Chapter 5

 Wofforth wrote in his log book:

Fifth day: Course north, west, then southwest. Curving thru mountainous territory. Run 1066 mi. but direct progress toward base camp not exceeding 950. To go, 6260 mi. approx. Supplies short. Spirits fair.

He wrote in his log book:

Seventh day: Course west, southwest, west, northwest, west. Run 1108 mi. To go 4090 mi. approx. Supplies low. Spirits fair.

He wrote in his log book:

Ninth day: Course northwest by west, west. Run 1108 mi. To go 2030 mi. approx. Supplies low. Spirits low....

"Lieutenant¹," said Jenks from across the tent, as Wofforth closed the book.

"Well?"

"We know you're in command. This party and all of Pluto². But we ask permission to state our case."

"What case is your case?" demanded Wofforth, rising. "I'm doing my best to get you back to Base Camp."

"Sure," said Corbett. "Sure. But why Base Camp?"

"You know why."

"That's right, we know why," agreed Jenks, and Corbett grinned in his ten days' tussock of beard.

"They'll have left supplies for us," Wofforth went on. "Shelter and food and fuel and instruments. They'll expect us to reach Base Camp and hold it down for the next attempt to reach Pluto."

"We know why," repeated Jenks. "And that's not why, lieutenant. Let me talk, sir. It's a dead man talking."

"You won't die," snapped Wofforth. "I'll get you both there alive."

He stepped to where, in one corner, he had managed a bath—a hollow in the frozen ground, lined by pushing the floor fabric³ into it. From the heater he ran tepid⁴, clean water into it. He clipped a mirror to the tent foil, searched out an automatic razor, and began to shave his own dark young thatch⁵ of beard.

"You're proving my point, lieutenant," said Jenks. "Policing up your face to look pretty."

"Why not?" growled⁶ Wofforth, mowing⁷ another swath of whiskers.

"No reason why not. Ten, twenty years from now they'll find your body—whenever the inner orbits get to where they can boom off another expedition. You'll look young and clean-shaved. You know who'll weep."

Wofforth lowered the razor in his good hand and glared at the two. They grinned in the bright light opposite him. They looked as if they hoped he'd see the joke.

"I said it's a dying man that's talking," said Jenks again. "Won't you let me say my dying say, lieutenant? Let's all die honest."

"I'm going to get you there," Wofforth insisted.

"Ah, now," said Corbett, as though persuading a naughty child. "You think they've left twenty years' worth of supplies to keep us going? The ship didn't carry that much, even if they left it all." He grinned mirthlessly. "I can figure what you're figuring, lieutenant," he went on, with a touch of Jenks' sly manner. "You die, young and brave. You'll shave up again before you lie down and let go. And when the next shipload arrives there'll be you, lying like a statue of your good-looking young self, frozen stiff. Am I right?"

Corbett was right, Wofforth admitted to himself. The man was more than a great meaty lump, after all, to see another man's unspoken thought so clearly.

"Then," Jenks took it up, "First Mate Lya Stromminger will have a look. She may command the new expedition. She'll be promoted away up to Admiral or higher—twenty years of brilliant service—gone gray around the edges, but still a lovely lady. There you'll lie before her eyes, young and brave as you was when she deserted⁸ you. She'll cry, won't she? And hot tears can't thaw⁹ you out or wake you up—"

"Shut your heads, both of you!" shouted Wofforth, so fierce and loud that the foil tent wall vibrated as with a gale¹⁰ in the airless night.

But they had guessed true. He'd wanted to be found at Base Camp. He'd wanted Lya Stromminger to know, some day, that she'd blasted off and left behind the man most worthy¹¹ of all men on all worlds....

"Everybody takes a hot bath tonight," said Wofforth. "We'll all sleep better for it. Tomorrow's our last day on the trail."

"To do two thousand miles?" said Jenks.

"To do all of that. The expedition mapped an area at least that wide around Base Camp, and it's slick and smooth. We can almost slide in."

"All slick and smooth but just this side of Base Camp, lieutenant," said Jenks.

"How do you mean?"

"That string of craters¹². Don't you remember? It's just this side—east of Base Camp. This sled'll never go over that, sir."

"Nor around," Corbett put in. "We'd have to detour¹³ maybe three thousand miles. And the heaters in our suits won't last."

"I know about the craters," said Wofforth. "Well take care of them when we reach them."

Stripping, he lowered his body into the makeshift tub and began to scrub himself one-handed.

 

1 lieutenant   

n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员

参考例句：

• He was promoted to be a lieutenant in the army.他被提升为陆军中尉。
• He prevailed on the lieutenant to send in a short note.他说动那个副官，递上了一张简短的便条进去。

2 Pluto   

n.冥王星

参考例句：

• Pluto is the furthest planet from the sun.冥王星是离太阳最远的行星。
• Pluto has an elliptic orbit.冥王星的轨道是椭圆形的。

3 fabric   

n.织物，织品，布；构造，结构，组织

参考例句：

• The fabric will spot easily.这种织品很容易玷污。
• I don't like the pattern on the fabric.我不喜欢那块布料上的图案。

4 tepid   

adj.微温的，温热的，不太热心的

参考例句：

• She bent her mouth to the tap and drank the tepid water.她把嘴伸到水龙头底下去喝那微温的水。
• Her feet firmly planted on the tepid rough brick of the floor.她一双脚稳固地立在微温而粗糙的砖地上。

5 thatch   

vt.用茅草覆盖…的顶部；n.茅草(屋)

参考例句：

• They lit a torch and set fire to the chapel's thatch.他们点着一支火把，放火烧了小教堂的茅草屋顶。
• They topped off the hut with a straw thatch. 他们给小屋盖上茅草屋顶。

6 growled   

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

参考例句：

• \"They ought to be birched, \" growled the old man. 老人咆哮道：“他们应受到鞭打。” 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He growled out an answer. 他低声威胁着回答。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 mowing   

n.割草，一次收割量，牧草地v.刈，割( mow的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The lawn needs mowing. 这草坪的草该割了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• "Do you use it for mowing?" “你是用它割草么？” 来自汉英文学 - 中国现代小说

8 deserted   

adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的

参考例句：

• The deserted village was filled with a deathly silence.这个荒废的村庄死一般的寂静。
• The enemy chieftain was opposed and deserted by his followers.敌人头目众叛亲离。

9 thaw   

v.（使）融化，（使）变得友善；n.融化，缓和

参考例句：

• The snow is beginning to thaw.雪已开始融化。
• The spring thaw caused heavy flooding.春天解冻引起了洪水泛滥。

10 gale   

n.大风，强风，一阵闹声（尤指笑声等）

参考例句：

• We got our roof blown off in the gale last night.昨夜的大风把我们的房顶给掀掉了。
• According to the weather forecast,there will be a gale tomorrow.据气象台预报，明天有大风。

11 worthy   

adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的

参考例句：

• I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。
• There occurred nothing that was worthy to be mentioned.没有值得一提的事发生。

12 craters   

n.火山口( crater的名词复数 )；弹坑等

参考例句：

• Small meteorites have left impact craters all over the planet's surface. 这个行星的表面布满了小块陨石留下的撞击坑。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The battlefield was full of craters made by exploding shells. 战场上布满弹坑。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

13 detour   

n.绕行的路，迂回路；v.迂回，绕道

参考例句：

• We made a detour to avoid the heavy traffic.我们绕道走，避开繁忙的交通。
• He did not take the direct route to his home,but made a detour around the outskirts of the city.他没有直接回家，而是绕到市郊兜了个圈子。