In the morning, however, Rufus Dawes was first at work, and made no allusion1 to the scene of the previous evening. He had already skinned one of the goats, and he directed Frere to set to work upon another. “Cut down the rump to the hock, and down the brisket to the knee,” he said. “I want the hides as square as possible.” By dint2 of hard work they got the four goats skinned, and the entrails cleaned ready for twisting, by breakfast time; and having broiled3 some of the flesh, made a hearty4 meal. Mrs. Vickers being no better, Dawes went to see her, and seemed to have made friends again with Sylvia, for he came out of the hut with the child’s hand in his. Frere, who was cutting the meat in long strips to dry in the sun, saw this, and it added fresh fuel to the fire in his unreasonable5 envy and jealousy6. However, he said nothing, for his enemy had not yet shown him how the boat was to be made. Before midday, however, he was a partner in the secret, which, after all, was a very simple one.
Rufus Dawes took two of the straightest and most tapered8 of the celery-top pines which Frere had cut on the previous day, and lashed9 them tightly together, with the butts10 outwards11. He thus produced a spliced12 stick about twelve feet long. About two feet from either end he notched13 the young tree until he could bend the extremities14 upwards15; and having so bent16 them, he secured the bent portions in their places by means of lashings of raw hide. The spliced trees now presented a rude outline of the section of a boat, having the stem, keel, and stern all in one piece. This having been placed lengthwise between the stakes, four other poles, notched in two places, were lashed from stake to stake, running crosswise to the keel, and forming the knees. Four saplings were now bent from end to end of the upturned portions of the keel that represented stem and stern. Two of these four were placed above, as gunwales; two below as bottom rails. At each intersection17 the sticks were lashed firmly with fishing line. The whole framework being complete, the stakes were drawn18 out, and there lay upon the ground the skeleton of a boat eight feet long by three broad.
Frere, whose hands were blistered19 and sore, would fain have rested; but the convict would not hear of it. “Let us finish,” he said regardless of his own fatigue20; “the skins will be dry if we stop.”
“I can work no more,” says Frere sulkily; “I can’t stand. You’ve got muscles of iron, I suppose. I haven’t.”
“They made me work when I couldn’t stand, Maurice Frere. It is wonderful what spirit the cat gives a man. There’s nothing like work to get rid of aching muscles — so they used to tell me.”
“Well, what’s to be done now?”
“Cover the boat. There, you can set the fat to melt, and sew these hides together. Two and two, do you see? and then sew the pair at the necks. There is plenty of catgut yonder.”
“Don’t talk to me as if I was a dog!” says Frere suddenly. “Be civil, can’t you.”
But the other, busily trimming and cutting at the projecting pieces of sapling, made no reply. It is possible that he thought the fatigued21 lieutenant22 beneath his notice. About an hour before sundown the hides were ready, and Rufus Dawes, having in the meantime interlaced the ribs23 of the skeleton with wattles, stretched the skins over it, with the hairy side inwards. Along the edges of this covering he bored holes at intervals24, and passing through these holes thongs25 of twisted skin, he drew the whole to the top rail of the boat. One last precaution remained. Dipping the pannikin into the melted tallow, he plentifully26 anointed the seams of the sewn skins. The boat, thus turned topsy-turvy, looked like a huge walnut27 shell covered with red and reeking28 hide, or the skull29 of some Titan who had been scalped. “There!” cried Rufus Dawes, triumphant30. “Twelve hours in the sun to tighten31 the hides, and she’ll swim like a duck.”
The next day was spent in minor32 preparations. The jerked goat-meat was packed securely into as small a compass as possible. The rum barrel was filled with water, and water bags were improvised33 out of portions of the intestines34 of the goats. Rufus Dawes, having filled these last with water, ran a wooden skewer35 through their mouths, and twisted it tight, tourniquet36 fashion. He also stripped cylindrical37 pieces of bark, and having sewn each cylinder38 at the side, fitted to it a bottom of the same material, and caulked39 the seams with gum and pine-tree resin40. Thus four tolerable buckets were obtained. One goatskin yet remained, and out of that it was determined41 to make a sail. “The currents are strong,” said Rufus Dawes, “and we shall not be able to row far with such oars42 as we have got. If we get a breeze it may save our lives.” It was impossible to “step” a mast in the frail43 basket structure, but this difficulty was overcome by a simple contrivance. From thwart44 to thwart two poles were bound, and the mast, lashed between these poles with thongs of raw hide, was secured by shrouds45 of twisted fishing line running fore7 and aft. Sheets of bark were placed at the bottom of the craft, and made a safe flooring. It was late in the afternoon on the fourth day when these preparations were completed, and it was decided46 that on the morrow they should adventure the journey. “We will coast down to the Bar,” said Rufus Dawes, “and wait for the slack of the tide. I can do no more now.”
Sylvia, who had seated herself on a rock at a little distance, called to them. Her strength was restored by the fresh meat, and her childish spirits had risen with the hope of safety. The mercurial47 little creature had wreathed seaweed about her head, and holding in her hand a long twig48 decorated with a tuft of leaves to represent a wand, she personified one of the heroines of her books.
“I am the Queen of the Island,” she said merrily, “and you are my obedient subjects. Pray, Sir Eglamour, is the boat ready?”
“It is, your Majesty,” said poor Dawes.
“Then we will see it. Come, walk in front of me. I won’t ask you to rub your nose upon the ground, like Man Friday, because that would be uncomfortable. Mr. Frere, you don’t play?”
“Oh, yes!” says Frere, unable to withstand the charming pout49 that accompanied the words. “I’ll play. What am I to do?”
“You must walk on this side, and be respectful. Of course it is only Pretend, you know,” she added, with a quick consciousness of Frere’s conceit50. “Now then, the Queen goes down to the Seashore surrounded by her Nymphs! There is no occasion to laugh, Mr. Frere. Of course, Nymphs are very different from you, but then we can’t help that.”
Marching in this pathetically ridiculous fashion across the sand, they halted at the coracle. “So that is the boat!” says the Queen, fairly surprised out of her assumption of dignity. “You are a Wonderful Man, Mr. Dawes!”
Rufus Dawes smiled sadly. “It is very simple.”
“Do you call this simple?” says Frere, who in the general joy had shaken off a portion of his sulkiness. “By George, I don’t! This is ship-building with a vengeance51, this is. There’s no scheming about this — it’s all sheer hard work.”
“Yes!” echoed Sylvia, “sheer hard work — sheer hard work by good Mr. Dawes!” And she began to sing a childish chant of triumph, drawing lines and letters in the sand the while, with the sceptre of the Queen.
“Good Mr. Dawes!
Good Mr. Dawes!
This is the work of Good Mr. Dawes!”
Maurice could not resist a sneer52.
“See-saw, Margery Daw,
Sold her bed, and lay upon straw!”
said he.
“Good Mr. Dawes!” repeated Sylvia. “Good Mr. Dawes! Why shouldn’t I say it? You are disagreeable, sir. I won’t play with you any more,” and she went off along the sand.
“Poor little child,” said Rufus Dawes. “You speak too harshly to her.”
Frere — now that the boat was made — had regained53 his self-confidence. Civilization seemed now brought sufficiently54 close to him to warrant his assuming the position of authority to which his social position entitled him. “One would think that a boat had never been built before to hear her talk,” he said. “If this washing-basket had been one of my old uncle’s three-deckers, she couldn’t have said much more. By the Lord!” he added, with a coarse laugh, “I ought to have a natural talent for ship-building; for if the old villain55 hadn’t died when he did, I should have been a ship-builder myself.”
Rufus Dawes turned his back at the word “died”, and busied himself with the fastenings of the hides. Could the other have seen his face, he would have been struck by its sudden pallor.
“Ah!” continued Frere, half to himself, and half to his companion, “that’s a sum of money to lose, isn’t it?”
“What do you mean?” asked the convict, without turning his face.
“Mean! Why, my good fellow, I should have been left a quarter of a million of money, but the old hunks who was going to give it to me died before he could alter his will, and every shilling went to a scapegrace son, who hadn’t been near the old man for years. That’s the way of the world, isn’t it?”
Rufus Dawes, still keeping his face away, caught his breath as if in astonishment56, and then, recovering himself, he said in a harsh voice, “A fortunate fellow — that son!”
“Fortunate!” cries Frere, with another oath. “Oh yes, he was fortunate! He was burnt to death in the Hydaspes, and never heard of his luck. His mother has got the money, though. I never saw a shilling of it.” And then, seemingly displeased57 with himself for having allowed his tongue to get the better of his dignity, he walked away to the fire, musing58, doubtless, on the difference between Maurice Frere, with a quarter of a million, disporting59 himself in the best society that could be procured60, with command of dog-carts, prize-fighters, and gamecocks galore; and Maurice Frere, a penniless lieutenant, marooned61 on the barren coast of Macquarie Harbour, and acting62 as boat-builder to a runaway63 convict.
Rufus Dawes was also lost in reverie. He leant upon the gunwale of the much-vaunted boat, and his eyes were fixed64 upon the sea, weltering golden in the sunset, but it was evident that he saw nothing of the scene before him. Struck dumb by the sudden intelligence of his fortune, his imagination escaped from his control, and fled away to those scenes which he had striven so vainly to forget. He was looking far away — across the glittering harbour and the wide sea beyond it — looking at the old house at Hampstead, with its well-remembered gloomy garden. He pictured himself escaped from this present peril65, and freed from the sordid66 thraldom67 which so long had held him. He saw himself returning, with some plausible68 story of his wanderings, to take possession of the wealth which was his — saw himself living once more, rich, free, and respected, in the world from which he had been so long an exile. He saw his mother’s sweet pale face, the light of a happy home circle. He saw himself — received with tears of joy and marvelling69 affection — entering into this home circle as one risen from the dead. A new life opened radiant before him, and he was lost in the contemplation of his own happiness.
So absorbed was he that he did not hear the light footstep of the child across the sand. Mrs. Vickers, having been told of the success which had crowned the convict’s efforts, had overcome her weakness so far as to hobble down the beach to the boat, and now, heralded70 by Sylvia, approached, leaning on the arm of Maurice Frere.
“Mamma has come to see the boat, Mr. Dawes!” cries Sylvia, but Dawes did not hear.
The child reiterated71 her words, but still the silent figure did not reply.
“Mr. Dawes!” she cried again, and pulled him by the coat-sleeve.
The touch aroused him, and looking down, he saw the pretty, thin face upturned to his. Scarcely conscious of what he did, and still following out the imagining which made him free, wealthy, and respected, he caught the little creature in his arms — as he might have caught his own daughter — and kissed her. Sylvia said nothing; but Mr. Frere — arrived, by his chain of reasoning, at quite another conclusion as to the state of affairs — was astonished at the presumption72 of the man. The lieutenant regarded himself as already reinstated in his old position, and with Mrs. Vickers on his arm, reproved the apparent insolence73 of the convict as freely as he would have done had they both been at his own little kingdom of Maria Island. “You insolent74 beggar!” he cried. “Do you dare! Keep your place, sir!”
The sentence recalled Rufus Dawes to reality. His place was that of a convict. What business had he with tenderness for the daughter of his master? Yet, after all he had done, and proposed to do, this harsh judgment75 upon him seemed cruel. He saw the two looking at the boat he had built. He marked the flush of hope on the cheek of the poor lady, and the full-blown authority that already hardened the eye of Maurice Frere, and all at once he understood the result of what he had done. He had, by his own act, given himself again to bondage76. As long as escape was impracticable, he had been useful, and even powerful. Now he had pointed77 out the way of escape, he had sunk into the beast of burden once again. In the desert he was “Mr.” Dawes, the saviour78; in civilized79 life he would become once more Rufus Dawes, the ruffian, the prisoner, the absconder80. He stood mute, and let Frere point out the excellences81 of the craft in silence; and then, feeling that the few words of thanks uttered by the lady were chilled by her consciousness of the ill-advised freedom he had taken with the child, he turned on his heel, and strode up into the bush.
“A queer fellow,” said Frere, as Mrs. Vickers followed the retreating figure with her eyes. “Always in an ill temper.” “Poor man! He has behaved very kindly82 to us,” said Mrs. Vickers. Yet even she felt the change of circumstance, and knew that, without any reason she could name, her blind trust and hope in the convict who had saved their lives had been transformed into a patronizing kindliness83 which was quite foreign to esteem84 or affection.
“Come, let us have some supper,” says Frere. “The last we shall eat here, I hope. He will come back when his fit of sulks is over.”
But he did not come back, and, after a few expressions of wonder at his absence, Mrs. Vickers and her daughter, rapt in the hopes and fears of the morrow, almost forgot that he had left them. With marvellous credulity they looked upon the terrible stake they were about to play for as already won. The possession of the boat seemed to them so wonderful, that the perils85 of the voyage they were to make in it were altogether lost sight of. As for Maurice Frere, he was rejoiced that the convict was out of the way. He wished that he was out of the way altogether.
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1
allusion
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| n.暗示，间接提示 | |
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dint
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| n.由于，靠；凹坑 | |
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broiled
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| a.烤过的 | |
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hearty
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| adj.热情友好的；衷心的；尽情的，纵情的 | |
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unreasonable
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| adj.不讲道理的，不合情理的，过度的 | |
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jealousy
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| n.妒忌，嫉妒，猜忌 | |
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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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8
tapered
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| adj. 锥形的，尖削的，楔形的，渐缩的，斜的 动词taper的过去式和过去分词 | |
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lashed
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| adj.具睫毛的v.鞭打( lash的过去式和过去分词 )；煽动；紧系；怒斥 | |
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butts
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| 笑柄( butt的名词复数 )； （武器或工具的）粗大的一端； 屁股； 烟蒂 | |
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outwards
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| adj.外面的，公开的，向外的；adv.向外；n.外形 | |
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spliced
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| adj.（针织品）加固的n.叠接v.绞接( splice的过去式和过去分词 )；捻接（两段绳子）；胶接；粘接（胶片、磁带等） | |
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notched
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| a.有凹口的，有缺口的 | |
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14
extremities
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| n.端点( extremity的名词复数 )；尽头；手和足；极窘迫的境地 | |
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15
upwards
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| adv.向上，在更高处...以上 | |
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16
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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17
intersection
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| n.交集，十字路口，交叉点；[计算机] 交集 | |
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18
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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19
blistered
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| adj.水疮状的，泡状的v.（使）起水泡( blister的过去式和过去分词 )；（使表皮等）涨破，爆裂 | |
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fatigue
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| n.疲劳，劳累 | |
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fatigued
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| adj. 疲乏的 | |
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lieutenant
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| n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员 | |
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ribs
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| n.肋骨( rib的名词复数 )；（船或屋顶等的）肋拱；肋骨状的东西；（织物的）凸条花纹 | |
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24
intervals
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| n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 )；间隔时间；[数学]区间；（戏剧、电影或音乐会的）幕间休息 | |
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25
thongs
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| 的东西 | |
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26
plentifully
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| adv. 许多地，丰饶地 | |
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27
walnut
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| n.胡桃，胡桃木，胡桃色，茶色 | |
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28
reeking
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| v.发出浓烈的臭气( reek的现在分词 )；散发臭气；发出难闻的气味 (of sth)；明显带有（令人不快或生疑的跡象） | |
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29
skull
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| n.头骨；颅骨 | |
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30
triumphant
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| adj.胜利的，成功的；狂欢的，喜悦的 | |
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31
tighten
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| v.(使)变紧；(使)绷紧 | |
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32
minor
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| adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修 | |
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33
improvised
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| a.即席而作的,即兴的 | |
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34
intestines
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| n.肠( intestine的名词复数 ) | |
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35
skewer
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| n.（烤肉用的）串肉杆；v.用杆串好 | |
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36
tourniquet
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| n.止血器，绞压器，驱血带 | |
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37
cylindrical
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| adj.圆筒形的 | |
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38
cylinder
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| n.圆筒，柱(面)，汽缸 | |
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39
caulked
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| v.堵（船的）缝( caulk的过去式和过去分词 )；泥…的缝；填塞；使不漏水 | |
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resin
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| n.树脂，松香，树脂制品；vt.涂树脂 | |
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determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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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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43
frail
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| adj.身体虚弱的；易损坏的 | |
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44
thwart
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| v.阻挠，妨碍，反对；adj.横(断的) | |
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45
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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46
decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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mercurial
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| adj.善变的，活泼的 | |
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48
twig
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| n.小树枝，嫩枝；v.理解 | |
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49
pout
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| v.撅嘴；绷脸；n.撅嘴；生气，不高兴 | |
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50
conceit
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| n.自负，自高自大 | |
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51
vengeance
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| n.报复，报仇，复仇 | |
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52
sneer
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| v.轻蔑；嘲笑；n.嘲笑，讥讽的言语 | |
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53
regained
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| 复得( regain的过去式和过去分词 )； 赢回； 重回； 复至某地 | |
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54
sufficiently
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| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
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55
villain
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| n.反派演员，反面人物；恶棍；问题的起因 | |
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56
astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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57
displeased
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| a.不快的 | |
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musing
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| n. 沉思，冥想 adj. 沉思的, 冥想的 动词muse的现在分词形式 | |
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59
disporting
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| v.嬉戏，玩乐，自娱( disport的现在分词 ) | |
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60
procured
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| v.（努力）取得， （设法）获得( procure的过去式和过去分词 )；拉皮条 | |
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61
marooned
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| adj.被围困的；孤立无援的；无法脱身的 | |
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acting
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| n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的 | |
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63
runaway
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| n.逃走的人，逃亡，亡命者；adj.逃亡的，逃走的 | |
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64
fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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peril
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| n.(严重的)危险；危险的事物 | |
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66
sordid
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| adj.肮脏的，不干净的，卑鄙的，暗淡的 | |
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67
thraldom
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| n.奴隶的身份，奴役，束缚 | |
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68
plausible
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| adj.似真实的，似乎有理的，似乎可信的 | |
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69
marvelling
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| v.惊奇，对…感到惊奇( marvel的现在分词 ) | |
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70
heralded
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| v.预示( herald的过去式和过去分词 )；宣布（好或重要） | |
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71
reiterated
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| 反复地说，重申( reiterate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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72
presumption
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| n.推测，可能性，冒昧，放肆，[法律]推定 | |
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73
insolence
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| n.傲慢；无礼；厚颜；傲慢的态度 | |
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74
insolent
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| adj.傲慢的，无理的 | |
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75
judgment
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| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
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76
bondage
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| n.奴役，束缚 | |
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77
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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78
saviour
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| n.拯救者，救星 | |
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79
civilized
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| a.有教养的，文雅的 | |
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80
absconder
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| n.潜逃者，逃跑者 | |
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81
excellences
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| n.卓越( excellence的名词复数 )；（只用于所修饰的名词后）杰出的；卓越的；出类拔萃的 | |
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82
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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83
kindliness
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| n.厚道，亲切，友好的行为 | |
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84
esteem
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| n.尊敬，尊重；vt.尊重，敬重；把…看作 | |
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85
perils
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| 极大危险( peril的名词复数 )； 危险的事（或环境） | |
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