The yacht fleet did not appear up the bay; but[82] it was only nine o'clock in the morning, and possibly the meeting of the club would not take place till afternoon. If any one had told him the hour, he had forgotten it, but the former meeting had been in the forenoon. He was too nervous to sit still a great while, and, rising, he walked about, musing3 upon his grand scheme. The place was an elevated platform of rock, a portion of it covered with soil to the depth of several feet, on which the grass grew. It was not far above the water even at high tide, nor were the bluffs4 very bold. The plateau was on a peninsula, extending to the north from the island, which was not unlike the head of a turtle, and the shape had given it a name. Donald walked back and forth5 on the headland, watching for the fleet.
"I wonder if Laud6 Cavendish was digging for clams7 up here," thought he, as he observed a spot where the earth appeared to have been disturbed.
The marks of Laud's clam-digger were plainly to be seen in the loam8, a small quantity of which remained on the sod. Certainly the swell9 had been digging there; but it could not have been for clams; and Donald was trying to imagine[83] what it was for, when he heard footsteps near him. Coming towards him, he discovered Captain Shivernock, of the city; and he had two problems to solve instead of one; not very important ones, it is true, but just such as are suggested to everybody at times. Perhaps it did not make the least difference to the young man whether or not he ascertained10 why Laud Cavendish had been digging on the Head, or why Captain Shivernock happened to be on the island, apparently11 without any boat, at that time in the morning. I do not think Donald would have given a nickel five-cent piece to have been informed correctly upon either point, though he did propose the question to himself in each case. Probably Laud had no particular object in view in digging—the ground did not look as though he had; and Captain Shivernock was odd enough to do anything, or to be anywhere, at the most unseasonable hours.
"How are you, Don John?" shouted the captain, as he came within hailing distance of Donald.
"How do you do, Captain Shivernock," replied the young man, rather coldly, for he had no[84] regard, and certainly no admiration12, for the man.
"You are just the man I wanted to see," added the captain.
Donald could not reciprocate13 the sentiment, and, not being a hypocrite, he made no reply. The captain seemed to be somewhat fatigued14 and out of breath, and immediately seated himself on the flat rock which the young man had occupied. He was not more than five feet and a half high, but was tolerably stout15. The top of his head was as bald as a winter squash; but extending around the back of his head from ear to ear was a heavy fringe of red hair. His whiskers were of the same color; but, as age began to bleach16 them out under the chin, he shaved this portion of his figure-head, while his side whiskers and mustache were very long. He was dressed in a complete suit of gray, and wore a coarse braided straw hat.
Captain Shivernock, as I have more than once hinted, was an eccentric man. He had been a shipmaster in the earlier years of his life, and had made a fortune by some lucky speculations17 during the War of the Rebellion, in which he took counsel of his interest rather than his patriotism18. He had a strong will, a violent tem[85]per, and an implacable hatred19 to any man who had done him an injury, either actually or constructively20. It was said that he was as faithful and devoted21 in his friendships as he was bitter and relentless22 in his hatreds23; but no one in the city, where he was a very unpopular man, had any particular experience of the soft side of his character. He was a native of Lincolnville, near Belfast, though he had left his home in his youth. He had a fine house in the city, and lived in good style. He was said to be a widower24, and had no children. The husband of his housekeeper25 was the man of all work about his place, and both of them had come with their employer from New York.
He seldom did anything like other people. He never went to church, would never put his name upon a subscription26 paper, however worthy27 the object, though he had been known to give a poor man an extravagant28 reward for a slight service. He would not pay his taxes till the fangs29 of the law worried the money out of him, but would give fifty dollars for the first salmon30 or the first dish of peaches of the season for his table. He was as full of contradictions as he was of[86] oddities, and no one knew how to take him. One moment he seemed to be hoarding31 his money like a miser32, and the next scattering33 it with insane prodigality34.
"I'm tired out, Don John," added Captain Shivernock, as he seated himself, fanning his red face with his hat.
"Have you walked far, sir?" asked Donald, who was well acquainted with the captain; for his father had worked on his boat, and he was often in the shop.
"I believe I have hoofed35 it about ten miles this morning," replied Captain Shivernock with an oath; and he had a wicked habit of ornamenting36 every sentence he used with a profane37 expletive, which I shall invariably omit.
"Then you have walked nearly the whole length of the island."
"Do you mean to tell me I lie?" demanded the captain.
"Certainly not, sir," protested Donald.
"My boat got aground down here. I started early this morning to go down to Vinal Haven38; but I'm dished now, and can't go," continued Captain Shivernock, so interlarding with oaths[87] this simple statement that it looks like another thing divested39 of them.
"Where did you get aground?" asked Donald.
"Down by Seal Harbor."
"About three miles from here."
"Do you think I lied to you?"
"By no means, sir."
Donald could not divine how the captain had got aground near Seal Harbor, if he was bound from Belfast to Vinal Haven, though it was possible that the wind had been more to the southward early in the morning, compelling him to beat down the bay; but it was not prudent40 to question anything the captain said.
"I ran in shore pretty well, and took the ground. I tried for half an hour to get the Juno off, but I was soon left high and dry on the beach. I anchored her where she was, and I'm sorry now I didn't set her afire," explained the captain.
"Set her afire!" exclaimed Donald.
"That's what I said. She shall never play me such a trick again," growled41 the strange man.
"Why, it wasn't the fault of the boat."
"Do you mean to say it was my fault?" de[88]manded the captain, ripping out a string of oaths that made Donald shiver.
"It was an accident which might happen to any one."
"Do you think I didn't know what I was about?"
"I suppose you did, sir; but any boat may get aground."
"Not with me! if she did I'd burn her or sell her for old junk. I never will sail in her again after I get home. I know what I'm about."
"Of course you do, sir."
"Got a boat here?" suddenly demanded the eccentric.
"Yes, sir; I have our sail-boat."
"Take me down to Seal Harbor in her," added the captain, rising from his seat.
"I don't think I can go, sir."
"Don't you? What's the reason you can't?" asked the captain, with a sneer42 on his lips.
"I have to meet the yacht club here."
Captain Shivernock cursed the yacht club with decided43 unction, and insisted that Donald should convey him in his boat to the place where the Juno was at anchor.[89]
"I have to measure the yachts when they come, sir."
"Measure—" but the place the captain suggested was not capable of measurement. "I'll pay you well for going."
"I should not ask any pay if I could go," added Donald, glancing up the bay to see if the fleet was under way.
"I say I will pay you well, and you will be a fool if you don't go with me."
"The yachts haven't started yet, and perhaps I shall have time to get back before they arrive."
"I don't care whether you get back or not; I want you to go."
"I will go, sir, and run the risk," replied Donald, as he led the way down to the boat.
Shoving her off, he helped the captain into her, and hoisted44 the sail.
"What boat's that over there?" demanded Captain Shivernock, as he pointed45 at the craft sailed by Laud Cavendish, which was still standing46 on towards Searsport.
Donald told him who was in her.
"Don't go near her," said he, sternly. "I always want a good mile between me and that puppy."[90]
"He is bound to Camden, and won't get there for a week at that rate," added Donald.
"Don't care if he don't," growled the passenger.
"I don't know that I do, either," added the skipper. "Laud wants to buy a boat, and perhaps you can sell him yours, if you are tired of her."
"Shut up!"
Donald did "shut up," and decided not to make any more talk with the captain, only to give him civil answers. Ordinarily he would as soon have thought of wrestling with a Bengal tiger as of carrying on a conversation with such a porcupine47 as his passenger, who scrupled48 not to insult man or boy without the slightest provocation49. In a few moments the skipper tacked50, having weathered the Head, and stood into the little bay west of it.
"Don John," said Captain Shivernock, sharply, fixing his gaze upon the skipper.
"Sir?"
The captain took his wallet from his pocket. It was well filled with greenbacks, from which he took several ten-dollar bills—five or six of them, at least.[91]
"I will pay you," said he.
"I don't ask any pay for this, sir. I am willing to do you a favor for nothing."
"Hold your tongue, you fool! A favor?" sneered51 the eccentric. "Do you think I would ask a little monkey like you to do me a favor?"
"I won't call it a favor, sir."
"Better not. There! take that," and Captain Shivernock shoved the bills he had taken from his wallet into Donald's hand.
"No, sir! I can't take all that, if I do anything," protested the skipper, amazed at the generosity52 of his passenger. The captain, with a sudden spring, grasped a short boat-hook which lay between the rail and the wash-board.
"Put that money into your pocket, or I'll smash your head; and you won't be the first man I've killed, either," said the violent passenger.
Donald did not find the money hard to take on its own merits, and he considerately obeyed the savage54 order. His pride, which revolted at the idea of being paid for a slight service rendered to a neighbor, was effectually conquered. He put the money in his pocket; but as soon as[92] the captain laid down the boat-hook, he took it out to count it, and found there was fifty dollars. He deposited it carefully in his wallet.
"You don't mean to pay me all that money for this little job?" said he.
"Do you think I don't know what I mean?" snarled55 the passenger.
"I suppose you do, sir."
"You suppose I do!" sneered the cynic. "You know I do."
"Fifty dollars is a great deal of money for such a little job."
"That's none of your business. Don John, you've got a tongue in your head!" said Captain Shivernock, pointing his finger at the skipper, and glowering56 upon him as though he was charging him with some heinous57 crime.
"I am aware of it, sir," replied Donald.
"Do you know what a tongue is for?" demanded the captain.
"It is of great assistance to one in talking."
"Don't equivocate58, you sick monkey. Do you know what a tongue is for?"
"Yes, sir."
"What's a tongue for?"[93]
"To talk with, and—"
"That's enough! I thought you would say so. You are an ignorant whelp."
"Isn't the tongue to talk with?"
"No!" roared the passenger.
"What is it for, then?" asked Donald, who did not know whether to be alarmed or amused at the manner of his violent companion.
"It's to keep still with, you canting little monkey! And that's what I want you to do with your tongue," replied Captain Shivernock.
"I don't think I understand you, sir."
"I don't think you do. How could you, when I haven't told you what I mean. Listen to me." The eccentric paused, and fixed59 his gaze earnestly upon the skipper.
"Have you seen me this morning?" demanded he.
"Of course I have."
"No, you haven't!"
"I really thought I had."
"Thought's a fool, and you're another! You haven't seen me. If anybody in Belfast asks you if you have seen me, tell 'em you haven't."
"If the tongue isn't to talk with, it isn't to tell a lie with," added Donald.[94]
"Ha, ha, ha!" laughed the captain; "you've got me there."
He produced his wallet again, and took a ten-dollar bill from the roll it contained, which he tendered to Donald.
"What's that for?" asked the skipper.
"Put it in your pocket, or I'll mash53 your empty skull60!"
Donald placed it with the other bills in his wallet, more than ever amazed at the conduct of his singular passenger.
"I never allow anyone to get ahead of me without paying for my own stupidity. Do you go to Sunday School, and church, and missionary61 meetings?" asked the captain, with a sneer.
"I do, sir."
"I thought so. You are a sick monkey. You don't let your tongue tell a lie."
"No, sir; I don't mean to tell a lie, if I can help it, and I generally can."
"You walk in the strait and narrow way which leads to the meeting-house. I don't. All right! Broad is the way! But one thing is certain, Don John, you haven't seen me to-day."
"But I have," persisted Donald.[95]
"I say you have not; don't contradict me, if you want to take that head of yours home with you. Nobody will ask whether you have seen me or not; so that if a lie is likely to choke you, keep still with your tongue."
"I am not to say that I have seen you on the island?" queried62 Donald.
"You are not," replied the captain, with an echoing expletive.
"Why not, sir?"
"None of your business! Do as you are told, and spend the money I gave you for gingerbread and fast horses."
"But when my mother sees this money she will want to know where I got it."
"If you tell her or anybody else, I'll hammer your head till it isn't thicker than a piece of sheet-iron. Don't let her see the money. Hire a fast horse, and go to ride next Sunday."
"I don't go to ride on Sunday."
"I suppose not. Give it to the missionaries63 to buy red flannel64 shirts for little niggers in the West Indies, if you like. I don't care what you do with it."
"You don't wish anybody to know you have[96] been on the island this morning—is that the idea, Captain Shivernock?" asked Donald, not a little alarmed at the position in which his companion was placing him.
"That's the idea, Don John."
"I don't see why—"
"You are not to see why," interrupted the captain, fiercely. "That's my business, not yours. Will you do as I tell you?"
"If there is any trouble—"
"There isn't any trouble. Do you think I've killed somebody?—No. Do you think I've robbed somebody?—No. Do you think I've set somebody's house on fire?—No. Do you think I've stolen somebody's chickens?—No. Nothing of the sort. I want to know whether you can keep your tongue still. Let us see. There's the Juno."
"Somebody will see your boat, and know that you have been here—"
"That's my business, not yours. Don't bother your head with what don't concern you," growled the passenger.
The Juno was afloat, but she could not have been so many minutes, when Donald came along[97]side of her. It was now about half tide on the flood, and she must have grounded at about half tide on the ebb65. This fact indicated that Captain Shivernock had left her at four o'clock in the morning. The owner of the Juno stepped into her, and Donald hoisted the sail for him. The boat was cat-rigged, and about twenty-four feet long. She was a fine craft, with a small cabin forward, furnished with every convenience the limited space would permit. The captain seated himself in the standing-room, and began to heap maledictions upon the boat.
"I never will sail in her again," said he. "I will burn her, and get a centre-board boat."
"What will you take for her, sir?" asked Donald.
"Do you want her, Don John?" demanded the captain.
"I couldn't afford to keep her; but I will sell her for you."
"Sell—" it is no matter what; but Captain Shivernock suddenly leaped back into Donald's boat, and her skipper wondered what he intended to do next. "She is yours, Don John!" he exclaimed.
"To sell for you?"[98]
"No! Sell her, if you like, but put the money in your own pocket. I will sail up in your boat, and you may go to Jerusalem in the Juno, if you like. I will never get into her again," added the captain, spitefully.
"But, Captain Shivernock, you surely don't mean to give me this boat."
"Do you think I don't know what I mean?" roared the strange man, after a long string of expletives. "She is yours, now; not mine. I'll give you a bill of sale as soon as I go ashore66. Not another word, or I'll pound your head. Don't tell anybody I gave her to you, or that you have seen me. If you do there will be a job for a coffin-maker."
The captain shoved off the boat, and laid her course across the bay, evidently to avoid Laud Cavendish, whose craft was a mile distant; for he had probably put in at Searsport. Donald weighed the anchor of the Juno, and sailed for Turtle Head, hardly knowing whether he was himself or somebody else, so amazed was he at the strange conduct of his late passenger. He could not begin to comprehend it, and he did not have to strain his logic67 very much in coming to the conclusion that the captain was insane.
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foam
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| v./n.泡沫，起泡沫 | |
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aspiration
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| n.志向，志趣抱负；渴望；(语)送气音；吸出 | |
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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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4
bluffs
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| 恐吓( bluff的名词复数 )； 悬崖； 峭壁 | |
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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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laud
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| n.颂歌；v.赞美 | |
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clams
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| n.蛤；蚌，蛤( clam的名词复数 )v.（在沙滩上）挖蛤( clam的第三人称单数 ) | |
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loam
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| n.沃土 | |
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swell
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| vi.膨胀，肿胀；增长，增强 | |
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ascertained
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| v.弄清，确定，查明( ascertain的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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reciprocate
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| v.往复运动；互换；回报，酬答 | |
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fatigued
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| adj. 疲乏的 | |
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bleach
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| vt.使漂白；vi.变白；n.漂白剂 | |
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speculations
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patriotism
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| n.爱国精神，爱国心，爱国主义 | |
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hatred
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| n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨 | |
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constructively
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| ad.有益的，积极的 | |
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devoted
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| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
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relentless
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| adj.残酷的，不留情的，无怜悯心的 | |
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hatreds
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| n.仇恨，憎恶( hatred的名词复数 )；厌恶的事 | |
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widower
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| n.鳏夫 | |
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housekeeper
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| n.管理家务的主妇，女管家 | |
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subscription
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| n.预订，预订费，亲笔签名，调配法，下标（处方） | |
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worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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extravagant
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fangs
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| n.（尤指狗和狼的）长而尖的牙( fang的名词复数 )；（蛇的）毒牙；罐座 | |
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salmon
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| n.鲑，大马哈鱼，橙红色的 | |
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hoarding
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| n.贮藏；积蓄；临时围墙；囤积v.积蓄并储藏（某物）( hoard的现在分词 ) | |
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miser
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| n.守财奴，吝啬鬼 (adj.miserly) | |
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scattering
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| n.[物]散射；散乱，分散；在媒介质中的散播adj.散乱的；分散在不同范围的；广泛扩散的；（选票）数量分散的v.散射(scatter的ing形式)；散布；驱散 | |
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prodigality
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hoofed
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| adj.有蹄的，蹄形状的，装蹄的v.（兽的）蹄，马蹄( hoof的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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ornamenting
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| v.装饰，点缀，美化( ornament的现在分词 ) | |
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profane
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| adj.亵神的，亵渎的；vt.亵渎，玷污 | |
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haven
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| n.安全的地方，避难所，庇护所 | |
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divested
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| v.剥夺( divest的过去式和过去分词 )；脱去（衣服）；2。从…取去…；1。（给某人）脱衣服 | |
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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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growled
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| v.（动物）发狺狺声， （雷）作隆隆声( growl的过去式和过去分词 )；低声咆哮着说 | |
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sneer
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| v.轻蔑；嘲笑；n.嘲笑，讥讽的言语 | |
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decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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hoisted
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| 把…吊起，升起( hoist的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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porcupine
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| n.豪猪， 箭猪 | |
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scrupled
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| v.感到于心不安，有顾忌( scruple的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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provocation
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| n.激怒，刺激，挑拨，挑衅的事物，激怒的原因 | |
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tacked
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| 用平头钉钉( tack的过去式和过去分词 )； 附加，增补； 帆船抢风行驶，用粗线脚缝 | |
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51
sneered
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| 讥笑，冷笑( sneer的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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52
generosity
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| n.大度，慷慨，慷慨的行为 | |
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53
mash
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| n.麦芽浆，糊状物，土豆泥；v.把…捣成糊状，挑逗，调情 | |
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54
savage
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| adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人 | |
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55
snarled
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| v.（指狗）吠，嗥叫， （人）咆哮( snarl的过去式和过去分词 )；咆哮着说，厉声地说 | |
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56
glowering
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| v.怒视( glower的现在分词 ) | |
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57
heinous
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| adj.可憎的，十恶不赦的 | |
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58
equivocate
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| v.模棱两可地，支吾其词 | |
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59
fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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60
skull
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| n.头骨；颅骨 | |
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61
missionary
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| adj.教会的，传教(士)的；n.传教士 | |
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62
queried
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| v.质疑，对…表示疑问( query的过去式和过去分词 )；询问 | |
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63
missionaries
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| n.传教士( missionary的名词复数 ) | |
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64
flannel
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| n.法兰绒；法兰绒衣服 | |
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65
ebb
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| vi.衰退，减退；n.处于低潮，处于衰退状态 | |
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66
ashore
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| adv.在(向)岸上，上岸 | |
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67
logic
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| n.逻辑(学)；逻辑性 | |
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