The fourth occupant of number 96, Claude’s cabin, had not turned up by noon, nor had any of his belongings5, so the three who had settled their few effects there began to hope they would have the place to themselves. It would be crowded enough, at that. The third bunk6 was assigned to an officer from the Kansas regiment8, Lieutenant9 Bird, a Virginian, who had been working in his uncle’s bank in Topeka when he enlisted10. He and Claude sat together at mess. When they were at lunch, the Virginian said in his very gentle voice:
“Lieutenant, I wish you’d explain Lieutenant Fanning to me. He seems very immature11. He’s been telling me about a submarine destroyer he’s invented, but it looks to me like foolishness.”
Claude laughed. “Don’t try to understand Fanning. Just let him sink in, and you’ll come to like him. I used to wonder how he ever got a commission. You never can tell what crazy thing he’ll do.”
Fanning had, for instance, brought on board a pair of white flannel13 pants, his first and only tailor-made trousers, because he had a premonition that the boat would make a port and that he would be asked to a garden party! He had a way of using big words in the wrong place, not because he tried to show off, but because all words sounded alike to him. In the first days of their acquaintance in camp he told Claude that this was a failing he couldn’t help, and that it was called “anaesthesia.” Sometimes this failing was confusing; when Fanning sententiously declared that he would like to be on hand when the Crown Prince settled his little account with Plato, Claude was perplexed14 until subsequent witticisms15 revealed that the boy meant Pluto16.
At three o’clock there was a band concert on deck. Claude fell into talk with the bandmaster, and was delighted to find that he came from Hillport, Kansas, a town where Claude had once been with his father to buy cattle, and that all his fourteen men came from Hillport. They were the town band, had enlisted in a body, had gone into training together, and had never been separated. One was a printer who helped to get out the Hillport Argus every week, another clerked in a grocery store, another was the son of a German watch repairer, one was still in High School, one worked in an automobile17 livery. After supper Claude found them all together, very much interested in their first evening at sea, and arguing as to whether the sunset on the water was as fine as those they saw every night in Hillport. They hung together in a quiet, determined18 way, and if you began to talk to one, you soon found that all the others were there.
When Claude and Fanning and Lieutenant Bird were undressing in their narrow quarters that night, the fourth berth19 was still unclaimed. They were in their bunks20 and almost asleep, when the missing man came in and unceremoniously turned on the light. They were astonished to see that he wore the uniform of the Royal Flying Corps21 and carried a cane22. He seemed very young, but the three who peeped out at him felt that he must be a person of consequence. He took off his coat with the spread wings on the collar, wound his watch, and brushed his teeth with an air of special personal importance. Soon after he had turned out the light and climbed into the berth over Lieutenant Bird, a heavy smell of rum spread in the close air.
Fanning, who slept under Claude, kicked the sagging23 mattress24 above him and stuck his head out. “Hullo, Wheeler! What have you got up there?”
“Nothing.”
“Nothing smells pretty good to me. I’ll have some with anybody that asks me.”
No response from any quarter. Bird, the Virginian, murmured, “Don’t make a row,” and they went to sleep.
In the morning, when the bath steward3 came, he edged his way into the narrow cabin and poked25 his head into the berth over Bird’s. “I’m sorry, sir, I’ve made careful search for your luggage, and it’s not to be found, sir.”
“I tell you it must be found,” fumed26 a petulant27 voice overhead. “I brought it over from the St. Regis myself in a taxi. I saw it standing28 on the pier29 with the officers’ luggage, — a black cabin trunk with V.M. lettered on both ends. Get after it.”
The steward smiled discreetly30. He probably knew that the aviator31 had come on board in a state which precluded32 any very accurate observation on his part. “Very well, sir. Is there anything I can get you for the present?”
“You can take this shirt out and have it laundered33 and bring it back to me tonight. I’ve no linen34 in my bag.”
“Yes, sir.”
Claude and Fanning got on deck as quickly as possible and found scores of their comrades already there, pointing to dark smudges of smoke along the clear horizon. They knew that these vessels35 had come from unknown ports, some of them far away, steaming thither36 under orders known only to their commanders. They would all arrive within a few hours of each other at a given spot on the surface of the ocean. There they would fall into place, flanked by their destroyers, and would proceed in orderly formation, without changing their relative positions. Their escort would not leave them until they were joined by gunboats and destroyers off whatever coast they were bound for, — what that coast was, not even their own officers knew as yet.
Later in the morning this meeting was actually accomplished37. There were ten troop ships, some of them very large boats, and six destroyers. The men stood about the whole morning, gazing spellbound at their sister transports, trying to find out their names, guessing at their capacity. Tanned as they already were, their lips and noses began to blister38 under the fiery39 sunlight. After long months of intensive training, the sudden drop into an idle, soothing40 existence was grateful to them. Though their pasts were neither long or varied41, most of them, like Claude Wheeler, felt a sense of relief at being rid of all they had ever been before and facing something absolutely new. Said Tod Fanning, as he lounged against the rail, “Whoever likes it can run for a train every morning, and grind his days out in a Westinghouse works; but not for me any more!”
The Virginian joined them. “That Englishman ain’t got out of bed yet. I reckon he’s been liquouring up pretty steady. The place smells like a bar. The room steward was just coming out, and he winked42 at me. He was slipping something in his pocket, looked like a banknote.”
Claude was curious, and went down to the cabin. As he entered, the air-man, lying half-dressed in his upper berth, raised himself on one elbow and looked down at him. His blue eyes were contracted and hard, his curly hair disordered, but his cheeks were as pink as a girl’s, and the little yellow humming-bird moustache on his upper lip was twisted sharp.
“You’re missing fine weather,” said Claude affably.
“Oh, there’ll be a great deal of weather before we get over, and damned little of anything else!” He drew a bottle from under his pillow. “Have a nip?”
“I don’t mind if I do,” Claude put out his hand.
The other laughed and sank back on his pillow, drawling lazily, “Brave boy! Go ahead; drink to the Kaiser.”
“Why to him in particular?”
“It’s not particular. Drink to Hindenburg, or the High Command, or anything else that got you out of the cornfield. That’s where they did get you, didn’t they?”
“Well, it’s a good guess, anyhow. Where did they get you?”
“Crystal Lake, Iowa. I think that was the place.” He yawned and folded his hands over his stomach.
“Why, we thought you were an Englishman.”
“Not quite. I’ve served in His Majesty’s army two years, though.”
“Have you been flying in France?”
“Yes. I’ve been back and forth43 all the time, England and France. Now I’ve wasted two months at Fort Worth. Instructor44. That’s not my line. I may have been sent over as a reprimand. You can’t tell about my Colonel, though; may have been his way of getting me out of danger.”
Claude glanced up at him, shocked at such an idea.
The young man in the berth smiled with listless compassion45. “Oh, I don’t mean Bosch planes! There are dangers and dangers. You’ll find you got bloody46 little information about this war, where they trained you. They don’t communicate any details of importance. Going?”
Claude hadn’t intended to, but at this suggestion he pulled back the door.
“One moment,” called the aviator. “Can’t you keep that long-legged ass7 who bunks under you quiet?”
“Fanning? He’s a good kid. What’s the matter with him?”
“His general ignorance and his insufferably familiar tone,” snapped the other as he turned over.
Claude found Fanning and the Virginian playing checkers, and told them that the mysterious air-man was a fellow countryman. Both seemed disappointed.
“Pshaw!” exclaimed Lieutenant Bird.
“He can’t put on airs with me, after that,” Fanning declared. “Crystal Lake! Why it’s no town at all!”
All the same, Claude wanted to find out how a youth from Crystal Lake ever became a member of the Royal Flying Corps. Already, from among the hundreds of strangers, half-a-dozen stood out as men he was determined to know better. Taking them altogether the men were a fine sight as they lounged about the decks in the sunlight, the petty rivalries47 and jealousies48 of camp days forgotten. Their youth seemed to flow together, like their brown uniforms. Seen in the mass like this, Claude thought, they were rather noble looking fellows. In so many of the faces there was a look of fine candour, an expression of cheerful expectancy49 and confident goodwill50.
There was on board a solitary51 Marine12, with the stripes of Border service on his coat. He had been sick in the Navy Hospital in Brooklyn when his regiment sailed, and was now going over to join it. He was a young fellow, rather pale from his recent illness, but he was exactly Claude’s idea of what a soldier ought to look like. His eye followed the Marine about all day.
The young man’s name was Albert Usher52, and he came from a little town up in the Wind River mountains, in Wyoming, where he had worked in a logging camp. He told Claude these facts when they found themselves standing side by side that evening, watching the broad purple sun go down into a violet coloured sea.
It was the hour when the farmers at home drive their teams in after the day’s work. Claude was thinking how his mother would be standing at the west window every evening now, watching the sun go down and following him in her mind. When the young Marine came up and joined him, he confessed to a pang53 of homesickness.
“That’s a kind of sickness I don’t have to wrastle with,” said Albert Usher. “I was left an orphan54 on a lonesome ranch55, when I was nine, and I’ve looked out for myself ever since.”
Claude glanced sidewise at the boy’s handsome head, that came up from his neck with clean, strong lines, and thought he had done a pretty good job for himself. He could not have said exactly what it was he liked about young Usher’s face, but it seemed to him a face that had gone through things, — that had been trained down like his body, and had developed a definite character. What Claude thought due to a manly56, adventurous57 life, was really due to well-shaped bones; Usher’s face was more “modelled” than most of the healthy countenances58 about him.
When questioned, the Marine went on to say that though he had no home of his own, he had always happened to fall on his feet, among kind people. He could go back to any house in Pinedale or Du Bois and be welcomed like a son.
“I suppose there are kind women everywhere,” he said, “but in that respect Wyoming’s got the rest of the world beat. I never felt the lack of a home. Now the U. S. Marines are my family. Wherever they are, I’m at home.”
“Were you at Vera Cruz?” Claude asked.
“I guess! We thought that was quite a little party at the time, but I suppose it will seem small potatoes when we get over there. I’m figuring on seeing some first-rate scrapping59. How long have you been in the army?”
“Year ago last April. I’ve had hard luck about getting over. They kept me jumping about to train men.”
“Then yours is all to come. Are you a college graduate?”
“No. I went away to school, but I didn’t finish.”
Usher frowned at the gilded60 path on the water where the sun lay half submerged, like a big, watchful61 eye, closing. “I always wanted to go to college, but I never managed it. A man in Laramie offered to stake me to a course in the University there, but I was too restless. I guess I was ashamed of my handwriting.” He paused as if he had run against some old regret. A moment later he said suddenly, “Can you parlez-vous?”
“No. I know a few words, but I can’t put them together.”
“Same here. I expect to pick up some. I pinched quite a little Spanish down on the Border.”
By this time the sun had disappeared, and all over the west the yellow sky came down evenly, like a gold curtain, on the still sea that seemed to have solidified62 into a slab63 of dark blue stone, — not a twinkle on its immobile surface. Across its dusky smoothness were two long smears64 of pale green, like a robin’s egg.
“Do you like the water?” Usher asked, in the tone of a polite host. “When I first shipped on a cruiser I was crazy about it. I still am. But, you know, I like them old bald mountains back in Wyoming, too. There’s waterfalls you can see twenty miles off from the plains; they look like white sheets or something, hanging up there on the cliffs. And down in the pine woods, in the cold streams, there’s trout65 as long as my fore-arm.”
That evening Claude was on deck, almost alone; there was a concert down in the ward4 room. To the west heavy clouds had come up, moving so low that they flapped over the water like a black washing hanging on the line.
The music sounded well from below. Four Swedish boys from the Scandinavian settlement at Lindsborg, Kansas, were singing “Long, Long Ago.” Claude listened from a sheltered spot in the stern. What were they, and what was he, doing here on the Atlantic? Two years ago he had seemed a fellow for whom life was over; driven into the ground like a post, or like those Chinese criminals who are planted upright in the earth, with only their heads left out for birds to peck at and insects to sting. All his comrades had been tucked away in prairie towns, with their little jobs and their little plans. Yet here they were, attended by unknown ships called in from the four quarters of the earth. How had they come to be worth the watchfulness66 and devotion of so many men and machines, this extravagant67 consumption of fuel and energy? Taken one by one, they were ordinary fellows like himself. Yet here they were. And in this massing and movement of men there was nothing mean or common; he was sure of that. It was, from first to last, unforeseen, almost incredible. Four years ago, when the French were holding the Marne, the wisest men in the world had not conceived of this as possible; they had reckoned with every fortuity but this. “Out of these stones can my Father raise up seed unto Abraham.”
Downstairs the men began singing “Annie Laurie.” Where were those summer evenings when he used to sit dumb by the windmill, wondering what to do with his life?
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1
machinery
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| n.(总称)机械，机器；机构 | |
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stewards
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| （轮船、飞机等的）乘务员( steward的名词复数 )； （俱乐部、旅馆、工会等的）管理员； （大型活动的）组织者； （私人家中的）管家 | |
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steward
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| n.乘务员，服务员；看管人；膳食管理员 | |
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ward
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| n.守卫，监护，病房，行政区，由监护人或法院保护的人（尤指儿童）；vt.守护，躲开 | |
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belongings
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| n.私人物品，私人财物 | |
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bunk
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| n.(车、船等倚壁而设的)铺位；废话 | |
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ass
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| n.驴；傻瓜，蠢笨的人 | |
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regiment
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| n.团，多数，管理；v.组织，编成团，统制 | |
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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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enlisted
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| adj.应募入伍的v.（使）入伍， （使）参军( enlist的过去式和过去分词 )；获得（帮助或支持） | |
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immature
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| adj.未成熟的，发育未全的，未充分发展的 | |
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marine
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| adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵 | |
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flannel
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| n.法兰绒；法兰绒衣服 | |
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perplexed
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| adj.不知所措的 | |
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witticisms
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| n.妙语，俏皮话( witticism的名词复数 ) | |
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Pluto
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| n.冥王星 | |
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automobile
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| n.汽车，机动车 | |
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determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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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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bunks
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| n.（车、船等倚壁而设的）铺位( bunk的名词复数 )；空话，废话v.（车、船等倚壁而设的）铺位( bunk的第三人称单数 )；空话，废话 | |
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corps
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| n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组 | |
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cane
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| n.手杖，细长的茎，藤条；v.以杖击，以藤编制的 | |
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sagging
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| 下垂[沉，陷]，松垂，垂度 | |
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mattress
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| n.床垫，床褥 | |
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poked
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| v.伸出( poke的过去式和过去分词 )；戳出；拨弄；与（某人）性交 | |
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fumed
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| 愤怒( fume的过去式和过去分词 )； 大怒； 发怒； 冒烟 | |
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petulant
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| adj.性急的，暴躁的 | |
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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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pier
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| n.码头；桥墩，桥柱；[建]窗间壁，支柱 | |
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discreetly
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| ad.(言行)审慎地，慎重地 | |
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aviator
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| n.飞行家，飞行员 | |
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precluded
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| v.阻止( preclude的过去式和过去分词 )；排除；妨碍；使…行不通 | |
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laundered
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| v.洗（衣服等），洗烫（衣服等）( launder的过去式和过去分词 )；洗（黑钱）（把非法收入改头换面，变为貌似合法的收入） | |
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linen
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| n.亚麻布，亚麻线，亚麻制品；adj.亚麻布制的，亚麻的 | |
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vessels
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| n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人 | |
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thither
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| adv.向那里；adj.在那边的，对岸的 | |
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accomplished
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| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
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blister
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| n.水疱；(油漆等的)气泡；v.(使)起泡 | |
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fiery
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| adj.燃烧着的，火红的；暴躁的；激烈的 | |
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soothing
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| adj.慰藉的；使人宽心的；镇静的 | |
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varied
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| adj.多样的，多变化的 | |
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42
winked
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| v.使眼色( wink的过去式和过去分词 )；递眼色（表示友好或高兴等）；（指光）闪烁；闪亮 | |
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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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instructor
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| n.指导者，教员，教练 | |
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45
compassion
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| n.同情，怜悯 | |
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46
bloody
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| adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染 | |
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47
rivalries
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| n.敌对，竞争，对抗( rivalry的名词复数 ) | |
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48
jealousies
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| n.妒忌( jealousy的名词复数 )；妒羡 | |
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49
expectancy
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| n.期望，预期，（根据概率统计求得）预期数额 | |
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50
goodwill
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| n.善意，亲善，信誉，声誉 | |
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51
solitary
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| adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士 | |
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52
usher
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| n.带位员，招待员；vt.引导，护送；vi.做招待，担任引座员 | |
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53
pang
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| n.剧痛，悲痛，苦闷 | |
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54
orphan
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| n.孤儿；adj.无父母的 | |
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55
ranch
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| n.大牧场，大农场 | |
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56
manly
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| adj.有男子气概的；adv.男子般地，果断地 | |
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adventurous
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| adj.爱冒险的；惊心动魄的，惊险的，刺激的 | |
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countenances
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| n.面容( countenance的名词复数 )；表情；镇静；道义支持 | |
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59
scrapping
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| 刮，切除坯体余泥 | |
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gilded
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| a.镀金的，富有的 | |
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61
watchful
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| adj.注意的，警惕的 | |
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62
solidified
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| （使）成为固体，（使）变硬，（使）变得坚固( solidify的过去式和过去分词 )； 使团结一致； 充实，巩固； 具体化 | |
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63
slab
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| n.平板，厚的切片；v.切成厚板，以平板盖上 | |
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64
smears
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| 污迹( smear的名词复数 )； 污斑； （显微镜的）涂片； 诽谤 | |
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65
trout
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| n.鳟鱼；鲑鱼(属) | |
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66
watchfulness
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| 警惕，留心； 警觉（性） | |
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extravagant
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| adj.奢侈的；过分的；(言行等)放肆的 | |
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