Now this little reverie has all beep suggested by the fact that the Boniface household was waking up, all save old Dinah, the cook, for she had been up for an hour or more. She had once been Hazel’s nurse, and, since the beginning of the war, was the only servant the Bonifaces could afford to keep. How comfortable she made them, that faithful old Dinah, so that all one had to do was to waken and wash, and brush and dress, and then sit down to steaming coffee, delicate rolls, and the most savory5 little rasher of bacon, which Dinah always added as a “relisher,” as she called it, to the more substantial part of the breakfast. Yes, they were waking, all of them, from anxious Captain Boniface to happy little Flutters, for Dinah’s vigorous ringing of the rising bell had thoroughly6 done its work.
Each busy brain was taking up again the manifold threads of thought which had slipped from its hold when sleep had stolen across it so gently the night before. Captain Boniface instantly remembered the angry letter, as, of course, did Mrs. Boniface and Josephine, and so their waking was rather heavy hearted. Harry7 instantly remembered it too, but his second thought was of the pretty sail-boat moored8 down at the Boniface wharf9, and of the plan for the day, and he was glad to open his eyes on blue skies and the sunshine that flooded his eastward10 room. Flutters woke with a smile. Indeed, he doubted if he should ever do anything but smile again, so sure was he that he had turned a very happy corner in his life. Starlight roomed with Flutters, and his first thought when he opened his eyes was how they were to manage to return those clothes of Hans Van Wyck’s, that Flutters was getting into with such an air of complacent11 ownership. Hazel’s little mind took its first morning flight in the same direction as Harry Avery’s. The sail-boat, the bay sparkling in the sunshine, the visit to the old prison-ship—it all meant so much to her enthusiastic, pleasure-loving temperament12. A certain uncomfortable and premeditated call upon Colonel Hamilton could easily be postponed13 to an indefinite future, with such delightful14 anticipations16 in the definite present.
“It seems heartless to be going off for a day’s jaunt17, when father has so much to trouble him,” Josephine said, when, soon after breakfast, the little party of five, basketed and equipped, were starting down to the wharf.
“Not at all, Josephine,” answered her sweet-faced mother, holding bonny Kate by the hand as she spoke18. “We will try and keep dear old papa cheery, won’t we, little daughter?” then, seeing that Josephine still lingered, as though reluctant to go, she added, cheerily, “nothing would be gained by your staying, Josephine. Your father has some office work that will keep him in the house, so you can think of him as safe at home all day, and we are both of us glad enough to have you enjoy a little change.” So, somewhat relieved in her mind, Josephine hurried down and joined the Others, and soon the “Gretchen,” with her white sail spread to the crisp morning breeze, sped out on the river, fairly dancing along the crests19 of the white caps that splashed against her prow20 with such a continuous and merry little thump21 and splutter.
0059
Wind and tide favored them, and Harry was an excellent sailor, so that in a comparatively short time they had left the waters of the Hudson behind them, had rounded Fort George, the Battery of to-day, and were headed up the East River, with New York on the one side, and the then scattered22 town of Brooklyn on the other. Skilfully23 tacking24 in long slants25 from shore to shore, the wharves26 and shipping27 were soon exchanged for the sloping banks of Manhattan Island on the left, and of Long Island on the right, and then suddenly the dismasted hulk of the old “Jersey” loomed28 up before them.
She was a dreary29 enough looking object to any one, but if, like Harry, you had been a prisoner aboard of her for eighteen long months, you would, like him, no doubt, have shuddered30 at the sight of her. Josephine shuddered too. “Oh, do not let us go any nearer!” she said.
“All right,” was Harry’s quick response, for, in point of fact, nothing pleased him better than to comply with Josephine’s slightest wish, so the “Gretchen” veered31 off again.
“Oh! can’t we go aboard?” cried Flutters, with a world of disappointment in his tone, for in imagination he had already scaled the gangway ladder that hung at her larboard side, and turned more than one somersault on the wide sweep of her upper deck.
“Why, no, child!” answered Hazel, who was fast assuming a most patronizing air toward her little protégé; “no one would think of going aboard of her, would they, Cousin Harry?”
“Why, why not?” Flutters asked, half-impatiently, for Harry, giving his attention for the moment to the management of the boat, did not at once reply.
“Because,” he said, finally, “there has been far too much sickness in that old hulk for any one to safely venture aboard of her; she has been responsible for the lives of eleven thousand men. I doubt if the strongest and longest of north winds could ever blow her free from the fever that must be lurking32 in her rotten timbers.”
That was a new phase of the matter to Flutters, and he subsided33 at once into thoughtful silence.
“I think this would be a good place to anchor,” suggested Harry, but waited a moment till Josephine had given her consent before letting the anchor run the length of its rope and bury itself in the mud bottom beneath them.
As soon as the “Gretchen” had settled into the position determined34 for her by the tide, the little party of five ranged themselves about the boat, so as to be as comfortable as possible, for there they meant to stay for the next hour, or two, or three, as the case might be. It had been for some time a thoroughly understood matter between Hazel and Harry Avery, that whenever the day should come for this trip to the “Jersey,” they were to anchor their boat in full sight of her, and then and there he was to tell them the “whole story”—from the day he volunteered till the day of his release in the previous summer.
Flutters, who had been made acquainted with the object of the expedition, waited, with a charming native sense of the “fitness of things,” until the others had chosen their places; then he threw himself at Harry’s feet, in one of the graceful35 positions so natural to him, and which even Hans Van Wyck’s rough, homespun clothes did not altogether succeed in hiding. It was wonderful to look into Flutters’s upturned face—such complete satisfaction, such tranquil36 happiness shone out of it. Even in those exciting moments when every nerve and tissue was thrilling under Harry’s narration37 of the dark features of his prison life, a smile still seemed to be lurking in the corners of his expressive38 mouth. Yesterday, a lonely little tumbler in a dreary, tawdry circus company; to-day, one of a blessed circle of warm-hearted friends. Whatever fears others might have as to the disposal to be made of him, Flutters had none for himself. Of course he was to be Hazel’s faithful little servant from that day forward, and it was almost worth while, he thought, to have “darkey blood” in one’s veins39 for the sake of rendering40 such happy service. Farther than that he did not trouble himself, literally41 taking no thought for the morrow, nor for what he should put on when his present habiliments should have found their way back to their rightful owner. The “Gretchens” little company made a pretty picture against the blue gray of the bay, and when at last there was no more arranging to be done, and all had repeatedly declared themselves “perfectly comfortable,” there was a breathless, momentous42 little pause, as in the moment at a play between the significant and abrupt43 cessation of the orchestra and the rolling back of the curtain. “Please begin,” said Hazel, with a great sigh, as though the intense anticipation15 of that supreme44 moment was quite too heavy for child-nature to endure, and Harry, looking sadly over to the old “Jersey,” commenced his story.
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1
coaxed
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| v.哄，用好话劝说( coax的过去式和过去分词 )；巧言骗取；哄劝，劝诱 | |
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2
fret
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| v.(使)烦恼；(使)焦急；(使)腐蚀，(使)磨损 | |
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3
sleeper
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| n.睡眠者，卧车，卧铺 | |
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4
accomplishment
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| n.完成，成就，（pl.）造诣，技能 | |
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5
savory
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| adj.风味极佳的，可口的，味香的 | |
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thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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7
harry
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| vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼 | |
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8
moored
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| adj. 系泊的 动词moor的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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9
wharf
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| n.码头，停泊处 | |
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10
eastward
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| adv.向东；adj.向东的；n.东方，东部 | |
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complacent
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| adj.自满的；自鸣得意的 | |
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temperament
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| n.气质，性格，性情 | |
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13
postponed
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| vt.& vi.延期，缓办，（使）延迟vt.把…放在次要地位；[语]把…放在后面（或句尾）vi.（疟疾等）延缓发作（或复发） | |
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14
delightful
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| adj.令人高兴的，使人快乐的 | |
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15
anticipation
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| n.预期，预料，期望 | |
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16
anticipations
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| 预期( anticipation的名词复数 )； 预测； （信托财产收益的）预支； 预期的事物 | |
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17
jaunt
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| v.短程旅游；n.游览 | |
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18
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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19
crests
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| 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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20
prow
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| n.(飞机)机头，船头 | |
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thump
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| v.重击，砰然地响；n.重击，重击声 | |
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22
scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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23
skilfully
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| adv. (美skillfully)熟练地 | |
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24
tacking
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| （帆船）抢风行驶，定位焊[铆]紧钉 | |
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25
slants
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| （使）倾斜，歪斜( slant的第三人称单数 )； 有倾向性地编写或报道 | |
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26
wharves
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| n.码头，停泊处( wharf的名词复数 ) | |
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shipping
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| n.船运（发货，运输，乘船） | |
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28
loomed
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| v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的过去式和过去分词 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近 | |
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29
dreary
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| adj.令人沮丧的，沉闷的，单调乏味的 | |
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30
shuddered
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| v.战栗( shudder的过去式和过去分词 )；发抖；（机器、车辆等）突然震动；颤动 | |
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31
veered
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| 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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32
lurking
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| 潜在 | |
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33
subsided
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| v.（土地）下陷（因在地下采矿）( subside的过去式和过去分词 )；减弱；下降至较低或正常水平；一下子坐在椅子等上 | |
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34
determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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35
graceful
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| adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的 | |
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36
tranquil
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| adj. 安静的, 宁静的, 稳定的, 不变的 | |
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37
narration
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| n.讲述，叙述；故事；记叙体 | |
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expressive
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| adj.表现的，表达…的，富于表情的 | |
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39
veins
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| n.纹理；矿脉( vein的名词复数 )；静脉；叶脉；纹理 | |
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40
rendering
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| n.表现，描写 | |
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41
literally
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| adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实 | |
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42
momentous
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| adj.重要的，重大的 | |
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43
abrupt
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| adj.突然的，意外的；唐突的，鲁莽的 | |
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44
supreme
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| adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的 | |
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