This strange development of sea-life went on for a week, the weather being exceedingly fine, with light winds and calms. And then we became suddenly aware that some large birds had arrived and taken up positions upon the upper yards, where they sat motionless, occasionally giving vent36 to a shrill37 cry. What they were none of us knew, until shortly after we had first noticed them one of our little messmates flew out from the ship’s side into the sunshine. There was a sudden swish of wings, like the lash38 of a cane39 through the air, and downward like a brown shadow came one of the watchers from aloft, snatching in a pair of cruel-looking talons40 the tiny truant41 from our midst. Then the dullest of us realised that in some mysterious way these rapacious42 birds, a species of falcon2, had become aware that around our ship might be found some of their natural food. Now we were not less than 200 miles from the coast[161] at the time, and to my mind it was one of the strangest things conceivable how those hawks43 should have known that around a solitary44 ship far out at sea would be found a number of little birds suitable to their needs. The presence of the small birds might easily be explained by their having been blown off the land, as high winds had prevailed for some little time previous to their appearance, but as the hawks did not come till a week afterwards, during the whole of which time we had never experienced even a four-knot breeze, I am convinced that the same theory would not account for their arrival. It may have been a coincidence, but if so it was a very remarkable45 one; and in any case what were these essentially46 land birds of powerful flight doing of their own free will so far from land? Unless, of course, they were a little band migrating, and even then the coincidence of their meeting our ship was a most strange one.
We, however, troubled ourselves but little with these speculations47. The one thing patent to us was that our little pets were exposed to the most deadly peril, that these ravenous48 birds were carrying them off one by one, and we were apparently powerless to protect them. We could not cage them, although the absence of cages would have been no obstacle, as we should soon have manufactured efficient substitutes; but they were so happy in their freedom that we felt we could not deprive them of it. But we organised a raid among those bloodthirsty pirates, as we called them, forgetting that they were merely obeying the[162] law of their being, and the first dark hour saw us silently creeping aloft to where they had taken their roost. Two were caught, but in both cases the captors had something to remember their encounter by. Grasping at the shadowy birds in the darkness with only one free hand, they were unable to prevent the fierce creatures defending themselves with beak49 and talons, and one man came down with his prize’s claws driven so far into his hand that the wounds took many days to heal. When we had secured them we couldn’t bring ourselves to kill them, they were such handsome, graceful50 birds, but had they been given a choice in the matter I make no doubt they would have preferred a speedy death rather than the lingering pain of starvation which befell them. For they refused all food, and sat moping on their perches, only rousing when any one came near, and glaring unsubdued with their bold, fierce eyes, bright and fearless until they glazed51 in death. We were never able to catch any more of them, although they remained with us until our captain managed to allow the vessel to run ashore52 upon one of the enormous coral reefs that crop up here and there in the Gulf of Mexico. The tiny spot of dry land that appeared at the summit of this great mountain of coral was barren of all vegetation except a little creeping plant, a kind of arenaria, so that it would have afforded no satisfactory abiding-place for our little shipmates, even if any of them could escape the watchful53 eyes of their enemies aloft. So that I suppose after we abandoned the ship[163] they remained on board until she broke up altogether, and then fell an easy prey54 to the falcons55.
This was the only occasion upon which I have known a vessel at sea to be visited by so varied56 a collection of small birds, and certainly the only case I have ever heard of where land birds have flown on board and made themselves at home. When I say at sea, of course I do not mean in a narrow strait like the Channel, where passing vessels57 must often be visited by migrants crossing to or from the Continent. But when well out in the North Atlantic, certainly to the westward58 of the Azores, and out of sight of them, I have several times known a number of swallows to fly on board and cling almost like bats to whatever projections59 they first happened to reach. Exhausted60 with their long battle against the overmastering winds, faint with hunger and thirst, they had at last reached a resting-place, only to find it so unsuited to all their needs that nothing remained for them to do but die. Earnest attempts were made to induce them to live, but unsuccessfully; and as they never regained62 strength sufficient to resume their weary journey, they provided a sumptuous63 meal for the ship’s cat. Even had they been able to make a fresh start, it is hard to imagine that the sense of direction which guides them in their long flight from or to their winter haunts would have enabled them to shape a course from such an utterly64 unknown base as a ship at sea must necessarily be to them.
While making a passage up the China Sea vessels are often boarded by strange bird visitors, and some of them may be induced to live upon such scanty65 fare as can be found for them on shipboard. I once witnessed with intense interest a gallant66 attempt made by a crane to find a rest for her weary wings on board of an old barque in which I was an able seaman67. We were two days out from Hong-Kong, bound to Manila, through a strong south-west monsoon68. The direction of the wind almost enabled us to lay our course, and therefore the “old man” was cracking on, all the sail being set that she would stagger under close-hauled. Being in ballast, she lay over at an angle that would have alarmed anybody but a yachtsman; but she was a staunch, weatherly old ship, and hung well to windward. It was my wheel from six to eight in the evening, and as I wrestled69 with it in the attempt to keep the old barky up to her work, I suddenly caught sight of the gaunt form of a crane flapping her heavy wings in dogged fashion to come up with us from to leeward70, we making at the time about eight knots an hour. After a long fight the brave bird succeeded in reaching us, and coasted along the lee side, turning her long neck anxiously from side to side as if searching for a favourable71 spot whereon to alight. Just as she seemed to have made up her mind to come inboard abaft72 the foresail, a gust32 of back-draught caught her wide pinions73 and whirled her away to leeward, about a hundred fathoms74 at one sweep, while it was evident that she had the utmost difficulty in maintaining her balance. Another long struggle ensued as the gloom of the coming night deepened, and the steady, strenuous75 wind pressed us onward76 through the turbulent[165] sea. The weary pilgrim at last succeeded in fetching up to us again, and with a feeling of the keenest satisfaction I saw her work her way to windward, as if instinct warned her that in that way alone she would succeed in reaching a place of rest. Backward and forward along our weather side she sailed twice, searching with anxious eye the whole of our decks, but fearing to trust herself thereon, where so many men were apparently awaiting to entrap77 her. No, she would not venture, and quite a pang78 of disappointment and sympathy shot through me as I saw her drift away astern and renew her hopeless efforts to board us on the lee side. At last she came up so closely that I could see the laboured heaving of her breast muscles, and I declare that the expression in her full, dark eyes was almost human in its pathos79 of despair. She poised80 herself almost above the rail, the vessel gave a great lee lurch81, and down the slopes of the mizen came pouring an eddy82 of baffled wind. It caught the doomed83 bird, whirled her over and over as she fought vainly to regain61 her balance, and at last bore her down so closely to the seething84 tumult85 beneath her that a breaking wave lapped her up and she disappeared. All hands had witnessed her brave battle with fate, and quite a buzz of sympathy went up for her in her sad defeat.
That same evening one of the lads found a strange bird nestling under one of the boats. None of us knew what it was, for none of us ever remembered seeing so queer a creature before. Nor will this be wondered at when I say that it was a goat-sucker, as I learned long afterwards by seeing a plate of one in a Natural History I was reading. But the curious speculations that its appearance gave rise to in the fo’c’s’le were most amusing. The wide gape86 of its mouth, so unexpected when it was shut, was a source of the greatest wonder, while the downy fluff of its feathers made one man say it reminded him of a “nowl” that a skipper of a ship he was in once caught and kept alive for a long time as a pet.
Of the few visitors that board a ship in mid-ocean none are more difficult to account for than butterflies. I have seen the common white butterfly fluttering about a ship in the North Atlantic when she was certainly over 500 miles from the nearest land. And in various parts of the world butterflies and moths87 will suddenly appear as if out of space, although the nearest land be several hundreds of miles distant. I have heard the theory advanced that their chrysalides must have been on board the ship, and they have just been hatched out when seen. It may be so, although I think unlikely; but yet it is hard to imagine that so fragile a creature, associated only in the mind with sunny gardens or scented88 hillsides, could brave successfully the stern rigour of a flight extending over several hundred miles of sea. All that is certain about the matter is that they do visit the ships at such distances from land, and disappear as if disheartened at the unsuitability of their environment. Lying in Sant’ Ana, Mexico, once, loading mahogany, I witnessed the labours of an unbidden guest that made me incline[167] somewhat to the chrysalis theory about the butterflies. Our anchorage was some three miles off shore in the open roadstead, where the rafts of great mahogany logs tossed and tumbled about ceaselessly alongside. They had all been a long time in the water before they reached us, and were consequently well coated with slime, which made them an exceedingly precarious89 footing for the unfortunate slingsman, who was as often in the water as he was on the raft. One evening as I lay in my bunk23 reading by the light of a smuggled90 candle, I was much worried by a persistent91 buzz that sounded very near, and far too loud to be the voice of any mosquito that I had ever been unfortunate enough to be attended by. Several times I looked for this noisy insect without success, and at last gave up the task and went on deck, feeling sure there wasn’t room in the bunk for the possessor of that voice and myself. Next day after dinner I was again lying in my bunk, resting during the remainder of the dinner hour, when to my amazement I saw what I took to be an overgrown wasp92 or hornet suddenly alight upon a beam overhead, walk into a corner, and begin the music that had so worried me overnight. I watched him keenly, but could hardly make out his little game, until he suddenly flew away. Then getting a light, for the corner was rather dark, I discovered a row of snug93 apartments much like acorn-cups, only deeper, all neatly94 cemented together, and as smooth inside as a thimble. Presently along came Mr. Wasp, or Hornet, or whatever he was, again, and set to work, while I watched him as closely as I dared without giving him offence, noticing that he carried his material in a little blob on his chest between his fore19 legs. It looked like mud; but where could he get mud from? I could swear there was none on board under that fierce sun, and I couldn’t imagine him going six miles in five minutes, which he must needs have done had he gone ashore for it. So I watched his flight as well as I could, but it was two days before I discovered my gentleman on one of the logs alongside, scraping up a supply of slime, and skipping nimbly into the air each time the sea washed over his alighting-place. That mystery was solved at any rate. I kept careful watch over that row of dwellings95 thereafter, determined96 to suppress the whole block at the first sign of a brood of wasps97 making their appearance. None ever did, and at last I took down the cells with the greatest care, finding them perfectly98 empty. So I came to the conclusion that my ingenious and industrious99 guest had been building for the love of the thing, or for amusement, or to keep his hand in, or perhaps something warned him in time that the site he had selected for his eligible100 row of residences was liable to sudden serious vicissitudes101 of climate. At any rate, he abandoned them, much to my comfort.
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1
delightfully
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| 大喜，欣然 | |
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falcon
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| n.隼，猎鹰 | |
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vividly
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| adv.清楚地，鲜明地，生动地 | |
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quaint
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| adj.古雅的，离奇有趣的，奇怪的 | |
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vessel
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| n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管 | |
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minor
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| adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修 | |
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gulf
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| n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂 | |
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investigator
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| n.研究者，调查者，审查者 | |
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cockroaches
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| n.蟑螂( cockroach的名词复数 ) | |
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lamented
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| adj.被哀悼的，令人遗憾的v.（为…）哀悼，痛哭，悲伤( lament的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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amazement
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| n.惊奇，惊讶 | |
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hopping
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| n. 跳跃 动词hop的现在分词形式 | |
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contentedly
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| adv.心满意足地 | |
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robin
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| n.知更鸟，红襟鸟 | |
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amicably
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| adv.友善地 | |
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recesses
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| n.壁凹( recess的名词复数 )；（工作或业务活动的）中止或暂停期间；学校的课间休息；某物内部的凹形空间v.把某物放在墙壁的凹处( recess的第三人称单数 )；将（墙）做成凹形，在（墙）上做壁龛；休息，休会，休庭 | |
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apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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swarmed
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| 密集( swarm的过去式和过去分词 )； 云集； 成群地移动； 蜜蜂或其他飞行昆虫成群地飞来飞去 | |
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fore
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| adv.在前面；adj.先前的；在前部的；n.前部 | |
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hues
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| 色彩( hue的名词复数 )； 色调； 信仰； 观点 | |
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dingy
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| adj.昏暗的，肮脏的 | |
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perches
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| 栖息处( perch的名词复数 )； 栖枝； 高处； 鲈鱼 | |
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bunk
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| n.(车、船等倚壁而设的)铺位；废话 | |
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bunks
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| n.（车、船等倚壁而设的）铺位( bunk的名词复数 )；空话，废话v.（车、船等倚壁而设的）铺位( bunk的第三人称单数 )；空话，废话 | |
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spoke
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| 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 | |
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abode
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| n.住处，住所 | |
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hopped
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| 跳上[下]( hop的过去式和过去分词 )； 单足蹦跳； 齐足（或双足）跳行； 摘葎草花 | |
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crumbs
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| int. (表示惊讶)哎呀 n. 碎屑 名词crumb的复数形式 | |
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glades
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| n.林中空地( glade的名词复数 ) | |
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aromatic
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| adj.芳香的，有香味的 | |
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undoubtedly
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| adv.确实地，无疑地 | |
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gust
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| n.阵风，突然一阵（雨、烟等），（感情的）迸发 | |
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lint
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| n.线头；绷带用麻布，皮棉 | |
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imminent
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| adj.即将发生的，临近的，逼近的 | |
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peril
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| n.(严重的)危险；危险的事物 | |
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vent
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| n.通风口，排放口；开衩；vt.表达，发泄 | |
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shrill
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| adj.尖声的；刺耳的；v尖叫 | |
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lash
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| v.系牢；鞭打；猛烈抨击；n.鞭打；眼睫毛 | |
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cane
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| n.手杖，细长的茎，藤条；v.以杖击，以藤编制的 | |
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talons
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| n.（尤指猛禽的）爪( talon的名词复数 )；（如爪般的）手指；爪状物；锁簧尖状突出部 | |
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truant
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| n.懒惰鬼，旷课者；adj.偷懒的，旷课的，游荡的；v.偷懒，旷课 | |
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rapacious
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| adj.贪婪的，强夺的 | |
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hawks
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| 鹰( hawk的名词复数 )； 鹰派人物，主战派人物 | |
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solitary
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| adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士 | |
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remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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essentially
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| adv.本质上，实质上，基本上 | |
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speculations
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| n.投机买卖( speculation的名词复数 )；思考；投机活动；推断 | |
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ravenous
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| adj.极饿的，贪婪的 | |
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beak
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| n.鸟嘴，茶壶嘴，钩形鼻 | |
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50
graceful
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| adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的 | |
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glazed
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| adj.光滑的，像玻璃的；上过釉的；呆滞无神的v.装玻璃( glaze的过去式)；上釉于，上光；（目光）变得呆滞无神 | |
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52
ashore
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| adv.在(向)岸上，上岸 | |
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watchful
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| adj.注意的，警惕的 | |
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prey
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| n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨 | |
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falcons
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| n.猎鹰( falcon的名词复数 ) | |
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varied
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| adj.多样的，多变化的 | |
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vessels
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| 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 | |
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westward
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| n.西方，西部；adj.西方的，向西的；adv.向西 | |
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projections
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| 预测( projection的名词复数 )； 投影； 投掷； 突起物 | |
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exhausted
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| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
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regain
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| vt.重新获得，收复，恢复 | |
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regained
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| 复得( regain的过去式和过去分词 )； 赢回； 重回； 复至某地 | |
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sumptuous
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| adj.豪华的，奢侈的，华丽的 | |
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utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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scanty
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| adj.缺乏的，仅有的，节省的，狭小的，不够的 | |
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gallant
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| adj.英勇的，豪侠的；(向女人)献殷勤的 | |
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seaman
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| n.海员，水手，水兵 | |
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monsoon
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| n.季雨，季风，大雨 | |
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wrestled
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| v.（与某人）搏斗( wrestle的过去式和过去分词 )；扭成一团；扭打；（与…）摔跤 | |
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leeward
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| adj.背风的；下风的 | |
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favourable
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| adj.赞成的，称赞的，有利的，良好的，顺利的 | |
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abaft
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| prep.在…之后；adv.在船尾，向船尾 | |
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pinions
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| v.抓住[捆住]（双臂）( pinion的第三人称单数 ) | |
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fathoms
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| 英寻( fathom的名词复数 ) | |
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strenuous
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| adj.奋发的，使劲的；紧张的；热烈的，狂热的 | |
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onward
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| adj.向前的，前进的；adv.向前，前进，在先 | |
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entrap
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| v.以网或陷阱捕捉，使陷入圈套 | |
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pang
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| n.剧痛，悲痛，苦闷 | |
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pathos
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| n.哀婉，悲怆 | |
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poised
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| a.摆好姿势不动的 | |
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lurch
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| n.突然向前或旁边倒；v.蹒跚而行 | |
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eddy
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| n.漩涡，涡流 | |
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doomed
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| 命定的 | |
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seething
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| 沸腾的，火热的 | |
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tumult
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| n.喧哗；激动，混乱；吵闹 | |
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gape
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| v.张口，打呵欠，目瞪口呆地凝视 | |
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moths
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| n.蛾( moth的名词复数 ) | |
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scented
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| adj.有香味的；洒香水的；有气味的v.嗅到(scent的过去分词) | |
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precarious
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| adj.不安定的，靠不住的；根据不足的 | |
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smuggled
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| 水货 | |
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persistent
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| adj.坚持不懈的，执意的；持续的 | |
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wasp
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| n.黄蜂，蚂蜂 | |
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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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neatly
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| adv.整洁地，干净地，灵巧地，熟练地 | |
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dwellings
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| n.住处，处所( dwelling的名词复数 ) | |
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determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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wasps
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| 黄蜂( wasp的名词复数 )； 胡蜂； 易动怒的人； 刻毒的人 | |
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perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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industrious
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| adj.勤劳的，刻苦的，奋发的 | |
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eligible
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| adj.有条件被选中的；(尤指婚姻等)合适(意)的 | |
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vicissitudes
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| n.变迁，世事变化；变迁兴衰( vicissitude的名词复数 )；盛衰兴废 | |
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