The drunken villain4 then stumbled about the deck till he found the lines which kept the hogsheads in place under the guards. Groaning5, crying, and swearing, he untied6 and threw the ropes overboard. Some of the casks, relieved of the pressure on them by the removal of the water from the interior of the hull7, came out from their places and floated off. Ben rolled into the wherry again, and with the boat-hook hauled the others out. Satisfied that he had done his work, and that the Woodville would soon go down in the middle of the lake, he pulled as rapidly as his intoxicated8 condition would permit toward the ferry-landing.
"They'll find I'm not a nobody," he repeated, as he rowed to the shore. "They can't raise her now; and they'll never see her again."
Intoxicated as he was, he had not lost his sense of caution. He knew that he had done a mean and wicked action, which it might be necessary for him to conceal9. As he approached the landing, he wiped his eyes, and choked down the emotions that agitated10 him. He tried to make no noise, but his movements were very uncertain; he tumbled over the thwarts11, and rattled12 the oars13, so that, if those in the cottage had not slept like rocks, they must have heard him. He reeled up to the house, took off his shoes, and crept upstairs to his room. He made noise enough to wake his mother; but Lawry and Ethan were not disturbed.
The wretch14 had accomplished15 his work. He was satisfied, as he laid his boozy head upon the pillow, that the Woodville was even then at the bottom of the lake, with a hundred feet of water rolling over her. It was two o'clock in the morning; but the vile16 tipple17 he had drank, and the deed he had done, so excited him that he could not sleep. He tossed on his bed till the day dawned, and the blessed light streamed in at the window of the attic18.
"Four o'clock!" shouted Lawry, as the timepiece in the kitchen struck the hour. "All hands ahoy, Ethan!"
His enthusiastic fellow laborer20 needed no second call, and leaped out of bed. Ben was still awake, and the lapse21 of the hours had in some measure sobered him.
"It's a fine day, Ethan," said Lawry.
"Glad of that. How long do you suppose it will take to pump her out?"
"All day, I think; but we are to have four men to help us. I was considering that matter when I went to sleep last night," replied Lawry. "I was thinking whether we could not rig a barrel under the derrick so as to get along a little faster than the pumps will do it.
"Perhaps we can; we will see."
"Where is your steamer?" asked Ben, rising in bed.
"We anchored her near the Goblins," replied Lawry.
"She isn't there now," added Ben.
"How do you know?" demanded the pilot.
"I've been sick, and couldn't sleep; so I got up and went outdoors. She isn't where you left her, and I couldn't see anything of her anywhere."
"Couldn't see her!" exclaimed Ethan.
"I knew very well she wouldn't stay on top of the water. Casks wouldn't keep her up," said Ben maliciously23.
Lawry rushed out of the room to the other end of the house, the attic window of which commanded a full view of the lake. As his brother had declared, the Woodville was not at her anchorage where they had left her; neither was she to be seen, whichever way he looked.
"Of course she is gone," added Ben.
"I don't understand it."
"She has gone to the bottom, of course, where I told you she would go. You were a fool to leave her out there in the deep water. She has gone down where you will never see her again."
"It was impossible for her to sink with all those casks under her guards," said Ethan.
"I guess you will find she has sunk. I told you she would. If you had only minded what I told you, she would have been all right, Lawry."
Both of the boys seemed to be paralyzed at the discovery, and made no reply to Ben. They could not realize that all the hard labor19 they had performed was lost. It was hard and cruel, and each reproached himself because they had not passed the night on board of the steamer, as they had purposed to do.
"Well, it's no use to stand here like logs," said Lawry, "If she has sunk, we will find out where she is."
"I reckon you'll never see her again, Lawry. Those old casks leaked, I suppose, and when they were full of water the steamer went down again; or else they broke loose from her when the wind blew so hard."
"It didn't blow much when we went to bed. What time did you come home, Ben?"
"I don't know what time it was," he answered evasively.
"Come, Ethan, let's go and find out what the matter is," continued
Lawry, as he led the way downstairs.
Mrs. Wilford was not up, but she was awake, and was anticipating with great satisfaction the pleasure of the surprise which awaited the boys, when they discovered that the steamer had been freed from water. They left the house, and went down to the ferry. The Woodville certainly was not where they had left her; not even the top of her smokestack could be seen peering above the water to inform them that she still existed.
"Well, Lawry, we may as well go out to the place where we left her.
If she has sunk, we may be able to see her," said Ethan.
They got into the boat; but one of the oars was gone. Ben had lost it overboard when he landed, and it had floated off. There was another pair in the woodshed of the house, and Lawry went up for them. As he entered the shed, he met his mother, who had just risen, and gone out for wood to kindle25 the fire. The poor boy looked so sad and disconsolate26 that his long face attracted her attention.
"What's the matter, Lawry?" she asked.
"The steamer has sunk again," replied the son.
"Sunk again!" exclaimed his mother.
"She is not to be seen, and Ben says she has gone down."
"Ben says so?"
"Yes; he told us of it before we came down. We are going to look for her now," answered Lawry.
What Lawry had said excited the suspicion of his mother, as she thought of the malicious22 words of her older son on the preceding evening. She was excited and indignant; she feared he had executed the wicked purpose which she was confident he had cherished. She went into the house, and upstairs to the room where Ben still lay in bed.
"Benjamin, what have you done?" demanded she.
"I haven't done anything. I'm a nobody here!" replied the inebriated27 young man, with surly emphasis.
"What did you mean last night when you said that you should run that steamer, or nobody should?" asked Mrs. Wilford.
"I meant just what I said. You and Lawry both said I shouldn't run her—and she has gone to the bottom again; she'll stay there this time."
"Oh, Benjamin!" said his mother, bursting into tears. "How could you be so wicked?"
"Did you sink that steamer?"
"What if I did?"
"Oh, Benjamin!"
"You needn't cry about it. Next time, you'd better not try to make a nobody out of me."
"Don't you think I've had trouble enough, without trying to make more for me?" sobbed29 the distressed30 mother.
"If you had told Lawry to give me the charge of the steamer, he would have done it," whined Ben.
"I shouldn't tell him any such thing!" replied Mrs. Wilford indignantly. "A pretty captain of a steamboat you would make! You are so tipsy now you can't hold your head up!"
"I'm as sober as you are."
Mrs. Wilford knew that it was useless to talk to a person in his condition, and she left him to sleep off the effect of his cups if he could, after the evil deed he had done. Full of sympathy for Lawry, under his great affliction, she left the house, and hastened down to the landing, to learn, if possible, the condition of the Woodville. Lawry and Ethan were in the wherry, returning to the shore, when she reached the landing.
Wilford came in sight.
"What now?" asked the anxious mother.
"She's safe, mother! She has not sunk," replied Lawry.
"Where is she? I don't see her anywhere," added Mrs. Wilford, scanning the lake in every direction.
"Over on the other side," replied Lawry.
"What's the reason she didn't sink?" continued his mother.
"The casks kept her up, of course. We want something for breakfast and for dinner, mother, for she is so far off we can't come home till we have pumped her out, and I won't leave her again till I am sure she's all right."
"What shall I do about the ferry, mother?" asked Lawry. "Will Ben run the boat to-day?"
"Don't trouble yourself about the ferry, Lawry. If Benjamin won't take care of it, I will."
"I don't want you to do it, mother."
"I think your brother will run the boat; at any rate, you needn't give it a thought."
Mrs. Wilford was quite as happy as the boys to find that the steamer was not at the bottom of the lake again; and she returned to the cottage with a light heart, when she had seen the wherry leave the shore.
From the deepest depths of despondency, if not despair, the young engineers had been raised to the highest pinnacle33 of hope and joy when the Woodville was discovered on the other side of the lake. She had drifted in behind a point of land, and could not be seen from the ferry. They had gone out to the place where she had been anchored, near the Goblins; and while they were gazing down into the deep water in search of her, Ethan happened to raise his eyes and saw her on the other side of the lake. What a thrill went through his heart as he recognized her! And what a thrill he communicated to Lawry when he pointed34 her out to him!
"Why, the casks are all gone!" exclaimed Ethan.
"All gone!" replied Lawry.
"She must be aground," added Ethan; "but she sets out of water a great deal farther than when we left her."
"We shall soon find out what the matter is," continued Lawry. "She is safe, and on the top of the water; that's enough for me at the present time."
"What does this mean?" he exclaimed.
"I don't know. The water couldn't have run out of her without some help," replied Ethan.
"I don't understand it," added Lawry. "The casks are all gone, and the steamer has been pumped out. Somebody must have done this work."
"That's true," said Ethan. "Somebody has certainly been here."
"There's no doubt of that; but I can't see, for the life of me, what they wanted to set her adrift for."
"Nor I; they were good friends to pump her out for us, whoever they were. In my opinion, Mr. Sherwood knows something about this job."
"But slipping the cables looks just as though they intended to have her smashed up on the shore," added Lawry. "The anchors are not here, and, of course, they are on the bottom of the lake. I don't see through this business."
"Nor I, either; but one thing we can see through; the steamer is safe, with the water all pumped out of her. We may as well go to work, and get her over to the ferry."
This was good counsel, and without losing any more time in attempts to fathom35 what was dark and strange, they commenced the labors36 of the day.
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收听单词发音
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1
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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mischief
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| n.损害，伤害，危害；恶作剧，捣蛋，胡闹 | |
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3
whined
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| v.哀号( whine的过去式和过去分词 )；哀诉，诉怨 | |
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4
villain
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| n.反派演员，反面人物；恶棍；问题的起因 | |
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5
groaning
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| adj. 呜咽的, 呻吟的 动词groan的现在分词形式 | |
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6
untied
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| 松开，解开( untie的过去式和过去分词 )； 解除，使自由； 解决 | |
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7
hull
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| n.船身；(果、实等的)外壳；vt.去(谷物等)壳 | |
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8
intoxicated
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| 喝醉的，极其兴奋的 | |
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conceal
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| v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽 | |
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10
agitated
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| adj.被鼓动的，不安的 | |
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11
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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12
rattled
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| 慌乱的，恼火的 | |
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13
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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14
wretch
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| n.可怜的人，不幸的人；卑鄙的人 | |
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15
accomplished
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| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
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16
vile
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| adj.卑鄙的，可耻的，邪恶的；坏透的 | |
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17
tipple
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| n.常喝的酒；v.不断喝，饮烈酒 | |
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18
attic
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| n.顶楼，屋顶室 | |
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19
labor
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| n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦 | |
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20
laborer
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| n.劳动者，劳工 | |
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21
lapse
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| n.过失，流逝，失效，抛弃信仰，间隔；vi.堕落，停止，失效，流逝；vt.使失效 | |
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22
malicious
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| adj.有恶意的，心怀恶意的 | |
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23
maliciously
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| adv.有敌意地 | |
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24
chamber
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| n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所 | |
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25
kindle
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| v.点燃，着火 | |
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26
disconsolate
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| adj.忧郁的，不快的 | |
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27
inebriated
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| adj.酒醉的 | |
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28
growled
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| v.（动物）发狺狺声， （雷）作隆隆声( growl的过去式和过去分词 )；低声咆哮着说 | |
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29
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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30
distressed
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| 痛苦的 | |
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31
hurrah
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| int.好哇，万岁，乌拉 | |
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32
unison
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| n.步调一致，行动一致 | |
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33
pinnacle
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| n.尖塔，尖顶，山峰；(喻)顶峰 | |
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34
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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35
fathom
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| v.领悟，彻底了解 | |
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36
labors
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| v.努力争取(for)( labor的第三人称单数 )；苦干；详细分析；（指引擎）缓慢而困难地运转 | |
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