The chief officer was thus reporting to Captain Munson of the transport Sherman, and Ned, standing1 near, disheartened and with his mind torn by cruel worries, overheard.
“Who are the missing ones?” asked the captain.
“Two soldiers, Bob Baker2 and Jerry Hopkins; Professor Uriah Snodgrass; and Beno Judd, a first-class seaman3. They can not be found, they are not among the injured, nor are their bodies among the dead. I have put them down as missing, sir.”
“Quite right. Unfortunate, but quite right. Have the boats been able to pick up any one?”
“No, sir.”
“Well, there is not much use, I believe, in keeping them out longer in this fog. Some of them may get lost. Call them back, but station lookouts4[176] with orders to report at once anything that looks like floating wreckage5 to which a person might cling. If this fog would only lift we might have a chance of picking them up, if they, by any chance, are still alive. Have a sufficient number of lookouts stationed, Mr. Bangs.”
“Yes, sir.”
Ned felt sick at heart. It was all over, then—the happy companionship of years—he thought. Never again would he see his beloved comrades, Jerry and Bob, comrades with whom he had passed the gates of death in many a battle. Professor Snodgrass, also—that dear but eccentric individual—he, too, was gone.
“Isn’t there anything we can do?” asked Ned of the captain.
“I’m sorry to say I don’t see what else can be done,” was the sympathetic answer, for the commander of the ship knew something of the love and friendship existing between the lad who was left and those who were gone. “You know how the accident happened, my lad, and we have searched all over in this vicinity. It would be risking other lives to search farther, for it is easy for a small boat to be lost in a fog. If it should lift I would order them out again. I am sorry.”
Ned turned away, his heart heavy. To whom could he go for solace6? He had many friends and acquaintances among his fellow soldiers, and[177] the officers were fond of him and his chums. But Ned did not feel like talking to any of them just now. He wanted to be alone. But solitude7 was difficult to come at on the crowded ship.
Idly he made his way back to the scene of the accident. The break in the bulwarks8 and rail had been temporarily mended, and a curious crowd was gathered about the hole torn in the side of the Sherman. Ned did not want to stay there.
He looked out into the mist. The wet particles clung to his face like tiny tears, and he had much ado to keep back his sobs9 as he thought of those who had so lately been with him.
“If only the fog would lift!” murmured Ned, as he turned away from the broken place with a shiver.
But the white curtain of vapor11 still swirled12 about the troopship, seemingly moved more by the mysterious ocean currents than by any wind. It was still a dead calm, and though the fog may have lifted over some parts of the ocean area that it had covered, in the vicinity of the transport it was still heavy and impenetrable.
“It seems to shut me in like a prison!” murmured Ned.
Night was coming on, and it seemed to settle down earlier than it needed to, caused by the murkiness13 of the air. The first call to the supper mess was sounded, but Ned did not respond. He had[178] no appetite for food. There would be time enough later to eat, if he felt so disposed.
“Poor Chunky!” he mused14. “I’d never poke15 fun at him again about his appetite if he were here now.”
Ned choked back a sob10 and turned to go toward the bow of the ship.
The deck along which he was then progressing was more deserted16 then than it had been for some time, for many of the soldiers were down below, eating. And as Ned made his way along he saw, coming toward him, a figure that caused him a start, it was so like that of Professor Snodgrass. But he knew in an instant who it was.
“Le cochon!” he murmured.
Hardly knowing why he did it, Ned stepped beneath an overhanging part of the deck, and so was partially17 hidden. The man who so resembled Professor Snodgrass—the man who had acted so violently in the restaurant—walked toward the place where the derelict had crashed into the Sherman and stood looking at the damaged place. Ned, from his vantage place, could observe and hear.
“So this is the place, is it!” murmured le cochon, or the pepper-pot, as Ned sometimes thought of him. “Well, well! I am sorry for him—for all of them. I shall have to redouble my efforts now!”
[179]
Ned started. What did the words mean? What was the mystery connected with this strange man who seemed to be under guard at times, and free to rove about at others? What association had he with Professor Snodgrass, and why was he so vindictive18 toward that little scientist? And, now that the professor was gone, why had this man come to gloat over the place of his disappearance19?
All these thoughts rushed through Ned’s mind, which was in a tumult20. And then, as the little man spoke21, another idea obtruded22 itself.
What did he mean when he said:
“I shall have to redouble my efforts now!”
To Ned, obsessed23 as he was with a feeling of enmity against this man, the words had but one meaning.
“He means to go on with his deadly work!” mused the lad. “He was responsible for the damage to the ship in the first place—he caused her to be disabled and held up in the fog. If it wasn’t for that we’d be on our way now, and the derelict wouldn’t have crashed into us.
“This man is responsible for that, though he may not have known about the derelict. He is responsible for the death of Bob, Jerry and Professor Snodgrass. And now he talks of redoubling his efforts! I know what that means! He’s a German spy and he’s going to try to sink the whole[180] shipload of us. He must have gotten away from his guards. I’m going to tell the captain!”
Ned stepped from his place of concealment24 and was about to hurry to summon some of the ship’s officers when the little man caught sight of him. To Ned it seemed that the pepper-pot was startled and alarmed. He stared at Ned and stammered25:
“Oh, you—you are here, are you?”
“Very much so!” was the indignant answer. “But you won’t be here long to go on with your dirty work. I know all about you! I know——”
Like a flash, and taking the youth by surprise, the little man rushed at Ned and in a moment had him in a grip that rendered the lad helpless. Both wrists were held in a muscular vise that spoke volumes for the athletic26 training of le cochon.
“Be quiet!” The man fairly hissed27 the words into Ned’s ears. “Don’t say another word!” and he began to drag Ned along.
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1
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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2
baker
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| n.面包师 | |
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3
seaman
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| n.海员，水手，水兵 | |
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4
lookouts
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| n.寻找（ 某人/某物）( lookout的名词复数 )；是某人（自己）的问题；警戒；瞭望台 | |
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5
wreckage
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| n.（失事飞机等的）残骸，破坏，毁坏 | |
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6
solace
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| n.安慰；v.使快乐；vt.安慰(物)，缓和 | |
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7
solitude
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| n. 孤独; 独居,荒僻之地,幽静的地方 | |
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8
bulwarks
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| n.堡垒( bulwark的名词复数 )；保障；支柱；舷墙 | |
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9
sobs
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| 啜泣（声），呜咽（声）( sob的名词复数 ) | |
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10
sob
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| n.空间轨道的轰炸机；呜咽，哭泣 | |
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11
vapor
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| n.蒸汽，雾气 | |
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12
swirled
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| v.旋转，打旋( swirl的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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13
murkiness
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| n.阴暗；混浊；可疑；黝暗 | |
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14
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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15
poke
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| n.刺，戳，袋；vt.拨开，刺，戳；vi.戳，刺，捅，搜索，伸出，行动散慢 | |
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16
deserted
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| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
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17
partially
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| adv.部分地，从某些方面讲 | |
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18
vindictive
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| adj.有报仇心的，怀恨的，惩罚的 | |
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19
disappearance
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| n.消失，消散，失踪 | |
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20
tumult
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| n.喧哗；激动，混乱；吵闹 | |
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21
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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22
obtruded
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| v.强行向前，强行，强迫( obtrude的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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23
obsessed
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| adj.心神不宁的,鬼迷心窍的,沉迷的 | |
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24
concealment
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| n.隐藏, 掩盖，隐瞒 | |
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25
stammered
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| v.结巴地说出( stammer的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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26
athletic
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| adj.擅长运动的，强健的；活跃的，体格健壮的 | |
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27
hissed
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| 发嘶嘶声( hiss的过去式和过去分词 )； 发嘘声表示反对 | |
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