So, "Come, boatswain, and lend us thy wits," cried Tom. "Four heads shall provide more wisdom than three." And with that, he clapped Phil on the back and drew him into the cabin where Jacob and the mate sat deep in talk of the night's adventures.
"A hawk3, when she is first dressed and ready to fly," said Jacob, "is sharp set and hath a great will upon her. If the falconer do not then follow it, she will be dulled for ever after. So, master, a man! Yea, and a ship."
"A great will, sayest thou?" quoth the Old One, and his voice revealed his sullen4 anger. "Why then, in God's name, did ye not rake them with a broadside or twain?" With which he turned on Harry5 Malcolm, thus to include him in the charge.
"For one thing," replied Malcolm, and testily6, for ill temper prevailed both aft and forward, "we gave the gunners no firing to learn them their guns. For another thing, the powder failed us. For yet another, since you say what you say, and be cursed for it, 'twere a mad, foolish notion to run afoul a strange ship, for we have but a half the company we need to work a ship and fight. And finally, to cap our woeful proverbs, we know what we know—yea," and he shot a dark glance from under bent8 brows, "we know what we know; there be those who come toward us with their feet, but go from us with their hearts." His voice, as always, was light and quick, but there was a rumble9 in it, such as one may sometimes hear in a dog's throat.
As the three men looked first at one and then at another, there came to Boatswain Marsham, sitting as it were outside their circle, the uneasy throbbing10 of their suspicion.
"Of the powder," said Jacob coolly, "I have taken a little from each barrel." He laid on the table seven packages wrapped in leaves from an old book. Regarding closely the notes he had written on each package, he opened them one by one and placed them in a row.
"This," said he, "is from the barrel that good Harry Malcolm served out to the men and that doubtless this man Candle hath used from in old days. It hath lost its strength by long lying. Press it with thy fingers and thou shalt feel it soft to the touch. Here upon this white sheet of paper I lay four corns of this powder. This other powder"—and he chose a second package—"is from a barrel new opened. Press it and thou shalt see how firm and hard is each corn. And this, too, is firm and of a fair azure11. And so, also, this. But this—" and he first put his eyes close to the notes on each remaining packet, then held them far off, for his sight, although good at a great distance, made out with difficulty things near at hand, "this is from a barrel that hath lost its strength by moisture; and this hath a fault I shall tell you of."
Taking a pinch of each, as he spoke12, he had laid the corns, each some three fingers distant from the next, in a circle on the paper. He then struck tinder, and lighting13 a match made of twisted cords of tow boiled in strong lye-ashes and saltpetre, he held it over a corn of the good powder. There was a flash and puff14, and the ring of powder was gone. The corns of good powder had fired speedily and left only a chalky whiteness in their place, nor had they burned the paper or given off smoke; but the corns of poor powder had burned slowly, and some had scorched15 the paper and some had given forth16 smoke.
The Old One softly swore. "And have we, then," asked he, "but three barrels of good powder?"
"Nay17, there are more than three. This last is weak because they have neglected to turn the barrels upside down, so the petre has settled from top to bottom, as is its way. We shall find the bottom as strong as the top is weak, and by turning the barrel we shall renew its strength evenly."
"As for the powder that hath spoiled by long lying," cried Philip Marsham, "I will undertake to make it as good as new."
"Do you, boatswain, mind your sails and cordage," said old Jacob, with a wry18 smile. "An you wish to grind it in the mortar19, that you may; but it is I who will measure the petre. Nay, I will make you, if you wish it for a wonder to show friends, a powder of any colour you please—white, red, blue, or green."
Of the three who leaned over the packets of powder, old Jacob was the only one who bore with even temper the sad reverse of the night before; for master and mate glared at each other in such wrath20 as had thrown a shadow over every soul in the ship.
Some had waked with aching heads, for which they had their own folly21 to thank; some were like men who dream they have got a great treasure but wake to find pebblestones or worse under the pillow: since the Porcupine22 ketch had yielded them no gold and had stung them instead with her quills23. In all truth the ship was by the ears, for in extremities24 your sea sharks are uncertain friends, as a touch of foul7 weather will manifest to any man's satisfaction.
"Enough of this," said the Old One, and he pushed aside the packets and folded his arms. "We lose time. There is a thief amongst us."
"A thief, you say?" And the hot red of anger burned its way across the boatswain's face, for the three had turned and looked hard at him.
The Old One and Harry Malcolm then exchanged quick glances, and Jacob shut his small mouth tight and knotted his brows.
"Well," cried Phil, "would you charge me with theft?"
"Say on, say on!"
There was heavy silence in the cabin. Jacob, pursing his lips and knotting his brows, looked from one of them to another, and Phil, vaguely27 on the defensive28, drew back and gave them a gaze as steady as they sent.
"He is doubtless a very cunning rascal," Harry Malcolm put in, "who hath cut his cloth by his wits; but he is making a suit that will throttle29 him by its narrowness about the neck."
The master and mate once more exchanged glances and the Old One then smiled lightly, as if again there were sunlight rippling30 over dark water.
"Nay, Philip, we think no ill of thee. But do thou have care to thy company. A foul trick hath been done with a mind to render us helpless at sea, so that we must crawl to the nearest land, where some base dunghill spirit is doubtless of a mind to leave our company. But we have resources; yea, and of thee, Philip, we think no ill."
Despite their fair words, though, they were watching Philip Marsham like three old tomcats watching a sparrow, and he, being no fool, knew the reason why.
Three hard faces they showed: the one, handsome in a devilish way and keen; the second, unassuming, yet deeply astute31 and marked by a deeper rooted, if less frank, selfishness; the third, older, wiser, more self-centred.
The eyes of master and mate were coldly cruel; but old Jacob was too intent on his own thoughts to be cruel save by indifference32.
All that day Jacob squatted33 on the deck and toiled34 with tools and wood. From the wood he chose certain long pieces, fine-grained and straight and dry and free from knots, and certain shorter and broader pieces that were suited to his purpose, and bade the carpenter plane them smooth. He laid out scales, working with a small square and a pair of compasses, and engraved35 them with utmost care. He wrought brass36 into curious shapes by a plan he made, and from morning till night he kept at the task, frowning and ciphering and sitting deep in thought. He called for charcoal37 and a mortar, and beat the charcoal to a fine powder and tempered it with linseed oil. This he rubbed into the wood he had shaped to his liking38, and watched it a long while, now and again touching39 it to try it; then with oil from a phial he had found in a chest in the great cabin he rubbed the wood clean, and there were left in the wood, set off neatly40 in black, the gradations and figures he had so exactly etched.
Taking his work into the great cabin, he toiled on by lanthorn light until a late hour, and there through the open door men as they passed might see him hunched41 over the table with his medley42 of tools about him. But when at last he leaned back and drew a long breath of relief, very serious and very wise, his work was done, and curiously43 and deftly44 contrived45 it was.
On the table before him there lay a cross-staff, a nocturnal and a Gunter's scale, "with which," said he, to the Old One, who sat opposite him quietly taking tobacco and sipping46 wine, "and with what instruments the thief hath left us, a man can navigate47 a ship where he will."
Examining closely the nocturnal, which was intricately carved and engraved, the Old One muttered, as if ignoring Jacob's words, "I will yet lime that bird."
"Though he be never so mad a callant, I misdoubt he will put his head into a noose," said Jacob in his thick, serious voice.
"Be he the one we think or not the one we think, I will set him such a trap," said the Old One, "as will take the cunningest fox that ever doubled on the hounds." And the thin face smiled in a way that was not pleasant to see.
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1
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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2
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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3
hawk
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| n.鹰，骗子；鹰派成员 | |
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4
sullen
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| adj.愠怒的，闷闷不乐的，(天气等)阴沉的 | |
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5
harry
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| vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼 | |
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6
testily
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| adv. 易怒地, 暴躁地 | |
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7
foul
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| adj.污秽的；邪恶的；v.弄脏；妨害；犯规；n.犯规 | |
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8
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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9
rumble
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| n.隆隆声；吵嚷；v.隆隆响；低沉地说 | |
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10
throbbing
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| a. 跳动的,悸动的 | |
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11
azure
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| adj.天蓝色的，蔚蓝色的 | |
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12
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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13
lighting
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| n.照明，光线的明暗，舞台灯光 | |
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14
puff
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| n.一口(气)；一阵(风)；v.喷气，喘气 | |
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15
scorched
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| 烧焦，烤焦( scorch的过去式和过去分词 )； 使（植物）枯萎，把…晒枯； 高速行驶； 枯焦 | |
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16
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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17
nay
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| adv.不；n.反对票，投反对票者 | |
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18
wry
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| adj.讽刺的；扭曲的 | |
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mortar
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| n.灰浆，灰泥；迫击炮；v.把…用灰浆涂接合 | |
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20
wrath
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| n.愤怒，愤慨，暴怒 | |
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21
folly
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| n.愚笨，愚蠢，蠢事，蠢行，傻话 | |
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22
porcupine
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| n.豪猪， 箭猪 | |
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23
quills
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| n.（刺猬或豪猪的）刺( quill的名词复数 )；羽毛管；翮；纡管 | |
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24
extremities
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| n.端点( extremity的名词复数 )；尽头；手和足；极窘迫的境地 | |
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25
wrought
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| v.引起；以…原料制作；运转；adj.制造的 | |
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26
venom
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| n.毒液，恶毒，痛恨 | |
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vaguely
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| adv.含糊地，暖昧地 | |
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defensive
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| adj.防御的；防卫的；防守的 | |
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29
throttle
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| n.节流阀，节气阀，喉咙；v.扼喉咙，使窒息，压 | |
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30
rippling
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| 起涟漪的，潺潺流水般声音的 | |
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31
astute
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| adj.机敏的，精明的 | |
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32
indifference
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| n.不感兴趣，不关心，冷淡，不在乎 | |
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33
squatted
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| v.像动物一样蹲下( squat的过去式和过去分词 )；非法擅自占用（土地或房屋）；为获得其所有权；而占用某片公共用地。 | |
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34
toiled
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| 长时间或辛苦地工作( toil的过去式和过去分词 )； 艰难缓慢地移动，跋涉 | |
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35
engraved
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| v.在（硬物）上雕刻（字，画等）( engrave的过去式和过去分词 )；将某事物深深印在（记忆或头脑中） | |
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36
brass
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| n.黄铜；黄铜器，铜管乐器 | |
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37
charcoal
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| n.炭，木炭，生物炭 | |
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38
liking
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| n.爱好；嗜好；喜欢 | |
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39
touching
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| adj.动人的，使人感伤的 | |
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40
neatly
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| adv.整洁地，干净地，灵巧地，熟练地 | |
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41
hunched
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| （常指因寒冷、生病或愁苦）耸肩弓身的，伏首前倾的 | |
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42
medley
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| n.混合 | |
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43
curiously
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| adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地 | |
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44
deftly
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| adv.灵巧地，熟练地，敏捷地 | |
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45
contrived
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| adj.不自然的，做作的；虚构的 | |
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46
sipping
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| v.小口喝，呷，抿( sip的现在分词 ) | |
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47
navigate
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| v.航行，飞行；导航，领航 | |
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