CHAPTER II

 The Captain’s little eyes looked quite mild and affectionate, but they also held their tiny glint of fire. He gazed at Ferdinand King in an unwavering, disconcerting way, tapping with his pencil upon the wooden shelf he had pulled out of the desk to form an improvised¹ table between them, and uttering an occasional dreamy “H’m?” But in a moment or so the pencil was laid aside, and he began speaking, his chin nestled cosily² in his hands.

 

“King,” he said, “did you ever hear of Hagen’s Island?”

 

The other man shook his head, but seemed at the same time to recognize the curious little prelude³ about maps as hinging here. He waited almost breathlessly.

 

“Hagen’s Island,” resumed the Captain, “had governments quarreling over it in its time. I don’t doubt but it might once have been quite capable of bringing on a war somewhere. Oh, heaven! the laughter behind it all—behind all life, for that matter, King! H’m?—h’m? I spent a whole dreamy spring afternoon once, with crocuses just blooming outside, going through speeches about far off Hagen’s Island delivered in Parliament. That was in connection with the coaling station project which got under way and then was abandoned, with engineers right on the spot. Maybe it was all politics—I don’t know.” He shrugged⁴.

 

“The island proved to be too remote. In short, it was a failure. Some newspaper wag dubbed⁵ it ‘the football of the Indian Ocean,’ and then the last ripple⁶ died out.” He seemed to lose himself a moment, as in a fog at sea; and King, mystified but much interested, waited for him to go on. The narrative⁷ was characteristically resumed from a rather startlingly new angle.

 

“Once upon a time there was a Dutchman—long before[40] the coaling station. His name was Vander Hagen, and his mania⁸ was to start an ideal commonwealth⁹. Every generation somebody or other tries it. Isn’t it funny? Vander Hagen had passionate¹⁰ ideas about representation and individual rights. There seems to have been a lot about the Greeks in his plan. Well,” the Captain shrugged, “he died of a broken dream, and was buried on the island where the commonwealth had been tried and found wanting. The remnant of his disciples¹¹ went back home in a mist of disillusion¹². A few years later if his name chanced to be mentioned anywhere, people would exclaim: ‘Who was Vander Hagen?’ Isn’t it disillusionizing, King? Isn’t it?”

 

Utterbourne smiled one of his most enigmatic smiles, and after another of the half quizzical pauses continued: “I found a copy of the Dutchman’s Journal a few years ago in one of those little book stalls along the Seine in Paris. It was an English translation, and on the fly leaf was written: ‘From Daisy to Paul, with compliments of the season.’ He smiled in a flickering¹³ way—it was just a little like the play of light and shade beneath a tree in summer.

 

“Months later, with a cargo¹⁴ of wheat for Madagascar, I began reading the Journal, and a strange—King, an almost uncanny—desire to pay the island a visit came upon me. My people on the Star of Troy thought I was mad. That was a good while ago—they know me better now—h’m? Well, I couldn’t seem to shake that sombre and majestic¹⁵ Dutchman off my back, King. He’d settled, and I knew there was only one way to be rid of him. Besides—h’m?—I’d thought of a little scheme of my own.

 

“There were reefs—a wicked necklace with a conscience of lead. We found some ruined docks and a spectral¹⁶ derrick—all that remains¹⁷ of the coaling station fiasco—and silence, King. Silence.... Not a soul on the island, of course. Every venture ever started there has fallen through.” And after a moment he murmured: “By the way, King, are you superstitious¹⁸?”

 

 

“No,” the other laughed shortly, beginning just in a hazy¹⁹ manner to piece things together in his mind and feel along toward conclusions.

 

“Good,” mused²⁰ Captain Utterbourne, his voice barely audible. “Good. I think we’re making progress, King.” And he gazed at him tenderly, yet with eyes half shut, as when he sat watching and watching while the dancers whirled about them.

1 improvised   

a.即席而作的,即兴的

参考例句：

• He improvised a song about the football team's victory. 他即席创作了一首足球队胜利之歌。
• We improvised a tent out of two blankets and some long poles. 我们用两条毛毯和几根长竿搭成一个临时帐蓬。

2 cosily   

adv.舒适地，惬意地

参考例句：

• Its snow-white houses nestle cosily in a sea of fresh green vegetation. 雪白的房屋舒适地筑在一片翠绿的草木中。 来自辞典例句

3 prelude   

n.序言，前兆，序曲

参考例句：

• The prelude to the musical composition is very long.这首乐曲的序曲很长。
• The German invasion of Poland was a prelude to World War II.德国入侵波兰是第二次世界大战的序幕。

4 shrugged   

vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• Sam shrugged and said nothing. 萨姆耸耸肩膀，什么也没说。
• She shrugged, feigning nonchalance. 她耸耸肩，装出一副无所谓的样子。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 dubbed   

v.给…起绰号( dub的过去式和过去分词 )；把…称为；配音；复制

参考例句：

• Mathematics was once dubbed the handmaiden of the sciences. 数学曾一度被视为各门科学的基础。
• Is the movie dubbed or does it have subtitles? 这部电影是配音的还是打字幕的？ 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 ripple   

n.涟波，涟漪，波纹，粗钢梳；vt.使...起涟漪，使起波纹； vi.呈波浪状，起伏前进

参考例句：

• The pebble made a ripple on the surface of the lake.石子在湖面上激起一个涟漪。
• The small ripple split upon the beach.小小的涟漪卷来，碎在沙滩上。

7 narrative   

n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的

参考例句：

• He was a writer of great narrative power.他是一位颇有记述能力的作家。
• Neither author was very strong on narrative.两个作者都不是很善于讲故事。

8 mania   

n.疯狂；躁狂症，狂热，癖好

参考例句：

• Football mania is sweeping the country.足球热正风靡全国。
• Collecting small items can easily become a mania.收藏零星物品往往容易变成一种癖好。

9 commonwealth   

n.共和国，联邦，共同体

参考例句：

• He is the chairman of the commonwealth of artists.他是艺术家协会的主席。
• Most of the members of the Commonwealth are nonwhite.英联邦的许多成员国不是白人国家。

10 passionate   

adj.热情的，热烈的，激昂的，易动情的，易怒的，性情暴躁的

参考例句：

• He is said to be the most passionate man.据说他是最有激情的人。
• He is very passionate about the project.他对那个项目非常热心。

11 disciples   

n.信徒( disciple的名词复数 )；门徒；耶稣的信徒；（尤指）耶稣十二门徒之一

参考例句：

• Judas was one of the twelve disciples of Jesus. 犹大是耶稣十二门徒之一。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• "The names of the first two disciples were --" “最初的两个门徒的名字是——” 来自英汉文学 - 汤姆历险

12 disillusion   

vt.使不再抱幻想，使理想破灭

参考例句：

• Do not say anything to disillusion them.别说什么叫他们泄气的话。
• I'd hate to be the one to disillusion him.我不愿意成为那个让他幻想破灭的人。

13 flickering   

adj.闪烁的，摇曳的，一闪一闪的

参考例句：

• The crisp autumn wind is flickering away. 清爽的秋风正在吹拂。
• The lights keep flickering. 灯光忽明忽暗。

14 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。

15 majestic   

adj.雄伟的，壮丽的，庄严的，威严的，崇高的

参考例句：

• In the distance rose the majestic Alps.远处耸立着雄伟的阿尔卑斯山。
• He looks majestic in uniform.他穿上军装显得很威风。

16 spectral   

adj.幽灵的，鬼魂的

参考例句：

• At times he seems rather ordinary.At other times ethereal,perhaps even spectral.有时他好像很正常，有时又难以捉摸，甚至像个幽灵。
• She is compelling,spectral fascinating,an unforgettably unique performer.她极具吸引力，清幽如鬼魅，令人着迷，令人难忘，是个独具特色的演员。

17 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

18 superstitious   

adj.迷信的

参考例句：

• They aim to deliver the people who are in bondage to superstitious belief.他们的目的在于解脱那些受迷信束缚的人。
• These superstitious practices should be abolished as soon as possible.这些迷信做法应尽早取消。

19 hazy   

adj.有薄雾的，朦胧的；不肯定的，模糊的

参考例句：

• We couldn't see far because it was so hazy.雾气蒙蒙妨碍了我们的视线。
• I have a hazy memory of those early years.对那些早先的岁月我有着朦胧的记忆。

20 mused   

v.沉思，冥想( muse的过去式和过去分词 )；沉思自语说（某事）

参考例句：

• \"I wonder if I shall ever see them again, \"he mused. “我不知道是否还可以再见到他们，”他沉思自问。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• \"Where are we going from here?\" mused one of Rutherford's guests. 卢瑟福的一位客人忍不住说道：‘我们这是在干什么？” 来自英汉非文学 - 科学史