CHAPTER IV IN WHICH I EXAMINE THE PARCHMENTS

The advent¹ of the stranger on board the Thrush caused an outburst of surprise and consternation² among the men, who stood in a group around him, addressing him and making remarks upon his personal appearance and his clothes.

“?’E looks like old Father Christmas been starved to death!” I heard one seaman³ remark. “Look at his shoes. Them buckles⁴ are silver, mates!”

And then for the first time I noticed that the buckles on his shoes were very beautiful ones.

“There’s something confoundedly mysterious about both the craft and the man,” declared a seaman who had accompanied us. “There’s lots of skeletons on board, and old armour⁵, cannon⁶, and things. She was a battleship, I believe. At any rate, the men on board her were soldiers.”

“If they were, then the old fossil’s a good specimen,” one of them said, to which the old seaman who had rowed our boat replied:?—

“Well, we collared over a thousand quid in gold, sonny. It was in them heavy bags that are stowed in the skipper’s quarters. Besides, the doctor’s got a few things—books, bits of parchment, and the like.”

They asked for a description of the craft, and we gave it to them, explaining the circumstances in which we discovered the Mysterious Man. The latter was seated on a coil of rope, glancing at us but utterly⁷ apathetic⁸ to the fact that he was the centre of attraction. We told them how the old fellow was both dumb and insane, whereupon their interest in him was increased fourfold. Their jeering⁹ remarks regarding his gorilla-like countenance¹⁰ and his quaintness¹¹ of attire¹² were quickly turned into expressions of sympathy and even the roughest man among them was ready to render the afflicted¹³ stranger any little service.

The armour and books had been placed in my cabin, and when Seal had related our experiences to Thorpe, the latter suggested that we should stand by the Seahorse and take her in tow when the gale¹⁴ abated¹⁵. It would mean a day or two overdue¹⁶ in London, but we should nevertheless secure a prize such as no living man had ever before seen. Apart from the interest in the old vessel¹⁷ and the mystery of how it had come to the surface after being so long submerged, there were on board many things of value from an antiquarian point of view.

And so it was arranged that we should lay to that night, and if the wind went down next day, as Seal believed it would because the morrow was the fourth day of continued bad weather, we should tow the extraordinary craft to Valencia, and, if possible, round to London.

The Mysterious Man, after eating ravenously¹⁸ of food set before him, curled himself up in one of the men’s bunks¹⁹ in the forecastle and soon went to sleep. One man, a well-spoken, middle-aged²⁰ sailor named Harding, was told off to take care of the madman and to see that he did not get into mischief²¹, while the cure of his intellect was left in my charge.

Together with Seal I proceeded to examine our find. As the sun sank crimson²² and stormy, flooding the skipper’s cabin with a blood-red glow, he and I carefully counted the gold. There were 1,783 pieces, large and small, and of great variety. The English ones mostly bore the effigies²³ of Edward VI. and Elizabeth. There were none of James I., but many were of Henry IV. of France, together with a variety of Spanish doubloons and Italian pieces. I found none of a later reign²⁴ than Elizabeth, therefore I put down the date of the Seahorse as about 1603, or a few years earlier.

“I wonder whether Old Mystery will claim the coin?” Seal reflected, as he slowly filled his pipe, having finished the counting.

“As the sole survivor²⁵, it most probably belongs to him,” I said.

“But if he’s a lunatic, what claim can he make to it? There’ll be some job to find the vessel’s owner, I reckon.”

His remark caused me to remember the two parchments I had in my pocket, and I drew them out, opened them, and examined them carefully.

The first was beautifully and clearly written, about a foot square, and headed “Cosmvs.” It was in Latin, and I must admit that although I had passed in Latin up at Edinburgh, I was very rusty²⁶ in it. The document at commencement read as follows:?—

Cosmus Dei Gratia Magnus Dux Etruri?, etc. et sacr? Religionis, et Militi? Militum S. Stephani Pap?, et Martyris Magnus Magister et Custos, etc., Dilecto Nobis Pomp?o Marie a Paule, Nobili Pisano et S. Stephani Militi, gratiam uram, et omne bonum.

Then, after a screed²⁷ of twenty long lines, the document ended:?—

Datum²⁸ Florenti? die pa. Februarij anno ab incarn. MDCI. Nostri Magni Ducatus Etruri? anno VI.

Below were three signatures in ink that had long ago faded yellow, but so badly written were they that I could not decipher them. At the foot of the document was threaded a hempen²⁹ cord, and to it was attached a heavy leaded seal, a trifle bigger than half a crown. On the obverse was a Maltese cross, the same as upon the faded silken banner at my side, and on the reverse a shield bearing six balls, the arms of the Florentine house of the Medici. Around the cross was the legend “Sancti Stephani Signum Religioni,” while around the armorial bearings were the words: “Cosmvs Mag. Dux Etr. Magn. Magis.”

So insufficient³⁰ was my knowledge of Latin that all I could make out of the writing was that it was some diploma or deed concerning some one named Paule, a noble of Pisa. But what honour it conferred upon him I could not decipher, so I turned my attention to the second parchment.

It was yellower, and penned in a hand so crabbed³¹ that for a long time I could not make out in what language it was written.

“Below were seven scrawly³² signatures in that strange old Elizabethan hand.”

The Tickencote Treasure

1 advent   

n.(重要事件等的)到来，来临

参考例句：

• Swallows come by groups at the advent of spring. 春天来临时燕子成群飞来。
• The advent of the Euro will redefine Europe.欧元的出现将重新定义欧洲。

2 consternation   

n.大为吃惊，惊骇

参考例句：

• He was filled with consternation to hear that his friend was so ill.他听说朋友病得那么厉害，感到非常震惊。
• Sam stared at him in consternation.萨姆惊恐不安地注视着他。

3 seaman   

n.海员，水手，水兵

参考例句：

• That young man is a experienced seaman.那个年轻人是一个经验丰富的水手。
• The Greek seaman went to the hospital five times.这位希腊海员到该医院去过五次。

4 buckles   

搭扣，扣环( buckle的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• She gazed proudly at the shiny buckles on her shoes. 她骄傲地注视着鞋上闪亮的扣环。
• When the plate becomes unstable, it buckles laterally. 当板失去稳定时，就发生横向屈曲。

5 armour   

（=armor）n.盔甲；装甲部队

参考例句：

• His body was encased in shining armour.他全身披着明晃晃的甲胄。
• Bulletproof cars sheathed in armour.防弹车护有装甲。

6 cannon   

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。

7 utterly   

adv.完全地，绝对地

参考例句：

• Utterly devoted to the people,he gave his life in saving his patients.他忠于人民，把毕生精力用于挽救患者的生命。
• I was utterly ravished by the way she smiled.她的微笑使我完全陶醉了。

8 apathetic   

adj.冷漠的，无动于衷的

参考例句：

• I realised I was becoming increasingly depressed and apathetic.我意识到自己越来越消沉、越来越冷漠了。
• You won't succeed if you are apathetic.要是你冷淡，你就不能成功。

9 jeering   

adj.嘲弄的，揶揄的v.嘲笑( jeer的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Hecklers interrupted her speech with jeering. 捣乱分子以嘲笑打断了她的讲话。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He interrupted my speech with jeering. 他以嘲笑打断了我的讲话。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 countenance   

n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同

参考例句：

• At the sight of this photograph he changed his countenance.他一看见这张照片脸色就变了。
• I made a fierce countenance as if I would eat him alive.我脸色恶狠狠地，仿佛要把他活生生地吞下去。

11 quaintness   

n.离奇有趣，古怪的事物

参考例句：

• The shops had still a pleasant quaintness. 店铺里依然弥漫着一种亲切的古雅气氛。 来自辞典例句
• She liked the old cottage; its quaintness was appealing. 她喜欢那个老旧的小屋，其奇巧的风格很吸引人。 来自互联网

12 attire   

v.穿衣，装扮[同]array；n.衣着；盛装

参考例句：

• He had no intention of changing his mode of attire.他无意改变着装方式。
• Her attention was attracted by his peculiar attire.他那奇特的服装引起了她的注意。

13 afflicted   

使受痛苦，折磨( afflict的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• About 40% of the country's population is afflicted with the disease. 全国40%左右的人口患有这种疾病。
• A terrible restlessness that was like to hunger afflicted Martin Eden. 一阵可怕的、跟饥饿差不多的不安情绪折磨着马丁·伊登。

14 gale   

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。

15 abated   

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。

16 overdue   

adj.过期的，到期未付的；早该有的，迟到的

参考例句：

• The plane is overdue and has been delayed by the bad weather.飞机晚点了，被坏天气耽搁了。
• The landlady is angry because the rent is overdue.女房东生气了，因为房租过期未付。

17 vessel   

n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管

参考例句：

• The vessel is fully loaded with cargo for Shanghai.这艘船满载货物驶往上海。
• You should put the water into a vessel.你应该把水装入容器中。

18 ravenously   

adv.大嚼地，饥饿地

参考例句：

• We were all ravenously hungry after the walk. 我们散步之后都饿得要命。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The boys dug in ravenously. 男孩们开始狼吞虎咽地吃起来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 bunks   

n.（车、船等倚壁而设的）铺位( bunk的名词复数 )；空话，废话v.（车、船等倚壁而设的）铺位( bunk的第三人称单数 )；空话，废话

参考例句：

• These bunks can tip up and fold back into the wall. 这些铺位可以翻起来并折叠收入墙内。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• At last they turned into their little bunks in the cart. 最后他们都钻进车内的小卧铺里。 来自辞典例句

20 middle-aged   

adj.中年的

参考例句：

• I noticed two middle-aged passengers.我注意到两个中年乘客。
• The new skin balm was welcome by middle-aged women.这种新护肤香膏受到了中年妇女的欢迎。

21 mischief   

n.损害，伤害，危害；恶作剧，捣蛋，胡闹

参考例句：

• Nobody took notice of the mischief of the matter. 没有人注意到这件事情所带来的危害。
• He seems to intend mischief.看来他想捣蛋。

22 crimson   

n./adj.深(绯)红色(的)；vi.脸变绯红色

参考例句：

• She went crimson with embarrassment.她羞得满脸通红。
• Maple leaves have turned crimson.枫叶已经红了。

23 effigies   

n.（人的）雕像，模拟像，肖像( effigy的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• stone effigies in the church 教堂里的石雕像
• On 5 November British children burn effigies of Guy Fawkes. 每逢11月5日英国儿童都焚烧盖伊．福克斯的模拟像。 来自辞典例句

24 reign   

n.统治时期，统治，支配，盛行；v.占优势

参考例句：

• The reign of Queen Elizabeth lapped over into the seventeenth century.伊丽莎白王朝延至17世纪。
• The reign of Zhu Yuanzhang lasted about 31 years.朱元璋统治了大约三十一年。

25 survivor   

n.生存者，残存者，幸存者

参考例句：

• The sole survivor of the crash was an infant.这次撞车的惟一幸存者是一个婴儿。
• There was only one survivor of the plane crash.这次飞机失事中只有一名幸存者。

26 rusty   

adj.生锈的；锈色的；荒废了的

参考例句：

• The lock on the door is rusty and won't open.门上的锁锈住了。
• I haven't practiced my French for months and it's getting rusty.几个月不用，我的法语又荒疏了。

27 screed   

n.长篇大论

参考例句：

• The screed tired the audience.那篇冗长的演说使听众厌烦了。
• The pro-whaling screed was approved by a much thinner margin:33 votes to 32.关于捕鲸的冗长决议是以33票对32票的微弱差数通过的。

28 datum   

n.资料；数据；已知数

参考例句：

• The author has taught foreigners Chinese manyand gathered rich language and datum.作者长期从事对外汉语教学，积累了丰富的语言资料。
• Every theory,datum,or fact is generated by purpose.任何理论，资料、事实都来自于一定的目的。

29 hempen   

adj. 大麻制的, 大麻的

参考例句：

• The net destined to support the car was made of very solid hempen cord. 承受着吊篮的网子是用非常结实的麻绳编的。
• Plant the crop such as wheaten, corn, potato, horsebean, hempen, cole aptly, a year one ripe. 适宜种植小麦、玉米、马铃薯、蚕豆、大麻、油菜等作物，一年一熟。

30 insufficient   

adj.(for，of)不足的，不够的

参考例句：

• There was insufficient evidence to convict him.没有足够证据给他定罪。
• In their day scientific knowledge was insufficient to settle the matter.在他们的时代，科学知识还不能足以解决这些问题。

31 crabbed   

adj.脾气坏的；易怒的；（指字迹）难辨认的；（字迹等）难辨认的v.捕蟹( crab的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• His mature composi tions are generally considered the more cerebral and crabbed. 他成熟的作品一般被认为是触动理智的和难于理解的。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• He met a crabbed, cantankerous director. 他碰上了一位坏脾气、爱争吵的主管。 来自辞典例句

32 scrawly   

潦草地写

参考例句：

• This letter must be from Frank;I recognized his scrawl. 这封信一定是弗兰克写来的，我认得他那潦草的笔迹。
• His signature was an incomprehensible scrawl. 他的签字是令人看不懂的涂鸦。