A glow of electric light streamed out from the saloon-companion and the smoking-room; the skylights of the saloon were open, and when the notes of a piano drifted aft with a girl’s voice, Jimmy Farquhar, second mate, standing16 dressed in trim white uniform beneath a swung-up boat, smiled at the refrain of the old love song. He was in an unusually impressionable mood; and he felt that there was some danger of his losing his head as his eyes rested admiringly on his companion, for there was a seductive glamour17 in the blue and silver splendor of the night.
Ruth Osborne leaned on the steamer’s rail, looking forward, with the moonlight on her face. She was young and delicately pretty, with a slender figure, and the warm coloring that often indicates an enthusiastic temperament18. In the daylight her hair had ruddy gleams in its warm brown, and her eyes a curious golden scintillation; but now it arched in a dusky mass above the pallid19 oval of her face, and her look was thoughtful.
She had fallen into the habit of meeting Jimmy when he was not on watch; and the mate felt flattered by her frank preference for his society, for he suspected that several of the passengers envied him, and that Miss Osborne was a lady of importance at home. It was understood that she was the only daughter of the American merchant who had taken the two best deck rooms, which perhaps accounted for the somewhat imperious way she had. Miss Osborne did what she liked, and made it seem right; and it was obvious that she liked to talk to Jimmy.
“It has been a delightful20 trip,” she said.
“Yes,” agreed Jimmy; “the finest I recollect21. I wanted you to have a smooth-water voyage, and I am glad you enjoyed it.”
“That was nice of you,” she smiled. “I could hardly help enjoying it. She’s a comfortable boat, and everybody has been pleasant. I suppose we’ll see Vancouver Island late to-morrow?”
“It will be dark when we pick up the lights, but we’ll be in Victoria early the next morning. I think you leave us there?”
The girl was silent for a few moments, and in her expression there was a hint of regret that stirred Jimmy’s blood. They had seen a good deal of each other during the voyage; and it was painful to the man to realize that in all probability their acquaintance must soon come to an end; but he ventured to think that his companion shared his feelings to some extent.
“In a way, I’m sorry we’re so nearly home,” Ruth said frankly22; and added, smiling, “I’m beginning to find out that I love the sea.”
Jimmy noted23 the explanation. He was a handsome young Englishman of unassuming disposition24, and by no means a fortune-hunter, but he had been bantered25 by the other mates, and he knew that it was not an altogether unusual thing for a wealthy young lady to fall in love with a steamboat officer during a long, fine-weather run. Miss Osborne, however, had shown only a friendly liking26 for him; and, as he would see no more of her after the next day, he must not make a fool of himself at the last moment.
“The sea’s not always like this,” he replied. “It can be very cruel; and all ships aren’t mailboats.”
“I suppose not. You mean that life is harder in the others?”
Jimmy laughed. He had been a Conway boy, but soon after he finished his schooling27 on the famous old vessel28 the death of a guardian29 deprived him of the help and influence he had been brought up to expect. As a result of this, he had been apprenticed30 to a firm of parsimonious31 owners, and began his career in a badly found and undermanned iron sailing ship. On board her he had borne hunger and wet and cold, and was often worked to the point of exhaustion32. Pride kept him from deserting, and he had come out of the four years’ struggle very hard and lean, to begin almost as stern a fight in steam cargo-tramps. Then, by a stroke of unexpected luck, he met an invalid33 merchant on one of the vessels34, and the man recommended him to the directors of a mail company. After this, things became easier for Jimmy. He made progress, and, after what he had borne, he found his present circumstances almost luxuriously35 easy.
“Steam is improving matters,” he said; “but there are still trades in which mates and seamen36 are called upon to stand all that flesh and blood can endure.”
“And you have known something of this?”
“All I want to know.”
“Do tell me about it,” Ruth urged. “I am curious.”
Jimmy laughed.
“Well, on my first trip round Cape37 Horn we left the Mersey undermanned and lost three of our crew before we were abreast38 of the Falkland Isles39; two of them were hurled40 from the royal yard through the breaking of rotten gear. That made a big difference, and we had vile41 weather: gales43 dead ahead, snow, and bitter cold. The galley44 fire was washed out half the time, the deckhouse we lived in was flooded continually; for weeks we hadn’t a rag of dry clothes, and very seldom a plateful of warm food. It was a merciful relief when the gale42 freshened, and she lay hove to, with the icy seas bursting over her weather bow while we slept like logs in our soaking bunks45; but that wasn’t often. With each shift or fall of wind we crawled out on the yards, wet and frozen to the bone, to shake the hard canvas loose, and, as it generally happened, were sent aloft in an hour to furl it tight again. Each time it was a short-handed fight for life to master the thrashing sail. Our hands cracked open, and the cuts would not heal; stores were spoiled by the water that washed over everything, and some days we starved on a wet biscuit or two; but the demand for brutal46 effort never slackened. We were worn very thin when we squared away for the north with the first fair wind.”
“Ah!” exclaimed Ruth. “It must have been a grim experience. Didn’t it daunt47 you, and make you hate the sea?”
“I hated the ship, her skipper, and her owners, and most of all the smart managing clerk who had worked out to the last penny how cheaply she could be run; but that was a different thing. The sea has a spell that grips you, and never lets go again.”
“Yes,” said Ruth; “I have felt that, though I have seen it only in fine weather and from a liner’s saloon deck.” She mused48 for a few moments before she went on. “It will be a long time before I forget this voyage, steaming home over the sunlit water, with the wind behind us and the smoke going straight up, the decks warm, everything bright and glittering, and the glimmer49 of the moon and the sea-fire about the hull at night.”
There was an opening here for an assurance that the voyage would live even longer in his memory; but Jimmy let it pass. He feared that he might say too much if he gave the rein50 to sentiment.
“Were you not charmed with Japan?” he asked.
Ruth acquiesced51 in the change of topic, and her eyes sparkled enthusiastically.
“Oh, yes! It was the time of the cherry-blossom, and the country seemed a fairyland, quainter52, stranger, and prettier than anything I had ever dreamed of!”
“Still, you must have seen many interesting places.”
“No,” she said with a trace of graveness. “I don’t even know very much about my own country.”
“All the Americans I have met seemed fond of traveling.”
“The richer ones are,” she answered frankly. “But until quite lately I think we were poor. It was during the Klondyke rush that my father first became prosperous, and for a number of years I never saw him. When my mother died I was sent to a small, old-fashioned, New England town, where some elderly relatives took care of me. They were good people, but very narrow, and all I heard and saw was commonplace and provincial53. Then I went to a very strict and exclusive school and stayed there much longer than other girls.” Ruth paused and smiled. “When at last I joined my father I felt as if I had suddenly awakened54 in a different world. I had the same feeling when I saw Japan.”
“After all, you will be glad to get home.”
“Yes,” she said slowly; “but there’s a regret. We have been very happy since we left; my father has been light-hearted, and I have had him to myself. At home he often has an anxious look, and is always occupied. I have some friends and many acquaintances, but now and then I feel lonely.”
Jimmy pondered, watching her with appreciative55 eyes. She was frank, but not with foolish simplicity56; quite unspoiled by good fortune; and had nothing of the coquette about her. Indeed, he wondered whether she realized her attractiveness, or if the indifference57 she had shown to admiration58 were due to pride. He did not know much about young women, but he thought that she was proud and of strong character.
“You must come to see us if you are ever near Tacoma,” Ruth said cordially.
Jimmy thanked her, and soon afterward59 left her, to keep his watch on the bridge. As they were still out of sight of land he had no companion except the quartermaster at the wheel in the glass-fronted pilot-house. There was no sail or smoke trail in all the wide expanse his high view point commanded. Rolling lazily to port and starboard, the big boat cleft60 a lonely sea that was steeped in dusky blue save where a broad belt of moonlight touched it with glittering silver. The voices and laughter gradually died away from the decks below, the glow of light was lessening61, and the throb1 of the screws and the roar of flung-off water grew louder. A faint breeze had sprung up, and the smoke stretched out, undeviating, in a broad black smear62 over the starboard quarter; Jimmy noticed this while he paced to and fro, turning now and then to sweep a different arc of horizon. The last time he did so he stopped abruptly63, for the smoke had moved forward. For a moment he fancied that the wind had changed, but a glance at the white-streaked wake showed him that the vessel was swinging round. Then he sprang to the pilot-house, and, looking in through the open door, saw the quartermaster leaning slackly on the small brass64 wheel. His face showed livid in the moonlight, and his forehead was damp with sweat.
“What’s this, Evans?” Jimmy cried.
Pulling himself together with an effort, the man glanced at the compass in alarm.
“Sorry, sir,” he said thickly, spinning the wheel. “She’s fallen off a bit. Something came over me; but I’m all right now.”
“It may come over you once too often. This isn’t the first time,” Jimmy reminded him.
A shadow obscured the moonlight; and, turning abruptly, Jimmy saw the captain in the doorway65. The skipper looked at the compass and studied the quartermaster’s face; then he beckoned66 Jimmy outside. He had come up in soft slippers67 which made no noise, and Jimmy was keenly concerned to know how long he had been there. Jimmy had never got on well with his captain.
“Evans had his helm hard over; was she much off her course?” the captain asked with an ominous68 calm.
“About thirty degrees, sir.”
Jimmy told him.
“You consider that often enough?”
“I had my eye on the smoke, sir.”
“The smoke? I suppose you know a light breeze is often variable?”
“Yes, sir,” said Jimmy. “She couldn’t swing off much without my noticing it.”
“One wouldn’t imagine so after what I discovered. But I gathered that Evans had been seized in this way during your watch before.”
“Didn’t it strike you that your duty was to report the matter? You knew that Evans has a weakness of the heart that may seize him unexpectedly at any time. If it did so when we were entering a crowded harbor or crossing another vessel’s course, the consequences might prove disastrous71. In not reporting it you took upon yourself a responsibility I can’t allow my officers. Have you anything to say?” Jimmy knew he could make no answer that would excuse him. When, as is now usual, a fast vessel’s course is laid off in degrees, accurate steering is important, and he had been actuated by somewhat injudicious pity. Evans was a steady man, with a family in England to provide for, and he had once by prompt action prevented the second mate’s being injured by a heavy cargo-sling.
“Perhaps the best way of meeting the situation,” the captain said curtly72, “would be for you to voluntarily leave the ship at Vancouver. You can let me know what you decide when you come off watch.”
Jimmy moodily73 returned to his duty. He thought his fault was small, but there was no appeal. He would have no further opportunity for serving his present employers; and mailboat berths74 are not readily picked up. He kept his watch, and afterward went to sleep with a heavy heart.
The next evening he was idling disconsolately75 on the saloon deck when he saw Miss Osborne coming toward him. He was standing in the shadow of a boat and stayed there, feeling in no mood to force a cheerfulness he was far from feeling. Besides, he had now and then, when the girl was gracious to him, found it needful to practise some restraint, and now he felt unequal to the strain.
“I have been looking for you,” she said. “As I suppose everybody will be busy to-morrow morning, I may not see you then. But you seem downcast!”
Jimmy shrank from telling her that he had been dismissed; and, after all, that was a comparatively small part of his trouble. The girl’s tone was gentle, and there was in her eyes a sympathy that set his heart beating. He wished he were a rich man, or, indeed, almost anything except a steamboat officer who would soon be turned out of his ship.
“Well,” he said, “for one thing, the end of a voyage is often a melancholy76 time. After spending some weeks with pleasant people, it’s not nice to know they must all scatter77 and that you have to part from friends you have made and like.”
“It doesn’t follow that they’re forgotten,” she replied; “and there’s always a possibility of their meeting again. We may see you at Tacoma; it isn’t very far from Vancouver.”
Jimmy was not a presumptuous79 man, but he saw that she had given him a lead and he bitterly regretted that he could not follow it. Though of hopeful temperament, stern experience had taught him sense, and he recognized that circumstances did not permit of his dallying80 with romance. There was nothing to be gained and something to be lost by cultivating the girl’s acquaintance.
“I may have to sail on a different run before long,” he said.
She gave him a glance of swift but careful scrutiny81. The moonlight was clear, and he looked well in his white uniform, which showed his solid but finely molded figure and emphasized the clean brownness of his skin. He had light hair and steady, dark blue eyes, which had just then a hint of trouble.
“Well,” she responded, “you know best; but, whether you come or not, my father and I are in your debt. You have done much to make this a very pleasant voyage.” She gave him her hand, which he held a moment. “And, now, since you wish it, good-by!”
When she turned away, Jimmy leaned on the rail, watching her move quietly up the long deck. He was troubled with confused and futile82 regrets. Still, he had acted sensibly: it was unwise for a dismissed steamboat officer to harbor the alluring83 fancies he had sternly driven from his mind.
点击
收听单词发音
收听单词发音 |
1
throb
|
|
| v.震颤，颤动；(急速强烈地)跳动，搏动 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
throbbing
|
|
| a. 跳动的,悸动的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
clove
|
|
| n.丁香味 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
foam
|
|
| v./n.泡沫，起泡沫 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
streaking
|
|
| n.裸奔（指在公共场所裸体飞跑）v.快速移动( streak的现在分词 )；使布满条纹 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
hull
|
|
| n.船身；(果、实等的)外壳；vt.去(谷物等)壳 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
fiery
|
|
| adj.燃烧着的，火红的；暴躁的；激烈的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
splendor
|
|
| n.光彩；壮丽，华丽；显赫，辉煌 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
funnels
|
|
| 漏斗( funnel的名词复数 )； （轮船，火车等的）烟囱 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
slanted
|
|
| 有偏见的； 倾斜的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
draught
|
|
| n.拉，牵引，拖；一网（饮，吸，阵)；顿服药量，通风；v.起草，设计 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
tinkle
|
|
| vi.叮当作响；n.叮当声 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
harps
|
|
| abbr.harpsichord 拨弦古钢琴n.竖琴( harp的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
shroud
|
|
| n.裹尸布，寿衣；罩，幕；vt.覆盖，隐藏 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
swell
|
|
| vi.膨胀，肿胀；增长，增强 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
standing
|
|
| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
glamour
|
|
| n.魔力，魅力；vt.迷住 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
temperament
|
|
| n.气质，性格，性情 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
pallid
|
|
| adj.苍白的，呆板的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
delightful
|
|
| adj.令人高兴的，使人快乐的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
recollect
|
|
| v.回忆，想起，记起，忆起，记得 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
frankly
|
|
| adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
noted
|
|
| adj.著名的，知名的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
disposition
|
|
| n.性情，性格；意向，倾向；排列，部署 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
bantered
|
|
| v.开玩笑，说笑，逗乐( banter的过去式和过去分词 )；（善意地）取笑，逗弄 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
liking
|
|
| n.爱好；嗜好；喜欢 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
27
schooling
|
|
| n.教育；正规学校教育 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
28
vessel
|
|
| n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
29
guardian
|
|
| n.监护人；守卫者，保护者 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
30
apprenticed
|
|
| 学徒，徒弟( apprentice的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
31
parsimonious
|
|
| adj.吝啬的，质量低劣的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
32
exhaustion
|
|
| n.耗尽枯竭，疲惫，筋疲力尽，竭尽，详尽无遗的论述 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
33
invalid
|
|
| n.病人，伤残人；adj.有病的，伤残的；无效的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
34
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： |
|
|
|
|
35
luxuriously
|
|
| adv.奢侈地，豪华地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
36
seamen
|
|
| n.海员 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
37
cape
|
|
| n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
38
abreast
|
|
| adv.并排地；跟上(时代)的步伐，与…并进地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
39
isles
|
|
| 岛( isle的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
40
hurled
|
|
| v.猛投，用力掷( hurl的过去式和过去分词 )；大声叫骂 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
41
vile
|
|
| adj.卑鄙的，可耻的，邪恶的；坏透的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
42
gale
|
|
| n.大风，强风，一阵闹声（尤指笑声等） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
43
gales
|
|
| 龙猫 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
44
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： |
|
|
|
|
45
bunks
|
|
| n.（车、船等倚壁而设的）铺位( bunk的名词复数 )；空话，废话v.（车、船等倚壁而设的）铺位( bunk的第三人称单数 )；空话，废话 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
46
brutal
|
|
| adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
47
daunt
|
|
| vt.使胆怯，使气馁 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
48
mused
|
|
| v.沉思，冥想( muse的过去式和过去分词 )；沉思自语说（某事） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
49
glimmer
|
|
| v.发出闪烁的微光；n.微光，微弱的闪光 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
50
rein
|
|
| n.疆绳，统治，支配；vt.以僵绳控制，统治 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
51
acquiesced
|
|
| v.默认，默许( acquiesce的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
52
quainter
|
|
| adj.古色古香的( quaint的比较级 )；少见的，古怪的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
|
53
provincial
|
|
| adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人 | |
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
appreciative
|
|
| adj.有鉴赏力的，有眼力的；感激的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
56
simplicity
|
|
| n.简单，简易；朴素；直率，单纯 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
57
indifference
|
|
| n.不感兴趣，不关心，冷淡，不在乎 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
58
admiration
|
|
| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
59
afterward
|
|
| adv.后来；以后 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
60
cleft
|
|
| n.裂缝；adj.裂开的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
61
lessening
|
|
| 减轻，减少，变小 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
62
smear
|
|
| v.涂抹；诽谤，玷污；n.污点；诽谤，污蔑 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
63
abruptly
|
|
| adv.突然地，出其不意地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
64
brass
|
|
| n.黄铜；黄铜器，铜管乐器 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
65
doorway
|
|
| n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
66
beckoned
|
|
| v.（用头或手的动作）示意，召唤( beckon的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
67
slippers
|
|
| n. 拖鞋 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
68
ominous
|
|
| adj.不祥的，不吉的，预兆的，预示的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
69
steering
|
|
| n.操舵装置 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
70
doggedly
|
|
| adv.顽强地，固执地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
71
disastrous
|
|
| adj.灾难性的，造成灾害的；极坏的，很糟的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
72
curtly
|
|
| adv.简短地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
73
moodily
|
|
| adv.喜怒无常地；情绪多变地；心情不稳地；易生气地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
74
berths
|
|
| n.（船、列车等的）卧铺( berth的名词复数 )；（船舶的）停泊位或锚位；差事；船台vt.v.停泊( berth的第三人称单数 )；占铺位 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
75
disconsolately
|
|
| adv.悲伤地，愁闷地；哭丧着脸 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
76
melancholy
|
|
| n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
77
scatter
|
|
| vt.撒，驱散，散开；散布/播；vi.分散，消散 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
78
tinge
|
|
| vt.(较淡)着色于，染色；使带有…气息；n.淡淡色彩，些微的气息 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
79
presumptuous
|
|
| adj.胆大妄为的，放肆的，冒昧的，冒失的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
80
dallying
|
|
| v.随随便便地对待( dally的现在分词 )；不很认真地考虑；浪费时间；调情 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
81
scrutiny
|
|
| n.详细检查，仔细观察 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
82
futile
|
|
| adj.无效的，无用的，无希望的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
83
alluring
|
|
| adj.吸引人的，迷人的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |