It was about two o’clock in the afternoon. I entered the cabin and found a cold lunch upon the table, not a dish of which had been touched, proving that there were others besides myself who were fasting. I was without appetite, but I sat down resolutely7, and calling to the steward8—who seemed thankful to have an order to attend to—to bring me a bottle of Burgundy, I fell to, and presently found myself tolerably hearty9; the fountain of my spirits unsealed afresh, and beginning leisurely10 to bubble into the channel that had run dry. There is no better specific in the world for a fit of the blues11 than a bottle of Burgundy. No other wine has its art of tender blandishments. It does not swiftly exhilarate, but courts the brain into a pleasing serenity12 by a process of coaxing13 at once elegant and convincing.
Whilst I sat fondling my glass, leaning back in my chair with my eyes fixed14 upon the delicate, graceful15 paintings on the cabin ceiling, and my mind revolving16, but no longer blackly and weepingly, the grim incidents which had crowded the morning, I heard my name pronounced close at my ear, and, whipping round, found Miss Laura at my elbow.
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‘I have been most anxious to see you,’ she exclaimed. ‘What is the news?’
‘Have you not heard?’ I inquired.
‘I have heard nothing but two pistol shots. I have seen nobody of whom I could ask a question.’
‘Wilfrid has shot Colonel Hope-Kennedy through the heart,’ said I, ‘as he declared he would, and the body lies yonder;’ and I pointed17 to the recess18 that Muffin had formerly19 occupied.
‘Colonel Hope-Kennedy killed!’ she exclaimed, in a low, breathless, terrified voice; and she sank into a chair beside me, and leant her face on her hand speechless, and her eyes fixed upon the table.
‘Better that he should have been shot than Wilfrid,’ said I. ‘But he is dead; of him, then, let us speak nothing since we cannot speak good. I have just succeeded in fighting myself out of a hideous20 mood of melancholy21 with the help of yonder bottle. Now you must let me prescribe for you. You have eaten nothing since dinner yesterday. I therefore advise a glass of champagne22 and a slice of the breast of cold fowl23;’ and that she might not say no, I put on an air of bustle24, called to the steward to immediately open a pint25 bottle of champagne, helped her to a little piece of the fowl, and, finding her still reluctant, gently insinuated26 a knife and fork into her hands. ‘We are homeward bound,’ said I; ‘see! the sun has slipped t’other side of the yacht. Our bowsprit points directly for dear old Southampton Water. So,’ said I, filling a glass of champagne and handing it to her, ‘you must absolutely drink to our prosperous voyage, not only to the ship that goes, but to the wind that blows, whilst,’ said I, helping27 myself to another small dose of Burgundy, ‘I’ll drink the lass that loves a sailor.’
She could not forbear a slight smile, drank, and then ate a little, and presently I saw how much good it did her by the manner in which she plucked up her heart. I asked her where Lady Monson was.
‘In my cabin,’ she answered; ‘she will not speak to me; she asks my maid for what she requires; she will not even look at me.’
‘It is all too fresh yet,’ said I. ‘A little patience, Miss Jennings. The woman in her will break through anon; there will be tears, kisses, contrition28. Who knows?’
She shook her head. Just then I caught sight of the maid, beckoned29 to her, exclaiming to Miss Laura, ‘Your sister must not be allowed to starve. I fear she will have known what hunger is aboard Captain Crimp’s odious31 old barque, where the choicest table delicacy32 probably was rancid salt pork. Here,’ said I to the maid, ‘get me a tray. Steward, open another bottle of champagne. You will smile at the cook-like view I take of human misery33, Miss Jennings,’ said I; ‘but let me tell you that a good deal of the complexion34 the mind wears is shed upon it by the body.’
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I filled the tray the maid brought, and bade her carry it to her ladyship, and to let her suppose it was prepared by the steward. I then thought of Wilfrid, and told Miss Laura that I would visit him. ‘But you will stop here till I return,’ said I. ‘I want you to cheer me up.’
I went to my cousin’s cabin and knocked very softly. The berth occupied by Lady Monson was immediately opposite, and the mere35 notion of her being so near made me move with a certain stealth, though I could not have explained why I did so. There was no response, so, after knocking a second time very lightly and obtaining no reply, I entered. Wilfrid lay in his bunk. The porthole was wide open, and a pleasant draught36 of air breezed into the cabin. He lay in his shirt, the collar of which was wide open, and a pair of silk drawers, flat on his back, his arms crossed upon his breast, like the figure of a knight37 on a tomb, and his eyes closed. I was startled at first sight of him, but quickly perceived that his breast rose and fell regularly, and that, in short, he was in a sound sleep. Quite restful his slumber38 was not, for whilst I stood regarding him he made one or two wry39 faces, frowned, smiled, muttered, but without any nervous starts or discomposure of his placid40 posture41. I was seized with a fit of wonder, and looked about me for some signs of an opiate or for any hint of liquor that should account for this swift and easy repose42, but there was nothing of the sort to be seen. He had fallen asleep as a tired child might, or as one who, having accomplished43 some great object through stress of bitter toil44 and distracting vigil, lightly pillows his head with a thanksgiving that he has seen the end. I returned to Miss Jennings marvelling46 much, and she was equally astonished.
‘Conceive, Mr. Monson,’ she exclaimed, ‘that the whole may have passed out of his memory!’
‘I wish I could believe it,’ said I. ‘No, he has just lain down as a boy might who is tired out and dropped asleep. A man is to be envied for being wrongheaded sometimes. If I had shot the Colonel—— but we agreed not to speak of him. Miss Jennings, you are better already. When you arrived just now you were white, your eyes were full of worry and care, you looked as if you would never smile again. Now the old sparkle is in your gaze, and now you smile once more, and your complexion has gathered afresh that golden delicacy which I must take the liberty of vowing47 as a friend I admire as a most surprising perfection in you.’
‘Oh, Mr. Monson,’ she exclaimed softly, with one of those little pouts48 I was now used to and glad to observe in her again, whilst something of colour came into her cheeks, ‘this is no time for compliments.’
Nevertheless she did not seem ill pleased, spite of her looking downwards49 with a gravity that was above demureness50. At that moment Cutbill and Crimp came down the companion ladder, pulling off their caps as they entered. The big sailor had a roll of what resembled sailcloth under his arm. They passed forward[238] and disappeared in the cabin that had been occupied by Muffin. Miss Laura noticed them, but made no remark. It was impossible that she should suspect their mission. But the sight of them darkened the brighter mood that had come to me out of the companionship of the girl, and I fell grave on a sudden.
‘Will you share your cabin with your sister?’ I asked.
‘No; she cannot bear my presence. My maid will prepare for me the berth adjoining my old one. She must be humoured. Who can express the agonies her pride is costing her?’
‘I fear Wilfrid sleeps rather too close to her ladyship,’ said I. ‘There’s a cabin next mine. I should like to see him in it. Figure his taking it into his head in an ungovernable fit of temper to walk in upon his wife——’
‘If such an impulse as that visited him,’ she answered, ‘it would be all the same even if he should sleep amongst the crew forward. Do not anticipate trouble, Mr. Monson. The realities are fearful enough.’
I smiled at her beseeching51 look. ‘Lucky for your sister,’ said I, ‘that you are on board. She arrives without a stitch saving what she stands up in, and here she finds your wardrobe, the two-score conveniences of the lady’s toilet table, and a maid on top of it all, with pins and needles and scissors, bodkins and tape—bless me! what a paradise after the “’Liza Robbins.”’ And then I told her how the ‘Shark’ was lost, giving her the yarn52 as I had it from Finn. ‘Anyway,’ said I, ‘Lady Monson is rescued. Your desire is fulfilled.’
‘But I did not wish her—I did not want Colonel Hope-Kennedy killed,’ she exclaimed with a shudder53.
‘Yet you could have shot him,’ said I; ‘do you remember our chat that night off the Isle54 of Wight?’
‘Yes, perfectly55 well,’ she answered. ‘But now that he is dead—oh, it is too terrible to think of,’ she added with a sob56 in her voice.
‘It must always be so with generous natures,’ I exclaimed. ‘What is abhorrent57 to them in life, death converts into a pathetic appeal. Best perhaps to leave old Time to revenge one’s wrongs. And now that her ladyship is on board, what is Wilfrid going to do with her?’
‘She is never likely to leave her cabin,’ she replied.
‘When the “Bride” arrives home, then?’
‘I cannot tell.’
‘Had Wilfrid’s misfortune been mine this is the consideration that would have stared me in the face from the very start and hindered me from taking any step that did not conduct me straight to the Divorce Court.’
Here her maid arrived and whispered to her, on which, giving me a pretty little sad smile, she rose and went to her cabin. I mounted to the deck and found the wide ocean shivering and flashing under a pleasant breeze of wind, whose hot buzzing as it hummed[239] like the vast insect life of a tropic island through the rigging and into the canvas, was cooled to the ear by the pleasant noise of running waters on either hand. My first look was for the ‘’Liza Robbins,’ and I was not a little surprised to find her far away down upon our lee quarter, a mere dash of light of a moonlike hue58. Finn was pacing the quarterdeck solemnly with a Sunday air upon him. On seeing me he approached with a shipshape salute59 and exclaimed:
‘I suppose there is no doubt, sir, his honour designs that we should be now steering60 for home?’
‘For what other part of the world, captain?’
‘Well, sir, at sea one wants instructions. Maybe Sir Wilfrid knows that we’re going home?’
‘He lies sleeping as soundly and peacefully, Finn, as a little boy in his cabin, and knows nothing.’
‘Lor’ bless me!’ cried Finn.
‘But you may take me as representing him,’ said I, ‘and I’ll be accountable for all misdirections. About the funeral now. I observed Cutbill and Crimp pass through the cabin. They’ve gone to stitch the body up.’
‘Yes, sir. His honour told me to get it done at once. ’Sides, ’tain’t a part of the ocean in which ye can keep the like of them things long.’
‘When do you mean to bury him?’
‘Well, I thought to-night, sir, in the first watch. Better make a quiet job of it, I allow, for fear of——’ and screwing up his face into a peculiar61 look, he pointed significantly to the deck with clear reference to Lady Monson.
‘You are right, Finn. We have had “scenes” enough, as scrimmages are called by women.’
‘Will your honour read the orfice?’
‘D’ye mean the burial service? It will be hard to see print by lantern light.’
‘I’ve got it, sir, in a book with the letters as big as my forefinger62.’
I considered a little and then said, ‘On reflection, no. You are captain of this ship, and it is for you, therefore, to read the service. I will be present, of course.’
He looked a trifle dismayed, but said nothing more about it, and, after walking the deck with him for about half an hour, during which our talk was all about the ‘Shark’ and the incidents of the morning, what the crew thought of the duel63 and the like, I went below to my berth, and lay down, feeling tired, hot, and again depressed64. I was awakened65 out of a light sleep by the ringing of the first dinner bell. Having made ready for dinner I entered the cabin as the second bell sounded, and found the table prepared, but no one present. I was standing66 at the foot of the companion ladder, trying to cool myself with the wind that breezed down of a fiery67 hue with the steadfast68 crimsoning69 of the westering sun, when Wilfrid came from his cabin. He was dressed as if for a ball—swallow-tail[240] coat, patent leather boots, plenty of white shirt sparkling with diamond studs, and so forth71. Indeed, it was easily seen that he had attired72 himself with a most fastidious hand, as though on a sudden there had broken out in him a craze of dandyism. I was much astonished, and stared at him. There had never been any ceremony amongst us; in point of meals we had made a sort of picnic of this marine74 ramble75, and dined regardless of attire73. Indeed, in this direction Wilfrid had always shown a singular negligence76, often in cold weather sitting down in an old pilot coat, or taking his place during the hot days in white linen77 coat and small-clothes or an airy camlet jacket.
‘Why, Wilf,’ said I, running my eye over him, ‘you must give me ten minutes to keep you in countenance78.’
‘No, no,’ he cried, ‘you are very well. This is a festal day with me, a time to be dignified79 with as much ceremony as the modern tailor will permit. Heavens! how on great occasions one misses the magnificence of one’s forefathers80. I should like to dine to-day in the costume of a Raleigh, a doublet bestudded with precious gems81, a short cloak of cloth of gold. Ha, ha! a plague on the French Revolution—’tis all broadcloth now. Where’s Laura?’ He asked the question with a sudden breaking away from the substance of his speech that startlingly accentuated82 the wild look his eyes had and the expression of countenance that was a sort of baffling smile in its way.
‘I do not know,’ I answered.
‘Oh, she must dine with us,’ he cried; ‘I want company. I should like to crowd this table. Steward, call Miss Jennings’ maid.’
The man stole aft and tapped on the cabin next to the room occupied by Lady Monson. Miss Jennings opened the door and looked out. Wilfrid saw her, and instantly ran to her, with his finger upon his lip. He took her by the hand and whispered. She was clearly as much amazed as I had been to behold83 him attired as though for a rout84. There was a little whispered talk between them; she apparently85 did not wish to join us; then on a sudden consented, and he led her to the table, holding her hand with an air of old-world ceremony that must have provoked a smile but for the concern and anxiety his looks caused me. We took our places, and he fell to acting45 the part of host, pressing us to eat, calling for champagne, talking as if to entertain us. He laughed often, but softly, in a low-pitched key, and one saw that there was a perpetual reference in his mind to the existence of his wife close at hand, but he never once mentioned her nor referred to the dead man whose proximity86 put an indescribable quality of ghastliness into his hectic87 manner, the crazy air of conviviality88 that flushed, as with a glow of fever, his speech, and carriage, and behaviour of high breeding. Not a syllable89 concerning the events of the morning, the objects of our excursion, its achievement, the change of the yacht’s course escaped him. He drank freely, but without any[241] other result than throwing a little colour upon his high cheek-bones and rendering90 yet more puzzling the conflicting expressions which filled with wildness his large, protruding91, near-sighted gaze at one or the other of us. I saw too clearly how it was with the poor fellow to feel shocked. Miss Laura’s tact92 served her well in the replies she made to him, in the interest with which she seemed to listen to his conversation, in her well-feigned ignorance of there being anything unusual in his apparel or manner. But it failed her in her efforts to conceal93 her deep-seated apprehension94, that stole like a shadow into her face when she looked downwards in some interval95 of silence that enabled her to think, or when her eyes met mine.
After dinner my cousin fetched his pipe and asked me to join him on deck. I took advantage of his absence to say swiftly to Miss Laura, ‘We must not forget that Lady Monson is on board. Upon my word, I believe you are right in your suggestion this afternoon that Wilfrid has forgotten all about it, or surely he would have made some reference to her dining.’
‘I’ll take care that she is looked after, Mr. Monson,’ she answered. ‘I purposely abstained96 from mentioning her name at dinner. I am certain, by the expression in his face, that he would have been irritated by the lightest allusion97 to her, and unnatural98 as his mood is after such a morning as we have passed through,’ here she glanced in the direction of the cabin where the Colonel’s body lay, ‘I would rather see him as he is than sullen99, scowling101, silent, eating up his heart.’
He returned with his pipe at that moment, and we were about to proceed on deck when he stopped and said to his sister-in-law, ‘Come along, Laura, my love.’
‘I have a slight headache, Wilfrid, and I have to see that my cabin is prepared.’
I thought this answer would start him into questioning her, but he looked as if he did not gather the meaning of it. ‘Pooh, pooh!’ he cried, ‘there are two stewards102 and a maid to see to your cabin for you. If they don’t suffice we’ll have Muffin aft; that arthritic103 son of a greengrocer, whose genius as a valet will scarcely be the worse for the tar30 that stains his hands. Muffin for one night only!’ He delivered one of his short roars of laughter and slapped his leg.
By Jupiter! thought I, Lady Monson will hear that and take it as an expression of his delight at her presence on board! Does she know, I wondered, that her colonel lies dead? But I had found no opportunity of inquiring.
‘Come along, Laura,’ continued Wilfrid; ‘I’ll roll you up as pretty a cigarette as was ever smoked by a South American belle104.’
She shook her head, forcing a smile.
‘Perhaps Miss Jennings will join us later,’ said I, distrustful of his temper, and passing my hand through his arm, I got him on deck.
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‘Laura is a sweet little woman,’ said he, pausing just outside the hatch to hammer at a tinder-box.
‘Ay, sweet, pretty, and good,’ said I.
‘You’re in love with her, I think, Charles.’
‘My dear Wilf, let us talk of this beautiful night,’ I exclaimed.
‘Why of a beautiful night in preference to a beautiful woman?’ cried he.
But I was determined105 to end this, so I called to a figure standing to leeward106 of the main boom, ‘Is that you, Finn?’
‘No, it’s me,’ answered Crimp’s surly note; ‘the capt’n’s a-laying down, but he’s guv orders to be aroused at four bells.’
‘Why?’ inquired Wilfrid.
Crimp probably supposed the question put to me, for which I was thankful. ‘He may mistrust the weather, perhaps,’ I answered softly, that old Jacob might not hear. ‘Yet the sky has a wonderfully settled look too. Let’s go right aft, shall we, Wilf? The downdraught here is emptying my pipe.’
We strolled together to the grating abaft107 the wheel and seated ourselves. I cannot tell how much it affected108 me to find him so easily thrown off the line of his thoughts. It had been dark some time, for in those parallels night treads on the skirts of the glory which the departing sun trails down the western slope of the sea. There would be no moon sooner than ten o’clock or thereabouts, and it was now a little after eight—for my cousin’s strange humour had made a much longer sitting than usual of the dinner. There was a refreshing109 sound of rushing wind in the star-laden dusk, a noise as of the sweeping110 of countless111 pinions112, with a smooth hissing113 penetrating114 from the cutwater that made one think of the shearing115 of a skater over ice. The cabin lamps glowing into the skylight shed a yellow, satin-like sheen upon the foot of the mainsail, the cloths of which soared the paler for that lustre116 till the head of the gaff topsail looked like the brow of some height of vapour dissolving against the stars. We sat on a line with the side of the deck on which he had shot Colonel Hope-Kennedy. The gloom worked the memory of the incident to me into a phantasm, and I remember a little shiver creeping over me at the vision of that tall, noble figure with face upturned to heaven a moment or two as though he watched the flight of his spirit, then falling dead with the countenance of a man in easy slumber. But Wilfrid had not a word to say about it. I could not reconcile his extraordinary silence with his attire and manner, which at all events indicated the recollection of the duel as strong in him. He chatted volubly and intelligently, without any of his customary breakings away from his train of thought; but not of his wife, nor of the Colonel, nor of his infant, nor of this ocean chase that was now ended so far as the fugitives117 were concerned. He talked of his estate; how he intended to build a wing to his house that should contain a banqueting room, how he proposed to convert some acres of his land into a market garden, and so on and so on. His face showed pale in the starlight;[243] his evening costume gave him an unusual look to my eye; though he talked carelessly on twenty matters of small interest, I could yet detect an undue118 energy in the tone of his voice, comparatively subdued119 as it was, and in his vehement120 manner of smoking, puffing121 out great clouds rapidly and filling the bowl afresh with hasty fingers. It would have vastly eased my mind had he made some reference to the morning. You felt as if the memory of it must be working in him like some deadly swift pulse, and I confess I could have shrunk from him at moments when I thought of the character of the source whence he drew the strength that enabled him to mask himself with what might well have passed for a mere company face.
When three bells, half-past nine, were struck, I made a move as though to go below.
‘Going to turn in?’ he asked.
‘It has been a long, tiring day,’ said I evasively.
‘A grand day,’ he exclaimed; ‘the one stirring, memorable122 day of our voyage. Come, I will follow you, and we will pledge it in a bumper123 before parting.’
We entered the cabin; it was deserted124. Wilfrid asked where Miss Laura was, and the steward replied that he believed she was gone to bed.
‘She should be with us, Charles,’ cried my cousin, with a light of excitement in his eyes, his face flushed, though above it had looked marble in the starlight, and a half smile of malicious125 triumph riding his lips.
‘No, no,’ said I. ‘The poor child is tired. What is our drink to be, Wilf? I want to see you turned in, my dear boy.’
‘Pooh, pooh; hang turning in! I feel myself of forty-spirit power to-night, just in the humour, if I were a member, to go down to the House and terrify the old ladies in it who call themselves Sir Johns and Sir Thomases, and who wear swallow-tailed coats and broad-brimmed hats, with a passionate126 attack on the British Constitution.’
He called for brandy and seltzer. However, we had not been sitting twenty minutes when his mood changed; his dinner-party face darkened. He folded his arms and lay back in his chair, looking downwards with a gathering127 scowl100 upon his brow. I rose.
‘Good-night, Wilfrid,’ said I.
He viewed me with an absent expression, said ‘Good-night,’ and at once went, but in a mechanical way, governed by habit without giving his mind to the action, to his berth, at the door of which I saw him stand a moment whilst he gazed hard at the cabin abreast128 him; then rubbing his brow with the gesture of one who seeks to clear his brain, he disappeared.
Four bells were struck forward. I quietly stepped on deck, and whilst I stood looking into the binnacle Finn came up to me.
‘Shall we tarn129 to now, sir,’ said he, ‘and get this here melancholy job over?’
[244]
‘Yes,’ said I, ‘the sooner the better. Sir Wilfrid has gone to his cabin. Tell your people to be quick and secret.’
He trudged130 forward, and presently returned with Cutbill and another seaman131. The three of them went below, leaving Crimp to get the gangway rigged and lighted. A couple of globular lamps, such as might be used for riding lights, were suspended against the bulwarks132, and between them a seaman rested a grating of the length of a stretcher. The moon was rising at this moment on our starboard beam, an arch of blood defining the indigo-black line of the horizon there that on either hand of her went melting out into a blending of starladen sky, with the dark and gleaming ocean brimming to the yacht, vast as the heavens themselves looked. Presently up through the hatch rose the figures of Captain Finn and the two men, swaying under the weight of the canvas-shrouded form they bore. The watch on deck came aft and gathered about the gangway, where they glimmered133 like visionary creatures to the dull, yellow shining of the lamps. Face after face seemed to come twisting and wriggling135 out of the dusk—visions of hairy salts, rendered lifelike and actual by the dull illumination that glanced upon their shadowy lineaments. The wind filled the rigging with melancholy noises, there was a yearning136 sob in the sound of the water as it washed aft, broken and hissing serpent-like from the bow. The canvas rose dark, but it was now gathering to its loftier cloths a faint, delicate, pinkish tinge137 from the red moonbeam, though in a few minutes, when the planet had lifted her ill-shapen face clear of the black line of brine, all would be of a snow-white softness above us, and a sparkling line of bulwark-rail and glittering constellations138 in the skylight glass and a wake of floating and heaving silver rolling fan-shaped to us.
A couple of seamen139 caught hold of the grating and raised it level with the bulwarks, one end supported by the rail. The body was placed upon it, and ghostly it looked in that spectral140 commingling141 of starlight and lamplight and moonlight not yet brightening out of its redness—ghastly in the nakedness of its canvas cover, though, to be sure, there was no need at that hour to conceal it under a flag. Finn pulled a thin volume from his pocket and opened it close against one of the lanterns, peering into it hard and coughing hoarsely142 as though loath143 to begin. At last he mustered144 up courage and made a start. He pronounced many of the words oddly, and there was a deep sea-note in his delivery. I watched his long face twitching145 and working to his recital146 as he brought his eyes in a squint147 to the page with the lantern-light touching148 his skin into a hue of sulphur that made one think of it as the likeness149 of a human countenance wrought150 in yellow silk upon black satin. But the mystery of death was with us; it seemed to breathe—hot as the night was—in an ice-cold air off the dark surface of the sea, and a man’s sense of humour must have been of the featherweight quality of an idiot’s to flutter in the presence of the pallid151, motionless bundle upon the grating, whose[245] chill, secret subduing152 inspirations were unspeakably heightened by the eyes of the sailors round about gleaming out of the weak glimmer134 of their countenances153 vaguely154 shaped by the rays of the oil-flames upon the obscurity, by the silver gaze of the countless equinoctial heaven surveying us over the yardarms and through the squares of the ratlines and amid the exquisite155 tracery of the gear, and by the steadfast watching of stars low down in the measureless dark distances of the west and north and south, as though they were the eyes of giant spirits standing on tiptoe behind the horizon to observe us, and by the slow soaring of the moon that was now icing her crimson70 visage with crystal, and diffusing156 a soft cloud of white light over the eastern sky with an edging already of brilliant glory under her upon a short length of the dark sea-line there that made the water in that direction look as though its boundary were beating in ivory foam157 against the wall of sky.
I was standing with my back to the companion hatch; my eyes were rooted upon the white form which in a few moments now would be tilted159 and sent flashing with a heavy cannon-ball at its feet into the black depths on which we were floating. The man, in life, had acted a scoundrel’s part, and had richly merited the end he had met; but he lay dead; his grave was this mighty160 wilderness161 of waters; not a hole in the earth to which those who mourned him could repair and say, pointing downwards, ‘What remains162 of him is here;’ but a tomb rivalling the heavens in immensity, a material eternity163 that would absorb him and his memory as though his form, waiting there to be launched, was but a drop of the dew that glittered in the moonshine upon the grating that supported him.
That bundle was a text to fill me with melancholy musings, and I was thinking of the man as I beheld164 him in the morning, worn indeed by shipwreck165 and privation, but stately, erect166, soldierly; his cheek crimsoning to the blow that Wilfrid had dealt him; life and passion strong in him; when I was startled out of my thoughts by Finn ceasing to read. I glanced at him and observed that he was peering over the top of his book, goggling167 some object with eyes that protruded168 from their sockets169. I looked to see what had called off his attention, and remarked a tall female figure attired in a light dress, but with her face concealed170 by a long dark veil, standing close beside the head of the grating, perfectly motionless, save for such movements as came to her by the swaying of the yacht. She had appeared amongst us with the stealthiness of a ghost, and she looked like one in that conflicting light, with the faint gleam of her eyes showing through the veil, and the stitched-up form on the grating to give a darker and more thrilling accentuation to her presence than she could have got from an empty grave or a ruptured171 coffin172. The sailors backed away from her, shouldering one another into the gloom with much wiping of their leather lips upon the backs of their hands. I was startled on beholding173 her, but quickly rallied to a sense of deep disgust that possessed174 me on contrasting this[246] illustration of emotion with her language and treatment of Wilfrid that morning.
‘Proceed,’ I exclaimed to Finn. ‘Read on man, and shorten the service, too, if you can.’
He croaked175 out afresh, but the poor fellow was exceedingly nervous. The ceremony, so far as it had gone, had been chill, doleful, depressing enough before; but a character almost of horror to my mind now came into it with the tall, stately, motionless apparition176 that stood—scarce won by the lamplight and the moonlight from the shadowiness that clothed her with unreality—at the head of that ashen-tinctured length lying prone177 and resembling a hammock upon the grating. It was the moral her ladyship’s presence put into the occasion that made the ceremony all on a sudden so hideously178 gaunt, so wild, so inhuman179, striking ice-like to the heart. For this she had quitted her child, as she believed, for ever; for this she had abandoned her husband, had pricked180 the bubble of her honour, extinguished the inspiration of her womanhood’s purest, truest, deepest, holiest feelings! What but an affrighting vision could that dead man wrapped in his sea-shroud convert her ladyship’s dream of passion and pleasure into! Something, one should think, to blind the very eyes of her soul. But, Lord, how I hated her then for the base dishonour181 she did herself by this subtle, sneaking182 attendance at the funeral of her shame with the ghost of it to slip with her to her cabin again, and to act, maybe, as a sentinel to her for the rest of her natural life, stalking close at her heels, so steadfast there as to make her presently dread183 to look behind her!
Finn’s croaking184 delivery ceased.
‘Overboard with it,’ he rumbled185, for his gesture to tilt158 the grating had been unobserved by the two men who held it, or else not understood.
The sailors raised their arms; the glimmering186 bundle sped like a small cloud of smoke from the side to the accompaniment of the noise of a long creaming wash of water simmering aft from the bow, through which I caught the note of a half-stifled shriek187 from Lady Monson. She flung her hands to her face and reeled, as if she would fall. I sprang to her assistance, but on freeing her eyes and seeing who I was, she waved me from her with a motion of which the passionate haughtiness188, disdain189, and dislike were too strong for me to miss, confusing as the lights were. She then walked slowly aft.
I believed she was going below again, and said to Finn, ‘Shut the book. Make an end now. The man is buried, and thank God for it.’
Lady Monson, however, walked to the extreme end of the vessel190, kneeled upon the little grating abaft the wheel, and overhung the taffrail, apparently gazing into the obscurity astern where the Colonel’s body was sinking and where the white wake of the yacht was glittering like a dusty summer highway running ivory-like[247] through a dark land on a moonlit night. I watched her with anxiety, but without daring to approach her. The sailors unhitched the lanterns and took them forward along with the grating.
I said to Finn: ‘I hope she does not mean to throw herself overboard.’
His head wagged in the moonlight. ‘Sir,’ he answered, ‘the likes of her nature ain’t quick to kill themselves. If she were the wife of the gent that’s gone, I’d see to it. But she’ll not hurt herself.’
Nevertheless, I kept my eye upon her. The awning191 was off the deck; the planks192 ran white as the foam alongside under the moon that was now brilliant, and all objects showed sharp upon that ground, whilst the flitting of the ebony shadows to the heave of the deck was like a crawling of spectral life. I spied the fellow at the glistening193 wheel turn his head repeatedly towards the woman abaft him, as though troubled by that wrapped, veiled, kneeling presence. Finn’s rough, off-hand indifference194 could not reassure195 me. The fear of death, all horror induced by the cold, moonlit, desolate196, weltering waters upon which her eyes were fixed might languish197 in the heat of some sudden craze of remorse198, of grief, of despair. There were shapes of eddying199 froth striking out upon the dark liquid movement at which she was gazing—dim, scarce definable configurations200 of the sea-glow which to her sight might take the form of the man whose remains had just sped from the yacht’s side; and God knows what sudden beckoning201, what swift, endearing, caressing202 gesture to her to follow him she might witness in the apparition, real, sweet, alluring203 as in life to the gaze of her tragic204 eyes, which in imagination I could see glowing against the moon. It was with a deep sigh of relief that, after I had stood watching her at least ten minutes in the shadow of the gangway, I observed her dismount from the shadow of the grating and walk to the companion, down which she seemed to melt away as ghostly in her coming as in her going. Twenty minutes later I followed her, found the cabin empty, and went straight to bed.
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1
berth
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| n.卧铺，停泊地，锚位；v.使停泊 | |
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2
bunk
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| n.(车、船等倚壁而设的)铺位；废话 | |
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3
despondent
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| adj.失望的，沮丧的，泄气的 | |
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4
abjectly
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| 凄惨地； 绝望地； 糟透地； 悲惨地 | |
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5
miserable
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| adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的 | |
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6
wretch
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| n.可怜的人，不幸的人；卑鄙的人 | |
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7
resolutely
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| adj.坚决地，果断地 | |
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steward
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| n.乘务员，服务员；看管人；膳食管理员 | |
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hearty
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| adj.热情友好的；衷心的；尽情的，纵情的 | |
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10
leisurely
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| adj.悠闲的；从容的，慢慢的 | |
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11
blues
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| n.抑郁，沮丧；布鲁斯音乐 | |
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12
serenity
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| n.宁静，沉着，晴朗 | |
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13
coaxing
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| v.哄，用好话劝说( coax的现在分词 )；巧言骗取；哄劝，劝诱；“锻炼”效应 | |
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14
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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15
graceful
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| adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的 | |
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16
revolving
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| adj.旋转的，轮转式的；循环的v.（使）旋转( revolve的现在分词 )；细想 | |
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17
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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18
recess
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| n.短期休息，壁凹（墙上装架子，柜子等凹处） | |
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19
formerly
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| adv.从前，以前 | |
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20
hideous
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| adj.丑陋的，可憎的，可怕的，恐怖的 | |
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21
melancholy
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| n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的 | |
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22
champagne
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| n.香槟酒；微黄色 | |
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fowl
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| n.家禽，鸡，禽肉 | |
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24
bustle
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| v.喧扰地忙乱，匆忙，奔忙；n.忙碌；喧闹 | |
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25
pint
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| n.品脱 | |
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insinuated
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| v.暗示( insinuate的过去式和过去分词 )；巧妙或迂回地潜入；（使）缓慢进入；慢慢伸入 | |
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27
helping
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| n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的 | |
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contrition
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| n.悔罪，痛悔 | |
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29
beckoned
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| v.（用头或手的动作）示意，召唤( beckon的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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30
tar
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| n.柏油，焦油；vt.涂或浇柏油/焦油于 | |
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31
odious
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| adj.可憎的，讨厌的 | |
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32
delicacy
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| n.精致，细微，微妙，精良；美味，佳肴 | |
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misery
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| n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦 | |
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34
complexion
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| n.肤色；情况，局面；气质，性格 | |
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35
mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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36
draught
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| n.拉，牵引，拖；一网（饮，吸，阵)；顿服药量，通风；v.起草，设计 | |
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37
knight
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| n.骑士，武士；爵士 | |
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38
slumber
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| n.睡眠，沉睡状态 | |
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39
wry
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| adj.讽刺的；扭曲的 | |
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40
placid
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| adj.安静的，平和的 | |
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41
posture
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| n.姿势，姿态，心态，态度；v.作出某种姿势 | |
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42
repose
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| v.(使)休息；n.安息 | |
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43
accomplished
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| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
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44
toil
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| vi.辛劳工作，艰难地行动；n.苦工，难事 | |
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45
acting
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| n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的 | |
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46
marvelling
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| v.惊奇，对…感到惊奇( marvel的现在分词 ) | |
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47
vowing
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| 起誓，发誓（vow的现在分词形式） | |
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48
pouts
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| n.撅嘴，生气( pout的名词复数 )v.撅（嘴）( pout的第三人称单数 ) | |
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49
downwards
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| adj./adv.向下的（地），下行的（地） | |
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50
demureness
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| n.demure（拘谨的，端庄的）的变形 | |
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51
beseeching
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| adj.恳求似的v.恳求，乞求（某事物）( beseech的现在分词 ) | |
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52
yarn
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| n.纱，纱线，纺线；奇闻漫谈，旅行轶事 | |
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53
shudder
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| v.战粟，震动，剧烈地摇晃；n.战粟，抖动 | |
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54
isle
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| n.小岛，岛 | |
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55
perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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56
sob
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| n.空间轨道的轰炸机；呜咽，哭泣 | |
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57
abhorrent
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| adj.可恶的，可恨的，讨厌的 | |
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58
hue
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| n.色度；色调；样子 | |
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59
salute
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| vi.行礼，致意，问候，放礼炮；vt.向…致意，迎接，赞扬；n.招呼，敬礼，礼炮 | |
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60
steering
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| n.操舵装置 | |
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61
peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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62
forefinger
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| n.食指 | |
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63
duel
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| n./v.决斗；(双方的)斗争 | |
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64
depressed
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| adj.沮丧的，抑郁的，不景气的，萧条的 | |
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65
awakened
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| v.（使）醒( awaken的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）觉醒；弄醒；（使）意识到 | |
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66
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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67
fiery
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| adj.燃烧着的，火红的；暴躁的；激烈的 | |
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68
steadfast
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| adj.固定的，不变的，不动摇的；忠实的；坚贞不移的 | |
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69
crimsoning
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| 变为深红色（crimson的现在分词形式） | |
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70
crimson
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| n./adj.深(绯)红色(的)；vi.脸变绯红色 | |
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71
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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72
attired
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| adj.穿着整齐的v.使穿上衣服，使穿上盛装( attire的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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73
attire
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| v.穿衣，装扮[同]array；n.衣着；盛装 | |
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74
marine
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| adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵 | |
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75
ramble
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| v.漫步，漫谈，漫游；n.漫步，闲谈，蔓延 | |
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76
negligence
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| n.疏忽，玩忽，粗心大意 | |
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77
linen
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| n.亚麻布，亚麻线，亚麻制品；adj.亚麻布制的，亚麻的 | |
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78
countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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79
dignified
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| a.可敬的，高贵的 | |
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80
forefathers
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| n.祖先，先人；祖先，祖宗( forefather的名词复数 )；列祖列宗；前人 | |
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81
gems
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| growth； economy； management； and customer satisfaction 增长 | |
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82
accentuated
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| v.重读( accentuate的过去式和过去分词 )；使突出；使恶化；加重音符号于 | |
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83
behold
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| v.看，注视，看到 | |
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84
rout
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| n.溃退，溃败；v.击溃，打垮 | |
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85
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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86
proximity
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| n.接近，邻近 | |
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87
hectic
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| adj.肺病的；消耗热的；发热的；闹哄哄的 | |
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88
conviviality
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| n.欢宴，高兴，欢乐 | |
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89
syllable
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| n.音节；vt.分音节 | |
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90
rendering
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| n.表现，描写 | |
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91
protruding
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| v.（使某物）伸出，（使某物）突出( protrude的现在分词 )；凸 | |
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92
tact
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| n.机敏，圆滑，得体 | |
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93
conceal
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| v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽 | |
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94
apprehension
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| n.理解，领悟；逮捕，拘捕；忧虑 | |
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95
interval
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| n.间隔，间距；幕间休息，中场休息 | |
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96
abstained
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| v.戒（尤指酒），戒除( abstain的过去式和过去分词 )；弃权（不投票） | |
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97
allusion
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| n.暗示，间接提示 | |
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98
unnatural
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| adj.不自然的；反常的 | |
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99
sullen
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| adj.愠怒的，闷闷不乐的，(天气等)阴沉的 | |
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100
scowl
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| vi.(at)生气地皱眉，沉下脸，怒视；n.怒容 | |
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101
scowling
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| 怒视，生气地皱眉( scowl的现在分词 ) | |
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102
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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103
arthritic
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| adj.关节炎的 | |
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104
belle
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| n.靓女 | |
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105
determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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106
leeward
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| adj.背风的；下风的 | |
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107
abaft
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| prep.在…之后；adv.在船尾，向船尾 | |
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108
affected
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| adj.不自然的，假装的 | |
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109
refreshing
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| adj.使精神振作的，使人清爽的，使人喜欢的 | |
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110
sweeping
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| adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的 | |
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111
countless
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| adj.无数的，多得不计其数的 | |
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112
pinions
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| v.抓住[捆住]（双臂）( pinion的第三人称单数 ) | |
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113
hissing
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| n. 发嘶嘶声, 蔑视 动词hiss的现在分词形式 | |
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114
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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115
shearing
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| n.剪羊毛，剪取的羊毛v.剪羊毛( shear的现在分词 )；切断；剪切 | |
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116
lustre
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| n.光亮，光泽；荣誉 | |
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117
fugitives
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| n.亡命者，逃命者( fugitive的名词复数 ) | |
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118
undue
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| adj.过分的；不适当的；未到期的 | |
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119
subdued
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| adj. 屈服的，柔和的，减弱的 动词subdue的过去式和过去分词 | |
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120
vehement
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| adj.感情强烈的；热烈的；(人)有强烈感情的 | |
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121
puffing
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| v.使喷出( puff的现在分词 )；喷着汽（或烟）移动；吹嘘；吹捧 | |
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122
memorable
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| adj.值得回忆的，难忘的，特别的，显著的 | |
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123
bumper
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| n.(汽车上的)保险杠；adj.特大的，丰盛的 | |
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124
deserted
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| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
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125
malicious
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| adj.有恶意的，心怀恶意的 | |
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126
passionate
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| adj.热情的，热烈的，激昂的，易动情的，易怒的，性情暴躁的 | |
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127
gathering
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| n.集会，聚会，聚集 | |
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128
abreast
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| adv.并排地；跟上(时代)的步伐，与…并进地 | |
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129
tarn
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| n.山中的小湖或小潭 | |
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130
trudged
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| vt.& vi.跋涉，吃力地走（trudge的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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131
seaman
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| n.海员，水手，水兵 | |
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132
bulwarks
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| n.堡垒( bulwark的名词复数 )；保障；支柱；舷墙 | |
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133
glimmered
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| v.发闪光，发微光( glimmer的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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134
glimmer
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| v.发出闪烁的微光；n.微光，微弱的闪光 | |
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135
wriggling
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| v.扭动，蠕动，蜿蜒行进( wriggle的现在分词 )；（使身体某一部位）扭动；耍滑不做，逃避（应做的事等）；蠕蠕 | |
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136
yearning
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| a.渴望的；向往的；怀念的 | |
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137
tinge
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| vt.(较淡)着色于，染色；使带有…气息；n.淡淡色彩，些微的气息 | |
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138
constellations
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| n.星座( constellation的名词复数 )；一群杰出人物；一系列（相关的想法、事物）；一群（相关的人） | |
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139
seamen
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| n.海员 | |
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140
spectral
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| adj.幽灵的，鬼魂的 | |
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141
commingling
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| v.混合，掺和，合并( commingle的现在分词 ) | |
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142
hoarsely
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| adv.嘶哑地 | |
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143
loath
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| adj.不愿意的；勉强的 | |
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144
mustered
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| v.集合，召集，集结（尤指部队）( muster的过去式和过去分词 )；（自他人处）搜集某事物；聚集；激发 | |
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145
twitching
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| n.颤搐 | |
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146
recital
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| n.朗诵，独奏会，独唱会 | |
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147
squint
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| v. 使变斜视眼, 斜视, 眯眼看, 偏移, 窥视; n. 斜视, 斜孔小窗; adj. 斜视的, 斜的 | |
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148
touching
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| adj.动人的，使人感伤的 | |
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149
likeness
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| n.相像，相似（之处） | |
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150
wrought
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| v.引起；以…原料制作；运转；adj.制造的 | |
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151
pallid
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| adj.苍白的，呆板的 | |
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152
subduing
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| 征服( subdue的现在分词 )； 克制； 制服； 色变暗 | |
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153
countenances
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| n.面容( countenance的名词复数 )；表情；镇静；道义支持 | |
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154
vaguely
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| adv.含糊地，暖昧地 | |
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155
exquisite
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| adj.精美的；敏锐的；剧烈的，感觉强烈的 | |
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156
diffusing
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| （使光）模糊，漫射，漫散( diffuse的现在分词 )； （使）扩散； （使）弥漫； （使）传播 | |
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157
foam
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| v./n.泡沫，起泡沫 | |
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158
tilt
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| v.(使)倾侧；(使)倾斜；n.倾侧；倾斜 | |
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159
tilted
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| v. 倾斜的 | |
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160
mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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161
wilderness
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| n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠 | |
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162
remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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163
eternity
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| n.不朽，来世；永恒，无穷 | |
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164
beheld
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| v.看，注视( behold的过去式和过去分词 )；瞧；看呀；（叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现）哎哟 | |
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165
shipwreck
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| n.船舶失事，海难 | |
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166
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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167
goggling
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| v.睁大眼睛瞪视， （惊讶的）转动眼珠( goggle的现在分词 ) | |
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168
protruded
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| v.（使某物）伸出，（使某物）突出( protrude的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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169
sockets
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| n.套接字，使应用程序能够读写与收发通讯协定(protocol)与资料的程序( Socket的名词复数 )；孔( socket的名词复数 )；（电器上的）插口；托座；凹穴 | |
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170
concealed
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| a.隐藏的，隐蔽的 | |
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171
ruptured
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| v.（使）破裂( rupture的过去式和过去分词 )；（使体内组织等）断裂；使（友好关系）破裂；使绝交 | |
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172
coffin
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| n.棺材，灵柩 | |
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173
beholding
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| v.看，注视( behold的现在分词 )；瞧；看呀；（叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现）哎哟 | |
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174
possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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175
croaked
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| v.呱呱地叫( croak的过去式和过去分词 )；用粗的声音说 | |
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176
apparition
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| n.幽灵，神奇的现象 | |
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177
prone
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| adj.(to)易于…的，很可能…的；俯卧的 | |
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178
hideously
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| adv.可怕地，非常讨厌地 | |
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179
inhuman
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| adj.残忍的，不人道的，无人性的 | |
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180
pricked
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| 刺，扎，戳( prick的过去式和过去分词 )； 刺伤； 刺痛； 使剧痛 | |
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181
dishonour
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| n./vt.拒付（支票、汇票、票据等）；vt.凌辱，使丢脸；n.不名誉，耻辱，不光彩 | |
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182
sneaking
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| a.秘密的，不公开的 | |
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183
dread
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| vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧 | |
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184
croaking
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| v.呱呱地叫( croak的现在分词 )；用粗的声音说 | |
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185
rumbled
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| 发出隆隆声，发出辘辘声( rumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 轰鸣着缓慢行进； 发现…的真相； 看穿（阴谋） | |
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186
glimmering
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| n.微光，隐约的一瞥adj.薄弱地发光的v.发闪光，发微光( glimmer的现在分词 ) | |
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187
shriek
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| v./n.尖叫，叫喊 | |
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188
haughtiness
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| n.傲慢；傲气 | |
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189
disdain
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| n.鄙视，轻视；v.轻视，鄙视，不屑 | |
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190
vessel
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| n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管 | |
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191
awning
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| n.遮阳篷；雨篷 | |
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192
planks
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| （厚）木板( plank的名词复数 )； 政纲条目，政策要点 | |
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193
glistening
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| adj.闪耀的，反光的v.湿物闪耀，闪亮( glisten的现在分词 ) | |
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194
indifference
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| n.不感兴趣，不关心，冷淡，不在乎 | |
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195
reassure
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| v.使放心，使消除疑虑 | |
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196
desolate
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| adj.荒凉的，荒芜的；孤独的，凄凉的；v.使荒芜，使孤寂 | |
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197
languish
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| vi.变得衰弱无力，失去活力，（植物等）凋萎 | |
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198
remorse
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| n.痛恨，悔恨，自责 | |
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199
eddying
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| 涡流，涡流的形成 | |
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200
configurations
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| n.[化学]结构( configuration的名词复数 )；构造；（计算机的）配置；构形（原子在分子中的相对空间位置） | |
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201
beckoning
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| adj.引诱人的，令人心动的v.（用头或手的动作）示意，召唤( beckon的现在分词 ) | |
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202
caressing
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| 爱抚的，表现爱情的，亲切的 | |
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203
alluring
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| adj.吸引人的，迷人的 | |
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204
tragic
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| adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的 | |
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