The knowledge of such imminent2 danger had a beneficial effect upon the solitary3 occupant of Captain Seaworth’s house. It cleared the fumes4 of liquor from his brain, as it were, and left him weaker in body, but mentally better able to comprehend his exact position.
Carrying his weapons, he descended5 to the kitchen once more, and there the excitement brought on a fever turn, with which came also despair. He was like one in an ague-fit, and after the heat of the melee6 had subsided—which was not until he had partially8 cleaned his weapons with wine instead of water—a cold chill took possession of him.
Now a covering of some sort became necessary. It seemed as if he was literally9 freezing to death,[188] and with a lighted candle in his hand he rushed frantically10 upstairs, hoping to find draperies with which to screen his almost naked body, or failing in that, intending to use the light covering of the bed.
Ammunition11 had become as essential to success as clothing, and again he searched feverishly12 around the room.
It was while overhauling13 one of Captain Seaworth’s chests that Philip placed his hands on a thick fur which felt soft as silk.
Delighted at the discovery he examined it closely, and found that it was the entire hide of an animal similar to those by whom he was besieged14. From its enormous size he became convinced it was the coat of the gigantic mandrill killed by the captain—the same brute15 whose skeleton, hanging in the mimosas, had caused him so much surprise as well as fear.
With the exception of a slit16 in the stomach the hide had been taken off entire, and, shrunken somewhat during the process of drying, it fitted Philip as well as if it were made by an expert furrier.
Through the opening in the front he inserted his body, as does a boy who puts on one of those peculiar17 night-gowns made to cover each limb; and in order that none of the warmth so necessary just then should escape, he laced up the aperture18 with a piece of string. Pulling the top of the hide over his head, he had cap, coat and trousers of the same material, all fitting like a glove, and warm enough to withstand the rigors19 of an Arctic winter.
[189]
When his toilet was completed he looked at himself in the glass, but immediately drew back with a cry of alarm.
His brown skin, thin cheeks and parched20 lips, which allowed his teeth to be seen, his prominent cheek-bones, disheveled hair, together with eyes hollow and restless, because of the fever, caused him to look exactly like the ape whose garment he was wearing.
It would hardly be possible to imagine a more striking resemblance, and Philip himself was decidedly troubled. It seemed as if he had descended, both in body and mind, to the level of his enemies.
There was warmth in this garment, however, and with it came a return of the fever. At all events, it is better to say his subsequent movements were caused by the fire in his blood than to fancy for a single moment that the skin of the animal had such an effect as to make him leap over the chairs or tables in the same fashion as its original owner might have done.
He was transformed into an ape in appearance, and one could fancy this had unsettled his mind, for many moments elapsed before he resumed the bearing of a human being.
Then he descended to the kitchen, spread for himself a repast composed of delicacies21 which had become distasteful, and forced himself to eat until the generous food caused the fever to subside7 somewhat.
The sight of his fur-covered arms almost frightened him, and not for all the treasure in the subterranean[190] chambers23 would he have taken another glance at the glass, lest his own identity be forgotten in the belief that he had become one of that species in whose education he formerly24 felt so much interest.
His mind was a curious mixture of fancies and realities, all so strangely interwoven that it seemed more like some hideous25 nightmare than the events of life.
Not until nearly daybreak did he fall into an uneasy slumber26, which brought with it representations of every specimen27 of the monkey-tribe, and on awakening28 shortly after sunrise he felt as weary as if sleep had long been a stranger to his eyelids29.
It was necessary he should be at his post of duty when the battle was opened once more, as it undoubtedly30 soon would be, and with his weapons in but little better condition than on the previous day he went into the room above, stationing himself at the corner window opposite the one which had been demolished31.
This time it was the besiegers, not the besieged, who began the attack. Philip had hardly opened the loop-hole when showers of stones fell, and before he had time even to discharge a weapon a large portion of the front wall and roof collapsed32 under the weight of missiles, thus contracting his place of refuge to less than half its original size.
Realizing that he must check, if possible, this furious attack, lest the building be utterly33 demolished and he crushed to death amid the ruins, Philip began to fire with the utmost rapidity. During[191] the next hour he sent shot after shot at intervals34 of not more than ten or fifteen seconds, but with no better result than before. It is true he could see an ape fall at every discharge, but his enemies were so numerous that the gaps were immediately closed with soldierly precision, and when fifty rounds had been fired it seemed as if the numbers of the besiegers increased rather than diminished.
Now and then a crash could be heard, telling that some portion of the building had fallen, and it seemed hardly probable he would be able to continue the struggle an hour longer.
Even though he might succeed in so far husbanding his strength as to keep up the firing indefinitely, his weapons would soon cease to be of service. Already was he reduced to one musket35, the barrel of which was so hot as to burn his hands, and it was only a question of a few moments before he would be defenceless.
He could see Goliah leaping from point to point as he urged his followers36 to greater exertions37, and never once remaining in one position long enough to serve as a fair target.
The rocks fell like rain in a summer shower, and at the expiration38 of a quarter of an hour the last remaining musket was so choked as to be useless. The entire front of the house gave way. The floor of the chamber22 swayed to and fro like the branches of a tree in a storm, and it was only by clutching at the window-casings that he saved himself from being precipitated39 into the road.
[192]
He could feel the building crumbling40 beneath his feet, and it now remained for him to accept one of the two alternatives. He must stay where he was, knowing he would soon be crushed under the fragments of the dwelling, or leap into the midst of the savage41 brutes42 who were maddened by thought of victory, and there die like a man.
On a shelf near by was a dagger43, perhaps the very weapon the Malays had left sticking in the sand, and beside it lay his revolver, which he had discarded when the battle first began, believing it too small to be of any real service.
These two he seized, one in each hand, and mentally nerving himself for the death which he fancied must come immediately, he leaped through the rent in the walls, alighting on his feet in the road half a dozen paces from the vindictive44 Goliah.
In his mind there was not the slightest thought that it would be possible to escape a painful death. His only idea was to die while fighting, rather than submit to capture and such torture as the apes could probably devise.
Therefore it is not to be wondered at that an astonishment45 amounting almost to bewilderment seized upon him when the army, instead of making a deadly assault, dropped their weapons, drew back with every show of respect and even terror, and then bent46 before him as if trying to assume the most humble47 positions.
[193]
The front of the house gave way under the shower of stones thrown at Philip by the monkeys.—(See page 191.)
[194]
The leaders of the troop, who a few moments previous had been so eager to encompass48 his death, now literally cringed before Philip like whipped curs, and with Goliah at their head gathered around, fawning49 and caressing50, while Philip stood as if stupefied; and in fact only that word would explain his mental condition.
The entire army crouched51 around him, some licking his hands, others his feet, and all showing in every possible way delight and abasement52. Not a gesture of anger was made, and every head was bowed in evident respect.
It was fully53 a quarter of an hour before the bewildered Philip had so far gained the mastery over himself as to form the slightest conjecture54 of the reason for this sudden change in the behavior of his enemies, and then like a flash of light came into his mind the thought that in the mandrill’s skin he was mistaken for the gigantic ape whom Captain Seaworth had suspected was the leader of all the apes on the island.
From the bearing of those who had so lately bent every energy to kill him there could be no doubt but that he was safe, and his salvation55 was due only to the fact that in him the army recognized an ape, or rather the king of apes.
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1
dwelling
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| n.住宅，住所，寓所 | |
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imminent
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| adj.即将发生的，临近的，逼近的 | |
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solitary
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| adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士 | |
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4
fumes
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| n.(强烈而刺激的)气味，气体 | |
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5
descended
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| a.为...后裔的，出身于...的 | |
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6
melee
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| n.混战；混战的人群 | |
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7
subside
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| vi.平静，平息；下沉，塌陷，沉降 | |
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8
partially
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| adv.部分地，从某些方面讲 | |
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9
literally
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| adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实 | |
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10
frantically
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| ad.发狂地, 发疯地 | |
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11
ammunition
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| n.军火，弹药 | |
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12
feverishly
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| adv. 兴奋地 | |
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13
overhauling
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| n.大修；拆修；卸修；翻修v.彻底检查( overhaul的现在分词 )；大修；赶上；超越 | |
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14
besieged
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| 包围，围困，围攻( besiege的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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15
brute
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| n.野兽，兽性 | |
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16
slit
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| n.狭长的切口；裂缝；vt.切开，撕裂 | |
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17
peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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aperture
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| n.孔，隙，窄的缺口 | |
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19
rigors
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| 严格( rigor的名词复数 )； 严酷； 严密； （由惊吓或中毒等导致的身体）僵直 | |
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20
parched
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| adj.焦干的；极渴的；v.（使）焦干 | |
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delicacies
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| n.棘手( delicacy的名词复数 )；精致；精美的食物；周到 | |
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22
chamber
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| n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所 | |
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chambers
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| n.房间( chamber的名词复数 )；（议会的）议院；卧室；会议厅 | |
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24
formerly
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| adv.从前，以前 | |
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hideous
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| adj.丑陋的，可憎的，可怕的，恐怖的 | |
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slumber
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| n.睡眠，沉睡状态 | |
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specimen
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| n.样本，标本 | |
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28
awakening
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| n.觉醒，醒悟 adj.觉醒中的；唤醒的 | |
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29
eyelids
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| n.眼睑( eyelid的名词复数 )；眼睛也不眨一下；不露声色；面不改色 | |
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30
undoubtedly
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| adv.确实地，无疑地 | |
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31
demolished
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| v.摧毁( demolish的过去式和过去分词 )；推翻；拆毁（尤指大建筑物）；吃光 | |
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32
collapsed
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| adj.倒塌的 | |
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utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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34
intervals
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| n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 )；间隔时间；[数学]区间；（戏剧、电影或音乐会的）幕间休息 | |
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35
musket
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| n.滑膛枪 | |
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36
followers
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| 追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件 | |
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exertions
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| n.努力( exertion的名词复数 )；费力；（能力、权力等的）运用；行使 | |
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38
expiration
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| n.终结，期满，呼气，呼出物 | |
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39
precipitated
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| v.（突如其来地）使发生( precipitate的过去式和过去分词 )；促成；猛然摔下；使沉淀 | |
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40
crumbling
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| adj.摇摇欲坠的 | |
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41
savage
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| adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人 | |
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42
brutes
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| 兽( brute的名词复数 )； 畜生； 残酷无情的人； 兽性 | |
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43
dagger
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| n.匕首，短剑，剑号 | |
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44
vindictive
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| adj.有报仇心的，怀恨的，惩罚的 | |
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45
astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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46
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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47
humble
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| adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低 | |
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48
encompass
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| vt.围绕，包围；包含，包括；完成 | |
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49
fawning
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| adj.乞怜的，奉承的v.（尤指狗等）跳过来往人身上蹭以示亲热( fawn的现在分词 )；巴结；讨好 | |
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50
caressing
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| 爱抚的，表现爱情的，亲切的 | |
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51
crouched
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| v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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52
abasement
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| n.滥用 | |
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53
fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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54
conjecture
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| n./v.推测，猜测 | |
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55
salvation
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| n.（尤指基督）救世，超度，拯救，解困 | |
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