Since his vain appeal for help, the Dreadnought Boy had sat, sunk in a sort of lethargy, on the pile of sail. As the water grew higher, he had mechanically dragged the heap of canvas closer together, raising it and forming a sort of island above the rising inundation2.
It was the instinct of life fighting against despair, for that he could ever escape from his prison Herc had long since deemed an impossibility.
He sat there in the darkness listening to the lapping of the water against the walls. His head was sunk in his hands and as the heavy minutes went by, from time to time he would feel the[Pg 262] water to convince himself that it actually was rising.
The high water mark on the cellar walls told him how high the tide usually climbed. Long before it had reached that mark the water would be over his head.
It was true that Herc was a first-rate swimmer, strong of limb and sound of wind. But what would that avail him, except to prolong his misery3?
Already in prospect4 he had tasted the bitterness of the last struggle against the incoming flood of waters, the battle that grew hourly less vigorous, and then the final chapter when, too exhausted5 to fight longer for his life, the slimy waters would engulf6 him.
He wondered dully if they would ever find him. It seemed hardly likely. Who would dream of looking for him in that place? Again and again he reproached himself bitterly for the mad folly7 that had led him into such a trap.
[Pg 263]
The fault was his. There was no one else to blame for it. Had he not acted so hastily on impulse, all might have been well with him. Too late he realized that he had accomplished8 no useful purpose by penetrating9 into the haunt of the spies. It would have been wisdom's part first to have notified the authorities and then made his attack on the place.
"Well, I've been a chump and this is what I get for it," muttered the lad bitterly. "Good old Ned, I can't believe that he is really dead. I wonder if he'll ever learn how I ended my life in this wretched rat-hole of a place. It's a tough way to die. I wouldn't mind facing death in battle or in line of duty, but to die like this alone, in the dark, with the tide water waiting to drag me down——"
Herc pursued this line of thought no further. It bade fair to unman him. He felt a desperate desire to hurl10 himself against the walls, to shout, to scream, to do anything to avert11 his fate. But[Pg 264] he knew that nothing short of a miracle could save him now.
He struck one of his few remaining matches. The water was up to his feet!
Herc gave a groan12. It was fairly forced from him. As the match spluttered out, he knew that before very long he would feel the chilly13 grasp of the tide at his knees, then at his waist, and then as it rose inch by inch, it would engulf him to his neck.
Then would come the struggle for life, the hopeless battle against overwhelming odds14, and then—the end.
Fairly driven wild by these reflections, the unfortunate lad shouted and raved15 till his voice grew hoarse16. But there was no answer except the ripple17 of the water against the cement walls and the hollow echo of his shouts as they were flung back mockingly at him.
He felt a sharp shock as the water whelmed[Pg 265] over his island of canvas. In a few minutes more it was at his waist.
Herc stood up erect18 and stepped off his little pile of canvas, now useless as an isle19 of safety. He kindled20 another match.
The yellow flame sputtered21 up and showed him the water all about him. It was knee deep and appeared to be coming in more rapidly. Over its surface was spread an oily scum from the damp floor.
Herc was glad when the match died out. He determined22 not to light any more, but to wait his end with as much courage as he could muster23.
"I'll fight it out like a man-o'-war's-man, anyhow," he muttered, "but it's tough—tough to have to go this way."
The water rose inch by inch as remorselessly as destiny itself. Herc stood in stoical silence and felt it creeping up his body till it had reached his chest.
[Pg 266]
Only a few moments more, now, and then—the end.
Herc found himself growing strangely calm. He wondered what they would think on the ship when he failed to return. If his messmates would miss him, if Ned was safe and sound and would ever learn how his shipmate had perished.
The water was up to his chin.
A slight movement on the lad's part and a tiny wavelet spattered against his mouth. He tasted the brackish24 water of the tide. Herc wished that it would end right then and there. He felt that it was hardly worth while even to swim. If he was to drown, he might as well not resist his fate, but meet it passively.
But the instinct of self-preservation prevails even among the most pusillanimous25. It can turn a coward into a dangerous foe26. Herc struck out as the water reached his mouth.
He swam easily about, hardly thinking. His mind felt dulled and bruised27. He swam mechanically.[Pg 267] He knew that the end was not far off now.
And now, in the hope that he might have overlooked some projection28 on the walls to which he might cling, he began feeling along them. But the cement was smooth as glass, slimy to the touch, and cold as ice.
Herc began to feel chilled. His limbs felt heavy. He no longer swam strongly about seeking, like a cornered rat, for some means of escape, but allowed himself to float or else tread water.
Bit by bit his efforts began to grow weaker. He felt that he could not keep up much longer, and somehow he did not much care.
It was just at that moment that something struck him a violent blow under the chin.
It was an old plank29. Thrown into the cellar at some forgotten time, it was floating on the top of the water and had rocked against the lad at a critical moment.
[Pg 268]
Herc reached out and grasped it. Somehow the touch of it was almost as comforting to him as human companionship. Once more the tide of life, the desire to live, swelled30 through his veins31. He was again a fighter.
Supporting himself on the plank, he began to think. By stretching out his hand he could touch the ceiling of the cellar.
Suddenly a thought flashed into his mind. If he could locate the trap-door, and it was not locked, he had a fighting chance for his life.
The thought acted on him like a stimulant32. All his apathy33 forgotten now, Herc began feeling about the ceiling of the place. Far from wishing that the tide would recede34, he was now afraid that it would do so before he had had time to locate the trap-door.
How he wished that he had a match! It was terribly tedious work feeling about that ceiling in the pitchy darkness. The planking above was rough, too, and Herc was by no means sure that[Pg 269] he could distinguish the trap-door when he came to it.
But at last, after what seemed to be an eternity35 of fumbling36, his fingers encountered what felt like the under end of some bolts.
He guessed that he had found the fastenings of the trap-door at last. Raising himself on his friendly plank, Herc exerted his strength and pushed upward.
Sosh! The effort sent him under water. But he didn't mind that. He was sure that the door had yielded a little.
The next time he tried, he braced37 himself on a supporting ceiling beam by one hand while he shoved upward with the other. He almost uttered a shout of joy as he did so.
The door moved!
He inserted his fingers in the crack, and then, using his head as a lever, he drew himself up till he could rest his chest on the flooring of the passage.
[Pg 270]
The rest was easy. Within five minutes, Herc, dripping wet and chilled to the bone, was standing38 in the passage—safe and sound. As he stood there, he did not forget to offer up a fervent39 prayer of thankfulness to Providence40 for his deliverance.
He made his way down the passage to the front shop. It was empty. As he had suspected, the conspirators41, who had made it their headquarters, had decamped.
On the floor near the door, which had been left open, Herc spied a scrap42 of paper. He picked it up and saw that there was writing upon it. With some difficulty he deciphered the scrawl43:
"Yacht Halcyon44. Erie Basin. Thence Panama."
"Now what does that mean?" said Herc to himself, scratching his head perplexedly. "I guess I'll keep this, anyhow; it may give the police a clew."
A few moments later the nattily45 dressed summer[Pg 271] residents of the island were astonished at the spectacle of a red-headed youth in dripping garments hurrying down the main street, inquiring anxiously the direction of the police station.
When it was found, Herc had a story to tell that resulted in detectives being scattered46 broadcast through the island. But all efforts to locate the conspirators were unavailing.
They had had a good start and had made the most of it.
In the meantime, Herc made his way to a wireless47 station maintained on the island and secured communication with the gunboat. What he learned did not decrease his uneasiness on Ned's account.
The young skipper had not returned and an officer had been detailed48 from the fleet to command the craft. Herc was peremptorily49 ordered to report on board the Manhattan at once and give an account of himself.
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1
reverberated
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| 回响，回荡( reverberate的过去式和过去分词 )； 使反响，使回荡，使反射 | |
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2
inundation
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| n.the act or fact of overflowing | |
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3
misery
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| n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦 | |
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prospect
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| n.前景，前途；景色，视野 | |
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exhausted
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| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
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6
engulf
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| vt.吞没，吞食 | |
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7
folly
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| n.愚笨，愚蠢，蠢事，蠢行，傻话 | |
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8
accomplished
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| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
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9
penetrating
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| adj.（声音）响亮的，尖锐的adj.（气味）刺激的adj.（思想）敏锐的，有洞察力的 | |
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10
hurl
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| vt.猛投，力掷，声叫骂 | |
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11
avert
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| v.防止，避免；转移(目光、注意力等) | |
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12
groan
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| vi./n.呻吟，抱怨；(发出)呻吟般的声音 | |
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13
chilly
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| adj.凉快的，寒冷的 | |
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14
odds
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| n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别 | |
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15
raved
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| v.胡言乱语( rave的过去式和过去分词 )；愤怒地说；咆哮；痴心地说 | |
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16
hoarse
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| adj.嘶哑的，沙哑的 | |
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17
ripple
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| n.涟波，涟漪，波纹，粗钢梳；vt.使...起涟漪，使起波纹； vi.呈波浪状，起伏前进 | |
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18
erect
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| n./v.树立，建立，使竖立；adj.直立的，垂直的 | |
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isle
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| n.小岛，岛 | |
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20
kindled
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| （使某物）燃烧，着火( kindle的过去式和过去分词 )； 激起（感情等）； 发亮，放光 | |
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21
sputtered
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| v.唾沫飞溅( sputter的过去式和过去分词 )；发劈啪声；喷出；飞溅出 | |
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22
determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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23
muster
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| v.集合，收集，鼓起，激起；n.集合，检阅，集合人员，点名册 | |
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24
brackish
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| adj.混有盐的；咸的 | |
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25
pusillanimous
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| adj.懦弱的，胆怯的 | |
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26
foe
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| n.敌人，仇敌 | |
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27
bruised
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| [医]青肿的，瘀紫的 | |
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28
projection
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| n.发射，计划，突出部分 | |
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29
plank
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| n.板条，木板，政策要点，政纲条目 | |
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30
swelled
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| 增强( swell的过去式和过去分词 )； 肿胀； （使）凸出； 充满（激情） | |
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31
veins
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| n.纹理；矿脉( vein的名词复数 )；静脉；叶脉；纹理 | |
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32
stimulant
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| n.刺激物，兴奋剂 | |
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33
apathy
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| n.漠不关心，无动于衷；冷淡 | |
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34
recede
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| vi.退(去)，渐渐远去；向后倾斜，缩进 | |
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35
eternity
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| n.不朽，来世；永恒，无穷 | |
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36
fumbling
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| n. 摸索,漏接 v. 摸索,摸弄,笨拙的处理 | |
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37
braced
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| adj.拉牢的v.支住( brace的过去式和过去分词 )；撑牢；使自己站稳；振作起来 | |
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38
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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39
fervent
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| adj.热的，热烈的，热情的 | |
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40
providence
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| n.深谋远虑，天道，天意；远见；节约；上帝 | |
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41
conspirators
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| n.共谋者，阴谋家( conspirator的名词复数 ) | |
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42
scrap
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| n.碎片；废料；v.废弃，报废 | |
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43
scrawl
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| vt.潦草地书写；n.潦草的笔记，涂写 | |
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44
halcyon
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| n.平静的，愉快的 | |
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45
nattily
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| adv.整洁地，帅地 | |
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46
scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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47
wireless
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| adj.无线的；n.无线电 | |
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48
detailed
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| adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的 | |
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49
peremptorily
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| adv.紧急地，不容分说地，专横地 | |
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