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Chapter XXVII
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Flint House looked a picture of desolation in the chill grey day, wrapped in such silence that Charles’s cautious knock seemed to reverberate1 through the stillness around. But the knocking, repeated more loudly, aroused no human response. After waiting awhile the young man pulled the bell. From within the house a cracked and jangling tinkle2 echoed faintly, and then quivered into silence. He rang again, but there was no sound of foot or voice; no noise but the cries of the gulls3 overhead and the hoarse4 beat of the sea at the foot of the cliffs.

A cormorant5, sitting on a rock near by, twisted its thin neck to stare fearlessly at the visitor. But Charles Turold was not thinking of cormorants6. Where was Thalassa? Where was his wife? He believed they were still in Cornwall, but they might have left the house. He had been in London a long while. Not so long, though—only twelve days. Twelve days! Twelve eternities of unendurable hopelessness and loneliness, such as the damned might know. Was he to fail, now, after finding Sisily? He had a responsibility, a solemn duty. He had reached Cornwall safely from London—run the gauntlet of all the watching eyes of the police—and he would not go back without seeing Thalassa. His mind was thoroughly7 made up. He would find him, if he had to walk every inch of Cornwall in search of him. And when he found him he would wrest8 the truth out of him—yes, by God, he would! When he found him, but where was he to be found? The crafty9 old scoundrel might be in the house at that moment, lurking10 there like a wolf, perhaps grinning down at him from behind some closed window…. A sudden rage surged over him at that thought, and he fell savagely12 on the shut door, beating it with insensate fury with his fists. Damn him, he would force his way in!

The cormorant ruffled13 its greenish feathers and watched him curiously14. The faint cries of the gulls overhead seemed borne downward with a note of mocking derision. Charles Turold stepped back from the door with an uneasy look at the cormorant, as though fearing to detect in its unreflecting beadiness of glance some humanly cynical15 enjoyment16 at his loss of self-control. The wave of feeling had spent itself. Not thus was victory to be won. He paused to consider, then tried the knocker again. The knocker smote17 the wood with a hollow sound, like a stroke on the iron door of a vault18, loud enough to rouse the dead. Charles Turold had a disagreeable impression of Robert Turold starting up in his grave-clothes at the summons, listening…. But no! The dead man was safe in his grave by this time. He had forgotten that.

A sudden silence fell on the house: a deep and profound stillness, as though seas and wind had hushed their wailing19 speech to listen for the answer to the knock. The birds, too, were silent. The house remained immutably20 quiet. Charles Turold bent21 down, and peered through the keyhole, but could see nothing within but darkness. Then, as he looked, a sound reached his ears, a sound like a thin cackle of laughter from the interior of the house. In the gathering22 gloom within he had a momentary23 impression of a stealing greyish shape—a shape which vanished from his vision as he looked.

He rose to his feet, his mind groping blindly for some tangible24 explanation of this spectral25 thing, but finding none. A ghost? He shook off that feeling roughly. God knows, that house might well be haunted, but not by a ghost that could laugh, though there was no merriment in that ghastly cackle. The reality of the thing, whatever it was, could not be worse than the sound. Had he really seen anything, after all? Was there some trap about it, some danger to himself? He would have to risk that.

The distant sight of a human figure far away on the wide space of the moors27, clambering over the granite28 slabs29 of a stile, turned his thoughts to a more perceptible danger. If he could see that man more than half a mile away, his own figure must be apparent over a long distance in that clear brown expanse. Perhaps at that very moment the policeman from the churchtown was prowling about the moors in search of him. His actions at that lonely house were suspicious enough to attract anybody’s attention. That was an act of imprudence which he had no right to commit. He had not evaded30 the keen eyes of the London police to be trapped like a rat by a rural constable31. It was too dangerous for him to remain there. He determined32 to spend the rest of the day among the cliffs, and return to Flint House when night fell.

He walked away, briskly at first, but with a more laggard33 step as he plunged35 into the shelter of the great rocks, for he had had nothing to eat since the night before, and was beginning to be conscious of his weakness. But he strode on, doggedly36 enough, for more than an hour, until he found himself at a part of the coast he had not seen before—a theatre of black rocks, with dark towering walls, and a hissing37 sea whitening at the base.

At the foot of these cliffs three jagged conical rocks rose bare and glistening38, the spray from the broken sea dashing far up their sides. As Charles stood there, looking down, he saw a man appear from the edge of the furthest one and walk rapidly across the sloping shelf of rock which spanned the narrow bay near the surface of the sea. His heart leapt within him as he took in the figure of the man. It was Thalassa.

As Charles climbed down from the higher cliffs to intercept39 him, there came to his mind an imperfectly comprehended fragment of conversation which he had overheard, between waking and dozing40, in the train that morning. The voices drifted to his dulled hearing from the next compartment41, where some men seemed to be discussing somebody of whom they stood in dread42, somebody who was forever striding along the cliffs with his eyes fixed43 on some distant horizon, as though seeking some one. The object of the mysterious being’s quest, if it was a quest, nobody who met him cared to ask. So much he had gathered. He had heard one of the speakers say: “I’ve met un, ever so laate, stalkin’ aloong like th’ devil. Tes aw token o’ a bad conscience. Tes dreadful to think about. I got owt o’ his way…. I’d as soon speak to th’ devil. Iss, aw’d.” Charles had thought nothing of this chatter44 at the time, but he wondered now if they were talking of Thalassa. Did the local fisherfolk believe that he had something to do with the murder, and shunned45 him like Ishmael in consequence?

He looked like Ishmael at that moment, crossing that wild place, earnestly scanning every nook of those seamed and riven walls, sometimes glancing stealthily behind him. His preoccupation in this search—if it was a search—was so great that he never once glanced ahead, and he did not see Charles until the young man leaped down the last few paces of his slippery descent and stood plainly forth46 before him. Thalassa’s brown face did not move a muscle as he looked at him.

“Thalassa,” said Charles sternly, “I have been looking for you.”

Thalassa went on, still scanning the secret places of the towering cliffs as he walked forward with Charles beside him. When the rugged47 passage was crossed, and the narrow wild bay left behind, he spoke48.

“For what?”

“To have the truth out of you, you infernal scoundrel!” cried the young man fiercely, his self-control suddenly vanishing at that indifferent tone. “You know all about the murder of your master; you’re going to tell me, or I’ll throw you off these cliffs into the sea.”

He gripped the other’s arm as he spoke, but Thalassa tore off his fingers, and leapt backward against a rock, a knife in his hand, snarling49 like a wild beast.

“Keep off!” he cried. “Keep off, or by Christ, I’ll—” He hooked the air with his knife.

Charles eyed him across the space, affected50 almost to nausea51 by his evil glance. What a fool he had been to lose his temper! Not in that way was the truth to be reached. The man before him was not to be terrorized or intimidated52. Sisily’s way would have been the best. He wondered whether it was too late to attempt it.

“I was hasty, Thalassa,” he said. “Come, do not let us quarrel after I have risked everything to get down here to see you. I have a message for you—from Sisily.”

The face of the man crouching53 by the rock changed instantly. He made a step forward, as if to speak, then cast a gleaming eye of unbelief at his companion.

“It’s a lie!” he said. “You haven’t seen her.”

“I’m speaking the truth,” Charles earnestly replied. “Do you think I’d have come back to Cornwall otherwise, knowing the police are searching for me?”

“Ay, you know that, do you?” muttered the other. “They’ve been watching Flint House for you. You were a fool to come back here.”

“I’d risk more than that to learn the truth, Thalassa. It’s for Sisily’s sake. I’ve seen her. She’s in London, and I’ve come from her. She gave me this message to bring to you. She said: ‘Tell Thalassa that I ask him to tell the truth—if he knows it.’ The police are looking for her as well as me.”

“I’ve heered so.” With these words, uttered quickly, Thalassa fell into the silence of a man on his guard and pondering. Charles approached nearer.

“Thalassa,” he pleaded, “if you are keeping anything back you must tell me for Sisily’s sake.”

“How do I know you’ve seen her?” retorted Thalassa, darting54 a dark crafty look at him.

Charles was overwhelmed by a sense of catastrophe55. Here was a possibility which had been overlooked. How was he to instil56 belief that he spoke the truth? A moment passed. Thalassa cast another black look at him, and turned as if to walk away. “I’ll keep my word,” he muttered to himself.

The young man’s quick ear caught the whispered sentence, and saw the way. “I’ll prove it to you,” he said. “You promised Sisily that you’d tell nobody she was at Flint House to see her father on the night he was killed. How could I know that unless I’d seen her?”

“What else?” said Thalassa, facing him with a strange and doubtful glance.

“You let her in,” Charles rapidly continued, “and you waited downstairs for her. Afterwards you took her back across the moors to catch the wagonette. It was on the way, near the cross-roads, that Sisily made you promise not to tell anybody that she’d been there that night.”

“Suppose it’s true—what then?” Thalassa’s voice was edged with the craftiest57 caution. “She’s sent you to me to ask for the truth, say you. ‘Twould have been safer not. What else is there to say, when she’s told you everything?” He cast a look of savage11 jealousy58 at the young man.

“Much.” Charles spoke rapidly, but his glance was despairing. “What happened while you were away from the house? What sent your wife mad? What did you find when you returned? You know these things, Thalassa.”

“Happen I did, what good’d come of telling them?”

“To save Sisily.”

“They’d not help to save her.”

“Do you think she shot her father?”

Thalassa gave him another dark look, but remained silent.

“You know she didn’t, you hound!” cried Charles, anger flaring59 up in him again. “It was you—it must have been you. Listen to me! I know almost enough to hang you. I was in the house while you were away, and found your master lying dead in his study, and the key of the door in the passage outside. Who could have dropped it there except you?”

“‘Tweren’t me. ‘Twas done afore I got back to the house,” answered Thalassa.

“What time was it when you left the house with Sisily?”

“Agone half-past eight: perhaps ten minutes after. She came running downstairs, her eyes staring and blazing. ‘Thalassa, dear Thalassa, for pity’s sake let me out,’ she said half-sobbing. ‘Oh, what did I come for? He’s wicked—wicked.’ Twasn’t for me to say anything between father and daughter, so I just opened the door without a word, and went out with her.”

“What time did Sisily catch the wagonette?”

“That’s what I don’t know. She made me go back when we got to the cross-roads. She knew as well as I did that the old fool who drives it wasn’t particular as to time, and she worried about my old woman getting scairt if she found herself alone, and me out. ‘Go back to her, Thalassa,’ she said, ‘I shall be all right now.’ That was just after she’d made me promise to tell nobody that she’d been to see her father that night. And, by God, I kept my word. Nobody got anything out of me, though they tried hard enough. Well, when she sent me back I went, leaving her standing60, for I had my own reason for going. When I looked back after a bit I saw her standing there by the light of the dirty little lamp above the cross-roads.”

“Did you see the wagonette on the road?”

“Not a sign of it. Just her—alone.”

A faint hope died in Charles’s breast. Even the drunken irregularity of a Cornish cabman told against Sisily. But that point was not so immediately important as Thalassa’s story that the murder had been committed during his absence from Flint House. Although his own experience supported that supposition, Charles was reluctant to accept a theory which plunged the events of that night into deeper mystery than ever.

“Well, go on,” he said. “What did you find when you got back?”

“The house was dark and the door open. The wind was coming in from the sea sharp enough to take your head off your shoulders, and I thought perhaps I’d jammed the door without closing it, and it had blowed open with the wind. But when I got inside I heered something like moaning. I thought that might be the wind too, for it’s for ever screeching61 up and down the passages like a devil, specially62 o’ nights. I—” He stopped suddenly, with a cautious sidelong look at his listener.

“Yes, yes!” cried Charles. “And what then?”

Thalassa went on, but a little moodily63.

“I went along to the kitchen and found the old woman lying on the floor, in a kind of fit or faint, making the queer noise I’d just heered. When I picked her up she opened her eyes, laughing and crying and making mouths as she pointed64 to the ceiling. I could get nothing out of her for a while. Then she mutters something about a crash upstairs, and goes off into another fit. I carried her into her bedroom and went upstairs as fast as my legs would take me. There was a light under his door, but he didn’t answer when I knocked. I tried to open it, but it was locked inside. In a bit there was a knock downstairs. You know what happened after that.” He lapsed65 into silence again, with another look at the young man.

“That was when my aunt and her husband and Dr. Ravenshaw came to the door?” said Charles, filling in the pause. “But how was it that you told them that you feared something had happened to your master? Was that pure guesswork on your part? You hadn’t been in the room, you say.”

“I had to tell them something, hadn’t I?” retorted the other sullenly66. “If I hadn’t told them that, it would a’ all come out about me going out with Miss Sisily, and not into the coal cellar, as I said.”

“It is astonishing that your story should have been so near the truth when you knew nothing of what had taken place.”

“I did know something. The door was open, the house dark, and she in a fit on the floor, saying there’d been a crash upstairs. Then his door was locked, and I couldn’t get an answer. Wasn’t that enough?”

“Hardly enough to warrant your saying that you feared your master had been murdered—unless you expected him to be murdered.”

“I didn’t say that,” replied Thalassa with unusual quickness. “All I said was that I was afeered something had happened to him. There was reason for thinking that. I had to make up my story quick—that part about just going for Dr. Ravenshaw. That was because I’d still got my hat and topcoat on, just as I’d come in from the moors, and I wasn’t going to break my promise to Miss Sisily.”

“Did you see the blood under the door when you went up and tried to get in?”

“I’ve told you all there is to tell,” was the dogged response.

“What frightened your wife so much? Do you think she saw the murderer?”

“That’s what I would like to know,” responded Thalassa, with a swift cunning glance.

He turned his face away and looked across the sea, the brown outline of his hooked profile more than ever like an effigy67 carved by savage hands. Charles scanned him despairingly. The feeling was strong within him that he was still keeping something back.

“Thalassa,” he said, “you should have told this story before. You have done wrong in keeping it back.”

“‘Twould a’ been breaking of my word to Miss Sisily.”

“It was of more importance to clear her. You could have done that if you had come forward and told the police, as you’ve just told me, that she left the house with you before nine o’clock on that night.”

“‘Twouldn’t a’ helped if I had. I found out next day that the wagonette didn’t get to the cross-roads that night till nearly ten o’clock. ‘Twas after half-past nine when it left the inn.”

“What made you find out that?”

“Do you think I didn’t put my wits to work when the damned detective was trying to put me into it as well as her? I thought it all out then—about telling the truth. But I saw ‘twould a’ been no good for her, but only made matters worse. Who’d a’ believed me? There be times when a man can say too much, so I kept my mouth shut.”

There was so much sense in this that Charles had nothing to say in reply. In silence they tramped along till they reached the dip of the sea in which the Moon Rock lay. Here they paused, as if with the mutual68 feeling that the time had come for the interview to end. Behind them towered the cliffs, with Flint House hanging crazily on the summit far above where they stood. The eye of Charles ranged along the shore to the spot where he had said good-bye to Sisily not so very long ago, then returned to rest doubtingly on Thalassa. The old man stood with his hand resting on a giant rock, his dark eyes fixed on the rim26 of the waste of grey water where a weak declining sun hung irresolutely70, as though fearing the inevitable71 plunge34.

“I’d a’ given my right arm to have saved her from this,” Charles heard him mutter.

Charles found himself looking down at Thalassa’s brown muscular arm, corded with veins72, stretched out on the rock by which he stood. It was as though it had been bared for his inspection73, which was not, indeed, the case. If that arm could save Sisily, it was at her service. But what was the good of that? What was the good of his own efforts to help her? Charles had a suffocating74 feeling of the futility75 of human effort when opposed by the malignity76 of Fate. He asked himself with aching heart what was to be the outcome of it all? He had failed. What then? It was not until that moment that he realized how strongly he had been buoyed77 up by the false optimism of hope. His consciousness, as though directed by the power of a devil, was forced to look for the first time upon the hideous78 inevitability79 of the appointed end.

“No, no! Not that—not that,” he shudderingly80 whispered to himself.

Neither moved. The minutes passed leaden-footed. It was silent and still in that wild spot, as if theirs were the only two human hearts beating in a dead world. It seemed as though neither could bring it upon himself to terminate the interview. Charles was the first to break the silence. He spoke like a man coming out of a dream.

“Did that clock upstairs keep good time?” he asked in a low voice.

Thalassa turned on him as if not understanding the purport81 of the question.

“It was going shipshape and Bristol fashion in the afternoon. What’s that got to do with it? What does it signify if it was five minutes fast or slow?”

The logic82 of the answer was apparent to Charles, who knew he was only attempting to pluck something by chance out of the dark maze83. But another and shrewder idea started up in his mind.

“What was your reason for hurrying back across the moors that night?”

“Miss Sisily told me to go.”

“But you had another reason—a reason of your own,” said Charles, turning quickly to regard him. “You said so yourself.”

“If I had I’ve forgotten what it was,” said Thalassa with a black look.

“You cannot have forgotten!” cried Charles. “What was it?” Hope sprang up in his heart again like a warm flame as he detected something confused and irresolute69 in the other’s attitude. “Thalassa, you are keeping something back. You know, or you guess, who the murderer is!”

“I’m keeping nothing back.”

“You are. I can see it in your face. What is it that you will not tell? What do you fear?”

“The gallows—for one thing.”

“You’d sooner see Sisily lose her life on them?”

This bitter taunt84, wrung85 from the depth of the young man’s anguished86 heart, had an instantaneous and unexpected effect on his companion.

“No, no!” he hoarsely87 cried, “I couldn’t a’ bear that. But it’s nothing to tell, nothing to help. It was earlier that night, before she came. I was looking out of the kitchen window, when I thought I saw a rock move. Then I looked again, and it seemed like a man—though I couldn’t see his face.”

“Is that all?” Bitter disappointment rang in Charles’s voice. “That might have been me. I was out on the rocks that night, close to Flint House.”

“‘Tweren’t you.” Thalassa’s reply was so low as to be almost inaudible. “I don’t know who it was, but I’ll take my Bible oath it weren’t you.”

“Who was it then?” Charles asked breathlessly.

“A dead man, or his spirit. I know that now, though I laughed when he said it. I know better now.”

He stopped suddenly, like one who has said too much, and looked moodily out to sea.

“What do you mean by that?”

“Never mind what I mean. It’s nothing to do with you. A man’s a fool when he gets talking. The tongue trips you up.”

“Thalassa,” said Charles solemnly, “if you know anything which might throw the remotest light on this mystery it is your duty to reveal it.”

“It’s easy to talk. But I swore—I swore I would never tell.”

“This is the moment to forget your oath.”

“It’s fine to talk—for you. But he’d come back to haunt me, if he knew.” He jerked his thumb in the direction of the distant churchyard where Robert Turold lay.

Charles looked at his grim and secret face in despair. “I hope you realize what you are doing by keeping silence,” he said.

“I’m keeping a still tongue in my head, for one thing.”

“For one thing—yes. For another, you’re injuring Sisily—you’re doing more than injure her. You’re letting her remain under suspicion of her father’s death, in hiding in London, hunted by the police. Yet she believed in you. It was she who sent me to you, it was she who said: ‘Tell Thalassa from me to tell the truth, if he knows it.’ Is she mistaken in you, Thalassa? Do you think more of your own skin than her safety?”

点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 reverberate 1BIzS     
v.使回响,使反响
参考例句:
  • The decision will reverberate and will jar the country.这项决定将引起反响并震撼这个国家。
  • Echoes of cries of pain reverberate in my hear.痛苦呼喊的一遍遍的在我的心中回响。
2 tinkle 1JMzu     
vi.叮当作响;n.叮当声
参考例句:
  • The wine glass dropped to the floor with a tinkle.酒杯丁零一声掉在地上。
  • Give me a tinkle and let me know what time the show starts.给我打个电话,告诉我演出什么时候开始。
3 gulls 6fb3fed3efaafee48092b1fa6f548167     
n.鸥( gull的名词复数 )v.欺骗某人( gull的第三人称单数 )
参考例句:
  • A flock of sea gulls are hovering over the deck. 一群海鸥在甲板上空飞翔。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
  • The gulls which haunted the outlying rocks in a prodigious number. 数不清的海鸥在遥远的岩石上栖息。 来自辞典例句
4 hoarse 5dqzA     
adj.嘶哑的,沙哑的
参考例句:
  • He asked me a question in a hoarse voice.他用嘶哑的声音问了我一个问题。
  • He was too excited and roared himself hoarse.他过于激动,嗓子都喊哑了。
5 cormorant laCyd     
n.鸬鹚,贪婪的人
参考例句:
  • The cormorant is a large,long-necked,dark-colored bird which lives near sea coasts and eats fish.鸬鹚是一种长脖子黑颜色的大鸟,生活在海滨而且以吃鱼为生。
  • The exciting cormorant fishing performance is over there.那边有令人刺激的鱼鹰捕鱼表演。
6 cormorants 7fd38480459c8ed62f89f1d9bb497e3e     
鸬鹚,贪婪的人( cormorant的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • The birds are trained cormorants. 那些鸟是受过训练的鸬鹚。
  • The cormorants swim down and catch the fish, and bring them back the raft. 鸬鹚又下去捉住鱼,再返回竹筏。
7 thoroughly sgmz0J     
adv.完全地,彻底地,十足地
参考例句:
  • The soil must be thoroughly turned over before planting.一定要先把土地深翻一遍再下种。
  • The soldiers have been thoroughly instructed in the care of their weapons.士兵们都系统地接受过保护武器的训练。
8 wrest 1fdwD     
n.扭,拧,猛夺;v.夺取,猛扭,歪曲
参考例句:
  • The officer managed to wrest the gun from his grasp.警官最终把枪从他手中夺走了。
  • You wrest my words out of their real meaning.你曲解了我话里的真正含义。
9 crafty qzWxC     
adj.狡猾的,诡诈的
参考例句:
  • He admired the old man for his crafty plan.他敬佩老者的神机妙算。
  • He was an accomplished politician and a crafty autocrat.他是个有造诣的政治家,也是个狡黠的独裁者。
10 lurking 332fb85b4d0f64d0e0d1ef0d34ebcbe7     
潜在
参考例句:
  • Why are you lurking around outside my house? 你在我房子外面鬼鬼祟祟的,想干什么?
  • There is a suspicious man lurking in the shadows. 有一可疑的人躲在阴暗中。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
11 savage ECxzR     
adj.野蛮的;凶恶的,残暴的;n.未开化的人
参考例句:
  • The poor man received a savage beating from the thugs.那可怜的人遭到暴徒的痛打。
  • He has a savage temper.他脾气粗暴。
12 savagely 902f52b3c682f478ddd5202b40afefb9     
adv. 野蛮地,残酷地
参考例句:
  • The roses had been pruned back savagely. 玫瑰被狠狠地修剪了一番。
  • He snarled savagely at her. 他向她狂吼起来。
13 ruffled e4a3deb720feef0786be7d86b0004e86     
adj. 有褶饰边的, 起皱的 动词ruffle的过去式和过去分词
参考例句:
  • She ruffled his hair affectionately. 她情意绵绵地拨弄着他的头发。
  • All this talk of a strike has clearly ruffled the management's feathers. 所有这些关于罢工的闲言碎语显然让管理层很不高兴。
14 curiously 3v0zIc     
adv.有求知欲地;好问地;奇特地
参考例句:
  • He looked curiously at the people.他好奇地看着那些人。
  • He took long stealthy strides. His hands were curiously cold.他迈着悄没声息的大步。他的双手出奇地冷。
15 cynical Dnbz9     
adj.(对人性或动机)怀疑的,不信世道向善的
参考例句:
  • The enormous difficulty makes him cynical about the feasibility of the idea.由于困难很大,他对这个主意是否可行持怀疑态度。
  • He was cynical that any good could come of democracy.他不相信民主会带来什么好处。
16 enjoyment opaxV     
n.乐趣;享有;享用
参考例句:
  • Your company adds to the enjoyment of our visit. 有您的陪同,我们这次访问更加愉快了。
  • After each joke the old man cackled his enjoyment.每逢讲完一个笑话,这老人就呵呵笑着表示他的高兴。
17 smote 61dce682dfcdd485f0f1155ed6e7dbcc     
v.猛打,重击,打击( smite的过去式 )
参考例句:
  • Figuratively, he could not kiss the hand that smote him. 打个比方说,他是不能认敌为友。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
  • \"Whom Pearl smote down and uprooted, most unmercifully.\" 珠儿会毫不留情地将这些\"儿童\"踩倒,再连根拔起。 来自英汉 - 翻译样例 - 文学
18 vault 3K3zW     
n.拱形圆顶,地窖,地下室
参考例句:
  • The vault of this cathedral is very high.这座天主教堂的拱顶非常高。
  • The old patrician was buried in the family vault.这位老贵族埋在家族的墓地里。
19 wailing 25fbaeeefc437dc6816eab4c6298b423     
v.哭叫,哀号( wail的现在分词 );沱
参考例句:
  • A police car raced past with its siren wailing. 一辆警车鸣着警报器飞驰而过。
  • The little girl was wailing miserably. 那小女孩难过得号啕大哭。
20 immutably 542db4f9f8cd647ea6291616a6571d88     
adv.不变地,永恒地
参考例句:
  • Only reefs stand alone immutably on the beach after a typhoon. 台风过后,海滩上只有那些礁石岿然独存。 来自互联网
21 bent QQ8yD     
n.爱好,癖好;adj.弯的;决心的,一心的
参考例句:
  • He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
  • We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。
22 gathering ChmxZ     
n.集会,聚会,聚集
参考例句:
  • He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
  • He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。
23 momentary hj3ya     
adj.片刻的,瞬息的;短暂的
参考例句:
  • We are in momentary expectation of the arrival of you.我们无时无刻不在盼望你的到来。
  • I caught a momentary glimpse of them.我瞥了他们一眼。
24 tangible 4IHzo     
adj.有形的,可触摸的,确凿的,实际的
参考例句:
  • The policy has not yet brought any tangible benefits.这项政策还没有带来任何实质性的好处。
  • There is no tangible proof.没有确凿的证据。
25 spectral fvbwg     
adj.幽灵的,鬼魂的
参考例句:
  • At times he seems rather ordinary.At other times ethereal,perhaps even spectral.有时他好像很正常,有时又难以捉摸,甚至像个幽灵。
  • She is compelling,spectral fascinating,an unforgettably unique performer.她极具吸引力,清幽如鬼魅,令人着迷,令人难忘,是个独具特色的演员。
26 rim RXSxl     
n.(圆物的)边,轮缘;边界
参考例句:
  • The water was even with the rim of the basin.盆里的水与盆边平齐了。
  • She looked at him over the rim of her glass.她的目光越过玻璃杯的边沿看着他。
27 moors 039ba260de08e875b2b8c34ec321052d     
v.停泊,系泊(船只)( moor的第三人称单数 )
参考例句:
  • the North York moors 北约克郡的漠泽
  • They're shooting grouse up on the moors. 他们在荒野射猎松鸡。 来自《简明英汉词典》
28 granite Kyqyu     
adj.花岗岩,花岗石
参考例句:
  • They squared a block of granite.他们把一块花岗岩加工成四方形。
  • The granite overlies the older rocks.花岗岩躺在磨损的岩石上面。
29 slabs df40a4b047507aa67c09fd288db230ac     
n.厚板,平板,厚片( slab的名词复数 );厚胶片
参考例句:
  • The patio was made of stone slabs. 这天井是用石板铺砌而成的。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The slabs of standing stone point roughly toward the invisible notch. 这些矗立的石块,大致指向那个看不见的缺口。 来自辞典例句
30 evaded 4b636015da21a66943b43217559e0131     
逃避( evade的过去式和过去分词 ); 避开; 回避; 想不出
参考例句:
  • For two weeks they evaded the press. 他们有两周一直避而不见记者。
  • The lion evaded the hunter. 那狮子躲开了猎人。
31 constable wppzG     
n.(英国)警察,警官
参考例句:
  • The constable conducted the suspect to the police station.警官把嫌疑犯带到派出所。
  • The constable kept his temper,and would not be provoked.那警察压制着自己的怒气,不肯冒起火来。
32 determined duszmP     
adj.坚定的;有决心的
参考例句:
  • I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
  • He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。
33 laggard w22x3     
n.落后者;adj.缓慢的,落后的
参考例句:
  • In village,the laggard living condition must be improved.在乡村落后的生活条件必须被改善。
  • Businesshas to some degree been a laggard in this process.商业在这个进程中已经慢了一拍。
34 plunge 228zO     
v.跳入,(使)投入,(使)陷入;猛冲
参考例句:
  • Test pool's water temperature before you plunge in.在你跳入之前你应该测试水温。
  • That would plunge them in the broil of the two countries.那将会使他们陷入这两国的争斗之中。
35 plunged 06a599a54b33c9d941718dccc7739582     
v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 );暴跌;骤降;突降
参考例句:
  • The train derailed and plunged into the river. 火车脱轨栽进了河里。
  • She lost her balance and plunged 100 feet to her death. 她没有站稳,从100英尺的高处跌下摔死了。
36 doggedly 6upzAY     
adv.顽强地,固执地
参考例句:
  • He was still doggedly pursuing his studies.他仍然顽强地进行着自己的研究。
  • He trudged doggedly on until he reached the flat.他顽强地、步履艰难地走着,一直走回了公寓。
37 hissing hissing     
n. 发嘶嘶声, 蔑视 动词hiss的现在分词形式
参考例句:
  • The steam escaped with a loud hissing noise. 蒸汽大声地嘶嘶冒了出来。
  • His ears were still hissing with the rustle of the leaves. 他耳朵里还听得萨萨萨的声音和屑索屑索的怪声。 来自汉英文学 - 春蚕
38 glistening glistening     
adj.闪耀的,反光的v.湿物闪耀,闪亮( glisten的现在分词 )
参考例句:
  • Her eyes were glistening with tears. 她眼里闪着晶莹的泪花。
  • Her eyes were glistening with tears. 她眼睛中的泪水闪着柔和的光。 来自《用法词典》
39 intercept G5rx7     
vt.拦截,截住,截击
参考例句:
  • His letter was intercepted by the Secret Service.他的信被特工处截获了。
  • Gunmen intercepted him on his way to the airport.持枪歹徒在他去机场的路上截击了他。
40 dozing dozing     
v.打瞌睡,假寐 n.瞌睡
参考例句:
  • The economy shows no signs of faltering. 经济没有衰退的迹象。
  • He never falters in his determination. 他的决心从不动摇。
41 compartment dOFz6     
n.卧车包房,隔间;分隔的空间
参考例句:
  • We were glad to have the whole compartment to ourselves.真高兴,整个客车隔间由我们独享。
  • The batteries are safely enclosed in a watertight compartment.电池被安全地置于一个防水的隔间里。
42 dread Ekpz8     
vt.担忧,忧虑;惧怕,不敢;n.担忧,畏惧
参考例句:
  • We all dread to think what will happen if the company closes.我们都不敢去想一旦公司关门我们该怎么办。
  • Her heart was relieved of its blankest dread.她极度恐惧的心理消除了。
43 fixed JsKzzj     
adj.固定的,不变的,准备好的;(计算机)固定的
参考例句:
  • Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗?
  • Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定,我们就不应该随意改变。
44 chatter BUfyN     
vi./n.喋喋不休;短促尖叫;(牙齿)打战
参考例句:
  • Her continuous chatter vexes me.她的喋喋不休使我烦透了。
  • I've had enough of their continual chatter.我已厌烦了他们喋喋不休的闲谈。
45 shunned bcd48f012d0befb1223f8e35a7516d0e     
v.避开,回避,避免( shun的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • She was shunned by her family when she remarried. 她再婚后家里人都躲着她。
  • He was a shy man who shunned all publicity. 他是个怕羞的人,总是避开一切引人注目的活动。 来自《简明英汉词典》
46 forth Hzdz2     
adv.向前;向外,往外
参考例句:
  • The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
  • He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。
47 rugged yXVxX     
adj.高低不平的,粗糙的,粗壮的,强健的
参考例句:
  • Football players must be rugged.足球运动员必须健壮。
  • The Rocky Mountains have rugged mountains and roads.落基山脉有崇山峻岭和崎岖不平的道路。
48 spoke XryyC     
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:
  • They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
  • The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。
49 snarling 1ea03906cb8fd0b67677727f3cfd3ca5     
v.(指狗)吠,嗥叫, (人)咆哮( snarl的现在分词 );咆哮着说,厉声地说
参考例句:
  • "I didn't marry you," he said, in a snarling tone. “我没有娶你,"他咆哮着说。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
  • So he got into the shoes snarling. 于是,汤姆一边大喊大叫,一边穿上了那双鞋。 来自英汉文学 - 汤姆历险
50 affected TzUzg0     
adj.不自然的,假装的
参考例句:
  • She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
  • His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。
51 nausea C5Dzz     
n.作呕,恶心;极端的憎恶(或厌恶)
参考例句:
  • Early pregnancy is often accompanied by nausea.怀孕期常有恶心的现象。
  • He experienced nausea after eating octopus.吃了章鱼后他感到恶心。
52 intimidated 69a1f9d1d2d295a87a7e68b3f3fbd7d5     
v.恐吓;威胁adj.害怕的;受到威胁的
参考例句:
  • We try to make sure children don't feel intimidated on their first day at school. 我们努力确保孩子们在上学的第一天不胆怯。
  • The thief intimidated the boy into not telling the police. 这个贼恫吓那男孩使他不敢向警察报告。 来自《简明英汉词典》
53 crouching crouching     
v.屈膝,蹲伏( crouch的现在分词 )
参考例句:
  • a hulking figure crouching in the darkness 黑暗中蹲伏着的一个庞大身影
  • A young man was crouching by the table, busily searching for something. 一个年轻人正蹲在桌边翻看什么。 来自汉英文学 - 散文英译
54 darting darting     
v.投掷,投射( dart的现在分词 );向前冲,飞奔
参考例句:
  • Swallows were darting through the clouds. 燕子穿云急飞。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
  • Swallows were darting through the air. 燕子在空中掠过。 来自辞典例句
55 catastrophe WXHzr     
n.大灾难,大祸
参考例句:
  • I owe it to you that I survived the catastrophe.亏得你我才大难不死。
  • This is a catastrophe beyond human control.这是一场人类无法控制的灾难。
56 instil a6bxR     
v.逐渐灌输
参考例句:
  • It's necessary to instil the minds of the youth with lofty ideals.把崇高理想灌输到年青人的思想中去是很必要的。
  • The motive of the executions would be to instil fear.执行死刑的动机是要灌输恐惧。
57 craftiest b2cd6b5ce887af56d56a7cab54d0ff4b     
狡猾的,狡诈的( crafty的最高级 )
参考例句:
  • The craftiest fox can't escape the skilled hunter. 狐狸再狡猾也斗不过好猎手。
58 jealousy WaRz6     
n.妒忌,嫉妒,猜忌
参考例句:
  • Some women have a disposition to jealousy.有些女人生性爱妒忌。
  • I can't support your jealousy any longer.我再也无法忍受你的嫉妒了。
59 flaring Bswzxn     
a.火焰摇曳的,过份艳丽的
参考例句:
  • A vulgar flaring paper adorned the walls. 墙壁上装饰着廉价的花纸。
  • Goebbels was flaring up at me. 戈塔尔当时已对我面呈愠色。
60 standing 2hCzgo     
n.持续,地位;adj.永久的,不动的,直立的,不流动的
参考例句:
  • After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
  • They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。
61 screeching 8bf34b298a2d512e9b6787a29dc6c5f0     
v.发出尖叫声( screech的现在分词 );发出粗而刺耳的声音;高叫
参考例句:
  • Monkeys were screeching in the trees. 猴子在树上吱吱地叫着。
  • the unedifying sight of the two party leaders screeching at each other 两党党魁狺狺对吠的讨厌情景
62 specially Hviwq     
adv.特定地;特殊地;明确地
参考例句:
  • They are specially packaged so that they stack easily.它们经过特别包装以便于堆放。
  • The machine was designed specially for demolishing old buildings.这种机器是专为拆毁旧楼房而设计的。
63 moodily 830ff6e3db19016ccfc088bb2ad40745     
adv.喜怒无常地;情绪多变地;心情不稳地;易生气地
参考例句:
  • Pork slipped from the room as she remained staring moodily into the distance. 阿宝从房间里溜了出来,留她独个人站在那里瞪着眼睛忧郁地望着远处。 来自辞典例句
  • He climbed moodily into the cab, relieved and distressed. 他忧郁地上了马车,既松了一口气,又忧心忡忡。 来自互联网
64 pointed Il8zB4     
adj.尖的,直截了当的
参考例句:
  • He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
  • She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。
65 lapsed f403f7d09326913b001788aee680719d     
adj.流失的,堕落的v.退步( lapse的过去式和过去分词 );陷入;倒退;丧失
参考例句:
  • He had lapsed into unconsciousness. 他陷入了昏迷状态。
  • He soon lapsed into his previous bad habits. 他很快陷入以前的恶习中去。 来自《简明英汉词典》
66 sullenly f65ccb557a7ca62164b31df638a88a71     
不高兴地,绷着脸,忧郁地
参考例句:
  • 'so what?" Tom said sullenly. “那又怎么样呢?”汤姆绷着脸说。
  • Emptiness after the paper, I sIt'sullenly in front of the stove. 报看完,想不出能找点什么事做,只好一人坐在火炉旁生气。
67 effigy Vjezy     
n.肖像
参考例句:
  • There the effigy stands,and stares from age to age across the changing ocean.雕像依然耸立在那儿,千秋万载地凝视着那变幻无常的大海。
  • The deposed dictator was burned in effigy by the crowd.群众焚烧退位独裁者的模拟像。
68 mutual eFOxC     
adj.相互的,彼此的;共同的,共有的
参考例句:
  • We must pull together for mutual interest.我们必须为相互的利益而通力合作。
  • Mutual interests tied us together.相互的利害关系把我们联系在一起。
69 irresolute X3Vyy     
adj.无决断的,优柔寡断的,踌躇不定的
参考例句:
  • Irresolute persons make poor victors.优柔寡断的人不会成为胜利者。
  • His opponents were too irresolute to call his bluff.他的对手太优柔寡断,不敢接受挑战。
70 irresolutely bd48a0849e0a868390b09177fd05c8ef     
adv.优柔寡断地
参考例句:
  • He followed irresolutely for a little distance, half a pace behind her. 他犹豫地跟了短短的一段距离,落在她身后半步路。 来自英汉文学
  • She arose and stood irresolutely at the foot of the stairs. 她起身来到楼梯脚下,犹豫不定地站在那里。 来自飘(部分)
71 inevitable 5xcyq     
adj.不可避免的,必然发生的
参考例句:
  • Mary was wearing her inevitable large hat.玛丽戴着她总是戴的那顶大帽子。
  • The defeat had inevitable consequences for British policy.战败对英国政策不可避免地产生了影响。
72 veins 65827206226d9e2d78ea2bfe697c6329     
n.纹理;矿脉( vein的名词复数 );静脉;叶脉;纹理
参考例句:
  • The blood flows from the capillaries back into the veins. 血从毛细血管流回静脉。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • I felt a pleasant glow in all my veins from the wine. 喝过酒后我浑身的血都热烘烘的,感到很舒服。 来自《简明英汉词典》
73 inspection y6TxG     
n.检查,审查,检阅
参考例句:
  • On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查,发现肉变质了。
  • The soldiers lined up for their daily inspection by their officers.士兵们列队接受军官的日常检阅。
74 suffocating suffocating     
a.使人窒息的
参考例句:
  • After a few weeks with her parents, she felt she was suffocating.和父母呆了几个星期后,她感到自己毫无自由。
  • That's better. I was suffocating in that cell of a room.这样好些了,我刚才在那个小房间里快闷死了。
75 futility IznyJ     
n.无用
参考例句:
  • She could see the utter futility of trying to protest. 她明白抗议是完全无用的。
  • The sheer futility of it all exasperates her. 它毫无用处,这让她很生气。
76 malignity 28jzZ     
n.极度的恶意,恶毒;(病的)恶性
参考例句:
  • The little witch put a mock malignity into her beautiful eyes, and Joseph, trembling with sincere horror, hurried out praying and ejaculating "wicked" as he went. 这个小女巫那双美丽的眼睛里添上一种嘲弄的恶毒神气。约瑟夫真的吓得直抖,赶紧跑出去,一边跑一边祷告,还嚷着“恶毒!” 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Outside, the pitiless rain fell, fell steadily, with a fierce malignity that was all too human. 外面下着无情的雨,不断地下着,简直跟通人性那样凶狠而恶毒。 来自辞典例句
77 buoyed 7da50152a46b3edf3164b6a7f21be885     
v.使浮起( buoy的过去式和过去分词 );支持;为…设浮标;振奋…的精神
参考例句:
  • Buoyed by their win yesterday the team feel confident of further success. 在昨天胜利的鼓舞下,该队有信心再次获胜。
  • His encouragement buoyed her up during that difficult period. 他的鼓励使她在那段困难时期恢复了乐观的情绪。 来自《简明英汉词典》
78 hideous 65KyC     
adj.丑陋的,可憎的,可怕的,恐怖的
参考例句:
  • The whole experience had been like some hideous nightmare.整个经历就像一场可怕的噩梦。
  • They're not like dogs,they're hideous brutes.它们不像狗,是丑陋的畜牲。
79 inevitability c7Pxd     
n.必然性
参考例句:
  • Evolutionism is normally associated with a belief in the inevitability of progress. 进化主义通常和一种相信进步不可避免的看法相联系。
  • It is the tide of the times, an inevitability of history. 这是时代的潮流,历史的必然。
80 shudderingly 6bd08ef3d20ff11bc83adcaa37343066     
参考例句:
  • Shudderingly, she acknowledged to herself that she dared not face what lay before her. 她害怕地发抖,她承认自己不敢面对眼前的一切。 来自互联网
81 purport etRy4     
n.意义,要旨,大要;v.意味著,做为...要旨,要领是...
参考例句:
  • Many theories purport to explain growth in terms of a single cause.许多理论都标榜以单一的原因解释生长。
  • Her letter may purport her forthcoming arrival.她的来信可能意味着她快要到了。
82 logic j0HxI     
n.逻辑(学);逻辑性
参考例句:
  • What sort of logic is that?这是什么逻辑?
  • I don't follow the logic of your argument.我不明白你的论点逻辑性何在。
83 maze F76ze     
n.迷宫,八阵图,混乱,迷惑
参考例句:
  • He found his way through the complex maze of corridors.他穿过了迷宮一样的走廊。
  • She was lost in the maze for several hours.一连几小时,她的头脑处于一片糊涂状态。
84 taunt nIJzj     
n.辱骂,嘲弄;v.嘲弄
参考例句:
  • He became a taunt to his neighbours.他成了邻居们嘲讽的对象。
  • Why do the other children taunt him with having red hair?为什么别的小孩子讥笑他有红头发?
85 wrung b11606a7aab3e4f9eebce4222a9397b1     
绞( wring的过去式和过去分词 ); 握紧(尤指别人的手); 把(湿衣服)拧干; 绞掉(水)
参考例句:
  • He has wrung the words from their true meaning. 他曲解这些字的真正意义。
  • He wrung my hand warmly. 他热情地紧握我的手。
86 anguished WzezLl     
adj.极其痛苦的v.使极度痛苦(anguish的过去式)
参考例句:
  • Desmond eyed her anguished face with sympathy. 看着她痛苦的脸,德斯蒙德觉得理解。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The loss of her husband anguished her deeply. 她丈夫的死亡使她悲痛万分。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
87 hoarsely hoarsely     
adv.嘶哑地
参考例句:
  • "Excuse me," he said hoarsely. “对不起。”他用嘶哑的嗓子说。
  • Jerry hoarsely professed himself at Miss Pross's service. 杰瑞嘶声嘶气地表示愿为普洛丝小姐效劳。 来自英汉文学 - 双城记


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