The grey light of the morning showed us for the first time the ground which we had chosen for our resting-place. We found that we had bivouacked upon a little patch of barley1 plainly belonging to the men of the caves. The dead bushes which we found so happily placed in readiness for our fire had been strewn as a fence for the protection of the little crop. This was the only cultivated spot of ground which we had seen for many a league, and I was rather sorry to find that our night fire and our cattle had spread so much ruin upon this poor solitary2 slip of corn-land.
The saddling and loading of our beasts was a work which generally took nearly an hour, and before this was half over daylight came. We could now see the men of the caves. They collected in a body, amounting, I should think, to nearly fifty, and rushed down towards our quarters with fierce shouts and yells. But the nearer they got the slower they went; their shouts grew less resolute3 in tone, and soon ceased altogether. The fellows, however, advanced to a thicket4 within thirty yards of us, and behind this “took up their position.” My men without premeditation did exactly that which was best; they kept steadily5 to their work of loading the beasts without fuss or hurry; and whether it was that they instinctively6 felt the wisdom of keeping quiet, or that they merely obeyed the natural inclination7 to silence which one feels in the early morning, I cannot tell, but I know that, except when they exchanged a syllable8 or two relative to the work they were about, not a word was said. I now believe that this quietness of our party created an undefined terror in the minds of the cave-holders and scared them from coming on; it gave them a notion that we were relying on some resources which they knew not of. Several times the fellows tried to lash9 themselves into a state of excitement which might do instead of pluck. They would raise a great shout and sway forward in a dense10 body from behind the thicket; but when they saw that their bravery thus gathered to a head did not even suspend the strapping11 of a portmanteau or the tying of a hatbox, their shout lost its spirit, and the whole mass was irresistibly12 drawn13 back like a wave receding14 from the shore.
These attempts at an onset15 were repeated several times, but always with the same result. I remained under the apprehension16 of an attack for more than half-an-hour, and it seemed to me that the work of packing and loading had never been done so slowly. I felt inclined to tell my fellows to make their best speed, but just as I was going to speak I observed that every one was doing his duty already; I therefore held my peace and said not a word, till at last Mysseri led up my horse and asked me if I were ready to mount.
We all marched off without hindrance17.
After some time we came across a party of Ibrahim’s cavalry18, which had bivouacked at no great distance from us. The knowledge that such a force was in the neighbourhood may have conduced to the forbearance of the cave-holders.
We saw a scraggy-looking fellow nearly black, and wearing nothing but a cloth round the loins; he was tending flocks. Afterwards I came up with another of these goatherds, whose helpmate was with him. They gave us some goat’s milk, a welcome present. I pitied the poor devil of a goatherd for having such a very plain wife. I spend an enormous quantity of pity upon that particular form of human misery19.
About midday I began to examine my map and to question my guide, who at last fell on his knees and confessed that he knew nothing of the country in which we were. I was thus thrown upon my own resources, and calculating that on the preceding day we had nearly performed a two days’ journey, I concluded that the Dead Sea must be near. In this I was right, for at about three or four o’clock in the afternoon I caught a first sight of its dismal20 face.
I went on and came near to those waters of death. They stretched deeply into the southern desert, and before me, and all around, as far away as the eye could follow, blank hills piled high over hills, pale, yellow, and naked, walled up in her tomb for ever the dead and damned Gomorrah. There was no fly that hummed in the forbidden air, but instead a deep stillness; no grass grew from the earth, no weed peered through the void sand; but in mockery of all life there were trees borne down by Jordan in some ancient flood, and these, grotesquely21 planted upon the forlorn shore, spread out their grim skeleton arms, all scorched22 and charred23 to blackness by the heats of the long silent years.
I now struck off towards the debouchure of the river; but I found that the country, though seemingly quite flat, was intersected by deep ravines, which did not show themselves until nearly approached. For some time my progress was much obstructed24; but at last I came across a track which led towards the river, and which might, as I hoped, bring me to a ford25. I found, in fact, when I came to the river’s side that the track reappeared upon the opposite bank, plainly showing that the stream had been fordable at this place. Now, however, in consequence of the late rains the river was quite impracticable for baggage-horses. A body of waters about equal to the Thames at Eton, but confined to a narrower channel, poured down in a current so swift and heavy, that the idea of passing with laden26 baggage-horses was utterly27 forbidden. I could have swum across myself, and I might, perhaps, have succeeded in swimming a horse over; but this would have been useless, because in such case I must have abandoned not only my baggage, but all my attendants, for none of them were able to swim, and without that resource it would have been madness for them to rely upon the swimming of their beasts across such a powerful stream. I still hoped, however, that there might be a chance of passing the river at the point of its actual junction28 with the Dead Sea, and I therefore went on in that direction.
Night came upon us whilst labouring across gullies and sandy mounds29, and we were obliged to come to a stand-still quite suddenly upon the very edge of a precipitous descent. Every step towards the Dead Sea had brought us into a country more and more dreary30; and this sand-hill, which we were forced to choose for our resting-place, was dismal enough. A few slender blades of grass, which here and there singly pierced the sand, mocked bitterly the hunger of our jaded31 beasts, and with our small remaining fragment of goat’s-milk rock by way of supper, we were not much better off than our horses. We wanted, too, the great requisite32 of a cheery bivouac — fire. Moreover, the spot on which we had been so suddenly brought to a standstill was relatively33 high and unsheltered, and the night wind blew swiftly and cold.
The next morning I reached the debouchure of the Jordan, where I had hoped to find a bar of sand that might render its passage possible. The river, however, rolled its eddying34 waters fast down to the “sea” in a strong, deep stream that shut out all hope of crossing.
It now seemed necessary either to construct a raft of some kind, or else to retrace35 my steps and remount the banks of the Jordan. I had once happened to give some attention to the subject of military bridges — a branch of military science which includes the construction of rafts and contrivances of the like sort — and I should have been very proud indeed if I could have carried my party and my baggage across by dint36 of any idea gathered from Sir Howard Douglas or Robinson Crusoe. But we were all faint and languid from want of food, and besides, there were no materials. Higher up the river there were bushes and river plants, but nothing like timber; and the cord with which my baggage was tied to the pack-saddles amounted altogether to a very small quantity, not nearly enough to haul any sort of craft across the stream.
And now it was, if I remember rightly, that Dthemetri submitted to me a plan for putting to death the Nazarene, whose misguidance had been the cause of our difficulties. There was something fascinating in this suggestion, for the slaying37 of the guide was of course easy enough, and would look like an act of what politicians call “vigour.” If it were only to become known to my friends in England that I had calmly killed a fellow-creature for taking me out of my way, I might remain perfectly38 quiet and tranquil39 for all the rest of my days, quite free from the danger of being considered “slow”; I might ever after live on upon my reputation, like “single-speech Hamilton” in the last century, or “single sin — ” in this, without being obliged to take the trouble of doing any more harm in the world. This was a great temptation to an indolent person, but the motive40 was not strengthened by any sincere feeling of anger with the Nazarene. Whilst the question of his life and death was debated he was riding in front of our party, and there was something in the anxious writhing41 of his supple42 limbs that seemed to express a sense of his false position, and struck me as highly comic. I had no crotchet at that time against the punishment of death, but I was unused to blood, and the proposed victim looked so thoroughly43 capable of enjoying life (if he could only get to the other side of the river), that I thought it would be hard for him to die merely in order to give me a character for energy. Acting44 on the result of these considerations, and reserving to myself a free and unfettered discretion45 to have the poor villain46 shot at any future moment, I magnanimously decided47 that for the present he should live, and not die.
I bathed in the Dead Sea. The ground covered by the water sloped so gradually, that I was not only forced to “sneak in,” but to walk through the water nearly a quarter of a mile before I could get out of my depth. When at last I was able to attempt to dive, the salts held in solution made my eyes smart so sharply, that the pain which I thus suffered, together with the weakness occasioned by want of food, made me giddy and faint for some moments, but I soon grew better. I knew beforehand the impossibility of sinking in this buoyant water, but I was surprised to find that I could not swim at my accustomed pace; my legs and feet were lifted so high and dry out of the lake, that my stroke was baffled, and I found myself kicking against the thin air instead of the dense fluid upon which I was swimming. The water is perfectly bright and clear; its taste detestable. After finishing my attempts at swimming and diving, I took some time in regaining48 the shore, and before I began to dress I found that the sun had already evaporated the water which clung to me, and that my skin was thickly encrusted with salts.
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barley
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| n.大麦，大麦粒 | |
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solitary
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| adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士 | |
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resolute
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| adj.坚决的，果敢的 | |
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thicket
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| n.灌木丛，树林 | |
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steadily
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| adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地 | |
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instinctively
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| adv.本能地 | |
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inclination
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| n.倾斜；点头；弯腰；斜坡；倾度；倾向；爱好 | |
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syllable
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| n.音节；vt.分音节 | |
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lash
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| v.系牢；鞭打；猛烈抨击；n.鞭打；眼睫毛 | |
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dense
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| a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的 | |
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strapping
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| adj. 魁伟的, 身材高大健壮的 n. 皮绳或皮带的材料, 裹伤胶带, 皮鞭 动词strap的现在分词形式 | |
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irresistibly
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| adv.无法抵抗地，不能自持地；极为诱惑人地 | |
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drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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receding
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| v.逐渐远离( recede的现在分词 )；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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onset
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| n.进攻，袭击，开始，突然开始 | |
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apprehension
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| n.理解，领悟；逮捕，拘捕；忧虑 | |
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hindrance
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| n.妨碍，障碍 | |
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cavalry
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| n.骑兵；轻装甲部队 | |
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misery
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| n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦 | |
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dismal
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| adj.阴沉的，凄凉的，令人忧郁的，差劲的 | |
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grotesquely
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| adv. 奇异地,荒诞地 | |
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scorched
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| 烧焦，烤焦( scorch的过去式和过去分词 )； 使（植物）枯萎，把…晒枯； 高速行驶； 枯焦 | |
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charred
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| v.把…烧成炭( char的过去式)；烧焦 | |
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obstructed
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| 阻塞( obstruct的过去式和过去分词 )； 堵塞； 阻碍； 阻止 | |
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Ford
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| n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过 | |
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laden
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| adj.装满了的；充满了的；负了重担的；苦恼的 | |
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utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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junction
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| n.连接，接合；交叉点，接合处，枢纽站 | |
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mounds
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| 土堆，土丘( mound的名词复数 )； 一大堆 | |
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dreary
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| adj.令人沮丧的，沉闷的，单调乏味的 | |
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jaded
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| adj.精疲力竭的；厌倦的；（因过饱或过多而）腻烦的；迟钝的 | |
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requisite
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| adj.需要的，必不可少的；n.必需品 | |
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relatively
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| adv.比较...地，相对地 | |
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eddying
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| 涡流，涡流的形成 | |
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retrace
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| v.折回；追溯，探源 | |
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dint
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| n.由于，靠；凹坑 | |
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slaying
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| 杀戮。 | |
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perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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tranquil
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| adj. 安静的, 宁静的, 稳定的, 不变的 | |
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motive
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| n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的 | |
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writhing
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| （因极度痛苦而）扭动或翻滚( writhe的现在分词 ) | |
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42
supple
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| adj.柔软的，易弯的，逢迎的，顺从的，灵活的；vt.使柔软，使柔顺，使顺从；vi.变柔软，变柔顺 | |
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thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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44
acting
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| n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的 | |
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45
discretion
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| n.谨慎；随意处理 | |
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46
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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47
decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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48
regaining
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| 复得( regain的现在分词 )； 赢回； 重回； 复至某地 | |
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