On reaching the pool, the otter entered the water with the cubs at her side, dived, and drove the trout15 to the shelter of the banks. Thereupon the cubs, who saw where the fish had fled, fell to drawing the hovers17, thrusting their flat heads into hole and crevice18 as far as they could reach. But the trout had found secure recesses19, and though a few felt the lips of the otters20, they could not be seized, and all but one escaped. In the pool at the bend, however, where the bank, hollowed though it is, affords poor shelter, three were taken. Then the captors, two on the gravel21, the other on a mid-stream boulder22, lay at full length and ate their prey, munching23 ravenously25. The otter seemed to have set aside her fears since reaching the moor4, for never once did she trouble to listen or even to scan the sable26 waste around her. All her thoughts were for the cubs, whom she led from pool to pool, aiding them until they began to fish for themselves; then she stood aside and watched them. Trout after trout they caught and devoured27 along the winding28 reaches leading to the long, sullen29 pool in the midst of the moor, where the mother, elated by their success, joined merrily in their gambols30, which were kept up until past the usual hovering31-time.
Day was on them when they landed and sought the most inviting32 couches the bank offered. First the cubs wormed themselves out of sight, then the otter; and so effectually were all three concealed33 amongst the rocks and heather that a kestrel, hovering over the spot, failed to get a glimpse of their brown forms, and flew on without a suspicion of their presence. Nevertheless, the open bank, though it had a marshy34 tract36 on one side and a deep pool on the other, was an insecure lodging37, so that it was only because the moorland afforded no better that they returned thither38 on the morrow. After that the otter, jealous for the cubs’ safety, made some five miles downstream, where the holts amongst the roots of withy and alder39 were strong and sheltered from the rain that had rendered the upland hovers so uncomfortable on the second day. It is true the trout were scarce, but this mattered little to the otters, for eels40, their favourite prey, were abundant. Amongst them was a very large one which, on being gripped by the male cub2, coiled itself round his neck and threatened to strangle him. In this predicament the otter, after a short struggle, made for the bank and rolled amongst the fern and bramble to free himself of his antagonist42. Finding this of no avail, he shifted his grip to a point nearer the head and, using the terrible force of his jaws43, broke the back of the eel41, and so got rid of it. This fish had been captured in the shallows, but for the most part the eels were only to be had by turning over the big stones under which they darted44 at sight of their pursuers. The young otters eagerly joined their mother in dislodging their prey and catching45 them when they bolted. The swiftness of the animals in this pursuit was amazing, and no less so the quick turning movements in which rudder and fore-paw were both brought into play. Indeed the long, lissom46, tapering47 creatures resembled huge eels, and might have been mistaken for eels but for the bubbles which rose to the surface and marked their course.
The otters kept to this part of the stream for nearly a week—that is, until the freshet which had caused the run of eels subsided48, and rendered a change of quarters necessary. They then betook themselves to the main tributary on the opposite bank, three miles above the morass; but finding that some other otters had disturbed the water in front, they pressed on, and at length came up with them where the stream winds sluggishly49 through a swampy50 bottom. Two were fishing in the stream, the rest in the marsh35; but presently the whole party came into view, and as they trotted51 along the bank were seen to be four well-grown cubs with their dam, old and slightly grizzled. They all went on in company, but as day approached drew only the best pools, and gave up fishing altogether after striking the trail of the moorman who had forded the stream at sundown. Indeed on finding the dreaded52 taint53 of man there was quite a stir amongst them, especially amongst the cubs, who kept close alongside their mothers, and wondered where harbourage was to be found on the seemingly bare upland to which they were being led. At length the scared creatures sighted the weedy lakelet where the stream rises and, just as the rim54 of the sun showed gained the shelter of the reeds that fringed it.
The day proved intensely hot and still, with not a breath to ripple55 the surface or freshen the stifling56 air of the brake where the otters lay panting until dusk fell and allowed them to quench57 their tormenting58 thirst without fear of detection. Then, leaving their quarters, the two families travelled together till, after crossing two naked hills, they came to a rushy flat, lined with sour watercourses, where the trail forked, and there they parted company.
The otter was bound for the head-waters of the tributary nearest the source of the river, and soon after midnight reached the boggy59 gathering60 ground with its network of runnels and chain of pools in which she and the cubs fished until the stars began to pale. Then the hunters in single file made along the slender stream for the basin below the fall, sporting together till the sun rose over the distant sea and flooded the upland with its beams. The otter, usually observant of the first signs of dawn, seemed not to heed61 the golden light, even when the cubs began to grow uneasy and to shoot reproachful glances at her for keeping them abroad at so late an hour. But she needed not to be reminded of her duty. She knew they ran no risk in that untrodden spot; indeed on leaving the pool she stood on the bank to gaze across the dew-spangled waste and then at the gilded62 crags of Lone63 Tarn64, before at length withdrawing to a clitter some half-mile down the stream.
There the dark recesses of the pile of rocks proved a welcome retreat to the cubs, and with the music of the waters for a lullaby they soon fell asleep. They hovered65 there again on the morrow; after which they continued on their journey laying up under the bank of the wide pool where the stream joins the river.
At setting-out time the otter seemed half-minded to follow the river to its source, for she kept looking towards the lone hill where it rises; but presently—the lowness of the water probably weighing with her—she decided66 to go downstream, summoned her cubs and trotted across the bend to the head of the long rapids, where they entered the water and drifted with the current. At dawn they sought a rabbit-burrow on the river-bank so near the woods that the cubs, who lay by the mouth of one of the holes, could hear the pigeons cooing. The retreat was safe and very dry, and would have left little to desire if the rabbits had taken no notice. But the timid creatures, thoroughly67 alarmed at the presence of the otters, stamped almost without intermission and prevented their uninvited guests from sleeping. At noon the otter, annoyed beyond endurance, rose and chased the rabbits along the tunnels; but this only made them worse. After that the drumming was kept up in every level, and made the visitors long for night. So at early dusk, after another raid on the persecutors, the otters slid down the bank into the water and let the stream take them along reach after reach until they were far into the wood. All the way they never ceased to scan the banks; they seemed to suspect an enemy behind every tree, but surely without sufficient cause. At one spot the green eyes of a fox watched them as they passed, otherwise they floated along unnoticed save by the bats flitting up and down the dark spaces beneath the overhanging boughs68. On reaching the fallen pine they began to fish, and so continued all the way to the salmon69 pool, where they sported till dawn drove them again to the morass.
During the weeks that followed they kept to the neighbourhood of the old nursery, lying up for the most part under rocks and tree-roots at the water’s edge, but occasionally in the morass itself. It was whilst couching there that the otter, alarmed by the continued fall of the river and the exposure of the mouths of the strongest hovers, suddenly resolved to make for the tidal waters, whose holts are unaffected by droughts, and where she could teach the cubs many new lessons. She first thought of going down the river to the estuary70, but changed her plans almost at the last moment and determined71 to make for a creek72 where she had had good fishing with her mate, the father of the cubs. The destination was two good marches distant, but she knew a stronghold by the way where they could lodge73, and from which they could easily reach the creek on the following night.
In her anxiety to gain this refuge before dawn, she left her couch in the reed-bed at early dusk and, full of her purpose, made for the old hover16 where the cubs always slept when in the morass. Hearing the faint rustle74 of the herbage as she approached, the quick-eared creatures left the nest, and when she came up, fell into their place at her side. Leading past the pool to the river, she crossed it and headed towards the woodman’s cottage. The rapid pace at which the animals travelled soon brought them within sight of the low, thatched building beneath its sheltering oak, but as nothing stirred they passed close to the garden fence and into the gloom of the pines beyond.
A happier little band of nomads75 could not be found than the otter and her cubs, quite unsuspicious of danger, though they were running straight into its jaws. At a sudden turn of the mossy track where rocks contract the way they came face to face with Venom76, the woodman’s terrier. Venom was returning from a badgers77’ sett which he visited whenever he could slip away unobserved, and his begrimed and bloodstained condition told how severe had been the fray78 between him and one of the badgers. He looked a woebegone mongrel as he limped along on three legs; but the instant he found himself face to face with the strangers he forgot his fatigue79 and flew at the otter’s throat with a fury that threatened to make short work of her. He soon discovered, however, that he had caught a Tartar. The shaking he gave her had little other result than further to exhaust himself, while the otter began punishing him about the face and shoulders, making her teeth meet at every bite. Besides inflicting80 severe wounds, she was actually pushing the dog back, and after a prolonged tussle81 was clear of the rocks and close to a fallen tree from which the terrified cubs were watching the fray. Another scrimmage here took place, even longer and fiercer than the first: then the dog hesitated to renew the fight and stood on the defensive82. Thereupon the otter, whose one thought was escape, joined the cubs and made off. The sight of their retreat was, however, more than Venom could stand, and they had scarcely disappeared before he was in pursuit. On overtaking them, he laid hold of the male cub, probably mistaking him for his mother. With a viciousness that belied83 his cubhood, the young dog-otter closed with his first assailant, and would have made a brave fight had he been allowed to conduct it alone. But he was not. Like a tiger the mother fell on the terrier, and it looked as if the dog would be cut to pieces. His one thought, however, was to destroy the vermin, and instead of drawing off as he might have done at the foot of the steep slope, down which they fell rather than rolled, he actually closed again, fought to the edge of the pool there, even held on to the otter when she dived, and kept his hold until his lungs were exhausted84. Then he let go, but on coming to the surface he did not make for the bank. He swam round and round, looking for his enemy, and only when he had lost hope of viewing her again did he land at last. On being freed from his grip, the otter had made her way close along the bottom to the upper end of the pool, where the cubs were waiting for her among some rushes. From their shelter mother and cubs now watched the movements of their puzzled foe85, who began examining the banks of the pool. When he came near, they sank almost out of sight, their nostrils86 alone showing, and so remained until he had time to pass; then the otter raised her head to reconnoitre. Once as she did so she found the terrier standing87 within a few yards, but looking so intently in another direction that he failed to sight her; whereupon she sank again as noiselessly as she had risen, not leaving even her nostrils exposed. A score of times, at least, did the dog make the circuit of the pool; and had he been able to scent88 the otter—a thing which but few dogs can do—he must at least have driven them from their shelter, and possibly from the pool, for it was very small. Yet, insensible though he was to the scent, he was so convinced the animals were there that, after departing, he actually came back and looked again before taking himself off for good and leaving the otters free to resume their interrupted march.
For three hours they had been detained, and now, hurry as they might, it was impossible to reach the cairn before daybreak. Indeed, they were yet two miles away when the ridges89 above them were touched by the risen sun. To add to their troubles a magpie90 espied91 them, and though they were strange to him as to the terrier, he knew they were nightlings with no right to be abroad after sunrise, and mobbed them as he would have mobbed a leash92 of foxes. Under the brambles and osmunda ferns they were hidden from the pest, but in the open he had them at his mercy and, now fluttering just beyond their reach, now hopping93 from branch to branch of rowan or alder or wild-cherry, he annoyed them with impunity94. At last they came to the foot of the slope at the head of the ravine threaded the furze as fast as their pads could carry them, reached the pile of rocks, and one by one disappeared through the narrow crevice near its base. The magpie, however, instead of flying off, perched on the pinnacle95 of the cairn and, with his head knowingly cocked on one side, watched for their reappearance. Long, long he waited, but as the creatures made no sign, he tired, took wing, flew down the ravine past the precipice96 where the ravens97 had their nest, and regained98 the wood of which he was so vigilant99 a sentinel.
The persecuted100 beasts soon forgot the magpie, but the terrier had left a deeper memory, and all three were long in falling asleep. The otter, indeed, was still awake at noon, when a weasel threaded the way to the heart of the cairn, and, poking101 his snake-like head round the angle of rock, saw the curled-up forms of the animals whose scent had drawn102 him thither. But a single peep satisfied his curiosity, and he went out into the blazing sunlight, fragrant103 with the perfume of the furze. Then the mother otter slept like the cubs.
The ravine was weird104 with the shades of night, raven24 and magpie were asleep, when the nomads left the cairn and took to the trail. Like three shadows they stole over the crest105 above and entered the covert106. In the silence of that still, sultry night they might have been heard forcing a way where the furze was densest107, and presently they emerged from the lower edge, and, traversing a strip of open ground where a rabbit was feeding, came to a stream. This they crossed by springing from rock to rock, the otter first and the male cub last. In the same order they threaded the oak coppice that clad the opposite steep, and made their way over the craggy summit that crowned it. And so they passed stream after stream, surmounted108 ridge6 after ridge of the wild watershed109, and gained the outlying spur where the cultivated lowland lay before them. It looked like a sombre, blurred110 plain unrelieved by water, until the moon rode clear of the clouds and revealed the winding reaches of the tidal creek for which they were bound. Their destination was yet a good way off, but as the going was now very easy the tireless creatures covered the fields at a swinging pace. The pastures seemed strange to the cubs; stranger still the sheep and cattle, asleep at such an hour without a bush to hide them; but leaving them lying there, the otters kept straight on. A homestead rose almost across their trail; the trail, however, had been traced ages before the buildings were raised or even the land was broken, and though disturbed by spade and plough a thousand times, it was still the otters’ way, so mother and cubs kept to it faithfully, past the snow-white hawthorns111 and into the rickyard, where they stayed to roll and dry their coats, wet from the mowing-grass. The stamping of a horse’s feet sent them off before they had finished; but what alarmed them much more was a scarecrow in a top-hat standing amongst the growing corn. The suspicious creatures gave a wide berth112 to this horror, and kept looking back to see whether it was following, until presently they caught the scent of water; then they never gave it another thought.
In their eagerness to reach the fishing-ground they increased their pace across the three enclosures that separated them from it; but at the sight of the smooth, broad creek the cubs stood and gazed, till a call from their mother reminded them there was no time to be lost. So they made down the bank and over the beach to join her on the rocky foreland, round which the current was eddying113. Together they dived and scoured114 the sandy bed in search of prey. In her anxiety to secure supper, the otter soon got separated from the cubs, who, through inexperience, wasted their efforts in vain pursuit of the bass115 instead of questing for the flat-fish that were to be had for the finding. In the end they tired without having obtained a meal. The last time they landed they were near the wooded island where the herons build, a long way from the point where they took to the tide, and it was whilst lapping the water of a runnel there that they heard their mother’s call from far down the creek. At once they hurried along the strand116, answering as they ran, and even after they had taken to the flood they repeated their shrill117 whistlings until they reached her side. To their delight, a big flat-fish lay at her feet, its white underside uppermost. The smell of the prey, strange though it was, so pleased them that their nostrils twitched118 with anticipation119. Indeed, the flounder was an appetizing morsel120 for creatures sated with eels and trout, and soon all three were busy devouring121 it. They were not long over the feast, but they had scarcely finished when the grey light stealing across the creek drove them to a cave in the overgrown bank.
This was not a hover suddenly chanced on, but a much-frequented place of call that the otter intended making for when she left the cairn. The dank vault122 had been occupied the day before, as was evident from the dry place on the slab123, but it was untenanted then, save by a few bats hanging from the low roof, and it afforded the new-comers the accommodation they required. The mother chose the ledge124 close to the landing-place, whilst the cubs scrambled125 to a shelf above, along the rude way worn in the slaty126 wall by generations of their tribe. Before curling up for the day, the otters, as was their wont127, teased with their claws every bit of under-fur, and removed the thorns and furze-spines about which it had matted. Then, liking128 the taste of the salt water, they licked themselves until their glossy129 coats were as smooth as satin. As soon as their toilet was finished they settled down to sleep, and so soft was their breathing, so thoroughly did their dark pelt130 harmonize with its surroundings, that there was nothing to betray their presence except eyes which glowed in the sombre light until the lids closed and hid their amber131 fires.
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1
cubs
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| n.幼小的兽，不懂规矩的年轻人( cub的名词复数 ) | |
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cub
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| n.幼兽，年轻无经验的人 | |
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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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moor
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| n.荒野，沼泽；vt.(使)停泊；vi.停泊 | |
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tributary
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| n.支流；纳贡国；adj.附庸的；辅助的；支流的 | |
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ridge
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| n.山脊；鼻梁；分水岭 | |
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morass
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| n.沼泽，困境 | |
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otter
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| n.水獭 | |
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margin
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| n.页边空白；差额；余地，余裕；边，边缘 | |
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puddles
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| n.水坑， （尤指道路上的）雨水坑( puddle的名词复数 ) | |
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abreast
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| adv.并排地；跟上(时代)的步伐，与…并进地 | |
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murmur
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| n.低语，低声的怨言；v.低语，低声而言 | |
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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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cascade
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| n.小瀑布，喷流；层叠；vi.成瀑布落下 | |
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trout
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| n.鳟鱼；鲑鱼(属) | |
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hover
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| vi.翱翔，盘旋；徘徊；彷徨，犹豫 | |
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hovers
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| 鸟( hover的第三人称单数 )； 靠近（某事物）； （人）徘徊； 犹豫 | |
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crevice
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| n.(岩石、墙等)裂缝；缺口 | |
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recesses
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| n.壁凹( recess的名词复数 )；（工作或业务活动的）中止或暂停期间；学校的课间休息；某物内部的凹形空间v.把某物放在墙壁的凹处( recess的第三人称单数 )；将（墙）做成凹形，在（墙）上做壁龛；休息，休会，休庭 | |
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otters
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| n.（水）獭( otter的名词复数 )；獭皮 | |
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gravel
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| n.砂跞；砂砾层；结石 | |
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boulder
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| n.巨砾；卵石，圆石 | |
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munching
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| v.用力咀嚼（某物），大嚼( munch的现在分词 ) | |
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raven
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| n.渡鸟，乌鸦；adj.乌亮的 | |
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ravenously
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| adv.大嚼地，饥饿地 | |
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sable
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| n.黑貂；adj.黑色的 | |
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devoured
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| 吞没( devour的过去式和过去分词 )； 耗尽； 津津有味地看； 狼吞虎咽地吃光 | |
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winding
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| n.绕，缠，绕组，线圈 | |
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sullen
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| adj.愠怒的，闷闷不乐的，(天气等)阴沉的 | |
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gambols
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| v.蹦跳，跳跃，嬉戏( gambol的第三人称单数 ) | |
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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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inviting
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| adj.诱人的，引人注目的 | |
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concealed
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| a.隐藏的，隐蔽的 | |
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marshy
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| adj.沼泽的 | |
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marsh
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| n.沼泽，湿地 | |
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tract
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| n.传单，小册子，大片(土地或森林) | |
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lodging
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| n.寄宿，住所；(大学生的)校外宿舍 | |
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thither
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| adv.向那里；adj.在那边的，对岸的 | |
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alder
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| n.赤杨树 | |
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40
eels
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| abbr. 电子发射器定位系统（=electronic emitter location system） | |
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eel
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| n.鳗鲡 | |
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antagonist
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| n.敌人，对抗者，对手 | |
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jaws
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| n.口部；嘴 | |
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44
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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45
catching
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| adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住 | |
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lissom
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| adj.柔软的，轻快而优雅的 | |
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tapering
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| adj.尖端细的 | |
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subsided
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| v.（土地）下陷（因在地下采矿）( subside的过去式和过去分词 )；减弱；下降至较低或正常水平；一下子坐在椅子等上 | |
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sluggishly
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| adv.懒惰地；缓慢地 | |
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swampy
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| adj.沼泽的，湿地的 | |
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51
trotted
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| 小跑，急走( trot的过去分词 )； 匆匆忙忙地走 | |
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dreaded
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| adj.令人畏惧的；害怕的v.害怕，恐惧，担心( dread的过去式和过去分词) | |
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53
taint
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| n.污点；感染；腐坏；v.使感染；污染 | |
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54
rim
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| n.(圆物的)边，轮缘；边界 | |
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55
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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56
stifling
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| a.令人窒息的 | |
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57
quench
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| vt.熄灭，扑灭；压制 | |
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58
tormenting
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| 使痛苦的，使苦恼的 | |
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59
boggy
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| adj.沼泽多的 | |
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60
gathering
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| n.集会，聚会，聚集 | |
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61
heed
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| v.注意，留意；n.注意，留心 | |
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62
gilded
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| a.镀金的，富有的 | |
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63
lone
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| adj.孤寂的，单独的；唯一的 | |
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64
tarn
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| n.山中的小湖或小潭 | |
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65
hovered
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| 鸟( hover的过去式和过去分词 )； 靠近（某事物）； （人）徘徊； 犹豫 | |
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66
decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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67
thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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68
boughs
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| 大树枝( bough的名词复数 ) | |
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69
salmon
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| n.鲑，大马哈鱼，橙红色的 | |
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70
estuary
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| n.河口，江口 | |
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71
determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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72
creek
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| n.小溪，小河，小湾 | |
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73
lodge
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| v.临时住宿，寄宿，寄存，容纳；n.传达室，小旅馆 | |
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74
rustle
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| v.沙沙作响；偷盗(牛、马等)；n.沙沙声声 | |
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75
nomads
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| n.游牧部落的一员( nomad的名词复数 )；流浪者；游牧生活；流浪生活 | |
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76
venom
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| n.毒液，恶毒，痛恨 | |
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77
badgers
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| n.獾( badger的名词复数 )；獾皮；（大写）獾州人（美国威斯康星州人的别称）；毛鼻袋熊 | |
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78
fray
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| v.争吵；打斗；磨损，磨破；n.吵架；打斗 | |
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79
fatigue
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| n.疲劳，劳累 | |
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80
inflicting
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| 把…强加给，使承受，遭受( inflict的现在分词 ) | |
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81
tussle
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| n.&v.扭打，搏斗，争辩 | |
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82
defensive
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| adj.防御的；防卫的；防守的 | |
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83
belied
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| v.掩饰( belie的过去式和过去分词 )；证明（或显示）…为虚假；辜负；就…扯谎 | |
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84
exhausted
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| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
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85
foe
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| n.敌人，仇敌 | |
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86
nostrils
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| 鼻孔( nostril的名词复数 ) | |
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87
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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88
scent
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| n.气味，香味，香水，线索，嗅觉；v.嗅，发觉 | |
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89
ridges
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| n.脊( ridge的名词复数 )；山脊；脊状突起；大气层的)高压脊 | |
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90
magpie
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| n.喜欢收藏物品的人，喜鹊，饶舌者 | |
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91
espied
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| v.看到( espy的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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92
leash
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| n.牵狗的皮带，束缚；v.用皮带系住 | |
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93
hopping
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| n. 跳跃 动词hop的现在分词形式 | |
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94
impunity
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| n.(惩罚、损失、伤害等的)免除 | |
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95
pinnacle
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| n.尖塔，尖顶，山峰；(喻)顶峰 | |
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96
precipice
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| n.悬崖，危急的处境 | |
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97
ravens
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| n.低质煤；渡鸦( raven的名词复数 ) | |
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98
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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99
vigilant
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| adj.警觉的，警戒的，警惕的 | |
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100
persecuted
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| （尤指宗教或政治信仰的）迫害(~sb. for sth.)( persecute的过去式和过去分词 )； 烦扰，困扰或骚扰某人 | |
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101
poking
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| n. 刺，戳，袋 vt. 拨开，刺，戳 vi. 戳，刺，捅，搜索，伸出，行动散慢 | |
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102
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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103
fragrant
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| adj.芬香的，馥郁的，愉快的 | |
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104
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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105
crest
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| n.顶点；饰章；羽冠；vt.达到顶点；vi.形成浪尖 | |
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106
covert
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| adj.隐藏的；暗地里的 | |
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107
densest
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| 密集的( dense的最高级 )； 密度大的； 愚笨的； （信息量大得）难理解的 | |
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108
surmounted
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| 战胜( surmount的过去式和过去分词 )； 克服（困难）； 居于…之上； 在…顶上 | |
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109
watershed
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| n.转折点，分水岭，分界线 | |
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110
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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111
hawthorns
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| n.山楂树( hawthorn的名词复数 ) | |
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112
berth
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| n.卧铺，停泊地，锚位；v.使停泊 | |
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113
eddying
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| 涡流，涡流的形成 | |
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114
scoured
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| 走遍（某地）搜寻（人或物）( scour的过去式和过去分词 )； （用力）刷； 擦净； 擦亮 | |
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115
bass
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| n.男低音(歌手)；低音乐器；低音大提琴 | |
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116
strand
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| vt.使（船）搁浅，使（某人）困于（某地） | |
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117
shrill
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| adj.尖声的；刺耳的；v尖叫 | |
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118
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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119
anticipation
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| n.预期，预料，期望 | |
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120
morsel
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| n.一口，一点点 | |
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121
devouring
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| 吞没( devour的现在分词 )； 耗尽； 津津有味地看； 狼吞虎咽地吃光 | |
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122
vault
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| n.拱形圆顶，地窖，地下室 | |
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123
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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124
ledge
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| n.壁架，架状突出物；岩架，岩礁 | |
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125
scrambled
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| v.快速爬行( scramble的过去式和过去分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞 | |
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126
slaty
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| 石板一样的，石板色的 | |
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127
wont
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| adj.习惯于；v.习惯；n.习惯 | |
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128
liking
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| n.爱好；嗜好；喜欢 | |
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129
glossy
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| adj.平滑的；有光泽的 | |
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130
pelt
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| v.投掷，剥皮，抨击，开火 | |
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131
amber
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| n.琥珀；琥珀色；adj.琥珀制的 | |
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