The buzz of voices from the crowded fo'c'sle ceased. Ten boys, packed, like sardines2 in a triangular3 compartment4 twenty feet by ten, had had considerable difficulty in turning in. Each of the iron cots on either side had its blanketed occupant; two Sea Scouts5 were lying on the floor. It was "sleeping rough" with a vengeance6; but, as these conditions were "for this night only ", the youngsters made the best of things and rather enjoyed the situation.
"I hope your cot-lashing's strong enough," said Desmond drowsily7, addressing Woodleigh, whose hefty person was barely a couple of feet above the speaker. "If that carries away you'll flatten8 me out, old son."
"It's all right," rejoined Woodleigh with a yawn. "Night-night, old thing."
In less than a minute Woodleigh was asleep, his example being quickly followed by the rest of the Olivette's crew. But not so the three supernumeraries. In strange surroundings they could not help keeping awake.
"What's that noise, Desmond?" whispered Hayes. "It sounds like water pouring in. Is she leaking, do you think?"
"No," replied the Patrol Leader. "It's the tide rippling9 past the boat's side."
Five minutes later Hayes declared that there was another weird10 noise.
"Mooring11 chain rubbing against the boat's forefoot," explained Desmond. "For goodness' sake don't keep on chattering12. I want to get to sleep."
"It's not that I mean," persisted the lad. "There's a sort of gnawing13 sound. Can't you hear it?"
"Rats!" ejaculated the Patrol Leader.
Hayes kept silent for a considerable time. He was not altogether sure about the sense in which Desmond had used the word "Rats". He might have meant it as a deprecatory ejaculation. He hoped that he had, because he was afraid of rodents15. It was a fear that he had never yet been able to conquer, although in other respects he was a plucky16 little youngster.
The gnawing sound began again. Hayes, who was sleeping, or rather lying on the floor on top of a number of blankets, realized the possibility of the rat gnawing a hole through the panelling of the fo'c'sle. In that case he being on the floor would be the one to be favoured with the brute17's attention.
Doubling his fist Hayes tried to thump18 the floor in the hope of scaring the rat. Unfortunately he forgot that the Olivette's tenderfoot, little Willis, was occupying a made-up bed close to him. So instead of smiting19 the board Hayes dealt his opposite number a hefty whack20 in the ribs21.
"What's that for?" demanded the astonished Willis, only half awake in spite of the blow.
"Rats," whispered Hayes hoarsely22.
"Silly owl23!" retorted Willis. "If you are trying to be funny——"
"I'm not," interposed the other seriously. "There are rats on board. Sorry, I didn't mean to biff you. I was trying to scare them away. Listen."
Both lads listened. Beyond the occasional rasp of the mooring-chain and the steady ripple24 of the wavelets there was silence.
"You've scared it," said Willis at length. "We get a rat on board occasionally—when we are lying alongside a quay25. It's nothing to make a song about. You'll soon get used to it. It's in the bilges if it's anywhere. No chance of getting in here. 'Sides, the poor blighter would be scared stiff."
The last sentence trailed off almost into an incoherent whisper. Willis was asleep again.
Hayes lay awake listening for quite another half-hour; then, dimly conscious once or twice that the intermittent26 gnawing was going on, he too fell into a deep sleep.
Suddenly the silence of the confined space was rent by a frenzied27 yell, followed by a heavy double crash. In an instant every Sea Scout1 was awake, and a scene of utter confusion followed as the lads barged into each other and tripped over the writhing28 bodies of their comrades on the floor.
Roused by the uproar29 the two Scoutmasters hastened from the after-cabin, Mr. Armitage going through the engine-room and by the sliding door leading to the fo'c'sle, while Mr. Graham gained the deck, went for'ard, and reached the hatchway to the Sea Scouts' sleeping quarters.
Simultaneously30 both Scoutmasters flashed their electric torches upon the scene.
"Pull yourselves together, lads!" exclaimed Mr. Armitage firmly, although he was quite at a loss to account for the chaotic31 state of the fo'c'sle. "Patrol, alert!"
The order had the desired effect. The Scouts' equivalent to the military "'Shun32" was obeyed with an alacrity33 that would have earned the approbation34 of the strictest regimental sergeant-major. Promptly35 the lads "sorted themselves out" and stood still, blinking solemnly at the dazzling cross-rays of the two Scoutmasters' torches.
"Tell me what you know of this business, Woodleigh," continued Mr. Armitage, addressing the Patrol Leader.
"I hardly know anything, sir," replied Woodleigh, conscious of a steadily36 rising bump on his forehead and a pair of barked elbows. "Something disturbed me. I sat up and barged my head on the deck-beam. Then my hammock gave way and I cannoned37 off Desmond on top of somebody else."
"It was my fault, sir," declared Desmond. "Some of us were talking about rats before I went to sleep, and I must have dreamt that a rat was nibbling38 my toe. I remember sitting up and shouting out and bumping the under side of Woodleigh's cot with my head. Then Woodleigh's cot-lashings carried away, and he rolled out on top of me."
"I should hardly have expected to find that you were subject to silly nightmares, Desmond," observed Mr. Graham, who was beginning to shiver in the night air as he hung over the open fore-hatch.
"I don't think it was a nightmare, sir," protested Desmond. "A rat bit me."
In support of this assertion he held up a bare foot. There was blood oozing39 from a double puncture40 on the big toe.
Mr. Armitage examined the injury.
"You've knocked your toe against something, my boy," he said. "A nail perhaps. Wash your foot in lysol and fresh water and put some lint41 to it."
He glanced at his wristlet watch. It was half-past three.
"I don't suppose you fellows will get to sleep again," he remarked briskly; "so get dressed and have something to eat. We'll make a start and get under way as soon as possible. Come on, Graham, it's a bit draughty up there, and you look shivery. Let's get dressed."
The two Scoutmasters returned to the after-cabin.
"That lad Desmond wasn't dreaming, Graham," remarked Mr. Armitage quietly. "I didn't want to alarm him, but it was a bite right enough. We'll have to smoke that rat out as soon as it gets light enough."
Desmond's assertion was not lacking in supporting evidence. A few days previously42 Flemming had invested in a pair of shoes, and, having walked a good distance in them, had galled43 one of his heels. To relieve the sting and to soften44 the tough leather Flemming had rubbed Russian tallow on the heel of his stocking.
Tallow being a delicacy45 to which rats are particularly addicted46, it was not so very surprising to learn that the rodent14, who had taken up his temporary abode47 on board the Olivette, had been attracted by Flemming's sock. Not only had the tallow disappeared but four square inches of wool had gone the same way.
Then Hayes discovered a gnawed48 hole in his haversack, and Woodleigh noted49 with considerable misgivings50 that one of his shoes looked a bit ragged51. Mr. Rat had been quite impartial52 in his attentions, and had he not nibbled53 Desmond's toe he might have taken toll54 from every Sea Scout on board.
While breakfast was being prepared Findlay engaged upon a tracking stunt55 in the fo'c'sle. It did not take him long to find the rat's mode of entering. There was a hole through the side of one of the lockers57, the ragged edges bearing testimony58 to the sharpness of the animal's teeth. From the for'ard partition of the locker56 another hole communicated with the chain-locker. Here the trail ended. It was impossible for the rat to have got into the chain-locker through the narrow metal-bound aperture59 that allowed the "ranged" cable to run out. The only explanation of the rat's method of getting into the locker was that at some recent time the lid must have been left open.
The next step was to find out the rodent's hiding-place. There was no other hole between the fo'c'sle and the engine-room. All the lockers were examined. The floor fitted too well to allow the animal to find a refuge in the bilges.
"I don't think we need try smoking the rat out," decided60 Mr. Armitage. "The only feasible conclusion we can come to is that the brute made its escape through the open scuttle61. In all probability the rat has rejoined his brothers and sisters in a hole under the piles of the quay, and is regaling them with a story of wondrous62 adventures with the Sea Scouts of the Olivette."
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1
scout
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| n.童子军，侦察员；v.侦察，搜索 | |
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sardines
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| n. 沙丁鱼 | |
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triangular
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| adj.三角（形）的，三者间的 | |
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compartment
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| n.卧车包房，隔间；分隔的空间 | |
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scouts
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| 侦察员[机，舰]( scout的名词复数 )； 童子军； 搜索； 童子军成员 | |
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vengeance
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| n.报复，报仇，复仇 | |
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drowsily
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| adv.睡地，懒洋洋地，昏昏欲睡地 | |
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flatten
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| v.把．．．弄平，使倒伏；使(漆等)失去光泽 | |
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rippling
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| 起涟漪的，潺潺流水般声音的 | |
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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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mooring
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| n.停泊处；系泊用具，系船具；下锚v.停泊，系泊（船只）(moor的现在分词) | |
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12
chattering
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| n. （机器振动发出的）咔嗒声，(鸟等)鸣，啁啾 adj. 喋喋不休的，啾啾声的 动词chatter的现在分词形式 | |
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gnawing
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| a.痛苦的，折磨人的 | |
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rodent
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| n.啮齿动物；adj.啮齿目的 | |
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rodents
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| n.啮齿目动物( rodent的名词复数 ) | |
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plucky
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| adj.勇敢的 | |
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brute
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| n.野兽，兽性 | |
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thump
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| v.重击，砰然地响；n.重击，重击声 | |
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smiting
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| v.猛打，重击，打击( smite的现在分词 ) | |
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whack
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| v.敲击，重打，瓜分；n.重击，重打，尝试，一份 | |
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ribs
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| n.肋骨( rib的名词复数 )；（船或屋顶等的）肋拱；肋骨状的东西；（织物的）凸条花纹 | |
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hoarsely
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| adv.嘶哑地 | |
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owl
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| n.猫头鹰，枭 | |
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ripple
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| n.涟波，涟漪，波纹，粗钢梳；vt.使...起涟漪，使起波纹； vi.呈波浪状，起伏前进 | |
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quay
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| n.码头，靠岸处 | |
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intermittent
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| adj.间歇的，断断续续的 | |
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frenzied
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| a.激怒的；疯狂的 | |
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writhing
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| （因极度痛苦而）扭动或翻滚( writhe的现在分词 ) | |
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uproar
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| n.骚动，喧嚣，鼎沸 | |
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simultaneously
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| adv.同时发生地，同时进行地 | |
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chaotic
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| adj.混沌的，一片混乱的，一团糟的 | |
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shun
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| vt.避开，回避，避免 | |
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alacrity
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| n.敏捷，轻快，乐意 | |
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approbation
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| n.称赞；认可 | |
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promptly
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| adv.及时地，敏捷地 | |
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steadily
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| adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地 | |
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cannoned
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| vi.与…猛撞（cannon的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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nibbling
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| v.啃，一点一点地咬（吃）( nibble的现在分词 )；啃出（洞），一点一点咬出（洞）；慢慢减少；小口咬 | |
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39
oozing
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| v.（浓液等）慢慢地冒出，渗出( ooze的现在分词 )；使（液体）缓缓流出；（浓液）渗出，慢慢流出 | |
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puncture
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| n.刺孔，穿孔；v.刺穿，刺破 | |
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lint
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| n.线头；绷带用麻布，皮棉 | |
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previously
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| adv.以前，先前（地） | |
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galled
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| v.使…擦痛( gall的过去式和过去分词 )；擦伤；烦扰；侮辱 | |
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44
soften
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| v.(使)变柔软；(使)变柔和 | |
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45
delicacy
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| n.精致，细微，微妙，精良；美味，佳肴 | |
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46
addicted
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| adj.沉溺于....的，对...上瘾的 | |
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abode
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| n.住处，住所 | |
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48
gnawed
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| 咬( gnaw的过去式和过去分词 )； （长时间） 折磨某人； （使）苦恼； （长时间）危害某事物 | |
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49
noted
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| adj.著名的，知名的 | |
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50
misgivings
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| n.疑虑，担忧，害怕；疑虑，担心，恐惧( misgiving的名词复数 )；疑惧 | |
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51
ragged
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| adj.衣衫褴褛的，粗糙的，刺耳的 | |
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52
impartial
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| adj.(in,to)公正的，无偏见的 | |
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53
nibbled
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| v.啃，一点一点地咬（吃）( nibble的过去式和过去分词 )；啃出（洞），一点一点咬出（洞）；慢慢减少；小口咬 | |
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54
toll
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| n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟) | |
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55
stunt
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| n.惊人表演，绝技，特技；vt.阻碍...发育，妨碍...生长 | |
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56
locker
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| n.更衣箱，储物柜，冷藏室，上锁的人 | |
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lockers
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| n.寄物柜( locker的名词复数 ) | |
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58
testimony
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| n.证词；见证，证明 | |
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aperture
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| n.孔，隙，窄的缺口 | |
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decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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scuttle
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| v.急赶，疾走，逃避；n.天窗；舷窗 | |
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62
wondrous
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| adj.令人惊奇的，奇妙的；adv.惊人地；异乎寻常地；令人惊叹地 | |
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