At length the indignation of government was aroused, and it was determined11 to ferret out this vermin brood from, the colonies. Great consternation12 took place among the pirates on finding justice in pursuit of them, and their old haunts turned to places of peril13. They secreted14 their money and jewels in lonely out-of-the-way places; buried them about the wild shores of the rivers and sea-coast, and dispersed15 themselves over the face of the country.
Among the agents employed to hunt them by sea was the renowned16 Captain Kidd. He had long been a hardy17 adventurer, a kind of equivocal borderer, half trader, half smuggler18, with a tolerable dash of the pickaroon. He had traded for some time among the pirates, lurking19 about the seas in a little rakish, musquito-built vessel20, prying21 into all kinds of odd places, as busy as a Mother Carey’s chicken in a gale22 of wind.
This nondescript personage was pitched upon by government as the very man to command a vessel fitted out to cruise against the pirates, since he knew all their haunts and lurking-places: acting23 upon the shrewd old maxim24 of “setting a rogue25 to catch a rogue.” Kidd accordingly sailed from New York in the Adventure galley26, gallantly27 armed and duly commissioned, and steered28 his course to the Madeiras, to Bonavista, to Madagascar, and cruised at the entrance of the Red Sea. Instead, however, of making war upon the pirates, he turned pirate himself: captured friend or foe29; enriched himself with the spoils of a wealthy Indiaman, manned by Moors30, though commanded by an Englishman, and having disposed of his prize, had the hardihood to return to Boston, laden31 with wealth, with a crew of his comrades at his heels.
His fame had preceded him. The alarm was given of the reappearance of this cut-purse of the ocean. Measures were taken for his arrest; but he had time, it is said, to bury the greater part of his treasures. He even attempted to draw his sword and defend himself when arrested; but was secured and thrown into prison, with several of his followers32. They were carried to England in a frigate33, where they were tried, condemned34, and hanged at Execution Dock. Kidd died hard, for the rope with which he was first tied up broke with his weight, and he tumbled to the ground; he was tied up a second time, and effectually; from whence arose the story of his having been twice hanged.
Such is the main outline of Kidd’s history; but it has given birth to an innumerable progeny35 of traditions. The circumstance of his having buried great treasures of gold and jewels after returning from his cruising set the brains of all the good people along the coast in a ferment36. There were rumors37 on rumors of great sums found here and there; sometimes in one part of the country, sometimes in another; of trees and rocks bearing mysterious marks; doubtless indicating the spots where treasure lay hidden; of coins found with Moorish38 characters, the plunder of Kidd’s eastern prize, but which the common people took for diabolical39 or magic inscriptions40.
Some reported the spoils to have been buried in solitary41 unsettled places about Plymouth and Cape42 Cod43; many other parts of the Eastern coast, also, and various places in Long Island Sound, have been gilded44 by these rumors, and have been ransacked45 by adventurous46 money-diggers.
In all the stories of these enterprises the devil played a conspicuous47 part. Either he was conciliated by ceremonies and invocations, or some bargain or compact was made with him. Still he was sure to play the money-diggers some slippery trick. Some had succeeded so far as to touch the iron chest which contained the treasure, when some baffling circumstance was sure to take place. Either the earth would fall in and fill up the pit or some direful noise or apparition48 would throw the party into a panic and frighten them from the place; and sometimes the devil himself would appear and bear off the prize from their very grasp; and if they visited the place on the next day, not a trace would be seen of their labors49 of the preceding night.
Such were the vague rumors which for a long time tantalized50 without gratifying my curiosity on the interesting subject of these pirate traditions. There is nothing in this world so hard to get at as truth. I sought among my favorite sources of authentic51 information, the oldest inhabitants, and particularly the old Dutch wives of the province; but though I flatter myself I am better versed52 than most men in the curious history of my native province, yet for a long time my inquiries53 were unattended with any substantial result.
At length it happened, one calm day in the latter part of summer, that I was relaxing myself from the toils54 of severe study by a day’s amusement in fishing in those waters which had been the favorite resort of my boyhood. I was in company with several worthy55 burghers of my native city. Our sport was indifferent; the fish did not bite freely; and we had frequently changed our fishing ground without bettering our luck. We at length anchored close under a ledge56 of rocky coast, on the eastern side of the island of Manhata. It was a still, warm day. The stream whirled and dimpled by us without a wave or even a ripple57, and every thing was so calm and quiet that it was almost startling when the kingfisher would pitch himself from the branch of some dry tree, and after suspending himself for a moment in the air to take his aim, would souse into the smooth water after his prey58. While we were lolling in our boat, half drowsy59 with the warm stillness of the day and the dullness of our sport, one of our party, a worthy alderman, was overtaken by a slumber60, and, as he dozed61, suffered the sinker of his drop-line to lie upon the bottom of the river. On waking, he found he had caught something of importance, from the weight; on drawing it to the surface, we were much surprised to find a long pistol of very curious and outlandish fashion, which, from its rusted62 condition, and its stock being worm-eaten and covered with barnacles, appeared to have been a long time under water. The unexpected appearance of this document of warfare63 occasioned much speculation64 among my pacific companions. One supposed it to have fallen there during the revolutionary war. Another, from the peculiarity65 of its fashion, attributed it to the voyagers in the earliest days of the settlement; perchance to the renowned Adrian Block, who explored the Sound and discovered Block Island, since so noted66 for its cheese. But a third, after regarding it for some time, pronounced it to be of veritable Spanish workmanship.
“I’ll warrant,” said he, “if this pistol could talk it would tell strange stories of hard fights among the Spanish Dons. I’ve not a doubt but it’s a relique of the buccaneers of old times.”
“Like enough,” said another of the party. “There was Bradish the pirate, who at the time Lord Bellamont made such a stir after the buccaneers, buried money and jewels somewhere in these parts or on Long-Island; and then there was Captain Kidd—”
“Ah, that Kidd was a daring dog,” said an iron-faced Cape Cod whaler. “There’s a fine old song about him, all to the tune67 of:
‘My name is Robert Kidd,
As I sailed, as I sailed.’
And it tells how he gained the devil’s good graces by burying the Bible:
‘I had the Bible in my hand,
As I sailed, as I sailed,
And I buried it in the sand,
As I sailed.’
Egad, if this pistol had belonged to him I should set some store by it out of sheer curiosity. Ah, well, there’s an odd story I have heard about one Tom Walker, who, they say, dug up some of Kidd’s buried money; and as the fish don’t seem to bite at present, I’ll tell it to you to pass away time.”
点击收听单词发音
1 wrested | |
(用力)拧( wrest的过去式和过去分词 ); 费力取得; (从…)攫取; ( 从… ) 强行取去… | |
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2 rendezvous | |
n.约会,约会地点,汇合点;vi.汇合,集合;vt.使汇合,使在汇合地点相遇 | |
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3 depredations | |
n.劫掠,毁坏( depredation的名词复数 ) | |
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4 plunder | |
vt.劫掠财物,掠夺;n.劫掠物,赃物;劫掠 | |
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5 wary | |
adj.谨慎的,机警的,小心的 | |
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6 squandering | |
v.(指钱,财产等)浪费,乱花( squander的现在分词 ) | |
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7 taverns | |
n.小旅馆,客栈,酒馆( tavern的名词复数 ) | |
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8 gambling | |
n.赌博;投机 | |
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9 astounding | |
adj.使人震惊的vt.使震惊,使大吃一惊astound的现在分词) | |
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10 brawl | |
n.大声争吵,喧嚷;v.吵架,对骂 | |
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11 determined | |
adj.坚定的;有决心的 | |
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12 consternation | |
n.大为吃惊,惊骇 | |
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13 peril | |
n.(严重的)危险;危险的事物 | |
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14 secreted | |
v.(尤指动物或植物器官)分泌( secrete的过去式和过去分词 );隐匿,隐藏 | |
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15 dispersed | |
adj. 被驱散的, 被分散的, 散布的 | |
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16 renowned | |
adj.著名的,有名望的,声誉鹊起的 | |
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17 hardy | |
adj.勇敢的,果断的,吃苦的;耐寒的 | |
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18 smuggler | |
n.走私者 | |
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19 lurking | |
潜在 | |
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20 vessel | |
n.船舶;容器,器皿;管,导管,血管 | |
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21 prying | |
adj.爱打听的v.打听,刺探(他人的私事)( pry的现在分词 );撬开 | |
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22 gale | |
n.大风,强风,一阵闹声(尤指笑声等) | |
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23 acting | |
n.演戏,行为,假装;adj.代理的,临时的,演出用的 | |
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24 maxim | |
n.格言,箴言 | |
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25 rogue | |
n.流氓;v.游手好闲 | |
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26 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; | |
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27 gallantly | |
adv. 漂亮地,勇敢地,献殷勤地 | |
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28 steered | |
v.驾驶( steer的过去式和过去分词 );操纵;控制;引导 | |
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29 foe | |
n.敌人,仇敌 | |
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30 moors | |
v.停泊,系泊(船只)( moor的第三人称单数 ) | |
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31 laden | |
adj.装满了的;充满了的;负了重担的;苦恼的 | |
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32 followers | |
追随者( follower的名词复数 ); 用户; 契据的附面; 从动件 | |
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33 frigate | |
n.护航舰,大型驱逐舰 | |
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34 condemned | |
adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词 | |
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35 progeny | |
n.后代,子孙;结果 | |
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36 ferment | |
vt.使发酵;n./vt.(使)激动,(使)动乱 | |
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37 rumors | |
n.传闻( rumor的名词复数 );[古]名誉;咕哝;[古]喧嚷v.传闻( rumor的第三人称单数 );[古]名誉;咕哝;[古]喧嚷 | |
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38 moorish | |
adj.沼地的,荒野的,生[住]在沼地的 | |
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39 diabolical | |
adj.恶魔似的,凶暴的 | |
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40 inscriptions | |
(作者)题词( inscription的名词复数 ); 献词; 碑文; 证劵持有人的登记 | |
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41 solitary | |
adj.孤独的,独立的,荒凉的;n.隐士 | |
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42 cape | |
n.海角,岬;披肩,短披风 | |
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43 cod | |
n.鳕鱼;v.愚弄;哄骗 | |
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44 gilded | |
a.镀金的,富有的 | |
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45 ransacked | |
v.彻底搜查( ransack的过去式和过去分词 );抢劫,掠夺 | |
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46 adventurous | |
adj.爱冒险的;惊心动魄的,惊险的,刺激的 | |
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47 conspicuous | |
adj.明眼的,惹人注目的;炫耀的,摆阔气的 | |
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48 apparition | |
n.幽灵,神奇的现象 | |
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49 labors | |
v.努力争取(for)( labor的第三人称单数 );苦干;详细分析;(指引擎)缓慢而困难地运转 | |
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50 tantalized | |
v.逗弄,引诱,折磨( tantalize的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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51 authentic | |
a.真的,真正的;可靠的,可信的,有根据的 | |
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52 versed | |
adj. 精通,熟练 | |
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53 inquiries | |
n.调查( inquiry的名词复数 );疑问;探究;打听 | |
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54 toils | |
网 | |
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55 worthy | |
adj.(of)值得的,配得上的;有价值的 | |
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56 ledge | |
n.壁架,架状突出物;岩架,岩礁 | |
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57 ripple | |
n.涟波,涟漪,波纹,粗钢梳;vt.使...起涟漪,使起波纹; vi.呈波浪状,起伏前进 | |
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58 prey | |
n.被掠食者,牺牲者,掠食;v.捕食,掠夺,折磨 | |
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59 drowsy | |
adj.昏昏欲睡的,令人发困的 | |
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60 slumber | |
n.睡眠,沉睡状态 | |
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61 dozed | |
v.打盹儿,打瞌睡( doze的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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62 rusted | |
v.(使)生锈( rust的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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63 warfare | |
n.战争(状态);斗争;冲突 | |
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64 speculation | |
n.思索,沉思;猜测;投机 | |
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65 peculiarity | |
n.独特性,特色;特殊的东西;怪癖 | |
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66 noted | |
adj.著名的,知名的 | |
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67 tune | |
n.调子;和谐,协调;v.调音,调节,调整 | |
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