The sun blazed down with a degree of heat which was remarkable4 so late in the season, and a shimmering5 haze6 lay upon the upland moors7 and concealed8 the Irish mountains on the other side of the Channel.
The sea itself rose and fell in a long, heavy, oily roll, sweeping9 slowly landward, and breaking sullenly10 with a dull, monotonous11 booming upon the rock-girt shore. To the inexperienced all seemed calm and peaceful, but to those who are accustomed to read Nature’s warnings there was a dark menace in air and sky and sea.
My sister and I walked out in the afternoon, sauntering slowly along the margin12 of the great, sandy spit which shoots out into the Irish Sea, flanking upon one side the magnificent Bay of Luce, and on the other the more obscure inlet of Kirkmaiden, on the shores of which the Branksome property is situated13.
It was too sultry to go far, so we soon seated ourselves upon one of the sandy hillocks, overgrown with faded grass-tufts, which extend along the coast-line, and which form Nature’s dykes14 against the encroachments of the ocean.
Our rest was soon interrupted by the scrunching15 of heavy boots upon the shingle16, and Jamieson, the old man-o’-war’s man whom I have already had occasion to mention, made his appearance, with the flat, circular net upon his back which he used for shrimp-catching. He came towards us upon seeing us, and said in his rough, kindly17 way that he hoped we would not take it amiss if he sent us up a dish of shrimps18 for our tea at Branksome.
“I aye make a good catch before a storm,” he remarked.
“You think there is going to be a storm, then?” I asked.
“Why, even a marine19 could see that,” he answered, sticking a great wedge of tobacco into his cheek. “The moors over near Cloomber are just white wi’ gulls20 and kittiewakes. What d’ye think they come ashore21 for except to escape having all the feathers blown out o’ them? I mind a day like this when I was wi’ Charlie Napier off Cronstadt. It well-nigh blew us under the guns of the forts, for all our engines and propellers22.”
“Have you ever known a wreck23 in these parts?” I asked.
“Lord love ye, sir, it’s a famous place for wrecks24. Why, in that very bay down there two o’ King Philip’s first-rates foundered25 wi’ all hands in the days o’ the Spanish war. If that sheet o’ water and the Bay o’ Luce round the corner could tell their ain tale they’d have a gey lot to speak of. When the Jedgment Day comes round that water will be just bubbling wi’ the number o’ folks that will be coming up frae the bottom.”
“I trust that there will be no wrecks while we are here,” said Esther earnestly.
The old man shook his grizzled head and looked distrustfully at the hazy26 horizon.
“If it blows from the west,” he said, “some o’ these sailing ships may find it no joke to be caught without sea-room in the North Channel. There’s that barque out yonder — I daresay her maister would be glad enough to find himsel’ safe in the Clyde.”
“She seems to be absolutely motionless,” I remarked, looking at the vessel27 in question, whose black hull28 and gleaming sails rose and fell slowly with the throbbing29 of the giant pulse beneath her. “Perhaps, Jamieson, we are wrong, and there will be no storm after all.”
The old sailor chuckled30 to himself with an air of superior knowledge, and shuffled31 away with his shrimp-net, while my sister and I walked slowly homewards through the hot and stagnant air.
I went up to my father’s study to see if the old gentleman had any instructions as to the estate, for he had become engrossed32 in a new work upon Oriental literature, and the practical management of the property had in consequence devolved entirely33 upon me.
I found him seated at his square library table, which was so heaped with books and papers that nothing of him was visible from the door except a tuft of white hair.
“My dear son,” he said to me as I entered, “it is a great grief to me that you are not more conversant34 with Sanscrit. When I was your age, I could converse35 not only in that noble language, but also in the Tamulic, Lohitic, Gangelic, Taic, and Malaic dialects, which are all offshoots from the Turanian branch.”
“I regret extremely, sir,” I answered, “that I have not inherited your wonderful talents as a polyglot36.”
“I have set myself a task,” he explained, “which, if it could only be continued from generation to generation in our own family until it was completed, would make the name of West immortal37. This is nothing less than to publish an English translation of the Buddhist38 Djarmas, with a preface giving an idea of the position of Brahminism before the coming of Sakyamuni. With diligence it is possible that I might be able myself to complete part of the preface before I die.”
“And pray, sir,” I asked, “how long would the whole work be when it was finished?”
“The abridged39 edition in the Imperial Library of Pekin,” said my father, rubbing his hands together, “consists of 325 volumes of an average weight of five pounds. Then tile preface, which must embrace some account of the Rig-veda, the Sama-veda, the Yagur-veda, and the Atharva-veda, with the Brahmanas, could hardly be completed in less than ten volumes. Now, if we apportion40 one volume to each year, there is every prospect41 of the family coming to an end of its task about the date 2250, the twelfth generation completing the work, while the thirteenth might occupy itself upon the index.”
“And how are our descendants to live, sir,” I asked, with a smile, “during the progress of this great undertaking:’”
“That’s the worst of you, Jack42,” my father cried petulantly43. “There is nothing practical about you. Instead of confining your attention to the working out of my noble scheme, you begin raising all sorts of absurd objections. It is a mere45 matter of detail how our descendants live, so long as they stick to the Djarmas. Now, I want you to go up to the bothy of Fergus McDonald and see about the thatch46, and Willie Fullerton has written to say that his milk-cow is bad. You might took in upon your way and ask after it.”
I started off upon my errands, but before doing so I took a look at the barometer48 upon the wall. The mercury had sunk to the phenomenal point of twenty-eight inches. Clearly the old sailor had not been wrong in his interpretation49 of Nature’s signs.
As I returned over the moors in the evening, the wind was blowing in short, angry puffs50, and the western horizon was heaped with sombre clouds which stretched their long, ragged51 tentacles52 right up to the zenith.
Against their dark background one or two livid, sulphur-coloured splotches showed up malignant53 and menacing, while the surface of the sea had changed from the appearance of burnished54 quicksilver to that of ground glass. A low, moaning sound rose up from the ocean as if it knew that trouble was in store for it.
Far out in the Channel I saw a single panting, eager steam vessel making ifs way to Belfast Lough, and the large barque which I had observed in the morning still beating about in the offing, endeavouring to pass to the northward55.
At nine o’clock a sharp breeze was blowing, at ten it had freshened into a gale56, and before midnight the most furious storm was raging which I can remember upon that weather-beaten coast.
I sat for some time in our small, oak-panelled sitting-room57 listening to the screeching58 and howling of the blast and to the rattle59 of the gravel60 and pebbles61 as they pattered against the window. Nature’s grim orchestra was playing its world-old piece with a compass which ranged from the deep diapason of the thundering surge to the thin shriek62 of the scattered shingle and the keen piping of frightened sea birds.
Once for an instant I opened the lattice window, but a gust63 of wind and rain came blustering64 through, bearing with it a great sheet of seaweed, which flapped down upon the table. It was all I could do to close it again with a thrust of my shoulder in the face of the blast.
My sister and father had retired65 to their rooms, but my thoughts were too active for sleep, so I continued to sit and to smoke by the smouldering fire.
What was going on in the Hall now, I wondered? What did Gabriel think of the storm, and how did it affect the old man who wandered about in the night? Did he welcome these dread66 forces of Nature as being of the same order of things as his own tumultuous thoughts?
It was only two days now from the date which I had been assured was to mark a crisis in his fortunes. Would he regard this sudden tempest as being in any way connected with the mysterious fate which threatened him?
Over all these things and many more I pondered as I sat by the glowing embers until they died gradually out, and the chill night air warned me that it was time to retire.
I may have slept a couple of hours when I was awakened67 by some one tugging68 furiously at my shoulder. Sitting up in bed, I saw by the dim light that my father was standing69 half-clad by my bedside, and that it was his grasp which I felt on my night-shirt.
“Get up, Jack, get up!” he was crying excitedly. “There’s a great ship ashore in the bay, and the poor folk will all be drowned. Come down, my boy, and let us see what we can do.”
The good old man seemed to be nearly beside himself with excitement and impatience70. I sprang from my bed, and was huddling71 on a few clothes, when a dull, booming sound made itself heard above the howling of the wind and the thunder of the breakers.
“There it is again!” cried my father. “It is their signal gun, poor creatures! Jamieson and the fishermen are below. Put your oil-skin coat on and the Glengarry hat. Come, come, every second may mean a human life!”
We hurried down together and made our way to the beach, accompanied by a dozen or so of the inhabitants of Branksome.
The gale had increased rather than moderated, and the wind screamed all round us with an infernal clamour. So great was its force that we had to put our shoulders against it, and bore our way through it, while the sand and gravel tingled72 up against our faces.
There was just light enough to make out the scudding73 clouds and the white gleam of the breakers, but beyond that all was absolute darkness.
We stood ankle deep in the shingle and seaweed, shading our eyes with our hands and peering out into the inky obscurity.
It seemed to me as I listened that I could hear human voices loud in intreaty and terror, but amid the wild turmoil74 of Nature it was difficult to distinguish one sound from another.
Suddenly, however, a light glimmered75 in the heart of the tempest, and next instant the beach and sea and wide, tossing bay were brilliantly illuminated76 by the wild glare of a signal light.
The ship lay on her beam-ends right in the centre of the terrible Hansel reef, hurled77 over to such an angle that I could see all the planking of her deck. I recognised her at once as being the same three-masted barque which I had observed in the Channel in the morning, and the union Jack which was nailed upside down to the jagged slump78 of her mizzen proclaimed her nationality.
Every spar and rope and writhing79 piece of cordage showed up hard and clear under the vivid light which spluttered and flickered80 from the highest portion of the forecastle. Beyond the doomed81 ship, out of the great darkness came the long, rolling lines of big waves, never ending, never tiring, with a petulant44 tuft of foam82 here and there upon their crests83. Each as it reached the broad circle of unnatural84 light appeared to gather strength and volume and to hurry on more impetuously until with a roar and a jarring crash it sprang upon its victim.
Clinging to the weather shrouds85 we could distinctly see ten or a dozen frightened seamen86 who, when the light revealed our presence, turned their white faces towards us and waved their hands imploringly87. The poor wretches88 had evidently taken fresh hope from our presence, though it was clear that their own boats had either been washed away or so damaged as to render them useless.
The sailors who clung to the rigging were not, however, the only unfortunates on board. On the breaking poop there stood three men who appeared to be both of a different race and nature from the cowering89 wretches who implored90 our assistance.
Leaning upon the shattered taff-rail they seemed to be conversing91 together as quietly and unconcernedly as though they were unconscious of the deadly peril92 which surrounded them.
As the signal light flickered over them, we could see from the shore that these immutable93 strangers wore red fezes, and that their faces were of a swarthy, large-featured type, which proclaimed an Eastern origin.
There was little time, however, for us to take note of such details. The ship was breaking rapidly, and some effort must be made to save the poor, sodden94 group of humanity who implored our assistance.
The nearest lifeboat was in the Bay of Luce, ten long miles away, but here was our own broad, roomy craft upon the shingle, and plenty of brave fisher lads to form a crew. Six of us sprang to the oars95, the others pushed us off, and we fought our way through the swirling96, raging waters, staggering and recoiling97 before the great, sweeping billows, but still steadily98 decreasing the distance between the barque and ourselves.
It seemed, however, that our efforts were fated to be in vain.
As we mounted upon a surge I saw a giant wave, topping all the others, and coming after them like a driver following a flock, sweep down upon the vessel, curling its great, green arch over the breaking deck.
With a rending99, riving sound the ship split in two where the terrible, serrated back of the Hansel reef was sawing into her keel. The after-part, with the broken mizzen and the three Orientals, sank backwards100 into deep water and vanished, while the fore-half oscillated helplessly about, retaining its precarious101 balance upon the rocks.
A wail102 of fear went up from the wreck and was echoed from the beach, but by the blessing103 of Providence104 she kept afloat until we made our way under her bowsprit and rescued every man of the crew.
We had not got half-way upon our return, however, when another great wave swept the shattered forecastle off the reef, and, extinguishing the signal light, hid the wild denouement105 from our view.
Our friends upon the shore were loud in congratulation and praise, nor were they backward in welcoming and comforting the castaways. They were thirteen in all, as cold and cowed a set of mortals as ever slipped through Death’s fingers, save, indeed, their captain, who was a hardy106, robust107 man, and who made light of the affair.
Some were taken off to this cottage and some to that, but the greater part came back to Branksome with us, where we gave them such dry clothes as we could lay our hands on, and served them with beef and beer by the kitchen fire. The captain, whose name was Meadows, compressed his bulky form into a suit of my own, and came down to the parlour, where he mixed himself some grog and gave my father and myself an account of the disaster.
“If it hadn’t been for you, sir, and your brave fellows,” he said, smiling across at me, “we should be ten fathoms108 deep by this time. As to the Belinda, she was a leaky old tub and well insured, so neither the owners nor I are likely to break our hearts over her.”
“I am afraid,” said my father sadly, “that we shall never see your three passengers again. I have left men upon the beach in case they should be washed up, but I fear it is hopeless. I saw them go down when the vessel split, and no man could have lived for a moment among that terrible surge.”
“Who were they?” I asked. “I could not have believed that it was possible for men to appear so unconcerned in the face of such imminent109 peril.”
“As to who they are or were,” the captain answered, puffing110 thoughtfully at his pipe, “that is by no means easy to say. Our last port was Kurrachee, in the north of India, and there we took them aboard as passengers for Glasgow. Ram111 Singh was the name of the younger, and it is only with him that I have come in contact, but they all appeared to be quiet, inoffensive gentlemen. I never inquired their business, but I should judge that they were Parsee merchants from Hyderabad whose trade took them to Europe. I could never see why the crew should fear them, and the mate, too, he should have had more sense.”
“Fear them I!” I ejaculated in surprise.
“Yes, they had some preposterous112 idea that they were dangerous shipmates. I have no doubt if you were to go down into the kitchen now you would find that they are all agreed that our passengers were the cause of the whole disaster.”
As the captain was speaking the parlour door opened and the mate of the barque, a tall, red-bearded sailor, stepped in. He had obtained a complete rig-out from some kind-hearted fisherman, and looked in his comfortable jersey113 and well-greased seaboots a very favourable114 specimen115 of a shipwrecked mariner117.
With a few words of grateful acknowledgment of our hospitality, he drew a chair up to the fire and warmed his great, brown hands before the blaze.
“What d’ye think now, Captain Meadows?” he asked presently, glancing up at his superior officer. “Didn’t I warn you what would be the upshot of having those niggers on board the Belinda?”
The captain leant back in his chair and laughed heartily118.
“Didn’t I tell you?” he cried, appealing to us. “Didn’t I tell you?”
“It might have been no laughing matter for us,” the other remarked petulantly. “I have lost a good sea-kit and nearly my life into the bargain.”
“Do I understand you to say,” said I, “that you attribute your misfortunes to your ill-fated passengers?”
The mate opened his eyes at the adjective.
“Why ill-fated, sir?” he asked.
“Because they are most certainly drowned,” I answered.
He sniffed119 incredulously and went on warming his hands.
“Men of that kind are never drowned,” he said, after a pause. “Their father, the devil, looks after them. Did you see them standing on the poop and rolling cigarettes at the time when the mizzen was carried away and the quarter-boats stove? That was enough for me. I’m not surprised at you landsmen not being able to take it in, but the captain here, who’s been sailing since he was the height of the binnacle, ought to know by this time that a cat and a priest are the worst cargo120 you can carry. If a Christian121 priest is bad, I guess an idolatrous pagan one is fifty times worse. I stand by the old religion, and be d — d to it!”
My father and I could not help laughing at the rough sailor’s very unorthodox way of proclaiming his orthodoxy. The mate, however, was evidently in deadly earnest, and proceeded to state his case, marking off the different points upon the rough, red fingers of his left hand.
“It was at Kurrachee, directly after they come that I warned ye,” he said reproachfully to the captain. “There was three Buddhist Lascars in my watch, and what did they do when them chaps come aboard? Why, they down on their stomachs and rubbed their noses on the deck — that’s what they did. They wouldn’t ha’ done as much for an admiral of the R’yal Navy. They know who’s who — these niggers do; and I smelt122 mischief123 the moment I saw them on their faces. I asked them afterwards in your presence, Captain, why they had done it, and they answered that the passengers were holy men. You heard ’em yourself.”
“Well, there’s no harm in that, Hawkins,” said Captain Meadows.
“I don’t know that,” the mate said doubtfully. “The holiest Christian is the one that’s nearest God, but the holiest nigger is, in my opinion, the one that’s nearest the devil. Then you saw yourself, Captain Meadows, how they went on during the voyage, reading books that was writ47 on wood instead o’ paper, and sitting up right through the night to jabber124 together on the quarter-deck. What did they want to have a chart of their own for and to mark the course of the vessel every day?”
“They didn’t,” said the captain.
“Indeed they did, and if I did not tell you sooner it was because you were always ready to laugh at what I said about them. They had instruments o’ their own — when they used them I can’t say — but every day at noon they worked out the latitude125 and longitude126, and marked out the vessel’s position on a chart that was pinned on their cabin table. I saw them at it, and so did the steward127 from his pantry.”
“Well, I don’t see what you prove from that,” the captain remarked,” though I confess it is a strange thing.”
“I’ll tell you another strange thing,” said the mate impressively. “Do you know the name of this bay in which we are cast away?”
“I have learnt from our kind friends here that we are upon the Wigtownshire coast,” the captain answered, “but I have not heard the name of the bay.”
The mate leant forward with a grave face.
“It is the Bay of Kirkmaiden,” he said.
If he expected to astonish Captain Meadows he certainly succeeded, for that gentleman was fairly bereft128 of speech for a minute or more.
“This is really marvellous,” he said, after a time, turning to us. “These passengers of ours cross-questioned us early in tile voyage as to the existence of a bay of that name. Hawkins here and I denied all knowledge of one, for on the chart it is included in the Bay of Luce. That we should eventually be blown into it and destroyed is an extraordinary coincidence.”
“Too extraordinary to be a coincidence,” growled129 the mate. “I saw them during the calm yesterday morning, pointing to the land over our starboard quarter. They knew well enough that that was the port they were making for.”
“What do you make of it all, then, Hawkins?” asked the captain, with a troubled face. “What is your own theory on the matter?”
“Why, in my opinion,” the mate answered, “them three swabs have no more difficulty in raising a gale o’ wind than I should have in swallowing this here grog. They had reasons o’ their own for coming to this God-forsaken — saving your presence, sirs — this God-forsaken bay, and they took a short cut to it by arranging to be blown ashore there. That’s my idea o’ the matter, though what three Buddhist priests could find to do in the Bay of Kirkmaiden is clean past my comprehension.”
My father raised his eyebrows130 to indicate the doubt which his hospitality forbade him from putting into words.
“I think, gentlemen,” he said, “that you are both sorely in need of rest after your perilous131 adventures. If you will follow me I shall lead you to your rooms.”
He conducted them with old-fashioned ceremony to the laird’s best spare bedroom, and then, returning to me in the parlour, proposed that we should go down together to the beach and learn whether anything fresh had occurred.
The first pale light of dawn was just appearing in the east when we made our way for the second time to the scene of the shipwreck116. The gale had blown itself out, but the sea was still very high, and all inside the breakers was a seething132, gleaming line of foam, as though the fierce old ocean were gnashing its white fangs133 at the victims who had escaped from its clutches.
All along the beach fishermen and crofters were hard at work hauling up spars and barrels as fast as they were tossed ashore. None of them had seen any bodies, however, and they explained to us that only such things as could float had any chance of coming ashore, for the undercurrent was so strong that whatever was beneath the surface must infallibly be swept out to sea.
As to the possibility of the unfortunate passengers having been able to reach the shore, these practical men would not hear of it for a moment, and showed us conclusively134 that if they had not been drowned they must have been dashed to pieces upon the rocks.
“We did all that could be done,” my father said sadly, as we returned home. “I am afraid that the poor mate has had his reason affected135 by the suddenness of the disaster. Did you hear what he said about Buddhist priests raising a gale?”
“Yes, I heard him,” said I. “It was very painful to listen to him,” said my father. “I wonder if he would object to my putting a small mustard plaster under each of his ears. It would relieve any congestion136 of the brain. Or perhaps it would be best to wake him up and give him two antibilious pills. What do you think, Jack?”
“I think,” said I, with a yawn, “that you had best let him sleep, and go to sleep yourself. You can physic him in the morning if he needs it.”
So saying I stumbled off to my bedroom, and throwing myself upon the couch was soon in a dreamless slumber137.
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1
auspiciously
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| adv.吉利； 繁荣昌盛； 前途顺利； 吉祥 | |
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scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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stagnant
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| adj.不流动的，停滞的，不景气的 | |
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remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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shimmering
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| v.闪闪发光，发微光( shimmer的现在分词 ) | |
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haze
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| n.霾，烟雾；懵懂，迷糊；vi.(over)变模糊 | |
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moors
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| v.停泊，系泊（船只）( moor的第三人称单数 ) | |
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concealed
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| a.隐藏的，隐蔽的 | |
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sweeping
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| adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的 | |
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sullenly
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| 不高兴地，绷着脸，忧郁地 | |
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monotonous
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| adj.单调的，一成不变的，使人厌倦的 | |
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margin
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| n.页边空白；差额；余地，余裕；边，边缘 | |
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situated
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| adj.坐落在...的，处于某种境地的 | |
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dykes
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| abbr.diagonal wire cutters 斜线切割机n.堤( dyke的名词复数 )；坝；堰；沟 | |
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scrunching
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| v.发出喀嚓声( scrunch的现在分词 )；蜷缩；压；挤压 | |
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shingle
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| n.木瓦板；小招牌(尤指医生或律师挂的营业招牌)；v.用木瓦板盖（屋顶）；把（女子头发）剪短 | |
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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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shrimps
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| n.虾，小虾( shrimp的名词复数 )；矮小的人 | |
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marine
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| adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵 | |
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gulls
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| n.鸥( gull的名词复数 )v.欺骗某人( gull的第三人称单数 ) | |
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ashore
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| adv.在(向)岸上，上岸 | |
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propellers
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| n.螺旋桨，推进器( propeller的名词复数 ) | |
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wreck
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| n.失事，遇难；沉船；vt.(船等)失事，遇难 | |
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wrecks
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| n.沉船( wreck的名词复数 )；（事故中）遭严重毁坏的汽车（或飞机等）；（身体或精神上）受到严重损伤的人；状况非常糟糕的车辆（或建筑物等）v.毁坏[毁灭]某物( wreck的第三人称单数 )；使（船舶）失事，使遇难，使下沉 | |
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foundered
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| v.创始人( founder的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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hazy
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| adj.有薄雾的，朦胧的；不肯定的，模糊的 | |
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vessel
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| n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管 | |
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hull
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| n.船身；(果、实等的)外壳；vt.去(谷物等)壳 | |
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throbbing
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| a. 跳动的,悸动的 | |
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chuckled
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| 轻声地笑( chuckle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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31
shuffled
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| v.洗（纸牌）( shuffle的过去式和过去分词 )；拖着脚步走；粗心地做；摆脱尘世的烦恼 | |
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32
engrossed
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| adj.全神贯注的 | |
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33
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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34
conversant
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| adj.亲近的，有交情的，熟悉的 | |
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35
converse
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| vi.谈话，谈天，闲聊；adv.相反的，相反 | |
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36
polyglot
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| adj.通晓数种语言的；n.通晓多种语言的人 | |
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37
immortal
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| adj.不朽的；永生的，不死的；神的 | |
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38
Buddhist
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| adj./n.佛教的，佛教徒 | |
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39
abridged
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| 削减的，删节的 | |
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40
apportion
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| vt.（按比例或计划）分配 | |
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41
prospect
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| n.前景，前途；景色，视野 | |
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42
jack
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| n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克 | |
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43
petulantly
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petulant
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| adj.性急的，暴躁的 | |
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45
mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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46
thatch
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| vt.用茅草覆盖…的顶部；n.茅草(屋) | |
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47
writ
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| n.命令状，书面命令 | |
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48
barometer
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| n.气压表，睛雨表，反应指标 | |
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49
interpretation
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| n.解释，说明，描述；艺术处理 | |
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50
puffs
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| n.吸( puff的名词复数 )；（烟斗或香烟的）一吸；一缕（烟、蒸汽等）；（呼吸或风的）呼v.使喷出( puff的第三人称单数 )；喷着汽（或烟）移动；吹嘘；吹捧 | |
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51
ragged
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| adj.衣衫褴褛的，粗糙的，刺耳的 | |
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52
tentacles
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| n.触手( tentacle的名词复数 )；触角；触须；触毛 | |
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53
malignant
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| adj.恶性的，致命的；恶意的，恶毒的 | |
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54
burnished
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| adj.抛光的，光亮的v.擦亮（金属等），磨光( burnish的过去式和过去分词 )；被擦亮，磨光 | |
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55
northward
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| adv.向北；n.北方的地区 | |
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56
gale
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| n.大风，强风，一阵闹声（尤指笑声等） | |
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57
sitting-room
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| n.（BrE）客厅，起居室 | |
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58
screeching
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| v.发出尖叫声( screech的现在分词 )；发出粗而刺耳的声音；高叫 | |
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59
rattle
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| v.飞奔，碰响；激怒；n.碰撞声；拨浪鼓 | |
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60
gravel
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| n.砂跞；砂砾层；结石 | |
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61
pebbles
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| [复数]鹅卵石； 沙砾； 卵石，小圆石( pebble的名词复数 ) | |
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62
shriek
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| v./n.尖叫，叫喊 | |
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63
gust
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| n.阵风，突然一阵（雨、烟等），（感情的）迸发 | |
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64
blustering
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| adj.狂风大作的，狂暴的v.外强中干的威吓( bluster的现在分词 )；咆哮；（风）呼啸；狂吹 | |
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65
retired
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| adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的 | |
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66
dread
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| vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧 | |
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67
awakened
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| v.（使）醒( awaken的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）觉醒；弄醒；（使）意识到 | |
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68
tugging
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| n.牵引感v.用力拉，使劲拉，猛扯( tug的现在分词 ) | |
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69
standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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70
impatience
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| n.不耐烦，急躁 | |
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71
huddling
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| n. 杂乱一团, 混乱, 拥挤 v. 推挤, 乱堆, 草率了事 | |
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72
tingled
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| v.有刺痛感( tingle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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73
scudding
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| n.刮面v.（尤指船、舰或云彩）笔直、高速而平稳地移动( scud的现在分词 ) | |
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74
turmoil
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| n.骚乱，混乱，动乱 | |
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75
glimmered
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| v.发闪光，发微光( glimmer的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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76
illuminated
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| adj.被照明的；受启迪的 | |
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77
hurled
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| v.猛投，用力掷( hurl的过去式和过去分词 )；大声叫骂 | |
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78
slump
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| n.暴跌，意气消沉，（土地）下沉；vi.猛然掉落，坍塌，大幅度下跌 | |
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79
writhing
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| （因极度痛苦而）扭动或翻滚( writhe的现在分词 ) | |
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80
flickered
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| （通常指灯光）闪烁，摇曳( flicker的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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81
doomed
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| 命定的 | |
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82
foam
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| v./n.泡沫，起泡沫 | |
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83
crests
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| v.到达山顶（或浪峰）( crest的第三人称单数 )；到达洪峰，达到顶点 | |
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84
unnatural
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| adj.不自然的；反常的 | |
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85
shrouds
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| n.裹尸布( shroud的名词复数 )；寿衣；遮蔽物；覆盖物v.隐瞒( shroud的第三人称单数 )；保密 | |
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86
seamen
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| n.海员 | |
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87
imploringly
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| adv. 恳求地, 哀求地 | |
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88
wretches
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| n.不幸的人( wretch的名词复数 )；可怜的人；恶棍；坏蛋 | |
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89
cowering
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| v.畏缩，抖缩( cower的现在分词 ) | |
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90
implored
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| 恳求或乞求（某人）( implore的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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91
conversing
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| v.交谈，谈话( converse的现在分词 ) | |
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92
peril
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| n.(严重的)危险；危险的事物 | |
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93
immutable
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| adj.不可改变的，永恒的 | |
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94
sodden
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| adj.浑身湿透的；v.使浸透；使呆头呆脑 | |
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95
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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96
swirling
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| v.旋转，打旋( swirl的现在分词 ) | |
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97
recoiling
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| v.畏缩( recoil的现在分词 )；退缩；报应；返回 | |
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98
steadily
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| adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地 | |
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99
rending
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| v.撕碎( rend的现在分词 )；分裂；（因愤怒、痛苦等而）揪扯（衣服或头发等）；（声音等）刺破 | |
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100
backwards
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| adv.往回地，向原处，倒，相反，前后倒置地 | |
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101
precarious
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| adj.不安定的，靠不住的；根据不足的 | |
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102
wail
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| vt./vi.大声哀号，恸哭；呼啸，尖啸 | |
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103
blessing
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| n.祈神赐福；祷告；祝福，祝愿 | |
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104
providence
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| n.深谋远虑，天道，天意；远见；节约；上帝 | |
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105
denouement
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| n.结尾，结局 | |
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106
hardy
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| adj.勇敢的，果断的，吃苦的；耐寒的 | |
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107
robust
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| adj.强壮的，强健的，粗野的，需要体力的，浓的 | |
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108
fathoms
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| 英寻( fathom的名词复数 ) | |
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109
imminent
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| adj.即将发生的，临近的，逼近的 | |
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110
puffing
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| v.使喷出( puff的现在分词 )；喷着汽（或烟）移动；吹嘘；吹捧 | |
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111
ram
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| (random access memory)随机存取存储器 | |
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112
preposterous
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| adj.荒谬的，可笑的 | |
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113
jersey
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| n.运动衫 | |
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114
favourable
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| adj.赞成的，称赞的，有利的，良好的，顺利的 | |
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115
specimen
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| n.样本，标本 | |
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116
shipwreck
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| n.船舶失事，海难 | |
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117
mariner
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| n.水手号不载人航天探测器，海员，航海者 | |
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118
heartily
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| adv.衷心地，诚恳地，十分，很 | |
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119
sniffed
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| v.以鼻吸气，嗅，闻( sniff的过去式和过去分词 )；抽鼻子（尤指哭泣、患感冒等时出声地用鼻子吸气）；抱怨，不以为然地说 | |
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120
cargo
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| n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物 | |
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121
Christian
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| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
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122
smelt
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| v.熔解，熔炼；n.银白鱼，胡瓜鱼 | |
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123
mischief
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| n.损害，伤害，危害；恶作剧，捣蛋，胡闹 | |
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124
jabber
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| v.快而不清楚地说；n.吱吱喳喳 | |
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125
latitude
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| n.纬度，行动或言论的自由(范围)，(pl.)地区 | |
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126
longitude
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| n.经线，经度 | |
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127
steward
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| n.乘务员，服务员；看管人；膳食管理员 | |
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128
bereft
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| adj.被剥夺的 | |
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129
growled
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| v.（动物）发狺狺声， （雷）作隆隆声( growl的过去式和过去分词 )；低声咆哮着说 | |
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130
eyebrows
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| 眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 ) | |
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131
perilous
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| adj.危险的，冒险的 | |
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132
seething
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| 沸腾的，火热的 | |
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133
fangs
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| n.（尤指狗和狼的）长而尖的牙( fang的名词复数 )；（蛇的）毒牙；罐座 | |
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134
conclusively
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| adv.令人信服地，确凿地 | |
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135
affected
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| adj.不自然的，假装的 | |
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136
congestion
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| n.阻塞，消化不良 | |
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137
slumber
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| n.睡眠，沉睡状态 | |
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