Joan Fordibras is Discovered on the Diamond Ship.
You are to imagine a still sea and a great four-masted sailing ship drifting upon it at the hazard of a summer breeze. The night is intensely dark, and the sky gives veins2 of mackerel cloud upon a field of slaty3 blue. Far away, a ring of silver iridescence4, low down upon an open horizon, suggests that great inverted5 bowl within which all ships are ever prisoned from the first day of their sailing to the last. The monster vessel6 herself is brilliantly lighted from stem to stern. Faintly over the water there comes to us a sound of bibulous7 song and hilarity8. My quick ear catches the note of a piccolo, and upon that of a man’s voice singing not untunefully. I say that there is no discipline whatever upon such a deck; no thought of danger, no fear of discovery. The pillar of light has become a halting mockery. Much is to be dared, much to be won upon such a night.
“Consider”—and this I put to Captain Larry—“they have guns, but who has trained their gunners? Let them fall to artillery9 practice, and it is two to one they blow up the ship. Even one of Percy Scott’s miracles would make no certainty of such a yacht as this on such a night. We ought to risk it, Captain—we ought to risk it for a woman’s sake.”
Larry was a brave enough man, but, like all his race, a very prudent11 one.
“If you wish it, sir. But there are the men to think of. Don’t forget the wives and children at home, sir.”
“Did the men so put it, Larry?”
“Bless you, no, sir, they’d swim aboard there if I gave the word.”
I reflected upon it a little while, and it seemed to me that Larry must be right. Accustomed to work alone and to be the arbiter12 of all risks, I had for the instant forgotten my responsibilities toward those who served me so well. By no necessity to be named, by no duty to humanity or to myself, could I ask these honest fellows to go further with me. Even where we lay, a lucky shot might destroy us. Half a dozen times in as many minutes my heart was in my mouth as the great beam of light marked another point in the heavens or momentarily disappeared. Let them cast its effulgent13 beams again upon the waste of waters, and assuredly were we discovered. Not alone in the reflection, I could read it also upon the set faces of my friends. A telepathic sense of danger held us mutually entranced. The villains14 over yonder had made an end of their music. Instinct said that they would search the seas again, and so unmask us.
It is futile15, in my opinion, for any writer to attempt to describe the particular sensations, either of exhilaration or of terror, which come to him in moments of great peril16. Should he set down the truth, he is named either a boaster or a liar17; if he would evade18 the truth, his story can be but commonplace. To a close friend I would say that when the looked-for event happened, when the rogues19 at last turned their searchlight upon the waves again, I had no thought at all of the consequences of discovery, but only a fascinating curiosity of the eyes which followed the beam wonderingly, and stood amazed when it passed over us. Vast, monstrous20, blazing, the fearful eye of light focussed itself upon us for a terrible instant, and then swept the whole circle of the seas with its blinding beams. Twice, thrice, it went thus, hearts standing21 still almost as it approached us, leaping again as it passed onward22. Then, as surprisingly, it remained fixed23 upon the further side of the Diamond Ship, and in the same instant, far away to north-west, a crimson rocket cleaved24 the black darkness of the night, and a shower of gold-red balls burst hoveringly above the desert waters.
“What do you make of that, Larry?”
“Not a signal from any common ship, sir. We don’t use that kind of rocket.”
“’Tis the fourth of July, bedad, or the Crystal Palace that’s flying!” cried Timothy.
“Larry,” said I, “that’s one of their patrols. I rather fancy a man of the name of Colin Ross is aboard her. If so, the Jew is to receive some shocks.”
“I wish to heaven they came by way of a seaman’s arm, sir. Yes, it’s as you say. Yon is a steamer, and here goes the answering rocket.”
He pointed25 to the sky above the Diamond Ship, ablaze26 with a spray of vivid green radiance, the answering signal to the distant ship. The nature of our own escape now became quite clear to me. The look-outs over yonder had espied27 the lights of the relief steamer and had used the searchlight to signal her. The great arcs, the circling beams, were but those preliminary movements with which every operator tries the lantern he is about to use. No eye had followed their aureole, I made sure. We had escaped observation simply because every man aboard yonder vessel had been looking at the incoming steamer, bearing from Europe news which might be of such moment.
“Larry,” I said, jumping at the idea of it; “it’s now or never. Let her go while they are at the parley28. I’ll stake my life on it there is no look-out to starboard. Let’s have a look at them when they least expect us.”
“Do you mean to say, sir, that you’ll risk it?”
“There is no risk, Larry—if you don’t delay.”
“I do believe you are right, sir. Here’s for it, anyway, and luck go with us.”
He rang down the order to the engine-room, and we raced straight ahead, not a man uttering a sound, not a light showing aboard us. Holding on in defiance29 alike of prudence30 and responsibility, we drove the yacht into the very shadows of the great unknown ship we had tracked so far. To say that we stood within an ace10 of destruction would be to treat of our circumstances lightly. A word amiss might have destroyed us so utterly31 that not a man of us all should have told the tale. There, towering above us, was the great hull32 of this floating mystery, the massive outline of a vessel built upon the lines of an Atlantic steamer, yet carrying four masts and a funnel33 so low that one might look twice to detect it at all. Flashing lights from stem to stern, we could almost count the men upon the decks of this phantom34 of the high seas—men wearing all varieties of dress: some the garb35 of fashion, some that of ordinary workmen, a few in the uniform of sailors. And what a hive of activity those decks appeared to be! How the fellows were running to and fro—changing their positions every moment, taking their stands now in the shrouds36, now high upon the fo’castle—an agitated37, expectant throng38, turning, as it were, but one face to the steamer which came to relieve them and by which news of their safety or their danger might come. Their very interest, however, became our confidence. Taking my place with the forward look-out, I conned39 every feature of the great ship, and impressed the facts of it upon my memory. No thought of peril troubled me now.
I scanned the decks, I say, as quietly as one surveys a ship that must be docked; noted40 the black shapes of the veiled guns, the wretched haphazard41 armament amidships, the unsuitability of the great hull to the purposes now indicated, the seeming absence of all order and method and even of leadership upon its decks. This monstrous floating haven42 of crime and horror—no sailor had chosen it for its present purpose, I made sure. In a lighter43 moment, I could say that it had once been a second-class cruiser, and now stood for a witness to an age which added raking masts to its warships44 and eyed askance the supremacy45 of steam. The Jew, it might be, had purchased his ship from a Government that had no further use for it. He had gone to Chili46 or the Argentine—a second thought said to Italy, for this vessel had more than a smack47 of Italian design and practice as we knew it in the last days of canvas and the first of steel. And he had bought this relic48 at his own price, had maintained its engines, added new masts for disguise, and so adapted it to that master scheme whose aims rose so far above this evidence of realisation. All this, I say, my swift survey showed to me. But the supreme49 question it did not answer. There were women to be discerned upon the deck of the ship, but not the figure of Joan Fordibras. Of her the night had no news to give me.
We lay at this time, I suppose, some two hundred yards from the great ship, a little astern of her and ready, need it be said, to bound away into the darkness should the need arise. Our daring is neither to be set down to courage nor foolhardiness. It was plain that every man on board Valentine Imroth’s sanctuary50 had eyes but for the approaching steamer, ears but for the news she would carry. Absolutely convinced of our safety, we watched the spectacle with that air of assurance and self-content which any secret agent of a good cause may assume at the moment of his triumph. My own doubt and trouble could hardly be shared by the honest fellows about me; or, if it were shared, then had they the good taste to make light of it. Indeed, they were upon the point of persuading me that, if it were Joan Fordibras I had come out to seek, then the sooner I got me back to Europe the better.
“There’s no Joan upon yonder ship,” said old Timothy in a big whisper. “I’d as soon look to find the Queen of Sheba there.”
“Indeed, sir,” added Larry, kindly51, “I do think Mr. McShanus is right. They’d never take a lady among that riff-raff. I don’t see how it would serve them, anyway. We must credit General Fordibras with some feelings if the other has none. He’s taken Miss Joan to Europe, be sure of it.”
I could make no answer, for my reasoned opinion had that obstinate52 dogmatism which must attend the logical idea, if logic53 be of any worth at all. It were better, I thought, not to discuss it, and, for that matter, there were events enough to take a man’s mind from the graver doubts. The relief steamer had by now drawn54 so near to the other that loud cheers were raised between them, boats put off in haste from the Diamond Ship, and boats from the newcomer. We heard greetings exchanged—in French, in German, in Italian. Instantly, too, there began a great business of making ready to unload a cargo55 out there in mid-Atlantic. I perceived that the two ships were to be caught together by grapplings, and so held while the affair of discharging was done. Of what the patrol’s cargo might be, I could only surmise56. She would bring the invaluable57 coal, of course—else could not the water be distilled58 aboard the Rogue—coal and food and news, and, it might be, new ruffians who had escaped the justice of Europe or Africa. This, I say was a surmise. The immediate59 test of it my eyes carried no further, for chancing to look again at hazard toward the greater vessel, I detected a solitary60 figure at the taffrail, and instantly recognised my little Joan, standing apart from all that ruffian crew, and looking wistfully toward that very place where White Wings lay in ambush61 of the waters.
And then I knew that I had done well to dare this voyage, and that, cost what it might in blood or treasure, I would save this child from the Jew and that which he had prepared for her.
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1
crimson
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| n./adj.深(绯)红色(的)；vi.脸变绯红色 | |
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2
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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3
slaty
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| 石板一样的，石板色的 | |
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4
iridescence
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| n.彩虹色；放光彩；晕色；晕彩 | |
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5
inverted
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| adj.反向的，倒转的v.使倒置，使反转( invert的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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6
vessel
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| n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管 | |
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7
bibulous
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| adj.高度吸收的，酗酒的 | |
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8
hilarity
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| n.欢乐；热闹 | |
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9
artillery
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| n.(军)火炮，大炮；炮兵(部队) | |
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10
ace
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| n.A牌；发球得分；佼佼者；adj.杰出的 | |
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11
prudent
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| adj.谨慎的，有远见的，精打细算的 | |
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12
arbiter
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| n.仲裁人，公断人 | |
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13
effulgent
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| adj.光辉的；灿烂的 | |
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14
villains
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| 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 | |
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15
futile
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| adj.无效的，无用的，无希望的 | |
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16
peril
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| n.(严重的)危险；危险的事物 | |
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17
liar
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| n.说谎的人 | |
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18
evade
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| vt.逃避，回避；避开，躲避 | |
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19
rogues
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| n.流氓( rogue的名词复数 )；无赖；调皮捣蛋的人；离群的野兽 | |
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20
monstrous
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| adj.巨大的；恐怖的；可耻的，丢脸的 | |
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21
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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22
onward
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| adj.向前的，前进的；adv.向前，前进，在先 | |
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23
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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24
cleaved
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| v.劈开，剁开，割开( cleave的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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25
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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26
ablaze
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| adj.着火的，燃烧的；闪耀的，灯火辉煌的 | |
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27
espied
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| v.看到( espy的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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28
parley
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| n.谈判 | |
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29
defiance
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| n.挑战，挑衅，蔑视，违抗 | |
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30
prudence
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| n.谨慎，精明，节俭 | |
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31
utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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32
hull
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| n.船身；(果、实等的)外壳；vt.去(谷物等)壳 | |
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33
funnel
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| n.漏斗；烟囱；v.汇集 | |
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34
phantom
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| n.幻影，虚位，幽灵；adj.错觉的，幻影的，幽灵的 | |
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35
garb
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| n.服装，装束 | |
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36
shrouds
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| n.裹尸布( shroud的名词复数 )；寿衣；遮蔽物；覆盖物v.隐瞒( shroud的第三人称单数 )；保密 | |
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37
agitated
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| adj.被鼓动的，不安的 | |
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38
throng
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| n.人群，群众；v.拥挤，群集 | |
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39
conned
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| adj.被骗了v.指挥操舵( conn的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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40
noted
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| adj.著名的，知名的 | |
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41
haphazard
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| adj.无计划的，随意的，杂乱无章的 | |
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42
haven
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| n.安全的地方，避难所，庇护所 | |
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43
lighter
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| n.打火机，点火器；驳船；v.用驳船运送；light的比较级 | |
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44
warships
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| 军舰，战舰( warship的名词复数 )； 舰只 | |
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45
supremacy
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| n.至上；至高权力 | |
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46
chili
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| n.辣椒 | |
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47
smack
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| vt.拍，打，掴；咂嘴；vi.含有…意味；n.拍 | |
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48
relic
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| n.神圣的遗物，遗迹，纪念物 | |
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49
supreme
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| adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的 | |
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50
sanctuary
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| n.圣所，圣堂，寺庙；禁猎区，保护区 | |
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51
kindly
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| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
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52
obstinate
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| adj.顽固的，倔强的，不易屈服的，较难治愈的 | |
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53
logic
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| n.逻辑(学)；逻辑性 | |
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54
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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55
cargo
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| n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物 | |
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56
surmise
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| v./n.猜想，推测 | |
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57
invaluable
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| adj.无价的，非常宝贵的，极为贵重的 | |
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58
distilled
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| adj.由蒸馏得来的v.蒸馏( distil的过去式和过去分词 )；从…提取精华 | |
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59
immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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60
solitary
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| adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士 | |
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61
ambush
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| n.埋伏(地点)；伏兵；v.埋伏；伏击 | |
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