CHAPTER VI. BE YE ALSO READY.

TIME passed on, and John was now a manly¹ youth of seventeen. He had, by his good conduct, obtained the confidence of his employer, and was earning high wages. He had saved all his money, that he might be able to buy a share in the schooner², and Captain Sam prophesied³ that he would soon be a captain himself. His brother Henry had been received into their employment, and was a smart, affectionate boy; but he never could rival John in the affections of Antonio.

When Mrs Leddam looked around her and saw the blessings⁴ that she enjoyed, her heart was filled with thankfulness; and she often told the old captain that no one need doubt the goodness of God to those who trust in Him.

[31]For several years the family had been accustomed to take their Christmas dinner at Captain Sam’s; and you may be sure that John and Antonio, who were always of the party, took care that there was no want of fine fish and a few wild ducks for the occasion. One morning, after enjoying a Christmas festival, they bade farewell to their friends, and jumping gaily⁵ on board their little vessel⁶, which they called their home, unfurled the sail and glided⁷ down the bay.

It was a clear, bright December day. They were bound to a large ship which Captain Morgan had engaged to unload, and where he was expecting to meet them.

As they were sailing on pleasantly, Antonio remarked, ‘Boys, I don’t like the looks of the sky.’

‘Why,’ said Henry, ‘it is as blue and bright as it can be.’

[32]‘It will be dark enough before tomorrow,’ he answered, ‘so let us make more sail; we have a long pull before we reach the ship.’

Before sunset, just as they were in sight of the vessel, the wind, which had breathed gently from the west, veered⁸ round to the south-east, and began to blow hard. The water, lately so calm, soon changed its appearance, and the boat danced up and down as the waves grew rough beneath the influence of the wind. Night came upon them; a cold rain commenced falling; and as they laboured hard, hoping to reach the fishing village where John had lived, the tempest increased, and they wished in vain for day. But day never dawned on all that group of friends.

‘Where are we?’ said John, breaking a long silence. A flash of lightning, which blazed on the angry waters, and for[33] a moment lighted up the scene, answered his question, by discovering to them a point of land over which the waves were violently breaking.

‘There is a cove⁹ in there,’ said Antonio, ‘if we could only make it.’

‘It is full of ugly rocks,’ replied John; ‘I remember the place well.’

‘Ay,’ returned the sailor, ‘I’ll wait for another flash, and try for it.’

John would have dissuaded¹⁰ him, but his voice was lost in the roar of the tempest. He felt the boat tremble, as, obeying the helm, she turned towards the shore; and, catching¹¹ hold of Henry’s arm, he put his lips to his ear and said, ‘Don’t be frightened if we capsize, but strike out from the boat and swim.’

‘Oh, brother!’ cried Henry, ‘this is dreadful;’ and he clung to John, who only had time to say, ‘Trust in God, pray[34] to Jesus,’ when the frail¹² vessel was violently hurled¹³ against a sunken rock and upset. It was a moment of confusion and struggles for life.

Antonio, who was at home in the water, only thought of the boys. He called loudly for them, and heard the voice of John answering. ‘Thank God,’ he said, ‘my own boy is safe; but where is Henry? In the boat, perhaps, entangled¹⁴ in the rigging; how shall I find it in this darkness?’

‘Oh, Henry, where are you?’ cried John.

‘Here,’ he answered, ‘clinging to the boat; but I am so cold I can’t hold on much longer.’

‘Keep up your courage,’ said Antonio; ‘I see the boat now, and will be there in a moment; hold on for your life!’

A furious gust¹⁵ of wind and rain passed over them and all was darkness for an[35] instant. Oh, how long even a moment seems in such circumstances! When the blast had swept by, John, who had sustained himself on a floating tree, endeavoured once more to find the schooner. He succeeded, and called out loudly for his brother. A faint voice responded, ‘Brother! brother! can’t you save me?’ and all was silent. For a long time they remained in the storm calling his name, but Henry never spoke¹⁶ again.

At last they gave up all hope of saving him, and swimming to the shore, they found a fisherman’s hut, where they obtained torches, and returned. The first object they saw was the body of Henry entangled among the timber with which the cove was filled. The lighter¹⁷ also was floating near him.

The storm was abating¹⁸, and the moon, breaking through the clouds, threw her[36] light on the sad scene. While the fisherman took charge of the boat, John and his friend brought the lifeless boy to land, when Antonio tenderly lifted him in his arms, and carried him to the house. He bitterly reproached himself for running into the cove against John’s advice, but John tried to console him. As he smoothed the wet ringlets on his brother’s brow, and kissed his cold cheek, he said, ‘You did it for the best, Mr Antonio; if it had been the will of God to save him, he would have been alive. I trust he is happy now, for he loved the blessed Saviour¹⁹.’

The next day poor Henry was buried in the nearest churchyard. We shall not attempt to describe his mother’s grief.

1 manly   

adj.有男子气概的；adv.男子般地，果断地

参考例句：

• The boy walked with a confident manly stride.这男孩以自信的男人步伐行走。
• He set himself manly tasks and expected others to follow his example.他给自己定下了男子汉的任务，并希望别人效之。

2 schooner   

n.纵帆船

参考例句：

• The schooner was driven ashore.那条帆船被冲上了岸。
• The current was bearing coracle and schooner southward at an equal rate.急流正以同样的速度将小筏子和帆船一起冲向南方。

3 prophesied   

v.预告，预言( prophesy的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She prophesied that she would win a gold medal. 她预言自己将赢得金牌。
• She prophesied the tragic outcome. 她预言有悲惨的结果。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 blessings   

n.（上帝的）祝福( blessing的名词复数 )；好事；福分；因祸得福

参考例句：

• Afflictions are sometimes blessings in disguise. 塞翁失马，焉知非福。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• We don't rely on blessings from Heaven. 我们不靠老天保佑。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

5 gaily   

adv.欢乐地，高兴地

参考例句：

• The children sing gaily.孩子们欢唱着。
• She waved goodbye very gaily.她欢快地挥手告别。

6 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。

7 glided   

v.滑动( glide的过去式和过去分词 )；掠过；（鸟或飞机 ） 滑翔

参考例句：

• The President's motorcade glided by. 总统的车队一溜烟开了过去。
• They glided along the wall until they were out of sight. 他们沿着墙壁溜得无影无踪。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 veered   

v.（尤指交通工具）改变方向或路线( veer的过去式和过去分词 )；（指谈话内容、人的行为或观点）突然改变；（指风） （在北半球按顺时针方向、在南半球按逆时针方向）逐渐转向；风向顺时针转

参考例句：

• The bus veered onto the wrong side of the road. 公共汽车突然驶入了逆行道。
• The truck veered off the road and crashed into a tree. 卡车突然驶离公路撞上了一棵树。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 cove   

n.小海湾，小峡谷

参考例句：

• The shore line is wooded,olive-green,a pristine cove.岸边一带林木蓊郁，嫩绿一片，好一个山外的小海湾。
• I saw two children were playing in a cove.我看到两个小孩正在一个小海湾里玩耍。

10 dissuaded   

劝（某人）勿做某事，劝阻( dissuade的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was easily dissuaded from going. 他很容易就接受劝告不走了。
• Ulysses was not to be dissuaded from his attempt. 尤利西斯想前去解救的决心不为所动。

11 catching   

adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住

参考例句：

• There are those who think eczema is catching.有人就是认为湿疹会传染。
• Enthusiasm is very catching.热情非常富有感染力。

12 frail   

adj.身体虚弱的；易损坏的

参考例句：

• Mrs. Warner is already 96 and too frail to live by herself.华纳太太已经九十六岁了，身体虚弱，不便独居。
• She lay in bed looking particularly frail.她躺在床上，看上去特别虚弱。

13 hurled   

v.猛投，用力掷( hurl的过去式和过去分词 )；大声叫骂

参考例句：

• He hurled a brick through the window. 他往窗户里扔了块砖。
• The strong wind hurled down bits of the roof. 大风把屋顶的瓦片刮了下来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 entangled   

adj.卷入的；陷入的；被缠住的；缠在一起的v.使某人（某物/自己）缠绕，纠缠于（某物中），使某人（自己）陷入（困难或复杂的环境中）( entangle的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The bird had become entangled in the wire netting. 那只小鸟被铁丝网缠住了。
• Some military observers fear the US could get entangled in another war. 一些军事观察家担心美国会卷入另一场战争。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 gust   

n.阵风，突然一阵（雨、烟等），（感情的）迸发

参考例句：

• A gust of wind blew the front door shut.一阵大风吹来，把前门关上了。
• A gust of happiness swept through her.一股幸福的暖流流遍她的全身。

16 spoke   

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

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

17 lighter   

n.打火机，点火器；驳船；v.用驳船运送；light的比较级

参考例句：

• The portrait was touched up so as to make it lighter.这张画经过润色，色调明朗了一些。
• The lighter works off the car battery.引燃器利用汽车蓄电池打火。

18 abating   

减少( abate的现在分词 )； 减去； 降价； 撤消（诉讼）

参考例句：

• The storm showed no signs of abating. 暴风雨没有减弱的迹象。
• The recent public anxiety about this issue may now be abating. 近来公众对这个问题的焦虑心情现在也许正在缓和下来。

19 saviour   

n.拯救者，救星

参考例句：

• I saw myself as the saviour of my country.我幻想自己为国家的救星。
• The people clearly saw her as their saviour.人们显然把她看成了救星。