The mutineers of the Osprey had been long since given up as dead, and the story of their desperate escape had become indistinct to the general public mind. Now that they had been recaptured in a remarkable1 manner, popular belief invested them with all sorts of strange surroundings. They had been — according to report — kings over savage3 islanders, chiefs of lawless and ferocious4 pirates, respectable married men in Java, merchants in Singapore, and swindlers in Hong Kong. Their adventures had been dramatized at a London theatre, and the popular novelist of that day was engaged in a work descriptive of their wondrous5 fortunes.
John Rex, the ringleader, was related, it was said, to a noble family, and a special message had come out to Sir John Franklin concerning him. He had every prospect6 of being satisfactorily hung, however, for even the most outspoken7 admirers of his skill and courage could not but admit that he had committed an offence which was death by the law. The Crown would leave nothing undone9 to convict him, and the already crowded prison was re-crammed with half a dozen life sentence men, brought up from Port Arthur to identify the prisoners. Amongst this number was stated to be “the notorious Dawes”.
This statement gave fresh food for recollection and invention. It was remembered that “the notorious Dawes” was the absconder10 who had been brought away by Captain Frere, and who owed such fettered11 life as he possessed12 to the fact that he had assisted Captain Frere to make the wonderful boat in which the marooned13 party escaped. It was remembered, also, how sullen14 and morose15 he had been on his trial five years before, and how he had laughed when the commutation of his death sentence was announced to him. The Hobart Town Gazette published a short biography of this horrible villain16 — a biography setting forth17 how he had been engaged in a mutiny on board the convict ship, how he had twice escaped from the Macquarie Harbour, how he had been repeatedly flogged for violence and insubordination, and how he was now double-ironed at Port Arthur, after two more ineffectual attempts to regain18 his freedom. Indeed, the Gazette, discovering that the wretch19 had been originally transported for highway robbery, argued very ably it would be far better to hang such wild beasts in the first instance than suffer them to cumber20 the ground, and grow confirmed in villainy. “Of what use to society,” asked the Gazette, quite pathetically, “has this scoundrel been during the last eleven years?” And everybody agreed that he had been of no use whatever.
Miss Sylvia Vickers also received an additional share of public attention. Her romantic rescue by the heroic Frere, who was shortly to reap the reward of his devotion in the good old fashion, made her almost as famous as the villain Dawes, or his confederate monster John Rex. It was reported that she was to give evidence on the trial, together with her affianced husband, they being the only two living witnesses who could speak to the facts of the mutiny. It was reported also that her lover was naturally most anxious that she should not give evidence, as she was — an additional point of romantic interest — affected21 deeply by the illness consequent on the suffering she had undergone, and in a state of pitiable mental confusion as to the whole business. These reports caused the Court, on the day of the trial, to be crowded with spectators; and as the various particulars of the marvellous history of this double escape were detailed22, the excitement grew more intense. The aspect of the four heavily-ironed prisoners caused a sensation which, in that city of the ironed, was quite novel, and bets were offered and taken as to the line of defence which they would adopt. At first it was thought that they would throw themselves on the mercy of the Crown, seeking, in the very extravagance of their story, to excite public sympathy; but a little study of the demeanour of the chief prisoner, John Rex, dispelled23 that conjecture24. Calm, placid25, and defiant26, he seemed prepared to accept his fate, or to meet his accusers with some plea which should be sufficient to secure his acquittal on the capital charge. Only when he heard the indictment27, setting forth that he had “feloniously pirated the brig Osprey,” he smiled a little.
Mr. Meekin, sitting in the body of the Court, felt his religious prejudices sadly shocked by that smile. “A perfect wild beast, my dear Miss Vickers,” he said, returning, in a pause during the examination of the convicts who had been brought to identify the prisoner, to the little room where Sylvia and her father were waiting. “He has quite a tigerish look about him.”
“Poor man!” said Sylvia, with a shudder28.
“Poor! My dear young lady, you do not pity him?”
“I do,” said Sylvia, twisting her hands together as if in pain. “I pity them all, poor creatures.”
“Charming sensibility!” says Meekin, with a glance at Vickers. “The true woman’s heart, my dear Major.”
The Major tapped his fingers impatiently at this ill-timed twaddle. Sylvia was too nervous just then for sentiment. “Come here, Poppet,” he said, “and look through this door. You can see them from here, and if you do not recognize any of them, I can’t see what is the use of putting you in the box; though, of course, if it is necessary, you must go.”
The raised dock was just opposite to the door of the room in which they were sitting, and the four manacled men, each with an armed warder behind him, were visible above the heads of the crowd. The girl had never before seen the ceremony of trying a man for his life, and the silent and antique solemnities of the business affected her, as it affects all who see it for the first time. The atmosphere was heavy and distressing29. The chains of the prisoners clanked ominously30. The crushing force of judge, gaolers, warders, and constables31 assembled to punish the four men, appeared cruel. The familiar faces, that in her momentary34 glance, she recognized, seemed to her evilly transfigured. Even the countenance35 of her promised husband, bent36 eagerly forward towards the witness-box, showed tyrannous and bloodthirsty. Her eyes hastily followed the pointing finger of her father, and sought the men in the dock. Two of them lounged, sullen and inattentive; one nervously37 chewed a straw, or piece of twig38, pawing the dock with restless hand; the fourth scowled39 across the Court at the witness-box, which she could not see. The four faces were all strange to her.
“No, papa,” she said, with a sigh of relief, “I can’t recognize them at all.”
As she was turning from the door, a voice from the witness-box behind her made her suddenly pale and pause to look again. The Court itself appeared, at that moment, affected, for a murmur40 ran through it, and some official cried, “Silence!”
The notorious criminal, Rufus Dawes, the desperado of Port Arthur, the wild beast whom the Gazette had judged not fit to live, had just entered the witness-box. He was a man of thirty, in the prime of life, with a torso whose muscular grandeur41 not even the ill-fitting yellow jacket could altogether conceal42, with strong, embrowned, and nervous hands, an upright carriage, and a pair of fierce, black eyes that roamed over the Court hungrily.
Not all the weight of the double irons swaying from the leathern thong43 around his massive loins, could mar2 that elegance44 of attitude which comes only from perfect muscular development. Not all the frowning faces bent upon him could frown an accent of respect into the contemptuous tones in which he answered to his name, “Rufus Dawes, prisoner of the Crown”.
“Come away, my darling,” said Vickers, alarmed at his daughter’s blanched45 face and eager eyes.
“Wait,” she said impatiently, listening for the voice whose owner she could not see. “Rufus Dawes! Oh, I have heard that name before!”
“You are a prisoner of the Crown at the penal46 settlement of Port Arthur?”
“Yes.”
“For life?”
“For life.”
Sylvia turned to her father with breathless inquiry47 in her eyes. “Oh, papa! who is that speaking? I know the name! the voice!”
“That is the man who was with you in the boat, dear,” says Vickers gravely. “The prisoner.”
The eager light died out of her eyes, and in its place came a look of disappointment and pain. “I thought it was a good man,” she said, holding by the edge of the doorway48. “It sounded like a good voice.”
And then she pressed her hands over her eyes and shuddered49. “There, there,” says Vickers soothingly50, “don’t be afraid, Poppet; he can’t hurt you now.”
“No, ha! ha!” says Meekin, with great display of off-hand courage, “the villain’s safe enough now.”
The colloquy51 in the Court went on. “Do you know the prisoners in the dock?”
“Yes.” “Who are they?”
“John Rex, Henry Shiers, James Lesly, and, and — I’m not sure about the last man.” “You are not sure about the last man. Will you swear to the three others?”
“Yes.”
“You remember them well?”
“I was in the chain-gang at Macquarie Harbour with them for three years.” Sylvia, hearing this hideous52 reason for acquaintance, gave a low cry, and fell into her father’s arms.
“Oh, papa, take me away! I feel as if I was going to remember something terrible!”
Amid the deep silence that prevailed, the cry of the poor girl was distinctly audible in the Court, and all heads turned to the door. In the general wonder no one noticed the change that passed over Rufus Dawes. His face flushed scarlet53, great drops of sweat stood on his forehead, and his black eyes glared in the direction from whence the sound came, as though they would pierce the envious54 wood that separated him from the woman whose voice he had heard. Maurice Frere sprang up and pushed his way through the crowd under the bench.
“What’s this?” he said to Vickers, almost brutally55. “What did you bring her here for? She is not wanted. I told you that.”
“I considered it my duty, sir,” says Vickers, with stately rebuke56.
“What has frightened her? What has she heard? What has she seen?” asked Frere, with a strangely white face. “Sylvia, Sylvia!”
She opened her eyes at the sound of his voice. “Take me home, papa; I’m ill. Oh, what thoughts!”
“What does she mean?” cried Frere, looking in alarm from one to the other.
“That ruffian Dawes frightened her,” said Meekin. “A gush57 of recollection, poor child. There, there, calm yourself, Miss Vickers. He is quite safe.”
“Frightened her, eh?” “Yes,” said Sylvia faintly, “he frightened me, Maurice. I needn’t stop any longer, dear, need I?”
“No,” says Frere, the cloud passing from his face. “Major, I beg your pardon, but I was hasty. Take her home at once. This sort of thing is too much for her.” And so he went back to his place, wiping his brow, and breathing hard, as one who had just escaped from some near peril58.
Rufus Dawes had remained in the same attitude until the figure of Frere, passing through the doorway, roused him. “Who is she?” he said, in a low, hoarse59 voice, to the constable32 behind him. “Miss Vickers,” said the man shortly, flinging the information at him as one might fling a bone to a dangerous dog.
“Miss Vickers,” repeated the convict, still staring in a sort of bewildered agony. “They told me she was dead!”
The constable sniffed60 contemptuously at this preposterous61 conclusion, as who should say, “If you know all about it, animal, why did you ask?” and then, feeling that the fixed62 gaze of his interrogator63 demanded some reply, added, “You thort she was, I’ve no doubt. You did your best to make her so, I’ve heard.”
The convict raised both his hands with sudden action of wrathful despair, as though he would seize the other, despite the loaded muskets64; but, checking himself with sudden impulse, wheeled round to the Court.
“Your Honour!— Gentlemen! I want to speak.”
The change in the tone of his voice, no less than the sudden loudness of the exclamation65, made the faces, hitherto bent upon the door through which Mr. Frere had passed, turn round again. To many there it seemed that the “notorious Dawes” was no longer in the box, for, in place of the upright and defiant villain who stood there an instant back, was a white-faced, nervous, agitated66 creature, bending forward in an attitude almost of supplication67, one hand grasping the rail, as though to save himself from falling, the other outstretched towards the bench. “Your Honour, there has been some dreadful mistake made. I want to explain about myself. I explained before, when first I was sent to Port Arthur, but the letters were never forwarded by the Commandant; of course, that’s the rule, and I can’t complain. I’ve been sent there unjustly, your Honour. I made that boat, your Honour. I saved the Major’s wife and daughter. I was the man; I did it all myself, and my liberty was sworn away by a villain who hated me. I thought, until now, that no one knew the truth, for they told me that she was dead.” His rapid utterance68 took the Court so much by surprise that no one interrupted him. “I was sentenced to death for bolting, sir, and they reprieved69 me because I helped them in the boat. Helped them! Why, I made it! She will tell you so. I nursed her! I carried her in my arms! I starved myself for her! She was fond of me, sir. She was indeed. She called me ‘Good Mr. Dawes’.”
At this, a coarse laugh broke out, which was instantly checked. The judge bent over to ask, “Does he mean Miss Vickers?” and in this interval70 Rufus Dawes, looking down into the Court, saw Maurice Frere staring up at him with terror in his eyes. “I see you, Captain Frere, coward and liar33! Put him in the box, gentlemen, and make him tell his story. She’ll contradict him, never fear. Oh, and I thought she was dead all this while!”
The judge had got his answer from the clerk by this time. “Miss Vickers had been seriously ill, had fainted just now in the Court. Her only memories of the convict who had been with her in the boat were those of terror and disgust. The sight of him just now had most seriously affected her. The convict himself was an inveterate71 liar and schemer, and his story had been already disproved by Captain Frere.”
The judge, a man inclining by nature to humanity, but forced by experience to receive all statements of prisoners with caution, said all he could say, and the tragedy of five years was disposed of in the following dialogue:–
JUDGE: This is not the place for an accusation72 against Captain Frere, nor the place to argue upon your alleged73 wrongs. If you have suffered injustice74, the authorities will hear your complaint, and redress75 it.
RUFUS DAWES: I have complained, your Honour. I wrote letter after letter to the Government, but they were never sent. Then I heard she was dead, and they sent me to the Coal Mines after that, and we never hear anything there.
JUDGE: I can’t listen to you. Mr. Mangles76, have you any more questions to ask the witness?
But Mr. Mangles not having any more, someone called, “Matthew Gabbett,” and Rufus Dawes, still endeavouring to speak, was clanked away with, amid a buzz of remark and surmise77.
* * * * * *
The trial progressed without further incident. Sylvia was not called, and, to the astonishment78 of many of his enemies, Captain Frere went into the witness-box and generously spoke8 in favour of John Rex. “He might have left us to starve,” Frere said; “he might have murdered us; we were completely in his power. The stock of provisions on board the brig was not a large one, and I consider that, in dividing it with us, he showed great generosity79 for one in his situation.” This piece of evidence told strongly in favour of the prisoners, for Captain Frere was known to be such an uncompromising foe80 to all rebellious81 convicts that it was understood that only the sternest sense of justice and truth could lead him to speak in such terms. The defence set up by Rex, moreover, was most ingenious. He was guilty of absconding82, but his moderation might plead an excuse for that. His only object was his freedom, and, having gained it, he had lived honestly for nearly three years, as he could prove. He was charged with piratically seizing the brig Osprey, and he urged that the brig Osprey, having been built by convicts at Macquarie Harbour, and never entered in any shipping83 list, could not be said to be “piratically seized”, in the strict meaning of the term. The Court admitted the force of this objection, and, influenced doubtless by Captain Frere’s evidence, the fact that five years had passed since the mutiny, and that the two men most guilty (Cheshire and Barker) had been executed in England, sentenced Rex and his three companions to transportation for life to the penal settlements of the colony.
收听单词发音 |
1
remarkable
|
|
| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
mar
|
|
| vt.破坏，毁坏，弄糟 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
savage
|
|
| adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
ferocious
|
|
| adj.凶猛的，残暴的，极度的，十分强烈的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
wondrous
|
|
| adj.令人惊奇的，奇妙的；adv.惊人地；异乎寻常地；令人惊叹地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
prospect
|
|
| n.前景，前途；景色，视野 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
outspoken
|
|
| adj.直言无讳的，坦率的，坦白无隐的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
spoke
|
|
| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
undone
|
|
| a.未做完的，未完成的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
absconder
|
|
| n.潜逃者，逃跑者 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
|
11
fettered
|
|
| v.给…上脚镣，束缚( fetter的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
possessed
|
|
| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
marooned
|
|
| adj.被围困的；孤立无援的；无法脱身的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
sullen
|
|
| adj.愠怒的，闷闷不乐的，(天气等)阴沉的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
morose
|
|
| adj.脾气坏的，不高兴的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
villain
|
|
| n.反派演员，反面人物；恶棍；问题的起因 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
forth
|
|
| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
regain
|
|
| vt.重新获得，收复，恢复 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
wretch
|
|
| n.可怜的人，不幸的人；卑鄙的人 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
cumber
|
|
| v.拖累，妨碍；n.妨害；拖累 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
affected
|
|
| adj.不自然的，假装的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
detailed
|
|
| adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
dispelled
|
|
| v.驱散，赶跑( dispel的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
conjecture
|
|
| n./v.推测，猜测 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
placid
|
|
| adj.安静的，平和的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
defiant
|
|
| adj.无礼的，挑战的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
27
indictment
|
|
| n.起诉；诉状 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
28
shudder
|
|
| v.战粟，震动，剧烈地摇晃；n.战粟，抖动 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
29
distressing
|
|
| a.使人痛苦的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
30
ominously
|
|
| adv.恶兆地，不吉利地；预示地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
31
constables
|
|
| n.警察( constable的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
32
constable
|
|
| n.(英国)警察，警官 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
33
liar
|
|
| n.说谎的人 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
34
momentary
|
|
| adj.片刻的，瞬息的；短暂的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
35
countenance
|
|
| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
36
bent
|
|
| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
37
nervously
|
|
| adv.神情激动地，不安地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
38
twig
|
|
| n.小树枝，嫩枝；v.理解 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
39
scowled
|
|
| 怒视，生气地皱眉( scowl的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
40
murmur
|
|
| n.低语，低声的怨言；v.低语，低声而言 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
41
grandeur
|
|
| n.伟大，崇高，宏伟，庄严，豪华 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
42
conceal
|
|
| v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
43
thong
|
|
| n.皮带；皮鞭；v.装皮带 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
44
elegance
|
|
| n.优雅；优美，雅致；精致，巧妙 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
45
blanched
|
|
| v.使变白( blanch的过去式 )；使（植物）不见阳光而变白；酸洗（金属）使有光泽；用沸水烫（杏仁等）以便去皮 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
46
penal
|
|
| adj.刑罚的；刑法上的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
47
inquiry
|
|
| n.打听，询问，调查，查问 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
48
doorway
|
|
| n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
49
shuddered
|
|
| v.战栗( shudder的过去式和过去分词 )；发抖；（机器、车辆等）突然震动；颤动 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
50
soothingly
|
|
| adv.抚慰地，安慰地；镇痛地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
51
colloquy
|
|
| n.谈话，自由讨论 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
52
hideous
|
|
| adj.丑陋的，可憎的，可怕的，恐怖的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
53
scarlet
|
|
| n.深红色，绯红色，红衣；adj.绯红色的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
54
envious
|
|
| adj.嫉妒的，羡慕的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
55
brutally
|
|
| adv.残忍地，野蛮地，冷酷无情地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
56
rebuke
|
|
| v.指责，非难，斥责 [反]praise | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
57
gush
|
|
| v.喷，涌；滔滔不绝(说话)；n.喷，涌流；迸发 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
58
peril
|
|
| n.(严重的)危险；危险的事物 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
59
hoarse
|
|
| adj.嘶哑的，沙哑的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
60
sniffed
|
|
| 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 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
61
preposterous
|
|
| adj.荒谬的，可笑的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
62
fixed
|
|
| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
63
interrogator
|
|
| n.讯问者；审问者；质问者；询问器 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
64
muskets
|
|
| n.火枪，（尤指）滑膛枪( musket的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
65
exclamation
|
|
| n.感叹号，惊呼，惊叹词 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
66
agitated
|
|
| adj.被鼓动的，不安的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
67
supplication
|
|
| n.恳求，祈愿，哀求 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
68
utterance
|
|
| n.用言语表达，话语，言语 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
69
reprieved
|
|
| v.缓期执行（死刑）( reprieve的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
70
interval
|
|
| n.间隔，间距；幕间休息，中场休息 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
71
inveterate
|
|
| adj.积习已深的，根深蒂固的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
72
accusation
|
|
| n.控告，指责，谴责 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
73
alleged
|
|
| a.被指控的，嫌疑的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
74
injustice
|
|
| n.非正义，不公正，不公平，侵犯（别人的）权利 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
75
redress
|
|
| n.赔偿，救济，矫正；v.纠正，匡正，革除 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
76
mangles
|
|
| n.轧布机，轧板机，碾压机（mangle的复数形式）vt.乱砍（mangle的第三人称单数形式） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
77
surmise
|
|
| v./n.猜想，推测 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
78
astonishment
|
|
| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
79
generosity
|
|
| n.大度，慷慨，慷慨的行为 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
80
foe
|
|
| n.敌人，仇敌 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
81
rebellious
|
|
| adj.造反的，反抗的，难控制的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
82
absconding
|
|
| v.（尤指逃避逮捕）潜逃，逃跑( abscond的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
83
shipping
|
|
| n.船运（发货，运输，乘船） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |