It was a bright, beautiful, warm day when our ship spread her canvas to the breeze and sailed for the regions of the south. Oh, how my heart bounded with delight as I listened to the merry chorus of the sailors while they hauled at the ropes and got in the anchor! The captain shouted; the men ran to obey; the noble ship bent3 over to the breeze, and the shore gradually faded from my view; while I stood looking on, with a kind of feeling that the whole was a delightful4 dream.
The first thing that struck me as being different from anything I had yet seen during my short career on the sea, was the hoisting5 of the anchor on deck and lashing7 it firmly down with ropes, as if we had now bid adieu to the land for ever and would require its services no more.
“There, lass!” cried a broad-shouldered jack8-tar, giving the fluke of the anchor a hearty9 slap with his hand after the housing was completed—“there, lass, take a good nap now, for we sha’n’t ask you to kiss the mud again for many a long day to come!”
And so it was. That anchor did not “kiss the mud” for many long days afterwards; and when at last it did, it was for the last time!
There were a number of boys in the ship, but two of them were my special favourites. Jack Martin was a tall, strapping10, broad-shouldered youth of eighteen, with a handsome, good-humoured, firm face. He had had a good education, was clever and hearty and lion-like in his actions, but mild and quiet in disposition11. Jack was a general favourite, and had a peculiar12 fondness for me. My other companion was Peterkin Gay. He was little, quick, funny, decidedly mischievous13, and about fourteen years old. But Peterkin’s mischief14 was almost always harmless, else he could not have been so much beloved as he was.
“Hallo, youngster!” cried Jack Martin, giving me a slap on the shoulder the day I joined the ship, “come below and I’ll show you your berth15. You and I are to be messmates; and I think we shall be good friends, for I like the look o’ you.”
Jack was right. He and I, and Peterkin afterwards, became the best and staunchest friends that ever tossed together on the stormy waves.
I shall say little about the first part of our voyage. We had the usual amount of rough weather and calm; also we saw many strange fish rolling in the sea, and I was greatly delighted one day by seeing a shoal of flying-fish dart16 out of the water and skim through the air about a foot above the surface. They were pursued by dolphins, which feed on them; and one flying-fish, in its terror, flew over the ship, struck on the rigging, and fell upon the deck. Its wings were just fins17 elongated18; and we found that they could never fly far at a time, and never mounted into the air like birds, but skimmed along the surface of the sea. Jack and I had it for dinner, and found it remarkably19 good.
When we approached Cape20 Horn, at the southern extremity21 of America, the weather became very cold and stormy, and the sailors began to tell stories about the furious gales23 and the dangers of that terrible cape.
“Cape Horn,” said one, “is the most horrible headland I ever doubled. I’ve sailed round it twice already, and both times the ship was a’most blow’d out o’ the water.”
“I’ve been round it once,” said another; “an’ that time the sails were split, and the ropes frozen in the blocks so that they wouldn’t work, and we wos all but lost.”
“An’ I’ve been round it five times,” cried a third; “an’ every time wos wuss than another, the gales wos so tree-mendous!”
“And I’ve been round it, no times at all,” cried Peterkin with an impudent24 wink25 in his eye, “an’ that time I wos blow’d inside out!”
Nevertheless we passed the dreaded26 cape without much rough weather, and in the course of a few weeks afterwards were sailing gently, before a warm tropical breeze, over the Pacific Ocean. Thus we proceeded on our voyage—sometimes bounding merrily before a fair breeze; at other times floating calmly on the glassy wave and fishing for the curious inhabitants of the deep, all of which, although the sailors thought little of them, were strange, and interesting, and very wonderful to me.
At last we came among the Coral Islands of the Pacific; and I shall never forget the delight with which I gazed—when we chanced to pass one—at the pure white, dazzling shores, and the verdant27 palm-trees, which looked bright and beautiful in the sunshine. And often did we three long to be landed on one, imagining that we should certainly find perfect happiness there! Our wish was granted sooner than we expected.
One night, soon after we entered the tropics, an awful storm burst upon our ship. The first squall of wind carried away two of our masts, and left only the foremast standing28. Even this, however, was more than enough, for we did not dare to hoist6 a rag of sail on it. For five days the tempest raged in all its fury. Everything was swept off the decks, except one small boat. The steersman was lashed29 to the wheel lest he should be washed away, and we all gave ourselves up for lost. The captain said that he had no idea where we were, as we had been blown far out of our course; and we feared much that we might get among the dangerous coral reefs which are so numerous in the Pacific. At daybreak on the sixth morning of the gale22 we saw land ahead; it was an island encircled by a reef of coral, on which the waves broke in fury. There was calm water within this reef, but we could see only one narrow opening into it. For this opening we steered30; but ere we reached it a tremendous wave broke on our stern, tore the rudder completely off, and left us at the mercy of the winds and waves.
“It’s all over with us now, lads!” said the captain to the men. “Get the boat ready to launch; we shall be on the rocks in less than half-an-hour.”
The men obeyed in gloomy silence, for they felt that there was little hope of so small a boat living in such a sea.
“Come, boys,” said Jack Martin, in a grave tone, to me and Peterkin, as we stood on the quarter-deck awaiting our fate—“come, boys; we three shall stick together. You see it is impossible that the little boat can reach the shore, crowded with men. It will be sure to upset, so I mean rather to trust myself to a large oar31. I see through the telescope that the ship will strike at the tail of the reef, where the waves break into the quiet water inside; so if we manage to cling to the oar till it is driven over the breakers, we may perhaps gain the shore. What say you? Will you join me?”
We gladly agreed to follow Jack, for he inspired us with confidence—although I could perceive, by the sad tone of his voice, that he had little hope; and indeed, when I looked at the white waves that lashed the reef and boiled against the rocks as if in fury, I felt that there was but a step between us and death. My heart sank within me; but at that moment my thoughts turned to my beloved mother, and I remembered those words, which were among the last that she said to me: “Ralph, my dearest child, always remember, in the hour of danger, to look to your Lord and Saviour32 Jesus Christ. He alone is both able and willing to save your body and your soul.” So I felt much comforted when I thought thereon.
The ship was now very near the rocks. The men were ready with the boat, and the captain beside them giving orders, when a tremendous wave came towards us. We three ran towards the bow to lay hold of our oar, and had barely reached it when the wave fell on the deck with a crash like thunder. At the same moment the ship struck; the foremast broke off close to the deck and went over the side, carrying the boat and men along with it. Our oar got entangled33 with the wreck, and Jack seized an axe34 to cut it free; but owing to the motion of the ship, he missed the cordage and struck the axe deep into the oar. Another wave, however, washed it clear of the wreck. We all seized hold of it, and the next instant we were struggling in the wild sea. The last thing I saw was the boat whirling in the surf, and all the sailors tossed into the foaming35 waves. Then I became insensible.
On recovering from my swoon I found myself lying on a bank of soft grass, under shelter of an overhanging rock, with Peterkin on his knees by my side, tenderly bathing my temples with water, and endeavouring to stop the blood that flowed from a wound in my forehead.
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1
frightful
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| adj.可怕的；讨厌的 | |
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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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bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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delightful
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| adj.令人高兴的，使人快乐的 | |
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hoisting
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| 起重，提升 | |
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hoist
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| n.升高，起重机，推动；v.升起，升高，举起 | |
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lashing
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| n.鞭打；痛斥；大量；许多v.鞭打( lash的现在分词 )；煽动；紧系；怒斥 | |
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jack
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| n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克 | |
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hearty
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| adj.热情友好的；衷心的；尽情的，纵情的 | |
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strapping
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| adj. 魁伟的, 身材高大健壮的 n. 皮绳或皮带的材料, 裹伤胶带, 皮鞭 动词strap的现在分词形式 | |
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disposition
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| n.性情，性格；意向，倾向；排列，部署 | |
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peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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mischievous
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| adj.调皮的，恶作剧的，有害的，伤人的 | |
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mischief
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| n.损害，伤害，危害；恶作剧，捣蛋，胡闹 | |
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berth
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| n.卧铺，停泊地，锚位；v.使停泊 | |
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dart
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| v.猛冲，投掷；n.飞镖，猛冲 | |
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fins
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| [医]散热片；鱼鳍；飞边；鸭掌 | |
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18
elongated
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| v.延长，加长( elongate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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remarkably
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| ad.不同寻常地，相当地 | |
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cape
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| n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风 | |
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extremity
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| n.末端，尽头；尽力；终极；极度 | |
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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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gales
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| 龙猫 | |
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impudent
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| adj.鲁莽的，卑鄙的，厚颜无耻的 | |
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wink
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| n.眨眼，使眼色，瞬间；v.眨眼，使眼色，闪烁 | |
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dreaded
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| adj.令人畏惧的；害怕的v.害怕，恐惧，担心( dread的过去式和过去分词) | |
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verdant
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| adj.翠绿的，青翠的，生疏的，不老练的 | |
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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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lashed
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| adj.具睫毛的v.鞭打( lash的过去式和过去分词 )；煽动；紧系；怒斥 | |
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steered
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| v.驾驶( steer的过去式和过去分词 )；操纵；控制；引导 | |
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oar
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| n.桨，橹，划手；v.划行 | |
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32
saviour
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| n.拯救者，救星 | |
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33
entangled
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| adj.卷入的；陷入的；被缠住的；缠在一起的v.使某人（某物/自己）缠绕，纠缠于（某物中），使某人（自己）陷入（困难或复杂的环境中）( entangle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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axe
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| n.斧子；v.用斧头砍，削减 | |
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foaming
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| adj.布满泡沫的；发泡 | |
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