Some casualty of which he had no knowledge had occurred and in the catastrophe4 in some way Ned, his chum, his shipmate, had been drowned. Right then Herc would not have given a straw for his own life. The thought that Ned had perished, beat into his heart like a death knell5.
Careless of what the consequences to himself might be, he was about to declare himself and trust to his fists to fight his way to liberty, when he hesitated.
Kenworth, he knew by this time to be a miscreant[Pg 229] and perverter6 of the truth. Was it not possible, then, that he had purposely aired the report of Ned's supposed death in the hope that he (Herc) might hear him and in a moment of desperation give himself up?
The theory, based on what the Dreadnought Boy knew of the renegade midshipman, was at least tenable. After a moment's reflection Herc, now that the first shock was over, found himself unable to entertain the thought of Ned's death. It was impossible to believe that Ned Strong, the resourceful, the brave, had perished as Kenworth had described. If a weakling like the midshipman had escaped whatever disaster had happened, it was incredible that Ned had not saved himself.
"Give me a leg up, Saki,—quick; I want to be the first to confront that red-headed idiot."
It was Kenworth speaking again. Herc heard the others hoist7 more boxes on the top of his pile[Pg 230] and then came the sound of scrambling8 feet ascending10 the wobbly pyramid.
"Oh, what a sell for them when they find the roof is empty," chuckled11 Herc to himself. "I'd give a whole lot just to see their faces."
But with this reflection came another thought. When they found the roof tenantless12, would they not make a further search of the room? Undoubtedly13, and once they began turning things over, one of the first things they would discover would be Herc.
Under certain conditions Herc's mind worked quickly. It did so now. A sudden idea flashed into his head.
In a trice he had slipped out of his box and stood free. Kenworth had already chinned himself through the window and Saki was following him. In the room were only the spectacled Jap, the white man whom Herc had observed enter the place earlier, and one or two other Japs and white men, all hard-looking characters.
[Pg 231]
As Herc emerged from his box there came a shout from Kenworth on the roof.
"Confound it all, he's not here!"
"Whoop-ee! No, he isn't; he's right here! Wow!" Like a human battering15 ram9, Herc charged at the pile of boxes. Crash! Bang!
The Dreadnought Boy's broad shoulder struck the wobbly pedestal like the prow16 of a battleship.
"Look out for squalls!" he yelled, as the boxes, in a crashing avalanche17, came toppling down. The uproar18 was deafening19.
Stricken temporarily to immobility by the suddenness of the whole thing, the spectacled Jap and the others stood spellbound for an instant as the red-headed youth, having demolished20 the pile of boxes, came charging at them with his bullet head bent21 over like a young bull's. As he rushed ferociously22 at them Herc gave vent23 to a blood curdling24 yell.
"Wow! Whoop-ee! Stand aside for the human torpedo25!" he bellowed26.
[Pg 232]
Saki, who had been in the act of clambering from the boxes through the window when the box pile collapsed27, hung teetering from its ledge3 with his feet beating a tattoo28 on thin air. He was howling piteously for aid.
But right then things were moving far too swiftly for anyone to pay the least attention to the luckless Jap.
Herc's red head struck the spectacled Jap in the stomach and butted29 him clean across the room. He fell jammed into one of the empty packing cases and remained there, his legs waving feebly as though imploring30 help. One of the hard-looking white men tried to intercept31 Herc as he dashed for the door, but at the same instant he felt as if a tornado32 had struck him and he, too, doubled up and went to the floor with a crash.
From the roof came a loud shout from Kenworth.
"What the dickens——!"
[Pg 233]
He did not need to ask any more. One glance through the window showed him what was happening in the room below him: showed him, too, that he was marooned33 on the roof even as he had hoped to find Herc.
"Help me! help me!" howled Saki. "No can hold on much longer!"
"Confound you, this is all your fault," shouted Kenworth, beside himself with chagrin34. "Hey there! Kester! Vaux! hold that fellow! Don't let him get away; it means all our necks in a halter if you do!"
The two men addressed attempted to seize Herc. But they might as well have tried to capture a young hurricane. The red-headed lad's fighting blood was up. As they tried to intercept him, he rushed them and catching35 them both around the legs, he brought them down in one grand smash.
As they fell, their heads bumped together with a noise like a pistol shot.
[Pg 234]
"No more trouble from them," chuckled Herc gleefully.
The red-headed lad was beginning to enjoy himself. The Japs who alone were left standing36, were huddled37 in one corner of the room out of the way of the "white demon38 with the head of flames."
"Any more?" howled Herc gleefully, and went charging for the door leading into the dark passage. His plan was made. Once he gained the front shop, he meant to force his way out to the street, if possible through the locked portal. If he could not batter14 his way out there, he meant to smash a window and run at top speed for the authorities.
But as he dashed for the door, there came a yell of dismay and the noise of a heavy fall behind him. Kenworth, half through the window, had been trying to assist Saki. But he lost his balance just as the weight of the Jap came on[Pg 235] him, and together he and Saki had come crashing down to the floor of the room below.
Luckily for them, the two men that Herc had just attended to lay there and their bodies broke the force of the fall. Not injured in the least, owing to this—for him—lucky accident, Kenworth was on his feet again in the wink39 of an eyelid40.
As Herc's form vanished through the doorway41, he drew a revolver and in the insane fury of his rage, fired a shot at the Dreadnought Boy's fleeing form. Herc felt the breeze of the bullet as it winged past him and buried itself harmlessly in the wall.
"Blaze away!" he shouted. "In five minutes' time I'll have the whole boiling of you in——"
The sentence was not completed. In the room he had left behind him, the spectacled Jap, who had recovered his wits, had darted42 for a lever in the wall. He pulled it toward him.
[Pg 236]
At the same instant, Herc felt the floor of the passage drop from under his feet and found himself falling, falling, falling into a black void, while fires and lightnings wheeled and darted wildly through his confused brain.
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收听单词发音
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1
crouched
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| v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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stifling
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| a.令人窒息的 | |
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ledge
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| n.壁架，架状突出物；岩架，岩礁 | |
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4
catastrophe
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| n.大灾难，大祸 | |
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knell
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| n.丧钟声；v.敲丧钟 | |
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perverter
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| 不正当的 | |
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7
hoist
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| n.升高，起重机，推动；v.升起，升高，举起 | |
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8
scrambling
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| v.快速爬行( scramble的现在分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞 | |
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9
ram
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| (random access memory)随机存取存储器 | |
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ascending
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| adj.上升的，向上的 | |
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chuckled
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| 轻声地笑( chuckle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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12
tenantless
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| adj.无人租赁的，无人居住的 | |
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undoubtedly
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| adv.确实地，无疑地 | |
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14
batter
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| v.接连重击；磨损；n.牛奶面糊；击球员 | |
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15
battering
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| n.用坏，损坏v.连续猛击( batter的现在分词 ) | |
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16
prow
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| n.(飞机)机头，船头 | |
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17
avalanche
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| n.雪崩，大量涌来 | |
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18
uproar
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| n.骚动，喧嚣，鼎沸 | |
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19
deafening
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| adj. 振耳欲聋的, 极喧闹的 动词deafen的现在分词形式 | |
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20
demolished
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| v.摧毁( demolish的过去式和过去分词 )；推翻；拆毁（尤指大建筑物）；吃光 | |
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21
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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22
ferociously
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| 野蛮地，残忍地 | |
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23
vent
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| n.通风口，排放口；开衩；vt.表达，发泄 | |
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24
curdling
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| n.凝化v.（使）凝结( curdle的现在分词 ) | |
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25
torpedo
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| n.水雷，地雷；v.用鱼雷破坏 | |
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26
bellowed
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| v.发出吼叫声，咆哮（尤指因痛苦）( bellow的过去式和过去分词 )；（愤怒地）说出（某事），大叫 | |
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27
collapsed
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| adj.倒塌的 | |
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28
tattoo
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| n.纹身，(皮肤上的)刺花纹；vt.刺花纹于 | |
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29
butted
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| 对接的 | |
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30
imploring
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| 恳求的，哀求的 | |
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31
intercept
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| vt.拦截，截住，截击 | |
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32
tornado
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| n.飓风，龙卷风 | |
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33
marooned
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| adj.被围困的；孤立无援的；无法脱身的 | |
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34
chagrin
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| n.懊恼；气愤；委屈 | |
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35
catching
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| adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住 | |
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36
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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37
huddled
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| 挤在一起（huddle的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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38
demon
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| n.魔鬼，恶魔 | |
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39
wink
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| n.眨眼，使眼色，瞬间；v.眨眼，使眼色，闪烁 | |
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40
eyelid
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| n.眼睑，眼皮 | |
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41
doorway
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| n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径 | |
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42
darted
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| v.投掷，投射( dart的过去式和过去分词 )；向前冲，飞奔 | |
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