But Ned had all he could do to help himself right then. Like so many ants swarming1 upon and attacking an interloper in their domains2, the little brown men had swarmed3 upon him, also. The brawny4 arms of the Dreadnought Boy flung them off right and left, and as they fell back in the crowd they knocked over more of the clustering people like balls in a bowling5 alley6.
“Hurray! A king-pin!” cried Ned, as down went five or six of the Japs in a heap.
But before the words were fairly out of his mouth, more of the men leaped upon him from behind. By a quick movement, Ned fell backwards7, crushing the breath out of his surprised opponents. He was up again in a jiffy, only to[241] find that he was still assailed8 by uncountable numbers. They swarmed like flies round a honey-pot, and do what he would, the boy could not shake them off.
A short way from him he saw Herc being borne down, and then saw him struggle to his feet again.
“Whoop! Huroo!” yelled Herc suddenly.
“Ahoy, mates!” shouted the sailors in the foremost ’rickshaw, and then, as they saw who it was, they set up a yet louder yell.
“Come on, ship-mates! To the rescue! Hurray for Red-Head!”
“Hurry up!” shouted Herc.
The Jap ’rickshaw pullers dropped their shafts12 and ran for their lives. They had no desire to get mixed up in a mêlée. Out of the odd rigs in which they had been enjoying a sight-seeing[242] spin, the sailors came jumping. Many of them were from the Manhattan, and several were from other ships. But both Dreadnought Boys were general favorites and in a jiffy the Japs were parting right and left as the American seamen13 waded14 in to the rescue of their ship-mates.
Five minutes after the arrival of the men-o’war’s-men not a Jap was to be seen, and the two boys were explaining how they had come to get into trouble.
“Red-Head, as usual,” laughed a tar9 from the Manhattan. “Strong, you ought to leave him tied up some place when you come ashore15.”
“I like that! Haven’t I the right to take a bite to eat when I see an old wooden idol16 letting good grub go to waste?” expostulated Herc.
“When you’re in Rome, do as the Romans do,” put in another sailor,—the one whom the sailors nick-named “Ben Franklin.” “In some parts of the island your appetite might have been gone for good after your escapade, Master Red-Head.”
[243]
Ben Franklin made an expressive18 gesture, signifying that Herc might have lost his head for his prank19.
“Woof!” exclaimed Ned’s chum, “that would have been a fine dessert. Come on, ship-mates, I’m going back to the ship and sleep in the magazine. It’s safer than it is ashore.”
“For you it is, anyhow,” chuckled20 a tar. “But hullo, mates, where are all the ’rickshaw men? They’ve all gone.”
“Scared away, I reckon,” laughed another, a man off the Idaho. “Tell you what we’ll do, we’ll be our own ’rickshaw pullers.”
“Hooray!” cried the men; and amidst a great to-do and lots of laughter the blue-jackets placed themselves between the shafts, the fortunate riders (whose turn at pulling was to come later on) shouting with glee.
[244]
“Whoa! Whoa!” bawled the philosophic23 sailor, “not so fast! Take in sail, mate! Shorten sail! Rocks ahead!”
The warning came too late. One wheel of the ’rickshaw struck a rock at the edge of a little bridge and Ben Franklin, amidst the roars of the tars, went sky-rocketing into space over the rail of the bridge. He landed in a lot of soft mud and injured nothing but his dignity.
“You’re a horse that needs breaking,” he said to Herc, as he took his seat once more in the ’rickshaw; and, despite all Herc’s pleadings, he was compelled to pull the mud-stained Ben all through the streets of Yokahama as a punishment for his skylarking.
The ’rickshaws were left at the ’rickshaw stand near the docks where it was certain that their owners would reclaim24 them. Then the liberty parties embarked25 and were towed back to their ships by the various steamers.
So ended a stay in Yokahama, not a quarter of the details of which we have had space to describe.[245] The fleet there, as everywhere, met unbounded enthusiasm and entertainment, and thousands of post cards and photographs were sent home to the United States by the Jackies. A big naval26 parade and a review of the fleet by the local dignitaries served still further to impress upon the Far East Uncle Sam’s place and dignity as a sea-power.
Many weeks now passed uneventfully. The fleet stopped at Melbourne and Sidney, the two chief places on the island continent of Australia. But at neither of these towns did the boys go ashore, as there were others to take their turns at shore leave. However, from what they heard they judged that the two cities named did not differ materially from any progressive, modern American community, so that they were not so disappointed as they would have been in strange lands among foreign-speaking peoples.
Ahead of them lay Egypt and a planned trip to the Pyramids and the Sphinx, and the wonders of Gibraltar with a side excursion into Spain.[246] All this helped to enliven their anticipations27 and made them regret all the less that their liberty was curtailed28 at the Australian cities.
Through the Indian Ocean, across the blisteringly hot Red Sea, the fleet had made its way, and now it was on what the Jackies called the “home stretch.” One blazingly hot afternoon the long line of battleships swung into the Gulf29 of Suez on its way to the Mediterranean30. Speed was reduced to four knots in accordance with the rules of the canal which they were approaching. The sailors fretted31 as the great ships crept along, seeming barely to move. On each side extended the glittering, barren desert. Occasionally a cavalcade32 of camel men passed. That was about all that relieved the monotony. But just the same, Ned was impressed. All about them lay a wonderful region famed in song and story.
“Herc, do you know that the Holy Land lies almost within reach of the guns of this ship?” asked Ned, as the two lads leaned over the side of the shaded forecastle drinking in a slight[247] breeze which had sprung up at sun-down. But even the wind was more like the blast from an oven door than a cooling zephyr33, after its passage over the blazing sands of the desert.
“Is that so?” inquired Herc rather listlessly.
“Yes, Palestine, Damascus and Jerusalem are all within range.”
“How about Jericho?” inquired Herc.
“I don’t know about that.”
“I’ve been told to go there so often that if it’s handy I’d like to make the trip,” grinned Herc.
“We are going to anchor at Suez.”
“Well?”
“There is a line there that connects with Cairo. From the latter city we can go to visit the great Pyramids. Several of the men are going. I have talked to them about it. I guess shore leave will be extended to-morrow, and we may get as many as three days off, as the ships are going to coal.”
“That’s a good time to get away from them,” said Herc; “it is like living in a black snow storm.”
[248]
“Yonder is Suez, lads, over the port bow,” said a master’s-mate who was passing.
The boys scampered34 over and beheld35 a picture that they never forgot. Against the blazing red and gold of the evening sky, the dome36 and minarets38 of the ancient city stood out blackly like fret-work cut out of ebony. The mellow39 sound of bells and gongs calling to evening prayer could be heard and combined to make the picture a memorable40 one.
The ships came to anchor as dusk fell, and lights began to twinkle ashore. Strange-looking pirogues and other native boats began to dart22 about among the steel leviathans like so many fire-flies. Sounds of drums and weird41 Oriental music floated off the shore to the ships. Now and then would be heard the wailing42 cry of some worshiper high in a minaret37. This mingled43 with laughter and tinkling44 sounds of stringed instruments in the boats that glided45 about in the harbor, their occupants intent on seeing the wonderful fighting ships of the great Western nation.
[249]
“Come, Herc, time to turn in,” reminded Ned.
“Is that the best comparison you can find? Come on. We must be out early to-morrow and get ashore in the first boats.”
Reluctantly both boys turned away, as did hundreds of their ship-mates. Before long there was silence in the ship and aboard all the other grim fighting-craft. Then, like a benison48, the sweet, low notes of “taps” echoed mournfully through the anchored fleet.
All lights but anchor lights disappeared instantly. Darkness enshrouded the sleeping fleet. Only on deck the regular footsteps of the sentries49 and the cry of the watch as the bell struck the hours, broke the silence that brooded above the desert and the desert sea.
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1
swarming
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| 密集( swarm的现在分词 )； 云集； 成群地移动； 蜜蜂或其他飞行昆虫成群地飞来飞去 | |
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domains
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| n.范围( domain的名词复数 )；领域；版图；地产 | |
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3
swarmed
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| 密集( swarm的过去式和过去分词 )； 云集； 成群地移动； 蜜蜂或其他飞行昆虫成群地飞来飞去 | |
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brawny
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| adj.强壮的 | |
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bowling
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| n.保龄球运动 | |
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alley
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| n.小巷，胡同；小径，小路 | |
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7
backwards
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| adv.往回地，向原处，倒，相反，前后倒置地 | |
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assailed
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| v.攻击( assail的过去式和过去分词 )；困扰；质问；毅然应对 | |
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tar
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| n.柏油，焦油；vt.涂或浇柏油/焦油于 | |
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tars
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| 焦油，沥青，柏油( tar的名词复数 ) | |
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11
bawled
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| v.大叫，大喊( bawl的过去式和过去分词 )；放声大哭；大声叫出；叫卖（货物） | |
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12
shafts
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| n.轴( shaft的名词复数 )；（箭、高尔夫球棒等的）杆；通风井；一阵（疼痛、害怕等） | |
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13
seamen
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| n.海员 | |
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14
waded
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| （从水、泥等）蹚，走过，跋( wade的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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ashore
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| adv.在(向)岸上，上岸 | |
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idol
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| n.偶像，红人，宠儿 | |
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17
sputtered
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| v.唾沫飞溅( sputter的过去式和过去分词 )；发劈啪声；喷出；飞溅出 | |
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18
expressive
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| adj.表现的，表达…的，富于表情的 | |
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19
prank
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| n.开玩笑，恶作剧；v.装饰；打扮；炫耀自己 | |
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20
chuckled
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| 轻声地笑( chuckle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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21
darted
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| v.投掷，投射( dart的过去式和过去分词 )；向前冲，飞奔 | |
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22
dart
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| v.猛冲，投掷；n.飞镖，猛冲 | |
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philosophic
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| adj.哲学的，贤明的 | |
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24
reclaim
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| v.要求归还，收回；开垦 | |
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25
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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26
naval
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| adj.海军的，军舰的，船的 | |
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27
anticipations
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| 预期( anticipation的名词复数 )； 预测； （信托财产收益的）预支； 预期的事物 | |
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28
curtailed
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| v.截断，缩短( curtail的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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29
gulf
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| n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂 | |
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30
Mediterranean
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| adj.地中海的；地中海沿岸的 | |
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31
fretted
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| 焦躁的，附有弦马的，腐蚀的 | |
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32
cavalcade
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| n.车队等的行列 | |
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33
zephyr
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| n.和风，微风 | |
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34
scampered
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| v.蹦蹦跳跳地跑，惊惶奔跑( scamper的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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35
beheld
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| v.看，注视( behold的过去式和过去分词 )；瞧；看呀；（叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现）哎哟 | |
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36
dome
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| n.圆屋顶，拱顶 | |
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37
minaret
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| n.（回教寺院的）尖塔 | |
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38
minarets
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| n.（清真寺旁由报告祈祷时刻的人使用的）光塔( minaret的名词复数 ) | |
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39
mellow
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| adj.柔和的；熟透的；v.变柔和；(使)成熟 | |
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40
memorable
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| adj.值得回忆的，难忘的，特别的，显著的 | |
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41
weird
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| adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的 | |
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42
wailing
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| v.哭叫，哀号( wail的现在分词 )；沱 | |
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43
mingled
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| 混合，混入( mingle的过去式和过去分词 )； 混进，与…交往[联系] | |
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44
tinkling
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| n.丁当作响声 | |
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45
glided
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| v.滑动( glide的过去式和过去分词 )；掠过；（鸟或飞机 ） 滑翔 | |
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46
bugle
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| n.军号，号角，喇叭；v.吹号，吹号召集 | |
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47
bugles
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| 妙脆角，一种类似薯片但做成尖角或喇叭状的零食； 号角( bugle的名词复数 )； 喇叭； 匍匐筋骨草； （装饰女服用的）柱状玻璃（或塑料）小珠 | |
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48
benison
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| n.祝福 | |
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49
sentries
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| 哨兵，步兵( sentry的名词复数 ) | |
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