snakes.

“My first adventure consisted of taking a message from the Rasseldar at the front where all kinds of dogs barked and spat fire day and night. I must tell you a word about the Rasseldar. He was in charge of a lot of Indian warriors from Calcutta. He took me in a cage completely covered with black canvas， and with his forty men set out for the front trench. After going for hours and nights—for that is what it felt like in my darkened cage—we reached our destination. There the canvas was removed. Now I could see nothing but walls around me where turbaned men from India crawled like little insects. Overhead flew the mechanical eagles trumpeting with terror. Here for the first time I began to grasp sounds. Instead of one confused boom， boom， boom， there were as many grades of explosion as the ear could distinguish. The hardest one to make out was the talk of the men about me. Under the deafening sounds their talk sounded like the whisper of a lazy breeze in the grass. Now and then they unmuzzled a metal dog that barked—spitting out fire for a long stretch of time. Then came the laughter of a hyena. Hundreds of men goaded those little pups to an awful coughing—puck puff， puck puff， puck puff. That sound was drowned in the deep-toned cry of the eagles above who flew in flocks and barked as well as screeched like mad， slaying each other like so many sparrows. The Rasseldar who was in charge of me pointed the face of his pup at the sky， then let off—puck puff—some fire， and lo！ it brought down one of those eagles as if it were a rabbit. Now the deepest tone was heard. The boom bazoom buzz bum！ The tiger-roar of the large ones’ mammoth majesty rose and spread like a canopy of divine chords， drowning under its engulfing immensity all other petty sounds. Oh， the excruciating enchantment of that organ tone！ Can I ever forget？ Roar upon roar， titanic tonality on tonality， like cataclysmic boulders of sounds crashed and clamoured！

“Why does beauty lie so close to death？ Hardly had the ineffable glory of that supernal music overhead seized my soul when balls of fire fell about us like a torrential rain. Men fell and succumbed like rats in flooded holes. The Rasseldar， who was bleeding and red， wrote hastily on a piece of paper， tied it to my feet， and uncaged me. I knew by the look in his eyes that he was in dire distress and wanted Ghond to bring him succour.

“Of course you know， my master， I flew up; but what I beheld almost froze my wings. The air above the trenches was one sheet of flying fire. How to rise above it was my problem. I used my tail-rudder and steered my flight in every direction. But no matter which way I rose， above me ran a million shuttles of flame， weaving the garment of red destruction on the loom of life. But I had to rise， I， Gay-Neck， the son of my father. And soon I struck a pocket of air that was full of a current that sucked and whirled me up as if my wing were broken and I were as light as a leaf. It turned me up and down and up again till I had torn my way through the fabric of fire that kept on weaving itself with ever-increasing rapidity. But I had no eye for anything now. ‘To Ghond， to Ghond，’ I kept saying to myself. Every time I said that， it dug like a fresh goad into my spirit and made me put forth my greatest effort. Now that I had risen very high， I made my observations and flew westwards. Just then a shot pierced and broke my rudder. Half of my tail was burned and torn away from me. And you know that made me furious！ My tail is my point of honour. I can’t bear it to be touched， let alone shot at. Well， I flew safely home， but just about the moment I was getting ready to do down， two eagles started a fight above me. I had not heard their trumpeting or seen their faces. Had they killed each other I would not have minded， but they let loose a hurricane of flames after me. The more they fought， the more fire fell from their beaks. I dived and ducked as well as I could. If only they had had some trees there. Of course， there had been trees， but most of them had been shot and mutilated so that they stuck out like stumps， with no shade-giving gracious foliage or any prodigious boughs. So I had to zigzag my way round and about those dilapidated spikes like a man fleeing from elephants in the jungle. At last I reached home and perched on Ghond’s wrist. He cut the thread and took the message with me to the Commander-in-Chief， who looked like a ripe cherry and exuded a pleasant odour of soap. Probably， unlike most soldiers， he bathed and soaped himself clean three or four times a day. After he had read what was scribbled on that paper by the Rasseldar， he patted me on the head and grunted like a happy ox.”

八月的第一個星期，孩子們出生后不久，希拉和彩虹鴿從加爾各答前往孟買，跟剛德一道起航，為世界大戰服務。因為軍隊需要兩只鴿子，所以我就派送了那只單身鳥希拉和彩虹鴿。

我很高興，在彩虹鴿起航前往佛蘭德斯和法國戰場之前，他對自己的小寶寶們有了一些了解。我高興的主要原因就是，我知道，一只既有太太又有剛出生的寶寶們在家里等待的鴿子很少不能返回。彩虹鴿和他的家庭之間那種愛的紐帶使我確信，他一定會非常出色地完成送信的使命。只要他活著，任何槍聲和子彈都阻擋不了他最后回到家里。

但在這里，有人可能會提出問題，就是彩虹鴿的家在加爾各答，而戰爭在幾千英里之外。沒錯。盡管如此，但因為他把自己的太太和寶寶們撇在了家里，所以他會盡最大努力跟剛德一起飛回到暫時的窩巢。

據說，彩虹鴿在前線和司令部之間傳遞了好幾份重要情報，總司令和剛德在司令部等著他。當然，彩虹鴿起先喜歡剛德，但在接下來的幾個月里，他變得非常喜歡總司令。

之所以是剛德而不是我帶著兩只鴿子去前線，是因為我還沒有成年，任何種類的服役我都沒有資格，不得不由這位老人帶著他們。在從印度到馬賽的航程中，希拉、彩虹鴿和這位老獵人成了忠實的朋友。我還從來沒有見過任何奇異的動物能長久抗拒剛德的友誼，自從我的鴿子熟悉了，他們很容易就會響應他。

1914年9月到第二年春天待在佛蘭德斯印度軍隊期間，希拉或彩虹鴿被不同的部隊帶往前線，剛德則帶著籠子留在司令部附近。

在那里，不時會有情報寫在重量只有一盎司的薄紙上，綁在彩虹鴿的腳上，之后他被放飛。彩虹鴿總是飛到軍隊司令部附近的剛德那里。到了那里，情報被破譯，并得到總司令親自回復。據說，總司令本人非常喜歡彩虹鴿，對他的工作評價很高。

不過，最好還是聽聽彩虹鴿自己講的故事。正如夢的經過只有做夢之人才能講述一樣，彩虹鴿的一些冒險經歷也應該由他親自敘述。

“渡過黑水——印度洋和地中海——之后，我們又坐火車穿過了一個非常奇怪的國家。盡管是9月，但那個國家——法國——像印度南方的冬天一樣寒冷。我以為會看到積雪蓋頂的山脈和參天大樹，因為我想我離喜馬拉雅山越來越近了。可是，我從地平線看到的山沒有一座比我們最高的竹林高。我不知道為什么一個國家地勢不高卻很冷。

“最后，我們到達了前線。結果是戰場的后方，但即使在那里，你也能聽到噴火器的隆隆聲。而且，作為一只普通的鴿子，不管什么形狀和大小的噴火器，我統統都見過。我不喜歡那些狂叫、噴出致命火焰的鐵狗。我在那里待了幾天之后，我們的考驗之夜就開始了。除了我自己和希拉之外，本城的鴿子只有四只。你知道希拉有多魯莽。我們剛飛到一個大村房屋的上空，希拉就飛向轟隆隆響的地方，想去偵察。好吧，不到一個小時，我們就到了那里。噢，多么嚇人的聲音！躲藏在樹下的鐵狗噴出霹靂般的大火球，在我們下方咝咝作響，發出了爆炸聲。我嚇得要死，就越飛越高。可是，我在最高的天空也找不到任何太平。不知從哪里飛來了大批老鷹，像大象吼叫一般怒吼咆哮。看到如此可怕的景象，我們向剛德等待我們的地方飛去。然而，兩只老鷹尾隨在后！我們越飛越快。幸運的是，它們沒有追上我們。正如我們所料，那些老鷹向我們住的地方飛下來。我感覺死亡就在眼前，我覺得那些老鷹會像黃鼠狼一樣等我們進了籠子就吃掉我們。然而不是這樣！它們很快停止了轟鳴，降落到地上——死了。兩個人分別從那兩只鳥的肚子里跳出來，走了。我不知道老鷹怎么能吃掉人類。這些人又怎么能活著走出來呢？

“很快，那些人辦完事就回來了，又爬進了老鷹的肚子里。接著，隨著一陣嘎吱聲和喧囂聲，這些老鷹又活了過來，再次飛到空中。我的心里不再疑惑，它們原來是人類的火戰車。我知道這一點之后，就松了口氣。

“盡管起初看上去一切都很陌生，但我們漸漸習慣之后就不再陌生了。不過，在不斷的轟鳴和喧囂下想好好睡覺始終是個問題。在軍隊的那幾個月里，我從來沒有睡過好覺。難怪我和希拉總是緊張不安，就像剛孵出的小蛇一樣。

“我的第一次冒險經歷是為前線的羅塞爾達送情報，那里各種鐵狗日夜狂叫和噴火。我必須給你們說一下羅塞爾達。他負責指揮來自加爾各答的許多印度戰士。他把我放在籠子里，用黑帆布完全蓋住，跟他的四十名戰士一起出發趕往前線的戰壕。經過好多個黑夜——因為我在暗黑下來的籠子里就是這種感覺——我們到了目的地。到了那里，帆布被掀開了。這時，我只能看到四周的壕溝，戴著頭巾的印度士兵像小蟲子一樣匍匐前進。頭頂飛著機械鐵鷹，它們發出恐怖的轟鳴聲。在這里，我頭一回開始聽清各種聲音，耳朵能聽到的不再是一陣陣混亂的轟隆聲，而是多種等級的爆炸聲。最難分辨的就是周圍人們的交談聲。在震耳欲聾的響聲里，他們的談話聽起來像是懶洋洋的微風在草叢里的低語。他們不時取下一只吼叫的鐵狗——噴吐了好一陣子的火焰。隨后，傳來了一條鬣狗的笑聲。幾百人一起扣動那些小鐵狗，發出了一陣可怕的咳嗽聲——啪噗——啪噗——啪噗！那種聲音又被淹沒在頭頂上方鐵鷹低沉的鳴叫聲中。鐵鷹成群成群地飛過，瘋狂尖叫，相互廝殺，就像許多麻雀那樣。負責照看我的羅塞爾達把他的鐵狗瞄準天空，然后射擊——啪噗——噴出了一些火焰，看哪！它打下了空中的一只鐵鷹，就像射中一只兔子似的。這時，傳來了最低沉的聲音。轟隆隆，叭隆叭！龐然大物發出了威嚴的虎嘯，仿佛神圣和弦構成的華蓋一樣蔓延開來，吞沒了所有其他瑣碎的聲音。噢，那種風琴的音調既痛苦又迷人！我怎么能忘記呢？轟鳴一陣接著一陣，巨響一陣接著一陣，就像洪流般的巨礫相互撞擊發出的喧囂！

“為什么美好的東西總是離死亡那么近？頭頂那種妙不可言、值得贊頌的神圣音樂剛攫住我的靈魂，突然一團團火球像傾盆大雨一樣落在了我們周圍。人們紛紛倒下，像洞里灌滿水的老鼠一樣死去。羅塞爾達血淋淋的，在一張紙上奮筆疾書，把紙條綁在我的腿上，打開籠子，把我放飛。通過他的眼神，我知道他處在可怕的危難之中，想要剛德來救助他。

“我的主人，你肯定知道我飛了起來。然而，我看到的情景幾乎使我的翅膀無法動彈。戰壕上方的天空是一片飛火。如何飛到火焰上方成了我的難題。我用尾羽調整向各個方向飛行。可是，無論我向哪兒飛，上方都飛躥著上百萬條火舌，在生命的織布機上編織著毀滅的紅衣。但我必須飛起來，我彩虹鴿可是父親的驕傲。很快，我撞上了一個充滿氣流的氣囊，這股氣流吸住我，帶我旋轉而上，我的一只翅膀好像折斷了，我像樹葉一樣輕飄飄的。氣流使我時上時下，直到我奮力穿過不斷編織、速度越來越快的火網。但現在，我不再去看任何東西了。‘飛到剛德身邊，飛到剛德身邊。’我一直對自己說。每這樣說一次，就像有新鮮的力量注入我的心靈，使我付出最大的努力。我已經飛得很高，觀察之后，向西飛去。就在這時，一顆子彈嗖的一聲掠過，打斷了我的尾羽。我的半個尾巴燒著了，從身上掉落。你知道這使我非常憤怒！尾巴是我的榮耀。我受不了有人碰它，更不要說向它射擊了。好了，我安全飛到了家，但就在我準備降落的時候，兩只鐵鷹在我的上方開始搏擊。我沒有聽到它們的轟鳴，也沒有看到它們的面目。要是它們相互廝殺，我不會在意，但它們在我身后射出了颶風般的火焰。它們越戰斗，嘴里噴出的火就越多。我盡力俯沖閃避。要是那里有些樹木就好了。當然，那里有過樹木，但大多數都被打得殘缺不全，仿佛樹樁那樣突立著，沒有遮陰的舒適樹葉或巨大樹枝。所以，我只能曲線飛行，繞過那些破爛不堪的樹樁，就像一個人逃離叢林中的大象一樣。終于，我回到了家，落在了剛德的手腕上。剛德割斷細線，把我帶來的情報送給了總司令。總司令看上去就像一顆熟櫻桃，身上散發出一種香噴噴的肥皂味。很可能，和大多數士兵不一樣，他一天要洗三四次澡，用肥皂把自己洗干凈。看完羅塞爾達草草寫在那張紙上的話后，他拍了拍我的腦袋，像一頭快樂的公牛一樣哼哼起來。”