The man limped down the ladder, then said reflectively:—
‘I think so, sir. All our old chaps are there, and a lot of new men has come . . . They must be all there.’
‘Tell the boatswain to send all hands aft,’ went on Mr. Baker; ‘and tell one of the youngsters to bring a good lamp here. I want to muster2 our crowd.’
The main deck was dark aft, but halfway3 from forward, through the open doors of the forecastle, two streaks5 of brilliant light cut the shadow of the quiet night that lay upon the ship. A hum of voices was heard there, while port and starboard, in the illuminated7 doorways8, silhouettes10 of moving men appeared for a moment, very black, without relief, like figures cut out of sheet tin. The ship was ready for sea. The carpenter had driven in the last wedge of the main-hatch battens, and, throwing down his maul, had wiped his face with great deliberation, just on the stroke of five. The decks had been swept, the windlass oiled and made ready to heave up the anchor; the big tow-rope lay in long bights along one side of the main deck, with one end carried up and hung over the bows, in readiness for the tug11 that would come paddling and hissing12 noisily, hot and smoky, in the limpid13, cool quietness of the early morning. The captain was ashore14, where he had been engaging some new hands to make up his full crew; and, the work of the day over, the ship’s officers had kept out of the way, glad of a little breathing-time. Soon after dark the few liberty-men and the new hands began to arrive in shore-boats rowed by white-clad Asiatics, who clamoured fiercely for payment before coming alongside the gangway-ladder. The feverish15 and shrill16 babble17 of Eastern language struggled against the masterful tones of tipsy seamen18, who argued against brazen19 claims and dishonest hopes by profane20 shouts. The resplendent and bestarred peace of the East was torn into squalid tatters by howls of rage and shrieks21 of lament22 raised over sums ranging from five annas to half a rupee; and every soul afloat in Bombay Harbour became aware that the new hands were joining the Narcissus.
Gradually the distracting noise had subsided23. The boats came no longer in splashing clusters of three or four together, but dropped alongside singly, in a subdued25 buzz of expostulation cut short by a ‘Not a piece more! You go to the devil!’ from some man staggering up the accommodation-ladder — a dark figure, with a long bag poised26 on the shoulder. In the forecastle the newcomers, upright and swaying amongst corded boxes and bundles of bedding, made friends with the old hands, who sat one above another in the two tiers of bunks28, gazing at their future shipmates with glances critical but friendly. The two forecastle lamps were turned up high, and shed an intense hard glare; shore-going hard hats were pushed far on the backs of heads, or rolled about on the deck amongst the chain-cables; white collars, undone29, stuck out on each side of red faces; big arms in white sleeves gesticulated; the growling30 voices hummed steady amongst bursts of laughter and hoarse31 calls. ‘Here, sonny, take that bunk27! . . . Don’t you do it! . . . What’s your last ship? . . . I know her . . . .Three years ago, in Puget Sound . . . This here berth32 leaks, I tell you! . . . Come on; give us a chance to swing that chest! . . . Did you bring a bottle, any of you shore toffs? . . . Give us a bit of ‘baccy . . . I know her; her skipper drank himself to death . . . He was a dandy boy! . . . Liked his lotion33 inside, he did! . . . No! . . . Hold your row, you chaps! . . . I tell you, you came on board a hooker, where they get their money’s worth out of poor Jack34, by —! . . . ’
A little fellow, called Craik and nicknamed Belfast, abused the ship violently, romancing on principle, just to give the new hands something to think over. Archie, sitting aslant35 on his sea-chest, kept his knees out of the way, and pushed the needle steadily36 through a white patch in a pair of blue trousers. Men in black jackets and stand-up collars, mixed with men bare-footed, bare-armed, with coloured shirts open on hairy chests, pushed against one another in the middle of the forecastle. The group swayed, reeled, turning upon itself with the motion of a scrimmage, in a haze37 of tobacco smoke. All were speaking together, swearing at every second word. A Russian Finn, wearing a yellow shirt with pink stripes, stared upwards38, dreamy-eyed, from under a mop of tumbled hair. Two young giants with smooth, baby faces — two Scandinavians — helped each other to spread their bedding, silent, and smiling placidly40 at the tempest of good-humoured and meaningless curses. Old Singleton, the oldest able seaman41 in the ship, sat apart on the deck right under the lamps, stripped to the waist, tattooed42 like a cannibal chief all over his powerful chest and enormous biceps. Between the blue and red patterns his white skin gleamed like satin; his bare back was propped43 against the heel of the bowsprit, and he held a book at arm’s length before his big, sunburnt face. With his spectacles and a venerable white beard, he resembled a learned and savage44 patriarch, the incarnation of barbarian45 wisdom serene46 in the blasphemous47 turmoil48 of the world. He was intensely absorbed, and, as he turned the pages an expression of grave surprise would pass over his rugged49 features. He was reading ‘Pelham.’ The popularity of Bulwer Lytton in the forecastles of Southern-going ships is a wonderful and bizarre phenomenon. What ideas do his polished and so curiously50 insincere sentences awaken51 in the simple minds of the big children who people those dark and wandering places of the earth? What meaning can their rough, inexperienced souls find in the elegant verbiage52 of his pages? What excitement? — what forgetfulness? — what appeasement53? Mystery! Is it the fascination54 of the incomprehensible? — is it the charm of the impossible? Or are those beings who exist beyond the pale of life stirred by his tales as by an enigmatical disclosure of a resplendent world that exists within the frontier of infamy55 and filth56, within that border of dirt and hunger, of misery57 and dissipation, that comes down on all sides to the water’s edge of the incorruptible ocean, and is the only thing they know of life, the only thing they see of surrounding land — those life-long prisoners of the sea? Mystery?
Singleton, who had sailed to the southward since the age of twelve, who in the last forty-five years had lived (as we had calculated from his papers) no more than forty months ashore — old Singleton, who boasted, with the mild composure of long years well spent, that generally from the day he was paid off from one ship till the day he shipped in another he seldom was in a condition to distinguish daylight — old Singleton sat unmoved in the clash of voices and cries, spelling through ‘Pelham’ with slow labour, and lost in an absorption profound enough to resemble a trance. He breathed regularly. Every time he turned the book in his enormous and blackened hands the muscles of his big white arms rolled slightly under the smooth skin. Hidden by the white moustache, his lips, stained with tobacco-juice that trickled58 down the long beard, moved in inward whisper. His bleared eyes gazed fixedly59 from behind the glitter of black-rimmed glasses. Opposite to him, and on a level with his face, the ship’s cat sat on the barrel of the windlass in the pose of a crouching60 chimera61, blinking its green eyes at its old friend. It seemed to meditate62 a leap on to the old man’s lap over the bent63 back of the ordinary seaman who sat at Singleton’s feet. Young Charley was lean and long-necked. The ridge64 of his backbone65 made a chain of small hills under the old shirt. His face of a street-boy — a face precocious66, sagacious, and ironic67, with deep downward folds on each side of the thin, wide mouth — hung low over his bony knees. He was learning to make a lanyard knot with a bit of an old rope. Small drops of perspiration68 stood out on his bulging69 forehead; he sniffed70 strongly from time to time, glancing out of the corners of his restless eyes at the old seaman, who took no notice of the puzzled youngster muttering at his work.
The noise increased. Little Belfast seemed, in the heavy heat of the forecastle, to boil with facetious71 fury. His eyes danced; in the crimson72 of his face, comical as a mask, the mouth yawned black, with strange grimaces74. Facing him, a half-undressed man held his sides, and throwing his head back, laughed with wet eyelashes. Others stared with amazed eyes. Men sitting doubled up in the upper bunks smoked short pipes, swinging bare brown feet above the heads of those who, sprawling75 below on sea-chests, listened, smiling stupidly or scornfully. Over the white rims73 of berths76 stuck out heads with blinking eyes; but the bodies were lost in the gloom of those places, that resembled narrow niches77 for coffins78 in a white-washed and lighted mortuary. Voices buzzed louder. Archie, with compressed lips, drew himself in, seemed to shrink into a smaller space, and sewed steadily, industrious79 and dumb. Belfast shrieked80 like an inspired Dervish:— ‘ . . . So I seez to him, boys, seez I, “Beggin’ yer pardon, sorr,” seez I to that second mate of that steamer — “beggin’ your-r-r pardon, sorr, the Board of Trade must ’ave been drunk when they granted you your certificate!” “What do you say, you —!” seez he, comin’ at me like a mad bull . . . all in his white clothes; and I up with my tarpot and capsizes it all over his blamed lovely face and his lovely jacket . . . . “Take that!” seez I. “I am a sailor, anyhow, you nosing, skipper-licking, useless, sooperfloos bridge-stanchion, you! That’s the kind of man I am!” shouts I . . . You should have seed him skip, boys! Drowned, blind with tar6, he was! So . . . ’
‘Don’t ’ee believe him! He never upset no tar; I was there!’ shouted somebody. The two Norwegians sat on a chest side by side, alike and placid39, resembling a pair of love-birds on a perch81, and with round eyes stared innocently; but the Russian Finn, in the racket of explosive shouts and rolling laughter, remained motionless, limp and dull, like a deaf man without a backbone. Near him Archie smiled at his needle. A broad-chested, slow-eyed newcomer spoke82 deliberately83 to Belfast during an exhausted84 lull85 in the noise:— ‘I wonder any of the mates here are alive yet with such a chap as you on board! I concloode they ain’t that bad now, if you had the taming of them, sonny.’
‘Not bad! Not bad!’ screamed Belfast. ‘If it wasn’t for us sticking together . . . Not bad! They ain’t never bad when they ain’t got a chawnce, blast their black ’arts . . . ’ He foamed86, whirling his arms, then suddenly grinned and, taking a tablet of black tobacco out of his pocket, bit a piece off with a funny show of ferocity. Another new hand — a man with shifty eyes and a yellow hatchet87 face, who had been listening open-mouthed in the shadow of the midship locker88 — observed in a squeaky voice:— ‘Well, it’s a ’omeward trip, anyhow. Bad or good, I can do it hall on my ’ed — s’long as I get ’ome. And I can look after my rights! I will show ’em!’ All the heads turned towards him. Only the ordinary seaman and the cat took no notice. He stood with arms akimbo, a little fellow with white eyelashes, He looked as if he had known all the degradations89 and all the furies. He looked as if he had been cuffed90, kicked, rolled in the mud; he looked as if he had been scratched, spat91 upon, pelted92 with unmentionable filth . . . and he smiled with a sense of security at the faces around. His ears were bending down under the weight of his battered93 hard hat. The torn tails of his black coat flapped in fringes about the calves94 of his legs. He unbuttoned the only two buttons that remained and every one saw he had no shirt under it. It was his deserved misfortune that those rags which nobody could possibly be supposed to own looked on him as if they had been stolen. His neck was long and thin; his eyelids95 were red; rare hairs hung about his jaws96; his shoulders were peaked and drooped97 like the broken wings of a bird; all his left side was caked with mud which showed that he had lately slept in a wet ditch. He had saved his inefficient98 carcass from violent destruction by running away from an American ship where, in a moment of forgetful folly99, he had dared to engage himself; and he had knocked about for a fortnight ashore in the native quarter, cadging100 for drinks, starving, sleeping on rubbish-heaps, wandering in sunshine: a startling visitor from a world of nightmares. He stood repulsive101 and smiling in the sudden silence. This clean white forecastle was his refuge; the place where he could be lazy; where he could wallow, and lie and eat — and curse the food he ate; where he could display his talents for shirking work, for cheating, for cadging; where he could find surely some one to wheedle102 and some one to bully103 — and where he would be paid for doing all this. They all knew him. Is there a spot on earth where such a man is unknown, an ominous104 survival testifying to the eternal fitness of lies and impudence105? A taciturn long-armed shellback, with hooked fingers, who had been lying on his back smoking, turned in his bed to examine him dispassionately, then, over his head, sent a long jet of clear saliva106 towards the door. They all knew him! He was the man that cannot steer107, that cannot splice108, that dodges109 the work on dark nights; that, aloft, holds on frantically110 with both arms and legs, and swears at the wind, the sleet111, the darkness; the man who curses the sea while others work. The man who is the last out and the first in when all hands are called. The man who can’t do most things and won’t do the rest. The pet of philanthropists and self-seeking landlubbers. The sympathetic and deserving creature that knows all about his rights, but knows nothing of courage, of endurance, and of the unexpressed faith, of the unspoken loyalty112 that knits together a ship’s company. The independent offspring of the ignoble113 freedom of the slums full of disdain114 and hate for the austere115 servitude of the sea.
Some one cried at him: ‘What’s your name?’ — ‘Donkin,’ he said, looking round with cheerful effrontery116. — ‘What are you?’ asked another voice. — ‘Why, a sailor like you, old man,’ he replied, in a tone that meant to be hearty117 but was impudent118. — ‘Blamme if you don’t look a blamed sight worse than a broken-down fireman,’ was the comment in a convinced mutter. Charley lifted his head and piped in a cheeky voice: ‘He is a man and a sailor’ — then wiping his nose with the back of his hand bent down industriously119 over his bit of rope. A few laughed. others stared doubtfully. The ragged120 newcomer was indignant. — ‘That’s a fine way to welcome a chap into a fo’c’sle,’ he snarled121. ‘Are you men or a lot of ’artless cannybals?’ — ‘Don’t take your shirt off for a word, shipmate,’ called out Belfast, jumping up in front, fiery122, menacing, and friendly at the same time. — ‘Is that ’ere bloke blind?’ asked the indomitable scarecrow, looking right and left with affected123 surprise. ‘Can’t ’ee see I ’aven’t got no shirt?’
He held both his arms out crosswise and shook the rags that hung over his bones with dramatic effect.
‘‘Cos why?’ he continued very loud. ‘The bloody124 Yankees been tryin’ to jump my guts125 hout ‘cos I stood up for my rights like a good’un. I ham a Henglishman, I ham. They set upon me an’ I ’ad to run. That’s why. A’n’t yer never seed a man ’ard up? Yah!
What kind of blamed ship is this? I’m dead broke. I ’aven’t got nothink. No bag, no bed, no blanket, no shirt — not a bloomin’ rag but what I stand in. But I ’ad the ’art to stand hup agin’ them Yankees. ’As any of you ’art enough to spare a pair of old pants for a chum?’
He knew how to conquer the naive126 instincts of that crowd. In a moment they gave him their compassion127, jocularly, contemptuously, or surlily; and at first it took the shape of a blanket thrown at him as he stood there with the white skin of his limbs showing his human kinship through the black fantasy of his rags. Then a pair of old shoes fell at his muddy feet. With a cry:— ‘From under,’ a rolled-up pair of trousers, heavy with tar stains, struck him on the shoulder. The gust128 of their benevolence129 sent a wave of sentimental130 pity through their doubting hearts. They were touched by their own readiness to alleviate131 a shipmate’s misery. Voices cried:— ‘We will fit you out, old man.’ Murmurs132: ‘Never seed seech a hard case . . . Poor beggar . . . I’ve got an old singlet . . . Will that be of any use to you? . . . Take it, matey . . . ’ Those friendly murmurs filled the forecastle. He pawed around with his naked foot, gathering133 the things in a heap and looked about for more. Unemotional Archie perfunctorily contributed to the pile an old cloth cap with the peak torn off. Old Singleton, lost in the serene regions of fiction, read on unheeding. Charley, pitiless with the wisdom of youth, squeaked:— ‘If you want brass134 buttons for your new unyforms I’ve got two for you.’ The filthy135 object of universal charity shook his fist at the youngster. — ‘I’ll make you keep this ’ere fo’c’sle clean, young feller,’ he snarled viciously. ‘Never you fear. I will learn you to be civil to an able seaman, you hignorant hass.’ He glared harmfully, but saw Singleton shut his book, and his little beady eyes began to roam from berth to berth. — ‘Take that bunk by the door there — it’s pretty fair,’ suggested Belfast. So advised, he gathered the gifts at his feet, pressed them in a bundle against his breast, then looked cautiously at the Russian Finn, who stood on one side with an unconscious gaze, contemplating136, perhaps, one of those weird137 visions that haunt the men of his race. ‘Get out of my road, Dutchy,’ said the victim of Yankee brutality139. The Finn did not move — did not hear. ‘Get out, blast ye,’ shouted the other, shoving him aside with his elbow. ‘Get out, you blanked deaf and dumb fool. Get out.’ The man staggered, recovered himself, and gazed at the speaker in silence. — ‘Those damned furriners should be kept hunder,’ opined the amiable140 Donkin to the forecastle. ‘If you don’t teach ’em their place they put on you like hanythink.’ He flung all his worldly possessions into the empty bed-place, gauged141 with another shrewd look the risks of the proceeding142, then leaped up to the Finn, who stood pensive143 and dull. — ‘I’ll teach you to swell144 around,’ he yelled. ‘I’ll plug your eyes for you, you blooming square-head.’ Most of the men were now in their bunks and the two had the forecastle clear to themselves. The development of the destitute146 Donkin aroused interest. He danced all in tatters before the amazed Finn, squaring from a distance at the heavy, unmoved face. One or two men cried encouragingly: ‘Go it, Whitechapel!’ settling themselves luxuriously147 in their beds to survey the fight. Others shouted: ‘Shut yer row! . . . Go an’ put yer ’ed in a bag! . . . ‘ The hubbub148 was recommencing. Suddenly many heavy blows struck with a handspike on the deck above boomed like discharges of small cannon149 through the forecastle. Then the boatswain’s voice rose outside the door with an authoritative150 note in its drawl:— ‘D’ye hear, below there? Lay aft! Lay aft to muster all hands!’
There was a moment of surprised stillness. Then the forecastle floor disappeared under men whose bare feet flopped151 on the planks152 as they sprang clear out of their berths. Caps were rooted for amongst tumbled blankets. Some, yawning, buttoned waistbands. Half-smoked pipes were knocked hurriedly against woodwork and stuffed under pillows. Voices growled153: — ‘What’s up? . . . Is there no rest for us?’ Donkin yelped:— ‘If that’s the way of this ship, we’ll ’ave to change hall that . . . You leave me alone . . . I will soon . . . ’ None of the crowd noticed him. They were lurching in twos and threes through the doors, after the manner of merchant Jacks154 who cannot go out of a door fairly, like mere155 landsmen. The votary156 of change followed them. Singleton, struggling into his jacket, came last, tall and fatherly, bearing high his head of a weatherbeaten sage157 on the body of an old athlete. Only Charley remained alone in the white glare of the empty place, sitting between the two rows of iron links that stretched into the narrow gloom forward. He pulled hard at the strands158 in a hurried endeavour to finish his knot. Suddenly he started up, flung the rope at the cat, and skipped after the black tom that went off leaping sedately159 over chain compressors, with the tail carried stiff and upright, like a small flag pole.
Outside the glare of the steaming forecastle the serene purity of the night enveloped160 the seamen with its soothing161 breath, with its tepid162 breath flowing under the stars that hung countless163 above the mastheads in a thin cloud of luminous164 dust. On the town side the blackness of the water was streaked165 with trails of light which undulated gently on slight ripples166, similar to filaments167 that float rooted to the shore. Rows of other lights stood away in straight lines as if drawn168 up on parade between towering buildings; but on the other side of the harbour sombre hills arched high their black spines169, on which, here and there, the point of a star resembled a spark fallen from the sky. Far off, Byculla way, the electric lamps at the dock gates shone on the end of lofty standards with a glow blinding and frigid170 like captive ghosts of some evil moons. Scattered171 all over the dark polish of the roadstead, the ships at anchor floated in perfect stillness under the feeble gleam of their riding-lights, looming145 up, opaque172 and bulky, like strange and monumental structures abandoned by men to an everlasting173 repose174.
Before the cabin door Mr. Baker was mustering175 the crew. As they stumbled and lurched along past the mainmast, they could see aft his round, broad face with a white paper before it, and beside his shoulder the sleepy head, with dropped eyelids, of the boy, who held, suspended at the end of his raised arm, the luminous globe of a lamp. Even before the shuffle176 of naked soles had ceased along the decks, the mate began to call over the names. He called distinctly in a serious tone befitting this roll-call to unquiet loneliness, to inglorious and obscure struggle, or to the more trying endurance of small privations and wearisome duties. As the chief mate read out a name, one of the men would answer: ‘Yes, sir!’ or ‘Here!’ and, detaching himself from the shadowy mob of heads visible above the blackness of starboard bulwarks177, would step barefooted into the circle of light, and in two noiseless strides pass into the shadows on the port side of the quarter-deck. They answered in divers178 tones: in thick mutters, in clear, ringing voices; and some, as if the whole thing had been an outrage179 on their feelings, used an injured intonation180: for discipline is not ceremonious in merchant ships, where the sense of hierarchy181 is weak, and where all feel themselves equal before the unconcerned immensity of the sea and the exacting182 appeal of the work.
Mr. Baker read on steadily:— ‘Hanssen — Campbell — Smith — Wamibo. Now, then, Wamibo. Why don’t you answer? Always got to call your name twice.’ The Finn emitted at last an uncouth183 grunt184, and, stepping out, passed through the patch of light, weird and gaudy185, with the face of a man marching through a dream. The mate went on faster:— ‘Craik — Singleton — Donkin . . . O Lord!’ he involuntarily ejaculated as the incredibly dilapidated figure appeared in the light. It stopped; it uncovered pale gums and long, upper teeth in a malevolent186 grin. — ‘Is there anything wrong with me, Mister Mate?’ it asked, with a flavour of insolence187 in the forced simplicity188 of its tone. On both sides of the deck subdued titters were heard. — ‘That’ll do. Go over,’ growled Mr. Baker, fixing the new hand with steady blue eyes. And Donkin vanished suddenly out of the light into the dark group of mustered189 men, to be slapped on the back and to hear flattering whispers. Round him men muttered to one another:— ‘He ain’t afeard, he’ll give sport to ’em, see if he don’t . . . Reg’lar Punch and Judy show . . . Did ye see the mate start at him? . . . Well! Damme, if I ever! . . . ’
The last man had gone over, and there was a moment of silence while the mate peered at his list. — ‘‘Sixteen, seventeen,’ he muttered. ‘I am one hand short, bosun,’ he said aloud. The big west-countryman at his elbow, swarthy and bearded like a gigantic Spaniard, said in a rumbling190 bass:— ‘There’s no one left forward, sir. I had a look round. He ain’t aboard, but he may turn up before daylight.’ — ‘Ay. He may or he may not,’ commented the mate;‘can’t make out that last name. It’s all a smudge . . . That will do, men. Go below.’
The indistinct and motionless group stirred, broke up, began to move forward.
‘Wait!’ cried a deep, ringing voice.
All stood still. Mr. Baker, who had turned away yawning, spun191 round open-mouthed. At last, furious, he blurted192 out:— ‘What’s this? Who said “Wait”? What . . . ’
But he saw a tall figure standing193 on the rail. It came down and pushed through the crowd, marching with a heavy tread towards the light on the quarter-deck. Then again the sonorous194 voice said with insistence:— ‘Wait!’ The lamplight lit up the man’s body. He was tall. His head was away up in the shadows of lifeboats that stood on skids195 above the deck. The whites of his eyes and his teeth gleamed distinctly, but the face was indistinguishable. His hands were big and seemed gloved.
Mr. Baker advanced intrepidly196. ‘Who are you? How dare you . . . ‘ he began.
The boy, amazed like the rest, raised the light to the man’s face. It was black. A surprised hum — a faint hum that sounded like the suppressed mutter of the word ‘Nigger’ — ran along the deck and escaped out into the night. The nigger seemed not to hear. He balanced himself where he stood in a swagger that marked time. After a moment he said calmly:— ‘My name is Wait — James Wait.’
‘Oh!’ said Mr. Baker. Then, after a few seconds of smouldering silence, his temper blazed out. ‘Ah! Your name is Wait. What of that? What do you want? What do you mean, coming shouting here?’
The nigger was calm, cool, towering, superb. The men had approached and stood behind him in a body. He overtopped the tallest by a half a head. He said: ‘I belong to the ship.’ He enunciated197 distinctly, with soft precision. The deep, rolling tones of his voice filled the deck without effort. He was naturally scornful, unaffectedly condescending198, as if from his height of six foot three he had surveyed all the vastness of human folly and had made up his mind not to be too hard on it. He went on:— The captain shipped me this morning. I couldn’t get aboard sooner. I saw you all aft and I came up the ladder, and could see directly you were mustering the crew. Naturally I called out my name. I thought you had it on your list, and would understand. You misapprehended.’ He stopped short. The folly around him was confounded. He was right as ever, and as ever ready to forgive. The disdainful tones had ceased, and breathing heavily, he stood still, surrounded by all these white men. He held his head up in the glare of the lamp — a head vigorously modelled into deep shadows and shining lights — a head powerful and misshapen with a tormented199 and flattened200 face — a face pathetic and brutal138: the tragic201, the mysterious, the repulsive mask of a nigger’s soul.
Mr. Baker, recovering his composure, looked at the paper close. ‘Oh, yes; that’s so. All right, Wait. Take your gear forward,’ he said.
Suddenly the nigger’s eyes rolled wildly, became all whites. He put his hand to his side and coughed twice, a cough metallic202, hollow, and tremendously loud; it resounded203 like two explosions in a vault204; the dome205 of the sky rang to it, and the iron plates of the ship’s bulwarks seemed to vibrate in unison206; then he marched off forward with the others. The officers lingering by the cabin door could hear him say:‘Won’t some of you chaps lend a hand with my dunnage? I’ve got a chest and a bag.’ The words, spoken sonorously207, with an even intonation, were heard all over the ship, and the question was put in a manner that made refusal impossible. The short, quick shuffle of men carrying something heavy went away forward, but the tall figure of the nigger lingered by the main hatch in a knot of smaller shapes. Again he was heard asking:‘Is your cook a coloured gentleman?’ Then a disappointed and disapproving209 ‘Ah! h’m!’ was his comment upon the information that the cook happened to be a mere white man. Yet, as they went all together towards the forecastle, he condescended210 to put his head through the galley211 door and boom out inside a magnificent ‘Good evening, doctor!’ that made all the saucepans ring. In the dim light the cook dozed212 on the coal locker in front of the captain’s supper. He jumped up as if he had been cut with a whip, and dashed wildly on deck to see the backs of several men going away laughing. Afterwards, when talking about that voyage, he used to say:— ‘The poor fellow had scared me. I thought I had seen the devil.’ The cook had been seven years in the ship with the same captain. He was a serious-minded man with a wife and three children, whose society he enjoyed on an average one month out of twelve. When on shore he took his family to church twice every Sunday. At sea he went to sleep every evening with his lamp turned full up, a pipe in his mouth, and an open Bible in his hand. Some one had always to go during the night to put out the light, take the book from his hand, and the pipe from between his teeth. ‘For’ — Belfast used to say, irritated and complaining — ‘some night, you stupid cookie, you’ll swallow your ould clay, and we will have no cook. — ‘Ah! sonny, I am ready for my Maker’s call . . . wish you all were.’ the other would answer with a benign213 serenity214 that was altogether imbecile and touching215. Belfast outside the galley door danced with vexation. ‘You holy fool! I don’t want you to die,’ he howled, looking up with furious, quivering face and tender eyes. ‘What’s the hurry? you blessed wooden-headed ould heretic, the divvle will have you soon enough. Think of Us . . . of Us . . . of Us!’ And he would go away, stamping, spitting aside, disgusted and worried; while the other, stepping out, saucepan in hand, hot, begrimed, and placid, watched with a superior, cock-sure smile the back of his ‘queer little man’ reeling in a rage. They were great friends.
Mr. Baker, lounging over the after-hatch, sniffed the humid night in the company of the second mate. — ‘Those West India niggers run fine and large — some of them . . . Ough! . . . Don’t they? A fine, big man that, Mr. Creighton. Feel him on a rope. Hey? Ough! I will take him into my watch, I think.’ The second mate, a fair gentlemanly young fellow, with a resolute216 face and a splended physique, observed quietly that it was just about what he expected. There could be felt in his tone some slight bitterness which Mr. Baker very kindly217 set himself to argue away. ‘Come, come, young man,’ he said, grunting218 between the words. ‘Come! Don’t be too greedy. You had that big Finn in your watch all the voyage. I will do what’s fair. You may have those two young Scandinavians and I . . . Ough! . . . I get the nigger, and will take that . . . Ough! that cheeky costermonger chap in a black frock-coat. I’ll make him . . . Ough! . . . make him toe the mark, or my . . . Ough! . . . name isn’t Baker. Ough! Ough! Ough!’
He grunted219 thrice — ferociously220. He had that trick of grunting so between his words and at the end of sentences. It was a fine, effective grunt that went well with his menacing utterance221, with his heavy, bull-necked frame, his jerky, rolling gait; with his big, seamed face, his steady eyes, and sardonic222 mouth. But its effect had been long discounted by the men. They liked him; Belfast, who was a favourite, and knew it — mimicked223 him, not quite behind his back. Charley — but with greater caution — imitated his walk. Some of his sayings became established daily quotations224 in the forecastle. Popularity can go no farther! Besides, all hands were ready to admit that on a fitting occasion the mate could ‘jump down a fellow’s throat in a reg’lar Western Ocean style.’
Now he was giving his last orders. ‘Ough! . . . You, Knowles! Call all hands at four. I want . . . Ough! . . . to heave short before the tug comes. Look out for the Captain. I am going to lay down in my clothes . . . Ough! . . . Call me when you see the boat coming. Ough!Ough! . . . The old man is sure to have something to say when he comes aboard’ he remarked to Creighton. ‘Well, good-night . . . Ough! A long day before us to-morrow . . . Ough! . . . Better turn in now. Ough! Ough!’
Upon the dark deck a band of light flashed, then a door slammed, and Mr. Baker was gone into his neat cabin. Young Creighton stood leaning over the rail, and looked dreamily into the night of the East. And he saw in it a long country lane, a lane of waving leaves and dancing sunshine. He saw stirring boughs225 of old trees outspread, and framing in their arch the tender, the caressing226 blueness of an English sky. And through the arch a girl in a clear dress, smiling under a sunshade, seemed to be stepping out of the tender sky.
At the other end of the ship the forecastle, with only one lamp burning now, was going to sleep in a dim emptiness traversed by loud breathings, by sudden short sighs. The double row of berths yawned black, like graves tenanted by uneasy corpses227. Here and there a curtain of gaudy chintz, half drawn, marked the resting-place of a sybarite. A leg hung over the edge very white and lifeless. An arm stuck straight out with a dark palm turned up, and thick fingers half closed. Two light snores, that did not synchronise228 quarreled in funny dialogue. Singleton stripped again — the old man suffered much from prickly heat — stood cooling his back in the doorway9, with his arms crossed on his bare and adorned229 chest. His head touched the beam of the deck above. The nigger, half undressed, was busy casting adrift the lashing24 of his box, and spreading his bedding in an upper berth. He moved about in his socks, tall and noiseless, with a pair of braces230 beating about his heels. Amongst the shadows of stanchions and bowsprit, Donkin munched231 a piece of hard ship’s bread, sitting on the deck with upturned feet and restless eyes; he held the biscuit up before his mouth in the whole fist, and snapped his jaws at it with a raging face. Crumbs232 fell between his outspread legs. Then he got up.
‘Where’s our water-cask?’ he asked in a contained voice.
Singleton, without a word, pointed208 with a big hand that held a short smouldering pipe. Donkin bent over the cask, drank out of The tin, splashing the water, turned round and noticed the nigger looking at him over the shoulder with calm loftiness. He moved up sideways.
‘There’s a blooming supper for a man,’ he whispered bitterly. ‘My dorg at ’ome wouldn’t ’ave it. It’s fit enouf for you an’ me. ‘Ere’s a big ship’s fo’c’sle . . . Not a bloomin’ scrap233 of meat in the kids I’ve looked in all the lockers234 . . .
The nigger stared like a man addressed unexpectedly in a foreign language. Donkin changed his tone:— ‘Giv’us a bit of ‘baccy, mate’ he breathed out confidentially235, ‘I ’aven’t ’ad a smoke or chew for the last month. I am rampin’ mad for it. Come on, old man’!’
‘Don’t be familiar,’ said the nigger. Donkin started and sat down on a chest near by, out of sheer surprise. ‘We haven’t kept pigs together.’ continued James Wait in a deep undertone. ‘Here’s your tobacco.’ Then, after a pause, he asked:— ‘What ship?’ — ‘Golden State,’ muttered Donkin indistinctly, biting the tobacco. The nigger whistled low. — ‘Ran?’ he said curtly236. Donkin nodded: one of his cheeks bulged237 out. — ‘In course I ran,’ he mumbled238. ‘They booted the life hout of one Dago chap on the passage ’ere, then started on me. I cleared hout ’ere.’ — ‘Left your dunnage behind?’ — ‘Yes, dunnage and money,’ answered Donkin, raising his voice a little; ‘I got nothink. No clothes, no bed. A bandy-legged little Hirish chap ’ere ’as give me a blanket . . . Think I’ll go an’ sleep in the fore4 topmast staysail to-night.’
He went on deck trailing behind his back a corner of the blanket. Singleton, without a glance, moved slightly aside to let him pass. The nigger put away his shore togs and sat in clean working clothes on his box, one arm stretched over his knees. After staring at Singleton for some time he asked without emphasis:— ‘What kind of ship is this? Pretty fair? Eh?’
Singleton didn’t stir. A long while after he said, with unmoved face:— ‘Ship! . . . Ships are all right. It is the men in them!’
He went on smoking in the profound silence. The wisdom of half a century spent listening to the thunder of the waves had spoken unconsciously through his old lips. The cat purred on the windlass. Then James Wait had a fit of roaring, rattling239 cough, that shook him, tossed him like a hurricane, and flung him panting with staring eyes headlong on his sea-chest. Several men woke up. One said sleepily out of his bunk: ‘Struth! what a blamed row!’ — ‘I have a cold on my chest,’ gasped240 Wait. — ‘Cold! you call it,’ grumbled241 the man; ‘should think ‘twas something more . . . ’ — ‘Oh! you think so,’ said the nigger upright and loftily scornful again. He climbed into his berth and began coughing persistently242 while he put his head out to glare all round the forecastle. There was no further protest. He fell back on the pillow, and could be heard there wheezing243 regularly like a man oppressed in his sleep.
Singleton stood at the door with his face to the light and his back to the darkness. And alone in the dim emptiness of the sleeping forecastle he appeared bigger, colossal244, very old; old as Father Time himself, who should have come there into this place as quiet as a sepulchre to contemplate245 with patient eyes the short victory of sleep, the consoler. Yet he was only a child of time, a lonely relic246 of a devoured247 and forgotten generation. He stood, still strong, as ever unthinking; a ready man with a vast empty past and with no future, with his childlike impulses and his man’s passions already dead within his tattooed breast. The men who could understand his silence were gone — those men who knew how to exist beyond the pale of life and within sight of eternity248. They had been strong, as those are strong who know neither doubts nor hopes. They had been impatient and enduring, turbulent and devoted249, unruly and faithful. Well-meaning people had tried to represent those men as whining250 over every mouthful of their food; as going about their work in fear of their lives. But in truth they had been men who knew toil251, privation, violence, debauchery — but knew not fear, and had no desire of spite in their hearts. Men hard to manage, but easy to inspire; voiceless men — but men enough to scorn in their hearts the sentimental voices that bewailed the hardness of their fate. It was a fate unique and their own; the capacity to bear it appeared to them the privilege of the chosen! Their generation lived inarticulate and indispensable, without knowing the sweetness of affections or the refuge of a home — and died free from the dark menace of a narrow grave. They were the everlasting children of the mysterious sea. Their successors are the grown-up children of a discontented earth. They are less naughty, but less innocent; less profane, but perhaps also less believing; and if they had learned how to speak they have also learned how to whine252. But the others were strong and mute, they were effaced253, bowed and enduring, like stone caryatides that hold up in the night the lighted halls of a resplendent and glorious edifice254. They are gone now — and it does not matter. The sea and the earth are unfaithful to their children: a truth, a faith, a generation of men goes — and is forgotten, and it does not matter! Except, perhaps, to the few of those who believed the truth confessed the faith — or loved the men.
A breeze was coming. The ship that had been lying tide-rode swung to a heavier puff255; and suddenly the slack of the chain cable between the windlass and the hawse-pipe clinked, slipped forward an inch, and rose gently off the deck with a startling suggestion as of unsuspected life that had been lurking256 stealthily in the iron. In the hawse-pipe The grinding links sent through the ship a sound like a low groan257 of a man sighing under a burden. The strain came on the windlass, the chain tautened like a string, vibrated — and the handle of the screw-brake moved in slight jerks. Singleton stepped forward.
Till then he had been standing meditative258 and unthinking, reposeful259 and hopeless, with a face grim and blank — a sixty-year-old child of the mysterious sea. The thoughts of all his lifetime could have been expressed in six words, but the stir of those things that were as much a part of his existence as his beating heart called up a gleam of alert understanding upon the sternness of his aged260 face. The flame of the lamp swayed, and the old man, with knitted and bushy eyebrows261, stood over the brake, watchful262 and motionless in the wild saraband of dancing shadows. Then the ship, obedient to the call of her anchor, forged ahead slightly and eased the strain. The cable relieved, hung down, and after swaying imperceptibly to and fro dropped with a loud tap on the hard wood planks. Singleton seized the high lever, and, by a violent throw forward of his body, wrung263 out another half-turn from the brake. He recovered himself, breathed largely, and remained for awhile glaring down at the powerful and compact engine that squatted264 on the deck at his feet, like some quiet monster — a creature amazing and tame.
‘You . . . hold!’ he growled at it masterfully, in the incult tangle265 of his white beard.
点击
收听单词发音
收听单词发音 |
1
baker
|
|
| n.面包师 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
muster
|
|
| v.集合，收集，鼓起，激起；n.集合，检阅，集合人员，点名册 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
halfway
|
|
| adj.中途的，不彻底的，部分的；adv.半路地，在中途，在半途 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
fore
|
|
| adv.在前面；adj.先前的；在前部的；n.前部 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
streaks
|
|
| n.（与周围有所不同的）条纹( streak的名词复数 )；（通常指不好的）特征（倾向）；（不断经历成功或失败的）一段时期v.快速移动( streak的第三人称单数 )；使布满条纹 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
tar
|
|
| n.柏油，焦油；vt.涂或浇柏油/焦油于 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
illuminated
|
|
| adj.被照明的；受启迪的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
doorways
|
|
| n.门口，门道( doorway的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
doorway
|
|
| n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
silhouettes
|
|
| 轮廓( silhouette的名词复数 )； （人的）体形； （事物的）形状； 剪影 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
tug
|
|
| v.用力拖(或拉)；苦干；n.拖；苦干；拖船 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
hissing
|
|
| n. 发嘶嘶声, 蔑视 动词hiss的现在分词形式 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
limpid
|
|
| adj.清澈的，透明的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
ashore
|
|
| adv.在(向)岸上，上岸 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
feverish
|
|
| adj.发烧的，狂热的，兴奋的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
shrill
|
|
| adj.尖声的；刺耳的；v尖叫 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
babble
|
|
| v.含糊不清地说，胡言乱语地说，儿语 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
seamen
|
|
| n.海员 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
brazen
|
|
| adj.厚脸皮的，无耻的，坚硬的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
profane
|
|
| adj.亵神的，亵渎的；vt.亵渎，玷污 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
shrieks
|
|
| n.尖叫声( shriek的名词复数 )v.尖叫( shriek的第三人称单数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
lament
|
|
| n.悲叹，悔恨，恸哭；v.哀悼，悔恨，悲叹 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
subsided
|
|
| v.（土地）下陷（因在地下采矿）( subside的过去式和过去分词 )；减弱；下降至较低或正常水平；一下子坐在椅子等上 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
lashing
|
|
| n.鞭打；痛斥；大量；许多v.鞭打( lash的现在分词 )；煽动；紧系；怒斥 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
subdued
|
|
| adj. 屈服的，柔和的，减弱的 动词subdue的过去式和过去分词 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
poised
|
|
| a.摆好姿势不动的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
27
bunk
|
|
| n.(车、船等倚壁而设的)铺位；废话 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
28
bunks
|
|
| n.（车、船等倚壁而设的）铺位( bunk的名词复数 )；空话，废话v.（车、船等倚壁而设的）铺位( bunk的第三人称单数 )；空话，废话 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
29
undone
|
|
| a.未做完的，未完成的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
30
growling
|
|
| n.吠声, 咆哮声 v.怒吠, 咆哮, 吼 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
31
hoarse
|
|
| adj.嘶哑的，沙哑的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
32
berth
|
|
| n.卧铺，停泊地，锚位；v.使停泊 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
33
lotion
|
|
| n.洗剂 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
34
jack
|
|
| n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
35
aslant
|
|
| adv.倾斜地；adj.斜的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
36
steadily
|
|
| adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
37
haze
|
|
| n.霾，烟雾；懵懂，迷糊；vi.(over)变模糊 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
38
upwards
|
|
| adv.向上，在更高处...以上 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
39
placid
|
|
| adj.安静的，平和的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
40
placidly
|
|
| adv.平稳地，平静地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
41
seaman
|
|
| n.海员，水手，水兵 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
42
tattooed
|
|
| v.刺青，文身( tattoo的过去式和过去分词 )；连续有节奏地敲击；作连续有节奏的敲击 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
43
propped
|
|
| 支撑，支持，维持( prop的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
44
savage
|
|
| adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
45
barbarian
|
|
| n.野蛮人；adj.野蛮(人)的；未开化的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
46
serene
|
|
| adj. 安详的，宁静的，平静的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
47
blasphemous
|
|
| adj.亵渎神明的，不敬神的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
48
turmoil
|
|
| n.骚乱，混乱，动乱 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
49
rugged
|
|
| adj.高低不平的，粗糙的，粗壮的，强健的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
50
curiously
|
|
| adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
51
awaken
|
|
| vi.醒，觉醒；vt.唤醒，使觉醒，唤起，激起 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
52
verbiage
|
|
| n.冗词；冗长 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
53
appeasement
|
|
| n.平息，满足 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
54
fascination
|
|
| n.令人着迷的事物，魅力，迷恋 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
55
infamy
|
|
| n.声名狼藉，出丑，恶行 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
56
filth
|
|
| n.肮脏，污物，污秽；淫猥 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
57
misery
|
|
| n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
58
trickled
|
|
| v.滴( trickle的过去式和过去分词 )；淌；使)慢慢走；缓慢移动 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
59
fixedly
|
|
| adv.固定地；不屈地，坚定不移地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
60
crouching
|
|
| v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
61
chimera
|
|
| n.神话怪物；梦幻 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
62
meditate
|
|
| v.想，考虑，（尤指宗教上的）沉思，冥想 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
63
bent
|
|
| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
64
ridge
|
|
| n.山脊；鼻梁；分水岭 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
65
backbone
|
|
| n.脊骨，脊柱，骨干；刚毅，骨气 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
66
precocious
|
|
| adj.早熟的；较早显出的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
67
ironic
|
|
| adj.讽刺的，有讽刺意味的，出乎意料的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
68
perspiration
|
|
| n.汗水；出汗 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
69
bulging
|
|
| 膨胀； 凸出（部）； 打气； 折皱 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
70
sniffed
|
|
| v.以鼻吸气，嗅，闻( sniff的过去式和过去分词 )；抽鼻子（尤指哭泣、患感冒等时出声地用鼻子吸气）；抱怨，不以为然地说 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
71
facetious
|
|
| adj.轻浮的，好开玩笑的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
72
crimson
|
|
| n./adj.深(绯)红色(的)；vi.脸变绯红色 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
73
rims
|
|
| n.（圆形物体的）边( rim的名词复数 )；缘；轮辋；轮圈 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
74
grimaces
|
|
| n.（表蔑视、厌恶等）面部扭曲，鬼脸( grimace的名词复数 )v.扮鬼相，做鬼脸( grimace的第三人称单数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
75
sprawling
|
|
| adj.蔓生的，不规则地伸展的v.伸开四肢坐[躺]( sprawl的现在分词 )；蔓延；杂乱无序地拓展；四肢伸展坐着（或躺着） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
76
berths
|
|
| n.（船、列车等的）卧铺( berth的名词复数 )；（船舶的）停泊位或锚位；差事；船台vt.v.停泊( berth的第三人称单数 )；占铺位 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
77
niches
|
|
| 壁龛( niche的名词复数 )； 合适的位置[工作等]； （产品的）商机； 生态位（一个生物所占据的生境的最小单位） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
78
coffins
|
|
| n.棺材( coffin的名词复数 )；使某人早亡[死，完蛋，垮台等]之物 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
79
industrious
|
|
| adj.勤劳的，刻苦的，奋发的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
80
shrieked
|
|
| v.尖叫( shriek的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
81
perch
|
|
| n.栖木，高位，杆；v.栖息，就位，位于 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
82
spoke
|
|
| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
83
deliberately
|
|
| adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
84
exhausted
|
|
| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
85
lull
|
|
| v.使安静，使入睡，缓和，哄骗；n.暂停，间歇 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
86
foamed
|
|
| 泡沫的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
87
hatchet
|
|
| n.短柄小斧；v.扼杀 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
88
locker
|
|
| n.更衣箱，储物柜，冷藏室，上锁的人 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
89
degradations
|
|
| 堕落( degradation的名词复数 )； 下降； 陵削； 毁坏 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
90
cuffed
|
|
| v.掌打，拳打( cuff的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
91
spat
|
|
| n.口角，掌击；v.发出呼噜呼噜声 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
92
pelted
|
|
| （连续地）投掷( pelt的过去式和过去分词 )； 连续抨击； 攻击； 剥去…的皮 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
93
battered
|
|
| adj.磨损的；v.连续猛击；磨损 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
94
calves
|
|
| n.(calf的复数)笨拙的男子，腓；腿肚子( calf的名词复数 )；牛犊；腓；小腿肚v.生小牛( calve的第三人称单数 )；（冰川）崩解；生（小牛等），产（犊）；使（冰川）崩解 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
95
eyelids
|
|
| n.眼睑( eyelid的名词复数 )；眼睛也不眨一下；不露声色；面不改色 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
96
jaws
|
|
| n.口部；嘴 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
97
drooped
|
|
| 弯曲或下垂，发蔫( droop的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
98
inefficient
|
|
| adj.效率低的，无效的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
99
folly
|
|
| n.愚笨，愚蠢，蠢事，蠢行，傻话 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
100
cadging
|
|
| v.乞讨，乞得，索取( cadge的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
101
repulsive
|
|
| adj.排斥的，使人反感的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
102
wheedle
|
|
| v.劝诱，哄骗 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
103
bully
|
|
| n.恃强欺弱者，小流氓；vt.威胁，欺侮 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
104
ominous
|
|
| adj.不祥的，不吉的，预兆的，预示的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
105
impudence
|
|
| n.厚颜无耻；冒失；无礼 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
106
saliva
|
|
| n.唾液，口水 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
107
steer
|
|
| vt.驾驶，为…操舵；引导；vi.驾驶 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
108
splice
|
|
| v.接合，衔接；n.胶接处，粘接处 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
109
dodges
|
|
| n.闪躲( dodge的名词复数 )；躲避；伎俩；妙计v.闪躲( dodge的第三人称单数 )；回避 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
110
frantically
|
|
| ad.发狂地, 发疯地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
111
sleet
|
|
| n.雨雪；v.下雨雪，下冰雹 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
112
loyalty
|
|
| n.忠诚，忠心 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
113
ignoble
|
|
| adj.不光彩的，卑鄙的；可耻的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
114
disdain
|
|
| n.鄙视，轻视；v.轻视，鄙视，不屑 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
115
austere
|
|
| adj.艰苦的；朴素的，朴实无华的；严峻的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
116
effrontery
|
|
| n.厚颜无耻 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
117
hearty
|
|
| adj.热情友好的；衷心的；尽情的，纵情的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
118
impudent
|
|
| adj.鲁莽的，卑鄙的，厚颜无耻的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
119
industriously
|
|
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
120
ragged
|
|
| adj.衣衫褴褛的，粗糙的，刺耳的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
121
snarled
|
|
| v.（指狗）吠，嗥叫， （人）咆哮( snarl的过去式和过去分词 )；咆哮着说，厉声地说 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
122
fiery
|
|
| adj.燃烧着的，火红的；暴躁的；激烈的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
123
affected
|
|
| adj.不自然的，假装的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
124
bloody
|
|
| adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
125
guts
|
|
| v.狼吞虎咽，贪婪地吃，飞碟游戏（比赛双方每组5人，相距15码，互相掷接飞碟）；毁坏（建筑物等）的内部( gut的第三人称单数 )；取出…的内脏n.勇气( gut的名词复数 )；内脏；消化道的下段；肠 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
126
naive
|
|
| adj.幼稚的，轻信的；天真的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
127
compassion
|
|
| n.同情，怜悯 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
128
gust
|
|
| n.阵风，突然一阵（雨、烟等），（感情的）迸发 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
129
benevolence
|
|
| n.慈悲，捐助 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
130
sentimental
|
|
| adj.多愁善感的，感伤的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
131
alleviate
|
|
| v.减轻，缓和，缓解(痛苦等) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
132
murmurs
|
|
| n.低沉、连续而不清的声音( murmur的名词复数 )；低语声；怨言；嘀咕 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
133
gathering
|
|
| n.集会，聚会，聚集 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
134
brass
|
|
| n.黄铜；黄铜器，铜管乐器 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
135
filthy
|
|
| adj.卑劣的；恶劣的，肮脏的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
136
contemplating
|
|
| 深思，细想，仔细考虑( contemplate的现在分词 )； 注视，凝视； 考虑接受（发生某事的可能性）； 深思熟虑，沉思，苦思冥想 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
137
weird
|
|
| adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
138
brutal
|
|
| adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
139
brutality
|
|
| n.野蛮的行为，残忍，野蛮 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
140
amiable
|
|
| adj.和蔼可亲的，友善的，亲切的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
141
gauged
|
|
| adj.校准的；标准的；量规的；量计的v.（用仪器）测量( gauge的过去式和过去分词 )；估计；计量；划分 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
142
proceeding
|
|
| n.行动，进行，(pl.)会议录，学报 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
143
pensive
|
|
| a.沉思的,哀思的,忧沉的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
144
swell
|
|
| vi.膨胀，肿胀；增长，增强 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
145
looming
|
|
| n.上现蜃景（光通过低层大气发生异常折射形成的一种海市蜃楼）v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的现在分词 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
146
destitute
|
|
| adj.缺乏的；穷困的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
147
luxuriously
|
|
| adv.奢侈地，豪华地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
148
hubbub
|
|
| n.嘈杂；骚乱 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
149
cannon
|
|
| n.大炮，火炮；飞机上的机关炮 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
150
authoritative
|
|
| adj.有权威的，可相信的；命令式的；官方的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
151
flopped
|
|
| v.（指书、戏剧等）彻底失败( flop的过去式和过去分词 )；（因疲惫而）猛然坐下；（笨拙地、不由自主地或松弛地）移动或落下；砸锅 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
152
planks
|
|
| （厚）木板( plank的名词复数 )； 政纲条目，政策要点 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
153
growled
|
|
| v.（动物）发狺狺声， （雷）作隆隆声( growl的过去式和过去分词 )；低声咆哮着说 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
154
jacks
|
|
| n.抓子游戏；千斤顶( jack的名词复数 )；（电）插孔；[电子学]插座；放弃 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
155
mere
|
|
| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
156
votary
|
|
| n.崇拜者；爱好者；adj.誓约的，立誓任圣职的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
157
sage
|
|
| n.圣人，哲人；adj.贤明的，明智的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
158
strands
|
|
| n.（线、绳、金属线、毛发等的）股( strand的名词复数 )；缕；海洋、湖或河的)岸；（观点、计划、故事等的）部份v.使滞留，使搁浅( strand的第三人称单数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
159
sedately
|
|
| adv.镇静地，安详地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
160
enveloped
|
|
| v.包围，笼罩，包住( envelop的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
161
soothing
|
|
| adj.慰藉的；使人宽心的；镇静的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
162
tepid
|
|
| adj.微温的，温热的，不太热心的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
163
countless
|
|
| adj.无数的，多得不计其数的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
164
luminous
|
|
| adj.发光的，发亮的；光明的；明白易懂的；有启发的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
165
streaked
|
|
| adj.有条斑纹的，不安的v.快速移动( streak的过去式和过去分词 )；使布满条纹 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
166
ripples
|
|
| 逐渐扩散的感觉( ripple的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
167
filaments
|
|
| n.（电灯泡的）灯丝( filament的名词复数 )；丝极；细丝；丝状物 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
168
drawn
|
|
| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
169
spines
|
|
| n.脊柱( spine的名词复数 )；脊椎；（动植物的）刺；书脊 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
170
frigid
|
|
| adj.寒冷的，凛冽的；冷淡的；拘禁的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
171
scattered
|
|
| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
172
opaque
|
|
| adj.不透光的；不反光的，不传导的；晦涩的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
173
everlasting
|
|
| adj.永恒的，持久的，无止境的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
174
repose
|
|
| v.(使)休息；n.安息 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
175
mustering
|
|
| v.集合，召集，集结（尤指部队）( muster的现在分词 )；（自他人处）搜集某事物；聚集；激发 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
176
shuffle
|
|
| n.拖著脚走，洗纸牌；v.拖曳，慢吞吞地走 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
177
bulwarks
|
|
| n.堡垒( bulwark的名词复数 )；保障；支柱；舷墙 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
178
divers
|
|
| adj.不同的；种种的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
179
outrage
|
|
| n.暴行，侮辱，愤怒；vt.凌辱，激怒 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
180
intonation
|
|
| n.语调，声调；发声 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
181
hierarchy
|
|
| n.等级制度；统治集团，领导层 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
182
exacting
|
|
| adj.苛求的，要求严格的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
183
uncouth
|
|
| adj.无教养的，粗鲁的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
184
grunt
|
|
| v.嘟哝；作呼噜声；n.呼噜声，嘟哝 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
185
gaudy
|
|
| adj.华而不实的；俗丽的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
186
malevolent
|
|
| adj.有恶意的，恶毒的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
187
insolence
|
|
| n.傲慢；无礼；厚颜；傲慢的态度 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
188
simplicity
|
|
| n.简单，简易；朴素；直率，单纯 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
189
mustered
|
|
| v.集合，召集，集结（尤指部队）( muster的过去式和过去分词 )；（自他人处）搜集某事物；聚集；激发 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
190
rumbling
|
|
| n. 隆隆声, 辘辘声 adj. 隆隆响的 动词rumble的现在分词 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
191
spun
|
|
| v.纺，杜撰，急转身 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
192
blurted
|
|
| v.突然说出，脱口而出( blurt的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
193
standing
|
|
| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
194
sonorous
|
|
| adj.响亮的，回响的；adv.圆润低沉地；感人地；n.感人，堂皇 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
195
skids
|
|
| n.滑向一侧( skid的名词复数 )；滑道；滚道；制轮器v.（通常指车辆） 侧滑( skid的第三人称单数 )；打滑；滑行；（住在）贫民区 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
196
intrepidly
|
|
| adv.无畏地，勇猛地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
|
197
enunciated
|
|
| v.（清晰地）发音( enunciate的过去式和过去分词 )；确切地说明 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
198
condescending
|
|
| adj.谦逊的,故意屈尊的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
199
tormented
|
|
| 饱受折磨的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
200
flattened
|
|
| [医]（水）平扁的，弄平的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
201
tragic
|
|
| adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
202
metallic
|
|
| adj.金属的；金属制的；含金属的；产金属的；像金属的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
203
resounded
|
|
| v.（指声音等）回荡于某处( resound的过去式和过去分词 )；产生回响；（指某处）回荡着声音 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
204
vault
|
|
| n.拱形圆顶，地窖，地下室 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
205
dome
|
|
| n.圆屋顶，拱顶 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
206
unison
|
|
| n.步调一致，行动一致 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
207
sonorously
|
|
| adv.圆润低沉地；感人地；堂皇地；朗朗地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
208
pointed
|
|
| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
209
disapproving
|
|
| adj.不满的，反对的v.不赞成( disapprove的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
210
condescended
|
|
| 屈尊，俯就( condescend的过去式和过去分词 )； 故意表示和蔼可亲 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
211
galley
|
|
| n.（飞机或船上的）厨房单层甲板大帆船；军舰舰长用的大划艇； | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
212
dozed
|
|
| v.打盹儿，打瞌睡( doze的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
213
benign
|
|
| adj.善良的，慈祥的；良性的，无危险的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
214
serenity
|
|
| n.宁静，沉着，晴朗 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
215
touching
|
|
| adj.动人的，使人感伤的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
216
resolute
|
|
| adj.坚决的，果敢的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
217
kindly
|
|
| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
218
grunting
|
|
| 咕哝的，呼噜的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
219
grunted
|
|
| （猪等）作呼噜声( grunt的过去式和过去分词 )； （指人）发出类似的哼声； 咕哝着说 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
220
ferociously
|
|
| 野蛮地，残忍地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
221
utterance
|
|
| n.用言语表达，话语，言语 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
222
sardonic
|
|
| adj.嘲笑的，冷笑的，讥讽的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
223
mimicked
|
|
| v.（尤指为了逗乐而）模仿( mimic的过去式和过去分词 )；酷似 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
224
quotations
|
|
| n.引用( quotation的名词复数 )；[商业]行情（报告）；（货物或股票的）市价；时价 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
225
boughs
|
|
| 大树枝( bough的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
226
caressing
|
|
| 爱抚的，表现爱情的，亲切的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
227
corpses
|
|
| n.死尸，尸体( corpse的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
228
synchronise
|
|
| n.同步器；v.使同时发生；使同步 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
229
adorned
|
|
| [计]被修饰的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
230
braces
|
|
| n.吊带，背带；托架( brace的名词复数 )；箍子；括弧；（儿童）牙箍v.支住( brace的第三人称单数 )；撑牢；使自己站稳；振作起来 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
231
munched
|
|
| v.用力咀嚼（某物），大嚼( munch的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
232
crumbs
|
|
| int. (表示惊讶)哎呀 n. 碎屑 名词crumb的复数形式 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
233
scrap
|
|
| n.碎片；废料；v.废弃，报废 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
234
lockers
|
|
| n.寄物柜( locker的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
235
confidentially
|
|
| ad.秘密地，悄悄地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
236
curtly
|
|
| adv.简短地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
237
bulged
|
|
| 凸出( bulge的过去式和过去分词 )； 充满； 塞满（某物） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
238
mumbled
|
|
| 含糊地说某事，叽咕，咕哝( mumble的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
239
rattling
|
|
| adj. 格格作响的, 活泼的, 很好的 adv. 极其, 很, 非常 动词rattle的现在分词 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
240
gasped
|
|
| v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
241
grumbled
|
|
| 抱怨( grumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 发牢骚； 咕哝； 发哼声 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
242
persistently
|
|
| ad.坚持地；固执地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
243
wheezing
|
|
| v.喘息，发出呼哧呼哧的喘息声( wheeze的现在分词 )；哮鸣 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
244
colossal
|
|
| adj.异常的，庞大的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
245
contemplate
|
|
| vt.盘算，计议；周密考虑；注视，凝视 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
246
relic
|
|
| n.神圣的遗物，遗迹，纪念物 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
247
devoured
|
|
| 吞没( devour的过去式和过去分词 )； 耗尽； 津津有味地看； 狼吞虎咽地吃光 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
248
eternity
|
|
| n.不朽，来世；永恒，无穷 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
249
devoted
|
|
| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
250
whining
|
|
| n. 抱怨，牢骚 v. 哭诉，发牢骚 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
251
toil
|
|
| vi.辛劳工作，艰难地行动；n.苦工，难事 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
252
whine
|
|
| v.哀号，号哭；n.哀鸣 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
253
effaced
|
|
| v.擦掉( efface的过去式和过去分词 )；抹去；超越；使黯然失色 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
254
edifice
|
|
| n.宏伟的建筑物(如宫殿，教室) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
255
puff
|
|
| n.一口(气)；一阵(风)；v.喷气，喘气 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
256
lurking
|
|
| 潜在 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
257
groan
|
|
| vi./n.呻吟，抱怨；(发出)呻吟般的声音 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
258
meditative
|
|
| adj.沉思的，冥想的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
259
reposeful
|
|
| adj.平稳的，沉着的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
|
260
aged
|
|
| adj.年老的，陈年的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
261
eyebrows
|
|
| 眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
262
watchful
|
|
| adj.注意的，警惕的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
263
wrung
|
|
| 绞( wring的过去式和过去分词 )； 握紧（尤指别人的手）； 把（湿衣服）拧干； 绞掉（水） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
264
squatted
|
|
| v.像动物一样蹲下( squat的过去式和过去分词 )；非法擅自占用（土地或房屋）；为获得其所有权；而占用某片公共用地。 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
265
tangle
|
|
| n.纠缠；缠结；混乱；v.(使)缠绕；变乱 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |