CHAPTER XV

 Three days of life-renewing, hope-burgeoning weather had followed that silent dawn—days of placid¹ seas and gentle breezes; and nights alight with stars and a growing moon. The island had been motionless. It might have been one of the Blessed Isles² in a world where life was everlasting⁴.

 

Isle³ of Hope Emily had christened the bit of floating earth, nor could she have told why optimism reigned⁵ in her heart and soul. She was unaware⁶ that she was reflecting only what the manner of Paul Lavelle gave forth⁷. His every act and word was a reassurance⁸ of faith and the motif⁹ of her ever-increasing wonder of him.

 

Yet it was but a mask of service which Lavelle had determined¹⁰ to wear for this woman's sake. He had put it on in that daybreak when he had met her coming toward him and heard her calling:

 

"We still live, captain."

 

There had welled in his heart at that moment the gentle Stevenson's prayer for grace—a prayer which had sustained Lavelle often in peril¹¹ and sorrow—and it poured from his lips to find an echo in the woman's, for she, too, knew it:

 

"'Grant that we here before Thee may be set free from the fear of vicissitude¹² and the fear of death, may finish what remains¹³ before us of our course without dishonor to ourselves or hurt to others, and, when the day comes, may die in peace. Deliver us from fear and favor; from mean hopes and cheap pleasures. Have mercy on each in his deficiency: let him not be cast down; support the stumbling on the way, and give at last rest to the weary.'"

 

To help this woman's spirit to be unafraid was all that was left for him to do for her. It was the most he would ever be able to do for her. Of this Lavelle felt certain. He knew the sea too well to deceive himself with a false hope that its kind mood would continue long. But while life lasted it was his purpose to live it fearlessly and as if years still measured the span and not swift minutes.

 

Under his hand the discipline of shipboard prevailed. There was not a moment, by day or night, when a lookout¹⁴ for sign of succoring¹⁵ sail or light went unkept. With Chang, his right hand, Lavelle divided the night watches, not trusting Rowgowskii. Even Emily, according to her wish, helped in the tasks of preparing the food and tending the fire by day. An out-of-doors woman by tradition and inclination¹⁶, a powerful rider and swimmer, the pride which she had always taken in her physical well-being¹⁷ was standing¹⁸ her in good stead now.

 

Rowgowskii, in the first realization¹⁹ of the extremity²⁰ which had come to pass, had abandoned himself to despair. It was incredible that he had ever been, as he claimed, an officer in the Russian navy, or otherwise a commander of men. He was absolutely spiritless; an exemplification of the truth that cowards die many times before their deaths.

 

But with the coming of the second day of fair weather his funk lifted and he went to his appointed tasks with a willingness which was emphasized by his previous sullenness²¹.

 

Having observed at the outset that the island's wood supply was limited, Lavelle had been husbanding it by burning sod. He used the wood solely²² for the signal fires of the night.

 

Now on this morning of the fourth day he again put the Russian to cutting turf from the hillside, the while he and Chang, armed with the boat axe²³, set forth to cut down the palm tree in the meadow. Rowgowskii, the preceding evening, had suggested its addition to the signal fuel.

 

"You will not be long, captain?" asked Emily as Lavelle paused to look back at her in leaving the crest²⁴ of the hill.

 

"No longer than is absolutely necessary."

 

"And you—you will be careful," she warned, and unashamed of the tremulous note of anxiety which crept into her voice. He nodded. This man's presence had become very necessary—very precious to her.

 

"It's your watch on deck, you know," Lavelle called cheerfully. Then, with a quizzical lowering of his brows and in a tone of pretended sternness, he added: "Hold your course. Steady as you go—and keep a sharp lookout."

 

"Aye, aye, sir," she answered, simulating the speech and manner of a sailor to an officer.

 

"You make him velly good sailor man," Chang chuckled²⁵ in delight.

 

"We'll be back in a jiffy," said Lavelle. With that he and Chang swung away down the hill.

 

Emily went to the edge of the slope and watched them descend²⁶, the yellow man always leaping ahead to test and examine the ground. At the foot Lavelle looked back. He paused upon discovering the watcher and waved to her. An impulse to follow him seized her, but remembering that he had intrusted her with the lookout she overcame it. With a wave of the hand she answered his signal of cheer, and as through a mist saw him go away from her across the meadow toward the lone²⁷ tree.

 

1 placid   

adj.安静的，平和的

参考例句：

• He had been leading a placid life for the past eight years.八年来他一直过着平静的生活。
• You should be in a placid mood and have a heart-to- heart talk with her.你应该心平气和的好好和她谈谈心。

2 isles   

岛( isle的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• the geology of the British Isles 不列颠群岛的地质
• The boat left for the isles. 小船驶向那些小岛。

3 isle   

n.小岛，岛

参考例句：

• He is from the Isle of Man in the Irish Sea.他来自爱尔兰海的马恩岛。
• The boat left for the paradise isle of Bali.小船驶向天堂一般的巴厘岛。

4 everlasting   

adj.永恒的，持久的，无止境的

参考例句：

• These tyres are advertised as being everlasting.广告上说轮胎持久耐用。
• He believes in everlasting life after death.他相信死后有不朽的生命。

5 reigned   

vi.当政，统治（reign的过去式形式）

参考例句：

• Silence reigned in the hall. 全场肃静。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Night was deep and dead silence reigned everywhere. 夜深人静，一片死寂。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

6 unaware   

a.不知道的，未意识到的

参考例句：

• They were unaware that war was near. 他们不知道战争即将爆发。
• I was unaware of the man's presence. 我没有察觉到那人在场。

7 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

8 reassurance   

n.使放心，使消除疑虑

参考例句：

• He drew reassurance from the enthusiastic applause.热烈的掌声使他获得了信心。
• Reassurance is especially critical when it comes to military activities.消除疑虑在军事活动方面尤为关键。

9 motif   

n.(图案的)基本花纹，(衣服的)花边；主题

参考例句：

• Alienation is a central motif in her novels.疏离感是她小说的一个重要的主题。
• The jacket has a rose motif on the collar.这件夹克衫领子上有一朵玫瑰花的图案。

10 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

11 peril   

n.(严重的)危险；危险的事物

参考例句：

• The refugees were in peril of death from hunger.难民有饿死的危险。
• The embankment is in great peril.河堤岌岌可危。

12 vicissitude   

n.变化，变迁，荣枯，盛衰

参考例句：

• It is indeed a strange vicissitude of our science.这确实是我们科学的一个奇怪变迁。
• The future is so uncertain that we cannot know all the vicissitude of our fortunes.未来是无法确定的，我们无法知道将来命运所有的变化。

13 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

14 lookout   

n.注意，前途，瞭望台

参考例句：

• You can see everything around from the lookout.从了望台上你可以看清周围的一切。
• It's a bad lookout for the company if interest rates don't come down.如果利率降不下来，公司的前景可就不妙了。

15 succoring   

v.给予帮助( succor的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The government has worked out a plan of succoring the needy. 政府已经制定出了救济贫民的计划。 来自互联网
• Chinese soldier went to the earthquake-striken area at top speed for succoring the injured person. 军人火速赶往地震灾区展开救援。 来自互联网

16 inclination   

n.倾斜；点头；弯腰；斜坡；倾度；倾向；爱好

参考例句：

• She greeted us with a slight inclination of the head.她微微点头向我们致意。
• I did not feel the slightest inclination to hurry.我没有丝毫着急的意思。

17 well-being   

n.安康，安乐，幸福

参考例句：

• He always has the well-being of the masses at heart.他总是把群众的疾苦挂在心上。
• My concern for their well-being was misunderstood as interference.我关心他们的幸福，却被误解为多管闲事。

18 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

19 realization   

n.实现；认识到，深刻了解

参考例句：

• We shall gladly lend every effort in our power toward its realization.我们将乐意为它的实现而竭尽全力。
• He came to the realization that he would never make a good teacher.他逐渐认识到自己永远不会成为好老师。

20 extremity   

n.末端，尽头；尽力；终极；极度

参考例句：

• I hope you will help them in their extremity.我希望你能帮助在穷途末路的他们。
• What shall we do in this extremity?在这种极其困难的情况下我们该怎么办呢？

21 sullenness   

n. 愠怒, 沉闷, 情绪消沉

参考例句：

• His bluster sank to sullenness under her look. 在她目光逼视下，他蛮横的表情稍加收敛，显出一副阴沉的样子。
• Marked by anger or sullenness. 怒气冲冲的，忿恨的。

22 solely   

adv.仅仅，唯一地

参考例句：

• Success should not be measured solely by educational achievement.成功与否不应只用学业成绩来衡量。
• The town depends almost solely on the tourist trade.这座城市几乎完全靠旅游业维持。

23 axe   

n.斧子；v.用斧头砍，削减

参考例句：

• Be careful with that sharp axe.那把斧子很锋利，你要当心。
• The edge of this axe has turned.这把斧子卷了刃了。

24 crest   

n.顶点；饰章；羽冠；vt.达到顶点；vi.形成浪尖

参考例句：

• The rooster bristled his crest.公鸡竖起了鸡冠。
• He reached the crest of the hill before dawn.他于黎明前到达山顶。

25 chuckled   

轻声地笑( chuckle的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She chuckled at the memory. 想起这件事她就暗自发笑。
• She chuckled softly to herself as she remembered his astonished look. 想起他那惊讶的表情，她就轻轻地暗自发笑。

26 descend   

vt./vi.传下来，下来，下降

参考例句：

• I hope the grace of God would descend on me.我期望上帝的恩惠。
• We're not going to descend to such methods.我们不会沦落到使用这种手段。

27 lone   

adj.孤寂的，单独的；唯一的

参考例句：

• A lone sea gull flew across the sky.一只孤独的海鸥在空中飞过。
• She could see a lone figure on the deserted beach.她在空旷的海滩上能看到一个孤独的身影。