WHEN this was accomplished1, and we had washed and eaten, Montgomery and I went into my little room and seriously discussed our position for the first time. It was then near midnight. He was almost sober, but greatly disturbed in his mind. He had been strangely under the influence of Moreau's personality: I do not think it had ever occurred to him that Moreau could die. This disaster was the sudden collapse2 of the habits that had become part of his nature in the ten or more monotonous3 years he had spent on the island. He talked vaguely4, answered my questions crookedly5, wandered into general questions.
"This silly ass7 of a world," he said; "what a muddle8 it all is! I haven't had any life. I wonder when it's going to begin. Sixteen years being bullied9 by nurses and schoolmasters at their own sweet will; five in London grinding hard at medicine, bad food, shabby lodgings10, shabby clothes, shabby vice11, a blunder,--I didn't know any better,--and hustled12 off to this beastly island. Ten years here! What's it all for, Prendick? Are we bubbles blown by a baby?"
It was hard to deal with such ravings. "The thing we have to think of now," said I, "is how to get away from this island."
"What's the good of getting away? I'm an outcast. Where am _I_ to join on? It's all very well for _you_, Prendick. Poor old Moreau! We can't leave him here to have his bones picked. As it is--And besides, what will become of the decent part of the Beast Folk?"
"Well," said I, "that will do to-morrow. I've been thinking we might make the brushwood into a pyre and burn his body--and those other things. Then what will happen with the Beast Folk?"
"_I_ don't know. I suppose those that were made of beasts of prey13 will make silly asses14 of themselves sooner or later. We can't massacre15 the lot--can we? I suppose that's what _your_ humanity would suggest? But they'll change. They are sure to change."
He talked thus inconclusively until at last I felt my temper going.
"Damnation!" he exclaimed at some petulance16 of mine; "can't you see I'm in a worse hole than you are?" And he got up, and went for the brandy. "Drink!" he said returning, "you logic-chopping, chalky-faced saint of an atheist17, drink!"
"Not I," said I, and sat grimly watching his face under the yellow paraffine flare18, as he drank himself into a garrulous19 misery20.
I have a memory of infinite tedium21. He wandered into a maudlin22 defence of the Beast People and of M'ling. M'ling, he said, was the only thing that had ever really cared for him. And suddenly an idea came to him.
"I'm damned!" said he, staggering to his feet and clutching the brandy bottle.
By some flash of intuition I knew what it was he intended. "You don't give drink to that beast!" I said, rising and facing him.
"Beast!" said he. "You're the beast. He takes his liquor like a Christian23. Come out of the way, Prendick!"
"For God's sake," said I.
"Get--out of the way!" he roared, and suddenly whipped out his revolver.
"Very well," said I, and stood aside, half-minded to fall upon him as he put his hand upon the latch24, but deterred25 by the thought of my useless arm. "You've made a beast of yourself,--to the beasts you may go."
He flung the doorway26 open, and stood half facing me between the yellow lamp-light and the pallid27 glare of the moon; his eye-sockets were blotches28 of black under his stubbly eyebrows29.
"You're a solemn prig, Prendick, a silly ass! You're always fearing and fancying. We're on the edge of things. I'm bound to cut my throat to-morrow. I'm going to have a damned Bank Holiday to-night." He turned and went out into the moonlight. "M'ling!" he cried; "M'ling, old friend!"
Three dim creatures in the silvery light came along the edge of the wan6 beach,--one a white-wrapped creature, the other two blotches of blackness following it. They halted, staring. Then I saw M'ling's hunched30 shoulders as he came round the corner of the house.
"Drink!" cried Montgomery, "drink, you brutes31! Drink and be men! Damme, I'm the cleverest. Moreau forgot this; this is the last touch. Drink, I tell you!" And waving the bottle in his hand he started off at a kind of quick trot33 to the westward34, M'ling ranging himself between him and the three dim creatures who followed.
I went to the doorway. They were already indistinct in the mist of the moonlight before Montgomery halted. I saw him administer a dose of the raw brandy to M'ling, and saw the five figures melt into one vague patch.
"Sing!" I heard Montgomery shout,--"sing all together, 'Confound old Prendick!' That's right; now again, 'Confound old Prendick!'"
The black group broke up into five separate figures, and wound slowly away from me along the band of shining beach. Each went howling at his own sweet will, yelping36 insults at me, or giving whatever other vent37 this new inspiration of brandy demanded. Presently I heard Montgomery's voice shouting, "Right turn!" and they passed with their shouts and howls into the blackness of the landward trees. Slowly, very slowly, they receded38 into silence.
The peaceful splendour of the night healed again. The moon was now past the meridian39 and travelling down the west. It was at its full, and very bright riding through the empty blue sky. The shadow of the wall lay, a yard wide and of inky blackness, at my feet. The eastward40 sea was a featureless grey, dark and mysterious; and between the sea and the shadow the grey sands (of volcanic41 glass and crystals) flashed and shone like a beach of diamonds. Behind me the paraffine lamp flared42 hot and ruddy.
Then I shut the door, locked it, and went into the enclosure where Moreau lay beside his latest victims,--the staghounds and the llama and some other wretched brutes,--with his massive face calm even after his terrible death, and with the hard eyes open, staring at the dead white moon above. I sat down upon the edge of the sink, and with my eyes upon that ghastly pile of silvery light and ominous43 shadows began to turn over my plans. In the morning I would gather some provisions in the dingey, and after setting fire to the pyre before me, push out into the desolation of the high sea once more. I felt that for Montgomery there was no help; that he was, in truth, half akin44 to these Beast Folk, unfitted for human kindred.
I do not know how long I sat there scheming. It must have been an hour or so. Then my planning was interrupted by the return of Montgomery to my neighbourhood. I heard a yelling from many throats, a tumult45 of exultant46 cries passing down towards the beach, whooping47 and howling, and excited shrieks48 that seemed to come to a stop near the water's edge. The riot rose and fell; I heard heavy blows and the splintering smash of wood, but it did not trouble me then. A discordant50 chanting began.
My thoughts went back to my means of escape. I got up, brought the lamp, and went into a shed to look at some kegs I had seen there. Then I became interested in the contents of some biscuit-tins, and opened one. I saw something out of the tail of my eye,--a red figure,--and turned sharply.
Behind me lay the yard, vividly51 black-and-white in the moonlight, and the pile of wood and faggots on which Moreau and his mutilated victims lay, one over another. They seemed to be gripping one another in one last revengeful grapple. His wounds gaped52, black as night, and the blood that had dripped lay in black patches upon the sand. Then I saw, without understanding, the cause of my phantom,--a ruddy glow that came and danced and went upon the wall opposite. I misinterpreted this, fancied it was a reflection of my flickering53 lamp, and turned again to the stores in the shed. I went on rummaging54 among them, as well as a one-armed man could, finding this convenient thing and that, and putting them aside for to-morrow's launch. My movements were slow, and the time passed quickly. Insensibly the daylight crept upon me.
The chanting died down, giving place to a clamour; then it began again, and suddenly broke into a tumult. I heard cries of, "More! more!" a sound like quarrelling, and a sudden wild shriek49. The quality of the sounds changed so greatly that it arrested my attention. I went out into the yard and listened. Then cutting like a knife across the confusion came the crack of a revolver.
I rushed at once through my room to the little doorway. As I did so I heard some of the packing-cases behind me go sliding down and smash together with a clatter55 of glass on the floor of the shed. But I did not heed56 these. I flung the door open and looked out.
Up the beach by the boathouse a bonfire was burning, raining up sparks into the indistinctness of the dawn. Around this struggled a mass of black figures. I heard Montgomery call my name. I began to run at once towards this fire, revolver in hand. I saw the pink tongue of Montgomery's pistol lick out once, close to the ground. He was down. I shouted with all my strength and fired into the air. I heard some one cry, "The Master!" The knotted black struggle broke into scattering57 units, the fire leapt and sank down. The crowd of Beast People fled in sudden panic before me, up the beach. In my excitement I fired at their retreating backs as they disappeared among the bushes. Then I turned to the black heaps upon the ground.
Montgomery lay on his back, with the hairy-grey Beast-man sprawling58 across his body. The brute32 was dead, but still gripping Montgomery's throat with its curving claws. Near by lay M'ling on his face and quite still, his neck bitten open and the upper part of the smashed brandy-bottle in his hand. Two other figures lay near the fire,--the one motionless, the other groaning59 fitfully, every now and then raising its head slowly, then dropping it again.
I caught hold of the grey man and pulled him off Montgomery's body; his claws drew down the torn coat reluctantly as I dragged him away. Montgomery was dark in the face and scarcely breathing. I splashed sea-water on his face and pillowed his head on my rolled-up coat. M'ling was dead. The wounded creature by the fire--it was a Wolf-brute with a bearded grey face--lay, I found, with the fore35 part of its body upon the still glowing timber. The wretched thing was injured so dreadfully that in mercy I blew its brains out at once. The other brute was one of the Bull-men swathed in white. He too was dead. The rest of the Beast People had vanished from the beach.
I went to Montgomery again and knelt beside him, cursing my ignorance of medicine. The fire beside me had sunk down, and only charred60 beams of timber glowing at the central ends and mixed with a grey ash of brushwood remained. I wondered casually61 where Montgomery had got his wood. Then I saw that the dawn was upon us. The sky had grown brighter, the setting moon was becoming pale and opaque62 in the luminous63 blue of the day. The sky to the eastward was rimmed64 with red.
Suddenly I heard a thud and a hissing65 behind me, and, looking round, sprang to my feet with a cry of horror. Against the warm dawn great tumultuous masses of black smoke were boiling up out of the enclosure, and through their stormy darkness shot flickering threads of blood-red flame. Then the thatched roof caught. I saw the curving charge of the flames across the sloping straw. A spurt66 of fire jetted from the window of my room.
I knew at once what had happened. I remembered the crash I had heard. When I had rushed out to Montgomery's assistance, I had overturned the lamp.
The hopelessness of saving any of the contents of the enclosure stared me in the face. My mind came back to my plan of flight, and turning swiftly I looked to see where the two boats lay upon the beach. They were gone! Two axes lay upon the sands beside me; chips and splinters were scattered67 broadcast, and the ashes of the bonfire were blackening and smoking under the dawn. Montgomery had burnt the boats to revenge himself upon me and prevent our return to mankind!
A sudden convulsion of rage shook me. I was almost moved to batter68 his foolish head in, as he lay there helpless at my feet. Then suddenly his hand moved, so feebly, so pitifully, that my wrath69 vanished. He groaned70, and opened his eyes for a minute. I knelt down beside him and raised his head. He opened his eyes again, staring silently at the dawn, and then they met mine. The lids fell.
"Sorry," he said presently, with an effort. He seemed trying to think. "The last," he murmured, "the last of this silly universe. What a mess--"
I listened. His head fell helplessly to one side. I thought some drink might revive him; but there was neither drink nor vessel71 in which to bring drink at hand. He seemed suddenly heavier. My heart went cold. I bent72 down to his face, put my hand through the rent in his blouse. He was dead; and even as he died a line of white heat, the limb of the sun, rose eastward beyond the projection73 of the bay, splashing its radiance across the sky and turning the dark sea into a weltering tumult of dazzling light. It fell like a glory upon his death-shrunken face.
I let his head fall gently upon the rough pillow I had made for him, and stood up. Before me was the glittering desolation of the sea, the awful solitude74 upon which I had already suffered so much; behind me the island, hushed under the dawn, its Beast People silent and unseen. The enclosure, with all its provisions and ammunition75, burnt noisily, with sudden gusts76 of flame, a fitful crackling, and now and then a crash. The heavy smoke drove up the beach away from me, rolling low over the distant tree-tops towards the huts in the ravine. Beside me were the charred vestiges77 of the boats and these five dead bodies.
Then out of the bushes came three Beast People, with hunched shoulders, protruding78 heads, misshapen hands awkwardly held, and inquisitive79, unfriendly eyes and advanced towards me with hesitating gestures.
收听单词发音 |
1
accomplished
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| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
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collapse
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| vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷 | |
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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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vaguely
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| adv.含糊地，暖昧地 | |
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crookedly
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| adv. 弯曲地，不诚实地 | |
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wan
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| (wide area network)广域网 | |
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ass
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| n.驴；傻瓜，蠢笨的人 | |
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muddle
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| n.困惑，混浊状态；vt.使混乱，使糊涂，使惊呆；vi.胡乱应付，混乱 | |
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bullied
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| adj.被欺负了v.恐吓，威逼( bully的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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lodgings
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| n. 出租的房舍, 寄宿舍 | |
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vice
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| n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的 | |
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hustled
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| 催促（hustle的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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prey
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| n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨 | |
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asses
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| n. 驴，愚蠢的人，臀部 adv. (常用作后置)用于贬损或骂人 | |
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massacre
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| n.残杀，大屠杀；v.残杀，集体屠杀 | |
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petulance
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| n.发脾气，生气，易怒，暴躁，性急 | |
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atheist
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| n.无神论者 | |
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flare
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| v.闪耀，闪烁；n.潮红；突发 | |
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garrulous
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| adj.唠叨的，多话的 | |
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misery
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| n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦 | |
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tedium
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| n.单调；烦闷 | |
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maudlin
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| adj.感情脆弱的，爱哭的 | |
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Christian
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| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
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latch
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| n.门闩，窗闩；弹簧锁 | |
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deterred
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| v.阻止，制止( deter的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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doorway
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| n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径 | |
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pallid
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| adj.苍白的，呆板的 | |
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blotches
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| n.（皮肤上的）红斑，疹块( blotch的名词复数 )；大滴 [大片]（墨水或颜色的）污渍 | |
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eyebrows
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| 眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 ) | |
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hunched
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| （常指因寒冷、生病或愁苦）耸肩弓身的，伏首前倾的 | |
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brutes
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| 兽( brute的名词复数 )； 畜生； 残酷无情的人； 兽性 | |
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brute
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| n.野兽，兽性 | |
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trot
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| n.疾走，慢跑；n.老太婆；现成译本；(复数）trots:腹泻（与the 连用）；v.小跑，快步走，赶紧 | |
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westward
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| n.西方，西部；adj.西方的，向西的；adv.向西 | |
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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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yelping
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| v.发出短而尖的叫声( yelp的现在分词 ) | |
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vent
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| n.通风口，排放口；开衩；vt.表达，发泄 | |
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receded
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| v.逐渐远离( recede的过去式和过去分词 )；向后倾斜；自原处后退或避开别人的注视；尤指问题 | |
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meridian
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| adj.子午线的；全盛期的 | |
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eastward
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| adv.向东；adj.向东的；n.东方，东部 | |
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volcanic
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| adj.火山的；象火山的；由火山引起的 | |
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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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ominous
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| adj.不祥的，不吉的，预兆的，预示的 | |
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akin
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| adj.同族的，类似的 | |
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tumult
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| n.喧哗；激动，混乱；吵闹 | |
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exultant
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| adj.欢腾的，狂欢的，大喜的 | |
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47
whooping
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| 发嗬嗬声的，发咳声的 | |
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48
shrieks
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| n.尖叫声( shriek的名词复数 )v.尖叫( shriek的第三人称单数 ) | |
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49
shriek
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| v./n.尖叫，叫喊 | |
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50
discordant
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| adj.不调和的 | |
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51
vividly
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| adv.清楚地，鲜明地，生动地 | |
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52
gaped
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| v.目瞪口呆地凝视( gape的过去式和过去分词 )；张开，张大 | |
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53
flickering
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| adj.闪烁的，摇曳的，一闪一闪的 | |
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54
rummaging
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| 翻找，搜寻( rummage的现在分词 )； 海关检查 | |
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55
clatter
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| v./n.(使)发出连续而清脆的撞击声 | |
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56
heed
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| v.注意，留意；n.注意，留心 | |
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57
scattering
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| n.[物]散射；散乱，分散；在媒介质中的散播adj.散乱的；分散在不同范围的；广泛扩散的；（选票）数量分散的v.散射(scatter的ing形式)；散布；驱散 | |
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58
sprawling
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| adj.蔓生的，不规则地伸展的v.伸开四肢坐[躺]( sprawl的现在分词 )；蔓延；杂乱无序地拓展；四肢伸展坐着（或躺着） | |
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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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charred
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| v.把…烧成炭( char的过去式)；烧焦 | |
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casually
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| adv.漠不关心地，无动于衷地，不负责任地 | |
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opaque
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| adj.不透光的；不反光的，不传导的；晦涩的 | |
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luminous
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| adj.发光的，发亮的；光明的；明白易懂的；有启发的 | |
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rimmed
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| adj.有边缘的，有框的v.沿…边缘滚动；给…镶边 | |
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hissing
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| n. 发嘶嘶声, 蔑视 动词hiss的现在分词形式 | |
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spurt
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| v.喷出；突然进发；突然兴隆 | |
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67
scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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68
batter
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| v.接连重击；磨损；n.牛奶面糊；击球员 | |
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69
wrath
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| n.愤怒，愤慨，暴怒 | |
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70
groaned
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| v.呻吟( groan的过去式和过去分词 )；发牢骚；抱怨；受苦 | |
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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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bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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73
projection
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| n.发射，计划，突出部分 | |
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74
solitude
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| n. 孤独; 独居,荒僻之地,幽静的地方 | |
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ammunition
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| n.军火，弹药 | |
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76
gusts
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| 一阵强风( gust的名词复数 )； （怒、笑等的）爆发； （感情的）迸发； 发作 | |
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vestiges
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| 残余部分( vestige的名词复数 )； 遗迹； 痕迹； 毫不 | |
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78
protruding
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| v.（使某物）伸出，（使某物）突出( protrude的现在分词 )；凸 | |
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inquisitive
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| adj.求知欲强的，好奇的，好寻根究底的 | |
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