at sunrise the next morning, the sportsmen hurried through their frugal2 meal, and hastened to their various "ice-houses;" for a great change had taken place in the weather, which, although the rain had ceased and the sky had cleared somewhat, was still mild and spring-like. Even as they lit their cigars at the door, they heard far up the cove3 the calls of the wild geese, and a scattering4 volley which told that the Indians had been early at their posts. Above the others arose two heavy reports, which Davies declared could come from no other gun than Peter's newly-acquired double-barrel.
With hastened steps the East Bar party took the ice, La Salle drawing behind him a long "taboggin," or Indian sled, consisting merely of a long, wide, half-inch board, turned up at one end, and forming, in fact, a single broad runner, which cannot upset, and will[Pg 76] bear a heavy load over the lightest snow without sinking too deeply. On it were placed, besides his own gun and that of Kennedy, a heavy target rifle, a large lunch-box, and an ample bucket containing ammunition5.
"You mean to 'lay them out' to-day, I guess, Charley," said Creamer, good-humoredly. "You ain't apt to want ammunition, any way."
"What will you take for to-day's bag, cash down?" asked Ben, laughing.
"Here are our decoys," said La Salle, pointing to several dark objects partially6 imbedded in the ice, but marking an almost perfect straight line from the boat to the inner shore of the island.
"We had a rather narrow escape," remarked Kennedy, picking up one of the decoys; "and it was well thought of to secure a retreat to our boat, in case we had failed to reach the shore."
Little time, however, was lost in conversation. The "boat" and "box" were to be cleared of the snow which had drifted inside, and concealed8 by fragments of ice, in place of those which the rain had melted away. The decoys were to be rearranged, heading to windward, and at least half an hour was consumed in making these necessary arrangements. At last all was ready, the guns, ammunition, &c., were placed in the boat, and La Salle had gone to hide the sledge9 behind a neighboring hummock10, when, turning his head, he saw Davies and Creamer running hastily[Pg 77] to their box, and Kennedy frantically11 gesticulating and calling on him to do the same.
With the best speed he could make on such slippery footing, La Salle crossed the intervening space, and threw himself down into the boat, panting and breathless with exertion12. After a moment's breathing space, he slowly raised his head so that his eyes could just see over the edge of the shooting-boat. To the east he heard the decoy-calls of Creamer and Davies, and, somewhere between himself and them, the low, questioning calls of the wished-for geese.
"They are near us somewhere, Kennedy," he whispered, "and, I guess, coming in to our decoys. Don't fire until I tell you. Here they come. No, they sheer off. Yes, there's one scaling down; there's another. They're all coming. We've got them now."
The goose is far from being the silly fowl13 which popular belief supposes him to be, even when tamed and subdued14, and, in a state of nature, is one of the most wary15 of birds. The flock in question, flying in from the narrow, open channels of the Gulf16, had seen the decoys, and heard the calls of Ben and Creamer, who had not yet completed their preparations. Swooping17 around the box at a safe distance, the wary leader decided18 that all was not right there, and swung over the leading decoys of La Salle, and doubtless wondering at the apathy19 of the strange geese which refused to answer his calls, gave a signal which caused his[Pg 78] flock to describe a circle around the boat, full forty rods away. Still nothing could be seen which could warrant a well-founded suspicion; and one or two of the younger birds, impatient of restraint, and anxious for rest and food, set their broad pinions21, and, with outstretched wings, scaled down to the decoys, alighting on the ice not twenty feet from the muzzles22 of the concealed guns. Their apparent safety decided the rest, and in twenty seconds as many geese, with clamorous24 cries, were hovering25 over the heads of La Salle and his companions.
It takes a quick eye, steady hand, and good judgment26, to kill a partridge in November, when, with a rush of wings like an embryo27 whirlwind, he gets up under your feet, and brushes the dew from the underbrush with his whizzing wings. It is not every amateur that can kill woodcock in close cover, or well-grown snipe on a windy day; but there are few, who can do these things, who can kill with both barrels in their first goose-shooting. The size and number of the birds, the wary and cautious manner of their approach, the nice modulations necessary to "call" them successfully, and the reckless sweep with which they seem to throw aside all fear, and rush into the very jaws28 of death,—all these combine to unsettle the nerves and aim of the novice29.
All this Kennedy experienced, as he saw above him twenty outstretched necks, with jetty heads, whose eyes he felt must discern the ambush30; twenty snowy[Pg 79] bellies31, against which as many pairs of black, broad, webbed feet showed with beautiful effect, and forty broad pinions, which seemed to shut out the sky from view, and present a mark which no one could fail to hit. At the word he pointed33 his heavy gun at the centre of the thickest part of the flock and fired. At the first barrel a dead bird fell almost into the boat; but the second seemed without effect. La Salle "lined" four as they flapped their huge wings hurriedly, striving to flee from the hidden danger, killing34 three and breaking the wing of a fourth, who fluttered down to the ice, and began to run, or, rather, to waddle35 rapidly away.
Kennedy seemed about to go after the wounded bird, but La Salle laid his hand on his arm.
"Don't move, Kennedy, and he will get us another bird," said he, reloading his heavy gun with a long-range shot cartridge36. "We can get that bird any time; and there is his mate flying round and round in a circle."
"You won't get a shot at her," said Kennedy, as she warily37 kept out of ordinary range, and finally alighted near the gander, which, weak with pain and loss of blood, had lain down on the ice about one hundred and fifty yards distant.
"I should not despair of killing her with 'the Baby,' charged as she now is, even at a far greater distance; but I have a surer weapon for such a mark in this target-rifle."[Pg 80]
As he spoke38, he drew from under the half-deck of the boat a heavy sporting-rifle, carrying about sixty balls to the pound, and sighted with "globe" or "peep" sights. Taking a polished gauge39 which hung at his watch-chain, he set the rear sight, and, cocking the piece, set the hair-trigger. Noiselessly raising the muzzle23 above the gunwale, he ran his eye along the sights. A whip-like crack echoed across the ice, and the goose, pierced through the lower part of the neck, fell dead by the side of her wounded mate, which, frightened by the report, hastened to increase the distance between him and such a dangerous neighborhood.
"I'll save you a half-mile run, Kennedy," said La Salle, raising "the Baby" to his face.
The wounded bird suddenly paused, drew himself up to his full height, and spread his wings, or rather his uninjured pinion20. The huge gun roared. The closely-packed mitraille tore the icy crust into powder, fifty yards beyond the doomed40 bird, which settled, throbbing41 with a mortal tremor42, upon the ice, shot through the head.
"That was a splendid shot of yours, La Salle," said Kennedy, in amazement43.
"You are wrong in that statement, Kennedy," replied he. "The shot any one could have made, but the reach of that gun, with Eley's cartridge, is something tremendous. When I first had her I fired at a flock at about four hundred yards distance. Of[Pg 81] course I killed none, but I paced three hundred and twenty-five yards, and found clean-cut scores, four and five inches long, in the crust, at that distance; and I have more than once killed brant geese out of a flock at forty rods."
"Look, Charley! What a sight!" interrupted Kennedy. The sky had cleared, the sun shone brightly, the wind had gone down, and the strange stillness of a calm winter's day was unbroken. From the west high above the reach of the heaviest gun, and almost beyond the carry of the rifle, came the long-expected vanguard of the migrating hosts of heaven. Flock upon flock, each in the wedge-shaped phalanx of two converging44 lines, which ever characterize the flight of these birds, each headed by a wary, powerful leader, whose clarion45 call came shrill46 and clear down through the still ether, came in one common line of flight, hundreds and thousands of geese. All that afternoon their passage was incessant47, but no open pool offered rest and food to that weary host, and in that fine, still atmosphere it was useless to attempt to deceive by crude imitations of the calls of these birds. And so, as the leaders of the migratory48 host saw from their lofty altitude the earth below, for many a league, spread out like a map, from which to choose a halting-place, the marksmen of the icy levels had little but the interest of the unusual spectacle for their afternoon's watching. Now and then, in answer to their repeated calls, a single goose would detach itself from[Pg 82] the flock and scale down through the air, as if to alight, but nearly always would repent49 in time, and with quickened pinions return to its companions. Still, occasionally, one would determine to alight, and setting its wings, circle around one of the stands, and finally be seen, by the occupants of other ice-houses, to sweep close in to the concealed ambush. Then would follow a puff50 or two of smoke, a few distant reports, and the dead bird, held up in triumph, would convey to his distant friends the sportsman's fortune.
Several birds fell in this way to the lot of our friends of the East Bar, and La Salle and Kennedy got one each; but the sport was too tedious, and La Salle, taking a bullet-bag and powder-flask from his box, proceeded to count out ten bullets, which he laid carefully before him.
"I am going to try to bring down at least one goose from those flocks which pass over us nearly every moment. They are certainly four hundred yards high, and I shall aim at the leader of the flock in every case, giving him about ten feet allowance for headway."
The first ball was without effect, although the leader swerved51 like a frightened steed as the deadly missile sung past him. The second cut a feather from the tail of the bird aimed at; and the third failed likewise. At the fourth shot the leader swerved as before, and then kept on his way.[Pg 83]
"You might as well try to kill them a mile off, as at that distance," said Kennedy, disparagingly52.
"I hit a bird in that flock, and I think the leader, at that; for I heard the rap of the ball as it struck. It may have been only through his quill-feathers. No; there's the bird I hit. See, he can't keep up with the flock."
The huge gander last fired at had hardly gone a hundred yards, ere, despite his endeavors, he had lowered several feet below the flock. In the next decade, the distance was increased to sixty feet, and in the third to as many yards. In the last hundred yards of his flight he sank rapidly, although struggling nobly to regain53 the flock; and when about fifty yards above the ice, he towered up a few feet into the air, and fell over backward, stone dead, with a rifle-shot transfixing his body, in the region of the heart. On weighing him he turned the scale at fifteen pounds.
Of the remaining six shots but one was effective—breaking the wing-tip of a young female, which was secured for a live decoy.
Kennedy now proposed a plan for approaching a large flock, which had alighted about a half mile distant on the sea-ice. Taking the taboggin, which was painted white, from its concealment54, he tied to its curved front a thin slab55 of snowy ice, and laying his gun behind it, approached the flock as near as possible, under cover of the hummocks56. About three[Pg 84] hundred yards of level ice still intervened, and lying down behind his snow-screen, he slowly moved his ingenious stalking-horse towards the flock. Had he understood the nature of the birds thoroughly57, it is probable that his device would have succeeded splendidly; but when he was still about a hundred yards distant, the wary leader became suspicious, and gave a note of alarm. In an instant the whole flock, with outstretched necks, stood prepared for flight. Had he lain still, it is probable that the birds would have relaxed their suspicious watchfulness58, and allowed him to get nearer; but thinking that he should lose all if he tried a nearer approach, he fired, killing one and wounding another, both of which were secured.
Just before dark a slight wind sprang up, and a few flocks, flying low about the harbor, came in among the decoys, and for a time the fire was quite heavy, and the sport most exciting. Taken all round, this day was the best of the season. Ben and Creamer received fifteen, La Salle and Kennedy twelve, and Davies and Risk eighteen birds—in all, forty-five geese. On arriving home they found a hearty59 supper awaiting their attention, after a due observance had been paid to the rites60 of the toilet. This observance seemed to demand much more time than ever before, to the great amusement of Lund, who had anticipated as much all day.
"Are all you folks going sparkin', that you are so careful of your complexions62? Goodness! why, you've[Pg 85] more pomatums, oils, and soaps than any court beauty!"
There was some truth in this latter charge, for Ben and Creamer, after washing and a very gingerly use of the towel, anointed their flaming visages with almond oil. Kennedy, in his turn, approached the only mirror the house afforded, and applied63 to his blistered64 nose and excoriated65 cheeks the major part of a box of Holloway's Ointment66; and even La Salle's dark face seemed to have acquired its share of burning from the ice-reflected rays of the sun. Davies and Risk, when called to supper, smelled strongly of rose-scented cold-cream; and Lund was unsparing in sarcastic67 remarks on the extreme floridness of complexion61 of the entire party.
"Ben, don't have any powder lying round loose to-morrow, with such a face as that. As for Creamer, he can't have any cotton sheets to-night, for fear of a conflagration68. I don't think I ever saw anybody burn as bad as Kennedy has; and this is only the first day, too. A few days more like this would peel him down to an 'atomy. As to La Salle, he's too black to take any more color, but Risk and Davies won't dare to go home for a good two weeks at least."
In truth, the whole party had received a notable tanning, for the winter's sun, weak as it is compared with its summer fervor69, has never such an effect upon the exposed skin, as when its rays are reflected from the millions of tiny specula of the glistening70 ice-field.[Pg 86] The free use of soothing71 and cooling ointments72 will prevent the blistering73 and tan, to a great extent; but many on their "first hunt" lose the cuticle74 from the entire face; and many a seal has been lost on the floes, owing to the rapid decomposition75 produced by the sun's feeble rays thus intensified76.
Notwithstanding their "tanning", however, the party were in splendid spirits, and ate their roast goose, potatoes, and hot bread with a gusto which far more delicate viands77 at home would fail to provoke. As the meal proceeded, and the merry jest went round, all feelings of fatigue78, pain, and discomfort79 were lost in the revulsion of comfort which a full meal produces in a man of thoroughly healthy physique. How few of us in the crowded cities know, or indeed can appreciate, the pleasures of the hardy80 sportsman. To bear wet, cold, and discomfort; to exercise patience, skill, and endurance; and to undergo the extreme point of fatigue, was the sum of nearly every day's experience of the members of the party; but when their heavy guns and cumbrous clothing were laid aside, the rough chair and cushionless settle afforded luxurious81 rest, the craving82 appetite made their coarse fare a delightsome feast, and when, warm, full-fed, and refreshed, they invoked83 the dreamy solace84 of the deity85 Nicotiana, the sense of animal pleasure and satisfaction was complete.
"Is your pipe filled, Creamer?" asked Lund, carelessly.[Pg 87]
"Yes; but you'll not get it until you give us the story you're to tell us this night. Faith, there's not one of us can beat you at the same trade, and it's little of fact that you'll give us, any how."
"For shame, Hughie, to malign86 the credibility of an old friend in that way, and me the father of a family. I'm almost ready to swear that you shan't have a yarn87 from me for the whole spring. To accuse me of yarning—me that—"
"That humbugged the whole Associated Press of the United States no longer ago than the war with the southerns. I mind myself how you told them at Shediac, that the Alabama was down among the fishermen in the bay, like a hawk88 among a flock of pigeons. Faith, you had twenty of them taken and burned before you stopped that time, and the telegraph operator at Point de Chêne was hopping89 all the evening between the boat and the office, like a pea in a hot skillet," retorted La Salle, laughing. "Ah, Lund! you mustn't plead innocent with us, who have been humbugged by you too many times already. But come, captain, draw on your imagination, and give us a regular stunner—one without a word of truth in it."
"Well, gentlemen," answered Lund, deliberately90, "I ain't got anything to say to that young jackanapes, for nobody that ever heard him tell stories will ever believe anything he says again. But I mean to have my revenge somehow, and so I'll tell you a story that[Pg 88] is as true as gospel, and yet you'll hardly believe a word of it. We who live here on this little island call it the story of
"The Packet Light.
"About thirty years ago, my wife's father, old Mr. Bridges, lived in a snug91 little log house down in the next field, towards the Point. He was a young man then, and my wife here was a little girl, unable to do more than to drive home the cows, or help mind the younger children. The island is uncivilized enough now, sir, but in those days, besides the old French military road to St. Peter's, and a government mail route to St. Eleanor's, there was nothing but bridle-paths and rough trails through the woods. Men came to market with horses in straw harnesses, dragging carts with block-wheels sawn from the butt92 of a big pine; and often when twenty or thirty of them were drinking into old Katty Frazer's, the beasts would get hungry, and eat each other loose.
"It was next to an impossibility to get any money in exchange for produce or labor93, and everything was paid for in orders on the different dealers94 for so many shillings' or pounds' worth of goods. In winter a whale-boat on runners carried the mail between the Wood Islands and Pictou, and in summer a small schooner95, called the Packet, sailed with the mail, and what few passengers presented themselves, between the capital and the same port.[Pg 89]
"It was in the last of November that year that the Packet made her last cruise. The weather was freezing cold, with a thick sky, and heavy squalls from the south of west, when she struck on the East Bar, near the main channel. They put down the helm, thinking to slide off; but she only swung broadside to the waves, and as the tide was at ebb32, she was soon hard and fast, with the sea making a clean breach96 over her.
"Captain Coffin97, with the four other men, got into the rigging with a flag of some kind, which they fastened at half mast, as a signal of distress98. It was about midday when they ran on the bar, and Bridges saw them, and realized their danger at once; and their cries for help at times rose above the roar of the ravenous99 seas. With the help of his wife he launched a light boat, but long before he got into the sweep of the heavier breakers, he saw that she could never live on the bar, and it was with great difficulty that he regained100 the shore. At nightfall, although the hull101 was badly shattered, no one had perished, and the tide had so far abated102 that the party could easily have waded103 ashore104; and Captain Coffin and another man, after vainly attempting to induce the other three to accompany them, started themselves.
"The others charged them with cowardice105 in leaving the vessel106, said that the wind would go down, and they could get the craft off at flood-tide, and so prevailed over the better judgment of the captain and[Pg 90] his companion that they returned to the fated vessel, and prepared, as well as possible, for the returning tide.
"As the tide rose, the sea came with little, if any, diminution107 of fury; and until nearly midnight Bridges watched the signal lantern, which called in vain for the aid which it was not in the power of man to bestow108. Intense cold was added to the other horrors of their situation, and the heavy seas came each hour in lessened109 fury, as the water thickened into 'sludge.' At eleven o'clock the tide was at its height; the seas had ceased to sweep across the hogged110 and sunken hull, and a sheet of thin ice reached from the shore to the vessel's side. Captain Coffin tried the ice, and, finding that it would bear his weight, decided to try to reach the Blockhouse Light, which shone brightly three miles away.
"He summoned the others; but two of the others, who had persuaded him to remain on board, were already frozen to death; the third decided to make the attempt, but walked feebly and with uncertain steps, and about a mile from the vessel succumbed111 to the piercing cold, falling into that fatal sleep from which few ever waken, in this life at least. Coffin's companion, a strong, hardy sailor, reached the light-house alive, but swooned away, and could not be resuscitated112; and Coffin barely escaped with his life. He was terribly frost-bitten, but was thawed113 out in a puncheon of cold water, the right foot, however,[Pg 91] dropping off at the ankle; but he escaped with life, after terrible suffering.
"The schooner sank, in the spring, at the edge of the channel, when the moving ice forced her into deeper water; and at very low tides her battered114 hull may still be seen by the passing boatman. But ever since that fatal night, whenever a storm from that quarter is threatened, a ball of fire is seen to emerge from the depths where lies the fated packet, and to sway and swing above the water, as the signal lantern did on the swaying mast of that doomed vessel. Then, if you but watch patiently, the ball is seen to expand into a sheet of crimson115 light, terribly and weirdly116 beautiful, until the eye can discern the shadowy outline of a ship, or rather schooner, of fire, with hull and masts, stays and sails; and then the apparition118 again assumes the shape of a ball, which is lost in the sea.
"At times it appears twice or thrice in the same night, and often the herring-fisher, after setting his nets along the bar, sees behind his boat, as he nears the shore, the apparition of the 'packet light.' Since that night of wreck119 and death, no dweller120 on this island has passed a year without seeing it, and it is so common that its appearance awakens121 no fear; and among the fishers of Point Prime, and the farmers of the opposite shores, there are few who will not bear witness to the truth of my story."
"It is a little singular," said Risk, "that a ship is[Pg 92] the only inanimate object ever seen as an individual apparition. There are not many of these ghostly ships on the seas, however. I do not remember to have heard of more than one—that of the celebrated122 'Flying Dutchman,' off the Cape7 of Good Hope."
"It's no wonder, sir," said Lund, warmly, "that sailors suppose ships to be haunted, and also to be capable of becoming ghosts themselves, when you sit down and think how differently every one views a vessel, as compared with a house, or store, or engine. Why, there are no two ships alike, and two were never built just alike. There are lucky and unlucky ships, and ships that almost steer123 themselves, while others need a whole watch at the tiller in a dead calm. But I think that you are mistaken as to the 'Flying Dutchman' being the only other 'flyer,' as the sailors call them, for they are often seen in the Pacific, in the 'Trades.'"
"I can't swear to the truth of Mr. Lund's story, but I can affirm that the 'fire ship' is a myth, universally recognized among the sea-going population of our coast, from the Florida Keys to the mouth of the St. Lawrence. Off the coral reefs, the crime-accursed slaver or pirate haunts the scene of her terrible deeds. Amid the breakers of Block Island, the ship wrecked124, a generation ago, by the cruel avarice125 of men long since dead, still revisits the fatal spot when the storm is again on the eve of breaking forth126 in resistless fury. The waters of Boston harbor, two centuries ago, pre[Pg 93]sented to the wondering eyes of 'divers127 sober and godly' persons, apparitions128 similar to those narrated129 by our veracious130 friend, the captain. The lumberers of the St. John tell, with bated breath, of an antique French caravel, which sails up the Carleton Falls, where no mortal vessel or steamer can follow. And the farmers and fishermen of Chester Bay still see the weird117, unearthly beacon131 which marks the spot where the privateer Teaser, chased by an overwhelming English fleet, was hurled132 heavenward by the desperate act of one of her officers, who had broken his parole. As for the Gulf, the myth exists in a half dozen diverse forms, and all equally well authenticated133 by hundreds of eye-witnesses, if you can believe the narrators."
"Well, La Salle, I see you don't put much more faith in my story than in the thing I saw the night you came here. Now, I hope it won't be so, for it is borne in my mind, and I can't get over it, that I shall see some of you vanish into mist, as I saw those men. So, gentlemen, be very careful, for I fear that some of us are very near their fate."
There is a cord of fear in every man's heart which throbs134 more or less responsively to the relation of the wonders of that "debatable land," which, by some, is believed to lie "on the boundaries of another world." La Salle felt impressed in spite of himself, and the whole party seemed grave and unwilling135 to pursue[Pg 94] the subject. The silence was, however, broken by Kennedy.
"I am going home to-morrow," said he, "and therefore am not likely to be one of the unfortunates over whom a mysterious but melancholy136 fate impends137. I have never found in the Tribune anything calculated to encourage a belief in ghosts of men, or vessels138 either; and what Horace Greeley can't swallow I can't. But I shall make minutes of this little matter, and if anything does happen, will forward a full account, in detail, to that truly great man. Come, La Salle; it's time we were abed. Good night, gentlemen."
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stratagem
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| n.诡计，计谋 | |
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frugal
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| adj.节俭的，节约的，少量的，微量的 | |
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cove
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| n.小海湾，小峡谷 | |
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scattering
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| n.[物]散射；散乱，分散；在媒介质中的散播adj.散乱的；分散在不同范围的；广泛扩散的；（选票）数量分散的v.散射(scatter的ing形式)；散布；驱散 | |
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ammunition
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| n.军火，弹药 | |
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partially
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| adv.部分地，从某些方面讲 | |
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cape
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| n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风 | |
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concealed
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| a.隐藏的，隐蔽的 | |
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sledge
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| n.雪橇，大锤；v.用雪橇搬运，坐雪橇往 | |
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hummock
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frantically
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exertion
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fowl
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| n.家禽，鸡，禽肉 | |
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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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wary
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| adj.谨慎的，机警的，小心的 | |
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gulf
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| n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂 | |
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swooping
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decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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apathy
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| n.漠不关心，无动于衷；冷淡 | |
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pinion
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| v.束缚；n.小齿轮 | |
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pinions
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| v.抓住[捆住]（双臂）( pinion的第三人称单数 ) | |
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muzzles
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| 枪口( muzzle的名词复数 )； （防止动物咬人的）口套； （四足动物的）鼻口部； （狗）等凸出的鼻子和口 | |
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muzzle
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| n.鼻口部；口套；枪(炮)口；vt.使缄默 | |
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clamorous
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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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26
judgment
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| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
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27
embryo
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| n.胚胎，萌芽的事物 | |
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jaws
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| n.口部；嘴 | |
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29
novice
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| adj.新手的，生手的 | |
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30
ambush
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| n.埋伏(地点)；伏兵；v.埋伏；伏击 | |
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31
bellies
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| n.肚子( belly的名词复数 )；腹部；（物体的）圆形或凸起部份；腹部…形的 | |
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32
ebb
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| vi.衰退，减退；n.处于低潮，处于衰退状态 | |
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33
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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34
killing
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| n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财 | |
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35
waddle
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| vi.摇摆地走；n.摇摆的走路(样子) | |
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36
cartridge
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| n.弹壳，弹药筒；(装磁带等的)盒子 | |
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37
warily
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| adv.留心地 | |
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38
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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39
gauge
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| v.精确计量；估计；n.标准度量；计量器 | |
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40
doomed
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| 命定的 | |
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41
throbbing
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| a. 跳动的,悸动的 | |
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42
tremor
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| n.震动，颤动，战栗，兴奋，地震 | |
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43
amazement
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| n.惊奇，惊讶 | |
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44
converging
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| adj.收敛[缩]的，会聚的，趋同的v.（线条、运动的物体等）会于一点( converge的现在分词 )；（趋于）相似或相同；人或车辆汇集；聚集 | |
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45
clarion
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| n.尖音小号声；尖音小号 | |
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46
shrill
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| adj.尖声的；刺耳的；v尖叫 | |
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47
incessant
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| adj.不停的，连续的 | |
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48
migratory
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| n.候鸟，迁移 | |
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49
repent
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| v.悔悟，悔改，忏悔，后悔 | |
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50
puff
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| n.一口(气)；一阵(风)；v.喷气，喘气 | |
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51
swerved
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| v.（使）改变方向，改变目的( swerve的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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52
disparagingly
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| adv.以贬抑的口吻，以轻视的态度 | |
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53
regain
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| vt.重新获得，收复，恢复 | |
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54
concealment
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| n.隐藏, 掩盖，隐瞒 | |
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55
slab
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| n.平板，厚的切片；v.切成厚板，以平板盖上 | |
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56
hummocks
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| n.小丘，岗( hummock的名词复数 ) | |
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57
thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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58
watchfulness
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| 警惕，留心； 警觉（性） | |
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59
hearty
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| adj.热情友好的；衷心的；尽情的，纵情的 | |
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60
rites
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| 仪式，典礼( rite的名词复数 ) | |
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61
complexion
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| n.肤色；情况，局面；气质，性格 | |
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62
complexions
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| 肤色( complexion的名词复数 )； 面色； 局面； 性质 | |
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63
applied
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| adj.应用的；v.应用，适用 | |
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64
blistered
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| adj.水疮状的，泡状的v.（使）起水泡( blister的过去式和过去分词 )；（使表皮等）涨破，爆裂 | |
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65
excoriated
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| v.擦伤( excoriate的过去式和过去分词 )；擦破（皮肤）；剥（皮）；严厉指责 | |
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66
ointment
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| n.药膏，油膏，软膏 | |
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67
sarcastic
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| adj.讥讽的，讽刺的，嘲弄的 | |
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68
conflagration
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| n.建筑物或森林大火 | |
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69
fervor
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| n.热诚；热心；炽热 | |
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70
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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71
soothing
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| adj.慰藉的；使人宽心的；镇静的 | |
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72
ointments
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| n.软膏( ointment的名词复数 )；扫兴的人；煞风景的事物；药膏 | |
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73
blistering
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| adj.酷热的；猛烈的；使起疱的；可恶的v.起水疱；起气泡；使受暴晒n.[涂料] 起泡 | |
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74
cuticle
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| n.表皮 | |
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75
decomposition
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| n. 分解, 腐烂, 崩溃 | |
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76
intensified
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| v.（使）增强， （使）加剧( intensify的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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77
viands
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| n.食品，食物 | |
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78
fatigue
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| n.疲劳，劳累 | |
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79
discomfort
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| n.不舒服，不安，难过，困难，不方便 | |
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80
hardy
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| adj.勇敢的，果断的，吃苦的；耐寒的 | |
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81
luxurious
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| adj.精美而昂贵的；豪华的 | |
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82
craving
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| n.渴望,热望 | |
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83
invoked
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| v.援引( invoke的过去式和过去分词 )；行使（权利等）；祈求救助；恳求 | |
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84
solace
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| n.安慰；v.使快乐；vt.安慰(物)，缓和 | |
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85
deity
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| n.神，神性；被奉若神明的人(或物) | |
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86
malign
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| adj.有害的；恶性的；恶意的；v.诽谤，诬蔑 | |
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87
yarn
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| n.纱，纱线，纺线；奇闻漫谈，旅行轶事 | |
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88
hawk
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| n.鹰，骗子；鹰派成员 | |
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89
hopping
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| n. 跳跃 动词hop的现在分词形式 | |
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90
deliberately
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| adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地 | |
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91
snug
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| adj.温暖舒适的，合身的，安全的；v.使整洁干净，舒适地依靠，紧贴；n.（英）酒吧里的私房 | |
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92
butt
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| n.笑柄；烟蒂；枪托；臀部；v.用头撞或顶 | |
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93
labor
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| n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦 | |
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94
dealers
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| n.商人( dealer的名词复数 )；贩毒者；毒品贩子；发牌者 | |
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95
schooner
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| n.纵帆船 | |
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96
breach
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| n.违反，不履行；破裂；vt.冲破，攻破 | |
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97
coffin
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| n.棺材，灵柩 | |
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98
distress
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| n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛 | |
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99
ravenous
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| adj.极饿的，贪婪的 | |
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100
regained
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| 复得( regain的过去式和过去分词 )； 赢回； 重回； 复至某地 | |
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101
hull
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| n.船身；(果、实等的)外壳；vt.去(谷物等)壳 | |
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102
abated
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| 减少( abate的过去式和过去分词 )； 减去； 降价； 撤消（诉讼） | |
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103
waded
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| （从水、泥等）蹚，走过，跋( wade的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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104
ashore
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| adv.在(向)岸上，上岸 | |
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105
cowardice
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| n.胆小，怯懦 | |
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106
vessel
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| n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管 | |
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107
diminution
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| n.减少；变小 | |
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108
bestow
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| v.把…赠与，把…授予；花费 | |
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109
lessened
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| 减少的，减弱的 | |
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110
hogged
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| adj.（船）中拱的，（路）拱曲的 | |
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111
succumbed
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| 不再抵抗（诱惑、疾病、攻击等）( succumb的过去式和过去分词 )； 屈从； 被压垮； 死 | |
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112
resuscitated
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| v.使（某人或某物）恢复知觉，苏醒( resuscitate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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113
thawed
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| 解冻 | |
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114
battered
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| adj.磨损的；v.连续猛击；磨损 | |
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115
crimson
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| n./adj.深(绯)红色(的)；vi.脸变绯红色 | |
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116
weirdly
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| 古怪地 | |
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117
weird
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| adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的 | |
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118
apparition
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| n.幽灵，神奇的现象 | |
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119
wreck
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| n.失事，遇难；沉船；vt.(船等)失事，遇难 | |
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120
dweller
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| n.居住者，住客 | |
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121
awakens
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| v.（使）醒( awaken的第三人称单数 )；（使）觉醒；弄醒；（使）意识到 | |
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122
celebrated
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| adj.有名的，声誉卓著的 | |
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123
steer
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| vt.驾驶，为…操舵；引导；vi.驾驶 | |
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124
wrecked
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| adj.失事的，遇难的 | |
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125
avarice
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| n.贪婪；贪心 | |
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126
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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127
divers
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| adj.不同的；种种的 | |
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128
apparitions
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| n.特异景象( apparition的名词复数 )；幽灵；鬼；（特异景象等的）出现 | |
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129
narrated
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| v.故事( narrate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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130
veracious
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| adj.诚实可靠的 | |
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131
beacon
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| n.烽火，（警告用的）闪火灯，灯塔 | |
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132
hurled
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| v.猛投，用力掷( hurl的过去式和过去分词 )；大声叫骂 | |
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133
authenticated
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| v.证明是真实的、可靠的或有效的( authenticate的过去式和过去分词 )；鉴定，使生效 | |
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134
throbs
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| 体内的跳动( throb的名词复数 ) | |
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135
unwilling
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| adj.不情愿的 | |
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136
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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137
impends
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| v.进行威胁，即将发生( impend的第三人称单数 ) | |
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138
vessels
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| n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人 | |
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