It is within sound of the bells that jingle5 dismally6 on the heads of the tram-car horses, plying7 their trade on the high-road, and yet it is haunted. Its two great iron gates stand on the very pavement, and they are never opened. Indeed, a generation or two of painters have painted them shut, and grime and dirt have laid their seals upon the hinges. A side gate gives entrance to such as come on foot. A door in the wall, up an alley8, is labelled “Tradesman's Entrance,” but the tradesmen never linger there. No merry milkman leaves the latest gossip with his thin, blue milk on that threshold. The butcher's chariot wheels never tarry at the corner of that alley. Indeed, the local butcher has no chariot. His clients mostly come in a shawl, and take their purchases away with them wrapped in a doubtful newspaper beneath its folds. The better-class buyers wear a cloth cricketing cap, coquettishly attached to a knob of hair by a hat-pin.
The milkman, moreover, is not a merry man, hurrying on his rounds. He goes slowly and pessimistically, and likes to see the halfpenny before he tips his measure.
This, in a word, is a poor district, where no one would live if he could live elsewhere, with the Signal House stranded9 in the midst of it—a noble wreck10 on a barren, social shore. For the Signal House was once a family mansion11; later it was described as a riverside residence, then as a quaint12 and interesting demesne13. Finally its price fell with a crash, and an elderly lady of weak intellect was sent by her relations to live in it, with two servants, who were frequently to be met in Gravesend in the evening hours, at which time, it is to be presumed, the elderly lady of weak intellect was locked in the Signal House alone. But the house never had a ghost. Haunted houses very seldom have. The ghost was the mere14 invention of some kitchen-maid.
Haunted or not, the house stood empty for years, until suddenly a foreigner took it—a Russian banker, it was understood. A very nice, pleasant-spoken little gentleman this foreigner, who liked quiet and the river view. He was quite as broad as he was long, though he was not preposterously16 stout17. There was nothing mysterious about him. He was well known in the City. He had merely mistaken an undesirable18 suburb for a desirable one, a very easy mistake for a foreigner to make; and he was delighted at the cheapness of the house, the greenness of the old lawn, the height of the grimy trees within the red brick wall.
He lived there all one summer, and the cement smoke got into his throat in the autumn and gave him asthma19, for which complaint he had obviously been designed by Providence20, for he had no neck. He used the Signal House occasionally from Saturday till Monday. Then he gave it up altogether, and tried to sell it. It stood empty for some years, while the Russian banker extended his business and lived virtuously21 elsewhere. Then he suddenly began using the house again as a house of recreation, and brought his foreign servants, and his foreign friends and their foreign servants, to stay from Saturday till Monday.
And all these persons behaved in an odd, Continental22 way, and played bowls on the lawn at the back of the house on Sundays. The neighbors could hear them but could see nothing, owing to the thickness of the grimy trees and the height of the old brick wall. But no one worried much about the Signal House; for they were a busy people who lived all around, and had to earn their living, in addition to the steady and persistent23 assuagement24 of a thirst begotten25 of cement dust and the pungent26 smell of bone manure27. One or two local amateurs had made sure of the fact that there was nothing in the house that would repay a burglarious investigation28, which, added to the fact that the police station is only a few doors off, tended to allay29 a natural curiosity as to the foreign gentleman's possessions.
When he came he drove in a close cab from Gravesend Station, and usually told the cabman when his services would again be required. He came thus with three friends one summer afternoon, some years ago, and came without luggage. The servants, who followed in a second cab, carried some parcels, presumably of refreshments30. These grave gentlemen were, it appeared, about to enjoy a picnic at the Signal House—possibly a tea-picnic in the Russian fashion.
The afternoon was fine, and the gentlemen walked in the garden at the back of the house. They were walking thus when another cab stopped at the closed iron gate, and the banker hurried, as fast as his build would allow, to open the side door and admit a seafaring man, who seemed to know his bearings.
“Well, mister,” he said, in a Northern voice, “another of your little jobs?”
The two men shook hands, and the banker paid the cabman. When the vehicle had gone the host turned to his guest and replied to the question.
“Yes, my fren',” he said, “another of my little jobs. I hope you are well, Captain Cable?”
But Captain Cable was not a man to waste words over the social conventions. He was obviously well—as well as a hard, seafaring life will make a man who lives simply and works hard. He was a short man, with a red face washed very clean, and very well shaven, except for a little piece of beard left fantastically at the base of his chin. His eyes were blue and bright, like gimlets. He may have had a soft heart, but it was certainly hidden beneath a hard exterior31. He wore a thick coat of blue pilot-cloth, not because the July day was cold, but because it was his best coat. His hat was carefully brushed and of hard, black felt. It had perhaps been the height of fashion in Sunderland five years earlier. He wore no gloves—Captain Cable drew the line there. As for the rest, he had put on that which he called his shore-going rig.
“And yourself?” he answered, mechanically.
“I am very well, thank you,” replied the polite banker, who, it will have been perceived, was nameless to Captain Cable, as he is to the reader. The truth being that his name was so absurdly and egregiously32 Russian that the plain English tongue never embarked33 on that sea of consonants34. “It is an affair, as usual. My friends are here to meet you, but I think they do not speak English, except your colleague, the other captain, who speaks a little—a very little.”
“This is Captain Cable,” he said, and the three gentlemen raised their hats, much to the captain's discomfiture35. He did not hold by foreign ways; but he dragged his hat off and then expectorated on the lawn, just to show that he felt quite at home. He even took the lead in the conversation.
“Tell 'em,” he said, “that I'm a plain man from Sun'land that has a speciality, an' that's transshipping cargo37 at sea, but me hands are clean.”
He held them out and they were not, so he must have spoken metaphorically38.
The banker translated, addressing himself to one of his companions, rather markedly and with much deference39.
“You're speakin' French,” interrupted Captain Cable.
“Yes, my fren', I am. Do you know French?”
“Not me,” returned Captain Cable, affably. “They're all one to me. They're all damn nonsense.”
He was, it seemed, that which is called in these days of blatant40 patriotism41 a thorough Englishman, or a true Blue, according to the social station of the speaker.
The gentleman to whom the translation had been addressed smiled. He was a tall and rather distinguished-looking man, with bushy white hair and mustache. His features were square-cut and strong. His eyes were dark, and he had an easy smile. He led the way to some chairs which had been placed near a table at the far end of the lawn beneath a cedar-tree, and his manner had something faintly regal in it, as if in his daily life he had always been looked up to and obeyed without question.
“Tell him that we also are plain men with clean hands,” he said.
And the banker replied:
“Oui, mon Prince.”
But the interpretation42 was taken out of his mouth by one of the others, the youngest of the group—a merry-eyed youth, with a fluffy43, fair mustache and close-cropped, flaxen hair.
“My father,” he said, in perfect English, “says that we also are plain men, and that your hands will not be hurt by touching44 ours.”
He held out his hand as he spoke, and refused to withdraw it until it had been grasped, rather shame-facedly, by Captain Cable, who did not like these effusive45 foreign ways, but, nevertheless, rather liked the young man.
The banker ranged the chairs round the table, and the oddly assorted46 group seated themselves. The man who had not yet spoken, and who sat down last, was obviously a sailor. His face was burned a deep brown, and was mostly hidden by a closely cut beard. He had the slow ways of a Northerner, the abashed47 manner of a merchant skipper on shore. The mark of the other element was so plainly written upon him that Captain Cable looked at him hard and then nodded. Without being invited to do so they sat next to each other at one side of the table, and faced the three landsmen. Again Captain Cable spoke first.
“Provided it's nothing underhand,” he said, “I'm ready and willing. Or'nary risks of the sea, Queen's enemies, act o' God—them's my risks! I am uninsured. Ship's my own. I don't mind explosives—”
“There are explosives,” admitted the banker.
“Then they must be honest explosives, or they don't go below my hatches. Explosives that's to blow a man up honest, before his face.”
“There are cartridges,” said the young man who had shaken hands.
“That'll do,” said the masterful sailor. And pointing a thick finger towards the banker, added, “Now, mister,” and sat back in his chair.
“It is a very simple matter,” explained the banker, in a thick, suave48 voice. “We have a cargo—a greater part of it weight, though there is some measurement—a few cases of light goods, clothing and such. You will load in the river, and all will be sent to you in lighters49. There is nothing heavy, nothing large. There is also no insurance, you understand. What falls out of the slings50 and is lost overside is lost.”
The banker paused for breath.
“I understand,” said Captain Cable. “It's the same with me and my ship. There is no insurance, no tricking underwriters into unusual risks. It's neck or nothing with me.”
And he looked hard at the breathless banker, with whom it was, in this respect, nothing.
“I understand right enough,” he added, with an affable nod to the three foreigners.
“You will sail from London with a full general cargo for Malmo or Stockholm, or somewhere where officials are not wide-awake. You meet in the North Sea, at a point to be fixed51 between yourselves, the Olaf, Captain Petersen—sitting by your side.”
Captain Cable turned and gravely shook hands with Captain Petersen.
“Thought you was a seafaring man,” he said. And Captain Petersen replied that he was “Vair pleased.”
“The cargo is to be transshipped at sea, out of sight of land or lightship. But that we can safely leave to you, Captain Cable.”
“I don't deny,” replied the mariner52, who was measuring Captain Petersen out of the corner of his eye, “that I have been there before.”
“You can then go up the Baltic in ballast to some small port—just a sawmill, at the head of a fjord—where I shall have a cargo of timber waiting for you to bring back to London. When can you begin loading, captain?”
“To-morrow,” replied the captain. “Ship's lying in the river now, and if these gentlemen would like to see her, she's as handy a—”
“No, I do not think we shall have time for that!” put in the banker, hastily. “And now we must leave you and Captain Petersen to settle your meeting-place. You have your charts?”
By way of response the captain produced from his pocket sundry53 folded papers, which he laid tenderly on the table. For the last ten years he had been postponing54 the necessity of buying new charts of certain sections of the North Sea. He looked round at the high walls and the overhanging trees.
“Hope the wind don't come blustering55 in here much,” he said, apprehensively56, as he unfolded the ragged36 papers with great caution.
The fair-haired young man drew forward his chair, and Cable, seeing the action, looked at him sharply.
“Seafaring man?” he inquired, with a weight of doubt and distrust in his voice.
“Not by profession, only for fun.”
“Fun? Man and boy, I've used the sea forty years, and I haven't yet found out where the fun comes in!”
“This gentleman,” explained the banker, “his Ex—Mr.—” He paused, and looked inquiringly at the white-haired gentleman.
“Mr. Martin.”
“Mr. Martin will be on board the Olaf when you meet Captain Petersen in the North Sea. He will act as interpreter. You remember that Captain Petersen speaks no English, and you do not know his language. The two crews, I understand, will be similarly placed. Captain Peterson undertakes to have no one on board speaking English. And your crew, my fren'?”
“My crew comes from Sun'land. Men that only speak English, and precious little of that,” replied Captain Cable.
He had his finger on the chart, but paused and looked up, fixing his bright glance on the face of the white-haired gentleman.
“There's one thing—I'm a plain-spoken man myself—what is there for us two—us seafaring men?”
“There is five hundred pounds for each of you,” replied the white-haired gentleman for himself, in slow and careful English.
Captain Cable nodded his grizzled head over the chart.
“I like to deal with a gentleman,” he said, gruffly.
“And so do I,” replied the white-haired foreigner, with a bow.
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收听单词发音
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1
merges
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| （使）混合( merge的第三人称单数 )； 相融； 融入； 渐渐消失在某物中 | |
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spicy
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| adj.加香料的；辛辣的，有风味的 | |
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mingle
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| vt.使混合，使相混；vi.混合起来；相交往 | |
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ivy
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| n.常青藤，常春藤 | |
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jingle
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| n.叮当声，韵律简单的诗句；v.使叮当作响，叮当响，押韵 | |
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dismally
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| adv.阴暗地，沉闷地 | |
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7
plying
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| v.使用（工具）( ply的现在分词 )；经常供应（食物、饮料）；固定往来；经营生意 | |
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8
alley
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| n.小巷，胡同；小径，小路 | |
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9
stranded
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| a.搁浅的，进退两难的 | |
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10
wreck
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| n.失事，遇难；沉船；vt.(船等)失事，遇难 | |
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mansion
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| n.大厦，大楼；宅第 | |
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quaint
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| adj.古雅的，离奇有趣的，奇怪的 | |
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demesne
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| n.领域，私有土地 | |
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14
mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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15
spoke
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| 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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16
preposterously
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| adv.反常地；荒谬地；荒谬可笑地；不合理地 | |
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18
undesirable
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| adj.不受欢迎的，不良的，不合意的，讨厌的；n.不受欢迎的人，不良分子 | |
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19
asthma
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| n.气喘病，哮喘病 | |
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20
providence
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| n.深谋远虑，天道，天意；远见；节约；上帝 | |
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21
virtuously
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| 合乎道德地，善良地 | |
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22
continental
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| adj.大陆的，大陆性的，欧洲大陆的 | |
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23
persistent
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| adj.坚持不懈的，执意的；持续的 | |
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24
assuagement
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| n.缓和；减轻；缓和物 | |
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25
begotten
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| v.为…之生父( beget的过去分词 )；产生，引起 | |
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26
pungent
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| adj.（气味、味道）刺激性的，辛辣的；尖锐的 | |
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27
manure
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| n.粪，肥，肥粒；vt.施肥 | |
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28
investigation
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| n.调查，调查研究 | |
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29
allay
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| v.消除，减轻(恐惧、怀疑等) | |
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30
refreshments
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| n.点心,便餐;(会议后的)简单茶点招 待 | |
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31
exterior
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| adj.外部的，外在的；表面的 | |
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32
egregiously
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| adv.过份地，卓越地 | |
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33
embarked
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| 乘船( embark的过去式和过去分词 )； 装载； 从事 | |
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34
consonants
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| n.辅音，子音( consonant的名词复数 )；辅音字母 | |
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35
discomfiture
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| n.崩溃；大败；挫败；困惑 | |
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36
ragged
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| adj.衣衫褴褛的，粗糙的，刺耳的 | |
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37
cargo
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| n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物 | |
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38
metaphorically
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| adv. 用比喻地 | |
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39
deference
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| n.尊重，顺从；敬意 | |
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40
blatant
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| adj.厚颜无耻的；显眼的；炫耀的 | |
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41
patriotism
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| n.爱国精神，爱国心，爱国主义 | |
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42
interpretation
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| n.解释，说明，描述；艺术处理 | |
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43
fluffy
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| adj.有绒毛的，空洞的 | |
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44
touching
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| adj.动人的，使人感伤的 | |
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45
effusive
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| adj.热情洋溢的；感情(过多)流露的 | |
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46
assorted
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| adj.各种各样的，各色俱备的 | |
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47
abashed
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| 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 ) | |
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48
suave
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| adj.温和的；柔和的；文雅的 | |
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49
lighters
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| n.打火机，点火器( lighter的名词复数 ) | |
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50
slings
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| 抛( sling的第三人称单数 )； 吊挂； 遣送； 押往 | |
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51
fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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52
mariner
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| n.水手号不载人航天探测器，海员，航海者 | |
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53
sundry
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| adj.各式各样的，种种的 | |
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54
postponing
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| v.延期，推迟( postpone的现在分词 ) | |
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55
blustering
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| adj.狂风大作的，狂暴的v.外强中干的威吓( bluster的现在分词 )；咆哮；（风）呼啸；狂吹 | |
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56
apprehensively
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| adv.担心地 | |
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57
grunted
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| （猪等）作呼噜声( grunt的过去式和过去分词 )； （指人）发出类似的哼声； 咕哝着说 | |
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