To show I could be a man, I resolved to utter no sound as long as



Dominic himself had the force to keep his lips closed. Nothing but

silence becomes certain situations. Moreover, the experience of



treachery seemed to spread a hopeless drowsiness over my thoughts

and senses. For an hour or more we watched our pursuer surging out



nearer and nearer from amongst the squalls that sometimes hid her

altogether. But even when not seen, we felt her there like a knife



at our throats. She gained on us frightfully. And the Tremolino,

in a fiercebreeze and in much smoother water, swung on easily



under her one sail, with something appallingly careless in the

joyous freedom of her motion. Another half-hour went by. I could



not stand it any longer.

"They will get the poor barky," I stammered out suddenly, almost on



the verge of tears.

Dominic stirred no more than a carving. A sense of catastrophic



loneliness overcame my inexperienced soul. The vision of my

companions passed before me. The whole Royalist gang was in Monte



Carlo now, I reckoned. And they appeared to me clear-cut and very

small, with affected voices and stiff gestures, like a procession



of rigid marionettes upon a toy stage. I gave a start. What was

this? A mysterious, remorseless whisper came from within the



motionless" target="_blank" title="a.静止的；固定的">motionless black hood at my side.

"IL FAUL LA TUER."



I heard it very well.

"What do you say, Dominic?" I asked, moving nothing but my lips.



And the whisper within the hood repeatedmysteriously, "She must be

killed."



My heart began to beat violently.

"That's it," I faltered out. "But how?"



"You love her well?"

"I do."



"Then you must find the heart for that work too. You must steer

her yourself, and I shall see to it that she dies quickly, without



leaving as much as a chip behind."

"Can you?" I murmured, fascinated by the black hood turned



immovably over the stern, as if in unlawful communion with that old

sea of magicians, slave-dealers, exiles and warriors, the sea of



legends and terrors, where the mariners of remoteantiquity used to

hear the restless shade of an old wanderer weep aloud in the dark.



"I know a rock," whispered the initiated voice within the hood

secretly. "But - caution! It must be done before our men perceive



what we are about. Whom can we trust now? A knife drawn across

the fore halyards would bring the foresail down, and put an end to



our liberty in twenty minutes. And the best of our men may be

afraid of drowning. There is our little boat, but in an affair



like this no one can be sure of being saved."

The voice ceased. We had started from Barcelona with our dinghy in



tow; afterwards it was too risky to try to get her in, so we let

her take her chance of the seas at the end of a comfortable scope



of rope. Many times she had seemed to us completely overwhelmed,

but soon we would see her bob up again on a wave, apparently as



buoyant and whole as ever.

"I understand," I said softly. "Very well, Dominic. When?"



"Not yet. We must get a little more in first," answered the voice

from the hood in a ghostly murmur.



XLV.

It was settled. I had now the courage to turn about. Our men



crouched about the decks here and there with anxious, crestfallen

faces, all turned one way to watch the chaser. For the first time



that morning I perceived Cesar stretched out full length on the

deck near the foremast and wondered where he had been skulking till



then. But he might in truth have been at my elbow all the time for

all I knew. We had been too absorbed in watching our fate to pay



attention to each other. Nobody had eaten anything that morning,

but the men had been coming constantly to drink at the water-butt.



I ran down to the cabin. I had there, put away in a locker, ten

thousand francs in gold of whose presence on board, so far as I was



aware, not a soul, except Dominic had the slightest inkling. When

I emerged on deck again Dominic had turned about and was peering



from under his cowl at the coast. Cape Creux closed the view

ahead. To the left a wide bay, its waters torn and swept by fierce



squalls, seemed full of smoke. Astern the sky had a menacing look.

Directly he saw me, Dominic, in a placid tone, wanted to know what

• aspect [´æspekt] n.面貌；神色；方向 (初中英语单词)


• tremendous [tri´mendəs] a.可怕的；巨大的 (初中英语单词)


• fierce [fiəs] a.残忍的；强烈的 (初中英语单词)


• suggestion [sə´dʒestʃən] n.建议，提议；暗示 (初中英语单词)


• visible [´vizəbəl] a.可见的；明显的 (初中英语单词)


• column [´kɔləm] n.柱；柱状物；纵队 (初中英语单词)


• slightly [´slaitli] ad.轻微地；细长的 (初中英语单词)


• background [´bækgraund] n.背景；经历；幕后 (初中英语单词)


• stumble [´stʌmbəl] v.摔倒；失足；弄错 (初中英语单词)


• steadily [´stedili] ad.坚定地；不断地 (初中英语单词)


• distinct [di´stiŋkt] a.清楚的；独特的 (初中英语单词)


• waiting [´weitiŋ] n.等候；伺候 (初中英语单词)


• otherwise [´ʌðəwaiz] ad.另外 conj.否则 (初中英语单词)


• plainly [´pleinli] ad.平坦地；简单地 (初中英语单词)


• daylight [´deilait] n.日光；黎明 (初中英语单词)


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


• throat [θrəut] n.咽喉；嗓子；出入口 (初中英语单词)


• button [´bʌtn] n.钮扣 vt.扣上(扣子) (初中英语单词)


• amazement [ə´meizmənt] n.惊愕；惊奇 (初中英语单词)


• absolutely [´æbsəlu:tli] ad.绝对地；确实 (初中英语单词)


• moreover [mɔ:´rəuvə] ad.再者，此外，而且 (初中英语单词)


• breeze [bri:z] n.微风；不费力的事 (初中英语单词)


• careless [´keəlis] a.粗心的；草率的 (初中英语单词)


• vision [´viʒən] n.视觉；想象力；幻影 (初中英语单词)


• mysterious [mi´stiəriəs] a.神秘的；难以理解的 (初中英语单词)


• whisper [´wispə] v.耳语 n.低语；沙沙声 (初中英语单词)


• mysteriously [mis´tiəriəsli] ad.神秘地；故弄玄虚地 (初中英语单词)


• remote [ri´məut] a.遥远的；偏僻的 (初中英语单词)


• restless [´restləs] a.没有休息的 (初中英语单词)


• softly [´sɔftli] ad.软化地；柔和地 (初中英语单词)


• anxious [´æŋkʃəs] a.担忧的；渴望的 (初中英语单词)


• constantly [´kɔnstəntli] ad.经常地；不断地 (初中英语单词)


• perpetual [pə´petʃuəl] a.永恒的；终身的 (高中英语单词)


• symptom [´simptəm] n.症状，症候 (高中英语单词)


• motionless [´məuʃənləs] a.静止的；固定的 (高中英语单词)


• innocence [´inəsəns] n.无罪；天真 (高中英语单词)


• perfectly [´pə:fiktli] ad.理想地；完美地 (高中英语单词)


• treachery [´tretʃəri] n.背叛；背信弃义 (高中英语单词)


• hopeless [´həupləs] a.无望的，无可救药的 (高中英语单词)


• amongst [ə´mʌŋst] prep.其中之一 =among (高中英语单词)


• motion [´məuʃən] n.手势 vt.打手势 (高中英语单词)


• repeated [ri´pi:tid] a.反复的；重复的 (高中英语单词)


• apparently [ə´pærəntli] ad.显然，表面上地 (高中英语单词)


• allusion [ə´lu:ʒən] n.暗指；提及；引喻 (英语四级单词)


• bulwark [´bulwək] n.堡垒；屏障 (英语四级单词)


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


• vaguely [´veigli] ad.含糊地，暖昧地 (英语四级单词)


• reappear [,ri:ə´piə] vi.再(出)现 (英语四级单词)


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


• ardour [´ɑ:də] n.热心，热情 (英语四级单词)


• meditation [,medi´teiʃən] n.熟虑；默想 (英语四级单词)


• ambush [´æmbuʃ] n.埋伏(地点)；伏兵 (英语四级单词)


• adverse [´ædvə:s] a.不利的；反对的 (英语四级单词)


• uproar [´ʌprɔ:] n.喧嚣；骚动；轰鸣，轰动 (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)


• carving [´kɑ:viŋ] n.雕刻(术)；雕刻品 (英语四级单词)


• overcame [,əuvə´keim] overcome的过去式 (英语四级单词)


• communion [kə´mju:niən] n.共享；交流；圣餐 (英语四级单词)


• antiquity [æn´tikwiti] n.太古；古代；古迹 (英语四级单词)


• placid [´plæsid] a.平静的；温和的 (英语四级单词)


• merciless [´mə:siləs] a.残忍的；无情的 (英语六级单词)


• affected [ə´fektid] a.做作的；假装的 (英语六级单词)


• tassel [´tæsəl] n.垂花 v.(使)抽穗 (英语六级单词)


• perceptible [pə´septəbl] a.看得出的；可理解的 (英语六级单词)


• absently [´æbsəntli] ad.心不在焉地 (英语六级单词)


• seaward [´si:wəd] a.&ad.朝海(的) (英语六级单词)


• recede [ri´si:d] vi.后退；收回 vt.交还 (英语六级单词)


• wrapping [´ræpiŋ] n.包装材料 (英语六级单词)


• scoundrel [´skaundrəl] n.&a.无赖(的) (英语六级单词)


• pursuer [pə´sju:ə] n.追赶者；追求者；从事者 (英语六级单词)


• frightfully [,fraitfuli] ad.可怕地；非常 (英语六级单词)


• half-hour [´hɑ:f-auə] n.&a.(每)三十分钟的 (英语六级单词)


• inexperienced [,iniks´piəriənst] a.缺乏经验的 (英语六级单词)


• royalist [´rɔiəlist] n.保皇主义者 (英语六级单词)


• wanderer [´wɔndərə] n.流浪者 (英语六级单词)


• ghostly [´gəustli] a.鬼的；朦胧的 (英语六级单词)