CHAPTER IX. ASHORE.

Arrived on deck it did not take the boys long to realize what had happened. The yacht was aground, but whether on a reef of rocks or on the shore was not at first plain. Suddenly a blinding flash of lightning showed them the true situation. The Valkyrie lay with her bow ashore¹ amidst what appeared to be a confused tangle² of roots and low growing shrubs³. More than this it was impossible to make out. One thing alone was clear—only too clear,—the voyage of the yacht was over. She lay canted far over to one side, making it a difficult matter to stand steadily⁵ on her sloping deck.

The crew were running about as if possessed⁶. Any slight amount of discipline that Medway and Hemming⁷ might have exercised over them had vanished in this emergency. Some of them were actually trying to get one of the two remaining boats over the side regardless of the mountainous sea that was running. The play of the lightning was incessant⁸. The whole sky appeared to be ablaze⁹ with livid fire. In the blue glare the figures on deck were outlined as plainly as if on the screen of a moving picture theatre. But it was grim, real-life drama that was being enacted¹⁰.

The boys saw Medway and Hemming, with revolvers in their hands, go slipping and sliding across the inclined deck and rush into the midst of the group of seamen¹¹ about the boat.

“drop those falls, you fools!” they heard Hemming shout above the tempest. “It’s death to launch a boat in this!”

But the panic-stricken sailors appeared not to notice the two mates. They struggled with the boat and, finally, actually succeeded in getting it overboard. Then they piled into it helter skelter. Some of them fell overboard in their eagerness, but by the glare of the lightning the boys could see that those in the boat dragged them on board again before they were sent to the bottom.

A huge wave came bearing down on them and lifted the boat high in the air. The boys uttered a shout of alarm. It looked inevitable¹³ that the boat would be smashed to bits against the yacht’s side. But those on board her managed to stave the frail¹⁴ craft off, and in a minute another big sea swept the little boat with her load of human beings off into the darkness beyond their ken¹².

Medway and Hemming stood leaning out over the bulwarks¹⁵ peering into the night. They were shouting something, but the boys could not hear what.

The furious wind caught their words and hurled¹⁶ them broadcast before they had properly left their lips.

“Is she breaking up?”

Tom shouted the words into Jack¹⁷’s ear as the two boys, clinging to the shrouds¹⁸, stood on the inclined deck.

“I don’t think so,” was Jack’s reply, yelled with his hands to his mouth, funnel-wise, “she’s grounded so far on shore that she’s safe for the time being, anyway.”

“We’d better go below and see how the others are getting on,” came from Tom the next minute.

In their excitement and fright the boys had utterly¹⁹ forgotten for the time being their companions. The thought of the plight²⁰ that they might be in now recurred²¹ to them with redoubled force. Slipping along the precipitous deck they made their way to the cabin companionway. As they went they noticed the marks of the relentless²² axes of the crew. Except the main cabin house amidship, the yacht had been practically stripped of every bit of available timber. She looked, as indeed she was, a sorry derelict.

It is now necessary to turn back a little and discover how the prisoners in the adjoining cabin had been faring. It will be recalled that when Jack and Tom had been summarily taken from the cabin they shared with Dick Donovan, the next stateroom was occupied by Mr. Chadwick, Professor Von Dinkelspeil and Captain Sprowl.

The two weeks that had been spent by the boys in the engine-room had passed like eternity²³ to those locked in the cabins. Of course, they had been able to communicate by means of the “Morse” tappings. But Dick’s knowledge of telegraphy was so limited that he had not been able to understand much of what was communicated to him. Nor had he been able, except after a long interval²⁴, to explain to the others that Jack and Tom had been taken from the cabin for some unknown reason connected with the machinery²⁵ of the yacht.

Food had been served to the prisoners regularly, but from the sailors who brought it they had received no word of the fate of the two boys, nor could even the promise of bribes²⁶ elicit²⁷ a word from the men. Under the strain of their captivity²⁸ and their uncertainty²⁹ concerning Jack and Tom, Mr. Chadwick’s health had suffered seriously. Dick, too, had suffered from a kind of tropical fever, and lay in a semi-conscious condition in his cabin for days. This was the more unfortunate as Professor Dinkelspeil had given, through Mr. Chadwick’s telegraphy, full instructions to the young reporter concerning the movable partition.

It had been agreed by the prisoners that Dick should remove the partition and get into the next cabin. There was a chance that the door would be open, in which case Dick might make his way into the main cabin and unlock their door in which they knew the key was kept. What they would do after this was not arranged; but they all felt that if they could get out they might find some way of bettering their situation.

Dick’s illness interfered³⁰ with these plans; but the night that the storm broke he had forced himself to rise from his bunk³¹, and despite his weakness he determined³² to try to remove the partition separating him from the next room. It was in panels, as he knew, and with the aid of his knife, which, luckily, the men in possession of the yacht had not thought worth taking from him, he succeeded in removing the screws that held one of the panels in place.

He lifted the panel out and found himself looking into the next cabin.

It was brilliantly lighted and, to his astonishment³³, the walls were lined with racks in which were rifles and pistols. It was, in fact, Medway’s cabin, to which he had removed the yacht’s armory³⁴ so as to have it out of the way of any of the crew who might take it into their heads to form a second mutiny.

While the yacht rolled and plunged³⁵ in the hurricane, Dick climbed through the hole made by removing the panel. Once in the cabin he stood stock still, undetermined what to do. After a minute’s reflection he decided³⁶ to see if the door would open. But he had hardly taken a step with this intention in view when the door was flung violently open and Hemming stood before him.

For one instant both stood perfectly³⁷ still. Dick’s knees shook under him. Even in his usual health he would have been no match for the burly Hemming, but as it was he felt incapable³⁸ of putting up even the most feeble resistance.

“You young imp⁴ of Satan, what are you doing in here?” bellowed³⁹ Hemming, with a snarl⁴⁰ like an angry tiger.

He raised his fist and sprang forward. Dick, more by instinct than anything else, seized one of the pistols hanging on the wall. Hemming paused as the boy leveled the weapon at him. But the next instant he sprang forward as if to fell the boy to the ground. Dick jumped back to avoid a heavy blow and his finger involuntarily pressed the trigger.

A click resulted, but there was no explosion.

The weapon was unloaded. With a shout of triumph Hemming rushed him, but just as his hands were on Dick’s throat there came a stunning⁴¹ crash that hurled them both to the floor.

When Dick, who had rolled under a bunk with the force of the upheaval⁴², regained⁴³ his feet, he was alone in the cabin. Dazed and half stunned⁴⁴, he stood still trying to collect his thoughts. Suddenly there came a mighty⁴⁵ pounding on the wall of the cabin he had just left. This was accompanied by muffled⁴⁶ shouts.

“Help!” was what Dick made out above the uproar⁴⁷ about him.

He rushed to the door which Hemming had left open behind him. The lights in the main cabin were still on and showed him that the lower part of the place was awash with water. He had hardly time to realize this discovery when the lights went out and the place was plunged in total darkness.

1 ashore   

adv.在(向)岸上，上岸

参考例句：

• The children got ashore before the tide came in.涨潮前，孩子们就上岸了。
• He laid hold of the rope and pulled the boat ashore.他抓住绳子拉船靠岸。

2 tangle   

n.纠缠；缠结；混乱；v.(使)缠绕；变乱

参考例句：

• I shouldn't tangle with Peter.He is bigger than me.我不应该与彼特吵架。他的块头比我大。
• If I were you, I wouldn't tangle with them.我要是你，我就不跟他们争吵。

3 shrubs   

灌木( shrub的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The gardener spent a complete morning in trimming those two shrubs. 园丁花了整个上午的时间修剪那两处灌木林。
• These shrubs will need more light to produce flowering shoots. 这些灌木需要更多的光照才能抽出开花的新枝。

4 imp   

n.顽童

参考例句：

• What a little imp you are!你这个淘气包！
• There's a little imp always running with him.他总有一个小鬼跟着。

5 steadily   

adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地

参考例句：

• The scope of man's use of natural resources will steadily grow.人类利用自然资源的广度将日益扩大。
• Our educational reform was steadily led onto the correct path.我们的教学改革慢慢上轨道了。

6 possessed   

adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的

参考例句：

• He flew out of the room like a man possessed.他像着了魔似地猛然冲出房门。
• He behaved like someone possessed.他行为举止像是魔怔了。

7 hemming   

卷边

参考例句：

• "Now stop hemming and hawing, and tell me about it, Edward. "别再这个那个的啦，跟我说说吧，爱德华。 来自英汉文学 - 败坏赫德莱堡
• All ideas of stopping holes and hemming in the German intruders are vicious. 一切想要堵塞缺口和围困德国侵略军的办法都是错误的。

8 incessant   

adj.不停的，连续的

参考例句：

• We have had incessant snowfall since yesterday afternoon.从昨天下午开始就持续不断地下雪。
• She is tired of his incessant demands for affection.她厌倦了他对感情的不断索取。

9 ablaze   

adj.着火的，燃烧的；闪耀的，灯火辉煌的

参考例句：

• The main street was ablaze with lights in the evening.晚上，那条主要街道灯火辉煌。
• Forests are sometimes set ablaze by lightning.森林有时因雷击而起火。

10 enacted   

制定（法律），通过（法案）( enact的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• legislation enacted by parliament 由议会通过的法律
• Outside in the little lobby another scene was begin enacted. 外面的小休息室里又是另一番景象。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

11 seamen   

n.海员

参考例句：

• Experienced seamen will advise you about sailing in this weather. 有经验的海员会告诉你在这种天气下的航行情况。
• In the storm, many seamen wished they were on shore. 在暴风雨中，许多海员想，要是他们在陆地上就好了。

12 ken   

n.视野，知识领域

参考例句：

• Such things are beyond my ken.我可不懂这些事。
• Abstract words are beyond the ken of children.抽象的言辞超出小孩所理解的范围.

13 inevitable   

adj.不可避免的，必然发生的

参考例句：

• Mary was wearing her inevitable large hat.玛丽戴着她总是戴的那顶大帽子。
• The defeat had inevitable consequences for British policy.战败对英国政策不可避免地产生了影响。

14 frail   

adj.身体虚弱的；易损坏的

参考例句：

• Mrs. Warner is already 96 and too frail to live by herself.华纳太太已经九十六岁了，身体虚弱，不便独居。
• She lay in bed looking particularly frail.她躺在床上，看上去特别虚弱。

15 bulwarks   

n.堡垒( bulwark的名词复数 )；保障；支柱；舷墙

参考例句：

• The freedom of the press is one of the great bulwarks of liberty. 新闻自由是自由最大的保障之一。 来自辞典例句
• Surgery and X-irradiation nevertheless remain the bulwarks of cancer treatment throughout the world. 外科手术和X射线疗法依然是全世界治疗癌症的主要方法。 来自辞典例句

16 hurled   

v.猛投，用力掷( hurl的过去式和过去分词 )；大声叫骂

参考例句：

• He hurled a brick through the window. 他往窗户里扔了块砖。
• The strong wind hurled down bits of the roof. 大风把屋顶的瓦片刮了下来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

18 shrouds   

n.裹尸布( shroud的名词复数 )；寿衣；遮蔽物；覆盖物v.隐瞒( shroud的第三人称单数 )；保密

参考例句：

• 'For instance,' returned Madame Defarge, composedly,'shrouds.' “比如说，”德伐日太太平静地回答，“裹尸布。” 来自英汉文学 - 双城记
• Figure 3-10 illustrates the result of a study or conical shrouds. 图3-10表明了对锥形外壳的研究结果。 来自辞典例句

19 utterly   

adv.完全地，绝对地

参考例句：

• Utterly devoted to the people,he gave his life in saving his patients.他忠于人民，把毕生精力用于挽救患者的生命。
• I was utterly ravished by the way she smiled.她的微笑使我完全陶醉了。

20 plight   

n.困境，境况，誓约，艰难；vt.宣誓，保证，约定

参考例句：

• The leader was much concerned over the plight of the refugees.那位领袖对难民的困境很担忧。
• She was in a most helpless plight.她真不知如何是好。

21 recurred   

再发生，复发( recur的过去式和过去分词 )； 治愈

参考例句：

• Old memories constantly recurred to him. 往事经常浮现在他的脑海里。
• She always winced when he recurred to the subject of his poems. 每逢他一提到他的诗作的时候，她总是有点畏缩。

22 relentless   

adj.残酷的，不留情的，无怜悯心的

参考例句：

• The traffic noise is relentless.交通车辆的噪音一刻也不停止。
• Their training has to be relentless.他们的训练必须是无情的。

23 eternity   

n.不朽，来世；永恒，无穷

参考例句：

• The dull play seemed to last an eternity.这场乏味的剧似乎演个没完没了。
• Finally,Ying Tai and Shan Bo could be together for all of eternity.英台和山伯终能双宿双飞，永世相随。

24 interval   

n.间隔，间距；幕间休息，中场休息

参考例句：

• The interval between the two trees measures 40 feet.这两棵树的间隔是40英尺。
• There was a long interval before he anwsered the telephone.隔了好久他才回了电话。

25 machinery   

n.(总称)机械，机器；机构

参考例句：

• Has the machinery been put up ready for the broadcast?广播器材安装完毕了吗？
• Machinery ought to be well maintained all the time.机器应该随时注意维护。

26 bribes   

n.贿赂( bribe的名词复数 )；向（某人）行贿，贿赂v.贿赂( bribe的第三人称单数 )；向（某人）行贿，贿赂

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• corrupt officials accepting bribes 接受贿赂的贪官污吏

27 elicit   

v.引出,抽出,引起

参考例句：

• It was designed to elicit the best thinking within the government. 机构的设置是为了在政府内部集思广益。
• Don't try to elicit business secrets from me. I won't tell you anything. 你休想从我这里套问出我们的商业机密, 我什么都不会告诉你的。

28 captivity   

n.囚禁；被俘；束缚

参考例句：

• A zoo is a place where live animals are kept in captivity for the public to see.动物园是圈养动物以供公众观看的场所。
• He was held in captivity for three years.他被囚禁叁年。

29 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。

30 interfered   

v.干预( interfere的过去式和过去分词 )；调停；妨碍；干涉

参考例句：

• Complete absorption in sports interfered with his studies. 专注于运动妨碍了他的学业。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I am not going to be interfered with. 我不想别人干扰我的事情。 来自《简明英汉词典》

31 bunk   

n.(车、船等倚壁而设的)铺位；废话

参考例句：

• He left his bunk and went up on deck again.他离开自己的铺位再次走到甲板上。
• Most economists think his theories are sheer bunk.大多数经济学家认为他的理论纯属胡说。

32 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

33 astonishment   

n.惊奇，惊异

参考例句：

• They heard him give a loud shout of astonishment.他们听见他惊奇地大叫一声。
• I was filled with astonishment at her strange action.我对她的奇怪举动不胜惊异。

34 armory   

n.纹章，兵工厂，军械库

参考例句：

• Nuclear weapons will play a less prominent part in NATO's armory in the future.核武器将来在北约的军械中会起较次要的作用。
• Every March the Armory Show sets up shop in New York.每年三月，军械博览会都会在纽约设置展场。

35 plunged   

v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降

参考例句：

• The train derailed and plunged into the river. 火车脱轨栽进了河里。
• She lost her balance and plunged 100 feet to her death. 她没有站稳，从100英尺的高处跌下摔死了。

36 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

37 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

38 incapable   

adj.无能力的，不能做某事的

参考例句：

• He would be incapable of committing such a cruel deed.他不会做出这么残忍的事。
• Computers are incapable of creative thought.计算机不会创造性地思维。

39 bellowed   

v.发出吼叫声，咆哮（尤指因痛苦）( bellow的过去式和过去分词 )；（愤怒地）说出（某事），大叫

参考例句：

• They bellowed at her to stop. 他们吼叫着让她停下。
• He bellowed with pain when the tooth was pulled out. 当牙齿被拔掉时，他痛得大叫。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

40 snarl   

v.吼叫，怒骂，纠缠，混乱；n.混乱，缠结，咆哮

参考例句：

• At the seaside we could hear the snarl of the waves.在海边我们可以听见波涛的咆哮。
• The traffic was all in a snarl near the accident.事故发生处附近交通一片混乱。

41 stunning   

adj.极好的；使人晕倒的

参考例句：

• His plays are distinguished only by their stunning mediocrity.他的戏剧与众不同之处就是平凡得出奇。
• The finished effect was absolutely stunning.完工后的效果非常美。

42 upheaval   

n.胀起，(地壳)的隆起；剧变，动乱

参考例句：

• It was faced with the greatest social upheaval since World War Ⅱ.它面临第二次世界大战以来最大的社会动乱。
• The country has been thrown into an upheaval.这个国家已经陷入动乱之中。

43 regained   

复得( regain的过去式和过去分词 )； 赢回； 重回； 复至某地

参考例句：

• The majority of the people in the world have regained their liberty. 世界上大多数人已重获自由。
• She hesitated briefly but quickly regained her poise. 她犹豫片刻，但很快恢复了镇静。

44 stunned   

adj. 震惊的，惊讶的 动词stun的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• The fall stunned me for a moment. 那一下摔得我昏迷了片刻。
• The leaders of the Kopper Company were then stunned speechless. 科伯公司的领导们当时被惊得目瞪口呆。

45 mighty   

adj.强有力的；巨大的

参考例句：

• A mighty force was about to break loose.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。
• The mighty iceberg came into view.巨大的冰山出现在眼前。

46 muffled   

adj.（声音）被隔的；听不太清的；（衣服）裹严的；蒙住的v.压抑，捂住( muffle的过去式和过去分词 )；用厚厚的衣帽包着（自己）

参考例句：

• muffled voices from the next room 从隔壁房间里传来的沉闷声音
• There was a muffled explosion somewhere on their right. 在他们的右面什么地方有一声沉闷的爆炸声。 来自《简明英汉词典》

47 uproar   

n.骚动，喧嚣，鼎沸

参考例句：

• She could hear the uproar in the room.她能听见房间里的吵闹声。
• His remarks threw the audience into an uproar.他的讲话使听众沸腾起来。