WE made our best speed across the strip of wood that now divided us from the stockade¹; and at every step we took the voices of the buccaneers rang nearer. Soon we could hear their footfalls as they ran, and the cracking of the branches as they breasted across a bit of thicket².

I began to see we should have a brush for it in earnest, and looked to my priming.

`Captain,' said I, `Trelawney is the dead shot. Give him your gun; his own is useless.'

They exchanged guns, and Trelawney, silent and cool as he had been since the beginning of the bustle³, hung a moment on his heel to see that all was fit for service. At the same time, observing Gray to be unarmed, I handed him my cutlass. It did all our hearts good to see him spit in his hand, knit his brows, and make the blade sing through the air. It was plain from every line of his body that our new hand was worth his salt.

Forty paces farther we came to the edge of the wood and saw the stockade in front of us. We struck the enclosure about the middle of the south side, and, almost at the same time, seven mutineers - Job Anderson, the boatswain, at their head - appeared in full cry at the south-western corner.

They paused, as if taken aback; and before they recovered, not only the squire⁴ and I, but Hunter and Joyce from the block house, had time to fire. The four shots came in rather a scattering⁵ volley; but they did the business: one of the enemy actually fell, and the rest, without hesitation⁶, turned and plunged⁷ into the trees.

After reloading, we walked down the outside of the palisade to see the fallen enemy. He was stone dead - shot through the heart.

We began to rejoice over our good success, when just at that moment a pistol cracked in the bush, a ball whistled close past my ear, and poor Tom Redruth stumbled and fell his length on the ground. Both the squire and I returned the shot; but as we had nothing to aim at, it is probable we only wasted powder. Then we reloaded, and turned our attention to poor Tom.

点击收听单词发音  

1 stockade
n.栅栏，围栏；v.用栅栏防护
参考例句：
I had not gone a hundred yards when I reached the stockade.我跑了不到一百码，就到了栅栏前。 A heavy stockade around the cabin protected the pioneer from attack.小屋周围的厚厚的栅栏保护拓荒者免受攻击。

2 thicket
n.灌木丛，树林
参考例句：
A thicket makes good cover for animals to hide in.丛林是动物的良好隐蔽处。 We were now at the margin of the thicket.我们现在已经来到了丛林的边缘。

3 bustle
v.喧扰地忙乱，匆忙，奔忙；n.忙碌；喧闹
参考例句：
The bustle and din gradually faded to silence as night advanced.随着夜越来越深，喧闹声逐渐沉寂。 There is a lot of hustle and bustle in the railway station.火车站里非常拥挤。

4 squire
n.护卫, 侍从, 乡绅
参考例句：
I told him the squire was the most liberal of men.我告诉他乡绅是世界上最宽宏大量的人。 The squire was hard at work at Bristol.乡绅在布里斯托尔热衷于他的工作。

5 scattering
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
参考例句：
The child felle into a rage and began scattering its toys about. 这孩子突发狂怒，把玩具扔得满地都是。 来自《简明英汉词典》 The farmers are scattering seed. 农夫们在播种。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 hesitation
n.犹豫，踌躇
参考例句：
After a long hesitation, he told the truth at last.踌躇了半天，他终于直说了。 There was a certain hesitation in her manner.她的态度有些犹豫不决。

7 plunged
v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降
参考例句：
The train derailed and plunged into the river. 火车脱轨栽进了河里。 She lost her balance and plunged 100 feet to her death. 她没有站稳，从100英尺的高处跌下摔死了。

8 scattered
adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的
参考例句：
Gathering up his scattered papers,he pushed them into his case.他把散乱的文件收拾起来，塞进文件夹里。

9 molestation
n.骚扰，干扰，调戏；折磨
参考例句：
Michael Jackson is arrested by police on charges of child molestation. 2003年的今天，迈克尔·杰克逊因被警方指控有儿童性骚扰行为而被捕。 来自互联网 Jackson pleads not guilty on the molestation charges. 2004年：杰克逊认罪不认罪的性骚扰指控。 来自互联网

10 hoisted
把…吊起，升起( hoist的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
He hoisted himself onto a high stool. 他抬身坐上了一张高凳子。 The sailors hoisted the cargo onto the deck. 水手们把货物吊到甲板上。

11 groaning
adj. 呜咽的, 呻吟的 动词groan的现在分词形式
参考例句：
She's always groaning on about how much she has to do. 她总抱怨自己干很多活儿。 The wounded man lay there groaning, with no one to help him. 受伤者躺在那里呻吟着，无人救助。

12 acquiescence
n.默许；顺从
参考例句：
The chief inclined his head in sign of acquiescence.首领点点头表示允许。 This is due to his acquiescence.这是因为他的默许。

13 mattress
n.床垫，床褥
参考例句：
The straw mattress needs to be aired.草垫子该晾一晾了。 The new mattress I bought sags in the middle.我买的新床垫中间陷了下去。

14 doggedly
adv.顽强地，固执地
参考例句：
He was still doggedly pursuing his studies.他仍然顽强地进行着自己的研究。 He trudged doggedly on until he reached the flat.他顽强地、步履艰难地走着，一直走回了公寓。

15 sullen
adj.愠怒的，闷闷不乐的，(天气等)阴沉的
参考例句：
He looked up at the sullen sky.他抬头看了一眼阴沉的天空。 Susan was sullen in the morning because she hadn't slept well.苏珊今天早上郁闷不乐，因为昨晚没睡好。

16 swollen
adj.肿大的，水涨的；v.使变大，肿胀
参考例句：
Her legs had got swollen from standing up all day.因为整天站着，她的双腿已经肿了。 A mosquito had bitten her and her arm had swollen up.蚊子叮了她，她的手臂肿起来了。

17 stoutish
略胖的
参考例句：
There was a knock on the door and a large stoutish man stepped in. 门上敲了一下，一个身材魁梧、略为发胖的男人走了进来。

19 bent
n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的
参考例句：
He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。 We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。

20 mightily
ad.强烈地；非常地
参考例句：
He hit the peg mightily on the top with a mallet. 他用木槌猛敲木栓顶。 This seemed mightily to relieve him. 干完这件事后，他似乎轻松了许多。

21 reverently
adv.虔诚地
参考例句：
He gazed reverently at the handiwork. 他满怀敬意地凝视着这件手工艺品。 Pork gazed at it reverently and slowly delight spread over his face. 波克怀着愉快的心情看着这只表，脸上慢慢显出十分崇敬的神色。

22 consort
v.相伴；结交
参考例句：
They went in consort two or three together.他们三三两两结伴前往。 The nurses are instructed not to consort with their patients.护士得到指示不得与病人交往。

23 blandly
adv.温和地，殷勤地
参考例句：
There is a class of men in Bristol monstrously prejudiced against Blandly. 布里斯托尔有那么一帮人为此恨透了布兰德利。 来自英汉文学 - 金银岛 \"Maybe you could get something in the stage line?\" he blandly suggested. “也许你能在戏剧这一行里找些事做，\"他和蔼地提议道。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

24 providence
n.深谋远虑，天道，天意；远见；节约；上帝
参考例句：
It is tempting Providence to go in that old boat.乘那艘旧船前往是冒大险。 To act as you have done is to fly in the face of Providence.照你的所作所为那样去行事，是违背上帝的意志的。

25 rations
定量( ration的名词复数 )； 配给量； 正常量； 合理的量
参考例句：
They are provisioned with seven days' rations. 他们得到了7天的给养。 The soldiers complained that they were getting short rations. 士兵们抱怨他们得到的配给不够数。

26 pointed
adj.尖的，直截了当的
参考例句：
He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。 She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

27 oar
n.桨，橹，划手；v.划行
参考例句：
The sailors oar slowly across the river.水手们慢慢地划过河去。 The blade of the oar was bitten off by a shark.浆叶被一条鲨鱼咬掉了。

28 descended
a.为...后裔的，出身于...的
参考例句：
A mood of melancholy descended on us. 一种悲伤的情绪袭上我们的心头。 The path descended the hill in a series of zigzags. 小路呈连续的之字形顺着山坡蜿蜒而下。

29 seamanly
水手一样地
参考例句：
Is that seamanly behaviour, now, I want to know? 这是水手的作风吗？我倒真想问问他们。

30 ebb
vi.衰退，减退；n.处于低潮，处于衰退状态
参考例句：
The flood and ebb tides alternates with each other.涨潮和落潮交替更迭。 They swam till the tide began to ebb.他们一直游到开始退潮。

31 wading
（从水、泥等）蹚，走过，跋( wade的现在分词 )
参考例句：
The man tucked up his trousers for wading. 那人卷起裤子，准备涉水。 The children were wading in the sea. 孩子们在海水中走着。

32 musket
n.滑膛枪
参考例句：
I hunted with a musket two years ago.两年前我用滑膛枪打猎。 So some seconds passed,till suddenly Joyce whipped up his musket and fired.又过了几秒钟，突然，乔伊斯端起枪来开了火。

33 ashore
adv.在(向)岸上，上岸
参考例句：
The children got ashore before the tide came in.涨潮前，孩子们就上岸了。 He laid hold of the rope and pulled the boat ashore.他抓住绳子拉船靠岸。