Where ocean wrestles1 with its prey;—
The rugged2 rocks all fringed with green—
The iceberg3 glittering and serene—
And ocean, wearing both, away.
Away up on the northern coast of Newfoundland, in the month of September, a group of pleasure seeking tourists were idly lounging about a roaring fire, smoking and telling pleasing stories, while the aroma4 of good coffee, and an occasional whiff of savory5 venison steak wetted their appetites, and made them well pleased with themselves, the world in general and Newfoundland in particular. Only a short distance across the water they could see the smoke from the mining village of Pilley's Island, and hear the shrill6 whistle that called the swarthy miners to and from their labors7 in the cavernous drifts of an enormous mine of iron ore.
Sharks swam recklessly near their anchored craft, and seals protruded9 their shiny heads within easy vision.
Three pairs of enormous antlers spoke10 of their two days' sport, thus far, and enthusiasm was at its wildest among the merry hunters.
Only one man of the six who composed the party, seemed indifferent to the wild, untrammeled country; the possibilities of boundless11 wealth in the forbidden rocks, and the abundance of trout12, seals, otter13 and deer that was to be had with little labor8.
This man was Maurice Sinclair.
He had left London to save his liberty;—he had fled from New York on this pretext14 of pleasure for the same purpose, and now, while the others planned with great volubility the modus operandi of the day's sport, he was moodily15 thinking of the possibilities of life for him in the wilds of this half explored country.
Mining villages he dreaded16, inasmuch as there was always danger of encountering some delegate from civilization—as the mining fraternity are of a nomadic17 tendency—and there was also the fear of the periodical steamer that conveyed the products of their labor to the States or Canadian markets. True, his sin had been that of abduction only, so far as the world knew, but "a guilty conscience needs no accusing," and Maurice Sinclair, although cleverly disguised, lived in daily fear of another and a worse crime being laid at his sinful door.
Under such mental strain it was not unnatural18 that the wondrous19 handiwork of nature, and the limitless possibilities for human advancement20 in this grandly beautiful region failed to excite his admiration21 or interest. The beauty of landscape; the sublimity22 of sky and ocean, inspired no sentiments of awe23 or appreciation24 in his debased and guilty soul.
At last all was in readiness for the anticipated sail up the picturesque25 bays, and Tommy Tully, a native hunter, whose services they had secured as guide and general entertainer, tapped him lightly on the arm while he stared with undisguised astonishment26 at so unenthusiastic a sportsman.
"It be your turn to-day, Sir," Tommy was saying, and taking the extended rifle, Maurice sprang lightly into the boat and with a smile accepted his position of honor in the prow27.
According to Newfoundland game laws each stranger was allowed to shoot eight deer for the trifling28 sum of two hundred dollars, and as this amount, per capita, had been conscientiously29 paid down at the Crown Office in St. Johns, each sportsman took his turn at whatever game presented itself.
Tommy Tully was in himself a character typical of Newfoundland's choicest hunters. Tommy's experience dated back to the days when coraling deer was no unusual circumstance, and Tommy, in his own peculiar30 dialect, told them of once meeting an unusually large Buck31, face to face, in a woodland path, unarmed and unexpectedly.
"He were too skeert to run an' so were I," said Tommy in conclusion. Knowing the Newfoundlander's adherence32 to superstitious33 faiths, the young men asked him with all gravity to relate some of the time honored traditions and prevailing34 beliefs regarding the uncanny "Fetch" and his nocturnal antics, and Tommy, nothing loth, regaled them with blood curdling35 recitals36 of white robed figures, half fish, half human, that skimmed the surface of the bay at midnight, searching with spirit lanterns for belated victims, and dropping his voice to a husky whisper, he continued, "jest over dis very spot, Sir, one night last summer, I stopped rowin' fer a bit to light my pipe and somet'in' riz my feet right up an' turned me clare roun' in de punt, jest hind37 side afore, Sir, never knowed what did it."
Just at that instant Tommy's eyes, which had, all through his narrative38, been carefully scanning the opposite bank, glowed with excitement: His nostrils39 quivered and expanded like those of a keen scented40 animal, while with hardly a perceptible movement of the body he slackened the speed of the dainty craft, and then in a short, sharp, but carefully modulated41 voice, exclaimed "See him? Straight ahead,—Now! Fire!" But no report followed the order.
The huge antlers of the deer that had been plainly seen protruding42 from the dense43 thicket44 on the neighboring bank, trembled for a second as if their owner was undecided what course to pursue, then suddenly disappeared, and only the sound of crackling underbrush told of his enormous bounds through the apparently45 impenetrable forest.
The young men looked savagely46 at Maurice, as by an effort he threw off the spell that so completely enthralled47 him, and laughing pleasantly he passed the rifle to the next in turn, saying brightly, "Don't scold, Boys. The truth is, that fellow rattled48 me. I've lost my turn."
"And we've lost our supper, perhaps," they growled49, rather savagely. But another look at Tommy's face silenced them.
Every muscle was alert with expectancy50.
With skilful51 hand he guided the boat along, through narrow passes and wider openings, scanning the overgrown bank, and soon again his low toned order sent the excited blood tingling52 through their veins53. "Now! Fire!"
This time a shot rang out sharp and clear upon the frosty air. A crash was heard in the thicket and rapidly bringing the boat as near an open space in the bank as possible, Tommy sprang ashore54 and dragged to the water's edge the most magnificent specimen55 of Caribeau they had thus far encountered.
"I knowed he'd hanker fer anudder look at us," muttered Tommy, gleefully. "Dere's a lot of springs in dem bushes and dose boys always knows where dere's good water."
Having acquired much expertness in their previous experiences, the post mortem operations were rapidly performed, and stowing away the desirable portions of the carcass in the "cuddy" the young men, now in thoroughly56 jovial57 mood, proceeded on their delightful58 excursion.
The obliging manner in which that particular deer had walked into rifle range was being joyfully59 discussed when an exclamation60 of delight broke from the lips of one of their number.
They were just crossing "Long Tickle," a narrow passage between two enormous hills of stone, and gazing outward the blue waters of the mighty61 ocean caught the eye, while far away on the very horizon there arose, seemingly to the azure62 heavens, a gigantic pyramid of ice, dazzling in its whiteness and reflecting with a thousand rays the glory of the morning sun.
The young men shivered involuntarily and drew their hunting jackets closer about them. They understood now the source of frosty breezes in the midst of genial63 sunlight and verdant64 foliage65.
At "Hall's Bay Head" a wider glimpse of ocean was obtained, and Tommy noted66 with careful eye the "set" of the restless currents, while he told them of many instances where miners, rowing to their homes from the distant mining villages, had been caught in the treacherous67 tides at this place and carried far out to certain death upon the ocean, while the lights from their cottage homes were plainly visible on the rocky shore.
点击收听单词发音
1 wrestles | |
v.(与某人)搏斗( wrestle的第三人称单数 );扭成一团;扭打;(与…)摔跤 | |
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2 rugged | |
adj.高低不平的,粗糙的,粗壮的,强健的 | |
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3 iceberg | |
n.冰山,流冰,冷冰冰的人 | |
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4 aroma | |
n.香气,芬芳,芳香 | |
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5 savory | |
adj.风味极佳的,可口的,味香的 | |
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6 shrill | |
adj.尖声的;刺耳的;v尖叫 | |
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7 labors | |
v.努力争取(for)( labor的第三人称单数 );苦干;详细分析;(指引擎)缓慢而困难地运转 | |
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8 labor | |
n.劳动,努力,工作,劳工;分娩;vi.劳动,努力,苦干;vt.详细分析;麻烦 | |
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9 protruded | |
v.(使某物)伸出,(使某物)突出( protrude的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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10 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 | |
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11 boundless | |
adj.无限的;无边无际的;巨大的 | |
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12 trout | |
n.鳟鱼;鲑鱼(属) | |
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13 otter | |
n.水獭 | |
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14 pretext | |
n.借口,托词 | |
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15 moodily | |
adv.喜怒无常地;情绪多变地;心情不稳地;易生气地 | |
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16 dreaded | |
adj.令人畏惧的;害怕的v.害怕,恐惧,担心( dread的过去式和过去分词) | |
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17 nomadic | |
adj.流浪的;游牧的 | |
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18 unnatural | |
adj.不自然的;反常的 | |
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19 wondrous | |
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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20 advancement | |
n.前进,促进,提升 | |
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21 admiration | |
n.钦佩,赞美,羡慕 | |
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22 sublimity | |
崇高,庄严,气质高尚 | |
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23 awe | |
n.敬畏,惊惧;vt.使敬畏,使惊惧 | |
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24 appreciation | |
n.评价;欣赏;感谢;领会,理解;价格上涨 | |
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25 picturesque | |
adj.美丽如画的,(语言)生动的,绘声绘色的 | |
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26 astonishment | |
n.惊奇,惊异 | |
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27 prow | |
n.(飞机)机头,船头 | |
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28 trifling | |
adj.微不足道的;没什么价值的 | |
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29 conscientiously | |
adv.凭良心地;认真地,负责尽职地;老老实实 | |
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30 peculiar | |
adj.古怪的,异常的;特殊的,特有的 | |
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31 buck | |
n.雄鹿,雄兔;v.马离地跳跃 | |
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32 adherence | |
n.信奉,依附,坚持,固着 | |
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33 superstitious | |
adj.迷信的 | |
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34 prevailing | |
adj.盛行的;占优势的;主要的 | |
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35 curdling | |
n.凝化v.(使)凝结( curdle的现在分词 ) | |
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36 recitals | |
n.独唱会( recital的名词复数 );独奏会;小型音乐会、舞蹈表演会等;一系列事件等的详述 | |
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37 hind | |
adj.后面的,后部的 | |
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38 narrative | |
n.叙述,故事;adj.叙事的,故事体的 | |
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39 nostrils | |
鼻孔( nostril的名词复数 ) | |
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40 scented | |
adj.有香味的;洒香水的;有气味的v.嗅到(scent的过去分词) | |
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41 modulated | |
已调整[制]的,被调的 | |
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42 protruding | |
v.(使某物)伸出,(使某物)突出( protrude的现在分词 );凸 | |
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43 dense | |
a.密集的,稠密的,浓密的;密度大的 | |
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44 thicket | |
n.灌木丛,树林 | |
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45 apparently | |
adv.显然地;表面上,似乎 | |
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46 savagely | |
adv. 野蛮地,残酷地 | |
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47 enthralled | |
迷住,吸引住( enthrall的过去式和过去分词 ); 使感到非常愉快 | |
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48 rattled | |
慌乱的,恼火的 | |
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49 growled | |
v.(动物)发狺狺声, (雷)作隆隆声( growl的过去式和过去分词 );低声咆哮着说 | |
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50 expectancy | |
n.期望,预期,(根据概率统计求得)预期数额 | |
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51 skilful | |
(=skillful)adj.灵巧的,熟练的 | |
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52 tingling | |
v.有刺痛感( tingle的现在分词 ) | |
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53 veins | |
n.纹理;矿脉( vein的名词复数 );静脉;叶脉;纹理 | |
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54 ashore | |
adv.在(向)岸上,上岸 | |
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55 specimen | |
n.样本,标本 | |
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56 thoroughly | |
adv.完全地,彻底地,十足地 | |
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57 jovial | |
adj.快乐的,好交际的 | |
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58 delightful | |
adj.令人高兴的,使人快乐的 | |
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59 joyfully | |
adv. 喜悦地, 高兴地 | |
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60 exclamation | |
n.感叹号,惊呼,惊叹词 | |
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61 mighty | |
adj.强有力的;巨大的 | |
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62 azure | |
adj.天蓝色的,蔚蓝色的 | |
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63 genial | |
adj.亲切的,和蔼的,愉快的,脾气好的 | |
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64 verdant | |
adj.翠绿的,青翠的,生疏的,不老练的 | |
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65 foliage | |
n.叶子,树叶,簇叶 | |
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66 noted | |
adj.著名的,知名的 | |
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67 treacherous | |
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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