————
The First Evening.
In the south-east trades, and the big ship moving steadily1 through the water with every sail full. Not a quiver of the tightly-strained canvas, not the rattle2 of a reef-point, broke the stillness aloft.
A glorious evening in the South Atlantic, with the sun setting, as is often his wont3 in those latitudes4, in a bed of crimson5, gold and amethyst7. The passengers, who had been watching the many-hued passing of the day-king, went below as the cool night breeze began to whistle with a shriller note through the top-hamper and the water to swish more loudly along the sides, and fall back with a louder plop. Very comfortable, snug8, and home-like the Corona9’s cabin looked. It was a cabin, remember, not a ‘saloon.’
There was nothing of the modern curse of varnish10 and veneer11 about it. Everything was handsome, also substantial, from the dark mahogany casing of 230the mizzen-mast to the highly polished, solid panelling of rosewood, relieved with only a narrow gold beading. The cabin might aptly have been termed a study in brown and gold, so predominant was this combination. Even the curtains in front of each berth13 door were of brown damask, with gold fringe. The general effect, if a little sombre, was good.
Especially good it seemed this evening to the passengers as they came trooping in with talk and laughter; especially snug and home-like, with its three big swinging moderator lamps, its long table covered with odds14 and ends of female work, books, papers, etc., etc., its piano, and its comfortable couches scattered15 here and there.
The Corona’s great beam had been utilised to some purpose, and, thus, her cabin was not, like the saloons of so many sailing ships, a sort of stage drawing-room, all white paint, gilding17, glass, spindle-shanked chairs, and turn-over-at-a-touch tables.
The company suited the cabin. There were only a dozen or so of them, mostly middle-aged18 married folk, who had left their grown-up families in Australia whilst they took a trip ‘Home,’ and were now returning to their adopted country. Amongst them, however, were two or three single ladies of uncertain ages, bound to the Land of the Golden Fleece in search of fortune, even if it should only come in the shape of a husband. There was, also, Miss Amy Hillier, an Australian heiress in her own right, returning to 231her native land with an uncle and an aunt. This is another man’s story; so that I am not going to take up space by a description of Amy Hillier’s charms; suffice it to say here that she was young and pretty, and as good as she was young and pretty.
Wonderful to relate, the company of passengers fitted each other. Each seemed to have discovered in another his or her affinity19, and, up to this, there had been none of the usual backbitings, heart-burnings, and malicious20 tittle-tattle usually so inseparable from a sea voyage in a sailing ship.
Miss Hillier had seated herself at the piano, and was playing something from Lohengrin, when a remarkable-looking man, entering the cabin, doffed21 his gold-banded cap, and made his way to her side.
Strongly, yet gracefully22 built, upright as the royal pole, active in all his movements, one would have taken him to be scarce arrived at middle-age, but for the fact that his thick, closely-cropped hair shone a dead white under the lamplight. His features were regular and good, albeit25 they wore, in general, a rather serious expression. Altogether, it was a strong, pleasant face, full of energy, confidence, and the power to command.
As he rested one hand on the corner of the instrument, it might be noticed that, from wrist to finger tips, it was covered by the white cicatrices of long-healed scars. In spite, however, of his grey hair and disfigured hands, Captain Marion, of the Corona, 232Australian liner, was called by many people a handsome man.
‘Sing me my favourite, please,’ asked the Captain presently.
‘On condition,’ was the reply, ‘that you will tell us a story in return.’
‘It’s a bargain,’ said the Captain. ‘I’ll relate the legend of Vanderdecken, the Flying Dutchman. Thoroughly26 appropriate it will be, too, as we are just entering his domains27.’
‘Well, then,’ continued the Captain, ‘what do you say if I tell you how I was cast away in ’69, on the coast of—’
‘No, no, Captain Marion,’ interrupted she, smiling shyly up at him, ‘we don’t want that either.’
‘Ah, I see!’ exclaimed the Captain, after a pause, ‘a conspiracy29! Well,’ he went on, after a still longer hesitation30, ‘I don’t care much about it. The telling, I mean, of how I got this’ (touching31 his hair) ‘and these’ (spreading out his hands), ‘for, of course, that is what you wish to hear. It reminds me of a time I would rather not recall.
‘No, Miss Hillier’—for the girl had risen in dismay and almost tears at her thoughtlessness, and was attempting to apologise incoherently enough—‘it doesn’t matter a bit. Besides, I somehow feel in the vein32 for story-telling this evening; and as well that as anything else. With some passengers, I find that I 233have to put a stopper on their curiosity rather abruptly33. But’ (with a grave smile and a bow to the group) ‘it being a rare thing, indeed, to meet so well-assorted and pleasant a party as we are this trip, I’ll spin you the yarn35, such as it is. And now, Miss Hillier, my song.’
‘What would you like—the same as usual, I suppose—“The Silent Land?”’
‘Yes,’ answered the Captain; ‘your rendering36 puts a new interpretation37 on Salis’ words for me, and I seem to bear with me more strongly than ever the promise, as I listen, that he
Who in life’s battle firm doth stand
Shall bear Hope’s tender blossoms
Into the Silent Land!’
. . . . . . . . . .
‘It is,’ commenced Captain Marion, the song finished, and taking his accustomed seat, whilst the others gathered round him—‘It is nearly fourteen years ago that the strange, and what many may deem improbable, adventure happened which I am about to relate. I was then about twenty-two years of age, an able-bodied seaman38 on board a ship called the Bucephalus, belonging to Liverpool. It was my first voyage before the mast, for, although I had duly served my apprenticeship41 with the firm who owned her, and also passed my exam. as second mate, there was no vacancy42 just then open. They, indeed, offered me a post as third; but, knowing that I should be none the worse for a month or two in the fok’s’le, I 234preferred to ship as an A.B. The Bucephalus was an Eastern trader, and on this trip was bound for Singapore and China. All went well with us until we entered the Straits of Sunda. Then, one afternoon, the ship lying in a dead calm off one of the many lovely islands which abound43 in those narrow seas, the passengers, chiefly military officers with their families, asked the captain to let them have a boat and a run ashore44.
‘He was a good-natured man, and consented. Luckily for me, as it afterwards proved, the gig, a very old boat, was full of lumber45, fruit, fowls46, etc., procured47 at Anjer, and so the life-boat, a stanch48, nearly new craft, was put into the water instead.
‘At the last moment some one suggested that a cup of tea might be acceptable on the island. Not tea alone, but provisions for an ample meal were at once handed in, together with a keg of fresh water. This also was, as you will discover presently, another lucky or—ought I not to say?—providential, chance for me.
‘With myself, three more seamen50, and eight or nine ladies and gentlemen, we pushed off towards the verdant51, cone-shaped island. Landing without any difficulty on a shell-strewn beach which ran up between two lofty and abrupt34 headlands, all hands, except myself and an elderly seaman known as Tom, jumped ashore and went climbing and scampering52 about like so many schoolboys out for a holiday. For my part, I had been on scores of similar islands, or imagined I had, and felt no particular wish to explore this one. Neither, apparently53, did my companion. So, hauling 235off a little from the shore, we threw the grapnel overboard and prepared to take things easy, each in his own fashion, he with a pipe, and I with a book lent me by one of the cabin passengers.
‘We made a rough sort of awning54 with the boat’s sail, and I lay in the stern-sheets, my companion between the midship thwarts55, under its grateful shelter. It was a drowsy56 afternoon and a very hot one. To our ears the shouts and laughter of those ashore came at intervals57, gradually growing fainter as they made their way towards the summit of the mountain, for such one might say the island was.
‘Presently, looking up from my book, I saw that old Tom was fast asleep, his pipe still in his mouth. Very shortly afterwards I dozed58, and heard the book drop from my hand on to the grating without making any effort to recover it. I fell asleep in the broad sunlit day, between ship and land, in the motionless boat, with the voices of my kind still in my ears, and awoke in thickest darkness, moving swiftly along in utter silence, save for, at times, an oily gurgle of water under the bows. Not that I realised even so much all at once. It took me some time. I thought I must be still dreaming, and lay there staring into the blackness with unbelieving eyes. Then I pinched myself and struck my hands sharply against the thwarts. But it was of no use. I could not convince myself that I was not the victim of some ghastly nightmare. Then the idea came into my mind that, although awake, I had suddenly become blind; that Tom had gone ashore 236for a stroll, and that the boat, drifting, had been carried out to sea by some current. Under the influence of this notion, I leaped to my feet, only to be at once struck down again, as if by a hand of iron. Although not completely stunned59, I was, for a few minutes, quite bewildered. I could feel, too, that my head was bleeding freely. Sitting cautiously up, I called “Tom!” I listened intently, but nothing was audible save the faint gurgling sound of the water. I called repeatedly, but there was no answer. Suddenly I recollected60 that in my pocket was a large metal box full of matches—long wax vestas.
‘Striking one, I held it aloft and gazed eagerly about me. I thanked God that I was not blind. But, so far as I could see, I was alone.
‘On each side, and a foot or so above my head, barely visible in the feeble glimmer62, were swiftly passing walls of dripping rock, covered, in many places, with huge clusters of shiny weeds. So amazed was I at my perfectly63 inexplicable64 situation that I stared until the match burned my fingers and dropped into the water, whilst I fell back quite overcome by astonishment65 and fright.
‘Then, after a bit, I struck more matches. But things were just the same. Always the rocky weed-grown sides, sometimes within touch, at others seeming to widen out; always the rocky, dripping roof, sometimes at my head, at others out of sight; always the darkness, the hurrying boat, and the water like liquid pitch.
237‘Unable to see thoroughly over the boat, I presently crawled for’ard, feeling, as I went, under the sail which had fallen over the thwarts. As I feared, I found no one.
‘Groping about, I picked up Tom’s pipe. And then I feared the worst for him.
‘The darkness was horrible. It was so thick that one seemed to swallow mouthfuls of it. The atmosphere was close and muggy66, with a smell reminding me strongly of a tannery. Although lightly clad, I was bathed in perspiration67 as I half sat, half crouched68, at the boat’s stern, straining my eyes ahead, and now and again lighting69 one of my matches. Time nor distance had any meaning for me, now; and I have no idea how long I had been voyaging in this unnatural70 fashion, when there fell on my ears the loud threatening roar of many waters. Commending my soul to God, I laid myself in the boat’s bottom. The next minute she seemed to stand nearly upright and then shoot downward like a flash, whilst thick spray flew in showers over me, and the imprisoned71 waters roared and howled with deafening72 clamour adown the narrow chasm73, so narrow that more than once, in her headlong course, I heard splinters fly from the boat’s timbers, whilst masses of dank weeds detached by the blows fell upon me.
‘I now,’ continued the Captain, after a pause, during which he glanced from the ‘tell-tale’ compass overhead to the attentive74, wondering faces of 238his audience—‘I now gave myself up for lost, or, at least, imagined that I did so. But the love of life is strong indeed within us; so that when after shooting this subterranean75 cataract76, or whatever it might have been, I found my boat once more steadily gliding77 along, ever with the same dull gurgle of cleft78 water at her bows, a faint ray of hope took the place of despairing calm. I was young, remember; healthy, too, powerful and agile79 beyond the common, and I felt it would be hard indeed to die like a rat in that black hole. What accentuated80 the hope I speak of was the fact that the lessening81 roar of the torrent82 I had just passed sounded as if directly overhead. In vain I told myself that it was but a deceptive83 echo. Hope would have her say, and buoyed84 me up, though ever so little, with the idea, incredible as it seemed, that this horrible underground river had doubled back beneath itself, and was making for the sea once more. It has well been said that drowning men will clutch at straws! This one, indeed, was soon to fail me; for presently, to my utter despair, the noise of tumultuous waters ahead gave warning of another cataract—another, or the same one, for, what with the din12 and the darkness, I became quite confused. The passage was a repetition of the last one, only, if anything, rougher; and, crushed in spirit, all courage flown, I sank back, listening to the rush of the falling water dying away overhead again. Was I, I wondered, descending85 to even 239lower depths of earth’s bowels86 in this fashion, or merely driven to and fro at the caprice of some remorseless current in what was to prove my tomb! I believe that, for a time, under the stress of ideas like this, my mind wandered; for I have a vague remembrance of singing comic songs, of shouting defiance88 to fate, the darkness, and things generally; behaving, in fact, like the lunatic I must have become. Whether I descended89 any more rapids or not I cannot say. I have no recollection whatever of the last part of my strange journey. When, however, I came to my sober senses again I was at the end of it. The boat was motionless, and I was standing90 upright in her.’
At this point in the Captain’s story, and while the interest of his hearers was at its height, the chief officer came quietly in, and, catching91 his superior’s eye, as quietly made his way out again.
Now, four bells struck, and the Captain exclaimed, ‘What, ten o’clock already! My yarn has somewhat spun92 itself out, and I’m afraid the rest must keep for another evening.’
At this there was quite a chorus of remonstrance93. ‘It was cruel to have excited their curiosity and leave it unsatisfied,’ was the general verdict.
‘No sleep for me to-night,’ said Miss Hillier; ‘I shall be wandering through that horrid94 place in my thoughts, and puzzling my brain to discover how you got out, unless I know the sequel.’
‘It grieves me to think of your disturbed rest,’ 240replied the Captain, with a bow and a quizzical smile, ‘although honoured by the cause of it. I am afraid, however, I must refuse even you. I saw heavy weather just now in Mr Santley’s eye; and the ship, you know, before all.’
Then the sound of ropes thrown heavily on deck was heard, together with tramp of feet and shouting, the ship heeled over, and the Captain went out, and was not again seen that night by his passengers.
The Second Evening.
Close-reefed top-sails, with a wild, high sea, met on ‘rounding the corner,’ did not prevent the Corona’s passengers from putting in an appearance the next evening to hear the continuation of the Captain’s story.
‘Well,’ he remarked, as he took his seat, ‘this yarn of mine seems to bring us luck, judging by the way we exchanged our trades last night for this rattling96 westerly breeze that is now taking us round the Cape97 so nicely. I think I left off my story,’ continued the Captain, ‘as the boat came to a stop in her travels, through the darkness.’
‘I had recovered from my temporary fit of madness, and was standing up. I was trembling violently, and my limbs felt cramped98 and stiff. I fancy I must have been a long time on the journey, for I was sick and 241faint, principally from want of food. The air, though still heavy and warm, was not so oppressive as it had been. But the former silence was broken by the most unearthly noises imaginable, sobbings, deep cavernous groans99, and hoarse100 whistlings resounded102 on every side. For a long time I did not stir. I just stood listening with all my ears, and expecting every moment that something awful was going to take place.
‘After a while, slightly reassured103, and feeling the boat’s bows scraping some hard substance, I crept into them, and putting out my hand, and groping about alongside, felt a mass of smooth honeycombed stone. Striking a match, the possession of which, in my confused state of mind, I had almost forgotten, I got hold of the painter and took a couple of turns around a projecting ledge104 of rock.
‘Then I scooped105 up a handful of water and tasted it. It was as bitter as gall106, also quite lukewarm. Happily that in the breaker was unspoiled. Rummaging107 about, I found the case of eatables also intact; and, sitting there in profound darkness, made a meal of cheese and white biscuits, listening between the mouthfuls to the mysterious noises, whose origin, however, I was now enabled pretty well to guess at.
‘It was very warm, and the tannery smell more powerful than ever. A sensation of surrounding vastness and space, however, was with me as opposed to the confined cramped feeling of being in a narrow channel, such as I suppose myself to have emerged from. Now, I could stand upright and thrust an oar39 242out and upwards108 without touching anything; and, shouting aloud, the sound went echoing and thundering away over the surface of the water with reverberations lasting109 for minutes.
‘I can take you into that place,’ continued the Captain impressively, ‘and tell you about it as far as my poor words will serve. But I cannot tell you my feelings. At times I almost imagined that I was in Hades, and that the ceaseless noises about me were the cries and groans of lost souls therein. At others, a wild, forlorn hope would seize me, that it might all turn out to be only a horrible dream, and that I should presently awake to see God’s dear sun shining brightly on the gallant110 ship and the green island once more. It had all happened with such startling rapidity, the transformation111 had been so utter and complete, that to this day I wonder I did not become a raving112 madman, and so perish miserably113 down there in the depths. But God in His infinite mercy took pity upon me, and brought me at the last out of such a prison as it is given to few men to see, much less escape from.
‘Like the majority of seafarers, I, in those days, seldom troubled my head about what is vaguely114 called “religion.”
‘The careful and pious115 teachings of my childhood had been forgotten almost wholly. But, in that awesome116 place, in solitude117 and misery118, bound with darkness of Scripture119, “that might be felt,” many things came back to me; and, kneeling down, I clasped my hands and 243prayed fervently120 that I might be saved out of the valley of the shadow of death which encompassed121 me. Feeling better and stronger, I took my sheath-knife, and with it cut away at one of the oars101 until I had quite a respectable pile of chips. Placing this on the rock alongside, I set it on fire, and soon had the satisfaction of seeing it blaze cheerfully up and, for a few yards, dispel122 the darkness. I kept adding fuel from the same source, with the addition of a couple of stretchers, until I had a really good-sized fire. By its light I saw that I was on a flat rock some twenty feet in circumference123. Round about were other islets, shaped most fantastically. One, close to, resembled a gigantic horseshoe; another towered up, the perfect similitude of a church spire124, into the darkness. At their bases were holes, into and through which the water, flowing and ebbing125, produced the sounds that at first had so alarmed me. Look as I might, I could not distinguish the way I had come in, although I thought I could hear the steady pouring of a volume of water not far away. Breaking off a lump of the stone on which I sat, I examined it closely, and felt pretty certain that it was lava126. I had seen such before at Mauna Loa, in the Sandwich Islands.
‘Was I then in the womb of a volcano, extinct just at present, doubtless; but, perhaps, even now, taking in water preparatory to generating steam and becoming active? Somewhere in my reading I had dropped across an article on seismology, and one of the theories put forward came to mind as above.
‘The idea made my flesh creep!
244‘I seemed to feel the air, the water, and my lump of lava getting hotter and hotter.
‘Hopeless as my case appeared, and almost resigned to face the end as I had become, even so, I did by no means relish127 a private view of the preliminaries to a volcanic128 eruption129.
‘Strangely inconsistent, you will say, but so it was. When face to face, even with the last scene of all, it seems there can yet be something of which one may be afraid.
‘Meanwhile, my beacon130 blazed up brightly, and, peering around, I presently made out a pile of stuff apparently floating against the base of one of the nearest islets.
‘Taking a flaring131 fire-stick, I got into the boat and sculled over to it. It was a heap of driftwood. Lowering my torch to examine the stuff more closely, I nearly pitched overboard, as, out of the reddish-black water within the ragged132 patch of light, a white, dead face gazed up at me with wide-open, staring eyes. I recognised it at once as that of my old shipmate. Tom, on awaking, had evidently been knocked out of the boat and drowned, as so nearly happened to myself. The current had as evidently carried him here with me.
‘I leaned over the gunwale as if fascinated. What would I not have given for his living companionship now!
‘Lifting, at last, one of the stiff arms, I shook the unresponsive hand in silent farewell, and paddled back 245towards the flame that marked my islet, actually feeling envious133 of the quiet corpse134. Misfortune makes us sadly selfish, and so little had my thoughts ran on the fate of my comrade that the shock of his appearance thus was a heavy one.
‘After sitting motionless on my rock for a very long time, with my head bowed on my knees, and nearly letting my fire go out, I shook myself together a little, threw more chips on, and examined my stores.
‘All told, with cheese, biscuits, several tins of potted meat and preserves, I reckoned there was enough, on meagre allowance, to last me for a week. Water about the same.
‘But youth and health and strength are indeed wondrous136 things, and a man possessed137 of them will do and dare much before giving up entirely138, no matter how drear the outlook, how sharp the arrows of fate which transfix him!
‘Feeling weary and fagged, I lay down in the boat and slept, I suppose, for hours very soundly.
‘The awaking was bad—worse even than the first time.
‘One thing comforted me somewhat. I found that by the constant endeavour to use my eyes in the darkness I was becoming able to discern at least the dim outlines of objects.
246‘Renewing the fire with a lot of driftwood I picked up at the further side of my islet, I proceeded to carry out a plan I had formed. Taking the gratings out of the stern-sheets, I arranged them firmly in the bows. Then, breaking off projecting lumps and knobs of lava, I beat them smaller with an iron pin, which I fortunately found in the boat, and spread them thickly over the gratings, thus forming a sort of stage. Upon this I built a substantial fire. I was, you see, bound on a voyage of exploration.
‘There might, possibly, be some avenue to freedom out of this subterranean sea other than the one I had entered it from, exit by which was, of course, hopeless.
‘It was, I argued, useless to stay on the rock. I could not be much worse off, no matter where I got to.
‘How I yearned139 and hungered for light no tongue could tell. It seemed so hard to wander in the gloom for a brief night of existence. And then, the end! Do you, any of you, wonder at my hair turning grey?
‘As I scraped the last embers off the islet on to the tin dish used as a baler, in order to throw them on the new fire, the light fell full upon the corpse, which, to all appearance, had just floated alongside.
‘My nerves were evidently getting unstrung by what I had gone through, for, letting the dish fall, I shouted with terror, and, jumping into the boat, pushed wildly away from the poor body. To my unutterable dismay 247it followed me, with one arm extended and raised slightly, as if in deprecation of my desertion of it.
‘I have thought at times,’ remarked the Captain parenthetically, ‘of what a picture the scene would make—the boat floating in a patch of crimson water, with the fire flaring into the blackness on her bows, myself standing up grasping an oar, and gazing intently at the nearly nude140 body as it came closer and closer, and everywhere around the thick darkness.
‘I think that in another moment I should have leapt overboard, so great was my fright, but that I happened to catch sight of a piece of rope leading from the boat to the body.
‘Getting hold of it, I pulled, and the corpse came also. Then I understood. On my leaving it the first time a portion of the sail halliards, which had been towing overhead, had got foul141 of the body, and, unperceived, I had brought it back to my islet with me.
‘My presence of mind returned, and, not caring to run the risk of more surprises of the sort, I again landed, and pulled the body on to the islet.
‘There must have been some preserving agent in that water, for, despite the heat, there was no sign of decomposition142, and the features were as fresh as in life.
‘Sculling gently along, with my fire blazing bravely and comfortingly at the bow, I set off into the unknown.
248‘For a time my attention was thoroughly taken up in trying to avoid the numerous lava islets, whose presence I could scarcely detect until right upon them. Indeed, once or twice we bumped heavily enough to send showers of hot ashes hissing143 into the water.
‘At last, after a long spell of this kind of blind navigation, I seemed to get clearer of these provoking islets. The noises also, to which I was becoming quite accustomed, nearly ceased.
‘As I sculled warily144 along, I listened with all my ears for some indication of a return current. It was my one hope, and it kept every sense on the alert.
‘But the water within the radius145 of my so limited vision was quiet and still as in a covered reservoir—much more so, now, indeed, than at my old resting-place. This fact I accounted for by the emptying near there of the underground, possibly under-sea river, which had brought me into such an awful fix.
‘Presently the boat bumped more violently than ever, and by the flame-light which shot up from the disturbed fire, I saw, rising far aloft, a solid wall of rock. No lava islet this, but the end of all—the boundary, in this direction, of my prison.
‘To right and left stretched the same grim barrier, dropping sheer down into the still black water. With a sinking heart I turned the boat’s head along the wall to my right hand, keeping a little distance out, moving very slowly, with just a turn or two of the oar, sufficient only to keep way on her.
248a[Illustration]
The light fell full upon the corpse. (Page 246.)
249‘It may have been minutes, or it may have been hours, when, straight ahead, over the somewhat feeble light of my fire, which had proved, after all, more help by way of company than use, I imagined the darkness looked thinner. Inspired by the mere87 idea, I sculled vigorously along, at the risk of complete wreck146 from some sunken rock, and in a short time the boat shot into an oblong-shaped streak147 of light—light, that is, comparatively, for it was as dim as starlight; although, so acclimatised, if I may use the term, had my eyes become to the denser148 medium, that by its aid I could see clearly every article in the boat.
‘I will not trouble you with a description of my feelings, nor of all the extravagancies I committed in the first flush of delighted hope that had visited me. I seemed to be once more in touch with the upper world through that column of dim greyness ascending150 through the darkness, and so weak as hardly to be able to conquer it.’
Here the Captain paused. He had told his story well; seldom at a loss for a word, and with now and again, but rarely, an appropriate gesture.
So successful had he been in gaining the attention of his listeners, that, when he ceased, they sat quite silent, gazing at him fixedly151, and for some minutes no one spoke152.
Then four bells, which struck on deck during a lull153 in the roar of the gale154, came with such sudden 250distinctness to their ears, as to make some of the ladies start and utter timid little ejaculations.
The spell broken, a chorus of tongues clamoured out. Miss Hillier alone was silent. Then some dear foolish female affinity said, ‘Why, Amy, love, you’ve been crying!’ This the girl, with flaming cheeks denied, only the next minute to affirm, quite inconsequently, that if she had wept (which she was certain she had not), was not such a tale enough to make one, with any heart at all, shed tears?
The Third Evening.
East by S-?-South, under fore40 and main courses and upper and lower top-sails, sped the Corona with the wind on her quarter. Aft, rose great water-hills, darkly green, with white crests155, seeming, as each followed each, to hang momentarily suspended over the stern and threaten to overwhelm everything; then, as the good ship rose just in the nick of time, breaking with a long surge in sheets of milky156 foam157 away for’ard.
The sun was setting sullenly158 behind a dense149 cloud-bank. An albatross or two flew screaming from one wave-crest to another right in the wake. It was a typical evening in the Southern Ocean, the long wash of whose seas reach from the foot of Cape Leuwin to the rugged159 cliffs of Fuego.
251‘Well,’ continued the Captain, without any preface, as he took his seat facing the waiting and expectant little party.
‘Well, stare as I might aloft, I could not discover to where this Jacob’s ladder led. You see, at its best, it was only a column of dusky twilight160, and the further end, from where I stood, was lost to view. As I gazed, it appeared to be gradually fading away. I rubbed my eyes; and when I again looked, all around was blacker than the blackest midnight, except where my fire still burned. For a while, I was puzzled to account for the disappearance161 of the light. Then the thought struck me that it might be caused by the fall of night in the upper world. Was I, I wondered, as I turned sadly to my fire, ever again to look upon the bright day, the sun, the moon, the stars, and all the wonders of that fair earth now grown so dear to me? Truly was I one of those unhappy men who, as the Psalmist says, “sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, being bound in affliction and iron.”
‘Close to the pillar of light, just on its outside edge, I had noticed a long, slender, almost perpendicular162 pinnacle163 of lava towering upwards like the spire of a church.
‘At the base of this I securely moored164 my boat. Then, thinking that a cup of tea would cheer me up a little, I brewed165 one, and made a good meal. After this, lying down, I pondered many things, gazing always aloft.
252‘Once I imagined I saw a star; but it disappeared before I could make sure.
‘The one question uppermost in my mind was whether or not the glimmer would reappear when the morning broke above, or had it been an illusion? One thing encouraged me to hope for the best. It was perceptibly cooler, a grateful change from the warm mugginess166 I had encountered everywhere else. I had, by this, contracted a habit of talking aloud, and I presently caught myself saying that I would climb the lava pinnacle in the morning and try to get a better look-out.
‘“In the morning.”
‘The utter vanity of the so familiar phrase as it fell on my ears struck me with all the force of some terrible shock, whilst the cold deadening thought seized upon me that, for me, in this world, there was to be no more morning. Through darkness was I to make the last journey towards that dread167 bourne whence no traveller returns? The slow death in the darkness, drifting about on the bitter waters of that secret sea—that was the thought that my soul revolted from. And strange thoughts, horrible thoughts, a man thinks placed as I was. At times his reason leaves him, his whole soul rises in impious revolt, and the devil rages freely therein, as if already his victim’s bed were made in hell.
‘But, thanks be to God!’ exclaimed the Captain, fervently, ‘that the recollections of that hideous168 time—of the fits of doubt and despair and terror and 253madness, of which I have said but little to you—grow dimmer and weaker with the years, leaving only in enduring relief the memory of a great mercy!
‘It pleased me, though, unproved as it was, that notion of being able to distinguish between night and daylight. The very fact, pure conjecture169 though it might be, of having the power to say, “Night has come,” seemed to bring peace to my wearied eyes; so that I presently lay down and slept dreamlessly, and on awakening170 found again, to my intense joy, that mild, soft haze171 falling upon me.
‘Scarcely giving myself time to snatch a mouthful of biscuit and a draught172 of cold tea, I jumped ashore and commenced the ascent173 of the tapering174 mass of rock. It was, as I have said, nearly perpendicular, and there was no lack of foot and hand-holds—projections sharp as razors, formed by the drippings of the once molten lava. Thanks to my trained vision and the help afforded by the close proximity175 of the light, I could see dimly. Higher up, the projecting spurs and knobs grew scarcer, and the surface more smooth and slippery. It was terrible work. At home I had had some practice as a cragsman, and this stood to me well now. As I climbed, sometimes vertically176, at others spirally, wherever I could feel the firmest hold, the atmosphere grew palpably clearer, and this infused new strength into my aching limbs as I crawled upwards, now hanging by one bleeding hand over the abyss beneath me, now with both hands breathlessly embracing some sharp spur that cut into 254my flesh, whilst my feet groped convulsively for precarious178 support.
‘When just about spent, I unexpectedly came to the top. I found only room enough there to sit down and pant. A wild hope had filled my breast that this rocky ladder would lead me to liberty—a hope growing stronger with every upward step. As I looked around, these hopes fell, and the old leaden weight of despair seemed to settle once more upon my soul. Slanting179 away from me on every side, stretched the rugged acclivities of a vast amphitheatre, converging180 again towards its summit, where the blue sky was distinctly visible. Picture to yourselves an hour-glass with a long tunnel-like waist. Place a straw, the end of which rests on the bottom of the lower section of the glass and reaches up through the tunnel until just on a level with the sloping-upward portion of the top section, but touching it nowhere. Now place a minute insect on the very tip of the straw, and you have my situation as nearly as I can explain it to you. And there I crouched on my lava straw, stretching out unavailing hands to those scarred cliffs of liberty, betwixt me and which spread that dark abyss, with the mournful waters of the bitter sea at its foot. The distance between where I sat on the top of the pinnacle and the sloping walls of the crater181 all round must have been about twenty five feet. I think it was afterwards measured as that. A hundred plans darted182 swiftly into my mind for crossing this little space, which meant so much to me, only to be as quickly dismissed as impracticable.
255‘Although still very far from day, it was yet light enough to let me see that the sides of the crater, nearly equi-distant around my perch183, were cut and ploughed into deep furrows185, and that, once there, I should have comparatively little trouble in reaching upper air.
‘Would it be possible, I wondered, to splice186 what remained of the oars together, and thus make some kind of a bridge along which to creep? But the idea of again facing such a climb with such an unwieldy burden made me shudder187. Also, I doubted much if there was length enough to reach across, supposing I ever got them to where I was. This one amongst many other plans. All at once, as I sat gazing alternately at the far, far away patch of blue overhead, and the dark rocks opposite, there flashed across my thoughts the recollection of the boat’s grapnel. I had seen nothing of it. But it might still be hanging under her bows. Attached to the stern-post by a short length of chain shackled188 to a ring-bolt, it would have taken a heavy shock to shift it. If I could but get a line across and, by help of the grapnel, firmly secured to the opposite side, I felt I was saved. Tearing up the light dungaree jumper I was wearing, and which, with the remainder of my clothing, was little else but a rag, I bound pieces around my stiff and wounded hands and feet, and commenced the descent. It was an awful journey, worse than the coming up. Then, my skin was whole, at the start, anyhow; now, the cuts and tears re-opened and bled and stung more than ever. At one 256time, indeed, I felt that I must give up and let go. But the thought of the grapnel appeared to endue189 me with fresh strength, whilst, in my mind’s eye, I kept steadfastly190 the memory of that dear glimpse of blue sky. At length, looking down and pausing for a moment, I saw a flicker191 of light. It was from the dying embers of my fire, and, in a few minutes, I was in the boat. Although nearly utterly192 exhausted193, crawling for’ard, I felt for the chain. It was there; and pulling it rapidly in, what was my delight to find the little grapnel still at its end. Replenishing my fire, I made some tea, preparatory to having something to eat, for I knew I should want all my strength presently. In hauling at the chain my hands had got wet, and, to my surprise, the bleeding had ceased, and the pain almost departed. I immediately bathed my feet, and felt wonderfully relieved thereby194. Now, I had my tea, and then considered whether it might not be wiser to pass the night where I was, and take a full day for my attempt. God knows how eager I was for the moment of trial to arrive! Still, I chose the prudent195 side, and sat and watched the hazy196 column turn first to a dull green, then to ashen197 grey, then go out suddenly, and so I knew, certainly now, that the day was over on the earth.
‘As the darkness, thick and impenetrable, closed me in, I lay down thinking to sleep a little, but my rest was disturbed and broken. Always, as I dozed off, I was clambering painfully up that terrible rock, with bleeding hands and feet, staggering under huge burdens of rope and iron. Once I dreamt that my shipmate’s 257body had floated off the islet, and was, even now, with white clammy fingers, striving to lift itself into the boat, whilst the ghastly face peered at me over the side. This effectually awoke me; but so strong was the impression, that I seized a fire-stick, and, making it blaze up, searched sharply around. I had my trouble for my pains. But further attempt at sleep for me was out of the question.
‘My dawn, such as it was, came at last. I had already detached the grapnel from its chain, and unrove the halliards from the mast. These last I wound round and round my body, fully23 thirty feet of line, small “Europe” rope, but tough and strong. The disposal of my precious grapnel, which, luckily, was one of the smallest of its kind, only used, as we had used it, for a temporary holdfast, bothered me a good deal.
‘Finally, I placed my head between two of the flukes, one of which then rested on each shoulder, whilst the stock hung down my back, swinging loosely. To make sure of the flukes not slipping, I passed a piece of line from one to the other, and knotted it securely.
‘It was a most uncomfortable fixture198 altogether, a tight fit for my neck into the bargain, but I could think of no other way.
‘I’m not going to inflict199 upon you a detailed200 description of how I reached the top—I believe it must have been fully five hundred feet—carrying that half-hundred weight of iron, to say nothing of the rope. 258Indeed, I hardly know myself. However, get there I did; but, as you may guess, in a very evil plight24.
‘I recollect61, when still some thirty feet from the top, unable to bear any longer the horrible chafing201 of the flukes, which had broken through the skin, and were grinding against the bone, that I rested, or, rather, balanced myself on a sharp ledge, whilst casting the grapnel adrift from my shoulders, and unwinding the rope from my body. Then, making one end of the line fast to the ring in the stock, I fastened the other round my waist, the grapnel all this time resting loosely on the rock.
‘Leaving it there, and paying out the line cautiously into the void below me, away I went again, bracing177 myself at every step to withstand the awful jerk should the grapnel slip off, and tighten202 the rope with the momentum203 of its fall. If such a thing had happened, and the chances were many, my fate was certain—a few scrambling204 clutches and annihilation. But where it went I had made up my mind to go also.
‘It was my only and last hope, that bit of crooked205 four-clawed iron! Death was in every step I took, and I believe that it was in those last few feet that my hair turned its colour, so terrible was the suspense206 and expectation.
‘But God was very good to me, and I reached the summit with a couple of feet of line to spare. Dragging the grapnel up, I crouched down on the little flat, table-like top, and fairly sobbed207 with pain and exhaustion208.
259‘To my alarm, I felt myself growing weaker instead of stronger from my rest. The fact was that, with the awful cutting about I had received, I had lost a good deal of blood. Many of the deeper cuts on my hands and arms were bleeding still. Evidently there was no time to lose. Standing up, feeling sick and dizzy, I coiled down my line for a fair throw, and, grasping it some three feet or so above the grapnel, swung it to and fro until I thought impetus209 enough was attained210, then hove with all my remaining strength.
‘I shut my eyes, expecting to hear every second the sound of iron clanging far beneath against the sides of the pinnacle. When I opened them again, the line was hanging in a slack bight across the chasm. The little anchor had fallen directly into one of the deep furrows, but perilously211 close to the edge. With trembling fingers I hauled the line in. Tighter, tighter, tighter still, then with all the force I could command. Would it support the weight of my body, or would it come?
‘Without staying to argue the question, I made it fast afresh to a round nob, the only one on the place. Then, saying a short prayer, and taking a last glance at the blue sky, I let myself slip gently off the rock, hanging with my hands on the thin, hempen212 line.
‘It sagged213 terribly. I could plainly hear my heart knocking and thumping214 against my ribs215. It sagged and “gave” still more. Imagining that I heard the noise of the grapnel scraping and dragging, I looked 260upon myself as lost. But I still continued to drag myself across. It was a long, terrible agony, and, more than once, I thought I should have to let go. My hands almost refused to close upon the rope. But I still, almost as in a dream, worked myself along. Once I caught myself wondering if I should fall into or near the boat, and whether the dead man would be there to receive me. Then a horrible fancy seized me that I was making no progress, but that my hands were glued to the rope with blood—ever in the same spot. Then suddenly, in my now mechanical motions, my head hit with great violence against rock. This effectually aroused me. I was at the threshold of liberty—the edge of the crater, where it sloped quickly away below.
‘I hung there whilst one might count twenty, looking up. I was three feet beneath the rim6. The rope had given that much.
‘I don’t remember in the least pulling myself up and over that overhanging ledge. When my senses returned, I was lying in the furrow184 alongside the grapnel, and a rush of cold water was sweeping216 under me. How long I had been there I have no notion. Certainly a great many hours. The rain was pouring down in tropical torrents217; thunder pealed218 above me, and the lightning flashed and darted in vain endeavour to pierce the lower abyss.
‘After many fruitless attempts, I staggered to my feet. I felt so dreadfully weak and faint that I thought I was about to die. But a glance aloft gave me fresh 261heart. The dark clouds of the thunderstorm were passing over, and full upon my nearly naked body fell the warm rays of the glorious sun. I almost at that moment, Parsee-like, worshipped him.
‘Painfully, stumbling at every step, I crawled upwards, with many a rest and draught of the rain water, caught in rocky hollows, until, after a weary time, and feeling as one risen from the tomb, I emerged into the full light of day once more.
‘Naked, bleeding, bruised219, but free, I stood on the topmost peak of that fateful island. At first everything swam before my vision. Trees, the ocean, the far horizon, reeled and shook, advanced and receded220 to my dazzled eyes. The sun was low in the heavens. As things gradually assumed their natural appearance, I became conscious of a great ship lying at anchor, of a cluster of white tents not a hundred yards away from me.
‘But of these things, for a space, I took no heed221. Sun, air, water and sky held my regards in ecstasy222. I drank the beauty and the newness of them in till my soul was saturated223 with the tender loveliness of that nature to which I had been for so long a stranger. Then, and not till then, I tottered224 towards the clump225 of tents lying just below me.
‘Men were there, carpenters apparently, hammering at a tall wooden structure. Other men—men-o’-war seamen by their rig—were arriving and departing with burdens.
‘I was close upon them before they saw me. Some 262shrank back. One, I recollect, picked up a rifle and brought it to his shoulder. A man with a gold epaulette on his coat struck it up and spoke to the sailor in English.
‘Presently I was taken into a tent, a doctor appeared from somewhere, and, whilst he dressed my wounds, they gave me a cordial, and I told my story with what seemed to me like the voice of a stranger. I don’t remember much afterwards until I awoke, swinging in a hammock under a shady tree close to the tents.
‘I was a mass of bandages, but sensible, though terribly weak.
‘“You’ve had a narrow escape of brain fever, my lad,” said the doctor. “But we’ve pulled you through all right. Lucky we happened to be here, though, wasn’t it? A nice time you must have had down there. We found your rope; but our men didn’t care about venturing any further, as steam was beginning to come up.”
‘“Four days,” replied the doctor, in answer to my question, “it is since you appeared on the scene and scared the camp.
‘“The Bucephalus? Yes, curiously226 enough, we met her just entering Singapore Harbour. That’s ten days ago. She spoke us, and asked us to keep a look-out for her boat with two seamen. We have one of them, at all events. I suppose the other poor beggar will be thrown up presently.”
‘I looked at him. “Yes,” he continued, “the old 263volcano is showing every indication of renewed activity. We came here to observe the transit227 of Venus, but shall have probably to pack up and form another station if those symptoms don’t subside228. See there!”
‘Looking in the direction of his outstretched finger, I saw several tall puffs229 of what seemed like white smoke issuing from the depths of the crater.
‘The observers were loth to shift their quarters; but, when some red-hot cinders230 from below set one of the tents on fire, they accepted the hint.
‘Still in my hammock, I was presently carried down the mountain and on board H.M.S. Hygeia, where, with careful and skilled attention, I soon recovered.’
The Captain ceased speaking. For a time nothing was heard except the steady blast of the ‘Roaring Forties’ overhead.
Asked a passenger presently,—
‘And did the volcano really explode after all?’
‘It did, indeed,’ replied Captain Marion; ‘but not for a month afterwards, and then so fiercely as to scatter16 death and destruction throughout those narrow seas, grinding the island of Krakatoa itself into cosmic dust—visible, according to scientists, nearly all over the world.’
. . . . . . . . . .
Here ends the story proper as compiled from the notes taken by one of the passengers and jotted231 down in his cabin of a night as the Captain finished each section of his narrative232.
Lower down on the last pages of these notes is 264gummed, however, a printed paragraph, cut from a Sydney daily newspaper, which runs as follows:—
Marion—Hillier.—On the 29th ultimo, at St James’s Church of England, Sydney, by the Rev95. R. Garnsey, George Wreford Marion, master in the British Mercantile Marine233, to Amy Margaret, daughter of the late John Hillier, Esq., of Pevensey, Miller’s Point, Sydney, and Eurella and Whydah stations, Riverina, N.S.W.
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1
steadily
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| adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地 | |
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rattle
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| v.飞奔，碰响；激怒；n.碰撞声；拨浪鼓 | |
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wont
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| adj.习惯于；v.习惯；n.习惯 | |
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latitudes
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| 纬度 | |
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crimson
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| n./adj.深(绯)红色(的)；vi.脸变绯红色 | |
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rim
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| n.(圆物的)边，轮缘；边界 | |
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amethyst
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| n.紫水晶 | |
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snug
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| adj.温暖舒适的，合身的，安全的；v.使整洁干净，舒适地依靠，紧贴；n.（英）酒吧里的私房 | |
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corona
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| n.日冕 | |
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varnish
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| n.清漆；v.上清漆；粉饰 | |
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veneer
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| n.(墙上的)饰面，虚饰 | |
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din
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| n.喧闹声，嘈杂声 | |
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berth
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| n.卧铺，停泊地，锚位；v.使停泊 | |
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odds
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| n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别 | |
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scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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scatter
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| vt.撒，驱散，散开；散布/播；vi.分散，消散 | |
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gilding
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| n.贴金箔，镀金 | |
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middle-aged
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| adj.中年的 | |
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affinity
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| n.亲和力，密切关系 | |
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malicious
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| adj.有恶意的，心怀恶意的 | |
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doffed
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| v.脱去，（尤指）脱帽( doff的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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gracefully
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| ad.大大方方地；优美地 | |
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fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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plight
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albeit
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thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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domains
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| n.范围( domain的名词复数 )；领域；版图；地产 | |
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promptly
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| adv.及时地，敏捷地 | |
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conspiracy
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| n.阴谋，密谋，共谋 | |
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hesitation
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| n.犹豫，踌躇 | |
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touching
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| adj.动人的，使人感伤的 | |
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vein
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| n.血管，静脉；叶脉，纹理；情绪；vt.使成脉络 | |
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abruptly
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| adv.突然地，出其不意地 | |
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abrupt
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| adj.突然的，意外的；唐突的，鲁莽的 | |
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yarn
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| n.纱，纱线，纺线；奇闻漫谈，旅行轶事 | |
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rendering
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| n.表现，描写 | |
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interpretation
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| n.解释，说明，描述；艺术处理 | |
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seaman
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| n.海员，水手，水兵 | |
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oar
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| n.桨，橹，划手；v.划行 | |
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fore
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| adv.在前面；adj.先前的；在前部的；n.前部 | |
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apprenticeship
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| n.学徒身份；学徒期 | |
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vacancy
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| n.（旅馆的）空位，空房，（职务的）空缺 | |
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abound
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| vi.大量存在；(in，with)充满，富于 | |
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ashore
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| adv.在(向)岸上，上岸 | |
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lumber
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| n.木材，木料；v.以破旧东西堆满；伐木；笨重移动 | |
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fowls
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| 鸟( fowl的名词复数 )； 禽肉； 既不是这； 非驴非马 | |
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procured
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| v.（努力）取得， （设法）获得( procure的过去式和过去分词 )；拉皮条 | |
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stanch
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| v.止住（血等）；adj.坚固的；坚定的 | |
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omen
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| n.征兆，预兆；vt.预示 | |
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seamen
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| n.海员 | |
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verdant
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| adj.翠绿的，青翠的，生疏的，不老练的 | |
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scampering
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| v.蹦蹦跳跳地跑，惊惶奔跑( scamper的现在分词 ) | |
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apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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awning
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| n.遮阳篷；雨篷 | |
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thwarts
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| 阻挠( thwart的第三人称单数 )； 使受挫折； 挫败； 横过 | |
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drowsy
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| adj.昏昏欲睡的，令人发困的 | |
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intervals
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| n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 )；间隔时间；[数学]区间；（戏剧、电影或音乐会的）幕间休息 | |
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dozed
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| v.打盹儿，打瞌睡( doze的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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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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recollected
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| adj.冷静的；镇定的；被回忆起的；沉思默想的v.记起，想起( recollect的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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recollect
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| v.回忆，想起，记起，忆起，记得 | |
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62
glimmer
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| v.发出闪烁的微光；n.微光，微弱的闪光 | |
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63
perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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64
inexplicable
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| adj.无法解释的，难理解的 | |
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65
astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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66
muggy
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| adj.闷热的；adv.（天气）闷热而潮湿地；n.（天气）闷热而潮湿 | |
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67
perspiration
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| n.汗水；出汗 | |
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68
crouched
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| v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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69
lighting
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| n.照明，光线的明暗，舞台灯光 | |
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70
unnatural
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| adj.不自然的；反常的 | |
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71
imprisoned
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| 下狱，监禁( imprison的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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72
deafening
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| adj. 振耳欲聋的, 极喧闹的 动词deafen的现在分词形式 | |
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73
chasm
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| n.深坑，断层，裂口，大分岐，利害冲突 | |
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74
attentive
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| adj.注意的，专心的；关心(别人)的，殷勤的 | |
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75
subterranean
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| adj.地下的，地表下的 | |
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76
cataract
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| n.大瀑布，奔流，洪水，白内障 | |
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77
gliding
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| v. 滑翔 adj. 滑动的 | |
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78
cleft
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| n.裂缝；adj.裂开的 | |
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79
agile
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| adj.敏捷的，灵活的 | |
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80
accentuated
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| v.重读( accentuate的过去式和过去分词 )；使突出；使恶化；加重音符号于 | |
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81
lessening
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| 减轻，减少，变小 | |
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82
torrent
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| n.激流，洪流；爆发，(话语等的)连发 | |
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83
deceptive
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| adj.骗人的，造成假象的，靠不住的 | |
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84
buoyed
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| v.使浮起( buoy的过去式和过去分词 )；支持；为…设浮标；振奋…的精神 | |
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85
descending
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| n. 下行 adj. 下降的 | |
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86
bowels
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| n.肠，内脏，内部；肠( bowel的名词复数 )；内部，最深处 | |
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87
mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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88
defiance
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| n.挑战，挑衅，蔑视，违抗 | |
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89
descended
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| a.为...后裔的，出身于...的 | |
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90
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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91
catching
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| adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住 | |
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92
spun
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| v.纺，杜撰，急转身 | |
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93
remonstrance
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| n抗议，抱怨 | |
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94
horrid
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| adj.可怕的；令人惊恐的；恐怖的；极讨厌的 | |
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95
rev
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| v.发动机旋转，加快速度 | |
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96
rattling
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| adj. 格格作响的, 活泼的, 很好的 adv. 极其, 很, 非常 动词rattle的现在分词 | |
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97
cape
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| n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风 | |
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98
cramped
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| a.狭窄的 | |
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99
groans
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| n.呻吟，叹息( groan的名词复数 )；呻吟般的声音v.呻吟( groan的第三人称单数 )；发牢骚；抱怨；受苦 | |
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100
hoarse
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| adj.嘶哑的，沙哑的 | |
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101
oars
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| n.桨，橹( oar的名词复数 )；划手v.划（行）( oar的第三人称单数 ) | |
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102
resounded
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| v.（指声音等）回荡于某处( resound的过去式和过去分词 )；产生回响；（指某处）回荡着声音 | |
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103
reassured
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| adj.使消除疑虑的；使放心的v.再保证，恢复信心( reassure的过去式和过去分词) | |
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104
ledge
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| n.壁架，架状突出物；岩架，岩礁 | |
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105
scooped
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| v.抢先报道( scoop的过去式和过去分词 )；（敏捷地）抱起；抢先获得；用铲[勺]等挖（洞等） | |
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106
gall
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| v.使烦恼，使焦躁，难堪；n.磨难 | |
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107
rummaging
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| 翻找，搜寻( rummage的现在分词 )； 海关检查 | |
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108
upwards
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| adv.向上，在更高处...以上 | |
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109
lasting
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| adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持 | |
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110
gallant
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| adj.英勇的，豪侠的；(向女人)献殷勤的 | |
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111
transformation
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| n.变化；改造；转变 | |
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112
raving
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| adj.说胡话的；疯狂的，怒吼的；非常漂亮的；令人醉心[痴心]的v.胡言乱语(rave的现在分词)n.胡话；疯话adv.胡言乱语地；疯狂地 | |
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113
miserably
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| adv.痛苦地；悲惨地；糟糕地；极度地 | |
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114
vaguely
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| adv.含糊地，暖昧地 | |
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115
pious
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| adj.虔诚的；道貌岸然的 | |
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116
awesome
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| adj.令人惊叹的，难得吓人的，很好的 | |
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117
solitude
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| n. 孤独; 独居,荒僻之地,幽静的地方 | |
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118
misery
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| n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦 | |
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119
scripture
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| n.经文，圣书，手稿；Scripture:(常用复数)《圣经》，《圣经》中的一段 | |
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120
fervently
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| adv.热烈地，热情地，强烈地 | |
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121
encompassed
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| v.围绕( encompass的过去式和过去分词 )；包围；包含；包括 | |
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122
dispel
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| vt.驱走，驱散，消除 | |
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123
circumference
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| n.圆周，周长，圆周线 | |
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124
spire
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| n.(教堂)尖顶，尖塔，高点 | |
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125
ebbing
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| （指潮水）退( ebb的现在分词 )； 落； 减少； 衰落 | |
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126
lava
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| n.熔岩，火山岩 | |
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127
relish
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| n.滋味，享受，爱好，调味品；vt.加调味料，享受，品味；vi.有滋味 | |
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128
volcanic
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| adj.火山的；象火山的；由火山引起的 | |
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129
eruption
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| n.火山爆发；（战争等）爆发；（疾病等）发作 | |
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130
beacon
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| n.烽火，（警告用的）闪火灯，灯塔 | |
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131
flaring
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| a.火焰摇曳的，过份艳丽的 | |
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132
ragged
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| adj.衣衫褴褛的，粗糙的，刺耳的 | |
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133
envious
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| adj.嫉妒的，羡慕的 | |
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134
corpse
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| n.尸体，死尸 | |
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135
tempted
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| v.怂恿（某人）干不正当的事；冒…的险（tempt的过去分词） | |
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136
wondrous
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| adj.令人惊奇的，奇妙的；adv.惊人地；异乎寻常地；令人惊叹地 | |
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137
possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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138
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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139
yearned
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| 渴望，切盼，向往( yearn的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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140
nude
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| adj.裸体的；n.裸体者，裸体艺术品 | |
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141
foul
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| adj.污秽的；邪恶的；v.弄脏；妨害；犯规；n.犯规 | |
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142
decomposition
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| n. 分解, 腐烂, 崩溃 | |
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143
hissing
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| n. 发嘶嘶声, 蔑视 动词hiss的现在分词形式 | |
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144
warily
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| adv.留心地 | |
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145
radius
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| n.半径，半径范围；有效航程，范围，界限 | |
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146
wreck
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| n.失事，遇难；沉船；vt.(船等)失事，遇难 | |
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147
streak
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| n.条理，斑纹，倾向，少许，痕迹；v.加条纹，变成条纹，奔驰，快速移动 | |
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148
denser
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| adj. 不易看透的, 密集的, 浓厚的, 愚钝的 | |
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149
dense
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| a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的 | |
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150
ascending
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| adj.上升的，向上的 | |
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151
fixedly
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| adv.固定地；不屈地，坚定不移地 | |
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152
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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153
lull
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| v.使安静，使入睡，缓和，哄骗；n.暂停，间歇 | |
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154
gale
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| n.大风，强风，一阵闹声（尤指笑声等） | |
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155
crests
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| v.到达山顶（或浪峰）( crest的第三人称单数 )；到达洪峰，达到顶点 | |
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156
milky
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| adj.牛奶的，多奶的；乳白色的 | |
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157
foam
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| v./n.泡沫，起泡沫 | |
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158
sullenly
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| 不高兴地，绷着脸，忧郁地 | |
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159
rugged
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| adj.高低不平的，粗糙的，粗壮的，强健的 | |
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160
twilight
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| n.暮光，黄昏；暮年，晚期，衰落时期 | |
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161
disappearance
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| n.消失，消散，失踪 | |
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162
perpendicular
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| adj.垂直的，直立的；n.垂直线，垂直的位置 | |
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163
pinnacle
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| n.尖塔，尖顶，山峰；(喻)顶峰 | |
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164
moored
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| adj. 系泊的 动词moor的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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165
brewed
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| 调制( brew的过去式和过去分词 )； 酝酿； 沏（茶）； 煮（咖啡） | |
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166
mugginess
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| n.（天气）闷热而潮湿 | |
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167
dread
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| vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧 | |
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168
hideous
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| adj.丑陋的，可憎的，可怕的，恐怖的 | |
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169
conjecture
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| n./v.推测，猜测 | |
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170
awakening
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| n.觉醒，醒悟 adj.觉醒中的；唤醒的 | |
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171
haze
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| n.霾，烟雾；懵懂，迷糊；vi.(over)变模糊 | |
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172
draught
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| n.拉，牵引，拖；一网（饮，吸，阵)；顿服药量，通风；v.起草，设计 | |
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173
ascent
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| n.(声望或地位)提高；上升，升高；登高 | |
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174
tapering
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| adj.尖端细的 | |
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175
proximity
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| n.接近，邻近 | |
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176
vertically
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| adv.垂直地 | |
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177
bracing
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| adj.令人振奋的 | |
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178
precarious
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| adj.不安定的，靠不住的；根据不足的 | |
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179
slanting
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| 倾斜的，歪斜的 | |
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180
converging
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| adj.收敛[缩]的，会聚的，趋同的v.（线条、运动的物体等）会于一点( converge的现在分词 )；（趋于）相似或相同；人或车辆汇集；聚集 | |
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181
crater
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| n.火山口，弹坑 | |
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182
darted
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| v.投掷，投射( dart的过去式和过去分词 )；向前冲，飞奔 | |
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183
perch
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| n.栖木，高位，杆；v.栖息，就位，位于 | |
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184
furrow
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| n.沟；垄沟；轨迹；车辙；皱纹 | |
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185
furrows
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| n.犁沟( furrow的名词复数 )；（脸上的）皱纹v.犁田，开沟( furrow的第三人称单数 ) | |
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186
splice
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| v.接合，衔接；n.胶接处，粘接处 | |
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187
shudder
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| v.战粟，震动，剧烈地摇晃；n.战粟，抖动 | |
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188
shackled
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| 给（某人）带上手铐或脚镣( shackle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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189
endue
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| v.赋予 | |
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190
steadfastly
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| adv.踏实地，不变地；岿然；坚定不渝 | |
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191
flicker
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| vi./n.闪烁，摇曳，闪现 | |
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192
utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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193
exhausted
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| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
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194
thereby
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| adv.因此，从而 | |
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195
prudent
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| adj.谨慎的，有远见的，精打细算的 | |
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196
hazy
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| adj.有薄雾的，朦胧的；不肯定的，模糊的 | |
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197
ashen
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| adj.灰的 | |
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198
fixture
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| n.固定设备；预定日期；比赛时间；定期存款 | |
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199
inflict
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| vt.(on)把…强加给，使遭受，使承担 | |
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200
detailed
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| adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的 | |
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201
chafing
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| n.皮肤发炎v.擦热（尤指皮肤）( chafe的现在分词 )；擦痛；发怒；惹怒 | |
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202
tighten
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| v.(使)变紧；(使)绷紧 | |
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203
momentum
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| n.动力，冲力，势头；动量 | |
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204
scrambling
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| v.快速爬行( scramble的现在分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞 | |
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205
crooked
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| adj.弯曲的；不诚实的，狡猾的，不正当的 | |
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206
suspense
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| n.（对可能发生的事）紧张感，担心，挂虑 | |
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207
sobbed
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| 哭泣，啜泣( sob的过去式和过去分词 )； 哭诉，呜咽地说 | |
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208
exhaustion
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| n.耗尽枯竭，疲惫，筋疲力尽，竭尽，详尽无遗的论述 | |
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209
impetus
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| n.推动，促进，刺激；推动力 | |
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210
attained
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| （通常经过努力）实现( attain的过去式和过去分词 )； 达到； 获得； 达到（某年龄、水平、状况） | |
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211
perilously
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| adv.充满危险地，危机四伏地 | |
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212
hempen
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| adj. 大麻制的, 大麻的 | |
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213
sagged
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| 下垂的 | |
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214
thumping
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| adj.重大的，巨大的；重击的；尺码大的；极好的adv.极端地；非常地v.重击(thump的现在分词)；狠打；怦怦地跳；全力支持 | |
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215
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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216
sweeping
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| adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的 | |
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217
torrents
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| n.倾注；奔流( torrent的名词复数 )；急流；爆发；连续不断 | |
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218
pealed
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| v.（使）（钟等）鸣响，（雷等）发出隆隆声( peal的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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219
bruised
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| [医]青肿的，瘀紫的 | |
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220
receded
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| v.逐渐远离( recede的过去式和过去分词 )；向后倾斜；自原处后退或避开别人的注视；尤指问题 | |
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221
heed
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| v.注意，留意；n.注意，留心 | |
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222
ecstasy
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| n.狂喜，心醉神怡，入迷 | |
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223
saturated
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| a.饱和的，充满的 | |
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224
tottered
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| v.走得或动得不稳( totter的过去式和过去分词 )；踉跄；蹒跚；摇摇欲坠 | |
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225
clump
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| n.树丛，草丛；vi.用沉重的脚步行走 | |
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226
curiously
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| adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地 | |
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227
transit
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| n.经过，运输；vt.穿越，旋转；vi.越过 | |
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228
subside
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| vi.平静，平息；下沉，塌陷，沉降 | |
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229
puffs
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| 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 | |
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230
cinders
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| n.煤渣( cinder的名词复数 )；炭渣；煤渣路；煤渣跑道 | |
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231
jotted
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| v.匆忙记下( jot的过去式和过去分词 )；草草记下，匆匆记下 | |
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232
narrative
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| n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的 | |
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233
marine
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| adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵 | |
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