JANUARY 15.—After this further shattering of our excited hopes, death alone now stares us in the face; slow and lingering as that death may be, sooner or later it must inevitably1 come.
To-day some clouds that rose in the west have brought us a few puffs2 of wind; and in spite of our prostration3, we appreciate the moderation, slight as it is, in the temperature. To my parched4 throat the air seemed a little less trying; but it is now seven days since the boatswain took his haul of fish, and during that period we had eaten nothing; even Andre Letourneur finished yesterday, the last morsel5 of the biscuit which his sorrowful and self-denying father had intrusted to my charge.
Jynxstrop, the negro, has broken loose from his confinement6, but Curtis has taken no measures for putting him again under restraint. It is not to be apprehended7 that the miserable8 fellow and his accomplices9, weakened as they are by their protracted10 fast, will attempt to do us any mischief11 now.
Some huge sharks made their appearance to-day, cleaving12 the water rapidly with their great black fins13. The monsters came up close to the edge of the raft, and Flaypole, who was leaning over, narrowly escaped having his arm snapped off by one of them. I could not help regarding them as living sepulchers14, which ere long might swallow up our miserable carcasses; yet, withal, I profess15 that my feelings were those of fascination16 rather than horror.
The boatswain, who stood with clenched17 teeth and dilated18 eye, regarded these sharks from quite another point of view. He thought about devouring19 the sharks, not about the sharks devouring him; and if he could succeed in catching20 one, I doubt if one of us would reject the tough and untempting flesh. He determined21 to make the attempt, and as he had no whirl which he could fasten to his rope he set to work to find something that might serve as a substitute. Curtis and Dowlas were consulted, and after a short conversation, during which they kept throwing bits of rope and spars into the water in order to entice22 the sharks to remain by the raft, Dowlas went and fetched his carpenter's tool, which is at once a hatchet23 and a hammer. Of this he proposed to make the whirl of which they were in need, under the hope that either the sharp edge of the adze or the pointed24 extremity25 opposite would stick firmly into the jaws27 of any shark that might swallow it. The wooden handle of the hammer was secured to the rope, which, in its turn was tightly fastened to the raft.
With eager, almost breathless, excitement we stood watching the preparations, at the same time using every means in our power to attract the attention of the sharks. As soon as the whirl was ready the boatswain began to think about bait, and, talking rapidly to himself, ransacked28 every corner of the raft, as though he expected to find some dead body coming opportunely29 to sight. But his search ended in nothing; and the only plan that suggested itself was again to have recourse to Miss Herbey's red shawl, of which a fragment was wrapped around the head of the hammer. After testing the strength of his line, and reassuring30 himself that it was fastened firmly both to the hammer and to the raft, the boatswain lowered it into the water.
The sea was quite transparent31, and any object was clearly visible to a depth of two hundred feet below the surface. Leaning over the low parapet of the raft we looked on in breathless silence, as the scarlet32 rag, distinct as it was against the blue mass of water, made its slow descent. But one by one the sharks seemed to disappear. They could not, however, have gone far away, and it was not likely that anything in the shape of bait dropped near them would long escape their keen voracity33.
Suddenly, without speaking, the boatswain raised his hand and pointed to a dark mass skimming along the surface of the water, and making straight in our direction. It was a shark, certainly not less than twelve feet long. As soon as the creature was about four fathoms34 from the raft, the boatswain gently drew in his line until the whirl was in such a position that the shark must cross right over it; at the same time he shook the line a little, that he might give the whirl the appearance, if he could, of being something alive and moving. As the creature came near, my heart beat violently; I could see its eyes flashing above the waves; and its gaping35 jaws, as it turned half over on its back, exhibited long rows of pointed teeth.
I know not who it was, but some one at that moment uttered an involuntary cry of horror. The shark came to a standstill, turned about, and escaped quite out of sight. The boatswain was pale with anger.
"The first man who speaks," he said, "I will kill him on the spot."
Again he applied36 himself to his task. The whirl was again lowered, this time to the depth of twenty fathoms, but for half an hour or more not a shark could be distinguished37; but as the waters far below seemed somehow to be troubled I could not help believing that some of the brutes39 at least were still there.
All at once, with a violent jerk, the cord was wrested40 from the boatswain's hands; firmly attached, however, as it was to the raft, it was not lost. The bait had been seized by a shark, and the iron had made good its hold upon the creature's flesh.
"Now, then, my lads," cried the boatswain, "haul away!"
Passengers and sailors, one and all, put forth41 what strength they had to drag the rope, but so violent were the creature's struggles that it required all our efforts (and it is needless to say they were willing enough) to bring it to the surface. At length, after exertions42 that almost exhausted43 us, the water became agitated44 by the violent flappings of the tail and fins; and looking down I saw the huge carcass of the shark writhing45 convulsively amid waves that were stained with blood.
"Steady! steady!" said the boatswain, as the head appeared above
The whirl had passed right through the jaw26 into the middle of the throat, so that no struggle on the part of the animal could possibly release it. Dowlas seized the hatchet, ready to dispatch the brute38 the moment it should be landed on the raft. A short sharp snap was heard. The shark had closed its jaws, and bitten through the wooden handle of the hammer. Another moment and it had turned round and was completely gone.
A howl of despair burst from all our lips. All the labor46 and the patience, all had been in vain. Dowlas made a few more unsuccessful attempts, but as the whirl was lost, and they had no means of replacing it, there was no further room for hope. They did, indeed, lower some cords twisted into running knots, but (as might have been expected) these only slipped over, without holding, the slimy bodies of the sharks. As a last resource the boatswain allowed his naked leg to hang over the side of the raft; the monsters, however, were proof even against this attraction.
Reduced once again to a gloomy despondency, all turned to their places, to await the end that can not now be long deferred47.
Just as I moved away I heard the boatswain say to Curtis:
"Captain, when shall we draw lots?"
The captain made no reply.
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》
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1
inevitably
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| adv.不可避免地；必然发生地 | |
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puffs
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| n.吸( puff的名词复数 )；（烟斗或香烟的）一吸；一缕（烟、蒸汽等）；（呼吸或风的）呼v.使喷出( puff的第三人称单数 )；喷着汽（或烟）移动；吹嘘；吹捧 | |
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3
prostration
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| n. 平伏, 跪倒, 疲劳 | |
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parched
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| adj.焦干的；极渴的；v.（使）焦干 | |
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5
morsel
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| n.一口，一点点 | |
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confinement
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| n.幽禁，拘留，监禁；分娩；限制，局限 | |
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7
apprehended
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| 逮捕，拘押( apprehend的过去式和过去分词 )； 理解 | |
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miserable
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| adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的 | |
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9
accomplices
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| 从犯，帮凶，同谋( accomplice的名词复数 ) | |
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protracted
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| adj.拖延的；延长的v.拖延“protract”的过去式和过去分词 | |
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11
mischief
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| n.损害，伤害，危害；恶作剧，捣蛋，胡闹 | |
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12
cleaving
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| v.劈开，剁开，割开( cleave的现在分词 ) | |
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13
fins
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| [医]散热片；鱼鳍；飞边；鸭掌 | |
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14
sepulchers
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| n.坟墓，墓穴( sepulcher的名词复数 )；圣物置放处v.埋葬( sepulcher的第三人称单数 ) | |
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15
profess
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| v.声称，冒称，以...为业，正式接受入教，表明信仰 | |
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16
fascination
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| n.令人着迷的事物，魅力，迷恋 | |
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17
clenched
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| v.紧握，抓紧，咬紧( clench的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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18
dilated
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| 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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19
devouring
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| 吞没( devour的现在分词 )； 耗尽； 津津有味地看； 狼吞虎咽地吃光 | |
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20
catching
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| adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住 | |
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21
determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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entice
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| v.诱骗，引诱，怂恿 | |
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23
hatchet
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| n.短柄小斧；v.扼杀 | |
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24
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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25
extremity
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| n.末端，尽头；尽力；终极；极度 | |
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26
jaw
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| n.颚，颌，说教，流言蜚语；v.喋喋不休，教训 | |
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jaws
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| n.口部；嘴 | |
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28
ransacked
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| v.彻底搜查( ransack的过去式和过去分词 )；抢劫，掠夺 | |
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opportunely
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| adv.恰好地，适时地 | |
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30
reassuring
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| a.使人消除恐惧和疑虑的，使人放心的 | |
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transparent
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| adj.明显的，无疑的；透明的 | |
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32
scarlet
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| n.深红色，绯红色，红衣；adj.绯红色的 | |
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33
voracity
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| n.贪食，贪婪 | |
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34
fathoms
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| 英寻( fathom的名词复数 ) | |
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35
gaping
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| adj.口的；张口的；敞口的；多洞穴的v.目瞪口呆地凝视( gape的现在分词 )；张开，张大 | |
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applied
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| adj.应用的；v.应用，适用 | |
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37
distinguished
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| adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的 | |
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brute
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| n.野兽，兽性 | |
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brutes
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| 兽( brute的名词复数 )； 畜生； 残酷无情的人； 兽性 | |
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wrested
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| （用力）拧( wrest的过去式和过去分词 )； 费力取得； （从…）攫取； （ 从… ） 强行取去… | |
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41
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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42
exertions
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| n.努力( exertion的名词复数 )；费力；（能力、权力等的）运用；行使 | |
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43
exhausted
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| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
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44
agitated
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| adj.被鼓动的，不安的 | |
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45
writhing
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| （因极度痛苦而）扭动或翻滚( writhe的现在分词 ) | |
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46
labor
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| 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 | |
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47
deferred
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| adj.延期的，缓召的v.拖延，延缓，推迟( defer的过去式和过去分词 )；服从某人的意愿，遵从 | |
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