章节正文
Each of us rushed for what we desired most--Bastin for one of
the canisters of tea, I for my diaries, and Bickley for his chest
of instruments and medicines. These were removed to the mouth of
the cave, and after them the other things and the food; also a
bell tent and some camp furniture that we had brought from the
ship. Then Bastin made some tea of which he drank four large
pannikins, having first said grace over it with unwonted fervour.
Nor did we disdain our share of the beverage, although Bickley
preferred cocoa and I coffee. Cocoa and coffee we had no time to
make then, and in view of that sepulchre in the cave, what had we
to do with cocoa and coffee?
So Bickley and I said to each other, and yet presently he
changed his mind and in a special metal machine carefully made
some extremely strong black coffee which he poured into a thermos
flask, previously warmed with hot water, adding thereto about a
claret glass of brandy. Also he extracted certain drugs from his
medicine-chest, and with them, as I noted, a hypodermic syringe,
which he first boiled in a kettle and then shut up in a little
tube with a glass stopper.
These preparations finished, he called to Tommy to give him the
scraps of our meal. But there was no Tommy. The dog was missing,
and though we hunted everywhere we could not find him. Finally we
concluded that he had wandered off down the beach on business of
his own and would return in due course. We could not bother about
Tommy just then.
After making some further preparations and fidgeting about a
little, Bickley announced that as we had now some proper paraffin
lamps of the powerful sort which are known as "hurricane," he
proposed by their aid to carry out further examinations in the
cave.
"I think I shall stop where I am," said Bastin, helping himself
from the kettle to a fifth pannikin of tea. "Those corpses are
very interesting, but I don't see any use in staring at them
again at present. One can always do that at any time. I have
missed Marama once already by being away in that cave, and I have
a lot to say to him about my people; I don't want to be absent in
case he should return."
"To wash up the things, I suppose," said Bickley with a sniff;
"or perhaps to eat the tea-leaves."
"Well, as a matter of fact, I have noticed that these natives
have a peculiar taste for tea-leaves. I think they believe them
to be a medicine, but I don't suppose they would come so far for
them, though perhaps they might in the hope of getting the head
of Oro. Anyhow, I am going to stop here."
"Pray do," said Bickley. "Are you ready, Humphrey?"
I nodded, and he handed to me a felt-covered flask of the non-
conducting kind, filled with boiling water, a tin of preserved
milk, and a little bottle of meat extract of a most concentrated
sort. Then, having lit two of the hurricane lamps and seen that
they were full of oil, we started back up the cave.
Chapter XI
Resurrection
We reached the sepulchre without stopping to look at the parked
machines or even the marvelousstatue that stood above it, for
what did we care about machines or statues now? As we approached
we were astonished to hear low and cavernous growlings.
"There is some wild beast in there," said Bickley, halting.
"No, by George! it's Tommy. What can the dog be after?"
We peeped in, and there sure enough was Tommy lying on the top
of the Glittering Lady's coffin and growling his very best with
the hair standing up upon his back. When he saw who it was,
however, he jumped off and frisked round, licking my hand.
"That's very strange," I exclaimed.
"Not stranger than everything else," said Bickley.
"What are you going to do?" I asked.
"Open these coffins," he answered, "beginning with that of the
old god, since I would rather experiment on him. I expect he will
crumble into dust. But if by chance he doesn't I'll jam a little
strychnine, mixed with some other drugs, of which you don't know
the names, into one of his veins and see if anything happens. If
it doesn't, it won't hurt him, and if it does--well, who knows?
Now give me a hand."
We went to the left-hand coffin and by inserting the hook on
the back of my knife, of which the real use is to pick stones out
of horses' hoofs, into one of the little air-holes I have
described, managed to raise the heavy crystal lid sufficiently to
enable us to force a piece of wood between it and the top. The
rest was easy, for the hinges being of crystal had not corroded.
In two minutes it was open.
From the chest came an overpowering spicy odour, and with it a
veritable breath of warm air before which we recoiled a little.
Bickley took a pocket thermometer which he had at hand and
glanced at it. It marked a temperature of 82 degrees in the
sepulchre. Having noted this, he thrust it into the coffin
between the crystal wall and its occupant. Then we went out and
waited a little while to give the odours time to dissipate, for
they made the head reel.
After five minutes or so we returned and examined the
thermometer. It had risen to 98 degrees, the natural temperature
of the human body.
"What do you make of that if the man is dead?" he whispered.
I shook my head, and as we had agreed, set to helping him to
lift the body from the coffin. It was a good weight, quite eleven
stone I should say; moreover, it was not still, for the hip
joints bent. We got it out and laid it on a blanket we had spread
on the floor of the sepulchre. Whilst I was thus engaged I saw
something that nearly caused me to loose my hold from
astonishment. Beneath the head, the centre of the back and the
feet were crystal boxes about eight inches square, or rather
crystal blocks, for in them I could see no opening, and these
boxes emitted a faint phosphorescent light. I touched one of them
and found that it was quite warm.
"Great heavens!" I exclaimed, "here's magic."
"There's no such thing," answered Bickley in his usual formula.
Then an explanation seemed to strike him and he added, "Not magic
but radium or something of the sort. That's how the temperature
was kept up. In sufficient quantity it is practically
indestructible, you see. My word! this old gentleman knew a thing
or two."
Again we waited a little while to see if the body begun to
crumble on exposure to the air, I taking the opportunity to make
a rough sketch of it in my pocket-book in anticipation of that
event. But it did not; it remained quite sound.
"Here goes," said Bickley. "If he should be alive, he will
catch cold in his lungs after lying for ages in that baby
incubator, as I suppose he has done. So it is now or never."
Then bidding me hold the man's right arm, he took the
sterilized syringe which he had prepared, and thrusting the
needle into a vein he selected just above the wrist, injected the
contents.
"It would have been better over the heart," he whispered, "but
I thought I would try the arm first. I don't like risking chills
by uncovering him."
I made no answer and again we waited and watched.
"Great heavens, he's stirring!" I gasped presently.
Stirring he was, for his fingers began to move.
Bickley bent down and placed his ear to the heart--I forgot to
say that he had tested this before with a stethoscope, but had
been unable to detect any movement.
"I believe it is beginning to beat," he said in an awed voice.
Then he applied the stethoscope, and added, "It is, it is!"
Next he took a filament of cotton wool and laid it on the man's
lips. Presently it moved; he was breathing, though very faintly.
Bickley took more cotton wool and having poured something from
his medicine-chest on to it, placed it over the mouth beneath the
man's nostrils--I believe it was sal volatile.
Nothing further happened for a little while, and to relieve the
strain on my mind I stared absently into the empty coffin. Here I
saw what had escaped our notice, two small plates of white metal
and cut upon them what I took to be star maps. Beyond these and
the glowing boxes which I have mentioned, there was nothing else
in the coffin. I had no time to examine them, for at that moment
the old man opened his mouth and began to breathe, evidently with
some discomfort and effort, as his empty lungs filled themselves
with air. Then his eyelids lifted, revealing a wonderful pair of
dark glowing eyes beneath. Next he tried to sit up but would have
fallen, had not Bickley supported him with his arm.
I do not think he saw Bickley, indeed he shut his eyes again as
though the light hurt them, and went into a kind of faint. Then
it was that Tommy, who all this while had been watching the
proceedings with grave interest, came forward, wagging his tail,
and licked the man's face. At the touch of the dog's red tongue,
he opened his eyes for the second time. Now he saw--not us but
Tommy, for after contemplating him for a few seconds, something
like a smile appeared upon his fierce but noble face. More, he
lifted his hand and laid it on the dog's head, as though to pat
it kindly. Half a minute or so later his awakening senses
appreciated our presence. The incipient smile vanished and was
replaced by a somewhat terrible frown.
Meanwhile Bickley had poured out some of the hot coffee laced
with brandy into the cup that was screwed on the top of the
thermos flask. Advancing to the man whom I supported, he put it
to his lips. He tasted and made a wry face, but presently he
began to sip, and ultimately swallowed it all. The effect of the
stimulant was wonderful, for in a few minutes he came to life
completely and was even able to sit up without support.
For quite a long while he gazed at us gravely, talking us in and
everything connected with us. For instance, Bickley's medicine-
case which lay open showing the little vulcanite tubes, a few
instruments and other outfit, engaged his particular attention,
and I saw at once that he understood what it was. Thus his arm
still smarted where the needle had been driven in and on the
blanket lay the syringe. He looked at his arm, then looked at the
syringe, and nodded. The paraffin hurricane lamps also seemed to
interest and win his approval. We two men, as I thought,
attracted him least of all; he just summed us up and our
garments, more especially the garments, with a few shrewd
glances, and then seemed to turn his thoughts to Tommy, who had
seated himself quite contentedly at his side, evidently accepting
him as a new addition to our party.
I confess that this behaviour on Tommy's part reassured me not
a little. I am a great believer in the instincts of animals,
especially of dogs, and I felt certain that if this man had not
been in all essentials human like ourselves, Tommy would not have
tolerated him. In the same way the sleeper's clear liking for
Tommy, at whom he looked much oftener and with greater kindness
than he did at us, suggested that there was goodness in him
somewhere, since although a dog in its wonderful tolerance may
love a bad person in whom it smells out hiddenvirtue, no really
bad person ever loved a dog, or, I may add, a child or a flower.
As a matter of fact, the "old god," as we had christened him
while he was in his coffin, during all our association with him,
cared infinitely more for Tommy than he did for any of us, a
circumstance that ultimately was not without its influence upon
our fortunes. But for this there was a reason as we learned
afterwards, also he was not really so amiable as I hoped.
When we had looked at each other for a long while the sleeper
began to arrange his beard, of which the length seemed to
surprise him, especially as Tommy was seated on one end of it.
Finding this out and apparently not wishing to disturb Tommy, he
gave up the occupation, and after one or two attempts, for his
the canisters of tea, I for my diaries, and Bickley for his chest
of instruments and medicines. These were removed to the mouth of
the cave, and after them the other things and the food; also a
bell tent and some camp furniture that we had brought from the
ship. Then Bastin made some tea of which he drank four large
pannikins, having first said grace over it with unwonted fervour.
Nor did we disdain our share of the beverage, although Bickley
preferred cocoa and I coffee. Cocoa and coffee we had no time to
make then, and in view of that sepulchre in the cave, what had we
to do with cocoa and coffee?
So Bickley and I said to each other, and yet presently he
changed his mind and in a special metal machine carefully made
some extremely strong black coffee which he poured into a thermos
flask, previously warmed with hot water, adding thereto about a
claret glass of brandy. Also he extracted certain drugs from his
medicine-chest, and with them, as I noted, a hypodermic syringe,
which he first boiled in a kettle and then shut up in a little
tube with a glass stopper.
These preparations finished, he called to Tommy to give him the
scraps of our meal. But there was no Tommy. The dog was missing,
and though we hunted everywhere we could not find him. Finally we
concluded that he had wandered off down the beach on business of
his own and would return in due course. We could not bother about
Tommy just then.
After making some further preparations and fidgeting about a
little, Bickley announced that as we had now some proper paraffin
lamps of the powerful sort which are known as "hurricane," he
proposed by their aid to carry out further examinations in the
cave.
"I think I shall stop where I am," said Bastin, helping himself
from the kettle to a fifth pannikin of tea. "Those corpses are
very interesting, but I don't see any use in staring at them
again at present. One can always do that at any time. I have
missed Marama once already by being away in that cave, and I have
a lot to say to him about my people; I don't want to be absent in
case he should return."
"To wash up the things, I suppose," said Bickley with a sniff;
"or perhaps to eat the tea-leaves."
"Well, as a matter of fact, I have noticed that these natives
have a peculiar taste for tea-leaves. I think they believe them
to be a medicine, but I don't suppose they would come so far for
them, though perhaps they might in the hope of getting the head
of Oro. Anyhow, I am going to stop here."
"Pray do," said Bickley. "Are you ready, Humphrey?"
I nodded, and he handed to me a felt-covered flask of the non-
conducting kind, filled with boiling water, a tin of preserved
milk, and a little bottle of meat extract of a most concentrated
sort. Then, having lit two of the hurricane lamps and seen that
they were full of oil, we started back up the cave.
Chapter XI
Resurrection
We reached the sepulchre without stopping to look at the parked
machines or even the marvelousstatue that stood above it, for
what did we care about machines or statues now? As we approached
we were astonished to hear low and cavernous growlings.
"There is some wild beast in there," said Bickley, halting.
"No, by George! it's Tommy. What can the dog be after?"
We peeped in, and there sure enough was Tommy lying on the top
of the Glittering Lady's coffin and growling his very best with
the hair standing up upon his back. When he saw who it was,
however, he jumped off and frisked round, licking my hand.
"That's very strange," I exclaimed.
"Not stranger than everything else," said Bickley.
"What are you going to do?" I asked.
"Open these coffins," he answered, "beginning with that of the
old god, since I would rather experiment on him. I expect he will
crumble into dust. But if by chance he doesn't I'll jam a little
strychnine, mixed with some other drugs, of which you don't know
the names, into one of his veins and see if anything happens. If
it doesn't, it won't hurt him, and if it does--well, who knows?
Now give me a hand."
We went to the left-hand coffin and by inserting the hook on
the back of my knife, of which the real use is to pick stones out
of horses' hoofs, into one of the little air-holes I have
described, managed to raise the heavy crystal lid sufficiently to
enable us to force a piece of wood between it and the top. The
rest was easy, for the hinges being of crystal had not corroded.
In two minutes it was open.
From the chest came an overpowering spicy odour, and with it a
veritable breath of warm air before which we recoiled a little.
Bickley took a pocket thermometer which he had at hand and
glanced at it. It marked a temperature of 82 degrees in the
sepulchre. Having noted this, he thrust it into the coffin
between the crystal wall and its occupant. Then we went out and
waited a little while to give the odours time to dissipate, for
they made the head reel.
After five minutes or so we returned and examined the
thermometer. It had risen to 98 degrees, the natural temperature
of the human body.
"What do you make of that if the man is dead?" he whispered.
I shook my head, and as we had agreed, set to helping him to
lift the body from the coffin. It was a good weight, quite eleven
stone I should say; moreover, it was not still, for the hip
joints bent. We got it out and laid it on a blanket we had spread
on the floor of the sepulchre. Whilst I was thus engaged I saw
something that nearly caused me to loose my hold from
astonishment. Beneath the head, the centre of the back and the
feet were crystal boxes about eight inches square, or rather
crystal blocks, for in them I could see no opening, and these
boxes emitted a faint phosphorescent light. I touched one of them
and found that it was quite warm.
"Great heavens!" I exclaimed, "here's magic."
"There's no such thing," answered Bickley in his usual formula.
Then an explanation seemed to strike him and he added, "Not magic
but radium or something of the sort. That's how the temperature
was kept up. In sufficient quantity it is practically
indestructible, you see. My word! this old gentleman knew a thing
or two."
Again we waited a little while to see if the body begun to
crumble on exposure to the air, I taking the opportunity to make
a rough sketch of it in my pocket-book in anticipation of that
event. But it did not; it remained quite sound.
"Here goes," said Bickley. "If he should be alive, he will
catch cold in his lungs after lying for ages in that baby
incubator, as I suppose he has done. So it is now or never."
Then bidding me hold the man's right arm, he took the
sterilized syringe which he had prepared, and thrusting the
needle into a vein he selected just above the wrist, injected the
contents.
"It would have been better over the heart," he whispered, "but
I thought I would try the arm first. I don't like risking chills
by uncovering him."
I made no answer and again we waited and watched.
"Great heavens, he's stirring!" I gasped presently.
Stirring he was, for his fingers began to move.
Bickley bent down and placed his ear to the heart--I forgot to
say that he had tested this before with a stethoscope, but had
been unable to detect any movement.
"I believe it is beginning to beat," he said in an awed voice.
Then he applied the stethoscope, and added, "It is, it is!"
Next he took a filament of cotton wool and laid it on the man's
lips. Presently it moved; he was breathing, though very faintly.
Bickley took more cotton wool and having poured something from
his medicine-chest on to it, placed it over the mouth beneath the
man's nostrils--I believe it was sal volatile.
Nothing further happened for a little while, and to relieve the
strain on my mind I stared absently into the empty coffin. Here I
saw what had escaped our notice, two small plates of white metal
and cut upon them what I took to be star maps. Beyond these and
the glowing boxes which I have mentioned, there was nothing else
in the coffin. I had no time to examine them, for at that moment
the old man opened his mouth and began to breathe, evidently with
some discomfort and effort, as his empty lungs filled themselves
with air. Then his eyelids lifted, revealing a wonderful pair of
dark glowing eyes beneath. Next he tried to sit up but would have
fallen, had not Bickley supported him with his arm.
I do not think he saw Bickley, indeed he shut his eyes again as
though the light hurt them, and went into a kind of faint. Then
it was that Tommy, who all this while had been watching the
proceedings with grave interest, came forward, wagging his tail,
and licked the man's face. At the touch of the dog's red tongue,
he opened his eyes for the second time. Now he saw--not us but
Tommy, for after contemplating him for a few seconds, something
like a smile appeared upon his fierce but noble face. More, he
lifted his hand and laid it on the dog's head, as though to pat
it kindly. Half a minute or so later his awakening senses
appreciated our presence. The incipient smile vanished and was
replaced by a somewhat terrible frown.
Meanwhile Bickley had poured out some of the hot coffee laced
with brandy into the cup that was screwed on the top of the
thermos flask. Advancing to the man whom I supported, he put it
to his lips. He tasted and made a wry face, but presently he
began to sip, and ultimately swallowed it all. The effect of the
stimulant was wonderful, for in a few minutes he came to life
completely and was even able to sit up without support.
For quite a long while he gazed at us gravely, talking us in and
everything connected with us. For instance, Bickley's medicine-
case which lay open showing the little vulcanite tubes, a few
instruments and other outfit, engaged his particular attention,
and I saw at once that he understood what it was. Thus his arm
still smarted where the needle had been driven in and on the
blanket lay the syringe. He looked at his arm, then looked at the
syringe, and nodded. The paraffin hurricane lamps also seemed to
interest and win his approval. We two men, as I thought,
attracted him least of all; he just summed us up and our
garments, more especially the garments, with a few shrewd
glances, and then seemed to turn his thoughts to Tommy, who had
seated himself quite contentedly at his side, evidently accepting
him as a new addition to our party.
I confess that this behaviour on Tommy's part reassured me not
a little. I am a great believer in the instincts of animals,
especially of dogs, and I felt certain that if this man had not
been in all essentials human like ourselves, Tommy would not have
tolerated him. In the same way the sleeper's clear liking for
Tommy, at whom he looked much oftener and with greater kindness
than he did at us, suggested that there was goodness in him
somewhere, since although a dog in its wonderful tolerance may
love a bad person in whom it smells out hiddenvirtue, no really
bad person ever loved a dog, or, I may add, a child or a flower.
As a matter of fact, the "old god," as we had christened him
while he was in his coffin, during all our association with him,
cared infinitely more for Tommy than he did for any of us, a
circumstance that ultimately was not without its influence upon
our fortunes. But for this there was a reason as we learned
afterwards, also he was not really so amiable as I hoped.
When we had looked at each other for a long while the sleeper
began to arrange his beard, of which the length seemed to
surprise him, especially as Tommy was seated on one end of it.
Finding this out and apparently not wishing to disturb Tommy, he
gave up the occupation, and after one or two attempts, for his
- presently [´prezəntli]
ad.不久；目前 (初中英语单词) - extremely [ik´stri:mli] ad.极端地；非常地 (初中英语单词)
- kettle [´ketl] n.水壶 (初中英语单词)
- bother [´bɔðə] v.打扰 n.麻烦(事) (初中英语单词)
- absent [´æbsənt, əb´sent] a.不在的 vt.使缺席 (初中英语单词)
- peculiar [pi´kju:liə] a.特有的；奇异的 (初中英语单词)
- marvelous [´mɑ:viləs] (=marvellous) a.奇异的 (初中英语单词)
- statue [´stætʃu:] n.塑像，雕像 (初中英语单词)
- standing [´stændiŋ] n.持续 a.直立的 (初中英语单词)
- crystal [´kristəl] n.水晶 a.水晶的 (初中英语单词)
- sufficiently [sə´fiʃəntli] ad.充分地，足够地 (初中英语单词)
- breath [breθ] n.呼吸；气息 (初中英语单词)
- thrust [θrʌst] v.&n.猛推；冲；刺；挤进 (初中英语单词)
- moreover [mɔ:´rəuvə] ad.再者，此外，而且 (初中英语单词)
- opening [´əupəniŋ] n.开放；开端 a.开始的 (初中英语单词)
- explanation [,eksplə´neiʃən] n.解释；说明；辩解 (初中英语单词)
- sketch [sketʃ] n.素描；短剧 v.草拟 (初中英语单词)
- unable [ʌn´eibəl] a.不能的；无能为力的 (初中英语单词)
- beginning [bi´giniŋ] n.开始，开端；起源 (初中英语单词)
- relieve [ri´li:v] v.救济，援救；减轻 (初中英语单词)
- evidently [´evidəntli] ad.明显地 (初中英语单词)
- fierce [fiəs] a.残忍的；强烈的 (初中英语单词)
- gravely [´greivli] ad.庄重地，严肃地 (初中英语单词)
- instance [´instəns] n.例子，实例，例证 (初中英语单词)
- needle [´ni:dl] n.针；指针 v.用针缝 (初中英语单词)
- driven [´driv(ə)n] drive 的过去分词 (初中英语单词)
- addition [ə´diʃən] n.加；加法；附加物 (初中英语单词)
- confess [kən´fes] vt.供认；坦白；承认 (初中英语单词)
- goodness [´gudnis] n.优良；美德；精华 (初中英语单词)
- hidden [´hid(ə)n] hide 的过去分词 (初中英语单词)
- virtue [´və:tʃu:] n.美德；贞操；长处 (初中英语单词)
- disturb [di´stə:b] vt.扰乱；使不安；打乱 (初中英语单词)
- occupation [,ɔkju´peiʃən] a.职业的；军事占领的 (初中英语单词)
- disdain [dis´dein] vt.&n.藐视，轻视 (高中英语单词)
- previously [´pri:viəsli] ad.预先；以前 (高中英语单词)
- extract [ik´strækt, ´ekstrækt] vt.取出；摘录 n.精华 (高中英语单词)
- coffin [´kɔfin] n.棺材，柩 (高中英语单词)
- thermometer [θə´mɔmitə] n.温度计；寒暑表 (高中英语单词)
- whilst [wailst] conj.当...时候；虽然 (高中英语单词)
- exposure [ik´spəuʒə] n.暴露；曝光(时间) (高中英语单词)
- detect [di´tekt] vt.发觉；侦察 (高中英语单词)
- outfit [´aut,fit] n.装备 vt.供给；装备 (高中英语单词)
- approval [ə´pru:vəl] n.赞成，批准，认可 (高中英语单词)
- apparently [ə´pærəntli] ad.显然，表面上地 (高中英语单词)
- beverage [´bevəridʒ] n.饮料 (英语四级单词)
- brandy [´brændi] n.白兰地酒 (英语四级单词)
- hurricane [´hʌrikən] n.飓风 (英语四级单词)
- occupant [´ɔkjupənt] n.居住者；占有人 (英语四级单词)
- anticipation [æn,tisi´peiʃən] n.预期；预料；期望 (英语四级单词)
- filament [´filəmənt] n.花丝；纤丝；灯丝 (英语四级单词)
- ultimately [´ʌltimitli] ad.最后，最终 (英语四级单词)
- believer [bi´li:və] n.信徒 (英语四级单词)
- infinitely [´infinitli] ad.无限地；无穷地 (英语四级单词)
- amiable [´eimiəbəl] a.亲切的，温和的 (英语四级单词)
- thereto [ðeə´tu:] ad.到那里；另外 (英语六级单词)
- taking [´teikiŋ] a.迷人的 n.捕获物 (英语六级单词)
- applied [ə´plaid] a.实用的，应用的 (英语六级单词)
- absently [´æbsəntli] ad.心不在焉地 (英语六级单词)
- discomfort [dis´kʌmfət] n.不适；不安；困难 (英语六级单词)
- awakening [ə´weikəniŋ] n.&a.觉醒(中的) (英语六级单词)
- liking [´laikiŋ] n.爱好；嗜好；喜欢 (英语六级单词)
文章标签:名著
章节正文
京公网安备 11011202003401号
