“Well, I’m here, but where am I?” mused3 Jerry. “I wonder what vessel4 this is and how long she will remain afloat? Anyhow, if she does go under I can make a raft of something to keep afloat on. This isn’t half bad. Now let’s see where I’m at!”
Jerry knew that the best thing for him to do was to get some dry clothes on, provided he could find any, or, if not, to get his wet ones off[150] and let them dry. The weather was cold and damp, and the fog still prevailed, so much so that he could only see part of the deck of the derelict at a time.
The refugee also felt the need of food and something hot to drink, for though it was not winter his immersion5 in the sea, coupled to the fact that the last few days had been damp, cold ones, had not served to raise his vitality6.
“But first I’m going to see if any one else is on board,” mused Jerry, as he moved about, first, however, removing his soaked coat and trousers. His shoes he had loosed and let drop into the ocean soon after he began swimming.
“This is as good as a bathing suit, in case I meet any one,” mused the lad, as he glanced down at his underwear. “And I can’t stand those wet things. There must be bunks7 aboard, if nothing else, and I can crawl into one after a bit. But first I’m going to look about.”
He did not pause long to ascertain8 what sort of craft it was on which he found himself. That it was a derelict, and that it was probably the one that had crashed into the Sherman, or the craft into which the troopship had crashed, was very evident to Jerry Hopkins. That it was a derelict was sure, for there was not a sign of life on deck, nor was the vessel under command. There was no vestige9 of sail, and no smoke came from[151] her single funnel10, nor was there any vibration11 to tell of engines in motion.
Jerry made a quick tour of the deck, moving swiftly to restore his partially12 suspended circulation. The vessel showed many evidences of damage, whether by shell fire or collision Jerry could not determine. Her rails were broken in many places, and all her boats were gone except a broken one on the port davits. Looking over the side as best he could the lad decided13 that there was not much damage below the water line, or, if there were punctures14, the bulkheads confined the leakage15 to one small section.
“She floats pretty well,” mused Jerry, after he had made a tour of the craft and had seen no one on the deck. “She may ride quite a while yet. There’s no one up here, that’s sure, but that isn’t saying there mayn’t be some one below. I’m going to look.”
The sea was calm and the vessel rode on an almost even keel, so the lad had no difficulty in going below. In spite of her comparatively small size, the derelict contained many places where persons might be either in hiding, or perhaps ill or dead. But Jerry moved quickly about below, using his knowledge of ships which was not small, and as he moved here and there he shouted.
The echoes of his own voice were the only answers he received, and when he had penetrated[152] to the engine room, and even to the stokehold, and had seen the boilers16 cold and dead, and not a soul in sight, he came to the most natural conclusion.
“I’m all alone here!” he exclaimed aloud. Somehow, it seemed less lonely to speak in this way. “Well, since I’ve got to entertain myself,” mused Jerry whimsically, “I’m going to see if there is anything I can wear and anything I can eat. Might as well be as comfortable as I can since I’m to be ‘cook and captain too, and mate’ of this derelict. Wonder what her name is, anyhow?”
A look at the one remaining lifeboat—useless as it was,—showed painted on her bow the words: “Altaire, New York.”
“Never heard of her,” mused the lad. “She’s probably some small tramp steamer, and maybe was doing a sort of free and easy freight business to Europe. The Germans caught her and—good-night! She must have been floating around for some time, though.”
Going below again, out of the cold, damp fog, Jerry came upon what he took to be the cabin of the captain or one of the mates. It bore evidences of having been ransacked18, but there was clothing scattered19 about, as was the case in adjoining cabins, and Jerry at once stripped, rubbed himself down well until his whole body was in[153] a glow, and then he dressed himself in the best of what he found. It was rather nondescript, to say the least.
“But I’m warm, and that’s a whole lot,” reasoned the lone17 navigator. “And as there’s no one to see me, who cares how I look?”
Warmly clad, though somewhat regretting that he was no longer in Uncle Sam’s uniform, Jerry’s next thought was of getting something to eat.
“And I only wish old Bob and Ned were here with me to help get up a meal—provided I can find any!” mused the lad. “Wonder what happened to them. Were they tossed overboard as I was? Or did the Sherman sink? That can hardly have happened, though, or I’d have heard more of a commotion—fellows shouting and so on. Guess she’s all right, but it’s mighty20 queer I’m the only one on board here. What became of Professor Snodgrass? And what was he doing on board, and that other queer duck—le cochon?”
Jerry paused to reflect a moment, going hastily over in his mind all that had happened since he had been standing21 in the fog on the deck of the transport conversing22 with his friends.
“Seems like a week ago, and yet it wasn’t more than two hours,” he decided. “Well, now for the grub—if there is any!”
Jerry did not need to be told the location of the galley23 and pantry. He found the place where the[154] ship’s food was prepared, but, like the cabins, the deck, and the engine room—it was drearily24 empty. There was a stock of dry wood and some coal near the galley stove, however, and finding matches in a tin box, Jerry soon had a blaze.
“Feels mighty good, too,” he decided as he rubbed his hands over the fast-warming stove. “Now if I can get something to eat I’ll feel like a real passenger.”
There was, as the lad soon discovered, enough food on board to last a long while. Much had been hastily taken away—that was evident—but plenty remained.
Whether the passengers and crew had filled the boats before leaving what they believed to be a sinking ship, or whether the Germans had looted the Altaire, Jerry could not determine.
However, he found some tins of pilot biscuit, some canned bacon, and enough coffee to last him a year, he thought. There was condensed milk, also, and plenty of sugar, though how the Germans overlooked that—providing they had been the marauders—it was hard to say.
Moving quickly about, Jerry soon had some bacon sizzling on the stove, its aroma25 mingling26 with that of the coffee. Having unearthed27 a tin of preserved butter, Jerry set himself a table. Then, surveying the work of his hands, he exclaimed:
[155]
“Not half bad, old top! Not half bad!”
How good that sizzling, crisp bacon and coffee tasted to Jerry Hopkins! He was just finishing his repast and wondering what he had best do next, when he heard a sound up above on deck.
Jerry started so suddenly that he dropped the empty coffee cup he had been about to set down, and it crashed to the floor, breaking into many pieces.
“Are we hitting something else, or has some one come to life on board here?” mused Jerry, as he slowly rose from his seat.
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1
puddle
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| n.(雨)水坑，泥潭 | |
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afterward
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| adv.后来；以后 | |
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3
mused
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| v.沉思，冥想( muse的过去式和过去分词 )；沉思自语说（某事） | |
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4
vessel
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| n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管 | |
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immersion
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| n.沉浸；专心 | |
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6
vitality
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| n.活力，生命力，效力 | |
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7
bunks
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| n.（车、船等倚壁而设的）铺位( bunk的名词复数 )；空话，废话v.（车、船等倚壁而设的）铺位( bunk的第三人称单数 )；空话，废话 | |
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8
ascertain
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| vt.发现，确定，查明，弄清 | |
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9
vestige
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| n.痕迹，遗迹，残余 | |
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10
funnel
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| n.漏斗；烟囱；v.汇集 | |
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11
vibration
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| n.颤动，振动；摆动 | |
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12
partially
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| adv.部分地，从某些方面讲 | |
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13
decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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14
punctures
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| n.（尖物刺成的）小孔( puncture的名词复数 )；（尤指）轮胎穿孔；（尤指皮肤上被刺破的）扎孔；刺伤v.在（某物）上穿孔( puncture的第三人称单数 )；刺穿（某物）；削弱（某人的傲气、信心等）；泄某人的气 | |
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15
leakage
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| n.漏，泄漏；泄漏物；漏出量 | |
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16
boilers
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| 锅炉，烧水器，水壶( boiler的名词复数 ) | |
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17
lone
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| adj.孤寂的，单独的；唯一的 | |
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18
ransacked
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| v.彻底搜查( ransack的过去式和过去分词 )；抢劫，掠夺 | |
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scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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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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conversing
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| v.交谈，谈话( converse的现在分词 ) | |
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galley
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| n.（飞机或船上的）厨房单层甲板大帆船；军舰舰长用的大划艇； | |
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24
drearily
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| 沉寂地，厌倦地，可怕地 | |
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25
aroma
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| n.香气，芬芳，芳香 | |
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26
mingling
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| adj.混合的 | |
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unearthed
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| 出土的（考古） | |
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