"Come! Cast off those gaskets—lively!" 'Frisco Kid ordered. "Now lay on to the peak-halyards—there, that rope—cast it off the pin. And don't hoist3 ahead of me. There! Make fast! We 'll stretch it afterwards. Run aft and come in on the main-sheet! Shove the helm up!"
Under the sudden driving power of the mainsail, the Dazzler strained and tugged4 at her anchor like an impatient horse till the muddy iron left the bottom with a rush and she was free.
"Let go the sheet! Come for'ard again and lend a hand on the chain! Stand by to give her the jib!" 'Frisco Kid the boy who mooned over girls in pictorial5 magazines had vanished, and 'Frisco Kid the sailor, strong and dominant6, was on deck. He ran aft and tacked7 about as the jib rattled8 aloft in the hands of Joe, who quickly joined him. Just then the Reindeer, like a monstrous10 bat, passed to leeward11 of them in the gloom.
"Ah, dose boys! Dey take all-a night!" they heard French Pete exclaim, and then the gruff voice of Red Nelson, who said: "Never you mind, Frenchy. I taught the Kid his sailorizing, and I ain't never been ashamed of him yet."
The Reindeer was the faster boat, but by spilling the wind from her sails they managed so that the boys could keep them in sight. The breeze came steadily13 in from the west, with a promise of early increase. The stars were being blotted14 out by masses of driving clouds, which indicated a greater velocity15 in the upper strata16. 'Frisco Kid surveyed the sky.
"Going to have it good and stiff before morning," he said, "just as I told you."
Several hours later, both boats stood in for the San Mateo shore, and dropped anchor not more than a cable's-length away. A little wharf17 ran out, the bare end of which was perceptible to them, though they could discern a small yacht lying moored18 to a buoy19 a short distance away.
According to their custom, everything was put in readiness for hasty departure. The anchors could be tripped and the sails flung out on a moment's notice. Both skiffs came over noiselessly from the Reindeer. Red Nelson had given one of his two men to French Pete, so that each skiff was doubly manned. They were not a very prepossessing group of men,—at least, Joe did not think so,—for their faces bore a savage20 seriousness which almost made him shiver. The captain of the Dazzler buckled21 on his pistol-belt, and placed a rifle and a stout22 double-block tackle in the boat. Then he poured out wine all around, and, standing23 in the darkness of the little cabin, they pledged success to the expedition. Red Nelson was also armed, while his men wore at their hips24 the customary sailor's sheath-knife. They were very slow and careful to avoid noise in getting into the boats, French Pete pausing long enough to warn the boys to remain quietly aboard and not try any tricks.
"Now 'd be your chance, Joe, if they had n't taken the skiff," 'Frisco Kid whispered, when the boats had vanished into the loom12 of the land.
"What 's the matter with the Dazzler?" was the unexpected answer. "We could up sail and away before you could say Jack25 Robinson."
'Frisco Kid hesitated. The spirit of comradeship was strong in the lad, and deserting a companion in a pinch could not but be repulsive26 to him.
"I don't think it 'd be exactly square to leave them in the lurch27 ashore28," he said. "Of course," he went on hurriedly, "I know the whole thing 's wrong; but you remember that first night, when you came running through the water for the skiff, and those fellows on the bank busy popping away? We did n't leave you in the lurch, did we?"
Joe assented29 reluctantly, and then a new thought flashed across his mind. "But they 're pirates—and thieves—and criminals. They 're breaking the law, and you and I are not willing to be lawbreakers. Besides, they 'll not be left. There 's the Reindeer. There 's nothing to prevent them from getting away on her, and they 'll never catch us in the dark."
"Come on, then." Though he had agreed, 'Frisco Kid did not quite like it, for it still seemed to savor30 of desertion.
They crawled forward and began to hoist the mainsail. The anchor they could slip, if necessary, and save the time of pulling it up. But at the first rattle9 of the halyards on the sheaves a warning "Hist!" came to them through the darkness, followed by a loudly whispered "drop that!"
Glancing in the direction from which these sounds proceeded, they made out a white face peering at them from over the rail of the other sloop31.
"Aw, it 's only the Reindeer's boy," 'Frisco Kid said. "Come on."
"I say, you fellers, you 'd better let go them halyards pretty quick, I 'm a-tellin' you, or I 'll give you what for!"
This threat being dramatically capped by the click of a cocking pistol, 'Frisco Kid obeyed and went grumblingly33 back to the cockpit. "Oh, there 's plenty more chances to come," he whispered consolingly to Joe. "French Pete was cute, was n't he? He thought you might be trying to make a break, and put a guard on us."
Nothing came from the shore to indicate how the pirates were faring. Not a dog barked, not a light flared34. Yet the air seemed quivering with an alarm about to burst forth35. The night had taken on a strained feeling of intensity36, as though it held in store all kinds of terrible things. The boys felt this keenly as they huddled37 against each other in the cockpit and waited.
"You were going to tell me about your running away," Joe ventured finally, "and why you came back again."
"You see, when I made up my mind to quit the life, there was n't a soul to lend me a hand; but I knew that the only thing for me to do was to get ashore and find some kind of work, so I could study. Then I figured there 'd be more chance in the country than in the city; so I gave Red Nelson the slip—I was on the Reindeer then. One night on the Alameda oyster-beds, I got ashore and headed back from the bay as fast as I could sprint39. Nelson did n't catch me. But they were all Portuguese40 farmers thereabouts, and none of them had work for me. Besides, it was in the wrong time of the year—winter. That shows how much I knew about the land.
"I 'd saved up a couple of dollars, and I kept traveling back, deeper and deeper into the country, looking for work, and buying bread and cheese and such things from the storekeepers. I tell you, it was cold, nights, sleeping out without blankets, and I was always glad when morning came. But worse than that was the way everybody looked on me. They were all suspicious, and not a bit afraid to show it, and sometimes they 'd set their dogs on me and tell me to get along. Seemed as though there was n't any place for me on the land. Then my money gave out, and just about the time I was good and hungry I got captured."
"Captured! What for?"
"Nothing. Living, I suppose. I crawled into a haystack to sleep one night, because it was warmer, and along comes a village constable41 and arrests me for being a tramp. At first they thought I was a runaway42, and telegraphed my description all over. I told them I did n't have any people, but they would n't believe me for a long while. And then, when nobody claimed me, the judge sent me to a boys' 'refuge' in San Francisco."
He stopped and peered intently in the direction of the shore. The darkness and the silence in which the men had been swallowed up was profound. Nothing was stirring save the rising wind.
"I thought I 'd die in that 'refuge.' It was just like being in jail. We were locked up and guarded like prisoners. Even then, if I could have liked the other boys it might have been all right. But they were mostly street-boys of the worst kind—lying, and sneaking43, and cowardly, without one spark of manhood or one idea of square dealing44 and fair play. There was only one thing I did like, and that was the books. Oh, I did lots of reading, I tell you! But that could n't make up for the rest. I wanted the freedom and the sunlight and the salt water. And what had I done to be kept in prison and herded45 with such a gang? Instead of doing wrong, I had tried to do right, to make myself better, and that 's what I got for it. I was n't old enough, you see, to reason anything out.
"Sometimes I 'd see the sunshine dancing on the water and showing white on the sails, and the Reindeer cutting through it just as you please, and I 'd get that sick I would know hardly what I did. And then the boys would come against me with some of their meannesses, and I 'd start in to lick the whole kit46 of them. Then the men in charge would lock me up and punish me. Well, I could n't stand it any longer; I watched my chance and ran for it. Seemed as though there was n't any place on the land for me, so I picked up with French Pete and went back on the bay. That 's about all there is to it, though I 'm going to try it again when I get a little older—old enough to get a square deal for myself."
"You 're going to go back on the land with me," Joe said authoritatively47, laying a hand on his shoulder. "That 's what you 're going to do. As for—"
Bang! a revolver-shot rang out from the shore. Bang! bang! More guns were speaking sharply and hurriedly. A man's voice rose wildly on the air and died away. Somebody began to cry for help. Both boys were on their feet on the instant, hoisting48 the mainsail and getting everything ready to run. The Reindeer boy was doing likewise. A man, roused from his sleep on the yacht, thrust an excited head through the skylight, but withdrew it hastily at sight of the two stranger sloops49. The intensity of waiting was broken, the time for action come.
《The Sea-Wolf海狼》
《Martin Eden马丁·伊登》
《野性的呼唤 The Call of the Wild》
《The Sea-Wolf海狼》
《Martin Eden马丁·伊登》
《野性的呼唤 The Call of the Wild》
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1
den
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| n.兽穴；秘密地方；安静的小房间，私室 | |
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reindeer
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| n.驯鹿 | |
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hoist
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| n.升高，起重机，推动；v.升起，升高，举起 | |
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tugged
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| v.用力拉，使劲拉，猛扯( tug的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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pictorial
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| adj.绘画的；图片的；n．画报 | |
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dominant
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| adj.支配的，统治的；占优势的；显性的；n.主因，要素，主要的人(或物)；显性基因 | |
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tacked
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| 用平头钉钉( tack的过去式和过去分词 )； 附加，增补； 帆船抢风行驶，用粗线脚缝 | |
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rattled
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| 慌乱的，恼火的 | |
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rattle
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| v.飞奔，碰响；激怒；n.碰撞声；拨浪鼓 | |
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monstrous
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| adj.巨大的；恐怖的；可耻的，丢脸的 | |
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leeward
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| adj.背风的；下风的 | |
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loom
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| n.织布机，织机；v.隐现，(危险、忧虑等)迫近 | |
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steadily
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| adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地 | |
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blotted
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| 涂污( blot的过去式和过去分词 )； （用吸墨纸）吸干 | |
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velocity
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| n.速度，速率 | |
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strata
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| n.地层（复数）；社会阶层 | |
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wharf
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| n.码头，停泊处 | |
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moored
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| adj. 系泊的 动词moor的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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buoy
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| n.浮标；救生圈；v.支持，鼓励 | |
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savage
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| adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人 | |
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buckled
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| a. 有带扣的 | |
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standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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hips
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| abbr.high impact polystyrene 高冲击强度聚苯乙烯，耐冲性聚苯乙烯n.臀部( hip的名词复数 )；[建筑学]屋脊；臀围（尺寸）；臀部…的 | |
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jack
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| n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克 | |
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repulsive
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| adj.排斥的，使人反感的 | |
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lurch
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| n.突然向前或旁边倒；v.蹒跚而行 | |
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ashore
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| adv.在(向)岸上，上岸 | |
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assented
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| 同意，赞成( assent的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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savor
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| vt.品尝，欣赏；n.味道，风味；情趣，趣味 | |
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sloop
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| n.单桅帆船 | |
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rattling
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| adj. 格格作响的, 活泼的, 很好的 adv. 极其, 很, 非常 动词rattle的现在分词 | |
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grumblingly
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| 喃喃报怨着，发牢骚着 | |
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Flared
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| adj. 端部张开的, 爆发的, 加宽的, 漏斗式的 动词flare的过去式和过去分词 | |
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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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intensity
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| n.强烈，剧烈；强度；烈度 | |
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huddled
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| 挤在一起（huddle的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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muffled
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| adj.（声音）被隔的；听不太清的；（衣服）裹严的；蒙住的v.压抑，捂住( muffle的过去式和过去分词 )；用厚厚的衣帽包着（自己） | |
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sprint
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| n.短距离赛跑；vi. 奋力而跑，冲刺；vt.全速跑过 | |
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Portuguese
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| n.葡萄牙人；葡萄牙语 | |
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constable
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| n.(英国)警察，警官 | |
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42
runaway
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| n.逃走的人，逃亡，亡命者；adj.逃亡的，逃走的 | |
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43
sneaking
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| a.秘密的，不公开的 | |
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44
dealing
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| n.经商方法，待人态度 | |
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45
herded
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| 群集，纠结( herd的过去式和过去分词 )； 放牧； （使）向…移动 | |
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46
kit
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| n.用具包，成套工具；随身携带物 | |
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47
authoritatively
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| 命令式地，有权威地，可信地 | |
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48
hoisting
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| 起重，提升 | |
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49
sloops
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| n.单桅纵帆船( sloop的名词复数 ) | |
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