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CHAPTER IV
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 Consciousness came slowly back to Frank Howard. He raised his head, but otherwise lay still, painfully reconstructing the world around him. So tightly was he wedged between a broken ventilator and a skylight coamings that it was only with considerable difficulty that he finally managed to lift himself to a sitting position and stare dizzily around.
 
He was alone on the deck, which had become much steeper than he remembered it in the gray dawn. Evidently another bulkhead forward had given way, allowing another compartment1 to become filled with water and causing the bow of the steamer to sink deeper.
 
In compensation the stern had risen somewhat higher, so that the waves broke against the deck, but no longer rushed violently up it. The sea, too, had gone[38] down, curbed2 perhaps by the thick mantle3 of yellow weed that floated all about.
 
With much difficulty he scrambled4 to his feet, clinging desperately6 the while to the ventilator.
 
“Steady! Steady!” he muttered. “If I tobogganed down into that water I shouldn’t get up again in a hurry.” He held out his hand and noted7 its tremulousness. “By Jove! I’m weak as a cat.”
 
Rapidly his brain grew clearer. Ship and sea and sky ceased their momentary8 whirlings and settled into their proper places. He looked up at the zenith, to which the sun, though still veiled, had indubitably climbed.
 
“Six hours at least,” he soliloquized. “Heavens, I must have been pounded hard to lie unconscious for that long! If the old tub has floated six hours she may float indefinitely. But——”
 
He stared curiously9 around him. As far as his eye could reach stretched the[39] yellow gulf-weed, blanketing the blue of the sea. So thick was it that it held the Queen comparatively stationary10, despite the strong breeze that pressed against her.
 
Howard uttered a cry of dismay.
 
“The Sargasso Sea,” he groaned11. “We’re inside it—far inside it. Great Scott!” His brain reeled again. “Where the deuce is Jackson?” he muttered irritably12. “And where’s that woman?”
 
Pat to the moment, Jackson thrust his head out of the doorway13 of the social hall. His dark face was pallid14 now, and he glared around him wildly. When he saw Howard standing15, his expression brightened.
 
“So you’re alive,” he rumbled16, surlily. “It takes a devil of a lot to kill some people.”
 
Howard stared at the man curiously. It was hardly the way he had expected to be greeted.
 
“Yes,” he answered, slowly, “it takes[40] a good deal—sometimes. It didn’t take much for those poor devils in that boat you wanted to go in. Where’s the girl?”
 
Jackson jerked his hand over his right shoulder.
 
“She’s in there,” he responded. Then he hesitated for an instant. “It was a brave thing you did,” he finished, grudgingly17.
 
Howard shrugged18 his shoulders.
 
“Merely a choice of deaths,” he answered. “I expected the ship to sink any minute, and, personally, I preferred to die fighting. How is she?”
 
“She’s breathing, but that’s all. She hasn’t moved since I got her aboard.”
 
“No wonder. She really hasn’t any right to be alive after what she went through. Have you done anything for her?”
 
“I didn’t know what to do. I took her into the social hall and laid her on the sofa and got some whiskey for her, but I couldn’t get her to take it, and she looked[41] so horrible and——” He paused, evidently shaken.
 
Howard stretched up his hand.
 
“I must see her,” he declared. “I’m pretty shaky still, but if you’ll give me a lift I’ll try to scramble5 up beside you and then we’ll see what we can do.” He took the hand that Jackson offered. “Now brace19 yourself,” he warned. “All set?”
 
Jackson nodded, and Howard, after an experimental tug20 or two, put forth21 all his strength and drew himself up to the other’s side.
 
“That’s good,” he remarked. “I guess we’re both worth a dozen dead men yet. By the way, how did you get the girl up here?”
 
Jackson showed more animation22 than he had yet done.
 
“The deck wasn’t so steep when I moved her,” he explained. “It tilted23 worse just as I got her inside. I thought at first we were going down, but we didn’t.”
 
[42]Howard stepped inside the social hall—which had never before so belied24 its name—and looked around him. After the bright light of the deck, the room seemed dark, and for a moment he could see nothing. Then he caught a glimpse of something lying on the big athwartship sofa, and scrambled over to it.
 
A girl lay there in a crumpled25 heap. In her rich golden brown hair alone was any touch of color. Her eyes were closed and her lips blue. Her cheeks were so bloodless that it seemed impossible that she still lived.
 
Once she might have been pretty—even beautiful—but the sea had robbed her of all charm, leaving only the pitifulness of youth and womanhood. Howard drew a long breath as he looked at her, and a sudden rage rose within him. She should not die! He had torn her from the sea. She should not die!
 
Fragmentary ideas as to the proper thing to do came back to him. He bent[43] down, chafing26 her wrists and temples; and then, raising her head, touched Jackson’s bottle to her lips. A long, shuddering27 sigh shook the girl’s body, and Howard saw a pair of brown eyes open and stare up at him; then close wearily. Again he raised her head. “Drink,” he commanded, as he poured the spirit between her parted lips.
 
As the strangling liquor went down, the eyes flashed open again, and the girl shook from head to foot with a coughing—so violent and so prolonged that Howard feared that he had overdone28 his task.
 
But it soon passed, leaving her conscious.
 
For a moment she lay still, vaguely29 puzzling over her situation. Then recollection returned with a jerk, and she sat up.
 
“I remember,” she gasped30. “Oh, that dreadful wave! To see it come down, down, down—— Where am I?”
 
[44]“You’re back on the Queen. It’s all right. Try to keep cool. You’ll be better in a moment.”
 
The wonder grew in the girl’s eyes. “The Queen!” she murmured. “The—Queen! How did I get back?”
 
“The waves washed you back and we managed to pull you on board. You had better rest a while. You have been unconscious a long time.”
 
The girl looked from one to the other.
 
“Thank you! Thank you both,” she murmured. “I can’t find words now, but—the others! Were any of them——?” Her lips moved, but no sound followed.
 
Howard bowed his head, but he answered unflinchingly—better the clean, sharp cut of certainty than dragging suspense31.
 
“You were the only one in your boat who was saved,” he answered quietly. “I know nothing of the other boats.”
 
The girl covered her face with her hands. “Oh, poor people!” she moaned.[45] “Poor, poor people!” Then she dashed the tears from her eyes and dragged herself to her feet, holding fast to the back of the sofa.
 
“I am Miss Dorothy Fairfax,” she said, with a pretty access of dignity. “And you?” Her eye traveled from one man to the other.
 
If Howard hesitated, it was for so short a time that it passed unobserved.
 
“This is Detective Jackson, of the New York police,” he answered steadily32, “and I am Frank Howard, his prisoner.”
 
“Frank Howard! Not—not——”
 
“Yes.”
 
“My God!” For the first time in her life, Dorothy Fairfax fainted dead away.

点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 compartment dOFz6     
n.卧车包房,隔间;分隔的空间
参考例句:
  • We were glad to have the whole compartment to ourselves.真高兴,整个客车隔间由我们独享。
  • The batteries are safely enclosed in a watertight compartment.电池被安全地置于一个防水的隔间里。
2 curbed a923d4d9800d8ccbc8b2319f1a1fdc2b     
v.限制,克制,抑制( curb的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • Advertising aimed at children should be curbed. 针对儿童的广告应受到限制。 来自辞典例句
  • Inflation needs to be curbed in Russia. 俄罗斯需要抑制通货膨胀。 来自辞典例句
3 mantle Y7tzs     
n.斗篷,覆罩之物,罩子;v.罩住,覆盖,脸红
参考例句:
  • The earth had donned her mantle of brightest green.大地披上了苍翠欲滴的绿色斗篷。
  • The mountain was covered with a mantle of snow.山上覆盖着一层雪。
4 scrambled 2e4a1c533c25a82f8e80e696225a73f2     
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
参考例句:
  • Each scrambled for the football at the football ground. 足球场上你争我夺。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
  • He scrambled awkwardly to his feet. 他笨拙地爬起身来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
5 scramble JDwzg     
v.爬行,攀爬,杂乱蔓延,碎片,片段,废料
参考例句:
  • He broke his leg in his scramble down the wall.他爬墙摔断了腿。
  • It was a long scramble to the top of the hill.到山顶须要爬登一段长路。
6 desperately cu7znp     
adv.极度渴望地,绝望地,孤注一掷地
参考例句:
  • He was desperately seeking a way to see her again.他正拼命想办法再见她一面。
  • He longed desperately to be back at home.他非常渴望回家。
7 noted 5n4zXc     
adj.著名的,知名的
参考例句:
  • The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
  • Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。
8 momentary hj3ya     
adj.片刻的,瞬息的;短暂的
参考例句:
  • We are in momentary expectation of the arrival of you.我们无时无刻不在盼望你的到来。
  • I caught a momentary glimpse of them.我瞥了他们一眼。
9 curiously 3v0zIc     
adv.有求知欲地;好问地;奇特地
参考例句:
  • He looked curiously at the people.他好奇地看着那些人。
  • He took long stealthy strides. His hands were curiously cold.他迈着悄没声息的大步。他的双手出奇地冷。
10 stationary CuAwc     
adj.固定的,静止不动的
参考例句:
  • A stationary object is easy to be aimed at.一个静止不动的物体是容易瞄准的。
  • Wait until the bus is stationary before you get off.你要等公共汽车停稳了再下车。
11 groaned 1a076da0ddbd778a674301b2b29dff71     
v.呻吟( groan的过去式和过去分词 );发牢骚;抱怨;受苦
参考例句:
  • He groaned in anguish. 他痛苦地呻吟。
  • The cart groaned under the weight of the piano. 大车在钢琴的重压下嘎吱作响。 来自《简明英汉词典》
12 irritably e3uxw     
ad.易生气地
参考例句:
  • He lost his temper and snapped irritably at the children. 他发火了,暴躁地斥责孩子们。
  • On this account the silence was irritably broken by a reproof. 为了这件事,他妻子大声斥责,令人恼火地打破了宁静。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
13 doorway 2s0xK     
n.门口,(喻)入门;门路,途径
参考例句:
  • They huddled in the shop doorway to shelter from the rain.他们挤在商店门口躲雨。
  • Mary suddenly appeared in the doorway.玛丽突然出现在门口。
14 pallid qSFzw     
adj.苍白的,呆板的
参考例句:
  • The moon drifted from behind the clouds and exposed the pallid face.月亮从云朵后面钻出来,照着尸体那张苍白的脸。
  • His dry pallid face often looked gaunt.他那张干瘪苍白的脸常常显得憔悴。
15 standing 2hCzgo     
n.持续,地位;adj.永久的,不动的,直立的,不流动的
参考例句:
  • After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
  • They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。
16 rumbled e155775f10a34eef1cb1235a085c6253     
发出隆隆声,发出辘辘声( rumble的过去式和过去分词 ); 轰鸣着缓慢行进; 发现…的真相; 看穿(阴谋)
参考例句:
  • The machine rumbled as it started up. 机器轰鸣着发动起来。
  • Things rapidly became calm, though beneath the surface the argument rumbled on. 事情迅速平静下来了,然而,在这种平静的表面背后争论如隆隆雷声,持续不断。
17 grudgingly grudgingly     
参考例句:
  • He grudgingly acknowledged having made a mistake. 他勉强承认他做错了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Their parents unwillingly [grudgingly] consented to the marriage. 他们的父母无可奈何地应允了这门亲事。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
18 shrugged 497904474a48f991a3d1961b0476ebce     
vt.耸肩(shrug的过去式与过去分词形式)
参考例句:
  • Sam shrugged and said nothing. 萨姆耸耸肩膀,什么也没说。
  • She shrugged, feigning nonchalance. 她耸耸肩,装出一副无所谓的样子。 来自《简明英汉词典》
19 brace 0WzzE     
n. 支柱,曲柄,大括号; v. 绷紧,顶住,(为困难或坏事)做准备
参考例句:
  • My daughter has to wear a brace on her teeth. 我的女儿得戴牙套以矫正牙齿。
  • You had better brace yourself for some bad news. 有些坏消息,你最好做好准备。
20 tug 5KBzo     
v.用力拖(或拉);苦干;n.拖;苦干;拖船
参考例句:
  • We need to tug the car round to the front.我们需要把那辆车拉到前面。
  • The tug is towing three barges.那只拖船正拖着三只驳船。
21 forth Hzdz2     
adv.向前;向外,往外
参考例句:
  • The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
  • He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。
22 animation UMdyv     
n.活泼,兴奋,卡通片/动画片的制作
参考例句:
  • They are full of animation as they talked about their childhood.当他们谈及童年的往事时都非常兴奋。
  • The animation of China made a great progress.中国的卡通片制作取得很大发展。
23 tilted 3gtzE5     
v. 倾斜的
参考例句:
  • Suddenly the boat tilted to one side. 小船突然倾向一侧。
  • She tilted her chin at him defiantly. 她向他翘起下巴表示挑衅。
24 belied 18aef4d6637b7968f93a3bc35d884c1c     
v.掩饰( belie的过去式和过去分词 );证明(或显示)…为虚假;辜负;就…扯谎
参考例句:
  • His bluff exterior belied a connoisseur of antiques. 他作风粗放,令人看不出他是古董鉴赏家。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Her smile belied her true feelings. 她的微笑掩饰了她的真实感情。 来自《简明英汉词典》
25 crumpled crumpled     
adj. 弯扭的, 变皱的 动词crumple的过去式和过去分词形式
参考例句:
  • She crumpled the letter up into a ball and threw it on the fire. 她把那封信揉成一团扔进了火里。
  • She flattened out the crumpled letter on the desk. 她在写字台上把皱巴巴的信展平。
26 chafing 2078d37ab4faf318d3e2bbd9f603afdd     
n.皮肤发炎v.擦热(尤指皮肤)( chafe的现在分词 );擦痛;发怒;惹怒
参考例句:
  • My shorts were chafing my thighs. 我的短裤把大腿磨得生疼。 来自辞典例句
  • We made coffee in a chafing dish. 我们用暖锅烧咖啡。 来自辞典例句
27 shuddering 7cc81262357e0332a505af2c19a03b06     
v.战栗( shudder的现在分词 );发抖;(机器、车辆等)突然震动;颤动
参考例句:
  • 'I am afraid of it,'she answered, shuddering. “我害怕,”她发着抖,说。 来自英汉文学 - 双城记
  • She drew a deep shuddering breath. 她不由得打了个寒噤,深深吸了口气。 来自飘(部分)
28 overdone 54a8692d591ace3339fb763b91574b53     
v.做得过分( overdo的过去分词 );太夸张;把…煮得太久;(工作等)过度
参考例句:
  • The lust of men must not be overdone. 人们的欲望不该过分。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
  • The joke is overdone. 玩笑开得过火。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
29 vaguely BfuzOy     
adv.含糊地,暖昧地
参考例句:
  • He had talked vaguely of going to work abroad.他含糊其词地说了到国外工作的事。
  • He looked vaguely before him with unseeing eyes.他迷迷糊糊的望着前面,对一切都视而不见。
30 gasped e6af294d8a7477229d6749fa9e8f5b80     
v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 );喘息;倒抽气;很想要
参考例句:
  • She gasped at the wonderful view. 如此美景使她惊讶得屏住了呼吸。
  • People gasped with admiration at the superb skill of the gymnasts. 体操运动员的高超技艺令人赞叹。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
31 suspense 9rJw3     
n.(对可能发生的事)紧张感,担心,挂虑
参考例句:
  • The suspense was unbearable.这样提心吊胆的状况实在叫人受不了。
  • The director used ingenious devices to keep the audience in suspense.导演用巧妙手法引起观众的悬念。
32 steadily Qukw6     
adv.稳定地;不变地;持续地
参考例句:
  • The scope of man's use of natural resources will steadily grow.人类利用自然资源的广度将日益扩大。
  • Our educational reform was steadily led onto the correct path.我们的教学改革慢慢上轨道了。


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