CHAPTER XIII. WAITING FOR SOMETHING.

 Ysabel sank down on the top of the locker¹. Carl had turned on the electric light in the periscope² room and was staring at the girl in unconcealed amazement³.

 

“How vas dis?” he asked. “Miss Harris, is it you, sure enough?”

 

“Not Miss Harris,” answered the girl, with a flush, “but Miss Ysabel Sixty.”

 

“Oh!” returned Carl, slightly abashed⁴. “Miss Sixdy, dis vas a surbrise. I hat no itee dot you vas in dis part of der vorld. How id vas——”

 

“Slow down your motor, Gaines!” shouted Bob, through one of the tubes. “Make ready the bow anchor, there, Clackett—you don’t need to bother with the tanks, because we’re going to anchor under the surface. Carl, go below and make ready to let go the stern anchor when I give the word. Sharp on it now!”

 

Carl jumped for the bulkhead door leading to the afterpart of the ship.

 

Every one on board, with the exception of Dick and Ysabel, were astounded⁵ at these maneuvers⁶ of Bob Steele’s. However, Bob was in charge, and all hands obeyed him without question.

 

With his eyes on the periscope, Bob stood and watched, now and then calling a direction to Dick, at the wheel.

 

When the Grampus shot from the Purgatoire into the Izaral, she went broadside on against the current of the larger stream. The steel hull⁷ heaved over a little, under the mass of flowing water, but the screw and the rudder held her stiffly to her course.

 

83

 

“Now,” shouted Bob into the speaking tube, “let go your anchors!”

 

The swishing clank of chains, paying out under water, came to the ears of those in the periscope room.

 

“Anchor’s down!” cried Clackett.

 

“Der same here!” yelled Carl, his voice ringing from aft.

 

“Stop the motor, Gaines!” ordered Bob.

 

The humming of the cylinders⁸ ceased, and the Grampus, anchored broadside on across the Izaral, tugged⁹ at her mooring¹⁰ chains.

 

“Where are we, Bob?” came the voice of Gaines through the motor-room tube. “I thought we were making a run to get away from the revolutionists.”

 

“Hardly, Gaines,” answered Bob. “We don’t want to run away and leave our friends in the hands of the rebels. Come into the periscope room, all of you, and I’ll explain what we are doing and why we are doing it.”

 

“And while you’re explaining,” said Ysabel quietly but firmly, “I’ll take care of your arm. Where is something I can use for a bandage? And I’d like a sponge and a basin of water.”

 

“You’ll find a bandage in that locker you’re sitting on, Ysabel,” said Bob.

 

“I’ll get the water,” said Dick.

 

By the time Bob had been divested¹¹ of his coat, and had had his shirt sleeve rolled up, Gaines, Clackett, and Carl were in the periscope room, sitting on the low stools that served for chairs. Dick was back, also, with the basin of water and the sponge, and Ysabel began dressing¹² the wounded arm.

 

“Great guns, Bob!” exclaimed Gaines. “Are you hurt?”

 

“A scratch, nothing more,” Bob answered. “The bullet simply left a mark and then went on. I brought84 you up here, friends,” the young motorist continued, “to tell you where we are. We’re anchored, broadside on the current, in the middle of the Izaral River, our periscope ball some three or four feet above the surface of the water. We are going to stay here and wait for something to happen.”

 

“What’s to happen?” asked Clackett.

 

“Well, we’ve got news that a motor launch is coming down the Izaral loaded with prisoners. If possible, we must intercept¹³ the launch. Dick says we’ve a chance in ten of winning out, but we can’t neglect even so slim a chance as that, as it happens to be our only one.”

 

Gaines, Clackett, and Carl were even more deeply puzzled than they had been.

 

“Who are the prisoners?” inquired Gaines.

 

“Coleman, for one—the man we came to rescue. Then there are Jordan, Speake, and, I hope, Tirzal.”

 

“Jordan and those with him were really captured?” demanded Clackett.

 

“Yes.”

 

“Ah, vat¹⁴ luck!” wailed¹⁵ Carl. “Ve come afder vone Amerigan consul¹⁶ und lose anodder!”

 

Bob, carefully watching the periscope as he talked, repeated the experiences that had overtaken him and Dick while they were reconnoitering to find some trace of Jordan’s party.

 

The presence of Ysabel had aroused much curiosity in all of them, and the explanation as to how she came to be on the boat straightened out that part of the matter to the satisfaction of every one. Carl, in particular, was highly pleased. He had dried himself out, after his fall in the river, and was feeling easy in his mind, now that Bob and Dick, at least, had been kept out of the hands of General Pitou.

 

“You did a big t’ing, Miss Sixdy,” said Carl, “ven you safed Bob und Dick, und Bob did more ven he85 safed you, so dot vas efen. Now, if ve don’d make some misdakes in our galgulations und are aple to resgue dot boat loadt of brisoners, eferypody vill be so habby as I can’d dell. Of gourse, I’m not in it, at all. I haf to shday behindt und dake care of der supmarine.”

 

“Do you feel pretty sure, Bob,” queried¹⁷ Gaines, “that the motor launch with the prisoners will come down the Izaral?”

 

“All we have to go on, Gaines, is Coleman’s note,” answered Bob. “I may say that this move constitutes our only hope. If something doesn’t happen, about as we expect and hope it will, then we’ll have to give up all thought of doing anything for Coleman, or our friends.”

 

“We’ll hope something will happen, mate,” said Dick. “In case the launch comes down the river, what are you intending to do?”

 

“I have my plans, Dick,” said Bob. “If every one carries out his orders on the jump, I feel pretty sure the plan will carry. The main thing is to keep a keen watch for the launch.”

 

“That’s easy enough during daylight, with the periscope ball elevated as it is,” remarked Gaines, “but if the launch happens to come downstream in the night—which, it strikes me, is altogether likely—then the boat is apt to get past us.”

 

“Not if a good lookout¹⁸ is kept.”

 

“How will you keep a good lookout if you don’t go to the surface?”

 

“Well, what the eye can’t see, the ear will have to tell us. The hollow ball and the hollow periscope mast will bring the chug of the motor boat’s engine into the submarine. The craft ought to be heard a good distance away. One man will have to be at the periscope all the time, and all the rest of you must be at your86 stations, ready to carry out orders at a second’s notice. You go down to the motor room, Gaines, and Clackett, you go to the tank room. I will stay on the lookout. At midnight, I will have Carl and Dick relieve both of you, but all hands must be on the alert to turn out at a moment’s warning. Carl will get some supper for us, and pass it around.”

 

Bob, as usual, had made no arrangement whereby he could secure any rest for himself. But he felt that he could not rest, even if he had the chance.

 

The rescue of Coleman meant much to Captain Nemo, junior, for on the performance of the Grampus might depend the sale of the submarine to the United States government. While the failure to rescue Coleman, and even the loss of Jordan, Speake, and the pilot had nothing to do with the boat’s capabilities¹⁹, yet failure, nevertheless, would spoil a sale and fill the authorities in Washington with distrust.

 

The Grampus was not a passenger boat, and she had now a lady passenger to take care of. Bob finally solved the difficulty by having Ysabel conducted to a small steel room abaft²⁰ the periscope chamber²¹. This was set aside entirely²² for the girl’s use, and she arranged a fairly comfortable bed on the floor.

 

After supper had been eaten, Ysabel retired²³ to her cabin, and Carl and Dick nodded drowsily²⁴ on the locker in the periscope room. Bob, wide awake as a hawk²⁵, kept his eyes on the periscope table and his ears attuned²⁶ for the first sound of the launch’s motor.

 

Night, however, closed in without bringing any sign of the boat. The gloom, of course, put the periscope out of commission as it deepened, but still Bob watched the table top, looking for possible lights and listening for the clank of machinery²⁷.

 

Dick took Bob’s place for an hour or two, while Bob lay down and tried to sleep. Although he had had87 only three hours’ sleep in two days, yet the young motorist found it impossible to lose himself in slumber²⁸. He was keyed up to too high a pitch, and was too worried.

 

At midnight he sent Dick and Carl to relieve Gaines and Clackett, and was alone with his vigils in the periscope room.

 

From midnight on, the night seemed an eternity²⁹; and the gloomy hours passed without anything happening. Bob had believed with Gaines that night would be the time the captors would choose for coming down the river with their captives. Inasmuch as they had not come, did this mean that they were not coming at all? that General Pitou had changed his plans?

 

Desperately³⁰ Bob clung to his last shred³¹ of hope and watched the coming day reflect itself in a gray haze³² over the top of the periscope table.

 

Slowly the trees along the river stood out with constantly increasing distinctness, and the bosom³³ of the rolling river took form beneath his eyes. Upstream he could see nothing, but—what was that he heard?

 

Scarcely breathing, he gripped at the table top and listened intently. A motor boat was coming downstream—his ears had heard it before the periscope had been able to pick it up.

 

“At your stations, everybody!” he shouted. “Dick! up here in the periscope room with you! The motor launch is coming!”

1 locker   

n.更衣箱，储物柜，冷藏室，上锁的人

参考例句：

• At the swimming pool I put my clothes in a locker.在游泳池我把衣服锁在小柜里。
• He moved into the locker room and began to slip out of his scrub suit.他走进更衣室把手术服脱下来。

2 periscope   

n. 潜望镜

参考例句：

• The captain aligned the periscope on the bearing.船长使潜望镜对准方位。
• Now,peering through the periscope he remarked in businesslike tones.现在，他一面从潜望镜里观察，一面用精干踏实的口吻说话。

3 amazement   

n.惊奇，惊讶

参考例句：

• All those around him looked at him with amazement.周围的人都对他投射出惊异的眼光。
• He looked at me in blank amazement.他带着迷茫惊诧的神情望着我。

4 abashed   

adj.窘迫的，尴尬的v.使羞愧，使局促，使窘迫( abash的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He glanced at Juliet accusingly and she looked suitably abashed. 他怪罪的一瞥，朱丽叶自然显得很窘。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The girl was abashed by the laughter of her classmates. 那小姑娘因同学的哄笑而局促不安。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 astounded   

v.使震惊(astound的过去式和过去分词)；愕然；愕；惊讶

参考例句：

• His arrogance astounded her. 他的傲慢使她震惊。
• How can you say that? I'm absolutely astounded. 你怎么能说出那种话？我感到大为震惊。

6 maneuvers   

n.策略，谋略，花招( maneuver的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He suspected at once that she had been spying upon his maneuvers. 他立刻猜想到，她已经侦察到他的行动。 来自辞典例句
• Maneuvers in Guizhou occupied the Reds for four months. 贵州境内的作战占了红军四个月的时间。 来自辞典例句

7 hull   

n.船身；(果、实等的)外壳；vt.去(谷物等)壳

参考例句：

• The outer surface of ship's hull is very hard.船体的外表面非常坚硬。
• The boat's hull has been staved in by the tremendous seas.小船壳让巨浪打穿了。

8 cylinders   

n.圆筒( cylinder的名词复数 )；圆柱；汽缸；（尤指用作容器的）圆筒状物

参考例句：

• They are working on all cylinders to get the job finished. 他们正在竭尽全力争取把这工作干完。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• That jeep has four cylinders. 那辆吉普车有4个汽缸。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 tugged   

v.用力拉，使劲拉，猛扯( tug的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She tugged at his sleeve to get his attention. 她拽了拽他的袖子引起他的注意。
• A wry smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. 他的嘴角带一丝苦笑。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 mooring   

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)

参考例句：

• However, all the best mooring were occupied by local fishing boats. 凡是可以泊船的地方早已被当地渔船占去了。 来自汉英文学 - 散文英译
• Her mind was shaken loose from the little mooring of logic that it had. 就像小船失去了锚，她的思绪毫无逻辑地四处漂浮，一会为这个想法难受，一会为那个念头生气。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

11 divested   

v.剥夺( divest的过去式和过去分词 )；脱去（衣服）；2。从…取去…；1。（给某人）脱衣服

参考例句：

• He divested himself of his jacket. 他脱去了短上衣。
• He swiftly divested himself of his clothes. 他迅速脱掉衣服。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 dressing   

n.(食物)调料；包扎伤口的用品，敷料

参考例句：

• Don't spend such a lot of time in dressing yourself.别花那么多时间来打扮自己。
• The children enjoy dressing up in mother's old clothes.孩子们喜欢穿上妈妈旧时的衣服玩。

13 intercept   

vt.拦截，截住，截击

参考例句：

• His letter was intercepted by the Secret Service.他的信被特工处截获了。
• Gunmen intercepted him on his way to the airport.持枪歹徒在他去机场的路上截击了他。

14 vat   

n.(=value added tax)增值税，大桶

参考例句：

• The office is asking for the vat papers.办事处要有关增值税的文件。
• His father emptied sacks of stale rye bread into the vat.他父亲把一袋袋发霉的黑面包倒进大桶里。

15 wailed   

v.哭叫，哀号( wail的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She wailed over her father's remains. 她对着父亲的遗体嚎啕大哭。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The women of the town wailed over the war victims. 城里的妇女为战争的死难者们痛哭。 来自辞典例句

16 consul   

n.领事；执政官

参考例句：

• A consul's duty is to help his own nationals.领事的职责是帮助自己的同胞。
• He'll hold the post of consul general for the United States at Shanghai.他将就任美国驻上海总领事(的职务)。

17 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：

• She queried what he said. 她对他说的话表示怀疑。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• \"What does he have to do?\" queried Chin dubiously. “他有什么心事？”琴向觉民问道，她的脸上现出疑惑不解的神情。 来自汉英文学 - 家（1-26） - 家（1-26）

18 lookout   

n.注意，前途，瞭望台

参考例句：

• You can see everything around from the lookout.从了望台上你可以看清周围的一切。
• It's a bad lookout for the company if interest rates don't come down.如果利率降不下来，公司的前景可就不妙了。

19 capabilities   

n.能力( capability的名词复数 )；可能；容量；[复数]潜在能力

参考例句：

• He was somewhat pompous and had a high opinion of his own capabilities. 他有点自大，自视甚高。 来自辞典例句
• Some programmers use tabs to break complex product capabilities into smaller chunks. 一些程序员认为，标签可以将复杂的功能分为每个窗格一组简单的功能。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

20 abaft   

prep.在…之后；adv.在船尾，向船尾

参考例句：

• Abaft every acknowledged man,there is a woman.每个成功男人的背地,都有一个女人。
• The captain ordered the crews to stand abaft the main deck.船长命令船员们站在主甲板后面。

21 chamber   

n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所

参考例句：

• For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说，牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
• The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。

22 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

23 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

24 drowsily   

adv.睡地，懒洋洋地，昏昏欲睡地

参考例句：

• She turned drowsily on her side, a slow creeping blackness enveloping her mind. 她半睡半醒地翻了个身，一片缓缓蠕动的黑暗渐渐将她的心包围起来。 来自飘（部分）
• I felt asleep drowsily before I knew it. 不知过了多久，我曚扙地睡着了。 来自互联网

25 hawk   

n.鹰，骗子；鹰派成员

参考例句：

• The hawk swooped down on the rabbit and killed it.鹰猛地朝兔子扑下来,并把它杀死。
• The hawk snatched the chicken and flew away.老鹰叼了小鸡就飞走了。

26 attuned   

v.使协调( attune的过去式和过去分词 )；调音

参考例句：

• She wasn't yet attuned to her baby's needs. 她还没有熟悉她宝宝的需要。
• Women attuned to sensitive men found Vincent Lord attractive. 偏爱敏感男子的女人，觉得文森特·洛德具有魅力。 来自辞典例句

27 machinery   

n.(总称)机械，机器；机构

参考例句：

• Has the machinery been put up ready for the broadcast?广播器材安装完毕了吗？
• Machinery ought to be well maintained all the time.机器应该随时注意维护。

28 slumber   

n.睡眠，沉睡状态

参考例句：

• All the people in the hotels were wrapped in deep slumber.住在各旅馆里的人都已进入梦乡。
• Don't wake him from his slumber because he needs the rest.不要把他从睡眠中唤醒，因为他需要休息。

29 eternity   

n.不朽，来世；永恒，无穷

参考例句：

• The dull play seemed to last an eternity.这场乏味的剧似乎演个没完没了。
• Finally,Ying Tai and Shan Bo could be together for all of eternity.英台和山伯终能双宿双飞，永世相随。

30 desperately   

adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地

参考例句：

• He was desperately seeking a way to see her again.他正拼命想办法再见她一面。
• He longed desperately to be back at home.他非常渴望回家。

31 shred   

v.撕成碎片，变成碎片；n.碎布条，细片，些少

参考例句：

• There is not a shred of truth in what he says.他说的全是骗人的鬼话。
• The food processor can shred all kinds of vegetables.这架食品加工机可将各种蔬菜切丝切条。

32 haze   

n.霾，烟雾；懵懂，迷糊；vi.(over)变模糊

参考例句：

• I couldn't see her through the haze of smoke.在烟雾弥漫中，我看不见她。
• He often lives in a haze of whisky.他常常是在威士忌的懵懂醉意中度过的。

33 bosom   

n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的

参考例句：

• She drew a little book from her bosom.她从怀里取出一本小册子。
• A dark jealousy stirred in his bosom.他内心生出一阵恶毒的嫉妒。