no knowledge of any near land. The one thing to do was to run for

more clement climate, which we accordingly did, setting our small



sail and steering quartering before the fresh wind to the north-

east.



The food problem was simple arithmetic. We did not count Aaron

Northrup, for we knew he would soon be gone. At a pound per day,



our five hundred pounds would last us twenty-five days; at half a

pound, it would last fifty. So half a pound had it. I divided and



issued the meat under the captain's eyes, and managed it fairly

enough, God knows, although some of the men grumbled from the first.



Also, from time to time I made fair division among the men of the

plug tobacco I had stowed in my many pockets--a thing which I could



not but regret, especially when I knew it was being wasted on this

man and that who I was certain could not live a day more, or, at



best, two days or three.

For we began to die soon in the open boat. Not to starvation but to



the killing cold and exposure were those earlier deaths due. It was

a matter of the survival of the toughest and the luckiest. I was



tough by constitution, and lucky inasmuch as I was warmly clad and

had not broken my leg like Aaron Northrup. Even so, so strong was



he that, despite being the first to be severely" target="_blank" title="ad.剧烈地；严格地">severelyfreeze 的过去分词">frozen, he was days

in passing. Vance Hathaway was the first. We found him in the gray



of dawn crouched doubled in the bow and freeze 的过去分词">frozen stiff. The boy, Lish

Dickery, was the second to go. The other boy, Benny Hardwater,



lasted ten or a dozen days.

So bitter was it in the boat that our water and beer froze solid,



and it was a difficult task justly to apportion the pieces I broke

off with Northrup's claspknife. These pieces we put in our mouths



and sucked till they melted. Also, on occasion of snow-squalls, we

had all the snow we desired. All of which was not good for us,



causing a fever of inflammation to attack our mouths so that the

membranes were continually" target="_blank" title="ad.不断地，频繁地">continually dry and burning. And there was no



allaying a thirst so generated. To suck more ice or snow was merely

to aggravate the inflammation. More than anything else, I think it



was this that caused the death of Lish Dickery. He was out of his

head and raving for twenty-four hours before he died. He died



babbling for water, and yet he did not die for need of water. I

resisted as much as possible the temptation to suck ice, contenting



myself with a shred of tobacco in my cheek, and made out with fair

comfort.



We stripped all clothing from our dead. Stark they came into the

world, and stark they passed out over the side of the longboat and



down into the dark freezing ocean. Lots were cast for the clothes.

This was by Captain Nicholl's command, in order to prevent



quarrelling.

It was no time for the follies of sentiment. There was not one of



us who did not know secret satisfaction at the occurrence of each

death. Luckiest of all was Israel Stickney in casting lots, so that



in the end, when he passed, he was a veritable treasure trove of

clothing. It gave a new lease of life to the survivors.



We continued to run to the north-east before the fresh westerlies,

but our quest for warmer weather seemed vain. Ever the spray froze



in the bottom of the boat, and I still chipped beer and drinking

water with Northrup's knife. My own knife I reserved. It was of



good steel, with a keen edge and stoutly fashioned, and I did not

care to peril it in such manner.



By the time half our company was overboard, the boat had a

reasonably high freeboard and was less ticklish to handle in the



gusts. Likewise there was more room for a man to stretch out

comfortably.



A source of continual grumbling was the food. The captain, the

mate, the surgeon, and myself, talking it over, resolved not to



increase the daily whack of half a pound of meat. The six sailors,

for whom Tobias Snow made himself spokesman, contended that the



death of half of us was equivalent to a doubling of our

provisioning, and that therefore the ration should be increased to a



pound. In reply, we of the afterguard pointed out that it was our

chance for life that was doubled did we but bear with the half-pound



ration.

It is true that eight ounces of salt meat did not go far in enabling



us to live and to resist the severe cold. We were quite weak, and,

because of our weakness, we frosted easily. Noses and cheeks were

• confess [kən´fes] vt.供认；坦白；承认 (初中英语单词)


• ignorance [´ignərəns] n.无知，愚昧 (初中英语单词)


• account [ə´kaunt] vi.说明 vt.认为 n.帐目 (初中英语单词)


• curiously [´kjuəriəsli] ad.好奇地；稀奇古怪地 (初中英语单词)


• survive [sə´vaiv] vt.幸存；残存 (初中英语单词)


• sleeping [´sli:piŋ] n.&a.睡着(的) (初中英语单词)


• suitable [´su:təbəl, ´sju:-] a.合适的，适当的 (初中英语单词)


• working [´wə:kiŋ] a.工人的；劳动的 (初中英语单词)


• thrust [θrʌst] v.&n.猛推；冲；刺；挤进 (初中英语单词)


• jacket [´dʒækit] n.茄克衫；外套 (初中英语单词)


• canvas [´kænvəs] n.帆布；油画(布) (初中英语单词)


• beaver [´bi:və] n.海狸；獭皮(帽) (初中英语单词)


• tobacco [tə´bækəu] n.烟草(叶)；卷烟 (初中英语单词)


• relief [ri´li:f] n.救济；援救；减轻 (初中英语单词)


• hammer [´hæmə] n.锤子 v.重击 (初中英语单词)


• frozen [´frəuzn] freeze 的过去分词 (初中英语单词)


• whatever [wɔt´evə] pron.&a.无论什么 (初中英语单词)


• fortunate [´fɔ:tʃənət] a.幸运的，侥幸的 (初中英语单词)


• peaceful [´pi:sfəl] a.和平的；平静的 (初中英语单词)


• conflict [´kɔnflikt, kən´flikt] n.&vi.战斗；抵触 (初中英语单词)


• destruction [di´strʌkʃən] n.破坏，毁灭 (初中英语单词)


• freeze [fri:z] v.结冰；凝固；冷淡 (初中英语单词)


• lively [´laivli] a.活泼的；热烈的 (初中英语单词)


• circle [´sə:kəl] n.圆圈 v.环绕；盘旋 (初中英语单词)


• commence [kə´mens] vt.&vi.开始 (初中英语单词)


• unable [ʌn´eibəl] a.不能的；无能为力的 (初中英语单词)


• frankly [´fræŋkli] ad.直率地；慷慨地 (初中英语单词)


• climate [´klaimit] n.气候；特殊气候地带 (初中英语单词)


• accordingly [ə´kɔ:diŋli] ad.因此；从而；依照 (初中英语单词)


• constitution [,kɔnsti´tju:ʃən] n.宪法；体格；体质 (初中英语单词)


• despite [di´spait] prep.尽管 (初中英语单词)


• thirst [θə:st] n.渴，口渴；渴望 (初中英语单词)


• sentiment [´sentimənt] n.情绪；多愁善感 (初中英语单词)


• satisfaction [,sætis´fækʃən] n.满意；满足 (初中英语单词)


• likewise [´laikwaiz] ad.同样地；也，又 (初中英语单词)


• therefore [´ðeəfɔ:] ad.&conj.因此；所以 (初中英语单词)


• pointed [´pɔintid] a.尖(锐)的；中肯的 (初中英语单词)


• resist [ri´zist] v.抵抗；对抗；抵制 (初中英语单词)


• severe [si´viə] a.严厉的；苛刻的 (初中英语单词)


• weakness [´wi:knis] n.虚弱；弱点，缺点 (初中英语单词)


• unfortunately [ʌn´fɔ:tʃunitli] ad.不幸；不朽；可惜 (高中英语单词)


• terrific [tə´rifik] a.可怕的；极大的 (高中英语单词)


• launch [lɔ:ntʃ] vt.发动 n.发射；汽艇 (高中英语单词)


• tumult [´tju:mʌlt, ´tu:-] n.喧哗；激昂；烦乱 (高中英语单词)


• strove [strəuv] strive的过去式 (高中英语单词)


• surgeon [´sə:dʒən] n.外科医生；军医 (高中英语单词)


• hamlet [´hæmlit] n.村庄 (高中英语单词)


• remnant [´remnənt] n.残(剩)余 a.剩余的 (高中英语单词)


• continually [kən´tinjuəli] ad.不断地，频繁地 (高中英语单词)


• exposure [ik´spəuʒə] n.暴露；曝光(时间) (高中英语单词)


• severely [si´viəli] ad.剧烈地；严格地 (高中英语单词)


• temptation [temp´teiʃən] n.引诱，诱惑(物) (高中英语单词)


• occurrence [ə´kʌrəns] n.发生；(偶发)事件 (高中英语单词)


• israel [´izreiəl] n.以色列 (高中英语单词)


• continual [kən´tinjuəl] a.不断的，频繁的 (高中英语单词)


• equivalent [i´kwivələnt] a.相等的 n.同等物 (高中英语单词)


• towering [´tauəriŋ] a.高耸的；强烈的 (英语四级单词)


• embark [im´bɑ:k] v.上船；装载；开始 (英语四级单词)


• squarely [´skwɛəli] ad.成方形地；正直地 (英语四级单词)


• hopelessly [´həuplisli] ad.无希望地，绝望地 (英语四级单词)


• setting [´setiŋ] n.安装；排字；布景 (英语四级单词)


• arithmetic [ə´riθmətik] n.算术 (英语四级单词)


• starvation [stɑ:´veiʃən] n.饥饿；饿死 (英语四级单词)


• inasmuch [,inəz´mʌtʃ] conj.因为；鉴于 (英语四级单词)


• justly [´dʒʌstli] ad.公正地，正当地 (英语四级单词)


• aggravate [´ægrəveit] vt.使加剧；激怒 (英语四级单词)


• overboard [´əuvəbɔ:d] ad.向船外；到水中 (英语四级单词)


• resolved [ri´zɔlvd] a.决心的；坚定的 (英语四级单词)


• ration [´ræʃən] n.定量；食品 (英语四级单词)


• collision [kə´liʒən] n.碰幢；冲突；互撞事件 (英语六级单词)


• iceberg [´aisbə:g] n.冰山 (英语六级单词)


• thinly [θiŋli] ad.薄地；稀疏地 (英语六级单词)


• holding [´həuldiŋ] n.保持，固定，存储 (英语六级单词)


• minded [´maindid] a.有…心的 (英语六级单词)


• hazardous [´hæzədəs] a.危险的 (英语六级单词)


• untimely [ʌn´taimli] a.&ad.不合时宜的(地) (英语六级单词)


• forefinger [´fɔ:,fiŋgə] n.食指 (英语六级单词)


• veritable [´veritəbəl] a.真正的；确实的 (英语六级单词)


• spokesman [´spəuksmən] n.发言人 (英语六级单词)