AN AQUATIC TRIP.

 “The other side!” exclaimed the Oddity, involuntarily turning towards England. “Poo! poo! nonsense, man,—I only came to look at your accommodations. I’m not going across with you—I’m not, upon my word!”
“I must beg your pardon, Sir;” said the Captain, quite
[Pg 434]
 solemnly. “But it is my firm opinion that you are ‘going across.’”
“Poo, poo! all gammon.—I till you I am going back to Dublin.”
“Upon my soul, then,” said the Skipper, rather briskly, “you must swim back like a grampus, or borrow a pair of wings from the gulls¹.”
The man at the helm grinned his broadest at what he thought a good joke of his officer’s—while the Original turned sharply round, parodied² a hyena’s laugh at the fellow, and then returned to the charge.
“Come, come, Skipper—it’s quite as far out as I care for—if you want to treat me to a sail!”
“Treat you to a sail!” roared the indignant officer. “Zounds! Sir, I’m in earnest—as much in earnest as ever I was in my life.”
“So much the better,” answered the Original. “I’m not joking myself, and I have no right to be joked upon.”
“Joke or no joke,” said the Captain—“all I know is this. The mail bags are on board—and it’s more than my post is worth to put back.”
“Eh? What? How?” exclaimed the Oddity, with a sort of nervous dance. “You astonish me! Do—you—really—mean to say—I’m obligated to go—whether I’ve a right or not?”
“I do indeed, Sir—I’m sorry for it, but it can’t be helped. My orders are positive. The moment the mail is on board I must cast off.”
“Indeed!—well—but you know—why, that’s your duty, not mine. I have no right to be cast off! I’ve no right to be here at all. I’ve no right to be anywhere—except in Merrion Square!”
The Captain was bothered. He shrugged³ up his shoulders, then
[Pg 435]
 gave a low whistle, then plunged⁴ his hands in his pockets—then gave a loud order to somebody, to do something, somewhere or other; and then began to walk short turns on the deck. His Captive, in the meantime, made hasty strides towards the stern, as if intending to leap overboard; but he suddenly stopped short, and took bewildered look at the receding⁵ coast. The original wrong was visibly increasing in length, breadth, and depth, every minute; and he again confronted the Captain.
 

1 gulls   

n.鸥( gull的名词复数 )v.欺骗某人( gull的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• A flock of sea gulls are hovering over the deck. 一群海鸥在甲板上空飞翔。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The gulls which haunted the outlying rocks in a prodigious number. 数不清的海鸥在遥远的岩石上栖息。 来自辞典例句

2 parodied   

v.滑稽地模仿，拙劣地模仿( parody的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• All these peculiarities of his style have been parodied by his assailants. 他的所有这些风格特征都受到攻击者模仿嘲弄。 来自互联网
• The above examples are all slightly parodied versions of classical dance steps. 上述例子都可以说是经典舞步的模仿版本。 来自互联网

3 shrugged   

vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• Sam shrugged and said nothing. 萨姆耸耸肩膀，什么也没说。
• She shrugged, feigning nonchalance. 她耸耸肩，装出一副无所谓的样子。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 plunged   

v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降

参考例句：

• The train derailed and plunged into the river. 火车脱轨栽进了河里。
• She lost her balance and plunged 100 feet to her death. 她没有站稳，从100英尺的高处跌下摔死了。

5 receding   

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

参考例句：

• Desperately he struck out after the receding lights of the yacht. 游艇的灯光渐去渐远，他拼命划水追赶。 来自辞典例句
• Sounds produced by vehicles receding from us seem lower-pitched than usual. 渐渐远离我们的运载工具发出的声似乎比平常的音调低。 来自辞典例句