“I’d like to try, uncle.”
“Humph!”
“I’m qualified1 for the position,” young Holman went on. “I’ve done my stint2 with the construction gangs and I’ve spent four years in the Eastern shops. You promised me that if I’d stick I’d have my chance.”
“Well, if I did, I didn’t promise to put you in the way of making a fool of yourself and a laughing-stock of me, did I? You may be qualified technically3, I don’t say you’re not. In fact, I’ve been rather pleased with you; that’s one reason why you’re not going out there to tackle something you can’t handle. If men like Rawson and Williams can’t hold down the job, what do you expect to do?”
“No worse than they, at least,” Holman answered, quietly. “Look here, uncle, that’s just the point. There aren’t any of the men want the position, so I’m not jumping anybody to take it. I’ll not make any laughing-stock of you, either. I’m not going out as the Old Man’s nephew; just plain Dick Holman. If I don’t make good you can wash your hands of my railroad career.”
“Young man,” said the General Manager, severely4, “don’t make rash statements.”
He pushed the papers on his desk irritably5 to one side. Then he frowned. Two years ago, when the road had dug, blasted, burrowed6, and trestled its right of way through the mountains, they had built the repair shops for the maintenance of the rolling stock, and from the moment the first brass7 time-check had been issued the locomotive-foremanship of the Hill Division was no subject to be introduced with temerity8 anywhere within the precincts of the executive offices. One man after another had gone out there, and one after another they had resigned. “Hard lot to handle,” Carleton, the division superintendent9, had replied to the numerous requests for explanation that had been fired at him. And now Dick wanted to go. The general manager’s fingers beat a tattoo10 on the desk and his frown deepened into a scowl11. “You’re a young fool,” he grunted12 at last.
And Holman knew that he had gained his point “That’s very good of you, uncle,” he cried. “I knew you’d see it my way. When may I start?”
“I guess you’ll get there soon enough,” his uncle answered grimly. He rose from his chair and accompanied Holman to the door. “Well, go if you want to, but remember this, young man, you’re going on your own terms. When you resign from that position, you resign from the road, understand!”
“All right, uncle,” Holman laughed in reply. “It’s a bargain.”
Three days later, as Number One pulled into Big Cloud, Holman swung himself to the platform. Up past the mail and baggage cars, the steam drumming at her safety, a big ten-wheeler was backing down to couple on for the run through the Rockies. There was the pride of proprietorship13 in his glance as his eyes swept the great mogul critically, for in his pocket was his official appointment as Locomotive Foreman of the Hill Division, vice14 Williams, resigned.
It was not until the last of the Pullmans had rolled smoothly15 past him that he turned to take stock in his surroundings. The first impression was not prepossessing. Before him, just across the yard filled with strings17 of freight cars, were the low, rambling18, smoke-begrimed shops and running shed, while beyond these again the town straggled out monotonously19.
To the westward20, through the mountains, were the curves and grades that wrenched21 and racked and tore the equipment he would hereafter be accountable for. To the eastward—but “eastward” was only two hundred yards away, for there his eye caught the “Yard Limit” post, that likewise marked the end of the division.
If after this cursory22 survey there still lingered any illusions of the picturesque23 in Holman’s mind, they were rudely dispelled24 by the interior of the barn-like structure at the side of the platform that did duty for station, division headquarters, general storeroom, and anything else that might seek the shelter of its protecting roof. The walls were adorned25 with such works of art as are afforded by the Sunday supplements, interspersed26 here and there with an occasional blue-print and time schedule. The furnishings bore unmistakable evidence of having seen service with the construction staff when the road was in the making. At the right of the door, as Holman entered, the despatcher was poring over the train sheet.
“Sure,” said he in answer to Holman’s inquiry27, “that’s the super over there.”
Holman crossed the room and proffered28 his credentials29.
“Glad you’ve come,” was Carleton’s greeting, as he rose and extended his hand. “We’ve been expecting you. Williams went East this morning on Number Two. Sit down. That’s your desk there.”
Holman glanced at the battered30 table toward which the other pointed31, then back again to the four days’ growth on the super’s face.
Carleton grinned. “Fixings aren’t up to what you boiled-shirt fellows down East are used to. Out here on the firing line most anything goes. I’ve been requisitioning office fixtures32 for months. Ain’t seen any way-bill of them yet, Davis, have you?” he called across to the despatcher.
Davis got up with a laugh and joined the other two. “No,” said he, shaking hands with Holman, “not yet.”
“And not likely to, either,” continued the super. “It’s rough and ready out here, Holman. The staff quarters up there,” he jerked his thumb toward the ceiling, “are all-fired crude, and the Chinese cook is a gilt-edge thief and most persuasive33 liar34; but we’ve got the finest division of the best railroad in the world, and we’re pushing stuff through the mountains on a schedule that makes Southern competition sick. We’re young here yet. Some day, when the roadbed’s shaken down to stay, we’ll build the extras.”
The enthusiasm and bluff35 heartiness36 of the super was contagious37. Holman put out his hand impulsively38. “We’ve heard a lot of you fellows down East,” he said, “and I’m glad I’ve got a chance to chip in.” His eyes swept around the room and came back to meet the super’s smilingly. “Even if accommodations are below ‘Tourist Class,’” he added.
So Holman came to the division and joined the staff. Spence, chief dispatcher, had shaken his head. “Twenty-eight and locomotive foreman of this division with the roughest, toughest bunch on the system’s pay-roll to handle! Hanged if he isn’t a decent sort, though, even if he will shave and wear collars. Imagine Williams with creased39 trousers! And say, his wardrobe—he’s actually got a dress suit with him! Wouldn’t that ground the wires! Who is he, Carleton? Got a pull with the Old Man?”
“Didn’t inquire,” returned Carleton bluntly. “Let him try out.”
If the super waited before passing judgment40 on the latest addition to the staff of the Hill Division, the shop hands did likewise—but for another reason. They waited for Rafferty. Rafferty was boss. Who Rafferty’s boss was, was his affair, and it did not concern them. What Rafferty said—went. It was two weeks before he delivered his verdict.
“A damned pink-faced dude!” he announced and terminated his remark with a stream of black-strap juice by way of an exclamation41 mark.
The fiat42 had gone forth43!
Down in the pits, stripping the engines of their motion gear, the fitters passed resolutions of confidence in Rafferty’s judgment, and among the lathes44 and planers the machinists did likewise. The concurrence45 of the forge gang was expressed by a vicious wielding46 of the big sledges47 that sent showers of sparks flying from the spluttering metal whenever Holman was sighted coming down the shop on a tour of inspection—a significant intimation to him to keep his distance. And that the sentiment of the shops might not be lacking in unanimity48, the boilermakers, should Holman have the temerity to pause for an instant before a shell on which they were at work, would send up a din16 from their clattering49 hammers intolerable to any but the men themselves whose ears were plugged with cotton waste.
As for Holman, he might have been entirely50 unconscious of the hostility51 and ill-will of his subordinates for all the evidence he gave of being aware of it. He was busy mastering the routine and details of his new position. For a month he said nothing; then one morning over at headquarters he turned to Carle-ton, who was reading the train mail that had just come in.
“Why did Williams resign?” he asked quietly.
“Eh?” said Carleton, startled out of his calm by reason of the suddenness of the question.
“Why did Williams resign?” Holman repeated.
“Oh, I don’t know. Tired of the life out here, I guess,” Carleton evaded52.
“Was it Rafferty?”
Carleton turned sharply to scrutinize53 the other’s countenance54. Holman was gazing out of the window.
“It was Rafferty,” Carleton admitted after a moment.
Holman’s gaze never shifted from the window. “Why wasn’t Rafferty fired?” he asked in the same quiet tones, but this time there was just the faintest tinge55 of accusation56 in his voice.
Carleton’s face flushed. An instant’s hesitation57, then he answered bluntly: “He weighed more, that’s why!”
“Oh!” said Holman significantly. “Then why didn’t you recommend Rafferty for the position long ago and save all the trouble?”
“I would have if he could do anything more than sign his name.”
Holman turned angrily to face the super. “So,” he cried, “when a fellow comes out here he has to play a lone58 hand, eh? A show-down with Rafferty, shop hands, and the whole division drawing cards against him. You, Carleton, I didn’t put you down as a man with a pet.”
Carleton got up and put his hand on Holman’s shoulder. “Don’t do it, either,” he said quietly. “Don’t run off your schedule that way, son. It has always been man to man, and I wasn’t appealed to. So far it has been all Rafferty. It’s easier to get a new foreman than a new shop crew, so I haven’t interfered59.”
“I don’t understand,” said Holman blankly.
The super laughed shortly. “Rafferty has the men where he wants them. If he got on his ear he could tie us up so quick we wouldn’t know what happened. A nice thing for me to admit, isn’t it? But it’s so. I suppose I should have nipped the whole business in the bud, but I kept on hoping that each new man would beat Rafferty at his own game. Has he got you going, too?”
Holman gathered up the repair reports from his desk and started for the door. “Game’s young yet,” he flung over his shoulder as he went out.
From the office Holman walked up the yard to the spur tracks at the end of the shops where three or four engines were waiting their turn for an empty pit. He glanced at their numbers, comparing them with the papers he held in his hand, then turned and walked back, pausing on the way to inspect an engine, bright and clean as fresh paint and gold leaf would make her, that had been hauled out of the shops that morning. He passed in through the upper doors to the fitting-shop. Already another engine had been shunted in to replace the one that had gone out. Her guard-plates, links, cross-heads, main and connecting rods were lying on the floor beside her, and the labor60 gang were jacking and blocking her up preparatory to running the wheels out from underneath61 her.
There was a trace of heightened color in Holman’s face as he turned to look for Rafferty.
The boss fitter was in his usual place. Down the shop, hands dug deep in his trousers pockets, legs spread wide apart, he swung slowly round and round on the little iron turntable that intersected the handcar tracks where they branched out in all directions through the shops. As Holman approached he stopped the motion indolently by allowing the toe of his boot to trail along the floor around the table.
Holman’s manner was quiet and his voice was soft, almost deferential62, as he spoke63: “I see you have 483 finished, Mr. Rafferty.”
Rafferty looked down from his superior two inches and said: “Yis.”
“And,” continued Holman, “you’ve run in 840 in her place?’
“Yis,” said Rafferty again, this time even more indifferently than before.
“Well, now, really, Mr. Rafferty, I’d like to know why you did it? You know I told you yesterday to be particular to take 522 next.” Holman’s tones were more nearly those of apology than of expostulation.
For answer Rafferty gave a little shove with his foot and the turntable began to revolve64 slowly. During the circuit Rafferty coolly gave some directions to the men nearest him, and then as he once more came round facing Holman he stopped. “Fwhat was ut you was sayin’, Mr. Holman?” he drawled.
“This is the biggest division on the system, isn’t it?” Holman asked inconsequently.
“Eh?” demanded Rafferty.
“Longest division—most mileage—covers quite a stretch of country,” Holman amplified65.
“Oh!” returned the other with a grin. “Well, you’ll be thinkin’ so if you ever sthay long enough to git acquainted wid ut.”
“Perhaps that’s the reason I am beginning to feel cramped—I’ve only been here a month, you know,” Holman smiled.
“Fwhat d’ye mean?”
“Why, curiously66, it doesn’t seem big enough or wide enough or long enough for even two men.”
Holman purred his words in soft, mild accents, and Rafferty, understanding, sneered68 in quick retort: “Was you thinkin’ av lavin’, Mr. Holman?”
“No,” said Holman, slowly, “I don’t know that I was. I thought perhaps the matter might be adjusted, and I’d like to ask your advice. Now, if you were locomotive foreman and you found that the foreman of this shop, in a dirty, low, underhanded fashion was discrediting69 you with the men, and furthermore flatly disobeyed your orders, what would you do, Mr. Rafferty?”
By the time Holman had completed his arraignment70, Rafferty was mad—fighting mad. “I’ll tell you fwhat I’d do,” he yelled, shaking a great horny fist under Holman’s nose. “I’d plug him good an’ hard, that’s fwhat I’d do! See!”
“Rather drastic,” Holman commented after a pause, during which Rafferty drew back and with hands on hips71 stood scowling72 belligerently73. “But desperate cases sometimes require desperate remedies, and I don’t know—but—that—” his fist shot out and caught Rafferty fairly on the point of the jaw—“you’re right!”
Rafferty, staggering back from the impact of the blow, set the table whirling. His feet went out from under him and he fell sprawling74 to the floor. As he picked himself up, Holman sprang toward him and swinging twice landed two vicious smashes on Rafferty’s face. Then, except for a confused recollection of a rush of men, that was all Holman remembered until he opened his eyes to find himself in his bunk75 at headquarters with Carleton bending over him.
“You’re a sight,” Carleton commented grimly. “What was the muss about?”
Holman explained. “I took Rafferty’s advice and plugged him, you see, and after that———”
“After that if it hadn’t been for old Joe, the turner, running over here to tell us, they’d have killed you. Don’t you know any better than to stack up against Rafferty like that, let alone the whole gang? Did you expect to do them all up?”
“No, not exactly. I expected there’d be something coming to me, but I had to do it. I’ll admit, Carleton, I was in a blue funk, but I just had to. Moral effect, you know.”
“Yes,” said Carleton savagely76, “the moral effect is great! It will be as much as your life is worth to put your head inside those shops again. You don’t know the men you’re dealing77 with out here.”
“You’re wrong, dead wrong, Carleton, I do. You said it was man to man, didn’t you? Well, then, either I’m running the shops or Rafferty is. Rafferty has the men with him because he’s a bully78 and they’re afraid of him. It was mere79 force of habit made them pile on to me. You wait until they’re cooled off a bit and see.”
But Carleton shook his head. “You’re a bloomin’ fool,” he summed up judicially80, “but here, shake! You’ve got your grit81 with you, if you did leave your sense behind.”
For the rest of the morning Holman nursed his injuries, but at one o’clock he was at his desk again. Five minutes afterward82 Rafferty came in. He was not a pretty sight with his cut lip and battered eye as he limped past both Spence and Holman. With a vindictive83 glare at the latter he marched straight across the room to where Carleton sat. He leaned both hands on the super’s desk.
“Ut’ll be just a show-down, Mr. Carleton, that’s all there is to ut. Me or him, which?” he announced.
Carleton tilted84 his chair back, put his feet up on the desk and his thumbs in the armholes of his vest. “State your case; Rafferty,” he said calmly.
“Case!” Rafferty spluttered. “Case is ut? I’m sick av bein’ bossed bye kids out av school that was buildin’ blocks whin I was buildin’ enjines. I quit or he does!” Rafferty jerked his thumb in Holman’s direction.
“Is that all you have to say, Rafferty?”
“That’s about the size av ut.”
“Very well, Rafferty, you can get your time,” said Carleton quietly.
For a moment Rafferty stared as though he had not heard aright, then he swung round on his heel only to turn again and face the super with a short laugh. “All right, Mr. Carleton, you’re the docthor. It’s satisfied I am. Whin I go out, every bloomin’ man in the shops ‘ull go out wid me!”
Carleton’s feet came off the desk like a shot, his chair came down to the floor with a bang, and the next instant he was standing67 in front of the boss fitter.
“See here, Rafferty,” he blazed, “you know me—the men know me. While I’ve held the bank there’s been fifty-two cards in the case and every mother’s son of you has had a square deal. You know it, don’t you? No man on this division ever came to me with just cause for complaint but had a chance to state his grievance85 on a clear track and no limit on his permit either. Now, I’m entitled to the same line of treatment I hand out, and I won’t stand for threats!”
Rafferty shifted uneasily and to hide his confusion reached for his “chewing.”
“We’ve nothin’ agin you, Mr. Carleton, an’ I’m givin’ you fair warnin’,” he mumbled86 as his teeth met in the plug.
“When you make trouble on this division you make trouble for me,” said Carleton bluntly. “As for warning, I give you warning now that if you start any disturbance87 in those shops it will be the worse for you. Now go!”
They watched him through the windows as he crossed the tracks. Finally, as he disappeared inside the shops, Carleton turned with a grave face.
“I’m afraid it’s going to be a bad business,” he said.
“You don’t mean to say,” Holman burst out, “that the men are fools enough to quit just because one man with a grouch88 says so, do you?”
“I told you that you didn’t know the class of men out here—they’re partisan89 to the core—it’s bred in them. I’m not blaming you, Holman—not for a minute! As I said this morning, I’ve seen it coming for a long while—long before Williams gave up the ghost. Now it’s here, we’ll face the music, what?”
“It’s mighty90 good of you to say so, old man,” said Holman, slowly, “but I’ve put you in a bad hole, and it’s up to me to get you out of it. Inside of two weeks with the repair shops on strike our rolling stock won’t be able to handle the traffic.” He put on his hat and started for the door.
“Where are you going?” Carleton demanded.
“Rafferty’s not going to have this all his own way. The men have no grievance, and I don’t believe they’ll follow him out if they’re talked to right. I’m going over.”
“Not if I know it, you’re not,” said Carleton grimly. “There may be a coroner’s inquest before this affair is settled, perhaps more than one if things get nasty, but I’m hanged if I propose starting in that way this afternoon.”
“That’s all right,” Holman replied doggedly91.
“Just the same, I’m—Eh? What’s up, Carleton? What’s wrong?”
Spence had bent92 suddenly over the key, and Carleton, with a startled exclamation, was staring at the words the dispatcher was hastily scribbling93 on the pad. Holman leaned over the super’s shoulder and even as he saw Carleton reach to plug in the telephone connection with the roundhouse, he read the message: “Number Two wrecked94 Eagle Pass. Send wrecker and medical assistance at once.” The next instant he was flying across the yard to the shops.
As he burst in through the door he was greeted with a snarl96. The men were massed in a body around one of the locomotives in the fitting-shop, and Rafferty, from the cab, was talking in fierce, heated tones. At sight of the master mechanic he stopped short and with an oath leaped from his perch97 straight for Holman. The crowd divided, making a lane between the two men, then, with startling suddenness, breaking the ominous98 silence that had fallen, there came three short blasts from the shop whistle—the wrecker’s signal. It halted Rafferty when but an arm’s-length from the locomotive foreman. Then Holman spoke:
“You hear that, men? Number Two has gone to glory up in Eagle Pass. You, Rafferty, get the wrecking99 crew together, quick! The rest of you get back to work.”
“You’re a liar!” Rafferty yelled. “A measly, putty-faced, starch-shirted liar, d’ye hear? Ut’s a plant! You can’t work any sharp trick loike that on me!”
There was a low, menacing growl100 from the men and they edged in close. But Holman gave them no heed101; he took a step nearer Rafferty, looking straight into the other’s eyes.
“Rafferty,” he said quietly, “you’ve a wife and kids, haven’t you? And you’re a railroad man, aren’t you? Well, there’s wives and kids and mates up there in that wreck95. The other affair can wait until we get back. Now, will you go?”
And Rafferty went—at the head of the wreckers—out into the yard where the switching crew were working like beavers102 making up the relief train. Two passenger coaches to serve as ambulances, behind them a flat, then the wrecking crane, the tool car, and a caboose. As Rafferty was piling his men into the train, Holman raced across the tracks to the station. On the platform the doctors, hastily summoned, were crowded around Carleton. Holman stopped beside them. “We’re all ready, Carleton,” he announced; then to the others: “You fellows had better get aboard; we’ll be off as soon as we get the track.”
“Spence will have the line clear in a minute,” said Carleton, as the doctors started for the coaches. “I’m sending a dispatcher up with you; he can tap in on the wires. How many men did you scrape up?”
“The regular crew.”
“And Rafferty?”
“He’s going along.”
“I don’t know how you did it, and there’s no time for explanations now; but I think, Holman, you’d better leave Rafferty behind.”
“And have the whole crew quit, too? It’s no use, Carleton, he’s got to go. That’s all there is to it.”
Carleton shook his head doubtfully. “I don’t like the idea of you two getting up there together. There’s no need of you going, and you’d better not go. You don’t know the man; if you think he’ll forget——”
“You’re wrong, I do. I told you so before; anyway, it’s too late now—we’re off. Here’s Spence with the orders.”
Before Carleton could reply, Holman had grabbed the tissue and was running for the train. As he swung himself into the cab of the engine and handed Hurley, the driver, his orders, Rafferty climbed in from the other side.
At sight of Holman, Rafferty hesitated and half turned around in the gangway to go back to the caboose; but Holman reached out and caught his arm.
“Stay where you are, Rafferty,” he said quietly. And during the nerve-racking thirty-mile run to Eagle Pass no other words passed between them. Sometimes in the mad slur103 of the locomotive as she hit the tangents their bodies touched; that was all.
Holman, by virtue104 of railroad etiquette105, had climbed to the fireman’s seat and once or twice he had glanced around at the great bulk of the man behind him, at the grim, set features, at the eyes that would not meet his, and wondered at his own temerity in inviting106 a physical encounter. And what good had it done? Was Carleton right after all? Perhaps. And yet behind the stubbornness, the self-will, the purely107 physical, there must be the other side of the man. If he could only reach it—only touch it. He had touched it. His appeal for the injured.
Hurley was eating up the miles as only a man at the throttle108 of a wrecker with clear rights could do it. A long scream from the whistle that echoed through the mountains above the pounding, deafening109 rush of the train brought Holman back to his immediate110 surroundings. Another minute and they had swung round the curve and thundered over the trestle that made the approach to the Pass.
Half a mile ahead of them up the track they saw the horror. Hurley latched111 in his throttle and began to check. As the brake-shoes bit into the tires, Holman slipped off his seat and faced Rafferty. There was a curious look in the other’s eyes, and Holman understood. Understood that here Rafferty was his master—and knew it. So this was the meaning of it. This was how he had touched the other’s better nature! Rafferty had cunningly seized the opportunity of placing him at an even greater disadvantage than before. For an instant he hesitated as he bit his lip, then he canceled the personal equation. “Go ahead, Rafferty,” he said quietly, answering the unspoken challenge, “you’re better up in this sort of thing than I am. You’re in charge.”
And Rafferty without a word swung himself from the cab.
To Holman the first five minutes was unnerving. It was his first bad wreck. Down East it had never been his province to go out with the crew—nor was it here, he reflected grimly, and at that moment was grateful for the veteran Rafferty. It was like some hideous112 nightmare to him. All along the line of burning wreckage113 lay the dead, their silence the more awful by contrast with the shrieks114 and cries of the wounded still imprisoned115 in the wreck. And then the feeling passed and he worked—worked like a madman.
Once a woman had caught his arm and, sobbing116, dragged him toward the stateroom end of one of the Pullmans. Through the smoke and scorching117 heat of the flames he had fought his way in, then back with the child. The woman had thrown her arms hysterically118 around his neck.
It was all a mad, furious turmoil119, and he gloried in it. The crunch120 of the ax through glass and woodwork, the wild rush into the heart of things to stagger back blinded and choked with his helpless burden. The fierce joy if life still lingered; the tender reverence121 if life were gone.
Up the track toward the engine there was a crash and a chorus of excited cries. He rushed in that direction. A half-dozen of the wrecking crew were grouped around the forward baggage-car. As Holman reached them, disheveled, clothes torn and scorched122, face blackened with smoke and daubed with blood where glass and splinters had cut him, the men drew back aghast, staring white-faced.
“By God!” one cried. “It’s him!”
“Of course it’s me! Are you crazy? What’s the matter with you?”
The man pointed to the blazing car. “Some one said you was in there, and he went in after you just before she crumpled123 up.”
“Who?” Holman shouted.
“Rafferty.”
Holman made a dash for the car. The men held him back. “Don’t try it, sir; it’s too late to do any good.”
He shook them off, and with his arms crossed in front of his head to protect his face he half stumbled, half fell through the opening that had once been a door. The car was half over on its side. The trunks, dashed into a heap on top of each other when the car had left the track, were all that supported the burning roof timbers. Between the trunks and the edge of the car there was a little space with the floor at an angle of forty-five degrees, and along this, head down, Holman crawled blindly. The floor was already beginning to smolder124, the metal-bound edges of the trunks blistered125 his hands as he touched them. His senses reeled, but on and on he crawled, and in his mind over and over again the one thought: “Rafferty! My God, Rafferty!”
Then his hands touched something soft, and slowly, painfully, inch by inch, he struggled back dragging Rafferty after him. Somehow he reached the door, then a confused jumble126 of noises and nothing more until he returned to consciousness, and to the knowledge that he was back in his room at Big Cloud with the almond-eyed factotum127 in attendance.
“Belly much better? Likee eat?” inquired that individual solicitously128.
Holman grinned in spite of the pain. “No,” he answered; then as he closed his eyes again he muttered: “Tell Carleton I was right.”
And he was, for two days afterward Rafferty publicly abdicated129. He gathered the men in the fitting-shop and mounted to the cab of an engine jacked halfway130 up to the ceiling as before, only on this occasion it was at noon hour and not in the company’s time. His words were few and to the point, delivered with a force and eloquence131 that was all his own:
“I sed he was a damned pink-faced dude, so I did. Well, I take ut back, d’ye moind? An’ fwhat’s more, I’ll flatten132 the face av any man fwhat sez I iver sed ut!”
点击
收听单词发音
收听单词发音 |
1
qualified
|
|
| adj.合格的，有资格的，胜任的，有限制的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
stint
|
|
| v.节省，限制，停止；n.舍不得化，节约，限制；连续不断的一段时间从事某件事 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
technically
|
|
| adv.专门地，技术上地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
severely
|
|
| adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
irritably
|
|
| ad.易生气地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
burrowed
|
|
| v.挖掘（洞穴），挖洞( burrow的过去式和过去分词 )；翻寻 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
brass
|
|
| n.黄铜；黄铜器，铜管乐器 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
temerity
|
|
| n.鲁莽，冒失 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
superintendent
|
|
| n.监督人，主管，总监；(英国)警务长 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
tattoo
|
|
| n.纹身，(皮肤上的)刺花纹；vt.刺花纹于 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
scowl
|
|
| vi.(at)生气地皱眉，沉下脸，怒视；n.怒容 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
grunted
|
|
| （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 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
proprietorship
|
|
| n.所有（权）；所有权 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
vice
|
|
| n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
smoothly
|
|
| adv.平滑地，顺利地，流利地，流畅地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
din
|
|
| n.喧闹声，嘈杂声 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
strings
|
|
| n.弦 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
rambling
|
|
| adj.[建]凌乱的，杂乱的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
monotonously
|
|
| adv.单调地，无变化地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
westward
|
|
| n.西方，西部；adj.西方的，向西的；adv.向西 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
wrenched
|
|
| v.（猛力地）扭( wrench的过去式和过去分词 )；扭伤；使感到痛苦；使悲痛 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
cursory
|
|
| adj.粗略的；草率的；匆促的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
picturesque
|
|
| adj.美丽如画的，（语言）生动的，绘声绘色的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
dispelled
|
|
| v.驱散，赶跑( dispel的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
adorned
|
|
| [计]被修饰的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
interspersed
|
|
| adj.[医]散开的；点缀的v.intersperse的过去式和过去分词 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
27
inquiry
|
|
| n.打听，询问，调查，查问 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
28
proffered
|
|
| v.提供，贡献，提出( proffer的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
29
credentials
|
|
| n.证明，资格，证明书，证件 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
30
battered
|
|
| adj.磨损的；v.连续猛击；磨损 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
31
pointed
|
|
| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
32
fixtures
|
|
| （房屋等的）固定装置( fixture的名词复数 )； 如（浴盆、抽水马桶）； 固定在某位置的人或物； （定期定点举行的）体育活动 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
33
persuasive
|
|
| adj.有说服力的，能说得使人相信的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
34
liar
|
|
| n.说谎的人 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
35
bluff
|
|
| v.虚张声势，用假象骗人；n.虚张声势，欺骗 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
36
heartiness
|
|
| 诚实，热心 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
37
contagious
|
|
| adj.传染性的，有感染力的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
38
impulsively
|
|
| adv.冲动地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
39
creased
|
|
| （使…）起折痕，弄皱( crease的过去式和过去分词 )； （皮肤）皱起，使起皱纹； 皱皱巴巴 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
40
judgment
|
|
| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
41
exclamation
|
|
| n.感叹号，惊呼，惊叹词 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
42
fiat
|
|
| n.命令，法令，批准；vt.批准，颁布 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
43
forth
|
|
| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
44
lathes
|
|
| 车床( lathe的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
45
concurrence
|
|
| n.同意；并发 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
46
wielding
|
|
| 手持着使用（武器、工具等）( wield的现在分词 )； 具有； 运用（权力）； 施加（影响） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
47
sledges
|
|
| n.雪橇，雪车( sledge的名词复数 )v.乘雪橇( sledge的第三人称单数 )；用雪橇运载 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
48
unanimity
|
|
| n.全体一致，一致同意 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
49
clattering
|
|
| 发出咔哒声（clatter的现在分词形式） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
50
entirely
|
|
| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
51
hostility
|
|
| n.敌对，敌意；抵制［pl.］交战，战争 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
52
evaded
|
|
| 逃避( evade的过去式和过去分词 )； 避开； 回避； 想不出 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
53
scrutinize
|
|
| n.详细检查，细读 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
54
countenance
|
|
| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
55
tinge
|
|
| vt.(较淡)着色于，染色；使带有…气息；n.淡淡色彩，些微的气息 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
56
accusation
|
|
| n.控告，指责，谴责 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
57
hesitation
|
|
| n.犹豫，踌躇 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
58
lone
|
|
| adj.孤寂的，单独的；唯一的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
59
interfered
|
|
| v.干预( interfere的过去式和过去分词 )；调停；妨碍；干涉 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
60
labor
|
|
| 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 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
61
underneath
|
|
| adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
62
deferential
|
|
| adj. 敬意的，恭敬的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
63
spoke
|
|
| 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 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
64
revolve
|
|
| vi.(使)旋转；循环出现 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
65
amplified
|
|
| 放大，扩大( amplify的过去式和过去分词 )； 增强； 详述 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
66
curiously
|
|
| adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
67
standing
|
|
| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
68
sneered
|
|
| 讥笑，冷笑( sneer的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
69
discrediting
|
|
| 使不相信( discredit的现在分词 )； 使怀疑； 败坏…的名声； 拒绝相信 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
70
arraignment
|
|
| n.提问，传讯，责难 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
71
hips
|
|
| abbr.high impact polystyrene 高冲击强度聚苯乙烯，耐冲性聚苯乙烯n.臀部( hip的名词复数 )；[建筑学]屋脊；臀围（尺寸）；臀部…的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
72
scowling
|
|
| 怒视，生气地皱眉( scowl的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
73
belligerently
|
|
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
74
sprawling
|
|
| adj.蔓生的，不规则地伸展的v.伸开四肢坐[躺]( sprawl的现在分词 )；蔓延；杂乱无序地拓展；四肢伸展坐着（或躺着） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
75
bunk
|
|
| n.(车、船等倚壁而设的)铺位；废话 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
76
savagely
|
|
| adv. 野蛮地，残酷地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
77
dealing
|
|
| n.经商方法，待人态度 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
78
bully
|
|
| n.恃强欺弱者，小流氓；vt.威胁，欺侮 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
79
mere
|
|
| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
80
judicially
|
|
| 依法判决地，公平地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
81
grit
|
|
| n.沙粒，决心，勇气；v.下定决心，咬紧牙关 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
82
afterward
|
|
| adv.后来；以后 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
83
vindictive
|
|
| adj.有报仇心的，怀恨的，惩罚的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
84
tilted
|
|
| v. 倾斜的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
85
grievance
|
|
| n.怨愤，气恼，委屈 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
86
mumbled
|
|
| 含糊地说某事，叽咕，咕哝( mumble的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
87
disturbance
|
|
| n.动乱，骚动；打扰，干扰；(身心)失调 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
88
grouch
|
|
| n.牢骚，不满；v.抱怨 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
89
partisan
|
|
| adj.党派性的；游击队的；n.游击队员；党徒 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
90
mighty
|
|
| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
91
doggedly
|
|
| adv.顽强地，固执地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
92
bent
|
|
| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
93
scribbling
|
|
| n.乱涂[写]胡[乱]写的文章[作品]v.潦草的书写( scribble的现在分词 )；乱画；草草地写；匆匆记下 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
94
wrecked
|
|
| adj.失事的，遇难的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
95
wreck
|
|
| n.失事，遇难；沉船；vt.(船等)失事，遇难 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
96
snarl
|
|
| v.吼叫，怒骂，纠缠，混乱；n.混乱，缠结，咆哮 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
97
perch
|
|
| n.栖木，高位，杆；v.栖息，就位，位于 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
98
ominous
|
|
| adj.不祥的，不吉的，预兆的，预示的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
99
wrecking
|
|
| 破坏 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
100
growl
|
|
| v.（狗等）嗥叫，（炮等）轰鸣；n.嗥叫，轰鸣 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
101
heed
|
|
| v.注意，留意；n.注意，留心 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
102
beavers
|
|
| 海狸( beaver的名词复数 )； 海狸皮毛； 棕灰色； 拼命工作的人 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
103
slur
|
|
| v.含糊地说；诋毁；连唱；n.诋毁；含糊的发音 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
104
virtue
|
|
| n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
105
etiquette
|
|
| n.礼仪，礼节；规矩 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
106
inviting
|
|
| adj.诱人的，引人注目的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
107
purely
|
|
| adv.纯粹地，完全地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
108
throttle
|
|
| n.节流阀，节气阀，喉咙；v.扼喉咙，使窒息，压 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
109
deafening
|
|
| adj. 振耳欲聋的, 极喧闹的 动词deafen的现在分词形式 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
110
immediate
|
|
| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
111
latched
|
|
| v.理解( latch的过去式和过去分词 )；纠缠；用碰锁锁上（门等）；附着（在某物上） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
112
hideous
|
|
| adj.丑陋的，可憎的，可怕的，恐怖的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
113
wreckage
|
|
| n.（失事飞机等的）残骸，破坏，毁坏 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
114
shrieks
|
|
| n.尖叫声( shriek的名词复数 )v.尖叫( shriek的第三人称单数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
115
imprisoned
|
|
| 下狱，监禁( imprison的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
116
sobbing
|
|
| <主方>Ⅰ adj.湿透的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
117
scorching
|
|
| adj. 灼热的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
118
hysterically
|
|
| ad. 歇斯底里地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
119
turmoil
|
|
| n.骚乱，混乱，动乱 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
120
crunch
|
|
| n.关键时刻；艰难局面；v.发出碎裂声 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
121
reverence
|
|
| n.敬畏，尊敬，尊严；Reverence:对某些基督教神职人员的尊称；v.尊敬，敬畏，崇敬 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
122
scorched
|
|
| 烧焦，烤焦( scorch的过去式和过去分词 )； 使（植物）枯萎，把…晒枯； 高速行驶； 枯焦 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
123
crumpled
|
|
| adj. 弯扭的, 变皱的 动词crumple的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
124
smolder
|
|
| v.无火焰地闷烧；n.焖烧，文火 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
125
blistered
|
|
| 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 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
126
jumble
|
|
| vt.使混乱，混杂；n.混乱；杂乱的一堆 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
127
factotum
|
|
| n.杂役；听差 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
128
solicitously
|
|
| adv.热心地，热切地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
129
abdicated
|
|
| 放弃（职责、权力等）( abdicate的过去式和过去分词 )； 退位，逊位 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
130
halfway
|
|
| adj.中途的，不彻底的，部分的；adv.半路地，在中途，在半途 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
131
eloquence
|
|
| n.雄辩；口才，修辞 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
132
flatten
|
|
| v.把．．．弄平，使倒伏；使(漆等)失去光泽 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |