The scene before me was one of picturesque1 grandeur2, and I paused a moment to gaze upon it. The wine even heightened its loveliness to an illusion.
The full round moon of the tropics was sweeping3 over a sky of cloudless blue. The stars were eclipsed and scarcely visible, except a few of the larger ones, as the belt of Orion, the planet Venus, and the luminous4 radii5 of the Southern Cross.
From my feet a broad band of silver stretched away to the horizon, marking the meridian6 of the moon. This was broken by the line of coral reef, over which the surf curled and sparkled with a phosphoric brightness. The reef itself, running all round, seemed to gird the islet in a circle of fire. Here only were the waves in motion, as if pressed by some subaqueous and invisible power; for beyond, scarcely a breath stirred the sleeping sea. It lay smooth and silent, while a satellite sky seemed caved out in its azure7 depths.
On the south, a hundred ships were in the deep roadstead, a cable’s length from each other—their hulls8, spars, and rigging magnified to gigantic proportions under the deceptive9 and tremulous moonbeam. They were motionless as if the sea had been frozen around them into a solid crystal. Their flags drooped10 listlessly down, trailing along the masts, or warped11 and twined around the halyards.
Up against the easy ascent12 extended the long rows of white tents, shining under the silvery moonbeam like pyramids of snow. In one a light was still gleaming through the canvas, where, perchance, some soldier sat up, wearily wiping his gun, or burnishing13 the brasses14 upon his belts.
Now and then dark forms—human and uniformed—passed to and fro from tent to tent, each returning from a visit to some regimental comrade. At equal distances round the camp others stood upright and motionless, the gleam of the musket15 showing the sentry16 on his silent post.
The plunge17 of an oar18, as some boat was rowed out among the anchored ships—the ripple19 of the light breaker—at intervals20 the hail of a sentinel, “Who goes there?”—the low parley21 that followed—the chirp22 of the cicada in the dark jungle—or the scream of the sea-bird, scared by some submarine enemy from its watery23 rest—were the only sounds that disturbed the deep stillness of the night.
I continued my walk along the beach until I had reached that point of the island directly opposite to the mainland of Mexico. Here the chaparral grew thick and tangled24, running down to the water’s edge, where it ended in a clump25 of mangroves. As no troops were encamped here, the islet had not been cleared at this point, and the jungle was dark and solitary27.
The moon was now going down, and straggling shadows began to fall upon the water.
Certainly some one skulked28 into the bushes!—a rustling29 in the leaves—yes! some fellow who has strayed beyond the line of sentries30 and is afraid to return to camp. Ha! a boat! a skiff it is—a net and buoys31! As I live, ’tis a Mexican craft!—who can have brought it here? Some fisherman from the coast of Tuspan. No, he would not venture; it must be—
A strange suspicion flashed across my mind, and I rushed through the mangrove26 thicket32, where I had observed the object a moment before. I had not proceeded fifty yards when I saw the folly33 of this movement. I found myself in the midst of a labyrinth34, dark and dismal35, surrounded by a wall of leaves and brambles. The branches of the mangroves, rooted at their tops, barred up the path, and vines laced them together.
“If they be spies,” thought I, “I have taken the worst plan to catch them. I may as well go through now. I cannot be distant from the rear of the camp. Ugh! how dismal!”
I pushed on, climbing over fallen trunks, and twining myself through the viny cordage. The creepers clung to my neck—thorns penetrated36 my skin—the mezquite slapped me in the face, drawing blood. I laid my hand upon a pendent limb; a clammy object struggled under my touch, with a terrified yet spiteful violence, and, freeing itself, sprang over my shoulder, and scampered37 off among the fallen leaves. I felt its fetid breath as the cold scales brushed against my cheek. It was the hideous38 iguana39.
A huge bat flapped its sail-like wings in my face, and returned again and again, breathing a mephitic odour that caused me to gasp40. Twice I struck at it with my sword, cutting only the empty air. A third time my blade was caught in the trellis of parasites41. It was horrible; I felt terrified to contend with such strange enemies.
At length, after a continued struggle, an opening appeared before me—a glade42; I rushed to the welcome spot.
“What a relief!” I ejaculated, emerging from the leafy darkness. Suddenly I started back with a cry of horror; my limbs refused to act; the sword fell from my grasp, and I stood palsied and transfixed, as if by a bolt from heaven.
Before me, and not over three paces distant, the image of Death himself rose out of the earth, and stretched forth43 his skeleton arms to clutch me. It was no phantom44. There was the white, naked skull45, with its eyeless sockets46, the long, flesh-less limbs, the open, serrated ribs47, the long, jointed48 fingers of Death himself.
As my bewildered brain took in these objects I heard a noise in the bushes as of persons engaged in an angry struggle.
“Emile, Emile!” cried a female voice, “you shall not murder him—you shall not!”
“Off! off!—Marie, let me go!” was shouted in the rough accents of a man.
“Oh, no!” continued the female, “you shall not—no—no—no!”
“Curses on the woman! There, let me go now!”
There was a sound as of someone struck with violence—a scream—and at the same moment a human figure rushed out of the bushes, and, confronting me, exclaimed: “Ha! Monsieur le Capitaine! coup49 pour coup!” I heard no more; a heavy blow, descending50 upon my temples, deprived me of all power, and I fell senseless to the earth. When I returned to consciousness the first objects I saw were the huge brown whiskers of Lincoln, then Lincoln himself, then the pale face of the boy Jack51; and, finally, the forms of several soldiers of my company. I saw that I was in my own tent and stretched upon my camp-bed.
“What?—howl—what’s the matter!—what’s this?” I said, raising my hands to the bandage of wet linen52 that bound my temples.
“Keep still, Cap’n,” said Bob, taking my hand from the fillet and placing it by my side.
“Och! by my sowl, he’s over it; thank the Lord for His goodness!” said Chane, an Irish soldier.
“Over what? what has happened to me?” I inquired.
“Och, Captin, yer honour, you’ve been nearly murthered, and all by thim Frinch scoundhrels; bad luck to their dirty frog-atin’ picthers!”
“Murdered! French scoundrels! Bob, what is it?”
“Why, yer see, Cap’n, ye’ve had a cut hyur over the head; and we think it’s them Frenchmen.”
“Oh! I remember now; a blow—but the Death?—the Death?”
I started up from the bed as the phantom of my night adventure returned to my imagination.
“The Death, Cap’n?—what do yer mean?” inquired Lincoln, holding me in his strong arms.
“Oh! the Cap’n manes the skilleton, maybe,” said Chane.
“What skeleton?” I demanded.
“Why, an owld skilleton the boys found in the chaparril, yer honner. They hung it to a three; and we found yer honner there, with the skilleton swinging over ye like a sign. Och! the Frinch bastes53!”
I made no further inquiries54 about the “Death.”
“But where are the Frenchmen?” asked I, after a moment.
“Clane gone, yer honner,” replied Chane.
“Gone?”
“Yes, Cap’n; that’s so as he sez it,” answered Lincoln.
“Gone! What do you mean?” I inquired.
“Desarted, Cap’n.”
“How do you know that?”
“Because they ain’t here.”
“On the island?”
“Searched it all—every bush.”
“But who? which of the French?”
“Dubrosc and that ’ar boy that was always with him—both desarted.”
“You are sure they are missing?”
“Looked high and low, Cap’n. Gravenitz seed Dubrosc steal into the chaparril with his musket. Shortly afterwards we heern a shot, but thought nothin’ of it till this mornin’, when one of the sodgers foun’ a Spanish sombrary out thar; and Chane heern some’dy say the shot passed through Major Twing’s markey. Besides, we foun’ this butcher-knife where yer was lyin’.”
Lincoln here held up a species of Mexican sword called a macheté.
“Ha!—well.”
“That’s all, Cap’n; only it’s my belief there was Mexicans on this island, and them Frenchmen’s gone with them.”
After Lincoln left me I lay musing55 on this still somewhat mysterious affair. My memory, however, gradually grew clearer; and the events of the preceding night soon became linked together, and formed a complete chain. The shot that passed so near my head in Twing’s tent—the boat—the French words I had heard before I received the blow—and the exclamation56, “Coup pour coup!”—all convinced me that Lincoln’s conjectures57 were right.
Dubrosc had fired the shot and struck the blow that had left me senseless.
But who could the woman be whose voice I had heard pleading in my behalf?
My thoughts reverted58 to the boy who had gone off with Dubrosc, and whom I had often observed in the company of the latter. A strange attachment59 appeared to exist between them, in which the boy seemed to be the devoted60 slave of the strong fierce Creole. Could this be a woman?
I recollected61 having been struck with his delicate features, the softness of his voice, and the smallness of his hands. There were other points, besides, in the tournure of the boy’s figure that had appeared singular to me. I had frequently observed the eyes of this lad bent62 upon me, when Dubrosc was not present, with a strange and unaccountable expression.
Many other peculiarities63 connected with the boy and Dubrosc, which at the time had passed unnoticed and unheeded, now presented themselves to my recollection, all tending to prove the identity of the boy with the woman whose voice I had heard in the thicket.
I could not help smiling at the night’s adventures; determined64, however, to conceal65 that part which related to the skeleton.
In a few days my strength was restored. The cut I had received was not deep—thanks to my forage-cap and the bluntness of the Frenchman’s weapon.
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1
picturesque
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| adj.美丽如画的，（语言）生动的，绘声绘色的 | |
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2
grandeur
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| n.伟大，崇高，宏伟，庄严，豪华 | |
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sweeping
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| adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的 | |
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luminous
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| adj.发光的，发亮的；光明的；明白易懂的；有启发的 | |
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5
radii
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| n.半径；半径（距离）( radius的名词复数 )；用半径度量的圆形面积；半径范围；桡骨 | |
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6
meridian
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| adj.子午线的；全盛期的 | |
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azure
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| adj.天蓝色的，蔚蓝色的 | |
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8
hulls
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| 船体( hull的名词复数 )； 船身； 外壳； 豆荚 | |
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9
deceptive
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| adj.骗人的，造成假象的，靠不住的 | |
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10
drooped
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| 弯曲或下垂，发蔫( droop的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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11
warped
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| adj.反常的；乖戾的；（变）弯曲的；变形的v.弄弯，变歪( warp的过去式和过去分词 )；使（行为等）不合情理，使乖戾， | |
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12
ascent
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| n.(声望或地位)提高；上升，升高；登高 | |
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13
burnishing
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| n.磨光，抛光，擦亮v.擦亮（金属等），磨光( burnish的现在分词 )；被擦亮，磨光 | |
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14
brasses
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| n.黄铜( brass的名词复数 )；铜管乐器；钱；黄铜饰品（尤指马挽具上的黄铜圆片） | |
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15
musket
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| n.滑膛枪 | |
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sentry
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| n.哨兵，警卫 | |
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17
plunge
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| v.跳入，(使)投入，(使)陷入；猛冲 | |
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18
oar
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| n.桨，橹，划手；v.划行 | |
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19
ripple
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| n.涟波，涟漪，波纹，粗钢梳；vt.使...起涟漪，使起波纹； vi.呈波浪状，起伏前进 | |
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20
intervals
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| n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 )；间隔时间；[数学]区间；（戏剧、电影或音乐会的）幕间休息 | |
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21
parley
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| n.谈判 | |
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22
chirp
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| v.(尤指鸟)唧唧喳喳的叫 | |
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23
watery
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| adj.有水的，水汪汪的；湿的，湿润的 | |
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24
tangled
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| adj. 纠缠的，紊乱的 动词tangle的过去式和过去分词 | |
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25
clump
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| n.树丛，草丛；vi.用沉重的脚步行走 | |
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26
mangrove
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| n.(植物)红树，红树林 | |
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27
solitary
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| adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士 | |
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28
skulked
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| v.潜伏，偷偷摸摸地走动，鬼鬼祟祟地活动( skulk的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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29
rustling
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| n. 瑟瑟声，沙沙声 adj. 发沙沙声的 | |
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30
sentries
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| 哨兵，步兵( sentry的名词复数 ) | |
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31
buoys
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| n.浮标( buoy的名词复数 )；航标；救生圈；救生衣v.使浮起( buoy的第三人称单数 )；支持；为…设浮标；振奋…的精神 | |
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32
thicket
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| n.灌木丛，树林 | |
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33
folly
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| n.愚笨，愚蠢，蠢事，蠢行，傻话 | |
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34
labyrinth
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| n.迷宫；难解的事物；迷路 | |
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35
dismal
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| adj.阴沉的，凄凉的，令人忧郁的，差劲的 | |
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36
penetrated
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| adj. 击穿的，鞭辟入里的 动词penetrate的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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37
scampered
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| v.蹦蹦跳跳地跑，惊惶奔跑( scamper的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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38
hideous
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| adj.丑陋的，可憎的，可怕的，恐怖的 | |
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39
iguana
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| n.美洲大蜥蜴，鬣鳞蜥 | |
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40
gasp
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| n.喘息，气喘；v.喘息；气吁吁他说 | |
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41
parasites
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| 寄生物( parasite的名词复数 )； 靠他人为生的人； 诸虫 | |
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42
glade
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| n.林间空地，一片表面有草的沼泽低地 | |
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43
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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44
phantom
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| n.幻影，虚位，幽灵；adj.错觉的，幻影的，幽灵的 | |
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45
skull
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| n.头骨；颅骨 | |
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46
sockets
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| n.套接字，使应用程序能够读写与收发通讯协定(protocol)与资料的程序( Socket的名词复数 )；孔( socket的名词复数 )；（电器上的）插口；托座；凹穴 | |
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47
ribs
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| n.肋骨( rib的名词复数 )；（船或屋顶等的）肋拱；肋骨状的东西；（织物的）凸条花纹 | |
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48
jointed
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| 有接缝的 | |
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49
coup
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| n.政变；突然而成功的行动 | |
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50
descending
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| n. 下行 adj. 下降的 | |
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51
jack
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| n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克 | |
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52
linen
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| n.亚麻布，亚麻线，亚麻制品；adj.亚麻布制的，亚麻的 | |
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53
bastes
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| v.打( baste的第三人称单数 )；粗缝；痛斥；（烤肉等时）往上抹[浇]油 | |
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54
inquiries
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| n.调查( inquiry的名词复数 )；疑问；探究；打听 | |
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55
musing
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| n. 沉思，冥想 adj. 沉思的, 冥想的 动词muse的现在分词形式 | |
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56
exclamation
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| n.感叹号，惊呼，惊叹词 | |
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57
conjectures
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| 推测，猜想( conjecture的名词复数 ) | |
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58
reverted
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| 恢复( revert的过去式和过去分词 )； 重提； 回到…上； 归还 | |
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59
attachment
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| n.附属物，附件；依恋；依附 | |
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60
devoted
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| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
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61
recollected
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| adj.冷静的；镇定的；被回忆起的；沉思默想的v.记起，想起( recollect的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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62
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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63
peculiarities
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| n. 特质, 特性, 怪癖, 古怪 | |
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64
determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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65
conceal
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| v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽 | |
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