“Not half,” added Bob Baker1. “That is,” he qualified2, “when you think how the professor and Judd here and I were situated3 a few hours ago.”
“Right snug4 and comfortable, I calls it!” stated the sailor.
As for Professor Snodgrass, attired5 in a warm but ill-fitting suit which had belonged to some member of the Altaire’s force, he bent6 over his notes at the table in the cabin of the derelict, where the four refugees were gathered. Night had fallen, signal lamps had been hoisted7 to the wireless8 mastheads, and now, having finished their supper, Jerry and his companions were below, “right snug and comfortable,” as the old salt put it.
They had found lanterns and lighted them to give a cheerful glow to the cabin. The electric service was, of course, out of commission with the engines stopped, but provision had been made[199] for auxiliary9 oil lighting10, and it was no worse than conditions had been on all ships before the electric light was discovered.
“Do you think we ought to stand watch and watch all night?” asked Bob, looking at Jerry. “We might sight the Sherman or some other vessel11, you know.”
“I don’t see what good it would do,” replied the tall lad. “If we did sight the Sherman we couldn’t move toward her, and unless her engines have been put in commission she couldn’t reach us. We could only drift along and look at one another. And I don’t believe we’ll sight the Sherman.”
“Do you mean she’s sunk?” asked Bob in a low voice, as he thought of Ned still, in all probability, left on board.
“No, not exactly that,” Jerry answered. “She has too many watertight compartments12 to sink unless she was blown all apart, and I don’t believe that has happened. But I think we must have gotten into two widely separated ocean currents. One is carrying us one way and the other is taking the Sherman along.”
“That’s about the way of it,” chimed in Judd.
“But what about seeing some other vessel?” asked Bob. “I mean one that isn’t disabled and that could take us off.”
“Well, of course, we might see one if we took[200] turns standing13 watch through the night,” admitted Jerry. “But we have our distress14 signal lamps set, and any vessel sighting them will put for us at once.”
“Well, all right, if you think that there’s no use worrying,” Bob agreed. “I didn’t fancy standing a night trick myself, but if it had to be done——”
“I don’t think it’s necessary, boys,” said Judd. “As Jerry Hopkins says, if any vessel sees our lights she’ll be bound to come close and investigate.”
The experience through which the sailor had passed with Bob and the professor made him seem like an old friend, and Jerry and Bob were glad to have him call them by name, as though he had known them many years. In fact the nearness to a tragic15 end, which at one period confronted them all, seemed to squeeze a long time into a very few moments.
“Well then all we’ve got to do,” suggested Bob, “is to stay here, sleep and eat——”
“You haven’t forgotten the eats, Chunky!” laughed Jerry, and it was the first real merriment that had enlivened them since the accident.
“I’m glad you’ve got plenty in the kitchen,” said Bob, joining in the laugh at his own failing. “But what I meant was that we can’t really do anything, can we, to better ourselves any?”
“I don’t know,” replied Jerry, looking at the[201] sailor. “I did think of hoisting16 some sort of sail, and now that you’re here maybe we can do that. Then we ought to rig up some sort of sea anchor to keep us head on to the waves in case of a blow. Outside of that I don’t know that we can do anything except to keep our distress signals flying.”
“Some sort of sail would be good,” agreed Judd; “and a sea anchor can be easy rigged up now that we have the life raft towing astern. There’s one trouble, though, about setting sail, provided we can do it.”
“What’s the trouble?” asked Bob.
“Well, if we get any steerageway on the craft at all, we may not be able to handle her.”
“Why not?” demanded Bob. “Her rudder is still in place. I noticed it when we were making fast the life raft.”
“Yes, her rudder is in place,” agreed the old salt, “and it only weighs several tons. It’s made to turn by steam, and with the engines dead there isn’t any steam. I doubt if we could manage to steer17 by hand.”
“There must be some provision for that,” asserted Jerry. “The steam steering18 gear might go out of commission at any time—in fact, I’ve often read of that happening on vessels19. And when it does happen don’t they have to steer by hand?”
“Yes,” admitted the sailor, “I suppose they do.[202] We’ll have a look in the morning and see what we can do. Just now I think we’d better all take it easy.”
“Sure!” agreed Jerry. “We’ve had a hard time. I only hope poor old Ned is as well off as we are just now.”
“I fancy he’s better off in case he’s still on the transport, as he must be,” said Bob.
“He will be if he doesn’t fall too much under the influence of that nincompoop, Dr. Hallet!” suddenly exclaimed Professor Snodgrass.
Jerry and Bob started, looked at one another, and then at the little scientist who was busy making notes about the queer crab20 and other creatures he had found in the seaweed.
“Who is this Dr. Hallet?” asked Jerry. “You spoke21 of him once before. Is he the little man I had the trouble with in the restaurant, and who tried to blow up the Sherman?”
“Blow up the troopship!” cried the professor. “Why, I never heard of that!”
“Didn’t you know that her engines were disabled by an explosion?” asked Bob.
The professor shook his head.
“I didn’t pay much attention to what was going on,” he said. “I had a lot of notes to transcribe22 in my books, having made them only hastily on scraps23 of paper. All I recall is that we stopped for something or other, and I supposed we were[203] waiting for passengers, or for some reason like that.”
“Waiting for passengers in the middle of the ocean,” murmured Bob. Jerry signaled his chum to refrain from making comments, and then the tall lad fired a volley of questions at the professor.
“Who is this Dr. Hallet?” Jerry asked. “Why is he such an enemy of yours? and why was he kept under guard in his cabin? Afterward24 the guard was withdrawn25 and we saw you in there, though perhaps you didn’t see us. And what does it all mean, anyhow? Why will Ned be likely to get into trouble if he is left under the influence of this man? Don’t you think you’d better explain?”
The professor appeared to be considering this. And it seemed to require as much mental effort on his part as though he were deciding the most abstruse26 of abstract questions.
“Yes,” he finally admitted, “I think I had better explain matters to you. I didn’t think you were so interested. And as for you having trouble with this—this—well, I won’t say what I think of him—but as for you having had trouble with Dr. Hallet, Jerry, I know nothing of that. I only know I’ve had plenty of trouble.”
“He’s a long time getting down to facts,” thought Bob. “I wonder what it all means?”
“To begin at the beginning,” resumed the professor,[204] after apparently27 casting his mind back into the past, “the trouble between Dr. Hallet and me started when we were rivals in the pursuit of——”
The silence that pervaded28 the cabin, save for the low voice of the little bald-headed scientist, was suddenly broken by a dull rumbling29 sound, and a slight vibration30 seemed to go through the whole length of the derelict. To the boys, used to water navigation as they were, the sound and the feeling meant but one thing.
“We’ve bumped into something or something has bumped into us!” cried Bob.
“Or else we’ve rubbed up against the dock,” added Jerry.
“No dock out here in mid-ocean!” exclaimed the sailor. “But we sure have struck something. Not hard though, that’s one good thing. Otherwise we’d have a hole stove in us.”
“We’d better see what it is,” said Jerry, preparing to go up on deck.
The others agreed with him, even Professor Snodgrass putting away his papers and following the two boys and the old sailor.
As they mounted to the deck the bumping sounds kept up, and the tremors31 and vibrations32 continued to be felt throughout the Altaire.
“It’s just as if we were among a lot of ice cakes,” said Bob. “I hope we don’t ram33 an iceberg34.”
[205]
“Hardly that in this latitude,” said Jerry. “Though some years they are found farther south than others.”
As they emerged on the deck, coming as they did from the lighted cabin, at first they could observe nothing. But gradually their eyes became accustomed to the darkness and they could see to move about.
“It’s on both sides!” exclaimed Bob.
“And it isn’t ice, either!” added Judd. “I know the smell of ice, and you can always feel a chill in the air. It isn’t a big berg, that’s sure, and small cakes wouldn’t last long in these warm waters.”
“But what is it?” asked Bob.
Jerry ran below and brought up a lantern which had on a powerful reflector. It was a light set on the wall in the cabin and designed to throw the rays in one spot. It was a sort of oil-power searchlight.
Holding this, Jerry advanced to the rail and directed the rays of light over the side and down to the water. What he saw caused him to utter a cry of surprise and fear, in which the others joined.
“Whales!” shouted Jerry. “We’re in the midst of a school of whales!”
“You’re right!” agreed the sailor. “We’ve run right into them, or they’ve surrounded us,[206] and it’s the bumping of their big heads against the sides that made the sounds.”
“Is there any danger?” asked Bob.
“There may be, if they take a notion to ram us all at once,” the sailor said. “Of course there isn’t the same danger to a ship like this that there would be to a small boat. But if they start to ram, and loosen some of the side plates below the water line so that we begin to leak—well, there’s no way of pumping the sea out.”
“Whales?” exclaimed Professor Snodgrass. “How interesting! I wish Dr. Hallet were here now!”
He did not specify35 whether it was so that the doctor might view the natural phenomenon or so that the professor’s rival might be annoyed and distressed36 by the visit of the sea monsters.
“What had we better do?” asked Bob.
“Do? Why don’t do anything!” said Jerry. “If we let ’em alone they may swim off, just as they swam up.”
As he spoke there came a more violent concussion37 to the vessel, and she seemed to heel over slightly.
“That was an old residenter who rammed38 us!” exclaimed Bob. “A few more blows like that, and we’ll start to leaking. If we only had a hand grenade or two or a bomb gun! Look, they’re clustering thicker than ever right in front of us!”
[207]
Indeed, by the rays of the lamp the sea was observed to be churned to foam39 by the milling of the huge creatures.
Again came a fearful blow on the ship’s quarter, and then Jerry cried:
“The bow gun! The bow gun! We can train that on ’em and shoot! That’s the way to get rid of the whales! Use the bow gun!”
点击
收听单词发音
收听单词发音 |
1
baker
|
|
| n.面包师 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
qualified
|
|
| adj.合格的，有资格的，胜任的，有限制的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
situated
|
|
| adj.坐落在...的，处于某种境地的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
snug
|
|
| 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 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
attired
|
|
| adj.穿着整齐的v.使穿上衣服，使穿上盛装( attire的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
bent
|
|
| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
hoisted
|
|
| 把…吊起，升起( hoist的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
wireless
|
|
| adj.无线的；n.无线电 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
auxiliary
|
|
| adj.辅助的，备用的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
lighting
|
|
| n.照明，光线的明暗，舞台灯光 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
vessel
|
|
| n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
compartments
|
|
| n.间隔( compartment的名词复数 )；（列车车厢的）隔间；（家具或设备等的）分隔间；隔层 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
standing
|
|
| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
distress
|
|
| n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
tragic
|
|
| adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
hoisting
|
|
| 起重，提升 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
steer
|
|
| vt.驾驶，为…操舵；引导；vi.驾驶 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
steering
|
|
| n.操舵装置 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
vessels
|
|
| n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
crab
|
|
| n.螃蟹，偏航，脾气乖戾的人，酸苹果；vi.捕蟹，偏航，发牢骚；vt.使偏航，发脾气 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
spoke
|
|
| 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 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
transcribe
|
|
| v.抄写，誉写；改编(乐曲)；复制，转录 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
scraps
|
|
| 油渣 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
afterward
|
|
| adv.后来；以后 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
withdrawn
|
|
| vt.收回；使退出；vi.撤退，退出 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
abstruse
|
|
| adj.深奥的，难解的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
27
apparently
|
|
| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
28
pervaded
|
|
| v.遍及，弥漫( pervade的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
29
rumbling
|
|
| n. 隆隆声, 辘辘声 adj. 隆隆响的 动词rumble的现在分词 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
30
vibration
|
|
| n.颤动，振动；摆动 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
31
tremors
|
|
| 震颤( tremor的名词复数 )； 战栗； 震颤声； 大地的轻微震动 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
32
vibrations
|
|
| n.摆动( vibration的名词复数 )；震动；感受；（偏离平衡位置的）一次性往复振动 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
33
ram
|
|
| (random access memory)随机存取存储器 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
34
iceberg
|
|
| n.冰山，流冰，冷冰冰的人 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
35
specify
|
|
| vt.指定，详细说明 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
36
distressed
|
|
| 痛苦的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
37
concussion
|
|
| n.脑震荡；震动 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
38
rammed
|
|
| v.夯实（土等）( ram的过去式和过去分词 )；猛撞；猛压；反复灌输 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
39
foam
|
|
| v./n.泡沫，起泡沫 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |