As soon as I recovered my composure, I did not forget to thank Andre
Letourneur for the act of intervention3 that had saved my life.
"Do you thank me for that, Mr. Kazallon?" he said; "it has only served to prolong your misery."
"Never mind, M. Letourneur," said Miss Herbey; "you did your duty."
Enfeebled and emaciated4 as the young girl is, her sense of duty never deserts her; and although her torn and bedraggled garments float dejectedly about her body, she never utters a word of complaint, and never loses courage.
"Mr. Kazallon," she said to me, "do you think we are fated to die of hunger?"
"Yes, Miss Herbey, I do," I replied, in a hard, cold tone.
"How long do you suppose we have to live?" she asked again.
"I cannot say; perhaps we shall linger on longer than we imagine."
"The strongest constitutions suffer the most, do they not?" she said.
"Yes; but they have one consolation—they die the soonest," I replied, coldly.
Had every spark of humanity died out of my breast, that I thus brought the girl face to face with the terrible truth, without a word of hope or comfort? The eyes of Andre and his father, dilated5 with hunger, were fixed6 upon me, and I saw reproach and astonishment7 written in their faces.
"Certainly, Miss Herbey; anything you like to ask," I replied; and this time my manner was kinder and more genial9.
"Mr. Kazallon," she said, "I am weaker than you, and shall probably die first. Promise me that, if I do, you will throw me into the sea!"
"Oh, Miss Herbey," I began, "it was very wrong of me to speak to you as
I did!"
"No, no," she replied, half smiling; "you were quite right. But it is a weakness of mine; I don't mind what they do with me as long as I am alive, but when I am dead—" She stopped and shuddered10. "Oh, promise me that you will throw me into the sea!"
I gave her the melancholy11 promise, which she acknowledged by pressing my hand feebly with her emaciated fingers.
Another night passed away. At times my sufferings were so intense that cries of agony involuntarily escaped my lips; then I became calmer, and sank into a kind of lethargy. When I awoke, I was surprised to find my companions still alive.
The one of our party who seems to bear his privations the best is Hobart the steward12, a man with whom hitherto I have had very little to do. He is small, with a fawning13 expression remarkable14 for its indecision, and has a smile which is incessantly15 playing round his lips; he goes about with his eyes half closed, as though he wished to conceal16 his thoughts, and there is something altogether false and hypocritical about his whole demeanor17. I cannot say that he bears his privations without a murmur18, for he sighs and moans incessantly; but, with it all, I cannot but think that there is a want of genuineness in his manner, and that the privation has not really told upon him as much as it has upon the rest of us. I have my suspicions about the man, and intend to watch him carefully.
To-day, the 6th, M. Letourneur drew me aside to the stern of the raft, saying he had a secret to communicate, but that he wished neither to be seen nor heard speaking to me. I withdrew with him to the larboard corner of the raft, and, as it was growing dusk, nobody observed what we were doing.
"Mr. Kazallon," M. Letourneur began, in a low voice, "Andre is dying of hunger; he is growing weaker and weaker, and oh! I cannot, will not, see him die!"
He spoke20 passionately21, almost fiercely, and I fully19 understood his feelings. Taking his hand, I tried to reassure22 him.
"We will not despair yet," I said; "perhaps some passing ship—"
"Ship!" he cried, impatiently, "don't try to console me with empty commonplaces; you know as well as I do that there is no chance of falling in with a passing ship." Then, breaking off suddenly, he asked: "How long is it since my son and all of you have had anything to eat?"
Astonished at his question, I replied that it was now four days since the biscuit had failed.
"Four days," he repeated; "well, then, it is eight since I have tasted anything. I have been saving my share for my son."
Tears rushed to my eyes; for a few moments I was unable to speak, and could only once more grasp his hand in silence.
"What do you want me to do?" I asked, at length.
"Hush23! not so loud; someone will hear us," he said, lowering his voice; "I want you to offer it to Andre as though it came from yourself. He would not accept it from me; he would think I had been depriving myself for him. Let me implore24 you to do me this service; and for your trouble,"—and here he gently stroked my hand—"for your trouble you shall have a morsel25 for yourself."
I trembled like a child as I listened to the poor father's words; and my heart was ready to burst when I felt a tiny piece of biscuit slipped into my hand.
"Give it him," M. Letourneur went on under his breath, "give it him; but do not let anyone see you; the monsters would murder you if they knew it! This is only for to-day; I will give you some more to-morrow."
The poor fellow did not trust me—and well he might not—for I had the greatest difficulty to withstand the temptation to carry the biscuit to my mouth. But I resisted the impulse, and those alone who have suffered like me can know what the effort was.
Night came on with the rapidity peculiar26 to these low latitudes27, and I glided28 gently up to Andre, and slipped the piece of biscuit into his hand as "a present from myself."
The young man clutched at it eagerly.
"But my father?" he said, inquiringly.
I assured him that his father and I had each had our share, and that he must eat this now, and perhaps I should be able to bring him some more another time. Andre asked no more questions, and eagerly devoured29 the morsel of food.
So this evening at least, notwithstanding M. Letourneur's offer, I have tasted nothing.
该作者的其它作品
《Around the World In 80 Days八十天环游地球》
《气球上的五星期 Five Weeks in a Balloon》
《海底两万里 Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The Sea》
《Robur the Conqueror征服者罗布尔》
该作者的其它作品
《Around the World In 80 Days八十天环游地球》
《气球上的五星期 Five Weeks in a Balloon》
《海底两万里 Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The Sea》
《Robur the Conqueror征服者罗布尔》
点击收听单词发音
1 climax | |
n.顶点;高潮;v.(使)达到顶点 | |
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2 misery | |
n.痛苦,苦恼,苦难;悲惨的境遇,贫苦 | |
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3 intervention | |
n.介入,干涉,干预 | |
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4 emaciated | |
adj.衰弱的,消瘦的 | |
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5 dilated | |
adj.加宽的,扩大的v.(使某物)扩大,膨胀,张大( dilate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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6 fixed | |
adj.固定的,不变的,准备好的;(计算机)固定的 | |
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7 astonishment | |
n.惊奇,惊异 | |
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8 afterward | |
adv.后来;以后 | |
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9 genial | |
adj.亲切的,和蔼的,愉快的,脾气好的 | |
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10 shuddered | |
v.战栗( shudder的过去式和过去分词 );发抖;(机器、车辆等)突然震动;颤动 | |
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11 melancholy | |
n.忧郁,愁思;adj.令人感伤(沮丧)的,忧郁的 | |
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12 steward | |
n.乘务员,服务员;看管人;膳食管理员 | |
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13 fawning | |
adj.乞怜的,奉承的v.(尤指狗等)跳过来往人身上蹭以示亲热( fawn的现在分词 );巴结;讨好 | |
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14 remarkable | |
adj.显著的,异常的,非凡的,值得注意的 | |
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15 incessantly | |
ad.不停地 | |
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16 conceal | |
v.隐藏,隐瞒,隐蔽 | |
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17 demeanor | |
n.行为;风度 | |
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18 murmur | |
n.低语,低声的怨言;v.低语,低声而言 | |
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19 fully | |
adv.完全地,全部地,彻底地;充分地 | |
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20 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 | |
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21 passionately | |
ad.热烈地,激烈地 | |
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22 reassure | |
v.使放心,使消除疑虑 | |
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23 hush | |
int.嘘,别出声;n.沉默,静寂;v.使安静 | |
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24 implore | |
vt.乞求,恳求,哀求 | |
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25 morsel | |
n.一口,一点点 | |
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26 peculiar | |
adj.古怪的,异常的;特殊的,特有的 | |
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27 latitudes | |
纬度 | |
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28 glided | |
v.滑动( glide的过去式和过去分词 );掠过;(鸟或飞机 ) 滑翔 | |
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29 devoured | |
吞没( devour的过去式和过去分词 ); 耗尽; 津津有味地看; 狼吞虎咽地吃光 | |
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