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首页 » 英文短篇小说 » Three Sailor Boys or Adrift in the Pacific » CHAPTER I. THE RUNAWAYS.
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CHAPTER I. THE RUNAWAYS.
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 “Look out, boys, or we shall never fetch the ship again!”
“Why, what’s the matter?”
“Matter enough; we’re ever so far from her, and there’s a storm brewing1. Just look to the westward2 and see what a bank the sun is setting in.”
Sure enough, a lurid3, red sun was setting in a bank of heavy, black clouds, which had already obscured his lower half, and the surface of which was flecked with little, white, fleecy dots, moving rapidly, which looked as if the port-holes of some giant craft had been opened and her guns fired.
In an open boat were I, Sam Hawse, and the two speakers, my companions, Tom Arbor4 and Bill Seaman5, and a mile and a half or two miles away lay a ship with her upper sails furled, courses hauled up, and topsails lowered on the cap, while the surface of the sea was like glass, though a long, heavy swell6 was rolling up from the westward, heralding7 the approach of the storm of which the clouds pointed8 out by Tom Arbor were the visible harbingers.
The ship was the Golden Fleece, a clipper barque; and we were three boys belonging to her, and had on this the third day of continuous and stark9 calms been sent away to try our hands at turning a turtle, of which some had been seen floating on the surface, and had already been successful in securing two; and going on in search of others, we had got farther from the Golden Fleece than either we wished or intended.
“See there,” continued Tom; “it’s all hands aboard the barky. The skipper he sees what’s coming, and ain’t a-goin’ to be caught napping. Come, we must give way and get aboard as soon as we may; he’ll be in no pleasant temper, and the mate or bos’n will give us a rope’s-ending for supper.”
Besides the fear of the reception which awaited us, we saw the truth of what Tom said, and bent11 to our oars12 with all our strength.
Before, however, we had covered half the distance which lay between us and the Golden Fleece, the clouds had risen and obscured the heavens, and we could feel faint, chill puffs13 of air fanning our cheeks.
“Give way, lads,” cried Tom, who was pulling stroke, “or we shall never reach her; and in a cockle-shell like this we can never live out a storm such as is coming on.”
Bill and I needed no urging, and if possible pulled harder than before; but suddenly Tom’s oar10 broke in half, and he fell on his back in the bottom of the boat.
Bill, astonished at this, let go his oar, and it fell overboard and drifted astern.
As soon as Tom regained14 his seat, we looked round for the ship, and saw that she was paying off before the wind with a fore-staysail set, and that, even if we had our oars, there would be small hope of our reaching her, while to windward we could see the rain coming down on us like a wall.
“Well, lads, we’re in a fix now,” said Tom; “give me your oar, Sam, and I’ll see if I can scull back to pick up Bill’s oar.”
“Not much use in that; the rain will be on us in five minutes, and we shall be able to see nothing,” I said; and almost as I spoke15, a flash of lightning seemed to strike the water in our immediate16 vicinity, and was instantly followed by a crash of thunder, which sounded as if heaven and earth were coming to an end.
“Out with your knives, quick, and cut the sails loose, and get the lug17 over the bows fast to the painter; we may ride to it, while I keep her bows on with the oar,” (our only remaining one), cried Tom.
Indeed, this was our only chance, for the rain was upon us and the lightning was flashing all around us; and in less time than it takes to tell of it, Tom and I had the sail over the bows, and bent on to the painter with the tack18, and weighted by the leads of some fishing-lines, which were fortunately in the boat.
By the time this was finished, the ship was hidden from our sight by the storm; and soon the freshness of the rain turned to salt from the spray driven by the wind, and the full force and fury of the storm fell on us.
Fortunately the sea did not get up rapidly, being kept down by the strength of the wind, and Tom managed to keep us bows on, and our hastily-extemporized sea-anchor prevented it from breaking over us; but Bill and I had all our work cut out to bail19 out the water, which we did with a bailer20 and bucket that were by good-luck in the boat.
After about two hours, as it must have been, though to us it seemed much longer, the storm abated21, leaving a nasty, confused sea; but we were able to keep the boat afloat and fairly dry, though the long, dark night was most dreary22.
At last the day began to dawn, and when the sun rose the clouds dispersed23 and the sea got calmer by degrees. Our first anxiety was to look for the Golden Fleece, and we eagerly scanned the horizon for some signs of her; but not a sail was to be seen, and we three lads were alone in an open boat on the wide ocean.
Before going any farther I may as well describe the three occupants of the boat, and say who we were. Tom Arbor, as the eldest24, should stand first. He was about seventeen years of age, and was strong built and active. Like Seaman and myself, he was an orphan25 and the son of a sailor drowned at sea. His mother had brought him up to the best of her ability, and would have kept him with her, and opposed his following in his father’s footsteps and going to sea with her utmost power; but she could no more prevail with him than a hen who has sat upon ducks’ eggs can stop her brood from taking to the nearest water by clucking. Accordingly, when but twelve years of age, he had stowed himself away on board a ship bound round the Horn to California; and, not being found till long after the pilot had left, had made the voyage, and, the skipper being a kindly26 man, had been well treated. When he came home he had found his mother married again to a small shopkeeper, and she no longer said a word against his being a sailor; and he had made a voyage to China and back before shipping27 on board the Golden Fleece, about six months before. He was a cheerful, good-natured lad, with dark-brown hair and eyes, and was certainly for his years a good sailor, and could hand, reef, and steer28, splice29 a rope, and pull an oar as well as many who were longer at sea and older in years.
Bill Seaman had been picked up on the sea-shore when about two years old, and was supposed to be the only survivor30 from the wreck31 of a large ship, in which it was thought his father had been lost; but no means had come to hand to establish who his father was, and he had, by the interest of some of the gentry32 living near where he was found, been brought up in an establishment for the orphans33 of sailors till it was closed, and he was sent to a workhouse. He was a clever, bright boy, but small for his age.
My mother had died when I was born, and when the ship in which my father was an A.B. came home, the news was given to an aunt of my mother’s who had taken charge of me that he had fallen off the fore-topsail yard off Cape34 Horn in a winter gale35 and been drowned; so my old relative, the only one I ever knew, had obtained admission for me into the same asylum36 as Seaman; and as she died soon after, I was as destitute37 of friends or relations as he was. In this asylum we continued till about the age of seven, when from one cause or another it was closed, and Seaman and myself were sent to a workhouse.
Here our life was by no means a happy one, and two or three times we ran away and tried to get taken as boys on board ships sailing from the sea-port near which the workhouse was; but no one would take us, as we were too small and young, and we were always caught and taken back to the workhouse, where we were flogged and severely38 punished for our attempts to escape.
As may be imagined, our repeated attempts to escape did not cause our treatment to be any better; so, after the last time we were brought back, when we had undergone our punishment, Bill and I consulted together and agreed—we were only twelve at the time—that we should wait until we were two years older, when we hoped to be big and strong enough to be accepted by some captain, and then to make another try for freedom.
During these two years we did all in our power to be considered good boys, and with some success, and applied39 ourselves to learning the trades which were taught us, Bill being taught shoemaking, while I was instructed in carpentering; and at the end of these two years we had both made some progress.
Our intention of going to sea, however, never left us, though our good conduct caused us to be treated more kindly than had hitherto been the case; but I must say that our instructors40 punished us for any mistakes or carelessness most severely, though of this we did not take much notice, for we saw equal measure served out to all our companions, and never for a moment doubted that it was part and parcel of the necessary teaching.
When we were about fourteen we were both called before the guardians41, who spoke to us kindly, and said that it was their intention to apprentice42 us to our respective trades, for which we had shown great aptitude43, and that in about a week or so we should be bound over to the masters who had been chosen for us.
When we left the board-room I said to Seaman that the time had come for us to try to run away to sea again, for if we were bound apprentice, which, I know not why, among us and our comrades was looked upon as a dreadful thing, we should never be able to get away, and in any case we should be separated.
He quite agreed with me, and we made up our minds to get away the next night. Our dormitory was on the first floor, and had a long range of windows, guarded by iron bars, which overlooked a narrow lane leading down into a part of the town composed of sailors’ lodging-houses, and along which scarcely any one passed after dark.
The bars of the windows had only lately been put in order by the boys in the carpenter’s shop, and with a screw-driver one could be easily removed, so that we could get through and cut away the lead of the windows.
Bill promised me that he would manage to get a shoemaker’s knife to cut the lead, while I had to procure44 a screw-driver, which I did without being noticed.
Next night, when the occupants of the dormitory were all sound asleep, we set about our work, and while Bill got the cord which stretched the sacking of our beds to lower ourselves into the lane, I unscrewed the bars and cut the lead framing away.
Some of the other boys were disturbed by the noise; but we were amongst the biggest and strongest, and by threats and persuasion45 managed to prevent them giving the alarm until the last moment, when, leaving behind us the knife and screw-driver and all our clothes but our shirts and trousers, for we did not wish to be considered thieves as well as runaways46, we slid down the rope, and on reaching the bottom scudded47 away as fast as we could towards the nearest seamen’s haunt.

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1 brewing eaabd83324a59add9a6769131bdf81b5     
n. 酿造, 一次酿造的量 动词brew的现在分词形式
参考例句:
  • It was obvious that a big storm was brewing up. 很显然,一场暴风雨正在酝酿中。
  • She set about brewing some herb tea. 她动手泡一些药茶。
2 westward XIvyz     
n.西方,西部;adj.西方的,向西的;adv.向西
参考例句:
  • We live on the westward slope of the hill.我们住在这座山的西山坡。
  • Explore westward or wherever.向西或到什么别的地方去勘探。
3 lurid 9Atxh     
adj.可怕的;血红的;苍白的
参考例句:
  • The paper gave all the lurid details of the murder.这份报纸对这起凶杀案耸人听闻的细节描写得淋漓尽致。
  • The lurid sunset puts a red light on their faces.血红一般的夕阳映红了他们的脸。
4 arbor fyIzz0     
n.凉亭;树木
参考例句:
  • They sat in the arbor and chatted over tea.他们坐在凉亭里,边喝茶边聊天。
  • You may have heard of Arbor Day at school.你可能在学校里听过植树节。
5 seaman vDGzA     
n.海员,水手,水兵
参考例句:
  • That young man is a experienced seaman.那个年轻人是一个经验丰富的水手。
  • The Greek seaman went to the hospital five times.这位希腊海员到该医院去过五次。
6 swell IHnzB     
vi.膨胀,肿胀;增长,增强
参考例句:
  • The waves had taken on a deep swell.海浪汹涌。
  • His injured wrist began to swell.他那受伤的手腕开始肿了。
7 heralding 689c5c3a0eba0f7ed29ba4b16dab3463     
v.预示( herald的现在分词 );宣布(好或重要)
参考例句:
  • It is the heralding of a new age of responsibilities. 那预示着一个充满责任的新时期的开始。 来自互联网
  • Streaks of faint light were rising, heralding a new day. 几道淡淡的晨曦正在升起,预示新的一天的来临。 来自互联网
8 pointed Il8zB4     
adj.尖的,直截了当的
参考例句:
  • He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
  • She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。
9 stark lGszd     
adj.荒凉的;严酷的;完全的;adv.完全地
参考例句:
  • The young man is faced with a stark choice.这位年轻人面临严峻的抉择。
  • He gave a stark denial to the rumor.他对谣言加以完全的否认。
10 oar EH0xQ     
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。
11 bent QQ8yD     
n.爱好,癖好;adj.弯的;决心的,一心的
参考例句:
  • He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
  • We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。
12 oars c589a112a1b341db7277ea65b5ec7bf7     
n.桨,橹( oar的名词复数 );划手v.划(行)( oar的第三人称单数 )
参考例句:
  • He pulled as hard as he could on the oars. 他拼命地划桨。
  • The sailors are bending to the oars. 水手们在拼命地划桨。 来自《简明英汉词典》
13 puffs cb3699ccb6e175dfc305ea6255d392d6     
n.吸( puff的名词复数 );(烟斗或香烟的)一吸;一缕(烟、蒸汽等);(呼吸或风的)呼v.使喷出( puff的第三人称单数 );喷着汽(或烟)移动;吹嘘;吹捧
参考例句:
  • We sat exchanging puffs from that wild pipe of his. 我们坐在那里,轮番抽着他那支野里野气的烟斗。 来自辞典例句
  • Puffs of steam and smoke came from the engine. 一股股蒸汽和烟雾从那火车头里冒出来。 来自辞典例句
14 regained 51ada49e953b830c8bd8fddd6bcd03aa     
复得( regain的过去式和过去分词 ); 赢回; 重回; 复至某地
参考例句:
  • The majority of the people in the world have regained their liberty. 世界上大多数人已重获自由。
  • She hesitated briefly but quickly regained her poise. 她犹豫片刻,但很快恢复了镇静。
15 spoke XryyC     
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。
16 immediate aapxh     
adj.立即的;直接的,最接近的;紧靠的
参考例句:
  • His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
  • We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。
17 lug VAuxo     
n.柄,突出部,螺帽;(英)耳朵;(俚)笨蛋;vt.拖,拉,用力拖动
参考例句:
  • Nobody wants to lug around huge suitcases full of clothes.谁都不想拖着个装满衣服的大箱子到处走。
  • Do I have to lug those suitcases all the way to the station?难道非要我把那些手提箱一直拉到车站去吗?
18 tack Jq1yb     
n.大头钉;假缝,粗缝
参考例句:
  • He is hammering a tack into the wall to hang a picture.他正往墙上钉一枚平头钉用来挂画。
  • We are going to tack the map on the wall.我们打算把这张地图钉在墙上。
19 bail Aupz4     
v.舀(水),保释;n.保证金,保释,保释人
参考例句:
  • One of the prisoner's friends offered to bail him out.犯人的一个朋友答应保释他出来。
  • She has been granted conditional bail.她被准予有条件保释。
20 bailer 799763122f06b1777fa31697995b877a     
汲出积水的人,水斗; 水瓢; 水勺
参考例句:
  • In high speed offset printing, unstable performance of bailer adverse effect on the quality of presswork. 在高速胶印生产中,水斗液的性能不稳定对印刷品的质量产生不良影响。
21 abated ba788157839fe5f816c707e7a7ca9c44     
减少( abate的过去式和过去分词 ); 减去; 降价; 撤消(诉讼)
参考例句:
  • The worker's concern about cuts in the welfare funding has not abated. 工人们对削减福利基金的关心并没有减少。
  • The heat has abated. 温度降低了。
22 dreary sk1z6     
adj.令人沮丧的,沉闷的,单调乏味的
参考例句:
  • They live such dreary lives.他们的生活如此乏味。
  • She was tired of hearing the same dreary tale of drunkenness and violence.她听够了那些关于酗酒和暴力的乏味故事。
23 dispersed b24c637ca8e58669bce3496236c839fa     
adj. 被驱散的, 被分散的, 散布的
参考例句:
  • The clouds dispersed themselves. 云散了。
  • After school the children dispersed to their homes. 放学后,孩子们四散回家了。
24 eldest bqkx6     
adj.最年长的,最年老的
参考例句:
  • The King's eldest son is the heir to the throne.国王的长子是王位的继承人。
  • The castle and the land are entailed on the eldest son.城堡和土地限定由长子继承。
25 orphan QJExg     
n.孤儿;adj.无父母的
参考例句:
  • He brought up the orphan and passed onto him his knowledge of medicine.他把一个孤儿养大,并且把自己的医术传给了他。
  • The orphan had been reared in a convent by some good sisters.这个孤儿在一所修道院里被几个好心的修女带大。
26 kindly tpUzhQ     
adj.和蔼的,温和的,爽快的;adv.温和地,亲切地
参考例句:
  • Her neighbours spoke of her as kindly and hospitable.她的邻居都说她和蔼可亲、热情好客。
  • A shadow passed over the kindly face of the old woman.一道阴影掠过老太太慈祥的面孔。
27 shipping WESyg     
n.船运(发货,运输,乘船)
参考例句:
  • We struck a bargain with an American shipping firm.我们和一家美国船运公司谈成了一笔生意。
  • There's a shipping charge of £5 added to the price.价格之外另加五英镑运输费。
28 steer 5u5w3     
vt.驾驶,为…操舵;引导;vi.驾驶
参考例句:
  • If you push the car, I'll steer it.如果你来推车,我就来驾车。
  • It's no use trying to steer the boy into a course of action that suits you.想说服这孩子按你的方式行事是徒劳的。
29 splice irmyA     
v.接合,衔接;n.胶接处,粘接处
参考例句:
  • He taught me to edit and splice film.他教我剪辑和粘接胶片。
  • The film will be spliced with footage of Cypress Hill to be filmed in America.这部电影要和将在美国拍摄的柏树山乐队的音乐片段粘接在一起。
30 survivor hrIw8     
n.生存者,残存者,幸存者
参考例句:
  • The sole survivor of the crash was an infant.这次撞车的惟一幸存者是一个婴儿。
  • There was only one survivor of the plane crash.这次飞机失事中只有一名幸存者。
31 wreck QMjzE     
n.失事,遇难;沉船;vt.(船等)失事,遇难
参考例句:
  • Weather may have been a factor in the wreck.天气可能是造成这次失事的原因之一。
  • No one can wreck the friendship between us.没有人能够破坏我们之间的友谊。
32 gentry Ygqxe     
n.绅士阶级,上层阶级
参考例句:
  • Landed income was the true measure of the gentry.来自土地的收入是衡量是否士绅阶层的真正标准。
  • Better be the head of the yeomanry than the tail of the gentry.宁做自由民之首,不居贵族之末。
33 orphans edf841312acedba480123c467e505b2a     
孤儿( orphan的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • The poor orphans were kept on short commons. 贫苦的孤儿们吃不饱饭。
  • Their uncle was declared guardian to the orphans. 这些孤儿的叔父成为他们的监护人。
34 cape ITEy6     
n.海角,岬;披肩,短披风
参考例句:
  • I long for a trip to the Cape of Good Hope.我渴望到好望角去旅行。
  • She was wearing a cape over her dress.她在外套上披着一件披肩。
35 gale Xf3zD     
n.大风,强风,一阵闹声(尤指笑声等)
参考例句:
  • We got our roof blown off in the gale last night.昨夜的大风把我们的房顶给掀掉了。
  • According to the weather forecast,there will be a gale tomorrow.据气象台预报,明天有大风。
36 asylum DobyD     
n.避难所,庇护所,避难
参考例句:
  • The people ask for political asylum.人们请求政治避难。
  • Having sought asylum in the West for many years,they were eventually granted it.他们最终获得了在西方寻求多年的避难权。
37 destitute 4vOxu     
adj.缺乏的;穷困的
参考例句:
  • They were destitute of necessaries of life.他们缺少生活必需品。
  • They are destitute of common sense.他们缺乏常识。
38 severely SiCzmk     
adv.严格地;严厉地;非常恶劣地
参考例句:
  • He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
  • He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。
39 applied Tz2zXA     
adj.应用的;v.应用,适用
参考例句:
  • She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
  • This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。
40 instructors 5ea75ff41aa7350c0e6ef0bd07031aa4     
指导者,教师( instructor的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • The instructors were slacking on the job. 教员们对工作松松垮垮。
  • He was invited to sit on the rostrum as a representative of extramural instructors. 他以校外辅导员身份,被邀请到主席台上。
41 guardians 648b3519bd4469e1a48dff4dc4827315     
监护人( guardian的名词复数 ); 保护者,维护者
参考例句:
  • Farmers should be guardians of the countryside. 农民应是乡村的保卫者。
  • The police are guardians of law and order. 警察是法律和秩序的护卫者。
42 apprentice 0vFzq     
n.学徒,徒弟
参考例句:
  • My son is an apprentice in a furniture maker's workshop.我的儿子在一家家具厂做学徒。
  • The apprentice is not yet out of his time.这徒工还没有出徒。
43 aptitude 0vPzn     
n.(学习方面的)才能,资质,天资
参考例句:
  • That student has an aptitude for mathematics.那个学生有数学方面的天赋。
  • As a child,he showed an aptitude for the piano.在孩提时代,他显露出对于钢琴的天赋。
44 procure A1GzN     
vt.获得,取得,促成;vi.拉皮条
参考例句:
  • Can you procure some specimens for me?你能替我弄到一些标本吗?
  • I'll try my best to procure you that original French novel.我将尽全力给你搞到那本原版法国小说。
45 persuasion wMQxR     
n.劝说;说服;持有某种信仰的宗派
参考例句:
  • He decided to leave only after much persuasion.经过多方劝说,他才决定离开。
  • After a lot of persuasion,she agreed to go.经过多次劝说后,她同意去了。
46 runaways cb2e13541d486b9539de7fb01264251f     
(轻而易举的)胜利( runaway的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • They failed to find any trace of the runaways. 他们未能找到逃跑者的任何踪迹。
  • Unmanageable complexity can result in massive foul-ups or spectacular budget "runaways. " 这种失控的复杂性会造成大量的故障或惊人的预算“失控”。
47 scudded c462f8ea5bb84e37045ac6f3ce9c5bfc     
v.(尤指船、舰或云彩)笔直、高速而平稳地移动( scud的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • White clouds scudded across the sky. 白云在天空疾驰而过。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
  • Clouds scudded across the sky driven by high winds. 劲风吹着飞云掠过天空。 来自辞典例句


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