He had awoke, I was told, made a tour of the ship, and, gaining possession of the weapon belonging to the second engineer, proceeded to fire one chamber2 point-blank at Thorpe, who was on duty on the bridge. Then, when pursued, he took refuge in the forecastle, where I found him.
On my approach he calmed down immediately, and handed me the revolver as obediently as a child. Somehow I seemed to possess an influence over him which no one else could exercise, and very quickly induced him to return to his bunk3, greatly to the satisfaction of the man who had been told off to be his keeper, and who had no doubt slept on duty.
The storm showed no sign of abatement4, and laying to as we were we received the full force of the sweeping5 gale6. The skipper was asleep, snoring loudly, as was his wont7, therefore I returned to my berth8, and for a couple of hours watched the capers10 of the rats, until the motion of the boat rising and rolling lulled11 me again to unconsciousness.
Through the whole of the following day we lay off the seaweed-covered relic12 of the past until, in the red sundown, the wind dropped, and after several attempts the men secured a wire hawser13 to the battered14 prow15, and when Seal rang, “Full steam ahead,” the Seahorse began slowly to follow in our wake, amid the loud cheering of those on board.
The Mysterious Man stood on the bridge at my side and watched the operation with an expression of complete satisfaction, although more than once, when he believed I was not looking, he would turn and shake his skinny fist at the curious old craft at our stern.
Our progress was slow, for the Thrush was never at any time a fast boat. And with such a dead weight behind her the engineer had to be careful at what pressure he worked our unsafe boilers16.
The skipper, after consultation17 with Thorpe and myself, decided18 not to make for Valencia but to tow his prize straight to Gibraltar and on to London. As the great black hull19 with its shroud20 of marine21 plants rose and fell behind us it certainly presented more the appearance of Noah’s Ark, as pictorially22 represented, than of a sea-going vessel23. One fact I now discovered that I had not before noticed was that on the bows above the broken figure-head representing a seahorse was a wooden crucifix perhaps two feet high; broken it was true, but still bearing an effigy24 of the crucifixion, while upon the breast of the seahorse was carved a Maltese cross of similar design to that upon the old silken banner.
The mystery of it all was the sole topic of conversation both on the bridge and in the forecastle. Every man on board tried to obtain some word from the castaway, but in vain. He became tractable25, ate well, would not touch grog, but remained always silent. He would stand erect26 by the capstan in the stern for hours, and with folded arms watch the rolling hulk ploughing her way slowly in the long streak27 of foam28 left by our propeller29. He still wore his faded velvet30 breeches, but his bare legs were now covered by a pair of woollen stockings, while in place of his ragged31 doublet he wore an old pea-jacket, and sometimes an oilskin coat and peaked cap. He still, however, clung to the rusty32 sword which he had chosen, a blunt but finely-tempered weapon, and often it would be seen poking33 from beneath his oilskin as he walked the deck.
Once an attempt had been made to trim his long white hair and flowing beard, but this he had resented so vigorously, threatening to spit the man who held the scissors, that the effort had to be abandoned. He thus gave them to understand that although he might accept their modern dress as a loan he would brook34 no interference with his personal appearance.
Who was he? That was the question which all of us, from Job Seal down to the apprentices35, were anxious to solve.
The mystery of the Seahorse was great enough, but that surrounding the unknown man was greater. My own theory regarding the vessel was that in the early seventeenth century she had gone down or aground in shallow water, perhaps in one of the many coves37 on the Moroccan or Algerian coast, but the high prow and stern being closed down so tight both air and water were excluded. Those on board—fighting men, it seemed—had perished, but the buoyancy of the ship had been preserved, and by some submarine disturbance—volcanic, most probably—it had become released and risen to the surface.
The growth of barnacles, mussels, and weeds over the whole of the vessel from the stumps38 of her masts caused Seal to believe that she could only have been covered at high tide, and that she must have lain hidden in some well-sheltered spot where the force of the waves had been broken, otherwise she must have been beaten to pieces. He pointed39 out to me how some of the weed on her was only to be found on rocks covered at high water, yet if the theory were a correct one then she could not have been hidden in the Mediterranean40, as it is an almost tideless sea.
Seal suggested that she might have been aground on the coast of Western Morocco, a country but little known to the civilized41 world although so near one of the greatest trade routes, and that she might have drifted from the Atlantic to the spot where we had discovered her.
This theory seemed the most likely one, although the presence of the Mysterious Man was utterly42 unaccountable.
The main point which puzzled Seal, I think, was what he should do with the gold. He regarded the poor old fellow as a gibbering idiot, and had but little to do with him. Customs officers and lunatics were the bluff43 old seaman’s pet abominations. He would probably have liked to claim the hoard44 of gold himself if it were not for the existence of one with a prior claim to it, and once or twice he expressed to me an anxiety as to what his owners would say to it all. They were skinflints of the worst type, and would, I expected, probably lay claim to it themselves.
Steaming slowly we passed the Gib. and made a straight course for Cape9 St. Vincent, which we sighted at dawn one rainy morning, then hugging the Portuguese45 coast we safely passed the mouth of the Tagus, being hailed more than once by other craft, the skippers all asking us with humorous banter46 what we had in tow.
Fortunately the weather had improved greatly, and even as we traversed the Bay of Biscay we had no reason to complain, for the old Seahorse rode proudly in our wake, rocking a good deal on account of its house-like shape, but nevertheless giving Seal the greatest satisfaction.
“It’ll make ’em open their eyes, doctor, when we tow ’er up the Thames,” he often said, as he paced his bridge and looked at her straining on the hawser.
Never a day passed but I occupied myself diligently47 with the documents and manuscripts that had fallen into my hands, but I am fain to confess that beyond what I have already explained to the reader I discovered absolutely nothing. Although I had passed my final examination and could write M.D. after my name, my book-learning was not sufficiently48 deep that I could decipher and understand those crabbed49 old screeds.
I showed them to the Mysterious Man, hoping that they would attract his attention and give me some clue to their meaning, but he remained quite passive when he saw them, and turning upon his heel looked out through the round port-hole.
I certainly was very anxious to get back to London to obtain some opinion upon the big vellum book in which Bartholomew da Schorno declared there was a secret that would be discovered hereafter. My voyage, besides being a pleasant one, had been full of excitement, for we had found an object the like of which no living eye had seen, together with an individual who was a complete and profound mystery.
The weather was all that could be desired when we entered the Channel, keeping close in to the coast of Normandy as far as Dieppe, and then taking a direct course across to Beachy Head, where we were signalled as homeward bound. When, however, we were off Folkestone, about nine o’clock one night, a squall struck us so suddenly that even Job Seal was unprepared for it. The glass had fallen rapidly, he had noticed, but such a heavy squall as it proved to be was not to be expected at that season of the year. Within a quarter of an hour a terrific sea was running, and the Thrush seemed ever and anon thrown almost on her beam-ends. I noticed that Seal’s face for the first time during our trip betrayed some anxiety, and not without cause, for he suddenly exclaimed:?—
“Ah! just as I expected. Blister50 my kidneys, doctor, but we’ve no bloomin’ luck. That hawser’s parted!”
I turned quickly to look astern, and there, sure enough, the Seahorse was adrift and out of our wake. Until that moment the strain on the hawser had kept her comparatively steady, but the instant the steel cable had broken she pitched upon her beam-ends, burying her nose deep into the angry waves.
We both stood gripping a rail and watching, neither of us uttering a word.
For perhaps five minutes the antique vessel strove again and again to right herself, until one wave greater than the others crashed over her high stern. From where we stood we could hear the breaking of glass and the shivering of the heavy timbers that, half rotten, now broke up like matchwood.
Then almost immediately the saloon which we had explored began to fill, and slowly before our eyes she went down stern first.
The men, watching like ourselves, set up a howl of disappointment, and Seal gave vent36 to a volley of nautical51 expressions which need not here be repeated; but the Mysterious Man, who had also noticed the disaster, began dancing joyously52 and cutting capers on the deck, heedless of the storm raging about him. It was evident that the final disappearance53 of the Seahorse gave him the utmost satisfaction.
As for ourselves, we gazed with regret upon the mass of floating timbers that were swept around us. It was to our bitter chagrin54 that, after towing that relic of a bygone age all those miles at a cost of fuel and time, we had lost her almost at the mouth of the Thames.
But regret was useless. The Seahorse, with its freight of crumbling55 skeletons, had gone down again, and would certainly never reappear. So Job Seal drew his oilskin closer around him, lamented56 his infernal luck, and, recollecting57 the thousand odd pieces of gold in his cabin, turned and gave an order to the helmsman which caused the bows of the Thrush to run nearer towards the dark line of England’s cliffs between Folkestone and Dover.
Lights white and green were beginning to show in the distance, those of other ships passing up and down Channel, and as I stood by his side in my dripping oilskins I congratulated myself that if we weathered the squall I should be safely back in London in a very few hours, with as strange a story to tell as any man had related.
点击
收听单词发音
收听单词发音 |
1
standing
|
|
| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
chamber
|
|
| n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
bunk
|
|
| n.(车、船等倚壁而设的)铺位；废话 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
abatement
|
|
| n.减(免)税，打折扣，冲销 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
sweeping
|
|
| adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
gale
|
|
| n.大风，强风，一阵闹声（尤指笑声等） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
wont
|
|
| adj.习惯于；v.习惯；n.习惯 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
berth
|
|
| n.卧铺，停泊地，锚位；v.使停泊 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
cape
|
|
| n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
capers
|
|
| n.开玩笑( caper的名词复数 )；刺山柑v.跳跃，雀跃( caper的第三人称单数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
lulled
|
|
| vt.使镇静，使安静（lull的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
relic
|
|
| n.神圣的遗物，遗迹，纪念物 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
hawser
|
|
| n.大缆；大索 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
battered
|
|
| adj.磨损的；v.连续猛击；磨损 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
prow
|
|
| n.(飞机)机头，船头 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
boilers
|
|
| 锅炉，烧水器，水壶( boiler的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
consultation
|
|
| n.咨询；商量；商议；会议 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
decided
|
|
| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
hull
|
|
| n.船身；(果、实等的)外壳；vt.去(谷物等)壳 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
shroud
|
|
| n.裹尸布，寿衣；罩，幕；vt.覆盖，隐藏 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
marine
|
|
| adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
pictorially
|
|
| 绘画般地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
vessel
|
|
| n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
effigy
|
|
| n.肖像 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
tractable
|
|
| adj.易驾驭的；温顺的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
erect
|
|
| n./v.树立，建立，使竖立；adj.直立的，垂直的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
27
streak
|
|
| n.条理，斑纹，倾向，少许，痕迹；v.加条纹，变成条纹，奔驰，快速移动 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
28
foam
|
|
| v./n.泡沫，起泡沫 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
29
propeller
|
|
| n.螺旋桨，推进器 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
30
velvet
|
|
| n.丝绒，天鹅绒；adj.丝绒制的，柔软的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
31
ragged
|
|
| adj.衣衫褴褛的，粗糙的，刺耳的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
32
rusty
|
|
| adj.生锈的；锈色的；荒废了的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
33
poking
|
|
| n. 刺，戳，袋 vt. 拨开，刺，戳 vi. 戳，刺，捅，搜索，伸出，行动散慢 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
34
brook
|
|
| n.小河，溪；v.忍受，容让 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
35
apprentices
|
|
| 学徒，徒弟( apprentice的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
36
vent
|
|
| n.通风口，排放口；开衩；vt.表达，发泄 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
37
coves
|
|
| n.小海湾( cove的名词复数 )；家伙 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
38
stumps
|
|
| （被砍下的树的）树桩( stump的名词复数 )； 残肢； （板球三柱门的）柱； 残余部分 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
39
pointed
|
|
| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
40
Mediterranean
|
|
| adj.地中海的；地中海沿岸的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
41
civilized
|
|
| a.有教养的，文雅的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
42
utterly
|
|
| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
43
bluff
|
|
| v.虚张声势，用假象骗人；n.虚张声势，欺骗 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
44
hoard
|
|
| n./v.窖藏，贮存，囤积 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
45
Portuguese
|
|
| n.葡萄牙人；葡萄牙语 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
46
banter
|
|
| n.嘲弄，戏谑；v.取笑，逗弄，开玩笑 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
47
diligently
|
|
| ad.industriously;carefully | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
48
sufficiently
|
|
| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
49
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： |
|
|
|
|
50
blister
|
|
| n.水疱；(油漆等的)气泡；v.(使)起泡 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
51
nautical
|
|
| adj.海上的，航海的，船员的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
52
joyously
|
|
| ad.快乐地, 高兴地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
53
disappearance
|
|
| n.消失，消散，失踪 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
54
chagrin
|
|
| n.懊恼；气愤；委屈 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
55
crumbling
|
|
| adj.摇摇欲坠的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
56
lamented
|
|
| adj.被哀悼的，令人遗憾的v.（为…）哀悼，痛哭，悲伤( lament的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
57
recollecting
|
|
| v.记起，想起( recollect的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |