章节正文
broke into the food lockers, and those above scrambled down and
joined them in a feast on our crackers and canned goods.
"What do we care?" George said weakly.
I was fuming with helpless anger. "If they get out of hand, it
will be too late to care. The best thing you can do is to get them
in check right now."
The water was rising higher and higher, and the gusts, forerunners
of a steady breeze, were growing stiffer and stiffer. And between
the gusts, the prisoners, having gotten away with a week's grub,
took to crowding first to one side and then to the other till the
Reindeer rocked like a cockle-shell. Yellow Handkerchief
approached me, and, pointing out his village on the Point Pedro
beach, gave me to understand that if I turned the Reindeer in that
direction and put them ashore, they, in turn, would go to bailing.
By now the water in the cabin was up to the bunks, and the bed-
clothes were sopping. It was a foot deep on the cockpit floor.
Nevertheless I refused, and I could see by George's face that he
was disappointed.
"If you don't show some nerve, they'll rush us and throw us
overboard," I said to him. "Better give me your revolver, if you
want to be safe."
"The safest thing to do," he chattered cravenly, "is to put them
ashore. I, for one, don't want to be drowned for the sake of a
handful of dirty Chinamen."
"And I, for another, don't care to give in to a handful of dirty
Chinamen to escape drowning," I answered hotly.
"You'll sink the Reindeer under us all at this rate," he whined.
"And what good that'll do I can't see."
"Every man to his taste," I retorted.
He made no reply, but I could see he was trembling pitifully.
Between the threatening Chinese and the rising water he was beside
himself with fright; and, more than the Chinese and the water, I
feared him and what his fright might impel him to do. I could see
him casting longing glances at the small skiff towing astern, so in
the next calm I hauled the skiff alongside. As I did so his eyes
brightened with hope; but before he could guess my intention, I
stove the frail bottom through with a hand-axe, and the skiff
filled to its gunwales.
"It's sink or float together," I said. "And if you'll give me your
revolver, I'll have the Reindeer bailed out in a jiffy."
"They're too many for us," he whimpered. "We can't fight them
all."
I turned my back on him in disgust. The salmon boat had long since
passed from sight behind a little archipelago known as the Marin
Islands, so no help could be looked for from that quarter. Yellow
Handkerchief came up to me in a familiar manner, the water in the
cockpit slushing against his legs. I did not like his looks. I
felt that beneath the pleasant smile he was trying to put on his
face there was an ill purpose. I ordered him back, and so sharply
that he obeyed.
"Now keep your distance," I commanded, "and don't you come closer!"
"Wha' fo'?" he demanded indignantly. "I t'ink-um talkee talkee
heap good."
"Talkee talkee," I answered bitterly, for I knew now that he had
understood all that passed between George and me. "What for talkee
talkee? You no sabbe talkee talkee."
He grinned in a sickly fashion. "Yep, I sabbe velly much. I
honest Chinaman."
"All right," I answered. "You sabbe talkee talkee, then you bail
water plenty plenty. After that we talkee talkee."
He shook his head, at the same time pointing over his shoulder to
his comrades. "No can do. Velly bad Chinamen, heap velly bad. I
t'ink-um - "
"Stand back!" I shouted, for I had noticed his hand disappear
beneath his blouse and his body prepare for a spring.
Disconcerted, he went back into the cabin, to hold a council,
apparently, from the way the jabbering broke forth. The Reindeer
was very deep in the water, and her movements had grown quite
loggy. In a rough sea she would have inevitably swamped; but the
wind, when it did blow, was off the land, and scarcely a ripple
disturbed the surface of the bay.
"I think you'd better head for the beach," George said abruptly, in
a manner that told me his fear had forced him to make up his mind
to some course of action.
"I think not," I answered shortly.
"I command you," he said in a bullying tone.
"I was commanded to bring these prisoners into San Rafael," was my
reply.
Our voices were raised, and the sound of the altercation brought
the Chinese out of the cabin.
"Now will you head for the beach?"
This from George, and I found myself looking into the muzzle of his
revolver - of the revolver he dared to use on me, but was too
cowardly to use on the prisoners.
My brain seemed smitten with a dazzling brightness. The whole
situation, in all its bearings, was focussed sharply before me -
the shame of losing the prisoners, the worthlessness and cowardice
of George, the meeting with Le Grant and the other patrol men and
the lame explanation; and then there was the fight I had fought so
hard, victory wrenched from me just as I thought I had it within my
grasp. And out of the tail of my eye I could see the Chinese
crowding together by the cabin doors and leering triumphantly. It
would never do.
I threw my hand up and my head down. The first act elevated the
muzzle, and the second removed my head from the path of the bullet
which went whistling past. One hand closed on George's wrist, the
other on the revolver. Yellow Handkerchief and his gang sprang
toward me. It was now or never. Putting all my strength into a
sudden effort, I swung George's body forward to meet them. Then I
pulled back with equal suddenness, ripping the revolver out of his
fingers and jerking him off his feet. He fell against Yellow
Handkerchief's knees, who stumbled over him, and the pair wallowed
in the bailing hole where the cockpit floor was torn open. The
next instant I was covering them with my revolver, and the wild
shrimp-catchers were cowering and cringing away.
But I swiftly discovered that there was all the difference in the
world between shooting men who are attacking and men who are doing
nothing more than simply refusing to obey. For obey they would not
when I ordered them into the bailing hole. I threatened them with
the revolver, but they sat stolidly in the flooded cabin and on the
roof and would not move.
Fifteen minutes passed, the Reindeer sinking deeper and deeper, her
mainsail flapping in the calm. But from off the Point Pedro shore
I saw a dark line form on the water and travel toward us. It was
the steady breeze I had been expecting so long. I called to the
Chinese and pointed it out. They hailed it with exclamations.
Then I pointed to the sail and to the water in the Reindeer, and
indicated by signs that when the wind reached the sail, what of the
water aboard we would capsize. But they jeered defiantly, for they
knew it was in my power to luff the helm and let go the main-sheet,
so as to spill the wind and escape damage.
But my mind was made up. I hauled in the main-sheet a foot or two,
took a turn with it, and bracing my feet, put my back against the
tiller. This left me one hand for the sheet and one for the
revolver. The dark line drew nearer, and I could see them looking
from me to it and back again with an apprehension they could not
successfully conceal. My brain and will and endurance were pitted
against theirs, and the problem was which could stand the strain of
imminent death the longer and not give in.
Then the wind struck us. The main-sheet tautened with a brisk
rattling of the blocks, the boom uplifted, the sail bellied out,
and the Reindeer heeled over - over, and over, till the lee-rail
went under, the cabin windows went under, and the bay began to pour
in over the cockpit rail. So violently had she heeled over, that
the men in the cabin had been thrown on top of one another into the
lee bunk, where they squirmed and twisted and were washed about,
those underneath being perilously near to drowning.
The wind freshened a bit, and the Reindeer went over farther than
ever. For the moment I thought she was gone, and I knew that
another puff like that and she surely would go. While I pressed
her under and debated whether I should give up or not, the Chinese
cried for mercy. I think it was the sweetest sound I have ever
heard. And then, and not until then, did I luff up and ease out
the main-sheet. The Reindeer righted very slowly, and when she was
on an even keel was so much awash that I doubted if she could be
saved.
But the Chinese scrambled madly into the cockpit and fell to
bailing with buckets, pots, pans, and everything they could lay
hands on. It was a beautiful sight to see that water flying over
the side! And when the Reindeer was high and proud on the water
once more, we dashed away with the breeze on our quarter, and at
the last possible moment crossed the mud flats and entered the
slough.
The spirit of the Chinese was broken, and so docile did they become
that ere we made San Rafael they were out with the tow-rope, Yellow
Handkerchief at the head of the line. As for George, it was his
last trip with the fish patrol. He did not care for that sort of
thing, he explained, and he thought a clerkship ashore was good
enough for him. And we thought so too.
THE KING OF THE GREEKS
Big Alec had never been captured by the fish patrol. It was his
boast that no man could take him alive, and it was his history that
of the many men who had tried to take him dead none had succeeded.
It was also history that at least two patrolmen who had tried to
take him dead had died themselves. Further, no man violated the
fish laws more systematically and deliberately than Big Alec.
He was called "Big Alec" because of his giganticstature. His
height was six feet three inches, and he was correspondingly broad-
shouldered and deep-chested. He was splendidly muscled and hard as
steel, and there were innumerable stories in circulation among the
fisher-folk concerning his prodigious strength. He was as bold and
dominant of spirit as he was strong of body, and because of this he
was widely known by another name, that of "The King of the Greeks."
The fishing population was largely composed of Greeks, and they
looked up to him and obeyed him as their chief. And as their
chief, he fought their fights for them, saw that they were
protected, saved them from the law when they fell into its
clutches, and made them stand by one another and himself in time of
trouble.
In the old days, the fish patrol had attempted his capture many
disastrous times and had finally given it over, so that when the
word was out that he was coming to Benicia, I was most anxious to
see him. But I did not have to hunt him up. In his usual bold
way, the first thing he did on arriving was to hunt us up. Charley
Le Grant and I at the time were under a patrol-man named Carmintel,
and the three of us were on the Reindeer, preparing for a trip,
when Big Alec stepped aboard. Carmintel evidently knew him, for
they shook hands in recognition. Big Alec took no notice of
Charley or me.
"I've come down to fish sturgeon a couple of months," he said to
Carmintel.
His eyes flashed with challenge as he spoke, and we noticed the
patrolman's eyes drop before him.
"That's all right, Alec," Carmintel said in a low voice. "I'll not
bother you. Come on into the cabin, and we'll talk things over,"
he added.
When they had gone inside and shut the doors after them, Charley
winked with slow deliberation at me. But I was only a youngster,
and new to men and the ways of some men, so I did not understand.
Nor did Charley explain, though I felt there was something wrong
about the business.
joined them in a feast on our crackers and canned goods.
"What do we care?" George said weakly.
I was fuming with helpless anger. "If they get out of hand, it
will be too late to care. The best thing you can do is to get them
in check right now."
The water was rising higher and higher, and the gusts, forerunners
of a steady breeze, were growing stiffer and stiffer. And between
the gusts, the prisoners, having gotten away with a week's grub,
took to crowding first to one side and then to the other till the
Reindeer rocked like a cockle-shell. Yellow Handkerchief
approached me, and, pointing out his village on the Point Pedro
beach, gave me to understand that if I turned the Reindeer in that
direction and put them ashore, they, in turn, would go to bailing.
By now the water in the cabin was up to the bunks, and the bed-
clothes were sopping. It was a foot deep on the cockpit floor.
Nevertheless I refused, and I could see by George's face that he
was disappointed.
"If you don't show some nerve, they'll rush us and throw us
overboard," I said to him. "Better give me your revolver, if you
want to be safe."
"The safest thing to do," he chattered cravenly, "is to put them
ashore. I, for one, don't want to be drowned for the sake of a
handful of dirty Chinamen."
"And I, for another, don't care to give in to a handful of dirty
Chinamen to escape drowning," I answered hotly.
"You'll sink the Reindeer under us all at this rate," he whined.
"And what good that'll do I can't see."
"Every man to his taste," I retorted.
He made no reply, but I could see he was trembling pitifully.
Between the threatening Chinese and the rising water he was beside
himself with fright; and, more than the Chinese and the water, I
feared him and what his fright might impel him to do. I could see
him casting longing glances at the small skiff towing astern, so in
the next calm I hauled the skiff alongside. As I did so his eyes
brightened with hope; but before he could guess my intention, I
stove the frail bottom through with a hand-axe, and the skiff
filled to its gunwales.
"It's sink or float together," I said. "And if you'll give me your
revolver, I'll have the Reindeer bailed out in a jiffy."
"They're too many for us," he whimpered. "We can't fight them
all."
I turned my back on him in disgust. The salmon boat had long since
passed from sight behind a little archipelago known as the Marin
Islands, so no help could be looked for from that quarter. Yellow
Handkerchief came up to me in a familiar manner, the water in the
cockpit slushing against his legs. I did not like his looks. I
felt that beneath the pleasant smile he was trying to put on his
face there was an ill purpose. I ordered him back, and so sharply
that he obeyed.
"Now keep your distance," I commanded, "and don't you come closer!"
"Wha' fo'?" he demanded indignantly. "I t'ink-um talkee talkee
heap good."
"Talkee talkee," I answered bitterly, for I knew now that he had
understood all that passed between George and me. "What for talkee
talkee? You no sabbe talkee talkee."
He grinned in a sickly fashion. "Yep, I sabbe velly much. I
honest Chinaman."
"All right," I answered. "You sabbe talkee talkee, then you bail
water plenty plenty. After that we talkee talkee."
He shook his head, at the same time pointing over his shoulder to
his comrades. "No can do. Velly bad Chinamen, heap velly bad. I
t'ink-um - "
"Stand back!" I shouted, for I had noticed his hand disappear
beneath his blouse and his body prepare for a spring.
Disconcerted, he went back into the cabin, to hold a council,
apparently, from the way the jabbering broke forth. The Reindeer
was very deep in the water, and her movements had grown quite
loggy. In a rough sea she would have inevitably swamped; but the
wind, when it did blow, was off the land, and scarcely a ripple
disturbed the surface of the bay.
"I think you'd better head for the beach," George said abruptly, in
a manner that told me his fear had forced him to make up his mind
to some course of action.
"I think not," I answered shortly.
"I command you," he said in a bullying tone.
"I was commanded to bring these prisoners into San Rafael," was my
reply.
Our voices were raised, and the sound of the altercation brought
the Chinese out of the cabin.
"Now will you head for the beach?"
This from George, and I found myself looking into the muzzle of his
revolver - of the revolver he dared to use on me, but was too
cowardly to use on the prisoners.
My brain seemed smitten with a dazzling brightness. The whole
situation, in all its bearings, was focussed sharply before me -
the shame of losing the prisoners, the worthlessness and cowardice
of George, the meeting with Le Grant and the other patrol men and
the lame explanation; and then there was the fight I had fought so
hard, victory wrenched from me just as I thought I had it within my
grasp. And out of the tail of my eye I could see the Chinese
crowding together by the cabin doors and leering triumphantly. It
would never do.
I threw my hand up and my head down. The first act elevated the
muzzle, and the second removed my head from the path of the bullet
which went whistling past. One hand closed on George's wrist, the
other on the revolver. Yellow Handkerchief and his gang sprang
toward me. It was now or never. Putting all my strength into a
sudden effort, I swung George's body forward to meet them. Then I
pulled back with equal suddenness, ripping the revolver out of his
fingers and jerking him off his feet. He fell against Yellow
Handkerchief's knees, who stumbled over him, and the pair wallowed
in the bailing hole where the cockpit floor was torn open. The
next instant I was covering them with my revolver, and the wild
shrimp-catchers were cowering and cringing away.
But I swiftly discovered that there was all the difference in the
world between shooting men who are attacking and men who are doing
nothing more than simply refusing to obey. For obey they would not
when I ordered them into the bailing hole. I threatened them with
the revolver, but they sat stolidly in the flooded cabin and on the
roof and would not move.
Fifteen minutes passed, the Reindeer sinking deeper and deeper, her
mainsail flapping in the calm. But from off the Point Pedro shore
I saw a dark line form on the water and travel toward us. It was
the steady breeze I had been expecting so long. I called to the
Chinese and pointed it out. They hailed it with exclamations.
Then I pointed to the sail and to the water in the Reindeer, and
indicated by signs that when the wind reached the sail, what of the
water aboard we would capsize. But they jeered defiantly, for they
knew it was in my power to luff the helm and let go the main-sheet,
so as to spill the wind and escape damage.
But my mind was made up. I hauled in the main-sheet a foot or two,
took a turn with it, and bracing my feet, put my back against the
tiller. This left me one hand for the sheet and one for the
revolver. The dark line drew nearer, and I could see them looking
from me to it and back again with an apprehension they could not
successfully conceal. My brain and will and endurance were pitted
against theirs, and the problem was which could stand the strain of
imminent death the longer and not give in.
Then the wind struck us. The main-sheet tautened with a brisk
rattling of the blocks, the boom uplifted, the sail bellied out,
and the Reindeer heeled over - over, and over, till the lee-rail
went under, the cabin windows went under, and the bay began to pour
in over the cockpit rail. So violently had she heeled over, that
the men in the cabin had been thrown on top of one another into the
lee bunk, where they squirmed and twisted and were washed about,
those underneath being perilously near to drowning.
The wind freshened a bit, and the Reindeer went over farther than
ever. For the moment I thought she was gone, and I knew that
another puff like that and she surely would go. While I pressed
her under and debated whether I should give up or not, the Chinese
cried for mercy. I think it was the sweetest sound I have ever
heard. And then, and not until then, did I luff up and ease out
the main-sheet. The Reindeer righted very slowly, and when she was
on an even keel was so much awash that I doubted if she could be
saved.
But the Chinese scrambled madly into the cockpit and fell to
bailing with buckets, pots, pans, and everything they could lay
hands on. It was a beautiful sight to see that water flying over
the side! And when the Reindeer was high and proud on the water
once more, we dashed away with the breeze on our quarter, and at
the last possible moment crossed the mud flats and entered the
slough.
The spirit of the Chinese was broken, and so docile did they become
that ere we made San Rafael they were out with the tow-rope, Yellow
Handkerchief at the head of the line. As for George, it was his
last trip with the fish patrol. He did not care for that sort of
thing, he explained, and he thought a clerkship ashore was good
enough for him. And we thought so too.
THE KING OF THE GREEKS
Big Alec had never been captured by the fish patrol. It was his
boast that no man could take him alive, and it was his history that
of the many men who had tried to take him dead none had succeeded.
It was also history that at least two patrolmen who had tried to
take him dead had died themselves. Further, no man violated the
fish laws more systematically and deliberately than Big Alec.
He was called "Big Alec" because of his giganticstature. His
height was six feet three inches, and he was correspondingly broad-
shouldered and deep-chested. He was splendidly muscled and hard as
steel, and there were innumerable stories in circulation among the
fisher-folk concerning his prodigious strength. He was as bold and
dominant of spirit as he was strong of body, and because of this he
was widely known by another name, that of "The King of the Greeks."
The fishing population was largely composed of Greeks, and they
looked up to him and obeyed him as their chief. And as their
chief, he fought their fights for them, saw that they were
protected, saved them from the law when they fell into its
clutches, and made them stand by one another and himself in time of
trouble.
In the old days, the fish patrol had attempted his capture many
disastrous times and had finally given it over, so that when the
word was out that he was coming to Benicia, I was most anxious to
see him. But I did not have to hunt him up. In his usual bold
way, the first thing he did on arriving was to hunt us up. Charley
Le Grant and I at the time were under a patrol-man named Carmintel,
and the three of us were on the Reindeer, preparing for a trip,
when Big Alec stepped aboard. Carmintel evidently knew him, for
they shook hands in recognition. Big Alec took no notice of
Charley or me.
"I've come down to fish sturgeon a couple of months," he said to
Carmintel.
His eyes flashed with challenge as he spoke, and we noticed the
patrolman's eyes drop before him.
"That's all right, Alec," Carmintel said in a low voice. "I'll not
bother you. Come on into the cabin, and we'll talk things over,"
he added.
When they had gone inside and shut the doors after them, Charley
winked with slow deliberation at me. But I was only a youngster,
and new to men and the ways of some men, so I did not understand.
Nor did Charley explain, though I felt there was something wrong
about the business.
- helpless [´helpləs]
a.无助的，无依靠的 (初中英语单词) - breeze [bri:z] n.微风；不费力的事 (初中英语单词)
- ashore [ə´ʃɔ:] ad.向岸上 (初中英语单词)
- fright [frait] n.惊吓；恐怖；怪人 (初中英语单词)
- intention [in´tenʃən] n.意图；打算；意义 (初中英语单词)
- disgust [dis´gʌst] n.厌恶 vt.令(人)作呕 (初中英语单词)
- bitterly [´bitəli] ad.悲痛地；憎恨地 (初中英语单词)
- abruptly [ə´brʌptli] ad.突然地；粗鲁地 (初中英语单词)
- sharply [´ʃɑ:pli] ad.锋利地；剧烈地 (初中英语单词)
- explanation [,eksplə´neiʃən] n.解释；说明；辩解 (初中英语单词)
- victory [´viktəri] n.胜利，战胜 (初中英语单词)
- handkerchief [´hæŋkətʃif] n.手帕，手绢 (初中英语单词)
- instant [´instənt] a.立即的 n.紧迫；瞬间 (初中英语单词)
- swiftly [´swiftli] ad.迅速地，敏捷地 (初中英语单词)
- pointed [´pɔintid] a.尖(锐)的；中肯的 (初中英语单词)
- aboard [ə´bɔ:d] ad.&prep.在...上 (初中英语单词)
- conceal [kən´si:l] vt.藏；隐瞒 (初中英语单词)
- underneath [,ʌndə´ni:θ] ad.&prep.在底下 (初中英语单词)
- capture [´kæptʃə] vt.&n.捕获；俘获；夺取 (初中英语单词)
- anxious [´æŋkʃəs] a.担忧的；渴望的 (初中英语单词)
- evidently [´evidəntli] ad.明显地 (初中英语单词)
- recognition [,rekəg´niʃən] n.认出；认识；承认 (初中英语单词)
- challenge [´tʃælindʒ] n.&vt.向....挑战；怀疑 (初中英语单词)
- handful [hændful] n.一把，少数，一小撮 (高中英语单词)
- longing [´lɔŋiŋ] n.&a.渴望(的) (高中英语单词)
- alongside [əlɔŋ´said] ad.在旁 prep.横靠 (高中英语单词)
- salmon [´sæmən] n.鲑，大马哈鱼 (高中英语单词)
- brightness [´braitnis] n.光明；快乐 (高中英语单词)
- apprehension [,æpri´henʃən] n.理解；忧虑；逮捕 (高中英语单词)
- endurance [in´djuərəns] n.忍受(耐)；耐力 (高中英语单词)
- theirs [ðeəz] pron.他们的 (高中英语单词)
- strain [strein] vt.拉紧 vi.拖 n.张力 (高中英语单词)
- violently [´vaiələntli] ad.强暴地；猛烈地 (高中英语单词)
- deliberately [di´libərətli] ad.故意地；慎重地 (高中英语单词)
- gigantic [dʒai´gæntik] a.巨大的 (高中英语单词)
- innumerable [i´nju:mərəbəl] a.无数的，数不清的 (高中英语单词)
- circulation [,sə:kju´leiʃən] n.循环；流传；发行(量) (高中英语单词)
- concerning [kən´sə:niŋ] prep.关于 (高中英语单词)
- gotten [´gɔtn] get的过去分词 (英语四级单词)
- reindeer [´reindiə] n.驯鹿 (英语四级单词)
- revolver [ri´vɔlvə] n.左轮手枪；旋转者 (英语四级单词)
- trying [´traiiŋ] a.难堪的；费劲的 (英语四级单词)
- sickly [´sikli] a.多病的；病态的 (英语四级单词)
- blouse [blauz] n.女衬衫；短上衣 (英语四级单词)
- inevitably [in´evitəbli] ad.不可避免地；必然地 (英语四级单词)
- muzzle [´mʌzəl] n.枪口，炮口 (英语四级单词)
- patrol [pə´trəul] n.巡逻 v.巡逻(查) (英语四级单词)
- triumphantly [trai´ʌmfəntli] ad.胜利地；洋洋得意地 (英语四级单词)
- stature [´stætʃə] n.身高；身材 (英语四级单词)
- prodigious [prə´didʒəs] a.惊人的；巨大的 (英语四级单词)
- fishing [´fiʃiŋ] n.钓鱼；捕鱼；渔业 (英语四级单词)
- composed [kəm´pəuzd] a.镇静自若的 (英语四级单词)
- deliberation [dilibə´reiʃ(ə)n] n.仔细考虑；商量 (英语四级单词)
- indignantly [in´dignəntli] ad.愤慨地，义愤地 (英语六级单词)
- smitten [´smitn] smite的过去分词 (英语六级单词)
- splendidly [´splendidli] ad.光彩夺目地；辉煌地 (英语六级单词)
文章标签:名著
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