"I was broad awake by this time, but, lying perfectly12 at ease, remained still, having no inducement to change my position. 'How did that ivory come all this way?' growled13 the elder man, who seemed very vexed14. The other explained that it had come with a fleet of canoes in charge of an English half-caste clerk Kurtz had with him; that Kurtz had apparently15 intended to return himself, the station being by that time bare of goods and stores, but after coming three hundred miles, had suddenly decided16 to go back, which he started to do alone in a small dugout with four paddlers, leaving the half-caste to continue down the river with the ivory. The two fellows there seemed astounded17 at anybody attempting such a thing. They were at a loss for an adequate motive18. As to me, I seemed to see Kurtz for the first time. It was a distinct glimpse: the dugout, four paddling savages20, and the lone7 white man turning his back suddenly on the headquarters, on relief, on thoughts of home—perhaps; setting his face towards the depths of the wilderness21, towards his empty and desolate22 station. I did not know the motive. Perhaps he was just simply a fine fellow who stuck to his work for its own sake. His name, you understand, had not been pronounced once. He was 'that man.' The half-caste, who, as far as I could see, had conducted a difficult trip with great prudence23 and pluck, was invariably alluded24 to as 'that scoundrel.' The 'scoundrel' had reported that the 'man' had been very ill—had recovered imperfectly.... The two below me moved away then a few paces, and strolled back and forth25 at some little distance. I heard: 'Military post—doctor—two hundred miles—quite alone now—unavoidable delays—nine months—no news—strange rumours26.' They approached again, just as the manager was saying, 'No one, as far as I know, unless a species of wandering trader—a pestilential fellow, snapping ivory from the natives.' Who was it they were talking about now? I gathered in snatches that this was some man supposed to be in Kurtz's district, and of whom the manager did not approve. 'We will not be free from unfair competition till one of these fellows is hanged for an example,' he said. 'Certainly,' grunted the other; 'get him hanged! Why not? Anything—anything can be done in this country. That's what I say; nobody here, you understand, here, can endanger your position. And why? You stand the climate—you outlast27 them all. The danger is in Europe; but there before I left I took care to—' They moved off and whispered, then their voices rose again. 'The extraordinary series of delays is not my fault. I did my best.' The fat man sighed. 'Very sad.' 'And the pestiferous absurdity28 of his talk,' continued the other; 'he bothered me enough when he was here. "Each station should be like a beacon29 on the road towards better things, a centre for trade of course, but also for humanizing, improving, instructing." Conceive you—that ass8! And he wants to be manager! No, it's—' Here he got choked by excessive indignation, and I lifted my head the least bit. I was surprised to see how near they were—right under me. I could have spat30 upon their hats. They were looking on the ground, absorbed in thought. The manager was switching his leg with a slender twig31: his sagacious relative lifted his head. 'You have been well since you came out this time?' he asked. The other gave a start. 'Who? I? Oh! Like a charm—like a charm. But the rest—oh, my goodness! All sick. They die so quick, too, that I haven't the time to send them out of the country—it's incredible!' 'Hm'm. Just so,' grunted the uncle. 'Ah! my boy, trust to this—I say, trust to this.' I saw him extend his short flipper32 of an arm for a gesture that took in the forest, the creek33, the mud, the river—seemed to beckon34 with a dishonouring36 flourish before the sunlit face of the land a treacherous37 appeal to the lurking39 death, to the hidden evil, to the profound darkness of its heart. It was so startling that I leaped to my feet and looked back at the edge of the forest, as though I had expected an answer of some sort to that black display of confidence. You know the foolish notions that come to one sometimes. The high stillness confronted these two figures with its ominous40 patience, waiting for the passing away of a fantastic invasion.
"They swore aloud together—out of sheer fright, I believe—then pretending not to know anything of my existence, turned back to the station. The sun was low; and leaning forward side by side, they seemed to be tugging41 painfully uphill their two ridiculous shadows of unequal length, that trailed behind them slowly over the tall grass without bending a single blade.
"In a few days the Eldorado Expedition went into the patient wilderness, that closed upon it as the sea closes over a diver. Long afterwards the news came that all the donkeys were dead. I know nothing as to the fate of the less valuable animals. They, no doubt, like the rest of us, found what they deserved. I did not inquire. I was then rather excited at the prospect42 of meeting Kurtz very soon. When I say very soon I mean it comparatively. It was just two months from the day we left the creek when we came to the bank below Kurtz's station.
"Going up that river was like traveling back to the earliest beginnings of the world, when vegetation rioted on the earth and the big trees were kings. An empty stream, a great silence, an impenetrable forest. The air was warm, thick, heavy, sluggish44. There was no joy in the brilliance45 of sunshine. The long stretches of the waterway ran on, deserted46, into the gloom of overshadowed distances. On silvery sand-banks hippos and alligators48 sunned themselves side by side. The broadening waters flowed through a mob of wooded islands; you lost your way on that river as you would in a desert, and butted49 all day long against shoals, trying to find the channel, till you thought yourself bewitched and cut off for ever from everything you had known once—somewhere—far away—in another existence perhaps. There were moments when one's past came back to one, as it will sometimes when you have not a moment to spare for yourself; but it came in the shape of an unrestful and noisy dream, remembered with wonder amongst the overwhelming realities of this strange world of plants, and water, and silence. And this stillness of life did not in the least resemble a peace. It was the stillness of an implacable force brooding over an inscrutable intention. It looked at you with a vengeful aspect. I got used to it afterwards; I did not see it any more; I had no time. I had to keep guessing at the channel; I had to discern, mostly by inspiration, the signs of hidden banks; I watched for sunken stones; I was learning to clap my teeth smartly before my heart flew out, when I shaved by a fluke some infernal sly old snag that would have ripped the life out of the tin-pot steamboat and drowned all the pilgrims; I had to keep a lookout50 for the signs of dead wood we could cut up in the night for next day's steaming. When you have to attend to things of that sort, to the mere51 incidents of the surface, the reality—the reality, I tell you—fades. The inner truth is hidden—luckily, luckily. But I felt it all the same; I felt often its mysterious stillness watching me at my monkey tricks, just as it watches you fellows performing on your respective tight-ropes for—what is it? half-a-crown a tumble—"
"Try to be civil, Marlow," growled a voice, and I knew there was at least one listener awake besides myself.
"I beg your pardon. I forgot the heartache which makes up the rest of the price. And indeed what does the price matter, if the trick be well done? You do your tricks very well. And I didn't do badly either, since I managed not to sink that steamboat on my first trip. It's a wonder to me yet. Imagine a blindfolded52 man set to drive a van over a bad road. I sweated and shivered over that business considerably53, I can tell you. After all, for a seaman54, to scrape the bottom of the thing that's supposed to float all the time under his care is the unpardonable sin. No one may know of it, but you never forget the thump55—eh? A blow on the very heart. You remember it, you dream of it, you wake up at night and think of it—years after—and go hot and cold all over. I don't pretend to say that steamboat floated all the time. More than once she had to wade56 for a bit, with twenty cannibals splashing around and pushing. We had enlisted57 some of these chaps on the way for a crew. Fine fellows—cannibals—in their place. They were men one could work with, and I am grateful to them. And, after all, they did not eat each other before my face: they had brought along a provision of hippo-meat which went rotten, and made the mystery of the wilderness stink58 in my nostrils59. Phoo! I can sniff60 it now. I had the manager on board and three or four pilgrims with their staves—all complete. Sometimes we came upon a station close by the bank, clinging to the skirts of the unknown, and the white men rushing out of a tumble-down hovel, with great gestures of joy and surprise and welcome, seemed very strange—had the appearance of being held there captive by a spell. The word ivory would ring in the air for a while—and on we went again into the silence, along empty reaches, round the still bends, between the high walls of our winding61 way, reverberating62 in hollow claps the ponderous63 beat of the stern-wheel. Trees, trees, millions of trees, massive, immense, running up high; and at their foot, hugging the bank against the stream, crept the little begrimed steamboat, like a sluggish beetle64 crawling on the floor of a lofty portico65. It made you feel very small, very lost, and yet it was not altogether depressing, that feeling. After all, if you were small, the grimy beetle crawled on—which was just what you wanted it to do. Where the pilgrims imagined it crawled to I don't know. To some place where they expected to get something. I bet! For me it crawled towards Kurtz—exclusively; but when the steam-pipes started leaking we crawled very slow. The reaches opened before us and closed behind, as if the forest had stepped leisurely66 across the water to bar the way for our return. We penetrated67 deeper and deeper into the heart of darkness. It was very quiet there. At night sometimes the roll of drums behind the curtain of trees would run up the river and remain sustained faintly, as if hovering68 in the air high over our heads, till the first break of day. Whether it meant war, peace, or prayer we could not tell. The dawns were heralded69 by the descent of a chill stillness; the wood-cutters slept, their fires burned low; the snapping of a twig would make you start. We were wanderers on a prehistoric70 earth, on an earth that wore the aspect of an unknown planet. We could have fancied ourselves the first of men taking possession of an accursed inheritance, to be subdued71 at the cost of profound anguish72 and of excessive toil73. But suddenly, as we struggled round a bend, there would be a glimpse of rush walls, of peaked grass-roofs, a burst of yells, a whirl of black limbs, a mass of hands clapping of feet stamping, of bodies swaying, of eyes rolling, under the droop74 of heavy and motionless foliage75. The steamer toiled76 along slowly on the edge of a black and incomprehensible frenzy77. The prehistoric man was cursing us, praying to us, welcoming us—who could tell? We were cut off from the comprehension of our surroundings; we glided78 past like phantoms79, wondering and secretly appalled80, as sane81 men would be before an enthusiastic outbreak in a madhouse. We could not understand because we were too far and could not remember because we were travelling in the night of first ages, of those ages that are gone, leaving hardly a sign—and no memories.
"The earth seemed unearthly. We are accustomed to look upon the shackled82 form of a conquered monster, but there—there you could look at a thing monstrous83 and free. It was unearthly, and the men were—No, they were not inhuman84. Well, you know, that was the worst of it—this suspicion of their not being inhuman. It would come slowly to one. They howled and leaped, and spun85, and made horrid86 faces; but what thrilled you was just the thought of their humanity—like yours—the thought of your remote kinship with this wild and passionate87 uproar88. Ugly. Yes, it was ugly enough; but if you were man enough you would admit to yourself that there was in you just the faintest trace of a response to the terrible frankness of that noise, a dim suspicion of there being a meaning in it which you—you so remote from the night of first ages—could comprehend. And why not? The mind of man is capable of anything—because everything is in it, all the past as well as all the future. What was there after all? Joy, fear, sorrow, devotion, valour, rage—who can tell?—but truth—truth stripped of its cloak of time. Let the fool gape89 and shudder—the man knows, and can look on without a wink90. But he must at least be as much of a man as these on the shore. He must meet that truth with his own true stuff—with his own inborn91 strength. Principles won't do. Acquisitions, clothes, pretty rags—rags that would fly off at the first good shake. No; you want a deliberate belief. An appeal to me in this fiendish row—is there? Very well; I hear; I admit, but I have a voice, too, and for good or evil mine is the speech that cannot be silenced. Of course, a fool, what with sheer fright and fine sentiments, is always safe. Who's that grunting92? You wonder I didn't go ashore93 for a howl and a dance? Well, no—I didn't. Fine sentiments, you say? Fine sentiments, be hanged! I had no time. I had to mess about with white-lead and strips of woolen94 blanket helping95 to put bandages on those leaky steam-pipes—I tell you. I had to watch the steering96, and circumvent98 those snags, and get the tin-pot along by hook or by crook100. There was surface-truth enough in these things to save a wiser man. And between whiles I had to look after the savage19 who was fireman. He was an improved specimen101; he could fire up a vertical102 boiler103. He was there below me, and, upon my word, to look at him was as edifying104 as seeing a dog in a parody105 of breeches and a feather hat, walking on his hind-legs. A few months of training had done for that really fine chap. He squinted106 at the steam-gauge and at the water-gauge with an evident effort of intrepidity—and he had filed teeth, too, the poor devil, and the wool of his pate107 shaved into queer patterns, and three ornamental108 scars on each of his cheeks. He ought to have been clapping his hands and stamping his feet on the bank, instead of which he was hard at work, a thrall109 to strange witchcraft110, full of improving knowledge. He was useful because he had been instructed; and what he knew was this—that should the water in that transparent111 thing disappear, the evil spirit inside the boiler would get angry through the greatness of his thirst, and take a terrible vengeance112. So he sweated and fired up and watched the glass fearfully (with an impromptu113 charm, made of rags, tied to his arm, and a piece of polished bone, as big as a watch, stuck flatways through his lower lip), while the wooded banks slipped past us slowly, the short noise was left behind, the interminable miles of silence—and we crept on, towards Kurtz. But the snags were thick, the water was treacherous and shallow, the boiler seemed indeed to have a sulky devil in it, and thus neither that fireman nor I had any time to peer into our creepy thoughts.
"Some fifty miles below the Inner Station we came upon a hut of reeds, an inclined and melancholy114 pole, with the unrecognizable tatters of what had been a flag of some sort flying from it, and a neatly115 stacked wood-pile. This was unexpected. We came to the bank, and on the stack of firewood found a flat piece of board with some faded pencil-writing on it. When deciphered it said: 'Wood for you. Hurry up. Approach cautiously.' There was a signature, but it was illegible—not Kurtz—a much longer word. 'Hurry up.' Where? Up the river? 'Approach cautiously.' We had not done so. But the warning could not have been meant for the place where it could be only found after approach. Something was wrong above. But what—and how much? That was the question. We commented adversely117 upon the imbecility of that telegraphic style. The bush around said nothing, and would not let us look very far, either. A torn curtain of red twill hung in the doorway118 of the hut, and flapped sadly in our faces. The dwelling119 was dismantled120; but we could see a white man had lived there not very long ago. There remained a rude table—a plank121 on two posts; a heap of rubbish reposed122 in a dark corner, and by the door I picked up a book. It had lost its covers, and the pages had been thumbed into a state of extremely dirty softness; but the back had been lovingly stitched afresh with white cotton thread, which looked clean yet. It was an extraordinary find. Its title was, An Inquiry123 into some Points of Seamanship, by a man Towser, Towson—some such name—Master in his Majesty's Navy. The matter looked dreary124 reading enough, with illustrative diagrams and repulsive125 tables of figures, and the copy was sixty years old. I handled this amazing antiquity126 with the greatest possible tenderness, lest it should dissolve in my hands. Within, Towson or Towser was inquiring earnestly into the breaking strain of ships' chains and tackle, and other such matters. Not a very enthralling127 book; but at the first glance you could see there a singleness of intention, an honest concern for the right way of going to work, which made these humble128 pages, thought out so many years ago, luminous129 with another than a professional light. The simple old sailor, with his talk of chains and purchases, made me forget the jungle and the pilgrims in a delicious sensation of having come upon something unmistakably real. Such a book being there was wonderful enough; but still more astounding130 were the notes pencilled in the margin131, and plainly referring to the text. I couldn't believe my eyes! They were in cipher116! Yes, it looked like cipher. Fancy a man lugging132 with him a book of that description into this nowhere and studying it—and making notes—in cipher at that! It was an extravagant133 mystery.
"I had been dimly aware for some time of a worrying noise, and when I lifted my eyes I saw the wood-pile was gone, and the manager, aided by all the pilgrims, was shouting at me from the riverside. I slipped the book into my pocket. I assure you to leave off reading was like tearing myself away from the shelter of an old and solid friendship.
"I started the lame134 engine ahead. 'It must be this miserable135 trader—this intruder,' exclaimed the manager, looking back malevolently136 at the place we had left. 'He must be English,' I said. 'It will not save him from getting into trouble if he is not careful,' muttered the manager darkly. I observed with assumed innocence137 that no man was safe from trouble in this world.
"The current was more rapid now, the steamer seemed at her last gasp138, the stern-wheel flopped139 languidly, and I caught myself listening on tiptoe for the next beat of the boat, for in sober truth I expected the wretched thing to give up every moment. It was like watching the last flickers141 of a life. But still we crawled. Sometimes I would pick out a tree a little way ahead to measure our progress towards Kurtz by, but I lost it invariably before we got abreast142. To keep the eyes so long on one thing was too much for human patience. The manager displayed a beautiful resignation. I fretted143 and fumed144 and took to arguing with myself whether or no I would talk openly with Kurtz; but before I could come to any conclusion it occurred to me that my speech or my silence, indeed any action of mine, would be a mere futility145. What did it matter what any one knew or ignored? What did it matter who was manager? One gets sometimes such a flash of insight. The essentials of this affair lay deep under the surface, beyond my reach, and beyond my power of meddling146.
"Towards the evening of the second day we judged ourselves about eight miles from Kurtz's station. I wanted to push on; but the manager looked grave, and told me the navigation up there was so dangerous that it would be advisable, the sun being very low already, to wait where we were till next morning. Moreover, he pointed147 out that if the warning to approach cautiously were to be followed, we must approach in daylight—not at dusk or in the dark. This was sensible enough. Eight miles meant nearly three hours' steaming for us, and I could also see suspicious ripples148 at the upper end of the reach. Nevertheless, I was annoyed beyond expression at the delay, and most unreasonably150, too, since one night more could not matter much after so many months. As we had plenty of wood, and caution was the word, I brought up in the middle of the stream. The reach was narrow, straight, with high sides like a railway cutting. The dusk came gliding151 into it long before the sun had set. The current ran smooth and swift, but a dumb immobility sat on the banks. The living trees, lashed152 together by the creepers and every living bush of the undergrowth, might have been changed into stone, even to the slenderest twig, to the lightest leaf. It was not sleep—it seemed unnatural153, like a state of trance. Not the faintest sound of any kind could be heard. You looked on amazed, and began to suspect yourself of being deaf—then the night came suddenly, and struck you blind as well. About three in the morning some large fish leaped, and the loud splash made me jump as though a gun had been fired. When the sun rose there was a white fog, very warm and clammy, and more blinding than the night. It did not shift or drive; it was just there, standing all round you like something solid. At eight or nine, perhaps, it lifted as a shutter154 lifts. We had a glimpse of the towering multitude of trees, of the immense matted jungle, with the blazing little ball of the sun hanging over it—all perfectly still—and then the white shutter came down again, smoothly155, as if sliding in greased grooves156. I ordered the chain, which we had begun to heave in, to be paid out again. Before it stopped running with a muffled157 rattle158, a cry, a very loud cry, as of infinite desolation, soared slowly in the opaque159 air. It ceased. A complaining clamour, modulated160 in savage discords161, filled our ears. The sheer unexpectedness of it made my hair stir under my cap. I don't know how it struck the others: to me it seemed as though the mist itself had screamed, so suddenly, and apparently from all sides at once, did this tumultuous and mournful uproar arise. It culminated163 in a hurried outbreak of almost intolerably excessive shrieking164, which stopped short, leaving us stiffened165 in a variety of silly attitudes, and obstinately166 listening to the nearly as appalling167 and excessive silence. 'Good God! What is the meaning—' stammered168 at my elbow one of the pilgrims—a little fat man, with sandy hair and red whiskers, who wore sidespring boots, and pink pyjamas169 tucked into his socks. Two others remained open-mouthed a while minute, then dashed into the little cabin, to rush out incontinently and stand darting170 scared glances, with Winchesters at 'ready' in their hands. What we could see was just the steamer we were on, her outlines blurred171 as though she had been on the point of dissolving, and a misty172 strip of water, perhaps two feet broad, around her—and that was all. The rest of the world was nowhere, as far as our eyes and ears were concerned. Just nowhere. Gone, disappeared; swept off without leaving a whisper or a shadow behind.
"I went forward, and ordered the chain to be hauled in short, so as to be ready to trip the anchor and move the steamboat at once if necessary. 'Will they attack?' whispered an awed173 voice. 'We will be all butchered in this fog,' murmured another. The faces twitched175 with the strain, the hands trembled slightly, the eyes forgot to wink. It was very curious to see the contrast of expressions of the white men and of the black fellows of our crew, who were as much strangers to that part of the river as we, though their homes were only eight hundred miles away. The whites, of course greatly discomposed, had besides a curious look of being painfully shocked by such an outrageous176 row. The others had an alert, naturally interested expression; but their faces were essentially177 quiet, even those of the one or two who grinned as they hauled at the chain. Several exchanged short, grunting phrases, which seemed to settle the matter to their satisfaction. Their headman, a young, broad-chested black, severely178 draped in dark-blue fringed cloths, with fierce nostrils and his hair all done up artfully in oily ringlets, stood near me. 'Aha!' I said, just for good fellowship's sake. 'Catch 'im,' he snapped, with a bloodshot widening of his eyes and a flash of sharp teeth—'catch 'im. Give 'im to us.' 'To you, eh?' I asked; 'what would you do with them?' 'Eat 'im!' he said curtly179, and, leaning his elbow on the rail, looked out into the fog in a dignified180 and profoundly pensive181 attitude. I would no doubt have been properly horrified182, had it not occurred to me that he and his chaps must be very hungry: that they must have been growing increasingly hungry for at least this month past. They had been engaged for six months (I don't think a single one of them had any clear idea of time, as we at the end of countless183 ages have. They still belonged to the beginnings of time—had no inherited experience to teach them as it were), and of course, as long as there was a piece of paper written over in accordance with some farcical law or other made down the river, it didn't enter anybody's head to trouble how they would live. Certainly they had brought with them some rotten hippo-meat, which couldn't have lasted very long, anyway, even if the pilgrims hadn't, in the midst of a shocking hullabaloo, thrown a considerable quantity of it overboard. It looked like a high-handed proceeding184; but it was really a case of legitimate185 self-defence. You can't breathe dead hippo waking, sleeping, and eating, and at the same time keep your precarious186 grip on existence. Besides that, they had given them every week three pieces of brass187 wire, each about nine inches long; and the theory was they were to buy their provisions with that currency in riverside villages. You can see how that worked. There were either no villages, or the people were hostile, or the director, who like the rest of us fed out of tins, with an occasional old he-goat thrown in, didn't want to stop the steamer for some more or less recondite188 reason. So, unless they swallowed the wire itself, or made loops of it to snare189 the fishes with, I don't see what good their extravagant salary could be to them. I must say it was paid with a regularity190 worthy191 of a large and honourable192 trading company. For the rest, the only thing to eat—though it didn't look eatable in the least—I saw in their possession was a few lumps of some stuff like half-cooked dough193, of a dirty lavender colour, they kept wrapped in leaves, and now and then swallowed a piece of, but so small that it seemed done more for the looks of the thing than for any serious purpose of sustenance194. Why in the name of all the gnawing195 devils of hunger they didn't go for us—they were thirty to five—and have a good tuck-in for once, amazes me now when I think of it. They were big powerful men, with not much capacity to weigh the consequences, with courage, with strength, even yet, though their skins were no longer glossy196 and their muscles no longer hard. And I saw that something restraining, one of those human secrets that baffle probability, had come into play there. I looked at them with a swift quickening of interest—not because it occurred to me I might be eaten by them before very long, though I own to you that just then I perceived—in a new light, as it were—how unwholesome the pilgrims looked, and I hoped, yes, I positively197 hoped, that my aspect was not so—what shall I say?—so—unappetizing: a touch of fantastic vanity which fitted well with the dream-sensation that pervaded198 all my days at that time. Perhaps I had a little fever, too. One can't live with one's finger everlastingly200 on one's pulse. I had often 'a little fever,' or a little touch of other things—the playful paw-strokes of the wilderness, the preliminary trifling201 before the more serious onslaught which came in due course. Yes; I looked at them as you would on any human being, with a curiosity of their impulses, motives202, capacities, weaknesses, when brought to the test of an inexorable physical necessity. Restraint! What possible restraint? Was it superstition203, disgust, patience, fear—or some kind of primitive204 honour? No fear can stand up to hunger, no patience can wear it out, disgust simply does not exist where hunger is; and as to superstition, beliefs, and what you may call principles, they are less than chaff205 in a breeze. Don't you know the devilry of lingering starvation, its exasperating206 torment207, its black thoughts, its sombre and brooding ferocity? Well, I do. It takes a man all his inborn strength to fight hunger properly. It's really easier to face bereavement208, dishonour35, and the perdition of one's soul—than this kind of prolonged hunger. Sad, but true. And these chaps, too, had no earthly reason for any kind of scruple209. Restraint! I would just as soon have expected restraint from a hyena210 prowling amongst the corpses211 of a battlefield. But there was the fact facing me—the fact dazzling, to be seen, like the foam212 on the depths of the sea, like a ripple149 on an unfathomable enigma213, a mystery greater—when I thought of it—than the curious, inexplicable214 note of desperate grief in this savage clamour that had swept by us on the river-bank, behind the blind whiteness of the fog.
"Two pilgrims were quarrelling in hurried whispers as to which bank. 'Left.' 'no, no; how can you? Right, right, of course.' 'It is very serious,' said the manager's voice behind me; 'I would be desolated215 if anything should happen to Mr. Kurtz before we came up.' I looked at him, and had not the slightest doubt he was sincere. He was just the kind of man who would wish to preserve appearances. That was his restraint. But when he muttered something about going on at once, I did not even take the trouble to answer him. I knew, and he knew, that it was impossible. Were we to let go our hold of the bottom, we would be absolutely in the air—in space. We wouldn't be able to tell where we were going to—whether up or down stream, or across—till we fetched against one bank or the other—and then we wouldn't know at first which it was. Of course I made no move. I had no mind for a smash-up. You couldn't imagine a more deadly place for a shipwreck216. Whether we drowned at once or not, we were sure to perish speedily in one way or another. 'I authorize217 you to take all the risks,' he said, after a short silence. 'I refuse to take any,' I said shortly; which was just the answer he expected, though its tone might have surprised him. 'Well, I must defer218 to your judgment219. You are captain,' he said with marked civility. I turned my shoulder to him in sign of my appreciation220, and looked into the fog. How long would it last? It was the most hopeless lookout. The approach to this Kurtz grubbing for ivory in the wretched bush was beset221 by as many dangers as though he had been an enchanted222 princess sleeping in a fabulous223 castle. 'Will they attack, do you think?' asked the manager, in a confidential224 tone.
"I did not think they would attack, for several obvious reasons. The thick fog was one. If they left the bank in their canoes they would get lost in it, as we would be if we attempted to move. Still, I had also judged the jungle of both banks quite impenetrable—and yet eyes were in it, eyes that had seen us. The riverside bushes were certainly very thick; but the undergrowth behind was evidently penetrable43. However, during the short lift I had seen no canoes anywhere in the reach—certainly not abreast of the steamer. But what made the idea of attack inconceivable to me was the nature of the noise—of the cries we had heard. They had not the fierce character boding225 immediate226 hostile intention. Unexpected, wild, and violent as they had been, they had given me an irresistible227 impression of sorrow. The glimpse of the steamboat had for some reason filled those savages with unrestrained grief. The danger, if any, I expounded228, was from our proximity229 to a great human passion let loose. Even extreme grief may ultimately vent99 itself in violence—but more generally takes the form of apathy230....
"You should have seen the pilgrims stare! They had no heart to grin, or even to revile231 me: but I believe they thought me gone mad—with fright, maybe. I delivered a regular lecture. My dear boys, it was no good bothering. Keep a lookout? Well, you may guess I watched the fog for the signs of lifting as a cat watches a mouse; but for anything else our eyes were of no more use to us than if we had been buried miles deep in a heap of cotton-wool. It felt like it, too—choking, warm, stifling232. Besides, all I said, though it sounded extravagant, was absolutely true to fact. What we afterwards alluded to as an attack was really an attempt at repulse233. The action was very far from being aggressive—it was not even defensive234, in the usual sense: it was undertaken under the stress of desperation, and in its essence was purely235 protective.
"It developed itself, I should say, two hours after the fog lifted, and its commencement was at a spot, roughly speaking, about a mile and a half below Kurtz's station. We had just floundered and flopped round a bend, when I saw an islet, a mere grassy236 hummock237 of bright green, in the middle of the stream. It was the only thing of the kind; but as we opened the reach more, I perceived it was the head of a long sand-bank, or rather of a chain of shallow patches stretching down the middle of the river. They were discoloured, just awash, and the whole lot was seen just under the water, exactly as a man's backbone238 is seen running down the middle of his back under the skin. Now, as far as I did see, I could go to the right or to the left of this. I didn't know either channel, of course. The banks looked pretty well alike, the depth appeared the same; but as I had been informed the station was on the west side, I naturally headed for the western passage.
"No sooner had we fairly entered it than I became aware it was much narrower than I had supposed. To the left of us there was the long uninterrupted shoal, and to the right a high, steep bank heavily overgrown with bushes. Above the bush the trees stood in serried239 ranks. The twigs240 overhung the current thickly, and from distance to distance a large limb of some tree projected rigidly241 over the stream. It was then well on in the afternoon, the face of the forest was gloomy, and a broad strip of shadow had already fallen on the water. In this shadow we steamed up—very slowly, as you may imagine. I sheered her well inshore—the water being deepest near the bank, as the sounding-pole informed me.
"One of my hungry and forbearing friends was sounding in the bows just below me. This steamboat was exactly like a decked scow. On the deck, there were two little teakwood houses, with doors and windows. The boiler was in the fore-end, and the machinery243 right astern. Over the whole there was a light roof, supported on stanchions. The funnel244 projected through that roof, and in front of the funnel a small cabin built of light planks245 served for a pilot-house. It contained a couch, two camp-stools, a loaded Martini-Henry leaning in one corner, a tiny table, and the steering-wheel. It had a wide door in front and a broad shutter at each side. All these were always thrown open, of course. I spent my days perched up there on the extreme fore-end of that roof, before the door. At night I slept, or tried to, on the couch. An athletic246 black belonging to some coast tribe and educated by my poor predecessor247, was the helmsman. He sported a pair of brass earrings248, wore a blue cloth wrapper from the waist to the ankles, and thought all the world of himself. He was the most unstable249 kind of fool I had ever seen. He steered250 with no end of a swagger while you were by; but if he lost sight of you, he became instantly the prey251 of an abject252 funk, and would let that cripple of a steamboat get the upper hand of him in a minute.
"I was looking down at the sounding-pole, and feeling much annoyed to see at each try a little more of it stick out of that river, when I saw my poleman give up on the business suddenly, and stretch himself flat on the deck, without even taking the trouble to haul his pole in. He kept hold on it though, and it trailed in the water. At the same time the fireman, whom I could also see below me, sat down abruptly253 before his furnace and ducked his head. I was amazed. Then I had to look at the river mighty254 quick, because there was a snag in the fairway. Sticks, little sticks, were flying about—thick: they were whizzing before my nose, dropping below me, striking behind me against my pilot-house. All this time the river, the shore, the woods, were very quiet—perfectly quiet. I could only hear the heavy splashing thump of the stern-wheel and the patter of these things. We cleared the snag clumsily. Arrows, by Jove! We were being shot at! I stepped in quickly to close the shutter on the landside. That fool-helmsman, his hands on the spokes255, was lifting his knees high, stamping his feet, champing his mouth, like a reined-in horse. Confound him! And we were staggering within ten feet of the bank. I had to lean right out to swing the heavy shutter, and I saw a face amongst the leaves on the level with my own, looking at me very fierce and steady; and then suddenly, as though a veil had been removed from my eyes, I made out, deep in the tangled256 gloom, naked breasts, arms, legs, glaring eyes—the bush was swarming257 with human limbs in movement, glistening258 of bronze colour. The twigs shook, swayed, and rustled259, the arrows flew out of them, and then the shutter came to. 'Steer97 her straight,' I said to the helmsman. He held his head rigid242, face forward; but his eyes rolled, he kept on lifting and setting down his feet gently, his mouth foamed260 a little. 'Keep quiet!' I said in a fury. I might just as well have ordered a tree not to sway in the wind. I darted261 out. Below me there was a great scuffle of feet on the iron deck; confused exclamations262; a voice screamed, 'Can you turn back?' I caught sight of a V-shaped ripple on the water ahead. What? Another snag! A fusillade burst out under my feet. The pilgrims had opened with their Winchesters, and were simply squirting lead into that bush. A deuce of a lot of smoke came up and drove slowly forward. I swore at it. Now I couldn't see the ripple or the snag either. I stood in the doorway, peering, and the arrows came in swarms263. They might have been poisoned, but they looked as though they wouldn't kill a cat. The bush began to howl. Our wood-cutters raised a warlike whoop264; the report of a rifle just at my back deafened265 me. I glanced over my shoulder, and the pilot-house was yet full of noise and smoke when I made a dash at the wheel. The fool-nigger had dropped everything, to throw the shutter open and let off that Martini-Henry. He stood before the wide opening, glaring, and I yelled at him to come back, while I straightened the sudden twist out of that steamboat. There was no room to turn even if I had wanted to, the snag was somewhere very near ahead in that confounded smoke, there was no time to lose, so I just crowded her into the bank—right into the bank, where I knew the water was deep.
"We tore slowly along the overhanging bushes in a whirl of broken twigs and flying leaves. The fusillade below stopped short, as I had foreseen it would when the squirts got empty. I threw my head back to a glinting whizz that traversed the pilot-house, in at one shutter-hole and out at the other. Looking past that mad helmsman, who was shaking the empty rifle and yelling at the shore, I saw vague forms of men running bent266 double, leaping, gliding, distinct, incomplete, evanescent. Something big appeared in the air before the shutter, the rifle went overboard, and the man stepped back swiftly, looked at me over his shoulder in an extraordinary, profound, familiar manner, and fell upon my feet. The side of his head hit the wheel twice, and the end of what appeared a long cane267 clattered268 round and knocked over a little camp-stool. It looked as though after wrenching269 that thing from somebody ashore he had lost his balance in the effort. The thin smoke had blown away, we were clear of the snag, and looking ahead I could see that in another hundred yards or so I would be free to sheer off, away from the bank; but my feet felt so very warm and wet that I had to look down. The man had rolled on his back and stared straight up at me; both his hands clutched that cane. It was the shaft270 of a spear that, either thrown or lunged through the opening, had caught him in the side, just below the ribs271; the blade had gone in out of sight, after making a frightful gash272; my shoes were full; a pool of blood lay very still, gleaming dark-red under the wheel; his eyes shone with an amazing lustre273. The fusillade burst out again. He looked at me anxiously, gripping the spear like something precious, with an air of being afraid I would try to take it away from him. I had to make an effort to free my eyes from his gaze and attend to the steering. With one hand I felt above my head for the line of the steam whistle, and jerked out screech274 after screech hurriedly. The tumult162 of angry and warlike yells was checked instantly, and then from the depths of the woods went out such a tremulous and prolonged wail275 of mournful fear and utter despair as may be imagined to follow the flight of the last hope from the earth. There was a great commotion276 in the bush; the shower of arrows stopped, a few dropping shots rang out sharply—then silence, in which the languid beat of the stern-wheel came plainly to my ears. I put the helm hard a-starboard at the moment when the pilgrim in pink pyjamas, very hot and agitated277, appeared in the doorway. 'The manager sends me—' he began in an official tone, and stopped short. 'Good God!' he said, glaring at the wounded man.
"We two whites stood over him, and his lustrous278 and inquiring glance enveloped279 us both. I declare it looked as though he would presently put to us some questions in an understandable language; but he died without uttering a sound, without moving a limb, without twitching280 a muscle. Only in the very last moment, as though in response to some sign we could not see, to some whisper we could not hear, he frowned heavily, and that frown gave to his black death-mask an inconceivably sombre, brooding, and menacing expression. The lustre of inquiring glance faded swiftly into vacant glassiness. 'Can you steer?' I asked the agent eagerly. He looked very dubious281; but I made a grab at his arm, and he understood at once I meant him to steer whether or no. To tell you the truth, I was morbidly282 anxious to change my shoes and socks. 'He is dead,' murmured the fellow, immensely impressed. 'No doubt about it,' said I, tugging like mad at the shoe-laces. 'And by the way, I suppose Mr. Kurtz is dead as well by this time.'
"For the moment that was the dominant283 thought. There was a sense of extreme disappointment, as though I had found out I had been striving after something altogether without a substance. I couldn't have been more disgusted if I had travelled all this way for the sole purpose of talking with Mr. Kurtz. Talking with... I flung one shoe overboard, and became aware that that was exactly what I had been looking forward to—a talk with Kurtz. I made the strange discovery that I had never imagined him as doing, you know, but as discoursing284. I didn't say to myself, 'Now I will never see him,' or 'Now I will never shake him by the hand,' but, 'Now I will never hear him.' The man presented himself as a voice. Not of course that I did not connect him with some sort of action. Hadn't I been told in all the tones of jealousy285 and admiration286 that he had collected, bartered287, swindled, or stolen more ivory than all the other agents together? That was not the point. The point was in his being a gifted creature, and that of all his gifts the one that stood out preeminently, that carried with it a sense of real presence, was his ability to talk, his words—the gift of expression, the bewildering, the illuminating288, the most exalted289 and the most contemptible290, the pulsating291 stream of light, or the deceitful flow from the heart of an impenetrable darkness.
"The other shoe went flying unto the devil-god of that river. I thought, 'By Jove! it's all over. We are too late; he has vanished—the gift has vanished, by means of some spear, arrow, or club. I will never hear that chap speak after all'—and my sorrow had a startling extravagance of emotion, even such as I had noticed in the howling sorrow of these savages in the bush. I couldn't have felt more of lonely desolation somehow, had I been robbed of a belief or had missed my destiny in life.... Why do you sigh in this beastly way, somebody? Absurd? Well, absurd. Good Lord! mustn't a man ever—Here, give me some tobacco."...
There was a pause of profound stillness, then a match flared292, and Marlow's lean face appeared, worn, hollow, with downward folds and dropped eyelids293, with an aspect of concentrated attention; and as he took vigorous draws at his pipe, it seemed to retreat and advance out of the night in the regular flicker140 of tiny flame. The match went out.
"Absurd!" he cried. "This is the worst of trying to tell.... Here you all are, each moored294 with two good addresses, like a hulk with two anchors, a butcher round one corner, a policeman round another, excellent appetites, and temperature normal—you hear—normal from year's end to year's end. And you say, Absurd! Absurd be—exploded! Absurd! My dear boys, what can you expect from a man who out of sheer nervousness had just flung overboard a pair of new shoes! Now I think of it, it is amazing I did not shed tears. I am, upon the whole, proud of my fortitude295. I was cut to the quick at the idea of having lost the inestimable privilege of listening to the gifted Kurtz. Of course I was wrong. The privilege was waiting for me. Oh, yes, I heard more than enough. And I was right, too. A voice. He was very little more than a voice. And I heard—him—it—this voice—other voices—all of them were so little more than voices—and the memory of that time itself lingers around me, impalpable, like a dying vibration296 of one immense jabber297, silly, atrocious, sordid298, savage, or simply mean, without any kind of sense. Voices, voices—even the girl herself—now—"
He was silent for a long time.
"I laid the ghost of his gifts at last with a lie," he began, suddenly. "Girl! What? Did I mention a girl? Oh, she is out of it—completely. They—the women, I mean—are out of it—should be out of it. We must help them to stay in that beautiful world of their own, lest ours gets worse. Oh, she had to be out of it. You should have heard the disinterred body of Mr. Kurtz saying, 'My Intended.' You would have perceived directly then how completely she was out of it. And the lofty frontal bone of Mr. Kurtz! They say the hair goes on growing sometimes, but this—ah—specimen, was impressively bald. The wilderness had patted him on the head, and, behold299, it was like a ball—an ivory ball; it had caressed300 him, and—lo!—he had withered301; it had taken him, loved him, embraced him, got into his veins302, consumed his flesh, and sealed his soul to its own by the inconceivable ceremonies of some devilish initiation303. He was its spoiled and pampered304 favourite. Ivory? I should think so. Heaps of it, stacks of it. The old mud shanty305 was bursting with it. You would think there was not a single tusk306 left either above or below the ground in the whole country. 'Mostly fossil,' the manager had remarked, disparagingly307. It was no more fossil than I am; but they call it fossil when it is dug up. It appears these niggers do bury the tusks308 sometimes—but evidently they couldn't bury this parcel deep enough to save the gifted Mr. Kurtz from his fate. We filled the steamboat with it, and had to pile a lot on the deck. Thus he could see and enjoy as long as he could see, because the appreciation of this favour had remained with him to the last. You should have heard him say, 'My ivory.' Oh, yes, I heard him. 'My Intended, my ivory, my station, my river, my—' everything belonged to him. It made me hold my breath in expectation of hearing the wilderness burst into a prodigious309 peal38 of laughter that would shake the fixed310 stars in their places. Everything belonged to him—but that was a trifle. The thing was to know what he belonged to, how many powers of darkness claimed him for their own. That was the reflection that made you creepy all over. It was impossible—it was not good for one either—trying to imagine. He had taken a high seat amongst the devils of the land—I mean literally311. You can't understand. How could you?—with solid pavement under your feet, surrounded by kind neighbours ready to cheer you or to fall on you, stepping delicately between the butcher and the policeman, in the holy terror of scandal and gallows312 and lunatic asylums—how can you imagine what particular region of the first ages a man's untrammelled feet may take him into by the way of solitude313—utter solitude without a policeman—by the way of silence—utter silence, where no warning voice of a kind neighbour can be heard whispering of public opinion? These little things make all the great difference. When they are gone you must fall back upon your own innate314 strength, upon your own capacity for faithfulness. Of course you may be too much of a fool to go wrong—too dull even to know you are being assaulted by the powers of darkness. I take it, no fool ever made a bargain for his soul with the devil; the fool is too much of a fool, or the devil too much of a devil—I don't know which. Or you may be such a thunderingly exalted creature as to be altogether deaf and blind to anything but heavenly sights and sounds. Then the earth for you is only a standing place—and whether to be like this is your loss or your gain I won't pretend to say. But most of us are neither one nor the other. The earth for us is a place to live in, where we must put up with sights, with sounds, with smells, too, by Jove!—breathe dead hippo, so to speak, and not be contaminated. And there, don't you see? Your strength comes in, the faith in your ability for the digging of unostentatious holes to bury the stuff in—your power of devotion, not to yourself, but to an obscure, back-breaking business. And that's difficult enough. Mind, I am not trying to excuse or even explain—I am trying to account to myself for—for—Mr. Kurtz—for the shade of Mr. Kurtz. This initiated315 wraith316 from the back of Nowhere honoured me with its amazing confidence before it vanished altogether. This was because it could speak English to me. The original Kurtz had been educated partly in England, and—as he was good enough to say himself—his sympathies were in the right place. His mother was half-English, his father was half-French. All Europe contributed to the making of Kurtz; and by and by I learned that, most appropriately, the International Society for the Suppression of Savage Customs had intrusted him with the making of a report, for its future guidance. And he had written it, too. I've seen it. I've read it. It was eloquent317, vibrating with eloquence318, but too high-strung, I think. Seventeen pages of close writing he had found time for! But this must have been before his—let us say—nerves, went wrong, and caused him to preside at certain midnight dances ending with unspeakable rites319, which—as far as I reluctantly gathered from what I heard at various times—were offered up to him—do you understand?—to Mr. Kurtz himself. But it was a beautiful piece of writing. The opening paragraph, however, in the light of later information, strikes me now as ominous. He began with the argument that we whites, from the point of development we had arrived at, 'must necessarily appear to them [savages] in the nature of supernatural beings—we approach them with the might of a deity,' and so on, and so on. 'By the simple exercise of our will we can exert a power for good practically unbounded,' etc., etc. From that point he soared and took me with him. The peroration320 was magnificent, though difficult to remember, you know. It gave me the notion of an exotic Immensity ruled by an august Benevolence321. It made me tingle322 with enthusiasm. This was the unbounded power of eloquence—of words—of burning noble words. There were no practical hints to interrupt the magic current of phrases, unless a kind of note at the foot of the last page, scrawled323 evidently much later, in an unsteady hand, may be regarded as the exposition of a method. It was very simple, and at the end of that moving appeal to every altruistic324 sentiment it blazed at you, luminous and terrifying, like a flash of lightning in a serene325 sky: 'Exterminate326 all the brutes327!' The curious part was that he had apparently forgotten all about that valuable postscriptum, because, later on, when he in a sense came to himself, he repeatedly entreated328 me to take good care of 'my pamphlet' (he called it), as it was sure to have in the future a good influence upon his career. I had full information about all these things, and, besides, as it turned out, I was to have the care of his memory. I've done enough for it to give me the indisputable right to lay it, if I choose, for an everlasting199 rest in the dust-bin of progress, amongst all the sweepings329 and, figuratively speaking, all the dead cats of civilization. But then, you see, I can't choose. He won't be forgotten. Whatever he was, he was not common. He had the power to charm or frighten rudimentary souls into an aggravated330 witch-dance in his honour; he could also fill the small souls of the pilgrims with bitter misgivings331: he had one devoted332 friend at least, and he had conquered one soul in the world that was neither rudimentary nor tainted333 with self-seeking. No; I can't forget him, though I am not prepared to affirm the fellow was exactly worth the life we lost in getting to him. I missed my late helmsman awfully—I missed him even while his body was still lying in the pilot-house. Perhaps you will think it passing strange this regret for a savage who was no more account than a grain of sand in a black Sahara. Well, don't you see, he had done something, he had steered; for months I had him at my back—a help—an instrument. It was a kind of partnership334. He steered for me—I had to look after him, I worried about his deficiencies, and thus a subtle bond had been created, of which I only became aware when it was suddenly broken. And the intimate profundity335 of that look he gave me when he received his hurt remains336 to this day in my memory—like a claim of distant kinship affirmed in a supreme337 moment.
"Poor fool! If he had only left that shutter alone. He had no restraint, no restraint—just like Kurtz—a tree swayed by the wind. As soon as I had put on a dry pair of slippers338, I dragged him out, after first jerking the spear out of his side, which operation I confess I performed with my eyes shut tight. His heels leaped together over the little doorstep; his shoulders were pressed to my breast; I hugged him from behind desperately339. Oh! he was heavy, heavy; heavier than any man on earth, I should imagine. Then without more ado I tipped him overboard. The current snatched him as though he had been a wisp of grass, and I saw the body roll over twice before I lost sight of it for ever. All the pilgrims and the manager were then congregated340 on the awning-deck about the pilot-house, chattering341 at each other like a flock of excited magpies342, and there was a scandalized murmur174 at my heartless promptitude. What they wanted to keep that body hanging about for I can't guess. Embalm343 it, maybe. But I had also heard another, and a very ominous, murmur on the deck below. My friends the wood-cutters were likewise scandalized, and with a better show of reason—though I admit that the reason itself was quite inadmissible. Oh, quite! I had made up my mind that if my late helmsman was to be eaten, the fishes alone should have him. He had been a very second-rate helmsman while alive, but now he was dead he might have become a first-class temptation, and possibly cause some startling trouble. Besides, I was anxious to take the wheel, the man in pink pyjamas showing himself a hopeless duffer at the business.
"This I did directly the simple funeral was over. We were going half-speed, keeping right in the middle of the stream, and I listened to the talk about me. They had given up Kurtz, they had given up the station; Kurtz was dead, and the station had been burnt—and so on—and so on. The red-haired pilgrim was beside himself with the thought that at least this poor Kurtz had been properly avenged344. 'Say! We must have made a glorious slaughter345 of them in the bush. Eh? What do you think? Say?' He positively danced, the bloodthirsty little gingery346 beggar. And he had nearly fainted when he saw the wounded man! I could not help saying, 'You made a glorious lot of smoke, anyhow.' I had seen, from the way the tops of the bushes rustled and flew, that almost all the shots had gone too high. You can't hit anything unless you take aim and fire from the shoulder; but these chaps fired from the hip47 with their eyes shut. The retreat, I maintained—and I was right—was caused by the screeching347 of the steam whistle. Upon this they forgot Kurtz, and began to howl at me with indignant protests.
"The manager stood by the wheel murmuring confidentially348 about the necessity of getting well away down the river before dark at all events, when I saw in the distance a clearing on the riverside and the outlines of some sort of building. 'What's this?' I asked. He clapped his hands in wonder. 'The station!' he cried. I edged in at once, still going half-speed.
"Through my glasses I saw the slope of a hill interspersed349 with rare trees and perfectly free from undergrowth. A long decaying building on the summit was half buried in the high grass; the large holes in the peaked roof gaped350 black from afar; the jungle and the woods made a background. There was no enclosure or fence of any kind; but there had been one apparently, for near the house half-a-dozen slim posts remained in a row, roughly trimmed, and with their upper ends ornamented351 with round carved balls. The rails, or whatever there had been between, had disappeared. Of course the forest surrounded all that. The river-bank was clear, and on the waterside I saw a white man under a hat like a cart-wheel beckoning352 persistently353 with his whole arm. Examining the edge of the forest above and below, I was almost certain I could see movements—human forms gliding here and there. I steamed past prudently354, then stopped the engines and let her drift down. The man on the shore began to shout, urging us to land. 'We have been attacked,' screamed the manager. 'I know—I know. It's all right,' yelled back the other, as cheerful as you please. 'Come along. It's all right. I am glad.'
"His aspect reminded me of something I had seen—something funny I had seen somewhere. As I manoeuvred to get alongside, I was asking myself, 'What does this fellow look like?' Suddenly I got it. He looked like a harlequin. His clothes had been made of some stuff that was brown holland probably, but it was covered with patches all over, with bright patches, blue, red, and yellow—patches on the back, patches on the front, patches on elbows, on knees; coloured binding355 around his jacket, scarlet356 edging at the bottom of his trousers; and the sunshine made him look extremely gay and wonderfully neat withal, because you could see how beautifully all this patching had been done. A beardless, boyish face, very fair, no features to speak of, nose peeling, little blue eyes, smiles and frowns chasing each other over that open countenance357 like sunshine and shadow on a wind-swept plain. 'Look out, captain!' he cried; 'there's a snag lodged358 in here last night.' What! Another snag? I confess I swore shamefully359. I had nearly holed my cripple, to finish off that charming trip. The harlequin on the bank turned his little pug-nose up to me. 'You English?' he asked, all smiles. 'Are you?' I shouted from the wheel. The smiles vanished, and he shook his head as if sorry for my disappointment. Then he brightened up. 'Never mind!' he cried encouragingly. 'Are we in time?' I asked. 'He is up there,' he replied, with a toss of the head up the hill, and becoming gloomy all of a sudden. His face was like the autumn sky, overcast360 one moment and bright the next.
"When the manager, escorted by the pilgrims, all of them armed to the teeth, had gone to the house this chap came on board. 'I say, I don't like this. These natives are in the bush,' I said. He assured me earnestly it was all right. 'They are simple people,' he added; 'well, I am glad you came. It took me all my time to keep them off.' 'But you said it was all right,' I cried. 'Oh, they meant no harm,' he said; and as I stared he corrected himself, 'Not exactly.' Then vivaciously361, 'My faith, your pilot-house wants a clean-up!' In the next breath he advised me to keep enough steam on the boiler to blow the whistle in case of any trouble. 'One good screech will do more for you than all your rifles. They are simple people,' he repeated. He rattled362 away at such a rate he quite overwhelmed me. He seemed to be trying to make up for lots of silence, and actually hinted, laughing, that such was the case. 'Don't you talk with Mr. Kurtz?' I said. 'You don't talk with that man—you listen to him,' he exclaimed with severe exaltation. 'But now—' He waved his arm, and in the twinkling of an eye was in the uttermost depths of despondency. In a moment he came up again with a jump, possessed363 himself of both my hands, shook them continuously, while he gabbled: 'Brother sailor... honour... pleasure... delight... introduce myself... Russian... son of an arch-priest... Government of Tambov... What? Tobacco! English tobacco; the excellent English tobacco! Now, that's brotherly. Smoke? Where's a sailor that does not smoke?"
"The pipe soothed364 him, and gradually I made out he had run away from school, had gone to sea in a Russian ship; ran away again; served some time in English ships; was now reconciled with the arch-priest. He made a point of that. 'But when one is young one must see things, gather experience, ideas; enlarge the mind.' 'Here!' I interrupted. 'You can never tell! Here I met Mr. Kurtz,' he said, youthfully solemn and reproachful. I held my tongue after that. It appears he had persuaded a Dutch trading-house on the coast to fit him out with stores and goods, and had started for the interior with a light heart and no more idea of what would happen to him than a baby. He had been wandering about that river for nearly two years alone, cut off from everybody and everything. 'I am not so young as I look. I am twenty-five,' he said. 'At first old Van Shuyten would tell me to go to the devil,' he narrated365 with keen enjoyment366; 'but I stuck to him, and talked and talked, till at last he got afraid I would talk the hind-leg off his favourite dog, so he gave me some cheap things and a few guns, and told me he hoped he would never see my face again. Good old Dutchman, Van Shuyten. I've sent him one small lot of ivory a year ago, so that he can't call me a little thief when I get back. I hope he got it. And for the rest I don't care. I had some wood stacked for you. That was my old house. Did you see?'
"I gave him Towson's book. He made as though he would kiss me, but restrained himself. 'The only book I had left, and I thought I had lost it,' he said, looking at it ecstatically. 'So many accidents happen to a man going about alone, you know. Canoes get upset sometimes—and sometimes you've got to clear out so quick when the people get angry.' He thumbed the pages. 'You made notes in Russian?' I asked. He nodded. 'I thought they were written in cipher,' I said. He laughed, then became serious. 'I had lots of trouble to keep these people off,' he said. 'Did they want to kill you?' I asked. 'Oh, no!' he cried, and checked himself. 'Why did they attack us?' I pursued. He hesitated, then said shamefacedly, 'They don't want him to go.' 'Don't they?' I said curiously367. He nodded a nod full of mystery and wisdom. 'I tell you,' he cried, 'this man has enlarged my mind.' He opened his arms wide, staring at me with his little blue eyes that were perfectly round."
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收听单词发音
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1
doze
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| v.打瞌睡；n.打盹，假寐 | |
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2
dictated
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| v.大声讲或读( dictate的过去式和过去分词 )；口授；支配；摆布 | |
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standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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4
grunted
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| （猪等）作呼噜声( grunt的过去式和过去分词 )； （指人）发出类似的哼声； 咕哝着说 | |
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5
frightful
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| adj.可怕的；讨厌的 | |
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6
drowsiness
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| n.睡意；嗜睡 | |
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7
lone
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| adj.孤寂的，单独的；唯一的 | |
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8
ass
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| n.驴；傻瓜，蠢笨的人 | |
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9
impudence
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| n.厚颜无耻；冒失；无礼 | |
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10
hoarsely
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| adv.嘶哑地 | |
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11
rumble
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| n.隆隆声；吵嚷；v.隆隆响；低沉地说 | |
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12
perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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13
growled
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| v.（动物）发狺狺声， （雷）作隆隆声( growl的过去式和过去分词 )；低声咆哮着说 | |
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14
vexed
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| adj.争论不休的；（指问题等）棘手的；争论不休的问题；烦恼的v.使烦恼( vex的过去式和过去分词 )；使苦恼；使生气；详细讨论 | |
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15
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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16
decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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17
astounded
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| v.使震惊(astound的过去式和过去分词)；愕然；愕；惊讶 | |
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18
motive
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| n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的 | |
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19
savage
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| adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人 | |
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20
savages
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| 未开化的人，野蛮人( savage的名词复数 ) | |
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21
wilderness
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| n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠 | |
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22
desolate
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| adj.荒凉的，荒芜的；孤独的，凄凉的；v.使荒芜，使孤寂 | |
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23
prudence
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| n.谨慎，精明，节俭 | |
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24
alluded
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| 提及，暗指( allude的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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25
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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26
rumours
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| n.传闻( rumour的名词复数 )；风闻；谣言；谣传 | |
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27
outlast
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| v.较…耐久 | |
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28
absurdity
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| n.荒谬，愚蠢；谬论 | |
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29
beacon
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| n.烽火，（警告用的）闪火灯，灯塔 | |
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30
spat
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| n.口角，掌击；v.发出呼噜呼噜声 | |
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31
twig
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| n.小树枝，嫩枝；v.理解 | |
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32
flipper
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| n. 鳍状肢，潜水用橡皮制鳍状肢 | |
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33
creek
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| n.小溪，小河，小湾 | |
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34
beckon
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| v.(以点头或打手势)向...示意，召唤 | |
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35
dishonour
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| n./vt.拒付（支票、汇票、票据等）；vt.凌辱，使丢脸；n.不名誉，耻辱，不光彩 | |
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36
dishonouring
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| 使（人、家族等）丧失名誉（dishonour的现在分词形式） | |
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37
treacherous
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| adj.不可靠的，有暗藏的危险的；adj.背叛的，背信弃义的 | |
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38
peal
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| n.钟声；v.鸣响 | |
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39
lurking
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| 潜在 | |
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40
ominous
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| adj.不祥的，不吉的，预兆的，预示的 | |
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41
tugging
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| n.牵引感v.用力拉，使劲拉，猛扯( tug的现在分词 ) | |
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42
prospect
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| n.前景，前途；景色，视野 | |
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43
penetrable
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| adj.可穿透的 | |
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44
sluggish
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| adj.懒惰的，迟钝的，无精打采的 | |
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45
brilliance
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| n.光辉，辉煌，壮丽，（卓越的）才华，才智 | |
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46
deserted
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| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
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47
hip
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| n.臀部，髋；屋脊 | |
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48
alligators
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| n.短吻鳄( alligator的名词复数 ) | |
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49
butted
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| 对接的 | |
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50
lookout
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| n.注意，前途，瞭望台 | |
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51
mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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52
blindfolded
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| v.（尤指用布）挡住（某人）的视线( blindfold的过去式 )；蒙住（某人）的眼睛；使不理解；蒙骗 | |
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53
considerably
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| adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上 | |
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54
seaman
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| n.海员，水手，水兵 | |
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55
thump
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| v.重击，砰然地响；n.重击，重击声 | |
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56
wade
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| v.跋涉，涉水；n.跋涉 | |
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57
enlisted
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| adj.应募入伍的v.（使）入伍， （使）参军( enlist的过去式和过去分词 )；获得（帮助或支持） | |
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58
stink
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| vi.发出恶臭；糟透，招人厌恶；n.恶臭 | |
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59
nostrils
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| 鼻孔( nostril的名词复数 ) | |
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60
sniff
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| vi.嗅…味道；抽鼻涕；对嗤之以鼻，蔑视 | |
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61
winding
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| n.绕，缠，绕组，线圈 | |
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62
reverberating
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| 回响，回荡( reverberate的现在分词 )； 使反响，使回荡，使反射 | |
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63
ponderous
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| adj.沉重的，笨重的，(文章)冗长的 | |
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64
beetle
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| n.甲虫，近视眼的人 | |
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65
portico
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| n.柱廊，门廊 | |
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66
leisurely
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| adj.悠闲的；从容的，慢慢的 | |
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67
penetrated
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| adj. 击穿的，鞭辟入里的 动词penetrate的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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68
hovering
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| 鸟( hover的现在分词 )； 靠近（某事物）； （人）徘徊； 犹豫 | |
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69
heralded
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| v.预示( herald的过去式和过去分词 )；宣布（好或重要） | |
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70
prehistoric
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| adj.（有记载的）历史以前的，史前的，古老的 | |
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71
subdued
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| adj. 屈服的，柔和的，减弱的 动词subdue的过去式和过去分词 | |
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72
anguish
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| n.(尤指心灵上的)极度痛苦，烦恼 | |
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73
toil
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| vi.辛劳工作，艰难地行动；n.苦工，难事 | |
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74
droop
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| v.低垂，下垂；凋萎，萎靡 | |
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75
foliage
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| n.叶子，树叶，簇叶 | |
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76
toiled
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| 长时间或辛苦地工作( toil的过去式和过去分词 )； 艰难缓慢地移动，跋涉 | |
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77
frenzy
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| n.疯狂，狂热，极度的激动 | |
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78
glided
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| v.滑动( glide的过去式和过去分词 )；掠过；（鸟或飞机 ） 滑翔 | |
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79
phantoms
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| n.鬼怪，幽灵( phantom的名词复数 ) | |
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80
appalled
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| v.使惊骇，使充满恐惧( appall的过去式和过去分词)adj.惊骇的；丧胆的 | |
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81
sane
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| adj.心智健全的，神志清醒的，明智的，稳健的 | |
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82
shackled
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| 给（某人）带上手铐或脚镣( shackle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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83
monstrous
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| adj.巨大的；恐怖的；可耻的，丢脸的 | |
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84
inhuman
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| adj.残忍的，不人道的，无人性的 | |
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85
spun
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| v.纺，杜撰，急转身 | |
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86
horrid
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| adj.可怕的；令人惊恐的；恐怖的；极讨厌的 | |
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87
passionate
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| adj.热情的，热烈的，激昂的，易动情的，易怒的，性情暴躁的 | |
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88
uproar
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| n.骚动，喧嚣，鼎沸 | |
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89
gape
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| v.张口，打呵欠，目瞪口呆地凝视 | |
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90
wink
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| n.眨眼，使眼色，瞬间；v.眨眼，使眼色，闪烁 | |
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91
inborn
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| adj.天生的，生来的，先天的 | |
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92
grunting
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| 咕哝的，呼噜的 | |
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93
ashore
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| adv.在(向)岸上，上岸 | |
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94
woolen
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| adj.羊毛(制)的；毛纺的 | |
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95
helping
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| n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的 | |
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96
steering
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| n.操舵装置 | |
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97
steer
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| vt.驾驶，为…操舵；引导；vi.驾驶 | |
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98
circumvent
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| vt.环绕，包围；对…用计取胜，智胜 | |
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99
vent
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| n.通风口，排放口；开衩；vt.表达，发泄 | |
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100
crook
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| v.使弯曲；n.小偷，骗子，贼；弯曲(处) | |
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101
specimen
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| n.样本，标本 | |
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102
vertical
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| adj.垂直的，顶点的，纵向的；n.垂直物，垂直的位置 | |
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103
boiler
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| n.锅炉；煮器(壶，锅等) | |
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104
edifying
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| adj.有教训意味的，教训性的，有益的v.开导，启发( edify的现在分词 ) | |
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105
parody
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| n.打油诗文，诙谐的改编诗文，拙劣的模仿；v.拙劣模仿，作模仿诗文 | |
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106
squinted
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| 斜视( squint的过去式和过去分词 )； 眯着眼睛； 瞟； 从小孔或缝隙里看 | |
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107
pate
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| n.头顶；光顶 | |
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108
ornamental
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| adj.装饰的；作装饰用的；n.装饰品；观赏植物 | |
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109
thrall
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| n.奴隶；奴隶制 | |
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110
witchcraft
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| n.魔法，巫术 | |
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111
transparent
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| adj.明显的，无疑的；透明的 | |
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112
vengeance
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| n.报复，报仇，复仇 | |
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113
impromptu
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| adj.即席的，即兴的；adv.即兴的(地)，无准备的(地) | |
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114
melancholy
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| n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的 | |
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115
neatly
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| adv.整洁地，干净地，灵巧地，熟练地 | |
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116
cipher
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| n.零；无影响力的人；密码 | |
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117
adversely
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| ad.有害地 | |
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118
doorway
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| n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径 | |
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119
dwelling
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| n.住宅，住所，寓所 | |
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120
dismantled
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| 拆开( dismantle的过去式和过去分词 )； 拆卸； 废除； 取消 | |
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121
plank
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| n.板条，木板，政策要点，政纲条目 | |
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122
reposed
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| v.将（手臂等）靠在某人（某物）上( repose的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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123
inquiry
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| n.打听，询问，调查，查问 | |
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124
dreary
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| adj.令人沮丧的，沉闷的，单调乏味的 | |
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125
repulsive
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| adj.排斥的，使人反感的 | |
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126
antiquity
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| n.古老；高龄；古物，古迹 | |
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127
enthralling
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| 迷人的 | |
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128
humble
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| adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低 | |
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129
luminous
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| adj.发光的，发亮的；光明的；明白易懂的；有启发的 | |
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130
astounding
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| adj.使人震惊的vt.使震惊，使大吃一惊astound的现在分词) | |
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131
margin
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| n.页边空白；差额；余地，余裕；边，边缘 | |
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132
lugging
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| 超载运转能力 | |
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133
extravagant
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| adj.奢侈的；过分的；(言行等)放肆的 | |
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134
lame
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| adj.跛的，(辩解、论据等)无说服力的 | |
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135
miserable
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| adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的 | |
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136
malevolently
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137
innocence
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| n.无罪；天真；无害 | |
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138
gasp
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| n.喘息，气喘；v.喘息；气吁吁他说 | |
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139
flopped
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| v.（指书、戏剧等）彻底失败( flop的过去式和过去分词 )；（因疲惫而）猛然坐下；（笨拙地、不由自主地或松弛地）移动或落下；砸锅 | |
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140
flicker
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| vi./n.闪烁，摇曳，闪现 | |
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141
flickers
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| 电影制片业； （通常指灯光）闪烁，摇曳( flicker的名词复数 ) | |
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142
abreast
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| adv.并排地；跟上(时代)的步伐，与…并进地 | |
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143
fretted
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| 焦躁的，附有弦马的，腐蚀的 | |
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144
fumed
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| 愤怒( fume的过去式和过去分词 )； 大怒； 发怒； 冒烟 | |
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145
futility
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| n.无用 | |
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146
meddling
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| v.干涉，干预（他人事务）( meddle的现在分词 ) | |
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147
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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148
ripples
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| 逐渐扩散的感觉( ripple的名词复数 ) | |
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149
ripple
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| n.涟波，涟漪，波纹，粗钢梳；vt.使...起涟漪，使起波纹； vi.呈波浪状，起伏前进 | |
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150
unreasonably
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| adv. 不合理地 | |
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151
gliding
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| v. 滑翔 adj. 滑动的 | |
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152
lashed
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| adj.具睫毛的v.鞭打( lash的过去式和过去分词 )；煽动；紧系；怒斥 | |
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153
unnatural
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| adj.不自然的；反常的 | |
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154
shutter
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| n.百叶窗；(照相机)快门；关闭装置 | |
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155
smoothly
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| adv.平滑地，顺利地，流利地，流畅地 | |
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156
grooves
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| n.沟( groove的名词复数 )；槽；老一套；（某种）音乐节奏v.沟( groove的第三人称单数 )；槽；老一套；（某种）音乐节奏 | |
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157
muffled
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| adj.（声音）被隔的；听不太清的；（衣服）裹严的；蒙住的v.压抑，捂住( muffle的过去式和过去分词 )；用厚厚的衣帽包着（自己） | |
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158
rattle
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| v.飞奔，碰响；激怒；n.碰撞声；拨浪鼓 | |
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159
opaque
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| adj.不透光的；不反光的，不传导的；晦涩的 | |
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160
modulated
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| 已调整[制]的，被调的 | |
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161
discords
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| 不和（discord的复数形式） | |
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162
tumult
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| n.喧哗；激动，混乱；吵闹 | |
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163
culminated
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| v.达到极点( culminate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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164
shrieking
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| v.尖叫( shriek的现在分词 ) | |
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165
stiffened
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| 加强的 | |
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166
obstinately
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| ad.固执地，顽固地 | |
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167
appalling
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| adj.骇人听闻的，令人震惊的，可怕的 | |
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168
stammered
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| v.结巴地说出( stammer的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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169
pyjamas
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| n.（宽大的）睡衣裤 | |
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170
darting
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| v.投掷，投射( dart的现在分词 )；向前冲，飞奔 | |
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171
blurred
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| v.（使）变模糊( blur的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）难以区分；模模糊糊；迷离 | |
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172
misty
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| adj.雾蒙蒙的，有雾的 | |
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173
awed
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| adj.充满敬畏的，表示敬畏的v.使敬畏，使惊惧( awe的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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174
murmur
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| n.低语，低声的怨言；v.低语，低声而言 | |
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175
twitched
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| vt.& vi.（使）抽动，（使）颤动（twitch的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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176
outrageous
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|
| adj.无理的，令人不能容忍的 | |
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177
essentially
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| adv.本质上，实质上，基本上 | |
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178
severely
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| adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地 | |
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179
curtly
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| adv.简短地 | |
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180
dignified
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| a.可敬的，高贵的 | |
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181
pensive
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| a.沉思的,哀思的,忧沉的 | |
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182
horrified
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| a.(表现出)恐惧的 | |
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183
countless
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| adj.无数的，多得不计其数的 | |
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184
proceeding
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| n.行动，进行，(pl.)会议录，学报 | |
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185
legitimate
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| adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法 | |
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186
precarious
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| adj.不安定的，靠不住的；根据不足的 | |
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187
brass
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| n.黄铜；黄铜器，铜管乐器 | |
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188
recondite
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| adj.深奥的，难解的 | |
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189
snare
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| n.陷阱，诱惑，圈套；（去除息肉或者肿瘤的）勒除器；响弦，小军鼓；vt.以陷阱捕获，诱惑 | |
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190
regularity
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| n.规律性，规则性；匀称，整齐 | |
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191
worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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192
honourable
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| adj.可敬的；荣誉的，光荣的 | |
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193
dough
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| n.生面团；钱，现款 | |
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194
sustenance
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| n.食物，粮食；生活资料；生计 | |
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195
gnawing
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| a.痛苦的，折磨人的 | |
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196
glossy
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| adj.平滑的；有光泽的 | |
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197
positively
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| adv.明确地，断然，坚决地；实在，确实 | |
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198
pervaded
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| v.遍及，弥漫( pervade的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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199
everlasting
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| adj.永恒的，持久的，无止境的 | |
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200
everlastingly
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| 永久地，持久地 | |
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201
trifling
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| adj.微不足道的；没什么价值的 | |
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202
motives
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| n.动机，目的( motive的名词复数 ) | |
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203
superstition
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| n.迷信，迷信行为 | |
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204
primitive
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| adj.原始的；简单的；n.原(始)人，原始事物 | |
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205
chaff
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| v.取笑，嘲笑；n.谷壳 | |
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206
exasperating
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| adj. 激怒的 动词exasperate的现在分词形式 | |
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207
torment
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| n.折磨；令人痛苦的东西(人)；vt.折磨；纠缠 | |
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208
bereavement
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| n.亲人丧亡，丧失亲人，丧亲之痛 | |
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209
scruple
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| n./v.顾忌，迟疑 | |
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210
hyena
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| n.土狼，鬣狗 | |
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211
corpses
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| n.死尸，尸体( corpse的名词复数 ) | |
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212
foam
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| v./n.泡沫，起泡沫 | |
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213
enigma
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| n.谜，谜一样的人或事 | |
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214
inexplicable
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| adj.无法解释的，难理解的 | |
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215
desolated
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| adj.荒凉的，荒废的 | |
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216
shipwreck
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| n.船舶失事，海难 | |
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217
authorize
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| v.授权，委任；批准，认可 | |
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218
defer
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| vt.推迟，拖延；vi.(to)遵从，听从，服从 | |
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219
judgment
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| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
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220
appreciation
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| n.评价；欣赏；感谢；领会，理解；价格上涨 | |
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221
beset
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| v.镶嵌；困扰，包围 | |
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222
enchanted
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| adj. 被施魔法的，陶醉的，入迷的 动词enchant的过去式和过去分词 | |
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223
fabulous
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| adj.极好的；极为巨大的；寓言中的，传说中的 | |
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224
confidential
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| adj.秘（机）密的，表示信任的，担任机密工作的 | |
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225
boding
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| adj.凶兆的，先兆的n.凶兆，前兆，预感v.预示，预告，预言( bode的现在分词 )；等待，停留( bide的过去分词 )；居住；（过去式用bided）等待 | |
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226
immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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227
irresistible
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| adj.非常诱人的，无法拒绝的，无法抗拒的 | |
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228
expounded
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| 论述，详细讲解( expound的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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229
proximity
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| n.接近，邻近 | |
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230
apathy
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| n.漠不关心，无动于衷；冷淡 | |
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231
revile
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| v.辱骂，谩骂 | |
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232
stifling
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| a.令人窒息的 | |
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233
repulse
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| n.击退，拒绝；vt.逐退，击退，拒绝 | |
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234
defensive
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| adj.防御的；防卫的；防守的 | |
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235
purely
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| adv.纯粹地，完全地 | |
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236
grassy
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| adj.盖满草的；长满草的 | |
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237
hummock
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| n.小丘 | |
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238
backbone
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|
| n.脊骨，脊柱，骨干；刚毅，骨气 | |
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239
serried
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| adj.拥挤的；密集的 | |
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240
twigs
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| 细枝，嫩枝( twig的名词复数 ) | |
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241
rigidly
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| adv.刻板地，僵化地 | |
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242
rigid
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| adj.严格的，死板的；刚硬的，僵硬的 | |
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243
machinery
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| n.(总称)机械，机器；机构 | |
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244
funnel
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| n.漏斗；烟囱；v.汇集 | |
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245
planks
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| （厚）木板( plank的名词复数 )； 政纲条目，政策要点 | |
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246
athletic
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| adj.擅长运动的，强健的；活跃的，体格健壮的 | |
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247
predecessor
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| n.前辈，前任 | |
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248
earrings
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| n.耳环( earring的名词复数 )；耳坠子 | |
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249
unstable
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| adj.不稳定的，易变的 | |
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250
steered
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| v.驾驶( steer的过去式和过去分词 )；操纵；控制；引导 | |
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251
prey
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| n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨 | |
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252
abject
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| adj.极可怜的，卑屈的 | |
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253
abruptly
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| adv.突然地，出其不意地 | |
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254
mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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255
spokes
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| n.（车轮的）辐条( spoke的名词复数 )；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 | |
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256
tangled
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| adj. 纠缠的，紊乱的 动词tangle的过去式和过去分词 | |
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257
swarming
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| 密集( swarm的现在分词 )； 云集； 成群地移动； 蜜蜂或其他飞行昆虫成群地飞来飞去 | |
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258
glistening
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| adj.闪耀的，反光的v.湿物闪耀，闪亮( glisten的现在分词 ) | |
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259
rustled
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| v.发出沙沙的声音( rustle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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260
foamed
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| 泡沫的 | |
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261
darted
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| v.投掷，投射( dart的过去式和过去分词 )；向前冲，飞奔 | |
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262
exclamations
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| n.呼喊( exclamation的名词复数 )；感叹；感叹语；感叹词 | |
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263
swarms
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| 蜂群，一大群( swarm的名词复数 ) | |
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264
whoop
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| n.大叫，呐喊，喘息声；v.叫喊，喘息 | |
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265
deafened
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| 使聋( deafen的过去式和过去分词 )； 使隔音 | |
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266
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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267
cane
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| n.手杖，细长的茎，藤条；v.以杖击，以藤编制的 | |
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268
clattered
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| 发出咔哒声（clatter的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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269
wrenching
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| n.修截苗根，苗木铲根（铲根时苗木不起土或部分起土）v.（猛力地）扭( wrench的现在分词 )；扭伤；使感到痛苦；使悲痛 | |
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270
shaft
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| n.(工具的)柄，杆状物 | |
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271
ribs
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|
| n.肋骨( rib的名词复数 )；（船或屋顶等的）肋拱；肋骨状的东西；（织物的）凸条花纹 | |
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272
gash
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| v.深切，划开；n.(深长的)切(伤)口；裂缝 | |
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273
lustre
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| n.光亮，光泽；荣誉 | |
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274
screech
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| n./v.尖叫；(发出)刺耳的声音 | |
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275
wail
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| vt./vi.大声哀号，恸哭；呼啸，尖啸 | |
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276
commotion
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| n.骚动，动乱 | |
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277
agitated
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|
| adj.被鼓动的，不安的 | |
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278
lustrous
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|
| adj.有光泽的；光辉的 | |
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279
enveloped
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| v.包围，笼罩，包住( envelop的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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280
twitching
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| n.颤搐 | |
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281
dubious
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|
| adj.怀疑的，无把握的；有问题的，靠不住的 | |
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282
morbidly
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|
| adv.病态地 | |
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283
dominant
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|
| adj.支配的，统治的；占优势的；显性的；n.主因，要素，主要的人(或物)；显性基因 | |
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284
discoursing
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| 演说（discourse的现在分词形式） | |
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285
jealousy
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|
| n.妒忌，嫉妒，猜忌 | |
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286
admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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287
bartered
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| v.作物物交换，以货换货( barter的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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288
illuminating
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| a.富于启发性的，有助阐明的 | |
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289
exalted
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|
| adj.(地位等)高的，崇高的；尊贵的，高尚的 | |
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290
contemptible
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|
| adj.可鄙的，可轻视的，卑劣的 | |
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291
pulsating
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|
| adj.搏动的，脉冲的v.有节奏地舒张及收缩( pulsate的现在分词 )；跳动；脉动；受（激情）震动 | |
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292
Flared
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|
| adj. 端部张开的, 爆发的, 加宽的, 漏斗式的 动词flare的过去式和过去分词 | |
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293
eyelids
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|
| n.眼睑( eyelid的名词复数 )；眼睛也不眨一下；不露声色；面不改色 | |
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294
moored
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|
| adj. 系泊的 动词moor的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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295
fortitude
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|
| n.坚忍不拔；刚毅 | |
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296
vibration
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|
| n.颤动，振动；摆动 | |
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297
jabber
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|
| v.快而不清楚地说；n.吱吱喳喳 | |
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298
sordid
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|
| adj.肮脏的，不干净的，卑鄙的，暗淡的 | |
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299
behold
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|
| v.看，注视，看到 | |
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300
caressed
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|
| 爱抚或抚摸…( caress的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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301
withered
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|
| adj. 枯萎的，干瘪的，（人身体的部分器官）因病萎缩的或未发育良好的 动词wither的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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302
veins
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|
| n.纹理；矿脉( vein的名词复数 )；静脉；叶脉；纹理 | |
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303
initiation
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| n.开始 | |
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304
pampered
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|
| adj.饮食过量的，饮食奢侈的v.纵容，宠，娇养( pamper的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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305
shanty
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|
| n.小屋，棚屋；船工号子 | |
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306
tusk
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|
| n.獠牙，长牙，象牙 | |
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307
disparagingly
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|
| adv.以贬抑的口吻，以轻视的态度 | |
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308
tusks
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|
| n.（象等动物的）长牙( tusk的名词复数 )；獠牙；尖形物；尖头 | |
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309
prodigious
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|
| adj.惊人的，奇妙的；异常的；巨大的；庞大的 | |
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310
fixed
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|
| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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311
literally
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|
| adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实 | |
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312
gallows
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| n.绞刑架，绞台 | |
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313
solitude
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| n. 孤独; 独居,荒僻之地,幽静的地方 | |
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314
innate
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|
| adj.天生的，固有的，天赋的 | |
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315
initiated
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|
| n. 创始人 adj. 新加入的 vt. 开始，创始，启蒙，介绍加入 | |
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316
wraith
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|
| n.幽灵；骨瘦如柴的人 | |
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317
eloquent
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|
| adj.雄辩的，口才流利的；明白显示出的 | |
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318
eloquence
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| n.雄辩；口才，修辞 | |
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319
rites
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| 仪式，典礼( rite的名词复数 ) | |
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320
peroration
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| n.（演说等之）结论 | |
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321
benevolence
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|
| n.慈悲，捐助 | |
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322
tingle
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| vi.感到刺痛，感到激动；n.刺痛，激动 | |
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323
scrawled
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|
| 乱涂，潦草地写( scrawl的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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324
altruistic
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|
| adj.无私的，为他人着想的 | |
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325
serene
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|
| adj. 安详的，宁静的，平静的 | |
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326
exterminate
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|
| v.扑灭，消灭，根绝 | |
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327
brutes
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| 兽( brute的名词复数 )； 畜生； 残酷无情的人； 兽性 | |
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328
entreated
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| 恳求，乞求( entreat的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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329
sweepings
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|
| n.笼统的( sweeping的名词复数 )；（在投票等中的）大胜；影响广泛的；包罗万象的 | |
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330
aggravated
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|
| 使恶化( aggravate的过去式和过去分词 )； 使更严重； 激怒； 使恼火 | |
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331
misgivings
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|
| n.疑虑，担忧，害怕；疑虑，担心，恐惧( misgiving的名词复数 )；疑惧 | |
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332
devoted
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|
| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
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333
tainted
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|
| adj.腐坏的；污染的；沾污的；感染的v.使变质( taint的过去式和过去分词 )；使污染；败坏；被污染，腐坏，败坏 | |
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334
partnership
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| n.合作关系，伙伴关系 | |
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335
profundity
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| n.渊博；深奥，深刻 | |
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336
remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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337
supreme
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| adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的 | |
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338
slippers
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| n. 拖鞋 | |
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339
desperately
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|
| adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地 | |
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340
congregated
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| （使）集合，聚集( congregate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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341
chattering
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| n. （机器振动发出的）咔嗒声，(鸟等)鸣，啁啾 adj. 喋喋不休的，啾啾声的 动词chatter的现在分词形式 | |
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342
magpies
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| 喜鹊（magpie的复数形式） | |
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343
embalm
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| v.保存（尸体）不腐 | |
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344
avenged
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|
| v.为…复仇，报…之仇( avenge的过去式和过去分词 )；为…报复 | |
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345
slaughter
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|
| n.屠杀，屠宰；vt.屠杀，宰杀 | |
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346
gingery
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| adj.姜味的 | |
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347
screeching
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|
| v.发出尖叫声( screech的现在分词 )；发出粗而刺耳的声音；高叫 | |
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348
confidentially
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| ad.秘密地，悄悄地 | |
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349
interspersed
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| adj.[医]散开的；点缀的v.intersperse的过去式和过去分词 | |
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350
gaped
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|
| v.目瞪口呆地凝视( gape的过去式和过去分词 )；张开，张大 | |
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351
ornamented
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|
| adj.花式字体的v.装饰，点缀，美化( ornament的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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352
beckoning
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|
| adj.引诱人的，令人心动的v.（用头或手的动作）示意，召唤( beckon的现在分词 ) | |
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353
persistently
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|
| ad.坚持地；固执地 | |
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354
prudently
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| adv. 谨慎地，慎重地 | |
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355
binding
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|
| 有约束力的，有效的，应遵守的 | |
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356
scarlet
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| n.深红色，绯红色，红衣；adj.绯红色的 | |
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357
countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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358
lodged
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| v.存放( lodge的过去式和过去分词 )；暂住；埋入；（权利、权威等）归属 | |
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359
shamefully
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|
| 可耻地； 丢脸地； 不体面地； 羞耻地 | |
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360
overcast
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|
| adj.阴天的，阴暗的，愁闷的；v.遮盖，（使）变暗，包边缝；n.覆盖，阴天 | |
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361
vivaciously
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|
| adv.快活地；活泼地；愉快地 | |
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362
rattled
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| 慌乱的，恼火的 | |
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363
possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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364
soothed
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| v.安慰( soothe的过去式和过去分词 )；抚慰；使舒服；减轻痛苦 | |
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365
narrated
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| v.故事( narrate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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366
enjoyment
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| n.乐趣；享有；享用 | |
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367
curiously
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| adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地 | |
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