Directly we reached the deck, the Second Mate gave the order:
“Mizzen t’gallant clewlines and buntlines,” and led the way up on to the poop. He went and stood by the haulyards, ready to lower away. As I walked across to the starboard clewline, I saw that the Old Man was on deck, and as I took hold of the rope, I heard him sing out to the Second Mate.
“Call all hands to shorten sail, Mr. Tulipson.”
“Very good, Sir,” the Second Mate replied. Then he raised his voice:
“Go forrard, you, Jessop, and call all hands to shorten sail. You’d better give them a call in the bosun’s place, as you go.”
“i, i, Sir,” I sung out, and hurried off.
As I went, I heard him tell Tammy to go down and call the Mate.
Reaching the fo’cas’le, I put my head in through the starboard doorway1, and found some of the men beginning to turn-in.
“It’s all hands on deck, shorten sail,” I sung out.
I stepped inside.
“Just wot I said,” grumbled2 one of the men.
“They don’t damn well think we’re goin’ aloft tonight, after what’s happened?” asked another.
“We’ve been up to the main royal,” I answered. “The Second Mate went with us.”
“Wot?” said the first man. “Ther Second Mate hisself?”
“Yes,” I replied. “The whole blooming watch went up.”
“An’ wot ’appened?” he asked.
“Nothing,” I said. “Nothing at all. We just made a mouthful apiece of it, and came down again.”
“All the same,” remarked the second man, “I don’t fancy goin’ upstairs, after what’s happened.”
“Well,” I replied. “It’s not a matter of fancy. We’ve got to get the sail off her, or there’ll be a mess. One of the ’prentices told me the glass is falling.”
“Come erlong, boys. We’ve got ter du it,” said one of the older men, rising from a chest, at this point. “What’s it duin’ outside, mate?”
“Raining,” I said. “You’ll want your oilskins.”
I hesitated a moment before going on deck again. From the bunk4 forrard among the shadows, I had seemed to hear a faint moan.
“Poor beggar!” I thought to myself.
Then the old chap who had last spoken, broke in upon my attention.
“It’s awl6 right, mate!” he said, rather testily7. “Yer needn’t wait. We’ll be out in er minit.”
“That’s all right. I wasn’t thinking about you lot,” I replied, and walked forrard to Jacobs’s bunk. Some time before, he had rigged up a pair of curtains, cut out of an old sack, to keep off the draught8. These, some one had drawn9, so that I had to pull them aside to see him. He was lying on his back, breathing in a queer, jerky fashion. I could not see his face, plainly; but it seemed rather pale, in the half-light.
“Jacobs,” I said. “Jacobs, how do you feel now?” but he made no sign to show that he had heard me. And so, after a few moments, I drew the curtains to again, and left him.
“What like does ’e seem?” asked one of the fellows, as I went towards the door.
“Bad,” I said. “Damn bad! I think the Steward10 ought to be told to come and have a look at him. I’ll mention it to the Second when I get a chance.”
I stepped out on deck, and ran aft again to give them a hand with the sail. We got it hauled up, and then went forrard to the fore3 t’gallant. And, a minute later, the other watch were out, and, with the Mate, were busy at the main.
By the time the main was ready for making fast, we had the fore hauled up, so that now all three t’gallants were in the ropes, and ready for stowing. Then came the order:
“Up aloft and furl!”
“Up with you, lads,” the Second Mate said. “Don’t let’s have any hanging back this time.”
Away aft by the main, the men in the Mate’s watch seemed to be standing11 in a clump12 by the mast; but it was too dark to see clearly. I heard the Mate start to curse; then there came a growl13, and he shut up.
“Be handy, men! be handy!” the Second Mate sung out.
At that, Stubbins jumped into the rigging.
“Come hon!” he shouted. “We’ll have ther bloomin’ sail fast, an’ down hon deck again before they’re started.”
Plummer followed; then Jaskett, I, and Quoin who had been called down off the look-out to give a hand.
“That’s the style, lads!” the Second sung out, encouragingly. Then he ran aft to the Mate’s crowd. I heard him and the Mate talking to the men, and presently, when we were going over the foretop, I made out that they were beginning to get into the rigging.
I found out, afterwards, that as soon as the Second Mate had seen them off the deck, he went up to the mizzen t’gallant, along with the four ’prentices.
On our part, we made our way slowly aloft, keeping one hand for ourselves and the other for the ship, as you can fancy. In this manner we had gone as far as the crosstrees, at least, Stubbins, who was first, had; when, all at once, he gave out just another such cry as had the Second Mate a little earlier, only that in his case he followed it by turning round and blasting Plummer.
“You might have blarsted well sent me flyin’ down hon deck,” he shouted. “If you bl — dy well think it’s a joke, try it hon some one else —”
“It wasn’t me!” interrupted Plummer. “I ’aven’t touched yer. ’oo the ’ell are yer swearin’ at?”
“At you —!” I heard him reply; but what more he may have said, was lost in a loud shout from Plummer.
“What’s up, Plummer?” I sung out. “For God’s sake, you two, don’t get fighting, up aloft!”
But a loud, frightened curse was all the answer he gave. Then straightway, he began to shout at the top of his voice, and in the lulls15 of his noise, I caught the voice of Stubbins, cursing savagely16.
“They’ll come down with a run!” I shouted, helplessly. “They’ll come down as sure as nuts.”
I caught Jaskett by the boot.
“What are they doing? What are they doing?” I sung out. “Can’t you see?” I shook his leg as I spoke5. But at my touch, the old idiot — as I thought him at the moment — began to shout in a frightened voice:
“Oh! oh! help! hel —!”
“Shut up!” I bellowed17. “Shut up, you old fool. If you won’t do anything, let me get past you.”
Yet he only cried out the more. And then, abruptly18, I caught the sound of a frightened clamour of men’s voices, away down somewhere about the maintop — curses, cries of fear, even shrieks19, and above it all, someone shouting to go down on deck:
“Get down! get down! down! down! Blarst —” The rest was drowned in a fresh outburst of hoarse20 crying in the night.
I tried to get past old Jaskett; but he was clinging to the rigging, sprawled21 on to it, is the best way to describe his attitude, so much of it as I could see in the darkness. Up above him, Stubbins and Plummer still shouted and cursed, and the shrouds23 quivered and shook, as though the two were fighting desperately24.
Stubbins seemed to be shouting something definite; but whatever it was, I could not catch.
At my helplessness, I grew angry, and shook and prodded25 Jaskett, to make him move.
“Damn you, Jaskett!” I roared. “Damn you for a funky26 old fool! Let me get past! Let me get past, will you!”
But, instead of letting me pass, I found that he was beginning to make his way down. At that, I caught him by the slack of his trousers, near the stern, with my right hand, and with the other, I got hold of the after shroud22 somewhere above his left hip14; by these means, I fairly hoisted27 myself up on to the old fellow’s back. Then, with my right, I could reach to the forrard shroud, over his right shoulder, and having got a grip, I shifted my left to a level with it; at the same moment, I was able to get my foot on to the splice28 of a ratline and so give myself a further lift. Then I paused an instant, and glanced up.
“Stubbins! Stubbins!” I shouted. “Plummer! Plummer!”
And even as I called, Plummer’s foot — reaching down through the gloom — alighted full on my upturned face. I let go from the rigging with my right hand, and struck furiously at his leg, cursing him for his clumsiness. He lifted his foot, and in the same instant a sentence from Stubbins floated down to me, with a strange distinctness:
“For God’s sake tell ’em to get down hon deck!” he was shouting.
Even as the words came to me, something in the darkness gripped my waist. I made a desperate clutch at the rigging with my disengaged right hand, and it was well for me that I secured the hold so quickly; for the same instant, I was wrenched29 at with a brutal30 ferocity that appalled31 me. I said nothing, but lashed32 out into the night with my left foot. It is queer, but I cannot say with certainty that I struck anything; I was too downright desperate with funk, to be sure; and yet it seemed to me that my foot encountered something soft, that gave under the blow. It may have been nothing more than an imagined sensation; yet I am inclined to think otherwise; for, instantly, the hold about my waist was released; and I commenced to scramble33 down, clutching the shrouds pretty desperately.
I have only a very uncertain remembrance of that which followed. Whether I slid over Jaskett, or whether he gave way to me, I cannot tell. I know only that I reached the deck, in a blind whirl of fear and excitement, and the next thing I remember, I was among a crowd of shouting, half-mad sailor-men.
收听单词发音 |
1
doorway
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| n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径 | |
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2
grumbled
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| 抱怨( grumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 发牢骚； 咕哝； 发哼声 | |
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3
fore
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| adv.在前面；adj.先前的；在前部的；n.前部 | |
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4
bunk
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| n.(车、船等倚壁而设的)铺位；废话 | |
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5
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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6
awl
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| n.尖钻 | |
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7
testily
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| adv. 易怒地, 暴躁地 | |
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8
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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9
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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10
steward
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| n.乘务员，服务员；看管人；膳食管理员 | |
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11
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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12
clump
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| n.树丛，草丛；vi.用沉重的脚步行走 | |
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13
growl
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| v.（狗等）嗥叫，（炮等）轰鸣；n.嗥叫，轰鸣 | |
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14
hip
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| n.臀部，髋；屋脊 | |
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15
lulls
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| n.间歇期（lull的复数形式）vt.使镇静，使安静（lull的第三人称单数形式） | |
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16
savagely
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| adv. 野蛮地，残酷地 | |
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17
bellowed
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| v.发出吼叫声，咆哮（尤指因痛苦）( bellow的过去式和过去分词 )；（愤怒地）说出（某事），大叫 | |
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18
abruptly
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| adv.突然地，出其不意地 | |
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19
shrieks
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| n.尖叫声( shriek的名词复数 )v.尖叫( shriek的第三人称单数 ) | |
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20
hoarse
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| adj.嘶哑的，沙哑的 | |
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21
sprawled
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| v.伸开四肢坐[躺]( sprawl的过去式和过去分词)；蔓延；杂乱无序地拓展；四肢伸展坐着（或躺着） | |
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22
shroud
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| n.裹尸布，寿衣；罩，幕；vt.覆盖，隐藏 | |
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23
shrouds
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| 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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24
desperately
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| adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地 | |
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25
prodded
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| v.刺，戳( prod的过去式和过去分词 )；刺激；促使；（用手指或尖物）戳 | |
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26
funky
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| adj.畏缩的，怯懦的，霉臭的；adj.新式的，时髦的 | |
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27
hoisted
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| 把…吊起，升起( hoist的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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28
splice
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| v.接合，衔接；n.胶接处，粘接处 | |
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29
wrenched
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| v.（猛力地）扭( wrench的过去式和过去分词 )；扭伤；使感到痛苦；使悲痛 | |
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30
brutal
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| adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的 | |
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31
appalled
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| v.使惊骇，使充满恐惧( appall的过去式和过去分词)adj.惊骇的；丧胆的 | |
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32
lashed
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| 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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33
scramble
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| v.爬行，攀爬，杂乱蔓延，碎片，片段，废料 | |
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