"Thank you, Captain."
"I hope you will make a success of the enterprise, Mr. Passford," the commander added to the other member of the expedition.
"I shall do the best I can to make it so," answered Christy, as he followed his companion down the accommodation ladder.
The detective shoved the boat off, and both of the voyagers took the oars2 to get the craft clear of the ship, which was accomplished3 in a few minutes. Then the Frenchman stepped the mast, which had been carefully adjusted on board of the ship, while Christy rigged out the shifting bowsprit. In half an hour they had placed the spars 104 and bent4 on the sail, for everything had been prepared for expeditious5 work. The sails filled, and the skipper took his place at the long tiller.
"We are all right now, Christophe," said the detective.
"I should say that we were, Monsieur Rubempré," replied the acting6 servant. "We have ten miles to make: with this breeze, how long will it take for this boat to do it?"
"If she sails as well as mine did, she will make it in two hours."
The craft was about twenty feet long, and was sharp at both ends. She had a cuddy forward, which was large enough to accommodate both of her crew in a reclining posture7. It had been furnished with a couple of berthsacks, and with several blankets. The provisions and water had been placed in it, as well as a couple of lanterns, ready for use if occasion should require.
It was a summer sea in this latitude9, with a very steady breeze from the westward10. The overcoats they wore were hardly necessary, and they had put them on mainly to conceal11 their changed garments from the crew of the ship, who could only conjecture12 what the expedition meant.
105 "You are a younger man than I am, Christophe, and you have slept only a couple of hours to-night," said M. Rubempré, as soon as the Eleuthera was well under way; and the remark was called forth13 by a long gape14 on the part of the younger person. "You can turn in and sleep a couple of hours more just as well as not, for there is nothing whatever for you to do. We may have to make a long day of it to-morrow."
"I am accustomed to doing without my sleep at times," replied Christophe, which was his first name, according to the French orthography15, and was pronounced in two syllables16.
"Of course you have, when your duty required you to be on deck; but there is not the least need of doing so now."
The lieutenant17 complied with the advice of the skipper, and in five minutes more he was sound asleep. The Bahama boat, with a Bahama name, rose and fell on the long rolling seas, which were very gentle in their motion, and made very good progress through the water. The light could be plainly seen in its lofty position, and the detective steered18 for it over an hour, and then kept it a little on the starboard hand; for the opening in the 106 outer reef through which he intended to pass was two miles to the westward of the high tower. He had correctly estimated the speed of the boat, for the faint light of the dawn of day began to appear in the east when he was able clearly to discern the outline of the hills on the most southern of the islands.
Although it was still quite dark, the Frenchman continued on his course very confidently. The reefs extended out two miles from the main shore; but the navigator was so familiar with the locality that they did not trouble him. Bearing about north-west from the light was Wreck19 Hill, one hundred and fifty feet high, which assisted him in keeping his course. As he approached the mainland he made out the fort, and steering20 directly for it, passed safely through Hogfish Cut.
When he was within half a mile of this fort, he headed the boat to the north-west. It was still eighteen miles to Hamilton, the capital of the islands; but he had a fair wind, and the boat made about five miles an hour. Christy still slept, and the skipper did not wake him. It was daylight when he was abreast21 of Wreck Hill, and there was no further difficulty in the navigation. It was 107 half-past eight when he ran up to a pier22 where he had kept his boat in former days. There were plenty of just such crafts as the Eleuthera, and no attention was paid to her as she passed along the Front-street docks. The pier at which he made his landing was in a retired23 locality. He lowered the sails, and had made everything snug24 on board before he called his companion.
"Half-past eight, Christophe," said he at the door of the cuddy.
"Half-past eight!" exclaimed Christy, springing out of his berth8 on the floor. "Where are we now, M. Rubempré?"
"We are in Hamilton harbor; and if you will come out of the cuddy, you will find yourself in the midst of flowers and green trees," replied the skipper with a smile.
"I must have slept six hours," said Christy, rubbing his eyes as he crawled out of the cuddy.
The scenery around him was certainly very beautiful, and he gazed upon it in silence for a few minutes. It seemed to him just as though he had waked in fairyland. He had cruised in the vicinity of the islands, but he had never been very near the shore before. Though he had been in 108 Alabama, and seen the shores of the Gulf25 States, he had never beheld26 any region that seemed so lovely to him. He had been on shore at Nassau, but only on the wharves27, and had hardly seen the beauties of the island.
"Why didn't you call me before, M. Rubempré?" asked he, when he had taken in the view from the pier.
"Because I thought your sleep would do you more good than the view of the shore, which you will have plenty of opportunities to see before we leave," replied the detective. "But we must begin our work, for we have no time to lose. I arranged with Captain Chantor to pick us up to-morrow night at about the point where we embarked28 in the boat. In the mean time he will sail around the islands, though the Chateaugay will not come near enough to be seen from the shore."
"What will you do with the boat while we are absent?"
"Leave it where it is."
While they were talking, an old negro came down the pier, and very politely saluted29 the strangers. He appeared to come from a small house a short 109 distance from the shore, and passed along to a boat which lay near the Eleuthera.
"Is that your boat?" asked the detective, calling him back.
"Yes, sir; I am a fisherman, though I've got the rheumatism30, and don't go out much; but I have to go to-day, for we have nothing to eat in the house," replied the negro, whose language was very good.
"What is your name?"
"Joseph, sir."
"Do you speak French?"
"Oh, no, sir!" exclaimed Joseph. "I don't speak anything but plain English; but I used to work sometimes for a French gentleman that kept a boat at this pier, six or seven years ago."
"What was his came?" asked the detective, who had had a suspicion from the first that he knew the man, though he had changed a great deal as he grew older.
"Mounseer Gillflower," replied Joseph; "and he was very kind to me."
"I am a Frenchman, Joseph; and, if you don't want to go fishing, I will employ you to take care of my boat, and carry my valise to a hotel," continued 110 the detective, as he handed an English sovereign to him, for he had taken care to provide himself with a store of them in New York.
"Thank you, sir; but I can't change this piece," protested Joseph very sadly.
"I don't want you to change it; keep the whole of it."
"God bless you forever and ever, Mounseer!" exclaimed the fisherman. "I haven't had a sovereign before since Mounseer Gillflower was here. I am a very poor man, and I can't get any work on shore."
Probably, like the rest of his class, he was not inclined to work while he had any money. He promised to take good care of the Eleuthera, and he asked no troublesome questions. The detective gave his name, and ordered Christophe, calling him by his name, to bring the valises on shore. Then the Frenchman locked the door of the cuddy, for they left their overcoats there, as they had no use for them.
"To what hotel shall I carry the valises?" asked Joseph.
"To the Atlantic; that will be the most convenient for us. Do you know anything about these vessels32 in the harbor, Joseph?"
111 "Not much, Mounseer Roobump; but they say the two steamers near the island are going to run the blockade into the States; but I don't know. They say a Confederate man-of-war came into St. George's harbor yesterday; but I haven't seen her, and I don't know whether it's true or not."
"What is her name?" asked the detective, who from the beginning had broken up his English, and imparted a strong French accent to it.
"I did not hear any one mention her name, Mounseer. That vessel31 this side of the island is the mail steamer from New York; she got in yesterday," continued Joseph.
"That is important; if the Dornoch is the Confederate man-of-war that arrived at St. George's yesterday, this steamer brought letters from Davis to her captain," said the Frenchman to Christy, in French.
"But Davis could not have learned that the Ionian had been captured before the mail steamer left New York," added Christy, in the same language.
"No matter for that, Christophe. I did not resign my place at Davis's warehouse33 till the morning we sailed; and I have his letter to the captain 112 of the Dornoch with my other papers on board of the Chateaugay, and I know that was the only letter written to him. As he has no information in regard to the Ionian, he will not wait for her."
"I remember; you showed me the letter."
Joseph listened with a show of wonder on his face to this conversation which he could not understand. The detective directed him to carry the two valises to the hotel named; but Christy interposed in French, and insisted that it would look better for him to carry his own valise, and the point was yielded. The Atlantic Hotel was on Front Street, the harbor being on one side of it. A couple of rooms were assigned to them, one of them quite small, which was taken by Christy, in order to keep up appearances.
M. Rubempré registered his name, putting "and servant" after it, Paris, and spoke34 even worse English than he had used to Joseph. Breakfast had been ordered, but Christy, being only a servant, had to take his meal at a side table. The detective was not dressed like a gentleman, and the landlord seemed to have some doubts about his ability to pay his bills, though he had baggage. He was not treated with anything like deference35, 113 and he saw the difficulty. After breakfast he took a handful of English gold from his pocket, and asked the landlord to change one of the coins for smaller money. Mine host bowed low to him after this exhibition.
"I want to see the American consul," said M. Rubempré, in his own language.
"I will go with you, but I think I will not see him, for he may take it into his head that I am not a Frenchman," added Christy.
"You can come with me, and stay outside."
When they reached the consulate36, which was on the same street as the hotel, they found about a dozen sailors in front of the building. They were a very rough and hard-looking set of men. They appeared to be considerably37 excited about something, and to be bent on violence in some direction; but the strangers could make nothing of the talk they heard, though "the bloody38 spy" was an expression frequently used.
点击
收听单词发音
收听单词发音 |
1
descend
|
|
| vt./vi.传下来，下来，下降 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
oars
|
|
| n.桨，橹( oar的名词复数 )；划手v.划（行）( oar的第三人称单数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
accomplished
|
|
| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
bent
|
|
| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
expeditious
|
|
| adj.迅速的，敏捷的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
acting
|
|
| n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
posture
|
|
| n.姿势，姿态，心态，态度；v.作出某种姿势 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
berth
|
|
| n.卧铺，停泊地，锚位；v.使停泊 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
latitude
|
|
| n.纬度，行动或言论的自由(范围)，(pl.)地区 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
westward
|
|
| n.西方，西部；adj.西方的，向西的；adv.向西 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
conceal
|
|
| v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
conjecture
|
|
| n./v.推测，猜测 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
forth
|
|
| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
gape
|
|
| v.张口，打呵欠，目瞪口呆地凝视 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
orthography
|
|
| n.拼字法，拼字式 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
syllables
|
|
| n.音节( syllable的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
lieutenant
|
|
| n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
steered
|
|
| v.驾驶( steer的过去式和过去分词 )；操纵；控制；引导 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
wreck
|
|
| n.失事，遇难；沉船；vt.(船等)失事，遇难 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
steering
|
|
| n.操舵装置 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
abreast
|
|
| adv.并排地；跟上(时代)的步伐，与…并进地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
pier
|
|
| n.码头；桥墩，桥柱；[建]窗间壁，支柱 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
retired
|
|
| adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
snug
|
|
| adj.温暖舒适的，合身的，安全的；v.使整洁干净，舒适地依靠，紧贴；n.（英）酒吧里的私房 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
gulf
|
|
| n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
beheld
|
|
| v.看，注视( behold的过去式和过去分词 )；瞧；看呀；（叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现）哎哟 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
27
wharves
|
|
| n.码头，停泊处( wharf的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
28
embarked
|
|
| 乘船( embark的过去式和过去分词 )； 装载； 从事 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
29
saluted
|
|
| v.欢迎，致敬( salute的过去式和过去分词 )；赞扬，赞颂 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
30
rheumatism
|
|
| n.风湿病 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
31
vessel
|
|
| n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
32
vessels
|
|
| n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
33
warehouse
|
|
| n.仓库；vt.存入仓库 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
34
spoke
|
|
| 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 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
35
deference
|
|
| n.尊重，顺从；敬意 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
36
consulate
|
|
| n.领事馆 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
37
considerably
|
|
| adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
38
bloody
|
|
| adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |