CHAPTER V. Tied to the Bell Buoy.

 I expect I fainted, for when I looked at Kathleen again she was bathing my face and hands with sea water, and the shores were ever so much farther off than they had been.

 

"Oh, Edric, what shall we do? What will uncle and aunt say? Are you better now? What is the time, Rupert?"

 

"Half-past four," said Rupert. "The tide runs out six hours, so we can't be back any way before midnight."

 

"Then I vote we have something to eat," said Jack¹, as usual the first to recover himself. "I say, Rupert, is it any good fagging away with that oar² to keep her in the middle of the stream? Don't you think we might as well let her run aground?"

 

Rupert was standing³ in the bows, guiding the boat as they do the gondolas⁴ in Venice, and looked tired and anxious.

 

"I think we ought to go on," he said, quietly. "Edric has never been on the water but once, and I want to get him home. If we get stranded⁵ we are bound to stay till the tide comes up and floats us, and then there's a doubt whether we can get this heavy tub home with one oar. I think our best chance is to go down with the stream, till we get into the bay. Perhaps a boat will pass, and take us round to Craigstown."

 

"We could easily drive home from there at low water," said I, trying to speak cheerily, though I felt fearful. What a different party we were then, as the boat went swiftly down the river, widening and widening every moment.

 

"Now, captain, your eyes are good, whatever your legs and arms may be. Just keep a sharp look out, and shout 'Ship, ahoy!' the instant you see anything."

 

"What's that?" cried Harold, suddenly. "I heard a bell. I say, isn't it getting rough; don't pitch me overboard, please. You'd better sit down, Rupert, or you'll take a header. There's no one here to fish you out, and there isn't a towel on board. Stewardess⁶, you'll please to take a month's notice for forgetting them."

 

With such little jokes we tried to hide the fear which sat heavily on every heart.

 

"There it is again," said Kathleen, looking eagerly around. "It sounds like a bell."

 

I raised myself on my elbow. "It must be the bell buoy⁷," I exclaimed. "I have heard father talk about it. It is a great big buoy, painted red and white. There's a bell on the top, and four hammers which swing up against it with the waves."

 

"Is there danger there?" said Rupert, standing up again, and grasping his oar.

 

"Not for us, I think. I almost forget; but I think father said it was put to show the steamers their course when they are up the Chiswell to Barford."

 

"What! is there another river up there? No wonder we have such a tossing. There's the bell again—we must be getting nearer to it. There it is. Ship, ahoy! Why didn't you shout, captain?"

 

We were making straight for the bell buoy, but I saw that we were also making straight for the open sea. In an instant a prayer came to my lips, and I said aloud: "Oh, God, show us what we ought to do."

 

Like a direct answer from Heaven, which we all believed it was, Kathleen said, "Tie the boat to the buoy, Rupert."

 

In the excitement, eager to help, eager to see, I raised myself to my knees, and then dropped back; I had never done so much in my life before.

 

It was a terrible moment of suspense⁸, and then Rupert almost fell into Kathleen's arms.

 

"Bravo!" she cried; "you've done it, darling."

 

He had tied the painter skilfully⁹ round the iron frame which supported the bell.

 

"Yes, it's done, dear; the question is, how long will the rope last. It isn't like being moored¹⁰ to a tree at the side of a river. Oh! I'm tired, I must rest a moment; you two look out, and signal if you see any vessel¹¹."

 

As he spoke¹² he kicked something.

 

"What a set of idiots we are," said Jack, crawling carefully along the bottom of the boat, which was pitching in a manner fearful to describe.

 

"Here's the gun; let's fire it till someone sees us."

 

A bang, a flash, a sharp pain in my hand, and a cry of misery¹³. Shall I ever forget those few minutes? I didn't know where I was hurt at first; but the marvel¹⁴ was we were not all turned into the sea as my cousins rushed to me. If our boat had not been, as Jack said, a regular old tub, you would never have read this tale, for I should never have written it.

 

The bullet had just grazed my left hand and carried away my little finger. Of course, I have missed it very often since, and groaned¹⁵ over the pain then; but if I had to go through that afternoon's experience again, I would certainly still let that bullet work its mischief¹⁶. Care for me, staunching the blood, and tearing handkerchiefs into strips to stop the circulation at the wrist, which idea I had gathered from various books of war and bloodshed, all took time and distracted our thoughts for a while from the danger which threatened us all.

 

"I see a boat!" said Harold, with a gasp¹⁷ of joy.

 

"Give me the gun, quick," cried Rupert. "Don't be frightened, Edric; I won't hurt you. It is our only hope." Bang, bang, bang—three shots in the air as quickly as possible.

 

 "DON'T BE FRIGHTENED, EDRIC.  IT IS OUR ONLY HOPE." 

"DON'T BE FRIGHTENED, EDRIC. IT IS OUR ONLY HOPE."

"She sees us, she's turning this way," we cried, with voices in which tears and joy struggled for the mastery.

 

But we were not yet out of danger. Even as we uttered that cry, we gave another.

 

"Look! the rope is broken. We are adrift!"

1 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

2 oar   

n.桨，橹，划手；v.划行

参考例句：

• The sailors oar slowly across the river.水手们慢慢地划过河去。
• The blade of the oar was bitten off by a shark.浆叶被一条鲨鱼咬掉了。

3 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

4 gondolas   

n.狭长小船( gondola的名词复数 )；货架（一般指商店，例如化妆品店）；吊船工作台

参考例句：

• When the G-Force is in motion, the gondolas turn as well. 当“惊呼狂叫”开始旋转时，平底船也同时旋转。 来自互联网
• Moreton Engineering &Equipment Co. Ltd. -Services include sales tower crane, gondolas, material hoist construction equipment. 山明模型工作室-制作建筑模型，包括售楼模型、规划模型、比赛模型等。 来自互联网

5 stranded   

a.搁浅的，进退两难的

参考例句：

• He was stranded in a strange city without money. 他流落在一个陌生的城市里， 身无分文，一筹莫展。
• I was stranded in the strange town without money or friends. 我困在那陌生的城市，既没有钱，又没有朋友。

6 stewardess   

n.空中小姐，女乘务员

参考例句：

• Please show your ticket to the stewardess when you board the plane.登机时请向空中小姐出示机票。
• The stewardess hurried the passengers onto the plane.空中小姐催乘客赶快登机。

7 buoy   

n.浮标；救生圈；v.支持，鼓励

参考例句：

• The party did little to buoy up her spirits.这次聚会并没有让她振作多少。
• The buoy floated back and forth in the shallow water.这个浮标在浅水里漂来漂去。

8 suspense   

n.（对可能发生的事）紧张感，担心，挂虑

参考例句：

• The suspense was unbearable.这样提心吊胆的状况实在叫人受不了。
• The director used ingenious devices to keep the audience in suspense.导演用巧妙手法引起观众的悬念。

9 skilfully   

adv. (美skillfully)熟练地

参考例句：

• Hall skilfully weaves the historical research into a gripping narrative. 霍尔巧妙地把历史研究揉进了扣人心弦的故事叙述。
• Enthusiasm alone won't do. You've got to work skilfully. 不能光靠傻劲儿，得找窍门。

10 moored   

adj. 系泊的 动词moor的过去式和过去分词形式

参考例句：

• The ship is now permanently moored on the Thames in London. 该船现在永久地停泊在伦敦泰晤士河边。
• We shipped (the) oars and moored alongside the bank. 我们收起桨，把船泊在岸边。

11 vessel   

n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管

参考例句：

• The vessel is fully loaded with cargo for Shanghai.这艘船满载货物驶往上海。
• You should put the water into a vessel.你应该把水装入容器中。

12 spoke   

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

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

13 misery   

n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦

参考例句：

• Business depression usually causes misery among the working class.商业不景气常使工薪阶层受苦。
• He has rescued me from the mire of misery.他把我从苦海里救了出来。

14 marvel   

vi.(at)惊叹vt.感到惊异；n.令人惊异的事

参考例句：

• The robot is a marvel of modern engineering.机器人是现代工程技术的奇迹。
• The operation was a marvel of medical skill.这次手术是医术上的一个奇迹。

15 groaned   

v.呻吟( groan的过去式和过去分词 )；发牢骚；抱怨；受苦

参考例句：

• He groaned in anguish. 他痛苦地呻吟。
• The cart groaned under the weight of the piano. 大车在钢琴的重压下嘎吱作响。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 mischief   

n.损害，伤害，危害；恶作剧，捣蛋，胡闹

参考例句：

• Nobody took notice of the mischief of the matter. 没有人注意到这件事情所带来的危害。
• He seems to intend mischief.看来他想捣蛋。

17 gasp   

n.喘息，气喘；v.喘息；气吁吁他说

参考例句：

• She gave a gasp of surprise.她吃惊得大口喘气。
• The enemy are at their last gasp.敌人在做垂死的挣扎。