It was still dark when the captain woke, and he struck a match to look at his watch. It was three o'clock.
"Is that you, captain?" said a voice from the next room. "Is it time for you to begin watch again?"
"Yes," said the captain, "it is about time. How do you happen to be awake, Miss Markham? Ralph! I believe the boy is snoring."
"Of course he is," said Edna, speaking in a low voice. "We cannot expect such a boy to keep awake, and so I have been on watch. It was easy enough for me to keep my eyes open."
"It is too bad," said the captain, and then, listening for a moment, he said: "I truly believe that Maka is snoring, too, and as for that black fellow over there, I suspect that he sleeps all the time. Miss Markham, you have been the only person awake."
"Why shouldn't I be?" said she. "I am sure that a woman is just as good as a man for keeping watch."
"If they should come," thought the captain, as he again sat in the dark, "I must not try to fight them in the passage. That would have been my best chance, but now some of them might pick me off from behind. No, I must fight them in this chamber1. I can put everybody else in the middle apartment. Perhaps before to-morrow night it might be well to bring some of those loose rocks here and build a barricade2. I wish I had thought of that before."
The captain sat and listened and thought. His listening brought him no return, and his thinking brought him too much. The most mournful ideas of what might happen if more than two or three of the desperadoes attacked the place crowded into his mind. If they came, they came to rob, and they were men who left behind them no living witnesses of their whereabouts or their crimes. And if two or three should come, and be repulsed3, it would not be long before the rest would arrive. In fact, the only real hope they had was founded on the early return of Rynders—that is, if Rynders and his men were living.
The captain waited and listened, but nothing came but daylight. As soon as he was able to discern objects outside the opening on the plateau, he awoke Maka, and, leaving him on guard, he made his way to the lake cavern4.
Here the light was beginning to come freely through the chasm5 which faced nearly east. Mok was sitting with his eyes open, and showed that he was alive by a little grunt6 when the captain approached. If there were such a thing here as a subterranean7 tide, it had not risen. There was no water where the lake had been.
Gazing across the empty basin, the captain felt a strong desire to go over, climb up to the opening, and discover whether or not the cavern was accessible on that side. It would be very important for him to know this, and it would not take long for him to make an investigation8. One side of the rocky shelf which has been before mentioned sloped down to the lake, and the captain was just about to descend9 this when he heard a cry from the passage, and, at the same moment, a shout from Mok which seemed to be in answer to it. Instantly the captain turned and dashed into the passage, and, leaping over the barrier, found Maka standing10 near the entrance.
As soon as the negro saw him, he began to beckon11 wildly for him to come on. But there was no need now of keeping quiet and beckoning12. The first shout had aroused everybody inside, and the two ladies and Ralph were already in the passage. The captain, however, made them keep back, while he and Maka, on their hands and knees, crawled toward the outer opening. From this point one could see over the plateau, and the uneven13 ground beyond, down to the beach and the sea; but there was still so little light upon this western slope that at first the captain could not see anything noticeable in the direction in which Maka was pointing. But in a few moments his mariner14 eyes asserted themselves, and he saw some black spots on the strip of beach, which seemed to move. Then he knew they were moving, and moving toward him—coming up to the cave! They were men!
"Sit here," said the captain to Maka, and then, with his gun in his hand, he rushed back to the rest of the party.
"They seem to be coming," said he, speaking as calmly as he could, "but we have discovered them in good time, and I shall have some shots at them before they reach here. Let us hope that they will never get here at all. You two," said he to Mrs. Cliff and Ralph, "are to be under command of Miss Markham. You must do exactly what she tells you to." Then, turning to Edna, he said, "You have your pistol ready?"
"Yes," said she, "I am ready."
Without another word, the captain took his other gun and all his ammunition15, and went back into the passage. Here he found Mok, who had come to see what was the matter. Motioning the negro to go back to his post, the captain, with his loaded guns, went again to the entrance. Looking out, he could now plainly see the men. There were four of them. It was lighter16 down toward the sea, for the rocks still threw a heavy shadow over the plateau. The sight sent a thrill of brave excitement through the captain.
"If they come in squads17 of four," thought he, "I may be a match for them. They can't see me, and I can see them. If I could trust Maka to load a gun, I would have a better chance, but if I could pick off two, or even one, that might stop the others and give me time to reload. Come on, you black-hearted scoundrels," he muttered through his teeth, as he knelt outside the cave, one gun partly raised, and the other on the ground beside him. "If I could only know that none of your band could come in at that hole in the back of the cave, I'd call the odds18 even."
The dawn grew brighter, and the four men drew nearer. They came slowly, one considerably19 ahead of the others. Two or three times they stopped and appeared to be consulting, and then again moved slowly forward straight toward the plateau.
When the leading man was nearly within gunshot, the captain's face began to burn, and his pulses to throb20 hard and fast.
"The sooner I pick off the head one," he thought, "the better chance I have at the others."
He brought his gun to his shoulder, and was slowly lowering the barrel to the line of aim, when suddenly something like a great black beast rushed past him, pushing up his arm and nearly toppling him over. It came from the cave, and in a second it was out on the plateau. Then it gave a leap upward, and rushed down toward the sea. Utterly21 astounded22, the captain steadied himself and turned to Maka.
"What was that?" he exclaimed.
"Mok!" said he. "Look! Look!"
It was Mok who had rushed out of the cave. He was running toward the four men. He reached them, he threw up his arms, he sprang upon the first man. Then he left him, and jumped upon the others. Then Maka gave a little cry and sprang forward, but in the same instant the captain seized him.
"Stop!" he cried. "What is it?"
The African shouted: "Mok's people! Mok knowed them. Look!
Look—see! Mok!"
The party was now near enough and the day was bright enough for the captain to see that on the lower ground beyond the plateau there were five black men in a state of mad excitement. He could hear them jabbering24 away at a great rate. So far as he could discover, they were all unarmed, and as they stood there gesticulating, the captain might have shot them down in a bunch, if he had chosen.
"Go," said he to Maka, "go down there and see what it all means."
The captain now stepped back into the passage. He could see Miss Markham and Ralph peering out of the doorway25 of the first compartment26.
"There does not seem to be any danger so far," said he. "Some more Africans have turned up. Maka has gone to meet them. We shall find out about them in a few minutes," and he turned back to the entrance.
He saw that the six black fellows were coming toward him, and, as he had thought, they carried no guns.
点击
收听单词发音
收听单词发音 |
1
chamber
|
|
| n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
barricade
|
|
| n.路障，栅栏，障碍；vt.设路障挡住 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
repulsed
|
|
| v.击退( repulse的过去式和过去分词 )；驳斥；拒绝 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
cavern
|
|
| n.洞穴，大山洞 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
chasm
|
|
| n.深坑，断层，裂口，大分岐，利害冲突 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
grunt
|
|
| v.嘟哝；作呼噜声；n.呼噜声，嘟哝 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
subterranean
|
|
| adj.地下的，地表下的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
investigation
|
|
| n.调查，调查研究 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
descend
|
|
| vt./vi.传下来，下来，下降 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
standing
|
|
| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
beckon
|
|
| v.(以点头或打手势)向...示意，召唤 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
beckoning
|
|
| adj.引诱人的，令人心动的v.（用头或手的动作）示意，召唤( beckon的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
uneven
|
|
| adj.不平坦的，不规则的，不均匀的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
mariner
|
|
| n.水手号不载人航天探测器，海员，航海者 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
ammunition
|
|
| n.军火，弹药 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
lighter
|
|
| n.打火机，点火器；驳船；v.用驳船运送；light的比较级 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
squads
|
|
| n.（军队中的）班( squad的名词复数 )；（暗杀）小组；体育运动的运动（代表）队；（对付某类犯罪活动的）警察队伍 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
odds
|
|
| n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
considerably
|
|
| adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
throb
|
|
| v.震颤，颤动；(急速强烈地)跳动，搏动 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
utterly
|
|
| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
astounded
|
|
| v.使震惊(astound的过去式和过去分词)；愕然；愕；惊讶 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
bent
|
|
| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
jabbering
|
|
| v.急切而含混不清地说( jabber的现在分词 )；急促兴奋地说话；结结巴巴 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
doorway
|
|
| n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
compartment
|
|
| n.卧车包房，隔间；分隔的空间 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |