CHAPTER XV RESCUED

 Not until shortly after dusk that night was Mr. Hampton heard from. Then a hail from the right bank of the river near the head of the island was heard by the boys who had taken up their position about a fire, for the night had become chilly¹. Calls sounded back and forth² across the water. Finally, assured of each other’s safety, both parties retired³ for the night, prepared to attempt the work of rescue as soon as dawn should bring sufficient light.

 

Bob as the strongest swimmer of the three boys was eager to make the crossing. But two obvious enough reasons were adduced to make him abandon the idea. In the first place, the boys did not possess rope. That Mr. Hampton had, and it would have to be carried to the island by a member of his party. In the second place, even though the current in the right hand channel was less swift than the other side of the island, yet a swimmer setting out for shore from the tip of the island would be hard put to it to escape being carried down stream into the rapids. On the other hand, a swimmer taking to the water from the river bank at a point considerably⁴ above the island, could count upon making the crossing in safety. Moreover, he would have the rope from shore and, if he became endangered, his comrades could pull him to safety.

 

So it was that one of the two Kikuyus who had crossed the river at the old camp site the previous day again was selected. And as soon as daylight came, he set out.

 

The boys with Matse and their bearers watched from the island. They had been up since before dawn. On the other shore they could see the Kikuyus congregated⁵ in a chattering⁶ group, while Mr. Hampton directed operations and Niellsen could be seen at his motion picture camera, prepared to photograph any dramatic incidents as they occurred.

 

The Kikuyu, a rangy fellow more than six feet in height, swam strongly until well into the current. Then he let himself drift in order to estimate its strength. Satisfied that if he headed directly for the island, he would be borne beyond it and into the rapids below, he then could be seen to head straight across stream.

 

Even then, however, the swift current carried him along at such a rate as to make it unlikely he would reach the island.

 

Bob shook his head, voicing the thought in all their minds.

 

“He’ll have to swim up stream or he’ll never make it.”

 

Evidently, the swimmer was of the same opinion. For the next moment the watchers on both the river bank and the island could see him alter his course and assume a direction calculated to carry him across the river on a long upstream slant⁷ except for the effect upon his progress of the current.

 

The boys watched his head, black and round, cleaving⁸ the sunlit water, and noted⁹ with commendation the steady rise and fall of his arms in an overhead stroke that gave powerful impetus¹⁰ to his lithe¹¹ body.

 

“I believe he’ll make it all right,” said Bob, after a moment.

 

Closer and closer drew the swimmer. And now the boys saw a long thin line of rope trailing through the water behind him. It was tied about his waist and was being paid out by other Negroes who were following down stream along the right bank. A narrow shelf of land, free of underbrush, lay between the river and the bluffs¹² behind, affording them sufficient footing.

 

The Kikuyus on the island shouted frequent encouragement to the swimmer, who once or twice waved an arm in token of acknowledgment. He betrayed no exhaustion¹³, although the effort he was putting into his task was great. Finally, he won through the strongest portion of the current and found himself in more quiet water, after which it was only a matter of moments until willing hands had him safe ashore¹⁴.

 

Then began the work of pulling in the line about his waist, to the other end of which Mr. Hampton had tied three ends of cable, figuring that nothing less than three heavy ropes would provide a ferry sufficiently¹⁵ stout¹⁶ to ensure safety in the transport of a raft from the island.

 

The question of whether the original raft could be towed around the end of the island from its anchorage on the side opposite to that of the ferry was quickly decided¹⁷ in the negative. Inspection¹⁸ of the route convinced the boys that even if it could be poled and tugged¹⁹ by ropes into position against the rush of the current, yet the rocks strewing²⁰ the river at the upstream tip of the island could not be negotiated.

 

It was decided, therefore, that a new raft would have to be built. Mr. Hampton was apprised²¹ of this, and went into camp on the river bank. There was nothing he could do to help. With them on the raft the boys had axes for everybody, and there was plenty of timber growing on the island to build any number of rafts. It was merely a question of time until a raft could be built, and in the meantime there was naught²² the main body of the expedition could do except wait.

 

Soon, then, axes were ringing, and there was a great ripping and tearing of creepers and vines with which to bind²³ the logs together. Frank had suggested dismantling²⁴ the original raft and carrying the logs across the island to the other shore, but this plan had been vetoed, as to drag the logs through five hundred feet of rank jungle growth would involve more labor²⁵ than to cut other logs on the farther shore where the new raft was to be launched.

 

It would be hard enough, when the time came, to transfer the boxes and bales from the old raft to the new.

 

At the end of several hours, the new raft was built. It had been made considerably smaller than the original one, in fact, little more than a third its size. Thus the danger of placing too great strain on the ropes of the ferry was removed. And the boys found that, even bearing a considerable cargo²⁶ and two men, the raft rode buoyantly, with the top well above water.

 

“Pretty good job for amateurs, I’ll say,” remarked Bob, as he contemplated²⁷ the raft before stepping aboard. He and Matse had been selected to make the first trip, and the equipment they were to carry already had been stowed on the raft.

 

The big fellow had reason to feel pride in their accomplishment²⁸. He himself had worked like a Trojan, doing the work of two men, and spurring on the bearers to greater exertions²⁹ by his example.

 

“All aboard, Matse,” he cried. And the young interpreter grinning followed him.

 

The three lengths of cable sent them by Mr. Hampton had been fastened to a strong tree at the water’s edge. The other ends had been made fast in similar fashion. So low had the cables been tied that the ends were only a few feet above water, while the middle portion sagged³⁰ into the stream. From side to side of the raft, front, rear and in the middle, had been tied stout lengths of rope, passing over the cable. Tied to the forward end, moreover, was a strong line lighter³¹ in weight than the cables, with which Mr. Hampton’s party could pull the raft ahead. Other means of propulsion were long stout poles.

 

Wielding³² these, Bob and Matse poled out into the stream. They found they touched bottom for a considerable distance. And all went well until they neared the middle of the channel, when the water deepened to the point where poling became an impossibility. Then laying the poles aside, the two raftsmen seized the cable in their hands and what with the tugs³³ they gave it combined with the steady pull from shore, they managed to negotiate the channel without too much difficulty. Whereupon, once more finding themselves in shallower water they again fell to poling and so at length reached the bank in safety.

 

While bearers were unloading the raft, Bob pointed³⁴ out to Mr. Hampton an additional safeguard. The rope with which those on shore had pulled the raft ahead seemed to him too light in weight. No heavier rope, however, was available to be attached in its place. But another rope of the same weight was added. Then Jack³⁵ was signalled to pull the raft back to the island by means of another light rope attached to the rear.

 

Trip after trip until four had been made the rude ferry was pulled back and forth across the channel without mishap³⁶. When all the goods carried down stream on that wild ride had been recovered, the afternoon was well advanced. And Mr. Hampton announced they would camp where they were until the following day.

 

“Good enough,” said Niellsen, “that will give me a chance to photograph the rapids and the water falls.”

 

“Oh, you found a fall?” said Frank.

 

Niellsen laughed. “I got cut up pretty badly scrambling³⁷ through the rocks and briers to the top of that bluff,” he said, pointing to the promontory³⁸ a half mile distant, around which swept the river. “But I was rewarded when I got there by sight of a water falls that must be all of seven hundred feet. The river narrows to less than a hundred yards in width, and a tremendous volume of water pours over the lip of the falls. I had only a pocket camera with me. Now I want to go back with a motion picture camera, and get some good film of it. You lads probably want to go along and take a look at what you missed seeing close at hand.”

 

“Close at hand, is right,” commented Frank. “A little more and we would have been part of it.”

1 chilly   

adj.凉快的，寒冷的

参考例句：

• I feel chilly without a coat.我由于没有穿大衣而感到凉飕飕的。
• I grew chilly when the fire went out.炉火熄灭后，寒气逼人。

2 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

3 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

4 considerably   

adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上

参考例句：

• The economic situation has changed considerably.经济形势已发生了相当大的变化。
• The gap has narrowed considerably.分歧大大缩小了。

5 congregated   

（使）集合，聚集( congregate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The crowds congregated in the town square to hear the mayor speak. 人群聚集到市镇广场上来听市长讲话。
• People quickly congregated round the speaker. 人们迅速围拢在演说者的周围。

6 chattering   

n. （机器振动发出的）咔嗒声，(鸟等)鸣，啁啾 adj. 喋喋不休的，啾啾声的 动词chatter的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• The teacher told the children to stop chattering in class. 老师叫孩子们在课堂上不要叽叽喳喳讲话。
• I was so cold that my teeth were chattering. 我冷得牙齿直打战。

7 slant   

v.倾斜，倾向性地编写或报道；n.斜面，倾向

参考例句：

• The lines are drawn on a slant.这些线条被画成斜线。
• The editorial had an antiunion slant.这篇社论有一种反工会的倾向。

8 cleaving   

v.劈开，剁开，割开( cleave的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The freighter carrying pig iron is cleaving through the water. 装着生铁的货船正在破浪前进。 来自辞典例句
• IL-10-cDNA fragment was obtained through cleaving pUC-T-IL-10cDNA by reconstriction enzymes. 结果：pcDNA3.1-IL-10酶切鉴定的电泳结果显示，pcDNA3.1-IL-10质粒有一个560bp左右的插入片断，大小和IL-10cDNA大致符合。 来自互联网

9 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

10 impetus   

n.推动，促进，刺激；推动力

参考例句：

• This is the primary impetus behind the economic recovery.这是促使经济复苏的主要动力。
• Her speech gave an impetus to my ideas.她的讲话激发了我的思绪。

11 lithe   

adj.(指人、身体)柔软的，易弯的

参考例句：

• His lithe athlete's body had been his pride through most of the fifty - six years.他那轻巧自如的运动员体格，五十六年来几乎一直使他感到自豪。
• His walk was lithe and graceful.他走路轻盈而优雅。

12 bluffs   

恐吓( bluff的名词复数 )； 悬崖； 峭壁

参考例句：

• Two steep limestone bluffs rise up each side of the narrow inlet. 两座陡峭的石灰石断崖耸立在狭窄的入口两侧。
• He bluffs his way in, pretending initially to be a dishwasher and then later a chef. 他虚张声势的方式，假装最初是一个洗碗机，然后厨师。

13 exhaustion   

n.耗尽枯竭，疲惫，筋疲力尽，竭尽，详尽无遗的论述

参考例句：

• She slept the sleep of exhaustion.她因疲劳而酣睡。
• His exhaustion was obvious when he fell asleep standing.他站着睡着了，显然是太累了。

14 ashore   

adv.在(向)岸上，上岸

参考例句：

• The children got ashore before the tide came in.涨潮前，孩子们就上岸了。
• He laid hold of the rope and pulled the boat ashore.他抓住绳子拉船靠岸。

15 sufficiently   

adv.足够地，充分地

参考例句：

• It turned out he had not insured the house sufficiently.原来他没有给房屋投足保险。
• The new policy was sufficiently elastic to accommodate both views.新政策充分灵活地适用两种观点。

17 decided   

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。

18 inspection   

n.检查，审查，检阅

参考例句：

• On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查，发现肉变质了。
• The soldiers lined up for their daily inspection by their officers.士兵们列队接受军官的日常检阅。

19 tugged   

v.用力拉，使劲拉，猛扯( tug的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She tugged at his sleeve to get his attention. 她拽了拽他的袖子引起他的注意。
• A wry smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. 他的嘴角带一丝苦笑。 来自《简明英汉词典》

20 strewing   

v.撒在…上( strew的现在分词 )；散落于；点缀；撒满

参考例句：

• What a mess! Look at the pajamas strewing on the bed. 真是乱七八糟！看看睡衣乱放在床上。 来自英汉 - 翻译样例 - 口语

21 apprised   

v.告知，通知( apprise的过去式和过去分词 )；评价

参考例句：

• We were fully apprised of the situation. 我们完全获悉当时的情况。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I have apprised him of your arrival. 我已经告诉他你要来。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

22 naught   

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 bind   

vt.捆，包扎；装订；约束；使凝固；vi.变硬

参考例句：

• I will let the waiter bind up the parcel for you.我让服务生帮你把包裹包起来。
• He wants a shirt that does not bind him.他要一件不使他觉得过紧的衬衫。

24 dismantling   

（枪支）分解

参考例句：

• The new government set about dismantling their predecessors' legislation. 新政府正着手废除其前任所制定的法律。
• The dismantling of a nuclear reprocessing plant caused a leak of radioactivity yesterday. 昨天拆除核后处理工厂引起了放射物泄漏。

25 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

26 cargo   

n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物

参考例句：

• The ship has a cargo of about 200 ton.这条船大约有200吨的货物。
• A lot of people discharged the cargo from a ship.许多人从船上卸下货物。

27 contemplated   

adj. 预期的 动词contemplate的过去分词形式

参考例句：

• The doctor contemplated the difficult operation he had to perform. 医生仔细地考虑他所要做的棘手的手术。
• The government has contemplated reforming the entire tax system. 政府打算改革整个税收体制。

28 accomplishment   

n.完成，成就，（pl.）造诣，技能

参考例句：

• The series of paintings is quite an accomplishment.这一系列的绘画真是了不起的成就。
• Money will be crucial to the accomplishment of our objectives.要实现我们的目标，钱是至关重要的。

29 exertions   

n.努力( exertion的名词复数 )；费力；（能力、权力等的）运用；行使

参考例句：

• As long as they lived, exertions would not be necessary to her. 只要他们活着，是不需要她吃苦的。 来自辞典例句
• She failed to unlock the safe in spite of all her exertions. 她虽然费尽力气，仍未能将那保险箱的锁打开。 来自辞典例句

30 sagged   

下垂的

参考例句：

• The black reticule sagged under the weight of shapeless objects. 黑色的拎包由于装了各种形状的东西而中间下陷。
• He sagged wearily back in his chair. 他疲倦地瘫坐到椅子上。

31 lighter   

n.打火机，点火器；驳船；v.用驳船运送；light的比较级

参考例句：

• The portrait was touched up so as to make it lighter.这张画经过润色，色调明朗了一些。
• The lighter works off the car battery.引燃器利用汽车蓄电池打火。

32 wielding   

手持着使用（武器、工具等）( wield的现在分词 )； 具有； 运用（权力）； 施加（影响）

参考例句：

• The rebels were wielding sticks of dynamite. 叛乱分子舞动着棒状炸药。
• He is wielding a knife. 他在挥舞着一把刀。

33 tugs   

n.猛拉( tug的名词复数 )；猛拖；拖船v.用力拉，使劲拉，猛扯( tug的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The raucous sirens of the tugs came in from the river. 河上传来拖轮发出的沙哑的汽笛声。 来自辞典例句
• As I near the North Tower, the wind tugs at my role. 当我接近北塔的时候，风牵动着我的平衡杆。 来自辞典例句

34 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。

35 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

36 mishap   

n.不幸的事，不幸；灾祸

参考例句：

• I'm afraid your son had a slight mishap in the playground.不好了，你儿子在操场上出了点小意外。
• We reached home without mishap.我们平安地回到了家。

37 scrambling   

v.快速爬行( scramble的现在分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞

参考例句：

• Scrambling up her hair, she darted out of the house. 她匆忙扎起头发，冲出房去。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• She is scrambling eggs. 她正在炒蛋。 来自《简明英汉词典》

38 promontory   

n.海角；岬

参考例句：

• Genius is a promontory jutting out of the infinite.天才是茫茫大地突出的岬角。
• On the map that promontory looks like a nose,naughtily turned up.从地图上面，那个海角就像一只调皮地翘起来的鼻子。