Part 3 In The Shadow Chapter 11

One morning, going on three o'clock, while all were dreaming quietlyunder their winding-sheet of fog, they heard something like a clamourof voices--voices whose tones seemed strange and unfamiliar¹. Those ondeck looked at each other questioningly.

　　"Who's that talking?"Nobody. Nobody had said anything. For that matter, the sounds hadseemed to come from the outer void. Then the man who had charge of thefog-horn, but had been neglecting his duty since overnight, rushed forit, and inflating² his lungs to their utmost, sounded with all hismight the long bellow³ of alarm. It was enough to make a man of ironstart, in such a silence.

　　As if a spectre had been evoked⁴ by that thrilling, though deep-tonedroar, a huge unforeseen gray form suddenly arose very loftily andtowered threateningly right beside them; masts, spars, rigging, alllike a ship that had taken sudden shape in the air instantly, just asa single beam of electric light evokes⁵ phantasmagoria on the screen ofa magic lantern.

　　Men appeared, almost close enough to touch them, leaning over thebulwarks, staring at them with eyes distended⁶ in the awakening⁷ ofsurprise and dread⁸.

　　The /Marie's/ men rushed for oars⁹, spars, boat-hooks, anything theycould lay their hands on for fenders, and held them out to shove offthat grisly thing and its impending¹⁰ visitors. Lo! these others,terrified also, put out large beams to repel¹¹ them likewise.

　　But there came only a very faint creaking in the topmasts, as bothstanding gears momentarily entangled¹² became disentangled without theleast damage; the shock, very gentle in such a calm had been almostwholly deadened; indeed, it was so feeble that it really seemed as ifthe other ship had no substance, that it was a mere¹³ pulp¹⁴, almostwithout weight.

　　When the fright was over, the men began to laugh; they had recognisedeach other.

　　"/La Marie/, ahoy! how are ye, lads?""Halloa! Gaos, Laumec, Guermeur!"The spectre ship was the /Reine-Berthe/, also of Paimpol, and so thesailors were from neighbouring villages; that thick, tall fellow withthe huge, black beard, showing his teeth when he laughed, wasKerjegou, one of the Ploudaniel boys, the others were from Plounes orPlounerin.

　　"Why didn't you blow your fog-horn, and be blowed to you, you herd¹⁵ ofsavages?" challenged Larvoer of the /Reine-Berthe/.

　　"If it comes to that, why didn't you blow yours, you crew of pirates--you rank mess of toad-fish?""Oh, no! with us, d'ye see, the sea-law differs. /We're forbidden tomake any noise!/"He made this reply with the air of giving a dark hint, and a queersmile, which afterward¹⁶ came back to the memory of the men of the/Marie/, and caused them a great deal of thinking. Then, as if hethought he had said too much, he concluded with a joke:

　　"Our fog-horn, d'ye see, was burst by this rogue¹⁷ here a-blowing toohard into it." He pointed¹⁸ to a sailor with a face like a Triton, a manall bull-neck and chest, extravagantly¹⁹ broad-shouldered, low-set uponhis legs, with something unspeakably grotesque²⁰ and unpleasant in thedeformity of strength.

　　While they were looking at each other, waiting for breeze orundercurrent to move one vessel²¹ faster than the other and separatethem, a general palaver²² began. Leaning over the side, but holding eachother off at a respectable distance with their long wooden props²³, likebesieged pikemen repelling²⁴ an assault, they began to chat about home,the last letters received, and sweethearts and wives.

　　"I say! my old woman," said Kerjegou, "tells me she's had the littleboy we were looking for; that makes half-score-two now!"Another had found himself the father of twins; and a third announcedthe marriage of pretty Jenny Caroff, a girl well known to all theIcelanders, with some rich and infirm old resident of the Commune ofPlourivo. As they were eyeing each other as if through white gauze,this also appeared to alter the sound of the voices, which came as ifmuffled and from far away.

　　Meanwhile Yann could not take his eyes off one of those brotherfishermen, a little grizzled fellow, whom he was quite sure he neverhad seen before, but who had, nevertheless, straightway said to him,"How d'o, long Yann?" with all the familiarity of bosom²⁵ acquaintance.

　　He wore the provoking ugliness of a monkey, with an apish twinkling ofmischief too in his piercing eyes.

　　"As for me," said Larvoer, of the /Reine-Berthe/, "I've been told ofthe death of the grandson of old Yvonne Moan, of Ploubazlanec--who wasserving his time in the navy, you know, in the Chinese squadron--avery great pity."On hearing this, all the men of /La Marie/ turned towards Yann tolearn if he already knew anything of the sad news.

　　"Ay," he answered in a low voice, but with an indifferent and haughtyair, "it was told me in the last letter my father sent me." They stillkept on looking at him, curious at finding out the secret of hisgrief, and it made him angry.

　　These questions and answers were rapidly exchanged through the pallidmists, so the moments of this peculiar²⁶ colloquy²⁷ skipped swiftly by.

　　"My wife wrote me at the same time," continued Larvoer, "that MonsieurMevel's daughter has left the town to live at Ploubazlanec and takecare of her old grand-aunt--Granny Moan. She goes out to needlework bythe day now--to earn her living. Anyhow, I always thought, I did, thatshe was a good, brave girl, in spite of her fine-lady airs and herfurbelows."Then again they all stared at Yann, which made him still more angry; ared flush mounted to his cheeks, under their tawny²⁸ tan.

　　With Larvoer's expression of opinion about Gaud ended this parley²⁹ withthe crew of the /Reine-Berthe/, none of whom were ever again to beseen by human eyes. For a moment their faces became more dim, theirvessel being already farther away; and then, all at once, the men ofthe /Marie/ found they had nothing to push against, nothing at the endof their poles--all spars, oars, odds³⁰ and ends of deck-lumber, weregroping and quivering in emptiness, till they fell heavily, one afterthe other, down into the sea, like their own arms, lopped off andinert.

　　They pulled all the useless defences on board. The /Reine-Berthe/,melting away into the thick fog, had disappeared as suddenly as apainted ship in a dissolving view. They tried to hail her, but theonly response was a sort of mocking clamour--as of many voices--endingin a moan, that made them all stare at each other in surprise.

　　This /Reine-Berthe/ did not come back with the other Icelandicfishers; and as the men of the /Samuel-Azenide/ afterward picked up insome fjord an unmistakable waif (part of her taffrail with a bit ofher keel), all ceased to hope; in the month of October the names ofall her crew were inscribed³¹ upon black slabs³² in the church.

　　From the very time of that apparition--the date of which was wellremembered by the men of the /Marie/--until the time of their return,there had been no really dangerous weather on the Icelandic seas, buta great storm from the west had, three weeks before, swept severalsailors overboard, and swallowed up two vessels³³. The men rememberedLarvoer's peculiar smile, and putting things together many strangeconjectures were made. In the dead of night, Yann, more than once,dreamed that he again saw the sailor who blinked like an ape, and someof the men of the /Marie/ wondered if, on that remembered morning,they had not been talking with ghosts.

1 unfamiliar   

adj.陌生的，不熟悉的

参考例句：

• I am unfamiliar with the place and the people here.我在这儿人地生疏。
• The man seemed unfamiliar to me.这人很面生。

2 inflating   

v.使充气（于轮胎、气球等）( inflate的现在分词 )；（使）膨胀；（使）通货膨胀；物价上涨

参考例句：

• I felt myself inflating slowly with rage, like a tyre. 我感到自己体内的怒气正慢慢膨胀，像一只轮胎那样。 来自互联网
• Many are already overheating, with prices rising and asset bubbles inflating. 随着物价日益上涨、资产泡沫膨胀，很多新兴国家经济已经过热。 来自互联网

3 bellow   

v.吼叫，怒吼；大声发出，大声喝道

参考例句：

• The music is so loud that we have to bellow at each other to be heard.音乐的声音实在太大，我们只有彼此大声喊叫才能把话听清。
• After a while,the bull began to bellow in pain.过了一会儿公牛开始痛苦地吼叫。

4 evoked   

[医]诱发的

参考例句：

• The music evoked memories of her youth. 这乐曲勾起了她对青年时代的回忆。
• Her face, though sad, still evoked a feeling of serenity. 她的脸色虽然悲伤，但仍使人感觉安详。

5 evokes   

产生，引起，唤起( evoke的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The film evokes chilling reminders of the war. 这部电影使人们回忆起战争的可怕场景。
• Each type evokes antibodies which protect against the homologous. 每一种类型都能产生抗同种病毒的抗体。

6 distended   

v.（使）膨胀，肿胀( distend的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• starving children with huge distended bellies 鼓着浮肿肚子的挨饿儿童
• The balloon was distended. 气球已膨胀。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

7 awakening   

n.觉醒，醒悟 adj.觉醒中的；唤醒的

参考例句：

• the awakening of interest in the environment 对环境产生的兴趣
• People are gradually awakening to their rights. 人们正逐渐意识到自己的权利。

8 dread   

vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧

参考例句：

• We all dread to think what will happen if the company closes.我们都不敢去想一旦公司关门我们该怎么办。
• Her heart was relieved of its blankest dread.她极度恐惧的心理消除了。

9 oars   

n.桨，橹( oar的名词复数 )；划手v.划（行）( oar的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• He pulled as hard as he could on the oars. 他拼命地划桨。
• The sailors are bending to the oars. 水手们在拼命地划桨。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 impending   

a.imminent, about to come or happen

参考例句：

• Against a background of impending famine, heavy fighting took place. 即将发生饥荒之时，严重的战乱爆发了。
• The king convoke parliament to cope with the impending danger. 国王召开国会以应付迫近眉睫的危险。

11 repel   

v.击退，抵制，拒绝，排斥

参考例句：

• A country must have the will to repel any invader.一个国家得有决心击退任何入侵者。
• Particles with similar electric charges repel each other.电荷同性的分子互相排斥。

12 entangled   

adj.卷入的；陷入的；被缠住的；缠在一起的v.使某人（某物/自己）缠绕，纠缠于（某物中），使某人（自己）陷入（困难或复杂的环境中）( entangle的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The bird had become entangled in the wire netting. 那只小鸟被铁丝网缠住了。
• Some military observers fear the US could get entangled in another war. 一些军事观察家担心美国会卷入另一场战争。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 mere   

adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过

参考例句：

• That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
• It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。

14 pulp   

n.果肉，纸浆；v.化成纸浆，除去...果肉，制成纸浆

参考例句：

• The pulp of this watermelon is too spongy.这西瓜瓤儿太肉了。
• The company manufactures pulp and paper products.这个公司制造纸浆和纸产品。

15 herd   

n.兽群，牧群；vt.使集中，把…赶在一起

参考例句：

• She drove the herd of cattle through the wilderness.她赶着牛群穿过荒野。
• He had no opinions of his own but simply follow the herd.他从无主见，只是人云亦云。

16 afterward   

adv.后来；以后

参考例句：

• Let's go to the theatre first and eat afterward. 让我们先去看戏，然后吃饭。
• Afterward,the boy became a very famous artist.后来，这男孩成为一个很有名的艺术家。

17 rogue   

n.流氓；v.游手好闲

参考例句：

• The little rogue had his grandpa's glasses on.这淘气鬼带上了他祖父的眼镜。
• They defined him as a rogue.他们确定他为骗子。

18 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

19 extravagantly   

adv.挥霍无度地

参考例句：

• The Monroes continued to entertain extravagantly. 门罗一家继续大宴宾客。 来自辞典例句
• New Grange is one of the most extravagantly decorated prehistoric tombs. 新格兰奇是装饰最豪华的史前陵墓之一。 来自辞典例句

20 grotesque   

adj.怪诞的，丑陋的；n.怪诞的图案，怪人（物）

参考例句：

• His face has a grotesque appearance.他的面部表情十分怪。
• Her account of the incident was a grotesque distortion of the truth.她对这件事的陈述是荒诞地歪曲了事实。

21 vessel   

n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管

参考例句：

• The vessel is fully loaded with cargo for Shanghai.这艘船满载货物驶往上海。
• You should put the water into a vessel.你应该把水装入容器中。

22 palaver   

adj.壮丽堂皇的；n.废话，空话

参考例句：

• We don't want all that palaver,do we?我们不想那样小题大做，不是吗？
• Progress is neither proclamation nor palaver.进步不是宣言，也不是空谈。

23 props   

小道具； 支柱( prop的名词复数 )； 支持者； 道具； （橄榄球中的）支柱前锋

参考例句：

• Rescuers used props to stop the roof of the tunnel collapsing. 救援人员用支柱防止隧道顶塌陷。
• The government props up the prices of farm products to support farmers' incomes. 政府保持农产品价格不变以保障农民们的收入。

24 repelling   

v.击退( repel的现在分词 )；使厌恶；排斥；推开

参考例句：

• He saw himself standing up and repelling a charge. 他仿佛看见自己挺身而起，打退了敌人的进攻。 来自辞典例句
• Promote the healthy entertainment styles. Repelling the superstition, gambling, drugs and obscenity. 提倡健康娱乐。抵制封建迷信活动，拒绝黄、赌、毒。 来自互联网

25 bosom   

n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的

参考例句：

• She drew a little book from her bosom.她从怀里取出一本小册子。
• A dark jealousy stirred in his bosom.他内心生出一阵恶毒的嫉妒。

26 peculiar   

adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的

参考例句：

• He walks in a peculiar fashion.他走路的样子很奇特。
• He looked at me with a very peculiar expression.他用一种很奇怪的表情看着我。

27 colloquy   

n.谈话，自由讨论

参考例句：

• The colloquy between them was brief.他们之间的对话很简洁。
• They entered into eager colloquy with each other.他们展开热切的相互交谈。

28 tawny   

adj.茶色的，黄褐色的；n.黄褐色

参考例句：

• Her black hair springs in fine strands across her tawny,ruddy cheek.她的一头乌发分披在健康红润的脸颊旁。
• None of them noticed a large,tawny owl flutter past the window.他们谁也没注意到一只大的、褐色的猫头鹰飞过了窗户。

29 parley   

n.谈判

参考例句：

• The governor was forced to parley with the rebels.州长被迫与反叛者谈判。
• The general held a parley with the enemy about exchanging prisoners.将军与敌人谈判交换战俘事宜。

30 odds   

n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别

参考例句：

• The odds are 5 to 1 that she will win.她获胜的机会是五比一。
• Do you know the odds of winning the lottery once?你知道赢得一次彩票的几率多大吗？

31 inscribed   

v.写，刻( inscribe的过去式和过去分词 )；内接

参考例句：

• His name was inscribed on the trophy. 他的名字刻在奖杯上。
• The names of the dead were inscribed on the wall. 死者的名字被刻在墙上。 来自《简明英汉词典》

32 slabs   

n.厚板，平板，厚片( slab的名词复数 )；厚胶片

参考例句：

• The patio was made of stone slabs. 这天井是用石板铺砌而成的。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The slabs of standing stone point roughly toward the invisible notch. 这些矗立的石块，大致指向那个看不见的缺口。 来自辞典例句

33 vessels   

n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人

参考例句：

• The river is navigable by vessels of up to 90 tons. 90 吨以下的船只可以从这条河通过。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All modern vessels of any size are fitted with radar installations. 所有现代化船只都有雷达装置。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》