As soon as the schooner2 was out of range Ned and his comrades stood up on the deck, and looked back at the long low coastline, which had offered to them so much danger. At first they saw Mexican horsemen on the beach, but as they went further and further out to sea they disappeared.
A strong wind hummed through the sails and the schooner, heeling over a little, went swiftly northward3, leaving a long white wake. Ned and his comrades sat on the benches that ran around the sides of the deck. Some of the rich brown color faded from the Panther's face, and his eyes looked a little bit uneasy.
"I'm glad to be here," he said, "glad to be out of reach of the Mexicans, but I wish I was on somethin' a lot steadier than this."
Obed White, familiar with the waters of the Maine coast, laughed.
"Let 'em dance," said the Panther, "an' they can do my share of dancin', too. I never felt less like roarin' an' t'arin' an' rippin' in my life."
"Any way, we're getting a fine rest," said Will Allen. "It's pleasant to be out here, where nobody can drop suddenly on you from ambush5."
The schooner made another curve to the eastward6, the water became smoother and the Panther's qualms7 disappeared. Food and water were brought to them on deck, and they ate and drank with good appetites. Then John Roylston, who had gone below, as soon as they were out of range, reappeared. He went directly to Ned, shook hands with him with great energy, and said in a tone of deep gratitude8:
"I had given you up for lost. But you reappeared with your friends, just in time to save the most valuable of all cargoes9 for the Texans. I should like to hear now how you rose from the dead, because I had direct information that you were in the Alamo, and I know that everybody there perished."
"I come, nevertheless, as the bearer of bad news," said Ned, with Goliad fresh in his mind.
"How is that?"
Then Ned told for the second time the dreadful deed done by order of Santa Anna, and it seemed to him as he told it that all the details were as vivid and terrible as ever. His desire for revenge upon the dictator and the Mexicans had not diminished a particle. Roylston's face, usually a mask, showed horror.
"It was an awful thing to do," he said, "but it means now that Santa Anna will never conquer Texas. No man can do such a deed and yet triumph. Now, tell me how it is that you are not among the slain10 in the Alamo." Ned related the story anew, and he dwelt upon the fact that Santa Anna had spared him at the mention of Roylston's name. But when the story was finished, the merchant was silent for quite a while. Ned knew by the contraction11 of the lines upon the great brow that he was thinking. At last, he broke the silence.
"No doubt you have wondered that my name had so much influence with Santa Anna," he said. "I have hinted at it before, but I will explain more fully12 now. I am, as you know, a merchant. I trade throughout the whole southwest, and I have ships in the Gulf13 and the Caribbean. One of them, the 'Star of the South,' on which we now are, can show her heels to anything in these seas.
"Earlier in my life I came in contact with Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna. Like many others I fell for a while under his spell. I believed that he was a great and liberal man, that he would even be able to pull Mexico out of her slough14 of misrule and ignorance. I helped him in some of his young efforts. The splendid hacienda that he has near Vera Cruz was bought partly with money that I furnished.
"But our friendship could not last. Vain, ruthless, cruel, but with genius, Santa Anna can have no friends except those whom he may use. Unless you submit, unless you do everything that he wishes, you are, in his opinion, a traitor15 to him, a malefactor16 and an enemy, to be crushed by trickery or force, by fair means or foul17. How could I have continued dealings with such a man?
"I soon saw that instead of being Mexico's best friend he was her worst enemy. I drew away in time, but barely. I was in Mexico when the break came, and he would have seized and imprisoned18 me or had me shot, but I escaped in disguise.
"I retained, too, a hold upon Santa Anna that he has sought in vain to break. Such a man as he always needs money, not a few thousands, but great sums. He has been thrifty19. The treasury20 of Mexico has been practically at his mercy, but he does not trust the banks of his own land. He has money not only in the foreign banks of Mexico, but also large amounts of it in two of the great banks of London. The English deposits stand as security for the heavy sums that he owes me. His arm is long, but it does not reach to London.
"He cannot pay at present without putting himself in great difficulties, and, for the time being, I wish the debt to stand. It gives me a certain power over him, although we are on opposite sides in a fierce war. When you gave him my name in San Antonio, he did not put you to death because he feared that I would seize his English money when I heard of it.
"The younger Urrea has heard something of these debts. He is devoted21 to Santa Anna, and he knew that he would have rendered his chief an immense service if he could have secured his release from them. That was what he tried to force from me when I was in his hands, but you and your friends saved me. You little thought, Edward Fulton, that you were then saving your own life also. Otherwise, Santa Anna would have had you slain instantly when you were brought before him at San Antonio. Ah, how thoroughly22 I know that man! That he can be a terrible and cruel enemy he has already proved to Texas!"
The others listened with deep interest to every word spoken by Roylston. When he was through, the Panther rose, stretched his arms, and expanded his mighty24 chest. All the natural brown had returned to his cheeks, and his eyes sparkled with the fire of confidence.
"Mr. Roylston," he said, "the hosts of our foe25 have come an' they have devoured26 our people as the locusts27 ate up Egypt in the Bible, but I think our worst days have passed. We'll come back, an' we'll win."
"Yes," said Ned. "I know as truly as if a prophet had told me that we'll square accounts with Santa Anna."
He spoke23 with such sudden emphasis that the others were startled. His face seemed cut in stone. At that moment he saw only the Alamo and Goliad.
The "Star of the South" sped northward, and Edward Fulton sat long on her deck, dreaming of the day when the Texans, himself in the first rank, should come once more face to face with Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna.
The End
The End
点击
收听单词发音
收听单词发音 |
1
vengeance
|
|
| n.报复，报仇，复仇 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
schooner
|
|
| n.纵帆船 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
northward
|
|
| adv.向北；n.北方的地区 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
spanking
|
|
| adj.强烈的，疾行的；n.打屁股 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
ambush
|
|
| n.埋伏(地点)；伏兵；v.埋伏；伏击 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
eastward
|
|
| adv.向东；adj.向东的；n.东方，东部 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
qualms
|
|
| n.不安；内疚 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
gratitude
|
|
| adj.感激，感谢 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
cargoes
|
|
| n.（船或飞机装载的）货物( cargo的名词复数 )；大量，重负 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
slain
|
|
| 杀死，宰杀，杀戮( slay的过去分词 )； (slay的过去分词) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
contraction
|
|
| n.缩略词，缩写式，害病 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
fully
|
|
| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
gulf
|
|
| n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
slough
|
|
| v.蜕皮，脱落，抛弃 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
traitor
|
|
| n.叛徒，卖国贼 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
malefactor
|
|
| n.罪犯 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
foul
|
|
| adj.污秽的；邪恶的；v.弄脏；妨害；犯规；n.犯规 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
imprisoned
|
|
| 下狱，监禁( imprison的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
thrifty
|
|
| adj.节俭的；兴旺的；健壮的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
treasury
|
|
| n.宝库；国库，金库；文库 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
devoted
|
|
| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
thoroughly
|
|
| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
spoke
|
|
| 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 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
mighty
|
|
| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
foe
|
|
| n.敌人，仇敌 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
devoured
|
|
| 吞没( devour的过去式和过去分词 )； 耗尽； 津津有味地看； 狼吞虎咽地吃光 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
27
locusts
|
|
| n.蝗虫( locust的名词复数 )；贪吃的人；破坏者；槐树 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |