CHAPTER VII

 As the dawn had come quickly, so order sprang out of chaos¹ under Lavelle's quiet voice of command. There was no shouting; no bluster—a certain proof always that it has been given to a man to speak with authority. A word—more often it was but a nod or a wave of the hand—and as if by magic these yellow men translated it into some needed action.

 

One of the first things Lavelle caused to be done was the moving of the boat's two water breakers aft. He gave each one a drink, apportioning² to the coolies what he gave to the others and even rousing the Russian for his share. When it came to his turn to drink he paused and, with one scarred arm resting across his knee, looked out across the sea mystically. He turned quickly toward the women, after several minutes.

 

"I wish to say a word to you, Miss Granville," he said in the quiet low tone which seemed to be invariably his manner of speaking. His glance rested on her but for a moment, and then passed to Elsie. "And to you, too, Mrs. Moore: I want you both to know that I am very sorry that this terrible thing has happened to you. Yet women can be brave. I have met brave men, but never any braver than you two women at this moment. Because you are brave I have chosen to speak to you as I am doing. I want you to feel—to know that I appreciate your trying position. I will endeavor to make things as easy as I can for you—so you may not be ashamed—as I should wish my mother and my sister to go unashamed. We may be together only a short time—maybe a very long while. Long or short, every one of us is going to be called upon to show the utmost patience and forbearance—fortitude. God willing, we will pull through and I will give my life willingly to that end at any moment. If I should be taken from you——" A sob³ from the Shanghai woman interrupted him. "No; one never knows what may happen. There is Chang, and you may trust him as I expect you to trust me—implicitly. A moment ago you saw something——" His glance went to the Russian, and Emily understood. "That was necessary, but I don't wish you to understand this to be an apology—or an explanation. I think I did wrong in not letting that man drown—in not killing⁴ him." Emily turned her face away with a shudder⁵. "You may think of me as you please. It is immaterial, but obedience⁶ I will have and must have from every soul here." A harshness as of a steel blade meeting a steel blade displaced the gentleness in his voice. "The sea is very treacherous⁷—very treacherous. One must be in order to fight it. That is all."

 

Glancing up, Emily saw Lavelle gazing out over the water again, seemingly oblivious⁸ of the boat. The bearded man forward groaned⁹. He sat up and the sight of his bruised¹⁰ and broken nose—his face swollen¹¹ beyond resemblance to what it had been only a little while before—renewed in all its strength her feeling of revulsion against Lavelle. She grew sick at the thought of the brutish force of him who could maul a man like that with one blow.

 

1 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

2 apportioning   

vt.分摊，分配（apportion的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• There is still no law apportioning Iraq's oil resources. 关于一如何分配石油还是没有法律出台。 来自互联网
• The act or a round of apportioning or distributing. 分布或散布或分配的行为。 来自互联网

3 sob   

n.空间轨道的轰炸机；呜咽，哭泣

参考例句：

• The child started to sob when he couldn't find his mother.孩子因找不到他妈妈哭了起来。
• The girl didn't answer,but continued to sob with her head on the table.那个女孩不回答，也不抬起头来。她只顾低声哭着。

4 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

5 shudder   

v.战粟，震动，剧烈地摇晃；n.战粟，抖动

参考例句：

• The sight of the coffin sent a shudder through him.看到那副棺材，他浑身一阵战栗。
• We all shudder at the thought of the dreadful dirty place.我们一想到那可怕的肮脏地方就浑身战惊。

6 obedience   

n.服从，顺从

参考例句：

• Society has a right to expect obedience of the law.社会有权要求人人遵守法律。
• Soldiers act in obedience to the orders of their superior officers.士兵们遵照上级军官的命令行动。

7 treacherous   

adj.不可靠的，有暗藏的危险的；adj.背叛的，背信弃义的

参考例句：

• The surface water made the road treacherous for drivers.路面的积水对驾车者构成危险。
• The frozen snow was treacherous to walk on.在冻雪上行走有潜在危险。

8 oblivious   

adj.易忘的，遗忘的，忘却的，健忘的

参考例句：

• Mother has become quite oblivious after the illness.这次病后，妈妈变得特别健忘。
• He was quite oblivious of the danger.他完全没有察觉到危险。

9 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》

10 bruised   

[医]青肿的，瘀紫的

参考例句：

• his bruised and bloodied nose 他沾满血的青肿的鼻子
• She had slipped and badly bruised her face. 她滑了一跤，摔得鼻青脸肿。

11 swollen   

adj.肿大的，水涨的；v.使变大，肿胀

参考例句：

• Her legs had got swollen from standing up all day.因为整天站着，她的双腿已经肿了。
• A mosquito had bitten her and her arm had swollen up.蚊子叮了她，她的手臂肿起来了。