The lascars too seemed incapable6 of action. They flocked to the side of the ship, and gazed seemingly without emotion into the deep-blue water.
At the shout of "Man overboard!" raised by Anstey, the officer of the watch, Captain Bullock unceremoniously dashed between the groups of bewildered passengers and gained the bridge. Even in his haste his brain was solving a ready problem. Who was to go away in the lifeboat? The Acting7 Chief was struggling for dear life in the "ditch". He could swim well, as the Old Man knew, but after his strenuous8 wrestling bout9 had he sufficient strength to keep afloat until picked up? Anstey, as officer on duty, could not leave the bridge. There was one executive officer short of the ship's complement10, and as far as Captain Bullock was aware, none of the engineers off duty was capable of managing a boat, while a bungler11 at the tiller meant not only delay but probably failure.
Fortunately the secuni in the wheelhouse had acted promptly12, putting the helm over to port in order to swing the ship's stern clear of the men in the ditch, and thus avoid the danger of their being cut to pieces by the propeller13. They were now a good four hundred yards astern, while between them and the ship was a line of lifebuoys thrown with fine indiscrimination by the passengers. The nearest lifebuoy to the two exhausted17 men was at least a hundred yards away.
During the interrupted revels18 the West Barbican had reduced speed, and already Anstey had rung down for "Stop".
"Let go the lifeboat—away lifeboat's crew," bawled19 the Old Man, as he moved the telegraph indicator20 to full speed astern; then, leaning over the bridge rails, he hailed a grotesquely21 garbed24 figure standing25 motionless and alert on the temporary dais:
"Mr. Mostyn: take charge of the lifeboat."
With a feeling of elation26 Peter rushed to carry out the order. This time there was no question of it. The Old Man had spoken. It was a tribute to the Wireless27 Officer's capabilities28 in a province that was not strictly29 his own.
Urged by the shrill30 cries of the serang and tindal of the watch the lascars had now formed up on the boat-deck. Some had then their places in the out-swung boat, while others stood by the falls ready to lower away.
Although the engines had been going full speed astern the West Barbican was still forging ahead when Peter jumped into the stern-sheets of the lifeboat. She was still carrying way when the falls were disengaged and the boat pushed off from the ship's side.
"Soft job this," soliloquized Mostyn. "The sea's calm, the water's warm, and old Preston and the other fellow have got hold of the lifebuoy. Tumbling into the ditch under these conditions is a picnic—Hello, though—is it?"
*****
To say the least of it, Preston was both surprised and indignant when he found himself hurtling through space in the vice-like grip of his antagonist31. It was poor consolation32 to know that there was someone else in the same predicament. What was particularly galling33 was the fact that he, a veteran officer of the Mercantile Marine34, should be such an ass2 as to skylark and then fall overboard in so doing.
These thoughts flashed through his mind during the time he dropped through thirty odd feet of space between the deck of the ship and the surface of the water. Then the terrific impact with the Atlantic Ocean abruptly35 ended his reveries of self-reproach.
To a certain extent it was fortunate that the two men remained interlocked during their fall. Hunched36 up after the manner of a diver doing a "honey-pot" from a spring-board they got off comparatively lightly, although the impact was fairly severe, and had the effect of depriving them of most of the scanty37 breath left after their strenuous encounter.
"The blighter will grip like grim death," thought Preston, as he sank fathoms38 down; "I'll have a deuce of a job to shake him off."
But the sudden immersion39 had the unexpected result that the men mutually released their grip. Perhaps it was that both were good swimmers and realized that the quickest way to refill their lungs with air was to strike out for the surface.
They emerged almost simultaneously40, gasping41 and spluttering.
"Not that way!" exclaimed Preston breathlessly, as his companion in misfortune began striking out for the ship's side. "Mind the prop14."
The other realized the danger of being caught by the swiftly moving blades of the screw, but even then it was only the prompt action of the secuni at the wheel that saved him from being drawn42 into the vortex.
"Nothing to worry about," spluttered Preston, as the two bobbed like corks43 in the quartering wave. "We'll be picked up all right. My aunt! Look at them! Well, they might have chucked them on our heads."
He referred to the injudicious volley of lifebuoys. Although the ship was carrying way the passengers were still engaged in dumping the Company's property into the sea.
His companion laughed. Regaining44 his breath he was also regaining his boisterous45 spirits, although he had to admit that the struggle, followed by a thirty-odd foot fall had severely46 taxed his splendid brawn47 and muscle.
"You don't look in your element, Preston," he remarked, "even though you are Father Neptune48."
"Was," corrected the absentee Acting Chief Officer, proceeding49 to relieve himself of the encumbrance50 of his scanty garb23 of trailing seaweed and oyster-shells. "Come on; we may as well strike out for the nearest of that line of lifebuoys. Breast stroke. There's no great hurry, and it's less tiring."
Although the passenger had gone overboard wearing boxing-gloves, that had remained on his hands despite his wrestling bout, one had disappeared during his submergence. Preston remarked on it.
"Yes," rejoined the other. "Might just as well hang on to this one, although one's not much use. Cost me a couple of Bradbury's just before we left England. I say, do you mind telling me this: I declare I've crossed the Line without being initiated51. Is that so?"
"It is," replied Preston feelingly. "If you'd gone through the thing tamely we wouldn't have been in the ditch. Why did you ask me?"
By this time both men had swum to the nearest of the far-flung line of lifebuoys, and, glad of the support, were hanging on lightly at opposite sides of the buoyant "Kisbie".
"'Cause I want corroboration52. Last night Murgatroyd bet me a tenner I wouldn't escape it. Have I won?"
"You have."
"Right-o, Preston!" was the delighted response. "I'll stand you a dinner in the swankiest hotel in Adderley Street as soon as we arrive at Cape53 Town. That's a deal. Hello! They're lowering a boat. What are you looking at?"
The Acting Chief Officer had seen the boat being swung out, and was calculating how long it would take to reach the spot where the lifebuoy was—calculating whether the boat's crew would find only an unoccupied lifebuoy floating in a patch of blood-stained sea—for less than fifty yards away was the black, triangular54 dorsal55 fin16 of an enormous shark.
"Nothing much," replied Preston, as calmly as he could, although the strained expression of his eyes was sufficient to attract his companion's curiosity. "Kick as hard as you jolly well can. Make a splash."
"Shark, eh?" exclaimed the co-partner of the life-buoy15. "Right-o! I'm having my money's worth this trip anyway."
"Splash, man, splash!" was Preston's only rejoinder.
*****
"By Jove, I guess I look a sketch," thought Mostyn, as he steered56 the lifeboat towards the two men clinging to the buoy.
He certainly did. Called away hurriedly, he still wore part of his disguise as Amphitrite, Neptune's Queen. He had cast off his flowing locks of tow, but his well-powdered face and a vivid patch of rouge57 on either cheek looked absolutely grotesque22. His costume of muslin (lent by one of the lady passengers) had suffered horribly during his attempt to squeeze through the hatch, while the trimmings of seashells and seaweed added to the weird58 appearance of the young Wireless Officer. To facilitate his movements Peter had "gathered in the slack" of his trailing garments, since without assistance he could not tackle the numerous safety-pins that his dresser had used in order to make sure that "nothing would come adrift and carry away".
"Hello, though—is it!" he reiterated59, shading his eyes with his left hand.
Right in the glare reflected in the water his keen eyes had spotted60 a tell-tale swirl61. Then above the surface appeared an object that settled his doubts. It was the dorsal fin of a shark.
One of the lascars, looking over his shoulder, saw the danger too. He raised a shrill cry that had the effect of startling his fellow-oarsmen and putting them off their stroke.
"Chup rao!" (Shut up), shouted Peter sternly. "Pull like blue blazes."
"Blue blazes" was evidently a stranger to the lascars' vocabulary, but they understood the word "pull" and guessed the significance of the rest.
Redoubling their efforts, they made the heavy boat travel rapidly through the calm water; but Peter realized that if the shark attacked with any promptitude the rescuers would be too late. He saw that Preston and his companion in distress62 were doing the best thing they could in the circumstances—making a violent splash. Whether the shark would be scared away was a matter for speculation63.
Evidently the tiger of the deep was hungry. He was not devoid64 of pluck, for he had begun to swim round and round the two men, the while drawing nearer to the buoy. At any moment he might make a dart65 straight for his victims.
Peter knew this. He had seen a shark seize a South Sea Islander from a crowd of natives splashing and shouting in the surf. He had seen another monster seize and devour66 a dog within ten yards of a boat putting off to the animal's rescue.
There was no rifle in the lifeboat. In the Royal Navy they do things differently from the Mercantile Marine. Peter had an automatic. It was one of the things he took good care to provide himself with after his experiences in S.S. Donibristle; but the weapon was locked up in his cabin, and in the present circumstances it was like the Dutchman's anchor.
The boat was now a hundred yards from the life-buoy—the shark ten. The brute67 was still circling, sometimes diving, sometimes showing its head; but up to the present it had shown no sign of preparing to seize its prey68 by turning on its back.
A sudden inspiration flashed across Mostyn's mind. In the stern-sheets of the lifeboat was a box containing amongst other things a Verey's pistol. It was a weapon not of offence but for humane69 purposes. It was fired by means of a cartridge70, but, instead of a bullet, it sent up a vivid coloured light to a height of about two hundred feet.
Peter stooped and opened the lid of the box. Thank Heaven! The pistol and cartridges71 were there. Deftly72 he opened the breech and thrust home the cardboard cylinder73 containing the detonator and explosive light; then, standing on the stern bench and steadying the tiller with one foot, he levelled the short-barrelled weapon.
For some seconds he waited. The shark in its orbit was immediately between the lifebuoy and the boat. Preston and his companion were in as much danger from the pistol as they were from the shark.
The huge fish dived and soon reappeared, this time well to the left of the buoy. It had partly turned on its back, and its wide-open jaws74, triple lines of pointed75 teeth, and greenish-white belly76 were clearly visible, for by this time the whaler was less than twenty-five yards away.
It was now or never. The shark was preparing to make a dash for its victims under the bows of the boat.
Deliberately77 Peter pressed the trigger. He had to guess for elevation78, knowing nothing of the trajectory79 of the missile. His aim was good. The rocket must have disappeared down the capacious maw of the shark, for there was no sign of the fiercely burning rocket sizzling on the surface. The satisfactory part of the business was that the shark disappeared and was seen no more.
Quickly the two men were hauled into the boat, both bordering on a state of collapse80. Then, ordering the lascars to give way, Mostyn steered for the West Barbican, picking up the jettisoned81 lifebuoys on the way. He was one who always finished a job properly.
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1
catastrophe
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| n.大灾难，大祸 | |
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ass
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| n.驴；傻瓜，蠢笨的人 | |
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3
pageant
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| n.壮观的游行；露天历史剧 | |
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4
horrified
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| a.(表现出)恐惧的 | |
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5
shrieked
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| v.尖叫( shriek的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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6
incapable
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| adj.无能力的，不能做某事的 | |
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7
acting
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| n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的 | |
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strenuous
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| adj.奋发的，使劲的；紧张的；热烈的，狂热的 | |
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9
bout
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| n.侵袭，发作；一次(阵，回)；拳击等比赛 | |
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complement
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| n.补足物，船上的定员；补语；vt.补充，补足 | |
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11
Bungler
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| n.笨拙者，经验不够的人 | |
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12
promptly
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| adv.及时地，敏捷地 | |
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propeller
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| n.螺旋桨，推进器 | |
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14
prop
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| vt.支撑；n.支柱，支撑物；支持者，靠山 | |
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15
buoy
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| n.浮标；救生圈；v.支持，鼓励 | |
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16
fin
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| n.鳍；(飞机的)安定翼 | |
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17
exhausted
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| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
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18
revels
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| n.作乐( revel的名词复数 )；狂欢；着迷；陶醉v.作乐( revel的第三人称单数 )；狂欢；着迷；陶醉 | |
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19
bawled
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| v.大叫，大喊( bawl的过去式和过去分词 )；放声大哭；大声叫出；叫卖（货物） | |
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20
indicator
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| n.指标；指示物，指示者；指示器 | |
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21
grotesquely
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| adv. 奇异地,荒诞地 | |
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22
grotesque
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| adj.怪诞的，丑陋的；n.怪诞的图案，怪人（物） | |
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23
garb
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| n.服装，装束 | |
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24
garbed
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| v.（尤指某类人穿的特定）服装，衣服，制服( garb的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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25
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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26
elation
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| n.兴高采烈，洋洋得意 | |
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27
wireless
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| adj.无线的；n.无线电 | |
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28
capabilities
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| n.能力( capability的名词复数 )；可能；容量；[复数]潜在能力 | |
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29
strictly
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| adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地 | |
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30
shrill
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| adj.尖声的；刺耳的；v尖叫 | |
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31
antagonist
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| n.敌人，对抗者，对手 | |
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32
consolation
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| n.安慰，慰问 | |
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33
galling
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| adj.难堪的,使烦恼的,使焦躁的 | |
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34
marine
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| adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵 | |
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35
abruptly
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| adv.突然地，出其不意地 | |
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36
hunched
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| （常指因寒冷、生病或愁苦）耸肩弓身的，伏首前倾的 | |
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37
scanty
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| adj.缺乏的，仅有的，节省的，狭小的，不够的 | |
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38
fathoms
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| 英寻( fathom的名词复数 ) | |
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39
immersion
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| n.沉浸；专心 | |
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40
simultaneously
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| adv.同时发生地，同时进行地 | |
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41
gasping
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| adj. 气喘的, 痉挛的 动词gasp的现在分词 | |
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42
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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43
corks
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| n.脐梅衣；软木( cork的名词复数 )；软木塞 | |
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44
regaining
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| 复得( regain的现在分词 )； 赢回； 重回； 复至某地 | |
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45
boisterous
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| adj.喧闹的，欢闹的 | |
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46
severely
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| adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地 | |
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47
brawn
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| n.体力 | |
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48
Neptune
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| n.海王星 | |
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49
proceeding
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| n.行动，进行，(pl.)会议录，学报 | |
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50
encumbrance
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| n.妨碍物，累赘 | |
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51
initiated
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| n. 创始人 adj. 新加入的 vt. 开始，创始，启蒙，介绍加入 | |
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52
corroboration
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| n.进一步的证实，进一步的证据 | |
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53
cape
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| n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风 | |
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54
triangular
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| adj.三角（形）的，三者间的 | |
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55
dorsal
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| adj.背部的，背脊的 | |
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56
steered
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| v.驾驶( steer的过去式和过去分词 )；操纵；控制；引导 | |
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57
rouge
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| n.胭脂，口红唇膏；v.(在…上)擦口红 | |
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58
weird
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| adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的 | |
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59
reiterated
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| 反复地说，重申( reiterate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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60
spotted
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| adj.有斑点的，斑纹的，弄污了的 | |
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61
swirl
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| v.(使)打漩，(使)涡卷；n.漩涡，螺旋形 | |
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62
distress
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| n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛 | |
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63
speculation
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| n.思索，沉思；猜测；投机 | |
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64
devoid
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| adj.全无的，缺乏的 | |
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65
dart
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| v.猛冲，投掷；n.飞镖，猛冲 | |
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66
devour
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| v.吞没；贪婪地注视或谛听，贪读；使着迷 | |
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67
brute
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| n.野兽，兽性 | |
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68
prey
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| n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨 | |
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69
humane
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| adj.人道的，富有同情心的 | |
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70
cartridge
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| n.弹壳，弹药筒；(装磁带等的)盒子 | |
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71
cartridges
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| 子弹( cartridge的名词复数 )； （打印机的）墨盒； 录音带盒； （唱机的）唱头 | |
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72
deftly
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| adv.灵巧地，熟练地，敏捷地 | |
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73
cylinder
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| n.圆筒，柱(面)，汽缸 | |
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74
jaws
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| n.口部；嘴 | |
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75
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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76
belly
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| n.肚子，腹部；(像肚子一样)鼓起的部分，膛 | |
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77
deliberately
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| adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地 | |
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78
elevation
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| n.高度；海拔；高地；上升；提高 | |
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79
trajectory
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| n.弹道，轨道 | |
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80
collapse
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| vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷 | |
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81
jettisoned
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| v.抛弃，丢弃( jettison的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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