"Yer'll mebbe myke it," the waterman told him with a weatherwise survey of the skies. "Wind's freshenin' from the east'rds, an' that'll 'old 'er back a bit, sir."
"Arsk th' wye to th' Dorkyard Styshun," young William volunteered. "'Tis th' shortest walk, sir. I 'opes yer catches 'er.... Thanky, sir."
He caught dextrously the sovereign which Kirkwood, in ungrudging liberality, spared them of his store of two. The American nodded acknowledgments and adieux, with a faded smile deprecating his chances of winning the race, sorely handicapped as he was. He was very, very tired, and in his heart suspected that he would fail. But, if he did, he would at least be able to comfort himself that it was not for lack of trying. He set his teeth on that covenant4, in grim determination; either there was a strain of the bulldog latent in the Kirkwood breed or else his infatuation gripped him more strongly than he guessed.
Yet he suspected something of its power; he knew that this was altogether an insane proceeding5, and that the lure6 that led him on was Dorothy Calendar. A strange dull light glowed in his weary eyes, on the thought of her. He'd go through fire and water in her service. She was costing him dear, perhaps was to cost him dearer still; and perhaps there'd be for his guerdon no more than a "Thank you, Mr. Kirkwood!" at the end of the passage. But that would be no less than his deserts; he was not to forget that he was interfering7 unwarrantably; the girl was in her father's hands, surely safe enough there—to the casual mind. If her partnership8 in her parent's fortunes were distasteful, she endured it passively, without complaint.
He decided9 that it was his duty to remind himself, from time to time, that his main interest must be in the game itself, in the solution of the riddle10; whatever should befall, he must look for no reward for his gratuitous11 and self-appointed part. Indeed he was all but successful in persuading himself that it was the fascination12 of adventure alone that drew him on.
Whatever the lure, it was inexorable; instead of doing as a sensible person would have done—returning to London for a long rest in his hotel room, ere striving to retrieve13 his shattered fortunes—Philip Kirkwood turned up the village street, intent only to find the railway station and catch the first available train for Sheerness, were that an early one or a late.
A hapchance native whom he presently encountered, furnished minute directions for reaching the Dockyard Station of the Southeastern and Chatham Rail-way, adding comfortable information to the effect that the next east-bound train would pass through in ten minutes; if Kirkwood would mend his pace he could make it easily, with time to spare.
Kirkwood mended his pace accordingly, but, contrary to the prediction, had no time to spare at all. Even as he stormed the ticket-grating, the train was thundering in at the platform. Therefore a nervous ticket agent passed him out a first-class ticket instead of the third-class he had asked for; and there was no time wherein to have the mistake rectified14. Kirkwood planked down the fare, swore, and sprinted15 for the carriages.
The first compartment16 whose door he jerked violently open, proved to be occupied, and was, moreover, not a smoking-car. He received a fleeting17 impression of a woman's startled eyes, staring into his own through a thin mesh18 of veiling, fell off the running-board, slammed the door, and hurled19 himself to-wards the next compartment. Here happier fortune attended upon his desire; the box-like section was untenanted, and a notice blown upon the window-glass announced that it was "2nd Class Smoking." Kirkwood promptly21 tumbled in; and when he turned to shut the door the coaches were moving.
A pipe helped him to bear up while the train was making its two other stops in the Borough22 of Woolwich: a circumstance so maddening to a man in a hurry, that it set Kirkwood's teeth on edge with sheer impatience23, and made him long fervently24 for the land of his birth, where they do things differently—where the Board of Directors of a railway company doesn't erect25 three substantial passenger dep?ts in the course of a mile and a half of overgrown village. It consoled him little that none disputed with him his lonely possession of the compartment, that he had caught the Sheerness train, or that he was really losing no time; a sense of deep dejection had settled down upon his consciousness, with a realization26 of how completely a fool's errand was this of his. He felt foredoomed to failure; he was never to see Dorothy Calendar again; and his brain seemed numb27 with disappointment.
Rattling28 and swaying, the train left the town behind.
Presently he put aside his pipe and stared blankly out at a reeling landscape, the pleasant, homely29, smiling countryside of Kent. A deeper melancholy30 tinted31 his mind: Dorothy Calendar was for ever lost to him.
The trucks drummed it out persistently—he thought, vindictively32: "Lost!... Lost!... For ever lost!..."
And he had made—was then making—a damned fool of himself. The trucks had no need to din1 that into his thick skull33 by their ceaseless iteration; he knew it, would not deny it....
And it was all his own fault. He'd had his chance, Calendar had offered him it. If only he had closed with the fat adventurer!...
Before his eyes field and coppice, hedge and homestead, stream and flowing highway, all blurred34 and ran streakily into one another, like a highly impressionistic water-color. He could make neither head nor tail of the flying views, and so far as coherent thought was concerned, he could not put two ideas together. Without understanding distinctly, he presently did a more wise and wholesome36 thing: which was to topple limply over on the cushions and fall fast asleep.
After a long time he seemed to realize rather hazily37 that the carriage-door had been opened to admit somebody. Its smart closing bang shocked him awake. He sat up, blinking in confusion, hardly conscious of more, to begin with, than that the train had paused and was again in full flight. Then, his senses clearing, he became aware that his solitary38 companion, just entered, was a woman. She was seated over across from him, her back to the engine, in an attitude which somehow suggested a highly nonchalant frame of mind. She laughed, and immediately her speaking voice was high and sweet in his hearing.
"Really, you know, Mr. Kirkwood, I simply couldn't contain my impatience another instant."
Kirkwood gasped39 and tried to re-collect his wits.
"Beg pardon—I've been asleep," he said stupidly.
"Yes. I'm sorry to have disturbed you, but, you know, you must make allowances for a woman's nerves."
Beneath his breath the bewildered man said: "The deuce!" and above it, in a stupefied tone: "Mrs. Hallam!"
She nodded in a not unfriendly fashion, smiling brightly. "Myself, Mr. Kirkwood! Really, our predestined paths are badly tangled40, just now; aren't they? Were you surprised to find me in here, with you? Come now, confess you were!"
He remarked the smooth, girlish freshness of her cheeks, the sense and humor of her mouth, the veiled gleam of excitement in her eyes of the changing sea; and saw, as well, that she was dressed for traveling, sensibly but with an air, and had brought a small hand-bag with her.
"Surprised and delighted," he replied, recovering, with mendacity so intentional42 and obvious that the woman laughed aloud.
"I knew you'd be!... You see, I had the carriage ahead, the one you didn't take. I was so disappointed when you flung up to the door and away again! You didn't see me hanging half out the window, to watch where you went, did you? That's how I discovered that your discourtesy was unintentional, that you hadn't recognized me,—by the fact that you took this compartment, right behind my own."
She paused invitingly43, but Kirkwood, grown wary44, contented45 himself with picking up his pipe and carefully knocking out the dottle on the window-ledge.
"I was glad to see you," she affirmed; "but only partly because you were you, Mr. Kirkwood. The other and major part was because sight of you confirmed my own secret intuition. You see, I'm quite old enough and wise enough to question even my own intuitions."
"A woman wise enough for that is an adult prodigy," he ventured cautiously.
"It's experience and age. I insist upon the age; I the mother of a grown-up boy! So I deliberately46 ran after you, changing when we stopped at Newington. You might've escaped me if I had waited until We got to Queensborough."
Again she paused in open expectancy47. Kirkwood, perplexed48, put the pipe in his pocket, and assumed a factitious look of resignation, regarding her askance with that whimsical twist of his eyebrows49.
"For you are going to Queensborough, aren't you, Mr. Kirkwood?"
"Queensborough?" he echoed blankly; and, in fact, he was at a loss to follow her drift. "No, Mrs. Hallam; I'm not bound there."
Her surprise was apparent; she made no effort to conceal50 it. "But," she faltered51, "if not there—"
"'Give you my word, Mrs. Hallam, I have no intention whatever of going to Queensborough," Kirkwood protested.
"I don't understand." The nervous drumming of a patent-leather covered toe, visible beneath the hem3 of her dress, alone betrayed a rising tide of impatience. "Then my intuition was at fault!"
"In this instance, if it was at all concerned with my insignificant52 affairs, yes—most decidedly at fault."
She shook her head, regarding him with grave suspicion. "I hardly know: whether to believe you. I think...."
Kirkwood's countenance53 displayed an added shade of red. After a moment, "I mean no discourtesy," he began stiffly, "but—"
"But you don't care a farthing whether I believe you or not?"
He caught her laughing eye, and smiled, the flush subsiding54.
"Very well, then! Now let us see: Where are you bound?"
Kirkwood looked out of the window.
"I'm convinced it's a rendezvous55...?"
Kirkwood smiled patiently at the landscape.
"Is Dorothy Calendar so very, very beautiful, Mr. Kirkwood?"—with a trace of malice56.
Ostentatiously Kirkwood read the South Eastern and Chatham's framed card of warning, posted just above Mrs. Hallam's head, to all such incurable57 lunatics as are possessed58 of a desire to travel on the running-boards of railway carriages.
"You are going to meet her, aren't you?"
He gracefully59 concealed60 a yawn.
The woman's plan of attack took another form. "Last night, when you told me your story, I believed you."
He devoted62 himself to suppressing the temptingly obvious retort, and succeeded; but though he left it unspoken, the humor of it twitched63 the corners of his mouth; and Mrs. Hallam was observant. So that her next attempt to draw him out was edged with temper.
"I believed you an American but a gentleman; it appears that, if you ever were the latter, you've fallen so low that you willingly cast your lot with thieves."
Having exhausted64 his repertoire65 of rudenesses, Kirkwood took to twiddling his thumbs.
"I want to ask you if you think it fair to me or my son, to leave us in ignorance of the place where you are to meet the thieves who stole our—my son's jewels?"
"Mrs. Hallam," he said soberly, "if I am going to meet Mr. Calendar or Mr. Mulready, I have no assurance of that fact."
There was only the briefest of pauses, during which she analyzed66 this; then, quickly, "But you hope to?" she snapped.
He felt that the only adequate retort to this would be a shrug67 of his shoulders; doubted his ability to carry one off; and again took refuge in silence.
The woman abandoned a second plan of siege, with a readiness that did credit to her knowledge of mankind. She thought out the next very carefully, before opening with a masked battery.
"Mr. Kirkwood, can't we be friends—this aside?"
"Nothing could please me more, Mrs. Hallam!"
"I'm sorry if I've annoyed you—"
"And I, too, have been rude."
"Last night, when you cut away so suddenly, you prevented my making you a proposal, a sort of a business proposition...."
"Yes—?"
"To come over to our side—"
"I thought so. That was why I went."
"Yes; I understood. But this morning, when you've had time to think it over—?"
"I have no choice in the matter, Mrs. Hallam." The green eyes darkened ominously68. "You mean—I am to understand, then, that you're against us, that you prefer to side with swindlers and scoundrels, all because of a—"
She discovered him eying her with a smile of such inscrutable and sardonic69 intelligence, that the words died on her lips, and she crimsoned71, treasonably to herself. For he saw it; and the belief he had conceived while attending to her tissue of fabrication, earlier that morning, was strengthened to the point of conviction that, if anything had been stolen by anybody, Mrs. Hallam and her son owned it as little as Calendar.
As for the woman, she felt she had steadily72 lost, rather than gained, ground; and the flash of anger that had colored her cheeks, lit twin beacons73 in her eyes, which she resolutely74 fought down until they faded to mere75 gleams of resentment76 and determination. But she forgot to control her lips; and they are the truest indices to a woman's character and temperament77; and Kirkwood did not overlook the circumstance that their specious78 sweetness had vanished, leaving them straight, set and hard, quite the reverse of attractive.
"So," she said slowly, after a silent time, "you are not for Queensborough! The corollary of that admission, Mr. Kirkwood, is that you are for Sheerness."
"I believe," he replied wearily, "that there are no other stations on this line, after Newington."
"It follows, then, that—that I follow." And in answer to his perturbed79 glance, she added: "Oh, I'll grant that intuition is sometimes a poor guide. But if you meet George Calendar, so shall I. Nothing can prevent that. You can't hinder me."
Considerably80 amused, he chuckled81. "Let us talk of other things, Mrs. Hallam," he suggested pleasantly. "How is your son?"
At this juncture82 the brakes began to shriek83 and grind upon the wheels. The train slowed; it stopped; and the voice of a guard could be heard admonishing84 passengers for Queensborough Pier20 to alight and take the branch line. In the noise the woman's response was drowned, and Kirkwood was hardly enough concerned for poor Freddie to repeat his question.
When, after a little, the train pulled out of the junction85, neither found reason to resume the conversation. During the brief balance of the journey Mrs. Hallam presumably had food for thought; she frowned, pursed her lips, and with one daintily gloved forefinger86 followed a seam of her tailored skirt; while Kirkwood sat watching and wondering how to rid himself of her, if she proved really as troublesome as she threatened to be.
Also, he wondered continually what it was all about. Why did Mrs. Hallam suspect him of designing to meet Calendar at Queensborough? Had she any tangible87 ground for believing that Calendar could be found in Queensborough? Presumably she had, since she was avowedly88 in pursuit of that gentleman, and, Kirkwood inferred, had booked for Queensborough. Was he, then, running away from Calendar and his daughter to chase a will-o'-the-wisp of his credulous90 fancy, off Sheerness shore?
Disturbing reflection. He scowled91 over it, then considered the other side of the face. Presuming Mrs. Hallam to have had reasonably dependable assurance that Calendar would stop in Queensborough, would she so readily have abandoned her design to catch him there, on the mere supposition that Kirkwood might be looking for him in Sheerness? That did not seem likely to one who esteemed92 Mrs. Hallam's acumen93 as highly as Kirkwood did. He brightened up, forgot that his was a fool's errand, and began again to project strategic plans into a problematic future.
A sudden jolt94 interrupted this pastime, and the warning screech95 of the brakes informed that he had no time to scheme, but had best continue on the plan of action that had brought him thus far—that is, trust to his star and accept what should befall without repining.
He rose, opened the door, and holding it so, turned.
"I regret, Mrs. Hallam," he announced, smiling his crooked96 smile, "that a pressing engagement is about to prohibit my 'squiring you through the ticket-gates. You understand, I'm sure."
His irrepressible humor proved infectious; and Mrs. Hallam's spirit ran as high as his own. She was smiling cheerfully when she, too, rose.
"I also am in some haste," she averred97 demurely98, gathering99 up her hand-bag and umbrella.
A raised platform shot in beside the carriage, and the speed was so sensibly moderated that the train seemed to be creeping rather than running. Kirkwood flung the door wide open and lowered himself to the running-board. The end of the track was in sight and—a man who has been trained to board San Francisco cable-cars fears to alight from no moving vehicle. He swung off, got his balance, and ran swiftly down the platform.
A cry from a bystander caused him to glance over his shoulder; Mrs. Hallam was then in the act of alighting. As he looked the flurry of skirts subsided100 and she fell into stride, pursuing.
Sleepy Sheerness must have been scandalized, that day, and its gossips have acquired ground for many, an uncharitable surmise101.
Kirkwood, however, was so fortunate as to gain the wicket before the employee there awoke to the situation. Otherwise, such is the temper of British petty officialdom, he might have detained the fugitive102. As it was, Kirkwood surrendered his ticket and ran out into the street with his luck still a dominant103 factor in the race. For, looking back, he saw that Mrs. Hallam had been held up at the gate, another victim of British red-tape; her ticket read for Queensborough, she was attempting to alight one station farther down the line, and while undoubtedly104 she was anxious to pay the excess fare, Heaven alone knew when she would succeed in allaying105 the suspicions and resentment of the ticket-taker.
"That's good for ten minutes' start!" Kirkwood crowed. "And it never occurred to me—!"
Before the station he found two hacks106 in waiting, with little to choose between them; neither was of a type that did not seem to advertise its pre-Victorian fashioning, and to neither was harnessed an animal that deserved anything but the epithet107 of screw. Kirkwood took the nearest for no other reason than because it was the nearest, and all but startled the driver off his box by offering double-fare for a brisk pace and a simple service at the end of the ride. Succinctly108 he set forth109 his wants, jumped into the antiquated110 four-wheeler, and threw himself down upon musty, dusty cushions to hug himself over the joke and bless whatever English board of railway, directors it was that first ordained111 that tickets should be taken up at the end instead of the outset of a journey.
It was promptly made manifest that he had further cause for gratulation. The cabby, recovering from his amazement112, was plying113 an indefatigable114 whip and thereby115 eliciting116 a degree of speed from his superannuated117 nag118, that his fare had by no means hoped for, much less anticipated. The cab rocked and racketed through Sheerness' streets at a pace which is believed to be unprecedented119 and unrivaled; its passenger, dashed from side to side, had all he could do to keep from battering120 the vehicle to pieces with his head; while it was entirely121 out of the question to attempt to determine whether or not he was being pursued. He enjoyed it all hugely.
In a period of time surprisingly short, he saw, from fleeting glimpses of the scenery to be obtained through the reeling windows, that they were threading the outskirts122 of the town; synchronously123, whether by design or through actual inability to maintain it, the speed was moderated. And in the course of a few more minutes the cab stopped definitely.
Kirkwood clambered painfully out, shook himself together and the bruises124 out of his bones, and looked fearfully back.
Aside from a slowly settling cloud of dust, the road ran clear as far as he could see—to the point, in fact, where the town closed in about it.
He had won; at all events in so much as to win meant eluding125 the persevering126 Mrs. Hallam. But to what end?
Abstractedly he tendered his lonely sovereign to the driver, and without even looking at it, crammed127 the heavy weight of change into his pocket; an oversight128 which not only won him the awe-struck admiration129 of the cabby, but entailed130 consequences (it may be) he little apprehended131. It was with an absentminded nod that he acquiesced132 in the man's announcement that he might arrange about the boat for him. Accordingly the cabby disappeared; and Kirkwood continued to stare about him, eagerly, hopefully.
He stood on the brink133 of the Thames estuary134, there a possible five miles from shore to shore; from his feet, almost, a broad shingle135 beach sloped gently to the water.
On one hand a dilapidated picket-fence enclosed the door-yard of a fisherman's cottage, or, better, hovel,—if it need be accurately136 described—at the door of which the cabby was knocking.
The morning was now well-advanced. The sun rode high, a sphere of tarnished137 flame in a void of silver-gray, its thin cold radiance striking pallid138 sparks from the leaping crests139 of wind-whipped waves. In the east a wall of vapor140, dull and lusterless, had taken body since the dawn, masking the skies and shutting down upon the sea like some vast curtain; and out of the heart of this a bitter and vicious wind played like a sword.
To the north, Shoeburyness loomed141 vaguely142, like a low-drifted bank of cloud. Off to the right the Nore Lightship danced, a tiny fleck143 of warm crimson70 in a wilderness144 of slatey-blue waters, plumed145 with a myriad146 of vanishing white-caps.
Up the shelving shore, small, puny147 wavelets dashed in impotent fury, and the shingle sang unceasingly its dreary148, syncopated monotone. High and dry, a few dingy149 boats lay canted wearily upon their broad, swelling150 sides,—a couple of dories, apparently151 in daily use; a small sloop152 yacht, dismantled153 and plainly beyond repair; and an oyster-smack also out of commission. About them the beach was strewn with a litter of miscellany,—nets, oars154, cork155 buoys156, bits of wreckage157 and driftwood, a few fish too long forgotten and (one assumed) responsible in part for the foreign wealth of the atmosphere.
Some little distance offshore158 a fishing-boat, catrigged and not more than twenty-feet over all, swung bobbing at her mooring159, keen nose searching into the wind; at sight of which Kirkwood gave thanks, for his adventitious160 guide had served him well, if that boat were to be hired by any manner of persuasion161.
But it was to the farther reaches of the estuary that he gave more prolonged and most anxious heed162, scanning narrowly what shipping163 was there to be seen. Far beyond the lightship a liner was riding the waves with serene164 contempt, making for the river's mouth and Tilbury Dock. Nearer in, a cargo165 boat was standing35 out upon the long trail, the white of riven waters showing clearly against her unclean freeboard. Out to east a little covey of fishing-smacks, red sails well reefed, were scudding166 before the wind like strange affrighted water-fowl, and bearing down past a heavy-laden river barge167. The latter, with tarpaulin168 battened snugly169 down over the cockpit and the seas dashing over her wash-board until she seemed under water half the time, was forging stodgily170 Londonwards, her bargee at the tiller smoking a placid171 pipe.
But a single sailing vessel172 of any notable tonnage was in sight; and when he saw her Kirkwood's heart became buoyant with hope, and he began to tremble with nervous eagerness. For he believed her to be the Alethea.
There's no mistaking a ship brigantine-rigged for any other style of craft that sails the seas.
From her position when first he saw her, Kirkwood could have fancied she was tacking173 out of the mouth of the Medway; but he judged that, leaving the Thames' mouth, she had tacked174 to starboard until well-nigh within hail of Sheerness. Now, having presumably, gone about, she was standing out toward the Nore, boring doggedly175 into the wind. He would have given a deal for glasses wherewith to read the name upon her bows, but was sensible of no hampering176 doubts; nor, had he harbored any, would they have deterred177 him. He had set his heart upon the winning of his venture, had come too far, risked far too much, to suffer anything now to stay his hand and stand between him and Dorothy Calendar. Whatever the further risks and hazards, though he should take his life in his hands to win to her side, he would struggle on. He recked nothing of personal danger; a less selfish passion ran molten in his veins178, moving him to madness.
Fascinated, he fixed179 his gaze upon the reeling brigantine, and for a space it was as if by longing180 he had projected his spirit to her slanting181 deck, and were there, pleading his case with the mistress of his heart....
Voices approaching brought him back to shore. He turned, resuming his mask of sanity182, the better to confer with the owner of the cottage and boats—a heavy, keen-eyed fellow, ungracious and truculent183 of habit, and chary184 of his words; as he promptly demonstrated.
"I'll hire your boat," Kirkwood told him, "to put me aboard that brigantine, off to leeward185. We ought to start at once."
The fisherman shifted his quid of tobacco from cheek to cheek, grunted186 inarticulately, and swung deliberately on his heel, displaying a bull neck above a pair of heavy shoulders.
"Dirty weather," he croaked187, facing back from his survey of the eastern skies before the American found out whether or not he should resent his insolence188.
"How much?" Kirkwood demanded curtly189, annoyed.
The man hesitated, scowling190 blackly at the heeling vessel, momentarily increasing her distance from shore. Then with a crafty191 smile, "Two pound'," he declared.
The American nodded. "Very well," he agreed simply. "Get out your boat."
The fisherman turned away to shamble noisily over the shingle, huge booted heels crunching192, toward one of the dories. To this he set his shoulder, shoving it steadily down the beach until only the stern was dry.
Kirkwood looked back, for the last time, up the road to Sheerness. Nothing moved upon it. He was rid of Mrs. Hallam, if face to face with a sterner problem. He had a few pence over ten shillings in his pocket, and had promised to pay the man four times as much. He would have agreed to ten times the sum demanded; for the boat he must and would have. But he had neglected to conclude his bargain, to come to an understanding as to the method of payment; and he felt more than a little dubious193 as to the reception the fisherman would give his proposition, sound as he, Kirkwood, knew it to be.
In the background the cabby loitered, gnawed194 by insatiable curiosity.
The fisherman turned, calling over his shoulder: "If ye'd catch yon vessel, come!"
With one final twinge of doubt—the task of placating195 this surly dog was anything but inviting—the American strode to the boat and climbed in, taking the stern seat. The fisherman shoved off, wading196 out thigh-deep in the spiteful waves, then threw himself in over the gunwales and shipped the oars. Bows swinging offshore, rocking and dancing, the dory began to forge slowly toward the anchored boat. In their faces the wind beat gustily197, and small, slapping waves, breaking against the sides, showered them with fine spray....
In time the dory lay alongside the cat-boat, the fisherman with a gnarled hand grasping the latter's gunwale to hold the two together. With some difficulty Kirkwood transhipped himself, landing asprawl in the cockpit, amid a tangle41 of cordage slippery with scales. The skipper followed, with clumsy expertness bringing the dory's painter with him and hitching198 it to a ring-bolt abaft199 the rudder-head. Then, pausing an instant to stare into the East with somber200 eyes, he shipped the tiller and bent201 to the halyards. As the sail rattled202 up, flapping wildly, Kirkwood marked with relief—for it meant so much time saved—that it was already close reefed.
But when at least the boom was thrashing overhead and the halyards had been made fast to their cleats, the fisherman again stood erect, peering distrustfully at the distant wall of cloud.
Then, in two breaths: "Can't do it," he decided; "not at the price."
"Why?" Kirkwood stared despairingly after the brigantine, that was already drawn203 far ahead.
"Danger," growled204 the fellow, "—wind."
At a loss completely, Kirkwood found no words. He dropped his head, considering.
"Not at the price," the sullen205 voice iterated; and he looked up to find the cunning gaze upon him.
"How much, then?"
"Five poun' I'll have—no less, for riskin' my life this day."
"Impossible. I haven't got it."
In silence the man unshipped the tiller and moved toward the cleats.
"Hold on a minute."
Kirkwood unbuttoned his coat and, freeing the chain from his waistcoat buttonholes, removed his watch.... As well abandon them altogether; he had designed to leave them as security for the two pounds, and had delayed stating the terms only for fear lest they be refused. Now, too late as ever, he recognized his error. But surely, he thought, it should be apparent even to that low intelligence that the timepiece alone was worth more than the boat itself.
"Will you take these?" he offered. "Take and keep them—only set me aboard that ship!"
Deliberately the fisherman weighed the watch and chain in his broad, hard palm, eyes narrowing to mere slits206 in his bronzed mask.
"How much?" he asked slowly.
"Eighty pounds, together; the chain alone cost me twenty."
The shifty, covetous207 eyes ranged from the treasure in his hand to the threatening east. A puff208 of wind caught the sail and sent the boom athwartships, like a mighty210 flail211. Both men ducked instinctively212, to escape a braining.
"How do I know?" objected the skipper.
"I'm telling you. If you've got eyes, you can see," retorted Kirkwood savagely213, seeing that he had erred89 in telling the truth; the amount he had named was too great to be grasped at once by this crude, cupidous brain.
"How do I know?" the man repeated. Nevertheless he dropped watch and chain into his pocket, then with a meaning grimace214 extended again his horny, greedy palm.
"What...?"
"Hand over th' two pound' and we'll go."
"I'll see you damned first!"
A flush of rage blinded the young man. The knowledge that the Alethea was minute by minute slipping beyond his reach seemed to madden him. White-lipped and ominously quiet he rose from his seat on the combing, as, without answer, the fisherman, crawling out on the overhand, began to haul in the dory.
"Ashore ye go," he pronounced his ultimatum215, motioning Kirkwood to enter the boat.
The American turned, looking for the Alethea, or for the vessel that he believed bore that name. She was nearing the light-ship when he found her, and as he looked a squall blurred the air between them, blotting216 the brigantine out with a smudge of rain. The effect was as if she had vanished, as if she were for ever snatched from his grasp; and with Dorothy aboard her—Heaven alone knew in what need of him!
Mute and blind with despair and wrath217, he turned upon the man and caught him by the collar, forcing him out over the lip of the overhang. They were unevenly218 matched, Kirkwood far the slighter, but strength came to him in the crisis, physical strength and address such as he had not dreamed was at his command. And the surprise of his onslaught proved an ally of unguessed potency219. Before he himself knew it he was standing on the overhang and had shifted his hold to seize the fellow about the waist; then, lifting him clear of the deck, and aided by a lurch220 of the cat-boat, he cast him bodily into the dory. The man, falling, struck his head against one of the thwarts209, a glancing blow that stunned221 him temporarily. Kirkwood himself dropped as if shot, a trailing reef-point slapping his cheek until it stung as the boom thrashed overhead. It was as close a call as he had known; the knowledge sickened him a little.
Without rising he worked the painter loose and cast the dory adrift; then crawled back into the cockpit. No pang222 of compassion223 disturbed him as he abandoned the fisherman to the mercy of the sea; though the fellow lay still, uncouthly224 distorted, in the bottom of the dory, he was in no danger; the wind and waves together would carry the boat ashore.... For that matter, the man was even then recovering, struggling to sit up.
Crouching225 to avoid the boom, Kirkwood went forward to the bows, and, grasping the mooring cable, drew it in, slipping back into the cockpit to get a stronger purchase with his feet. It was a struggle; the boat pulled sluggishly226 against the wind, the cable inching in jealously. And behind him he could hear a voice bellowing227 inarticulate menaces, and knew that in another moment the fisherman would be at his oars. Frantically228 he tugged229 and tore at the slimy rope, hauling with a will and a prayer. It gave more readily, towards the end, but he seemed to have fought with it for ages when at last the anchor tripped and he got it in.
Immediately he leaped back to the stern, fitted in the tiller, and seizing the mainsheet, drew the boom in till the wind should catch in the canvas. In the dory the skipper, bending at his oars, was not two yards astern.
He was hard aboard when, the sail filling with a bang, Kirkwood pulled the tiller up; and the cat-boat slid away, a dozen feet separating them in a breath.
A yell of rage boomed down the wind, but he paid no heed. Careless alike of the dangers he had passed and those that yawned before him, he trimmed the sheet and stood away on the port tack61, heading directly for the Nore Lightship.
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1
din
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| n.喧闹声，嘈杂声 | |
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2
ashore
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| adv.在(向)岸上，上岸 | |
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3
hem
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| n.贴边，镶边；vt.缝贴边；(in)包围，限制 | |
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4
covenant
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| n.盟约，契约；v.订盟约 | |
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5
proceeding
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| n.行动，进行，(pl.)会议录，学报 | |
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6
lure
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| n.吸引人的东西，诱惑物；vt.引诱，吸引 | |
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interfering
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| adj. 妨碍的 动词interfere的现在分词 | |
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partnership
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| n.合作关系，伙伴关系 | |
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9
decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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10
riddle
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| n.谜，谜语，粗筛；vt.解谜，给…出谜，筛，检查，鉴定，非难，充满于；vi.出谜 | |
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11
gratuitous
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| adj.无偿的，免费的；无缘无故的，不必要的 | |
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12
fascination
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| n.令人着迷的事物，魅力，迷恋 | |
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13
retrieve
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| vt.重新得到，收回；挽回，补救；检索 | |
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14
rectified
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| [医]矫正的，调整的 | |
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15
sprinted
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| v.短距离疾跑( sprint的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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16
compartment
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| n.卧车包房，隔间；分隔的空间 | |
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17
fleeting
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| adj.短暂的，飞逝的 | |
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18
mesh
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| n.网孔，网丝，陷阱；vt.以网捕捉，啮合，匹配；vi.适合； [计算机]网络 | |
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19
hurled
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| v.猛投，用力掷( hurl的过去式和过去分词 )；大声叫骂 | |
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20
pier
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| n.码头；桥墩，桥柱；[建]窗间壁，支柱 | |
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21
promptly
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| adv.及时地，敏捷地 | |
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22
borough
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| n.享有自治权的市镇；(英)自治市镇 | |
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23
impatience
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| n.不耐烦，急躁 | |
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24
fervently
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| adv.热烈地，热情地，强烈地 | |
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25
erect
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| n./v.树立，建立，使竖立；adj.直立的，垂直的 | |
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26
realization
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| n.实现；认识到，深刻了解 | |
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27
numb
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| adj.麻木的，失去感觉的；v.使麻木 | |
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28
rattling
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| adj. 格格作响的, 活泼的, 很好的 adv. 极其, 很, 非常 动词rattle的现在分词 | |
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29
homely
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| adj.家常的，简朴的；不漂亮的 | |
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30
melancholy
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| n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的 | |
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31
tinted
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| adj. 带色彩的 动词tint的过去式和过去分词 | |
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32
vindictively
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| adv.恶毒地；报复地 | |
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33
skull
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| n.头骨；颅骨 | |
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34
blurred
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| v.（使）变模糊( blur的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）难以区分；模模糊糊；迷离 | |
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35
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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36
wholesome
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| adj.适合；卫生的；有益健康的；显示身心健康的 | |
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37
hazily
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| ad. vaguely, not clear | |
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38
solitary
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| adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士 | |
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39
gasped
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| v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要 | |
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40
tangled
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| adj. 纠缠的，紊乱的 动词tangle的过去式和过去分词 | |
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41
tangle
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| n.纠缠；缠结；混乱；v.(使)缠绕；变乱 | |
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42
intentional
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| adj.故意的，有意（识）的 | |
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43
invitingly
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| adv. 动人地 | |
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44
wary
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| adj.谨慎的，机警的，小心的 | |
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45
contented
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| adj.满意的，安心的，知足的 | |
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46
deliberately
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| adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地 | |
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47
expectancy
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| n.期望，预期，（根据概率统计求得）预期数额 | |
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48
perplexed
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| adj.不知所措的 | |
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49
eyebrows
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| 眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 ) | |
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50
conceal
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| v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽 | |
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51
faltered
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| （嗓音）颤抖( falter的过去式和过去分词 )； 支吾其词； 蹒跚； 摇晃 | |
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52
insignificant
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| adj.无关紧要的，可忽略的，无意义的 | |
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53
countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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54
subsiding
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| v.（土地）下陷（因在地下采矿）( subside的现在分词 )；减弱；下降至较低或正常水平；一下子坐在椅子等上 | |
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55
rendezvous
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| n.约会，约会地点，汇合点；vi.汇合，集合；vt.使汇合，使在汇合地点相遇 | |
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56
malice
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| n.恶意，怨恨，蓄意；[律]预谋 | |
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57
incurable
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| adj.不能医治的，不能矫正的，无救的；n.不治的病人，无救的人 | |
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58
possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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59
gracefully
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| ad.大大方方地；优美地 | |
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60
concealed
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| a.隐藏的，隐蔽的 | |
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61
tack
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| n.大头钉；假缝，粗缝 | |
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62
devoted
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| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
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63
twitched
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| vt.& vi.（使）抽动，（使）颤动（twitch的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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64
exhausted
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| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
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65
repertoire
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| n.(准备好演出的)节目，保留剧目；(计算机的)指令表，指令系统， <美>(某个人的)全部技能；清单，指令表 | |
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66
analyzed
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| v.分析( analyze的过去式和过去分词 )；分解；解释；对…进行心理分析 | |
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67
shrug
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| v.耸肩(表示怀疑、冷漠、不知等) | |
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68
ominously
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| adv.恶兆地，不吉利地；预示地 | |
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69
sardonic
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| adj.嘲笑的，冷笑的，讥讽的 | |
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70
crimson
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| n./adj.深(绯)红色(的)；vi.脸变绯红色 | |
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71
crimsoned
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| 变为深红色（crimson的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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72
steadily
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| adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地 | |
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73
beacons
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| 灯塔( beacon的名词复数 )； 烽火； 指路明灯； 无线电台或发射台 | |
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74
resolutely
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| adj.坚决地，果断地 | |
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75
mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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76
resentment
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| n.怨愤，忿恨 | |
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77
temperament
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| n.气质，性格，性情 | |
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78
specious
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| adj.似是而非的；adv.似是而非地 | |
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79
perturbed
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| adj.烦燥不安的v.使（某人）烦恼，不安( perturb的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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80
considerably
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| adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上 | |
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81
chuckled
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| 轻声地笑( chuckle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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82
juncture
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| n.时刻，关键时刻，紧要关头 | |
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83
shriek
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| v./n.尖叫，叫喊 | |
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84
admonishing
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| v.劝告( admonish的现在分词 )；训诫；（温和地）责备；轻责 | |
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85
junction
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| n.连接，接合；交叉点，接合处，枢纽站 | |
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86
forefinger
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| n.食指 | |
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87
tangible
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| adj.有形的，可触摸的，确凿的，实际的 | |
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88
avowedly
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| adv.公然地 | |
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89
erred
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| 犯错误，做错事( err的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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credulous
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| adj.轻信的，易信的 | |
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91
scowled
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| 怒视，生气地皱眉( scowl的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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92
esteemed
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| adj.受人尊敬的v.尊敬( esteem的过去式和过去分词 )；敬重；认为；以为 | |
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93
acumen
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| n.敏锐，聪明 | |
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94
jolt
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| v.（使）摇动，（使）震动，（使）颠簸 | |
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95
screech
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| n./v.尖叫；(发出)刺耳的声音 | |
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96
crooked
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| adj.弯曲的；不诚实的，狡猾的，不正当的 | |
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97
averred
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| v.断言( aver的过去式和过去分词 )；证实；证明…属实；作为事实提出 | |
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98
demurely
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| adv.装成端庄地，认真地 | |
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99
gathering
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| n.集会，聚会，聚集 | |
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100
subsided
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| v.（土地）下陷（因在地下采矿）( subside的过去式和过去分词 )；减弱；下降至较低或正常水平；一下子坐在椅子等上 | |
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101
surmise
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| v./n.猜想，推测 | |
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102
fugitive
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| adj.逃亡的，易逝的；n.逃犯，逃亡者 | |
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103
dominant
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| adj.支配的，统治的；占优势的；显性的；n.主因，要素，主要的人(或物)；显性基因 | |
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104
undoubtedly
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| adv.确实地，无疑地 | |
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105
allaying
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| v.减轻，缓和( allay的现在分词 ) | |
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106
hacks
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| 黑客 | |
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107
epithet
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| n.（用于褒贬人物等的）表述形容词，修饰语 | |
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108
succinctly
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| adv.简洁地；简洁地，简便地 | |
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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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antiquated
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| adj.陈旧的，过时的 | |
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111
ordained
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| v.任命（某人）为牧师( ordain的过去式和过去分词 )；授予（某人）圣职；（上帝、法律等）命令；判定 | |
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112
amazement
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| n.惊奇，惊讶 | |
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113
plying
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| v.使用（工具）( ply的现在分词 )；经常供应（食物、饮料）；固定往来；经营生意 | |
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114
indefatigable
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| adj.不知疲倦的，不屈不挠的 | |
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115
thereby
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| adv.因此，从而 | |
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116
eliciting
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| n. 诱发, 引出 动词elicit的现在分词形式 | |
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117
superannuated
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| adj.老朽的，退休的；v.因落后于时代而废除，勒令退学 | |
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118
nag
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| v.(对…)不停地唠叨；n.爱唠叨的人 | |
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119
unprecedented
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| adj.无前例的，新奇的 | |
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120
battering
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| n.用坏，损坏v.连续猛击( batter的现在分词 ) | |
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121
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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122
outskirts
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| n.郊外，郊区 | |
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123
synchronously
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| ad.同时地 | |
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124
bruises
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| n.瘀伤，伤痕，擦伤( bruise的名词复数 ) | |
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125
eluding
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| v.（尤指机敏地）避开( elude的现在分词 )；逃避；躲避；使达不到 | |
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126
persevering
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| a.坚忍不拔的 | |
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127
crammed
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| adj.塞满的，挤满的；大口地吃；快速贪婪地吃v.把…塞满；填入；临时抱佛脚( cram的过去式) | |
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128
oversight
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| n.勘漏，失察，疏忽 | |
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129
admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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130
entailed
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| 使…成为必要( entail的过去式和过去分词 )； 需要； 限定继承； 使必需 | |
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131
apprehended
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| 逮捕，拘押( apprehend的过去式和过去分词 )； 理解 | |
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132
acquiesced
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| v.默认，默许( acquiesce的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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133
brink
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| n.(悬崖、河流等的)边缘，边沿 | |
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134
estuary
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| n.河口，江口 | |
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135
shingle
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| n.木瓦板；小招牌(尤指医生或律师挂的营业招牌)；v.用木瓦板盖（屋顶）；把（女子头发）剪短 | |
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136
accurately
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| adv.准确地，精确地 | |
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137
tarnished
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| （通常指金属）（使）失去光泽，（使）变灰暗( tarnish的过去式和过去分词 )； 玷污，败坏 | |
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138
pallid
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| adj.苍白的，呆板的 | |
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139
crests
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| v.到达山顶（或浪峰）( crest的第三人称单数 )；到达洪峰，达到顶点 | |
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140
vapor
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| n.蒸汽，雾气 | |
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141
loomed
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| v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的过去式和过去分词 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近 | |
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142
vaguely
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| adv.含糊地，暖昧地 | |
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143
fleck
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| n.斑点，微粒 vt.使有斑点，使成斑驳 | |
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144
wilderness
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| n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠 | |
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145
plumed
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| 饰有羽毛的 | |
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146
myriad
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| adj.无数的；n.无数，极大数量 | |
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147
puny
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| adj.微不足道的，弱小的 | |
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148
dreary
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| adj.令人沮丧的，沉闷的，单调乏味的 | |
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149
dingy
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| adj.昏暗的，肮脏的 | |
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150
swelling
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| n.肿胀 | |
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151
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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152
sloop
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| n.单桅帆船 | |
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153
dismantled
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| 拆开( dismantle的过去式和过去分词 )； 拆卸； 废除； 取消 | |
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154
oars
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| n.桨，橹( oar的名词复数 )；划手v.划（行）( oar的第三人称单数 ) | |
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155
cork
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| n.软木，软木塞 | |
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156
buoys
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| n.浮标( buoy的名词复数 )；航标；救生圈；救生衣v.使浮起( buoy的第三人称单数 )；支持；为…设浮标；振奋…的精神 | |
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157
wreckage
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| n.（失事飞机等的）残骸，破坏，毁坏 | |
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158
offshore
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| adj.海面的，吹向海面的；adv.向海面 | |
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159
mooring
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| n.停泊处；系泊用具，系船具；下锚v.停泊，系泊（船只）(moor的现在分词) | |
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160
adventitious
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| adj.偶然的 | |
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161
persuasion
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| n.劝说；说服；持有某种信仰的宗派 | |
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162
heed
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| v.注意，留意；n.注意，留心 | |
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163
shipping
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| n.船运（发货，运输，乘船） | |
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164
serene
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| adj. 安详的，宁静的，平静的 | |
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165
cargo
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| n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物 | |
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166
scudding
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| n.刮面v.（尤指船、舰或云彩）笔直、高速而平稳地移动( scud的现在分词 ) | |
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167
barge
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| n.平底载货船，驳船 | |
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168
tarpaulin
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| n.涂油防水布，防水衣，防水帽 | |
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169
snugly
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| adv.紧贴地；贴身地；暖和舒适地；安适地 | |
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170
stodgily
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171
placid
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| adj.安静的，平和的 | |
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172
vessel
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| n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管 | |
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173
tacking
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| （帆船）抢风行驶，定位焊[铆]紧钉 | |
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174
tacked
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| 用平头钉钉( tack的过去式和过去分词 )； 附加，增补； 帆船抢风行驶，用粗线脚缝 | |
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175
doggedly
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| adv.顽强地，固执地 | |
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176
hampering
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| 妨碍，束缚，限制( hamper的现在分词 ) | |
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177
deterred
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| v.阻止，制止( deter的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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178
veins
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| n.纹理；矿脉( vein的名词复数 )；静脉；叶脉；纹理 | |
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179
fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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180
longing
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| n.（for）渴望 | |
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181
slanting
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| 倾斜的，歪斜的 | |
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182
sanity
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| n.心智健全，神智正常，判断正确 | |
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183
truculent
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| adj.野蛮的，粗野的 | |
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184
chary
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| adj.谨慎的，细心的 | |
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185
leeward
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| adj.背风的；下风的 | |
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186
grunted
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| （猪等）作呼噜声( grunt的过去式和过去分词 )； （指人）发出类似的哼声； 咕哝着说 | |
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187
croaked
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| v.呱呱地叫( croak的过去式和过去分词 )；用粗的声音说 | |
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188
insolence
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| n.傲慢；无礼；厚颜；傲慢的态度 | |
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189
curtly
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| adv.简短地 | |
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190
scowling
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| 怒视，生气地皱眉( scowl的现在分词 ) | |
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191
crafty
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| adj.狡猾的，诡诈的 | |
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192
crunching
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| v.嘎吱嘎吱地咬嚼( crunch的现在分词 )；嘎吱作响；（快速大量地）处理信息；数字捣弄 | |
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193
dubious
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| adj.怀疑的，无把握的；有问题的，靠不住的 | |
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194
gnawed
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| 咬( gnaw的过去式和过去分词 )； （长时间） 折磨某人； （使）苦恼； （长时间）危害某事物 | |
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195
placating
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| v.安抚，抚慰，使平静( placate的现在分词 ) | |
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196
wading
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| （从水、泥等）蹚，走过，跋( wade的现在分词 ) | |
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197
gustily
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| adv.暴风地，狂风地 | |
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198
hitching
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| 搭乘； （免费）搭乘他人之车( hitch的现在分词 )； 搭便车； 攀上； 跃上 | |
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199
abaft
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| prep.在…之后；adv.在船尾，向船尾 | |
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200
somber
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| adj.昏暗的，阴天的，阴森的，忧郁的 | |
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201
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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202
rattled
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| 慌乱的，恼火的 | |
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203
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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204
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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205
sullen
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| adj.愠怒的，闷闷不乐的，(天气等)阴沉的 | |
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206
slits
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| n.狭长的口子，裂缝( slit的名词复数 )v.切开，撕开( slit的第三人称单数 )；在…上开狭长口子 | |
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207
covetous
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| adj.贪婪的，贪心的 | |
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208
puff
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| n.一口(气)；一阵(风)；v.喷气，喘气 | |
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209
thwarts
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| 阻挠( thwart的第三人称单数 )； 使受挫折； 挫败； 横过 | |
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210
mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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211
flail
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| v.用连枷打；击打；n.连枷（脱粒用的工具） | |
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212
instinctively
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| adv.本能地 | |
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213
savagely
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| adv. 野蛮地，残酷地 | |
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214
grimace
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| v.做鬼脸，面部歪扭 | |
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215
ultimatum
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| n.最后通牒 | |
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216
blotting
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| 吸墨水纸 | |
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217
wrath
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| n.愤怒，愤慨，暴怒 | |
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218
unevenly
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| adv.不均匀的 | |
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219
potency
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| n. 效力，潜能 | |
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220
lurch
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| n.突然向前或旁边倒；v.蹒跚而行 | |
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221
stunned
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| adj. 震惊的，惊讶的 动词stun的过去式和过去分词 | |
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222
pang
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| n.剧痛，悲痛，苦闷 | |
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223
compassion
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| n.同情，怜悯 | |
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224
uncouthly
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225
crouching
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| v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的现在分词 ) | |
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226
sluggishly
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| adv.懒惰地；缓慢地 | |
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227
bellowing
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| v.发出吼叫声，咆哮（尤指因痛苦）( bellow的现在分词 )；（愤怒地）说出（某事），大叫 | |
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228
frantically
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| ad.发狂地, 发疯地 | |
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229
tugged
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| v.用力拉，使劲拉，猛扯( tug的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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