Jukes to leeward2 could hear these two shouting within six inches of his face, as you may hear on a still night half a mile away two men conversing3 across a field. He heard Captain MacWhirr’s exasperated4 “What? What?” and the strained pitch of the other’s hoarseness5. “In a lump . . . seen them myself. . . . Awful sight, sir . . . thought . . . tell you.”
Jukes remained indifferent, as if rendered irresponsible by the force of the hurricane, which made the very thought of action utterly7 vain. Besides, being very young, he had found the occupation of keeping his heart completely steeled against the worst so engrossing8 that he had come to feel an overpowering dislike towards any other form of activity whatever. He was not scared; he knew this because, firmly believing he would never see another sunrise, he remained calm in that belief.
These are the moments of do-nothing heroics to which even good men surrender at times. Many officers of ships can no doubt recall a case in their experience when just such a trance of confounded stoicism would come all at once over a whole ship’s company. Jukes, however, had no wide experience of men or storms. He conceived himself to be calm — inexorably calm; but as a matter of fact he was daunted10; not abjectly11, but only so far as a decent man may, without becoming loathsome12 to himself.
It was rather like a forced-on numbness13 of spirit. The long, long stress of a gale14 does it; the suspense15 of the interminably culminating catastrophe16; and there is a bodily fatigue17 in the mere18 holding on to existence within the excessive tumult19; a searching and insidious20 fatigue that penetrates21 deep into a man’s breast to cast down and sadden his heart, which is incorrigible22, and of all the gifts of the earth — even before life itself -aspires to peace.
Jukes was benumbed much more than he supposed. He held on — very wet, very cold, stiff in every limb; and in a momentary23 hallucination of swift visions (it is said that a drowning man thus reviews all his life) he beheld24 all sorts of memories altogether unconnected with his present situation. He remembered his father, for instance: a worthy25 business man, who at an unfortunate crisis in his affairs went quietly to bed and died forthwith in a state of resignation. Jukes did not recall these circumstances, of course, but remaining otherwise unconcerned he seemed to see distinctly the poor man’s face; a certain game of nap played when quite a boy in Table Bay on board a ship, since lost with all hands; the thick eyebrows27 of his first skipper; and without any emotion, as he might years ago have walked listlessly into her room and found her sitting there with a book, he remembered his mother — dead, too, now — the resolute28 woman, left badly off, who had been very firm in his bringing up.
It could not have lasted more than a second, perhaps not so much. A heavy arm had fallen about his shoulders; Captain MacWhirr’s voice was speaking his name into his ear.
“Jukes! Jukes!”
He detected the tone of deep concern. The wind had thrown its weight on the ship, trying to pin her down amongst the seas. They made a clean breach29 over her, as over a deep-swimming log; and the gathered weight of crashes menaced monstrously30 from afar. The breakers flung out of the night with a ghostly light on their crests31 — the light of sea-foam that in a ferocious32, boiling-up pale flash showed upon the slender body of the ship the toppling rush, the downfall, and the seething33 mad scurry34 of each wave. Never for a moment could she shake herself clear of the water; Jukes, rigid35, perceived in her motion the ominous36 sign of haphazard37 floundering. She was no longer struggling intelligently. It was the beginning of the end; and the note of busy concern in Captain MacWhirr’s voice sickened him like an exhibition of blind and pernicious folly38.
The spell of the storm had fallen upon Jukes. He was penetrated39 by it, absorbed by it; he was rooted in it with a rigour of dumb attention. Captain MacWhirr persisted in his cries, but the wind got between them like a solid wedge. He hung round Jukes’ neck as heavy as a millstone, and suddenly the sides of their heads knocked together.
“Jukes! Mr. Jukes, I say!”
He had to answer that voice that would not be silenced. He answered in the customary manner: “ . . . Yes, sir.”
And directly, his heart, corrupted40 by the storm that breeds a craving41 for peace, rebelled against the tyranny of training and command.
Captain MacWhirr had his mate’s head fixed43 firm in the crook44 of his elbow, and pressed it to his yelling lips mysteriously. Sometimes Jukes would break in, admonishing45 hastily: “Look out, sir!” or Captain MacWhirr would bawl46 an earnest exhortation47 to “Hold hard, there!” and the whole black universe seemed to reel together with the ship. They paused. She floated yet. And Captain MacWhirr would r?sum? his shouts. “. . . . Says . . . whole lot . . . fetched away. . . . Ought to see . . . what’s the matter.”
Directly the full force of the hurricane had struck the ship, every part of her deck became untenable; and the sailors, dazed and dismayed, took shelter in the port alleyway under the bridge. It had a door aft, which they shut; it was very black, cold, and dismal48. At each heavy fling of the ship they would groan49 all together in the dark, and tons of water could be heard scuttling50 about as if trying to get at them from above. The boatswain had been keeping up a gruff talk, but a more unreasonable51 lot of men, he said afterwards, he had never been with. They were snug52 enough there, out of harm’s way, and not wanted to do anything, either; and yet they did nothing but grumble53 and complain peevishly54 like so many sick kids. Finally, one of them said that if there had been at least some light to see each other’s noses by, it wouldn’t be so bad. It was making him crazy, he declared, to lie there in the dark waiting for the blamed hooker to sink.
“Why don’t you step outside, then, and be done with it at once?” the boatswain turned on him.
This called up a shout of execration55. The boatswain found himself overwhelmed with reproaches of all sorts. They seemed to take it ill that a lamp was not instantly created for them out of nothing. They would whine56 after a light to get drowned by — anyhow! And though the unreason of their revilings was patent — since no one could hope to reach the lamp-room, which was forward — he became greatly distressed57. He did not think it was decent of them to be nagging58 at him like this. He told them so, and was met by general contumely. He sought refuge, therefore, in an embittered59 silence. At the same time their grumbling60 and sighing and muttering worried him greatly, but by-and-by it occurred to him that there were six globe lamps hung in the ‘tween-deck, and that there could be no harm in depriving the coolies of one of them.
The Nan-Shan had an athwartship coal-bunker, which, being at times used as cargo62 space, communicated by an iron door with the fore ‘tween-deck. It was empty then, and its manhole was the foremost one in the alleyway. The boatswain could get in, therefore, without coming out on deck at all; but to his great surprise he found he could induce no one to help him in taking off the manhole cover. He groped for it all the same, but one of the crew lying in his way refused to budge63.
“Why, I only want to get you that blamed light you are crying for,” he expostulated, almost pitifully.
Somebody told him to go and put his head in a bag. He regretted he could not recognize the voice, and that it was too dark to see, otherwise, as he said, he would have put a head on that son of a sea-cook, anyway, sink or swim. Nevertheless, he had made up his mind to show them he could get a light, if he were to die for it.
Through the violence of the ship’s rolling, every movement was dangerous. To be lying down seemed labour enough. He nearly broke his neck dropping into the bunker. He fell on his back, and was sent shooting helplessly from side to side in the dangerous company of a heavy iron bar — a coal-trimmer’s slice probably — left down there by somebody. This thing made him as nervous as though it had been a wild beast. He could not see it, the inside of the bunker coated with coal-dust being perfectly65 and impenetrably black; but he heard it sliding and clattering66, and striking here and there, always in the neighbourhood of his head. It seemed to make an extraordinary noise, too — to give heavy thumps69 as though it had been as big as a bridge girder. This was remarkable70 enough for him to notice while he was flung from port to starboard and back again, and clawing desperately71 the smooth sides of the bunker in the endeavour to stop himself. The door into the ‘tween-deck not fitting quite true, he saw a thread of dim light at the bottom.
Being a sailor, and a still active man, he did not want much of a chance to regain72 his feet; and as luck would have it, in scrambling73 up he put his hand on the iron slice, picking it up as he rose. Otherwise he would have been afraid of the thing breaking his legs, or at least knocking him down again. At first he stood still. He felt unsafe in this darkness that seemed to make the ship’s motion unfamiliar74, unforeseen, and difficult to counteract75. He felt so much shaken for a moment that he dared not move for fear of “taking charge again.” He had no mind to get battered76 to pieces in that bunker.
He had struck his head twice; he was dazed a little. He seemed to hear yet so plainly the clatter67 and bangs of the iron slice flying about his ears that he tightened77 his grip to prove to himself he had it there safely in his hand. He was vaguely78 amazed at the plainness with which down there he could hear the gale raging. Its howls and shrieks79 seemed to take on, in the emptiness of the bunker, something of the human character, of human rage and pain — being not vast but infinitely80 poignant81. And there were, with every roll, thumps, too — profound, ponderous82 thumps, as if a bulky object of five-ton weight or so had got play in the hold. But there was no such thing in the cargo. Something on deck? Impossible. Or alongside? Couldn’t be.
He thought all this quickly, clearly, competently, like a seaman83, and in the end remained puzzled. This noise, though, came deadened from outside, together with the washing and pouring of water on deck above his head. Was it the wind? Must be. It made down there a row like the shouting of a big lot of crazed men. And he discovered in himself a desire for a light, too — if only to get drowned by — and a nervous anxiety to get out of that bunker as quickly as possible.
He pulled back the bolt: the heavy iron plate turned on its hinges; and it was as though he had opened the door to the sounds of the tempest. A gust84 of hoarse6 yelling met him: the air was still; and the rushing of water overhead was covered by a tumult of strangled, throaty shrieks that produced an effect of desperate confusion. He straddled his legs the whole width of the doorway85 and stretched his neck. And at first he perceived only what he had come to seek: six small yellow flames swinging violently on the great body of the dusk.
It was stayed like the gallery of a mine, with a row of stanchions in the middle, and cross-beams overhead, penetrating86 into the gloom ahead — indefinitely. And to port there loomed87, like the caving in of one of the sides, a bulky mass with a slanting89 outline. The whole place, with the shadows and the shapes, moved all the time. The boatswain glared: the ship lurched to starboard, and a great howl came from that mass that had the slant88 of fallen earth.
Pieces of wood whizzed past. Planks90, he thought, inexpressibly startled, and flinging back his head. At his feet a man went sliding over, open-eyed, on his back, straining with uplifted arms for nothing: and another came bounding like a detached stone with his head between his legs and his hands clenched91. His
58
pigtail whipped in the air; he made a grab at the boatswain’s legs, and from his opened hand a bright white disc rolled against the boatswain’s foot. He recognized a silver dollar, and yelled at it with astonishment92. With a precipitated93 sound of trampling94 and shuffling95 of bare feet, and with guttural cries, the mound96 of writhing97 bodies piled up to port detached itself from the ship’s side and sliding, inert98 and struggling, shifted to starboard, with a dull, brutal99 thump68. The cries ceased. The boatswain heard a long moan through the roar and whistling of the wind; he saw an inextricable confusion of heads and shoulders, naked soles kicking upwards100, fists raised, tumbling backs, legs, pigtails, faces.
“Good Lord!” he cried, horrified101, and banged-to the iron door upon this vision.
This was what he had come on the bridge to tell. He could not keep it to himself; and on board ship there is only one man to whom it is worth while to unburden yourself. On his passage back the hands in the alleyway swore at him for a fool. Why didn’t he bring that lamp? What the devil did the coolies matter to anybody? And when he came out, the extremity102 of the ship made what went on inside of her appear of little moment.
At first he thought he had left the alleyway in the very moment of her sinking. The bridge ladders had been washed away, but an enormous sea filling the after-deck floated him up. After that he had to lie on his stomach for some time, holding to a ring-bolt, getting his breath now and then, and swallowing salt water. He struggled farther on his hands and knees, too frightened and distracted to turn back. In this way he reached the after-part of the wheelhouse. In that comparatively sheltered spot he found the second mate.
The boatswain was pleasantly surprised — his impression being that everybody on deck must have been washed away a long time ago. He asked eagerly where the Captain was.
The second mate was lying low, like a malignant103 little animal under a hedge.
“Captain? Gone overboard, after getting us into this mess.” The mate, too, for all he knew or cared. Another fool. Didn’t matter. Everybody was going by-and-by.
The boatswain crawled out again into the strength of the wind; not because he much expected to find anybody, he said, but just to get away from “that man.” He crawled out as outcasts go to face an inclement104 world. Hence his great joy at finding Jukes and the Captain. But what was going on in the ‘tween-deck was to him a minor105 matter by that time. Besides, it was difficult to make yourself heard. But he managed to convey the idea that the Chinaman had broken adrift together with their boxes, and that he had come up on purpose to report this. As to the hands, they were all right. Then, appeased106, he subsided107 on the deck in a sitting posture108, hugging with his arms and legs the stand of the engine-room telegraph — an iron casting as thick as a post. When that went, why, he expected he would go, too. He gave no more thought to the coolies.
Captain MacWhirr had made Jukes understand that he wanted him to go down below — to see.
“What am I to do then, sir?” And the trembling of his whole wet body caused Jukes’ voice to sound like bleating109.
“See first . . . Boss’n . . . says . . . adrift.”
“That boss’n is a confounded fool,” howled Jukes, shakily.
The absurdity110 of the demand made upon him revolted Jukes. He was as unwilling111 to go as if the moment he had left the deck the ship were sure to sink.
“I must know . . . can’t leave . . . .”
“They’ll settle, sir.”
“Fight . . . boss’n says they fight. . . . Why? Can’t have . . . fighting . . . board ship. . . . Much rather keep you here . . . case. . . . I should . . . washed overboard myself. . . . Stop it . . . some way. You see and tell me . . . through engine-room tube. Don’t want you . . . come up here . . . too often. Dangerous . . . moving about . . . deck.”
Jukes, held with his head in chancery, had to listen to what seemed horrible suggestions.
“Don’t want . . . you get lost . . . so long . . . ship isn’t. . . . . Rout112 . . . Good man . . . Ship . . . may . . . through this . . . all right yet.”
All at once Jukes understood he would have to go.
“Do you think she may?” he screamed.
But the wind devoured113 the reply, out of which Jukes heard only the one word, pronounced with great energy “ . . . . Always . . . .”
Captain MacWhirr released Jukes, and bending over the boatswain, yelled, “Get back with the mate.” Jukes only knew that the arm was gone off his shoulders. He was dismissed with his orders — to do what? He was exasperated into letting go his hold carelessly, and on the instant was blown away. It seemed to him that nothing could stop him from being blown right over the stern. He flung himself down hastily, and the boatswain, who was following, fell on him.
“Don’t you get up yet, sir,” cried the boatswain. “No hurry!”
A sea swept over. Jukes understood the boatswain to splutter that the bridge ladders were gone. “I’ll lower you down, sir, by your hands,” he screamed. He shouted also something about the smoke-stack being as likely to go overboard as not. Jukes thought it very possible, and imagined the fires out, the ship helpless. . . . The boatswain by his side kept on yelling. “What? What is it?” Jukes cried distressfully; and the other repeated, “What would my old woman say if she saw me now?”
In the alleyway, where a lot of water had got in and splashed in the dark, the men were still as death, till Jukes stumbled against one of them and cursed him savagely114 for being in the way. Two or three voices then asked, eager and weak, “Any chance for us, sir?”
“What’s the matter with you fools?” he said brutally115. He felt as though he could throw himself down amongst them and never move any more. But they seemed cheered; and in the midst of obsequious116 warnings, “Look out! Mind that manhole lid, sir,” they lowered him into the bunker. The boatswain tumbled down after him, and as soon as he had picked himself up he remarked, “She would say, ‘Serve you right, you old fool, for going to sea.’”
The boatswain had some means, and made a point of alluding117 to them frequently. His wife — a fat woman — and two grown-up daughters kept a greengrocer’s shop in the East-end of London.
In the dark, Jukes, unsteady on his legs, listened to a faint thunderous patter. A deadened screaming went on steadily118 at his elbow, as it were; and from above the louder tumult of the storm descended119 upon these near sounds. His head swam. To him, too, in that bunker, the motion of the ship seemed novel and menacing, sapping his resolution as though he had never been afloat before.
He had half a mind to scramble120 out again; but the remembrance of Captain MacWhirr’s voice made this impossible. His orders were to go and see. What was the good of it, he wanted to know. Enraged121, he told himself he would see — of course. But the boatswain, staggering clumsily, warned him to be careful how he opened that door; there was a blamed fight going on. And Jukes, as if in great bodily pain, desired irritably122 to know what the devil they were fighting for.
“Dollars! Dollars, sir. All their rotten chests got burst open. Blamed money skipping all over the place, and they are tumbling after it head over heels — tearing and biting like anything. A regular little hell in there.”
Jukes convulsively opened the door. The short boatswain peered under his arm.
One of the lamps had gone out, broken perhaps. Rancorous, guttural cries burst out loudly on their ears, and a strange panting sound, the working of all these straining breasts. A hard blow hit the side of the ship: water fell above with a stunning123 shock, and in the forefront of the gloom, where the air was reddish and thick, Jukes saw a head bang the deck violently, two thick calves124 waving on high, muscular arms twined round a naked body, a yellow-face, open-mouthed and with a set wild stare, look up and slide away. An empty chest clattered125 turning over; a man fell head first with a jump, as if lifted by a kick; and farther off, indistinct, others streamed like a mass of rolling stones down a bank, thumping126 the deck with their feet and flourishing their arms wildly. The hatchway ladder was loaded with coolies swarming127 on it like bees on a branch. They hung on the steps in a crawling, stirring cluster, beating madly with their fists the underside of the battened hatch, and the headlong rush of the water above was heard in the intervals128 of their yelling. The ship heeled over more, and they began to drop off: first one, then two, then all the rest went away together, falling straight off with a great cry.
Jukes was confounded. The boatswain, with gruff anxiety, begged him, “Don’t you go in there, sir.”
The whole place seemed to twist upon itself, jumping incessantly129 the while; and when the ship rose to a sea Jukes fancied that all these men would be shot upon him in a body. He backed out, swung the door to, and with trembling hands pushed at the bolt . . . .
As soon as his mate had gone Captain MacWhirr, left alone on the bridge, sidled and staggered as far as the wheelhouse. Its door being hinged forward, he had to fight the gale for admittance, and when at last he managed to enter, it was with an instantaneous clatter and a bang, as though he had been fired through the wood. He stood within, holding on to the handle.
The steering-gear leaked steam, and in the confined space the glass of the binnacle made a shiny oval of light in a thin white fog. The wind howled, hummed, whistled, with sudden booming gusts131 that rattled132 the doors and shutters133 in the vicious patter of sprays. Two coils of lead-line and a small canvas bag hung on a long lanyard, swung wide off, and came back clinging to the bulkheads. The gratings underfoot were nearly afloat; with every sweeping134 blow of a sea, water squirted violently through the cracks all round the door, and the man at the helm had flung down his cap, his coat, and stood propped135 against the gear-casing in a striped cotton shirt open on his breast. The little brass136 wheel in his hands had the appearance of a bright and fragile toy. The cords of his neck stood hard and lean, a dark patch lay in the hollow of his throat, and his face was still and sunken as in death.
Captain MacWhirr wiped his eyes. The sea that had nearly taken him overboard had, to his great annoyance137, washed his sou’-wester hat off his bald head. The fluffy138, fair hair, soaked and darkened, resembled a mean skein of cotton threads festooned round his bare skull139. His face, glistening140 with sea-water, had been made crimson141 with the wind, with the sting of sprays. He looked as though he had come off sweating from before a furnace.
“You here?” he muttered, heavily.
The second mate had found his way into the wheelhouse some time before. He had fixed himself in a corner with his knees up, a fist pressed against each temple; and this attitude suggested rage, sorrow, resignation, surrender, with a sort of concentrated unforgiveness. He said mournfully and defiantly142, “Well, it’s my watch below now: ain’t it?”
The steam gear clattered, stopped, clattered again; and the helmsman’s eyeballs seemed to project out of a hungry face as if the compass card behind the binnacle glass had been meat. God knows how long he had been left there to steer130, as if forgotten by all his shipmates. The bells had not been struck; there had been no reliefs; the ship’s routine had gone down wind; but he was trying to keep her head north-north-east. The rudder might have been gone for all he knew, the fires out, the engines broken down, the ship ready to roll over like a corpse143. He was anxious not to get muddled144 and lose control of her head, because the compass-card swung far both ways, wriggling145 on the pivot146, and sometimes seemed to whirl right round. He suffered from mental stress. He was horribly afraid, also, of the wheelhouse going. Mountains of water kept on tumbling against it. When the ship took one of her desperate dives the corners of his lips twitched147.
Captain MacWhirr looked up at the wheelhouse clock. Screwed to the bulk-head, it had a white face on which the black hands appeared to stand quite still. It was half-past one in the morning.
“Another day,” he muttered to himself.
The second mate heard him, and lifting his head as one grieving amongst ruins, “You won’t see it break,” he exclaimed. His wrists and his knees could be seen to shake violently. “No, by God! You won’t . . . .”
He took his face again between his fists.
The body of the helmsman had moved slightly, but his head didn’t budge on his neck, — like a stone head fixed to look one way from a column. During a roll that all but took his booted legs from under him, and in the very stagger to save himself, Captain MacWhirr said austerely148, “Don’t you pay any attention to what that man says.” And then, with an indefinable change of tone, very grave, he added, “He isn’t on duty.”
The sailor said nothing.
The hurricane boomed, shaking the little place, which seemed air-tight; and the light of the binnacle flickered149 all the time.
“You haven’t been relieved,” Captain MacWhirr went on, looking down. “I want you to stick to the helm, though, as long as you can. You’ve got the hang of her. Another man coming here might make a mess of it. Wouldn’t do. No child’s play. And the hands are probably busy with a job down below. . . . Think you can?”
The steering-gear leaped into an abrupt150 short clatter, stopped smouldering like an ember; and the still man, with a motionless gaze, burst out, as if all the passion in him had gone into his lips: “By Heavens, sir! I can steer for ever if nobody talks to me.”
“Oh! aye! All right . . . .” The Captain lifted his eyes for the first time to the man, “ . . . Hackett.”
And he seemed to dismiss this matter from his mind. He stooped to the engine-room speaking-tube, blew in, and bent151 his head. Mr. Rout below answered, and at once Captain MacWhirr put his lips to the mouthpiece.
With the uproar152 of the gale around him he applied153 alternately his lips and his ear, and the engineer’s voice mounted to him, harsh and as if out of the heat of an engagement. One of the stokers was disabled, the others had given in, the second engineer and the donkey-man were firing-up. The third engineer was standing154 by the steam-valve. The engines were being tended by hand. How was it above?
“Bad enough. It mostly rests with you,” said Captain MacWhirr. Was the mate down there yet? No? Well, he would be presently. Would Mr. Rout let him talk through the speaking-tube? — through the deck speaking-tube, because he — the Captain — was going out again on the bridge directly. There was some trouble amongst the Chinamen. They were fighting, it seemed. Couldn’t allow fighting anyhow . . . .
Mr. Rout had gone away, and Captain MacWhirr could feel against his ear the pulsation155 of the engines, like the beat of the ship’s heart. Mr. Rout’s voice down there shouted something distantly. The ship pitched headlong, the pulsation leaped with a hissing156 tumult, and stopped dead. Captain MacWhirr’s face was impassive, and his eyes were fixed aimlessly on the crouching158 shape of the second mate. Again Mr. Rout’s voice cried out in the depths, and the pulsating159 beats recommenced, with slow strokes — growing swifter.
Mr. Rout had returned to the tube. “It don’t matter much what they do,” he said, hastily; and then, with irritation160, “She takes these dives as if she never meant to come up again.”
“Awful sea,” said the Captain’s voice from above.
“Don’t let me drive her under,” barked Solomon Rout up the pipe.
“Dark and rain. Can’t see what’s coming,” uttered the voice. “Must — keep — her — moving — enough to steer — and chance it,” it went on to state distinctly.
“I am doing as much as I dare.”
“We are — getting — smashed up — a good deal up here,” proceeded the voice mildly. “Doing — fairly well — though. Of course, if the wheelhouse should go . . . .”
Mr. Rout, bending an attentive161 ear, muttered peevishly something under his breath.
But the deliberate voice up there became animated162 to ask: “Jukes turned up yet?” Then, after a short wait, “I wish he would bear a hand. I want him to be done and come up here in case of anything. To look after the ship. I am all alone. The second mate’s lost . . . .”
“What?” shouted Mr. Rout into the engine-room, taking his head away. Then up the tube he cried, “Gone overboard?” and clapped his ear to.
“Lost his nerve,” the voice from above continued in a matter-of-fact tone. “Damned awkward circumstance.”
Mr. Rout, listening with bowed neck, opened his eyes wide at this. However, he heard something like the sounds of a scuffle and broken exclamations163 coming down to him. He strained his hearing; and all the time Beale, the third engineer, with his arms uplifted, held between the palms of his hands the rim64 of a little black wheel projecting at the side of a big copper164 pipe.
He seemed to be poising165 it above his head, as though it were a correct attitude in some sort of game.
To steady himself, he pressed his shoulder against the white bulkhead, one knee bent, and a sweat-rag tucked in his belt hanging on his hip9. His smooth cheek was begrimed and flushed, and the coal dust on his eyelids166, like the black pencilling of a make-up, enhanced the liquid brilliance167 of the whites, giving to his youthful face something of a feminine, exotic and fascinating aspect. When the ship pitched he would with hasty movements of his hands screw hard at the little wheel.
“Gone crazy,” began the Captain’s voice suddenly in the tube. “Rushed at me. . . . Just now. Had to knock him down . . . . This minute. You heard, Mr. Rout?”
“The devil!” muttered Mr. Rout. “Look out, Beale!”
His shout rang out like the blast of a warning trumpet168, between the iron walls of the engine-room. Painted white, they rose high into the dusk of the skylight, sloping like a roof; and the whole lofty space resembled the interior of a monument, divided by floors of iron grating, with lights flickering169 at different levels, and a mass of gloom lingering in the middle, within the columnar stir of machinery170 under the motionless swelling171 of the cylinders172. A loud and wild resonance174, made up of all the noises of the hurricane, dwelt in the still warmth of the air. There was in it the smell of hot metal, of oil, and a slight mist of steam. The blows of the sea seemed to traverse it in an unringing, stunning shock, from side to side.
Gleams, like pale long flames, trembled upon the polish of metal; from the flooring below the enormous crank-heads emerged in their turns with a flash of brass and steel — going over; while the connecting-rods, big-jointed, like skeleton limbs, seemed to thrust them down and pull them up again with an irresistible175 precision. And deep in the half-light other rods dodged176 deliberately177 to and fro, crossheads nodded, discs of metal rubbed smoothly178 against each other, slow and gentle, in a commingling179 of shadows and gleams.
Sometimes all those powerful and unerring movements would slow down simultaneously180, as if they had been the functions of a living organism, stricken suddenly by the blight181 of languor182; and Mr. Rout’s eyes would blaze darker in his long sallow face. He was fighting this fight in a pair of carpet slippers183. A short shiny jacket barely covered his loins, and his white wrists protruded184 far out of the tight sleeves, as though the emergency had added to his stature185, had lengthened186 his limbs, augmented187 his pallor, hollowed his eyes.
He moved, climbing high up, disappearing low down, with a restless, purposeful industry, and when he stood still, holding the guard-rail in front of the starting-gear, he would keep glancing to the right at the steam-gauge, at the water-gauge, fixed upon the white wall in the light of a swaying lamp. The mouths of two speakingtubes gaped188 stupidly at his elbow, and the dial of the engine-room telegraph resembled a clock of large diameter, bearing on its face curt189 words instead of figures. The grouped letters stood out heavily black, around the pivot-head of the indicator190, emphatically symbolic191 of loud exclamations: AHEAD, ASTERN, SLOW, Half, STAND BY; and the fat black hand pointed192 downwards193 to the word FULL, which, thus singled out, captured the eye as a sharp cry secures attention.
The wood-encased bulk of the low-pressure cylinder173, frowning portly from above, emitted a faint wheeze194 at every thrust, and except for that low hiss157 the engines worked their steel limbs headlong or slow with a silent, determined195 smoothness. And all this, the white walls, the moving steel, the floor plates under Solomon Rout’s feet, the floors of iron grating above his head, the dusk and the gleams, uprose and sank continuously, with one accord, upon the harsh wash of the waves against the ship’s side. The whole loftiness of the place, booming hollow to the great voice of the wind, swayed at the top like a tree, would go over bodily, as if borne down this way and that by the tremendous blasts.
“You’ve got to hurry up,” shouted Mr. Rout, as soon as he saw Jukes appear in the stokehold doorway.
Jukes’ glance was wandering and tipsy; his red face was puffy, as though he had overslept himself. He had had an arduous196 road, and had travelled over it with immense vivacity197, the agitation198 of his mind corresponding to the exertions199 of his body. He had rushed up out of the bunker, stumbling in the dark alleyway amongst a lot of bewildered men who, trod upon, asked “What’s up, sir?” in awed200 mutters all round him; — down the stokehold ladder, missing many iron rungs in his hurry, down into a place deep as a well, black as Tophet, tipping over back and forth26 like a see-saw. The water in the bilges thundered at each roll, and lumps of coal skipped to and fro, from end to end, rattling201 like an avalanche202 of pebbles203 on a slope of iron.
Somebody in there moaned with pain, and somebody else could be seen crouching over what seemed the prone204 body of a dead man; a lusty voice blasphemed; and the glow under each fire-door was like a pool of flaming blood radiating quietly in a velvety205 blackness.
A gust of wind struck upon the nape of Jukes’ neck and next moment he felt it streaming about his wet ankles. The stokehold ventilators hummed: in front of the six fire-doors two wild figures, stripped to the waist, staggered and stooped, wrestling with two shovels206.
“Hallo! Plenty of draught207 now,” yelled the second engineer at once, as though he had been all the time looking out for Jukes. The donkeyman, a dapper little chap with a dazzling fair skin and a tiny, gingery208 moustache, worked in a sort of mute transport. They were keeping a full head of steam, and a profound rumbling61, as of an empty furniture van trotting209 over a bridge, made a sustained bass210 to all the other noises of the place.
“Blowing off all the time,” went on yelling the second. With a sound as of a hundred scoured211 saucepans, the orifice of a ventilator spat212 upon his shoulder a sudden gush213 of salt water, and he volleyed a stream of curses upon all things on earth including his own soul, ripping and raving42, and all the time attending to his business. With a sharp clash of metal the ardent214 pale glare of the fire opened upon his bullet head, showing his spluttering lips, his insolent215 face, and with another clang closed like the white-hot wink216 of an iron eye.
“Where’s the blooming ship? Can you tell me? blast my eyes! Under water — or what? It’s coming down here in tons. Are the condemned217 cowls gone to Hades? Hey? Don’t you know anything — you jolly sailor-man you . . .?”
Jukes, after a bewildered moment, had been helped by a roll to dart218 through; and as soon as his eyes took in the comparative vastness, peace and brilliance of the engine-room, the ship, setting her stern heavily in the water, sent him charging head down upon Mr. Rout.
The chief’s arm, long like a tentacle219, and straightening as if worked by a spring, went out to meet him, and deflected220 his rush into a spin towards the speaking-tubes. At the same time Mr. Rout repeated earnestly:
“You’ve got to hurry up, whatever it is.”
Jukes yelled “Are you there, sir?” and listened. Nothing. Suddenly the roar of the wind fell straight into his ear, but presently a small voice shoved aside the shouting hurricane quietly.
“You, Jukes? — Well?”
Jukes was ready to talk: it was only time that seemed to be wanting. It was easy enough to account for everything. He could perfectly imagine the coolies battened down in the reeking221 ‘tween-deck, lying sick and scared between the rows of chests. Then one of these chests — or perhaps several at once — breaking loose in a roll, knocking out others, sides splitting, lids flying open, and all these clumsy Chinamen rising up in a body to save their property. Afterwards every fling of the ship would hurl222 that tramping, yelling mob here and there, from side to side, in a whirl of smashed wood, torn clothing, rolling dollars. A struggle once started, they would be unable to stop themselves. Nothing could stop them now except main force. It was a disaster. He had seen it, and that was all he could say. Some of them must be dead, he believed. The rest would go on fighting . . . .
He sent up his words, tripping over each other, crowding the narrow tube. They mounted as if into a silence of an enlightened comprehension dwelling223 alone up there with a storm. And Jukes wanted to be dismissed from the face of that odious224 trouble intruding225 on the great need of the ship.
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1
fore
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| adv.在前面；adj.先前的；在前部的；n.前部 | |
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leeward
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| adj.背风的；下风的 | |
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conversing
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| v.交谈，谈话( converse的现在分词 ) | |
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exasperated
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| adj.恼怒的 | |
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hoarseness
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| n.嘶哑， 刺耳 | |
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hoarse
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| adj.嘶哑的，沙哑的 | |
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7
utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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engrossing
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| adj.使人全神贯注的，引人入胜的v.使全神贯注( engross的现在分词 ) | |
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hip
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| n.臀部，髋；屋脊 | |
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daunted
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| 使（某人）气馁，威吓( daunt的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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abjectly
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| 凄惨地； 绝望地； 糟透地； 悲惨地 | |
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loathsome
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| adj.讨厌的，令人厌恶的 | |
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numbness
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| n.无感觉，麻木，惊呆 | |
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gale
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| n.大风，强风，一阵闹声（尤指笑声等） | |
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suspense
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| n.（对可能发生的事）紧张感，担心，挂虑 | |
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16
catastrophe
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| n.大灾难，大祸 | |
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17
fatigue
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| n.疲劳，劳累 | |
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18
mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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19
tumult
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| n.喧哗；激动，混乱；吵闹 | |
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insidious
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| adj.阴险的，隐匿的，暗中为害的，（疾病）不知不觉之间加剧 | |
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21
penetrates
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| v.穿过( penetrate的第三人称单数 )；刺入；了解；渗透 | |
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22
incorrigible
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| adj.难以纠正的，屡教不改的 | |
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23
momentary
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| adj.片刻的，瞬息的；短暂的 | |
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24
beheld
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| v.看，注视( behold的过去式和过去分词 )；瞧；看呀；（叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现）哎哟 | |
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25
worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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26
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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27
eyebrows
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| 眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 ) | |
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28
resolute
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| adj.坚决的，果敢的 | |
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29
breach
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| n.违反，不履行；破裂；vt.冲破，攻破 | |
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30
monstrously
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31
crests
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| v.到达山顶（或浪峰）( crest的第三人称单数 )；到达洪峰，达到顶点 | |
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32
ferocious
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| adj.凶猛的，残暴的，极度的，十分强烈的 | |
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33
seething
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| 沸腾的，火热的 | |
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34
scurry
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| vi.急匆匆地走；使急赶；催促；n.快步急跑，疾走；仓皇奔跑声；骤雨，骤雪；短距离赛马 | |
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35
rigid
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| adj.严格的，死板的；刚硬的，僵硬的 | |
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36
ominous
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| adj.不祥的，不吉的，预兆的，预示的 | |
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37
haphazard
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| adj.无计划的，随意的，杂乱无章的 | |
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38
folly
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| n.愚笨，愚蠢，蠢事，蠢行，傻话 | |
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penetrated
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| adj. 击穿的，鞭辟入里的 动词penetrate的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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40
corrupted
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| （使）败坏( corrupt的过去式和过去分词 )； （使）腐化； 引起（计算机文件等的）错误； 破坏 | |
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41
craving
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| n.渴望,热望 | |
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42
raving
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| adj.说胡话的；疯狂的，怒吼的；非常漂亮的；令人醉心[痴心]的v.胡言乱语(rave的现在分词)n.胡话；疯话adv.胡言乱语地；疯狂地 | |
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43
fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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44
crook
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| v.使弯曲；n.小偷，骗子，贼；弯曲(处) | |
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45
admonishing
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| v.劝告( admonish的现在分词 )；训诫；（温和地）责备；轻责 | |
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46
bawl
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| v.大喊大叫，大声地喊，咆哮 | |
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47
exhortation
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| n.劝告，规劝 | |
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48
dismal
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| adj.阴沉的，凄凉的，令人忧郁的，差劲的 | |
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49
groan
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| vi./n.呻吟，抱怨；(发出)呻吟般的声音 | |
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50
scuttling
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| n.船底穿孔，打开通海阀（沉船用）v.使船沉没( scuttle的现在分词 )；快跑，急走 | |
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51
unreasonable
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| adj.不讲道理的，不合情理的，过度的 | |
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52
snug
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| adj.温暖舒适的，合身的，安全的；v.使整洁干净，舒适地依靠，紧贴；n.（英）酒吧里的私房 | |
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53
grumble
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| vi.抱怨；咕哝；n.抱怨，牢骚；咕哝，隆隆声 | |
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54
peevishly
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| adv．暴躁地 | |
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55
execration
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| n.诅咒，念咒，憎恶 | |
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56
whine
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| v.哀号，号哭；n.哀鸣 | |
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57
distressed
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| 痛苦的 | |
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58
nagging
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| adj.唠叨的，挑剔的；使人不得安宁的v.不断地挑剔或批评（某人）( nag的现在分词 )；不断地烦扰或伤害（某人）；无休止地抱怨；不断指责 | |
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59
embittered
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| v.使怨恨，激怒( embitter的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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60
grumbling
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| adj. 喃喃鸣不平的, 出怨言的 | |
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61
rumbling
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| n. 隆隆声, 辘辘声 adj. 隆隆响的 动词rumble的现在分词 | |
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62
cargo
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| n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物 | |
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63
budge
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| v.移动一点儿；改变立场 | |
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64
rim
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| n.(圆物的)边，轮缘；边界 | |
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65
perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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66
clattering
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| 发出咔哒声（clatter的现在分词形式） | |
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67
clatter
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| v./n.(使)发出连续而清脆的撞击声 | |
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68
thump
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| v.重击，砰然地响；n.重击，重击声 | |
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69
thumps
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| n.猪肺病；砰的重击声( thump的名词复数 )v.重击， （指心脏）急速跳动( thump的第三人称单数 ) | |
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70
remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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71
desperately
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| adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地 | |
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72
regain
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| vt.重新获得，收复，恢复 | |
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73
scrambling
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| v.快速爬行( scramble的现在分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞 | |
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74
unfamiliar
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| adj.陌生的，不熟悉的 | |
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75
counteract
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| vt.对…起反作用，对抗，抵消 | |
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76
battered
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| adj.磨损的；v.连续猛击；磨损 | |
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77
tightened
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| 收紧( tighten的过去式和过去分词 )； （使）变紧； （使）绷紧； 加紧 | |
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78
vaguely
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| adv.含糊地，暖昧地 | |
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79
shrieks
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| n.尖叫声( shriek的名词复数 )v.尖叫( shriek的第三人称单数 ) | |
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80
infinitely
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| adv.无限地，无穷地 | |
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81
poignant
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| adj.令人痛苦的，辛酸的，惨痛的 | |
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82
ponderous
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| adj.沉重的，笨重的，(文章)冗长的 | |
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83
seaman
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| n.海员，水手，水兵 | |
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84
gust
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| n.阵风，突然一阵（雨、烟等），（感情的）迸发 | |
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85
doorway
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| n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径 | |
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86
penetrating
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| adj.（声音）响亮的，尖锐的adj.（气味）刺激的adj.（思想）敏锐的，有洞察力的 | |
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87
loomed
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| v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的过去式和过去分词 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近 | |
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88
slant
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| v.倾斜，倾向性地编写或报道；n.斜面，倾向 | |
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slanting
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| 倾斜的，歪斜的 | |
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90
planks
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| （厚）木板( plank的名词复数 )； 政纲条目，政策要点 | |
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91
clenched
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| v.紧握，抓紧，咬紧( clench的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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92
astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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93
precipitated
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| v.（突如其来地）使发生( precipitate的过去式和过去分词 )；促成；猛然摔下；使沉淀 | |
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94
trampling
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| 踩( trample的现在分词 )； 践踏； 无视； 侵犯 | |
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95
shuffling
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| adj. 慢慢移动的, 滑移的 动词shuffle的现在分词形式 | |
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96
mound
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| n.土墩，堤，小山；v.筑堤，用土堆防卫 | |
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97
writhing
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| （因极度痛苦而）扭动或翻滚( writhe的现在分词 ) | |
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98
inert
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| adj.无活动能力的，惰性的；迟钝的 | |
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99
brutal
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| adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的 | |
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100
upwards
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| adv.向上，在更高处...以上 | |
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101
horrified
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| a.(表现出)恐惧的 | |
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102
extremity
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| n.末端，尽头；尽力；终极；极度 | |
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103
malignant
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| adj.恶性的，致命的；恶意的，恶毒的 | |
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104
inclement
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| adj.严酷的，严厉的，恶劣的 | |
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105
minor
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| adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修 | |
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106
appeased
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| 安抚，抚慰( appease的过去式和过去分词 )； 绥靖（满足另一国的要求以避免战争） | |
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107
subsided
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| 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 | |
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108
posture
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| n.姿势，姿态，心态，态度；v.作出某种姿势 | |
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109
bleating
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| v.（羊，小牛）叫( bleat的现在分词 )；哭诉；发出羊叫似的声音；轻声诉说 | |
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110
absurdity
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| n.荒谬，愚蠢；谬论 | |
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111
unwilling
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| adj.不情愿的 | |
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112
rout
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| n.溃退，溃败；v.击溃，打垮 | |
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113
devoured
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| 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 | |
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114
savagely
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| adv. 野蛮地，残酷地 | |
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115
brutally
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| adv.残忍地，野蛮地，冷酷无情地 | |
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116
obsequious
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| adj.谄媚的，奉承的，顺从的 | |
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117
alluding
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| 提及，暗指( allude的现在分词 ) | |
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118
steadily
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| adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地 | |
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119
descended
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| a.为...后裔的，出身于...的 | |
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120
scramble
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| v.爬行，攀爬，杂乱蔓延，碎片，片段，废料 | |
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121
enraged
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| 使暴怒( enrage的过去式和过去分词 )； 歜； 激愤 | |
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122
irritably
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| ad.易生气地 | |
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123
stunning
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| adj.极好的；使人晕倒的 | |
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124
calves
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| 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 | |
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125
clattered
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| 发出咔哒声（clatter的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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126
thumping
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| adj.重大的，巨大的；重击的；尺码大的；极好的adv.极端地；非常地v.重击(thump的现在分词)；狠打；怦怦地跳；全力支持 | |
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127
swarming
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| 密集( swarm的现在分词 )； 云集； 成群地移动； 蜜蜂或其他飞行昆虫成群地飞来飞去 | |
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128
intervals
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| n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 )；间隔时间；[数学]区间；（戏剧、电影或音乐会的）幕间休息 | |
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129
incessantly
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| ad.不停地 | |
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130
steer
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| vt.驾驶，为…操舵；引导；vi.驾驶 | |
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131
gusts
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| 一阵强风( gust的名词复数 )； （怒、笑等的）爆发； （感情的）迸发； 发作 | |
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132
rattled
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| 慌乱的，恼火的 | |
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133
shutters
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| 百叶窗( shutter的名词复数 )； （照相机的）快门 | |
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134
sweeping
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| adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的 | |
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135
propped
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| 支撑，支持，维持( prop的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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136
brass
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| n.黄铜；黄铜器，铜管乐器 | |
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137
annoyance
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| n.恼怒，生气，烦恼 | |
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138
fluffy
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| adj.有绒毛的，空洞的 | |
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139
skull
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| n.头骨；颅骨 | |
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140
glistening
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| adj.闪耀的，反光的v.湿物闪耀，闪亮( glisten的现在分词 ) | |
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141
crimson
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| n./adj.深(绯)红色(的)；vi.脸变绯红色 | |
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142
defiantly
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| adv.挑战地，大胆对抗地 | |
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143
corpse
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| n.尸体，死尸 | |
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144
muddled
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| adj.混乱的；糊涂的；头脑昏昏然的v.弄乱，弄糟( muddle的过去式)；使糊涂；对付，混日子 | |
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145
wriggling
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| v.扭动，蠕动，蜿蜒行进( wriggle的现在分词 )；（使身体某一部位）扭动；耍滑不做，逃避（应做的事等）；蠕蠕 | |
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146
pivot
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| v.在枢轴上转动；装枢轴，枢轴；adj.枢轴的 | |
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147
twitched
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| vt.& vi.（使）抽动，（使）颤动（twitch的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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148
austerely
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| adv.严格地，朴质地 | |
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149
flickered
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| （通常指灯光）闪烁，摇曳( flicker的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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150
abrupt
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| adj.突然的，意外的；唐突的，鲁莽的 | |
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151
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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152
uproar
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| n.骚动，喧嚣，鼎沸 | |
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153
applied
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| adj.应用的；v.应用，适用 | |
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154
standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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155
pulsation
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| n.脉搏，悸动，脉动；搏动性 | |
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156
hissing
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| n. 发嘶嘶声, 蔑视 动词hiss的现在分词形式 | |
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157
hiss
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| v.发出嘶嘶声；发嘘声表示不满 | |
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158
crouching
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| v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的现在分词 ) | |
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159
pulsating
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| adj.搏动的，脉冲的v.有节奏地舒张及收缩( pulsate的现在分词 )；跳动；脉动；受（激情）震动 | |
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160
irritation
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| n.激怒，恼怒，生气 | |
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161
attentive
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| adj.注意的，专心的；关心(别人)的，殷勤的 | |
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162
animated
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| adj.生气勃勃的，活跃的，愉快的 | |
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163
exclamations
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| n.呼喊( exclamation的名词复数 )；感叹；感叹语；感叹词 | |
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164
copper
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| n.铜；铜币；铜器；adj.铜(制)的；(紫)铜色的 | |
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165
poising
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| 使平衡( poise的现在分词 )； 保持（某种姿势）； 抓紧； 使稳定 | |
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166
eyelids
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| n.眼睑( eyelid的名词复数 )；眼睛也不眨一下；不露声色；面不改色 | |
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167
brilliance
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| n.光辉，辉煌，壮丽，（卓越的）才华，才智 | |
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168
trumpet
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| n.喇叭，喇叭声；v.吹喇叭，吹嘘 | |
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169
flickering
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| adj.闪烁的，摇曳的，一闪一闪的 | |
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170
machinery
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| n.(总称)机械，机器；机构 | |
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171
swelling
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| n.肿胀 | |
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172
cylinders
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| n.圆筒( cylinder的名词复数 )；圆柱；汽缸；（尤指用作容器的）圆筒状物 | |
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173
cylinder
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| n.圆筒，柱(面)，汽缸 | |
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174
resonance
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| n.洪亮；共鸣；共振 | |
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175
irresistible
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| adj.非常诱人的，无法拒绝的，无法抗拒的 | |
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176
dodged
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| v.闪躲( dodge的过去式和过去分词 )；回避 | |
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177
deliberately
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| adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地 | |
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178
smoothly
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| adv.平滑地，顺利地，流利地，流畅地 | |
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179
commingling
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| v.混合，掺和，合并( commingle的现在分词 ) | |
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180
simultaneously
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| adv.同时发生地，同时进行地 | |
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181
blight
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| n.枯萎病；造成破坏的因素；vt.破坏，摧残 | |
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182
languor
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| n.无精力，倦怠 | |
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183
slippers
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| n. 拖鞋 | |
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184
protruded
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| v.（使某物）伸出，（使某物）突出( protrude的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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185
stature
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| n.（高度）水平，（高度）境界，身高，身材 | |
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186
lengthened
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| （时间或空间）延长，伸长( lengthen的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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187
Augmented
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| adj.增音的 动词augment的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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188
gaped
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| v.目瞪口呆地凝视( gape的过去式和过去分词 )；张开，张大 | |
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189
curt
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| adj.简短的，草率的 | |
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190
indicator
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| n.指标；指示物，指示者；指示器 | |
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191
symbolic
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| adj.象征性的，符号的，象征主义的 | |
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192
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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193
downwards
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| adj./adv.向下的（地），下行的（地） | |
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194
wheeze
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| n.喘息声，气喘声；v.喘息着说 | |
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195
determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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196
arduous
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| adj.艰苦的，费力的，陡峭的 | |
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197
vivacity
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| n.快活，活泼，精神充沛 | |
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198
agitation
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| n.搅动；搅拌；鼓动，煽动 | |
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199
exertions
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| n.努力( exertion的名词复数 )；费力；（能力、权力等的）运用；行使 | |
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200
awed
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| adj.充满敬畏的，表示敬畏的v.使敬畏，使惊惧( awe的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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201
rattling
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| 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 | |
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202
avalanche
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| n.雪崩，大量涌来 | |
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203
pebbles
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| [复数]鹅卵石； 沙砾； 卵石，小圆石( pebble的名词复数 ) | |
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204
prone
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| adj.(to)易于…的，很可能…的；俯卧的 | |
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205
velvety
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| adj. 像天鹅绒的, 轻软光滑的, 柔软的 | |
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206
shovels
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| n.铲子( shovel的名词复数 )；锹；推土机、挖土机等的)铲；铲形部份v.铲子( shovel的第三人称单数 )；锹；推土机、挖土机等的)铲；铲形部份 | |
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207
draught
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| n.拉，牵引，拖；一网（饮，吸，阵)；顿服药量，通风；v.起草，设计 | |
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208
gingery
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| adj.姜味的 | |
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209
trotting
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| 小跑，急走( trot的现在分词 )； 匆匆忙忙地走 | |
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210
bass
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| n.男低音(歌手)；低音乐器；低音大提琴 | |
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211
scoured
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| 走遍（某地）搜寻（人或物）( scour的过去式和过去分词 )； （用力）刷； 擦净； 擦亮 | |
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212
spat
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| n.口角，掌击；v.发出呼噜呼噜声 | |
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213
gush
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| v.喷，涌；滔滔不绝(说话)；n.喷，涌流；迸发 | |
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214
ardent
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| adj.热情的，热烈的，强烈的，烈性的 | |
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215
insolent
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| adj.傲慢的，无理的 | |
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216
wink
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| n.眨眼，使眼色，瞬间；v.眨眼，使眼色，闪烁 | |
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217
condemned
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| adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词 | |
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218
dart
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| v.猛冲，投掷；n.飞镖，猛冲 | |
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219
tentacle
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| n.触角，触须，触手 | |
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220
deflected
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| 偏离的 | |
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221
reeking
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| v.发出浓烈的臭气( reek的现在分词 )；散发臭气；发出难闻的气味 (of sth)；明显带有（令人不快或生疑的跡象） | |
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222
hurl
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| vt.猛投，力掷，声叫骂 | |
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223
dwelling
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| n.住宅，住所，寓所 | |
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224
odious
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| adj.可憎的，讨厌的 | |
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225
intruding
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| v.侵入，侵扰，打扰( intrude的现在分词)；把…强加于 | |
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