"I'm tired of doing nothing," replied Jack2, "and this is a slow way of making a fortune. We ought to be somewhere near the place by now."
"We may have slipped past it," replied Phil.
"And have to return," said Jack in dismay. "That will be shocking bad luck."
Another three days passed, and they seemed as far off their journey's end as ever, until next morning one of the men shouted out that there was a signal on a promontory3 jutting4 out into the sea.
They rushed to the fore5 part of the schooner6, and looked eagerly at the spot. The man was right; there was a long pole with something waving at the top, evidently a signal to passing vessels7.
"It may be a very old one," said Phil.
"Perhaps it is Jacob Rank's signal," replied Jack.
"Let us hope so; anyway, we will make for it. I wonder if they have seen it on board the 'Wild Cat?'"
The other schooner was some distance behind, and as Jack looked through his glasses he saw no sign of excitement on board.
"I do not think they have," he said, "but in any case they will follow in our track."
The "Heron" headed for the rock on which the signal was fixed8, and as they drew near it they saw it was a projection9 of one side of the heads of a bay.
Their spirits rose, and Phil said—
"It's Jacob's Bay, I'll wager10. It answers the description exactly. Look there; the rock jutting out bare and jagged, the other side of the channel wooded and sloping gradually down. The entrance narrow, the scene from the ocean exactly as he described it. Here we are at last, boys. Give a rousing cheer; let off a few guns, and if Rank is alive that will bring him out of his shell."
They cheered lustily, and Jack discharged the gun several times.
Harry11 Marton on the "Wild Cat" asked Moss12 the meaning of the commotion13, and he replied "They must have found the place at last, and glad I am of it. We have had a long journey for nothing so far."
The "Heron" sailed steadily14 towards the entrance and as she passed the promontory they saw the flag at the top of the staff was made of an old shirt, or some such garment.
"It cannot have been there very long," said Phil, eyeing it through the glasses. "It has only recently been put up, so the probabilities are the man is alive."
The bay they entered was much larger than the former one, almost the size of Shark's Bay, and Phil expressed the opinion that it was a good place for pearl fishing.
Rounding the corner they saw a man who was on the look out, and he waved his arms furiously and danced about in great glee.
The schooner steered15 closer to the shore, and at last there came a loud shout from the solitary16 human being.
"By all that's wonderful, it's Jacob Rank," said Phil, and he waved back to him. "Let go the anchor, we'll row ashore17," he said, excitedly.
A dinghy was soon in the water, and they scrambled18 in. In a very short time they were on the sand, and Phil was wringing19 Jacob's hand until there seemed to be a good chance of their arms coming off.
The excitement was too much for Rank, who sat down on the beach and almost wept for joy. When he became calmer he said—
"What in heaven's name brought you here, Phil?"
"The 'Heron,' and we were sent by Barry Tuxford. We have another schooner, the 'Wild Cat,' see, she is just entering the heads."
"And who is this young man?"
"Mr. Redland. He is in the venture with Harry Marton, who is on that schooner, and we are all in it with Barry."
"Then he did not believe I was dead?"
"No. The beggars said you were drowned, when they reached Fremantle, and that there was no pearl shell to be found, but Barry didn't cotton to that yarn20, so he organised another expedition to find you and your boy, and here we are."
"And a precious long while you have been, it seems years since those scoundrels put me ashore here, but I'll get even with them one of these days."
The "Wild Cat" cast anchor close to the "Heron," and Harry and Hake Moss came ashore and heartily21 greeted Rank.
"I'll tell you what it is, before we get on to business, or anything else, I should like to go on board and have a decent meal. I have not starved here, but living on turtle, birds, and eggs, is a bit too much for me. I'd give anything for a decent bit of bread and something to wash it down," said Rank.
"Of course," quickly replied Jack. "Here we are standing22 talking and never thinking about you. Come along, we will row back at once."
Jacob eagerly got into the boat, and when he put his foot on board the "Heron" he gave a sigh of relief.
"To a man who has been stranded23 for weeks you have no idea how it feels to find yourself on a decent craft again. I have no ambition to be a second Crusoe."
Jacob enjoyed himself thoroughly24, and they gave him of the best their stores could provide.
In the evening they were all anxious to hear how he came to be left in the bay, and what prospect25 there was of finding shells.
"It's a long story, but I'll cut it as short as possible," he said. "To begin at the beginning, when Barry Tuxford fitted me out for this job I rather fancy he had doubts as to whether I was 'kidding' him."
"You are mistaken," said Jack. "I can assure you he had, and still has, every confidence in you. I will tell you later on what he instructed us to do if we found you alive."
"I am glad to hear it," said Jacob. "It was a risky27 job for him to tackle, but he has plenty of pluck, and I told him the truth when I said I knew of a bay for pearl fishing that was equal to Shark's Bay in its best days. Of course he had only my bare word for it, but he's not like other men, and he generally reckons things up pretty correct.
"I got together what I thought was a decent crew, but a bigger set of scoundrels never set foot in a schooner. They were loafers, every man jack of them, and had come out with the intention of having a pleasure trip. When we reached here I saw there was trouble brewing28, but I didn't think they would go as far as to leave me in the lurch29. I could do nothing against the lot of them, and they put me ashore and left me to my fate, curse them. They said if the bay was full of pearl shell I might have the lot, it would be a fine fortune for me. The divers30 would have stuck to me, but they frightened the poor devils into submission31, and the Lord knows what they did with them, put them ashore somewhere, I expect.
"I was mad with rage when I saw the schooner sail away, but I made up my mind to live through it if possible. I had an idea Barry Tuxford would not let the matter rest. If the schooner did not return he would send out to search for her, if she returned without me, and the crew concocted32 some cock and bull story, I doubted if he would believe them. It seems I was correct.
"For the first week or two I felt desperate. The loneliness oppressed me, I thought I should go mad. I walked for miles, shouting at the top my voice until I was exhausted33. I meant making someone hear, even if it turned out to be savages34. I believe in those days I would willingly have walked into the midst of a cannibal camp and taken my chance. Not a soul did I see, black or white, nor have I seen anyone until you came here."
"We saw the signal," said Phil. "I wonder no passing schooner observed it before."
"There are very few boats come in close enough for that," said Jacob. "This is a lonely, almost unknown part of the coast, and it is dangerous in rough weather. That signal pole was blown down a dozen times, I think, and I only fixed it up again a couple of days ago. It is lucky for me you saw it, lucky for all of you, too, as I will tell you.
"I found out this place once when I had been cruising around King's Sound, Roebuck Bay, and such like places. We happened on it quite accidentally. I was keeping a sharp look out and noticed the promontory at the far side of the channel. I had never sailed so near the coast before in these parts, and it struck me there might be a large bay beyond. The crew thought I had taken leave of my senses when I steered for the rock, but they had faith in me and had sailed with me several times. They were surprised to find such a bay as this, but they little knew my object in entering it. In the old days, at Cossack, I had heard an old pearler speak of a wonderful bay where there was heaps of shell that had never been touched. He described the place to me and I asked him why he had not tried it himself. He said he was too old, that he had sufficient to live on, and did not mean to worry about anything. He told me if ever I was near the northern part of Australia to try and find it, and gave me to understand it was north-west of Western Australia. When I saw the big rock at the entrance to the bay I recollected35 what he had said.
"I am an expert diver myself and have remained down below almost as long as the best of the Malays. At night I cautiously went down in the bay and felt about. There were hundreds of shells, big and little, and I felt certain I had struck a fortune if properly handled. I had to be very careful, as I did not wish the crew to know what I was after. I gave them a rest, and they all went ashore to have some sport, and find turtle. When I was alone, I lost no time in going down again, and groped about the bottom until I found some shells. With these I came up to the surface, almost exhausted, but I managed to get on board. I got a large butcher's knife and opened the first shell, and eagerly examined it for pearls. There was nothing in, but the pearl shell was excellent. In the next I had better luck, for I found two good sized pearls of rich colour, they were loose in the shell, and rolled out when I opened it, which does not often happen.
"I waited until I recovered my strength, and went down again. I brought up two more, in one of them was a big blister36, and in it I found a pearl I afterwards sold in Fremantle for over fifty pounds. I knew I had struck it rich, and that if I had the capital there was a heap of money to be made. Since I have been stranded here I have tried various parts of the bay, and I give it you, as my candid37 opinion, that there is no pearl fishery on the coast to be compared to it. The whole bay is, I think, covered with shells, and I have very little doubt many pearls of great value will be found there. I know where the best spots are, for I have been swimming about and diving all over the place. I can assure you, Barry Tuxford and all of you will be well satisfied with the result."
Jack Redland's heart beat high with hope as he listened to Jacob Rank's story, and even Phil Danks and Hake Moss, who were accustomed to hearing far fetched yarns38, knew that Jacob did not speak without the book, or talk at random39.
Jack was the first to speak, and thanked Jacob for his interesting story. He then told him that Barry Tuxford had empowered them to give him his fair share in whatever they might find, and that he was to tell him he need have no fear on that head.
"Barry Tuxford's word is always reliable," said Jacob. "He has faith in me, and I have faith in him. How many divers have you?"
"Twenty," replied Jack.
"We ought to have more. The best plan will be, however, to do the best we can with them, and not send one of the schooners41 to look for more. If we do that we shall lose time, and sufficient has been wasted already."
"I quite agree with you," said Jack, "we must get to work at once."
"Where do you hail from?" asked Jacob.
"England, have you been there?"
"No, but my father was a fisherman at Brighton, before he came out to Western Australia, many years ago."
"Brighton!" exclaimed Jack. "That is strange. I was living at Brighton when I made up my mind to try my fortunes out here. I know Sussex well, and my best friends live in that county."
"It's marvellous," said Jacob. "Here we are in an unknown spot on the coast of Australia, and we both hail from the same place. Give me your hand, sir, we'll shake on it, and on the success of this trip."
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收听单词发音
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1
grumbled
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| 抱怨( grumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 发牢骚； 咕哝； 发哼声 | |
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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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promontory
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| n.海角；岬 | |
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jutting
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| v.（使）突出( jut的现在分词 )；伸出；（从…）突出；高出 | |
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fore
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| adv.在前面；adj.先前的；在前部的；n.前部 | |
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schooner
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| n.纵帆船 | |
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vessels
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| 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 | |
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8
fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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projection
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| n.发射，计划，突出部分 | |
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wager
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| n.赌注；vt.押注，打赌 | |
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harry
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| vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼 | |
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moss
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| n.苔，藓，地衣 | |
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13
commotion
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| n.骚动，动乱 | |
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steadily
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| adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地 | |
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15
steered
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| v.驾驶( steer的过去式和过去分词 )；操纵；控制；引导 | |
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16
solitary
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| adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士 | |
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ashore
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| adv.在(向)岸上，上岸 | |
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18
scrambled
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| v.快速爬行( scramble的过去式和过去分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞 | |
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wringing
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| 淋湿的，湿透的 | |
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yarn
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| n.纱，纱线，纺线；奇闻漫谈，旅行轶事 | |
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heartily
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| adv.衷心地，诚恳地，十分，很 | |
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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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23
stranded
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| a.搁浅的，进退两难的 | |
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thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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prospect
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| n.前景，前途；景色，视野 | |
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loath
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| adj.不愿意的；勉强的 | |
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27
risky
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| adj.有风险的，冒险的 | |
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28
brewing
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| n. 酿造, 一次酿造的量 动词brew的现在分词形式 | |
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29
lurch
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| n.突然向前或旁边倒；v.蹒跚而行 | |
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divers
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| adj.不同的；种种的 | |
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submission
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| n.服从，投降；温顺，谦虚；提出 | |
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32
concocted
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| v.将（尤指通常不相配合的）成分混合成某物( concoct的过去式和过去分词 )；调制；编造；捏造 | |
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33
exhausted
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| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
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savages
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| 未开化的人，野蛮人( savage的名词复数 ) | |
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35
recollected
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| adj.冷静的；镇定的；被回忆起的；沉思默想的v.记起，想起( recollect的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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blister
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| n.水疱；(油漆等的)气泡；v.(使)起泡 | |
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37
candid
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| adj.公正的，正直的；坦率的 | |
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38
yarns
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| n.纱( yarn的名词复数 )；纱线；奇闻漫谈；旅行轶事 | |
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39
random
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| adj.随机的；任意的；n.偶然的(或随便的)行动 | |
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40
perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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41
schooners
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| n.（有两个以上桅杆的）纵帆船( schooner的名词复数 ) | |
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42
hilarity
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| n.欢乐；热闹 | |
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