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总裁来袭：豪门联姻）（
炼妖壶之万族争霸）（
极品装备制造师）（
重生之毒妃）（
豪门游戏，前夫莫贪欢）（
一剑平天）by jack london
“no; honest, now, bob, i’m suras borntwentieth century’splace for me.if i’d hadway—”
“you’d have been bornthe sixteenth,” i broke in, laughing, “with drake and hawkins and raleigh and the restthe sea-kings.”“you’re right!” pau rolled over upon his backthe little after-deck, witong sigaittle past midnight, and, with the wind nearly astern,were running down lower san francisco baybay far fairfax anentthe same school, lived next dooreach other, and “chummed it” saving money,earning more, andeachus foregoinicyclehis birthday,had collected the purchase pricethe mist, a beamy twenty-eight-footer, sloop-rigged, with baby topsail an’s father waachtsman himself, andhad conducted the business for us, poking around, overhauling, sticking his penknife into the timbers, and testing the planks with the greates fact,washis schooner, the whim, that paul anad pickedwhatknew about boat-sailing, and now that the mist was ours,were hardwork addingour knowledge.
the mist, being broadbeam, was fortablecould stand uprightthe cabin, and what with the stove, cooking utensils, and bunks,were good for tripshera weekwere just starting outthe firstsuch trips, andwas becausewas the first trip thatwere sailing bthe eveninghad beaten out from oakland, andwere now off the mouthalameda creek, a large salt-water estuary which fills and empties san leandro bay.
“men livedthose days,” paul said,suddenlyto startlefromown thoughts.“in the daysthe sea-kings, i mean,”explained.
i said “oh!” sympathetically, and beganwhistle “captain kidd.”
“now, i’veideas about things,” paul went on.“they talk about romance and adventure and all that, buay romance and adventure ar’redon’t have adventuresthe twentietto the circus—”
“but—” i stroveinterrupt, thoughwould not listenme.
“you look here, bob,”said.“in all the time you and i’ve googether what adventures havehad?true,were outthe hills once, and didn’t get back till latenight, andwere good and hungry, butweren’t eve knew wherewere allwas onlas mean is, we’ve never hadfight for ou?we’ve never haistol firedus,a cannon,a sword waving over our heads, or—or anything....
“you’d better slack away threefour feetthat main-sheet,”saida hopeless sortway,thoughdid not matter much anyway.“the wind’s still veering around.
“why,the old times the sea was one constant glorious adventure,”continued.“a boy left school and becamidshipman, anda few weeks was cruising after spanish galleonslocking yard-arms witrench privateer, or—lotsthings.”
“well—there are adventures today,” i objected.
but paul wentas thougad not spoken:
“and todaygo from schoolhigh school, and from high schoolcollege, and thengo into the officebee doctors and things, and the only adventuresknow about are the onesread i, justsurei’m sitting herethe sternthe sloop mist, justsurei thatwouldn’t know whatdoa real adventure cam, would we?”
“oh, i don’t know,” i answered non-mittally.
“well, you wouldn’ta coward, would you?”demanded.
i was surouldn’t and said so.
“but you don’t havebowardlose your head,you?”
i agreed that brave men might get excited.
“well, then,” paul summed up, witoteregrethis voice, “the chances are that we’d spoilit’hame, and that’s alan say about it.”
“the adventure hasn’t e yet,” i answered, not caringsee him downthe mouth ove see, paul waeculiar fellowsome things, annew him prett reaood deal, and hauick imagination, and oncea while he’d get into moods like thaid, “the adventure hasn’t e yet,there’suse worrying about its bein allknow,might turn out splendidly.”
paul didn’t say anything for some time, anas thinkingwas outthe mood, whenspokesuddenly:
“just imagine, bob kellogg,we’re sailing along now, justwe are, and never mind what for, thaoat should bear down uponwith armed menit, what would youto repel boarders?think you could riseit?”
“what would you do?” i asked pointedly.“remember,haven’t eveingle shotgun aboard.”
“you would surrender, then?”demanded angrily.“but suppose they were goingkill you?”
“i’m not saying what i’d do,” i answered stiffly, beginninggeittle angry myself.“i’m asking what you’d do, without weaponsany sort?”
“i’d find something,”replied—rather shortly, i thought.
i beganchuckle.“then the adventure wouldn’tspoiled, would it?and you’ve been talking rubbish.”
paul strucatch, lookedhis watch, and remarked thatwas nearly one o’clock—a wayhad when the argument went agains, this was the nearestever camequarreling now, though our sharesquabbles had fallenusthe earlier daysou just seeittle white light ahead when paul spoke again.
“anchor-light,”said.“funny place for peopledropmaya scow-schooner witinky astern,you’d betterwide.”
i eased the mist several points, and, the wind puffing up,went plowing alonga pretty fair speed, passing the lightwide thatcould not make out what mannercrafhe mist slackedilow and easy way,though running upon sof were bot wind was blowing stronger than ever, and yetwere almosta standstill.
“mud-flat out here?never heardsuching!”
so paul exclaimed witnortunbelief, and, seizingoar, shoveddown overstraight downwent till the water wetwasbottom!thenwer wind was whistling by, and still the mist was moving aheada snail’ seemed something dead about her, andwas alouldat the tillerkeep her from swinginginto the wind.
“listen!”i laidhandpaul’ could hear the soundrowlocks, and saw the little white light bobbingand down and now very closeus.“there’s your armed boat,” i whisperedfun.“beat the crewquarters and standto repel boarders!”
we both laughed, and were still laughing wheild screamrage came outthe darkness, and the approaching boat shot underthe lightthe lanterncarriedcould see the two meni were foreign-looking fellows with sun-bronzed faces, and with knitted tam-o’-shanters perched seaman fashionthei woolen sashes were around their waists, and long sea-boots covered thei yet the cold chill which passed alongbackbonei noted the tiny gold ear-ringsthe earll the world they were like pirates stepped outthe pages o,make the picture plete, their faces were distorted with anger, and each flourisheon were both shouting,high-pitched voices, some foreign jargoncould not understand.
onethem, the smallerthe two, andanything the more vicious-looking, put his handsthe railthe mist and starteda flash paul placed the endthe oar against the man’s chest and shoved him back intofella heap, but scrambledhis feet, waving the knife and shrieking:
“you break-a-a!you break-a-a!”
andheld forththe jargon again, his panion joining him, and both preparingmake another dashe aboard the mist.
“they’re italian fishermen,” i cried, the factsthe case breakingupon me.“we’ve run over their smelt-, and it’s slipped along the keel and fouled ou’re anchoredit.”
“yes, and they’re murderous chaps, too,” paul said, sparringthem with the oarmake them keep their distance.
“say, you fellows!”calledthem.“givea chance and we’ll getclear for you!we didn’t know your didn’t meando it, you know!”
“you won’t lose anything!” i added.“we’ll pay the damages!”
but they could not understand whatwere saying,did not careunderstand.
“you break-a-a!you break-a-a!” the smaller man, the one with the ear-rings, screamed back, making furious gestures.“i fix-a you!you-a see, i fix-a you!”
this time, when paul thrust him back,seized the oarhis hands, and his panion jumpeback against the tiller, andsooner hadlanded, and beforehad caught his balance, thaet him with another oar, andfell heavily backward intowas getting serious, and whenarose and caughtoar, anealized his strength, i confess thaeloodly tinghoughwas stronger than i, insteaddraggingoverboard whenwrenchedthe oar,merely pulled his boatcloser; and whehoved, the boat was force, the knife, stillhis right hand, made him awkward and somewhat counterbalanced the advantage his superior strength gav and his enemy werethe same situation—a sortdeadlock, which continued for several seconds, but which couldtimehouted thatwould pay for whatever damage their had suffered, butwords seemedbe without effect.
thenman begantuck the oar under his arm, andealong it, slowly, hand ove small man did the same witmoment they came closer and closer, andknew that the end was onluestiontime.
“hard up, bob!” paul called softlyme.
i gave hiuick glance, and caughtinstant’s glimpsewhaookbery pale face anery set jaw.
“oh, bob,”pleaded, “hardyour helm!hardyour helm, bob!”
and his meaning dawned upon me.still holdingmy endthe oar, i shoved the tiller over withback, and even bentbodykeep iwas that mist was nearly dead before the wind, and this maneuver was boundforce herjibe her main-sail from one sideth tellthe “feel” when the wind spilled outthe canvas and the boom tilted up.paul’s man had now gaineootingthe little deck, andman was just scrambling up.
“look out!” i shoutedpaul.“here she es!”
bothanetthe oars and tumbled intonext instant the big boom and the heavy blocks swept over our heads, the main-sheet whipping past likreat coiling snake and the mist heeling over witiolen men had jumped for it, butsome way the little man either got his knife-hand jammedfell upon it, for the first sightcaughthim,was standinghis boat, his bleeding fingers clasped close between his knees and his face all twisted with pain and helpless rage.
“now’s our chance!” paul whispered.“over with you!”
andeither sidethe rudderlowered ourselves into the water, pressing the down with our feet, till, witerk,wenwasand in, paulthe main-sheet and ithe tiller, the mist plunging ahead with freedomher motion, and the little white light astern growing small and smaller.
“now that you’ve had your adventure,you feel any better?”i remember asking whenhad changed our clothes and were sitting dry and fortable againthe cockpit.
“well,i don’t have the nightmare foeeke”—paul paused and puckered his browsjudicial fashion—“it willbecausan’t sleep, that’s ohing sure!”
m.pi.co
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