CHAPTER XIV

 Early next morning, the morning watch of sailors, whose custom was to fetch the day’s supply of water for the galley¹ and cabin, discovered that the barrels were empty.  Mr. Jackson was so alarmed that he immediately called Captain Doane, and not many minutes elapsed ere Captain Doane had routed out Grimshaw and Nishikanta to tell them the disaster.

 

Breakfast was an excitement shared in peculiarly by the Ancient Mariner² and Dag Daughtry, while the trio of partners raged and bewailed.  Captain Doane particularly wailed³.  Simon Nishikanta was fiendish in his descriptions of whatever miscreant⁴ had done the deed and of how he should be made to suffer for it, while Grimshaw clenched⁵ and repeatedly clenched his great hands as if throttling⁶ some throat.

 

“I remember, it was in forty-seven—nay, forty-six—yes, forty-six,” the Ancient Mariner chattered⁷.  “It was a similar and worse predicament.  It was in the longboat, sixteen of us.  We ran on Glister Reef.  So named it was after our pretty little craft discovered it one dark night and left her bones upon it.  The reef is on the Admiralty charts.  Captain Doane will verify me . . . ”

 

No one listened, save Dag Daughtry, serving hot cakes and admiring.  But Simon Nishikanta, becoming suddenly aware that the old man was babbling⁸, bellowed⁹ out ferociously¹⁰:

 

“Oh, shut up!  Close your jaw¹¹!  You make me tired with your everlasting¹² ‘I remember.’”

 

The Ancient Mariner was guilelessly surprised, as if he had slipped somewhere in his narrative¹³.

 

“No, I assure you,” he continued.  “It must have been some error of my poor old tongue.  It was not the Wide Awake, but the brig Glister.  Did I say Wide Awake?  It was the Glister, a smart little brig, almost a toy brig in fact, copper-bottomed, lines like a dolphin, a sea-cutter and a wind-eater.  Handled like a top.  On my honour, gentlemen, it was lively work for both watches when she went about.  I was super-cargo.  We sailed out of New York, ostensibly for the north-west coast, with sealed orders—”

 

“In the name of God, peace, peace!  You drive me mad with your drivel!”  So Nishikanta cried out in nervous pain that was real and quivering.  “Old man, have a heart.  What do I care to know of your Glister and your sealed orders!”

 

“Ah, sealed orders,” the Ancient Mariner went on beamingly.  “A magic phrase, sealed orders.”  He rolled it off his tongue with unction.  “Those were the days, gentlemen, when ships did sail with sealed orders.  And as super-cargo, with my trifle invested in the adventure and my share in the gains, I commanded the captain.  Not in him, but in me were reposed¹⁴ the sealed orders.  I assure you I did not know myself what they were.  Not until we were around old Cape¹⁵ Stiff, fifty to fifty, and in fifty in the Pacific, did I break the seal and learn we were bound for Van Dieman’s Land.  They called it Van Dieman’s Land in those days . . . ”

 

It was a day of discoveries.  Captain Doane caught the mate stealing the ship’s position from his desk with the duplicate key.  There was a scene, but no more, for the Finn was too huge a man to invite personal encounter, and Captain Dome¹⁶ could only stigmatize¹⁷ his conduct to a running reiteration¹⁸ of “Yes, sir,” and “No, sir,” and “Sorry, sir.”

 

Perhaps the most important discovery, although he did not know it at the time, was that of Dag Daughtry.  It was after the course had been changed and all sail set, and after the Ancient Mariner had privily¹⁹ informed him that Taiohae, in the Marquesas, was their objective, that Daughtry gaily²⁰ proceeded to shave.  But one trouble was on his mind.  He was not quite sure, in such an out-of-the-way place as Taiohae, that good beer could be procured²¹.

 

As he prepared to make the first stroke of the razor, most of his face white with lather²², he noticed a dark patch of skin on his forehead just between the eyebrows²³ and above.  When he had finished shaving he touched the dark patch, wondering how he had been sunburned in such a spot.  But he did not know he had touched it in so far as there was any response of sensation.  The dark place was numb²⁴.

 

“Curious,” he thought, wiped his face, and forgot all about it.

 

No more than he knew what horror that dark spot represented, did he know that Ah Moy’s slant²⁵ eyes had long since noticed it and were continuing to notice it, day by day, with secret growing terror.

 

Close-hauled on the south-east trades, the Mary Turner began her long slant toward the Marquesas.  For’ard, all were happy.  Being only seamen²⁶, on seamen’s wages, they hailed with delight the news that they were bound in for a tropic isle²⁷ to fill their water-barrels.  Aft, the three partners were in bad temper, and Nishikanta openly sneered²⁸ at Captain Doane and doubted his ability to find the Marquesas.  In the steerage everybody was happy—Dag Daughtry because his wages were running on and a further supply of beer was certain; Kwaque because he was happy whenever his master was happy; and Ah Moy because he would soon have opportunity to desert away from the schooner²⁹ and the two lepers with whom he was domiciled.

 

Michael shared in the general happiness of the steerage, and joined eagerly with Steward³⁰ in learning by heart a fifth song.  This was “Lead, kindly³¹ Light.”  In his singing, which was no more than trained howling after all, Michael sought for something he knew not what.  In truth, it was the lost pack, the pack of the primeval world before the dog ever came in to the fires of men, and, for that matter, before men built fires and before men were men.

 

He had been born only the other day and had lived but two years in the world, so that, of himself, he had no knowledge of the lost pack.  For many thousands of generations he had been away from it; yet, deep down in the crypts of being, tied about and wrapped up in every muscle and nerve of him, was the indelible record of the days in the wild when dim ancestors had run with the pack and at the same time developed the pack and themselves.  When Michael was asleep, then it was that pack-memories sometimes arose to the surface of his subconscious³² mind.  These dreams were real while they lasted, but when he was awake he remembered them little if at all.  But asleep, or singing with Steward, he sensed and yearned³³ for the lost pack and was impelled³⁴ to seek the forgotten way to it.

 

Waking, Michael had another and real pack.  This was composed of Steward, Kwaque, Cocky, and Scraps³⁵, and he ran with it as ancient forbears had ran with their own kind in the hunting.  The steerage was the lair³⁶ of this pack, and, out of the steerage, it ranged the whole world, which was the Mary Turner ever rocking, heeling, reeling on the surface of the unstable³⁷ sea.

 

But the steerage and its company meant more to Michael than the mere³⁸ pack.  It was heaven as well, where dwelt God.  Man early invented God, often of stone, or clod, or fire, and placed him in trees and mountains and among the stars.  This was because man observed that man passed and was lost out of the tribe, or family, or whatever name he gave to his group, which was, after all, the human pack.  And man did not want to be lost out of the pack.  So, of his imagination, he devised a new pack that would be eternal and with which he might for ever run.  Fearing the dark, into which he observed all men passed, he built beyond the dark a fairer region, a happier hunting-ground, a jollier and robuster feasting-hall and wassailing-place, and called it variously “heaven.”

 

Like some of the earliest and lowest of primitive³⁹ men, Michael never dreamed of throwing the shadow of himself across his mind and worshipping it as God.  He did not worship shadows.  He worshipped a real and indubitable god, not fashioned in his own four-legged, hair-covered image, but in the flesh-and-blood image, two-legged, hairless, upstanding, of Steward.

1 galley   

n.（飞机或船上的）厨房单层甲板大帆船；军舰舰长用的大划艇；

参考例句：

• The stewardess will get you some water from the galley.空姐会从厨房给你拿些水来。
• Visitors can also go through the large galley where crew members got their meals.游客还可以穿过船员们用餐的厨房。

2 mariner   

n.水手号不载人航天探测器，海员，航海者

参考例句：

• A smooth sea never made a skillful mariner.平静的大海决不能造就熟练的水手。
• A mariner must have his eye upon rocks and sands as well as upon the North Star.海员不仅要盯着北极星，还要注意暗礁和险滩。

3 wailed   

v.哭叫，哀号( wail的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She wailed over her father's remains. 她对着父亲的遗体嚎啕大哭。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The women of the town wailed over the war victims. 城里的妇女为战争的死难者们痛哭。 来自辞典例句

4 miscreant   

n.恶棍

参考例句：

• Local people demanded that the District Magistrate apprehend the miscreants.当地人要求地方法官逮捕那些歹徒。
• The days of a judge telling a miscreant to join the army or go to jail are over.由法官判一名无赖不去当兵就得坐牢的日子过去了。

5 clenched   

v.紧握，抓紧，咬紧( clench的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He clenched his fists in anger. 他愤怒地攥紧了拳头。
• She clenched her hands in her lap to hide their trembling. 她攥紧双手放在腿上，以掩饰其颤抖。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 throttling   

v.扼杀( throttle的现在分词 )；勒死；使窒息；压制

参考例句：

• This fight scarf is throttling me. 这条束得紧紧的围巾快要把我窒息死了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The latter may be used with bypass or throttling valves in the tower water pipework circuit. 近来，可采用在冷却塔的水管系统中设置旁通阀或节流阀。 来自辞典例句

7 chattered   

（人）喋喋不休( chatter的过去式 )； 唠叨； （牙齿）打战； （机器）震颤

参考例句：

• They chattered away happily for a while. 他们高兴地闲扯了一会儿。
• We chattered like two teenagers. 我们聊着天，像两个十多岁的孩子。

8 babbling   

n.胡说，婴儿发出的咿哑声adj.胡说的v.喋喋不休( babble的现在分词 )；作潺潺声（如流水）；含糊不清地说话；泄漏秘密

参考例句：

• I could hear the sound of a babbling brook. 我听得见小溪潺潺的流水声。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Infamy was babbling around her in the public market-place. 在公共市场上，她周围泛滥着对她丑行的种种议论。 来自英汉文学 - 红字

9 bellowed   

v.发出吼叫声，咆哮（尤指因痛苦）( bellow的过去式和过去分词 )；（愤怒地）说出（某事），大叫

参考例句：

• They bellowed at her to stop. 他们吼叫着让她停下。
• He bellowed with pain when the tooth was pulled out. 当牙齿被拔掉时，他痛得大叫。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

10 ferociously   

野蛮地，残忍地

参考例句：

• The buck shook his antlers ferociously. 那雄鹿猛烈地摇动他的鹿角。
• At intervals, he gritted his teeth ferociously. 他不时狠狠的轧平。

11 jaw   

n.颚，颌，说教，流言蜚语；v.喋喋不休，教训

参考例句：

• He delivered a right hook to his opponent's jaw.他给了对方下巴一记右钩拳。
• A strong square jaw is a sign of firm character.强健的方下巴是刚毅性格的标志。

12 everlasting   

adj.永恒的，持久的，无止境的

参考例句：

• These tyres are advertised as being everlasting.广告上说轮胎持久耐用。
• He believes in everlasting life after death.他相信死后有不朽的生命。

13 narrative   

n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的

参考例句：

• He was a writer of great narrative power.他是一位颇有记述能力的作家。
• Neither author was very strong on narrative.两个作者都不是很善于讲故事。

14 reposed   

v.将（手臂等）靠在某人（某物）上( repose的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Mr. Cruncher reposed under a patchwork counterpane, like a Harlequin at home. 克朗彻先生盖了一床白衲衣图案的花哨被子，像是呆在家里的丑角。 来自英汉文学 - 双城记
• An old man reposed on a bench in the park. 一位老人躺在公园的长凳上。 来自辞典例句

15 cape   

n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风

参考例句：

• I long for a trip to the Cape of Good Hope.我渴望到好望角去旅行。
• She was wearing a cape over her dress.她在外套上披着一件披肩。

16 dome   

n.圆屋顶，拱顶

参考例句：

• The dome was supported by white marble columns.圆顶由白色大理石柱支撑着。
• They formed the dome with the tree's branches.他们用树枝搭成圆屋顶。

17 stigmatize   

v.污蔑，玷污

参考例句：

• Children in single-parent families must not be stigmatized.单亲家庭的孩子们不应该受到歧视。
• They are often stigmatized by the rest of society as lazy and dirty.他们经常被社会中的其他人污蔑为懒惰、肮脏。

18 reiteration   

n. 重覆, 反覆, 重说

参考例句：

• The reiteration of this figure, more than anything else, wrecked the conservative chance of coming back. 重申这数字，比其它任何事情更能打消保守党重新上台的机会。
• The final statement is just a reiteration of U.S. policy on Taiwan. 艾瑞里？最后一个声明只是重复宣读美国对台政策。

19 privily   

adv.暗中，秘密地

参考例句：

• But they privily examined his bunk. 但是他们常常暗暗检查他的床铺。 来自英汉文学 - 热爱生命
• And they lay wait for their own blood; they lurk privily for their own lives. 18这些人埋伏，是为自流己血。蹲伏是为自害己命。 来自互联网

20 gaily   

adv.欢乐地，高兴地

参考例句：

• The children sing gaily.孩子们欢唱着。
• She waved goodbye very gaily.她欢快地挥手告别。

21 procured   

v.（努力）取得， （设法）获得( procure的过去式和过去分词 )；拉皮条

参考例句：

• These cars are to be procured through open tender. 这些汽车要用公开招标的办法购买。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• A friend procured a position in the bank for my big brother. 一位朋友为我哥哥谋得了一个银行的职位。 来自《用法词典》

22 lather   

n.(肥皂水的)泡沫，激动

参考例句：

• Soap will not lather in sea-water.肥皂在海水里不起泡沫。
• He always gets in a lather when he has an argument with his wife.当他与妻子发生争论时他总是很激动。

23 eyebrows   

眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Eyebrows stop sweat from coming down into the eyes. 眉毛挡住汗水使其不能流进眼睛。
• His eyebrows project noticeably. 他的眉毛特别突出。

24 numb   

adj.麻木的，失去感觉的；v.使麻木

参考例句：

• His fingers were numb with cold.他的手冻得发麻。
• Numb with cold,we urged the weary horses forward.我们冻得发僵，催着疲惫的马继续往前走。

25 slant   

v.倾斜，倾向性地编写或报道；n.斜面，倾向

参考例句：

• The lines are drawn on a slant.这些线条被画成斜线。
• The editorial had an antiunion slant.这篇社论有一种反工会的倾向。

26 seamen   

n.海员

参考例句：

• Experienced seamen will advise you about sailing in this weather. 有经验的海员会告诉你在这种天气下的航行情况。
• In the storm, many seamen wished they were on shore. 在暴风雨中，许多海员想，要是他们在陆地上就好了。

27 isle   

n.小岛，岛

参考例句：

• He is from the Isle of Man in the Irish Sea.他来自爱尔兰海的马恩岛。
• The boat left for the paradise isle of Bali.小船驶向天堂一般的巴厘岛。

28 sneered   

讥笑，冷笑( sneer的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He sneered at people who liked pop music. 他嘲笑喜欢流行音乐的人。
• It's very discouraging to be sneered at all the time. 成天受嘲讽是很令人泄气的。

29 schooner   

n.纵帆船

参考例句：

• The schooner was driven ashore.那条帆船被冲上了岸。
• The current was bearing coracle and schooner southward at an equal rate.急流正以同样的速度将小筏子和帆船一起冲向南方。

30 steward   

n.乘务员，服务员；看管人；膳食管理员

参考例句：

• He's the steward of the club.他是这家俱乐部的管理员。
• He went around the world as a ship's steward.他当客船服务员，到过世界各地。

31 kindly   

adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地

参考例句：

• Her neighbours spoke of her as kindly and hospitable.她的邻居都说她和蔼可亲、热情好客。
• A shadow passed over the kindly face of the old woman.一道阴影掠过老太太慈祥的面孔。

32 subconscious   

n./adj.潜意识(的)，下意识(的)

参考例句：

• Nail biting is often a subconscious reaction to tension.咬指甲通常是紧张时的下意识反映。
• My answer seemed to come from the subconscious.我的回答似乎出自下意识。

33 yearned   

渴望，切盼，向往( yearn的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The people yearned for peace. 人民渴望和平。
• She yearned to go back to the south. 她渴望回到南方去。

34 impelled   

v.推动、推进或敦促某人做某事( impel的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He felt impelled to investigate further. 他觉得有必要作进一步调查。
• I feel impelled to express grave doubts about the project. 我觉得不得不对这项计划深表怀疑。 来自《简明英汉词典》

35 scraps   

油渣

参考例句：

• Don't litter up the floor with scraps of paper. 不要在地板上乱扔纸屑。
• A patchwork quilt is a good way of using up scraps of material. 做杂拼花布棉被是利用零碎布料的好办法。

36 lair   

n.野兽的巢穴；躲藏处

参考例句：

• How can you catch tiger cubs without entering the tiger's lair?不入虎穴，焉得虎子？
• I retired to my lair,and wrote some letters.我回到自己的躲藏处，写了几封信。

37 unstable   

adj.不稳定的，易变的

参考例句：

• This bookcase is too unstable to hold so many books.这书橱很不结实，装不了这么多书。
• The patient's condition was unstable.那患者的病情不稳定。

38 mere   

adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过

参考例句：

• That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
• It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。

39 primitive   

adj.原始的；简单的；n.原(始)人，原始事物

参考例句：

• It is a primitive instinct to flee a place of danger.逃离危险的地方是一种原始本能。
• His book describes the march of the civilization of a primitive society.他的著作描述了一个原始社会的开化过程。