I came on deck one morning at about four bells to find the entire ship's company afoot. Even the doctor was there. Everybody was gazing eagerly at a narrow, mountainous island lying slate-coloured across the early morning.
We were as yet some twenty miles distant from it, and could make out nothing but its general outline. The latter was sharply defined, rising and falling to a highest point one side of the middle. Over the island, and raggedly1 clasping its sides, hung a cloud, the only one visible in the sky.
I joined the afterguard.
"You see?" the doctor was exclaiming. "It iss as I haf said. The island iss there. Everything iss as it should be!" He was quite excited.
Percy Darrow, too, was shaken out of his ordinary calm.
"The volcano is active," was his only comment, but it explained the ragged2 cloud.
"You say there's a harbour?" inquired Captain Selover.
"It should be on the west end," said Dr. Schermerhorn.
Captain Selover drew me one side. He, too was a little aroused.
"Now wouldn't that get you?" he squeaked3. "Doctor runs up against a Norwegian bum4 who tells him about a volcanic5 island, and gives its bearings. The island ain't on the map at all. Doctor believes it, and makes me lay my course for those bearings. _And here's the island_! So the bum's story was true! I'd like to know what the rest of it was!" His eyes were shining.
"Do we anchor or stand off and on?" I asked.
Captain Selover turned to grip me by the shoulder.
"I have orders from Darrow to get to a good berth6, to land, to build shore quarters, and to snug7 down for a stay of a year at least!"
We stared at each other.
"Joyous8 prospect," I muttered. "Hope there's something to do there."
The morning wore, and we rapidly approached the island. It proved to be utterly9 precipitous. The high rounded hills sloped easily to within a hundred feet or so of the water and then fell away abruptly10. Where the earth ended was a fantastic filigree11 border, like the fancy paper with which our mothers used to line the pantry shelves. Below, the white surges flung themselves against the cliffs with a wild abandon. Thousands of sea birds wheeled in the eddies12 of the wind, thousands of ravens13 perched on the slopes. With our glasses we could make out the heads of seals fishing outside the surf, and a ragged belt of kelp.
When within a mile we put the helm up, and ran for the west end. A bold point we avoided far out, lest there should be outlying ledges15. Then we came in sight of a broad beach and pounding surf.
I was ordered to take a surf boat and investigate for a landing and an anchorage. The swell16 was running high. We rowed back and forth17, puzzled as to how to get ashore18 with all the freight it would be necessary to land. The ship would lie well enough, for the only open exposure was broken by a long reef over which we could make out the seas tumbling. But inshore the great waves rolled smoothly19, swiftly-- then suddenly fell forward as over a ledge14, and spread with a roar across the yellow sands. The fresh winds blew the spume back to us. We conversed20 in shouts.
"We can surf the boat," yelled Thrackles, "but we can't land a load."
That was my opinion. We rowed slowly along, parallel to the shore, and just outside the line of breakers. I don't know exactly how to tell you the manner in which we became aware of the cove21. It was as nearly the instantaneous as can be imagined. One minute I looked ahead on a cliff as unbroken as the side of a cabin; the very next I peered down the length of a cove fifty fathoms22 long by about ten wide, at the end of which was a gravel23 beach. I cried out sharply to the men. They were quite as much astonished as I. We backed water, watching closely. At a given point the cove and all trace of its entrance disappeared. We could only just make out the line where the headlands dissolved into the background of the cliffs, and that merely because we knew of its existence. The blending was perfect.
We rowed in. The water was still. A faint ebb24 and flow whispered against the tiny gravel beach at the end. I noted25 a practicable way from it to the top of the cliff, and from the cliff down again to the sand beach. Everything was perfect. The water was a beautiful light green, like semi-opaque glass, and from the indistinctness of its depths waved and beckoned26, rose and disappeared with indescribable grace and deliberation long feathery sea growths. In a moment the bottom abruptly shallowed. The motion of the boat toward the beach permitted us to catch a hasty glimpse of little fish darting27, of big fish turning, of yellow sand and some vivid colour. Then came the grate of gravel and the scraping of the boat's bottom on the beach. We jumped ashore eagerly. I left the men, very reluctant, and ascended28 a natural trail to a high sloping down over which blew the great Trades. Grass sprung knee-high. A low hill rose at the back. From below the fall of the cliff came the pounding of surf.
I walked to the edge. Various ledges, sloping toward me, ran down to the sea. Against one of them was a wreck29, not so very old, head on, her afterworks gone. I recognised the name _Golden Horn_, and was vastly astonished to find her here against this unknown island. Far up the coast I could see--with the surges dashing up like the explosion of shells, and the cliffs, and the rampart of hills grown with grass and cactus30. A bold promontory31 terminated the coast view to the north, and behind it I could glimpse a more fertile and wooded country. The sky was partly overcast32 by the volcanic murk. It fled before the Trades, and the red sun alternately blazed and clouded through it.
As there was nothing more to be seen here, I turned above the hollow of our cove, skirted the base of the hill, and so down to the beach.
It occupied a wide semicircle where the hills drew back. The flat was dry and grown with thick, coarse grass. A stream emerged from a sort of canon on its landward side. I tasted it, found it sulphurous, and a trifle worse than lukewarm. A little nearer the cliff, however, was a clear, cold spring from the rock, and of this I had a satisfying drink. When I arose from my knees, I made out an animal on the hill crest33 looking at me, but before I could distinguish its characteristics it had disappeared.
I returned along the tide sands. The surf dashed and roared, lifting seaweeds of a blood red, so that in places the water looked pink. Seals innumerable watched me from just outside the breakers. As the waves lifted to a semi-transparence, I could make out others playing, darting back and forth, up and down like disturbed tadpoles34, clinging to the wave until the very instant of its fall, then disappearing as though blotted35 out. The salt smell of seaweed was in my nostrils36: I found the place pleasant--
With these few and scattered37 impressions we returned to the ship. It had been warped38 to a secure anchorage, and snugged39 down. Dr. Schermerhorn and Darrow were on deck waiting to go ashore.
I made my report. The two passengers disappeared. They carried lunch and would not be back until night-fall. We had orders to pitch a large tent at a suitable spot and to lighten ship of the doctor's personal and scientific effects. By the time this was accomplished40, the two had returned.
"It's all right," Darrow volunteered to Captain Selover, as he came over the side. "We've found what we want."
Their clothes were picked by brush and their boots muddy. Next morning Captain Selover detailed41 me to especial work.
"You'll take two of the men and go ashore under Darrow's orders," said he.
Darrow told us to take clothes for a week, an axe42 apiece, and a block and tackle. We made up our ditty bags, stepped into one of the surf boats, and were rowed ashore. There Darrow at once took the lead.
Our way proceeded across the grass flat, through the opening of the narrow canon, and so on back into the interior by way of the bed through which flowed the sulphur stream. The country was badly eroded43. Most of the time we marched between perpendicular44 clay banks about forty feet high. These were occasionally broken by smaller tributary45 arroyos47 of the same sort. It would have been impossible to reach the level of the upper country. The bed of the main arroyo46 was flat, and grown with grasses and herbage of an extraordinary vividness, due, I supposed, to the sulphur water. The stream itself meandered48 aimlessly through the broader bed. It steadily49 grew warmer and the sulphur smell more noticeable. Above us we could see the sky and the sharp clay edge of the arroyo. I noticed the tracks of Darrow and Dr. Schermerhorn made the day before.
After a mile of this, the bottom ran up nearly to the level of the sides, and we stepped out on the floor of a little valley almost surrounded by more hills.
It was an extraordinary place, and since much happened there, I must give you an idea of it.
It was round and nearly encircled by naked painted hills. From its floor came steam and a roaring sound. The steam blew here and there among the pines on the floor; rose to eddy50 about the naked painted hills. At one end we saw intermittently51 a broad ascending52 canon--deep red and blue-black--ending in the cone53 of a smoking volcano. The other seemed quite closed by the sheer hills; in fact the only exit was the route by which we had come.
For the hills were utterly precipitous. I suppose a man might have made his way up the various knobs, ledges, and inequalities, but it would have required long study and a careful head. I, myself, later worked my way a short distance, merely to examine the texture54 of their marvellous colour.
This was at once varied55 and of great body--not at all like the smooth, glossed56 colour of most rock, but soft and rich. You've seen painters' palettes--it was just like that, pasty and _fat_. There were reds of all shades, from a veritable scarlet57 to a red umber; greens, from sea-green to emerald; several kinds of blue, and an indeterminate purple-mauve. The whole effect was splendid and barbaric.
We stopped and gasped58 as it hit our eyes. Darrow alone was unmoved. He led the way forward and in an instant had disappeared behind the veil of steam. Thrackles and Perdosa hung back murmuring, but at a sharp word from me gathered their courage in their two hands and proceeded.
We found that the first veil of steam, and a fearful stench of gases, proceeded from a miniature crater59 whose edge was heavily encrusted with a white salt. Beyond, close under the rise of the hill, was another. Between the two Percy Darrow had stopped and was waiting.
He eyed us with his lazy, half-quizzical glance as we approached.
"Think the place is going to blow up?" he inquired, with a tinge60 of irony61. "Well, it isn't." He turned to me. "Here's where we shall stay for a while. You and the men are to cut a number of these pine trees for a house. Better pick out the little ones, about three or four inches through: they're easier handled. I'll be back by noon."
We set to work then in the roaring, steaming valley with the vapour swirling62 about us, sometimes concealing63 us, sometimes half revealing us gigantic, again in the utterness of exposure showing us dwindled64 pigmies against the magnitudes about us. The labour was not difficult. By the time Darrow returned we had a pile of the saplings ready for his next direction.
He was accompanied by the Nigger, very much terrified, very much burdened with food and cooking utensils65. The assistant was lazily relating tales of voodoos, a glimmer66 of mischief67 in his eyes.
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raggedly
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| 破烂地，粗糙地 | |
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ragged
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| adj.衣衫褴褛的，粗糙的，刺耳的 | |
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squeaked
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| v.短促地尖叫( squeak的过去式和过去分词 )；吱吱叫；告密；充当告密者 | |
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bum
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| n.臀部；流浪汉，乞丐；vt.乞求，乞讨 | |
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volcanic
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| adj.火山的；象火山的；由火山引起的 | |
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berth
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| n.卧铺，停泊地，锚位；v.使停泊 | |
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snug
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| adj.温暖舒适的，合身的，安全的；v.使整洁干净，舒适地依靠，紧贴；n.（英）酒吧里的私房 | |
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joyous
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| adj.充满快乐的；令人高兴的 | |
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utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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abruptly
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| adv.突然地，出其不意地 | |
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filigree
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| n.金银丝做的工艺品；v.用金银细丝饰品装饰；用华而不实的饰品装饰；adj.金银细丝工艺的 | |
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eddies
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| （水、烟等的）漩涡，涡流( eddy的名词复数 ) | |
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ravens
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| n.低质煤；渡鸦( raven的名词复数 ) | |
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ledge
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| n.壁架，架状突出物；岩架，岩礁 | |
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ledges
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| n.（墙壁，悬崖等）突出的狭长部分( ledge的名词复数 )；（平窄的）壁架；横档；（尤指）窗台 | |
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swell
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| vi.膨胀，肿胀；增长，增强 | |
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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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ashore
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| adv.在(向)岸上，上岸 | |
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smoothly
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| adv.平滑地，顺利地，流利地，流畅地 | |
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conversed
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| v.交谈，谈话( converse的过去式 ) | |
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cove
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| n.小海湾，小峡谷 | |
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fathoms
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| 英寻( fathom的名词复数 ) | |
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gravel
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| n.砂跞；砂砾层；结石 | |
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ebb
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| vi.衰退，减退；n.处于低潮，处于衰退状态 | |
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noted
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| adj.著名的，知名的 | |
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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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darting
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| v.投掷，投射( dart的现在分词 )；向前冲，飞奔 | |
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ascended
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| v.上升，攀登( ascend的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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wreck
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| n.失事，遇难；沉船；vt.(船等)失事，遇难 | |
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cactus
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| n.仙人掌 | |
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promontory
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| n.海角；岬 | |
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overcast
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| adj.阴天的，阴暗的，愁闷的；v.遮盖，（使）变暗，包边缝；n.覆盖，阴天 | |
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crest
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| n.顶点；饰章；羽冠；vt.达到顶点；vi.形成浪尖 | |
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tadpoles
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| n.蝌蚪( tadpole的名词复数 ) | |
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blotted
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| 涂污( blot的过去式和过去分词 )； （用吸墨纸）吸干 | |
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nostrils
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| 鼻孔( nostril的名词复数 ) | |
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scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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warped
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| adj.反常的；乖戾的；（变）弯曲的；变形的v.弄弯，变歪( warp的过去式和过去分词 )；使（行为等）不合情理，使乖戾， | |
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snugged
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| v.整洁的( snug的过去式和过去分词 )；温暖而舒适的；非常舒适的；紧身的 | |
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accomplished
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| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
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detailed
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| adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的 | |
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axe
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| n.斧子；v.用斧头砍，削减 | |
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eroded
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| adj. 被侵蚀的，有蚀痕的 动词erode的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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perpendicular
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| adj.垂直的，直立的；n.垂直线，垂直的位置 | |
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tributary
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| n.支流；纳贡国；adj.附庸的；辅助的；支流的 | |
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arroyo
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| n.干涸的河床，小河 | |
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arroyos
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| n.（美洲沙漠中的）旱谷，干涸沟壑( arroyo的名词复数 )；干谷 | |
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meandered
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| （指溪流、河流等）蜿蜒而流( meander的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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steadily
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| adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地 | |
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eddy
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| n.漩涡，涡流 | |
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intermittently
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| adv.间歇地；断断续续 | |
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ascending
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| adj.上升的，向上的 | |
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cone
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| n.圆锥体，圆锥形东西，球果 | |
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texture
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| n.(织物)质地；(材料)构造；结构；肌理 | |
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varied
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| adj.多样的，多变化的 | |
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glossed
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| v.注解( gloss的过去式和过去分词 )；掩饰（错误）；粉饰；把…搪塞过去 | |
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scarlet
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| n.深红色，绯红色，红衣；adj.绯红色的 | |
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gasped
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| v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要 | |
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crater
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| n.火山口，弹坑 | |
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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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irony
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| n.反语，冷嘲；具有讽刺意味的事，嘲弄 | |
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swirling
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| v.旋转，打旋( swirl的现在分词 ) | |
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concealing
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| v.隐藏，隐瞒，遮住( conceal的现在分词 ) | |
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dwindled
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| v.逐渐变少或变小( dwindle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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utensils
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| 器具，用具，器皿( utensil的名词复数 )； 器物 | |
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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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mischief
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| n.损害，伤害，危害；恶作剧，捣蛋，胡闹 | |
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