And Learns the Truth There.
Our surmise2 that the rogues3 would agree presently among themselves and fall upon us for their common satisfaction was not supported by the facts. We breakfasted at our leisure and smoked a full pipe upon it, still unmolested and apparently5 unobserved. It may be that they had become accustomed to our presence. For seven days and nights now we had harassed6 them unceasingly. By messages, by gunshots, by our searchlight, had we pursued that policy of persistence7 which, we believed, would most surely demoralise and defeat them. And they had been powerless to harm us; helpless before our attack, as I judged from the first that they would be.
They fired no shot at us, and the morning passed in patient waiting. Great as our hopes were—my own too great for any expression—the Diamond Ship had no further message for us, nor did the sea speak. Void from horizon to horizon, the southern ocean fretted8 to sleep beneath a torrid sun and left us with that sense of isolation9 from the world and from men which the great sea alone can inspire. Some among us, it may be, had fallen almost to despair when the rogues set to again. This would have been at three bells of the afternoon watch. A gunshot heard faintly across the waters appeared to be the signal for some new attack. I heard the rattling10 echoes of a volley, and upon that a second and a third. Our glasses showed us a great press of men, engaged almost hand to hand amidships. Then a haze11 of smoke settled down upon the ship, and for many minutes it hid her completely from our sight.
You may imagine with what beating hearts and almost breathless hopes we watched this second encounter and waited for its issue. Very wisely, Larry would not approach the scene a second time or risk again those perils12 we had so readily faced before. Whatever harvest we might reap, our garners13 would be as readily filled afar as by any mad concession14 to curiosity which should drive us within the danger zone. If the rogues were killing15 each other, as evidently they were, it could serve us not at all to witness the horrors of that tragedy or seek in some vague way to take part in it. As for its deeper meaning, I had from the first clenched17 my thoughts against that and refused to take cognisance of it. The knowledge that Joan Fordibras was the prisoner of such a crew, that other decent women might be aboard the Diamond Ship with her—that, I say, had I permitted it once to master me, would have brought me to such a state of frenzy19 that no sane20 act afterwards could have atoned21 for its follies22. Earnestly, persistently23, I strove to drive the truth away, and to blind my eyes to it. “She is not on the ship,” I would say—or again, “They will not harm her, for she alone stands between them and the gallows24.” God knows how much of a pretence25 it was—and yet, I think, the very effect of will brought salvation26 to us. A mad attack upon them would have undone27 all. I realise to-day the good providence28 which saved me from that.
Now, we had been waiting all this time for the smoke to lift from the hull29 of the Leviathan, and permit us to see, as far as it might be seen at such a distance, that which happened upon those woeful decks. As for the curtain of the vapour, it was but a spur to the imagination, a terrible cloud interposed between our burning eyes and those scenes of horror and of bloodshed it hid from us. Rifle shots we heard incessantly—now in volleys, again by twos and threes, then once more in a general exchange which seemed to speak of the crisis of battle. Nor might we argue a good omen18 of the stillness which fell afterwards. For, surely, it could be nothing else than the silence of victory, the final triumph of one faction4 above the others. This I pointed30 out to Larry as we lifted our glasses for the twentieth time unavailingly.
“I take it that the men are up against the rogues, Larry. We could wish for nothing better than news of their success.”
“You think so, sir?”
“I trust a seaman31 before a landshark any day, whatever his ship or nationality. He is more likely to honour a woman, Larry—there will be some measure of honesty in him; and if it is put to the vote, he will haul down that flag the first time he is asked. Why should he not? He has nothing to fear ashore32. The rogues keep him afloat. I’d wager33 a hundred guineas that homesickness began this fight, and will carry it to a conclusion—that is if the seamen34 win?——”
“And if they do not, sir?”
“Then God help the ship, Larry—she will not be afloat a week.”
McShanus interposed to say that they were between the devil and the deep sea, surely. I found him wonderfully serious. It is odd to think how many cheery fellows, who write gaily35 of life and death in the newspaper, have never seen a gun fired in earnest or looked unflinchingly upon the face of death.
“’Tis a coward I was,” said he, “and not ashamed of it. This very minute I tremble like a woman—though ’tis often of kindness a woman trembles and not of fear. Look yonder at the smoke lifting from off the face of the ship. What lies under it, my friends?—God Almighty36, what are those feeling and thinking and suffering now that they are going to their Maker37. ’Tis as though I, myself, had been called this instant to remember that I shall be as they—who knows when, who knows how? A cruel torment38 of a thought—God help me for it.”
Here was a McShanus mood to be laughed off, and that it would have been but for the panorama39 suddenly disclosed by the soaring smoke which gradually lifted from the face of the hidden ship. Nor was it clear in a twinkling that the seamen (as I supposed would be the case) had obtained the upper hand, and were become the masters of the vessel40.
We could see them by our glasses running hither and thither41, from the fo’castle to the poop, in and out of the companion hatch; now up, now down, sometimes in single combat with one or other of the vanquished42; again slashing43 in a glut44 of mad desire at a prostrate45 figure or an enemy already dead. What weapons they had, I found it quite impossible to say. From time to time, it is true, a pistol was discharged as though it were at some lurking46 or hidden foe47; but in the main, I believe they must just have used common marline-spikes or had gone to it with their clasp-knives in their hands. And their anger, however it had been provoked, defied all words to measure. As beasts to the carcase, so they returned again and again to the bodies of those whom they had destroyed. We espied48 victors in all the attitudes of bravado49 and defiance50, dancing, leaping, even striking at each other. And this endured so great a while that I began to say the holocaust51 would go on to the end and hardly a man of them live to tell the tale.
This fearful encounter ceased finally about four o’clock of the afternoon watch. Ironically enough, I heard them strike eight bells just as though it had been upon a ship in good order at sea; and as the sounds came floating over the water to us, I reflected upon the amazing force of habit which governs a sailor even in the most terrible of situations.
“Larry,” I said. “They would change the watch even if the sea dried up. What’s to be done now? what, in God’s name, can we do? I’d go aboard if it were not criminal to take the risk. That’s not to be thought of—a man would be safer in a lion’s den16 at present. And yet think of what it must be over there?——”
“I’ve been trying not to think of it all along, sir. Whatever’s happened, it’s over now. They’re putting the dead overboard—and, what’s more, launching a boat. I shouldn’t wonder if they came alongside, sir.”
“Alongside us, Larry? That would be something new. Do you really mean it?”
“You must judge for yourself, sir——”
We put up our glasses, Timothy declaring, as usual, that there was a plaster across the end of his (for he never learned to use the telescope), and followed with new interest the movements of the victorious52 seamen. Certainly, they were putting the dead overboard, and, as Larry had perceived, they had lowered a boat. Possessed53, I suppose, of what they thought to be a fine idea (for seamen are gregarious54 beyond all others), they presently lowered a second boat, and upon this a third. Someone firing a gun to call our attention, they next flagged a message to us, so plainly honest that I caused it to be answered without a moment’s loss of time.
“We want help. Stand by to pick up a boat.”
To this our reply fluttered out, that we would permit their boat to come alongside; and the more to encourage them, we steamed toward the great ship and met them when they were little more than the half of a mile distant from it. There were seven in all, I made out, and a little lad at the tiller, the boat itself being an ordinary lifeboat, painted white, but ill kept and shabby. As to the nationality of its crew, I could detect a huge nigger at the bow oar1, and another man of colour amidships, while the rest were mostly dark skinned, and one I took to be an Egyptian. Whoever they were they came towards us with great spirit, as though pleased to be free of the shambles55 they had quitted and very anxious to deliver some message. In this we encouraged them, lowering a gangway and bidding them send a spokesman aboard—which they did immediately without any parley56 or suspicion, so that I no longer doubted their honesty or even considered the possibility of a trap.
“Let Bill Evans go up,” was their cry; and, sure enough, up came a ferret-faced, red-whiskered, simple-looking fellow, who answered to this very English designation. Standing57 in an odd attitude before us, shuffling58 his feet nervously59, and fingering a broad-brimmed felt hat, William Evans certainly expressed himself with difficulty.
“Mates,” he said, “I’d be very obliged to know if you carry a doctor on this ship?”
Larry looked at me, but I made no response. We must hear much, I reflected, before we answered such a question as that.
“Is that your message, sir?” Larry asked a little severely60.
Again the man thumbed his hat and continued parrot-like:—
“I’d be obliged to know if you carry a doctor on this ship. That’s first. We’re in a clove-hitch and no mistake. Some’s gone and that’s an end of them. The rest would be thankful for a doctor, and there’s no denying it. Mates, if you’re Christian61 men, you’ll come aboard and help poor seamen?——”
His candour was really remarkable62. I thought it quite time to take up his cross-examination myself.
“Come,” I said, “we must know more about it than that. What ship is yonder and who is in command of her? Answer my questions properly, and it is possible that we may help you. There has been a mutiny, and you have the upper hand. Why should we take any part in it?”
He looked up at me, a foxy look, I thought, and stumbled through as strange a narrative63 as I have ever heard.
“Old Salt-Horse went off in the relief,” he began, and I knew he meant Imroth thereby64. “Captain Ross has been first since. He was for lying in this——hair-oil of a sea; we was for going ashore. That’s what the lady wanted, and d——n me, who was to stand agen it? Eight months have me and my mates been floating about this ocean like a flock of —— ducks. Did I ship with Salt-Horse for that? As true as God’s in heaven, I come from London Road, Plymouth, and Bill Evans is my name, same as my father and mother before me. You come aboard and do what you can for us, and we sail the ship to Rio. No harm comes to the young lady, but she stops aboard until we’re ashore, and that’s my last word if I swing for it.”
The man had become bolder as he went on, and now he threw his hat defiantly65 upon deck and looked at us all as though he had been an ambassador carrying a message to a king. Perchance he but little understood the significance of his words or the surpassing interest with which I heard them. Val Imroth escaped? All well with my little Joan—how could it be otherwise since they asked us aboard! Here were two facts which changed in an instant the whole complexion66 of our schemes and shattered them to the very base. I no longer thought of plan or prudence67 or any human consideration at all, but that of carrying Joan Fordibras the tidings of her safety, so far as that safety lay within our power to ensure. I must board the Diamond Ship. At any cost, I must speak with Joan.
“Larry,” I cried, shouting it out so that those in the boat below could hear every word of it—“Larry, I am going to help these men. Stand by for my signal. If there is any treachery, you will know what to do. Show this fellow what we carry—let there be no mistake about it. They sink or swim—no half measure, Larry! So help me Heaven, I will send them to the bottom in less than five minutes if they so much as think a word against me.”
Larry’s answer was to command our own crew to lower the launch and to stand by the guns. Delaying only to call Okyada to my side, I followed the strange ambassador down the gangway stairs and began my voyage to the great unknown.
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1
oar
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| n.桨，橹，划手；v.划行 | |
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surmise
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| v./n.猜想，推测 | |
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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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faction
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| n.宗派，小集团；派别；派系斗争 | |
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5
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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harassed
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| adj. 疲倦的，厌烦的 动词harass的过去式和过去分词 | |
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7
persistence
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| n.坚持，持续，存留 | |
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8
fretted
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| 焦躁的，附有弦马的，腐蚀的 | |
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isolation
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| n.隔离，孤立，分解，分离 | |
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10
rattling
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| adj. 格格作响的, 活泼的, 很好的 adv. 极其, 很, 非常 动词rattle的现在分词 | |
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haze
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| n.霾，烟雾；懵懂，迷糊；vi.(over)变模糊 | |
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12
perils
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| 极大危险( peril的名词复数 )； 危险的事（或环境） | |
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13
garners
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| v.收集并（通常）贮藏（某物），取得，获得( garner的第三人称单数 ) | |
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concession
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| n.让步，妥协；特许(权) | |
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15
killing
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| n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财 | |
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den
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| n.兽穴；秘密地方；安静的小房间，私室 | |
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clenched
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| v.紧握，抓紧，咬紧( clench的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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omen
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| n.征兆，预兆；vt.预示 | |
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frenzy
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| n.疯狂，狂热，极度的激动 | |
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sane
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| adj.心智健全的，神志清醒的，明智的，稳健的 | |
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21
atoned
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| v.补偿，赎（罪）( atone的过去式和过去分词 )；补偿，弥补，赎回 | |
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follies
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| 罪恶，时事讽刺剧； 愚蠢，蠢笨，愚蠢的行为、思想或做法( folly的名词复数 ) | |
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persistently
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| ad.坚持地；固执地 | |
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gallows
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| n.绞刑架，绞台 | |
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pretence
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| n.假装，作假；借口，口实；虚伪；虚饰 | |
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salvation
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| n.（尤指基督）救世，超度，拯救，解困 | |
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undone
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| a.未做完的，未完成的 | |
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providence
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| n.深谋远虑，天道，天意；远见；节约；上帝 | |
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hull
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| n.船身；(果、实等的)外壳；vt.去(谷物等)壳 | |
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pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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seaman
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| n.海员，水手，水兵 | |
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ashore
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| adv.在(向)岸上，上岸 | |
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wager
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| n.赌注；vt.押注，打赌 | |
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seamen
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| n.海员 | |
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gaily
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| adv.欢乐地，高兴地 | |
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almighty
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| adj.全能的，万能的；很大的，很强的 | |
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maker
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| n.制造者，制造商 | |
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torment
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| n.折磨；令人痛苦的东西(人)；vt.折磨；纠缠 | |
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panorama
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| n.全景，全景画，全景摄影，全景照片[装置] | |
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40
vessel
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| n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管 | |
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thither
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| adv.向那里；adj.在那边的，对岸的 | |
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vanquished
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| v.征服( vanquish的过去式和过去分词 )；战胜；克服；抑制 | |
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slashing
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| adj.尖锐的；苛刻的；鲜明的；乱砍的v.挥砍( slash的现在分词 )；鞭打；割破；削减 | |
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44
glut
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| n.存货过多，供过于求；v.狼吞虎咽 | |
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prostrate
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| v.拜倒，平卧，衰竭；adj.拜倒的，平卧的，衰竭的 | |
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46
lurking
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| 潜在 | |
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foe
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| n.敌人，仇敌 | |
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espied
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| v.看到( espy的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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bravado
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| n.虚张声势，故作勇敢，逞能 | |
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defiance
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| n.挑战，挑衅，蔑视，违抗 | |
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holocaust
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| n.大破坏；大屠杀 | |
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52
victorious
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| adj.胜利的，得胜的 | |
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53
possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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gregarious
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| adj.群居的，喜好群居的 | |
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55
shambles
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| n.混乱之处；废墟 | |
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parley
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| n.谈判 | |
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57
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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58
shuffling
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| adj. 慢慢移动的, 滑移的 动词shuffle的现在分词形式 | |
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59
nervously
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| adv.神情激动地，不安地 | |
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severely
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| adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地 | |
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Christian
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| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
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remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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narrative
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| n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的 | |
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64
thereby
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| adv.因此，从而 | |
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defiantly
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| adv.挑战地，大胆对抗地 | |
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66
complexion
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| n.肤色；情况，局面；气质，性格 | |
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prudence
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| n.谨慎，精明，节俭 | |
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