A light haze3 had gathered over the waters, but the gibbous moon, which still rode high in the heavens, shone brightly. In queenly majesty4 she looked down on that quiet scene, watching over unconscious slumberers; and though little of the landscape could be seen as the vessel5 passed Graysand, yet, when she had cleared the bar, the land-mist was left behind, and the bay, distinctly traceable, sparkled everywhere with silvery brightness.
The ship's company, besides the skipper and Mr. Mogford, the mate, consisted of eight seamen6 and an apprentice7, whose name was Jim Ortop, a cross-grained, vexatious youngster, whose cunning at one time and sulkiness at another procured8 for him most days what the sailors called 'monkeys' 'lowance.'
The men, having seen all snug9, were lounging in the forecastle, where the look-out was stationed; and as the vessel sped along under courses, with a fine breeze, they beguiled10 the time by giving utterance11 to sundry12 and divers13 reflections.
'We shall have a change of weather soon, I'm thinking,' said Harry14 Cole. 'D'ye hear how the sea roars at the Rock's Nose?'
'Ay, ay,' replied Jem Kelly; 'a ring round the moon and a roar at the Snuffler is a sure sign of a slapping sou-wester, and it'll be ready for us, all brewed15, before we reach the chops of the Channel.'
'Do you know where we're bound?' said Sam Pickard. 'I made sure we were going foreign when Mr. Phillipson said to the cap'n, as he bade him good-bye, "Keep your weather eye open, cap'n."'
'I didn't like the way the gov'nor and the cap'n whispered and laughed as they parted,' answered Kelly. 'I overheard the cap'n tell the mate just now that we were going up the Straits, and that, according to the ship's papers, the bales we've got on board are bales of broadcloth, which he said were heavily insured.' And, having thus delivered himself, he winked16 hard for his own private amusement.
'Bales of broadcloth!' responded Jack17 Purden, with a sarcastic18 laugh; 'bales of list, more like; and a fine market the old rogue19 will make of it, I'll warrant you.' And Jim Ortop saw by the bright moonlight that he too winked in a very knowing and emphatic20 manner.
'The last time we were up the Mediterranean,' Jim chimed in, 'the cap'n knocked me overboard; and if it hadn't been for Ned Birch I should have been drowned. If he serves me so again, I'll run away.'
'Where will you run to, you young scapegrace?' said Pickard. 'How is it you haven't got that rope stowed away yet? Look sharp, or the end of it will make acquaintance with your shoulders.'
And so they talked and joked, and moralized too, by times, until the day began to dawn; and the order was given, as the wind had freshened, to clew up the courses and wash the deck.
They were still within sight of the Cornish coast when the sun rose gloomily into the thickening sky, assuming the cold red hue21 which characterizes a frosty morning, and then the dull greasy22 look which bespeaks23 a thaw24, or maybe a storm.
Before nine o'clock the ship had been so far eased of canvas that she was scudding25 under topsails. Dark banks of clouds began to lower in the horizon. The wind, which had risen to a gusty26 gale28, and veered29 frequently, swept and howled through the rigging; and so threatening were appearances that when Jim Ortop went whistling up the shrouds30 to execute some trifling31 order, he had to run the gauntlet for it as soon as he reached the deck.
'You whistling rascal32!' said Cole; 'don't you know you can't be whistling when there's a wind without raising a hurricane? If I hear you at that again, I'll make a figure-head of you.'
But the warning came too late. The wind, which had been chopping about, determinately settled into a stern sou-wester, and began to muster33 its forces for a deadly assault. Gusty and gustier still, it swept the rain-clouds hurriedly along the sky, exciting the billows into a wild tumult34.
The captain was obliged to alter his course a point or two, in consequence of this state of things; but he kept the vessel's head as close to the wind as possible, and carried all the sail she would bear.
'We shall have a dirty time of it, Mr. Mogford,' he said, 'We must batten all down, and keep her facing it as long as we can.'
'There's no telling, sir,' replied the mate, 'how it may go. We haven't got the worst of it yet, for certain.'
Nor had they. Hour after hour the tempest increased in violence, until it became a perfect hurricane. Pausing to take breath, and sobbing35 and sighing, as if in vexation whilst it lulled36, the raging wind recovered itself to blow more frantically37, bending the brig to the gunwale, and sending green waves over her, whose hissing38 crests39 rose haughtily40, and broke in briny41 showers amid her spars and rigging. Right skilfully42 did Stauncy handle her, and gallantly43 she carried herself, struggling bravely with the wild, writhing44 billows, which chased each other like giants at their gambols45.
The evening began to draw in, and, until the moon arose to cast a pale and sickly light over the wide waste of tumultuous waters, the darkness added to the terror of the storm. The men, who had lashed46 themselves to different parts of the vessel for safety, began to despair; and Stauncy himself perceived that the case was serious. Still, however, he carried on, until a gust27 more wilful47 than its fellows rent the staysail into strips, which streamed out into the wind or flogged and cracked with restless fury; and a monster wave, bent48 on destruction, broke over the trembling vessel, sweeping49 the caboose and part of the bulwarks50 overboard, and with them the pride and life of the crew, Jim Kelly.
'He's gone, sir!' shouted the men,—'Jim's overboard, sir!' and the order to wear the ship was immediately given. But the seaman51 was beyond the reach of help, and all that Stauncy could do was to look after the safety of the rest.
'We'll run before it, Mr. Mogford,' he said; 'I don't know what else we can do.' And away flew the brig with bare poles, plunging52 and rolling in the seething53 waters.
点击收听单词发音
1 swell | |
vi.膨胀,肿胀;增长,增强 | |
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2 impatience | |
n.不耐烦,急躁 | |
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3 haze | |
n.霾,烟雾;懵懂,迷糊;vi.(over)变模糊 | |
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4 majesty | |
n.雄伟,壮丽,庄严,威严;最高权威,王权 | |
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5 vessel | |
n.船舶;容器,器皿;管,导管,血管 | |
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6 seamen | |
n.海员 | |
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7 apprentice | |
n.学徒,徒弟 | |
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8 procured | |
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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9 snug | |
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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10 beguiled | |
v.欺骗( beguile的过去式和过去分词 );使陶醉;使高兴;消磨(时间等) | |
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11 utterance | |
n.用言语表达,话语,言语 | |
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12 sundry | |
adj.各式各样的,种种的 | |
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13 divers | |
adj.不同的;种种的 | |
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14 harry | |
vt.掠夺,蹂躏,使苦恼 | |
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15 brewed | |
调制( brew的过去式和过去分词 ); 酝酿; 沏(茶); 煮(咖啡) | |
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16 winked | |
v.使眼色( wink的过去式和过去分词 );递眼色(表示友好或高兴等);(指光)闪烁;闪亮 | |
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17 jack | |
n.插座,千斤顶,男人;v.抬起,提醒,扛举;n.(Jake)杰克 | |
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18 sarcastic | |
adj.讥讽的,讽刺的,嘲弄的 | |
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19 rogue | |
n.流氓;v.游手好闲 | |
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20 emphatic | |
adj.强调的,着重的;无可置疑的,明显的 | |
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21 hue | |
n.色度;色调;样子 | |
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22 greasy | |
adj. 多脂的,油脂的 | |
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23 bespeaks | |
v.预定( bespeak的第三人称单数 );订(货);证明;预先请求 | |
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24 thaw | |
v.(使)融化,(使)变得友善;n.融化,缓和 | |
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25 scudding | |
n.刮面v.(尤指船、舰或云彩)笔直、高速而平稳地移动( scud的现在分词 ) | |
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26 gusty | |
adj.起大风的 | |
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27 gust | |
n.阵风,突然一阵(雨、烟等),(感情的)迸发 | |
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28 gale | |
n.大风,强风,一阵闹声(尤指笑声等) | |
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29 veered | |
v.(尤指交通工具)改变方向或路线( veer的过去式和过去分词 );(指谈话内容、人的行为或观点)突然改变;(指风) (在北半球按顺时针方向、在南半球按逆时针方向)逐渐转向;风向顺时针转 | |
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30 shrouds | |
n.裹尸布( shroud的名词复数 );寿衣;遮蔽物;覆盖物v.隐瞒( shroud的第三人称单数 );保密 | |
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31 trifling | |
adj.微不足道的;没什么价值的 | |
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32 rascal | |
n.流氓;不诚实的人 | |
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33 muster | |
v.集合,收集,鼓起,激起;n.集合,检阅,集合人员,点名册 | |
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34 tumult | |
n.喧哗;激动,混乱;吵闹 | |
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35 sobbing | |
<主方>Ⅰ adj.湿透的 | |
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36 lulled | |
vt.使镇静,使安静(lull的过去式与过去分词形式) | |
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37 frantically | |
ad.发狂地, 发疯地 | |
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38 hissing | |
n. 发嘶嘶声, 蔑视 动词hiss的现在分词形式 | |
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39 crests | |
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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40 haughtily | |
adv. 傲慢地, 高傲地 | |
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41 briny | |
adj.盐水的;很咸的;n.海洋 | |
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42 skilfully | |
adv. (美skillfully)熟练地 | |
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43 gallantly | |
adv. 漂亮地,勇敢地,献殷勤地 | |
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44 writhing | |
(因极度痛苦而)扭动或翻滚( writhe的现在分词 ) | |
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45 gambols | |
v.蹦跳,跳跃,嬉戏( gambol的第三人称单数 ) | |
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46 lashed | |
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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47 wilful | |
adj.任性的,故意的 | |
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48 bent | |
n.爱好,癖好;adj.弯的;决心的,一心的 | |
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49 sweeping | |
adj.范围广大的,一扫无遗的 | |
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50 bulwarks | |
n.堡垒( bulwark的名词复数 );保障;支柱;舷墙 | |
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51 seaman | |
n.海员,水手,水兵 | |
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52 plunging | |
adj.跳进的,突进的v.颠簸( plunge的现在分词 );暴跌;骤降;突降 | |
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53 seething | |
沸腾的,火热的 | |
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