“Are you there, Sam?”
“Yes, Ned.”
“Safe and sound?”
“I think so.”
Overhead the wind still whistled, but more moderately; around me I could hear the men stirring, with an occasional groan1. We had come from the tempest-tossed seas into a place of comparative quiet, which just now was darker than the pocket of Erebus.
I found the after cabin and slid down the steps, which inclined sidewise. Inside, however, the hanging lamps had withstood the shock and still cast a dim light over the room. I found Uncle Naboth reclining upon a bench with his feet braced2 against the table, while he puffed3 away complacently4 at one of his enormous cigars.
72
“So it appears, Uncle.”
“Any damage?”
“Can’t tell, yet. Were you hurt?”
He exhibited a great lump on his forehead, but smiled sweetly.
“You should ’a’ seen me dive under the table, Sam. It were a reg’lar circus, with me the chief acrobat6. Where are we?”
“I’m going to find out.”
I unhooked both the lanterns and started up the companion-way with them. Rather than remain in the dark Uncle brought himself and his cigar after me.
I gave Ned one of the lights and we began to look about us. Duncan Moit lay unconscious beside his machine, the engines of which were still running smoothly7. I threw back the lever and stopped them, and then a couple of seamen8 carried the inventor into the cabin. Black Nux had lighted another lantern, and with my uncle’s assistance undertook to do what he could to restore the injured man.
73
Ned and I slid aft and found the stern still washed by a succession of waves that dashed over it. Walking the deck was difficult because the ship listed from stem to stern and from port to starboard. Her bow was high and dry on a sand-bar—or such I imagined it to be—but it was only after I had swung a lantern up a halyard of the foremast, so that its dim rays would illumine the largest possible area, that I discovered we had plunged9 straight into a deep inlet of the coast. On one side of us appeared to be a rank growth of tangled10 shrubs11 or underbrush; on the other was the outline of a forest. Ahead was clear water, but its shallow depth had prevented our proceeding12 farther inland.
Either the gale13 had lessened14 perceptibly or we did not feel it so keenly in our sheltered position. An examination of the men showed that one of them had broken an arm and several others were badly bruised15; but there were no serious casualties.
74
The ship was now without any motion whatever, being fast on the bottom of the inlet. The breakers that curled over the stern did her no damage, and these seemed to be gradually lessening16 in force.
Ned sent his tired men to their bunks17 and with the assistance of Bryonia, who was almost as skillful in surgery as in cooking, prepared to set the broken arm and attend to those who were the most bruised.
I went to the cabin again, and found that Uncle Naboth and Nux had been successful in restoring Duncan Moit, who was sitting up and looking around him with a dazed expression. I saw he was not much hurt, the fall having merely stunned19 him for the time being.
“The machine—the machine!” he was muttering, anxiously.
“It’s all right, sir,” I assured him. “I shut down the engines, and she seems to have weathered the shock in good shape.”
He seemed relieved by this report, and passed his hand across his brow as if to clear his brain.
75
“No one knows, sir. But we are landed high and dry, and I’m almost sure it is some part of the coast of Panama. To-morrow morning we can determine our location more accurately21. But now, Mr. Moit, I recommend that you tumble into your bunk18 and get all the rest you can before daybreak.”
The strain of the last few days had been severe upon all of us, and now that the demand for work or vigilance was removed we found that our strength had been overtaxed. I left Ned to set a watch, and sought my own bed, on which I stretched myself to fall asleep in half a minute.
“Wake up, Mars’ Sam,” said Nux, shaking me. “Breakfas’ ready, seh.”
I rubbed my eyes and sat up. The sun was streaming through the cabin window, which was on the port side. Around me was a peculiar23 silence which contrasted strongly with the turmoil24 that had so long buffeted25 my ears. The gale had passed on and left us to count the mischief26 it had caused.
“What time is it, Nux?”
“Eight o’clock, Mars’ Sam.”
76
I sprang up, now fully27 conscious of the night’s tragedy, which sleep had for a time driven from my mind. Nux stood with my basin and towel and his calmness encouraged me to bathe before I went on deck.
In the mess-cabin I found that the table legs had been propped28 up with boxes to hold it level, and that a hot breakfast had been prepared and was now steaming on the table. Around the board were gathered Ned Britton, Uncle Naboth and Duncan Moit, all busily engaged in eating. They greeted me cheerfully and bade me sit down and join them.
“How is everything, Ned?” I enquired, anxiously.
“Bad as can be, an’ right as a trivet, Sam,” he replied. “The Gladys H.’ll never float again. Her bottom’s all smashed in, an’ she’s fast in the mud till she goes to pieces an’ makes kindlin’-wood for the Injuns.”
77
“To be sure. It can’t get lost, ’cause it’s a chunk30 o’ steel, and the ship’s planks’ll hold it in place for a long time. It’ll get good and soaked, but I’ve noticed it’s all painted to keep it from rustin’. This ain’t San Pedro, whatever else it is, and the voyage has miscarried a bit; but them beams is a good deal better off here than at the bottom o’ the sea, so I take it we’ve done the best we could by the owners.”
I sat down and took the coffee Nux poured for me.
“How about the crew?” I asked. “Are the men all right?”
“No body hurt but Dick Lombard, and his arm’ll mend nicely.”
“Have you any idea where we are, Ned?”
“Stuck in a river, somewhere. Wild country all around us, but I guess we can find a way out. Lots o’ provisions and a good climate. We may say as we’re in luck, Sam.”
I shook my head dismally31. It did not appear to me that luck had especially favored us. To be sure, we might have gone to the bottom of the Caribbean in the gale; but it struck me we had landed the cargo in an awkward place for the owners as well as for ourselves. Mr. Harlan would have done better had he not taken the long chance of our making the voyage to San Pedro successfully.
78
“Well, I cannot see that we have failed in our duty, in any way,” I remarked, as cheerfully as I could, “so we may as well make the best of it.”
“This bein’ a tourist, an’ travellin’ fer pleasure,” said Uncle Naboth, “is more fun than a kickin’ mule32. Sam’s got to worry, ’cause he’s paid fer it; but we passengers can look on an’ enjoy ourselves. Eh, Mr. Moit?”
“It is a serious situation for me,” replied the inventor. “Think of it, gentlemen! The most wonderful piece of mechanism33 the world has yet known is stranded34 in a wilderness35, far from civilization.”
“That is your own fault,” remarked Ned, bluntly.
“Not that, sir; it is fate.”
“The machine is all right,” said I. “You will have no trouble to save it.”
79
“As for that, I must, of course, make the best of the adverse36 circumstances that have overtaken me,” he replied, with more composure than I had expected. “It is not my nature to be easily discouraged, else I could never have accomplished37 what I have in the perfection of any inventions. My greatest regret, at this moment, is that the world will be deprived, for a longer period than I had intended, of the benefits of my Convertible38 Automobile39.”
“Having never known its excellent qualities, sir, the world can wait,” asserted Uncle Naboth, philosophically40. I have noticed one can be quite philosophical41 over another’s difficulties.
Having hurried through my breakfast, which our faithful Bryonia had prepared most excellently in spite of the fact that his galley42 was at an angle of nearly forty-five degrees, I went on deck to obtain for the first time a clear view of our surroundings.
The tide had changed and the wind fallen. We lay in the center of a placid43 river—high and dry, as Ned had said—with the current gently rippling44 against our bow. Not more than ten yards to the right was a low, marshy45 bank covered with scrub underbrush of a tropical character. On our left, however, and some fifty yards distant, lay a well defined bank marking the edge of the stately forest which I had observed the night before. The woodland gradually sloped upward from the river, and above it, far to the south, a formidable range of mountains was visible.
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Between us and this left bank the water seemed a fair depth, but it was quite shallow on our right. It seemed wonderful that any gale could have sent so big a ship so far up the river; but I remembered that the billows had followed us in, and doubtless their power alone had urged us forward.
Here we were, anyway, and here the Gladys H. must remain until demolished47 by time, tide or human endeavor.
For the rest, the air was warm and pleasant, with a blue sky overhead. Aside from the loss that would follow the salvage48 of the valuable cargo we had good reason to thank Providence49 for our fortunate escape from death.
I felt that I had done as much to promote the interests of the owners as any man could do; but the conditions had been adverse, and the responsibility was now theirs, and not mine.
81
The gravest part of the situation, so far as I was personally concerned, was to get my men into some civilized50 port where they could find an opportunity to get home again. Also I must notify Mr. Harlan, by cable, and that as soon as possible, of the location and condition of his cargo. The loss of the ship I knew would matter little to him, as he had asserted this several times.
And now to solve the problem of our location. I had reason to believe that we had not varied51 to any great extent from the course my chart had indicated. Somewhere, either up or down the coast, was Colon52, the Atlantic terminal of the Panama canal, and to reach that place ought not to be especially difficult, because our small boats were in fairly good condition.
The river made a bend just ahead of us, and my first thought was to get out a boat and explore the stream for a way. We might find some village, I imagined, or at least some evidence of human habitation.
So I ordered the gig lowered and took with me four men, besides Duncan Moit, who wanted to go along and begged the privilege. The current was languid and easy to breast, so we made excellent progress.
82
Bend after bend we made, for the stream was as crooked53 as a ram’s horn; but always the forest towered on the one hand and the low, marshy flats prevailed upon the other.
Rowing close to the shore, under the shadow of the trees, we could hear the stealthy sound of wild beasts in the wilderness, and once we espied54 a sleek55 jaguar56 lying flat upon the bank to drink. But no sign of man or civilization of any sort did we encounter. Even the woodman’s axe22 was nowhere in evidence.
We hugged the forest for several miles, finding the river easily navigable for small steamers. Then we decided57 to return, and followed the edge of the opposite marsh46, which was much less inviting58 and less liable to be inhabited than the other shore.
We were scarcely a mile from the ship when Moit suddenly exclaimed:
“Isn’t that a canoe?”
“Where?” I asked.
He pointed59 to a small inlet, and I could see plainly a craft that looked like an Indian dugout lying among the reeds.
83
“Let us get it and see what it looks like,” said I, hailing with some satisfaction this first evidence of human handicraft.
At the word my men rowed in, and the sailor in the bow, as he grasped the gunwale of the canoe, uttered a startled cry.
“What is it?” I asked.
Without reply he drew the canoe alongside our boat, and we could all see the form of a man lying flat upon his face on the rough bottom.
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收听单词发音
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1
groan
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| vi./n.呻吟，抱怨；(发出)呻吟般的声音 | |
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braced
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| adj.拉牢的v.支住( brace的过去式和过去分词 )；撑牢；使自己站稳；振作起来 | |
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3
puffed
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| adj.疏松的v.使喷出( puff的过去式和过去分词 )；喷着汽（或烟）移动；吹嘘；吹捧 | |
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complacently
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| adv. 满足地, 自满地, 沾沾自喜地 | |
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5
enquired
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| 打听( enquire的过去式和过去分词 )； 询问； 问问题； 查问 | |
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6
acrobat
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| n.特技演员，杂技演员 | |
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7
smoothly
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| adv.平滑地，顺利地，流利地，流畅地 | |
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8
seamen
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| n.海员 | |
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9
plunged
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| v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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10
tangled
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| adj. 纠缠的，紊乱的 动词tangle的过去式和过去分词 | |
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11
shrubs
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| 灌木( shrub的名词复数 ) | |
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12
proceeding
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| n.行动，进行，(pl.)会议录，学报 | |
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13
gale
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| n.大风，强风，一阵闹声（尤指笑声等） | |
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14
lessened
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| 减少的，减弱的 | |
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15
bruised
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| [医]青肿的，瘀紫的 | |
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16
lessening
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| 减轻，减少，变小 | |
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17
bunks
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| n.（车、船等倚壁而设的）铺位( bunk的名词复数 )；空话，废话v.（车、船等倚壁而设的）铺位( bunk的第三人称单数 )；空话，废话 | |
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18
bunk
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| n.(车、船等倚壁而设的)铺位；废话 | |
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19
stunned
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| adj. 震惊的，惊讶的 动词stun的过去式和过去分词 | |
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20
query
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| n.疑问，问号，质问；vt.询问，表示怀疑 | |
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21
accurately
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| adv.准确地，精确地 | |
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22
axe
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| n.斧子；v.用斧头砍，削减 | |
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23
peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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turmoil
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| n.骚乱，混乱，动乱 | |
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25
buffeted
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| 反复敲打( buffet的过去式和过去分词 )； 连续猛击； 打来打去； 推来搡去 | |
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26
mischief
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| n.损害，伤害，危害；恶作剧，捣蛋，胡闹 | |
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27
fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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28
propped
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| 支撑，支持，维持( prop的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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cargo
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| n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物 | |
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30
chunk
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| n.厚片，大块，相当大的部分（数量） | |
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31
dismally
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| adv.阴暗地，沉闷地 | |
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32
mule
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| n.骡子，杂种，执拗的人 | |
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33
mechanism
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| n.机械装置；机构，结构 | |
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stranded
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| a.搁浅的，进退两难的 | |
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35
wilderness
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| n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠 | |
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adverse
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| adj.不利的；有害的；敌对的，不友好的 | |
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accomplished
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| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
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38
convertible
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| adj.可改变的，可交换，同意义的；n.有活动摺篷的汽车 | |
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39
automobile
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| n.汽车，机动车 | |
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40
philosophically
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| adv.哲学上；富有哲理性地；贤明地；冷静地 | |
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41
philosophical
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| adj.哲学家的，哲学上的，达观的 | |
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42
galley
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| n.（飞机或船上的）厨房单层甲板大帆船；军舰舰长用的大划艇； | |
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43
placid
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| adj.安静的，平和的 | |
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44
rippling
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| 起涟漪的，潺潺流水般声音的 | |
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45
marshy
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| adj.沼泽的 | |
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46
marsh
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| n.沼泽，湿地 | |
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47
demolished
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| v.摧毁( demolish的过去式和过去分词 )；推翻；拆毁（尤指大建筑物）；吃光 | |
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48
salvage
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| v.救助，营救，援救；n.救助，营救 | |
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49
providence
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| n.深谋远虑，天道，天意；远见；节约；上帝 | |
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50
civilized
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| a.有教养的，文雅的 | |
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51
varied
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| adj.多样的，多变化的 | |
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52
colon
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| n.冒号，结肠，直肠 | |
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53
crooked
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| adj.弯曲的；不诚实的，狡猾的，不正当的 | |
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54
espied
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| v.看到( espy的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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55
sleek
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| adj.光滑的，井然有序的；v.使光滑，梳拢 | |
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56
jaguar
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| n.美洲虎 | |
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57
decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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58
inviting
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| adj.诱人的，引人注目的 | |
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59
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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