But the professor was deaf to the New Englander’s scornful remarks. With a sheet of paper and a pencil he was busy taking a rubbing of the scrawled1 picture on the wall.
“Idt gorresponds in efery impordandt detail midt der pictures in der files of der society in Ber-r-r-lin,” he declared.
“Yes, and a fat chance your drawing has of ever sharing a bunk2 with it, if we don’t sight a change in the weather pretty soon,” growled3 the old sailor.
But the professor was deaf to these remarks. He worked painstakingly4 till he had reduced to paper a complete rubbing of the wall picture. Then he drew out a sketch5 book and made a carefully detailed6 drawing of it. As he worked, he actually hummed an odd little tune7 to himself. For the time being, in the glory of his discovery, he had completely forgotten in what grave danger he, and all of them, stood.
It was about mid-afternoon that the lattice-work at the top of the chamber8 was removed and some food, in stone jars, was lowered to them. With it came a jar of water and some coarse kind of bread made out of corn. The stuff in the jars proved to be some sort of stew9, with peppers and other vegetables in it. It was not at all bad and they made a hearty10 meal, using a small cup in turns by way of a spoon.
They felt somewhat better after the meal, such as it was, and while the professor continued his scrutiny11 of the walls, the others discussed their situation in all its bearings. The captain gazed longingly12 up toward the lattice which had been replaced after the food had been lowered.
“If only we had some way of climbing up there,” he said, “we’d at least have a fighting chance. That is, pervidin’ these varmints ain’t bust13 up the flying ship by this time.”
This last was not a thought to ease their anxiety. If they were to escape at all, they knew that it must be by means of the flying auto-ship. If the Indians had demolished14 it, they would not be much better off even if they did escape from their prison. In that trackless jungle they could hardly go a league without getting into difficulties. It would be a simple matter for the Indians to overtake them and effect their re-capture, in which case they would be even worse off.
“I wonder if it wouldn’t be possible to bribe15 one of them to give us our freedom,” said Mr. Chadwick, after a long silence, during which he had been absorbed in deep thought.
“How do you mean?” asked the captain. “These chaps have no use for money, and what else could you offer ‘em?”
“The diamonds,” rejoined Mr. Chadwick quietly.
“By the Flying Dutchman, I’d clean forgotten all about ‘em! Maybe we could buy one of ‘em in that way. It’s worth trying, anyhow. Are you sure you’ve got ‘em safe?”
“Here they are,” said Mr. Chadwick, diving into his garments and producing from his belt the six glistening16 stones.
The captain selected the largest and balanced it in his hand, toying with it as if he found a delight in its flashing, pellucid17 beauty. Mr. Chadwick had slipped the others back into his belt.
“Cracky, what a stone!” muttered the captain, as he examined the diamond. “It’s a king’s ransom18, that’s what it is, and here we are sitting around like bumps on a log and might as well be at the North Pole for all the good it is. Hullo! What’s that?”
A shadow had suddenly cut off the flood of afternoon sunlight that was pouring into their place of captivity19 through the lattice work grating. They all looked up swiftly and beheld20 the face of the red-robed interpreter. At once Captain Sprowl made a rapid movement to conceal21 the stone, but he was too late. The Indian, as had been noticed by them, had a remarkably22 expressive23 face. They could read on it as plain as print, as they looked up at him, that he had seen the diamond.
At almost the same instant his countenance24 vanished.
“There! Consarn it all!” grumbled25 the captain. “Now the fat’s in the fire for fair. He’s off to see the rest of the bunch and tell ‘em about the diamond. It’s all off now.”
“Do you think he will do that?” asked Mr. Chadwick.
“I do. Don’t you?” asked the skipper with some surprise.
“No, I don’t.”
“Why not?”
“For one reason, it wouldn’t be human nature. That fellow, if he covets26 the stone at all, will want it for himself. If he makes public what he knows, the stone will go to the chief. He has every reason for saying nothing.”
“Humph! I dunno but what that’s so. I reckon Injuns ain’t a heap different from other folks when it comes down to diamonds.”
“Especially in this case. I imagine from the fact that these stones were found in the canoe with the idol27 that they have some special significance. The thieves who took the idol must have found the stones not far from it, for it is not reasonable to suppose that having attempted such a daring feat28 they would waste much time in hunting for other booty.”
“Wa’al, that does sound reasonable,” admitted the captain. “I wish that chap would come back. I’d like to ‘parlez-vous’ a bit with him, or rather ‘habla Espanol,’ although it does puzzle a Christian29 to make out whether he’s talking Spanish or Chinee.”
Darkness came on and there was no sign of the reappearance of the interpreter. But nobody else had disturbed them, which appeared to confirm Mr. Chadwick’s theory that the man would keep his discovery to himself. It was probably some four hours after darkness had fallen that a whisper was borne to them from above.
“Se?or Capitan!” came the voice in low, cautious tones.
“That’s red-jacket for a million,” declared the skipper.
“Hullo,” he responded, “what do you want?”
From this point on, the conversation was in Spanish. But the captain’s frequent asides enabled the listeners to keep track of what was said. Not to detail the worthy30 skipper’s remarks, he informed his companions that “red-jacket,” as he called the interpreter, was prepared to lower a rope ladder and escort them to their machine, which he declared to be uninjured, if they on their part would give him the diamond.
As Mr. Chadwick had guessed, the stone had a religious significance. From what “red-jacket” said, it was one of six such stones, the possession of which proclaimed their owners the high-priests of the ugly idol. The state of Chekla’s kingdom was restless. There was a sort of movement against the priests; but the interpreter thought that if he could get possession of the diamond he would be able to gain great ascendency in his country, and possibly become the next ruler in case Chekla was overthrown31. At any rate, they didn’t bother much over his reasons for wanting the diamond. All they knew was that he was willing to barter32 their liberty for it, and that he appeared to have no idea that they still retained the other five stones.
“He says that if we’ll give him the stone, he’ll be here some time during the night with a rope ladder,” said the captain.
“Do you think he’s to be trusted?” asked Mr. Chadwick.
“Well, it’s just this way,” was the response. “If we give him the diamond and he doesn’t make good, we are no worse off than we were before. On the other hand, I think we can trust him. For one thing, he’s convinced that the diamond has something to do with that idol, and probably figures that the idol would fix him if he tried any funny business.”
“That sounds reasonable,” said Mr. Chadwick. “What do you think, boys?”
“I’d give him a peck of ‘em to get out of here,” declared Tom—a sentiment which the others heartily33 endorsed34. The diamonds were as so much dross35 to them beside their liberty.
The captain spoke36 a few words rapidly to the unseen figure at the lattice and soon a long string made of a grape vine came snaking down. It had a lump of pitch or rubber at the end, and in this the captain embedded37 what was, without doubt, one of the finest diamonds in the world.
“Talk about castin’ pearls before swine,” he growled as the rope was drawn38 upward. “But then it’s worth it. Yes, by Jim Hill, if he makes good, it’s worth it.”
The next few hours were passed in what can only be described as an agony of suspense39. The chances that “red-jacket” would play them false seemed to overwhelmingly outweigh40 the possibilities of his making good on his word. As the time dragged slowly by, they declared again and again that they had been fooled into giving up the stone, and despair came near overmastering the younger members of the party.
But just when it appeared impossible that they could endure the suspense a minute longer, they heard the lattice-work grating being moved. Through the opening they could see the stars, and then came a rustling41, grating sound and the lower end of a ladder, formed from twisted creepers, with iron-wood rungs dropped amongst them.
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收听单词发音
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1
scrawled
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| 乱涂，潦草地写( scrawl的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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2
bunk
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| n.(车、船等倚壁而设的)铺位；废话 | |
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3
growled
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| 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 | |
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4
painstakingly
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| adv. 费力地 苦心地 | |
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sketch
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| n.草图；梗概；素描；v.素描；概述 | |
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6
detailed
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| adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的 | |
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7
tune
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| n.调子；和谐，协调；v.调音，调节，调整 | |
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8
chamber
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| n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所 | |
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stew
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| n.炖汤，焖，烦恼；v.炖汤，焖，忧虑 | |
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10
hearty
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| adj.热情友好的；衷心的；尽情的，纵情的 | |
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scrutiny
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| n.详细检查，仔细观察 | |
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12
longingly
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| adv. 渴望地 热望地 | |
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13
bust
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| vt.打破；vi.爆裂；n.半身像；胸部 | |
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14
demolished
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| v.摧毁( demolish的过去式和过去分词 )；推翻；拆毁（尤指大建筑物）；吃光 | |
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15
bribe
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| n.贿赂；v.向…行贿，买通 | |
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16
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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17
pellucid
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| adj.透明的，简单的 | |
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18
ransom
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| n.赎金，赎身；v.赎回，解救 | |
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captivity
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| n.囚禁；被俘；束缚 | |
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20
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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21
conceal
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| v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽 | |
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22
remarkably
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| ad.不同寻常地，相当地 | |
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23
expressive
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| adj.表现的，表达…的，富于表情的 | |
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24
countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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25
grumbled
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| 抱怨( grumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 发牢骚； 咕哝； 发哼声 | |
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26
covets
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| v.贪求，觊觎( covet的第三人称单数 ) | |
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27
idol
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| n.偶像，红人，宠儿 | |
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28
feat
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| n.功绩；武艺，技艺；adj.灵巧的，漂亮的，合适的 | |
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29
Christian
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| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
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30
worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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31
overthrown
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| adj. 打翻的，推倒的，倾覆的 动词overthrow的过去分词 | |
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32
barter
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| n.物物交换，以货易货，实物交易 | |
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33
heartily
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| adv.衷心地，诚恳地，十分，很 | |
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34
endorsed
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| vt.& vi.endorse的过去式或过去分词形式v.赞同( endorse的过去式和过去分词 )；在（尤指支票的）背面签字；在（文件的）背面写评论；在广告上说本人使用并赞同某产品 | |
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35
dross
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| n.渣滓；无用之物 | |
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36
spoke
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| 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 | |
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37
embedded
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| a.扎牢的 | |
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38
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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39
suspense
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| n.（对可能发生的事）紧张感，担心，挂虑 | |
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40
outweigh
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| vt.比...更重，...更重要 | |
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41
rustling
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| n. 瑟瑟声，沙沙声 adj. 发沙沙声的 | |
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