Seeing that there was so little room to spare in the boat, Reginald Redding decided7 to hasten down on foot to the Cliff Fort, in order to see to the comfort of the wrecked8 men who had been sent there. He, however, offered the rescue party the services of his man, Le Rue10, an offer which was accepted all the more readily that the Canadian possessed11 some knowledge of the coast.
It was very dark when they started, but, fortunately, calm. McLeod had resolved to travel night and day, if the weather permitted, until he should reach the scene of the wreck9, and to take snatches of rest if possible in the boat.
There were only two oars13 in the boat, so that one of its crew was always idle. This, however, proved to be rather an advantage, for, by affording frequent relief to each rower, it saved the strength of all, and at the same time enabled them to relieve the tedium14 of the journey to poor Flora.
At first they proceeded along under the deep shade of the ghost-like cliffs in unbroken silence, the mind of each no doubt being busy with the wreck of their last remnant of fortune, as well as with the dangerous condition in which the youthful Roderick lay; but as the dawn of day approached they began to talk a little, and when the sun arose its gladdening beams appeared to carry hope to each breast, inducing an almost cheerful state of mind. In the case of François Le Rue, the influence of sunshine was so powerful that a feeling of sympathy and respect for the McLeods in the calamity15 which had overtaken them alone restrained him from breaking out into song!
“Father,” said Flora, as her sire, wearied by a long spell at the bow oar12, resigned his seat to Kenneth, and sat down beside her, “that glorious light brings to my remembrance a very sweet verse, ‘Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.’”
“True, true, Flo,” returned her father, “I wish I had the simple faith that you seem to possess, but I haven’t, so there’s no use in pretending to it. This,” he added bitterly, “seems only a pure and unmitigated disaster. The last remnant of my fortune is wrecked, I am utterly16 ruined, and my poor boy is perhaps dying.”
Flora did not reply. She felt that in his present state of mind nothing she could say would comfort him.
At that moment Le Rue suddenly roused himself and suggested that it was about time to think of breakfast.
As all the party were of the same mind, the boat was allowed to drift down the gulf with the tide, while the pork and biscuit-bags were opened. Little time was allowed for the meal, nevertheless the mercurial17 Canadian managed, between mouthfuls, to keep up a running commentary on things in general. Among other things he referred to the property which his master had just purchased in Partridge Bay.
“Whereabouts is this property that you talk of?” asked McLeod, becoming interested at the mention of Partridge Bay.
“About la tête of de village near de house of Monsieur Gambart.”
“What like a place is it?” asked McLeod, becoming suddenly much more interested.
“Oh! one place mos bootiful,” replied Le Rue, with enthusiasm; “de house is superb, de grounds splendeed, et le prospect18 magnifique, wid plenty of duck—perhaps sometimes goose, vild vons—in von lac near cliff immense.”
At the mention of the lake and the cliff McLeod’s brow darkened, and he glanced at Flora, who met his glance with a look of surprise.
“Did you happen to hear the name of the place?” asked McLeod.
“Oui, it vas, I tink, Lac Do, or Doo—someting like so.”
“The scoundrel!” muttered McLeod between his teeth, while a gleam of wrath19 shot from his eyes.
Le Rue looked at him with some surprise, being uncertain as to the person referred to by this pithy20 remark, and Flora glanced at him with a look of anxiety.
After a brief silence he said to Flora in a low tone, as though he were expressing the continuation of his thoughts, “To think that the fellow should thus abuse my hospitality by inducing me to speak of our fallen fortunes, and of our being obliged to part with the old home we had loved so well, and never to utter a word about his having bought the place.”
“Perhaps,” suggested Flora, “you had not mentioned the name of the place, and so it might not have occurred to him that—”
“Oh yes, I did,” interrupted her father, with increasing anger, as his memory recalled the converse21 with Redding on the preceding night, “I remember it well, for he asked the name, and I told it him. It’s not that I care a straw whether the old place was bought by Tom, Dick, or Harry22, but I can’t stand his having concealed24 the fact from me after so much, I may say, confidential25 conversation about it and our affairs generally. When I meet him again the young coxcomb26 shall have a piece of my mind.”
McLeod was, as we have said, an angry man, and, as the intelligent reader well knows, angry men are apt to blind themselves and to become outrageously27 unreasonable28. He was wrong in supposing that he did not care a straw who should have bought the old place. Without, perhaps, admitting it to himself, he had entertained a hope that the home which was intimately associated with his wife, and in which some of the happiest years of his life had been spent, would remain unsold until he should manage to scrape together money enough to repurchase it. If it had been sold to the proverbial Tom, or Dick, or Harry, he would have been bitterly disappointed; the fact that it was sold to one who had, as he thought, deceived him while enjoying his hospitality, only served as a reason for his finding relief to disappointment in indignation. Flora, who had entertained similar hopes in regard to Loch Dhu, shared the disappointment, but not the indignation, for, although it did seem unaccountable that one so evidently candid29 and truthful30 as Redding should conceal23 the actual state of matters, she felt certain that there was some satisfactory explanation of the mystery, and in that state of mind she determined31 to remain until time should throw further light on the affair.
Neither she nor her father happened to remember that the truth had broken on Redding at the moment when the Indian entered the hut at Jenkins Creek with the news of the wreck, which created such a sudden excitement there that it banished32 thoughts of all other things from the minds of every one.
The elder McLeod was a man of very strong and sensitive feelings, so that, although possessed of an amiable33 and kindly34 disposition35, he found it exceedingly difficult to forget injuries, especially when these were unprovoked. His native generosity36 might have prompted him perhaps to find some excuse for the fur-trader’s apparent want of candour, or to believe that there might be some explanation of it, but, as it was, he flung into the other scale not only the supposed injury inflicted37 by Redding, but all his weighty disappointments at the loss of his old home, and of course generosity kicked the beam!
Acting38 on these feelings, he turned the bow of the boat inshore without uttering a word, and when her keel grated on the gravelly beach, he looked somewhat sternly at Le Rue, and said:—
“You may jump ashore39, and go back to your fort.”
“Monsieur?” exclaimed Le Rue, aghast with surprise.
“Jump ashore,” repeated McLeod, with a steady, quiet look of impassibility. “Go, tell your master that I do not require further assistance from him.”
The Canadian felt that McLeod’s look and tone admitted of neither question nor delay. His surprise therefore gave way to a burst of indignation. He leaped ashore with a degree of energy that sent the little boat violently off the beach, and the shingles40 spurted41 from his heels as he strode into the forest, renewing his vows42 of vengeance43 against his late friends and old enemies, “de Macklodds!”
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1
creek
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| n.小溪，小河，小湾 | |
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2
muster
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| v.集合，收集，鼓起，激起；n.集合，检阅，集合人员，点名册 | |
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3
gulf
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| n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂 | |
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embark
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| vi.乘船，着手，从事，上飞机 | |
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5
flora
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| n.(某一地区的)植物群 | |
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6
prosecute
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| vt.告发；进行；vi.告发，起诉，作检察官 | |
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7
decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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8
wrecked
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| adj.失事的，遇难的 | |
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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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10
rue
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| n.懊悔，芸香，后悔；v.后悔，悲伤，懊悔 | |
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possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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12
oar
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| n.桨，橹，划手；v.划行 | |
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oars
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| n.桨，橹( oar的名词复数 )；划手v.划（行）( oar的第三人称单数 ) | |
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14
tedium
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| n.单调；烦闷 | |
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15
calamity
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| n.灾害，祸患，不幸事件 | |
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16
utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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mercurial
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| adj.善变的，活泼的 | |
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18
prospect
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| n.前景，前途；景色，视野 | |
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19
wrath
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| n.愤怒，愤慨，暴怒 | |
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pithy
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| adj.(讲话或文章)简练的 | |
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converse
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| vi.谈话，谈天，闲聊；adv.相反的，相反 | |
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harry
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| vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼 | |
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23
conceal
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| v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽 | |
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concealed
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| a.隐藏的，隐蔽的 | |
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25
confidential
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| adj.秘（机）密的，表示信任的，担任机密工作的 | |
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26
coxcomb
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| n.花花公子 | |
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outrageously
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| 凶残地； 肆无忌惮地； 令人不能容忍地； 不寻常地 | |
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28
unreasonable
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| adj.不讲道理的，不合情理的，过度的 | |
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29
candid
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| adj.公正的，正直的；坦率的 | |
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30
truthful
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| adj.真实的，说实话的，诚实的 | |
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determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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32
banished
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| v.放逐，驱逐( banish的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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33
amiable
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| adj.和蔼可亲的，友善的，亲切的 | |
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kindly
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| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
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35
disposition
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| n.性情，性格；意向，倾向；排列，部署 | |
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36
generosity
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| n.大度，慷慨，慷慨的行为 | |
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37
inflicted
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| 把…强加给，使承受，遭受( inflict的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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acting
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| n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的 | |
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ashore
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| adv.在(向)岸上，上岸 | |
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40
shingles
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| n.带状疱疹；（布满海边的）小圆石( shingle的名词复数 )；屋顶板；木瓦（板）；墙面板 | |
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41
spurted
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| （液体，火焰等）喷出，（使）涌出( spurt的过去式和过去分词 )； （短暂地）加速前进，冲刺 | |
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42
vows
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| 誓言( vow的名词复数 )； 郑重宣布，许愿 | |
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43
vengeance
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| n.报复，报仇，复仇 | |
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