At all events, it is certain that if the crew of the Water Wagtail had known what was in store for them when they set sail from Bristol, one fine spring morning at the beginning of the sixteenth century, most of them would have remained at home—though it is not improbable that, even with full knowledge of coming events, some of the romantic among them, and a few of the reckless, might have decided2 to go on.
Undoubtedly3 Paul Burns would have scorned to draw back, for he was a “hero of romance;” an enthusiast4 of the deepest dye, with an inquiring mind, a sanguine5 disposition6, and a fervent7 belief in all things great and good and grand. He was also a six-footer in his socks, a horse in constitution, a Hercules in frame, with a hook nose and a hawk8 eye and a strong jaw—and all the rest of it. Paul had a good brain, too, and was well educated—as education went in those days. Yes, there can be little doubt that even though Paul Burns had been able to see into the future, he would have deliberately9 chosen to go on that voyage.
So would Oliver Trench10, for Oliver worshipped Paul! He loved him as if he had been an elder brother. He admired him, afar off, as a rare specimen11 of human perfection. He looked up to him, physically12 as well as mentally, for Oliver was at that time little more than a boy of medium size, but bold as a bull-dog and active as a weasel. Yes, we are safe to say that a revelation of the disasters, dangers, sufferings, etcetera, in store, would not have deterred13 Oliver Trench. He would have gone on that voyage simply because Paul Burns went. That was reason enough for him. The devotion of Ruth to Naomi was mild compared with that of Oliver to Paul—if words are a test of feelings—for Ruth’s beautiful language could not compare with the forcible expressions with which Oliver assured his friend that he would stick to him, neck or nothing, through thick and thin, to the latest hour of life!
As for the rest of the crew—Big Swinton, Little Stubbs, George Blazer, Squill, and the like—it was well, as we have said, that they could not see into the future.
There were forty of them, all told, including the cook and the cabin-boy. We do not include Paul Burns or Oliver Trench, because the former was naturalist15 to the expedition—a sort of semi-scientific freelance; and the latter, besides being the master’s, or skipper’s, son, was a free-and-easy lance, so to speak, whose duties were too numerous to mention, and too indefinite to understand. Most of the men were what is expressed by the phrase “no better than they should be.” Some of them, indeed, were even worse than that. The wars of the period had rendered it difficult to obtain good seamen16 at that particular time, so that merchant skippers had to content themselves with whatever they could get. The crew of the Water Wagtail was unusually bad, including, as it did, several burglars and a few pickpockets17, besides loafers and idlers; so that, before leaving Bristol, a friend of the skipper, whose imagination was lively, styled it a crew of forty thieves.
The coast of Norway was the destination of the Water Wagtail. She never reached the coast of—but we must not anticipate. What her object was in reference to Norway we cannot tell. Ancient records are silent on the point.
The object of Paul Burns was to gather general information. At that period the world was not rich in general information. To discover, to dare, to do—if need were, to die—was the intention of our big hero. To be similarly circumstanced in a small way was our little hero’s ambition.
“Goin’ to blow,” remarked Skipper Trench, on the evening of the day on which he sailed, as he paced the deck with his hands in his pockets, and, as his son Oliver said, his “weather-eye” open.
It seemed as though the weather, having overheard the prophecy, was eager to fulfil it, for a squall could be seen bearing down on the ship even while the words were being uttered.
“Close reef to-o-o-p-s’ls!” roared Master Trench, with the energy of a man who means what he says.
We are not sure of the precise nautical18 terms used, but the result was a sudden and extensive reduction of canvas; and not a moment too soon, for the operation had scarcely been completed when the squall struck the ship, almost capsized her, and sent her careering over the billows “like a thing of life.”
This was the first of a succession of squalls, or gales19, which blew the Water Wagtail far out upon the Atlantic Ocean, stove in her bulwarks20, carried away her bowsprit and foretopmast, damaged her skylights, strained her rudder, and cleared her decks of loose hamper21.
After many days the weather moderated a little and cleared up, enabling Master Trench to repair damages and shape his course for Norway. But the easterly gales returned with increased violence, undid22 all the repairs, carried away the compass, and compelled these ancient mariners23 to run westward24 under bare poles—little better than a wreck25 for winds and waves to play with.
In these adverse26 circumstances the skipper did what too many men are apt to do in their day of sorrow—he sought comfort in the bottle.
Love of strong drink was Master Trench’s weakest point. It was one of the few points on which he and his friend Burns disagreed.
“Now, my dear man,” said Paul, seating himself one evening at the cabin table and laying his hand impressively on his friend’s arm, “do let me lock up this bottle. You can’t navigate27 the ship, you know, when you’ve got so much of that stuff under your belt.”
“O yes, I can,” said the skipper, with an imbecile smile, for his friend had a winning way with him that conciliated even while he rebuked28. “Don’t you fear, Paul, I—I’m all right!”
The half-offended idiotic30 expression of the man’s face was intensely ludicrous, but Paul could not see the ludicrous at that time. He only saw his usually sedate31, manly32, generous friend reduced to a state of imbecility.
“Come, now, Master Trench,” he said persuasively33, taking hold of the case-bottle, “let me put it away.”
“N–no, I won’t” said the captain sharply, for he was short of temper.
The persuasive34 look on Paul’s face suddenly vanished. He rose, grasped the bottle firmly, went to the open hatch, and sent it whizzing up into the air with such force that it went far over the stern of the ship and dropped into the sea, to the unutterable amazement35 of the man at the helm, who observed the bottle’s unaccountable flight with an expression of visage all his own.
There is no accounting36 for the rapid transitions of thought and feeling in drunken men. The skipper sprang up, clenched37 his right hand, and gazed in fierce astonishment38 at his friend, who advanced towards him with a benignant smile, quite regardless of consequences. Even in the act of striking, the captain restrained his arm and opened his hand. Paul met it with a friendly grasp, while the faces of both men expanded in smiling goodwill39.
And Master Trench kept his word. From that day forth41, till circumstances rendered drinking impossible, he drank nothing stronger than water.
Soon after this event the weather improved, damages were again repaired, and the skipper—in whom there was much of the spirit of the old vikings—once more laid his course for Norway, resolving to steer42, as the said vikings were wont43 to do, by the stars. But a spirit of mutiny was abroad in the forecastle by that time. If hard work, hard fare, and hard fortune are trying even to good men and true, what must they be to bad men and false?
“Here’s how it lays, men,” said Big Swinton, in a subdued44 voice, to a knot of friends around him. “Blowin’ hard as it has bin14 ever since we left England, it stands to reason that we must have pretty nigh got across the western sea to that noo land discovered by that man wi’ the queer name—I can’t remember rightly—”
“Columbus, you mean,” cried George Blazer. “Why, my father sailed with Columbus on his first voyage.”
“No, it wasn’t Columbus,” returned Swinton, in a sharp tone, “an’ you needn’t speak as if we was all deaf, Blazer. It was John Cabot I was thinkin’ of, who, with his son Sebastian, discovered land a long way to the nor’ard o’ Columbus’s track. They called it Newfoundland. Well, as I was sayin’, we must be a long way nearer to that land than to Norway, an’ it will be far easier to reach it. Moreover, the Cabots said that the natives there are friendly and peaceable, so it’s my opinion that we should carry on as we go till we reach Newfoundland, an’ see whether we can’t lead a jollier life there than we did in Old England.”
“But it’s my opinion,” suggested Little Stubbs, “that the skipper’s opinion on that point will have to be found out first, Swinton, for it’s of more importance than yours. You ain’t skipper yet, you know.”
“That’s so, Stubbs,” said Squill, with a nod.
“Let your tongues lie still,” retorted Swinton, in an undertoned growl45. “Of course I know I’m not skipper yet, but if you men have the courage of rabbits I’ll be skipper before another sun rises—or whoever you choose to appoint.”
A sudden silence ensued for a few moments, for, although there had been mutinous46 whisperings before, no one had, up to that time, ventured to make a distinct proposal that action should be taken.
“What! steal the ship?” exclaimed a huge black-bearded fellow named Grummidge. “Nay—I’ll have no hand in that.”
“Of course not; we have no intention to steal the ship,” retorted Swinton, before any one else had time to express an opinion; “we are all upright honourable47 men here. We only mean to take the loan of her. After all we have suffered we are entitled surely to a pleasure-trip, and when that’s over we can return the ship to the owners—if so disposed. You’ll join us in that, Grummidge, won’t you? And we’ll make you skipper—or first mate, if you’re too modest to take command.” This sally was received with a subdued laugh, and with marks of such decided approval, that Grummidge was carried with the current—at all events, he held his tongue after that.
An earnest undertoned discussion followed, and it was finally arranged that Big Swinton should sound Master Trench about the propriety48 of running to Newfoundland instead of returning on their track to Norway. The seaman49 was not slow to act. That afternoon, while at the helm, he made the suggestion to the skipper, but met with a sharp rebuke29 and an order to attend to his duty.
No word did Big Swinton reply, but that very night he entered the cabin with a dozen men and seized the skipper, his son, and Paul Burns, while they slept. Of course, being greatly outnumbered, they were overcome and bound. The two officers of the vessel50 were also seized by another party on deck, and all the five were imprisoned51 in the hold.
Next morning they were brought on deck, and made to stand in a row before Big Swinton, who had, in the meantime, been appointed by the mutineers to the command of the ship.
“Now, Master Trench,” said Swinton, “we are no pirates. We have no desire to kill you, so that whether you are killed or not will depend on yourself. If you agree to navigate this ship to Newfoundland—good; if not we will heave you overboard.”
“Heave away then,” growled52 the skipper, his nature being such that the more he was defied the more defiant53 he became.
“Well, Master Trench, you shall have your way. Get the plank54 ready, boys,” said Swinton, turning to the men. “Now stand aside and let the first mate choose.”
The same question being put to the two mates, they returned similar answers, and were ordered to prepare to walk the plank.
“You don’t understand navigation, I fancy, Master Burns,” said Swinton to Paul, “but as you can set broken bones, and things of that sort, we will spare you if you agree to serve us.”
“Thank you,” replied Paul, with quiet urbanity. “I prefer to accompany Master Trench, if you have no objection.”
“Say you so?” he exclaimed, jumping up. “Come, then, shove out the plank, lads, and bring them on one at a time.”
“Stop!” cried little Oliver, at this point. “You’ve forgot me.”
“No, my little man, I haven’t,” returned Swinton, with a cynical56 smile. “You shall accompany your amiable57 father; but first I’ll give you a fair chance,” he added, in a bantering58 tone: “will you navigate the ship?”
“Indeed!” exclaimed the new skipper, taken aback by the boy’s boldness, and at a loss for a reply.
“Yes, indeed,” retorted Oliver, “only put me in command, with an auger60, and I’ll navigate the ship to the bottom of the sea, with you and all your cowardly crew on board of her!”
“Well said, little master,” cried Grummidge, while a general laugh of approval went round.
Seeing that there was a symptom of better feeling among some of the men, Master Trench was about to make an appeal to them, when—
“Land ho!” was shouted by the look-out in stentorian61 tones.
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收听单词发音
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1
pry
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| vi.窥(刺)探，打听；vt.撬动(开，起) | |
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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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3
undoubtedly
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| adv.确实地，无疑地 | |
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enthusiast
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| n.热心人，热衷者 | |
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sanguine
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| adj.充满希望的，乐观的，血红色的 | |
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6
disposition
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| n.性情，性格；意向，倾向；排列，部署 | |
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fervent
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| adj.热的，热烈的，热情的 | |
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hawk
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| n.鹰，骗子；鹰派成员 | |
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deliberately
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| adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地 | |
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10
trench
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| n./v.(挖)沟，(挖)战壕 | |
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specimen
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| n.样本，标本 | |
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physically
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| adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律 | |
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deterred
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| v.阻止，制止( deter的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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14
bin
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| n.箱柜；vt.放入箱内；[计算机] DOS文件名:二进制目标文件 | |
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15
naturalist
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| n.博物学家(尤指直接观察动植物者) | |
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seamen
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| n.海员 | |
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17
pickpockets
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| n.扒手( pickpocket的名词复数 ) | |
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18
nautical
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| adj.海上的，航海的，船员的 | |
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gales
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| 龙猫 | |
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bulwarks
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| n.堡垒( bulwark的名词复数 )；保障；支柱；舷墙 | |
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hamper
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| vt.妨碍，束缚，限制；n.(有盖的)大篮子 | |
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Undid
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| v. 解开, 复原 | |
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mariners
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| 海员，水手（mariner的复数形式） | |
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westward
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| n.西方，西部；adj.西方的，向西的；adv.向西 | |
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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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adverse
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| adj.不利的；有害的；敌对的，不友好的 | |
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navigate
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| v.航行，飞行；导航，领航 | |
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rebuked
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| 责难或指责( rebuke的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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rebuke
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| v.指责，非难，斥责 [反]praise | |
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idiotic
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| adj.白痴的 | |
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sedate
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| adj.沉着的，镇静的，安静的 | |
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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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persuasively
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| adv.口才好地；令人信服地 | |
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persuasive
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| adj.有说服力的，能说得使人相信的 | |
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amazement
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| n.惊奇，惊讶 | |
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accounting
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| n.会计，会计学，借贷对照表 | |
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clenched
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| v.紧握，抓紧，咬紧( clench的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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goodwill
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| n.善意，亲善，信誉，声誉 | |
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trump
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| n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭 | |
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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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steer
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| vt.驾驶，为…操舵；引导；vi.驾驶 | |
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wont
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| adj.习惯于；v.习惯；n.习惯 | |
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44
subdued
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| adj. 屈服的，柔和的，减弱的 动词subdue的过去式和过去分词 | |
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45
growl
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| v.（狗等）嗥叫，（炮等）轰鸣；n.嗥叫，轰鸣 | |
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mutinous
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| adj.叛变的，反抗的；adv.反抗地，叛变地；n.反抗，叛变 | |
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honourable
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| adj.可敬的；荣誉的，光荣的 | |
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48
propriety
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| n.正当行为；正当；适当 | |
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49
seaman
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| n.海员，水手，水兵 | |
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50
vessel
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| n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管 | |
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51
imprisoned
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| 下狱，监禁( imprison的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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52
growled
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| v.（动物）发狺狺声， （雷）作隆隆声( growl的过去式和过去分词 )；低声咆哮着说 | |
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defiant
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| adj.无礼的，挑战的 | |
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54
plank
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| n.板条，木板，政策要点，政纲条目 | |
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55
enraged
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| 使暴怒( enrage的过去式和过去分词 )； 歜； 激愤 | |
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56
cynical
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| adj.(对人性或动机)怀疑的，不信世道向善的 | |
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57
amiable
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| adj.和蔼可亲的，友善的，亲切的 | |
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58
bantering
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| adj.嘲弄的v.开玩笑，说笑，逗乐( banter的现在分词 )；（善意地）取笑，逗弄 | |
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59
promptly
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| adv.及时地，敏捷地 | |
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60
auger
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| n.螺丝钻，钻孔机 | |
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61
stentorian
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| adj.大声的，响亮的 | |
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