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Part 1 Chapter 4 The Second Prize Crew
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In semi-tropic Pacific weather the unexpected so seldom happens as to be a negligible quantity. The _Wolverine_ met with it on June 5th. From some unaccountable source in that realm of the heaven-scouring trades came a heavy mist. Possibly volcanic1 action, deranging2 by its electric and gaseous3 outpourings the normal course of the winds, had given birth to it. Be that as it may, it swept down upon the cruiser, thickening as it approached, until presently it had spread a curtain between the warship5 and its charge. The wind died. Until after fall of night the _Wolverine_ moved slowly, bellowing6 for the schooner7, but got no reply. Once they thought they heard a distant shout of response, but there was no repetition.

"Probably doesn't carry any fog horn," said Carter bitterly, voicing a general uneasiness.

"No log; compass crazy; without fog signal; I don't like that craft. Barnett ought to have been ordered to blow the damned thing up, as a peril8 to the high seas."

"We'll pick her up in the morning, surely," said Forsythe. "This can't last for ever."

Nor did it last long. An hour before midnight a pounding shower fell, lashing9 the sea into phosphorescent whiteness. It ceased, and with the growl10 of a leaping animal a squall furiously beset11 the ship. Soon the great steel body was plunging12 and heaving in the billows. It was a gloomy company about the wardroom table. Upon each and all hung an oppression of spirit. Captain Parkinson came from his cabin and went on deck. Constitutionally he was a nervous and pessimistic man with a fixed13 belief in the conspiracy14 of events, banded for the undoing15 of him and his. Blind or dubious16 conditions racked his soul, but real danger found him not only prepared, but even eager. Now his face was a picture of foreboding.

"Parky looks as if Davy Jones was pulling on his string," observed the flippant Ives to his neighbour.

"Worrying about the schooner. Hope Billy Edwards saw or heard or felt that squall coming," replied Forsythe, giving expression to the anxiety that all felt.

"He's a good sailor man," said Ives, "and that's a staunch little schooner, by the way she handled herself."

"Oh, it will be all right," said Carter confidently. "The wind's moderating now."

"But there's no telling how far out of the course this may have blown him."

Barnett came down, dripping.

"Anything new?" asked Dr. Trendon.

The navigating17 officer shook his head.

"Nothing. But the captain's in a state of mind," he said.

"What's wrong with him?"

"The schooner. Seems possessed18 with the notion that there's something wrong with her."

"Aren't you feeling a little that way yourself?" said Forsythe. "I am. I'll take a look around before I turn in."

He left behind him a silent crowd. His return was prompt and swift.

"Come on deck," he said.

Every man leaped as to an order. There was that in Forsythe's voice which stung. The weather had cleared somewhat, though scudding19 wrack20 still blew across them to the westward21. The ship rolled heavily. Of the sea naught22 was visible except the arching waves, but in the sky they beheld23 again, with a sickening sense of disaster, that pale and lovely glow which had so bewildered them two nights before.

"The aurora24!" cried McGuire, the paymaster.

"Oh, certainly," replied Ives, with sarcasm25. "Dead in the west. Common spot for the aurora. Particularly on the edge of the South Seas, where they are thick!"

"Then what is it?"

Nobody had an answer. Carter hastened forward and returned to report.

"It's electrical anyway," said Carter. "The compass is queer again."

"Edwards ought to be close to the solution of it," ventured Ives. "This gale26 should have blown him just about to the centre of interest."

"If only he isn't involved in it," said Carter anxiously.

"What could there be to involve him?" asked McGuire.

"I don't know," said Carter slowly. "Somehow I feel as if the desertion of the schooner was in some formidable manner connected with that light."

For perhaps fifteen minutes the glow continued. It seemed to be nearer at hand than on the former sighting; but it took no comprehensible form. Then it died away and all was blackness again. But the officers of the _Wolverine_ had long been in troubled slumber27 before the sensitive compass regained28 its exact balance, and with the shifting wind to mislead her, the cruiser had wandered, by morning, no man might know how far from her course.

All day long of June 6th the _Wolverine_, baffled by patches of mist and moving rain-squalls, patrolled the empty seas without sighting the lost schooner. The evening brought an envelope of fog again, and presently a light breeze came up from the north. An hour of it had failed to disperse29 the mist, when there was borne down to the warship a flapping sound as of great wings. The flapping grew louder--waned--ceased--and from the lookout30 came a hail.

"Ship's lights three points on the starboard quarter."

"What do you make it out to be?" came the query31 from below.

"Green light's all I can see, sir." There was a pause.

"There's her port light, now. Looks to be turning and bearing down on us, sir. Coming dead for us"--the man's voice rose--"close aboard; less'n two ship's lengths away!"

As for a prearranged scene, the fog-curtain parted. There loomed32 silently and swiftly the _Laughing Lass_. Down she bore upon the greater vessel33 until it seemed as if she must ram34; but all the time she was veering35 to windward, and now she ran into the wind with a castanet rattle36 of sails. So close aboard was she that the eager eyes of Uncle Sam's men peered down upon her empty decks--for she was void of life.

Behind the cruiser's blanketing she paid off very slowly, but presently caught the breeze full and again whitened the water at her prow37. Forgetting regulations, Ives hailed loudly:

"Ahoy, _Laughing Lass_! Ahoy, Billy Edwards!"

No sound, no animate38 motion came from aboard that apparition39, as she fell astern. A shudder40 of horror ran across the _Wolverine_'s quarter-deck. A wraith41 ship, peopled with skeletons, would have been less dreadful to their sight than the brisk and active desolation of the heeling schooner.

"Been deserted42 since early last night," said Trendon hoarsely43.

"How can you tell that?" asked Barnett.

"Both sails reefed down. Ready for that squall. Been no weather since to call for reefs. Must have quit her during the squall."

"Then they jumped," cried Carter, "for I saw her boats. It isn't believable."

"Neither was the other," said Trendon grimly.

A hurried succession of orders stopped further discussion for the time. Ives was sent aboard the schooner to lower sail and report. He came back with a staggering dearth44 of information. The boats were all there; the ship was intact--as intact as when Billy Edwards had taken charge--but the cheery, lovable ensign and his men had vanished without trace or clue. As to the how or the wherefore they might rack their brains without guessing. There was the beginning of a log in the ensign's handwriting, which Ives had found with high excitement and read with bitter disappointment.

"Had squall from northeast," it ran. "Double reefed her and she took it nicely. Seems a seaworthy, quick ship. Further search for log. No result. Have ordered one of crew who is a bit of a mechanic to work at the brass-bound chest till he gets it open. He reports marks on the lock as if somebody had been trying to pick it before him."

There was no further entry.

"Dr. Trendon is right," said Barnett. "Whatever happened--and God only knows what it could have been--it happened just after the squall."

"Just about the time of the strange glow," cried Ives.

It was decided45 that two men and a petty officer should be sent aboard the _Laughing Lass_ to make her fast with a cable, and remain on board over night. But when the order was given the men hung back. One of them protested brokenly that he was sick. Trendon, after examination, reported to the captain.

"Case of blue funk, sir. Might as well be sick. Good for nothing. Others aren't much better."

"Who was to be in charge?"

"Congdon," replied the doctor, naming one of the petty officers.

"He's my coxswain," said Captain Parkinson. "A first-class man. I can hardly believe that he is afraid. We'll see."

Congdon was sent for.

"You're ordered aboard the schooner for the night, Congdon," said the captain.

"Yes, sir."

"Is there any reason why you do not wish to go?"

The man hesitated, looking miserable46. Finally he blurted47 out, not without a certain dignity:

"I obey orders, sir."

"Speak out, my man," urged the captain kindly48.

"Well, sir: it's Mr. Edwards, then. You couldn't scare him off a ship, sir, unless it was something--something----"

He stopped, failing of the word.

"You know what Mr. Edwards was, sir, for pluck," he concluded.

"_Was_!" cried the captain sharply. "What do you mean?

"The schooner got him, sir. You don't make no doubt of that, do you, sir?" The man spoke49 in a hushed voice, with a shrinking glance back of him.

"Will you go aboard under Mr. Ives?"

"Anywhere my officer goes I'll go, and gladly, sir."

Ives was sent aboard in charge. For that night, in a light breeze, the two ships lay close together, the schooner riding jauntily50 astern. But not until morning illumined the world of waters did the _Wolverine_'s people feel confident that the _Laughing Lass_ would not vanish away from their ken4 like a shape of the mist.


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1 volcanic BLgzQ     
adj.火山的;象火山的;由火山引起的
参考例句:
  • There have been several volcanic eruptions this year.今年火山爆发了好几次。
  • Volcanic activity has created thermal springs and boiling mud pools.火山活动产生了温泉和沸腾的泥浆池。
2 deranging 2b67c222392968f15f844867b11bec24     
v.疯狂的,神经错乱的( deranged的过去分词 );混乱的
参考例句:
3 gaseous Hlvy2     
adj.气体的,气态的
参考例句:
  • Air whether in the gaseous or liquid state is a fluid.空气,无论是气态的或是液态的,都是一种流体。
  • Freon exists both in liquid and gaseous states.氟利昂有液态和气态两种形态。
4 ken k3WxV     
n.视野,知识领域
参考例句:
  • Such things are beyond my ken.我可不懂这些事。
  • Abstract words are beyond the ken of children.抽象的言辞超出小孩所理解的范围.
5 warship OMtzl     
n.军舰,战舰
参考例句:
  • He is serving on a warship in the Pacific.他在太平洋海域的一艘军舰上服役。
  • The warship was making towards the pier.军舰正驶向码头。
6 bellowing daf35d531c41de75017204c30dff5cac     
v.发出吼叫声,咆哮(尤指因痛苦)( bellow的现在分词 );(愤怒地)说出(某事),大叫
参考例句:
  • We could hear he was bellowing commands to his troops. 我们听见他正向他的兵士大声发布命令。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • He disguised these feelings under an enormous bellowing and hurraying. 他用大声吼叫和喝采掩饰着这些感情。 来自辞典例句
7 schooner mDoyU     
n.纵帆船
参考例句:
  • The schooner was driven ashore.那条帆船被冲上了岸。
  • The current was bearing coracle and schooner southward at an equal rate.急流正以同样的速度将小筏子和帆船一起冲向南方。
8 peril l3Dz6     
n.(严重的)危险;危险的事物
参考例句:
  • The refugees were in peril of death from hunger.难民有饿死的危险。
  • The embankment is in great peril.河堤岌岌可危。
9 lashing 97a95b88746153568e8a70177bc9108e     
n.鞭打;痛斥;大量;许多v.鞭打( lash的现在分词 );煽动;紧系;怒斥
参考例句:
  • The speaker was lashing the crowd. 演讲人正在煽动人群。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The rain was lashing the windows. 雨急打着窗子。 来自《简明英汉词典》
10 growl VeHzE     
v.(狗等)嗥叫,(炮等)轰鸣;n.嗥叫,轰鸣
参考例句:
  • The dog was biting,growling and wagging its tail.那条狗在一边撕咬一边低声吼叫,尾巴也跟着摇摆。
  • The car growls along rutted streets.汽车在车辙纵横的街上一路轰鸣。
11 beset SWYzq     
v.镶嵌;困扰,包围
参考例句:
  • She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
  • The plan was beset with difficulties from the beginning.这项计划自开始就困难重重。
12 plunging 5fe12477bea00d74cd494313d62da074     
adj.跳进的,突进的v.颠簸( plunge的现在分词 );暴跌;骤降;突降
参考例句:
  • War broke out again, plunging the people into misery and suffering. 战祸复发,生灵涂炭。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
  • He is plunging into an abyss of despair. 他陷入了绝望的深渊。 来自《简明英汉词典》
13 fixed JsKzzj     
adj.固定的,不变的,准备好的;(计算机)固定的
参考例句:
  • Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗?
  • Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定,我们就不应该随意改变。
14 conspiracy NpczE     
n.阴谋,密谋,共谋
参考例句:
  • The men were found guilty of conspiracy to murder.这些人被裁决犯有阴谋杀人罪。
  • He claimed that it was all a conspiracy against him.他声称这一切都是一场针对他的阴谋。
15 undoing Ifdz6a     
n.毁灭的原因,祸根;破坏,毁灭
参考例句:
  • That one mistake was his undoing. 他一失足即成千古恨。
  • This hard attitude may have led to his undoing. 可能就是这种强硬的态度导致了他的垮台。
16 dubious Akqz1     
adj.怀疑的,无把握的;有问题的,靠不住的
参考例句:
  • What he said yesterday was dubious.他昨天说的话很含糊。
  • He uses some dubious shifts to get money.他用一些可疑的手段去赚钱。
17 navigating 7b03ffaa93948a9ae00f8802b1000da5     
v.给(船舶、飞机等)引航,导航( navigate的现在分词 );(从海上、空中等)横越;横渡;飞跃
参考例句:
  • These can also be very useful when navigating time-based documents, such as video and audio. 它对于和时间有关的文档非常有用,比如视频和音频文档。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓
  • Vehicles slowed to a crawl on city roads, navigating slushy snow. 汽车在市区路上行驶缓慢,穿越泥泞的雪地。 来自互联网
18 possessed xuyyQ     
adj.疯狂的;拥有的,占有的
参考例句:
  • He flew out of the room like a man possessed.他像着了魔似地猛然冲出房门。
  • He behaved like someone possessed.他行为举止像是魔怔了。
19 scudding ae56c992b738e4f4a25852d1f96fe4e8     
n.刮面v.(尤指船、舰或云彩)笔直、高速而平稳地移动( scud的现在分词 )
参考例句:
  • Clouds were scudding across the sky. 云飞越天空。 来自辞典例句
  • China Advertising Photo Market-Like a Rising Wind and Scudding Clouds. 中国广告图片市场:风起云涌。 来自互联网
20 wrack AMdzD     
v.折磨;n.海草
参考例句:
  • Periodic crises wrack the capitalist system,and they grow in size and duration.周期性的危机破坏着资本主义制度,这种危机的规模在扩大,时间在延长。
  • The wrack had begun to stink as it rotted in the sun.海草残骸在阳光下腐烂,开始变臭了。
21 westward XIvyz     
n.西方,西部;adj.西方的,向西的;adv.向西
参考例句:
  • We live on the westward slope of the hill.我们住在这座山的西山坡。
  • Explore westward or wherever.向西或到什么别的地方去勘探。
22 naught wGLxx     
n.无,零 [=nought]
参考例句:
  • He sets at naught every convention of society.他轻视所有的社会习俗。
  • I hope that all your efforts won't go for naught.我希望你的努力不会毫无结果。
23 beheld beheld     
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
参考例句:
  • His eyes had never beheld such opulence. 他从未见过这样的财富。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The soul beheld its features in the mirror of the passing moment. 灵魂在逝去的瞬间的镜子中看到了自己的模样。 来自英汉文学 - 红字
24 aurora aV9zX     
n.极光
参考例句:
  • The aurora is one of nature's most awesome spectacles.极光是自然界最可畏的奇观之一。
  • Over the polar regions we should see aurora.在极地高空,我们会看到极光。
25 sarcasm 1CLzI     
n.讥讽,讽刺,嘲弄,反话 (adj.sarcastic)
参考例句:
  • His sarcasm hurt her feelings.他的讽刺伤害了她的感情。
  • She was given to using bitter sarcasm.她惯于用尖酸刻薄语言挖苦人。
26 gale Xf3zD     
n.大风,强风,一阵闹声(尤指笑声等)
参考例句:
  • We got our roof blown off in the gale last night.昨夜的大风把我们的房顶给掀掉了。
  • According to the weather forecast,there will be a gale tomorrow.据气象台预报,明天有大风。
27 slumber 8E7zT     
n.睡眠,沉睡状态
参考例句:
  • All the people in the hotels were wrapped in deep slumber.住在各旅馆里的人都已进入梦乡。
  • Don't wake him from his slumber because he needs the rest.不要把他从睡眠中唤醒,因为他需要休息。
28 regained 51ada49e953b830c8bd8fddd6bcd03aa     
复得( regain的过去式和过去分词 ); 赢回; 重回; 复至某地
参考例句:
  • The majority of the people in the world have regained their liberty. 世界上大多数人已重获自由。
  • She hesitated briefly but quickly regained her poise. 她犹豫片刻,但很快恢复了镇静。
29 disperse ulxzL     
vi.使分散;使消失;vt.分散;驱散
参考例句:
  • The cattle were swinging their tails to disperse the flies.那些牛甩动着尾巴驱赶苍蝇。
  • The children disperse for the holidays.孩子们放假了。
30 lookout w0sxT     
n.注意,前途,瞭望台
参考例句:
  • You can see everything around from the lookout.从了望台上你可以看清周围的一切。
  • It's a bad lookout for the company if interest rates don't come down.如果利率降不下来,公司的前景可就不妙了。
31 query iS4xJ     
n.疑问,问号,质问;vt.询问,表示怀疑
参考例句:
  • I query very much whether it is wise to act so hastily.我真怀疑如此操之过急地行动是否明智。
  • They raised a query on his sincerity.他们对他是否真诚提出质疑。
32 loomed 9423e616fe6b658c9a341ebc71833279     
v.隐约出现,阴森地逼近( loom的过去式和过去分词 );隐约出现,阴森地逼近
参考例句:
  • A dark shape loomed up ahead of us. 一个黑糊糊的影子隐隐出现在我们的前面。
  • The prospect of war loomed large in everyone's mind. 战事将起的庞大阴影占据每个人的心。 来自《简明英汉词典》
33 vessel 4L1zi     
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。
34 ram dTVxg     
(random access memory)随机存取存储器
参考例句:
  • 512k RAM is recommended and 640k RAM is preferred.推荐配置为512K内存,640K内存则更佳。
35 veering 7f532fbe9455c2b9628ab61aa01fbced     
n.改变的;犹豫的;顺时针方向转向;特指使船尾转向上风来改变航向v.(尤指交通工具)改变方向或路线( veer的现在分词 );(指谈话内容、人的行为或观点)突然改变;(指风) (在北半球按顺时针方向、在南半球按逆时针方向)逐渐转向;风向顺时针转
参考例句:
  • Anyone veering too close to the convoys risks being shot. 任何人改变方向,过于接近车队就有遭枪击的风险。 来自互联网
  • The little boat kept veering from its course in such a turbulent river. 小船在这湍急的河中总是改变方向。 来自互联网
36 rattle 5Alzb     
v.飞奔,碰响;激怒;n.碰撞声;拨浪鼓
参考例句:
  • The baby only shook the rattle and laughed and crowed.孩子只是摇着拨浪鼓,笑着叫着。
  • She could hear the rattle of the teacups.她听见茶具叮当响。
37 prow T00zj     
n.(飞机)机头,船头
参考例句:
  • The prow of the motor-boat cut through the water like a knife.汽艇的船头像一把刀子劈开水面向前行驶。
  • He stands on the prow looking at the seadj.他站在船首看着大海。
38 animate 3MDyv     
v.赋于生命,鼓励;adj.有生命的,有生气的
参考例句:
  • We are animate beings,living creatures.我们是有生命的存在,有生命的动物。
  • The girls watched,little teasing smiles animating their faces.女孩们注视着,脸上挂着调皮的微笑,显得愈加活泼。
39 apparition rM3yR     
n.幽灵,神奇的现象
参考例句:
  • He saw the apparition of his dead wife.他看见了他亡妻的幽灵。
  • But the terror of this new apparition brought me to a stand.这新出现的幽灵吓得我站在那里一动也不敢动。
40 shudder JEqy8     
v.战粟,震动,剧烈地摇晃;n.战粟,抖动
参考例句:
  • The sight of the coffin sent a shudder through him.看到那副棺材,他浑身一阵战栗。
  • We all shudder at the thought of the dreadful dirty place.我们一想到那可怕的肮脏地方就浑身战惊。
41 wraith ZMLzD     
n.幽灵;骨瘦如柴的人
参考例句:
  • My only question right now involves the wraith.我唯一的问题是关于幽灵的。
  • So,what you're saying is the Ancients actually created the Wraith?照你这么说,实际上是古人创造了幽灵?
42 deserted GukzoL     
adj.荒芜的,荒废的,无人的,被遗弃的
参考例句:
  • The deserted village was filled with a deathly silence.这个荒废的村庄死一般的寂静。
  • The enemy chieftain was opposed and deserted by his followers.敌人头目众叛亲离。
43 hoarsely hoarsely     
adv.嘶哑地
参考例句:
  • "Excuse me," he said hoarsely. “对不起。”他用嘶哑的嗓子说。
  • Jerry hoarsely professed himself at Miss Pross's service. 杰瑞嘶声嘶气地表示愿为普洛丝小姐效劳。 来自英汉文学 - 双城记
44 dearth dYOzS     
n.缺乏,粮食不足,饥谨
参考例句:
  • There is a dearth of good children's plays.目前缺少优秀的儿童剧。
  • Many people in that country died because of dearth of food.那个国家有许多人因为缺少粮食而死。
45 decided lvqzZd     
adj.决定了的,坚决的;明显的,明确的
参考例句:
  • This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
  • There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。
46 miserable g18yk     
adj.悲惨的,痛苦的;可怜的,糟糕的
参考例句:
  • It was miserable of you to make fun of him.你取笑他,这是可耻的。
  • Her past life was miserable.她过去的生活很苦。
47 blurted fa8352b3313c0b88e537aab1fcd30988     
v.突然说出,脱口而出( blurt的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • She blurted it out before I could stop her. 我还没来得及制止,她已脱口而出。
  • He blurted out the truth, that he committed the crime. 他不慎说出了真相,说是他犯了那个罪。 来自《简明英汉词典》
48 kindly tpUzhQ     
adj.和蔼的,温和的,爽快的;adv.温和地,亲切地
参考例句:
  • Her neighbours spoke of her as kindly and hospitable.她的邻居都说她和蔼可亲、热情好客。
  • A shadow passed over the kindly face of the old woman.一道阴影掠过老太太慈祥的面孔。
49 spoke XryyC     
n.(车轮的)辐条;轮辐;破坏某人的计划;阻挠某人的行动 v.讲,谈(speak的过去式);说;演说;从某种观点来说
参考例句:
  • They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
  • The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。
50 jauntily 4f7f379e218142f11ead0affa6ec234d     
adv.心满意足地;洋洋得意地;高兴地;活泼地
参考例句:
  • His straw hat stuck jauntily on the side of his head. 他那顶草帽时髦地斜扣在头上。 来自辞典例句
  • He returned frowning, his face obstinate but whistling jauntily. 他回来时皱眉蹙额,板着脸,嘴上却快活地吹着口哨。 来自辞典例句


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