Cassidy took a look through the periscope4 and lashed5 the wheel; then he hurried to help Bob, who was lifting the unconscious man to a long locker6 at the side of the room.
“He ain’t never been right since he was sick in New Orleans,” muttered Cassidy. “He jumped into work before he was well enough.”
The captain’s former illness had been of a peculiar7 nature. An idol’s head, steeped in some noxious8 liquor that caused the head to give off a deadly odor, was, according to his firm belief, the cause of his sickness. Carl had also come under the influence of the poisonous odor, but it had had no such effect upon him. However, no two persons are exactly alike, and sometimes a thing that will work havoc9 with one may have no effect upon another.
“His heart action is good, Cassidy,” said Bob.
“He’s a sick man for all that,” replied the mate. “I’ve noticed for several hours he was nervous like. We’ll have to take him ashore10 at Belize, and you’ll have to be the captain while we’re doing the work that’s to be done.”
There was an under note in Cassidy’s voice that caused Bob to give him a keen look. The mate was a good fellow, but he was second in command, aboard the Grampus, and it was quite natural for him to expect to be the one who stepped into the captain’s shoes.
19
“You heard what Captain Nemo, junior, said?” asked Bob.
“Sure, I did,” returned the mate gruffly.
“I had not the least notion he was picking me for any such place.”
“He’s a queer chap, the cap’n is,” said Cassidy, averting11 his face and getting up from the side of the locker. “I’ll go get him a swig of brandy—maybe it’ll bring him round.”
When Cassidy returned from the storeroom with the brandy flask12, Bob could hardly avoid detecting that he had himself sampled the liquor. Bob was disagreeably surprised, for he had not known that the mate was a drinking man.
While they were forcing a little of the brandy down the captain’s throat, Dick and Carl came into the periscope room.
“Vat’s der madder mit der gaptain?” asked Carl, as he and Dick crowded close to the locker.
Bob told of the illness that had so suddenly overtaken the master of the submarine.
“Well, that’s queer!” exclaimed Dick.
“For the last hour,” went on Bob, “the captain’s hands have been like ice and his face pale. I knew he didn’t feel well, but I hadn’t any idea he was as bad as this.”
“Shall we need a pilot to take us into Belize?” asked Bob.
“We can’t get very close to the town, but will have to lay off and go ashore in a boat. I know the place well enough to take the Grampus to a safe berth14.”
A mutinous16 look flickered17 for an instant on Cassidy’s weather-beaten face. He hesitated, and then,20 without a word, turned away and climbed into the conning18 tower.
A moment more and the captain revived and opened his eyes.
“Far from well, my lad,” was the answer, in a weak voice. “Are we off Belize?”
“Not yet, sir, but we are drawing close.”
“We are close enough so that we can read the second half of our sealed orders.”
The captain lifted a hand and removed from the breast pocket of his coat a sealed envelope, which he handed to Bob.
“Open it, Bob,” said he, “and read it aloud.”
The young motorist paused. “Captain,” said he, “wouldn’t Cassidy be the right man for carrying out the work that brought us into these waters? He is the mate, you know, and I think he expects——”
“Cassidy is here to obey orders,” interrupted the captain. “Cassidy has a failing, and that failing is drink. No man that takes liquor is ever to be depended on. As long as I’m around, and can watch him, Cassidy keeps pretty straight, but if I’m laid up at Belize, as I expect to be, I prefer to have some one in command of the Grampus whom I can trust implicitly20. Read the orders.”
Bob tore open the envelope and removed the inclosed sheet.
“On Board U. S. Cruiser Seminole, at Sea.
“Captain Nemo, Junior, Submarine Grampus.
“Sir: Acting21 under orders from the secretary of the navy, I have the honor to request that the Grampus lend her aid to the rescue of United States Consul22 Jeremiah Coleman, who has been sequestered23 by Central American revolutionists, presumably under orders21 from Captain James Sixty, of the brig Dolphin, who is now a prisoner in our hands. Mr. Hays Jordan, the United States consul at Belize, will inform you as to the place where Mr. Coleman is being held. This is somewhere up the Rio Dolce, in a place inaccessible24 even to gunboats of the lightest draft, and it is hoped the Grampus may be able to accomplish something. Present this letter to Mr. Jordan immediately upon reaching Belize, and be guided in whatever you do by his knowledge and judgment25. I have the honor to remain, sir, your most obedient,
“Arthur Wynekoop,
“Captain Cruiser Seminole.”
A movement behind Bob caused him to look around. Cassidy had descended26 quietly from the conning tower and was steering27 the ship entirely28 by the periscope.
“We are off Belize, sir,” announced Cassidy, “and two small sailboats are coming this way. We are to anchor at the surface, I suppose?”
Bob did not know how long the mate had been in the periscope room, but supposed he had been there long enough to overhear the instructions.
“Certainly,” said the captain.
“Get out an anchor fore-and-aft, Speake,” the mate called through one of the speaking tubes.
“Aye, aye, sir,” came the response through the tube.
A little later a muffled30 rattling31 could be heard as a chain was paid out through the patent water-tight hawse hole. Presently the rattling stopped, and the Grampus shivered and swung to her scope of cable. More rattling came from the stern, and soon two anchors were holding the submarine steady in her berth.
“I want you to go ashore, Bob,” said Captain Nemo,22 junior, “and see the American consul. Find a place where I can be taken care of; also, show that letter to the consul and tell him you are my representative. Better take Dick with you.”
“All right, sir,” replied Bob.
A blueish tinge32 had crept into the pallor of the captain’s face. Bob had been covertly33 watching, and his anxiety on the captain’s account had increased. The captain must be taken ashore as quickly as possible and placed in a doctor’s hands.
“Come on, Dick,” called Bob, starting up the conning-tower ladder.
With his chum at his heels, Bob crawled over the rim34 of the conning-tower hatch and lowered himself to the rounded steel deck.
The port of Belize, nestling in a tropical bower35 of coconut36 trees, was about a mile distant. Owing to her light draft, the Grampus had been able to come closer to the town than other ships in the harbor. The submarine lay between a number of sailing vessels37 and steamboats and the line of white buildings peeping out of the greenery beyond the beach.
Two small sailboats, manned by negroes, were approaching the Grampus. Bob motioned to one of them, and her skipper hove-to alongside, caught a rope thrown by Dick, and pulled his craft as near the deck of the submarine as the rounded bulwarks38 would permit. A plank39 was pushed over the side of the sailboat, and Bob and Dick climbed over the lifting and shaking board.
“Golly, boss,” remarked the negro, “dat’s de funniest boat dat I ever seen in dis port. Looks like er bar’l on er raft.”
The two negroes comprising the sailboat’s crew were23 Caribs. They talked together in their native tongue, every word seeming to end in “boo” or “boo-hoo.”
“A whoop41, two grunts42, and a little blubbering,” said Dick, “will give a fellow a pretty fair Carib vocabulary. What ails43 Cassidy?”
“I think he sampled the flask of brandy when he brought it to the captain,” replied Bob.
“That was plain enough, for he had a breath like a rum cask. But it wasn’t that alone that made him so grouchy44. There’s something else at the bottom of his locker.”
“Well, he’s the mate,” went on Bob, dropping his voice and turning a cautious look on the two negroes, “and I suppose he thinks Captain Nemo, junior, ought to have put him in command. To have a fellow like me jumped over his head may have touched him a little.”
“Probably,” murmured Dick, “but it’s a brand-new side of his character Cassidy’s showing. I never suspected it of him. Do you think the captain’s trouble is anything serious?”
“I hope not, Dick, but I’m worried. The sickness came on so suddenly I hardly know what to think.”
“He may have some of the poison from that idol’s head still under his hatches. It’s queer, though, that he should be so long getting over it, when Carl cut himself adrift from the same thing so handsomely.”
“Things of that kind never affect two people in exactly the same way.”
The negroes brought their boat alongside the wharf. As Bob paid for their services, and climbed ashore, Dick called his attention to the Grampus. Cassidy could be seen on the speck45 of deck running the Stars and Stripes to the top of the short flagstaff. The other sailboat, to the boys’ surprise, was standing46 in close to the submarine.
24
Having finished with the flag, Cassidy could be seen to throw a rope to the skipper of the sailboat, and then, a moment later, to spring aboard.
“What does that move mean?” queried Dick.
“Give it up,” answered Bob, with a mystified frown. “Probably we shall know, before long. Just now, though, we’ve got to think of the captain and send off a doctor to the Grampus.”
Turning away, he and Dick walked rapidly to the shore and on into the town.
点击
收听单词发音
收听单词发音 |
1
prostrate
|
|
| v.拜倒，平卧，衰竭；adj.拜倒的，平卧的，衰竭的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
crumpled
|
|
| adj. 弯扭的, 变皱的 动词crumple的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
astounded
|
|
| v.使震惊(astound的过去式和过去分词)；愕然；愕；惊讶 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
periscope
|
|
| n. 潜望镜 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
lashed
|
|
| adj.具睫毛的v.鞭打( lash的过去式和过去分词 )；煽动；紧系；怒斥 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
locker
|
|
| n.更衣箱，储物柜，冷藏室，上锁的人 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
peculiar
|
|
| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
noxious
|
|
| adj.有害的，有毒的；使道德败坏的，讨厌的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
havoc
|
|
| n.大破坏，浩劫，大混乱，大杂乱 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
ashore
|
|
| adv.在(向)岸上，上岸 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
averting
|
|
| 防止，避免( avert的现在分词 )； 转移 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
flask
|
|
| n.瓶，火药筒，砂箱 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
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 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
berth
|
|
| n.卧铺，停泊地，锚位；v.使停泊 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
lookout
|
|
| n.注意，前途，瞭望台 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
mutinous
|
|
| adj.叛变的，反抗的；adv.反抗地，叛变地；n.反抗，叛变 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
flickered
|
|
| （通常指灯光）闪烁，摇曳( flicker的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
conning
|
|
| v.诈骗，哄骗( con的现在分词 )；指挥操舵( conn的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
queried
|
|
| v.质疑，对…表示疑问( query的过去式和过去分词 )；询问 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
implicitly
|
|
| adv. 含蓄地, 暗中地, 毫不保留地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
acting
|
|
| n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
consul
|
|
| n.领事；执政官 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
sequestered
|
|
| adj.扣押的；隐退的；幽静的；偏僻的v.使隔绝，使隔离( sequester的过去式和过去分词 )；扣押 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
inaccessible
|
|
| adj.达不到的，难接近的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
judgment
|
|
| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
descended
|
|
| a.为...后裔的，出身于...的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
27
steering
|
|
| n.操舵装置 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
28
entirely
|
|
| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
29
jingler
|
|
| 喝醉酒的人 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
|
30
muffled
|
|
| adj.（声音）被隔的；听不太清的；（衣服）裹严的；蒙住的v.压抑，捂住( muffle的过去式和过去分词 )；用厚厚的衣帽包着（自己） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
31
rattling
|
|
| adj. 格格作响的, 活泼的, 很好的 adv. 极其, 很, 非常 动词rattle的现在分词 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
32
tinge
|
|
| vt.(较淡)着色于，染色；使带有…气息；n.淡淡色彩，些微的气息 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
33
covertly
|
|
| adv.偷偷摸摸地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
34
rim
|
|
| n.(圆物的)边，轮缘；边界 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
35
bower
|
|
| n.凉亭，树荫下凉快之处；闺房；v.荫蔽 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
36
coconut
|
|
| n.椰子 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
37
vessels
|
|
| n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
38
bulwarks
|
|
| n.堡垒( bulwark的名词复数 )；保障；支柱；舷墙 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
39
plank
|
|
| n.板条，木板，政策要点，政纲条目 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
40
wharf
|
|
| n.码头，停泊处 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
41
whoop
|
|
| n.大叫，呐喊，喘息声；v.叫喊，喘息 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
42
grunts
|
|
| （猪等）作呼噜声( grunt的第三人称单数 )； （指人）发出类似的哼声； 咕哝着说； 石鲈 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
43
ails
|
|
| v.生病( ail的第三人称单数 )；感到不舒服；处境困难；境况不佳 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
44
grouchy
|
|
| adj.好抱怨的；愠怒的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
45
speck
|
|
| n.微粒，小污点，小斑点 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
46
standing
|
|
| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |