"You would better spread a little more canvas, Mr. Seymour. I think we shall do better under the topgallantsails. We have no time to lose."
"Ay, ay, sir," replied the young executive officer; and then lifting the trumpet1 to his lips, he called out with a powerful voice, "Lay aloft and loose the topgallantsails! Man the topgallant sheets and halliards!"
The crew, both watches being on deck, were busy with the various duties rendered necessary by the departure of a ship upon a long cruise, and were occupied here and there with the different details of work to be done when a ship gets under way. Some of them, their tasks accomplished2 for the moment, were standing3 on the forecastle, or peering through the gun ports, gazing at the city, with the tall spire5 of Christ Church and the more substantial elevation6 of the building even then beginning to be known as Independence Hall, rising in the background beyond the shipping7 and over the other buildings which they were so rapidly leaving. In an instant the quiet deck became a scene of quick activity, as the men left their tasks and sprang to their appointed stations. The long coils of rope were thrown upon the deck and seized by the groups of seamen8 detailed9 for the purpose; while the rigging shook under the quick steps of the alert topmen springing up the ratlines, swarming10 over the tops, and laying out on the yards, without a thought of the giddy elevation, in their intense rivalry11 each to be first.
"The main royal also, Mr. Seymour," continued the captain. "I think she will bear it; 'tis a new and good stick."
"Ay, ay, sir. Main topgallant yard there."
"Sir?"
"Aloft, one of you, and loose the royal as well."
"Ay, ay, sir."
After a few moments of quick work, the officers of the various masts indicated their readiness for the next order by saying, in rapid succession,—
"All ready the fore4, sir."
"All ready the main, sir."
"All ready the mizzen, sir."
"Handsomely now, and all together. I want those Frenchmen there to see how smartly we can do this," said the captain, in reply, addressing Seymour in a tone perfectly12 audible over the ship.
"Let fall! Lay in! Sheet home! Hoist13 away! Tend the braces14 there!" shouted the first lieutenant15.
Amid the creaking of blocks, the straining of cordage, and the lusty heaving of the men, with the shrill16 pipes of the boatswain and his mates for an accompaniment, the sheets were hauled home on the yards, the yards rose on their respective masts, and the light sails, the braces being hauled taut17, bellied18 out in the strong breeze, adding materially to the speed of the ship.
"Lay down from aloft," cried the lieutenant, when all was over.
"Ay, that will do," remarked the captain. "We go better already. I am most anxious to get clear of the Capes19 before nightfall. Call the men aft, and request the officers to come up on the quarterdeck. I wish to speak to them."
"Ay, ay, sir.—Mr. Wilton," said the young officer, turning to a young midshipman, standing on the lee-side of the deck, "step below and ask the officers there, and those forward, to come on deck. Bentley," he called to the boatswain, "call all hands aft."
"Ay, ay, sir."
Again the shrill whistling of the pipes was heard, followed by the deep tones of Bentley, which rolled and tumbled along the decks of the ship in the usual long-drawn monotonous20 cry, which could be heard, above the roar of the wind or the rush of the water or the straining of the timbers, from the truck to the keelson: "All hands lay aft, to the quarter-deck."
The captain, standing upon the poop-deck, was not, at first glance, a particularly imposing21 figure. He was small in stature22, scarcely five and a half feet high at best, with his natural height diminished, as is often the case with sailors, by a slight bending of the back and stooping of the shoulders; yet he possessed23 a well-knit, vigorous, and not ungraceful figure, whose careless poise24, and the ease with which he maintained his position, with his hands clasped behind his back, in spite of the rather heavy roll and pitch of the ship, in the very strong breeze, indicated long familiarity with the sea.
His naturally dark complexion25 was rendered extremely swarthy by the long exposure to weather, and tropic weather at that, which he had undergone. The expression of his face was of that abstract and thoughtful, nay26, even melancholy27, cast which we commonly associate with the student rather than the man of affairs. He was dressed in the prescribed uniform of a captain of the American navy, in the Revolutionary period: a dark blue cloth coat with red lapels, slashed28 cuffs30, and stand-up collar, flat gold buttons (this last a piece of unusual extravagance); blue breeches, and a red waistcoat heavily laced; silk stockings and buckled31 shoes, with a curved cross-hilted sword and cocked hat, completed his attire32. As the men came crowding aft to the main mast, the idlers tumbling up through the hatches in response to the command, his indifferent look gave way to one of quick attention, and each individual seaman33 seemed to be especially embraced in the severe scrutiny34 with which he regarded the mass. In truth, they were a crew of which any officer might well be proud; somewhat motley and nondescript as to uniform and appearance, perhaps, and unused to the strict discipline of men-of-war, but hardy35, bold, resolute36 seamen, with whom, properly led, all things were possible,—men who would hesitate at nothing in the way of attack, and who were permeated37 with such an intensity38 of hate for England and for British men-of-war as made them the most dangerous foes39 that country ever encountered on the seas. Several of them, Bentley among the number, had been pressed, at one time or another, on English war vessels40; and one or two had even felt the lash29 upon their backs, and bore shocking testimony41, in deep-scarred wounds, to the barbaric method of punishment in vogue42 for the maintenance of discipline in the British navy, and, indeed, in all the great navies of the world,—a practice, however, but little resorted to by the American navy.
The officers, gathered in a little knot on the lee side of the quarter-deck, several midshipmen among them, were worthy43 of the crew and the commander.
"Men," said the captain, in a clear, firm voice, removing his cocked hat from his thick black hair, tied in a queue and entirely44 devoid45 of powder, as he looked down at them from the break of the poop with his piercing black eyes, "we are bound for English waters—"
"Hurrah46, hurrah!" cried many voices from the crew, impetuously.
"We will show the new flag for the first time on the high seas," he continued, visibly pleased, and pointing proudly to the stars and stripes, which his own hand had first hoisted47, fluttering gayly out at the peak; "and I trust we may strike a blow or two which will cause it, and us, to be long remembered. While you are under my orders I shall expect from you prompt, unquestioned compliance48 with my commands, or those of my officers, and a ready submission49 to the hard discipline of a ship-of-war, to which most of you, I suspect, are unfamiliar50, unless you have learned it in that bitter school, a British ship. You will learn, however, while principles of equality are very well in civil life, they have no place in the naval51 service. Subordination is the word here; this is not a trading-vessel, but a ship-of-war, and I intend to be implicitly52 obeyed," he continued sternly, looking even more fiercely at them. "Nevertheless," he added, somewhat relaxing his set features, "although we be not a peaceful merchantman, yet I expect and intend to do a little trading with the ships of the enemy, and in any prizes which we may capture, you know you will all have a just, nay, a liberal, share. It must not be lost sight of, however, that the first business of this ship, as of every other ship-of-war of our country, is to fight the ships of the enemy of equal, or of not too great, force. Should we find such a one, as is most likely, in the English Channel, we must remember that the honor and glory of our flag are above prize money."
"Three cheers for Captain John Paul Jones!" cried one of the seamen, leaping on a gun and waving his hat; they were given with a mighty53 rush from nearly two hundred lusty throats, the ship being heavily overmanned for future emergencies.
"That will do, men," said the captain, smiling darkly. "Remember that a willing crew makes a happy cruise—and don't wake the sleeping cat![1] Mr. Seymour, have the boatswain pipe all hands to grog, then set the watches. Mr. Talbot," he added, turning to the young officer in the familiar buff and blue of the Continental54 army, who stood by his side, an interested and attentive55 spectator to all that had occurred, "will you do me the honor of taking a glass of wine with me in the cabin?—I should be glad if you would join us also, Mr. Seymour, after the watch has been called, and you can leave the deck. Let Mr. Wallingford have the watch; he is familiar with the bay. Tell him to take in the royal and the fore and mizzen topgallantsails if it blows heavily," he continued, after a pause, and then, bowing, he left the deck.
[1] The cat-o'-nine-tails, used for punishment by flogging.
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收听单词发音
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1
trumpet
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| n.喇叭，喇叭声；v.吹喇叭，吹嘘 | |
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accomplished
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| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
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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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4
fore
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| adv.在前面；adj.先前的；在前部的；n.前部 | |
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spire
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| n.(教堂)尖顶，尖塔，高点 | |
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elevation
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| n.高度；海拔；高地；上升；提高 | |
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7
shipping
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| n.船运（发货，运输，乘船） | |
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seamen
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| n.海员 | |
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9
detailed
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| adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的 | |
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10
swarming
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| 密集( swarm的现在分词 )； 云集； 成群地移动； 蜜蜂或其他飞行昆虫成群地飞来飞去 | |
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11
rivalry
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| n.竞争，竞赛，对抗 | |
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perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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13
hoist
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| n.升高，起重机，推动；v.升起，升高，举起 | |
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14
braces
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| n.吊带，背带；托架( brace的名词复数 )；箍子；括弧；（儿童）牙箍v.支住( brace的第三人称单数 )；撑牢；使自己站稳；振作起来 | |
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15
lieutenant
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| n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员 | |
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16
shrill
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| adj.尖声的；刺耳的；v尖叫 | |
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taut
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| adj.拉紧的，绷紧的，紧张的 | |
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18
bellied
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| adj.有腹的，大肚子的 | |
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19
capes
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| 碎谷； 斗篷( cape的名词复数 )； 披肩； 海角； 岬 | |
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20
monotonous
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| adj.单调的，一成不变的，使人厌倦的 | |
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21
imposing
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| adj.使人难忘的，壮丽的，堂皇的，雄伟的 | |
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22
stature
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| n.（高度）水平，（高度）境界，身高，身材 | |
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possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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24
poise
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| vt./vi. 平衡，保持平衡；n.泰然自若，自信 | |
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25
complexion
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| n.肤色；情况，局面；气质，性格 | |
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26
nay
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| adv.不；n.反对票，投反对票者 | |
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27
melancholy
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| n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的 | |
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28
slashed
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| v.挥砍( slash的过去式和过去分词 )；鞭打；割破；削减 | |
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29
lash
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| v.系牢；鞭打；猛烈抨击；n.鞭打；眼睫毛 | |
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30
cuffs
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| n.袖口( cuff的名词复数 )v.掌打，拳打( cuff的第三人称单数 ) | |
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31
buckled
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| a. 有带扣的 | |
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32
attire
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| v.穿衣，装扮[同]array；n.衣着；盛装 | |
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seaman
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| n.海员，水手，水兵 | |
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34
scrutiny
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| n.详细检查，仔细观察 | |
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35
hardy
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| adj.勇敢的，果断的，吃苦的；耐寒的 | |
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resolute
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| adj.坚决的，果敢的 | |
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37
permeated
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| 弥漫( permeate的过去式和过去分词 )； 遍布； 渗入； 渗透 | |
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38
intensity
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| n.强烈，剧烈；强度；烈度 | |
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39
foes
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| 敌人，仇敌( foe的名词复数 ) | |
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40
vessels
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| 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 | |
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41
testimony
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| n.证词；见证，证明 | |
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42
Vogue
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| n.时髦，时尚；adj.流行的 | |
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43
worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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44
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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45
devoid
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| adj.全无的，缺乏的 | |
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46
hurrah
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| int.好哇，万岁，乌拉 | |
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47
hoisted
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| 把…吊起，升起( hoist的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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48
compliance
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| n.顺从；服从；附和；屈从 | |
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49
submission
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| n.服从，投降；温顺，谦虚；提出 | |
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50
unfamiliar
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| adj.陌生的，不熟悉的 | |
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51
naval
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| adj.海军的，军舰的，船的 | |
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52
implicitly
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| adv. 含蓄地, 暗中地, 毫不保留地 | |
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53
mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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54
continental
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| adj.大陆的，大陆性的，欧洲大陆的 | |
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55
attentive
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| adj.注意的，专心的；关心(别人)的，殷勤的 | |
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