For Boupari was one of those rare remote islets where the very rumor8 of our European civilization has hardly yet penetrated9.
As for Muriel, though she was alarmed enough, of course, and intensely shaken by the sudden shock she had received, the whole surroundings were too wholly unlike any world she had ever yet known to enable her to take in at once the utter horror of the situation. She only knew they were alone, wet, bruised10, and terribly battered11; and the Australasian had gone on, leaving them there to their fate on an unknown island. That, for the moment, was more than enough for her of accumulated misfortune. She come to herself but slowly, and as her torn clothes dried by degrees before the fire and the heat of the tropical night, she was so far from fully12 realizing the dangers of their position that her first and principal fear for the moment was lest she might take cold from her wet things drying upon her. She ate a little of the plantain that Felix picked for her; and at times, toward morning, she dozed13 off into an uneasy sleep, from pure fatigue14 and excess of weariness. As she slept, Felix, bending over her, with the biggest blade of his knife open in case of attack, watched with profound emotion the rise and fall of her bosom15, and hesitated with himself, if the worst should come to the worst, as to what he ought to do with her.
It would be impossible to let a pure young English girl like that fall helplessly into the hands of such bloodthirsty wretches16 as he knew the islanders were almost certain to be. Who could tell what nameless indignities17, what incredible tortures they might wantonly inflict18 upon her innocent soul? Was it right of him to have let her come ashore19 at all? Ought he not rather to have allowed the more merciful sea to take her life easily, without the chance or possibility of such additional horrors?
And now—as she slept—so calm and pure and maidenly—what was his duty that minute, just there to her? He felt the blade of his knife with his finger cautiously, and almost doubted. If only she could tell what things might be in store for her, would she not, herself, prefer death, an honorable death, at the friendly hands of a tenderhearted fellow-countryman, to the unspeakable insults of these man-eating Polynesians? If only he had the courage to release her by one blow, as she lay there, from the coming ill! But he hadn’t; he hadn’t. Even on board the Australasian he had been vaguely20 aware that he was getting very fond of that pretty little Miss Ellis. And now that he sat there, after that desperate struggle for life with the pounding waves, mounting guard over her through the livelong night, his own heart told him plainly, in tones he could not disobey, he loved her too well to dare what he thought best in the end for her.
Still, even so, he was brave enough to feel he must never let the very worst of all befall her. He bethought him, in his doubt and agony, of how his uncle, Major Thurstan, during the great Indian mutiny, had held his lonely bungalow22, with his wife and daughter by his side, for three long hours against a howling mob of native insurgents23; and how, when further resistance was hopeless, and that great black wave of angry humanity burst in upon them at last, the brave soldier had drawn24 his revolver, shot his wife and daughter with unerring aim, to prevent their falling alive into the hands of the natives, and then blown his own brains out with his last remaining cartridge25. As his uncle had done at Jhansi, thirty years before, so he himself would do on that nameless Pacific island—for he didn’t know even now on what shore he had landed. If the savages bore down upon them with hostile intent, and threatened Muriel, he would plunge26 his knife first into that innocent woman’s heart; and then bury it deep in his own, and die beside her.
So the long night wore on—Muriel pillowed on loose cocoanut husk, dozing27 now and again, and waking with a start to gaze round about her wildly, and realize once more in what plight28 she found herself; Felix crouching29 by her feet, and keeping watch with eager eyes and ears on every side for the least sign of a noiseless, naked footfall through the tangled30 growth of that dense31 tropical under-bush. Time after time he clapped his hand to his ear, shell-wise, and listened and peered, with knitted brow, suspecting some sudden swoop32 from an ambush33 in the jungle of creepers behind the little plantain patch. Time after time he grasped his knife hard, and puckered34 his eyebrows35 resolutely36, and stood still with bated breath for a fierce, wild leap upon his fancied assailant. But the night wore away by degrees, a minute at a time, and no man came; and dawn began to brighten the sea-line to eastward38.
As the day dawned, Felix could see more clearly exactly where he was, and in what surroundings. Without, the ocean broke in huge curling billows on the shallow beach of the fringing reef with such stupendous force that Felix wondered how they could ever have lived through its pounding surf and its fiercely retreating undertow. Within, the lagoon spread its calm lake-like surface away to the white coral shore of the central atoll. Between these two waters, the greater and the less, a waving palisade of tall-stemmed palm-trees rose on a narrow ribbon of circular land that formed the fringing reef. All night through he had felt, with a strange eerie39 misgiving40, the very foundations of the land thrill under his feet at every dull thud or boom of the surf on its restraining barrier. Now that he could see that thin belt of shore in its actual shape and size, he was not astonished at this constant shock; what surprised him rather was the fact that such a speck41 of land could hold its own at all against the ceaseless cannonade of that seemingly irresistible42 ocean.
He stood up, hatless, in his battered tweed suit, and surveyed the scene of their present and future adventures. It took but a glance to show him that the whole ground-plan of the island was entirely43 circular. In the midst of all rose the central atoll itself, a tiny mountain-peak, just projecting with its hills and gorges44 to a few hundred feet above the surface of the ocean. Outside it came the lagoon, with its placid45 ring of glassy water surrounding the circular island, and separated from the sea by an equally circular belt of fringing reef, covered thick with waving stems of picturesque46 cocoanut. It was on the reef they had landed, and from it they now looked across the calm lagoon with doubtful eyes toward the central island.
As soon as the sun rose, their doubts were quickly resolved into fears or certainties. Scarcely had its rim47 begun to show itself distinctly above the eastern horizon, when a great bustle48 and confusion was noticeable at once on the opposite shore. Brown-skinned savages were collecting in eager groups by a white patch of beach, and putting out rude but well-manned canoes into the calm waters of the lagoon. At sight of their naked arms and bustling49 gestures, Muriel’s heart sank suddenly within her. “Oh, Mr. Thurstan,” she cried, clinging to his arm in her terror, “what does it all mean? Are they going to hurt us? Are these savages coming over? Are they coming to kill us?”
Felix grasped his trusty knife hard in his right hand, and swallowed a groan50, as he looked tenderly down upon her. “Muriel,” he said, forgetting in the excitement of the moment the little conventionalities and courtesies of civilized51 life, “if they are, trust me, you never shall fall alive into their cruel hands. Sooner than that—” he held up the knife significantly, with its open blade before her.
The poor girl clung to him harder still, with a ghastly shudder52. “Oh, it’s terrible, terrible,” she cried, turning deadly pale. Then, after a short pause, she added, “But I would rather have it so. Do as you say. I could bear it from you. Promise me that, rather than that those creatures should kill me.”
“I promise,” Felix answered, clasping her hand hard, and paused, with the knife ever ready in his right, awaiting the approach of the half-naked savages.
The boats glided53 fast across the lagoon, propelled by the paddles of the stalwart Polynesians who manned them, and crowded to the water’s edge with groups of grinning and shouting warriors54. They were dressed in aprons55 of drac?na leaves only, with necklets and armlets of sharks’ teeth and cowrie shells. A dozen canoes at least were making toward the reef at full speed, all bristling56 with spears and alive with noisy and boisterous57 savages. Muriel shrank back terror-stricken at the sight, as they drew nearer and nearer. But Felix, holding his breath hard, grew somewhat less nervous as the men approached the reef. He had seen enough of Polynesian life before now to feel sure these people were not upon the war-path. Whatever their ultimate intentions toward the castaways might be, their immediate58 object seemed friendly and good-humored. The boats, though large, were not regular war-canoes; the men, instead of brandishing59 their spears, and lunging out with them over the edge in threatening attitudes, held them erect60 in their hands at rest, like standards; they were laughing and talking, not crying their war-cry. As they drew near the shore, one big canoe shot suddenly a length or so ahead of the rest; and its leader, standing61 on the grotesque62 carved figure that adorned63 its prow64, held up both his hands open and empty before him, in sign of peace, while at the same time he shouted out a word or two three times in his own language, to reassure65 the castaways.
Felix’s eye glanced cautiously from boat to boat. “He says, ‘We are friends,’” the young man remarked in an undertone to his terrified companion. “I can understand his dialect. Thank Heaven, it’s very close to Fijian. I shall be able at least to palaver66 to these men. I don’t think they mean just now to harm us. I believe we can trust them, at any rate for the present.”
The poor girl drew back, in still greater awe67 and alarm than ever. “Oh, are they going to land here?” she cried, still clinging closer with both hands to her one friend and protector.
“Try not to look so frightened!” Felix exclaimed, with a warning glance. “Remember, much depends upon it; savages judge you greatly by what demeanor68 you happen to assume. If you’re frightened, they know their power; if they see you’re resolute37, they suspect you have some supernatural means of protection. Try to meet them frankly69, as if you were not afraid of them.” Then, advancing slowly to the water’s edge, he called out aloud, in a strong, clear voice, a few words which Muriel didn’t understand, but which were really the Fijian for “We also are friendly. Our medicine is good. We mean no magic. We come to you from across the great water. We desire your peace. Receive us and protect us!”
At the sound of words which he could readily understand, and which differed but little, indeed, from his own language, the leader on the foremost canoe, who seemed by his manner to be a great chief, turned round to his followers70 and cried out in tones of superstitious71 awe, “Tu-Kila-Kila spoke72 well. These are, indeed, what he told us. Korong! Korong! They are spirits who have come to us from the disk of the sun, to bring us light and pure, fresh fire. Stay back there, all of you. You are not holy enough to approach. I and my crew, who are sanctified by the mysteries, we alone will go forward to meet them.”
As he spoke, a sudden idea, suggested by his words, struck Felix’s mind. Superstition73 is the great lever by which to move the savage5 intelligence. Gathering74 up a few dry leaves and fragments of stick on the shore, he laid them together in a pile, and awaited in silence the arrival of the foremost islanders. The first canoe advanced slowly and cautiously, the men in it eying these proceedings75 with evident suspicion; the rest hung back, with their spears in array, and their hands just ready to use them with effect should occasion demand it.
The leader of the first canoe, coming close to the shore, jumped out upon the reef in shallow water. Half a dozen of his followers jumped after him without hesitation76, and brandished77 their weapons round their heads as they advanced, in savage unison78. But Felix, pretending hardly to notice these hostile demonstrations79, stepped boldly up toward his little pile with great deliberation, though trembling inwardly, and proceeded before their eyes to take a match from his box, which he displayed ostentatiously, all glittering in the sun, to the foremost savage. The leader stood by and watched him close with eyes of silent wonder. Then Felix, kneeling down, struck the match on the box, and applied80 it, as it lighted, to the dry leaves beside him.
A chorus of astonishment81 burst unanimously from the delighted natives as the dry leaves leaped all at once into a tongue of flame, and the little pile caught quickly from the fire in the vesta.
The leader looked hard at the two white faces, and then at the fire on the beach, with evident approbation82. “It is as Tu-Kila-Kila said,” he exclaimed at last with profound awe. “They are spirits from the sun, and they carry with them pure fire in shining boxes.”
Then, advancing a pace and pointing toward the canoe, he motioned Felix and Muriel to take their seats within it with native savage politeness. “Tu-Kila-Kila has sent for you,” he said, in his grandest aristocratic air, “for your chief is a gentleman. He wishes to receive you. He saw your message-fire on the reef last night, and he knew you had come. He has made you a very great Taboo83. He has put you under protection of Fire and Water.”
The people in the boats, with one accord, shouted out in wild chorus, as if to confirm his words, “Taboo! Taboo! Tu-Kila-Kila has said it! Taboo! Taboo! Ware21 Fire! Ware Water!”
Though the dialect in which they spoke differed somewhat from that in use in Fiji, Felix could still make out with care almost every word of what the chief had said to him; and the universal Polynesian expression, “Taboo,” in particular, somewhat reassured84 him as to their friendly intentions. Among remote heathen islanders like these, he felt sure, the very word itself was far too sacred to be taken in vain. They would respect its inviolability. He turned round to Muriel. “We must go with them,” he said, shortly. “It’s our one chance left of life now. Don’t be too terrified; there is still some hope. They say somebody they call Tu-Kila-Kila has tabooed us. No one will dare to hurt us against so great a Taboo; for Tu-Kila-Kila is evidently some very important king or chief. You must step into the boat. It can’t be avoided. If any harm is threatened, be sure I won’t forget my promise.”
Muriel shrank back in alarm, and clung still to his arm now as naturally as she would have clung to a brother’s. “Oh, Mr. Thurstan,” she cried—“Felix, I don’t know what to say; I can’t go with them.”
Felix put his arm gently round her girlish waist, and half lifted her into the boat in spite of her reluctance85. “You must,” he said, with great firmness. “You must do as I say. I will watch over you, and take care of you. If the worst comes, I have always my knife, and I won’t forget. Now, friend,” he went on, in Fijian, turning round to the chief, as he took his seat in the canoe fearlessly among all those dusky, half-clad figures, “we are ready to start. We do not fear. We wish to go. Take us to Tu-Kila-Kila.”
And all the savages around, shouting in their surprise and awe, exclaimed once more in concert, “Tu-Kila-Kila is great. We will take them, as he bids us, forthwith to heaven.”
“What do they say?” Muriel cried, clinging close to the white man’s side in her speechless terror. “Do you understand their language?”
“Well, I can’t quite make it out,” Felix answered, much puzzled; “that is to say, not every word of it. They say they’ll take us somewhere, I don’t quite know where; but in Fijian, the word would certainly mean to heaven.”
Muriel shuddered86 visibly. “You don’t think,” she said, with a tremulous tongue, “they mean to kill us?”
“No, I don’t think so,” Felix replied, not over-confidently. “They said we were Taboo. But with savages like these, of course, one can never in any case be quite certain.”
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1
flickering
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| adj.闪烁的，摇曳的，一闪一闪的 | |
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dreading
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| v.害怕，恐惧，担心( dread的现在分词 ) | |
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3
treacherous
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| adj.不可靠的，有暗藏的危险的；adj.背叛的，背信弃义的 | |
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savages
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| 未开化的人，野蛮人( savage的名词复数 ) | |
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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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lagoon
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| n.泻湖，咸水湖 | |
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vividly
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| adv.清楚地，鲜明地，生动地 | |
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rumor
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| n.谣言，谣传，传说 | |
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penetrated
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| adj. 击穿的，鞭辟入里的 动词penetrate的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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bruised
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| [医]青肿的，瘀紫的 | |
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battered
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| adj.磨损的；v.连续猛击；磨损 | |
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fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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dozed
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| v.打盹儿，打瞌睡( doze的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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fatigue
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| n.疲劳，劳累 | |
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bosom
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| n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的 | |
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wretches
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| n.不幸的人( wretch的名词复数 )；可怜的人；恶棍；坏蛋 | |
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indignities
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| n.侮辱，轻蔑( indignity的名词复数 ) | |
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inflict
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| vt.(on)把…强加给，使遭受，使承担 | |
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ashore
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| adv.在(向)岸上，上岸 | |
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vaguely
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| adv.含糊地，暖昧地 | |
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ware
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| n.(常用复数)商品，货物 | |
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bungalow
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| n.平房，周围有阳台的木造小平房 | |
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insurgents
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| n.起义，暴动，造反( insurgent的名词复数 ) | |
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drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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cartridge
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| n.弹壳，弹药筒；(装磁带等的)盒子 | |
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plunge
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| v.跳入，(使)投入，(使)陷入；猛冲 | |
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dozing
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| v.打瞌睡,假寐 n.瞌睡 | |
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plight
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| n.困境，境况，誓约，艰难；vt.宣誓，保证，约定 | |
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crouching
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| v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的现在分词 ) | |
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tangled
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| adj. 纠缠的，紊乱的 动词tangle的过去式和过去分词 | |
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dense
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| a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的 | |
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swoop
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| n.俯冲，攫取；v.抓取，突然袭击 | |
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ambush
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| n.埋伏(地点)；伏兵；v.埋伏；伏击 | |
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puckered
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| v.（使某物）起褶子或皱纹( pucker的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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eyebrows
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| 眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 ) | |
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resolutely
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| adj.坚决地，果断地 | |
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resolute
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| adj.坚决的，果敢的 | |
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eastward
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| adv.向东；adj.向东的；n.东方，东部 | |
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eerie
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| adj.怪诞的；奇异的；可怕的；胆怯的 | |
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misgiving
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| n.疑虑，担忧，害怕 | |
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speck
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| n.微粒，小污点，小斑点 | |
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42
irresistible
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| adj.非常诱人的，无法拒绝的，无法抗拒的 | |
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entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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44
gorges
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| n.山峡，峡谷( gorge的名词复数 )；咽喉v.（用食物把自己）塞饱，填饱( gorge的第三人称单数 )；作呕 | |
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45
placid
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| adj.安静的，平和的 | |
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46
picturesque
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| adj.美丽如画的，（语言）生动的，绘声绘色的 | |
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47
rim
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| n.(圆物的)边，轮缘；边界 | |
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48
bustle
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| v.喧扰地忙乱，匆忙，奔忙；n.忙碌；喧闹 | |
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49
bustling
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| adj.喧闹的 | |
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50
groan
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| vi./n.呻吟，抱怨；(发出)呻吟般的声音 | |
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51
civilized
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| a.有教养的，文雅的 | |
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52
shudder
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| v.战粟，震动，剧烈地摇晃；n.战粟，抖动 | |
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53
glided
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| v.滑动( glide的过去式和过去分词 )；掠过；（鸟或飞机 ） 滑翔 | |
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54
warriors
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| 武士，勇士，战士( warrior的名词复数 ) | |
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55
aprons
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| 围裙( apron的名词复数 )； 停机坪，台口（舞台幕前的部份） | |
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56
bristling
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| a.竖立的 | |
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57
boisterous
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| adj.喧闹的，欢闹的 | |
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58
immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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59
brandishing
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| v.挥舞( brandish的现在分词 )；炫耀 | |
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erect
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| n./v.树立，建立，使竖立；adj.直立的，垂直的 | |
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61
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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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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adorned
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| [计]被修饰的 | |
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64
prow
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| n.(飞机)机头，船头 | |
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65
reassure
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| v.使放心，使消除疑虑 | |
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66
palaver
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| adj.壮丽堂皇的；n.废话，空话 | |
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67
awe
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| n.敬畏，惊惧；vt.使敬畏，使惊惧 | |
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68
demeanor
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| n.行为；风度 | |
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69
frankly
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| adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说 | |
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70
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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71
superstitious
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| adj.迷信的 | |
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72
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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73
superstition
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| n.迷信，迷信行为 | |
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74
gathering
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| n.集会，聚会，聚集 | |
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75
proceedings
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| n.进程，过程，议程；诉讼(程序)；公报 | |
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76
hesitation
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| n.犹豫，踌躇 | |
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77
brandished
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| v.挥舞( brandish的过去式和过去分词 )；炫耀 | |
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78
unison
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| n.步调一致，行动一致 | |
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79
demonstrations
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| 证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威 | |
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80
applied
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| adj.应用的；v.应用，适用 | |
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81
astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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82
approbation
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| n.称赞；认可 | |
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83
taboo
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| n.禁忌，禁止接近，禁止使用；adj.禁忌的；v.禁忌，禁制，禁止 | |
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84
reassured
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| adj.使消除疑虑的；使放心的v.再保证，恢复信心( reassure的过去式和过去分词) | |
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85
reluctance
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| n.厌恶，讨厌，勉强，不情愿 | |
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86
shuddered
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| v.战栗( shudder的过去式和过去分词 )；发抖；（机器、车辆等）突然震动；颤动 | |
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