At the end of a lariat5 trailed the Brazos pony, for Billy, laughing aside Bridge's pleas, was on his way to El Orobo Rancho to return the stolen horse to its fair owner.
At the moment of departure Pesita had asked Billy to ride by way of Jose's to instruct the old Indian that he should bear word to one Esteban that Pesita required his presence.
It is a long ride from the retreat of the Pesitistas to Jose's squalid hut, especially if one be leading an extra horse, and so it was that darkness had fallen long before Billy arrived in sight of Jose's. Dismounting some distance from the hut, Billy approached cautiously, since the world is filled with dangers for those who are beyond the law, and one may not be too careful.
Billy could see a light showing through a small window, and toward this he made his way. A short distance from Jose's is another, larger structure from which the former inhabitants had fled the wrath7 of Pesita. It was dark and apparently8 tenantless9; but as a matter of fact a pair of eyes chanced at the very moment of Billy's coming to be looking out through the open doorway10.
The owner turned and spoke11 to someone behind him.
“Jose has another visitor,” he said. “Possibly this one is less harmless than the other. He comes with great caution. Let us investigate.”
Three other men rose from their blankets upon the floor and joined the speaker. They were all armed, and clothed in the nondescript uniforms of Villistas. Billy's back was toward them as they sneaked12 from the hut in which they were intending to spend the night and crept quietly toward him.
Billy was busily engaged in peering through the little window into the interior of the old Indian's hovel. He saw an American in earnest conversation with Jose. Who could the man be? Billy did not recognize him; but presently Jose answered the question.
“It shall be done as you wish, Senor Grayson,” he said.
“Ah!” thought Billy; “the foreman of El Orobo. I wonder what business he has with this old scoundrel—and at night.”
What other thoughts Billy might have had upon the subject were rudely interrupted by four energetic gentlemen in his rear, who leaped upon him simultaneously13 and dragged him to the ground. Billy made no outcry; but he fought none the less strenuously14 for his freedom, and he fought after the manner of Grand Avenue, which is not a pretty, however effective, way it may be.
But four against one when all the advantages lie with the four are heavy odds15, and when Grayson and Jose ran out to investigate, and the ranch6 foreman added his weight to that of the others Billy was finally subdued16. That each of his antagonists17 would carry mementos18 of the battle for many days was slight compensation for the loss of liberty. However, it was some.
After disarming19 their captive and tying his hands at his back they jerked him to his feet and examined him.
“Who are you?” asked Grayson. “What you doin' sneakin' 'round spyin' on me, eh?”
“If you wanna know who I am, bo,” replied Billy, “go ask de Harlem Hurricane, an' as fer spyin' on youse, I wasn't; but from de looks I guess youse need spyin, yuh tinhorn.”
A pony whinnied a short distance from the hut.
“That must be his horse,” said one of the Villistas, and walked away to investigate, returning shortly after with the pinto pony and Brazos.
The moment Grayson saw the latter he gave an exclamation20 of understanding.
“I know him now,” he said. “You've made a good catch, Sergeant21. This is the fellow who robbed the bank at Cuivaca. I recognize him from the descriptions I've had of him, and the fact that he's got the Brazos pony makes it a cinch. Villa22 oughter promote you for this.”
“Yep,” interjected Billy, “he orter make youse an admiral at least; but youse ain't got me home yet, an' it'll take more'n four Dagos an' a tin-horn to do it.”
“They'll get you there all right, my friend,” Grayson assured him. “Now come along.”
They bundled Billy into his own saddle, and shortly after the little party was winding23 southward along the river in the direction of El Orobo Rancho, with the intention of putting up there for the balance of the night where their prisoner could be properly secured and guarded. As they rode away from the dilapidated hut of the Indian the old man stood silhouetted24 against the rectangle of dim light which marked the open doorway, and shook his fist at the back of the departing ranch foreman.
“El cochino!” he cackled, and turned back into his hut.
At El Orobo Rancho Barbara walked to and fro outside the ranchhouse. Within her father sat reading beneath the rays of an oil lamp. From the quarters of the men came the strains of guitar music, and an occasional loud laugh indicated the climax25 of some of Eddie Shorter's famous Kansas farmer stories.
Barbara was upon the point of returning indoors when her attention was attracted by the approach of a half-dozen horsemen. They reined27 into the ranchyard and dismounted before the office building. Wondering a little who came so late, Barbara entered the house, mentioning casually28 to her father that which she had just seen.
The ranch owner, now always fearful of attack, was upon the point of investigating when Grayson rode up to the veranda29 and dismounted. Barbara and her father were at the door as he ascended30 the steps.
“Good news!” exclaimed the foreman. “I've got the bank robber, and Brazos, too. Caught the sneakin' coyote up to—up the river a bit.” He had almost said “Jose's;” but caught himself in time. “Someone's been cuttin' the wire at the north side of the north pasture, an' I was ridin' up to see ef I could catch 'em at it,” he explained.
“He is an American?” asked the boss.
“Looks like it; but he's got the heart of a greaser,” replied Grayson. “Some of Villa's men are with me, and they're a-goin' to take him to Cuivaca tomorrow.”
Neither Barbara nor her father seemed to enthuse much. To them an American was an American here in Mexico, where every hand was against their race. That at home they might have looked with disgust upon this same man did not alter their attitude here, that no American should take sides against his own people. Barbara said as much to Grayson.
“Why this fellow's one of Pesita's officers,” exclaimed Grayson. “He don't deserve no sympathy from us nor from no other Americans. Pesita has sworn to kill every American that falls into his hands, and this fellow's with him to help him do it. He's a bad un.”
“I can't help what he may do,” insisted Barbara. “He's an American, and I for one would never be a party to his death at the hands of a Mexican, and it will mean death to him to be taken to Cuivaca.”
“Well, miss,” said Grayson, “you won't hev to be responsible—I'll take all the responsibility there is and welcome. I just thought you'd like to know we had him.” He was addressing his employer. The latter nodded, and Grayson turned and left the room. Outside he cast a sneering31 laugh back over his shoulder and swung into his saddle.
In front of the men's quarters he drew rein26 again and shouted Eddie's name. Shorter came to the door.
“Get your six-shooter an' a rifle, an' come on over to the office. I want to see you a minute.”
Eddie did as he was bid, and when he entered the little room he saw four Mexicans lolling about smoking cigarettes while Grayson stood before a chair in which sat a man with his arms tied behind his back. Grayson turned to Eddie.
“This party here is the slick un that robbed the bank, and got away on thet there Brazos pony thet miserable32 bookkeepin' dude giv him. The sergeant here an' his men are a-goin' to take him to Cuivaca in the mornin'. You stand guard over him 'til midnight, then they'll relieve you. They gotta get a little sleep first, though, an' I gotta get some supper. Don't stand fer no funny business now, Eddie,” Grayson admonished33 him, and was on the point of leaving the office when a thought occurred to him. “Say, Shorter,” he said, “they ain't no way of gettin' out of the little bedroom in back there except through this room. The windows are too small fer a big man to get through. I'll tell you what, we'll lock him up in there an' then you won't hev to worry none an' neither will we. You can jest spread out them Navajos there and go to sleep right plump ag'in the door, an' there won't nobody hev to relieve you all night.”
“Sure,” said Eddie, “leave it to me—I'll watch the slicker.”
Satisfied that their prisoner was safe for the night the Villistas and Grayson departed, after seeing him safely locked in the back room.
At the mention by the foreman of his guard's names—Eddie and Shorter—Billy had studied the face of the young American cowpuncher, for the two names had aroused within his memory a tantalizing34 suggestion that they should be very familiar. Yet he could connect them in no way with anyone he had known in the past and he was quite sure that he never before had set eyes upon this man.
Sitting in the dark with nothing to occupy him Billy let his mind dwell upon the identity of his jailer, until, as may have happened to you, nothing in the whole world seemed equally as important as the solution of the mystery. Even his impending35 fate faded into nothingness by comparison with the momentous36 question as to where he had heard the name Eddie Shorter before.
As he sat puzzling his brain over the inconsequential matter something stirred upon the floor close to his feet, and presently he jerked back a booted foot that a rat had commenced to gnaw37 upon.
“Helluva place to stick a guy,” mused38 Billy, “in wit a bunch o' man-eatin' rats. Hey!” and he turned his face toward the door. “You, Eddie! Come here!”
Eddie approached the door and listened.
“Wot do you want?” he asked. “None o' your funny business, you know. I'm from Shawnee, Kansas, I am, an' they don't come no slicker from nowhere on earth. You can't fool me.”
Shawnee, Kansas! Eddie Shorter! The whole puzzle was cleared in Billy's mind in an instant.
“So you're Eddie Shorter of Shawnee, Kansas, are you?” called Billy. “Well I know your maw, Eddie, an' ef I had such a maw as you got I wouldn't be down here wastin' my time workin' alongside a lot of Dagos; but that ain't what I started out to say, which was that I want a light in here. The damned rats are tryin' to chaw off me kicks an' when they're done wit them they'll climb up after me an' old man Villa'll be sore as a pup.”
“You know my maw?” asked Eddie, and there was a wistful note in his voice. “Aw shucks! you don't know her—that's jest some o' your funny, slicker business. You wanna git me in there an' then you'll try an' git aroun' me some sort o' way to let you escape; but I'm too slick for that.”
“On the level Eddie, I know your maw,” persisted Billy. “I ben in your maw's house jest a few weeks ago. 'Member the horsehair sofa between the windows? 'Member the Bible on the little marble-topped table? Eh? An' Tige? Well, Tige's croaked39; but your maw an' your paw ain't an' they want you back, Eddie. I don't care ef you believe me, son, or not; but your maw was mighty41 good to me, an' you promise me you'll write her an' then go back home as fast as you can. It ain't everybody's got a swell42 maw like that, an' them as has ought to be good to 'em.”
Beyond the closed door Eddie's jaw43 was commencing to tremble. Memory was flooding his heart and his eyes with sweet recollections of an ample breast where he used to pillow his head, of a big capable hand that was wont44 to smooth his brow and stroke back his red hair. Eddie gulped45.
“You ain't joshin' me?” he asked. Billy Byrne caught the tremor46 in the voice.
“I ain't kiddin' you son,” he said. “Wotinell do you take me fer—one o' these greasy47 Dagos? You an' I're Americans—I wouldn't string a home guy down here in this here Godforsaken neck o' the woods.”
Billy heard the lock turn, and a moment later the door was cautiously opened revealing Eddie safely ensconced behind two six-shooters.
“That's right, Eddie,” said Billy, with a laugh. “Don't you take no chances, no matter how much sob48 stuff I hand you, fer, I'll give it to you straight, ef I get the chanct I'll make my get-away; but I can't do it wit my flippers trussed, an' you wit a brace49 of gats sittin' on me. Let's have a light, Eddie. That won't do nobody any harm, an' it may discourage the rats.”
Eddie backed across the office to a table where stood a small lamp. Keeping an eye through the door on his prisoner he lighted the lamp and carried it into the back room, setting it upon a commode which stood in one corner.
“You really seen maw?” he asked. “Is she well?”
“Looked well when I seen her,” said Billy; “but she wants her boy back a whole lot. I guess she'd look better still ef he walked in on her some day.”
“I'll do it,” cried Eddie. “The minute they get money for the pay I'll hike. Tell me your name. I'll ask her ef she remembers you when I get home. Gee50! but I wish I was walkin' in the front door now.”
“She never knew my name,” said Billy; “but you tell her you seen the bo that mussed up the two yeggmen who rolled her an' were tryin' to croak40 her wit a butcher knife. I guess she ain't fergot. Me an' my pal51 were beatin' it—he was on the square but the dicks was after me an' she let us have money to make our get-away. She's all right, kid.”
There came a knock at the outer office door. Eddie sprang back into the front room, closing and locking the door after him, just as Barbara entered.
“Eddie,” she asked, “may I see the prisoner? I want to talk to him.”
“You want to talk with a bank robber?” exclaimed Eddie. “Why you ain't crazy are you, Miss Barbara?”
“No, I'm not crazy; but I want to speak with him alone for just a moment, Eddie—please.”
Eddie hesitated. He knew that Grayson would be angry if he let the boss's daughter into that back room alone with an outlaw52 and a robber, and the boss himself would probably be inclined to have Eddie drawn53 and quartered; but it was hard to refuse Miss Barbara anything.
“Where is he?” she asked.
Eddie jerked a thumb in the direction of the door. The key still was in the lock.
“Go to the window and look at the moon, Eddie,” suggested the girl. “It's perfectly54 gorgeous tonight. Please, Eddie,” as he still hesitated.
Eddie shook his head and moved slowly toward the window.
“There can't nobody refuse you nothin', miss,” he said; “'specially when you got your heart set on it.”
“That's a dear, Eddie,” purred the girl, and moved swiftly across the room to the locked door.
As she turned the key in the lock she felt a little shiver of nervous excitement run through her. “What sort of man would he be—this hardened outlaw and robber—this renegade American who had cast his lot with the avowed55 enemies of his own people?” she wondered.
Only her desire to learn of Bridge's fate urged her to attempt so distasteful an interview; but she dared not ask another to put the question for her, since should her complicity in Bridge's escape—provided of course that he had escaped—become known to Villa the fate of the Americans at El Orobo would be definitely sealed.
She turned the knob and pushed the door open, slowly. A man was sitting in a chair in the center of the room. His back was toward her. He was a big man. His broad shoulders loomed56 immense above the back of the rude chair. A shock of black hair, rumpled57 and tousled, covered a well-shaped head.
At the sound of the door creaking upon its hinges he turned his face in her direction, and as his eyes met hers all four went wide in surprise and incredulity.
“Billy!” she cried.
“Barbara!—you?” and Billy rose to his feet, his bound hands struggling to be free.
The girl closed the door behind her and crossed to him.
“You robbed the bank, Billy?” she asked. “It was you, after the promises you made me to live straight always—for my sake?” Her voice trembled with emotion. The man could see that she suffered, and yet he felt his own anguish58, too.
“But you are married,” he said. “I saw it in the papers. What do you care, now, Barbara? I'm nothing to you.”
“I'm not married, Billy,” she cried. “I couldn't marry Mr. Mallory. I tried to make myself believe that I could; but at last I knew that I did not love him and never could, and I wouldn't marry a man I didn't love.
“I never dreamed that it was you here, Billy,” she went on. “I came to ask you about Mr. Bridge. I wanted to know if he escaped, or if—if—oh, this awful country! They think no more of human life here than a butcher thinks of the life of the animal he dresses.”
A sudden light illumined Billy's mind. Why had it not occurred to him before? This was Bridge's Penelope! The woman he loved was loved by his best friend. And she had sent a messenger to him, to Billy, to save her lover. She had come here to the office tonight to question a stranger—a man she thought an outlaw and a robber—because she could not rest without word from the man she loved. Billy stiffened59. He was hurt to the bottom of his heart; but he did not blame Bridge—it was fate. Nor did he blame Barbara because she loved Bridge. Bridge was more her kind anyway. He was a college guy. Billy was only a mucker.
“Bridge got away all right,” he said. “And say, he didn't have nothin' to do with pullin' off that safe crackin'. I done it myself. He didn't know I was in town an' I didn't know he was there. He's the squarest guy in the world, Bridge is. He follered me that night an' took a shot at me, thinkin' I was the robber all right but not knowin' I was me. He got my horse, an' when he found it was me, he made me take your pony an' make my get-away, fer he knew Villa's men would croak me sure if they caught me. You can't blame him fer that, can you? Him an' I were good pals—he couldn't do nothin' else. It was him that made me bring your pony back to you. It's in the corral now, I reckon. I was a-bringin' it back when they got me. Now you better go. This ain't no place fer you, an' I ain't had no sleep fer so long I'm most dead.” His tones were cool. He appeared bored by her company; though as a matter of fact his heart was breaking with love for her—love that he believed unrequited—and he yearned60 to tear loose his bonds and crush her in his arms.
It was Barbara's turn now to be hurt. She drew herself up.
“I am sorry that I have disturbed your rest,” she said, and walked away, her head in the air; but all the way back to the ranchhouse she kept repeating over and over to herself: “Tomorrow they will shoot him! Tomorrow they will shoot him! Tomorrow they will shoot him!”
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1
pony
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| adj.小型的；n.小马 | |
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rim
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| n.(圆物的)边，轮缘；边界 | |
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iris
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| n.虹膜，彩虹 | |
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flattened
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| [医]（水）平扁的，弄平的 | |
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lariat
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| n.系绳，套索；v.用套索套捕 | |
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ranch
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| n.大牧场，大农场 | |
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wrath
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| n.愤怒，愤慨，暴怒 | |
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apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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tenantless
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| adj.无人租赁的，无人居住的 | |
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doorway
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| n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径 | |
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spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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sneaked
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| v.潜行( sneak的过去式和过去分词 )；偷偷溜走；（儿童向成人）打小报告；告状 | |
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simultaneously
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| adv.同时发生地，同时进行地 | |
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strenuously
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| adv.奋发地，费力地 | |
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odds
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| n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别 | |
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subdued
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| adj. 屈服的，柔和的，减弱的 动词subdue的过去式和过去分词 | |
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antagonists
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| 对立[对抗] 者，对手，敌手( antagonist的名词复数 )； 对抗肌； 对抗药 | |
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mementos
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| 纪念品，令人回忆的东西( memento的名词复数 ) | |
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disarming
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| adj.消除敌意的，使人消气的v.裁军( disarm的现在分词 )；使息怒 | |
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exclamation
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| n.感叹号，惊呼，惊叹词 | |
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sergeant
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| n.警官，中士 | |
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villa
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| n.别墅，城郊小屋 | |
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winding
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| n.绕，缠，绕组，线圈 | |
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silhouetted
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| 显出轮廓的，显示影像的 | |
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climax
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| n.顶点；高潮；v.(使)达到顶点 | |
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rein
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| n.疆绳，统治，支配；vt.以僵绳控制，统治 | |
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reined
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| 勒缰绳使（马）停步( rein的过去式和过去分词 )； 驾驭； 严格控制； 加强管理 | |
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casually
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| adv.漠不关心地，无动于衷地，不负责任地 | |
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veranda
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| n.走廊；阳台 | |
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ascended
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| v.上升，攀登( ascend的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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sneering
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| 嘲笑的，轻蔑的 | |
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miserable
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| adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的 | |
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admonished
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| v.劝告( admonish的过去式和过去分词 )；训诫；（温和地）责备；轻责 | |
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tantalizing
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| adj.逗人的；惹弄人的；撩人的；煽情的v.逗弄，引诱，折磨( tantalize的现在分词 ) | |
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impending
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| a.imminent, about to come or happen | |
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momentous
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| adj.重要的，重大的 | |
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gnaw
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| v.不断地啃、咬；使苦恼，折磨 | |
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mused
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| v.沉思，冥想( muse的过去式和过去分词 )；沉思自语说（某事） | |
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croaked
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| v.呱呱地叫( croak的过去式和过去分词 )；用粗的声音说 | |
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croak
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| vi.嘎嘎叫，发牢骚 | |
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mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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swell
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| vi.膨胀，肿胀；增长，增强 | |
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jaw
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| n.颚，颌，说教，流言蜚语；v.喋喋不休，教训 | |
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wont
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| adj.习惯于；v.习惯；n.习惯 | |
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gulped
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| v.狼吞虎咽地吃，吞咽( gulp的过去式和过去分词 )；大口地吸（气）；哽住 | |
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tremor
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| n.震动，颤动，战栗，兴奋，地震 | |
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greasy
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| adj. 多脂的，油脂的 | |
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sob
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| n.空间轨道的轰炸机；呜咽，哭泣 | |
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brace
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| n. 支柱,曲柄,大括号; v. 绷紧,顶住,(为困难或坏事)做准备 | |
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50
gee
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| n.马；int.向右！前进！，惊讶时所发声音；v.向右转 | |
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51
pal
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| n.朋友，伙伴，同志；vi.结为友 | |
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outlaw
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| n.歹徒，亡命之徒；vt.宣布…为不合法 | |
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53
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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avowed
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| adj.公开声明的，承认的v.公开声明，承认( avow的过去式和过去分词) | |
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56
loomed
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| v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的过去式和过去分词 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近 | |
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57
rumpled
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| v.弄皱，使凌乱( rumple的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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58
anguish
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| n.(尤指心灵上的)极度痛苦，烦恼 | |
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59
stiffened
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| 加强的 | |
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60
yearned
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| 渴望，切盼，向往( yearn的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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