Chapter 4 -2

"You bet your luck on him, right?" The countess nodded again. "The dog was stolen and taken to London with his tail chopped off and his tags destroyed." The countess was amazed by the detective's insightful and calm analysis, she kept nodding and nodding. "So you're done?" "Yes." She gasped and slumped down on the pearl-strewn floor. "Ma'am," said the detective, "it's not all over." He stood up and straightened himself.There was a fearless, indomitable look on his face. The honor of England, and the fate of the most beautiful woman in England, depended on this stroke.

"I'll do it," he murmured. "Get up, dear lady," he continued, "have nothing to fear. I will play the dog!!!" Not a few people must have seen the detective and his secretary board the deck of the Calais-bound passenger ship that night.He was crawling on his hands and knees, wrapped in a long black cloak, and his secretary was leading him by a chain. He barks merrily at the waves and licks his secretary's hand. "What a beautiful dog!" said the passengers. The camouflage is absolutely seamless. The big detective was glued with dog hair all over his body.The logo on his back is flawless.His tail is attached to him by an automatic mechanism that he can tell to bob up and down at will.His deep eyes were full of wisdom.

The next day he attended an international dog show in a group with other dachshunds. He won everyone's heart. "What a beautiful dog!" cried the Frenchman. "What a dog!" cried the Spaniard. The big detective won the first prize! The Countess was saved from bankruptcy. Unfortunately, the big detective neglected to pay the dog tax, and he was caught and killed by the dog hunters.But, of course, the matter is beyond the scope of this story, and it will not hurt to mention this digression only in passing at the end of the article. The second series of the Knights of the Sun God Touring the Lake (1)

Six-thirty on a July morning! The "Mariposa Beauty" is moored at the pier, the deck is covered with colorful flags, and the steam is about to set sail. Day out! At half past six in the morning of July, Lake Wisanoti was as flat as a mirror under the sun.The surface of the water reflects the morning sun, shining like an opal. The last wisps of thin morning mist in the middle of the lake are dissipating like strands of floating cotton.The long call of the grebe echoed across the lake.The air is cool and fresh.It is filled with the vitality of the quiet pine woodland and the surging lake.Lake Wissanotti in the morning sun!Don't tell me about Italian lakes, nor about the Tyrol or the Swiss Alps.Don't talk about them, let them go elsewhere, I don't need them.

Outing days, summer mornings at half past six!The boats were festooned with flags, and all the townspeople of Mariposa were at the docks, and a little band in top hats and horns was ready to play!what!Tell me not of the carnival of Venice and the pilgrimage of the court of Delhi.Don't say it!I don't want to look at them.I will close my eyes!Speaking of colour, it was enough for me to catch a glimpse of the pleasure of taking a boat from Mariposa to Indian Island across the lake in the morning mist.Go ahead and talk about the splendor of your Pope's Guard and Buckingham Palace's ban on cars!I just want to see Mariposa in uniform and Mariposa bands, I just want to see the Knights of Mariposa in their aprons and badges with picnic baskets and nickel cigars!

At 6:30 in the morning, all the people on the pier and the cruise ship will leave in half an hour.Notice! — half an hour later.She had already blown her horn twice (both at 6 and 6:30), and Christie Johnson would step into the pilothouse at any moment to pull the whistle cable, telling everyone that the ship would set sail in half an hour.So get ready to go.Forget about running back to Smith's Inn to get a sandwich.Stop thinking about running to that Greek store - right next to Netley's - to buy fruit, it's just silly.You will miss the ship if you do that.Don't worry about sandwiches and fruit, no, Mr. Smith has come with a big basket, which has enough grain and grass to feed a whole factory!There must be sandwiches in it.I think I can hear them tinkling inside.Behind Mr. Smith was the German barman from the bistro, who also carried a large basket - no doubt containing beer.Behind him was the hotel bartender, who had nothing with him, at least no one had seen him.But if you knew anything about the town of Mariposa, you would understand why he looked so absent-minded and empty-handed, for he had two bottles of rye whiskey in the pocket under his linen smock.I think you know what a man with two bottles of whiskey in his mouth pocket under a linen smock looks like when he walks.You know, in the town of Mariposa, taking a beer on an outing is the total consensus.But if you bring whiskey—well, then you have to be careful.

Did I mention Mr. Smith?Hi everyone here.Among them was Husserl, the editor of the News-Post, who wore a blue streamer on his clothes, because, according to the constitution of the Mariposa Knights of the Sun God, its members were strictly abstaining from drinking.Henry Mullins also came, he was the manager of the exchange bank and a member of the Knights of the Sun God, and he had a small bottle of Bogram in his back pocket of his trousers-some kind of amendment to the constitution of the Knights. .And the local bishop, Reverend Chow, with a fishing rod (you've never seen fish like the green perch that lurks under the rocks at Indian Island), and a trolling line for big pike And a net for pike, and he brought his oldest daughter, Lillian Zhou - she was for the young men.There never was such a fisherman as Reverend Rupert Chow.

Perhaps I should say that when I speak of the travels of the Knights of the Sun God, it must not be understood in a narrow sense.Everyone in Mariposa belongs to the Order of the Sun God, just like everything else they do.This is the most charming part of this town, and it is also very different from the city.Everyone has the right to participate in everything. For example, on March 17th, you'll see every townsman wearing a blue ribbon, smiling and beaming—you know what Celtic nature is—talking about The customs of my hometown. On St. Andrew's Day, every townsman wears a thistle and shakes everyone else's hand, and you can see the good old Scottish honesty in their eyes.

And St. George's Day! —O, the old and good Scotch spirit, there is hardly any boldness to match it.Why should a man not be glad that he is an Englishman? And by the Fourth of July, more than half the stores in town were flying the Stars and Stripes, and all of a sudden, all the men were smoking big cigars in public and knowing everything about Roosevelt and the Philippine Islands.Then you learn for the first time that Jeff Top's people are from Massachusetts and that his uncle fought at Banker Hill (must be Banker Hill - and Jefferson would swear it happened in the Dakotas for sure Undoubted).You'll also find out that George Duff has a sister who married in Rochester and the husband is fine, and George was in Rochester eight years ago.Oh, and on Fourth of July, Mariposa is, again, the most American city you can imagine!

But wait, if you're worried about Mariposa's solid ties to the British Empire, wait until December, when everyone's wearing an orange ribbon on their coats, Orange Party The party members (everyone in town) put on a big parade.Loyalty to the royal family!Regret, perhaps you remember the speech they gave to the Prince of Wales on the platform of Mariposa station as he was traveling west.I think that speaks volumes about loyalty. So it's easy for you to understand: Of course everyone belongs to the Knights of Helios and the Freemasons and the Odds, just as they all belong to the Snowshoe Club and the Girls' Association.

At this moment the cruise ship blew its whistle again, and it was a quarter past seven—a very, very long whistle this time, because anyone who was not on board by this time would be bound to miss the ship, unless he happened to be in the last fifteen minutes. Arrived. There were so many people on the pier, and they were so packed in the boat, it was a wonder the cruise ship could hold them all.And that's what's so great about the Mariposa Beauty. I don't know--I never knew--where steamships like the Mariposa Beauty were made.Whether they were built by the Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast, or not, was not something anyone could say at once. It always seemed to me that the "Mariposa Beauty" had some odd feature that made the town of Mariposa itself unique.I mean, her size seems to be unpredictable.If it was winter, you would see her frozen in the ice by the pier, and the windows of the driver's cab were covered with snow blown by the cold wind, and she looked so pitifully small like a little butternut like.But in the summer, especially when you've been in Mariposa for a month or two, and you've kayaked around her, you'll notice she's much taller than before—the black walls It is so huge that it makes you feel that the "Mariposa Beauty" is no different from the giant ship "Lusitania".Both ships are enormous, and you have nothing to say otherwise. You can never be sure about her size.Her draft was eighteen inches deep in the bow, and probably more than that--at least a half inch deeper in the stern, and when loaded with traveling townspeople, her draft would add a good two inches more.And above water—oh, look at those decks above the boat!Where you come in from the wharf there is a deck with railings and windows all along the deck, and the after-cabin with the long table, and a deck full of chairs over the after-cabin; There is also a deck on which the band standing in a circle stands, the wheelhouse is higher than the foredeck, and above the wheelhouse there is another deck with the name of the ship in large gold letters, flagpoles, cables, and bunting; each tier of the ship There's a lunch station selling sandwiches somewhere, and there's the engine room; and below deck, below the waterline, are the sleeping quarters for the crew.So many steps and passages and levels, and piles and piles of sawn four-foot logs for the steam engine—oh no, I guess she wasn't made by Harland-Wolf.People there can't make it. The second series of the Knights of the Sun God Touring the Lake (2) However, even a ship as large as the Mariposa Belle couldn't possibly load everyone you see at the dock and on board.In fact, these people can be divided into two categories - everyone who is going to Mariposa and everyone who is not going.Everyone comes here for their own reasons. The two tellers from the exchange bank came and stood shoulder to shoulder.But one of them - the one with the jeweled brooch and the long face like a horse - is going on a trip, and the other - the one with the other jeweled brooch and the face like another horse That one - don't go.Likewise, Husserl, the editor of the News-Post, was going, but his brother standing by was not.Lillian Chow was going, but her sister was not, and so on for everyone. Think about it and you will understand what the morning of the steamboat wreck must have been like. How strange life is! Think about it, all these people are so anxious and eager to catch the boat, and some people still run to it, for fear that if they are too slow, they will miss it—the morning when the boat crashed.And the captain blew his whistle hard, warning them sternly that he was going to leave them--in fact, the accident!Everyone was hungry to squeeze into that accident. Maybe that's what life is all about. In such a case, the strangest things to imagine are those who were left behind, or for one reason or another did not make it, and they always relish afterward how they avoided boarding the ship that day! Some of these examples, of course, are very special. Lawyer Nivens escaped only because he was in town. Tailors Towles escaped only because he didn't feel much like going and fell asleep until eight o'clock, so he didn't go.He later narrated how he woke up at five past seven that morning and wanted to go for a visit, but for some inexplicable reason he decided it would be better if he didn't. The situation of the auctioneer Udall is even more incredible.He'd been on the Stranger's train trip the week before, and the Conservatives' picnic the week before, and he decided not to take part in this outing.He later said that on the first night of the trip, someone stopped him at the corner of Nepeva Street and Tercanse Street (he even pointed out the exact location) and asked: "Are you going to go on the outing tomorrow?" He replied: "No." The tone was as crisp as when he described the matter later.Another ten minutes later, at the corner of Dalhousie Street and Brock Street (he said it was there, if you don't believe it, you can confront someone), he was stopped again and asked: "Hey, are you going to tomorrow's meeting?" Steamboat trip?" Again he replied, "No." Apparently in almost exactly the same tone as before. He later said that when he heard the rumor of the shipwreck, he felt as if it had been divine, and immediately dropped to his knees in gratitude. So is Morrison (I mean the one who works in Glover's hardware store and is married to the Thompsons' daughter).He later said that he had been reading so many accidents in the papers lately — mining accidents, plane crashes and gas explosions — that he was getting nervous.At dinner the night before the accident, his wife asked him, "Are you going on a steamboat trip?" He replied, "No, I wouldn't." Then he added, "Perhaps your mother would like Go." The next afternoon, as the news of the accident spread through the town as it was getting dark, he said that the first thought that crossed his mind was that Mrs. Thompson was in that boat. He spoke of it as I spoke of it—without doubt or confusion.For a moment he imagined his mother-in-law on the Lusitania, the Olympic, or any other ship.He knew she was on this boat.He said at the time anyone could have knocked him to the ground with little effort.But no one hit him.Before anyone touched him at all, he was half-slumped—down on his knees, and it was easier to knock or kick him whole.There are indeed many missed opportunities. Still, I will say that neither Udall nor Morrison nor anyone thought anything would happen to the boat until after sunset when they— Oh, have you ever heard the long rumble of a steamboat's whistle two miles away in the night?While listening and trying to figure out what's going on, do you still see the crimson alarm rockets going up through the air, and then hear the town's fire bell ringing right next to your ear, and see everyone rushing to the town? The pier rushed to it? This is what the townspeople of Mariposa saw and felt that summer evening!It was in this atmosphere that they watched the lifeboat rush out into the lake--the boat had seven long oars on each side, and with each stroke of the fourteen men the waves splashed over the gunwale . Geez, I'm afraid the story isn't told that way at all.I think the really good way of speaking is to say nothing until the accident happens.But if you're writing about Mariposa, or hearing about the town, it's a different story.If you know the place, it's all too vivid, too real - the contrast between the exhilaration of the morning outing and the nightfall is so great that you can't keep them from leaping into you at the same time, You can't think of them all at the same time. But don't worry about the accident—let's go back to that morning. The boat leaves at seven o'clock.There's no question about that--not just seven, but exactly seven. The notice in the News-Post said, "Boat departs at seven." The ad on the telegraph pole on Missinaba Street began, "Oh, to Indian Island!" and concluded, "Boat seven Departure at seven o'clock." There was a big notice on the pier saying: "The boat departs on time at seven o'clock." So at seven o'clock, exactly to the point, the whistle blows a long, loud blast, then at seven-fifteen there are three short, decisive blasts, and at seven-thirty it becomes one. A cry of rage—only one—was followed shortly thereafter by the last cable, and the pier was covered with a cloud of flags, and the Mariposa Beauty set sail.The band of the Knights of the Sun God played on time, and the sound of "Maple Leaf Never Falls" shook the sky. I guess all travel groups are the same when they first start out.On the Mariposa Belle it was no exception, everyone was running up and down the boat with either deck chairs or camping benches or food baskets looking for places to sit , Then I was worried that the place elsewhere was better, so I went to look elsewhere.Everybody wants to sit somewhere out of the sun, and when they do they swear they don't want to freeze to please anybody, and the ones who sit in the sun say they didn't pay fifty cents to get a BBQ.Some complained that they didn't pay fifty cents to get a suit of soot, and others said they didn't want to pay fifty cents to be half-shocked by thrusters. But soon everything was back to normal.As if they were divided into groups, people went to different places on the ship that belonged to them.The women, the older ones, were all attracted to the cabins on the ground floor, and they closed the windows, and around the long table they began their sewing, and after a while, as they themselves said, they turned the cabins It has become like home. All the young lads and the big men in the band went down to the lower deck in the bow, where the great bundles of cables and anchors were, and it was the dirtiest place in the ship. The second series of the Knights of the Sun God Touring the Lake (3) However, even a ship as large as the Mariposa Belle couldn't possibly load everyone you see at the dock and on board.In fact, these people can be divided into two categories - everyone who is going to Mariposa and everyone who is not going.Everyone comes here for their own reasons. The two tellers from the exchange bank came and stood shoulder to shoulder.But one of them - the one with the jeweled brooch and the long face like a horse - is going on a trip, and the other - the one with the other jeweled brooch and the face like another horse That one - don't go.Likewise, Husserl, the editor of the News-Post, was going, but his brother standing by was not.Lillian Chow was going, but her sister was not, and so on for everyone. Think about it and you will understand what the morning of the steamboat wreck must have been like. How strange life is! Think about it, all these people are so anxious and eager to catch the boat, and some people still run to it, for fear that if they are too slow, they will miss it—the morning when the boat crashed.And the captain blew his whistle hard, warning them sternly that he was going to leave them--in fact, the accident!Everyone was hungry to squeeze into that accident. Maybe that's what life is all about. In such a case, the strangest things to imagine are those who were left behind, or for one reason or another did not make it, and they always relish afterward how they avoided boarding the ship that day! Some of these examples, of course, are very special. Lawyer Nivens escaped only because he was in town. Tailors Towles escaped only because he didn't feel much like going and fell asleep until eight o'clock, so he didn't go.He later narrated how he woke up at five past seven that morning and wanted to go for a visit, but for some inexplicable reason he decided it would be better if he didn't. The situation of the auctioneer Udall is even more incredible.He'd been on the Stranger's train trip the week before, and the Conservatives' picnic the week before, and he decided not to take part in this outing.He later said that on the first night of the trip, someone stopped him at the corner of Nepeva Street and Tercanse Street (he even pointed out the exact location) and asked: "Are you going to go on the outing tomorrow?" He replied: "No." The tone was as crisp as when he described the matter later.Another ten minutes later, at the corner of Dalhousie Street and Brock Street (he said it was there, if you don't believe it, you can confront someone), he was stopped again and asked: "Hey, are you going to tomorrow's meeting?" Steamboat trip?" Again he replied, "No." Apparently in almost exactly the same tone as before. He later said that when he heard the rumor of the shipwreck, he felt as if it had been divine, and immediately dropped to his knees in gratitude. So is Morrison (I mean the one who works in Glover's hardware store and is married to the Thompsons' daughter).He later said that he had been reading so many accidents in the papers lately — mining accidents, plane crashes and gas explosions — that he was getting nervous.At dinner the night before the accident, his wife asked him, "Are you going on a steamboat trip?" He replied, "No, I wouldn't." Then he added, "Perhaps your mother would like Go." The next afternoon, as the news of the accident spread through the town as it was getting dark, he said that the first thought that crossed his mind was that Mrs. Thompson was in that boat. He spoke of it as I spoke of it—without doubt or confusion.For a moment he imagined his mother-in-law on the Lusitania, the Olympic, or any other ship.He knew she was on this boat.He said at the time anyone could have knocked him to the ground with little effort.But no one hit him.Before anyone touched him at all, he was half-slumped—down on his knees, and it was easier to knock or kick him whole.There are indeed many missed opportunities. Still, I will say that neither Udall nor Morrison nor anyone thought anything would happen to the boat until after sunset when they— Oh, have you ever heard the long rumble of a steamboat's whistle two miles away in the night?While listening and trying to figure out what's going on, do you still see the crimson alarm rockets going up through the air, and then hear the town's fire bell ringing right next to your ear, and see everyone rushing to the town? The pier rushed to it? This is what the townspeople of Mariposa saw and felt that summer evening!It was in this atmosphere that they watched the lifeboat rush out into the lake--the boat had seven long oars on each side, and with each stroke of the fourteen men the waves splashed over the gunwale . Geez, I'm afraid the story isn't told that way at all.I think the really good way of speaking is to say nothing until the accident happens.But if you're writing about Mariposa, or hearing about the town, it's a different story.If you know the place, it's all too vivid, too real - the contrast between the exhilaration of the morning outing and the nightfall is so great that you can't keep them from leaping into you at the same time, You can't think of them all at the same time. But don't worry about the accident—let's go back to that morning. The boat leaves at seven o'clock.There's no question about that--not just seven, but exactly seven. The notice in the News-Post said, "Boat departs at seven." The ad on the telegraph pole on Missinaba Street began, "Oh, to Indian Island!" and concluded, "Boat seven Departure at seven o'clock." There was a big notice on the pier saying: "The boat departs on time at seven o'clock." So at seven o'clock, exactly to the point, the whistle blows a long, loud blast, then at seven-fifteen there are three short, decisive blasts, and at seven-thirty it becomes one. A cry of rage—only one—was followed shortly thereafter by the last cable, and the pier was covered with a cloud of flags, and the Mariposa Beauty set sail.The band of the Knights of the Sun God played on time, and the sound of "Maple Leaf Never Falls" shook the sky. I guess all travel groups are the same when they first start out.On the Mariposa Belle it was no exception, everyone was running up and down the boat with either deck chairs or camping benches or food baskets looking for places to sit , Then I was worried that the place elsewhere was better, so I went to look elsewhere.Everybody wants to sit somewhere out of the sun, and when they do they swear they don't want to freeze to please anybody, and the ones who sit in the sun say they didn't pay fifty cents to get a BBQ.Some complained that they didn't pay fifty cents to get a suit of soot, and others said they didn't want to pay fifty cents to be half-shocked by thrusters. But soon everything was back to normal.As if they were divided into groups, people went to different places on the ship that belonged to them.The women, the older ones, were all attracted to the cabins on the ground floor, and they closed the windows, and around the long table they began their sewing, and after a while, as they themselves said, they turned the cabins It has become like home. All the young lads and the big men in the band went down to the lower deck in the bow, where the great bundles of cables and anchors were, and it was the dirtiest place in the ship. The second series of the Knights of the Sun God Touring the Lake (4) Reverend Zhou Enda managed to get most of the clergymen into the running race, for the other gentlemen had gone into the woods, drinking beer from two kegs on pine logs. If you've ever been on an excursion like this in Mariposa, you'll know details like the back of your hand. The day passed like this, and soon the sun's rays slanted through the bushes, and the steamboat blew its whistle with thick steam, and all the people went down to the pier in scattered ways, and soon "Mariposa The Belle floated on the lake again and headed for a town twenty miles away. I think you must have noticed the great contrast between what happened during the morning outing and what happened later on the way home. When we go out in the morning, everyone is so excited and agitated, walking up and down the boat, asking this and that.On the way back, as the afternoon gradually passed and the sun set, everyone became so silent, lazy and sleepy. So did the passengers on the Mariposa Belle.They sat on stools and beach chairs in twos and threes, listening to the regular sound of the thrusters, and almost fell asleep sitting there.Then, as the sun sets and night falls, it becomes almost dark on deck, and the ship is so still that you feel like there is no one on board. If you had ever seen the boat from the shore or from one of the islets in the lake, you would have seen a row of cabin lights reflected on the water, and from the chimneys something like hemlock. You'll hear the red glow of the flames, and you'll hear the soft chug of the thrusters over the lake a few miles away. From time to time, you can also hear the voices of the tourists on the boat singing - because of the distance, the voices of girls and gentlemen blend together, and the long song rises and falls: "Oh-ca-na- Big-oh-ga-na-big." You may speak of the melodious chants of the choirs of your European churches, but to those of us who know Mariposa, drifting at night from the still lake, "Oh--can--- "Big" sound is good enough. I think it was while they were chanting "O-Ja-Na-Da" that word got around that the ship was sinking. If you've ever been in a boat on the water when it's suddenly in danger, you understand that strange psychological situation - it's as if, without saying anything, everyone understands in an instant that something bad is going on.Information of what had happened was passed from one person to another in some mysterious fashion. In short, on board the "Mariposa Belle," first one and then another heard that the steamer was sinking.From what I could gather, the first person to get word was George Duff, the banker.He walked up to Dr. Gallagher very quietly and asked him if he thought the ship was sinking.The doctor replied in the negative, saying that he had thought so earlier in the day, but he did not think so now. For his own safety, Duff then told McCartney's attorney that the ship was sinking, but McCartney said he was very skeptical. Then a man came to Judge Pepalay, who woke him up and told him that the steamboat had six inches of water in it and that it was sinking.Judge Pepalay said it was pure rumour, and he told the news to his wife, who said it was absurd that such a thing should happen, and that if the ship did sink it would be her last outing. And so the word went round the whole ship, and people everywhere were meeting and talking about it with excitement and fury--that's what happens when a boat is sinking on a lake like Wissanotti. This passion is natural. Of course, Reverend Zhou Enda and others were more calm about the matter, saying that one should forgive others for their mistakes, and that naturally there are two sides to everything.But most of the people on board were not willing to appeal to reason at all.I think some of them might have been terrified.You know, the last and only time, the boat sank and drowned a man, and that made everyone very nervous. What?I haven't stated the depth of Lake Vishanoti yet?I took it for granted that you knew already.In any case, there are parts of the lake where the water is deep enough.Well, if you go sounding, I don't think you'll get more than six feet deep in this wide body of water a mile from the reeds to the docks.Oh spit!I'm not talking about how a ship sinks in the middle of the ocean, taking its screaming passengers down that horrible blue abyss.Oh my God, no!That sort of thing would never happen at Lake Wissanotti. What does happen, though, is that the Mariposa Beauty occasionally sinks and sinks to the bottom of the lake, only to come up after it's been cleaned up. On those lakes around Mariposa, if a man came up late and said the steamboat had sunk, everybody knew what it was like. You know, when Harland and Wolfe built the Mariposa Belle, the shipwrights left gaps between the planks of the ship that you had to plug every Sunday.If these gaps were not plugged, the ship would sink.In fact, by provincial regulations, all steamboats like the Mariposa Belle are required to be well "jammed"--that's the word I want to use--every season.A full-time official went to the family halls in the province to check and implement this point. Now that I have said the above, you may imagine the indignation of the passengers when they learned that the boat had set sail unpacked, so that they might be stuck half the night in the shallows or mud-banks. I'm not saying there's no danger, anyway, when you realize the boat sinks a little every few hundred yards and all you see over the side of the boat is black water that's getting darker and darker in the darkening night, that's a good idea. You won't feel very safe anyway. Safety!Now that I've said that, I might as well say it, and I'm not sure it's any worse than sinking a ship in the Atlantic.In any case, there was wireless telegraphy in the Atlantic, and there were plenty of well-trained sailors and stewards.And on Lake Wissanotti - so far from the shore that you can only see the town lights far to the south - when the propellers stopped working - the crew doused the fire in the furnace to avoid an explosion. fire, you could hear the hiss of the steam—when you saw first the tongues of red flame coming out of the furnace when the crew opened the furnace door, and then saw the darkness build up on the lake—and Night Breeze began to join in the fun—do you still feel safe when you see someone climbing on the roof of the cab and launching a rocket to call the town for help?If you think it's safe, then you stay, and as for me, let me go right back to Mariposa, to the shadows of the maple trees, and I'm never going to Wisano again. Bring up the lake. Safety!oh yes!Isn't it weird how safe someone else's adventures look in hindsight?但假如在船沉之前你恰好在场，看见人们把所有的女性领到顶甲板上，那你还是会感到心寒胆战的。 第二辑太阳神骑士团游湖记(5) 我不明白怎么有些人能表现得那么镇定，比如说史密斯先生，不知他怎么居然还能继续抽烟，同时侃侃而谈在尼皮辛湖曾有一条汽船“沉过他”，还说在阿比提比湖下沉的那艘船大得多，是两边有外轮的那种汽船，可他还是挺过来了。 接下来，非常突然，随着一阵震颤，船沉下去了。你能感觉到船下沉，下沉——往下，再往下——难道永远到不了底吗？水涌上了较低的甲板，然后——谢天谢地——下沉停止了，“玛丽波莎美人号”安然而牢实地扎在了芦荡里。 的确，这一切实在让人忍俊不禁。看来也够奇怪的，假如一个人有某种天赋的勇气，那么危险只能让他大笑。Danger?spit!nonsense!大家都对所谓“危险”的说法嗤之以鼻。相反，恰恰是这种小事情为水上的一天增添不少情趣。 过了不到半分钟，大伙儿又在船上忙碌开了，有些人在四处寻找三明治，有些人在说笑话开心，还有些人则在谈用机炉的余火煮咖啡。 我没有必要具体谈后来的一切是怎样发生的。 我估计“玛丽波莎美人号”上的乘客恐怕得在那儿呆上一整夜了，或者一直呆到镇上的救兵赶到，不过男士们中有些人探出身去，在黑暗中四处窥望，他们说到米勒岬的水程不可能超过一英里。你几乎可以看见它就在左手那边——我想有些人说的是行话“左舷那边”，因为一旦你陷身于诸如此类的水上灾难，你很快就会被周围的气氛感染，这你是知道的。 因此不久他们就把吊艇架转到了船的一边，从顶甲板上把那条旧救生艇降下来放到了水里。 在把救生艇降下来的过程中，有几条汉子从“玛丽波莎美人号”的栏杆上方探出身子，用灯笼在为降艇的人照明，灯笼的亮光洒在水面和芦苇上。但当他们把救生艇放到水上的时候，从游船的栏杆上方俯视下去它显得是那么脆弱而笨拙，致使有人大声喊道：“让妇女和孩子先上！”假如试载的结果表明救生艇连妇女和小孩都装不了，那么把一大批重重的壮汉硬塞进船里有什么意义呢？ 于是他们主要让妇女和小孩上了船，船被推进了黑暗之中，由于装载的人大多，它简直浮不起来了。 在救生艇前头的是那位担任助理牧师的长老会见习生，他高声说现在他们全仰仗上帝之手了。但是他蹲在那儿，随时准备从那群人中跳出来。 小艇就这样前行并被夜色吞没，你能看见的只有艇前面那个在水面上下起伏的灯笼。然后它很快又回来了，大家让另一批人上了救生艇，很快甲板上的人开始稀疏起来了，每个人都迫不及待地想离开。 大概是在第三船人离开的时候，史密斯先生用二十五块钱和穆林斯打赌说，在前面三船人还没绕完湖岸的时候他已经回到玛丽波莎的家中了。 谁都不明白他到底是什么意思，但不久大家便看见史密斯先生到游船内最低的地方去了，他一只手拿着一个木槌，另一只手拿着一大捆细绳。 他们本来还可以对此多揣摩一会的，但就在这时，他们听到了从援救船上发出的喊声——那艘大大的平底救生船——镇上的人一看见第一枚求援火箭就派了出来的那艘有十四个人划长桨的平底救生船。 我想海上或水上援救总是有某种引人遐想的东西。 无论怎么说，救生船员的勇敢是真正的勇敢——它的付出是为了营救生命，而不是推折它。 后来的好几个月大家肯定都在说援救船是如何如何去搭救“玛丽波莎美人号”的。 我猜从当年麦克唐纳政府把这艘援救船安排到威莎诺提湖那时候起，这一回它还是第一次下水哩。 总之，水从每一条缝隙涌进营救船里。但桨手们一刻也没有停止过划桨，即便他们和游船之间还有两英里的距离。 他们还没划到一半，船里的水位差不多和桨手的坐板一样高了，但他们还是继续往前划。尽管大家都气喘吁吁的而且已筋疲力尽（不妨提醒你一下，假如你已多年没划过这样一条平时无所事事的船，那划不了多久你就会力气全无的），桨手们还是埋头苦干。他们扔掉了压舱物，把重重的软木救生衣和救生带全扔进了水里，因为它们妨碍他们划船。大家根本没想过要回头。他们离游船比离湖岸更近了。 “要挺住，伙计们。”游船甲板上的汉子们喊道，而且他们也的确挺住了。 他们到达游船的时候，几乎没一点力气了。游船上的汉子们朝他们扔下绳子，于是他们一个接一个被拉上汽船，营救船紧接着就在他们脚下沉没了。 saved!天啦，是被湖上所见的最灵巧的救生工具救上来的。 即使描绘也没用，只有在看了营救船的这类营救工作之后，才会明白那是怎么回事。 并非只有营救船的船员们表现出众。 人们接二连三地划小船和独木舟从玛丽波莎出发来帮助游船。他们全被拉上了游船。 比如说帕普金——没有随游船出游，脸像一匹马的另一位银行职员——他一得知游船在发求援信号而且发求援火箭的正是劳森小姐，便赶紧跑去找了一条小船，操起一支桨（两支桨会妨碍他），疯狂地朝湖上出事地点划去。他在黑暗中拼命往前划，那疯狂的小船几乎在他脚下沉没了。但是他们看见了他。他们营救了他。他们看着他划向游船，几乎累垮了，但他们还是用绳子把他拉上了游船。saved!saved! 他们把前来营救者一一接上游船，这样大概一直干到半夜。不过，刚好在救生艇载着第十船人离开游船划向岸边的时候——要多突然有多突然，要多莽撞有多莽撞，“玛丽波莎美人号”一下挣脱了湖底淤泥，浮了起来。 浮了起来？ 嗨，当然她浮了起来。假如你从一条沉在湖上的游船上带走了一百五十名乘客，假如你有一个像史密斯先生那样精明的人用槌和细绳把船底的缝隙塞好了，假如你能把玛丽波莎乐队的十名成员组织起来，叫他们排除掉船首底舱的积水——浮起来？嗨，船能不浮起来吗？ 然后，假如你往你先前弄熄的炉火的余烬里塞毒芹之类干柴草，不久它便会在锅炉下面噼噼啪啪燃烧起来，用不了太久你便可以听到推进器再一次在船尾突突突地飞转起来了，用不了太久游船悠长的汽笛声便会响彻湖面并从镇子那边回荡过来。 就这样“玛丽波莎美人号”再一次发动起来，蒸汽腾腾的，烟囱拖起了一串长长的火星，船马上就要回镇了。 但这一回驾驶室的舵轮边没有克里斯蒂?约翰逊的影儿。 “史密斯！找史密斯来！”有人高声喊道。 他能把她开回镇上吗？嗨，那还用说。问一个在从特米斯卡明湖到大海湾的半数湖泊上久经沉船考验的人，能否把船开回镇上？向—个曾驾驶货船安然驶过穆斯河冰块横行的急流险滩的人，是否能为“玛丽波莎美人号”掌舵？真是多此一举！瞧，她到达镇上的码头了，安然无恙！ 看啦，那么多的灯，那么多的人！要是联邦户口调查员能来数数我们的人数多好啊！听啦，人们的大呼小叫多么热闹，在甲板和湖岸之间你来我往！人们在为靠岸做准备，钢缆在嘎嘎作响，还有玛丽波莎乐队——船刚一靠岸，他们就登上甲板围成一圈准备演奏了，乐队指挥手执指挥棒——二——预备——开始—— “噢——加——拿——大！”