A few minutes later, and eight men sat on eight sea-chests, looking hungrily across at one another. Between them lay an empty meat-kid.1 In a box alongside were some biscuits, black and honeycombed with weevil-holes. Dinner was over in the Sardanapalus’ fo’c’stle, but still her starboard watch glared hungrily at each other.
‘I’ve lost two good stone since I jined this starvation hooker!’ presently growled2 one. ‘I ain’t never full, and I kin1 feel them cussed worms out o’ the bread a-crawlin’ about in my stummick like so many snakeses.’
‘Same ’ere, matey,’ chimed in another. ‘A mouthful o’ salt horse an’ a bite o’ rotten bread for breakfus, ditto for dinner, an’ a soldier’s supper;2 with lime-juice an’ winegar chucked in, according to the Hack,3 ain’t to say fattenin’.’
‘That’s wot’s the matter, when the skipper finds the ship,’ remarked a third. ‘Yer gets yer whack4, an’ ye gits nae mair, as the Scotchies has it.’
‘We doesn’t even get that itself,’ put in another, who 32was sitting on the edge of his bunk5. ‘That yaller hound of a steward6 gives short weight all round. Lord!’ he continued, ‘only to think that, this time last year, I was a-smackin’ my chops over mutton uns; an’ full and plenty of everythin’ in the Hostralian Bush. What a hass I was to leave it! One’d think there was some sort o’ damned magic in the sea to be able to draw a feller a thousand miles down from good times, good tucker, good pay, an’ all night in, with a spree whenever you felt fit.’
‘Too good, Billy, altogether,’ piped up a grey-headed old chap. ‘An’ that’s what’s the matter. You gets up the Bush, you gets as fat as a bacon hog7, you lives like a gentleman, an’, in the long run, it don’t agree with your constitooshun. You gets the boil,4 an’ your liver turns a sort o’ dandy-grey, russet-colour, and you misses the gravy-eye5 trick at the wheel, an’ you misses the jumpin’ out o’ a wet bunk, all standin’ in wet clothes, and the hissle o’ the gale8 in your ears, an’ the woof o’ the cold water over your boot-tops, an’ down the small o’ your back as ye comes a-shiverin’ an’ a-shakin’ on deck. You’ve bin9 used to this sort o’ thing all your life, Billy, an’ your liver an’ all the other innard parts gives notice when they’re a-tired o’ the soft lyin’ an’ the good livin’ up-country, an’ drives ye back to the old life an’ the old ways agin. That’s where the magic comes in, my son.’
After this there was silence for a while. Each man’s face poked10 over his bunk with a short clay pipe in its 33mouth. Strong, rank fumes11 of tobacco filled the place.
‘I say, boys,’ suddenly exclaimed one, ‘what’s this hooker got in her?’
‘General,’ replied the old man, whose name was Nestor. ‘I heerd the customs officer at Gravesend say as it was one o’ the walluablest general cargers as ’ad ever left the docks.’
‘Well then, mates,’ said the other, ‘all I’ve got to remark is as we’re the biggest an’ softest set o’ fools as ever left the docks, to go a-starvin’ in this fashion, when t’other side o’ that there bulkhead’s every sort o’ tucker you can mention.’
. . . . . . . . . .
‘Make it eight bells! Go below, the starboard watch!’
The same eight men sat on their respective sea-chests.
Between them stood their allowance of beef and biscuit. But it was untouched. Yet the meal had been in progress an hour.
Alongside of him every man had one or more tins of some kind of preserved provisions, out of which he was keeping his plate supplied to an accompaniment of plain and fancy biscuits.
‘Try a little o’ this ’ere fresh herrin’, Jim,’ said one to his neighbour very politely; ‘I kin recommend it as tasty.’
‘Thank ye, Billy (looking at the label, and passing his own tin), and ’ere’s some sheep’s tongues with tomaty sauce, which p’raps ’ll remind you on the Bush of Australier.’
34‘Ah, if we’d only a drop o’ good stuff now, to wash these ’ere tiddlewinks down with,’ exclaimed Nestor, ‘I’d feel happy as a king—an’ as full!’
‘All in good time, dad,’ remarked Billy; ‘this ’ere’s only what the swells’d call a hinstalment—a triflin’ hinstalment o’ what the Sardinapples owes us for a whole month’s out-an’-out starvin’. Just wait awhile till we gets to the bottled ale an’ porter, which’ll likely be in the lower tiers, an’ then we’ll begin to live like gentlemen-shellbacks oughter.’
‘I votes as how we should let on to the port watch,’ presently said a man, as he finished off his repast with a handful of muscatels and blanched14 almonds.
‘Ay,’ responded old Nestor. ‘It do seem mean, us livin’ high, an’ them a-drawin’ their belts tighter every day. Besides,’ added he, meditatively15, ‘company is pleasing; an’ there’ll be all the more for Pentridge. Not that I thinks it needs come to that if we’re careful. But (with a doubtful shake of the head) I’m afraid the grog’ll be too much for some of us when we gits to it.’
A word here as to the Sardanapalus.
She was one of the old-fashioned frigate-built ships—somewhat slow, but comfortable. Carrying, as per owner’s advertisement, ‘a first-class milch cow and surgeon,’ she was rather a favourite with that description of passengers who, obeying a doctor’s prescription16, were obliged to take ‘a long sea voyage.’ The passage money was very high. There were no ‘intermediates,’ no subdivisions. A very good table was kept, and the ‘dog-basket’ and ‘menavelings’ from it alone would have 35supplied the fo’c’stle twice over. But for these leavings a host of ill-fed, brass-bound apprentices17, boys, and petty officers were ever on the watch—the former knowing as crows, sharp as kites. Foremast Jack19 had not the ghost of a chance with them.
Ever since she slipped along the ways the Sardanapalus had borne the reputation of being a ‘hungry ship.’ More than half-a-dozen times had she hauled into dock with a collar of clean picked beef bones around her figure-head. It was currently understood that the skipper ‘found’ the ship. He was an Orkney man, owned a part of her; and probably did so. She was a regular trader at that time. She is now a custom-house hulk in an East Indian harbour.
The chief officer was a native of Vermont, U.S., and, with regard to the crew, a bit of a bully20. As he was wont21 to often inform them, with the national snuffle intensified22,—
‘I’m a big lump of a horse—a high-bred stepper—an’ when I kick bones fly.’
He came out a loser by this gift, as will be presently seen.
Long before the opening of this yarn23 the crew had remonstrated24 with their superiors about their food. The captain had laughed at them, and the mate inquired whether they imagined the Sardanapalus had been specially25 fitted out as a cook-shop for their pleasure.
Perhaps it was this that now made them linger joyfully26 over their stolen meals; and, occasionally, explore with naked lights the ‘general’ when they ought to have 36been sleeping on empty stomachs in their watch below.
It being an article of faith with the crew that the chief mate was responsible for the cargo27, they felt a thorough pleasure in its total destruction. Nestor, old sea-lawyer that he was, had told them that, although a parcel might be opened and the contents abstracted, yet, could the smallest portion of the case, cask, or whatever it chanced to be, be produced, the mate would be held blameless. But, on the other hand, if not a vestige28 of anything were to be found to correspond with the item in the manifest, then would the chief assuredly be mulcted in the full value of the missing article. With this devoutly-wished-for end in view, any light package was dragged for’ard, handed up, and given a free passage. This was criminal and indefensible. But they hated the Yankee with a very hearty29 hatred30. Had they not been able to discharge some of it in this manner there would have surely been a mutiny, and possibly bloodshed, before the termination of the passage.
In his character of ‘horse’ the mate had one day broken a poor submissive German sailor’s ribs31 by repeated kicks from his heavy sea-boots. Such things create antipathies32, even on board ship. Consignors and consignees alike would have danced with wrath33 and anguish34 could they have witnessed that night’s jettison35.
The forecastle was what is known as a ‘lower’ one. A bulkhead separated the two watches. This partition was composed of very heavy hardwood planking, on the after side of which was the fore18-hatchway, filled up to 37within six feet of the deck by a collection of sails, rope, water-tanks, bundles of hay for the cow, etc. Aft of these, at about the same height, stretched the cargo. It will thus be noticed that the Sardanapalus was not a ‘full ship.’
The starboard watch had removed two of the broad massive bulk-head planks36. The port watch two also. At such times as a fresh supply of provisions was needed, four men from each watch in turn exploited the cargo. The others kept a look-out aft, and stood by the scuttle37 to receive and give things ‘a passage.’ As time passed, the crew, under the new regimen, began to grow fat and jolly-looking. They worked with a will, and as a pleasure to themselves. Also, to the utter astonishment38 of their superiors, they sang and skylarked in the second dog watch.
‘And these,’ exclaimed the captain, ‘are the scoundrels who growled about their food!’
He visited the galley39, and sniffed40 and peered into the fo’c’sle coppers41, and also cross-examined the cook and the steward.
‘Give the beggars more rice,’ said he to the latter official—a sleek42, oily quadroon. ‘Let ’em have “banyan day” three times a week. We’ll have enough meat left then for the trip home without buying any in port.’
The crew grinned, but said nothing. The skipper was bothered.
‘Had the fore-hatch off yesterday, didn’t you?’ he asked the mate.
‘Yaas, sir,’ snuffled he.
‘Naw,’ replied the mate; ‘seems ’bout the saame as when we left dock; an’ I oughter know, for I hed a sight o’ trouble fixin’ that deadweight so’s to trim her forrard. I wonder, naow,’ he continued with a chuckle44 as at some joke, ‘how It’s a-gettin’ on down below thar?’
‘Damn It!’ answered the captain shortly, as he turned away. He was in a bad temper that night. He hated to hear the men jolly; and instead of lying moodily45 about, silent and depressed46, as of yore, in the six till eight watch, here were both watches on the t’gallant fo’c’stle putting all the strength of their united lungs into ‘Marching through Georgia.’
Such a thing had never happened to Captain Flett before, and he took it as a personal insult. The mate, snubbed, went down on the main-deck and put a stopper on the singing with a yell of ‘Lee fore-braces47 there, and chuck yourselves about a bit!’ The yards didn’t want trimming in the least. So the men, who knew this, pulled slowly and silent, each with his mouth full of choice sweetmeats discovered the night previous.
As yet they had found no strong liquors. But they had found nearly everything else. ‘Dry goods’ of every description, jewellery, clocks, firearms, stationery48, patent medicines, etc. They had commenced operations, in the first place, under the main hatch, leaving all the fore part of the hold untouched. Without a purposeful search, no one would imagine cargo to have been broached. The throwing things, except débris—empty 39cases, bottles, baskets, etc.—overboard had been discontinued. It took up too much time, and the labour was too heavy. Besides, reckoning by Nestor’s calculation, the mate’s pay-day was worth already some hundreds of pounds less than nothing.
But one night, coming across a case of toilet soaps, pomades, scented49 oils, etc., the temptation proved irresistible50, and a stock was laid in. The love of personal adornment51 runs strong at all times in Jack’s heart. On the following Sunday morning the t’gallant fo’c’sle resembled a barber’s shop in a big way of business. Jack clipped and shaved and anointed himself until he fairly shone and reeked52 with the produce of Rimmel. Never had fore part of ship smelled so sweetly. The passengers staggered about with their heads well up, sniffing53 delightedly.
‘Oh, captain,’ said one—a gushing54 widow whose age was uncertain, but mourning fresh—‘we really must be approaching some tropical climes. These are the lovely “spicy breezes,” you know, “blowing soft o’er Ceylon’s isle55.”’
The skipper didn’t know, but, sniffing also, answered,—
‘Very likely, ma’am. But there’s no islands nearer ’n Tristan da Cunha, an’ I don’t think that there’s much spice about that one. I expect,’ he continued, glancing for’ard, ‘that it’s some of the hands titivatin’ themselves up. You see, ma’am, these scamps get all sorts of rubbishy oils and essences on an eastern voyage. One of ’em’s evidently found a bottle or two in the locker56 of his chest; and, now, he and his mates are swabbing themselves down with it.’
40‘Dear me, how very interesting,’ replied the widow blandly57, with a languishing58 glance at the skipper. ‘But’ (as a burst of hoarse59 laughter came on the scented wind) ‘they’re a terribly rough set, are they not, captain? I’m sure, but for yourself and your brave officers, I shouldn’t feel safe for a minute. I think I heard someone say, too, that they actually complained about their food at the beginning of the journey.’
‘At first, ma’am, at first,’ assented61 he severely62, after a sharp suspicious look at the somewhat faded features. ‘But they’ve found me out, now, ma’am. They know John Flett’s up to ’em and their little games. The less food you give a sailor, ma’am, the better he works. Full an’ plenty’s a mistake. Give ’em a belly63 full an’ they’ll growl3 from mornin’ till night, an’ all night through. They’ll growl, ma’am, I do assure you, at the very best of beef and pork, the whitest of biscuits, an’ the plumpest of rice. Growl! They’d growl if you gave ’em toasted angels!’
‘What horrible wretches64!’ exclaimed the widow sympathetically. ‘And what a lot of worry you must have with them, captain!’
‘No one but myself can imagine it, ma’am,’ replied the skipper, as he moved off, meditating65 on the possibility of stopping the usual dole66 of treacle67 for the Sunday duff. That laughter from for’ard annoyed him beyond endurance.
41The lump of dark unleavened dough69 and hook-pot full of molasses were there, but untouched, and awaiting the ocean sepulchre which had been their fate for many past Sundays.
‘I ralely don’t know what this is,’ said Bill, as he helped himself to a paté de foie gras out of a dozen which lay on the deck. ‘But whatever it is, it ain’t to be sneezed at. Some sorter swell13 pie, I reckons. Talk ’bout jelly, lor! What you got there, Ned?’
‘Looks like soup an’ bully ’ithout the bully,’ answered the man addressed, who was pouring a steaming mixture out of a tin which he had just taken from over the big slush lamp—‘But it says on the paper “Ju-li-enne.” Sounds as if some woman had a hand in it. It don’t go very high,’ he resumed, after a few mouthfuls, ‘seems thinnish-like—no body—give us some o’ your meat to mix with it, Nestor.’
‘’Taint meat,’ said the old man. ‘It’s what they calls jugged ’are, and there’s no bones in it.’
‘Pity we couldn’t manage to hot this duff up,’ sighed one, cutting a huge slice off a big plum pudding; ‘but they’d smell it all over the ship.’
‘The cake for me!’ exclaimed another, attacking one of Gunter’s masterpieces. ‘I ain’t seen a three-decker like this since I was a kid, an’ used to hang about smellin’ at the tip-top cook-shops in the Mile-End Road!’
‘Wade in, my bullies70, an’ line yer ribs,’ croaked71 old Nestor. ‘It’s the spiciest72 Sunday’s feed I’ve ’ad in forty year o’ the sea. I kin do three months chokey at the end o’ this trip, flyin’; an’ kin live on the smell of an 42oil rag all the time! If we on’y ’ad a few nips a-piece, now, it would be parfect!’
. . . . . . . . . .
Midnight in the hold of the Sardanapalus. Four red spots moving slowly about in the thick gloom. From the irregular, tightly-packed mass proceeds all sorts of eerie73 creakings and groanings. The ship is pitching into a head sea and, at times, a wave catching74 her a thunderous slap, makes her seem to fairly stand still and shudder75 all over. The atmosphere is thick, and stuffy76 with an indescribable stuffiness77. Presently the four points of light clustered together.
‘What is it, I wonder?’ said Billy, sticking his candle into a crevice78, and pointing to a long, square, narrow case embedded79 in a pile of others.
‘Don’t know,’ replied another, stooping. ‘Got no marks, only “Ex Sardinapples—With great care.” Had any luck, you two?’
‘Try this,’ answered one, holding out a bottle which old Nestor immediately clutched.
‘Wine o’ some sort,’ was his verdict. ‘Poor stuff—got no grip o’ the throat—sourish. Let’s see what it sez on the bottle. “Chat-oo Mar-goox,” read he, straddling, with legs wide apart, and bottle and candle close to his nose.
‘Ay, ay,’ he continued, ‘I thought’s much. Dutch, I reckon. Much the same kind o’ tipple80 as ye gets at the dance-houses in Hamburg. We wants a warmer drink for these ’ere latichudes—not but what it’s a cut above that sarseperiller, an’ ’op bitters, an’ such like slush as we bin livin’ on lately.’
43‘Well,’ asked Billy, tapping the case, as he spoke81, with a short iron bar, ‘shall we see what’s in this?’
‘Not worth while,’ replied Nestor, who had finished the claret, not without many grimaces—
‘It’s only china crockery, or somethin’ o’ that. They always put “With great care,” an’ “This side hup” on sich. Blast the old hooker, how she do shove her snout into it!’
This last, as a tremendous forward send of the ship nearly carried him off his legs.
Billy, however, appeared determined82 on seeing the contents of the case, whose peculiar83 shape had aroused his curiosity, and started to break it out by himself. Finally the others came to his assistance, and a quarter-of-an-hour’s work hove it up from its nest. To their surprise it was locked and hinged. Curiosity took hold upon them. They prised and hammered, and strove, until, with a crash, the top flew back.
‘Kind o’ cork84 chips!’ exclaimed Nestor, taking up a handful and putting it to his nose. ‘Poof! smells like a chemist’s shop, full o’ camphor an’ drugs.’
‘’Ere’s another box inside this un,’ said Bill, who had been groping amongst the odoriferous mass. And so it proved; another long, narrow case, also locked and hinged, made of some polished wood whose surface reflected dimly the faces bending over it.
Subjected to similar treatment with its outer shell, it, too, soon yielded.
As the lid, which was thickly padded, flew off under the pressure of the iron levers, the four men shrank away 44as if they had stumbled on a den12 of venomous serpents.
On a strip of soft black velvet85 lay the shrouded86 corpse87 of a man. The grizzled head rested on a pillow, and the hands were crossed on the breast. Thin slats fitting athwartships kept the body in position. Although the eyes were closed, the features looked unnaturally88 natural. There even seemed to be a tinge89 of colour in the dead cheeks. But the artist had failed with the lips. The upper one had shrivelled and curled up over the white teeth, imparting a sardonic90, grinning semblance91 to the whole face, unutterably ghastly to look upon, especially just then.
This it was, and the life-like seeming of It, that frightened the cargo broachers so badly. And they were terribly frightened. They were too frightened to run, even had running been practicable. But the man who attempts such tricks in a ship’s hold at night, and with a heavy head sea on, comes to rapid grief at the second step. So they just stood still, gripping each other’s arms, and swearing under their breath, as is the wont of the British seaman92 when badly scared.
The old man, Nestor, was the first to speak. In quavering tones he said,—
‘It’s only a wax himmidge.’
‘Nothin’ o’ the kind,’ replied Bill, the boldest of the group, letting go his hold and coming a little closer. ‘It’s a ’barmed corpus, that’s wot It is. I was shipmates with one on ’em afore. A soger officer he were. He were lashed93 under the mizzen-top, an’ labelled 45“Combustibles; do not touch!” in big black letters. One fine mornin’ he come down by the run an’ busted94 the case. He was just the same’s this un, only they hadn’t put that howdacious grin on to him. It were in the old Euryalus, man-o’-war, so we had to suffer him; an’ a most hunlucky trip it were. Run her ashore95 twice. Took the sticks out on her twice. Lost four men overboard. No wonder we’ve had three weeks o’ head winds. But this joker ’ll get a free passage without much delay, if I’ve got to give it him single-handed.’ So saying, he advanced, picked up the lid, and began to fasten it down.
. . . . . . . . . .
The next morning dawned bright and clear; but the head wind still stood, and there was a nasty lump of a sea on. For the comparatively high latitude96 the air was warm and comfortable.
Most of the passengers came up on the poop after breakfast. Presently, with the assistance of the skipper’s arm, the widow began a promenade97.
‘What an exhibition she’s making of herself! Her husband, if she ever had one, can’t be six months dead yet, by her mourning. She ought to be ashamed of herself—the sly thing!’
If the widow did not exactly hear all this, she felt it, and cast looks of triumphant98 defiance99 at her female friends, clustered in groups, most of them holding on to something unassisted. Elderly unmarried convalescents, and very spiteful, the majority.
‘Something—on—the—lee-quarter, sir!’ came down from aloft.
46The skipper called for his glass, without quitting his companion.
‘Keep her away a couple of points,’ he commanded, as he brought the instrument to bear.
‘Can’t make it out at all,’ he went on, after a minute’s focussing. ‘Something white, jumping up and down. Bit of wreckage100, spar, or the like, I expect. Keep her away another point. Take a peep, ma’am. Your bright eyes ’ll perhaps distinguish it.’
The widow bridled101 coquettishly and, supported by the skipper, put herself in what she fancied an appropriate and elegant position.
‘Oh!’ she squealed102 presently, ‘I see it, captain; it’s coming this way. How very interesting! “A message from the sea,” “Strange tale of the ocean,” and all that sort of thing, you know, that one reads about in the papers. What an exciting adventure!’ The widow had taken the glass from her eye whilst speaking.
Suddenly a passenger cried,—
‘I see it! Look! On top of that wave!’ But even as he spoke it disappeared.
The starboard watch had been called aft by the second mate to try and jam the main-yards still further into the slack of the lee-rigging. The men now remained together with the eager knot of passengers staring over the quarter.
All at once, and with startling unexpectedness, there bobbed up on a sea almost level with the taffrail, a nude103 figure, nearly upright. One arm, by some eccentric working of the water, was jerked backwards104 and forwards 47from the face with an awfully105 grotesque106 motion of throwing kisses to the horrified107 watchers.
The notion was intensified by the grin on the lifelike features, startlingly distinct in the sunlight, as the embalmed108 figure, kept erect109 by the greater weight of its extremities110, rose up and down, now in a hollow, now on a crest111, not ten yards away.
‘It’s it, by G—d!’ shouted Nestor, who happened to be at the wheel.
But no one took any notice of him in the general confusion.
The male passengers stood stock still, fascinated by the spectacle. The female ones shrieked112, and a couple fainted. But louder and higher than any of them shrieked the widow, who had got both arms around the skipper’s neck, to which she hung, half choking him, whilst her feet rattled113 frantically114 on the deck.
‘Let go, ma’am!’ he gurgled. ‘Damn it, let go, can’t you?’
‘It’s his ghost!’ she screamed, taking another horrified glance at the bobbing, grimacing115 thing as it travelled slowly across the broad wake. ‘What have I done, James, that you should appear like this?’ she moaned. ‘I’m sure I thought you’d be comfortable down there!’ And here she began to laugh hysterically116; and, held forcibly on the deck by the sorely-tried skipper, went off into a succession of violent fits.
‘Main topsail braces there, some of you!’ roared the mate, who, aroused by the cry of ‘Man overboard!’ uttered by one of the boys, had rushed on deck. ‘Come here, four hands, and clear away the life-boat.’
48‘Don’t be a fool, Mr Sparkes!’ shouted the skipper, still struggling with the widow, who had got one hand in his long beard and was pulling it out by the roots.
‘Never mind the boat!’ he panted, for the real state of the case had broken upon him. ‘But come and take this she-devil away! Let It go to blazes as fast as it likes! It’s got a fair wind, seemingly, and that’s more’n we have!’
. . . . . . . . . .
Anchor watch off Geelong, Victoria.
Apparently117 the whole thing had quietly blown over. When the mate, with a terribly long face, had reported to the captain, as nearly as he could, the amount of cargo missing, and proposed as a set-off, to put one-half of each watch in irons until arrival, the skipper had only laughed.
He obviously enjoyed the responsible man’s dismay.
‘Nothing of the sort,’ he replied. ‘We can’t do without ’em. We’re bound to get a good blow or two ’tween here and Port Phillip Heads, and where would we be with half the men in irons, and the rest sulking? You’re a fool, Sparkes. I’m goin’ to smooth ’em down. They’ll have cabin biscuits and plum-duff three times a week from this out. And you knock off hazing118 ’em about so much’—chuckling heartily119 at the other’s stare of amazement—‘till we get abreast120 of Sandridge Pier121. Then up goes the police flag. I’ll surprise the varmin, or my name ain’t John Flett! Meanwhile, let a couple of the hard-bargains6 sling122 their hammocks in the after-hold. 49That’ll stop any more larks123 with the cargo. Has she been up in your watch since?’
‘Never seen a rag of her,’ answered the mate, who knew well to whom the skipper referred. ‘Kept her cabin ever since, I do believe.’
‘Damned good job too!’ said his superior, as he tenderly felt his face. ‘Who’d have thought that It was hers anyhow!’
But ‘hard-bargains’ have long ears. One of them overheard the above conversation, and, reporting it to the crew, they got ready.
Also, on making the land, everything went wrong. Twelve hours vain signalling for a pilot made a big hole in the skipper’s temper. So when, at last, one came off, and, to his astonishment, got soundly rated, with a promise of report, he, in revenge, box-hauled the Sardanapalus about until dark, and then brought-up with every link of hawse out, in a particularly muddy spot opposite Geelong.
Anchor watch had been set; and as old Nestor struck four bells in the chill morning and croaked hoarsely124 out his ‘All’s well!’ the stars saw a crowd of men in stockinged feet, and bearing bundles, slipping silently aft.
The gig was hanging at the stern-davits. Noiselessly as greased falls could slide over greased sheaves she was lowered without a creak or a splash.
The man who had been standing125 over the cuddy companion with a handspike joined his fellows. Fortunately—for themselves—no one had shown up. The 50boat pushed off, Bill sculling. The Sardanapalus was crewless.
Half-an-hour afterwards, the great Australian Bush took to itself sixteen hairy-breasted able seamen126 and this story.
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kin
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| n.家族，亲属，血缘关系；adj.亲属关系的，同类的 | |
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growled
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| v.（动物）发狺狺声， （雷）作隆隆声( growl的过去式和过去分词 )；低声咆哮着说 | |
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growl
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| v.（狗等）嗥叫，（炮等）轰鸣；n.嗥叫，轰鸣 | |
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whack
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| v.敲击，重打，瓜分；n.重击，重打，尝试，一份 | |
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bunk
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| n.(车、船等倚壁而设的)铺位；废话 | |
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steward
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| n.乘务员，服务员；看管人；膳食管理员 | |
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hog
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| n.猪；馋嘴贪吃的人；vt.把…占为己有，独占 | |
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gale
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| n.大风，强风，一阵闹声（尤指笑声等） | |
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bin
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| n.箱柜；vt.放入箱内；[计算机] DOS文件名:二进制目标文件 | |
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10
poked
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| v.伸出( poke的过去式和过去分词 )；戳出；拨弄；与（某人）性交 | |
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11
fumes
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| n.(强烈而刺激的)气味，气体 | |
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12
den
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| n.兽穴；秘密地方；安静的小房间，私室 | |
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13
swell
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| vi.膨胀，肿胀；增长，增强 | |
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14
blanched
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| v.使变白( blanch的过去式 )；使（植物）不见阳光而变白；酸洗（金属）使有光泽；用沸水烫（杏仁等）以便去皮 | |
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meditatively
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| adv.冥想地 | |
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16
prescription
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| n.处方，开药；指示，规定 | |
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17
apprentices
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| 学徒，徒弟( apprentice的名词复数 ) | |
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18
fore
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| adv.在前面；adj.先前的；在前部的；n.前部 | |
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19
jack
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| n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克 | |
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20
bully
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| n.恃强欺弱者，小流氓；vt.威胁，欺侮 | |
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21
wont
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| adj.习惯于；v.习惯；n.习惯 | |
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22
intensified
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| v.（使）增强， （使）加剧( intensify的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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23
yarn
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| n.纱，纱线，纺线；奇闻漫谈，旅行轶事 | |
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24
remonstrated
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| v.抗议( remonstrate的过去式和过去分词 )；告诫 | |
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25
specially
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| adv.特定地；特殊地；明确地 | |
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26
joyfully
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| adv. 喜悦地, 高兴地 | |
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27
cargo
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| n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物 | |
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28
vestige
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| n.痕迹，遗迹，残余 | |
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29
hearty
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| adj.热情友好的；衷心的；尽情的，纵情的 | |
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30
hatred
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| n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨 | |
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31
ribs
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| n.肋骨( rib的名词复数 )；（船或屋顶等的）肋拱；肋骨状的东西；（织物的）凸条花纹 | |
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32
antipathies
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| 反感( antipathy的名词复数 )； 引起反感的事物； 憎恶的对象； （在本性、倾向等方面的）不相容 | |
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33
wrath
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| n.愤怒，愤慨，暴怒 | |
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34
anguish
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| n.(尤指心灵上的)极度痛苦，烦恼 | |
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35
jettison
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| n.投弃，投弃货物 | |
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36
planks
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| （厚）木板( plank的名词复数 )； 政纲条目，政策要点 | |
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37
scuttle
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| v.急赶，疾走，逃避；n.天窗；舷窗 | |
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38
astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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39
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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40
sniffed
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| v.以鼻吸气，嗅，闻( sniff的过去式和过去分词 )；抽鼻子（尤指哭泣、患感冒等时出声地用鼻子吸气）；抱怨，不以为然地说 | |
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41
coppers
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| 铜( copper的名词复数 )； 铜币 | |
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42
sleek
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| adj.光滑的，井然有序的；v.使光滑，梳拢 | |
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43
broached
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| v.谈起( broach的过去式和过去分词 )；打开并开始用；用凿子扩大（或修光）；（在桶上）钻孔取液体 | |
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44
chuckle
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| vi.／n.轻声笑，咯咯笑 | |
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45
moodily
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| adv.喜怒无常地；情绪多变地；心情不稳地；易生气地 | |
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depressed
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| adj.沮丧的，抑郁的，不景气的，萧条的 | |
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47
braces
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| n.吊带，背带；托架( brace的名词复数 )；箍子；括弧；（儿童）牙箍v.支住( brace的第三人称单数 )；撑牢；使自己站稳；振作起来 | |
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48
stationery
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| n.文具；(配套的)信笺信封 | |
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49
scented
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| adj.有香味的；洒香水的；有气味的v.嗅到(scent的过去分词) | |
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50
irresistible
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| adj.非常诱人的，无法拒绝的，无法抗拒的 | |
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51
adornment
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| n.装饰；装饰品 | |
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52
reeked
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| v.发出浓烈的臭气( reek的过去式和过去分词 )；散发臭气；发出难闻的气味 (of sth)；明显带有（令人不快或生疑的跡象） | |
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53
sniffing
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| n.探查法v.以鼻吸气，嗅，闻( sniff的现在分词 )；抽鼻子（尤指哭泣、患感冒等时出声地用鼻子吸气）；抱怨，不以为然地说 | |
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54
gushing
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| adj.迸出的；涌出的；喷出的；过分热情的v.喷，涌( gush的现在分词 )；滔滔不绝地说话 | |
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55
isle
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| n.小岛，岛 | |
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56
locker
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| n.更衣箱，储物柜，冷藏室，上锁的人 | |
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57
blandly
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| adv.温和地，殷勤地 | |
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58
languishing
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| a. 衰弱下去的 | |
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59
hoarse
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| adj.嘶哑的，沙哑的 | |
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60
touching
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| adj.动人的，使人感伤的 | |
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61
assented
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| 同意，赞成( assent的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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62
severely
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| adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地 | |
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63
belly
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| n.肚子，腹部；(像肚子一样)鼓起的部分，膛 | |
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64
wretches
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| n.不幸的人( wretch的名词复数 )；可怜的人；恶棍；坏蛋 | |
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65
meditating
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| a.沉思的，冥想的 | |
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66
dole
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| n.救济，（失业）救济金；vt.（out）发放，发给 | |
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67
treacle
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| n.糖蜜 | |
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68
luncheon
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| n.午宴，午餐，便宴 | |
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69
dough
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| n.生面团；钱，现款 | |
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70
bullies
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| n.欺凌弱小者, 开球 vt.恐吓, 威胁, 欺负 | |
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71
croaked
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| v.呱呱地叫( croak的过去式和过去分词 )；用粗的声音说 | |
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72
spiciest
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| adj.用香料调味的( spicy的最高级 )；有香料味的；有刺激性的；（故事、新闻等） 刺激的 | |
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73
eerie
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| adj.怪诞的；奇异的；可怕的；胆怯的 | |
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74
catching
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| adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住 | |
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75
shudder
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| v.战粟，震动，剧烈地摇晃；n.战粟，抖动 | |
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76
stuffy
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| adj.不透气的，闷热的 | |
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77
stuffiness
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| n.不通风，闷热；不通气 | |
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78
crevice
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| n.(岩石、墙等)裂缝；缺口 | |
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79
embedded
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| a.扎牢的 | |
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80
tipple
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| n.常喝的酒；v.不断喝，饮烈酒 | |
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81
spoke
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| 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 | |
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82
determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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83
peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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84
cork
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| n.软木，软木塞 | |
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85
velvet
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| n.丝绒，天鹅绒；adj.丝绒制的，柔软的 | |
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86
shrouded
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| v.隐瞒( shroud的过去式和过去分词 )；保密 | |
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87
corpse
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| n.尸体，死尸 | |
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88
unnaturally
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| adv.违反习俗地；不自然地；勉强地；不近人情地 | |
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89
tinge
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| vt.(较淡)着色于，染色；使带有…气息；n.淡淡色彩，些微的气息 | |
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90
sardonic
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| adj.嘲笑的，冷笑的，讥讽的 | |
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91
semblance
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| n.外貌，外表 | |
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92
seaman
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| n.海员，水手，水兵 | |
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93
lashed
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| adj.具睫毛的v.鞭打( lash的过去式和过去分词 )；煽动；紧系；怒斥 | |
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94
busted
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| adj. 破产了的，失败了的，被降级的，被逮捕的，被抓到的 动词bust的过去式和过去分词 | |
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95
ashore
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| adv.在(向)岸上，上岸 | |
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96
latitude
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| n.纬度，行动或言论的自由(范围)，(pl.)地区 | |
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97
promenade
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| n./v.散步 | |
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98
triumphant
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| adj.胜利的，成功的；狂欢的，喜悦的 | |
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99
defiance
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| n.挑战，挑衅，蔑视，违抗 | |
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100
wreckage
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| n.（失事飞机等的）残骸，破坏，毁坏 | |
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101
bridled
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| 给…套龙头( bridle的过去式和过去分词 )； 控制； 昂首表示轻蔑（或怨忿等）； 动怒，生气 | |
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102
squealed
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| v.长声尖叫，用长而尖锐的声音说( squeal的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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103
nude
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| adj.裸体的；n.裸体者，裸体艺术品 | |
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104
backwards
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| adv.往回地，向原处，倒，相反，前后倒置地 | |
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105
awfully
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| adv.可怕地，非常地，极端地 | |
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106
grotesque
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| adj.怪诞的，丑陋的；n.怪诞的图案，怪人（物） | |
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107
horrified
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| a.(表现出)恐惧的 | |
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108
embalmed
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| adj.用防腐药物保存（尸体）的v.保存（尸体）不腐( embalm的过去式和过去分词 )；使不被遗忘；使充满香气 | |
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109
erect
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| n./v.树立，建立，使竖立；adj.直立的，垂直的 | |
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110
extremities
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| n.端点( extremity的名词复数 )；尽头；手和足；极窘迫的境地 | |
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111
crest
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| n.顶点；饰章；羽冠；vt.达到顶点；vi.形成浪尖 | |
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112
shrieked
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| v.尖叫( shriek的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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113
rattled
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| 慌乱的，恼火的 | |
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114
frantically
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| ad.发狂地, 发疯地 | |
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115
grimacing
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| v.扮鬼相，做鬼脸( grimace的现在分词 ) | |
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116
hysterically
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| ad. 歇斯底里地 | |
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117
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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118
hazing
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| n.受辱，被欺侮v.（使）笼罩在薄雾中( haze的现在分词 )；戏弄，欺凌（新生等，有时作为加入美国大学生联谊会的条件） | |
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119
heartily
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| adv.衷心地，诚恳地，十分，很 | |
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120
abreast
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| adv.并排地；跟上(时代)的步伐，与…并进地 | |
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121
pier
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| n.码头；桥墩，桥柱；[建]窗间壁，支柱 | |
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122
sling
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| vt.扔；悬挂；n.挂带；吊索，吊兜；弹弓 | |
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123
larks
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| n.百灵科鸟（尤指云雀）( lark的名词复数 )；一大早就起床；鸡鸣即起；（因太费力而不想干时说）算了v.百灵科鸟（尤指云雀）( lark的第三人称单数 )；一大早就起床；鸡鸣即起；（因太费力而不想干时说）算了 | |
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124
hoarsely
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| adv.嘶哑地 | |
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125
standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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126
seamen
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| n.海员 | |
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