"Look at Dabney Kinzer," said Jenny Walters to her mother, in church, the next morning. "Did you ever see anybody's hair as smooth as that?"
Smooth it was, certainly; and he looked, all over, as if he had given all the care in the world to his personal appearance. How was Annie Foster to guess that he had gotten himself up so unusually on her account? She did not guess it; but when she met him at the church-door, after service, she was careful to address him as "Mr. Kinzer," and that made poor Dabney blush to his very eyes.
"There!" he exclaimed: "I know it."
"Know what?" asked Annie.
"Know what you're thinking."
"Do you, indeed?"
"Yes: you think I'm like the crabs2."
"What do you mean?"
"You think I was green enough till you spoke3 to me, and now I'm boiled red in the face."
Annie could not help laughing,—a little, quiet, Sunday-morning sort of a laugh; but she was beginning to think her brother's friend was not a bad specimen4 of a Long Island "country boy."
She briskly turned away the small remains5 of that conversation from crabs and their color; but she told her mother, on their way home, she was sure Dabney would be a capital associate for Ford6.
That young gentleman was tremendously of the same opinion. He had come home, the previous evening, from a long conference with Dab1, brimful of the proposed yachting cruise; and his father had freely given his consent, much against the inclinations7 of Mrs. Foster.
"My dear," said the lawyer, "I feel sure a woman of Mrs. Kinzer's unusual good sense would not permit her son to go out in that way if she did not feel safe about him. He has been brought up to it, you know; and so has the colored boy who is to go with them."
"Yes, mother," argued Ford: "there isn't half the danger there is in driving around New York in a carriage."
"There might be a storm," she timidly suggested.
"The horses might run away."
"Or you might get upset."
"So might a carriage."
The end of it all was, however, that Ford was to go, and Annie was more than half sorry she could not go with them. In fact, she said so to Dabney himself, as soon as her little laugh was ended, that Sunday morning.
"Some time or other I'd be glad to have you," replied Dab very politely, "but not this trip."
"Why not?"
"We mean to go right across the bay, and try some fishing."
"Couldn't I fish?"
"Well, no, I don't think you could."
"Why couldn't I?"
"Because,—well, because, most likely, you'd be too sea-sick by the time we got there."
Just then a low, clear voice, behind Dabney, quietly remarked, "How smooth his hair is!"
Dab's face turned red again.
Annie Foster had heard it as distinctly as he had; and she walked right away with her mother, for fear she should laugh again.
"It's my own hair, Jenny Walters," said Dab almost savagely8, as he turned around.
"I should hope it was."
"I should like to know what you go to church for, anyhow."
"To hear people talk about sailing and fishing. How much do you s'pose a young lady like Miss Foster cares about small boys?"
"Or little girls, either? Not much; but Annie and I mean to have a good sail before long."
"Annie and I!"
Jenny's pert little nose seemed to turn up more than ever, as she walked away, for she had not beaten her old playfellow quite as badly as usual. There were several sharp things on the very tip or her tongue, but she was too much put out and vexed9 to try to say them just then.
Dab made the rest of his way home without any further haps10 or mishaps11. A sail on the bay was nothing so new or wonderful for him to look forward to, and so that Sunday went by a good deal like all his other Sundays.
As for Ford Foster, on the contrary, his mind was in a stew12 and turmoil13 all day. In fact, just after tea that evening, his father asked him,—
"What book is that you are reading, Ford?"
"Captain Cook's Voyages."
"And the other, in your lap?"
"Robinson Crusoe."
"Well, you might have worse books than they are, that's a fact, even for
Sunday, though you ought to have better; but which of them do you and
Dabney Kinzer mean to imitate to-morrow?"
"Crusoe!" promptly14 responded Ford.
"I see. And so you've got Dick Lee to go along as your man Friday."
"He's Dab's man, not mine."
"Oh! and you mean to be Crusoe number two? Well, don't get cast away on any desolate15 island, that's all."
Ford slipped into the library, and put the books away. It had been Samantha Kinzer's room, and had plenty of book-shelves, in addition to the elegant "cases" Mr. Foster had brought from the city with him; for Samantha was inclined to be of a literary turn of mind. All the cases and shelves were full too; but not on any one of them was Ford Foster able to discover a volume he cared to take out with him in place of "Cook" or "Crusoe."
The next morning, within half an hour after breakfast, every member of the two families was down at the landing, to see their young sailors make their start; and they were all compelled to admit that Dab and Dick seemed to know precisely16 what they were about.
As for Ford, that young gentleman was wise enough, with all those eyes watching him, not to try any thing that he was not sure of; though he carefully explained to Annie, "Dab is captain, you know. I'm under his orders to-day."
Dick Lee was hardly the wisest fellow in the world, for he added encouragingly,—
"And you's doin' tip-top, for a green hand, you is."
The wind was blowing right off shore, and did not seem to promise any thing more than a smart breeze. It was easy enough to handle the little craft in the inlet; and in a marvellously short time she was dancing out upon the blue waves of the spreading "bay." It was a good deal more like a land-locked "sound" than any sort of a bay, with that long, low, narrow sand-island cutting it off from the ocean.
"I don't wonder Ham Morris called her the 'Swallow,'" said Ford. "How she skims! Can you get in under the deck, there, forward? That's the cabin."
"Yes, that's the cabin," replied Dab. "But Ham had the door put in with a slide, water-tight. It's fitted with rubber. We can put our things in there, but it's too small for any thing else."
"What's it made so tight for?"
"Oh! Ham says he's made his yacht a life-boat. Those places at the sides and under the seats are all water-tight. She might capsize, but she'd never sink. Don't you see?"
"I see. How it blows!"
"It's a little fresh, now we are getting away from under the land. How'd you like to be wrecked18?"
"Good fun," said Ford. "I got wrecked on the cars the first time I came over here."
"On the cars?"
"Why, yes. I forgot to tell you about that."
Then followed a very vivid and graphic19 account of the sad fate of the pig and the locomotive. The wonder was, how Ford should have failed to give Dab that story before. No such failure would have been possible if his head and tongue had not been so wonderfully busy about so many other things, ever since his arrival.
"I'm glad it was I instead of Annie," he said at length.
"Of course. Didn't you tell me she came through all alone?"
"Yes; and she didn't like it much, either. Travelled all night. She ran away from those cousins of mine. Oh, but won't I pay them off when I get to Grantley!"
"Where's that? What did they do?"
"The Swallow" was flying along nicely now, with Dab at the tiller, and Dick Lee tending sail; and Dab could listen with all his ears to Ford's account of his sister's tribulations20, and the merciless "practical jokes" of the Hart boys.
"Ain't they older and bigger than you?" asked Dabney, as Ford closed his recital21. "What can you do with two of them?"
"They can't box worth a cent, and I can. Anyhow, I mean to teach them better manners."
"You can box?"
"Had a splendid teacher. Put me up to all sorts of things."
"Will you show me how, when we get back?"
"We can practise all we choose. I've two pair of gloves."
"Hurrah22 for that! Ease her, Dick. It's blowing pretty fresh. We'll have a tough time tacking23 home against such a breeze as this. Maybe it'll change before night."
"Capt'in Dab," calmly remarked Dick, "we's on'y a mile to run."
"Well, what of it?"
"Is you goin' fo' de inlet?"
"Of course. What else can we do? That's what we started for."
"Looks kind o' dirty, dat's all."
So far as Ford could see, both the sky and the water looked clean enough; but Dick was entirely24 right about the weather. In fact, if Captain Dabney Kinzer had been a more experienced and prudent25 seaman26, he would have kept "The Swallow" inside the bar that day, at any risk of Ford Foster's good opinion. As it was, even Dick Lee's keen eyes hardly comprehended how threatening was the foggy haze27 that was lying low on the water, miles and miles away to seaward.
It was magnificently exciting fun, at all events; and "The Swallow" fully17 merited all that had been said in her favor. The "mile to run" was a very short one, and it seemed to Ford Foster that the end of it would bring them up high and dry on the sandy beach of the island.
The narrow "strait" of the inlet between the bay and the ocean was hardly visible at any considerable distance. It opened to view, however, as they drew near; and Dab Kinzer rose higher than ever in his friend's good opinion, as the swift little vessel28 he was steering29 shot unerringly into the contracted channel.
"Ain't we pretty near where you said we were to try for some fish?" he asked.
"Just outside there. Get the grapnel ready, Dick. Sharp, now!"
Sharp it was, and Ford himself lent a hand; and, in another moment, the white sails went down, jib and main; "The Swallow" was drifting along under bare poles, and Dick Lee and Ford were waiting the captain's orders to let go the neat little anchor.
"Heave!"
Over went the iron, the hawser30 followed briskly.
"That'll do, Dick: hold her!"
Dick gave the rope a skilful31 turn around its "pin," and Dab shouted,—
"Now for some weak-fish! It's about three fathoms32, and the tide's near the turn."
Alas33 for the uncertainty34 of human calculations! The grapnel caught on the bottom, surely and firmly; but, the moment there came any strain on the seemingly stout35 hawser that held it, the latter parted like a thread, and "The Swallow" was all adrift!
"Somebody's done gone cut dat rope!" shouted Dick, as he frantically36 pulled in the treacherous37 bit of hemp38.
There was an anxious look on Dab Kinzer's face for a moment. Then he shouted,—
"Sharp, now, boys, or we'll be rolling in the surf in three minutes! Haul away, Dick! Haul with him, Ford! Up with her! There, that'll give us headway."
Ford Foster looked out to seaward, even while he was hauling his best upon the sail halyards. All along the line of the coast, at distances varying from a hundred yards or so to nearly a mile, there was an irregular line of foaming39 breakers—an awful thing for a boat like "The Swallow" to run into!
Perhaps; but ten times worse for a larger craft, for the latter would be shattered on the shoals, where the bit of a yacht would find plenty of water under her; that is, if she did not, at the same time, find too much water over her.
"Can't we go back through the inlet in the bar?" asked Ford.
"Not with this wind in our teeth, and it's getting worse every minute.
No more will it do to try to keep inside the surf."
"What can we do, then?"
"Take the smoothest places we can find, and run 'em. The sea isn't very rough outside. It's our only chance."
Poor Ford Foster's heart sank within him, as he listened, and as he gazed ahead upon the long white line of foaming surf and tossing breakers. He saw, however, a look of heroic resolution rising in "Captain Kinzer's" face, and it gave him courage to turn his eyes again towards the surf.
"The Swallow" was now once more moving in a way to justify40 her name; and, although Ford was no sailor, he could see that her only chance to penetrate41 that perilous42 barrier of broken water was to "take it nose on," as Dick Lee expressed it.
That was clearly the thing Dab Kinzer intended to do. There were places of comparative smoothness, here and there, in the tossing and plunging43 line; but they were bad enough, at the best, and they would have been a good deal worse but for that stiff breeze blowing off shore.
"Now for it!" shouted Dab, as "The Swallow" bounded on.
"Dar dey come!" said Dick.
Ford thought of his mother, and sister, and father; but he had not a word to say, and hardly felt like breathing.
Bows foremost, full sail, rising like a cork44 on the long, strong billows, which would have rolled her over and over if she had not been handled so skilfully45 as she really was; once or twice pitching dangerously in short, chopping seas, and shipping46 water enough to wet her brave young mariners47 to the skin, and call for vigorous baling afterwards,—"The Swallow" battled gallantly48 with her danger for a few moments; and then Dab Kinzer swung his hat, and shouted,—
"Hurrah, boys! We're out at sea!"
"Dat's so," said Dick.
"So it is," remarked Ford, a little gloomily; "but how on earth will we ever get ashore49 again? We can't go back through that surf."
"Well," replied Dab, "if it doesn't come on to blow too hard, we'll run right on down the coast. If the wind lulled50, or whopped around a little, we'd find our way in, easy enough, long before night. We might have a tough time beating home across the bay, even if we were inside the bar, now. Anyhow, we're safe enough out here."
Ford could hardly feel that very strongly, but he was determined51 not to let Dab see it; and he made an effort at the calmness of a Mohawk, as he said, "How about fishing?"
"Guess we won't bother 'em much, but you might go for a bluefish.
Sometimes they have great luck with them, right along here."
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收听单词发音
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1
dab
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| v.轻触，轻拍，轻涂；n.(颜料等的)轻涂 | |
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2
crabs
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| n.蟹( crab的名词复数 )；阴虱寄生病；蟹肉v.捕蟹( crab的第三人称单数 ) | |
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3
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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specimen
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| n.样本，标本 | |
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5
remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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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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7
inclinations
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| 倾向( inclination的名词复数 )； 倾斜； 爱好； 斜坡 | |
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8
savagely
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| adv. 野蛮地，残酷地 | |
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9
vexed
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| adj.争论不休的；（指问题等）棘手的；争论不休的问题；烦恼的v.使烦恼( vex的过去式和过去分词 )；使苦恼；使生气；详细讨论 | |
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10
haps
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| n.粗厚毛披巾；偶然，机会，运气( hap的名词复数 ) | |
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mishaps
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| n.轻微的事故，小的意外( mishap的名词复数 ) | |
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12
stew
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| n.炖汤，焖，烦恼；v.炖汤，焖，忧虑 | |
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13
turmoil
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| n.骚乱，混乱，动乱 | |
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14
promptly
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| adv.及时地，敏捷地 | |
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15
desolate
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| adj.荒凉的，荒芜的；孤独的，凄凉的；v.使荒芜，使孤寂 | |
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16
precisely
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| adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地 | |
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17
fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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wrecked
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| adj.失事的，遇难的 | |
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19
graphic
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| adj.生动的，形象的，绘画的，文字的，图表的 | |
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tribulations
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| n.苦难( tribulation的名词复数 )；艰难；苦难的缘由；痛苦 | |
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recital
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| n.朗诵，独奏会，独唱会 | |
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hurrah
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| int.好哇，万岁，乌拉 | |
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23
tacking
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| （帆船）抢风行驶，定位焊[铆]紧钉 | |
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24
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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prudent
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| adj.谨慎的，有远见的，精打细算的 | |
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26
seaman
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| n.海员，水手，水兵 | |
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27
haze
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| n.霾，烟雾；懵懂，迷糊；vi.(over)变模糊 | |
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28
vessel
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| n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管 | |
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29
steering
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| n.操舵装置 | |
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30
hawser
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| n.大缆；大索 | |
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31
skilful
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| (=skillful)adj.灵巧的，熟练的 | |
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32
fathoms
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| 英寻( fathom的名词复数 ) | |
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33
alas
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| int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等) | |
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uncertainty
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| n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物 | |
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frantically
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| ad.发狂地, 发疯地 | |
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treacherous
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| adj.不可靠的，有暗藏的危险的；adj.背叛的，背信弃义的 | |
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38
hemp
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| n.大麻；纤维 | |
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39
foaming
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| adj.布满泡沫的；发泡 | |
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40
justify
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| vt.证明…正当(或有理)，为…辩护 | |
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41
penetrate
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| v.透(渗)入；刺入，刺穿；洞察，了解 | |
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42
perilous
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| adj.危险的，冒险的 | |
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43
plunging
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| adj.跳进的，突进的v.颠簸( plunge的现在分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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44
cork
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| n.软木，软木塞 | |
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45
skilfully
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| adv. (美skillfully)熟练地 | |
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46
shipping
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| n.船运（发货，运输，乘船） | |
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47
mariners
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| 海员，水手（mariner的复数形式） | |
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48
gallantly
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| adv. 漂亮地，勇敢地，献殷勤地 | |
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49
ashore
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| adv.在(向)岸上，上岸 | |
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50
lulled
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| vt.使镇静，使安静（lull的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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51
determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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