Meanwhile, where is the Ebba bound?—first question.
Who and what is the Count d’Artigas?—second question.
The first will be answered in a few days’ time, no doubt, in view of the rapidity with which we are ripping through the water, under the action of a means of propulsion that I shall end by finding out all about. As regards the second, I am by no means so sure that my curiosity will ever be gratified.
In my opinion this enigmatical personage has an all important reason for hiding his origin, and I am afraid there is no indication by which I can gauge2 his nationality. If the Count d’Artigas speaks English fluently—and I was able to assure myself of that fact during his visit to Pavilion No. 17,—he pronounces it with a harsh, vibrating accent, which is not to be found among the peoples of northern latitudes3. I do not remember ever to have heard anything like it in the course of my travels either in the Old or New World—unless it be the harshness characteristic of the idioms in use among the Malays. And, in truth, with his olive, verging5 on copper-tinted skin, his jet-black, crinkly hair, his piercing, deep-set, restless eyes, his square shoulders and marked muscular development, it is by no means unlikely that he belongs to one of the extreme Eastern races.
I believe this name of d’Artigas is an assumed one, and his title of Count likewise. If his schooner6 bears a Norwegian name, he at any rate is not of Scandinavian origin. He has nothing of the races of Northern Europe about him.
But whoever and whatever he may be, this man abducted7 Thomas Roch—and me with him—with no good intention, I’ll be bound.
But what I should like to know is, has he acted as the agent of a foreign power, or on his own account? Does he wish to profit alone by Thomas Roch’s invention, and is he in the position to dispose of it profitably? That is another question that I cannot yet answer. Maybe I shall be able to find out from what I hear and see ere I make my escape, if escape be possible.
The Ebba continues on her way in the same mysterious manner. I am free to walk about the deck, without, however, being able to go beyond the fore8 hatchway. Once I attempted to go as far as the bows where I could, by leaning over, perceive the schooner’s stem as it cut through the water, but acting9, it was plain, on orders received, the watch on deck turned me back, and one of them, addressing me brusquely in harsh, grating English, said:
“Go back! Go back! You are interfering10 with the working of the ship!”
With the working of the ship! There was no working.
Did they realize that I was trying to discover by what means the schooner was propelled? Very likely, and Captain Spade, who had looked on, must have known it, too. Even a hospital attendant could not fail to be astonished at the fact that a vessel11 without either screw or sails was going along at such a speed. However this may be, for some reason or other, the bows of the Ebba are barred to me.
Toward ten o’clock a breeze springs up—a northwest wind and very favorable—and Captain Spade gives an order to the boatswain. The latter immediately pipes all hands on deck, and the mainsail, the foresail, staysail and jibs are hoisted12. The work could not have been executed with greater regularity13 and discipline on board a man-of-war.
The Ebba now has a slight list to port, and her speed is notably14 increased. But the motor continues to push her along, as is evident from the fact that the sails are not always as full as they ought to be if the schooner were bowling15 along solely16 under their action. However, they continue to render yeoman’s service, for the breeze has set in steadily17.
The sky is clear, for the clouds in the west disappear as soon as they attain18 the horizon, and the sunlight dances on the water.
My preoccupation now is to find out as near as possible where we are bound for. I am a good-enough sailor to be able to estimate the approximate speed of a ship. In my opinion the Ebba has been travelling at the rate of from ten to eleven knots an hour. As to the direction we have been going in, it is always the same, and I have been able to verify this by casual glances at the binnacle. If the fore part of the vessel is barred to Warder Gaydon he has been allowed a free run of the remainder of it. Time and again I have glanced at the compass, and noticed that the needle invariably pointed19 to the east, or to be exact, east-southeast.
These are the conditions in which we are navigating20 this part of the Atlantic Ocean, which is bounded on the west by the coast of the United States of America.
I appeal to my memory. What are the islands or groups of islands to be found in the direction we are going, ere the continent of the Old World is reached?
North Carolina, which the schooner quitted forty-eight hours ago, is traversed by the thirty-fifth parallel of latitude4, and this parallel, extending eastward21, must, if I mistake not, cut the African coast at Morocco. But along the line, about three thousand miles from America, are the Azores. Is it presumable that the Ebba is heading for this archipelago, that the port to which she belongs is somewhere in these islands which constitute one of Portugal’s insular22 domains23? I cannot admit such an hypothesis.
Besides, before the Azores, on the line of the thirty-fifth parallel, is the Bermuda group, which belongs to England. It seems to me to be a good deal less hypothetical that, if the Count d’Artigas was entrusted24 with the abduction of Thomas Roch by a European Power at all, it was by the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. The possibility, however, remains25 that he may be acting solely in his own interest.
Three or four times during the day Count d’Artigas has come aft and remained for some time scanning the surrounding horizon attentively26. When a sail or the smoke from a steamer heaves in sight he examines the passing vessel for a considerable time with a powerful telescope. I may add that he has not once condescended27 to notice my presence on deck.
Now and then Captain Spade joins him and both exchange a few words in a language that I can neither understand nor recognize.
It is with Engineer Serko, however, that the owner of the Ebba converses28 more readily than with anybody else, and the latter appears to be very intimate with him. The engineer is a good deal more free, more loquacious29 and less surly than his companions, and I wonder what position he occupies on the schooner. Is he a personal friend of the Count d’Artigas? Does he scour30 the seas with him, sharing the enviable life enjoyed by the rich yachtsman? He is the only man of the lot who seems to manifest, if not sympathy with, at least some interest in me.
I have not seen Thomas Roch all day. He must be shut in his cabin, still under the influence of the fit that came upon him last night.
I feel certain that this is so, when about three o’clock in the afternoon, just as he is about to go below, the Count beckons31 me to approach.
I do not know what he wishes to say to me, this Count d’Artigas, but I do know what I will say to him.
“Do these fits to which Thomas Roch is subject last long?” he asks me in English.
“Sometimes forty-eight hours,” I reply.
“What is to be done?”
“Nothing at all. Let him alone until he falls asleep. After a night’s sleep the fit will be over and Thomas Roch will be his own helpless self again.”
“Very well, Warder Gaydon, you will continue to attend him as you did at Healthful House, if it be necessary.”
“To attend to him!”
“Yes—on board the schooner—pending our arrival.”
“Where?”
“Where we shall be to-morrow afternoon,” replies the Count.
To-morrow, I say to myself. Then we are not bound for the coast of Africa, nor even the Azores. There only remains the hypothesis that we are making for the Bermudas.
Count d’Artigas is about to go down the hatchway when I interrogate32 him in my turn:
“Sir,” I exclaim, “I desire to know, I have the right to know, where I am going, and——”
“Here, Warder Gaydon,” he interrupted, “you have no rights. All you have to do is to answer when you are spoken to.” “I protest!”
Then he disappears down the hatchway, leaving me face to face with Engineer Serko.
“If I were you, Warder Gaydon, I would resign myself to the inevitable,” remarks the latter with a smile. “When one is caught in a trap——”
“One can cry out, I suppose?”
“What is the use when no one is near to hear you?”
“I shall be heard some day, sir.”
“Some day—that’s a long way off. However, shout as much as you please.”
Towards four o’clock a big ship is reported about six miles off to the east, coming in our direction. She is moving rapidly and grows perceptibly larger. Black clouds of smoke pour out of her two funnels35. She is a warship36, for a narrow pennant37 floats from her main-mast, and though she is not flying any flag I take her to be an American cruiser.
No; for the schooner suddenly changes her course with the evident intention of avoiding her.
This proceeding39 on the part of such a suspicious yacht does not astonish me greatly. But what does cause me extreme surprise is Captain Spade’s way of manoeuvring.
He runs forward to a signalling apparatus40 in the bows, similar to that by which orders are transmitted to the engine room of a steamer. As soon as he presses one of the buttons of this apparatus the Ebba veers41 off a point to the south-west.
Evidently an order of “some kind” has been transmitted to the driver of the machine of “some kind” which causes this inexplicable42 movement of the schooner by the action of a motor of “some kind” the principle of which I cannot guess at.
The result of this manoeuvre43 is that the Ebba slants44 away from the cruiser, whose course does not vary. Why should this warship cause a pleasure-yacht to turn out of its way? I have no idea.
But the Ebba behaves in a very different manner when about six o’clock in the evening a second ship comes in sight on the port bow. This time, instead of seeking to avoid her, Captain Spade signals an order by means of the apparatus above referred to, and resumes his course to the east—which will bring him close to the said ship.
The wind has dropped completely. The strange ship, which is a three-masted merchantman, is taking in her top-gallant sails. It is useless to expect the wind to spring up again during the night, and she will lay becalmed till morning. The Ebba, however, propelled by her mysterious motor, continues to approach her.
It goes without saying, that Captain Spade has also begun to take in sail, and the work, under the direction of the boatswain Effrondat, is executed with the same precision and promptness that struck me before.
Captain Spade then comes up to me—I am standing47 on the starboard side—and unceremoniously orders me to go below.
I can but obey. I remark, however, ere I go, that the boatswain has not lighted the head-lamps, whereas the lamps of the three-master shine brightly—green to starboard, and red to port.
I entertain no doubt that the schooner intends to pass her without being seen; for though she has slackened speed somewhat, her direction has not been in any way modified.
I enter my cabin under the impression of a vague foreboding. My supper is on the table, but uneasy, I know not why, I hardly touch it, and lie down to wait for sleep that does not come.
I remain in this condition for two hours. The silence is unbroken save by the water that ripples48 along the vessel’s sides.
My mind is full of the events of the past two days, and other thoughts crowd thickly upon me. To-morrow afternoon we shall reach our destination. To-morrow, I shall resume, on land, my attendance upon Thomas Roch, “if it be necessary,” said the Count d’Artigas.
If, when I was thrown into that black hole at the bottom of the hold, I was able to perceive when the schooner started off across Pamlico Sound, I now feel that she has come to a stop. It must be about ten o’clock.
Why has she stopped? When Captain Spade ordered me below, there was no land in sight. In this direction, there is no island until the Bermuda group is reached—at least there is none on the map—and we shall have to go another fifty or sixty miles before the Bermudas can be sighted by the lookout49 men. Not only has the Ebba stopped, but her immobility is almost complete. There is not a breath of wind, and scarcely any swell50, and her slight, regular rocking is hardly perceptible.
Then my thoughts turn to the merchantman, which was only a mile and a half off, on our bow, when I came below. If the schooner continued her course towards her, she must be almost alongside now. We certainly cannot be lying more than one or two cables’ length from her. The three-master, which was becalmed at sundown, could not have gone west. She must be close by, and if the night is clear, I shall be able to see her through the porthole.
It occurs to me, that perhaps a chance of escape presents itself. Why should I not attempt it, since no hope of being restored to liberty is held out to me? It is true I cannot swim, but if I seize a life buoy51 and jump overboard, I may be able to reach the ship, if I am not observed by the watch on deck.
I must quit my cabin and go up by the forward hatchway. I listen. I hear no noise, either in the men’s quarters, or on deck. The sailors must all be asleep at this hour. Here goes.
I try to open the door, and find it is bolted on the outside, as I might have expected.
I must give up the attempt, which, after all, had small chance of success.
The best thing I can do, is to go to sleep, for I am weary of mind, if not of body. I am restless and racked by conflicting thoughts, and apprehensions52 of I know not what. Oh! if I could but sink into the blessed oblivion of slumber53!
I must have managed to fall asleep, for I have just been awakened54 by a noise—an unusual noise, such as I have not hitherto heard on board the schooner.
Day begins to peer through the glass of my port-hole, which is turned towards the east. I look at my watch. It is half-past four.
The first thing I wonder is, whether the Ebba has resumed her voyage.
No, I am certain she has not, either by sail, or by her motor. The sea is as calm at sunrise as it was at sunset. If the Ebba has been going ahead while I slept, she is at any rate, stationary55 now.
The noise to which I referred, is caused by men hurrying to and fro on deck—by men heavily laden56. I fancy I can also hear a similar noise in the hold beneath my cabin floor, the entrance to which is situated57 abaft58 the foremast. I also feel that something is scraping against the schooner’s hull59. Have boats come alongside? Are the crew engaged in loading or unloading merchandise?
And yet we cannot possibly have reached our journey’s end. The Count d’Artigas said that we should not reach our destination till this afternoon. Now, I repeat, she was, last night, fully60 fifty or sixty miles from the nearest land, the group of the Bermudas. That she could have returned westward61, and can be in proximity62 to the American coast, is inadmissible, in view of the distance. Moreover, I have reason to believe that the Ebba has remained stationary all night. Before I fell asleep, I know she had stopped, and I now know that she is not moving.
However, I shall see when I am allowed to go on deck. My cabin door is still bolted, I find on trying it; but I do not think they are likely to keep me here when broad daylight is on.
An hour goes by, and it gradually gets lighter63. I look out of my porthole. The ocean is covered by a mist, which the first rays of the sun will speedily disperse64.
I can, however, see for a half a mile, and if the three-masted merchantman is not visible, it is probably because she is lying off the other, or port, side of the Ebba.
Presently I hear a key turned in my door, and the bolts drawn65. I push the door open and clamber up the iron ladder to the deck, just as the men are battening down the cover of the hold.
I look for the Count d’Artigas, but do not see him. He has not yet left his cabin.
Aft, Captain Spade and Engineer Serko are superintending the stowing of some bales, which have doubtless been hoisted from the hold. This explains the noisy operations that were going on when I was awakened. Obviously, if the crew are getting out the cargo66, we are approaching the end of our voyage. We are not far from port, and perhaps in a few hours, the schooner will drop anchor.
But what about the sailing ship that was to port of us? She ought to be in the same place, seeing that there has been and is no wind.
I look for her, but she is nowhere to be seen. There is not a sail, not a speck67 on the horizon either east, west, north or south.
After cogitating68 upon the circumstance I can only arrive at the following conclusion, which, however, can only be accepted under reserve: Although I did not notice it, the Ebba resumed her voyage while I slept, leaving the three-master becalmed behind her, and this is why the merchantman is no longer visible.
I am careful not to question Captain Spade about it, nor even Engineer Serko, as I should certainly receive no answer.
Besides, at this moment Captain Spade goes to the signalling apparatus and presses one of the buttons on the upper disk. Almost immediately the Ebba gives a jerk, then with her sails still furled, she starts off eastward again.
Two hours later the Count d’Artigas comes up through the main hatchway and takes his customary place aft. Serko and Captain Spade at once approach and engage in conversation with him.
All three raise their telescopes and sweep the horizon from southeast to northeast.
No one will be surprised to learn that I gaze intently in the same direction; but having no telescope I cannot distinguish anything.
The midday meal over we all return on deck—all with the exception of Thomas Roch, who has not quitted his cabin.
Towards one o’clock land is sighted by the lookout man on the foretop cross-tree. Inasmuch as the Ebba is bowling along at great speed I shall soon be able to make out the coast line.
In effect, two hours later a vague semicircular line that curves outward is discernible about eight miles off. As the schooner approaches it becomes more distinct. It is a mountain, or at all events very high ground, and from its summit a cloud of smoke ascends69.
What! A volcano in these parts? It must then be——
该作者的其它作品
《Around the World In 80 Days八十天环游地球》
《海底两万里 Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The Sea》
《神秘岛 The Mysterious Island》
该作者的其它作品
《Around the World In 80 Days八十天环游地球》
《海底两万里 Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The Sea》
《神秘岛 The Mysterious Island》
点击
收听单词发音
收听单词发音 |
1
divulge
|
|
| v.泄漏(秘密等)；宣布，公布 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
gauge
|
|
| v.精确计量；估计；n.标准度量；计量器 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
latitudes
|
|
| 纬度 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
latitude
|
|
| n.纬度，行动或言论的自由(范围)，(pl.)地区 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
verging
|
|
| 接近，逼近（verge的现在分词形式） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
schooner
|
|
| n.纵帆船 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
abducted
|
|
| 劫持，诱拐( abduct的过去式和过去分词 )； 使（肢体等）外展 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
fore
|
|
| adv.在前面；adj.先前的；在前部的；n.前部 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
acting
|
|
| n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
interfering
|
|
| adj. 妨碍的 动词interfere的现在分词 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
vessel
|
|
| n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
hoisted
|
|
| 把…吊起，升起( hoist的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
regularity
|
|
| n.规律性，规则性；匀称，整齐 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
notably
|
|
| adv.值得注意地，显著地，尤其地，特别地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
bowling
|
|
| n.保龄球运动 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
solely
|
|
| adv.仅仅，唯一地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
steadily
|
|
| adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
attain
|
|
| vt.达到，获得，完成 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
pointed
|
|
| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
navigating
|
|
| v.给（船舶、飞机等）引航，导航( navigate的现在分词 )；（从海上、空中等）横越；横渡；飞跃 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
eastward
|
|
| adv.向东；adj.向东的；n.东方，东部 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
insular
|
|
| adj.岛屿的，心胸狭窄的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
domains
|
|
| n.范围( domain的名词复数 )；领域；版图；地产 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
entrusted
|
|
| v.委托，托付( entrust的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
remains
|
|
| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
attentively
|
|
| adv.聚精会神地；周到地；谛；凝神 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
27
condescended
|
|
| 屈尊，俯就( condescend的过去式和过去分词 )； 故意表示和蔼可亲 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
28
converses
|
|
| v.交谈，谈话( converse的第三人称单数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
29
loquacious
|
|
| adj.多嘴的，饶舌的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
30
scour
|
|
| v.搜索；擦，洗，腹泻，冲刷 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
31
beckons
|
|
| v.（用头或手的动作）示意，召唤( beckon的第三人称单数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
32
interrogate
|
|
| vt.讯问，审问，盘问 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
33
haughty
|
|
| adj.傲慢的，高傲的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
34
ironical
|
|
| adj.讽刺的，冷嘲的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
35
funnels
|
|
| 漏斗( funnel的名词复数 )； （轮船，火车等的）烟囱 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
36
warship
|
|
| n.军舰，战舰 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
37
pennant
|
|
| n.三角旗；锦标旗 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
38
salute
|
|
| vi.行礼，致意，问候，放礼炮；vt.向…致意，迎接，赞扬；n.招呼，敬礼，礼炮 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
39
proceeding
|
|
| n.行动，进行，(pl.)会议录，学报 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
40
apparatus
|
|
| n.装置，器械；器具，设备 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
41
veers
|
|
| v.（尤指交通工具）改变方向或路线( veer的第三人称单数 )；（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： |
|
|
|
|
42
inexplicable
|
|
| adj.无法解释的，难理解的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
43
manoeuvre
|
|
| n.策略，调动；v.用策略，调动 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
44
slants
|
|
| （使）倾斜，歪斜( slant的第三人称单数 )； 有倾向性地编写或报道 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
45
vessels
|
|
| 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 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
46
twilight
|
|
| n.暮光，黄昏；暮年，晚期，衰落时期 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
47
standing
|
|
| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
48
ripples
|
|
| 逐渐扩散的感觉( ripple的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
49
lookout
|
|
| n.注意，前途，瞭望台 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
50
swell
|
|
| vi.膨胀，肿胀；增长，增强 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
51
buoy
|
|
| n.浮标；救生圈；v.支持，鼓励 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
52
apprehensions
|
|
| 疑惧 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
53
slumber
|
|
| n.睡眠，沉睡状态 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
54
awakened
|
|
| v.（使）醒( awaken的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）觉醒；弄醒；（使）意识到 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
55
stationary
|
|
| adj.固定的，静止不动的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
56
laden
|
|
| adj.装满了的；充满了的；负了重担的；苦恼的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
57
situated
|
|
| adj.坐落在...的，处于某种境地的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
58
abaft
|
|
| prep.在…之后；adv.在船尾，向船尾 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
59
hull
|
|
| n.船身；(果、实等的)外壳；vt.去(谷物等)壳 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
60
fully
|
|
| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
61
westward
|
|
| n.西方，西部；adj.西方的，向西的；adv.向西 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
62
proximity
|
|
| n.接近，邻近 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
63
lighter
|
|
| n.打火机，点火器；驳船；v.用驳船运送；light的比较级 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
64
disperse
|
|
| vi.使分散；使消失；vt.分散；驱散 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
65
drawn
|
|
| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
66
cargo
|
|
| n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
67
speck
|
|
| n.微粒，小污点，小斑点 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
68
cogitating
|
|
| v.认真思考，深思熟虑( cogitate的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
69
ascends
|
|
| v.上升，攀登( ascend的第三人称单数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |