With the hunters it was otherwise. Familiar in varying degree with the sea, they took me as a sort of joke. In truth, it was a joke to me that I, the veriest landsman, should be filling the office of mate; but to be taken as a joke by others was a different matter. I made no complaint, but Wolf Larsen demanded the must punctilious4 sea-etiquette in my case,- far more than poor Johansen had ever received,- and at the expense of several rows, threats, and much grumbling5, he brought the hunters to time. I was 'Mr. Van Weyden' fore6 and aft, and only Wolf Larsen himself ever addressed me as 'Hump.'
It was amusing. Perhaps the wind would haul a few points while we were at dinner, and as I left the table he would say, 'Mr. Van Weyden, will you kindly7 put about on the port tack8?' And I would go on deck, beckon9 Louis to me, and learn from him what was to be done. Then, a few minutes later, having digested his instructions and thoroughly10 mastered the maneuver11, I would proceed to issue my orders. I remember an early instance of this kind, when Wolf Larsen appeared on the scene just as I had begun to give orders. He smoked his cigar and looked on quietly till the thing was done, and then paced aft by my side along the weather poop.
'Hump,' he said,- 'I beg pardon, Mr. Van Weyden,- I congratulate you. I think you can now fire your father's legs back into the grave to him. You've discovered your own, and learned to stand on them. A little rope-work, sail-making, and experience with storms and such things, and by the end of the voyage you could ship on any coasting schooner12.'
It was during this period, between the death of Johansen and the arrival on the sealing-grounds, that I passed my pleasantest hours on the Ghost. Wolf Larsen was considerate, the sailors helped me, and I was no longer in irritating contact with Thomas Mugridge. And I make free to say, as the days went by, that I found I was taking a certain secret pride in myself. Fantastic as the situation was,- a landlubber second in command,- I was nevertheless carrying it off well; and during that brief time I was proud of myself, and I grew to love the heave and roll of the Ghost under my feet as she wallowed north and west through the tropic sea to the islet where we filled our water-casks.
But my happiness was not unalloyed. It was comparative, a period of less misery13 slipped in between a past of great miseries14 and a future of great miseries. For the Ghost, so far as the seamen15 were concerned, was a hell-ship of the worst description. They never had a moment's rest or peace. Wolf Larsen treasured against them the attempt on his life and the drubbing he had received in the forecastle, and morning, noon, and night, and all night as well, he devoted16 himself to making life unlivable for them.
He knew well the psychology17 of the little thing, and it was the little things by which he kept the crew worked up to the verge18 of madness. I have seen Harrison called from his bunk19 to put properly away a misplaced paint-brush, and the two watches below haled from their tired sleep to accompany him and see him do it. A little thing, truly, but when multiplied by the thousand ingenious devices of such a mind, the mental state of the men in the forecastle may be slightly comprehended.
Of course much grumbling went on, and little outbursts were continually occurring. Blows were struck, and there were always two or three men nursing injuries at the hands of the human beast who was their master. Concerted action was impossible in face of the heavy arsenal20 of weapons carried in the steerage and cabin. Leach21 and Johnson were the two particular victims of Wolf Larsen's diabolic temper, and the look of profound melancholy22 which had settled on Johnson's face and in his eyes made my heart bleed.
With Leach it was different. There was too much of the fighting beast in him. He seemed possessed23 by an insatiable fury which gave no time for grief. His lips had become distorted into a permanent snarl24, which, at mere25 sight of Wolf Larsen, broke out in sound, horrible and menacing, and, I do believe, unconsciously. I have seen him follow Wolf Larsen about with his eyes, like an animal its keeper, the while the animal-like snarl sounded deep in his throat and vibrated forth26 between his teeth.
I remember once, on deck, in bright day, touching27 him on the shoulder as preliminary to giving an order. His back was toward me, and at the first feel of my hand he leaped upright in the air and away from me, snarling28 and turning his head as he leaped. He had for the moment mistaken me for the man he hated.
Both he and Johnson would have killed Wolf Larsen at the slightest opportunity, but the opportunity never came. Wolf Larsen was too wise for that, and, besides, they had no adequate weapons. With their fists alone they had no chance whatever. Time and again he fought it out with Leach, who fought back always, like a wildcat, tooth and nail and fist, until stretched exhausted29 or unconscious on the deck. And he was never averse30 to another encounter. All the devil that was in him challenged the devil in Wolf Larsen. They had but to appear on deck at the same time, when they would be at it, cursing, snarling, striking; and I have seen Leach fling himself upon Wolf Larsen without warning or provocation31. Once he threw his heavy sheath-knife, missing Wolf Larsen's throat by an inch. Another time he dropped a steel marlinespike from the main-crosstree. It was a difficult cast to make on a rolling ship, but the sharp point of the spike32, whistling seventy-five feet through the air, barely missed Wolf Larsen's head as he emerged from the cabin companionway, and drove its length two inches and over into the solid deck-planking. Still another time he stole into the steerage, possessed himself of a loaded shotgun, and was making a rush for the deck with it when caught by Kerfoot and disarmed33.
I often wondered why Wolf Larsen did not kill him and make an end of it. But he only laughed and seemed to enjoy it. There seemed a certain spice about it, such as men must feel who take delight in making pets of ferocious34 animals.
'It gives a thrill to life,' he explained to me, 'when life is carried in one's hand. Man is a natural gambler, and life is the biggest stake he can lay. The greater the odds35, the greater the thrill. Why should I deny myself the joy of exciting Leach's soul to fever-pitch? For that matter, I do him a kindness. The greatness of sensation is mutual36. He is living more royally than any man for'ard, though he does not know it. For he has what they have not- purpose, something to do and be done, an all-absorbing end to strive to attain37, the desire to kill me, the hope that he may kill me. Really, Hump, he is living deep and high. I doubt that he has ever lived so swiftly and keenly before, and I honestly envy him, sometimes, when I see him raging at the summit of passion and sensibility.'
'Ah, but it is cowardly, cowardly,' I cried. 'You have all the advantage.'
'Of the two of us, you and I, who is the greater coward?' he asked seriously. 'If the situation is unpleasing, you compromise with your conscience when you make yourself a party to it. If you were really great, really true to yourself, you would join forces with Leach and Johnson. But you are afraid, you are afraid. You want to live. The life that is in you cries out that it must live, no matter what the cost; so you live ignominiously38, untrue to the best you dream of, sinning against your whole pitiful little code, and, if there were a hell, heading your soul straight for it. Bah! I play the braver part. I do no sin, for I am true to the promptings of the life that is in me. I am sincere with my soul at least, and that is what you are not.'
There was a sting in what he said. Perhaps, after all, I was playing a cowardly part. And the more I thought about it the more it appeared that my duty to myself lay in doing what he had advised, lay in joining forces with Johnson and Leach and working for his death. Right here, I think, entered the austere39 conscience of my Puritan ancestry40, impelling41 me toward lurid42 deeds and sanctioning even murder as right conduct. I dwelt upon the idea. It would be a most moral act to rid the world of such a monster. Humanity would be better and happier for it, life fairer and sweeter.
I pondered it long, lying sleepless43 in my bunk and reviewing in endless procession the facts of the situation. I talked with Johnson and Leach during the night watches when Wolf Larsen was below. But both men had lost hope, Johnson because of temperamental despondency, Leach because he had beaten himself out in the vain struggle and was exhausted. But he caught my hand in a passionate44 grip one night, saying:
'I think ye're square, Mr. Van Weyden. But stay where you are an' keep yer mouth shut. Say nothin', but saw wood. We're dead men, I know it; but, all the same, you might be able to do us a favor sometime when we need it damn bad.'
It was only next day, when Wainwright Island loomed45 to windward, close abeam46, that Wolf Larsen opened his mouth in prophecy. He had attacked Johnson, been attacked by Leach, and had just finished whipping the pair of them.
'Leach,' he said, 'you know I'm going to kill you sometime or other, don't you?'
A snarl was the answer.
'And as for you, Johnson, you'll get so tired of life before I'm through with you that you'll fling yourself over the side. See if you don't.'
'That's suggestion,' he added, in an aside to me. 'I'll bet you a month's pay he acts upon it.'
I had cherished a hope that his victims would find an opportunity to escape while filling our water-barrels, but Wolf Larsen had selected his spot well. The Ghost lay half a mile beyond the surf-line of a lonely beach. Here debouched a deep gorge47, with precipitous, volcanic48 walls which no man could scale. And here, under his direct supervision,- for he went ashore49 himself,- Leach and Johnson filled the small casks and rolled them down to the beach. They had no chance to make a break for liberty in one of the boats.
Harrison and Kelly, however, made such an attempt. They composed the crew of one of the boats, and their task was to play between the schooner and the shore, carrying a single cask each trip. Just before dinner, starting for the beach with an empty barrel, they altered their course and bore away to the left to round the promontory50 which jutted51 into the sea between them and liberty. Beyond its foaming52 base lay the pretty villages of the Japanese colonists53 and smiling valleys which penetrated54 deep into the interior. Once in the fastnesses they promised, and the two men could defy Wolf Larsen.
I had observed Henderson and Smoke loitering about the deck all morning, and I now learned why they were there. Procuring55 their rifles, they opened fire in a leisurely56 manner upon the deserters. It was a most cold-blooded exhibition of marksmanship. At first their bullets zipped harmlessly along the surface of the water on each side the boat; but, as the men continued to pull lustily, they struck closer and closer.
'Now watch me take Kelly's right oar57,' Smoke said, drawing a more careful aim.
I was looking through the glasses, and I saw the oar-blade shattered as he shot. Henderson duplicated his feat58, selecting Harrison's right oar. The boat slued around. The two remaining oars59 were quickly broken. The men tried to row with the spinters, and had them shot out of their hands. Kelly ripped up a bottom-board and began paddling, but dropped it with a cry of pain as its splinters drove into his hands. Then they gave up, letting the boat drift till a second boat, sent from the shore by Wolf Larsen, took them in tow and brought them aboard.
Late that afternoon we hove up anchor and got away. Nothing was before us but the three or four months' hunting on the sealing-grounds. The outlook was black indeed, and I went about my work with a heavy heart. An almost funereal60 gloom seemed to have descended61 upon the Ghost. Wolf Larsen had taken to his bunk with one of his strange splitting headaches. Harrison stood listlessly at the wheel, half supporting himself by it, as though wearied by the weight of his flesh. The rest of the men were morose62 and silent. I came upon Kelly crouching63 in the lee of the forecastle scuttle64, his head on his knees, his arms about his head, in an attitude of unutterable despondency.
Johnson I found lying full-length on the forecastle head, staring at the troubled churn of the forefoot, and I remembered with horror the suggestion Wolf Larsen had made. It seemed likely to bear fruit. I tried to break in on the man's morbid65 thoughts by calling him away; but he smiled sadly at me, and refused to obey.
Leach approached me as I returned aft.
'I want to ask a favor, Mr. Van Weyden,' he said. 'If it's yer luck to ever make 'Frisco once more, will you hunt up Matt McCarthy? He's my old man. He lives on the Hill, back of the Mayfair bakery, runnin' a cobbler's shop that everybody knows, an' you'll have no trouble. Tell him I lived to be sorry for the trouble I brought him an' the things I done, an'- an' just tell him "God bless him," for me.'
I nodded my head, but said:
'We'll all win back to San Francisco, Leach, and you'll be with me when I go to see Matt McCarthy.'
'I'd like to believe you,' he answered, shaking my hand, 'but I can't. Wolf Larsen'll do for me, I know it, and all I can hope is he'll do it quick.'
And as he left me I was aware of the same desire at my heart. Since it was to be done, let it be done with despatch66. The general gloom had gathered me into its folds. The worst appeared inevitable67; and as I paced the deck hour after hour, I found myself afflicted68 with Wolf Larsen's repulsive69 ideas. What was it all about? Where was the grandeur70 of life that it should permit such wanton destruction of human souls? It was a cheap and sordid71 thing, after all, this life, and the sooner over the better. Over and done with! Over and done with! I, too, leaned upon the rail and gazed longingly72 into the sea, with the certitude that sooner or later I should be sinking down, down, through the cool green depths of its oblivion.
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1
joyful
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| adj.欢乐的，令人欢欣的 | |
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minutiae
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| n.微小的细节，细枝末节；（常复数）细节，小事( minutia的名词复数 ) | |
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specially
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| adv.特定地；特殊地；明确地 | |
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4
punctilious
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| adj.谨慎的，谨小慎微的 | |
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grumbling
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| adj. 喃喃鸣不平的, 出怨言的 | |
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fore
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| adv.在前面；adj.先前的；在前部的；n.前部 | |
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7
kindly
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| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
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8
tack
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| n.大头钉；假缝，粗缝 | |
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beckon
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| v.(以点头或打手势)向...示意，召唤 | |
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10
thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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maneuver
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| n.策略[pl.]演习；v.(巧妙)控制；用策略 | |
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12
schooner
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| n.纵帆船 | |
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13
misery
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| n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦 | |
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miseries
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| n.痛苦( misery的名词复数 )；痛苦的事；穷困；常发牢骚的人 | |
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15
seamen
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| n.海员 | |
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16
devoted
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| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
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17
psychology
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| n.心理，心理学，心理状态 | |
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18
verge
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| n.边，边缘；v.接近，濒临 | |
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19
bunk
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| n.(车、船等倚壁而设的)铺位；废话 | |
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arsenal
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| n.兵工厂，军械库 | |
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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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melancholy
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| n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的 | |
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23
possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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24
snarl
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| v.吼叫，怒骂，纠缠，混乱；n.混乱，缠结，咆哮 | |
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mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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touching
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| adj.动人的，使人感伤的 | |
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28
snarling
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| v.（指狗）吠，嗥叫， （人）咆哮( snarl的现在分词 )；咆哮着说，厉声地说 | |
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29
exhausted
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| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
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30
averse
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| adj.厌恶的；反对的，不乐意的 | |
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31
provocation
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| n.激怒，刺激，挑拨，挑衅的事物，激怒的原因 | |
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32
spike
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| n.长钉，钉鞋；v.以大钉钉牢，使...失效 | |
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33
disarmed
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| v.裁军( disarm的过去式和过去分词 )；使息怒 | |
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34
ferocious
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| adj.凶猛的，残暴的，极度的，十分强烈的 | |
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35
odds
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| n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别 | |
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36
mutual
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| adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的 | |
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37
attain
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| vt.达到，获得，完成 | |
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38
ignominiously
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| adv.耻辱地，屈辱地，丢脸地 | |
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39
austere
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| adj.艰苦的；朴素的，朴实无华的；严峻的 | |
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40
ancestry
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| n.祖先，家世 | |
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41
impelling
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| adj.迫使性的，强有力的v.推动、推进或敦促某人做某事( impel的现在分词 ) | |
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42
lurid
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| adj.可怕的；血红的；苍白的 | |
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43
sleepless
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| adj.不睡眠的，睡不著的，不休息的 | |
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44
passionate
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| adj.热情的，热烈的，激昂的，易动情的，易怒的，性情暴躁的 | |
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45
loomed
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| v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的过去式和过去分词 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近 | |
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46
abeam
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| adj.正横着(的) | |
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47
gorge
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| n.咽喉，胃，暴食，山峡；v.塞饱，狼吞虎咽地吃 | |
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48
volcanic
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| adj.火山的；象火山的；由火山引起的 | |
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49
ashore
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| adv.在(向)岸上，上岸 | |
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50
promontory
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| n.海角；岬 | |
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51
jutted
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| v.（使）突出( jut的过去式和过去分词 )；伸出；（从…）突出；高出 | |
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52
foaming
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| adj.布满泡沫的；发泡 | |
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53
colonists
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| n.殖民地开拓者，移民，殖民地居民( colonist的名词复数 ) | |
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54
penetrated
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| adj. 击穿的，鞭辟入里的 动词penetrate的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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55
procuring
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| v.（努力）取得， （设法）获得( procure的现在分词 )；拉皮条 | |
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56
leisurely
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| adj.悠闲的；从容的，慢慢的 | |
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57
oar
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| n.桨，橹，划手；v.划行 | |
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58
feat
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| n.功绩；武艺，技艺；adj.灵巧的，漂亮的，合适的 | |
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oars
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| n.桨，橹( oar的名词复数 )；划手v.划（行）( oar的第三人称单数 ) | |
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60
funereal
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| adj.悲哀的；送葬的 | |
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61
descended
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| a.为...后裔的，出身于...的 | |
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62
morose
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| adj.脾气坏的，不高兴的 | |
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63
crouching
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| v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的现在分词 ) | |
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64
scuttle
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| v.急赶，疾走，逃避；n.天窗；舷窗 | |
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65
morbid
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| adj.病的；致病的；病态的；可怕的 | |
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66
despatch
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| n./v.(dispatch)派遣；发送；n.急件；新闻报道 | |
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67
inevitable
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| adj.不可避免的，必然发生的 | |
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68
afflicted
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| 使受痛苦，折磨( afflict的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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69
repulsive
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| adj.排斥的，使人反感的 | |
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70
grandeur
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| n.伟大，崇高，宏伟，庄严，豪华 | |
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71
sordid
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| adj.肮脏的，不干净的，卑鄙的，暗淡的 | |
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72
longingly
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| adv. 渴望地 热望地 | |
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