Chapter 13

 I tramp through the South Sea Forest alone—Play my Violin to the Natives—The Trader’s Vision—The Rivals

 

Marmona was a faithful friend, and led me through the forest, down the mountainous steep with the certain instinct of a blood-hound. Once on the track we called at a tiny South Sea home wherein lived some friends of Marmona’s and to please him I took the violin out and played to them all. There were two daughters and several sons, and as they stood listening they jabbered¹ and eyed me with wonder, for I made the violin wail² and scream hideously³ as I found that, notwithstanding their love of natural song, the shrill⁴ notes pleased them the best. They gave us a good feed of baked plantains and other mixed food, and we could easily have lodged⁵ there for a week had I wished to do so. I cannot describe to you the beauty of the landscape that we tramped across. The bright winged birds whirred overhead, and often perched on the tropic trees around us and preened⁶ their blossom-like feathers, making strange noises, as though their beaks⁷ touched tinkling⁸ bells.

 

At sunset through the trees we saw the Pacific heaving far away and the white rising breakers for ever charging the shoreward reefs. It was a lovely spot, and nestled below in the hollow, between the 136shore and the forest, was a small native village and the homes of a few traders. A little distance from the shore, by the promontory⁹, a schooner¹⁰ lay anchored, and hovering¹¹ around it the natives paddled in their out-rigged canoes. Arriving in the village, Marmona introduced me to some friends of his and I was glad of a rest; I had tramped a long way and my feet were a bit blistered¹², for my boots were getting rather thin. That night Marmona bade me farewell, and I gave him several shillings and he was very delighted indeed. Though I have read that the natives are very proud, and scorn to take money in return for a kindness, I never had the pleasure of running across those refined temperaments¹³; indeed they all seemed to be true brothers to the white man in that respect, and the only little disagreements I ever had with my brown friends were in my “hard-up times,” but I generally got into their good graces when the wherewithal was once more in my possession.

 

I stayed in that shore village for three days and four nights. There were several white traders living there, and I also got into conversation with the crew of the schooner that lay outside. It was an isolated¹⁴ little village and I got to know almost every one of the inhabitants during my short stay there, and I especially remember that little village because of the old white trader I met there. He lived alone in a small den¹⁵ hut by the sea; he had earnest thoughtful eyes, and as I sat and talked to him in the shadow of his one room I could see by his 137face that he had been a very handsome man in his time. There was something in his voice that was musical and emotional, and as I played to him on the violin he made remarks about the operatic selections that told me he had seen better days and in a sense was originally a refined and educated man. Whether he was mad or not I cannot say, but when the village was all asleep that night he gazed in a frightened way all about him and told me to play certain old tunes¹⁶, and as the moonlight crept over the sleeping village and perfect stillness lay over everything, excepting for the noise of the breakers beating down on the shore reefs at intervals¹⁷, he would put his finger up to his grey-bearded mouth and say “Play softly, mate, they are coming!” Then with staring eyes he would gaze towards the forest and down shorewards, begging me not to stop playing as he stood by his hut door with eager eyes watching something going on that I could not see. After it was all over, and the terrible look had gone from his face, to my relief he bent¹⁸ his head on to his knee and cried like a child. So intense was his sorrow as I stood there by him that I almost felt the tears rise in my own eyes. I could not make it all out, for though his manner seemed insane yet there was something so earnest and manly¹⁹ in his eyes and in his actions that I felt safe with him by that lonely hut as the village slept. Then he told me the history of his life; and till I die I will remember that old white trader of the South Seas, and from the poem that I have written, inspired by that 138strange sight and the tale he told me, you, reader, may gather all that I heard, which he swore before his Maker²⁰ was absolute truth.

 

In my wattle hut by Maffalo I lie nor can I sleep,

Deep waters beat against my heart, thro’ my head the night winds sweep,

For the brown one sleeps by the forest track with the banyans overhead,

And the white girl sleeps by the channel cliffs where the white men bury their dead.

And the tin roofs shine, as the traders rest by the beach and still canoes,

Where the shore-line huts in silence stand by the waveless straight bamboos,

And when the moonlight whitely falls slantwise across the hill,

And the palms and shore lagoons²¹ for miles, with the sleeping winds, are still,

The brown one from the forest runs, the white girl from the sea—

With shining eyes by my hut door in silence gaze on me.

And I cannot sleep as the dead eyes meet, fierce eyes of ebon-flame!

The grey eyes gleam thro’ shadowy hair, as of old she moans my name.

In moonlight struggling silently they glimmer²² in the gloom,

As wails²³ the native dead child far in the forest deep of doom²⁴;

And the wistful unborn children rise down by the shoreward palms,

Peep from the sea with anxious eyes, and toss their small white arms!

But deep in my heart the dead one screams—from its grave across the steep,

And I know it will with frightened eyes soon out of the forest creep!

As I watch the figures, ebon and gold, oft brighten by moonlight,

Till the white one wins and the brown one runs back to the forest night;

139And, in vain, I leap to shadowy arms, as she crying flees from me,

Down shoreward runs, in a flash of flame dives back to the moonlit sea.

So, I drink and drink as the nights go by and the schooners²⁵ day by day

Taking my heart with the white sails home where the sunsets fade away.

Till the sea-winds cease and the trees all sleep, and the hushed waves are all still,

And the moonlight slantwise falls across the forest track and hill

As I listening wait for the rustling²⁶ sound with my dreaming eyes—unshut!

Till out in the night by the pale moonlight their shadows seek my hut—

Out of the forest depth one runs, and the white girl up the shore

Till the dead child screams and the unborn watch the shadows by my door.

I stayed in that village all the next day, and at sunset I bade Marmona’s friends good-bye. Also I bade that sad trader farewell, and he held my hand for a long time before he said good-bye.

 

It seemed like some enchanted²⁷ village of fairyland as I looked back over the slopes and saw the sun like a large ball of blood sink into the sea and the moon rise over the mountainous country inland, peeping through the heavens of shadow and stars that brightened out in the east. I passed away from the place with a strange feeling in my heart for that lonely man and all that would happen when the sea-shore village lay once more asleep in the moonlight. I have heard many strange tales of spirits and “ju-jus” from men in my travels, but 140never one so strangely sad and impressive as his, and I have often wondered if all that that old man told me was the outcome of a delirious²⁸ brain or really some haunting truth that can be seen by the eyes of those hearts that sorrow.

1 jabbered   

v.急切而含混不清地说( jabber的过去式和过去分词 )；急促兴奋地说话

参考例句：

• She jabbered away, trying to distract his attention. 她喋喋不休，想分散他的注意力。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The politician jabbered away about matters of which he has no knowledge. 那个政客不知所云地侈谈自己一无所知的事情。 来自辞典例句

2 wail   

vt./vi.大声哀号，恸哭；呼啸，尖啸

参考例句：

• Somewhere in the audience an old woman's voice began plaintive wail.观众席里，一位老太太伤心地哭起来。
• One of the small children began to wail with terror.小孩中的一个吓得大哭起来。

3 hideously   

adv.可怕地，非常讨厌地

参考例句：

• The witch was hideously ugly. 那个女巫丑得吓人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Pitt's smile returned, and it was hideously diabolic. 皮特的脸上重新浮现出笑容，但却狰狞可怕。 来自辞典例句

4 shrill   

adj.尖声的；刺耳的；v尖叫

参考例句：

• Whistles began to shrill outside the barn.哨声开始在谷仓外面尖叫。
• The shrill ringing of a bell broke up the card game on the cutter.刺耳的铃声打散了小汽艇的牌局。

5 lodged   

v.存放( lodge的过去式和过去分词 )；暂住；埋入；（权利、权威等）归属

参考例句：

• The certificate will have to be lodged at the registry. 证书必须存放在登记处。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Our neighbours lodged a complaint against us with the police. 我们的邻居向警方控告我们。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 preened   

v.（鸟）用嘴整理（羽毛）( preen的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She preened herself upon her beauty. 她为自已的美貌感到自满。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Pigeons preened their wings and cooed. 鸽子用喙整理翅膀，咕咕地叫。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

7 beaks   

n.鸟嘴( beak的名词复数 )；鹰钩嘴；尖鼻子；掌权者

参考例句：

• Baby cockatoos will have black eyes and soft, almost flexible beaks. 雏鸟凤头鹦鹉黑色的眼睛是柔和的，嘴几乎是灵活的。 来自互联网
• Squid beaks are often found in the stomachs of sperm whales. 经常能在抹香鲸的胃里发现鱿鱼的嘴。 来自互联网

8 tinkling   

n.丁当作响声

参考例句：

• I could hear bells tinkling in the distance. 我能听到远处叮当铃响。
• To talk to him was like listening to the tinkling of a worn-out musical-box. 跟他说话，犹如听一架老掉牙的八音盒子丁冬响。 来自英汉文学

9 promontory   

n.海角；岬

参考例句：

• Genius is a promontory jutting out of the infinite.天才是茫茫大地突出的岬角。
• On the map that promontory looks like a nose,naughtily turned up.从地图上面，那个海角就像一只调皮地翘起来的鼻子。

10 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。

11 hovering   

鸟( hover的现在分词 )； 靠近（某事物）； （人）徘徊； 犹豫

参考例句：

• The helicopter was hovering about 100 metres above the pad. 直升机在离发射台一百米的上空盘旋。
• I'm hovering between the concert and the play tonight. 我犹豫不决今晚是听音乐会还是看戏。

12 blistered   

adj.水疮状的，泡状的v.（使）起水泡( blister的过去式和过去分词 )；（使表皮等）涨破，爆裂

参考例句：

• He had a blistered heel. 他的脚后跟起了泡。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Their hands blistered, but no one complained. 他们手起了泡，可是没有一个人有怨言。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 temperaments   

性格( temperament的名词复数 )； （人或动物的）气质； 易冲动； （性情）暴躁

参考例句：

• The two brothers have exactly opposite temperaments: one likes to be active while the other tends to be quiet and keep to himself. 他们弟兄两个脾气正好相反， 一个爱动，一个好静。
• For some temperaments work is a remedy for all afflictions. 对于某些人来说，工作是医治悲伤的良药。

14 isolated   

adj.与世隔绝的

参考例句：

• His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
• Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。

15 den   

n.兽穴；秘密地方；安静的小房间，私室

参考例句：

• There is a big fox den on the back hill.后山有一个很大的狐狸窝。
• The only way to catch tiger cubs is to go into tiger's den.不入虎穴焉得虎子。

16 tunes   

n.曲调，曲子( tune的名词复数 )v.调音( tune的第三人称单数 )；调整；（给收音机、电视等）调谐；使协调

参考例句：

• a potpourri of tunes 乐曲集锦
• When things get a bit too much, she simply tunes out temporarily. 碰到事情太棘手时，她干脆暂时撒手不管。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 intervals   

n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 )；间隔时间；[数学]区间；（戏剧、电影或音乐会的）幕间休息

参考例句：

• The forecast said there would be sunny intervals and showers. 预报间晴，有阵雨。
• Meetings take place at fortnightly intervals. 每两周开一次会。

18 bent   

n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的

参考例句：

• He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
• We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。

19 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。

20 maker   

n.制造者，制造商

参考例句：

• He is a trouble maker，You must be distant with him.他是个捣蛋鬼，你不要跟他在一起。
• A cabinet maker must be a master craftsman.家具木工必须是技艺高超的手艺人。

21 lagoons   

n.污水池( lagoon的名词复数 )；潟湖；（大湖或江河附近的）小而浅的淡水湖；温泉形成的池塘

参考例句：

• The Islands are by shallow crystal clear lagoons enclosed by coral reefs. 该群岛包围由珊瑚礁封闭的浅水清澈泻湖。 来自互联网
• It is deposited in low-energy environments in lakes, estuaries and lagoons. 它沉淀于湖泊、河口和礁湖的低能量环境中，也可于沉淀于深海环境。 来自互联网

22 glimmer   

v.发出闪烁的微光；n.微光，微弱的闪光

参考例句：

• I looked at her and felt a glimmer of hope.我注视她，感到了一线希望。
• A glimmer of amusement showed in her eyes.她的眼中露出一丝笑意。

23 wails   

痛哭，哭声( wail的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The child burst into loud wails. 那个孩子突然大哭起来。
• Through this glaciated silence the white wails of the apartment fixed arbitrary planes. 在这冰封似的沉寂中，公寓的白色墙壁构成了一个个任意的平面。 来自英汉非文学 - 科幻

24 doom   

n.厄运，劫数；v.注定，命定

参考例句：

• The report on our economic situation is full of doom and gloom.这份关于我们经济状况的报告充满了令人绝望和沮丧的调子。
• The dictator met his doom after ten years of rule.独裁者统治了十年终于完蛋了。

25 schooners   

n.（有两个以上桅杆的）纵帆船( schooner的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• You've already drunk three schooners of sherry. 你已经喝了三大杯雪利酒了。 来自辞典例句
• Might l beg the honour of pouring the privileged schooners myself? 请问我能不能自己倒尊贵的大杯酒？ 来自电影对白

26 rustling   

n. 瑟瑟声，沙沙声 adj. 发沙沙声的

参考例句：

• the sound of the trees rustling in the breeze 树木在微风中发出的沙沙声
• the soft rustling of leaves 树叶柔和的沙沙声

27 enchanted   

adj. 被施魔法的，陶醉的，入迷的 动词enchant的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• She was enchanted by the flowers you sent her. 她非常喜欢你送给她的花。
• He was enchanted by the idea. 他为这个主意而欣喜若狂。

28 delirious   

adj.不省人事的，神智昏迷的

参考例句：

• He was delirious,murmuring about that matter.他精神恍惚，低声叨念着那件事。
• She knew that he had become delirious,and tried to pacify him.她知道他已经神志昏迷起来了，极力想使他镇静下来。