One splinter struck the man at the helm in the side; he fell with a shriek6, and lay white and still by the side of the wheel, which, no longer restrained by his hand, spun7 round madly. Another splinter hit the sword of Talbot, breaking the blade and sweeping8 it from his hands, and the unlucky scrap9 of paper was blown into the sea. The spanker sheet was cut in two, and the boom swept out to windward, knocking one of the men overboard. There was neither time nor opportunity to pick him up, and he went to his death unheeded.
Seymour dropped his sword, every instinct of a sailor aroused, and sprang to the horse-block. The ship, left to itself, fell off rapidly before the wind. Bentley jumped to seize the helm.
"Flow the head sheets there!" cried the lieutenant11; "lively! Aft here and haul in the spanker! Brail up the foresail! Down, hard down with the helm!"
There was another broadside from the heavy guns of the frigate. Talbot replied with his stern-chaser, and a cloud of splinters showed that the shot took effect, whereat the men at the gun cheered and loaded, and then crash went the mizzen topgallant mast above their heads!
"Lively, men!" shouted Seymour, "we must get on the wind again or we are lost."
"Breakers on the starboard bow!" shrieked12 the lookout13 on the forecastle suddenly. "Breakers on the port bow!" His voice ran aft in a shrill14 scream, fraught15 with terror, "Breakers ahead!"
"Down, hard down with the helm, Bentley," said Seymour, himself springing over to assist the old man at the wheel.
But Bentley raised his hand and kept the wheel steady. "Too late, sir, for that," he cried, "we are in the pass. God help us now, sir. Mr. Seymour, look to the ship, sir, look to the ship!"
The young officer sprang back on the horse-block, his soul filled with horror. So fate had decided16 for him at last, and duty, not love, had won the mighty17 game. A third broadside passed harmlessly over the ship, doing little damage, the rough weather making aiming uncertain. Again the field-piece replied. Seymour never turned his head in the direction of the frigate. He could not look upon the catastrophe18; besides, the exigency19 of the situation demanded that he give his whole mind to conning20 the ship through the narrow pass. Bentley himself, assisted by a young sailor, kept the helm; the oldest seamen21 had charge of the braces22. The wreck23 of the mizzen topgallant mast was allowed to hang for the present.
The white water dashed about the ship in sheets of foam24; they were well in the breakers now, and the most ignorant eye could see the danger. One false movement meant disaster for the ship for whose safety Seymour had sacrificed so much. He did not make it. To his disordered fancy Katharine's white face looked up at him from every breaking wave. He steeled his heart and gave his orders with as much ease and precision as if it had been a practice cruise. To the day of his death he could not account for his ability to do so. He made a splendid figure, standing on the horse-block, his hair flowing out in the wind, his face deadly pale; calm, cool, steady; his voice clear and even, but heard in every part of the ship. The heart of the old sailor at the helm yearned25 toward him, and the seamen looked at him as if he had been a demigod. He never once looked back, but from the cries of the men he could follow every motion of the frigate behind him. The frigate, the unsuspicious frigate, had followed the course of the transport exactly, and was coming down to the deadly rocks like a hurricane.
Talbot, his quarrel forgotten for the moment, ceased firing, and stood, with all of the men who could be spared from their stations, looking aft at the tremendous drama being played.
"The frigate! Look at the frigate! She 's going to strike, sir!" cried one of the seamen, excitedly,—old Thompson, who had sailed upon her. "See, they see the breakers. Now there go the head yards. It won't do. It's too late. My God, she strikes, she strikes! I 'll have one more shot at her before she goes," he shrieked, taking hasty aim over the loaded field-piece and touching26 the priming. "Ay, and a hit too. Hurrah27! hurrah! To h—l with ye, where you belong, ye—"
"Silence aft!" shouted Seymour, in a voice of thunder. "Keep fast that gun; and another cheer like that, and I put you in irons, Thompson."
The water in the front of the Mellish suddenly became darker, the breakers disappeared, the ship was in deep water again; she had the open sea before her, and was through the channel.
"We are through the pass, sir," said Bentley.
"I know it," answered Seymour, at last. "I suppose there is no use beating back around the shoal, Bentley?" he said tentatively.
"No, sir, no use; and besides in this wind we could not do it; and, sir, you know nothing will live in such a sea. Look at the Englishman now, sir."
The captain turned at last. The frigate was a hopeless wreck. All three of her masts had gone by the board; she had run full on the rocky ledge28 of the shoal at the mouth of the channel. The wind had risen until it blew a heavy gale29; no boat, no human being, could live in such a sea. The waters rushed over her at every sweep, and she was fast breaking up before them. Night had fallen, and darkness at last enshrouded her as she faded out of view. A drop of snow fell lightly upon the cold cheek of the young sailor, and the men gazed into the night in silence, appalled30 by the awful catastrophe. Bentley, understanding it all, laid his hand lightly on Seymour's arm, saying softly,—
"Better clear the wreck and get the mizzen topsail and the fore10 and main sail in, sir, and reef the fore and main topsails; the spars are buckling31 fearfully. She can't stand much more."
"Oh, Bentley," he said with a sob32, and then, mastering himself, he gave the necessary orders to clear away the wreck and take in the other sails, and close reef the topsails, in order to put the ship in proper trim for the rising storm; after which, the wind now permitting, the ship was headed for Philadelphia.
As Seymour turned to go below, he came face to face with Talbot. The two men stood gazing at each other in silence.
"We still have an account to settle, Mr. Talbot," he said sternly.
"My God," said Talbot, hesitatingly, "was n't it awful? How small, Seymour, are our quarrels in the face of that!" pointing out into the darkness,—"such a tremendous catastrophe as that is."
Seymour looked at him curiously33; the man had not yet fathomed34 the depth of the catastrophe to him, evidently.
"As for our quarrel," he continued in a manly35, generous way, "I—perhaps I was wrong, Mr. Seymour. I know I was, but I have loved her all my life. I am sorry I spoke36 so, and I beg your pardon; but—won't you tell me about the note now?"
A great pity for the young man filled Seymour's heart in spite of his own sorrow. "I loved her too," he said quietly. "The note was sent to me from Gwynn's Island, where they were confined. I had offered myself to her the night of the raid,—just before it, in fact,—and she accepted me. The note was mine. Where is it?"
"Oh!" said Talbot, softly, lifting his hand to his throat, "and I loved her too, and she is yours. Forgive me, Seymour, you won her honorably. I was too confident,—a fool. The note is gone into the sea. We cannot quarrel about it now."
"There can be no quarrel between us now, Talbot. She is mine no more than she is yours. She—she—" He paused, choking. "She—"
"Oh, what is it? Speak, man," cried Talbot, in sudden fear which he could not explain. Philip Wilton had drawn37 near and was listening eagerly.
"That ship there—the Radnor, you know—is lost, and all on board of her must have perished long since."
"Yes, yes, it's awful; but what of that? what of Katharine?"
"Don't you remember the note? Colonel Wilton and she were on the
Radnor."
The strain of the last hour had undermined the nervous strength of the young soldier. He looked at Seymour, half dazed.
"It can't be," he murmured. "Why did you do it? How could you?" The world turned black before him. He reeled as if from a blow, and would have fallen if Seymour had not caught him. Philip strained his gaze out over the dark water.
"Oh, my father, my father!" he cried. "Mr. Seymour, is there no hope, no chance?"
"None whatever, my boy; they are gone."
"Oh, Katharine, Katharine! Why did you do it, Seymour?" said Talbot, again.
Seymour turned away in silence. He could not reply; now that it was done, he had no reason.
The dim light from the binnacle lantern fell on the face of Bentley; tears were standing in the old man's eyes as he looked at them, and he said slowly, as if in response to Talbot's question,—
"For love of country, gentlemen."
And this, again, is war upon the sea!
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收听单词发音
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1
frigate
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| n.护航舰，大型驱逐舰 | |
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rending
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| v.撕碎( rend的现在分词 )；分裂；（因愤怒、痛苦等而）揪扯（衣服或头发等）；（声音等）刺破 | |
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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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abaft
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| prep.在…之后；adv.在船尾，向船尾 | |
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shrouds
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| n.裹尸布( shroud的名词复数 )；寿衣；遮蔽物；覆盖物v.隐瞒( shroud的第三人称单数 )；保密 | |
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shriek
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| v./n.尖叫，叫喊 | |
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spun
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| v.纺，杜撰，急转身 | |
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sweeping
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| adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的 | |
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scrap
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| n.碎片；废料；v.废弃，报废 | |
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fore
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| adv.在前面；adj.先前的；在前部的；n.前部 | |
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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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shrieked
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| v.尖叫( shriek的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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lookout
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| n.注意，前途，瞭望台 | |
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shrill
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| adj.尖声的；刺耳的；v尖叫 | |
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fraught
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| adj.充满…的，伴有(危险等)的；忧虑的 | |
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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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mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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catastrophe
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| n.大灾难，大祸 | |
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exigency
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| n.紧急；迫切需要 | |
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conning
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| v.诈骗，哄骗( con的现在分词 )；指挥操舵( conn的现在分词 ) | |
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seamen
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| n.海员 | |
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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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wreck
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| n.失事，遇难；沉船；vt.(船等)失事，遇难 | |
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foam
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| v./n.泡沫，起泡沫 | |
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yearned
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| 渴望，切盼，向往( yearn的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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touching
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| adj.动人的，使人感伤的 | |
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hurrah
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| int.好哇，万岁，乌拉 | |
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ledge
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| n.壁架，架状突出物；岩架，岩礁 | |
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gale
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| n.大风，强风，一阵闹声（尤指笑声等） | |
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appalled
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| v.使惊骇，使充满恐惧( appall的过去式和过去分词)adj.惊骇的；丧胆的 | |
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buckling
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| 扣住 | |
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sob
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| n.空间轨道的轰炸机；呜咽，哭泣 | |
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curiously
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| adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地 | |
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fathomed
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| 理解…的真意( fathom的过去式和过去分词 )； 彻底了解； 弄清真相 | |
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manly
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| adj.有男子气概的；adv.男子般地，果断地 | |
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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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drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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