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chapter 8
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A golden October when, for days, the sun shone and the beach was veiled with faintly coloured mists; when the crack of duck hunters’ guns came from over the bay; when the ocean advanced on the smoothly1 sanded shore in long and majestic2 curves, so that to stand upon the dunes3 and look at it was like looking down a flight of steps of boundless4 width.... The Atlantic made itself into a glittering staircase leading straight to the sun.

October! Driftwood was gathered from the beach for burning in the Biggles’s fireplace where it snapped and was consumed by the green and blue and parti-coloured[38] flames. Before the singing and rainbow fire Mermaid5 often knelt at dusk. Mrs. Biggles would spread a slice of bread for her with jelly made from the beach plums gathered a month earlier. There is a wild-woodish, bitter-sweet flavour peculiar6 to beach plum jelly and preserves. Mermaid loved it. To taste it while dreaming before the magic fire was delicious beyond words.

October! It began to be sharp o’ nights. The men at the station rolled themselves in blankets, as they slept without sheets in an unheated attic7. Only Mermaid had a regular bed with sheets and pillow cases and a gay comforter. Stormy days began, and long, wonderful evenings about the blazing stove in the station’s big room. Cap’n Smiley read aloud and told stories; the men asked questions and spun8 yarns9. Mermaid, curled up in a corner, listened eagerly, hardly daring to speak lest the hour be noted10 and they pack her off to bed.

Wild stories, weird11 stories. Cap’n Smiley is speaking.

“Ah,” says the keeper. “There was that steamship12 which broke her machinery13 some way off here and could only move on reversed propellers14. She backed all the way from here to Sandy Hook. And there was that ship with the cargo15 of salt. When she came ashore16 it salted the ocean; the water was a little brinier for days. And we got aboard as she lay on the bar at low tide, the sea having gone down. Not a soul. All swept overboard and lost. We peered down a hatch, then I went down all alone. I had an awful setback17 when,[39] on my moving some sacks, out bobbed a dead man staring straight at me. Dead, and propped18 up in the salt. But the worst was the wreck19 of the Farallone. Some of you weren’t here then and as for you, Joe”—he addressed the youngest surfman—“you hadn’t been born. The Farallone. Yes.

“She came ashore on a night when you couldn’t see your upraised hand. She struck hard on the outer bar and broached20 to in the trough of the sea. It was freezing cold. We saw—nothing. Up there on the dunes we fired shot after shot, sending out line after line; pure guesswork. Finally one landed and was made fast. The crew began coming ashore. About a dozen trips of the buoy21, I think. And from what we could learn the captain and the cook were left.

“The cook came along all right, and then we hauled the buoy back for the skipper.

“At the signal—jerks on the line—we pulled. The buoy came along for maybe fifteen feet and then checked. Dead stop. We couldn’t budge22 it a foot farther. We hauled back and tried over again. Came just so far and then stuck, immovable.

“You couldn’t see, you couldn’t hear. There was nothing to do but to haul back and forward, back and forward about a hundred times. We wore ourselves all out, though probably the work was all that kept us from freezing to death. Some of us had frostbites. After a while a faint light appeared. Dawn, frightened by[40] that merciless gale23. Dawn, and then daylight; and at last we could see. The ocean went down; wind had gone down in the night. What we saw was the body of the captain of the Farallone hanging stiffly in the buoy.

“The line had been made fast to the mast too near the deck. As we hauled away each man, coming to the ship’s bulwark24, had to lift his body over it. The last man had been able to get into the buoy, but in the minute or two before he reached the bulwark he had frozen helpless; and when he came to it he couldn’t lift himself over.”

There was a silence in which men drew on their pipes. The hand of young Joe Sayre, Surfman No. 7, rolling a cigarette, shook slightly. Mermaid saw the scene. She burned to ask her Dad if he, or any of the others, had seen the Duneswoman that night in the fearful storm. Had she walked abroad on the waters, passing unharmed through the great breakers of inky-black water with invisible crests25 of white and curling foam26? Her face—did no one see it beside the staring form of the dying skipper? Did none see her arm about him? Why had she not lifted him over the rail? See.... Dad had said no one could see anything. But you could always: see the Duneswoman when she was about, however black the night. Who was she? The little girl lost herself in a timid reverie.

“Lemons,” Uncle Ho was saying. “Oranges,[41] onions—fine big Spanish onions from Valencia; pineapples and pomegranates, even Havana see-gars but mostly spoiled by salt water. Once, army blankets; we slept warm that winter. Cocoanuts every little while. The next cocoanut I find I’ll carve a mask out of for Mermaid.”

Her cheeks flushed and she tossed her hair and looked at him with dancing eyes. Wasn’t Uncle Ho good! And he was wonderfully skillful with a knife; a full rigged ship carved in a great glass bottle lay in the keeper’s room to witness his craftsmanship27. He did marvellous things with bits of rope. He had promised to make her a hammock and with some fine white rope he was braiding a mat to adorn28 the little shelf which was her dressing29 table. Rose knots, diamond knots; knots and hitches30 and splices31 without number—Uncle Ho was master of them all. Mermaid listened to his further talk about the things that ships jettison32 and the things that wash ashore.

“Even little girls come ashore,” said Uncle Ho with great seriousness and nodding his head many times. “Not to speak of animals. We brought a Shetland pony33 to land in the breeches buoy and, Mermaid, you should have heard him squeal34!” Mermaid gave a little squeal of her own. “Not like that,” corrected Ho Ha. “He said, ‘Nay-ay-ay. Nay-yay-yay-yay!’ That means ‘No!’ Why, a Dutch ship, named the Dutch for good luck, had a cow in the afterhold to[42] provide the skipper with fresh milk every morning. And lots of ships have pigs aboard ’em. Sheep, too. You might get wool enough for a new suit of homespun.

“But the strangest thing was the animal ship. Mind I don’t say it was Noah’s Ark, Mermaid. The skipper was a youngish man, not old enough to be Noah. Maybe one of his sons. Now this Ark of Noah & Sons came ashore in fine weather, but very thick. So much fog young Noah couldn’t tell where he was. He couldn’t shoot the sun at noon. Well——

“He had pairs of almost all kinds of animals aboard. They were a consignment35 to the big Zoo in New York. There was a pair of camels and a pair of leopards36 and a pair of lions and pairs of snakes and two beautiful giraffes with necks so long that they could see as well as a man in the topgallant rigging. The Ark came on in fine weather but it didn’t stay fine. Bad southeasterly storm blew up and when it abated37 the Ark was so leaky that the skipper—young Noah—put the animals over the side thinking they’d drown. He hated to do it, but the ship was all going to pieces. But you know, Mermaid, that all animals can swim. And most of these critters swam ashore. Little girl, you should have seen them! But, no! I’m glad you weren’t here. Life wasn’t safe on the beach here then with those pairs of animals ranging about. Finally we had to shoot them all with the little brass38 cannon39.”

Mermaid had been listening, at first doubtfully and[43] with enchanted40 pleasure; but now something about the story itself joined to some oddity of expression in the faces of her other uncles caused her to say:

“Uncle Ho, that isn’t so, is it?”

“Not so, but so-so,” replied Ho Ha, persuasively41. “If you mean, is it true, why——”

“Oh, I don’t mind it’s not being true,” explained the little girl, twisting her fingers. “It spoils things to have them true—just a little—doesn’t it?”

The smile left Ho Ha’s face.

“By gracious! I believe that’s a fact!” he exclaimed.

点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 smoothly iiUzLG     
adv.平滑地,顺利地,流利地,流畅地
参考例句:
  • The workmen are very cooperative,so the work goes on smoothly.工人们十分合作,所以工作进展顺利。
  • Just change one or two words and the sentence will read smoothly.这句话只要动一两个字就顺了。
2 majestic GAZxK     
adj.雄伟的,壮丽的,庄严的,威严的,崇高的
参考例句:
  • In the distance rose the majestic Alps.远处耸立着雄伟的阿尔卑斯山。
  • He looks majestic in uniform.他穿上军装显得很威风。
3 dunes 8a48dcdac1abf28807833e2947184dd4     
沙丘( dune的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • The boy galloped over the dunes barefoot. 那男孩光着脚在沙丘间飞跑。
  • Dragging the fully laden boat across the sand dunes was no mean feat. 将满载货物的船拖过沙丘是一件了不起的事。
4 boundless kt8zZ     
adj.无限的;无边无际的;巨大的
参考例句:
  • The boundless woods were sleeping in the deep repose of nature.无边无际的森林在大自然静寂的怀抱中酣睡着。
  • His gratitude and devotion to the Party was boundless.他对党无限感激、无限忠诚。
5 mermaid pCbxH     
n.美人鱼
参考例句:
  • How popular would that girl be with the only mermaid mom!和人鱼妈妈在一起,那个女孩会有多受欢迎!
  • The little mermaid wasn't happy because she didn't want to wait.小美人鱼不太高兴,因为她等不及了。
6 peculiar cinyo     
adj.古怪的,异常的;特殊的,特有的
参考例句:
  • He walks in a peculiar fashion.他走路的样子很奇特。
  • He looked at me with a very peculiar expression.他用一种很奇怪的表情看着我。
7 attic Hv4zZ     
n.顶楼,屋顶室
参考例句:
  • Leakiness in the roof caused a damp attic.屋漏使顶楼潮湿。
  • What's to be done with all this stuff in the attic?顶楼上的材料怎么处理?
8 spun kvjwT     
v.纺,杜撰,急转身
参考例句:
  • His grandmother spun him a yarn at the fire.他奶奶在火炉边给他讲故事。
  • Her skilful fingers spun the wool out to a fine thread.她那灵巧的手指把羊毛纺成了细毛线。
9 yarns abae2015fe62c12a67909b3167af1dbc     
n.纱( yarn的名词复数 );纱线;奇闻漫谈;旅行轶事
参考例句:
  • ...vegetable-dyed yarns. 用植物染料染过色的纱线 来自辞典例句
  • Fibers may be loosely or tightly twisted into yarns. 纤维可以是膨松地或紧密地捻成纱线。 来自辞典例句
10 noted 5n4zXc     
adj.著名的,知名的
参考例句:
  • The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
  • Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。
11 weird bghw8     
adj.古怪的,离奇的;怪诞的,神秘而可怕的
参考例句:
  • From his weird behaviour,he seems a bit of an oddity.从他不寻常的行为看来,他好像有点怪。
  • His weird clothes really gas me.他的怪衣裳简直笑死人。
12 steamship 1h9zcA     
n.汽船,轮船
参考例句:
  • The return may be made on the same steamship.可乘同一艘汽船当天回来。
  • It was so foggy that the steamship almost ran down a small boat leaving the port.雾很大,汽艇差点把一只正在离港的小船撞沉。
13 machinery CAdxb     
n.(总称)机械,机器;机构
参考例句:
  • Has the machinery been put up ready for the broadcast?广播器材安装完毕了吗?
  • Machinery ought to be well maintained all the time.机器应该随时注意维护。
14 propellers 6e53e63713007ce36dac451344bb87d2     
n.螺旋桨,推进器( propeller的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • The water was thrashing and churning about under the propellers. 水在螺旋桨下面打旋、翻滚。 来自辞典例句
  • The ship's propellers churned the waves to foam. 轮船的推进器将海浪搅出泡沫。 来自辞典例句
15 cargo 6TcyG     
n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物
参考例句:
  • The ship has a cargo of about 200 ton.这条船大约有200吨的货物。
  • A lot of people discharged the cargo from a ship.许多人从船上卸下货物。
16 ashore tNQyT     
adv.在(向)岸上,上岸
参考例句:
  • The children got ashore before the tide came in.涨潮前,孩子们就上岸了。
  • He laid hold of the rope and pulled the boat ashore.他抓住绳子拉船靠岸。
17 setback XzuwD     
n.退步,挫折,挫败
参考例句:
  • Since that time there has never been any setback in his career.从那时起他在事业上一直没有遇到周折。
  • She views every minor setback as a disaster.她把每个较小的挫折都看成重大灾难。
18 propped 557c00b5b2517b407d1d2ef6ba321b0e     
支撑,支持,维持( prop的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • He sat propped up in the bed by pillows. 他靠着枕头坐在床上。
  • This fence should be propped up. 这栅栏该用东西支一支。
19 wreck QMjzE     
n.失事,遇难;沉船;vt.(船等)失事,遇难
参考例句:
  • Weather may have been a factor in the wreck.天气可能是造成这次失事的原因之一。
  • No one can wreck the friendship between us.没有人能够破坏我们之间的友谊。
20 broached 6e5998583239ddcf6fbeee2824e41081     
v.谈起( broach的过去式和过去分词 );打开并开始用;用凿子扩大(或修光);(在桶上)钻孔取液体
参考例句:
  • She broached the subject of a picnic to her mother. 她向母亲提起野餐的问题。 来自辞典例句
  • He broached the subject to the stranger. 他对陌生人提起那话题。 来自辞典例句
21 buoy gsLz5     
n.浮标;救生圈;v.支持,鼓励
参考例句:
  • The party did little to buoy up her spirits.这次聚会并没有让她振作多少。
  • The buoy floated back and forth in the shallow water.这个浮标在浅水里漂来漂去。
22 budge eSRy5     
v.移动一点儿;改变立场
参考例句:
  • We tried to lift the rock but it wouldn't budge.我们试图把大石头抬起来,但它连动都没动一下。
  • She wouldn't budge on the issue.她在这个问题上不肯让步。
23 gale Xf3zD     
n.大风,强风,一阵闹声(尤指笑声等)
参考例句:
  • We got our roof blown off in the gale last night.昨夜的大风把我们的房顶给掀掉了。
  • According to the weather forecast,there will be a gale tomorrow.据气象台预报,明天有大风。
24 bulwark qstzb     
n.堡垒,保障,防御
参考例句:
  • That country is a bulwark of freedom.那个国家是自由的堡垒。
  • Law and morality are the bulwark of society.法律和道德是社会的防御工具。
25 crests 9ef5f38e01ed60489f228ef56d77c5c8     
v.到达山顶(或浪峰)( crest的第三人称单数 );到达洪峰,达到顶点
参考例句:
  • The surfers were riding in towards the beach on the crests of the waves. 冲浪者们顺着浪头冲向岸边。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The correspondent aroused, heard the crash of the toppled crests. 记者醒了,他听见了浪头倒塌下来的轰隆轰隆声。 来自辞典例句
26 foam LjOxI     
v./n.泡沫,起泡沫
参考例句:
  • The glass of beer was mostly foam.这杯啤酒大部分是泡沫。
  • The surface of the water is full of foam.水面都是泡沫。
27 craftsmanship c2f81623cf1977dcc20aaa53644e0719     
n.手艺
参考例句:
  • The whole house is a monument to her craftsmanship. 那整座房子是她技艺的一座丰碑。
  • We admired the superb craftsmanship of the furniture. 我们很欣赏这个家具的一流工艺。
28 adorn PydzZ     
vt.使美化,装饰
参考例句:
  • She loved to adorn herself with finery.她喜欢穿戴华丽的服饰。
  • His watercolour designs adorn a wide range of books.他的水彩设计使许多图书大为生色。
29 dressing 1uOzJG     
n.(食物)调料;包扎伤口的用品,敷料
参考例句:
  • Don't spend such a lot of time in dressing yourself.别花那么多时间来打扮自己。
  • The children enjoy dressing up in mother's old clothes.孩子们喜欢穿上妈妈旧时的衣服玩。
30 hitches f5dc73113e681c579f78248ad4941e32     
暂时的困难或问题( hitch的名词复数 ); 意外障碍; 急拉; 绳套
参考例句:
  • He hitches a lift with a long - distance truck. 他搭上了一辆长途卡车。
  • One shoulder hitches upward in a shrug. 她肩膀绷紧,然后耸了耸。
31 splices 01548789cb38a9e5d7133083051bcf8e     
v.绞接( splice的第三人称单数 );捻接(两段绳子);胶接;粘接(胶片、磁带等)
参考例句:
  • All field splices were bolted using ASTM A325 hex head bolts. 所有现场拼接都用美国材料试验协会的A325六角形头螺栓。 来自辞典例句
  • A gateway splices together two different kinds of protocols. 网关可拼接两种不同的协议。 来自互联网
32 jettison GaUz2     
n.投弃,投弃货物
参考例句:
  • Sometimes you need to jettison unhealthy cargo.有时你必须抛弃不好的货物。
  • We jettison an unworkable plan.我们放弃难实行的计划。
33 pony Au5yJ     
adj.小型的;n.小马
参考例句:
  • His father gave him a pony as a Christmas present.他父亲给了他一匹小马驹作为圣诞礼物。
  • They made him pony up the money he owed.他们逼他还债。
34 squeal 3Foyg     
v.发出长而尖的声音;n.长而尖的声音
参考例句:
  • The children gave a squeal of fright.孩子们发出惊吓的尖叫声。
  • There was a squeal of brakes as the car suddenly stopped.小汽车突然停下来时,车闸发出尖叫声。
35 consignment 9aDyo     
n.寄售;发货;委托;交运货物
参考例句:
  • This last consignment of hosiery is quite up to standard.这批新到的针织品完全符合规格。
  • We have to ask you to dispatch the consignment immediately.我们得要求你立即发送该批货物。
36 leopards 5b82300b95cf3e47ad28dae49f1824d1     
n.豹( leopard的名词复数 );本性难移
参考例句:
  • Lions, tigers and leopards are all cats. 狮、虎和豹都是猫科动物。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • For example, airlines never ship leopards and canaries on the same flight. 例如,飞机上从来不会同时运送豹和金丝雀。 来自英语晨读30分(初三)
37 abated ba788157839fe5f816c707e7a7ca9c44     
减少( abate的过去式和过去分词 ); 减去; 降价; 撤消(诉讼)
参考例句:
  • The worker's concern about cuts in the welfare funding has not abated. 工人们对削减福利基金的关心并没有减少。
  • The heat has abated. 温度降低了。
38 brass DWbzI     
n.黄铜;黄铜器,铜管乐器
参考例句:
  • Many of the workers play in the factory's brass band.许多工人都在工厂铜管乐队中演奏。
  • Brass is formed by the fusion of copper and zinc.黄铜是通过铜和锌的熔合而成的。
39 cannon 3T8yc     
n.大炮,火炮;飞机上的机关炮
参考例句:
  • The soldiers fired the cannon.士兵们开炮。
  • The cannon thundered in the hills.大炮在山间轰鸣。
40 enchanted enchanted     
adj. 被施魔法的,陶醉的,入迷的 动词enchant的过去式和过去分词
参考例句:
  • She was enchanted by the flowers you sent her. 她非常喜欢你送给她的花。
  • He was enchanted by the idea. 他为这个主意而欣喜若狂。
41 persuasively 24849db8bac7f92da542baa5598b1248     
adv.口才好地;令人信服地
参考例句:
  • Students find that all historians argue reasonably and persuasively. 学生们发现所有的历史学家都争论得有条有理,并且很有说服力。 来自辞典例句
  • He spoke a very persuasively but I smelled a rat and refused his offer. 他说得头头是道,但我觉得有些可疑,于是拒绝了他的建议。 来自辞典例句


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