'Somebody strike a light; my thumb's out of joint,' said one of the men, Parsons, a swarthy, saturnine2 man, steerer in Standish's boat, in which Harrison was puller.
'You'll find it knockin' about by the bitts,' Leach4 said, sitting down on the edge of the bunk5 in which I was concealed6.
There was a fumbling7 and a scratching of matches, and the sea-lamp flared8 up, dim and smoky, and in its weird9 light bare-legged men moved about, nursing their bruises10 and caring for their hurts. Oofty-Oofty laid hold of Parsons' thumb, pulling it out stoutly11 and snapping it back into place. I noticed at the same time that the Kanaka's knuckles12 were laid open clear across and to the bone. Exposing his beautiful white teeth in a grin, he explained that the wounds had come from striking Wolf Larsen in the mouth.
'So it was you, was it, you black beggar?' belligerently13 demanded Kelly, an Irish-American and a longshoreman making his first trip, and puller for Kerfoot.
As he made the demand he shoved his pugnacious14 face close to Oofty-oofty. The Kanaka leaped backward to his bunk, to return with a leap, flourishing a long knife.
'Aw, go lay down; you make me tired,' Leach interfered15. He was evidently, for all of his youth and inexperience, cock of the forecastle. 'G'wan, you Kelly. You leave Oofty alone. How in- did he know it was you in the dark?'
Kelly subsided17 with some muttering, and the Kanaka flashed his white teeth in a grateful smile. He was a beautiful creature, almost feminine in the pleasing lines of his figure, and there was a softness and dreaminess in his large eyes which seemed to contradict his reputation for strife18 and action.
'How did he get away?' said Johnson.
He was sitting on the side of his bunk, the whole pose of his figure indicating utter dejection and hopelessness. He was still breathing heavily from the exertion19 he had made. His shirt had been ripped entirely20 from him in the struggle.
'Because he is the devil, as I told you before,' was Leach's answer, and thereat he was on his feet and raging his disappointment with tears in his eyes.
'And not one of you to get a knife!' was his unceasing lament21.
But the rest had a lively fear of consequences, and gave no heed22 to him.
'How'll he know which was which?' Kelly asked, and as he went on he looked murderously about him- 'unless one of us peaches.'
'He'll know as soon as ever he claps eyes on us,' Parsons replied. 'One look at you'd be enough.'
'Tell him the deck flopped23 up an' gouged24 yer teeth out iv yer jaw25,' Louis grinned. He was the only man who was not out of his bunk, and he was jubilant in that he possessed26 no bruises to advertise that he had had a hand in the night's work. 'Just wait till he gets a glimpse iv yer mugs tomorrow- the gang iv ye,' he chuckled27.
'We'll say we thought it was the mate,' said one. And another: 'I know what I'll say- that I heared a row, jumped out of my bunk, got a jolly good crack on the jaw for my pains, an' sailed in myself. Couldn't tell who or what it was in the dark an' just hit out.'
'An' 't was me you hit, of course,' Kelly seconded, his face brightening.
Leach and Johnson took no part in the discussion, and it was plain to see that their mates looked upon them as men for whom the worst was inevitable28, who were beyond hope and already dead. Leach stood their fears and reproaches for some time. Then he broke out:
'You make me tired! A nice lot of gazabas you are! If you talked less with yer mouth an' did something with yer hands, he'd 'a' be'n done with by now. Why couldn't one of you, just one of you, get me a knife when I sung out? You make me sick! A-beefin' an' bellerin' round as though he'd kill you when he gets you! You know he won't. Can't afford to. No shippin'-masters or beachcombers over here, an' he wants yer in his business, an' he wants yer bad. Who's to pull or steer3 or sail ship if he loses yer? It's me an' Johnson have to face the music. Get into yer bunks29, now, and shut yer faces; I want to get some sleep.'
'That's all right, all right,' Parsons spoke30 up. 'Mebbe he won't do for us, but mark my words, hell'll be an ice-box to this ship from now on.'
All the while I had been apprehensive31. What would happen to me when these men discovered my presence? I could never fight my way out as Wolf Larsen had done. And at this moment Latimer called down the scuttle:
'Hump, the Old Man wants you.'
'He ain't down here!' said Parsons.
'Yes, he is,' I said, sliding out of the bunk and striving my hardest to keep my voice steady and bold.
The sailors looked at me in consternation32. Fear was strong in their faces, and the devilishness which comes of fear.
'I'm coming!' I shouted up to Latimer.
'No, you don't!' Kelly cried, stepping between me and the ladder, his right hand shaped into a veritable strangler's clutch. 'You sneak33! I'll shut yer mouth!'
'Let him go!' Leach commanded.
'Not on yer life!' was the angry retort.
Leach never changed his position on the edge of the bunk. 'Let him go, I say,' he repeated, but this time his voice was gritty and metallic34.
The Irishman wavered. I made to step by him, and he stood aside. When I had gained the ladder I turned to the circle of brutal35 and malignant36 faces peering at me through the semi-darkness. A sudden and deep sympathy welled up in me.
'I have seen and heard nothing, believe me,' I said quietly.
'I tell yer, he's all right,' I could hear Leach say as I went up. 'He don't like the Old Man no more nor you or me.'
I found Wolf Larsen in the cabin, stripped and bloody37, waiting for me. He greeted me with his whimsical smile.
'Come, get to work, doctor. The signs are favorable for an extensive practice this voyage. I don't know what the Ghost would have been without you, and if I could cherish such noble sentiments, I'd tell you that her master is deeply grateful.'
I knew the run of the simple medicine-chest the Ghost carried, and while I was heating water on the cabin stove and getting the things ready for dressing38 his wounds, he moved about, laughing and chatting, and examining his hurts with a calculating eye. I had never before seen him stripped, and the sight of his body quite took my breath away.
I must say that I was fascinated by the perfect lines of Wolf Larsen's figure, and by what I may term the terrible beauty of it. I had noted39 the men in the forecastle. Powerfully muscled though some of them were, Oofty-Oofty had been the only one whose lines were at all pleasing, while, in so far as they pleased, had they been what I should call feminine.
But Wolf Larsen was the man type, the masculine, and almost a god in his perfectness. As he moved about or raised his arms, the great muscles leapt and moved under the satiny skin. I have forgotten to say that the bronze ended with his face. His body, thanks to his Scandinavian stock, was fair as the fairest woman's. I remember his putting his hand up to feel of the wound on his head, and my watching the biceps move like a living thing under its white sheath.
He noticed me, and I became aware that I was staring at him.
'God made you well,' I said.
'Did he?' he answered. 'I have often thought so myself, and wondered why.'
'Purpose-' I began.
'Utility,' he interrupted. 'This body was made for use. These muscles were made to grip and tear and destroy living things that get between me and life. Feel them,' he commanded.
They were as hard as iron. And I observed, also, that his whole body had unconsciously drawn40 itself together, tense and alert; that muscles were softly crawling and shaping about the hips41, along the back, and across the shoulders; that the arms were slightly lifted, their muscles contracting, the fingers crooking42 till the hands were like talons43; and that even the eyes had changed expression and into them were coming watchfulness44 and measurement and a light none other than of battle.
'Stability, equilibrium,' he said, relaxing on the instant and sinking his body back into repose45. 'Feet with which to clutch the ground, legs to stand on and to help withstand, while with arms and hands, teeth and nails, I struggle to kill and not to be killed. Purpose? Utility is the word.'
I did not argue. I had seen the mechanism46 of the primitive47 fighting beast, and I was as strongly impressed as if I had seen the engines of a battleship or Atlantic liner.
I was surprised, considering the fierce struggle in the forecastle, at the superficiality of his hurts, and I pride myself that I dressed them dexterously48. With the exception of two bad wounds, the rest were merely severe bruises and lacerations. The blow which he had received before going overboard had laid his scalp open several inches. This, under his direction, I cleansed49 and sewed together.
'By the way, Hump, as I have remarked, you are a handy man,' Wolf Larsen began when my work was done. 'As you know, we're short a mate. Hereafter you shall stand watches, receive seventy-five dollars per month, and be addressed fore16 and aft as Mr. Van Weyden.'
'I- I don't understand navigation, you know,' I gasped50.
'Not necessary at all.'
'I really do not care to sit in the high places,' I objected. 'I find life precarious51 enough in my present humble52 situation. I have no experience. Mediocrity, you see, has its compensations.'
He smiled as though it were all settled.
'I won't be mate on this hell-ship!' I cried defiantly53.
I saw his face grow hard and the merciless glitter come into his eyes. He walked to the door of his room, saying:
'And now, Mr. Van Weyden, good night.'
'Good night, Mr. Larsen,' I answered weakly.
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收听单词发音
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1
groaning
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| adj. 呜咽的, 呻吟的 动词groan的现在分词形式 | |
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2
saturnine
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| adj.忧郁的，沉默寡言的，阴沉的，感染铅毒的 | |
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3
steer
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| vt.驾驶，为…操舵；引导；vi.驾驶 | |
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leach
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| v.分离，过滤掉；n.过滤；过滤器 | |
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bunk
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| n.(车、船等倚壁而设的)铺位；废话 | |
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concealed
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| a.隐藏的，隐蔽的 | |
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7
fumbling
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| n. 摸索,漏接 v. 摸索,摸弄,笨拙的处理 | |
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8
Flared
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| adj. 端部张开的, 爆发的, 加宽的, 漏斗式的 动词flare的过去式和过去分词 | |
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9
weird
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| adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的 | |
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10
bruises
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| n.瘀伤，伤痕，擦伤( bruise的名词复数 ) | |
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stoutly
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| adv.牢固地，粗壮的 | |
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12
knuckles
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| n.（指人）指关节( knuckle的名词复数 )；（指动物）膝关节，踝v.（指人）指关节( knuckle的第三人称单数 )；（指动物）膝关节，踝 | |
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13
belligerently
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14
pugnacious
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| adj.好斗的 | |
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15
interfered
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| v.干预( interfere的过去式和过去分词 )；调停；妨碍；干涉 | |
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16
fore
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| adv.在前面；adj.先前的；在前部的；n.前部 | |
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17
subsided
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| v.（土地）下陷（因在地下采矿）( subside的过去式和过去分词 )；减弱；下降至较低或正常水平；一下子坐在椅子等上 | |
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18
strife
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| n.争吵，冲突，倾轧，竞争 | |
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exertion
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| n.尽力，努力 | |
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entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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21
lament
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| n.悲叹，悔恨，恸哭；v.哀悼，悔恨，悲叹 | |
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22
heed
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| v.注意，留意；n.注意，留心 | |
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23
flopped
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| v.（指书、戏剧等）彻底失败( flop的过去式和过去分词 )；（因疲惫而）猛然坐下；（笨拙地、不由自主地或松弛地）移动或落下；砸锅 | |
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24
gouged
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| v.凿( gouge的过去式和过去分词 )；乱要价；（在…中）抠出…；挖出… | |
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25
jaw
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| n.颚，颌，说教，流言蜚语；v.喋喋不休，教训 | |
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26
possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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27
chuckled
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| 轻声地笑( chuckle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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28
inevitable
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| adj.不可避免的，必然发生的 | |
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29
bunks
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| n.（车、船等倚壁而设的）铺位( bunk的名词复数 )；空话，废话v.（车、船等倚壁而设的）铺位( bunk的第三人称单数 )；空话，废话 | |
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30
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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31
apprehensive
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| adj.担心的，恐惧的，善于领会的 | |
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32
consternation
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| n.大为吃惊，惊骇 | |
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33
sneak
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| vt.潜行(隐藏,填石缝)；偷偷摸摸做；n.潜行；adj.暗中进行 | |
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34
metallic
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| adj.金属的；金属制的；含金属的；产金属的；像金属的 | |
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35
brutal
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| adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的 | |
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36
malignant
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| adj.恶性的，致命的；恶意的，恶毒的 | |
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37
bloody
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| adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染 | |
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38
dressing
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| n.(食物)调料；包扎伤口的用品，敷料 | |
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39
noted
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| adj.著名的，知名的 | |
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40
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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41
hips
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| abbr.high impact polystyrene 高冲击强度聚苯乙烯，耐冲性聚苯乙烯n.臀部( hip的名词复数 )；[建筑学]屋脊；臀围（尺寸）；臀部…的 | |
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42
crooking
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| n.弯曲（木材等的缺陷）v.弯成钩形( crook的现在分词 ) | |
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43
talons
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| n.（尤指猛禽的）爪( talon的名词复数 )；（如爪般的）手指；爪状物；锁簧尖状突出部 | |
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44
watchfulness
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| 警惕，留心； 警觉（性） | |
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45
repose
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| v.(使)休息；n.安息 | |
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46
mechanism
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| n.机械装置；机构，结构 | |
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47
primitive
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| adj.原始的；简单的；n.原(始)人，原始事物 | |
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48
dexterously
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| adv.巧妙地，敏捷地 | |
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49
cleansed
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| 弄干净，清洗( cleanse的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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50
gasped
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| v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要 | |
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51
precarious
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| adj.不安定的，靠不住的；根据不足的 | |
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52
humble
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| adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低 | |
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53
defiantly
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| adv.挑战地，大胆对抗地 | |
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