You ask me to relate to you the most terrible adventure I ever experienced? Well, my whole life, from the time when, as a lad of fifteen, I first took to the sea, has been one of adventure, and I have passed through several rather thrilling experiences, so that it is not quite so easy a matter as you may imagine for me to say, off hand and at a moment's notice, which was the most terrible of them all. But, as you seem anxious for a yarn1, I will tell you of an adventure that befell me shortly after I received my first command.
I was serving on the West Coast at the time, and, when this yarn begins, held the position of third lieutenant2 on board the Narcissus, a corvette belonging to the slave squadron. It was in the year 1826, just two years after slave-trading had been declared to be piracy4 in the eye of the law, and its perpetrators subject to the punishment of death if caught in the act. Popular feeling at home was very strong upon the subject; the sympathy of the nation had been powerfully aroused by the stories which from time to time found their way into the papers of the sufferings inflicted5 upon the blacks in the process of converting them into slaves; strenuous6 orders had been sent out to us to be unsparing in our efforts to suppress the infamous7 traffic; and we were all as keen as hounds in our endeavours to run down and bring to book the rascals8 who openly laughed at and defied us.
My adventure may be said to have commenced with a slice of luck that befell us in this wise. We were cruising at the time in the neighbourhood of Cape9 Lopez, standing10 close-hauled to the northward11 under easy canvas, when, about three bells in the afternoon watch, the look-out aloft reported a sail broad on our starboard bow. We could see nothing of her from the deck, so I took my glass and went up on to the fore12 top-gallant-yard, from which position I made out the craft to be a smallish schooner13, with stumpy but very raking spars upon which was spread an enormous show of canvas. My first look at her satisfied me that she was a slaver; and the fact that she was steering14 to the westward16 under every thread that she could show to the hot, languid breeze, was proof enough that she had a cargo17 of slaves under her hatches. Of course I lost no time in reporting my convictions to the skipper, and in another instant all was bustle18 and activity on board the corvette as we crowded sail in chase.
As the afternoon wore on, the wind fell light; but so well was the corvette handled that when at length the sun went down in a clear sky, giving promise of a breathless night, we had the satisfaction of seeing that the slaver was helplessly becalmed, as was our own case soon afterwards.
Some time before this, however, I had observed Captain Pascoe and our first luff in close confabulation; and shortly after the golden orb19 of the sun had disappeared beneath the horizon the former beckoned20 to me and said—
"Mr. Farmer, I believe we are about to have a fine, calm night; I have therefore determined21 to send the boats away to capture that schooner; and I intend to put the expedition under the command of Mr. Richardson"—the first lieutenant—"with you to second him. Have the goodness, therefore, to proceed at once with the necessary preparations, as the boats will shove off the moment that it is sufficiently22 dark to conceal23 your movements. I have no doubt the fellow will expect you, but it is hardly worth while to tell him plainly what our intentions are."
Our preparations were soon made and I then dived below, snatched a hasty substitute for dinner, in the shape of some cold meat and pickles24, and was all ready, with my sword belted to my side, and a brace25 of freshly-loaded pistols stuck in my belt, in time for the skipper's inspection26 of our little party prior to shoving off.
Captain Pascoe waited patiently until the darkness had closed down upon us sufficiently to completely hide the chase from even his penetrating27 gaze, and then he gave the word to shove off; whereupon away we went, with muffled28 oars29, and the boat binnacles so carefully shrouded30 that we felt perfectly31 secure against our presence being betrayed by any stray glimmer32 of light emanating33 from them. The master had taken the bearings of the schooner with the utmost nicety just before she disappeared in the darkness, and he gave us the course which we were to steer15.
Our expedition consisted of the first cutter and the gig, under Mr. Richardson, and the second cutter and the jolly-boat, under my command; the whole mustering34 forty-eight hands, all told, including two venturesome mids who, preferring the excitement of a scrimmage to the more solid delights of dinner, had begged permission to be placed in charge of the gig and jolly-boat respectively.
We had been pulling about half-an-hour when the dull muffled roll of sweeps became audible, and upon listening intently we discovered that the schooner was sweeping35 away in a southerly direction, or at right angles to the course which we were steering. We therefore shifted our helm to cut her off.
The men now bent36 to their oars with a will, keeping up a steady but fairly fast pace for an hour, by which time we were able not only to distinctly hear the roll and splash of the sweeps, but also to see the schooner as a small, vague, indefinite shadow of deeper blackness against the dark background of the overcast37 sky. The rascals had taken in every thread of canvas, so that it was only her hull38 we saw; but having once sighted this, we never again allowed our glances to stray from it.
We had arrived within about a quarter of a mile of our quarry39, and were congratulating ourselves upon having so far escaped detection, when a voice from the shadow hailed us in Spanish, demanding who we were and what we wanted.
"Oars!" murmured the first luff, in tones of deep but suppressed excitement; "do not answer! not a sound, for your lives!"
About half a minute of intense anxiety now ensued, when the hail was repeated; and immediately afterwards the ghastly blue-white radiance of a portfire lit up the scene, distinctly revealing the hull, spars, and rigging of the schooner, with the figure of the man who held the firework standing by the fore rigging, one hand grasping a backstay, and the other holding the portfire high above his head, with sparks shooting and dropping into the water alongside, and the white smoke curling lazily upward between the naked masts.
"Boats ahoy!" hailed the voice again, "if you do not instantly sheer off I will open fire upon you! Do you hear?"
I translated; whereupon he murmured—
"Oh yes, my hearty41, we hear well enough; but we shall just have to take our chance. Give way, men, with a will! At them before they have time to recover from their surprise! You will board on the port side, if you please, Mr. Farmer."
"Ay, ay, sir!" answered I. "Bend your backs, my lads, and let's get alongside! Marines, stand by to return their fire if they open upon us!"
I was in hopes that, having recognised our strength, they would see the folly42 of resisting us; but they did not; on the contrary, they gave us a broadside of four guns—six-pounders they sounded like—and at the same time opened upon us a confused fire of musketry. One of the men in my boat gave a gasping43 groan44 as he dropped his oar3 and reeled off his thwart45 into the bottom of the boat; but we had no time to attend to him just then, for in another minute we were alongside, and I sprang over the low bulwarks46 of the schooner, closely followed by the men of my own division, as Richardson, with his two boats, swept under the stern to board on the starboard side.
We were met by a ragamuffin crowd of swarthy, black-haired, fierce-eyed ruffians, rendered visible by the light of a second portfire which a burly negro held aloft, who greeted us with a lively popping of pistols, followed by a great brandishing47 of cutlasses and knives. But our fellows meant making short work of the job, and laid about them with such energy and good-will that the Spaniards almost instantly gave way before us, only to find themselves attacked in the rear by the first luff and his party. This was altogether too much for them: they flung down their weapons and bolted incontinently for the fore-scuttle, down which they tumbled helter-skelter, one on the top of another; and almost before we were able to realise our success we were in possession of the schooner.
"We were met by a ragamuffin crowd of swarthy, black-haired, fierce-eyed ruffians."
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1
yarn
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| n.纱，纱线，纺线；奇闻漫谈，旅行轶事 | |
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2
lieutenant
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| n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员 | |
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3
oar
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| n.桨，橹，划手；v.划行 | |
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4
piracy
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| n.海盗行为，剽窃，著作权侵害 | |
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5
inflicted
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| 把…强加给，使承受，遭受( inflict的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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6
strenuous
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| adj.奋发的，使劲的；紧张的；热烈的，狂热的 | |
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7
infamous
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| adj.声名狼藉的，臭名昭著的，邪恶的 | |
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8
rascals
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| 流氓( rascal的名词复数 )； 无赖； （开玩笑说法）淘气的人（尤指小孩）； 恶作剧的人 | |
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9
cape
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| n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风 | |
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10
standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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11
northward
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| adv.向北；n.北方的地区 | |
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12
fore
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| adv.在前面；adj.先前的；在前部的；n.前部 | |
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13
schooner
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| n.纵帆船 | |
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14
steering
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| n.操舵装置 | |
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15
steer
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| vt.驾驶，为…操舵；引导；vi.驾驶 | |
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16
westward
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| n.西方，西部；adj.西方的，向西的；adv.向西 | |
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17
cargo
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| n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物 | |
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18
bustle
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| v.喧扰地忙乱，匆忙，奔忙；n.忙碌；喧闹 | |
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19
orb
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| n.太阳；星球；v.弄圆；成球形 | |
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20
beckoned
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| v.（用头或手的动作）示意，召唤( beckon的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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21
determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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22
sufficiently
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| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
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23
conceal
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| v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽 | |
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24
pickles
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| n.腌菜( pickle的名词复数 )；处于困境；遇到麻烦；菜酱 | |
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25
brace
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| n. 支柱,曲柄,大括号; v. 绷紧,顶住,(为困难或坏事)做准备 | |
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26
inspection
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| n.检查，审查，检阅 | |
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27
penetrating
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| adj.（声音）响亮的，尖锐的adj.（气味）刺激的adj.（思想）敏锐的，有洞察力的 | |
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28
muffled
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| 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） | |
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29
oars
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| n.桨，橹( oar的名词复数 )；划手v.划（行）( oar的第三人称单数 ) | |
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30
shrouded
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| v.隐瞒( shroud的过去式和过去分词 )；保密 | |
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31
perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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32
glimmer
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| v.发出闪烁的微光；n.微光，微弱的闪光 | |
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33
emanating
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| v.从…处传出，传出( emanate的现在分词 )；产生，表现，显示 | |
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34
mustering
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| v.集合，召集，集结（尤指部队）( muster的现在分词 )；（自他人处）搜集某事物；聚集；激发 | |
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35
sweeping
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| adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的 | |
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36
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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37
overcast
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| adj.阴天的，阴暗的，愁闷的；v.遮盖，（使）变暗，包边缝；n.覆盖，阴天 | |
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38
hull
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| n.船身；(果、实等的)外壳；vt.去(谷物等)壳 | |
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39
quarry
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| n.采石场；v.采石；费力地找 | |
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40
lingo
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| n.语言不知所云，外国话，隐语 | |
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41
hearty
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| adj.热情友好的；衷心的；尽情的，纵情的 | |
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42
folly
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| n.愚笨，愚蠢，蠢事，蠢行，傻话 | |
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43
gasping
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| adj. 气喘的, 痉挛的 动词gasp的现在分词 | |
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44
groan
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| vi./n.呻吟，抱怨；(发出)呻吟般的声音 | |
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45
thwart
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| v.阻挠，妨碍，反对；adj.横(断的) | |
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46
bulwarks
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| n.堡垒( bulwark的名词复数 )；保障；支柱；舷墙 | |
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47
brandishing
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| v.挥舞( brandish的现在分词 )；炫耀 | |
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