XXXI. CHARLIE'S ESCAPE FROM THE SHIP.

Randall had made an appointment to meet his agent at midnight at the place where they originally met.

Some ten minutes before the hour he entered, and found the Brazilian seated at a table with a bottle before him.

"I am here first," said the latter, nonchalantly, as he laid down a glass which he had drained.

"So it seems," said Randall. "And now, what success?" he asked, eagerly.

"The best."

"You have——"

"I have earned my reward."

"Good!" exclaimed the mate, his eyes flashing with revengeful malice¹.

"And now," said the assassin, coolly, "I am ready to receive my pay."

"You shall have it as soon as you prove to me that you have stated the truth."

"Do you dare to doubt my word?" said the Brazilian, fiercely.

"Not at all."

[251]

"Why, then, do you demand this proof? Have I not told you?"

"Because," said Randall, "you must know, that in this matter I am the agent of another, and that the money with which I pay you is not mine, but only what he has intrusted to me."

"Well?"

"You will easily understand that, though I may be perfectly² satisfied with your assurance, he is a different person. He has never met with you, and may very reasonably require some proof that the deed has been done."

"Would you know the hair of this man?" asked the Brazilian.

"I should."

He drew from his bosom³ a lock of hair which he had severed⁴ from the head of his victim.

Randall looked at it eagerly, turned pale, and uttered an exclamation⁵ of mingled⁶ surprise and dismay.

"You have made a great mistake," he said.

"A mistake?" echoed the other.

"Yes," said Randall; "you must have killed the wrong man!"

"What makes you think so?"

"Because the hair should be sandy. This is black."

[252]

"Beware," said the assassin, suspiciously, "how you attempt to trick me out of my reward. The knife which has drunk the blood of one can, on occasion, do the same thing for another."

"Your suspicions are unjust," said the mate. "In any event, you are welcome to what you have already received, and we must enter upon a new contract for the other."

"Umph!" muttered his companion, but half appeased⁷.

"And now let us go and see who has been the victim of this unlucky mistake."

Together they proceed cautiously to the alley⁹ where the sailor yet lay, cold and rigid¹⁰, his face wearing the look of dark, sullen¹¹ hatred¹² and ferocity which had been habitual¹³ to it in life.

"Good heavens!" exclaimed Randall. "This is Antonio."

"Is it not the man you intended?"

"No; it is his deadly foe¹⁴. But what a fearful look he wears in death. Was there any struggle?"

"No; he had no chance."

"You did not kill him instantly?"

"He had time to ask a question."

"What was it?"

[253]

"He asked if I had been hired to murder him."

"And you answered——"

"Yes."

"Did you tell him by whom you were hired?"

"I had no opportunity. He had just strength to ask the question, and then died."

"He supposed it to be another," said Randall. "But it can't be helped, and we may as well leave this place, or we may incur¹⁵ suspicion. I don't know that I care much for the mistake. He was an ugly fellow."

"About the other?"

"If you will be on the wharf¹⁶ to-morrow morning, I will take care that the man is on deck. You could not fail to recognize him, but to avoid all mistake, I will go forward and speak to him."

"And am I to receive no more than twenty dollars for what I have already done?" asked the Brazilian, discontentedly.

"Did you take nothing from the corpse¹⁷?"

The assassin had found considerable money, and the thought of this tended to appease⁸ him.

"You are welcome to that, whatever it is, and for the new enterprise you shall have as[254] much as I promised in the first place. You see, therefore, that you will be a gainer by the mistake that has taken place, while I shall be out of pocket by it."

"You said you were but an agent."

"So I am, but this money will come from me."

Here the two villains¹⁸ parted company, one betaking himself to his ship, the other returning to the drinking-saloon, where he spent the remainder of the night in drunken revelry.

In the meantime the man against whose life Randall had plotted unsuccessfully was preparing another disappointment for the mate.

On leaving the ship, not dreaming how important to him had been the ten minutes by which his comrades had preceded him, Bill Sturdy struck for the central part of the city by the most direct route.

Turning a corner, he unexpectedly fell in with a sailor who had been a messmate on a former voyage. Bill ascertained¹⁹ that his comrade was about to sail in two days for Liverpool, and from thence to New York.

"Can your captain take another hand?" asked Sturdy.

"I have no doubt he would like one, for[255] we are short-handed. We lost a sailor overboard just before we got into Rio."

"Do you carry any passengers?"

"A few."

"I shall want to secure a berth²⁰ for one."

"You don't mean to say, Bill, that you've been spliced²¹?"

"Not quite so bad as that. The passenger is a boy."

"A son of yours?"

"I wish he was," said Bill, earnestly; "but I'll tell you more about this matter another time. For the present, keep dark. And that reminds me, can you tell me of any quiet, decent place where the lad and I can come to anchor?"

"I know of a widow woman who will give you good rooms."

Bill took down the address.

Toward twelve o'clock he returned to the wharf at which the vessel²² was lying. While he was standing²³ in the shadow of a large building the cathedral clock struck twelve.

A moment after, and a youthful form appeared upon deck, descended²⁴ the side swiftly, and stepped on the wharf.

"Here I am, my lad," said Sturdy, in a low voice, coming out from his place of concealment²⁵.

[256]

"I was afraid you wouldn't be here," whispered Charlie.

"Trust me for that. And now we must be making sail, or the pirates will be after us."

And this is the way Charlie took leave of the Bouncing Betsey.

1 malice   

n.恶意，怨恨，蓄意；[律]预谋

参考例句：

• I detected a suggestion of malice in his remarks.我觉察出他说的话略带恶意。
• There was a strong current of malice in many of his portraits.他的许多肖像画中都透着一股强烈的怨恨。

2 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

3 bosom   

n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的

参考例句：

• She drew a little book from her bosom.她从怀里取出一本小册子。
• A dark jealousy stirred in his bosom.他内心生出一阵恶毒的嫉妒。

4 severed   

v.切断，断绝( sever的过去式和过去分词 )；断，裂

参考例句：

• The doctor said I'd severed a vessel in my leg. 医生说我割断了腿上的一根血管。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• We have severed diplomatic relations with that country. 我们与那个国家断绝了外交关系。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 exclamation   

n.感叹号，惊呼，惊叹词

参考例句：

• He could not restrain an exclamation of approval.他禁不住喝一声采。
• The author used three exclamation marks at the end of the last sentence to wake up the readers.作者在文章的最后一句连用了三个惊叹号，以引起读者的注意。

6 mingled   

混合，混入( mingle的过去式和过去分词 )； 混进，与…交往[联系]

参考例句：

• The sounds of laughter and singing mingled in the evening air. 笑声和歌声交织在夜空中。
• The man and the woman mingled as everyone started to relax. 当大家开始放松的时候，这一男一女就开始交往了。

7 appeased   

安抚，抚慰( appease的过去式和过去分词 )； 绥靖（满足另一国的要求以避免战争）

参考例句：

• His hunger could only be appeased by his wife. 他的欲望只有他的妻子能满足。
• They are the more readily appeased. 他们比较容易和解。

8 appease   

v.安抚，缓和，平息，满足

参考例句：

• He tried to appease the crying child by giving him candy.他试图给那个啼哭的孩子糖果使他不哭。
• The government tried to appease discontented workers.政府试图安抚不满的工人们。

9 alley   

n.小巷，胡同；小径，小路

参考例句：

• We live in the same alley.我们住在同一条小巷里。
• The blind alley ended in a brick wall.这条死胡同的尽头是砖墙。

10 rigid   

adj.严格的，死板的；刚硬的，僵硬的

参考例句：

• She became as rigid as adamant.她变得如顽石般的固执。
• The examination was so rigid that nearly all aspirants were ruled out.考试很严，几乎所有的考生都被淘汰了。

11 sullen   

adj.愠怒的，闷闷不乐的，(天气等)阴沉的

参考例句：

• He looked up at the sullen sky.他抬头看了一眼阴沉的天空。
• Susan was sullen in the morning because she hadn't slept well.苏珊今天早上郁闷不乐，因为昨晚没睡好。

12 hatred   

n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨

参考例句：

• He looked at me with hatred in his eyes.他以憎恨的眼光望着我。
• The old man was seized with burning hatred for the fascists.老人对法西斯主义者充满了仇恨。

13 habitual   

adj.习惯性的；通常的，惯常的

参考例句：

• He is a habitual criminal.他是一个惯犯。
• They are habitual visitors to our house.他们是我家的常客。

14 foe   

n.敌人，仇敌

参考例句：

• He knew that Karl could be an implacable foe.他明白卡尔可能会成为他的死敌。
• A friend is a friend;a foe is a foe;one must be clearly distinguished from the other.敌是敌，友是友，必须分清界限。

15 incur   

vt.招致，蒙受，遭遇

参考例句：

• Any costs that you incur will be reimbursed in full.你的所有花费都将全额付还。
• An enterprise has to incur certain costs and expenses in order to stay in business.一个企业为了维持营业,就不得不承担一定的费用和开支。

16 wharf   

n.码头，停泊处

参考例句：

• We fetch up at the wharf exactly on time.我们准时到达码头。
• We reached the wharf gasping for breath.我们气喘吁吁地抵达了码头。

17 corpse   

n.尸体，死尸

参考例句：

• What she saw was just an unfeeling corpse.她见到的只是一具全无感觉的尸体。
• The corpse was preserved from decay by embalming.尸体用香料涂抹以防腐烂。

18 villains   

n.恶棍( villain的名词复数 )；罪犯；（小说、戏剧等中的）反面人物；淘气鬼

参考例句：

• The impression of villains was inescapable. 留下恶棍的印象是不可避免的。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Some villains robbed the widow of the savings. 有几个歹徒将寡妇的积蓄劫走了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

19 ascertained   

v.弄清，确定，查明( ascertain的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The previously unidentified objects have now been definitely ascertained as being satellites. 原来所说的不明飞行物现在已证实是卫星。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I ascertained that she was dead. 我断定她已经死了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

20 berth   

n.卧铺，停泊地，锚位；v.使停泊

参考例句：

• She booked a berth on the train from London to Aberdeen.她订了一张由伦敦开往阿伯丁的火车卧铺票。
• They took up a berth near the harbor.他们在港口附近找了个位置下锚。

21 spliced   

adj.（针织品）加固的n.叠接v.绞接( splice的过去式和过去分词 )；捻接（两段绳子）；胶接；粘接（胶片、磁带等）

参考例句：

• He spliced the two lengths of film together. 他把两段胶卷粘接起来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Have you heard?John's just got spliced. 听说了吗？约翰刚结了婚。 来自辞典例句

22 vessel   

n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管

参考例句：

• The vessel is fully loaded with cargo for Shanghai.这艘船满载货物驶往上海。
• You should put the water into a vessel.你应该把水装入容器中。

23 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

24 descended   

a.为...后裔的，出身于...的

参考例句：

• A mood of melancholy descended on us. 一种悲伤的情绪袭上我们的心头。
• The path descended the hill in a series of zigzags. 小路呈连续的之字形顺着山坡蜿蜒而下。

25 concealment   

n.隐藏, 掩盖，隐瞒

参考例句：

• the concealment of crime 对罪行的隐瞒
• Stay in concealment until the danger has passed. 把自己藏起来，待危险过去后再出来。