Just at that moment two bells—one o'clock—sounded in the slow, deep, mellow2 tones of the ship's bell. Simultaneously3 there appeared, through a doorway4 at one end of the wardroom, the figure of a dapper Japanese, dressed in white garments.
"Hullo! Who are you?" demanded Ned, looking up from a reverie into which he had fallen, following Herc's departure.
"Me Saki. Officer steward5. Me getee lunch for honorable capitan," rejoined the Jap with a low bow.
[Pg 98]
"Mr. Summerville made no mention to me of you," said Ned, looking the Jap over.
"No doubt, sir, no doubt," was the reply; "me only joinee ship in New York."
Ned said no more, but, telling the steward to summon him when the meal was ready, he resumed his meditations6. Truly the young skipper of the Seneca was in need of time to think and ponder.
This command of his, of which he had been so proud, evidently was not going to prove any sinecure7. Then, somehow, the face of the Jap floated before his mind. He had seen it somewhere before, he was certain. Perhaps it was on some other naval8 craft, for Japanese stewards9 are much affected10 in the United States Navy.
It was a striking face, too: thick, bushy hair brushed up above a massive forehead, far squarer and more prominent than Jap's foreheads usually are, forming a sort of bristly aureole for a yellow face with dark, forbidding eyebrows11 and a heavy[Pg 99] jaw12. Saki was not a common type of Jap. He was heavier, less obsequious13 and smiling, more sure of himself.
But such thoughts quickly flitted from Ned's mind as the problem of Kenworth put itself forward. Mated with this reflection came the image of Rankin. Both were men who disliked and, in one case at least, hated Ned and Herc.
True, Rankin had no cause but a purely14 unreasonable15 one—as it were—for his antipathy16 to the young captain of the Seneca and his first officer, but it was none the less plain, even without taking the overheard conversation on the bridge into account, that the man had made up his mind to do all the harm he could.
How soon he would strike, of course, Ned had no idea; nor what form his malice17 would take. That Ned had concluded that Kenworth had purposely run upon the shoal, we already know, but with how much justice he had arrived at such a deduction18, he could not determine.
[Pg 100]
The course was soon worked out and Ned proceeded to the chart house. He summoned Herc and gave him his sailing directions, and then proceeded to make an inspection19 of the ship. On his return from this duty, he suddenly recollected20 that he had left the door of his stateroom unlocked.
He descended21 the stairs swiftly and almost noiselessly. As he reached the foot of them, he saw a form suddenly emerge from his cabin and glide22 silently as a cat across the wardroom in the direction of the stern door, where he knew the steward's cabin and pantry, as well as the store-room, were located.
"Who's that?" he called in a sharp, authoritative23 voice.
"That you, Mr. Capitan, sir?" came in Saki's voice. "Me just go by your cabin, tell you lunch is ready, sir."
"Very well. Come here, Saki."
[Pg 101]
"Yes, sir," rejoined Saki, hurrying back and bowing low.
"You must never enter my cabin, do you understand? That's private ground except when I am in it. And Saki."
"Honorable naval mister." Saki again bowed low, spreading his hands.
"Have I ever seen you before?"
"I have never had the felicity of looking upon the honorable capitan's face."
"Very well. You may call Ensign Taylor." For Ned and Herc, as befitted their respective ranks on board the Seneca, ate their meals in solitary24 state.
Midshipman Kenworth and the other warrant officers followed them. Such was the strict etiquette25 of the navy, even on so small a craft as the Seneca.
"Funny," thought Ned, "it's odd, but I can't get it out of my head that I have seen him before somewhere. Jove! I have it! It was at Nagasaki,[Pg 102] on the world cruise. He was found examining guns and firing systems on board the Manhattan. As he could give no satisfactory account of himself, he was ejected. I'm sure it's the same man. I wonder——"
But the entrance of Herc put a stop to further speculation26. Saki waited on them during the meal with silent dexterity27. Once or twice Ned sought a chance to study his face without being observed, but every time he found that the Jap's eyes were fixed28 on him, although quickly averted29 when the Oriental saw that he was being noticed.
After lunch he took an opportunity to make some inquiries30 concerning the Jap, and learned that he had come on board at New York, as he had said. Midshipman Kenworth was believed to have secured him, the Jap having been highly recommended as a servant by a relative of the former.
"Kenworth, again," muttered Ned to himself. "It's odd, very odd, how he is always bobbing[Pg 103] up. Jove," he broke off suddenly, "I never thought to overhaul31 that desk of mine. The way that Jap came out of there like a rabbit out of a hole was suspicious, to say the least. I'll go below and have a look."
But a narrow inspection of the cabin showed that nothing had been disturbed. Carefully Ned locked up his orders in his desk, and when he went out, secured the door.
"All right this time, but it's a risk I don't want to chance again," he said to himself as he ascended32 to the bridge. "Somehow I don't trust that Jap, any more than I do those other fellows."
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1
eavesdropper
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| 偷听者 | |
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2
mellow
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| adj.柔和的；熟透的；v.变柔和；(使)成熟 | |
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simultaneously
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| adv.同时发生地，同时进行地 | |
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doorway
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| n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径 | |
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5
steward
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| n.乘务员，服务员；看管人；膳食管理员 | |
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meditations
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| 默想( meditation的名词复数 )； 默念； 沉思； 冥想 | |
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7
sinecure
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| n.闲差事，挂名职务 | |
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8
naval
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| adj.海军的，军舰的，船的 | |
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9
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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10
affected
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| adj.不自然的，假装的 | |
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11
eyebrows
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| 眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 ) | |
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12
jaw
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| n.颚，颌，说教，流言蜚语；v.喋喋不休，教训 | |
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13
obsequious
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| adj.谄媚的，奉承的，顺从的 | |
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14
purely
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| adv.纯粹地，完全地 | |
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15
unreasonable
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| adj.不讲道理的，不合情理的，过度的 | |
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16
antipathy
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| n.憎恶；反感，引起反感的人或事物 | |
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17
malice
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| n.恶意，怨恨，蓄意；[律]预谋 | |
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18
deduction
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| n.减除，扣除，减除额；推论，推理，演绎 | |
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inspection
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| n.检查，审查，检阅 | |
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recollected
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| adj.冷静的；镇定的；被回忆起的；沉思默想的v.记起，想起( recollect的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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21
descended
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| a.为...后裔的，出身于...的 | |
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22
glide
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| n./v.溜，滑行；(时间)消逝 | |
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authoritative
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| adj.有权威的，可相信的；命令式的；官方的 | |
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solitary
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| adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士 | |
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etiquette
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| n.礼仪，礼节；规矩 | |
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speculation
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| n.思索，沉思；猜测；投机 | |
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dexterity
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| n.(手的)灵巧，灵活 | |
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28
fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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29
averted
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| 防止，避免( avert的过去式和过去分词 )； 转移 | |
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inquiries
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| n.调查( inquiry的名词复数 )；疑问；探究；打听 | |
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31
overhaul
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| v./n.大修，仔细检查 | |
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32
ascended
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| v.上升，攀登( ascend的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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