Sometimes we were tramping vast solitudes12 of sand, sometimes scudding14 across ephemeral tracts15 of shallow sea. Again, we were creeping gingerly round the deeper arteries16 that surround the Great Knecht, examining their convolutions as it were the veins17 of a living tissue, and the circulation of the tide throbbing18 through them like blood. Again, we would be staggering through the tide-rips and overfalls that infest19 the open fairway of the Weser on our passage between the Fork and the Pike. On one of our fine days I saw the scene of Davies’s original adventure by daylight with the banks dry and the channels manifest. The reader has seen it on the chart, and can, up to a point, form his opinion; I can only add that I realised by ocular proof that no more fatal trap could have been devised for an innocent stranger; for approaching it from the north-west under the easiest conditions it was hard enough to verify our true course. In a period so full of new excitements it is not easy for me to say when we were hardest put to it, especially as it was a rule with Davies never to admit that we were in any danger at all. But I think that our ugliest experience was on the 10th, when, owing to some minute miscalculation, we stranded20 in a dangerous spot. Mere21 stranding22, of course, was all in the day’s work; the constantly recurring23 question being when and where to court or risk it. This time we were so situated24 that when the rising tide came again we were on a lee shore, broadside on to a gale25 of wind which was sending a nasty sea—with a three-mile drift to give it force—down Robin’s Balje, which is one of the deeper arteries I spoke26 of above, and now lay dead to windward of us. The climax27 came about ten o’clock at night. “We can do nothing till she floats,” said Davies; and I can see him now quietly smoking and splicing28 a chafed29 warp30 while he explained that her double skin of teak fitted her to stand anything in reason. She certainly had a terrific test that night, for the bottom was hard, unyielding sand, on which she rose and fell with convulsive vehemence31. The last half-hour was for me one of almost intolerable tension. I spent it on deck unable to bear the suspense32 below. Sheets of driven sea flew bodily over the hull33, and a score of times I thought she must succumb34 as she shivered to the blows of her keel on the sand. But those stout35 skins knit by honest labour stood the trial. One final thud and she wrenched36 herself bodily free, found her anchor, and rode clear.
On the whole I think we made few mistakes. Davies had a supreme37 aptitude38 for the work. Every hour, sometimes every minute, brought its problem, and his resource never failed. The stiffer it was the cooler he became. He had, too, that intuition which is independent of acquired skill, and is at the root of all genius; which, to take cases analogous39 to his own, is the last quality of the perfect guide or scout40. I believe he could smell sand where he could not see or touch it.
As for me, the sea has never been my element, and never will be; nevertheless, I hardened to the life, grew salt, tough, and tolerably alert. As a soldier learns more in a week of war than in years of parades and pipeclay, so, cut off from all distractions41, moving from bivouac to precarious42 bivouac, and depending, to some extent, for my life on my muscles and wits, I rapidly learnt my work and gained a certain dexterity43. I knew my ropes in the dark, could beat economically to windward through squalls, take bearings, and estimate the interaction of wind and tide.
We were generally in solitude13, but occasionally we met galliots like the Johannes tacking45 through the sands, and once or twice we found a fleet of such boats anchored in a gut46, waiting for water. Their draught47, loaded, was from six to seven feet, our own only four, without our centre-plate, but we took their mean draught as the standard of all our observations. That is, we set ourselves to ascertain48 when and how a vessel49 drawing six and a half feet could navigate50 the sands.
A word more as to our motive51. It was Davies’s conviction, as I have said, that the whole region would in war be an ideal hunting-ground for small free-lance marauders, and I began to know he was right; for look at the three sea-roads through the sands to Hamburg, Bremen, Wilhelmshaven, and the heart of commercial Germany. They are like highways piercing a mountainous district by defiles52, where a handful of desperate men can arrest an army.
Follow the parallel of a war on land. People your mountains with a daring and resourceful race, who possess an intimate knowledge of every track and bridle-path, who operate in small bands, travel light, and move rapidly. See what an immense advantage such guerillas possess over an enemy which clings to beaten tracks, moves in large bodies, slowly, and does not “know the country”. See how they can not only inflict53 disasters on a foe54 who vastly overmatches them in strength, but can prolong a semi-passive resistance long after all decisive battles have been fought. See, too, how the strong invader55 can only conquer his elusive56 antagonists57 by learning their methods, studying the country, and matching them in mobility58 and cunning. The parallel must not be pressed too far; but that this sort of warfare59 will have its counterpart on the sea is a truth which cannot be questioned.
Davies in his enthusiasm set no limits to its importance. The small boat in shallow waters played a mighty60 rôle in his vision of a naval61 war, a part that would grow in importance as the war developed and reach its height in the final stages.
“The heavy battle fleets are all very well,” he used to say, “but if the sides are well matched there might be nothing left of them after a few months of war. They might destroy one another mutually, leaving as nominal62 conqueror63 an admiral with scarcely a battleship to bless himself with. It’s then that the true struggle will set in; and it’s then that anything that will float will be pressed into the service, and anybody who can steer64 a boat, knows his waters, and doesn’t care the toss of a coin for his life, will have magnificent opportunities. It cuts both ways. What small boats can do in these waters is plain enough; but take our own case. Say we’re beaten on the high seas by a coalition65. There’s then a risk of starvation or invasion. It’s all rot what they talk about instant surrender. We can live on half rations66, recuperate67, and build; but we must have time. Meanwhile our coast and ports are in danger, for the millions we sink in forts and mines won’t carry us far. They’re fixed—pure passive defence. What you want is boats—mosquitoes with stings—swarms of them—patrol-boats, scout-boats, torpedo-boats; intelligent irregulars manned by local men, with a pretty free hand to play their own game. And what a splendid game to play! There are places very like this over there—nothing half so good, but similar—the Mersey estuary68, the Dee, the Severn, the Wash, and, best of all, the Thames, with all the Kent, Essex, and Suffolk banks round it. But as for defending our coasts in the way I mean—we’ve nothing ready—nothing whatsoever69! We don’t even build or use small torpedo-boats. These fast ‘destroyers’ are no good for this work—too long and unmanageable, and most of them too deep. What you want is something strong and simple, of light draught, and with only a spar-torpedo, if it came to that. Tugs70, launches, small yachts—anything would do at a pinch, for success would depend on intelligence, not on brute71 force or complicated mechanism72. They’d get wiped out often, but what matter? There’d be no lack of the right sort of men for them if the thing was organised. But where are the men?
“Or, suppose we have the best of it on the high seas, and have to attack or blockade a coast like this, which is sand from end to end. You can’t improvise73 people who are at home in such waters. The navy chaps don’t learn it, though, by Jove! they’re the most magnificent service in the world—in pluck, and nerve, and everything else. They’ll try anything, and often do the impossible. But their boats are deep, and they get little practice in this sort of thing.”
Davies never pushed home his argument here; but I know that it was the passionate74 wish of his heart, somehow and somewhere, to get a chance of turning his knowledge of this coast to practical account in the war that he felt was bound to come, to play that “splendid game” in this, the most fascinating field for it.
I can do no more than sketch75 his views. Hearing them as I did, with the very splash of the surf and the bubble of the tides in my ears, they made a profound impression on me, and gave me the very zeal76 for our work he, by temperament77, possessed78.
But as the days passed and nothing occurred to disturb us, I felt more and more strongly that, as regards our quest, we were on the wrong tack44. We found nothing suspicious, nothing that suggested a really adequate motive for Dollmann’s treachery. I became impatient, and was for pushing on more quickly westward79. Davies still clung to his theory, but the same feeling influenced him.
“It’s something to do with these channels in the sand,” he persisted, “but I’m afraid, as you say, we haven’t got at the heart of the mystery. Nobody seems to care a rap what we do. We haven’t done the estuaries as well as I should like, but we’d better push on to the islands. It’s exactly the same sort of work, and just as important, I believe. We’re bound to get a clue soon.”
There was also the question of time, for me at least. I was due to be back in London, unless I obtained an extension, on the 28th, and our present rate of progress was slow. But I cannot conscientiously80 say that I made a serious point of this. If there was any value in our enterprise at all, official duty pales beside it. The machinery81 of State would not suffer from my absence; excuses would have to be made, and the results braved.
All the time our sturdy little craft grew shabbier and more weather-worn, the varnish82 thinner, the decks greyer, the sails dingier83, and the cabin roof more murky84 where stove-fumes stained it. But the only beauty she ever possessed, that of perfect fitness for her functions, remained. With nothing to compare her to she became a home to me. My joints85 adapted themselves to her crabbed86 limits, my tastes and habits to her plain domestic economy.
But oil and water were running low, and the time had come for us to be forced to land and renew our stock.
点击
收听单词发音
收听单词发音 |
1
estuaries
|
|
| （江河入海的）河口，河口湾( estuary的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
toil
|
|
| vi.辛劳工作，艰难地行动；n.苦工，难事 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
peril
|
|
| n.(严重的)危险；危险的事物 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
odds
|
|
| n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
veering
|
|
| 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： |
|
|
|
|
6
placid
|
|
| adj.安静的，平和的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
determined
|
|
| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
intervals
|
|
| n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 )；间隔时间；[数学]区间；（戏剧、电影或音乐会的）幕间休息 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
exterior
|
|
| adj.外部的，外在的；表面的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
darting
|
|
| v.投掷，投射( dart的现在分词 )；向前冲，飞奔 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
lair
|
|
| n.野兽的巢穴；躲藏处 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
solitudes
|
|
| n.独居( solitude的名词复数 )；孤独；荒僻的地方；人迹罕至的地方 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
solitude
|
|
| n. 孤独; 独居,荒僻之地,幽静的地方 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
scudding
|
|
| 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： |
|
|
|
|
15
tracts
|
|
| 大片土地( tract的名词复数 )； 地带； （体内的）道； （尤指宣扬宗教、伦理或政治的）短文 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
arteries
|
|
| n.动脉( artery的名词复数 )；干线，要道 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
veins
|
|
| n.纹理；矿脉( vein的名词复数 )；静脉；叶脉；纹理 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
throbbing
|
|
| a. 跳动的,悸动的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
infest
|
|
| v.大批出没于；侵扰；寄生于 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
stranded
|
|
| a.搁浅的，进退两难的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
mere
|
|
| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
stranding
|
|
| n.（船只）搁浅v.使滞留，使搁浅( strand的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
recurring
|
|
| adj.往复的，再次发生的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
situated
|
|
| adj.坐落在...的，处于某种境地的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
gale
|
|
| n.大风，强风，一阵闹声（尤指笑声等） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
spoke
|
|
| 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： |
|
|
|
|
27
climax
|
|
| n.顶点；高潮；v.(使)达到顶点 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
28
splicing
|
|
| n.编接（绳）；插接；捻接；叠接v.绞接( splice的现在分词 )；捻接（两段绳子）；胶接；粘接（胶片、磁带等） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
29
chafed
|
|
| v.擦热（尤指皮肤）( chafe的过去式 )；擦痛；发怒；惹怒 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
30
warp
|
|
| vt.弄歪，使翘曲，使不正常，歪曲，使有偏见 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
31
vehemence
|
|
| n.热切；激烈；愤怒 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
32
suspense
|
|
| n.（对可能发生的事）紧张感，担心，挂虑 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
33
hull
|
|
| n.船身；(果、实等的)外壳；vt.去(谷物等)壳 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
34
succumb
|
|
| v.屈服，屈从；死 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
36
wrenched
|
|
| v.（猛力地）扭( wrench的过去式和过去分词 )；扭伤；使感到痛苦；使悲痛 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
37
supreme
|
|
| adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
38
aptitude
|
|
| n.(学习方面的)才能，资质，天资 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
39
analogous
|
|
| adj.相似的；类似的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
40
scout
|
|
| n.童子军，侦察员；v.侦察，搜索 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
41
distractions
|
|
| n.使人分心的事[人]( distraction的名词复数 )；娱乐，消遣；心烦意乱；精神错乱 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
42
precarious
|
|
| adj.不安定的，靠不住的；根据不足的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
43
dexterity
|
|
| n.(手的)灵巧，灵活 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
44
tack
|
|
| n.大头钉；假缝，粗缝 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
45
tacking
|
|
| （帆船）抢风行驶，定位焊[铆]紧钉 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
46
gut
|
|
| n.[pl.]胆量；内脏；adj.本能的；vt.取出内脏 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
47
draught
|
|
| n.拉，牵引，拖；一网（饮，吸，阵)；顿服药量，通风；v.起草，设计 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
48
ascertain
|
|
| vt.发现，确定，查明，弄清 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
49
vessel
|
|
| n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
50
navigate
|
|
| v.航行，飞行；导航，领航 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
51
motive
|
|
| n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
52
defiles
|
|
| v.玷污( defile的第三人称单数 )；污染；弄脏；纵列行进 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
53
inflict
|
|
| vt.(on)把…强加给，使遭受，使承担 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
54
foe
|
|
| n.敌人，仇敌 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
55
invader
|
|
| n.侵略者，侵犯者，入侵者 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
56
elusive
|
|
| adj.难以表达(捉摸)的；令人困惑的；逃避的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
57
antagonists
|
|
| 对立[对抗] 者，对手，敌手( antagonist的名词复数 )； 对抗肌； 对抗药 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
58
mobility
|
|
| n.可动性，变动性，情感不定 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
59
warfare
|
|
| n.战争(状态)；斗争；冲突 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
60
mighty
|
|
| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
61
naval
|
|
| adj.海军的，军舰的，船的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
62
nominal
|
|
| adj.名义上的；(金额、租金)微不足道的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
63
conqueror
|
|
| n.征服者，胜利者 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
64
steer
|
|
| vt.驾驶，为…操舵；引导；vi.驾驶 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
65
coalition
|
|
| n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
66
rations
|
|
| 定量( ration的名词复数 )； 配给量； 正常量； 合理的量 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
67
recuperate
|
|
| v.恢复 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
68
estuary
|
|
| n.河口，江口 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
69
whatsoever
|
|
| adv.（用于否定句中以加强语气）任何；pron.无论什么 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
70
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： |
|
|
|
|
71
brute
|
|
| n.野兽，兽性 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
72
mechanism
|
|
| n.机械装置；机构，结构 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
73
improvise
|
|
| v.即兴创作；临时准备，临时凑成 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
74
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： |
|
|
|
|
75
sketch
|
|
| n.草图；梗概；素描；v.素描；概述 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
76
zeal
|
|
| n.热心，热情，热忱 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
77
temperament
|
|
| n.气质，性格，性情 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
78
possessed
|
|
| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
79
westward
|
|
| n.西方，西部；adj.西方的，向西的；adv.向西 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
80
conscientiously
|
|
| adv.凭良心地；认真地，负责尽职地；老老实实 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
81
machinery
|
|
| n.(总称)机械，机器；机构 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
82
varnish
|
|
| n.清漆；v.上清漆；粉饰 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
83
dingier
|
|
| adj.暗淡的，乏味的( dingy的比较级 )；肮脏的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
|
84
murky
|
|
| adj.黑暗的，朦胧的；adv.阴暗地，混浊地；n.阴暗；昏暗 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
85
joints
|
|
| 接头( joint的名词复数 )； 关节； 公共场所（尤指价格低廉的饮食和娱乐场所） （非正式）； 一块烤肉 （英式英语） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
86
crabbed
|
|
| adj.脾气坏的；易怒的；（指字迹）难辨认的；（字迹等）难辨认的v.捕蟹( crab的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |