05-02-大卫·科波菲尔 [62]
and pointed upwards，I knew！It was over，and I remembered only darkness for a long time afterwards．
In the middle of my terrible sadness I received a message from Emily．She asked me to take a letter from her to Ham her last words to the man who had loved her so much——before she and Daniel left England for Australia． They were sailing in two weeks’ time， and the Micawbers were going on the same ship. I remembered my childish love for little Emily， and agreed to do what she asked．
The weather was very stormy as I travelled through the night to Yarmouth．Several times the coach was almost knocked off the road by the wind and the rain． By the time we arrived in Yarmouth， most of the local people were in the streets， afraid to stay in their houses， in case the roof or the chimney blew down． Many women were crying， afraid for their husbands or brothers who were out fishing in their small boats． The sea itself， with its huge waves crashing noisily on the beach， frightened us all very much．
I went to the hotel， and tried to sleep a little after my tiring journey． But the wind made so much noise that I could not sleep， and I went down to the beach again， where a lot of people were standing together， watching the waves． By now the storm had got even worse．
‘ Two ships have gone down， sir！’ a local fisherman shouted to me．‘ A few miles away！ We couldn't save any of the men on them！ The waves were too high！ And look！ There's another！’
And suddenly I gasped in horror． I could see a great ship，which had been pushed violently on to the rocks by the waves．It was in danger of falling back into the waves， or of breaking in half， at any moment. Several figures were visible on the ship ， especially one very active， curly-haired young man， who seemed to be giving orders． The crowd on the beach cried out as the ship rolled and a huge wave swept over it， carrying the men into the rushing water．In a moment the only figure we could see was the curly-haired young man， holding desperately on to the side of the ship and calling for help． What could we do ？ It was certain death for any man to enter those waves．
Just then I saw Ham Peggotty running through the crowd to the edge of tM water． One end of a rope was tied around his waist， and the other end was held firmly be three strong men standing on the beach．
‘ No， Ham！’I cried，trying to hold him back．‘ Don't try to rescue that poor sailor！You'll kill yourself！’
‘ Let me go，Master David！’he replied cheerfully，shaking both my hands．‘ If God thinks it’ s time for me to die， then I'm ready！ Friends，I'm going in！Give me more rope！’
He dived in under a great wave， and swam strongly towards the ship． In another moment he would have reached it， when a high green hill of water appeared，and the ship went down with a great crash．The people on the beach pulled on Ham's rope， and he arrived at my feet—dead． They carried him to the nearest house， and I called a doctor， but nothing could be done for him．He had been beaten to death by that great wave， and his generous heart had stopped for ever．
As I sat hopelessly by his bed， a fisherman who had known me when Emily and I were children， came to tell me he recognized the curly-haired sailor， whose body had been thrown out of the water by the waves． I went to see． And there on the beach where she and I had played， I saw Steerforth lying，with his handsome face on his arm． He would never smile at me or Emily again．
I was surrounded by too many ghosts to return to London and my old life． I was selfishly sad that I had lost my child-wife and my childhood friend，and sometimes I felt I wanted to die．So I left England， and travelled for many months in Europe． I lived in a dark， miserable dream， with no hope or interest in my future．
One evening I arrived in a village in
In the middle of my terrible sadness I received a message from Emily．She asked me to take a letter from her to Ham her last words to the man who had loved her so much——before she and Daniel left England for Australia． They were sailing in two weeks’ time， and the Micawbers were going on the same ship. I remembered my childish love for little Emily， and agreed to do what she asked．
The weather was very stormy as I travelled through the night to Yarmouth．Several times the coach was almost knocked off the road by the wind and the rain． By the time we arrived in Yarmouth， most of the local people were in the streets， afraid to stay in their houses， in case the roof or the chimney blew down． Many women were crying， afraid for their husbands or brothers who were out fishing in their small boats． The sea itself， with its huge waves crashing noisily on the beach， frightened us all very much．
I went to the hotel， and tried to sleep a little after my tiring journey． But the wind made so much noise that I could not sleep， and I went down to the beach again， where a lot of people were standing together， watching the waves． By now the storm had got even worse．
‘ Two ships have gone down， sir！’ a local fisherman shouted to me．‘ A few miles away！ We couldn't save any of the men on them！ The waves were too high！ And look！ There's another！’
And suddenly I gasped in horror． I could see a great ship，which had been pushed violently on to the rocks by the waves．It was in danger of falling back into the waves， or of breaking in half， at any moment. Several figures were visible on the ship ， especially one very active， curly-haired young man， who seemed to be giving orders． The crowd on the beach cried out as the ship rolled and a huge wave swept over it， carrying the men into the rushing water．In a moment the only figure we could see was the curly-haired young man， holding desperately on to the side of the ship and calling for help． What could we do ？ It was certain death for any man to enter those waves．
Just then I saw Ham Peggotty running through the crowd to the edge of tM water． One end of a rope was tied around his waist， and the other end was held firmly be three strong men standing on the beach．
‘ No， Ham！’I cried，trying to hold him back．‘ Don't try to rescue that poor sailor！You'll kill yourself！’
‘ Let me go，Master David！’he replied cheerfully，shaking both my hands．‘ If God thinks it’ s time for me to die， then I'm ready！ Friends，I'm going in！Give me more rope！’
He dived in under a great wave， and swam strongly towards the ship． In another moment he would have reached it， when a high green hill of water appeared，and the ship went down with a great crash．The people on the beach pulled on Ham's rope， and he arrived at my feet—dead． They carried him to the nearest house， and I called a doctor， but nothing could be done for him．He had been beaten to death by that great wave， and his generous heart had stopped for ever．
As I sat hopelessly by his bed， a fisherman who had known me when Emily and I were children， came to tell me he recognized the curly-haired sailor， whose body had been thrown out of the water by the waves． I went to see． And there on the beach where she and I had played， I saw Steerforth lying，with his handsome face on his arm． He would never smile at me or Emily again．
I was surrounded by too many ghosts to return to London and my old life． I was selfishly sad that I had lost my child-wife and my childhood friend，and sometimes I felt I wanted to die．So I left England， and travelled for many months in Europe． I lived in a dark， miserable dream， with no hope or interest in my future．
One evening I arrived in a village in