The vision fairly staggered me; for my mind was imbued5 with the idea that the island was uninhabited. But my brain keyed up by the events of the day, did not dwell for an instant on any supernatural explanation of the apparition. I promptly6 asked myself whether, after all, there were people living on the island or whether the man I had seen had, like ourselves, landed from some passing ship.
But then, without warning, there came an ear-shattering metallic7 crash, as though a big shell had exploded beside us, the earth shook and a perfect tornado8 of wind and water descended9 upon the clearing, clawing and tearing at the hut until it seemed as though the beams of the flimsy structure to which we desperately10 clung would be wrenched11 from our grasp. The inky-black sky appeared to split across in a jagged band of light which again showed up the clearing as bright as day. But now the tall wooden cross stood aloft in solitary12 majesty13 once more. The figure at the graveside had vanished and the clearing was entirely14 deserted15. I asked myself whether the apparition had not, after all, been the figment of my imagination. Garth had seemingly remarked nothing so I resolved to say nothing about it unless he should ask me.
But now, amid the grumbling16 and rumbling17 of the thunder receding18 into the distance, the storm was passing. The air reeked19 with the stench of sulphur and I guessed that the appalling20 crash we had heard had marked the fall of a thunderbolt. Slowly the light was coming back and, though the rain yet descended in torrents21, the downpour was much less heavy.
We were in a sorry plight22, the pair of us. Our thin garments clung to us like wet swimming suits and our teeth chattered23 in our heads.
"We appear to have timed things very badly," grumbled24 Garth, wringing25 the water out of a corner of his tussore jacket. "We had plenty of warning of this storm. I should have thought we might have managed to have got back to the camp in time to escape it...."
I wiped the water out of my eyes and grinned.
"Oh," I said lightly, "a ducking won't hurt us! Look, the rain's stopping already...."
"I am not complaining about getting wet," observed Garth with an air of dignity which went ill with his bedraggled appearance—he was squatting26 on his hunkers squeezing out his hat—"I can, I believe, put up with the hardships of an expedition like this as well as any man. But I do think the—er, staff work this afternoon leaves something to be desired. To be wet to the skin an hour's tramp from camp may amuse you, Major Okewood, but the prospect27 of a heavy chill does not strike me as being funny in the least!"
In high dudgeon he placed upon his head the shapeless mass of soggy felt which had once been a hat.
"I vote we make a move for the camp," he proposed. "That is, if anything is left of it. I should not be in the least surprised to find the cave under water, our stores ruined and Carstairs drowned—or struck by lightning, as like as not. I don't wish to seem inquisitive28, Major Okewood, but might I inquire what progress this afternoon's unfortunate jaunt29 has brought to your investigations30?"
"Indeed," replied the baronet—he was struggling to free himself from a giant creeper which had firmly fixed33 itself about his sodden34 clothes. "I am sorry I cannot share your optimism. But then I'm wholly in the dark—maybe, it's just as well—about this infernal wild-goose chase. Damn it," he cried suddenly, "can't you lend me a hand to get this blasted root off my legs?"
"We shall be home in no time," I said soothingly36 to humour him, for he was like a spoilt child, "and you'll see what marvels37 Carstairs has accomplished38 in the way of making us comfortable. And you needn't worry about the cave. It's splendidly sheltered. Not a drop of water will get in!"
Night was falling by the time we emerged from the steamy atmosphere of the sopping39 woods and made for the faint glow of light which shone from our cave. Carstairs met us at the entrance. He had fully40 justified41 my prophecy to Garth.
Our beds were made up, one on either side of the cave, and our washing and shaving kit42 laid out on toilet tables improvised43 out of boxes neatly44 covered with clean white paper. Hot water steamed in our wash-basins and a dry change of clothing was laid out on the beds. In the centre of the cave, on packing-cases covered by a white damask cloth, the table was set for dinner. A hurricane lamp, placed in the centre, was flanked by enamel45 cups from the picnic basket filled with bright flowers and on the ground a bottle of Garth's excellent champagne46 was cooling in a bucket of spring-water.
We lost no time in changing, and within a quarter of an hour were sitting down to what was, in the circumstances, an extraordinarily47 well-cooked meal. Garth's ill-temper melted perceptibly and it was with the utmost cordiality that he raised his glass and pledged the success of the expedition. The ingenuity48 of the incomparable Carstairs had so completely reproduced the atmosphere of civilisation49 that it was difficult to believe we three were dining on a lonely islet in the middle of the Pacific.
After dinner Garth yawned expansively and opined that he would turn in. The unwonted exercise of the afternoon, he declared, had fagged him out. But I had no mind for bed. My brain, stimulated50 by the unaccustomed environment, was active. The apparition at the graveside during the storm had profoundly disquieted51 me and I wanted to think. So I strolled outside for a solitary pipe beneath the stars.
On the shore I found Carstairs, pipe in mouth, contemplating52 the sea. I love the old-time Regular, such as Carstairs, with his twelve years' service in the Sappers, was, his loyalty53, his quiet efficiency, his eminent54 common sense. And as between two professional soldiers a bond of silent sympathy had established itself between Carstairs and me. We had not even discussed the incident of the drink I had given him that night on board the yacht. Having ascertained55 that Carstairs was practically a total abstainer56, I gave Mackay a hint to forget all about his nocturnal diagnosis57. I had my own theory about that drink and perhaps Carstairs had his; anyway, we did not discuss it.
"Grand night, sir!" said Carstairs, taking his pipe out of his mouth as I approached over the sand.
"Wonderful!" I commented. "Good spot this, Carstairs!"
The man did not reply. He was sucking on his pipe which did not seem to be drawing well.
"It's a uncanny kind o' place, as you might say, sir!" he remarked presently.
"Well," I observed, "it's a bit lonesome, I suppose. But all desert islands are that!"
"Lonesome?" retorted the man. "I wouldn't have nothing to say agin it if it were lonesome. I'm partial to the moors58 and such-like places meself. I never was a one for the towns, sir. But I don't like all these tall rocks and all these quiet trees at the back of one. They give me the fair 'ump!"
I laughed.
"You want the desert, Carstairs," I said. "Nothing but sand and then some. No trees looking at you there!"
"It ain't altogether the trees an' the cliffs!"
The man paused and scratched his head with the stem of his pipe.
"There's something sort o' creepy about this place, sir!"
"How do you mean?"
"Well," he said slowly, "it's a funny thing, but all the blessed evening I've had a kind o' feeling as if I was being watched. You know how it was in the war, sir—w'en you was workin' out in No Man's Land on a pitch-black night, scared to death you was walkin' into Fritz's line, tellin' yerself all through 'If you can't see him, he can't see you' but feelin'—well, as though there was nothin' but eyes starin' at you all around!"
He shook himself.
"It fair gives me the creeps!" he finished.
Now Carstairs was a plain honest-to-God Englishman from the New Forest, the very incarnation of the soldier from the English shires whose sheer lack of imagination and consequent inability to accept defeat in any circumstances clear broke the German spirit in the war. There was no associating that good-humoured face, that big mouth and button nose, with the idle fears of an overheated imagination. There are some people—I am one—who, even though they see nothing, have the faculty59 of detecting the presence of human beings in their vicinity. I recalled the eerie60 sensation I myself had had on landing but, of course, above all I thought of that bowed figure which the lightning had shown me standing61 by the grave in the clearing.
I was filled with the deepest foreboding. If there were people on the island, surely they must have remarked the arrival of the Naomi. Would they not have announced themselves to us? What object could they have, supposing Carstairs was not mistaken, in slinking round the camp?
Well, it was no part of my plans as yet to communicate my fears to Carstairs. So I rallied him gently.
But Carstairs stuck to his guns.
"It come over me so strong w'en you and the guv'nor was away this evening," Carstairs said, "that no less than four times I left my cook-pots to have a look round...."
"Well, and did you see anybody?"
"Not a blessed soul!"
"Did you hear anything?"
"No, sir!"
Yet the man was not to be shaken.
"W'en I was servin' dinner jes' now," he persisted, "I was as sure as sure there was a chap watchin' me from just about there,"—he turned and indicated the black shape of a palm on the fringe of the shore,—"not doin' anything but jes' settin' there, spyin'!"
The man knocked out his pipe.
"I'm to call you gentlemen at four, sir. If you didn't mind, I think I'll get down to it!"
This little bit of trench62 slang (which, being interpreted means to retire for the night), uttered in our romantic surroundings, amused me not a little.
"Good night, Carstairs!"
"Good night, sir!"
He plodded63 up the beach, his feet making no sound on the soft sand, a white, ghostly figure against the dark foliage64. Then he was swallowed up in the mystery and silence of the night.
There was no moon, but in compensation such a prodigious65 display of stars as only the tropics can show, blazing and twinkling in their myriads66 till one could almost believe the heavens were in motion. On the open shore there was yet a kind of half-light but beyond, where the woods began, the blackness of the night was Stygian.
Carstairs was right. This island was an eerie place. The absolute stillness of the night, marred67 only by the mournful rhythm of the waves, seemed to accentuate68 that air of expectancy69 about it which I had already remarked. I found myself thinking of the island as of a stage set for the performance of some play.
Here, perhaps, I reflected, the Unknown, destined70 for that nameless grave I had come to seek, had landed, carried ashore71, maybe, by his native crew. I tried to picture him, with death in his face, painfully scrawling72 the message which had so strangely come into my hands. What manner of man was this Unknown? A German officer, a naval73 officer probably (as the reference to Kiel seemed to indicate). And for whom did he write? For Germans, for a German. Yet there were no Germans, as far as I knew, in the gang that had taken two men's lives to get the message now reposing74 in my pocket. Black Pablo, Neque, El Cojo.... these were Spanish names.
El Cojo? "He who goes with a limp." Der Stelze, Clubfoot, had been the nickname of that other cripple, the man of might in that Imperial Germany which sank to destruction in the fire and smoke of the Hindenburg Line, whose ways lay in dark places, whom everybody feared but whom so few had ever seen.... If he could rise from his grave and seek me out on the island, then, indeed, might my imagination, like poor old Carstairs', people these darkling woods with hidden spies!
Sunk in my thoughts I had wandered on heedlessly, going ever deeper into the tangle75 of the forest. But now the undergrowth, growing thicker, barred my further progress and I came to an abrupt76 halt with the thick tendril of some creeping plant wound about my body. On it blossomed a gaudy77 flower with a heavy, musky scent78. The touch of the creeper on my bare arm made me shrink.
It was as dark as pitch in that jungle-like forest. A phrase I had read somewhere about "opaque79 blackness" flashed into my mind. I realised I stood an extremely good chance of being lost, and cursed myself for a dreamy fool. Fortunately, I had the orientation80 of our camp—I had taken it that afternoon on the beach—and I knew that, by striking west, I should roughly hit Horseshoe Harbour where we had put ashore.
I took out my compass and opening the lid, bent81 over the luminous82 needle. I stood absolutely still to allow the pointer to swing to rest. Then, from the black depths of the forest all about me, a gentle droning fell upon my ear. I listened. No mistake was possible. It was undoubtedly83 a human voice. And it was softly humming, as a man might hum quietly to himself, to pass away the time. I listened again. The voice rose and fell, with now and then a break, but always on a muted note. Suddenly, I caught the melody, a melancholy84, haunting refrain with a phrase, as in a folksong, that came again and again. And I felt the perspiration85 break out on my brow, my heart grow cold within me, as I recognised the air....
"Se murio, y sobre su cara
"Un panuelito le heche...."
It was the song of Black Pablo, the singer in the lane.
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收听单词发音
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1
perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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reverence
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| n.敬畏，尊敬，尊严；Reverence:对某些基督教神职人员的尊称；v.尊敬，敬畏，崇敬 | |
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apparition
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| n.幽灵，神奇的现象 | |
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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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imbued
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| v.使（某人/某事）充满或激起（感情等）( imbue的过去式和过去分词 )；使充满；灌输；激发（强烈感情或品质等） | |
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promptly
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| adv.及时地，敏捷地 | |
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metallic
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| adj.金属的；金属制的；含金属的；产金属的；像金属的 | |
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8
tornado
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| n.飓风，龙卷风 | |
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9
descended
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| a.为...后裔的，出身于...的 | |
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10
desperately
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| adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地 | |
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wrenched
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| v.（猛力地）扭( wrench的过去式和过去分词 )；扭伤；使感到痛苦；使悲痛 | |
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12
solitary
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| adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士 | |
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13
majesty
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| n.雄伟，壮丽，庄严，威严；最高权威，王权 | |
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14
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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deserted
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| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
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grumbling
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| adj. 喃喃鸣不平的, 出怨言的 | |
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rumbling
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| n. 隆隆声, 辘辘声 adj. 隆隆响的 动词rumble的现在分词 | |
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18
receding
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| v.逐渐远离( recede的现在分词 )；向后倾斜；自原处后退或避开别人的注视；尤指问题 | |
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19
reeked
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| v.发出浓烈的臭气( reek的过去式和过去分词 )；散发臭气；发出难闻的气味 (of sth)；明显带有（令人不快或生疑的跡象） | |
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appalling
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| adj.骇人听闻的，令人震惊的，可怕的 | |
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torrents
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| n.倾注；奔流( torrent的名词复数 )；急流；爆发；连续不断 | |
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22
plight
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| n.困境，境况，誓约，艰难；vt.宣誓，保证，约定 | |
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23
chattered
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| （人）喋喋不休( chatter的过去式 )； 唠叨； （牙齿）打战； （机器）震颤 | |
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24
grumbled
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| 抱怨( grumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 发牢骚； 咕哝； 发哼声 | |
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25
wringing
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| 淋湿的，湿透的 | |
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26
squatting
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| v.像动物一样蹲下( squat的现在分词 )；非法擅自占用（土地或房屋）；为获得其所有权；而占用某片公共用地。 | |
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27
prospect
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| n.前景，前途；景色，视野 | |
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inquisitive
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| adj.求知欲强的，好奇的，好寻根究底的 | |
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jaunt
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| v.短程旅游；n.游览 | |
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investigations
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| （正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究 | |
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nettled
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| v.拿荨麻打，拿荨麻刺（nettle的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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32
curtly
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| adv.简短地 | |
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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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sodden
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| adj.浑身湿透的；v.使浸透；使呆头呆脑 | |
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35
fuming
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| 愤怒( fume的现在分词 )； 大怒； 发怒； 冒烟 | |
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soothingly
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| adv.抚慰地，安慰地；镇痛地 | |
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marvels
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| n.奇迹( marvel的名词复数 )；令人惊奇的事物（或事例）；不平凡的成果；成就v.惊奇，对…感到惊奇( marvel的第三人称单数 ) | |
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38
accomplished
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| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
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39
sopping
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| adj. 浑身湿透的 动词sop的现在分词形式 | |
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40
fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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justified
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| a.正当的，有理的 | |
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42
kit
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| n.用具包，成套工具；随身携带物 | |
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43
improvised
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| a.即席而作的,即兴的 | |
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44
neatly
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| adv.整洁地，干净地，灵巧地，熟练地 | |
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45
enamel
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| n.珐琅，搪瓷，瓷釉；(牙齿的)珐琅质 | |
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46
champagne
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| n.香槟酒；微黄色 | |
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47
extraordinarily
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| adv.格外地；极端地 | |
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48
ingenuity
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| n.别出心裁；善于发明创造 | |
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49
civilisation
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| n.文明，文化，开化，教化 | |
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50
stimulated
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| a.刺激的 | |
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51
disquieted
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| v.使不安，使忧虑，使烦恼( disquiet的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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52
contemplating
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| 深思，细想，仔细考虑( contemplate的现在分词 )； 注视，凝视； 考虑接受（发生某事的可能性）； 深思熟虑，沉思，苦思冥想 | |
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53
loyalty
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| n.忠诚，忠心 | |
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54
eminent
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| adj.显赫的，杰出的，有名的，优良的 | |
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55
ascertained
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| v.弄清，确定，查明( ascertain的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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56
abstainer
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| 节制者，戒酒者，弃权者 | |
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57
diagnosis
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| n.诊断，诊断结果，调查分析，判断 | |
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58
moors
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| v.停泊，系泊（船只）( moor的第三人称单数 ) | |
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59
faculty
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| n.才能；学院，系；(学院或系的)全体教学人员 | |
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60
eerie
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| adj.怪诞的；奇异的；可怕的；胆怯的 | |
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61
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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62
trench
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| n./v.(挖)沟，(挖)战壕 | |
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63
plodded
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| v.沉重缓慢地走（路）( plod的过去式和过去分词 )；努力从事；沉闷地苦干；缓慢进行（尤指艰难枯燥的工作） | |
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64
foliage
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| n.叶子，树叶，簇叶 | |
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65
prodigious
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| adj.惊人的，奇妙的；异常的；巨大的；庞大的 | |
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66
myriads
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| n.无数，极大数量( myriad的名词复数 ) | |
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67
marred
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| adj. 被损毁, 污损的 | |
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68
accentuate
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| v.着重，强调 | |
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69
expectancy
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| n.期望，预期，（根据概率统计求得）预期数额 | |
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70
destined
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| adj.命中注定的；(for)以…为目的地的 | |
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71
ashore
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| adv.在(向)岸上，上岸 | |
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72
scrawling
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| 乱涂，潦草地写( scrawl的现在分词 ) | |
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73
naval
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| adj.海军的，军舰的，船的 | |
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74
reposing
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| v.将（手臂等）靠在某人（某物）上( repose的现在分词 ) | |
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75
tangle
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| n.纠缠；缠结；混乱；v.(使)缠绕；变乱 | |
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76
abrupt
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| adj.突然的，意外的；唐突的，鲁莽的 | |
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77
gaudy
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| adj.华而不实的；俗丽的 | |
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78
scent
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| n.气味，香味，香水，线索，嗅觉；v.嗅，发觉 | |
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79
opaque
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| adj.不透光的；不反光的，不传导的；晦涩的 | |
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80
orientation
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| n.方向，目标；熟悉，适应，情况介绍 | |
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81
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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82
luminous
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| adj.发光的，发亮的；光明的；明白易懂的；有启发的 | |
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83
undoubtedly
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| adv.确实地，无疑地 | |
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84
melancholy
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| n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的 | |
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85
perspiration
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| n.汗水；出汗 | |
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