It came to Guy as a shock that his father should be considered too old by his parish, and that there should be any movement in favor of a younger minister. He knew that his father was dependent on his salary, having very little property. A change would be disastrous2 to him.
“I wish I were rich,” he thought, “so that I could relieve father from any anxiety about money matters. It is lucky I don’t want to go to college, for if I did, it would be a good many years before I could even support myself.”
The next morning, after breakfast, Guy thought of his sailor uncle, and the curiosity again seized him to find out the contents of the chest up in the attic3.
He went up the narrow stairs leading to the{11} garret, and found himself in a large room covering the entire extent of the house, for the attic had never been finished off or divided into chambers4. There were piles of old papers and magazines in one corner, old mildewed6 garments hanging from nails in the rafters, and two or three old rusty7 trunks.
But none of them attracted Guy’s attention. He was looking for his uncle’s chest.
At last he found it—a typical sailor’s chest, painted blue, showing signs of wear, for it had accompanied his uncle for years.
Guy’s face lighted up, and he hurried toward it.
He thought it might be locked, but he was glad to find that the lock seemed to have been broken, so that he had no difficulty in lifting the lid and examining the contents.
There were one or two books. One of them was a Bible, which had been presented to his uncle George by his mother at the time he left home on his first voyage.
Guy lifted it carefully, for he had been taught to reverence9 the Bible. Then he saw underneath10, an envelope of large size, unmarked on the outside.{12}
Opening this, he found a large sheet of paper, folded lengthwise, with writing upon it. Lying inside was a smaller piece of paper, also written over, the handwriting being that of his uncle George.
This Guy read first. The contents interested him exceedingly.
The paper is subjoined.
What I am writing here may or may not be of interest or value, yet it may prove of importance to those who may read it, though it is possible this will not be till after my death. Last year (from the date Guy saw that it was the year before his death) among my mates on the good ship Cyprus was a dark, thin man, the darkest in complexion11, I think, that I ever met outside the negro race.
No one on board knew him, nor did any of us get well acquainted with him, for he was very silent and reserved, and did not care to make friends or confidants. Yet he did his duty well. No fault could be found with him. He did not become a favorite, as he did not care to talk or be sociable12 with the rest of the sailors. We could not help respecting him, however, as one who strictly13 minded his{13} own business, and never in any way interfered14 with others.
This man’s name was Antonio Smith, or Tony, as we should have called him if we had been sufficiently15 intimate. The two names did not go well together, and one day I asked him why it was that he had two such names.
“It is easily explained,” he said. “My father was an Englishman, named Smith, but my mother was an Italian woman.”
“That explains your being so dark,” I said.
“Yes, I suppose so,” he answered.
He did not confide16 in me to any further extent. As far as I could observe, he seemed moody17 and morbid18. It seemed as if he had something on his mind—something of a disagreeable nature.
Well, toward the end of the voyage he had a bad fall. He was helping19 to furl sails when another sailor above him lost his hold, and fell on him. This made Antonio lose his hold also, and he dropped to the deck, striking his head.
It is a wonder he was not immediately killed. As it was he was fatally injured, as it proved, and was removed to his bunk20 in a dying condition. I pitied the poor fellow, and as much time as my duties would permit I spent at his side, trying to make him comfortable.{14}
One evening he looked at me earnestly, and asked: “Do you think that I can live, George?”
I shook my head. “I don’t want to deceive you,” I answered, “and I will tell you the truth.”
“It is what I want to hear,” he said.
“The doctor says you can’t live.”
After a pause he continued: “Before I die there is something I want to confide to someone. You have been a friend to me, and you are the one I choose, if you don’t mind, to listen to what I have to say.”
“I will hear it,” I said, “and if it is a message to anyone in whom you are interested I will engage to deliver it, if possible.”
“No, there is no one in whom I am interested,” he answered. “All who once knew me are dead, or at all events are dead to me. But I have a secret which I once thought would be of value to me, and may be of value to you, whom I constitute my heir.”
All this seemed very queer to me, and I half thought that the sick man might be wandering in mind. He went on: “You must know, George, and this is my first secret, that for five years I sailed under the black flag, and was a pirate!”{15}
“I see you look surprised, but you are not more surprised than I was when I found myself enrolled23 as a member of a piratical crew. I shipped on board the Vulture, supposing it to be an ordinary merchantman. It was not till I got well out to sea that I learned the true character of the vessel24. Then I was asked to sign as a member of the crew, and knowing well it would be dangerous to refuse, I agreed.
“After a while I got reconciled, in a measure, to my position. I found it more profitable than the post of an ordinary seaman25, and yet not so much so as might be supposed. While the booty taken was very large, it was not all divided between the officers and men. There was a considerable portion that was set aside as a fund to be divided some time between us when we disbanded. For not one of the officers or men expected always to continue pirates. Some day we hoped to give up this outlaw’s life and become respectable citizens, living in ease and luxury on our share of the booty. No one would be the wiser.
“I was an Englishman, and I looked forward to returning to my native village in Devonshire, marrying, and settling down. There was a farm{16} on which I had my eye, and an old schoolmate—a farmer’s daughter—whom I thought I could induce to marry me when I returned rich.”
“That is what I was coming to. It was concealed on a small island east by north from the great island of Madagascar, which, as you know, lies southeast of the African continent. There is a group of islands there. None of us, that is, none of the ordinary sailors, knew the name of the island, if it had any. But I have thought it over, and consulted maps, and to the best of my reckoning it is one of the Agalegas Islands in about 57 degrees east longitude27, and a little more than 10 degrees south latitude28. I estimate that it may be a few hundred miles from Cape29 Amber5, the northern extremity30 of Madagascar.”
“Did you often go there—that is, did the ship often touch there?”
“Every few months, when we had a good supply of money and articles to leave there.”
“I suppose there was quite a valuable collection of articles stored there?”
“I can’t tell the value, but there were chests full of gold and silver coins, boxes of bankbills, and{17} merchandise of the rarest and most valuable description.”
“Is it there now, or has it been divided?”
“It is there yet.”
“How came you to leave the pirate ship?”
“I did not leave it till I was compelled to do so.”
“How is that? Were you discharged? I should hardly think the officers would have dared to let you go, considering your knowledge as to the character of the ship.”
“You are right there. They would not have dared to do so, but the Almighty31, whose laws had been so flagrantly defied, interfered. There came on a terrible storm when we were cruising in the Indian Ocean. It was so violent and unexpected that we were by no means prepared to meet it.
“In the course of three hours the staunch ship Vulture became a wreck32, and the crew who manned it were forced to take to the boats. There were three of these. The captain was in one, the first mate in the second, and the boatswain in the third. The sea was so rough that the first and second boats were swamped before our eyes. I was in the third. When the storm abated33 it was still afloat. I was one of the men on board.
“For a week we drifted about, suffering everything from hunger and thirst, for we were able to{18} carry but scanty34 stores of food and water. One by one I saw my comrades die, but having, perhaps, the best constitution, unimpaired by excesses of any kind, I survived—the last of eight men. I was very near death when I was picked up by an American ship. Of course, I did not say a word as to the character of the vessel to which I belonged, and those who rescued me were not too inquisitive35, so I reached New York without divulging36 any secrets. But my great secret was that, as the last survivor37 of the piratical crew, I was the heir and sole possessor of the treasure stored on the island!”
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1
sedate
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| adj.沉着的，镇静的，安静的 | |
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disastrous
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| adj.灾难性的，造成灾害的；极坏的，很糟的 | |
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3
attic
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| n.顶楼，屋顶室 | |
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4
chambers
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| n.房间( chamber的名词复数 )；（议会的）议院；卧室；会议厅 | |
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5
amber
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| n.琥珀；琥珀色；adj.琥珀制的 | |
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6
mildewed
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| adj.发了霉的，陈腐的，长了霉花的v.（使）发霉，（使）长霉( mildew的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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7
rusty
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| adj.生锈的；锈色的；荒废了的 | |
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8
outfit
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| n.（为特殊用途的）全套装备，全套服装 | |
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9
reverence
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| n.敬畏，尊敬，尊严；Reverence:对某些基督教神职人员的尊称；v.尊敬，敬畏，崇敬 | |
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10
underneath
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| adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面 | |
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11
complexion
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| n.肤色；情况，局面；气质，性格 | |
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12
sociable
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| adj.好交际的，友好的，合群的 | |
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13
strictly
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| adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地 | |
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14
interfered
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| v.干预( interfere的过去式和过去分词 )；调停；妨碍；干涉 | |
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15
sufficiently
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| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
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16
confide
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| v.向某人吐露秘密 | |
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17
moody
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| adj.心情不稳的，易怒的，喜怒无常的 | |
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18
morbid
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| adj.病的；致病的；病态的；可怕的 | |
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19
helping
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| n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的 | |
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bunk
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| n.(车、船等倚壁而设的)铺位；废话 | |
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21
agitation
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| n.搅动；搅拌；鼓动，煽动 | |
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astounded
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| v.使震惊(astound的过去式和过去分词)；愕然；愕；惊讶 | |
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23
enrolled
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| adj.入学登记了的v.[亦作enrol]( enroll的过去式和过去分词 )；登记，招收，使入伍（或入会、入学等），参加，成为成员；记入名册；卷起，包起 | |
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24
vessel
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| n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管 | |
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seaman
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| n.海员，水手，水兵 | |
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26
concealed
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| a.隐藏的，隐蔽的 | |
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27
longitude
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| n.经线，经度 | |
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latitude
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| n.纬度，行动或言论的自由(范围)，(pl.)地区 | |
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29
cape
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| n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风 | |
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extremity
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| n.末端，尽头；尽力；终极；极度 | |
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31
almighty
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| adj.全能的，万能的；很大的，很强的 | |
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32
wreck
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| n.失事，遇难；沉船；vt.(船等)失事，遇难 | |
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33
abated
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| 减少( abate的过去式和过去分词 )； 减去； 降价； 撤消（诉讼） | |
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scanty
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| adj.缺乏的，仅有的，节省的，狭小的，不够的 | |
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35
inquisitive
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| adj.求知欲强的，好奇的，好寻根究底的 | |
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36
divulging
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| v.吐露，泄露( divulge的现在分词 ) | |
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37
survivor
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| n.生存者，残存者，幸存者 | |
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