CHAPTER XII

Dorothy’s hours of grace passed all too quickly. The girl’s natural impulse was to turn at once to Howard for aid, and when the moments sped by without bringing him, she turned to Mrs. Joyce and learned of his imprisonment¹.

 

“But don’t you be worryin’ about that, miss,” said the kindly² Irishwoman. “It’s safe and sound he is. The cap’n is just kapin’ him locked up till after the wedding.”

 

“There’ll be no wedding,” flashed Dorothy.

 

“An’ why not? It’s worse you might do, my dear. All men are cantankerous³, but Cap’n Forbes ain’t a bad sort, if you take him the right way; an’ he’ll make a good husband—the best here, anyway. An’ you’ve got to remember that while a smart man might get out of here, if[156] he was free, even the smartest man—let alone a woman—couldn’t if the cap’n didn’t want him to; and sure it is the cap’n don’t want you to go. I know it’s hard, but I don’t see but what it’s the best thing you can do—seein’ you wouldn’t marry your friend, Mr. Howard, under any circumstances.” And Mother Joyce glanced quizzically into Dorothy’s face.

 

The girl blushed; then hid her face. “Oh! Mrs. Joyce,” she sobbed⁴. “I—he—things were different when I said that.”

 

“Oh! indade! Now, were they? You nad’n’t say any more, miss. A nod’s as good as a wink⁵ to a blind horse. It’s a fine, upstandin’ young fellow he is, and I don’t blame you. Joyce and I’ll do what we can for you and him. And you’ll not be lavin’ us behind when you sail away?”

 

“Leave you! Never!”

 

Fortunate it was that this understanding had been reached so quickly, for little[157] further opportunity for talk was offered later. All that evening and all the next morning the members of the community visited Dorothy, one by one, each with tales to tell of the pleasures of life in the Sea and with praises of Captain Forbes. Not one seemed disposed to help the girl.

 

Even Mr. Willoughby, the minister, could give her little comfort. When she appealed to him directly to help her, he squirmed uncomfortably.

 

“Captain Forbes is a man of wrath,” he mumbled⁶; “hard to resist. My sacred calling is of little import in his eyes. If you decide to refuse him, I trust I shall find strength to offer you such support as I may. But you must remember that I am only one—and a man of peace besides.”

 

Clearly there was little hope to be placed in the minister. But Dorothy made one more appeal.

 

“You could refuse to perform the ceremony,” she suggested, tearfully.

 

[158]“And so I shall,” promised Mr. Willoughby. “If I must,” he added, with quickly following repentance⁷. “But to what end? Captain Forbes is a sea-captain, and as such can perform marriages at sea. Whether he can marry himself is doubtful. But I know him; he will settle the doubt in his own favor and marry you willy-nilly. I—I really think that you had best submit. Since you have to stay here, you cannot occupy a better place than as Captain Forbes’s wife.”

 

“But I don’t have to stay. I won’t stay. Mr. Howard promised——” She stopped and bit her lip. “I see you cannot help me, Mr. Willoughby,” she finished. “Good morning.”

 

The minister sneaked⁸ away, and Prudence⁹ Gallegher crept in, weak, ill, and frightened, to add her mite¹⁰ to the weight that was crushing Dorothy’s heart.

 

“I’m sorry,” she whimpered, glancing fearfully behind her from time to time. “Oh, I’m so sorry. But—but hadn’t you[159] better marry Cap’n Forbes? Nobody will dare to hurt him, and—and—you won’t be handed on from one to another as I was.”

 

This sort of thing, kept up almost without cessation for twenty-four hours, drove Dorothy almost to distraction¹¹. As four o’clock drew near, her condition grew pitiful. In vain she looked for a means of escape. If any had offered she would have taken it instantly, facing without hesitation¹² the terrors of the foodless desert in the heart of the wreckage¹³. But none did offer. Always she was surrounded by jailers. She could see no hope anywhere—nothing to do but resist till the last, and then—— What then? What should she do then? What could she do? One weak girl beset¹⁴ by a score of men. Her brain reeled at the thought.

 

Eight bells rang out, and Joe appeared at the door.

 

“Cap’n Forbes says as how will you an’ Mother Joyce please step on deck, miss,” he petitioned.

1 imprisonment   

n.关押，监禁，坐牢

参考例句：

• His sentence was commuted from death to life imprisonment.他的判决由死刑减为无期徒刑。
• He was sentenced to one year's imprisonment for committing bigamy.他因为犯重婚罪被判入狱一年。

2 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。

3 cantankerous   

adj.爱争吵的，脾气不好的

参考例句：

• He met a crabbed,cantankerous director.他碰上了一位坏脾气、爱争吵的主管。
• The cantankerous bus driver rouse on the children for singing.那个坏脾气的公共汽车司机因为孩子们唱歌而骂他们。

4 sobbed   

哭泣，啜泣( sob的过去式和过去分词 )； 哭诉，呜咽地说

参考例句：

• She sobbed out the story of her son's death. 她哭诉着她儿子的死。
• She sobbed out the sad story of her son's death. 她哽咽着诉说她儿子死去的悲惨经过。

5 wink   

n.眨眼，使眼色，瞬间；v.眨眼，使眼色，闪烁

参考例句：

• He tipped me the wink not to buy at that price.他眨眼暗示我按那个价格就不要买。
• The satellite disappeared in a wink.瞬息之间，那颗卫星就消失了。

6 mumbled   

含糊地说某事，叽咕，咕哝( mumble的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He mumbled something to me which I did not quite catch. 他对我叽咕了几句话，可我没太听清楚。
• George mumbled incoherently to himself. 乔治语无伦次地喃喃自语。

7 repentance   

n.懊悔

参考例句：

• He shows no repentance for what he has done.他对他的所作所为一点也不懊悔。
• Christ is inviting sinners to repentance.基督正在敦请有罪的人悔悟。

8 sneaked   

v.潜行( sneak的过去式和过去分词 )；偷偷溜走；（儿童向成人）打小报告；告状

参考例句：

• I sneaked up the stairs. 我蹑手蹑脚地上了楼。
• She sneaked a surreptitious glance at her watch. 她偷偷看了一眼手表。

9 prudence   

n.谨慎，精明，节俭

参考例句：

• A lack of prudence may lead to financial problems.不够谨慎可能会导致财政上出现问题。
• The happy impute all their success to prudence or merit.幸运者都把他们的成功归因于谨慎或功德。

10 mite   

n.极小的东西；小铜币

参考例句：

• The poor mite was so ill.可怜的孩子病得这么重。
• He is a mite taller than I.他比我高一点点。

11 distraction   

n.精神涣散，精神不集中，消遣，娱乐

参考例句：

• Total concentration is required with no distractions.要全神贯注，不能有丝毫分神。
• Their national distraction is going to the disco.他们的全民消遣就是去蹦迪。

12 hesitation   

n.犹豫，踌躇

参考例句：

• After a long hesitation, he told the truth at last.踌躇了半天，他终于直说了。
• There was a certain hesitation in her manner.她的态度有些犹豫不决。

13 wreckage   

n.（失事飞机等的）残骸，破坏，毁坏

参考例句：

• They hauled him clear of the wreckage.他们把他从形骸中拖出来。
• New states were born out of the wreckage of old colonial empires.新生国家从老殖民帝国的废墟中诞生。

14 beset   

v.镶嵌；困扰，包围

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• The plan was beset with difficulties from the beginning.这项计划自开始就困难重重。