CHAPTER XIX RECALLED

THE decoy-ship Canvey lay at anchor off St. Vincent, whither she had gone to replenish¹ her oil-fuel tanks. Both officers and men were growing tired of the seemingly interminable stunt² of steaming to and fro between the Cape³ Verde Islands and Teneriffe, vainly inviting⁴ Captain Cain to "tread on the tail of my coat." They wanted to cut into Wad-el-Abuam and settle the matter once and for all. It was galling⁵ to have to keep in the offing, while the Spanish destroyer Villamil was at liberty to enter the estuary⁶ and destroy the pirates' lair⁷.

 

Day after day passed without untoward⁸ incident. Although the Spanish Government had expressed its intention of keeping the British Admiralty well informed as to the progress of operations, no message was received by the Canvey from London, or in fact from anywhere that had any bearing upon the all-important subject of the destruction of the pirate submarine.

 

And for a very good reason. No wireless¹⁰ message from the Villamil was received by the Spanish naval¹¹ authorities after a brief report that the destroyer was about to enter the Wad-el-Abuam to attack the Alerte. From that time the movements of the destroyer were shrouded¹² in mystery.

 

Presently it occurred to the Spanish Admiralty that all was not well with the Villamil. There was something decidedly ominous¹³ about the prolonged silence. The weather had been unusually quiet, so her disappearance¹⁴ could not be attributed to a sudden tempest. It seemed incredible that a unit of Spain's navy had been vanquished¹⁵ by a contemptible¹⁶ pirate ship. But at last that supposition had to be regarded as a fact.

 

About that time serious riots broke out in Barcelona. Every available Spanish destroyer was dispatched to that port to assist in quelling¹⁷ the disorder¹⁸. Unable to police her territorial¹⁹ waters of the Rio del Oro, the Spanish Government, putting its pride in its pocket, made a request to the British Admiralty that the destruction of the pirate submarine should be undertaken by the British Navy.

 

The Canvey received her wireless instructions to this effect at noon. Without delay the awnings²⁰ were furled, steam raised for seventeen knots, and the anchor weighed. The knowledge that the destroyers Complex and Calyx were under orders to leave Gibraltar for the Rio del Oro coast was no small factor in determining the Canvey's hurried departure.

 

No longer need she to steam slowly, with a red ensign fluttering aft, and her officers and crew rigged out like members of the humble²¹ but all-important Mercantile Marine⁹. With her hitherto concealed²² guns showing their teeth and the white ensign streaming proudly to the breeze, she could dash into the estuary of the Wad-el-Abuam, summon the Alerte to surrender, and in default send her to the bottom for all time. But she must be first upon the scene. Should her friendly rivals, the heavily-armed Complex and Calyx, forestall²³ her, then the Canvey's motto would be the single word, Ichabod.

 

Two hours after leaving St. Vincent, Lieutenant²⁴-Commander Raxworthy was conferring with Broadmayne, who happened to be officer of the watch, when the leading telegraphist approached, saluted²⁵, and tendered a signal-pad.

 

The owner read the message. The corners of his mouth dropped.

 

"We're done out of a job, Broadmayne," he remarked. "The Alerte's settled with."

 

"Our destroyers, sir?"

 

Raxworthy shook his head.

 

"Not an Andrew job this time," he replied. "Read this."

 

The message was a wireless signal en clair as follows:

 

 

 

"From s.s. Bronx City of Boston, Mass., from Accra to Lisbon. Encountered pirate vessel²⁶ Alerte in lat. 19° 17' N., long. 18° 23' W. Alerte fired three rounds and attempted to close. Bronx City ported helm, striking Alerte amidships. Alerte sank in three minutes. Four survivors²⁷. Am proceeding²⁸.—ADAMS. Master."

 

 

 

"That Yankee's in luck," observed Lieutenant Commander Raxworthy. "He stands to rake in thirty thousand pounds. Carry on," he added, addressing the leading telegraphist. "Copies to wardroom, gunroom, and mess-deck."

 

In a few minutes the "buzz" was all over the ship. The feeling of disappointment had a consoling feature. The Canvey would be ordered home to be put out of commission, and that meant the bluejackets' highly-prized privilege—paying off leave, or "leaf" as the "matloe" insists on calling it.

 

To settle the matter, an Admiralty wireless was received announcing that operations against the pirate submarine were to cease forthwith; vessels²⁹ concerned were to proceed to their respective bases.

 

1 replenish   

vt.补充；(把…)装满；(再)填满

参考例句：

• I always replenish my food supply before it is depleted.我总是在我的食物吃完之前加以补充。
• We have to import an extra 4 million tons of wheat to replenish our reserves.我们不得不额外进口四百万吨小麦以补充我们的储备。

2 stunt   

n.惊人表演，绝技，特技；vt.阻碍...发育，妨碍...生长

参考例句：

• Lack of the right food may stunt growth.缺乏适当的食物会阻碍发育。
• Right up there is where the big stunt is taking place.那边将会有惊人的表演。

3 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。

4 inviting   

adj.诱人的，引人注目的

参考例句：

• An inviting smell of coffee wafted into the room.一股诱人的咖啡香味飘进了房间。
• The kitchen smelled warm and inviting and blessedly familiar.这间厨房的味道温暖诱人，使人感到亲切温馨。

5 galling   

adj.难堪的,使烦恼的,使焦躁的

参考例句：

• It was galling to have to apologize to a man she hated. 令人恼火的是得向她憎恶的男人道歉。
• The insolence in the fellow's eye was galling. 这家伙的傲慢目光令人恼怒。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

6 estuary   

n.河口，江口

参考例句：

• We live near the Thames estuary.我们的住处靠近泰晤士河入海口。
• The ship has touched bottom.The estuary must be shallower than we thought.船搁浅了。这河口的水比我们想像的要浅。

7 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。

8 untoward   

adj.不利的，不幸的，困难重重的

参考例句：

• Untoward circumstances prevent me from being with you on this festive occasion.有些不幸的事件使我不能在这欢庆的时刻和你在一起。
• I'll come if nothing untoward happens.我要是没有特殊情况一定来。

9 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

10 wireless   

adj.无线的；n.无线电

参考例句：

• There are a lot of wireless links in a radio.收音机里有许多无线电线路。
• Wireless messages tell us that the ship was sinking.无线电报告知我们那艘船正在下沉。

11 naval   

adj.海军的，军舰的，船的

参考例句：

• He took part in a great naval battle.他参加了一次大海战。
• The harbour is an important naval base.该港是一个重要的海军基地。

12 shrouded   

v.隐瞒( shroud的过去式和过去分词 )；保密

参考例句：

• The hills were shrouded in mist . 这些小山被笼罩在薄雾之中。
• The towers were shrouded in mist. 城楼被蒙上薄雾。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 ominous   

adj.不祥的，不吉的，预兆的，预示的

参考例句：

• Those black clouds look ominous for our picnic.那些乌云对我们的野餐来说是个不祥之兆。
• There was an ominous silence at the other end of the phone.电话那头出现了不祥的沉默。

14 disappearance   

n.消失，消散，失踪

参考例句：

• He was hard put to it to explain her disappearance.他难以说明她为什么不见了。
• Her disappearance gave rise to the wildest rumours.她失踪一事引起了各种流言蜚语。

15 vanquished   

v.征服( vanquish的过去式和过去分词 )；战胜；克服；抑制

参考例句：

• She had fought many battles, vanquished many foes. 她身经百战，挫败过很多对手。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I vanquished her coldness with my assiduity. 我对她关心照顾从而消除了她的冷淡。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

16 contemptible   

adj.可鄙的，可轻视的，卑劣的

参考例句：

• His personal presence is unimpressive and his speech contemptible.他气貌不扬，言语粗俗。
• That was a contemptible trick to play on a friend.那是对朋友玩弄的一出可鄙的把戏。

17 quelling   

v.（用武力）制止，结束，镇压( quell的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Quelling her grief, she said 'Good-bye! 'again and went on. 她把悲痛压下去，二番说了一声再见，又转身走去了。 来自辞典例句
• The police succeeded in quelling the riot. 警方把暴乱镇压了下去。 来自辞典例句

18 disorder   

n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调

参考例句：

• When returning back,he discovered the room to be in disorder.回家后，他发现屋子里乱七八糟。
• It contained a vast number of letters in great disorder.里面七零八落地装着许多信件。

19 territorial   

adj.领土的，领地的

参考例句：

• The country is fighting to preserve its territorial integrity.该国在为保持领土的完整而进行斗争。
• They were not allowed to fish in our territorial waters.不允许他们在我国领海捕鱼。

20 awnings   

篷帐布

参考例句：

• Striped awnings had been stretched across the courtyard. 一些条纹雨篷撑开架在院子上方。
• The room, shadowed well with awnings, was dark and cool. 这间屋子外面有这篷挡着，又阴暗又凉快。

21 humble   

adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低

参考例句：

• In my humble opinion,he will win the election.依我拙见，他将在选举中获胜。
• Defeat and failure make people humble.挫折与失败会使人谦卑。

22 concealed   

a.隐藏的，隐蔽的

参考例句：

• The paintings were concealed beneath a thick layer of plaster. 那些画被隐藏在厚厚的灰泥层下面。
• I think he had a gun concealed about his person. 我认为他当时身上藏有一支枪。

23 forestall   

vt.抢在…之前采取行动；预先阻止

参考例句：

• I left the room to forestall involvements.我抢先离开了这房间以免受牵累。
• He followed this rule in order to forestall rumors.他遵守这条规矩是为了杜绝流言蜚语。

24 lieutenant   

n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员

参考例句：

• He was promoted to be a lieutenant in the army.他被提升为陆军中尉。
• He prevailed on the lieutenant to send in a short note.他说动那个副官，递上了一张简短的便条进去。

25 saluted   

v.欢迎，致敬( salute的过去式和过去分词 )；赞扬，赞颂

参考例句：

• The sergeant stood to attention and saluted. 中士立正敬礼。
• He saluted his friends with a wave of the hand. 他挥手向他的朋友致意。 来自《简明英汉词典》

26 vessel   

n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管

参考例句：

• The vessel is fully loaded with cargo for Shanghai.这艘船满载货物驶往上海。
• You should put the water into a vessel.你应该把水装入容器中。

27 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者

28 proceeding   

n.行动，进行，(pl.)会议录，学报

参考例句：

• This train is now proceeding from Paris to London.这次列车从巴黎开往伦敦。
• The work is proceeding briskly.工作很有生气地进展着。

29 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：

• The river is navigable by vessels of up to 90 tons. 90 吨以下的船只可以从这条河通过。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All modern vessels of any size are fitted with radar installations. 所有现代化船只都有雷达装置。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》